Lunchbox Promotion Draws Attention To Rare Americans launch.

March 22, 2023March 22, 2023 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Launching yourself as a new band in the current social media environment is always a tricky business but Vancouver’s Rare Americans came up with a novel approach to debuting the self-titled album debut in August 2018. Original members James Priestner and guitarist Lubo Ivan designed about 300 lunch boxes emblazoned with their distinctive artwork style with contents... Read More

Colourful Junos Had Everything, Including Hockey Superstars And Topless Protesters

March 14, 2023March 24, 2023 Keith Sharp

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

The Many Faces Of Michelle Truman

March 14, 2023March 20, 2023 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Michelle Truman is a musical schizophrenic. Some nights she exhibits an aura of Stevie Nicks, other nights, she stars as one-quarter of her own ABBA tribute team or captures the spirit of Shania Twain, Joan Jett or Lita Ford. And more recently, she has assumed lead vocal in the band Toronto as a replacement for Holly (Annie) Woods,... Read More

McBowl Concert Series Has North American Appeal

January 30, 2023February 1, 2023 Keith Sharp

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

Big Sugar Revisits Classic Release With New Tour And Band Lineup

January 2, 2023January 8, 2023 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Big Sugar’s Gordie Johnson isn’t prepared to idly sit back and play out a pandemic. Even during an enforced two-year layoff, he was releasing his GJ SoundShack video series and was even able to execute a One Man Big Sugar Show. So as soon as he was able to get back on the road, Johnson jumped at... Read More

Coney Hatch’s UK Tour 40 Years In The Making

December 5, 2022December 25, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp The invitation came right out of the blue. When Coney Hatch bassist Andy Curran touched base with Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris during his band’s Toronto and Hamilton dates (as part of Maiden’s global Legacy Of The Beast tour), Harris mentioned he would be taking his British Lions’ side project on a brief but intense 11 dates... Read More

Blakk Turns Traumatic Childhood Experience Into Moving Emotional Vignettes

November 26, 2022November 27, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Considering Forest Blakk’s traumatic childhood upbringing, it would have come as no surprise if his musical influences had been Thrash Metal or Gangsta Rap. Yet his third EP, ‘Every Little Detail’ contains eight emotional introspective compositions which rank highly on wedding musical theme lists, an image which belies his gruff, tattooed physique. Blakk grew up in Montreal,... Read More

Steve Norman Keeping Spandau Ballet’s Legacy Alive

November 17, 2022November 22, 2022 Keith Sharp

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

Love Of Spaghetti Westerns Spawn Novel Single

November 14, 2022November 22, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp On Saturday November 26th at Toronto’s El Mocambo Tavern and on Sunday November 27th at Mississauga’s Classic Bowl venue, Boys Don’t Cry will open for Spandau Ballet saxophonist Steve Norman. Most musicologists may not recognize the name Boys Don’t Cry or its principal member, Nick Richards but possibly the band’s debut 1986 single; “I Wanna Be A... Read More

Barney Bentall’s Cariboo Express Puts A New Twist On Fundraising

November 7, 2022November 8, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp It was one of those eureka moments. Barney Bentall and his son Dustin were watching a YouTube episode of The Grand Ole Opry when they heard the MC say, “and the next song by Mel Tillis is sponsored by Gillette.” Songs sponsored by corporations, what a novel concept! “It was 2006, we were planning on doing a... Read More

Bedouin Soundclash Returns To Their World Beat Roots With New Release ‘We Will Meet In A Hurricane’

October 26, 2022November 1, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Like most musicians, the Bedouin Soundclash duo of Jay Malinowski and Eon Sinclair found themselves with time on their hands as they waited out the COVID pandemic, with Sinclair travelling to Malinowski’s Victoria B.C residence to see if they could recapture the World Beat spirit of previous releases. Their previous `Mass’ release in 2019 had seen Bedouin... Read More

