News

Canadian Music Royalty Honoured by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Submitted by cashbox on Thu, 06/21/2012 - 23:48

Story: Don Graham

Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, Ontario, was the scene of a unique gathering on Monday June 18th, 2012.

Commemorative medals were presented to distinguished Ontario residents who have already been invested with the Order of Canada and Order of Ontario. All living Order of Canada and Order of Ontario recipients were invited. It is unusual for these recipients to come together in one place said The Honourable Ontario Lt. Governor David Onley.

Lt. Governor Onley, Governor General David Johnson and other prominent Canadians presented the prestigious awards. CBC Anchor Peter Mansbridge hosted the gala and also received a medal.

Susan Aglukark, Molly Johnson, Ben Heppner and Gordon Lightfoot took the stage at Roy Thomson Hall Monday evening. The four musicians, all members of the Order of Canada, performed at a presentation of Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medals to more than 600 people. The special medal was created to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

Orillia’s Lightfoot was one of several who gave Lt. Governor Onley the idea for the gala. Lt. Governor Onley said he put the event together hastily, after presenting the first 25 Diamond Jubilee Medals on Feb. 6, at a gathering that brought together a remarkable group of people, including Gordon Lightfoot and actor Gorden Pinsent.

Traynor-Yorkville 50th Anniversary Celebration in Toronto

Submitted by cashbox on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 23:49

Submitted by Michael E. Williams

Saturday, May 4th, 2013, Willi William blew the roof off the Phoenix in Toronto when he performed at the Reggae Ska Explosion. His band for the event featured Gordie Johnson on guitar and Gary Lowe on bass. Both names you will recognize from Big Sugar. Carl Harvey, who you know from Toots and the Maytals as well as Crack of Dawn, joined them. In the words of Gordie Johnson “Willi Williams always gives an inspiring performance and it’s an honour to play with him.”

Twenty-four hours later, the music continued at the Steam Whistle Brewery where Traynor/Yorkville celebrated their 50th anniversary. Gordie Johnson and Big Sugar kicked off the celebration. At this event, Willi Williams was their guest performer. They performed their new single “Bust No Guns”. And this was just the start of an evening of outstanding performances and jams with friends, and endorsees, of Traynor and Yorkville Sound.

Traynor and Yorkville Sound started with Pete Traynor in the backrooms of Long and Mc Quades in 1963 with the Dynabass Amplifier and the matching 15”speaker that became legendary. The first time I heard about Traynor gear was in 1968 when I was living in Cleveland, Ohio. All the serious bassists had to have a Traynor amplifier, there was no question and only one choice. It is still the choice today of many musicians including Donna Grantis (Prince’s 3rd Eye Girl), Gordie Johnson, and Randy Bachman (BTO, Bachman Cummings, The Guess Who, Randy Bachman), to name a few.

Jeff Hanneman Dies of Liver Failure Contributed to Spider Bite

Submitted by cashbox on Thu, 05/09/2013 - 11:39

Submitted by Cashbox Canada

On Thursday, May 2, 2013, Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed away from liver failure in a Los Angeles hospital. In what was a bizarre set of circumstances, the theory was that a bite from a spider over two years ago might have contributed to his death. The bite was over two years ago, which led to a severe infection that Hanneman never really totally recovered from and family felt that it may have contributed to his death.

Hanneman was thought to be on the mend and he had been writing songs with the band in anticipation of recording a new album later this year.

Hanneman had been slowly recovering from necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that nearly cost him his arm. Such an infection can develop from a minor cut or scratch.Hannenman was bitten while in a friend’s hot tub and failed to seek immediate treatment. Infections by flesh-eating bacteria are rare. The affliction can destroy muscle, fat and skin and may require surgery to remove the diseased tissue to save a patient's life.

Hanneman had several operations to remove dead and dying tissue from his arm, the band said on its website last year.It's unknown if Hanneman was bitten by the dangerous brown recluse spider,but it is said that whatever spider bit the Slayer guitarist never recovered.

The government estimates roughly 750 flesh-eating bacteria cases occur each year, usually caused by a type of strep germ. About 1 in 5 people with the most common kind of flesh-eating strep bacteria die.

Greg Quill Journalist and Artist – Gone Too Soon

Submitted by cashbox on Thu, 05/09/2013 - 11:37

Submitted to Cashbox Canada

In Canada most people know him as one of the country's leading cultural journalists, senior arts columnist at the Toronto Star.

In Australia, a few will remember another Greg Quill, the award-winning singer-songwriter and leader of the seminal Australian roots band Country Radio, which scored hits with "Gypsy Queen", "Wintersong", "Fleetwood Plain" and "She Do It To Me", toured the country endlessly, headlined at the Sydney Opera House,and shared stages with many musical icons of the era, including Fairport Convention, Elton John, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Santana, J.J. Cale and Stephen Stills, among others.

 Canada’s Premier A cappella Music Festival Coming to Harbourfront in Toronto

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/03/2013 - 11:38

Submitted to Cashbox Canada

Launched in 2012, SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival features world-class concert performances in a wide range of genres, including pop and jazz groups, classical and gospel choirs, and world music ensembles. Toronto’s only a cappella festival educates as well as entertains, with industry veterans leading vocal workshops for singers of all ages and levels of experience. SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival will also offer a school workshop day, public sing-along, and presentation of the SING! Legacy Award to Toronto native Frank Busseri of The Four Lads.
Feature concerts will include the Swingle Singers, a UK-based multi-Grammy winning ensemble celebrating 50 years as a vocal super group; Sweden-based The Real Group, performing bop, vocalese, pop, and originals; and Moments to Remember: A Tribute to Harmony Groups of the ‘50s and ‘60s, Honouring Frank Busseri of The Four Lads.

