Jack Starr​

 

Backstage with Douglas McLean is very pleased to offer this remarkable conversation with Legendary Heavy Metal Rock Blues Guitarist Jack Starr sharing insight into the making of Jack Starr's Burning Starr, Souls of the Innocent, released on Global Rock Records, on July 15, 2022.

 

Turn up the featured song as loud as you can !!    

 

Jack, a co-founder of influential and beloved metal band Virgin Steele (Jack has a great story about how a couple of the guys in Metallica told him at a music festival in France that they really liked his song Children of the Storm, which was on the first Virgin Steele album), has been a household name in the metal scene for decades and has always surrounded himself with exceptional musicians. Jack also helped Queensryche get their first record deal back in the day.

 

The current lineup of Burning Starr, who all play on the new album, includes the sensational vocals of Alexx Panza, thunderous drummer Rhino (ex-Manowar) and Jack’s longtime pal and bandmate, bassist Ned Meloni (who previously played with UFO’s Paul Chapman and former Rainbow/Deep Purple singer Joe Lynn Turner) on bass.

 

Souls Of the Innocent continues Jack and the band's commitment to true U.S. style power metal, with Panza continuing the band’s legacy of discovering and showcasing great vocal talent within its ranks.

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Starr, a native of Paris, France, emerged from the New York City rock and metal scene in 1981, forming, together with drummer Joey Ayvazian, vocalist David DeFeis and bassist Joe O’Rielly, the first incarnation of the now legendary metal band Virgin Steele.

 

The band was selected in 1982 by Shrapnel Records to appear on the label's compilation album U.S. Metal Volume 2. The song Starr sent in for the compilation was "Children of the Storm.”

 

After only two albums, 1981’s  Virgin Steele and Guardians of the Flame , released in 1982, Starr left Virgin Steele in 1983 because of musical differences with DeFeis.

 

In 1984, Starr started his solo recording career with the album Out of the Darkness, featuring former Riot vocalist Rhett Forrester, members of The Rods and former Rainbow drummer Gary Driscoll.

 

It was released in Europe by Music for Nations and was picked as one of the best albums of the year by the music magazines Kerrang! and Metal Forces. Starr changed the name of his band to Jack Starr's Burning Starr and between 1984 and 1989 he produced both solo and band albums; five solo albums and four band albums. 

 

The music on those albums is classic American eighties metal, a style that has garnered the band a devoted worldwide fan base including a great deal of respect from many musician peers within the metal community. In 1989 the band dissolved and Starr joined short-lived bands like Strider and Smoke Stack Lightning. 

 

In 2006, Jack, a huge blues fan, formed a self-titled blues band before reforming Jack Starr’s Burning Starr in 2008. Global Rock Records will also be reissuing between 2022-23 eight classic back catalog releases from the band including:

 

Rock The American Way (1985)

No Turning Back (1986)

Blaze Of Glory (1987)

Burning Starr 1989 (1989)

Burning Starr V - The Strider Project (1991)

Burning Starr VI - Under A Savage Sky (2003)

Land Of The Dead (2011)

Keep The Metal Burning - Live In Germany 2013

 

Jack Starr’s Burning Starr is preparing to hit the road to promote Souls of the Innocent so be on the lookout!

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Demons Behind Me

Ships In The Night

All Out War

Souls Of The Innocent

Winds Of War

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Facebook: www.facebook.com/jackstarrsburningstarr

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Melissa Lauren​

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Melissa Lauren joins Douglas this week in conversation about her phenomenal new album ‘My Voice’. Melissa is a charming, vibrant conversationalist. It was such an honour to meet her.

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Melissa Lauren wants to be heard. And not just because of 'My Voice', her dazzling new jazz-pop crossover gem. The singer-songwriter’s third album is her most accomplished to date and yes, you bet she wants it heard.

 

But her mission is larger than that. As Lauren explains, "If there’s an overarching theme to the new album’s 11 songs — a mix of originals and thoughtfully selected covers all expertly helmed by producer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Emond (Tyler Shaw, Alessia Cara, Matt Dusk) — it’s “the boundaries that get in the way of communicating.”

 

And nothing brings the boundaries quite like a lockdown triggered by a global pandemic, during which Lauren and musician husband Nathan Hiltz were marooned at home together, forced to contemplate themselves and each other as the comfortably distracting routines of daily life evaporated.

 

Yet by candidly distilling the experience into her songwriting on My Voice, Lauren has created an album that serves as a musical touchstone for anyone struggling to articulate the challenges, good and bad, of managing close relationships during difficult times. Call it a sonic roadmap.

 

“It was a tough time for Nathan and me and we got into a lot of fights,” Lauren admits with a laugh. “But I realized it all came down to feeling like you weren’t being heard, to a lack of communication. Signals can get crossed and misunderstandings can happen, but you can’t give up trying to have your voice heard. And you mustn’t forget to listen.”

 

Ironically, from that uneasy place sprang the vibrant, mostly upbeat songs on 'My Voice', which are exalted by an ace band including Hiltz on various guitars and banjo, Emond on everything from bass to keyboards, mandolin to guitar, as well as drummer-percussionist Dave MacDougall, pedal steel player Kevin “The General” Neal, and Jessica Deutsch on violin and viola.

 

At the centre of it all is Lauren’s crystal clear, emotive voice which is almost otherworldly in its range. So dexterous are Lauren’s performances that a song by Rufus Wainwright (“Oh What A World”) makes perfect sense alongside one by Cole Porter (“Easy to Love”), another by Irving Berlin (“What’ll I Do”), a Jann Arden pop hit (“Insensitive”) plus Lauren’s own compositions chronicling life in all its messy, lovely, weird, infuriating grandeur.

 

“Jazz is my first love, and those standards were important to include,” she says, adding — take note jazz fans — that she wrote her own intro for “What’ll I Do” and a set of alternate lyrics to Walter Donaldson’s “My Blue Heaven,” dedicated to her husband and which daughter Leah abetted.

 

Lauren continues: “At the same time, I think there’s something for everyone on this album. Musically, I can grab people who might not typically like jazz while lyrically, there are conversations almost everyone has had at some point in their life. My Voice dances between new and old, jazz and pop.”

 

Indeed, the album does waltz between intriguing themes and shape-shifting aural landscapes. Take the first single, the gently orchestral, undulating Lauren original “The Day We Stopped.” The song was sparked by a moment of mentally stepping outside of a heavy conflict with her husband, to take a minute to feel the sun. “That song was raw and very much in the moment,” she says.

 

Elsewhere, Lauren gives voice to a woman who kills her abusive husband because a bird on her shoulder tells her to (the inky, snaking, bass-led ballad “My Blue Friend”); contemplates two people lost from each other despite being in the same car (“Back to You,” which drapes Lauren’s silken voice across simple acoustic guitar); and the soaring gospel-tinged title track “which is about illuminating each other’s voices.”

 

The new album also sharpened Lauren’s writing while giving way to a new way of working. “I don’t wait around for inspiration. I treat songwriting like a job. But I am always alert to inspiration so that when I do put pen to paper, I have things to draw from.

 

“One thing that was different this time around was I’d make note of songs I’d hear watching a movie or shopping or whatever. When time came to write and I was seeking inspiration, I’d go back and listen to those songs and ask myself how I could capture that essence,” she laughs “but without ripping anything off!”

 

Central to the album was producer Emond who Lauren says was uniquely able to interpret her vision, no matter what form that took. “I’d say something like, ‘Let’s make it moody, desert, nice’ and he’d know exactly what I wanted,” she howls.

 

“Tyler is a fantastic musician and extremely well-versed in jazz, classical, world music. He also knows how to make something radio-friendly. I am proud of how Tyler and I worked within the jazz-pop spectrum, making deliberate choices as to which side each song would fall.” 

Not that a single genre could define Lauren’s diverse career anyway. Beginning as a teenager, she performed throughout North America with the Toronto All-Star Big Band, all the while developing herself as an inimitable songwriter and performer.

