It’s late on a wednesday afternoon and Malvin Spooner, fund manager and president of Mavrix Fund Management Inc. in Toronto, is looking forward to loosening his tie, strapping on the Fender Telecaster and wailing through a set of songs with his rock band, The Dealers.

Spooner, 50, is one of a growing number of professionals across Canada who are rekindling a childhood ambition and playing rock ’n’ roll in their spare time. And a surprising number of these professionals/musicians work in the financial services industry. Spooner’s band, for instance, consists of Spooner on guitar and vocals, Mavrix fixed-income trader Craig Allardyce on drums, Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. bond trader Adam Sherban on guitar, Raymond James Ltd. advisor David Telewak on keyboards, and Raymond James analyst Paul O’Brien on bass.

In fact, there are enough bands in the industry to support annual “rock festivals.” In Toronto, there’s Baystock, the granddaddy, in which five bands from the local financial services industry perform in a talent competition to raise money for charity. But London, Ont., Winnipeg and Vancouver have developed their own charitable concerts. Spooner’s band has played not only at Baystock but also performed at last month’s Vanstock in Vancouver. The Dealers also were the warm-up act for Winnipeg’s first Winnstock this past spring.

The scenario is common: they played in bands as teenagers, then went to university, embarked on careers and started families, which, for a time, left little time or money for guitar solos and drum rolls. “You couldn’t really afford to be a musician again until you had a job and accumulated some money, because it was just too expensive when you were a kid,” says Spooner, who played in recreation centres and teen dances in the 1970s. He can even boast about having exchanged riffs with famed Triumph guitarist Rik Emmett back in the day.

It is an expensive hobby. A professional-level guitar and amplifier can easily cost more than $3,000 — a high price-tag for a toy, but well within the means of a successful advisor or fund manager.

Brian Taylor, vice president and investment advisor at CIBC Wood Gundy in Winnipeg — and bass player with the band Disposable Income — helped organize last year’s Winnstock concert, a Baystock-inspired event that raised $22,000 for the Canadian Arthritis Society.

Taylor, 52, played in basement bands as a teenager before packing in his guitar for a career in financial services. Now, he practises twice a week with his band, which, after minor personnel changes, is looking for a new name. “It’s just fun and a de-stressor from work,” Taylor says. “If you like music and play an instrument, you want to get together with other guys and girls, get in a band and play.”

“The most important thing is the passion. It’s a love of music,” says Stuart Macdougall, 54, lead singer of Back Beat and an investment advisor at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. in Vancouver. “All musicians want to play live,” he adds. “You can only play in the studio for so long. You want to get out in front of an audience and see how you sound.”

Charitable events provide that outlet. When it’s all for a good cause, amateur musicians can be excused for being less than Eric Clapton-esque in their proficiency. And a charity event makes a great motivator; it gives the band a goal and keeps members showing up for practice.

Taylor says charging bands an entrance fee to participate in the rock festivals ensures the musicians stay on track. For example, Winnstock charges $1,000 per band, which can be paid by a sponsor. “The guys in the band recognize that you have to commit,” Taylor says. “If you have money on the table, the band makes a commitment to show up and do a good job.”

Spooner’s band has raised funds for abuse awareness and to help a Toronto shooting victim, among other causes. Vanstock has raised money for the B.C. Women’s Hospital and the Salvation Army’s Adopt-a-Family program. Taylor hopes next year’s Winnstock, slated for April 13, 2006, will raise between $25,000 and $50,000 for a clinic for severely disabled children.

The bands that participate in Winnstock typically practise twice a week for four or five months leading up to the event, according to Taylor. Spooner’s band practises once a week throughout the year, but takes summers off so the members can spend more time with their families.

@page_break@Organizing events, practising and playing is time-consuming, Spooner admits, but it is also satisfying. “It takes a lot of time, but I try not to let it interfere with my work and family,” says Spooner, who is married with three children. “But over and above that, it’s fun because you get to pretend you’re a rock star.”

Vancouver’s Macdougall believes it is the entrepreneurial personalities of financial and other professionals that drives them to organize events and perform. Although he is the only financial professional in Back Beat, the other members are entrepreneurs. “We’re all professional guys and I’d say we’re all A-type individuals, so that’s part of it,” Macdougall says. “That drives you because you have to be an A-type to be up there exposing yourself onstage.”

Band members range in age from their 20s to their mid-50s, which accounts for a wide variety of musical tastes, even among those who call themselves “hard rockers.”

“I’m probably the oldest guy, a 1970s and early 1980s kind of guy. While I might insist on doing some Jimi Hendrix tunes, the other guys will come back with Judas Priest suggestions,” Spooner says with a laugh. Still, The Dealers have developed an impressive song list, approaching 100 tunes, ranging from AC/DC to Sheryl Crow covers.

Macdougall’s Back Beat has a diversified repertoire that includes blues tracks as well as songs by U2, punk rockers Green Day and even James Brown’s “I Feel Good.” “Anything that suits my voice,” Macdougall says.

Taylor, whose band played Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl as well as some INXS and David Bowie songs at the last Winnstock, tells of a PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP employee in his 20s introducing White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane at the event. “We’re going to play a song that was out before I was born,” the young man announced.

Taylor was impressed with the rendition. “They had a female vocalist from a credit union,” he says. “They just nailed the song. It was awesome!”

One of the biggest challenges can be finding a place to practise. The Dealers used to play in a Toronto rehearsal/jam-session venue. Now, they practise after business hours in the privacy of Mavrix’s downtown office, which has a special room dedicated to the band. Macdougall’s band found a well-equipped rehearsal space in nearby Burnaby that charges next to nothing, and most of the Winnipeg bands practise in band members’ basements. After all, Taylor points out, that’s how local legend The Guess Who got started.

But noise can be a problem, as one Winnstock band found out last year. “I guess they had their amps cranked up and the neighbourss called the police, which I thought was great. What could be better than that, eh? It’s a rock band,” says Taylor. IE