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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"

EXTC Rekindles Classic Band’s Legacy

Keith Sharp
EXTC Rekindles Classic Band’s Legacy
By Keith Sharp The advent of social media allows music fans to rediscover bands and artists which may have been ignored during their prime yet have been totally revived as new audiences discover the depth of their musical catalogue. England’s XTC is one such band. North American audiences may be familiar with key singles like “Making Plans For Nigel and... Read More

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

Keith Sharp
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

Adams ‘Happy’ To Release New Album Despite COVID Setback

Keith Sharp
Adams ‘Happy’ To Release New Album Despite COVID Setback
By Keith Sharp Bryan Adams was all set to fly down to Cleveland to assist in the induction of Tina Turner into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s Class of 2021 on October 30th at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse when he took the mandatory COVID-19 test before boarding his flight. The test showed he was positive! “The officials there... Read More

Johnny Reid Lifts Doom And Gloom With Positive Lyrical Messages

Keith Sharp
Johnny Reid Lifts Doom And Gloom With Positive Lyrical Messages
By Keith Sharp As Johnny Reid sat in his Nashville recording studio pondering how to address the enforced pandemic lay-off, he decided to delve into material he had previously written and decided he had enough to record a new album. Yes, he could have written lyrics that reflected the doom and gloom of current global affairs but that’s not Reid’s... Read More

Styx’s New Concept Opus Reflects Current Global Turmoil – From A Personal Perspective

Keith Sharp
Styx’s New Concept Opus Reflects Current Global Turmoil – From A Personal Perspective
Styx – (left to right: James “JY” Young, Chuck Panozzo, Lawrence Gowan, Tommy Shaw, Todd Sucherman, Ricky Phillips) – Photo Courtesy of Todd Gallopo and Styx  By Keith Sharp Chicago’s Styx are famous for their thematic concept albums, so it’s hardly surprising that their latest opus, Crash Of The Crown would reflect the current state of global affairs with the COVID-19 pandemic, political unrest... Read More

The Spoons Present New Versions of Old Songs at El Mo Charity Anniversary Concert Nov 13th, 2021

Keith Sharp
The Spoons Present New Versions of Old Songs at El Mo Charity Anniversary Concert Nov 13th, 2021
Spoons at the El Mocambo November 13th, 8PM, 2021 By Keith Sharp The promotion photo features The Spoons, four fresh-faced Burlington Ontario youngsters, in the process of plugging their debut album Stick Figure Neighbourhood, by posing outside Toronto’s El Mocambo prior to appearing at this venerable landmark in early October 1981. Forty-one years later, Saturday, November 13th, lead vocalist Gord... Read More

Bruce Cockburn’s Second Attempt At 50th Anniversary – Releases Greatest Hits Package

Keith Sharp
Bruce Cockburn’s Second Attempt At 50th Anniversary – Releases Greatest Hits Package
By Keith Sharp Bruce Cockburn’s upcoming 28-date tour of North West, Eastern United States and Ontario is cheekily titled “Bruce Cockburn 50th Anniversary Concert Tour – Second Attempt! In reference to the one-year delay of his planned list of festivities due to everything being put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Yeah and it could be re-titled Third Attempt... Read More

Midge Ure – Live Aid Legend Set For One-Off Appearance

Keith Sharp
Midge Ure – Live Aid Legend Set For One-Off Appearance
By Keith Sharp James (Midge Ure) has fond memories of Canada. When his band Ultravox toured this country for the first time in 1979, he discovered that because his band contained a Canadian drummer, Vancouverite Warren Cann, they qualified as Canadian content due to CRTC radio regulations, which meant they received strong domestic airplay. “Compared to the United States, which seemed to be... Read More

Montreal’s The Box Rocks The El Mocambo

Keith Sharp
Montreal’s The Box Rocks The El Mocambo
Photo By Andrew Clowater Friday, September 24th, 2021 El Mocambo, Toronto, Ontario By Keith Sharp Two anniversaries converged on Friday, September 24th and 25th when Michael Wekerle’s sparkling renovated El Mocambo Tavern celebrated its 50th year as Toronto’s prime music venue by inviting Montreal’s The BOX for a two-night engagement. The band is celebrating their 40th anniversary as a unit.... Read More

Music Express Celebrates 45th Anniversary With Special October Features

Keith Sharp
Music Express Celebrates 45th Anniversary With Special October Features
It’s hard to believe it, but October 2021 will mark the 45th anniversary of Music Express and how some snot-nosed British kid working at the sports department of the Calgary Herald, got pissed off because that paper’s entertainment department  rejected his feature story on The Stampeders. The reason being; because they had trashed the band’s concert in a mean-spirited review the... Read More

