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LE NEWSLETTER

July 17, 2008

Just a brief newsletter this week as I'm still recovering from my hip surgery - bigger deal than I thought but still doing fine in my recovery. 

OK, enough with that stuff ... there is TONS of music news this week - in fact tons of global news everywhere! 

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

 

::TOP STORIES::

Caribana Presents Island Rhythms

Source:  www.thestar.com - Huixia Sun,
Staff Reporter

(July 16, 2008) In the midst of dazzling Caribbean costumes and passionate steel drum beats, the Scotiabank Caribana festival kicked off at Nathan Phillips Square yesterday.

"We are jumping higher than ever," said Joe Halstead, chair of the festival management committee.

"It is the biggest, the best and most fun Caribbean festival in North America," said Mayor David Miller. "It reflects who we are and allows us to show what a diverse city can be."

Until Aug. 3, the 41st edition of Caribana will spice up the summer with performances by nearly 40 bands with 5,000 musicians offering calypso, steel pan, salsa, soca, reggae and other island rhythms.

Caribana expects a million-plus spectators, including hundreds of thousands of U.S. visitors.

This year's Caribana has some new twists, notably the Caribana Gala dinner at the Liberty Grand on July 25, a $150-a-ticket fundraiser honouring the festival's pioneers.

As always, though, the showcase event will be the grand parade Aug. 2 along Lake Shore Blvd W. Thousands of masqueraders in 15 mas bands will make the journey.

Hundreds of thousands of onlookers will line the parade route to see the plumage and elaborate King and Queen costumes. The parade starts at 10 a.m. at Exhibition Place and runs along Lake Shore Blvd. to Sunnyside, ending at about 6 p.m.

A Caribana art exhibit – Roots to Rhythm – will be held July 25 to Aug. 4 at the Royal Ontario Museum, featuring the work of 24 artists of African-Canadian heritage.

This Saturday, the Junior Carnival will parade to Yorkgate Mall in the Jane-Finch neighbourhood.

The juniors' king and queen will be selected July 31 during the King and Queen show at Lamport Stadium.

The day after the parade, the festival will close with a day of music and events on Olympic Island.

Both the city and province are kicking in about $430,000 this year, with Ontario's tourism ministry pumping in $300,000 for international advertising campaigns.

Miller said Caribana in 2007 generated over $300 million in local economic activity.

Boy Band Promoter Lou Pearlman Ordered To Repay $300M

Source:  www.thestar.com - Travis Reed
, The Associated Press

(July 16, 2008) ORLANDO, FLA.–Lou Pearlman and federal authorities have finally agreed on how much the former boy band promoter swindled from banks and investors in a decades-long scam: a staggering $300 million (dollar figures U.S.).

That's how much creator of the
Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync will have to repay, at a minimum, for restitution on the fraud conviction for which he's serving a 25-year prison sentence.

U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharpe on Wednesday asked prosecutors and defence attorneys to amend court documents with the agreed amount.

It will be difficult for Pearlman to repay all the money while he is behind bars. Pearlman made millions in the record industry in the 1990s, but investigators have found that money and more seemingly gone with the collapse of his Ponzi scheme.

He's been allowed to manage – at arm's length – the few remaining music acts he still has. He could also offer wages from whatever job he gets in federal prison, ranging from 12 cents an hour to $1.15 an hour for top-scale factory work.

Attorneys from both sides, the FBI and FDIC determined Pearlman took $195 million from more than 1,000 people in an alleged savings program promising 6 per cent to 10 per cent returns, and $126.7 million in bogus loans from federally insured banks. Another $70 million was invested by people who thought they were buying shares in companies owned by Pearlman that mostly had no assets. About $95 million was returned to investors over the years, documents show.

But Pearlman's restitution could go up. Sharpe delayed judgment on prosecutors' request to tack on $124 million in interest payments to victims, saying he wanted to see Pearlman return some of the principal first.

"If they had not provided their money to Mr. Pearlman, they would have received interest or some return on their investment," Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg argued in court.

Pearlman's attorney, former public defender Fletcher Peacock, said adding interest would only dissuade Pearlman from repaying any of his debt. Peacock also said it was unfair because the money was never invested.

"This is not a case of where Mr. Pearlman accrued an amount of interest and objected to giving that back to people," Peacock said. "This interest was fictional."

In May, Sharpe said he would shave a month off Pearlman's sentence for each $1 million he returned. So far, Handberg said, no additional money has been recovered.

A federally appointed trustee has found few assets to compensate victims, some of whom lost their life savings.

The judge has ordered that individual investors be repaid first, then banks. He wanted them punished for poorly judging Pearlman worthy of multimillion dollar loans, many secured with the same collateral.

While reserving judgment on interest, Sharpe said it was unfair to charge Pearlman the high rates he promised investors because it would reward their poor decisions.

"Since the time of the sentencing all you've gotten from the defendant is the smirk on his face," Sharpe told prosecutors. "So let's try to get some money first."

Sharpe remanded Pearlman to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which will transfer him to an undetermined facility. Pearlman had been at the Orange County jail, a few miles from his opulent former offices.

Perdita Pulls Plug On Beijing Comeback ...

Source:  www.thestar.com - Raju Mudhar,
Entertainment Reporter

(July 13, 2008) Perdita Felicien has pulled the plug on her attempted comeback for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The 28-year-old Pickering hurdler, who hasn’t been able to compete since injuring her foot during training last February, is expected to make the announcement official tomorrow during a conference call.

Felicien attended the recent Canadian track and field trials in Windsor and was named to the Canadian Olympic team for Beijing conditional on being able to run the B standard of 13.11 seconds.

But it was becoming more and more apparent because of the time she had missed – she was on crutches for four weeks at one point – that even if she made the team, it would next to impossible for her to be competitive at the Beijing Games.

