I recently sat down with Manny DeGrandis and had lunch at Square Boy on the Danforth. We, of course were talking about the blues, and this is what Manny told me…

I asked him about his beginnings as a Blues player. Manny has been playing with Glenn Marias for about 20 years. Along the way they had different people on that Mojo train riding it out. Today’s line up for the last 11 years now consists of Jesse Karwat on Keyboards and Jeff Saulnier on drums. They have a new album out called, Red, Hot and Blue.

The band have also been busy doing plenty of festivals, which are great for them, but not so great for fans from Toronto.  They are on the road a lot playing other cities to promote themselves. This is a band that you have to experience live to really get it. The Blues is simply a music you can truly appreciate when you come to understand it live.

Manny and I were reminiscing about hanging out and witnessing Jeff Healey live. He was a blues artist that did not hold back when it came to performance. Manny and Glenn were lucky enough to get on stage with Jeff at his club Healey’s and play with him. When you get to stand next to him and feel his energy, it rubs off on you. This is something you carry over when it is your turn to give from the stage.

Coming out of Covid, Manny was lucky to land himself a gig at the TheToronto Blues Society. He applied for a Managing Director, but didn’t get it. They didn’t want to lose him, so he was hired to coordinate events and organizing their social media. He fell in love putting together the Maple Blues Awards and the Blues Summit. Now he is also the Office Manager for TBS.

A big moment happened when Gary Kendall decided to step down from being the house band for the Maple Blues awards and in comes Manny to fill that big spot. There were many hats to wear for this event. Not only do you have to coordinate all the bands that will be on the bill for the night, but you are the house band that has to keep the show running smoothly.

They added an indigenous award spot for the first time, so we got the winner of the award Crystal Shawanda to perform and that was the best closing number we could’ve asked for. It went so well that she brought me along to play some Ontario dates with her throughout the summer. Crystal and Dwayne are amazing people. Al Webster is on drums, and he is a riot and fun to play with. The blues is the kind of community where everyone is open to creating new opportunities and opening doors.

In fact, as I sat and listened to Manny speak, I realized he is the guy that really tries to open up doors for the blues to flourish and thrive.

I asked him about the Blues scene today. The scene seems to have gone underground, and the audience is an older crowd. There are not a lot of young people following the blues. So, the Toronto Blues Society is always looking for fresh young emerging talent.

Right now, we have Spencer MacKenzie and Jays Blues to name a couple, that are working hard to get an audience. The Blues Society has a yearly talent search looking for new bands that they can promote.

Manny has a thought process where when you are starting out, you begin with the blues. You learn form and how to expand from that. Today’s young players are not learning that way now. They use the internet or a computer to hone their craft and so you lose on the time spent creating on your own or with friends in basements.

The other problem is that Canadian Blues bands are receiving a lot of attention from different parts of the world. It is great for the band, but Canada is not always celebrating them when they are home. Our talent is going elsewhere. For example, Mojo Train’s publicist Sarah French sent our album out for review all over the world and we got back so many reviews in so many different languages. We only got one here in Canada.

Blast Toronto has an opinion about this. Since Covid shut down a lot of great clubs, musicians took it upon themselves to create a space to play live. They chose small businesses to get the music started again and now we do have new choices. The problem I find is that the atmosphere and energy of the room may not be conducive to create that live music experience. Manny said, you are only as good as your PA system. I have to agree to that.

If you are a Blues fan, you already know about the Kitchener Blues Festival and the South Side Shuffle Festival. Blast Toronto would like to see a Blues Festival grow right here in Toronto. I believe this is what Manny would like to see as well.

I asked him what he has lined up for the future. He told me that The Mojo Train are starting a series of blues nights, called Blues on Queen that will be happening at the Horseshoe every first Wednesday of the month at the Horseshoe Tavern. It will not just be Glenn Marias and the Mojo Train, but they will invite a couple of other blues artists to play on the bill. This is a good way of showcasing the different blues artists of Toronto. It will be a mini-Blues Festival. The first show of the series will feature Little Magic Sam and Danny Boy Phelan on September 4th. The cover will be $15.oo. That is like paying $5 per band. This is a deal worth paying for, and it is happening in the legendary tavern.

If for any reason a bigger band comes flying in to play the Horseshoe the show will still go on, except it will take place at the Cameron House or The Rivoli. So, this is an invitation to all you Blues fans, take the first Wednesday night off just for yourself and go experience three live Blues Bands and discover the talent that make this city great!