20
Carlton Street, Suite 1032, Toronto, ON
M5B 2H5
(416)
677-5883
langfieldent@rogers.com
www.langfieldentertainment.com
September 20, 2007
The beginning of Fall is just around the corner - can you believe
it?
Get right into it and chomp down on all the news this week including, lest we
forget, the Chaka Khan new release at the end of the month.
Look for a Morley recap and pictures next week! What a
great show!!
::SONY/BMG SCOOP::
Chaka Khan To Release First New Studio Project In 10 Years
Source: Sony/BMG Music Canada
Celebrating over three decades of milestones, Chaka Khan will release her
first new studio album in over 10 years. Khan’s music and celebrity have
influenced generations of fans and contemporary recording artists setting
standards across every music genre: Pop, Rhythm & Blues, Rock, Disco, Soul,
Jazz, Hip Hop and even Classical. Chaka Khan is a musical Icon.
FUNK THIS produced by the Grammy Award winners Jimmy Jam & Terry
Lewis embodies the funky soul of her musical roots with Rufus and her signature
passionately-honest vocal styles that make Chaka Khan timeless. “The
album may remind people of my early Rufus albums because I’m in a similar ‘soul
space.’ I’ve been on a little journey in the last few years, finding
Yvette again.” (Referring to her birth name) “I went through a period of being
insecure. I’m walking a different path now. I’ve changed.
This album is different from any other album I’ve recorded because it reflects
what I’m about, who I am now. The album is called, ‘Funk This!’ because
it’s funky!” The thoughtful work ranges from original copyrights,
collaborations with superstar artists, to adding her signature stamp on
important contemporary classics.
The collection includes fresh renditions of Prince’s “Sign ‘O’ the Times”; a
duet
with Michael McDonald on “You Belong To Me,” a song he co-wrote with Carly
Simon, Joni Mitchell’s “Ladies Man,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Castle Made Of Sand,” the
soul classic “Foolish Fool” and Rufus medley of “Pack’d My Bags,” and
“You Got The Love.” FUNK THIS original’s include “Disrespectful,”
the tour-de-force duet with powerhouse Mary J. Blige, a poignant poetic ballad,
“Angel,” the acoustic “One For All Time” penned by Chaka and Terry Lewis, the
deeply beautiful and soulful “Will You Love Me?” and self affirming “Superlife”
among others. Eight-time Grammy Award winner singer, songwriter and
community advocate – Chaka Khan has been active in lending her support to the
community for many years. The Chaka Khan Foundation, founded in
1999, raised over $1.4 million through its funding raising efforts last year
alone. The Foundation assists women and children at risk and
benefits Autism research, awareness and therapy. For more
information, please go to www.chakakhanfoundation.org.
Track List:
1) Back In The Day
2) Foolish Fool
3) One For All Time
4) Angel
5) Will You Love Me?
6) Castles Made Of Sand
7) Disrespectful (Featuring Mary J. Blige)
8) Sign ‘O’ The Times
9) Pack’d My Bags/You Got The Love (Featuring Tony Maiden)
10) Ladies Man
11) You Belong To Me (Featuring Michael McDonald)
12) Hail To The Wrong
13) Superlife
www.chakakhan.com
www.burgundyrecords.com
www.sonybmg.ca
::TOP STORIES::
Promising Signs For Jacksoul's Neale
Source: Rebecca Penty, National Post
(Sept. 13, 2007) Haydain Neale,
frontman for the soul ensemble
jacksoul, remains in a coma six weeks after he was badly injured in a
Scarborough car accident, but has begun to respond to therapy, his mother says.
“He moved his eyes and he moved his fingers on Monday,” Geneva Neale, said
yesterday. “It is a blessing to me to come from Hamilton and see this,” Mrs.
Neale said, adding that Mr. Neale cannot talk, eat, or move his limbs. Mr.
Neale, 36, was critically injured Aug. 3 at 9:53 p.m. when a car turned into
the path of his Vespa while he was travelling southbound on Kennedy Road at
Foxbridge Drive. Twenty-year-old Kyle Samuel of Toronto has been charged with
making an unsafe turn, and is scheduled to appear at Old City Hall court on
Oct. 25. Mrs. Neale is scheduled to visit Mr. Neale Mondays and Fridays
but as his mother, she said she visits when she needs to. “If I feel I need to
be there, I am there,” she said. “I am a very spiritual person and we
have to make spiritual connections.”
The 67-year-old Trinidad native emigrated to Hamilton in the 1960s and said she
raised Mr. Neale and his three sisters in Hamilton alone after Mr. Neale’s
father left when he was five years old. The first few months as a single mother
were hard, Mrs. Neale said, until a woman and her husband in Grimsby, where
Mrs. Neale lived at the time, dragged her “kicking and screaming” to the
welfare office. Days later, Mrs. Neale moved the family to Hamilton and they
lived in social housing until Mrs. Neale bought a home when Haydain was 18
years old. Mr. Neale always expressed his affinity for music and the arts, even
while studying biology at the University of Guelph, said Mrs. Neale, who was a
light opera singer in Burlington when Mr. Neale was in diapers and now performs
her poetry. “I was proud to see him singing away on stage with the Robbie Burns
Society,” she said of Mr. Neale’s musical involvement in university. “He was
singing away in a kilt! I told him not to lift his leg,” she said, laughing.
Mr. Neale has enjoyed great success with his band jacksoul, since they formed
in the 1990s. In the spring, he was presented with his second Juno Award for
best R&B/soul recording of the year for the album mySOUL, a compilation of
cover songs. The first Juno came in 2001 for the album Sleepless. On jacksoul’s
My Space page, Mr. Neale wrote that among other things, he enjoys “changing the
world one song at a time.” Mrs. Neale said she has faith her son will recover.
“He’s responding to the therapy − they’re doing a great job,” she said.
“Even the worst part of it, I am hopeful because of ‘I am.’ ‘I am,’ is the prayer
Jesus prayed,” she said. “I never expected him to leave us.”
Gregory Kieth - The Noah’s Arc Interview with Kam Williams
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
- by Kam Williams
(Sept. 13, 2007) Born on in Detroit on Sept 28, 1976, Gregory Kieth
caught the acting bug as a child while entertaining at family gatherings, doing
impersonations and storytelling. At the age of five, his family moved to
California, where his interest in athletics and modeling eventually took a
backseat to his true desire, acting. Parents never forget their
children’s first word. Well, when Greg began to speak, his folks say he didn’t
have just one word to say, but a whole rap song and beat, snapping his fingers
and the whole nine yards. And while he grew up in the ‘hood where fun and games
were nonexistent, he didn’t let his dire circumstances destroy his creative
impulse. Instead, he used his environment as a source of
inspiration. As long as he can remember, music has been second nature with
Greg. He began composing songs at 11, however, his first priority was still
sports at that point. Realizing where his heart was, he gave up playing ball
and headed to Hollywood. Not long after, Greg was recording his first demo
album and testing his material at the local hot spots. After overwhelmingly
positive feedback, he became even more ambitious to begin on his next
album. Eventually, he found his niche as an actor, landing
bit parts in various television series, including Suddenly Susan and The Jamie
Foxx Show. Although his heart is in performing, he also works in music
production and dabbles in screenwriting. Plus, he strives to maintain a healthy
mind and body through a strict workout regimen while living life to its
fullest.
You can hear Gregory’s music on many movie soundtracks as well as
television shows, including Noah’s Arc, a gay-themed, African-American-oriented
TV series, where he is a member of the ensemble in the role of Trey, a gay
doctor. He’s currently working on Johnny 99, an action film in which
heaven and hell are at war on Earth; and he’s recently entered talks with Tommy
Boy Records about a recording contract. Here, he talks about his career,
including his work on Noah’s Arc.
KW: Thanks for the time, Greg.
GK: My pleasure.
KW: You were born in Detroit, but raised in L.A. Do you still have any
childhood memories of Motown?
GK: Too many to mention, but one that comes to mind is when my brother and I
were playing upstairs in our house when my dad would call us down to listen to
the latest jam on the radio.
KW: How old were you when you knew you wanted to be an entertainer?
GK: I was around five.
KW: Did you perform in many school productions?
GK: No, I was shy in my school but started to come around in junior high.
That’s when the talent shows and acting started to take root.
KW: Did you study acting and singing formally in school?
GK: Not really. singing and acting came kind of naturally. Singing was from my
heart, and acting was what you learned to do to stay out of trouble.
KW: Which do you prefer?
GK: Both the same.
KW: What was your first professional acting gig?
GK: A commercial for Gatorade.
