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In This Issue:

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•           Season’s Greetings

•           Colorblind Brian's Blues Campfire  (that’s TONIGHT – grab your guitar

and come on down to Highway 61)

•           Yes, there will be a new album in 2010

•           Women’s Blues Revue, Downchild and Massey Hall

•           Overqualified still spinning

•           Out and About

•           Thelonious Monk’s  advice for musicians (via Steve Lacey)

•           Are You a Google Genius?

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Well, it is December so I will say Season’s Greetings to all my Blainletter subscribers and on this occasion I’m doing a little outreach and blasting the whole world via MySpace, Facebook and the listserves where I mostly lurk (sorry for any duplicates). It’s a one time thang so no need to unsubscribe unless you’re already subscribed.

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I hope I’m not jumping the gun but the Holiday Blainletter is usually a last minute scramble between Christmas and New Year and I thought I’d get it out of the way right now – not that I have a lot of gigs to promote this month. I’ve got a band gig on the calendar for the end of January but I hesitate to advertise it because the venue is not convinced they will continue presenting live music.

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Last month three gigs fell in my lap and then fell right out of my lap. It's not like I'm getting rejections, because I don’t even ask.  So far, I've been happy to play when invited and leave it at that but I think I need to get more pro-active, especially now in the last gasp for festival submissions. If you've heard my music and you like what I’m doing, please feel free to put a bug in some club owner or festival director's ear.  Word of mouth seems to carry a lot more weight than a fancy press kit.

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Still gathering around the Campfire:....

Meanwhile “Colorblind Brian’s Blues Campfire” every Tuesday (7 to 10pm) at Highway 61 (1620 Bayview) has been going great. Interesting guests...many of them part-timers or hobbyists but I love having them around the campfire and making them sound better than they ever have. Many pros drop by too, the elegant Rita di Ghent, Doc Mclean & Big Dave dropped in on their cross-country "Century" tour, Robin Banks raised the roof, Son Roberts a real natural and a delight to play with, Roberta Hunt and Martin Aucoin have brought their keyboards on occasion and last week I had “Professor Piano” himself, Scott Cushnie. Everybody loves the food and the campfire is much less of a "show" than a regular gig or “open stage.” Musicians arrive, pull up a chair…  it’s very casual. We tend to stretch out the songs, everybody plays along and there's no break. Who ever heard of a break at a campfire? We just keep passing around the mike, the guitar and the bass. We play for three hours then it's over.

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Yes, there will be a new album in 2010....

I’m getting ready to record a new batch of songs including a new version of  “Another Song About Alice,” my paean to the wonderful Alice Brock, last celebrated in the song “Alice’s Restaurant.”  She’s a great artist and has been an angel to many, including my family, and I’m doing my bit to give her the recognition she deserves (visit www.AliceBrock.com).  This tune and several other new compositions lend themselves to the “bluesgrass” sound that has morphed from several gigs I’ve done with members of the Foggy Hogtown Boys and other local bluegrass players.  It’s like bluegrass slowed down and dropped into a minor key.  Of course I’ve got some rockin’ tunes to record with the fabulous Blainettes and maybe a track or two with my son the DJ (we call it BLAIN! BLAIN!)

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Women’s Blues Revue, Downchild and Massey Hall....

Donna Grantis and Rachelle Van Zandt were the two surprises of the night for me. These two women have raised the bar for female blues guitarists...both virtuoso players...and they’ve got soul. Mind you, I don’t think either could do the demanding "utility" job of Marg Stowe, house guitarist for the band for many years. Everybody agreed, all the performances were exceptional. There wasn't a weak set by anyone. Carrie and Suzie each did a song too and raised the roof. Some of my friends thought Sass Jordan was a little out of place, but Shakura’s set was a hard act to follow, for anyone short of Aretha herself. If you hear the show on the radio, you might even hear my name come up in the intro as Shelagh Rogers read a quote from me about Carrie's performance at a previous show. She referred to me as "the great bluesman Brian Blain" and I told her I told her I’m putting that on my website!

