Langfield
Entertainment
88
Bloor Street E., Suite 2908, Toronto, ON
M4W 3G9
(416)
677-5883
langfieldent@rogers.com
www.langfieldentertainment.com
NEWSLETTER
Updated: February 8, 2007
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::hot events::
Celebrate KUUMBA at Harbourfront –
February 9 – 11, 2007
Celebrate the artistry of the African Diaspora with 3 days of music, dance,
film, food and more- highlights include the Canadian Premiere of the “Black
Hair” documentary, a Concert & Party celebrating 45 years of Jamaican
Independence, a Canadian Hip Hop Symposium with guests from Ego Trip and XXL’s
Elliot Wilson, dance classes and The Choreographer’s Ball, Vieux Farka Touré in
concert (Tix $15), celebrity food demos, kids crafts and more!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2007 - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11
KUUMBA
Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West
Toronto, ON
For more information, call 416-973-4000 or visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com/kuumba
FREE! Unless otherwise indicated
Kama Sutra The Book Of Love – February
10, 2007
Source: Jay Martin, Ajahmae Live
Ajahmae Live & SFS Entertainment presents Kama
Sutra The Book Of Love featuring some of Toronto’s
brightest performers in their truest art forms. All backed by Canada’s number
one DJ Starting From Scratch. The
classiest show and after party of the year, just in time for Valentine’s
Day. Many prizes to be won. Get your tickets now - last year sold
out quickly!
Join Mark Strong, Jemeni, Al St Louis, Dwayne Morgan, Chris Rouse, Lorraine Reid, Amoy, Dylan Murray and Jay Martin to assemble the chapters of
love.
Click HERE for evite.
FEBRUARY 10, 2007
KAMA SUTRA THE BOOK OF LOVE
Arcadian Court, Simpson Tower, 8th floor
401 Bay St Toronto (Corner of Bay & Queen)
Doors open 7:30 pm with appetizers; Show 8:00 pm SHARP
$40 advanced tickets only, VIP tickets $45 by calling 416-949-2766
www.comedyclash.com
www.citycamel.com
Info Line 416-949-2766
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Toronto - Feb. 16-17!
Source: Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts
TORONTO, Ontario – For more than 45 years, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has
dazzled audiences from New York City to South Africa to China with unparalleled
artistry. After a long awaited return, Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theater is back at The Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts in
celebration of Black History Month for three performances only from February 16 – 17, 2007.
Through captivating performances and unparalleled artistry, the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater has been fulfilling Alvin Ailey’s vision that
“dance is for everybody… dance came from the people and it should always be
delivered back to the people.” From jazz-inspired works and intimate
portraits to explosive epics teeming with passion, “one cannot deny the genius
behind Ailey’s…stirring eloquence,” says the Washington Post.
Led by Artistic Director Judith Jamison, this magnificent company celebrates an
exhilarating performance, drawing inspiration from a variety of experiences -
life’s joy, sorrows, passions, beauty and ultimate truths. Their
unmistakable style and unsurpassed talent, continue to leave audiences
breathless. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform
several works from its classic repertory–including Revelations, Ailey’s
signature masterpiece that explores African American spirituals, encompassing
songs of love, struggle, and deliverance. The engagement will also
include new dances by some of today’s most exciting, daring, and visionary
choreographers.
There are moments when you watch the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater and begin to believe that the figures on stage are
not quite real. The human body can't really move like that… defies human
limits."
- Chicago Sun-Times
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16 AND SATURDAY,
FEBRUARY 17
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
The Hummingbird Centre for the Performing
Arts
1 Front St. East
Toronto, Ontario
Friday: 8:00 pm
Saturday (two shows) 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Ticket prices range from $55 - $75
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 416-872-2262 or by
visiting www.ticketmaster.ca
Or in person at The Hummingbird Centre Box Office, 1 Front Street East,
Toronto
GROUPS of 10 or more call: 416-393-7463 or 1-866-737-0805
Soweto Gospel Choir Makes Its Triumphant Return To Toronto –
Feb. 27-28, 2007
Source: Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Ontario – Soweto Gospel Choir is an awe-inspiring
vocal ensemble, performing in eight different
languages, in an inspirational program of tribal, traditional and popular
African gospel. Returning to The Hummingbird Centre for the Performing
Arts after a standing room only performance in 2005, Soweto Gospel Choir will
perform two shows only in celebration of Black History Month, from February
27 – 28, 2007.
Soweto Gospel Choir has achieved major success in
Europe and in South Africa. Drawing on the best musical talents from the
many churches and communities in and around Soweto, the concert will feature a
dynamic four-piece band, traditional dancers and drummers. Earthy
rhythms, rich harmonies, acapella and charismatic performances combine to
uplift the soul and express, through a vocal celebration, South Africa's great
hopes for the future. The most exciting vocal group to emerge from South
Africa since Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Soweto Gospel Choir, will bring
their magnetic energy, joyful spirits and beautiful harmonies to Canadian
audiences. They are much more than simply a musical phenomenon.
Soweto Gospel Choir was created in 2002. David Mulovhedzi and
South African Executive Producer Beverly Bryer held auditions in Soweto to form
an all-star “super-choir.” They were able to create a powerful
aggregation made up of the best singers from his own Holy Jerusalem Choir, as
well as various Soweto churches and from the general public, including a
finalist on the nationally-televised South African equivalent of “Star Search.”
Adorned in traditional and beautifully coloured South African garb, the
choir has been known to win audiences with their exotic blend of South African
spirituals, traditional Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho gospel songs which are
interspersed with popular songs and folk anthems.
"Nothing can really
prepare you for the riot of exuberance and depth of emotion." - The Scotsman
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 AND WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2007
SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR
The Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts
1 Front St. East, Toronto, Ontario
8:00 pm
Ticket prices range from $35 - $75
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 416-872-2262 or by
visiting www.ticketmaster.ca
Or in person at The Hummingbird Centre Box Office, 1 Front Street East,
Toronto
GROUPS of 10 or more call: 416-393-7463 or 1-866-737-0805
::UNIVERSAL SCOOP::
Tamia Can't Get Enough
Source: Universal Music Canada
Grammy Award winner and Canada's own Tamia believes that her new CD is
an R&B guide to the beauty and dynamics of relationships. Mixing the
writing styles of Shep Crawford, the production finesse of Rodney
"Darkchild" Jerkins, Tamia's maturity as an artist and as a
woman resonates in all 12 songs, including the first single, “Can’t Get
Enough” & the hot new remix of "Too Grown"
featuring JIM JONES!!!
'Between Friends' is the birth of Tamia's second child. With her growing
wisdom in life, love and the music industry, she believes that "there's a
time and
place for music like "Drop It Like It's Hot!" But, there are also
people who want to hear about love and relationships. A lot of songs I do
aren't from personal experience, but the subject matter is universal."
TAMIA'S NEW CD 'BETWEEN FRIENDS' IS AVAILABLE IN STORES &
ONLINE NOW!
::top stories::
Vision Warrior: Scot Anthony Robinson
Source: Scot Anthony Robinson
[Note from Dawn: Check out the promo for my good friend,
Scot Anthony Robinson's Vision Warrior - a hard-hitting performance directed at today's youth hitting on
all issues of concern to them today - drugs, suicide and violence to name a
few. Scot is not only an acclaimed actor but a survivor as well and
reaches youth like I've never encountered - a powerful performance that is
making a difference in lives! Potential sponsors please check this out
and bring him to Canada!]
"Vision Warrior“ is a theatrical lecture presentation conceived and performed by
film and television actor Scot Anthony Robinson. In the past 13 years over one million students, educators, young
people and their families throughout the United States have shared the
electrifying experience of "Vision Warrior". In a tour de
force performance, which is alternately raw, frightening, ironically funny but
ultimately uplifting, Robinson stealthily engages his audiences. 90 minutes
later audiences emerge from a graphic tour that impacts and inspires; it is a
universal message. The workshops he runs after the show bear incredible fruit
of self-disclosure and candid discussions and address all the issues that face
our youth today. The Partnership for a Drug Free America's
collaboration with Robinson in creating a Public Service Announcement
that featured excerpts from "Vision Warrior" subsequently
garnered the prestigious New York " ADD " Award for best SPA.
Scot Anthony Robinson is best known for his riveting performances on television
and in films such as Malcolm X, Clockers, New Jack City, New York Undercover and All My Children
to name a few. High Schools in California and New York to
Universities & Middle Schools in the Midwest; Off Broadway to Riker's
Island. Scot has creatively adapted to any audience he has had the opportunity
to reach the past 13 years. Nationwide " Vision Warrior " has left a
lasting and powerful impression.
For more information on how to bring " Vision Warrior " to your
community
you may visit the website: www.visionwarrior.com
or email Scot: srobinson@visionwarrior.com
or for a profile go to www.drugfreeamerica.org
For contributions and Corporate Sponsorship Tours contact: The Richard Allan
Center for Culture & Art, Shirley Radcliffe (Executive Director), 212 581
7216
Guns And The Rapper
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Entertainment
Reporter
(February 02, 2007) When it comes to guns, hip hop comes by its bad rap
honestly, say the authors of the new book Enter
the Babylon System: Unpacking Gun Culture From Samuel Colt to 50 Cent. As co-founders of Pound, a Toronto-based hip hop magazine, publisher Rodrigo Bascunan and
senior editor Christian Pearce were conversant with the dichotomy facing the
genre concerning its links to violence: unfairly scapegoated, but rife with
rappers fixated on guns. In Enter the Babylon System, the erstwhile
Northern Secondary School pals explore modern gun culture and distribute blame
widely amongst the entertainment industry, media, consumers, governments and
gun manufacturers. It's a well-researched, easily navigated tome, with a shiny,
gold-plated gun on the front. "We definitely debated it," said
Bascunan, 30, of the provocative cover. "Our main criticism is that
people use guns to sell all kinds of things ... movies, music. This book is
actually about guns; it's relevant to the subject. But even with that most
legitimate reason, we still felt a certain level of discomfort that we were
putting another image of a gun out there." The book, which contains
startling statistics (Texas is said to have 60 million guns, nearly a 10th of
the world's total) and eye-opening interviews with rappers, academics and gun lobbyists,
is already drawing some return fire.
"Gun owners in this country are a marginalized community, and marginalized
communities tend to react very harshly when pushed further against the
wall," said Pearce, 31, about the hostile emails from gun proponents.
"Neither one of us has ever said, `Ban guns,' but when you look at what is
causing the problems, it's quite clear handguns are involved in the majority of
urban crimes. I don't see any justifications here in Canada for anybody to have
a handgun. Somebody else's right to live, to me, far outweighs your right to go
enjoy your hobby on the weekend, given the possibility of your gun being stolen
and ending up in the hands of a criminal." And of course, further
exploring the connection between gun usage and hip hop's largely black
performers may not win the pair any fans, either. "When we started the
book, we felt a bit of backlash from the hip-hop community: `Here goes someone
else exploiting rap music and perpetuating the worst stereotypes about
it,'" acknowledged Bascunan. "That's not at all what this book's
about. We're fighting for hip hop and for the legacy of this culture and this
music. "Hip hop is made by people who happen to have an inordinate
amount of experience with guns because they come from poor, marginalized
communities which experience a disproportionate amount of violence.
"And because a lot of these poor people happen to not be white, there is
the added level of discrimination and ignorance ... and all the
misunderstanding that comes with that, all of which has nothing to do with rap
music." But the writers concede that much to their chagrin, rappers aren't
helping their own cause when they are photographed carrying weapons or wearing
Kevlar vests as fashion statements. In their book, they list the MCs who have
had "gun-ins with the law" as well as those artists named for
weaponry, such as Young Gunz and Mac 10.
In an interview earlier this week in their publisher's boardroom, the authors
told the Star about a rapper who approached a gun holster manufacturer
about making a signature line. "They're all actors," said Pearce.
"They understand that the same things that sell films – a dude holding a
gun on a movie poster – are going to sell rap music. It looks cool, it's powerful."
This speaks to a larger societal problem in which violence and sex sell well,
said Bascunan. "That's not a hip-hop problem," he declared. "We
need to look at ourselves and why are we so fascinated with villains and
violence." The news is slightly better in Canada where the diverse hip-hop
scene generally reflects the national view that owing a gun isn't considered a
God-given or constitutional right, said the authors. "There are quite a
few artists in this city that come from pretty rugged 'hoods and who are pretty
thugged out and have some major gun glorification in their music following the
patterns of the States," said Pearce. "But you also get in Canada
guys like Solitaire, who does a song like `Easy to Slip' about his cousin who
was shot dead as a hustler who packed a gun, and that being the reason he'll
never pack one. Then guys like K-OS from Whitby that never mention guns."
Pearce, a third-year law student, cited a study that drew a link between
country music and depression, when he lamented the sense of resignation among
U.S. rappers they interviewed that: "There are 300 million guns in
America, what am I to do about that?" "Hip hoppers have to think in
terms of the very real impact that music has on people. You never know what
kinds of emotions you are going to trigger. "We don't have much control
over the government and we have no control over gun manufacturers and
Hollywood, but as far as hip hop goes, we do have control over our own culture,
so that's what we're responsible for. "That's where we start."
Nelly
Furtado’s Loose Remains The #1 Album In Canada
Source: Universal Urban Music Canada
(January 31, 2007) Toronto, ON. – Nelly
Furtado’s global hit album,
Loose (Geffen/Universal Music Canada) has today retained the #1 chart
position on the Nielsen SoundScan Canadian album charts. Released on June
20, Loose has sold more than 310,000 copies (3X Platinum) in
Canada and was the highest selling Canadian album of 2006. Loose
is certified platinum in the United States, the UK and Australia and two times
platinum in Germany and Switzerland with worldwide sales of more than 3
million. 'Say It Right', the current single from the multi-platinum selling
Loose, is the #1 single on Canadian radio. ‘Promiscuous,
featuring Timbaland’ and ‘Maneater’, the 1st two singles from
Loose both respectively reached the top of the radio mountain.
The video for 'Say It Right' also sits in the #1 position on the MuchMoreMusic
video chart. On February 16 in Manchester, England, Nelly Furtado will embark
on the European leg of her “Get Loose” world tour. The Canadian leg of
the tour starts March 21 in Nelly’s hometown of Victoria, British
Columbia. The Canadian dates are:
|
03.21.07 |
Victoria, BC |
Save On Foods Memorial Centre |
|
03.22.07 |
Vancouver, BC |
General Motors Place |
|
03.23.07 |
Kelowna, BC |
Prospera Place |
|
03.25.07 |
Grand Prairie, AB |
Crystal Centre |
|
03.26.07 |
Edmonton, AB |
Shaw Conference Centre |
|
03.27.07 |
Calgary, AB |
Pengrowth Saddledome |
|
04.04.07 |
Toronto, ON |
Air Canada Centre |
|
04.05.07 |
Montreal, PQ |
Bell Centre |
|
04.06.07 |
Ottawa, ON |
Scotiabank Place |
In an announcement made by CTV and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and
Sciences (CARAS) on January 16, Nelly Furtado will host The 2007 JUNO
Awards from the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on
Sunday, April 1 on CTV. Furtado's role as host of The 2007 JUNO
Awards comes on the heels of the announcement that she will co-star on
CTV's CSI: NY on February 7 (as Ava Grant, a shoplifter accused of
murder). Later in February, Furtado will also appear on the daytime drama
One Life to Live. Along with being nominated in the category of “Best
Pop Collaboration with Vocals” for the song ‘Promiscuous’ featuring Timbaland,
Nelly Furtado has also been confirmed as a presenter on the 49th
annual Grammy Awards. The show airs live from Los Angeles on Sunday,
February 11 on Global Television.
www.nellyfurtado.com
Wal-Mart Launches Digital Movie Download Store
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Gary
Gentile, Associated Press
(February 06, 2007) LOS ANGELES — Wal-Mart
Stores
Inc. is launching its long-awaited online
movie download store, entering a market that has yet to catch on with consumers
but is expected to grow rapidly. A “beta” version of the online video store,
set to debut Tuesday, will sell digital versions of about 3,000 films and
television episodes from all the major studios and some TV networks, including
Fox Broadcasting. Wal-Mart will not initially offer content from ABC, CBS or
NBC, although the company said it hopes to add shows from those networks. The
largest U.S. retailer is using its buying power to beat the prices charged by
other download services in many cases, offering films from $12.88 to $19.88
(U.S.) and individual TV episodes for $1.96 -- 4 cents less than Apple Inc.'s
iTunes store. Apple charges less for some films sold on iTunes -- $12.99 when
pre-ordered and during the first week of sale, or $14.99 afterward. But it only
carries films from two studios, Walt Disney Co. and Viacom Inc.'s Paramount
Studios. Most studios have resisted signing deals with iTunes in part because
of Apple's desire to sell movies at one price. Studios prefer variable pricing
such as Wal-Mart is offering. Apple's pricing has also caused scuffles between
studios and major retailers, including Wal-Mart and Target Corp. The retailers
don't want studios to sell digital copies of films cheaper than the wholesale
price of physical DVDs.
Wal-Mart's online store will sell older titles starting at $7.50, compared with
the $9.99 charged by iTunes. Wal-Mart also used its significant clout to launch
its online store with films from all major studios. The Bentonville, Ark.,
retailer accounts for about 40 per cent of DVD sales, and studios have been
careful not to anger their largest customer. Given Wal-Mart's importance, the
studios readily agreed to sell films on the retailer's new site, analysts said.
The biggest impact of Wal-Mart's entry into the digital download business may
be that it now frees studios to cut deals with other online services. “It gets
the ball rolling finally,” said Tom Adams of Adams Media Research. “Now the
studios are free to pursue it as aggressively as they can without worries about
what Wal-Mart is going to think.” Amazon Inc. launched its “Unbox” video rental
and download store last year without films from Disney. Other online download
and rental sites include Movielink, which is owned by five studios, and
CinemaNow. Unlike some offerings, Wal-Mart will not rent films online. The
films can be played on a PC or transferred to Microsoft Windows
Media-compatible portable digital players. The movies will not play on Apple
computers or the popular iPod. Movies bought from the Wal-Mart store also can't
be burned onto a DVD, although the company said it hopes to offer the option by
the end of the year. Wal-Mart says it doesn't expect digital sales to
cannibalize its retail DVD business for many years. “Customers have a growing
interest in downloading video content, but complementary and supplemental to
buying content on DVD,” Kevin Swint, Wal-Mart's divisional manager for digital
media, told The Associated Press.
“With the health of the DVD business and coming high-definition formats, that
business will remain quite strong for quite a long time.” Internet downloading
is expected to generate about $4-billion in annual revenue in five years,
compared with an estimated $27-billion from DVD rentals and sales, according to
Adams Media Research. Whether Wal-Mart can translate its success on the ground
to the digital domain remains to be seen. Wal-Mart abandoned its efforts to
build an online DVD rental service in 2005 to compete with the well-established
Netflix Inc. The retailer also faces the same challenge that confounds other
online video sellers -- the fact that films cannot be easily transferred from a
computer to a larger TV screen. “The real problem is people want to watch these
movies on their television set,” said principal analyst Josh Bernoff of
Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research. “There already is an effective way
to do that, which is to buy a DVD.”
Billy Talent, k-os and Nelly Furtado Lead
the 2007 JUNO Awards with Five Nominations Each
Source: The 2007 JUNO Awards
*See full listing of nominees below.
(February 6,
2007) –
Toronto, ON The drum
roll has begun! At the JUNO
Awards press conference held today in Toronto, the Canadian Academy of
Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced the nominations for the 2007 JUNO Awards, Canada’s Music Awards,
recognizing the year’s best in the Canadian recording industry. The celebration
will reach its pinnacle during Juno Weekend when winners will be announced. The
2007 JUNO Awards will air on CTV, Sunday, April 1,
from the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, SK. “This is music at its
best!” says Melanie Berry, CARAS President. “The diversity and calibre of
home-grown talent represented across all 39 categories truly exemplifies the
unparalleled artistry of Canada’s musicians and the distinction of the JUNO
Awards.”
Leading the 2007 JUNO Award nominations are rock group Billy Talent,
along with recording artists k-os and Nelly Furtado,
all earning five nods each. Rock sensation Billy Talent shook Canadian
audiences with the release of their debut self-titled album winning three JUNO
Awards to-date. Continuing their red-hot success with their sophomore
double-platinum album, Billy Talent II, the band is nominated for 2007
JUNO Awards in the categories of Single of the Year for “Devil
In A Midnight Mass,” Album of the Year (sponsored by
CRIA), Group of the Year, Rock Album of the Year as
well as Video of the Year (sponsored by VideoFACT). k-os,
a nine-time JUNO Award nominee, swept all three of his nominations at the 2005
JUNO Awards winning Single of the Year, Rap Recording of the Year and Video of
the Year. This year, Canada’s platinum-selling hip hop star is nominated in
five categories for his critically acclaimed album Atlantis: Hymns For
Disco that includes the hit single, “Sunday Morning.” He receives nods for
Single of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, Jack
Richardson Producer of the Year and Video of the Year
(sponsored by VideoFACT).
Also receiving five JUNO Award nominations is Canadian and international
superstar and Host of this year’s JUNO Awards, Nelly Furtado.
Winner of five JUNO Awards to-date, she is nominated for the 2007 Juno™
Fan Choice Award (presented by Doritos), vying with fellow
Canadian recording stars, Gregory Charles, Michael Bublé, Nickelback
and Sarah McLachlan. Nelly is also nominated for Single
of the Year for “Promiscuous” featuring Timbaland, as well as Album
of the Year (sponsored by CRIA), Artist of the Year
and Pop Album of the Year for her hit album Loose.
Breakout artists nominated for New Artist of the Year
(sponsored by FACTOR and Canada's Private Radio Broadcasters) include Canadian
Idol’s Eva Avila and Melissa O’Neil, Neverending White
Lights, Patrick Watson and Tomi Swick. This year’s
nominees for New Group of the Year (sponsored by FACTOR
and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters) include Evans Blue, Idle Sons,
Jets Overhead, Mobile and Stabilo. Québec recording
luminary Gregory Charles, mentioned earlier for a Juno™
Fan Choice (presented by Doritos) nomination, is also up for Album
of the Year (sponsored by CRIA) and Artist of the Year.