 

Two previous solo albums, 2015’s Your Mess and 2012’s The Other Side, gathered universal acclaim, leading to marquee performances across Canada and around the world including (but not limited to) Folk Alliance International, the Halifax International Jazz Festival, and the New Skool Rules Festival in the Netherlands, plus concerts in Eastern Europe.

 

Additionally, her voice was featured on five tracks by Montreal electronic producer Hibernate, one included on a compilation by British dance pioneer Paul Oakenfold. Yet despite these many disparate potential avenues for success, Lauren’s focus remains squarely on her own voice, brilliantly showcased on My Voice.

 

“I sincerely hope the album gets radio play,” she says. “It’s a great way to reach people and have them hear the songs as they were intended, not reconfigured for a live setting. That said, I cannot wait to get out there and tour the album this fall.” 

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Stop

My Blue Friend

My Voice

What'll I Do

Insensitive

The Day We Stopped

Until They Change The Song

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Website: https://melissalaurenmusic.ca/home

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile

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Danny Marks​

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Danny Marks is a legend in the Canadian Music Scene and one of the most exciting live performers you’ll ever get to see. Douglas spoke to Danny in May 2022. “I have long wanted to share this conversation with folks on The Sound Café and here it is !” states McLean.   

 

In 2006, Danny was given the "Blues with a Feeling Award" at The Maples Blues Awards for lifetime achievement in music and broadcasting.

 

This iconic rocker's roots go back to the sixties as a founding member of Capitol Records' group, Edward Bear. After a span as a journeyman session musician throughout the seventies, Danny settled in to the club scene, establishing a cult following as a genre bender in music and humour.

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A house band gig at Toronto's famed Albert's Hall led him to host his own nation-wide TV show, Stormy Monday. Through the eighties, Danny starred in CBC radio's hit series the Hum Line.

Most recently, Danny Marks recorded two original music albums, Guitarchaeology and True, before paying tribute to Toronto's R&B roots with Big Town Boy in 2005.

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Danny's in his thirteenth year as the radio host of JAZZ.FM91's Saturday night blues show, bluz.fm.

As a child, young Danny would lock himself in his room with a stack of 45's, an old Seabreeze record player, and a fantasy of having his own radio show. More than a few years later this pre-pubescent propensity paid off.

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Danny's not one to be type cast. "Mostly, for now I've backed off on the bar work. Sure I miss the social life but I need to concentrate on other things."

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Some of those other things include radio and TV jingles, where Danny’s voice and guitar are in big demand, and, a new album needs to be written, recorded, and released. Guitarchaeology spent one whole year on the Top Ten on Sam the Record Man’s Indie chart. With the next album, Danny takes aim at the mainstream, and why not, in the pre millennium, it’s all alternative.

 

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FEATURED SONGS :

El Kabong

Man on the Radio

Land Where Blues Began

Hey, New York Town

You, Me And Mexico

Spy Guitar

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Website: http://www.dannym.com/

Bandcamp: https://www.facebook.com/danny.marks3

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Queen M​

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Marcia Alderson and Craig Smith join Douglas In conversation about their exciting collaboration Queen M.

 

Queen M is Neo soul mixed with vintage Motown and Reggae influences.

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Since she released her debut single “Colour Of Her Skin” in February 2022, the world has quickly come to know Queen M as one of the powerful new voices in Canadian Soul music. With her new single, “Evolution Of Queen M,” she shares more of her unique life story, while simultaneously cranking up the vintage funk with her band, led by producer/guitarist Craig Smith.

 

 “Colour Of Her Skin” was inspired by her parents’ struggle against racism in Canada during the1950s and ‘60s, but on “Evolution Of Queen M” she draws from her own traumatic experience of ending a four decade-long relationship that began when she was just 15 years old. “I like to think of this as my ‘divorce song,’” she explains. “It’s about reclaiming yourself, which for me was the result of coming out of literally the only relationship I’ve really ever known. It‘s about finding the courage to leave and finding the strength to not only survive, but thrive. It is about finding what truly makes you happy and I have. I barely recognize myself now with my newfound freedom.”

 

Gaining that freedom is partly what led Marcia Alderson to transform herself into Queen M, and create original music for the first time. Based in Collingwood, Ontario, the popular weekend getaway destination north of Toronto, Alderson built her reputation over the course of many years performing the music of her two primary influences, Motown and Bob Marley. However, the end of her marriage, combined with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, provided the motivation for Alderson to use her powerful voice to speak her truth.

 

Now as Queen M, she is making up for lost time and joining the ranks of the great contemporary artists both in Canada and around the world who are carrying the torch for classic Soul Music.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Colour of Her Skin

Evolution of Queen M

 

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Website: https://queenm.ca

Bandcamp: https://queenm.bandcamp.com/

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Ansley Simpson​

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Ansley Simpson’s newest album “She Fell From the Sky” is master work in song writing, storytelling and compelling recording. In this, her second album Ansley take us all on a timeless journey that will open the heart and mind with profound insight and hopefully instill a sense of urgency and purpose for those who have ears to hear.   

 

“The 11 tracks of  ‘She Fell From The Sky’ take us on this journey, as only Simpson can guide us. Through them, the emotional core of every second reverberates through the body, the unwavering strength of Simpson’s voice giving breath to Sky Woman’s story. Simpson sings like no other, their voice like the wind in the trees rising from your feet and her guitar follows like an extension of her body.”  Niko Stratis – from www.ansleysimpson.com

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Ansley Simpson is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabe musician, artist, and member of Alderville First Nation, and is known for poetic lyrics, deeply moving vocal-only performances, and dream-like arrangements.

 

The Tkaronto-based musician garnered two Indigenous Music Nominations and won Best New Artist in 2018 for the debut album “Breakwall”. In 2021, the collaborative work on Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s album “Theory of Ice'' landed a coveted place on the shortlist for the Polaris Prize.

 

Ansley’s a natural performer that holds audiences spellbound with storytelling embedded both in and out of the songs. The songwriting process was featured in an episode of APTN’s Indigenous Music series “Amplify'' for the single “Firewater” and the original score enlivened the powerful message throughout Tanya Talaga’s award-winning documentary “Spirit to Soar''.

 

Ansley’s highly anticipated sophomore album “She Fell from the Sky'' is a journey through Indigenous reclamation coming out now, on the label Gizhiiwe (GIH jzee way).

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FEATURED SONGS:

Migration

Secret Lover

The Wake

Without Warning

Untether

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Website: https://www.ansleysimpson.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ansley.simpson

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Blackie and the Rodeo Kings​

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No other band has bought together such individual talent to such a collective, enduring musical style than Blackie and The Rodeo Kings. Songwriters Colin Linden, Tom Wilson and Stephen Fearing have blazed the airways with their own unique brand of song and performance but as Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, they have mastered and crafted a music genre all to themselves. Loved and much revered by fans and audiences around the world, their albums and long career have become iconic in the roots-rock and folk–country genre.

 

Tom Wilson and Colin Linden joined Backstage’s Douglas McLean for conversation about their stirring and powerful new album, O Glory, and other works from their vast catalogue.   

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If any band was uniquely positioned to withstand the impossible demands made by despicable COVID-19, it was Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. The proof is in their blazing new album, O Glory. While much of the planet struggled to find new ways of working, singer/songwriter and guitarists Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson coolly leveraged the flexibility that’s sustained them for 25 years, sheltering in their respective home bases of Victoria, BC, Nashville, TN, and Hamilton, ON, while using technology to bridge the chasm separating them from each other and from their rhythm section of Gary Craig and John Dymond.

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With Linden producing from his Nashville digs, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings wrote and recorded 13 alternately roots-rock, folk, country, and Americana-style songs, ultimately crafting what Linden confirms is the band’s most “spiritual and political” musical statement to date.

