The Frank Galbraith Story

Frank Galbraith, one of the most talented and loved musicians in the Cariboo, was struck down by a severe case of pneumonia last year while he was touring in the U.S.. He was rushed back home to 100 Mile House, where his condition deteriorated, and he was transfered to the hospital in Kamloops. For a week he fought valiantly for his life, but the disease quickly overpowered and killed him, stunning and shocking his family and all who knew him.

Frank was the most unselfish musician there ever was. Although he was gifted with extraordinary talent as a singer/songwriter/guitar player, the last few years he had become a bass player, taking on the role of a supporting musician. In the words of Bud Webb, "Frank spent all his time using his talents to make other musicians sound good." And he was really good at it. Everyone wanted Frank to be their bass player. When Frank was backing you up, you suddenly sounded twice as good. Frank especially enjoyed helping and encouraging kids, and more than a few young musicians owe their start to Frank Galbraith.

But all the time Frank was helping others get ahead, he was quietly writing songs, putting down tracks in the studio, and gradually getting a CD together. His death, of course, put a stop to that. But his good friend, Rob Fry, of New Age Entertainment, gathered together all of Frank's studio work he could find, and put it all together on a CD, and presented it to Frank's wife at the memorial service - a wonderfully thoughtful act to say the least.

Anyone who was fortunate enough to hear the music on that CD was immediately struck by how good it was. It was, in fact, nothing less than musical genius. Genius that should be shared with the world, and that's what the Frank Galbraith Concert is all about. Rob spent many hours and days working with Frank's rough studio cuts to produce a master of professional quality, suitable for publishing. The concert is to raise funds to reproduce 500 copies of Frank's CD, and bring Frank's music to the world.

Hopefully, future proceeds from the CD's will be of some help to his family, who had their breadwinner so cruelly taken from them.

We can't bring Frank back, and that's a sad fact, but we can help his spirit live on through his music. There are 16 songs on the CD, and every one is a masterpiece. It represents the life work of a truly outstanding musician, and truly outstanding human being, and now it will live forever.

The concert is at the Roe Lake Community Hall on Saturday, May 28th, 2005. The doors open at 6:00 P.M., and the concert starts at 7:00. Musicians from all over the province are coming to pay tribute to Frank, and be part of a concert that will be remembered for a long time. It will be a once in a lifetime experience, and will be recorded for posterity. After the concert, chairs will be cleared away, and the dancing will begin.

For $15.00, you will receive a copy of Frank's CD, as well as admission to the concert and dance. And if that's not enough, you will also have the satisfaction of knowing you helped provide a legacy for his kids, who lost their father so suddenly. So come one, come all, and be a part of an historic and memorable evening!

And a good time was had by all...

The Frank Galbraith CD release party was a roaring success. The first indication the night was going to be good was when I arrived at the hall at 3:30 to find local DJ Larry Rode helping to set up the sound equipment. He had been tirelessly promoting the event on the radio for weeks, but had said he wouldn't be able to personally attend. But here he was, large as life, and even though he said he wanted to take the night off and remain incognito, his presence alone gave the entire event more import, and energy.

We could tell there was going to be a good sized crowd when the first campers started showing up at 4:30. By 5:45 there was already a line-up of people waiting for the doors to open at 6:00. By 7:00 the hall was full. Rob Fry turned on his recording equipment, and I took the stage to begin the show.

I sang three of Frank's songs, which the people seemed to enjoy, and then Frank's 14 year old daughter, Darcy, got up and nailed her two songs, singing like an angel and doing her dad proud. Then I was able to put down my guitar, and the most stressful part of my night was behind me. Now I only had half the weight of the world on me.

Milo was the next performer, talking about Frank, and playing some original tunes. As usual, he did a great job. Rob Diether followed, treating us to some excellent banjo music. Unfortunately, the crowd was starting to get noisy, and I was asked to try and quiet them down a little so we could hear the music. Now, chastising noisy crowds is not exactly my forte, but since I was acting MC, I took the responsibility by the proverbial horns, and tried to encourage the noise makers to enjoy the lovely evening outside, so that the people who payed to hear the music could actually hear the music. The tumultuous applause that followed this announcement reassured me I had spoken for the majority, and the noise level did drop a little.

