Greater Hamilton Musicians Annual, 2012

Greater Hamilton

MUSICIAN

PREMIER ISSUE. vol 1. ANNUAL. DECEMBER 2012

GREAT CITY :: GREAT MUSIC :: AWESOME MUSICIANS

Welcome musicians!

The musical community along the shore of the lake, centred in Hamilton, is like a river with a thousand tributaries and headwaters. Like rivers seeking the ocean, we’re all seeking the same thing, which is to make great music for an appreciative audience.

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MARKETING

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PHILOSOPHY

This Musicians Annual is for Hamilton area musicians, their audiences, people who hire them, and everyone in the supporting trades. It is stories and photographs showcasing some of the region’s awesome talent pool as seen and heard in live performance and personal interviews.

We’re becoming visible. And we’re awesome.

Expectant, trusting people and businesses have contributed to this publication. Thank-you to Louise Feeney Notley who wrote the poignant tribute to the much-loved high school music teacher Ken Lamanes. Tom Shea, David Fawcett, Chris Labonville, Ange Noto Campanella, and Rachel Harvey contributed pieces. Alex Zafer and Ida Adamowicz contributed their excellent photographs. And our local businesses have been a tremendous support.

Like tributaries flowing towards a common goal, musicians are gathering a sense of unity and purpose.

Hamilton, the City of Waterfalls, is now becoming the City of Music.

HISTORY

Are you tired of feeling like you’re stumbling around in the dark not knowing what is going on with other musicians in your town? And are you tired of feeling like no one gives a care whether they hear you play or not? How do we musicians end up feeling like we’re on the fringe of society, or worse, lurking in some kind of underworld?

WELCOME

Hamilton, ON :: photograph by Reg Beaudry

EDUCATION MARKET PLACE

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ARTIST FEATURE

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Raise a glass. Here's to new friendships, new songs and making music in our great town!

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VENUE

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Glen Brown :: ASSISTANT EDITOR: Jeffrey Martin :: DESIGN: Reg Beaudry :: PRINTER: Innovation :: Contributors: [ LEFT TO RIGHT ] Glen Brown, Tom Shea, David Fawcett, Neil Reyes, Chris Labonville, Rachel Harvey, Louise Feeney Notley, Ange Noto Campanella. Featured photography: Alex Zafer, Ida Adamowicz. :: COVER: Dean Irvine, Dawn Before Descent, Hamilton Music Award Loud/Metal winners, photograph by Alex Zafer :: The Greater Hamilton Musicians Annual, 2012 Edition is published by GBR Publications, 115 Adeline Avenue, Hamilton, ON, L8H 5T5. 905-973-4083 Copyright 2012 :: All inquiries may be sent to editor@ghmusician.com. :: Greater Hamilton Musician brings musicians together to strengthen existing relationships and help create new ones through sharing performances, news and knowledge. Great City. Great Music. Awesome Musicians. :: Request a free subscription at www.ghmusician.com.

REVIEW

Glen Brown :: CREATOR + PUBLISHER

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PHOTO FEATURE

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CLASSIFIEDS

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WELCOME

On behalf of the City of Hamilton, I'm glad you have chosen to pick up a copy of this Musicians' Annual. It gives us an occasion to recognize the diverse contributions of musicians to the cultural life of the City of Hamilton, and the surrounding municipalities of Burlington, Oakville, and Brantford.

Hamilton and the surrounding areas have a rich musical history. And today, there is such a great variety of music and musical involvement in our city that we can only touch the tip of the iceberg. Making music is not just a profession for a few elite performers; it is a worthwhile part-time activity for many, and an exciting hobby for thousands in our region.

Music is ultimately a gift of the musician to the community. When our local artists feel confident and inspired to produce great art, the whole community benefits. I hope that this publication will help our local musicians to foster a greater appreciation for one another, to deepen their respect for each other, and to forge new relationships.

Yours Sincerely,

Robert Bratina Mayor

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After two years of hard work, Illusion Avenue has developed a live show that netted the band the top spot in the Hamilton Music Awards Rising Star category. Since the HMAs last November, these four Westdale Secondary students have been keeping up a steady creative pace while at the same time juggling the everyday demands of high school academics and extra-curricular activities.

Matthew Page (drums), Nathan Belgrave (guitar), River Guard (vocals/guitar) and Charles Kostash (bass) now find themselves putting the finishing touches on their first album and tightening up their live show.

Illusion Avenue’s debut album, “Less Than 24,” is a fitting and well-produced demonstration of what the band has been playing from the get-go. Essentially some rousing and adventuresome riff-rock tunes touching on youthful themes: punk rock smoothed over and flavoured by a half a dozen post-punk metal flavours. The band enlists Chris Houston (Forgotten Rebels), a resident music guru at Locke Street’s Picks and Sticks music centre, to produce The album was recorded at Grant Avenue Studio with Amy King at the board.

Illusion Avenue makes it seem easy to carve

out their own path all the while being in the company of seasoned music veterans and watchful parents who are teaching and mentoring them at every step. Guard says, “[Without the coaching] I don’t think we’d be exactly where we are now. We would probably have made a few wrong turns.” It’s an honest answer, revealing a healthy sense of reality that is usually lacking in younger bands. All coaching aside, because each of the guys possesses a strong practice ethic, sincere artistic desire and all-round musicianship, they are performing well ahead of their peers.

The album release party was held at This Ain’t continued on p.18

AUTISM'S GOT TALENT

BUD WILKINSON

illusion avenue :: delivering the goods

ARTIST FEATURE

Illusion Avenue :: illusionavenue.com :: photograph by Michael McIntyre

Bud Wilkinson :: photograph by Alex Zafer

Like many of Hamilton’s seasoned musicians, Bud Wilkinson is the product of decades of musical and cultural changes that have been felt across the continent. At the age of seven Bud learned to play mandolin and guitar from a Woody Guthrie hand book and then learned to play Country music with his dad.

Things changed when Bud heard the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean and Chuck Berry. Bud just had to learn that music too.

Then he heard Manfred Man and just had to play the electric organ.

Music, for a while, lost out to hotrods and motorcycles. At sixteen Bud was a member of NHRA, the Canadian Motorcycle Association, the Steel City Riders Club and Paradise Riders club (who later became PairofDice Riders).

In 1973 Bud was newly married. He got another guitar as a gift and soon got into the folk music of Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez. He became a big fan of Gordon Lightfoot and Simon and Garfunkel. At a folk festival he heard Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and immediately became a fan and student of bluegrass music.

The motorcycles were sold to buy a good guitar.

Adam Beresford :: autisticinnovation.com

Adam Beresford is a hobby musician with energy to spare. Back in June, he organized a fundraiser revue at The Freeway called Autism's Got Talent, and raised $3,000 for the Autism Foundation.

Adam's brother David, a caricature artist, sister April and a few others worked with him on the project. There were 11 performers, a full band, poems and comedy—100 people came out.

The work of the Autism Foundation is close to Beresford's heart. Growing up with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Beresford received assistance through his school years, mostly in elementary school but less in high school due to the limitations of available support. So he knows from experience the social challenges and the emotional struggles kids and teens with ASD face.

Communication deficiencies in ASD are often counterbalanced by extraordinary sensitivity and/or ability in the arts.

Adam plays guitar and is working on the idea of putting comedy to music. He's a regular at the Lazy Flamingo on Tuesdays and the Baltimore House on Wednesdays. In addition to the recent Autism fundraiser, Adam accompanies David when he is doing a caricature gig. The two of them have worked out a creative balance where Adam engages the onlookers with his comedy/music sketches and David draws the sketches.

George Carlin's skit “Losing Things” now has a musical "remix" created by Adam. It's a combination of bass riffs, guitar strumming, melodic fragments and rap-like delivery. Other material comes from Dennis Leary, Jack Black's “Tenacious D” and “Flight of the Concords”. Beresford adapts and balances his performances to suit the audience. "Why should I play just serious songs when the audience wants to hear all kinds of moods, he says. "I mostly do the comedy at open jams. But I get responses from both types of music. I'm trying to get recognized and trying to make a professional sounding album.”

Beresford volunteers at Lawson Ministries at the Salvation Army on Mondays, helping out with the music night. Adam, David and two others have formed a band called the Art of Rad. Trish Simons of Autism Ontario will be working with them.

As for the immediate future, Adam Beresford will continue to experiment with his music and show up at the open mic events. Handling the multi-tasking of music, rhythm, gestures, words and delivery is his next challenge. -Glen Brown

Bud formed the Red Hill Valley Boys. The group did well for five years or so playing at benefits for Terry Fox and other gigs at a club called Penny-Farthing in Burlington. They decided to enter the Canadian Open Singing Contest where Bud met one of the contestants, a young girl named Penny Lyons, who went on to win the contest. Penny loved traditional country music so they decided to form a Country band “Penny and the Panhandlers.”

Penny left amicably after the band toured Ontario successfully for a few years. Bud hired Christy Lee and switched to the bass. The group soon became Circuit Rider and toured southern Ontario playing nightclubs.

Bud continued as a sought-after, working bassist for several years, working with Pam Brooks, Milt Hanson, Ray Tessier, and Roy Beliveau of Roy Boy Records. Being an agent, Roy started Bud on a four year nightclub tour as a single entertainer and duo with his Cousin Marge known again as Circuit Rider. He also toured with “The Country Newfie.”

In 1999 Bud won first place at a local singing contest. He and guitarist Kenny Ef found a young singer at a karaoke bar, formed “Neon Rain” playing New Country music. Again he hit the major nightclub scene and did some recording work.

In 2005, feeling long in the tooth and not liking late nights, Bud “retired” and started entertaining seniors on weekdays with another musician named Mister 88 on piano. They formed Curb Lane, entertaining seniors, recording and selling CDs until Mister 88 passed away.

Bud then hired bassist Pete Sisk and singer Amanda T. They worked with her for a few years until she left to pursue her own career.

Shorty-Bud, Too Tall-Pete, and Cowboy Ken soon met and formed Riders of the Western Stage who still perform today.

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MONSTER TRUCK'S JON HARVEY: A BEHIND THE SCENES CHAT

DAVID SPEERS & OPERA HAMILTONby David S. Fawcett

ARTIST FEATURE

By Rachel Harvey

Opera Hamilton is experiencing a renaissance under the leadership of David Speers. I sat down with him at OH’s new home on Jackson Street in late October. David Speers was with Calgary Opera for 19 years—the last 10 seasons as general director. He started with Edmonton Opera, which shared a production team with Calgary and Vancouver. He began as a general helper and was then an assistant stage manager and finally stage manager. He was put in charge of the Young Artists program of school tour productions and Young Canadian Cast matinÈes both of which he conducted. He graduated to conducting main stage performances in 1981 and took over as general director when Brian Hanson retired in 1988. He went from Calgary to Arizona Opera for five years and then came to Opera Hamilton where he has been general director for eight seasons.

What did you do in music when you were growing up?

Speers: My mom was part of an amateur music group in Edmonton that did musicals like South Pacific which were fairly new in the early ‘60s. That’s what I was exposed to as a kid, it has always been about the combination of theatre and music for me. I played piano and accordion.Then in orchestra, I played violin. I didn’t play very well, l but I learned the technical part. I was a singer and soloist in the Edmonton Boys Choir.

Speers spent two summers at the Banff Centre for the Arts and then a summer at Aspen. He had finished the course work for his Masters and was beginning to work on his thesis on the orchestration of Verdi’s Otello. Some of the faculty at Aspen were from Juilliard School and it was from meeting and working with them that he decided to go to New York where he could research his thesis. The original Otello sketches rest in a Manhattan museum.

What was it like to go to Juilliard?

Speers: That was a great year. I got a sublease on an apartment on West 72nd which is two blocks down from the Dakota. I had a mattress on the floor and an old metal suitcase someone had left. I bought a plastic table at Woolworth’s.

Fortunately there was a piano. I was always either in a class or at a show. Singers who I knew from working in Edmonton got me into the Met for rehearsals and performances or I got standing room seats. There were always people who came to the Met to be seen and they would give their tickets to the students who were standing at the back. It was a great experience.

How did you learn to conduct?

Speers: I learned the basic stuff doing my bachelor degree at University of Alberta and worked specifically on Opera repertoire during my last two years. I absorbed a lot from just working backstage with Edmonton Opera during my university years. Then, after my Master’s course work, I continued conducting studies at Juilliard. Back in Calgary, while doing production and learning the “other business side of Opera,” I conducted matinÈe performances for student audiences for about five years. You have to learn the basics in school but you really learn by doing–and I was lucky enough to have a lot of opportunities come my way–and I’ve met a lot of great colleagues and friends through that process!

The Opera Hamilton production of Rigoletto is set in the contemporary corporate world rather than in a ducal court as a period piece. Director Michael Cavanaugh presented his concept to Speers and his production team, and they decided to “go for it.” He said they wanted to “break out of the box” and felt that, in the intimacy of Theatre Aquarius, it was going to work.

What are the challenges in producing a potboiler like Rigoletto?

Speers: Well I’m really glad now we did it the way we did. It was not my original intention to do it updated. It only works if the characters are still in the same relation to each other.

This is a universal story where there’s a power hungry guy who gets anything he wants and is surrounded by “yes” men.

Rigoletto who goes along with it but, as parent, he will do anything for his daughter. I expected some complaints from the traditional audience who don’t like contemporary music and updating. But I didn’t get any negative e-mails or phone calls.

Not one.

Why did you decide to do Pearl Fishers?

Speers: Since we hit the wall, we have been rebuilding and revitalizing the company and it’s been all the big standard stuff.

The company did Pearl Fishers 12 or 13 years ago and it was one of the biggest sellers ever. Actually, LakmÈ is very close behind, so the French repertoire does very well in this community, oddly enough. In addition to preparing performances and conducting them, Speers is also the head administrator of Opera Hamilton.

How do you balance the artistic part of your job with the administrative?

Speers: Well, it’s tough because the administrative part takes so much time. The artistic part is not so time consuming. As we started to get back on our feet I spent more and more time fundraising. Like reviewing the cash flow, it wasn’t a very good use of my time. That’s why we brought Steven Bye as Executive Director on two years ago.

What’s next for you?

Speers: I’m going to enjoy this now. We turned around financially at the end of last year and the beginning of this one.

The way we’re building, and with cooperation from Theatre Aquarius, there’s been talk of jointly producing their Christmas musical. The other thing is to get back to a third staged opera.

We have had Popera instead but it would be better to do three operas and have Popera as an option.

David S. Fawcett is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre. He had a professional career as a classical singer. He later taught music in the schools including 13 seasons as conductor and chorus master of the HWDSB’s Buchanan Park Opera Club. He blogs at davidsfawcett.blogspot.com

Jon Harvey at the 2011 Hamilton Music Awards :: Monster Truck at the 2011 Hamilton Music Awards :: photos by Ida Adamowicz

“Everybody’s an artist now. Everybody has that little piece of creativity they want to latch onto. It wasn’t always like this, not everybody wanted to do all these things, but people now instead of being creative in a tangible way, they’re planning parties.