Other triple-nominees include Hedley (Album of the Year
[sponsored by CRIA], Group of the Year and Music DVD of the Year);
Malajube (Alternative Album of the Year, Francophone Album of
the Year and CD/DVD Artwork Design of the Year [sponsored by Ever-Reddy
Packaging]); and Sarah Harmer (Songwriter of the Year,
Adult Alternative Album of the Year and Music DVD of the Year). Alexisonfire
is nominated for Group of the Year and CD/DVD
Artwork Design of the Year (sponsored by Ever-Reddy Packaging) for
their album, Crisis Ltd. Edition. Rockers Three Days Grace
will also contend for Album of the Year (sponsored by
CRIA) and Group of the Year. Multiple JUNO Award
winners, Diana Krall and Sam Roberts received two nominations each this year: Diana
Krall for Artist of the Year and Vocal
Jazz Album of the Year; Sam Roberts for Rock
Album of the Year and Video of the Year
(sponsored by VideoFACT) for the single “Bridge To Nowhere.”
Other artists receiving two nominations include Chantal Kreviazuk,
David Braid, Garnet Armstrong, Harry Somers, Jim Cuddy, Loreena McKennitt,
Mobile, Nickelback, Pierre Lapointe, Ron Sexsmith, Sarah McLachlan, Tomi Swick
and Canadian Music Hall of Fame members, The Tragically Hip.
Heavy-hitters for this year’s JUNO Award International Album of the
Year nominations include Dixie Chicks, Il Divo, Justin
Timberlake, Madonna and Red Hot Chili Peppers. A
complete list of 2007 JUNO Award nominees, including biographies can be found
online at www.junoawards.ca.
Broadcast in High-Definition and 5.1 Surround Sound, The 2007 JUNO
Awards will be broadcast for the sixth year in a row on CTV, the
official broadcast partner of the JUNO Awards. Since CTV joined forces with
CARAS in 2001, the JUNO Awards has traveled across Canada, bringing a
live, electrified stadium show to million of Canadians. Since going live from
St. John’s in 2002, CTV has broadcast The JUNO Awards from Ottawa
(2003), Edmonton (2004), Winnipeg (2005) and Halifax (2006). In April 2006, 1.7
million Canadians watched Pamela Anderson host The 2006 JUNO Awards,
26 per cent more viewers than watched The Grammy Awards, making it the
most-watched music awards program of the year. Previous hosts of The
JUNO Awards include Brent Butt (2005), Alanis Morissette (2004),
Shania Twain (2003) and Barenaked Ladies (2002).
Sponsors of the 36th Annual JUNO Awards include FACTOR, Canada’s Private Radio
Broadcasters and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian
Heritage’s “Canada Music Fund”, the Government of Saskatchewan, the City of
Saskatoon, SaskTel and Radio Starmaker Fund. Broadcast sponsors are
Acuvue, Bombardier, Doritos, Pontiac and TD Canada Trust.
About CARAS:
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/L'academie
canadienne des arts et des sciences de l'enregistrement (CARAS) is a
not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music
and recording industries and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry
standards. The main focus of CARAS is the exploration and development of
opportunities to showcase and promote Canadian artists and music through
television vehicles such as the JUNO Awards. For more information on the 36th
annual JUNO Awards, visit www.junoawards.ca. For
information on the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS),
visit www.carasonline.ca.
About CTV:
CTV, Canada’s largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of
quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It has the
number-one national newscast, CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, and is
the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTV owns 21 conventional
television stations across Canada and has interests in 15 specialty channels,
including the number-one Canadian specialty channel, TSN. CTV is owned by
CTVglobemedia, Canada’s premier multi-media company. More information about CTV
may be found on the company Web site at www.ctv.ca.
Web Links:
Official JUNO Awards website: www.junoawards.ca
CARAS website: www.carasonline.ca
CTV’s JUNO Awards website: www.junos.ctv.ca
*2007 JUNO AWARD NOMINEES
JUNO FAN CHOICE AWARD (PRESENTED BY DORITOS)
Gregory Charles Les Disques NBW*SONY BMG
Michael Bublé 143/Reprise*Warner
Nelly Furtado Geffen*Universal
Nickelback EMI
Sarah McLachlan Nettwerk*SONY BMG
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Devil In A Midnight Mass Billy Talent Atlantic/WEA*Warner
All I Can Do Chantal Kreviazuk SONY BMG
Pull Me Through Jim Cuddy WEA*Warner
Sunday Morning k-os EMI
Promiscuous feat. Timbaland Nelly Furtado
Geffen*Universal
INTERNATIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Taking The Long Way Dixie Chicks SONY BMG
Ancora Il Divo SONY BMG
FutureSex/LoveSounds Justin Timberlake SONY BMG
Confessions On A Dance Floor Madonna Warner
Bros*Warner
Stadium Arcadium Red Hot Chili Peppers Warner
Bros*Warner
ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY CRIA)
Billy Talent II Billy Talent Atlantic/WEA*Warner
I Think of You Gregory Charles Les Disques NBW*SONY
BMG
Hedley Hedley Universal
Loose Nelly Furtado Geffen*Universal
ONE-X Three Days Grace Zomba*SONY BMG
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Diana Krall Verve*Universal
Gregory Charles Les Disques NBW*SONY BMG
Loreena McKennitt Quinlan Road*Universal
Nelly Furtado Geffen*Universal
Pierre Lapointe Audiogram*Select
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Alexisonfire Distort*Universal
Billy Talent Atlantic/WEA*Warner
Hedley Universal
The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip*Universal
Three Days Grace Zomba*SONY BMG
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY
FACTOR AND CANADA’S PRIVATE RADIO BROADCASTERS)
Eva Avila
SONY BMG
Melissa O’Neil SONY BMG
Neverending White Lights Ocean*Fontana North
Patrick Watson Secret City*Fusion III
Tomi Swick WEA*Warner
NEW GROUP OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED BY
FACTOR AND CANADA’S PRIVATE RADIO BROADCASTERS)
Evans Blue Hollywood*Universal
Idle Sons EMI
Jets Overhead Microgroove*Warner
Mobile M&B*Universal
Stabilo EMI
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Gordie Sampson
“Jesus, Take the Wheel” – Brett James/Hillary Lindsay
SOME HEARTS – Carrie Underwood Arista*SONY BMG
“Words Get In The Way” – Troy Verges/Aimee Mayo
DANGEROUS MAN – Trace Adkins Capitol Nashville*EMI
“Crybaby” – Carolyn Dawn Johnson/Troy Verges
LOVE & NEGOTIATION – Carolyn Dawn Johnson Angeline*Universal
k-os
“Sunday Morning” | “The Rain” | “FlyPaper”
ATLANTIS : HYMNS FOR DISCO – k-os EMI
Nickelback
“Far Away | “If Everyone Cared” | “Rockstar”
ALL THE RIGHT REASONS – Nickelback EMI
Ron Sexsmith
“All In Good Time” | “Never Give Up” | “Hands Of Time”
TIME BEING– Ron Sexsmith WEA*Warner
Sarah Harmer
“I Am Aglow” | “Oleander” | “Escarpment Blues”
I’M A MOUNTAIN – Sarah Harmer Cold Snap*Universal
COUNTRY RECORDING OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED
BY SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO)
Big Wheel
Aaron Pritchett OPM*Fusion III
Love & Negotiation Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Angeline*Universal
Doc Walker Doc Walker Open Road*Universal
Countrified Emerson Drive Midas Nashville*Navarre
Somebody Wrote Love George Canyon Reiny
Dawg*Universal
RAP RECORDING OF THE YEAR
The Frenzy Of Renown Arabesque Sin Nombre*Fontana North
Hitch Hikin’ Music Classified URBNET*Fontana North
Organic Music For A Digital World DL Incognito
URBNET*Fontana North
The Answer Rich London SoulClap*Universal
Black Magic Swollen Members Swollen Members
Music*Universal
ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Light That Guides You Home Jim Cuddy WEA*Warner
When The Angels Make Contact Matt Mays Sonic*Warner
Living With War Neil Young Reprise*Warner
Time Being Ron Sexsmith WEA*Warner
I’m A Mountain Sarah Harmer ColdSnap*Universal
ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Skelliconnection Chad VanGaalen Flemish Eye*Outside
Sometimes City and Colour Dine Alone*Universal
Return To The Sea Islands Equator*EMI
Trompe-l’Oeil Malajube Dare To Care*Outside
Not Saying/Just Saying Shout Out Out Out Out Normals
Welcome*Warner
POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Ghost Stories Chantal Kreviazuk SONY BMG
Atlantis: Hymns For Disco k-os EMI
Loose Nelly Furtado Geffen*Universal
Wintersong Sarah McLachlan Nettwerk*SONY BMG
Stalled Out In The Doorway Tomi Swick WEA*Warner
ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Billy Talent II Billy Talent Atlantic/WEA*Warner
Tomorrow Starts Today Mobile M&B*Universal
Chemical City Sam Roberts Secret Brain*Universal
Never Hear The End Of It Sloan murderecords*SONY BMG
World Container The Tragically Hip The Tragically
Hip*Universal
VOCAL JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR
From This Moment On Diana Krall Verve*Universal
Start To Move Elizabeth Shepherd Do Right
Music*Outside
Fight or Flight? Kellylee Evans ENLIVEN!
Media*Festival
Calling For Rain Lori Cullen Independent*Fontana
North
Messin’ Around Molly Johnson Anthem*Universal
CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR
From the Heart Hilario Duran and His Latin Jazz Big Band Alma*Universal
Hugmars Hugh Marsh Cool Papa Music*Independent
At Sea Ingrid Jensen ArtistShare
Obsession Kent Sangster Sangster Music*Spirit River
Moment In Time Richard Underhill Stubby*Outside
TRADITIONAL JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR
ZHEN: The David Braid Sextet Live, Volume
II David Braid Independent
Movin’ & Groovin’ Jake Langley Alma*Universal
Avenue Standard Jon Ballantyne Real Artist Works*CD
Baby
Mnemosyne’s March Mike Murley/David Braid Quartet Cornerstone*Festival
Other Stories William Carn Independent
INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SPONSORED
BY GALAXIE – CBC’S CONTINUOUS MUSIC NETWORK)
Recording a Tape the Colour of
Light Bell Orchestre
Sanctuary*EMI
...and another thing... Jo?l Fafard Bayard Island*Festival
Café Tropical Johannes Linstead Earthscape
Media*Trend Music
Yours Truly Natalie MacMaster Foreign Media
Group*KOCH
Run Neil Run Sisters Euclid NorthernBlues*Festival
FRANCOPHONE ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Il était une fois dans l’est Antoine Gratton Tacca*Select
Le coeur dans la tête Ariane Moffatt Audiogram*Select
Trompe-l’Oeil Malajube Dare To Care*Outside
La forêt des mal-aimés Pierre Lapointe
Audiogram*Select
Compter les corpes Vulgaires Machins Indica*Outside
CHILDREN’S ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me Donna & Andy Red Castle Publishing*CD Baby
My Beautiful World Jack Grunsky Casablanca
Kids*Universal
Join The Band Ken Whiteley Merriweather*Fire The
Imagination
Snooze Music Rick Scott Jester*Festival
Murmel Murmel Munsch! Robert Munsch The Children’s
Group*KOCH
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: SOLO OR
CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
On The Threshold of Hope: Chamber Music by
Mieczyslaw Weinberg Artists of the
Royal Conservatory SONY BMG
Mozart the Mason Jonathan Crow, Douglas McNabney, Matt
Haimovitz Oxingale*KOCH
Piazzolla Les Violons du Roy/Jean-Marie Zeitouni
Atma*SRI
Shostakovich: String Quartets 3, 7 & 8 St Lawrence
String Quartet EMI
Mozart: Complete Piano Trios The Gryphon Trio
Analekta*Select
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: LARGE
ENSEMBLE OR SOLOIST(S) WITH LARGE ENSEMBLE ACCOMPANIMENT
Rhapsodies Orchestre symphonique de Montréal/Alain Lefèvre
Analekta*Select
Shostakovich’s Circle I Musici de Montréal
Analekta*Select
Mozart: Violin Concerti James Ehnes, Mozart Anniversary
Orchestra CBC Records*Universal
Mozart: Piano Concerti Jon Kimura Parker, James Parker,
Ian Parker, CBC Radio Orchestra/Mario Bernardi CBC Records*SRI
Saint-Saëns: Symphony no. 3 “Organ” Philippe Bélanger,
Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal/Yannick Nézet-Séguin Atma*SRI
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: VOCAL OR
CHORAL PERFORMANCE
Adrianne Pieczonka Sings Wagner and Strauss Adrianne Pieczonka, Münchner Rundfúnk Orchester/Ulf Schirmer
ORFEO*Gilmore
Wagner: Arias Ben Heppner, Staatskapelle Dresden/Peter
Schneider Deutsche Grammophon*Universal
Mozart: Arie e Duetti Isabel Bayrakdarian, Michael Schade,
Russell Braun, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra/Richard Bradshaw CBC
Records*Universal
Purcell Karina Gauvin; Les Boréades/Francis Colpron
Atma*SRI
Extase Measha Brueggergosman, Orchestre symphonique de
Québec/Yoav Talmi CBC Records*Universal
CLASSICAL COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
Clere Vénus Denis Gougeon À L’AVENTURE! Centrediscs*Fusion III
A Midwinter Night’s Dream Harry Somers A MIDWINTER
NIGHT’S DREAM Centrediscs*CMC
Of Memory and Desire Harry Somers CANADIAN COMPOSERS
PORTRAITS: HARRY SOMERS
Centrediscs*Fusion III
Tumbling Strain Neil Currie PASSIONSCAPE
Independent*CMC
Varley Suite for Solo Violin Stephen Chatman
VANCOUVER VISIONS Centrediscs*Fusion III
DANCE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Airbreak
Danny D Show Stopping*Universal
The Remix Album DJ Champion Saboteur*Outside
(Maybe You’ll Get) Lucky Sound Bluntz Awesome*EMI
Lift Off Taras Hi-Bias*KOCH
Sexor Tiga Last Gang*Universal
R&B/SOUL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Life Less Ordinary Deesha RaukStar Entertainment
Believe George HC*Fontana North
mySOUL jacksoul SONY BMG
Face Behind The Face Karl Wolf LW*Fontana North
Been Gone Keshia Chanté SONY BMG
REGGAE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Hard To See Humble Soundcheck Records
Xrated Korexion Kornerstone*Kornerstore
Kulcha Connection Kulcha Connection
SubSonik*Independent
Survival Kwesi Selassie Independent
In The Streets Trinity Chris feat. Blessed
Startinlineup Records
ABORIGINAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Seeds
Digging Roots Jericho Beach*Festival
Burn Jason Burnstick Independent
Sedzé Leela Gilday Diva Sound*Festival
Stay Red Northern Cree Canyon*Festival
Blood Red Earth Susan Aglukark Aglukark
Entertainment*Arbor
ROOTS & TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE
YEAR: SOLO
Milly’s Cafe Fred J. Eaglesmith A Major Label*Outside
When We Get There Lennie Gallant Revenant*Fontana
North
An Ancient Muse Loreena McKennitt Quinlan
Road*Universal
Yellowjacket Stephen Fearing True North*Universal
We Belong To The Gold Coast Steve Dawson Black
Hen*KOCH
ROOTS & TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
GROUP
Let’s Frolic Blackie and the Rodeo Kings True North*Universal
Hello Love The Be Good Tanyas Nettwerk*SONY BMG
Migrations The Duhks Sugar Hill*Fusion III
Bloom The McDades Free Radio Records
Firecracker The Wailin’ Jennys Jericho Beach*Festival
It's A Nelly Nation
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Vit
Wagner, Pop Music Critic
(February 07, 2007) All Nelly. All the time. That's shaping up
as the unofficial theme for the 2007 Juno Awards, to be presented April 1 in
Saskatoon. Nelly Furtado, already tagged to host the annual Canadian music prizes, is also
poised to make as many as five trips to the winner's circle on the same night.
The Victoria-bred singer's five nominations tied her for the most nods
alongside hip-hop artist k-os and rock group Billy Talent. It is the most
nominations for a Juno host since Shania Twain in 2003, who made good on three
of her five nominations that year. In 1993, host Céline Dion cashed in all of
her seven nominations. None of the leading nominees was at the announcement,
held yesterday afternoon at the Mod Club Theatre on College St. Furtado's Loose
is in the running for Best Album and Best Pop Album. "Promiscuous,"
her hit collaboration with producer Timbaland, is up for Single of the Year.
Furtado was also nominated for Artist of the Year and for the Fan Choice Award,
a category that includes rising Quebec singer Gregory Charles and established
recording artists Michael Bublé, Nickelback and Sarah McLachlan.
Both of the other two top nominees will go head to head with Furtado for top
single, with k-os nominated for "Sunday Morning" and Billy Talent for
"Devil in a Midnight Mass." Billy Talent and k-os are also on the
performing roster, adding to the possibility that this year's Juno telecast on
CTV will resemble a revolving door for the top nominees. It was also announced
yesterday that the Tragically Hip, due into the Air Canada Centre tomorrow, are
joining this year's list of performers. Bob Rock, a former member of the
Payola$ who has produced albums by Metallica, Bon Jovi, Bublé and many others,
was revealed as this year's Hall of Fame inductee. The list of nominees
includes few surprises or nods to the country's hot indie music scene,
notwithstanding three nominations for Malajube. But the acclaimed
Montreal newcomers, who were also up for last year's inaugural Polaris Prize, a
critics' award for the year's best Canadian album, are not in the running for
New Artist of the Year. That category, predictably, is dominated by Canadian
Idol winners Eva Avila and Melissa O'Neil, along with Patrick Watson, Tomi
Swick and Neverending White Lights. The only other Polaris Prize nominee in the
Juno field is esteemed singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer, who is up for three
awards. Polaris winner Final Fantasy was nowhere to be found among the
nominees. Also of note, controversial Texas group the Dixie Chicks,
who added a bunch of Canadian dates after cancelling some U.S. shows due to
poor sales last year, is nominated in the sales-determined International Album
field. The category includes Il Divo, Justin Timberlake, Madonna and Red
Hot Chili Peppers.
::MUSIC NEWS::
7 Questions: Jann Arden
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Brad Wheeler
Born Jann Richards Arden, March 27, 1962, in Calgary. Credits her
passion for music to her father's mother, “a stormin' Mormon who was outspoken
and flinty and played a tough, two-fisted piano.” In her 20s, busked on the
streets of Vancouver and worked the western lounge circuit. In addition to
selling millions of records worldwide and capturing eight Juno awards, has a
second career as an actress, emcee and author. Inducted into Canada's Walk of
Fame in 2006.
An album of cover songs from a singer-songwriter adored for her emotional,
confessional lyrics might not be what her fans would expect or even want. But
Jann Arden has turned a trick — selecting songs that tell us as much about
where she comes from as anything she could write herself. Add to that
illuminating, personable liner notes and you have a revealing collection that inspires
the title, Uncover Me.
You've got an album of cover tunes out now. You haven't lost
your songwriting muse have you?
Oh, no, no, no. This was like elective surgery. It was something I thought
would be fun to do and a helluva lot more interesting than doing a Christmas
album. I don't know if the world needs one more version of Jingle Bells.
Okay, fun, but with some of the songs you chose — the single
Bring the Boys Back Home in particular — you're saying something even if you
didn't write the words, aren't you?
I guess so, but the irony is that I just grew up listening to these songs. A
lot of people have tried to put me in these political corners, saying that I
was trying to make brazen statements. But any song that I've ever done, whether
they're mine or somebody else's — on the rare occasion — have always been about
personal relationships.
But Freda Payne's Bring the Boys Back Home, from 1972? Certainly
an anti-war statement, no?
I still think it's about personal relationships. It's about wishful thinking.
In reality [the ending of war in Iraq] is not anything we're going to see
happen any time soon, because that's just not how it works. In the back of
everybody's mind, and certainly in the forefront of our hearts, you want
resolution. Us lay people, we don't really understand it. I don't even know if
there's a politician in the world that knows what the heck they're fighting
about.
In the song notes you write that the world probably didn't need
another version of California Dreamin'. But, in light of Denny Doherty's recent
passing, it's a little more timely than you could have expected.
I know. I think I said in the liner notes, ‘Do you know how many times I've
sung this song, with various groups of people over the last 30 years, just
drunk?' Because it's one of those songs that you don't really need the words
to, because as soon as the lead person says the first line, you know what the
rebuttal is. It was just fun to do it, for me to actually have fun with music
and not be singing about something emotionally disturbing.
“All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey?” It's not such a
cheery song, though.
That's the funny thing about that. When we were starting to look at seventies
lyrics, we didn't realize how very dark they all were. Something like Love
is a Battlefield or California Dreamin' or even Solitaire.
To counteract the darkness then, you merrily go the other way
with Downtown?
One of my favourite songs growing up. My mother will be thrilled to play that
over and over again. I was a huge, huge fan of Petula Clark. She's one of the
artists that I listened to in my parent's basement every day after school,
until my mom pounded her foot on the kitchen floor for me to come up for
dinner.
Everybody's talking about your recent weight loss. Fifty pounds!
Do we describe you as “sultry” now?
Oh yeah. [Laughs.] It was under there all that time. Little did the fellas
know.
Songwriter In Driver's
Seat
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Canadian
Press
(February 02, 2007) It's been a year of surprises for Canadian songwriter
Gordie Sampson, whose massive country
hit "Jesus Take the Wheel" has opened the door to a string of
superstar collaborations and a shot at one of music's most sought-after prizes.
After conquering the charts with the monster single – partly inspired by a Cape
Breton road crash – the affable Nova Scotian says his upcoming trip to the
Grammys is a surreal turn in his exploding career. Although he'd found modest
success writing album tracks for various artists, the song was his first to be
released to U.S. radio. "The first single I had was `Jesus Take the Wheel'
and it was just such a bang to happen as the first single," Sampson says
by phone from his home just outside Sydney, N.S. "It's kind of like the
hockey player, the new guy on the team, that gets the right pass and scores the
goal and everybody in the crowd stands up and goes, `Hey, who's that?'"
The soaring inspirational tune, co-written with U.S. songwriters Hillary
Lindsey and Brett James and sung by American Idol winner Carrie
Underwood, topped the Billboard charts for six weeks and turned Sampson into
one of Nashville's hottest newcomers.
The 35-year-old musician scored his first big songwriting gig three years ago
with a song on a Faith Hill record. "This is all relatively new stuff for
me," says Sampson, whose recent collaborators include Rascal Flatts, LeAnn
Rimes and Bon Jovi. "Boom, I got this Carrie Underwood cut, which was a
single. Right after we got that, the doors just opened as wide as they
could." A recent collaboration with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora may
land on a country-tinged Bon Jovi album. "Bon Jovi is probably the biggest
guilty pleasure in the world; everybody's a fan, kind of, in a way. They're
enigmas, they're legends," he says. Sampson's radio success with
"Jesus Take the Wheel" has also brought a slew of professional
accolades, including SOCAN's songwriter of the year award at the Canadian
Country Music Awards. Now the song is up for two Grammys, Best Country Song and
Song of the Year, at a gala bash in Los Angeles on Feb. 11. Sampson still
marvels at its success. "I don't even know that song any more, it doesn't
even know me. It's taken on a life of its own; it just flew away." The
song's compelling narrative, in which a young mother loses control of her car
on an ice-slicked road, was inspired by a car crash that claimed the life of a friend's
sister, says Sampson. He happened to drive past the scene on a Cape Breton road
and recalled another story his aunt once told him about losing control of her
own car. "She was very religious and she kind of just threw her hands up
in the air and asked God to take control of the car," says Sampson.