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Backstage at the WBR (the stage door, to be precise) was the first time in recent memory that someone felt the need to calm me down.  Anybody who knows me will tell you I am the most mild-mannered guy you will ever meet, but…well let me tell you the whole story: I arrive at the Massey Hall box office to see the Women's Blues Revue and get tapped on the shoulder by a west coast blues radio guy who is supposed to be on the guest list but isn't. He's asking me to help out and I go on a mission to find the prez to arrange the comps. I know from experience that when you’re dealing with Massey Hall you have to do it “by the book.” I can't find the prez at the bar so I head out to the stage door to see if he's backstage.  I’m usually hanging backstage at this event because the band are long-time friends and bandmates but this time I was just trying to make my way to my seat to enjoy the show. The "gatekeeper" at the stage door at Massey Hall is a grim character who’s been there forever - probably because he does his job so well. Nobody gets past Gene unless they are on *his* list. I'm sure he would turn away the President of the United States if he wasn't on the list. Meanwhile, I just wanted to get a message to the boss! Anyway, after repeated run-arounds and conversations to various locations on an antiquated walkie-talkie system where he had to repeat the name three times to be understood,  a couple of Blues Society staff had came back to the stage door. Gene was calling the office and when I tried to tell him that the guests were in the box office, he said something like "I can't do this any faster, sir" and I responded "I think you could"...well that's when I was told to "take it easy". I guess I might be getting a little ornery now that I’m pushing 64. You have been warned.

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Just the week before, I was reminded that my ladder does not extend to the lofty heights of Massey Hall when I had to go through three publicists in order to schmooze my way into the big Downchild 40th anniversary show, which in fact was sold out. Neither the publicist for the Hall or for the band had any more comps but alas a wonderful young lady at the record label came through for me. Downchild gave an impeccable show, of course - worthy of the big stage at Massey Hall. I was in the balcony for Downchild and I think it sounded better there than the third row, where I sat for the Women’s Blues Revue. The vocals sounded boxy and the bass did not have much definition (considering it was the phenomenal Brandi Disterheft playing it). Can't remember if the lighting was any better at Downchild, but where was the light man at the Women's Blues? It seemed like all the lights were on, all the time, and it's too bad because the ladies were looking fabulous and it would have been great. There was one dramatic scene where Shakura S'Aida slithered onto the stage - slow and cat-like while Donna Grantis was playing a great solo. It would be great for the photographers but in their old-fashioned way, Massey Hall still forbids picture taking and enforces it aggressively.

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Overqualified still spinning:....

I was happy to see one of my tunes on Danny Marks’ playlist this week, and they still crop up here and there. The days of being in the “rotation” are over, I’m afraid, but I still get the occasional encouragement and this month it came in the form of two “fan” letters, both from CBC listeners in the far north (hey, I thought Jurgen Goth was the only CBC show that ever played me but maybe I’ve got a champion in the Arctic). One letter was from Yukon and the other from Nunavut and both were from ex-pat Townshippers who remembered the Terrace Inn and had great memories of that lakeside bar in Quebec where I played with the band Oliver Klaus in the mid-seventies. One of the letters was forwarded to me by the band leader, Maurice “Oliver Klaus” Singfield who has suggested I come down next year and take part in their annual reunion concert. Maybe I can parlay that into a Quebec tour!

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I'm also learning a couple of Stompin Tom songs so I can be part of a Stompin' Tom tribute night in February. And last week I was at an agent's office and the owner of the agency liked my beard and mentioned they were looking for Santa Clauses, but no, I have to draw the line somewhere.

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Out and About:....

I was supposed to go to the John Mayall show, had it all arranged, but I didn't pay attention to the start time (7pm, WTF?) and it would have been over by the time I got there. I heard some great reports...especially about his new guitarist (Rocky Athas?)  I remember seeing Coco Montoya for the first time when he played with Mayall at Ontario Place. I continue to be amazed by Coco, but I'd like to see this new guy. There were lots of other great shows on my calendar in November, but I missed most of them. I did get out to the Sky a couple of times, and saw Lily Sazz's band, Groove Corporation rocking the house and then last Friday I took the ex-wife dancing and where better than Paul James Band at the sky. It’s been great having this regular Tuesday gig at Highway 61, but I had to miss a lot of great shows this month including John Showman’s CD release, the Socan Awards, Paul Reddick and lots of other faves.

