Women's Blues Revue

The Women's Blues Revue is the biggest event of the year for the Toronto
Blues Society and it has a lot of history. I remember a few years back when Shelagh Rogers christened Rita Chiarelli Canada's "Goddess of the Blues". That label stuck to Rita like velcro. Last night Garvia Baily spontaneously coined the nickname Donna "Goddamn" Grantis and the audience was definitely in agreement at that moment. She had just ripped off another fiery solo, but other times she'd be playing a simple back up part and Suzie Vinnick would be doing a complimentary thang on her guitar and everything they did elevated the song.

The song selection, the worked-out,-thought-out arrangements, the impeccable musicianship, great back-up vocals, expecially by Lindsay Beaver - wow! It's impossible to pick a favourite of the six featured vocalists. I guess Kelly Lee Evans was the one that took me highest but each singer touched different sensors in my enjoyment of music. Tanika Charles kicked it off great and had the most intermission buzz and made a great first impression on a couple of thousand people. Sacha Williamson was a bit more cerebral but then kicked ass with a Koko Taylor song. I was thinking Sabrina Weeks was the only white girl in the group but of course she was not. Angel Forest from Quebec gave a real Performance (with a capital "P,") and Sabrina Weeks brought a lot of class and connected great with the audience. She's coming back to Toronto to be part of an Etta James Tribute...and while I think of it, Kellylee has a gig back at Massey Hall with Michael Kaeshammer in the near future).

I would think the biggest draw last night was Saida Baba Talibah who delivered a great blues set for the occasion but we all know she can take it into some very far out musical territory. All these singers brought something all their own to the event but I dare anyone to say there was "not enough blues" as we often heard after the WBR in the past.

I got a few comments as we left - one former participant who thought the sound sucked and a musical buddy who thought the drummer was rushing too much, but for those who didn't attend because they never heard of those singers, they really missed out this year. Doubly so, because this was the year that the CBC ended their long-standing arrangement to broadcast the event. It's the public's loss (and the musicians' too, since their paycheck was dramatically reduced).

Blainletter #57, November 23, 2012

Lots to talk about this month and none of it is about my upcoming gigs…because I don’t have any more this year. This works out well because after years and years of getting the nails of my right hand coated with some nasty (but very hard) goop, I am giving them a rest. I’ve got some great stories from the nail salon but I’ll spare you. Now I just have to be careful not to get carried away at some Christmas jam or I will be coming home with some shattered nails.

Happy American Thanksgiving and the Americans have plenty to be thankful for following that election. I happened to be in a hotel room at the Delta Chelsea with an American friend and he uttered an big sigh of relief when CNN called the election in favour of Obama. He runs a large arts organization which would have been crippled if not decimated by the cuts in arts & culture that Romney would have instituted (starting with Big Bird and PBS).

Welcome to some new Blainreaders and a special thanks to my 1000th Facebook friend, Steve Tennant of Perth, Ontario. It’s a significant milestone because unlike a lot of musicians, I actually know every single one of my Facebook friends. I’ve got a lot of friend requests from people I haven’t met – and I keep them in a holding pattern until the day I get to shake their hand. Call me old fashioned, as if anyone using social media is old fashioned…

I don’t send out a lot of friend requests myself, though today as I was looking through mutual friends on someone’s page, I saw Jane Lewis’ profile and impulsively sent a request and to my delight received an immediate confirmation. I don’t know her well but we’ve played together a couple of times and she has a beautiful voice and an other-worldly celestial quality that I recognize in many of the women friends in my life. I am surrounded by angels – I don’t know what I did to deserve it.

At the same time, I’m getting requests to my LinkedIn page from a lot of people I haven’t met and never will but I’m glad to connect with them and how nice to get a notification that Treasa Levasseur is “following” me on Twitter. And then another notification that a couple of musicianfriends are now following my music on something called Deezer. I’m not even sure what that is. I can’t keep up with this.



Playin’ with My Friends

I had a great time playing with my old cover band, Oliver Klaus, in Quebec on Halloween week-end. It was a reunion after nearly 40 years. Everybody dressed up like they did in the 70s – lots of tie-dye. And we played the same set list as we did in the 70s at the Terrace Inn. Lots of Beatle tunes, I Shot the Sheriff, Some Kind of Wonderful, Layla…had a lttle trouble remembering some of those tunes. Aqualung??

When I got home we had a little kitchen session at my place where Allan Fraser and Sue Lothrop sang together for the first time since they had the group Breakfast over 40 years ago. After Breakfast broke up, Allan hooked up with Daisy DeBolt and the rest is history – albeit a short chapter. But that carefree wild abandon that characterized F & DeB started with Allan and Sue. And here they were singing some of the same songs they sang back then. I wish I’d have called out a few of the old favourites – and those songs of Allan’s are so timeless, he’s still performing some of them to this day.

A few days later Russ Kelley showed up and we swapped songs around the kitchen table too – he’s having a CD release in Toronto on January 10 – venue to be confirmed. And the biggest thrill of all was doing a gig with my son the DJ (we call it BlainBlain). He was in town for a couple of weeks and we did a set (two laptops and a MIDI rig on my guitar) at his old dubstep haunt, Thymeless on College Street. It was fun but I hadn’t fired up the old Ableton Live in months and this re-energized me….and now he’s gone again but I’m trying to keep it going on the Ableton.



Maple Blues Awards

Voting for your favourite Canadian Blues artists is open until December 8 at www.mapleblues.ca. There is a very healthy roster of talent to choose from, so go support your favourites. I believe the JUNO awards also had a whole lot of submissions in the blues category this year so the Blues is alive and well in Canada – though you wouldn’t know it from the dearth of blues clubs in Toronto

One bright spot is the blues series at Dominion on Queen where I heard some fine music last month. Last Sat it was Dylan Wickens playing some solid blues and the week before I saw Robin Banks backed by Teddy Leonard – one of my favourite guitar players since I got to Toronto and my buddies Mike Fitzpatrick and Gary Kendall. It’s an overused expression but “it doesn’t get much better than that.” My friend Peter would agree and I had brought along my son Joel who was not previously inclined to go to a blues show but who was totally bowled over.



Sleepwalkin’

I also dragged Joel along to the Sleepwalk Guitar Festival where we saw some real guitar royalty including James Burton – who played with the King himself – and Albert Lee (who played with Eric Clapton (aka “God”). In fact, it was pointed out that the amazing final guitar solo on the live version of “Layla” was not EC but Albert. He had the quote of the day, too, when someone referred to how “fast” he played and he responded “I wasn’t trying to be the fastest guitarist, I was trying to be the cleanest guitarist” I think that’s what I was enjoying about Teddy Leonard – so clean, every note crystal clear, especially in the trimmed down 3-piece format.

There were lots of other great guitarists at Sleepwalk, not the least of which was our host & organizer Luke Doucet with his Gretch White Falcon. He was everywhere and there were even a few moments where he was a little out of his element like when he was interviewing James Burton and Burton started up one of the many hits he played on and after playing a chorus launched into a solo expecting Luke would know all the chord changes but when Luke stumbled a bit James just stopped the song. One more time around and I’m sure Luke would have got it but I guess that’s what it’s like in the big leagues. Not three chances, not two chances – you get it right the first time or you don’t get to play. That’s what it’s come to nowadays on the music scene – a flawless performance the first time around or leave the stage to someone who can (that ain’t me).

The pedal steel workshop was quite phenomenal. That many slides at one time is a recipe for a nightmare but when every player has an impeccable sense of pitch and timing it is a dreamy, surreal musical high. The star of the show, of course, was Cindy Cashdollar – a superstar of slide and she lived up to her reputation. Last time I saw her she was playing with Van Morrison and I remember watching her as she had to do a quick change of instruments and there was a little technical glitch and I never saw anyone move so fast – and Van Morrison waits for no man (or woman). I had a couple of friends on that stage, two local slidemeisters Burke Carrol and Bob Taillefer, and they held their own. Junior Brown was also on the bill and he puts on a great show. What a character. And I never thought guitarists of the caliber of Colin Linden and Kevin Breit would end up being mentioned last but they also played great…



More Out and About

Danny Brooks was up from his new home in Austin Texas to play the Gladstone and it was a delight hearing Danny. I remember one time playing on the same stage as him at the first Distillery Blues Festival. It was a mid-day set in scorching July sun on an uncovered stage and I was really sweating. Danny and his bass player Dennis found one of those big umbrellas and dragged it onto the stage between songs to give me a little cover. I think I suffered a little sunstroke that day, but at least I didn’t pass out on stage. Coming up in the Toronto Blues Society’s “First Thursdays” at the Gladstone are Harrison Kennedy (Dec 6), the Chuck Jackson Trio (Jan 3) and that great Montreal singer songwriter Rob Lutes (Feb 7).
Another notable show that I caught last month was a new artist called Whitney Rose. Michelle Josef plays on her new CD and asked me to come down to the Cameron House and check it out. Whitney’s got great energy and surrounds herself with some great players. In addition to Michelle she had Basil from Blue Rodeo on bass and Jim Cuddy’s son pounding on that old upright piano. And I musn’t forget there was some great blues played at Monarch’s Pub at a fundraiser for (another) one of my favourite guitarists, Kid Ramos, who has some serious health problems. The Canadian contingent came through and raised four grand to send to the “Kid.”



On Buying CDs

I can’t remember the last time I bought a CD…well, actually I do. It was probably ten years ago and it was a Gatemouth Brown CD – he’s my favourite blues guitarists and I bought this overpriced Japanese import…and it mostly him playing fiddle. Oh well… This time I was cashing in a gift certificate and I bought two CDs by a couple of other favourite guitarists, Magic Sam and Robben Ford. And this time I was not disappointed (and the CDs were half the price of Gatemouth)



Alice Brock’s Amazing Artwork

And as a special Thanksgiving treat, my friend Alice Brock went digging through her drawers and pulled out some great original pieces which she is offering for sale. Younger Blainreaders may not remember but Alice was the subject of a very long “Thanksgiving Story” called “Alice’s Restaurant” commemorated in song by Arlo Guthrie and in film by Arthur Penn. And you can hear my little ditty, “Another Song About Alice,” in the background when you play the slideshow of Alice’s original artwork. Check it out at http://alicebrock.phanfare.com/5844148. You can view her painted beach stones and prints as well as the original pieces at www.alicebrock.com



Cheesed about Mac & Cheese

I’ve always been the first to try every possible variation of my favourite comfort food, macaroni & cheese, and some have been excellent – though none compared with my mother’s which was made with Kraft slices and lots of milk – but the last couple of times I wasn’t reading the menu carefully and my beloved mac ‘n cheese came in blocks that were breaded and deep-fried. Sacrilege! (although serving in multiple cubes meant that it stayed hot till the last bite). But still…

As you can see, I’m running out of things to babble about so that’s all for tonight. Thanks for reading this far. Next time I’ll have a few gigs to report. BrianB

A Gathering of Folk

The OCFF (Ontario Council of Folk Festivals) Conference is a gathering of 600+ folkies, mostly young, earnest folksingers trying to get the attention of a handful of festival producers and a few other presenters. I didn't recognize hardly anybody on the list of "official" showcases but there are lots of other showcases, some sponsored by organizations like the Blues Society or Folk Music Canada and then many other "guerilla" showcases in hotel rooms, just a guy and a guitar with (maybe) a few people listening.I was parachuted in to host the Blues Society's official workshop when Danny Marks called in sick. I got to play a few tunes in between the showcasers and I believe I had a "moment" or two. As "band coach" Tom Jackson preaches at Music Week and/or NXNE, our job as artists is to "create moments" and it's true, that's what people take away with them.

