Danny Mack  “Country Music Hall Of Fame” We at Dakotamack Inc. are proud to announce that on Sunday, October 16th 2005 Danny Mack (The Cement City Cowboy) will be inducted into the “Country Music Hall Of Fame” in his home province of British Columbia Canada by the B.C.C.M.A. (British Columbia Country Music Association). Regards, Bonnie Dakota McCartney (President) Dakotamack Inc. Phone: 604-687-5217 Fax: 604-687-7185 E-mail: dakotamack@telus.net Website: www.dannymack.com   Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Don Grashey has passed away, at home in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Monday, September 12. He was 79. Ironically his death has occurred on the day the 2005 Canadian Country Music Awards were being presented in Calgary; and comes only 10 days after the death of his longtime music business partner Chuck Williams, Don Grashey is recognized for 'discovering" Loretta Lynn and signed the future country star to his fledgling Zero Records label. He subsequently managed the careers of Canadian Country Music Hall of Famers Myrna Lorrie and Carroll Baker. Grashey was also a prolific songwriter, most notably co-writing the country hit "Are You Mine", recorded my many Canadian and Nashville duet acts. Don Grashey was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989. An in-depth Obituary / Tribute on Don Grashey and Chuck Williams will be published in the October, 2005 edition of COUNTRY MUSIC NEWS. www.countrymusicnews.ca Your Australian Countrymusic Connection in Canada richard drumdee patterson email: cancountrynews@yahoo.com Ottawa Ontario CANADA. Corb Lund Hair In My Eyes Like A Highland Steer Tour Toronto, ON – There’s no time for the truck to get stuck! With just three weeks until the release date of Corb Lund’s new cd, Hair In My Eyes Like A Highland Steer (released on Stony Plain Records, September 6th),

 

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE
August 13, 2005
New Canadian Acts Wait Out Q4 Congestion
BY LARRY LEBLANC
TORONTO - Developing acts could lose out as Canadian labels and broadcasters
prepare for the key fourth quarter.

A glut of domestic product is raising fears that emerging acts will be
squeezed off the radio during what is typically the year's prime sales period.

The situation is complicated by the requirements of Canada's Broadcast Act,
under which radio must play a minimum amount of domestically produced content.
Stations say they often rely on established stars to meet their quotas,
crowding out newer acts.

"The fall rush has started," says Wayne Webster, music director at adult top
40 station CKFM in Toronto. "We're getting singles now, so when the album hits
in September everybody is aware. But we're also seeing new acts not releasing
[records] because they could be lost in the fall shuffle."

Universal Music Canada director of national promotion Jeremy Summers says
mid-July has become the time to start servicing radio with tracks from major
fourth-quarter releases.

"We want to be at mass saturation with a second single on Dec. 5," Summers
explains. "It takes us five weeks to get there; that works out to Nov. 1 to
service it. The first single might last 20 weeks. That works out to July 15 for
release of the first single."

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission "CanCon"
quotas mean that all new domestic recordings compete against each other for
airplay.

A recording is considered to be CanCon if it meets two of four criteria: It
contains music composed by a Canadian, it contains lyrics written by a
Canadian, it is performed or sung primarily by a Canadian, or it was recorded in
Canada.

BIG ACTS FILL QUOTAS
Since Jan. 3, 1999, the CanCon quota for English-language commercial radio
stations has been 35%. However, most stations licensed in the past five years
have a quota of 40%.

With a heavy load of CanCon singles leading the fourth quarter, broadcasters
here—particularly at mainstream rock, modern rock and adult top 40
stations—are meeting their quotas with selections from such established Canadian acts as
Our Lady Peace, the Trews, Sum 41, Matthew Good, the Arcade Fire and Simple
Plan.

"We just don't have room right now for new acts," says Don Mitchell, music
director at modern rock CFNY in Toronto. "I have labels grinding me over stuff
that we are not playing. It's not a case [of] we don't like some of it; it's a
case [of] we don't have room on our playlists. We have so many priorities
right now."

The problem is unlikely to ease soon, with releases by Canadian heavyweights
the Tragically Hip, Nickelback and Pilate on the way.

"Every major alternative core act is coming out now," Mitchell says.

