Festivals, festivals

Festival Fever: The photo above was taken at the Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival last week-end. That's me on the left and Larry Kurtz ion the middle surrounded by the FATHEAD fellas.

I had a great time kicking off the Acoustic Stage (or should I say, the TD Canada Trust Acoustic Stage) and was followed by some old pals from the Montreal scene. Michael Jerome Browne who figures prominently on my CD and the irrepressible Alan Gerber, who, after all these years, is still a little sheepish about the time he seduced one of my back-up singers...yes, one of the original Blainettes. A YouTube clip of "The Day Coke Saved The Blues" was just uploaded by a fan . You can view it here. I missed the Saturday at Orangeville because I took in the guitar extravaganza at Metro Square with Alvin Youngblood Hart, Taj Mahal, a charming new guitarist/singer/songwriter called Fiona Boyes and a great kora player, Mamadou Diabaté. Harry Manx and Kevin Breit did a fiery duet.

Luminato reminds one of the golden days of cigarette sponsors, at least behind the scenes. After posting my last blog where I was whining that I got media accreditation for the Emmylou Harris show but not for the Neil Young Canadian Songbook extravaganza. Well Blainletter reader Dan Oleksiuk took pity on me and took me along and what a great show it was (not to mention the munchies and open bar before *and* after the show). My fave was The Cowboy Junkies, not one of my favourite groups but they really captured me, especially that mandolin man who was a one-man cinematic orchestra. Honorable mention to Emilie Claire Barlow and friends who nailed their tune... Harry Manx with the Sisters Euclid were a crowd favourite and Harry got his props from Colin Linden himself as he was being interviewed.

The Sisters have ended their 13-year run of Monday nights at the Orbit Room - Kevin felt bad for Orbit Room owner Tim Notter and gave him the band's Juno Award to remember him by. At Yorkville Park, Luminato set up a big stage to present some of the big stars of Brazilian style guitar. My son the DJ says I should learn some Brazilian guitar licks so I checked it out. Had a great chat with a living legend of the Yorkville scene, Chick Roberts. I had met him back in the sixties and he regalled me with stories about the old Riverboat. They're celebrating an anniversary (the 50th?) and apparently a plaque will be laid. I noticed there were some Riverboat related events...I should get on the bandwagon as an artist who did play that illustrious venue. I remember it well, I was opening for Fraser and DeBolt and some CBC types thought I was the next Randy Newman or something and had me come down to their offices for meetings but alas nothing came of it. Also saw the amazing one-man play about the life of Lenny Breau. They didn't miss any aspect of Lenny's life with ups and downs and right up to the tragic end. It's a big leap from the $15 million Luminato festival to the (maybe) $50 thousand Waterfront Blues Fest, mostly local artists but a beautiful setting - One thing about Jack de Keyzer, the bigger the stage, the bigger he gets. How about that organist McMorrow!!!

way out west

Flying over the rockies on a clear day was quite a 3-D experience and doing my Tai Chi in the morning air on Harry's deck on Salspring Island facing the tall pines with hummingbirds buzzing around..that's a great way to kick off my great escape to the West. Ran over a couple of tunes for the show tonight...I get the feeling half the hall will be musicians. This is a little piece of paradise...maybe it will inspire a song or two while I'm here. Just as I arrived the Monkey Junk guys were headed out on the next leg of their tour. They left me the new CD and I'm looking forward to hearing it.


Here's a good quote from the eminently quotable Bob Lefsetz: "Anybody who can survive in today's music world deserves credit. If you make some people happy, you're on your way. If you try to make everybody happy, you're doomed to failure."

Quote of the Day

"the sounds which are audible are *not* the music, but build the frame that
carries the music, or not, as the case may be". - Polish composer Witold
Szalonek

Mission Accomplished

I know I did OK when I find out that someone said "Who is that guy?" or when
there's a audible display of approval after a guitar solo. I got a bit of
both yesterday at my gig at the Sky Restaurant and Lounge in Mississauga. I
was guesting at Jerome Godboo's Sunday Matinee (I believe the Sockman said
it was the 14th edition). Great to play with Chris Burgess, one of the
city's least recognized and most capable guitarists in terms of knowing what
to play and when to play it. He proved the point when the surprise special
guest Elvis Impersonator (did I mention that??) sang Del Shannon's "Runaway"
and Chris was able to pull out the signature organ solo practically note for
note. James Rasmussen is one - solid bass player (I just discovered he plays
on an Album of Nig Dave and the Ultrasonics, one of my all-time favourite
roadhouse-style non-stop touring, tight delivery blues bands). And got to
play with drummer Bob Vezpazini for whom I have such great admiration since
I saw him doing the kind of old school drum acrobatics that I've seen only
in some of the old jazz guys like Jake Hanna and Don Vickery. Layla Zoe was
my co-guest and she really rocks the house and shakes her booty. Layla would
do great on the German circuit where I spent 3 weeks touring with Kathi
MacDonald - who is very much the same style of singer as Layla. Jerome
Godboo is one of the most evolved human beings on the blues scene today and
I've thought that for at least ten years. I never talked to him about it but
I think his natural self-contained spirituality evolved from his original
interest in martial arts. Curious.

Quote of the Day

"Im an artist. I don't want to be dealing with all that tech shit."
My son the DJ

the new paradigm for performing

I was hesitant to put the club's name, but if you ever thought a club had
things stacked a bit too much in their favour, check this out:

The following explains how a CABARET @ STATLERS operates successfully for
both artist and venue (the establishment).

You promote to your family, friends, fan club, loyal followersŠ.through
your Website, MySpace, Facebook, etcŠ.

The following information must be included in all promotional material: The
date, name of artist, name or theme of cabaret (if there is one), name of
establishment (Statlers Cabaret) address of venue, time the doors open for
dinner/cocktails, 6:30 PM, show time, 8 PM, etc.

In your promotional material, you advise all guests that attendance is by
³reservation only². In order to make CABARET DINNER RESERVATIONS, go to
Statlers website and link to the ³DINNER CABARET RESERVATIONS² button to
make their reservation for your cabaret show. Guests MUST make
reservations, no walk-ins accepted.

There must be at least 20 guests within five days (5) prior to show time or
show is automatically cancelled.

You can charge either $12.00 or $15.00 per person cover - (artist receives
80% of cover, house receives 20% for administrative expense of handling the
reservations and door). There are no complimentary reservations accepted.
If an artist wishes to provide a complimentary entrance to someone, they
must pay the door cover and then from their revenue, rebate themselves or
the party they complimented. There are no complimentary seats allotted for
artist¹s family members, camera people, lighting people etc. They too must
make reservations and pay the entrance fee, etc. (the number count of
guests must be accurate and reconcile to the door fees received ­ space is
limited and both the artist and house are required to extract as great a
revenue as possible so the entire event is worthwhile).

There is a Food & Drink Minimum of $10.00 per person. This must be
advertised on all your promotional material without fail.

You are to either create a poster or we can create one for you for a fee of
$25.00 if you provide a picture or graphic detail, etc. All the information
above will be contained in the poster and this too should be copied to all
your advertising material and mediums of promoting your cabaret. The house
will print three posters, two for the house front window and a hard copy for
the artist. The artist will also have been provided with an electronic
version of their poster so they can print additional copies at their
choosing.

NOTE: We are averaging guest lists via the VIP Reservation ³Only² system of
about 40 people per show. If the show has less than 45 guests, it is held
upstairs and if more than 45, it is moved downstairs. We have a Baby Grand,
Yamaha G20 downstairs, and a Steinway Antique upstairs, full sound system
and stage management administration to assist and support in making the
cabaret event, one of the most memorable in an artists career.

Please let me know your thoughts and compliance on the above guidelines for
Cabaret at Statlers?

We are currently booking the next three months at this time. Many seasoned
artists have reserved their gig dates.

Quote of the day

"The artist is here to give the listener the opportunity to dream, a very
profound and special gift even if he's minimally successful." John
Mellencamp

Canadian Music Week - Short Takes

I'm sitting in the same spot in the rivoli where I wrote the lyrics for "One
More Weasel" a few years back. It was a CD launch for a hot act and people
were talking so loud you couldn't hear the earnest young folksinger who was
doing an opening set. Now I realized that I was surrounded by industry types
and if the music hadn't started I was about to take out my phone then I
really would have looked exactly like the rest of them (only older).

The singer on stage is a younf lady known as "Billy The Kid" - after her set
I tell her that the recurring theme at the music conference sessions was
that "music is about emotion" and she certainly had that covered. She
actually broke up a little in the middle of a song about a drug-addicted
friend (my bet is that she probably died). You could hear a pin-drop in the
Rivoli, quite "au contraire" from the night I wrote those lyrics.

Before the Riv, I went to the Gibson Guitar showroom, mostly to see what the
venue was like...I wasn't sure what the music was going to be but I soon
realized that we were seeing what's left of the "star-maker machinery" in
action. Even with that clout, they weren't able to get as many people out as
the band themselves did with their Facebook invite. That audience was all
pre-pubescent screaming girls and the band was a very accurate clone of the
Jonas Brothers. They were called The Latency

After poking in and out of a few places I determined that I would find
something worthy and sit it out for thge whole set. I found myself in the
tiny upstairs room of the Reverb/Kathedral...formerly BigBop. Three floors
of music...I like that. In Holy Joe's upstairs I found a band playing to
two or three people so I took a spot. They had two drummers and every once
in a while one of them would grab a Kaoscillator, Joels favourite new toy,
and create some synth sounds. I watched the whole set and ended up chatting
with the leader who told me they were from Brazil. They were called Cassim
and Barbéria.

I heard a lot of bands but they all morphed into a big blur. There are now
so many bands that sound the same that it;s well-nigh impossible for the
cream to rise to the top. It's ironic that the biggest news at Canadian
Music Week was the debate/pissing match between Gene Simmons and music
industry commentator Bob Lefsetz rather than any new artist.

