Maple Blues Online - Loose Blues News

Watermelon Slim and The Workers (or at least most of the Workers) will be touring Ontario to support their new release on NorthernBlues. Drummer Maureen Brown, who was a last-minute sub with the Workers at their appearance at Blues, Brews & BBQs last summer gets the drum chair for the entire tour including the Silver Dollar on April 8, The Boathouse in Kitchener on April 7 (and solo on Apr 8, 3pm) and Pepper Jack Café in Hamilton on April 9 (8pm).

Indies Winners Announced at 6th Annual Canadian Music Week: Winners in last month's Independent Music Awards included Garrett Mason for Favourite Blues Artist/Group.

Tribute To Domenic Troiano: At Joe Badali's (156 Front St. West, Toronto), on Thursday, April 20, from 6:30 pm, this special fundraising tribute to Domenic Troiano will raise funds for East General Hospital, Toronto. Ticket Info: 416-469-6003.

The most anticipated blues show this summer is the just-announced Etta James (pictured at right) concert at the Hummingbird Centre on Tuesday, June 27. It's part of the TD Canada Trust Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival taking place from June 23 to July 4 in venues across the city.

Fathead has a new guitarist: Al Lerman has announced that guitarist Darren Poole has joined Fathead! "It only took about a minute into his audition to realise Darran was the perfect replacement for Teddy Leonard," says Al. "Although Teddy leaves very big shoes to fill, Darran brings his own distinct style, characterised by roots-heavy, fat-toned guitar that compliments the band's sound perfectly. Having worked most recently with Gary Kendall and Mark "Bird" Stafford, Darran is a veteran of the local and Niagara Peninsula blues scene. He spent several years with Bluesafire backing some of Canada's best blues and roots musicians as part of the Blues and Soul Concert Series. He has also shared the stage with notable Bluesmen including Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Phil Guy and Guitar Shorty. We look forward to a long & creative relationship with Darran. He makes his official debut at the Live Wire concert in Kingston on April 8. Teddy Leonard will play his "farewell" show with the band at the Silver Dollar on April 15, then Darran re-joins the band for the Orillia Spring Blues Fest on April 28-29. Fathead is ready to roll! Watch for a new studio album release in early 2007"

Long Live The Rex: Contrary to some rumours, the Rex Hotel (Queen Street West, Toronto) is not closing down, but is undergoing renovations concurrent with the building of the new edifice next door. The Rex is a "licensed hotel" - the first level of upstairs rooms have already been renovated, the front entrance will be relocated to the east side of the building, and a stairway from the street will be added. As well, washrooms will be installed in the basement, allowing the bar to be moved farther back, and more seating room to be added. Theses renos may require a brief period of shut-down.

The 5th Annual Demo-Listen Derby takes place Thursday, April 6, 2006 at Long & McQuade's Seminar Room at 925 Bloor St W. Admission is $8.50 or $5.00 with Schmooze Card. Here's your opportunity to have a panel of Music Industry Veterans listen to and comment on your music. Find out what they have to say and learn about their process of selection. The Moderator is Greg Simpson - Mindbenders Radio Promotion and the Panel includes Daniel Mekinda, Creative Director, Ole Publishing (Formerly A&R for BMG), Nick Blagona, Producer/Engineer Metalworks Studio (Moist, The Tea Party, Foo Fighters, Maestro, and Brad Roberts) and Bob Segarini, Programmer, Sirius Satellite Radio (Canadian Music Channel Iceberg). Bring your CDs to the admission table between 7- 8pm and they will draw and play as many as time will allow. One song per artist/band. More info at www.thebigschmooze.ca.

Readers Demise: Readers in Dunnville has closed. In the past 5 years, Readers presented close to 200 concerts and hosted 3 bluesfests. Visit www.readerscafe.com, "links", to check out some of the incredible talent that passed through. The café served great food, and had an eclectic selection of books, in addition to a perfect listening environment for musicians and music lovers.

