Canadian Musician articles from January 2005

Canadian Musician archives from January 2005

Help the independents.(feedBACK)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Hello again CM. To Ian Graham: I am sorry but I don't believe that I ever said that I "enjoyed living in a world where 'major' music is so 'cookie cutter corporate' and 'fast food' factory line." In actual fact, I do enjoy, even...

Press kits--what you should know.(Indie Insider)
January 1, 2005... Putting together a press kit for a band is straightforward for the most part. However, it's quite shocking to see some of the things that tend to get left out. Some bands forget to include contact info, photos--even CDs for crying out loud! ...

Who's on your mailing list?(Indie Insider)
January 1, 2005... Who's on your mailing list? That's a very valid question to ask any artist or musician who is serious about their music. Every artist wants to get more people on their mailing list. Ironically, most artists wouldn't be able to tell you anything...

Shania Twain presents the first of the CARAS' Band Aid grants.(Changes)
January 1, 2005... Recently, Shania Twain presented the first of 29 Canadian schools with one of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) Band Aid grants at her hometown high school in Timmons, ON. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Shania Twain...

The Salads go wild.(Changes)
January 1, 2005... The Salads have recently released their first full length DVD Band Gone Wild on December 21, 2004. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The DVD featuring a full-length concert, four videos, studio footage, and a ton of private footage shot by the...

New and emerging talent to be showcased at the 11th annual NXNE music festival.(Changes)
January 1, 2005... Over the past decade the North By Northeast (NXNE) Music Festival and Conference has been showcasing new and emerging talent to industry professionals and music fans, and this year will be no different. From June 9-11, 2005, artists will...

Guitar Workshop Plus adds west coast session.(Changes)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Due to popular demand, Guitar Workshop Plus... Bass, Drums and Keyboard has added an additional session in Vancouver, BC. Guitar Workshop Plus is designed for everyone from teenagers, adult hobbyists and professional musicians. It is a unique,...

Canadian conference on the crossroads of copyright law.(Changes)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... "Sound Bytes/Sound Rights: Canada at the Crossroads of Copyright Law" is the name of a one-day academic conference being held at the University of Toronto on February 11, 2005. Presented by the Technology and Intellectual Property...

Industry experts to speak at the 2005 Canadian Music Week.(Changes)
January 1, 2005... Five internationally acclaimed industry professionals have been lined up to speak at the 2005 Canadian Music Week (CMW) Executive Conference, which will be held at the Sheraton Centre, Toronto, March 3-5, 2005. Charles Goldstuck, President...

Events.(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... International Association for Jazz Education Conference Long Beach, CA January 5-8, 2005 (785) 776-8744, FAX (785) 776-6190 info@iaje.org, www.iaje.org Midem: 39th Annual Music Market Cannes, France January...

Sonar 4 Producer Edition.(ROAD test)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 1, 2005... It doesn't seem all that long ago that Cakewalk made a good little program called Pro Audio. Their versions of Pro Audio 7, 8 and 9 gave owners of PC computers a good platform to record on--at a good price. It certainly wasn't going to make Mac...

Sonor Giant Step Middle Pedal.(ROAD test)(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 1, 2005... Sonor currently offers 11 pedals; 6 from its regular series of hardware (P233, P433, DP492S, DP492SL (left version), P693 and DP692) that come standard with each line of its drumkits respectively and 5 from its standalone flagship line, the...

Radial Tonebone Classic & Hot British.(ROAD test)
January 1, 2005... Radial Engineering are a Canadian company dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in tone. Seems like such a simple statement right? Well, when you get the chance to play around with the Tonebone line of pedals you start to get the picture in...

Back to the basics.(guitar)
January 1, 2005... In Michael Jordan's book I Can't Accept Not Trying, he states "Everything I did, everything I achieved, can be traced back to the way I approached the fundamentals and how I applied them to my abilities." He also writes: "The minute you get...

Paring down your performance.(keyboards)
January 1, 2005... With the ever-increasing amount of possibilities available to us as keyboard players it's possible to get lost in the weeds occasionally when writing parts, recording or trying to recreate our work on stage. While there's nothing wrong with...

Deconstructing Watt--warming up.(bass)(Interview)
January 1, 2005... CM continues its series of columns with legendary bassist Mike Watt... Canadian Musician: Do you play more for groove or melody? Mike Watt: Well, it's kind of like inhaling and exhaling; you have to do both at different times. There's...

