Think you鈥檝e seen a lot of concerts? Meet Surrey鈥檚 Colin Hartridge, a walking, talking encyclopedia of rock n鈥� roll.

By his count, he鈥檚 witnessed close to 1,000 concerts in his 68 years, and has many of the ticket stubs as proof of his love for live music.

The kicker is, Hartridge is still an avid concert-goer, with two or three on his calendar every week. He also still frequently drums at jam nights around Metro Vancouver, as a blast from his past with the band Sparkling Apple.

In another music-related passion of his, he鈥檚 hosted his own from his Guildford-area townhouse for the past four years, giving listeners new themed shows every Monday on mixcloud.com.

This week鈥檚 episode, his 256th, is dubbed and features 34 songs with the word 鈥渕oon鈥� in the title, including tunes by Nat King Cole, Ozzy Osbourne, Captain Beefheart, John Mellencamp and others.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just something I like to do, for fun,鈥� Hartridge said. 鈥淥n Mixcloud, there鈥檚 a listener count for each show, but I have no idea where they鈥檙e listening from unless they 鈥榝avourite鈥� or repost the show,鈥� he added. 鈥淚f they do that, I can see that Captain Maniac Show friends have tuned in from Greece or South Africa, or France or England or wherever.鈥�

Hartridge, a retired graphic designer who still creates posters for buddies in bands, moved to Surrey with his family when he was six years old, and has lived in the city ever since.

He started playing drums at age 16, a couple years after he saw The Beatles play Empire Stadium in Vancouver. The landmark show, in 1964, was his first as a concert-goer.

鈥淚鈥檇 seen The Beatles on TV, Ed Sullivan鈥檚 show, and of course I saw Ringo and said, 鈥榃ell, I can do that!鈥欌�� Hartridge recalled with a laugh. 鈥淚鈥檇 always be tapping on window sills with my mom鈥檚 knitting needles and my dad finally said, 鈥榊ou should take drum lessons.鈥欌�� I took lessons for about six months (at a place in Vancouver), but they were more interested in Latin rhythms, sambas and all that, but I just wanted to play rock 鈥榥鈥� roll. So I sort of ended up teaching myself just by listening to records and playing along to those.鈥�

As a teen in the late 1960s, Hartridge saw concerts by several iconic rock bands that travelled through Vancouver, including Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Led Zeppelin and more.

Hartridge has a sharp memory for details of those performances.

鈥淭he best concert I ever went to was the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and that was 鈥�68 at the Pacific Coliseum, and they had about three other bands on before him 鈥� Eire Apparent, Soft Machine and Vanilla Fudge, so by the time Hendrix came on, it was about midnight,鈥� he recalled.

鈥淪o he came on and said to the crowd, 鈥業鈥檝e got a cold,鈥� but he still played like nobody鈥檚 business. I remember that his grandmother was in the audience, because she lived not too far away from there, in Strathcona, around there. So when he did 鈥楩oxy Lady,鈥� he dedicated it to her.鈥�

Earlier that year, the Coliseum also played host to Cream, with Eric Clapton on guitar, Jack Bruce on bass and Ginger Baker on drums.

鈥淚 remember them playing only six songs, but of course each song was at least 10 minutes long,鈥� Hartridge said. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 do a framework of the song and then they鈥檇 jam 鈥� 鈥楽unshine of Your Love鈥� with extended solos that went on for years.鈥�

Back then, he鈥檇 attend a lot of concerts 鈥渂ecause they were events you just had to go to,鈥� he explained.

鈥淏y today鈥檚 standards it was cheap 鈥� I saw Led Zeppelin for $5, so I guess that鈥檇 be like $50 today, or something. And back then we didn鈥檛 have any digital distractions, and we didn鈥檛 spend a lot of time watching TV, so we went to concerts. You know, 鈥楾hin Lizzy鈥檚 in town, let鈥檚 go see 鈥榚m.鈥� One time it was T. Rex and the opening band was Blue Oyster Cult, who we really liked back then, so we went and couldn鈥檛 stand T. Rex, so we left after a couple songs.鈥�

The band Hartridge has seen most often in concert is Blue Oyster Cult 鈥� probably 10 times, he said.

鈥淚 know they鈥檙e coming here in the summer, to that , but I鈥檓 pretty sure it鈥檚 not all the original guys. So I鈥檒l probably go see that. And a band like Zeppelin, every time they came to town we鈥檇 go see 鈥榚m, just because it was Zeppelin. They were here in 鈥�68 for the first time, and a bunch of times after that. I saw them all, I think.鈥�

Not surprisingly, the music of many of the bands Hartridge has seen in concert is played on his Captain Maniac show.

Out of the gate, his very first episode was called a two-hour collection of songs recorded by Jet, Rose Tattoo, The Cult, The Sex Pistols, Big Sugar and others.

The weekly series is 鈥渄evoted to the music *I* want to play 鈥� not what I鈥檓 TOLD to play, but what *I* want to play, with the emphasis on loud and proud rock and roll!鈥� Hartridge wrote in an introduction.

to visit 鈥淭he Captain Maniac Show鈥� page on Facebook.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of , launched in 1969, just after Hartridge had graduated from high school.

鈥淚t started off as the Plastic Rat Blues Band, and we had one guy leave so we wanted to change the name to something else,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淲e had a bottle of cider in front of us, and that was it, OK. It stuck.鈥�

For Sparkling Apple, a final gig is in the works for later this year.

鈥淲e haven鈥檛 played for a while because Art has sciatica, and I have problems with my eyes (I had a torn retina),鈥� Hartridge explained.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to happen, possibly at Donegal鈥檚 (in Surrey) but not until after summer, probably in the fall. I don鈥檛 see us playing beyond that show.鈥�

to read Sparkling Apple鈥檚 鈥淩oad Stories,鈥� written by Hartridge.

Last Saturday night (April 13), in another of his concert-going experiences, Hartridge helped celebrate the 70th birthday of Doni Underhill, the former Trooper bass player, at in Guildford. The night included a four-song reunion performance by singer Ra McGuire, guitar player Brian Smith, drummer Tommy Stewart and Underhill on bass 鈥� the band鈥檚 鈥渃lassic鈥� edition, minus keyboardist Frank Ludwig. They played the classic cuts 鈥淲e鈥檙e Here for a Good Time,鈥� 鈥�3 Dressed as a 9,鈥� 鈥淭he Boys in the Bright White Sports Car鈥� and 鈥淩aise a Little Hell.鈥�

Early Sunday, Hartridge posted on Facebook: 鈥淲asn鈥檛 that a party?鈥�

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tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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