20
Carlton Street, Suite 1032, Toronto, ON
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LE
NEWSLETTER
October 18, 2007
Good fall day! The chill is
definitely in the air but I love this time of year.
I checked out the fab Jully Black at Supermarket this past Monday. Recommendation: go and
pick up this CD - it's very HOT and so is our Jully! Check out pics in my
PHOTO GALLERY!
Have you marked your calendar yet for Kayte
Burgess' Farewell Party on Sunday
night? She's moving to Atlanta and wants to celebrate with friends and
family before she checks out! Check the details for this special night
below!
There is so much news so I will let you get right to it!
::HOT EVENTS::
Kayte Burgess Official Send Off, Release and Appreciation Party
- Sunday, October 21
Have you heard the Kayte Burgess track ‘Call You Out’ on FLOW
93.5? Yes? Well, the track is from her sophomore album called Checked
Baggage. And Kayte wants to have a party to celebrate its release on
October 16, 2007 – available everywhere! Come and celebrate with us at
the official online and retail release party on October
21, 2007 at Harlem! And guess what else!?
This is also Kayte’s birthday AND an official send off as she makes the big
move to Atlanta to capitalize on opportunities
that have materialized! The night will consist of a showcase of the new
material with DJ Carl Allen spinning all night. And in thanks, Kayte will
be giving 5 copies of her album away!
Checked Baggage saw Kayte criss-cross the continent from
Toronto to Los Angeles to New York City to record nearly 50 tracks
for this independent full-length release. Tracks feature
collaborations with Ali Shaheed Muhammad (Tribe Called Quest), Joel
Joseph and Adrian Eccleston (Nelly Furtado), 2Rude and Graph
Nobel among others.
In Toronto , Kayte has backed up Lionel Ritchie (on Canadian
Idol) and Al Green and opened for Divine Brown in addition
to performing at dozens of profile concerts as a solo artist and as part of
ensemble units over the last eight years.
Come to Harlem on Sunday - a special night in more ways than one!
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2007
KAYTE BURGESS APPRECIATION PARTY
Harlem Restaurant
67 Richmond St. E. (Church and Richmond)
416-368-1920
10:00 pm
FREE
www.kayteburgess.com
::TOP STORIES::
Richard O'Brien, 59: BamBoo Co-Founder
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Raju Mudhar, Entertainment Reporter
(October 16, 2007) It is a testament to the resonating power of
Richard O'Brien and the BamBoo that both are fondly
remembered five years after the nightclub and its renowned upstairs patio were
closed. More than just a bar, it was a Toronto landmark that helped usher in
the Queen St. W. that we know today.
O'Brien passed away from neurological complications Sunday. He was 59.
A one-time freelance writer who worked for the CBC and TVO, O'Brien and partner
Patti Habib created their outpost of bohemian cool in 1977 and enjoyed almost
25 years of introducing new flavours to this city, from being the first Toronto
restaurant to serve pad Thai to introducing cutting edge programming that
helped shine a light on reggae and world beat music.
As actor and friend Catherine O'Hara says in the introduction to the BamBoo
cookbook, the 'Boo was "the hip guardian of Queen St. W. ... It's the U.N.
of groove. It's an oasis, a loveboat, a desert isle, a Caribana float."
It was O'Brien who really helped push the music forward, and was generally
known to live a loud and gregarious life.
He suffered a debilitating stroke in the late '90s and was told by doctors that
it would severely curtail his life. It was then that musician Brent Titcomb and
his family befriended him and helped him through his recovery, as part of a
tight circle that surrounded him in later years.
"Richard never heard `no.' He was an eternal optimist and he went on to
achieve and do things that were pretty amazing.... He didn't bemoan his
circumstance. He never got depressed. In fact, he expressed gratitude, at times
saying that (his medical difficulties were) the only thing to stop him from his
rambunctious lifestyle ... he was an incredibly generous person and was able to
extract the positive from anything."
An example of his indomitable drive was his attempt to recreate his restaurant
on Toronto's Harbourfront in 2003. While he was successful in getting Bambu by
the Lake off the ground, it never caught on like the original bar.
A resident of the Toronto Islands, O'Brien's last project was fighting for
improvements to the waiting areas for the island ferries.
There will be a private funeral home visitation for family and friends
tomorrow, before cremation. A public remembrance is planned. Condolences can be
sent to richard.obrien@wardfh.com.
Brampton
A New Hotbed For Talent
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com - Entertainment Reporter
(October 14, 2007) All roads lead to
Brampton. That may be the city's
unofficial motto, but in terms of famous people, it's the paths leading out of
Brampton that bear examining as Canada's Flowertown is fast becoming the
epicentre of Canadian celebrity culture.
Just like the confluence of star power that in the late '80s and '90s centred
on Scarborough – which produced such diverse bright lights as Mike Myers, Jim
Carrey, The Barenaked Ladies and Paul Tracy, just to mention a few – Brampton
is the hometown or residence of a new wave of celebrities who will likely only
further shine a light on this suburban city of 400,000. Is Brampton the new
Scarborough?
"I'm the original B-town representer, I feel," said Russell Peters, on the line from
Johannesburg, where he's touring. When he became the first comedian to sell out
the Air Canada Centre earlier this year, his graffiti-styled backdrop even had
the "all roads" motto written on it as a shout-out to his hometown.
The world might even get a glimpse of more Brampton culture, as Peters has
signed a development deal with Fox for a sitcom about his life "10 to 15
years ago, and just where I was at that time, working in a mall, in a shoe
store, living in my parents' basement, pretty happy being broke."
So basically, life when you were still in Brampton?
"You bet. Sadly we can't base it in Brampton, or any Canadian city because
the Americans won't get it. But there will be Brampton references, don't you
worry," Peters said, sounding like Myers before he transplanted Wayne (Wayne's
World) Campbell's life from Scarborough to suburban Chicago.
Peters may be the O.B. (Original Brampsta), but he isn't alone. In this new
young TV season, there is no more memorable new TV sidekick than Tyler Labine's character in Reaper.
Over three episodes, his Bert "Sock" Wysocki character is already
more memorable than the star of the show, whether he's killing time by wrapping
his hand in duct tape or handling an aggressive dog by whacking it with a car
door. He's also from B-town, as some like to call it.
And there are fewer actors in the world hotter than Michael
Cera: his current film, the bromantic teen comedy, Superbad,
has already raked in more than $100 million, and he also has a role in the
upcoming – and already much-buzzed-about TIFF fan-favourite – Juno.
But when he's not in L.A., what does the nerdy girls' latest heartthrob like to
do? Head home to Brampton to chill out with his folks. Other notable
Bramptonians include Paulo Costanza (Everything's Gone Green, Joey), superheroic
twin actors Shawn and Aaron Ashmore (Iceman in the X-Men movies and Jimmy Olsen on Smallville,
respectively), comedian Scott Thompson and author Rohinton Mistry. As well, there are transplants like singer Keshia Chanté – currently the face of
Ontario tourism and a recent guest on TV's Da Kink In My Hair series –
who splits her time between Brampton and New York City.
So in an exponentially growing city often known for its high Indian population
– Bramladesh and Brownton are two nicknames – it's obvious Brampton is having a
moment, at least one that comes from the reflected glory of its citizens'
success shining back. But no one is sure what to attribute it to.
"It's not like I grew up with an abundance of culture growing up in
Brampton," says Labine, 29, on the line from Vancouver, where he's busy
shooting Reaper. "It's hard to quantify. I guess I may have the
local YMCA to thank a little bit, I did a few years of drama classes there,
which is really just parents dumping their kids off and saying, `Go into this
room with this teacher. Do something other than hanging out.' Me and my
brothers did that, like, once a week for two years."
