The Woodshed Orchestra is an ecstatic soul-filled communal multi-headed celebration emancipation experience. The Woodshed will take you higher and make you feel the love you need to succeed. Yes it will. The Woodshed will light up your tree, push all the right buttons, stroke your ego till you come to your senses and start to sing and dance with visions of sugar plum love making times dancing in your mind that seem so real to the taste, touch and feel that you’ll shout in happiness and cry tears of joy for being alive.

The Woodshed Orchestra Recipe: Take a bowlful of New Orleans second line, add a spoon of Tom Waits, drop in a dose of Sly Stone, a bone of Leonard Cohen, a hit
of the scene from Al Green, add some Blossom Dearie theory, a pinch of Loretta Lynn, a dollop of Asleep at The Wheel, a wallop of NRBQ, a sprinkle of vintage Rush, a bucketful of the Sun Ra Arkestra, a bushel of Monk, some essence of Randy Newman, a peck of the Fairfield  Four, a blast from the Who, a shot of Dr. John, a hint of Ginsberg, a strand of Stravinsky, a packet of Prince, a taste of the Klezmatics, a teaspoon of the Ramones, a cup of Stevie Wonder and a good measure of Howlin’ Wolf. Mmm.

The Woodshed Orchestra was founded in 2005 by Toronto musician, educator, and composer Dave Clark in order to celebrate friendship and love through music. Clark called upon some of the finest folks he knew to make the gumbo boil and the people dance. It took a while to get the flavour just right, but it came to be and now in 2011 the year of “Give us something to celebrate about ‘cause we’ve been hit too many times by the dark side.”, the Woodshed has come to say to one and all, “There is love, there is hope, live your dreams, it’s not what it seems, don’t get weighed down by low rent clowns who scatter all the minds through wi-fi and phone lines, you are good, look in your heart, come with us, it’s time to start, let’s think of peace, let’s try to be kind, let’s give what we’ve got, it’ll bring peace of mind, because you know after the show when the lights are dark there’ll be that spark, that right connection in the direction towards Love & Affection.”

The Woodshed Orchestra Players:
Dave Clark - drums/vocals
Michael Herring - bass/vocals
Karen Ng – saxophone/vocals
Joe Lapinski – guitar/vocals
Miss Julia Hambleton – clarinette/vocals
Jason Kenemy – piano/vocals
Ken McDonald – bass/vocals
Tania Gill – piano/vocals
Nick Buligan – horns/vocals
Scott Thomson – trombone/vocals
Rebecca Hennessy – trumpet/vocals
Tom Howell – violin/piano/vocals
Doug Friesen – trombone/bass/vocals
Susanna Hood – vocals
Paul Kolinski – piano/guitar/ukelele/drums/vocals
Chris Banks – bass/vocals
Gord Allen – trumpet.
*We mix and match to taste.