langfieldent@rogers.com
www.langfieldentertainment.com
LE NEWSLETTER
Only 19 days to go until Christmas for those of us that celebrate it - a break
in this busy time is also something to look forward to!
The Gospel Christmas Project is a must-see show - in
I'm so excited to tell you about the reunion of friends and artists alike for
this festive season in a showcase of showcases at the Monday Night
And a special announcement on the social scene, Chef
Anthony Mair joins the crew at
::
Monday Night Revival Jam Reunion – Monday,
Yes, that’s right folks – all the original players – Shamakah
Ali (percussion), Rich
Brown (Host and bass), Joel
Joseph, (keys) Anthony Wright (sax), Alexis Baro (trumpet) and Dane Hartsell (Guitar) will be
reuniting on Monday, December 17th at Revival for a festive version of
Did you ever go to the Monday night jams at Revival?
Practically every big visiting artist would stop by and hit the stage with our
amazing
No cover but PLEASE be generous during
this
needy time of year as we are collecting food for the Daily
Bread Food Bank.
Check out the best of R&B, funk, rock and blues this holiday season!
MONDAY,
MONDAY NIGHT
Revival
783 College St. (at Shaw)
9:00 pm
NO COVER
BRING DONATIONS FOR DAILY BREAD FOOD BANK
Two Shows, One CD - The Gospel Christmas Project – December 21 (Ottawa)
and December 22, 2007 (Toronto)
Source: Andrew Craig
You’re invited to the Christmas musical events of 2007: the Gospel
Christmas Project, live at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre and Toronto’s
Massey Hall! Audiences are calling this show “fabulous”, “amazing”,
“thrilling beyond expectation”, “music to God's ears” and “a wonderfully joyful
spiritual evening”.
“The Gospel Christmas Project - LIVE!” is two hours of the world’s greatest
Christmas carols, in all-stunning new arrangements made by musician, producer
and broadcaster Andrew Craig. The songs are rendered by some of our
country’s greatest voices:
Jackie Richardson, Canada’s Queen of Jazz and
Blues,
Alana Bridgewater, “Killer Queen” in the Mirvish
production of “We Will Rock You”
Kellylee Evans, 2007 Canadian Smooth Jazz
Female Vocalist of the Year
Chris Lowe, a tremendous new voice recently-emerged
from the Gospel community
and the Juno-award-winning Sharon Riley and Faith Chorale
“The Gospel Christmas Project” is already a wildly-popular radio
show, a Gemini-nominated TV special, and a brand-new CD, called “The
Gospel Christmas Project”, available in all major retail outlets right now, and
on ITunes as of December 4.
“The Gospel Christmas Project” was originally performed in Ottawa in
December 2006. It returns to Ottawa this Christmas, joined by the National
Arts Centre Orchestra on December 21.
And the next night (December 22) The Gospel Christmas Project makes
its Toronto debut at the legendary Massey
Hall!
Visit the website: www.gospelxmasproject.com
Purchase CD at
Monday Night Revival Jam Reunion – Monday,
Yes, that’s right folks – all the original players – Shamakah
Ali (percussion), Rich
Brown (Host and bass), Joel
Joseph, (keys) Anthony Wright (sax), Alexis Baro (trumpet) and Dane Hartsell (Guitar) will be
reuniting on Monday, December 17th at Revival for a festive version of
Did you ever go to the Monday night jams at Revival?
Practically every big visiting artist would stop by and hit the stage with our
amazing Toronto musicians! It was such a great vibe and very
well-attended. Well, now it’s time for the REUNION!
No cover but PLEASE be generous during
this
needy time of year as we are collecting food for the Daily
Bread Food Bank.
Check out the best of R&B, funk, rock and blues this holiday season!
MONDAY,
MONDAY NIGHT
Revival
783 College St. (at Shaw)
9:00 pm
NO COVER
BRING DONATIONS FOR DAILY BREAD FOOD BANK
::SCOOP::
Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Harlem
Carl Cassell and Anthony Mair invite you for dinner at Harlem this
New Year's
Eve. Master Chef Anthony Mair
(formerly of Mardis Gras) will be preparing a four course Soulful
Feast for you and your loved ones. Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere
in Harlem's art-filled dining room, then go upstairs to
the Renaissance Room for some bubbly and get your party on in 2008.
It will be a night to remember. Two seatings are available: 6:30pm and 9:00pm.
Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, Harlem (67
Richmond St. E. - Church and Richmond) celebrates the joy of Toronto's cultural
diversity and the art of entertaining. It is a rebirth of creativity in Food,
Art, Music, and Cocktails.
To make a reservations please call
Monday, December 31
NEW YEARS SOULFUL EVE
Harlem Restaurant
67 Richmond St. E. (Church and Richmond)
Two seatings are available: 6:30pm and 9:00pm
Reservations:
www.harlemrestaurant.com
::TOP STORIES::
Artists Cope With Ethnic Differences
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Raju
Mudhar, Entertainment Reporter
(December 04, 2007) From the bhangra jams in
Mississauga to salsa dancing at Yonge and Eglinton to the sold-out Japanese pop
concert that nobody outside the Japanese community hears about, Toronto's arts culture is
vibrant mix of all the people that call the
Today, as Statistics Canada releases its 2006 Census report on language,
mobility and immigration, we look at how art and multiculturalism plays out in
this city.
While Sudan native Waleed Abdulhamid, who belongs to several bands with members
from different countries, is an example of the meshing of different cultures,
there is Croatian rocker Marko Perkovic, a.k.a Thompson, to illustrate that
culture can also be divisive when disputes from the homeland migrate here.
Perkovic's concert scheduled for Toronto last month was cancelled at two local
venues and forced to relocate to a secret location out of the city because
Serbian groups objected to his nationalist lyrics, which some call racist.
Everyone knows that ingredients from around the world blend well when it comes
to food in the
We chatted with four artists about their backgrounds and attempts to decipher
some of the issues of cultural acceptance within the multicultural stew we call
home.
Toronto Roots Musicians Snag Prizes
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Greg
Quill, Entertainment Columnist
(December 03, 2007) Violinist/songwriter Anne Lindsay
and the Creaking Tree String Quartet, both staples of the Toronto roots music
scene, were multiple winners in instrumental categories in the third annual Canadian Folk Music Awards
Saturday night at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que.
Lindsay, who records and performs regularly with Blue Rodeo, the Jim Cuddy Band
and Celtic balladeer John McDermott, and was a featured instrumentalist in the
stage production of The Lord of the Rings during its Toronto run,
received the Best Instrumentalist (Solo) award for her sophomore album News
From Up the Street.
Lindsay and violinist/composer Oliver Schroer also won the Producer of the Year
award for their work on the album.
For their CD The Soundtrack, jazz/newgrass/folk/chamber music ensemble
the Creaking Tree String Quartet received Best Instrumentalist (Group) and the
Pushing the Boundaries award – the latter for the second time in three years.
Best Contemporary Album honours went to Grammy-nominated Winnipeg acoustic band
The Duhks for its album Migrations.