And to add to the list, Labine says that Kiefer
Sutherland also attended his junior high. ("There was a big picture of
him in the principal's office. They wanted to make sure we were all very aware
of the fact.")
"I used to joke around at the Indie Arts festival saying that Brampton is
the next Brooklyn," says Richard Marsella, a.k.a. Friendly Rich, a
musician and composer who, for the past seven years has been putting on the
Brampton Indie Arts Festival (www.biaf.ca) every February. "Brampton is a
fine place to do work and produce stuff. People leave you alone, it's
moderately quiet ... There's a lot of contributing factors."
Marsella, who now lives in nearby Georgetown and admits that Cera sightings are
now in vogue in his hometown, is more concerned with finding ways for young
people to remain in the city, as opposed to decamping for Toronto or elsewhere.
Of course, the irony with any story that looks at the geographical origins of
celebrities is that to attain their success, they likely had to leave.
Sometimes, it's that drive to leave that really fuels their success.
"I found the whole place completely sterile and every weekend I'd go into
Toronto and I'd feel like it was exciting. Nobody really played music there,
back in the '80s," says acclaimed singer/songwriter and Broken Social
Scene member Jason Collett, who
was born in Bramalea, which was merged into Brampton in 1974.
"As far as what makes people go on to become famous, the only thing I can
think of is that it's a microcosm of Canada in a small sense. The geography is
so spread out you hit the ceiling so fast; you have to leave the country to get
celebrated elsewhere.
"You have to go where the work is, and then you become successful, and
then people are like, `Oh yeah, he's from here. Let's celebrate them.' But you
work in obscurity until that point. I left Brampton when I was 17, partly
because I wanted more."
And so, despite the efforts of Tyler Labine's principal, those who chase fame
and get it aren't necessarily known for their hometown, leaving Bramptonians
rather modest about the city's success at fostering success. When he was
contacted, Labine's reaction was typical: "Who else is from there? I'm
curious."
Raul
Midón Upbeat In Tempo And Tone
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com -
(October 15, 2007) Raul Midón is a no-frills virtuoso.
Standing before simple black drapery, guitar in hand, bottle of water tucked
into a satchel on his hip, the singer/songwriter put on a mesmerizing show at
Harbourfront Centre Saturday night.
It was the 41-year-old New Mexico-born, New York-based musician’s fifth
appearance here in three years, but his first as a headliner. Clad in sneakers,
denim and sunglasses and armed with tunes from a brand new disc, A World Within
A World, he was greeted by a welcoming roar from the audience of about 300.
He began with the socially conscious folky-pop “Pick Somebody Up,” his
versatile, soulful tenor urging, “Take a stranger out of danger/Help someone to
understand/That revolution is no solution/To the tragedy of man.”
Next came “All Because Of You,” a straight R&B ballad that would not be out
of place on a Brian McKnight disc.
Midón is a jazz and Latin-inflected one-man band who sings and scats while
slapping out percussion, chords and bass lines on his guitar and occasionally
imitating trumpet solos with his mouth.
The former studio musician — a first-call backup vocalist for the likes of
Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and Julio Iglesias — is also an engaging showman who
introduced songs with revealing anecdotes.
He told of pausing the recording of his latest disc to take a three-night gig
in Monte Carlo, because “the money was so good” and of the challenges of making
said disc, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2005 debut State of Mind.
“Basically with the first album you go through your entire catalogue of
songs....... Then with the second record you got nothing.”
Daunted, but not undone, Midón crafted a disc as wondrously eclectic and
penetrating as his first. The highlights include, “Song for Sandra,” about the
blind-since-birth singer losing his mother as a child; the anthemic and
self-explanatory “Peace On Earth” and the encouraging “Save My life”: “Love is
going to save your life/Everything will work out right/As long as you’re prepared
to try again.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if the hopefulness Midón engendered led some sated
attendees to skip church the next morning.
On the downside: with the new record just weeks old, he took too long to get to
songs from his first album, resulting in one frustrated man yelling for “State
of Mind” halfway through the hour-long set. And shame on whoever was
responsible for the “mix-up” that Midón said meant no CDs available afterwards
for sale or signing.
But the evening is best summarized by the sentiments a woman shouted when he
responded to the crowd’s ravenous appeal for an encore.
“You make us happy!”
Amen.
Mideast
Peace Gig Cancelled Over Threats
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com -
Associated Press
(October 15, 2007) JERUSALEM – A peace
concert promoting a two-state
solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict was called off Sunday after threats
were made to Palestinians supporting the event.
The New York-based One Voice organization had planned to hold simultaneous concerts in Tel
Aviv and the West Bank town of Jericho, with Canadian rock star Bryan Adams in lead billing.
The Jericho concert was called off last week due to security concerns,
including threats to blow up the West Bank office of One Voice, said group
founder Daniel Lubetzky. On Sunday, the Tel Aviv concert was cancelled in
solidarity.
"Our mission is not to entertain ... It is to mobilize moderate
voices," said Lubetzky, a New York businessman. "If we have to
postpone, we have to postpone.''
Organizers of One Voice aim to collect a million signatures from Israelis and
Palestinians calling for their leaders to negotiate a final peace settlement by
October 2008. The concert was meant to support the signature campaign, with
those attending the event – free of charge – required to sign the petition.
Many Palestinians have harshly criticized the organization, which they say is
weak in defending Palestinian demands, including the right of return for
refugees to the lands they left, or were forced to flee, following the
Israeli-Arab war in 1948. Leading Palestinians who initially supported the
event have also distanced themselves from it.
Around 600,000 Palestinians and Israelis signed on to support the
organization's call for negotiations to begin between both sides. It also has
received support from Hollywood stars such as Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Rhea
Perlman, Danny de Vito and Jason Alexander.
::MUSIC NEWS::
Soul
For The Whole Globe
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com - Pop & Jazz Critic
(October 14, 2007) There are no short answers
when it comes to the
music and muses of West Coast singer/songwriter GreenTaRA.
Take the origins of her stage name, for instance.
"I was living in Australia in 2000," begins 34-year-old Tara Donald
on the phone from her Vancouver base. "I'd just started a weekly
performance night at a hostel that I was living at, exchanging my performance
for free accommodations.
"There were so many Taras there I was like `How am I going to
differentiate myself?'"
An aboriginal Australian musician suggested his favourite figure from Buddhism,
Green Tara.
"I thought, that's so great, because I'm from green British Columbia and
nature and the environment and my songs are often tagged with a bit of social
commentary, although I'm not trying to take on the role of a goddess in any way
– but she's also the goddess of compassion and that's a big message in a lot of
my music as well."
On her new album Global Baby, to be released with a trio performance at
Cameron House on Tuesday, GreenTaRA fuses reggae and soul with sassy Jill
Scott-style ruminations about love, life and historical figures such as
anti-abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
The adept guitarist taught herself to play at 15 and hit the road at 19, living
in New Zealand, Australia, and Florida while training for opera and performing
with blues bands and gospel choirs. Like her 2003 debut Music for a Mixed
Nation, the new CD also deals with identity.
"I've considered myself as a global baby, not only because of my
travelling, but because of my heritage – Cherokee, African and Caucasian,"
she explains.
"Being adopted and being mixed race I've spent a large part of my life
just trying to figure out who I am and where I fit." Even given a simple
question about how many siblings she has, her answer is "I've got about 20
if you count them all up, but that's because I'm from one of those ridiculously
modern, broken-several-times families.
"I've met my biological parents and that doubled up the siblings."
But it's all fodder for her music.
"Every experience I've had has led to either the creation of a song or the
development of a gift, or an ability – from my artistry my ability to think
analytically and book my own tours.
"We tend to focus on the differences between each other and what's become
apparent to me in this quest to figure out who I am is that we are more the
same as human beings than we are different, among races, or as men and
women."