Creativity flowing in different facets.

Everybody’s an artist now whether they like it or not. There’s no way to escape it.”

- Jon Harvey

One of the challenges with interviewing someone you know, particularly if you’ve grown up with them, is that it’s hard to keep a straight face. Sounds unprofessional, but there it is. Rather than fight it, I decided to just go with the flow. I brought some sushi and beer along to interview my brother, Jon Harvey of Monster Truck, in the hopes that I could get him to say something scandalous. I felt led to ask if a musician is like an actor that puts on a different persona in the spotlight.

“Ya. Everyone I think does. You have to put on a great show, because if you don’t what’s the point? People are always surprised how timid I am when I get offstage. I put my glasses back on and I’m puttering around and everyone’s like ‘Hey man, you’re so crazy on stage and now you’re like a different person.’ That’s how it is, I’m not crazy.”

I choked briefly on a piece of California roll. Perhaps duality was a necessary evil in the world of rock. Or in the world of anything. I decided to bring up some of his recent accomplishments, like winning the Hamilton Music Award for Best Male Vocalist and Monster Truck’s Best Rock Recording award.

“Exciting. Winning Best Male Vocalist was really odd. I don’t think I’m the best singer in Hamilton at all, but whatever. It definitely builds up way more before it happens. I gave it [the award] to dad after. Recognition’s fine, but how many awesome artists in the world get the recognition they deserve? You know, if you look at a lot of the bands that win Grammys or whatever, they have good sales, and they’ve been selling things for years. So it’s less about art now, more about marketing.”

Hmmm. If being a successful musician was more about marketing now, had something been lost? What made an artist an artist then?

“Everybody’s an artist now. Everybody has that little piece of creativity they want to latch onto. It wasn’t always like this, not everybody wanted to do all these things, but people now instead of being creative in a tangible way, they’re planning parties.

Creativity flowing in different facets. Everybody’s an artist now whether they like it or not. There’s no way to escape it.”

What about the latest announcement that Monster Truck is opening four shows in Ontario for the legendary Deep Purple?

“It’s pretty awesome, I mean, they’re one of my favourite bands of all time. So to get to open for them, I don’t know if it’s really sunk in yet. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.”

So fans seemed to be a huge support system. What about the Hamilton music scene? Was there a supportive community to be found there?

“My experience of the Hamilton music scene is that it’s a very interesting place.

Continued on p.11

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KORI POP > UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE I first heard Kori Pop sing two years ago at a huge summer party in Grimsby. I even recorded one of her songs but the crowd was so loud that she was drowned out. Then early last year I went to the Casbah to see a band, but they were not going on until 11pm so I decided to have a beverage in the lounge. Just then, Kori Pop came on the stage and began to sing and play. The crowd almost immediately became silent. You could hear a pin drop. We were all held in a trance by Pop's soaring vocals and elegant guitar playing. Her original song compositions are wonderful, making full use of the guitar or keyboards to highlight points in a song.

She is not big on covering other artist's songs but the few she does perform are done with a very unique perspective and arrangement.

If asked to compare Pop’s voice and/or music, I might say Rickie Lee Jones, Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush all rolled into one. She’s that versatile. I’ve heard her play live many times and the atmosphere she creates is intense. Sometimes the notes she hits are so high you think she is going to crack or break a wine glass.

Her songs are wonderfully simple, but equally powerful. Even her studio recordings are basic. No elaborate orchestrations or fancy studio tricks. When she’s asked about the kind of music she plays, the response is “a little quirky and mesmerizing.” Some major record labels have approached her but don't know what to do with her or where to place her. I caught up with the one and only Kori Pop at Hamilton’s Mulberry Cafe.

Kori Pop :: koripop.com :: thehamiltonian.net

TH: I recently saw a video on Facebook showing a baby crying, then someone put on one of your songs from your last project "Songs for Little Bean" and the baby almost immediately stopped crying and fell asleep. Are your songs always inspired by real life events?

KP: Yes. Even if it is just the event and then I create a world around the event. It's always from a real place, whether it's a feeling I have and then I'll transform my feelings into a character, then write a character sketch or just write about the specific feeling. I never make up stuff. I can't sing with my soul if it's not coming from an honest place. I think that's what engages people the most.

TH: As you can tell (I point at my cassette recorder) I'm not a big fan of fancy technology. I've noticed that most of your music consists of your beautiful voice and a guitar, even some of your videos are hand drawn paper cut out characters and backgrounds (which I love).

What made you go this route with all the technology available to you?

KP: My family. We were never technology people. I was the last kid at school to get a computer and by that point I had spent so much time cultivating skills to entertain myself that I didn't need it. It became more natural for me to get some scissors, paper and pencil crayons and do that rather than figure out how to do that on a computer. I find it really daunting. I can't be bothered. I like the challenge of creating something surprising out of something that anybody could use.

TH: What role has the city of Hamilton played in your musical career?

KP: I love how Hamilton is the underdog. It has a character for that and that's how I feel as a musician. I've always felt like an underdog. People don't really know what to do with me. I've had a label interested say, "I just don't know where to put you." It's kinda frustrating. So I feel that with Hamilton, the James Street community has grown especially in the last two years. It's nice to be able to play at The Artbar or at This Ain't Hollywood. There's a familiarity that I like more than I ever thought I would. Hamilton has everything to do with me. It is where my performance roots lie. I remember somebody telling me not too long ago that in

the future if things were to happen (career wise) I'm going to have to say I'm from Toronto because people won't know where Hamilton is. Ya know what? I don't think I can do that.

Toronto is like the rich brother and Hamilton is like the little brother saying, "I'm gonna get there someday." And when we do we'll enjoy it much more. We'll be more like Montreal.

But I love Hamilton!

TH: What would you say makes your music stand out?

KP: That's really hard. I'm just being myself. Maybe it's my influences. I don't have a favorite artist. I don't have one person that trumps everybody else. I have a handful of things that move me. I love classical music, particularly Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. It blows my mind. Every time I listen to it I cry. I love Radiohead. That's why I started writing music–also Jeff Buckley, Joni [Mitchell], and Carol King, so I think maybe that's what it is. The convergence of my influences and not me emulating any particular one of them because I don't like anyone of them more than the other.

TH: What's next for Kori Pop, and where do you see your musical career heading?

KP: I have something up my sleeve, but I'm actually not allowed to talk about it. I'm not....it's a secret! I do have this big project that will be getting underway by the end of this year or early 2013, but other than that...I wanna try to play Toronto a bit more. I probably won't but I'm gonna try.

Gonna be honing my craft a bit more. I want to make sure that my craft is the solid thing in my life before I go on the road. I really wanna make a jazz album, in particular, I wanna make a Mancini album. Just Mancini songs. I like the fact that I'm getting older, my voice is lowering a bit. So when it gets to that low point where I can't do the high stuff anymore, then I'll do my jazz album.

Angelo Anthony Noto Campanella’s love for music has sustained him through careers in engineering, forklift operator, Japanese cook and nursing. Camping in Algonquin Park led Ange to photography, and then his photography led him to start freelance writing about the vibrant Hamilton music scene. It's been an amazing ride so far. First published in The Hamiltonian.

JON HARVERY continued Some people totally support you, others, well, I’ve heard people say, ‘When is Harvey gonna stop making pop music?’ Sorry, I don’t want to play unlistenable metal all the time. People have this preconceived notion that if you started doing something you should keep doing it.”

Funny, I thought the cultural myth of “selling out” had died along with the coolness of patch-covered backpacks. Apparently there were still some adherents. What about the Hamilton sound, was there a distinct flavour of music coming out of the city?

“It’s mostly heavy, gritty tunes. Even the country or other genres have this gritty honesty. I think Hamilton bands have so much honesty on a whole, it’s like a ‘Really, you like it?’ sentiment.”

After telling me his favourite venue in Hamilton is This Ain’t Hollywood, because it’s a rock-friendly bar with friendly people, he went on to mention that bands need to support each other, even if they dislike their music.

“Every Canadian musician who becomes successful helps other Canadian bands. There are bands in Canada that I don’t like, but because they’re putting things forward and paving the way for other bands to be successful, how can you hate them? It’s not exactly the biggest country in the world…oh wait, it is. But not the most popular, you know what I mean?”

ARTIST FEATURE

Angelo Noto Campanella

Let’s talk about Monster Truck’s song-writing process. Jon likened it to a Lennon/McCartney duo, where everything he sang was written by him and everything guitar player Jeremy Widerman sang was written by Jer. But I had an objection—I was not a fan of the representations of women in MT’s songs. For example, the song Huge and Awesome focused on a girl’s breasts, and Love Attack talked about a woman being conquered by “love.” So I asked Jon what he had to say for himself. Did the genre make him do it?

“Ahaha, no, I was just being a ridiculous arrogant idiot. Seriously, most of those songs like Love Attack and Huge and Awesome, I had no idea we were going to be recording these or shooting videos for these. So basically now I find myself trying to backpedal out of these lyrics. The worst part is we as a band have so much respect for women but this sex stereotype, it works so well to just sell sex all the time. See, Love Attack is a bad example because that was written like two years ago, but now if I was gonna say something like that I’d try to approach it like Wilson Pickett approached it, you know, 99 and a half just won’t do, it’s gotta be 100%, you got to give me your lovin’. He’s saying the same things I’m saying, but tactfully, and I like that aspect of it way more now than just spelling it out.”

I wondered what Jon would say to the idea that a musician is a role model.

“I think putting a musician as a role model is completely crazy. That’s like saying Bob Dylan’s a role model or Jimi Hendrix is a role model. Especially rock n’ roll musicians, good luck. Any celebrity as a role model is a bad idea. I’ve met so many people who live life in the entertainment industry and are never sober.”

Could it be that it’s harder to be a musician today, than it was, say, 10 years ago?

“Well, there’s no money in it anymore. The only way artists or bands make money is shows.”

If live shows were the money-makers, it stood to reason that a band manager would be important.

“I think management’s pretty important and we have yet to see how really important it is. We’re playing the 102.1 shows and Deep Purple because of him [Nathan Stein]. Management’s pretty much the middle man between the world and the band. I can guarantee we would not be anywhere close to where we are right now without it, only because they know the people and get us the opportunities.”

I asked Jon what advice he would give to budding musicians, and he said to simply keep going, that it was never too late to learn an instrument or join a band. “If you want it, go for it, why not?”

Easier said than done for some, perhaps. What about equipment, what was your favourite guitar to play?

“I just got my favourite bass. It’s a 1979 Ibanez Blazer. So many people have said it’s a piece of crap but I love it so much. I love crappy basses, I don’t know what it is, Japanese-made early to late 70s basses are my favourite. They just have this character to them, they always play good, they’re always the kind of bass that’s been played into the ground and been put in someone’s closet for like 10 years and when you get it it’s still mint and still good.”

So where was Monster Truck headed next? They had a much-awaited LP that they were itching to get into the studio and record, and as soon as the red tape (aka budgetary issues) got cleared up, they’d be rocking. As far as Jon’s vision for the band: “This ain’t rocket science. We’re not trying to change the world, we’re just trying to have a good time and help other people have a good time. The vision is just to make better music. No crap, no philosophy, no religion, just good tunes that people can hang out to.”

Rachel Harvey is in her last semester (!) at McMaster University, studying English and Cultural Studies. She writes weekly reviews for TVGuide.ca, and loves composing poetry and creative nonfiction in her “spare” time. She’s also a closet country singer/songwriter, and hopes to recruit Jon for her band "Rachel Strong and the Sentimental Hearts." Editor's note: Jon brought us up to date on what MT will be doing next. "We spend the rest of November in Toronto at Vespa Studios finishing up. The record should be out early 2013. Then in December we play around 10 headlining shows (3 in Hamilton), then holidays. In 2013 we tour until we run out of offers; hopefully the whole year."

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Like her peers, Credico will face many challenges as she works hard to turn a few gigs into a career. But to her advantage, one of the top priority tasks is already done. Credico recorded a fulllength (14 track) jazz album that succinctly captures her ability and style. Many new musicians never make it past this major hurdle, but this young artist, through some unique circumstances, managed to gain the production assistance and musical support of one of Canada's most talented and decorated jazz musicians, Don Thompson (Order of Canada, Juno Awards, composer, jazz pianist, bassist, vibraphonist).

DIANA PANTON The Song is Everything

Here is the remarkable story of how it happened, step by step.

Initially, Credico was in the right place at the right time.–she was studying music at Mohawk College. Her vocal teacher, Bob Hamper, knows the profession and through his initiative, a concert and master class with jazz singer Norma Winstone (Banff School of Fine Art) was scheduled. It's pretty common for special opportunities like this to come up, as Mohawk faculty work their friendships with other professionals in the business.

In this case, one of the major players was trombonist Dave McMurdo (now deceased). McMurdo played with The Boss Brass for years before taking on a key teaching role at Mohawk.

Suffice to say he was well connected.

Diana Panton :: photograph by Keith Penner :: dianapanton.com

“…impeccable sense of taste and control.” - Tim Perlich, CBC My special moment when talking with Diana Panton was when she was flipping through her calendar book to tell me about upcoming shows, and she was humming a little tune to herself.

It sounds corny, but let’s just say that there was a moment of connection in those few hummed notes. It reminded me of how she makes every song so personal. That’s what is so appealing about Diana Panton. She instinctively knows how to make good music, without much fanfare or marketing hype . She get’s into the song and tells a story, making everyone in her audience feel she’s singing just for them.

“Life is too short for bad tunes,” she says.

But beyond that, Panton exudes peace & balance, and everyday-regular-person qualities that make one grateful for the opportunity to chat, even if just for a few minutes.

Having a casual chat with a singer of this calibre, you might expect her to be hidden behind managers and other assistant types.

The fact that she’s a high school teacher and her singing career is largely unknown to her many students amplifies this phenomenon.

Panton has four recordings to date: To Brazil With Love (2011), Pink (2009), If the Moon Turns Green (2007), ...Yesterday Perhaps (2005). Her fifth album will be released soon then it’s on to number six. Two Juno nominations (2009, 2012) have also come her way.

Panton played violin and clarinet in high school. Her strings teacher at Westdale was Bonnie Quinn, who is still very active and

involved in the musical community, although retired. She began classical voice study with Dr. Joan Heels towards the end of high school. It was Joan who suggested she try out for the elite Hamilton All Star Jazz Band, which was under the direction of Russ Weil and practised at Westdale. During this time, the band’s popularity and audience took a huge upswing. Trips to Europe exposed the young musicians to some of the world’s finest jazz festivals, none of which was lost on Diana.