Other prizes handed out included: Best Traditional Album: La Part du
Queteux of Quebec
Best Ensemble: Quebec folk band Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer
Best Songwriter (English): Oh Susanna (Suzie Ungerleider) of Toronto
Best Songwriter (French): Hugo Fleury of Quebec.
Best Songwriter (Aboriginal): Sandy Scofield of Vancouver
Best Solo Artist: Sarah Noni Metzner of Toronto (formerly Vancouver)
Best Vocal Group: Tanglefoot of southern Ontario.
The concert gala, with performances by Sylvia Tyson, The Duhks, Florent
Vollant, Ron Hynes, Ian Tamblyn, T. Nile, Vishten and Galitcha, will air on
Canadianfolkmusicawards.ca has a complete winners' list.
Exclusive Interview With Andre’ Braugher
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
(November 29, 2007) *Andre
Braugher considers
himself a private person and admits you will not read that much about him in
the tabloids. As one of our best actors to grace a stage or screen, it was
indeed a pleasure to get some one on one time with Braugher.
It is not just happenstance that Braugher became an actor. He defied his
parents wishes to become an actor. As a college student studying engineering,
Braugher was bitten by the acting bug.
“I was dragged to a play and it fired my imagination,” - he recollects.
When the “stubborn” Braugher broke the news of his decision to become an
actor, his parents felt betrayed.
“We sacrificed our entire lives to give you exactly the kind of education
necessary to [succeed] and have a future and now you’re throwing it away, to
become what, a circus performer?” was his father’s caustic response. Braugher
understood his father’s concern and pointed out that at the time he decided to
make the switch, Black actors were not the superstars that they are now.
“It was only in the late 70s and 80s that there was this huge groundswell of
African American actors who wanted to be involved in this business,” Braugher
says. “My father said to me, ‘Who does what you want to do?’ He’s a practical
man and thought I was sabotaging a perfect engineering career so I could
act.” Asked if his father is proud of him now, Braugher took great
pleasure in saying, “Yes, very proud.”
And his father should be proud. Not only is Braugher a successful actor
but he has attained his stature with dignity. In the years Braugher has made
his presence known on the big and small screen, he never did it in a
disparaging manner. Besides his astounding performance in “Glory,”
Braugher has impressed audiences with his performances, be it a judge,
detective, doctor or angel. He appeared as A. Philip Randolph in the Showtime
Original Film, “10,000 Black Men Named George and served as Executive Producer.
Although he has appeared in blockbusters such “Fantastic Four: Rise of the
Silver Surfer” and “Poseidon,” my two favourite films of his are “City of
Angels” and “Frequency.” In the unique film “City of Angels,” Braugher
and all the angels wore black, which is quite an understatement considering the
negative connotation black has throughout the universe.
In Stephen King’s “The Mist,” Braugher is a prominent attorney who rents a
summer home in a lakeside community. “My character is a brilliant lawyer
who is going insane like everybody else.” But Braugher’s approach to his
role was unlike everyone else, director Frank Darabont told The Film Strip.
“Andre brought this amazing subtext to that character and when I was watching
what he was doing I thought, ‘Well, this is a guy that got picked on when he
was younger and had some names called at him and grew up to be this incredible,
prominently powerful man who had a chip on his shoulder though.’ That was never
intended in the script, in the story necessarily. It was a layer Andre brought
to it. When we were shooting those scenes everybody was around the monitor with
their jaws dropped. It was like, ‘Got dam!’ This is why you hire an actor like
that because he’s gonna go above and beyond. He’s going to find his own way
into the material.
Even though he’s saying the words you wrote, it means so much more. Andre is
like a gift. Even though Andre never crossed my mind, I’ve been a fan of his
since ‘Glory.’ His performance in that movie is stunning and he made such an
impression on me in that film; it was so damn good.”
There was a time Braugher used to sit by the phone waiting for it to ring. Now,
between movies, he does the things he always wanted to do.
“So I took a bike trip to Kansas in May. I got on my bike one day, packed up my
junk, waived goodbye to my wife and five weeks later I’m in Kansas.” His
trek began in New Jersey and for the most part, he went unrecognized.
“Sometimes I was, but most people didn’t believe it was me. It was like, ‘What
are you doing here on a bike in the middle of nowhere?’”
In his attempt to not get caught up in the fanfare of celebrity, Braugher
doesn’t even comment on his philanthropic projects when asked about them. He
will only say, “I do make contributions but prefer to do what I do quietly. I
do it anonymously when possible and just leave it at that. You may notice you
don’t hear a lot about me. I share my thoughts about this film and things like
that, but that’s about it.”
Chad Butler, 33: Rap Musician Known As Pimp C
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Ryan
Pearson, The Associated Press
(December 05, 2007) LOS ANGELES – Pimp C, who spun
searing tales of Texas street life into a key role in the rise of Southern
hip-hop, was found dead in an upscale hotel on Tuesday. He was 33.
The rapper formed Underground Kingz with partner-in-rhyme Bun B while the pair
were in high school, and their often laconic delivery paired with wittily
dangerous lyrics influenced a generation of current superstars like Lil' Wayne.
T.I. had the group on as guests when he remade their 1994 song "Front,
Back and Side to Side" for his "King" album.
To a mainstream audience, Pimp C was best known for UGK's cameo on the Jay-Z
hit "Big Pimpin'," and for "Free Pimp C" T-shirts and
shout-outs, ubiquitous in rap several years ago while he was jailed on gun
charges. On Tuesday, his MySpace page had been changed to read: "C the
Pimp is FREE at last.''
Born Chad Butler, Pimp C was found dead in a room at the Mondrian hotel, a
longtime music industry hangout not far from the House of Blues on Sunset
Strip, where he had performed Saturday night alongside rap veteran Too $hort.
Capt. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner's office said Butler had
apparently died in bed.
"At this time there's no signs of foul play," Winter said. ``It
appears to be possibly natural, but pending autopsy and toxicology we can't say
the cause.''
Though they never enjoyed massive pop chart success, UGK's early CDs are
considered landmarks for the then-burgeoning
Over laid-back beats, they laid out incisive details that remain Southern rap
mainstays: descriptions of sex and conspicuous consumption, wood-grain steering
wheels and triple-beam scales used to weigh drugs.
When Pimp C and Bun B finally put out an album this year, they felt such a need
to re-establish themselves they titled their album ``Underground Kingz,"
as if to underscore a new start.
Critics praised the CD, which included the hit "International Player's
Anthem (I Choose You)," featuring OutKast. Pimp C's verse riffs on
high-class women and cars: "I'm pullin' Bentleys off the lot. Smashed up
the gray one, bought me a red. Every time we hit the parking lot we turn
heads," he raps.
Barry Weiss,
"That's how I came up listening to everything," he told The
Associated Press in a 2005 interview. "Music don't have no color or no
face. It's a universal language. I think being exposed to all that kind of
stuff influences the way I make records.''
