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LE NEWSLETTER

April 10, 2008

Spring is almost here! So many different happenings this past week!  One would be the Junos – congrats to the winner but a special congrats to my friends Jully Black and Billy Newton-Davis!  And special props as well to host Russell Peters – best opening and closing of the Junos I’ve ever experienced.  See Juno coverage below.

Two very special events coming up – at the Sony Centre check out the legendary Bill T. Jones and Chapel/Chapter.  Then there’s another special reunion for the VIP Jam planned on April 21st at Revival.  If you missed the one in December, this is your chance!  Don’t miss it!

On a personal note, I went to the 50th anniversary of my former church, The Salvation Army, in Scarborough (yes, Scarborough!).  What a tribute to my heritage as the music was stellar.  A real homage to my roots and the founding roots of why I do this newsletter and the passion behind it.  

Scroll down and find out what interests you - take your time and take a walk into your weekly entertainment news!

::HOT EVENTS::

Virtuosic Dance From Contemporary Icon Bill T. Jones In The Canadian Premiere Of Chapel/Chapter - April 16 To 19, 2008

Source: Harbourfront Centre

(April 2, 2008) Legendary American dance troupe Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company returns to Toronto, April 16 to 19, with the Canadian premiere of Chapel/Chapter, as part of Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage 2008. Through spoken word, live music and a brilliant company of dancers, Chapel/Chapter is an exhilarating experience performed in-the-round, an intimate setting draped in red fabric reminiscent of the sanctuary of a church. Rigorous and joyful, tragic yet uplifting, Chapel/Chapter vividly contrasts evil deeds with beautiful, at times, elegiac movement and music in this captivating and emotional multi-media performance. "Chapel/Chapter is a riveting experience…the visceral impact of the piece is inescapable,” says The New York Times.

Based in Harlem, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company is world renowned for its politically driven, socially charged performance works. Continuing to push the envelope, Jones proves once again that he is one of the most powerful voices in contemporary dance today. In Chapel/Chapter, three stories—two highly visible news items and one personal confession told in movement, words and music—set the narrative mood for an intimate exchange between the audience and one of the world’s top dance choreographers, Bill T Jones. An emotionally powerful work, Chapel/Chapter will long linger in audiences’ memories.

"To me, Chapel/Chapter asks the very real question ‘Can there be good in a world so full of evil?‘ The inspiration for Harbourfront Centre's focus on Sacred throughout the spring, this remarkable dance work allows us to experience these disturbing stories on a visceral level while finding refuge and ultimately hope in the beauty of the performance," says Dance Programmer Jeanne Holmes.

Chapel/Chapter's spirit is conveyed through live music performed by an ensemble of contemporary musicians: singer/multi-instrumentalist Lipbone Redding, who has been variously described as a vocal trickster and experimental cowboy; cellist Christopher Lancaster, who creates multi-layered, textural music through the use of real-time samplers and effect processing; and soprano Alicia Hall Moran, a classical singer whose influences range from opera to jazz.

Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage 2008 presents a diverse collection of innovative and exciting performing arts events in one visionary series with a number of world and Canadian premieres of some of the world’s most exceptional artistic endeavours. 13/13 rush ticket programme: students and seniors can purchase one $13 ticket, per valid ID, cash only, 13 minutes before curtain (subject to availability). Package discounts up to 20%. Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage 2008 showcases the best theatre, music and dance through May 10.

Other upcoming World Stage performances: world premiere of Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry—Daniel Barrow (Winnipeg), presented as part of the 21st annual Images Festival, April 10-12; Canadian premiere of Damascus—Traverse Theatre Company (Scotland), April 22-26; Toronto premiere of Short Works—Black Grace (New Zealand), April 30-May 3; and Toronto premiere of The Space Between—C!RCA (Australia), May 6-10 who also perform 46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes on May 7.

FOCUS: Sacred
From January to June, Harbourfront Centre asks the big question—What do you hold Sacred? Part of an ongoing exploration of ideas in programming at Harbourfront Centre. Our Lens. Your View. Harbourfront Centre - divine culture.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16 – FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2008
CHAPEL/CHAPTER
Enwave Theatre
Harbourfront Centre
231 Queens Quay West
8 p.m
Matinee performance takes place at 2 p.m. on April 19
Single tickets: $40.
For tickets and information, the public can call 416-973-4000 or visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldstage
(For additional information on the company, please visit www.billtjones.org.)

Monday Night Revival Jam Reunion – Monday, April 21, 2008

Yes, that’s right folks – all the original players – Shamakah Ali (percussion), Rich Brown (Host and bass), Joel Joseph, (keys) Anthony Wright (sax), Alexis Baro (trumpet) and Dane Hartsell (Guitar) will be reuniting on Monday, April 21st at Revival for a spring version of VIP Jam!!  Many special guests will be joining this famous crew as well!

Did you ever go to the Monday night jams at Revival?  Practically every big visiting artist would stop by and hit the stage with our amazing Toronto musicians!  It was such a great vibe and very well-attended.  Well, now it’s time for the REUNION! 

Check out the best of R&B, funk, rock and blues this spring season! 

MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2008
MONDAY NIGHT VIP JAM REUNION
Revival
783 College St. (at Shaw)
Doors open 9:00 pm
$5 COVER

::TOP STORIES::

‘Music Saved My Life,' Jully Black Tells Students

Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

(April 04, 2008) CALGARY–As the youngest of nine children in a single-parent household growing up in Toronto, Juno Award nominee Jully Black knows a thing or two about the power of music.

