Ron Chapman – From the Police, B.B. Gabor to the Forbidden Shore of Cuba

Fri Apr 01 2016
Telmary Diaz and Ron Chapman Miami Film Festival

To know more about who Ron Chapman is and what he’s currently up to – here’s is a bit of bio about the producer/director, musician. Chapman recently appeared as a guest on my CIUT 89.5 interview show, The Bill King Show and we dug back into his history and talked about his passion for film making and affection for Cuba.

Ron Chapman is a lifelong musician, producer, director and entrepreneur. Early in his career he was a musician, managed musical artists, produced albums, and produced and directed rock videos. He owned and operated the legendary, ground-breaking Toronto music club “The Edge”, bringing an eclectic mix of some of the day’s most exciting international acts and artists to the scene. For decades, he has been producing and directing television commercials, working with some of the world’s leading brands.

As a filmmaker, Chapman’s first documentary, “Who the F**K is Arthur Fogel” - CEO of the Global Touring division of Live Nation Entertainment and long time Canadian music promoter – Arthur Fogel – Chapman follows the impresario behind the scenes.

Concerts, Class and a Closing

Fri Mar 25 2016
Tim Tamashiro, Reg Schwager, Don Thompson, Ben Heppner

Photo Credits: Pat Blythe, A Girl With A Camera "The Picture Taker"
Photo at right: Tim Tamashiro, Reg Schwager, Don Thompson, Ben Heppner

It's been a rather exceptional week for music....jazz, folk, blues, touch of rock....an absolutely stellar week and it puts me right over the top. To say I'm delighted is a gross understatement. So let's begin....

Saturday night found me at the Glenn Gould Studio as the guest of Jane Harbury. The show....well, it was not what I expected.....at all. What a wonderfully entertaining evening. Full of music, stories and laughter, host Tim Tamashiro and tenor Ben Heppner kept us all in stitches and our ears full of beautiful, toe tapping, finger  snapping music. Sam Taylor, you would have been right at home!

BTW with Lenny Stoute with Jane Siberry, Rae Spoon, Ra Ra Riot, The Crooked Brothers, Bearmouth, Ill vibe, Junior Boys

Fri Feb 12 2016
Jane Siberry

You hear a lot of loose talk about stepping away from success and getting back to the roots of it all. Of the few who actually walk that walk, put T.Dot's enduringly hot folk eminence Jane Siberry at the top of the list. Early in 2006, Siberry closed her music label and sold or gave away nearly all of her possessions, including her Toronto home and her musical instruments. She changed her name to “Issa” and retained one traveling guitar. “I felt I had to change or die.”Three years of spartan living later, she began using the name “Jane Siberry” again and resumed international touring and recording in 2009.

A disinclination to follow fads, trends and fashions has been Siberry’s signature from the earliest days of her musical career. An unending desire to find and describe the essence of human experience has led her through numerous musical inventions in a multitude of forms, earning her the passionate loyalty of music-lovers world-wide. Siberry is known for her original, adventurous musical vision and her independent journey has contributed to new models for operating as a musician.

BTW with The Wainwright Sisters, Ritual, Geographer, Autopilot, Concealer, Rita Chiarelli, Cecile Doo-Kingue, Terra Lightfoot, Crystal Shawanda, Suzie Vinnick

Fri Nov 06 2015
The Wainwright Sisters

Fall is prime time for sweater-folk music and the perfect time to release the mucho anticipated debut album 'Songs In The Dark' from The Wainwright Sisters, out Nov. 13, 2015.

Although they're sisters, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche didn't grow up together.

Aside from genetics, their true bond was a musical one, both growing up in families steeped in songwriting. Both their mothers would sing them lullabies (Kate McGarrigle to Martha and Suzzy Roche to Lucy). Now to honour that, 30 years later, Martha and Lucy are singing many of these same songs, some penned by their mothers and father (Loudon Wainwright III) on 'Songs In The Dark.'

The record also includes songs that shaped their childhoods, made famous by the likes of Woody Guthrie and Jimmie Rogers. When Martha and Lucy grew up and become songwriters of their own, they discovered their physical separation was trumped by their shared musical DNA. On 'Songs In The Dark,' this is captured in its elemental essence: dark, mysterious, and beautiful.