The folk community's answer to Tom Jackson is Vance Gilbert and he's full of tips about how to stand and hold your guitar and he had the best quote of the week-end, "you'll get a lot richer selling guitars than playing guitars." I had never seen him in action - he's hilarious. I didn't get to take in much of the daytime activities since I was staying up so late and driving back and forth from Mississauga to TO. Friday night I didn't make it home till 6am.

I enjoyed playing bass at the 3am Campfire in HOTCHA's suite and didn't realize 'till after, that some of the folks that dropped in were big deals in their home territories (ie Australia). Bev was playing a solid snare and Howard had some great material that is not part of the usual HOTCHA repertoire. We rocked.

There were panels for first-timers, mentoring sessions, how to get your music into film & TV (don't bother, it's a closed shop) and getting an agent and manager (don't call us, we'll call you). One of the highlights was a photo exhibit from the golden age of coffee-houses. What a treat to see folks I knew looking so young and fresh (sort of like most of the attendees at the conference).

Here's me standing next to a pic of Allan Fraser & Sue Lothrop (aka Breakfast) who I managed in the 60s.

After the photo exhibit I slipped up to Russ Kelley's room with Sue and Bill Garrett and we had a wonderful session swapping songs from 40 years ago - one of which I didn't even remember writing (thank goodness Sue wrote it down)


The blues, neither the showcase nor the jam, were a big draw for the folkies, regrettable because it's such a big part of folk music - but maybe it's kinda like a poor cousin. No respect and not much interest. One of the official showcases was Sue Foley and Peter Karp and I got there in time to hear one acoustic tune and one electric tune. Karp did all the talking and most of the singing. Not very bluesy to my ears and short on the "Three E's" - Energy, Emotion and Engagement (hey, I just made this up).

Before them, I saw a tune by a singer-songwriter who looked good but sounded kinda generic to me. His name was Ian Sherwood and I mention him because a little bit later CBC honcho Ann MacKeigan came up and said "did you hear that guy?" I said I heard only one tune but she was admitedly quite touched by this guy's music. So there you go. If you ever get discouraged because there's only 20 people in a room that holds 200, remember one of them might be Ann MacKeigan. That's the nature of "industry showcases" like this.

I didn't apply for any showcase, never have, and it's my feeling that showcasing at this (and most) music conferences is not really worth it unless people already want to see you (I'll let you know when I get there). If you keep applying over and over you might eventually get accepted but then you will be put in a time slot that is not likely to have a lot of traffic It's up to you to bring your own traffic, like every other gig in the music business. A play at a big festival can look great in your press kit but what's the point if you're on the big stage at 11 in the morning before the audience gets there.

Following the event, I saw a lot of discussion on the internet about the "app" and I depended on it quite a bit because I didn't get my hands on a printed program book until Saturday when I collected my goodie bag. Many said last year's app was better - I can't compare because I didn't have a smartphone last year but I am a great admirer of Trevor Mills, who developed it. Both Trevor and Favequest, the quys who did this year's app, have created boilerplates so that they don't have to re-invent the wheel for every client. Of course, this means there will be limitations but it keeps the cost down. In the case of Favequest, they had 3 models and I think the one we used was the most basic (for which they charge $900/yr). The schedule was good but It had only bios for the "official" showcasers and in this age we expect every occurrence of an artist's name hot-linked to a bio/description. And while we're at it, each occurrence of a venue should be hot linked to a map/directions of how to get there. I got lost on the way to the conference centre and I got lost once I got there and was nearly late for my hosting duties.

Like all these events it's mostly musicians playing for musicians and what's wrong with that? It was a veritable love-in for the folk community.

Remembering Kathi McDonald

Kathi Mcdonald was one of the all-time great female vocalists in rock,blues and R&B. She passed away yesterday, apparently slipped into a coma and never came out.

She had an incredible resume, which you can see elsewhere, but there was a bit of a Canadian connection via Long John Baldry who toured with her for maybe 20 years. Baldry's band always had a few Canadians, Papa John King, Butch Coulter, Al Webster band many others including yours truly when I subbed for Papa John in Brampton or Brantford. Kathi & John made some classic recordings and the bands gave some unforgettable shows. I toured Germany with Kathi & Butch Coulter for 3 weeks in 09 and I could see in every venue we played there were framed pictures or posters of Baldry and Kathi was treated like royalty.

I must share my introduction to Kathi McDonald: I arrived in Frankfurt for this German tour a few hours before Kathi. I was settled in my hotel room and asked the desk to let me know when Miss McDonald arrived. I received a call later "There seems to be a problem. Miss McDonald says her bag has been stolen." She got on the phone, speaking so fast I could really understand what she was saying then she told me to meet her in room 3-something and when I got there, she had stuff spread all over the bed & floor and was sobbing "It's gone! It's all gone, my passport, my money, my jewelry, my pictures...my phone book!! All those numbers... Peter Frampton's fucking home number..."

I'm thinking "this tour is over before it even started" and "How are we going to tell Butch?" but then she says "Oh fuck it, let's go get a drink." We go around the block, she has a couple of Cuba Libre and I have a slice of pizza then we make our way back to the hotel. We get into the tiny cage elevator and I accidentally push the button for the second floor (she was on the third floor and I was on the fourth floor). The elevator door opens on the second floor and I see a small bag and a purse on the floor and say "Kathi, is that your stuff?" She's incredulous. Obviously as she was loading in her stuff (and she had many bags) she brought the two most important ones up to what she thought was her floor (in her jet-lagged state) and dropped them while she got the rest.

That was just the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime, with musical highs that I will cherish forever. I have have played alongside some great singers but never experienced anyone with a voice like that. I think I heard somewhere that she was Etta James' favourite singer. She was many singers' favourite singer. Another memory from that tour - on one of the last gigs, as I was basking in the applause after my little feature spot in the show, she leaned into my ear and said "you know it would be nice if you could learn a couple of words of German for moments like this..." Danke schön, Kathi

Blainletter #56, October 2, 2012

Over the past few weeks I have been taken back to my days with Fraser & DeBolt (60s & 70s). Last week I had the great joy to play with Allan Fraser a couple of times (he borrowed my guitar and I’ve still got his setlist taped to the side). On Thursday, Oct 4th, TOMORROW NIGHT, the Blues Campfire Jam at the Record Vault (7-11pm) will be dedicated to the memory of Daisy DeBolt who passed away exactly a year on that day. I’m hoping some musos who were inspired by Daisy will drop by. I just uploaded a music video she made in 1986. Dig it:

All Daisy’s friends, musical or otherwise are invited to Naomi Tyrell's on Sunday afternoon, October 21st (2-6pm), for a memorial pot-luck.

I’ve also been asked to host the Blues Campfire Jam at the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference in Mississauga on the week-end of October 12th. I’ve done this a few times before and I’ve met some fabulous musicians from all over Canada and beyond and we always have a great time. Unfortunately it’s only for the registered delegates.

The other half of Fraser & DeBolt, Allan Fraser has been spending a little more time in Toronto and we had a few opportunities to play together in the last couple of weeks. I just uploaded a tune from our impromptu appearance at Robert Priest’s regular Tranzac matinee. Impromptu for me, I’ll say, because when Allan starts playing you can watch my face as I’m trying to figure out what tune he just started. It was “This Storm Shall Surely Pass,” a tune I remembered because it was on the Fraser & DeBolt album I produced back in the 70s, but I don’t remember playing it in an awfully long time – and I don’t think I ever played bass on it.



But here you can watch me trying to sing along and it’s amazing that I remembered as many words as I did. It’s a testimony to Allan’s songwriting that his lyrics are so memorable. Twice in the last few months I’ve been in some casual song circles where somebody pulled out “Dance Hall Girls” and everybody knows the tune well enough to sing along. It’s a Canadian folk classic…it should be in the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. It’s on the new album by John Oates (of Hall & Oates) and that should give the tune a little international bumpf. Allan needs to get out and play more and if there’s anyone out there who can help, feel free to contact me. Allan is also looking for someone to help administer his catalogue and find an appropriate publisher. He’s got a whack of great songs.

Back to the Terrace Inn
Meanwhile, I’m preparing for the reunion concert with another pioneering group that I worked with in the 70s. Oliver Klaus was a “brother band” who had their own recording studio and record label back in the late 60s in the Eastern Townships. I wrote a song about my days with the Klaus and the bar where we played all summer, The Terrace Inn. The annual reunion concert will take place Saturday, October 27 at the Maison de La Culture in Waterloo, Quebec. Because it’s Halloween week, they’re making it a costume party and asking everyone to dress up like it was the 70s. I haven’t thought of my costume yet, but I’ve been running over some of the tunes. We’ll be playing all the same tunes we were doing back then, I Shot The Sheriff, Back in the USSR, Free Ride, Layla, Band on the Run….oh boy! And of course I’ll be singing “Terrace Inn.” Here’s a clip of me doing it at the last reunion – we’re going to try to rehearse it this time:



New Folk Blues 2.0
October 5 is exactly 2 years since we recorded “New Folk Blues.” It was just George Koller and moi, “live” at Reba’s Café. It is now becoming my “living” album and in the last few months we’ve made some great strides towards “New Folk Blues 2.0.” We’ve done a couple of “sweetening” sessions already and a couple more will happen in the next few months. You won’t recognize it! A big thank-you to those who have funded (and continue to fund) this recording project. I couldn’t do it without you.

Out and About
The Southside Shuffle is the last blues festival of the season around here and I was only able to catch the last day since I was gigging on the Friday and it was raining on the Saturday. They have definitely downsized as we noted with a drastically smaller programme and no big-ticket mainstage concerts. Still, I rather liked the new set-up in the park. They had two stages at one end of the park and two stages at the other end. Sound bleed was minimal and with the quick switch to the neighbouring stage, the music was pretty well continuous. They were charging $5 to get into the park. It is the harsh reality of the blues scene today that you can find world-class, award-winning artists playing to a handful of people. Harrison Kennedy is all the more authentic now that he’s playing a banjo and Michael Pickett had us believing he was on a chain gang in some southern cotton field with his soulful performance. But nothing could be more soulful than the Levy sisters backing up Ken Whiteley. He had a great new composition called “God is Bigger Than That.” Ken noted that at this time last year he was in a coma in the hospital and many of us wondered if he’d ever be back on stage (he must have wondered, too) but here he was sounding great and…well, inspiring. I also got to hear Bill Johnson again…one hard-working bluesman, and it will take a lot of hard work to make a buzz in this town even if you are a big deal out west. The unassuming Julian Fauth was pounding the keys in a restaurant patio and he was sounding great. Another great artist that we tend to take for granted (maybe because you can see him playing in this town just about any night of the week) I sure look forward to playing with him again. It was a lot of great home-grown blues for one Sunday afternoon.