It’s a big blow to the Canadian Olympic team as Felicien was a silver medalist at last year’s world championships in a heartening comeback from the disastrous fall she suffered at the first hurdle at the 2004 Athens Games after entering as a favourite.

Felicien has said that regardless of how things turned out for Beijing that she’d continue through the 2012 London Olympics and that people shouldn’t feel sorry for her.

“Everybody looks at everything through the mirror of Athens,” said Felicien. “I don’t look at it that way. I don’t win medals that way, by looking in the past. I’m looking forward. I’m working my butt off to be there (in Beijing).

“But if for someone reason I’m not, you’re going to get people that say ‘That’s too bad. Poor Perdita. Poor Perdita.’ No, it’s not poor Perdita, because I absolutely feel blessed to do what I do and to do it for a living. And I still do feel like my best race is ahead of me. I haven’t run the race of my life that’s going to seal off my career. And that’s why I wake up every morning, that’s what keeps me going.”

Miss Venezuela Named Miss Universe

Source:  www.thestar.com - Ben Stocking,
The Associated Press

(July 14, 2008) NHA TRANG, Vietnam – Miss Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe 2008 on Monday in a contest marked by the spectacle of Miss USA falling down during the evening gown competition for the second year in a row.

The new Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, was once kidnapped in her homeland and says the experience taught her to remain poised under pressure.

Tension got under the skin of Miss USA, Crystle Stewart of Texas, who tripped on the train of her bejewelled evening gown as she made her entrance.

During the 2007 Miss Universe contest in Mexico City, Miss USA Rachel Smith also tumbled during the evening gown competition and became an unintended star on YouTube, where the video was shown over and over again.

At a news conference after this year's event, a beaming Mendoza said she wasn't yet sure where her upcoming year of whirlwind appearances would take her. But after a quick stop in New York, she wants to see her family again, enjoy some of her mom's home cooking and give everyone hugs.

"When I go back to Venezuela I will jump on my family and they will jump on me," said Mendoza.

In the meantime, Mendoza said, she is simply looking forward to taking off her high-heeled shoes and massaging her feet.

She declined to discuss her kidnapping, which occurred a year and a half ago, but took advantage of the occasion to call for global peace.

"I want to raise my voice and tell the world that violence is not the answer," she said.

Mendoza, 22, is a 5-foot, 10-inch (178-centimeter), green-eyed beauty who enjoys learning languages and photography. She appeared at the news conference in the flowing yellow dress and dangling turquoise earrings that she wore during the evening gown competition in which Stewart took her spill.

Stewart, 26, is a motivational speaker and former track and field star who is working on a book called "Waiting to Win." The Houston native plans to open a character-development school for young children and has worked with students with autism in the Texas schools.

During a weekend interview with the Associated Press, Stewart said she felt very confident going into the show and couldn't imagine experiencing the same calamity as her predecessor.

"All I can offer to the world and to America is to do my best," Stewart said. "Nerves don't play a part in this.''

The final five contestants included four from Latin America: Miss Mexico, Miss Dominican Republic, Miss Colombia and Miss Venezuela. Rounding out the final five was Miss Russia.

Miss Colombia finished second behind Mendoza.

Miss Thailand won the prize for best national costume and Miss El Salvador was chosen by her peers as Miss Congeniality.

The NBC show was hosted by talk show star Jerry Springer and Spice Girl Melanie Brown and broadcast live to hundreds of millions of viewers in 170 countries.

The tuxedoed Springer made a grand entrance on a motorbike – the vehicle of choice in Vietnam, where the streets are teeming with millions of the speeding two-wheelers.

Eighty contestants gathered in the seaside city of Nha Trang, Vietnam, vying to succeed previous Miss Universe Riyo Mori of Japan.

Sporting yellow, green and orange bikinis, the 15 semi-finalists strutted across the stage during the swimsuit competition to the sounds of Lady Gaga, who belted out the pulsating "Just Dance" in a platinum blond wig. Miss Vietnam, Lam Thuy Nguyen, was greeted with a roar from the Vietnamese audience.

The final 10 then competed in the evening gown event.

They performed in front of a panel of judges that included international fashion experts and Donald Trump Jr., whose father, the real estate magnate and TV star, co-owns the pageant with NBC.

This year's contestants spanned a wide range of experiences and aspirations.

Miss Albania was a professional basketball player. Miss Argentina says she has paranormal experiences. Miss Antigua & Barbuda is fascinated by snakes. Miss Angola was in a plane crash while trying to escape a conflict during her country's civil war.
 

::TRAVEL NEWS::

Paradise Found – St. Vincent & the Grenadines

Source: Melanie Reffes

Strung like a necklace in the southeastern Caribbean – thirty minutes as the gull flies from Barbados- St Vincent and the Grenadines is a strand of thirty-two islands stretching across the cobalt sea. With short distances between them, they have long been a top draw for sailors and yachties; however, savvy travelers are now catching on to the unspoiled splendour that is St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

St. Vincent


The heart of the archipelago is St. Vincent with lush mountains, flowered hillsides, black sandy shorelines created from volcanic ash and underwater life that rate amongst the best in the world with healthy reefs and a riotous array of marine species. With a movie-perfect landscape, it’s no wonder Hollywood filmed the swashbuckler trilogy Pirates of the Caribbean on the west coast.

The cobblestone capital of Kingstown is easy to navigate on foot although there are plenty of taxis available.  With cannons still pointed inland, Fort Charlotte is a must-see while centuries-old churches beckon history buffs. The Methodist Church was built by freed slaves and the nearby St. George’s Cathedral salutes the Georgian period with a galleried interior dating to 1880.  Close to the ferry pier, the Market is a cornucopia of tropical treasures busiest on Friday and Saturday when fish, fruit and crafts are sold from bustling stalls that spill onto the sidewalk.  Nearby, Heritage Square comes alive when the sun sets with musicians providing a soundtrack of get-up-and-dance rhythms.

