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Gordon Lightfoot’s Legacy Will Be Remembered

Gordon Lightfoot’s Legacy Will Be Remembered
By Keith Sharp Much has been written, televised, and praised online to eulogize the passing of Gordon Lightfoot, who died on Monday, May 2nd, at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital at the age of 84. But it should be pointed out that this Canadian music icon, along with Ian and Sylvia, helped create Canada’s first established music scene when the Orillia Ontario... Read More

Colourful Junos Had Everything, Including Hockey Superstars And Topless Protesters

Colourful Junos Had Everything, Including Hockey Superstars And Topless Protesters
By Keith Sharp It’s virtually a standard practice for live broadcasts to feature the disclaimer, ”this show may contain scenes of nudity and coarse language.” But I am certain organizers of the 52nd Juno Awards staged at Edmonton’s Rogers Centre could not have possibly predicted such a warning would have come into play so early in Monday’s telecast. Yet as... Read More

Music Express ME News Update – Music Question #1 – What “the…” Correction!

Music Express ME News Update – Music Question #1  – What “the…” Correction!
The Music Express – ME NEWS Bi-Monthly would like to reach out to you, the reader. Starting with this issue, we will pose a simple question to you about your music tastes (with a few celebrity answers), and for the second ME NEWS of the month, we will print a select number of your responses. The first question is… What... Read More

McBowl Concert Series Has North American Appeal

McBowl Concert Series Has North American Appeal
Photo by Andrew Clowater By Keith Sharp The 6th Annual McBowl Concert, in support of Ronald McDonald House promoter Ed Sousa can usually tell how well his annual concert festival is doing by how many tickets are sold nationally and throughout the United States. “Last year, we sold tickets to 20 U.S. states and every province in Canada. So far... Read More

Canadian Music Legend Ian Tyson, CM AOE, Has Died at 89

Canadian Music Legend Ian Tyson, CM AOE, Has Died at 89
The family of the late Canadian country legend Ian Tyson, CM AOE, has confirmed the singer-songwriter died from ongoing health complications on December 29th, 2022 at his ranch in southern Alberta, Canada at age 89. Tyson was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame with his... Read More

Canada’s Loverboy Opens For Foreigner Farewell Tour 2023

Canada’s Loverboy Opens For Foreigner Farewell Tour 2023
 Foreigner – Photo by Karsten Staiger copy “I Want To Know What Love Is”, “Cold As Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Juke Box Hero,” “Urgent,” and no less than five more Top 10 hits. FOREIGNER, the band behind these iconic songs announced the launch of their Farewell Tour. The tour is set to launch on July 6, 2023, at Atlanta’s Ameris Bank... Read More

Steve Norman Keeping Spandau Ballet’s Legacy Alive

Steve Norman Keeping Spandau Ballet’s Legacy Alive
By Keith Sharp When you are the co-founder of a supergroup, it’s hard to let the project go, especially when there have been serious reformation attempts throughout the years. So, Spandau Ballet tenor saxophonist Steve Norman continues the band’s legacy, performing band classics like “True,” “Gold,” and “Through The Barricades” which were staple hits during the band’s peak popularity in... Read More

It’s All About Persistence – An Interview With Strange Advance

It’s All About Persistence – An Interview With Strange Advance
Strange Advance Releases 4 2022 By Keith Sharp “Just like getting back on a bike, it was so great to play in front of a live audience again,” enthused Strange Advance keyboardist/vocalist Drew Arnott after finally getting to parade his reconstituted line up which now features six musicians; including vocalist/guitarist Sean Dillon, keyboardist Rob Bailey, guitarist Ian Cameron, drummer/vocalist Russ Friesen... Read More

2022 Love Someone Tour Dates Announced!

2022 Love Someone Tour Dates Announced!
Johnny Reid has announced his 2022 Love Someone tour, set to be one of the longest-running artist tours in Canadian history with over one hundred shows once all tour dates are announced!  Tickets for most shows go on sale: November 26th at 10 am (local time) Tartan Army Fan Club Presale: November 24th at 3 pm (local time) RSVP on Facebook... Read More

Arrive, Raise A Little Hell, Retire – Trooper Original Duo Call It A Day.