Last Saturday I made it out to Nuit Blanche, a huge event that transforms downtown Toronto into one big art installation. I skipped last year, even though I really wanted to see Daniel Lanois’ project) so this year I made a special effort but I ran out of steam quite early and what I saw was...underwhelming. Walking up Bay street we were able to enjoy the free cotton candy – that was a good start, I guess. Projections on (and inside) City Hall were pretty amazing but the undergound Museum of the End of the World was downright lame. If it was meant to be dark and depressing, it worked. In fact the whole theme of the night seemed to be apocalyptic. I guess we’ll see on Dec 21st whether the Mayans were right about the end of the world. We cut the night short with cocktails in the Lobby Bar at the Ritz Carleton. Cotton candy and a $16 martini, that’s how I’m going to remember Nuit Blanche.

Thanks for reading this far. I’m trying to keep the Blainletter a little shorter but I’m adding pics & vids, which if they don’t display in this email, you can watch at www.brianblain.ca

Here’s the deets on the gigs:

Thursday, October 4, 7-11pm, The Record Vault, 2156 Queen St East (just east of Glen Manor Road). Brian’s Blues Campfire - special edition, dedicated to the memory of Daisy DeBolt. PWYC

Wednesday October 10, 5-8pm Gate 403, 403 Roncesvales. Toronto The Blain-Davis-Gould Blues Trio PWYC

Friday, October 12, 11:30-2am, hosting the Blues Campfire Jam at the OCFF Conference, Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre, Mississauga. Delegate badge required

Saturday, October 27, 8pm Maison de La Culture, 441, rue de la Cour, Waterloo, Quebec (450) 539-4764. Annual reunion of Oliver Klaus. It will also be a Halloween Party (dress like you did in the 70s) $29 (tax included)

Blainletter # 55, August 30, 2012

As usual, I’m scrambling to get out this Blainletter the day before a gig. It never fails...

Upcoming Shows

Friday, Aug 31 8pm Musideum at 401 Richmond. I'll be sitting in with guitarist Bob Cohen for his monthly "Bobpalooza." This is a gem of a venue, a tiny place full of musical instruments and a beautiful grand piano. $10 (or PWYC)i

Friday, Sept 7 8pm Moonshine Café, Kerr St, Oakville Brian’s Blues Campfire comes to Oakville. Robert Davis will be joining me and hopefully a few locals. All musicians welcome. $5 for non-players

Wednesday Sept 12, 5-8pm Gate 403, 403 Roncesvales. Toronto The Blain-Davis-Gould Blues Trio (also playing Oct 10) PWYC

Thursday, September 20, The Record Vault, Queen St East. Brian’s Blues Campfire. This new vinyl emporium wants to inject some live music into those walls and they’ve got the perfect back room for it. I’ll be bringing along a few friends and maybe a few Beaches musicians will come sit in. PWYC

Saturday, October 27, Maison de La Culture, 441, rue de la Cour, Waterloo, Quebec (450) 539-4764. This is the annual reunion concert for my old band in the Townships, Oliver Klaus. It will also be a Halloween Party (dress like you did in the 70s) $29 (tax included). Here I am with the Klaus at last year's reunion

So what else is going on?

Just back from Cape Cod where I had a wonderful time. There were some big ticket shows in the area (including the Newport Jazz Festival) but I just haven't been motivated enough to get out, even though I would have loved to see Tedeschi-Trucks again (btw, everywhere you go in Mass, there’s a Tedeschi grocery store or gas station). I did get to a couple of free park concerts by some locals. There was a top-notch bluegrass/country group called Toast & Jam and one was a trio of old geezers singing songs like “Roll Out the Doobie” (to the tune of “Roll Out the Barrel”) and “Why did they bust Willie Nelson?”

Musical highlight was jamming with my old buddy Scott Billington and a genuine guitar hero, Bill Kirchen (aka the Titan of the Telecaster). He plays with Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello and reacoded with many greats like Maria Muldaur. If you remember Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, that was Bill). Scott, a great harmonica player as well as a prolific record producer led us in a version of "Baby Elephant Walk" by Henry Mancini (it's not that removed from a 12-bar blues).

The “lowlight” (if such a word exists) was a very rocky ride on the fast-boat from Boston harbour to P-town which immediately followed a bowl of “iffy” clam chowder – not a good combo. Now I’ve got a new blues moniker, “Seasick Blain.”

With my borrowed Gibson, I actually played for an hour or so outside one of the shops on Commercial Street in Provincetown (I hope this admission doesn’t get me in trouble with the US Homeland Security police). I believe that’s the first time in my nearly fifty-years of playing that I have ever “busked.” Hell, I spent ten years being a judge for the TTC Subway Musician Auditions and I’ve got the swag to prove it, but now I know what it feels like. It’s hard work. You can’t walk 100 feet down Commercial Street without running into a busker or a barker (the rule for buskers is that your sound must not travel more than 50 feet). Cops patrol on Segways. Oh yeah, I made 14 bucks – not enough to pay for the lobster dinner but it covered the appetizer.

The Cape Cod Blues



Here’s a little tune I wrote during my last couple of days on the Cape on a borrowed guitar (thank-you Jennifer). I made this clip in the backyard on a Sony Bloggie that they were giving away to guests at the casino. I started to write about the shark attack in Truro near Provincetown (It was headline news in Toronto) but I think I got a little carried away. I don’t think the Cape Cod tourism bureau will be using it in their marketing, but maybe it will become an anti-tourism anthem for the residents who wish people would stay away – Their narrow little Route 6 (which starts here and ends in California) is mostly clogged to gridlock and the main street in Provincetown is a crush of people with cars and bikes trying to snake their way through. There's a very different vibe in a town like this, where originally the only way to get there was by boat. There were no roads up the Cape all the way to Provincetown until long after it was settled. I just learned that Provincetown was the real landing place of the pilgrims, but when they got a closer look they just got back on the boat and continued across the bay to Plymouth Rock.

I had hoped to check out the Farnham Blues Festival in the Townships and then I found myself driving past Kingston on the opening night of the Limestone Blues Festival, but alas I wasn’t able to take in either of them.

Out and About

Upon my return to Toronto, I was intent on seeing the band that won the Blues Society’s Talent Search, Irene Torres and the Sugar Devils so Tuesday night I made it down to Lou Dawgs and I was not disappointed (well, I was a little disappointed in the fries!). This band is going places. I’ve played with drummer Andrew Austin a couple of times and he’s got the groove. Kudos to them and also to the musicians chosen to represent the Toronto Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Suzie Vinnick and Paul Reddick (two folks I’ve enjoyed playing with in the past).

Just before heading to Mass, I took in the Beaches Jazz fest. I never miss this event (though this is the first time I missed the media launch) but I got down to Woodbine Park on the first week-end - it's just a short walk from my place. I didn't see a whole lot but David Rotundo with Enrico and Alberto, two killer Italian guitarists. Also caught Treasa Levasseur's set and was glad I did because I missed her when she opened for George Benson at Toronto Jazz (apparently she sold more CDs than anyone in the HMV tent). On the Thursday night, I took in the Streetfest - I do not usually venture onto the streetfest on the week-end when it's too much of a crush, but I did go back Saturday and stayed at the east end of Queen St. to hang out with the soulful Terry Gillespie and a solid stripped-down trio but with two very slick acts on either side of him. One was Sultans of String who have a great show and have now broken into the soft-seater market. On the other side was Jeannie Mackie (Sp?) who I never see out on the circuit but who had a first class production and an A-list of sidemen including Rob Gusevs and Gary Taylor. Their material was kinda generic but they played great. Terry on the other hand always takes you on a unique musical journey.

It seemed like there was an army of cops on the street, with four at every intersection, one or two at every stage and many more circulating. I was thinking the bill for off-duty cops must have been staggering but then I noticed that most of them had the uniform and lots of stuff on their belt - but no gun. Then I looked more carefully and saw that they had an "Auxiliary Police" badge on their shoulder - and many of them looked like they were still in high-school. I suppose their hourly rate is considerably less than off-duty cops with guns.

I had they feeling that there was some belt tightening at the Beaches: you could tell from the line-up - mostly local bands - and the hospitality backstage was not what it used to be. No more chicken...but I enjoyed a sausage and a slice of watermelon.

As I walked towards Queen and Woodbine I was hearing a caucophony of drums but when I got close up I realized it was Rick Lazar's Samba Squad and it was a trip to watch them. A real cross-section of society banging on drums, tambourines and cowbells with some pretty intricate arrangements. As I walked a little further there was a bigger crowd for a violinist and I figured out right away that this was the local legend, Dr Draw (??) who I had been told would consistently pack the street to the extent that it was impossible to get through his crowd. Further down I saw more of David Rotudo where I shot a little video clip of Enrico Crivallero playing on his back on the street - hope he didn't wreck that nice shirt.

There was a great photo exhibit in a tent and I'm happy to report that my friend "Dawk" McCarthy won first prize in the competition for his photo of Shrimp Daddy. Dawk has taken some great pics of me over the years and he's got a keen eye.

Sherrie Williams closed out the Saturday mainstage and I have to say I was kinda underwhelmed - maybe it's because her piano player didn't make it across the border and I imagine he was a big part of the show, especially the gospel-flavoured numbers where she starts to testify a bit. You needed that piano/organ noodling in the backgroud to really get the feeling that you're in church. She showed her irritation when she commented cynically "You Canadians can feel well protected from anyone who might have had a DUI conviction in his youth or got behind in his child-support payments"

On the other hand, Johnny Rawls, who closed out the Sunday show, was the consumate pro - grabbing the audience from the moment he hit the stage and right through to the end where he had to introduce the band members and obviously didn't know the names of the two Toronto ringers, Gary Kendall and Michael Fonfara who may or may not have been there because of border hassles. Once he figured out their first names, he introduced "Gary from Mobile, Alabama" and Mike from some place in Mississippi. Pretty funny but very professional, now that I think about it. He didn't want his audience to know they were getting anything less than the full blown Johnny Rawls show. And, of course, Gary and Michael pulled it off great. Very solid, entertaining set. I started out the Saturday afternoon in the beer area but with a PA that seemed a little underpowered, I couldn't hear a word that Bill King was saying as he talked about his guest vocalist.