Without all-inclusives and swim-up bars, St. Vincent is all about Mother Nature at her finest. The best black sand beaches are on the west coast at Wallilabou (where Pirates was filmed), Cumberland Bay and Richmond Beach.   Brighton Salt Pond is a favourite for locals who come to take a dip and knock back a few at the beach bars.  

Founded in 1765 and the oldest in the western hemisphere,   Botanical Gardens is a green wonderland with stately teak, mahogany and breadfruit trees that were brought from Tahiti by Captain Bligh after his Mutiny on the Bounty failed. With gentle currents and a unruffled surface, diving is best on the west and south coasts where impressive walls give way to a luminous kaleidoscope seen no where else on the planet.–www.divestvincent.com -    A drive up the Leeward highway is a dreamy mélange of waterfalls, sleepy fishing hamlets and greener than green rainforests chocked full of wildlife and rare bird species. La Soufriere Volcano at more than 1200 meters high is still active and recommended for the hikers in the crowd. 

Accommodations are quaint and include the Cobblestone Inn overlooking the harbour - www.thecobblestoneinn.com/ - and Beachcombers Hotel - www.beachcombers.com –with a seaside eatery specializing in a delectable Vincy salt cod. Perched on a hill with glorious views of the bay, Grenadine House - www.grenadinehouse.com/- gets rave reviews from foodies who swoon over Vancouver-born Chef Winston Ferguson’s honey truffle pasta. 
I infuse local ingredients with foreign techniques and creativity, “he says buzzing around his pristine kitchen. 

At the water’s edge, Mariner Hotel’s - www.marinershotel.com- and its gourmet French Verandah Restaurant bustles till the last person leaves. A two-minute ferry away, Young Island - www.youngisland.com-   is a chic retreat with sparkling beaches, hummingbirds flitting about the nutmeg trees , guava seed foot scrubs at the Spa Kalina and swishy cottages including   # 6  where Johnny Depp stayed while filming the Pirates movies.  Scrumptious fruity bread is the star attraction and according to Chef Christopher John, his loaves leave a lasting impression. “When our guests get home,   they tell me they miss my warm slices of cinnamon toast.”  Note to bread fans: A take-home loaf is US$4.50.

The Grenadines

Measuring 18 square kilometres, Bequia is the largest atoll in the chain. Ferries pull into Port Elizabeth with its funky bars, restaurants and the Market the Canadian government helped to build in 1991. Gingerbread houses shaded by almond trees and draped in bougainvillea are scattered about while golden sandy beaches disappear into coves. Steeped in maritime history, model boat builders like Corsini Pollard are delighted to offer tours of their studios. “It takes me three weeks to fashion a boat from the wood of a gum tree, “he says showing off one his finest creations.  Accommodations include Firefly - www.fireflybequia.com - , a plantation house set in coconut and banana groves and Frangipani Hotel - www.frangipanibequia.com, overlooking the yachts in Admiralty Bay. Not yet a year old, Bequia Beach Hotel - www.bequiabeach.com- is adding swanky suites to open in December.

As famous for its celebrity beachcombers as it is for its sultry sunsets, Mustique is coveted for its lack of crowds and traffic lights. Mick Jagger owns a villa, so does Tommy Hilfiger and Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. Herons and sandpipers strut in the sun and frigate birds glide overhead while the rest of us wile the day away in a swaying hammock or on one of the nine white coral beaches. Cotton House www.cottonhouseresort.com – impresses with a pillow menu, sorbet on the beach and vistas of the sea from the Spa. Sitting on stilts over Brittania Bay, Basil’s Bar - www.basilsmustique.com - is lorded over by Basil Charles and his partner, Dianne Wilson who moved from Ottawa in 2002. “Wednesday night is our “jump-up” and if Mick is in the mood, you may hear the concert of a lifetime,” she smiles.

A fifteen minute flight from St. Vincent , Canouan is home to the uber-luxe Trump International Golf Club – www.trumpgolf.com - and  Raffles Resort  - www.raffles.com -  with the Amrita Spa - www.amritaspa.com –that tempts with a lemon and ginger salt glow and a sea crystal body polish.  No airport and a tiny unnamed village, Mayreau sits on a perfectly half-moon shaped beach. Chocked full of Marley memorabilia, Robert Righteous’ & de Youths Seafood Restaurant is legendary for fish so fresh they’re still mad.

Union Island is the departure point for scuba excursions; Palm Island suits seclusion- seekers, Petit
St. Vincent is a nature sanctuary and the five islets protected by a rainbow-coloured reef are the Tobago Cays. 

From traversing nature trails to fine dining under the stars, there is something for every vacationer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

www.svgtourism.com1-800-729-1726

Mark your Calendar:

December 16 to Christmas
    Nine Mornings - Music and partying from dawn to dusk.

January -Mustique Blues Festival – Live music till the sun sets at Basil’s Bar.

::MUSIC NEWS::

Algebra: R&B Artist's Debut Album Brings A New Curriculum To The Music Scene

Source: nathalie@thinktankmktg.com, www.thinktankmktg.com

(July 11, 2008) Ironically there are no textbooks or classroom instructions that could help one balance the equations of Kedar Massenburg's newest protégé, ALGEBRA.

The Atlanta native insists that one can only discover her sonically. As an R&B solo artist with such a simple solution, when mainstream success seems to be more about the right hair, nails and make -up, ALGEBRA'S debut album PURPOSE is the perfect curriculum for breathing life back in to a genre overwrought by factory made clones.

No stranger to performing, ALGEBRA has been lending her melodic voice to projects by Monica and Bilal for years.  However, singing for other artists was about as out of character for her as having someone write songs for her.

"Even when someone else wrote a song specifically for me, I felt like I was still being a background singer for myself".

