Pat Blythe – Openings, Bands and Music…Playing Catch-Up….

Openers…….

Today is a bright but chilly October day. (great opening line huh?) Then there’s Snoopy’s book opening….“It was a dark and stormy night.” Okay, how about “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (Tales of Two Cities – Charles Dickens) Or, “It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” (Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen) THAT was a different time….most definitely. Then there’s, “It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.” (Earthly Powers – Anthony Burgess). I can’t even begin to imagine explaining that one. How about, “I write this sitting at the kitchen sink”. (Capture the Castle – Dodie Smith). That’s sure to grab attention…..and apparently it did. “It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs and I don’t know what I was doing in New York.” (The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath). Confused, frustrated, a chronic depressive, Plath committed suicide by sticking her head in a gas oven at the very young age of 30, leaving behind two young children. “You’ve no choice, look back.” (The Story of Hansel and Gretel – Louise Murphy) We must learn from the past. “It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” (1984 – George Orwell) Canada’s pants would do well to pay attention. Apparently they’re not paying attention to Hansel or Gretel.

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.

JAIMIE VERNON – TOM HOOPER & THE UNEXPLORED COSMOS

excerpted from the forthcoming book Bullsography: The Bullseye Records Story 1985-2010

JAIMIE VERNON – TAKIN’ CARE OF BACHMAN (PART 1)

Excerpted from the forthcoming book “Bullsography: The Bullseye Records Story 1985-2010”

JAIMIE VERNON – 29 WITH A BULLET

A major anniversary passed surreptitiously on April 20th. It was the 29^th anniversary of my long-suffering record label Bullseye Records. Normally I’d have shouted from the rooftops and run some kind of anniversary commemoration on Facebook or with musicians I know or privately, silently weeping, into my morning orange juice. But, I actually forgot about it.

So far removed am I from the music world now, and my own legacy, and exhausted from the grind that is my paycheck shackles that it slipped under my radar.

Roxanne Tellier: My Toronto – Part Two

Toronto was a different place in the late 1970’s and early eighties. Although it’s easy to look back with rose coloured glasses, it was, in fact, a watershed time for Toronto musicians. Everywhere you turned, you were surrounded by outstanding music, made by dedicated and very talented players, who enjoyed the freedom to create their art, and make a living at the same time.

 

 

JAIMIE VERNON – Bomb the Vaults and Free the Tapes!

During ten of the twenty-five years I ran Bullseye Records we focused on licensing and re-issuing Classic Rock and pop releases from the past. Generally it was a focus on albums that the public had loved and wanted re-mastered on CD. I approached the musicians that I knew who owned their own recordings (which is a rarity in Canada) starting with Greg Godovitz and Goddo. The band was able to enjoy a large resurgence and reconnection with their fan base as we rolled out and carefully marketed their 1977 self-titled debut, 1978’s “Who Cares?” and 1979’s “An Act of Goddo” plus their 1990s ‘King of Broken Hearts’ comeback record at the turn of the millennium. It wasn’t long before the fans were asking for a live record and a new studio album.