Rainbow Airwaves
Source: www.outlooks.ca
- By Dale Smith
(February 2007) Canada posts another first, as Proud
FM
becomes the first twenty-four/seven commercial radio station in the world to
broadcast for the GLBT community. The road from concept to full-fledged radio
station, which is expected to go live at 103.9
FM in the Toronto area March 1, was a long
but rewarding one. It all began ten years ago when the Evanov Group applied to
the CRTC for a radio license to serve the GLBT market. “At the time, the media
wasn’t quite ready for a gay station, and there was a lot more competition for
the frequency, so they didn’t get it at that time,” says Sean Moreman, the
station’s news director. “They applied again in 2005, seeing that things have
changed a bit, and that there was the same demand, if not more demand for a gay
and lesbian station in Toronto, so they re-applied to the CRTC, and they got
the licence which was awarded in April of 2006.” Originally the station had
been pitched to the CRTC as “Rainbow Radio”, but as the process continued, the
decision came down to change the name to it’s current one.
“We thought that Proud FM was a more dynamic name that speaks to not only the
station’s achievement as having gotten the first licence in the world, but also
to the feeling that our listeners will have about how far we’ve come on all
sorts of issues,” Moreman says. “This one only being one of many, being able to
hit a point where we can have a whole radio station solely for our community.”
The station’s mandate is to give the community something they’ve been missing,
namely a station that caters to their needs and interests, as they’re different
from the straight community. “The programming is a combination of music and
some talk components,” Moreman explains. “The music will be a wide range of
music appealing to a wide range of people in the community, and the talk
portion is really where you’re going to see the queer content. The news will
have gay-related topics that you won’t get on other stations, the banter of the
DJs will be stuff that you won’t hear on other stations, either because those
DJs don’t understand it, don’t live it, or their listeners aren’t interested in
it.” That range of music is planned to be a blend of a little of everything,
but really making it a true pop station of yesteryear. “Towards the evening, the
activity levels of the music will be higher, just to get people if they’re
planning on going out clubbing, especially on the weekend,” Moreman says.
“Otherwise there’s going to be a good mix of music throughout the day. Our
music director has done a pretty good job of putting songs back-to-back that
you would think are incongruous, but once you hear them all together, there’s a
really good flow.” Said music director is Toronto singer/songwriter James
Collins, who has been busy assembling the station’s play list, and excited
about the opportunity to program for such a unique station. One of the
challenges he’s been eagerly tackling is finding the mandated Canadian Content,
and has found a treasure trove of hits that have since disappeared from the
airwaves.
“We’re going to have the best variety, and we’re really going to mean it,”
Collins says. “Unlike other stations that say they have the best variety and
play the same songs over and over.” “We’d like to keep it fairly upbeat and
fun,” Collins enthuses. “There are going to be some gems that pop up on the
station that will put some smiles on peoples’ faces in rush hour traffic. We’re
not going to play them every day, but I think people will be surprised when
they hear them. And if it’s not feel good, then it will make you feel.” In
terms of finding ‘out’ gay and lesbian artists, Collins assures us that aside
from the Pet Shop Boys, Elton John and k.d. lang songs that one would expect,
there are a surprising number of out artists to choose from plus “A lot of European
stuff that doesn’t get played over here.” One example is the UK’s Pop Idol
winner Will Young, “and there is one track of his that I cannot wait to play on
the station.” Young is one example of an artist that isn’t getting radio play
in North America. “Why not create a buzz for some of these songs that deserve
to be heard? We have an outlet for that.” The station may also prove a good
outlet for local gay and lesbian talent, providing the music fits the format.
Collins immediately lists Toronto artist Gavin Bradley as one artist already on
the play list.
The on air personalities are also something that the station has a lot to be
proud of. “In the mornings, we’ve picked up Ken Kostick and Mary-Jo Eustace,”
Moreman says, referring to the duo formerly from What’s For Dinner? Eustace has
also been in the gossip pages lately as it was her former husband that Tori
Spelling ran off with. “We’re excited to have them on the air and to hear their
banter back and forth and see where they are, so they’re in the morning from
six until ten. For the afternoon drive we’ve picked up Maggie Cassella, who
people will know from both television and radio, and we’re looking for her to
put her spin on things, and I’m sure that she’ll have lots of opinions that
people will, if not agree with, at least find amusing because she’s very, very
funny. So we’re looking forward to that for the way home.” James Collins will
also host a weekend show. In addition to the news, the station will also
feature some longer talk components, one of which is a series called Voices to
be aired once a week. “It will have people in their own voice, first person,
relating stories from gay history if you will,” Moreman says. “For example, if
we could find someone who was involved in the raids in the bathhouses here in
1981, if they could talk about their experience and what that was like, that’ll
be what the Voices segment will be like. That’ll be about a half-hour of
uninterrupted talk. But for the most part, it’ll be a music station with banter
and some features.” For people outside of the Toronto area, fear not—Proud FM
will be available on the Internet, where they will be simulcasting from the
Toronto broadcast, along with podcasting of features and newscasts. “We hope to
have both the Internet aspect and even the on-air be very interactive, so that
people can send in requests or download a podcast, just to really get involved
in the station,” Moreman says. “We want to make sure that people are getting
what they want.” Into the future, there are definite plans to expand to other
cities across Canada if it takes off, with Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax,
Calgary and Ottawa all on the list. “As licences become available, we have
every intention of going after them,” Moreman assures us. We can hardly wait. _
For more information visit: proudfm.ca
Chuck Fenda’s Living Fire Goes To Greensleeves
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
February 1, 2007) *Living
Fire, the sophomore album from
cultural/conscious deejay Chuck Fenda, will be released next month by London’s Greensleeves Records.
The 16 track set will be led by the international release of the single Coming
Over Tonight, which features actress-turned-singer Cherine Anderson. The song
has already topped local charts and is now making strides on various overseas
reggae charts. Producer Shane Brown who produced most of the tracks on the
album says the album took about six months to complete. ‘Fenda and I have a
natural vibe together whenever we do songs, plus we have developed a good
working relationship. If there is ever something that we don’t agree on, its
always easy to reach a compromise’. Brown produced Fenda’s chart topping
controversial single Gash Dem and Light Dem, which is also included on the
album. The single topped local and overseas charts last year.
In explaining the topics explored on the album, Brown said ‘The album covers a
few topics about life on a whole. Fenda calls himself the ‘Poor People’s
Defender’ so on the album you hear him talking about poverty, crime and there
are also a few songs that deal with matters of the heart’. Living Fire also
features contributions from producers Christopher Birch, Marvin Williams (who
produced the song Child of the Universe featuring Tanya Stephens), Harvel
‘Gadaffi’ Heart and Robert Bogle. Richie Spice also appears on the album. Brown
who is known for a handful of projects released on his Juke Boxx label (Klymaxx
rhythm), has worked with a number of artistes over the last five years. He
produced nine songs on Junior Kelly’s debut album Love So Nice which was
released by VP Records in 2001. He is currently working on a dancehall
rhythm called Chaos. He is also mixing projects for the likes of Birch, Daseca,
Penthouse, Dean Fraser and the Big Yard label. Additionally, Brown is working
on four tracks for the upcoming album from Morgan Heritage. Living Fire is the
follow up to Chuck Fenda’s Better Living album which was released three years
ago via Fifth Element Records. Rough out Deh and I Swear are some of the
songs from that disc, that impacted on the charts.
Life A Song For Jones
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Entertainment
Reporter
(February 01, 2007) Norah Jones seems to have the golden touch,
breaking sales records with her new album before it even landed in record
stores this week. But in an interview, she shrugged off the fact that her third
disc, Not Too Late, was just declared the most pre-ordered disc in
Amazon's online history with the same nonchalant, anti-Kanye West attitude
she's displayed toward her 30-million-selling, eight-Grammy-winning career.
"It's not like amazon.com has been around for 100 years or something, my
gosh," said the petite, 27-year-old New Yorker, erupting into giggles
during a promotional stop in Toronto yesterday. Humility aside, the
sweet-natured, publicity shy singer-songwriter-pianist acknowledged the good
life that has been wrought by the success of her pleasing blend of pop, country
and jazz on 2002's Come Away With Me and its 2004 follow-up Feels
Like Home. "I think in the first couple years I wasn't having
the best time and now that I've relaxed a little I've learned to enjoy
it. "It's given me so much freedom to do what I want: financial
freedom, creative freedom ... yet I don't feel like I've been put in some cage,
like really famous people who you feel so bad for, because they can't go
anywhere. "I'm not like that. People don't really notice me that
much."
Jones has exercised these freedoms most notably on Not Too Late by
writing or co-writing every song on the disc (unlike her sporadic contributions
on previous releases) and utilizing bassist boyfriend Lee Alexander to produce
the album, recorded primarily in their Manhattan home studio. "It wasn't
necessarily important to me to (write all the songs) for a record; I really
wanted to get back into songwriting. I had just gotten into it right before the
first record, then all the success just kind of overwhelmed that.
"When you travel a lot, it's hard to keep a routine going and with writing
I realized I have to always have a voice recorder or notepad, and have the
routine of writing down my thoughts when I have them. "I wrote a few songs
with Lee for the second record, but they were songs he wrote the brunt of – I
would come in and come up with a bridge. This time I was writing a lot and it
felt so good to do that again." And what exactly was on the faithful
balladeer's mind when she fell into this "songwriting groove" on her
last tour? Well, love, of course, but with a gloomy twist: "Wish I Could"
depicts two women lamenting the same fallen soldier, while "The Sun
Doesn't Like You" suggests a conjugal prison visit. There's also the
politically relevant "My Dear Country" – with the lyric "Nothing
is as scary as election day" – and the cheekily drawn, but utterly pessimistic
"Sinkin' Soon."
The latter is influenced by Tom Waits, she said. "I'm always listening to
his music, because since college he's been one of my favourite artists. He's a
huge inspiration and it seeps in. When we were writing `Sinkin' Soon' and especially
when recording it, we definitely were thinking a Tom Waits vibe." A
one-time jazz piano student who gigs with punk and country bands in her
downtime, Jones in Not Too Late employs the same wistful, acoustic
approach of earlier records, with many of the same musicians, including
guitarists Jesse Harris and Toronto's Kevin Breit. But she's also added horns,
trombone, sax and tuba for the first time. "I've always wanted that gritty
sound of people like Tom Waits and my voice just isn't gritty. And I finally
realized I'm not going to get it from my singing, so I to have to junk up the
band. And I kind of played with that a little more this time around."
Jones is slated to head out on the road in April, and her website is promising
dates in Toronto and Montreal in May. The tour will pause after four weeks or
so, easy living compared to her non-stop year and a half outing of yore.
"I love to tour and have a great time doing it, but I don't feel the need
to go to every town on the planet any more," she said. "We'll keep it
fun and not make it work."
Cazhhmere: Canada’s Hottest
Director’s Latest Video Earns High Rotation On MuchMusic
Source: Concept Inc.
(January 25, 2007) Cazhhmere has quickly established herself as one of
the hottest video directors in Canada. The Toronto native’s latest video “All
About U” debuted on MuchMusic and MuchVibe in high rotation and entered the
MuchMusic countdown at #30. “All About You” is the new single for Halifax
rapper Classified and features Chad Hatcher. Cazhhmere’s the
creative force behind critically-acclaimed videos by the Black Jays, Brassmunk,
Eternia, Carl Henry, Daryl Riley and many more and has earned reputation for
being forward thinking and visually seductive. “All About U” is currently
featured on the MuchMusic website: http://www.muchmusic.com/axs/.
Having worked on projects involving the likes of LITTLE x, Alicia Keys, Jin and
The Clipse, industry acclaim for Cazhhmere is building to a roar throughout
Canada and the United States. "I'm going to hit and I'm going to hit
hard," reassures Cazhhmere. For interviews and more
information, Contact: Concept Inc., contact@concept-inc.ca
Bio for Cazhhmere
With her one of a kind insight into the entertainment lifestyle and
connection to the pulse of the streets, Cazhhmere is uniquely suited to
spearhead the next revolution in entertainment. "I have a deep passion for
storytelling and music, and I love seeing the two meshed together," muses
Cazhhmere. "I love what I do… it's in my blood, it's been with me as
long as I can remember." Indeed, Cazhhmere's love for drama and music
started at an early age. Unlike most children her age, Cazhhmere not only
listened to the music playing on the radio, she internalized it, and turned the
melodies into mental pictures in her head. As she grew, Cazhhmere began to
write these images down and formulate crude treatments for some of her
favourite songs. "When I was younger music and film were my escape from a
lonely childhood. I used to vibe on Janet Jackson, Prince, Chaka Kahn and
Aerosmith and dream about a time that I would be writing treatments for
them."
Though Cazhhmere initially studied Sociology and Psychology in university, she
could not deny her real passions: film and music. She ultimately left Dalhousie
University, and enrolled in film school where she gained an in-depth knowledge of
the film industry. At the same time, Cazhhmere interned at MuchMusic
where she wowed the executives and was offered a position in the Urban Music
Department. Here, she also met one of her future business partners, RT!.
Impressed by her endless creative vision, RT! invited Cazhhmere to join the
team, NEXT ELEMENT ENTERTAINMENT. "My first project with NEXT ELEMENT was
a video for an artist named Tone. The chemistry was there and I've been part of
the family ever since." Past projects have included work with
heavy-hitters like LITTLE x, MC Lyte, Rockwilder, Jin and The Clipse. Prepare
yourself for the NEXT ELEMENT in entertainment!
Groundbreaking Artist/Producer Timbaland Gathers An Electrifying
Line-up Of Talent For Shock Value Album
Source: Universal Urban Music Canada
(January 30, 2007) New York, NY – Timbaland is already acknowledged
as
one of music’s most inventive and distinctive creators. Yet the
artist/producer’s forthcoming album, just his second solo album, promises to
shock the world. Timbaland Presents Shock Value (Mosley Music
Group/Blackground/Interscope) is set for release March 27, 2007.
The first single, “Give It To Me,” featuring Justin Timberlake and Nelly
Furtado, launches February 1. “My mission is to blow up the boundaries
and tear down the limits,” says Timbaland. “I’m taking my music outside
of the box. I’m not getting away from what I’m known for; I’m just going
to a place where it’s all about the music, not about the labels on the
music. That’s why I call it Shock Value--from the artists to the
production, it will shock the system.” Timbaland is coming off
producing the majority of the tracks, including the #1 “SexyBack,” on
Timberlake’s #1 charting, multiplatinum FutureSex/LoveSounds album,
which followed their work together on his previous smash Justified.
He is also a special guest on Timberlake’s current 2007 FutureSex/LoveShow
World Tour. Timbaland’s performance marks not only his first tour in many
years and, his first world tour, but also the debut of some beats and original
music from Shock Value.
Shock Value is sequenced like a movie, Timbaland reveals, with a
non-stop flow that tells a story. With off-the-wall beats, raps, hooks,
and his signature sound, the album fuses genres from rap and hip-hop to pop,
punk pop and garage rock to South Asian influences. The album’s guest
artists range from Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg to Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado;
from The Hives, She Wants Revenge and Fall Out Boy to Elton John (on piano) and
newer artists such as Sri Lankan hip-hopper M.I.A. and Keri Hilson (the latter
signed, as is Furtado, to Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group, a joint venture with
Interscope). Timbaland’s enormous, critically acclaimed success as a producer
has resulted in hits by Missy Elliott (“The Rain”), Aaliyah (“If Your Girl Only
Knew”), Ginuwine (“Pony”), Jay-Z (“Big Pimpin’”), Nas (“You Won’t See Me
Tonight”), Snoop Dogg (“Snoop Dogg [What’s My Name, Pt. 2]”), Ludacris
(“Rollout [My Business]”), Furtado (“Promiscuous”) and many others. As a
headliner, he teamed with Magoo for 1997’s groundbreaking Welcome To Our
World, followed the next year by his solo debut, Tim’s Bio. Indecent
Proposal (2001) and Under Construction, Pt. II (2002) were once
again billed with Magoo. The 38-date North American leg of the
FutureSex/LoveShow World Tour, with opening act Pink, kicked off in San Diego ,
CA on January 8th and runs through March.
Jermaine Dupri Named President of Island Records Urban Music
Source: Island Def Jam Music Group
(February 7, 2007) NEW YORK, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ --
Jermaine Dupri, one of the industry's
most consistently successful top-charted producers and songwriters, has been
appointed president of Island Records Urban Music, a new division of the Island Def Jam Music Group,
it was announced today by Antonio "L.A." Reid, Chairman, Island Def
Jam Music Group. As part of the arrangement, Mr. Dupri will oversee Island's
entire urban music operation. In addition, he will produce artists on the IDJ
roster, as well as provide his production services to the entire Universal
Music Group family of labels. In this newly created position, Mr. Dupri will
report directly to Mr. Reid, and to Steve Bartels, President, Island
Records/COO, Island Def Jam Music Group, on operational matters. Dupri will be
based in Atlanta and New York. "Jermaine's career has grown from strength
to strength over the years," said Mr. Reid, "as a producer and
songwriter and recording artist in his own right, as a respected label
executive and entrepreneur, and as a highly esteemed developer of new talent.
His deep ties to Atlanta's creative R&B and hip-hop community have been the
springboard to working with the greatest names in contemporary music. This is a
tremendous step forward for Island Records and its established roster of
artists who will benefit enormously from Jermaine's presence."
"I'm so excited to be reunited with L.A. Reid because most of my biggest
hits were when he and I worked together," said Mr. Dupri. "And then
to be working side by side with Steve Bartels -- I don't think there's a better
team because he's by far the best in the game. I can't wait for us to start
stuntin' on y'all." "I am thrilled that Jermaine has decided to join
the Island Def Jam family," said Mr. Bartels. "Jermaine is a
prestigious hitmaker as well as a production wizard. I personally look forward
to helping be part of once again, adding to and continuing his illustrious
legacy." Jermaine Dupri is one of the pre-eminent figures in Urban Music
today. He has written, produced, or mixed hit records for many of the industry's
top artists. His long-distance run of hits with Usher, which began in 1997,
culminated with 2004's string of "Burn," "Confessions Part
II," and "My Boo" (a duet with Alicia Keys) which drove 8-times
platinum sales of Usher's Confessions album, making it the best-selling album
of the year.
Dupri is no stranger to the Island roster, having co-written and produced the
Mariah Carey #1 hits "We Belong Together" (for which he shared the
Grammy award for Best R&B Song), "Shake It Off," and "Don't
Forget About Us." All three were from The Emancipation of Mimi, the #1
top-selling album of 2005. In addition to his collaborations with IDJ artists
Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Lionel Richie, Dupri has turned out hits with Aretha
Franklin, Whitney Houston, TLC, Run-DMC, Toni Braxton, Alicia Keyes, Nelly,
Chingy, Janet Jackson, Monica, Aaliyah, Ciara, and many others. Jermaine Dupri
was 19 years old when he produced his first #1 record on the Billboard Hot 100,
Kris Kross' 1992 single, "Jump." The 5-times platinum sales of the
teen duo's debut album led to Dupri's founding of the So So Def label in 1993.
He was quickly marked as one of the foremost young entrepreneurs driving the
arrival of hip-hop as a central creative and commercial force in mainstream
music. So So Def became known as an engine not only of hit records, but of
artist development, as Dupri went on to sign and nurture the careers of many
gold, platinum, and multi-platinum selling artists including Xscape, Da Brat,
Jagged Edge, Lil' Bow Wow, Dem Franchize Boyz, J-Kwon, Youngbloodz, and Anthony
Hamilton.
Nominees For Soul Train Awards Announced
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(February 7, 2007) *Beyoncé earned three nominations
from
the 21st annual Soul Train Music Awards to lead all honourees, it was announced Tuesday during a press
conference at Spago, Beverly Hills. Receiving two nods each were Mary J. Blige,
John Legend, Chris Brown, Gnarls Barkley, Ne-Yo, Yung Joc, Jagged Edge and The
Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley. Beyoncé’s current No. 1 single,
“Irreplaceable,” was recognized in the categories of Best R&B/Soul Single,
Female and Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, while her CD “B’Day” was
nominated for Best R&B/Soul Album. In addition, 20 other recording artists
received one nomination each, including Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Keyshia Cole,
Letoya, Danity Kane, The Pussycat Dolls featuring Avant, Monica, Busta Rhymes
featuring will.i.am & Kelis, Dem Franchize Boyz featuring Lil Peanut &
Charley, India Arie, Avant, Lupe Fiasco, Sean Paul, Kirk Franklin, Rick Ross,
Robin Thicke, Jim Jones, The Caravans, Bishop G.E. Patterson &
Congregation, Webstar & Young B Featuring The Voice of Harlem and Youth for
Christ.
At the Tuesday morning announcement at Spago in Beverly
Hills, the absence of Soul Train creator and Executive Producer Don Cornelius
was more than obvious. We were told that he was "under the weather,"
suffering from a bout of food poisoning, but will be OK in a day or two.