Associated Press writer Kristie Rieken in
::MUSIC NEWS::
The Horseshoe Turns 60
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Greg Quill, Entertainment Columnist
“It used to be about the ability to play an instrument. `F--- that’, we
said.It’s
about expression, politics, a sense of danger, something unexpected. That was
the aesthetic we inherited from (Toronto concert promoters) Gary Topp and Gary
Cormier, when Craig (Laskey) and I took over (from former owners X-Ray MacRae
and Ken Sprackman) in 1997-98, and we carried it through. “We got rid of
(bluesmen) Jack De Keyzers and the Paul Jameses and all the others who were
living off the Horseshoe’s past, and started booking independent bands from the
U.S. and across Canada. Audience acceptance was immediate.” — Jeff Cohen,
co-owner, Horseshoe Tavern
(December 02, 2007) From its post-war origins as a honky-tonk hosting the likes
of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Loretta Lynn, through its Canadiana years
as Stompin’ Tom’s stomping ground in the late 1960s, to its punk glory days a
decade later under renegade promoters Gary Topp and Gary Cormier, to its
ascendancy as the birthplace of Canada’s new rock heroes (The Tragically Hip,
The Watchmen, The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Moxy Früvous, The Barenaked Ladies)
in the ’80s and ’90s, and since then as a showcase for an astonishing array of
diverse emerging talent from across Canada and around the world, The Horseshoe has never really lost its
edge. How?
The Horseshoe’s enduring allure has a lot to do with its against-the-grain
history, says Cohen, a tradition he and the club’s co-owner, Craig Laskey — and
their promotions company, Against The Grain — cranked up a decade ago.
“In 1997 we started booking really left-of-centre stuff, we called it pink
stuff ..... and (CFNY deejay) Dave Bookman opened up Nu Music Tuesday Nights as
a way of developing young bands,” he says. “There’s no cover, and sometimes
four bands a night.
“Older people hated us. We lowered the audience age from 35 to 19, the age of
the musicians who played here from 30 to 21. If we were serious about building
into the next 10 years, we had to make a break with the past. We booked the
bands we liked over and over again Thursday through Saturday, sometimes for
three sets a night. Blue Rodeo, Nickelback, Billy Talent, the Tragically Hip
all got signed at the Horseshoe, or because they were spotted here.
“We’re very open-minded about booking new talent. It’s real easy to play at the
Horseshoe. It’s more difficult to stay. You have to prove yourself.”
Cohen and Laskey don’t take all the credit. Much of their experience was gained
as bookers for former owners MacRae and Sprackman. They also relied on former
Toronto concert promoter Eliott Lefko and super-agent Ralph James at the Agency
Group to pitch bands that suited their mandate. They watched what worked at the
Rivoli, a couple of doors away on Queen St., and tracked down contenders. Cohen
and Laskey go to the SXSW new music conference in Austin, Tex., every year to
buy talent.
“We spotted Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown there, and instantly thought they’d be
the next big Horseshoe weekend band,” Cohen says. “They played on a Tuesday
night first time, then two weekend shows — now Ryan sells out Massey Hall. But
he always stops by at the Horseshoe when he’s in town.”
Montreal-born Joey Burns, who heads up Tucson-based alt.country-folk outfit
Calexico, says “It’s an old bar with old furniture that looks as if it came off
a sailing ship in the 1800s.” But Calexico has performed there frequently in
the past decade, always to packed houses.
“You walk in there and your first impression is that the place has character,
age and that it’s sturdy enough to withstand the hardest blows bands and
audiences can deliver.”
Even better, it’s an inner-city gathering place for hard-core music fans who
know what’s good and what’s phoney, he adds. “It’s in a well-fortified area, a
part of the city where musicians and artists of all kinds hang out. It’s
conducive to conversation, a real North American bar that feels like an Irish
pub. There’s so much going on in there you don’t want to leave. Sure, the
Troubadour in Los Angeles is still going, but it’s under siege, surrounded by
the corporate fear factor. The Horseshoe is robust, lively, and really
interesting ..... every night of the week.”
The first time Calexico played there, it had only the recommendations of trail
mates Dallas and Travis Good (The Sadies) to go by. “
But the minute we walked in I knew it was going to be interesting,” Burns says.
“I was surprised that so many people were so into our music. And Jeff and Craig
are really creative promoters. After every show, they’re busy turning bands on
to new music they’ve discovered. They make musicians very comfortable.”
For Joel Plaskett, who has played there countless times, the club’s design and
layout is perfect for live music.
“It just draws you in. You’ve got the long bar up front where people
congregate, talk, drink and eat, and when it’s time, you pay your cover at the
far end of the room and go into the inner sanctum. It holds about 300 people,
but you feel really close to the music. It’s a big performance room, but
intimate.”
The ’Shoe is a destination point for traveling musicians, the one club whose
listings every band checks when they hit town, adds Plaskett, who will be
joined in his six-night run by his father, Bill Plaskett, on guitar, and Grady
(former Big Sugar) frontman Gordie Johnson, among other surprise guests.
“It’s the place to play if you want to leave a mark, one of the most
consistently curated music rooms in the country,” he adds.
“In fact, I can’t think of another.”
Ralph James inherited the Horseshoe as a client when he joined The Agency Group
in 1991, much to the amusement of his colleagues.
“Even back then, X-Ray and Kenny refused to deal with agents. Basically their
deal was that the band takes the door and they take the bar (proceeds). It
seemed to me to be a brilliant opportunity.”
The ’Shoe still operates that way, but it’s Bookman’s free Nu Music Tuesdays
that have become the magnet for talent buyers and managers over the past dozen
years.
“Dave very effectively pre-screens new talent from around the world for Tuesday
night’s shows,” James says. “On any given Tuesday, you’ll get a glimpse of the
future of music. If you’re serious about the business, you’ll be there a
minimum of 40 Tuesdays a year.
“The ’Shoe is magic. It’s the most consistent and safe showcase for new talent
in the country. It’s no wonder so many bands come back after they’ve made it
big.”
Devoted Crowd Knows Oshawa Foursome More Than Merely Rootsy
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Ben Rayner, Pop Music Critic
(December 02, 2007) Seems like it's Cuff
the Duke's time and,
frankly, it's about time.
These guys are doing fine anyway, make no mistake. If that wasn't a capacity
crowd welcoming the Oshawa-spawned ensemble back to Metro Toronto and,
specifically, into the Mod Club Theatre on Friday on the closing night of a
cross-Canada tour to launch its dandy new disc, Sidelines of the City,
then there was still sufficient popular interest in the local CD-release gig to
lure a handful of scalpers out on College Street in defiance of a brewing,
not-quite-there winter tempest.
Inside, Cuff the Duke did as it always does, expanding and elevating a
time-tested roots-rock formula – lots of early Tom Petty and Blue Rodeo, some
pre-suck Son Volt and a maybe-unconscious hint of Meat Puppets – into something
decidedly more ... I dunno ... cosmic. Cosmic, but still
"earthy." The combination doesn't really make sense, I know, but
that's the way Cuff the Duke rolls.