This
Jewel Shines On
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Special
To The Star
(October
13, 2007) Mention the name "Jewel"
and snippets of the
singer/songwriter's lilting voice – perhaps crooning "Who Will Save Your
Soul," will likely float through your mind.
But what exactly has Jewel Kilcher been up to lately?
After all, it's been a while since the 2006 release of Goodbye Alice in
Wonderland, her last album with Atlantic Records.
It turns out she's been pretty busy, writing, performing (she'll be at Casino
Rama on Friday), acting and driving a race car, as well as taking on some
philanthropic causes and spending time with her boyfriend of nine years, rodeo
champion Ty Murray.
She's also been busy in Nashville recording her as yet unnamed seventh album,
which, during a recent telephone interview, she shied away from calling
"country."
"Oh, it's just a Jewel record. It won't sound like a dramatic departure to
any of my fans who have been seeing me live for all these years," said the
three-time Grammy nominee, noting she wrote the entire album.
"It's still storytelling the way all my records have been. I've just
really had a big influence and a big respect for country music all my life.
Just growing up on a ranch in Alaska, I guess."
Expounding on the idea country music is currently "the only format where a
singer/songwriter can actually be themselves," the singer feels her
lyric-driven music suits the current country music genre well.
"This is a record I've been wanting to make my whole career and have been
just frustrated because my label wouldn't ... They didn't understand the
country music for what it was."
Past experience is perhaps the reason behind the 33-year-old's current
indecision over whether to go independent or choose a new label for the new
album.
"If I can find a good label, I'd love that. I still think it can be a good
partnership but I certainly wouldn't want to go back to the type of situation I
was in. We'll have to see."
Between recording sessions and live performances, fans may also have spotted
Jewel on TV. Although she has multiple acting credits, including a role in the
1999 Ang Lee film Ride With the Devil, the singer said she was about
26 when, after realizing the importance of making time for a personal life, and
her dislike for the often lengthy auditioning process, she decided not to
aggressively pursue an acting career.
That said, she did host the USA Network's talent search show Nashville Star.
Then, along with Murray and a bunch of other celebrities, she climbed into a
racecar and "had a blast" speeding around the track for ABC's reality
series Fast Cars & Superstars – Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race.
No matter what else is going on in her life, though, Jewel says she's
continually writing, both songs and poetry.
But unlike her previous two books, A Night Without Armor and Chasing
Down the Dawn, don't look for her current collection of love poems to hit
store shelves anytime soon.
After becoming an ambassador for the charitable foundation Virgin Unite, Jewel
spoke last June before the U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Youth
Homelessness on an issue that "is close to my heart because I was homeless
for a about a year. It's something that nobody can understand – what it's like,
unless you've been through it."
Though homelessness and her own Clearwater Project (which she's been working on
for about 10 years) are favoured causes, the singer was quick to add,
"I've never liked to be didactic and tell people what to work for."
The singer says she's tried to navigate her career in terms of what would make
her a better writer and has, for the most part, eschewed the "distracting
lifestyle" of celebrity.
"I've just tried to do whatever I could to keep myself alive on the
inside, to keep writing well," she said. "Plus I grew up on a ranch
in Alaska, it's not like I ever dreamed to be in the party scene anyway."
Madonna
Signs $120M Contract
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com -
(October 12, 2007) NEW YORK – Madonna's $120 million recording
and touring contract with Live Nation Inc. gives the concert promoter the
opportunity to tap into concert, recording, merchandising and other lucrative
revenue streams. But don't discount the role that lowly ticket fees play.
The pop superstar's deal to abandon Warner Music
shows how far Live Nation is willing to go to break the hammerlock Barry Diller's
Ticketmaster has on online concert and sporting ticket sales.
Ticket buyers may be annoyed by the $5 or more in convenience and delivery fees
tacked on to every ticket ordered online or over the phone, but they've proven
to be a gold mine for Ticketmaster, a unit of IAC/InterActiveCorp.
Regulatory filings show that Ticketmaster's revenues jumped 14 percent to $1.1
billion in 2006 and generated almost a 25 percent operating profit margin for
the nation's largest seller of tickets.
Live Nation, whose 160 venues include House of Blues and Fillmore locations,
Nikon at Jones Beach in New York and London's Wembley Arena, currently is
Ticketmaster's largest single generator of ticketing fees. But Live Nation has
signalled it wants to bring the fee revenue in-house when its Ticketmaster
contract expires in 2008 for most of its locations and in 2009 at the House of
Blues venues.
Live Nation Chief Executive Michael Rapino has made no secret of his desire to
use the company's relationships with artists to get into related businesses. He
has talked about selling T-shirts, parking passes, VIP party passes, secondary
tickets and DVDs as well as broadcasting shows live. And gaining direct access
to fans through ticket sales is seen as a crucial building block to collecting
other profit related to the event.
Rapino said Live Nation owes its window of opportunity to the rise of the live
show as a profit driver – instead of the records and CD sales as in previous
years. "Thankfully for our business, the center of that pie has really
become the live show now," he said in September at a Goldman Sachs
conference.
The possibility of having Live Nation as a competitor drew a bring-it-on
response from Diller, chairman and chief executive of IAC, whose holdings also
include the HSN home shopping network as well as Internet businesses including
LendingTree, Citysearch, Evite, Match.com and the Ask.com search engine.
"We've invested hundreds of millions of dollars in our infrastructure. Let
someone else make these investments and get into ticketing," Diller said
at a New York conference in September. "It'll be good for us and
interesting for them.''
About 22 percent of all event tickets are now sold online and they are expected
to generate sales of $4.9 billion this year, according to Jupiter Research
retail analyst Patti Freeman Evans.
But a greater number of sellers won't automatically translate into lower prices
or fewer fees for customers, she said. That's because tickets are not wholly
commoditized, and sellers who tack on bonuses like limousine rides, dinner or
other goodies are aiming to capture a segment of the market from customers
willing to pay more, Freeman Evans said.
Among the top shareholders of Live Nation, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., is
L. Lowry Mays, founder of Clear Channel Communications and its CEO for 30 years
until 2004. Mays owns 5.4 percent of the company, according to Capital IQ, a
unit of Standard & Poor's.
For its part, Ticketmaster has made its own moves to get closer to the fans. It
has bought fan management Web site Echo Music and music sharing Web site
iLike.com, as well as artist management company Front Line, which includes in
its portfolio the Eagles, Christina Aguilera, Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett and
Paris Hilton the singer.
"There's a whole host of things we've been engaged in and organizing and
thinking about for the past year," Diller said last month.
Madonna's management told Warner Music Group Corp. last week that the
49-year-old pop singer would accept Live Nation's offer after the record
company refused to match the deal, a person familiar with the confidential
contract negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Under the proposed deal, Madonna would get a signing bonus of about $18
million, an advance of about $17 million for each of three albums, stock, and
an agreement for Live Nation to exclusively promote her tours.
To try to fend off the Live Nation deal, Warner pursued a partnership with
Ticketmaster that would have enabled the record company to offer a spectrum of
touring services to Madonna, the person said.
Diller is no stranger to the world of Hollywood. He's credited with the
creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and the network's motion picture
operations. He also spent a decade as head of Paramount Pictures Corp., as well
as working at ABC Entertainment.
Meanwhile, the rise of a secondary market for tickets has brought new players
to the industry, including eBay subsidiary StubHub and Tickets.com, which is
owned by Major League Baseball's Advanced Media LP.
StubHub is on track to sell its 10 millionth ticket in a matter of days,
spokesman Sean Pate said. This year alone, it should sell more tickets than the
total of all tickets sold in the years since it was founded in 2000. Last year,
its biggest yet, StubHub sold 3.3 million tickets. In February it was bought by
eBay.
