20
Carlton Street, Suite 1032, Toronto, ON
M5B 2H5
(416)
677-5883
langfieldent@rogers.com
www.langfieldentertainment.com
April 24, 2008
Good April day to you all! I have a positive update on Haydain
Neale of jacksoul below. Please check it out. And there is also
some good news for those that like Caribana!
I've also got some pics for you from the VIP Jam last Monday in my PHOTO GALLERY - if you were there, you know how great it was - we really are
lucky to live in such a great country with the mega talents that we have
here!
Let's get right to the news so scroll down and find out what interests you -
take your time and take a walk into your weekly entertainment news!
::SCOOP::
Haydain Neale Trust Fund Launched
Source: www.jacksoul.com
(April 15, 2008) We would like to first of all, thank
everyone for their
continued support. We have been very touched by all the thoughts, prayers,
e-mails and letters received from both friends and fans. It has been a long
road over these past 8 months but Haydain
continues to improve each week. His injuries immediately following the accident
were very severe and as a result he was unconscious for a number of weeks.
Since then Haydain has left the hospital and is now in a rehabilitation
setting. Every day he has nothing but the best therapy and, in true 'Haydain'
fashion, approaches his recovery whole-heartedly and with a positive sarcasm.
We still have a long road ahead of us but we are confident that his positive
rehabilitation will continue. We encourage everyone to continue sending notes
and check this website for any updates. Many people have asked if there is
anything they could do to help. The outpouring of ideas and offers have been
tremendous and, in hopes of consolidating all the generosity, we have set up an
official trust to aid in Haydain's rehabilitation. We are also working to
release a new 'Jacksoul' song that was recorded not long before the accident.
You will be able to find more information on both initiatives on this website.
Finally, we would like to thank all of our friends and the various doctors,
therapists and caregivers that have been amazing through the entire recovery.
We will not forget you.
Sincerely,
Haydain, Michaela, Yasmin and Family
Haydain Neale Family Trust
Many thanks to all who sent messages,
thoughts, and prayers for Haydain and his family. If you would like to
make a donation to the Haydain Neale Family Trust, please visit any RBC
location or use PayPal directly from the link below. Thanks again to everyone
for their support!
::TOP STORIES::
Garbage!
The Revolution Starts at Home
Source: www.garbagerevolution.com
(April 18, 2008) A feature documentary about
how the family household has
become one of the most ferocious environmental predators of our time.
Concerned for the future of his new baby boy Sebastian, writer director Andrew Nisker takes an average urban family, the
McDonalds, and asks them to keep every scrap of garbage that they create for
three months. He then takes them on a journey to find out where it all goes and
what it’s doing to the world.
From organic waste to the stuff they flush down the potty, the plastic bags
they use to the water they drink out of bottles, the air pollution they create
when transporting the kids around, to using lights at Christmas, the McDonalds
discover that for every action there is a reaction that affects them and the entire
planet.
Everyday life under a microscope has never been so revealing. By the end of
this trashy odyssey, you are truly inspired to revolutionize your lifestyle for
the sake of future generations.
In Garbage!, filmmaker Andrew Nisker, skilfully and succinctly puts all of the
information in one place – shifting the movement from melting glaciers and oil
slicks to our neighbourhoods and into our homes, so that average people can
connect the dots between their actions and the environment and be inspired to
change their polluting ways
From the filmmaker: Official website | Trailer | Buy the DVD
http://www.garbagerevolution.com/bios
Get Creative For Cash: Rap Edition
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Les Seaforth (Alias More Or Les), Special To The Star
(April 20, 2008) Earlier this week the
Canadian Press reported that out of 43 musicians who received federal grants
last year, only four were hip-hop artists. Is the system stacked against them?
We asked a veteran rapper to share some wisdom.
Often described as music that dominates Canadian record sales and radio
play, rap is a huge money-making genre ... for major music labels whose parent
companies are based in the United States. For people trying to make music here,
it's a different story. Being a Canadian rapper means never having to say you're rich.
But I don't speak from a place of bitterness (much); it's just reality. Under
the name More Or Les, I've been a professional emcee since 1992 (the first time
someone put cash in my hand for rhyming "material" with
"cereal" in front of strangers), turning an afterschool activity into
something that almost pays decently.
It's a challenge most Canadian artists face. With a smaller population than the
U.S., a lack of infrastructure for urban music development and very few
independent or major labels offering (or able to offer) monetary advances for
music and video creation, the Canadian rapper must get crafty and create promotional,
performance and financial opportunities for himself.
And crafty I have been; hip-hop creators often insist that the core of their
culture is to do things differently from what mainstream society expects. I've
performed at the World Cycling Championships, Second City, the Direct Energy
Centre at Exhibition Place and the North York Central Library as a part of
well-attended, decent-paying shows where you would typically not expect to find
a rapper.
Add to that being the only rapper on the zine-writers' Perpetual Motion
Roadshow tour, and taking it upon myself to busk (read: me, mic, iPod, speaker,
cash box, CDs, rapping) on the Queen St. W. sidewalk, and you have someone who
has learned to find opportunities.
Enter: grants and loans. Offered by provincial, federal and private
organizations, grant and loan programs differ almost as much as the music. You
can find programs to cover costs for video-making, recording, production,
touring and product duplication (CDs and vinyl), as well as items some rappers
overlook, like marketing, promotions, travel to and attendance of music
conferences, and writing. Imagine someone paying you to write lyrics! To some
folks, that's getting paid before "getting paid."
Grant and loan bodies available to Toronto rappers include FACTOR (which
assists on recording and video expenses) and its visual equivalent VideoFACT;
the Ontario Arts Council; PromoFACT; and the Toronto Arts Council. They all
have websites, occasionally have information seminars, and some even have staff
available on the phone to answer any questions.
But I would not call this "free money." Even though I have received
funding through the Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council and recently
from FACTOR, it did not come easily.
