GWNtertainment #11 by Jaimie Vernon

As Glenn Frey once said, “The Heat Is On.” We’re in fake spring right now and the dog turd landmines have begun to thaw while kiddies on bicycles and joggers are out in full force. I expect that some are listening to music while fitting their bits. Below is a whole new batch of Canadiana filling earbuds and smart speakers everywhere.

Frank Gutch Jr: Angharad Drake— Two Vancouver Shows Left; 2017 Releases Worthy of Note; and Speaking of Notes…

 

One down, two to go… Angharad Drake, as far as I know (I mean, I wasn’t there, Nanaimo being a lo-o-ong walk from Oregon), finished her one gig on Vancouver Island and is set to play two more in Vancouver before leaving for her homeland, Australia.  Those will happen (barring God and Act of Congress— and we have seen how Congress has been acting lately) on Friday and Saturday, June 23^rd and 24^th.  On Friday, she will play Trees Organic Coffee and Roasting House and on Saturday, The Heatley.  Here is a sample for your listening enjoyment.

Pat Blythe – Canadian Music Week 2017….The Finale

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.

CMW….The Bands, The Music, The Food, The Rain…..

Well…..I’m sick and wide awake at 2am, coughing…. I refuse to bow down to the Spirit Virus. I will not yield to the scourge that is coursing through my system…my eyes, my nose, my body. I will not lie down on the Altar of Kleenex. I reject this damnable cold…. (it’s amazing what your brain comes up with at 2am). I am in denial but it’s not working. So, with a box of Kleenex, a cup of tea and enough ibuprofen in my system to kill an elephant, I power on. Homemade soup comes later.

Frank Gutch Jr: The Dog Ate My Homework…

My goddamn computer ate my column.  Four hours of work down the toilet!  Luckily, I prepare my Notes section in a different file.  This will be short, but there are some pretty cool things in here.  Next week, unless my computer acts up again (I’m blaming Trump), I will be back on track.

Pat Blythe: Keeping The Music Alive…Part Two

Good morning!! It’s Tuesday which means this must be “writing day”. It’s catch-up time once again. A myriad of events and happenings over the past few weeks this column might be longer than usual just so I can bring you all up-to-date. …..and of course all those lovely pictures (she says tongue-in-cheek). I’ll just take a minute to figure out where I left off……

Frank Gutch Jr: Daisy House— An A&R Dream

In all my years in music, I never worked for a label.  I wanted to.  But I wanted to work only in A&R.  Artists and Repertoire.  They were the people who found the artists, who were liaison between the artist and label management, who groomed the performers and worked with them on the songs for their albums and maybe just the direction of focus.  I knew a few A&R people in L.A.  They loved it.  They wouldn’t have done anything else.  Most of them, when their A&R gigs ended, got out of the business because it was a sewer everywhere else.  Sales?  The pits.  Promotion?  Real work.  Management?  A path, most of the time, to disaster.  I mean, A&R was where the adventure was.  And is.