She shared some of her experiences yesterday with students at Ernest Morrow Jr. High School in Calgary's Forest Lawn neighbourhood, an ethnically diverse, low-income area where motivating kids can sometimes be a struggle for teachers.

"The reality is, music saved my life. How many people in here when they are studying put some music on? How many people when they're feeling down put some music on? How many people when they're feeling happy put some music on?" Black asked hundreds of students in the school gymnasium.

"Music is a language," she added. "I look around the room and see people from all walks of life. I see this is a very diverse, multicultural school, and even if you don't speak the same language, we speak music."

Black, nominated for Single of the Year for her remake of the Etta James hit "Seven Day Fool" and for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for Revival, credits her mother for her success.

"I'm the youngest of nine children raised by a single mother all by herself," said an emotional Black, a declaration that seemed to strike a chord with her young audience.

"Yeah, give Mama a round of applause," she said to the cheers that went up in the crowd.

Black's appearance at the school was the official kickoff to Juno weekend, which includes concerts, the traditional Juno Cup hockey game, a fan fest and two nights of award shows culminating in Sunday's televised CTV broadcast.

The school's band performed on new instruments purchased with its 2007-2008 $10,000 Band Aid grant from MusiCan, the charitable arm of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. CTV announced a $2.3-million donation to MusiCan yesterday.

Black said music can be a lifeline for young people, as it was for her.

"I look at you guys holding on to your instruments and it's a beautiful thing because your instrument is the one thing that won't let you down," she said.

Her story touched Bryce Motley, who at 14, has been doing percussion for three years. "It has given me something to do when I'm bored and it's brought my grades up," he said quietly.

"I know who she is and like her music a lot. I think she's a really good inspiration for everybody out there."

Myspace To Launch Online Music Service

Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Alex Veiga, The Associated Press

(April 03, 2008) LOS ANGELES–News Corp.'s MySpace said Thursday it will launch an online music venture designed to turn the social networking site's trove of musician profile pages into portals for selling everything from concert tickets and band merchandise to the music itself.

Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group Corp. are participating in the new venture, dubbed MySpace Music, which will roll out gradually in coming months.

Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed, but each of the music companies will receive an unspecified equity stake in the new company, said Chris DeWolfe, MySpace co-founder and chief executive.

The fourth-largest music company, EMI Group PLC, is not part of the deal.

DeWolfe said MySpace is in licensing talks with "everyone" but declined to say where discussions stand with EMI, home to artists such as Coldplay and Norah Jones.

MySpace Music will enable artists to sell music downloads, concert tickets, merchandise such as T-shirts through their profile pages and ringtones through News Corp.'s Jamba mobile service unit, MySpace said. "We believe that the Web is becoming increasingly more social," DeWolfe said during a conference call. "MySpace Music is a new way of experiencing music online that everyone can participate in.''

Fans also will be able stream audio and video for free through the profile pages.

DeWolfe said some tracks will be sold without copy-protection safeguards but noted that the major labels had committed only to experimenting with offering content in an unrestricted format.

The company declined to discuss pricing or other revenue details.

MySpace has more than 5 million profile pages showcasing major label artists, independents and unsigned acts. All those artists would eventually be able to take advantage of MySpace Music's offerings, the company said.

MySpace Music will operate as a separate company, with a president who reports to DeWolfe and to a board of directors that will include representatives from the recording companies.

MySpace had been discussing the venture with music companies for several months, and MySpace and Universal Music apparently overcame a major hurdle in the process – a copyright infringement lawsuit Universal brought against MySpace in 2006.

Representatives for both companies declined to comment Thursday when asked whether a settlement had been reached.

Sony BMG is a joint venture of Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG.

Shares of Warner Music slipped 7 cents, or about 1 percent, to $5.72 in midday trading. News Corp. shares were down 2 cents to $19.98.

Q&A: Russell Peters

Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com - Gayle Macdonald

(April 04, 2008) Russell Peters, the comedy superstar who grew up in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, is host of tomorrow night's Juno Awards. The 37-year-old Anglo-Indian Canadian – who has positioned himself as the immigrant everyman – delights in taking jabs at just about every colour and culture. As he explains to Gayle MacDonald, no subject is taboo – except for religion. That's “a mess,” the funny guy explains, just not worth taking on.

Do you find musicians funny? And are you going to do any impersonations tomorrow night?

I'm going to see how it goes. I'm more of a wing-it kind of guy. But I think Anne Murray would be fun to play with. She's so legendary. I need someone who is legendary, and whose ego is not that fragile. I wanted to bring all the classic rock guys to the Junos – like Loverboy, Trooper, Triumph, Chilliwack. But the Juno people slapped me down. They were, like, this isn't a retro show. And I said, I know, but all those guys could use a paycheque.

How did the Juno people come to invite you to host their event?

They saw me hosting a Gilda's Club [the cancer-survivors' support centre] event in Toronto in November. They liked the way I held it down. They asked if I would host it. I said, hell, yeah.

That do you think of the Junos being held in Calgary?

It's good. Hey, I'm from Toronto, and it would have been cool to have it in Toronto. But I understand we have a whole country we have to think about. And not everything can be built around the centre of the universe. If it were up to me, I would have had it in Brampton.

What kind of music did you grow up listening to?

I liked a lot of classic rock, and nerdy rock like Steely Dan. I was also really into Kiss when I was a kid. If you call back on this phone, my voicemail is Gene Simmons; it's my friend Craig, who does this incredible impersonation of Gene. I've met Simmons a couple of times. The first time, he said to me, ‘You're a very talented and handsome man.' Then I saw him in Vegas, and I said to him, ‘I've met you before.' And he said, ‘Yes, you are a very talented and handsome man.' I was, like, wait a minute: Gene's playing me for a fool.

