By day, Royal Victoria Hospital’s Dr. Jim Delaney is a mild-mannered, scrub-wearing, scalpel-holding orthopedic surgeon.
At night, he wears faded jeans, a white T-shirt and, with a guitar slung over his shoulder, he rocks the house with all the confidence of a seasoned musician.
Delaney is one of many RVH physicians who have found music to be the perfect prescription for unwinding after an intense day in the operating room or dealing with patients in the hospital’s busy Emergency Department.
Known as “Docs Who Rock”, physicians like Delaney have dusted off their guitars, taken instruments out of cases, and warmed up their voices for both recreation and fundraising.
Several bands featuring RVH physicians have come together in the past to perform at the annual Battle of the Bands, held at the MacLaren Art Centre. Proceeds benefit both the MacLaren and RVH.
“It is a great stress release for me,” says Delaney. “It is something very different from what we normally do, and I think that’s what makes it so therapeutic.”
Delaney can say that now with confidence, however, the first time he took to the stage at the Battle of the Bands with the newly formed band – Code Blue – he’ll admit he wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work out.
“We were scared to death. We were the second band to perform, which made it worse,” he says. “Our whole goal the first time was just not to embarrass ourselves. Once we made in through our first couple of songs and relaxed, we realized we actually were having a great time.”
Adding to the stress, Delaney didn’t know he was booked as part of the lineup, until organizer Randy Parsons asked him for the name of his band for the evening’s program.
“I had no idea my wife had volunteered me. I didn’t have a band. I remember thinking, ‘name of my band? There is no band.’ Then I just blurted out – Code Blue,” laughed Delaney.
So now he had a name and a gig, but no band.
Good thing he had friends.
Delaney quickly rounded up Dr. Paul Wilson from RVH’s Emergency Department for guitar and piano, and convinced his friends Shawn Murray and Gary Murray to play drums and base guitar respectively.
“I had a band name, a place to play and musicians who hadn’t picked up their instruments in forever,” says Delaney. “It was scary, and I still needed a singer.”
Then while prepping for surgery, Delaney bumped into fellow orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott McKenzie, and remembered his colleague sang. So in between scrubbing up for hip and knee surgeries, Delaney convinced McKenzie to join Code Blue.
McKenzie agreed.
“Each one of our members brings a great deal of talent to the table,” says McKenzie. “I really enjoy playing with these guys as they are very open to suggestions for songs to play. Our sound and repertoire is ever evolving. I am also very fortunate to have such an understanding and supportive family that allows me to play the music I love to play and work in such a rewarding profession.”
Now with the addition of McKenzie, the band was finally complete with only a few months to rehearse.
“The first time we rehearsed it was terrible. It was awful and all of us thought, ‘What are we doing? Seriously, we should put our instruments back in the cases and never pull them out again … ever,’” says Delaney, who also plays saxophone. “But we were committed.”
Then came the night for the band to perform, armed with a repertoire of six songs, Code Blue hit the stage at the MacLaren and had a blast.
That was three years ago, and ever since then, Code Blue has played the Battle of Bands each spring, winning the battle the second year. There is a bit of friendly rivalry each year, as Code Blue pits its skills against Vital Organs, a band comprised of colleagues Dr. Mike Anderson, Dr. Mike Korkola, Dr. Joey Rampton, Ken Ritchie, a RVH Registered Respiratory Therapist, Jon Sanders, a former ER Nurse, and non-RVH members, Brad Shoreman and singer Karen Dodd.
“It is so much fun to watch these guys play, knowing that what they do during the day is so very different. It is so unlike anything you would expect to see them do,” said Delaney.
The bands are so congenial, they even share members; McKenzie plays with the acoustic group On Call, comprised of Dr. Korkola and Karen Dodd.
Code Blue has come a long way since that first rehearsal. On Oct. 25, the group was billed as the guest artist appearing with the Huronia Symphony. They performed six songs, which Toronto composer Kevin Lau had arranged specially for the symphony and rock band to perform together, as well as two numbers on their own. They also have booked gigs for various causes they believe in, such as a gala to raise money for the Family Medicine Teaching Unit, however they do not accept payment for their performances.
“We do what we do because we love it and we don’t want to get paid, because then we would feel compelled to play songs other people want us to play,” says Delaney. “Right now we want to keep it fun. It’s simply our way to raise money for the community and the causes we feel are important.”
The Battle of the Bands, which seems to be the catalyst for this meeting of music and medicine, is so well attended, in part due to the draw of the Docs that Rock, that more than $60,000 has been raised to help build the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre. With all this success, is Delaney planning to take Code Blue on the road to seek fame and fortune?
“I have no plans on quitting my day job. I need the steady pay cheque,” laughed Delaney.
Donna Danyluk is with the Corporate Communications Department at Royal Victoria Hospital.
DOCS WHO ROCK
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