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By NAOMI ZWOLINSKI
Staff Writer

It all started a few years back at my then habitual hang out place, The Orbit Room. It was a cold Thursday night in December and I was sitting down with a few friends sipping on my libation when the Thursday night band came out called Planet Earth. They were phenomenal!!

As I became more and more enthralled with Planet Earth and their incredible sound, I noticed a pattern in the nights that I would venture out. The bar would start out with the usual suspects then gradually as people started to trickle in, the crowd would thicken. Each song was better than the one before it and it got to a point where you couldn't even see the band for the wall of people dancing and getting their grove on. Standing room only was the regular sight for the Thursday night crowd at The Orbit Room. These guys belted out some original stuff as well as some cover tunes and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. From then on they had a loyal following of hundreds of people form all walks of life and all age groups. It had been a couple of years since I had seen these guys, but Friday August 20th I was fortunate enough to get out to the Silver Dollar Room to hear my long lost favourites once again. The time that had passed had made them even better, and their new licks were very funkadelic indeed!!

There I saw their loyal following had not faltered but multiplied ten fold. The characteristics were the same in that the age range varied, however, there may have been more women at the front ogling the guys. Their talent certainly had changed though ... they were BETTER!!! Their second CD lent itself to a whole new cauldron of songs and man, do these guys have stage presence. What showmanship and class. Although young, very much veterans of the stage. Nathaniel handles the crowd like a pro.

The band consists of singer Nathaniel Littlejohn (the artist formerly known as Ron) who, if you closed your eyes, you'd swear you were back in the throws of an authentic blues/funk bar in the days of Curtis Mayfield and Ray Charles. He's a young man with a big voice and he can belt them out like no one I have heard before ... well, except for Walter Zwol!!! His knowledge and incredible talent goes beyond his years ...

Glenn Olive, the bassist and sweetheart extraordinaire ... and the man who named me "Little Zwol". For those of you old enough to remember the band The Arrows, Glenn was one of the founding members. Glenn's bass riffs are like none other.

Dylan Heming, the Hammond B3 organ player, writer, compose and most recently, the recipient of a Juno award for Recording Engineer of the Year for his work on Holly Cole's CD "Shade". Dylan's a sight to behold, easy on the eyes AND talented - what a combo!!

Ben Riley, the drummer that very essence stems from music. His father is Doug Riles is a world-renowned keyboard player, composer, and arranger who is one of Canada's very own and has been a leader of the musical community since the early '60's. Ben, has played with such Canadian greats as Holly Cole and Bruce Cockburn but has a musical background that is much more vast than what you would imagine for such a young man. For those not keen on long drawn out solos, you'd be pretty impressed at how captivating Ben's solos are.

The latest addition to Planet Earth, Jake Langley, the band's guitarist, is gaining quite the following across Canada.

On Friday night, there were 2 sax players and a trombone player on the bill as well. Gord Meyers on the trombone, David French on alto sax and Kenny Kirkwood on baritone sax, who also plays with Jacksoul and Gord Downey of the Tragically Hip. Kenny can also be found at www.kennykirkwood.com

The night provided sounds of original tunes from both of their CD's as well as their fun but very hot rendition of the theme song from Sanford & Son. And who could forget the ever popular Rob Base and DJ Easy ROCK'S Sunshine and Rain!! These and many others were resonating from the halls of the Silver Dollar that night. It was a pleasurable evening of good tunes, and great talent. Each member contributes a seasoned variety of musical history and their incredible stage presence is a treat on the eyes as well. These men are ... Planet Earth, so do check them out at www.planetearthfunk.com