How come you won't take on religion?

People die for religion. I'm not religious. I don't want to get stuck in that mess.

You now live in Los Angeles and Las Vegas? Do you like the United States?

I really do like it. I like the feeling there that anything can happen to you. You can be anything you want to be. It's not like in Canada, where it's like: You can be anything you want to be, but why would you want to do that?

Last year, you became the first comedian to sell out Toronto's Air Canada Centre. Your YouTube videos have been viewed by more than six million people, and your website gets over 10,000 hits a day. Did you ever expect to be such a comedic sensation?

I honestly did not. I would go to a Raptors game in Toronto, and I would sit there, and I wouldn't watch the game. I'd just be looking around, going, ‘Wow, look at how big this is, how many people are here.' I guess I always had it in the back of my head that this is how I would have loved things to turn out. I guess I'm truly Canadian, because it's not that I expected less from life, I just didn't expect this much.

West Coast Musicians Take Home One-Third Of Jazz Awards

Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Ashante Infantry, Pop & Jazz Critic

(April 09, 2008) The Toronto jazz cognoscenti's annual love-in at the Palais Royale last night was a celebration of the past and future.

The seventh annual National Jazz Awards paid tribute to late trailblazers Doug Riley, Oscar Peterson and Jeff Healey while promoting the next generation with performances by up-and-comers such as 14-year-old singing sensation Nikki Yanofsky and bassist Brandi Disterheft, who on the weekend won a Juno for her album Debut.

The West Coast was the night's big awardee, sweeping a third of the 31 categories.

With three prizes apiece, Vancouver bassist Jodi Proznick tied with Toronto pianist Hilario Duran for the most hardware.

In addition to top honours for their instruments, Proznick saw her quartet win for Acoustic Band and Top Album (Foundations) while Duran was lauded for his Latin Jazz Big Band and named SOCAN Composer of the Year.

The Vancouver Jazz Festival was named the country's best, as was Vancouver-based record label Cellar Live. Other B.C. musicians to score included Phil Dwyer (Arranger and Saxophonist), Brad Turner (Producer and Trumpeter) and Joe Coughlin (Male Vocalist).

The upbeat, three-hour event gave way to sombre reflection during the posthumous awards to celebrated arranger and keyboardist Doug Riley (Jazz Pioneer), who died last August; piano legend Peterson (Musician of the Year), who died in December; and guitar great Healey (Artist of Distinction), who died last month in Toronto.

"He was equally remarkable as a father to us," said Riley's sons Ben and Jessie. "He would want everyone to pass on to the next generation to come the passion he had for music and life."

Other winners included: Hugh Fraser (Trombonist); Barry Romberg Random Access (Electric Band); Jesse Zubot (Violinist); Nancy Walker (Keyboardist); Wynton Marsalis (International Musicain); and Emilie-Claire Barlow (Female Voclaist).

Perennial winners clarinettist Phil Nimmons, drummer Terry Clarke and instrumentalist Don Thompson won their categories.

Media awards went to former Star columnist Geoff Chapman, CBC Radio's Katie Malloch and photographer Don Vickery.

With files from The Canadian Press

HipHopCanada.com & UMAC Form Alliance

Source:  HipHopCanada.com & UMAC (Urban Music Association of Canada)

(April 9, 2008) In the spirit of community, communication & commitment to excellence, UMAC, The Urban Music Association of Canada & HipHopCanada (HHC), have come together to forge an alliance that will look to create & solidify true identity and tangible growth opportunities for urban music artists in Canada.

“UMAC looks forward to building with a global partner in HipHopCanada”, said Will Strickland, President of UMAC. “The Association feels securing strategic alliances that make sense to the mutual benefit of not only the principal parties, but our constituents across Canada & around the world will only aid in the development of a unique urban music culture in this country. This union will help in establishing infrastructure for live music performance across Canada, where it has never existed before with urban artists, but it will also look to enhance means for the artists’ visual expressions to be exposed on a wider basis as well as seeking commercial radio outlets for their musical offerings.

Commenting on the partnership, Jesse Plunkett, Founder & Co-President of HipHopCanada, said “Our new alliance with UMAC is a great step towards further supporting urban musicians in Canada. With common interests at hand, both UMAC and HHC compliment each other in securing the objective of uplifting the growth, knowledge and prosperity of our artists around the country. UMAC is a cornerstone of our urban community and this collaboration will allow for the strengths of both organizations to support each other's initiatives at full capacity.”

The partnership of UMAC & HHC will begin initially as a cross branding exercise to establish brand identity & recognition, leading to brand loyalty for both organizations. Over the next two years, HHC & UMAC will endeavour to bring the best in education, information, performance prospects, support & artist advocacy through a multitude of campaigns & events. These efforts will be supported in both analog & digital worlds, across multichanneled silos of exposure. From showcases, workshops, seminars & conferences, to information/performance webcasts & the flagship event honouring the best & brightest in the country’s emerging urban artists, The Canadian Urban Music Awards or “CUMAs”, a nationally televised awards show.

For more information, please contact:

Will Strickland / President, UMAC at umacgoturb@gmail.com / or call 416.916.2874 or info@hiphopcanada.com / 613.749.7777 / http://www.HipHopCanada.com

::TRAVEL NEWS::

Plaza Hotel Is No Longer Your Rich But Frumpy Maiden Aunt

Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star

(April 03, 2008) NEW YORK–Lyricist Sammy Cahn knew what he was talking about when he wrote "Love is lovelier the second time around" ... and he never even got to see the new Plaza Hotel.

