I'm doing a series of shows with the Art of Time Ensemble in the winter of 2010 at small theaters around Ontario. We finished recording the album and it will be out by then. Come see us perform the songs live!
Feb. 24, 2010 - Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts, Brantford, ON [tickets]
Feb. 26, 2010 - Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, Oakville, ON [tickets]
Feb. 27, 2010 - Markham Theatre for the Performing Arts, Markham, ON [tickets]
Mar. 3, 2010 - The Grand Theatre, Kingston, ON [tickets]
Mar. 4, 2010 - Koerner Hall / Telus Centre, Toronto, ON [tickets]
Mar. 5, 2010 - Centre for the Arts - Brock University, St. Catharines, ON [tickets]
Mar. 6, 2010 - Centre in the Square, Kitchener, ON [tickets]
Mar. 7, 2010 - Capitol Arts Centre, North Bay, ON [tickets]
Mar. 10, 2010 - The Rose Theatre, Brampton, ON [tickets]
Mar. 11, 2010 - The Empire Theatre, Belleville, ON [tickets]
Mar. 12, 2010 - Gryphon Theatre, Barrie, ON [tickets]
Mar. 13, 2010 - Showplace Performance Centre, Peterborough, ON [tickets]
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
One More Summer Show!
Well I've been hopping around from Folk Festival to Folk Festival like a tourist on vacation with my main man Kevin Fox on cello, although I'll be solo at the upcoming Calgary Festival and a couple of others. This past weekend's Vancouver Island Festival was a blast (despite my guitars missing the flight connection, everything showed up in time for the gig), as was the huge crowd at Winnipeg. Vancouver is this coming weekend, and I encourage anyone who's coming to the festivals also check out the daytime workshops. They're the heart and soul of the folk fest world, and where you'll often get the most amazing and surprising performances and collaborations. In Winnipeg I had the great honour of sitting onstage with Loudon Wainwright III, Arlo Guthrie, Tom House and Serena Ryder.
One of my favourite places to play, however, is at Jackson-Triggs winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. I've done a few solo gigs there in past years, and I'm always asked by fans when I'm playing there again. Well, the answer is August 19th. It's a big gig called "Rootstock, " and it features myself, Tom Cochrane, Jim Cuddy, John Mann of Spirit of the West and Kathleen Edwards in a songwriters-in-the-round format. Tickets go on presale TODAY. Call the winery box office at Call Jackson-Triggs Box Office at 905-468-4637 or 1-866-589-4637 ext. 2 and quote "ROOTSTOCK" for tickets and information.
There are only 450 tickets available for this show, so call this instant. Or wallow in your own laziness and regret it forever.
One of my favourite places to play, however, is at Jackson-Triggs winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. I've done a few solo gigs there in past years, and I'm always asked by fans when I'm playing there again. Well, the answer is August 19th. It's a big gig called "Rootstock, " and it features myself, Tom Cochrane, Jim Cuddy, John Mann of Spirit of the West and Kathleen Edwards in a songwriters-in-the-round format. Tickets go on presale TODAY. Call the winery box office at Call Jackson-Triggs Box Office at 905-468-4637 or 1-866-589-4637 ext. 2 and quote "ROOTSTOCK" for tickets and information.
There are only 450 tickets available for this show, so call this instant. Or wallow in your own laziness and regret it forever.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Where Were You When...
I guess it will be another one of those "do you remember where you were when you heard..." moments, won't it? I was in my car, checking Twitter (safely, really!) when I saw a tweet saying Michael Jackson had gone into cardiac arrest. I thought of checking CNN.com or something like it, but then I realized that I was most likely going to get whatever news I wanted faster via Twitter, so I kept checking. Within a minute of TMZ (whom I don't even follow) announcing his death, I Tweeted "Holy Fucking Shit. Holy Fucking Shit," and then wondered if I should have waited for confirmation from a more legit source. Tweets started coming in saying that it was only TMZ, that they were just rumour-mongers, and we should wait for confirmation from the medical examiner. But even though TMZ might dish trash (I should know), I can't think of an instance in which they falsely reported someone's death, much less someone of Jackson's stature. If they had reported it falsely, they would likely have lost their value as America's go-to place for breaking news. TMZ can be abhorrent, but they are important, and that has now been confirmed. Jst as the National Enquirer became the source for real news about OJ, the internet, between Twitter and TMZ has found a way to cut through the noise.