"There is so much Canadian product from majors, indies, established acts and
breaking artists now," Warner Music Canada VP of radio promotion Steve Coady
says. "It's different than it has ever been."

Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Canada director of Canadian operations Paul
Tuch says the adult top 40 sector "is where there's the big glut of product
now."

"There are records crossing over from other formats into" adult top 40, he
adds, noting that there are adult top 40 stations "playing Our Lady Peace and
some playing new [rock] singles by Sum 41 and Simple Plan, which are new to the
format."

Programmers and label sources concur that new domestic acts face significant
obstacles at Canadian radio, particularly those on independent labels that
lack extensive promotional and marketing support.

Labels confirm they are holding back releases by new acts until the new year
to avoid the fourth-quarter logjam. And broadcasters say that is good.

"There is so much stuff coming out now, but in January and February it is
tough to find Canadian product," says Rob Farina, PD at adult top 40 CHUM-FM in
Toronto. "Then they have a better shot at airplay." ••••
------------------------------------
BILLBOARD
August 13, 2005
Oz Report Recommends Biz, Gov't Cooperation
BY CHRISTIE ELIEZER
SYDNEY - An Australian government-funded report due in mid-August proposes
ways for the country's music business and various levels of federal and state
governments to work closer together.

However, key voices within the local industry are querying whether internal
differences can be put aside on important issues so a unified voice can be
found to engage the government.

Melbourne-based research company Allen Consulting Group compiled the report,
"Let's Get the Show on the Road," for the government-funded Contemporary Music
Working Group.

It drew on input from 100 sources across the music sector, including trade
group the Australian Record Industry Assn. and authors' rights body the
Australian Performing Right Assn.

The report's recommendations will be assessed during the next 12 months by
relevant ministries covering the arts, trade, copyright, technology, tourism and
indigenous affairs. Government sources estimate that any approved
recommendations could begin to be implemented by July 2006.

Paul Bodlovich is the Perth-based executive officer of the West Australian
Music Industry Assn., a nonprofit organization that promotes and supports West
Australian talent. He says support from the government would be welcomed on
major issues.

"Traditionally there's been resistance from a large element of the Australian
music industry . . . about working with the government," Bodlovich says. "But
industries like mining and agriculture have shown that the bigger you get,
the more support you need from government."

Music executives largely agree that issues including copyright protection,
expanding export initiatives and tax benefits for investors in recording or live
entertainment require a closer relationship with the government, including
funding where appropriate. However, in the past, state funding has been seen as
piecemeal and ultimately ineffective.

Industry insiders also acknowledge that failure to present a unified voice to
the government has cost them in the past on such issues as parallel importing
and CD copying.

Philip Mortlock, managing director of Sydney-based independent Origin Music,
admits that the industry has previously come across as "an in-fighting rabble
. . . But most of us have realized we have to put up a cohesive face, not just
to the government but to the public."

The report identified the two best options for cooperation between the
parties. One would set up a government-supported music industry body similar to the
New Zealand Music Industry Commission.

The NZMIC was established in 2002 with government funding. It is a collection
of executives from major trade bodies that works in partnership with other
trade associations, the private sector and government departments to expand
exports and develop new markets overseas. It also works to increase domestic
airplay for local acts.

The other option is to introduce a forum, the Industry Action Agenda, where
government and music industry executives would meet regularly to share
information and develop cost-effective solutions to the industry's challenges.

The ARIA has long been accepted as the main face of the country's music
business. However, other such national lobbying groups as the Sydney-based Music
Managers Forum and Brisbane-based Assn. of Independent Record Labels (AIR) have
emerged in the past eight years.

Alistair Cranney, an MMF member and managing director of Adelaide-based What
Management, argues that outsiders see the ARIA as "the main voice of the
industry, but [with] its own agenda. [However], issues can be resolved if everyone
realizes it's for the better good."

Cranney says the music industry in Australia "is so fragmented that resolving
an issue can often seem impossible."

AIR chief executive Stuart Watters insists, though, that the leaders of the
country's various industry organizations "deeply understand the issues at stake
and know the importance of working together or losing everything."

Mortlock, who is a member of the AIR board and an associate independent
member of the ARIA board, adds that there is "already a lot of dialogue and
exchange of information and contacts between the heads of ARIA and AIR."