As a reseller, StubHub and others are taking over what used to only be done by
scalpers on the street.
Ticketmaster, which sells tickets for promoters, sports teams and venue owners,
is less free to pursue the secondary market since any reselling activity should
not infringe on the profit-seeking of its clients, whose main goal is to
accurately price tickets the first time around in order to maximize profit.
Still, Ticketmaster hopes to push back against the rapid growth of StubHub with
its own resale service, called Ticket Exchange, and Ticketmaster Auctions. As
of mid-2007, Ticketmaster reports a 130 percent increase in the number of
tickets sold through Ticket Exchange and a 59 percent rise in the number of
online auctions conducted.
Twinspeak
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Elizabeth Renzetti
(October 12, 2007) LONDON — It's a very hot early evening in June, and about
100 people have gathered in the dark interior
of the Salvador Dali gallery on the south bank of the Thames. There is
champagne and hors d'oeuvres, and lots of gossip about the music industry –
this being what's known in music circles as a “showcase gig,” whose bald aim is
to generate buzz before an album's public launch. So no one is here to see
Dali's Snail and the Angel or Profile of Time. Instead, they're
here to witness something slightly less surreal, but only just: two young
Canadian singers, identical twins, whose untrained voices twine in pure harmony
and whose idol is Mario Lanza.
Take that, Dali.
Ryan and Dan Kowarsky – who,
operating from their beachhead in England, have since that June evening become
known to a legion of teenage girls (and their moms) across Europe by their nom
de chanson, RyanDan – take the stage. One of them begins to sing, but it
would take a member of the family, several of whom have flown in from Toronto
for this show, to tell which one: “I tried to hide from you, but I failed/I
tried to lie to you, but I failed …”
The song is Like the Sun, the single from their self-titled debut album,
which hit stores on this side of the Atlantic on Sept. 27, and will be released
in Canada in early November. The music is lush, overcooked, the kind of thing
you might hear while browsing in a shop devoted to scented candles. But their
voices are lovely, and the brothers are as cute as two buttons on a cashmere
cardigan.
Universal Music is giving them an almighty push – they've appeared on no end of
radio programs and celebrity and cooking shows, and in newspapers across
Britain, a media blitz possible only in media-saturated England, and part of
the reason the duo chose this country, rather than Canada, as their launching
pad. And it becomes clear at the Dali gathering, as their voices soar together,
why the record company is backing them so heartily: You can just hear that song
playing in the background of a thousand Christmas or Hanukkah dinners, drowning
out festive family fights.
Three months later, on a wet September afternoon, the twins walk into a bistro
(no, this is not the first line of a joke) for this interview. The bistro's in
Chelsea, and, coincidentally, will be the scene a few days later of an
altercation between Chelsea Football Club players and paparazzi. I say
coincidentally because, in an odd twist, one British newspaper has noted the
resemblance between Ryan and Dan and a Chelsea star named Frank Lampard: square
jaw, chiselled features, lightly tousled dark hair. Clearly, the British
tabloids have latched onto the photogenic Canadian twins.
It's a good thing they're wearing different-coloured shirts (Ryan's in white;
Dan's in black). Otherwise, they'd be indistinguishable, right down to their
attitudes (friendly, earnest). Apparently, when they were toddlers in Toronto's
Forest Hill neighbourhood, their mother used to paint Ryan's toenails red to
tell them apart. Or was it Dan's?
The Kowarskys are in a particularly bouncy mood at our meeting: They have just
found out that their album has debuted on the British charts at No. 7, which
causes Dan to say, with barely contained glee, “We're beating 50 Cent!” They
are 27, after all, and beating down a rapper must count for some street cred,
even in the classical-pop world.
It's an odd musical world that RyanDan inhabit: They're signed to the
classical/jazz arm of Universal, but they're not classically trained, and they
don't sing classical music. They don't strictly sing pop, either, but instead
exist in the same melodious, orchestra-accompanied, in-between world that's
proved such a lucrative home for artists as different as Celine Dion and Il
Divo.
“It's very different from a lot of the music out there,” says Dan. “A lot of
people compare us to Il Divo, but it's different from that, too …” Before his
brother's even finished, Ryan adds, “It's a mix of pop and classical. We have
beautiful orchestration under pop melodies, but with two-way harmony.”
Whatever you want to call it, the RyanDan juggernaut is steaming on, thanks to
the commitment of the twins (one of whom says, with pleasing earnestness,
“We're very goal-oriented”), their pull-out-all-the-stops record company, and a
management team that also handles Shania Twain and Jamie Cullum. That
management team organized a showcase for the twins last year at retro London
nightclub, the Pigalle, which led to offers from three record companies. Their
album was recorded under the auspices of producer Steve Anderson, who has also
worked with Kylie Minogue and Paul McCartney.
Since landing in London a year ago, RyanDan has barely paused for breath. Along
with that rigorous, ongoing tour of British radio and TV stations, there have
been trips abroad – including to Australia (a showcase gig at the Sydney Opera
House) and Hong Kong (the Peninsula Hotel). They'll be in Canada at the
beginning of next month to launch the record there.
Back in Canada, where it all started. If this were a 1940s movie – and the
twins' retro sensibility suggests they might like that – the wind would rip the
pages off a calendar to reveal our heroes' beginnings in Toronto: a father who
is a cantor by day and an opera singer by night; an uncomfortable year living
apart when their parents split up; childhood years spent singing together,
everything from Queen to the Bee Gees to Mario Lanza.
Mario Lanza? The mid-century American opera singer derided by purists for his
schmaltzy tone? The man brought down in his prime by his attraction to excess?
It seems an unlikely choice for such squeaky-clean youngsters.
“To me, he's just one of the greatest vocalists who ever lived,” says Ryan.
“There's just something about his voice – the power, the emotion,” says Dan.
I told you they were retro. They also are in awe of the microphone they were
able to use to record RyanDan – it was originally Frank Sinatra's – and
the same studio's mixing board, which was once used by the Rolling Stones. The
Lanza connection is important, though: The one thing he could never be accused
of was under-emoting, and emotion is central to the RyanDan ethos. When they
recorded the song Tears of an Angel for their terminally ill niece, Tal,
who has since died, they made sure the studio was dark and filled with candles.
“I think a lot of artists out there –” Ryan begins.
“I was just going to say the same thing,” Dan interrupts.
“– get caught up in the technical aspect,” Ryan continues, “trying to make
their voice sound a certain way, and they lose the emotion.”
Whoa, back up. Dan agreed with Ryan before Ryan even spoke. Does that happen
often?
“All the time,” they say, in unison.
This connection also helps their singing, they agree, allowing them to
anticipate each others' vocal shifts before they happen. And, let's face it,
the good-looking identical-twin thing doesn't hurt as a marketing tool, as
their chosen name attests.
Still, it is not without some hesitation that they go down that path, perhaps
because they've only just escaped boy-band purgatory. (They were in a pop trio
called b4-4 that was nominated for a best-newcomer Juno in 2001 – Nickelback
won – and which disbanded five years later.) “We didn't want people to say,
‘This is the next gimmicky thing – identical twins,' ” Ryan says.
Dan adds, “At the same time, we're never going to get away from that, and some
people are fascinated by it, but we don't want it to get in the way. We want it
to be about the music.”
Still, their admittedly beautiful voices might not have carried them this far
had they looked like Shrek and Fiona. As a marketing executive from their
record company, Mark Wilkinson, told Music Week magazine, “The type of person
we're targeting is the factory girl on Coronation Street, but also the woman
that owns the factory. It is mass market for people who enjoy uncomplicated
adult pop music, who enjoy melodies, who like their music emotional, and who
like their artists to be good looking and fanciable.”
