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CARRIE UNDERWOOD WILL SING A DUET WITH SAM HUNT AT THIS YEARʼS GRAMMY AWARDS 14 Golden Grammys The 58th Grammy Awards return to L.A.’s Staples Center on February 15, and will be broadcast on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. Hosted by LL Cool J the show will announce select winners culled from nominations across 83 categories. In addition to handing out the hardware, the show will also feature performances from Carrie Underwood, Ellie Goulding, James Bay, Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, and British superstar Adele. “This line-up of talented artists is just the beginning of what will, once again, prove to be music’s biggest night. We look forward to celebrating what’s been a wonderful year in music, honouring the best of the best and featuring never-before-seen performances,” announced Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow in a statement. Justin Bieber, Drake, The Weeknd, Dan Snaith (Caribou), Alex Cuba, Joni Mitchell, Ron Korb and Matt Maher are just some of the Canadian artists vying for a Grammy. Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, D’Angelo & The Vanguard and The Weeknd are all nominated for Record Of The Year. For the Album Of The Year award Taylor Swift is competing against Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, Alabama Shakes and Chris Stapleton. Remembering Glen Frey On Monday, January 18, Eagles’ guitarist Glenn Frey passed away due to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia. In a statement, Frey’s partner in The Eagles, Don Henley said, “He was like a brother to me; we were family, and like most families, there was some dysfunction. But, the SCENE&HEARD DETROIT-BORN FREY PERFORMED WITH GROUPS IN THE MOTOR CITY AREA BEFORE RELOCATING TO LOS ANGELES IN THE LATE SIXTIES bond we forged 45 years ago was never broken, even during the 14 years that the Eagles were dissolved. We were two young men who made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles with the same dream: to make our mark in the music industry. But, Glenn was the one who started it all. He was the spark plug, the man with the plan.” With The Eagles, Frey had a hand in writing some of their biggest hits, including ‘Tequila Sunrise,’ ‘One of These Nights,’ ‘Take It To The Limit,’ ‘Life In The Fast Lane,’ Lyin’ Eyes,’ and ‘I Can’t Tell You Why.’ As a solo artist, Frey enjoyed a string of hits that included the Beverly Hills Cop track ‘The Heat Is On’ and ‘You Belong to the City,’ a song penned for Miami Vice. Frey also dabbled in acting, appearing in Miami Vice and later Jerry Maguire, starring Tom Cruise. Fraser & Girard Many folk music fans will remember former London resident Marianne Girard from her early days singing at places like Smales Pace, the Blue Boot, and Home County. Girard has loving memories of the days when the folk scene in London was abuzz with activity. “I knew or met just about everybody from the core beginnings of the Canadian folk scene in London; Willie P. SINGER-SONGWRITERS FRASER & GIRARD HAVE PLANS TO TOUR THE U.S. AND AUSTRALIA NEXT YEAR Bennet, David Bradstreet, Stan and Garnet Rogers, Laura Smith, Collen Peterson, and so many more.” Over the years, Girard toured throughout North America and Europe, recorded three albums, taught guitar and raised a family. And then she met Allan Fraser. “It seemed destined. We crossed paths but never knew each other, except by name and reputation. He’d drop into my monthly gig at the Tranzac. Finally, he asked me out. That was it. It was obvious that pretty much every part of us was connected, especially our spirits and our music. Allan Fraser and I are now officially, Fraser & Girard.” On Sunday, February 28, 7:30 p.m., Fraser & Girard will perform at Chaucer’s Pub (122 Carling St.). “Every time we play it’s special. Because we haven’t played London since the Smales Pace Reunion in 2014, we’ll be playing songs off of our debut CD, but we’re always preparing new material, and we’ll have some brand new work to present, too.” Call (519) 473-2099 for more info. Paul Kantner Passes Guitarist/vocalist Paul Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, died on January 28 at age 74. Kantner, who had a string of health problems in recent years, and even suffered a heart attack in March 2015, died of multiple organ failure and septic shock. Marty Balin, who worked with Kantner in the Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, told billboard.com: “Kantner was a hell AS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, PAUL KANTNER WAS A PIONEER OF THE MID-TO-LATE-60S ROCK SCENE IN SAN FRANCISCO of a 12-string player. He and I wrote a lot together at the beginning, a lot of the material for the band so we would have something to do on stage. In the early days he wrote some beautiful love songs but then he developed his own sci-fi kind of thing. He told me later, as the years went by, he found it difficult to write a simple love song anymore. Some of his popculture songs were, God, gigantic pieces of music, but he developed his own thing.” Jefferson Airplane hit it big with their second album, Surrealistic Pillow, which contained the group’s only Top 40 singles, ‘Somebody To Love’ and ‘White Rabbit.’ Paul Kantner and his Jefferson Airplane bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. In Memoriam Maurice White, the co-founder of soul group Earth, Wind & Fire, died on February 4 at his home in Los Angeles. White, 74, fought a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, which had plagued him since the early 1990s and forced him to stop touring in 1994. Earth, Wind & Fire is perhaps best known for its exuberant, horndriven mix of jazz, funk, gospel and Big Band music played at concerts where they performed A FORMER SESSION DRUMMER, MAURICE WHITE NAMED HIS BAND EARTH, WIND & FIRE AFTER THE THREE ELEMENTS IN HIS ASTROLOGICAL CHART in glitzy costumes underneath multi-coloured lights. “We are very saddened to learn of the passing of seven-time Grammy Award winner Maurice White. He was the guiding force behind the group’s success and helped create hit songs such as ‘Shining Star,’ ‘September,’ ‘After The Love Has Gone,’ and so many memorable others. His unerring instincts as a musician and showman helped propel the band to international stardom, influencing countless fellow musicians in the process. While he will be greatly missed, Maurice’s contributions to music will live on. We offer our condolences to his family, friends and creative collaborators,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO The Recording Academy. Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Maurice White was individually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. The band has been selected as recipients of a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Grammy ceremonies. - John Sharpe ESTABLISHED IN 1989 FEBRUARY 11 - MARCH 9 • 2016
