Tony Strudwick

Eventually, in 1976, my wife, children and I moved to Kamloops where we still all live today. It wasn’t long before I was back into the music scene. In August, 1978 I was asked to join the popular Kamloops band Country Odyssey when their former drummer retired. The band members were singer and songwriter Roly Quest, lead guitarist Ken Leblanc and bass guitarist, Dawayne MacKenzie. Country Odyssey played not only in Kamloops and the surrounding area but also throughout the B.C. Interior for rodeos, banquets, dances, etc. We were approached by the Kamloops City Council to write a song about Kamloops. Thus the tune, Kamloops City was born. It was recorded in September, 1979. The song was quite popular and was played during the second intermission of the Kamloops Blazers WHL team hockey games for nearly five years. Much to the band’s surprise “Kamloops City” was also the #1 hit song in Hiawatha, Kansas for 3 months in 1980. Shortly after that I had to stop playing drums for several years due to a severe back problem and several ensuing back surgeries. Eventually, my love of music won out again and this time I joined the “World Famous Kamloops Rube Band” as ... more...