Meantime, Omarion was on hand to announce the nominees and will also co-host
the March 10th ceremony at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium along with fellow
R&B singer LeToya. The show will broadcast in first run, national
syndication from March 17 through March 24 via Tribune Entertainment Company
Distribution. Here are the 2007 Nominations:
Best R&B/Soul Single, Female
“Irreplaceable” Beyoncé
“Take Me As I Am” Mary J. Blige
“Love” Keyshia Cole
“Torn” LeToya
Best R&B/Soul Single, Male
“4 Minutes” Avant
“Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” Chris Brown
“Save Room” John Legend
“Sexy Love” Ne-Yo
Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo
“Crazy” Gnarls Barkley
“Just Came Here to Chill” The Isley Brothers Featuring Ronald Isley
“Good Luck Charm” Jagged Edge
“Stickwitu” The Pussycat Dolls Featuring Avant
Best R&B/Soul Album, Female
“B’Day” Beyoncé
“The Breakthrough” Mary J. Blige
“Testimony: Vol. I Life & Relationship” India Arie
“The Makings of Me” Monica
Best R&B/Soul Album, Male
“Chris Brown” Chris Brown
“Unpredictable” Jamie Foxx
“Once Again” John Legend
“The Evolution of Robin Thicke” Robin Thicke
Best R&B/Soul Album, Group, Band or Duo
“Danity Kane” Danity Kane
“St. Elsewhere” Gnarls Barkley
“Baby Makin’ Music” The Isley Brothers Featuring Ronald Isley
“Jagged Edge” Jagged Edge
Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist
Lupe Fiasco “Gotcha”
Ne-Yo “Sexy Love”
Rick Ross “Hustlin’”
Yung Joc “It’s Goin’ Down”
The Michael Jackson Award For Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music
Video
“Irreplaceable” Beyoncé
“I Love My Chick” Busta Rhymes Featuring will.i.am & Kelis
“Show Me What You Got” Jay-Z
“We Fly High” Jim Jones
Best R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut
“Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” Dem Franchize Boyz Featuring Lil Peanut &
Charlay
“Give It Up to Me” Sean Paul feat. Keyshia Cole
“Chicken Noodle Soup” Webstar &Young B Featuring The
Voice of Harlem
“It’s Goin’ Down” Yung Joc
Best Gospel Album
“Paved the Way” The Caravans
“Songs from the Storm, Volume I” Kirk Franklin
“Singing the Old Time Way, Volume II” Bishop G.E. Patterson &
Congregation
“The Struggle is Over” Youth for Christ
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Sometimes Prince's Guitar Is Just A Guitar
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Jake
Coyle, Associated Press
(February 07, 2007) NEW YORK – In the sensitive, post-wardrobe
malfunction world, some are asking whether a guitar was just a guitar during Prince's Super Bowl halftime show. Prince's
acclaimed performance included a guitar solo during the ``Purple Rain"
segment of his medley Sunday in which his shadow was projected onto a large,
flowing sheet. As the 48-year-old rock star let rip, the silhouette cast by his
figure and his guitar (shaped like the singer's symbol) had phallic connotations
for some. A number of bloggers have cried "Malfunction!" – including
Sam Anderson at New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer. Daily News television
critic David Bianculli called it "a rude-looking shadow show" that
"looked embarrassingly rude, crude and unfortunately placed." CBS
spokesman Dana McClintock said Tuesday the network has received "very
few" complaints on Prince's performance. CBS last aired the Super Bowl in
2004, when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's "wardrobe malfunction"
sparked criticism and a crackdown on broadcast decency from the U.S. Federal
Communications Commission. But this time, it was the National Football League
that produced the halftime show, while MTV had in 2004. NFL Spokesman Greg
Aiello said the league has received no complaints.
"We respect other opinions, but it takes quite a leap of the imagination
to make a controversy of his performance," Aiello said. ``It's a
guitar." The majority of the reaction to Prince's performance has been
praise, including positive reviews from The Associated Press, the New York
Times and USA Today – all of which noted the lack of controversy in this year's
halftime show. AP Entertainment Writer Douglas J. Rowe wrote: "He
delivered one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows – ever." For decades,
the electric guitar, by nature, has been considered phallic. From Jimi
Hendrix's sensual six-string swagger to Eddie Van Halen's masturbatory soloing,
the guitar has often been thought an extension of a male player's sexuality.
Was Prince's pose phallic? "The short answer is, of course it is,"
says Rolling Stone magazine contributing editor Gavin Edwards, who points out
that on Prince's "Purple Rain" tour in the mid 1980s, he performed
with a guitar that would ejaculate, squirting water out of its end during the
climax of "Let's Go Crazy." "All that said, it didn't seem like
a sniggering little puppet show," adds Edwards. "I think it was one
of those things because a guitar at waist level does look like an enormous
phallus." By enlarging his shadow, it is possible Prince intended to
accentuate this aspect of his solo but it is just as likely it was accidental.
A message left with Prince's publicist Tuesday was not returned. The late-night
shows have taken notice. On CBS's "The Late Late Show" on Sunday
night, host Craig Ferguson said of Prince: "He was obviously very happy to
be there, wasn't he?"
Stephen Colbert reacted with mock outrage on Comedy Central's ``The Colbert
Report" Monday night: "They knew that they were dealing with a
lustful, pansexual rock 'n' roll deviant," said Colbert, who joked that
the sheet hid (not enhanced) Prince's ``demonic guitar phallus." In recent
years, Prince has scaled down his performances, which were once renowned for
their gymnastics. His mini-concert at Sunday's game included parts of
"Purple Rain," "Let's Go Crazy," ``Baby I'm a Star,"
Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," the Foo Fighter's "Best
of You" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's ``Proud Mary." The Minnesota
native has attracted controversy before. Tipper Gore launched a campaign to
place a warning sticker on his 1984 album "Purple Rain" because of
the lyrics to the song "Darling Nikki." Though his musical style has
been expansive, he is best known for funky, sexually charged songs like "I
Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Get Off." Prince's previously most
talked-about performance came at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, where he
donned yellow, butt-baring pants. Always eccentric, he famously changed his
name to a symbol, becoming to most commentators "The Artist Formerly Known
as Prince". He eventually changed his name back to Prince. He also became
a Jehovah's Witness in the mid-1990s. But Prince's halftime performance, though
celebrated, came in a much different cultural environment, where even the fleeting
outline of a man and his guitar could, for some, suggest shaded depravity.
"If people want to be hypersensitive, they can be hypersensitive,"
says Rolling Stone's Edwards. "Those trombones are phallic, too. What are
you going to do?"
Hanson Walks Tall On New Album
Excerpt from www.billboard.com
- Katie Hasty, N.Y.
(February 02, 2007) Last year, sibling trio Hanson spent time lecturing
performance and entertainment law students in college about its bumpy 5-year
arc of major-label heartache, chronicled in the documentary "Strong Enough
To Break." But this year, fans can expect talking, walking and rocking
from the band in the form of a new album, "The Walk," as well as an
accompanying "making-of" video podcast, "Taking the
Walk." The group's sixth full-length effort, "The Walk,"
will be released May 22 through Hanson's own 3CG label. "Taking a
Walk" will become available, in increments, before the end of this month
via the band's Web site and iTunes. "Each week,
we're able to say, 'Here's the craft, from the inside, and our new political
struggles as we take them on,'" Taylor Hanson tells Billboard.com.
"As an independent band, we need to know and use the tools our fans use to
spread the word about the music. We know what our fans respond to, so we hope
this just fuels our base." Listeners had an opportunity to download
the set's first single, "Great Divide," in November when it was
released to iTunes in an effort to raise money for AIDS/HIV hospitals in South
Africa. "We liked the feeling of taking something we had and then giving
it away," Taylor explains. It was the band's visit to that country
that helped fuel the general theme of the record: a journey. After the mellow
feel of 2004's "Underneath," the group was ready to craft something
with more energy and "soul. It comes in waves. Sometimes, we just need something
real rootsy and down to earth. Other times, we need to really get something out
of our systems," Taylor says.
Hanson tapped friends like Fastball's Miles Zuniga, Boston-based songwriter
Bleu and the Nixons' Zac Maloy to contribute to the effort, while veteran producer
Danny Kortchmar (Neil Young, Bon Jovi) helmed the boards. Episodes of
"Strong Enough To Break" have also been made free via podcast. As previously reported,
the film takes viewers behind the scenes of its struggle with Island/Def Jam
while recording "Underneath." This will mark the first time the film
has been made available to the public -- and the group also ensured that it
came at no cost. "We hope that ['Strong Enough To Break'] is so much
more powerful now that it's free and available to the public. We think a lot of
bands can relate, too," Taylor says. "We were approached by
professors after we'd finish presenting the film, asking if we could put it on
DVD so they could show it to their future classes. This gives a new wave for
the film." The group is in the midst of planning a U.S. headlining
tour for April and May.
R&B At Heart Of Posthumous Levert Album
Excerpt from www.billboard.com
- Gail Mitchell, L.A.
(February 02, 2007) By all accounts, Gerald
Levert was extremely excited
about "In My Songs," the studio album he wrapped just prior to his
death of a heart attack last Nov. 10. As previously reported,
the Atlantic Records album arrives Feb. 13. Making the transition from
his previous project, 2004's socially conscious "Do I Speak for the
World?," Levert refocused on his R&B legacy. "He was excited
because he felt this album was something special," Warner Music Group
executive VP Kevin Liles tells Billboard. "He told me, 'I want to make
sure I deliver, Kev. I'm not an old guy; I'm only 39 and have this
voice.'" The album is also about Levert's arrival at a personal
crossroads before his untimely death. That especially comes across on the lead
single/title track, a ballad juxtaposes his love of music with love of a
special someone.
"Gerald always made personal albums that have been about his
experiences," Liles says. "But with this album, I think he really
became vulnerable. On 'Songs,' you can tell he missed being loved. Everyone
knows his passion for music, but something else was missing in his life. I
think this album was therapy for him." Describing "In My
Songs" as a classic R&B album with a perfect mixture of heartfelt
feeling and emotion, Levert's manager, Leonard Brooks, says it underscores the
singer's his creative and energetic force. "This album tells you
where he was in his life," Brooks says. "He was 40, 22 years in the
business, and still working very hard. It's going to be difficult putting this
album out with him not here. But it doesn't stop, and he wouldn't have wanted
it to stop."
The Underdogs: The Art Of Making Hits
Excerpt from www.billboard.com
- Gail Mitchell, L.A.
(February 01, 2007) Catching time to talk these days with the Underdogs,
aka Harvey Mason Jr. and Damon Thomas, isn't easy. When Billboard first
spoke with the hit-making producers last year, the duo was holed up at its
Hollywood studio, knee-deep in a recording session with Chris Brown, who is now
nominated for a best new artist Grammy Award. It was about a month before
the Dec. 5 release of the pair's first soundtrack effort,
"Dreamgirls," and just a few days shy of the release of the pair's
second film-related project, "Bobby." That soundtrack is fronted by
Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige on "Never Gonna Break My Faith," co-produced
by the Underdogs and the song's co-writer, Bryan Adams. The next
encounter came on the day the Golden Globe nominations were announced.
"Listen," co-produced by Beyonce} and the Underdogs (it's the
singer's signature song in "Dreamgirls"), picked up a best song nod.
It was one of five nominations the film garnered. Also vying for best song:
"Never Gonna Break My Faith." Asked if they were going to
celebrate that evening, Mason and Thomas answered almost in unison with an
emphatic no. In fact, they were on their way back to the studio for a
session with singer Heather Headley. "We have to worry about next
year now," Mason said. Thomas added, "It's time for us to work
harder than we've ever worked."
What was the hardest thing about producing the "Dreamgirls"
soundtrack?
Thomas: Just trying to get to know what director Bill Condon wanted. He's a
great director and knows exactly what he wants. He knew every lyric to every
song; knew where a handicap was. We ultimately had to go through different
versions of songs to find out what he wanted. But he was very helpful in
explaining to us what direction he wanted to go in.
Mason: Music supervisors Randy Spendlove and Matt Sullivan worked with us every
day, making sure we accomplished what Bill wanted. We were searching all over
the place to find exactly how to achieve the balance between respecting the
original songs and the time period from whence they came and updating the
material for today's theatre audience. We were walking a fine line.
What is it about your production style that you think helped seal the deal
for your first soundtrack?
Thomas: We're not just R&B guys. We can do pop, rock, blues . . . a wide
variety. Both of us are musicians and play several instruments. We understand
how to record things live and work with an orchestra. We can also program with
a drum machine and work with all the other computerized components that are
current today.
Mason: We're pretty diversified as producers. I think the music supervisors saw
that initially and took that to Geffen. In our studio we have a grand piano,
drums, an organ and actual recording rooms with microphones-things you're not
seeing in a lot of young producers' studios. We like to incorporate a love of
live material in our productions, including string arrangements.
This project dovetailed with a second soundtrack opportunity, another story
set in the '60s: "Bobby."
Mason: The head of music for the Weinstein Co. heard the material we'd done for
"Dreamgirls" and came to the studio. She wanted help on the end-title
song, written by Bryan Adams. But beyond creatively working with Aretha, Mary
and the Harlem Boys Choir, they needed someone to deal with the business and
administrative aspects of putting this together.
Like with "Dreamgirls." We were dealing with musicians, the director,
the music supervisors, special-effects people, union contracts, studio budgets,
engineers, contractors. It's more than just D and I sitting at the piano and
playing different chords. It's very challenging organizationally.
Thomas: [laughs] It's intense. Film people don't care if you might have Aretha
or anyone else in the studio. If they need something, they need it then and
it's got to be done.
Describe working with two R&B titans, Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige.
Mason: When Aretha came to our studio last September, it was very easy to
collaborate with her as far as getting a great vocal. But she has distinct
ideas of what she wants to do and also a very high set of standards. She'd do
something, and we'd say, "Great."
D and I are both pretty hard to please when it comes to vocals. We spend a lot
of time and pride in our vocal production, but she was pushing even further. To
see that was pretty inspiring.
Thomas: We talked to her for a good half-hour beforehand. She's full of
stories. It was like having royalty at the studio. Something you call your mom
about.
Mason: Harvey Weinstein had the idea of putting Mary on for a duet. To get her,
we ended up flying to New York and recording her at the Sony Studios. When she
came to the studio, I thought she was in some kind of funk. But she was just
really preparing herself for the song. When she got in the booth, I could tell
she was feeling the song's inspirational lyrics and was ready to record. Her
first take was incredible. The next day the choir came in and sang their part,
and that was how we did it.
How do you approach working with an established artist versus a newcomer?
Mason: It's fairly similar. The only difference is you have a history to draw
information from with an established artist. We know what Aretha sounds like;
what her range is. The same goes for Mary. You can go back to past vocal
performances and gauge what you're doing from there and try to improve upon
that. With new artists, you really don't have anything to reference. You're
helping to develop their sound, define who they are vocally. That's the only
difference.
Technically, we approach it the same way. We try to get them to give their best
performance by making them feel comfortable and giving them the confidence as a
producer that we're there to look out for them and make them sound great. Then
it's a collaboration at that point. They're putting their ideas out, we're
putting our ideas out; going back and forth until we get that great
performance.
Are more soundtracks in the works?
Mason: Yes, people are talking to us about other films.
Thomas: Tracey Edmonds [president/COO of Our Stories Films, a co-venture
between BET founder Bob Johnson and the Weinstein Co.] also says she's looking
for something to do with us.
Besides soundtracks, Underdog Entertainment comprises a stable of
writer/producers, Universal Music Publishing-administered Underdog Publishing
and J Records-distributed Underdog Records.
Mason: Our goal was always to have a music factory. And it's really gotten to
that point, as we oversee 10 writer/producers. These people work with us and
independent of us on their own projects. Our label has signed three artists:
Luke & Q, female act Girlfriend and former Epic artist Glenn Lewis.
Thomas: Among our writers is Steve Russell. Formerly a lead singer with the
group Troop, he's been with us six years. All of our writers are talented
musicians who don't just program drums. The musicianship is sick up in here. If
we wanted to go out and play as a live band behind someone, we'd kill. We also
have four full-time engineers.
How do you juggle devoting time to your label versus other Underdog
concerns?
Mason: Because we're both involved in all aspects of the label and the
production company, it is difficult to budget time. It's been a learning curve
for the last two years, picking up the ins and outs about the business side of
making records. We feel pretty comfortable making music for our but beyond that
there have been other things to take into account, including promotion,
marketing, airplay.
Luke & Q bowed last year with the single "TK," didn't they?
Mason: We were testing the waters with that song. Now we have the official
first single, club record "Turn It Around" featuring Young Dro.
Thomas: We wanted to have a record that represented where these two kids are
from, New Orleans. Once we had that record, we reshaped the album around that
and came up with the whole sound for them. It took us a couple of years of
development to get them where we wanted. They are R&B singers with vocals
like K-Ci & JoJo and hip-hop stories from the South.
Beyond a few exceptions last year, R&B/hip-hop sales have been wobbling.
Is R&B still on the upswing?
Thomas: You could get away with one great song on an album, but there's no more
of that now. It's a different dynamic because of downloading; now kids can make
the choice of listening first before they buy. You have to put out a strong
album. If pound for pound there are great songs on the record, people will buy
it, period. It's definitely been on the upswing since Mary, Chris Brown and
others.
Mason: The more people who come from musical backgrounds and go into promotion,
production, songwriting, A&R, plus get their business head together, the
better. They'll not only understand the business aspect, they'll also have a
true passion and ear for how quality is represented musically. Plus consumers
will always have a hunger for R&B music.
Thomas: If you listen to Justin Timberlake and others, a lot of the hot music
today comes from what's being done in R&B and hip-hop.
Is it still a producer-driven industry, or has that evened out?
Mason: It's more songwriter-driven than anything. The premium right now is
being placed on the song, as it should be. There was a time when certain
producers could produce just about anything, and the label execs would say,
"That's a such-and-such record. Let's put that out as the first
single."
The way radio is working right now, you can't put out anything just based on
the producer's name. The general public and radio are so selective and focused
on a certain genre and a certain set of songs that you have to have a great
song to crack through all that.
Then is there an Underdog sound?
Thomas: Yes, it has to do with our chord progressions, melodies, vocal
production, drums. It's all those things put together.
Mason: When we do R&B midtempos or ballads, there's an Underdogs sound.
Like D says, it starts with our music. The drums have a certain sound; the
basslines and bridges are distinctive. It's the way we sonically mix our
records. The way we stack and arrange our vocals is different from what others
do.
People are now catching on to that and catching up. But we constantly try to
change and stay fresh. The only confusing part of that answer is we've done a
lot of different styles of music: R&B, hip-hop, rock, orchestral. So when
people hear us doing a rock'n'roll record or a movie like
"Dreamgirls," they'll say, "Hey, that doesn't sound like an
Underdogs sound."
Can you name a couple of songs that quintessentially capture the Underdogs
sound?
Mason: That's a tough call. Omarion's "O" is signature Underdog, I
think. Mario's "How Could You," Ruben Studdard's "Change
Me."
You're due to work with Whitney Houston. Among others collaborating with her
is Akon, who told Billboard recently that he'll be doing uptempo records with
her since she's coming out of a dark period. Have you figured out what approach
you'll take?
Mason: We've met with Clive [Davis] a couple of times about direction and what
he's expecting. It's some of what Akon was saying. However, Whitney also needs
to have the songs that everybody loves to hear her sing. We'll get more into it
in January.
Can you name a couple of songs that quintessentially capture the Underdogs
sound?
Mason: That's a tough call. Omarion's "O" is signature Underdog, I
think. Mario's "How Could You," Ruben Studdard's "Change
Me."
What one characteristic about each other was proof that this partnership
would work?
Mason: It was D's sheer talent musically and his winner's energy. The first
song we wrote [Tyrese's "I Like Them Girls"] came naturally. The next
thing we knew, three people wanted the song. So it was a quick transition to a
partnership. But even before people liked the song, it was fun collaborating
with someone on equal footing.
D is also a motivator with big goals and dreams; he thinks on a winner's scale.
I have a sports background and tend to pick up on that from people pretty
quickly. I remember when we first got together, he talked then about having a
nice studio.
Thomas: As far as musical talent is concerned, we both bring our A-game. But
other than that, Harvey is the general of our camp. I'll be the one who gets
everybody pumped up. But Harvey is the one who's going to make sure everything
is done and our business is handled correctly. He can go harder than anybody.
Where I can go crazy [laughs], he can always bring that balance to our
partnership.
People are now catching on to that and catching up. But we constantly try to
change and stay fresh. The only confusing part of that answer is we've done a
lot of different styles of music: R&B, hip-hop, rock, orchestral. So when
people hear us doing a rock'n'roll record or a movie like
"Dreamgirls," they'll say, "Hey, that doesn't sound like an
Underdogs sound."
Singing New Life Into Old Songs
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Michael Posner
(Feb. 5, 07) It is not the case, Maude Maggart would have you know, that
every member of her family is in show business. She has two half-sisters who
lead very conventional lives, out of the limelight. Everyone else, on the
other hand, pretty much is in the biz -- including, of course, 31-year-old
Maude herself. A new sensation in the world of musical cabaret, she is just
finishing off a three-week-plus engagement at the Algonquin Hotel's legendary
Oak Room in New York. Then there's her younger sister, pop-singer/songwriter
Fiona Apple; her half-brothers, actor Garett and director Spencer Maggart; and
her parents, actress Diane McAfee and actor Brandon Maggart, who met as cast
members in the Broadway musical Applause in 1970. Going back another
generation, her grandmother, 96-year-old Millicent Green, was a teenage dancer
on Broadway in the 1926 George White's Scandals review, while
93-year-old grandfather Johnny McAfee sang with several big bands, including
the Harry James Orchestra in the thirties and forties. So Maude Maggart, who
has lately caused New York music mavens to search for new superlatives,
certainly comes by it honestly. To hear her sing is to be transported back in
time. In part, it's simply the voice, which in its upper registers has an
almost ethereal quality, and in its lower zone an earthy seductiveness. Or as
her friend and cabaret mentor Andrea Marcovicci put it: "She has a voice
we haven't heard in 60 years." But it's also the material, most of it
drawn from the early American songbook.
Even her name, Maude -- changed from Amber more than a decade ago, it was her
great-great-grandmother's first name -- harkens back to another era. Maggart
isn't entirely comfortable with the label "cabaret singer;" she
prefers just "singer." Still, it's in the intimacy of such a venue
that she works best. In the cozy confines of the Algonquin, with understated
accompaniment on the piano by Lanny Meyers and on guitar and cello by Yair
Evnine, she can literally make eye contact with the entire room. The melodies
-- by Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Noel Coward, Jerome Kern, Cole
Porter, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, among others -- sell themselves.
Maggart sings them straight ahead, unembellished by jazzy vocal accoutrement.
What she is essentially selling is her way around a lyric, her ability to find
and deliver the emotional heart of the song -- a depth of commitment to the
material you won't find in much better-known chanteuses, among them the icy
Diana Krall. Now playing to rave reviews, Maggart's current show Good
Girl/Bad Girl, her third at the Oak Room, is themed and carefully
constructed. All of the songs, from A.P. Randolph's How Could Red Riding
Hood? to Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's The Folks Who Live on the Hill
to Gershwin's Do It Again, stand at some indefinite point on the passion
and betrayal continuum. Among the standouts is You Belong to Me,
recorded by Jo Stafford, Patsy Cline and Patti Page, among others. (An
interesting anecdotal gloss to the song, as Maggart explained, is that the
words and music were written by a woman, Chilton Price, although two
better-known and better-connected men, Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King, were
listed as co-writers.) The four-decade run of the classic American song is
thought to have ended in the mid-1950s, swept away by a rock 'n' roll tsunami,
but Maggart notes that great songs like Joan Baez's Love Song to a Stranger
-- also part of her act -- continue to be written. She intends to inject more
of them into her repertoire.
