Taproom at Bayview Corner, 5603 Bayview Road, Langley —
Michele D’Amour and the Love Dealers are a Seattle-based band that currently has three nominations from the Washington Blues Society: best songwriter, best album, and best bass. The band has released three albums to international airplay and is fun, funky, and danceable.
Michele D’Amour is a born storyteller and award-winning songwriter who penned her first song at the age of six and became a published poet in her early twenties. Her lyrics treat difficult topics with a sense of soulful whimsy and wry humor. Michele sang in her church choir, wrote songs, and sang lead for some local bands before honing her craft at several of the blues jams in the Seattle area.
Patrick McDanel, also from Seattle, has been with the band since its inception. He plays bass and sings backing vocals. McDanel started on piano at five; then played trombone professionally for several years until needing to stop due to an injury. Patrick is a veteran of the national music scene, having played with notable bands and acts as either a regular player or fill-in.
Ronnie Bishop is a highly sought-after drummer who began learning his way around a kit at the age of 10. Bishop moved to the Seattle area in 1990, and soon became a fixture on the local musical scene, playing for jazz artists such as Korla Weigel and for stage productions such as Black Stage Views’ Ain’t Misbehavin’.
Born and raised in Iowa, Jeff Cornell began playing guitar at 12 while housebound with chicken pox. Jeff saw a Van Halen video on MTV, found his dad’s old acoustic, and started learning to play. While studying with Craig Erickson in Iowa, Jeff listened to Clapton, Page, Hendrix, and Beck as well as Son House, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and Buddy Guy, who remain his influences today.
