Danforth Friday Night

Friday Night on the Danforth

Black Swan Mike Sedgwick's Friday Blues Jam Elton Joan at the Linsmore Delta Fuse at the Swan Delta Fuse jammin' with Jesse Green

Polaris Gala 2025

Welcome to my Blog

I've been chronicling my time in Toronto since I got here in 1990. And if you scroll down you can read all about the ups and downs of this old blues guy trying to break into the music scene in Toronto as well as videos and tour dates. Look me up on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, Soundcloud, Reverbnation, Itunes and NorthernBlues Music.
In addition to my guitar playing, I am also resident desktop publisher for the Blues Society, the Jazz Festival and the Musician's Union putting out newsletters and websites. Please note that any opinions or commentary here are strictly mine and do not represent any of these most esteemed organizations.

Albert Lee in Toronto

Masterclass from Albert Lee, previously known as the Master of the Telecaster, now playing his signature Ernie Ball Music Man guitar through a couple of Toronto-made amps by Pete Medvic. At 81, he's playing with the same fire he had at 21. What a delight meeting Albert and his phenomenal keyboard player, J.T. Thomas (thanks for the comp, J.T.) I thought an $80 ticket was a bit much until I looked up Jack White at History next week and it was more like $500! Wish I'd known JT played in Captain Beefheart's band - I would have had a few questions about those days...

Orange Devils at Monarchs Dec 2024

I love hearing a big band up close and personal.  This time I was too "up close" with the iPhone and I was shooting one tyune with the light on but didn't realize.  I think I annoyed some of the horn players in the front

Womens Blues Revue 2024

Crystal Shawanda, Tanika Charles, Kellylee Evans, Rebecca Henessey, Diana Braithwaite, Meghan Parnell. Star power in the band, too = Angelique Francis, Jennie Thai, Selena Evamgeline...

Jesse Greene is the 2024 recipients of the Amy Louis Grossman Music Scho...

Jesse Greene does a victory lap at Grossmans

Downchild at Grossmans November 2024

Just as the band wraps up it's 55th year, they came back to the club where they got their start, and where Dan Aykroyd heard them and was inspired to invent the Blues Brothers

Blues for the Red Door Nov 2024

Jay Blues, Shakura S'Aida with Brooke Blackburn, Virgil Scott, Garnetta Cromwell, Cheryl Lescom, Chuck Jackson with Tyler Yarema, Roberta Hunt, piano, Russ Boswell bass, Michelle Josef, drums, Rebecca Henessey & James Stager, horns, Margaret Stowe, guitar & bandleader. Johnny Max, host. Great Evening and many $$$ raised for the worthy Red Door Shelter programmes.

Sidemen & friends Hughs Room November 2024

The Sidemen were the "buzz band" on the blues scene when I arrived in Toronto in the early 90s. They were still youngsters and had built up a following and they had a home-made cassette that was selling like hotcakes. They had a reunion at Hugh's Room and invited some special guests, Selena Evangeline and Brtooke Blackburn. Jay Bleus trio opened the show

Johnny Burgin Toronto Nov 2024

I got called to play bass with Johnny Burgin and Sugar Brown a couple of years ago and have kept in touch with Johnny (then known as "Rockin Johnn y") and was happy to see him coming back our way for a gig a Grossman's. He's currently based in Memphis. This time Gary Kendall got the call to play bass, but Sugar Brown sat in for a couple of tunes and so did Bobby Chorney. Johnny's a master bluesician and a real road-warrior (you have to be these days if you want to be a touring blues musician). Johnny is all over the YouTube with instructional videos and more. Check him out.

T Birds Markham 2024

Gary Kendall Trio Winterfolk 2024

Brian Blain presents Jesse Greene Full Set

Replay: Brian Blain's 4/20 Special Live on Twitch

Brandon Isaak at the 2024 Maple Blues Awards

Here's a tune that Brandon Isaak played at the Maple Blues Awards soiree. He was my "discovery" of the Summit, although I knew who he was and had watched him on YouTube but that guy knocked it out of the park with his showcase at the Blues Summit but when he hit the stage at the Awards show and announced that he was going to play "Reconsider Baby", one of the old nuggets that you've heard a million times, I went "Awwww..."

But from the first notes, it was like hearing that song for the first time. And his guitar tone was amazing. I ran into him at dinner the day before and asked what kind of pedal he used, he said no pedals, "but I've got a really good cord".

Garnetta Cromwell and Sandra Bouza at Hugh’s Room Blues Night

My first outing of the New Year was a blues night at Hugh's Room Live organized and hosted by Quisha Wint (who will be hosting the Maple Blues Awards) with guest vocalists Garnetta Cromwell and Sandra Bouza You hear just a bit of Quisha nailing ab Aretha classic then bandleader Michael Occhipinti and organist Joel Visentin het into “trading fours”. That night got lift-off a few times even though the rhythm section were all new to me. I told organist Visentin he bore an uncanny resemblance to the dearly departed Rod Phillips (who he had not heard of) …the look, the rig, the wild abandon in his playing… Take a look at this 1998 video of me with Rod Phillips (on piano - the organ couldn't fit into that tiny club in Barrie) and (mostly) jazz drummer Don Vickery. When I told Rod Don would be subbing in on that gig he was concerned that he was not a blues drummer. I said he's played with Jay McShann, Big Joe Williams and many other blues greats. Rod was still a little grumpy anout it because he already had somebody in mind for the gig but by the time we were halfway into the first tune I looked over and he had a big grin on his face.