As the music scene in Atlanta became the hot bed of popular music, ALGEBRA taught herself to play guitar and performed regularly at open mics. 
This pivotal point in her career afforded her the time to develop her writing and performance skills even further without the harness of a prescribed format.

"Soon you learn not to care what others think, you learn to perform for you. I would come back week after week and I learned to perform for balance and for freedom. I was becoming alive".  This organic approach permeates her music. ALGEBRA can easily be pop, rock, rap funk or crunk, yet she can breathe ballads effortlessly.
 
Collaborating with award-winning songwriter and producer Brian Michael Cox on "What Happened" quickly proved to be a true showcase of her brilliance. This soulful ballad is delivered so honestly and with such vulnerability that it sounds like it could be her autobiography. A song filled with PURPOSE. 

ALGEBRA'S definitive voice and identity is one of full disclosure. "I don't want to be boxed," she asserts. The litmus test of what she would create lies in being relatable and in offering complete truth in every word she sings.  On the song "At This Time" she pours her heart out, placing herself on display to someone whom she has waited a long time to unite with citing descriptive and colourful lyrics, "My arms brag to each other bout how you feel/From conversations I know what they feel is real". The current single "Run & Hide" produced by the creator of the polka-dot error in hip hop himself, Kwame' is a testament to all fellas that Miss

ALGEBRA will not settle for just any 'ol guy with lame game. Better come correct or don't come at all.   As the first artist to be released on the revamped Kedar Entertainment Group, ALGEBRA enters the contemporary soul music landscape following legacies created by artists like D'Angelo, Erykah Badu and India.Arie all of whom developed under the watchful eye of Massenburg. However her sound is unique. ALGEBRA at first is unassuming, but it takes mere moments for you to recognize that she is not just a tempest in a teapot but more like the catalyst of a paradigm shift.

When asked the question, what does PURPOSE mean to her and this project that she has waited so long to share with the world; ALGEBRA replies "The defining moment of purpose is when you realize all that you have is worth less than nothing and still, life is worth living." With there being only two universal languages in this world - Math and Music; fate would have it, southern songbird ALGEBRA represents both!

Check out her single, "Run & Hide": http://streaming.thinktankmktg.com/audio/algebra-run_and_hide.wma

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/algebrablessett

Dry Concert Leaves Fans On Edge In Otherwise Fine Festival Relaunch

Source:  www.thestar.com - Ben Rayner,
Pop Music Critic

(July 14, 2008) Going to a big concert these days is like getting on a plane; you put up with a lot of unpleasantness as a matter of course, and you're pleasantly surprised when the experience isn't totally insulting.

The relaunch of venerable Toronto modern-rock institution
Edgefest at Downsview Park on Saturday was painless in so many regards – including its musical line-up, topped this year by Linkin Park, the reunited Stone Temple Pilots, Sam Roberts and the Bravery.

Nevertheless, if you invite 20,000 people to spend the day at an $80-a-head rock 'n' roll party, you'd better not deny them beer, which is exactly what the otherwise flawless Edgefest set-up did.

Entry was smooth and hassle-free. Security was unobtrusive. The concession stands were plentiful and varied. And the property itself, which conveniently encircled the main stage in a massive, C-shaped natural incline, was perfect for this kind of event. Even the deep, sticky patches of mud that had developed in high-traffic areas by the end of an intermittently rainy day were mostly avoidable.

Still, the highest-traffic area was the line-up for the lone beer garden, a fenced-in gulag to the north side of the festival grounds, which drew a queue that, at one point, snaked almost all the way across the back of the site to the entrance. Most of us simply accepted that this was to be a "dry" event the moment we laid eyes on the line, but evidently others were more optimistic.

"I waited four hours in line for two beers," one aghast patron told me on the bus ride back to Downsview station. Dozens of other would-be drinkers charged the two rows of fencing and leaped into the licensed area before security and cops could nab them. These amusing shenanigans didn't let up until, in typical Toronto fashion, they cut off the beer sales altogether around 8 p.m.

Something about Edgefest had obviously riled Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, too, who sashayed onstage in a black-leather suit in reasonably good vocal form to the first strains of "Big Empty" but soon sounded like he was deliberately sabotaging tunes like "Big Bang Baby," "Sour Girl" and "Tripping on a Hole in a Paper Heart" with sneeringly awful, off-key performances.

There were enough complaints from the stage about "psychedelic conditions" and the fact that it was "midday" (it was after 8), not to mention a sarcastic invitation to Linkin Park's Chester "Benson" (it's actually Bennington) to join STP for a tune, that one could deduce there might have been some bruised egos involved in Stone Temple Pilots' second-from-the-top Edgefest billing. Whatever the case, STP's fawning crowd didn't deserve to be treated with open contempt and to a half-assed set after standing in the rain in silence for a good chunk of the evening.

Linkin Park has its believers though and the Sam Roberts Band was its usual, amiable self while churning out slightly hippie-fied guitar-rock jams in the late afternoon. Stone Temple Pilots' washout was thus a blip on the program, while the mostly punk-rock line-up on the second stage – which gave some welcome space to indie acts such as Toronto's the Coast and Modernboys Moderngirls and Montreal's Creature – wound out in fittingly furious fashion with the Flatliners.

There was more audible griping about the beer situation than the weather or Weiland at Edgefest 2008, so with a few tweaks this institution might have found its new dream home at Downsview. Please, though, do some tweaking.

Musicians Unite For Midsummer Magic In Elora

Source:  www.thestar.com - John Terauds,
Classical Music Critic

(July 14, 2008) ELORA–Nestled comfortably in the pastoral dales north of Guelph, the Elora Festival is a reliable cradle for fine midsummer musicmaking.

The 29th season received a rousing start over the weekend, beginning on Friday night with a performance of George Frideric Handel's grand 1748 oratorio Solomon, followed on Saturday by Black Umfolosi and capped last evening by New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, who made a fresh stop on her farewell recital tour.