KW: How did you land the role of Trey on Noah’s Arc?
GK: I actually auditioned for [Noah’s Arc producer] Patrick Polk for another
film and he thought I would be perfect for the role of Trey. We had lunch and
he talked to me about the script, the next thing I knew we were in Vancouver shooting
season 2.
KW: How would you describe your character?
GK: Compassionate, stern, and loving with a twist of nerd.
KW: Do they have anything interesting planned for your character this
season?
GK: From what I hear, Trey and Alex are making some major changes in there
lives.
KW: How do you get along with the other actors in the ensemble?
GK: (LOL) Probably the funniest bunch of guys I’ve been around in a long time.
KW: Do you see the show as having social significance beyond its entertainment
value?
GK: Definitely. I think the show has done so much in respect to the gay and
lesbian community, not to mention the gay African American male.
KW: Are you worried that playing a gay character on TV might leave you
typecast in the way that Jaleel White had a hard time shaking the nerd image
after playing Urkel?
GK: The show had meaning and the story was one that I thought was as
interesting as any I had seen on prime time television. So, not really. No.
KW: Do think that being a handsome, light-skinned brother with a buff body
is a blessing or a curse in Hollywood?
GK: A little bit of both. but you learn to gain and lose weight when you have
too.
KW: What type of regimen do you have to maintain to keep in that shape?
GK: Don’t remind me. (LOL) Six days a week for two hours at 7am .
KW: What do you do in your spare time?
GK: Write music and produce indy films with my brother and best friend.
KW: I listened to some samples from your CD (here), and enjoyed the tunes I heard,
especially Don’t Play. How would characterize your singing style?
GK: Schizophrenic.
KW: Who are your musical influences?
GK: Prince, The Temptations, Ray Charles.
KW: What sort of roles are you looking for?
GK: Anything that makes me think, and/or something that pushes me to expand my
craft.
KW: What actors and actresses would you like to work with?
GK: Chris Walken, Robert De Niro, Stallone, Don Cheadle.
KW: Directors?
GK: Ridley Scott, Spike Lee.
KW: What area of Los Angeles were you raised in as a child?
GK: I guess most parts. We moved every year so.
KW: Where in the city do you live now?
GK: Outside of L.A., actually.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your
footsteps?
GK: Smile, when you think things just can’t get any worse.
KW: Thanks for the time Gregory, and best of luck.
GK: Thanks for having me.
Jawn Murray Writes And Open Letter To Beyonce Knowles
By Jawn Murray, AOL Black Voices Columnist
(Sept. 17, 2007) See what he has to say to the pop superstar.
Dear Beyonce,
Let me first commend you on your newest philanthropic endeavour,
The Knowles-Rowland Temenos Apartments to help those needing assistance after
natural and personal disasters. I'm sure the 43-unit; single-room occupancy
housing for men and women will be a blessing to those in the Houston area.
I'm actually writing this letter out of genuine concern and I hope you receive
it in the spirit that it is intended. At 26-years-old, you have accomplished
things that your peers could only dream of. Both as a member of Destiny's
Child and as a solo star, you have won Grammys and sold millions of
records. Your strong brand has helped you to transition into Hollywood
('Dreamgirls,' 'The Pink Panther,' 'Austin Powers in Goldmember'), sell
fragrances and beauty brands (Tommy Hilfiger, Emporio Armani, L'Oreal), appear
in commercial campaigns (Pepsi, McDonalds) as well as launch your a clothing
line with your mom, Tina Knowles (House of Dereon). Those are all
significant feats!
But I recently became concerned when I heard that you intend to go back into
the studio come November and plan to release a new album next summer. That's
really disturbing to me. If you take the time look those artists and musicians
who are master's of their craft, you will see that most of them take a few years
off between projects to (1) rejuvenate and find inspiration for their next
endeavour and (2) not over-saturate the marketplace. You are without a doubt
teetering on the brink of over-saturation and I wanted to 'Ring the Alarm'
before you become an industry 'Bug-A-Boo!'
As an entertainment professional who respects your hustle, I tip my hat to your
gifts and salute your accomplishments. I know its not just 'Me, Myself and I'
who feels that if I see you on another magazine cover or hear you give another
blah acceptance speech at an award show anytime soon, I'll 'Lose My Breath' and
be full of 'Resentment.' I can use Mariah
Carey as example of an artist who waited too long to take a break and
nearly ruined her career. Better is Alicia
Keys, who brilliantly takes at least three years off in between CD
releases and typically reinvents herself every time. It's clear that every
great artist needs down time for longevity. (See also: Madonna,
Tina
Turner, Maxwell,
Dr.
Dre, Diana Ross, Outkast,
Sade,
etc.) I believe that an extended vacation is necessary for an artist, just even
if to 'Upgrade U!'
In addition to giving the industry and the all-important consumer a break, I
genuinely believe you did a disservice to your Destiny's Child group member Kelly
Rowland, by re-releasing that deluxe edition of 'B'Day' just months
before she was set to unveil her sophomore solo effort. How could anyone really
expect her to get her career 'Jumpin Jumpin' with you still monopolizing the
marketplace?
I know you are an 'Independent Woman' who may not want to take direction from
this man you've only met in passing, but I really hope that you will take a
couple of years off and consider not releasing your next CD until at least the
fall of 2009 (and that's still pushing it). Make no mistake: I recognize that
you're the premiere vocalist of this generation and a spectacular international
brand. But I think the consumers are going to begin telling you, 'No, No, No,'
and ultimately leave you 'Speechless' if you don't retreat for a while!
[See my related opinion HERE.]
Znaimer Ready To Reinvent Classical Radio
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - John
Terauds, Classical Music Critic
(September 18, 2007) You would be hard-pressed to get 24 of
Canada's top performers into the same room in one day. But Moses Znaimer has a way of making the
impossible happen. The arbiter of televised hip – as owner of Citytv, he
reinvented local news and brought the music video to Canada in the 1980s –
turned 65 this year. Now, as a senior citizen, Znaimer may have set himself his
most difficult goal ever. He is storming the barricades of traditional FM radio
to drag classical music kicking and screaming into the 21st century. From 5
a.m. to an hour past midnight tonight, Znaimer hosts a private party to launch
the New Classical 96.3 FM. There will be champagne and snacks. There are also
live performances every hour. The day's highlights include visits by violinists
Angèle Dubeau and Lara St. John, pianist Anton Kuerti and singers Ben Heppner,
Measha Brueggergosman, Russell Braun and Michael Schade and Sondra Radvanovsky.
During the course of the festivities, Znaimer will announce his plans for
Classical 96.3, which he bought in August 2006. The station – whose call letters
were recently changed from CFMX to CFMZ to match Znaimer's initials – has had a
stable listenership for the last five years. With an audience share of 4.6 per
cent this spring, CFMZ squeaked into the top third of the 23 Toronto stations
surveyed by the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement every quarter. This trumps
perennial ratings laggard CBC Radio Two. Despite numerous changes to its mainly
classical programming over the last year, the station sits at a dismal 1.8 per
cent share of Toronto listeners.
Despite today's hoopla, many of Znaimer's changes are cosmetic – a new logo and
a fun ad campaign. There have also been improvements on the air. Like its
commercial competition, Classical 96.3 now has a morning show, dubbed Good
Day GTA, running from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. It is hosted by Mike Duncan and
Jean Stilwell, a working mezzo-soprano. You don't hear much wisecracking
morning-show banter with this duo, but you do get live vocals. At 9:20 a.m.,
Stilwell and pianist Patti Loach perform "Taylor the Latte Boy," from
their cabaret collaboration, Carmen Unzipped. "Moses will be our
muse, standing there in his tux," says Loach. She adds, with a laugh,
"Maybe we'll be able to convince him to hold a green barista
towel." The drive-home show is Alexa's Oasis, presided over
by Alexa Petrenko, the station's most engaging – and engaged – voice.
Petrenko can be seen regularly at performances around the city and she is on
the air every day with a playlist that goes deeper than the station's typically
light fare. On Sunday evenings, she now also hosts an opera show. In a recent
conversation, Petrenko indicated she was happy with the latitude Znaimer is
giving her in developing her programs. The station's main transmitter is in
Cobourg, where the original CFMX has been renamed the New Classical 103.1. The
programming is shared with its Toronto sister.
