ONTARIO COUNCIL OF FOLK FESTIVALS
Your Guide to the 18th Annual OCFF Conference ●
Richard Flohil s New Column ●
An Early Christmas Song ●
Colleen Peterson Award and Recording
Fall 2004
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FROM THE EDITOR ... I m in the throes of huge changes in my life. I just got married, I m moving to the country for the first time, selling the family home of 24 years, and recently changed the course of my business. But in the midst of all this chaos are the islands of familiarity: friends, music, memories all those fairly stable aspects of life. In my two years at the OCFF, I ve noticed a huge amount of change a large increase in funding, a huge increase in membership and the resulting groundless feeling that often accompanies this size of change. But along come the islands (a quickly weakening metaphor!). There s a session this weekend about the history of the OCFF. There are workshops by some geezers , folks who have experience beyond their years. There is Erin Benjamin, a person with a clear vision and the drive to approach that vision. There s the music, those tunes that follow you through your life. (I sent a card to M. Tamblyn a few years ago, thanking him for supplying a chunk of the soundtrack of my life!) We have, as a group dedicated to folk music, an obligation to balance the groundlessness of change with the touchstones that we need to remember the past (I didn t remember that Magoo was a president of OCFF!) so that we can honour it in our vision of the future of OCFF. We can do this musically, with dialogue, with web sites, with memories. Remember the Alamo er Barrie! Along with more conference information than you can imagine, this issue has a new column from Richard Flohil that s bound to attract some attention, if only for his insightful views and historical perspectives. A longtime Eaglewooder sends his views of the Folk Festival. In the last issue I neglected to credit Andrew Strauss for his wonderful images of Estelle. My apologies. In this issue, the front cover photo of Sneezy was taken by Andrew. Thanks, Andrew. And thanks, also, to the lovely and talented Chris MacLean for the use of her Christmas tune enclosed herein. In the next issue, we d like to run some pictures of your folk festival so send us some along with credits and explanations. So, enjoy the conference, the waning summer and waxing winter, the changes that keep life fresh and the friends that keep it grounded.
arthur ONTARIO COUNCIL OF FOLK FESTIVALS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2004/05 Sam Baijal ................................ sbaijal@rogers.com Laura Bird ............................ wings1@sympatico.ca Jennifer Claveau .............. office@speak-music.com Ian Davies .................................. ian@iandavies.com Lloyd Greenspoon ........................ anma@onlink.net Elizabeth Hill ................. musicmaker@on.aibn.com Holmes Hooke ..................... info@hughsroom.com Jean-Marc Lalonde ........ jmlalonde2s@hotmail.com Paul Loewenberg .................... kb-pl@sympatico.ca Robin MacIntyre ....................... bellevue@soonet.ca Doug McArthur ................. dougimac@sympatico.ca Arthur McGregor ... amcgregor@ottawafolklore.com Jory Nash .................................. jory@jorynash.com Ian Tamblyn ......................... tamblyn@hotmail.com Lillian Wauthier ...................... lillianw@interlog.com
STAFF
Executive Director - Erin Benjamin Project Coordinator - Nicole Colbeck Manager, Web/Database Development Sean Monaghan
Phone 1.866.292.6233 or (613) 560-5997 Fax (613) 560-2001 info@ocff.ca www.ocff.ca Please note our NEW Mailing address: 410 Bank Street, Suite 225, Ottawa, ON K2P 1Y8
EDITOR
Arthur McGregor amcgregor@ottawafolklore.com Printing and Layout by Orion Printing Cover Photo by Andrew Strauss Sneezy Waters at this year s Eaglewood Festival in Pefferlaw Deadline for Editions December 15 - winter March 15 - spring June 15 - summer September 15 - fall (conference)
AD RATES Business Card .............................. $75/$100 Quarter Page .............................. $100/$125 Third of a Page .......................... $150/$175 Half Page ................................... $175/$200 Full Page ................................... $200/$225 Inside Cover .............................. $300/$350 Back Cover ................................ $500/$600 Listed above: member/non-member rates; not applicable for Fall/Conference issue. Please visit our website for conference issue ad rates, as well as formats and sizes. Submissions (max 500 words) and pictures welcome! Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We cannot guarantee inclusion of your submission in Folk Prints (but we ll try!) Please send submissions in text format only. If you have pictures, call us before you send them.
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Executive Director s Report Conference time again! Who knew that 365 days could go by so incredibly fast? Let s start with some very important thank you s. This event is manytentacled and our team, bigger and stronger, is vital to this amazing success! Chris White - programming coordinator, Sam Baijal conference/showcase chair, Julia Phillips volunteer coordinator, Shawna Cooper merchandise expert and graphic designer, Ken Brown and James Gordon, CFRU radio, Sherry Laframboise at Orion Printing, Rob Mackay and the River Run Centre, the City of Guelph, Sandra Bender, our panelists visiting with the support of Foreign Affairs Canada, our panelists from across Ontario and Canada, sponsors, government, all the volunteers, and you the delegate, thank you all. A giant and well-deserved bril-
liantly done to registration coordinator Nicole Colbeck (wearer of many, many hats), who skilfully took the torch passed by Little Dude and has done an excellent job. New OCFF staffer Sean Monaghan has supported us in the office since early September as well welcome to the team, Sean. How s this for a breaking-in period? Nothing like jumping right in, eh? This OCFF has accomplished much since we last met in Sudbury. New partnerships, programmes and members (check out the new member list in this issue!). Solid, steady growth is the sign of a community that knows where it s going, and how to get there. Thank you for heading in our direction along with us, amiable member. Owning your role in this community, supporting the work of our industry and sharing and imparting knowledge with others is your job and you, like
Erin Benjamin all the folks who put this big shindig on, are doing it fabulously well. We appreciate you being with us, and we thank you for your support as we continue to work hard every single day to make this organization and conference relevant and valuable for you. Welcome to Guelph! Have a great conference. Yours, erin
SONGS FROM THE HEART COMPETITION 2004 The Songs From the Heart competition was almost a victim of its own success this year, with 566 entries from 221 songwriters - almost double 2003. Songs came from throughout the province; again this year they were mostly in English, but we tripled our French submissions, and our new World category brought in several songs in languages from aboriginal Canadian to Portuguese to Hindi to West African. Galaxie radio network increased their sponsorship to allow for two $1000 Rising Star Awards, one in French and one in English. We regained the Guelph Songwriters Festival as a sponsor thanks to Sam Baijal, continued with Penguin Eggs magazine who donated 5 subscriptions, and gained both the Ottawa Folklore Centre and SAC s Bluebird North showcase. We continue our relationship with the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award. This award is administered by a trust set up through the Ontario Arts Council. The top 10 songs selected by the SFTH judges (but not the winning song) are sent on to a separate panel of judges selected by the CPSA committee. They select one song to receive a prize of $1000 and a weekend registration for our conference. Every year we receive far more songs that are worthy of recognition than we have prizes to hand out. This year the OCFF provided 5 cash prizes of $100 to the best in Political, Instrumental, World, Children s and Humour 4
categories. The money is really just a token, but it marks the OCFF s recognition that Ontario has a lot of great writers who reflect many facets of folk music. Anyone submitting a song to Songs From the Heart may choose a category; the song still gets judged in the overall competition but it also gets sent to a separate jury that listens only to submissions in that category. Each year the judges complain that it s too hard to pick one winner from among so many good songs. Even this year, with so many more prizes, the same complaint arose. So, if you didn t win, take some small consolation from the fact that it s a very crowded and very talented field, and next year we ll have different judges who just might prefer your approach to songs, and we will work to find more sponsors so that we can recognize even more writers. And the winners are: Galaxie Rising Star (English) Michelle Rasky for Into the New Galaxie Rising Star (French) split between Darryn Grandbois for Oh! Canada and Michel Payment for Ouendaké The Galaxie Rising Star Award includes: $1,000, a showcase at the OCFF Conference, a spot at the Guelph Songwriters Festival (to be negotiated), a spot at the Bluebird North Songwriter Showcase (to be negotiated), and a month of heavy rotation on the Folk/Roots channel of Galaxie, the Continuous Music Network.
OCFF Award - World music Eliana Cuevas - Rompe Mi Alma OCFF Award - Instrumental Jason Fowler - Midwestern Lament OCFF Award - Children s Lisa Godin - Buddy Good Buddy OCFF Award - Political Segun Akinlolu - The Small People s Anthem OCFF Award - Humor Caroline Wiles - Little Boobs Ottawa Folklore Centre Gift Certificates Nechi - Four Directions Song Trevor Mills - The Kid With the Comic Book Penguin Eggs subscriptions Lise Otis - Dimoitou Shawn Sage - Let s Get Bush Off of the Wagon David Gillis - Twirl Twirl Little Girl Enoch Kent - Stanley s Song For the Women Maryem Tollar - 24 Days Thanks to all the overworked judges: Derek Andrews, Marcel Aymar, James Gordon, ElizaBeth Hill, Anne Lindsay, Robin MacIntyre, Magoo, Karen Flanagan McCarthy, Roch Parisien, Trevor Strong, Ian Tamblyn, Terry Tufts. Special thanks to Galaxie, for being such a great sponsor and such a great promoter of Canadian music, and to all our other generous sponsors. Alex Sinclair
RICHARD SAYS . . . A REGULAR COLUMN FROM LONGTIME FOLKIE, RICHARD FLOHIL
Photo by Michael Wrycraft
Ah, who d be the artistic director of a folk festival these days? With two of Canada s larger - and better - festivals currently in search mode as they look for new AD s, maybe it s time to look at the role of festival boards and their relationships with the people who they hire to supervise the artistic vision of the events they programme. First of all, because festivals are (usually) run as non-profit-making organizations, they ve got to have a board, whether it s useful or not. Like most volunteers, board members are initially unaware of the logistics of a large musical event as a whole - but they re usually there for the right reasons: They love music, and they want to see it happen in their community. And because they love music, they KNOW how to programme a festival. Every single board member feels, in their hearts, that they can programme a better festival than the person they hired as artistic director. As one board member of an Ontario festival put it recently: All you have to do is hire 40 acts. Wouldn t it be lovely if that were the case? Of course, there s a universe of difference between hiring 40 acts and choosing 40 performers or bands (or even 15, for that matter), covering many different musical genres, and having a workable mix of males, females, artists from different regions and racial/ ethnic backgrounds. And contracting them. And planning workshop schedules. And organizing travel and accommodation. And helping supervise volunteers and site and sound services people. And acting as spokespersons for the events they create. Maybe that s where the problem lies: Artistic directors are hired by boards, and then go into the spotlight while the board labours in the background, setting budgets (hopefully, but not always, in conjunction with the artistic director), keeping an eye on the money (and there are a couple of festivals who have entrusted that important function to the wrong people), and setting overall goals and marketing policies.
