Hadicillin Boogie

Ray Tremblay , better known as Ray Condo
was a manic, crazy hepcat. His life was music and he was hellbent on preserving the rich history of north american music.

"Most people don't know anything about roots music and don't care," he told one interviewer. "I happen to think that's a crime. We all have this heritage that we should respect. If we want to get into the future, you've got to know where you're coming from."
Otherwise, he joked to another, "You get lost, and you end up paying a hundred bucks for a ticket to an Eagles concert."
(from www.raycondo.ca)

He spent his early youth in Vancouver, where he played in two bandswhere he lived until he dropped out from Emily Carr Arts College, where he was studying painting, his second love.
He moved to Montreal in 1984, with the intention to continue painting independently, but he got more involved in the music scene there, starting up his own band, the Hardrock Goners.

Then in 1991 he moved back to Vancouver and got together what was to be his last backing group, The Ricochets. With them he recorded 3 albums: "Swing, Brother, Swing", "Door to Door Maniac" and "High and Wild" in 2000.

Doing the research for this post, I found out that he had died, in April of 2004, from a heart attack at the age of only 54. He was a great performer and a great man. His music mixed the sensibility of Billie Holiday with the punk rock energy of classic rockabilly and the catchiness and danceablility of country swing. He will be missed. Here are some of his best sides:

- WHEN THERE AIN'T NO SWING
- GREENBACK DOLLAR
- FEELING NO PAIN
- HADICILLIN BOOGIE
- ST. JAMES INFIRMARY