Maria Muldaur Declares "I'm Vaccinated & I'm Ready For Love!”

Fri Oct 22, 2021
Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur

Maria Muldaur is a name firmly rooted in the musical history from the the 1970’s. She broke out on the charts in 1973 with her #1 song “Midnight and the Oasis” and continued to record for all the years after that smash hit broke her name to radio.

And now six-time Grammy nominee Maria Muldaur, who’s been dubbed “The First Lady of Roots Music” for previous albums touching on her wide-ranging influences from blues, country, folk, jazz and even jug band music, released her new  single on October 8th, ‘I’m Vaccinated and Ready for Love!,” on Stony Plain Records.

David Gogo Sips from a Silver Cup in New Album & Single

Fri Oct 15 2021
David Gogo Photo Credit Andrew Dodd

Nanaimo, BC’s multi-award winning and JUNO nominated Canadian artist David Gogo knows the blues, and so does his songwriting, his guitar, and his sharp-witted lyrics that relate as easily as they break your heart. And nowhere is this more apparent than on the roots rocker’s newest album and single of the same name, Silver Cup.

Check out more on David Gogo here on YouTube here: youtube.com/davidgogoblues

‘All of my life has been the same, and I ain’t never, never gonna change,’ Gogo whiskey-sips over a slide guitar on “Never Gonna Change,” a lead track from his 2021 release, Silver Cup. It’s a set up to an old-fashioned, yarn-spinning story of life from the hard side of the tracks, and the commitment to leaning into what’s created of you.

“I was listening to my vinyl albums, going down rabbit holes on the internet, reading biographies of musicians, and playing my many guitars and just feeling the energy of so much great music,” Gogo says of the album and song’s inspiration.

Sultans of String Release the Classic Cover of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”

Fri Oct 15 2021
Sultans of String

Dubbed by Maverick Music Magazine as the “very epitome of world music: no boundaries, no rules,” NY Times and BILLBOARD charting Canadian supergroup Sultans of String have released their brand-new single, “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” — available now!

The song features the four core Sultans, as well as incredibly talented and inspiring special guests Tara Salah Moneka and Ahmed Moneka, and arrives ahead of this November’s upcoming album, Sanctuary.

Check out the YouTube here:

Originally written by Sonny Bono, and sung by Cher and Nancy Sinatra, this is a new take on the song that speaks to people from the perspective of marginalized voices; it is a benchmark of how the world has changed with the Black Lives Matter movement, and the thirst for equality around the world.

Q&A's Tony Quarrington + Zoey Adams Serve Up a Big, Delicious Song Buffet with New 'Demo’

Fri Oct 15 2021
Q&A's Tony Quarrington + Zoey Adams

How exciting and enduringly accessible can roots music be? Highly prolific Canadian roots and jazz duo Q&A have a very tasty, home-cooked answer for you with the veritable buffet of songs they’re serving with their new album, Demo Listen Derby — available now via Sonic Peach Music.

Check out  You Never Let Me Down - Q&A - (Official Music Video) from the album "Demo-Listen Derby" here:

The playful play on words of Demo Listen Derby headlines a joyful, 15-track ride that shifts gears thrillingly and effortlessly from jazz to blues to country to bossa nova to cajun and back again. Packed from front to back with original songs written by the duo, this is a collection rich and diverse in theme and flavour.

The Old Boys Club Must Be Disbanded

Fri Oct 15 2021
Peter Åstedt

I’m fascinated every time that there is a change in the industry it’s always inundated with people that think they actually have something important in the industry to say, but in reality, probably would be better off doing something else and have nothing to do with what is the new reality in the business.

I had a long conversation with a school the other day that educates students to prepare to work in the music industry. I have bumped into these students many times and are quite fascinated over how little they know about the industry. Most of the things they talk about are things that were relevant at least twenty years ago, or so basic that you can pick it out of any schoolbook or online.  In theory, students from this school are driven because they are interested in the business, but you have to just tell them to forget everything they learned and start all over if you hire them.

Martha and the Muffins Celebrate New Release : Marthaology: In and Outtakes

Fri Oct 15, 2021

Described as “one of the most innovative of their era,” iconic Canadian artists Martha and the Muffins have announced the release of their new album, Marthology: In and Outtakes set to release November 5th, 2021.

Check out the New Single "Do You Ever Wonder" here:

We caught up with Martha and Mark at their home in Ontario, Canada to talk about the release of their first album in 11 years.   I asked them both how does it feel have the name Martha and the Muffins called iconic legends and the innovative artists from the 80's punk era.

Mike Green Unveils Living Room Session EP with “No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Do”

Fri Oct 08 2021
Mike Green and Tim Palmieri Living Room Session

Two acoustic guitars (one plugged in, one not), some smooth but earnest vocals, and one cozy living room is all Mike Green, and his longtime friend, Tim Palmieri (Lotus, Kung Fu), needed to create the new single, “No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Do”.

