Pat Blythe – Here comes summer!!

March 30 was the last column I wrote for this site…..the “Canadian edition” and finale of my jazz series. It’s now been six week since DBAWIS was able to publish due to some serious computer issues. There’s a wee bit of catching up to do. Live music is happening again, the camera seems to have found its way back into my life, the whole England move has been sliding sideways, reviewing photographs (not just Chris’s, but mine too) has sent me down several rabbit holes, and life generally, has been pretty busy. So…..let me just dive right in.

GWNtertainment #44 by JAIMIE VERNON

The world was sent reeling March 25th, with the death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. He had become a seminal part of Dave Grohl’s self-declared rock and roll machine. At age 50, it was a shock to see a man so vibrant and on top of his game lose to what appears to have been a substance battle.

Pat Blythe – All That Jazz VII – The Canadian Connection

Jazz was birthed in the U.S. but it didn’t take long to head north to Canada. It was first introduced to Canadian audiences in 1914, when a New Orleans band The Original Creole Orchestra performed a matinee gig at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre in Winnipeg. The stop was part of their western Canada tour. The band of six musicians included one of jazz’s early masters, cornettist Freddie Keppard. Jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton performed in Vancouver cabarets from 1919 to 1921. Canada and the U.S. share the longest land border in the world so it was no surprise Canada quickly became the first country outside the U.S. to cultivate its own jazz scene.  “In Canada, as elsewhere, musicians took to jazz and made it their own, although not before they’d had the benefit of good tutelage from touring U.S. musicians – mostly black – for whom “Canadian time,” as they called touring north of the border, was a relief from the constant racism of the U.S. and a new, quite profitable source of revenue.” – Quill & Quire

GWNtertainment #43 by JAIMIE VERNON

Aside from many, many tour announcements for most of Canada’s working musicians, it’s been a quiet week for new Canadian music releases. Many artists were ensconced in the revived annual music showcase SXSW in Austin, Texas, while others were already on the road putting music back on stage nationally. This is good news. We encourage people to support our working musicians and live venues with care and caution as mandates continue to be lifted. If everyone does their part the live music industry will continue to grow and prosper back to its pre-2020 levels.

GWNtertainment #42 by JAIMIE VERNON

Kiss me, I’m Irish. Somewhere in the deep recesses of my family tree my great, great grandparents came from hearty Irish stock and were driven to Canada during the roiling industrial transition between the 19th and 20th century in search of a more prosperous life. I have no way of knowing whether they did, but their progeny and the lineage that came after them  – including myself – thank them as we are most likely living out the lives they could have only dreamed of. But deep in our DNA we displaced Irish here in North America are still drawn to the Emerald Isle. Visiting there is on  my bucket list.

GWNtertainment #41 by JAIMIE VERNON

Rock and Roll is currently going through an unprecedented death spiral. The music lives on as vibrant as it ever was, but the heroes that created it and evoked so many memories for a generation of Boomers and GenX-ers is currently losing its founding fathers at an accelerated rate of two or three a week. Last week the world lost legendary keyboardist Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, while Canada mourned the loss of Sadies founder Dallas Good – a second generation music maestro, guitarist, and musical genius from the Good Family whose patriarchs are the much beloved country legends The Good Brothers. Dallas has left an indelible stamp on the psyche of audiences and a peer group that includes Gordon Lightfoot and Robyn Hitchcock.

Segarini – Renovation or Desecration: Why This Music Venue Needs a New Name

Sometime in 1976 ….

So I’m sitting in Montreal with an itch to play music and no band, licking my wounds from the Dudes debacle, and wondering what to do next, when I have an epiphany. Why not, I ask myself, put together some crackerjack musicians, write some songs that are more intimate and subtle, and experiment with some musical elements I had not yet tackled. I had always included my R&B and country roots in my music, but I had never pushed the envelope in the areas of ballads and jazz. Something more personal. Something I would be totally responsible for. Something I would put my name on…Bob Segarini and the Silver Bulletini Band. No. That sounds too familiar. Let’s just go with the last name. It was good enough for my dad and the supermarkets…and it’s good enough for me.

GWNtertainment #40 by JAIMIE VERNON

War. Huh. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing…except maybe generating protest songs against them. Canadian artists have always been at the forefront of conscientious objection and we’ve got the playlist to prove it.

Pat Blythe – Technology vexations…..and a tune or two

This will be a very short column this week. I am facing serious technological challenges and limitations. To call the past few days frustrating is an extreme understatement! Being without my third arm (or second brain) is akin to a floundering fish gasping for water. In my case, I’m gasping for my laptop. I am lost and bereft without it, and the tiny screen of my phone doesn’t cut it. It sounds ridiculous I know, but when absolutely EVERYTHING we do is dependent on technology, when we don’t have access to it, it become a crisis of world proportions.

Pat Blythe – Celebrating Anniversaries……and music

Well….I have three anniversaries this month. As of this writing on February 15, thirty-six years ago today, I married my sweetie. First wedding (and reception) ever held in Sparkles. For those of you old enough to remember, Sparkles was THE de rigueur lounge, club and disco in Toronto at that time. I have no idea what possessed me to book the place for a wedding! Maybe availability, maybe because it was an “all-in-one” since there was a restaurant below that would cater….who knows? Cost of the wedding, including food and non-alcoholic beverages, $1,350 for 65 people. One thing I’ll never forget…..the best man wanting to begin a speech with, “today, Chris got married in a place higher than he is”.