Rockin' Blues Band

Biography:

Steve "Mud Dog" Sainas has been a guitarist/singer/songwriter in Vancouver's cabarets and pubs for the past forty years. During this time, he has developed a powerful blues guitar and singing style that is instantly recognized by his steadily growing audience. In 1997, Steve began to lay the groundwork for forming his powerful blues band Mud Dog. His vision was to pay tribute to blues masters such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker with a fiery contemporary blues sound. However, Sainas has evolved into an inspired songwriter and producer testifying his own life experiences through his songs that echo the sounds of the Mississippi Delta. In March 2003, Mud Dog released its debut CD "Devil's Ride" at the Terry Fox Theatre to a house full of excited fans. "Devil's Ride" features eleven original songs written and produced by Sainas, as well as two traditional arrangements. The CD is receiving regular airplay coast to coast. Five years later, Mud Dog released their second CD, “River of My Soul” that features eleven new original acoustic songs written and produced by Sainas. Fans and reviewers describe “River of My Soul” as Mud Dog’s best CD so far.

"River of My Soul", takes you on a gentler journey of the Blues, one which will leave you with a genuine feeling that you are listening to something refreshing and new… "River of My Soul" is a must have CD for any fan of the Blues.
~ John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)

“River of My Soul” ~ 2008 Western Canadian Music Awards Nominee for Outstanding Blues Recording

“River of My Soul” ~ Winner of the 2008 Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards for Best Canadian Blues CD/Album

During the day, Steve was busy teaching Rock School, Recording Arts, and Guitar at Terry Fox Secondary School in Port Coquitlam, BC. He established his contemporary performance and recording arts music programs in 2000/2001, and developed them into one of the most successful music programs in public education. In 2015, Steve Sainas was honoured with the Juno Award for MusiCounts Teacher of the Year.  After more than 35 years of rewarding public school teaching, Steve retired in February 2022 and is now performing as a solo acoustic artist and with his classic rock & rockin' blues Steve Sainas Trio.

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Christopher “Reed Killer” Allen was an award winning harmonica/vocal virtuoso who had performed and recorded all over the continent with a host of musical greats including Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, Esther Phillips, Ronnie Hawkins, Tina Turner, Jeff Healey, Bob Rock, and David Foster. Each night Christopher would stun the audience with his soaring melodies and amazing harmonica acrobatics. Sadly, Christopher passed away on October 4th, 2019 after a courageous battle with cancer.
 

During their almost 20 years of performing together, Steve and Christopher dug deep into roots-blues creating a fresh contemporary acoustic sound that is thick with energy and flowing chemistry. The combination of harmony vocals, harmonica, acoustic guitar and steel dobro brought out the very essence of the original blues sounds of the Mississippi Delta.

In October 2010, Steve and Christopher were honoured to have been selected by the White Rock Blues Society to represent British Columbia, Canada at the 27th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. In February 2011, they competed in the solo-duo blues category with 83 of the best blues acts in the world. While in Memphis, Steve and Christopher recorded ten original acoustic songs live off the floor at legendary Sun Studio. These recordings capture the raw energy of the duo's live performances. Mud Dog ~ "Sun" was released on July 8th, 2011 and can now be enjoyed on all streaming platforms.

"Sun" is essentially a Best of Album and a Live Album, all in one, but with a newer more refreshing fill, without the Cut and Paste approach that plagues so many Best of Albums. To be honest, I don't think that you could get any truer sense of what it would be like to see this amazing Duo in person than by listening to "Sun". Mud Dog, once again, has continued to impress me with their amazing talent of bringing great sounding Blues to the forefront. With "Sun", they have once again managed to release an exceptional album of Blues, surely destined to be another one of this years more acclaimed Blues releases. "Sun" gets my highest rating of 5*****, with no problem at all. Highly Recommended and Thoroughly Enjoyed...
Review by John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)

In dance venues and in the studio, a dynamic rhythm section joined Steve and Christopher. Rodney Koke (bass/vocals), Randy Adams (Drums - 2000-2011), Doug Mockford (drums 2011-2012), and Mark Rosen (drums 2012-2014) infused Mud Dog with a pounding heartbeat that ignited the audience into a dancing frenzy. 

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Mud Dog's contribution to the Canadian Music scene has been archived in The Canadian Museum of Music.