The best, the very best and nothing but the best ...(percussion)
January 1, 2005... There has always been this discussion between musicians about certain music styles as to who is "the best." The most recent public outburst came in this very publication in a letter to the editor, and as fate would have it, it was aimed at me...

Etudes? Why etudes at all?(woodwinds)
January 1, 2005... I'm often asked by classically oriented flute players about how to approach learning jazz. Not surprisingly, they tend to feel that some sort of written etudes is the way to go. One asked me about some specific Yusef Lateef etudes with a...

The 4 T's part II.(brass)
January 1, 2005... Memorize Tunes It is important to memorize tunes for two reasons. One, every jazz player needs to have a repertoire of tunes that she can play without resorting to a fake book. This shared repertoire allows a group of jazz players to get...

Drum and bass mixing.(digital music)
January 1, 2005... I am likely to earn myself some grief here, but I gotta say that my preferred approach to mixing drums and bass, the foundation of a groovy track, is not exactly old school. Of course, I have an admiration for a really well played, unedited,...

Be it, feel it, love it, live it.(vocals)
January 1, 2005... In this article, I would like to talk about the true dedication that is required to become a singer. What dedication you may ask? How is my life going to change? The truth is that most people either don't understand what it takes to be a...

The evolution of a songwriter: how Ron Sexsmith learned to write songs ... and really doesn't care if he ever has another hit.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2005... With Retriever, Ron Sexsmith's latest album, the Toronto musician, whose songs have been covered by everyone from Rod Stewart to k.d. lang, declares in his bio: "With a few of the tracks, I think I've finally figured out how to write a chorus!"...

Projet Orange: Brothers Jean-Christophe and Jean-Sebastien Boies may be basking in the radio success of the first single, "Tell All Your Friends" from their newest release, Megaphobe (BMG), but they are not strangers to the experience.
January 1, 2005... How many Francophone artists can English-speaking Canada name besides Celine? Not many? That's too bad. So add Projet Orange (sounds similar to "protege," en francais tout le monde!) to the list of successful artists from "la belle province" to...

Avoid career suicide: these costly mistakes can cripple your chances.
January 1, 2005... Everyone wants attention--aspiring songwriters/bands more than most people. As far as getting it and keeping it, many of the people who contributed to this piece had one overriding piece of advice that bears repeating immediately... ...

Music education: becoming a better musician.
January 1, 2005... The National Association for Music Education (MENC) is an organization whose main mission is for the advancement of music education by encouraging the study and making of music. One of their endeavours is to compile facts/quotes and documented...

A good kind of stress.(writing)
January 1, 2005... What we communicate to our listeners with our lyrics has as much to do with "how we say it," as it has to do with "what we say." Like in a conversation, our tone, inflection, pitch, decibel level and general attitude will influence the...

Miking the drums.(recording)
January 1, 2005... There is no great trick to making a set of drums sound like a well-tuned, punchy, solid drum set. First, start with a well-tuned, punchy, solid drum set. Properly tuned, well-played drums coupled with good songwriting and solid engineering will...

The road to success is paved with dead raccoons.(live sound)
January 1, 2005... Your band no doubt aspires to become mega-selling international recording artists--with your own line of designer clothes and a reality TV show--in as short a time as possible. Six months tops. And while it has happened, for most, the road to...

T-shirts: where the money goes.(business)
January 1, 2005... The views and opinions expressed in this article are not meant to substitute for legal advice which should be sought in each particular instance. Introduction At a recent concert I heard on fan remark, "$20 for a T-shirt? Little did...

Planet Waves Tuner Up Bracket.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Planet Waves recently released the Tuner Up Bracket. Holding the guitarist's tuner in place with a sturdy elastic loop, the Tuner Up bracket hangs from an acoustic guitar's sound hole. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Roland Fantom-Xa Music Production Synthesizer.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Roland recently unveiled the Fantom-Xa Music Production Synthesizer--a professional keyboard that has some of the most important features found on the well-known Fantom-X6. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Fantom-Xa features 128 Voice...

Vox ToneLab SE.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Vox recently introduced the latest addition of the Valvetronix series--the ToneLab SE amplifier and effect pedalboard. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The ToneLab SE includes Vox's Valve Reactor circuit that uses a 12AX7 dual triode as a power...