Nouveau site web blues: A new blues website, Crossroads Blues, will be launched on April 1st, www.crossroadsblues.com. Founded by blues artist Kevin Mark (www.kevinmark.com) and folk-blues artist Dale Boyle (www.daleboyle.com), Crossroads Blues is a Quebec-based online magazine intended to support and promote those involved in the blues community. From Quebec, Canada, and the rest of the world, Crossroads Blues will feature monthly artist interviews with those involved in recording and promoting their original blues material, as well as individuals dedicated to supporting the blues - from radio hosts to festival organizers. Kevin writes, "We top it off with an exclusive photo gallery and mixed bag of blues news, events and happenings. On the site we will feature a Live Blues link where musicians, club owners and bookers can list gigs. We will also have a Blues Radio page where DJs can list their radio shows. Kicking off the first issue of Crossroads Blues are interviews with Quebec City blues radio host, Michel Dubois, and one of Canada's finest and acclaimed blues bassists and songwriters, Stephen Barry".

Iridescent Recording Studios: The Iridescent team reports the studios are back up and running after a brief close down for some renovation and re-construction. For further information, and/or to book studio time, please contact Steve Grisbrook, 416-450-9851, or visit www.iridescentmusic.ca.

Blues Doctor: Julie Hill, who you may know live from TBS events, in print from this column, and from radio on Toronto's CKLN 88.1 FM's Lowdown 2 Uptown on Wednesday evenings, can now also be seen nationally on another medium, television's Discovery Channel, in 'Canada's Worst Handyman', weekly throughout April, Monday nights at 10 pm, with daily repeats at other times.

The 4th Annual Heartwood Blues: Scheduled for Sunday, November 30, 2006, at the Stampede Corral in Kitchener, this annual event supports Heartwood Place, an organization providing affordable housing with services to people most in need. "This year's line up promises to be the best ever with 2006 Grammy Award nominee Maria Muldaur headlining the show. Heartwood Blues is also proud to announce that Daniel "Slick" Ballinger will be appearing at the show, his first time visit to Canada. The line up will also include The Perpetrators, The Jerome Godboo Band, and Daddy Long Legs. Many door prizes will be on hand for the audience". Tickets are $25 in advance. For more information, visit www.heartwoodplace.ca.

Jay Mcshann - 90 And Still Playing The Blues: "Stony Plain has released a new Jay McShann CD, Hootie Blues, a live album recorded in Toronto's Montreal Bistro, with the pianist and singer backed up by Jim Galloway (sax), Don Vickery (drums) and Rosemary Galloway (bass). McShann remains one of the great figures of jazz history - and a player who links the related worlds of jazz and the blues. Now 90 years old, he doesn't travel as frequently as he used to, but he's coming back to the Montreal Bistro for three nights, May 3, 4 and 5.

OCFF Songwriter Awards & Conference Showcasing: "The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (OCFF) is now accepting entries for the 12th annual Songs From the Heart Songwriter Awards, and applications to Showcase at the 20th Anniversary OCFF Conference in Ottawa. The Songs From the Heart Songwriter Awards entries must be received by May 5, 2006. The deadline for applications to Showcase at the OCFF Conference is May 12, 2006. The Songs From the Heart Songwriter Awards highlight the talent of Ontario songwriters. Two winners, one in English and one in French, will be selected by a jury. Each winner will receive the opportunity to showcase their work to festival presenters, concert promoters, media and other industry members at the OCFF conference as well as a Galaxie Rising Stars Award of $1,000; and registration for one to the 2006 OCFF Conference. Visit the OCFF website at www.ocff.ca/awardsshowcasing.htm to download an entry form and for detailed instructions. A valuable opportunity to get your music heard is by Showcasing at the OCFF Conference. The official showcases feature more than 25 artists, performing for artistic directors and presenters from far and wide. Showcase performances at previous OCFF conferences have directly resulted in festival and concert bookings and appearances at the North American Folk Alliance conference. Folk, roots, traditional, world, blues, Francophone, Aboriginal, culturally diverse and other artists from different genres of music are welcome to apply. Applications are welcome from artists based anywhere. 2006 marks the OCFF's 20th anniversary year, and an outstanding 20th annual OCFF Conference will be held in Ottawa, Ontario, October 12-15, 2006. The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals can be reached by phone, toll-free, 1-866-292-6233, or local, 613-560-5997, by fax, 613-560-2001, by mail or in person at 410 Bank Street, Suite 225, Ottawa, ON, K2P 1Y8, or by email at info@ocff.ca.

