GWNtertainment #28 by Jaimie Vernon

Lots of new music this week as post-summer tuneage is in full swing. Just ask Drake who now occupies half of the Top10 on the Billboard magazine charts. It’s also drawn battle lines between old pop music fans and new because Drake’s positioning on the charts breaks a handful of records previously set by The Beatles. Vitriol has been flying around social media dismissing Drake and his accomplishments. GWN celebrates any Canadian artist who has managed to raise the ire of a generation of music lovers who refuse to acknowledge that time has passed, and that a new generation also makes music that people love. We are here three times a month extolling the virtues of those new artists and that new music. Other music exists in the same universe as The Beatles…resistance is fertile.

Pat Blythe – Sounds Like Toronto…..and music

There’s been much written about the vibrancy of Yonge Street, particularly beginning in the late 50s to its eventual winding down during the mid to late 80s. Clubs like the Brown Derby, The Colonial Tavern, Club Blue Note, Town Tavern, Le Coq d’Or, Steeles Tavern, Friars Tavern, Hawk’s Nest, The Zanzibar, Silver Rail…..graduating to The Gasworks, Piccadilly Tube, Nickelodeon, Hard Rock Cafe and many others. All gone, except the memories. The jazz and blues, the beginning of the Toronto Sound, rock, disco and punk invasions, the Yonge St. Mall…..

SUNNY DAYS: THE SKIP PROKOP STORY (PART 2) by Jaimie Vernon

In last week’s installment of “Sunny Days: The Skip Prokop Story” our young drummer, Ronn Prokop (he had yet to adopt his nickname), was heading to the Preston Scout House to hone his drum corps chops. Suffice to say Skip would not only become quite adept at marching band drum skills, but became a reigning SIX time champion in Canada and the United States with the Optimists Drum & Bugle Corp.

Peter Gives Thanks

I am not ashamed to say that the time since my Dear Lois passed has been the bleakest of my entire life. I never knew that misery such as I am experiencing now was even possible. But it is, sadly, as I am sure those of you who have lost their loved ones are more than tragically aware.

Bob Updates the 50th Anniversary Beatle Tribute – New Videos

If you really want to enjoy this column, I suggest you take the time to read these two first. Written originally in 2010 for FYIMusic, and reprinted here in DBAWIS in April of 2012, these two columns are part of a series called “When Radio and Records Ruled the World”.

Chapters 7 and 8 will help you understand what was going on at the time of the Beatles rise and a bit beyond…and why I was less than thrilled with what the Grammy Organization and CBS did with their legacy last night.

Segarini: When Radio and Records Ruled the World Part 7 – The Invasion Begins…

Segarini: When Radio and Records Ruled the World Part 8 – “Don’t you ever sleep?…and get a haircut!”

Pat Blythe – VOTEing…..Indie Week…..ONE WORD on ONES…..with music

I know we’ve all had more than enough of politics and politicians in the last three months. Today (I started to write this on Monday) is voting day. Today we have the privilege, the democratic right, to select who we want to represent us here in Canada and on the world stage. Voting is the only tool we have that has any kind of impact. Who we choose to guide this country for the next four years is decided today. I voted. One out of two of my sons voted. At this writing, my mom is waiting to vote. My sister will take her. But there are more who don’t vote than do. Telling….in oh so many ways.

Pat Blythe – Memories…..celebrations…..three concerts….and music

It’s 9 o’clock on a……no, no, no, wrong song.  Betcha ya got an earworm now….before you even listen to the song.

Pat Blythe – Pomp & Circumstance…..Rival Sons…..the end of summer……

Four weeks!!! Four whole weeks….over in flash, just like summer!!! The column hiatus has now ended and WE’RE BACK!  Yep it’s been a busy (and sweaty) summer with loads going on, on all fronts, both personal and professional. I must confess, Fall is my favourite season. The colours are outstanding and the cooler weather (with sunshine) actually makes me feel cozy.

Okay……so where to begin….I’ll work my way backwards…..one concert at time.

Peter’s Sister Mary Matters

I have always tried to live my life according to a number of tenets. Some are arguably limited in scope. For example, I view beer drinking as a perishable skill. Others are much more “pigeon-holed”, such as, despite what many of my military aviation buddies may think, I truly believe that a McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II in “Europe One” camouflage is a thing of beauty indeed.

Others are more universal in application, however. One of my nearest and dearest is that I have always tried to have strong women in my life, even if only on the periphery. Today’s column is about one of those women, my late sister Mary.

Segarini – Yesterday, Rocketman, and Beyond

Before you read this week’s mumble, you would do yourself a favour by clicking on this Little Red Link and read what led me to write this.

Clearly, the Entertainment Gods have counted the take from Bohemian Rhapsody and, for better or worse, we are in for a rash (and I DO mean RASH) of nostalgic rewritten accounts of our Rock and Roll Heroes lives.

…and judging from what I’ve seen so far, they may include some music you love, but they seem unable to get the locations, timelines, and bit players even remotely right. So the less you know about these people and places, the less likely you will choke on your 20 dollar bag of popcorn when you see a microphone from 1985 being whipped around by Elvis, a song written in 1975 being sung in 1970, and a nightclub the size of a janitor’s closet re-imagined as a cavernous concert hall, and a man as tall as an NBA centre reduced to the size of a gay piano player.