When he bought Canada's only privately owned English-language classical station
from Trumar Communications last year for $12 million, Znaimer told the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission that he had three main
goals: Attract younger audiences, sell more advertising aimed at mature
listeners and acquire new licences. The current changes target baby boomers in
particular. Znaimer and his sister Libby, who can be heard on-air, are calling
this audience "Zoomers – boomers with zip," says Classical 96.3
spokesperson Catherine King. In a related move, Znaimer's MZ Media bought www.50Plus.com, "the
Internet portal for Boomers, 50+ and retired people," in late August. You
can bet that Znaimer will cross-pollinate as much content as possible. If this
sounds too sedate for the former bad boy of Canadian television, rest assured
that there is more news to come. Last December, Znaimer quietly received CRTC
approval for a specialty TV channel that would broadcast a wide range of
documentary and live-performance programming, as well as classical-music
videos. Znaimer should call the new creation MuchMore Classical Music.
Kam Williams Interviews Columbus Short: Discovering Columbus
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com – by Kam
Williams
(September 19, 2007) *Born in Kansas City, Missouri on
September 19, 1982, Columbus Keith Short, Jr. started entertaining at the age of three by putting on shows for
his folks’ enjoyment. Whether impersonating relatives, dancing or just
making people laugh, everyone sensed something special about the boy.
Fortunately, his family later relocated to Los Angeles where, by his
early teens, Columbus had landed work in such television commercial campaigns
as Mountain Dew, Denny’s Restaurant, NIKE and Pizza Hut, to name a few.
As a senior in high school, he was offered an opportunity to graduate two
months early in order to see the world with the traveling production of the
Broadway show STOMP! And after a couple of years on the road with that
famed dance troop, he would parlay his professional success into a stint as the
choreographer of Britney Spears’ In the Zone tour. However, when rumours of his
conducting a clandestine affair with the pop icon surfaced, the tabloids were
quick to make much of the illicit liaison. For, by then, Columbus was not only
married but his wife was expecting. This didn’t sit well with Britney’s mother
who didn’t like her daughter being labelled a home-wrecker. So, mom dealt with
the case of Jungle Fever by firing him and finding another dancer. Though a
very versatile Renaissance Man who is also a writer, musician and director,
Columbus came off the road to pursue his primary passion, namely, acting. His
motion picture credits include You Got Served, War of the Worlds and, Save the
Last Dance 2. In addition, he has guest-starred on TV shows like “ER,” “Judging
Amy,” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”
But his big break arrived earlier this year when he played the lead role of
“DJ” in Stomp the Yard which was #1 at the box office two weeks in a row and
grossed over 73.4 million dollars. Now one of the most sought emerging talents
in Hollywood, Columbus can next be seen in a lead role alongside Lauren London
and Mekhi Phifer in a holiday film called This
Christmas. Furthermore, he recently wrapped a starring role in the
Warner Brothers thriller Whiteout opposite Kate Beckinsale. When not working,
Columbus loves football, basketball and snowboarding. Here, he discusses
all of the above, and Britney’s lacklustre performance at the MTV Awards.
KAM WILLIAMS: Thanks for the time, Columbus. What have you been up to?
COLUMBUS SHORT: I’m writing a pilot for a TV show that I’m trying to get
off the ground. I’ve been diligently working on that about 12 hours a day for
the past couple of weeks.
KW: Are you going to star in it?
CS: No, no, I’m really keen on producing, and doing projects with my company.
And this is one that I really wanted to create.
KW: You act, dance, choreograph, write, play music, etcetera. How do you
decide what to focus on when you’ve been blessed with so many talents?
CS: I’ve learned that I can’t do it all at once. So, you have to figure out
your angle of attack. Coming in on the acting front, acting is a passion of
mine. It’s a true love. Dancing, I kind of just fell into. Choreographing, the
same thing. But making films, producing and directing, that’s the heartbeat of
my existence.
KW: How did you come to choreograph Britney Spears?
CS: Honestly, I don’t know, Kam. It’s just one of those things in my life like,
“How did that happen?” First, I got hired as a dancer for her by another
choreographer who was later let go, and one thing led to another.
Here I was 20 years-old, and I was running the tour for the biggest pop artist
at the time. Jumping into that was overwhelming, but I learned so much, and it
was great to have that experience. I’ll never forget it.
KW: What did you think of Britney’s recent performance at the MTV Awards?
Judging from her performance, it looks like she could use your help again as a
choreographer.
CS: Oh man, I felt bad.
KW: Who’s to blame for such a disaster?
CS: In terms of that, it’s not the choreographer’s fault. It’s not the label’s…
It’s not her management’s… It’s not her team’s… I guess MTV can take part of
the blame for exploiting her like that, but it’s basically Britney’s fault. She
knows the drama that would be surrounding a highly-anticipated, return
performance in front of the masses. Yet, she wasn’t ready to do her
job. So, I blame no one, because there’s no one else to blame. I say my prayers
for her, and hope that she can pull it together.
KW: Yeah, it seems like she’s been spiralling out-of-control for a couple of
years now. From not putting her kid in a car seat to divorcing her husband to
not wearing panties in public to substance abuse to attacking the paparazzi to
shaving her head impulsively to having to re-enter rehab.
CS: All I can say is, this business is tough, Kam. You never know who or what’s
real. That’s why you’ve seen it with everybody. It’s tough when you get in this
business, if you have no grounded foundation other than Hollywood, because this
business isn’t real. We’re getting paid to do what we love, but it isn’t real.
If everybody could remember that, they might not take it for granted, and hold
strong.
KW: What was it like for you when you were in the tabloids and romantically
linked to Britney?
CS: At first, I thought that was the dream, to be chased by paparazzi. I
thought that was the life, to be jet-setting around the world with a pop star.
But once I was immersed in it, I honestly didn’t have a moment of happiness,
Kam. I don’t think I was happy even one day when I worked for Britney, simply
because it was all too much. It was my family calling me, editors calling my
family members and friends I hadn’t talked to in years. It was so much, it
almost completely broke me.
KW: How did you get involved in the first place?
CS: The scandal was manufactured by these magazine publications that have to
make money, so I can’t be mad at them.
KW: But I remember seeing photos of the two of you kissing.
CS: I don’t know why they singled me out, because all the dancers were giving
her hugs after rehearsals. And there were ten other dancers. So, when that
first photo came out, it made me laugh, because they made it look like we were
kissing. But there’s no way that would be happening during a rehearsal. Then,
it kind of spiralled out of control from there, because I was hanging out with
her all the time. I didn’t realize that it was going to be scandalous when you
hang out with someone who’s followed by thousands of cameramen, especially
when, my friend, you’re a black man, and she’s the hot blonde princess. It was
a recipe for $50,000 photos. That’s all that was. I kind of laugh at it now.
KW: How do you feel about her today?
CS: I’m so far removed from that past, that I look at Britney like everyone
else does. I don’t know her.
KW: How has the experience change you?
CS: Going through that thing with Britney showed me what’s real. But it was
tough. I won’t even lie. Now, I’m just interested in doing good work, and in
earning the respect of my peers.
KW: Did your marriage survive the controversy and constant exposure?
CS: No, my marriage was already finished before that.
KW: How’s your relationship with your son?
CS: My son’s four now, and my relationship with him is what keeps me grounded.
KW: Jimmy Bayan reminded me to ask you where in L.A. you live now.
CS: I live in the Valley, but after that triple-digit heat wave this summer,
I’m out of here. I think I’m going to moving to Santa Monica, and maybe get a
place in New York.
KW: How’s your upcoming release, This Christmas?
CS: It’s a great movie. It’s one of those classy, black family films we haven’t
had in a long while. It’s the embodiment of class. Remember what the Cosby Show
was like back in the day? It makes you feel good to see an affluent
African-American couple doing well and having regular problems.
For full interview with Kam Williams, go HERE.
::MUSIC NEWS::
Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds Makes 'List'
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
September 17, 2007) *After
a two-year hiatus, hitmaker Kenny
“Babyface” Edmonds is
releasing his 11th album, titled “Playlist.” The new disc has what music
fans know about Babyface – his mellow style and it also has what music fans may
not know about Babyface – his love of classic pop. “Playlist,” which hits
shelves tomorrow, September 18, is a collection of covers of classic melancholy
pop hits that the R&B crooner grew up loving. “This is music that I grew up
with and that influenced me to write how I write,” Babyface said of the new
disc. “It’s music that’s close to me, so it’s kind of like my playlist.” The
singer explained that while growing up in Indianapolis, his music tastes were
shaped by a Sunday morning ritual. “I would go to church on Sundays and stay as
long as the choir sang, but before the preacher would start I’d go get in the
car and listen to the AM station,” he confessed. “That’s where I heard James
Taylor and Roberta Flack. All these songs were beautiful songs that I wanted to
learn how to play. That was part of it: grabbing the soulful part of the church
and then going back and hearing pop in the car. That’s who I am. I’m a
combination of those things.” The new disc features remakes of classic pop-rock
hits such as James Taylor's "Fire & Rain,” Jim Croce's "Time in a
Bottle," and Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” just to name a few.
