July 2011

THE RETURN OF THE ORIGINAL JUVENILE DELINQUENTS: A WACKERS REUNION

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 07/29/2011 - 18:15
Wackers Backstage

Bob Segarini returns with Music Matters next week. Please visit our feature article today  by our new contributing journalist Jaimie Vernon, the author of the forthcoming book, Canadian POP MUSIC Encyclopedia.

by Jaimie Vernon

Forty years ago Bob Segarini and Randy Bishop were on the way up with their California dream band, The Wackers, living a post-Beatle existence criss-crossing North American clubs in an attempt to capture the rock and roll brass ring. Elektra Records had already given them a one-album shot under the name Roxy and so label president Jac Holzman found their newly configured glam pop act an antidote to the pretense of label mates The Doors.

As a tightly knit five-piece – which included Bill “Kootch” Trochim (bass, guitar), Ernie Earnshaw (drums) and Mike Stull (guitar, bass) – The Wackers entered musical stage right with the Gary Usher produced “Wackering Heights” in 1971. And on subsequent trips to Montreal they recorded “Hot Wacks” in ’72 and “Shredder” in ’73 – an album that gave the Wackers their only legitimate hit single in Canada with the tune "Day and Night”. 

CMAO Member Country Artist Marshall Dane Helped Rock the House for the Mississauga Food Bank

Submitted by cashbox on Sat, 07/23/2011 - 14:23
Marshall Dane

On July 6, 2011 more than a thousand people packed the Living Arts Centre last night for a concert marking the 25th anniversary of the Mississauga Food Bank. Although a final tally isn’t in yet, event organizer Carolyn Parrish said the show grossed $105,600. After expenses are paid, she expects the concert to reach its goal of raising $50,000 for the food bank and $10,000 for the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra (MSO).Parrish was overwhelmed by the generosity of the crowd when a hat was passed around during the intermission. Some $2,800 was collected.

The Sweetness: What’s it like to be a sprinkler, I wonder?

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 13:00
The Sweetness

Independent

This first release from a Toronto/Austin mashup group raises the bar for harmonic percussive folk. Sure there’s such a genre. Toronto solo artists Chloe Charles and Sam McLellan and Austin’s Aly Tadros and Douglas Jay Boyd came together in downtown Memphis, Tennessee during this year’s Folk Alliance International.The chemistry was instant and the mutation into a band seemingly inevitable.

Each accomplished individually, singer-songwriter Chloe Charles and composer/session musician/double bassist Sam McLellan, singer-songwriter Aly

Tadros and singer-songwriter/percussionist Douglas Jay Boyd  join forces as The Sweetness and launch their debut album “What’s it like to be a sprinkler, I wonder?”

The result is infused with the freshnes of a band together but a few weeks before the album was cut.. Rich four-part harmonies and heavy cajon-driven backbeats echo, lush harmonies soar atop eerie rhythm patterns.

Elsewhere, mind-entrancing, double-tracked she-vocals slink around spooky settings for gaunt and edgy folk-blues. Don’t let the band name fool you, this is one crew way into getting beyond the merely quirky into darker and unsettling territory.

And with Chloe Charles’ range and Aly Tadros’ haunting tones they’ve got the vocal flexibility to carry the heaviest of moods.

James Lizzard

Africa New Music Presents
 FESTIVAL BANA Y’ AFRIQUE


Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 13:03
Bana Y Africa

Africa New Music Presents
FESTIVAL  BANA Y’ AFRIQUE
SATURDAY 23th AND SUNDAY 24th, JULY 2011, 3 – 10 PM
METRO HALL SQUARE (BY JOHN STREET AND KING STREET WEST)

This year is the 12th annual edition of African festival. Festival Bana y’Afrique 2011 featuring a main concert stage with 16 performances from local and international award-winning African musical groups and exciting traditional dancers. From north to south and east to west, come and experience rhythms from the African continent.

Africa New Music presents Toronto’s 12th annual Bana Y’Afrique Festival, a celebration of African music and culture, FREE on July 23th and 24th at Metro Hall Square.

Festival Bana y’Afrique market will feature vendors and cultural organizations with a wide array of crafts and clothing from the continent and the opportunity to sample delicious African foods. A journey to the continent of Africa right here in downtown Toronto.

Bana Y’Afrique is a multi-disciplinary event with concerts, dance, theatre, food, a marketplace, and activities for youth and children. The pan-African lineup features a balance of traditional and contemporary styles of music by top international touring acts and this year is no exception.

Music Matters for July 22nd 2011: Untold Stories of Rock…Because I’m Wack in the Saddle Again.

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 13:07
Music Matters

Normally, I would be writing a column about a band I think you should know about, the injustices involved in what has happened to the radio and record industries, or some bauble of shiny nonsense that has caught my attention that I think you should be aware of.

Truth be told, I actually have something nice to say about Rebecca Black's new single, "My Moment", and a rather funny take on the deep doo-doo Rupert Murdoch has found himself in, but I just haven't had time to write these witty and amusing tales to enlighten and amuse you.

Why?

Because I am up to my tired, red, and blurry eyeballs in the reunion of a band that hasn't been in the same room together in 38 years. The band in question is the focus of the second story in today's column, a tale that touches on a small part of our first trip to Montreal, a trip that would eventually lead me to move to Canada and find myself still living here and loving it almost 40 years later. If you want to see the band that left California for Montreal all those years ago, we'll be playing a set (or at least trying to play a set) at Cherry Cola's in Toronto on Sunday, July 24th between 7:00 and 11:00 pm. Be advised that a lot of people have decided to have a peek already, so get there early.if you decide to join us. More about the reunion in these pages at a later date. In the meantime, here's a tale of the Mom that Loved Her Boys, followed by the second tale, The Beer of Destiny.