Terry McBride said in his speech that 3 years ago he had made several
predictions that did not endear him to the audience of record executives but
that 90 or 95% of those predictions were now true. This session he was
saying don't worry about downloading - it will soon be a moot point. We will
all have smart phones that "pull" music out of the clouds whenever we want.
An d these smartphones will even flag tunes that we might enjoy (based on
our past selections). Smart phones are only 5% of the market right now but
that will soon change. Dig this: Third party applications for the iPhone
have garnered sales of One Billion dollars already and they have only been
available for a year. The fellow I was sitting with was using his phone for
a light to read the program, then he said there was an application that
would make the screen all white and as bright as possible and a few clicks
later he had downloaded the app and installed it on his iPhone.

He claims the iPod will soon be extinct by smart phones that can do all that
and more.

What are? Shazam, Tunecore, Rapidshare, slacker raduio, audiolife, Spotify,
Saynow.com and finally Twitter, which I had demonstrated at that table at
the Rivoli. If I had any steam I might try to rwesiter now but I think I'll
go to bed instead. We shall twitter away but not today!

Morgan Davis tribute to Rod Phillips

Rod Phillips was a heart and soul kinda musician. His joy came from playing
the music, not playing the "industry" game, consequently, he was not a
household name. Nevertheless, musicians knew about Rod, and it was always a
gas to share the stage with him.

I came to know Rod by sitting in on the Sunday matinees at the Blue Goose.
He and the Pie Guys would kick things off with a few standards and I was
always mesmerized by Rod's groove and passionate singing. Along with our
love of groovish music, we shared an interest in herbal medicines, and would
often spend time between sets discussing the merits of herb in the parking
lot.

Our friendship led to Rod playing on my "Painkiller" disc, and in the studio
Rod was so helpful in laying down so many grooves, establishing such a
wonderful mood, and displaying not only his great Hammond sounds, but
surprising the hell out of me with his performance on the piano, which I had
not heard him play before. He was right at home with Howlin' Wolf.

Rod was a most humble and gifted musician. We shared a lot of grooves and a
lot of laughs. I'm missing him.

Morgan

(from Morgan's website www.morgandavis.com)

Jerome at the Sky

Last Sunday I took a trip out to the hinterland of Mississauga where I have
rarely tread. I saw Gary Kendall's matinee at Hollywood on the Queensway
(though I missed their special guest, Steve Strongman) and I visited a new
venue, The Sky Restaurant out at Eglinton and Renforth. There on a big
stage with great production was Jerome Godboo and Friends including the
amazing Dave Murphy on keyboard and guitar (dare-I-say) "legend" Pat Rush.
He's certainly a local legend and he's made his mark around the guitar world
too. Pat was getting a great sound out of a cheap Fender Squire guitar and
when I asked him if he had modified it he said is was right out of the box.
$135 at Long & McQuade. It's amazing what they're able to turn out these
days. I tried Pat's guitar and although the neck did not feel as welcoming
as my beloved Strat, I think I could manage quite well with one. I never was
too fussy about guitars as long as they stay in tune.
AnywayŠJerome invited me to be a special guest at the Sky's big Mothers Day
show. Layla Zoe will also be guesting. Mark your calendars. I may yet
organize some kind of Motherless Day concert around thatŠI would like to
maintain the tradition, but if that doesn't come together I'll get to sing
"Don't Forget Your Mother" for the west end crowd (to read more about that
tune and how the drummer ended up killing his mother with an axe go to my
Mar 7, 2004 blog posting)

My encounter with A432

A couple of months ago I received a call from a rather intense young man who
wanted me, as editor of the Toronto Musicians Association newsletter, to
know about from a gentleman who was very excited to let all musicians know
that they should tune their instruments down to A 432 hz (from the standard
pitch of 440). It's a miniscule difference but you can hear it
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLhegBf_TkI>

Norbert Brainard was a violin virtuoso. He founded the Amati String Quartet.
He passionately supported the use of the "Mozart A" (aka the Verdi A) of 432
Hz "in opposition to today¹s absurdly high 'Karajan tuning' of A well above
440 Hz." He recorded certain tones (and their octaves) both in the low and
high tuning, did a spectral analysis, and discovered the lower tuning
created a larger sum of overtones, which explains the fuller sound; it was
also proven, that Brainin¹s Strad had its best resonance by far at exactly
C=256 Hz, which is about A=432 Hz." Other theories abound that involve
sacred geometry and the dimensions of Egyptian pyramids and now there is a
new movement advocating this pitch as being a healing factor and more
consistent with our natural state. There is even a conspiracy theory that
Nazi madman Goebbels had orchestrated (pardon my pun) the move to 440 as the
"standard pitch" just to hold the population from spiritual growth and
making it impossible to "Transform to the Light"...OK this is getting a
little weird but I had to see (hear) for myself so I went and bought a
guitar tuner that could be calibrated at 432 hz and I tuned one of my
guitars with it. This was my resophonic guitar, pretty loud to start with,
but once I had it tuned and strummed a big chord it sounded much bigger and
fuller. No doubt in my mind (ears). I have since tuned my flat-top to 432
and recorded about a half hour of my usual guitar noodling. I didn't really
notice a dramatic difference this time but I'm going to get it online but I
haven't figured out how just yet - it's a pretty big file. Now I'm going to
tune the old Epi back to 440 so that I can go out and jam with the rest of
the universe but I am quite fascinated by this.

Treasa, the guitar workshop and words of wisdom from Richard Bell

Last night I went to the jazz hang out where the old Montreal Bistro
regulars get together on Fridays, "Quotes" on King Street. The bandleader is
the wonderful drummer Don Vickery and his guest this Friday was the *very*
lovely and talented Colleen Allen and there she was playing all these very
legit jazz standards...that girl can do it all! If you haven't see her with
the fabulous Blainettes horn section, then please take a few minutes (nine
and a half actually) to view the little video montage I made of our show at
the Toronto Jazz Festival. It's at http://brianblain.ca Sure hope I get to
play with that great horn section again this summer.

The Toronto Blues Society's Blues Guitar Workshop was at Long & McQuade's
modern presentation room above their store in Toronto. One of my new musical
friends Steve Strongman was a guest and he was playing great...alongside
John Tilden, Teddy Leonard and the great Harrison Kennedy who regaled us
with stories of Billie Holliday and Duke Ellington visiting his home in
Hamilton...and taking harmonica lessons from Sonny Terry. Harrison admitted
to only playing guitar for five years (though he's been a world-renowned R&B
singer for 45) but he has really developed his own thing on that old Stella
that his 98 year old grandma gave him. It was not the slick sound of the
other players, but he's sure come a long way since he played one of my
Motherless Day concerts a few years back. Make me think of watching Jeff
Healey as he developed his trumpet playing. He would always be down at the
Reservoir Lounge sitting in with the resident swing band. He knew the
repertoire inside out but his lip was still developing and clams would
occur. Nobody cared - that guy had so much music in him that he could make a
kazoo sound like a virtuoso instrument, and same goes for Harrison.

After stopping by at Michelle's for a great homemade pizza, I decided to
swing by the Silver Dollar to see Treasa Levasseur (Michelle's former
Bandleader). Treasa dedicated a tune to Richard and everyone raised their
glass. There is a certain immortality to being a musician...at least if
you're one who touched people with your music. I'm sure he had many other
tips, but Treasa Levasseur remembered that Richard's advice to her was:
Always be on time, be polite, and play your ass off on every song even the
ones you're not crazy about. Treasa and I were recording with Richard about
the same time, I think (with the same producer, David Baxter). Richard's
wisdom also touched me and I remember one bit that revolved around this
little repeating lick he played throughout one of the slow ballads we were
doing. I said to him after the first take that I wasn't too crazy about that
bit but he said, in the most cordial way, something like "look kid, I've
been doing this a long time and that is something that will subconsciously
grab the listener". We we left it in, and by the time overdubs were done and
the thing was mixed that little riff was really back there...but holding the
whole thing together...subliminally. He was totally right.

Where is Brian Blain?

I hope that my absence at the two big folk music conferences, OCFF in Ottawa
and Folk Alliance in Memphis did not lead anyone to believe I'm out of the
game. Let's just say I'm taking the year off to make a record.

I applied to two festivals and was invited to two festivals (but not the
same two). I don't know that I've got it in me to start writing/calling.
When I have a little music time, I want to spend it playing guitar not
hustling gigs ...or posting blogs...I'm off to play some guitar

The Grammys

*****I think I've got a new conspiracy theory: I was just watching this
commercial for a cell phone service and the slogan was something like "we
just got friendlier". Well it depends what you mean by "friendlier" - it
occurs to me that with all these touch screen phones it means now they can
prove whether or not someone made a phone call because they'll have his
fingerprint recorded.

I saw the commercial while I was watching the Grammy Awards - until I was
bumped out of my son's room (he has the only TV in the house). I guess I
could pull rank and catch a bit more of the show but I've got some
practicing to do...with said son, known in his world as DJ Coi. We're
playing together on Tuesday...

Ok, I've pulled rank and just saw Allison Krauss and Robert Plant get two
big awards...and a performance slot. A good night for Rounder records...yea
Ken & Donna! Now I'm only a couple of degrees of separation from the Grammy
Awards because I slept in the same bed as Allison...not at the same time, of
course, but it was only a week later or so...in the guest apartment at the
Rounder mansion in Newburyport.

Beautiful to see Sir Paul McCartney sutiing right in the front rown and
singing along with Smokey Robinson and the last remaining "Top" of the Four
Tops. McCartney played I Saw Her Standing There. A blast from the past!