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Thelonious Monk’s  advice for musicians (via Steve Lacey):

Just because you're not a drummer, doesn't mean that you don't have to keep

time. Pat your foot and sing the melody in your head when you play.

Stop playing all those bullshit notes. Make the drummer sound good.

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Don't play the piano part, I'm playing that. Don't listen to me, I'm supposed

to be accompanying you.

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Don't play everything, let some things go by. Some music is just imagined.

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What you don't play can be more important than what you do play.

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A note can be as small as a pin or as big as the world, it depends on your

imagination.

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Stay in shape! (When the gig comes, you have to make it.)

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What should we wear tonight? Be as sharp as possible.

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Looking for a Google Genius:....

Much as I would rather be playing guitar, the demands of being a part-time (desktop)publishing mogul are still taking up a lot of my energy but my son the DJ has been pitching in with the “family business” and I’m making greater use of some of the wonderful online publishing tools being developed by Google. To that end, I am searching for someone who is more comfortable than I with Google Code and Google Widgets and thought I would mention it to my immediate circle before I start trolling in the tech sector. The idea of using open source software and free utilities to service non-profit arts organizations does not necessarily appeal to most entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, but if you happen to know an altruistic techie, send him over.

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Thanks for reading this far. Most of this is extracted from my blog at http://torontobluesdiary.blogspot.com.

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If you've enjoyed this Blainletter and you're not a subscriber, go to http://brianblain.fanbridge.com to sign up and get one every month or so.

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Also, I loaded up a bunch of pics (over 75) into the "Musical Friends" gallery on my Facebook Fan Page. Click over to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Blain/70605028420 and if you haven't become a fan yet, there's a button for that, too.  And now you can even follow me on Twitter.com/brianblain

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Thanks for your support, BrianB, aka Colorblind Brian, The Stringbuster

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In This Issue:
 
•            Colorblind Brian's Blues Campfire Every Tuesday at Highway 61
•            Brian and the Blainettes at the Silver Dollar Room Sat July 18^th....

•            Saab Story gets a second wind
•             Jazzfest Adventures....

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Brian Blain at The Silver Dollar Room, Saturday July 18 (showtime 8:00pm)....

Looking forward to playing with two of the top sax players in town, Colleen Allen and Carrie Chesnutt. Colleen will be playing baritone, not her main axe but she loves the change and I love the driving sound of a baritone and tenor pumping together. If you've heard James Hunter, you know what I'm talking about.....

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I'm also delighted to bring the wonderful harp playing of Butch Coulter to the Silver Dollar stage. There's a lot of great harp players in this town, but you will hear right away that Butch doesn't sound like any of them. I'd like to say it's a "European" sound, but I think he always played like that. I've done three European tours with Butch, two as a duo and most recently backing up powerhouse vocalist Kathi McDonald. Both were long standing band mates of Long John Baldry and I too can wear that mantle having subbed for Papa John King on a Baldry gig here in Ontario a few years back.....

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Colorblind Brian's Blues Campfire Every Tues (7:30pm) at Highway 61 BBQ
Some of you long standing Blainfans might remember my Thursday sessions at the Tranzac a few years back. That residency lasted about a year and just about every blues guy in town (and many visitors) guested with me. Since then I have hosted many blues "campfires" at the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals, Blues Summitt and the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival in New Brunswick. Now we'll be doing it every Tuesday at the best BBQ joint in town (don't take my word for it, check it out). The location is 1620 Bayview. Come and join in the song circle or just sit back and enjoy some of the fine up-and-coming blues players in town…and maybe a few veterans will grace us with their presence.....

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Saab Story still has some traction....

