Strathmore kicks off inaugural Arts on 817 concert series

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

In a week’s time, Calgary-based award-winning comic a cappella group the Heebee-jeebees will launch the first of a three-act concert series – Arts on 817 – with a little spin on the Christmas tradition.
The four-man band is known for incorporating humour into their acts, and this season they are bringing their comedy to Strathmore with a twist on time-honoured Christmas songs.
“Basically, it’s all their favourite Christmas tunes with all the wrong lyrics,” said Jonathan Love, head songwriter and lead baritone for the Heebee-jeebees.
“We have twisted and penned a bunch of non-traditional Christmas traditions. We realized in our 24 years together that one of the things people like to do is sing along to Christmas tunes and it’s always fun to be in on a joke. With Christmas tunes, everybody knows all the words; the minute you change it you have a connection with the audience.”
The band was formed in 1993 with the sole purpose of attracting women, said Love who noted that even average musicians had very attractive girlfriends. So, while attending the University of Calgary, the four friends joined to form a rock band.
When the band received requests to perform before having a chance to rehearse, the friends – who’ve sung together since they were children – improvised by singing together instead. From there, more performances followed and catapulted the band into a relationship spanning 24 years, complete with three Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARA), eight CDs, and being the first inductees into the Canadian A Cappella Hall of Fame.
While the band had performed in Strathmore once before, they will be the first concert to launch the Arts on 817 concert series.
“I think everybody gets behind going to a Christmas show and they really enjoy it, but I will say how welcome we feel when we are in smaller communities, especially in Alberta,” said Love.
“We’re very excited and we like to get the audience really involved in the show; singing and clapping along. It’s definitely not a sit-back-and-tune-out type of performance. It really feels like our mission to spread some Christmas cheer by way of belly laughing.”
The Strathmore United Church will be hosting Arts on 817 over several months. The idea of the concert series came to fruition after the arrival of their grand piano in May.
According to Carolyn Steeves, a church committee member and driving force behind the event, the planning committee wanted to launch the inaugural series with a great family Christmas concert. Having seen the group perform, they were the first band the committee approached.
“I had seen the group perform many times over the years during the Christmas season and had found them to be charming, funny and musical all at the same time,” said Steeves.
“We approached them in early summer, worked out all the details and signed our first contract in August. That was a big moment for Arts on 817. Our dream of a concert series at Strathmore United Church became a reality. There was a need for a concert series like Arts on 817 in our community and the response has been very affirming.”
Concert tickets for the Heebee-jeebees on Dec. 1 at the Strathmore United Church were already 75 per cent sold earlier this week.
The second Arts on 817 concert series goes March 10, 2018, featuring Latitude 49, a classical duo featuring Jani Parson on piano and Steeve’s son Timothy on violin; the third and final concert takes place May 4, 2018, featuring the brass quintet Foothills Brass.
Tickets for the Arts on 817 concern series are $25 per show, $10 for students 17 years and under, or $60 for the entire series. For more information call 403-901-2797.