--------------------BLUESUNDERDOG RISING TO ATTENTION-----------David Stell, News Editor
----- Blues Underdog may be back from a four-stop tour of Western Canada, with a side trip to Toronto, but if you look closely, the group's feet aren't touching the ground -- they're flying from success.
While the Pickering-based band opened for THE BLACK EYED PEAS, garnering exposure and experience, it took something important away from the trip: belief.
"We got a chance to bond as a band, it did so much for our confidence," lead singer Najja Calibur says. (The tour) "was nothing but positive."
Seeing Canada from a 30-foot recreational vehicle, all travelling in close quarters, was exciting, he says, and brought them closer together.
THE BLACK EYED PEAS, nominated for a Grammy last year, turned out to be mentors to the local group and proved to be solid people to tour with.
"(It was a chance) to learn from someone who has made it," he says. "They're humble, genuinely good people. They always had time for everyone."
While in Vancouver for two of the shows, they were backstage and met Justin Timberlake, Wesley Snipes and Cameron Diaz when they dropped in to see the Peas.
The other two western stops were for shows in Calgary and Edmonton and the Toronto show was a throw-in, but an important one. There, Calibur says they played for record executives.
The shows were 25-minute sets warming up the crowds for the headliners and the band had great feedback from audiences, he said. They were even asked for autographs.
The future looks busy for the band. It's working on music for a six- to eight-song disc. In addition, coming off a recent concert at Bob Caygeons in Pickering, the members are now gearing up to play Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto July 1 as part of the Jazz Fest, July 1. Maestro Fresh Wes is also scheduled to play, with Blues Underdog going on at 5 p.m.
The band got its start a little more than a year ago and has already earned a Durham Region Bandwarz title.
Underdog's other members are Alfred "Viste" Patricio(vocals-keyboards); Jeff Roberts(drums); Todd "Tiz" Laidlaw(guitar-bass); DJ Deez(Turntables); Candice Phillips(vocals); and Brian "Briggidy" Bracken(guitar-bass-vocals).
