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Neon Dreams Inside the Atlantic Bubble

Neon Dreams Inside the Atlantic Bubble
By Keith Sharp Neon Dreams duo Frank Kadillac and Adrian Morris are about to execute a novel method of tackling the COVID-19 epidemic, which is currently ravaging the globe, by taking advantage of Atlantic Canada’s unique bubble communications concept to execute a 10-date concert tour in November. Staged to celebrate the band’s latest `The Happiness Of Tomorrow’ release which will... Read More

Unplugged The Box Home Videos Go Mental

Unplugged The Box Home Videos Go Mental
When Montreal’s The Box had their Rockfest For Mental Health concert, scheduled for August 20th in L’Epiphane QC cancelled due to the on-going COVID-19 epidemic, event organizers asked band lead vocalist, Jean-Marc Pisapia, if he could do something to help this organization promote themselves on their website. Pisapia immediately thought about re-recording one of the band’s classic tracks; “L’Affaire Dumoutier”... Read More

McBowl Events Too Popular For Their Own Good

McBowl Events Too Popular For Their Own Good
Illustration of Ed Sousa by Sam Villareale So what do you do when you’ve presold 2,200 tickets for a pair of charity music concerts which currently can only accommodate 50 patrons per night? This is the quandary facing Ed Sousa who has been forced to reschedule his popular Ronald McDonald House McBowl Concert Series to Friday, May 14th, 2021 and... Read More

Adams To Stage German Stadium Concert Date To A Restricted Audience

Adams To Stage German Stadium Concert Date To A Restricted Audience
Canada’s Bryan Adams will be the first major rock artist to headline a stadium concert in several months – since the global COVID-19 pandemic effectively shut down the concert industry-  when he headlines September 4th at Dusseldorf’s soccer stadium in Germany. The “Summer of 69” singer is scheduled to perform alongside a lineup that will also feature Sarah Connor, Rea... Read More

Fast Romantics: Too Commercial To Be Cool, Too Cool To Be Commercial.

Fast Romantics: Too Commercial To Be Cool, Too Cool To Be Commercial.
By Keith Sharp According to Fast Romantics’ lead vocalist and chief songwriter, Matthew Angus, the band had plans for the release of their new album`Pick It Up’ (on Postwar Records) all pre-planned.  A national fall tour including a headline gig at Toronto’s iconic Horseshoe Tavern to be launched by a special pre-album surprise concert for their fans at Toronto’s Dakota... Read More

Fionn Battles Their Critics With Tongue-In-Cheek EP Release

Fionn Battles Their Critics With Tongue-In-Cheek EP Release
In the past seven years, Brianne and Alanna Finn-Morris, known collectively as Fionn, have graduated from busking Taylor Swift songs, at the age of 12 at Vancouver’s Granville Island location to release their second EP, “Everyone’s A Critic” on the prestigious 604 Records indie label (Nickelback, Theory of A Dead Man, Carly Rae Jepsen) Spurred on by their classical music... Read More

For Big Pacific’s Roly Sandoval, Patience Is A Virtue

For Big Pacific’s Roly Sandoval, Patience Is A Virtue
By Keith Sharp Roly Sandoval of Big Pacific always harboured aspirations of performing in a successful rock band. He had been a member in Calgary-based outfits like All The Rage In Paris (which dissolved when keyboardist Doug Johnson left to join Loverboy) and spent 20 years playing with local cover band TR3 . But it wasn’t until Sandoval moved to Nanaimo BC... Read More

Blues Guitar Technique Sparks Wide Mouth Mason’s New Opus

Blues Guitar Technique Sparks Wide Mouth Mason’s New Opus
By Keith Sharp How ironic is it that as Saskatoon’s Wide Mouth Mason released their eighth studio album, `I Wanna Go With You’ with its togetherness and travel lyrical themes, that a COVID-19 virus would come along and totally disrupt such activities. On the phone from his Vancouver residence, guitarist/lead vocalist Shaun Verreault expressed his obvious frustration, that he and... Read More

