My mother has been gone since April of 1992 … 26 years ago. There are days when it feels like we were playing a spirited game of Rummoli only yesterday, and other days when I can’t remember what it was like to have my own little family. After my mum and grandmother died just days apart in that horrible year, the tenuous link we had with Montreal was broken. While I’ve been ‘home’ a few times since then, Quebec hasn’t really drawn me back for decades.
Before I pick up where I left off prior to Bob’s computer turning into a brick, I shall sidestep a titch and segue, for just a moment, into sessions. Yes…those relatively educational, supposedly non-biased, informative, enlightening, seminars/panel discussions or summits, as CMW refers to them. This is the core stuff delegates are actually paying for when they purchase a ticket. I listed the several different streams one can chose from in last week’s column, so I shan’t bore you with the details here. However, suffice to say, there is loads of opportunity to learn as well as “button hole” and query those with a cumulative hundreds of years of experience, and educate yourself in everything that is the entertainment industry. From Mentor’s Cafe to SOCAN, from touring to ticketing, from writing, producing and publishing to understanding Indie labels and Indie rights….and that’s just the music stream.
My CMW is always a little bit different than most other people’s. Some go for the conferences, some are all about the music. Still others go for the trade show and the mentoring. But me – I go to people watch.
Like, on the first day I hit the Sheraton, to pick up my pass and get the lay of the land. Some people were looking for their friends, or checking out those who tend to get their names in newspaper bold face … Me, I was in the lobby of the crowded Sheraton Hotel, watching a young male couple dress their teensy tiny pocket puppy in all new Hudson’s Bay swag.
We left you last week at the lobby bar of the Sheraton with Bobby Curtola, Jay Sparrow and Greg Godovitz. As with most conventions the premium site for socializing is the lobby bar (and, in more recent years, the outdoor smoking area).
I was overwhelmed with what CMW had to offer. So much to see and do, so many contacts to make, so much to learn and waaaay too many clubs to hit. Impossible in ten days but we all do our very best.
The annual Canadian Music Week rollercoaster ride has finally looped its last de loop, the cars have all been packed away, and the lights turned out and the tent folded until the carnival sets up again next year. As of this writing, there have been no reports of serious casualties, no reported marriages or pregnancies, and so far, no signings of fresh faced bands from hither, thither, and yon to a gung-ho label/management/agent ready to unleash them on an unsuspecting world. There was, however, enough music, parties, and open bars to kill Keith Richards, most soccer hooligans, and myriad hockey dads.
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For many it has already started with the East Coast Music Awards or the annual SXSW conference in Austin. It is convention season as Canadian Music Week is followed by The Hot Docs Conference and then the NXNE Music + Film + Comedy + Art + Interactive. Old friends, new friends, many late nights and far too many early mornings. As we speak we are on day two or three of CMW and there are three more days beckoning as well as 4 AM closing times.
Bullseye Records of Canada
Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say 