Executives from major labels, the broadcasting sector and live entertainment
wanted more time to study the report before commenting to Billboard. ••••
Your Australian Countrymusic Connection in Canada
richard drumdee patterson
email: cancountrynews@yahoo.com
PO Box 988 Stn B Ottawa ON Canada K1P 5R1
 

KEITH NOMINATED FOR CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD
Congratulations Keith! Keith was nominated for Top Selling Album for the 2005 Canadian Country Music Awards that will be handed out September 12 in Calgary. more!

Country-music nominees named
Last Updated Wed, 03 Aug 2005
Jason McCoy's Road Hammers tied with Paul Brandt to lead the nominations for the Canadian Country Music Awards with six nods each.

Made up of McCoy, Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne, the Road Hammers were formed for the express purpose of making music about truckers. They are known for their signature tune, I'm a Road Hammer – which garnered nominations for song of the year, single of the year and video of the year.

(Courtesy Theroadhammers.com)
The group is also in the running for album of the year for its self-titled debut disc, as well as for group of the year honours and the rising-star award.

According to the band's website, McCoy, who is nominated for male artist of the year for his solo work, put the Road Hammers band together as a side project to pay "tribute to the men and women who call the highways of the world their home."

The Road Hammers album includes such other songs as Hammer Goin' Down, 4 Wheel Drive and Keep on Truckin'.
The names of the nominees were unveiled at simultaneous press conferences Wednesday in Calgary and Toronto.
Like the Road Hammers, Brandt walked away with six nominations.
Trucking also proved to be a potent theme for the perennial nominee and winner, with his cover version of the 1975 C.W. McCall hit Convoy earning nominations for single of the year and video of the year.

He also got nods for song of the year for the single Home, as well nominations for album of the year, male artist of the year and the fans' choice award.

Nashville Star alumnus George Canyon is up for a total of five prizes, including male artist of the year. Alberta singer/songwriter Caroyln Dawn Johnson received four nods, as did the Corb Lund Band and the Poverty Plainsmen.

Given out by the Canadian Country Music Association, the Canadian Country Music Awards honour excellence in a total of 38 categories.

Besides the well-known awards, there are also categories set aside for such things as the booking agent of the year, country fair of the year and night club of the year.

The gala awards ceremony will take place in Calgary, which was chosen as the location to commemorate Alberta's centennial.

Brandt will host the event, which will be broadcast on CBC on Sept. 12. CMT will rebroadcast the ceremony at a later date.
Your Australian Countrymusic Connection in Canada
richard drumdee patterson
email: cancountrynews@yahoo.com
PO Box 988 Stn B Ottawa ON Canada K1P 5R1
 

Richard Drumdee Patterson back stage in Canada with Keith Urban.

(Photo by House of blues productions Canada.)
 

Keith Urban meets a fan in Canada.
Presenter: John Nutting,
ABC Show: Saturday Night Country.

http://www.abc.net.au/snc/stories/s1365201.htm

In fact the fan is some one who writes a lot about Australian as well as country music from his homeland Canada.
Richard Drumdee Patterson keeps us up to date at Saturday Night Country with the latest country music news from Canada. He went along to the concert on April 9th in Ottawa Canada.
We have had a lot of pictures from Keith's shows there...but now here's a "fan foto" !
If you have any from any other of Keiths shows we would love to see them. Perhaps you were lucky enough to meet Keith and have a picture taken with him.
We would love to hear your story about that.
Also if you haven't already been there, on our previous Keith story you can hear the first part of an interview from some years ago that we recorded. It's a podcast so you can down load it and listen at your leisure.

 

Tonight at Massey Hall, 'Gord is back'
By JAMES ADAMS
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
 

If there was a Mount Rushmore in Canada, we wouldn't have any politicians on it, that's for sure. There'd be Peter Gzowski, Gordon Lightfoot, he'd be on it, people like that."
-- Murray McLauchlan

Canadians have been waiting to exhale ever since an abdominal haemorrhage put Gordon Lightfoot into a coma in the fall of 2002. Sure, there have been plenty of signs, particularly in the last 10 months, that Canada's bard seems to have bounced back from his three visits to the surgeon. These include a round of one-off benefit concerts, a brief appearance at Mariposa 2004 and a recent evening hanging with Brian and Bruce Good at an Ian Tyson performance in a Toronto club.