Here s the solution: Boards hire an AD, set the parameters of the job, give him or her a budget and some overall guidelines. And then they have to leave the AD alone, asking him or her to check in at every board meeting to report progress. If the resulting event sucks, the budget is exceeded, and the future existence of the festival endangered, then the board searches for a new AD. If the board insists on going one way, and the AD another, the AD loses - and seeks another gig. To prevent these unhappy results, boards should NOT saddle an AD with hopeless budgets that are not based in the reality of today s talent market. Boards should not saddle the AD with a committee, often consisting of board members, to second guess his talent selections. Most importantly, board members should NOT choose talent - and they most certainly must never direct the AD to hire their friends, relatives or special favourites under any circumstances. Meanwhile, artistic directors have to live with boards, however anonymous and out of the spotlight they are, sometimes there are personality clashes, and diplomacy and communication need to be the watchwords. But the person who makes the festival is the artistic director, pe-
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riod. Not only does he or she hire 40 acts they are responsible for the tone of the event, the leadership of the volunteer corps, and - most importantly of all - the enjoyment and enlightenment of the paying customers who keep the event in business. The political wire artistic directors traverse is high off the ground, and falls - as we ve seen recently - can be very painful indeed. Sometimes, in their wisdom, board members cannot see wood for trees. Their main function: The careful hiring and nurturing and feeding of their artistic director - and knowing enough to leave him or her alone to do their jobs. And if the AD takes the credit, and if the board toils in the background, that s the way it ought to be. And board members should just get over it. Richard Flohil is a veteran music industry person, a one-time AD (At Mariposa from 88 to 92), and a writer, publicist, and concert presenter. With colleague Michael Wrycraft, he has performed as trivia quiz-master and game show host at different festivals across the country.
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Eaglewood 2004 I ve just finished the last of the take down jobs that were left for me and I have a moment to look back on the weekend. The Friday Night line up was local talent that was arranged by local board members ... mainly Kevin Fulbrook. The rain couldn t dampen the spirits as we were drummed up by the Georgina Drum Circle followed by Magoo from Udora, Anam Cara from Newmarket, Kyle and Jake Charron of Barrie, Marianne Girard from Keswick, Brian Wakelin and James Gain from Uxbridge and Sour Puss which has as its members most of the brains and brawn behind the Greenbank Folk Society. For a while, the Saturday weather looked like it was going to go all pleasant on us, but it was not to be. Doug McArthur had done a fabulous pro bono job of pulling together an incredible line up for us in very austere times. (Doug, I hope the pro bono comment hasn t blown your cover as a grumpy old geezer with the Palooza s.)
Saturday night concert included some of my favourites, Susan Latimer, Sneezy Waters and Zeke Mazurek, Katherine Wheatley (an Eaglewood institution by now), Willie P. Bennett (doing Willie P. as only he can) and Haines and Leighton who sent us home in high, though damp, spirits. Saturday night was monsoon season in Pefferlaw. Sunday ... still raining. Ann and I went off early to put up tarps to keep the audience a little more dry at each of the three stages. Saw Tony Turner (who until this time had just been a name on maplepost) sitting forlorn out at the acoustic stage in the woods waiting for the start of the open stage which he hosted this year. (The open stages are always popular here at Eaglewood and this year we increased their presence). I went back with my guitar to keep Tony company thinking that he wouldn t get many takers for the stage, but it was bunged out with people (and some pretty good performances, too). I guess you can t
dampen down those Eaglewood audiences. Between setting up tarps etc I even got to catch a few workshops ... my favourite was the sisters one with Sue Lothrop, Marianne Girard, Katherine Wheatley, Nancy Simmonds and Susan Latimer...very interesting and diverse approaches to music. The rain eased off for the night concert ... Tony Turner, Bill Garrett and Sue Lothrop, Magoo, Valdy and a finish by Geezer Palooza (David Woodhead, David Bradstreet, Brent Titcomb, Doug McArthur, and Nancy Simmonds) They had their geezer schtick done to a turn and being a bit of a geezer myself, I should know ... fine music too from that almost 300 years of folk experience. A great festival thanks to all who threw their efforts in!!!! Weather s great now ... think I ll go out and paddle on my river and practice some periods of non think. Cheers Ed Winacott lurking in Pefferlaw
The Power of A Song It s hard to believe that singing a song written by the late Colleen Peterson at the Black Sheep a few years back, has spawned such an incredible turn of events, but that s how it all started. Since that day in February 2002, Colleen s legacy has grown in leaps and bounds. With the help of her family and numerous performers from our amazing musical community, we raised over $20,000 to create the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award. This award, honouring the late singer-songwriter, has been established at the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) and is given annually to an emerging Ontario based songwriter including a cash gift of $1,000 as well as a delegate pass to the OCFF conference. Last year, the first recipient was Evelyn Parry, for her composition The Stone and The Bumblebee. An OAC selection panel, from nominations put forward by the OCFF Songs from the Heart competition, recently chose the second annual Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award. And what a stellar line up of submissions! We are extremely pleased to announce that Vineland,
by Laura Bird
Ontario songwriter David Gillis is the second recipient of the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award for his song A Mouse s Crumb. With his edgy original voice, insightful and intelligent writing, he definitely lives up to his reputation as a master guitarist and gifted singer-songwriter delighting audiences wherever he plays. www.davidgillis.com Colleen s sister Shirley Richardson and mom Kaye Thomson will present the award during the gala dinner on Saturday night. We re also celebrating the release of a brand new Colleen Peterson CD called POSTCARDS FROM CALIFORNIA! Building on songwriting demos, songwriter-producers Nancy Simmonds and David Bradstreet have put together one of the best albums ever by Colleen. Once again drawing from the rich deep well of our musical community, players such as David Woodhead, Jason Fowler, Brent Titcomb, and Doug McArthur to name but a few, accompany Colleen s beautiful voice. I am thrilled to say a portion of the proceeds from this CD will be donated back to the CPSA Fund to not only ensure its perpetuity, but also continue encouraging a new generation of songwriters. As the song says, The circle keeps growin strong Congratulations David Gillis! Please visit www.colleenpeterson.ca 7
Message From the Co-Chairs Welcome to the lovely, folk-friendly city of Guelph. The OCFF continues to grow in strength and quality, always searching for ways to reflect and augment the interests and needs of our members. In my years (Doug) as a touring solitary folky bunkered down in the motels of New England or the early “couch” tours of Ontario, I never dreamt that a community of like minded souls even existed out there, dedicated to the support of Canadian Music. That an organization like the OCFF with its symbiotic weaving of festivals, presenters, artists, songwriters, agents, managers, independent labels, retailers, distributors could exist, let alone grow into one of the largest and most influential groups in the country, was beyond my imagination. We have a voice that grows stronger every year. The turning point came a couple of years ago when lobbying by the OCFF changed the Canada Council for the Arts’ eligibility criteria for the Music Festivals Programming Project Grant program to include non-ticketed musicbased festivals. This was a big step in recognizing the role of festivals in the cultural scene in this country. We can actually make a difference. And we are. That this is due largely to our dynamite Executive Director Erin Benjamin is no secret. Thanks also go to her staff, Nicole Colbeck and Sean Monaghan, as well as the board of directors of the OCFF - all of whom work hard year round on behalf of the entire membership. This year we thank outgoing board members Liz Harvey-Foulds, former vice-president and current co-chair Carolyn Sutherland and the hard working Randi Fratkin for their dedication and fine work. Alex Sinclair, instrumental in the Songs from the Heart initiative and many other endeavours, is also leaving us this year. We also are happy to welcome Laura Bird, Jennifer Claveau, Jean-Marc Lalonde, and Paul Loewenberg as new board members. This conference is the OCFF’s annual focus and celebration and I know that with your continued involvement it will be a major success. It’s an amazing event with myriad opportunities to meet others in the music community. (From Carolyn:) I have enjoyed my years on the board; they provided a great chance to learn and to work with wonderful people across the Ontario folk community. I look forward to continued involvement with this organization. Doug McArthur Carolyn Sutherland Co-Chairs OCFF Board
October 2004 Welcome to Guelph! On behalf of the City of Guelph, I am pleased to bring greeting to the participants and organizers of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals for their 18th Annual Conference and Gala Dinner. With the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals being the largest music industry association in Canada, I am sure that there will be ample opportunity to network and share a wide variety of cultural experiences. We extend a special welcome to our out-of-town guests. The City of Guelph has many attractions for visitors and residents, which include beautiful historic buildings, churches, homes and parks. I trust that you will find time to tour the City after and discover the unique flavour that makes Guelph such a beautiful place. Sincerely,
Kate M. Quarrie
Mayor
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FRIDAY The Creaking Tree String Quartet (ON) Friday, Peter Clark Hall 7:45pm www.creakingtree.com The Creaking Tree String Quartet is the product of four adept and accomplished musicians, dedicated to performing unique and exciting material that raises the bar for instrumental acoustic music. Too jazzed for bluegrass, but too country for jazz; too free to be chamber music, but too structured for the avant-garde. Nathan (MB) Friday, Peter Clark Hall 8:20pm www.nathanmusic.ca Since the release of their debut album “Stranger” in 2001, this genial band of Winnipeg misfits picked up a Prairie Music Award for Outstanding Independent Album, were the prairie region pick for CBC Radio’s The Big Break, and band leader Keri McTighe picked up the Manitoba prize in the Standard Radio National Songwriting Competition. “If David Lynch had directed ‘O Brother Where Art Thou?,’ Nathan’s music would be the soundtrack” - Michael Wrycraft, CBC Radio Foggy Hogtown Boys (ON) Friday, Peter Clark Hall 8:55pm www.foggyhogtownboys.com The group draws from a large and diverse repertoire; the foundation of which comes from the “golden age” of bluegrass and country music. Traditional bluegrass material is offset with original compositions. Although instrumentally, the band has the power to dazzle any audience, the song is always given top priority. Ember Swift (ON) Friday, Peter Clark Hall 9:30pm www.emberswift.com Indie music sensation Ember Swift’s particular brand of politically charged folk-jazz-funk music has garnered ardent fan frenzy and rave critical acclaim from across Canada, the U.S., and Australia. Ember is a poignant songwriter, a prolific recording artist, a relentless touring artist, a vibrant stage performer, and a fierce political/social activist. As a highly accomplished musician, performer, composer, businesswoman, and committed activist, Ember continues to solidify her reputation as one of Canada’s truly substantial artists. Tasa (ON) Friday, Peter Clark Hall 10:05pm www.tasamusic.com Tasa is led by tabla player Ravi Naimpally, and features the high intensity guitar playing of John Gzowski, lyrical bansuri and sax work of Ernie Tollar, the explosive drumming of Alan Hetherington and funky bass stylings of Chris Gartner. Their seamless blend of world traditions has attracted the attention of music lovers and critics all over the globe. Together they weave a rich tapestry of sounds that are a delight to the ear.
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House of Velvet (aka-HOV) (ON) Friday, Peter Clark Hall 10:40pm www.houseofvelvet.com Guelph based HOV brings a dynamic fusion of reggae, hip-hop, funk, R&B and beyond to the performance stage. The music reflects the multi-ethnic culture developing around us. HOV play original music and merge styles from around the world, creating a sound all their own. The live show encourages dancing and audience participation; often vocalists or instrumentalists from the crowd will join the band for a song or two. The result of improvisation and skilled musicianship has brought some of the most memorable moments when House of Velvet has performed at the Hillside Festival where they are an audience favourite. Amy Nodwell (ON) Friday, Room 103 8:00pm www.amynodwell.com Amy is a captivating singer who mixes R&B, pop and soul to create a fresh new sound that is irresistible. Her powerful voice and accomplished lyrics show a maturity beyond her years. The calibre of musicianship and the breadth of musical influences resulted in songs full of emotion and texture. Her original music is drawing significant praise and attention in the music industry, while her voice is capturing the attention of the commercial industry. Gerald Laroche (MB) Friday, Room 103 8:35pm www.geraldlaroche.com Sound and music explode from his harmonicas unlike anything you have ever heard as he brings to life stories and legends captured in his travels and handed down from his Canadian “Voyageur” ancestors wrapped up in a riveting fusion of musical sounds and styles from Métis to traditional French to musique actuelle to African to Zydeco, to Cajun to jazz to boogie and blues. A truly Canadian performer and world music act in every sense. Shiloh Lindsey (BC) Friday, Room 103 9:10pm www.shilohlindsey.com Seductively intimate, each song is seasoned with emotional honesty and mellow smooth guitar. Shiloh’s voice is the focal point with its melancholy folk. Her song-writing ability is up to the challenge, mixing individual arranging with stellar musicianship and charm. The music is a blend of sensitive Folk poetry with raw Traditional Country attitude; tales of lost love and other angstful tragedies.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Genticorum (QC) Friday, Room 103 9:45pm www.genticorum.com Genticorum has successfully emerged on the traditional Québécois music scene. The group offers a rich Québécois repertoire of captivatingly-crooked traditional tunes and tongue-in-cheek songs. In addition to scavenging for seldom-heard traditional fare, they integrate an inspired choice selection of original compositions that render homage to their musical roots.