George Street Festival Gets The All Clear For 2021

Keith Sharp
George Street Festival Gets The All Clear For 2021
George Street Festival, St. John’s, NL  By Keith Sharp Known as ‘The Biggest Little Street In North America’ located in the centre of St John’s Newfoundland, the George Street Festival is set to execute its 36th annual festival on Friday, August 27th, 2021 with six nights of concert activities on a stage setting located directly on the street which is comprised of... Read More

Jesus Jones New Addition To 5th Annual McBowl Lineup

Keith Sharp
Jesus Jones New Addition To 5th Annual McBowl Lineup
Classic Bowl Promotions chief Ed Sousa claims the constant reorganization of his McBowl Charity Concerts for Ronald McDonald House is akin to undergoing root canal surgery. But the 5th Annual Event has been rescheduled over two nights with the Rock Night set for Friday, May 13th, 2022 and an Alternative Techno Pop night scheduled for Saturday, May 14th, 2022. Due to the... Read More

Emerging Vancouver Pop Star Uses Jim Beam Win To Draw Attention

Keith Sharp
Emerging Vancouver Pop Star Uses Jim Beam Win To Draw Attention
By Keith Sharp The raging pandemic that has affected the entire global music industry has forced virtually every musician to adapt accordingly. In the case of White Rock B.C native Richard Tichelman it has simply meant recording and releasing a series of singles which have attracted over 560 thousand youtube followers to his initial three singles; “Proud”, “The One” and... Read More

Iron Maiden Launch State of the Art Video in preparation for New Double Album Release

Keith Sharp
Iron Maiden Launch State of the Art Video in preparation for New Double Album Release
By Keith Sharp England’s Iron Maiden may have been passed over for inclusion into The U.S Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame earlier this year by a group of stuffed shirts who clearly cannot comprehend a real legendary band in their midst. Yet their response has been the release of a new single “Writing On The Wall” (based on a... Read More

So What Is In A Name? When In Rome UK – Plans A Relaunch.

Keith Sharp
So What Is In A Name? When In Rome UK – Plans A Relaunch.
Left to Right – Ed Sousa, Andrew Mann, Former Leaf goalie Curtis Joseph and his wife Stephanie, and Clive Farrington Photo by Andrew Clowater By Keith Sharp You may not be familiar with the song title and I am sure you can’t identify the band who recorded that track but when you hear “The Promise” by Manchester England group, When In Rome... Read More

JJ Wilde’s JUNO Win A Payoff For Personal Perseverance

Keith Sharp
JJ Wilde’s JUNO Win A Payoff For Personal Perseverance
JJ Wilde – All Photos By Sandra Lee By Keith Sharp As JJ Wilde swung back into action with two live-stream concerts from Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall Saturday, June 12th and Sunday, June 13th, Kitchener’s JJ Wilde celebrated an amazing week’s activities where she formerly grabbed her share of the spotlight at the 50th Annual JUNO Awards by claiming the Top Rock... Read More

Sheepdogs Cook Up Recipe For Unpretentious Rock

Keith Sharp
Sheepdogs Cook Up Recipe For Unpretentious Rock
By Keith Sharp When you are a rock band whose virtual existence is based on constant touring and recording, it comes as a major shock to your system when those options are taken away from you. This was the reality, Saskatoon-based rockers, The Sheepdogs faced when the COVID-19 epidemic reared its ugly head last year and eradicated all present and... Read More

Marks Merges Country With Hard Rock For Gold Record Success

Keith Sharp
Marks Merges Country With Hard Rock For Gold Record Success
By Keith Sharp If Merle Haggard recorded a duet with the heavy metal group, Pantera (produced by Kevin Churko) it would probably sound like Cory Marks’ latest single “Blame It On The Double”. Blending Country with hard rock has become the trademark of this North Bay Ontario native with vocal support from Theory Of A Deadman’s Tyler Connelly and former... Read More

Communication Is The Key To Jann Arden’s Legacy

Keith Sharp
Communication Is The Key To Jann Arden’s Legacy
By Keith Sharp If you were to summarize the legacy of Jann Arden, the definitive description would be “Communication”. Aside from recording 17 albums (12 studio, three compilations, two live recordings) the Calgary native has penned no less than five best-selling books, starred in her own CTV television sitcom (going into its third season), guest-starred in a number of other popular... Read More