Cover Story

Trebas– The Grammy Factory

Submitted by cashbox on Thu, 04/05/2012 - 18:13

Story: Michael Williams

Montreal has given birth to some unique talent in the music industry. This brief story is of one such individual who went through the school of hard knocks and not only survived, but thrived, in the early days of the music business in Canada and the U.S.

Dave Leonard started Trebas Institute to offer budding musicians, songwriters, record producers and managers the necessary skills, knowledge and professionalism to develop successful careers in the music industry. For the last 33 years Trebas Institute has supplied the music business with trained professionals who have changed the face of the industry. His graduates have won over a dozen Grammys, his instructors are industry professionals, and his schools were, at one time, the only career colleges for the music business in North America.

How did Dave Leonard get there? My first question as always is…..

MW: When did the music first hit you? Was it in the home or outside of the home?
DL: It was in the home. My first recollection, at age five, was listening to a classical piece on radio and asking my mother how did they get all those people in that little box. My parents sent me for piano lessons. I used to go to the Montreal Symphony, under Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier, at Montreal High School on Saturday mornings for the children’s program. I was always involved with music.

Cashbox Canada Celebrated March Music Madness at CMW

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 03/30/2012 - 12:28

Story: Sandy Graham

Photography: Michelle Foran

Cashbox Canada kicked of March Music Madness on Wednesday, March 21st with a great night of live performances at Toronto’s Orbit Room. The event was produced by Irene Carroll of ISEE and Kit Watson of RockitGirl Media, and a fine job these two whirlwinds of promotion did to make the live music showcase a huge success. The room was filled with industry icons including Moses Znaimer, Richard Flohil, Jane Harbury, Dale Peters, Thomas Wade,Peter Linseman, Lauren Tutty, Anya Wilson, Tom Jackson, Ralph Murphy and Much Music veteran VeeJay Michael Williams as host for the evening. The acts reflected the diversity of Canadian music with Country crooner, Punk girl, and Folk/Rock cuties, and somehow it all made sense.

Tom Lodge: The Man Who Rocked the World

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 14:55

Story: Sandy Graham

Umi Tom Lodge passed away Sunday, March 25 in Santa Cruz, California. I am grateful we had the opportunity to talk before he passed, and so happy he got to see the Cashbox covers in both Canada and the U.S. with his story. There will be a celebration of his life on April 1 at Stillpoint Zen Community at 11 am. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers you may make a donation to Umi`s work at Stillpoint. Sail On Tom and thank you for the lessons.

Tom Lodge was one of the very first offshore disc jockeys in the UK, joining Radio Caroline in 1964. He took part in the epic round-Britain broadcast made from the original Caroline ship, the mv. Fredericia; he was on board the mv.Mi Amigo when she lost her anchor and was washed up on the beach; and he was one of the station's most popular broadcasters, presenting the Breakfast Show on both ships.

What many do not know is Tom Lodge got his start on radio right here in Canada. Lodge emigrated here to be ‘a cowboy’ and ended up working for the CBC in the Northwest Territories. Here is an excerpt from his book “The Ship that Rocked the World: How Radio Caroline Defied the Establishment, Launched the British Invasion and Made the Planet Safe for Rock and Roll”.

March Madness ….Canadian Style- CMW is Back in Town.

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 03/16/2012 - 13:35

Story: Sandy Graham

Springtime in Canada and Toronto means spring training for the Blue Jays, the Maple Leafs are out of the hunt for hockey’s holy grail, the Stanley Cup, and Canada’s music elite meet for Canadian Music Week.

Thirty years ago, what started as a small radio conference called The Record Conference, has evolved into one of Canada’s largest and most influential media and music conferences. It draws top industry professionals from around the world to participate in a four-day program of activities.

Designed to stimulate the exchange of market intelligence, increase dialogue and provide networking opportunities, Canadian Music Week continues to present the ideal platform for thousands of national and international delegates.

