Photo Session

A new year, in this case, means new photos. With so many members having been added over the last 12 months I felt it was necessary to have another photo shoot with the incomparably talented Manuel Da Mota - if only to have a consistent look for the band. So on Wednesday evening, the 26th of January, we made our way to the photography studio. Manny, at my request shot a flurry of photos, fashion model style, one after the other. I wanted as much choice as possible and he certainly made sure of that. He photographed 5 of our members and shot 516 images. Fortunately he was a using a digital camera - traditional film and developing would have cost me a fortune!

He transferred the files from his laptop to 2 CDs and off we went. Despite the late hour, I couldn't sit at home knowing I had all these photos, so I opened Photoshop and proceeded to spend half the night editing and cropping images. Those readers who wish to see some of the photos will not have a long wait as I expect the all new website to be launched on Monday, the 31st of January.

More news soon - come back on Monday!

Marc C.

A wrap-up of 2004

Those of you who follow The Pride know that 2004 was, in many ways, the best year yet for the band. We had more corporate gigs than we'd had in any previous year and we inked a deal to be the house band at a quirky, fun little bar called the Mirabel, here in Montreal. We've been there for over 6 months with no end in sight. A great spot to go if you like dancing, as the regulars love to kick up their heels.

2004 was also the year for personnel additions. When we decided to add a female vocalist, we really lucked out. Samara Daniels, an extraordinary singer and performer, officially joined our ranks in February and The Pride has never sounded, or looked, better. Since that time we've added several other exceptional singers - Linda Grenon, Micheline Celestin, Marie-Josee Noury and Sofy Boudreau - who all perform regularly with us. We've also added yet another guitarist to the line-up - Stephane Hebert, an excellent musician and singer. Since the addition of these performers, especially the ladies, we've bulked up our repertoire by at least 50 new tunes and we now offer over 560 songs.

We wrapped up the year with not only the house gig, but a flurry of both daytime and evening holiday gigs. Yes, 2004 was an extraordinary year, but things look even better for 2005! Stay tuned for more news.

Marc C.

First of many blog entries

Welcome the the weblog for The Pride. You can visit our site at www.theprideband.com. My name is Marc Coté, leader of The Pride, and I'll be posting gig dates, place & times as well as other band-related information. Stay tuned.

Marc C.