(Paul) We have completed work on our new album, which, after endless bickering, we’ve decided to call “Porkbelly Futures.” After ourselves, you see, it’s no mere coincidence. We are now in the final stages, pressing copies and printing covers, and everything should be ready to go in a couple of months.
In the meantime, we are playing a couple of very interesting gigs. One is at the Black Swan (154 Danforth, just east of Broadview) on Friday, August 17th. Loyal Porkbelly fans know that the band started there, lo those many years ago, playing the blues and knocking our instruments off the stage. Well, much has changed. Our music is no longer as bluesy, though I expect we will still knock much equipment off the stage. We intend to play two sets of our own music, north country blues, and then perhaps we’ll reprise some of that muddy Mississippi and shuffling Chicago stuff. It should be grand fun.
The following week, on Saturday the 25th, we will be playing in the woods. It’s true. Our management seems to be upset about a small bit of pilfering, anyway, they have booked us into the Haliburton Forest. They say we will be playing upon a floating stage. (We say, let’s see the stage first.) Anyway, for more information, check out this link.

A Porkbelly song that’s been getting a great response lately is Sweet Daddy, written by Paul Quarrington and Dave Gray. It’s about Sweet Daddy Siki (a.k.a. “Mr. Irresistible”) a flamboyant black Texan with flaxen, silvery white hair who became a wrestling legend in Canada in the 50’s and 60’s. Our song tells the story of Sweet Daddy's rise from "bad guy" to the super star that all the bad guys had to fear. Sweet Daddy also has some music in him, penning a honky-tonk number to accompany his famous Siki Strut. He said “the tune drives the women nuts when I enter the ring." Paul and David wanted to create a song that paid homage to a man who was a part of their childhood.
Reginald (for that is his real name) still lives in Toronto and can be found overseeing karaoke events on Saturday afternoons at The Duke of York tavern at Queen and Leslie. We leave you with the words of a champ:
"A lot of people try to copy me, but there's only one Niagara Falls and only one Mona Lisa. And there's only one Mr. Irresistible -- Sweet Daddy Siki."

August is a month that produces good memories. We did our first show for the Edmonton Folk Festival in August last year, and CBC’s Saturday Night Blues was there to record our main set. Teddy Leonard celebrated his birthday by performing with us on guitar. Paul was a popular media interview subject and the band was photographed with The Canadian Guitar (made from pieces of historic wood from across the country). Porkbelly also performed workshop sets, with both Amos Garrett and Susan Tedeschi accepting invitations to sit in. A mammoth party was planned for the last night of the festival, with the great African band Salif Keita and Amos Garrett's group providing the music. Stuart sat in on harmonica with Amos when Rusty Reed was indisposed. The party went on a long, long time.