In an interview last year Neill Dixon, the president of Canadian Music Week, was asked about the early days of CMW and had this to say “It was called the Record Conference in the beginning, named after The Record, which was a trade paper that’s now defunct. It was sort of a reader appreciation convention, to get their constituents together. That was the original nucleus, and I was involved with it right from the beginning to put the thing together.

Canadian Success at SXSW

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 03/09/2012 - 13:48

Part One with Stuart Johnston - CIMA

Cashbox Canada had the pleasure of doing a cover story a few months back on Stuart Johnston, and once again we are back chatting with this personable, enthusiastic business person, who is the driving force behind 'the little engine that could' of the music business, CIMA.

Johnston, just recently back from Cannes, France, where CIMA played host once again to the Canada Stand at MIDEM, and also presented the hugely successful Canadian Blast, showcasing a record breaking 14 bands this year, the largest delegation of Canadian artists to ever showcase at MIDEM, is now set to travel with his extended 'family' of Canadian associates to Texas for the SXSW event.

"This will be my second time at SXSW, though truly it feels like my first as I had only been at the job at CIMA for two weeks before I attended last year. This is the 17th anniversary and it is an extraordinary event that marries the business of music with the artistic end in a seamless manner. Similar to MIDEM, our job is to take care of our members at SXSW to achieve the best results possible."

Tommy Hunter-Canada’s Country Gentleman

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 13:00

Story: Don Graham

On March 20th, 2012, Canada’s Country Gentleman, Tommy Hunter will prop his guitar against his stool, wave so long and say ‘The good Lord willin’, we’ll see you soon!’ one last time. This will be the final live show in a long and fruitful career that has spanned 6 decades. How fitting that this final show will take place in Hunter’s hometown of London, Ontario on the occasion of his 75th birthday. You couldn’t write a better script. Hearing him speak on the phone from his home you would find it hard to believe he is 75 years young. He sounds like a much younger man, still full of energy, knowledge and memories. And oh, the memories the name Tommy Hunter stirs in minds of all Canadians.

Starting in 1956 in the CBC’s hit series Country Hoedown, Tommy Hunter began his visits to the living rooms of Canadians from coast to coast. Keep in mind this was before we had 250 channels to choose from and CBC was THE Canadian network, pre CTV. Country Hoedown was a staple in the average Canadian’s television diet. The show ran for 9 seasons ending in 1965.

Without missing a beat, Hunter was offered his own ½ hour show, The Tommy Hunter Show on CBC right after Hoedown ended. When asked what he thought he would like as a format for the show, Hunter said, “ I don’t know what I want, but I know what I DON’T want! I don’t want a barn and I don’t want bales of hay!”

Pagliaro Des Tonnes de Flashs

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 11:27

Par Marc Durand

[Click For English Version]

Quand je pense à Pagliaro, j’ai des tonnes de flash!!

Flash 1:Tout jeune, j’ai acheté les 45 tours de ‘A t’aimer’ et ‘Pour toi, pour toi’’.... c’était en 1969, les années ‘Flower Power’

Flash 2: J’ai aussi acheté ‘Rain Showers’ (bien sur j’ai toujours ces vieux vinyles)

Flash 3: le 31 décembre 1970 j’assiste à un concert de Pag et des Wackers au Palais du Commerce (une performance qui m’a marqué, j’avais 14 ans)

Flash 4: Pagliaro et le ‘Nuit Magique’ dans le Vieux Montréal

Flash 5: Je fais une entrevue en roulant dans son ‘Grand Prix’ pour le compte de Québec Rock (1978)

Flash 6: Pagliaro revient de France et Alert Records, que je dirige avec Tom Berry signe l’album ‘Sous peine d’amour’ qui contient le hit ‘L’Espion’ (super clip en passant...)