Michael Johnston (MB) Saturday, Peter Clark Hall 9:40pm www.michaeljohnston.ca Under the roof of his second floor apartment, sneaking into a rehearsal studio at the University of Manitoba, on a makeshift stage in a Slovak bar – Michael Johnston draws inspiration from many places, and creates timeless, affecting songs. His recent work as a solo artist that has been gaining attention and acclaim from fellow musicians, CBC radio and the enthusiastic crowds at his concerts.
Kendra MacGillivray (NS) Friday, Room 103 10:20pm www.kendramacgillivray.com Celtic Fiddler, Kendra MacGillivray is the 2002 ECMA “Female Artist of the Year” and “Instrumental Artist of the Year”. Kendra’s main stage show features a very energetic full band performance (fiddles, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums) including choreographed step dancing routines. Eliza Gilkyson (TX) Friday, Room 103 10:55pm www.elizagilkyson.com Eliza’s intimate storytelling expands from personal to more political themes. “Gilkyson doesn’t pull any punches. She graces the music with her lush and passionate voice; a dark and lonely sound, hope and satisfaction, and edgy lyrics with piercing imagery round out the whole.” - NY Times Khac Chi (BC) Saturday, Peter Clark Hall 8:30pm www.khacchi.com The Khac Chi Ensemble - Sounds of Vietnam (Nhac Viet) features two of Vietnam’s premiere musicians, performing exquisite music on rare and unique instruments native to Vietnam. These virtuoso artists offer an intriguing glimpse into the rich musical tradition of Vietnam and its 4000-year history. Famous for their musical skills innovation throughout Vietnam, the Khac Chi Ensemble takes you on an adventure in sound. The McDades (AB) Saturday, Peter Clark Hall 9:05pm www.themcdades.com As one of the most innovative rootsbased groups today, The McDades blend celtic, world and jazz in an explosive cocktail of original and traditional vocal and instrumental music. Fusing together their unique balance of improvisation and traditional fiddle music, they create an inspired musical experience.
Jorane (QC) Saturday, Peter Clark Hall 10:15pm www.jorane.com Categorizing Jorane’s music is not an easy task. This artist cannot be put in any usual genre classification because she performs a type of music that is truly original, complemented on one hand by her deep vibrating voice and on the other by the soulful strings of her cello. What is important, is the combination of that voice and of that instrument. The Dope Poet Society (ON) Saturday, Peter Clark Hall 10:50pm www.justusleaguerecords.com The Dope Poet Society is one of the most consistent and compelling groups ever to emerge from Toronto’s underground hip hop scene. Their music is characterized by intelligent and witty lyrics, set to innovative headnodding beats. Lead vocalist, Professor D, is the ultimate MC; able to grab any mic, anywhere and rock any crowd over any beat, spitting from his seemingly unlimited arsenal of lyrics, or just freestyling on any given topic. DJ Spinister rounds out the duo crew by cutting, scratching and mixing self produced bangers, classic and current hits; this is the way hip hop is meant to be.
Justin Rutledge (ON) Saturday, Room 103 8:15pm www.justinrutledge.com Justin Rutledge fuses traditional country arrangements and instrumentation with a more modern stylistic and lyrical approach to songs. It’s George Jones meets Gillian Welch with a little bit of Leonard Cohen thrown in for good measure.
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SATURDAY Hunnay! (ON) Saturday, Room 103 8:50pm Chronicling, in song, the follies, foibles and fallibilities of ourselves and those around us. We tell it in ballad, in pop, in folk with earthy vibe and trademark harmonies. Because we must. We met on the set of an “X” band rehearsal and quickly learned a bit about a thing or two. We came to feel that our separate styles made a unique blend. It was then time to go at it alone, together. So we stuck our necks out at a few popular venues and created a bit of a buzz, locally and away. Now we are working on a full length CD which we are recording ourselves with the help of varied fabulous heroes and villains picked up along the way. Andy Stochansky (ON) Saturday, Room 103 9:25pm www.andystochansky.com By some measures, Andy Stochansky is a pop music newcomer, but the fact of the matter is that Stochansky has been playing for almost his entire life and professionally for well over a decade in a variety of roles and formats. Five Star Motel, his third album, showcases a fullyformed and inventive talent, a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose wealth of experience has resulted in the distinctive creative voice of a true artist. Sandy Scofield (BC) Saturday, Room 103 10:00pm www.sandyscofield.com As a singer-songwriter, here is a complex person who, at one moment, can sing delicate, satiny pop creating a cracked and broke down scenario, and in another she can boldly harness robust rhythm, blues and rock. Like a transforming trickster, Sandy can use melody and beautiful harmonies to carry weighty messages. Her keen ear for original arrangements, her experience articulated in powerful lyrics, and her beautiful vocal instrument combine to form a growing body of incisive musical works which touch contemporary audiences of all cultures. Swing (ON) Saturday, Room 103 10:35pm www.legroupeswing.com Swing’s techno-trad music is sure to have you and yours tapping your toes. This duo holds an old style kitchen party with one foot firmly planted in the 21st century. Swinging, trippy, unbridled, combining the traditional with high tech, this young group is destined to tear the envelope regarding our preconceptions of what is folk music.
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Beyond the Pale (ON) Saturday, Room 103 11:10pm www.beyondthepale.com Rooted firmly in the spirit and forms of klezmer music, the group flirts with elements of other eastern-European folk styles (Romanian, Roma, Balkan) as well as modern and North American styles (bluegrass, reggae, funk) to forge a unique contemporary sound. Known both for inventive arrangements of traditional material and for compelling original compositions, their music has been described as “post-modern klezmer in all the best senses”
Showcase Alternates Old Reliable (AB) www.oldreliableband.com A fixture on the independent music and roots scene for ten years, Old Reliable has earned a name making gritty honest roots music combining the fire of rock and roll with the howl of bluegrass, and featuring lyrics that are unafraid to explore the darker themes of traditional country music.. Melwood Cutlery (ON) He has the ability to compose hummable tunes, drawing on his pop influences, using interesting chord changes while keeping the songs short and memorable. Now based in Toronto, Melwood Cutlery will be releasing a new CD this fall.
Stef Paquette (ON) www.stefpaquette.ca
Brooke Miller (PEI) www.brookemiller.ca
2004 OCFF CONFERENCE PANELISTS Ben Anderson is the president of the Great Waters Music Festival, a summer long concert series in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. He is the founder of both the Great Waters Folk Festival and the Wolfeboro Folk Concert Series. He is the former director of the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival in Nova Scotia. Matt Anderson is poised to make a BIG name for himself on the East Coast Music scene. Andersen’s freshness, musical might and his riveting stage presence have the ability to grab an audience by the shoulders and shake it to its delirious stomping feet. Sarah Anderson is a staff reporter for the Granite State News in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. She has worked as a freelance writer and a publicist. She has helped market a number of festivals and concerts including Club Passim, Great Waters Music Festival, and Wolfeboro Folk. Derek Andrews recently launched a freelance consulting office that straddles several popular music genres including jazz, blues, folk and world music.
Sam Baijal is the artistic director of the Hillside Community Festival, Guelph, ON (since 1998) and an entertainment programmer for UC Programming, University of Guelph. Sam promotes live music on campus and the local community via the University and Hillside. A member of the OCFF board of directors since 2003 and also the 2004 OCFF conference and showcase chair, music is the Sam’s biggest passion as it occupies most of his personal and professional life. Morna Ballantyne strives to strengthen and expand the connections between folk music and unions both in her personal life and through her work as director of national services at the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). She is a dedicated union activist whose passion for folk music arises from wanting the stories of working people’s lives and their struggles for social justice to be shared. Michel Benac - see Swing showcasing bio.
Erin Benjamin is the executive director of the OCFF, and board member of the Songwriters Association of Canada and Music and Film in Motion.
Denise Bolduc has a background in audio engineering and producing, theatrical technical design, event management and film/video post-production. She has worked with the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Aboriginal Music Project and Aboriginal Voices Radio. She was the Artistic Director for Planet IndigenUs, a 10-day, international, multidisciplinary arts festival held in August. Ken Brown is a veteran folk musician, maker of works of social significance who’s often guitar player of choice at traditional Irish sessions, producer of recordings, author of monkey stories, singer of old songs, writer of new ones... He has been composing since before he could play, and singing before that. Ken makes Guelph his home. Elise Chambers is a board member and the children’s area coordinator for the Home County Folk Festival.
Chris Chanter has been with Hillside Festival for all of its 21 years. She is currently on their Board of Directors and Artistic Committee. Bringing her background in massage therapy, craniosacral therapy, medical intuition and professional aromatherapy, Chris will offer tips on self-healing techniques, for on and off the road. Jack Cole is founder of Kitchener’s Old Chestnuts Song Circle and the Chequegnat Music Festival, and co-founder of the Grand River Folk Community. He is also a founding member of the Grand River Dulcimer Club and part of the trio GreenWood. He presents folk music concerts and workshops, and produces a monthly newsletter. Leslie Corkill Before joining the amazing administration of the Ottawa Folk Festival as the Volunteer Coordinator, Leslie was a Project Manager for High Risk Youth programs. She had started with The Anti-Poverty Project as a volunteer writer, creating a 1,000-page computer manual. She and other instructors used the manual as a teaching aid for the youth programs. Doug Cox has been working in the ‘roots’ music industry for over 20 years as a musician, producer, technician and media person. Currently the Artistic Director of the Vancouver Island Musicfest, a touring musician and owner of an Instructional DVD company called ‘learnrootsmusic.com’, Doug is a strong believer in community-based music and events. Richard Davis - Drafted by the Canada Council for the Arts in 2001, following ten years - and a couple of trades - in the majors (Edmonton Folk Festival, Harbourfront Centre, Massey Hall), Richard ‘referees’ the Music Section’s touring, festival and career development programs. Resident in Ottawa , but raised in Edmonton , Richard has no time for inter-city rivalries... except at playoff time when his blood runs cold with hatred for the Leafs.
Arlene Bishop is a singer songwriter with a deserved reputation as an engaging performer whose passion and offbeat sense of humour can easily transform a polite audience into instant fans.