My memories of Eggerton's

I've just been reading a few list serve comments sharing memories about a
club called Eggerton's. I lived in Toronto for a short stretch in 1973-74
but before I moved here, I came up from Montreal on a promotional tour for a
single I had just released on GoodNoise/Polydor. I met a promo gal called
Lori and we went around to a few radio stations but on one of those nights
in Toronto I was going to play a few tunes at the new "showcase room,
"Eggerton's. I had previously played at the legendary Riverboat, opening for
my friends Fraser & DeBolt. And I'm not sure if I was playing with F&DeB,
but I was travelling with them when they played a week-long stint at a club
called "Grumbles" (owned by Neil & Joy Dixon). Now here I was at Eggerton's
for the first time and I think it had been arranged for me to do a guest
spot but all of a sudden a large party arrived with the hottest new
sensation on the Toronto folk scene, Dan ....I actually have forgotten his
last name...but the song we all remember... "Sometimes When We Touch".
Anyway, he comes in - I think publicist Richard Flohil may have been in that
party - and he becomes the VERY special guest and as I recall I never got to
play at all that night...If I did, even I forgot it. And I didn't even het
to meet Danny boy!

It's not like I was chopped liver. I had just opened shows for Lou Reed and
Seals & Crofts in Montreal, toured with April Wine, recorded with a bunch of
Frank Zappa's Mothers, but alas, I could not get their attention in Toronto.
Still can't! (ooops, I'm getting self-deprecating again and I've been
warned about this tendency)

Things are not so bad

This is the year of the earth Ox (also called year of the Bull or Buffalo).
It looks like we may have an honest, candid and open natured year ahead.
The earth Ox is dependable, calm and modest, unshakably patient, full of
hard work and tireless. Darlene sent that

Today was probably the last day for me to decide if I was going to the Folk
Alliance conference in Memphis next month. It would wipe out my little
nest-egg of US dollars and add more debt to the credit card and I can't say
that I would expect any gigs out of it. I had a hope of hooking up with the
ultimate musical collaborator, someone who was a virtuoso mandolin or banjo
player with a high tenor voice that would blend beautifully with mine and we
would put together the ultimate BLUESgrass band. In my dreams!

I caught myself starting to feel sorry for myself and then realized things
are not so bad for me - better than my friend who's having lung surgery
today or another colleague who passed away on Christmas day. He was a
booking agent and there was a big wake/celebration of his life. Saw some old
friends and I think there were some other friends whom I haven't seen in so
long that I didn't recognize them. One was the first agent I had, well maybe
not the first agent that booked me but the first one who actually had some 8
x 10 glossy promo photos of me made with his name underneath. Now that's
commitment!

After a month or more of waffling, I was invited to repeat "Colorblind
Brian's Blues Campfire" at the Blues Summit next week. I will also be
moderating a panel on digital downloads. Just had a long conversation with a
buddy who has been in the music business since the 60s and has made and lost
a few fortunes since. Once I digest his ideas and collect my thoughts I'll
post them here.

The Story of Fleetwood Mac

Here's a great link (courtesy of Bob Lefsetz) of a lecture by an academic
named Gladwell who illustrates the development of the band Fleetwood Mac. He
uses many examples to support his theory that it takes "10,000 hours" (or
ten years at 4 hrs a day) to get to the "top" level.

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/video-gain-2008-gladwell

Holiday Blainletter 08

Despite my best intentions to send out personal greetings to friends, I've dilly-dallied and now the holidays are upon us...so pardon the group greetings. I'm at a bit of a loss about all this friend business. When I was a kid I had two or three friends. Sometimes one, and glad to have him. Now I've got my Facebook backing-up with fifty or so friend requests from people I've never really met and then another batch of friend "suggestions". What to do? My son says I should accept as many people as I can to be my friends...and viral marketing experts will agree that I should confirm them, make them fans and I guess ultimately sell them a CD?? First of all most of my friends on Facebook (and MySpace) are musicians who would be more inclined to swap CDs than buy them. I think I'll just end this charade and be friends with anybody who'll have me and send them all my Holiday Blainletter! (now I half expect to get messages back that say "This friend request has expired. You will have to come grovelling back if you still want to be friends"...or something like that.

I cast my runes today and the prediction was something like "stand still"...you've planted the seed, wait for the harvest...learn from the obstacles put before you...Nothing very encouraging! And nothing that I haven't seen so many times before in my readings. Well, I'm not going to stand still! I will be moving forward... at my usual pace-slow and steady!

I have a handy little utility called Google Alerts which notifies me when my name comes up on the web and a couple of days ago it flagged a website that was selling my tunes for way less than Itunes: 20 cents. Wonder if there's anything in there for me??? Check it out here

Tonight I got another notification and this time it's a website GIVING AWAY my songs! Well, three of them, anyway. They've created a page for me...they found a video of "Blues is Hurting" and a picture of me that I don't think I've ever seen - it's me performing with Brian Kobayama (probably spelled wrong...the guy from Creaking Tree String Quartet) at the Twisted Pines festival two or three years ago. I downloaded one of the free songs and I think the quality is not right but then they had that "Brian Blain player" that played 30 seconds of every song and I thought that was pretty cool. The most interesting thing to see was the section on "Similar Artists": Karen Kay. Corey Harris. Mississippi Mud. Doc Watson. Terry Gibbs, Gary Stewart, Pat Martino, The Bluenotes, Clark Terry, Joe Droukas. Now I'm quite flattered to be grouped with some of these great artists, but I've never heard of half of them ...I even checked out Karen and Joe. Hmmmm. How do they figure out who's similar to who? Is there some kind of algorithm??? Well, as always, I'm grateful that someone cared enough to go to all this trouble. Oh yeah, the website is soundflavor.com Their slogan is "We built a know-it-all record store clerk just for you...Find thousands of free songs based on the music you love" But....eh, WTF?

Decisions Decisions: On Fri night I was looking forward to the Wayne Shorter show at Massey Hall - I had requested a media ticket for one of my scribes on the jazz newsletter and he got two so I decided to jump on board. Then at 5 o'clock in the afternoon I get a call from my friend Cynthia offering me some "platinum circle" tickets for Neil Young at the Air Canada Centre. It's interesting that those two artists exist at the separate extremities of my musical taste...Wayne is jazz but not too "out there" and Neil "rough and ready", even a bit out-of-tune at times but full of heart. (interesting aside: I remember the story of David Foster complaining to Neil at the "We Are The World" recording sessions that he was singing out of tune and Neil responding "Hey man, that's my sound!". Now Foster reveals that he actually did fix that vocal after the fact...)

Anyway I took the "high road" and went to Wayne Shorter and I'll never regret it. To see these four master musicians who have been playing together for years just walk onto the stage and start playing whatever came into their heads and take you on a beautiful journey...it was awe inspiring. I went home and did a recording that night - some spontaneous improvised guitar noodling...as close to jazz as I'll ever get.

Did a few more Blues in the Schools sessions...this time for the Stellula music project up in the Georgian Bay area, Orillia and Pennetanguishene. Lately it's been older kids and music students. They are a great audience and I'm happy to share some "real world" experiences with these budding musicians.

How long have I been playing "Terrace Inn"? I think I wrote it in 01 or 02. Always trying to rock out with that little break in the middle - my "hommage" to Magic Sam - which seemed like a nice obscure reference except since then I've seen many a guitar player doing the Magic Sam "thang" way better than me. I always seem to be playing it with folks who've never heard "Terrace Inn" and who are just trying to follow my "body language". That's one of the things I've got to work on - how to signal the band to stop for my guitar riff. Then getting them to all come back in together! This time I'm sitting in with the Odyssey Blues Band at their Saturday Matinee in St Catharines (running for the last 8 years). This time I really got my signals crossed so they were playing where I wanted them to stop and stopping when I wanted them to jump back in. As always, the audience probably thought it was all part of a worked out arrangement...Ha! Note to Self: Work on cues for Terrace Inn and come in with high energy for the unaccompanied guitar break.

Look at this - five years later and the reviews are still rolling in (yes, I have begun working on the new album):

Brian Blain Overqualified for the Blues (Northern Blues Music NBM0011) Review Date: Nov 2008 by Gordon Baxter

"This is one of two recent releases from Canadian based label Northern Blues Music that have focused on Canadian roots and blues artists. The catalogue numbers for Brian Blain's "Overqualified For The Blues" suggest that it has been in the pipeline for a while, and the liner notes confirm this: the first tracks were laid down just before Christmas 2002.

Blain is an astute observer of life and this is reflected in his lyrics which are shot through with a wry sense of humour. Few would be able to get away with the opener "Saab Story" which cleverly plays on the Saab/sob pun, but Blain pulls it off with consummate ease. Blain sings and plays guitar throughout, accompanied by a range of familiar names including Michael Jerome Brown, Harry Manx, Paul Reddick, and the rhythm section from Downchild. Despite the various line-up changes, the musical quality, remains unfailingly high throughout, as Blain traverses the blues and roots landscape. The album has a light, relaxed feel to it, the main exceptions being the straighter blues tracks, such as the excellent Magic Sam influenced "Terrace Inn" which has more of a rocking groove. Every one of the tracks has a tale behind it, and they are all memorable in their own way. The closing track ("The Big Fire"), in particular, occupies a soft spot in Blain's heart. Every year he enters it into the "Songs From The Heart" contest, although he is still waiting to pick up first prize!

"Overqualified for the Blues" is a real grower that amply rewards the listener with repeated plays, and every track has something to recommend it. The standard of musicianship and songwriting throughout is of the highest order. The mixture of Blues and Roots music that makes up "Overqualified For The Blues" is one that is well worth tracking down." Thank you for the kind words, Gordon Baxter!

I did my last gig for the year on Saturday and I guess it's fitting that it was the rockingest Ole' Colorblind got all year. I was guesting at the Liquid Lounge blues matinee and the rhythm section was going full tilt and my little Fender Vibrolux was cranked to 9 (and still needed to be mic'd).

I'm feeling good about the last year, even though I'm sure I would have had more gigs if I wasn't sitting around waiting to be invited. (and probably sell more CD's if people didn't have to practically pry them out of my guitar case!) There are so many young, talented musicians (and in my capacity as a media mini-mogul, I encounter more than most) and they are all so desperate for that precious stage time. They say the Bodhisattvas of the earth won't ascend to the Precious Land until everyone else has reached enlightenment. Let's just say I'm a Bodhisattva of the Blues! I like that better than Buddha of the Blues, which is a tough moniker to live down. I cringed the last time I heard myself being introduced as the "Buddha of the Blues"...

