JAIMIE VERNON – SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

24 hours ago a crowdfunding campaign to bring my old record label, Bullseye, back from the dead ended successfully with over $20,000 in donations from people who passionately believe in not only me and the label but music in general. I’m overwhelmed by the generosity and well wishes. I am truly humbled.

As you read this all the wheels are in motion for a Lazarus-like zombie resurrection. I quit my day job of the last 12 months as a cemetery cop. As much as I like guarding the dead I wasn’t quite making a difference in the bigger world. And that, at the end of a 15 hour day, is a waste of my talents.

I would never be so arrogant as to think of myself as a saviour, but one thing the music biz needs right now is a label like Bullseye. So much bad music has happened since my endeavour was mortally wounded at the hands of a myopically stubborn industry that refused to change with both technology and the whims of the masses.

To some, like my Mother, all of this seems spontaneous and hasty. It could not be farther from the truth. Meticulous planning has gone into making it possible to bring Bullseye back full-time. The crowdfunding was Part 1 in which I can make it happen. By this time next week all the master recordings, archival materials and thousands of pieces of inventory will be back in my possession.

A recent meeting with former Bullseye Records vice-president Lisa Millar has unearthed 7 years worth of journals and photographs to help us revisit the label’s long history. Lisa will be consulting on some projects and it’ll be wonderful to have her creativity and energy available to breathe back into this dormant beast.

Everything will be catalogued and Part 2 of the battle plan can commence. I’m already in talks with domestic and export distributors. I’ve already signed on with retail partner Mark Logan who runs the very successful Encore Records in Kitchener, Ontario and runs his own folk label called Busted Flat. Together we will be announcing some interesting projects starting in 2016.
http://www.encorerecords.ca

And what of Bullseye’s core releases and Classic Rock re-issues? Many of our best titles by Brutus, Moving Targetz, Swedish Fish, Mainline, Moxy, Swindled, The Kings, Segarini, Twitch, David Quinton, Soap Opera, The First Time, Maureen Leeson, Cheaper Than Therapy, Luke & The Apostles and The Shakers w/ Dave Rave will return along with others we have to renegotiate (it’s been 5 years since we last released anything and contracts have lapsed). There will also be new, previously unreleased material coming and rarities from the vault. Canadian music lovers shall rejoice!

The Bullseye tribute albums will make a comeback too. We’ll be re-configuring our more successful ones like The Beatles, Klaatu and The Bay City Rollers and we’re looking at nods to Rush, The Guess Who and Alan Parsons down the line so get your requests in for songs you’d like to record and/or keep your ears peeled for release dates.

I’m making myself available to new music opportunities too. One of my long standing committments has always been in promoting new talent. To that end, a continuation if our successful “Unsigned, Sealed & Delivered” CD series. It’s an effective showcase for independent artists and I encourage artists to be involved especially for those just trying to get their feet in the door. Bullseye will re-activate its Frontline Records sub-label to handle these new projects.

Bullseye is also ramping up its music book division starting with the release of the 30th AnniversaryBullsography book by year’s end followed by revised versions of the Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedias. Then we’re focusing on biographies the first of which will be the long promised Skip Prokop biography ‘Sunny Days’. Tied into that will be the re-issue of Skip’s recent Smooth Jazz CD called “Smoothside” and the remaster of his long out of print solo album from 1976 entitled “All Growed Up”.
I am walking on air right now, looking forward to this new chapter in my life and in the ongoing saga of Bullseye Records. You’ve made it happen folks. Your generosity will be note in the upcoming Bullseye book. Take a bow and give yourself a hand – and applaud loudly.
Send your CDs for review to this NEW address: Jaimie Vernon, 4003 Ellesmere Road, Toronto, ON M1C 1J3 CANADA

=JV=

Jaimie’s column appears every Saturday

Contact us at dbawis@rogers.com

Jaimie “Captain CanCon” Vernon has been president of the on again/off-again Bullseye Records of Canada since 1985. He wrote and published Great White Noise magazine in the ‘90s, has been a musician for 33 years, and recently discovered he’s been happily married for 16 years. He is also the author of the recently released Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia and a collection of his most popular ‘Don’t Believe A Word I Say’ columns called ‘Life’s A Canadian…BLOG’ is now available at Amazon.com http://gwntertainment.wix.com/jaimievernon