Val Denn runs a booking agency in Texas and Nova Scotia representing Tom Russell, Jimmy LaFave, Eliza Gilkyson, Butch Hancock, Kimmie Rhodes, Kevin Welch, Shake Russell, Ray Bonneville, Sarah Lee Guthrie, Johnny Irion and the “Ribbon of Highway~ Endless Skyway, Music in the Spirit of Woody Guthrie” tour.
Don Bird - Former long-time artistic director of Summerfolk, Don continues his work producing the 7th Annual Celtic Festival in his hometown of Owen Sound. His reputation as a cuttingedge presenter and trendsetter make every festival he books a success, and his knack for being the first to present the ‘next-bigthing’ is legendary!
Stephen Didunyk has been working as a Field Representative with SOCAN’s Licensing department since 1998. His territory includes Toronto’s bar district and parts of Northern Ontario. Steve meets regularly with owners of clubs, restaurants, banquet halls and other businesses that use music to explain SOCAN’s various licence fees and ensure that their licensing requirements are met. 13
Michel Dozois came from Montreal to the National Arts Centre in the early eighties, serving first as a Technical Director, then as a Producer. Now the Producer of the Community Programming Department, he is responsible for all performing arts activities at the Fourth Stage, the NAC’s newest venue.
Janet Johnson works with the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival.
Dale Driver is the artistic director of the Blues Skies festival in Clarendon, Ontario. Shannon Johnson - see McDades’ showcasing bio’s.
Yann Falquet is a member of the group Genticorum and plays with several other Quebec based bands.
Aengus Finnan A recipient of the New Folk Songwriting Award at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, Aengus coordinates “Art Beat” (a community outreach initiative for the OCFF), is Creative Director of the Shelter Valley Folk Festival, and is currently living in Inuvik (NWT) leading a music program and developing Arts Curriculum.
Sheri Jones has developed an impressive profile and track record within the industry as a talented and insightful artist manager and a tireless industry builder. She currently manages the careers of Gordie Sampson, Mary Jane Lamond, Shaye and Joel Plaskett. Over and above her direct involvement with the artists she represents, Sheri has given her time and shared her lessons learned with hundreds of industry newcomers both directly and as a board member for ECMA, FACTOR and CARAS. Jorane - see showcasing artist bio’s.
Richard Flohil is a veteran music industry publicist, writer, editor and occasional club promoter who has worked with a wonderfully-varied who’s-who of artists, in an attempt to make them better known than they are. He’s worked on folk, blues, world music, country and pop festivals. He can’t sing, dance, or play an instrument, but he did once write one third of a song with Bobby Watt. Randi Fratkin is the Artistic Director of the Mariposa Folk Festival, the Vice President of the North American Folk Alliance, and a two-term retiring OCFF board member. When not practising Pediatric Dentistry, listening to showcase applications, or taking photographs, she can be found trying to wear out her 2nd iPod. Doug Gibson has been hosting and producing a weekly live to air folk music radio program “Songs From The Wood” in Waterloo Region for over 17 years, initially with CKWR and now with the new 98.5 Your FM. In studio concerts, special guests and concert/ festival promotion are key elements of the show. Oskar Graf, Luthier, and founding member of the Blue Skies Festival is living in the hills of Eastern Ontario and sharing his land with the festival. As an organizer he has been involved in most aspects of running the festival, lately his interests have been festival site work, music programming, and “Blue Skies in the Community”. Lori Guest has been involved with campus based community radio since 1987 taking on many roles. Currently she is the Music Programming Coordinator at CFRU FM in Guelph Ontario, the Secretary for the National Campus/Community Radio Association and the host of the long running weekly show, A Madwomans Underclothes, on CFRU. Heather Hansgen is the producer of the Stewart Park Festival. She works for the Downtown Perth BIA coordinating a variety of special events, beautification projects and marketing initiatives all in conjunction with volunteers. She is regularly impressed by the passion and dedication of the volunteers in her community and credits much of the richness and supportiveness in our modern world to volunteer efforts. Rachel Hauraney is a talented journalist and award-winning short story author. She has worked with the Ottawa Folk Festival as a volunteer since 1994. She and her father co-host the Saturday morning radio show Wake the Folk Up on CKCU 93.1 FM. Rachel has recently turned to filmmaking and promotion. She is currently producing a short film featuring Ottawa musicians.
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Kevin Kane’s songs, voice, and guitar playing are very familiar to any Canadian as his band The Grapes of Wrath were one of the country’s biggest. Excited for what’s to come, Kevin is working on new material for a solo album, which will no doubt capture the attention of fans and music lovers alike. Heather Kelly is an award-winning marketing professional with 10 years experience. She has developed successful communications campaigns for over 200 events, including music, film and cultural festivals, concerts, dance and theatre performances, visual art exhibitions, launches, seminars, lectures, and conferences. Dan Kershaw brings a wealth of experience to his role as SOCAN Member Services Relationship Manager, including 6 years in the concert business as a production coordinator at Massey Hall & Roy Thomson Hall, and a further 3 years as music programming assistant at Harbourfront Centre. Member outreach and public speaking on behalf of SOCAN are special aspects of his job, aspects which keep him out and about at shows, seminars, and industry events. In addition, Dan writes and performs with the Juno-nominated alt-country group The Brothers Cosmoline, and was a 2002 winner of the Songs from the Heart songwriting competition. Amos Key Jr. is Director of the First Nation Language Department at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford. His many achievements include co-founding a community radio station at Six Nations as a medium for Aboriginal language transmission. He chairs the Canadian Aboriginal Festival Pow Wow and the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. Paulette Kirkey is the president of the Mariposa Folk Foundation. She spent many years in information systems followed by a 15-year career in not-for-profit administration as Manager, Member & Chapter Relations for a prestigious professional association. She has been a director of the Mariposa Folk Foundation since 2000 and president since 2001. Originally from Temiskaming, she has strong ties to French-Canadian culture and is a fan of Celtic music, dance and folklore, sings Sean-Nos in Irish - yet hasn’t sung a note outside the shower since joining the Mariposa board.
Robert Lang is the president of Kensington Communications Inc. A producer of high-quality, award-winning television programming including 2002’s “The Sacred Balance” hosted by David Suzuki, Kensington Communications previous projects include “One Warm Line” (1990) exploring the life and music of Stan Rogers, “Mariposa: Under A Stormy Sky” (1993) and “Life and Times of Bruce Cockburn” (2001). Bob Lanois - A founder of Hamilton’s legendary Grant Ave. studio, Bob has engineered the recording of much great Canadian music. In addition to his time behind the mixing board, Bob has used his Hi-8 camera to document some extraordinary moments of musical creation. His ‘home movies’ of Emmylou Harris’s collaboration with Daniel Lanois became “Building the Wrecking Ball”, which in turn led to an invitation to film the first “Concerts for a Landmine Free World” tour in 1999. David Leask is a performing songwriter originating from Edinburgh, Scotland and now based in Toronto, Canada. Since emigrating 12 years ago, David has been building a spiritual and artistic bridge between the powerful influences of his birthplace and the fresh possibilities of his new home. Leask’s music is able to explore the diverse landscapes of human emotion while combining the story-telling tradition of his homeland in his own brand of Celtic pop/country/roots music. Larry LeBlanc - Journalist, broadcaster and researcher Larry LeBlanc has been a leading figure in Canadian music for three decades. He co-founded the Canadian music trade magazine The Record and has served as Canadian editor for the U.S. trade magazine Billboard since 1991. This lifelong music aficionado was the associate producer of the 1996 four-CD box Oh What A Feeling, a comprehensive retrospective of Canadian music, which sold an unprecedented 250,000 copies in seven weeks. Tony Leighton was a magazine journalist in the late 1970s and early 1980s with publications such as Equinox, Harrowsmith, and Reader’s Digest. Since 1986, he has been writing for businesses and, more recently, doing pro bono work for non-profits and progressive political candidates in Guelph. Tony was a Hillside Festival board member in 1994 and 1995 then again in 2003 and 2004. Paul Loewenberg is the promoter for the Townehouse Tavern in Sudbury, Ontario and has booked the Northern Lights Festival Boreal for the last 5 years. He has been involved with presenting almost every manner of underground and roots music. Paul is also a musician of a wide range of genres and instruments and a consummate music collector. Michelle Lobkowicz has been involved with the Guelph Jazz Festival as a volunteer for about three years, and is currently sitting as president of its board of directors. She recently completed an MA in English at the University of Guelph and currently works for the independent academic publishing house Broadview Press. Jesse Lundy is the booking, publicity and production manager for Point Entertainment in Bryn Mawr, PA. In addition to booking The Point, PE produces several outdoor concert series as well as the Colonial Theatre. Lundy previously worked for Electric Factory Concerts (95-97), New Park Entertainment (97-01) and Jack Utsick Presents NE, Inc. (01-02).
Griff Luneburg has been the general manager and artistic director for the Cactus Café in Austin, Texas for over 24 years. The Cactus was the first local music venue to go entirely smokefree (in 1992) and the first Austin stage to host everyone from Daniel Johnston and Poi Dog Pondering to Ani DiFranco and Jason Mraz - and for many Austinites, their first and only choice for an intimate evening of live music. Currently Griff presents his shows in the 170 seat Cactus Cafe, The Union Theatre, and larger shows like Bruce Cockburn, and Lucinda Williams, and others in The Texas Union Ballroom. Peter MacDonald Motivated by a desire to see artists better supported in their skill, their art and their careers, Peter has been producing festivals, concerts and events of all sizes and shapes since 1996 and is the president of Nutshell Music Inc. He is on the curriculum advisory board of Algonquin College’s Event Management Program and has been a member of OCFF since 1997. Peter’s work is fuelled by his passion for live music. Robin MacIntyre books the Black Fly Folk Jam Club in Sault Ste. Marie, is an agent with an impressive roster of roots musicians, and is board member of the OCFF.
Rob Mackay is the General Manger of a beautiful performing arts facility in Guelph, called the River Run Centre. He also serves as the City’s Director of Culture. He is a graduate of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and has lived in Guelph for fifteen years. Ann MacKeigan is the producer of CBC’s award-winning radio program Global Village. She has been with the corporation for many years, working on various music programmes including This is Art, The Entertainers, Swinging on a Star and Sound Advice; she has also recorded numerous concerts for broadcast. Outside of the CBC she sits on both the Global and Roots and Traditional Committees of the Juno Awards, and is a frequent member of arts juries. Chris MacLean Singer/songwriter, musician and graphic designer. Chris MacLean centres her professional life around making and promoting music. A vocalist and multi-instrumentalist in the world music group, Galitcha, Chris also adds her bell-like voice, her poignant, sometimes provocative lyrics and spontaneous onstage humour to newly formed Frida’s Brow. She does graphics for both groups as well her solo projects and other clients. Bruce Madole writes songs that blend carefully crafted lyrics, a poetic gift and simple, roots-driven melodies. A long-time member of Canadian music industry organizations (SAC, CCMA), and a determined songwriters’ advocate, Bruce has also been a volunteer co-ordinator of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Toronto Regional Workshop since 1996. Magoo is a singer/songwriter, stage host and half of the award winning kid’s music duo Kirk and Magoo. He is a past president of the OCFF and has been a Blue Skies ‘Hat’ for the past 27 years. Over the past two years he has travelled to Northern Ontario and Labrador communities with ArtsCanCirlcle Doug McArthur is a long-time folk performer and co-chair of the OCFF board. He has been an Artistic Director for several festivals and involved in organizing the OCFF Youth Showcase. After several years in California and Southern Ontario, he is now living in the beautiful town of Wakefield, Québec.