So where did Panton’s interest in jazz music come from? “I’d been singing classical for a while, and grew up listening to Mozart and Beethoven. Whatever my dad was listening to, that’s what I heard. One night he put on an Ella Fitzgerald record and that’s what caught me. When I asked, ‘What’s that?’ he showed me his jazz collection, which, until then, I hadn’t known he was interested in. I now had more than enough to get started with.”

“Being in the All Stars was like a trampoline for me. I was lucky to have that opportunity. †The public school system provided a good foundation for my music, and the community opportunity of the All Stars provided an extension.”

Panton describes her first meeting with her multi-instrumentalist mentor Don Thompson, “The Hamilton All Star Jazz Band was opening for Trudy Desmond at Theatre Aquarius, and it happened that Don Thompson was in the room, since he was in the band accompanying Desmond.

Afterward, Don approached and suggested I look into attending the Banff School of Fine

CAROLYN CREDICO'S INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY

ARTIST FEATURE

Who is Carolyn Credico? A vocalist and recent graduate of Mohawk College's Applied Music program. Vocal jazz gigs have been coming in steadily since her graduation recital last April, thanks to her connections with other music students including drummer Jono Blaak. Credico and the Jono Blaak Quartet have been playing local outdoor patios, festivals and private events in Hamilton and Niagara region.

Art, where he was going to be working. So I did.”

“When I got there I realized I was quite a bit younger than the other students by about 10 years; I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. But during my time there, I had the privilege of working with Norma Winstone, Sheila Jordan and Don Thompson.”

Panton admits she never officially went to music school, but in addition to the Banff School sessions with Sheila Jordan, she has participated in a number of vocal workshops.

“I might only get the feedback every two or three years, but it has kept me going,” she says.

“At McMaster, I studied French and completed my Masters. In association with McMaster, I traveled to Paris where I worked for a time as an instructor, teaching English at the University of Paris. While in Paris I looked for sheet music in French, and finally found some French songs at an antique music dealer.”

As for her growth as an artist, Panton says, “At times, the support and feedback of others who are experts is helpful and appreciated.

But there comes a time where you have to trust in yourself. It’s something you need to do on your own. We were always under pressure at workshops–there wasn’t time to work out every little detail–it forced me to be able to believe and trust my instincts. It’s in you and you just have to go for it.” And, as we all are discovering, Diana Panton’s instincts are right on.

Next, Credico was one of a few students selected to sing a song as part of the master class. Imagine the situation, "We need some volunteers. Step forward if you would like to sing for this Canadian jazz icon in front of your peers, and then have some constructive criticism shared publicly afterward." Everyone except Carolyn takes a step backward. "Ah! Carolyn has volunteered!"

She made a very good first impression through her lovely tone, comfortable voice control and natural phrasing instincts, and through savvy song selection. Hamper suggested she sing Manhattan in the Rain, written by Winstone—a great song, fairly challenging and somewhat off the beaten path as far as jazz tunes go. But it had the desired head-turning effect. Don Thompson was accompanying Winstone at the clinic and commended Credico on her choice of repertoire.

Next, serendipity or lady luck made an appearance. Mohawk faculty member Dave McMurdo spoke up during the after clinic chat. Turning to his friend Don Thompson, he said, "Hey Don, you should give this young lady some lessons!" At the time, no one could argue against the idea.

Next, with Hamper’s encouragement, Credico followed up. She emailed Thompson a few weeks later. He remembered her and they arranged to meet in Toronto. Thompson was agreeable and open to suggestions: "What can I help you with? I'm not really a vocal instructor." Seizing the moment, Credico innocently replied, "I'd like to record a CD." In what may possibly be the simplest recruitment of a top-level producer ever, Thompson replied, "I know a recording studio here in Toronto, and I have a friend named Reg Schwager who can help out on guitar." Thompson was originally going to call another pianist, but for expediency, and since he already knew Carolyn, he took on the job himself.

They arranged for another meeting to choose songs. Credico brought a big list back to Thompson. They pared it down to less than a dozen, and then set out to record. In just a few days, the tracks were laid down.

Carolyn Credico's first recording will be a treasure. Not only because of the great talent of Thompson and Schwager, but also because Credico's voice belongs in a place where the song matters. And this album is such a place.

- Glen Brown Carolyn Credico

P 13

BACK FROM THE MONT TREMBLANT INTERNATIONAL BLUES FESTIVAL

by Glen Brown

Since the 2012 release of his fourth album, “A Natural Fact,” Steve Strongman has been a busy man. Three visits to Québec jazz and blues festivals, where audiences are quick to embrace and celebrate all kinds of new and rising stars, and a variety of local shows, have kept him on his game while trying to balance his life with some quality family time in Hamilton. I met with Steve at Homegrown Hamilton, one of his favourite

GHM: How did Mont Tremblant go?

SS: Dynamite. I’ve been there five years now. They actually named a sandwich after me there. It’s called the Steve Strongman Club sandwich. There’s this place at the top of the Village called The Shack. It’s a great area; they have an amazing festival that’s been going on for 19 years. They come from Montreal and across Canada.

GHM: Did you ever get to travel with him?

SS: Mel pretty much stayed in the Kitchener area. That’s why so many of us in Kitchener were so lucky. He had spent his whole life travelling. He would always say to me, “Strongman, anytime I can sleep in my own bed it’s a good gig.” Just yesterday I spoke with his wife, Angel. It was her 60th birthday.

Mel was like a musical parent to me, and some others too.

GHM: How many shows?

SS: Six shows over three days. I did the acoustic stage and two main stages. Because I was doing my acoustic stuff I was on the acoustic stage, with an audience of about 2,000-3,000 people. There were various bars, so I played with my band at night too.

GHM: This was all going on at the same time as your work with your band Plasticine?

SS: It was all happening at the same time. I hadn’t become a blues artist at that time. Mel and I would go out and play golf all the time, four or five times a week. I’d say to Mel, “You know how much I love blues, I’m out playing jam nights all the time, but we’ve got this rock thing I’m doing and we got a record deal and stuff.” And he’d say, “Just go. The blues will never treat you wrong. Just go do what you’re gonna do.” I knew that the blues was something I was going to come back and dedicate myself to.

Steve Strongman :: photograph by Matthew Barnes :: stevestrongman.com

GHM: Which do you prefer?

SS: They’re just so different. The big outdoor festivals are amazing, but there’s certainly an intimacy that gets lost. When you’ve got two or three hundred people going crazy in a bar and you’ve really got them it’s amazing. But it’s kind of a rush playing to 25 000 people. The Montreal Jazz Festival was pretty cool. I’ve done it twice.

GHM: So, how do you account for this “blues revival” in Quebec? Where does that come from?

SS: Blues just happens to be a niche market in Quebec.

They’re just so passionate about art and music in particular. In Quebec, it’s nothing for them to think about going out and spending $30 on a ticket to see an artist that they maybe have never even heard of. They don’t think, “Let’s go to a movie; I’ve never heard that guy, I’m not going to go see him,” instead they think, “Oh, there’s an artist playing, let’s go and see him.” It’s pretty cool, but in other parts of Canada it’s a little more difficult to do that.

GHM: Back in Kitchener you spent a lot of time with Mel Brown, watched him, played with him. Did you ever take lessons with him?

SS: With Mel it was like one big lesson. There was never anything like, “Hey Mel, can I sit down and pay you to get a lesson?” I would go and watch him play. Then I started sitting in with him, and I picked up everything I could from him.

GHM: So, what was the essence of what you got from Mel? What was the whole package?

SS: One of the most impressive things for me about Mel was that he was such an amazing guitar player in a few different fields. He could play jazz, he was a phenomenal piano player, and he could play country stuff he loved. He could do it all and I liked that a lot. One thing we shared in common was a love for a lot of different music styles. To me it’s all steeped in blues, but there’s so many different areas you can go into. Mel used to play everything.

ARTIST FEATURE

STEVE STRONGMAN

GHM: What guitar players made you want to play in the first place?

SS: Everything changed when I heard Led Zeppelin. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King, Mel Brown. I liked jazz guys like Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass. Guitar player Danny Gatton. I still go back and listen to those records when I’m looking for inspiration.

GHM: Who keeps you inspired nowadays?

SS: There are some guys today that are doing some pretty cool stuff. I just played on the same festival with Otis Taylor. I enjoyed it, it was different. Now I just diversify a bit more. I listen to some older jazz guys, I listened to some Wes Montgomery. It never goes away, you just change who you focus on.

GHM: When you came to Hamilton, had you already made some musical connections?

SS: I had played here when my band Plasticine was touring.

My mother and father are from Hamilton. My cousin Jesse O’Brien, a fantastic piano player, is from Hamilton. He was really the only guy that I knew. The real reason is that my wife is from here. We met when she was at University of Waterloo.

GHM: I wouldn’t say that you’re an outsider in Hamilton. Is there any way to compare Hamilton with Kitchener in terms of opportunities or where the music scene is going?

SS: Both areas have a reputation for having great musicians. I think it's because of the artists that have played in these areas before. Kitchener was such a great place to grow up and continued on page 18

P 15

Danny Medakovic Ken Lamanes

Ken Lamanes, well-known Hamilton musician and high school music teacher, died on September 26th, 2012. He was 67. Condolences and tributes flooded in and hundreds gathered to pay their respects at his visitation and attend his funeral on October 1, 2012.

“He was one of a kind. I can’t believe he’s gone” wrote Ann Lamanes, as she read the condolences and tributes. “I don't think dad knew how unique and influential he was.”

Ken Lamanes was born in Hamilton on August 7th, 1945. As a child Lamanes showed a strong attraction to music. Around 1952, he began taking piano lessons under the tutelage of Mable Minus. By the time Lamanes reached his senior year at Bishop Ryan Secondary School, he was an adept musician with a flexible and diverse repertoire, and, as he said himself, “the ears of a bat for picking out tunes.”

On August 13th 1963 he landed his first paying gig. He was 18. He played for a band called The Delfires but it wasn’t long before band mate Terry Ferris recruited him to play for The Reefers. Alan Rees, drummer and co-founder of the popular band recalls, “We took on organ because we were looking for more of a blues sound, like the Rolling Stones.” Lamanes played with The Reefers from 1964 to 1965, when he left Hamilton for university. Rees says the band— which included musicians Randy Williams, Joe Ruffo, George Steadman and Jerry Doucette — was disappointed. “There were only two keyboard players worth hiring in Hamilton then, and they were both in our band - Grant Wilson and Ken Lamanes.”

At the University of Western Ontario, Lamanes gigged on weekends and toured through the summers. “I worked so hard at Western, sometimes I felt like a walking quarter note! Music never left my mind.

[Afterwards] I had to be de-programmed,” Lamanes joked.

Joanne Stover (nee Dresser) has been teaching music in Churchill, Manitoba for over 25 years. She was Lamanes’ student from 19701974 at Windsor’s Riverside Secondary School. Stover credits Lamanes for her career choice. “Ken truly cared about his students.

He always expected the best, laughed with us and loved us,” says Stover. “I modeled my teaching after him.” Stover shared stories of her students with Lamanes on Facebook. “It made him feel like they were his students as well. And, they ARE his students. His influence is everywhere!”

Kevin Shea, another Riverside student, credits Lamanes for stirring a passion for music that led him to a twenty-five year career in radio and the music industry, working for prominent Top 40 stations CKLW Windsor and CKGM Montreal, and Warner Music Canada, Universal Music, and Attic Records. Lamanes was a classically trained musician with a passion for rock and roll. They loved it.

What do I know? I’m just the guy playing the piano! — Ken Lamanes In 1974 Lamanes landed a new gig at Cathedral Girls High School in Hamilton. For the next nineteen years Lamanes taught, wrote arrangements and scores for band and drama department productions, and directed the band and choir at concerts and on field trips. Says Cathedral colleague Ron Kocel, now retired, “Ken could bring out the best in any group of students. He could get them excited about what they were doing, [even if] it meant changing the curriculum completely. I rarely ever saw him fail. It wasn’t something he did for a hobby. It was his soul,” and if students showed a desire to excel, as former student Chris Tondreau did, Lamanes supported them.

When Tondreau took guitar at Cathedral in 1985, it wasn’t because he wanted to be a musician. He wanted an easy elective. He thought guitar might be fun if they rocked out on Scorpion tunes, and the class was at the girls’ school. “Ken had fun with so many different kinds of music. Whether it was something from CCR, The Band, Liszt, Haydn or Motley Crew, he got us hooked. The next thing I knew I was [ripping

out solos for On Broadway] with the tubas and clarinets!”

Lamanes’ style was unconventional. He wasn’t much for politics or protocol. His decisions were sometimes controversial, but his music program and the students’ personal growth always came first. “You spend your whole life building your program. If you’re a music teacher, you’re doing stuff with the kids after hours. That’s the work that you really do. That’s when they’re learning,” says Ron Palangio, Hamilton musician and high school music teacher. “Ken didn’t see a difference between being a music teacher and being a musician and that’s really the best teacher.”

I’m going to work with these people here for a minute or two, while the rest of you finger your parts. — Ken Lamanes amanes’ motivational teaching style, quirky personality and genuine interest in students forged a bond between Lamanes and former St. Thomas More student — saxophonist Sal Rosselli. “He brought in music that I would never have otherwise listened to, like Hotel California — he gave us the tape, all the charts, lyrics, chords. Today people on gigs will say ‘hey, let’s play Hotel California’, and I know it because of him. Jazz is great, says Rosselli, but doesn’t pay well.

“Thanks to Ken I make a living with that music.”

Bob Santos, a passionate drummer and music teacher at St.Thomas More, befriended Lamanes who did supply teaching for him in 2004.”Regardless of who you are, when you’ve taught over thirty years [like Kenny], you’ve seen every scenario, good and bad — students with no facility for music, fights, students showing up high, whatever! Kenny dealt with that stuff really well.”

Lamanes retired from school teaching in 2001. Jane McNeil-Slaats, vocalist with Now & Then, had worked jazz gigs in nursing homes with Lamanes for over 30 years. Lamanes joined McNeil-Slaats’ Celtic trio “Proud Spirit” which morphed into Now & Then with the addition of Sarah Nolte on vocals and flute, Lamanes’ daughter Ann on guitar and vocals, and guitarist Jim Nardi. “We couldn’t move forward without a drummer and a bass player so we brought in Keith Allen and Rob Elder,” says Nardi.

Elder says, “There was unmistakable respect. Having Lamanes in the band was like playing with Rick Wakeman and Dr. John mixed with Ray Charles and a dash of Mr. Magoo. His playing could astonish you, whether it was classical notes or blues or jazz riffs and he was a stickler for correct harmony.”

Recalls McNeil-Slaats, “I believe that one of the greatest things about Ken — other than his music — was his ability to make you feel great about yourself and give you confidence in your abilities.”

As his health declined, Lamanes kept playing. The band worried about him, but as Nardi points out, “When someone’s got that kind of a career in music, you can’t just put him aside.” Nardi sums up his relationship with Lamanes with the simple respect due to one of Hamilton’s great deans of local music and music education: “Hey, I was a guitar player with Kenny Lamanes! He’s played with some prominent musicians. It’s pretty cool to be able to say that.”

