Music festival season is upon us. CMW (Canadian Music Week) is usually first out of the starting gate. This year FCLMA was ahead of the game so for me, one segues right into the other. I’ll also be heading to Mariposa in July and Summerfolk in August. With a myriad of music shows and festival in between it’s going to be a busy summer for many and one that will pass by far too rapidly.
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.
Okay, we’ll kick this off with the weather…..freezing cold, snowing, raining, freezing rain, sunny, cloudy, pluses and minuses all over the map, exploding pipes, sinkholes, warming trends, arctic air masses, blankets on, blankets off…..we’re screwed! Somebody make up their mind!!!! This keeps up I’m whipping out the 3″ summer sandals…..winter be damned!
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.
Personally it’s been, indubitably, a year of massive, incredible change….a complete turnaround….a 360….that’s two 180’s, and I’m still spinning. It’s been jam packed full of opportunities, challenges, reconnections, new connections, bags of music, loads of dancing, early mornings, late nights, no sleep, G&T’s, club hopping, previews and reviews, outdoor patios, fast food, fine dining, ear-splitting bands, (did I mention dancing), photo shoots, video shoots and writing. Okay, deep breath, plunging in, here we go….the year in review. Really!! ….and WELCOME BACK!
Jennie is a party. Jennie will brook no voyeurs on the voyage. You must be involved, you must eat, you must drink,you must dance! You must participate, because “Fun doesn’t just happen! You have to make it happen!“Jennie turns the world on with her smile.
One week ends and another begins. It’s been a tough couple of weeks for many, even more so than other weeks. After a bitterly cold and seemingly unending winter, Toronto’s spring has yet to settle in, as it jumps from sweltering daytime highs to overnight lows that wreak havoc on wardrobe choices and spark terror in the hearts of gardeners.
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.
Before we rewind to a couple of record reviews in the New Music Magazine circa 1978/9, something a little more modern. By this time next week many of us will be knee-deep in the 33rd annual Canadian Music Week. From its start as the David Farrell run “Record Conference” the Neill Dixon show is a massive multi-format event which touches all aspects of the industry, but, more importantly, is a huge social gathering of old friends from around the world.
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.
Bullseye Records of Canada
Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say 