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For information on past and present shows snap your mouse here. history The brainchild of Steve Donnelly, Laguna was officially formed in 1998. Steve and drummer Rob Porter have been friends for over 10 years, first meeting when Rob was playing in The Whirleygigs and Steve was playing in Mystic Zealots; the two bands shared a cramped practice space in the attic of a historic building in downtown Ottawa. Steve and Rob have played in a few bands together over the years, including Remi Royale et les Tonnes de Fromage (a spoof lounge/disco act), Jimmy George, and the short-lived Stupidhed (with bass player Jeff Taylor, who later played with Black Boot Trio.)Since the winter of 1997, Steve and Rob had been jamming in the living room of Rob's house, where he had his drums and a PA system set up. After some coaxing, Rob agreed to make it a formal band; all they needed was a bass player. Mutual friend Dan Dannenberg was the obvious choice: his bass skills, friendly good nature and drinking ability being the prerequisites they were looking for. Unfortunately, Dan was away for nine months in Scotland, apprenticing as a stone-mason. The two worked on songs until Dan's return, occasionally with mutual friend Greg Langille (Things Fall Apart). When Dan did return, the band started practising in earnest as a three-piece in August, and now approach their first show, slated for Friday, November 6, opening for Toque at the Duke of Somerset in Ottawa. |
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Part 2 In early 1999, Dan took a job in Toronto and had to leave the band. Rob Porter decided to quit shortly thereafter for some unknown reason, perhaps because he wanted a second guitar player and possibly because he did not have confidence in Donnelly's singing/guitar playing. Thus the new lineup came together over the summer of 1999 with the addition of Andrew Swift on drums, George Jennings on bass and Bryan Maxted on guitar. The rest is history, as they say in the history books filled with historical facts. |
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Part 3 In early 2000, Andrew and George decided to quit due to lack of enthusiasm, energy, or other hard-to-describe feelings or lack thereof. Faced with this development Bryan also decided to bow out. As of this writing Bryan is still playing with TRK05 and George is playing with his ex-Toque bandmates. The evening of the last show at Zaphod Beeblebrox with George, Bryan and Andrew, club owner Eugene Haslam offered the band an opening spot with Veruca Salt at the new Zaphod Beeblebrox 2. This gave Steve the opportunity to return Dan to the fold and recruit longtime mutual friend Tim Connolly, who also plays with Dan and ex-JimmyGeorge-guy Spike in an unnamed band that has yet to grace a local stage with their presence. And the rest is history. |
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