Then Bill Fowler and friends from Barriere took the stage. With a lovely lady playing a big old stand up bass and singing beautiful harmonies, Bill on mandolin, and Ron on rhythm guitar, the trio played some exceptional acoustic harmony tunes. They had a lot of class, and a lot of talent, and were enjoyed very much by all.

By the end of Bill's set the crowd had started to get a little noisy again. I tried again to say something about it, but my heart wasn't really in it. Luckily for me, the next act was Ernie Doyle, and Ernie has a big booming voice as big as the great outdoors, and he managed to get everybody's attention back to the stage. He took charge of the crowd like a real pro, and soon had everyone in the room belting out the refrain to Lucille.

Then it was intermission time. Mark McMillan agreed to take over as MC - bless him - and now I could start to relax. With all that weight off my shoulders, I had to hang on to the furniture to keep from floating away.

Mark was awesome. He was born to MC. With Mark at the helm, there was no more trouble with noisy crowds. His first order of business was to present his surprise: Frank's last radio interview from Fort Worth, Texas. Hearing Frank's soft spoken wit and sentiment in the hushed hall had more than a few people dabbing at their eyes. By the end of the interview, Frank's wife, Deb, was struggling hard to contain her emotions, and his daughter, Darcy, was a sobbing wreck.

There's only one person who could have followed something like that, and that was Bud Webb. He immediately showed why he was inducted into the B.C. Country Music Hall of Fame. With the skill of a master, he carefully segued the crowd from tears to laughter, and then proceeded to completely overwhelm them with his music. With friend Bob blowing sweet harmonica, and the lovely Lynn Shook (from Clearwater) singing backup harmonies, he sang the most beautiful version of Long Black Veil I've ever heard. He had the audience in the palm of his hand. During the soft, quiet moments of his songs, the audience was so enraptured, you could have heard a pin drop.

Bud's performance was as good as it gets, but somehow, when Matt Johnston took the stage as the last act in the concert, he managed to find a way to climb even higher. Matt took Frank's death hard, and quit playing music for a while. But he knew Frank would have wanted him to carry on, and he was finally finding the strength to do so. The first words out of his mouth were: Not a day goes by, that I don't think of my friend, Frank Galbraith. You could see his emotions start to take over, and as he struggled to say more, all he could squeak out was: I'm going to play a song for you now... He began his intro on the guitar, extending it a few moments as he regained his composure, and when he started singing, he instantly captured the hearts and souls of every person in the room. Like all great musicians, he quickly warmed to his work, and for the next half hour, the entire hall full of people was transported to a place where there were no troubles, only the pure joy of the infinite, expressed through the musical gifts and talents of Matt Johnston.

The concert over, it was time to start dancing. At this point Steve, a local guitar player with an ego the size of a small country, commandeered the stage, as he always does, and started cranking out dance music, in his own special way. The rest of the musicians soon realized that Steve was not going to give up the stage without a fight, and since no-one was in a fighting mood, we all just resigned ourselves, and let him play on until he exhausted himself, and the evening came to an end.

But the real hero of the evening (besides Frank) was someone who wasn't even there. His name is Gerry Brunelle, and he played in a three piece band with Frank for thirteen years. He loved Frank as much as anyone, and nothing was going to stop him from being a part of this event. Not even the fact that he lived four hours away in Vernon, and had to work until 4:30 on the day of the concert. He was the only one besides myself that played Frank's songs, and he was so determined to be a part of the event he was going to drive all the way up here after work. He wouldn't arrive until 8:30, missing most of the concert, and he was scheduled to sing some of Frank's songs for us at 9:00. Halfway here his truck broke down, stranding him and his family and all his equipment just north of Kamloops. His brother had to drive up from Vernon, and take them back home. So, for making the supreme effort to be here, and then being slapped by the saddest and baddest luck, I nominate Gerry as the hero of the evening. I think Frank would agree.

Frank's CD cover

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