"Playlist" is reportedly the first release for Island Def Jam's relaunched
Mercury Records division, and it reunites Babyface and his former
writing/production partner IDJ chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid, who
Babyface said is very optimistic of Edmond’s change of pace for the project.
“I’m comfortable with my choices,” he said of the playlist on “Playlist.” “I
don’t think I have abandoned who I am. This is just another part of me.”
However, the question remains, “Will this seemingly significant shift in genre
surprise die-hard his fans in the least?” Babyface doesn’t think so. “It’s such
a wide range of fans. Ever since I worked with Eric Clapton, and also when I
did ‘When Can I See You,’ I’ve done some things acoustically, and this is kind
of like an acoustic record,” he said. “I think that if they just listen to it,
it’s very heartfelt and still very soulful in its way. I think it’s very
musical. It’s not so much a left turn for me as it is another part of me. I
could have done a total R&B kind of record, but that’s not the kind of
record I really wanted to do. I wanted to do music that has always been a piece
of me, but I haven’t been able to follow the thought all the way through.”
Still, Babyface admitted that he isn’t quite sure how the album will relate to
his fans overall, explaining that even on his previous albums, there are fans
that listened to certain tracks consistently, while other fans who favoured a
completely different set of songs on the same album. He continued that he is
not expecting urban radio to necessarily flock to the majority of tracks on
“Playlist,” but explained that this project is not about jockeying for position
on genre-specific radio. “The music that I’ve done, I think is soulful even if
it’s not R&B,” he said, “and my fans are just people who love music. I
wouldn’t ever think that I’d have to curve my music to say, ‘You can only do
R&B music.’ You have to look inside and say, ‘Do you like the work that you
do?’ That’s the only gauge you ultimately can go by. You don’t make the music
for a particular radio format. This music just happens to be what it is.”
Surprisingly, the music industry philosophy of not using radio to promote a
record has been extremely successful for a number of multi-genre artists and
remake albums. Babyface relayed that these artists have turned to television to
promote their projects, a path he plans to follow.
“I could make a very young R&B record, but what difference does it make –
it’s going to go to Urban AC,” he said of the industry’s need to categorize.
“The way this campaign will probably be done is through more TV and not radio.
Like when you look at Norah Jones, she doesn’t sell her records through radio.
You look at Rod Stewart and the record he did of the old standards – it’s not
on the radio. It sells a lot of records, but it’s not on the radio.” “You never
can predict on any record that you do,” he continued. “All I can say is that I
feel really good about it. It’s heartfelt. I did eight covers and two new
songs. I feel like it all blends in. I feel really good about it. I really feel
like it’s a very well produced record.” Still, Babyface acknowledged that this
path to records sales is a new one for his career, but explained to EUR’s Lee
Bailey that he is at a point where he can make the music he wants to make and
expand his repertoire and his reach. “Initially, we made songs to make sure we
could get on radio. We made sure we could fit the format,” he said of his early
days as a young musician with the group The Deele as well as his successful
solo projects. “Today, the format is so different and so specific; I think
ultimately good music is going to rule the day again. And mostly, good music
comes from what’s honest.” Released tomorrow (Tuesday), fans can weigh in on
whether or not “Playlist,” Edmond’s honest attempt at classic pop covers, makes
the list. For more information, go to babyface.islandrecords.com or www.MySpace.com/babyface.
Phyllis Hyman’s 'Strength' Revealed
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
-
September 14, 2007) “You see
the deck was really stacked against
her. This was her start. This was her childhood. This is how she grew up. The
issues continued into adulthood. She turned to alcohol and to drugs as to sort
of self-medicate. The substance abuse only further complicated mental health
issues. She tried twice to clean up and go to rehab, but she couldn’t maintain
sobriety. I think the depth of her issues were too great for her.”
*Songbird Phyllis Hyman, one of the most gifted and critically
acclaimed vocalists and performers from the 1970s through the 1990s is also
considered one of the most overlooked by music historians and one of the most
tragic in pop culture. After a lifelong bout with mental illness and
depression, and battles with racism and sexism in the music industry, the
singer took her own life in 1995, just hours before she was to perform at the
legendary Apollo Theatre.
Journalist Jason A. Michael recognized that Hyman’s story was one that not only
needed to be told, but wanted to be told, and after several attempts and 12
years, Michael released the biography, “Strength of a Woman: the Phyllis Hyman Story” on September 4. The delay in putting the
story to paper was not for Michael not trying. “Shortly after
Phyllis died, I had the dream to do this,” he said. “I felt there was a story
there, but I was in college at that time. I tried and couldn’t get it off the
ground and was sort of dismissed at that time by Phyllis’ estate. They had some
other folks in mind to write this story. Finally, in 2001, six years after
Phyllis’ death, nothing had come out. I figured that if I wanted to read a book
about Phyllis Hyman, I was going to have to write a book about Phyllis Hyman. I
tried for the third time and the pieces sort of fell into place. I’m really
happy with how it turned out.” Publishing the book still wasn’t that easy.
Michael presented his idea of a Hyman biography to several prominent New York
publishers, but was told emphatically that no one remembered her and that there
was no market for a book.
“We got turned down time and time again,” Michael exasperatedly told EUR’s Lee
Bailey. “I went through two literary agents and both agents thought that it was
going to be an easy sell. Both were surprised, as was I, that a book on Phyllis
wouldn’t sell. I was told things like she had not become a cult icon like
Marvin Gaye became after his death, or that not enough folks remembered her story.”
Michael said that he just felt the publishers were naïve about how big her fan
base is. “My goal is, I’ll prove them wrong and help them see they missed
out on a great opportunity.” Even though Hyman wasn’t a million-seller, the
singer had an illustrious career of hits, with two gold records. “She was
always on the cusp of that major hit,” the writer said. “I think that folks had
a hard time knowing what to do with her. Clive Davis certainly tried to make
her into a more commercial superstar, but she felt that that did not really
reflect her artistry. She was sort of the queen of the power ballads and her
music did not always translate to the more commercial, youth-oriented radio
audience. But for those in the know, there was no one like her.” He continued
that like many others, he became a big fan of Hyman’s as soon as she heard her
voice, but that the time – the disco era – wasn’t right for her kind of music,
that disco funk didn’t do her voice any justice. But it wasn’t the genre that
drew fans to the powerful songstress. Like many others. Michael was drawn to
her emotion. “I heard a note of pain in her voice and I think it spoke to
me. I had suffered from depression issues and had been diagnosed as bipolar, as
Phyllis was. At the time that Phyllis died, I was working with soul singer
Betty Wright who had been working with Phyllis since the early ‘70s. I saw that
Betty was devastated, but not surprised with how Phyllis’ end came about. I
think my journalistic instincts kicked in and said, ‘There must be a story
there.’” The more research Michael did on Phyllis, the more similarities he saw
between the two of them, which attracted him to the story even more.
“She has taught me so much and even though she ultimately chose to end her
life, I sort of credit her with giving me the courage to fully live mine. In
examining some the traps and pitfalls she fell into and I feel as though I now
know how to avoid them. That’s really what I’m hoping this book will do for its
readers – to help them see what’s inside of them ... that they need to work on
and inspire them to get started. ‘Strength of a Woman’ is a cautionary tale and
I think the moral of the story is to take care of your issues or your issues
will take care of you. With Phyllis’ case that’s sadly what happened.” As
Michael covers in the book, mental illness was prevalent in her family. Her
mother suffered from chronic depression; her father was alcoholic. Two of her
siblings also battled bipolar disorder, and another suffered from chronic
depression, and yet another struggles with schizophrenia. “You see the
deck was really stacked against her. This was her start. This was her
childhood. This is how she grew up. The issues continued into adulthood. She
turned to alcohol and to drugs as to sort of self-medicate. The substance abuse
only further complicated mental health issues. She tried twice to clean up and
go to rehab, but she couldn’t maintain sobriety. I think the depth of her
issues were too great for her.” Hyman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in
1985 and was prescribed Lithium to treat it. Considered a newly diagnosed
disease back then, medications and treatment options were limited at that
time. “A lot folks, Phyllis included, thought that a very creative
individual would take these meds and would miss some of the highs that bipolar
brings about, which they thought was somehow connected to their creativity.
They didn’t like being levelled out, which is what Lithium and other mood
stabilizers do. So [Hyman] thought the meds were not for her and that she could
somehow handle this on her own, but I think bipolar disorder was bigger.”