Friday I missed the action because I played a solo gig at the Hockley Resort. I've played there a couple of times with Larry Kurtz and now I was subbing for him. My experience there has never been very fulfilling because you drive a long way to play for people who couldn't care less. This time it was a little better because most of the audience consisted of a huge family reunion and a few of them were right into the music. Once they had left, though, I had one table left at the back for the last half hour and I was getting pretty tired. There was a nice comfy couch right next to where I was playing and I toyed with the idea of moving over and playing from the couch but then I remembered this is the place where I got in trouble with the gal who booked me because one of the staff had reported to management that I had fallen asleep on stage :-) I tried to explain that I play with my eyes closed and I guess I might have been just noodling along with my looper because as I recall there was only one couple who were not remotely interested in the music and a bartender that just wanted to go home. Anyway, I wasn't about to stretch back on that couch and take a chance that I might get too comfortable...

Brian’s “Living Album” update

I know it’s moving pretty slowly, but we got into the studio last month (the wonderful Canterbury Sound). Clayton Doley (now back in Australia, boo-hoo) did some beautiful Hammond organ overdubs on a few tracks and next month we’ll be giving a couple of tunes the “bluesgrass” treatment. New Folk Blues 2.0 should be out for Christmas. You’ll be the first to know.

Thanks for reading this far, and a special thanks to those of you who come up to me on the street and say how much you enjoy the Blainletter. If it weren’t for you I probably wouldn’t bother. As I’ve whined previously, I am now semi-retired, which means I’ll come out and play if invited but I’m through groveling for gigs. That’s for the youngsters whose career is mostly ahead of them.

Beaches Jazz: I never miss this event (though this is the first time
I missed the media launch) but i got down to Woodbine Park on the
first week-end - it's just a short walk from my place. I didn't see a
whole lot but David Rotundo with Enrico and Alberto, two killer
Italian guitarists. Also caught Treasa Levasseur's set and was glad I
did because I missed her when she opened for George Benson at Toronto
Jazz (apparently she sold more CDs than anyone in the HMV tent).

On the Thursday night, I took in the Streetfest - I do not usually
venture onto the streetfest on the week-end when it's too much of a
crush, but I did go back Saturday but started at the east end of Queen
St. and stayed there to hang out with Terry Gillespie, who had to very
slick acts on either side of him. One was Sultans of String who have
a great show and have now broken into the soft-seater market. On the
other side was Jeannie Mackie (Sp?) who I never see out on the circuit
but who had a first class production and an A-list of sidemen
including Rob Gusevs and Gary Taylor. The material was kinda generic
but they played great. But Terry plays with so much heart and has
such an original take on the blues that even in a trimmed-down trio,
he takes you on a great musical journey.

It seemed like an army of cops on the street, with four at every
intersection, one or two at every stage and many more circulating. I
was thinking the bill for off-duty cops must have been staggering but
then I noticed that most of them had the uniform and lots of stuff on
their belt - but no gun. Then I looked more carefully and saw that
they had a "Auxiliary" on their shoulder badges - and many of them
looked like they were still in high-school. I suppose their hourly
rate is considerably less than off-duty cops with guns.

I had they feeling that there was some belt tightening at the Beaches:
you could tell from the line-up - mostly local bands - and the
hospitality backstage was not what it used to be. No more
chicken...but I enjoyed a sausage and a slice of watermelon.

As I walked towards Queen and Woodbine I was hearing a caucophony of
drums but when I got close up I realized it was Rick Lazar's Samba
Squad and it was a trip to watch them. A real cross-section of
society banging on drums, tambourines and cowbells with some pretty
intricate arrangements. As I walked a little further there was a
bigger crowd for a violinist and I figured out right away that this
was the local legend, Dr Draw (??) who I had been told would
consistently pack the street to the extent that it was impossible to
get through his crowd. Further down I saw more of David Rotudo where I
shot a little video clip of Enrico Crivallero playing on his back on
the street - hope he didn't wreck that nice shirt.

There was a great photo exhibit in a tent and I'm happy to report that
my friend "Dawk" McCarthy won first prize in the competition for his
photo of Shrimp Daddy. Dawk has taken some great pics of me over the
years and he's got a keen eye.

Sherrie Williams closed out the Saturday mainstage and I have to say I
was kinda underwhelmed - maybe it's because her piano player didn't
make it across the border and I imagine he was a big part of the show,
especially the gospel flavoured numbers where she starts to testify a
bit. You needed that piano/organ noodling in the backgroud to really
get the feeling that you're in church. She showed her irritation when
she commented cynically "You all can feel well protected from anyone
who might have had a DUI conviction in his youth or got behind in his
child-support payments"

On the other hand, Johnny Rawls who closed out the Sunday show, was
the consumate pro - grabbing the audience from the moment he hit the
stage and right through to the end where he had to introduce the band
members and obviously didn't know the names of the two Toronto
ringers, Gary Kendall and Michael Fonfara who may or may not have been
there because some of his band also had trouble getting into the
country. Once he figured out their first names at least he made up
their hometowns and introduced "Gary from Mobile, Alabama" and Mike
from some place in Mississippi. Pretty funny but very professional,
now that I think about it. He didn't want his audience to know they
were getting anything less than the full blown Johnny Rawls show.
And, of course, Gary and Michael pulled it off great. Very solid,
entertaining set. I started out the Saturday afternoon in the beer
area but with a PA that seemed a little underpowered, I couldn't hear
a word that Bill King was saying as he talked about his guest
vocalist, Stacy...

Friday I missed the action because I played a solo gig at the Hockley
Resort. I've played there a couple of times with Larry Kurtz and now
I was subbing for him. My experience there has never been very
fulfilling because you drive a long way to play for people who
couldn't care less. This time it was a little better because most of
the audience consisted of a huge family reunion and a few of them were
right into the music. Once they had left, though, I had one table
left at the back for the last half hour and I was getting pretty
tired. There was a nice comfy couch right next to where I was playing
and I toyed with the idea of moving over and playing there but then I
remembered this is the place where I got in trouble with the gal who
booked me because one of the staff had reported to management that I
had fallen asleep on stage :-) I tried to explain that I play with my
eyes closed and I guess I might have been just noodling along with my
looper because as I recall there was only one couple who were not
remotely interested in the music and a bartender that just wanted to
go home. Anyway, I wasn't about to stretch back on that couch and
take a chance that I might get too comfortable...

Blainletter 54, July 12, 2012

Music On At The Moment: Sugar Camp Music with Steve Fruitman. This was a live-in-studio session we recorded last month at CIUT. My oldest musical buddy, Allan Fraser was Steve Fruitman’s special guest on this one-hour special. They talked about Fraser & DeBolt and they sure talkied a lot about me… then Allan played a batch of tunes in the sweltering Map Room of Hart House at the University of Toronto accompanied by guitarist Bob Cohen, Joel Axler on piano and myself on bass. You can listen to the archived show here: http://www.backtothesugarcamp.com/sc21.html

Great to see (er, hear) live music sessions on the radio – last night I heard Danny Marks with Rita Chiarelli and Donnie Walsh live from the jazz.fm performance space. I don’t think Mother CBC is going to be doing as much live music recording with their budget cuts so it’s good that private and community radio are prepared to take the extra trouble of bringing real live musicians into the studio and letting them play.

When the Sugar Camp ended I heard Suzie Vinnick’s new CD on John Valenteyn’s radio show and it sounded great – in fact her little guitar, Mabel, never sounded so good. And it’s just her. If you’re reading this in Thurs 12 July, her CD launch is TONITE at Hugh’s Room. That’s where I’m headed later tonight.

Last weekend I did a lot of walking as Afrofest was in my neighbourhood and simultaneously the Festival of South Asia was in full flight at the foot of my street. Maybe there were some outstanding artists from the mother country but all I saw was more like a fashion show or Bollywood dancer exercises. And even Afrofest, where I usually discover some phenomenal music, was musically not to my liking – Mind you the stage caught fire when Madagascar Slim (as part of the African Guitar Summit) tore up the Woodbine Park with some searing blues guitar solos. That’s right, it wasn’t at Queen’s Park this year, and though they’ll never admit it, Woodbine might be a better home for this growing festival. It’s the first time I’ve seen this park working at capacity. It’s quite pathetic looking when there’s only a few hundred people in front of the stage.

Jazzfest redux: I already posted some daily blogs during the Toronto Jazz Festival but in case you don’t check in regularly at brianblain.ca, I’ll work my way backwards from the closing night with Tower of Power. They get the “blew my mind and I never expected” prize. I didn’t know much about the band but recently had seen a DVD on them. And also around the same time, I received the Tedechi-Trucks live double CD and I listened once but was not affected anywhere near what I experienced live with both of those bands. Tower of Power so tight because they’ve been together 42 years and the Tedeschi-Trucks because they put together a dream band of players who are all equal in virtuosity to the phenomenal Derek Trucks. The ticket price bore witness to the high cost of A-list sidemen and extra rehearsal time (I’m assuming). They have mastered the flow of energy from song to song just as every Derek Trucks solo builds and builds to the point where he’s got everybody on their feet.

In contrast with Tedeschi-Trucks who arrived with two tour buses and 2 semi-trailers of gear (which couldn’t even turn onto Nathan Phillips Square), next day Canadian blues buzz-act Matt Andersen arrived on the site by himself with his guitar and a Long & McQuade plastic bag with a set of strings and a Boss tuner. He then proceeded to change his strings 20-minutes before showtime – yikes! That’s something most of us guitar players would be very reluctant to do. He must have stretched them out pretty good because he didn’t have any tuning trouble and he tore through a great set for maybe 500 fans. He’s still a gentle, unassuming character for someone who’s now in the big leagues. Joan Osborne played first and did her hit (what if God….) but I didn’t really feel a connection with her music. Mind you, I loved what she did with the Funk Brothers.

I wanted to go back up to the Orbit Room to hear Donna Grantis. The previous night I went up with Clayton and Colleen Allen was the special guest. Colleen was playing great, with lots of sax/guitar doubling. Clay sat in for a tune and I tried to corner the very-busy Colleen for a recording session. Saida Baba Talibah and her other guitarist, Hill, arrived to jam but I just had to head home.

I was thrilled to hear Trombone Shorty again, since the last time they came to town (a show that Downtown Jazz presented at the Opera House) there was such a crowd in the place there was no oxygen and then after imbibing a little too much (and it doesn’t take much imbibing to get me over the edge) I felt the need to sit down and there were no chairs anywhere. I stepped outside and “when I regained consiousness…” I must have written about this in a previous blog, but the joke around the festival HQ now was that they brought back Shorty so I could get a chance to see the show. I’m sure there were some other factors...