It took me a while to discover, understand and apply for funding – several
times. And there is work involved; it's more than just filling out a form. I've
seen artists scoff at that, thinking they should be able to submit their music
and get a cheque. But all of these organizations have criteria that must be
met; all the Is must be dotted, all the Ts crossed; and most importantly, your
project must be creative, professional and logical, regardless of genre. And
this detail can work to an artist's advantage in other ways: you might get your
work seen and/or heard by organizations not interested in funding rap
specifically if you present it in a way that fits their criteria.
Just like artists, the people working in these organizations want to be proud
of the product they're giving money to. In talking to members of some of the
above-mentioned organizations, I have found them genuinely interested in the
music they fund. As they should be: successful projects enable them to get more
funding from their sources to give to you. So use the money for
what you outline in your application as best you can – buying beers with your
grant money hurts more than your liver.
What should be a bigger concern is that rappers are perhaps not aware these
opportunities exist.
There's no guarantee that telling people to do their research and ask questions
will generate results (especially since they become my competition if they
succeed), but artists need to do just that to see what's available to them.
And if grant and loan bodies can reach out to the community more (for example,
FACTOR has a monthly open mic and info session), they stand to increase their
presence on the urban music landscape, perhaps get more high-quality clients
and help to build the "hip hop community" often spoken about but hard
to quantify in this country.
More Or Les performs May 15 at Reverb.
Introducing
Reggae I-Tunes
Source: L3 Publicity
(Apr. 18, 2008) London, UK - The Reggae I-Tunes group from the
United Kingdom has launched www.reggaeitunes.com
which is a full service website that allows visitors access to feature news,
reviews, previews, event listings, chat rooms, reggae forums, and samples from
international reggae artists as well as independent artists and labels from
around the world. In addition to the latest in news content, visitors
will have the option to watch online TV that's populated with music video's and
on-camera interviews from the Reggae I-Tunes cast and crew from international
events such as stage shows and festivals along with free online internet radio
broadcasting some of the best Reggae music on the internet.
"This has
been some time in the making, and we are pleased with the launch of the
site. The people told us that they wanted a full service website, and we
are happy to deliver. It is our intent to provide them with the best
experience, while generating revenue for and from our viable industry,"
said Steven Angus, President and CEO of Reggae I-Tunes. Reggae I-Tunes
also has a radio station component, which allows listeners to tune in from
around the world to hear a diverse mix of Reggae music from their extensive and
growing music library.
As well as a
number of distribution and marketing services available, Reggae I-Tunes will
also operate an online store, which will allow visitors to purchase the music
they hear, with a portion of the sales paid directly to the artist and
producer. Visitors will also be able to purchase other digital products
including videos and event tickets.
Caribana
Gets $300,000 Budget Boost
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com
- James
Bradshaw
(April
22, 2008) Toronto's exuberant Caribana
summer festival got a
sizable boost to its budget and its reputation from the provincial government
yesterday, as organizers unveiled new events and locations for this year's
revamped instalment.
Ontario MPP Jim Brownell announced a $300,000 grant from the Ministry of
Tourism to help market the event, renamed Scotiabank
Caribana
after receiving its first six-figure private title sponsorship. The additional
funds are expected to be ease the burden of perennially cash-strapped
organizers.
After drawing 1.2 million revellers last year, organizers were expecting up to
$1.7-million in grants, sponsorships and gate revenue this year. The new cash
infusion should bring the festival's total revenue to nearly $2-million, vastly
increasing the likelihood of balancing the books.
"We are always on a very, very tight budget so this $300,000 will
definitely help," said Eddison Doyle, CFO and COO of the Festival
Management Committee. "More money is always good to have, and we are
always thankful for amounts like these. But we certainly [still] don't have
enough."
Mr. Doyle also thinks the grant signals increased provincial confidence in the
responsible operations of the Festival Management Committee, now in its third
year at the helm. Echoing Mr. Doyle was City Council's Caribana liaison, Joe
Mihevc, who praised the committee for the event's maturation under their watch.
"It started as a small community event, it had its growing pains, but the
last few years we've really noticed a breakthrough. We've really noticed a
higher level of organization, a higher level of professionalism," he said.
The city and province already contribute $436,000 each, and the federal
government $100,000 more. The festival has enlisted the help of 14 other
sponsors, including Tourism Toronto and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and
relies heavily on gate revenue from ticketed events.
Planners are also reaching out to the city's other cultural festivities.
Caribana will feature in the Luminato festival's water-themed finale, entitled
"Luminat'eau," and a plan is under way to team Caribana with Toronto's
premier Latin festival, Salsa on St. Clair, which attracts more than 250,000
people annually.
"This year will be the first step of a multiyear plan to create a powerful
one-two punch in support of tourism in this great city, cultural productions,
our local arts scene and a celebration of a really good time," said John
Montesano, vice-president and general manager of Latin television network TLN.
The Royal Ontario Museum, another sponsor, which provided the backdrop for
yesterday's announcement, will hold this year's art exhibition, which relocates
from the Distillery District and boasts a "Roots to Rhythm" theme.
Other highlights include the new Calypso Tent Music Series, which offers
performances each weekend starting in June, and a return to Olympic Island for
De Caribana Lime, a full day of Caribbean food and performances in song, dance,
drama and storytelling.
The festival is scheduled from July 15 to Aug. 3, with the centrepiece parade
Aug. 2.
Summer festival standouts
Doors Open Toronto:
May 24-25
Luminato: June 6-15
Pride Week: June 20-29
TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival: June 20-29
Canada Day Festival of Fire: June 28-July 5
The Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival: July 2-13
Caribana Festival & Parade: July 15-August 3
Taste of the Danforth:
Aug. 8-10
Canadian National Exhibition: Aug. 15-Sept. 1
::TRAVEL NEWS::
New
view of the Grand Canyon
Excerpt from www.thestar.com - Dan Leeth, Special To The Star
(April 12, 2008)
GRAND CANYON, ARIZ.–A canyon wren greets the dawn,
its call a descending scale of flute-like notes. Eyes open to the sight of distant
palisades blushing in the morning sun. Here at the canyon bottom, a kilometre
below the rim, shadows linger well into the morning.