Leading Entertainment Lawyer sets up new practice: Paul Sanderson, who has been representing a wide range of music, arts and entertainment industry clients since he established his entertainment law firm in 1983, is setting up his new practice in new premises. The firm, to be known as Sanderson Entertainment Law, has moved to #201, 326 Richmond Street West in Toronto, in the heart of the city's entertainment district. His new website is www.sandersonlaw.ca, but his existing phone and fax numbers remain the same 416-971-6616 and 416-971-4144 respectively. Sanderson's e-mail will be paulsanderson@sandersonlaw.ca. The firm primarily provides legal services to music business clients in contractual matters, but also provides service and advice concerning trade mark, copyright and corporate matters. Clients include recording artists, songwriters, artist managers, record producers, music production companies, music publishers, record distributors, record labels, music industry executives and booking agents. Sanderson is the author and editor of the ground-breaking legal text "Musicians and the Law in Canada" (Carswell Legal Publications). Now in its third edition, it's considered the "bible" of the Canadian music business. Another book, "Artists' Contracts Agreements for Visual and Media Artists" (CARFAC Ontario) is a text-book collection of contracts for visual and multi-media artists, and is now in its second edition. Longtime entertainment paralegal Paul Irvine (paulirvine@sandersonlaw.ca) remains with the firm, and Frank Farfan continues as the firm's counsel. Former associate Chris Taylor has set up a new law firm in order to handle his involvement with his artist management roster and label, Last Gang Records.

Ali Farka Touré, 1949 - 2006: The Grammy Award-winning musician known as "Africa's bluesman," died last month after a long undisclosed illness. Touré, who is believed to have been 67, died at his home in Bamako, Mali, the country's culture ministry announced. Radio stations across the poor west African nation publicly mourned the loss of one of the continent's most popular musicians by flooding the airwaves with his music. Touré, who was often compared to U.S. blues guitarist John Lee Hooker, was born in northern Mali, and taught himself how to play various guitars in his youth. However, he is best known for playing the gurke, a traditional Malian stringed instrument. While holding other "day" jobs his whole life, Touré worked continuously at his music and released his debut album Farka in 1976. Subsequent albums included a self-titled acoustic release in 1987, 1989's The River, which featured members of Irish group the Chieftans, 1992's The Source and the more traditional 1999 album Niafunké, named after the village on the border of the Sahara where he lived. Touré, who had been a farmer for decades, became mayor of Niafunké in 2004. A regular on the world music scene, Touré was a two-time Grammy Award-winner, first winning for his acclaimed 1995 album Talking Timbuktu - which was a collaboration with U.S. guitarist Ry Cooder. He won his second Grammy earlier this year for his traditional world music album In the Heart of the Moon, which he recorded with fellow Mali musician Toumani Diabaté.

Willie Kent, 1924 - 2006: Chicago lost another blues great when bassist Willie Kent lost his battle with cancer on March 2, 2006. Born February 24, 1936 in the tiny town of Inverness, Mississippi, Willie Kent couldn't have started life farther away from international acclaim. He spent his childhood working hard on his mother's sharecrop farm and left home at the age of 13. Three years later he was living in Chicago as a self-sufficient young man, lying about his age so he could earn a living.

That was 1952, the shining height of Chicago's golden age of urban blues. After work each day, he would plunge into a night of smoky bars, training his own receptive ear with the live sounds of Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buster Benton, and J.B. Lenoir. By the end of the '50s he was working with musicians -- first as a driver, then as a singer. One night he filled in onstage for an absent bass player, and the path of his future was suddenly traced clearly before him.

