Throwback Thursday Ottawa’s Kelp Records is celebrating their 20th Anniversary with a special shindig tonight at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, featuring The Acorn, Jim Bryson, Evening Hymns, Andrew Vincent, Andy Swan, Rhume and more. For this Throwback Thursday, I’ll resist the urge to trot out an ancient, semi-embarrassing selfie and instead take us back to the summer of 2001. There were so many fantastic indie [continue…]
Flashback Friday! In honour of Neko Case’s awesome Twitter response to Playboy and others yesterday (which gets extra marks for dropping a superb “Mad Men” reference: “DON’T PEGGY OLSEN ME, MOTHERFUCKERS”), here’s the story I did on her in December 2002 for SOCAN: “Neko Case: Honourary Canadian, Proud SOCAN Member.” I had interviewed her by phone at her home in Chicago. If I recall correctly, [continue…]
I was away for the holidays when I heard about Phil Everly passing away. It’s sad to think that we’ll never hear those two voices together again. Thinking back to music you became aware of as a child, there are always a few artists who seemed to stand out for some reason. I can vividly recall watching TV on Sunday nights on our family’s old [continue…]
I like to consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to the topic of the Beatles. I’ve been an ardent fan of the legendary band going on 35 years or so now, ever since I was old enough to buy records. I’ve read at least 15 books about them – on the collective, the individuals, their songs, their recording techniques, even a book that details [continue…]
There’s been much written about mondegreens – aka misheard song lyrics – and I’m happy to add some more. There are so many of these to choose from – even just from my own experience. Of course, there’s the classic “Hazy” hearing of Hendrix, “‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy…” And the ever-mondegreen of Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light” which millions still sing as “Wrapped [continue…]
As you may know, I’ve been participating in Movember for the first time as part of the team at work, MojanOne, growing a moustache to raise awareness and money for men’s health and prostate cancer. It’s coming along quite nicely, if I do say so myself. In fact, it’s kind of growing on me! (Ha) My goal has been to raise $500, and I’m getting [continue…]
Here’s my review of Elvis Costello’s Toronto stop on the Spectacular Spinning Songbook tour for Torontoist. Definitely one of the funnest concerts I’ve ever been to, even though I was punching the clock, so to speak. Musically, it was simply amazing. Here are some YouTube clips shot by audience members. Set list below. Set List: I Hope You’re Happy Now Heart of the City [continue…]
Check out my latest article, “Working Behind the Scenes” (PDF), in SOCAN’s Words + Music magazine. It’s about how some songwriters make a living writing for TV ads, films, or for other artists. It features interviews with Ian LeFeuvre, Kurt Swinghammer, Gordie Sampson and Simon Wilcox. share: Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin share via Reddit Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments [continue…]
I was fortunate enough to attend the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame 7th Annual Gala a couple of weekends ago here in Toronto. Among those inducted, the most famous were Robbie Robertson and Québec songwriter Luc Plamondon. I won’t attempt a complete summary of the night, as my friend Steve McLean did a bang-up job at that for his blog here, and I don’t think [continue…]
Okay, I know it’s already mid-March, so it may seem a little late to be posting the third and final instalment of my 2010 year-end best-of music list—more like the idleness of March than the ides of March. However, I have been a little preoccupied with other things, like trying to find a job. But since I’ve posted the first two parts already, I just [continue…]
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