The diva's visit placed an international stamp of approval on the rural festival's unorthodox large-concert venue: A cavernous Wellington County roadworks barn (complete with broken asphalt floor) situated across the street from the Grand River racetrack and slots.

Te Kanawa's sold-out recital borrowed from the same program that Torontonians heard at Roy Thomson Hall last fall. But it's not every year that we get to hear Solomon, especially with soloists the calibre of soprano Karina Gauvin and young tenor Lawrence Williford.

Like the nearly month-long festival, which closes on Aug. 3, Friday's Solomon produced a mixed bag of styles, ranging from the fleet textures we might hear from a period-performance ensemble, to heavy Victorian-style melodrama.

There were many times on Friday that conductor (and Elora Festival artistic director) Noël Edison seemed to be channelling the ghost of Thomas Beecham, deeply mining the rich harmonies at a deliberate – if not downright poky – pace.

The Baroque-sized orchestra, playing modern instruments, was notably rough at times and baritone James Westman made a mess of the single solo he had to sing during the two-hour piece.

The Elora Festival singers and the soloists – which also included countertenor Robin Blaze and mezzo Jennifer Enns Modolo – erased those blots with gorgeously nuanced and shaped singing.

And, when the whole was going well, the experience rivalled any of the world's great summer festivals.

Gauvin, in gorgeous voice and full artistic bloom, gave everything as she sang with a particularly touching immediacy, which culminated in a riveting plea to Solomon to spare the life of her infant son.

The choir and orchestra had their finest moment in one of Handel's prettiest choruses, which protects the newlywed Solomon and the Queen with the injunction, "May no rash intruder disturb their soft hours."

It was so magical that even the rough-hewn venue felt bathed in a golden glow.

This week's best bets: Jazz crooner Laila Biali on Thursday night or tenor Colin Ainsworth singing Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin on Saturday afternoon. For full festival information, visit www.elorafestival.com.

Will Feist's Famous Number Be A Monster Hit With Children?

Source: 
www.globeandmail.com - Siri Agrell

(July 16, 2008) One, two, three, four, get ready to hear that song some more.

Canadian singer
Leslie Feist will appear on the Aug. 11 season premiere of Sesame Street, performing a modified version of her ubiquitous hit song 1234, and joining a long list of notable artists who have lent their lyrics to the popular children's show.

A video of the Juno Award-winning singer appeared on YouTube over the weekend, showing her strolling down Sesame Street extolling her love of counting to four.

In the original video for the song, Ms. Feist is joined by an array of colourfully dressed dancers. In this performance, she is accompanied by a posse of Muppets, including four monsters (walking cross the floor), penguins (that were by the door), and chickens (just back from the shore).

The lyrics of the poppy, wistful song have been changed from their tribute to “old teenage hopes … alive at your door” into an ode to counting.

“Oh you're counting, counting with me,” Ms. Feist sings, “to one less than five and one more than three.”

The song will appear in the first episode of the beloved show's 39th season, which will focus on mathematics and literacy. She will also perform an original song accompanied by the Muppet Elmo.

A representative for Ms. Feist said she was unavailable yesterday, as she is on route to a performance in Utah. But at the Juno Awards this spring, she raved about getting the opportunity to sing alongside some furry friends.

“It was the Muppets and it was the best day of my life,” the singer said.

The song has already brought the 32-year-old no end of attention and adoration. Last year, Apple featured the video in a commercial for the iPod Nano, rocketing the tune to the heights of hipster popularity.

Now, parents who are probably a little burned out on the indie darling will have to listen to little Madison and Declan humming along to her infectious melodies.

“We use celebs so that parents will remain engaged and we know that children learn best when watching with an adult,” said Sesame Street's Carol Lynn Parente.

Ms. Feist is just the latest celebrity performer to rework an educational message into a song for Sesame Street.

Last year, British crooner James Blunt performed an altered version of his ballad Beautiful, singing about his love for the triangle.

Norah Jones sang a song called Don't Know ‘Y' about being stood up by the absentee letter, and Johnny Cash performed Don't Take Your Ones to Town with Big Bird, a kid-friendly play on his song Don't Take Your Guns to Town.

Even celebrated classical musicians have been drawn to the show.

Andrea Bocelli sang Elmo to sleep with a modified version of his hit pop-opera song Time to Say Goodbye.

Yo Yo Ma has also made an appearance, performing “the Beethoven quartet for two honkers, dinger and cello,” along with several Muppets who squeezed their own noses to produce his accompaniment. The song, Mr. Ma explained, was written by the famous Muppet Murray Beethoven.

This season of Sesame Street seems determined to step up its pop culture cred.

A character named Max the Magician, played by Will Arnett of Arrested Development, will perform amazing feats of math.

Soccer stud David Beckham will drop by, presumably in more than his underwear, as will Project Runway's Heidi Klum and Jack Black of Kung Fu Panda.

The show will also feature parodies of grown-up television programs including 30 Rocks and Are You Smarter Than an Egg Layer.

Krauss, Plant Address Two Musical Nations

Source:  www.thestar.com - Greg Quill,
Entertainment Columnist

(July 15, 2008) Two musical nations with little common ground – the diehard country-bluegrass crew to whom American singer and fiddler Alison Krauss is a golden-haired goddess, and veteran classic rockers and hard blues dudes who idolize Robert Plant – came together last night at the sold-out Molson Amphitheatre for a mutually rewarding crossover ritual that seemed to take many by surprise.

"Who's Alison Krauss?" one young man sporting his prize Led Zeppelin T-shirt asked a perfect stranger as he headed for his seat. In another aisle, a couple in cowboy hats, jeans and Cuban heel boots were pondering aloud whether Krauss had sold out by teaming up with Plant for the year's unlikeliest hit album, the platinum-selling rockabilly-bluegrass-jump-gospel hybrid Raising Sand, and subsequent tour, which has broken all box office expectations and has been extended from its original July 31 finale through October.