The sage deployment of visceral guitar noise and a stern command of spacious,
prog-worthy dynamics have been this band's secret weapons since co-founders
Wayne Petti and Paul Lowman and the original Cuff line-up were welcomed as wee
sprouts barely out of high school into the gone-but-not-forgotten Three Gut
Records fold with 2002's Life Stories for Minimum Wage. Consignment to
the overburdened "alt-country" category has nevertheless left the
band overlooked and misread as, perhaps, a bit too "ordinary" to get
fully caught up in the subsequent Canadian indie-rock hypestorm.
Sidelines of the City finally, properly nails on record Cuff the Duke's
knack for catapulting down-home stomp into an epic orbit usually occupied by
British guitar bands. But onstage is still where the group – now enriched by
the subtle guitar heroics and on-point harmonies of Dale Murray and rock-steady
drummer Corey Wood – unfailingly reminds you that you haven't been paying
nearly enough attention to its talents.
Friday's set cockily opened with the irresistible new single "Surging
Revival" and old fave "Blackheart" before conjuring down-home
post-shoegaze doom to rival Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on "If I Live or
If I Die," out-Petty-ing Tom with Petti's AM-worthy gem "Remember the
Good Times" and then nearly bursting every heart in the place with an
extended, arena-worthy assault on the ooey-gooey "Failure to Some."
More impressive than the musicianship required to turn it on and off as
reliably as this band does, though, was the fact that the crowd already seemed
intimately acquainted with the new songs that dominated the set. Cuff the Duke,
maybe your moment is now.
Young Cellist's Toronto Debut Worth The Wait
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - John
Terauds, Classical Music Critic
(November 30, 2007) People say that, of all instruments, the cello most
resembles the human voice. If that's true, then 25-year-old cellist Alisa Weilerstein would be Tina Turner in
her prime.
Weilerstein plays classical music with the depth of soul and raw emotional
energy of a diehard rocker. She also has a classic poise and onstage elegance
that make her welcome among the traditional symphony starched white ties.
The young string diva already qualifies as a veteran, having grown up with
musician parents, with whom she played regularly as part of the Weilerstein
Trio, based in Boston. She made her orchestral solo debut in Cleveland at age
13 and has worked steadily ever since while completing her music studies and
even getting a degree in Russian history at Columbia University in 2004.
She has performed around the world with major orchestras and top-name venues,
so her Toronto Symphony Orchestra debut Wednesday night came not a moment too
soon.
The wait until the second half of the program was worth every minute. Her
rendition of Antonin Dvorak's grand and intimate Cello Concerto from
1895 was a treat from start to finish.
Weilerstein has a magical control over her bow, giving the sound of her cello
seemingly infinite degrees of expression. She even has a way of turning a
simple vibrato into a breathless flutter that she deployed to great effect in
quieter sections of the first movement.
The Toronto Symphony players were in fine form, with maestro Peter Oundjian
coaxing an equally rich backup performance.
People came for Weilerstein and likely left with smiles as the cello piece
faded into memory. But there was much more to the program earlier in the
evening: Mozart's "Prague" Symphony and a Double Concerto for Two
String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani from 1938 by Czech composer Bohuslav
Martinu (1890-1959).
Neither piece is a natural companion to the Dvorak concerto. The
In fact, it's hard to find anything that ties these works together other than
atypical compositional structure, relative to traditional models.
Suffice to say that the program-opening Mozart suffered from some mushy bass
playing and thin-sounding violins. The Martinu is a hair-raising piece that
offers little respite for jangled nerves.
Toronto-based pianist Andrew Burashko brought out the nervous edge in the often
virtuosic piano part, while Oundjian kept the orchestra tight, and focused on
the composers' rhythmic and harmonic tension.
Martinu here leaves everyone wound up to the very last chord. Only in the
second movement can our hearts unclench a bit.
Thank goodness there was Alisa Weilerstein to make us see warmth, light and life
all over again after intermission.
Ladies Sing The Blues
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Brad Wheeler
(December 02, 2007) Women's blues and men's blues are
different, lyrically in particular, enough so that the female brand is often
thought to be a subgenre of the overall idiom. Think of the conciliatory verse
“You can have my husband, but please don't take my man,” or the great Besse
Smith, on “Dirty No-Gooder Blues,” carping about the 19 men living in her
neighbourhood, 18 of which are fools, and the other one who “ain't no doggone
good.” Now picture a man singing the same lines, genders reversed. It just doesn't
make it.
Same thing when, at the 21st-annual Women's
Blues Revue at Massey Hall, Montreal's pint-sized
vocal prodigy Nikki Yanofsky warns on “Evil Gal Blues” not to mess with her,
that she'll empty your pockets and fill you with misery. If a man approached a
woman with that kind of promise, she would most likely flee – ending things
before they began, and not leaving much of a song to work with. But a man – 18
out of 19 are fools, remember – he'll check that evil out for himself, never
minding the consequences.
Similarly, on her elegantly jazz-chorded “While I Wait for You” (think of John
Coltrane's version of “My Favorite Things”) Toronto-based Roxanne Potvin
simmers, suffers and has just about had enough. On the flipside, if a man is
waiting alone at home, he's just a sap – a terrifically non-bluesy sap.
Saturday's was young Potvin's third appearance at the revue, a platform for
Canadian female blues performers put on by the Toronto Blues Society. For
someone with her obvious ability (voice, songwriting and a stylish, dry-toned
guitar approach), Potvin was oddly meek. There was a slight swagger to her own
“I Wanna Do Everything,” but the evening's lone guitarist among the six
featured artists was reserved compared to the bill's bolder vocalists.
Toronto's Shawne Jackson, who had a seventies hit with “Just as Bad as You,”
was fairly lounge-minded, though she did add a nice Dionne Warwick touch to
Haydain Neale's “Still Believe in Love.”
More assertive was Toronto's Treasa Levasseur, a sturdy-throated Rhodes player
who covered Latin-tinged R&B, matrimonial country soul and soul that was
horn-driven and high-spirited. Likewise, Vancouver jaw-singer Layla Zoe walked
the divide of Janis Joplin and Joss Stone, showing off her tattoos and a
suggestive nature that drew wolf whistles and applause from the male part of
the audience. A brawny Hoochie-Coochie Woman was what she sang – and was.
Each performer was allotted three songs, backed by a seven-piece band that
counted a two-piece brass section. I liked what they did, particularly standup
jazz bassist Brandi Disterheft and bandleader Suzi Vinnick, who was the night's
seventh star on vocals and guitar.
Last act Dawn Tyler Watson is often described as fiery and flashy, but at
Massey she was less of that and more just plain consummate. “Montreal's queen
of the blues,” showed invention with John Lennon's “Come Together,” starting it
off in a Delta style before sprawling it out Prince-like. “Movin' On” was a
deeply-dug soul power-ballad, and “Wang Dang Doodle” was done as imagined by
James Brown. Watson, easily charismatic, seemed like the only performer that
wasn't auditioning for next year's revue.
After an all-smiles finale of the Beatles' “With a Little Help From My Friends”
(with all of the performers except for 13-year-old Yanofsky), there was enough
time to catch a set by U.S. blues veteran Lucky Peterson at the Silver Dollar
Room.