I wrote a short piece about my early Jacko memories in today's National Post.
I wrote a short piece about my early Jacko memories in today's National Post.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Play It Forward
One of the things that made me proudest of being a Barenaked Lady was our commitment to helping others. Together, we developed a reputation for compassion and dedication to causes near to our hearts. We helped local charities, arts groups, pitched in when there were health or political crises, and always had a great time doing it. It's a great thing to be able to contribute what one does for a living to a great cause. I've been happy to see that my pals in BNL are continuing this tradition with shows to benefit causes such as cancer, literacy and music education (and a tasty ice cream to boot).
I was thrilled to be invited to participate in a few benefit gigs myself lately, and it seemed to make for some fitting first live appearances post-BNL. A couple of weeks ago I played at People For Education's Telling Tales Out of School gala. At the last minute, Jian Ghomeshi cancelled as the host, and I was asked to host it as well. It was a great event for a great cause. PFE have been working tirelessly for years to advocate on behalf of public school students and their familes here in Ontario, and with three sons in the public system, and as a graduate myself, I was more than happy to help out.
Then, last week, I played a set at the fundraising party for the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation in Central New York. I've gotten to know Central New York pretty well over the past couple of years, and Caz is a beautiful little enclave set around a lake. The Foundation has done a great job of maintaining the village vibe as well as warding off the behemoth likes of WalMart et al, ensuring that their community doesn't die the same bleak death of so many other parts of the state/country/world. Driving along Erie Blvd in DeWitt and East Syracuse can be pretty depressing sometimes (goodbye Arthur Treacher, goodbye Krispy Kreme, goodbye Batteries Plus, goodbye Goldberg's Furniture, goodbye Emerald City Video and on and on), so good on 'em. And besides, I thought it was damned nice of them to ask me to play their event. It would be easy for a lot of people in that area to treat me like a pariah, but instead, they've treated me like a friend and neighbour. Even if I spell neighbour the Canadian way. The party was in an airplane hangar, surrounded by vintage aircraft and motorcycles, and when I showed up, the party was in full swing and people were having a blast. They welcomed us, fed us, and sang and danced to the music. There is some bizarre YouTube footage of it, complete with dancers who look like fresh-caught fish flopping on the dock, and a man in a loud madras jacket who looks like he's checking his blackberry until the camera zooms in and you can see he's singing along. Thanks to everyone there for a great night!
On top of those shows, a bunch of other concert announcements for this summer have ben trickling out, so I figured I'd better consolidate them here. Folk Festivals are a huge part of the summer here in Canada, and I have great memories of playing at them, as well as attending them (my Dad was the Chair of the Mariposa Festival when I was a little kid), so I'm trying to hit as many of them as I can this year:
July 4 Mariposa Festival, Orillia, ON
July 10/11 Vancouver Island Musicfest, Courtenay, BC
July 12 Winnipeg Folk Festival, Winnipeg, MB
July 18/19 Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Vancouver, BC
July 25/26 Calgary Folk Music Festival, Calgary, AB
August 7 Festival of Friends, Hamilton, ON
August 21/22 Ottawa Folk Festival, Ottawa, ON
I was thrilled to be invited to participate in a few benefit gigs myself lately, and it seemed to make for some fitting first live appearances post-BNL. A couple of weeks ago I played at People For Education's Telling Tales Out of School gala. At the last minute, Jian Ghomeshi cancelled as the host, and I was asked to host it as well. It was a great event for a great cause. PFE have been working tirelessly for years to advocate on behalf of public school students and their familes here in Ontario, and with three sons in the public system, and as a graduate myself, I was more than happy to help out.
Then, last week, I played a set at the fundraising party for the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation in Central New York. I've gotten to know Central New York pretty well over the past couple of years, and Caz is a beautiful little enclave set around a lake. The Foundation has done a great job of maintaining the village vibe as well as warding off the behemoth likes of WalMart et al, ensuring that their community doesn't die the same bleak death of so many other parts of the state/country/world. Driving along Erie Blvd in DeWitt and East Syracuse can be pretty depressing sometimes (goodbye Arthur Treacher, goodbye Krispy Kreme, goodbye Batteries Plus, goodbye Goldberg's Furniture, goodbye Emerald City Video and on and on), so good on 'em. And besides, I thought it was damned nice of them to ask me to play their event. It would be easy for a lot of people in that area to treat me like a pariah, but instead, they've treated me like a friend and neighbour. Even if I spell neighbour the Canadian way. The party was in an airplane hangar, surrounded by vintage aircraft and motorcycles, and when I showed up, the party was in full swing and people were having a blast. They welcomed us, fed us, and sang and danced to the music. There is some bizarre YouTube footage of it, complete with dancers who look like fresh-caught fish flopping on the dock, and a man in a loud madras jacket who looks like he's checking his blackberry until the camera zooms in and you can see he's singing along. Thanks to everyone there for a great night!
