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…..
Archive for The Beatles
Pat Blythe – Sounds Like Toronto…..and music
Posted in Interview, life, music, Opinion, Review with tags Archie Alleyne, Bob Segarini, Canada Council of the Arts, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Ed Sullivan, Jazz, Kensington Market, Kollage, luvthemusic, Pat Blythe, Pat Blythe A Girl With A Camera, podcast, The Beatles, The Colonial Tavern, The Pandemic Interviews, The Underground Railroad Soul Food Restaurant, Toronto, Toronto Heritage, Toronto Jazz Festival, Town Tavern, yonge street, Yorkville on February 10, 2021 by segariniSUNNY DAYS: THE SKIP PROKOP STORY (PART 2) by Jaimie Vernon
Posted in life, music, Serialized Book with tags Bill Marion, Bill Misener, Bob Cringan, Bob Segarini, Chuck Beal, David Bell, DBAWIS, Denny Gerrard, Dig Band, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Doug Guy, Fern Resort, Jaimie Vernon, Larry Sykes Music, Lighthouse, Optimists Drum & Bugle Corp, Paul Chabeau, Preston Scout House, Riverside 3, Ronn Prokope, Royal York Hotel, Skip Prokop, Skip Prokop Five, Sunny Days, The Beatles, The Paupers, The Spats, Toronto, Toronto Police Department, Waddington School of Music on March 23, 2020 by segariniIn 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
Posted in Family, life, music, Opinion, Review with tags "The Cult", Black Absinthe, BlackDog Ballroom, Bob Segarini, Bodhi Tree, Boz Scaggs, Cheesehead, Cherry Cola's, Deep Meadow, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Mr Mouray, Mushy Callahan, Peter Montreuil, Rob de Simone, Sounds Like NowJack Cerre, The Beatles, The Clash, Witness on February 13, 2020 by segariniI 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
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags CBS, Cherry Cola's, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, music, music videos, Records, The Beatles, The Beatles 50th Anniversary Tribute, Updated 2019 on October 27, 2019 by segariniIf 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
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags Audra Santa, Bob Segarini, Canada Rocks Media, Daryl Hurs, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Hideout Toronto, Indie Week, Indie Week UK, Meridian Hall, ONES, Pat Blythe A Girl With A Camera, Paul DeLong, Paul DeLong’s ONE WORD, Regent Theatre Oshawa, Swarmandal, The Beatles, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Rex on October 23, 2019 by segariniI 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
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags A Girl With A Camera "The Picture Taker", Abbey Road, Anderson Creative, April, Bob Segarini, Cherish Stevenson, Cherry Cola's, DBAWIS, Drop Top Alibi, Eddie Bullen, Greg Wyard, Hugh's Room Live, Jeff Jone, Jeff Jones Trio, Karl Anderson, Lee's Palace, Pat Blythe, Paul DeLong, The Beatles, The Crooked, The Musical Box: A Genesis Extravaganza Volume 2, We The Crooked on October 2, 2019 by segariniIt’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……
Posted in music, Opinion, Review with tags A Girl With A Camera "The Picture Taker", Anderson Creative, canadian national exhibition, CNE, Dave Beste, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Karl Anderson, luvthemusic, Pat Blythe, Pomp and Circumstance, Rival Sons, Scott Buchanan, Scott Holiday, The Beatles, Todd Ögren, wedding photography, weddings on September 11, 2019 by segariniFour 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
Posted in Family, Opinion, Review with tags "Europe One", "Final Jeopardy", "You're So Vain", Birthday, Bob Segarini, Burlington, Carly Simon, Charles Montreuil, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Expo 67, Helen Montreuil, Jeopardy, Mary Louise Montreuil, McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II, Multiple Sclerosis, The Beatles, The First, the Kennedys, the White Album, The Who, Uptergrove on July 4, 2019 by segariniI 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
Posted in Movies, Opinion, Review with tags Bernie Taupin, Bob Segarini, Bohemian Rhapsody, Cherry Cola's, DBAWIS, Dirt the Movie, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Elton John, Movies, Rocketman the movie, The Beatles, Toronto, Yesterday the Movie on June 7, 2019 by segariniBefore 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.
Bob Stories Opinions and Advice 10 Years On
Posted in Opinion with tags Bob Segarini, Canadian Music, Cherry Cola's, DBAWIS, Don't Believe a Word I Say, Indie Artists, Indie Music, Movies, music, music videos, radio, Records, San Francisco, Stockton California, Television, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Toronto on March 29, 2019 by segariniDon’t Believe a Word I Say has existed as first a column at FYIMusic.com, then in its own self-titled blog for going on 11 years now.
Before this, I dabbled in music, radio, and television for 50 years or so, and feel I have experienced enough to have a fairly informed opinion of my related careers, and the love/hate relationship that comes with a passion and lust for life and its challenging hurdles.
The following has been culled from the first 6 months of this entities existence, which has been updated but not changed in any way, so when I said something stupid then, it remains stupid now. New pictures have been added, and some comments, which will be in italics.
Enjoy the sunshine and the first sign of Spring …mud. Read this when it rains again …or snows …or the cat won’t get off your lap. – Bob