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Adds Fearing, “Like a lot of musicians, after the initial shock of the pandemic lockdown, the impetus became finding ways to connect with the world. Technology has come so far in the last few years, and it has made remote recording possible. I pounced on it. Colin gave me a lot of advice and took charge musically. It was then a matter of coming up with songs and getting them to each other.”

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As they have since forming as a one-off to honour late folk hero Willie P. Bennett — continuing as smitten audiences demanded it — the JUNO Award–winning Blackie and the Rodeo Kings chase musical excellence while having a ball playing with their friends. Talk about a great gig.

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FEATURED SONGS:

Blue Moon Drive (feat. Chuck Copenace)

Has Anyone Seen My Baby Here Tonight?

Stop and Listen

Grand River

I Sleep Like a Fugitive

I Will See You in the Morning

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Website: www.blackieandtherodeokings.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlackieBand

Twitter: twitter.com/therodeokings

Instagram: www.instagram.com/blackieandtherodeokings

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Matthew Barber​

 

Released on July 22, 2022, “No Singing or Dancing”, follows up on Barber’s 2018 highly successful album ‘Phase of the Moon” . Throughout the six song EP, Matthew Barber demonstrates yet again why he is a much beloved and revered songwriter in the pantheon of Canadian performers.   

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Matthew Barber is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter who has been plying his trade for two decades, releasing ten records and touring across four continents along the way. His work has garnered a couple of Juno nominations, a handful of Canadian Folk Music award nominations, and even a pair of Montreal English Theatre awards for his musical contributions in the world of the dramatic arts.

 

Most comfortable slinging an acoustic guitar and crooning to an attentive audience, Barber has been known to plug in and get sweaty in the din of a rock club as well from time to time. Like his heroes Neil Young and Bob Dylan, he feeds off of the contrast of intimate solo performance and electric band energy and this balance has been reflected in his body of work. From his early Paper Bag Records and Warner Music Canada days and continuing throughout his longstanding relationship with Outside Music, Barber’s album Ghost Notes has garnered millions of streams, was nominated for a Juno Award, with almost every track from the record licensed to both film and TV spots, including Hockey Night in Canada, Heartland, Gabriel’s Inferno and more.

 

As the road miles have accumulated, Barber’s live shows have leaned away from the raucous and more to the mellow side of things. In 2016 Matthew collaborated with his talented sister Jill Barber and the result was The Family Album and an extensive tour with three generations along for the ride. Many memorable tours happened before and after, including a 20-city tour of China, a couple of forays in Europe, several trips Down Under and countless miles on the trans-Canada highway.

 

In 2020 Barber was eight shows in to a sold-out U.S. tour supporting his pal Noah Reid when everything shut down and the world changed forever. Being homebound led him to focus more on his love of being in the studio and he acted as producer on a handful of records for other folks, including up and coming duo Clever Hopes, singer-songwriter Ian Lake and the aforementioned Reid with whom he has now made three albums. 2022 will see Barber releasing new music of his own for the first time since 2018’s Phase Of The Moon and he is very excited about it.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

No Singing Or Dancing

Viral

Does Anybody Really Know?

Every Time You Cry

Sing Me To Sleep

 

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Website: https://www.matthewbarber.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.barber.102

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Ken Yates​

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Welcome to Backstage with Douglas McLean.

 

I was delighted to speak again with Ken Yates, June 14,2022 about his beautiful new album, ‘Cerulean’.

 

Born and raised in London, Canada, Ken Yates has gained a reputation as one of his country’s brightest rising singer-songwriters. The winner of two Canadian Folk Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year and New Artist of the Year, Yates has spent recent years expanding his sound and touring North America and Europe.

 

His new album Cerulean (out on Soundly Music 6/3/22) steps firmly into indie folk and alternative territories, and captures Yates at his most vulnerable. The cool-hued record was written as an intimate reckoning as he grieved his dying mother, giving listeners a vivid window into the rollercoaster of intense thoughts and emotions that accompany such a personal, yet universal experience.

 

“I used to go searching for the darkness. With this record, the darkness found me first. This is me finding my way out of it.”

 

Channeling pain into beauty, Ken Yates’ fourth album is a breathtaking triumph of the human spirit. The cool-hued Cerulean captures the artist’s intimate reckoning as he grieved his dying mother, giving listeners a vivid window into the rollercoaster of intense thoughts and emotions that accompany such a personal, yet universal experience. The result is a transcendent record that surges with tightly held energy and intimate moments. The listener hears the artist growing in real time, moving towards a space of acceptance and peace as he himself moved to the country, began therapy, and wrote the songs he needed to hear.

 

Cerulean may be born from grief, but it is not musically grieving: its surefooted and softly radiant arrangements shine with the quiet hope of a soul put through the wringer. “This is the first time that I’ve made a record where I feel like the songs were going to be written whether I wanted to release an album or not,” Yates explains. “I was writing because I needed to. I never would have described songwriting as a cathartic process in the past; it was just something I liked to do.”

 

With three albums under his belt, the Ontario born songwriter spent the past decade establishing himself as a talented folk artist with a penchant for thoughtful lyrics and evocative melodies. He won two Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2017, and supported Passenger on both the European and North American legs of his recent tour.

 

Nonetheless, Cerulean feels like a hard reset on Yates’ art and artistry. Reuniting with producer Jim Bryson, the album firmly steps into indie folk and alternative territories – he cites Big Thief, Andy Shauf, and The War On Drugs as a few of his inspirations. Thematically, this is Yates at his most honest and raw. "The record begins with a tone of paranoia facing the daily fear of what the world is becoming," he explains. “As the album progresses, the songs begin to look more and more inward. Moving through the anxiety and bitterness I was feeling. Still, there’s a lot of positivity in it. Maybe I was trying to take a step back to remind myself of all the good things and the full spectrum of color in my life.  My wife and I moved out of our apartment in Toronto to the country, got a dog, and found a bigger space where I was able to make a little musical corner for myself. I started seeing a therapist too. That, along with working on this record, helped pull me out of the foggy bitterness I was in.

 

Reflecting back now, I can almost hear myself processing what I was going through in real time, to the point where even the track listing was obvious– an accurate timeline of the feelings and emotions I was dealing with.”

 

Cerulean opens with “The Big One (ft. Kathleen Edwards),” an achingly poignant song that starts, quite poetically, at the end. “A friend kept talking about The Big One, a high-magnitude earthquake expected to strike the Pacific Northwest. In the last couple of years it feels like we have all developed a slight doomsday mentality, myself included; feeling like the world might be ending. Of course, we’re not really sure how, so that song is reckoning with the ‘armageddon’, and a realization of how trivial a lot of our personal relationships or conflicts can be when we are staring face-to-face with the end. The only thing to do is ride out your last few moments with the people you love.”

 

Yates dives deeper into himself as Cerulean progresses, searching for meaning in the world and working through everything from insomnia, denial, and nihilism, to hope and appreciation. The artist envelops himself in a blanket of plaintive, somber introspection on “Best of the Broken Things,” a comforting ballad in which he gives a pep talk to his own reflection.

 

An album standout, he paints a portrait of relatable restlessness on “Don’t Mean to Wake You” (ft. Stephanie Lambring), a warm and driving folk rock reverie. Yates finds himself lost in a pool of thoughts that gnaw at him so much that he has to turn over and wake his partner. It’s as much an attempt to save himself from himself, as it is a gentle cry for help.

 

The dynamic and driving “Honest Light” similarly finds him reassuring himself, this time from within. “My wife always refers to golden hour as ‘honest light’, when the light illuminates all the dust on your floor and the crumbs on your counter”, Yates explains. “I had the line, ‘life is like a cheap wine, it don’t get any better with time.’ I merged the title and line together as sort of this acceptance that things are not alright, but you’ll be alright.”