Thanks guys. It was worth it. I’m so glad I met you all. It coulda been the Hells Angels. But it wasn’t. I met the best. — Ken Lamanes Louise Feeney Notley is a Canadian writer from Oakville Ontario.

She was born and grew up in Hamilton Ontario and has lived, studied and worked in Canada, France, Switzerland, and India. Louise writes short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and biography. She is currently at work on her first novel and has published articles about business travel in India on thetravelitch.com. Louise also hosts a blog about her experiences as a writer on myfirstwrites.wordpress.com

DANNY MEDAKOVIC :: ALL ABOUT THE SONG

by Tom Shea

ARTIST FEATURE

IN MEMORY of KENbyLAMANES Louise Feeney Notley

This September, I had a chance to interview Danny Medakovic, one of the city's great singer-songwriters. I tried to lure him to the Mulberry Street Cafe (so I could get a slice of lemon-yogurt cake and a London Fog, of course) but he countered with an offer I couldn't refuse: an interview in the comfort of his studio, plus a beer. I did the only reasonable thing: went early to the Mulberry, got my cake fix, and then walked over to Danny's creative place for a chat. Here's what went down in that comfy, guitar-filled room upstairs from Sonic Unyon.

TS: Do you think of yourself as a trained musician, or are you working mostly on instinct?

DM: Compared to others, I don’t consider myself a trained musician – at least, not beyond high school music classes.

I’ve never been that interested in perfecting technique or understanding much theory beyond the basics. I’m a bit lazy but once I know enough to achieve my goals—which for me, is trying to make a great song—everything else is superfluous.

My early lessons were in classical guitar, and I’m grateful for that foundation in hand position and fingerpicking, but I’ve never had any inclination to go beyond that. I listen to good jazz or country players and think, “Man, I wish I could do that!” but you have to pick one thing and do it well, and for me that’s writing, as opposed to playing. There are a million players better than me.

TS: So why are you a songwriter? What’s the appeal?

DM: I started writing in my early teens, singing about relationships and the environment – not much has changed - and I found it more satisfying than learning cover tunes. I played in a couple cover bands, but finally I spent four years playing originals in the Admiral Byrd’s Hollow Earth Band. We were doing Blue Rodeo, Neil Young, The Band—altcountry, singer-songwriter. Not that different from what I’m doing now, really. But we practiced for four years and hardly gigged at all because we were so nervous about the imperfections in our music. After the inevitable breakup, I came to the realization that we were idiots! As soon as we’d learned the basic songs, we should have got out there and played for people. You get better much more quickly playing live. You can rehearse 100 times, but play a song live once or twice, and you’ll find the true nature of the song. Something happens in the room with the audience—you know instinctively what the real tempo should be, you know how the rhythm should feel. I think that’s why bands that write in the studio often go back and record live albums later.

As for why I write, it’s not by choice. Now it’s more out of a need to get ideas out of my head. It feels awful to have something inside you when you need to express it. It can actually put me in a bad mood, anxious and distracted until I sit down and get the song out.

TS: That’s why I don’t go anywhere without my notebook. Sometimes I’ll have to pull the car over on the shoulder of the highway before the words get away.

DM: There are people who would never do what I do with my quick and dirty webcam recordings; a lot who think it’s a poor choice to make a video of every new song as I write them, and post them on online before they’re polished. There are lots of people who need to wait until a song is perfect, but for me it’s the opposite. I’m creating an instant archive and by putting them out there, I’m taking the risk that whatever feedback I get will help me find the direction for the song. Now that I think about it, it’s the exact opposite of what I did as a teenager, practicing originals for four years and hardly ever playing live. Now I can write a song and have it on the internet all within a couple of hours.

TS: Is that something you had to grow into, this sense of confidence in yourself as a writer?

DM: For sure. It took me 20 years to get that confidence, and it didn’t begin until I started playing at the Hamilton Folk Club about 20 years ago. Even then it took me years of people telling me they liked what they heard before I started to believe I had something good going on. And now after 30 years I’m finally starting to think I might be getting pretty good at songwriting! Still, there are so many great songwriters around, even just in Hamilton, that I’m humbled all the time. I mean, look at the band I play in. If I bring a song in for the band, it had better be a pretty damn good song.

TS: You’ve been around—lived a lot of places, worked a lot of places: why are you in Hamilton?

DM: (laughs) That’s a good question. We live in Dundas, I have a studio in Hamilton and my wife has an office downtown as well. I grew up in Mississauga. At the time, the area was surrounded by fields so I’m not really a “city person.” I never felt comfortable in Toronto—it’s way too big a city for me. Living here is the perfect balance. It’s a city, with enough culture—music, restaurants, history, all that good stuff— but it’s not too big. Someone once referred to Hamilton as the world’s biggest small town. I don’t know if I can think of a better place in Ontario to live. Within five minutes I can be in the countryside, and within fifteen I can be on James Street North, in a cafe or watching a band. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Tom Shea is a Hamilton-based writer, poet, musician, and educator. He teaches at Saltfleet High School. He writes and records with local band Trio Arjento and his own solo material, and maintains three active blogs (Hundred Mile Microphone, Circle of Words, and All Birds Sing at Once). www.trioarjento.com

P 17

ILLUSION continued

learn, and when I moved to Hamilton I met so many amazing artists, the move felt really natural to me.

Hollywood in May. With experience as two-time finalists in Y-108's Last Band Standing, Rogers’ Rock and Roll Challenge, and many other local gigs, including a video shoot for M.A.D.D., Illusion Avenue has established a reputation for outstanding stage chops. Each band member pulling equal weight to deliver the whole package.

The band writes all of their own material. For some young bands this would present a challenge. As Guard says, “When we write songs, we work on it until we have a finished version of a song, then we keep playing it over and over until it’s drilled into our heads." And the songwriting credit is shared equally between them. “We’re all in the band, and we couldn’t do it without one another.”

The intensity and authenticity of Illusion Avenue’s live show stems back to their complete ownership of their material. They could focus on playing covers, but they get more of a charge from doing their own stuff. Page says, “There’s a really good feeling when you come out of a show and people say that’s a really good job and it’s all your own stuff. There’s a different feeling or connection when we’re playing our own songs." Guard adds, “There’s more drive. We want to get out there and build a name for ourselves rather than just do covers. If it’s a song you can get into, it’s fun to play live. You have to put your own twist on everything.

Guard, a largely self-taught musician who takes some piano lessons and plays and sings daily, is involved in theatre at school as well as music. He and Belgrave will often sit and jam, and an idea might come along like a passing train. They’ll play with it and see if something works out. It’s important to capture those moments before the train passes and is gone forever.

When asked about their songwriting process, Page explains, “It starts out with a small idea. Everyone brings in something new until it combines into something that everyone’s happy with." Guard adds, “We don’t sit down and say I’m gonna write a song like this. We never talk about what it’s about. We just write how it feels. We don’t try to plan it all out in our head. Usually when I write lyrics I write to rhyme. I use phrases that sound good, and maybe they don’t mean so much but they feel really good to sing.” With Belgrave getting songwriting coaching mixed in with his guitar lessons from Gord Lewis (Teenage Head), the duo has got a solid background, all of it evident on Less Than 24.

Page is taking drum lessons with Jack Pedler (Buxton Kastle, Mercy Brothers, Ray Materick, Teenage Head) of Picks And Sticks, and building his drum chops playing in two bands, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and Paris Port Dover Pipe Band. And he’s no slouch when it comes to adding or vetoing musical ideas. “If I hear something I don’t like, I’m usually the first to jump on it. I’m not afraid to put my two cents in.”

Bassist Charley “Hammer” Kostash has been playing since the age of nine and began taking lessons with Houston at the ripe old age of 10.

Recently Kostash began double bass lessons with Rob Wolanski, connected with his playing in the junior orchestra at school. Kostash was invited to jam with Illusion Avenue back in June 2010 and joined the band shortly after.

First-timers with the band, such as sound techs, will often look at the guys setting up for the gig and think, “Ha! Just a bunch of inexperienced kids.” Then they kick into their show and heads turn across the room.

Illusion Avenue is good—very good. They can make great music, and deliver a performance that wins audiences and awards. No illusions here.

GHM: So who else, other than yourself, should we be paying attention to in Hamilton?

SS: Before my time, Hamilton produced one of the world’s best blues artists ever, a harmonica player Richard Newell (King Biscuit Boy). He was known the world over as one of the best. People say to me, “There’s not really a lot of blues players coming out of Hamilton.” I have to say, “Are you kidding me?”

There’s a guy named Brian Griffith. He’s one of the best guitar players I’ve ever seen. He’s absolutely phenomenal. He’s one of these guys who is pretty local, concentric. He doesn’t really branch out much further than Hamilton. He used to play with Willie Nelson and he’s just unbelievable. You can go and see him for free three or four nights a week here in the city. He plays down at the Cat and Fiddle every Thursday night. And here’s a guy who’s a really, really serious guitar player.

GHM: I noticed on your website you have an instructional YouTube video. Was that your idea?

SS: Yes, my friend Rob Szabo who produced my last record–he’s very in tune with what artists are doing to stand out. Social media–all those are really important.

Especially in blues, a lot of people aren’t doing that. I think there’s a huge market for it. So what you’re doing is trying to generate traffic to your website and have people be interested in what you’re doing.

GHM: Can you sense that happening with you video? Are you getting some feedback?

SS: Oh yeah, tons of feedback. You see the hits go up any time I post something like that. It gives people a feeling like they’re getting to know you a little bit more. You’re in an environment where they can see how you play and you can teach them something, and they feel like, “Oh I can get this guy.”

GHM: Are you facing pressure with this whole social media thing, to update your news page, or post something here or give a schedule? Is it that scientific for you?

SS: What I have to do is try to remind myself I’m trying to be an artist and a musician here, and all that other stuff takes so much time and effort you end up not getting time to play and write and work on things, especially when you have a travel schedule like I do. So, yeah, I have to do that. But I have to force myself to get in there and do it. The business never ends. But yes, I do feel that pressure, especially when others are doing it so much. When I post to Twitter or Facebook it’s something of consequence, like, “I just played with Robert Cray tonight, what a nice guy.” I try not to do it about everyday things. Is that really newsworthy? Do people really need to hear about that?

GHM: So what’s coming up for Steve Strongman? Have you got anything booked in Europe?

SS: Well I signed a record deal for this record in Germany. And it’s looking I’ll be going to Europe in the new year. I licensed my entire catalogue to them. Now we’re looking at what will be the best way to launch a more major career in Europe. It might be best to go over there ‘acoustically’ first, and then do the summer festivals with the band.

GHM: I really like this album. I was wondering if you have just one thing that you were trying to say through all of the songs? Were they all written at the same time?

SS: They were written over two-year period. I tried some songs electric and then switched them up a little bit. I write more through personal experience. It’s however I feel. I try not to think about it too much.

GHM: Now that you’ve done this acoustic recording, what can we expect next?

SS: I’ve still got a lot of time, after all, the album is still new. I’ll let it sit and see how I feel. We’ll see how it does.

GHM: So, what would you want my readers to know?

SS: I would say, if they’re musicians who are reading it, it’s about hard work and dedication. I’m a musician. I don’t do anything else. This is what I do. I work all the time at being the best songwriter, the best performer I can be. It’s essentially my life’s work. When people see that you’re doing well, touring with Buddy Guy, opening for Joe Cocker, they say, “Wow look at this!” but I’ve be doing this since I was 16.

GHM: I sure hope you can pull a Juno out of this somewhere along the line.

SS: If it happens it happens. It doesn’t change your approach. If that happens that would be absolutely phenomenal. It’s the time in between those moments of getting recognition and winning awards that matter.

“The more our kids do parades and performances, the better and more motivated they are." - Carolyn French

ARTIST FEATURE

STRONGMAN continued

Andrew Thies and Carolyn French :: M.M.Robinson Drumline ODA Provincial Champions :: mmrdrumline.ca

CAROLYN FRENCH & ANDREW THIES:

GIVING DRUMS TO TEENAGERS

Carolyn French hit the ground in full stride when she started her teaching career at Burlington's M. M. Robinson High School 10 years ago. On top of her teaching workload, she immediately got involved coaching the school hockey team. She got to know her students through her extracurricular activities, her social studies classes, and her all-around approachable, friendly manner. It wasn't long before Carolyn and her partner Andrew Thies, also a teacher, got the notion of starting a school drum line.

Rewind back to 1987 and you'll find Carolyn French in the Ridge Raiders Drum and Bugle Corps in Hamilton.

As a product of the Niagara District schools, she had started some music lessons in grade six. By 1992 she was involved with the Kavaliers in Kitchener-Waterloo and was doing regular percussion work for the RHLI and the Lincoln-Welland militia bands. In the summers, she worked with the Fort Henry Guard.

Even with little formal musical training, French is not lacking any of the essentials for being a great instructor.

Her teaching experience includes years of training youth in the local Air Cadet band and summers at the Black Down Army Cadet Training Centre in Base Borden. French has built an impressive resume from years of parade ground and military band experience.

She completed her teacher training at D'Youville University.

Continue in rewind mode. You'll find Andrew Thies playing drums in Steel City Sound, the junior group of the Ridge Raiders. By 1997 he was a leading drummer for the 713 Air Cadets. During his tenure, the 713 Cadets became the top band in the province–his parade skills were being honed. Thies continued on as an instructor. He ramped up his commitment by attending the Kiwanis Kavaliers' winter camp in Fort Meyers, Florida on two occasions.

Thies went into formal music studies at Mohawk College in the Applied Music Program, where he studied with Anthony Michelli. He continued at McMaster, getting his Bachelor of Music degree. and completed his teacher training at U of T. Thies is now teaching K-8 music at James W. Hill School in Oakville, and spends two or three days after school co-directing the M.M. Robinson Drumline. He and French were recently married.

The MMR Drumline had a humble beginning, when French and Thies pulled a few kids together to do some drumming as part of a multicultural show. A student named Logan Traynor, after seeing the St. Michael's College School Drumline perform at Musicfest, was so

impressed that he approached French saying, "Why can't we do that?" So they put together something for the show. Everyone was in the right place at the right time. Thanks to the visionary support of principal Leona Woods, they got some start-up cash to buy some used drums and started the school drumline.

Soon, a dozen kids were playing drums covered in mactac. French and Thies began the process of transferring their skill and enthusiasm to the next generation. The students didn't learn how to march until the day of their first parade, which was the Stoney Creek Canada Flag Day parade 2007. The teachers marched with the kids on that "super hot" day and they played one song.

A humble beginning. What French and Thies didn't foresee was that they were introducing precision drumming into a new market that was ripe and ready for it. Only a few other schools around the province were experiencing similar interest.