But for most, the real confirmation that "Gord is back" occurs tonight, when Lightfoot, 66, and the four-piece band that's supported him, off and on, for the last 18 years, take the stage of Massey Hall in Toronto. Only then, when Lightfoot's baritone eases into Minstrel of the Dawn or Never Too Close or Don Quixote, then continues for another 21 or 22 self-penned songs, will Canucks permit themselves a genuine sigh of relief. Until now, the sporadic reports of Lightfoot sightings at this award show or that, or playing three consecutive dates in Vegas, have been a kind of tease, an anticipation of tonight's pleasures.

In one sense, Lightfoot's appearance -- the first of four consecutive Massey Hall shows -- is rather beside the point. The 2,600 or so fans at tonight's gig likely have committed to memory at least 90 per cent of the lyrics, melodies and arrangements Lightfoot will unveil. Never the most arresting or at least the most comfortable of on-stage performers, it's Lightfoot's songs that are his monument. As Tyson remarked yesterday from his ranch in Alberta, "He's in a class by himself, in terms of presentation and the level of his stuff and the tremendous consistency he's shown, especially the things he did in the 1970s. . . . I hope it goes terrific tonight. I'm sure it will."
Another friend who has Lightfoot in her thoughts this week is classical guitarist Liona Boyd. Contacted at her home in Florida, she said, "Gordon will always have a special place in my heart for his generosity and for helping me launch my career." Indeed, it was in the mid-seventies that Lightfoot, then at the height of his fame and creative powers, invited the twentysomething Boyd to go on tour with him to open an estimated 100 concerts. "He introduced me to a life of limos, Lear jets, sold-out arenas and hockey stadiums, encounters with people like John Denver and Kris Kristofferson, New York agents . . . and helped me build a significant fan base of my own.

"What I admire about his music," she added, "is that he always kept his course and didn't listen to managers or record companies who were trying to make him more 'commercial.' His style was unique -- and so representative of Canada."

Boyd said she spoke twice with Lightfoot during his recovery in hospital in Hamilton. "I'm delighted he's recovered and is back again, singing. I only regret that we never recorded some music together as we were both such fans of each other's styles. Maybe there's still time. I'm ready and willing!"

Speaking this week from London, Bonnie Dobson, composer of the classic post-apocalypse ballad Morning Dew, recalled her first meeting with Lightfoot, in the late summer of 1965 at an all-Canadian folk festival in Sault Ste. Marie. A Toronto native, Dobson had moved to New York in 1960, "because that's what you did if you were a folk artist then."

The Soo festival "was a most remarkable weekend," she said, and Lightfoot, who'd already had his songs covered by Peter, Paul and Mary, and Marty Robbins, "was a model of generosity and completely without affectation. I can't say enough nice things about him. I went back to New York after that, but then I thought, 'Why am I living in New York when I could be back in Canada with all those great performers and songwriters?' " Dobson did eventually return to Canada to live in Toronto for four years before moving to England in the late 1960s. "Whenever I'd be homesick over there, I'd listen to two artists on my record player: Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell."

David Wiffen -- the Ottawa-based composer of such famous songs as Drivin' Wheel, More Often Than Not and Coast to Coast Fever and a member, with Bruce Cockburn, of Three's a Crowd -- first met Lightfoot in the early 1960s when Lightfoot was one-half of the Two Tones duo and a regular at the now-defunct Village Corner coffee house in Toronto.

"I always admired Gord as a performer from the first time I saw him," he recalled this week. Later, Wiffen wrote a song, The Ballad of Jacob Marlowe, "with Gord in mind to sing because I always felt that Gord was an excellent storyteller."

Murray McLauchlan, one of that generation of Canadian singer-songwriters who followed in Lightfoot's footsteps in the early 1970s, noted in late 2003 that while Lightfoot is "a visceral writer" who seems to require the ups and downs of his life to fuel his creativity, he's also a trained composer, having studied orchestration in Los Angeles in the late 1950s.

"Gord writes like Mozart. He writes down actual notes on staff paper. Everybody else just gets a bottle of Scotch and hammers away until he gets something. Or not."

