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Home > Author: Keith Sharp

Author: Keith Sharp

Former Calgary Herald sportswriter, Editor in Chief of the original Music Express Magazine and follow-up ACCESS magazine. Published author of a book about the Music Express years - "Music Express Rise And Fall Of A Canadian Music Icon"

New Producer Injects Life Into Honeymoon Suite Release

Keith Sharp
New Producer Injects Life Into Honeymoon Suite Release
For a Canadian band who have virtually remained intact for the past 46 years, Honeymoon Suite’s latest album release, ‘Alive’ sounds remarkably fresh and current. Still active on the concert circuit and receiving strong airplay for their new single, “Tell Me What You Want”. Original members, guitarist Derry Grehan, lead vocalist Johnnie Dee, bassist Gary Lalonde, drummer Dave Betts and the... Read More

Hill And Kim Combine For Magical Concert

Keith Sharp
Hill And Kim Combine For Magical Concert
Saturday June 1st at Peterborough’s Market Hall venue, two Canadian singer/songwriter icons; Dan Hill and Andy Kim, joined forces on stage for a memorable performance before a capacity crowd who were entertained by the Montreal duo’s songs and storytelling. The result was like a verbal musical tennis match between the pair. “ Okay Andy, you’ve got “Rock Me Gently” but... Read More

When Ed Calls You Go

Keith Sharp
When Ed Calls You Go
When Ed Sousa planned a one-night charity concert for Ronald McDonald House at the Classic Bowl facility in Mississauga in May 2016, little did he realize that nine years later, McBowl would expand to three nights and would serve as the largest indoor music festival in North America.  His seventh annual event (two years were lost to the COVID virus)... Read More

Dee Lippingwell – Award-winning Photographer succumbs to Cancer

Keith Sharp
Dee Lippingwell – Award-winning Photographer succumbs to Cancer
Music Express lost one of its original contributors with the passing of Dee Lippingwell Thursday May 11th in Vancouver. “I first met Dee in March 1977 after launching Alberta Music Express in October 1976” explained Musi Express publisher Keith Sharp. “I was working as a sports writer for the Calgary Herald and a junior A tier two hockey team, The... Read More

Andy Kim Steps in for Goodwyn for Planned Acoustic Tour

Keith Sharp
Andy Kim Steps in for Goodwyn for Planned Acoustic Tour
Singer/songwriter Dan Hill will experience bittersweet feelings when he launches a mini soft-seater concert tour in May with dates set for Richmond Hill, Meaford, Midland, Markham, Oshawa and Peterborough with fellow singer/songwriter Andy Kim. Hill was supposed to be executing this tour with April Wine lead vocalist, Myles Goodwyn both taking the stage together, playing their songs and telling stories... Read More

Stampeders’s Ronnie King Succumbs To Heart Attack

Keith Sharp
Stampeders’s Ronnie King Succumbs To Heart Attack
And so we lose another key figure of Canada’s music legacy.  Bass guitarist/vocalist Ronnie King passed away at Peter Lougheed Hospital in Calgary on Monday. As part of the enduring trio of King, Rich Dodson and Kim Berly. King was a present figure in a band which has toured constantly since their breakout single “Carry Me” became a hit in... Read More

Frew Salutes The Eighties With Rewind Opera House Concert

Keith Sharp
Frew Salutes The Eighties With Rewind Opera House Concert
When Glass Tiger’s Alan Frew released his ‘Rewind’ album in November 2015, it served as his salute to the 80’s and 90’s bands that he shared stages and the charts with.  The 12 tracks on that release covered classics by the likes of Tears For Fears, Human League, Paul Young, Peter Gabriel, and even some eclectic covers by Sinead O’Connor... Read More

Memories Of Myles

Keith Sharp
Memories Of Myles
Music Express Publisher Keith Sharp reflects on a 46-year relationship with April Wine lead vocalist/chief songwriter Myles Goodwyn who died Sunday December 3rd from cancer. I first connected with Myles Goodwyn in late 1976. Alberta Music Express Magazine (as it was titled then) had just launched in Calgary in October of that year and one of my initial contributing writers,... Read More