Maggart owes much to Andrea Marcovicci, a cabaret veteran who took the young
singer under wing, helping her choose material and find the right approach to
the song. Maggart was just a teenager when she saw her future mentor perform in
Los Angeles. "It was the most special thing I had ever seen, and I came
home and wrote reams about it my diary," Maggart recalled in a recent
interview. "But I was too timid to speak to her for a long time."
After her parents' divorce, Maggart lived a bi-coastal childhood, spending the
school year with her mother in New York and summers with her father in Venice
Beach, Calif. She saw Marcovicci's act several times, but never spoke to her
until 1999, at a memorial service for composer and family friend
Marshall Barer (Once Upon a Mattress and Here I Come to Save the Day,
the Mighty Mouse theme song). At the time, Maggart was still trying to
determine "what I wanted to do with my life." She had sung at the
Barer service and, the next day, Marcovicci called Maggart's father and said
she'd be prepared to help if Maude wanted to become a singer. "I owe
everything to Andrea," she now says. "She shared all of her knowledge
about cabaret, her music library, protocol, how to take the audience on a
journey, and how to become myself. She never tried to turn me into a little clone."
Later, Maggart got a boost from another major cabaret star -- Michael Feinstein
-- who invited her to perform with him during a two-week run at the Algonquin
and again at Carnegie Hall. In other words, two of the biggest names in
cabaret have given Maggart their endorsement. Maggart says she has also been
influenced by Helen Forrest, who sang with Artie Shaw's orchestra and later
Harry James's, and to some extent by Helen Morgan, a torch singer from the
twenties and thirties. "There's a fragility and tenderness with her that
is kind of untouched," Maggart says of Morgan. Next stop is London.
Maggart opens a weeklong gig at the Jermyn Street Theatre later this month. And
there's a new CD, Maude Maggart Live, a compilation from live
performances in New York and Los Angeles, due out this week. The themed evening
of songs echoes Marcovicci's approach. "I like to know why people pick
songs -- that it's not just a potpourri," says Maggart. "You can
carve out a pathway for the audience. I'm singing songs a lot of people don't
sing any more, and we are keeping that history alive. It's storytelling."
We Remember Two Motown Veterans: Billy Henderson of the
Spinners; original Funk Brother Joe Hunter Both Pass
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
February 5, 2007) *The
music world mourns the deaths of two soul legends
who crossed paths during the 1950s at Motown and went on to help shape the sound
of rhythm and blues through the early 70s. Singer Billy Henderson, a member of the band
the Spinners, died Friday of complications from diabetes at a Daytona Beach
health care facility, according to his wife, Barbara. He was 67.
Also on Friday, the Detroit News reported that Motown's
first Funk Brother Joe Hunter, 79, was found dead in his Detroit apartment. While a cause of
death was unknown at press time, Hunter also suffered from diabetes, and
appeared as if he was trying to take some medication when he died, according to
his son. Hunter’s specific style of piano playing anchored Motown’s in-house
studio band, known as the Funk Brothers, and helped to define the distinctive
“Motown Sound.” The three-time Grammy winner had just returned to Detroit
Sunday from a European tour with fellow Funk Brother Jack Ashford, reports the
Detroit News. Hunter moved to Detroit at age 11 from his birthplace of Jackson,
Tenn. After playing behind such artists as Jackie Wilson and Hank Ballard and
the Midnighters, Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. hired him to back up artists on
his roster, such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Hunter was Motown’s first
hired musician and first bandleader during the company’s early days in the late
‘50s.
His work is the first thing heard on Marvin Gaye’s classic song "Pride and
Joy," as well as Martha and the Vandellas' "Heat Wave" and
"Come and Get These Memories." Meanwhile, singer Billy
Henderson was also embarking on an R&B career as a high school student in
the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, Mich. In 1954, he joined four of his
close classmates to form the Spinners and the group signed to Harvey Fuqua’s
Tri-Phi Records. Only two of their singles charted before the entire label was
purchased by Motown in 1963. The Spinners made their debut as Motown
artists the following year at the Apollo Theater, but Billboard’s Hot 100 chart
still eluded them, with the exception of their 1965 single “I’ll Always Love
You,” which reached No. 35. Gordy moved the Spinners to Motown’s
V.I.P. imprint in 1969, and the group returned to the chart with their No. 14
single “It’s A Shame,” penned by Stevie Wonder. But their biggest hits would
come after they left Motown and signed with Atlantic Records in 1972. Under new
producer/songwriter Thom Bell and new lead singer Philipe Wynne, the group
released “The Spinners,” which generated five top 100 singles and two top 10s,
“I’ll Be Around” and “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love.” A later single,
“The Rubberband Man,” reached No. 2 on the charts. In 1977, Wynne
was replaced by Jonathan Edwards and the group scored such 80s hits as “Working
My Way Back to You/Forgive Me Girl” and "Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long
Time." Four of the original band members, including Henderson,
continued to perform together until he was fired in 2004 after suing the
group's corporation and business manager to obtain financial
records. Funeral services will be held at the Volusia Memorial
Funeral Home in Port Orange on Saturday, Feb. 10. Henderson is survived by his
wife and three children, Charles Ross Jr., William Sterling Henderson, and
Joseph Henderson. Shortly before his death, Henderson was reportedly
working on a new group with Charles and William - Spinners Part Too, Inc. -
that would sing Spinners songs.
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Roots Feeling Synth-y On 'Game Theory' Follow-Up
Excerpt from www.billboard.com -
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
(February 06, 2007) The Roots' Def Jam debut, "Game Theory," isn't
even six months old, but the group is already at work on its follow-up, which
drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson tells Billboard.com will either be
out in October 2007 or February 2008. "We are using a lot of
synthesizer, but I don't know if I could call this the electronic album or
not," Thompson says. "Pretty much five or six songs are done, and
four of them are synth-heavy." The Roots have also recorded an original
song, "I Will Not Apologize," based on an old track from Afrobeat
pioneer Fela Kuti. "I know somehow I'm going to find the common thread of
all this stuff," Thompson offers. "I don't know what to call it, but
it's something." Thompson admits "Game Theory" may have
been a bit of a downer both in music and subject matter, but he says the Roots
have invigorated the material now that they're finally on tour in the United
States. The group plays San Francisco tonight (Feb. 7) and tomorrow, before
headlining a special pre-Grammy show in L.A. on Saturday with Jill Scott, Lupe
Fiasco and Akon.
"['Game Theory'] is so melancholy and emotional and moody that our current
live show absolutely betrays the feeling of that album," Thompson says.
"I don't know what happened -- no one gave us the memo. We decided this is
going to be our most exclamation point-filled show ever."
"Also, we've presented our show very differently," he continues.
"We're up to a 10-man group and it's not one, long three-hour show. We're
like our own opening act, middle act and headline act. We do different
configurations of all 10 of us. It's a whole new energy. I can even tell by the
reviews on our Web site that people notice a difference." Thompson
says he is unfazed by the marketplace response to "Game Theory,"
which shifted 61,000 copies in its first week but only 113,000 since. He points
to Def Jam president Jay-Z as an example of how even for superstar acts, going
gold might be the new platinum. "Even my president, with a $20
million campaign, has a victory at 1.3 million copies," he says of Jay'Z's
"Kingdome Come." "We knew this album was going to have as much
to do with the marketplace as Barbra Streisand on the soul charts. But the way
I look at it, this is definitely a return to form for us. Critics say we got
our mojo back and our fan base agreed. That's really all we were concerned
about."
Who Says Legends Need To Sing?
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Vit
Wagner, Pop Music Critic
(February 07, 2007) At 62, Rod
Stewart can't sing nearly as
well as he used to – which, given where he was at the peak of his powers as a
vocalist, is a polite way of saying that at this point in his career he pretty
much can't sing at all. Or, rather, he has begun to sound disconcertingly like
that friend or relative who has made such a prolonged habit of singing along to
the car radio that everyone within earshot is too kind or too inured to the
whole business to muster any complaint. Okay, maybe that wasn't such a polite a
way of putting it after all. And it'll serve me right if I am deluged with hate
mail as a consequence. But, really, what has the guy got to fear from one
unhappy voice among the chorus of cheers? He's rich. He's famous. He still
seems relatively fit, even if he can't move with the same agility as he once
did. And he's still capable of packing the Air Canada Centre, where he held
court in familiar fashion last night. Familiar fashion including the inevitable
pipe band at the start of the show, along with the customary tartan drapery.
The wrinkle this time was a performance in the round on a three-tiered stage,
the middle ring stamped with the obligatory logo for the Celtic Football Club.
In case you hadn't heard for the thousandth time, Stewart is rather fond of
what we call soccer on this side of the pond. During the fake movie trailer
that heralded the performer's arrival onstage, the announcer cheekily intoned
that the young Rod had to "choose between a life of kicking balls and
kicking ass." Not sure how that worked out. It counted as a small blessing
that Stewart is not touring this time in support of one of his four discs
surveying the classical American songbook, so at least we were spared mangled
renditions of Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin, Kern and the rest. Instead, his
current album, Still the Same: Great Rock Classics of Our Time, delves
into some of the legend's more contemporary favourites, a small sampling of
which made it on to the set list, including "Fooled Around and Fell in
Love," "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" and Cat Stevens'
"Father and Son." "I've done very well up here in Canada,"
Stewart said of his continuing strong CD sales. "It will help keep my
children in shoes and pencils." Mostly, though, Stewart did what he has
done on other recent trips through town, surrounding himself with a large and
generally able supporting cast while thinly rasping out old favourites such as
"You Wear it Well," "Reason to Believe," "Forever
Young," and the increasingly cringeworthy "Hot Legs" and
"Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" The answer to that question, judging by the
delirious reaction of most in the audience, would be in the affirmative. And
the cameraman, who zoomed in on Rod's wiggling butt at one point, seemed to
concur. Some guys have all the luck, indeed.
MUSIC TIDBITS
Caribana To Spin Off Satellite Events In GTA
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Nick Patch
(Feb. 1, 2007) The reorganized Caribana, which was taken over from the
founding Caribbean Cultural Committee last year, has announced an array of new
sponsors for the 40th anniversary of the festival. Organizers also
announced yesterday that the festivities will spread across the region, with
concerts in parks in Scarborough, Mississauga and Brampton, as well as a
cultural exhibit in the Distillery District. Concerts and events previously
held at Olympic Island will move to Ontario Place. Caribana events will start
in mid-July, culminating in the Caribana parade -- which drew an estimated 1.2
million last year -- on Aug. 4. The city-sponsored organizers have already
raised just over $100,000 from corporate sponsors (including CTV, The Toronto
Sun, Molson Breweries, CPI, Western Union, Roots Canada and the Westin Harbour
Castle Hotel) the festival management committee announced yesterday. The
Ontario government and city have each pledged $400,000 for the festival, while
the federal government is contributing $100,000.
Marley Sons To Hold Peace Concert
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(February 1, 2007) *Four of Bob Marley's sons will
perform live in Jamaica
next month to commemorate what would have been their father’s 62nd birthday.
Billed as “Smile Jamaica,” the concert will feature Stephen,
Ky-Mani, Damian and Julian Marley, and will be held in
the reggae legend’s birthplace of Nine Miles in St. Ann parish. The theme of
the event is to promote peace. "They are trying to push a message of peace
although it won't be as hard-core as when Bob did it," Prime Minister
Michael Manley told the Associated Press. The concert date falls within Bob
Marley Week, a celebration of the singer's birth on Feb. 6, 1945.
Marley’s Grammy-winning son Ziggy was not able to attend the concert, and
rarely visits Jamaica, reports AP.
Vancouver New Music Wins 2007 Alcan Prize
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Alexandra Gill
(Feb. 3, 2007) Vancouver -- Vancouver New Music, the city's leading producer of cutting-edge sonic
experimentalism, is the recipient of the Alcan Performing Arts Award for 2007.
The $60,000 prize is Canada's second-largest performing-arts award and goes
toward the creation of an original work by British Columbia artists.
Counterpoints, created under the auspices of VNM's artistic director Giorgio
Magnanensi, will consist of four newly commissioned works for a large string
ensemble inspired by the paintings, photographs, writings, videos and sounds of
the late mixed-media artist Roy Kiyooka. It will be composed by Hildegard
Westerkamp, Jocelyn Morlock, Stefan Smulovitz and Stefan Udell, and have its
premiere at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre in February, 2008.
Macy Rolls With will.i.am, Justin On New CD
Excerpt from www.billboard.com
- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
(February 02, 2007) Macy Gray will release her first album in four years next
month as part of a new deal with the will.i.am music group/Geffen.
"Big" is due March 27 and boasts production from both will.i.am and
Justin Timberlake, both of whom also guest on the project. Additional
contributions were turned in by Fergie, Natalie Cole and Nas, as well as
producers Ron Fair and Jared and Whitey. Gray had spent her entire career
with Epic; her last album for the label, 2003's "The Trouble With Being
Myself," sold just 134,000 copies in the United States, according to
Nielsen SoundScan.
::FILM NEWS::
Indian Love Story Born
In Toronto
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Staff
Reporter
(February 02, 2007) A real-life story about star-crossed lovers in India that
Vic Sarin overheard as a young
boy growing up in Kashmir provided the inspiration almost 60 years later for Partition,
his movie about a seminal event in Indian history. At 5, Sarin listened as his
parents spoke in hushed tones about a couple they knew – he was Sikh and she
was Muslim – who committed suicide by jumping into a dam. The lovers were
despondent over a world determined to keep them apart due to religious
differences. "That tragic love story stayed with me for a very long
time," says Sarin, 63, who was born in Srinagar, schooled in Australia,
where his father served as a diplomat, and has lived in Canada since
1963. His parents' gift of a movie camera spawned an interest in
filmmaking when he was just 16. Now based in Vancouver, Sarin was in town last
month for the world premiere of Partition, which opens in theatres across
Canada today. "The most important thing in life is to love and be loved,
that's what drives us," he says. "But unfortunately, the world hasn't
changed much since I heard that story. We still have the same divisions. I
think it's so futile and unnecessary." The period film is set in 1947,
against the backdrop of the waning days of the British Raj, when the
subcontinent was divided into secular India and Islamic Pakistan. The split
sparked bloodshed and an exodus of millions of people across the new border,
from both sides.
Having the movie's premiere in Toronto was fitting, says Sarin, as he actually
wrote the first draft 20 years ago while living here. It took two decades to
garner funding for the film, perhaps because he was dealing with subject matter
that didn't resonate with Western audiences. "The world wasn't ready for
it yet. Even today, not too many people outside the subcontinent know about
(partition)." This year marks the 60th anniversary of the partition,
making a movie about it timely, especially when interest in the subcontinent is
steadily growing and audiences are responding to the growing appeal of Indian
filmmakers such as Oscar nominee Deepa Mehta (Water), Mira Nair (Monsoon
Wedding, Vanity Fair) and Gurinder Chadha (Bride & Prejudice, Bend
It Like Beckham). While Partition's setting is India, its
themes are universal and the message is truly Canadian, says Sarin. One-quarter
of the movie was shot in India and the rest in British Columbia. "The
essence of the film is so Canadian, which is to embrace everyone, no matter who
they are or where they come from. Canadians are at the forefront of the world,
since the Pearson era, of keeping peace and not imposing themselves on
people." British actor Jimi Mistry and Canadian Kristin Kreuk, of Smallville,
play the lead roles of Gian and Naseem, who defy all odds to be together. For
inspiration, Mistry, whose previous films include Touch of Pink and East
is East, had to look no further than his parents – his mother is Irish
Catholic, his father a Gujarati Hindu.
"There's some big parallels. Every barrier they could face, they did. They
had to believe in what they had and went against every wish their families
would have wanted, for the sake of love," says Mistry, 34.
"It's obviously fine for them now. But colour and religion are big
barriers in this world to this day ... The message of the movie is hope. We are
all the same people regardless of where we live or what doctrine we follow. One
of the strongest feelings we have is love – the problem is people don't follow
their hearts, they follow their heads." Partition is Kreuk's
first feature film, an experience she calls more enriching personally than
professionally. "It opened up a lot of avenues in my mind," says
Kreuk, 25, who prepared for the role by hanging out in Vancouver's Muslim
community, going to mosque and eating biryani. "In the West, we have a
certain misconception about Muslim women who wear the hijab as victims. But
these women don't feel they're repressed. In fact, they're so
strong." Kreuk confesses she was unaware of the history of the
partition before she was tapped for the movie. "Even though it's such a
huge event, especially for that part of the world, we didn't study it in
school. It made me think: If I don't know this huge part of the world's
history, how much more don't I know? Knowing people's history helps to
understand them."
Canadian Tamara Podemski Making Move To Tinseltown After
Sundance Acting Win
Source: Canadian Press, By Lee-Anne Goodman
(Feb. 7, 07) TORONTO (CP) - Tamara Podemski's
phone has not stopped ringing with calls from Hollywood studios and casting
agents since she unexpectedly walked away with a prestigious acting prize at
last month's Sundance Film Festival. "It came out of nowhere, so it was a total shock, and
I am still sort of riding this roller-coaster," Podemski, 29, says in an
interview from her Toronto home. Podemski plays a troubled native
American in the indie film "Four Sheets to the Wind," about an
aboriginal family in small-town Oklahoma. The Sundance jury honoured Podemski
for her "fully realized physical and emotional turn" as Miri, a woman
whose carefree lifestyle brings her to the brink of tragedy. Even though
the film has yet to find a distributor, Podemski's performance has caught the
attention of Hollywood power brokers, and the lifelong Torontonian - who's also
an accomplished musician and dancer - is heeding their calls to move to
Tinseltown. "NBC Universal were the most adamant of the people I've
talked to, to just get me down there and get me in some meetings as soon as
possible. So I'm going in a couple of weeks, but moving to L.A. is most
definitely happening as well."
She isn't making the move without some sadness. "I invested so many
years in this industry up here, and I believe so much in this industry - my
first film was the Bruce McDonald movie 'Dance Me Outside' - so there are
loyalty issues," says Podemski, who was named best female artist and best
songwriter at last fall's Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. The actress
has appeared in several Canadian TV series, including "The Rez" and
"Ready or Not," and oddly enough, became something of a star in
Germany for her role in the German-Canadian co-production "Blue Hawk/Blauvogel."
But she adds that it's time to face facts - she owes her greatest career
successes to Americans. It was U.S. director Sterlin Harjo, after all, who
chose her for the lead role of Miri, and while she had a supporting role in the
Toronto version of the stage musical "Rent" in the late 1990s,
American producers chose her for the lead role of Maureen on Broadway.
"I have three careers - acting, music and dance - so when one was slow, I
ended up doing something else. And I think that might have been deceiving to me
until I stepped back and realized: 'Wow, you really haven't been on the screen
in a while,' " she says. "It was only when I did this film last
summer, and had a lead role that was the meatiest and most in-depth that I've ever
been given, that's when I stopped and thought: 'Whoa, I'm actually capable of
this. Why hasn't anybody back home given me a role like this?' So the wheels
started turning last year, and I just started looking at my whole career and
seeing that my greatest roles, and the biggest successes in my career, have
happened because of Americans noticing me."
She's not miffed about that, Podemski is quick to point out. "I am
so grateful for the projects and the people that I've worked with here, but
I've never been given a lead role. Even my first album was on a record label
out of Los Angeles that brought me down there, and up here I had to make my own
label to put out my own album," she says with a laugh. "I am
not bitter, I am not angry, but it's just an observation that I've had to make
and now I have to act accordingly." When she moves to L.A., Podemski
worries about missing her family - "a huge part of my life," she says
- and not having the chance to continue her Canadian work with disadvantaged native
teens in remote aboriginal communities, something she credits with
"keeping her sane" in the topsy-turvy world of show business.
But she admits that, professionally speaking, she had become a bit
complacent. "I got comfortable doing the series that came along once
in a while and the odd play here and there, but I now need to broaden my
horizons and focus on what my biggest dream is," she says. "And
having a taste of what it is to sink my teeth into a character and getting my
rocks off as an actor .... I don't know if I can risk never tasting that
again."
Thandie Newton: The Norbit Interview
Source: Kam Williams
(Feb. 5, 07) Thandiwe Newton was born in London on November 6, 1972
to a mother from Zimbabwe and British father. En route to fame and fortune, the
5’2” cutie pie would remove a “w” and a syllable from her name, which means
“beloved.” This is ironic because she later played the title character in the
screen adaptation of the Toni Morrison novel “Beloved.” But Thandie is
probably now best known for her work in Crash, where she played a woman
violated right in front of her husband by a crude cop during a profile stop.
Although she wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar, she won a British Academy
Award for that nonpareil performance. Also on her resume’ are memorable
outings in Besieged, The Trouble with Charlie, Mission: Impossible II, The
Chronicles of Riddick, and as Sally Hemmings in Jefferson in Paris. Recently,
she appeared opposite Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness. Here, Thandie
talks about working opposite Eddie Murphy in Norbit.
KW: What interested you in playing Kate?
TN: After all these years, here was something that just pushed things a bit more.
I also thought it was an opportunity to really explore character. And despite
the fact that in many ways Kate is the straight man of the film, there were
still moments of fun and silliness that I could really enjoy. And, to be
honest, the main thing I wanted to experience was to be around a craftsman like
Eddie, a genius, to be in the presence of someone creating something memorable.
And I just knew from reading it that it was going to be memorable.
KW: What’s it like working with Eddie?
TN: You bust out with laughter and there’s romance, and it’s
smart, and makes you kind of think about stuff, but not so much so that you’re
twisting your brain. Everybody loves Eddie Murphy. Everybody appreciates what
he does and wants to see him enjoying what he’s doing. And he’s enjoying what
he’s doing and he’s doing something really special. I mean, I didn’t know that
this was going to be an opportunity for that, to be around someone creating
something special. It’s been a privilege.
KW: How do you generate chemistry with a character like
Norbit?
TN: What the character Norbit is putting out there is basic human kindness, and
it’s got to be the most attractive, beautiful quality. So, for me as an
actress, and a person defining this character, to genuinely feel that Kate
would genuinely fall in love with Norbit is so exciting for me actually.
Because even though I’m doing this film which relies heavily on suspending your
disbelief, and is a fantasy, I always love to find the truth in things. And
there is in this, and it’s such a welcome surprise.
KW: What did you think of the rest of the cast?
TN: Cuba Gooding, Jr., I was so excited to be working with him, and to be
playing this couple with him, because he brings so much more complexity to it.
His comic timing is so good, and he’s such a cool guy. And every single
character in the film, no matter how small, is played by someone who just fills
it to its maximum. The movie has just drawn really strong quality performers
together. And I really feel like it’s a celebration of the work of Eddie
Murphy. Everybody says the same thing. We’re all bowing down to a great man,
and a great work. I love this film because it seems to bring so many of the
qualities that make him great together.