Saida Baba Talibah did the opening set – I caught only the last couple of tunes (though I could hear the rumble from the media trailer). Turns out a lot of the low-end was coming from Tuba Joe, from NYC. We had a nice chat after and he was explaining his rig – how he gets a tuba to sound like a punchy Fender bass. We got talking so much that I never made it over to the Spectrum Road show at the Sound Academy. I heard that show rocked, though I must say that Jack Bruce is not a bass hero (at least not to other bass players). On the other hand, the glamorous, gorgeous and super-talented Esperanza Spalding would qualify as today’s bass “goddess.” Two of the top players in town were certainly entranced and I don’t think they would mind if I named them: David Woodhead and Henry Heilig. I found that Esperanza’s music kinda went over my head as did her opening artist Gretchen Palato (sp?). Her spontaneous duet with Esperanza at the encore was the highlight but her music also escaped me. I will remember her more for the delicious cookies she left behind in the media trailer

I caught some of the 5-o’clock show and it was a loving tribute to George Shearing played by some local musos who played with George a lot, Reg Schwager, Don Thomson, and Neil Swainson. The played perfect recreations of the “Shearing sound” with piano and vibes playing the same lines.

George Benson played amazing guitar and was positively chatty with the crowd, finally stopping himself “hey, I came here to play guitar!” I made my way out halfway through his set, but ended up talking with the Treasa Levasseur gang outside the tent (she opened the show) so I heard him changing gears into a more acoustic sound but I was trying to get down to the Opera House for Soul Rebels, a New Orleans horn band produced by my friend Scott Billington. They did great and made lots of new fans in Toronto. They’re getting the big push so you’ll be hearing more of them. Before Benson I was at the sold out show for guitar god Bill Frisell at Harbourfront and what grabbed my attention right away was the immense respect for him that the audience was radiating. Almost religious. Everybody felt like it was a privilege for them to be in this space about to be transported into another realm, and they were. It started out with spacey guitar sounds and special effects – not unlike some new-age mood music that jazz fans would typically dismiss – but then a Beatles melody would appear in the mix and he would take it to another place and of course the guitar playing was exquisite. Many years ago I walked out of a Bill Frisell show because it was just so atonal (and so loud) that I couldn’t take it. All is forgiven now, Bill.

I won’t dwell on Monday (aka Black Monday) when many artists who were supposed to be playing in Toronto were stranded at the airport in New York including the guitarist from Los Amigos Invisibles, Roberta Gambarini’s pianist (the amazing Dave Restivo filled in and saved the day) and Natalie Cole and her band (nobody could sub for her!). I had never heard of Los Amigos Invisibles, or Robert Glasper who played later that night but both shows were sold out (Glasper had a second show added and that was a good example of social media in action – they packed the house for a last-minute midnight show at the Wrongbar). And then there was my man, Roy Hargrove. He couldn’t give a bad show if he tried (and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s tried on occasion). I was standing right next to him as he was getting his horns out of the case to jump on stage and I wanted to say “Hey remember the time we jammed the blues together at the Rex?” but I restrained myself. He is always amazing and surrounds himself with the top players on the planet.

I dropped in to the after hours jam at the Now Lounge with organist Clayton Doley but there was no one there except myself, Clayton, one other table with two guys, and host Ken Skinner. Ken and bass player did a few tunes and then got the two fellows that were sitting there to play a couple of tunes. I asked the piano player his name but of course I’ve forgotten it – Patrick Hewen, maybe. I think they were from Montreal and they played some pretty “official” jazz. Ken is a helluva player – I hadn’t seen him play in a long time. He invited me to come back with my guitar and I did put my guitar in the car next day but never mad it back.

Somebody I didn’t want to miss was the extraordinary pianist Hiromi. Last time I saw her she was with bass guru Stanley Clarke and I remember him walking over to the piano with his electric bass guitar and trading riffs with her with their faces just inches apart. The intensity was unbelievable. The energy was still there this time, but did not get to the level I remember with Stanley (mind you, she had a wonderful 6-string bassist this time). I skipped out of Bad Plus to see nearly a whole show of Mike Stern – I’d only seen a song here and there and I was determined to get the whole experience this time. I was not disappointed – he is a guitar wizard, and like so many bands I’ve seen this week, he had a drummer that was phenomenal. I usually make my exit when there’s a long drum solo – you know it’s going to be a long one when all the other players leave the stage – but these drummers this week are so musical, you are captivated. You can’t go anywhere.

I started the day with a couple of matinees in clubs up north. Saw my old bandmate Roberta Hunt doing a great New Orleans tribute (with my new favourite female sax player, Alison Young) then up to Chalkers to hear Fern Linzdon, who I have met a couple of times but never seen. Rob Fogle was in the audience and said “don’t you get a nosebleed coming this far north?” It’s true, I don’t make my way past Eglinton very often).

The kick off concert with Janelle Monae was amazing - people loved it but it was a real torture test for the sound system. I never heard so much kick drum coming out of those speakers. Lots of bass (just the way my son the DJ likes it) - I went for ear plugs, which I rarely do (I rarely remember to bring them) - but this time I needed them if I was going to be standing in front of those speakers. She had her own guy doing the sound and he loved his kick drum. He made it the centerpiece of the sound. I think I saw a slightly pained look on Brad, our long-time front-of-house engineer. The jazz festival tent has always been renowned for a “natural” sound. The piano sounds like a big piano in a big living room. Vocals are clear and you never hear “the box.” Still, Janelle is a great artist – and she proved it (literally) when she did an instant canvas live on stage…I captured a little bit on my video camera (hope I don’t get in trouble). I wondered what an easel was doing in the production trailer... At the end of the show she asked who was having a birthday and when a young woman's ID was verified she became the proud and delighted owner of a Janelle Monae canvas. Now that's how you nurture fans!



The festival started with this (barely)managing editor and intermittent IT guy trying to get all these computers online. This time it was exasperated by the fact that all the logins and passwords started with the same name and the provider dropped the "i" in one of the logins but you had to look real carefully to see that an "i" was missing (between a "t" and a "1"). Anyway I finally noticed that, typed it in that way and "Halleluya!" the Box Office was open for business (and great business was done). In addition, the website crashed from more volume than it was used to and we had to get that back online. But when not putting out the occasional fire, I got to hear music played at the highest level – jaw dropping talent. Enough to make you want to put away your guitar for good (but I won’t). Some noticed that I didn’t get a play in the festival this year, but nobody can expect to play a festival every year – even when they work there!

On this day I think it cost me cost me more than the paying customers. I arrived in the morning with the intention of getting a printer up and running and put $3.50 in the meter (for 1 hour!) and of course, things took longer than I expected so when I got back to the car I had a ticket. So I figured I might as well leave the car where it is and wouldn't you know I get a second ticket three hours later. Then I put the car in the parking lot. Between the tickets and the paid parking it's nearly 80 bucks. Painful.

Toronto Jazz Festival - Day 6,7,8,9

I was thrilled to hear Trombone Shorty again, since the last time they came to town (a show that Downtown Jazz presented at the Opera House) there was such a crowd in the place there was no oxygen and then after imbibing a little too much (and it doesn’t take much to get me tipsy) I felt the need to sit down and there were no chairs anywhere. I stepped outside and “when I regained consiousness…” I must have written about this in a previous blog, but the joke around the festival HQ now was that they brought back Shorty so I could get a chance to see the show. I’m sure there were some other factors. Saida Baba Talibah did the opening set – I caught the last couple of tunes (though I could hear the rumble from the media trailer). Turns out a lot of the low-end was coming from Tuba Joe, from NYC. We had a nice chat after and he was explaining his rig – how he gets a tuba to sound like a punchy Fender bass. We got talking so much that I never made it over to the Spectrum Road show at the Sound Academy. I heard it rocked.

Next night was the most anticipated show of the festival (by many), Esperanza Spalding. And she delivered some heavy jazz. A couple of my bass-player mates were in the crowd and seemed to be suitably impressed. Esperanza is a sweetheart but I will have to say the award for most thoughtful opening act goes to Gretchen Parlato who played some equally serious jazz, with impeccable vocals, and also left behind some delicious cookies for the media staff. It’s the small things you remember. I caught some of the 5-o’clock show and it was a loving tribute to George Shearing played by some local musos who played with George a lot, Reg Schwager, Don Thomson, and Neil Swainson. The played perfect recreations of the “Shearing sound” with piano and vibes playing the same lines.

On Friday (Day 8) Tedeschi-Trucks hit Toronto with a vengeance. Last time Susan Tedeschi played the festival it was at The Opera House on Queen East. It was not a blues crowd and it was not a blues opener, it was Alex Pangman doing her thing with Colonel Parker. Old Timey. This time the opener was a country/bluegrass outfit fronted by a young woman who carried the rhythm on her flat top guitar. And the fiddle & mando players were virtuosos. But still, it was a little generic for a jazz festival. They ‘ll probably do better than any jazz act as the next Lady Antebellum.

On the break, I was sitting by the stage entrance and who came in to sit next to me but the whole Trucks clan – grandparents and kids. I asked if he was “the dad” and he said yes – he was Butch Trucks, legendary drummer of the Allman Brothers. After a couple of tunes, I said to him “your boy plays every solo like it’s the last one he’ll ever play” and he responded something like “yea he’s got a lot of soul.” The little ones were maybe 5 & 7, very well-behaved and digging the show - I asked the little girl if she played guitar and she said no, shyly. I said “not yet.” Grandma looked like a “hippie chick of a certain age” and she was standing most of the time grooving to the music. The band played a killer set – best blues show of the year (so far) if you ask me.

Tedeschi-Trucks are at the top of the blues food chain and they’ve worked there way up there slow and stead, first individually and now together. They spared no expense to put together this show – top sidemen, 3 horns and 2 back-up singers. Everybody on that stage could be a star in his own right, and some are. They brought not only their own monitor guy but they brought their own monitor board. And the show sounded great. There had been reports of a very loud sound-check but they were probably just seeing how much they could get out of the mains because it was not too loud at showtime. When I swung by the square to pick up my car there was a big truck loading out all the extra gear they brought. I haven’t seen that much backline since Bootsy Collins last year.

In contrast the Tedeschi-Trucks with two tour buses and all that extra gear, next day Canadian blues buzz-act Matt Andersen arrived on the site by himself with his guitar and a Long & McQuade bag with a set of strings and a Boss tuner. He then proceeded to change his strings 20-minutes before showtime, something most of us guitar players would be reluctant to do. He must have stretched them out pretty good because he didn’t have any tuning trouble and he tore through a great set for 500 fans. He’s still a gentle, unassuming character for someone who’s now in the big leagues. Joan Osborne played first and did her hit but I didn’t really feel a connection with her music. Mind you, I loved what she did with the Funk Brothers. Before Matt ended his set, I took a walk down Queen Street to the Horseshoe to hear two more artists I had never heard of, Becca Stevens and Nellie McKay. Yawn.

I wanted to go back up to the Orbit Room to hear Donna Grantis. The previous night I went up with Clayton and Colleen Allen was the special guest. She was playing great, with lots of sax/guitar doubling. Clay sat in for a tune and I tried to corner the very-busy Colleen for a recording session. Saida Baba Talibah and her other guitarist, Hill, arrived to jam but I just had to head home. It’s been a long week.