Original Lightfoot Band Continues Legacy

Keith Sharp
Original Lightfoot Band Continues Legacy
So what do you do when the iconic singer your band has supported for the past 55 years, succumbs to health issues and dies? Well, if you are the long-serving backing band for Gordon Lightfoot, you make a commitment to continue his legacy, draft in a new vocalist and prepare to re-launch as The Lightfoot Band. Bassist Rick Haynes, who... Read More

Anthem Releases Special Dan Hill Vinyl for Record Store Day November 24th

Keith Sharp
Anthem Releases Special Dan Hill Vinyl for Record Store Day November 24th
Dan Hill fans will be interested to know that Anthem Records will be releasing an opaque white vinyl release titled “The Formative Years” which will contain hit songs from their first four albums including “Sometimes When We Touch” to be released November 24th on Canada’s Record Store Day. The fact that the majority of record stores don’t exist anymore is... Read More

Triumph’s Rik Emmett Lays His Legacy On The Line With Autobiography

Keith Sharp
Triumph’s Rik Emmett Lays His Legacy On The Line With Autobiography
Photo: Jeanine Leech Triumph fans will recognize Rik Emmett as the spandex-wearing guitar virtuoso who wrote and sang some of the Toronto-based trio’s biggest hits, “Lay It On The Line, “Magic Power” and “Hold On”. Yet, as detailed in is autobiography titled ‘Lay It On The Line (ECW Press), Emmett’s career in Triumph represents only part of his illustrious career... Read More

Andre Pettipas And The Giants Push Their Grease Coast Rock Brand

Keith Sharp
Andre Pettipas And The Giants Push Their Grease Coast Rock Brand
By Keith Sharp Grease Coast Rock is a term coined by Antigonish area quartet Andre Pettipas & The Giants who have just released their third studio album, ‘Under Control’ before hitting local Maritime venues to promote the release. Vocalist/Guitarist Andre Pettipas, bassist (and brother) Travis Pettipas, drummer Mark Cosh and guitarist John MacDonald are currently touring in support of the... Read More

Maritime Artists Pay Musical Tribute To Bruce Guthro

Keith Sharp
Maritime Artists Pay Musical Tribute To Bruce Guthro
A who’s who of Maritime musicians assembled on Thursday September 14th at Sydney Nova Scotia’s Centre 2000 to pay tribute to Bruce Guthro who passed away on Wednesday September 5th in Halifax. A private funeral service was staged earlier in the day at St Joseph’s Church in North Sydney.  Local comedienne Bette MacDonald and comedic husband Maynard Morrison hosted a... Read More

New Guitar Style Highlights Wide Mouth Mason’s New Album Release

Keith Sharp
New Guitar Style Highlights Wide Mouth Mason’s New Album Release
In 2019, Shaun Verreault and Safwan Javed, the two surviving members of Wide Mouth Mason entered the recording studio to release their seventh studio album, `I Wanna Go With You’, a blues-based album recorded live off the floor and geared towards a live performance.  This album also introduced Verreault’s new guitar-playing technique, a tri-style lap steel technique in which he... Read More

The Kings Are Out To Prove There Is More To Their Legacy Than Just One Monster Hit

Keith Sharp
The Kings Are Out To Prove There Is More To Their Legacy Than Just One Monster Hit
Classic rock music fans will wonder out loud if they have blundered into some kind of `Back To The Future’ time warp when they notice a double bill of The Kings co-featured in a series of Ontario-based concerts in late September alongside stalwarts Honeymoon Suite. The Kings have just released their first new studio album, `The Longest Story Ever Told’... Read More

Music’s Irresistible Odd Couple

Keith Sharp
Music’s Irresistible Odd Couple
(Box photos by Ted Van Boort) Your average concert goer would initially be confused by how you can successfully twin a classic rock band like Montreal’s The Box with a Country Rock group like ONE UGLY COWBOY. But as attendees at Hamilton Ontario’s “It’s Your Festival” discovered, their collective ability to entertain a family audience makes such a blend of... Read More