Lloyd
Shingoose, Doug MacFarlane, Terry Broste, Denis Thievin
Bill
Kolter
The
Downbeats
AKA: The
Canadian
Downbeats
Vancouver,
British Columbia
1968
- 1971
Members
Terry
Broste ~ Bass, Vocals
Murray
Flotre ~ Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Bill
Kolter ~ Vocals
Fred
Krammer ~ Drums
Doug
MacFarlane ~ Drums
Terry
Milton ~ Saxophone
Innes
Munro ~ Drums
George
Patterson ~ Keyboards
Mike
Ring ~ Drums
Lloyd
Shingoose ~ Lead Guitar, Vocals
Doug
Soeder ~ Keyboards, Vocals
Denis
Thievin ~ Keyboards, Vocals
In
Memory of
Terry
Broste
Mike
Ring
Lloyd
Shingoose
Innes
Munro
"We were
originally from the Canadian prairies, but we worked a lot in the
Pacific
Northwest. Some places I recall were Seaside and Portland in Oregon,
and
Aberdeen and Tri-Cities in Washington. Hey, all that really mattered
was
hot chicks and good times – and there were many.
We probably
thought
we'd live forever. We also thought we were a pretty hot band. Both
ideas,
of course, were complete bullshit. I remember seeing Burgundy
Express
in Hawaii, and they were incredible. The precise Downbeats group
as pictured above, with our faggy coifs and matching uniforms, were
together
for about three years – a near record. And like many of the musicians
appearing
on this site, not all of us are still around to talk about those
days.
Terry Broste was killed tragically in a small plane crash in the mid
'70s.
Lloyd Shingoose died of complications of colon cancer in 2001.
Bill
Kolter lives in Penticton, BC. Doug MacFarlane is in
Winnipeg.
I'm on Quadra Island on the Canadian west coast.
In retrospect,
the
entire era of early North American bandhood was a life beyond belief.
Oh,
but to return! Of course the beautiful young women have matured
with
the rest of us. The clubs are all gone or they've changed faces and
names
so many times that we can't find them. Most of us still have home
libraries
stocked with Chicago, Bread, Tower, Sly, and the like – all tunes that
could actually be hummed, unlike many of the tunes today.
And while we
might
look very different today, we still know stuff that a lot of other
people
do not."
Denis
Thievin,
April 2006, July 2010
In a recent note
to
Sammy the Web Slave, Denis writes: "I'm sure you hear this all
the
time, but it's amazing the number of people who've found members of our
group through the PNB site. I hear from them fairly
regularly.
So thanks a million for that."
Denis
Thievin,
November 2007
Web Slave's
Reply:
Yes, Denis. I hear it quite a bit and those words about old
friend
finding old friends through this website makes all this work worth the
effort and time expended on this project. Thank you, Denis.
Now that we are
getting
all the old band members back together, we need to start rocking the NW
again as we did so many years ago.
Sammy
Carlson,
PNWBands Web Slave and The Regents (Tacoma),
Thanksgiving
Day, Bagram, Afghanistan, 2007
I played in The
Canadian
Downbeats just before Denis. He and Doug MacFarlane replaced Doug
Soeder and Mike Ring, respectively. I played rhythm guitar.
Attached is a photo of the group when I was with them.
You have a
great
website for musicians and fans looking for their groups. Keep up
the good work.
Murray
Flotre
MD, February 2008
Photo
provided courtesy of Archie Hodgins
Photo
provided courtesy of Archie Hodgins
Photo
provided courtesy of Archie Hodgins and Denis Thievin
The
above white Mustang belonged to Doug. Photo provided
courtesy
of Archie Hodgins
If
you have corrections, a neat photo or more information, please send it
to:
Last
Update: 19 June 2019
Credits:
Denis Thievin, Murray Floatre, Archie Hodgins, Fred Krammer
Band
#
1942