Toronto Jazz Festival – Day 3,4,5

OK, it’s all starting to blur into a solid stream of music with musicians playing at the highest level. Some world-renowned and others are total unknowns (in this town, anyway) but when you see them in full flight you know right away that you are witnessing something special. Some have that extra connection with the audience (George Benson last night was positively chatty with the crowd, finally stopping himself “hey, I came here to play guitar” and he played it beautifully). I made my way out halfway through his set but ended up talking with the Treasa Levasseur gang outside the tent (she opened the show) so I heard him changing gears into a more acoustic sound but I was trying to get down to the Opera House for Soul Rebels, a New Orleans horn band produced by my friend Scott Billington. They did great and made lots of new fans in Toronto. They’re getting the big push so you’ll be hearing more of them. Before Benson I was at the sold out show for guitar god Bill Frisell at Harbourfront and what grabbed my attention right away was the immense respect for him that the audience was radiating. Almost religious. Everybody felt like it was a privilege for them to be in this space about to be transported into another realm, and they were. It started out with spacey guitar sounds and special effects – not unlike some new-age mood music that jazz fans would typically dismiss – but then a Beatles melody would appear in the mix and he would take it to another place and of course the guitar playing was exquisite. Many years ago I walked out of a Bill Frisell show because it was just so atonal (and so loud) that I couldn’t take it. All is forgiven now, Bill.

Monday morning, I was dealing with some Internet connection issues on site but when I was talking to Patti, our Director of Operations, she was predicting this was going to be a day from hell, and she was right. Nothing was flying out of New York and we had at least 20 artists and crew left stranded in NYC including Roberta Gambarini’s pianist (the amazing Dave Restivo filled in and saved the day) and Natalie Cole and her band (nobody could sub for her!). Black Monday in jazzland. Transport volunteers spent the whole day at the airport waiting (and hoping). I got to see two artists that had huge followings and yet I personally had never heard of either of them: Robert Glasper and Los Amigos Invisibles. Both had sold out shows (Glasper had a second show added and that was a good example of social media in action – they packed the house for a last-minute midnight show at the Wrongbar). Los Amigos Invisibles had a huge crowd at the Horseshoe and I think it was mostly Venezuelans. They were singing along with the band who gave a very spirited performance). And then there was my man, Roy Hargrove. I was right next to him as he was getting his horns out to jump on stage and I wanted to say “Hey remember the time we jammed the blues together at the Rex?” but I restrained myself. He is always amazing and surrounds himself with the top players on the planet. I dropped in to the after hours jam at the Now lounge but there was no one there except myself and Clayton and one other table. Hosting the jam was Ken Skinner and he played a bit then got the two fellows that were sitting there to play a couple of tunes. I asked the piano player his name but of course I’ve forgotten it – Patrick Hewen, maybe. I think they were from Montreal and they played some pretty “official” jazz. Ken is a helluva player – I hadn’t seen him play in a long time. He invited me to come back with my guitar and I did put my guitar in the car next day but haven’t been back.

Sunday I made a point of seeing that extraordinary pianist Hiromi. Last time I saw her she was with bass guru Stanley Clarke and I remember him walking over to the piano with his electric bass guitar and trading riffs with her with their faces just inches apart. The intensity was unbelievable. The intensity was still there this time, but did not get to the level I remember with Stanley (mind you, she had a wonderful 6-string bassist this time). I raced out to see nearly a whole show of Mike Stern – I’d only seen a song here and there and I was determined to get the whole experience this time. I was not disappointed – he is a guitar wizard, and like so many bands I’ve seen this week, he had a drummer that was phenomenal. I usually make my exit when there’s a long drum solo – you know it’s going to be a long one when all the other players leave the stage – but these drummers this week are so musical, you are captivated. You can’t go anywhere.
I started the day with a couple of matinees in clubs up north. Saw my old bandmate Roberta Hunt doing a great New Orleans tribute (with my new favourite female sax player, Alison Young) then up to Chalkers to hear Fern Linzdon, who I have met a couple of times but never seen. Rob Fogle was in the audience and said “don’t you get a nosebleed coming this far north?” It’s true, I don’t make my way past Eglinton very often (though I will be doing a gig at the Mad Bean on Eglinton on Saturday afternoon, July 7, 2-4pm)

Toronto Jazz Festival – Day Two

Lots of stuff going on Saturday afternoon but I opted to do my laundry and other household necessities. Missed my buddy Clayton Doley at Don Mills stage but we caught up later at the Bettye Lavette show. Bettye is fabulous – when she sang George Harrison’s “Isn’t It a Pity” the whole tent was dead silent with rapt attention. Riveting. But I remember going to see her last time at the Phoenix and I was showing around some visiting musician and we were enjoying Bettye but at a certain point he turned to me and said “she’s done three ballads in a row and if the next tune is a slow song, I’m outa here.” And sure enough it was another slow-burner so we cut out and went to hear Tony Monaco, or maybe it was Mike Stern). Bettye sort of did the same thing this year but she can pull it off in a setting like this where she’s got the audience in the palm of her hand.

After Bettye, Clayton was anxious to hear Texas keyboard guy Bobby Sparks at the Rex but alas Bobby had to sub out to an equally amazing keyboard genius, Caleb McCampbell who joined Snarky Puppy's Michael League on bass and Jason “J.T.” Thomas, who will be playing drums with Roy Hargrove on Monday night in the tent. They were one powerful trio and the audience at the Rex loved it. I didn’t hear anybody complaining “Where’s Bobby,” (and he too will be playing with Roy on Monday night)

I cannot end without a mention of the Motown tribute band, “Big Sound” who opened for Bettye. Eight singers, many of who could sound just like the artist who did the original recording, backed up by 17 musicians who made the rest sound just like the original recording – I kid you not. All the smallest details of the arrangements of those Motown hits were covered – much more attention to detail than the Funk Brothers and no less soul.

It was great to see Paula Shear is getting back to performing and I have to say the Trane is not only establishing itself as a premiere jazz venue but they’ve got a great kitchen. I’ve never been disappointed at that place and they just have a way of putting together a meal that leaves you totally satisfied and ready for some serious listening. There was a solemn moment when Paula refered to her bass player, Louis Botos, of the near-legendary Botos brothers (how many of them are there, anyway? Enough to make an entire band, I think). Anyway there was some talk of a petition so I guess their immigration troubles are not over. They’ve certainly provided a great contribution to the jazz scene here so let’s cherish them …even though I have to say that Robi Botos is one of two musicians in this town who have declined to play with me…I remember it well, I was hosting a blues jam at the Rex during the jazz festival a few years back and all the heavy hitters like Roy Hargrove, Russell Malone and Antonio Hart were all lovin’ sitting in on my 12-bar blues but Robi left the stage, I guess in the hopes he would have a chance to play some “serious” jazz with RH a little later. But Roy and the boys just wanted to play blues all night long. Probably a nice change for them. Anyway, I don’t hold it against you, Robi. I hope you and your family can stay here forever.

Toronto Jazz Festival - Day 1

As many of you know, I work for the jazz festival but you could only call it a "full time" job for these ten or eleven days. Yesterday, Day 0, was the real killer - trying to get all these computers online is always a challenge. This time it was exasperated by the fact that all the logins and passwords started with the same name and the provider dropped the "i" in one of the logins but you had to look real carefully to see that an "i" was missing (between a "t" and a "1"). Anyway I finally noticed tha, typed it in that way and "Halleluya!" the Box Office was open for business (and great business was done). In addition, the website crashed from more volume than it was used to and we had to get that back online. Musically I heard a bit of Brian Barlow's tribute to Duke Ellington - a lot of the crowd were members of the "Duke Ellington Society." Jannele Monae was the headliner today and she is a real buzz act (she sings on a Number One record by a group called Fun) and she delivered a terrific show - people loved it but it was a real torture test for the sound system. I never heard so much kick drum coming out of these speakers. Lots of bass (just the way my sone the DJ likes it) - I went for ear plugs, which I rarely do (I rarely remember to bring them) - but this time I needed them if I was going to be standing in front of those speakers. She had her own guy doing the sound and he loved his kick drum. He made it the centrepiece of the sound. I think I saw a slightly pained look on our in-house, front-of-house engineer, who has been with the festival for many years and has a global reputation. I don't think I'll go looking for more music tonight, but I think this day cost me more than some of the patrons. I arrived in the morning with the intention of getting a printer up and running and put $3.50 in the meter (for 1 hour!) and things took longer than I expected so when I got back to the car I had a ticket. So I figured I might as well leave the car where it is and wouldn't you know I get a second ticket three hours later. Then I put the car in the parking lot. Between the tickets and the paid parking it's nearly 80 bucks. Painful.



Janelle actually created a painting on stage (I wondered what an easel was doing in the production trailer) and at the end of the show asked who was having a birthday and when a young woman's ID was verified she became the proud and delighted owner of a Janelle Monae canvas. Now that's how you nurture fans.

Blainletter #53, June 17, 2012

Greetings Blainreaders. I don’t have much in the way of gigs but I want to let you know about something special happening tomorrow (Tuesday) night: My oldest musical buddy Allan Fraser is in town to play a rare performance at the Musideum, 401 Richmond at 8pm and what is more rare, I dare say historic, he will be joined by Ian Guenther, who was such an important part of that first Fraser & DeBolt album. Allan and Ian haven’t played together in 40 years but they got together last night and picked up right where they left off. Also in the band are David Woodhead, Bob Cohen and Joel Axler. Allan and some of these folks will be playing live on Heather Fielding’s Acoustic Workshop on ciut.fm at 7pm tonight

I’m about to dive into full-tilt jazzfest mode. Now off to the last meeting with the entire team and a BBQ, I think. It’s been an untypical week, full of musical memorials - Kate McGarrigle, Oliver Schroer, and last night Frazier Mohawk. I did not attend the first two but heard great reports. The Frazier memorial was a more intimate affair but quite special – where else would you ever find the two lead singers of the legendary 60s super-group Rhinocoros in the same room (if not on stage together). I got up to do a solemn version of “Wonderful World” but then some guys at the front started shouting “Play ‘Don’t Forget Your Mother.’ ” I didn’t recognize them right away but then I said “Are you guys Jackson Hawke?” and sure enough it was Tim Ryan and Bob Yeomans – they were recording an album with Frazier at the same time as we were recording Mother…and they still remembered it…they were even singing along! Sitting with them was renowned film composer Jonathan Goldsmith who I hadn’t seen in 40 years, but I sure have seen his name in film credits many times. Frazier had played him “Mother” – probably more than once, and I found out in the course of the afternoon that that production was one that Frazier was most proud of. Jonathan was kind enough to sit in on piano for a couple of gospel tunes along with my old campfire pal, Bela Ray. My previous Blainletter talks about how I met Frazier and some of the stuff we did together. It includes a link to “Don’t Forget Your Mother” if you care to hear it for yourself. Adieu, Frazier.