McLauchlan noted how Lightfoot managed to become "this huge, successful pop artist," most significantly in the 1970s, "while maintaining this long-lasting core of fans as a folk artist.

"I mean, you can't go into a Tim Hortons or a Canadian Tire in this country and not find someone in the checkout line who knows something by Lightfoot.

"They may not have the records at home, but they'll be able to sing you something from The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald or If You Could Read My Mind."

Gordon Lightfoot plays tonight through Saturday at Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. in Toronto. For information: 416-872-4255.
 

The Scene ......London's Entertainment
Arts and News Site Feature

Keith Urban
Country music superstar has travelled a long road
story by Richard Moule
It's the voice that catches you off guard. Country music superstar Keith Urban may have a smooth singing voice, but in conversation, he retains his distinctive Australian accent. With his chiseled features and windswept blonde hair, it would be easy to mistake Urban as a California surfer or the rebellious son of a Texas farmer, but he was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. That's right, one of the biggest names in country music is an Aussie. This is why Urban chuckles that his accent sometimes throws people off.

'Every now and then I still get that at meet-and-greets, mostly from kids who haven't heard me speak, having only seen me in videos or heard me on record. When they hear me speaking they freak out,' he laughs back stage before a show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 'That was another of the things about moving to Nashville. I'd been playing country music in talent shows, since I was seven years old, so it was so natural for me to sing one way and speak in a different way, but I can understand how much of a shock it was to everybody else.'

Not that it matters now. With his latest album, Be Here (EMI Music), Urban is hotter than the Australian outback in the middle of the summer. It's his most personal statement yet, with Urban co-producing and co-writing most of the songs. The album title seems to work on two different levels: one about living and enjoying life in the moment and on a more philosophical level, it seems to be about just being grateful to be here at this time and place.

'It's just about being present in everything, from what you get out of life to being in conversation with somebody. Sometimes you're talking to somebody and you realize that they are miles away. And you're like, 'Be here. I'm trying to share something with you!' I'm very much in the middle of my life and I seem to have spent a lot of my time on the perimeter of it and not really being fully cognizant of everything that was happening and enjoying it. When you start to worry about what is happening in your life you're not really in the middle of your life, you're on the perimeter. I feel really good about being at the center of it as I have ever been in my life.'

On Be Here, Urban tackles some of the big questions of life, from its good times (You're My Better Half, Making Memories of Us and God's Been Good To Me) to its darker moments (Tonight I Wanna Cry, The Hard Way and Nobody Drinks Alone). If there is a common thread that runs through the record it is perseverance.

'If there is a theme I think it is life, about its ups and downs, the joys, the sorrows, the sense of freedom. Even the freedom we don't have yet, but the freedom we would like to have. One of the great human traits is the optimism that comes from the spirit, from the sense that we are worth more than this. We strive for it, work hard for it, and rise above it. You can't live your life in a peaceful bubble without experiencing the realities of life. Without getting too deep, we're all just spiritual beings having a human experience and it can be tough. It can be a challenge.'

Urban knows what facing challenges head on is all about, but he has also been blessed with extraordinary talent and determination. Even at an early age, Urban dreamed of the bright lights of Nashville. Upon arriving from New Zealand, Urban's family settled in the northern Australian city of Brisbane. At six he picked up the guitar, captivated by his dad's country music collection that included artists like Don Williams, Charley Pride, Glen Campbell and Dolly Parton. By eight, he was winning local talent contests. When he was 10, his family moved to a farming community north of Brisbane called Caboolture, buying a 12-acre farm. By 15 he quit school and hit the road, playing mostly for cover bands in Aussie rock pubs in the big cities. It was there that he developed his hybrid country/rock style.

'It was everything. Ronnie Milsap was big in the '80s and I was doing Stranger In My House and then covering some Aussie pub rock bands. John Mellencamp. Creedence Clearwater Revival. Steve Miller Band. Just mixing it all up. I look back and realize that all those songs in those cover bands were helping me to formulate my style.

'As the years have gone on I've started to look back at Bernie Taupin as a fantastic lyricist,' explains Urban, who covers the Elton John/Bernie Taupin classic Country Comfort on Be Here. ' I like a lot of lyricists who seem to write almost as stream of consciousness, too. I think a lot of times John Lennon wrote like that without getting cerebrally poetic.'