One by one, campers crawl from sleeping bags, grab mugs and head toward the
aroma of coffee and pancakes. Beside them flows the Colorado River, a
football-field-wide channel of muddy-brown liquid. The nearby current mildly
laps the bank, but a quarter-mile downstream, the ominous roar of rapids
reverberates from riverside cliffs.
Stunning confines, tasty cuisine and the promise of coming cataracts – another
day begins in the depths of Arizona's Grand Canyon.
Every year, more than four million tourists stand at the canyon's edge and gape
at its cliffs and chasms, shapes, shades and shadows. A mere 25,000 gaze back
annually from below.
Instead of expansive grandeur, folks at the bottom experience a corridor filled
with intimate colours, textures, sights, sounds and smells.
Riverside landforms vary from sheer cliffs to tumbling slopes and skirted
terraces. Surprises abound. Springs gush from cliffside caves, waterfalls
tumble over desert bluffs and tributary canyon slots lead to emerald grottos.
Willows and tamarisks shade sandy benches. Coyotes, deer, and desert bighorn
roam streamside flats. Other than a pair of foot bridges near Phantom Ranch,
the only marks of humankind are historic.
"There are not many places in North America where you can go for 18 days
on a river trip and not go through communities," observes part-time river
guide Matt Claman. "This is a very long stretch of uninterrupted river
travel that also happens to have a lot of whitewater."
The Grand Canyon offers over 150 named rapids. They range in scale from wavy
churners to frothing maelstroms sporting waves higher than houses and holes
that could swallow a Hummer. Bounding, bouncing and bashing through one of
these can be a puckering endeavour.
Most river trippers hurdle through the canyon's cataracts on pontoon rafts
powered by pistons. The rigs stretch around 10 metres in length and can hold 15
or more people plus guides. Gear, food, fuel, spare engine and generally enough
adult beverages to open a streamside speakeasy get strapped on top.
These floating motor coaches travel at around 13 km/h, giving gas-powered trips
the advantage of speed. Passengers can traverse the length of the canyon in six
days, with optional seven- and eight-day journeys available to those wanting
more time for side-canyon exploration.
Motor rigs plough through whitewater, treating passengers to an amusement
park-like, drenching ride. Riders, especially those near the bow, feel the
thrill as waves of water pour over them. Because of their power and size, motor
rafts seldom flip.
Motorized trips have their disadvantages. There's the din of engine noise, and
those sitting near the back smell the exhaust. Guide interaction is limited.
Scenery passes quickly and the shortness of the trips and size of the groups
make it difficult to get to know fellow passengers.
"People go back to their cliques and families," observes Ryan Zimmer
of Wilderness River Adventures. "You have a few people who mingle, but not
many."
Then there's the speed itself. Some think that even eight days in the bottom of
the canyon is not enough time. For them, commercial outfitters offer longer,
muscle-powered alternatives.
The most common go-slow options employ oar-powered, inflatable rafts.
Floating at half the speed of piston-powered rigs, a full-canyon oar journey
takes a dozen days or more. The unhurried pace allows more time for absorbing
the majesty of the canyon. Vacations become experiences.
"You get people who come down here for 16 to 18 days and it's a completely
different experience," says guide Bill Bruchak. "They become part of
the place and end up taking it with them. That's what boatmen call `getting
it.'"
If motor rigs are the river's busses, these are its minivans. The rafts carry
four to six passengers each plus an oarsman. Chummy seating and lack of engine
noise gives guides the opportunity to share natural history, human history and
a few tall tales from their own canyon history.
Their smaller size and lower-slung seating make oar-powered rafts feel more
exciting in heavy whitewater. Although it happens infrequently, they will flip
more easily than their motorized brethren. Fortunately, they are far easier to
turn back, sunny-side up.
For those who think that watching a guide do the work is too sedentary, a
number of companies offer paddle rafts. Passengers wielding plastic paddles
provide the locomotion while guides bark instructions. Success in the
whitewater depends on strength and teamwork.
Of course, paddle rafting is not for the unfit. With 364 kilometres to cover,
upper body muscles get a Bengay-worthy workout.
Paddling a rapid can be exciting but when it comes to whitewater, few rides
compare to those provided by dories. Invented in the 1960s, these wood and
fibreglass vessels carry four passengers and an oarsman. They are broad on the
bottom and feature upturned ends with pointed bows and sterns. Costly,
colourful and classic, dories are the sports cars of commercial river running.
They are also somewhat rare. Of the canyon's 16 outfitters, only two (Grand
Canyon Dories and Grand Canyon Expeditions) offer dory trips.
The most manoeuvrable commercial craft on the river, a dory's hard sides, sharp
bow and rocker-shaped hull allow it to carve its way through a rapid like a
Ferrari twisting down a race track. Guides carefully plot routes. Unlike rubber
rafts that bounce off boulders, when a dory smacks a rock, holes can result.
Most are easily patched with fibreglass and epoxy.
Dories are also the most prone to tipping, and the easiest to right. To help
keep the boats from going bottoms-up, passengers learn to lean into waves.
After a rapid, they bail out the boat.
The fun of a run can be measured by the inches of liquid sloshing in the foot
wells.
Grand Canyon float trips are not for everyone. Nights are spent camping on
sandy benches. Shelter comes in two-person tents, which you erect yourself..
Mattresses are foam pads, and bedding is a sleeping bag.
The bathroom consists of a military-surplus ammo can topped with a toilet seat,
and the only bathing facility is the 7C river. There are bugs, bats, snakes,
scorpions, rodents and the occasional skunk to contend with, along with ample
blasts of wind, rain and heat.
Cell phones don't work at the bottom of the canyon, and there's no TV, WiFi,
Internet, or even electricity to recharge an iPod. In the world of
interconnectivity, it's a disengaging getaway.
On the other hand, most commercial trips provide guide-cooked dining with menus
featuring fresh foods through trips' end. Experienced river runners share
knowledge, stories and song.
Hikes lead to waterfalls and pools nearly impossible to reach by any other
means. Sunsets paint the sky pink, and starlit nights are simply stellar.
Best of all, the river provides an ideal venue for testing limits, challenging
fear or just contemplating the meaning of life.
