Page 36 - RSCDS Toronto Golden Jubilee Book

Music Makers
up a big argument. When the organiz- ers eventually paid Angus in cash, he was so angry that he threw the money back at them. We band members swal- lowed our pride and went on hands and knees to gather our pay.
Fred Moyes
Fred Moyes has played for many SCD events in the Toronto region. In 2006, he was the first musician to play for
the annual Youth Ball and his music and personality energized the young dancers – most of whom had never before experienced the magic of live music. After the ball, Rhodes LoVecchio and Gavin Keachey, from the Rosedale Children’s SCD Group, went up to Fred to shake his hand and say "Thanks
for the great music!" Fred was rather touched by this, because Fred is a "peo- ple person" and he cares passionately about his music.
Born in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, he listened to Scottish Country Dance music on BBC Radio Saturday evenings as a child. His family danced in the kitchen to recordings on 78s of Jimmy Shand and Bobby MacLeod. At age
ten Fred bought a little accordion for ten pounds. At fifteen, he was playing in a local dance band. After two years of National Service in the Royal Air Force, Fred switched to piano, which made it easier to find gigs. Soon, Fred had his own band and they played venues around Perthshire and as far afield as Glasgow. He kept this band together throughout his four years at Jordanhill College. It was there, in 1958, he became a Full Certificate teacher of Scottish Country Dancing. He’s proud to claim Miss Milligan as his examiner.
Fred’s chosen career was to be a col- lege lecturer. From 1959 to 1969, he taught a variety of stints in Scotland, Nigeria, and England. In Nigeria, while teaching at Ahmadu Bello University, Fred formed a dance band trio of fac- ulty members, often playing for dances at the Faculty Club. While in England, at Bedford College, he played piano in a local pub and occasionally at a late- night casino.
In 1969, Fred moved to Canada to join the faculties of Social Sciences and, later, Medical Sciences at McMaster University, Hamilton. For the first year in his new country, Fred played little, but in 1970 he began playing piano in the Airforce Club in Dundas. The follow- ing year he engaged a singer, another Scot, and formed an entertainment duo known as The Singalongs. With this for- mat, Fred played for dances, weddings, etc., which gave him chances to offer a
wide variety of the musical genres he loves.
In 1976, after watching a particu-
larly brutal hockey game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Fred wrote a satirical song about violence in hockey. The CBC broadcast his recording of the song and invited him to write more. A challenge to write a song about John Turner’s res- ignation from the Trudeau government resulted in a contract to write a weekly satirical song lampooning current events, especially governments, at all levels. National exposure led to guest appearances on radio and TV -- and an invitation to be the resident bard and musical wit of the Stephen Lewis NDP provincial election campaign.
In the mid-1980s, Fred won the Scots Magazine Song Contest. His winning entry, The One and Only Scots Magazine, was recorded by well-known Scottish folk singer Alasdair Macdonald.
In 1989, Fred retired from McMaster University and made a dramatic switch in vocation and musical focus. After
a few years of dedicated practice, he launched himself on a new musical career playing Scottish Country Dance music. He has played for SCD events
in many parts of Canada, the United States, Scotland, and Japan. Fred is well- loved in Japan – he’s been there five times! Some of his compositions reflect the Japanese connection. His current CD, "What You Hear Is What You Get", includes Yamoto Hornpipe and Trilliums
Fred Moyes
& Cherry Blossoms. (A second CD is in
the works.) Maintaining his connections with teaching and Scotland, Fred regu- larly plays at the RSCDS Summer School at St. Andrews.
As Fred says: a life of great variety, but one with an unbroken musical thread.
Bobby Brown and Angus MacKinnon
Perhaps the best(?) adventure with Angus was the weekend we played the Kitchener Ball Friday night until 1:30 a.m., immediately packing the equip- ment and driving to New York City to play the Saturday Ball for the Jeannie Carmichael Weekend, where Miss Milligan was teaching. Imagine six guys in a station wagon towing a trailer full of equipment. We took turns – driver and conversation partner in the front seat, three guys lying parallel length- wise behind the front seat, and me, the smallest, lying cross-wise at the back end.
That Saturday night, we decided the equipment would be safer left in the hall overnight. As we were packing
up Sunday morning before the class, Jimmy Darge surveyed the stage and saw a lovely bouquet of flowers, appar- ently unwanted. Just as he brought them out to the car, Miss Milligan arrived. Seeing Jimmy, she called out, "Young man, those are my flowers," whereupon Jimmy quickly held them out to her saying, "I was just bringing them to you, Miss Milligan".
Angus put the band on a plane to fly home. He stayed Sunday night with his sister in New York. That night the sound equipment was stolen from his trailer.
In 1972, I formed my own band – The Scotians. [For that story, see the article about Don Bartlett.[
35