Watch “No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Do” here:

The first single from their Living Room Session EP, the song tells the story of a guy who knows he’s not the girl’s type, but he’s going to pursue her anyway and give it all he’s got. The rhythm is steady and, at times, passionately emphatic — and Palmieri adds some deft fingerpicking and beautiful wailing notes. The bridge alternates between exuberance and lament, and the song ends on the slow and full-hearted declaration, “Somehow…we’ll figure it all out…no one’s gonna love you like I do.”

You Need Knowledge To Know How to Export Music

Fri Oct 08 2021
Peter Åstedt

During the pandemic, we have opened up too many digital meeting points so now everybody thinks they can export music. People are throwing around words like “export ready” and think they know what they are talking about.

Sorry, I can already tell you that most of these people have no clue what they are talking about. Just because they got a meeting online with a dude on the other side of the world, they think they are ready to send anything, anywhere.

Most of them also act like parents to the artists. Tell an A&R that the artist will have their parents along and they get a grim look on their face. You know that whatever you say to the parent they still think their kid is the best that hit the music industry since Elvis Presley. Their kid is unique and just great. What you actually see is a kid that can sing ok but has no other talent whatsoever. Same here with the exporters. They come up with hopeless cases with no songs that can play ok but don’t even how to conduct a soundcheck in the right manner.

Country Nights In The City, Live Music Is Back!

Fri Oct 08 2021
(l-r) John Dawson, Don Graham, Dave Woods, Courtney Bowles, Rob Watts

All Photo Credits Fiona Lawson/Studio 22 Photography

The COVID-19 pandemic took away a lot of things we took for granted, gathering with our friends for meals or drinks or sporting events and a host of other social functions. But most of those were brought back, with certain restrictions and rules we had to follow.

But live music, played by live musicians to live people was one of the last things to be reinstated. I have been playing live music for most of my adult life so this is the longest stretch i have gone without playing out. Finally, after more than a year I got to do what I've always done, play to a live audience with a bunch of other singer/songwriters.

Pop-Rockers Patrick McCormack and Eric Warner are MACARONI BIRTHDAY Serving Up “Dessert First”

Fri Oct 08 2021
Macaroni Birthday

It’s the magic words every kid, and the kid in all of us, wants to hear: Canadian family pop-rockers Macaroni Birthday are serving up a heaping portion of “Dessert First” with this, their debut single.

Check out “Dessert First” here:

Friends for two decades, singers/songwriters Patrick McCormack and Eric Warner have come together as the fresh, new, exciting, and upbeat voices of children’s entertainment in the form of Macaroni Birthday. The pair fuse their love of rock music, with the hilarity of children’s themed music that’s bound to endear parents as it entertains kids.

Colin James Hits the “Open Road” With New Release

Fri Oct 08, 2021

Colin James is truly a musical treasure and has been able to release album after album, each one with its own unique blend of retro and rock, and he never disappoints. I have personally been a fan for years and with the release of “Open Road”, this one is sure to be a playlist repeat in my library. If you are a true music fan you need to add it to your library as well.

And now from the rolling prairies of Saskatchewan to the Open Road of a storied career, multi-award-winning, chart-topping, and multi-Platinum selling guitarist Colin James releases his 20th studio album on November 5, 2021, via Stony Plain Records and available for pre-order HERE.

Following this summer’s track, “Down On The Bottom,” the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Famer has revealed the release’s video:

Canadian Brass Announces New Album Canadiana Featuring Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”

Fri Oct 01 2021
Canadian Brass

As the most celebrated and enduring brass quintet in history, Canadian Brass unveil the first peek at their forthcoming and first ever all-Canadian album with the release of “Hallelujah”.

Check out “Hallelujah” on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/Iwi-z0ehR9c

The Leonard Cohen cover is first to arrive from the iconic ensemble's upcoming album, Canadiana. The 11-song collection is set to arrive November 12th via Linus Entertainment, and adds to Canadian Brass’ impressive catalogue that has collectively sold over 2M albums.

On Canadiana, Canadian Brass celebrates the popular Canadian artists the group both loves to listen to, and has impressed them throughout their career. In addition to Cohen, Canadiana includes songs by Joni Mitchell, Drake, Daniel Caesar, Shawn Mendes, Rush, Bruce Cockburn, Deadmau5, k.d. lang, and Lara Fabian.

Pre-Order and Pre-Save here: https://linusentertainment.com/artists/canadianbrass/

We Will Soon Be Out Of Stars

Fri Oct 01 2021
Peter Astedt

We recently lost Charlie Watts, the drummer of The Rolling Stones. I just read a review from The Rolling Stones first concert on the postponed world tour from Atlanta. The journalist that was there said that the new drummer did a good job, but couldn’t replace Charlie and in his eyes The Rolling Stones were dead.

I guess we will see a lot of this in the near future. Yesterday’s stars are still the stars; we really aren’t  producing many more household names. Or yesterday I read more twenty years ago. I already had said a little while ago  in early 2000 that we haven’t produced any household names in late of the 90’s. Then both Britney Spears and Eminem got on and suddenly we got back with a lot of household names during the next years.

Now it seems like we are back in the position that we were in the late 90’s. Suddenly, there is no new household names. The question this time is it just one of these moments in time? Is it because of COVID? Or is it a result of the new trends of social media where you are just famous inside a bubble of certain people?

