Let’s meet the band - Kevin, Bob, Steve, David, Colleen, Judy, and Geoff. Not quite the same ring as John, Paul, George and Ringo, but together these seven musicians make the Unison Kerby Centre come alive every Wednesday afternoon.
They arrive with instruments in tow, and as they begin their soundcheck, people start strapping on their dancing shoes. They call themselves The Kerby Sensations - Unison’s very own house band. For decades, they’ve been serenading the Unison Kerby Centre, bringing rhythm and joy to the weekly social scene. “As far as we know, we’ve been around for 30 years. I’m not really sure,” laughs bandleader and vocalist Kevin O’Connor, who joined the group in 2019. Kevin is the one who carefully selects songs for their weekly sets, keeping the dancers in mind at all times. “I believe you have to keep the music flowing,” he says. “It’s absolutely gratifying. When you play music for people to dance to, you know when you’re getting it right. No one’s going to dance to music they’re not enjoying.”
It’s a labour of love for the entire group, made up entirely of volunteers. Take clarinetist Bob Betty, for example. Bob is a retired chemical engineer who picked up his instrument again about 20 years ago. “I’ve been playing in bands longer than I worked,” he jokes. Bob credits Kevin with put- ting on a great show, and says it’s the camaraderie that keeps them coming back week after week.
Pianist Steve Angyalfi, a retired oncologist, has been playing with the band for four years. He started taking piano les- sons alongside his daughter two decades ago, and the hobby stuck. “I really look forward to this every week,” he says. “It keeps the mind active.”
Then there's David Crocker, the band’s keyboard player and a former manager in the primary care network. He began playing music in church as a teenager before finding his groove in the rock and roll scene from the ‘60s through the ‘80s. “I like the old stuff,” David grins. “Everyone brings their own style, and that’s what makes it interesting.”
Colleen Crosweller is one of the group’s newer musicians, but you wouldn’t know it from the way she plays. She picked up the trombone in 2020 and joined the Ker- by Sensations soon after. “Find something to do when you retire,” she advises. “Why not music?”
Holding the rhythm on guitar is Judy Threet, whose lifelong love of music began with the ukulele at age five. Her journey has taken her across the country, through a PhD in philosophy, and into a career building and selling guitars. “I’ve never played for people who dance,” she says, smiling. “It’s a totally different thing when the room moves with you.”
Rounding out the lineup is saxophonist Geoff Paskuski. Geoff is the youngest of the bunch, and a soon-to-be-retired lawyer. Geoff has been with the Kerby Sensations for a year and a half, after meeting Kevin in another band. “Kevin needed someone to fill a spot,” he says. “There’s a lot of room to be creative here. It’s a really rewarding experience, especially thanks to the dancers. It’s a real community.” The music shifts from week to week, but always with an ear toward the crowd. Familiar favourites like Beyond the Sea get toes tapping and couples gliding across the floor. Even during slower numbers, like Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me to the End of Love, the energy remains high.
“What makes it special is that all kinds of people, in different situations, come to dance,” says Da- vid. “I noticed a fellow in a wheelchair. His head was on a rest, completely immobile, but, I could see him tapping his finger. That’s how you know it matters.” At the heart of the Kerby Sensations is more than just music. It’s connection, movement, and joy, shared note by note, beat by beat. And on Wednes- days at Unison, it’s magic.