KW: What did you think of the makeup job they did on Eddie?
TN: The makeup is so advanced now that it really is real! So, when Eddie walks
on as Rasputia or as Mr. Wong, it’s fascinating.
EUR Film Review: Because I Said So
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
February 5, 2007) *In 2004,
Diane Keaton landed an Oscar nomination for
Something’s Gotta’ Give, a pleasant romantic romp where she played a
post-menopausal playwright who steals the heart of the aging sugar daddy who’s
been dating her daughter. She and Jack Nicholson generated oodles of
screen chemistry opposite each other in that surprise hit, so it comes as no
surprise that Hollywood would try to recapture some of that magic in a slight
variation on the theme, even if it couldn’t attach Jack to the project. Because I Said So is another
light-hearted comedy, but this cliché-ridden rip-off flips the script to have a
younger man first show an interest in Keaton’s character before belatedly
turning his attentions to her daughter. The film was directed by Michael
Lehmann, one of those flypaper hacks who somehow continues to stick around
Hollywood despite churning out nothing but mediocre movies, such as instantly
forgettable adventures like Beaver Gets a Boner, Hudson Hawk, Airheads, My
Giant and The Truth about Cats & Dogs. His latest offering is fairly
annoying from start to finish, primarily because Keaton is still relying on that
ever less-endearing assortment of addlepated antics which won her an Academy
Award for Annie Hall back in 1978. Now that she’s in her sixties, that girlish
flustered act is wearing a bit thin. And having her parade around in panties
and crinoline party skirts isn’t fooling anybody into thinking she’s a
teenager, either.
For full review by Kam Williams, go HERE.
EUR DVD Review: Heading South (Vers le Sud)
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
February 6, 2007) *55-year
old Ellen (Charlotte Rampling) teaches
literature at Wellesley, while Sue (Louise Portal) is a successful
businesswoman from Canada, and 48 year-old Brenda (Karen Young), a
recently-divorced housewife from Georgia. The only reason these
formerly-frustrated females' paths cross is because they happen to be staying
at the same hotel in Haiti, a spinster's sexual utopia where post-menopausal
white women vacation in order to indulge their every carnal fantasy with young
black men less than a third their age. In fact, Brenda, who now describes
herself as a "bitch in heat," openly admits to having her first
orgasm ever on the beach there with a 15 year-old boy-toy. Never pausing to
question the ethics of exploiting black skin in this fashion, these hedonists
approach the country's impoverished inhabitants as if a commodity available on
a quid pro quo basis. Invariably, the relationships sprouting up all around the
spa are between wealthy white women offering money, maternalism and a temporary
upper-class status, and handsome, eager-to-please natives.
For full review by Kam Williams, go HERE.
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'Africa Unite' Debuts At New York African Film Festival
Source: Carleen Donovan/Calah Lambertson, carleen@pressherepublicity.com,
calah@pressherepublicity.com
(February 7, 2007) New York - The feature documentary
AFRICA UNITE will make its North
American debut on April 7 at the 14th annual New York African Film
Festival. The film, starring Rita Marley, Danny Glover, Angélique Kidjo,
Lauryn Hill and Marley's children Ziggy, Cedella, Sharon, Stephen, Kymani,
Julian and Damian, is produced and directed by Stephanie Black (Life and Debt,
H-2 Worker). The documentary highlights the vision for African unity that Bob
Marley was devoted to throughout his music career and presents an inspiring
tribute to a man who defined his own aim as "spreading the message of
unity and equality to end the needless suffering of mankind." On February
6th 2005, over 350,000 people gathered in the historic Meskel Square of Addis
Abeba, Ethiopia to celebrate what would have been Bob Marley's 60th birthday.
The twelve-hour concert, featuring a host of internationally acclaimed artists,
is interwoven throughout the film, highlighting the singer's global influence.
American Lauryn Hill passionately debuts new material, Benin-born Angélique
Kidjo jumps into the audience during "Mama Afrika", and legendary
Jamaican artist Bob Andy serenades Ethiopia. The concert culminates with
a spectacular nighttime performance by Rita Marley and the I-Threes and all of
Marley's sons singing their father's songs. Crucial to the Africa Unite vision,
the film also focuses on UNICEF-sponsored symposia and youth-oriented workshops
that were held during the week-long celebration. Taking their inspiration from
such Bob Marley songs as "War" and "Get Up Stand Up", these
sessions deal with issues including conflict transformation, youth and women's
empowerment, the prevention of corruption, awareness and treatment of HIV/AIDS
and other major diseases, and the centrality of human rights. Speaking at a symposium
dedicated to dialogue with youth, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Danny Glover,
whose production company Louverture Films executive produced the film with Tuff
Gong Pictures, stresses that "It takes time to build, years to organize,
and that's what we have to commit ourselves to. In Guinea, in Kenya, in too
many other countries, less than 30% of children go to school. It is a human
right to have an education. And that begins right here with you. Bob Marley
would've loved to have been here with us today... He loved Africa, and the fact
that we are here to carry on this work is most important."
"The message of AFRICA UNITE is for Africans to take our own lives into
our own hands and to realize that we are better off together than
divided," says Ziggy Marley. "We know the history of Africa. Believe
the dream of the unity of Africa is something we can accomplish. It is possible
and we should do it." "It's our aim with this documentary to further
Bob Marley's eternal message of hope and struggle across continents and
generations," agrees producer/director Stephanie Black. "We know that
change occurs when we refuse to be silent in the face of injustice and
inequity, and AFRICA UNITE is a call to action catalyzed by Bob Marley's
musical legacy." "In the words of Bob," says Rita Marley,
"Africans Unite for the benefit of your people - Africans Unite for the
benefit of your children - Africans Unite - it's later than you think!"
ABOUT THE AFRICA UNITE ORGANIZATION
Born in Ethiopia in 2005, and again realized in Ghana in 2006, the now
annual Africa Unite event came to life from the unwavering passion and spirit
of Mrs. Rita Marley. Mrs. Marley and her family are inspired to spread the
spirit and legacy of Bob Marley, continuing to bring life to his Songs of Freedom
and to actively work towards a united Africa in their lifetime. The Africa
Unite events have begun a global movement that creates awareness for vital
issues affecting Africa, as well as for realizing important and meaningful
change that will contribute to lasting solutions. Through a series of
benefit concerts, symposiums, fund raisers and events, Africa Unite will
encourage peace, education and empowerment for youth in Africa while working to
manifest change throughout the world. Africa Unite 2007 commences on the honour
rebel Bob Marley's birthday, February 6, 2007 and continues throughout the
year. For more information on Africa Unite 2007 click on www.africa-unite.org
ABOUT LOUVERTURE FILMS
Dedicated to the development and production of films of historical relevance
and social purpose, Louverture Films is also passionate about the objective of
nurturing artistic creativity and integrity. The New York based company owned
and operated by Danny Glover and Joslyn Barnes has a slate of progressive
features and documentaries, which include the critically-acclaimed BAMAKO (a
New Yorker Films release) and the action-epic TOUSSAINT. The epic deals with
the Haitian Revolution and the heroic life of Toussaint Louverture, who led one
of the only successful slave uprisings in history. His efforts decisively
defeated the French, Spanish and British imperial armies and established the
first independent black Republic: Haiti. The film will be directed by
Danny Glover. www.louverturefilms.com
Eddie Murphy: Nominated For Best Supporting Actor
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Liam Lacey
(Feb. 7, 07) Would the real Eddie Murphy please stand
up? The Vegas bookmakers and the early award shows point to Eddie Murphy
as the favourite to win this year's best supporting actor Oscar for Dreamgirls.
As the irrepressible, rhythm and blues shouter, Jimmy (Thunder) Early, Murphy
generates the kind of heat he hasn't shown in years. In Dreamgirls,
Jimmy Thunder's flaw is that he's just too authentic to sell out; Murphy's may
be that he's been too good at it. After emerging on Saturday Night Live
in 1980 as a teenaged phenomenon, he became a major eighties star, playing
likeable hustlers in such movies 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly
Hills Cop. When his reputation slipped in the nineties, Murphy found a way
of becoming bigger by disappearing. Starting with his 1996 version of Jerry
Lewis's The Nutty Professor, he hid under prosthetics and makeup or did
the fast-talking voice for cartoon sidekicks. Nutty Professor begat Nutty
Professor II: The Klumps (2000). Another remake, Dr. Doolittle
spawned Dr. Doolittle 2 (2001), Shrek (2001) led to Shrek 2
(2004) which leads to Shrek the Third (May 18). This Friday brings us
his latest: Norbit, in which Murphy plays the nerdy title character, his
Chinese-American stepfather and his obese wife. The results have been lucrative
-- collectively, Murphy's movies have earned more than $3-billion (U.S.).
Forbes magazine reported that, by 2003, Murphy was commanding $22.5-million a
movie. Success has also been limiting, with audiences shunning his grown-up
movies (I Spy, Pluto Nash and Showtime).
He was on no one's radar as a potential Oscar contender before Dreamgirls
writer-director Bill Condon convinced him to try acting so well that audiences
would forget he was Eddie Murphy. To remember the pre-PG comic, check out this
week's DVD release of Eddie Murphy Delirious, a 1983 live performance
with the raw, charismatic 22-year-old in a skin-tight, red-leather suit. At
that point, an Oscar didn't seem such a stretch.
FILM TIDBITS
Actors' Strike Takes New Legal Turn
Source: Canadian Press
(February 01, 2007) TORONTO — A strike involving 21,000 Canadian film,
television and radio workers took another legal turn Thursday. ACTRA, the union representing the
performers, said it is appealing a recent court decision to appoint an
arbitrator in the case. The Canadian Film and Television Production Association
had asked for the arbitrator and a judge agreed earlier this week. “The
producers maintain that certain process issues should be before an arbitrator,
while we maintain that labour boards should deal with such issues,” Stephen
Waddell, the union's chief negotiator, said Thursday in a release. The
producers, in turn, have suggested ACTRA is refusing to enter arbitration
because it doesn't want to answer questions about the legality of the strike
and the validity of special deals allowing local productions to continue if
they sign on to a 5 per cent wage hike. The performers went on strike Jan. 8
after ACTRA members voted 97.6 per cent in favour of walking off the job. At
least three large scale U.S. productions have cancelled plans to bring work to
Canada because of the prospect of a long strike. One of the main sticking
points in the dispute is compensation for performances viewed in new and
emerging media platforms. Corner Gas star Eric Peterson, funnyman Colin
Mochrie and actress Wendy Crewson are among the high-profile Canadian performers
who have complained they're being asked to work for free on Internet and
cellphone broadcasts.
Eastwood To Be Named Hollywood's First Humanitarian
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Associated Press
(Feb. 2, 2007) LOS ANGELES — Academy Award-winning director Clint
Eastwood will receive the Motion
Picture Association of America's inaugural humanitarian award, the association
announced Thursday. Eastwood, 76, will be presented the Jack Valenti
Humanitarian Award at a private dinner Tuesday in Washington, D.C. “For
decades, (Eastwood) has exemplified the decency and goodness of spirit in his
moviemaking,” said MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman, lauding the filmmaker for his
recent pair of World War II-themed works, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters
from Iwo Jima. “These films exemplify the true power of movies to tell
human stories and inspire national conversation,” Glickman said. Eastwood is
nominated for an Academy Award for directing Letters from Iwo Jima. The
film is also up for best picture. The humanitarian award was named after the
MPAA's long-time chief, Valenti, who helped choose Eastwood as its inaugural
recipient.
Mr. Smith Headed To Washington
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(February 2, 2007) *The Motion Picture
Association of America (MPAA) has
recruited best actor Oscar nominee Will Smith to speak at its "Business of Show Business" conference
next week in Washington. Nominated for his role in the current film “The
Pursuit of Happyness,” Smith will be the featured speaker at Tuesday’s
breakfast program that kicks off the conference. The event is designed to
educate and inform policymakers and others through a series of panels and
high-profile speakers about the value of the U.S. motion picture business and
its contribution to the U.S. economy. "Will Smith is one of the brightest
stars of the motion picture industry, and we are thrilled he will join us for
what will be an exciting and informative day here in the nation's
capital," MPAA chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said. "The American
motion picture industry is known as a creative force around the world because
of talented individuals like Will Smith. What is less well known is that the
industry is also an economic engine that brings billions of dollars and
thousands of jobs to communities across
America." The event will also feature
remarks from Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Michael Lynton; Rep.
Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee; and a
presentation by students from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Will Smith: Nominated For The Pursuit Of Happyness
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail
(Feb. 6, 07) Will Smith isn't exactly the critics' darling in this category, but his
director says the actor succeeded in one crucial way -- he managed to drop his
Will Smith-ness. Director Gabriele Muccino told the actor when they first met
that he wanted Smith to be "naked" for the movie, "meaning
without filter, without the Will Smith things," he told Entertainment
Weekly magazine. In other words, Smith had to drop the reason he's one of
Hollywood's biggest stars -- his charm and self-confidence -- to play the part
of Chris Gardner, the real-life salesman who became a stockbroker while living
in poverty and raising a son. Smith apparently became obsessive about
portraying Gardner accurately. Gardner recounts that at one point in the film,
Smith had to sign his name to a contract. Amazingly, he adds, Smith wrote
"an exact replica of my signature."
Mos Def Stars In Gritty Brazilian Crime Thriller
Source: Dan Williams - daniel@specialopsmedia.com
(February 7, 2007) Encompassing a single, fateful
evening in
the sprawling megalopolis of Sao Paulo, "Journey
to the End of the Night" is a gritty crime
thriller about an illicit transaction gone awry ... Two Americans in exile -
Rosso (Scott Glenn) and his son, Paul (Brendan Fraser) — have been carving out
a living in Brazil running a nightclub-brothel, but they both harbour dreams of
getting out of the business once and for all. One night, it seems their
prayers are answered when a customer leaves behind a suitcase in the club that
contains the means for Rosso and Paul to change their fates. Rosso will take
his beautiful, young wife Angie (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and their 5 year-old
son Lazare to start over in a new city, far away. Paul will escape
mounting debt, an escalating coke habit, and finally be rid of his father (whom
he despises and blames for all of his problems). It all depends on one
person—a Nigerian immigrant named Wemba (Mos
Def)—who must make his way safely through the
perilous, nocturnal gauntlet of Sao Paulo.
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::TV NEWS::
Helmsman Does Heroes
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Staff
Reporter
(February 02, 2007) When most fans think of George
Takei, the first thing that
pops to mind is Captain Kirk's classic Star Trek utterance to his
helmsman "Warp speed, Mr. Sulu!" Now the actor is enjoying a
resurgence on the science fiction-inspired hit show, Heroes. In last Monday's
episode, Takei made his debut as Kaito Nakamura, the father of Hiro, the
character played by Masi Oka. Takei plays a wealthy businessman who isn't
particularly supportive of his son's quest to be a hero. After that brief
introduction, in upcoming episodes his character will be featured in a more
prominent, recurring role. In a freewheeling conference call yesterday,
the actor discussed his life and current role, hinting that there are several interesting
developments in store for his Heroes character, although there are
things he remains in the dark about, or at least didn't feel like
sharing. "You know, it's hard to make any (character) judgment
yet," he said. "I am making discoveries with each script. I thought
(Nakamura) was just a concerned father who is a powerful industrialist, but I'm
discovering various other dimensions to him which make the character even more
ambiguous ... I'm like these fans on the Internet, I'm learning more with each
script," he said. The casting choices of Takei and Christopher
Eccleston, who played the lead role in Doctor Who during the first
season of the new British series, were very clever moves by the show's
producers. Heroes is successfully walking the line between mainstream
and hardcore sci fi fans, and the new faces are a sly wink to the latter.
"Here's this character (Hiro) who is a Star Trek fan, and
supposedly saw a younger me on the good ship Enterprise," Takei said.
"And here I am playing his father, so there is a wonderful circle here,
that could turn into another, interesting kind of spiral. Heroes is
very much like Star Trek in many ways. It's more fantastical, but it's
contemporary." Paternity and family bonds are recurring themes in Heroes;
for example, the death of Mohinder's father was a catalyst in the early
episodes. There are, as well, Claire the cheerleader's recent revelations about
her relationship with her father (a.k.a. Horn Rimmed Glasses) and her search
for her biological parents. In last week's episode, it was revealed
Claire's birth mother has pyrotechnic powers, which has spurred speculation
that Takei's character may also have some. "It's intriguing, isn't
it?" he said. "I share that sense of fascination with you, because as
an actor I know (only) as much as the script shares with me. So I'm eager to
know if there is some genetic thing that I may have passed on to Hiro – he's
very presciently named. "In life there are consequences, and
sometimes those consequences are passed on to one's progeny. It's an intriguing
question." In addition to Heroes, Takei recently worked on an
episode of the fan-produced Star Trek: New Voyages series, which has
featured the original characters in new stories. His episode is in the final
stages of editing and will premiere in March in Orlando before it is webcast.
As for Heroes, Takei is very happy to be involved and believes the
show has what it takes to "live long and prosper," to use the Star
Trek vernacular. When cast as Lt. Hikaru Sulu in the 1960s, the
actor became one of the first Asian American actors to become a regular on a TV
series. Takei, who went public in 2005 about his homosexuality, commented on
how television has changed over 40 years. "I am absolutely astounded
and fascinated and proud of the fact that an enormously popular prime-time TV
show plays entire sequences in Japanese, with English subtitles," said the
Los Angeles native, who will turn 70 in April. "People used to go to
art houses to see foreign movies with subtitles, but to play to the mass
television audience with sequences like this is a real advance, and a
compliment to the audience's sophistication."
TV Fund Money Really Belongs To Us
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Antonia
Zerbisias
(February 06, 2007) Is the Canadian
Television Fund
(CTF) illegal? Did the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) have the authority to create this
public-private partnership in 1993 that, according to government figures,
helped fund 23,141 hours of home-grown programming with more than $2.3 billion?
That's $2.3 billion of your money, cable subscription fees and tax dollars. What
with all the recent wailing and flailing over the fate of the fund – a ruckus
raised last month when media barons Jim Shaw and Quebecor/Videotron's
Pierre-Karl Péladeau said they would no longer contribute a percentage of their
cable revenues to the CTF – it's been tough to cut the politics from the
posturing. But a careful reading of the CRTC decision that went into
establishing the CTF reveals that its $2.3 billion, which subsidizes the
production sector directly and broadcasters indirectly, more properly belong to
viewers and/or taxpayers. That amount doesn't count another $1.5 billion that
ended up in cable company coffers. In other words, you may have been overpaying
on your cable bill for the past 14 years. But there's no way to know because
the books on those rates are not open to the public. One lone activist is
lobbying to get your money back. He is ex-Toronto cable-broadcast manager Keith
Mahar who made a name for himself in 1994. He fought with a passion against the
cable companies and the CRTC for citizen/consumer rights – and his fervour cost
him his career as well as his emotional and mental health. An activist David
against the media Goliaths, he didn't have a chance against the all-powerful
cable monopolies and their allies in Ottawa. Now he lives in Canberra,
Australia, where he is a social worker and mental health advocate. But he
has not given up his cause. He maintains regular email contact with me, has
lobbied successive governments, made submissions to the Senate's committee on the
media (whose report the government and the media ignored) and established a
website CRTCscandal.com with his facts and arguments against the fund, the CRTC
and the cable companies. His main points are:
The CRTC is not allowed to levy a de facto tax, as a recent federal· court decision relating to broadcast licence fees demonstrates.
· Consumers were never
properly informed of this "hidden tax," either by the CRTC or the
cable companies who acted as the tax collectors.
Half the·
monies levied via cable subscription fees ended up paying for capital
improvements by cable companies protected from competition and whose
infrastructure remains in private hands.
The CRTC reneged on a·
promise to lower cable rates for subscribers who have been paying for services
they may never have received.
All in all, it's a very good case that the fund is, in fact, illegitimate and
that cable viewers are owed billions. What's more, Heritage Minister Bev Oda –
who last week renewed the government's commitment to the fund to the tune of
$200 million over two years – knows it. Here's the thing: as I pointed out here
last week, when the fund was created she was a member of the CRTC. A
dissenting member. At the time, she, along with two other commissioners, wrote
that, "Cable rates should be justified on their own merits, not used as a
lever to extract revenues for other purposes." And yet, while she has
renewed the fund, word has it she will introduce some radical changes, thanks
to the "new realities" of the new media age. Likely translation? The
fund will better suit the cable companies’ competitive situation. To Mahar, the
changes are not the point – and Oda should not budge from her 1993 opinion,
which he insists is still valid. "Oda actually deserves to be congratulated
for voting against the (1993) plan," he emailed me. "What she
deserves to be held accountable for is not doing anything to address the wrongs
that she knows were committed by the CRTC to improperly enrich the cable
companies once she was elected to office, and subsequently made the
minister." Interestingly, it's a point that nobody in the production or
cable industry has raised. No newspaper affiliated with any network – i.e. most
newspapers in Canada – has reported it. Meanwhile, NDP heritage critic Charlie
Angus, who has been very vocal on his attacks on Oda, hasn't mentioned it. As
for the CRTC, it is silent. Parliament's Heritage Committee begins hearings on
the fund Thursday. Mahar tells me he plans to send off his documentation to the
committee members. The question is, will MPs serve the industry – or the
people? And at what point does this land in court?
TV TIDBITS
Whoa! Nelly's Everywhere
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Brad Wheeler
(Feb. 7, 07) Tonight, on CSI: New York, Nelly Furtado
portrays Ava Grant, a high-class shoplifter who is suspected of . . . murder!
The singer, ubiquitous since last year's release of her hit album Loose,
makes her prime-time television debut on the highly rated forensic-science
drama on CBS and CTV as part of CBS's promo of the Grammy Awards broadcast Feb.
11. (Nominee Mary J. Blige appears this Friday on The Ghost Whisperer.)
Later this month, the Grammy-nominated Furtado performs a pair of her songs on
the ABC daytime soap One Life to Live. Furtado may be the most
visible Canadian chanteuse to spread her thespian wings, but she is not alone.
Winnipeg-born Chantal Kreviazuk produced, wrote and starred in Pretty Broken,
a short film about mental illness. More industrious in the acting biz is
Ottawa's Alanis Morissette, who once shared a smooch with Sarah Jessica Parker
on Sex and the City. Morissette also appeared in three episodes of FX's Nip/Tuck
this season as the lesbian love interest of Dr. Liz Cruz.On CSI: New
York, Furtado, as a mysterious garment-grabber, coolly delivers lines such
as, "I might be a thief, but I'm not a murderer." As far as
getting into character, the fledgling actress (who is to host the 2007 Juno
Awards on April 1) wasn't sure of her method. "I don't know," she
told CTV's eTalk. "It's a process I guess . . ."