Out and About

Day One of North by Northeast (aka nxne). Actually this was not day one of this festival – it’s been going for a couple of days but I just got my pass today. Yesterday I was working at home till I headed out to see the world premiere of a documentary film about Jane Bunnett. Jane herself invited me the night before as we were both in Pecaut Square grooving to the sounds of AfroCubism at the Luminato Festival. What a beautiful setup they had – staging on a grand scale where they actually enclosed the Square into a giant blue cozy enclave.

It was a great documentary on Jane – I think I heard the expression “warts and all” on more than one occasion but it was a revelation and just shows what a dedicated artist she is. After the film screening I had so many musical choices…go to the after-party and listen to Hilario Duran plus Jane & band of course. Or I could head over to Hugh’s Room where they Occhippinti brothers were launching a CD of jazzified John Lennon. Then there was the usual bluegrass night at the Silver Dollar…and the one I SHOULD have gone to, Noah Zacharin’s regular Wednesday night open stage & jam. They’re always happy to see me there. But I did none of the above – just came home to hang out a bit with my housesguest, Bill.

Speaking of “happy to see me,” I have to say that despite all the great talent they bring to our town, they are so full of attitude it has even trickled down to the media interns. I didn’t bother getting media accreditation from Luminato this year because even though they gave me a media laminate last year, they turned down pretty well all of my requests for shows to see (admittedly, they weren’t jazz or blues). So never mind! But now, just for the fun of it, I walk into the media tent to see if I can do a last-minute guerilla accreditation and get a pass. This is something that is “above and beyond” but some festivals would bend over backwards to accommodate media but not these gals. “What do you need a media pass for, it’s a free show” Okay.... I think I might have had the same reply for some media mooches who walked in to the Jazz Festival media trailer looking for a laminate which would allow them access to the shows.

NXNE, on the other hand, was quite happy to have me covering their festival. I attended a few panel discussions at NXNE and heard experts on “fuid grid” design to make sure your content displays properly on websites and hand-held devices. Then I skipped out to a movie about the last days of Woodie Guthrie and Cisco Houston. After that I walked back to the hotel where I heard a “celebrity interview” with Bernie Finkelstein. After taking care of some business at home, I headed back down to the Gladstone Hotel to hear an artist I had met in Memphis and was anxious to see, but it was a different artist with a similar name (that’s what happens when you have 500 artists playing at the same time). And this gal was not my cup of tea – all style and no substance. The next band up was called “God Made Me Funky” but I call them God Made Me Funky Made Me Deaf. When the singers shrieked into the mic, it was pain threshold, but I liked what they were doing. They put on a Show – with a capital “S” and that’s what it takes to get noticed in this town. I took in a couple more NXNE sessions and everything was about social networking – no sessions on touring or conventional promotion – just social networking.

Then I noticed an invitation to attend a “Hackathon” at the MARS centre – a place they call an “incubator” for new tech businesses and this was a gathering of over a hundred programmers and developers. I thought maybe this is a chance to find a programmer who can help me get the Blues Society event calendar working on mobile devices and maybe even help create the generic calendar engine that would pull event info and share it with other online calendars. I made my 60 second pitch in front of an auditorium full of developers but there was not exactly a stampede to my table. At the networking session that followed I collared a couple of young guys with blue tags (they were the back-end coders) but I don’t think any of these guys saw the value of an app that would pull all the event information that’s on the internet and organize and display it. I suppose by value I mean “Where’s the Money?” I’ve never thought of this as a money-making project, only a way to spread the word about who’s playing where. But maybe this will never get to second base until I can demonstrate how it will make money. It was a week of rejection because just a few days before I was pitching to have a “Blues Campfire” at a couple of upcoming music conferences and was told there is no value in that. Well it’s not like a showcase where you play your three best songs and get heard by the tastemakers who book you for their festival but it has proven to be a great networking opportunity and I have testimonials from musicians who went on to collaborate or tour with artists they met and jammed with at the campfire. Or even watching the thrill of a young artist who gets to jam with one of his heroes…that’s value, if not career development. Then I did a little coffee shop gig – got there only to find an empty room – just me and the barista. I had a nice iced latte and we chatted until a few folks trickled in, including one genuine fan (thanks, Dan) but none of this gets me down. I’m not going to stop playing guitar or hosting campfires but I’m through twisting people’s arms – especially when they’re friends who know exactly what I do and have decided that it’s not for them.

The jazz festival begins next week. I had a bird’s eye view of the site – Nathan Phillips Square – and it’s not pretty. The area where we would normally have the media trailer and artists’ tour buses is a construction site. Argh! I was looking down from the 35th floor of the Eaton Centre – in the Ontario Ministry of Trade suites where I was invited to a reception for a delegation of French music producers, mostly from Martinique. I saw a few people I know and I got to hear some presentations on the state of the Canadian music market but it’s mostly stuff I knew. The $7.50 I spent for parking was not justified by the egg salad sandwich. I thought there would be a great taste of French Cuisine – and I hoped my friend Didier would be catering it because he does a lot of that sort of thing for the French Embassy. Anyway I was happy to see a coffee machine – hadn’t had a coffee all day. Now that I think about it, an event like this in the past would always have had wine flowing freely – and no coffee in sight! But times have changed.

Got a call on Saturday afternoon from Dr Ric at the Delta Chelsea telling me Lucky Peterson was doing a matinee and had Shawn Kellerman playing in his band. I saw Shawn a little while ago – also at the Delta and he knocked me out with his playing. Now he was opening the show with a couple of tunes and a burning slow blues. Nobody puts on a show like Lucky – He gives it his all even if there’s only 20 people (and at the start there may have been only 20 people). I have to wear a bit of responsibility because I got the time wrong in the MapleBlues and Mike the booker even reminded me on the way out that a bunch of people had arrived at 9 o’clock expecting an evening show. Well, now we know people are reading our newsletter. Actually they’re not reading it that well because the correct time was indicated in the ad on the back page. You always hurt the ones you love…and I love Lucky - ever since he pulled that stunt at the Jzz Festival in the mid-nineties with his wireless guitar and walked all the way down the King Street and jumped into a rickshaw. It was a great photo op – and ran on the front of the entertainment section if I recall correctly. It takes a confident guitar player to follow the phenomenal Shawn Kellerman but if anybody can do it, Lucky can. He ripped it up – and did it while walking through the club and even out the back door. A real showman – but a musician first. His wife (new wife?) was an important part of the show and she deserved every minute of stage time. And she had the same sense of adventure as Lucky – no wonder he married her.

Thursday night I went to the Gladstone to a media launch for Afrofest. They’re moving their festival to Woodbine Park, just down the road from me. The organizers are a little bummed about being relocated from Queen’s Park, which is a wonderful space, but I think they’ll like it at Woodbine Park. We’ll see. Njacko Backo, master kalimba plater did a set – makes me want to get out my authentic African kalimba (aka lekembe). Before the Afrofest Party had wound down, the TBS Blues Thursday had started up with Robin Banks accompanied by Ken Whiteley. I watched very carefully because I accompanied Robin once before and I hope I’ll get a chance to do it again. Ken did a masterful job and did not shy away from tearing into a guitar solo even though he didn’t have the benefit of any other back-up…or (God forbid) a looper. Robin charmed the whole place as always. She is the consummate entertainer.

Then I took off to take in some of J-W Jones’ CD launch and what a great set I heard. Another Whiteley, Jesse, did a great job on the organ and all the band members got their moment in the spotlight and I rarely comment on a drum solo but the young fellow playing with JW really kept us on the edge of our seats. I even remarked to drummer Lindsay Beaver on the way out. I think most, if not all, of the 24th Street Wailers were in the audience and they couldn’t have picked a better example of a textbook perfect blues set. JW is a terrific guitar player but you can see that he spent a lot of time watching the masters at work. I reminded him of how I would always enjoy the worked-out sets of some American roadhouse bands – at least the ones who got to the point in their career that they were touring out of the country, I still remember the Rochester-based Big Dave and the Ultrasonics and then there’s Sugar Ray Norcia and the Bluetones, Little Charlie (now Rick Estrin) and the Nightcats and the incomparable Duke Robillard, although he was a little looser the last couple of times I’ve seen him. I remember seeing Luther Guitar Junior Johnson, too, playing one tune after another in machine-gun precision. They’d be into the next song before the applause had died down. You don’t see that much anymore. JW wasn’t trying for the machine-gun approach but the set was perfectly paced and his presentation of the Magic Sam classic “Lookin Good” was as good as it gets.

I’m outa here. Thanks for reading and I hope you’re having a great summer.

BrianB, aka Colorblind Brian, The Sringbuster

www.brianblain.ca
www.facebook.com/brianblain.musician
@brianblain on twitter.com

Remembering Frazier Mohawk

This weekend I played the Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival and on my last night I played "See That My Grave is Kept Clean" in rememberance of my old buddy Frazier Mohawk who passed away on Saturday. Then I did a short reprise of the song in the last set because Frazier was never satisfied with the first take. On Saturday afternoon, I had a nice long coffee with Alan Gerber and all we talked about was Frazier and all he had done to help us out at crtical times in our lives/careers. I hadn't seen Alan since this time last year (also at Orangeville - he is a staple at that festival and now they've made him an honorary citizen of Orangeville). Then we both got the news that Fraz had passed away during the night.


I had gone to see Frazier in the hospital on the previous Wednesday and Alan had dropped in on his way to Orangeville on the Thursday. We both just wanted to hold his hand and say a final thank you. Both of us had our gripes with Fraz over the years but it's easy to put aside the little tiffs when you consider all that he did to enrich our musical journeys. I almost wrote "help and encouragement" but the fact is he was never big on encouragement. Maybe he encouraged some others I don't know about but in my case I always felt he was always working around whatever intrinsic talent I may have brought to the table. For a music producer, he never got really excited about any music. I thought it was just me, but Brad Spurgeon mentions the same thing in his blog. You never heard him say "come in here, you've got to hear this". Actually, I do remember one time now that I think about it. It was in Montreal where he (and I) had been taken under the wing of the legendary Andre Perry and Fraz came in with this old vinyl recording of the Swan Silvertones and played me a track called "Saviour Pass Me Not". That track lit him up but I don't even know how he felt about the rest of the tracks on the album but I can imagine him dissecting the harmonies or the choice of microphones.

Alan talked about meeting Frazier (then Barry) in Paul Rothschild's office at Elektra Records and how later in California he took him around to meet Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Carole King, where Alan spent an afternoon at the piano swapping songs with her. Barry pops up in Carole's recent autobiography and also get's name-checked in many recently released bios where the backdrop in the LA music scene of the 60s.

