The beautiful and talented DEENA entertained guests at Yorkville’s 70 DOWN resto-lounge this past Saturday evening, accompanied by JACK LENZ on keyboard and GRAHAM YOUNG on guitar.
Jack Lenz (with Deena, below) is a multi-award winning composer who heads up Lenz Entertainment, a world-renowned film, television and music production company providing diversified creative services to the entertainment industry. www.lenzent.comGraham Young (below) is a young musician currently exploring various genres including country, pop, jazz and rock. He sounds fabulous here with Jack and Deena.
Deena is a multi- talented recording artist who is also developing her acting and TV/film production chops. She can be seen in TV commercials and she frequently models for various advertising campaigns. Based in Toronto, Deena has her sights set on a global music career that will allow her to promote arts & culture as well as share her philanthropic & humanitarian consciousness. Deena has been performing since childhood and in 2015, honed her songwriting skills by collaborating on two original singles You’re Not Alone and Supernova with renowned industry professionals Derek Brin and Rupert Gayle. http://projects.swiftweb.ca/deenatheartist.com/
One of my fave songs is Besame Mucho and I captured this quick video of Deena serenading us with her sexy rendition of the Latin classic.
Thank you, Deena, and BRAVO to you, Jack and Graham for a fabulous night of live entertainment. We hope to see you back at 70 Down again real soon.
Check out all the live entertainment presented (Thurs-Sat) at 70 DOWN, 70 Yorkville Ave, Toronto www.70down.ca
I can’t believe it’s been a whole week since I logged onto the Grammy nominee list, cuppa coffee in one hand, mouse in the other, scrolling down as I held my breath….Category 30, New Age Album…….blah blah blah blah…and RON KORB for ASIA BEAUTY. Yaaaay!!!!After a very busy year of composing, producing and performing, Toronto-based flautist and composer Ron Korb awoke last Monday morning as a Grammy nominee! Having worked with Ron over the summer to promote the release of Asia Beauty, I am so proud and excited for him at the prospect of walking the red carpet on Grammy weekend (mid-February) rubbing shoulders with the likes of Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, and fellow Canuck nominees, Drake, The Weeknd and Justin Bieber.
As soon as the nominations for all the categories were announced I started working my media contacts here in Toronto – all the TV and radio networks, the dailies, the music bloggers – how would you like a Grammy nominated artist on your show? Sadly, as is typical these days, we had few takers. Unless you are an international, multi-award winning artist, they just don’t care. But hang on…..that’s exactly what Ron Korb is. Ron has won countless international music awards, has performed in some of the world’s most celebrated concert halls and collaborated with numerous other award-winning artists, has produced over 30 hit albums in various genres (Celtic, Latin, Jazz, native American, African, classical, Japanese….) composes film & tv scores, and he’s also the third most well-known Cdn in China which has the greatest buying power in the universe these days. Ron has performed for Queen Elizabeth, Princess Takamado of Japan, Princess Bopha Devi of Cambodia, and was featured on the World Youth Day recording for Pope John Paul and the Dalai Lama’s World Festival of Sacred Music in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He has also shared stages with Peter Gabriel, Jane Siberry, Tia Carrere, Liona Boyd, The Yardbirds, Olivia Newton John and Cesaria Evora.
With fellow Cdn artist Liona Boyd
So how come Canadian media doesn’t recognize his accomplishments and want to brag about them to their viewers/listeners/readers? Beats me! At least the Toronto Star and CTV Headline News acknowledged Ron’s accomplishments…..
