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Published December 26, 2011 in Loose Blues News, News

December 2012 – Vol. 27, No. 11

 

MBA Voting open to Dec 10. Voting for the Maple Blues Awards is closing Saturday December 10 at midnight PST, so get your votes in today! Vote at www.mapleblues.ca. For more information on voting, visit https://torontobluessociety.com/2011-maple-blues-awards-nominees. The awards gala takes place at beautiful Koerner Hall on January 16th, 2012. If you are a Charter Member in good standing, please call the TBS office to obtain the special discount code. If you are not a member, purchase tickets at http://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/toronto-blues-society-maple-blues-awards

November 15th’s Tribute to Fraser Finlayson “A Musical Celebration of His Life”at Hugh’s Room collected  $1,119.00  at the door and it will all be donated to the Finlayson Library at  Centre A, Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.. MC Hank Bull introduced performers Diane Roblin, Morgan Davis, the Carlos del Junco band, Hajah Bug, Fathead, Ray Harrison and an all star line-up Mr. Hot Pants horn band.  Produced by Gary Kendall, it was standing room only and the music brought the house down.   Fraser’s last work, a limited edition vinyl single, with a download card “Mr Hot Pants Across the Track” was also released at this event……. “what an amazing night – full of  great music, friendship and high energy…..it was a love fest!” said Diane Roblin, Fraser’s wife.

Derek Miller Doc: Music Is The Medicine is a one-hour documentary that follows the journey of blues-rock virtuoso Derek Miller, one of Indigenous Canada’s most recognizable artists, as he sets out to release his next album, with high hopes of achieving mainstream success. It will premiere on Dec 7th on APTN at 10:00pm. Over the past 20 years Derek’s built a highly devoted fan base, received numerous awards – including two JUNOs – and played with a long list of world class musicians, all the while struggling with addiction and personal loss. Now a new and reinvigorated Derek emerges and is pushing harder than ever to ascend to the next level of his career. Music Is The Medicine is an intimate portrait of a critically acclaimed but struggling artist whose been on the verge of breakthrough for over a decade and the experiences that have shaped his music all along the way.

Have A Bluesy New Year’s: Celebrate this New Years Eve with Jack de Keyzer & Jerome Godboo and band
from 9-1:00am at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, Monarch’s Pub
33 Gerrard, just west of Yonge Street. For tickets call 416-585-8992. In the east end, you can celebrate with the Gary Kendall Band at Dominion on Queen, 500 Queen St. E. where they will be offering a 3-course prime rib dinner.

Recovering Nicely: Julian Fauth has been on a lengthy hiatus following a broken shoulder last summer but he will soon be back playing. Manager Ross Robinson of Toronto Blues reports “While not 100%, he continues to improve every day. We can look forward to seeing him play his special brand of blues for a very long time.”  Julian will make an appearance at Ross’ Bluesy Christmas extravaganza at Hugh’s Room on December 19 and 20 as well as opening some of the upcoming John Mayall shows.  Guitarist Brian Monty is well remembered for his residency in Toronto but has since relocated to Vankleek Hill where he set up his guitar-building operation.  Following major surgery for throat cancer he is now cancer-free and back to building guitars, albeit at a slower pace. A benefit concert in Ottawa raised almost $10,000 – to be used to install the special equipment he needs in the shop. Closer to home, fans will be happy to hear that Ken Whiteley is back at home following a six-week hospitalization and apparently easing back into his guitar playing. Hopefully it won’t be too long until Ken can resume his busy performing schedule.

Out of Orbit: Clayton Doley, the Australian Hammond organ virtuoso who landed on our shores in the summer and has caught the ear of many local musicians (and blues fans), will be shutting down his Tuesday residency at the Orbit Room as he prepares for another marathon tour of Australia mostly with Harry Manx but also some reunion shows with has popular band, The Hands. December 6th at the Orbit Room will be the farewell party (it’s an early start – 8pm). This is your last chance this year to see Clayton’s trio before returns to Australia. Special guests include Davide DiRenzo on drums and Champaign James Robertson on Guitar. Clayton will also be backing up Robin Banks at the TBS Christmas Party at Monarchs pub on December 10.

Blues on the Radio: Vic Germaniuk (The Old Vicar) from Thunder Bay has retired from his blues radio show at CILU and Mark Potvin has taken over with a completely new show called “How Blue Can You Get?” that airs every Saturday morning from 10am till noon on CILU 102.7 FM and also streamed live on the net at http://luradio.ca.  He will cover all things Blues from the 20’s to present day with a special eye on the Canadian blues scene.  Blues is a big part of Mark’s life as he has been performing it for quite some time with his own band as well.

TheBluesMobile.com, the companion website to the House of Blues Radio Hour hosted by Dan Aykroyd (Elwood Blues), has launched a newly re-designed website. Now music fans have easy and exclusive access to “Elwood’s Briefcase Full of Blues” that features The House of Blues Radio Hour audio stream, set lists and sneak previews.

TheBluesMobile.com includes original Blues music, the Top 15 Blues Chart, the Blues Breaker and Elwood’s favorite new song of the week. The site also contains Blues photos, podcasts, videos and interviews, merchandise and contests.

Fans can become members of the Blues Brethren and Soul Sisters, our online Blues community. Brethren/Sisters regularly win guitars, CDs, DVDs, signed merchandise and other prizes. Brethren/Sisters are the first to receive news about new Blues artists, Elwood’s contests, the Blues industry, and everything happening on the radio series and at TheBluesMobile.com

Producer Ben Manilla says, “For over 19 years, Dan Aykroyd and I have been collaborating on The House of Blues Radio Hour – the longest running syndicated blues series in U.S. history. The TheBluesMobile.com is an active extension of the radio show and plugs into the vast library of video and audio we have amassed and still gather. We feel the new website is a continuation of our mission to celebrate this great American music”.

Toronto’s Official Swap Meet & Guitar Show: If you’ve got any music gear that’s gathering dust in your basement, this is your chance to sell, trade and purchase some new equipment! On March 3rd,  Tundra Music will be holding their annual Swap Meet & Guitar Show at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall Branch #10, 1083 Pape Avenue. Renting a table is $75. For more info, visit Tundra Music at 587 Jones or their website www.tundramusic.com

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The Toronto Blues Society acknowledges the annual support of the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage, and project support from FACTOR< and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada’s Private Broadcasters, The Canada Council for the Arts, the SOCAN Foundation, SOCAN, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.