"The greatest thing for me being down here is just seeing how it affects
different people," says Wilderness River Adventures guide Paul
"Okie" Jones, "and trying to see how it has affected me."
Whether motor or muscle-powered, the experience is not soon forgotten.
Dan Leeth is a freelance writer based in Aurora, Colo.
Just the facts
When: Spring weather may be unstable and temperatures can range from
pleasantly warm to downright cold. The river is most crowded in summer, with
groups adjoining camps. Days can be scorching. Late summer-early fall brings
cooler temperatures and generally more stable weather.
Outfitters: A list of the 16 companies licensed to operate in the Grand
Canyon may be obtained from the Contact Grand Canyon National Park
or the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association. Full-canyon trips
range from six to 18 days and cost $2,000 to $5,000 U.S. or more.
Outfitters generally provide camping gear and dry bags free or at a nominal
rental fee. Most companies offer half-canyon trips of 3 to 5 days with a
takeout or put-in at Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the Inner Gorge. The only
option to hiking is to arrange for mule transport.
Shorter trips: Colorado River Discovery
offers half- and full-day trips down the river from Glen Canyon Dam to Lees
Ferry. Prices run $70-145.
At the western end of the canyon, the Hualapai tribe
(www.destinationgrandcanyon.com/runners.html) offers one-day, white-water float
trips downstream from Diamond Creek. Cost is $249 plus a $79 transportation
fee.
Information: To learn more about the Grand Canyon, contact the National
Park Service or the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association.
For more visiting the Grand Canyon State, contact the Arizona Office of Tourism.
::MUSIC NEWS::
Jazz
Festival Line-up Boasts New Venues, Variety
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Ashante Infantry, Pop
& Jazz Critic
(April
22, 2008) The 22nd edition of the TD
Canada Trust Toronto Jazz
Festival
will be a diverse musical spread with 10 more locations than last year.
Having earlier announced that soul music legend Al
Green
would kick off the 10-day, 12-night event, organizers revealed the
participation of other exciting vocalists – Lizz Wright, Susan Tedeschi, Salif
Keita, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Nikki Yanofsky, James Hunter and Ernestine
Anderson – at The Pilot Tavern yesterday.
Joining the elite pianists – Dave Brubeck, Ahmad Jamal, Michel Legrand and
Oliver Jones – already advertised for the Grandmasters Series are Renee Rosnes,
Cyrus Chestnut, Geri Allen and Dr. John.
Sax fans will be enticed by Charles Lloyd, Maceo Parker and Houston Pearson
individually, but the unique Alto Summit – designed specially for Toronto with
Red Holloway, Donald Harrison, Greg Osby and Bobby Watson – will have them
downright agog.
The flavourful musical palette includes contemporary California swing band Big
Bad Voodoo Daddy, Nigeria's Toby Foyeh & Orchestra Africa, Sweden's Esbjorn
Svensson Trio, Cuban trumpet virtuoso Arturo Sandoval and American funk bassist
Marcus Miller.
Boundary-pushing acts include Philly hip-hop producer RJD2, the 18-piece
Bjorkestra, which fuses the music of Bjork with "innovative stylistic and
improvisatory concepts drawn from modern jazz and beyond," and a cappella
group Naturally 7.
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, guitarists Mike Stern and John Scofield return, while
bluesman John Hammond and French bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons make their festival
debuts.
The June 20-29 event will utilize 40 venues, from St. Timothy's Anglican Church
to The Old Mill Inn and Enwave Theatre, including several first-time spots: The
Drake Hotel Lounge, Diesel Playhouse and Supermarket.
Organizers are also premiering a Toronto Jazz Festival Orchestra to perform
with the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Find full schedule and ticket information at tojazz.com or 416-870-8000.
We Remember
R&B Star Al Wilson
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(April 23, 2008) *Soul singer Al Wilson, best known for
his 1973 No. 1 hit
"Show and Tell," died Monday of kidney failure at a hospital in
Southern Calif., according to reports. He was 68. Wilson died in a hospital in
Fontana, a city about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, said the Inland Valley
Daily Bulletin. A native of
Meridian, Miss., Wilson was 12 when he began his musical career singing in the
church choir and leading his own quartet. In high school, he moved with his
family to San Bernardino, Calif., where he worked as a mailman, janitor and
office clerk while teaching himself to play drums. After high school, he toured
with the group Johnny Harris and the Statesmen before joining the Navy and
singing with an enlisted men's chorus. After two years in the service, Wilson
relocated to Los Angeles and began working the local nightclub circuits before
joining several R&B vocal groups: first The Jewels, then The Rollers and
eventually instrumental combo The Souls.
In 1966, Wilson signed to the Soul City label and two years later had
his first hit, "The Snake." Several minor hits followed, including Do
What You Gotta Do," his cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's
"Lodi" and Rivers' own "Poor Side Of Town." "Show and
Tell" spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hit 100 singles chart in
January 1974. The romantic ballad was written and produced by songwriter Jerry
Fuller, and first recorded by Johnny Mathis. Funeral arrangements have
yet to be announced.
Al Wilson, 68
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com - The Associated Press
(April 23, 2008) FONTANA, Calif. — Al Wilson, the soul singer
and songwriter who had a number of 1970s hits including Show and Tell
and The Snake has died. He was 68. Wilson died Monday of kidney failure
at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana, according to his son, Tony
Wilson of Yucaipa, Calif. “He was always singing,” his son said. “He would call
me in the middle of the night with a new song that he had written.” Wilson was
born on June 19, 1939, in Meridian, Miss. He sang in the church choir as a boy
and had his own spiritual singing quartet. His family moved to San Bernardino
in 1958 and he found work as a mail carrier, office clerk and janitor. He
toured for four years with the group Johnny (Legs) Harris and the Statesmen
before joining the U.S. Navy. After a two-year stint, he moved to Los Angeles
and played with the Jewels and their successor group, the Rollers. A drummer,
he also worked with the instrumental group the Souls. In 1966, he was spotted
by manager Marc Gordon, who introduced him to singer Johnny Rivers, who signed
him to his Soul City label. Wilson's first single, The Snake in 1968,
was a hit and was followed by Do What You Gotta Do. Show and Tell
was released in 1973 and the next year was No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100
chart. Wilson charted with several other 1970s singles, including La La
Peace Song, I've Got a Feeling (We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again)
and Count the Days. In later years, he continued to tour clubs in Los
Angeles and elsewhere. In addition to his son, Wilson leaves his wife,
Patricia; daughters Alene Harris and Sharon Burley; a brother, Eddie Wilson;
sisters Lottie Ross, Ruby Conyers and Maebell Cole, and 13 grandchildren.