Jazz-FM has Saab Story on their playlist for the longest time…a couple of years. Once I had the opportunity to thank head honcho Ross Porter and wondered aloud  how long they play a track and he said "Once it's in the computer it stays there until someone takes it out". Well it must still be there, because I heard it was being played as a segue from the news items about the purchase/sale of the Saab car company. I knew I should have approached Saab with my song….I might try it yet if they're still making cars a year from now.....

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Jazzfest Adventures....

Maybe I'll have a chance to relate some of my behind-the-scenes gossip in a future blog but suffice it to say it was ten busy days fore this old blues guy – Those ten days are the closest I ever get to a full time job. My discovery of the year was drummer Antonio Sanchez who just amazed me in his performances with Pat Metheny/Gary Burton and then with Kenny Werner…that is until the last night of the festival when I hear a young organist called Corey Henry playing with Kenny Garrett in the closing concert. I have heard DeFrancesco and Tony Monaco close up and I heard Corey pull some sounds out of that B3 that I've never heard before…phenomenal. I never had an angle where I could see his feet annd asked him after the show if he used the pedals sometimes and he replied that he had used them on three of the tunes…and I never even noticed!....

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I was unable to make my usual appearance at the Jazz Festival Volunteer Party, because I was attending the Twilight Memorial service for Jackie Washington in Hamilton (what a beautiful gathering) but I did get a festival "Gig" of sorts, but it was not the Brian Blain we all know and love but rather my "dark side" ambient electronica persona pumping out loud aggressive beats with my son the DJ (COI) with the addition of Rob Gray and a couple of keyboard interventions by John Farah - a brilliant musician...and I think he knows it. He says he's headed for Carnegie Hall and I believe him. I don't know enough keyboard to say but I think this guy is the next Keith Jarrett or Chick Corea - with an nuclear arsenal of modern sounds to satisfy the dub-step demographic. ....

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Overheard at an electronica venue -"Play us some sounds that we've never heard" - They're more interested in sounds than music. But at least they're interested in something! More audiences should be like that.....

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My favouriite show of the festival was the same night as my gig, and despite the protestations of my boy Joel, I was not going to miss my hero Mose Allison and he fulfilled every expectation - he played a non-stop selection of tunes that he'd written interspersed with some blues, which he always credited comprehensively.....

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I was overseeing the daily blasts about (Toronto Jazz) festival goings-on and the only one I wrote myself was about Mose, and wouldn't you know I didn't recognize the drummer and assumed he had come up with Mose. Well, I was immediately corrected by an astute jazz fan (dare I say "jazz police"??)  Look at what he wrote to me: "Codswallop, BrianB! John Sumner is as local as you can get – unless you want to invoke his Irish ancestry – living on Isabella St. and plays regularly with Mark Eisenman and Steve Wallace. Sheesh." Apparently Mose doesn't like to be hearing a lot of back-beat, and sure enough Sumner kept his brushes going and shuffled along quite nicely.....

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Meanwhile I at least knew who the bass player was - Neil Swainson...a most highly regarded player who could play anything I'm sure, but was that a bead of sweat forming on that brow? Mose had some great tunes I'd never heard - "Certified Senior Citizen" was one of them and there were several others just as funny and insightful as his well-known material. He certainly has his own approach to the blues - something I strive for myself.