Says French, "Ten years ago drumlines were part of a bugle corps or marching band. Now it is acceptable to be separate. Some organizations are looking to start drumlines only. In Ontario, there are a lot of drumlines in high school–the interest has been exploding recently."

"In the U.S., there’s indoor drumline, which is a combination of theatre, drumline and dance. We'd like to see the other schools doing this type of show, where there’s a lot of movement."

Because of their infectious interest in raising the bar and motivating their members, French and Thies are always looking for new challenges. Next year they plan to participate in the Wintergarden indoor drumline world championships in Dayton, Ohio.

After watching their marching drumline perform (and win) at the provincial championships last month, I must agree the sky is the limit when you include the movement aspect to drums and percussion. Not only does it open up the artistic and creative possibilities, but also allows you to include more students in more ways.

Now, six years later, the M.M. Robinson Drum Line has become one of the most significant school drum lines in Ontario. Steered by the ongoing commitment of French and Thies, the ensemble pursues quality instruction and coaching, discovery of new ideas, and new ways of engaging their community. A great success story and inspiration to many, the M.M. Robinson ensemble continues to expand its horizons and prove what can be done for the sake of putting on a great show.

P 19

MUSIC LESSON

studio E music and arts

CENTRE AT

Teresa Cirillo, owner and principal of Studio E Music and Arts in Stoney Creek, has created a strong, family-friendly learning community for young musicians, and it’s tangible from the moment you set foot inside the studio at 105 Arvin Street in Stoney Creek.

LONG & McQUADE The Music Lesson Centre at Burlington's Long and McQuade is the largest private music school in the greater Hamilton area.

Each week 1500 students of all ages come through the doors of the lesson centre, which is located upstairs above the Long and McQuade Musical Instruments store.

Lesson Centre Coordinator Linda Somerville enjoys her work at the studio because of the many opportunities to serve local families as they launch their children into the world of music. Somerville also enjoys the dynamic of getting schedules streamlined and being a liaison between students and teachers. "I know all the families we serve and I enjoy being able to greet them by name when they come in," she says. Somerville directs the intake of new students, determines their needs and makes recommendations for which teacher would be most suitable for them. There are 49 teachers on the roster at present.

Long and McQuade has been fortunate to maintain a full and active music school during the economically challenging year.

Somerville attributes the school's reputation, flexibility, offerings, and competitive pricing for this. Lessons take place weekdays 12:30 to 9, Saturdays 9:30 to 6, and Sundays 10 to 5.

Piano lessons can begin as early as age four. The Piano Party program involves fun musical activities in a group session where every child has their own keyboard to use.

Lessons on piano, voice, guitar, drums, strings and all band instruments are available for people of all ages, interests and abilities. Walking through the hallway of the lesson centre, we pass by a total of 20 studios ranging in size from small to a large ensemble room with a moveable subdivider. The ensemble room comes in handy for the hugely popular March Break and summertime Rock School and Broadway Music programs. Waiting areas for parents and siblings are found throughout the lesson centre, and there is a feeling of space, order and purpose as you peer through studio windows and see students and teachers at work.

Students are able to participate in recitals, offered in December and June, to showcase to family and friends their musical accomplishments. An important benefit of the Music Lesson Centre's approach is that students' lessons are customized to meet their individual musical goals. The experience, qualifications and skill of the Lesson Departments instructors means that every student will have an enjoyable and rewarding musical experience.

At Studio E the two waiting areas for parents and students are a necessity. Within the first 13 months of moving to the present location in 2009, the business grew from 20 to 60 students. When inquiries were made about other disciplines, new teachers were hired. Now there are 17 teachers and 300 students with further plans for expansion. Cirillo credits the studio's quick growth on word of mouth and student-centred content on their website and social media. A parent sitting nearby adds, “The personalities of the people at the studio are friendly and reassuring. The second I walked in I knew it was the right place. It was somewhere I felt good about bringing my six year old child.”

TANYA SANDERS + THE W.H. BALLARD MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND Tanya Sanders is the music teacher at Hamilton’s W.H. Ballard School. She’s been there since 1995 and has established, through her effort and ability, a thriving music program.

Determined to find out more about her and her work, I caught up with her one day after school for a chat. How did she get started as a musician?

By employing 17 local music instructors, Studio E can provide a wide selection of lessons in the disciplines of piano, voice, guitar, drums, woodwinds, brass and music theory.

“I started music when I was five–I didn’t have a choice,” explains Sanders. “A lot of my mother’s side of the family were musicians. We all had to take lessons and do something.

My sister and I weren’t allowed to listen to the radio in the car unless my mom taught us a song in harmony. My mother sang in quartets and was a drummer. At her high school, Delta, they had a trumpet band, and a drum corps.

GHM: What qualification do your teachers have?

TC: All of our teachers have credentials. Our most senior teacher, Lisa Marmora, has 23 years of teaching experience, and is licensed to teach our Kindermusik program. Sean Filice has been an instructor with the cadets and is assistant instructor for the 2012 provincial champion M.M. Robinson drumline. He and his brother Jesse are both graduates of Mohawk College's applied music program. Brent Wirth, multiinstrumentalist, has all kinds of experience in the industry as a performer, song-writer and producer. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts at York University. Amanda Candela, vocal instructor, has trained at Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge. Vocal instructor Patricia Currie trained at McMaster. Instructors Lillian Do (violin and piano), Ines Efendic (piano), Artur Kapron (piano, guitar and theory), Robin Klein (vocal, flute and rudiments), Joanna Kula (vocal), Jessica Lovnicki (piano), Jacob Sinclair (guitar, bass), and Mike Soyka (guitar) each have Royal Conservatory certification of grade VIII or higher, and/or they are graduates of the Mohawk College or McMaster music programs.

Sanders’ grandfather played accordion all around the city in various church halls. “My grandfather played with Mr. Viola of the Viola Music Centre. And Mrs. Viola was my piano teacher. My uncle also had bands. His son is Gary Peterson, my cousin, he’s the drummer for the Guess Who. His brother had a country band and his sister is a singer. My niece is going into music therapy. My nephew, my sister–we all are into music. It was really great growing up. My mother exposed us to all kinds of different music.”

W.H. Ballard is a K-8 school with a diversity of student abilities. Its families are from a wide range of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. It takes a very firm and committed leader to hold the ship on course on any given day. The teachers at Ballard work together to support each other in the daily challenges of managing students. And they especially support Sanders in her various musical projects. It’s good they don’t mind, because she’s everywhere. In preparation for school musicals, she has performing groups meeting in the school’s centrally located open concept auditorium before school begins. Whether it is an upcoming STOMP performance, a dance routine, a choir practice, or a class ensemble, the sounds of student music are heard in the halls every day.

GHM: What special events do you have to motivate your students?

When the school’s wood shop was dismantled, Sanders inherited the large, open room with its separate teaching area. The old finishing room was converted to instrument storage. Although her top floor room is in an outside corner, the sound of music still leaks out the door. But her teaching colleagues don’t mind. Everyone benefits from the positive musical involvement at Ballard–especially the students. The band recently got to go to the Golden Horseshoe Musicfest as well as the National Musicfest competition in Ottawa.

TC: Last year we had six recitals over the course of a few days. We had mixed age groups of 35-40 kids for each show. Next year it looks like it could become a week long event! We do fun days like crazy hair day, and another big motivator is to sing O’Canada with the Hamilton Bulldogs school program.

GHM: What are some other incentives and special programs Studio E offers?

So what’s it like to bring a band like W.H Ballard’s Grade 8 band to Musicfest? What does it take to prepare for a competitive music festival like this. And most telling, what kind of leader is needed to make it happen? Sanders’ musical background is diverse and exciting.

When she arrived at Ballard in 1995 she knew what she was stepping into. “When I first came here, they weren’t playing instruments. Only the gifted class used instruments. For the first couple of years it was pretty hard. I had to encourage them and convince them.”

What motivates Sanders and keeps her going through the intensely busy schedule? The kids.

“In this community, it’s something they want and something they need,” says Sanders. “In a way, the kids motivate me. They push me too. I was once kicked out of class because I corrected the music teacher in middle school, who had claimed that the notes in the bass clef were the same in the treble clef. I told him my piano teacher taught me otherwise. It was at that point that I wanted to become a music teacher. I wanted to perform, but then I decided no way because I had a taste of teaching at that point. There’s that one group of committed students. Your band, your choir, they love to come to practice. They’re here often before I arrive. If I didn’t have that group of kids, it would be difficult.”

On February 27, Sanders took the school band to the Golden Horseshoe Musicfest. They brought home a Silver Award, and they brought home a Silver Award at the Nationals too.

EDUCATION

Tanya Sanders :: WH Ballard Middle School Band, Golden Horseshoe Musicfest

From top to bottom: Sean Filice Amanda Candela Lisa Marmora Teresa Cirillo Patricia Currie Brent Wirth studioemusicandarts.com

TC: We do summer camps, and each camp program prepares the students to do a show. To help prepare our students for competitive festivals, we have a special competitive team. This is an extra workshop that takes place each month. Students who pay the fee to get involved will have opportunities to be coached in their performance by an instructor and their peers. The students take turns performing for each other. It gives them an opportunity to learn about how they respond to the challenge of performance jitters. Students also need to learn how to move on stage, what to do with their hands, how to stand, and how to acknowledge the audience.

GHM: How do you stay connected to the community?

TC: I volunteer one day a week at Parkview Secondary during lunch hour to provide a music program, which really enriches the opportunities for those students. Last year the Studio E a capella group assisted with the school visits and it went over really well. We raised $1250 for the Breast Cancer Society and were a collection depot for Coats for Kids.

:: burlington-lessons@long-mcquade.com :: long-mcquade.com

P 21

MARKET PLACE

P 23

MARKET PLACE

P 25

HAMILTON BLUES AND ROOTS SOCIETY

The Bishops had a sweet deal. For three years, 19621964, they were the Downstairs Club’s house band. The Man Shop provided them with spiffy clothes at no charge, and paid them a handsome salary of $250 per week. A dollar-fifty got you in the door, and the place was always full.

HISTORY

THE BISHOPS :: Hamilton's First R&B Band

would play six nights a week, plus Saturday matinees.

Although The Downstairs Club was removed when the construction of Jackson Square “destroyed” the downtown, the memory of what existed is still alive.

Publicity and popularity Carter reminisces about the Canadian Band Marathon which took place at the Lakeland Pool site. A local deejay had challenged the band that he could broadcast longer than the Bishops could play. After four days it was all over.

The Bishops had won, with a record of 81 hours and 7 minutes. The trophy still stands in Carter’s home. The event gave the band publicity and opened a lot of doors.

They made the most of it.

The Bishops made sure they put in their time practicing and kept on their game. On Sunday evenings the shows at The Downstairs Club ended at 11:30. The band would stick around to practice and learn new tunes. And here’s one way they made their mark: On the weekends a friend of the band would often drive across the border and visit the record stores in the U.S. Returning with a fistful of new 45s, the guys would all sit around and listen to the latest singles. They found some great tunes on the B-sides, and pretty soon they were playing some great new songs in town that no one else had heard, not even the local radio DJs. A chess piece “A lot of people through the years had confusion as to where we got our name from,” say Carter. “Most people thought it was from the Catholic Bishops, but not true. It’s from the chess piece–the bishop. We liked the way it looked. Besides, we’d never be so arrogant as to suggest that we were bishops of the Catholic faith.”

He continues, “Thank you on behalf of the Bishops. I know the guys would pat you on the back [for sharing this story] and their chests would swell with pride. They were all taken way too young. There is not a day in my life I don't think of them and miss them.”

The Bishops, 1964, Reggie Washington (keyboards), Bobby Washington (bass), Nelson Flowers (vocals), Larry Carter (drums), Russ Carter (guitar) :: russcarterunit.com

In the early ‘60s, Russ Carter was riding the crest of the wave of soul, rhythm and blues music that was flooding Hamilton. His band, The Bishops, could be called Hamilton’s first rhythm and blues band. Carter states that The Bishops became one of the leading bands and were a significant and early influence in the evolving R&B music scene in the city.

Originally called the Modern Blues Quintet, The Bishops were Carter on guitar, Bobby Washington on bass, Reggie Washington on organ, Nelson Flowers as front man and Russ’ brother Larry “The Duke” Carter on drums. The men were all vocalists, experienced with singing together as friends in the Stewart Memorial Church choir. But they couldn’t resist the excitement of the popular music that was on the airwaves.

When the Bishops disbanded in 1965, Carter formed The Masterhand, later followed by Now and Then, and Traffic Jam. He played with Ike and Tina Turner, opened for Parliament, Funkadelic, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, John Lee Hooker, and so many others.

The story of The Bishops, as Russ Carter tells it, is an important part of Hamilton’s musical history. Carter says the story hasn’t been fully told, and wants to honour his band mates who have all since passed away by telling it to all who will listen. Local artist/curator, musician and author Doug Carter has told other parts of the story in his recent book, “Cool Fool: Blues Rockin’ in the Hammer.” A must read for every Hamilton musician.

So far we have been playing mainly at the Gallery 205 on 205 Cannon St every other Sunday in the afternoon from 2:00pm to 6:00pm. Our goal is to get an annual Hamilton Blues and Roots festival to showcase Hamilton talent to the world. The Hamilton Blues and Roots Society so far has an interim board but that will change once we get people to offer their services. The Hamilton Blues and Roots Society also want to honour Blues and Roots musicians yearly with an event called "INDUCTIONS TO THE HAMILTON BLUES AND ROOTS HALL OF FAME" from past and present who have contributed above and beyond to Hamilton’s music culture. hamilton.blues.society@live.ca - John Crawford :: Hamilton Blues Society Jam John Crawford, Jason Colavechia, Gabriel Pinto

The Downstairs Club After playing around town at school dances and Catholic Youth Organization events, their fine music attracted the attention of the Sherman brothers, owners of Jerry’s Man Shop, which ran The Downstairs. The Bishops, under Carter’s leadership, negotiated a partnership where they

The Hamilton Blues and Roots Society is a fledgling organization that wants to keep Blues and Roots music alive in Hamilton and the surrounding area.

We are starting with jam sessions that are open not only to musicians but to everyone who loves great music. Hamilton has such great talent, that the jams are bringing people out to get heard and possibly link up with other musicians. We also help and educate new musicians who otherwise could not get help in technic of playing and the feel for the music.

:: Dan Thomas, Nick Keith Lindsay, Greg Smith, Harold Lee, Russ Carter - The Russ Carter Unit :: Russ Carter

:: photographs by Alex Zafer

P 27

“What do you want to do with your life!” the crazed dad shouts to the 14 year-old kid, barging into the bedroom, fed up to the eyeballs with the sound of loud, non-stop music practicing. “I wanna rock!” the kid says. Enter long-haired rock musicians. Cue loud music. Exit dad, crashing backwards through the window, from the force of the decibels. They sing, “We’ve got the right to choose it. There ain’t no way we’ll lose it. This is our life; this is our song!” The video is Twisted Sister’s anthemic “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” They tapped into the reality that when a kid wants to be a musician, he’ll spend endless hours practicing and trying to play what he’s heard other musicians play, even to the point of driving parents crazy. Do you remember driving your parents crazy with your music listening and endless practicing? Hours of practice is a given. You’ve got to know how to play your axe. But what else do you need to do to get out of the practice room and onto the stage, especially when you’re playing other people’s music? Cover bands have an extra challenge when they perform: Everyone in the room already has an idea of what the song is supposed to sound like.

