Chart-topping and touring powerhouse Canadian all-girl teen pop band Girl Pow-R are once again inspiring young women across the country as they receive their first JUNO Award nomination for 2020 Children’s Album of the Year! 

The ceiling-shattering nod as one of the youngest acts to ever receive a nomination lands for their debut release, This Is Us — available now. 

Hot on the heels of the album’s critically acclaimed hits “Never Let Go” — which debuted on the iTunes Canada Children’s chart at #2 (second only to cultural force “Baby Shark” but ahead of genre mainstays such as Sharon, Lois & Bram, The Wiggles, and Raffi), and #15 in the U.S. — the album’s title track “This Is Us” has received more than 500,000 streams across all available platforms. 

Watch Girl Pow-R: This Is Us (Official Music Video):
https://youtu.be/pWmNaK3tlsM

I can just assume you have seen the movie “Finding Nemo”? Well in it you have the fish called Dory has a very short memory and can easily be distracted by something shiny. I was in a meeting with some industry people the other day and they compared artists with Dory. Not so nice, but unfortunately very accurate.

We were talking about some artist that was not very active. And the solution was to distract them with something shiny. But it must be something not harmful and shiny, they added. The thing is that the artist is always looking for the next thing. If they’re on a label and it’s not moving in full speed (it seldom does, and when it does they complain that it is going too fast) another label comes around and that label works like shiny things for Dory, gets the artist full attention for a little while. So, the dangerous part is that they would possibly go with the new label, but they need a shiny thing to keep going with the old label.

Bif Naked, the multi-Gold and Platinum-selling Canadian rock star, author, songwriter, manager, producer, human and animal rights activist is packing a punch towards pain in her new single, “JIM”.

“This is a song about loss, really,” she shares. “It’s the quintessential story of discovering a betrayal, and “JIM” is that villain. “It’s totally about pain, and facing it head-on. It’s about that disillusionment we all feel when someone turns into an imposter.”

Accompanying the release is “JIM”s official video which reveals Canada’s ‘Princess of Everything’ in her rightful throne, reigning rock supreme and as strong as ever. The track lands ahead of her forthcoming album, CHAMPION — her eleventh studio release.

Watch “JIM” here:
https://youtu.be/t0SKqhAKQy0

Must be the season, but this week we’re awash in heartfelt love songs and social evaluations. A BC artist now based in Toronto, Wes Carroll and his band Confabulation have released their second studio album Elephant in the Sea. Much like their critically liked debut Off Empire, this one features five vocal tunes and five instrumentals. Genre-wise it messes with modern jazz, hip hop, soul and balladry.

Guitarist, vocalist, rapper and songwriter Carroll honed his craft at Vancouver Island University’s jazz studies program (2014) and is currently doing a master's in jazz performance at the University of Toronto. He walks a virtual tight-rope delicately balancing detailed arrangements with the power of spontaneity. He creates topical songs about issues including social justice, surveillance, mental health, climate change and the requisite love songs. In five years, while maintaining its jazz base, the band has stretched out to include hip-hop grooves, soul and electronica.

I just got an email from a band that has played one of the bigger showcase festivals in Europe. Before playing at that festival it was a mark that this artist was going somewhere. I met the booker from that festival last year at another festival who was talking about an act that really does well all over Europe and should easily make the lineup. The booker had a problem though that only around 20% was curated, the rest was bought up by export offices. So, it was hard to even get a band that should be on there.

And when I got the link of this artist today, I can really see it. This artist has no value right now. It is not interesting in any way for the festivals. And has no real leverage right now. A typical buy-in from an export office.

Terrible thing to say about a punk icon I know but John Borra really has matured like a fine wine. Toronto singer/songwriter Borra releases Blue Wine, his first solo album since 2002, which finds the long-time pillar of the city's alternative music scene shifting back to recording under his own name after three albums with his band Rattlesnake Choir. The album's 11 tracks show strong form with his writing and performing powers; on one hand, it’s exactly the kind of album you’d expect from one of the most influential figures within Toronto’s roots-rock scene – raw, melodic, and bursting with heart and soul. On the other hand, Blue Wine displays maturity and lyrical sophistication of an experienced artist. 

We received an email at our festival office the other day. First, with the totally wrong name of the festival. Sure, that can happen in a ‘cut and paste’. Then the letter continues by asking questions that are obviously on our homepage, things like what are the festival dates, what kind of genre do we prefer, how much do we pay for each band. Why should I go through the process of answering questions like this for a band that we probably are not interested in booking based on them not doing their research? So, I just write back providing a link to where all the info around our application process is. And also informed them what our real name is this.

To be honest, I think we are pretty good at answering these emails. We actually get thousands of just emails from bands/bookers/pr people just sending out from different mailing lists not knowing where and to whom they are sending. It’s all part of the game, and that is why I guess 99% are just deleting the emails and don’t answer them. We try at least to give you the right info even though we know it’s just another mass mail out and time-consuming on our part.

There are many variables and components that go into making a hit artist. There is an element of luck of curse and timing that contribute to success after of course the main ingredient - talent. These include perseverance, patience, tenacity and surrounding yourself with the right people who share the vision.

Eden James is poised and ready to breakout after working tirelessly at his craft. The journey has seen James travel from Australia to London, England to his current location, New York City, USA.