There's no doubt that teaming up was a phenomenally clever cross-marketing ploy. For that credit goes to legendary American roots music producer, guitarist and songwriter T-Bone Burnett (O, Brother, Where Art Thou?, Down From The Mountain), who came up with the idea and the material for the album. For the tour, he put together a killer band that includes Nashville's hottest and hippest musicians, Buddy Miller on guitar and pedal steel, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, mandolin, banjo and guitar: onstage it seems perfectly natural, unique and well crafted synthesis of the obsessions of all three principals.

Make no mistake. Plant and Krauss drew the fans and gave both nations enough to keep them happy (Plant contributed a loopy, bluesy versions of Zep's "Black Dog" and "Battle Of Evermore" and his own solo hit "In The Mood"; Krauss served up righteous readings of "Down To The River To Pray," "Matty Groves" and Gene Clark's murder waltz "Through The Morning, Through The Night"). But the real stars of last night's show were Burnett – dressed in a high collar, vest and mourning coat, he commanded the proceedings with the aplomb and firm hand of a vintage master showman – and the band.

The fusion of Celtic/Appalachian folk, Mississippi and Texas blues, pure country gospel, Creole rhythms and primordial rock 'n' roll is the product of Burnett's lively imagination, the manifestation of his encyclopaedic knowledge of and familiarity with American music idioms. In Plant's fascination with the blues and other American folk forms and Krauss's almost religious musical purism, Burnett found his catalysts. And while it's not so hard to make magic in the studio, with the likes of guitar wizard Marc Ribot and folk instrumentalist Mike Seeger, it takes a special talent to make it work live.

With Miller, Duncan, drummer Jay Bellerose and bassist Dennis Crouch, Burnett has an ensemble that matches his musical wisdom and intuitiveness, a band capable of playing this odd brand of acoustic-electric folk-rock with symphonic grace and punk muscle. As finely melded and elegantly harmonized as Plant's and Krauss's voices were on their various joint efforts – most notably "Gone Gone Gone" near the show's end and the opener, "Rich Woman" – the stage last night belonged to Burnett and his amazing band.

Mint Condition Gets An 'E-Life'

Source: 
www.eurweb.com

(July 16, 2008)  *It’s a rarity in contemporary urban music, where a band of musicians – musicians that play instruments – create five successful studio albums, more than a dozen hit singles, world tours and collabos with some of the biggest names in music. It is a lone example that falls under one condition – Mint Condition.

The band, at its commercial pinnacle in the early ‘90s, catapulted to fame with their hit “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes).”

With lead singer Stokley Williams' treble powerhouse vocals and the funk, R&B, pop hybrid sound the band was the ultimate of a generation and has since become the model of modern R&B.

With their new disc, “E-Life”, Williams, Jeffrey Allen, Ricky Kinchen, Homer O’Dell, and Lawrence Waddell, move into the techno-age with a very solid old-school blend.

The five-man band is currently doing select dates in promotion of the new disc, but EUR’s Lee Bailey caught up with bass man Kinchen and keyboardist Waddell about the new project and its inspiration.

“It’s everyday situational stuff,” Waddell began in explaining the disc’s title. “but in the context of today’s e-world; the world of text messaging, cell phones, MySpace. Nowadays you meet people on MySpace so the relationship may have started on MySpace. It’s that type of world now.”

Band mate Kinchen admitted that he was rather caught up in that e-world, spending much of his time on MySpace, in fact.

“At one point, I wasn’t getting any work done in the studio,” he admitted. “It was kind of affecting my kids and that’s kind of the intro of 'Baby Boy Baby Girl.' It was taking away from me doing other things and I had to kind of get my life together, it’s summertime, I need to focus on my kids a little bit more and making sure I’m taking them to the park and everything, instead of e-mailing all day.”

That epiphany sparked the lead single which features Anthony Hamilton.

“I always wanted to work with him,” Kinchen said. “He was the one who came through and was feeling the project and kind of helped us out. He has kids and he could relate to the whole thing.”

Another track on the disc, “I Wish I Could Love You,” also deals with techno-world issues.

“The song was influenced by a girl that one of the guys was seeing,” Kinchen continued. “She would just be on the phone all the time, talking and text messaging. So, some of the songs relate to the whole text messaging and sex messaging thing. People today can’t really communicate; they can’t really say what they want to say (verbally), but they can say it in a text message.”

However, in addition to some lyrical content on the disc, the band explained that the way the project was produced also ties into the disc title.

“Some of the record we’d record together and then I’d be out of town and my part wasn’t cutting it so I had to do it over. So I would have to plug in my laptop, plug the base into to it, e-mail it to Stoke and he’d drop it into the song and he’d go mix it,” Kinchen described. “So we did a lot of file sharing with this record and that had a lot to do with the title, too.”

Waddell added that although he’s not as addicted to the web as some of his band mates, he relates to the “E-Life” theory.

“I do some classes online, but since I do that, I don’t even really want to be on it that much, so the social aspect hasn’t happened for me that much,” he said. “But I relate to it. It is our world. It pretty much permeates every activity almost. You have a cell – you’re gonna text; you’re gonna check directions; for me it’s school, so for all of us it’s still related. We are in an e-world.”

Waddell described a not-so-e-time, when the band was discovered in 1989 and first signed with legendary producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

“They had this multimillion dollar facility and we thought it was the most unbelievable stuff in the world,” he said. “Now you can get the same stuff, digitally, on computer. That’s even how we recorded it. This thing is there and we can’t get away from it. Even our recording process was e-recording in a way.”

Whatever way it got done, “E-Life” was done well. The disc doesn’t disappoint with the Mint Condition brand of funky R&B that only real musicians could provide.