When the repository of so many people's fantasies and dreams closed its doors on April 30, 2005 for a $400-million renovation, it was generally assumed that an era had ended; nothing as luxurious as The Plaza would ever come back again. And in a way, the naysayers were right, because the new Plaza is nothing at all like the old Plaza: it's better.

From the second you walk in, you sense a whole new energy. Gone is the grand but slightly frumpy décor that sometimes made you feel you were staying with the richest (but possibly dullest) maiden aunt in existence. Everything now is fresh and dazzling.

Don't get me wrong, the Plaza has not been modernized by any means – at least not in the broad architectural sense. The same period grandeur exists, but it's as though a very perky fairy godmother has waved her magic wand, creating a whole new world of colour and light.

You still enter through those beloved revolving doors that overlook Fifth Ave., and the Palm Court waits ahead, but there is a surprise in store.

For the last 65 years, the ceiling of the famed tea-time rendezvous had been destroyed and plastered over. Renovations revealed that what was known as a Laylight, a form of stained glass ceiling that reflected the changing times of day.

It enhances the whole mood of the place and – coupled with the new cuisine of Chef Didier Virot – make it one of the must-sees on a visit to Manhattan, although at $60 for tea, you have to wonder what kind of allowance the legendary child Eloise (of Kay Thompson storybook fame) was on.

"To be honest, it's a little bit pricey," admits Eleanor Strasser of Philadelphia, who's been coming to the Palm Court since she was a teenager in the 1950s, "but I'm so happy to see it looking so beautiful again, that it's worth it."

To the right of the Palm Court are the exclusive condos with price tags that start well into the seven figures and occupy most of the Central Park views. But there are compensations for those who are only visiting.

Turn left, through a high-ceilinged room illuminated by stunning Baccarat Crystal chandeliers and you find yourself in the new Champagne Bar, where it's possible to sit in comfortable chairs, tipple elegantly on your cocktail of choice, or discretely munch a few oysters while watching the passing parade.

"I'd never been to The Plaza in the old days," says Chuck Drayton from Indianapolis, "but I can't picture it being any better than this. For the price of a drink you can sit here and soak up all the luxury you want."

(Other prominent Plaza watering holes such as the Oak Bar and the Oak Room won't open until later this spring.)

Off in the corner is the check-in facility, where you can stake your claim to one of 282 guestrooms and suites that are now available.

And ultimately, although a hotel can have public areas of unsurpassing splendour and external décor to die for, it's what inside the actual rooms themselves that matters, and here's where The Plaza comes into its own. Hearkening back to the days of true splendour in service, there is a butler on every floor, available 24/7.

There are seven distinct designs and layouts, preventing a "cookie-cutter" feel, and the furnishings in each room have unique elements that set them off from each other.

But there are several traits in common.

The luxurious décor of the Louis XV period reigns everywhere, with clean white walls and bright chandeliers providing the perfect background for the richly textured furnishings.

And the bathrooms proudly trumpet their status as the only ones in the world to use 24 karat-gold plated Sherle Wagner sinks and fixtures in every bathroom.

My favourite innovation, however, is the AMX system, a small wireless, handheld device about the size of a portable DVD player which allows the guest the ability to control every aspect of his environment – light, sound, temperature, audio-visuals, etc.

And if anything is needed from the butler, maid or concierge, a quick touch on AMX is all it takes to make contact.

The best of modern technology combined with a fresh, restated look at the elegance of the past. That's the most accurate way to describe the Plaza of 2008.

All this luxury doesn't come without a price. The cheapest room is just over $700 (U.S.) right now and during the holiday season, will set you back $1,100 a night. And the suites? Well if you want one at Christmastime, be prepared to shell out $4,000 an evening.

Yes, it's beyond most of our price ranges, but the Plaza has always been a place for celebrating special occasions and watching dreams come true.

Richard Ouzounian is the Star's Theatre critic.

::JUNO COVERAGE::

Saturday's Early Winners At The 2008 Juno Awards

Excerpt from www.thestar.com - The Canadian Press

(April 05, 2008) CALGARY - The bulk of the Juno Awards were handed out at a private gala Saturday. A look at the winners:

International album of the year: "Girl Gone Bad," Rihanna

Artist of the year: Feist

New artist of the year: Serena Ryder

Songwriter of the year: Feist

Adult alternative album of the year: "Small Miracles," Blue Rodeo

Alternative album of the year: "Neon Bible," Arcade Fire

Rock album of the year: "Them vs. You vs. Me," Finger Eleven

Vocal jazz album of the year: "Make Someone Happy," Sophie Milman

Contemporary jazz album of the year: "Almost Certainly Dreaming," The Chris Tarry Group

Traditional jazz album of the year: "Debut," Brandi Disterheft

Instrumental album of the year: "The Utmost," Jayme Stone

Francophone album of the year: "L'echec du material," Daniel Belanger

Children’s album of the year: "Music Soup," Jen Gould

Classical album of the year: Solo or chamber ensemble: "Alkan Concerto for Solo Piano," Marc-Andre Hamelin

Classical album of the year: Large ensemble or soloist(s) with large ensemble: "Korngold, Barber & Walton Violin Concertos," James Ehnes, Bramwell Tovey, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Classical album of the year: vocal or choral performance: "Surprise," Maesha Brueggergosman

