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SCENE&HEARD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 our voting members is always about the music and excellence, not at all about sales or marketing or technology.” Canadian pop prince Justin Bieber landed four nods, including Album of The Year, Song of The Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Love Yourself,’ and Best Pop Vocal Album. Other Canucks in the field include Toronto singer Kai, Vancouver’s Bob Mose, Ontario urban acts PartyNextDoor and Tory Lanez and Vancouver jazz artist Darcy James Argue. Kaeshammer At Aeolian Canadian vocalist and classic boogie-woogie, blues, and jazz pianist Michael Kaeshammer will perform at London’s Aeolian Hall (795 Dundas St.) on Thursday, February 9, 8:00 p.m. Kaeshammer will be backed by drummer Roger Travassos, bassist Devon Henderson, trumpeter William Sperandei, tenor saxophonist Dany Roy, and trombonist Muhammad Abdul Al-Khabyyr. Growing up, Kaeshammer’s father always played piano and his collection of jazz records really motivated his young son. “I heard these boogie-woogie solo piano records from the 30s, 40s that my dad bought. And, honestly, it’s kind of what grabs me about the music to this day, the fact that it’s full-on, all-round piano playing where the piano has to cover everything. It’s very physical. I love the energy of it, I love the rhythm, which is a big thing for me in music. And when you’re 10, and you’re used to Beethoven and you listen MICHAEL KAESHAMMER RELEASED HIS FIRST BOOGIE-WOOGIE PIANO ALBUM, BLUE KEYS, WHEN HE WAS ONLY 19 YEARS OLD to that, you go ‘Holey-moley! You can do that?’” said Kaeshammer during a recent interview with ottawajazzscene.ca. In a bit of a departure from his previous efforts, Kaeshammer’s latest CD, No Filter, is entirely comprised of original compositions. “I find for me that writing is actually what gives me the most in music, if I spend time by myself at home with music, rather than practicing or any of those kinds of things. I find originals meaningful because it’s a snapshot of the artist’s feelings and where they are at that time.” James Drives Blue Highway Having recently performed in London as part of the Canadian Country Music Association Awards show, blues guitarist Colin James returns to the Forest City for a show at Centennial Hall on Wednesday, February 22, 7:30 p.m. This time out, James is touring in support of his latest CD, Blue Highway, an album he refers to as ‘a true, complete and comprehensive blues album.’ “At the end of my last tour the band was hitting 12 COLIN JAMES HAS TOPPED THE CHARTS AS A POP VOCALIST, RECORDED AN ACCLAIMED BLUES ALBUM AND LED THE SWING REVIVAL WITH HIS LITTLE BIG BAND on all cylinders and we just ran in and recorded the album. I have never made a blues record where I wasn’t thinking about doing something contemporary for radio, so everything I have done, especially in the early days, was half contemporary and then a bit of blues thrown in. So I thought why don’t I go in and play some blues and do some songs that I have always liked. It’s all cover material, but not the usual blues covers. I am covering stuff from early Fleetwood Mac to Jimmy Rogers,” said James during an interview with musiclifemagazine.net. “When I was younger it was all about getting on the radio. Now it’s kind of like I want to make a record that people can put on, leave on, and not run across the room and just skip to the single.” Award-winning country/soul vocalist Tami Neilson opens the show. Call (519) 672-1967 for more info. Hicks Gets Personal Speaking with blogtalkradio.com, country star Tim Hicks had this to say about his latest album, Shake These Walls. “I wanted to show people I had grown. There is truth in each of these songs because I co-wrote every one of them. I have a personal connection with every lyric, every riff. People are going to find there’s a healthy dose of the Tim Hicks party in there but there’s lots of other stuff certain to be interesting to many different people.” Although his previous recordings, Throwdown and 5:01, were both produced by Jeff Coplan, Hicks turned to Corey Crowder to helm Shake These Walls. “I had a great time making records with Jeff, but Corey just brought a different sort of energy to the project and I’m excited for people to hear my music through a different lens. IN 2014, TIM HICKS WAS THE RECIPIENT OF THE RISING STAR AWARD FROM THE CANADIAN COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION That’s really what a producer does – they take what you do and sort of give it a focus and direction. Corey was great to work with. He has a band of guys that he likes to work with in a studio that he likes to work at and we all went there together and laid out the songs, live off the floor. He let me warm up and then I would do multiple passes at the song and then we would start to zero in on certain things to tweak.” Tim Hicks, wsg Jason Blaine and River Town Saints, rocks Budweiser Gardens on Saturday, January 21, 7:00 p.m. Call 1-866-455-2849 for tickets and info. Bentley At Budweiser In recent interviews Dirks Bentley has said that