Peterson, once dubbed a “five-year-old genius” for his early developing
talents, is now a declining 44-year-old. Wild-eyed and undisciplined, the
singer-guitarist took scribbled song requests out of a beer pitcher as he
erratically cobbled together a string of rocked R&B, Chuck Berry and a
numbly-fingered “Sweet Home Chicago.”
Over at Massey, young Yanofsky impressed with improbable pipes, poise and
spelling prowess (Aretha Franklin's “Respect” is spelled R.E.S.P.E.C.T.). Maybe
the singer – she looks like a pocket-sized Norah Jones – was at the Dollar
taking notes, observing a once promising performer now reduced to parlour-trick
shenanigans.
The Woman's Blues Revue was taped for future broadcast on
Shaggy 'Intoxicates' Billboard
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
-
(November 29, 2007) Shaggy’s Intoxication lands at the top of
Billboard’s Reggae Album chart.
*Shaggy's latest album Intoxication debuted in the number one spot on the
Billboard Reggae Album chart. The 15-track disc which features collaborations
with the likes of Sizzla, Collie Buddz, Akon, Ricardo 'Rik Rok' Ducent and
Nasha among others, was released a few weeks ago through a joint venture deal
with Big Yard Music Group and VP Records.
"Intoxication is the most important album for me. It's the first time in
my 17-year musical career that I was fully in charge of every aspect of an
album that I have done. I was involved in the songwriting, the marketing, the
making of the videos, the promotion and the whole works. It was a 110 per cent
involvement," Shaggy said.
Shaggy pointed out that Intoxication gave him the freedom to do what he wanted.
"I had no guys in suits telling me what to do. To see all the great
reviews that the album has been getting is really quite rewarding for me."
He added, "We came back and cemented Shaggy with Church Heathen and then to
drop an album to match all of that. This is an album that stands out in the
core market."
Asked what was his favourite track on the album and why, Shaggy said
"Woman Scorn. I like songs that I can come up with a subject that everyone
can relate to".
Intoxication, according to Shaggy, took seven months to complete.
"This album was completed relatively in quick time. My last album Clothes
Drop was a headache to finish and one of my worst because I had to make too
many compromises. The only form of pressure that I came under while doing
Intoxication was selecting the songs for the album. There are a lot of good
songs that we left off," Shaggy pointed out.
Intoxication is Shaggy's eighth studio album. His first release was Pure
Pleasure in 1993. Original Doberman for Greensleeves was released in 1994. A
year later Virgin released the double platinum-selling Boombastic, while
Midnite Lover, his final opus for Virgin, saw the light of day in 1997.
MCA Records released Shaggy's Hot Shot album in 2000, and the set became his
biggest selling disc to date, shifting more than 10 million units worldwide.
The set reeled out hits with Angel and It Wasn't Me (both of which topped the
Billboard Hot 100 chart), and Freaky Girl. Lucky Day arrived in 2002, while
Clothes Drop hit the streets in 2005.
To date, Shaggy has scored four number one albums on the Billboard Reggae album
chart. The previous chart toppers were Boombastic, Midnite Lover and Lucky Day.
The next single from Intoxication will be What's Love featuring Akon. A video
is to be shot within the next few weeks.
"We wanted to do the video here in Jamaica, but we might have to do it
overseas because of the busy season and Akon's other obligations," said
Shaggy.
Marsalis To Tour With Lincoln Center Jazz Group
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(November 30, 2007) *Wynton
Marsalis will once again lead the
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on a national tour that focuses this year on
Duke Ellington's love songs.
The 21-city trek is scheduled to launch Jan. 16 in Ann Arbor, MI and roll
through several college campuses throughout the West Coast and Midwest.
There will also be a Jan. 18 stop in Chicago for the orchestra's continuing
Jazz For Young People series.
The fifteen-member JLCO - formerly known as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra -
is anchored in the venerable New York performing arts theatre and is the official
house orchestra for Jazz at Lincoln Center activities. They've toured annually
over the last 12 years, performing compositions and arrangements made famous by
composers such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonious
Monk and Charles Mingus, as well as commissioned works by Benny Carter, Joe
Henderson, Jimmy Heath, Chico O'Farrill, members of the JLCO and others.
The current JLCO features music director Marsalis, along with Ryan Kisor, Sean
Jones and Marcus Printup on trumpets; Chris Crenshaw, Vincent Gardner and
Elliot Mason on trombones; Walter Blanding, Victor Goines, Sherman Irby, Ted
Nash and Joe Temperley on reeds; Dan Nimmer on piano, Carlos Henriquez on bass;
and Ali Jackson on drums.
Here are the dates for the JLCO National Tour:
January 2008
16 - Ann Arbor, MI - University of Michigan
18 - Chicago, IL - Orchestra Hall (Jazz for Young People concert)
19 - Bloomington, IL - Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts
20 - Notre Dame, IN - Debartolo Center for the Performing Arts
21 - Minneapolis, MN - Orchestra Hall
24 - Santa Cruz, CA - Civic Auditorium
25 - Santa Rosa, CA - Wells Fargo Center
26 - Berkeley, CA - Zellerbach Hall @ UC Berkeley
27 - Stanford, CA - Memorial Auditorium @ Stanford University
28 - Arcata, CA - Van Duzer Theatre @ Humboldt State University
29 - Davis, CA - Mondavi Center @ UC Davis
31 - Costa Mesa, CA - Orange County Performing Arts Center
February 2008
1 - Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall
2 - Malibu, CA - Smothers Theatre @ Pepperdine University
4 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center
5 - Tucson, AZ - University of Arizona
6 - Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium
8 - Kansas City, MO - Folly Theatre
9 - St. Louis, MO - Sheldon Concert Hall
10 - Columbia, MO - Jesse Auditorium @ University of Missouri
12 - Iowa City, IA - Hancher Auditorium
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Evel Knievel Dies Days After Making Peace With Kanye West
Excerpt from www.allhiphop.com
- By Houston Williams
(November 30, 2007) Stunt and motorcycle legend Evel
Knievel
died Friday, days after peacefully resolving a legal dispute with rapper Kanye West. He was 69 years old.
The legend died from complications associated with diabetes and idiopathic
pulmonary fibrosis, according to published reports. Knievel also had to receive
a liver transplant in 1999 due to a Hepatitis C infection from a blood
transfusion.
Knievel had sued Kanye West and Roc-A-Fella Records in Dec. 2006 after West
released a video for “Touch The Sky.” In the video, West assumed the name
"Evel Kanyevel" and donned several of Knievel’s staple looks,
including a unique “WK” belt buckle, according to thesmokinggun.com.
On November 27, the pair released a statement via Def Jam Records stating that
their legal issues were amicably resolved.
Knievel often wore red-white-and-blue and was the world’s forerunning
daredevil. Typically using a motorcycle, he would jump over obstacles like
passenger buses, sharks and even Idaho's Snake River Canyon.
“I routinely faced Death himself and was able to turn it into a benefit for my
life, my family and everyone that surrounded me and believed in me,” Knievel
said on his website. “Practically my entire existence in the public spotlight
has been borne out of overcoming adversity – adversity that should have cost me
my life.”