Ron and his lovely wife Jade, who took all the photos for Ron’s Asia Beauty album which included a 32pg full-colour booklet, have worked long and hard to promote Canadian music and artistry around the world. Asia Beauty has already won “Best of Show” at the 2015 Global Music Awards as well as awards for Best Instrumental Solo performance (Blue Bamboo) and Best Album Design. The CD also won Best Instrumental Album and Best Instrumental Song (Two Mountains) at the Akademia Music Awards in Los Angeles. Ron has toured countless times around the world and when composing his 2014 Europa album, he performed in venues where classical legends – Mozart, Beethoven, Bach – once trod the stage. Ron even shared the cover of a recent online edition of Billboard with Keith Richards……….so why no love from our own media? This is the sad reality for most Canadian artists. No matter how brilliant, how popular, how well covered by int’l media or how awarded you are by other countries, Canada apparently doesn’t give a rat’s ass about its own artists. So hopefully I will be proven wrong and more editors, columnists, bloggers and news directors will realize the treasure they have under their noses and will step up as we head into Grammy month (Feb/16) and my phone will be ringing off the hook for interviews with the amazing Ron Korb! Why not see for yourself why he’s such a superstar…. http://ronkorb.com/home
Post script: in his usual humble manner, Ron played a special Christmas concert on Saturday at the St. Paul’s Anglican church in Newmarket – the perfect way to end the hectic and exciting week. Here he is performing to the packed pews!
Here’s a great stocking stuffer…or should I say festive playlist download for the music fans on your Christmas gift list. Check out Laura Rock‘s At Christmas Time song, now available for download from iTunes (for only 99c)
You can check out all of Laura’s music and information on her website: http://www.lrockmusic.com/
So whether you’ve been naughty, nice or downright outrageous, Laura’s At Christmas Time song will be a welcome addition to your own seasonal soundtrack.
Last night, FIFE HOUSE presented their annual “Spotlight” concert and fundraising gala (produced by Michael Rubinoff) at the Glenn Gould Studio in downtown Toronto and their guests of honour were the incomparable ANDREA McCARDLE (Broadway’s original Annie) with the equally amazing musical genius SETH RUDETSKY. They chatted about Andrea’s incredible career in musical theatre and Seth accompanied her on piano as she belted out hit after hit. Wow!
My friends at URBANSOURCE CATERING presented platters of the most delicious, scrumptious hors d’oeuvres throughout the pre-concert reception, ferried by an army of friendly servers who kept the goodies coming!Calvin Hambrook, Urban’s Catering & Events Manager, ensured everything went smoothly and he enjoyed schmoozing with the guests, many of whom are long-time clients of Urban. Below, here’s Calvin (l) with Fife Hosue’s Dir. of Development & Communications David Currah (r). Apart from the amazing concert, there was also a fabulous silent auction featuring tons of donated prizes including a framed photo (titled “Quietude” 20” x 30” photoprint on Dibond) by Urban Gallery’s own Kaspara Albertsen, perfect for the festive season….here’s just a few of them:
Even some of Urban Gallery‘s artists donated paintings to the auction including Joan Andal Romano whose show opens next weekend. Below – “Life is Art” (from her Alice Series) 18” x 24” mixed media on canvas…and Nancy Jane Price (below), whose work was on show this past September at Urban Gallery (her donated painting is titled “Together 24” X 24” Acrylic on canvas)Also featured were paintings courtesy of previous Urban exhibitors Janna Kroupko and Brenda Clews (pictured below with Calvin) – her donated artwork was titled “A Spring God” 24″ x 30″ oil on canvas (lower pic) It was truly a great turnout for this event benefiting Fife House whichprovides secure, supportive, affordable housing to people living with HIV/AIDS in the Greater Toronto Area.
Here are a few more gala pics – see if you can spot anyone you know in the crowd……and more of the great Urban staff …Check out the UrbanSource Catering website for catering ideas for your own swanky soiree: www.urbancatering.com
Thank you to everyone involved for making the FIFE HOUSE “SPOTLIGHT” CONCERT & FUNDRAISING GALA such a success.
