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Kelly “Mr. Chill” Hoppe is well-known throughout Canada and beyond as the multi-instrumentalist in rock recording/touring act BIG SUGAR. He was a member in guitarist Gordie Johnson’s outfit from 1994 until the band’s last show, New Year’s Eve 2003. Mr. Chill appeared on 6 CDs while with BIG SUGAR, and the band played hundreds of shows across North America and Europe. They shared stages with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Blues Traveler, The Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule, and Sinead O’Connor, just to name a few – besides headlining their own tours over the years. Several CDs went Canadian certified gold and platinum, and the band garnered three Juno nominations as well. Mr. Chill's musical prowess has caught the attention of others in the recording industry. His session work credits include a guest appearance on saxophone for Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson's 2002 solo release “New Earth Mud”, while his harmonica can be heard on The Trews’ 2005 release “Den Of Thieves”. What Hoppe is not as well known for, but is just as important to his development as a musician, is his career before BIG SUGAR. Starting out professionally on the harmonica, he appeared on local (Windsor ON) TV shows playing bluegrass/country songs on Canada’s public broadcaster, CBC. This led to an appearance on the long-running, highly popular “Tommy Hunter Show”, Canada’s national country music television showcase. Within a short period of time, Hoppe formed his first band, The Dougalls, which played an amalgam of blues, rockabilly, and in general, what is now today known as ‘roots’ music. While still developing his own sound on the harmonica, he added tenor saxophone and lead vocals. Quitting his day job as a film editor, he then formed a touring blues band, The Windsor Dukes, where he first teamed up with Gordie Johnson, his guitarist in The Dukes’ original lineup. After Johnson’s departure to Toronto, Mr. Chill continued fronting The Dukes and opened Fanny’s Starlight Lounge, a venue in Windsor that featured touring blues recording acts from around the world. Johnson’s BIG SUGAR would play there several times. Not long after The Dukes’ demise in late 1993, Hoppe accepted Johnson’s long-standing invitation to join BIG SUGAR. Starting in 1998, Mr. Chill, as Hoppe was now known to BIG SUGAR fans, would sit in with longtime friends Greg Cox and Josh Zalev in their bluegrass/country/roots trio TRAIN 45 when not on the road with BIG SUGAR. This rekindled in him his joy in performing this music. After BIG SUGAR decided to call it quits in 2004, Hoppe hatched the plan that led him to form his present band. MR. CHILL’S COLD TESTAMENT represents a good glimpse into his long, sometimes circuitous musical journey. The listener can easily trace Mr. Chill’s influences from song to song, from blues to bluegrass, rock ‘n’ roll to country. Though seemingly disparate at first blush, the songs are really of a set piece, one man’s honest expression of words and music, the only way he knows how. Back to Top>>
Guitarist Greg Cox and Mr. Chill have been musical compadres for years, stretching back to Greg’s stint as his bass player in the Windsor Dukes. In the early 1990’s Cox and Mr. Chill worked off and on as an acoustic duo, where Cox got to showcase his formidable talent as a fingerpicker. He had ‘woodshedded’ the recordings of such giants as Blind Blake, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James et al and provided a perfect foil for Mr. Chill’s harmonica on stage, where they did a lotta ‘whoopin’ and a-hollerin’ blues. Over the intervening years, Cox honed and expanded his acoustic guitar technique encompassing many different styles. In 1997, he founded TRAIN 45 along with Josh Zalev and mandolin wunderkind Marc Roy. This bluegrass, newgrass, country, funk trio wowed audiences with their instrumental pyrotechnics, musical sense of humour and downright irreverence for musical boundaries. He has added the Fender Telecaster to his guitar arsenal and can be heard rippin’ it up to glorious effect on MR. CHILL’S COLD TESTAMENT. He also made valuable contributions to the songwriting on the CD, including the haunting bluegrass-tinged number, “Weeping Willows”. Back to Top>>
Bass player Josh Zalev, like Greg Cox, has a long musical history with Mr. Chill, subbing in on bass for The Dougalls and The Windsor Dukes. Josh has developed into a highly sought-after performer in just about any idiom, including jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass and gospel. Gospel, as in Sunday-mornin’-in-the-church-house-band gospel, don’cha know. A long time cohort of guitarist Greg Cox, they formed TRAIN 45 in 1997 with teenage mandolin sensation Marc Roy. TRAIN 45 released their eponymously titled debut in 2002. Possessing a sense of humour on stage not far from the tradition of bluegrass/country pranksters, Josh has an endless supply of quips , ready to shoot from the lip. He graces MR. CHILL’S COLD TESTAMENT not only with his terrific bass playing, but fine harmony vocals and one well-placed exhortation. Back to Top>>
Drummer Luke Pelotte came highly recommended to The Witnesses from fellow drummer Bradford Helner, who, along with Pelotte, also appears on MR. CHILL’S COLD TESTAMENT. Coming from self-described ‘prog rockers’ THEORY OF EVERYTHING, Luke, at first glance, might make an odd choice for the job. Turns out, though, Luke’s first professional gig was playing in his dad’s country band at the age of 16. This would explain his ability to differentiate between Ferlin Husky and Pink Floyd. Not only tall (6’8”) in stature, he filled the tall order of recording the remaining tracks for the CD only minutes after being introduced to his future bandmates. Co-producers Gordie Johnson and Patrick Ballantyne were duly impressed with Luke’s solid, no-nonsense approach to the songs. He is now a proud, fulltime ’witness’ for the prosecution.
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