The wild-eyed housewives appear to be circling already. Recently, as the twins
were leaving the recording studio, they heard a scream, turned around, and
found two middle-aged women getting out of a car, shrieking their names. The
women had just bought the RyanDan CD, which the twins duly signed for
them.
“That was weird,” recalls Ryan, who might want to give Tom Jones a call.
It is the fate they've asked for – nay, worked for like beasts of burden, like
donkeys with golden voices. “We've wanted this our entire lives,” says Ryan.
“Nothing's going to get in the way of that.”
When the twins were 17, they walked into the headquarters of Sony Music in
Toronto to drop off a demo CD. As they were pestering the receptionist to show
it to someone, anyone, in power, two of the label's top executives walked by.
Ryan and Dan sang for them on the spot – Show Me the Way to Go Home,
hardly a showstopper. It was enough, though, and they were signed, and their
boy-band career launched: Along with nabbing that Juno nomination, the b4-4
trio, which included the twins' friend, Ohad Einbinder, recorded such singles
as Get Down and Go Go.
But ultimately they wanted something more meaningful, a fan base that actually
listened to the music as well as swooning. So they struck out on their own,
made the switch to a more adult sound, moved to London a year ago, found an
apartment, and embarked on what they hope will be their program of world
domination.
The twins will return to Canada early next month to launch the album, which
will involve performing small showcase gigs in Montreal and Toronto. It will
also mean a much-needed visit with family and friends in Toronto, a city they
still consider home – and where they own a house together. They might also drop
in on one of their new famous friends: After hearing them sing at a charity
concert, Goldie Hawn invited Ryan and Dan to visit her at her Ontario cottage
in Muskoka.
In the meantime, the swooning's not likely to die down. For the record, Dan has
a girlfriend and Ryan doesn't. Or perhaps it's the other way around?
The Buzz Around Bulat
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Brad Wheeler
(October 15, 2007) Sometimes a picture doesn't tell a
story. I walk into
a bar on Toronto's College Street looking for the gal with corn-silk hair and a
floppy hat. Her name is Basia Bulat (BAH-sha BOO-lat), a folky young singer-songwriter who
makes music that is stylish and sober, and I have only her album photograph to
go on. Where, oh where, is the blank-faced blonde with the funky dark bonnet?
Turns out Bulat, 24, is not what I expected. She's of sunny disposition,
wearing a cheery frock - "my debutante dress" - and with no droopy
cap. "No," she says when asked if the hat was a signature accessory.
Turns out the idea to don it for the album cover was the idea of her friend
Howard Bilerman, the record's producer. "I made a joke with him that for
my next record, it's going to be his face, in that hat, in the exact same
pose," she says with a laugh The album is Oh, My Darling, a debut
collection of unpredictable love songs that are woodsy and formal at once. The
rushing I Was a Daughter starts with double-quick clapping and brooding
strings, before slowing down for a line about early love - "We gave our
hearts away before we knew what they were." An affair's crests and traps
are what the sweeping Snakes and Ladders is about. And on Little
Waltz, the warbling Bulat laments: "I learned how to dance, but I
never showed it to you."
Though the material is often lush and instrumentally involved, you can imagine
Bulat presenting the material solo. But that's all you can do, imagine, because
she's committed to the musicians with whom she tours and records.
"I could stand up there with a guitar or an autoharp or a piano and just
sing, but that would be really lonely," she explains. "The reason I
play is to be with friends." The Toronto-raised Bulat picked up her
bandmates from "all over" - some at the University of Western Ontario
in London, others in Montreal where she spent a couple of summers learning
French. Her percussionist is brother Bobby. "I've known him all my
life," she says with a chuckle.
When someone new arrives on the scene, it's natural to compare them to more
established performers, for reference. In the case of Bulat, names like Joni
Mitchell and Leslie Feist are being thrown around (perhaps too carelessly). For
an upstart, the associations are flattering, but also a little uncomfortable.
"Everybody wants to be known for who they are," Bulat says. "But
that's something that will come with time."
Bulat's in a bit of an odd place. There's a buzz about an album on a small
label (Hardwood Records) but with a major distributor (Universal Records). The
hype about a record made with modest intent - "something to share with
friends and sell at my shows" - was unexpected.
"It's strange now," says Bulat, more thoughtful than wide-eyed at the
commotion. "Nobody knows me when they hear my songs. They don't know my
story."
As for her work, she's fascinated about a transformation. "It's not just
my photo album any more," she says, referring to fans who hear the record,
as well as the people who recorded it with her. "Now it's anybody's photo
album, and they'll put any pictures they want in it."
After the interview, Bulat is spotted walking by the window of a record store
where she'll play a few songs later. "Look," she says to her
publicist, "there's my poster." With that, she walks into the store,
where nobody recognizes her. Not without that hat, anyway.
Basia Bulat, opening for Final Fantasy, plays Winnipeg today; Regina
tomorrow; Edmonton Wednesday; Calgary Thursday; Vancouver Oct. 20; and Victoria
Oct. 21. She headlines in Canmore, Alta., Oct. 25 and Saskatoon Oct. 26.
Ian Rankin Teams With Margaret Atwood For PEN Canada Fundraiser
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com - James Adams
(October 15, 2007) There are 5,400 kilometres and one big ocean
between Toronto and Edinburgh. But thanks to the miracle of fibre-optic cable, Ian Rankin's burp comes through not so
loud, but very clear, over the telephone line from Scotland.
It's early on a Friday evening in the Scottish capital and Britain's most
popular mystery writer is taking a brief break from two of his favourite things
– drinking beer and playing music (in this case, an import CD by Canadian band
Patrick Watson: “It's excellent!”) – to speak with a Canadian interviewer.
Rankin's a well-off bloke – his reported net income in 2005 was more than
$2-million – and has been for quite some time. He lives with his wife and two
sons in a mansion in Edinburgh where, were it a Japanese city, he'd have the
stature of a “living national treasure.” (J.K. Rowling is a neighbour.) Indeed,
earlier this year an Edinburgh brewery produced a limited-edition ale, 5,000
bottles, in Rankin's honour, and included a “secret” ingredient. “Since it was
a crime beer, I wanted the ingredient to be blood,” he says, chuckling. “But
there were health and safety issues apparently, so we settled on a pinch of
ginger.”
Yet for all the fame, acclaim and wealth, Rankin, 47, admits, “I still spend
money on exactly the same things I spent money on when I was 19. I spend no
money on clothing, no money on male beauty products. I spend a lot of money on
CDs and a lot of money on beer.”
Rankin is currently replenishing his beer budget. He recently released Exit Music, the 18th and ostensibly last novel in his immensely popular series
about the adventures (and prodigious alcohol consumption) of Edinburgh Police
Detective Inspector John Rebus. Already a bestseller in Britain, Exit Music
has just been released here, to ecstatic critical notices. On Wednesday, its
author pays a brief visit to Toronto where he and Margaret Atwood (Together!
On-stage for the first time! One night only!) are the stars of a benefit on
behalf of PEN Canada as part of the 28th-annual International Festival of
Authors.
Rankin says he's “hurriedly rereading some of [Atwood's] books … so I come into
battle fully armoured.”
But he needn't worry: Atwood's a fan of both Rebus and Rebus's creator. “He is
a good guy and does good works, the PEN evening being just one of them,” Canada's
most famous writer said recently.
She's been to Edinburgh several times and, in fact, lived there for a year in
the late seventies, so she's acutely conscious of the way “Rankin combs through
the city” in the Rebus novels. “I also love the way Ian weaves ye olde bits o'
lore into the mysteries, as well as his foregrounding of current Scottish
political scandals and issues and types of corruption.” To her mind, the Rebus
novels “are as unabashedly Scottish in their treatment of manners and mores and
language as Maigret is unabashedly French – and Agatha Christie is unabashedly
English … and Dashiell Hammett is 1920s and early '30s American.”
