We’re seeing the world slowly come alive again as lockdowns are lifted and the weather moving toward an inevitable spring. There are even artists planning to tour later in the year if all goes according to plan. There is optimism in the air and we all need a lot of that right now. The food and drink and music are flowing. Here is a whole bunch of the latter…
Archive for El Mocambo
GWNtertainment #3 by Jaimie Vernon
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags 6ft. Social Band, Bentwood Rocker, Bo Diddley, Bob Segarini, British Modbeats, Dale Harrison, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Drunken Sailor, El Mocambo, Greig Foster, Harem Scarem, Headstones, Irish Rovers, J.R. Digs, Jaimie Vernon, Moscow Apartment, Moving Targetz, Neptoon Records, Only Human, Paul James, Rob Frith, Saga, Serafin LaRiviere, The Trews, Valyear, Wellerman on January 25, 2021 by segarini
Here we are with Issue #3 of GWNtertainment magazine. How do you like us so far? We’re catching and reporting all the Canadian music ephemera that may have evaded your gaze in the last week. Here’s the stuff that caught our attention on this, the 50th anniversary week of Canadian content on radio!
Pat Blythe – Reflections…..music memories…..and tunes
Posted in COVID 19, life, music, Opinion, Review with tags Bob Segarini, Carnaby Street, CHLO, Christopher Blythe The Picture Taker, CJOE, Covid, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, El Mocambo, first concert, Kathi McDonald, Kensington Market London, Kim Simmonds, London Ontario, Long John Baldry, luvthemusic, Malo, memories, Pat Blythe A Girl With A Camera, Piccadilly Circus, pussy willows, QED Media, Red Barn, reflections, Roger Earl, streaking, The Pinery, Toronto, Village by The Grange on November 11, 2020 by segarini
I’ve had all sorts of ideas and nonsense going through my mind for the past several days. Some quiet reflection in a totally silent house (that means no music), some on walks in this spectacular weather, memories that keep replaying in my mind translating into some very weird and disjointed dreams, very late nights and very late mornings. It’s a strange sensation feeling like everything rapidly circles around me while I stand still, unsure of the direction I should move in. Like you’re a part of something…..but then you’re not, standing on the outside looking in. I have no idea what’s going on, maybe the planets have misaligned or someone’s in retrograde, or maybe this whole fucking COVID thing has finally hit me. This too shall pass…..it always does.
Peter Presents a Review
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", "The Cult", "You're the Inspiration", "Zanzibar", Air Canada Centre, Badfinger, Billy Joel, Boz Scaggs, Canadian Music Week, Chicago, Danforth Hall, Don't Believe a Word I Say, El Mocambo, Fortunate Losers, Gordon Lightfoot, Hall and Oates, Jack Astor's, Massey Hall, Mrs Montreuil's little boy, Peter Montreuil, Robert Segarini, Sharon Vernon, Tears For Fears, The Trews, Zeppelin II on June 21, 2018 by segarini
While my main interest in music is “indie music”, I also like some mainstream music (even I had a copy of “Zeppelin II”), and have attended various concerts which apparently qualify me to say that. I do not pretend to be in the “Sharon Vernon triple figure concert attendance superfan category”, although the most recent “Trews” show she went to eerily included “Fortunate Losers” on the bill, a band which has been mentioned in my column before.
Pat Blythe – Tom Petty, Burton Cummings, Scott Holt and Bill Durst…..
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags A Girl With A Camera "The Picture Taker", Bill Durst, Bob Segarini, Brian Andreas, Buddy Guy, Burton Cummings, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, El Mocambo, Greg Simpson, Harris Park, London Bluesfest 2017, MacLean and MacLean. The Knob Hill, MLG, Pat Blythe, Scott Holt, the blues, The Carpet Frogs, The Duncan Showroom, The Guess Who, Thundermug, Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, York University on October 4, 2017 by segarini
I open today’s column with great sadness. Tom Petty, a true rock ‘n’ roller and one of the most respected individuals in the music business today, as both as musician and a person, has died just days before his 67th birthday. Social media was on fire with the news, jumping the gun just a tad early (thanks CBS) but nonetheless, we instinctively knew in our hearts he wasn’t going to make it. I traversed the 70’s and 80’s with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, listening to and loving his work. Not your “classic” rocker, in both appearance and musically, but we all knew Petty was pure talent. The “humanness” of his lyrics, his way of combining them with a unique melody and his distinctive voice, touched a certain part of your psyche and drew you in. You stopped to listen. There will be so much written about him over the next few days and weeks I won’t drag it out here. Suffice to say this is one rocker I will truly miss. I send my condolences to his wife Dana York, his two daughters Adria and AnnaKim, his step-son Dylan and his extended family.