 

This mature recognition of life’s imperfection proves the lifeblood of Cerulean, and every time Yates seems to be on the verge of sinking, he swims – held afloat not only by his own inner strength, but also by his community. Cerulean is a group effort, with features from singer/songwriter contemporaries including Kathleen Edwards, Stephanie Lambring, Katie Pruitt, and more.

 

“Although these songs were born in a period of isolation, it turned out to be my most collaborative album yet.  There are full band arrangements on every song, and a few of my favourite artists lenT their voices, which really brought this record to life”.

 

After forty minutes spent exploring a world of vulnerable depths and soaring sonics, Cerulean closes in a moment of tranquility. “The final song, ‘Cerulean’, is about searching for balance – an equilibrium. We move through this endless colour wheel of emotions every day, but you have to find those small moments of peace and acceptance, and reassure yourself, ‘I’m okay.’

 

Yates’ mother Beverley passed away in August 2021.

“I’m strangely in a better headspace now than I was a year ago when she was still with us,” he admits. “I may owe that to taking a hard look at myself through the lens of these songs”.

 

Now that he’s on the other side, Yates says this album proved a transformative experience – allowing him to grow, while giving him some much-needed resolution to the past few years.

 

“I feel more open than ever, at peace with where I am as an artist,” he reflects. “This is the first time I’ve had a real personal story I wanted to tell. It does feel like I’ve had a moment to reset my life, and now I can start to share that with the rest of the world.”

 

Loss is a shared human experience. Through Cerulean, Ken Yates not only puts the full scope of his own healing process on display, but he also reminds us that we’re not alone in our pain – and that with time, we may just find our way to acceptance.

 

Written by Mitch Mosk - Atwood Magazine

SOURCE - http://www.kenyates.com/

 

 

FEATURED SONGS:

The Big One (feat. Kathleen Edwards)

Cerulean

When We Came Home

Half-Clenched Teeth

Don't Mean to Wake You (feat. Stephanie Lambring)

Honest Light (feat. Caroline Marie Brooks)

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Website: http://www.kenyates.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kenyatesmusic1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ken_Yates

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The Olympic Symphonium​

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Backstage with Douglas McLean met with Graeme Walker and Kyle Cunjak to discuss the release of two new singles called Beauty in the B-Sides – Singles. 

 

Formed in 2005, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, as a side project to explore song writing styles that didn’t work in their other bands at the time, Nick Cobham, on guitar, Kyle Cunjak on bass and guitar, and Graeme Walker, on guitar and bass, began recording soon after. Joined by Dennis Goodwin on lap steel, guitar, and banjo, the band has added five successful albums to their catalogue.

 

The Olympic Symphonium have been trudging through the murkier depths of the Canadian music stream since 2005. The band has crafted a full, lush sound that is entirely their own. A sound that features emotional musical flourishes, soaring harmonies that float in and out, and dramatic lyrical content. It is the sound of a strange and beautiful tension.

Whether it's the complexity of family life, the inevitability of death, the mundanity of life on the road, or struggles with mental illness, each band member writes with their own life experiences in mind and combines those with that of the other members in a Voltron like fashion to form one strong and varied body of work. Four become one to create a singular vision and sound. It's the sound of a band not afraid to go deep into the darkness, to go against the current and swim upstream.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Look At Her Now

The Execution (feat. Drew Jurecka)

How to Be (feat. Tim Crabtree)

Comedy

The Middle

Glory of Love

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Website: http://theolympicsymphonium.com/

Website: https://www.forwardmusicgroup.com/

Facebookl: https://www.facebook.com/TheOlympicSymphonium

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Crystal Shawanda​

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Crystal Shawanda will be at Etwell Concert Series, 2012 Etwell Rd, Huntsville. Sunday August 07,2022 at 3:00pm

 

Recent Juno winner for outstanding blues album, Crystal Shawanda is highly established as one of the leading female Blues singers in North America.The Ojibwe Potawatomi Indigenous singer was born in Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Ontario and even though she now lives in Nashville, she keeps her roots close to her heart and soul. One has to look no further than her latest CD “Church House Blues” to feel the connection.

 

There’s a tendency these days to try to pigeonhole any artist that attempts to breach the boundaries. Chalk it up to the restrictions of radio playlists or the media’s attempt to strictly define musicians by the music it believes artists ought to be making, creative instincts be damned. Nevertheless Crystal Shawanda opted to defy those demands and chart her own path forward.

 

Initially signed to RCA in 2007, she hit her stride as a country singer and songwriter when she scored a top 20 hit with her song “You Can Let Go” and subsequently tallied sales of over 50,000 copies of her debut album Dawn of a New Day and subsequently debuted in the Billboard Top 20. She began to realize that the blues had captured her muse, and with that, she left the label, shifted her stance and began recording albums that reflected her love of blues and her natural affinity for that sound.

 

As she once told an interviewer, “The whole time I was singing Patsy Cline on stage, I was singing Etta James at home.”

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Her new album Church House Blues (released April 17th on True North Records) reflects that dedication and devotion and finds her co-writing seven of the ten songs on the album. Produced by her husband, collaborator and cowriter Dewayne Strobel, it not only marks her fourth blues effort to date, but one of her most demonstrative as well. That’s evident at the outset, from the fiery delivery of the title track, the riveting drive of “New Orleans Is Sinking,” and the assertive strains of “Rather Be Alone,” to the quiet, contemplative desire and despair that scorches “Evil Memory,” the radio-ready hooks illuminated in “Hey Love,” and the emotive strains instilled in the bittersweet ballads “When It Comes To Love” and “Bigger Than the Blues.” At the center of it all is Crystal’s evocative vocals, a powerful, provocative force of nature that elevates each encounter and sends the album’s entries soaring towards the stratosphere.

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Credit is also due to some spectacular guest artists, including session superstar Dave Roe on bass (Johnny Cash, Yola, Ceelo Green, among the many), the McCrary Sisters on backing vocals, Dana Robbins of Delbert McClinton’s band on sax, and Peter Keys of Lynyrd Skynyrd playing keys.

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FEATURED SONGS:

Wang Dang Doodle/

Church House Blues

How Bad Do You Want It

Hey Love

Pray Sister Pray

Evil Memory

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Website: http://crystalshawanda.co/

Facebookl: https://www.facebook.com/crystalshawandaofficial

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/crystalshawanda2011

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Downchild Blues Band​

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Legendary Downchild Blues Band will be at Algonquin Theatre July 21st 2022 continuing to celebrate their 50th Anniversary Tour.

 

Chuck Jackson, lead singer and harmonica player with Downchild for over 30 years,  took some time to talk with Douglas McLean about the tour and some of the legendary songs the band will delight Huntsville audiences with. 

 

The show will feature some wonderful live songs from their illustrious career.   

 

Roaring through bracing, high-octane performances since 1969, the band founded and continuously steered by harmonica and guitar ace Donnie “Mr. Downchild” Walsh is as vibrant today as when Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi went sniffing around for inspiration for their brilliant Blues Brothers venture back in the 1970s. The pair elevated Downchild’s “Shotgun Blues” and Walsh’s “(I Got Everything I Need) Almost” to smash status on their 1978 Briefcase Full of Blues record.

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Actually, the 2017 iteration of Downchild — with each member boasting a minimum of 20 years of service — might be the most electrifying.

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Internal combustion certainly describes scorchers like the swaggering, harp-goosed “Mississippi Woman, Mississauga Man,” the thundering piano-pummelled title track, and opener “Albany, Albany” which contrasts a singalong chorus with sharp melody forwarded by Pat Carey’s marvellously skronking sax.

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Indeed, if Downchild didn’t exist, the blues world would have to invent them. Who else could so clearly serve as contemporary torchbearers for riveting original music firmly rooted in tradition while acting as a thriving spiritual link to past greats like Sonny Boy Williamson II, James Cotton, and B.B. King.

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But don’t take our word for it. Downchild’s epic reputation has been reaffirmed time and again.