Classical composition of the year: "Constantinople," Christos Hatzis

Rap recording of the year: "The Revolution," Belly

Dance recording of the year: "All U Ever Want," Billy Newton-Davis vs. Deadmau5

R&B/Soul recording of the year: "Revival," Jully Black

Reggae recording of the year: "Don't Go Pretending," Mikey Dangerous

Aboriginal recording of the year: "The Dirty Looks," Derek Miller

Roots & traditional album of the year: Solo: "Right of Passage," David Francey

Roots & traditional album of the year: Group: "Key Principles," Nathan

Blues album of the year: "Building Full of Blues," FATHEAD

Contemporary Christian/Gospel album of the year: "Holy God," Brian Doerksen

World music album of the year: "Agua Del Pozo," Alex Cuba

Jack Richardson producer of the year: Joni Mitchell, "Shine" by Joni Mitchell

Recording engineer of the year: Kevin Churko, "Black Rain" by Ozzy Osborne

CD/DVD artwork design of the year: "Neon Bible," Arcade Fire

Video of the year: "C'mon," Blue Rodeo

Music DVD of the year: "666 Live," Billy Talent

Feist, Blue Rodeo Pick Up Two Junos

Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com - The Canadian Press

(April 06, 2008) CALGARY — Buoyed by a year of accolades and international acclaim, indie sensation Leslie Feist heads into Sunday's Junos bash poised to dominate the Canadian music awards with two coveted trophies already under her belt.

Just three years after the Junos crowned her new artist of the year, Feist graduated to artist of the year at a private dinner gala Saturday that saw her beat out such industry veterans as Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Michael Buble and newcomer Pascale Picard.

The 32-year-old songstress, who exploded onto the international scene when her infectious tune 1 2 3 4 and accompanying video were featured in an IPod commercial, also took songwriter of the year honours.

Feist is up for three more trophies Sunday: single, album and pop album of the year. Serena Ryder was named this year's best new artist.

Members of the band Finger Eleven play with their Juno award after winning Rock Album of the Year during the Juno Gala Awards in Calgary Saturday. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

Other multiple winners Saturday included Montreal-based indie band Arcade Fire, who collected trophies for best alternative album for Neon Bible, and CD/DVD artwork design, for Neon Bible.

Pop veterans Blue Rodeo won best adult alternative album for Small Miracles, and best video for C'mon. They're also up for best group on Sunday.

"Thanks a lot folks," singer Greg Keelor said as he took the stage with bandmates to collect the ninth Juno of their career.

"It's very nice of you to still remember us and put in a few votes for us."

Backstage, singer Jim Cuddy said it was still a thrill to be recognized for their work, adding that awards-show jitters never go away.

"It still leaves us tongue-tied up there, you know," Cuddy said backstage. "But to be three decades into it and still be up for awards, is, I think, still a big deal."

Leading the nominees Sunday are Dion, who lost in two categories Saturday but is up for four more; and Buble, also up for four. Lavigne is up for three trophies after losing the best artist and songwriter awards to Feist.

It has been an exceptional year for Feist, whose eclectic disc, The Reminder, also garnered the Calgary-bred artist four Grammy nominations in February and a Brit Award nomination for best international female.

"It's not really my world, you know?" Feist said earlier this year in Los Angeles when asked about the flood of attention.

"It's very recognized and above-the-radar. (When nominated for the Junos in 2005) I still felt like a furtive little animal on tour, secretly, no one noticing and (I was) content there."

The bulk of the Juno trophies were handed out at an industry-only dinner MC'd by opera soprano Measha Brueggergosman, who won best vocal classical album for her disc, Surprise, and offered up one of the most emotional acceptance speeches of the night

"This is so awkward!" Brueggergosman exclaimed as she took the podium, promptly bursting into a mix of tears and giddy laughter as she thanked her husband and struggled to compose herself.

"Third-time nominated, first time winner!" she blurted out to applause.

Other winners included Jully Black with Revival for best R&B/soul recording, Finger Eleven with Them vs. You vs. Me for best rock album and Belly with The Revolution for best rap recording. Joni Mitchell was named best producer for her work on Shine, her first album of new material in about a decade.

Violinist James Ehnes, conductor Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra won classical album of the year: large ensemble or soloist(s) with large ensemble for Korngold, Barber & Walton Violin Concertos. The same release took home a Grammy award in February.

Comedian Russell Peters hosts Sunday's televised bash, set to feature performances by nominees Anne Murray, Feist, Hedley and Lavigne as well as a country tribute including Paul Brandt, Shane Yellowbird and Aaron Lines.

Thousands of music fans were expected to fill the Saddledome, with Juno organizers announcing Saturday that 500 extra tickets had been made available, ranging in price from $30 to $180.

The show airs live in most parts of the country on CTV.

What's Right With Canadian Music, On Juno Sunday

Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Greg Quill, Entertainment Columnist

(April 06, 2008) As the 2008 Juno Awards, the annual celebration of Canadian pop music's best and brightest, are set to roll out tonight in Calgary, it's time to pause for a few moments to consider what's really good and what's not so good about Canadian music.

We asked a bevy of long-time Canadian music industry movers and shakers, observers, promoters, backers, boosters and broadcasters what they think are the five best and worst things about the music we're making in the new millennium. Not surprisingly perhaps, their lists were remarkably similar, even if their reasons for including certain topics differed.

Let's start our 2008 state of the music union report with things going right. (The flip-side is below.)

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Canadian music has something better going for it on the international stage these days than a distinctive identity; it has identities.