He played with Little Walter, Eddie Taylor and was a constant presence on the Chicago blues scene with his band, Willie Kent and the Gents. In addition to repeated "Critic's Choice" awards from the international blues press, he received the prestigious W. C. Handy Award for Best Blues Instrumentalist - Bass not once, but ten times. Those honours have been capped by two Lifetime Achievement awards, the most recent of which was presented in November 2005.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Ruth; by nine children, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and by a brother, Walter, of New York.

Pookie Hudson & Sam Myers Appeals for Donations: Two of the most beloved and influential figures in the R&B and Blues genres, James "Pookie" Hudson of the Spaniels, and Sam Myers of Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets are battling cancer. It's beyond argument that each gentleman has positively impacted the course of music in incalculable ways. Their artistry speaks volumes, so it's no wonder that three generations of fans have thrilled to countless hours of enjoyment from their respectively productive careers extending in excess of 50 years each. The Spaniels stand at the pinnacle of all-time great R&B groups. Their instantly identifiable sound and subtle harmonies evoke immediate responses from listeners of all ages and backgrounds. Their elevated reputation is chiefly attributable to James "Pookie" Hudson, their lead vocalist whose sublime, relaxed tenor and icy delivery was far ahead of its time. It set the gold standard for coolness with its sophisticated affability and effortless romanticism, such that Pookie's style would became the model for such future polished practitioners like Lou Rawls, Jerry Butler, and Brook Benton. Another protégé, Aaron Neville would say it best, on the back of one his albums, by thanking: "God, Nat `King' Cole, and Pookie Hudson."

Four of the most everlasting tunes of that 50's era remain Goodnight Sweetheart, You Gave Me Peace Of Mind, Baby It's You, and Stormy Weather. A 2000 survey on R&B historian/broadcaster Marv Goldberg's website http://home.att.net/~marvy42/index.html placed those titles as the top ones, but the breadth of the Spaniels artistry is also given resonance by 14 other wonderful songs receiving number 1 rankings from various fans that participated in the survey. There's an insightful overview on Pookie and the Spaniels career done by Billy Vera in 1992. It's at: www.doowopcaferadio.com Donation instructions are detailed on the same website. Those contributing at least $15 to the Pookie Hudson cancer treatment fund will also receive a CD of an interview Pookie made in 2004 at the University Of New Mexico's FM station. Make your cheque payable to "Thornton J. Hudsosn", and forward to Barbara Ann Yatsko, 140 LaVale Drive~Unit 711, Monroeville, PA, 15146, U.S.A. Also, indicate your e-mail address, and mailing address.

Sam Myers' throat cancer was diagnosed in March, 2005, it has kept him off the stage ever since. His latest round of treatment has left his voice very weak, but as Sam gains strength, he hopes to return to performing soon. Let's pray for that day happening! Anson Funderburgh, meanwhile, has severely restricted his touring schedule to tend to getting Sam to treatment. The 70-year old blind vocalist and harmonica ace has an inspirational biography, and his extensive discography plus numerous award and honours are detailed at: www.sweetsammyers.com.

Sam's performed with everyone from Muddy Waters, to Howlin' Wolf to Little Walter, but he's especially remembered for his significant stint as drummer for Elmore James, and appeared on many, many classic Elmore sides on the Fire/Fury labels. Pairing up with Anson Funderburgh in 1986 would bring Sam's name to the forefront, culminating in a series of award-winning releases, and acquainting a new generation of admirers with his bountiful Blues shouter chops and riveting stage presence. Before this setback, Sam had made his first completely solo outing titled Coming From The Old School and Sam gets 100% of the proceeds whenever this CD is ordered from his website. Sam Myers has onerous medical expenses to cover, and they continue piling up. For updates on Sam's progress, please visit his website. Contributions are being handled through the Southwest Blues Heritage Foundation. Please mail your cheque or money order, payable to "SWBHF, INC.", to P.O. BOX 710548, Dallas, TX 75371-0548, U.S.A. Of course, both Sam and Pookie would love to read your cards, notes, and letters of well wishes, as well as your encouragements and prayers for a speedy recovery!

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