“Growing up in Australia, I was drawn to the sound of the British bands and knew I had to go there to get the full effect of the music. So that was it, I packed up everything and moved to London, where I immediately felt at home and got immersed in the music and the scene. I was like a sponge and started really developing as a songwriter. Then it was off to New York City where I’ve been for over 9 years now. I’m  growing every day in my craft and my confidence here in The Big Apple.”

Starting off this week with music for causes.

Gold and Platinum-selling

Canadian rock star, author, songwriter, manager, producer, and human and animal rights activist, yeah it’s Bif Naked and she’s got a brand new bag. It’s the launch of her new organic CBD boutique, MonaLisaHealing.com.

Touted as the ‘Renaissance of CBD’, the online e-com shop celebrated its North American debut throughout both Canada and the U.S. in the Fall of 2019.

“I finally followed my own advice,” Bif says of the passion-driven project developed with her longtime team at Her Royal Majesty’s Entertainment. She will discuss the premiere endeavour at Vancouver’s 2020 The Wellness Show this Saturday, February 1st and Sunday, February 2nd — each at 2:00 p.m. — for the panel “An Enlightening Discussion” (Saturday) and talk “Personally Taking Control & Managing Our Health Outcome” (Sunday).

Last week Swedish radio took off their Digilist, the top list over most streamed songs. This came to be after a couple of weeks with rumours around cheating. Then an artist did an experiment and showed in a big newspaper how easy it was to buy 100 000 streams in a two week period.

To be honest, I don’t know why this has up right now. Already in 2013, I knew about some serious cheating done on both iTunes and Spotify. My guess is that this is because the cheating has escalated so much that even the majors are beaten in the game.

“You can trust data”, was Jay Frank's comment.  And was said during Billboard’s new prize, The Jay Frank Award, to honour a digital music pioneer. And I would have loved to have a discussion with Jay around this situation, I still miss those talks. We had them before, so I somehow know the answer. When the Bulgarian guy was cheating a couple of years ago, we had that discussion. Jay just laughed and said, “it’s like pointing a finger against a lonely guy with a handgun while you have twenty-five super big cannons shooting in the background.”

Gold and Platinum-selling Canadian rock star — not to mention author, songwriter, manager, producer, and human and animal rights activist — Bif Naked has unveiled a new venture under her expansive wing with the launch of her new organic CBD boutique, MonaLisaHealing.com. Bif is available for phoners now and select in-person interviews in the Toronto area

Touted as the ‘Renaissance of CBD’, the online e-com shop celebrated its North American debut throughout both Canada and the U.S. in the Fall of 2019.

Specializing in premium organic, triple lab tested and verified all-hemp cannabidiol, MonaLisa Healing is set to extend their exclusive product line to the United Kingdom and Europe this February, and Australia and New Zealand in April. The store currently offers a range of 30mL CBD tinctures in varying potencies, ranging from 750mg - 3000mg for $79.99 - $199.99 CAD respectively.

Kinda quirky, kinda dorky and all intriguing, Canadian artist Denise Leslie is on a mission “to bring the fun back to jazz” through fresh arrangements, unique musical interpretations, and magnetic charisma. She lays it all out on the Toronto-area vocalist’s debut solo album, One Fine Morning — and its premiere single, her take on Brit rockers Badfinger’s circa-1971 hit, “Day After Day” — both available now! Produced by award-winning producer and guitarist Bob McAlpine, One Fine Morning sits squarely at the ambitious intersection of jazz, R&B and rock, and features bassist Pat Collins, drummer Paul DeLong, pianist Don Baird, and horn players from Brass Transit and Lighthouse.

“This album is paying tribute to the music I cherished in my formative years,” Leslie shares of the release. “Particularly the 70s. The music of that time had a pureness,” she continues. “It was a time when music could really make a difference, and when melody was more integral to songwriting.”

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt, two of America’s premier singer-songwriters, join forces for an acoustic evening backed by nothing but their superb voices, first-rate guitar playing and charming reminiscences.

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt will perform together at Meridian Hall (formerly the Sony Centre) on Thursday, April 30 at 8 PM. 

Tickets go on public sale this Saturday, January 25 at 10 AM. Tickets can be purchased online at meridianhall.com, by calling 416-366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754, and at select TO Live Box Offices.  Tickets range from $72.50 - $85.50 with limited Gold Circle at $99.50 (plus applicable fees and service charges).

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt’s previous Toronto appearances at Massey Hall (in 2008 and 2014) were both sold-out. These elegant, captivating meetings between cherished friends and collaborators make for dynamic song-and-story swaps that are difficult to resist.

Well, the tech guys want us to believe that the algorithm is that magic thing that can actually predict the future in the big data world. Maybe in a George Orwell future, it can, but I really don’t want to live there.

I got this idea for this text from a press release of another company doing a site with an algorithm that goes on the mood. In this case for sync placements. For me, this feels like 2010 when several companies did the same thing. If you really want that search engine to go top Spotify then find the people that just want mood playlists. And yes, sad playlists are the most popular right after workout playlists. The problem that is now occurring on Spotify is that the audience is not really listening to the music they just use it as background music on other things. It’s like the music in the ceiling of the supermarket. It’s there but no one cares what it is;  you are too busy shopping.

Gentle reader, please consider this a PSA. In light of the continued abuse, misuse and degradation of the words ‘amazing’ and ‘awesome’ at all levels of society, they will continue to be absent from this space. If you require tired hyperbole drained of all meaning in your reading material, have a nice day.

More Than Words: Extreme