The Last Blainletter

 

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December 2023 View this email in your browser It's that time of year...tourtiere-time and here we are cooking up a batch - just how my momma did.  It was delicious.  I've been under the weather for the last couple of weeks - as have many friends.  I made it to one Xmas party and I got sick! So now it's New Year's Eve and I'm laying low.  It's the last day of the year and I'm posting the last Blainletter (it would be #162).  No, I'm not going away but I'm leaving the 'Chimp and I've signed up with a new platform called Substack and you'll be hearing from me in the new year, but maybe not every month plugging gigs – because there are no gigs!   I was just watching a tribute to Garth Brooks o TV and yesterday it was Kenedy Centre honours for Dionne Warwick and Queen Latifa and a few others.  Big lifetimes full of achievements.  Also just watched a 4-part Netflix on Willie Nelson – there's another huge lifetime!   But you know what, even though after 60 years as a recording artist my music never made it to the big stages, it does not diminish the fulfillment and joy of touching a few folks – many some of you reading this – and hearing from you that I put a smile on someone's face, got the feet tapping and especially connecting and locking into the groove with all the talented musicians I've had the opportunity to play with over the years.   Over the last week my inbox has been filled with end-of-year appeals for fundraising from the NDP, many worthwhile charities and even Massey Hall but no, a tax receipt is not going to be much benefit to me…   Substack is designed more for long-form writing (as if these Blainletters did not get long enough) and includes an option for folks to have a paid subscription - but let's wait and see what I've got to offer and if anybody is interested. It can also include videos and ultimately I'll be able to invite you into a jam session and maybe even zoom into your kitchen for a kitchen party.  We have the technology! End-of-year Clean-up When I landed in Toronto in 1990 I started keeping a diary of my musical adventures with a focus on providing a little advice for other musicians on how to survive in this music town. It's all archived at http://torontobluesdiary.com. I would share my adventures trying to break into the Toronto music scene and would also provide some tips for musos who were just getting into email and all the hi-tech challenges that came with it.  In fact, let me share a tip that I would pass along every year at this time:   Just now, I gathered all the receipts I've stashed here and there and put them all into the proverbial "shoebox." The last couple of days, I have been going through my computers and deleting or archiving anything that's more than 2 or 3 years old.  Just create a new folder and call it "old stuff" and move all those files that are sitting on your desktop into that folder and put it on an external drive. With Gmail, I was able to delete all the correspondence that was in the "promotions" tab (mostly press-releases) and eliminated about 50,000 messages with one click. I created new folders for Clients 2024 and Projects 2024 and may even create a folder called "Music 2024" for any gig opportunities.  I shouldn't say I have no gigs, because as I was walking about at the Southside Shuffle one promoter came up to me and said "I know what you do and I want you to play my series next year".  You know who you are and you'll be hearing from me! Out and About Had a great evening at my neighbourhood theatre, The Redwood, with the Okavango African Orchestra which features my favourite kora player, Sadio Sissokho - he played on "The Water Song" and he is one phenomenal musician but this group is all-star world class.  Saw several other shows in November and December and posted some clips on Facebook live and on http://torontobluesdiary.com.  Check it out at your leisure. Quote of the Day "Blues is like the pop-off valve on a pressure cooker.  When the pressure got too high..." - Muddy Waters And I'm Out of Here Thanks for following the Blainletter and stay tuned for more engagement from "moi" in the new year. These bits and more are always available on my blog, www.torontobluesdiary.com. See you out there (eventually) BrianB, aka Butch, Nappy, Shaker, Two-Lane Blain, Colorblind Brian, Stringbuster, Buddha of the Blues For this album, I wanted to bring attention to the water crisis that is affecting 3 billion people on the planet. "Water Song" is a pretty dark "ear movie" with a global vibe provided by Sadio Sissokho (kora) and Harry Manx (mohan veena). The haunting vocals are provided by Ruth Mathiang. "I'm Not Fifty Anymore" kicks off the album with a little tongue-in-cheek  humour and some fine harp playing from Steve Marriner.  “The Not Worried Blues (An American Dream)” and “You Are Also His Son” were recorded with Julian Fauth and Gary Kendall, Mike Fitzpatrick and Pat Carey from Downchild.  “Blues Des Cantons (Goodbye Sherbrooke)” is a leaving-home barrelhouse boogie “en francais” with David Vest pounding the 88s. Patrick Merner added some bass & synth, and Clayton Doley overdubbed some organ from his studio in Melbourne, Australia. Ken Whiteley played some lap steel on "You Are Also His Son", Jesse O'Brien added some piano and organ to "The Mother I Never Knew" and drummer Michelle Josef provides a solid backbeat throughout.  Some songs end with extended jams (because I loves to jam) and the last track is a ten-minute acoustic soundscape with Michael Jerome Browne from the last day of recording my “Overqualified For The Blues” album years ago in Montreal. I call it “Tai Chi Ten,” …because it’s just the right pace and length for my Tai Chi set, but it makes for a fine meditation even if you aren’t moving.     Track Listing     1. I’m Not Fifty Anymore  3:07   feat. Steve Marriner 2. You Are Also His Son  4:52   feat. Ken Whiteley 3. Blues des Cantons (Goodbye Sherbrooke)  4:22  feat. David Vest & Clayton Doley 4. The Mother I Never Knew  3:55  feat. Jesse O’Brien 5. Not Worried Blues (An American Dream)  3:37  feat. Julian Fauth & Gary Kendall, Mike Fitzpatrick and Pat Carey from Downchild 6. Water Song  5:26  feat. Harry Manx & Sadio Sissokho 7. Tai Chi Ten  (A Meditation)  9:54  feat. Michael Jerome Browne mixed by Margaret Stowe at Ozworld Toronto mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering, Montreal art direction Linda Turu photography Margaret Mulligan design Keijo Tapanainen   Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|* Share Tweet Forward