Electro-Harmonix Tube EQ.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Electro-Harmonix recently released the Tube EQ dual vacuum tube equalizer. The Tube EQ is driven by two hand-selected 12AX7 tubes and provides a tone that brings true channel strip EQ quality to your setup, according to Electro-Harmonix. ...

Zildjian signature Drumstick Bags.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Zildjian recently released the addition of the Zildjian Artist Collection Drumstick Bags to its accessories and cases series of products. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Zildjian Artist Collection Drumstick Bags make their introduction...

G & L Invader XL.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... G & L has recently released the Invader XL guitar equipped with twin humbuckers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Invader XL has genuine Alnico pickups designed by the company's own Paul Gagnon. The Invader XL features the company's...

Meinl Byzance cymbals.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Meinl recently introduced the dry finish in the Byzance Series. Cymbals that have a dry finish have a matte surface. The Byzance Series cymbals are available in a 14" dry hi-hat and a 20" dry ride model. The finish is attained by sandblasting...

Dean Vendetta guitar.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Dean Guitars recently introduced the Vendetta line of electric guitars with four different models to choose from. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] All four models have a string-through-body design, dual humbuckers, a Dean V Ferrule pattern, 25.5...

Yamaha BBT 500 bass amplifier.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Yamaha recently unveiled the BBT 500H bass amplifier. The BBT 500H is the world's first all-digital bass amp according to Yamaha. It features 11 modern and vintage amplifier sounds, good tone shaping capability to suit any style of music and...

Sennheiser HSP2 and HSP4 headsets.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Sennheiser recently unveiled the HSP2 (omni) and the HSP4 (cardioid) headsets. The HSP2 and the HSP4 headsets, according to Sennheiser, are ideal for different applications including onstage performances and use on loud convention floors....

Fender Dyna-Touch III series.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Fender recently added some major upgrades to its Dyna-Touch III Series. The Dyna-Touch III series includes six amplifiers: the Bullet 150, Champion 300, Princeton 650, Deluxe 900, Stage 1000 and Stage 1600. These amplifiers feature upgrades...

Meisel 8860 Double Bass.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Meisel Stringed Instruments recently introduced the 8860 Double Bass. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Meisel 8860 Double Bass possesses a solid Spruce top that is carved, not pressed. According to Meisel, the 8860 produces the rich,...

Ultimate Teach Yourself Classic Rock Guitar.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Warner Bros. recently released the Ultimate Teach Yourself Classic Rock Guitar, a new book and CD set based on famous hits from bands such as the Kinks, the Beach Boys, Credence Clearwater Revival and more. The book features well-known...

Seymour Duncan pickup matched sets.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Seymour Duncan recently their most well liked pickup models in pre-matched sets. The release of the matched sets include the Vintage Blues Set, Hot Rodded Humbucker Set, Distortion Mayhem Set, California '50s Set and the Everything Axe Set. ...

Peavey Acoustic Stage Pack.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Peavey Electronics recently introduced the Acoustic Stage Pack--a beginner's guitar package providing an acoustic guitar as well as accessories such as a durable, protective gig bag, a Peavey guitar strap, strings, picks and a digital tuner....

Hohner Resonator Guitar.(hot Gear)
January 1, 2005... Hohner recently introduced the Resonator Guitar, an ideal crossover for guitarists who want to add a soulful, bluesy touch to their music. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Resonator Guitar models both feature wooden bodies with traditional...

Brian Byrne.(SHOWCase)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Who: Brian Byrne Where: Toronto, ON What: country cool Contact: The Management Trust, 411 Queen St. W., 3rd Fl., Toronto, ON M5V 2A5 (416) 979-7070, FAX (416) 979-0505 Tuesdays, Thursdays And If It Rains marks Brian Byrne's...

Dan Politano.(SHOWCase)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Who: Dan Politano Where: Victoria, BC What: light rock Contact: 994 Snowdrop Ave., Victoria, BC V8Z 2N4 (250) 881-2838, info@danpolitano.com, www.danpolitano.com. The 24-year-old self-taught guitarist readily admits in his bio...

Kellylee Evans.(SHOWCase)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Who: Kellylee Evans Where: Ottawa, ON What: global-influenced jazz Contact: KAE MEDIA, PO Box 75, Ottawa, ON K0A 1B0 (613) 253-2017, FAX (613) 253-6398, kellyleeevans@yahoo.com Since recording this CD, Fight Or Flight?,...