::THEATRE NEWS::
David Mirvish Scoured The World In Search Of Entertainment For
Subscribers
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Richard
Ouzounian
(February 05, 2007) David Mirvish cried; that's when he knew he had a
season. It had taken him two years, thousands of miles of travel and hundreds
of nights at the theatre to come up with the playbill for next year that he
recently presented to his subscribers. But it wasn't until the 61-year-old
impresario found himself "welling up" during the climactic scene of Dirty Dancing in London, that he was sure he was right. "I know I have to
have one show every year that's emotionally compelling, that people want to see
more than anything else and I believed this was it." Once he had the main
course in place, he could present the rest of the "different
flavours" that make up the multi-course theatrical meal he offers every
year: Twelve Angry Men, Sweeney Todd, The Life and Adventures
of Nicholas Nickleby Parts 1 & 2 and Ha'Penny Bridge. This is
the 44th subscription season that the Mirvish family have presented the people
of Toronto. The 40,000-plus people who eagerly sign up make it one of the
largest audiences of its kind in North America. But how does Mirvish pick the
bill of fare for each season?
"It's a complicated process," he admits as he goes back to where this
particular journey all started: Australia. Two years ago Mirvish found himself
flying Down Under to check out a newly premiered musical called Dirty
Dancing, based on the 1987 film. "As soon as I heard someone was
putting it onstage, I had to see it," he confesses. "I loved the
movie; it's one of those iconic films. My daughter, Rachel is 29 and she must
have seen it 20 times." Mirvish enjoyed the Australian version,
followed it the next year to Hamburg and decided to invest in the British
production, saving a place, as it were, in line. The October 2006 opening in
London was a triumph, with a £12 million advance (the highest in British
theatre history) and overwhelmingly favourable reviews from some of the
toughest of the London critics. Mirvish knew he had to have the show, but he
insisted on making it an all-Canadian production. His reasons for doing so stem
from the one of the greatest failures his organization has ever been connected
with: The Lord of the Rings. On that production, Mirvish abdicated
creative control to Kevin Wallace, an experience he doesn't intend to repeat.
"It was important to us after our experience with Lord of the Rings,"
the usually soft-spoken Mirvish says with sudden firmness, "that we take
more responsibility and that we involve ourselves directly when the show is
very big and very important to us." Mirvish landed the rights and then
made a surprising decision which would impact on the rest of the season: he
decided to mount Dirty Dancing in the smaller Royal Alexandra Theatre
rather than one of his larger venues like the Canon or the Princess of Wales.
"I felt it would be more rewarding for people in a more intimate situation.
That's one of the things that made Mamma Mia! such a big success."
But it presented a problem: with Dirty Dancing at the Royal Alex and We
Will Rock You at the Canon, it dictated that the rest of the subscription
season would have to be staged in the 2,000-seat Princess of Wales Theatre,
which meant "we had to look for shows of a certain scope and size."
And they found them: in New York, Chichester and Dublin. It's obvious at a
glance from this year's selections that quality theatre rather than showbiz
glitz is the primary focus. Last season may have seemed attractive when first
announced, with names like Martin Short, Joan Collins and Linda Evans on the
bill, but many of the shows proved to be major disappointments and Mirvish
agreed that "it didn't all work out the way we hoped it would." But
ever the optimist, Mirvish says of the upcoming year that "I'm thrilled
with how it all came together." The first Broadway hit to come to the
Princess of Wales will be the revisionist staging of Sweeney Todd that
won John Doyle last year's Tony Award for direction of a musical. The Stephen
Sondheim musical is a juicy piece of Grand Guignol as "the Demon Barber of
Fleet Street" suffers a grave injustice and comes back from prison to slit
the throats of all who caused it. His psychotic lover, Mrs. Lovett, turns the
corpses into meat pies, which she cheerfully sells. Doyle has the actors in his
production play all their own musical accompaniment.
Mirvish allows that, in terms of subject matter, "this is a tough one. But
in a world full of turmoil, it seemed a very apt choice. We can't turn our back
on people telling difficult stories." Next is Twelve Angry Men, the
stage version of the 1950s TV and film success about how a lone idealist on a
jury stops his peers from sentencing an innocent young man to death. It had
been a surprise hit for the Roundabout Theatre on Broadway in 2004-2005. The
touring company, which went out last fall, has also been doing well in large
venues and with the numerous big emotional scenes performed by its cast of 13,
it should fill the Princess of Wales stage nicely. When Mirvish knew he would
be guaranteed the show's leading man, Richard Thomas, a veteran TV guest star,
he booked it. "Richard is one of those rare people," observes
Mirvish, "who became a TV star without ever losing his devotion to the
theatre." A great deal of excitement surrounds Mirvish's decision to
present The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. When first
produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1980 (brought to Broadway in
1981), it was hailed as "the theatrical event of the century."
Charles Dickens' saga of a young man who fights his way through the manifold
injustices of Victorian England to a triumphant ending originally took nine
hours to perform and used a cast of 45. Last summer, the Chichester Festival
cut it down to 6 1/2 hours performed by 23 actors and the U.K. festival
saw its greatest success in a decade, with attendance rising 25 per cent on
that production alone. Once again, critics threw their hats in the air.
"Our friend (British producer) Paul Elliott told us about it,"
explains Mirvish, "and I had always wanted to present the original, but
couldn't and I realized that I'd been given a second chance." The
Ha'Penny Bridge is next, an original Irish musical set during "the
Troubles" of the 1920s, which proved to be a big hit in Dublin last
summer. "The producers brought it to us," says Mirvish, "and
although we thought it had enormous potential, it's when they said they were
looking for a community in which they could build the next version of the show,
that it clinched it for me. A chance to do another production utilizing the
Toronto theatre world. "We want to entertain people, we want to sell
tickets, but we want to look at a longer term view in terms of developing who
we are and what we are. By putting on something a little more individual,
you're saying that you believe in the city. Otherwise you're not doing theatre,
you're running a shop."
Acclaimed Play For Youth Comes Home
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Richard
Ouzounian
(February 05, 2007) David S. Craig can still remember the exact moment
he was inspired to write Danny, King of the
Basement, his internationally acclaimed
play which opens today in a revival at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young
People. "It was just this time of year, back in 1999," he recalls on
the phone from his Toronto home, "and Anne Golden had brought out her
report on homelessness in Toronto. "I was driving in my car, listening to
CBC Radio and one incredible statistic leaped out at me: 25 per cent of the
homeless people in Toronto were under the age of 12." He sighs.
"What's it like now, eight years later? I'm terrified to know. I bet it
certainly hasn't gotten better." After recovering from the shock of the
figure, Craig vowed that "I had to do something, as a citizen, as a parent
and as a theatre artist." Fortunately, as the artistic director of
Roseneath Theatre, which specializes in creating works on social issues for
young audiences, he was in a unique position. Still, that didn't make it any
easier. "The playwright in me instantly said `That will be really
depressing and no one will want to see it; don't waste your time.'" But
fortunately, Craig was sufficiently engaged so that "for the next 18
months I wrestled with the question of dramatizing something that was
potentially so sad."
Craig "went to shelters, to basement apartments; I interviewed single
moms, kids, people from Children's Aid. I tried to get a profile of what a
homeless kid in Toronto would be like." And at a crucial moment, another
author who wrestled with the question of poverty in his society came to Craig's
rescue. "I thought about Dickens and realized that when you think of the
Artful Dodger, you're not filled with sadness and pity. "You
understand his plight, but you also appreciate the upbeat way he tries to deal
with it." He finally came up with Danny, who's had to move with his single
mom eight times in two years and finally hits the streets on his own, thinking
it has to be better. Craig managed to write the show in a style that was
simultaneously breezy and chilling, because to him "it was important that
kids love the play, find it accessible and not feel stigmatized by watching the
show." The version that opened at the Studio Theatre at the Lorraine Kimsa
in November 2001 was so good that I pronounced it "everything that you
want a show for young audiences to be." A lot of people around the world
have felt the same, because it's been in production ever since. In
Germany, it played in 150 theatres and was the first Canadian play ever
nominated for the German Children's Theatre Prize. There's a national tour of
England happening, a movie option on the table and, although the play has been
seen all over America for several years now, Craig just returned from directing
a version which "is doing a six months' tour just of Arizona," he
says excitedly. It seems a long way now from that morning eight years ago when
he heard a statistic on the radio that drove him into action. "A kid once
asked me how long it took me come up with the play," he relates. "I
told him: three months to write it and 25 years to know how."
Disney Hopes To Hit The Tween Jackpot Again
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
David Bauder, Associated Press
(Feb. 7, 07) BURBANK, CALIF. -- Actors crowded the waiting
room one recent winter day at Disney Channel's headquarters. Some paced
nervously, a few checked watches. There was little talk. They were ready to
audition for roles in this summer's TV movie High
School Musical 2, jobs that would make them instantly recognizable to millions of
preteens. Behind a wooden doorway, Disney Channel executives were working to
keep the magic after launching one of the biggest entertainment phenomena of
2006. "We have seen clearly what our audience responds to," said Gary
Marsh, Disney Channel's entertainment president. "The challenge is not to
fall into the trap of taking the easy way out and making the same kind of
thing." It's not that people aren't watching closely. When Disney posted
10 questions on its website last month asking fans to influence what was in the
High School Musical sequel -- things like choosing which dessert Zeke
buys for Sharpay and which Hannah Montana star should appear in the
movie -- more than 27 million votes were cast in 20 days. The success of High
School Musical vaulted the Disney Channel into a tie with USA for top-rated
cable network in prime time last year. The movie's soundtrack sold nearly four
million copies in the U.S. and was the year's top-selling compact disc, even
though you probably never heard songs like We're All in This Together
unless you were a kid around 12 years old or a parent of one. The show has
become a DVD hit in Canada, reaching third spot on Nielsen's video sales chart
here; a live cast tour passed through Toronto last month.
The 8.2 million people who watched the premiere of Jump In! in January
-- starring High School Musical heartthrob Corbin Bleu as an aspiring
jump-rope champion -- made it the top-rated TV movie premiere in the network's
history. The Disney Channel's success wasn't sudden. It decided a decade
ago to target tweens, realizing TV offered little to them. It was like the
musical gulf between Barney and Eminem, said Rich Ross, the network's
president. Girls came first. Disney recognized that competitors Nickelodeon and
Cartoon Network had stronger appeal to boys, and the snarky tone of some of
their hits could be countered with something parents and their children were
more comfortable with. Through trial and error, including a failed mystery
series, Disney determined that its audience preferred comedies to dramas.
"Kids are going through a lot today, maybe more than ever," Ross
said. "They want to smile and relax and laugh. Laughter is the antidote to
a crazy world." Marsh believes there are five ingredients to a successful
Disney Channel production. They should contain humour, optimism and depict real
kids in real-life situations. They should tell an age-appropriate emotional
story with situations preteens can relate to. And they should have navigational
tools for life that kids can learn from, such as how to deal with a bully. Many
of the Disney shows are inspirational, like Hannah Montana and its
depiction of a girl living the dream of being a pop star. There's almost always
music in a Disney production, something the kids can sing along to -- and buy
with their allowance when they hear the songs again on Disney's radio station
-- that won't send their parents screaming from the room.
High School Musical squarely hits all of these targets. Marsh had been
looking to make a full-scale musical, and producer Bill Borden sold his pitch
in a single meeting: Think Grease meets Romeo & Juliet, with
warring social cliques replacing warring families. "It was so clear to me
the simplicity of the story would stand up with the music," Marsh said.
That story had school basketball star Troy meeting beautiful brain Gabriella on
vacation, where they bond over their secret love for singing. When Gabriella
transfers to Troy's high school, they want to try out for the school musical
together, but their friends try to keep them from crossing social barriers.
Marsh knew he was onto something when applause broke out after snippets of film
were shown to staff in development meetings. The High School Musical
sequel is sure to be a major part of many kids' summers this year. Marsh said
it will be set mostly in a country club and will explore different themes than
the original, which was concerned with the youngsters' needs to express
themselves. "The reality is we have a very clear brand," Marsh said.
"The reason we have been successful is that we have been meticulous in
reinforcing that in our content."
::OTHER NEWS::
Out Of Africa, And
Back Again
Excerpt from The Toronto Star -
The Book of Negroes
by Lawrence Hill
Harper Collins
486 pages, $34.95
(February 04, 2007) I don't think there is any way of overstating Lawrence
Hill's contribution to contemporary Canadian
fiction. Hill is the child of an interracial couple, the American-born civil
rights activists Daniel and Donna Hill. His heritage is black and white and
Canadian and American. His loyalties and perspectives are not divided, but
multiplied, and he brings all of them to bear upon his writing. In his
1997 novel, Any Known Blood, the mixed-race protagonist, Langston Cane V,
traces his family back to slavery, a history that criss-crosses the Canada-U.S.
border between Oakville and Baltimore. Any Known Blood marks the first time we
see an uncertain biracial identity as a metaphor for black Canadian experience.
It is also the first time we see the border used to unite rather than divide
black history in North America. The novel alters Canada's historical map: Hill
returns us to 19th-century Oakville when the city, now regarded as a privileged
enclave, is home to a small black community as well as the Ku Klux Klan. His
skill lies not only in his ability to isolate the elements of black Canadian
identity, but also in the alchemy by which he transforms these elements into
art. In his third and most recent novel, The Book of Negroes, Hill refines
still further his subject and craft. He blends traditional slave narrative with
Victorian storytelling to depict the life of Aminata Diallo, the 11-year-old
daughter of a jeweller and a midwife in mid-18th-century Mali. She is a bright,
pretty child with thin slices of moon carved into her cheeks. Aminata is doted
upon by her father, who reads to her from the Qur'an and warns her about
straying too far from home. Despite the protection of walled villages, people
are disappearing at an alarming rate.
African slavers kidnap Aminata when she is on her way home from helping
her mother deliver a baby. She is chained to a long line of captives and led on
a deathly, three-month march to the coast. Once there, she is herded with other
prisoners onto a filthy ship and eventually sold into slavery in America.
Aminata ends up on an indigo plantation on an island off the coast of South
Carolina. Hill paints a wrenching portrait of this child. It is agony to
imagine her shock and bewilderment at the realization that her father cannot
come and save her. Her eyes plead with the groups of African villagers who
stare sympathetically as the captives move past. She is stunned by the sudden
powerlessness of grown-ups. We still tend to visualize the Africa of 1745 as a
giant bush devoid of civilization. But Hill depicts Aminata's village as
bustling and prosperous, a community of affectionate neighbours. Since we know
her from childhood, from well before her abduction, we never come to see her
primarily as a slave. As with most major black heroines, Aminata's story
represents not only an individual life but also a particular collective black
experience: one that over the course of several decades takes her from Africa
to South Carolina to Manhattan, Nova Scotia, Sierra Leone and London. Tragedies
and horrors befall her along the way: she loses her parents, her husband and
her children, she is brutally raped by her master, and she worked to bitter
exhaustion. Still, Aminata wields as much control over her situation as
her circumstances allow. Her second owners teach her to read, write and keep
the books for their business. Later, in New York City, where she escapes during
the Revolutionary War, she teaches free blacks to read and earns money
delivering the babies of the British soldiers' black mistresses.
Manhattan is the last British stronghold, and colonists loyal to the crown flee
to Nova Scotia. The British offer passage to black Loyalists too. They hire
Aminata to help list the names of those travelling to Nova Scotia. This
register will come to be known as the Book of Negroes. While the Civil
War and the Underground Railroad are perceived as seminal to the history of
blacks in this country, Hill highlights the relevance of the Revolutionary War.
He insists that the role of the British and the resettlement of blacks in Nova
Scotia give the U.S. revolutionary struggle a powerfully Canadian slant.
Meanwhile, Nova Scotia's uneven treatment of black and white settlers
demonstrates the homegrown nature of racism in Canada. Hill may be the
first novelist to add flesh to the bare-bones facts of the black Loyalist
account. And the passages set in Nova Scotia are the novel's bleakest. The land
blacks receive – when they receive any at all – is poor and sparse, and decent
work is virtually impossible to find. The malice of the whites runs deep; race
riots are a pervasive and deadly threat. It is in Nova Scotia that Aminata
suffers her most desperate loss. Not even during her bondage in America has she
felt such desolation. When a plan is formed to establish an all-black
settlement in Sierra Leone, Aminata jumps at the chance, more than ready to
return to the land of her birth.
Though this novel is a fiction, it is steeped in historical fact. The Book of
Negroes is a real historical artifact, racial violence in 18th-century Nova
Scotia did occur, and 1,200 or so blacks did abandon Nova Scotia for life in
Sierra Leone. A number of the figures Aminata encounters in her support of the
abolitionists are based on actual people. Of course fiction, especially
historical fiction, contains all manner of facts. What makes The Book of
Negroes extraordinary is Hill's ability to transcend the facts – to make
something magical out of them. Despite the unpalatable subject matter, he
compels our attention and manages to delight. His Aminata is a heroic figure, a
little larger than life, residing within and outside of history. You can never
forget this character. She embeds herself in your heart. Donna Bailey Nurse is
the editor of "Revival: An Anthology of Black Canadian Writing"
(McClelland & Stewart)
College Parties
Crossing Racial Line
Excerpt from The Toronto Star
- Associated
Press
(February 03, 2007) CHARLESTON, S.C.–White students at Tarleton State
University in Texas hold a party in which they dress
in gang gear and drink malt liquor from paper bags. A
white student from Clemson University in South Carolina attends a bash in
blackface over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. A fraternity at
Johns Hopkins University in Maryland invites partygoers to wear "bling
bling" grills, or shiny metal caps on their teeth. Across the U.S.,
"gangsta" theme parties thrown by whites are drawing the ire of
college officials and heated complaints from both black and white students who
say the antics conjure the worst racial stereotypes. University officials, the NAACP and others have condemned the
parties as insulting and inexcusable under any circumstances. At the same time,
some black academics said they were not surprised, given the popularity of rap
music among inner-city blacks and well-to-do suburban whites alike. The white
students, they said, were mimicking the kind of outlaw posturing that blacks
themselves display in rap videos. They suggest the white students ended up
crossing the same line that says it is okay for blacks to call each other
"nigger," but not all right for whites to do it. At an off-campus
"Bullets and Bubbly" party thrown by University of Connecticut School
of Law students in January, pictures showed students wearing baggy jeans, puffy
jackets and holding fake machine guns.
The University of Colorado's Ski and Snowboard Club advertised a "gangsta
party" in September, with fliers featuring rappers and fake bullet holes.
The theme was dropped after complaints, but some students, who didn't get the
message, showed up in gangsta garb, hoping to win prizes. Often such parties go
unnoticed outside campuses until students post pictures on Facebook.com and
other websites. That's how images of the Clemson party surfaced this week. One
student wore blackface; another white student put padding in her pants to make
her rear end look bigger. Harold Hughes, a black fraternity member at Clemson
whose frat brothers attended the party, said white students "see this on
MTV and BET they think it's cool to portray hip hop culture." Hughes said
he found it especially offensive that the party was held over a holiday created
to honour the slain civil rights leader. Many white Clemson students said they
did not believe the party was held to intentionally offend blacks, and after
news of the party reached beyond the campus, organizers issued an unsigned
letter of apology. Still, school officials are investigating, and the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People said the party was not
harmless fun. One hip hop insider, Chris Conners, programming director at
Columbia, S.C., radio station WHXT HOT 103.9, said he has no problem with
whites imitating certain aspects of black culture – driving cars with flashy
rims, for example. But he said students who put on blackface or padded their
rear ends crossed the line.
"They weren't really celebrating hip hop culture. They were making fun of
African Americans, and that's what really concerns me," he said. These
incidents come at a time racial tolerance on college campuses is perceived to
be steadily improving. But the truth may be more complicated. A University of
Dayton sociologist who analyzed journals kept by 626 white college students
found the students behaved differently when they were in the company of other whites
than when they were with other races. When the students, who were asked to
record their interactions with other people, were alone with other whites,
racial stereotypes and racist language were surprisingly common, researcher
Leslie Picca found. One student reported hearing the "n-word" among
white students 27 times in a single day. The results suggest white students
have little sense of shame about racial insults and stereotyping and treat them
as simply a part of the culture.
"They have the belief that racism isn't a problem anymore so the words
they use and the jokes they tell aren't racist," Picca said, adding she
found it "heartbreaking" to see so many well-educated students
perpetuating the stereotypes.
Now, This Is A Fantasy Island
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
Val Ross
(Feb. 2, 2007) On Wednesday, Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan,
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, toured a hotel ballroom full of architectural models
and officially unveiled the concept designs for the Saadiyat
Island cultural district — museums, art
galleries, pavilions and a performing-arts centre that will become the world's
largest cultural project ever. On a dais, seated amid the other stars of this
gargantuan effort (the Guggenheim Foundation's Tom Krenz, architects Tadao
Ando, Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry) was Toronto consultant Barry Lord, whose firm, Lord
Cultural Resources, has been involved with three of Saadiyat's four proposed
museums. “The world's largest cultural-planning firm is working on the world's
largest cultural project. A nice link, eh?” said Lord, speaking by phone from Abu Dhabi. Not only that, but the
unveiling was held in the world's largest hotel, the vast Emirates Palace
complex (they don't do things on a modest scale in Abu Dhabi). The Saadiyat
cultural district will feature a Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum of
30,000 square metres — which means it will be larger than the Guggenheim mother
ship in New York City. There are no dollar figures yet available for the cost
of the entire cultural district, but it is only part of what's in store for the
27-square-kilometre island off the Abu Dhabi coast. Five other districts are
planned, as well as a nature preserve and a 1.5-km-long navigable canal. The
total budget is said to be about $27-billion (U.S.).
Lord and his wife, Gail Dexter Lord, are pretty big themselves, at least in the
world of museum and cultural planning. Since they formed their company in 1981,
they have been involved with more than 1,500 projects in 34 countries. They
co-ordinate their international network of offices and their travel (Barry has
been to Abu Dhabi at least five times in the past year) from a modest building
in Toronto. A world map, studded with red and purple pins, shows where they
have worked: South Africa's Constitution Hill prison-complex museum; the Museum
of the African Diaspora in San Francisco; the National Discovery Museum of
Thailand; the Louvre (they helped to plan an Islamic gallery), the Centre
Pompidou and the Musée du quai Branly, the largest museum to open in Paris in
20 years. A pin in Northern Spain indicates that they have even done a
strategic plan (2002-08) for the Guggenheim Bilbao. This Gehry-designed complex
is the icon for those believers in the power of culture to regenerate urban
economies. And now Abu Dhabi will get its own. Wednesday, Abu Dhabi's Crown
Prince also unveiled models for Saadiyat's fine-arts museum, being organized in
co-operation with nine French art galleries (including the Louvre); a Maritime
Museum, designed by Japan's Ando, and plans for a national museum, named after
Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, the first president of the United Arab
Emirates. Lord Cultural Resources has worked on all of these. It has developed
the master plan for the Maritime Museum — “There'll be a tank with
demonstrations by pearl divers,” says Lord, “and an outdoor shipyard for
dhows.”