It may have been a dull overcast day in Toronto yesterday but inside Dead Dog Records, 1209 Bloor West, the lights were bright and the music was blasting out “Rock’s Not Dead” by local rock singer/songwriter LAURA ROCK (known as L’Rock to her friends and fans) who dropped in for an in-store promotional visit in support of her current CD, Rock’s Not Dead. http://www.lrockmusic.com/Below, the Newfie-born now Toronto-based Laura was joined by bandmates Les (rhythm guitar) at left and Bleeding Betty (bass) far right with Dead Dog’s Stephen in grey DDR t-shirt.Between 2-4pm, a number of Laura’s friends and fans showed up (below) to support CD sales and buy the super cool Dead Dog Records t-shirts!Work with me people….make the duck face! I’ve been watching way to much America’s Next Top Model…LOLEven celebrities showed up @ Dead Dog Records…here’s my old friend Gemini and 3x Cdn Comedy Award winner George West below with Laura. George and I go waaaaay back to the late 80’s when he was part of a brilliant comedy duo, Al & George, and has since gone on to a successful solo music, writing and acting career. http://georgewesterholm.ca/ In between meetin’ and greetin’ fans, Laura and the band browsed the bins, unearthing all sorts of musical treasures……and I loved the t-shirt rack and lots of other pop-culture merch.
But even tho the store was rockin’, work still had to get done….BIG THANKS to Stephen, Maesy and Kristie of Dead Dog Records for having us in their store. If you love music, esp. vinyl, they can find anything you want or desire. Drop in, spend an hour going thru the racks and bins and I guarantee you will find something you didn’t know you wanted but just had to have! Their website is launching soon but you can follow them here: https://www.facebook.com/deaddogrecordsto
Earlier this morning, I took music client, Laura Rock (a.k.a. L’Rock) down to the SiriusXM radio studios in Liberty Village to chat with the fabulous Christine Bentley and Sharon Caddy, hosts of What She Saidradio show. http://www.whatshesaidradio.com/Laura’s philosophy about the music industry is “all the web’s a stage and music is a way of life…not a destination”. Her willingness to encourage other artists has been recognized throughout the industry and acknowledged on many social media platforms. She believes the “point of power is the present view. Whatever you’re willing to conceive and believe is what will come to you. It’s The Law of the Attraction”.
The Newfie-born, Toronto-based singer/songwriter shared her views on the current state of the music industry, in particular rock music, with What She Said’s listeners, resulting in an animated, fun and thoughtful 15 minutes of insider expertise and opinions. She also brought in t-shirts and CDs for the hosts (Kate Wheeler is the 3rd host) who showed their enthusiasm for free clothes…especially Christine (below)If you want to hear what L’Rock’s music is all about, visit her website http://www.lrockmusic.com/or better still, if you’re in Toronto, come down to Dead Dog Records, 1209 Bloor West (at Lansdown) on Saturday Nov. 14th 2-4pm to meet Laura in person, pick up her CD Rock’s Not Dead and some t-shirts, and hang out with her band and the big loud promo truck parked outside the store playing all her tunes.You can also listen to Laura’s interview via the What She Said website http://www.whatshesaidradio.com/
Move over all you insipid little girls with guitars…here’s the real deal: hard rockin’ singer/songwriter LAURA ROCK is heading back into the studio to record her 3rd album in as many years.I met this talented lady a few years ago when she was launching her first solo album of pedal-to-the-metal, hard-driving contemporary rock music and she won me over completely upon first listening…I got hooked on her ballsy songs. But this lady is not just your typical “rock chick”; Laura is all heart and can frequently be found mentoring and encouraging young emerging artists, sharing her stories of performing live in clubs of varying sizes, recording studio protocols to dealing with dodgy club owners. This lady has been there, done that, written the songs…and she’s happy to impart her knowledge and expertise with those just coming up through the ranks.
Earlier this summer, Laura performed to a packed house at Toronto’s Hard Rock Cafe, proving once again that Rock’s Not Dead…. which just so happens to be the name of her current album and lead single! As she heads back into the studio, I sat down with her and asked a few questions…..
Where were you raised and has that influenced your music or performance style?