Jason Blaine In The Spotlight

Fri Oct 30, 2015

The pride of Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, Jason Blaine, is about to break new ground with a new album (his 6th) and it is arguably his best to date. The album, Country Side, was released last week in conjunction with a new single, Spotlight. We caught up with Jason, who has been living in Nashville, Tennessee for nine years now. “I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love, in a town that I love surrounded by people I love, my wife and three kids.”

The road to success has been a long one for Jason but he has stayed the course, remaining true to himself and his music and he couldn’t have done it alone and lovingly acknowledges the support of his wife. “I remember when we first moved to Nashville 9 years ago , my wife held down the fort in our little apartment with our baby girl while I pounded the streets of town trying to get a deal. It took about a year but it finally came together. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

Proudly Canadian: Copperpenny

Fri Oct 30 2015
Copperpenny

Copperpenny was a Canadian rock band from Kitchener, Ontario. They were formed in 1965 by Kenny Hollis and Rich Wamil, and were originally known as the Penny Farthings to reflect the British Invasion. Not long after their formation they adopted Copperpenny as their moniker, after a B-side by Toronto band, The Paupers.

In 1968, the release of "Nice Girl" on Columbia Records garnered moderate success. They soon switched to RCA and enjoyed a minor hit with "Stop (Wait A Minute)". However, it was not until their move to Sweet Plum Records, a division of London Records, where they would enjoy their first major success. 

"You're Still The One" was the band's first mainstream hit and follow-up. 1973's "Sitting On a Poor Man's Throne" was recorded in Dearborn, Michigan with Richard Becker. Copperpenny continued to record as they toured throughout the United States with headlining acts such as Led Zepplin, Bob Seger, The Guess Who and Uriah Heep.

Let Them Smoke Pot

Fri Oct 30 2015
Let Them Smoke Pot

It’s pretty obvious Justin Trudeau mined for young votes an untapped source and got ahead of his feeble opponents who by all counts knew the plant was drying in the dorm stalls of their youth.
It truly is about time we legalize and savor the profits from the forbidden plant. Sucking families dry through gambling to me seems downright evil yet governments rely heavily on the faith of the weak, downfallen and underpaid to fill the coffers.

People smoke everywhere – who hasn’t. Hardly a day passes when I don’t recognize the sweet pungent smell of herb – it’s in and around. In fact, I see more people smoking freely on Main Street than at festivals.

It’s been decades since I last inhaled but I must admit I miss lighting up in cinemas and near the bandstand. Oh, the follies of youth!

Andy Kim Announced as 2016 Inductee to Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame

Fri Oct 30 2015
Andy Kim

Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce Andy Kim as the 2016 inductee to the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. Andy will be honoured for his achievements and longstanding career in the music industry at the annual Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards Gala Dinner in the Grand Ballroom at the Sheraton Centre on Thursday May 5, 2016.

"Andy Kim's contributions to the Canadian and international music community are truly remarkable in his 50+ year career. As a former recipient of the Indie Award for Favorite Solo Artist during Canadian Music Week, we are so proud to have him as part of the CMW alumni and are thrilled at his induction into the Hall of Fame", says CMW President Neill Dixon.

BTW with Kalle Mattson, Nervous Curtains, Dragonette, Lee Harvey Osmond, Yukon Blonde, Paul Brady

Fri Oct 30 2015
Kalle Mattson

Continuing on a string of fall tour dates that took him through the US and out to Canada’s west coast, Kalle Mattson has added more stops, including Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, Kingston, and Peterborough, before heading overseas. It's all in support of Mattson’s latest mini-album, Avalanche, out now via HOME Music Co. Written over the course of March 2015 it picks up where the previous full length left off. Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold was released in 2014 to widespread critical acclaim, listed for the Polaris Music Prize and led to Mattson playing more than 160 shows across nine countries, including dates with Hozier. As a sneak peek at what Kalle Mattson and his band sound like live you can watch them perform “A Long Time Ago” live at Cherry Beach Studios, a song which Stereogum rates as “fearless in vulnerability.” Mattson 's shared a new video for the title track, “Avalanche”, via NPR’s First Watch.