Witness their 2014 Blues Album of the Year Juno Award for, Can You Hear The Music — their second Juno win overall. Their boatload of Maple Blues Awards. Their marquee billing on the globe’s most prestigious stages. And, of course, their inimitable 1973 reading of Big Joe Turner’s classic “Flip, Flop and Fly” which placed Walsh and band co-founder, late brother Richard “Hock” Walsh on the charts and in the souls of music fans worldwide.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Gonnna Tell Your Mother (Live)

(I Got Everything I Need) Almost (Live)

Flip Flop and Fly (Live) [feat. Dan Aykroyd, Paul Shaffer, David Wilcox, Kenny Neal, Gene Taylor & Erja Lyytinen]

Mississippi Woman, Mississauga Man (Live) [feat. Erja Lyytinen]

Tryin' To Keep Her 88's Straight with Jane Vasey

Can You Hear the Music (Live)

 

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Website: https://downchild.com/

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile      

Huntsville Tickets: https://huntsvillefestival.ca/event/the-legendary-downchild-blues-band/​

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Byrdy

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With their debut album Byrdy released April 15,2022, the band have found their wings.

 

Their new album is a monster. Singer-songwriter and founder of Byrdy, Robyn White spoke to host Douglas McLean about the band’s genesis, development and many of the songs off the release.    

 

Byrdy collaborated with the amazing Black Suit Devil and welcomed Xadio Valak on lead guitar. He also recorded, mixed and performed on the album. 

 

Byrdy is a 6 piece band with keyboards, 2 lead singers, 2 guitarists, bass and drums.

 

Their sound is dramatic punctuated by stellar performances, coupled with compelling song writing and production.  

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Website: https://www.byrdyband.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byrdytheband

                

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Chuck Wright​

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“Chuck Wright’s ‘Sheltering Sky’, is a superb mix of modern songwriting and stellar performances.  Dipping in and out of styles and genres, Wright’s timely songs and lyrics, will kick you right in the heart and the head at the same time. A powerful surprise that needs careful, attentive listening.” - Douglas McLean, The Sound Cafe Magazine. 

 

Chuck Wright, longtime Quiet Riot bassist, is proud and excited to release his debut solo album, Chuck Wright ‘s Sheltering Sky, on Los Angeles-based Cleopatra Records.   

 

The album features guest appearances by several of Wright’s musical peers including keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater/Billy Idol), guitarist Lanny Cordola (House of Lords), vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen), Troy Luccketta (Tesla) and the late Mr. Big drummer, Pat Torpey.

 

The album’s 11 tracks also illustrate Wright’s impressive songwriting ability as he either wrote or co-wrote all nine original songs on the album.  Also included is an edgy, intense version of Bjork’s “Army of Me” along with a soulful, Celtic-rock take on the The Youngbloods classic, “Darkness, Darkness.”  Chuck also produced and engineered most of the album.

 

Sheltering Sky exhibits a diversity and breadth of musical styles that embraces facets of Wright’s hard rock legacy while also delving into a more varied side of Chuck’s musical vision with well-written songs that feature ethereal guitar work, tasteful, soulful 70s era influences, Prog, Jazz Fusion and even a bit of heavy funk.  Besides his usual outstanding bass work as performed on a variety of different bass instruments, Wright also contributes on keys and acoustic guitar on several tracks.

 

Wright is best known as a long-time member of multi-platinum heavy metal band Quiet Riot. He originally joined Quiet Riot in 1981, playing bass on the tracks "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" and "Don't Wanna Let You Go," as well as singing background vocals on all tracks from the 1983 multi-platinum album Metal Health, which was the first metal album to ever reach #1 on the Billboard 200 chart (in November 1983).

 

He performed, toured the world, and recorded with Quiet Riot on-and-off for 26 years…recording nine albums with the band, before departing the band again. 

 

Wright is also a former member of hard rock band Giuffria, and a founding member of hard rock band, House of Lords, for which he recorded four albums.

 

His reputation as a sought-after bass player has landed him gigs with Alice Cooper, Slash, Gregg Allman, Carmine Appice, Ronnie Montrose, John Waite, and Pat Travers, amongst others.

 

Wright has appeared on over 100 worldwide record releases, playing bass, and producing albums of various styles, including ambient trance, reggae, rap, country, and, of course, rock.

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Wright has headed up Ultimate Jam Night, a long-running live music show since January 2015, at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood. Ultimate Jam Night features up to 60 pro musicians each week.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Army Of Me

The Weight Of Silence

Darkness Darkness

The Other Side

Farewell Horizon

Giving Up The Ghost

Throwin; Stones

 

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChuckWrightOfficial

                

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The Bros. Landreth

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The Bros. Landreth welcome a new day with 'Come Morning', an album that marks both a rebirth and refinement of the JUNO-winning band's blend of North American roots music and harmony-heavy soul.

 

The most immersive, emotive record of the Landreths' career, 'Come Morning' finds brothers Joey and Dave lacing their melody-driven songs with layers of atmospheric synth, organ, and textured guitar. The group's previous albums shone a light on their strength as a live act, capturing the spontaneity and sonic stomp of a band of hard-touring road warriors. If those records unfolded like snapshots of The Bros. Landreth's night-time shows, then 'Come Morning' sketches a markedly different picture, showcasing the introspection and clarity that comes with a long period of rest. 

 

For Joey and Dave, rest wasn't always an easy thing to find. After pursuing separate careers as sidemen, they launched The Bros. Landreth with 2013's 'Let It Lie', a debut album that drew upon the shared soundtrack of their childhood — Bonnie Raitt's blues, Little Feat's funky country-rock, Ry Cooder's eclectic instrumentals, Lyle Lovett's twangy traditionalism — for a sound that saluted the past while planting its flag firmly in the present. 'Let It Lie' was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, winning the 2015 JUNO Award for "Roots & Traditional Album Of The Year - Group," earning The Bros. Landreth a nomination for "International Artist of the Year" at the 2016 UK Americana Music Awards, and receiving praise from heroes like Bonnie Raitt. Years of near-constant touring in support of its release left the brothers exhausted, however, and the band took a three-year break before regrouping for 2019's ''87'.

 

When the Covid-19 pandemic brought ''87''s' accompanying tour to a halt, Joey and Dave began recording a new batch of songs in near-seclusion, pulling long hours in the studio and building songs one instrument at a time. They layered, experimented, and twisted sounds into something new, working alongside longtime co-producer Murray Pulver and a small group of guests. What emerged from those sessions was 'Come Morning': a transportive album built for the heart, the head, and the headphones.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Stay

Drive All Night (Radio Edit)

Made Up Mind

After The Rain

Salvation Bound

Back To Thee

Don't Feel Like Crying (feat. Leith Ross)

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Website: https://www.thebroslandreth.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebroslandreth

                

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Matt Weidinger

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Matt Weidinger sat down with host Douglas McLean in conversation about his career to date, his song writing and his show he performed at Peter’s Players on May 21 just passed - Matt Weidinger Presents: The Music of Van Morrison 

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Matt is a versatile musician, an exciting songwriter and performer plus being a genuine, friendly, and knowledgeable musicologist.

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“The 28-year-old Kitchener, Ontario native is a passionate young songwriter, who is well known for his mature rock/soul vocals and impressive multi-instrumental (organ, guitar) talents.

His unmistakable earthly tones captivate the hearts of anyone who hears it. He performs like a veteran musician on the piano and organ, and is equally proficient on guitar, or mandolin.

Although some consider him a throw back of the ’60s, he still has the capacity to grab the attention of both the old, young and everyone in between. He’s an “old soul” who easily commands the attention of any crowd. His passion for music and performing is contagious.