Bow Wow And Omarion 'Faceoff'
Source: ThinkTank Marketing, Ryan@thinktankmktg.com, www.thinktankmktg.com
(December 3, 2007) The chart-topping multi-platinum
hip-hop
dynamos Bow Wow and Omarion have joined forces to
create a new collaborative collection that promises to become one of the major
musical events of 2007.
The Bow Wow-Omarion project, Faceoff, in stores December 11th.
While details of the Bow Wow-Omarion project remain under wraps, the new album
marks the culmination of a joint collaborative process dating back to 2005,
when Omarion's vocal contributions to "Let Me Hold You," the first
single from Bow Wow's fourth album, Wanted, peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot
100, giving Bow Wow his first-ever Top 10 single and Omarion his first Top 10
as a solo artist.
That same year, Bow Wow and Omarion hit the road as co-headliners on the SRO
"Scream Tour IV Presents: The Heart Throb Tour."
"Me and O have been trying to put this together for so many years, and now
we've got the opportunity to do it," Bow Wow told Billboard.com earlier
this month. "We're in the creative process right now, coming up with ideas
daily, so the process is real smooth. We're anxious to make this whole thing
happen. It's gonna be a special event. It's gonna be crazy, something the
people have been waiting on -- the girls have been waiting on -- for years. O's
one of my best friends. Anytime you get a chance to work with somebody you're
best friends with, it's not even work, it's like working with family."
Omarion shares his best friend's enthusiasm for the as-yet-unnamed project.
"This isn't about money, this is about music," says Omarion. "We
both started young and have grown up together, working on the same tours, and
have developed our identity in the music world. Jay-Z and R Kelly were the
first big R&B/Rap combo, and we have great respect for them and have been
inspired by them, but we still want to create something we can call our own. We
just want to do our own thing. We want to have a great time and make good music
for our fans. This is gonna be fun, so 'World, Watch out! We're coming!'"
ABOUT
Currently on the road with his "Price Of Fame Tour," Bow Wow is
riding the success of his latest Top 10 album, The Price Of Fame, which reached
#6 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
The Price Of Fame kicked out a string of hit singles including the #1 Hot Rap
Tracks chartbuster "Shortie Like Mine" as well as "I'm A
Flirt" and "Outta My System."
Released in December 2006, The Price of Fame is the first new studio album from
Bow Wow since July 2005 when his RIAA platinum-certified Wanted debuted at #3
on the Billboard Top 200 and generated the smash singles "Let Me Hold
You" (featuring Omarion) (#1 Rap, #2 R&B/Hip-Hop, #4 Hot 100) and
"Like You" (featuring Ciara) (#1 Rap, #1 R&B Hip-Hop, #3 Hot
100).
Bow Wow--whose film credits include "Like Mike" (one of the 50 Top
Grossing films of 2002), "All About The Benjamins" (2003),
"Johnson Family Vacation" (2004), "Roll Bounce" and
"The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" (2006). This past year, he
also starred in the CW hit television series, "Smallville."
Bow Wow first burst on the scene back in 2000--under the wing of super producer
Jermaine Dupri--with his debut album, Beware of Dog, which went on to sell more
than three million copies while solidifying his status as an authentic hip-hop
heartthrob.
Bow Wow took his brand of rap to the next level with 2001's Doggy Bag, hitting
the road in support of his multi-platinum sophomore CD with the sold-out
"SCREAM Tour II," wowing fans all over the country with hits like
"Take Ya Home" and "Thank You."
With his third album, 2003's Unleashed, Bow Wow became more directly involved
with writing and producing his music, creating a collection directly from the
heart, conveying a more personal overview of life from Bow Wow's perspective.
He is the youngest musician to open the Grammy Awards, is the first "kid"
to be included in Vanity Fair's prestigious annual music issue (October 2001),
and entered "The Guinness Book of World Records" as the youngest solo
rapper to hit #1 on the U.S. charts.
Bow Wow is launching his own media company, LBW Entertainment, which handles
emerging artists including Young Jinsu and Clee-O.
With numerous hit singles, platinum-plus albums, sold-out tours, starring roles
in hit films, and a place in "The Guinness Book of World Records"
already on his resume, Bow Wow continues to prove that he's the 100% real deal
with the indisputable goods: a bona fide superstar blessed with talent,
tenacity, and a deep connection to his audience.
ABOUT OMARION
R&B superstar Omarion rang in 2007 with 21, the year's first #1 album. The
performer's second solo album (and first on Columbia Records) entered the
Billboard Top 200 best-selling albums and the R&B sales charts at #1,
mirroring the achievement of his debut solo album, O, which entered both those
charts at #1 in February 2005. An important new voice in contemporary R&B
and hip-hop, Omarion is one of a select group of artists to have achieved
back-to-back #1 debuts on both the Hot 100 and the R&B charts with two
consecutive albums.
Born and raised in Inglewood, California, Omarion rose to fame while still a
teen as a member of the groundbreaking urban "boy band" B2K. His
soulful vocals, riveting stage presence, and undeniable charisma helped B2K
score a hit with the group's very first single, "Uh Huh," in 2001;
achieve gold status with the group's self-titled debut album in 2002; and go
RIAA platinum with the group's best-selling sophomore outing, Pandemonium! in
2003.
Omarion's undeniable media-geniality has led to numerous television guest
appearances including "Punk'd," "The Sharon Osbourne Show,"
"Regis & Kelly" and "Soul Train." In addition to his
musical performances, Omarion has acted on the big screen with key roles in
"You Got Served" and "Fat Albert." Omarion stars in
"Somebody Help Me," an innovative horror film directed by Chris
Stokes and may be seen in the upcoming films "Reggaeton" and Tyger
("Menace II Society") Williams' "Street Soldier."
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Jill Scott On Her Tyler Perry French Connection
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
(December 3, 2007) *She's taking her freedom, taking it
off
the shelf, putting it in her car and it certainly has taken her far. The
artist for now and forever known as Jill
Scott has had an extremely eventful year.
Two positives and a big negative: She released part three of her self-titled
Jill Scott musical anthology, starred in Tyler Perry's runaway hit "Why
Did I Get Married" and she also divorced her husband of 5 years, Lyzel
Williams.
When EURweb happened upon the soul sister from the City of Brotherly Love back
she was on a promotional stopover along with film writer/director/actor Tyler
Perry.
Scott gained critics' praise for the manner in which she played Sheila, an
overweight sister with a crumbling marriage and horrible self-esteem.
With skills like that we just knew she had some acting in her background ...
and she does.
"I was working as a poet and I had a really good friend of mine named
Ozzie Jones who's a director in Philly," remembered Scott. "He says
"I think you should act." I said, well I don't know anything
about it."
But that didn't stop this young lady, who at times seems to emanate positive energy
not unlike a nuclear reactor emanates radiation. She knew that she didn't
know how to act, but she wanted to know badly.
"So, I found a fellowship in Philadelphia at a great theatre
company," said Scott. "First it was a fellowship, then an internship.