Luminato reminds one of the golden days of cigarette sponsors, at least behind the scenes. After posting my last blog where I was whining that I got media accreditation for the Emmylou Harris show but not for the Neil Young Canadian Songbook extravaganza. Well Blainletter reader Dan Oleksiuk took pity on me and took me along and what a great show it was (not to mention the munchies and open bar before *and* after the show). My fave was The Cowboy Junkies, not one of my favourite groups but they really captured me, especially tha mandolin man who was a one-man cinematic orchestra. Honorable mention to Emilie Claire Barlow and friends who nailed their tune... Harry Manx with the Sisters Euclid were a crowd favourite and Harry got even props from Colin Linden as he was being interviewed. The Sisters have ended their 13-year run of Monday nights at the Orbit Room - Kevin felt bad for Orbit Room owner Tim Notter and gave him the band's Juno Award to remember him by.  At Yorkville Park, Luminato set up a big stage to present some of the big stars of Brazilian style guitar. My son the DJ says I should learn some Brazilian guitar licks so I checked it out. Had a great chat with a living legend of the Yorkville scene, Chick Roberts. I had met him back in the sixties and he regalled me with stories about the old Riverboat. They're celebrating an anniversary (the 50th?) and apparently a plaque will be laid. I noticed there were some Riverboat related events...I should get on the bandwagon as an artist who did play that illustrious venue. I remember it well, I was opening for Fraser and DeBolt and some CBC types thought I was the next Randy Newman or something and had me come down to their offices for meetings but alas nothing came of it. Also saw the amazing one-man play about the life of Lenny Breau. They didn't miss any aspect of Lenny's life with ups and downs and right up to the tragic end. It's a big leap from the $15 million Luminato festival to the (maybe) $50 thousand Waterfront Blues Fest, mostly local artists but a beautiful setting  - One thing about Jack de Keyzer, the bigger the stage, the bigger he gets. How about that organist McMorrow!!!

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I must jump now, try to get this out and do some preparations for another gig which I cannot tell you about "officially". I think I will need a new persona – "Slim-Something"…....

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Facebook Friends: I have created a "fan page" for folks who like what I'm doing musically and if you count yourself in that select group then please click here and "become a fan"....

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Quote of the Day: "I don't think, I just concentrate." (Jaco Pastorius)

In This Issue:
 
•            Orangeville here we come!
•            BlainBlain in jazz fest June 30
•            Blainette horns confirmed for Silver Dollar gig July 18th
•            New links and a lovely review
•            New links and a lovely review
•            First Impressions of LuminaTO


Brian Blain at The Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival, Sunday June 7
Just back from a "Blues in the Schools" sessionschool I will be kicking off the Acoustic Stage at 1pm in the afternoon

BLAINblain @ Thymeless - 355 College St.  10pm Tuesday June 9
$5 or PWYC
We're back for our "second Tuesday" of all instrumental ambient electronica…"we" being myself and son Joel (aka DJ COI) What could be more fun than playing with your own son!

BLAINblain @ The Social 1100 Queen Street West Tuesday, June 30 10:00 PM
Late Night Jam with: Royal Sampler, Noctuneral, DJ Haze and Bartletta. Part of the Toronto Jazz Festival

Brian and the Blainettes at Silver Dollar Room July 18 8PM start
I'm delighted that I've got confirmation from the very busy horn players Carrie Chesnutt and Colleen Allen and so the Blainette horn section rides again. Special guest for the evening will be Butch Coulter, Long John Baldry's harmonica player for 20 years and a European tour mate of mine, both as a harmonica/guitar duo and as as part of the Kathi McDonald Band


My Western Adventure

Flying over the rockies on a clear day was quite a 3-D experience and doing my Tai Chi in the morning air on Harry's deck on Salspring Island facing the tall pines with hummingbirds buzzing around..that's a great way to kick off my great escape to the West. Next day I opened the concert for Harry Manx, a beautiful event with 300 hard-core Harry fans and I hope now a few of them are Brian Blain fans. Just as I arrived at Harry's, the Monkey Junk guys were headed out on the next leg of their tour. They left me the new CD and I'm looking forward to hearing it. I think they were a little more handy than me and helped in the construction of a treehouse for young Hector – I wrapped myself in the zen of firewood stacking. After an idyllic week on Salt Spring, I made my way to Victoria for another gig, solo this time, and was equally well received. They were quite friendly though one gui coin ed a new phrase on me  when he asked if I was from "Onterrible"…

The pic of my plane flying over the rockies only begins to display the magnitude of the west. Then I landed on the quaint island of Salt Spring where I spent a week basking in the fresh air and enjoying what was the beginning of summer (just about every meal we ate was out on the deck). While I was there, Harry took me on a walk through his favourite park and I created a little photo montage to accompany an instrumental track I've been using for years as my Tai Chi accompaniment. I like playing it while I do my Tai Chi set because if I finish the set before the music ends, I know I was rushing – the antithesis of the Tai Chi mindset. It's something I recorded in Montreal in 05 with Michael Jerome Brown. Enjoy it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRLWdfLNR7Q