I originate from Newfoundland..let me count the ways that my home town of St. John’s has influenced me both musically & performance style! Musically, growing up I was blessed with some great folk-rockers along with many other genres. Newfoundlanders are know for being friendly and outgoing. Our storytelling abilities and sense of humor shines through – in the way we speak and in my case, write lyrics and sing. The term “front person” comes to mind. People say that my Newfie hospitality and genuine love for what I do translates well to stage.
Who were your musical influences?
Hmm, that’s a hard one. Don’t make me choose!! I mean it’s massive, there are MANY. Areosmith! Areosmith!! Areosmith!!! Did I say Steven Tyler? LOL!! Can’t forget AC/DC & OMG! Can you say Sammy Hager? Also Tom Cochrane,Kim Mitchell, Colin James, The Guess Who, Nikki Sixx, Eddie Veder, Dave Matthews, Matthew Good, Jane’s Addiction, MatchBox Twenty/Rob Thomas, Heart, Lita Ford, Holly Woods, Sass Jordan, Melissa Etheridge, Biff Naked , Allanah Myles, Holly McNarland, Mae Moore. And I can’t not mention my fellow Newfs Kim Stockwood, Ron Hynes, Great Big Sea, plus Hey Rosetta, Belinda Metz, Buffy Ste Marie, Joni Mitchell, Ricki Lee Jones, Joan Osborne, Pink, Chantal Kreviazuk, Van Halen, But seriously I could go on and on and on and….Do you play any instruments and how do you compose?
My instrument is my voice. Regarding composing, well I can hack a guitar but I’m not all that great. For the most part, I am a lyricist. It all comes to me in waves…it feels like it’s channeled from somewhere else, I swear! I often hear guitar riffs or drum beats in my head but I am absolutely blessed to work with a fantastic producer, Brian Gagnon, who helps interrupt my ideas. Sometimes I go in with the lyrics and he creates the music – sometime I add some musical ideas or sometimes he has the music and my lyrics are created afterwards. Sometimes it’s a simultaneous process.
Who has been your guiding light in the industry? Wow, good question. I think I have always followed my own heart, but one “guiding light” in particular was the late great Nik Beat of CIUT’s Howl! radio show. Nik’s incredible belief in me and my music lead me to L.A. and many other places. He introduced me to so many talented people in Toronto that I otherwise would never have known.
Remind me of your previous albums and the hit singles off each…and haven’t you won some pretty awesome awards, too?
My first album was called Law of Attraction, which was released in late 2011 and my current album, Rock’s Not Dead was released towards the end of 2014.I’m happy to say that my music is played on many internet stations across Canada, the US and the UK – as I say: “all the web’s a stage”. Regarding awards, well, I’m proud to mention that I was nominated for 6 HMMA awards in L.A. (Hollywood In Media Awards) which has resulted in some amazing opportunities and business introductions for me. I was nominated for the following songs:
November 2014 Lightning
July 2013 Law of Attraction
Mar 2013 98.5
Jan 2013 Get Your Rock On
July 2012 Blindsided
June 2012 Light My Fuse
You’ve played some pretty great venues over the past few years…. I’ve played many venues in Toronto as both a cover band artist and as a original project. Sadly, a lot of clubs have shut down in this city but more recently I played the legendary El Mocambo before it was sold and closed, and in June we did our official CD Launch for Rocks Not Dead at the Hard Rock Cafe.Can you tease us with a little news about your next album?
I’m heading back into the studio to work on my third album but I’m still promoting Rock’s Not Dead which I sadly had to put on hold due to the death of my mother, father & best fiend all in a very short span of time last year. But you know what they say….what doesn’t kill you makes you write more music! So this next album is about love, loss, and the key phrase…Bait & Switch! You spend a lot of time mentoring emerging young artists, sharing knowledge about the business of making music. For you, what is the most rewarding aspect of that? The most rewarding aspect of that is simply watching them grow as an artist. After speaking with them about several subjects, particularly “critical opinions” – as you know, we live in a society that always has something to say about whatever we do. I always like to let young artists know that there will always be a critical opinion and I offer ways on how to deal with it, how to protect your creative ego. Once they overcome this, they soar….that’s the fun part to watch.
