GWNtertainment #30 by JAIMIE VERNON

An Important Announcement from Jaimie Vernon
GWN goes international, sort of, with this issue #30. As with the original iteration of this news blog back when we printed things on tree pulp and splattered it with indelible ink, Canadian music is only as important as it is because of its relevance in the rest of the world. The Canadian artists that have found prominence on the international stage have allowed developing artists back home to bask in their wake. Tides that rise raise all boats as it were. To date GWN has been focusing almost exclusively on home turf. Artists from other countries have been asking to be represented in the blog since issue #1 back at the beginning of 2021. I’ve hesitated in including them mainly due to space restraints. Canadian artists will always be our mandate, but to caudle them and keep them in a myopic bubble – as if the real world doesn’t exist – is ultimately harmful.

At the end of the day cooperation between artists of all nations is important to the spread and enjoyment of music. Though the blog space constraint is immutable, GWN has a Facebook page where we will be adding bonus content each week beginning today with editorials, time sensitive news, historic factoids from our adjunct publication The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia, interviews, and reviews, plus weekly GWN Spotify playlists. Take a look for album reviews for friends of GWN – Gary Hector from Trinidad & Tobago and Dana Countryman from the U.S. To that end, more album reviews for Canadian acts will start appearing there as well. This will allow the GWN blog to remain a blasting zone for Canadian news and new releases each week as a matter of course. Be sure to like the GWNtertainment Magazine Facebook page and keep up to date on all the additional content in your feed – including this blog. https://www.facebook.com/gwntertainment

* Martha & The Muffins are set to release a new album after an 11 year absence. On November 5th they’ll release ‘Marthology: In And Outtakes’ which spans 35 years of recordings including previously limited releases of “Summer Of Song,” “Big Day,” and “Do You Ever Wonder,” the 30th anniversary version of JUNO Award-winning single, “Echo Beach,” plus previously unheard before songs and alternative versions of album cuts. The teaser single is called “Do You Ever Wonder.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7_3oZoZ6HA

* Thursday, October 21, 2021 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, authors Frank Troiano and Mark Doble will be at The Friars Music Museum (279 Yonge St., Toronto – 2nd Floor of the Shoppers Drug Mart located at the old Hard Rock Café site in Dundas Square) to sign copies of their new book, ‘Domenic Troiano – His Life & Music,’ They will have soft covers ($30) and a limited supply of hard covers ($40) for sale that evening (CASH ONLY).

* The Kings have been pigeon-holed as one-hit wonders with their massively catchy “This Beat Goes On/Switchin’ To Glide” over the decades, but would like to remind folks that they’ve got more songs than that (and still have fuel in the gas tank for a new album 2022) by releasing a video sampler of their diversity of tracks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJLxACTg04U

* Montreal’s Scott Cook has a new six-song eponymous EP coming in short order and from it  comes the first single “The Pin in My Grenade.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jRj76KDbPQ

* Halifax rock act Dali Van Gogh has a new single entitled “Little Hell” from their album ‘The Testimony.’ The band consists of Isaac Kent (guitar), Johnny Moore (drums), Lance Hicks (bass), and Rachelle Moreau (lead vocals). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTXZf366WgI

* Friends for two decades, singers/songwriters Patrick McCormack and Eric Warner have come together as the fresh, new, exciting, and upbeat voices of children’s entertainment in the form of the 15 song album ‘Macaroni Birthday.’ The pair fused their love of rock music, with the hilarity of children’s themed music that’s bound to endear parents as it entertains kids. The new single from the album is “Dessert First.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln4jST8_R2w

* Rupert (Ojiji) Harvey wears many hats: as a solo recording artist, as well as the founder of legendary Canadian Funk Band, Crack of Dawn, and also world-renowned reggae outfit, Messenjah. Harvey ran so that Canadian reggae could walk; for more than four decades, and counting, he has been a pillar for the reggae music scene in Canada. “Blazing Iron” is the latest song written and produced by Ojiji, which features glowing contributions from Rupert Harvey’s brother, Carl Harvey (of Toots and the Maytals). The “Blazing Iron” project also features Rupert Harvey’s son, Meshach Harvey, as part of the production team. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSk2vJ3lFQA

* A hybrid folk album that holds a disarming mirror up to human nature, Toronto-based contemporary folk-rocker Howard Gladstone has released his new album, ‘Concord Sessions’, along with back-to-back singles “Building A Fence” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUd9fOj0UuI
and “The World’s Become A Warmer Place” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TMdOECIttY

* First single from Quebec punk band The Last Mile is “Skyline.”  The debut LP, ‘Respect The Frequency’ is due out October 29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBhhe_gUQzk

* 2021 has been a busy year for blind Indigenous Canadian Pop-Trap artist MATTMAC. After tucking an Album of the Year Award into his belt from the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards, he’s also received an Indigenous Artist of the Year nomination at this year’s BreakOut West Festival’s Western Canadian Music Awards. Not willing to sit on his laurels, Mattmac has released his new single entitled “Status.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_GHmBoGo_0

* London, Ontario Jazz-Pop artist Justin Maki longs to get “Close To You” (No, not the Carpenters song) in his new upbeat video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGxf2JOMaN0