Last night was the staff party for the jazz festival crew and after some Christmas cheer we made our way to Downtown Jazz's last show of 2008...in a humungus stretched SUV limo. It was quite something to ride in that multi-screen floating bedroom with lights that changed colours but floating is probably not the appropriate adjective because it rode more like a truck. The show was Tuck and Patti, a duo that I remember from the sixties and they still put out that "peace & love" vibe. It did get to me but then I just got all chocked up by a movie about a little girl and her horse...so I'm a sucker for that sort of thing.

So without getting too maudlin, my most sincere gratitude to all of you who made it out to a Brian Blain show in 08 and and my hopes that we'll see you again next year in your town (as Morgan Davis used to say)...when we get there.

As the year winds down, It's a good time to make ammends. I think I owe my fans an apology - all six of them. Well, maybe there's more than six Brian Blain fans out there but in the space of the last two weeks I've managed to "inconvenience" a good proportion of my cherished supporters.

- Sorry that I didn't include a start time for the Free Times gig in my last Blainletter

- Very sorry that to the fans who had to write to me to get the start time. Especially sorry that I mistyped my reply and sent them to the club at 6:30 instead of 8:30 (they stayed till the bitter end, mind you).

- Also sorry to Zoe Chilco for bailing out on her gig at the Black Swan

- Extremely sorry to the fans who went to Zoe's show especially to see me

- Sorry about the last-minute notice to that house concert in Midland

- Sorry about the last-minute cancellation of the last-minute house concert in Midland

- Sorry to the lone fan who didn't get the cancellation notice to the last-minute house concert in Midland

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I will make it up to all of you. In fact I'm planning a "Make-Good" Concert with free admission for all those who may have been inconvenienced when my other life gets in the way of my music.

Speaking of my "other life", and while I'm feeling apologetic, I should say sorry to my desktop publishing clients, The Toronto Musicians Association, The Toronto Blues Society and the Toronto Jazz Festival. I will confess right here that there were times when I should have been working on your publication and I just pushed it aside and went to play guitar. In fact, it never fails that I get an idea for a song just when I'm scrambling to meet some deadline.

Well, I'm glad to get that all off my chest :-)

For those who check my blog, "Colorblind Brian's Toronto Blues Diary", you will note that I have dropped in some postings from 1990-98. In those years I had an online diary stashed in a corner of the jazz festival website - a blog, though they weren't called that back then. When we moved to a new server in the mid 90s it was all lost, but just a few weeks ago I found a print-out of the old entries and I've been adding those postings from when I first arrived in Toronto. It's good for a laugh. Go to http://torontobluesdiary.blogspot.com

I will end my Blainletter with this little "I.T." tip (for those who hung in and read this rambling rant right until the end): If you're like me, your email inbox is full of messages and you've got all kinds of folders with more correspondence...maybe pictures, other stuff.... Before Jan 1, I'm going to move all the mail in my inbox into a new folder called "inbox 08" and I'm going to move all my other (non-email) files into a folder called "DOCS 08". Likewise with all the pics and client files. Then when I have some time, I will copy those folders onto a CD for back-up. I like having a fresh start at the beginning of the year. May you all have a nice fresh start.

The sensational Johnny V

I love it when I hear a guitar player who can do things with the instrument
that no one else can. I'm sure there are many guitarists out there who
qualify, but in my universe the two that stand out in that respect are Kevin
Breit and Amos Garrett (and even Amos had a little trouble covering his
landmark solo from "Midnight at the Oasis" last time I saw him with Maria
Muldaur). But last night I saw Johnny V from Calgary doing his thing and it
was like combining Amos and Kevin and telling them to stick to the blues,
though JV himself did drift into some jazzy moments...hard to resist when
you've got bass-meister Ian de Souza on board. Not only was he getting a
great sound out of his old Firebird, but he was playing through an amp that
sounded phenomenal...one that he designed himself. The sound is clear and
crunchy all at once - with a real punchy bass. To die for. He calls it the
V-Verb and he tell me it has one 10" and one 12" speaker - I've never heard
of such a thing!

blainblain

My gig at Free Times was not very well attended but in my heart I know that
even if I had postered College Street and sent out all kinds of internet gig
announcements I wouldn't have done much better. I decided to cast fate to
the wind and have Joel join me with his arsenal of electronics. I just sit
there and play guitar and he grabs a MIDI signal from my guitar and
processes and loops the sound - sometimes on separate strings. I have a MIDI
pedalboard that I can use to set the tempo and trigger loops.

It didn't all work out in this gig but I think we have a "proof of concept"
Watch for more gigs from "blainblain"

It's 1am and Joel is cooking fajitas. I am making a blog entry instead of
working on the newsletter that is now a rush job. Wanted to skip out tonight
and hear Jesse Barksdale Trio. Next time! Tomorrow night, for sure I'm going
to see Mansa Sisoko at Hughs.

Take Me Home

I should be rehearsing right now but in a classic move, I spot something in
the CD shelf - a DVD still in the shrink wrap and I see that it's some kind
of compilation of Quebec bands. I just put it on and the first band was punk
- Lel Vulgaires Machins and it was recorded in the Granada Theatre in
Sherbrooke - my home town and the theatre where I had my first date, taking
Gloria Davey to see "Around The World in 80 days" (I think...if you're out
there Gloria you could conifrm that...)

Blainletter #16

Here come blainblain

The big news is that my prodigal son Joel (aka, DJ Coi) is back – he's been out at the Cape all summer but he's back now and we both have a renewed desire to make music together (he's more on the electronica side of things but we are finding some common ground). We had a good run through last night. Come to Free Times next Friday and check it out!

October was fine despite the fact that it's the first October in 4 years that I haven't been on a European tour. Butch Coulter who was the key to these European adventures is a new dad and was less inclined to go out on the road this year, even though there was some interest in return engagements for the Kathi McDonald Band and even a couple of inquiries about getting Brian & Butch. Well, it's over to 09 I guess.

Going Home
I did have a "mini-tour" (tourette??) of Quebec and went back to my old stomping grounds, Sutton, Quebec, to play a gig at the Cafe Mocador, now the Mocador Pub, but in the same location on main street Sutton. Many old friends came out. I've passed through Sutton a few times since I left there almost 18 years ago, but never stayed around to hang out. This time, I took a leisurely walk after my sound check and ended up in the upscale Italian restaurant that occupies the building where I lived upstairs with wife & kid and had my studio on the main floor. I did not get any special consideration because I had lived there so many years ago. I had the most expensive plate of spaghetti I ever had…but it was worth it to sit in the old homestead and take in the vibes.

Out and About:
When I got back to town I had a chance to see Harry Manx playing at the Hamilton Place. He's got some great new material. While we were hanging out in the backstage area, he brought me to another part of the complex where Yes were rehearsing for their big gig in Hamilton the next day. Fascinating hearing the signature bass sound of Chris Squire coming through that door. Also got to Tressa Levasseur's CD launch. Michelle Josef plays on the album but is regrettably no longer in the band. I joked that it took two drummers to take the place of one Michelle Josef.

The OCFF Conference
As one of the pitiful few who was supposed to be there but wasn't, I've been following the post-mortem discussion on the maplepost listserve. I was to host the blues campfire again this year but regretfully I couldn't get to Ottawa because I had to attend to my (desktop)publishing empire (!). I'm seeing lots of comments from attendees that there were not enough opportunities to jam. In the past, the campfire room has not been sufficiently exploited to provide playing opportunities. Don't know how it went this year, but in past years it was a dozen or so players in a circle and I didn't think there was ever more than a dozen listeners. This has always been musicians playing for musicians – not much help in "career development," I've been reminded. Still it can provide a "walk-in" opportunity to join the circle and play a couple of tunes.

My Open Letter to Jack Layton

Dear Jack, Congratulations. I just listened to your victory speech and as
you listed all the things you will fight for, I was waiting to hear "arts
and culture"...particularly since it was Harper's marked disdain for arts
and culture that cost him a majority.

I voted for you (yes, I am a constituent) because I think you can be a real
champion for the arts - many of us expect that of you. The first thing you
should do is jump on the proposal to double the Canada Council funding. That
would send a good message - one that would serve you well down the line.
Yours truly.... Brian Blain

From Blainletter #15

Just in from the new "hotspot" in Toronto, The Dakota Tavern. I dropped in to see my old buddy Matt Masters - I thought it was his show but it turns out he was opening for another Alberta cowboy singer/songwriter - Tim Hus. I never heard of Tim but as I was watching his set, I overheard someone (his manager?) telling a buddy that they just heard Tim was nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the upcoming Canadian Folk Awards. How does somebody come out of nowhere like that (it was his first appearance in Toronto) and get on the ballot? It makes me think there could not have been too many people submitting to that category...or perhaps to the folk awards generally. Not to dis his songwriting but I could not really hear much of either Tim or Matt because the crowd was so noisy. I wondered what this guy was thinking, he drives all the way to Toronto (though he had a nice ride if that was his Sprinter van parked out front) to play the hip new bar and nobody is really listening. Anyway he had the upbeat tunes to play for that crowd but not a great showcase for a Songwriter of the Year. Our favourite publicist/scenester told me "Justin is here, Serena is here, only Luke Doucet is missing!" And I had a chance to catch up with young Liam Titcomb who is just back from a songwriting session in Nashville.

Many friends were launching CDs over the last couple of weeks, I didn't make it to either Suzie Vinnick's launch at Hugh's Room or Paula Shear's launch at the Gladstone because I just ran out of steam. I was cooked on Sunday from a late night and miles and miles of walking at the Nuit Blanche last Sunday. That was quite phenomenal - amazing installations, one by Byron Wong who filled a small park with microphones and speakers and created feedback loops that he processed through a bank of synthesizers (all electric, as he pointed out - nothing digital). In addition, there was another artist who created a video program that allowed the sound to be manipulated as you passed your hand in front of the screen. Up the road at the Ontario College of Art, one young man had a projector in the back of a pick-up truck and had somehow installed a wireless mouse and some kind of laser pointer into a spray can so that if you pointed at this 4 or 5 story wall you could "draw" by pressing down the button on the can. Hi-tech graffiti - and easy to erase!