In 1989, Hyman failed at her first suicide attempt. She tried again in 1990
before succeeding in 1995 at the age of 45. “It was pretty much kept
under wraps,” Michael said of her failed suicide attempts. “A lot of her issues
and drama were kept under wraps to the extent that it could be. But if you’ve
ever seen a Phyllis Hyman concert, she put a lot of her feelings on display.
She was very open with her audience. The darker issues were sort of kept under
wraps as were her trips to rehab.” Friends, fans, industry execs, as well as
music journalists also got a taste of Hyman’s tumultuous personality. Bailey,
himself, called her “candid,” to say the least. “It depended on where she
was in her emotional spectrum when you encountered her,” Michael said of how
others saw Hyman. “Phyllis was an extremely generous person, an extremely
giving person, and at the right time, a hilarious person. It just depended on
where she was in her struggle emotionally as to which Phyllis you would meet.
She could be very difficult, but she could be incredibly sweet. She was all of
those things in one body and you could see a great deal of them all in one
day.”
Michael, on the other hand, did not have the pleasure, or displeasure for that
matter, of meeting the recording star. His first biographical novel, he credits
that to how the voice of the book remained balanced. “I never met her,
which I’m sort of thankful for and which Phyllis’ estate was appreciative as
well. Had I met her, I may have had my own response to how I was treated. I
think not having met her, it allowed me to speak to all these folks who had
different recollections and sort of remain unbiased. I prayed for the gift of discernment.
I had to sort of read between the lines and endeavour to remain impartial and
write a very balanced story.” “Strength of a Woman” candidly explores the
singer’s torment and her successes, and includes revelations on how she lost
the role of Shug Avery in the movie adaptation of “The Color Purple”; her
clashes with record industry legend Clive Davis; and her assessments of female
singers of her time including Jody Watley, Vanity, and Paula Abdul. For more on
the book, the author, and the star herself, check out www.phyllishymanstory.com.
Prince to sue YouTube,
eBay
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com
- Mike Collett-White, Reuters
(September 13, 2007) LONDON — U.S. pop star Prince
plans to sue
YouTube and other major websites for unauthorized use of his music in a bid to "reclaim
his art on the Internet." The man behind hit songs Purple Rain, 1999 and
When Doves Cry said on Thursday that YouTube could not argue that it had no
control over which videos users posted on its site. "YouTube ... are
clearly able [to] filter porn and pedophile material but appear to choose not
to filter out the unauthorized music and film content which is core to their
business success," a statement released on his behalf said. YouTube did
not immediately reply to questions e-mailed to its pressroom. In addition to
YouTube, Prince also plans legal action against online auctioneer eBay and
Pirate Bay, a site accused by Hollywood and the music industry as being a major
source of music and film piracy. The legal action is the latest bid by the
music industry to wrest back control over content in an age where file sharing,
mobile phones and video sites make enforcing copyright increasingly difficult.
But it is believed to be rare for an individual artist of Prince's stature to
take on popular websites, while some up-and-coming performers actually
encourage online file sharing to create a fan base and buzz around a record.
"Prince strongly believes artists as the creators and owners of their
music need to reclaim their art," the statement added. "These actions
mark a historic moment for music artists in terms of the battle to regain
control of their rights on the Internet." British company Web Sheriff has
been hired to help co-ordinate the action. "In the past couple of weeks we
have directly removed approximately 2,000 Prince videos from YouTube,"
said Web Sheriff managing director John Giacobbi. "The problem is that one
can reduce it to zero and then the next day there will be 100 or 500 or
whatever. This carries on ad nauseam at Prince's expense," he told
Reuters. He said his company had also removed around 300 items from eBay, where
whole lines of pirated goods trading on Prince's name had appeared, including
clocks, socks, mugs and key rings. Prince's latest initiative is likely to
please record industry executives and music retailers, who have not always seen
eye-to-eye with the 49-year-old. He has referred to the record industry as
"the speculation business" and gave away copies of his new album
"Planet Earth" for free with a British Sunday newspaper.
The UK Corner: Introducing Tor
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com -
(September 18, 2007) 25-year-old Isatta Sheriff Cesay has the
same name as her mother hence the nickname Tor, which
means namesake in Krio (sierra Leone). But Tor is unique. Hailing from
East London, she has been making a name for herself in a bold way for example
at the Urban Classics event, a one-off show which saw her rapping along with
the BBC Concert Orchestra or at the live performance at the Olympic 2012 bid
winner's announcement in Trafalgar Square viewed by one billion people.
She says of the former, "It felt real good. Like I was stepping into new
territory. The audiences aren't as vocal and I can't say they understood
everything but I feel it was a very good step into the right direction. I've
kept up with musicians and an artist from Urban Classic and it's really helped
me to understand the different circles that exist. 'Strivin' (one of the songs
performed) ended up in a short film and I'm constantly getting work due to the
exposure it gave us. "The 2012 Olympic announcement was surreal. One
second I was in the tube station trying to figure out if I had enough coins to
get on the tube, the next second I was sharing a dressing room mirror with
(Olympian) Kelly Holmes and (pop star) Rachel Stevens. I went on after her and
before (former spice girl) Mel C. London had just been announced as the winners
and everyone was jumping around and screaming. I had to go on stage right after
it had been announced while everyone was still celebrating. The three Red Devil
planes flew over the stage while I was performing...I felt like Michael
Jackson-ha ha!" Tor signed a five-album deal with Go Beat in 2001.
Following financial difficulties at the label, she was left to find a new route
to her dream.
She says, "Back then things were different for me. Things were happening
for a number of years, but its now that I feel focused, especially in regard to
solo material. I was getting good feedback from labels, but they had a
different vision to me, for my music. "It didn't really hit me at the
time. I was too young to understand what a big deal having a record deal was.
To me it was just better studios and cars everywhere. You get spoilt but the
music wasn't there. I wasn't enjoying music anymore and I couldn't stand some
of the "Industry" people I came across. "By the time
Go!Beat went down, I was already really fed up with it all. I really liked my
MD and didn't blame him for how things turned out. I even called him to say
"Hey man, sorry about what happened to your label"! He was like
"Don't worry, It's happened to me twice before". He was cool though,
he signed Keane a couple of years later "Don't call it a come back"
ha! If anything it's inspired me. "Right after we all got dropped I went
to stay with my best friend in Vegas for five weeks. Not because I was upset
but because I needed to enjoy life a little. I had been stuck in a situation
for two years where people didn't know what to do with me. I was too
young and needed to nurture my talent. I was a pirate radio MC who knew how to
write bars for days, but not make tracks. "I've been enjoying and learning
my craft since then and now I'm ready. I want it more and know how to get it and
hold onto it. Put it this way, back then, I was having a dilemma about whether
I was going to audition for dance colleges or take a major deal...I wouldn't be
in no dilemma now trust me!" Tor has now teamed up with UK producer, DJ
Mentat. Mentat, has credits including London's Skinny Man and Roots Manuva, and
the Platinum selling Canibus. She has won support from influential UK DJs from
Radio 1, XFM and Kiss.
She has also appeared on Bugz In The Attic's 'Move Aside' and Ms Dynamite's
'When I Fall In Love' along with remixes, including Soundbwoy Ent's Top 20 hit,
'Never Wanna Say' and Terri Walker's 'Drawing Board'. Tor's worked with
producers including Wonder (Dizzee Rascal/Sway), Ignorance (Craig David),
Fusion (Estelle), Destruction (Adam F) and Rashad Smith (Biggie/Erykah
Badu/Nas). Tor's is also due to feature on the forthcoming album of
former 702 member Kameelah to be released by Atlantic Records. Other
collaborations include Sway who is signed to Akon's Konvict music. Her
influences range from rap to Alanis Morisette, Skin (Skunk Anansie) and
Queen. She says, "When I was studying dance, I met a lot of
different people who listened to lots of different music. I realised that the
likes of Queen and Skin write equally good songs as my favourite artists such
as Nina Simone, Billy Holiday and the Motown greats. I can flip the script to
suit all genres but these artists aren't what I'm about. I hope when people
hear what I've done with Bugz In Attic, they'll get a better grip of on me
musically." I was curious about why a girl who names soul/R&B
inspirations has become a rapper instead of a singer but rather than a bad
voice its an undeniable passion behind that one. "I'm a rapper at
heart. I love the patterns you can make with words. I feel like singers have
more space on a track to get emotional. I know rappers can too but not many
take that option. They might have one or two tracks on their albums but the
thug/money talk is boring to me. When I was a kid, I loved that stuff and was a
little thug myself but I grew up and was like...this ain't cool.
