Roxanne Tellier – Mother’s Day, CMW and This is America

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.

Roxanne Tellier – Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City

Bruce Springsteen’s refusal to play North Carolina because of new, drastic LGBT laws might have shocked some people, but it didn’t surprise me at all.

Pat Blythe – Dance!

Nazareth and Razamanaz; U2 and The Miracle (of Joey Ramone); Peter Gabriel and Red Rain; Diana Ross and The Supremes and Baby Love; Taiyo Cruz and Dynamite, Tommy James and the Shondells and Mony Mony  (one of my all time favourite dance tunes).Then there’s Dirty Loops, Jordan John and Xprime. I dance….slinking, skipping and sashaying through the kitchen into the dining area into the living room. Thank heaven for open concept design!

Roxanne Tellier: CMW 2015 … And So It Begins

Finally, after a long, cold winter, I’m coming up for airto a bright spring promisinga musical overload. Perfect weather, indeed, for enjoying Fergus Hambleton  at Hugh’s Room on Wednesday, where he showcased his sunny signature sound and new CD “Written on the Wind. “

Pat Blythe – Toronto’s Mixed Grill – A Scrapbook

 

It’s 4am on Sunday morning, March 8, and I’ve just arrived home from a long day and night of music hopping….and the damn Queen streetcar short-turned again….and the clocks went forward one hour (OMG it’s really 5am!!)….and I’ve decided to change my tune (so to speak)….and tell you about my “day in the life of….”  rather than have our esteemed editor post the article I’ve already filed.

JAIMIE VERNON – IN PRODUCTION

Of late I’ve been finding myself going through my album collection to find something, anything worthwhile to listen to during my 13 ½ hour shifts patrolling cemeteries in Toronto. I’m lucky enough to be driving a current model Dodge Avenger – which is a Dodge Charger on steroids – with a sound system that rocks. It’s fun to toss in a disc while I’m issuing fines to people for letting their dogs piss on tombstones or skiers running rip shod over graves.

JAIMIE VERNON – THIS IS 1984

George Orwell references aside, 1984 marked a substantial turning point for pop music in Canada. The most significant of those was the launch of our answer to MTV – which we lovingly, un-ironically, called Much Music.

Cameron Carpenter: The ABC’s Of Rock’n’Roll – G is for Going In/Going To Wait

Time once again for the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame debate. Nominations are out for the class of 2014, and, for a couple of days, everyone is talking rock’n’roll. Speaking of which why the hell isn’t it called the “Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame”? Maybe that explains a lot. Until December 5^th you can vote online for your five faves, and the public vote will be used (in a very, very small way) towards the final count.