Flash 7: Depuis 1988, bien qu’il se produise en concerts, pas une nouvelle chanson de Pag n’est lancée... puis en 2011 ‘Tonnes de flashs’ avec un album collection contenant l’intégrale de 13 albums.

Flash 8: Je refais un article sur Michel Pagliaro...25 ans plus tard WOW!!

Ce ne sont que certains des ‘flashs’ de Pag qu’y m’amènent à parler de Michel Pagliaro aujourd‘hui.

Sean Hogan--The Phoenix and The Provider

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 02/17/2012 - 16:10

Story: Lenny Stoute

It’s easy to call Sean Hogan a ‘survivor’ and Lord knows the dude has earned it in spades. But Sean Hogan is also a musician and as a musician, I’d call him a 'provider'. Of inspiration, of hope, of some damn fine story telling tunes. If you’ve ever heard “Catalina Sunrise”, “Slow Turning“, "Suck It Up” or any of his other radio-charting singles you know what I’m on about.

Fifteen years of surviving the hard knock life of the professional musician doing original material came in handy last August when the Big C came calling. Specifically, oral pharyngeal cancer, which was masked in his right tonsil, the same type of cancer that’s afflicted Eddie Van Halen, Levon Helm and Michael Douglas. It’s reputed to be one of the more curable varieties and Hogan’s treatment ended in November 2011. The lanky dude with the sandy-coloured hair’s feeling better every day and looking forward to getting out in support of his latest collection, the prophetically-titled “Phoenix.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve written songs which portended things to come,” notes the B.C. resident. ‘Phoenix’ (the single) was written 2 ½ years ago, basically a song about keeping your nose to the grindstone, about keeping on keeping on.”

Love - The Long and the Short of It

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 13:26

Story:Sandy Graham

Love hurts, love stinks, love will keep us together, love will tear us apart, because I honestly love you, there are words of love, there is crazy love, the list can go on and on but the word love plays a major part in the hit songs of decades gone by. My editor, Lenny Stoute, pointed out that two of the most memorable love songs of all time, ‘Misty Blue’ by Etta James and of course the unforgettable Casablanca song ‘As Times Goes By’ (If you can play it for her you can play it for Bogey line) do not even utter the word ‘love’, not even once.
So love can be dumb as well as blind and love letters are best written in the sand and as Willy de Ville observed:” Love, what’s so good about it? But then again, I can’t say what’s bad”. Iggy just wants to be your dog and Etta would rather go blind than watch you walk away, Paul and John assured us all we need is love. Elvis is forever in love with the girl of his best friend and Katy Perry kissed a girl and fell out of love with her boy.

Andy KimOur cover this week is also an encouragement to buy Canadian love, artists who have great CD’s for sale and who make up the great mosaic of the Canadian music scene. Collect all 10 and spin ‘em at your dinner party behind a good Canadian Riesling.

BIENVENUE A MIDEM !

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 18:45

Canadian Blast was a huge success for CIMA and the 14 Canadian acts who benefitted from the three days of Showcases in Cannes, France, all part of the legendary yearly event, MIDEM, the incredible yearly playground of worldwide music industry associated businesses, all holding court in the prestigious Palais de Congress, the same red carpet building where the International Film Festival takes place.

The largest contingency of Canadian talent ever showcased at Canadian Blast, this year was combination of known acts and acts you are surely going to know in the very near future. The actual ‘MIDEM’ is held during the day, with booths for every country situated on two floors of the enormous grand building. At night the tiny town of Cannes comes alive with music and parties throughout the cobblestoned streets that look so much like Old Montreal, with outdoor cafes nestled on small streets and artistes selling their wares along alleyways of ‘magasins’.

Canadian Blast ran for three days, and featured incredible talent. All Showcase acts performed ironically in an Irish Pub called Morrison’s smack in the middle of Cannes. Cashbox would like to introduce you to the best of the best, who won the spot to be on the famous Canadian Blast Showcase for MIDEM 2012.