When he arrived in Toronto in 73, there seemed to be an element of intrigue in his exit from LA and though he sometimes referred to some unsavory characters, I never got the real story. I think there may have been many reasons for him the change his name, I made his acquaintance when I came to work one morning at a brand new studio in Toronto (Manta Sound) where I was producing an album for Fraser & DeBolt on behalf of Columbia Records in New York. Frazier had dropped in to the studio earlier that day and left behind an album he had produced on the recording console. I don't think we listened to the album but when I picked it up I couldn't quite make out the abstract artwork until I held it back and could see it was a close up of two naked intertwined bodies. It was called "Primordial Lovers" and the artist was ex-wife Essra Mohawk, formerly known as "Uncle Meat" when she was in the Mothers of Invention. It was only a matter of a couple of days later when I was introduced to Frazier in the kitchen of 127 Hazelton, a legendary hang-out/crash pad in Toronto's Yorkville district and I said "You're the guy that left behind that album at Manta." I'm not sure how much time elapsed but at a certain moment he said he needed an "assistant" (nowadays we'd call that an intern because there wasn't any money changing hands though he may have uttered some variation of that old Ronnie Hawkins pitch "...but you'll get more pussy than Frank Sinatra"). We certainly got more drugs than Frank Sinatra and there were a few liasons the last of which ended when one young lady's older brother, who was a police officer, came from Nova Scotia to fetch his little sister from this den of iniquity.

Frazier had rented a huge space on Richmond Street, an old house that had been completely gutted and painted black inside. It had previously been a photographer's studio. Fraz built himself a sleeping loft with a wobbly ladder that would discourage any curious visitors and the main project was a group called the "Blackstone Rangers" which was essentially a reincarnation of Rhinoceros minus Alan Gerber (who had been the sole American in Rhino). This was a pretty glamorous bunch of rock stars and they made a big impression on this kid from hills of Quebec. The band was set up in the middle of this big room with a huge concert PA ("Voice of the Theatre" speakers) and they rehearsed a bit and partied a lot. Frazier wanted me to "supervise" a second group that he was going to produce. They were called "Flying Circus" and had just arrived from Australia where I think they were a pretty big deal. I don't think I had more than a couple of sessions with the band when I had to extricate myself from that crazy scene. I don't think they ever made a record and only one of those Aussies stayed in Canada but he has been a profound influence on the Toronto music scene and that is bassist Terry Wilkins.

Then we fast forward a couple of years to Montreal where Frazier introduced himself to another recording studio and this time he hit the jackpot. The studio was built by Andre Perry (a Quebec music industry titan but best known outside Quebec as the man who recorded "Give Peace A Chance") and - as luck would have it - André had just sold the studio for big bucks and now had plans to start a record label and break out of the Quebec market. When he saw Frazier's credentials and connections he immediately set him up in a cute little apartment in Old Montreal and gave him free reign of the studio (where he still had thousands of hours of credit as part of the sale). Frazier immediately showed him how to set up a big-time record label, starting with a succession of full-page teaser ads in Billboard magazine announcing the birth of "Good Noise" Records. They printed oversized/overpriced stationary and business cards, hired the most expensive publicist in the music business, Connie deNave and started flying people in from New York and LA. I'm not sure that they had signed a single artist at that point but around that time, Andre heard me sing a song called "Don't Forget Your Mother" with a country-rock group I was playing with that included Sue Lothrop, Russ Kelley, Wayne Rose and I think a couple of brothers from Wilmington Delaware. I can't remember Frazier's initial involvement but André was totally smitten with that song if not with the group. He convinced me to go into the studio with Frazier producing. First we did a demo with a lot of local players including Sue, Ronney Abramson, Ron Dann and many others. Then for the "real" recording, he brought in John Lissauer as music director, Laurel Masse and Jance Siegel from Manhattan Transfer for vocals, and top-session players like Tom "Bones" Malone (later of Blues Brothers fame and much more) on horns and Jim Gordon on drums. At the time Malone and Gordon were part of Frank Zappa's Mothers so Andre was seeing this as a great "tie-in" - The Mothers recording "Don't Forget Your Mother". The Mothers were performing at the Montreal Forum as part of their "Petit Wazoo" tour and most of the other members of the band came to the studio - some played and some just hung out, but try as they might, they couldn't get Zappa himself to participate. I believe the quote was "Frank doesn't help other people make their rock and roll records". As a further aside, drummer Jim Gordon, hot off a Derek and the Dominoes tour, ended up in an institution for the criminally insane for killing his own mother in a psychotic rage. I think I noticed he was not having a good time when he was laying down that drum track. I wondered if it was just that I might have not been laying down the most confident guitar track - after all this was probably the third or fourth song I had written and I had never sung on my own till then. I hardly sang any vocals with the group but "Mother" was my little "feature spot." And I had my doubts about my performance on that track but I was surrounded by so many brilliant players it had to be OK.

Well many months were spent mixing and remixing and overdubbing - they hired a whole string section from the Montreal Symphony under the direction of Otto Armin, then a boys choir from an elite private school. Everything but the proverbial kitchen sink. You can hear it for yourself here.

Up to this point thousands of dollars had been spent on this recording (as well as a daily allowance for me) and yet nothing had been signed. Alas, when I was called in to a meeting, I sat down with Frazier across this beautiful antique pine table with nothing on it but a big fat (unsigned) recording contract. I was humming and hawing about how I wasn't really happy with my performance on that recording when Frazier lurched across the table grabbing me by the throat and screaming "Sign the contract, motherfucker!). I think anyone who has since tried to produce Brian Blain has had the same impulse. Anyway I hastily scribbled in a short rider that offered me some guarantees and I signed. This was old Hollywood-style negotiations. I think if he'd had a gun he would have pulled it out.

This story goes on, but to wrap up this chapter of my adventures with Frazier, suffice it to say the "Mother" was never released, though the B-side, "The Story of the Magic Pick" did get released on Good Noise/Polydor but had the misfortune of being released in the same week and on the same label as that monster hit "Spiders and Snakes" and there was not room for two "novelty" releases in the Polydor promo man's bag of tricks that week. Despite some choice gigs (mostly arranged by Frazier) like opening for Lou Reed and Seals & Crofts, a hi-profile benefit show with Joni Mitchell and Loudon Wainright and a tour with April Wine, I disbanded the Blainettes and went on the road for five years as a "bassman-for-hire". Well I didn't really disband the Blainettes, because another Frazier prodigé, Lewis Furey, scooped 2 of them to be in his band but in a delicious turn of karmic retribution, they were soon hijacked from Lewis by his friend Leonard Cohen who decided he wanted to try having female back-up singers,

After being on the road for 3 or 4 years I settled back in Toronto briefly and Frazier hired me to be part of his "Rent-A-Fool" clown troupe. I would wear a sequinned tuxedo and play incidental music as Mark Parr, Brad Spurgeon and the lovely Lynne Cavanaugh frolicked around. At one point, he was taking "contracts" to attack people with cream pies. We were a pie-hit-squad. I think that's about the time I went back on the road. But it was a great diversion, as was every adventure I had with Frazier.

Fast forward another decade or two and I land in Toronto, not quite on my feet, and one of the first people I look up is Frazier - who is back in Toronto, living a in a caboose on a farm in Kleinberg. He gives me $200 and says he's sure we can find a way for me to work it off. Well first he wanted me to be a "wrangler," shuttling ponies to rich kids' birthday parties. I managed to get out of that but ultimately became an occasional "sub" for Anthony, the Singing Cowboy. I'll always remember trying to play guitar on very bumpy hayride where I would sometimes get airborne with nothing to hold onto except my guitar. I also helped with some desktop publishing projects and mailing promotional material - I remember one time that I was running a little late and had him screaming at me "You just lost me twenty-thousand dollars! You owe me twenty-thousand dollars!" but he never fired me. In the end I did him one great favour when I noticed that several recordings he had produced were now being sold on CD and I asked him if he was getting any royalties. He hadn't thought of that and when he contacted Warner Brothers they sent him a big fat cheque (and apologized for the delay because they couldn't find his address (??). Since that money came from his musical endeavours he decided to put it back into music and that was the beginning of the Studio at Puck's Farm. And once it was operational, he offered me some complimentary studio time that provided me with my first CD, "Who Paid You To Give Me The Blues?" For that and more I will always be grateful to Fraz.

So what else happened in Orangeville?

This is the first time in recent memory that I played 4 nights in a row. The first night was a noisy club where I was trying to put out as much sound as I could. I was playing solo but then Harpdog Brown showed up and sat in for a set. He is such a bear of a guy but when you play with him is is one sensitive, tasteful musician. The Larry Kurtz arrived from the Festivalk kick-off event and I had a double harp accompanyment - Nelson Sleno also sat in for a couple of tunes. I decided to stay over in Orangeville and checked in to the Orangeville Motel where they Indian couple tried to accomodate this starving musician with a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of milk. I was most grateful. The accommodations might have seemed a little rough by modern hotel standards but for someone who's toured in Eastern Europe it was just fine. Then I had two nights at an upscale Italian Restaurant, Il Corso, where the food is delicious. The owner expected a big crowd because the main stage was rained out but it was not to be. Th second night was packed but I think I preferred playing to a small crowd that was listeninbg than to a big crowd who weren't.. I dropped in on Alana Gerber's show and was invited to sit in with him for the last tune and he pointed out that this was the first time we had actually played together - though we had shared the bill in Quebec many times. Then I swung by some of the other clubs where I saw Erin McCallum, who was celebrating the release of a great new CD, and Charlie A'Court - who was playing the same club I played on Thurs - also solo but with a PA ten times the size of my little set-up. And even without a PA, he's ten times as loud as me. He was doing a lot covers that I used to do - Knock on Wood, Into the Mystic , Stevie Wonder but then when I saw him next day on the mainstage with a band he was killing it with some burning Stratocaster solos. I have to admit when I first heard Charlie (which was the same night I first heard Matt Andersen) I thought there's a couple of big guys, singing at the top of their lungs and strumming that guitar as hard as they can...not my style. But then both of them have mellowed out considerably. Hell Matt Andersen became the darling of the CBC by singing sweet Christmas carols. I guess the idea is that you come on hard and heavy and once you have their attention you can start to lighten up and find your own voice.

I should have a few upcoming dates or choice quotes or career development tips for my musician friends reading this but I just wanted to get the word out about Frazier. I might have morphed a few events in my foggy memory and I hope I haven't said anything to tarnish his memory. If you were there and I got something wrong, please let me know. There's an obituary in today's New York Times and Facebook Friends can drop by his Facebook Page.

A Celebration of Barry's Life will be held on Saturday June 16th in the Crest Theatre Green Room at the Performing Arts Lodge, 110 The Esplanade, Toronto, from 5pm to 9:30pm. Bob Segarini, who I met while we were recording "Don't Forget Your Mother" (and he's got a great story about that night but it will be for him to tell it) Anyway, he has put together a lengthy blog of Frazier's life along with excerpts from recent books by Jac Holtzman and Neil Young.