In a city the size of Toronto where there are a lot of performance stages, why aren’t we seeing more accessible multi-genre music stars rising from the ranks? In other words, how easy/hard is it for young performers to play on a main stage AND make money?
The music landscape has changed drastically – it’s not just localized to the city you live in. With access to the web, you are your own record company, your own manager, and this is the concept I try to instill in to younger artists. You can make money in the music industry if you’re motivated enough to put in time and effort into your art. The simple fact is, if you love what you do, there are going to be hurdles in the way and you will have to compromise, especially when it comes to the financial part of the business. Having said that, I think no one should play for free…know you’re worth and stick to it.Any ideas how we, the fans, can help improve the music scene and support the artists?
You can do this simply by buying their music online or showing up at live venues. At the end of the day, the music business is a business and everyone needs to make a living.
So what’s in the future for Laura Rock?
Music is a way of life for me, it’s not a destination…I try to live in the moment for the most part, because I feel so good making music…it’s like heaven on earth. But having said that, I do aspire to write for other artists or help/mentor those who need a little guidance. I love films so having one of my songs in a movie soundtrack would be the biggest dream come true!
You can learn more about Laura Rock, buy her music and keep up with news on her new album and upcoming shows by visiting: http://lrockmusic.com/
Congratulations to Stephen, Maesy and Kristie on today’s grand opening of their DEAD DOG RECORDS store at 1209 Bloor St West (near Lansdowne subway stn)…what a great day it was for vinyl lovers and all things music! For years, I used to shop at a now-defunct big-name record store on Yonge just south of Bloor where all three worked, where Stephen would always manage to secure my hard-to-find requests for music and films – I was crestfallen when that store was closed down. It was hinted that Maesy, Kristie and Stephen were planning to open their own store within a year and I was thrilled to learn last week that they had risen, phoenix-like, with this cool Dead Dog Records store in Bloordale.Jacquie, personal chef from www.chezJacquie.ca was out front (see above) offering homebaked cookies to all Dead Dog shoppers – now that’s how you launch a business: FREE FOOD! And inside, the store was packed with keen vinyl fans as well as family and friends of the trio of owners. They even sell turntables…really good ones!
There’s something for every musical taste….…and I was thrilled to find some old friends from the late 70’s, early 80’s when I was a club kid. In fact, the late, great BB Gabor was a fixture at the various bars and clubs around town and I have cassettes recorded directly off the board from the recording sessions that resulted in this album. Who remembers…“nyet nyet Soviet…Soviet Jewellery..” ?And Vancouver’s Doug and the Slugs were awesome in the 80’s. Remember the hit single “Too Bad”? I remember seeing the band live at the old Blue Note on Pears Ave.
Iggy!!!!!!!
and a big favourite of all the store’s owners…Cash…Johnny Cash. Lots of great vintage albums here.Tons of great merchandise, too. I got a black Dead Dog Records t-shirt and a couple of pins so I’m looking fwd to being their walking billboard to promote this great new business that will benefit musicians and fans alike.Are you a movie fan? Well, you don’t have to rely on Netflix or your cable company to deliver your fave flicks…Dead Dog also sells great DVDs, many hard to find films that are never shown on digital or traditional TV channels. Come on down and browse…and if you’re a Sheldon or Wolowitz type of geek, well, Dead Dog has something for you, too!I love discovering great new (or in this case, old) talent as I flip thru the bins and look what I found today…I think we should make Claude on a Cloud a hit all over again…let’s get on YouTube and find this guy. The world needs more Claude!!
So big congrats and thank-you to Dead Dog Records – we can’t wait to visit your in-store events, live music events & special promotions and hope that you become so successful that we have to call you Old Dog Records!