The names, work and reputations of countless diverse artists, independent and major label-aligned alike, are known and respected in markets well beyond the nation's borders – in Australia, Europe and Asia.

"They know who the Trews are, they know what the McDades and the Sadies and Death From Above sound like, they can name half a dozen songs by Dave Gunning or Alana Levandoski or Jill Barber in cities from Sydney to Luxembourg," says veteran Canadian music journalist Larry Leblanc, who manages Levandoski and publishes her music.

The counter-reaction to the MTV-isation of the world's above-radar cultural output has worked favourably for a great number of Canadian roots and alternative acts, Leblanc explains.

The Internet has shrunk the world, and that has been a boon to Canadian music. Artists don't necessarily have go to the U.S. for validation as they had up to about 10 years ago.

VIVA VARIETY: A high level of musical diversity – and high tolerance for that diversity – mean Canadian musicians are unlikely to follow trends marketed by radio and commercial media. They are also less willing than their foreign counterparts to fall in behind the latest musical fashion parade.

"The motivation of musical artists since the recording industry began has been to get a record deal and a recording in heavy rotation on commercial radio playlists," Leblanc says. "This may have been a financial bonanza for those lucky enough to play the game well and to score, but the result was an undeniable homogeneity."

Canada used to play that game, but no more. In the so-called golden years of Canadian pop and rock in the 1980s and '90s, with the exception of Bryan Adams, BTO and a few others, one band signed to a major label sounded a lot like another.

For 95 per cent of artists in the new millennium, there is no single motivation, no visible goal, no obvious modus operandi. No major Canadian label has signed a new artist in the past four or five years – they simply can't afford the upkeep in a music universe where revenues have been savaged up to 35 per cent by free Internet downloading. Radio playlists, which tend to focus on Hot Adult Contemporary offerings, exclude the vastly diverse forms of music Canadians are making and recording independently.

So, knowing they're shut out of the commercial market, Canadian musical artists no longer need to conform. Indeed, it's better not to sound like anyone else, not to do things the way they've been done before. The result is a teeming – though undernourished – richly diverse musical culture.

WRITERS RULE: With apologies to the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which is the producer-of-record of the annual Juno Awards, one of the best things that has happened to Canadian music in recent years is the establishment of The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

While the Junos seem to have devolved from a non-partisan celebration of Canadian musical achievement into a money- and sales-oriented grabfest overseen by, and for the benefit of, a diminishing number of major record labels and a ratings-driven TV network anxious for a glitzy pop package that it can sell to broadcasters elsewhere, the hall of fame provides, says Leblanc, "a framing reference, a historical template complete with illustrative footnotes, of who we are as defined by the music we make."

The annual songwriters hall of fame concert gala, staged early in the New Year, is a non-competitive, non-commercial, non-partisan exposition of Canada's most popular form of self-expression, the narrative song. Generous and inclusive, it boasts no winners and disappoints no losers.

And despite CBC-TV's knuckleheaded decision to cut the French-language artists and awards recipients – half the nation's songwriting contingent – from this year's broadcast, it has potential to be the most honest, affirming, feel-good music extravaganza of them all.

LONELY SOUNDS: Distance, isolation and long, cold winters make Canadian music strong and distinct, or so one argument goes. The best of Canada's songs over the past 40 years contain discrete or oblique lyrical and musical references that underscore the relationships of specific places, regions and times of the year to emotional and spiritual states that Canadians recognize intuitively and that others find unusual and compelling.

Vast geography and extreme weather are also responsible, many argue, for the irregularly high number of solo singer-songwriters Canada has produced. The weather forces them to spend long periods contemplating, refining, practising, and the distances between major urban centres – prohibitively expensive for bands to traverse – are just more story-filled roads to the solo vagabond troubadour with a guitar on his or her back.

"Canada has produced an extraordinary number of independent solo artists simply because the geography is easier for a single artist to move in – and not so great for bands with truckloads of equipment, travel and accommodation expenses," says roots music promoter and long-time music publicist Richard Flohil.

CAN-CON CAN: Canadian content regulations for radio and Canada's unique music-funding infrastructure – the broadcast-industry financed FACTOR, VIDEOFACT and Radio Starmaker funding schemes, as well as Canada Council and provincial Arts Council grants – "is the envy of the world," says Bernie Finkelstein, retired founder of venerable independent roots music label, True North Records, and the chair of the VIDEOFACT music video fund.

"It's a support system that acknowledges the value of Canadian music, and is responsible for jump-starting the careers of countless artists."

What's Wrong With Canadian Music, On Juno Sunday

Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Greg Quill, Entertainment Columnist

(April 06, 2008) BAD BREAKS: Too few new Canadian artists get played on Canadian commercial radio, due primarily to the narrow range of music formats available in this country.

We have no domestic equivalents of the popular Triple A – Adult Album Alternative, which features a wider and more comprehensive playlist than other formats and targets adult listeners rather than teenagers – or the folk/blues/alt.country/neo-traditional and roots-music dominated Americana formats.

Ironically, the majority of new Canadian music fits easily into the parameters of one or both, yet with the exception of Alberta's CKUA public radio network and maybe CBC Radio 2's supposedly all-inclusive new format, to be launched in September, there's no radio space in Canada for artists other than pop, hip-hop and rock acts with major-label backing and music that fits existing commercial, teen-targeted playlists.

What keeps independent Canadian music off Canadian radio – apart from the golden oldies and classic rock with which radio stations meet their 35- and 40-per-cent Canadian content requirements – is "bad music," says Gary Slaight, former CEO of Standard Radio Inc.