MARKETING

FIVE THINGS EVERY COVER BAND NEEDS TO KNOW

Here are five things every cover band needs to know.

crookedbush.com :: Above, kopekofficial.com's creative, effective web home page :: Below, Jason Silver

DO YOU REALLY NEED A BAND WEBSITE? Many people claim that Facebook, Twitter or (until just recently) MySpace are the best channels to connect with your fans. Each of them provide you quick and relatively easy ways to connect with potentially hundreds, thousands of people–potential fans. But does that make a dedicated band website redundant and an unnecessary expense? No, not at all.

Here are three very good reasons for making a website the focal point of your on-line presence.

1.Control. When you manage your own website, it will always be in your control. You maintain and manager your domain name, your files and your information. We sometimes forget that while the “free” social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter are providing us with their vast networking and communications resources at no monetary cost to us, we are taking on extra risk.

After all, Facebook has been known to inexplicably shut pages down, and in at least one instance, a musician with about 80,000 friends found his page hijacked, his admin permissions removed and his fans getting spammed. And trends do change. Twitter may be “in” today, but who knows what new social networking system will be with us in two years?

We all know that MySpace is no longer a major social media force (although its possible resurrection is underway).

2. Design. With your domain comes complete design control. You choose how everything looks, reads and behaves—how your fans interact with your content. You own all the design elements of your store, video clips, sound clips, information kit downloads, response pages, sign-up forms, and everything else. And there are no ads to distract your audience. Find a web designer with experience and creativity. It’s money well spent.

Special “landing pages” for market-ing and promotional purposes can be easily added to your website, so that as you feature different products through email offers or newsletters,

your fans can be directed to any web page you design yourself and is under your domain.

3. You get the best bang for your buck. If costs are equally shared by the members the band a professionally designed website, can be set up and maintained for as low as a few dollars per person per month.

Jason Silver, a Kingston-based web designer, has been creating websites since 1995.

“Domains go on sale sometimes, but the average cost is about $15 a year,” say Silver.

“Hosting can be as low as $4 or $5 a month—but stay away from the super cheap hosting options. You're getting a good deal if you pay about $80 a year.” So, $100 a year will give you a website with your custom domain name and a place to host your content. That’s just pennies a day per band member.

Silver says your web site “is your opportunity to put your band in as good a light as possible, and you might only get one chance to inspire someone to hire you.” Don’t skimp on the original design and layout, which for a simple site would cost between $500 and $1000. Use a professional photographer to get the best possible images.

“Before you settle on a price with the developer, think through what you want your site to do. It should be more than just an overpriced business card! It should allow interaction. Maybe let people "Like" the sample songs you're streaming, let fans comment on photos, download desktop backgrounds, or get to know other fans. Consider creative things that will cause people to 'share' your site. What if they could mix their own version of your songs-- cranking up the bass part, or muting the drums?” That advice is from a web designer who also happens to be a musician! Silver says the more complex stuff as suggested above will be $1000 to $3000.

Considering the potential exposure and fan connection you can achieve through a well designed, interactive web site, it’s money well spent.

1. GET OUT OF YOURSELF-IMPOSED SHELL. Open your eyes. Open your ears. When playing with other musicians, you’ve got to get out of your own little sonic world and listen to your band mates, not just yourself. Endless solo practice in your room isn’t enough. Making eye contact while you play is critical. If you’re a guitar player, practice standing in front of a mirror, looking ahead instead of watching your hands.

"...your web site is your opportunity to put your band in as good a light as possible, and you might only get one chance to inspire someone to hire you.”

- Jason Silver

You need to be comfortable with your own playing so you can focus on what the rest of the band is playing.

You’ll be tighter, you’ll make fewer mistakes, and you’ll develop and send your own cues or signals between members while you’re playing. This interaction is key to a good performance.

Nothing will kill a band’s sound and stage presence quicker than everyone being in their own world, making no eye contact with each other or the audience. Boring.

2. YOU ARE ENTERTAINERS.

3. YOU EXIST FOR YOUR AUDIENCE.

Think about your purpose. If you’re playing in a bar, restaurant or nightclub, you’re not just background music.

You’re there because people want to hear and watch you play—and enjoy the whole experience. The key is to be relaxed. A musician who is moving with the groove and showing the pleasure of the moment on her face is entertaining. When someone takes a solo, turn and watch them.

Being “in the moment” is what is entertaining.

Finally, keep the vibe between songs. Avoid any discussion and talking between you.

Make a set list and stick to it. There’s nothing entertaining about two people arguing about what went wrong in the previous song.

Every musician has a double task when performing. First, you’re paying homage to the composer.

You’re responsible for interpreting or reproducing what the composer intended.

Second, you’re entertaining the audience. If the audience is familiar with the songs, they’re also judging how well you pull it off. That’s pretty intense. Those people out there pay your bills. They’re the ones who are supposed to benefit from your efforts. If your audience is happy, the event organizer is happy. You are partners with the event organizer, or whoever happens to be in charge of the room you’re in. And the goal of your partnership is to make people happy.

Satisfied audiences mean they’ll want you back!

4. PEOPLE WILL TREAT YOU LIKE SERVANTS. Plato said, “He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.”

Everyone talks about being there to serve the audience, but no one likes being treated like a servant! You really have to be careful out there as a professional.

Depending on the gig, any number of unplanned events could befall you.

People will make unreasonable, last minute requests. They will shout things out at you. They will talk to you while you’re singing, or when you have your saxophone in your mouth. They will come up and ask if they can play the tambourine. They’ll want their nephew to come up and play his trombone during your wedding gig. Or, God forbid, on a crowded dance floor, someone will smash into your microphone stand and almost knock your teeth out.

As musicians, we’re putting ourselves out there, and quite a few things are beyond our control. The worst thing is say, “I don’t need to take this crap” and walk away. You have to be flexible, and nice.

5. RESPECT EACH OTHER. What kind of person are you when you’re not playing?

Guaranteed your personality will influence your on-stage behaviour. If you know you’ve got a short fuse or are a perfectionist, then you’ll need to be extra careful when on stage, especially since you’re under pressure.

Picture this. You’re playing along and someone totally screws up, hits a blaring wrong note, forgets the changes, her equipment fails, feedback squeals, screws up that special part you practiced.

Argh! Everyone makes mistakes. The biggest musical train wreck should leave you visibly unflapped.

Rescue the music as quickly as possible.

Count it in again and keep going. Don’t let any frustration show on your face while you’re playing. The audience might not even notice, especially if they don’t see you looking worried.

Remember, you are the performance as much as the music.

You can crucify your band mate in private, after the gig. At least you’ll be able to talk about the musical rescue feat you accomplished in front of your audience. Work out your differences.

Man up and move on–to the next gig.

P 29

“You've got to want it. It's got

“My vision from the start when I took up this position a couple of years ago was to implement music. I felt it was a big piece of the puzzle. We've got so many local artists, and they don't all just want to play in the local bar or pub scene ... I would love to have music here all the time. I'd like to see music engulfing the area. When there's music playing, it calms the streetscape to a slower pace. People stop to listen and take notice.”

huge. The abuse is heaped

-Susan Brathwaite

upon you. You must have an

hamiltoninternationalvillage.ca :: roomfor2music.com

to permeate every cell in your body. Because it's just that

PHILOSOPHY

Room For Two Busking, J.H. Gordon Books, King Street East :: Brenda Brown, Joe Finochio - Room For Two :: Susan Brathwaite, International Village BIA

hard to make it. The pitfalls are plenty. The setbacks are

inner light that keeps you

ROOM for TWO :: MUSICIANS AND URBAN RENEWAL BUSKERS AREN'T BEGGARS Busking is a noble craft.

Surprise, spontaneity and connection with the audience make it the most excellent way of bringing a streetscape to life. Although buskers are usually sanctioned by the area businesses, they almost never pay them. They rely completely on the gratitude and response of their impromptu audience. Busking rewards people who venture out into their neighbourhood and into their community.

Naturally, the audience shares its enjoyment by offering payment to the buskers, freely and out of gratitude.

Evening pedestrians on King Street East were pleasantly surprised on three separate occasions in May, June and July. Room For Two, a vocal and guitar musical team made up of Brenda Brown and Joe Finochio, was performing outdoors on the sidewalk in front of three newly opened businesses.

The duo was filling the streetscape with its delightful selection of jazz standards and American songbook.

Room For Two and other local musicians are helping the International Village BIA to accomplish one of its major objectives—to transform King Street East between Ferguson and Wellington into a vital and rich commercial area, flavoured by ethnic variety, and characterized by good food, great shopping and an inviting vibe.

Susan Brathwaite, executive director of the International Village BIA, set up “Music In The Village” to bring music to the neighbourhood. Night In The Village, planned from for early evenings on the first Friday of the month, involved busking musicians.

Room For Two took part.

Brathwaite also set up a series of lunchtime concerts on Wednesdays and Fridays at the Ferguson Station. “My vision from the start when I took up this position a couple of years ago was to implement music. I felt it was a big piece of the puzzle. We've got so many local artists, and they don't all just want to play in the local bar or pub scene ... I would love to have music here all the time. I'd like to see music engulfing the area. When there's music playing, it calms the streetscape to a slower pace. People stop to listen and take notice.”

A u d i t i o n s w e r e s c h e d u l e d i n M a y, a n d representatives from other BIAs joined Brathwaite to listen. Room For Two answered Brathwaite’s call for busking musicians and for the lunchtime series.

They auditioned successfully and soon had their first assignment. As a new musical duo, Brown and Finochio were willing to hone their performance skills in the unpredictable setting of musical busking. This opportunity would help them meet new people and become adaptable.

On their first night of busking, Room For Two performed in front of J. H. Gordon Books, next to The Appleberry Café, a few steps east of Denninger's.

Pedestrian traffic was steady as people came to enjoy the store's grand opening. J.H. Gordon’s new owners, who moved into the area and purchased the building where their business is located, were glad to welcome many new customers and share their excellent selection of new and used books with.

"We love to play old standards from popular shows, and commonly known folk and pop repertoire,” says Brown. “People always recognize and appreciate the music we're sharing. Our choice of songs is very important for those reasons. On our best night we saw 200 people walk by.”

But not everyone gets what’s going on. The puzzled looks on some peoples' faces seems to say, "Why are you here? Are you doing this for money?"

There is still a stigma associated to busking that they’re working to overcome. Often, pedestrians confuse a musician busking with a homeless or displaced person. Without the sanction of the local businesses, such performers are usually considered (although not always) a nuisance. So when people see “legit” musicians on the street, their attitudes change.

Busking is “musicians at work” and with a purpose.

Auditioning and placement of musicians on the sidewalk is an act of faith and vision, spearheaded by Brathwaite. It is also happening at the James Street North Art Crawl as well as the Hamilton Farmer’s Market. While not for everyone, for Brown and Finochio, it’s been a very positive experience allowing them to make a small contribution to Hamilton’s downtown renewal and revitalization.

Lunchtime concerts Ferguson Station a success On the other hand, the lunchtime concerts at Ferguson Station have proven to be very popular.

“The International Village has become a go-to area for the lunchtime crowd, due to the great variety of food outlets,” says Brathwaite.” We see people

coming to sit at ‘the Station’ during their lunch hour to listen to the music. And some of our musicians who have a following are actually drawing people to the area, which we think is great.”

As for the evening streetscape on King Street East, to come fully alive, good music will undoubtedly be necessary. But some other things need to occur—some provided by new business initiatives and others provided by the city of Hamilton.

Pedestrians and evening shoppers will look for good window-shopping, extended store hours, open restaurants and pubs, outdoor cafes, and open storefront seating. Traffic needs to be “calmed” and localized to remove the noisy thoroughfare we have now.

going no matter what."

- Bob Lefsetz

Business owners can access various City-funded property upgrade programs. According to Hazel Milsome of the Economic Development Division’s Urban Renewal Section, over the past 10 years, “When you take into consideration the other programs that we offer in this area (Hamilton Downtown Multi-Residential Property Investment Program and the Hamilton Downtown Property Improvement Grant Program) we have funded approximately $3.5 million in grants and loans.” She anticipates an uptake in applications as the programs are promoted and as the economic outlook continues to improve. The traffic issue is on the agenda for Susan Brathwaite in the near future. It has become a consistent theme in the discussions relating to business health along King Street and Main Street.

For the time being, we’re getting a taste of what we want the future to be like in King Street’s International Village. Tasteful and engaging music will become the norm. Jazz, folk, world and roots music will waft from unique and imaginative venues, with lots of great food and atmosphere. It won't be long before many restaurants along King Street East are eager to pay good money to good musicians to help make the vibe evolve.

And Hamilton, without a doubt, has more than enough musicians ready, willing and able (and well deserving). So bring on the nights (and nightlife).

- Glen Brown

P31

EIGHT MONSTERS. ONE MASTER. LARRY CARLTON IN CONCERT

REVIEW

Hamilton guitar players and fans of mainstream jazz filled Mohawk College’s McIntyre Theatre to see guitar legend Larry Carlton. The spectacular event was sponsored by the Steeltown Friends of Mohawk College Music, a grassroots charitable organization that has put some cold hard cash behind the training of our future musicians.

The concert was the Friends’ 12th annual version of “let’s bring a jazz heavyweight to town and blow the roof off.” Past events have included saxophonist Tom Scott, Phil Nimmons with various bands, Sophia Perlman, Heather Bambrick, Diana Panton, Rob McConnell, Ed Bickert and Kenny Wheeler, among others. Steeltown Friends has helped boost the profile of Mohawk College’s Applied Music program, and also sponsors the “Instrument For Every Child” program in Hamilton schools (which has been operating at King George School and will be expanding into more schools in the future).

Sophia Perlman :: photograph by Ida Adamowicz

SO who to rave about first, the monsters or the master? The Mohawk Faculty Ensemble laid the foundation for the entire performance, keeping the groove intense and exciting when it was called for, and letting things relax when it mattered. Local pros Pat Collins on bass and Kevin Dempsey on drums, not ones to seek the spotlight, were omnipresent through their solid playing. Too bad Collins never got to take a solo. Stoney Creek’s Grant Slater and Hamilton’s Adrean Ferrugia worked well together, with Ferrugia working the Rhodes while Slater expanded the keyboard palette with his B3 and digitals. Loved it.

At times, Carlton would walk over to Slater and have a little soul chat while they were playing.