Atwood noted that Exit Music ties in nicely with the mandate of PEN,
which is to protect the right of free expression and defend suppressed writers
worldwide. The novel, set in late November, 2006, contains one attempted murder
and two successful ones, including that of dissident Russian poet Alexander
Todorov who's visiting Edinburgh as a guest of PEN and the local university.
Just before he's killed and his body dumped on a deserted, rain-soaked street,
Todorov gives a reading at the Scottish Poetry Library – “a real place,” Atwood
remarked.
The Rebus series – or at least the series readers have known since its 1987
debut – is coming to what Rankin calls “an enforced retirement” because right
from the beginning he conceived John Rebus as a character who would live in
real time. In the first novel, Knots and Crosses, Rebus is 40 and,
according to Scottish law, a police detective has to retire at 60. Once Rankin
started doing the math two or three years ago, he realized he'd have to bid
Rebus adieu in 2007.
Rankin claims he has “no plans to write another book with Rebus as the main
character.” Indeed, for the next 18 months, he'll be consumed with writing the
libretto for an opera, working up a graphic novel for DC Comics and expanding a
novella into a full-fledged heist book. But afterward? He laughs. “I think
Rebus might go to a human-rights lawyer and plead for raising the retirement
age to 70, or maybe to Strasbourg to appear before the European Court of Human
Rights.” (Amusingly, a member of the Scottish Parliament recently suggested
that the retirement age should be raised, if only to permit Rebus's return to active
duty!)
More seriously, Rankin is thinking of writing a novel, the first in a series
perhaps, featuring Rebus's younger female associate, Siobhan Clarke. If so,
“the retired Rebus could be a secondary character.” At the same time, Rankin
admits to “having a hesitation” about centring a book on Clarke: “As a rule,
men don't write well about women in crime fiction,” he asserts, whereas “I can
name any number of women crime writers who have men as their main characters
and do it well.”
Rankin includes himself as one of the failures in probing the female psyche –
but he believes he's getting better at it. “Through sheer force of personality,
Siobhan's gotten under my skin and now she's in a position where I could give
her her own platform.
“Of course, it could be shit. But at least I feel confident enough to try it
after all these years.”
Ian Rankin and Margaret Atwood appear onstage Wednesday at Toronto's
Premiere Dance Theatre. The event is sold out. Rankin will also be doing a
signing at Toronto's Indigo Books on Bloor Street at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Meet Miko: She Wants To Make Her 'Mark' In Country
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
-
(October 16, 2007) *On August 13th a black woman named
Miko
Marks sang the National Anthem as part of the pre-game festivities
for a preseason show down between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver
Broncos. While the game itself may not have counted for much, the
opportunity to perform on national television certainly meant a lot to country
music singer Miko Marks.
Marks is attempting to do something that has never been done before. She
is trying to become the first commercially successful female African American
country singer. Have you heard of her? It's likely that you have
not unless you happened upon her at a small country music venue or while she
was out on tour with the Bill Picket Rodeo. Our Lee Bailey had the chance
to sit down with Marks and the first thing on his mind was "Why country
music?"
"At first, I would say I don't know," admitted Marks.
"But the thing about it is I started writing my own songs and when I would
show them to people they would say 'Oh, well that sounds country' or 'that
sounds folk-country' or 'soul country.' Country was always in the midst
of people's comments and I said: 'Oh, well why not do something that's
naturally coming out of me instead of forcing myself into a genre that may not
be a comfortable fit?"
Fitting in is something that is essential for commercial success in the
entertainment industry. Often times if a record exec cannot place an artist
into a promotional 'box' that artist is likely to fail, but Marks isn't
concerned about that. She knew what she wanted to be a long time ago.
"I attended Grambling State University in the early 90s and I
started listening to a lot of the back woods radio stations and I found myself
drawn to the storytelling of the music. So I thought I had some stories
of my own that I would like to share and maybe I should start writing my own
songs. I picked up the guitar and taught myself to play and country came
out of that whole working process."
Get more Miko here.
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Ursh And Tameka Tell All To Essence
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(October 16, 2007) *Usher
and his bride Tameka Foster grace the
new November cover of Essence magazine and speak candidly about the
roller-coaster ride that carried them toward the altar and, soon, parenthood.
"Ours is not a typical love story, but it is a true one," Usher tells
writer Joan Morgan. "Tameka and I have been fortunate enough to go through
the thick of it in the beginning. We've had that opportunity to huddle up as a
team, to make sure that we're clear and speak as one voice."
Usher and Tameka, who are expecting a baby boy in the coming months, say they
were stunned that the announcement was met with such negative press.
"It was like, wow," says Usher, who just celebrated his 29th birthday
Sunday. "[Getting married] and having a child is something that everyone
should celebrate. What's happened to us as a culture and a people?"
Foster, 37, said she was even hated on by folks closer to home.
"Thank God I didn't listen to my girlfriends," she says. "Usher
was my road dawg. I'd seen him love, and I'd watched him date women who were
not worthy of him. He was so sweet, going out of his way to cater to their
every need. And I'd see them not even be grateful."
She adds that their love is based on complete openness – something she hasn't
experienced in her romantic life before.
"I feel totally uninhibited with Usher," Foster says. "I've
never been in a situation with anyone, even as far back as high school, where
there were no secrets. I know I can tell him anything and he's not going to
judge me. I can finally share my dreams. And because of that, I know that man
loves me."
Read more excerpts from the article here.
Eric Clapton - Tales From A Great Survivor
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com
- Larry Mcshane, Associated Press
(October 16, 2007) NEW YORK — Clapton is Good.
The second "o" is critical. In the 1960s, when London graffiti
proclaimed "Clapton is God," the brilliant British guitarist was
descending into a personal hell. Eric
Clapton traded a heroin addiction for
alcoholism, suffered disastrous love affairs, contemplated suicide while armed
with a bottle of vodka, a gram of blow and a shotgun.
The guitar deity has long since surrendered to a higher power: At 62, Clapton
has 20 years of sobriety, a happy marriage and three young daughters. It's a
good time to consider an extraordinary life, as the rock Hall of Famer does
with Clapton: The Autobiography.
Unlike many rock-star efforts, this one includes no Zeppelin-esque tales of
debauched groupies or ghostwritten revisions of musical and personal history.
Clapton delivers a brutally honest and unsparing look at his life, near-death
and recovery, interspersed with tales from an unparalleled music career.
Clapton, sipping a bottle of water in an office at National Public Radio in New
York before doing a radio show, said he deliberately shied away from the usual
type of celebrity memoir.
"I wouldn't even know where to begin, to do that," Clapton explains.
"I don't even know what that means, to be honest with you. Celebrity has
lost whatever meaning it did have. I really tried to find out for myself where
I'd been."
Initially, Clapton planned to sit down for a series of interviews about his
life, leaving a collaborator to handle the tweaking and organization. But a
perusal of the first manuscript led the guitarist to get more hands-on.
"I realized this was not what I wanted to do at all," Clapton says.
"So I rewrote that, and then I thought, 'I'll have to write this myself.'
" Clapton's six-string inspiration, Robert Johnson, sang of a single
hellhound on his trail; Clapton had a whole pack nipping at his heels until a
second trip through rehab changed his life in 1987. Johnson was dead by the age
of 27, and there was a time when Clapton was convinced that his life wouldn't
last much beyond that.
"I entertained that notion when I was young and I was trying to identify
with those guys," Clapton says of Johnson and other legendary bluesmen.
"That is kind of a built-in fantasy that goes along with addiction, a way
of justifying my need to get stoned: 'Well, that's what my heroes did.' "
Through it all, Clapton created an indelible musical legacy that spanned genres
while inspiring generations. The autobiography's chapter titles provide a road
map through his life's work: "The Yardbirds." "Cream."