“The response to last year’s festival was overwhelmingly positive,” says artistic director Aaron Jensen, an award-winning, internationally-published composer, arranger, and performer. “Since then, we’ve grown – both in size and with respect to artistic vision.”

“Building on last year's model that focused on world-class performances, workshops and educational outreach, this year we have expanded our programming to include cross-cultural collaborations and a world premiere concert of new Canadian choral works,” adds Jensen. “We have more than a few surprises up our sleeves for our 2013 season.”

Saskatchewan Country Music Association 2013 Winners

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/03/2013 - 11:31

Submitted to Cashbox Canada

George Jones: Rest in Peace Possum

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 05/03/2013 - 11:26

Submitted by Don Graham

Country music legend George Jones has passed away. He died in Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday April 26 after being admitted for fever and irregular blood pressure. He was 81 years old.

Possum had one of the most recognizable voices of any genre; he had No. 1 songs in five separate decades, 1950s to 1990s. Waylon Jennings said “If we all could sound like we wanted to, we'd all sound like George Jones.” But it wasn’t always like that. When he started out, and was known as Thumper Jones he prided himself on sounding like Hank Williams. While doing a radio show in the early years, he met Williams who gave him some of the best advice he could have given him. Hank said when he started out he sounded like Roy Acuff. Then Williams said to himself “There already is a Roy Acuff and decided to start singing like himself. His advice to Jones? “Start singing like George Jones!” And the rest as they say is history.

Richie Havens Gone at 72

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 04/26/2013 - 03:35

Submitted Don Graham
Photo: Richie Havens @ Hugh's Room 2006

Richie Havens, singer/songwriter/guitarist and folk icon passed away on April 22, 2013 in New Jersey at the age of 72.

Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1941, Richie Havens headed to Greenwich Village in the early sixties to get involved in the burgeoning folk music scene. Havens soon got a reputation as a solo performer in the Village folk circle and after cutting a couple of records with a small label, was signed by Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman, who then signed him to Verve Forecast, a big folk label at the time. His debut album “Mixed Bag” was released in 1967 and contained the anti -war anthem ‘Handsome Johnny’ which Havens had written with the then unknown Louis Gosset Jr. Also on that album were Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘I Can’t Make It Anymore’, Dylan’s ‘Just Like A Woman’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and a beautiful version of ‘San Francisco Bay Blues’.

By 1969 Havens had released five more albums, two of which were “exploitation” albums from Douglas Records who he was signed to before Verve. Also in 1969 Havens was the first act to perform at the historic Woodstock Festival. His set was a three hour marathon, partly because a lot of the acts were caught in the traffic jam leading to the Festival. Acts were being helicoptered into the event to get around the traffic. The Woodstock performance was a huge turning point in Havens’ career and the subsequent release of the movie would help him reach a worldwide audience.

Rita MacNeil Now Flying on Her Own

Submitted by cashbox on Fri, 04/19/2013 - 03:35

Submitted by Cashbox Canada

The voice of the Cape Breton singer Rita MacNeil has been stilled at the age 68, with the cause of death has listed as complications from surgery. Born in Big Pond, Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island, MacNeil was one of eight children. At the tender age of 17, MacNeil moved to Toronto, where she wrote her first song and began singing in folk clubs. She would then move to Ottawa, where she recorded three albums, but eventually returned home to Big Pond, the place she truly called home.

MacNeil was famously shy, but said her parents helped her overcome that trait by constantly reminding her to believe in herself. "You can be shy," she said. "You can work through all kinds of struggle. But somewhere deep down, you have to have belief or nothing's going to happen for you."

Cape Breton's first lady of song made her mark during a six-week run at Expo ’86 in Vancouver. As well in 1986, she opened Rita’s Tea Room in her hometown of Big Pond, where she also gave performances as well as providing a venue for other Maritime talent. In 1987 she earned a Juno award as most promising female artist, at age 42. She also hosted a CBC-TV variety program, Rita and Friends, which ran from 1994 to 1997 and drew regular audiences of one million viewers.

Elephant Stone Bring New Album To Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall April 13 w/openers The Black Angels

Submitted by cashbox on Thu, 04/11/2013 - 23:53

Montreal based quintet Elephant Stone and magnetic frontman Rishi Dhir are internationally renowned for their unique Hindie rock. That’s a seductive mashup of indie rock, traditional Indian music and neopsychedelia that’ll get ya 'dancin’n’trancin’.

Their sophomore self-titled album recently dropped digitally and on vinyl via Hidden Pony Records, so expect lots of new material, including current hot tracks “Heavy Moon” and “Setting Sun".

Listen to “Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin” and “Heavy Moon” on  npr.org

Elephant Stone’s self-titled second album defines the unique sound the band has been building over the last three years and two releases. Like many great albums before, Elephant Stone defies categorization. Instead, each song is a musical journey that ebbs and flows from BJM-style rollers, to Caribou dance floor rumblers, to REM-stylejanglers, to Hindustani raga spiritualizers and back again.

Arguably the best show in the T.Dot this Saturday night.

Lenny Stoute