Maesy (left) & Kristie (right)
Stephen
DEAD DOG RECORDS, 1209 Bloor St West, Toronto T: 647-748-0748
www.Facebook.com/DeadDogRecordsTO
Instagram.deaddogrecords
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a special panel discussion regarding the live music strategy being undertaken by the Downtown Yonge BIA in partnership with Music Canada, City of Toronto’s Economic Development & Culture Division, Canada’s Music Incubator and Heritage Toronto. The focus of the discussion was the historical and contemporary importance of Yonge Street as a music and cultural hub for the city (see end of blog for web addresses).
Hosted in the Hard Rock Cafe (originally known as the Friar’s Tavern in the 60’s and 70’s), the venue overlooks the world-famous Yonge-Dundas Square (below).The event was part of the Yonge Street Speaker Series sponsored by Downtown Yonge BIA and presented by Yonge Street Media who publishes an online newsletter containing information and news pertaining to the Yonge St corridor (I highly recommend you subscribe to this). http://www.yongestreetmedia. ca/
Introduced by Yonge Street’s Ritu Bhardwaj and supported by Downtown Yonge BIA’s Exec. Director & Chief Staff Officer Mark Garner, the panel of music industry experts (pictured below) included moderator Amanda Martinez – singer/songwriter and media personality; Greg Godovitz – long-time recording artist whose hard rock band Goddo was a big fave of mine back in the 70’s & 80’s when I was a weekly clubgoer. Greg is now a radio personality, producer and author; Amy Terrill, VP of Public Affairs for Music Canada; Nicholas Jennings – music journalist and author of one of my fave books Before the Goldrush (the story of the Yorkville scene in the 60’s), and Mike Tanner – Music Sector Development Officer for Toronto’s Film & Entertainment Industries office.Several topics were addressed including the state of viable live performance stages in the city (or lack thereof), as well as the value of Yonge Street as the touchstone for the city’s music history. A number of initiatives have already been launched including designating the various locations of important venues from the past along the Yonge strip that will receive plaques acknowledging their contributions to the city’s and country’s music industry. See map below:Soon to launch is the Canada’s Music Incubator initiative, which is the next phase of Downtown Yonge’s music strategy. Partnering with Coalition Music, they are introducing an Artist Management program – something I myself taught for several years at one of the city’s music & film schools. One of the missing components in these days of online music distribution and social media marketing is the professional artist’s manager who guides artists and negotiates liveable performance fees for them, so hopefully this program will result in a more professional approach to music marketing and gigging esp. for emerging artists who need this important support.
It was great to watch the introductory video that reminded us of Yonge Street’s heritage – The Colonial Tavern, Le Coq d’Or Tavern, Ronnie Hawkins and other legacy musicians…see below
…and attendees were very enthusiastic with their own questions and commentary- belowOne important issue that was brought to the fore is that musicians gigging around town these days are not paid by the clubs and bars that take advantage of the fans’ booze and food sales. Back when the city’s live music venues had a thriving attendance (70’s- early 90’s) bars would pay the artists and promote/advertise their own venue – these days bands have to either work for the door or sell tickets provided by the club owners who pocket the revenue generated. Bands also have to promote themselves using whatever publicity vehicles they can afford (social media is free but few artists really understand how to target the market outside of their own “circle of friends” to attract new fans). The panel all agreed this is a serious issue, however, as one of my musician friends pointed out, last night’s event was held in just such a venue where bands have to rent the space (for a substantial fee) plus meet a bar sales minimum. So instead of operating as true bars and live music venues, many are now operating as corporate event spaces. Musicians lose out and in the long run, so do the fans who are not exposed to as many talented homegrown artists as we did back in the day.
I hope to participate in more discussions and activities in support of this “Music Strategy/Downtown Yonge BIA” project and I encourage you all to go out and see/hear a band this weekend. Thank you for supporting Canadian artists!
Important websites for fans of Canadian music:
www.downtownyonge.com www.musiccanada.com www.toronto.ca www.canadasmusicincubator.com www.coalitionmusic.com
Graham Young (below) is a young musician currently exploring various genres including country, pop, jazz and rock. He sounds fabulous here with Jack and Deena.
