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Wrong Side of Rhythm 4:160:00/4:16
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Long Way Down 4:000:00/4:00
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Tennessee Local 3:160:00/3:16
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0:00/3:14
ThE PeriPheral VisiOnAries
Musical magic from the edges of popularity
book us for your next special occasion...
Peripheral vision is what we see outside the centre of our gaze. For instance, we might be focused on that pod of whales, but there's a whole lot of ocean out there in the corner of our vision, and some of it might be worth our attention.
The Peripheral Visionaries do just that — draw attention to nearly forgotten but timeless tunes mainly from the 30’s to the '50s in the country swing and swing genres. You might not be acquainted with songwriters like Cindy Walker, Churchill Kohlman, and Horace Heidt, and you may or may not have heard their tunes done by other artists. But once you hear them performed by the Peripheral Visionaries, your focus will change.
With impeccable three-part harmonies, and a straightforward 4-piece line-up with Tony Turner on guitar, Mike Sadava on mandolin & lap steel, Arlene Carson on accordion & piano and Tony Di Gregorio on upright bass, Vancouver Island's newest quartet of experienced musicians make something new out of tunes you forgot were classics. In May 2019, the band was honoured to play at the wedding reception of Elizabeth May.
THE PERIPHERAL VISIONARIES ARE:
Tony Turner (guitar, harmonica, vocals)
Tony had a lot of eyes focused on him a few years ago when his song, Harperman, went viral, received millions of YouTube hits and earned him the Spirit of Folk award from Folk Alliance International. But Tony is much more than a one-hit wonder. With his mellifluous baritone crooning and clever writing, he has put out three albums of his own. His investigation of gems from the first half of the last century started in Ottawa with the swing band Shirt Tearing Boys.
Arlene (AJ) Carson (accordion, piano, vocals)
Arlene is a classically trained pianist who went on to study jazz, and later also fell in love with the accordion. AJ has played in all sorts of bands from Edmonton to Hong Kong, including a feminist rock band called the TranSisters, the gypsy jazz Malahat Swing Cats and backing up blues chanteuse Sue Decker. She is also well versed in vocal arrangements from her years with the Ensemble Laude choir.
Mike Sadava (mandolin, lap steel, vocals)
Mike has played everything from bluegrass to gypsy jazz, blues to country, on a variety of stringed instruments. Over the years he has also been on a dozen albums, including two of his own. For the Visionaries, he is stretching his chops on lap steel and mandolin as well as finding those third part harmonies.
Tony Di Gregorio (upright bass)
The son of a father who sang opera badly, Tony Di Gregorio took up guitar at a young age, studied classical guitar and then joined every conceivable jazz, blues, rock, and country band who would have him. Along the way he did a degree in music therapy, which he applied to his work with psychiatric patients. He has performed widely with his wife Kristia Di Gregorio and was musical director for a dance review. He has joined the Peripheral Visionaries to play upright bass and prevent the band from falling into disarray. Oh ya, he also builds guitars and pickups.
Selected ShOWS
Jan. 8, 2023 - Victoria Folk Music Society, Victoria
July 2, 2022 - Cultivate Festival, Gabriola Island
Aug 27, 2021 - Old City Quarter series, Nanaimo
July 19, 2021 - 39 Days of July festival, Duncan
Dec 6, 2019 - Vinyl Envy, Victoria
Nov. 8, 2019 - Duncan Showroom, Duncan
Oct 31, 2019 - Northern Quarter, Victoria
Oct 29, 2019 - Harbour City Concerts, Nanaimo
FOR MORE INFORMATION
AND BOOKINGS CONTACT
TONY TURNER:
tony@tonyturner.ca
343-777-1867 (talk/text)