God bless the child that finds it’s calling early in life, for it may grow up to be Eliades Ochoa. In the esteemed Cuban guitarist’s case, he was all of six when he plucked at the instrument for the first time in his rural home close by the old city of Santiago de Cuba. In that instant, the boy who would grow up to be called Cuba’s Johnny Cash, heard the siren call of music, calling him to his future.

Around the age of eight the family moved to Santiago de Cuba, in financially tight circumstances. With money scarce and all hands on the wheel, in addition to odd jobs such as selling lottery tickets and shoe-shining, young Eliades started playing his guitar in the streets, graduating to the cafes and brothels of Santiago’s inner city.

The first thing that strikes you when speaking with Linda Dawe is her enthusiasm about music and life. The next thing is how humble this music icon is about all the accomplishments in both her personal and professional life. She is truly in awe of her career and the experiences she has garnered to date.

Dawe is what we consider one of ‘the old school’, an music business maven who has survived over three decades and still enjoys making a living in this very unpredictable industry. At a time when females were mostly secretaries or receptionists, this trailblazer set out to change that in the music business.

Linda Dawe's career began in 1970 as a journalist for Canada's first music magazine, Beetle Publications. “I was always interesting in writing; in school I did very well and English was one of my stronger subjects. It was certainly an eye opener for a kid from Northern Ontario to suddenly be thrown into the world sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll; all the things that went along with the reputations of  the ‘bad boys’ of the British Invasion which was at its height of popularity at the time. ”

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.

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.

The showcase was kicked off by Burlington’s Billy J. White, whose boyish smile set the stage for the night, working his Nashville style vocals in promoting current EP ‘Country Drag Strip’. White is a name that the country market, both in Canada and the U.S., will be hearing more of this country rocker in the months to come.

Umi Tom Lodge passed away Sunday, March 25, 2012 in Santa Cruz, California. we were 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.

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.

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.

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.

[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...)

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.  

You know that thing about greatness being thrust on you? And the one about great things coming out of terrible situations? What happens when the two come together in a perfect sick storm of fear and persecution?  Some will go under; some will struggle to the top. At the forefront of the strongest swimmers you’ll find Drake Jensen, survivor, country singer and homosexual.

The son of a Cape Breton hard rock coal town, the kind of which Merle Travis said was “dark as a dungeon way down in the mine”. The kind where the mind shafts are too narrow to allow for light to get in and shadows are looked upon with suspicion.

Imagine how strong and bright a light must be to beam out of a hole like that, especially when you’re thrown down the hole at age 5.

Drake Jensen is a rising star on the Canuck country scene, a good looking husky guy, passionate and genuine, committed to his art and this week making his Coming Out to the world at large.

Whoa. Cojones of steel, you say. Indeed, y’all, dude has all of that and more and he’ll likely have need of all of it sooner rather than later. Ok, how about right now?

Stuart Johnston is the President of the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA), which represents more than 180 company members of the English-language independent Canadian-owned music industry. Johnston leads a small team of dedicated professionals who support the businesses and creative entrepreneurs who work to make Canada’s music production industry unique in the world. He is also a Board member of Re:Sound and the AVLA, two music-licensing agencies, as well as a member of the National Advisory Committee on Policy Priorities for the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

David Gogo is known for being one of the hardest working blues rock guitarists in the industry and the moniker suits him well. He is a man of his word, and when a recent routing booking issue took place, he fulfilled his commitment to tour Western Canada. After two shows in Holland, Gogo flew back to Canada to finish the tour he had committed to with the legendary Johnny Winter. A gruelling schedule, but he is a man of his word, and committed to his reputation as well as his music, he flew thousands of miles to keep his fans happy.
We recently had the opportunity to talk to this great Canadian treasure, and he gave some refreshing answers to what makes David Gogo who he is in this industry.

Three years ago, Bill Delingat bumped into me at a Canadian Tire Store, and handed me his cell phone to talk to Bruce Elrod of the flagship Cashbox Magazine in the U.S.A.  We made a deal between the three of us to launch the online franchise here in Toronto, standing between the check out counter and the cookware section. How Canadian is that?