“I think it is a difficult road,” Waddell said of staying the course or being a band. “I do feel like we’re in the vanguard in a lot of ways as far as trying to stay with what we do, which is actually playing and being a self-contained band. I don’t say ‘in the vanguard’ in a snobbish way or thinking no one else has anything to contribute because they don’t do it that way, but I’m very proud of the way we do it.”

“E-Life” is available now. For more on the band and tour dates, check out their official website at
www.mintconditionmusic.com.

“It is hard, difficult, but certain,” Waddell continued, “and we keep trudging because we believe in the song. The song transcends.”

Michelle Williams Has Hit Single

Source: Columbia Records

(July 16, 2008)  *NEW YORK - Grammy-winning pop music superstar Michelle Williams has just hit the No 1 slot on the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart with "We Break The Dawn," the first single from her forthcoming solo album, Unexpected.

Michelle's irresistible dance/pop anthem, which features the Florida-based rapper Flo Rida, is currently scaling Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play (No 16) and Hot Singles Sales (No 34) charts and promises to be one the most memorable singles of summer '08.

Premiered for fans via an exclusive first listen on People.com on March 31, "We Break The Dawn" was praised by music writer Brian Orloff as heralding a " ... hot new look - and new sound - for former Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams."

Michelle lensed a sizzling music video for the track in Los Angeles last April with noted British director Phil Griffin (Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney, Prince).

"We Break The Dawn" is produced by Wayne Wilkins and Andrew Frampton, who co-wrote the track with the singer/songwriter Solange Knowles. (The sister of Beyonce Knowles, Michelle's ensemble-mate and musical colleague in Destiny's Child, Solange has written songs for Beyonce, Destiny's Child, Kelly Rowland and Trinitee 5:7.)

"We Break The Dawn" is giving Michelle's fans their first taste of Unexpected, her long-awaited new full-length solo album, due out on Tuesday, August 12 from Music World/Columbia Records.

One of the year's most avidly-anticipated new releases, the aptly-titled Unexpected, the artist's third solo album and first since 2004's Do You Know, is a bold new collection of contemporary pop/dance classics, the next step in the breathtaking musical evolution of Michelle Williams.

Executive produced by Mathew Knowles for Music World Productions and Michelle Williams, Unexpected finds Michelle collaborating with some of today's hottest producers including Jim Jonsin (Jamie Foxx featuring Ludacris, Sean Paul, Danity Kane, Trina featuring Kelly Rowland, Pretty Ricky, Lil Wayne featuring Static Major, Bow Wow and Omarion); Rico Love (Usher, Omarion, Natasha Bedingfield, Tiffany Evans featuring Bow Wow); Wayne Wilkins (Natasha Bedingfield, Kylie Minogue, Pink, No Doubt); Andrew Frampton (Natasha Bedingfield, Kylie Minogue); StarGate and more.

Other stand-out tracks on Unexpected include the album's second single, "Stop This Car," produced by StarGate, the Norwegian production team behind No 1 hits for Ne-Yo and Rihanna as well as Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," the biggest song of the year on the Hot 100 Billboard Year End Chart 2007.

American R&B and gospel singer Michelle Williams rose to international renown after joining Destiny's Child, the top-selling female group of all time, in 2000. As a member of Destiny's Child, Michelle received three Grammy Awards and performed on several No 1 hit singles by the group.

With the arrival of her debut album, the gospel-infused Heart To Yours in 2002, Michelle Williams-who'd originally entered show business as a backing vocalist for the R&B performer Monica-became the first member of Destiny's Child to release a solo record. Heart To Yours entered the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart at No 1, peaked at No 3 on the Top Contemporary Christian Albums chart and became the year's top-selling Gospel album.

Her second solo album, Do You Know, achieved similar success to her debut, peaking at No 2 on the Top Gospel Albums chart and No 3 on the Top Christian Albums chart following its release in 2004.

Michelle Williams made her on-stage acting debut in 2003, replacing R&B icon Toni Braxton in the title role of "Aida," the hit Broadway musical with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice.

In February 2006, Michelle made her television acting debut on the UPN comedy series, "Half & Half" and, later that year, appeared in the FOX reality series, "Celebrity Duets" performing Destiny's Child's "Say My Name" with Jai Rodriguez.

Beginning in April 2007, Michelle Williams joined the national touring company - performing extended runs in Chicago and San Francisco with members of the original Broadway cast - of the hit musical adaptation of "The Color Purple."

It's Noel Gourdin's 'Time'

Source: 
www.eurweb.com - By Kenya M Yarbrough

(July 14, 2008) *Singer Noel Gourdin (Gor-deen) may be a new name on the scene, but his sound is quite familiar.

Gourdin’s debut disc, “After My Time” is dripping with that old-school soul reminiscent of masters such as Marvin Gaye, Tyrone Davis, and Otis Redding.

And while Gourdin is merely in the very young stage of becoming a great name like his influences, he hopes the disc catapults his career ahead of its time.

“You’ve heard quite a few artist that are considered to be ‘before their time,’” Gourdin said in explaining the title of the new album. “Their expertise and music could come out now and still be relevant and such a hit. My concept and my records are story driven and have a message and are respectful and tasteful. I could see myself coming out with the Motown swing and the soul swing – with the Marvin Gayes and Sam Cookes and the old soul groups. I could see myself coming out in that era, so hence the title ‘After My Time’.”

It seems to be Gourdin’s time no matter if it’s before or after. The lead single, “The River” is getting massive play on urban radio, and has been likened to the sound of his contemporaries D’Angelo and John Legend. Gourdin is quite pleased to be held in such company, and like them, he told EUR’s Lee Bailey, he’d like to be a part of the movement that’s bringing soul back to soul music.