I also created a photo album on Facebook:Try this link (they may try to get you to sign up)
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=app_2305272732#/album.php?aid=269408&id=693310353&ref=nf


Mission Accomplished!
I know I did OK when I find out that someone said "Who is that guy?" or when there's a audible display of approval after a guitar solo. I got a bit of both yesterday at my gig at the Sky Restaurant and Lounge in Mississauga. I was guesting at Jerome Godboo's Sunday Matinee (I believe the Sockman said it was the 14th edition). Great to play with Chris Burgess, one of the city's least recognized and most capable guitarists in terms of knowing what to play and when to play it. He proved the point when the surprise special guest Elvis Impersonator (did I mention that??) sang Del Shannon's "Runaway" and Chris was able to pull out the signature organ solo practically note for note. James Rasmussen is one - solid bass player (I just discovered he plays on an Album of Nig Dave and the Ultrasonics, one of my all-time favourite roadhouse-style non-stop touring, tight delivery blues bands). And got to play with drummer Bob Vezpazini for whom I have such great admiration since I saw him doing the kind of old school drum acrobatics that I've seen only in some of the old jazz guys like Jake Hanna and Don Vickery. Layla Zoe was my co-guest and she really rocks the house and shakes her booty. Layla would do great on the German circuit where I spent 3 weeks touring with Kathi MacDonald - who is very much the same style of singer as Layla. Jerome Godboo is one of the most evolved human beings on the blues scene today and I've thought that for at least ten years. I never talked to him about it but I think his natural self-contained spirituality evolved from his original interest in martial arts. Curious.

Here's another YouTube, this one from Mother's Day at the Sky posted by my new friend & fan, Pam (who is the featured dancer):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3gtdgItw1s

We interrupt the regularly scheduled programming for a message from Trent Reznor
Connect with fans. Give them a reason to buy. Provide an entire Entertainment Experience. Another tip I picked up the other day was "The best places to create 'moments' in your song are the intro, the solo, the bridge and the outro"

Here' more quotes that made thjeir way to my inbox, the first from the very quotable Bob Lefsetz: "Anybody who can survive in today's music world deserves credit. If you make some people happy, you're on your way. If you try to make everybody happy, you're doomed to failure."

And here's another great quote from Polish composer Witold Szalonek: "the sounds which are audible are *not* the music, but build the frame that carries the music, or not, as the case may be".


A beautiful live review (I'm touched)

Brian Blain
The Bookstore Cafe
Camden East
May 15, 2009
 
There was magic in the air at the Bookstore Cafe this Friday night. My wife and I, looking to find a place that would accomodate our two daughters, Eliza, almost three, and Charlotte, almost one, set out on a quest to drive into the country north of Kingston. Looking for a little adventure, and something to eat, if it included music too, all the better. What we got was pure magic.
 
A light rain began as we arrived at the Bookstore Cafe. This was not perforce, our destination. But when we entered the 150 year old building with the stage at one end, the waitress informed us there were toys for the kids to play, old books I could browse through, antiques for my wife, and dinner from Sisters Catering, with scrumptous desserts, we thought we might be in Heaven.
 
The building was the original home of Harrowsmith Magazine, a hippy aged country bible that had a distinct leadership role in the proliferation of market gardens and a great extoller of the virtues of country living. The walls must have been eleven feet tall and two big windows placed the stage in the foreground of the ever changing weather reflected by the towns one street light.
 
Brian Blain was sitting in the corner slurping on soup and the other six tables in the room soon filled with country folk looking to be entertained. We hoped the girls would be good. Otherwise, we decided there wasn't any place we would rather be.
 
Brian immediately jumped to the stage, asking the waiter if it was ok to start, and thanking her for being such a good cook. He introduced himself as being from Toronto, we tried to keep an open mind. He said he was the editor of the Maple Blues Magazine, and then we knew we were in for a special treat. With a wink and a nod he loaded up his dobro like instrument and filled our ears with memories of Delta, Chicago, and his own blend of down home, decidedly urban ballads.
 