For two years I cleaned toilets, mopped floors and hung lights and billboards
and helped put up sets. I did whatever they asked me to do so that I
could get free acting classes because I couldn't afford university. So, I
studied Shakespeare and did improv. Whatever they had to offer. So,
I just took it and ran. It took time. I was doing 'Rent' but then I
got a record deal and that meant I had to stop doing plays so that I could do
the first record, 'Who Is Jill Scott'."
Positive energy is a wonderful and mysterious thing. Jill Scott put a lot
of it into learning the craft of acting yet was whisked away by her other
dream, that of recording an album. The energy she put out years earlier
returned to her when she was selected by Tyler Perry to star in his summer time
hit. But Scott tells EURweb that she and Perry go back even further than that.
I was a manager at 'French Connection' in Philly, because you know I'm a Philly
girl. Ty comes in looking for a shirt.
"At that time I hadn't done anything. I just had a play in town and
nobody knew who I was," said Perry as he spoke to other reporters
nearby.
"So, I'm showing him shirts," she continues. "He doesn't
buy anything, but he has a nice sense of humour. He was funny and a pleasure to
talk to. So, we talked and then he said 'So, what're you doing
later?' And I said 'I don't know.' So he said 'Why don't you come
and see a play?' So, I said OK. I didn't know what that
meant, but he only gave me one ticket."
("So, you couldn't bring nobody," laughed Perry.)
"So, I went to see the play and I don't remember which play I saw, but I
do remember this. It wasn't the okie doke. It wasn't the chitlin'
circuit. It was smart, and it was funny and it was thoughtful. It
wasn't a whole lot of 'hee hee' and 'haw haw' and 'Yeah girl!' It wasn't the
typical stuff we see all the time. It wasn't the flaming hair stylist
with the hot comb in his hand the whole (play). This wasn't that."
"So, I get on the bus and I look at the playbill and I see this guy,"
Jill pauses then points at Perry. "This guy right here was the
director and the writer. And I thought 'Oh! That's nice.'
That's how Tyler and I met the first time. I think that was 12 years
ago? We didn't exchange numbers or anything like that. I just
remember him being a nice guy."
Tyler Perry has always been thought of as 'a nice guy' but Scott told us she
wasn't feeling so nice during some scenes in "Why Did I Get
Married." Her character was sad all time. We asked Scott
whether she was able to channel some of the energy from her divorce into her
'Sheila' character.
"That influenced everything, the divorce did it, quite frankly,"
Scott admitted. "It influenced everything that I wrote. Everything
that I lacked I wrote down. I tapped into these experiences to feel unabashed
to cry and to feel so low that the feelings were hard to let go. Sometimes when
you're acting you fall into the character you play and when they say 'cut' you
walk away. This wasn't like that. I felt it later, I felt it at
night and I felt it before I got to work.
"Plus, Richard T. Jones is such an amazing actor that he wanted to hurt my
feelings. It wasn't Jill that he was trying to hurt but, to get to
Sheila, he had to go through me and he definitely hurt me," said Scott of
her on screen problems."
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Spice Girls Kick Off Reunion Tour
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Kerry
Gold, Special To The Star
(December 03, 2007) VANCOUVER–It’s been eight years
since the Spice Girls stepped onto a stage and
demanded to know: “So tell me what you want, what you really really want.”
Judging from the ear-piercing shrieks of 15,000 fans at the launch of the
British pop quintet’s world tour at GM Place in Vancouver, we really, really
wanted them back together.
They didn’t disappoint.
The production, which arrives in Toronto Feb. and 4, was easily one of the best
productions to grace an arena in years — a spectacular, sensory feast of a show
that went off without a hitch.
Two hours before show time, throngs of girls waiting in line sang Spice Girls’
songs at the top of their lungs. Once inside, excited girls — a lot of them in
makeshift Union Jack dresses and sequins — rushed merchandise tables with such
urgency that more than one seller had to yell at them to get back.
If you weren’t carrying a glow stick, you were probably someone’s mother.
“They’re our idols,” said Nicol Spinola, 20. “This is our childhood.”
“This is who we loved growing up,” added her friend Tamara Bishniakofs, 21. “I
think their music has a good message for young girls.”
Like the majority of the crowd, Freya Enemark and her friend Greg Hues were
early fans of the Spice Girls. Hues still has their first CD.
“This crowd is really mixed,” Enemark said. “There are 10-year-olds here, and
it’s like, ‘You weren’t even here when they first came out. You don’t get it,’”
she said, laughing.
“They’re on my iPod, and they’ve been on there for about three years,” gushed
Krista Munro, 13, who landed premium floor seats with 15-year-old sister
Ashley.
By the time the Spice Girls appeared shortly after 8 p.m., the fans were
screaming as if the Beatles themselves had reunited.
Following a spectacular video and light show, the five emerged like superheroes
on risers — singing their signature hit, “Spice Up Your Life.” They disappeared
behind big screens and came back out for another megahit, “Stop,” a song that
most everyone in the room had acted out in front of their bedroom mirrors at
some point in their young lives.
They tore through all the Spice Girls mega-hits, including the new one,
“Headlines,” as well as solo material such as Melanie Chisholm’s (Sporty Spice)
hit song “I Turn To You.”
If their superstardom, candy-coated music, and not always obvious talents had
irritated anyone back in the 90s, all is forgiven now.
These days, the 30-something women, four of them mothers, are more vampy
couture than cheeky cornball. The Robert Cavalli-designed costumes were elegant
and daring, and their athletic team of break dancers were a marvel to watch.
Instead of filling space, they were an integral part of the show, which was a
testament to the spot-on choreography as well.
The Spice Girls know their audience well, and catered to the girlie-girls with
frequent, elaborate costume changes as well as their gay fan contingent with a
sequence that felt like a gay disco. It was deliciously campy, and everybody
did her own send-up of herself. Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham) vogued her way
down the catwalk to Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.” Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell)
performed her solo hit “It’s Raining Men,” wearing short shorts while being
carried around by shirtless male dancers. Curvaceous Scary Spice (Mel B)
pranced around in skin-tight leopard spots and cracked a whip.
Through to a sensational encore that included “Wannabe,” a conga line and a
massive snowfall of confetti, the Spice Girls looked like they were having a
blast.
No doubt it was relief that the world had not turned its back on the 90s
phenomenon.
At a press conference prior to the concert, they were charming and giggly, but
Victoria Beckham expressed some first-night jitters. She hadn’t been expecting
soccer star hubby David Beckham to attend.
“David turned up today but he hadn’t been at any of the rehearsals,” she said.
“So I’m nervous about what he’s going to think about the show.”
The group also discussed their reservations about mounting a reunion tour.
Melanie Chisholm, a.k.a. Sporty Spice, had long been outspoken about her
reluctance to reunite.
“I won’t lie about it — I was scared,” she said. “I was nervous about it. But I
feel there has been a change of feeling in the world…I feel the feeling for the
Spice Girls has changed, and it’s been a natural thing. And I thought, ‘Why
not?’ And I’m so glad I made that decision.”
Mary J. Blige Discusses 'Growing Pains'
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(December 4, 2007) *Mary
J. Blige had a recent sit-down with Reuters to discuss the creative
process that fell
between her Grammy-winning 2005 album, "The Breakthrough," and her
new album, "Growing Pains," due Dec. 18.