In terms of guitarists, two musicians stand out for Urban: Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsay Buckingham. Why those two and not traditional country pickers like Merle Travis or Chet Atkins?

'Melody. I think that's it in a single word, especially with Knopfler. His sense of melody is absolutely beautiful. And you can hear the influence of Chet and Clapton as well,' analyzes Urban. 'And with Lindsay, it's the same thing. I can't pick anybody's influence in his playing. He sounds so original.'

Like Vince Gill, Urban is that rare musician who is a triple threat as a guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. It was with these tools that Urban thought he would win over Nashville when he moved there in 1992, after recording a solo album in his homeland in 1990 that yielded four number one country hits.

But there were a few rough years until his trio, The Ranch, began to generate some buzz. Then, his 2000 self-titled album (with its three Top 5 hits, including the number one smash But For The Grace of God) proved to be the breakthrough he was looking for. A year later, Urban won the Country Music Association's prestigious Horizon Award and the Top New Male Vocalist Award at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Then came 2002's Golden Road and the rest is history.

When asked whether he is Down Under's greatest musical export now, his modesty is self-evident.

'Oh, I'm very fortunate to be doing what I'm doing. Again, I just had a crazy singular focus of what I wanted to do and that was live in Nashville, make records and tour. It wasn't any more specific than that. It wasn't how many records, how many songs, or how high in the charts. And awards, they never entered into it. I just had this vague overall plan. It just started coming together. Every day I look around and say, 'God, this is amazing.'' .

Australian country music heavyweights make an impact in Edmonton during Canadian Country Music Week!

Canadian Country Music Awards PAUL BRANDT ROCKS THE HOUSE The show opened with PAUL BRANDT rocking the walls of Rexall Place in Edmonton with his latest hit, ‘Convoy’. A star-studded event, filled with great performances and boot stompin’ music. JULIE ROBERTS, JASON McCOY, THE WILKINSONS, GEORGE CANYON, LISA BROKOP and many more were in attendance and AARON LINES, AARON PRITCHETT, EMERSON DRIVE and GRETCHEN WILSON all rocked the house with outstanding performances. It is an event you won’t want to miss; it’s this year’s Canadian Country Music Awards and CMT has got it tonight at 9 p.m. EST.   Tune in to see which stars shine the brightest! More info on Paul Brandt.     Albertan Carolyn Dawn Johnson steals show at Canadian Country Music Awards Suzanne Beaubien Canadian Press September 14, 2004 Carolyn Dawn Johnson accepts her award for Single of the Year. (CP /Jeff McIntosh) EDMONTON (CP) - Alberta songstress Carolyn Dawn Johnson stole the show Monday night at the Canadian Country Music Awards. Nominated in almost every category she was eligible for, the 34-year-old from Deadwood, Alta., won four awards on the strength of her second album Dress Rehearsal, released in 2004. "What a great way to start the night," cheered a happily tearful Johnson after she was presented with her first award of the evening, single of the year. She also took home SOCAN song of the year, CMT video of the year and, along with co-producer Dann Huff, producer of the year in Sunday night's industry awards. "OK, you're making me feel really special," said Johnson, who didn't have time to sit down as she accepted the first four awards in the two-hour show at Rexall Place. Though Johnson took home the most awards Monday night, it was spunky fan favourite Terri Clark who brought some sizzle to the sold-out show that was broadcast by CBC Television and CMT in the U.S. Throwing her hands in the air and mouthing, "I love you" to the camera, Clark bounded to the stage to accept her fifth fan's choice award - one more than the previous record set by k.d. lang. "I'm just a kid from Medicine Hat who wanted to be Reba McEntire," said the 36-year-old Albertan, who also took home the award for female vocalist of the year. "I'll play for you for the rest of my life if you keep listening," she promised her fans, many of whom stayed after the show to chant her name as she made her way to a waiting limo. Before presenting the award for male artist of the year, Clark compared music to sex, saying, "You can't live without 'em and you just can't get enough of 'em," of the nominees. When Jason McCoy's name was called, he ran to the stage and hugged Clark, burying his face in her chest. "All that talk of sex," joked the 34-year-old from Minesing, Ont. "I got all worked up." Manitoba band Doc Walker grabbed their first group of the year award and George Canyon was chosen as the rising star of the year. "I can't believe I have this," said Canyon, tipping his black cowboy hat. The 34-year-old singer from Pictou County, N.S., recently placed second in the USA Network's Nashville Star talent search. He's since been signed to Universal South. "It's been 14 years, but if you want to call me an overnight success, I'll take it," he said after the show. Edmonton's Corb Lund Band - chosen as the roots artist of the year - joined nominees Sean Hogan and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings for a special performance saluting the Good Brothers and their induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. "This is a great compliment here in our home town," said Lund, former front man of indie rock band the Smalls, who thanked "all the people who like their country a little bit scruffy." .......more........ Five-time host Paul Brandt kicked off the night with a splashy production of C.W. McCall's 1976 hit Convoy, flanked by Aaron Lines, award winners McCoy and Canyon and marching members of the Canadian military from CFB Wainwright in northern Alberta. Other performances included Doc Walker, Emerson Drive and a videotaped performance of Keith and Clark in Hartford, Conn. Clad in tight blue jeans and a large silver belt buckle, self-described "Redneck Woman" Gretchen Wilson from Nashville, Tenn., performed her hit Here for the Party to the crowd of 7,500. Next year, the Canadian Country Music Awards will be held in Calgary. Winners at the 2004 Canadian Country Music Awards: Fans' Choice: Terri Clark. Single of the Year: Simple Life - Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Album of the Year: Dress Rehearsal - Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Song of the Year: Die Of A Broken Heart (written by Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Shaye Smith, recorded by Carolyn Dawn Johnson). Video of the Year: Simple Life - Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Top Selling Album: Alan Jackson's Greatest Hits - Alan Jackson. Female Artist of the Year: Terri Clark. Male Artist of the Year: Jason McCoy. Group or Duo of the Year: Doc Walker. Roots Artist or Group of the Year: The Corb Lund Band. Rising Star Award: George Canyon. © The Canadian Press 2004 Your Australian Countrymusic Connection Richard Drumdee Patterson in Canada Email: cancountrynews@yahoo.com