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Starting his music career at the ripe age of 15, Weidinger has had the pleasure of playing a variety of venues around Southwestern Ontario on a weekly basis. He also performs at multiple blues festivals around the province.” - Peter’s Players

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FEATURED SONGS:

It Ain't Easy

Morning Comfort

Step Out

Going to California

He Don't Need Love

 

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Website: https://mattweidinger1.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattweidingermusic

                

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Bonham-Bullick

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Talented singer-songwriter Deborah Bonham and guitarist-songwriter Peter Bullick (who are husband and wife), along with their band and special guests, have recorded a new 13-track self-titled covers album which is an inspiring blend of blues, rock, and a bit of soul. The music on this excellent new album, which was released on Quarto Valley Records (QVR) on April 29, is in the tradition of the great blues-rock of the 1970s whilst also being deeply entrenched in classic blues and soul.

 

Deborah Bonham, the younger sister of legendary rock drummer John Bonham, of Led Zeppelin fame, is a powerful vocalist, well versed in rock blues. She has worked with and graced the stages of Paul Rogers, Robert Plant and many more of the 70’s greats. Her new album is filled with the songs she loves, dedicated to the great blues artists of yesteryear.

 

Peter Bullick is a versatile, masterful guitarist who long worked with the legendary Paul Rogers and many others.

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FEAURED SONGS:

See What You're Doing To Me

What Did I Do Wrong

Trouble Blues

When This World Comes To An End

It Ain't Easy

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Website: https://www.deborahbonham.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/deborahbonham

                    https://www.facebook.com/DeborahBonhamOfficial

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The Kentucky Headhunters

           

Greg Martin of the Kentucky Headhunters, joins host Douglas McLean to discuss the band’s new album, ‘ That’s A Fact Jack!’, guitars, radio shows and song writing.

 

Overall, the Kentucky Headhunters have released eight studio albums, three compilations, and twenty-three singles. They have toured the world countless times and still perform relentlessly to their rabid fan base.  They also had time to finally make their Grand Ole Opry debut in December 2021.

 

The band’s early music was country oriented but over time they’ve developed into a band that also plays and records head-crushing rock ‘n’ roll, fiery Southern guitar rock and a knack for serious blues that showcases just how overall talented these guys are.  Greg Martin’s guitar playing shines throughout the eye of this musical hurricane no matter what style of music they perform.  He’s probably the main reason many folks describe the band’s sound as “guitar-heavy, rambunctious music.”

 

 A highlight of Martin’s life over the past 20+ years has been his radio show, the previously mentioned Lowdown Hoedown.  Greg’s gift of gab, sense of humor, down-to-earth personality, and an ability to both entertain his audience and relate comfortably to his on-air/studio guests have made the show a popular regional must-listen radio staple. 

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Stumblin' (Live)

That's A Fact Jack

Heart and Soul

Let's All Get Together and Fight

Water Colors, in the Rain

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Website: http://kentuckyheadhunters.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kentuckyheadhunters

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Blue Rodeo

            

 

For thirty years, Blue Rodeo have been a dominant force on the Canadian music scene. Known for their exemplary song writing and thrilling performances, Blue Rodeo are considered one of Canada’s greatest and most beloved bands. 

 

 

Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo joined host Douglas McLean in conversation regarding their phenomenal new album ‘Many a Mile’, a set of songs to be treasured and loved for years to come. 

 

Coherent certainly, though even hardcore Blue Rodeo fans are likely to be floored by the sheer sonic scope of Many A Mile, which, while slotting broadly into the alt-country/rock category long associated with the band, the album also contains a constellation of surprising textures and touches across its 12 songs.

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FEATURED SONGS:

Never Like This Before

When You Were Wild

All In Your Hands

I Will Wait for You

Ride Your Bike

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Website: https://www.bluerodeo.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueRodeo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BlueRodeoOfficial

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Dale Bozzio

            

One of music's most recognizable and influential artists, Missing Person's, Dale Bozzio, shares her most intimate and inspirational moments in her superb autobiography, ‘ Life is So Strange’.

 

Bozzio kisses and tells all, weaving stories from throughout her entire life including her childhood, her time as a Playboy bunny, her fateful introduction to Frank Zappa, her meteoric rise with Missing Persons, her love affair and collaborations with Prince, and so much more!

 

In conversation with Douglas McLean about her illustrious career and the song writing that has sustained her whole adventurous life.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Mental Hopscotch

Crew Slut

Somewhere There Forever (feat. Dale Bozzio)

Destination Unknown (feat. Dale Bozzio)

Simon Simon

Riot in English

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Website: https://www.dalebozzio.today/home

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaleBozzio

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist

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Jerry Leger

            

Born in the mid-80s, singer-songwriter Jerry Leger came of age in the Upper Beaches area of Toronto. Surrounded by music from a young age, his grandfather first turned him onto Hank Williams, constantly playing the youngster a plethora of the honky tonk master’s great recordings. Although Williams’ voice came from another world in terms of time, geography, and class, Leger was intrigued by the ways that Williams’ songs told a story and often conjured up mysterious images in his head.

 

Other seminal influences were slowly added including John Lennon (and the Beatles), Bob Dylan, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, the Everly Brothers, Tom Waits, and Gordon Lightfoot.

 

Jerry Leger’s newest album, Nothing Pressing, released March 16th, 2022, is the best! Full of energetic and carefully crafted melodies and lyrics, Leger again displays why so many think he is one Canada’s great rock and roll artists, as well a pre-eminent songwriter. Jerry joined Douglas McLean in conversation about his career, songwriting approach, tour plans and before his show on April 01, 2022 at Bracebridge Hall in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada.  

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FEATURED SONGS:

Kill It with Kindness

A Page You've Turned

The Great Unknown

Have You Ever Been Happy?

Nothing Pressing

Survived Like a Stone

Wait a Little Longer

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Website: http://jerryleger.com

Bandcamp:  https://jerryleger.bandcamp.com/music

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerrylegermusic

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist

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Big Little Lions

            

Big Little Lions are an award winning duo, Helen Austin and Paul Otten,  who were born out of a collaboration that won them a JUNO Award in 2014. Since then they have been cranking out infectious folk pop songs that are jam-packed with emotion and tight harmonies that sound like the product of two people working side-by-side instead of living in different countries.

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They have released 6 albums to date, which have garnered them awards including the CFMA Ensemble of the Year, Independent Music Awards Americana Single of the Year and the John Lennon Songwriting Competition Song of the Year. Their critically acclaimed music has appeared on the CBC’s Top 20 and featured on shows like q and Vinyl Cafe. The duo are both hugely prolific songwriters - their music has been placed in hundreds of movie trailers, ads, network TV shows and on MTV.

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They are currently releasing a new song a month, most of which are on some great Spotify editorial playlists. Their music has been dubbed ‘a blissful marriage of new folk and sophisticated pop’ by Mariposa Folk Festival, and is packed with emotion and tight harmonies.

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 “What is truly amazing about Big Little Lions is that its two members, Helen Austin and Paul Otten, were born to make music together, their voices made to combine, but they are in different countries. It just goes to show you, destiny is a powerful force.” [east of 8th] 

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AWARDS:

John Lennon Songwriting Competition Song of the Year
JUNO Award 
CFMA Ensemble of the Year
Nominated for many CFMA Awards
Nominated for many Western Canadian Music Awards
International Songwriting Competition and Unsigned Only Winners various years
Canadian Songwriting Competition Folk Winner
Independent Music Award Americana Song of the Year
CBC’s Top 20
CBC q
CBC Vinyl Cafe
Hundreds of movie trailers, ads, network TV shows plus MTV

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Choose Forward

Only A Friend Like You

Never Mind The Weather

Time Doesn't Stop

We Were Young

Someday

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Website: https://biglittlelions.com

Bandcamp:  https://biglittlelions.bandcamp.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biglittlelions

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist

Matt Andersen

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Matt Andersen is a Canadian blues guitarist and singer-songwriter from Perth-Andover, New Brunswick, signed to True North Records. He is a Juno Award nominee. His musical career started in 2002 with the New Brunswick band Flat Top.

