The Music Express

Grapes of Wrath – High Road

May 1, 2013May 1, 2013 Keith Sharp

(Aporia Records) The best way to describe Grapes Of Wrath’s first CD release in 22 years is compromise. The biggest point of dissention between the band’s two creative forces; Tom Hooper and Kevin Kane has been their lack of agreement on the band’s musical direction. This has finally been resolved with both Hooper and Kane supplying six tracks each for... Read More

David Clayton-Thomas – A Blues For The New World

April 29, 2013April 30, 2013 Keith Sharp

(Universal Music) The great thing about blues music is that it is timeless. It’s a given that all rock music is based on the blues and that even though current music is trend-oriented, there is always room for a great blues record. A Blues For The New World is just such a record! Yes you know David Clayton-Thomas as the... Read More

Russ Dwarf – Wireless

April 29, 2013April 29, 2013 Keith Sharp

(Synchro Start) For those of you not in the Eighties’ music loop, The Killer Dwarfs were a Toronto area power rock band, who like the more famous Ramones, adopted the moniker Dwarf after their Christian names. In their six album/cd discography, the band constantly changed names, achieving a bit of a breakthrough when they signed with Epic in the States... Read More

Shaken But Not Stirred – The Rebirth Of Coney Hatch

April 26, 2013April 30, 2013 Keith Sharp

By all accounts, the person sitting across from me, chowing down on a mid-day brunch at Chew Chew’s restaurant in mid-town Toronto should not be on this planet today. On April 15th 2008 , Coney Hatch lead singer Carl Dixon was involved in a horrific head-on car crash near Melbourne Australia. It took rescue crews over 100 minutes to extract... Read More

Mr. Customer Service – Kim Mitchell

April 25, 2013April 26, 2013 Music Express

“I’m a customer service performer,” declares Kim Mitchell, the master of the electric guitar who has tantalized concert audiences since the mid-70s initially with Max Webster and then as a solo artist. Though many people didn’t understand Max, the few that did always got what they asked for: complex music with curiously surreal lyrics and a stage performance that balanced... Read More

The Sheepdogs – 100 Club, London

April 24, 2013April 25, 2013 Music Express

It’s Tuesday night and I’m at the 100 club on Oxford Street in London’s West End. This famous old venue started life back in 1942 and has seen many legends in music grace it’s stage over the years, Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, the Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols and Oasis. It’s not often you’ll see that list of names in... Read More

It Is What It Is

April 23, 2013 Keith Sharp

The guy I felt most sorry for after Sunday’s yawn-inducing 2013 Juno Awards ceremony staged at Regina’s Brandt Centre is Insight Productions’ John Brunton. He is the creative driving force behind the two-hour CTV telecast who has enjoyed great success in the past making something out of very little. Yet even Brunton must have been dismayed at the lack of... Read More

Vinyl Sparks Indie Store Recovery

April 18, 2013April 24, 2013 Keith Sharp

Are independent record stores dying out? This is the question posed to 27 British independent record store owners in “Last Shop Standing” a 50-minute documentary which charts the rise, fall and potential rebirth of the independent record shop. Set to be released in Canada on April 20th, independent record day, this is a special day that has been designated to... Read More

Canada Loses A Cultural Icon

April 17, 2013April 17, 2013 Keith Sharp

Cape Breton Nova Scotia lost a piece of its cultural heart April 16th when favourite daughter Rita MacNeil passed away following complications from surgery. MacNeil, aged 68, epitomised the spirit of Cape Breton music and from a humble beginning attained the position of top Canadian female artist at the 1990 Juno Awards in Toronto and top country music artist winner at the... Read More

First Three Songs – No Flash

April 16, 2013April 18, 2013 Keith Sharp

Aside from all the talent showcases, the conference sessions and star performances by the likes of Heart (who were amazing by the way!), the annual Canadian Music Week conference allows you to bump into people you haven’t seen in ages. Unfortunately for me, due to other work constraints, my entire exposure to this year’s event was limited to one Ticket... Read More

Country Music Association of Ontario – Nominees Announced

April 16, 2013April 17, 2013 Music Express

In a press conference on April 9, the Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAO) is proud to announce the final nominees for its inaugural awards taking place on May 27th at the Markham Theatre in Markham, Ontario. Speakers representing Slaitht Music, CMAO, and local country radio stations presented the list of nominiees and a brief history of how the CMAO... Read More

The Story Behind The Song Behind The Film

April 12, 2013April 12, 2013 Music Express

Kirk Caouette – Hit ‘n Strum Sitting in the busy Market Garden restaurant in Toronto’s Delta Chelsea hotel, I am awaiting the arrival of Kirk Caouette. Having read some rather indignant reviews of his recent film Hit ’n Strum, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But when he walks over to me, I realize he’s really just a shy... Read More