"I still respect big rap icon's talent and still love some of their music
but, it doesn't inspire me very much. Soul inspires me. I love to express the
same feeling in my own way and rapping is where my voice takes me
naturally." Tor released her debut single, 'Strivin' in September 2006
from her overseas compilation EP Beatz International' which also featured 'Back
on the endz'.
'Strivin' was also licensed in Japan by Handcuts Records. Her debut album is due
to be completed this year. Last September saw Tor travel to Australia, New
Zealand and Japan to expand her recording repertoire sponsored by Red Bull
music academy. She also recorded a track with Phonte (Little Brother) and
Oddissee (Jazzy Jeff's Magnificent- 'Music Lounge'). In future Tor has
her eyes on working with Talib Kweli, Bjork, Lauren Hill and Kanye West. With
her single released digitally in July, Tor is in good spirits about continuing
to promote rap abroad but how? "By making quality music and actually
supporting one another. People are attracted to togetherness and passionate
artists making the music they love.
That's how hip-hop started. People from other places see that rawness in us but
we haven't quite got it together yet. Everyone's too busy competing with their
next-door neighbour." Hopefully the new generation of British rappers will
continue to work together to enshrine the old school attitude that Tor
represents.
Visit: www.myspace.com/toruk; www.toruk.net
Singer Joins Canadian Athletes To Raise
2010 Funds
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Chris Johnston, Canadian Press
(September 18, 2007) TORONTO — Singer Suzie McNeil and
freestyle skier Steve Omischl make an unlikely pair. But the two Canadians
share a belief they can rise to the top of their professions and have teamed up
with Bell Canada to help give Olympic
athletes a reason to believe they can do the same.
McNeil has released a remix of her song Believe and the proceeds will be used to support winter
athletes such as Omischl ahead of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. Those will be
the third Olympics for Omischl, who finished a disappointing 20th in Turin
after entering the 2006 Games as the reigning world champion in aerials. He
understands exactly what McNeil means when she sings "No one says it's
easy." "I've won everything else in the sport except for an Olympic
medal, it's all I'm really shooting for," Omischl said yesterday.
"That's why this song, when I first heard it, I was, like, 'This is like
my career.' " McNeil was part of the reality television series Rock
Star: INXS in 2005 and was the last woman standing on the show. She sought
out Bell executive Loring Phinney on her own and proposed the idea of using Believe
in an Olympic campaign. That meeting got the ball rolling on the project. The
"Olympic-inspired version" of the song is performed by McNeil and
Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, which was conducted by Dave Pierce. It
is available for download in both English and French at http://www.bell.ca/believe.
All of Bell's proceeds from the sales will go to Own The Podium, the national
program designed to help Canada top the Olympic medal standings in 2010.
For audio downloads, which cost 99 cents, more than 60 per cent of the proceeds
will be given to Own The Podium. For mobile audio and ringtone downloads, which
are about $3, more than 80 per cent will be donated. McNeil is thrilled about
how the song and accompanying video turned out. "It's out there for people
to get excited about the Olympics and bring the country together," she
said. "The bottom line is that we need to support out athletes so that they
can win golds." Canada won a record 24 medals in Turin and finished third
in the overall standings. Own The Podium estimates the country needs 35 medals
to win in 2010. Omischl, who was born in North Bay and lives in Kelowna, B.C.,
is hoping to find his way to the Olympic podium in his adopted province. He has
been a member of the national team for eight years and says the biggest
difference between the Olympics and a World Cup event is the buzz. He was
"blown away" in 2006 after learning that school was stopped in North
Bay so kids could watch him compete. "Everybody that I've ever met in my
entire life stops to watch the Olympics," Omischl said. "That's what
makes it special. "There's a mystique around competing at the Olympics that
everyone wants to be part of and wants to support." McNeil is now one of
his biggest supporters. She recently spent two years living in Los Angeles and
had a Maple Leaf tattooed on the back of her neck during that time. McNeil
hopes her song will help get Canadians thinking about the Vancouver Games and
allows for homegrown athletes to have the best chance at succeeding. "We
are a breed unto ourselves," she said. "There's no other country like
us out there." Omischl thinks Believe will do more for athletes
than simply generate money for Own The Podium - he thinks it will inspire them.
The 28-year-old Omischl is grateful for all the funding he receives and
believes it's an essential step to success. "Without that support that we
receive from Own The Podium and from sponsors like Bell, no Canadian athlete
would be able to put themselves in an ideal situation to do well," he
said. "You need that support. You need that backing. It's a
struggle."
A Drummer's Personal Saga
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Allan Maki
(September 19, 2007) Percussionist Steve
Negus is not one for doing things the
traditional way. You could say he
drums to the march of a different beat. Before helping found Saga, one of the
legendary prog rock quintets of our time, the Hamilton-born Negus played for a
heavy-metal group, a rhythm and blues group and a 1950's-style show band dubbed
Bananas. Before that, he was a management trainee for the Bank of Montreal.
These days, the so-hailed lord of the drums has a new project, one that
coincides with Saga's 30th anniversary: He's about to release his own CD,
entitled Dare to Dream. "I had all this great material and I
offered it to Saga, but they weren't interested," Negus explained. "I
didn't think it would take almost four years to complete, but I wanted to make
a great album and I think I've done that." Negus did it his way from start
to finish, by playing drums (left-handed, a rarity among his brethren), guitar
and keyboards. He also produced and brought in various musicians, such as
former Saga keyboardist Jim Gilmour, to help fill out the sound he wanted.
Every track on Dare to Dream is penned by Negus and singer Al Langlade.
How they teamed together is a whole other saga. Looking for a little advice,
Negus sent a few of his songs to Langlade, who has known Negus for years and
has his own recording studio in Thunder Bay. Langlade listened to the songs,
added some vocals, then shipped them back to a surprised Negus in Hamilton. The
exchange was done on the Internet, with the two collaborators sending one
another e-mails and files. It was the beginning of a virtual partnership.
"When Al sent the songs back, I really liked his voice," Negus said. "Throughout
the whole process, we were never in the same room. I'd send him a chord change
and he'd send it back with a vocal change and we'd do it, say, eight or nine
times each in the course of a day." Negus left Saga in the summer of 2003
bent on doing a solo CD as quickly as he could. He had been with the band from
the very beginning, back when it was originally dubbed Pockets. At its height,
Saga had several hits such as Wind Him Up, On the Loose and Scratching
the Surface, numbers that still get considerable air play on classic rock
FM stations throughout North America. Negus left the group in 1986 figuring he
was done for good, only to rejoin, then quit again. Asked why he wanted out
from a band that has recorded 18 albums (not counting live efforts and
compilations) and is still cashing in on its popularity, Negus replied:
"The charm that Saga had when we started, certainly it was progressive
rock but there was an organic quality to it; the sounds we got. And that later
went away.
"Saga was a shared vision, but I was sharing more of their vision than
mine." Having invested his soul in Dare to Dream, Negus soon
surrendered his heart. Another musical pal, guitarist Mark Severn, helped out
on several songs and quickly established himself as a key contributor to
Negus's vision. After watching Saga perform at the 2006 Canada Day celebration
in Hamilton, Negus received a phone call telling him that Severn had been
killed in a car accident. Dare to Dream is dedicated from one friend to
another. "He played some wonderful solos and I miss him," Negus has
written on the CD's linear notes. "It is still hard to hear some of his
performances without getting teary-eyed." Dare to Dream is what
Negus calls "a groove album." Some cuts are rocky; some are almost
funky (catch the guitar work in Nightmare); and then there's I Rest
My Case, a tasty little track where the lord gets to cut loose on the drum
kit in a tribal, rhythmic manner. "Did I plan [for the CD] to come out on
Saga's 30th anniversary? This is when it came together," Negus said of his
project. "I've done it on my own; with my own label. I recorded it here
and can distribute it over the Net off my website. I decided to take control of
my own destiny. "There are still a lot of unanswered questions, a lot of
work to do, but I'm glad I did it. It had to be done."
MUSIC TIDBITS
Promoting Hip Hop's Bright Side
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Associated Press
(September 14, 2007) Hip hop has such a negative connotation in
some circles that some people equate it with thuggery or crime – an unfair
depiction that DMC of the legendary rap group Run-DMC is
trying to dispel. "Every time – if it's pimp, pusher, drug dealer – they
relate it to hip hop. Those are just elements of society. But for some reason,
whether it's a dog fight, whether it's the n-word or the b-word ... It kills
me," he said. DMC aims to fight rap's bad rap by highlighting the
hip-hop community's positive contributions with the J.A.M. Awards, set for Nov.