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Known for his powerful vocals and guitar wizardry, Matt Andersen has toured the world performing his one-man stage show, delighting audiences time and again. He returned to Huntsville, ON March 20th, 2022 to the Algonquin theatre for a single show, which began a busy touring schedule for the rest of the summer, across Canada, United States and Europe.

 

His new album, House to House, released March 04,2022 is a stunning display of his artistry. Performed only on acoustic guitar and joined by some friends on vocals, the songs, many co-written with some of Canada’s top songwriters, is a powerful testament to the grace and healing gift of music. Intimate, tender and timely, Matt Andersen takes the listener on a journey of renewal with deep emotionally insight, through an historic period when hope seems lost and love unrecognizable.

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In addition to headlining major festivals, clubs and theatres throughout North America, Europe and Australia, Andersen has shared the stage and toured with Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Gregg Allman, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Randy Bachman, Little Feat, April Wine, America, Loverboy, Jonny Lang, Serena Ryder, and Beth Hart.

   

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FEATURED SONGS:

The Gift

Other Side of Goodbye

Time for the Wicked to Rest

Coal Mining Blues

All We Need

People Get Ready

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Website: http://www.stubbyfingers.ca/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattandersenofficial

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album

Séan McCann​

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A lot has happened in the almost 10 years since Séan McCann exited the iconic and world-renowned Newfoundland folk-rock outfit that he co-founded- GREAT BIG SEA. He’s released six successful solo albums touching on a range of subjects from Canadian life and culture to spotlighting national hardships like the infamous 2016 wildfires that devastated Fort McMurray, Alberta, in which he partnered with the Canadian Red Cross.

 

A philanthropist as much as he is an artist, McCann also organized a songwriters benefit in 2017 in support of veterans suffering from PTSD and addiction, enlisting his fellow musician friends, Joel Plaskett, Sarah Harmer, and Jeremy Fisher. In recognition of these efforts and his other advocacy work for people living with mental health and addiction issues, McCann earned the Order of Canada in 2020.

 

Séan McCann’s own battle with overcoming alcohol addiction, coming clean, and owning his truth has been key to his growth as a husband, a father, a musician, and a human. Armed with the strength and support of his wife, Andrea Aragon, McCann co-penned his first book One Good Reason (2020). “It’s the story of how love saved their marriage, and music saved his life. It is the story of a man freed from the weight of a lie; a man who is changing his narrative and never forgetting... that he is not alone.”

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Fire Down Below

Run

Lonesome Sea

Deep Blue Sea

End of the World

Go To Sea No More

Chariot

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Website: https://seanmccannsings.com/

Website:  https://seanmccannsings.com/shantyman-songs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatBigSean

Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanmccannsings 

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T. Buckley​

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Award-winning Canadian songwriter T. Buckley (T is for Tim not related to the late Tim Buckley) looks through the lens of life with his second solo album, Frame By Frame, released November 5, 2021 via Fallen Tree Records.

 

Buckley delivers another trademark smooth and soulful vocal performance that makes him one of western Canada's most talked-about artists. The recording sessions were fused in the winter of 2020 at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta, with notable producer Jeff Kynoch and a core group of players: Jesse Dollimont on mandolin, guitar and backing vocals; Mitch Jay on stringed things; Steve Fletcher on keys and organs; Dan Stadnicki on drums; and Keith Rempel on bass. Kynoch's open-minded sonic approach makes for an excellent pairing with Buckley's spirit of creatively pushing the envelope.

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FEATURED SONGS:

Miles We Put Behind

Wildfire

Settlers' Town

Father's Child

Solid Ground

Kira's Song

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Website:  http://www.tbuckley.ca/

Website:  https://tbuckley.bandcamp.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tbuckleymusic

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John Pippus​

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For his 5th full-length release, Hermosa Star - Family Album, Vancouver-based singer-songwriter John Pippus is following a new path, away from his reputation for innovative blues and into the groove of his folk and roots influences. His wife, classically trained musician Pam Searle, sings in close harmony on every track, their decades of singing together evident in how well their voices blend.

 

Son Jacob Pippus — an in-demand drummer on the Vancouver scene — was enlisted, along with former bandmate, Peg Wilson, on bass and back-up vocals. Together they recorded 10 original folk-roots songs as well as the traditional 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' to close off the album.

 

 

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FEATURED SONGS :

Two Sides To Every Lie

Some Days

Seen A Ghost

The Devil's On His Way

Crush The Fear

Just A Dance

Whole World Watching (For Ukraine)

 

 

 

Website:  www.johnpippus.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JohnPippusMusic

Bandcamp:  johnpippus.bandcamp.com

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Bruce Cockburn​

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For 50 years, this Canadian musical legend has been capturing in song the essence of human experience – while fiercely striving to make it better.

 

 

One of Canada’s finest artists, Bruce Cockburn has enjoyed an illustrious career shaped by politics, spirituality, and musical diversity. His remarkable journey has seen him embrace folk, jazz, rock, and worldbeat styles while travelling to such far-flung places as Guatemala, Mali, Mozambique, and Nepal, and writing memorable songs about his ever-expanding world of wonders. “My job,” he explains, “is to try and trap the spirit of things in the scratches of pen on paper and the pulling of notes out of metal.”

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That scratching and pulling has earned Cockburn high praise as an exceptional songwriter and a revered guitarist. His songs of romance, protest, and spiritual discovery are among the best to have emerged from Canada over the last 50 years. His guitar playing, both acoustic and electric, has placed him in the company of the world’s top instrumentalists. And he remains deeply respected for his activism on issues from native rights and land mines to the environment and Third World debt, working for organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, and Friends of the Earth.

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Throughout his career, Cockburn has deftly captured the joy, pain, fear, and faith of human experience in song. Whether singing about retreating to the country or going up against chaos, tackling imperialist lies or embracing ecclesiastical truths, he has always expressed a tough yet hopeful stance: to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight. “We can’t settle for things as they are,” he once warned. “If you don’t tackle the problems, they’re going to get worse.”

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For his many achievements, the Ottawa-born artist has been honoured with 13 Juno Awards, an induction into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, as well as the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, and has been made an Officer of the Order of Canada. But, he never rests on his laurels. “I’d rather think about what I’m going to do next,” says Cockburn. “My models for graceful aging are guys like John Lee Hooker and Mississippi John Hurt, who never stop working till they drop, as I fully expect to be doing, and just getting better as musicians and as human beings.”

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His commitment to growth has made Bruce Cockburn both an exemplary citizen and a legendary artist whose prized songbook will be celebrated for many years to come.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Stab at Matter

Sweetness and Light

All the Diamonds In the World

Wondering Where The Lions Are

Thoughts On a Rainy Afternoon

Beautiful Creatures

Each One Lost

If I Had A Rocket Launcher

Pacing The Cage

 

 

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Website:  brucecockburn.com

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Lilli Lewis​

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New Orleans Folk Rock Diva Lilli Lewis released, Americana, her third full album for Louisiana Red Hot Records on October 29th 2021. The album was co-produced by Lewis and iconic indie producer Mark Bingham. Notable guest artists include cellist Rick Nelson (Afghan Whigs, Polyphonic Spree), folk favourite Gina Forsyth, and Seattle Blues Legend Lady A.

 

The record returned Lewis to her folk and roots origins, and reflects two sides of her America, that of her father’s church, and that of the “white-gaze” world that existed beyond those walls.

 

Of the collection Lewis says “these stories were meant to reflect the humanity of the forgotten, because in times like these, it feels like dignity can seem really hard to come by.”