The Professor Is In – Kim Mitchell

April 8, 2013April 8, 2013 Music Express

Clad in a long-sleeved blue paisley shirt and wearing variable tint glasses with severe black frames, Kim Mitchell, the professor, strode on stage and proceeded to give a master class in the art of the rock guitar. Without fanfare he and his band mates launched into lesson one: “Roll n Roll Duty.” Accentuating the finer parts of the song with... Read More

Terri Clark graces Toronto

April 4, 2013April 4, 2013 Music Express

Once again I found myself in the car travelling with Ted to cover another concert. This time though was different. This time we were covering Terri Clark. Finally some country music, and not just any country music… some good ole Canadian country. As we turned the corner to head to the parking lot of the Sound Acadamy in Toronto we were amazed... Read More

Sum 41 Shred Calgary

April 3, 2013April 3, 2013 Music Express

It was love at first power chord for the boys in Sum 41 and their rabid fans on this Wednesday night. Front man Deryck Whibley addressed the admiring throng as if trying to stir them into a froth. “Come on motherf—ers” was the battle cry. And they did come on. To every song. Although fully popular enough to headline the... Read More

The Stampeders Stay Connected

April 1, 2013April 4, 2013 Keith Sharp

As the snow recedes into the tundra, Messers Rich Dodson, Ronnie King and Kim Berly scrape the rust off of their collective instruments and prepare to take The Stampeders on tour for another year of dates across the dominion. Give or take the 15 year hiatus they took from each other between 1977 and 1992, The Stampeders have been on... Read More

Raine Maida – We All Get Lighter

March 28, 2013March 28, 2013 Keith Sharp

(Warner Music Canada) Our Lady Peace lead vocalist Raine Maida continues to exhibit his lyrical and vocal flexibility with the release of his second solo record, We All Get Lighter. Supported on piano and backing vocals by the missus, Chantel Kreviazuk, Maida flaunts his unique, passionate vocal range with eight intense, melodic compositions that truly demonstrate his creative range. Various... Read More

Billy Talent Attacks Calgary

March 25, 2013March 25, 2013 Music Express

Through a rent in the curtain and bathed in light, Billy Talent appeared to a roar of adoration. Lead singer Ben Kowalewicz and his crack band ripped into a powerful set that had the audience of mostly twenty somethings on their feet and bellowing along to every song. Bellow as they might, they could only barely be heard above a... Read More

Karen Bliss Wins CMW Award

March 22, 2013March 24, 2013 Music Express

Congratulations to Music Express correspondent Karen Bliss who received Top Journalist award at the 31st Annual Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards staged Thursday March 21st at the Kool Haus venue in Toronto. Karen is a regular writer for ME and has posted features on Loverboy and Billy Talent and has filed concert reviews on Alanis Morissette, Justin Bieber and... Read More

No Rest For The Wicked – Sum 41

March 22, 2013April 2, 2013 Music Express

It’s been a whirlwind couple of years for Deryck Whibley and his bandmates in the Canadian alternative rock band Sum 41. The quartet has been on tour for more than two years, following the release of their 2011 studio album, Screaming Bloody Murder. It’s a trek that has seen them criss-cross the globe many times and which wraps up with... Read More

Grapes of Wrath – High Road

David Clayton-Thomas – A Blues For The New World

Russ Dwarf – Wireless

Shaken But Not Stirred – The Rebirth Of Coney Hatch

Mr. Customer Service – Kim Mitchell

The Sheepdogs – 100 Club, London

It Is What It Is

Vinyl Sparks Indie Store Recovery

Canada Loses A Cultural Icon

First Three Songs – No Flash

Country Music Association of Ontario – Nominees Announced

The Story Behind The Song Behind The Film

The Professor Is In – Kim Mitchell

Terri Clark graces Toronto

Sum 41 Shred Calgary

The Stampeders Stay Connected

Raine Maida – We All Get Lighter

Billy Talent Attacks Calgary

Karen Bliss Wins CMW Award

No Rest For The Wicked – Sum 41

News

The Muffins’ Martha Johnson Sets The Pace For World Parkinson’s Month With ‘Slow Emotion’

Rock Icon Billy Idol Announces Rebel Yell Canada 2024 Tour

Open Spaces

Happiness Is – The Steel Horse Gypsies

54-40 – West Coast Warriors

New Faces

Toronto’s Teen Prodigy Sydney <3 Sparks Musical Revolution With K-Pop Elegance In ‘Picture Perfect’

Lunchbox Promotion Draws Attention To Rare Americans launch.

The Muffins’ Martha Johnson Sets The Pace For World Parkinson’s Month With ‘Slow Emotion’

Rock Icon Billy Idol Announces Rebel Yell Canada 2024 Tour

Happiness Is – The Steel Horse Gypsies

54-40 – West Coast Warriors

Toronto’s Teen Prodigy Sydney <3 Sparks Musical Revolution With K-Pop Elegance In ‘Picture Perfect’

Lunchbox Promotion Draws Attention To Rare Americans launch.

Would you like to receive the MuSIC NATION Newsletter?

Sign up today for the MuSIC NATION Newsletter

Sign up today for the
MuSIC NATION
Newsletter