29 in New York City. Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, De La Soul, Cassidy and Snoop Dogg
are among the confirmed artists. The awards will honour contributions from
members of the hip-hop community in the fields of social justice, the arts and
music.
T.I. Shows Why He Wears The Crown
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(September 14, 2007) *T.I. just
might be right in titling himself as the
"King of The South." The BET Hip-Hop Award nominations have
just been announced and T.I. has landed on top. The Atlanta based rapper
racked in nine nominations for the second annual awards show. Last year his
Majesty garnered eight nominations, and won three awards. Following right
behind, Lil' Wayne is second with seven nominations. Kanye West drew six,
Common earned five, Jay-Z took home four, and Ludacris and 50 Cent got three
each. "We are so glad to be back in Atlanta again for this year's version
of what, in its debut, became the single hottest show in hip hop," said
Stephen Hill, executive vice president of entertainment, music and talent at
BET. With all the nominations being announced, let's not forget about the
honouree for the night. Mr. Hip Hop himself KRS-One, will be honoured
with the "I am Hip-Hop" icon award. KRS-One is known for
his politically and socially conscious raps. Nelly, Lil' Wayne, Kanye West and
Common are just a few of the expected performances. But the main man of
the hour will be comedian Katt Williams, as the host for the second time
around. The BET Hip Hop Awards will air on October 17.
Reba
named Woman of the Year
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com
- Associated Press
(September 17, 2007) Billboard
magazine has picked Reba
McEntire for its first Woman of the Year award. The
award coincides with the music magazine's Women in Music issue, due out early
next month. Billboard Group editorial director Tamara Conniff says the country
star was chosen for the honour because of her wide success in music,
television, movies and publishing. "Reba is an inspiration to women
everywhere and we are delighted to be presenting her with this award,"
Conniff said. McEntire, 53, has a new album of duets out next week that pairs
her with such varied artists as Justin Timberlake, Don Henley, Kelly
Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, Carole King and Faith Hill.
Neneh Cherry Reteams With Youssou N’dour
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(September 18, 2007) *Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour is
hoping to make magic once again with Neneh Cherry, the rapper/vocalist who graced his biggest
international hit, “7 Seconds,” in 1994. Thirteen years later, the two
come back together for “Wake Up (It’s Africa Calling),” the lead single from
N’Dour’s forthcoming album, "Rokku Mi Rokka" (Nonesuch/Warner). The
single combines traditional African instrumentation, R&B beats and a rapped
vocal from Sweden native Cherry, who is best known in the States for her 1989
hit, “Buffalo Stance.” "'7 Seconds' opened so many doors for my music, and
I've always wanted to sing with Neneh again, but we didn't want to make another
'7 Seconds,"' N'Dour told Billboard. "This is much more
African-sounding, and it's got a strong message that the continent is not just
war, poverty and AIDS; we are trying to move forward." Cherry, who splits
her time between homes in Sweden and the UK, is a member of Swedish-based
trip-hop act CirKus, which released debut album "Laylow" in 2006 on
its own Tent Music label.
::TIFF NEWS::
Eastern Promises wins People's Choice
Award at TIFF
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Laim Lacey
(September 15, 2007) Eastern
Promises, a London-set
thriller by
director David Cronenberg, won the Cadillac People's Choice Award
at the Toronto International Film Festival, which closed on Saturday after
screening 349 films over 10 days. The award came with a $15,000 prize. The top
Canadian award went to Guy
Maddin's My Winnipeg. Eastern
Promises, which stars Viggo Mortensen as a Russian gangster and Naomi Watts
as a midwife who finds an incriminating diary. Because Cronenberg was busy
doing promotion for the film in New York, the award was accepted by
Cronenberg's long-time distributor and colleague, Victor Loewy, who reported
that Eastern Promises, which opened in limited release on Friday, was
currently No. 1 in each of the multiplexes where it is playing. The first
runner-up for the People's Choice award was a film by another Canadian, Jason
Reitman. His comedy, Juno, stars Ellen Page as a pregnant teenager who
decides to give her baby to a yuppie couple.
The second runner-up was Body of War, a documentary by Ellen Spiro and
former talk show host Phil Donahue about a year in the life of a paralyzed Iraq
war veteran and political activist. The Toronto-CITY Award jury picked Maddin's
film as the best Canadian feature, which carries a $30,000 cash award. The
film, described by Maddin as a “docu-fantasia”, blending silent footage and
melodrama in a poetic meditation on Maddin's hometown. The jury cited My
Winnipeg as a film that “within its specific, personal vision finds a
universal appeal.” In accepting the award, Maddin offered a “heartfelt thanks”
to the Toronto Film Festival, with which he has been associated over his
20-year filmmaking career. He referred to the years leading up to the prize a
long “mating ritual that has culminated in this moment, a consummation of
sorts.” Maddin also thanked his family for “allowing me to vivisect them. I
promise I won't do it again.” Producer Jody Shapiro announced the film has
three new international distribution deals (with IFC Entertainment in the
United States, Soda Pictures in the United Kingdom and Maximum Films in
Canada). Shapiro also made a point of thanking Michael Burns, formerly the
director of programming for the Documentary Channel before its recent take-over
by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “Without Michael this film wouldn't
have been made. It was his idea."
Shapiro said the award represented a significant first for Maddin in that it
“puts him in the history books at this festival.” The $15,000 CITY-TV prize for
best Canadian first feature film went to Stephane Lafleur's Continental, Un
film sans fusil (Continental, A Film without Guns), which follows four
lonely characters in a mixture of absurdity and pathos. Lafleur has had three
previous short film at the festival before this feature film debut. The
Canadian short film prize of $10,000 went to Chris Chong Chan Fui's Pool.
Other winning films included two Mexican offerings. The Diesel Discovery Award,
voted on by the 1,000 members of the international media attending the
festival, went to Cochochi, from directors Israel Cardenas and Laura
Amelia Guzman. The film is about two brothers who become separated when
attempting to deliver a package to a faraway community. The award from the
International Critics Association (FIRPRESCI Prize) to an emerging filmmaker
went to Rodrigo Pla for La Zona, a revenge drama set around a gated
community in Mexico City. The Artistic Innovation award went to another
Spanish-language film, Anahi Berneri's Encarnacion, an Argentinean film
about an aging actress who returns to her hometown, which was cited by the jury
for its for its “critique of mainstream cinema” and issues around the
“fetishization of the female body.”
Directors Let Music Do The Talking
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Peter Howell, Movie Critic
(September 14, 2007) Anton
Corbijn is in denial, but you can't blame
the guy. The rock photographer turned film director says his movie Control, which is about the rock band Joy Division and its
tragic singer Ian Curtis, is "not a music film, at least not in my
eyes." He calls it a "personal" film, whatever that means, but
most viewers of Control will take it as a musical biopic. Just as they
will the documentary Joy Division by Grant Gee, which like Control
has been screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. Corbijn's
problem with labels is forgivable, because it's possible that no film genre is
more misunderstood or mismanaged than the pop music movie. For starters,
there is the technical difficulty of putting a three-dimensional concert
experience within a two-dimensional frame. But the biggest problem is establishing
the conceptual parameters. How do you nail down an art form, as John Lennon
once observed, that can best be described by the little Richard scream, "A
wop bop a lu bop, a wop bam boom!" Frank Zappa – or was is Elvis Costello?
– once said of rock journalism that "writing about music is like dancing
about architecture."
The absurdity doubles for films about music, which have evolved over the
decades from sheer economic exploitation – think of all those corny Elvis
movies – into something that unsteadily attempts to combine scholarship,
creativity and fan worship into one unsteady package. This current edition of
TIFF offers a wealth of selections to test the thesis. Movies about Bob Dylan (I'm
Not There), The Beatles (Across the Universe), The Who (Amazing
Journey: The Story of The Who) and Lou Reed (Lou Reed's Berlin) join
the two Joy Division films on the festival slate, each of them alternately
bolstering and dismantling various rock legends to arguable effect. Todd
Haynes' I'm Not There is the bravest – or maybe craziest – of the lot,
since he approaches Dylan on the rock bard's own fractious terms. Dylan has
forever dodged easy pigeonholing of his work and persona, to the point of
inventing names and events that have muddied his many biographies and even his
own autobiography. And Haynes rolls with that deception. He employs six
different actors, of varying ages and sexes, to imitate and elucidate Dylan at
various stages of his career. Some of it works – especially Cate Blanchett as
the Blonde On Blonde-era Bob – and much of it doesn't, but Haynes at
least recognizes Dylan as the most indefinable of pop icons, and he stays true
to that vision. Julie Taymor's Across the Universe goes to opposite
extremes by painting literal interpretations of Beatles songs. More interested
in making a visual statement than an intellectual one, she presents the music
of the Fab Four as a series of glittering fragments, none of them adding up to
a recognizable whole. It's the rock movie for people with short attention spans
and a taste for the obvious.
