Canada’s Walk of Fame announces the return of its Emerging Artist Music Mentorship Program, supported by RBC, one of Canada’s most successful programs supporting aspiring Canadian musical artists. Valued at more than $100,000, this program provides musicians the tools needed to take their careers to the next level including private studio time at the prestigious Metalworks Studios; introductions to renowned artists; access to music industry influencers; exposure to audiences and media; as well as artist development and funding. Submissions will be accepted immediately through to Sunday, April 30, 2017 at 11:59 pm ET.

Nestled in the heart of Queen Street in the east end of Toronto sits a really cool club, The Duke. Man about town Danny Marks is also a really cool rock ‘n’ roll icon – so it just made sense for the club operator to put the two together.

On March 25, 2017 The Danny Marks Band will be bringing their music and memories to The Duke, and inviting all to come and rock ‘n’ roll the way they used to do it. A venue like the old days of Larry’s Hideway, Route 66, The Jarvis House, this great old building has old bar chairs, a big dance floor and food service that is both inexpensive and delicious. There is also a beautiful patio for those who might need some fresh air. And one more fact unheard of nowadays – NO COVER CHARGE for this show!

Cashbox Canada received an official press release from Jane Harbury, providing us with the update on the ongoing issue of Hugh’s Room and the latest (good) news of one of Toronto’s finest music listening rooms. Here is what was communicated:

Hugh’s Room Update – March 9, 2017

What’s been happening?
A new Not-For Profit corporation has been formed to manage the club. Hugh’s Room For The Performing Arts Inc. is the formal name and the club will now be operating under the trade name of Hugh’s Room Live.

While we were negotiating in good faith with the current landlord, including a hard offer to take over the lease and cover some missing rent, the building was sold and the locks changed. We had been given no hint that a sale was in the works.

North Carolina duo Flagship has announced the release of their album The Electric Man via Bright Antenna Records.

Of the album the band explains "The Electric Man is a very special record for us. We really put pieces of ourselves into every single track and there isn't a single track that suffers from a lack of energy or heart. We truly feel that this is our best music to date and stand behind this record as an audible representation of our growth and hard work up to this point."

The new album, The Electric Man was produced by Joey Waronker, known for his work as the drummer for Beck, REM, Brandon Flowers, Atoms for Peace, Walt Mink, and many others.

Wayne Warner's songwriting is distinctive, timeless, and loves to flirt with many different genres. The former Atlantic Records artist, best know for his 2006 hit, "Turbo Twang," Warner has been joined on his records by some of the most established country artists of the eighties and nineties, as well as a pop icon, and a current superstar. From Bryan White and Mark Collie, to Bonnie Tyler and Taylor Swift, his peers have come to hold Warner in great esteem as an "artists' artist". His hooks, so fresh, so powerful, that Warner has been deemed as a genius by many in the field, receiving praise from the likes of Billboard and Music City News. His appearance is as interestingly unique as his sound, and he speaks in overtones that only a well crafted artist could. And yet, in many ways, Warner is almost a well kept secret.

Sonny Geraci, the Cleveland-born pop singer who scored national hits as lead singer of The Outsiders in the 1960s and Climax in the 1970s passed away on  February 5, 2017. He was 69, and had been in ill health since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2012.

Geraci, a graduate of John Adams High School, became lead singer of The Starfires in 1964. The band, founded by guitarist and songwriter Tom King soon changed its name to The Outsiders and put four singles on the U.S. pop charts during the late 1960s, including "Time Won't Let Me," "Girl in Love," "Help Me Girl" and "Respectable (What Kind of Girl Is This)," a remake of the Isley Brothers tune.

Geraci left the band in 1970, striking out on his own and eventually forming the band Climax with Walter Nims, who had been a member of both the Starfires and The Outsiders. That group later scored a Top 3 single with "Precious and Few," written by Nims. Climax disbanded in 1975.

Geraci left the music business in the early 1980s, but tried a comeback, under the pseudonym Peter Emmett, in 1983, releasing an unsuccessful album on MCA.

Photo: John Mayall by David Gomez

Forty Below Records announces a February 17 release date for the vinyl edition of iconic musician and Blues Hall of Fame member John Mayall’s latest album, Talk About That. Originally released on CD January 27, the vinyl version will also include a free download card.

Joining Mayall (vocals, keyboards, harmonica and guitar) and Greg Rzab (bass), Jay Davenport (drums) and Rocky Athas (guitar) as special guest is legendary guitarist Joe Walsh, who plays on two tracks, “The Devil Must Be Laughing” and “Cards on the Table,” both John Mayall compositions.