As the year comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the staff that makes Canada’s Premier Online Magazine appear every week for you our readers, both the music fans and the folks who make up our music industry.

The indefatigable Lenny Stoute, the Editor who patiently streams through endless words every week, explaining to enthusiastic writers that 3,000 words is not industry standard, and could we please fact check, and try to learn to use our spell check and grammar aides as well? 

Anyone who has the pleasure of being interviewed by Lenny knows he has a style like none other. Personally, Lenny is my right arm in this venture and I couldn’t do it without him.

The journey of any recording artist is filled with potholes, pitfalls, dead ends, unmarked exits and dangerous turns. The secret to any successful journey is making wise choices and looking at Tonya Kennedy’s steadily rising career, you can see she’s making all the right moves. A native of Newfoundland, now living just north of Toronto in Barrie, Ontario, Tonya Kennedy is poised to take her rightful place in the fabric of the Canadian Country music scene.

He’s the reigning Prince Of Pop, a singin’, dancin’ Beatle bob wearing sixteen year old teen dream, music’s logical successor to Michael Jackson. How did a sweet kid from Stratford Ontario get like that?

Justin Drew Bieber,  born March 1 1994, is the biggest star spawned on YouTube to date, so it’s fitting that his discovery was a random thing. Happened to the kid from Stratford,Ontario when So So Def marketing exec Scooter Braun clicked on a Bieber video by accident and unknowingly unleashed the next Pop Idol of The Universe.. A blown away Braun flew to Canada and persuaded Bieber’s mom to allow the kid to fly with him to meet with r’n’b star Usher at the company’s Atlanta offices.

In short order Bieber was inked to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, followed by a recording contract with Island Records . The high speed pace here is indicative of what is to come for an artist who will write an autobiography before his sixteenth year is out.

According to Bernard Perusse (The Montreal Gazette) it was the 2nd coming of a legend whose time has come. The first surprise came in 1978 as Garland Jeffreys played the Montreal Forum and “Ghost Writer” became a CHOM-FM and Montreal classic album. Next the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2002 and again in 2004 with 50,000 people in the streets. Now in 2011 in support of a new CD,”The King of In Between”, he burned down Rubin Fogel’s Club Soda!
 But It took Garland Jeffreys to remind us what in we all know is true:
 “Hail Hail Rock n Roll” (Garland Jeffreys)   
Pockets of hate, rockets of love
It’s never too late, the change in the color of
The color of her, the color of him
It really doesn’t matter what skin you’re in
Big yellow taxicab passed me by
Stopped on the next corner to pick up a white guy
The color of you, the color of me
You can’t judge a man by looking at the marquee
Hail hail rock ‘n’ roll comes from r ‘n’ b and soul
Don’t leave me standing in the cold

Sylvia Tyson is an accomplished songwriter, an art that requires telling a story with a beginning, middle and an end all squeezed craftily into a three minute and twenty second capsule. Most songwriters would love the opportunity to expand on that formula and Sylvia has found just that vehicle by writing a novel, “Joyner’s Dream”, (published by HarperCollins) a multigenerational family epic that starts in 18^th century England, goes to Halifax at the time of the Great Explosion and ends in present day Toronto. It spans 200 years in it’s 420 pages and as Tyson said “It didn’t have to rhyme!” In keeping with her background, Tyson’s story, of course, includes a family’s love of music and a certain violin! There is also an 11 song CD of new material, written by Tyson and inspired by “Joyner’s Dream.”

When I asked (Toronto’s Irish Person of the Year) 2010 Hugo Straney how many people he thought were of Irish descent in the GTA, his answer was ‘More claim they have Irish ancestry in Canada than any other group in the world. I believe the statistic would be around 300,000 in Toronto alone.”

With the requisite pomp and circumstance, it was announced that Broken Social Scene, Hedley, Down With Webster and Johnny Reid will all be performing on the Drake-hosted 40^th Juno Award show in the city on March 27.

Shania Twain is confirmed to be on hand for induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and Neil Young has confirmed that he will be here to accept his Humanitarian Award. CARAS president/CEO Melanie Berry described this year’s event as “pretty exciting and pretty star-studded” following the announcement of nominees at a well-attended media scrum at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel yesterday.