Roxanne Tellier – Everything is Everywhere
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags Amadeus' Restaurant, Anh Phung & Alan Mackie, Bertie & The Gents, Bob Segarini, Brian Dickinson, British Columbia, Carl Bray, Celine Peterson, Danny Marks, DBAWIS, Don Thompson, Donne Roberts, El Gordo's Backyard, El Mocambo, Eric St-Laurent, Everything is Everywhere, Genevieve Marentette, Greg Godovitz, Handlebar, Hotbox Cafe, Joanne Smale, Joe Sealy, John Tory, Kensington Market Jazz Festival, Lola, Lyric Theatre, Manfred Koch, Mark Eisenman, Molly Johnson, Prohibition, Rays of Hope, Richard Flohill, Rick Donaldson & The Jazz Cats with Jim Heineman, Robi Botos, Roxanne Tellier, Selcuk Suna Trio featuring DIA, September, Sidewalk Crusaders Street March, Sina Bathaie, Toronto Centre for the Arts, Yamaha Grand Piano Room in Tom's Place on September 18, 2017 by segarini
Since I have a fear of flying, and a flight to B.C. tomorrow morning, I’ve been in a constant state of panic for the last week or so. When I finally fall into a restless sleep, I have non-stop nightmares of arriving at the wrong terminal, without a ticket or some vital bit of identification, and wearing all the wrong clothes, if I’m wearing clothes at all. Even when there’s no reason to panic – and I can always find a reason to panic – I’m in a simmering pre-panic mode. My house looks like an exploded suitcase. Everything is everywhere.
JAIMIE VERNON – BULLSOGRAPHY: Sneak Peek #1
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags Aqua Duck, B-Girls, Bakersfield, Bigger Than Bowling, Bob Segarini, Brian Gagnon, Canadian Music, Cynthia Ross, DBAWIS, Deadlier Than Darts, Doc Rock & The Wild Bunch, Don't Believe a Word I Say, El Mocambo, Front 54, Gilmore's, Goddo, Gulf War, Hamilton, Haywire, Jaimie Vernon, Killer Dwarfs, Lee Aaron, Lee's Palace, Lundy's Lane, M.T. Head Express, Mike Thorne, Mort Ross, Moving Targetz, Mysonics, Niagara Falls, Oshawa, Players' Studio, Purple Onion, Russell Graham, Saga, The Kings, Toronto, Tragically Hip, Trooper on September 24, 2016 by segarini
With my ‘True Tales From a Cemetery Cop’ being released October 3 I’ve finally returned to finish writing the book I promised a year ago – the history of Bullseye Records of Canada.
Roxanne Tellier – Mike McKenna, Guitar Legend
Posted in Opinion, Review with tags Black Swan, Bob Adams, Bob Segarini, Bruce Brooker, DBAWIS, Denny Gerrard, Diamondback, Domenic Troiano, Downchild Blues Band, El Mocambo, Grant Smith and the Power, Joe Mendelson, Luke and the Apostles, Luke Gibson, Massey Hall, McKenna Mendelson Mainline, Mendelson Joe, Mike Harrison, Mike McKenna, Montreal, Night Owl Club, Rob McPhearson, Ronnie Jacobs, Roxanne Tellier, Slidewinder, stink, Ted Purdy, The Fugs, The Guess Who, The Paupers, The Spassicks, Tony Nolasco, Toronto, Toronto Star, Yorkville on May 15, 2016 by segarini
1969 or maybe early 1970.A darkened Montreal rec room, outside sound dulled by faux wood paneling and shag carpeting, with the ubiquitous mirrored bar off to the side. My girlfriend, Colleen, and I slink into the room, prepared to be kicked out by her big brother Bill, the music maven of her family, if we giggled too much.If we behaved, we’d be allowed to listen, at least for a while, to the new record Bill had brought home to enjoy with some of his cooler (and older, so therefore hotter) friends. We crept into the darkness, wide eyed.
JAIMIE VERNON – HEY, NINETEEN
Posted in Opinion with tags Anniversary., BMG Music, Bob Segarini, Bryan Adams, Bullseye Records, Canadian Music, Cheap Trick, DBAWIS, Derek Longmuir, divorce, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Donny Osmond, Duke Street Diner, El Mocambo, Great White Noise Magazine, Honeymoon Suite, Jaimie Vernon, Jeff Healey, Kings X, Kingswood, little black dress, Liverpool, Made In Canada, Maureen Leeson, Moving Targetz, P.A.M., Paul Anand, Paul White, record collection, rock and roll love letter, Sharon Vernon, Spare Parts, Spin Doctors, The Bay City Rollers, The Eagles, The Kings on March 14, 2015 by segarini
As you read this my wife Sharon Vernon and I have just celebrated our 19th anniversary. We went to Cleveland to see two of her favourite bands – the American act Red Wanting Blue and Canadian rock darling The Trews who I introduced her to (musically) in 2003 after seeing them in a club in Halifax during the ECMA’s. We’ve done a lot of that on our anniversaries – going to see live acts. That includes Lighthouse on our 17th and Ian Mitchell of the Bay City Rollers (see story below).
JAIMIE VERNON – CV’s ‘R’ Us
Posted in Opinion with tags accounting, added value, alcohol sales, Bob Segarini, business plan, Canadian Music, captive audience, chef, chicken wings, club owners, crowds, DBAWIS, doctors, Don't Believe a Word I Say, El Mocambo, exposure, hipster, How to Succeed In the Music Business with Zero Talent, Jaimie Vernon, janitor, Jägermeister, lawyers, merch, Millennials, motivational speaker, Musicians, neon palms, P.T. Barnum, partners, plumbers, Sell out, strategy, swag, Two For The Show, wait staff, waiter, wallet on November 1, 2014 by segarini
I’ve written previously about the things that whining and impatient hipster millennials need to do to increase their cache and brand in the music business – particularly in this new Wild West music biz. I collected all that sage advice and sarcastic commentary in a new eBook called “How To Succeed In The Music Business With Zero Talent”.