Clive Davis No Longer 'The
Man' At Sony BMG
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(April 18, 2008) *Wow, we didn't see this one coming, but in a shake-up that reflects
the music business as it exists now, legendary music man, Clive Davis is being shuffled off to another post.
The move is also a nod to the new realities facing the music industry: keeping
costs in check amidst declining sales.
On Thursday, Sony BMG Music Entertainment said that Davis would give up his
corporate role as head of its BMG division and control of its RCA Label Group
for a new creative post.
Barry Weiss, the chief of the company’s Zomba Label Group, will become chairman
and chief executive of the BMG Label Group, overseeing RCA and Zomba, and an
array of artists like Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, OutKast and Kelly
Clarkson, reports the NY Times.
As the world knows, Davis, 76, is revered for his ability to find and develop
hit artists. His latest in a long line, which includes Whitney Houston and
Alicia Keys, is British singer Leona Lewis, who's currently number one on the
singles chart.
But developing artists and creating hits the way Davis does comes with an
expensive price tag. In short, making expensive videos and launching pricey
marketing campaigns are no longer business as usual. Sony BMG’s decision to
promote Mr. Weiss underscores the idea that hits alone cannot save the
industry.
Weiss, 49, who also personally oversees many of his artists’ creative
decisions, has enjoyed his share of chart success with acts like Chris Brown
and T-Pain. But he also has a reputation for tightly managing expenses, and
being savvier about the digital revolution. T-Pain’s hits, for example, have
had considerable success as ring tones, the kind of high-margin, low-glamour
products that are becoming more important to labels’ bottom lines.
Davis will continue to work with some acts and report directly to the Sony BMG
chief executive, Rolf Schmidt-Holz.
“The business is under tremendous pressure, and it’s very tough to maintain
profits as they were in preceding years,” said Danny Goldberg, a former record
company president who now runs the management firm Gold Village Entertainment.
“So it’s clarifying that they would turn to Barry Weiss, who is on the one hand
responsible for signing talent and on the other hand has shown a discipline
about cost-cutting.”
Hmm, there goes Clive's annual Grammy bash.
Springsteen's Keyboardist, Danny Federici, Dead
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- The Associated Press
(April 18, 2008) NEW YORK–Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard
player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street
Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising,''
died Thursday. He was 58.
Federici, who had battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. News of his death was posted late
Thursday on Springsteen's official Web site.
He last performed with Springsteen and the band last month, appearing during
portions of a March 20 show in Indianapolis.
"Danny and I worked together for 40 years – he was the most wonderfully
fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much ... we
grew up together," Springsteen said in a statement posted on his Web site.
Springsteen concerts scheduled for Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and
Saturday in Orlando were postponed.
Federici was born in Flemington, N.J., a long car ride from the Jersey shore
haunts where he first met kindred musical spirit Springsteen in the late 1960s.
The pair often jammed at the Upstage Club in Asbury Park, N.J., a now-defunct
after-hours club that hosted the best musicians in the state.
It was Federici, along with original E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, who
first invited Springsteen to join their band.
By 1969, the self-effacing Federici – often introduced in concert by
Springsteen as "Phantom Dan" – was playing with the Boss in a band
called Child. Over the years, Federici joined his friend in acclaimed shore
bands Steel Mill, Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom and the Bruce Springsteen Band.
Federici became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen rocketed from
the boardwalk to international stardom. Springsteen split from the E Streeters
in the late '80s, but they reunited for a hugely successful tour in 1999.
"Bruce has been supportive throughout my life," Federici said in a
recent interview with Backstreets magazine. "I've had my ups and downs,
and I've certainly given him a run for his money, and he's always been there for
me.''
Federici played accordion on the wistful "4th Of July, Asbury Park
(Sandy)" from Springsteen's second album, and his organ solo was a
highlight of Springsteen's first top 10 hit, "Hungry Heart." His
organ coda on the 9/11-inspired Springsteen song ``You're Missing"
provided one of the more heart-wrenching moments on "The Rising" in
2002.
In a band with larger-than-life characters such as saxophonist Clarence Clemons
and bandana-wrapped guitarist "Little" Steven Van Zandt, Federici was
content to play in his familiar position to the side of the stage. But his
playing was as vital to Springsteen's live show as any instrument in the band.
Federici released a pair of solo albums that veered from the E Street sound and
into soft jazz. Bandmates Nils Lofgren on guitar and Garry Tallent on bass
joined Federici on his 1997 debut, ``Flemington." In 2005, Federici
released its follow-up, "Out of a Dream.''
Federici had taken a leave of absence during the band's tour in November 2007
to pursue treatment for melanoma, and was temporarily replaced by veteran
musician Charles Giordano.
At the time, Springsteen described Federici as "one of the pillars of our
sound and has played beside me as a great friend for more than 40 years. We all
eagerly await his healthy and speedy return.''
Besides his work with Springsteen, Federici played on albums by an impressive
roster of other artists: Van Zandt, Joan Armatrading, Graham Parker, Gary U.S.
Bonds and Garland Jeffreys.
Hot Chip's Live Show Is Hot Stuff
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Raju Mudhar, Entertainment Reporter
(April 18, 2008) Hot Chip may look like the world's biggest nerds, but the
five British funksters make some of the sweetest sounding electro-pop around.
They are the dance band that the indie kids love and anticipation was high to
see them live at the Phoenix in support of their third album, Made in the
Dark.