Ferrugia’s enthusiasm and love for the moment was obvious, and a delight to watch and hear. Carlton had met all the musicians at an earlier reception and in that short time had established a friendly rapport, which translated to the stage.

The Ensemble’s horn section consisted of Darcy Hepner (tenor sax), Terry Basom (alto sax), Rob Somerville (trombone), and Jason Logue (trumpet). They kept their lines and riffs welded together, with each man ready to take a solo. Hepner, not being shy, let ‘er wail several times much to everyone’s delight, including Carlton. He was matched in sizzle, if not soloing opportunity by Logue.

An additional treat on Minute by Minute was the addition of three local backup singers, bringing the soundscape to a near perfect replication of the Michael MacDonald hit.

The horns further proved their mettle by hanging tightly together with Carlton on his rhythmically complex and intensely syncopated musical themes. Carlton, known for his great writing and arranging abilities, produces his own charts, which are no walk in the park. As the consummate musician, Carlton is fluent in the written, theoretical and practical language of all jazz and popular music forms. His four Grammys and 19 Grammy nominations are proof a musical master came to town. Were you there

:: photographs by Ida Adamowicz TOP LEFT TO RIGHT Larry Carlton Jason Logue The Darcy Hepner Jazz Orchestra Pat Collins Rob Somerville With additional event photos from the Darcy Hepner Jazz Orchestra at the Corktown.

P 33

The Rest cellist at 2012 HMA Awards

THE BIG DANCE

- Neil Reyes :: hamiltonONmusic.com Reprinted by permission.

REVIEW

HMA

She stood at the clear lectern, holding a silver treble clef and recounting how her music was almost never heard. Terra Lightfoot was accepting the first award of the night at the Hamilton Music Awards.

“My band said ‘if you don’t put this (record) out, we will and we won’t give you any credit’,” Lightfoot said to the audience. Lightfoot was among the big winners, taking home awards for Female Artist of the Year, Best Alt/Country Recording, and Female Vocalist of the Year.

The Hamilton Music Awards, on November 15th through 18th, honoured the city’s music makers for their work over the past year.

Musicologist Alan Cross and comedienne Shelley Marshall hosted the event.

Other big winners include blues artists Harrison Kennedy and the rock group Arkells. Both won two awards each, but were unble to attend the awards and accepted through video speeches “We’ve got our Hammy,” said Arkell’s singer Max Kerman in his second touring van video, wielding an actual hammer.

Missy Bauman, winner of Friday’s HMA Rising Star competition, wowed the crowd with a solo acoustic performance. She also took home the award for New Artist/Group of the Year.

Gordie Tapp was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award for his career as an entertainer. The 90-year old performer is mostly known for his role on the TV show Hee Haw. He accepted the award with a smile, shared stories and jokes and performed a song about Canada.

The performers at the Sunday night awards session included young rockers Illusion Avenue, Pop Recording of the Year winner Tomi Swick, Weekend Riot Club, and Record of the Year award winners The Rest.

“I don’t remember my set,” said Mike Chetcuti, guitarist for Weekend Riot Club after the show.“ I got out there and blanked out.” The band was nominated for New Artist/Group of the Year.

For a lot of artists, just being nominated and at the show was a treat.

“It feels amazing,” said Corey Brouwer, bassist for Still Life. Still Life was nominated for Local Group of the Year (People’s Choice) and Alternative/Indie Rock Recording of the Year.

“I’m just so honoured to be nominated,” said Maggie Szabo, better known as All About Maggie. Maggie was nominated for three awards: Female Artist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Pop Recording of the Year.

“It’s really exciting to be part of the scene,” said Edgar Breau. Edgar was a founding member of Simply Saucer. His solo work, Patches of Blue, was nominated for Male Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Roots Recording of the Year.

Canadian rock legends Crowbar were also awarded a Lifetime Achievement award. They were best known for their raucous live shows and the song, “Oh, What a Feeling.” The band closed out the night with an exciting performance of their signature track, featuring a brass section and back-up singers. It was a fitting way to end a great weekend celebrating music in Hamilton.

HAMILTON'S ALL STAR VOCAL JAZZ GROUP Tight Harmony. Great Voices.

Ten talented singers from the Hamilton area wrapped up the three-day SING! Vocal Arts Festival last night at Harbourfront’s Lakeside Terrace. Based on the enthusiastic ovation and attempts to get the jazz choir to do an encore, the appreciative audience of some 75 music lovers was delighted and satisfied with the calibre of the performance.

The Hamilton All Star Vocal Jazz group is four men and six women between the ages of 18 and 29. Their youthfulness inspires the belief that, with this much musical ability already under belts, they each have a solid future of music-making ahead of them. The ensemble was sharply dressed—the women in gold glitter skirts, the men decked out in three-piece suits and bright ties.

Vocal jazz ensembles have two tasks to achieve. One, they must remain true to the jazz style which often includes improvisation, scat singing, and flexibility within a tonal framework. It requires a great sense of pitch, rhythm, and the ability to fully energize, or be energized by, the music. Two, they have to create close harmonies, often with dissonant combinations. This requires a highly trained ear. If all these things are achieved with good intonation and balance, a great jazz choir will sound rich, smooth and intense.

Their first selection was a straight ahead medium swing, with walking bass and drums added, thanks to Faisel Qazi’s beat-boxing. Faisel later brought the house down when he took the microphone for a solo, and surprised us by adding a blues harp to the mix.

The group relaxed during their second number, Stone Soul Picnic. “Hurry down to a stone soul picnic; There’ll be lots of time and wine…” It had a catchy melody and a nice balance, and several short solos, all capably done. A Michael Jackson medley of Beat It, Billy Jean and Smooth Criminal kept things light and a little tongue-in-cheek. I’m glad they included this in their set. Too often, choirs shy away from familiar material to avoid sounding mundane or corny. But then they run the risk of leaving the audience alienated with no connecting point. The Hamilton All Star Vocal Jazz with its repertoire, kept things interesting and relevant.

In A Mellow Tone was next. The group never drifted away from the tonality, despite the closely voiced chord progressions connected by very subtle pitch changes in this arrangement. The next selection was Skylark with a lovely solo by Stephanie Hincks. The novelty Ain’t That A Kick In The Head followed and gave Stephen Telford an opportunity to shine. It seemed to end too soon! I would’ve enjoyed hearing some more, perhaps with a couple of smaller sub-groups pulled from the larger group.

Director Chris McLaughlin has done well with this dedicated group of musicians. Their performance was a nice finishing touch to the inaugural SING! festival. I hope to hear more of them in and around Hamilton in the future. They are looking for opportunities to perform and enjoy being able to combine performances with workshops, especially when visiting schools.

[insert] Chris Maclaughlin :: chrismcl@cogeco.ca :: hamiltonallstarjazz.org :: THE GROUP: Alyssa Bator, Raluca Nuta, Stephanie Hincks, Rachel Martens, Margaret Martin, Chelsea Salisbury, Faisel Qazi, Kevon Strachan, Stephen Telford, Nigel Ecock

P 35

:: MUSICAL TESTOSTERONE

REVIEW

LO FI BAND

Two of Lo-Fi Band members Ken Corke and Todd Knight :: myspace.com/lofimusic

Holy reggae funk, Batman! At Hamilton’s Ferguson Station in King Street East’s International Village, the Lo-Fi band put on a lunchtime concert Wednesday for anyone who was within earshot. Over a block away from the Station you couldn’t miss the tight and funky groove. Nothing timid about these guys.

As your curiosity increases, you approach the train-station-shaped station enclosure, and you imagine it is as “the House of Lo-Fi.” You see a band of five young men confidently practicing their musical craft, happy in fact as they enjoy the unusually bright setting of a downtown sunny afternoon, sucking back extra large “Timmies” instead of the usual party slosh. Clean-cut, nice boys, you think. On closer look you see a few tattoos, some cool shades, a bandaged knee, an angled black cap. And then you hear the energy.

Like a peeping tom circling a house, you circle the Station, peering in from all sides to catch the best view while you listen to the catchy, upbeat music with flavours of reggae, rap, funk, house and even new country mixed in.

In Lo-Fi’s musical house each room represents a musical style—furnished with riffs catchy enough to get your attention, set your toes tapping, get your body pulsing and fuel your party. Sitting at the kitchen are Vince Sciara (keyboards), Ken Corke (upright bass), Todd Knight (guitar, vocals), Josh Harrison (drums), and the artist known as LIPS (lead guitar). Go back a week and they’re having a lively discussion about how in hell they’re going to tone down this public lunchtime concert so that people won’t be choking over any raunchy “T&A college party” lyrics.

Solution? Delete the expletives and replace with ... silence. Tone down the guitars and use an acoustic bass.

The result is a light-hearted and fun show, but not a true version of Lo-Fi’s sound. Corke usually plays electric bass, but today he was using his upright. Wise choice. It created a rounder and fuller sound, which, when combined with LIPS’ imaginative countermelodies and Sciara’s keyboard pads, made the difference. Some well written songs, such as Jack and Jill, Summertime, The Wiggle Room, evoked familiar boy-girl situations without trying to be too serious.

Corke’s other band, Sumo Cyco, is releasing a new video right about now. IMHO, his bass work is a big part of LoFi’s groove intensity. Knight’s vocals, always solid, were helped by his friendly stage presence and unquestioned front-man attitude. LIPS and Sciara had lots of great backup vocals, textures and ideas and “Milk” Harrison, the only member with formal music training (Mohawk College ’06), laid down a solid groove throughout.

Lo-Fi is an experienced band with a well-defined sound. Accustomed to small and medium stages, and boisterous, expectant audiences, they’ve learned how to put on a good show. Formed in 2006 and having three albums under their belt, they’re looking at recording their fourth soon. Judging by the variety and the quality of today’s show, it will be worth a listen.

P 37

VENUE

:: artword.net/artbar

~

ARTWORD ARTBAR

Friendly, Informal, Pivotal

The Artword Artbar on Colbourne Street, just off James Street North, is a place where local performers can love their audience and be loved back. It’s a great example of how a venue can exercise its influence as a local business while embracing, validating and boosting artists and performers.

Tonight is my third visit to the Artword Artbar in three weeks and I’m learning fast. I’ve come to meet the proprietors Ron Weihs and Judith Sandiford, and I’m going to stay for the show. After each of my previous visits to the Artbar, I've come away with a great sense of satisfaction and a good feeling in my gut about the arts in Hamilton. I was also wondering why I hadn't been here before.

Sarah Beatty at Baltimore House during HMA showcase :: Photo by Ted Buck. :: sarahbeatty.ca

Ron and Judith‘s story, which can easily be found on their website, speaks powerfully to the value of what has been happening in the Hamilton arts scene over the past few years. They’ve chosen to create a special place, which is becoming a preferred venue for local musicians. When people want to play your venue, you've got to do be doing something right. And they are.

The Artword Artbar is a small room. In the corner is a 12 by 16 foot riser stage, simple and quaint decorative lighting with a few spotlights, a decent sound system, a baby grand, a bar with a dozen stools and tables for 40 more listeners. Most performers arrange to collect an admission fee at the door, ranging from $5 to $20. On art crawl nights, money is collected on a traditional folk-club “pass-the-jar” basis.

Home for the artists On a typical performance night, things get started around 8 pm. Talking during a performance is discouraged.

There’s no television screen to distract you. They’ve got some tasty meals on their menu at a very reasonable price, and some local brew on tap. But let it be understood that you won’t fit in here if you come in with your rowdy drinking buddies looking for a table for 10.

As we sit and chat, Judith is tidying up around the room and Ron is spooning his famous homemade stew into jars while explaining how arts organizations, particularly theatre, are often encumbered by the process of applying (and waiting for) grants. He likes to see performance and artistic events produced simply and directly. “By artists, for artists” is one of Ron’s guiding ideas for the Artbar. As we talk, three local art students are installing their work in the downstairs gallery.

Re-activating the heart of the city Ron and Judith are also very supportive of local initiatives and groups who are seeking to improve and enrich the cultural life of Hamilton. They are directly involved in the discussions and plans for special events in the James Street North neighbourhood.

Tonight’s performers, Sarah Beatty, Anthony Damaio and Richard LaViolette, arrive. Judith tends to their needs as they get their musical equipment set up and settle in. Soon some more guests arrive and Ron and Judith fully move into their hosting duties. Sarah Beatty Performs.

She’s comfortable behind a microphone and in front of an audience, although she says she has performed live only twice. Her relaxed mood didn’t dull her wit or her musical impact. “Glad you’re all here, getting folked up in Hammertown,” she began, followed by a quick shout out to her fan who had travelled from Fort MacMurray to see her.

Doctoral studies in soil science at McMaster brought Sarah to Hamilton. Music and songwriting will be a big part of her life going forward, although her academic pursuits will still exert some influence. For example, The Mighty Molecule is a song she wrote which cleverly compares human relationships to mysterious, serendipitous atomic forces. With lyrics like, “You can steal my thunder, but I can steal your rain,” Beatty gets you thinking. She keeps her melodies simple and beautiful. Her voice is confident, uplifting and controlled. It’s easy and good to sing along.

“It’s really all about the music,” says Weihs. “When we first opened in 2008, we had little knowledge that musical talent was threaded through the layers of Hamilton’s culture and history. We soon discovered, partly through a local busker crawl, that there was plenty of musical talent, and that it was unpretentious, diverse, warm and inclusive.

“Hamilton could really be called Music City,” Sandiford remarks. And accordingly, the Artbar has adjusted its purpose to focus on hosting live entertainment.

P 39

VENUE

Chris "Deacon Blues" Labonville

THE DEACON'S HOUSE of BLUES

Boon's House on Barton Street near Fairfeild, Hamilton, ON :: photographs by Reg Beaudry :: www.facebook.com/clabonville :: www.wegotblues.weebly.com

My name is Chris Labonville, my friends know me as Boon, and I have been given the name Deacon Blues. I am the current owner of Boon’s House. I am the manager and co-founder of the band, We Got Blues. I am also the current vice-chairman of the Hamilton Blues & Roots Society.

I am a former musician, although not a very good one. My dream was to open a bar and to be a part of the music and art scene. I had a music management company back in the 90s, and have been around musicians and artists all my life.

Most people who open a bar or restaurant do it with at least $250,000. I had a life savings of $15,000, a dream, and a lot of ideas.

I took over running The Red Lounge on Bar-ton Street at Fairfield. The place had been run into the ground. The Red Lounge closed down for good, and in its place I opened Boon’s House: Rockin’ Blues Lounge. The only real blues lounge in or around Hamilton.

The bar had gone from the red to the black in a few short months, however, after introducing live music it was soon back to the red. Running a bar is not what most people think it is. Not even the musicians quite understand what a bar has to do just to operate. We all know about the monthly expenses of a lease, hydro, water, gas, phone, etc.