 

Canadian Rockabilly Legend Ray Condo Dies At Age 53
Friday April 16, 2004 @ 03:00 PM
By:  ChartAttack.com   Staff
Ray Condo (Photo By Gabino Travassos)

It is with great sadness and regret we report that Canadian rockabilly legend Ray Condo has unexpectedly died at the age of 53.

Condo was born in Hull, Quebec and was raised on a musical diet of Elvis, Hank Williams and Ronnie Hawkins. Although Condo’s first band (which he formed after moving to Vancouver) was a punk act called The Secret Vs, he eventually found his way back to his roots, becoming interested in rockabilly and western swing. He spent 11 years in Montreal playing with the band The Hardrock Goners before returning again to Vancouver to front Ray Condo And The Ricochets.

The Richochets led many young Canadian indie club patrons to rockabilly, as the band toured incessantly over the years. They released a series of albums, the most recent one being 2000’s High And Wild. Condo was still in prime touring shape before his death, with plans to visit Australia, Europe and the U.S.

Naturally, the Canadian roots and rock scenes are in mourning this tragic news and a few events have been scheduled in Condo’s memory. Vancouverites can celebrate Condo’s life this Saturday (April 17) at the Railway Club from 4 to 7 p.m. Another tribute will be held in Montreal on Saturday at the Wheel Club. In Toronto photographer Gayle Hurmuses will celebrate what would have been Condo’s 54th birthday on May 16. Torontonians should keep their eyes on local listings for more info on that event as the date draws closer.

Ray Condo dies at 54. Was performer 'on a mission'
Fixture on montreal's live music scene. Founder of the Hardrock Goners known internationally in rockabilly circles

BERNARD PERUSSE
The Gazette
April 17, 2004
Rockabilly musician Ray Condo moved to the West Coast in 1991 after spending years on Montreal's club circuit. His body was found in a Vancouver apartment on Thursday.
CREDIT: GORDON BECK, GAZETTE

Ray Condo, a fixture on Montreal's live-music scene in the late 1980s, has died at age 54.

The singer's body was found Thursday in his Vancouver apartment, said Peter Sandmark, drummer for the Hardrock Goners, Condo's former backing band. The cause of death is being determined, Sandmark said.