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Grant McBride has been actively involved with Site Coordination for the Hillside Festival for 6 years. He continues to try and find ways to make the ‘Hillside experience’ better. Constantly seeking a balance between trying to achieve more with less, and a tendency to ‘pig out’ at the all-you-can-work buffet, he’s excited to be involved with the conference again, and looking forward to the learning and the sharing. Karen McBride is the volunteer coordinator of the Hillside Festival and is looking forward to returning to the Woodford Folk Festival in Australia to learn more about this important festival role! She is perhaps the only panelist with the OCFF logo tattooed on her body. Brad McEwen has been performing traditional folk music for over twenty years, mainly with the band Nonesuch. He is also the Artistic Director and founder of the Mill Race Festival of Traditional Folk Music in Cambridge, ON. He is a co-founder of the Grand River Folk Community. Arthur McGregor, owner and founder of the Ottawa Folklore Centre, has been advising folks for years about the purchase and care of wooden stringed instruments. He’s a member of the Board of OCFF, edits FolkPrints and every year, opens the Ottawa Folk Festival with his ragtime arrangement of OH CANADA!
Jory Nash is a contemporary folk artist who blends elements of roots, jazz, blues & R & B into a warm stew of welcoming sound. He is also an assistant director of an overnight children’s summer camp, plus he’s a Gemini and damn proud of it. Sebastien Nasra studied law, administration and music. In 1994 he officially founded Avalanche Productions, specialized in artistic career development through management and publishing as well as production. Based in Quebec, he now takes care of the careers of Jorane, Projet Orange and Colectivo. He was also noticed as the manager of The Soul Attorneys, Les Respectables, Sylvie Paquette and One Ton. David Newland is a citizen of the world, but Canadian at heart. Born in Ottawa and shaped by the winds of Parry Sound. Aged by the Indian sun and wizened through the shepherding of 300,000 seedlings, David Newland is a young man with an old man’s sense of this world.
Shelley McIntyre is born of stage, radio, and digital media. She did time at RealNetworks, evangelizing technology to the media and entertainment industries. Now she works with artists, labels, and aggregators to get Weed files distributed online. Even though Shelley left Canada long ago, she still loves you very much.
Marilyn Oldfield is a retired R.N. who has owned and operated a small resort in Pefferlaw for the last 20 years. While working in her chosen field of Lond Term Care nursing, she recognized a desperate need for leisure-time facilities for people of varying abilities and decided to do something about it. Her motto became “Do It” - and she did. Marilyn has been the President of the Eaglewood Folk Festival board for several years.
Lewis Melville is a Guelph, Ontario, composer, producer, and recording artist. He began performing professionally in 1968, and is a veteran of the alternative Canadian music scene. Whilst pursuing a career as a Canadian roots musician, Lewis has maintained a keen interest in experimental music since the early seventies.
Oni, the Haitian Sensation is a determined member of the international poetry community. Oni was part of the first Ottawa team to compete at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago, she performed at the Austin International Poetry Festival, the Ottawa Folk Festival, and she was part of the Canadian Wordlympics European tour.
Scott Merritt is widely respected for his brilliant work as a composer, performer and recording artist, as well as for his acclaimed producing and engineering work at his Guelph-based studio, The Cottage. Among the many artists Scott has recorded are Ian Tamblyn, Grievous Angels, Meg Lunney, Garnet Rogers, Stephen Fearing and Fred Eaglesmith.
Blair Packham - As lead singer with the Juno nominated group The Jitters, Blair is best known for penning the hits “Last of the Red Hot Fools”, “Closer Every Day”, “The Bridge Is Burning” and “‘Til the Fever Breaks”. He continues to record and tour as a solo artist while composing music for film and television. Blair is the Toronto producer of the popular Bluebird North concert series.
Lynn Miles is compared to the likes of Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams and Joni Mitchell, Lynn Miles is considered one of Canada’s finest singers/songwriters. Her latest record Unravel is brilliant and beautiful with a plaintive singing style and tuneful stories about heartache, longing and fulfillment. Trevor Mills Besides being a well-respected songwriter and community builder, Trevor Mills is a web designer and programmer experienced in building interactive, dynamic and user-friendly websites. His handy gig calendar solution is used on many musicians’ websites. He spent most of the summer moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Lyndell Montgomery is the electric violinist and bass player with Ember Swift, a project she has worked with since 1996. She is also a cooperative member of the label that releases Ember Swift material, “Few’ll Ignite Sound.” For over six years, Lyndell was the booker and tour manager for the Ember Swift project and guided the band through Canada and the US on countless tours, to Australia five different times and averaged 200 shows per year. She continues to work with the Ember Swift project, which is now booked through a professional booking agency. Lyndell offers unique insights as a collaborator and a believer in the indie / DIY ethic.
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Mark Moss has served as the Executive Director of The Sing Out Corporation and Editor of Sing Out! Magazine for the past 19-½ years. Sing Out! is the oldest continuously published folk music magazine, now in its 53nd year. He is a board member of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance.
Roch Parisien produces and programs the Folk/Roots Channel for the Galaxie Network of the CBC – 45 digital music channels distributed to over 4 million Canadian subscribers via satellite and digital cable – and serves as a representative for Galaxie’s Rising Stars Program, which contributes funds to help develop new Canadian talent. Through his consulting company Rocon Communications, Roch is also an award-winning music critic, consultant, and archivist. Jenn Pidgeon is in her fourth year as Spoken Word Coordinator for the Hillside Festival in Guelph. Described as a “walking lexicon”, she organizes and performs at spoken word and musical events all over the region, and aspires to contribute to the world in a positive way. Gilles Pitre is a dynamic traditional Québécois stepdancer, dance caller and percussionist and Director of popular trad music festival Mémoire et Racines in Joliette, Québec. For ten years he also managed and booked the highly successful Québec groups Anonymous and Strada. He has appeared and called in dance halls and on stages across Canada, the US and in Europe and continues to teach and perform on a regular basis.
Mitch Podolak was born in Toronto where, as a youth, he learned to play the five-string banjo while hanging around and occasionally working at folk clubs, particularly the Bohemian Embassy. He now lives with his family in Winnipeg and is an avid fan of the Toronto Blue Jays, G.F. Handel and Texas BBQ.
Andy Spence is the founder and executive director of Old Songs, Inc. a not-for-profit educational corporation dedicated to preserving folk and traditional music through presenting concerts, dances, festivals, group instruction in acoustic instruments. She is also the Director of the 24 yr. old Old Songs.
Ron Robert is the Program Director of the Canadian Aboriginal Festival, which he co-founded with his wife, Catherine Cornelius. He has extensive experience as a broadcaster, a former advisor to Pierre Trudeau, and a senior government communications executive. A Métis of Mohawk and French descent, Ron delivers the Aboriginal Teaching Circle Program to thousands of students each year.
Bill Spence is a musician and photographer. Now retired from State University of NY at Albany, Bill has continued to be the hammered dulcimer guru of his generation. His first recording “The Hammered Dulcimer” in 1973 inspired hundreds of new players. His support of Old Songs, Inc. and the Old Songs Festival includes computer graphics and photography as well as master of ceremonies.
Eleanor Robinson is cofounder of the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival and Celtic College and Celtic Kids Day Camp. She is actively involved in playing and directing music, theatre and giving organizational seminars. Eleanor has extensive Jazz Choir background and has run Commingle’s Coffee House and is developing an international DVD.
Phyllis Stenson has been the Artistic Director of the ten day Harrison Festival for over twenty years. The summer festival has successfully presented culturally diverse programming since its inception in the small resort village of Harrison Hot Springs., BC. She is a founder of WRAD (Western Artistic Directors of Roots Music Festivals) and is passionate about community development and social issues.
Warren Robinson is Artistic Director and cofounder of the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival and Celtic College. He was a board member of OCFF, and North American Folk Alliance, and a judge for Junos and BBC Scotland. He is a published playwright. Warren does outreach activities with youth in music and drama. Jack Schuller began his life in the music business in 1975 when he and a friend launched Black Swan Records, an eclectic jazz record store. Six years of travel, work in the forest industry and outdoor education followed. Jack came back to the music industry in 1983 to develop a music distribution business for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society. After 10 years with the festival, Jack bought the company and formed Festival Distribution Inc. The label has received two JUNO nominations and one award for Alpha Yaya Diallo’s 2001 release “The Journey”. In 1999,Jack and management accountant, Gerald Ragomir formed Mainstage Management Inc., an artist management company with James Keelaghan as the first client. In 2002 Jack was elected to the board of directors of the North American Folk Alliance and in 2004 was elected president of the Folk Alliance Canada board.
Carolyn Stewart has performed and promoted music for about 30 years. She has played with Daisy Debolt, nightsun, Magoo among others. She directs and arranges music for three different fiddle orchestras, including The Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra. She is also the chair of the Blue Skies in the Community committee. Carolyn Sutherland is the Artistic Director of the Stewart Park Festival in Perth. She is retiring this year as a long-time board member of the OCFF. A singer and player, she has performed and recorded with the a cappella group, The Latest Rumour. Ember Swift is a singer-songwriter and band leader of a successful trio (by the same name) that has released 8 albums through her own indie label “Few’ll Ignite Sound” and has toured extensively across Canada, the US and Australia, averaging 200 shows per year. Ember offers a unique insight into the world of “DIY” indie ethics linking arms with professional help — especially without relinquishing artistic or political integrity. Independent by identity, not default.
Nancy Simmonds has most recently co-produced a new Colleen Peterson CD with David Bradstreet called Postcards From California, a collection of songs written and recorded in her studio in California with Colleen and other Canadian writers Alannah Myles, Christopher Ward, Robert Priest and Cyril Rawson. She is also a member of the group The Geezers along with David Bradstreet, Doug McArthur, Brent Titcomb and David Woodhead.
Gene Swimmer has been the volunteer Executive Director of the Ottawa Folk Festival since 1995. He is active in the festival industry, as an executive board member of both the Ottawa Festival Network and Folk Alliance Canada. For the past two years, he has served on showcase selection committees for the NERFA conference.
Dugg Simpson, artistic director of the Vancouver Folk Festival, has been involved with folk festivals, concerts and recordings for about 30 years. His love of music and faith in the power and creativity of communities has increased over that time in direct proportion to his skepticism about the growing corporatization of all of the above.
Ian Tamblyn has been a musician, songwriter, playwright and producer for many years. He has recorded several albums and countless soundtracks for theater and film. In recent years, Ian has had a close association with adventure travel and scientific expeditions. These travels have taken him from the icebergs of Greenland to the underwater world of Antarctica.
Alex Sinclair is a singer, a songwriter, a veteran sojourner on the folk highways of North America and Europe. He is a longtime member of the bands Tamarack and Heartwood, is responsible for either recording or producing far too many of the CDs that clog Canadian folk shelves, has helped organize the Songs From the Heart contest for the past 5 years, and is retiring from the OCFF board to concentrate on his record and book publishing conglomerate.
Jowi Taylor is host of Global Village on CBC Radio and creator/ producer of Six String Nation – a cross Canada music project for television, radio, the web and more. Starting in January, he’ll host a CBC Radio series called The Wire, tracing the relationship between music and electricity. He is a founder of the Toronto Media Festivals Network and works on community initiatives in film, media and music as a volunteer and through his company Bright Eyed Inevitable. And be sure to ask him about the brewery some time.