I saw my Montreal buddy Michael Jerome Browne (and partner B. who made it to town for the occasion). He was releasing his new CD at the Gladstone – he had a great young organist with him – the name was Don Cummings, but when I asked Don about what other stuff he was doing it seemed he does not play a lot – he was subbing for Ken pearson, who played organ on Michael's CD. I also got to Carlos del Junco's CD launch at the Dollar and he was playing up a storm – with a new guitarist, Eric St-Laurent (I think…). This guy had some big shoes to fill following in the footsteps of Kevin Breit and Shawn Kellerman but he pulled it off. Not to forget Mark Sepic, who played a lot with Carlos and who composed one of the tunes they played. Dropped in a Mark's jam in the beaches the other day and did a couple of tunes with him. I must get out more often (to the jams, I mean).

The most amazing band I saw this month was a group from Turkey called Baba Zula – and it was the visual element that added to the impact. The band was a guy playing beats and loops with a percussionist and a guy playing something resembling a 3-string guitar which he ran through a bank of pedals and effects. What was most fascinating was an artisr off to the side doodling on a graphics tablet and creating real-time graphics on a rear screen projector. My eyes were glued to that screen – except for when the belly dancer came out… Also got to hear Vieux Farka Touré as part of the Small World Festival and he was terrific, too. Not as versatile as his late dad, Ali Farka Touré, but he had that African guitar groove that I love.

Randy Newman's two rules of show business

Never leave your wallet in the dressing room, and never tell the audience
that you¹re sick.

A new album

Yesterday I borrowed a couple of good microphones from my friend Don
Richardson and cleaned up the studio to prepare for some serious recording.
I moved my noisy mac G4 out of the room and man did that make a big
difference.
This is as close to a c-c-c-commitment as I ever get and when I announced
my plans to start a new album at the Borealis/NorthernBlues office
I heard a voice from the back of the room saying "so I guess that will be ready
about 2011." It's a running gag over there but we'll see how fast I can put
this one together.
Of course, the minute I try to settle into a recording schedule,
the distractions begin and Thursday was a banner day for distractions - tow
big ticket CD launches (Michael Jerome Browne and Chris Whiteley and Diana
Braithwaite), the opening of a phot exhibit by rock & roll photographer Bob
Gruen at a fancy Yorkville gallery and the official launch of the Small
World festival. They used to call these "press conferences" then "Media
conferences" but nowadays they don't expect much of a turnout from the
working media unless it's the film festival or some huge sporting event. Now
it's an occasion to invite the "VIP's" and tastemakers... Anyway, I got out
to 3 out 4 of the events - I had just seen Chris and Diana at the Southside
Shuffle, so that was the one I skipped.

Speaking of the Southside Shuffle, I made my way out to Port Credit and did
the walkabout on the street to see lots of friends and familiar faces
playing up a storm. Lots of great talent on one street at one time but in
their effort to hire all the bands they want, everyone is just to close
together and the sound bled into a caucophony that made it hard to enjoy
anyone. Surprisingly, they had the same problem on the big stages in the
park and I felt sorry for the Blues Society Talent Search Winners playing on
the side stage while the Jeff Healey tribute band blasted through the park.
At the risk of eliminating a gig for myself, I have to say they need to hire
less bands, put them further apart, make sure the bands start and stop when
they're supposed to and maybe try to introduce some new faces...

Back from NB

I spent last week in Fredericton, New Brunswick at the Harvest Jazz and
Blues Festival - what a well-run event and what a great town. Hospitality
Central! I was met at the airport and kept on schedule the whole time I was
there by a wonderful couple of volunteers, Cathy and Jerry, who made sure I
was where I had to be at all times and became my number one fans for the
duration. I think we made a few other fans, too, walking though the tent
after my set at the late-night finale jam I encountered many smiling faces
and congratulatory pats on the back.

My highlight was discovering Eric Bibb. I can't believe this guy has slipped
under my radar all these years - I even had one of his CDs on the shelf! He
was positively inspiring and I had the chance to tell him so. He had the
best guitar sound I ever heard - I was sure he was using some kind of octave
pedal to give his guitar that incredible bass. There was no pedal, but he
did tell me that tunes his guitar lower (and probably uses fatter strings).

I was anxious to hear Ana Popovic and she did not disappoint - in fact, I
owe her one because I got to fill in for her at the Guitar Workshop when she
was delayed at the border. She is a phenomenal player, I only wish she would
get her foot off that wah-wah pedal once in while. Derek Trucks is a
beautiful player too, but I wish he would put down the slide. Alas both
those thangs are part of their respective "signatures" so I better get used
to it. I discovered one great Chicago blues guitarist who I had never heard
of - Nick Moss. He is, as they say, "the real deal" and it's not just
because he's from Chicago. He was part of Colorblind Brian's Blues Campfire
along with Treasa Levasseur (& David Baxter), Steve Marriner and Stuart
MacDougal from Alberta. We had a big crowd for the Campfire so the usual
guidelines for the more intimate campfires (ie, brand new original tunes)
went out the window and we just played a lot of favourite blues tunes and
passed around the solos. I did start it off with my newest composition, "The
day Coke saved the blues" and late that night as I was jamming with Steve
Marriner and Shirley Jackson's band, Nick was at the side of the stage
shouting "play the day Coke saved the blues!" When you meet Nick Moss you
will see that he is one of the "larger than life" characters whose requests
you should heed. So I played it for the crowd though I wondered if it might
be a little "inside" for public consumption. It is the story of how a song
saved my record label, Northern Blues, from going under. Now everybody in
New Brunswick is humming it!

Ontario Place

Speaking of legends riding on their rep, one of the most notorious is Buddy Guy, and against my better judgment I went to see him again, this time at Ontario Place, only because it was a beautiful outdoor setting and because he was appearing with Koko Taylor and John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers. Mayall has introduced so many great guitarists that I was anxious to see what he had in store for us this time. Well the demographic of his band was quite telling: You had the old guy (Mayall, looking fit as hell), a young bass player, a bald drummer and an overweight guitarist. But the guitarist did manage to slip comfortably into the boots left behind by such legendary players as Clapton and Mick Taylor. He was playful and restrained throughout the set but when his spotlight came around he played a blistering solo that brought the crowd to its feet and was so hypnotizing that even his own band were so transported that they lost their place for a split second. At the end of the song, he flicked his pick into the audience – a nice touch, only slightly diminished when he tossed out a dozen more at the end of the set. I wonder if he’s got his name on that pick. I never got it but it sounded something like “Coco Montoya”. At least Mayall introduced his musicians. Buddy Guy probably didn’t even know the names of the young white kids in his pickup band. His performance deserves no comment except to say that he did show up, he was on stage from the first tune (I’m sure he wasn’t too happy about that) and his exit tune was “Sunshine of Your Love”. What is this man trying to tell us? And Koko Taylor was great as always. It’s just too bad she didn’t follow Buddy Guy to leave everybody with a little better taste of the blues “legends”. So we saw the legend that was, the legend that is and the legend that will be (who was that guitar player anyway???).

Meeting Mr. Russell

Never heard Tom Russell, or even knew what he looked like, until last week
when I got to meet him in Newburyport. We were both guests at the "Rounder
Mansion" - Tom because he was playing a gig in the local theatre and me and
my gang because we were stopping over on the way back from cape Cod. I told
himn that one of the tunes he recorded was written in my living room - Dance
Hall Girls by Allan Fraser.

The Next Generation

What a delight hearing Kaya Fraser perform at the Cameron. She's got some
powerful new material. There wre'n many people out for what will be her last
performance in Toronto for a long time, but one of them was publicist Jane
Harbury who was suitably impressed.

Not My Dog

Finally checked out this favourite Queen West hangout where Tressa Levasseur
had a residency for a while. The featured artist was Jadea and it was her
guitarist Tim who invited me to come by and do a couple of tunes. I got
there ahead of any of the other guests, got my guitar plugged in and ready
so then when it was guest time I got to go first. Then I handed off my
guitar to Roxanne Potvin who played some new material (one in French) and
then Max Cann (from England).

more wise counsel from Bob Lefsetz

Have you ever built a fire? If you load up the big logs first, it doesn't
take. You've got to start with very small twigs. You've got to nurture the
flame, blowing air on it or gently using bellows. Then you lay on
increasingly large pieces, not getting to logs until you're just shy of a
conflagration. That's how you build careers today.

1. Focus on the music. You need at most four songs. Any more and you
confuse the audience. Less is okay, but you want to encourage a story, you
don't want to appear a one hit wonder.

2. As you gain traction, you put out more music. You don't worry about
selling the original music to everybody on the planet, at this point you
only focus on your core.

3. You make the music available. Don't try to monetize it at first, that
just slows down the process of building your career. People can hear it
streamed online, and they can download it and trade it.

4. Interact online, and don't talk down to your fans. Don't tell them
you're the next big star. Hip-hop bluster is passe. Be thrilled that
they're interested in you and your music. Tell them everything they want to
know, and more. Put up pictures of your girl or boyfriend. Tell them what
you do every day. If you've got a family, don't hide it, reveal it. Your
goal is to humanize yourself. Artifice is so seventies. The Net community
is about sussing out the truth. Give them the truth and your honesty will
endear you to them.

5. Don't ask your fans to spread the word. Don't ask them to be
street-teamers. Don't have a street team! If they like your music and you
treat them well, they will spread the word just like a kid tells his mother
about his new best friend. They won't be able to hold back. There's no
money in it for the fan. So let him retain his dignity. Let him believe
he's your best friend.

6. Don't alert the mainstream media. That comes last. Once you've built
something, once you've got a story. Kind of like Dispatch playing Madison
Square Garden. If your story is not interesting to those who don't care,
don't tell it or sell it. Like I said, I'm not interested in vampire books,
but the phenomenon intrigued me.