The sold-out show got off to an iffy start. Opening band Free Blood seemed to
be having a private dance party amongst themselves onstage. The duo sang over
pre-recorded beats, although Hot Chip's multi-instrumentalist Al Doyle joined
them for a song. Free Blood has pretty good bass-filled grooves, but the minute
it felt like they had something funky happening onstage, the vocalists would
shriek wildly or abruptly change things up, seemingly to cut off any possible
enjoyment.
Most folks weren't really paying attention, anyway, as they were waiting for
the main event. Having seen Hot Chip perform two years ago at Lee's Palace, I
thought I knew what to expect, but the band's incessant touring since then has
created a very different beast live.
At the last show they stuck fairly faithfully to versions of their recordings.
Percussionist Felix Martin missed that show due to illness – perhaps that made
all the difference. Hot Chip at full strength is something to behold.
On record, the band is all about a unique mix of sweet vocals, tasteful synths
and techno beats. If there is complaint, it's that sometimes it seems a little
precious and calculated. That certainly wasn't the case at this show.
Live, the band has beefed up its sound, making it a little messier by adding
more squelchy bleeps and stronger percussion. Almost like an electronica jam
band, they extended songs and let them bleed into others. Many had repetitive
grooves that built up to peaks like house music tracks, at times reminiscent of
stalwart local electronica instrumentalists Holy F---.
While some of their subtler, more delicate elements were lost, what was left
was a purer party sound. At times, the show had the ebullient feeling of an
old-school rave.
While the latest album has garnered mixed reviews, the new tracks benefited
from the chunkier live sound. The band opened with a driving "Shake A
Fist," then "Bendable Poseable" launched with a maelstrom of
feedback from multi-instrumentalist Doyle, who acted as spokesperson for the
evening, not that there was much chit-chat.
The stage presence was pretty static, save for the band members switching
instruments and an impressive light show choreographed to the performance.
The set was heavy with tracks from the new album, but the minute Alexis
Taylor's vocals started old faves like "Boy From School" and
"Over and Over," the fist-pumping, hands-in-the-air crowd went crazy.
If there was a misstep, the obligatory encore started off a little slowly with
the ballad "Made in the Dark" but picked up with "Don't
Dance" – and despite the exhortation of the chorus, the sardine-packed
crowd grooved in place as well as they could – and "No Fit State."
When the band finished up with a cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2
U" (itself famously covered by one Sinead O'Connor) the crowd burst into
sing-along mode. A fitting denouement to the evening.
Kathleen Edwards Brings Dark Material To Phoenix
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- Greg Quill, Entertainment Columnist
(April 19 2008) The only bad songs, Kathleen Edwards believes, are
those that leave nothing to the imagination.
Even so, the 29-year-old, Ottawa-based singer-songwriter gets pretty close to
the nitty gritty several times on her just-released third CD, Asking For
Flowers, the roots music star's most confident and outwardly focused
recording to date. Perhaps not coincidentally, its most remarkable achievements
are songs that deal less with her inner life and the realm of imagination than
with human behaviour of the worst kind.
The long ballad "Alicia Ross," a signal departure for Edwards, tells
the story of the 25-year-old Markham woman who was savagely murdered in 2005 by
her next-door neighbour. He was never a suspect till he came forward five weeks
after she disappeared and led police to her remains.
Edwards focuses on the grief of Ross' mother, not on the grim details of the
event itself, to create a powerful statement about the effects of violence.
"It was a hard song to write, brutal, and it took a long time," Edwards
says during a recent stopover in Toronto. She performs Wednesday night at the
Phoenix Concert Theatre with Justin Rutledge opening.
"But it was a song I really wanted to finish. I was moved by her story,
the randomness, the senselessness of it, but it was her mother's pain that got
to me. She was very visible in the media during the five weeks the police were
looking for her daughter and I could see my own mother ... anybody's mother ...
how could you live another day with that much pain?
"Our parents spend their lives trying to protect us, teaching us to be
careful ... but how can you prepare a child for something so unexpected?"
Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Jim Scott – he has also worked with Tom
Petty, one of Edwards' favourite songwriters and performers – Asking For
Flowers arrives a full three years after her sophomore album, Back To
Me, and six years after her groundbreaking independent debut, Failer.
There's no mystery to the long wait between albums, Edwards says.
"I just didn't have the songs. I took some time off, I got married (to
guitarist and collaborator Colin Cripps), I worked last summer in a winery in
Niagara, I spent time in my garden.
"I usually write alone and locked away ... I'm the stereotypical depressed
songwriter. I envy writers like (Bruce) Springsteen – I've seen pictures of him
carrying a notebook and scribbling ideas down whenever they occur to him. I
usually have to wait for the right circumstances. This time, when Jim called to
say he'd put together a band he wanted me to play with, only a couple of songs
were finished. The rest I wrote in California, some actually in the
studio."
The unscheduled break in her professional routine gave Edwards time to reflect
on the world around her, on tough issues affecting everyone – the Iraq war,
political fugitives, incipient racism in her homeland, mortality and violence –
that surface in unusually brave and sophisticated ways in the songs "Oil
Man's War," "Oh Canada," "Scared at Night" and "Alicia
Ross."
There's evidence, too, of her trademark black sense of humour ("I Make The
Dough, You Get The Glory," about her long-time band mate, Ottawa guitarist
and songwriter Jim Bryson), her propensity for dirty words ("Sure as
S--t," a tender love ballad in which passion finds expression in a profane
mumble), and outlaw sensibilities ("Buffalo," "Run").
There's enough wit, emotional depth and bravado to have earned Edwards
significant critical praise this time out.
"My mouth can get me into trouble," she laughs. "I'm always
acting on my gut reactions. My big concern on this album was over `Oh Canada.'
Maybe as a white middle-class woman I'm not entitled to write a song about
racism. Part of me feels I could be harshly judged because I didn't include
myself in the song."
Still, she has made the album she wanted to make, she says, and without
record-company meddling or advice.
"It was scary handing it over (to her U.S. label Zoe Records) ... and no
one has called me yet to tell me I made a great record."
Not that she's looking for extra approval. Asking For Flowers was picked
up for release outside North America by Universal Music, which guarantees
major-league exposure and the trappings of stardom.