Deb Slade is the Managing Director for the Centre for the Arts, Brock University where she is responsible for the day-to-day activities of two venues, including the administration, development and promotion of the Centre. The Centre for the Arts stages over 350 events per year. Of these, the Centre for the Arts presents 55 events encompassing pop, world music, Celtic, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, classical; contemporary and classical dance; live theatre and family entertainment.
Rachel Thompson is the Hillside Festival’s Manager. Rachel’s experiences include six years with the Fergus Scottish Festival, and as a volunteer with the 2000 International Plowing Match and the 1996 Olympic Games. Rachel was on the board of the provincial organization Festivals and Events Ontario and has her certificate in Event Management, George Brown College.
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Gerri Trimble is a program officer with the Music Section of the Canada Council for the Arts. Her responsibilities include sound recording and Aboriginal music initiatives. Sylvia Tyson - Among her many diverse undertakings are a book about song writers which she co-authored, published by Pulp Press; she has conducted song writing workshops in several penitentiaries; served on boards of professional organizations - CARAS, SAC, FACTOR; has been a member of the Working Group on Canadian Content and Culture for the Canadian Government. In 1992 she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, in 1995 Canada acknowledged her great gifts, bestowing on her the Order of Canada. Mark Watts - As General Manager of FACTOR, Mark oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization. Over the past twelve years, Mark has held various positions within FACTOR. Kate Weekes... well, she’s eager to get her butt back north as she is slowly (but surely) going insane living an urban lifestlye filled with FAR too many comforts for comfort. However, you’ll be glad to hear that she’s caught up on her sleep and is well nourished. Feel free to invite her on an adventure. p.s. she writes good songs.
Ken Whiteley A multinstrumentalist, songwriter and record producer, he has received a Genie Award, 6 Juno nominations, Blues Album of the Year award and a Children’s Music Web Award. He performs blues, gospel, swing and folk as a solo artist, with his brother Chris as the Whiteley Brothers and with old friends, Mose Scarlett & Jackie Washington. He is the Canadian Vice President of Local 1000 of the A.F. of M. Lisa Whytock is a founding director of Active Events, an agency that was established in 1990. The agency works internationally and represents Artists such as Bob Geldof, Salsa Celtica and Dochas. Based in Scotland Active also run Showcase Scotland on behalf of Celtic Connections and the event sponsors. Showcase invites 185 international industry delegates to Scotland in January and showcases over 60 Scottish artists in 9 venues over 4 days. Michael ”A Man Called” Wrycraft is a graphic designer with 1 Juno award, 5 Juno and 2 American Independent Music Award nominations. Having recently designed all star tribute albums to both Gordon Lightfoot and Johnny Cash, as well as Lightfoot’s latest, “Harmony”, Michael’s riding a career high and his list of clients is a who’s who of North American Roots Music.
NEW MEMBERS - FALL 2004 Dave Balfour ........................ Perth ON Sing Out! ..................... Bethlehem PA Gord Magrill .................... Toronto ON Mark Neveu .................. Dunnville ON Judith Hayman .............. Hamilton ON Christine Butchart .................. Erin ON Christian Patterson ........... Ottawa ON Sue Johnson .................... Ottawa ON Gerry Leblanc .................. Toronto ON Christopher Dunn . .Vermillion Bay ON Tiiu Millistver .................... Guelph ON Margaret Almack ........... Pefferlaw ON Deborah Corner .............. Toronto ON Jo-Anne Bergeron ........... Toronto ON Mark Crampsie .............. Windsor ON Teresa Healy ................... Ottawa ON Jay Linden ................. Cambridge ON Dave Jones .................. Kitchener ON Johnny Eden .................... Ottawa ON Craig Bjerring ............... Winnipeg MB Marsha Hartling ............... Toronto ON Dale Nikkel .................... Winnipeg MB Loyd Artists .................... Asheville NC Edward Johnson Music Foundation ....................... Guelph ON Kirsten Jones ................... Toronto ON Garry Jackson ........... Newmarket ON Steve Tennant ...................... Perth ON
Wes Knight ....................... Guelph ON Nancy Dutra ..................... Toronto ON Steve Singh ..................... Toronto ON Rachel Jagt .................. Burlington ON Bill Houston ............. Thunder Bay ON Heather Kelday ............... Wolfville NS Dickson Reid ................. Palgrave ON Dennis Brown .................. Toronto ON Russell Leon .................... Toronto ON Eugene Cornacchia ...... Kingston ON Tracie Morgan ............... Kingston ON Doug Barr ............................ Perth ON Gary Cristall ................ Vancouver BC Joshua Morin ................... Ottawa ON Sue Richards ................... Guelph ON Marc Beland ..................... Ottawa ON Mike Petkau ..................Winnipeg MB John Horrocks ................. Rigaud QC CFRU-FM (93.3) ............. Guelph ON Shannon Johnson ....... Edmonton AB Michael Luce ................... London ON Darlene Baldwin ................ Barrie ON Guy Stefan ....................... Guelph ON Terry Young ................. Whitevale ON Louis Simao ................ Brampton ON Kate O’Neill ...................... Ottawa ON Folkway Music ................. Guelph ON Heather Houston .............. Ottawa ON
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NEW FOLK NORTH Brand new songs exciting emerging performers and a killer house band
New Folk North returns for its second year at OCFF with an event showcasing NEW songs written on the theme The Farm . Alise Marlane Gary Rasberry Steve Schellenberg Russell Scott Ian Sherwood Sirens and Terry Young are the performers and Jason Fowler, Anne Lindsay and David Woodhead are the house band. Special guests as well! Produced by Tony Turner and Trevor Mills, with help from The New Foundation and SAC.
2004 OCFF Conference Schedule Thursday, October 14th CFRU Live Broadcast
3:00 4:00pm Dial up 93.3fm or tune in via the web at www.cfru.ca With hosts James Gordon and Ken Brown.
RON SEXSMITH in Concert at the OCFF Conference Kick-Off Party 7:30pm River Run Centre, 35 Woolwich Street
The OCFF is proud to present a gala concert featuring Ron Sexsmith and Taima. Taima will be performing first, with Ron Sexsmith appearing after the intermission. The concert will be followed with a licensed reception in the Canada Company Hall with snacks and live entertainment. Your concert ticket includes admission to this reception. Tickets for the evening are available to the general public. Tickets are $20.00 and available from the River Run Centre, www.riverrun.guelph.on.ca
Friday, October 15th 10:30am Registration Opens University Centre Lobby Children s Performer Showcase The Funky Mamas
1:30 – 2:45pm UC Room 103 Family areas and children s performers are an integral part of current reality and future fabric of festivals. Experience this performance from a kid s perspective as you join the local daycare squad for this upbeat show!
The Ideal Folk Festival Dugg Simpson (host), Ken Whiteley, Lynn Miles, Mitch Podolak, Morna Ballantyne, Ben Anderson
1:30 2:45pm UC Peter Clark Hall A Wing Festivals are a unique and fascinating artistic and social phenomenon. What are the elements that can make a festival truly special?
How To Connect With the Media Jesse Lundy (host), Mark Moss, Heather Kelly, Larry LeBlanc, Sarah Anderson 1:30 2:45pm UC Peter Clark Hall B Wing Useful strategies for obtaining the coverage you need by providing media people with the stories they need.
First Timers Reality Check Part 1 Alex Sinclair, Jory Nash, Rachel Hauraney 1:30 2:45pm UC Room 441 A special session to help new delegates get the most value out of their conference experience.
Indie and Happy Ian Tamblyn (host), Ember Swift, Lyndell Montgomery 1:30 2:45pm UC Room 442 Case studies of the pros and cons of going it alone.
Folk/Roots Radio in the Community Lori Guest (host), Doug Gibson, Amos Key, Roch Parisien, Rachel Hauraney, Ann MacKeigan, Jowi Taylor 3:00 p.m. 4:15 pm UC Peter Clark Hall A Wing An exploration of the important role of radio as an active participant in strengthening communities and building awareness of artists and events.
A Day in the Life of an Artistic Director
Randi Fratkin (host), Don Bird, Carolyn Sutherland, Ben Anderson, Gilles Pitre, Phyllis Stenson 3:00 4:15pm UC Peter Clark Hall B Wing A look at the world from the perspective of artistic directors, and a discussion of their interactions with performers and others.
Songwriting Contests: Opportunity or Exploitation?
Alex Sinclair (host), Gene Swimmer, Ian Tamblyn, Bruce Madole 3:00 4:15pm Room 441
An examination of the logistics, benefits and potential flaws of situations where songwriters are in competition with one another.
Artist Management 101
Sheri Jones 3:00 4:15pm Room 444 An introductory discussion of the role of an artist manager and the advantages and disadvantages of working with a manager.
Folk/Roots Radio in the Community Lori Guest (host), Doug Gibson, Amos Key, Roch Parisien, Rachel Hauraney, Ann MacKeigan, Jowi Taylor 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 pm UC Peter Clark Hall A Wing An exploration of the important role of radio as an active participant in strengthening communities and building awareness of artists and events.
To Schmooze or Not to Schmooze
Richard Flohil (host), Val Denn, Jesse Lundy 4:30 5:45pm UC Peter Clark Hall A Wing Discuss various methods for making positive connections with others in the music world.
Non-Musical Activities at Festivals
Magoo (host), Jenn Pidgeon, Chris MacLean, Oni the Haitian Sensation 4:30 5:45pm UC Peter Clark Hall B Wing Enrich your festival with elements such as dancing, drumming, spoken word, environmental workshops, craft activities and more.
Recruiting, Recognizing and Retaining Volunteers
Karen McBride (host), Mitch Podolak, Leslie Corkill, Heather Hansgen 4:30 5:45pm Room 441 These three R s of volunteer management are crucial to the success of any festival or concert series.
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Performance Tips and Techniques
Lynn Miles (host), Ember Swift, Lyndell Montgomery 4:30 5:45pm Room 442 Demonstrations and feedback on ways to make your performance more powerful and more satisfying.
Youth Showcases
4:30 7:30pm Courtyard
Exhibit Hall
4:30 7:30pm Courtyard
Drop Boxes
4:30 7:30pm Room 334
SOCAN Reception
6:00 7:30pm Peter Clark Hall Centre
Official Showcases 7:45 11:00pm Room 103
Official Showcases
8:00 11:00pm Peter Clark Hall Centre
Music and Film in Motion (MFM) Reception and Showcase 11:00pm 2:00am Brass Taps
New Folk North Farm Songs 11:00 1:00am Room 103 Organized by Tony Turner and Trevor Mills.
Quebec Square Dance
11:00 12:00am Peter Clark Hall Centre Featuring Genticorum with caller Gilles Pitre. Everyone is welcome!
The Grass Is Bluer Bluegrass Showcase
11:00pm Ramada Inn, Suite 349
8:30am Registration Opens Palladium Lobby The 2nd annual PENGUIN EGGS Breakfast
8:30 9:30am Peter Clark Hall Centre Penguin Eggs, Canada s folk, roots and world music magazine plays a vital role in publicizing and strengthening the vibrant folk scene we belong to. Enjoy a complimentary breakfast in honour of this fine publication, and meet Roddy Campbell who makes it all happen. Delegate badge required.
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SATURDAY, October 16th OCFF Annual General Meeting - Board of Directors, OCFF
9:30 10:30am Peter Clark Hall Centre Stay informed and up to date on your organization.