Those are expected. Staff? I could never really afford a staff. You have to pay for the liquor license and city license. This adds up. Insurance is a HUGE expense. Then you have inventory, which most people assume is cheaper for bar owners. Not true. Did you know we pay about $10 more per case than a normal consumer? We are not allowed to purchase promos like 28 or 15 packs, its 12 or 24s for us, and at an increased price.

Of course I wanted to be a live music venue. Here is another ghastly expense, and I am not talking about what musicians get paid. Bar owners need to pay yearly license fees for all

this through SOCAN and ReSound. If I wanted to play any kind of pre-recorded music in my bar, I need a license for that. If I wanted to have karaoke in my place, that is a separate license. Now I need to pay another license fee just to have live entertainers in the bar. Oh, and let’s not forget, if I have a dance floor for people to dance to the music on, this is yet another license fee. Just these entertainment licenses add up to thousands of dollars per year. I have not even touched on advertising or other expenses. So, before one assumes that a bar in bringing in the big bucks, we need to see the facts. But bars are doing it right? So what is the problem?

I am known for being an honest and straight person. I pay what I agree to pay, even though 90% of the time, I was losing money doing so. Since the day I opened, my competition across the street made sure I had visits from the health inspectors and liquor inspectors at least every other week. Every time, I got the okay and nothing was ever wrong.

Everyone that has come through the f r o n t d o o r o f B o o n ’s h a s b e e n pleasantly surprised. I created a place out of the old movies, a place meant to look and feel like an old school blues club or lounge. The stage and the setting are very intimate, and this is why many musicians love to play the room.

We have had many of the Hamilton greats up on our stage. Ginger St. James, Snowheel Slim & Boogie Infection, Sean Le Sage & The Voodoomatix, Michael Pickett, Shrimp Daddy, James Anthony, Mike Almas, Guitar Mikey, Sonny Del-Rio, Alfie Smith, Dave Ryan, Ray Materick, Joe Rhodes, Petit Four, Wayne Janus, Real Blues, Mother Blue, AndrewVictoria, Felicia McMinn, Brant Parker, Chad P i l o n , S h a r i & J o h n n y, S h a r o n Musgrave, Les Smith, and many, many more.

One bad decision I made was letting the Blues & Roots Festival go without a fight. I had been given this festival and

the one year I held it, set a real precedent for the future of this festival.

Giving it structure and a purpose seemed to really excite the blues fans in the area. When it was taken back the following year without warning, I simply let it go, not wanting to ruffle feathers.

Perhaps now, with the new Blues & Roots Society on board, we will take it back for the future and once again give purpose and structure to a great event and concept.

Hamilton may have once been a true City of Music; however, it has fallen short for many years now. Everyone is pointing fingers. Musicians blame the bars and the bars blame all kinds of reasons. The truth is we are all to blame. The city government for not helping to create an “arts” friendly city is partially to blame. The musicians for not making an honest effort to connect with the venues and the listeners are partially to blame. The bars for not being up front with musicians and for hiding behind shady agents and agencies are partially to blame. And the people of Hamilton are not willing to pay a little more at a bar for food or drinks even though they have live entertainment, or pay a small cover to hear a great band, or even to simply take a small bus or cab trip a place a little off the beaten path to experience a great venue.

Remember the costs affecting bar owners who want live entertainment? If people are not willing to pay, the bar can’t afford to pay, and therefore the musician doesn’t get paid.

Boon’s House may soon be no more, and the real loss of this will be to the people of Hamilton who love the blues. I will continue to be the Deacon and fight for live music, musicians, honest venue owners, and the potential of this city. If things turn around for Boon’s House, great! I will have a home base to continue the fight. Expect brutal honesty in my promotions and my observations. I love the music of this city, and I love the blues.

Coach & Lantern Pub :: coachandlantern.ca

ANCASTER'S COACH & LANTERN The knack of getting great music

The Coach and Lantern’s co-owner and general manager Andrea Cassis is in music heaven. Even after adding an extra night they could barely supply enough seats to meet the audience demand for The Blues Angels with special guest Michael Dunston. Matt Schofield’s appearances at the Blues Studio in May sold out four nights in a row. “People have been coming from all over, even as far away as Windsor,” Cassis reports. She happily acknowledges her love for promoting music and musicians, and it’s plainly visible at the Coach and Lantern. "The Coach" is located at 384 Wilson Street East in Ancaster, in an easy-to-find heritage stone building. It has established itself as a great place to grab a meal and relax with friends. The stone-cut walls and wood paneling definitely evoke an authentic "pub" vibe.

The music is what enables the Coach and Lantern to offer that extra helping of customer satisfaction.

The management team is putting live musical entertainment at the centre of its plans, and has moved beyond merely dabbling with live music in the way that other venues have been known to operate.

The downstairs room is an intimate pub setting. It seats less than 100 and has a medium sized stage that fits 3 to 6 performers. While there is no fixed dance floor, it's not uncommon to see patrons up in the aisles. Tables can be moved if necessary. The types of music range from solos, duos, full bands, covers, originals, to all-star bands. They embrace a variety of styles, and the restaurant staff, mostly Andrea, do the bookings.

Some Coach and Lantern staff are closely connected to local music. Cassis enthusiastically says in an email message, "Adam White, the lead singer and guitarist for The Reason works part time for us when he’s around town. It’s funny how many musicians work for the Coach part time and fun to have them get up and play Open Mic on Thursdays along with the Judy Marsales Singalong. When Colin Lapsley got up the other night while on shift and covered a Marvin Gaye tune, he had the ladies going crazy. Better tips for him I’m sure! Greg Preston (and The Great Machine) also has worked in our kitchen for almost 3 years now. We feel blessed to have so much talent on staff and get to enjoy them in more than one capacity."

The Blues Studio shows have been a hit. Blues singer and multi-instrumentalist Jordan John, who recently signed with Verve Records, and his band The Blues Angels are hosting a series of starstudded concerts featuring established and up-and-coming guests. The band consists of John, his father the renowned Canadian bassist Prakash (The Lincolns, Blues Brothers, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Parliament Funkadelics, Bush) and drummer Al Cross. Bob Hunt, the producer of the shows in partnership with Prakash, was looking for a venue that would represent an intimate dinner-concert setting. They chose the Coach and Lantern's upper level. It's got the perfect up-close dynamic that the musicians love because they can see and feel the audience's enthusiasm and it comes out in their performance!

P 41

CLASSIFIEDS

MUSICIANS AVAILABLE

MUSICIANS AVAILABLE David Lum. Folk/Roots - Acoustic guitar, Slide guitar, Bass, Mandolin, Lead/Background Vocals, Songwriter, Arranger, Producer. Performing regularly, Looking for collaborators.

2 8 9 - 4 4 1 - 6 5 1 2 w w w. d a v i d l u m . c o m davidgwlum@hotmail.com _______________________________ Daniel Dell. Making and recording. Starting to perform, Performing regularly, Writing or arranging music, Looking for c o l l a b o r a t o r s . w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / c l o s e d p a r k closedpark@gmail.com _______________________________ Judy Marsales. Singer. Performing regularly. 905-522-3300 judy@judymarsales.com _______________________________ Jaykaybie Brown. Songwriters. Writing or arranging music.

Looking for collaborators. 905-912-4073 Jaykaybie@hotmail.com _______________________________

Andrea Battista. Pianist, violinist, teacher. Classically trained, plays in the group 4 and 6 with Philip Corke, plays in Symphony on the Bay, teaches both instruments. Performing regularly, teaching music. abattista1@cogeco.ca _______________________________ Jason Hales. Singer, Opera, Rock, Musical Theatre, Rhythm guitar.

I am an operatically trained tenor however I don't just sing opera I do sing rock, folk, musical theatre and some jazz. I run a coffee house concert series called "Acoustic Blend Cafe", perform with an all acoustic band called "Version Thereof.” Starting to perform, teaching music.

416-565-9490 jasonhales@gmail.com _______________________________ Richard Haighway. Tuba performance, composer, orchestra and band conductor. Performing regularly, teaching music, leading or directing music, writing or arranging music, looking for collaboraters. 905-515-0778 r.haighway@hotmail.com.

Solo guitarist/vocalist available for private functions, parties, Etc. Sting, Gabriel, CSN, Van, Jazz & Blues. rick@reconn.net _______________________________ Indie blues-rock-folk musician. Music ready for your listening and enjoyment. Available for gigs. davidcarte@live.ca _______________________________

E d g a r B r e a u . S i n g e r / s o n g w r i t e r, g u i t a r p l a y e r, founder/frontman of cult band Simply Saucer. Performing regularly, Leading or directing music, Writing or arranging m u s i c . 2 8 9 - 4 4 0 - 2 5 9 0 w w w. e d g a r b r e a u . c o m www.simplysaucer.com breauscr@hotmail.com _______________________________

Have 2 groups going.....a duo with Mike Stanutz and myself.

Hippy Jazz and originals + a trio consisting of Clark Johnston and Bob Shields doing traditional jazz! sueramsay@cogeco.ca _______________________________

Mike Charuk. Drummer. Performing regularly. 905-518-6856 MikeCharukManagement@gmail.com _______________________________

Ukulele playing singer-songwriter JoJo Worthington available for gigs in April 2013. carjo@rogers.com _______________________________

Shorty-Bud / Ron Wilkinson. Lead acoustic guitar /Bass elec and acoustic /vocalist /songwriter. 63 years in the Hammer.

Performing regularly, Teaching music, Writing or arranging music. 905-548-9242 rwilkinson25@cogeco.ca _______________________________

Sophisticated original art-pop with a jazz inflection available live for hire, my p.a. or yours. Also available - recordings of same at www.metroPhilmusic.com metroPhilmusic@gmail.com _______________________________

Scott Whittington. Piano, vocals. Performing regularly, teaching music, leading or directing music, writing or arranging music. 905-577-1172 www.scottwhittington.com. _______________________________

Dolce Strings... providing fine classical music to suit weddings, receptions, special events. *NEW* Digital music samples now available! dolcestringmusic@gmail.com _______________________________

Rick Henderson. Acoustic guitar, Electric guitar, Vocals. Over 45 years playing experience. Jazz, Blues, Classic Rock. Solo entertainer & member of "Version Thereof" vocal ensemble and "Canborough Blues Band." Performing regularly. 905512-0180 rick@reccon.net _______________________________

CASH Canada's Ultimate Johnny Cash Tribute Show. To book the band for your event, please visit www.cashmusic.ca _______________________________

Paul Lawrence. Guitar, vocals. Performing regularly. telecaster55@hotmail.com _______________________________ Philip (Pip) Kummel. Performer, songwriter, singer, guitar player, recording artist, publisher, studio. Original-sounding fresh jazz-influenced art-pop for adults, and everyone else.

Performing regularly. Writing or arranging music, looking for collaborators. 905-331-8701 metroPhilmusic@gmail.com

Paul McGrath. Experienced keyboard/vocalist locating to Hamilton/Burlington area. Good gear, no bad habits. Serious players only please! paulmcgrathmusic@gmail.com ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Famous Framus 6th Annual Salvation Army Benefit Dec 15, 2012 @ The Winking Judge. Plus Special Guest. paulbottos@shaw.ca

Download new THIS MAD DESIRE album VALHALLA at thismaddesire.bandcamp.com/ ! (RIYL: Neil Young, Pixies, Bowie) mackenzie.kristjon@mac.com _______________________________ Dundas Valley Orchestra concert. Sunday January 20, 2013.

3PM St. Paul's United Church, 29 Park Street West, Dundas, ON. Music Director, Laura Thomas. Rimsky-Korsakov, Vaughan-Williams, and Harry Somers. Admission is free. info@dundasvalleyorchestra.ca _______________________________ Have you met Intel Canada's Superstar Duo of 2012 yet? Visit www.andrewvictoria.com _______________________________ Symphony on the Bay, Hamilton-Burlington area's community-based volunteer symphony orchestra. 40 year history. Be prepared to let the music move you. symphonyonthebay.ca.

MUSICAL SERVICES

MUSICAL SERVICES Affordable recording in Hamilton - new reduced hourly rate!

An ideal place to record your next demo. www.greenroomrecording.ca _______________________________ Online music theory classes to prepare for RCM exams: Rudiments, Harmony, History. www.ashbyme.com scott@ashbyme.com _______________________________ Professional Musician (drums/percussion), Educator, Festival Adjudicator. www.drumsinc.ca.30 years of Experience! drums@sympatico.ca _______________________________ Ross Wooldridge Music Services - Piano, Clarinet, Sax, Flute, Arranging, Conducting, Transcription, Musical Directing, Studio Production etc. rosswooldridgemusic@gmail.com www.rosswooldridge.com VENUES

VENUES

Come experience great music in one of the newest spaces in the core. www.artgalleryofhamilton.com for tickets and info annette@artgalleryofhamilton.com

RETAILERS Welcome to Jammit Music! Brantford. Classes for guitar, bass, drums, vocals, piano and violin. Enrol Today! 519-7570890 info@jammit-music.com

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Melissa Marchese :: Weekend Riot Club

WE ARE MUSICIANS

PHOTO FEATURE

verse by Glen Brown :: photography by Alex Zafer

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PHOTO ESSAY

We are servants of the highest and lowest sort. We are accustomed to the places of happy leisure, solemn suffering, formal beauty, ceremonial rigor, and reckless release. We accept and embrace the mysteries of artistic pursuit and the human spirit.

We are the stewards of ceremony and celebration, love and leisure. We preside like wizards and jesters over every solemn, happy or crazy occasion.

We are sculptors of sound. Our voices and our instruments tease the air molecules, set them vibrating and, wonder of wonders, send them like invisible, ghostly flyers to your waiting eardrums. We are few in comparison to the many. But, thankfully, we are not rare.

We, in our song, speak to your soul and set your imagination free. Our energy, emotion and rhythm coaxes or impels you into motion. Our sensitivity melts you to tears. Our collective force expels your demons or renews your hope.

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We embody the music we're making—the song, the idea, the beauty, the blending, the rhythm, the dynamics. It all fills us up and animates us. As we enjoy its effects in the moment of its creation, our pool of sound overflows and that is the very same moment we send it to you.

We are forever in debt to our friends who support us in our work. Our instrument makers, sound engineers, lighting technicians, stage people, costume providers, managers, promoters and event makers. The poets, authors, painters, dancers—and our friends and fans. Thank you for enabling us in so many ways. We do well as you do well.

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We love doing this. When it comes to being useful in the world, there is nothing we would rather be doing than making music. We are musicians.

Brian Griffith

1. Steve Parton and The Relics, Fuel the Factory Fundraiser 2. Weekend Riot club at This Ain't Hollywood 3. Victoria Boland, Fuel the Factory Fundraiser 4. Brian Griffith at The Corktown 5. Jesse O’Brien at The Corktown 6. Dawn Before Descent, Fuel the Factory Fundraiser 7. AndrewVictoria, Fuel the Factory Fundraiser

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