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Fred Spek's CaMp CoMbO is a wacky alt-jazz hybrid!
"Jimmy Durante meets Frank Zappa", says Will Wall!
Band News & Upcoming Gigs:
Sunday January 8 Tranzac Club 5-7pm afternoon gig! - PWYC 292 Brunswick Sunday February 12 Tranzac Club 5-7pm afternoon gig! - PWYC 292 Brunswick - - - Recent past:
Fri Dec 30 Not My Dog - 1510 Queen W. Sundays Oct 9; Nov 13; Dec 11 Tranzac Club Monday Aug 8 - Cloak & Dagger - trio gig - PWYC Saturday July 23 - Big On Bloor Festival - Pauline Street stage! Saturday July 23 - in front of the Little Video Shop (Baldwin & McCaul) 6:30pm Tues June 21 - Alliance Francaise's "Fete De La Musique" at The Revival. We were house band for many singers including the magnificent Lyne Tremblay, hilarious Roger Clown, African performer Madagascar Slim Sat July 16 Cameron House 6-8pm Saturday May 14 - Lorraine's Jazz Joint. A fantastic time was had! Wed Mar 30 Tranzac Sat Feb 19 - Not My Dog - guitarist Nichol Robertson's birthday bash! Fri Mar 11 - "This Ain't Hollywood" in Hamilton - Whatta hoot we had, they loved us! Sat Dec 18 The Painted Lady - pagan Xmas celebration! Sat Oct 30 - Halloween party at Fountain 1261 Dundas W.< Thurs Oct 14 6-9pm The Painted Lady Sat July 25 - We played two sets during the Burlesque Festival's closing party at The Great Hall. Whatta hoot! Thurs July 22 - Our CD Release party for "CRACKERS" - with Richard Wymans's trio Mexican Divorce at Mitzi's Sister Tues June 29 - with comedian Geoff Hendry and Associates at Supermarket Sat June 19 - Roncy Rocks! Festival on Roncesvales Ave Sat May 1 - May Day and we took our labour of love to The Tranzac Sat April 24 - In The Soil Arts Festival - Nice to be back in St. Catharines Thurs April 15 - Dominion on Queen (500 Queen E.)
Wed Mar 10 - Tranzac Club with Book Of Gnomes and Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra.
Sun Dec 13/09 - The Painted Lady Sat Oct 31/09 - Mitzi's Sister - with The Flying Bordelos - We weren't afraid to be goofs! Tuesdays in Sept '09 - The Cadillac Lounge. What enthusiastic audiences! Guest included hilarious singer Roger Clown, jazz vocalist Beverly Taft, JUNO winning bassist Brandi Disterheft, and organist extrodinaire Marcel Aucoin. Tues Aug 11 Whatta blast at Mysterion's East End Burlesque Riot! Dominion on Queen
Thursday February 23 Reservoir Lounge 7pm - $5 52 Wellington E.
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Great Bob -- Nichol -- Rachel -- Fred
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Music: Scroll down for all 4 discs!
- New CD "CRaCKeRS" - Graphics-Kneil SpekOur most recent recording is an 11 song disc of oddball tunes the band loves to play. Original work by Fred Spek includes the song Hey Bev, which now has lyrics. Fred also wrote words for Tanya Cheex Polka and The Christians Are Boiling! Join our E-list and request free MP3s or order a CD. Fred will send it to ya, personally! Hear it now via the MP3 player below.
- New EP "Roughin' It" - Graphics-Kneil SpekThis recording is a 5 song EP of original tunes by Fred Spek. 2 are instrumentals, Fred sings on the others! Send your email address and ask for free MP3s or to order a CD. Hear it now via the MP3 player below.
- Rock Paper Scissors - Graphics-Kneil SpekTracks from the 4-song EP 'ROCK PAPER SCISSORS' can be heard with the MP3 player below. Our friend Brian Cram plays trumpet and Treasa Levasseur, accordion. Glen Hall of Exclaim magazine liked it. Read his review below. If you want a CD copy, email me $10 and I'll send it. Better yet, come to a gig and pick one up. We'll talk! We never talk.
- Beans 'n Wieners - Graphics-Kneil SpekStreaming MP3s from the 7-song CD "Beans 'n Wieners" are below. Order the CD from CD Baby. Hear CaMp CoMbO versions of those old chestnuts "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and "Happy Days Are Here Again".
Wanna download our music? You can, and at the quality level of your choice at Bandcamp (no affiliation to us other than great name!). You could also go to iTunes and CD Baby.
Get CDs (in Toronto) at Soundscapes on College St, and Criminal Records on Queen W (near Spadina).