John Mayall will begin a lengthy European tour in early February. His most-recent American dates included several days onboard the “Legends Cruise,” and featured an exciting special guest appearance from another legend – Todd Rundgren – who jammed on guitar with John and the band on the Otis Rush classic, “All Your Love.”

Cool Cat Records has announced the release of "Rockabilly Rebel", a fresh new music video and single by singer songwriter, pin up model, and super luxe entrepreneur Heather Ballentine. The video, directed by Marc Esteves & produced by Ballentine Entertainment, features cameos of Toronto biker & entrepreneur Paul Dutra as the "Rebel" and CCMA Hall of Fame inductee Barry Haugen.

"Rockabilly Rebel" is from the album "The Cat's Meow", produced by Pete Anderson, available on iTunes.

Heather recalls, "my first boyfriend smoked, wore a leather jacket, and picked me up for dates on a motorcycle. My dad wasn't thrilled, but years later the experience was the inspiration for 'Rockabilly Rebel', which I co-wrote with Lary Bartley".

Celebrated songstress Martha Wainwright is set to take Canada by storm on her forthcoming tour, including 9 stops in Quebec. Following the successful release of her recent studio album, Goodnight City, via Cadence Music on November 11th, Martha is ready to bring these new songs to her fans across Canada, as well as the UK and Australia in 2017. Her Canadian dates will begin on April 5th in Chicoutimi, QC and include stops in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver.

In conjunction with the tour announcement, Martha has released a brand new video for lead single, Around The Bend and shared it via Facebook . She teamed up with her cousins, Vinnie Dow, Sylvan and Lily Lanken, and Kathleen Weldon to create the DIY video in Montreal.

LONDON - Musician Greg Lake co-founded both King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer — bands that helped define the sprawling, influential but often-maligned genre known as progressive rock.

Lake, who died of cancer at 69, was instrumental in bringing classical influences, epic length, mythic scope and 1970s excess into rock 'n' roll, winning millions of fans before punk swept in and spoiled the party.

Manager Stewart Young said in a statement that Lake died Wednesday after "a long and stubborn battle with cancer."

Born in the southern English seaside town of Poole in 1947, Lake founded King Crimson with guitarist Robert Fripp in the late 1960s. The band pioneered the ambitious genre that came to be known as progressive rock.

He went on to form ELP with keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer. With Lake as vocalist and guitarist, ELP impressed crowds at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, in a lineup that also featured Jimi Hendrix and The Who.

The band released six platinum-selling albums characterized by songs of epic length, classical influence and ornate imagery, and toured with elaborate light shows and theatrical staging.

Brighton, UK's, As It Is, has released the third track, No Way Out, from their highly-anticipated sophomore album, okay., set to release January 20, 2017.

Digital and physical pre-orders are availablenow, where singles Okay, Pretty Little Distance, and No Way Out are all available as instant downloads with each pre-order.

(Editor's Note: Brad 'Rusty' Bakewell, lead singer and master provocateur of hard rock crew Jack Damage has passed . Rusty never made the big time but every time he was onstage, he made it a big time. He was a very relatable dude and his big-hearted ways made a mark in many people's lives. The memoir below is from one of them.)

This is my friend Brad Bakewell. Most of you knew him as Rusty or Crusty Rusty if you were part of our scene at Rock'N'Roll Heaven. Rusty left us last week. Indications are it was from complications surrounding a near fatal car accident a couple of years back, in BC. Rusty was a complete rock and roll animal in the end. And for that we who loved him and thanked him.

Joined by four of the best: Dave Restivo (piano); Russ Boswell (bass); Nathan Hiltz, guitar & Ethan Ardelli (drums), the Sisters will give a performance to include songs from one of the most loved and well-known sister groups of all time, The Andrews Sisters.  Amanda, Alicia and Alanna will be singing their way through musical history from that iconic vocal trio.  In addition they have a programme that includes some seasonal/holiday music, some of their favourites from Timeless [their last album] and a couple of their own originals that’ll be on the upcoming album.

The girls have been working hard and have delighted audiences in and around Toronto in addition to venturing further and further out into this amazing province.
Robin Munro, Executive Producer of Barrie’s FESTIVENT World says, “Over the past few years I’ve had the opportunity and pleasure to present The Ault Sisters and this year The Barrie Jazz & Blues Festival commissioned the Sisters to present a “Giants of Jazz”concert based on The Andrews Sisters. ...they charmed and engaged the enthusiasm of a multi-generational crowd of music lovers.”