On top of those shows, a bunch of other concert announcements for this summer have ben trickling out, so I figured I'd better consolidate them here. Folk Festivals are a huge part of the summer here in Canada, and I have great memories of playing at them, as well as attending them (my Dad was the Chair of the Mariposa Festival when I was a little kid), so I'm trying to hit as many of them as I can this year:
July 4 Mariposa Festival, Orillia, ON
July 10/11 Vancouver Island Musicfest, Courtenay, BC
July 12 Winnipeg Folk Festival, Winnipeg, MB
July 18/19 Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Vancouver, BC
July 25/26 Calgary Folk Music Festival, Calgary, AB
August 7 Festival of Friends, Hamilton, ON
August 21/22 Ottawa Folk Festival, Ottawa, ON
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Hey Now, The Fair's a-Filling
For the last little while I've had my nose to the grindstone, working on the music I'm writing for Ben Jonson's play Bartholmew Fair, which will be running this coming season at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada. I love working there - this is the third play I've scored - but it's a ton of work. We start meeting before the previous season is even over, and spend months going through the text alone and with the director, Antoni Cimolino, coming up with ideas for musical themes, styles, and where the cues will happen. Then, I sit down with guitar, keyboard and computer and start procrastinating. Well, it's all come to fruition now. Over the past several weeks, I've been out in Stratford at least once a week working with the cast on the songs (there are three songs built into the text, plus I've written incidental score music to help with scene transitions, and to play underneath other sequences as well), and we go into the studio next week to record all the instrumental score tracks.
I've posted one of the songs, in demo form, on both my Facebook page and on Last.fm, so you can get a taste of what I've been doing lately. Hope you enjoy it, and I hope you can make it out sometime this season to see the play, along with some of the other great productions going on this year.
I've posted one of the songs, in demo form, on both my Facebook page and on Last.fm, so you can get a taste of what I've been doing lately. Hope you enjoy it, and I hope you can make it out sometime this season to see the play, along with some of the other great productions going on this year.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Some Of My Favourite Things (Live)
I've always wanted to make a DVD or a playlist with a collection of my favourite live performances I've seen over the years. I guess that's what YouTube is for. Now and again, I'll just post some of my faves here instead. This is Little Richard from John Lennon's Live Peace In Toronto concert in 1969. Played insanely fast, I've always found this clip incredibly exciting.
On another note, I've always wanted to be able to share iTunes playlists. Anyone know if this can be done? I imagine a world where I could post or email a playlist (just the playlist, not the files), exported from iTunes, and if you don't have any of the songs on it, it would skip them, or you could buy them from the ITMS, and if you did, they'd just play. Thoughts?
On another note, I've always wanted to be able to share iTunes playlists. Anyone know if this can be done? I imagine a world where I could post or email a playlist (just the playlist, not the files), exported from iTunes, and if you don't have any of the songs on it, it would skip them, or you could buy them from the ITMS, and if you did, they'd just play. Thoughts?
Monday, March 16, 2009
I Don't Know Much, But I Know It's YouTube
So Colin Meloy of the Decemberists threw down a gauntlet for reasons unknown to me. On his Twitter feed (is that what it is? a feed? a page? an account? or is it just his Twitter?), he asked fans to write a song about Linda Ronstadt and post them on YouTube. He'll select a winner and post it to his Twitter afountage. I'm a fan, so I figure I qualify.
It was fun to have a challenge to write a song like this, with no real expectations. I'm been up to my ears in writing and orchestrating some faux-Jacobean music for Stratford's production of Bartholmew Fair, so it was a nice treat to write something that comes a little more naturally like this. Being a Ronstadian scholar and all, you know.
It was fun to have a challenge to write a song like this, with no real expectations. I'm been up to my ears in writing and orchestrating some faux-Jacobean music for Stratford's production of Bartholmew Fair, so it was a nice treat to write something that comes a little more naturally like this. Being a Ronstadian scholar and all, you know.
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