his eighth studio album, Black, is named after his wife Cassidy Black’s maiden name and explores ‘the darker corridors and the good stuff’ when it comes to love, life and relationships. “We just celebrated our 10-year anniversary and it got me thinking about our relationship and how crazy love is. I think this record is more geared toward younger hook-ups and breakups and love. I wanted to dive into the corners and shadows, and DARK AND DEEPLY PERSONAL, DIERKS BENTLEY SAYS HIS NEW ALBUM BLACK, MAY MAKE SOME LISTENERS UNCOMFORTABLE not the happily-ever-after stuff.” That said, Bentley is quick to point out that Black is not a purely autobiographical record. “No, no, no. Sometimes I have to tell my wife I’m just writing that! There’s serious stuff in here. There’s stuff not about us in there, like the infidelity.” Growing up in a non-musical family in Phoenix, Arizona, Bentley got his country music education on his own, listening to records. In 2003, Capitol Records signed him and released his self-titled debut. To date, Bentley’s studio albums have accounted for 25 singles on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, of which 15 have reached number one. Dirks Bentley, wsg Cole Swindell, brings his What The Hell World Tour to Budweiser Gardens on Sunday, January 29, 7:30 p.m. Call 1-866-455-2849 for tickets and info. Start Your Engines! Monster Jam is an action-packed, adrenaline-charged event on four wheels where world-class drivers compete in both monster truck racing and freestyle competitions. Each Monster Jam truck is approximately 10.5 feet tall, 12 feet wide, 17 feet long and weighs 10,000 pounds. Powered by methanol fuel, consumed at the rates of three gallons a minute, a Monster Jam engine will generate 1,500 horsepower. The Monster Jam heads to London’s Budweiser Gardens for three shows on February 11, 1:00 p.m./7:00 p.m. and February12, 1:00 p.m. In order to give fans the opportunity to meet the drivers and get autographs or pictures, pre-show Pit Parties will be held each day from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Some of the Monster Jam trucks and drivers slated to appear at this event include Grave popculture GRAVE DIGGER DRIVER RANDY BROWN WAS INTRODUCED TO MOTORSPORTS AT A YOUNG AGE Digger driven by Randy Brown, Northern Nightmare driven by Cam McQueen, Nitro Menace driven by Darren Migues, Jailbird driven by Kaylyn Migues, Midnight Rider driven by Tom Herzog, and Wild Thang driven by Doug Charles. Northern Nightmare will be looking to extend a Freestyle win streak that has been going since winning the World Championship in 2012. Each year, Northern Nightmare has won at least one Freestyle competition in every visit to London. Please call 1-866-455- 2849 to charge by phone. Church Leads The Choir Bucking conventional wisdom American country music singer and songwriter Eric Church pulled off a surprise album drop, holding secret recording sessions and then shipping limited-edition vinyl copies of his new record, Mr. Misunderstood, to unsuspecting members of his fan club, known as The Church Choir. “When we were in the studio, we came up with the plan: We were going to give it right to our fans, in a month. In order to get it done, we had to actually purchase our own plant in Germany to get the records and CDs pressed. We couldn’t use our usual distributor because we’d have had to let the label know that we had something to distribute,” Church told vulture.com. “The easy thing would’ve been a digital release. I felt like it had been done in pop, R&B, and hip-hop, although NORTH CAROLINA NATIVE ERIC CHURCH IS KNOWN FOR HIS HONESTY AND A WILLINGNESS TO BLEND SOUNDS AND IDEAS IN NEW WAYS ESTABLISHED IN 1989 JANUARY 12 - FEBRUARY 28 • 2017
popculture I can’t really think of any other artist who’s attempted it in country.” Church released Mr. Misunderstood on vinyl because that’s the format he prefers. “I think that’s still the purest way for a record to be heard, because you don’t have the benefit of being able to easily skip around. Escapism, for me, is putting the needle in and sitting down, so you get more of what the artist is trying to convey. The closest thing I hear to the studio in my headphones is still vinyl.” Eric Church brings his Holdin’ My Own Tour to Budweiser Gardens on Tuesday, February 28, 8:00 p.m. Please call 1-866-455- 2849 to charge by phone. Blue Rodeo’s 1000 Arms It’s a fact that Canadians have carried on a long love affair with Blue Rodeo, one of this country’s most iconic bands. So what better time to catch the group at Budweiser Gardens than Tuesday, February 14, 8:00 p.m. The band’s date on Valentine’s Day is one stop on their upcoming cross-Canada tour in support of their 14th studio album, 1000 Arms. “This record has a lot more energy, a bit more up-tempo,” noted BLUE RODEO IS KNOWN FOR ITS LOVE OF TOURING, THEIR CONNECTION WITH THEIR FANS, AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO PUSHING CREATIVE LIMITS Keelor during an interview with themusicexpress.ca. “Jim (Cuddy) and I are singing a lot together and it turned out really great. Co-producer Tim Vesely said `You guys have got to sing more together.’ We realized that because we did that so naturally, as we moved on to records ten, eleven and twelve, we started to do different things. So we made a very concerted effort to sing together on this album, either with direct harmonies or call and response and we really enjoyed it. It felt like we were getting back to something that was very strong to us.” Blue Rodeo has sold in excess of four million records, was inducted into Canada’s Music Hall of Fame (2012), has won 11 Juno Awards, received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award (2014), and has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto. Please call 1-866-455-2849 to charge by phone. RUNA IS (L-R) MAGGIE WHITE, DAVE CURLEY, SHANNON LAMBERT-RYAN, FIONÁN DE BARRA AND CHERYL PRASHKER. Runa At Chaucer’s Runa’s international line-up consists of vocalist/step-dancer Shannon Lambert- Ryan of Philadelphia, Dublin-born guitarist, Fionán de Barra, Cheryl Prashker of Montreal on percussion, Dave Curley of Galway on mandolin/vocals/bodhrán, and step-dancing, and Maggie White of Kentucky on the fiddle. “The band has been together for about seven years. It started with what was supposed to be a side recording project. Fionán, Cheryl and I decided to record an album together at Fionán’s studio in Dublin. At the time we were all working with other bands, but we just looked at each other after the record was done and said ‘This is really special, we should do this more often,’” said Lambert-Ryan during an interview with folkmama.wordpress. com. To date, Runa has captured two Irish Music Awards (Top Group and Top Traditional Group) and two Independent Music Awards for Best Traditional/World Song and Best Bluegrass Song. Runa recently released their fifth album, Runa: Live which was recorded at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, MD on Thursday, March 17th, 2016. Runa plays Chaucer’s Pub (122 Carling St.) on Sunday, February 26, 7:30 p.m. “We like think of our shows as opening up our living room to everyone so that we can all join in for that session, in for that party. At the end of performances people always say, ‘You look like you are having so much fun up there!’” Please call (519) 473-2099 for more info. PHOTO CREDIT: RICK MADONIK /TORONTO STAR BILLY TALENT IS (L-R), BEN KOWALEWICZ, FORMER DRUMMER AARON SOLOWONIUK, REPLACEMENT DRUMMER JORDAN HASTINGS, IAN DʼSA AND JON GALLANT Billy Talent Rocks Touring in support of their new studio album, Afraid of Heights, Warner Music Canada recording artists Billy Talent will pay a visit to London’s Budweiser Gardens on Sunday, February 26, 7:00 p.m. The will be joined by fellow Canadian rockers Monster Truck and The Dirty Nil. Speaking with puregrainaudio.com, Billy Talent guitarist Ian D’Sa said the group is very happy with their new album, their first in five years. “I think this one is one of our best albums especially for this time, what’s going on right now. We’ve never really had an album where every song encompasses a theme before and this album, the whole theme of the album is fear and all this stuff that’s going on in the world right now seems to keep escalating. Over the last couple of years, reading about things that are happening in the world just really affected us. Ben [Kowalewicz] and I wrote these lyrics for all these songs to be based around fear and why do we have to live in a society based on fear when we just need to talk to each other more and understand each other. The whole album is kind of based around that. That’s why it’s called Afraid of Heights.” Part of the proceeds from every ticket sold goes to support MusiCounts and F.U.MS, a foundation that creates a series of events to support Canadian youth affected by Multiple Sclerosis. Please call 1-866-455-2849 to charge by phone. Classic Albums Live Founded in 2003 by Craig Martin, Classic Albums Live recreates some of the greatest albums of all time performed live without gimmickry. Relying only on the music, using what Martin refers to as ‘the world’s best musicians,’ Classic Albums Live’s motto is ‘Note for note. Cut for cut.’ “This has never been done before,” says Martin. “There’s a real thirst to hear these albums performed start to finish. For many of us this is the music we grew up with—the soundtrack of our lives. All of our focus is put on the music. We perform the works of The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin the BOWIE IMPERSONATOR NICK WALSH (CENTRE) PLAYS THE LEAD ROLE IN THE NOTE-FOR-NOTE RECREATION OF THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST same way an orchestra performs the works of Mozart. We don’t bother with imitation or impersonation.” In homage of David Bowie’s passing in January, Classic Albums Live will present The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars SCENE&HEARD CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 JANUARY 12 - FEBRUARY 28 • 2017 <strong>CELEBRATING</strong> 27 YEARS 13 470 Colborne St, London (519) 640-6996 londonmusicclub.com Book the LMC for your special event or release debute! FEATURE SHOWS: 4)
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