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Early Stuff:
Pastime was born in Toronto, Canada in 1963 as The Ardels. The original four members changed a few times in the first couple of years producing the final Ardels lineup. You can learn more about The Ardels at the Canadian Pop Encyclopedia and at Garage Hangover.
The Ardels performed primarily around Southern Ontario for several years, working with groups like David Clayton Thomas and the Bossmen (later the Shays - still later Blood, Sweat and Tears), Little Caesar and the Consuls (Jimmy's brother Ken was the original guitar player in this seminal Canadian band), Richie Knight and the MidKnights, Robbie Lane and the Disciples - all part of that first Golden Age of Canadian Pop.
Over the years The Ardels produced a few regional and local hit records, primarily for Cancut Records (see a little background here). The best-known of these A Piece of Jewellry continues to be available on a compilation called Garage Punk Unknowns. You can buy the compilation - but it's not a great idea because the producer has never paid a dime in royalties to Doug, who wrote the song - or you can go to the audo page and listen to streaming audio or download the mp3, all free.
Want to know more about that first great age of Canadian Pop music and the artists who contributed? Go to The Canadian Pop Encyclopedia or Canadian Bands..
Say "Howdy" to Pastime
In 1988 four of the Ardels re-formed as Pastime (thanks to Jimmy's wife, Mary, for the name) and, after a year in Doug's Basement getting a few of their chops back, started looking for both management and actual paying jobs.
Pastime was fortunate to find representation almost immediately with Bert Tyralla. Bert was one of the first Pop entrepreneurs in Canada from that fabled Golden Age and had run the famous Met Dances featuring virtually every Canadian Pop act from the '60's and '70's.
With Bert's able representation (and that of Paul Coulter of Colt Enterprises who booked large corporate events), Pastime rapidly became one of the busiest nostalgia groups in Canada, working regularly hundreds of nights a year in large and small venues and producing tracks to a compilation CD: The Gen X Sessions and a couple of albums: Coming Back To Getcha and Not Dead Yet.
As Russ and Fred had decided to retire Pastime performed together for the last time on December 31, 1999 at "The Last DooDah" - see some video from that event on the video page.. Doug and Jimmy, joined by Jim's son Mike on drums and good friend Ron Baumber on bass, continued for a few more years as Pastime 2000 before disbanding.
Russ, Jim and Fred no longer perform (except in front of their mirrors) but Doug is presently the lead singer with Replay a terrific cover band comprised of top '60s musicians Dave Konvalinka, Doug Wright, Shelley Miller and Leigh Robinson. Visit their site for bios, music samples and upcoming gigs.
Jimmy and Doug continue to reside in Mississauga, Ontario while Russ divides his time between Manitoba and Mexico and Fred lives in the interior of British Columbia.
Pastime was:
Russ Crerar - Drums
Doug Dixon - Keyboards
Fred Masson - Bass
Jim Pernokis - Guitar
You can hear tons of Ardels and Pastime music on the audio page and see streaming video courtesy of YouTube on the video page.
Or, if you're in a hurry, click here to hear Crying.
Pastime downloadable songs and streaming video are also available on over twenty other great sites around the Web. You can get a full listing of these sites on either the audio or video page. If you come across any Ardels or Pastime material on other sites please send us an email and let us know.
The CD done got won!
The last unopened CD copy of The Gen X Sessions One has been WON
featuring Pastime and five other great groups. 18 tracks in all. Click here for all the info and some streaming audio samples and to find out about the next freebie.
Thanks for visiting the site. Look around and download as many songs as your earballs can hold.
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