"Blind Faith." "Derek and the Dominos."
Clapton, from his early days with the John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, quickly
assumed a position in the centre of the music universe. He hung out with the Beatles
and the Stones, jammed with Muddy Waters and Duane Allman, influenced Stevie
Ray Vaughan, Derek Trucks and untold thousands of other guitarists.
He confesses, without embarrassment, that he can't remember all of what
happened.
"My memory of the late sixties right through the early eighties is
severely hampered," Clapton says. "I wrote from what I could
remember, and I needed nudging, too."
Clapton's book is not totally devoid of tabloid-worthy material. He recounts
how Mick Jagger once stole his girlfriend - an Italian model - setting off
homicidal fantasies in the late 1980s.
"I went on a rampage, mentally," Clapton recalls. "I wanted to
kill him. I spent quite a long time plotting ways to undermine or just do away
with [him] - the kind of mad fantasies a drunk in recovery can have."
He also delves into his romance with Pattie Boyd, who wound up with Clapton
after her split with Beatle George Harrison. Their star-crossed affair made her
the muse for some of Clapton's most memorable songs, including Layla and
Wonderful Tonight, before the romance gave way to recriminations.
Clapton recalled a recent Sunday-morning trip to his local grocery store, where
Boyd's new memoir, Wonderful Tonight, was excerpted in the British
press. The page-one headline jumped out as he grabbed the paper: "ERIC
CLAPTON'S DRINKING KILLED MY MARRIAGE."
"The headline editor chose to castigate me quite strongly," Clapton
says with more than a touch of British understatement. "I'm in the local
shop, and I'm thinking, 'Are the neighbours watching me read?"' Clapton
greets his guest alone, without an entourage or stylists or publicists. He
wears glasses, and his hearing is failing. His hair is cut short, with a
bristle of beard rising from his face. In a T-shirt and jeans, Clapton is
unpretentious and open - reflective in one instant, laughing in the next.
In his writing, he referred to diaries that he'd kept during the eighties. The
musings, squirreled away in an attic for years, brought back painful memories.
Clapton recalled that most of his writing came with a pen in one hand and a
drink in the other.
"I was having delusions of grandeur," he says with a self-deprecating
laugh. "I thought I had something worth saying. That's what drink can do -
give a deluded view of my self-importance.
"So once I got fuelled up on my amount of alcohol for the day, it would
have been easy for me to devote of couple of hours writing down mad thoughts.
These days, I don't think I would give myself the time."
These days, his time is otherwise occupied. Besides family life, Clapton
remains involved with the Crossroads treatment centre that he founded nearly a
decade ago in Antigua -- a huge benefit concert was held this past summer. And
while he plans to cut back on live shows, Clapton has no plans for retirement.
"I can't stop touring, and I won't," he says emphatically. "I
believe I have a responsibility to play for people."
Over the decades, Clapton has seen an assortment of friends and colleagues die,
from Jimi Hendrix to George Harrison, from Duane Allman to Bob Marley, from
Stevie Ray Vaughan to Muddy Waters. Asked how he managed to survive, Clapton
has a ready answer.
"I've always assumed it was really because I hadn't gotten my act
together," he replies, laughing loudly. "Maybe I'd better not get it
too good, because then it will be time for me to check out.
"I'm glad it worked out that way. I still don't feel like I've got it
right. I'm still working on my sound."
What? Eric Clapton is still working on hitting the right notes?
"Yeah," he replies, his laugh filling the room. "Still trying to
get the right amp."
Neil Young: Chrome Dreams II
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Ben Rayner
NEIL YOUNG
Chrome Dreams II (Reprise/Warner) 
(October 16, 2007) Neil Young has clearly decided he's gonna go
out fighting till the end, and that is good news indeed.
He's arguably been more consistent for the past 15 or so years than the popular
record would have it, but there's been a definite refocusing of Young's
scatter-prone creative energies since the stately near-death ruminations of
2005's Prairie Wind, likely his best album since Ragged Glory or Harvest
Moon.
Not sure if it's On the Beach, exactly, but Chrome Dreams II does
have the easy, engaging flow of the finest Young albums. And even if it didn't,
it would still have a couple of the almost 62-year-old Young's prickliest
rockers in years to recommend it: The gritty, 18-minute tangle "Ordinary
People" and the fuzz-toned garage-band lark "Dirty Old Man,"
which might be the best, balls-out-stupid Neil Young rocker since "F-----'
Up," and grooves with a reckless punch few musicians 30 years his junior
can muster these days.
Luckily, these tunes come shored up by a couple of other meaty if slightly less
memorable proto-grunge jaunts of the Crazy Horse variety, "Spirit
Road" and the 14-minute "No Hidden Path." Quieter moments find
Young in good form as lonely lover ("Beautiful Bluebird"),
gospel-blues balladeer ("Shining Light"), children's choirmaster
("The Way") and philosopher ("Boxcar"), the latter's
"que sera sera" musings on the nature of human existence rendered
slightly ambiguous by a backdrop of eerie, low harmonies.
A career-spanning band that features Ralph Molina (Crazy Horse), Ben Keith (the
Stray Gators) and Rick Rosas (the Bluenotes) assumes the appropriate slouch
throughout, and Young's lyrics, often preoccupied here with the interconnectedness
of human lives, have become alternately sharper and sweeter over the past few
years. Not the dawning of a new era by any means, but a solid compendium of
everything Neil Young does well.
Top track: "Dirty Old Man." Raine Maida could never pull this
off. Hilarious.
The Boss Gets Political
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Greg Quill, Entertainment Columnist
(October 16, 2007) Bruce Springsteen and the E
Street Band
stormed through Toronto last night, jamming the Air Canada Centre with raw and
powerful rock `n' roll energy – par for the course – and a sense of urgency we
haven't seen from the Boss since the heady days of his first conquests.
Though the trappings were vintage – the totemic, sing-along rock ballads
evoking a noble American working class under siege, the swept-back hair and
steel-eyed grimace, the crunchy mass guitar orchestra (Springsteen, Nils
Lofgren, Steve Van Zandt on an assortment of rare electrics, and Springsteen's
wife, Patti Scialfa, on a Gibson acoustic Jumbo), the meticulous drum patterns
of Max Weinberg and the soaring sax of Clarence Clemons – the mission was
distinctively political in design and deadly serious in execution.
That's not to say he served up less than was expected. Springsteen clearly gets
a kick out of exciting a big crowd and fronting a killer band. And at 58, he
still packs a solid musical punch. His guitar solos last night were lucid and
edgy, his vocal pitch spot on, his voice still commanding, his energy
unrestrained.
But the infectious joy that used to enliven his performances with the E Street
Band – the exultation they all found in exercising their collective muscle as
they evoked an epic American soundscape – seemed reserved last night for the
more pressing purpose of providing a sharp focus on the message in the material
contained in their new CD, Magic.
Like the dissembling showman to whom he alluded in the song's introduction –
"This song's not about magic," he said, "it's about tricks"
– Springsteen is using his clout as a proven and beloved arena rock star to
reach an audience that has, till lately, shown little interest in songs with a
political message. The show, which opened with a monstrous carnival calliope
rising upstage and Springsteen's voice in the darkness hollering "Is there
anybody alive out there," a line from the first song, "Radio
Nowhere," really came alive for him when the new material –
"Magic", "Last To Die," "Long Walk Home",
"Livin' In the Future," "Gypsy Biker," "The Devil's
Arcade" – bubbled up from the cauldron of past hits and glorious
favourites.
These new songs, imbued with fearful imagery of an America lost to marauding
warlords, larcenous carpetbaggers and political psychopaths, are among the most
potent and portentous of his long and fruitful songwriting career. The loathing
and hopelessness they contain seemed all the more bleak last night, juxtaposed
with such enduring crowd-pleasers as "The Promised Land," "The
Rising" and "Badlands," which kept the crowd on its feet for
most of the almost three-hour show.
