The band has generated a very impressive discography in a relatively short time with most of their seven albums featuring the songwriting of Dave Carroll. The depth and diversity of Dave's gift is showcased best on the latest all original S.O.M album Among The Living (June 2001, Fusion III).

"The new album is like our live show... we like to keep the energy level up but also run through the whole gamut of feelings and tempos," says Don. In November 2001, the band’s first and long awaited Christmas album, Instant Christmas (Fusion III) hit the stores. Response from radio, the public, and the media has been outstanding.

Following the release of The Neighbourhood album (1998), S.O.M won industry awards and recognition, made the charts and CMT’s Top 100 videos list. Based on the strength of their brand new album, they have garnered a 2002 East Coast Music Award. The first single to radio, So Confusing, received national airplay. The second single is The 5:07.

"Among The Living represents another evolution for Sons of Maxwell with on the whole stronger songwriting and a more focused direction in our sound ... the most distinctive qualities of S.O.M are still evident on Among The Living ... in all aspects this CD is simply better than anything we have released thus far," says Dave. Impressive reviews of the new work are pouring in and the touring (UK, France and Canada in 2002) continues.

Rita Chiarelli: Chiarelli's songs are a combination of blues and other genres, including rock, rockabilly, country, Cajun and jazz. "I just naturally expand and combine boundaries. I think my music sometimes goes from being pure blues to a hybrid - of bluesy country, bluesy jazz and rockin' blues. It's something that really happens naturally. I don't work at doing it like this. It's sort of what songs come out."

Her most recent album, Breakfast At Midnight, on the NorthernBlues Music label, was recorded mainly live off the floor with Colin Linden and Kevin Breit on guitars, Richard Bell on keyboard, Al Cross on drums and George Koller and Pat Kilbride on bass.

"I loved that they (the musicians) came in and had 20 different instruments between them, and Colin would say, 'I think I'll play the 1952 Dobro on this one,' and just the different choices of sounds," Chiarelli says. "It was a wonderful experience."

Chiarelli, who has an amazing, three-octave vocal range (the average human voice has a range of about two octaves), first sang professionally at 15, with The Tempest, a Hamilton, Ontario, band that played high school dances and bars. The Tempest's guitarist, Ralph Pugliese, persuaded her strict parents - her mother, Iris, and her late father, Salvatore - to let their young daughter join the band.

"You'd think he was asking for my hand in marriage," Chiarelli says, laughing. "Ralph came over to the house to say 'I understand, I'm Italian as well, I have a sister, I know what you're feeling. We really want Rita to sing with us. You're welcome to come anytime to our rehearsals, to our gigs.' And I tell you, this man convinced my father - which was quite amazing - to let me sing. My parents did come to a lot of my gigs. In fact, they came to most of them until I was about 17."

Harry Manx: A unique artist, Harry Manx has brought the sounds of India to the Blues. Combining lap-slide guitar and the blues with the Mohan Veena (a 20-string member of the guitar family created and named by Indian musical guru Vishwa Mohan Bhatt) and his own distinctive vocals, Manx creates a new musical experience.

His brand new album, Wise and Otherwise, released in April on Northern Blues Music, has been garnering positive attention across the country. His first Canadian CD entitled Dog My Cat, released in 2001, produced by Jordy Sharpe at the Barn Studios in Salt Spring Island, BC, enjoyed rave reviews nationally and won an "Indie" award for Blues Album of the Year at Canadian Music Week this year.

Born on the Isle of Man, Manx immigrated to Canada as a child. In the mid-70's, he traveled to Europe and spent the next 10 years performing in cafes and bars, honing the musical skills that would provide the foundation for his later musical experimentation. By the mid-80's, Manx was touring regularly in Japan and had lived for several months in India.

During Manx's stay in Japan he came across a recording of the legendary Indian slide guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who is considered a master of his instrument. Manx was so moved by the musician's work that he contacted Bhatt and made arrangements to join him in India. There, he became a student's of Bhatt's, studying with the musician for five years. The two traveled together in India, performing in front of large audiences with Manx playing the tambura, a four-stringed instrument used to provide a drone. Bhatt would not allow him to play the mohan veena live at the time, as he was still a student. Years later, having successfully mastered this complex instrument, Manx now incorporates the mohan veena into his own shows.

In the spring of 2000, Harry moved back to Canada to Salt Spring Island, BC. In February 2001 he showcased at the world renowned Folk Alliance Conference, which was held in Vancouver. Attending his 2:30 am performance was Fred Litwin, president of Northern Blues Music.

"Harry blew my mind," says Litwin. "It was the most astonishing live performance I've seen in years." Just a few short months later Manx was part of Northern Blues' impressive roster, which distributes his albums worldwide.

Manx has been called an "essential link" between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that use the essence of the blues and the depth of Indian ragas. It is the sort of music that is hard to forget.

Oscar Lopez: Seeing Oscar Lopez live, you will be treated to original, Latin based guitar compositions, performed with unparalleled expertise, passion and joy. Oscar Lopez's latest release, Armando's Fire, won a 2002 JUNO award for best instrumental album. Audience members have said that attending an Oscar Lopez concert is an experience they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

His music is an open door, allowing him to take a free approach each time for his masterful improvisations, while infusing it with the passion that is his unique style. What may start as a Latin groove evolves, taking on many different forms with elements of blues, jazz, flamenco, rock, rhumba, and other flavours.

But the Latin feel is a crucial element in Lopez' music. Born in Santiago, Chile, Lopez moved to Canada in 1979 and now calls Calgary home.

"My roots are here. I have adapted myself, learned the language and I am an active part of this society. Of course, all that I am I owe to my mother country -- she made me what I am today. There is always a strong Latin beat in my music, definitely, because that's who I am."
A cultural crossover suits Lopez's eclectic tastes and styles.

"There has been so much music that has touched me. When I came to Canada I experimented with many types of bands. I believe this was an important process for me in my musical life. When I returned to playing the nylon string guitar, I brought all these elements back to it. I would bend a note and think, 'Hey! That works here, too.' This was the start of my fusion, establishing my own signature."

(For more information on Concert Performances across the northwest, check Connections' Events Calendar.)