popculture LONDON'SINDIEPOPBEAT PHOTO CREDIT: MIKE MALONEY/LONDON COMMUNITY NEWS Everybody Jamboree On the last Sunday of most months, London music booster Edith Grant organizes the Guidith Jamboree at the Victory Legion (311 Oakland Ave.). It gives local musicians of all stripes the opportunity to jam with other like-minded players in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. “In July of 2012, the Victory Legion asked me if I was interested is carrying on with the Jamboree, so I asked Guy Melanson and he agreed to give it a try. In 2015, Melanson stepped down, but three musicians offered to help, one being James Edwards who volunteered his equipment, and to be the host. So it is now called (Gui- -- for guitar and – dith, as in my name), the Guidith Jamboree.” Grant says that although one musical genre tends to dominate, all types of music are presented. “It’s mostly country & western, but every now and then a blues musician and a rocker will come in. The First Ghost Although they are now based primarily in the Toronto area, indie/alternative/rock/emo band First Ghost was originally formed in London by Anton DeLost and Ryan Sweet. The band’s name originated after the two went to a showing of the 2013 release of Evil Dead. They originally intended for the name to be Ghost House, but they discovered bands under the same moniker so they settled on First Ghost. Currently, the group is preparing for the April Wrif Wraf Celebrates What began as a house band gig at the old Wellington Tavern in 1986 has evolved into a decades-long career for local rockers Wrif Wraf. On Saturday, February 20, 7:00 p.m., the five original members of the band -- Randy Dawdy, Brian Billing, Ken McLennan, John Brocksom, and David Wright – will perform at the London Music Club in celebration of their 30th Anniversary. “Time did fly by, but I’m not surprised we’re still doing it. We’re going back to the songs and medleys that fans liked best 30 years ago. Some medleys we haven’t performed together in over 20 years. We will also be performing our own song, ‘In The Movies,’ which won the FM96 On Track contest,” said Dawdy. While the music is still important to the band, the thing they cherish most are the relationships they’ve built over the years. “Seeing all our friend’s and fans who have supported us throughout the years will be the biggest highlight. Playing and listening to music makes us all feel young. They were really good days back in the 80’s at the Wellington. So much PHOTO CREDIT: PATTY RODGERS PHOTOGRAPHY IN 1986, THE STAFF AT THE WELLINGTON TAVERN HELD A ʻNAME THE HOUSE BAND CONTESTʼ AND THE PATRONS VOTED FOR WRIF WRAF water has gone under the bridge since then, so many changes, but we’re going to take everybody back in time although we just might be a little slower at it!” For more info, call (519) 640-6996. - John Sharpe POPULAR IN HER HOMETOWN, SARAH SMITH HAS ALSO DEVELOPED A BIG FOLLOWING IN GERMANY Smith On Video Somehow, squeezed in between a long list of club and concert dates, popular London singer/ songwriter Sarah Smith was able to find time to shoot two new videos, available now on You- Tube. The first video, ‘Into The Light’ was shot at various locations in California by Bay Areabased filmmaker Stacy Poulos. “The thing I love about Stacey is that she has a story line that goes directly with the meaning of the song. I really respect her direction and making her vision come out. Stacey put her heart and soul into that video. It’s really cool,” said Smith. The second video, ‘Angels & Anchors,’ was directed by London video producer Edward Platero. “That was a really emotional video. We shot footage for about 90 minutes and the next day, he created the video out of it. We wanted to open up the conversation about mental health, because we feel it has a stigma attached to it. It could be you, your parents, and your neighbours because it affects a lot of people.” Smith will be performing at local clubs until then end of February and then it’s off to Germany for more shows until the end of March, when she’s performing at a special fundraiser for My Sister’s Place on April 1 at Western Fair District’s Carousel Room. A BIG SUPPORTER OF LOCAL TALENT, EDITH GRANT HELPS ORGANIZE THE GUIDITH JAMBOREE new host, James, loves his Beatles, but also Johnny Cash. It’s a jam session so a few musicians stay on stage as back-up for the other musicians. They all truly enjoy themselves.” The next Guidith Jamboree takes place on Sunday, February 28, 1-4:30 p.m. Call (519) 455-2331 for more info. FIRST GHOST GUITARIST ANTON DELOST SAYS THE BANDʼS STRENGTH COMES FROM ʻNOT REALLY SOUNDING TOO MUCH LIKE ANYONE ELSE.ʼ release of their latest EP, Secret Talk. “Secret Talk was recorded partly at my basement studio in London, and partly at my studio in Toronto. I produced/recorded/mixed it and John Naclerio mastered it at Nada Recording Studio in New Windsor, New York,” said DeLost. “Our sound is very dynamic. Lots of soft, slow stuff and lots of upbeat, loud stuff, sometimes within the same song. Plenty of harmonies, lots of layers, lots of groove and lots of pretty guitar leads that make your heart feel things. But also fuzzed-out guitar solos that make your face melt a bit. Only a bit.” At the present time, First Ghost doesn’t have any dates booked in the Forest City, but De- Lost says they will come April. FEBRUARY 11 - MARCH 9 • 2016 <strong>CELEBRATING</strong> 27 YEARS 15
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