Arrive, Raise A Little Hell, Retire – Trooper Original Duo Call It A Day.
Trooper’s Lead Singer Ra McGuire and Bassist Doni Underhill – Photo by Hope Photography By Keith Sharp  The announcement on Trooper’s November 8th Facebook post that original band members; vocalist Ra McGuire and lead guitarist Brian Smith have chosen to retire from the band, may have caught many fans by surprise, but the reality is that the ongoing COVID19 pandemic... Read More

THE COOPER BROTHERS – “RADIO SILENCE” CD RELEASE AT CENTREPOINTE

THE COOPER BROTHERS – “RADIO SILENCE” CD RELEASE AT CENTREPOINTE
    Ottawa’s rock ‘n roll cowboys, The Cooper Brothers, treated their fans to an exceptional and extra special performance at Centrepointe Theatre Friday night, which was jam-packed with special guests in celebration of their newest album release, “Radio Silence”. In addition to the band’s seven members, a four-piece horn section added a colourful boost to the first half of... Read More

Heading for the T.Dot – Part Two

Heading for the T.Dot – Part Two
My first interview with Red Rider’s lead vocalist Tom Cochrane provided a source of confrontation. Red Rider; comprising of Cochrane (guitarist/lead vocalist) Jeff Jones (bass), Ken Greer (guitar) Peter Boynton (keyboards) and Rob Baker( drums) were a hotly sought after Toronto band in 1979. Both Capitol’s Deane Cameron and Anthem’s Ray Danniels were vying for them but Cameron was concerned... Read More

Sharp Inks Publishing Deal With Dundurn

Sharp Inks Publishing Deal With Dundurn
Music Express editor in chief Keith Sharp is happy to announce that Dundurn Publishing Company has agreed to publish his Music Express book. The title will be previewed to potential retailers and libraries in Dundurn’s Fall catalogue and will be at retail by early 2014. “I am totally excited by the news that Dundurn will give my book full national... Read More

Here Comes Loverboy

Here Comes Loverboy
It was at a meeting with Fosterchild when I first bumped into Paul Dean, lead guitarist for Streetheart. I had just conducted a phone interview with the band’s keyboardist Daryl Guthiel but I hadn’t extracted much of an insight from him so I welcomed the opportunity to do an in person with Paul. He proved to be a very cordial... Read More

Jukebox Offers A Dose Of Rock Reality

Jukebox Offers A Dose Of Rock Reality
Some of you with encyclopedic music memories may remember an Ottawa-based band called The Cooper Brothers. They created a buzz in the late seventies by being the only Canadian band to be signed to Phil Walden’s Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records. A label which sparked a `Southern Rock’ music movement with high-profile releases by the likes of The Allman Brothers, Marshall... Read More

Canada Rocks!

Canada Rocks!
Domestically, the music industry was exploding. New albums and new bands were arriving daily with growth evident right across Canada. Toronto lead the way with the likes of hard rock bands Rush, Triumph, Max Webster, Goddo and Moxy, the versatility of Lighthouse plus the True North folk scene powered by Bruce Cockburn, Dan Hill and Murray McLauchlan. Not to mention... Read More

Metal Queen Comes of Age – Lee Aaron

Metal Queen Comes of Age – Lee Aaron
Lee Aaron downloads the Music Express E magazine and enters a time warp. Enclosed on the site are clips of Lee performing her signature` Metal Queen’ track at the 1984 Music Express Awards in Vancouver as well as her joining in a spirited finale of ‘Dance to the Music‘ with Bill Henderson, Shari Ulrich and Kathi McDonald. “Wow, big hair”... Read More