"By that I mean music that's not format-focused, music that's outside of where radio's at, and to a lesser extent, products that aren't up to the standards of the remaining 65 per cent of what gets onto playlists, in terms of production and the quality of songs," says Slaight, now CEO of a communications company with interests in Internet and satellite broadcasting and music production.

"You sometimes have to play music that you wouldn't otherwise program, just to fill Cancon quotas." Over the years, that situation hasn't made commercial radio particularly friendly to homegrown music, he suggests.

TOO SHELTERED: If Canadian music once suffered from an identity crisis and a lack of self-esteem in the 1960s and 70s, nowadays is suffers from a false sense of security, Slaight believes.

"Because they have access to airplay (via Cancon requirements imposed on radio stations by the federal broadcast regulator) and an abundance of funding sources, too many Canadian acts stumble when they get out into the real world where an abundance of talent is what really counts."

That few Canadian acts have crashed the international star barrier has made private investors and major labels wary of committing sufficient amounts of money to developing new ones, he adds.

SYSTEM ERRORS: An underdeveloped infrastructure – good managers, agents, music publishers and self-sustaining record companies (that don't have to rely on government or government-enforced private funding) – prevents worthy musical acts from getting the attention, work, recording opportunities and radio access they deserve.

"After 30 years, we still don't have a decent business infrastructure, despite the emergence of a few super-managers and independent label bosses like (Nettwerk's) Terry McBride," says Leblanc. "We can't find the money to develop a band from the ground up, yet there's always a spare $100,000 for yet another seminar on what's wrong with the Canadian music business."

The problem is not just financial, Slaight adds. "In fact, there's too much cash available from governments and broadcasters (through FACTOR, Radio Starmaker, VIDEOFACT and Arts Councils) but no grand game plan as to how the cash can be best used."

SQUEEZED OUT: Few Canadian music and musicians have the lustre to compete for attention in increasingly celebrity-centric media – particularly newspapers and television.

"The Canadian media seem still to be in awe of all things foreign, and not so interested in what's going on in our own back yard," says Finkelstein. "As newspapers diminish in size and domestic television programming is dominated by the output of global media conglomerates, mass-appeal, middle-of-the-road music gets the attention. Canadian music suffers for lack of space in the Canadian media."

DOWNLOADING DILEMMA: Canadian music is burdened by antiquated copyright laws that permit unfettered free music downloading on peer-to-peer Internet file-sharing networks, depriving music creators of sales and royalties, says songwriter/producer and educator Blair Packham.

Canadians are world's most active free music downloaders.

"The fallout is enormous. Countless recording facilities have disappeared, artists can't afford to pay for sessions that would produce competitive music, recording budgets are a fraction of what they were just 10 years ago, and the prospects of pursuing a career in music are negligible," Packham says. "Why would you make music that's just going to be given away?"

Feist Is The Junos Homecoming Queen

Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Ben Rayner, Pop Music Critic

(April 07, 2008) CALGARY–Homecomings don't get any sweeter than this.

Calgary expat Leslie Feist likely isn't lying awake at night pining for official endorsement by Canada's music industry now that she's been on the Grammy Awards and even Sting and Sesame Street want to work with her, but it's gotta be nice to win a pile of Junos within easy reach of a home-cooked meal and a cozy bed at your parents' house.

Feist went three-for-three during last night's 2008 Juno Awards ceremony from the mildly iconic Pengrowth Saddledome, cementing a sweep begun during Saturday evening's pre-awards Juno gala of all five categories in which she was nominated. By the end of the weekend, she'd scored honours as Artist and Songwriter of the year, Album and Pop Album of the year for last year's smash hit The Reminder and Single of the Year for the ubiquitous "1234," familiar to millions through its sage placement in an iPod Nano commercial.

"I'm feeling overwhelmed," said the beaming Broken Social Scene compatriot and former Toronto indie scenester as she arrived on the red carpet. "It's a little insane."

Feist acknowledged backstage that the seeds of her illustrious, jet-setting pop career were sewn in and around the Saddledome. Some of her first shows with her fellow "D.I.Y., 16-year-old, scrappy kids" in teenage punk outfit Placebo were booked at a community centre mere blocks away, while the first concert she ever saw was Tina Turner in the `Dome at age 8.

Still, after spending three low-key weeks with her family in Calgary, Feist remained humbled in victory by the fact that she was still being ordered to vacuum around the parental home. Plus, after last night, her work with Broken Social Scene and her acclaimed 2004 debut, Let It Die, too, has now granted her enough Juno statuettes that her mother is joking about starting a makeshift foosball table with them

"There's, like, nine of them now and they all live at her house," laughed Feist. "So she's going to get some kind of football game going between them."

For an ex-punk rocker who's starting to get "superstar" affixed to her name on a regular basis, the 32-year-old Feist sufficiently adhered to the "keep it real" ethos after accepting her first award of the evening to give shoutouts to Canadian indie heroes Corb Lund – for whose former band, the Smalls, Placebo used to open years ago – and the Constantines, along with Toronto artist and Three Gut Records co-founder Tyler Clark Burke, in her acceptance speech.

"I guess I should acknowledge the fact that I was on the Grammy Awards – you might have heard of them, the American Junos – but this feels better. Not because I won a bunch of them, and thanks for that, but this just feels better," she said, and name-checked another round of underground Can-rock commodities like the Sadies and Julie Doiron.