This is ass-backwards to the way it's been. In recent scenarios, music has
come last. It's been about image. It's been about marketing. So there's
no traction, no connection with the consumer/fan. With looks being
everything, "artists" have become models. Pretty faces with no depth. And
you wonder why the "Hills" stars are more famous than most musicians...
Because musicians don't have that something extra, the music that sets them
apart!

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/

Good luck Maria

I found myself in front of a TV (an all-too-rare occurrence up until a
couple of months ago - I had wened myself off TV for the last 3 or 4
years...but I digress...I saw the search for a "Maria" for the production of
the Sound of Music in Toronto. A live audition before the whole TV
unviverse. Talk about a hotseat. I like Elishia best and went to vote for
her online - just to see how The Mother Corporation, CBC, handles online
voting. I went in expecting obstacles and I got them. When I left off my
phone number it made me start over. I sort of expected that so I was
prepared to re-enter everything, but the second time I forgot to re-select
"Elishia" and it bumped me back to zero again. I tried to use the back
button on the browser but of course that didn't work. I din';t go back a
third time so Elishia I hope you don't lost by one vote because I'll feel
pretty shitty. I know there's more elegant way to do these things!

Beaches Jazz

Every year, I go to the Beaches Jazz Festival and I love that long walk from where I park the car down a quiet street and hearing the music wafting up from the mainstage in Kew Gardens. I got there halfway through Tad Robinson w/Alex Scholtz on guitar. It was a great soul performance...he sing with a lot of emotion. But 3 vocal ballads in a row??? I missed the Sisiters Euclid - it was pouring rain so I waited it out - they played right through and those who stuck it out witnessed a transcendent Kevin Breit. On Thursday night I did my walkabout to see a lot of familiar faces playing on every corner. Not to dismiss any of the great musicians that were playing on the street (some I know some I don't) but as I made my way back towards the car I was starting to wonder if I would hear anything that perked up my ears - and I finally heard it from the lead singer of a band called Dr. Payne and the Disease. Great singer - La-Nai Gabriel. And apparently she plays sax too...heard a bit on my space. She's official! David Rotundo rocked the house - as usual. Carrie Chesnutt had them in the palm of her hands. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow - Tab Benoit is on. Last time he was at the festival, shis truck got as much attention as he did - no one had ever seen a truck quite like that: a stretched Dodge Truck with tandem wheels and tinted glass.

Talk about last Minute

Maybe my email is slow, but as I sit at home avoiding working on either
newsletter I have to publish this week or ...maybe rehearsing for my gig on
Friday (there's a concept!) Tonight I have just received two emails from two
guys named Gary about shows that are happening right now. I've been known
to send a few gig blasts that said "Tonight", but I usually sent them IN THE
MORNING! Anyway I've checked out the YouTube and MySpace for these bands and
have been able to determine that I like them both. I would have gone to one
of those shows...but maybe it's just as well that I stay home and do a
little desktop publishing.

http://www.myspace.com/newworldson

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z97-juTsRus

My Digital Life

Just for the record, I want to claim my "senior (net) citizen" status. I'm
beginning to realize that there are not many people around who started out
with Pine and Lynx. If those names do not resonate, you were not there at
the beginning. Pine was the only email program that would run on personal
computers and Lynx was the first browser. Lynx was a text-only browser. No
pictures, no icons, except for those people devised with ASCII text. Even
before those halcyon days, I had a Compuserve account running on my Apple
IIe w/400 baud modem. In order to have a Compuserve account, I had to keep a
bank account and post office box in the USA (thankfully I lived only a few
minutes from the Vermont border). When you think of the leap from that to
today with iPhones and streaming movies, we have to assume that
communications will continue a similar exponential growth - my mind boggles
when you think of what is yet to come in my lifetime.

Meet Scott McKeon

Heard a great young blues guitarist from UK. His name is Scott McKeon. Very
tasty player considering his young age. I'm sure his living up to all the
hype that's being generated. After playing some big festival stages, they
made a club appearance in Toronto even though they were virtually unknown
and Toronto audiences do not come out to support unknowns so when I got
there there were more people at the band table that the rest of the club. It
picked up a bit from there but I should do my part and tell you all what a
great show you missed! I'm sure he'll be back.

Hand me that Banjo

Maybe it's because I just got offered another racetrack gig for my
instrumental trio, The BlueZgrass BoyZ, but I went out and bought a banjo!
It's a six-string banjo, so it still plays like a guitar but it's still a
big switcheroo for this not-too-adventurous guitar player who has never used
alternate tunings, doesn't play slide and who has basically been playing the
same licks and grooves for the last 40 yeqrs (on the same old Epiphone
guitar).

I had a couple of out-of-town gigs just cancel and I might be a little
bummed but I got bolstered by a very nice comment that was left on my YouTube page about my song
"Last Time I Saw Lenny". He said Lenny would have liked it. That was nice to
hear not that I even attempted to play like Lenny.

Open Tunings

I've been avoiding open tunings on the guitar ever since I've been playing.
But on this Friday afternoon I'm sitting here with my guitar tuned to a very
odd "C" tuning and fumbling away at it as I process all the memories of
Oliver Schroer that are floating about the internet. Oli would approve of
open tunings, I'm sure. If I write just one song in an open tuning then I'll
be committed! I'll have to remember how to re-create it. I can blame Harry
Manx for this. I used to joke that every time he came to my place there
would be at least one guitar re-tuned to some open tuning and he's done it
again, but this time he showed me a few chord shapes to go with it. Harry
came east to do a few festivals (3 sold-out nights at the Montreal Jazz
Festival!) and we went to hear Johnny Winter last night - Johnny can still
play but we cut out before it was over.

I played the last day of the tazz festival at Grossman's with Roberta Hunt
and we had a blast. I love playing with an acoustic piano. I invited her to
join me for a few tunes at the jazz fest Volunteer Party but I knew that
would be a tough gig - this is the last chance for the volunteers to
socialize amongst themselves before next year so it's not a very attentive
crowd. Some people got into it.

no more red carpet at the Rex

After a phenomenal show of guitartuosity from John Abercrombie, Mike Stern
and John Scofield in a 1-2-3 punch at the mainstage, I made my way over to
the Rex and for the first time ever I did not get waved in by the manager
but was expected to pay my $15 like everybody else. OK, maybe I had a slight
sense of entitlement after all these years of promoting that club in the
jazz and blues newsletters I produce...and they've always welcomed me (even
though they do not honour any jazz festival passes - all access, media or
otherwise). Well, maybe it's because of their war with my other client, the
Toronto Musicians Association. Boo hoo, I didn't get to see DMBQ

Jazz fest Day 3

Skipped the mainstage concert to do the rounds - first Pat Carey's CD
launch at the Orbit Room. Lots of energy on that stage. Michael Fonfara
doing a pretty legit jazz gig on the B3 organ - with bass player Garth Vogan
sounding exactly like the bass pedals would if Fonf was playing them. Ted
Quinlan, Toronto's go-to guitarist for any occasion was replacing Jake
Langley who had to rush out of town to be with an ailing parent.

Finally took the occasion to see Nikki Yanofsky and try to get some idea
what all the fuss is about. Sold out house - $40 ticket - and the audience
loved her. Who wouldn't? The kid delivers, but at the risk of sounding like
an old curmudgeon, it still didn't reach right into my soul. Neither did the
Billy Band, though they sure have something special. A bunch of Russians
playing Tom Waits songs. Go figure. Then before packing in it, I dropped
into Grossmans where I will be playing next Sunday afternoon with Roberta
Hunt. The double-steel man, Brian Cober, was playing his home-away-from-home
for the last 24 years. Actually he may now have more of a domestic life - he
just got married. Congratulations Brian!

They should call it Bluesville

One week after the Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival and I'm back in this
great little town playing an organic cafe/bistro called Seasons. A couple of
the tables were people who saw me playing on the street the week before and
one couple had come back because they saw me at the festival film fundraiser
when I did a few tunes before the movie "Honeydripper." The great thing
about a small town like Orangeville is that a venue can put a poster in the
window the week before your gig and within a few days, the whole town knows
about the gig. After setting up, I took a little walk about and walked by at
least three establishments where blues music was wafting out the front. Then
when I packed up and brought the car around, I walked past 3 bars that had
live music going on - all pretty bluesy...and two of them were playing the
same song at the same time - That's Allright Mama! Larry & Bruce (Trouble &
Strife) were playing at another venu down the road and they dropped in while
they were on a break and sat in for a tune. A great listening crowd and a
re-booking on the spot. Who could ask for more.

A day at the Races

Finally a good-paying gig so I could call in The Blainettes. Colleen Allen
couldn't do the gig (she played baritone last time) but I got Gene Hardy
(who actually played on my first album...and I just remembered he was the
only person I actually paid to play on that recording - everybody else was
so anxious to support and encourage me that they played for free...that
doesn't happen very often!) When I started complaining that this was about
the weirdest gig I'd ever played, Gene said "Well, we're not wearing mascot
costumes, are we?"

We had to play between races, we were set up on the
apron right next to the track and we would play between races. We had a
minder who would signal when we had to start and stop - and when she
signaled "stop", we had to stop right at that moment - sometimes right in
the middle of a line. Anyway, it was a good payday. My Fender amp took a big
fall but seems to have survived

More Pics from Mohawk Racetrack

Blainletter for March 2008

Greetings faithful Blainletter readers and new subscribers (I¹ve been trying
to update the list and I may have subscribed a couple of folks who didn¹t
specifically askŠ.please excuse me if I did and I will unsubscribe you).
Even though I'm plugging a gig TOMORROW NIGHT (THURS), I'm glad I waited a
few days to send this out because I received lots of good news today: I got
confirmed for two festival gigsŠthree if you count this one:

Monday April 7
2 shows 4:30 PM and 8:00 PM
Galaxy Theatres, Orangeville, Ontario
Film Presentation of ³The Honeydripper² starring Danny Glover . it will
feature a live blues performance in the theatre by Colorblind Brian Blain.
a co-presentation of Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival and Monday Night At
The Movies

I did get the guitar out of the case today and ran over some tunes for my
gig tomorrow night in Thorold.

