Dory’s story of life on the stage

Coaldale’s live music scene is alive and well, thanks to the newly opened Eastern Bloc bar and restaurant on Highway 3, as Dory and The Weatherman hit the stage this Friday for a return engagement.

The band was previously in town Sept. 19. “We had an absolute blast. It’s really nice that the old establishment has been refurbished and it’s getting a new life now. The owner really wants to turn it into a hub for areas like Coaldale, Taber and Lethbridge to come out for live entertainment,” said Dory Rossiter, lead singer of the band, who has also been the weather anchor and events co-ordinator at CTV Lethbridge for the past 24 years.

Rossiter is one of the original members of the band, which has been playing music for the past five years. The new incarnation began at the beginning of the year. “It’s a really good blend of the musicians that we have now. We all really like the same kinds of work ethic and lots of practice and we really enjoy that aspect of it too and taking material and re-working it and making it our own. It’s fun,” noted Rossiter.

Allan Wilson, original guitarist and vocalist in the band, said the band was known as Moon Dancer previously and recorded an album two years ago. The band still performs a few songs off the album during live shows. Dory and The Weathermen invites fans of live music to come out for a date night — an evening of dancing to a wide-variety of classic hits. “We’ll have some rock and roll, jazz, a little bit of country in there, some pop, some old tunes that we’ve taken from the 1940s and then re-worked into kind of a modern version. There’s a little bit of everything. We like to say that we’re a really good party band. There’s going to be something that everybody knows and can relate to and likes to bop around — even if they’re just sitting in their chair, kind of chair dancing. They’ll like it,” said Rossiter, adding the band presently plays throughout southern Alberta and as far as the Crowsnest Pass. Wilson added the band also performs at corporate events and parties including Coalhurst Miner’s Days.

Rossiter said the band also performs for a number of charity events throughout the year for organizations that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford live entertainment, including work with the Special Olympics and the Children’s Wish Foundation at the annual pumpkin festival at Green Haven in Lethbridge. “It’s part of the band’s mandate — is to give back.”

The band recently was awarded a 2014 provincial media communications award. “That was a huge honour for us and totally unexpected,” said Rossiter.

According to Rossiter, the band has a few original music ideas in the works but for now the band has more fun performing cover songs for fans, with many of the material re-worked with a new twist.

“We’ve got some things coming out on iTunes. Right now we’ve got our version of ‘Come Together’ on iTunes. I sing the lead in that, so it’s a real switch from the original. That’s sort of what we like to do — kind of give them a surprise. When the intro to ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ starts up, they’re not expecting a female voice,” said Rossiter.

Rossiter, who has been singing since she was a child, competed in Kiwanis and other musical festivals over the years. “I was a military kid and an only child. Music was a way of immediately fitting into a niche. When you switch schools every two years, when you’re growing up, you have to find something that you can connect with at the new school and with me it was glee club. That was something that I’ve done for years and years and with all the other members, they’ve all had that musical connection from years and years ago in one form or another. It was just a natural blend,” said Rossiter, adding the new line-up fell into place because of all the members and their love of music. “We just want people to come out and enjoy and have fun,” said Rossiter. The band is also booked at the Eastern Bloc New Year’s Eve. There is no cover charge for this Friday’s show.

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