2009 Awards Gala in Ottawa, Ontario

The fifth annual Canadian Folk Music awards gala will take place on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at Dominion Chalmers Church, 355 Cooper Street, Ottawa, Ontario (corner of O’Conner), http://www.dcpresentations.com. The awards ceremony will feature live music by April Verch, Old Man Luedecke, Les Charbonniers de l’Enfer, Yonder Hill, Valdy and Caterina Cardeal & Mike Siracusa, followed by a reception for all.

Different strokes
Willis talkin’ about the new, cut Grass

The members of East Coast band The Grass have more in common with their ’60s role models than the inventive musical style and eclectic fashions. Add low- or no-paying jobs, commune living and recreational drug use, followed by friction and break-ups, reformation and a rumoured reunion tour, and it’s clearly a reputation they come by easily.

The story goes that the Grass’s original sextet uprooted from Dartmouth in winter 2007 to a house in Ottawa South so they could plug their alt-country hippy rock into the Ottawa music scene. Read more…

THE O-TOWN HOEDOWN:
Not Bad Country for Good Men and Women

Like a rhinestone cowboy, local gem Greg Harris corrals a star-studded line up for fans and bands alike at the annual O-Town Hoedown

Ask people what kind of music they like and what’s the standard reply? Anything but country!

Yet, judging by the Ottawa crowds that cram into bars when cultural export Kathleen Edwards drives into town, as Blue Rodeo annually take their post at Bluesfest or when Alberta’s Corb Lund and Tim Hus sell out Barrymore’s, the country music vibe clicks with Ottawans always spurring them into high gear and cheer. Add to that the number of heads at Fiftymen, Slo’ Tom or Lucky Ron shows and you’ll see that Capital City has enough country fans – and bands – to fill several barns over.

It’s no wonder then that this year’s O-Town Hoedown has exploded from two days into seven, spanning as many venues from August 17-23. Read more…

We’re looking at how this talented musician goes from creating the most aggressive hardcore music with a band to retreating to create Glass Fingers, a personal and folky solo effort on Translation Loss Records.

In a city where side projects are the norm rather than the exception for most musicians, Tweedy stands out as a poster child for musical diversity in Ottawa.

Content is their cause. Guerilla looks at Ottawa through a wide-angle lens to create material that is substantial, intelligent, diverse, approachable, curious, experimental, and presented from multiple viewpoints. Guerilla publishes feature stories, essays, images, and a variety of contributions from local artists, arts writers, and cultural observers. Check them out at www.getguerilla.ca.

Howe to make Maki roll

Howe Gelb takes Kate Maki’s music to new heights

If her stagger-to-the-saloon groove and parlour-blues tunes weren’t enough to grab your attention, Sudbury’s Kate Maki has enlisted the help of eccentric Arizona singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist Howe Gelb to produce her latest album, On High, marking a career high for the former Ottawa resident. Read more…

This Is Your Dad’s Oldsmobile

The Brothers Chaffey are brave old souls in a brave new world

The Brothers Chaffey – Matthew (rhythm guitar) and Curtis (lead guitar) – play the sexiest country-soul music with a blues-rock swagger that one university rag called “your dad’s kinda music.” Rather than take issue with the putdown, Matthew, the elder of the sibling duo, is proud of his old-timer rock-and-country chops. Read more…

Jingle Sells:
Jingles Are the Way for Toronto’s Major Maker

Not all musicians lending their voice to television commercials sound as off-key as the Ontario Freshness Guy. There’s Feist for iPod. Bedouin Soundclash for Zellers. Ottawa’s Andrew Vincent for Old Navy. And now, with spots for Chevy, Telus and Maynards Candy, Toronto’s Major Maker is proving how good jingles grow-a-oh in Ontario–along with the bank account.

“It’s like an actor trying to land a spot by moving to L.A.; it can totally happen, you never know,” says singer-songwriter Lindy Vofjnord about landing success by taking a commercial route with his music partner, Todor Kobakov.

Sell outs?

“The people that criticize, I don’t have any energy for addressing why they’d think this was a bad idea. They can go fuck themselves,” Lindy says politely. Read more…