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Remember the pulse of the 60's – those irresistible R&B grooves and magic melodies pounded out by the dozens under labels like Motown and Stax. Slippery Slope offers up a rockslide of R&B classics that defies your feet to stay still – it's a driving dance set built on the authentic rhythms and textures that made the originals great.

With powerful vocals and horns swinging over top of a funky, sophisticated rhythm section, Slippery Slope captures the soulful feel of an era that's gone but far from forgotten. You can settle back and soak up the groove, or let it all go on the dance floor – either way, the road to soul is a Slippery Slope!

Slippery Slope is:

Kevin Gillespie
Vocals, keyboard, harmonica
Caroline Cook
Vocals, keyboard, percussion
Christina Harrison Baird
Vocals, percussion
Bill Keogh
Guitar
Duncan Baird
Bass
Lorenzo Cotroneo
Drums
Top of the Heap
Slippery Slope's horn section, arranged by Mike Mullin

 

Kevin Gillespie - Vocals, keyboard, harmonica

Kevin has over 15 years of professional experience as a vocalist in R&B, Rock, Jazz and Classical music. With his tremendous vocal range and passionate musicality, Kevin's boundless energy ignites a room as he exposes the power and depth of soul music.

Kevin was very active in the Montreal music scene, where he received several awards for his contributions to Canadian music. Kevin moved to Ottawa in 1999. He joined Slippery Slope in January 2003, and has been challenging the band to reach higher and higher ever since.

Caroline Cook - Vocals, keyboard, percussion

Caroline found her way to Slippery Slope by way of a gig she was on with Kevin in mid-2007. They hit it off immediately, and when Kevin introduced her to to the rest of the Slope it quickly became clear that this relationship was meant to be.

Caroline has a formal background in classical piano and voice, and for over 20 years has followed her muse as a singer, musician, choral director and producer. She is most proud of the show she co-produced and performed at Salle Jean-Desprez in 2002 - "A Passion for Song" in collaboration with Danielle Monette.

Now after 13 years with the Theatre Lyrique de Gatineau, Caroline has decided to turn her focus to the soulful groove of the R&B classic masters. Her passionate performance and positive spirit complement a great set of pipes that bring an exciting new dimension to Slippery Slope's classic sound.

Christina Harrison Baird - Vocals, percussion

Having echoed from staid steeples across Ontario and then grooved with the gospel sounds of a West African cathedral, Christina is busting out of the church choir to tackle the old R&B greats. She got off to a stellar start, making her first public appearance in the Motown genre with the legendary Funk Brothers at Bluesfest 2004. Sources close to her say Christina was the hippest of the "twelve women [who] clambered on stage, at Ashford's invitation, to join in on My Girl," (Ottawa Citizen, 12 July 2004). Slippery Slope management was so impressed that they signed her on the spot, and she hasn't looked back since.

Christina with the Funk Brothers
Christina getting down with the Funks

Bill Keogh - Guitar

Bill's lifelong interest in all kinds of music began as a kid growing up in Toronto, listening to 60's and 70's pop and R&B on 1050 CHUM. One of the very first albums that he bought with his very own money was Sly and the Family Stone's Greatest Hits. After listening to it several hundred times (and driving his family crazy) he decided to learn to play guitar (and really drive his family crazy!). He bought his sister's 'Sears Special' guitar for $4 and took some lessons. That guitar was eventually kidnapped, held for ransom and never seen again.

After playing in various garage bands, basement bands and other sordid musical projects around Toronto, Bill relocated to Ottawa, where he met up with Duncan in early 2000 and started up Slippery Slope. These days, Bill is thrilled to play guitar in a fun R&B dance band with so many multi-talented musicians.

Duncan Baird - Bass

Duncan has been playing bass forever, and is disturbed by the fact that it took him over 20 years to realize that R&B is really, really where it's at. He grew up in Montreal and played with a number of bands that you certainly haven't heard of, and also spent some time kicking around the pro audio industry. Around the turn of the century he was struck by several pivotal ideas:

  1. if you have a basement, you really ought to have a band to put in it
  2. a horn section is a very, very good thing
  3. classic R&B makes for a great party
...and next thing you know, there's Slippery Slope.

Duncan finds his musical inspiration in the work of James Jamerson (Motown), Donald "Duck" Dunn (Stax), Graham Maby (Joe Jackson) and Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello), as well as that of so many talented musicians from Ottawa and elsewhere who have worked with Slope over the years. Onwards and upwards!

Lorenzo Cotroneo - Drums

Lorenzo hails from the nation's capital and has been active as a professional drummer and percussionist for over 20 years. His experience includes extensive recording and performing with prominent artists throughout the Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto regions, and covers musical territory from jazz, orchestral and theatre to blues, funk and R&B. Lorenzo has many years of teaching to his credit, and has appeared on stage with international recording artists such as Jeff Healey, A.C. Reed, the Platters and Dan Aykroyd (The Blues Brothers).

Lorenzo is the newest member of Slippery Slope. His bandmates call him "the missing link" - this guy can lay down a groove like no one else. Lorenzo's rock-solid time, sensitive musicality and years of experience in funk and soul groups make him the perfect addition to this polished and funky R&B revue.

Mike Mullin - Chief horn wrangler

Mike first appeared on the Slope in August 2004 as a live sound engineer. He was really good - so we kept asking him back. After all, how many sound guys really know how to mix an R&B band with a horn section?

What he didn't initially let on is that he is also an accomplished sax player and arranger. Over time we discovered that Mike is actually a 20 year veteran of Canadian Navy and Air Force bands, is well known in the east coast music community and has played live with such artists as Dutch Mason, Martha and the Vandellas, and The Temptations... and also that he's rather modest.

Mike is Slippery Slope's horn arranger, sound engineer, occasional tenor sax player, chief critic, facilitator, problem solver and all-around good guy. We don't know if he can cook, but we bet he can and hope to find out soon.

Top of the Heap

Top of the Heap is a three piece section consisting of tenor sax, alto sax and trumpet, drawn from some of Ottawa's best talent and under the supervision of Mike Mullin. From brassy punches to blistering solos to blue moods, these guys do it all and usually get the last word. Spotted recently on the Heap:

  • Mark Bailey (trumpet)
  • Bryden Baird (trumpet)
  • Nicholas Dyson
  • Zakari Frantz (alto)
  • André Fréchette (tenor)
  • Sandy Gordon (alto, tenor)
  • Kevin Goss (tenor)
  • David Jackson (trumpet)
  • Doug Martin (alto, tenor)
  • Rick Rangno (trumpet)
  • Bill Rowat (trumpet)
  • Brent Rubeli (tenor, bari)
  • Carmelo Scaffidi (trumpet)
  • Dan Sharon (alto)
  • Brad Summerfield (tenor, bari)