 

Trained as an opera singer and classical pianist, singer-songwriter Lewis has been a composer, producer and performing artist for over two decades. She released her first album The Coming of John in 2003, and has been known as the Folk Rock Diva since then.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

We Shall Overcome

Copper John

Beauty Beyond Reason

Fly

Wednesday's Child

My American Heart (feat. Gina Forsyth) [Benediction]

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As the story goes, Lilli Lewis should never have been. Before she was born, Lewis’ mother was told her baby probably wouldn’t survive due to lung trouble, so the fact that Lewis now makes a living singing with those same lungs is a gift she never takes for granted. Lewis uses her voice to bring what she calls sacred songs into profane spaces, and though she’s abandoned trying to define her sound, she hopes her audiences leave shows knowing two things: that they are brilliant as they are, and that they have the ability to use that brilliance to make a better world.

 

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Website:  lillilewisproject.com

Link Tree:  linktr.ee/folkrockdiva

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Troy Sinister​

 

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Troy Sinister has  been a professional musician for over 40 years now. He owned and operated  two independent Labels, (and saw the standard format of recorded music change from LP to Cassette to CD & now mp3s).

 

For a decade, Troy played bass, recorded and toured with self- destructive Toronto Punk legends, The Sinisters. He also recorded and toured with The Falls River Fiends, the Dregs of Humanity and the Legendary O'Lantern Brothers. Troy likes to say he has done it all and he’s got the “lousy T-shirt and scars to prove it”.

 

Currently he lives in Muskoka, Ontario and has been playing bass for Ol' Stampy's Saloon and the Juan Barbosa Band. They (Stampy Juan & Troy) have a kickass redneck party band called "The Juke Box Scoundrels" that gig around the Muskoka area. Troy’s most recent band  is "GORD" the super Canuck Hard Rawk Band with Lewis Hodgson, Ryan Clark and Sean McIlroy.

 

So turn up it up loud and let all the neighbours know, Tory Sinister is in conversation about his legendary career.  (Source: Troy Sinister – Reverbnation).

 

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Featured Songs:

Just Got Bored

Sick N' Wired

Shame

The Devils Jukebox***

Feeling Alright

 

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Website:  https://www.reverbnation.com/troysinister

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/troy.sinister

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theofficialthesinisters

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Erik Bleich

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Douglas McLean is proud to present a long detailed conversation with artist, Erik Bleich from Toronto about his newest album.

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Erik Bleich released on Valentine’s Day 2022, the five song EP, More Than Anything You’ve Feared which is a vulnerable song cycle built around the rise and falls, mental instability and quiet bliss of domestic partnership. Written and recorded in the pre-pandemic, “Before Times”, this vulnerable offering is perhaps more relevant now than ever. From shared loss to personal triumphs, Bleich's intimate writing is swathed at times in murky strings, familiar waltzes and eerie soundscapes. The latter giving way to kaleidoscopic waves of chiming glockenspiel, trumpet fanfare and lush swells of accordion, violin, and battered guitar.

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Whether weaving his lonesome way between shy-witted banter and sprawling narratives in a quiet living room or leading a cinematic, chamber folk ensemble in a lifeful venue, Bleich’s vulnerability and playfulness shine in equal measure, connecting with audiences wherever he goes.

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FEATURED SONGS:

Emily

Thistle Speck

Calico Night

Pink Guitar

Birds

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Website:  http://erikbleich.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erikbleichmusic 

Bandcamp: https://erikbleich.bandcamp.com/album/more-than-anything-youve-feared

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Taivi

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Taivi is a Canadian Folk/Roots Musician, Songwriter and Artist.

 

Rising Tide is an incredible set of songs and tales delivered with  pristine musicianship and collaboration, that is both stirring and exemplary.

 

Taivi’s debut album, Rising Tide, launched to critical and popular acclaim – posting in the top 25 of the International Folk DJ Chart, receiving 4 of 5 stars from the Netherlands and taking the top spot of the Roots Music chart in Kamloops beside her longtime hero Buffy Sainte Marie.

 

While dedicating much of her life to social justice, behind the scenes Taivi's music was gaining traction. Beyond classical and popular music, she was immersed in folk-roots traditions from North America, Latin America and Scandinavia, dove into ancient Indonesian gamelan music, and explored choral work. More and more she was drawn to writing songs.

 

Taivi is Toronto-based with ancestral roots in Estonia - a nation known for having changed its destiny through a “singing revolution.” She carries the genes.  

 

Her music  can convey her close connection to the land, reflect experiences of those close to her, speak of things left unsaid, and at times - express the joy of being here. 

 

Her project, “Beyond the Walls,” was recorded & filmed in the first year of the pandemic with photographs submitted from around the world.

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FEATURED SONGS:

Keep On Moving

One More Dance

Parry Sound

The Clearwater

Get On Home

Turn My Light On

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Website: https://www.taivimusic.com/

Music:  https://www.taivimusic.com/rising-tide

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taivimuse

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Noah Zacharin​

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Noah Zacharin is a widely acclaimed guitar master, multi-genre songwriter, and dynamic performer. He was given his first guitar at age 9, wrote his first song at 13, and began performing at 14. In December 2015 Zacharin became a full-time recording and touring musician, and is more thrilled than ever to be doing what he's always done. Born in Montreal, Zacharin splits his time between Toronto, the road, and an off-grid cabin on the Canadian Shield.

 

He has been called "a stunning guitarist...no stylistic boundaries" (Holger Peterson, CBC, Stony Plain Records), "a wonderful songwriter and performer" (Paul Mills, Borealis Records), "a poet, a songwriter, a singer we have been waiting for" (the late Penny Lang), "a great guitarist/ singer/ songwriter...a wonderfully musical player" (Randy Finney, Founder TFGA), "in a league of his own" (Brian Gladstone, Founder and AD Winterfolk Festival), "one of the best songwriters this country has produced" (the late great Rick Fielding, recording artist, radio host), and "deserving to be mentioned in the same breath with names such as James Taylor and David Wilcox" (Minor 7th).

 

Zacharin's recordings have all garnered popular and critical praise: Strange Rider made a number of ‘Best-Of’ lists for 2016.

 

As a soloist he has opened shows for Odetta, David Lindley, Dave Van Ronk, Jesse Winchester, Alex de Grassi, and Fairport Convention, and performed internationally in 100's of venues from club to concert hall. As a producer and instrumentalist he has performed with some of Canada's finest and appears on some 60 recordings from across North America. As a writer, his songs have been recorded by popular performer and radio host Laura Fernandez (who translated the song into Spanish), Rolling Stone (India) Cover Artist Rehan Dalal, and double-slide master, the late Brian Cober.

 

Noah Zacharin is also an award-winning poet ("a remarkable ability to articulate efficient, powerfully condensed ideas": What 18/19) and translator, having won McGill’s Chester- Macnaghten poetry prize and Matrix Magazine’s translation prize. He has published hundreds of poems, translations, and reviews, in periodicals and anthologies worldwide, and is currently at work on several volumes of poetry, and a number of children's books.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Woke Like A Lark

Sweet Home Chicago

Morning Comes On

Declare Your Love

Fan The Flame

Convertible Kind

Ten Tons Of Road -  Live, January 8th 2015

Waiting On Your Love

 

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Website:  www.noahsong.com/lyrics-backend/2018/4/10/ready-to-fly

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Jim McCarty​

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As the drummer and one of the original founding members of the legendary  Yardbirds, Jim McCarty has made a life in music that spans several successful bands, numerous recordings, a solo career of deeply touching songwriter. as an author he has two books and joins Douglas McLean to discuss his latest , ‘She Walks In Beauty’  as well has his long musical adventure.

 

The Yardbirds are famous not only for a series of unforgettable hits during the sixties but also introducing the world to three of rock most notable solo guitarists; Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.   

 

What’s makes Jim McCarty’s story so amazing is his continuous search for what he terms the “Bigger Picture”, as well as his prodigious work as a drummer, songwriter, band leader and author, throughout the past sixty years.

 

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FEATURED SONGS:

Over, Under, Sideways, Down

So Many Questions

Stop Living Life In The Past

Lost Women

Island

Charmed

 

 

                         

Website/Social: 

http://www.jamesmccarty.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jim.mccarty.9

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