A Day in the Life of a Touring Musician
Lynn Miles (host), Blair Packham, Doug Cox, Yann Falquet 10:45 11:45am Room 103 Tales from the road... and practical advice for how to enjoy the ride.
Music Downloading and Sharing
Larry LeBlanc (host), Paul Loewenberg, Shelley McIntyre 10:45 11:45am Peter Clark Hall A Wing Opportunity or threat? Share your views on the financial and property rights issues.
Keeping Traditions Alive Lisa Whytock (host), Brad McEwen, Eleanor Robinson, Gilles Pitre, Amos Key, Morna Ballantyne 10:45 11:45am Peter Clark Hall B Wing How artists and presenters can work together to preserve and celebrate musical styles and traditions.
First-Timers Reality Check Part 2
Alex Sinclair, Jory Nash, Kate Weekes 10:45 11:45am Room 430 A special session to help new delegates get the most value out of their conference experience.
Websites 101
David Newland, Trevor Mills 10:45 11:45am Room 441 Getting started: how to get a website up and running, how to use photos and video, how to make a newsletter list and more!
Financial Issues for Organizations
Gene Swimmer (host), Elise Chambers, Sam Baijal, Stephen Didunyk 10:45 11:45am Room 442 Topics include financial safeguards,
CCRA tax withholding requirements for non-Canadian performers, auditing procedures, liability insurance and GST requirements for organizations.
Special Interest Group: Volunteer Coordinators
Karen McBride (host) 10:45 11:45am Room 335 An informal discussion forum for people who organize volunteers in an organization.
Youth Showcases
10:45 4:30pm Courtyard
Exhibit Hall
10:45 4:30pm Courtyard
Drop Boxes
10:45 4:30pm Room 334
Holistic Workshop: Grounding and Centering
Chris Chanter 11:00 11:30am Room 429 Learn simple, effective methods to manage stress and increase creativity.
Lunch On Your Own 11:45 12:30pm
Expanding and Diversifying Your Audience
Jenn Pidgeon (host), Phyllis Stenson, Oni the Haitian Sensation, Denise Bolduc, Michel Dozois, Michel Bénac 12:30 2:00pm Room 103 A discussion on how presenters can broaden the types of performances they offer and increase the diversity of audiences.
SOCAN Songs and Stories
Dan Kershaw (Host), David Leask, Matt Anderson, Kevin Kane, Jorane 12:30 2:00pm Peter Clark Hall Centre This popular acoustic songwriters session is back! SOCAN, The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, is proud to work on behalf of music creators and publishers around the world. In continued support of songwriters and their craft, we are also pleased to present SOCAN Songs & Stories . Don t miss this intimate and inspiring glimpse into the creative process and raw performance style of these skilled songwriters/performers.
Festival Ergonomics and Accessibility Doug McArthur (host), Marilyn Oldfield, Brad McEwen, Grant McBride 12:30 2:00pm Room 429 Making events human-friendly.
Festival Infrastructure: Board, AD, Staff and Volunteers Oskar Graf (host), Warren Robinson, Rachel Thompson, Paulette Kirkey 12:30 2:00pm Room 430 Strong festival organizations are vital to the health of the music industry. Explore a range of techniques for keeping your festival functioning effectively.
Telling Your Story Online David Newland
12:30 2:00pm Room 441 What to do with your website once it s built, and how to build an audience once you ve got your bio, contacts, concert calendar and clips online.
A Day in the Life of an Artist Manager Jack Schuller (host), Sheri Jones, Sebastien Nasra 12:30 2:00pm Room 442 The challenges and rewards of working as an artist manager.
Special Interest Group: Children s Area Coordinators
Elise Chambers (host) 12:30 2:00pm Room 335 An informal discussion forum for people who set up environments and activities for children and families at festivals.
Creating Performance Opportunities
Brad McEwen (host), Jack Cole, Deb Slade, Val Denn, Michel Dozois 2:15 3:15pm Room 103 How to use regional networks and collaborative thinking to increase the number of available performances and events.
Crossing Borders
Ben Anderson (host), Andy Spence, Bill Spence, Ken Whiteley, Lisa Whytock 2:15 3:15pm Peter Clarke Hall A Wing Practical guidance on performing in the U.S. and other countries.
Making A Musical Living
Jory Nash (host), Sheri Jones, Jack Schuller, Doug Cox, Arthur McGregor 2:15 3:15pm Peter Clarke Hall B Wing Diversification strategies to improve your chances of making ends meet while pursuing your goals as a musician, manager, agent etc.
Special Interest Group: Recording Techniques
Lewis Melville (host), Scott Merritt, Nancy Simmonds 2:15 3:15pm Room 429 A practical discussion of different approaches you can take to making good recordings.
Concert Presenting 101
Robin MacIntyre (host), Rachel Hauraney 2:15 3:15pm Room 430 An introduction to the activities involved in running successful concerts.
Creative Community Partnerships
Phyllis Stenson (host), Kate Weekes, Dale Driver, Morna Ballantyne, Ron Robert, Tony Leighton, Aengus Finnan 2:15 3:15pm Room 441 Examples of innovative ways to build strong, healthy cultural events and organizations through community partnerships.
Body and Soul: Staying Healthy on the Road Chris Chanter (host), Jorane 2:15 3:15pm Room 442 How to stay healthy and creative while traveling.
Special Interest Group: Sound and Stage Crews
Peter MacDonald (host) 2:15 3:15pm Room 335 An informal discussion forum for people who work (or would like to work) in the area of festival production, including stage management and sound system setup and operation.
« Hey Big Ears! » A Demo Evaluation
Sponsored by the Songwriters Association of Canada Blair Packham (host), Sam Baijal, Arlene Bishop, Michael Wrycraft 3:30 4:30pm Room 103 Bring your song on CD to be critiqued by an expert panel from the Songwriters Association of Canada.
Booking Agents 101
Val Denn (host), Griff Luneburg, Eliza Gilkyson 3:30 4:30pm Room 429 An introduction to the role of booking agents in connecting performers with presenters.
Legal and Tax Information for Performers
Ken Whiteley 3:30 4:30pm Room 430 Financial and legal advice on operating as a self-employed musician.
Performing in Schools Aengus Finnan (host), Ron Robert, Ian Tamblyn, Chris MacLean 3:30 4:30pm Room 441 A discussion of the challenges and rewards of performing in school environments, and a report on the ART Beat concerts and seminars given by conference delegates in several Guelph schools prior to the conference.
DO Look Back: Documenting The Folk Experience
Jowi Taylor (host), Robert Lang, Bob Lanois, Doug McArthur 3:30 - 4:30pm Room 442 The rewards and challenges of documenting live music for the screen. Three seasoned filmmakers and archivists discuss and present examples from their extraordinary body of work.
Special Interest Group: Folk DJ s Lori Guest (host) 3:30 4:30pm Room 335 An informal discussion forum for people who work in radio at the community, regional and national level.
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Gala Dinner
5:30 7:30pm Peter Clark Hall
Rising Star Songs From the Heart Award Presentations and Performances
Roch Parisien (host), Michelle Rasky, Darryn Grandbois, Michel Payment 7:30 8:15pm Peter Clark Hall
Official Showcases 8:15 11:00pm Room 103
Official Showcases
8:30 11:30pm Peter Clark Hall Centre
Manitoba Reception and Showcase 11:00pm 2:00am Brass Taps
SAC Reception and Showcase
11:00 1:00am Room 103
Toronto Blues Society Blues Showcase 11:00pm Ramada Inn, Suite 349
Sunday, October 17th The Third Annual Folk Feet 5km Fun Walk/Run
Erin Benjamin and friends (yes you!) 8:15 9:30am Ramada Inn Lobby (716 Gordon Street) Take a walk or jog with us around the beautiful University of Guelph Campus! No experience necessary prizes for the best bed head.
9:00am Registration Opens University Centre Lobby Mentoring Sessions
Sign up in advance for 10-minute one-on-one discussions with music industry professionals. Sign-up sheets posted outside Peter Clark Hall.
The History and Future of the OCFF Ken Brown (host), Magoo, Erin Benjamin 9:30 10:45am Room 103 Find out where we came from and where we re heading.
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Community Based Music Projects
Eleanor Robinson (host), Dugg Simpson, Doug Cox, Robin MacIntyre, Carolyn Stewart, Michel Bénac 9:30 10:45am Room 429 Strengthening your local community by involving them in your events.
Packaging Yourself
Chris MacLean 9:30 10:45am Room 430 Learn how to enhance your profile using a variety of design and packaging approaches.
An Overview of Funding Sources for Musicians
Derek Andrews (host), Dan Kershaw, Gerri Trimble, Richard Davis, Mark Watts 9:30 10:45am Room 442 Useful information about funding agencies and their programs, including FACTOR and the Canada Council for the Arts. This session will give a brief overview of the types of assistance available, along with ideas about where to look for further information.
Special Interest Group: Site Coordinators Grant McBride (host) 9:30 10:45am Room 335 An informal discussion forum for people who plan, construct and deconstruct festival sites.
Youth Showcases
9:30 12:00pm Courtyard
Exhibit Hall
9:30 12:00pm Courtyard
Drop Boxes
9:30 12:00pm Room 334
Holistic Workshop: Speaking From Your Heart
Chris Chanter (host) 10:00 10:30am Room 429 Practical techniques to enhance communication and unleash intuition.
An Interview with Sylvia Tyson
Sponsored by the Songwriters Association of Canada Richard Flohil (host), Sylvia Tyson 11:00 12:00pm Room 103 This year s Estelle Klein Award winner, a national treasure, in conversation with Richard Flohil.
Instrument Care and Repair
Arthur McGregor (host), Oskar Graf 11:00 12:00pm Room 429 Practical tips on keeping the tools of your trade in working order.
Encouraging Active Audience Participation Warren Robinson (host), Andy Spence, Bill Spence 11:00 12:00pm Room 430 A variety of ways to get people actively involved in your event.
The Guelph Scene: What Makes It Great
Sam Baijal (host), Rob Mackay, Michelle Lobkowicz, Janet Johnson, Scott Merritt 11:00 12:00pm Room 441 Guelph has a thriving, fascinating arts community. Panelists describe the special features that sustain the creativity and the commercial viability of this vibrant scene.
Special Interest Group: Concert Presenters
Robin MacIntyre (host) 11:00 12:00pm Room 335 An informal discussion forum for people who program (or would like to program) concerts.
Special Interest Group: Artistic Directors Carolyn Sutherland (host) 12:00 2:00pm Room 103 An informal discussion forum for festival programmers.
Wrap Party!
12:00 2:00pm Brass Taps Everyone is welcome to attend!
Thank You Shawna Cooper A huge thanks to the lovely and talented Shawna Cooper for designing the bag and t-shirt artwork and managing all the merch for this year’s conference!
Claire McLeish & Zach Stockill
Spiral Beach
Sponsored by: The Georgian Bay Folk Society
Sponsored by: The Mariposa Folk Foundation and the Mariposa Folk Festival
Seventeen-year-old Claire McLeish recorded her first songwriting attempt at the age of three. Having completed her RCM grade 8 piano, Claire draws on her strong classical background as a technical base for her songwriting. She is an award winning pianist, has performed at Owen Sound s Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival and participated in the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals Youth Showcase at the 2003 conference in Sudbury. Zach Stockill is a strong new voice in the Owen Sound music scene. At 16 this multi-instrumentalist has performed at coffeehouses and concert venues with his guitar and an arsenal of original songs. He has also participated in the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals Youth Showcase at the 2003 conference in Sudbury and has performed at the Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival.
