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More musical tales from the belly of the big city So our wander around downtown Toronto brought us some memorable musical moments, some new friends and venues to check out again. Upcoming events Sam Ferrara pulled it off beautifully. Very tasty. As we enjoyed their set, an older woman entered, quickly quipped with the band between songs and headed further into the bar to where we were seated and asked if she could join us. At the break, as we chatted, her eyes expanded to saucers as I told her we were from Perth. Right here in the heart of multicultural Toronto, this lass tells us she grew up in Westport and still has a cabin near there. She had been up to Festival of the Maples in Perth this year and we compared notes on who we knew in common. Janet Goodfellow apparently left Westport at 18 years of age, now lives in the Kensington area, and the Rattlesnake Choir recently surprised her by playing in her home for her 70th birthday. She asked me to put in a good word (and a CD) to Seamus Cowan at the Cove Inn for Rattlesnake Choir and I’ll be doing just that. Small world… We moved on, walking up Augusta St. and turning right on College where we entered The Free Times Cafe to catch someone we’d seen many times at the Ontario Council of Folk Festival Conferences we attend. We were there to see the Russell Leon Band and were tickled upon arrival to see a musician friend we hadn’t seen in years was opening. Roman Riccio is a singer/songwriter of true musical lineage. His father Pat Riccio Jr. was musical director and keyboard player for Anne Murray and his grandfather was a wonderful saxophone player who had his own Pat Riccio Orchestra in Toronto when I was growing up. It was nice to see Roman plying his trade again, this time backed vocally by Caitlin September. It was quite enjoyable as was Russell Leon. I always feel at home in this venue though I don’t get there often. It’s always special. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention having run into a friend, one of Toronto’s longstanding promoter/publicists, not at one but three of the music events we attended. Richard Flohil was publicist for Downchild Blues Band for 39 years and was the creative genius who brought BB King to Canada for the first time as well as many other greats. I seem to run into him whenever I’m in Toronto. Case in point: When I would arrive on rare Monday nights to the Orbit Room upstairs on College in Toronto to hear Sisters Euclid, one of “guitar-for-hire” Kevin Breit’s bands who would start at 10:30 p.m., most times, there would be Richard. He often comes up to Stewart Park Festival “because he loves the intimacy of it.” He’s currently writing a book of his memoirs which I can’t wait to read. Not bad for someone being 79 years young.
Sunday, June 29: At 7:30 p.m., St. Paul’s United Church in Perth, presents an amazing 40-voice Toronto women’s choir, Cantores Celestes, who are kicking off their 25th anniversary celebrations by performing at St. Paul’s
and whose own choir director Brad Mills raves about this choir. July 19, 20, 21: The 23rd annual Stewart Park Festival in Perth. Support live music everywhere.
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on the road, night after night. A bonus came when the Wailers introduced musical friends from the East Coast – Bathurst, New Brunswick – Barry Cooke on keys and vocals and Marc Doucet on guitar who added nicely to the mix and had both sat in on previous recordings. Maple Blues Award winner – Shirley Jackson joined for a few tunes on sax and vocals which was pretty sweet, too. The highlight for me though was this: Just as they were setting up, an old acquaintance strolled on in. Paul DeLong has been an indemand drummer for years and played Stewart Park Festival backing Carlos Del Junco and others, has previously played with Kim Mitchell, Doug Riley, Dominic Troiano, and Tom Scott, to name a few. In recent years he’s played musical theatre, doing the Lion King, Hairspray, Rent and Hair in the US and Canada. He shared his excitement at being there because he now teaches at Humber College, where all the Wailers met in the music program. He was so thrilled to be there to watch Lindsay and how far the band has come. I’ve seen them for the past three years and I’ve got to agree, I just can’t believe how great a sound and show these players have put together. Whew! They’re coming to Stewart Park Festival this year so you’ve got a great opportunity to catch one of Canada’s up and coming great blues bands. It was especially a treat to see Paul sit in during some of the evening when Lindsay got up to play some smoking electric guitar (hey, it was her birthday and she wanted to show us her new toy)! Jesse Whiteley sat in on keys too, which was the icing on the cake for that evening. After surviving two days of intense meetings it was great to be able to wander late Saturday afternoon from our hotel, relaxing through back streets over to a hole in the wall pub I’ve heard about for years but never had an opportunity to visit. We strolled west from the hotel and ended up in Kensington Market, one of the true epicentres of multiculturalism in all its varied colours, tastes, smells and soundscapes. Graffiti’s is on Baldwin, near Augusta, and isn’t very big but has some wonderful talent flowing through it. We lucked in on hearing Rattlesnake Choir. Actually they’re normally a five-piece but we were entertained heartily by John Borra – singer/songwriter/ guitarist who’s past has seen him doing time in the punk scene as a kid, later playing with Ron Sexsmith and Jim Cuddy’s band before heading to more independent roots interests. Fiddle-master Miranda Mulholland (Bowfire, Belle Starr, among others) also provides vocals to Borra’s lead. Now how many times do you walk into a bar and witness a percussion player pull out and effectively utilize cheese graters, a set of three slinkys or a singing saw (the edge of a bent handsaw being bowed)? Well, percussionist
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EMC Lifestyle – I don’t know about you but often its unique musical moments that I remember most and on a recent trip to Toronto, I happened onto several. A relatively short streetcar ride took us from our hotel to the unique Cameron House, (northwest corner of Queen St. W and Cameron St.) where Corin Raymond & The Sundowners (Treasa Levasseur – accordion, piano, vocals; David Baxter – guitar, mandolin, vocals; Brian Kobayakawa – upright bass) were playing for their weekly 6 to 8 p.m. gig. Corin established some notoriety this past year by totally funding his latest double CD – Paper Nickels (complete with 144-page booklet outlining the caper) with Canadian Tire (CT) money. He found a recording studio willing to take CT money at par and, through an incredible response of CTC money donated from fans across the country, all via social media, including TV and radio interviews across North America, he was able to record some of his favourite songs written by like-minded musicians. Those troubadours who write, play and promote their own music wherever they can, without the luxury of record company support or radio play. Corin is a songwriter of major proportions. His last CD in 2009, entitled There Will Always Be A Small Time, was my favourite that year and I continually hear other troubadours performing his songs in their set. We were lucky to catch them as they announced this was their last Thursday gig at the Cameron for a while as they were on the road most of the summer. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the wonderful guitar work by David Baxter and all the tasty additions by Treasa and Brian. It’s always a memorable experience. While at the Cameron, I ran into Tom Parker who I’ve seen in various groups over the years including The Backstabbers, Lickin’ Good Fried and most recently Tom Parker & the American Pour. Both our roots are based in Owen Sound in that my parents used to dance to his grandparents band there in their courtship. It was in this same locale a few years ago I actually shared this historical family anecdote with my daughter and was able to introduce her to Tom. Tom introduced me to Devin Cuddy, Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo’s son, who I’ve heard play piano several times sitting in with other groups at the Cameron. Might I suggest you check this young man out for his own abilities because I know you’ll be as impressed as I’ve been. A quick trip got us back to Monarch’s Pub, in the Delta Chelsea (soon to become the Eaton Chelsea) where the 24th St Wailers were just back from an western Tour and ready to unwind and celebrate drummer Lindsay Beaver’s birthday. I especially love it when I’m able to catch a group just getting back from a tour because their show is usually especially tight and filled with all the great little nuances they’ve developed while
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THE EMC - 21 - Thursday, June 27, 2013