Robbie Lane Presented with the Cashbox Canada Legacy Award

Thu Oct 22 2015
Robbie Lane Presented with the Cashbox Canada Legacy Award
Robbie Lane & Bobby Curtola
Robbie Lane & Bobby Curtola

Robbie Lane, Canadian music pioneer, was honoured at his place a work, on stage, where he has spent the majority of his adult life. Rarely will you see an entertainer more at home, under the lights and performing for the crowd than Robbie Lane.

Robbie received the Cashbox Canada Legacy Award of Merit on Sunday October 18, 2015 from none other than Canadian legend and old friend Bobby Curtola. “What an honour it was for me to be the one to give this award to my old friend Robbie Lane,” said Curtola after the event. “He truly is a pioneer and the Canadian music industry owes a lot to guys like Robbie. And he’s still doing it!”

Robbie Lane’s career spans six decades, 1960’s through to 2015 and a brief history of how he got here is awe inspiring.

BTW-with Diemonds, Red Moon Road, Lucero, Modest Mouse, Alabama Shakes, Greg Rekus, Busty and the Bass

Fri Sep 18 2015
Diemonds

Here's an overnight success that's only taken a decade. That's how long female-fronted hard rockers Diemonds have been bashing it out, playing every venue they could plug into across Canada and the US. The quintet, fronted by the commanding presence of Priya Panda is having a helluva 2015. The hard-working posse have played such notable festivals as Heavy MTL, SXSW, NXNE, Vans Warped Tour, Seattle Hempfest and most recently The KISS Kruise with KISS and Cheap Trick. Just out is third and most heavy hitting album so far, Never Wanna Die, which gets release in the U.S. on prestigious Napalm Records. A personal highlight for Pryia was opening for hard rock heroine Lita Ford in Toronto, which was followed by their Infest The West last August.

Susan Jacks It’s My Turn

Fri Jun 26, 2015

When we talked to Susan back in 2015, she really wanted her story to be told with facts and we did our best to do that for her. We both decided that an apt title for her story would be It's My Turn. Here was her reaction to the story. "Cashbox Canada has done a cover story on me and my music and I wanted this interview to be about my history, not filled with the incredible BS that appears on various pages on Facebook as well as in interviews, both past and present by other people. The important thing to me is that someone realized there is more to my story than one person's "creative version". There is still so much more that needs to be told and it will be. I've just started.  Thank you Don Graham and Cashbox Canada!!! "

BTW-Starring Bobby Curtola, Lost and Profound, Tom Wilson, Weed, Hudson Mohawke, L'Rock, Ault Sisters

Fri May 29 2015
Bobby Curtola at Musideum

Oldies don't come anymore golden than Bobby 'Fortune Teller' Curtola, master of the pop single, former teen idol, current Order of Canada holder and all-round smooth dude. Curtola pulled a Prince and played a private gig at the Musideum which quickly became a love-in. The sold-out house was treated to finger poppin' hit after hit, reeling in the years from 1962 onwards. That's the year Bobby dropped "Fortune Teller" and shot immediately to international fame at age 17. In between "Hand In Hand With You," "Three Rows Over", "Sandy," "Destination Love" and the other singles, he painted insightful, funny and warm portraits of life as a teen idol at the dawning of rock'n'roll.

Cashbox Canada Presents The First Legacy Award to Bobby Curtola

Thu May 21 2015
Cashbox Canada Presents The First Legacy Award to Bobby Curtola

Cashbox Magazine Canada, aside from promoting mainstream artists and their careers, has a mandate to promote the indie artists as well as the legacy artists who paved the way.

Last weekend they took that mandate one step further by presenting the first Legacy Award to Bobby Curtola. CEO & Editor in Chief Sandy Graham, herself a veteran of decades in the music business said “I firmly believe that there are a lot of good folks out there who have made outstanding contributions to the Canadian music landscape that, even if they have been recognized in the past, deserve another moment in the sun. Our plan over the next few years is to make sure these people get their due. And it won’t just be artists  it will include record people, industry insiders and the ones behind the scenes who paved the path to create a Canadian music industry.”