TOMORROW Thurs Mar 20 EARLY START: 8-12pm
Moose and Goose
54 Front Street Thorold 905-227-6569
Jack de Keyzer w/Brian Blain opening

Yes, I¹m opening for Jack De Keyzer and this gig is also for a festival -
it's the folks who do the Canal Bank Shuffle every October. For two years
I've had to decline their invitation to play the festival because that was
my time in Europe (hopefully this fall, too). So this will give me a little
taste of the canal bank vibe...

It'll be great seeing Jack. He never gives a bad show. I¹ve shared a
festival stage or two with him but never an opening set per se. I¹ve opted
to keep it ³peppy² ­ which means the Thoroldites (Thoroldians?) won¹t get to
hear some of my brand new soft and sensitive material like The Whaler¹s
Confession and Last Time I saw Lenny (but now anyone hear them by going to
YouTube.com and searching for ³Brian Blain² (I¹ve also got the same video
clips on www.MySpace.com/brianblain <http://www.MySpace.com/brianblain> ).
Tonight I just dug up a clip from a gig at The Silver Dollar a few years
back with the dearly departed Rod Phillips (Blues Is Hurting) and I will
load that up too. Pat Carey rips it up on the sax.

It¹s been a couple of weeks since the passing of Jeff Healey but the town is
still reeling from his loss. I heard beautiful tributes on the radio from
Colin Bray and Danny Marks and Jazz-FM has been re-running his old shows.
They just played a show I heard when it was first broadcast and it¹s
interesting to note that the only conversation I ever had with Jeff, besides
standing outside the Reservoir Lounge, was shortly after this show was
originally broadcast. I was at his club (I suppose he had just finished
playing a blistering setŠand the rest of his band would always rise to the
occasion). He was standing at the bar on a break and I went up and said how
much I enjoyed his radio show and asked about a piano player he had
featuredŠI couldn¹t remember the name, but he said right away ³That was
Herman Chitteson, he wasn¹t very well known in America because he worked
mostly in EuropeŠ² and proceeded to wax on enthusiastically with all kinds
of minutia about this obscure musician and you could tell he was so pleased
that he had been able to introduce someone new to this great unknown piano
player.² I was just listening to Jeff playing two recordings of Mae West
with the Dorsey Brothers (and finding out that she only did 3 recoding
sessions in her career!). On Danny Marks¹ show he played an old interview
with Jeff and a sneak preview of Jeff¹s new CD, coming out at the end of the
month.

May 3 & 4 there will be two special evenings for Healey fans to come
together and pay their respect. As has been repeated many times by different
friends and colleagues, ³Jeff was all about the music.² I only wish I¹d had
a chance to play with him once ­ probably could have if I was a little more
pro-active and came out to those jam sessions once in a while. I did play
with many of his bandmates though, Al Webster, Alec Fraser (who recorded my
first CD) and the wonderful fiddle player Drew Jurecka. My sympathy goes out
to those fellows and all who were close to Jeff. At the end of the re-run,
I hear Jeff saying ³we¹re going out on a high note as we like to do² Well
did he ever! I don¹t know if it was on purpose but there was almost five
minutes of dead air after Ross Porter¹s outro. A very deep silence, indeed.)

Speaking of being pro-active, I was starting to beat myself up because I
didn¹t apply to any summer festivals until this week and of course I¹ve
missed most of the deadlines. Needless to say, if you, dear reader, are
producing a festival this summer and and haven¹t quite filled your quota of
old Canadian bluesmenŠlet me direct you to my space
http://www.myspace.com/brianblain where I just loaded up some video clips of
me with band and solo. The solo tunes are all brand new (some not quite
finished) but we got these video clips from my set at Winterfolk at the
beginning of the month. One song is about Lenny Breau, ³Another Song About
Alice² is about Alice Brock (Alice¹s Restaurant) and there¹s my tribute to
the musicians of New Orleans (³Forgotten²) and a song about whaling (³The
Whaler¹s Confession²). Some years I¹ve made a big effort to get gigs and
other years I¹ve done nothing and it seems that either way, I end up playing
3 or 4 festivals. Anyway, it¹s always nicer to get invited than to go
groveling for a gig.

Out and About: As usual, I enjoy listening to music almost as much as
playing it and therein lies the reason that my career is not skyrocketing.
I¹m spending most of my time boppin around town hearing all kinds of
incredible music. Even though I¹m usually on the guest list, I¹d be broke if
I was a drinking man (hey, I am broke!). There¹s just too much good music in
this town. The other night I heard Charlie Hunter the renown 7-string
guitarist. This time he was playing for a young crowd and it was real loud
(but clear and loud - beautiful guitar sound). It's like listening to Robben
Ford or John Scofield in a bluesy mood except Charlie is producing the
thundering bass part with his thumb on that low B string.

After a stop-over at Thymeless where my son Joel (aka DJ C.O.I.) was
spinning I caught the last set at the Crazy Strings Wednesday at the Silver
Dollar. I thought I would be seeing a "skeleton staff" with Folk Alliance
Conference starting that day but they were all there in full force. I didn't
even count how many people on stage but there were lots - twin fiddles and a
great vocalist (Kristin, Christine?) I've always said that bluegrass is one
genre where you can't fake it. If you haven't been playing (or especially
singing) it all your life, it¹s so obvious. Well these guys are now old
enough to have been playing it "most" of their lives and it sounds pretty
official to me.

The next day I decided I¹d like to see Buckwheat Zydeco at the Horseshoe,
but didn¹t get in motion till late in the evening and all I heard was the
last couple of songs. In the old days, Buckwheat would have come back for a
half-hour encore but he¹s not a young man anymore and I heard he had
actually left the bandstand at one point and left the band to play a few
tunes on their own. On the week-end I saw two powerhouse guitarists - Johnny
V from Alberta and Big Gilson from Brazil.

On Saturday I took in three shows,,,first Laura Hubert and band at the Rex
(she had two great horn players, Chris Gale and Bobby BroughŠbut where was
the baritone?), then to the Silver Dollar to hear a touring outfit called
Big James and the Chicago Playboys (a blues funk outfit fronted by a
trombone player ­ he had played with many great blues stars and is now out
doing his own thing). Then to finish off the night I dropped in to a
neighbourhood bar where Michelle Josef was playing with David Wildsmith
doing a lot of cover material and packing the dance floor. David¹s
girlfriend Sarah works for Jeff Healey and she spent the whole time checking
her phone for an update on Jeff. Regretfully, the next day her worst fears
were realized.

I probably heard a dozen different bands during Canadian Music Week and
maybe I¹m getting old but they all sounded the same. They all had this
two-guitar thing with one guitar playing a repetitive riff high on the neck
so that it sounded sort of like a synthesizer. Roman Carter & Tom Rothrock
were the real dealŠnever mind three-chord blues. This was one-chord blues -
but Roman pulled it off. The film he premiered featured a whole bunch of
blues old-timersŠPrecious Bryant was the only name I recognized. Turns out
five of them had passed on by the time the film was finished. It¹s called
³Songs From The Soul².

Son Roberts Band and Steve Strongman made the best of a bad situation when
he was told he couldn¹t play ­ that the schedule had changed. He did manage
to hit the stage for a fiery fifteen-minute set and he did great. After
Steve, Son Roberts and the boys played. It did not have the intensity of
Steve but they take the blues to a different place.

This weekend I did an end-run across town and saw Roxanne Potvin at Hugh¹s
Room then Garret Mason at the Silver Dollar. Roxanne had Christine Bougie
playing guitar for her and Christine did a fine job but I know for a fact
that Roxanne can pull off a great solo and I couldn¹t figure why we had to
wait till the end of the show before she showed off some of her blues
soloing. Garrett Mason was quite the contrary ­ tearing it up with his
3-piece unit. Very Solid. I told him I had seen anybody using those big
Fender Showman amps since Johnny Winter in the 70s. He had this pedal that
made a real underwater warbling sound. I loved it.

Did u know? As I observed Conrad Black going to jail today, I had to say to
myself ³there but for fortune go IŠ² His publishing empire got a little
bigger than my non-profit desktop-publishing ³empire² but it¹s interesting
that we both got our start in publishing at the same place, The Sherbrooke
Daily Record. It was the first paper he owned and the first one I worked for
(actually John Bassett owned it when I started at the Record).

Today I was at the funeral of a fine gentleman who was probably my oldest
fan. Fred Houston was 92 years old. Five years ago he was celebrating his
60th wedding anniversary and I wrote them a tune called ³Together Sixty
Years²Šand they made it to sixty-five. Imagine being with the same partner
for sixty-five yearsŠ(hmmm, that could go either way, I guess). One time he
came up to me and said ³Brian you really make that guitar talk². I never
received a finer compliment.

Winterfolk and more

Finished off a hectic week-end by sitting in my son's room watching the
Grammys (it's the only TV in the house). I didn't see all of it but I
thought it was a great musical presentation...even Amy Winehouse! And I for
one was glad to discover Alicia Keys, even though Bob Lefsetz seems to think
she's a flash in the pan. And how about that Herbie Hancock - getting Album
of the Year! How often does that happen? (well, I think Herbie said it -
more than 40 years since a jazz album won Album of the Year).

Before my TV break, I heard lots of great guitar players today. Working my
way backwards, there was a beautiful set by Michael Jerome Brown, playing
his acoustic twelve string with a heavy tremolo - which I just learned is
referred to as a "wiggler" (wiggle?) by Colin Linden. Before MJB, I dropped
in briefly at another Winterfolk venue where Wendell Ferguson and Steve
Briggs were having a "duel of the flatpickers" Amazing players! More on my
own Winterforlk gigs later.