Next to these radical interpretations of rock artists, the old-school
biographical format of Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who, by Paul
Crowder and Murray Lerner, comes as a something of soother for people who just
want a straight-up account of a favourite band. Crowder and Lerner haven't
exactly reinvented the wheel here, and their work doesn't exceed the earlier
documentary The Kids Are Alright, but the scholarship and archival
footage are impressive, especially the material from the band's earliest
incarnations as The Detours and The High Numbers. The two Joy Division movies
lie somewhere between art and journalism, Corbijn's Control more the
former and Gee's Joy Division more the latter. Control offers
dramatic insights into why the band's frontman, Ian Curtis, committed suicide
at age 23 in 1980, just as his gloom-rock quartet was on the brink of
international success. Sam Riley offers a spooky portrayal of Curtis that
deserves attention come awards time. Joy Division, meanwhile, sticks to
the known facts, but it includes interviews with surviving band member Bernard
Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris that shine welcome new light onto one of
rock's most legendary and mysterious bands. Achieving closure is also the impetus
for Lou Reed's Berlin, a film by Julian Schnabel that, on the face of
it, is simply that most basic of rock film products, the concert movie. It's a
no-frills document of a series of shows Reed gave last year over five nights in
Brooklyn, in which he performed live for the first time the songs from his 1973
album Berlin, a landmark of poetic rage and loss. Reed, the former
Velvet Underground leader, had been wounded by savage early reviews of Berlin
and abandoned plans for live performances. It took his 33 years to muster his
nerve, but the wait was worth it. Backed by an impeccable band and a
gospel-infused youth choir, he delivers a masterpiece of artful despair that
alerts the brain even as it heads straight for the soul. Which, come to think
of it, is the best kind of rock, on or off the screen.
Peter Howell is a movie critic at the Star who has covered the Toronto
International Film Festival since 1991. His column runs alternate Fridays in
the Entertainment & Movies section.
Homeless Man Film Fest's Hottest
Celebrity
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Tim Lai, Entertainment Reporter
(September 14, 2007) The media circus swirling through Yorkville
yesterday wasn't chasing an elusive movie star, but an enigmatic homeless man whom
many of his brethren describe as having "a bar of gold up his ass."
Still, they wonder how long his luck will hold. The talk of the avenues of luxury – Dave, who goes by the street name "Stress" – was nowhere to be seen at his regular spot in
Yorkville, planted outside Remys. On Wednesday, Cassandra's Dream star
Colin Farrell took Stress on a shopping spree at a camping store and supposedly
fronted his rent for up to a year. It's not the first time Stress has
benefited from the movie heartthrob. A few years back, Farrell picked Stress as
the winner of a $2,000 radio contest, but he apparently blew it quickly on
drugs. Stress has another strike-it-rich story, but fellow Outreach
newspaper seller, Steven, said that tale is one kept to themselves. "He draws good luck," said
Steven, who enjoyed a successful day selling papers, since media and celebrity
hounds pestered him with questions about the now-notorious Stress. "I
don't want him back on the streets. He got a lottery ticket and it's the best
thing. He needed it." His story was apparently the most-read online at the Toronto
Sun. Stress's street celebrity grew throughout the day as rumours about his
whereabouts churned out faster than some celebrity blogs.
Some people on the street said they had heard he was trying to double up at
Casino Rama or in Niagara Falls. Others said he flew the coop for the U.S. Many
figure this loner will be back on the street soon enough, though – but ducking
low for his own safety. "Thank God (for) Colin Farrell. And more people
should do that," Steven said. "For someone to take you off the
streets and give you something like that, that's a gift." Steven said Stress's story made it hip
yesterday to give homeless people money, a much better perception than being
labelled a murderer, referring to the recent case in which Ross Hammond of St.
Catharines died of stab wounds inflicted by alleged panhandlers. He added he has had his own financial
windfalls from celebrities. During previous festivals, he said, Robin Williams
and Bruce Willis each dropped him a few hundred. But, compared to others, Steven was
tight-lipped about Stress. "We call him `Stress' because he stresses people
out. He's not all there. He has his, you know, problems. He's a recovering
alcoholic and (crack) addict," claimed Shorty, who's usually planted
across the street from Sassafraz. "I'm pissed off he got all this money
and all this good stuff, but I have to be happy for him." Despite hopes he's wrong, Shorty expects
to see Stress back on the street because of his addictions. Shorty said if
there were more resources put into detox and rehab centres, then perhaps this
fresh start could be sustained. "He's got a disease like the rest of
us," said Shorty, who saw Stress's high-end sleeping bag, one of his gifts
from Farrell, a few hours after it was purchased.
Even
Non-TIFF Movies Got Deals
Excerpt
from www.thestar.com -
(September 17, 2007) The Toronto International Film Festival, which ended a 10-day cinematic orgy on
Saturday, is not just about movie lovers lining up on the sidewalk, glitzy
parties and Hollywood celebrities strutting the red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall.
It is also about round-the-clock business deal-making. About 3,200 buyers and
sellers were registered with TIFF's sales office. And though there were no
mega-bidding wars this time, the volume of distribution rights sold is in the
$50 million to $60 million range. But perhaps the most intriguing deal of all
does not involve a completed movie that was screened at the festival. It's the
deal that Toronto producer Niv Fichman inked with Miramax for Blindness –
a $25 million Canada/Brazil/Japan co-venture currently being filmed. And it's
an indication that this festival has become a sophisticated film market, where
anything goes. According to the trade paper The Hollywood Reporter,
Miramax has agreed to pay $5 million for U.S. distribution rights now, rather
than wait until they see the finished movie. The story concerns a mysterious
plague of blindness that devastates a city. A small group of the afflicted band
together to overcome the horrific conditions of their quarantine. Fichman, a
Rhombus Media co-founder who is best known internationally for his 1998 epic The
Red Violin, was represented at this year's TIFF with Silk –
another expensive epic (co-produced with partners in Japan and France),
screened in the Special Presentations section and set to be released theatrically
by Alliance Films.
It took Fichman eight years to get Blindness into production. It was
Don McKellar – who works frequently with Fichman –who suggested making a movie
of the disturbing novel. In 1999 Fichman and McKellar flew to the Canary
Islands and talked the Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author José Saramago into
giving them the film rights. The script was written by McKellar (who won a Tony
for The Drowsy Chaperone). One of the author's conditions: the film
must not be set in any recognizable country. Fichman made a deal with
co-producers in Brazil and Japan and signed Fernando Meirelles (City of God
and The Constant Gardener) to direct. Shooting began in and
around Toronto six weeks ago and moves to South America in mid-October.
Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo play two of the victims who have been
imprisoned in an insane asylum. Among Canadians in the cast are Maury Chaykin,
Susan Coyne, Martha Burns and McKellar. My guess: Blindness will have
its world premiere as the opening TIFF gala in September 2008. Bravo for Burns
When director Guy Maddin accepted his $30,000 prize for My Winnipeg –
a jury's choice as best Canadian feature at the festival – he took the chance
to praise Michael Burns, the former Documentary Channel programming director who
came up with the idea and commissioned Maddin to make it (on a $600,000
budget). Just a week before the movie had its premiere at TIFF – to an ecstatic
pro-Winnipeg audience – Burns was fired by the CBC, which recently gained
control of the channel. Apparently, imaginative films that win prizes are not
what the CBC wants. Perhaps its brass prefer to take revenue flowing from the
channel's subscribers and old docs from the archives. Burns, who is in Romania,
was not present at the awards bash, but is sure to be savouring the
vindication. PRIME-TIME MADNESS The biggest glitch of TIFF '07 happened at
Thursday's late Roy Thomson Hall gala. The movie: The Walker. The
right first reel was followed by the wrong second reel, so the projection
abruptly stopped. After 20 minutes, hundreds of people left. Then director Paul
Schrader and star Lauren Bacall did an entertaining Q&A to keep the crowd
happy until the screening resumed. Last year, the audience was sent home after
the projection for Borat went awry at a Midnight Madness screening.
::FILM NEWS::
Paltrow On Comeback Trail
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com -
Mike Collett-White, Reuters
(September 16, 2007) LONDON — Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is on
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