There’s a lot of talk going around that there aren’t many good singers around these days, that there are not a lot of classic voices that will be remembered years from now. But after seeing some award shows and other performances of current artists doing hits from the past, I’m starting to think the problem isn’t really the singers as much as the songs. In my opinion there were a lot better songs being written back in the day but you need somebody to find those songs and get them to the artists and producers and get them recorded. There was none better at this then Bob Montgomery, the best friend a song and songwriter ever had. Working out of Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, Bob discovered and championed countless songs and their writers as well as writing classics of his own, “Back in Baby’s Arms” for Patsy Cline and the huge crossover hit “Misty Blue”.

Allen Toussaint, the legendary songwriter, producer, arranger and performer hailed by the Grammys, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and musicians and fans worldwide as one of the most influential figures in New Orleans music, died Monday while on tour in Europe, his family confirmed. He was 77.

Toussaint was on tour in Spain and died after performing Monday. Having performed frequently in his hometown over the past several weeks, Toussaint left last Thursday on a tour that was to include stops in Madrid, Belgium and London, according to his Facebook page.

Just last week, it was announced that Toussaint and longtime friend Paul Simon would perform at a Dec. 8 benefit for New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness, a charity he helped create.

On Wednesday, November 25 music people will have a unique opportunity like no other if they attend this event at Toronto’s premiere listening venue, Musideum.

If you don’t know Paul who heads up Sanderson Law, here are a few merit points to his legal career.

• Exclusively serving clients in arts and entertainment field for over 30 years
• Consistently names ‘Most Frequently Recommended’ as an entertainment lawyer in the Canadian legal directory “LEXPERT”. www.lexpert.ca.
• Listed in the 2011 edition of “The Best Lawyers In Canada” in the practice area of Entertainment Law.
• The leading writer on legal aspects of Canadian music law and visual arts
• Author and editor of “Musicians and the Law in Canada”.
• Co-Author of “Artists’ Contracts: Agreements for Visual and Media Artists”.
• Paul Sanderson has published a new informative handbook for Canada “Music Law Handbook for Canada: 10 Essential Legal Articles (Publisher: Seraphim Editions). It is a first of its kind publication in this field.

Singer Ian Tyson recovers from open heart surgery, plans to resume dual careers as singer and rancher. Tyson is resting comfortably in a hospital near his Longview, Alberta ranch, recovering from open-heart surgery.

A blockage required an aortic valve to be replaced; the operation took place two weeks ago in Calgary’s Foothills Hospital. Tyson, impatient to get back to his ranch, is wryly amused that the replacement valve came from a cow’s heart.

He began his career in the duo Ian and Sylvia in the early ‘60s, but has long had a distinguished career as a solo artist. He released his 13th album — Carnero Vaquero — for the Edmonton-based independent roots music label Stony Plain earlier this year.

Now 82, Tyson has followed dual careers as a rancher and singer since he moved to Alberta in the early ‘80s. Songs such as “Four Strong Winds,” “Someday Soon” and “Summer Wages” established him as one of Canada’s best-known artists.

He is looking forward to a limited schedule of performances next year, and he hopes to perform at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada in January — he’s played the event every year but one since 1981.

The world has been getting smaller as the electronics world keeps growing. The phrase “live in your world play in ours” is not just those that enjoy video games but now at the E3 Conference in Los Angeles, California, Microsoft expands deeper into the music market place, television and entertainment world.

It was around a year ago when the phone rang and Marty Williams said “Belson, what’s up?”, the usual response was answered with the reply,” I have bad news for you it’s Quinn, he’s dead.”

Well, unfortunately it was true after the 3 of us and other old friends had just recently reacquainted at yet another compadre’s funeral, (Platinum Blonde) Kenny McLean. The story goes that when he couldn’t be reached his best friend from school days (and ‘roomy’ at one time) Chris Bernard discovered that “Quinn,” as he was called by his friends, had passed away.

Leaving behind his 3 beloved Siamese cats and his Gibson Guitar on his lap as he sat waiting to move on over to the other side. It is unfortunate when close friends pass on like Kenny McLean and Gary Quinn, less than 6 months apart and ironically enough, both very talented musicians.

Malcolm McLaren, the former manager of punk group the Sex Pistols, has died in Switzerland aged 64. McLaren, the ex-partner of designer Vivienne Westwood, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer last October.

He set up a clothes shop and label with Westwood on London's King's Road in the 1970s and was later a businessman and performer in his own right.

The couple had a son, Joseph Corre, the co-founder of lingerie shop Agent Provocateur. His agent told the BBC that McLaren passed away on Thursday morning. Spokesman Les Malloy said the artist's family was "devastated" and "in shock" after his condition suddenly deteriorated, adding: "He had been doing very well, it's a sad day."

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