"Well, maybe better hotel rooms," Edwards says with a cheeky grin.
Leona Lewis Is Taking North America By Storm
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com
- Brad Wheeler
(April 17, 2008) Non-conformists need not apply, thank you very
much. When commercial music
mavens Simon Cowell and Clive Davis set out to craft a new pop starlet, they
probably had a lovely, compliant sort of singer in mind - someone with the
pipes of Whitney Houston, though not the crack pipes; someone like the young
Mariah Carey, not the older Mariah scary; someone like the tumultuous Amy
Winehouse, but without her assorted barefooted scandals.
They have their anti-diva in Leona Lewis, the
dusky-skinned darling who won the third edition of Cowell's British talent show
The X Factor in 2006. Under the extreme grooming of Cowell and American
producer and label supremo Davis, Lewis has blossomed, from the shy owner of a
strong soprano voice to a superstar on the rise. The catchy, syncopated R&B
pleader Bleeding Love, from her debut album Spirit, sits atop the
Billboard singles chart south of the border and, as of this week, the album
itself is No. 1 in Canada, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
It has all been quite a rush for a 23-year-old singer who not so long ago
worked as a podiatrist's receptionist and a Pizza Hut waitress in London.
"It's kind of amazing," Lewis says, speaking from New York recently.
"It's kind of hard to prepare for it, with the media attention and things
like that. It's amazing to be doing music on this level."
Lewis says "amazing," or other such bland, praising adjectives, quite
a bit. About her singing idol Minnie Ripperton? "She's amazing."
About BRIT School, the Fame-like London performing arts academy where
Lewis, along with fellow pop stars Kate Nash, Kate Melua, Adele and Winehouse,
were trained? "It's a great school." About Oprah Winfrey? "She's
such a lovely lady." And about her taskmasters Davis and Cowell?
"They're fine, they're all good and lovely and supportive. Clive is so
wonderful and so passionate about music, and it's a privilege to work with both
of them, with all of their expertise."
These platitudes do not come in an automated monotone, but in cheerful, breezy
summations. Still, when asked about her boss Davis, and how his domineering
ways made Kelly Clarkson cry after the former American Idol rebelled
against him, Lewis's reply sounds more coached than impossibly naive.
"Clive and Simon are very respectful of what I do. They really know where
I'm coming from as an artist."
Concerned with Lewis's welfare at this point, I stifle the urge to ask her if
she's being held prisoner, and if Davis is holding a gun to the head of her
mother to ensure proper responses. If she's blinking out a Morse code mayday
with her eyelids, I can't see it.
Even if Lewis has nothing but good things to say about others, her album has
brought harsh criticism in some circles, with one reviewer pegging the singer
as nothing more than a water-downed version of Carey. Other comparisons could
be made, and rarely would Lewis come out ahead: On Bleeding Love, Lewis
sounds like a slightly anemic Houston. On a cover of The First Time Ever I
Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack's cool elegance is not closely approached.
But that doesn't seem to matter. Lewis apparently has a marketable charisma and
talent, an aura not missed by high-profile talent scouts. After watching Lewis
on her second episode of The X Factor, Rod Stewart told Cowell that
there was "one clear star here" and that the singer was "in a
different league to everybody else." On The Oprah Winfrey Show,
where Lewis made her U.S. debut, the show's omnipotent host declared the Brit
export "the real deal." Davis, who has signed stars from Janis Joplin
to Alicia Keys, called the decision to cast his lot with Lewis a
"no-brainer."
A no-brainer, but Davis took no chances, hiring a squadron of big-ticket
producers and songwriters to build the songs of Spirit. The
Syco/Sony-BMG deal signed by Davis, Cowell and Lewis involves five albums and
£5-million. In an interview with The Times, Davis compared Lewis to his
one-time protégé, Whitney Houston. "The difference, is that Leona has her
feet on the ground ... she knows the difference between good and bad."
If anyone's wondering what Lewis has that the others lack, and why a record
label put so much on the line for an unproven commodity, it comes down to looks
and voice, sure. But don't underestimate docility. That's the Why Factor.
*****
The Lewis factor
Since winning the 2006 X Factor contest (the British version of American
Idol), Leona Lewis's star has only risen. The R&B-pop singer's first
single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's A Moment Like This, was downloaded
an astounding 50,000 times in 30 minutes upon its digital release at midnight
on Dec. 17, 2006. With current North American single Bleeding Love, the
top-selling song in the U.K. in 2007, Lewis just became the first British
female singer to top the U.S. pop chart since Kim Wilde's version of You
Keep Me Hangin' On in 1987. As for Lewis's album, Spirit, the disc
made its debut atop both the Canadian and American charts this week.
B.W
A Diva Scales Things Down
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com
- J.D. Considine
E=MC2
Mariah Carey
Island
***½
(April 15, 2008) If Celine Dion is serious about wanting to reinvent herself,
she would do well to
take a few pointers from Mariah Carey.
Like Dion, Carey originally made her name on big-voiced, rafter-rattling power
ballads, songs that were overtly romantic, unabashedly aspirational and
tailor-made to show off her vocal virtuosity - particularly the extremes of her
upper register. That wasn't all there was, of course, and over time the R&B
side of her sound became just as important to her chart success as her vocal
histrionics.
But with E=MC2, Carey completely reformulates her image. Even
though the cover shows her in full diva drag, pulling back her hair
coquettishly as she hides behind what may be the world's largest feather boa,
the music inside is surprisingly scaled down. Instead of letting her voice
soar, Carey - who co-wrote every track - keeps things on the down-low, often
restricting her melodies to a few sing-song notes (as on Touch My Body),
and on the opening Migrate feeds her voice through a digital keyboard, a
production trick usually reserved for rappers or singers incapable of carrying
a melody unaided.
When she does cut loose, it's never over the top and always in the background.
Toward the end of I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time, Carey does indulge in a
bit of soulful improvisation, shouting counterpoint over the repeated final
chorus, but there's nothing self-indulgent or showy about it; she's simply
using her voice to goose the beat and add intensity to the tune, the way any
soul singer would. Likewise, when she slips into the stratosphere for a bit of
wordless vocalizing in For the Record, not only is it background on the
final chorus but it's far enough back in the mix to seem like just bit of
ear-candy, like the chirpy, synthesized violin that runs through the song.