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Media mentions:
"Camp Combo play a fun and somewhat bizarre blend of pop, swing, jazz and polka music, comparable to the off-beat wackiness of Spike Jones or Esquivel. They've just finished their brand-new EP "Roughin' It"... Daniel Woodhead - blogTO Canada's hip, ear-to-the-ground music magazine ExCLAiM! reviews our EP:
Mysterious, ubiquitous music scenester Lonely Vagabond had this to blog: Stanley Fefferman of The Live
Music Report when we opened for T.O.F.U., "...and you would love to dig the
opening band, Fred Spek's Neo Swing band Camp Combo playing tunes like the theme
from "Secret Agent Man", and "Animal Crackers in My Soup". And commuter rag DOSE gave us a plug:
"thanks to Fred Spek and his gang, even vegetarians should now take "Beans
and Wieners" camping...this CD is so much fun, it puts the Kamp in camp." -
Jaymz Bee JAZZ FM
We opened for the very hilarious Wet Spots at Revival last Valentines Day, and some blogTO blogger said:
Jaymz Bee took his Jazz Safari to our recent gig at Parkdale's Mitzi's Sister, and had this to say:
Fred Spek's Camp Combo - Rock, Paper, Scissors
By Glen Hall
After a long winter hibernating you may be thinking, "I need something to raise my spirits, something to give me an emotional spring cleaning." Look no further. Fred Spek and his cheerful bunch of summer music campers have got the antidote for anybody's case of the grumpies. With good-spirited humour and exuberant playing, Rock, Paper, Scissors takes a vaudevillian view of life and love. Delivered in a declamatory style reminiscent of Frank Zappa on Freak Out, Spek belts out lyrics like, "I'll never forget my blunder/Until you're six feet under" that will bring a wry smile to even the most sullen of listeners. The four-song EP keeps its rib-tickling focus throughout, including on the raucous reading of the 1895 pop tune "And the Band Played On." Camp Combo also provide food for thought, painting a vivid picture of God and Satan playing rock, paper, scissors to determine some hapless human's fate. This is a fun disc that's appropriate for pleasant social gatherings with friends and family.(Independent)
Direct link to Exclaim's review
"Fred Spek is a modern day Al Jolson-meets-Benny Goodman, part entertainer, part bandleader. The music is a bouncy carousel seamlessly blending jazz, swing, and ragtime. Offbeat characters capturing that sparkle of a Mardi Gras procession. A throwback, spattering of minstrelism and rousing musicianship, in the heart of Torontopia. A cuddly heart. With the spirit to match."
Friday Sept 2 - "Great
jazz doesn't always have to come from dark and tortured souls. Take Fred Spek's
Camp Combo, for example. This quartet delivers goofy jazz and novelties. Just
don't let any Billie Holiday fans know. There may be a riot, with jazz hands
flying." Christine Clarke
"The opening act, Fred Spek's Camp Combo, featured all of the elements essential for a novelty act: mad-paced, frenetic music that careened wildly between lounge and jazz, the all-important banjo and a singer sporting..." To read the rest, click here my friend.
"...we went to Mitzi's Sister to enjoy Camp Combo. It was quirky music that featured raspy sax solos and some daring vocals from Fred Spek. One Safari-ite observed; "These guys are much better musicians than they are letting on!" while another said "It's nice to see these young boys having so much fun, they're really odd!" It was a memorable and wacky way to end our first Jazz Safari of the season.
Read more of Jaymz's diaries at JazzFM
He also hosts a JazzFM show on Saturdays 6-8pm.
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Nichol - Great Bob Scott! - Fred - Jon Meyer
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We play nightclub dates, special events, parties, weddings, fundraisers in a variety of combos. We know many jazz standards.
email: fredspekATgmail.com
Yes, we have a CaMp CoMbO fan page on Facebook. We'd rather keep in touch with friends of the band through direct email.
Free music MP3s! Sign up to our Email list and get all the CaMp CoMbO recordings you want. Your address will
not be shared. It's easy to unsubcribe. Promise!
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Past gigs & places we've played around Toronto Ontario
Mezzrow's in Parkdale
Mitzi's Sister
The Silver Dollar with band The Old Soul.
Tranzac - Oz veterans' hall gone public.
Grafitti's -
Kensington Market...
Marcel Aucoin's "Strange Folk" night at Holy Joe's
Teranga with Montreal's Nutsak
Chicago's Diner (sadly missed...)
Cameron Public House
Roncesvales Ave's The Local
Cadillac Lounge
Good friend Jola Sobolak's
fantastic birthday party at Stone's Place
Gravy Boy's "Avant Vardeville" cabaret at The Theatre
Centre
The Rivoli & The Gladstone Hotel - Promoter Gary Topp had us open for
T.O.F.U.
The Gladstone Hotel - Melody Room matinee performances
The Horseshoe Tavern - Dave Boookman's Nu Music Nite, with "Hexes & Ohs".
The Press Club at 850 Dundas West
Sneaky Dees' Wednesday night EYE Weekly series
The Rex Hotel
Revival on College, opening for The Wet Spots.
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