The Juno haul and hometown stopover merely marked a "pit stop" on a global tour that "keeps going on forever," said Feist, now somewhat vindicated in Canada after being shut out in four categories at the Grammys last month, but still too busy to celebrate.

Her only reward to herself? "I had a 22-minute massage today."

Beloved Toronto roots-rock mainstays Blue Rodeo were the only other multiple winners when the final Juno votes were tallied, adding Group of the Year last night to a haul begun on Saturday with trophies for "adult alternative" Album of the Year for Small Miracles and Video of the Year for Christopher Mills’ clip for "C'mon."

Vancouver-bred Michael Bublé, who took home the Fan Choice Award, demonstrated why he's charmed so many millions of (mostly female) fans – not to mention Grammy and Juno voters – with his suave pop-stylist schtick by unleashing a raunchy stand-up comedy routine backstage fit to match Juno host Russell Peters. Onstage, Bublé joked that his viewer-voted award was "for all the people who said I couldn't vote for myself enough times to win."

Reunited Toronto hitmakers Triumph were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. They didn't perform – they're still in rehearsals for their first tour in about 15 years. "We're just gonna keep doing it until something good happens," said drummer Gil Moore.

On the whole, the evening actually proved a nice saving of face for the Junos, which have taken strides towards a semblance of hipness in recent years by involving younger, independent acts like Feist, k-os and the Arcade Fire – who snagged awards for alternative album of the year and CD/DVD packaging on Saturday night – but looked to be skewing more mainstream this year by giving prominent performance spots to Avril Lavigne, Anne Murray (who traded verses with Jann Arden and Sarah Brightman), Burlington's Finger Eleven, classical songstress Measha Brueggergosman and Bublé.

Key to the bounce back might have getting comedian Peters to host. The Brampton native introduced an element of irreverence to the show, which has relied on iffy emceeing by pop stars like Alanis Morissette, the Barenaked Ladies and Nelly Furtado – and a dismal 2006 showing by the wooden Pamela Anderson – in recent years.

He got off one of his best lines to open the gig: "I've never actually seen the Juno Awards, to be honest with you, which I guess makes me Canadian."

Peters was pleased with the cowboy attire he'd been required to sport for part of the show.

"Other than the really tight Wranglers, it's really not a bad outfit to wear. The boots are a little tight, but the cowboy hat is actually alright," he said. "I would host it 10 time over if they asked me...I'm glad they let me do it. And nobody at any point was ever, `Russell, don't do it.' They didn't censor me at all. They sorta tried to say `Don't say this' but I said it anyway and nobody's feelings were hurt, so clearly it worked."

Last night's winners

Seven awards were handed out during last night's live broadcast:

JUNO FAN CHOICE AWARD: Michael Bublé

SINGLE OF THE YEAR: "1 2 3 4," Feist

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: The Reminder, Feist

NEW GROUP OF THE YEAR: Wintersleep

GROUP OF THE YEAR: Blue Rodeo

COUNTRY RECORDING OF THE YEAR: Risk, Paul Brandt

POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR: The Reminder, Feist
Jeff Mcintosh/The Canadian Press

::MUSIC NEWS::

Juno-Winning Jazz Bassist Brandi Disterheft Hardly Takes A Back Seat

Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com - J.D. Considine

(April 8, 2008) Bass is a feminine instrument, according to former Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. "It's not that women play better," she has said. "The dynamic of bass in a band is to follow and nurture. Women are a lot more capable of that."

Brandi Disterheft respectfully disagrees. "I take, like, the opposite view actually," the 29-year old jazz bassist says. "I think you can really control [a band] and definitely be bossy. Sometimes when I play music, I do really like to try to direct things, to be creative and change it up."

Unlike Auf der Maur, who has a big amp and a stack of speakers with which to nurture, Disterheft does her bossing with a double bass. And even though her instrument is bigger than she is, there's no doubt who's in charge.

Indeed, Disterheft is at the moment the hottest bassist in Canadian jazz. On Saturday, her debut album, Debut, won the Juno for Best Traditional Jazz Recording, and tonight she competes against such veterans as Dave Young, Neil Swainson and Mike Milligan in the bass category of the National Jazz Awards. The awards program, which includes a performance by Disterheft, takes place at the Palais Royale in Toronto.

Disterheft is obviously flattered by the attention, yet remains admirably modest. "To work hard at what you do and then receive recognition, that's fantastic," she says, adding that she was happy to be nominated in the Jazz Awards alongside such great players. "And it's also really great to see my friend Jodi Proznick nominated. She was always a really big influence, and she was from the West Coast as well."

Although she currently calls Toronto her home, Disterheft hails from North Vancouver. "I got a scholarship to come to Humber College," she says, explaining the move east. "So, not thinking I'd pursue music, I went off to music school, and then, you know, sooner or later you get hooked."

She actually started off in music as a pianist. "Well, my mom's a jazz piano player, and both my parents love jazz," she says. "I started off playing piano, since I was young, and then switched to double bass at the beginning of high school, when I was 13."

It didn't take long for Disterheft to feel at home in the bass chair. "I took a liking to it early on," she says. "I felt that you could really drive the band - a lot was on me to make it sound good. With piano, you could look at like you're just playing fills. But bass, you're really like the bus driver of the band, and you're really in control. I like that."

Unsurprisingly, Disterheft lists Charles Mingus - a bassist famous for being able to drive and control a band - as one of her major influences. "Mingus is fantastic," she says. "He's definitely a great influence as a writer and as a player. ... I got a lot from listening to him."

Lately, she has emulated Min