Glen Washington – Still Having The Time Of His Life

Glen Washington – Still Having The Time Of His Life
This month Open Spaces ditches its cowboy hat in favour of a Red Stripe cap, as we were fortunate enough to speak with Reggae superstar Glen Washington, who’s recording some new tracks in the south of France. Specifically, he’s at the renowned Irie Ites studio in the Pays De La Loire region, about two hours south-east of Paris.  The studio... Read More

COVID-19 Fails To Stop Washboard Union Momentum

COVID-19 Fails To Stop Washboard Union Momentum
  By Keith Sharp The year 2019 was a breakthrough year for the Vancouver-based Washboard Union. Riding on the success of their 2018 release, `What We’re Made Of’, the trio of Chris Duncombe (vocals/banjo), Aaron Grain (vocals/guitar) and David Roberts (vocals/harmonica/washboard) claimed their second consecutive CCMA Group Of The Year award to go along with their Roots Album win, claimed... Read More

Harbourfest Organizers Have Their Fingers Crossed

Harbourfest Organizers Have Their Fingers Crossed
Heather MacMurphy Harbourfest 2020 Heather MacMurphy looks across the near-deserted Kenora harbour front at the picturesque Lake Of The Woods and envisions a time when 13,000 plus spectators will congregate in this area to celebrate the city’s Harbourfest 2020. For the past 29 years, this annual three-day event, spanning the August long-weekend, has traditionally appeared on the calendar as the... Read More

David Clayton-Thomas Says Somethin’

David Clayton-Thomas Says Somethin’
By Keith Sharp And when he does, people have a tendency to listen. David Clayton-Thomas former lead vocalist for multi-Grammy-winning blues/jazz band, Blood Sweat & Tears has just released a collection of 10 songs on his latest solo album titled, `Say Somethin’ (Linus Records), the subject matter of which is bound to spark controversy on both sides of the 49th parallel. Dealing... Read More

Deadly Virus Cancels The Wild!’s European Tour And Hijack’s Album Release Plans.

Deadly Virus Cancels The Wild!’s European Tour And Hijack’s Album Release Plans.
The Wild! – Photo by Joelsview Photography An interview feature by Keith Sharp If things had gone according to plan, The Wild! Would have been basking in the adoration of their European fans right now. A 17-date jaunt through Hungary, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland and England was all set to launch the Kelowna B.C band’s third album `Still Believe... Read More

Like Racing A Speedboat Against The Titanic

Like Racing A Speedboat Against The Titanic
An Interview By Keith Sharp Promoters of major music festivals like Boots And Hearts, Cavendish Beach and Calgary Country Thunder no doubt have their fingers (and other appendages) crossed that the current COVID-19 Virus doesn’t create havoc with their summer schedules. But the air of uncertainty is also plaguing organizers of a series of smaller events. Big River Country Festival... Read More

Persistence Will Eventually Pay For Frustrated Strange Advance

Persistence Will Eventually Pay For Frustrated Strange Advance
Strange Advance by Keith Sharp Drew Arnott must be despairing that he will ever get to relaunch his Strange Advance band. Having decided to revive the Vancouver-based group which in the mid to late 1980’s scored major hits with tracks like “We Run”, “Worlds Away” and “Love Becomes Electric”, he had set his sights on reintroducing Strange Advance to the... Read More

Country Thunder Battle Coronavirus Threat To Stage Festival Series

Country Thunder Battle Coronavirus Threat To Stage Festival Series
Luke Combs By Keith Sharp Country Thunder marketing and public relations chief, Gerry Krochak certainly has his hands full as his organization prepares for the first of seven scheduled festivals across the United States and Canada. At the time of this interview, Krochuk was confident that their Florida Country Thunder event scheduled for March 27-29 at Kissimmee was a go... Read More