Jumpin' up and down
Photo: Suzanne Paschall
Skavenjah's sixth full-length album, "One More Night With You - Live" (containing 22 tracks recorded on tour in July 2008) was released on March 27 at The Distrikt in Regina, with the night recorded by CBC Radio 2 for national broadcast. The group performed in the SXSW Festival this March in Austin TX, and welcomes new guitarist Cody Gamracy.
Jump Me Martha singer Suzanne Paschall recently traveled to BC to mentor in advanced jazz vocal under Louise Rose, whose resume includes working/studying with Duke Ellington Aretha Franklin, Oscar Peterson, Ray Charles and Leonard Bernstein. Rose and Paschall first met at the 2006 Saskatchewan Jazz Festival. Paschall received assistance for the journey from SaskMusic, to whom she is grateful, saying, "So many learning, growth, networking and collaboration opportunities were born...I can't wait to see where we go from here." Suzanne and partner Tom Dahl are currently working on projects including a jazz musical set in the 1930s in collaboration with Catherine Harrison (actor, playwright and co-director of the 400 Lbs of Sunshine Theatre Company), and have signed a licensing contract with SynchUp Licensing for song "Love Lies", to be promoted for TV/film opportunities. Brett Balon has joined the gang as percussionist, stepping in for Don Tatchell. They performed once again on the Saskatoon Princess dinner cruises running through August.
Congratulations to Terri-Anne Strongarm on taking home the $10,000 first prize in the Dakota Dunes Idol contest. She recently recorded several off-the-floor tracks for CBC Radio One's SoundXChange.
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Winners and tours
Photo: Evie Koop
Congrats to Amigos at making the top 10 in CBC Radio 3's search for Canada's Best Live Music Club.
Evie Koop has won the 2009 SGI Canada RSO Symphony Singing Star contest. Accompanied by pianist Jennifer Crawford, Evie performed in the finals at Casino Regina on March 12. She will now have the opportunity to perform with the Regina Symphony Orchestra during their 2009/2010 season. Evie holds a B.A. in Music - Vocal Performance, and a Certificate in Professional Performance Training (American Musical and Dramatic Academy, New York NY). She has recently been studying with vocal coach Brahm Goldhamer and voice teacher Marjorie Sparks in Toronto, and is preparing to audition for The Glenn Gould School, where she hopes to further her opera studies. Congratulations to all nine finalists: Jeff Fang, Brandy Young, Christie-Anne Blondeau, Colby Nargang, Chelsey Kress, Lisa Driver, Heather Pontius, Mary Joy Nelson and Morgan Tangjerd.
Green Bottle Street is completing plans for an East Coast tour this summer; expect new songs, new merch, a cello player, and more! Both GBS recordings ("Cycles of Dying" and"Sad Happy Foolish Wise") are now available on CDBaby.com and iTunes. A new single is in the works, "What the Two of Us Know", recorded with Efren Pereira at StarLab Recording.
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Hot releases
Photo: Rah Rah
Since making their out-of-town debut at Pop! Montreal in 2006, the buzz surrounding Rah Rah has been steadily growing. Voted "Best Band in Regina" (2007 Prairie Dog Reader's Poll), they've played festivals across Canada, shared stages with Wintersleep, Malajube, and Bedouin Soundclash, and released their first full-length album, "Going Steady" via Young Soul Records. The six-piece features members of Sylvie, Geronimo, and the late Despistado. Since its release, "Going Steady" has received consistent airplay on CBC Radio 3 (reaching #5 on the R3-30) and has charted on campus radio and in Exclaim! mag for the last two months. Rah Rah completed two-month cross-Canada tour in May/June, and is also recording with Kees Dekker (Plants and Animals) in Montreal PQ.
Songs from One Bad Son's recording trip to Vancouver aren't yet mixed, but results are rolling in. The three-song demo made its way to U.S. management company Union Entertainment Group (Nickelback, Default, Hinder, etc), and now the two parties are in negotiations for a management deal. New York A&R rep Lenny Johnson flew in for the band's April 26 show at Amigos, from which the band hopes to secure a deal. In other news, drummer Kurt Dahl was recently invited to give a guest lecture at the University of Alberta College of Law, for a "Musicians and the Law" course. Kurt is nearing completion of his Master's of Law thesis on the future of the music industry, and how artists will continue to make a living in a digital world.
The Mykal Gambull Band has posted live videos from their Saskatoon Blues Festival show on YouTube...the group also recently performed on Telemiracle, and continues work on a new album.
O'Reilly International/On Ramp Records news: Brad Johner's highly-anticipated third solo album, "Lookin' At You," was released July 7 and promises a fresh new sound from this signature voice. Produced by Bart McKay, Brad explains, "It's the music [fans have] come to appreciate, with a few surprises thrown is as well." The label has also been busy with releases from Victoria Banks ("When You Can Fly", first single "The Wheel" on the top 20 BDS country chart) and Diane Chase ("Getting' There"), the signing of Buddy Jewell (winner, 2003 Nashville Star) to a management deal, Shane Yellowbird working on his sophomore album for release this fall, and the signing of Aaron Lines for the distribution of his new album, which is due this fall.
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Charts, videos and releases
Photo: Scott Benson
Scott Benson held CD release parties for his debut CD, "Point Aconi," June 4-6 in Regina and Moose Jaw. It was recorded with award-winning producer Michael Shepherd at Cape Breton's Lakewind Sound. Scott, a native of Moose Jaw, has hit stages from coast to coast alongside many of Cape Breton's finest traditional players, including Ashley MacIsaac, John Allen Cameron and Troy MacGillivray. A descendant of Cape Breton's musically rich Stubbert family, Scott picked up the fiddle at the age of five, immersed himself in recordings of Cape Breton fiddlers, learning hundreds of tunes, and developing a style all his own. Scott has transplanted the Cape Breton tradition in the prairies of Saskatchewan and beyond.
Jeffery Straker's video "Hypnotized" was added to MuchMoreMusic in April, impressively sitting at #10 in their Top 10 show as of print time, and is getting good exposure on both TV and web across the country, as well as SaskTel Max-On-Demand in Saskatchewan. SaskTel is also using it in the launch of its wireless streaming technology. Jeffery attended CMW in Toronto, showcasing as a national finalist in the Radiostar Songwriting Competition. The competition got him noticed by the China delegation, resulting in a private showcase for them, and subsequent signing to East-West Entertainment management/booking as his representation in Taiwan, Mainland China and South-East Asia. Tour dates are in the works for Asia. Jeffery and his band have many Canadian dates booked through the summer and fall.
Congratulations to The Deep Dark Woods on making the Galaxie Folk/Roots Channel most-played, high-rotation Canadian album releases chart for "Winter Hours" at #2 for March and #5 for April , as well as the CBC Radio 3 Top 30 for May 15 with "All The Money I Had Is Gone".
Voyno and co-author Roshan Hoover have started a new blog and book, available for free download, called The New Rockstar Philosophy. They provide tips on songwriting, social media, music industry news and commentary.
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