Blog

Every few years, The Essentials make their way back to the place where it all began, the parking lot of the Merla Mae ice cream shop in London, ON.

In the beginning, the group would sing a few songs for the line-up of patrons in front of the store in exchange for some delicious ice cream.

It quickly grew into a regular gig for the group and The Essentials became a household name to Londoners.

This past weekend, we made our way back to London to perform an outdoor show in the Merla Mae parking lot.

Although it may have been Jo3 and Dan's umpteenth time singing there, it was my very first Merla Mae show.

I could just feel the history in the atmosphere around me; it was a great feeling to be part of a group that has such dedicated fans. I was welcomed in with open arms - like I was part of the family.

It turned out to be quite an eventful night. We shot a live music video for 'Free Ride', one of the tunes off our new album Nothing But Blue. We also had two very special guests join us up on stage for a few tunes, former group members, Joon Nah and Bob Van Gieson.

But for me, the 'cherry on top' of the whole Merla Mae experience was being honoured with my very own ice cream sundae flavour!

That right folks...you can now walk into Merla Mae and order the 'Janet Sundae'!

It's actually quite delicious, if I may say so myself. We even get our own section on the wall dedicated to our sundaes!

This may be old news for the other guys (since they've been a Merla Mae sundae flavour for a few years now), but I was quite excited to be 'inducted' into The Essentials' wall of sundaes!

I think it's pretty 'sweet' to see my face up on the wall with a picture of a fancy sundae below it.

If you're curious, the 'Janet Sundae' consists of the following ingredients: vanilla ice cream, hot caramel, fresh strawberries, peaches, and homemade cinnamon crumble topping. Mmmmmm!

Now onto a few other 'cool' items...

We are gearing up for the CNE again this year, which starts today and runs until Monday, September 6th!

If you're in the Toronto area, you've likely already heard our CNE jingle on the radio, but you can also hear it in person if you come by and see us at the EX!

We will be performing on the Variety Stage (near the Food Building) at 2pm and 5pm daily. You may even catch us singing a few tunes on the CNE Express Train. Hope to see you there!

We have also been invited to perform on Breakfast Television (CityTV Toronto) this coming Monday August 23rd. Be sure to set your PVR's from 6am-9am so that you don't miss us when you press that snooze button! :)

Since I had the pleasure of spending some time with Joon & Bob prior to the Merla Mae show, I thought it would be fun to ask them a few questions for this month's Q & A.

Q: What is your favourite memory from performing at Merla Mae?

Joon: The very first time I ever got paid to sing in public. It was very exciting! $20 each and free ice cream.

Bob: Our first performance as "The Essentials", actually, we were unnamed at that point. We had just reformed the band after a split with our former bandmates (The Humdingers), and I remember being excited and nervous, but very happy to be back doing what we all enjoyed. It was nerve-wracking because it was the group's first time singing together in public and there was a lot of expectation from the "regulars" that were used to seeing the old band. On a personal note, it was also my first time being the front man for the group, but we got through it and it led to so many amazing experiences from there.

Q: What do you miss most about being in The Essentials?

Joon: I miss the inside jokes and laughter. My new band is nowhere near as funny!

Bob: I miss being in the studio and the whole recording process. I enjoyed learning new material and listening to it all come together. Even to this day, when I hear an Essentials song, it reminds me of being in the studio and everything that went into making the record. I feel very lucky to have been part of such a great group of performers.