Blige has said that "The Breakthrough" symbolizes the light at
the end of a long tunnel filled with personal demons, including a troubled
childhood, drug addiction and an abusive relationship.
On the eve of flying to South Africa to launch a publicity tour for
"Growing Pains," Blige shares with Reuters her perspective on life
after "The Breakthrough."
Q: Was it more or less intimidating going back into the studio after the
success of "The Breakthrough?"
Blige: "We were coming out of a valley, so to speak, with 'The
Breakthrough.' Everyone had run away and turned their backs on us. And that was
cool. We love them still, and we forgive them. But it's been easier doing
'Growing Pains' because now you don't have anything to try to conquer. It's
like you've accomplished everything you set out to do. You've done the hard
work to be where you are. Now, though, you've got to work harder to deliver
based on that confidence. Not that I was lax on anything or taking anything for
granted because "The Breakthrough" did so well. I worked just as
hard, maybe even harder, on this album."
Q: Among your collaborators on this new project is Ne-Yo.
Blige: "Ne-Yo is an incredible kid. He nailed everything. I began writing
for this album in February around the time of the Grammys and the (Academy
Award) parties. I started out with this concept of growing pains because that's
how I was feeling during the Grammys: 'Am I good enough for this; do I really
deserve all this in my life?' But something in my head said, 'Yes, you are. Now
you're forced to rapidly grow up in this area in order to achieve and get the
things you want.' All this was in my poem and everything else I'd been writing.
"I read everything to Ne-Yo. He came back with not only some of the words
that were in my poem but with songs that matched up to where I'm going and
where I'm at in my life. He's such a sweet man, a gentleman who respects women.
When I got a chance to sit down with him and talk ... you know, men don't
usually relate to or understand women on that level. He just totally
understood."
Q: You're on TV now with a car commercial and have done some occasional
acting in the past. Now that you've conquered the music world, is acting the
next frontier?
Blige: "It's my goal to do more acting if it works for me. I'm not trying
to get into the film business just because I'm Mary J. Blige. I don't want to
make a fool of myself with everybody laughing and talking about me like a dog.
I want to get it right (laughs). A lot of scripts have come my way. It's just
about choosing the right one.
"I actually went to read for a film role and could have gotten the part.
It was for a director who, being new himself, didn't want to take a chance on a
new person. So he wanted to go with a more seasoned actress. But the feedback I
got behind the scenes was that I was great at my reading. So the word is out
that I can do this."
Q: Was it a dramatic role?
Blige: "Yes. I would have played the part of woman named Linda, whose
husband was a crooked cop who got killed. In the role, I was mourning for my
husband. So I had to go to dark places in my own life to do that. I remembered
mourning over my cousin when he got killed; I remembered an abusive
relationship. I had to rewind my life to play that role. The songs that made me
go there were Roy Ayers' 'Everybody Loves the Sunshine' and 'Searching.' Those
were the songs I was playing heavily when those events were happening in my
life. I really didn't like to go there, but I had to (for the reading). I kept
crying over and over when I was in the car afterward."
Q: Getting back to music, who is at the top of your wish list to still work
with?
Blige: "When and if I do a jazz album, I'd want to work with Anita Baker.
I love her. She's got to know I'm a huge fan. There's also the possibility that
I'd do a gospel album. Everyone always asks that question, and I believe I
would."
Q: Growing up, were gospel and jazz major musical influences?
Blige: "Not really. It was more whatever was playing in my house. When I
was a little girl, about 4 years old, I remember hearing 'Everybody Loves the
Sunshine.' That's the reason why I know who Roy Ayers is. My father was a
musician, a bass player, and he had a band. ... From his end, it was all about
everything from Parliament to the Grateful Dead. My mother was the soul chick.
She had everything from Candi Staton and Gladys Knight to Dorothy Moore, Sam
Cooke, Bobby Womack and Otis Redding. She'd be around the house singing all
these songs."
Q: If you could use only one phrase or one word to describe the evolution of
Mary J. Blige the artist, what would that be?
Blige: "Then: Starting to wake up. Now: Aware." (laughs)
Q: Now that you're aware, what would you do differently if you were just
starting out?
Blige: "I would probably behave. (laughs) I can't change what I was
because I didn't know any better. But if I'd have known then what I do now, I
wouldn't have done any of that stupid stuff."
Q: Wouldn't that have affected your music, given that it's derived from your
life experiences?
Blige: "That's true. But you know, showing up 10 hours late for an
interview or not showing up at all? That doesn't have anything to do with
anything. That's just stupidity. I wish I'd done that differently instead of
(in a mimicking voice), 'I'm not going. I'm hung over. I'm staying home.'
(laughs) Meanwhile, you've got interviewers and all these people at photo
shoots waiting for you who don't care about any of that. They're just there to
do their jobs and you don't show up. And now you're difficult."
Q: Early on, you were tagged "the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul." Do you
ever tire of that moniker?
Blige: "There's nothing I can do about it because it's something I've
earned. I would never disrespect it. Hip-hop is not something that you
ultimately hear. It's a culture we grew up in, and it became us. This is the
way we think, walk and talk. There's a lot of intelligence in hip-hop.
"A person doesn't have to slump all over, curse or act stupid to do
hip-hop. Look at Erykah Badu, D'Angelo or Jill Scott. They live in that culture
and you can hear it in their music. It's what others labeled neo-soul, but
which is an extension of hip-hop/soul. Jill Scott carries herself pretty nice.
You can hear in her music those hip-hop influences. It's where she comes from
in her heart. A Tribe Called Quest gave us jazz influences. And the Jungle
Brothers was another rap group I loved. If you knew who they were, then you
were really a hip-hopper. They made you feel good about the culture."
Q: What are your thoughts on the ongoing controversy about rap lyrics?
Blige: "Honestly, it's not just a song's fault or a lyric's fault.
Parental guidance is very key with everything that's going on. You can have
your child listen to all that, but it's up to you to say, 'Look, that's what
they do, but this is what you're going to do. You can't knock or judge them for
what they do. But as your parent, this is what I would like for you to do, and
it's the right thing to do.' It's society as a whole that's the problem. It's
not about a song doing the killing or making women promiscuous."
Q: So are children in your future?
Blige: "I have two young stepchildren, who are 8 and 9. They are my
children, and I have to nurture them. I don't have room or time right now for a
baby. At the end of the day ... I don't know. If it happens, it happens. But
right now it's not something on my radar."
Q: Do you want to be singing at age 50 or 60?
Blige: "I don't know. That's up to the people. If they request it, I'll be
there. But I'm not going to force myself into their lives."
Hannah Montana: If You Loved Me, You'd Buy Me $1,200 Tickets
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com
- Siri Agrell
(December 04, 2007) Jonathan Laurens thought of himself
as Super Dad last month when he began searching for Hannah
Montana concert tickets for his two daughters.
The girls, 13-year-old Maxine and nine-year-old Sarah, watch the Disney Channel
show religiously and were desperate to see its star,