Author David Binks Captures Stories, Photos & Memorabilia About the Iconic Venue Massey Hall

Fri Oct 01 2021
David Binks

In an epic archival for the ages of one of Canada’s most iconic venues, author David Binks has written and compiled That Night At Massey Hall — available for pre-orders here: thatnightatmasseyhall.ca/shop/that-night-at-massey-hall/

At 240 pages, this limited-edition tome teeming with tales from Toronto’s ‘Old Lady of Shuter Street’ is home to more than 1,500 individual story, photo, and memorabilia contributions, and features over 500+ artists — including Rush, Lightfoot, Dylan, Pavarotti, Aretha, Neil Young, Springsteen, Miles Davis, Van Morrison, U2, and The Tragically Hip.

Joan Armatrading with the Latest Consequences

Fri Oct 01 2021
Joan Armatrading

Joan Armatrading has been a UK singer-songwriter now for around half-a-century, a fact that seems to come as a bit of a surprise to both of us when we hook up for a chat about her career and her latest chart-topping album, ‘Consequences.’

Armatrading is the first UK female singer-songwriter to receive a Grammy Nomination. She is clearly extremely proud of this and when I venture to express an expectation that it must have been an extraordinary thing for a black woman to achieve, back in 1980 when it first happened, (she’s been nominated three times, so far) she swiftly puts me in my place: “It’s nothing to do with being ‘black.’ That’s never been an issue for me. I’ve never felt any pressure or stress because of that, or because I’m a woman. I’m a writer. I never played covers though my first label did ask if I was going to do some covers of others’ songs. That was a short conversation. I don’t do that. It’s just not going to happen. I’m very self-assured. I have a confidence in what I do, what I write, record and how I work.”

Ian Janes - The Real Deal

Fri Oct 01 2021
(l-r) Marito Marques Drums Ian Janes Andrew Stewart Bass

Nova Scotia native Ian Janes is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, and producer who after a long Covid lockdown finally got back to the live stage and he is the real deal!    I caught up with Ian at the VANCESTOCK X Music Festival in Stouffville, Ontario,  where he and his band , Marito Marques -Drums , Andrew Stewart- Bass, Rob Christian -Keys/Saxophone,  showed what makes him as popular as he is. The show was high energy with a soulful moodiness that kept the audience in his grasp from the beginning to the last note.

Ian grew up in a house full of many different musical influences, his dad played guitar in a few bands and his mom had an extensive record collection.  Ian was exposed to such a broad amount of music as a kid which helped him develop his style , a style he describes as an eclectic sound.

Eric Clapton Releases “The Lady In The Balcony: Lockdown Sessions”

Fri Oct 01, 2021

Eric Clapton, rock and blues guitarist, singer, songwriter is referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time.

Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and fourth in Gibson’s “Top 50 Guitarists of All Time. He was also named number 5 in Time magazine’s list of “The Best Electric Players” in 2009.

For my generation, Eric Clapton is part of our musical scrapbooks, from The Yardbirds hits to the iconic album and single release “Layla”. His solo career with so many blues covers and then, of course, his heart-wrenching tribute to his son, “Tears in Heaven”. The list goes on and on as do the memories of where we all were when we heard all his songs.

Musical Link between Canada and France

Fri Sep 24 2021
The link between Canada and France

Over the years, France has undoubtedly had the most persistent influence on music development in Canada. Many attribute this influence to the fact that the French arrived in Canada in the 17th century. They were the first Europeans to colonize the country. However, the French did not come empty-handed; they brought their songs. Three and a half centuries later, their descendants are still singing a large number of songs, including church songs.

Historians reveal that missionaries came to Canada from France to convert the natives. They claim that these missionaries were men and women who could read music and possessed other musical skills. Moreover, it was the French that brought the first musical instruments into Canada.

Studies also show that Louis Jolliet was the first Canadian-born resident to travel to France to pursue his studies, and music was among them. Nevertheless, historical records claim that music was not encouraged nor developed during the French regime in Canada from 1608 to 1760. There were a few exciting individual efforts during the time.

Most Played Artist Doesn’t Make You A Successful Artist

Fri Sep 24 2021
Peter Astedt

The big news here in Sweden was that a “famous” artist was arrested for robbery and extortion yesterday. Nothing really new but it proves what times  we are living in and what lies ahead.

Of course, we in Sweden have a gossip page where they discuss who this “famous” artist could be. The article said that he was one of the most listened to artists on Spotify. Of course, it just takes a couple of hours then the name drops on this site and ninety-nine percent of the readers on there don’t know who that artist is. Neither did I, sorry even though I have worked in the industry for over thirty years and read the most on everything. Nope, I never heard of this guy. Of course, it’s a rapper from the suburbs of Stockholm. Sure he has many streams over (100,000 million) and he was one of the most-streamed artitst last year. Still, no one outside the rapper’s community of Stockholm knows this guy which was pointed out very quickly. I guess after robbing the store he got “real” media so it would boost his career so that more people actually know who he is.

Streaming is not getting you anywhere.