They call their music arty pop , like to play in bare feet, and have a level of musicianship that belies their tender years. They re Spiral Beach, a young Toronto band whose players are still in high school, yet have played in many of Toronto s best venues; including Hugh s Room (opening for the Arrogant Worms), the Reverb (for Mariposa), and the Tranzac. They were the youngest band appearing at the 2004 North by North East music conference, and recently returned from the Ottawa Folk Festival, where they played a dinner-hour concert and appeared in Ember Swift s alt-folk cafe as well as the Leonard Cohen Tribute. Spiral Beach is: Daniel Woodhead, Dorian Thornton, Airick Woodhead, and Maddy Wilde.
Innis Papagiannis
Sponsored by: The Ottawa Folk Festival
Sponsored by: Winterfolk
Eric Campbell
Sponsored by: The Brampton Folk Festival Eric Campbell is a 16 year old singer-songwriter from Brampton. A member of the Brampton Folk Club, Eric has been writing and performing his own music since he was 13. His music contains elements of folk, pop and rock. A student of both guitar and piano, he has a strong sense of melody and loves to experiment with chords and rhythm.
Mélissa Laveaux
Mélissa Laveaux is an Ottawa-based singersongwriter whose music is part folk and part blues, with a dash of jazz and hip-hop. An avid activist, she has performed at events such as LadyFest Ottawa, Take Back the Night, and Chicks with Sticks and Strings. Mélissa is a third year Biology student at the University of Ottawa and holds a part-time job coordinating the Women s Resource Centre. Website: www.melissalaveaux.com
Meredith Luce
Sponsored by: Winterfolk Meredith Luce has packed a lot of music into her 16 years. In the last year she has appeared regularly on the Ottawa music scene performing originals and covers, singing, accompanying herself on acoustic and guitar. She has performed at many of Ottawa s open stages including the Ottawa Folklore Centre s open stage, Rasputin s, the Fergus Inn, and Café Dekcuf as well as in local benefit concerts. This summer she was invited to play a set at the Ottawa Folklore Centre tent at this year s Ottawa Folk Festival and she performed several sets at the Navan Fair s talent stage. Her music shows a variety of influences: folk rock, blues and jazz with an occasional hint of roots.
The Lady Racers
Sponsored by: The Blue Skies Festival Lia Dawson, Christina Foster and Anna Robertson are a trio of talented young women from Kingston who write almost all of their own songs, and possess voices and stage presence well beyond their years. They played at Blue Skies Music Festival this summer, have shared the stage with David Francey and others and just recently recorded an 8-song demo. Accompanied by one acoustic guitar, which they take turns playing, these young women share a passion for singing and songwriting that shines through their thoughtful, sometimes melancholy, but always-beautiful harmonies.
Mentoring Sessions
Sign up in advance for 10-minute one-on-one discussions with music industry professionals. Sign-up sheets posted outside Peter Clark Hall.
Sunday October 17th
Mentors: Aengus Finnan Alex Sinclair Ben Anderson Bill Spence Blair Packham Bruce Madole Dan Kershaw David Newland Derek Andrews Don Bird Doug Cox
Dugg Simpson Eleanor Robinson Gene Swimmer Gerri Trimble Jack Schuller Jory Nash Larry LeBlanc Lisa Whytock Lynn Miles Mark Moss Mark Watts Mitch Podolak
Nancy Simmonds Phyllis Stenson Carolyn Sutherland Rachel Hauraney Richard Flohil Shannon Johnson Shelley McIntyre Sheri Jones Trevor Mills Val Denn Warren Robinson
Instrument Lock Up Lighten Your Load Returning to this year’s OCFF conference will be an instrument lock up facility. It will be located in the basement level of the University Centre, in the OCUS lounge. Hours of operation will be posted at the conference. The lock up will be managed by conference volunteers and will be secured when it’s not open. However, please be advised that the OCFF is not liable in any way for instruments and equipment stored in this room. You are welcome to use the instrument lock up at your own risk. The OCFF is pleased to offer this service to registered delegates of the 18th annual conference. 23
OCFF Conference Schedule
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OCFF Conference Schedule
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Rising Star OCFF Songs From the Heart Winners 2004
Darryn Grandbois (ON) www.c-show.ca
This excellent guitarist, writer-composer and performer is ready to give high quality performances, whether he is singing duo with his loyal musical partner, Mike O Brien, or performing with a group, his carefully crafted compositions and inspired songs will draw your attention. Darryn has all it takes to succeed - a great voice with an impressive range as well as good looks.
Michelle Rasky (ON)
www.michellerasky.com
She has just released a bouquet of sonic splendour called, Your Love s Like Spring. With influences stemming from Billie Holiday, Ani Difranco and Stevie Wonder. Michelle s music invigorates the senses. Her sweet jazzy vocals and light-hearted, uplifting melodies, (Brent Raynor - NOW Magazine) form the signature sound in what could be described as organic hybrid-pop.
Michel Payment (ON)
Franco-Ontarian, singer, songwriter, Michel Payment, has been performing professionally since 1982. Most of his musical experience has been acquired on the French music scene at festivals such as La nuit sur l étang , in Sudbury, le festival Franco-Ontarien in Ottawa, la fête de la St. Jean Baptiste in Toronto and Montréal. His style is a mixture of folk/folklore and rock but also dabbles with various other musical styles.
2004 Small But Vital Exhibit Hall Anne Lindsay and Jason Fowler Anne Lindsay/Jason Fowler Toronto, ON anne@anne-lindsay.com www.anne-lindsay.com
Grand River Folk Community Jack Cole, Kitchener, ON jhcole@mgl.ca www.mgl.ca\~jhcole\GRFC.html
Penguin Eggs Roddy Campbell, Edmonton, AB penguineggs@hotmail.com www.penguineggs.ab.ca
Sweet Patootie Music Eve Goldberg, Toronto, ON info@evegoldberg.com www.evegoldberg.com
Art Jam / Breast of Canada Sue Richards, Guelph, ON artjam@artjam.org www.breastofcanada.com
Hannabelle Productions Rose Simpson simpson3205@rogers.com
RDR Music Group/Joe Radio Joe Wood, Toronto, ON Joe@RDRMusic.com www.RDRMusic.com
Terry Young / Tanglefoot Terry Young, Whitevale, ON terryyoung@sympatico.ca www.tanglefootmusic.com
Renegade Music / Stew the Dog Management, Heather Houston Ottawa, ON ggriffin@cyberus.ca www.thexrayz.com/renegade.htm
The McDades Danielle McDade, Edmonton, AB harpe@telusplanet.net www.themcdades.com
ArtsCan Circle Laura Bird, Orangeville, ON wings1@sympatico.ca www.laurabird.com/ Charlie Sohmer Charlie Sohmer, Ottawa, ON csohmer@sympatico.ca www.glowinghearts.com
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Heather Dale Heather Dale, Toronto, ON info@amphismusic.com www.heatherdale.com Loyd Artists/Khac Chi Peggy Baldwin, Asheville, NC info@loydartists.com www.khacchi.com
Fiddlers 3 Mary Ann Lozinski, Hamilton, ON info@fiddlers3.com www.fiddlers3.com
Manitoba Audio Recording Industry Asoc. (MARIA) Sara Stasiuk, Winnipeg, MB Sara@manitobamusic.com www.manitobamusic.com
Gary Cristall Artist Management Gary Cristall, Vancouver, BC garycristall@telus.net www.garycristall.com Genticorum Alexandre de Grosbois-Garand Montreal, PQ info@genticorum.com www.genticorum.com
Marilyn Gilbert Artists Management Marilyn Gilbert, Toronto, ON marilyn@mgam.com www.mgam.com Nutshell Music & Event Management Peter MacDonald, Ottawa, ON Peter@NutshellMusic.com www.nutshellmusic.com
SL Feldman and Associates Steve Butler, Toronto, ON butler@slfa.com www.slfa.com Songs N Such Laura Thomas, North York, ON LTPassion@hotmail.com www.laurathomas.net Songwriters Association of Canada Blair Packham. Toronto, ON bpackham@songwriters.ca www.songwriters.ca
The Millstream Bev Mills, Toronto, ON bev@themillstream.com www.themillstream.com Top Quark Productions Trevor Mills, Winnipeg, MB trevor@trevormills.com www.topquarkproductions.ca White Trash Ink. David Wiewel. Sudbury, ON david@whitetrashink.com www.whitetrashink.com
Les Prix Étoiles Galaxie de Radio-Canada Galaxie, le réseau de musique continue de Radio-Canada en collaboration avec le Conseil des festivals Folk de l Ontario (CFFO) est heureux de s associer au Concours Chansons du Fond du Coeur. Il nous fait plaisir de contribuer à ce tremplin de la relève musicale. Nous sommes fiers de remettre deux bourses dans la catégorie composition anglophone et composition francophone. Nous souhaitons bonne chance et bon succès à tous les participants! Il y a 6 ans, Galaxie a créé un programme original de développement et de promotion destiné aux musiciens d ici. À ce jour, plus de 250 artistes et groupes en ont bénéficié grâce à la participation d une soixantaine de Partenaires Étoiles de l industrie de la musique à travers le pays. Nous accordons aux gagnants une bourse en argent et l occasion d une diffusion à l échelle nationale sur le réseau Galaxie. Avec plus de 4 millions d abonnés, Galaxie est le réseau de musique continue le plus écouté au pays! Grâce à ses 45 chaînes de musique, dont 11 chaînes spécialisées incluant la chaîne FolkRoots, offertes sans publicité ni interruption et programmées par des experts, il est facile de trouver une chaîne qui plaira à tous et chacun. Galaxie vous propose des airs connus et reconnus et d autres coups de c ur que ses programmateurs vous invitent à découvrir. En tout, le Réseau compte plus de 150 000 pièces de musique! Galaxie est disponible à travers les services numériques par satellite et par câble, ainsi que par télécom. Pour plus d informations, consultez notre site Internet au www.galaxie.ca
Galaxie Rising Stars Program of the CBC Galaxie, CBC s Continuous Music Network, in association with The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals is proud to partner with the 2004 Songs From the Heart Competition. Together, we come to provide artists with this opportunity to shine: Rising Stars Awards will be granted to the best Anglophone and Francophone artists. Best of luck to all the participants and much success in your musical endeavours! Six years ago, Galaxie created the Rising Stars program for the development and promotion of Canadian musical talent. To this day, more than 250 musicians have benefited from the Program with the fellowship and support of nearly 70 music industry partners across the country. The winners will receive a cash award and the chance to be aired on Galaxie s Nation wide network. With more than 4 million subscribers, Galaxie is the most listened to continuous music network in the country. Thanks to its 45 music channels, including 11 specialty channels, one of which dedicated to FolkRoots music, all programmed by music experts, the network has a sound for everyone. Galaxie offers a dynamite mix of classic hits, contemporary chart toppers and new treasures to discover. Overall, the network plays 150,000 music titles, while providing the best digital-quality sound. Galaxie is a digital service available by subscription via satellite, cable and telecom. For more information, consult our web site at www.galaxie.ca And now, let the music begin!
Et maintenant, place à la musique!
Jean-Richard Lefebvre Chef développement, partenariats et programmation française
Jean-Richard Lefebvre Manager, Development, Partnerships & French Programming
Thank You We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Music Fund for this project
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