In short, with E=MC2, Carey has taken the decidedly un-diva
tack of putting the beats first and her voice fourth. That's not to say the
album isn't well sung - Carey is too much a craftsman not to leave every phrase
polished to a high gloss - just that it never seems as if the singing is an end
in itself. And by keeping the emphasis on the groove and the songs themselves,
Carey doesn't just ensure that E=MC2 is her most enjoyable
album in ages but makes herself seem more fun in the process.
Granted, this shift isn't entirely out of the blue, as Carey worked many of the
same strategies on her 2006 "comeback" album The Seduction of Mimi.
But there's a playfulness to tracks like O.O.C. and the Off the Wall-quoting
I'm That Chick suggesting that Carey herself is having a blast making
this music, and her enthusiasm is definitely infectious.
Carey's new persona may have its faults - her reliance on phrases like
"wichoo" and "all up in it" seems a tad affected - but what
diva doesn't have flaws? Even if Carey's E=MC2 isn't as
perfect as Einstein's, it's her best album in a decade, and a lot more
danceable than any physics formula.
From Side Panel To Fender Bass
Excerpt from www.globeandmail.com
- Larry Cornies
(April 16 2008) The look and sound of
instruments made from auto parts
may have taken some passersby at a street-corner concert in London by surprise
yesterday, but for New Jersey musician Bill Milbrodt, the venture was his second time around the block.
The first came in 1994, when Mr. Milbrodt decided that, having driven his 1982
Honda Accord into the ground, he'd salvage what he could in pursuit of his
lifelong passion. Together with metal sculptor Ray Faunce III, Mr. Milbrodt
managed to turn the rusting hunk of metal into 65 instruments, among them an
exhaustophone and a tank bass. The project took 18 months, he told Double Take
yesterday.
Rather than display the pieces in a museum, Mr. Milbrodt took them on the road,
performing in small venues such as art galleries until the novelty of the
instruments garnered enough attention to land their players a gig at New York's
Lincoln Center. It was there that Mr. Milbrodt's and Mr. Faunce's creative
endeavour caught the attention of Ford Motor Co.'s advertising agency, which
persuaded its client to offer a 2008 Focus for a similar project.
Mr. Milbrodt's team of 22 mechanics and fabricators turned the vehicle into 30
playable musical instruments, which were used in a TV commercial. Yesterday's
open-air event in London marked the start of a national exhibition tour in
support of Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity that builds hospital units
specifically for teens with cancer, and runs education and awareness campaigns
as well as a support network.
The tour — a first leg of what's hoped will be a longer European odyssey — was
created partly to answer doubts that the instruments were real.
Savannah Music Festival, The State's Largest Annual Arts Event
Excerpt from www.thestar.com
- William Littler
(April 19 2008) SAVANNAH, GA.—Where to go to
learn how to run a major
arts festival? Both Rob Gibson and Janet Price might suggest Lincoln Center.
For it was on New York's Upper West Side that Gibson co-founded Jazz at Lincoln
Center before going on to direct the Savannah Music Festival, and Price worked as the centre's director
of marketing before going on to direct Toronto's Luminato Festival.
"I'm rooting for Luminato. I think it has great potential," enthused
Gibson over a post-concert dinner recently, midway through this year's very
different Savannah Music Festival. "And I'm envious of the $10 million
Toronto's festival has to spend."
At $3 million or so, the budget for the longer-running Savannah Music Festival
is a more modest figure, but in his six years of event assembly in the American
Deep South, Gibson has learned how to secure plenty of bang for his buck.
Last month, I spent a mere three days at this year's 17-day festival and
managed, nevertheless, to take in an ear-opening world music concert pairing
Portuguese fado singer Ana Moura with Benin's Angelique Kidjo, sit in on a
unique cross-cultural vocal competition titled American Traditions, be
impressed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano's baton, make
the acquaintance of a remarkable flamenco singer, Pitingo, brought all the way
from Spain just to perform in Savannah, and hear one of the most stimulating
chamber music concerts of the season as part of a series curated by Daniel Hope
of the Beaux Arts Trio (who recently appeared for the Women's Musical Club in
Toronto as part of their final season).
All of these events were well attended and if you are wondering how a city of
only 130,000 inhabitants can support a festival of 100 or so events, at least
part of the explanation comes from the fact that the county seat of Chatham
County attracts a phenomenal six million visitors a year.
Yes, if you want to present a "destination" festival it helps to be a
"destination" city.
Even before John Berendt's sensational novel Midnight in the Garden of Good
and Evil and its Clint Eastwood film version reawakened people to
Savannah's mossy charms, its historic architecture and beguiling riverside
atmosphere had made Georgia's second city one of America's tourist meccas.
Set in actual locations and incorporating real-life characters, Berendt's
scandalous murder tale focuses on the life of Jim Williams, the man responsible
for the restoration of many of Savannah's finest historic properties, his own
elegant Civil War-era domicile (now known as the Mercer-Williams house and open
to the public) being one of them.
The Savannah Music Festival takes advantage of these historic settings and
derives much of its character from the city's smallness. As Rob Gibson
explains, "in a city of only 130,000 you have to bring things that do not
compete with each other."
The answer?
"Offer something for `all of the people some of the time,'" a
strategy that has made the Savannah Music Festival not only the largest annual
arts event in Georgia but, as a stylish press kit announces, "one of the
most distinctive cross-genre music festivals in the world."
It is a festival still little known in the northern reaches of the continent,
even to those aware of its debt to General Sherman, who spared Savannah as he
did not spare Atlanta during his scorched earth march through Georgia during
the Civil War.
Walking to festival events through Savannah's still surviving 18th-century
squares, beneath venerable live oaks and past azalea bushes bursting into
colour is like stepping back into a more gracious age.
And yet, the festival itself is as much about today's artists as yesterday's
heritage. The American Traditions Competition in particular celebrates the
polyglot character of our continent, simultaneously offering the reminde
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