* Kelowna, BC’s singer-songwriter Bree Whitworth as released her new single and remix, “Time” with producer Shamus Goes To Hollywood to give the ballad a new 1980s gloss. https://open.spotify.com/track/0BO7dVIPuuQmHrBs1uJLua?si=669fb88274c04590

* Chrissy Steele, who initially replaced Darby Mills in The Headpins, has had a lengthy solo career. Her new single is “Insidious.” https://open.spotify.com/album/1Q0svWdr6D88K8J9orBUsk

* Q&A‘s Tony Quarrington + Zoey Adams have a new album entitled ‘Demo Listen Derby’ featuring 15 original tracks including the first  single “You Never Let Me Down.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSU-KlCg_xk

* Toronto-Based Nigerian Afrobeat artist Sonia Aimy revisits her roots with the new album & single both entitled ‘Reconnect.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9gHqAzIQgM

* Following the momentum of their debut album, ‘Thirsty From the Draught,’ Ottawa’s Taming Sari was positioned to take full advantage of the burgeoning concert scene across Canada shortly before the world was thrown into chaos with Covid. Determined to not let the album go stale, they’ve released the third single from it entitled “Crazy.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYbBtpeDD9g

* Thunder Bay’s Collin Clowes has a new 7-song EP out entitled ‘Sleepy.’ Downloadable from Bandcamp. https://collinclowes.bandcamp.com/

* Multi-award winning East Coast Acadian country artist Laurie LeBlanc has released the fourth single, “All In,” from his 2021 ECMA and Music NB Country Recording of the Year-nominated album, ‘When It’s Right, It’s Right.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YY2Yw3yDOA

* Montreal’s Lost Love returns with the album ‘Empathy.’ Downloadable from Bandcamp. https://lostlove.bandcamp.com/album/empathy

* Inspired by Unscripted Twillingate – Digital Arts Festival and Director/Producer/Writer Joshua Jamieson’s LGBTQ short film, ‘Waiting Outside,’ St. John’s Rozalind MacPhail has released a new music video for the song “Never Let Go.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqyh8TAETBQ

* The Arkells have a new track out entitled “Arm In Arm.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiP7JBED__Q

* Toronto R & B singer/songwriter PLAZA has released his debut album ‘Nocturnes’ and the lead-off single “Still Alive.” WARNING: Explicit lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fe5IOtf94U

* Jerusalem In My Heart is the nom de plume for Radwan Ghazi Moumneh whose new album is ‘Qalaq.‘ The first single from this experimental electronic release is “Abyad Barraq.” WARNING: The video is photosensitive and could trigger epilepsy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXF3i96UVjs

* Nanaimo, BC’s multi-award winning and JUNO nominated Canadian artist David Gogo returns with his 16th album ‘Silver Cup‘ and the title track as the first single. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKDUn12tTYE

* Straight from their newly minted EP of the same name, Toronto band Electicus (Gar Reid and Tiina LeMay) have released the song “Got Me Going.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXNYEqLbToY

* Wiarton, Ontario’s Josh Ritchie has released his new album ‘Love at the End of the World’ with the title track as the lead-off single. In the face of systemic racism and corruption laced into society, “this record does talk a lot about systemic racism, the greed and brokenness of our society and the pressures of having to fight against all that,” Josh Ritchie shares. “However, it’s not meant to be sad; it’s meant to be a hopeful record that people who care about this kinda stuff can listen to when they feel alone or feel like giving up. This record is for all of us who feel,” he continues, and “to remind us that there actually is some love even at the end of the world.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k9GQkH1Acc

* Former member of Shooter, Joe Ress, has a new praise album called ‘Songs Of Faith.‘ Check out “Live In Love.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww3ftX-sXfk

* Walk Off The Earth shows us why Guns N’ Roses should be a Bluegrass band with a new spin on “Don’t You Cry.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMu03WxjFu8

Award-Winning Canadian Jazz artist Ori Dagan has re-imagined 80s synth classic from The Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star.” The track features 4x JUNO Award winner Simone Denny from the new album ‘Click Right Here’ due in April 2022. The animated video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjykidRdR0M

* Hot on the heels of last month’s single “Mi Santuario” featuring Juan Carlos Medrano, Sultans of String return with the Cher classic “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” featuring a duet by Tara Salah Moneka & Ahmed Moneka. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH5vvG-jIcY

* You’ve never heard Boney M’s “Rasputin” until you’ve heard it as a folk song by Alison Solo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-_myiuY-k8

* Men Without Hats has returned with a 5-song EP of covers  entitled ‘Men Without Hats Again [PT.1]’ that includes their synth-pop interpretations of Lou Reed’s “Satellite of  Love,” Mott The Hoople’s “All The Young Dudes,” the Rolling Stones “2000 Light Years From Home,”  a reimagining of their biggest hit ‘Safety Dance’ as a ballad called “No Friends Of Mine,” and an irreverent off-the-hook Pet Shop Boysian rendition of The Tragically Hip’s  “Blow At High Dough.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC8ILnc7Hc0

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Send us your news, views, and all manner of CANADIAN musical releases to promote and wave a flag for. Join the GWN Facebook page and drop us a message: https://www.facebook.com/gwntertainment

Keep up the fight!
Jaimie Vernon, 2021

=JV=

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 41 years, and recently discovered he’s been happily married for 24 years. He is also the author of The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia and editor of “Sunny Days: The Skip Prokop Story.” Available through Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Jaimie+Vernon