Whether the message reached them is hard to assess. Many in the audience
already knew most of the lyrics and sang along. And with a couple of
exceptions, the new songs – all of them given specially dramatic lighting
effects and video treatments on the large screens that hung on each side of the
stage – prompted a mass sit-down, perhaps denoting a form of worship or
meditation.
"It's so beautiful being in Canada," Springsteen, shouted during the
introduction to "Livin' In The Future," a song "about what's
happening in America now – rendition, illegal wiretapping, the abuse of civil
rights and . . . if we sing about it, maybe they'll hear us on the other side
of the border."
We can only hope.
Yolanda Adams Update
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
- By Kenya Yarbrough
(October 17, 2007) *Yolanda Adams, one of the biggest names in
gospel music is giving everyone else credit, in a matter of speaking. The
Grammy-winning singer has become the face for a new kind of money card, the
Columbia Card Systems International's Visa mobile debit card.
Adams will appear in the TV, radio, and print campaign for the
custom-branded debit cards, kicking off this month, and she'll be branding her
own debit card, too.
Though a singer by trade, Adams proclaims herself a businesswoman
also, and recently told EUR's Lee Bailey that this opportunity is as much a
good idea for her as the card is a good idea for consumers, naming the card's
safety and convenience as a selling point for the new debit card alternative.
"Because I travel so much, I know the detriment of leaving
your card somewhere or having a receipt that has your number on it," Adams
said leading up to the card's safety features. "This card will protect you
every time you use it or every time you disengage it. No one, including
yourself, can use the card until you activate it again. It's a safety
mechanism. And this is a great way to teach young people to save money and be
financially sound."
Adams also explained that in addition to the card's fraud
prevention, it can also be used to raise funds for organizations, charities,
and churches.
"In order for me to put my name with a brand, it has to do
what I believe, and I believe that [this card] is safe; I believe that it's
user friendly; and I believe that it's family oriented. And when people see me,
the first thing they think about is truth - because that's what I do. I speak
and I sing truth. So they want to know, 'How truthful is this? How can this
enhance my life? How can this make my life more convenient? And that's my job:
to go into the cities, to go into the churches, and visit different
organizations and let them know about the convenience, the safety, and the ease
at which you can actually use this particular card."
With the CCSI campaign launching, Adams is also gearing up her
clothing line, Yolanda's Clozet. The femme fashion is designed for
"long" women. A tall beauty herself, Adams wanted to provide a
fashionable clothing option for tall women and those with long limbs.
"We are in the process of choosing a manufacturer right now,
and we will definitely be available on the Internet by the spring of
2008," she said.
"We can finally say, 'Here's a product especially for longer
consumers.' I know how difficult it can be to find dresses, blouses, skirts and
things that are long enough - that are fashionable," she added.
Also on Adam's to-do list are a few upcoming CDs. The singer just
finished a Christmas album, the first on her new label Columbia Records, due in
stores October 17. Then she is preparing to head to the studio at the first of
the year to begin work on her next album.
"I have a new (record) home and I'm very excited about that,
and I'm very excited about this Christmas album," she said. "It's
called 'What a Wonderful Time.' I got a chance to work with Michael Powell, and
of course Gordon Chambers and a lot of my friends who I think are absolutely
wonderful."
As if these projects weren't enough, Adams is also holding it down
on the airwaves as the host of a syndicated morning show via Radio One and the
Yolanda Adams Radio Network.
"The great thing with inspirational radio is that you get a
chance to touch people at a place that other folks don't get to," Adams
said. "And I get a chance to perform on the weekends, so I get the best of
both worlds."
Still, with all this keeping her busy, the singer says that the
most important job is to be a good mom to her six-year-old daughter Taylor -
for which she's doing all this good work.
"I want to be there for the scrapes and to hug her and
congratulate her on straight A's and things like that because that's what's
important," she said of maintaining quality time with her young daughter
and joked, "I'm a businesswoman and all business that's going to increase
Taylor's trust fund, I want to hear about it."
Keep checking www.yolandaadams.org for
the latest on Adams and all of her upcoming projects.
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MUSIC TIDBITS
Rakim, Ghostface, Ali Team For 'Live!' Tour
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(October 12, 2007) *Rakim, Ghostface Killah and Brother Ali will
rock the mic on the first ever Hip-Hop Live! Tour, a 19-city jaunt that will
feature the emcees backed by the live band, Rhythm Roots Allstars. "I did
a show with the band and it was a good mesh. I enjoyed it, the fans enjoyed it.
So they hollered at me for this year's show," Rakim tells Billboard.com.
The tour launches Oct. 29 in Los Angeles and is scheduled to wrap Nov. 21 in
Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Rakim is due to drop a new album, "the
Seventh Seal" via his own G&E Trust label, but the O.G. rapper has yet
to announce a release date. "The number 7 has a lot of significance. The
7th letter of the alphabet is G -- that stands for God. There are 7 continents,
7 seas. The 'Seventh Seal' deals with that and also some revelations in the
Bible," explains Rakim of the album title. "Some call it the end of
the world but for me it's the end of the old and the beginning of the new. By
me naming my album that, I'm using it metaphorically in hip-hop. I'm hoping to
kill the old state of hip-hop and start with the new."
Common Finds New 'Ground' For The People
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(October 11, 2007) *Rapper Common,
born Lonnie Rashid Lynn in
Chicago, has announced the launch of The Common Ground Foundation, Inc., an
effort dedicated to the empowerment and development of urban youth through
education. "I always believed that if we started with the youth then we
would be planting the seeds for our future to blossom," says the socially
conscious emcee, who stars opposite Denzel Washington in the upcoming film,
"American Gangster." Additionally, The Common Ground
Foundation supports and focuses on AIDS/HIV prevention programs targeted
towards youth and young adults, reaching beyond our national borders to serve
communities throughout Africa. Common also recently wrapped filming on
"Wanted" with co-stars Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, and David
Ayer's "The Night Watchman" starring Keanu Reeves and Forest
Whitaker.
Jenny Craig Joins Latifah Tour
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(October 11, 2007) *Weight loss company Jenny Craig has signed
on to co-sponsor Queen Latifah's Trav'lin Light Tour. Both parties will
use the sponsorship to increase awareness about the health risks associated
with obesity and to promote Jenny Craig's "Healthy Curves are Beautiful
Curves" campaign. "Queen Latifah is a tremendous performer with broad
appeal that spans genders and races," says Jenny Craig's CEO, Patti
Larchet. She's also a powerful role model for women's self-reliance and
self-esteem. We are proud to help bring her talent to America." Latifah is
not currently participating in the Jenny Craig Weight Loss Program, but
"she believes it is one of a range of ways people can reduce their weight
and thereby enhance their health," the company said in a statement.
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Ky-Mani Marley Radio Tops Charts
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
(October 11, 2007) *The volume on Ky-Mani Marley’s latest album
Radio has been pumped up. The disc which was released on September 25, has
debuted in the number one spot on Billboard’s Reggae album chart. Radio which
is the third album for Marley (his previous releases were The Journey and Many
More Roads), given the artiste his third appearance on the Billboard reggae
chart. Marley’s Billboard chart statistics date back to the year 1999 when The
Journey peaked at number seven on the reggae album chart. Many More Roads
stalled at number seven in 2001. The set picked up a nomination for Best Reggae
Album at the Grammy Awards the following year. And in related news, Marley’s
reality show Living the Life of a Marley will premiere on BETJ on October 26.
Edmonds Looks Back
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com -
Ashante Infantry
Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds
Playlist (Mercury/Island Def Jam)