BTW-Canadian Music Week Edition-Kill Matilda, METZ, Alex Laurie & The Heat, The Kerouacs, Jully Black, The Jessica Stuart Few, Don Graham & Bob Cohen, Port Juvee, Aviator Shades

Fri May 01 2015
Kill Matilda

Saturday night's alright for freaking and Kill Matilda brings it large. The VanCity noise punk crew is making its CMW debut and given its rep for loud and energetic live performances, this gig should be intense. Formed in late-2007, Kill Matilda garnered immediate attention for its O.T.T. frontwoman Dusty Exner. Blessed with an impressive vocal range married to a penchant for extreme stage behaviour, a love of beer both onstage and off and a colourful range of cusswords, Exner's one of the most watchable performers in hard music. The current lineup's   Marcus Luk (Drums) – Mykel Exner (Bass) – Dusty Exner (Vocals/Guitar) and they'll be playing most of current EP, 'Punk, Zombie, Rock n' Roll' their weirdest set yet and somehow quite danceable.

"We are excited to be playing Canadian Music Week for the first time ever! After 6 months living in a van and touring the US being home and being part of this event is awesome. Our showcase is going to knock your socks off, so come prepared!" comments vocalist / guitarist Dusty Exner.

Kill Matilda. Bovine Sex Club. Sat. May 2nd

BTW - starring Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Gunner & Smith, Jerry Leger, Lily Frost, Tobias Jesso Jr, Chris Staig

Thu Mar 26 2015
Kitty, Daisy, Lewis

If you name check sibs Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, you’re liable to step off with thoughts of warm, fuzzy, alt roots pop. You’d also be very wrong about what they do. A better clue is that Mick ‘The Clash’ Jones produced current album, ‘The Third’, dropping now.

Described as "a gift to those of us who still believe in magic,” and three years in the making, it’s a worthy follow-up to their highly acclaimed 'Smoking In Heaven.’ That one coughed up enough coin for the crew to build a new 16 track analogue studio in a derelict Indian restaurant in Camden Town, resulting in an album and a sound pushing ahead what all that came before.

An early fan of the band, Mick Jones was keen on his gig as producer. Jonesy T spent four months rehearsing with the band at their home and utilizing many forgotten recording techniques. "This magical, heart-warming record really does produce a feeling of wonder,” says Jones. Something else Jonesy brought round was an enhancement of the group’s rockabilly leanings with a side of edgy vibe.

BTW-starring Grace Vonderkhun, Lucky Mike’s Sunday Matinee, Shad, Andria Simone, Chris Staig, Cancer Bats, Nimbus Young Producers Contest

Fri Mar 20 2015
Grace Vonderkuhn

So here’s our pick for wild chile of the week. Grace Vonderkuhn is a musician and songwriter out of Wilmington, Delaware. She sings, plays the guitar, bass, keys, and drums. All ferociously. After fronting her bands (Kind of Creatures, A New Dakota) from 2009-2014, she went solo with a style which cherry-picks elements from garage, psychedelic, punk, classic, and glam rock genres. Some say she’s the unearthly love child of Kim Deal and Joan Jett. Her current EP "Saints With Death Wishes", is rough around the edges in all the right places, She’s all beautiful, messy charm and knows her way around muscular music, brave enough to let the skeleton show through in places.

noisey.vice.com/blog/premiere-grace-vonderkuhn-salutes-saints-with-wishes

BTW-Starring Swamperella, The Bright Light Social Hour, Mr.Goshness, Lee Harvey Osmond, Pharis and Jason Romero, Will Butler, Aqua Alta, Ruthless Ones

Fri Mar 13 2015
Swamperella

Swamperella is a name synonymous with traditional Cajun music in Canada. Now celebrating its 20h year, this Toronto based group continues to honour the tradition from which their music stems while adding heartfelt and lively originals which dovetail beautifully into that tradition. Members include: Soozi Schlanger (fiddle, vocals, washboard); Peter Jellard (accordion, fiddle vocals); Conny Nowé (rhythm guitar); Rachel Melas (bass); Dave MacDougall (drum set , triangle). Swamperella has honed its musical chops over the years by playing to packed crowds at monthly cajun dances at the legendary Gladstone Hotel and has performed at kitchen parties, weddings and folk festivals across Canada. At the newly tarted up Tranzac last week, the crew showed no signs of slowing down, running through vintage zydeco material from such as Clifton Chenier, gorgeous Cajun waltzes with their roots in 17th Century France and original tunes from the band’s four albums, most recent being Leopard Skin Coat.