Monster Truck’s Warriors Spearhead Arena Rock Revival

October 3, 2022October 4, 2022 Keith Sharp

Photo by James Heaslip Interview By Keith Sharp Suggest to Monster Truck bassist/guitarist Jon Harvey that classic arena rock music is virtually extinct, and he’ll invite you to listen to his band’s latest release titled `Warriors.’ At a time when Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Patient Number 9’ sits atop Billboard’s North American album charts and even Nickleback has released an incendiary new... Read More

“I Melt With You” Is Modern English’s Calling Card

September 15, 2022September 17, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Think of England’s Modern English band, and you inevitably get drawn to one song, “I Melt With You,” which is the featured track off their 1982 second album, ‘After The Snow.’ Band bassist Gary Conroy is well aware of that fact, and phoning in from New Jersey confirms that track has been a constant calling card for... Read More

Heart’s Ann Wilson Forges Her Own Legacy

September 6, 2022September 14, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp The legacy of Heart may be well documented since the release of their classic debut album Dreamboat Annie in 1975, but lead vocalist Ann Wilson is now determined to establish her own legacy. With the album release of `Fierce Bliss’ earlier this year, Wilson has assembled a band of top-notch Muscle Shoals Studio musicians and has launched... Read More

Harlow’s PRiSM Quest To Keep Their Legacy Alive

August 22, 2022August 24, 2022 Keith Sharp

Al Harlow of PRiSM – Photo by Debbie Albrough By Keith Sharp An examination of PRiSM’s personnel timeline on Wikipedia reveals that no less than 24 musicians have featured in the band since two other Vancouver-based bands; Seeds Of Time and Sunshyne, merged together in the early 1970s as a studio project producer Bruce Fairbairn was assembling, eventually developing into... Read More

Fond Memories of a Meeting with Olivia Newton-John by Keith Sharp

August 13, 2022August 16, 2022 Keith Sharp

Olivia Newton-John was the first legitimate superstar artist this writer had the privilege of interviewing. Newton-John, who lost her courageous battle with breast cancer on August 8th at the age of 73, had already established herself as a major recording artist in July 1976 when MCA Canada’s Western Canada regional office in Calgary presented her with a slew of gold... Read More

Revitalized Streetheart Launches Eastern Invasion

August 1, 2022August 3, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Since Streetheart last played at Toronto’s legendary El Mocambo Tavern, much has happened. You need to go back in time by 43 years to 1979. The Winnipeg-based band had just released their second album, ‘Heaven Over Hell,’ John Hannah had just replaced Paul Dean on guitar (who moved on to help form Loverboy), and they were about... Read More

NEW FACES: Fracassi New Face Of Coalition Music

July 25, 2022August 1, 2022 Keith Sharp

Sophia Fracassi releases her debut six-song EP ‘Marathon’ – Photo by Wendy Wei By Keith Sharp Think of Coalition Music, and you would think of the Toronto-based music incubator operation, which has successfully nurtured careers by the likes of Our Lady Peace, Simple Plan, The Tea Party and, more recently, Scott Helman. So, when Rob Lanni’s company starts to promote... Read More

Kenora Harbourfest Re-Established As Region’s Top Festival

July 25, 2022July 25, 2022 Keith Sharp

Harbourfest Committee 2022 – Photo by Cory McCrindle, Northern Exposures Photography & Communications By Keith Sharp Heather MacMurphy claims the cancellation of the past two Kenora Harbourfest allowed her the luxury of spending the August long weekend with her family and friends…but you get the idea she Is being totally facetious. The 29th anniversary of the Kenora Harbourfest (plus two!)... Read More

Lee Aaron Revisits The El Mocambo And Her Metal Queen Roots

July 18, 2022July 19, 2022 Keith Sharp

By Keith Sharp Lee Aaron has vivid memories of her first and only concert appearance at Toronto’s legendary El Mocambo Tavern. March 31st, 1984, with a performance which debuted her Metal Queen album. On Friday, July 22nd, Aaron and her band, comprising of husband/drummer John Cody, guitarist Sean Kelly and bassist Dave Reimer will return to the newly revamped facility... Read More

Author: Keith Sharp