Born Ray Tremblay in Hull, Condo released his first record when he was 16, as part of the Peasants, a British Invasion-style group. After performing in a Vancouver punk band, the Secret Vs, he relocated to Montreal in 1984, where he formed the Hardrock Goners. The rockabilly-revivalist combo incorporated blues, country and western swing in its sound, specializing in forgotten classics with a backbeat.

Chris Hand, who owns Zeke's Gallery, saw the group live many times. He recalled Condo as a man who "put heart and soul into everything," and described his stage presence as "manic, all over the place - everything a rockabilly band should be."

After tiring of the Montreal club circuit, Condo returned to Vancouver in 1991. Even so, the Montreal-based Goners toured with him for another three years before the band stopped performing. Condo then formed the Ricochets, with whom he recorded Swing, Brother, Swing, and Door to Door Maniac. High and Wild, their last album, was released in 2000. He was to have performed last night in Vancouver.

"He'll be remembered as a Canadian rock 'n' roll legend," Sandmark said, noting Condo was known internationally in rockabilly circles, though his records were not easily available. When the two were last together in Vancouver in February, they joked about it. "He was the best-known Canadian rocker nobody's ever heard," Sandmark said.

But it was Condo's passion that Sandmark remembered yesterday. "He was no sellout," he said. "Ray was really dedicated to the music - to preserving the classics, like Hank Williams and roots rock 'n' roll. He thought America had forgotten its roots, that this music was America's contribution to the world.

"He always used to say, 'We're on a mission to keep it alive.' "

Sandmark said he and his band Slim Sandy, will pay tribute to Condo when they play the Wheel Club on Cavendish Blvd. tonight.

Online Extra. Ray Condo was part of a scene that brought together some of Montreal's most spirited musicians. For a 1996 article about that scene and Ray Condo's role in it, check our revamped Web site: www.montrealgazette.com

bperusse@thegazette.canwest.com

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2004
Richard Patterson
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Greg Quill and Kerryn Tolhurst "It's that tattered, shelf-worn book of verse and stories that you keep going back to because it speaks to you in a comfortable language, and tells you more on each listening."     Toronto ON Canada (October 10, 2003) – Released September 16 on True North Records, one of North America’s most highly respected folk and roots music labels, so rudely interrupted is the critically acclaimed reunion album by Australian roots music pioneers Greg Quill and Kerryn Tolhurst.   The Canadian Radio CanCon Report, published October 5, listed so rudely interrupted as the second most played Canadian album on Canadian folk and roots music radio stations in September. Recorded in New York, Australia and Toronto, it is the first work from songwriters Quill and Tolhurst since the mid-1970s, when they collaborated on the hits “Gypsy Queen” and “Wintersong” for the Australian seminal folk-rock band Country Radio, and The Outlaw's Reply, Quill's groundbreaking solo album. Tolhurst was also a founding member of The Dingoes, and wrote many of the popular country rock outfit's enduring hits, including “Way Out West”.  In the mid-1980s, Tolhurst’s “All Fired Up” (Pat Benatar) and “Man On Your Mind” (Little River Band) charted on Billboard’s Top 20.   Greg Quill is the Toronto Star’s senior entertainment columnist.  Kerryn Tolhurst, in addition to his own body of work, has produced roots music artists Paul Kelly, Jeff Lang, Russell Crowe, and R&B legend Jimmy Norman, among many others. Artwork for the CD was created by award-winning Canadian graphic artist and designer Hugh Syme (Rush, The Band, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi). so rudely interrupted was introduced in March to Australian audiences at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Brunswick Music Festival in Melbourne, and at concert club and pub dates in Sydney, Hobart and points in between, including live performances on ABC National Radio.  It was the first time the two musicians had performed together in Australia since 1975.   After its Australian release in April 2003 via MGM distribution, so rudely interrupted was listed for four months in the Top 40 of Australia's Rhythms magazine, the national roots music bible.   - 30 -   For information and interview requests, contact Brenda Biseau True North Records, Tel: 416.596.8696  Ext 225 Email brenda.biseau@truenorthrecords.com Or visit www.quilltolhurst.com and www.truenorthrecords.com  Additional media contact: sorude@davidsoncommunications.com