Today was the Toronto Blues Society's Guitar Workshop, so I dropped in there
before heading back to Winterfolk. Hosting the workshop was Ken Whiteley (it
was Ken who was telling us about the "wiggler"). His guests included Steve
Strongman who I was jamming with after the Maple Blues Awards a couple of
weeks ago but now I got to see him doing his own thing and he is a
formidable guitar player. Teddy Leonard played some amazing blues and a
newcomer, Christine Bougie acquitted herself quite nicely doing some jazzy
renditions of Beatles & Elvis songs. The always cheerful Bucky Berger was
playing drums and it was great to see the wonderful Victor Bateman...whom I
regard as kind of mentor - it was Victor who first encouraged me to record
some of my tunes and he even set up the demo session. The rest is history
(as they say)...

As for my Winterfolk experience, I had three appearances and none of them
were to a real listening crowd - though Tom Leighton told me he'd never seen
the Dora Keogh (an Irish pub on the Danforth) quiet down as much as they did
for my song about Lenny Breau. For all the folks who came up to me on Sunday
saying they were sorry they didn't make it to my set, you can "relive the
magic" because we did a little camcorder recording and I'm going to post
some of the tunes onto Youtube. The night before I did a workshop with
Harrison Kennedy and Al Lerman (from Fathead) - both of whom received Juno
nominations on Tuesday. My last show on Saturday was marred with sound
problems - I brought my flat-top this time and it has a new pickup so maybe
that was part of the problem, but I must be spoiled after playing 15 venues
in Germany last November and having the most clear and natural and *big*
sound at every single venue it's hard listening (or especially playing)
acoustic music when the sound is muddy and boxy. That said, it's a free
festival and they don't have a big budget for production so I should just
shut up and be happy for the gig.

My employers and the Jazz Society put on a concert with the young singing
sensation Nikki Yanofsky but I didn't go. I saw her doing her Aretha thang
at the Women's Blues Revue and she stole the show but part of me wants to
give her a little more time before I go see her for a whole concert. I did
go to the Juno announcement press conference on Tuesday, though. There was
no musical presentation this year and they sped through the announcements
because they were live on National TV. There were a few goofy things like
the host not knowing who Feist was. I recall a couple of years back they had
Joel Plaskett playing and nobody was listening - everyone schmoozing at the
bar. It's a thankless job playing those media events (hey, didn't I write a
song about that?) but look at Joel Plaskett now - he's a big deal. Maybe it
was worth it to raise the profile a notch or two. Harrison Kennedy was at
the announcement (did I previously mention seeing his "soul revue" in
Hamilton??? I think so.) and so was the most of the Johnny Max Band...good
on 'em!

And let me tell you about last Sunday - I had an exquisite time as Raoul
Bhaneja's guest at his regular Sunday Night residency at Olivia's. It was
just the two of us, no PA system, tiny room, tiny crowd, but they got a good
show because we were having a great old time. I have to say Raoul has come a
long, long way (on harp *and* guitar) since he guested with me a few years
back at the Tranzac. There's a reason that he was chosen Now Magazine's
Blues Artist of the Year though he may not yet have that "blues cred" from
certain corners of the blues community but this young man is going places.
What am I talking about, he's already been to many places not only playing
blues but also in his acting career. I'm a big fan.

--

OVERQUALIFIED FOR THE BLUES available at northernblues.com, iTunes.com,
music.yahoo.com, allmusic.com, amazon.com, cduniverse.com

***NEW EMAIL ADDRESS*** brianblain@brianblain.ca
***NEW WEBSITE***

www.brianblain.ca

PART-TIME (BARELY)MANAGING EDITOR
Downtown Jazz | Crescendo | MapleBlues
www.torontobluessociety.com
www.torontomusicians.org
www.torontojazz.com

Kicking off 08

It’s a New Year and I’m sending out my first Blainletter of 08. I know, I said I wasn’t going to be doing these blasts anymore but I keep getting such friendly feedback plus, several people came out to my gig at the Moonshine Café who would not have heard about it otherwise.

So let me tell you what’s coming up and encourage you to come out for one or more of the following exciting engagements:

Sunday afternoon at Hugh’s Room (the actual time is 1-4pm, regardless of what’s been published elsewhere) I’ll be repeating the popular “Blues Campfire” that I previously hosted at the Blues Summit and the OCFF Conference. This is a great warm-up to the Maple Blues Awards on Monday night and many of the nominees have indicated they would try to drop by including Dawn Tyler Watson, Danny Brooks, Little Miss Higgins as well as several visiting artists like Layla Zoe (from BC now settling in TO), Terry Gillespie (Ottawa) and Max Cann (UK). Danny Marks will be there too to keep me in line. The line-up will probably change because the nominees have a busy rehearsal schedule on Sunday but there will surely be some surprise guests, too. We only do a couple of songs each…yes, that includes me…but it’ll be a good time and a great opportunity to see some of your favourite blues artists playing some of their new tunes in a laid-back informal setting.

Next month I make a liitle trek to St Catharines on February 2 to guest with Mojo Willie at his regular Saturday Matinee at Fat Tony’s Pizzeria. Then on February 8, the Winterfolk Festival kicks off and I’ll be making a couple of appearances there. See myspace for gig details.

On New Year’s Eve I took some time to reflect on the year past and to cast the “runes” to give me a liitle hint for the future. This year I was encouraged to receive a message that this would be a “breakthrough” year. That was great to see because it was getting ridiculous – for the last few years, every time I did my runes, they told me “stand still”, “tread carefully” and the big one… “the seeds have been planted – now you must wait for the harvest.”

Maybe this will be the harvest. I can’t say I’ve been very aggressive about lining up gigs – in particular, festivals. But I’ve discovered something: Some years I’ve hustled and sent out packages to every festival and other years I’ve done nothing but I always end up doing 4 or 5 festival dates no matter how hard I tried (or not). Go figure. I guess this will be one of those “laissez faire” years but any festival bookers reading this are invited to see the Youtube clip I posted from last year’s Toronto Jazz Festival. Listen to those horns and tell me that is not a kick-ass band.

2007 ended with a great adventure – a big European tour with Kathi McDonald , Three weeks all over Germany as well as Switzerland and the Czech Republic then Amsterdam, Paris and the UK. You can read all about it on my blogspot (http://torontobluesdiary.blogspot.com). I really enjoy being a sideman, and especially when I get to play bass. Last week I had the opportunity to back up Mose Scarlett at Hugh’s room and what a pleasure it was. Even if I wasn’t able to keep up with some of those old jazz turnarounds, we were in the pocket and it was a pure delight. Maureen Brown was playing drums and she was most complimentary about my new tune “Forgotten”. It’s about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the musicians of New Orleans…but it relates how much they’ve contributed to American music and how little they received in return. Mo said it almost brought her to tears. I’ve got a bunch more new tunes and will hopefully get them onto a CD in the coming year. I’m about due.

Out and about: Last Saturday I was sitting at a big jazz event at the Convention Centre and found out after I left that three of the most important jazz festival directors were sitting directly in front of me. I could have slipped my package right into their purses and they would have had a nice surprise …or not. Sitting just a couple of rows in front of me was the legendary Quincy Jones and I couldn’t help watching his face as he received lots of accolades and as the “Jazz Masterworks” orchestra played some of his famous tunes. I felt sorry for the bass player who got off on the wrong foot (the wrong key?) at the beginning of “Q” medley. That must be tough when the composer is right there in the front row (probably thinking “I didn’t write that!”)

While at the Jazz Convention, I attended a Vocal “Masterclass” with Kurt Elling. His best quote of the day was “Improvisation is composition sped up, composition is improvisation slowed down – with an eraser.” Oliver Jones was being interviewed and spoke about choosing your material for the audience. “Never forget you’re playing for them,” he said, and he would always include familiar material “to give people a point of reference.” Then as he made his set list, he would choose the first, fourth and seventh song “for himself” and the rest for the audience. I won’t have that problem because practically the only songs I remember are the ones I wrote…and even then a verse might escape me.

I so wanted to attend the “walking bass” clinic but it was at 9am and that just didn’t work out. After the long-winded Jazz Masters presentations, I was ready to head home but Tierney Sutton was doing a showcase and I wanted to hear a couple of tunes (since she was my “cover girl” on the Downtown Jazz newsletter). Well even though I entered the theatre with a big fat headache (I hadn’t eaten since morning), I could leave until it was over – I was captivated with her unique take on some of the most banal standards. She was phenomenal, repeatedly getting the audience to their feet in the middle of a song and of course a lengthy standing-O at the end. Next night in the same theatre I was listening to some of that “out there” jazz and just couldn’t handle it any more so I high tailed it up to the Silver Dollar to see my fave – Duke Robillard and I was not disappointed. Now that’s virtuosity…with a groove!

Rumour of the week: Amos Garret’s next album is going to be all Percy Mayfield songs. That should be something special. Don’t know where I heard that…





Welcome to the Holiday Blainletter

I’m still decompressing from a month-long tour and happy to be back in Toronto hearing some great music and playing some too:

Friday, Dec 14
Brian Blain
Moonshine Café, Oakville
Show: 9pm $5.00


In January I’ll be making a couple of appearances at Toronto’s premier showcase room. Hugh’s Room (Jan 10 w/The Blues of Winterfolk and Jan 20 –noon- Brian’s Blues Campfire Brunch warm up for the Maple Blues Awards).

I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to play since I got back but I got to jam it up with Suzie Vinnick (and Rick Fines) at a birthday party last week. Despite skipping some fine functions like the Socan Awards and the Aboriginal Awards I heard some great music since I got back. Last Saturday Night it was the Women's Blues Revue. I have worked with most of those musicians at one time or another so I would not miss this for the world. Dawn Tyler Watson had the closing spot and she deserved it. Every singer was great but the one people will probably remember most is the 13-year old wunderkind, Nikki Yanofsky. Great review from Brad Wheeler:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071202.wblues1202/BNStory/Entertainment/home
I feel like I’m watching my family when I see those girls playing. Here’s a clip of Layla Zoe from the show that somebody shot from the balcony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZfiEBa7pss