“I’m trying to bring that music back to let even young artists know that you can make music coming from the soul and be received well,” he said. “You don’t have to go out there and just do shake-booty music. You can do music that’s tasteful and get paid for it. I’m just trying to be real and not sacrifice my dignity.”

 “The River” is certainly being received well. The track was produced by Kay-Gee of Naughty By Nature fame, who also helped build the repertoires of Jaheim and Next.

“We were the fastest moving single by a male artist in the last five years,” Gourdin said of the hot track. “It’s great when you’re blessed with a record that really transcends. Now we’re in a place that I’m really feeling good about.”

Not only is “The River” an impressive throwback musically, but the lyrics also evoke memories and emotions of yesteryear. Gourdin explained that the inspiration of the song came when he and friends were sitting around sharing childhood stories, talking about family members, and just reflecting on life and paths they’d taken.

“We had signed a deal with Sony on November 15, 2005 and this was around February. We were sitting in the studio saying let’s make something with a lot of content and richness; let’s come up with something that had a real Negro spiritual feel, but at the same time, something that’s really relevant.”

After getting a track from producer Kay-Gee, Gourdin spent five hours in the studio and walked out with “The River.”

“I came out of the booth and said, ‘Yo, we got something special.’ Right away it reminded me of a new-age ‘Midnight Train to Georgia.’ It just had a lot of elements in there that no matter what their background, creed, age – all demographics could relate to in a way. It touches a lot of people,” he said. “It’s a good feeling record, but it has that melancholy feel.”

The song, and some other offerings of what the industry has tagged as “new soul” may be on the verge of bringing back old soul, but Gourdin agreed that it is still a bit difficult to get such lyricism and musicianship out to listeners. He explained that even “The River” had a three year shelf life before seeing the light of day. When he’d originally made the song, he was signed to Epic Records, where executives could not quite fit him in. He was then shifted to the Sony’s urban arm of Columbia Records where he sat for two years.

 “Nobody would take a chance because they were just scared,” he surmised. “They were scared about what the record said and how it would be perceived and they just wouldn’t take a chance on it.”

Fortunately famed manager and idol maker Johnny Wright (Janet Jackson, New Kids on the Block, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears) got wind of the track and called the President of Epic Records at SonyBMG Music Entertainment to ask about Gourdin. According to singer, Wright called “The River” the best record he’d heard in his life.

“We got signed back over to Epic. Now, things are moving forward. It’s just a blessing.”

Growing up just outside of Boston, Gourdin soaked up the music of Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye, and Otis Redding. He spent his summers with family in Biloxi, Mississippi where he soaked up rhythm & blues roots and culture. Raised both “up north” and “down south”, he humbly credits the combination for his gift.

“I don’t think that I would have been able to get so deep into this record as I did,” he said of recognizing his southern roots. “The conviction was incredible for me. It really was close to home. The record speaks volumes about me as a man so it was easy for me to dig down and give my all in the booth, and it really came across in the record.”

The fans certainly agree, with major momentum built by the chart-climbing “The River,” the disc’s time is none too soon. Still, Gourdin is keeping his cool even with a serious hit on his hands.

“I’m just a regular dude that just happened to be able to sing a little bit.”

 “After My Time” hits stores July 22. To hear the track and find out more about Noel Gourdin, check out www.noelgourdin.com. Or you can hit up his MySpace page, which features a fan line phone number, at www.myspace.com/noelgourdin.

Shirley Caesar Release 40 Years Of Her Music Ministry With New CD/DVD

Source: 
www.eurweb.com - By Eunice Moseley

(July 10, 2008) *“It dawned on me, you don’t know the old Shirley,” legendary Gospel singing sensation Pastor Shirley Caesar said about why she released the Light Records CD/DVD, “After 40 Years: Still Sweeping through the City.”

Shirley said that her recent albums consist of some contemporary sound, in fact her 2005 release, “I Know the Truth,” even had a featured Gospel rapper Tonex.

“One Sunday morning I was singing old hymns….at the pulpit teaching…and the audience loved it (old hymns) and the choir joined in. I was asked to do the old songs over again,” Caesar added.

That the pastor did, on her new label Light Records. The project became a CD/DVD set of 40 years of her music ministry. It includes such selections as “Peace in the Midst of the Storm” and “He’s Got it All Under Control.”

Shirley Caesar started singing professionally at a very young age with the Caravans (who were much older than her). She was so young that they had to get her mother’s permission, group founder Albertina Walker told me.

The native North Carolinian began her solo career in 1966 and rapidly became the First Lady of Gospel. Her achievements in the Gospel music ministry garnered her an Honorable Doctorate from Shaw and Southeastern Universities. She earned a Bachelors degree in business administration in 1984 and is a minister at a North Carolina church.

“Gospel music is big business,” the pastor said. “It’s bigger than classical, blues and country. There are so many facets of it…even Bluegrass Gospel.”

Shirley Caesar has won six Grammy Awards and seven Dove Awards for her projects and she has also performed on Broadway.

The “After 40 Years: Still Sweeping the City,” CD/DVD includes soul stirring performances and moving testimonies.

Caesar is finishing up a tour to promote the CD/DVD. It started in Miami in May and ends July 12th at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest in Ottawa, ON. Shirley will also be performing with Yolanda Adams and Evangelist Juanita Bynum on September 19th. The performance will be at the Gospel Extravaganza in the WaMu Theater in Madison Square Gardens, NY.

Her album credits are so long that my research online only starts in the year 1995 and from that point on Caesar has released on the average two albums a year, in fact, in 2000, 2003, 2004 and 2005 she released three albums each year. Shirley has been signed to major labels like Sony and even “indie” labels such as Frank Music and Liquid 8.

The entire album is a must to hear. With each selection you can transport your mind to a time in the past where the selection played a big part in your life and the building and revitalization of the spirit. If you are young the old hymns will give you a little history on Gospel and the mus