photos courtesy of Deb Doucette In 1995, Jed Rached had a dream. He wanted to put together a band, but not any band. He envisioned a big hall filled with horns, keys, flaming guitars, and ear-rattling percussion. Sitting quietly onstage with a couple of sidemen wailing the same old blues tunes over and over just wasn't his style. Jed Rached wasn't just a blues guy. He was a showman . He talked his idea over with a friend who worked at a local arts newspaper, The Xpress, who listened seriously. "All you have to do is arranged the gig," the friend said. "The musicians will follow." So Jed set a date and called up a couple of well known bands, The Hammerheads and the Black Boot Trio. They agreed to let Jed and his band, Rocket Rached and the Fat City Four, warm up for them. It was all arranged. Trouble was, the band in his head had never played in front of an audience before. So he called in a favour at Barrymore's , Ottawa's legendary ...
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