Though The Bloodshots are certainly more well-known than Whisky a Go Go in our neck of the woods, playing at the famous club is a sign that your group is one to watch. Local band The Bloodshots did just that last week lighting up the stage with their grunge punk and roll sound.
“This show came about from some connections that [my fellow band member] Keith [Skazyk] and I made last year while in New York for the Native American Music Awards. This show was a part of celebrating NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) which is in Anaheim, California this weekend,” said CJ Loane member of The Bloodshots.
Their single ‘No Way Out’ took home the Best Rock Video Award at that Native American Music Awards. The members of the band filmed this award-winning song/video in 2020 making this accomplishment even more impressive as a live group of people weren’t able to gather at that time.
A group that takes challenges as they come, they were ready last Thursday to play at the Whisky.
“It was a dream. Just the idea of being able to play at the same place our favourite bands played. It felt unreal. [We were] so pumped, so excited. Definitely a bucket list item,” said Loane.
The Whisky a Go Go is famous in the rock and roll world. From the time that they opened their doors in 1964, the club has hosted a variety of groups that turned out to be greats, recognizing them before they became well-known. These recognizable acts include the Doors, Janis Joplin, and Led Zeppelin.
To keep it interesting, The Bloodshots not only performed at the club but also debuted a new tune.
“[Our] new song called ‘Bay Blues’. I started writing it after a trip to California I took years ago, so it kind of came full circle. This is going to be our next single, and what a place to debut it live. It received a great big cheer so we’re excited to try and get it on the Canadian FM waves,” said Loane.
The members on stage last week were Loane on lead guitar and lead vocals, Keith Skazyk on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Ben Hodges on drums, and Cory Badger on bass who stepped in for the trip.
The band got together in 2013 and has been working hard for the past ten years to achieve this amazing accomplishment.
Loane wants young people in our region to know that success doesn’t have to come overnight.
“It’s ok to still have dreams while you slug out a living. Stick to them and enjoy your life. There’s more to it than clocking in from 9 to 5 and going to bed. You have to remember to feed your soul in the meantime,” he said.
After all this hard work, Loane described the group’s time on stage as better than the band could have imagined.
“So much adrenaline was pumping afterwards. Our only complaint was we wanted to play longer. This place was so awesome we wanted to give them more. You can truly feel the soul of Rock n Roll flowing through that building,” said Loane.
Though this was a great time of celebration for the band, they don’t plan to slow down.
“We definitely made a ton of new fans. Our social media has been blowing up ever since we announced this show and some of the contacts we made while down here are very interested in working with us. The Navajo Nation in Arizona is very interested in us now,” said Loane.
If you want to hear more from this local group check them out on Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, Apple Music or your favourite streaming service.
Record Photos by Brett Mitchell
