I had the privilege of meeting Roly on a number of occasions and he was friendly as well as talented. I'll miss him greatly.
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Sonny Bernardi (Crowbar)
Yes indeed, Roly was one of a kind. I first met and saw Roly performing with the Ascots at the Concord Tavern ( presently the home of Toronto's largest Long and McQuade outlet) I was 13 or 14 working for my parents in the cloakroom, hanging up customers coats and glued to the band every moment I could.
Roly and Rheal were together back then and what a performer Roly was. I recall during our recent "Storm the Munk" visit where we converged on him at his home in Guelph and took him from a painful afternoon to a barrage of laughs, jokes and great memories that we had all shared over the years together. We knew he was declining and was awaiting placement in one of two local hospice locations, so along with some now legal influences and some toasting with some well aged double malt scotch, we proceeded to redirect his pains and finished with an early birthday celebration because we were unsure as to what visiting restrictions might be in place at the hospice, so we gave Roly a well deserved send off.
He bravely fought a long battle and chose to face up to the obvious results of declining any further treatments. We are so glad we made the visit and we know he felt the love.
Thankfully the suffering has now stopped for him.
Roly came to see Mo Kauffey and I at one of our many shows at the Wooly in Guelph several years back. We had met a few times, but he still kinda freaked me out because he was like royalty to me. When on our break, Roly treated me like an old friend and gave me some extremely kind words (which I will not share) that meant so much to me.
My deepest condolences to his dear ones.
Dianne Fontaine (ex-Trailblazers)
I had the pleasure of working with Roly years ago. He was a brilliant writer, player and always had a fresh idea. You are loved and will be missed.
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I had the extreme pleasure of playing with Roly in a short lived band called Next. He also co wrote a great song called Fancy Nancy which I recorded on Hellfields debut album. A true pro. A true friend. RIP.
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