The firm has developed the master plan for the Sheik Zayed museum; now, it's
helping to organize the international architectural competition. And it was
involved in the initial concept plan for the fine-arts museum, designed by
Paris's Atelier Jean Nouvel. This so-called Classical Museum has been the most
controversial in the Saadiyat project. In December, after news leaked in
France, more than 3,000 people, including museum directors, signed a petition
insisting that French cultural treasures are not for sale or loan. “We have not
gone further with our involvement because the French government and Abu Dhabi
are in deep discussions right now,” Lord said. Abu Dhabi's leaders don't need
controversy. They envisioned the Saadiyat project for two reasons. First, they
need to “brand” their state, which is in a geopolitical hot spot, abutting
Saudi Arabia and perilously near Iraq, as independent, liberal and safe. And
they want to be among the winners in the global competition for cultural
tourism dollars. “The aim of Saadiyat Island must be to create a cultural asset
for the world,” said Sheik Sultan bin Tahnoon al-Nahyan, chairman of Abu Dhabi
Tourism Authority. “Culture crosses all boundaries and therefore Saadiyat will
belong to the people of the UAE, the greater Middle East and the world at
large.” Over the next 15 years, that ambition, a lot of money and some Canadian
expertise should be able to transform a big sand spit in the Arabian Sea into a
cultural Xanadu.
The Spoke Club Gets Creative
With Its Marketing
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Murray Whyte
(February 04, 2007) It was a scene straight from old-guard-Toronto central
casting: A private affair held by the Fraser Institute, the ultra-conservative
policy think-tank, at an exclusive club. The Institute had recruited William
Thorsell, Royal Ontario Museum president, to lecture on the renaissance of the
city's cultural institutions and their need to stand on their own, away from
the public purse. In the intimate, few-dozen-strong audience last week,
Conrad Black and Michael Coren sipped cocktails and nibbled canapés. After
Thorsell's remarks, the first comment from the floor – likely bathed in warm
reminiscences of the Common Sense Revolution – was "Mike Harris started
all this, with his Superbuild project." Alistair Campbell, an habitué of
such affairs, then added to a smattering of applause, "and Stephen Harper
will finish it." Such would be the prevailing sentiment, no doubt,
at the Toronto Club, home to the city's business elite. But the setting was
hardly that. No, this was at The Spoke Club, the self-anointed arts club for Toronto's culture-industry
heavyweights. "It didn't seem like a good fit – or brand recognition, if
you will," sighed Michael Shore, the club's president. "And I was up
front with them about that. I knew there would be a knee-jerk reaction, which
was `What the f---?' I was afraid people would either not come at all, or come
with the wrong attitude. But then I started thinking about it differently: If
it does anything, it'll engender more debate, and I'm all for that."
It does seem an odd alliance, perhaps, for the club to enter into, partnering
with a group better known for such publications as Caring for Profit:
Economic Dimensions of Canada's Health Care Industry, and Privatization:
Tactics and Techniques than deep thinking on the arts. The Fraser Institute
has been holding these events at the Spoke Club sporadically for a year. But
this week was its first foray into the culture-funding debate which, to some,
lifted the veil on both the Institute and the Spoke itself. "It's
not an arts club," said Sarah Diamond, president of the Ontario College of
Art and Design, and a Spoke member. "The membership includes people in
finance, and certainly the advertising industry. And I don't mind that at all.
But I do wonder if it has focus, or if it's just another private Toronto social
club with a good venue." Opened a couple of years ago in the city's arts
and design district on King St. W., by Alannah and Galen Weston Jr., and Shore,
it courted several artists from across the cultural disciplines. Some charter
members have let their affiliation lapse. "I suppose I had a romanticized
notion of it – as a private library where I could lay out my work with other
artists, trade ideas, collaborate," said one former member, a musician and
filmmaker. "But right away, it had an elitism to it that I never really
associated with the Toronto arts community. It never felt like it was made for
artists, so I always felt quite out of place."
Diamond said it's a sentiment she's detected more frequently in recent months.
"There are certainly those who have pulled away from it because the
culture of the place isn't something they recognize anymore." Shore has
heard it before. "The membership committee has a mandate to make sure all
members are tangibly connected to media, entertainment or the arts," he
said. But he allowed that those connections can be secondary – board members of
arts organizations, collectors, benefactors. "You need to pepper the
membership with those kinds of people, because they're the ones who make things
happen," he said. Claudia Hepburn, the Fraser Institute's managing
director for Ontario, described the Spoke Club's membership as "downtown
professionals ... The people we're trying to increase our presence with.
"We've been pretty hard-core public policy, and we wanted to try something
lighter. Besides," she laughed, "the cognitive dissonance was part of
the point." Diamond, who was drawn to the lecture because of that
dissonance – "I thought the context would be completely fascinating,"
she said – approached the microphone to comment. A little nonplussed at
the notion that the market will provide all cultural needs, Diamond suggested a
different idea: That cultural institutions still need public funding to
survive. "It made me something of a magnet," she laughed.
"Several people came up to me afterwards to argue that the market, essentially,
needed to drive all culture – which, frankly, I don't agree with. We're all
dependent on a mix of public and private. That's the fact of it. But that
wasn't the discussion most people wanted to have." But Shore, for one,
welcomes the diversity. "Whatever baggage the Fraser Institute might bring
to the table, if they're coming to us with an important discussion about
cultural issues, then that's all I should care about."
OTHER TIDBITS
Hip Hop’s ‘Down Low’ In New Tell All
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(February 6, 2007) *Former MTV producer Terrance Dean
has written a new memoir about his life as a gay, black man and his dating
exploits within the entertainment industry. “Hiding in Hip-Hop:
Confessions of a Down Low Brother in the Entertainment Industry” – sold to
Atria last week, according to Publishers Marketplace – is said to cover “the author's
life as a closeted homosexual working in the film and music industry and his
relationships with other closeted homosexuals—film stars, rap artists, and
music producers.” Unlike other recent industry tell-alls from Karrine Steffans
and Carmen Bryan, Dean does not name names in his book, which Atria plans to
release in 2008. However, a spokeswoman for the publisher said Dean’s
descriptions of the closeted men will be quite obvious. "Let's put
it this way: You'll know who they are," she said, according to Radar.com.
"It's a no-holds-barred look at Hollywood and hip-hop and who's living on
the down-low."
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::SPORTS NEWS::
Colts' Defence Swarms Bears
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Dave
Perkins, Sports Columnist
(February 05, 2007) MIAMI–Peyton Manning may finally have won the big
one, but nobody deserved more credit for the Indianapolis Colts' 29-17 Super Bowl win last night than
their defence. Indy shut down Chicago almost entirely on a rain-soaked night of
occasionally shabby football and provided the ball for Manning and the offence
to keep pounding at the tiring Bears defence. The Colts ran 81 plays to the
Bears' 48 and piled up 430 yards to 265. "Everyone told us that we
couldn't do it and we made it happen," said Colts linebacker Cato June.
"It was just about us playing together, playing as one, outplaying their
defence and outplaying their special teams. We got it done, it feels great for everybody."
The win made Tony Dungy the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl and he
hugged his disappointed Chicago counterpart, Lovie Smith, and said "how
proud I was of this moment for both of us and that the weather probably didn't
help either team plays its best game." Manning was named MVP after
finishing 25 of 38 for 247 yards, 10 of them dumpoffs for 66 yards to running
back Joseph Addai that helped the Colts control the clock (38 minutes to 22)
and keep their defence fresh. Dominic Rhodes had an excellent day with 21
carries for 113 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Rex Grossman was 20 for 28
for only 165 yards for the Bears, with Thomas Jones adding 112 yards on 15
carries.
"He understood that he had a lot of players around him to take advantage
of, so he understood that he didn't have to do it by himself," Addai, who
added 77 yards of rushing, said of Manning. The killing blow, which stood
up under review, was a 56-yard interception return for a touchdown by Indy's
Kelvin Hayden on a Grossman wobbler early in the fourth quarter that stretched
a nervous 22-17 lead into 29-17. Bob Sanders, Indy's outstanding safety, picked
off Grossman on the Bears' next possession to salt things away. "We
stepped up in the whole post-season where we just made plays. The defence
buckled down and we couldn't be stopped and we are new world champs," said
an exultant Hayden, a Chicago native. "I'm going to hear a lot of it. I'm
glad I'm on the winning end and not the losing end." Devin Hester took the
game's opening kick-off a record 92 yards, almost untouched, for the quickest
possible 7-0 Chicago lead on a hazy day of persistent drizzle that turned heavy
at times. With conditions slickening the ball, there were eight turnovers, five
of them fumbles. "Obviously the passing game wasn't going to be as sharp
because of the weather and it certainly became a factor down there in the red
zone," Manning said. "But how about that. I come down to Miami and
play in the soaking rain. You wouldn't expect it." The lack of continuity
was most telling on the Bears.
A good early drive for a TD and a 14-6 lead was followed by three consecutive
three-and-out possessions and, gifted constantly with the ball, the Colts went
to work against an overworked defence and never looked back. The Bears lost
Cedric Benson to a knee injury late in the first quarter, which also hurt.
"Time of possession dictated (play selection). We only had 19 (first-half)
plays on offence," said a disappointed Grossman. "It's frustrating
when you can't get into your game plan, you can't get deep into everything you
practised. "We just weren't completing third-and-shorts. And then they had
some long drives." Manning, operating with plenty of time as pressure
failed to appear, started picking the Bears apart with short passes. On a third
and 10, Chicago finally blitzed and Manning found Reggie Wayne ridiculously
alone behind broken coverage for 53 yards and an easy touchdown. However,
holder Hunter Smith bobbled the snap and no convert was kicked. The Bears
caught a break ending the first half when Adam Vinatieri, who almost never
misses, pulled a 36-yard field goal wide, leaving the Colts ahead 16-14 at
intermission. The Colts, after Hester's initial supernova, simply refused to
kick the ball to him, squibbing it the rest of the night and trusting their
defence to bottle up Grossman and Co. NOTE: Dan Federkeil, the Albertan who was
playing at the University of Calgary a year ago, was declared inactive for the
Colts. He didn't figure to dress unless there was a significant injury on the
offensive line this week.
Fast, Female And Fun
Times
Excerpt from The Toronto Star -
(February 02, 2007) Olympic champion Chandra
Crawford is in a
quandary: how do you clean 80 yoga mats? It's not a standard dilemma for an
athlete in mid-season, with the world championships looming. But Crawford's hardly
typical. Her riffs on air guitar and unrestrained joy on the victory podium at
the Turin Olympics pegged her as a young athlete with uncommon enthusiasm.
She's using that passion – and $10,000 from her modest earnings – to try to
inspire the next generation of Canadian female cross-country skiers, and girls
in general. It's part of Fast and Female, a program she's started to encourage
girls across the country to get active. Crawford is bringing together 80
girls aged 9 to 19 from across Canada on Sunday in her hometown of Canmore,
Alta., for Fast and Female 2007, an event where they'll ski, do some hip-hop
dancing, get an inspirational speech from their host and, oh yes, do some yoga.
The new yoga mats purchased for the event were slippery and had a bad smell, so
Crawford used a couple of bottles of wine she brought home from Italy to lure
volunteers into giving them a good scrub with soap and water. Although she
hired a local co-ordinator for the event, the 23-year-old has been immersed in
it daily, even while on the road this winter with the Canadian cross-country
skiing team.
"It's something that just gives me energy," said Crawford. "It's
something I care about so much, that I'm so passionate about, that it doesn't
feel like work." No detail is too small. The environmentally conscious
Crawford is having the hoodies that participants will receive – featuring Fast
and Female's funky logo of a girl with pigtails and sunglasses – made from
hemp. But Crawford's signature is best seen in the varied menu of activities.
"It's really an expression of the things that I love about the community I
share the sport with, a lot of really outgoing, amazing women," she said.
"We love charging down the hills on our skis and racing against each other
up them. "We're striving to have girls feel comfortable in their
skin. Movement like this feels good when your cheeks are flushed and you've
been skiing or dancing or doing some yoga. You feel great in your body.
"That kind of feeling counteracts all the feelings you might have through
the rest of the day or the rest of your life where you feel like you're not
good enough or your body isn't this or that enough, which seems to be something
that plagues women of all ages." Among those impressed with Crawford's
efforts is fellow Olympic cross-country ski champion Beckie Scott.
"Young girls are especially vulnerable to all kinds of unhealthy
influences that lead them to drop out of sport at an early age, and this camp
is really all about showing them that sport, and particularly skiing, is fun,
cool, hip, exciting and worth pursuing," said Scott, now retired. "I
also think it's great that Chandra is leading this, and taking her
responsibility as a role model for young girls and women seriously."
Crawford is hoping that the 12 ambassadors coming to Canmore – representatives
of the 10 provinces plus the Yukon and Northwest Territories – will show the
DVD of the event they'll take home to friends and spread the message about
getting moving. There were originally to be 50 participants on a first-come,
first-served basis, but 80 signed up on the opening day of on-line
registration. Crawford enlisted sponsors DC Energy, and financial
companies JF Mackie and Co. and Haywood Securities to help with the extra cost.
Crawford said she will need bigger endorsement partners in the future. "We
have expensive goals at Fast and Female. It (money) goes pretty fast when you
want to involve the whole country." Crawford actually started the movement
before she became a big name, holding the first Fast and Female event in 2005.
It bothered her that whenever she saw cross-country teams, the number of boys
always at least doubled the girls. Crawford admits there is an ulterior
motive behind the program – she wants more teammates for the 2010 and 2014 Winter
Olympics. "Really, it's kind of an investment in making sure there are
strong girls coming up nipping at my heels and to carry the momentum of the
Canadian women's Nordic team. "I think even though it's an individual
sport we push each other and work together and we're stronger for it."
Raptors, Beasts Of The
East
Excerpt from The Toronto Star -
(February 02, 2007) When practice breaks up in Raptorland this season,
the sights and sounds are becoming familiar. You'll probably see Dave Hopla,
the shooting coach, making a few (hundred) free throws without missing. You
usually see Andrea Bargnani, who is religious about post-practice stretching,
tangling his giraffe-ish legs into a pretzel. And over on the opposite sideline
you often see Bryan Colangelo, the president and general manager, engaged in an
animated conversation with Sam Mitchell, the coach. "I believe they talk every day, evaluate what's
going on, the positives, the negatives, how can we get better. And believe me,
all the guys are watching. They all notice it," said Darrick Martin, the
12-year veteran guard who is one of Mitchell's closest confidants. "Bryan
and Sam have a great working relationship. ... As a player, you like to see how
their relationship works. They're the captains of the ship." When the
season began, of course, no one could be sure how long Mitchell would stay
above water. Colangelo, after all, didn't hire him. And he didn't exactly seem
to admire him. But things have changed considerably in three unexpectedly
successful months. Yesterday Mitchell was named the Eastern Conference's coach
of the month for January. That the Raptors dispatched the Wizards twice while
winning 10 of 15 games – and in doing so, beat the team that currently stands
atop the frighteningly feeble Eastern Conference – speaks to the club's current
location: on the brink of what could quickly become an unexpected breakthrough
of a season.
Thanks to his own maturation as a coach and the speedy maturation of his young
team, Mitchell is tracking a remarkable improvement curve. If it continues,
it'll be difficult for Colangelo to justify any course of action other than
giving Mitchell, whose current deal expires at season's end, a contract
extension. How do you fire the coach, after all, when the franchise's three
cornerstone players are coming along so nicely? T.J. Ford, 23, has been
hampered by injury of late but has been occasionally, tantalizingly
outstanding. Chris Bosh, 22, is headed to his second consecutive all-star game
and was yesterday named the Eastern Conference's player of the month for
January. And Bargnani, the 21-year-old who rounded out the Raptors' sweep of
the conference's monthly awards by being named the East's rookie of the month,
has progressed at a rate even Colangelo says he didn't anticipate. How do
you fire the coach when the player Mitchell has called his "pride and
joy" – second-year point guard Jose Calderon – has improved more than
anyone on the roster? Indeed, that Mitchell has displayed an enviable rapport
with many of his charges hasn't hurt his cause or team chemistry. How do you
fire the coach, in short, when he has been handed one of the greenest rosters
in the league – complete as it is with nine new players – and has improved its
record every month? There are ways, of course, to fire a coach. You could point
out that Mitchell has clearly been out-duelled at times; that if the Raptors
had won a handful of the games in which they've been close down the stretch –
if better in-game management had saved the day – they'd be wildly
overachieving.
So an extension isn't coming just yet. And the argument that it needs to come,
and pronto, doesn't hold much water. If lame-duck coaching is as destructive to
credibility as some claim, Toronto's relatively harmonious locker room is an aberration.
Yesterday, though Colangelo offered stock praise for Mitchell and Bosh and
Bargnani, he exercised his usual refusal to discuss Mitchell's contractual
situation. Perhaps the GM doesn't want anyone relaxing just yet. Clearly
Colangelo is reserving judgment a little longer, and wisely. Bringing the
team through the regular season's home stretch, shepherding the youngsters
through a likely playoff run, will be Mitchell's biggest test yet. And if he
and the team perform well, much of the leverage in negotiations will be
his. But there's at least three months' work ahead. To put it in the
vernacular of politics – another game Mitchell avidly observes – the
re-election campaign is off to a great beginning. Still, the electorate will be
unforgiving should the coach and his team, on the cusp of heady and unexpected
success, end up with something less.
SPORTS TIDBITS
Canadians Win Gold, Silver In Moguls
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Canadian
Press
(February 05, 2007) LA PLAGNE, France — Jennifer
Heil is golden again.
The Olympic champion from Spruce Grove, Alta., won a gold medal in a World Cup moguls event on Monday.
It was her first victory of the season. Heil, who lives and trains in Montreal,
scored 26.83 points. Deborah Scanzio of Italy was second while Margarita
Marbler of Austria finished third. Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C., was
fourth and Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was eighth. La Plagne is the home
mountain of Sandra Laoura, the French skier who was seriously injured while
training in Mont-Gabriel, Que., last month. “It felt wonderful to get that
first win at this venue,” said Heil, a silver medallist in her previous two
World Cup races. “I really wanted to go out there and win a medal for Sandra.
It’s really special. It was a huge source of motivation for me today. There was
a lot of support here for her.” In men’s moguls, Alexandre Bilodeau of Rosemere,
Que., finished just behind Finland’s Sami Mustonen and took silver. Dale
Begg-Smith, a Canadian who competes for Australia, finished third while
Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau of Drummondville, Que., was sixth and Maxime Gingras
of St-Hippolyte, Que., was seventh. Bilodeau’s silver performance came at
the end of a tough day. He broke two pairs of skis leading into the
competition. “It was a very stressful day, I’ve never been so nervous,”
he said. “I was wondering what more could go wrong. “I’m very pleased and
relieved.” This was the first World Cup since mid-January as weather problems
have plagued the circuit this season. The competition ends Tuesday with men’s
and women’s dual moguls.
::FITNESS::
Lose The Love Handles
By Joyce Vedral, eDiets Guest Columnist
Those dreaded love handles! If only they brought us
more love instead
of so much grief. But there's good news. You can lose your love handles-or at
least most of them in 3 weeks by doing the right routine. But what
are love handles? They are the grab-able bands of fat on the sides of your
body. Love handles are also found, depending upon your particular tendency to
store fat, in a band all around your back, just above your waistline. Nice
information! But how do you get rid of them? You have to use light
weights, and you have to work a certain way -- consistently, with a variety of
exercises, until you zap away the fat and replace it with tight, toned, sleek
mini-muscles. The beauty of this workout is, those mini-muscles, once
developed, will help you burn overall body fat 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, because putting muscle on your body kicks up your metabolism. Here
are two exercises that will help to zap those love handles in record time.
Love Handle Side Oblique Squeeze
Sit in a chair with a light dumbbell in each hand, elbows bent and arms
extended outward. Your palms are facing away from your body.
Movement: Flexing your entire side waist area as you go, move your right arm
down and forward towards the center of your body. Give that "love
handle" area an extra flex and return to start position. Repeat for the
other side. Repeat the movement until you have done 12 repetitions for each
side of your body.
Love Handle Crush
Bend at the waist until your upper body is almost parallel to the floor, a
light dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Movement: Flexing your
entire back and side "love handle" area, extend your arms outward
until they are parallel to the floor. Without resting, return to start
position. Repeat 12 times.
Repeat this sequence two more times.
In three weeks you'll see a major meltdown of your love handles, especially if
you add more variety to your love handle workout. I want you to e mail me at
jvbody@aol.com with your exciting results, or with questions.
:MOTIVATION::
Motivational Note: Living Your Dream: 5 Success Secrets You
Can't Do Without
By Jason M. Gracia - www.motivation123.com
You only have one life to live, so you might as well live it the way you want
to, right? I know what you're thinking: 'Easier said than done.' While this may
be true, it is possible. You can, in fact, experience the life you've always
dreamed about; it's simply a matter of taking the right steps at the right
time. What are those right steps? Glad you asked. Below you'll find five such
secrets of success that are guaranteed to get you moving in the right
direction.
1. Allow Yourself to Dream When it comes to goals and dreams, people tend to
consider them extra-curricular thoughts, taking the place of more pressing and
important matters. They feel as if they should be spending their time in more
productive ways, not wishful thinking. The truth is little else is more
important than dreaming and reaching for more. Yes, you may get more of your
to-do list crossed off by ignoring your dreams, but is it really worth your
long-term happiness? Recognize the importance of dreaming, of investing time
and energy into the acts of improvement. Give yourself the permission to dream
and you'll open the door to a new and exciting future.
2. Create Space for Your Dream Designating a room or particular space in your
home as the place for your dream or goal will not only give you a place to
think and work without distraction but also demonstrate a personal commitment
to the process. Set up a writing area in the den. Create your photo studio in
the basement. Don't need an entire room? No problem. Hang a cork board in the
kitchen to serve as the altar to your goal. Whatever it may be, make it real
and give your dream the space it deserves.
3. To Test is Best How can you be sure the dream you've chosen is right for
you? Simple - test it. Always wanted to be a teacher? Volunteer in a classroom
to see how it goes. Want to become a writer? Submit a handful of small pieces
to your local newspaper or community newsletter and gauge their reaction - and
yours. With a small test, you'll gain firsthand experience with your dream and
discover which path is best suited for you. To be continued…