His first song of the evening was about a girl and a Saab. I always wanted to meet one, and when we discovered she lived alone in a house on the hill, while we were spell bound. Introducing the song he seemed amazed that no one at the six tables had ever actually owned a Saab. My brother in law talked me out of buying one. He lived about a mile from Camden East and is a great mechanic. I think everyone in the room had heard someone say at one time or another, "If it breaks down who is going to fix it." but Brian couldn't have known this. This was his first visit to Camden East, which he kept referring to as East Camden, like a borough perhaps of the big city. Not even close, but kind of him just the same. We can relate to Urban Blues, we like the sound and the energy, and the girls began clapping and cheering after each song, enjoying this immensely.
 
A story teller, a poet, singer-song writer, Blues aficionado, Brian gave us some history of the Blues, himself as a man and an artist, and some great picking too. He appealed to everyone in the room, and at our table that included folks from 11 months, just starting to walk and clap and boogie, to age 52, me, a great lover of the Blues, whose dancing days are not quite over yet.
 
The rain outside fell even more diligently and sparkled in that one street light, providing a pleasant background to the night. Brian, on his perch, was creating memories that will be with us forever. He talked about his upbringing in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, and as a country boy he landed wide eyed in Toronto and made numerous friends, many of whom play on his "Overqualified for the Blues," album that is full of original tunes, in the Delta tradition, with urban lyrics, and a mellow soulful performance.
 
Overqualified for the Blues, what a concept. I too, once thought that like RL Burnside, Lonnie Pichford, and many other Blues greats you had to have at least killed one person to sing the Blues. RL was released in two years so that he could work in the cotton fields and sing in the juke joints. Lonnie spent just a night in jail because the person he killed also stole his guitar, and the guy was such a bad ass, the sherriff felt Lonnie had actually provided a service to the community.
 
However, it was clear, Brian couldn't hurt a fly. After the concert he signed a copy of his new cd to my three year old daughter, Eliza, thanking her for being such a good audience. And then he came running out to the car in what had now turned into a hail storm as we were leaving, to give us a copy of his Blues letter. We will never forget this memorable night where we learned so much about the Blues from a kind and considerate messenger.
 
- Danny Murray


Luminato First Impressions
I've been following Luminato's communications efforts and signed up for their "Insider" newsletter, creating my personal "planner" and now I was asking for media accreditation. I wanted to see one of the few ticketed music events, the Tribute to Neil Young which included my buddy Harry Manx (see elsewhere in this blog about my visit with Harry). Getting media accreditation was the first hurdle. I had to answer a few questions about my publication, but after that everything was fine and we gave them some great coverage in the Maple Blues. Alas, they did not offer tickets for Neil Young but for the show featuring Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller.

My first Luminato event was watching Jow Taylor talking about the Six String Nation guitar on a webcast at 740am radio. Also appearing on their online "talk show" were jazz singer June garber and swing singer Terra Hazleton. I was surprised to see Melody Gardot show up and do a tune. I think I liked her best including the singers at the Massey Hall affair. I thought Shawne took lots of liberties with the chord changes on a Band song ("Acadie") but she redeemed herself when she sang the full lyric of the "Ontaria-ria-rio" song/jingle.  Buddy was a great accompanist for the ladies and really livened up the joint with his hot-rod style on the baritone electric with lots of reverb and nary any other accompaniment except a small drum, looked metal, that she played with a brush. Vocals were the order of the day and we got some sweet harmonies. They admitted to having a pretty loose show, as evidenced when Patty one of Buddy's tunes because she couldn't find the right harmony. Then everybody was humming different notes until they started up the tune again. My companion said "You'd get thrown off American Idol for something like that." Then there was another episode where Patti was halfway through a song and her guitar was not plugged in. Somebody, I think it was Emmylou's guitar tech, came out and plugged her in while she kept singing. To his credit, the sound guy eased in the amplified guitar so we weren't hit with a big blast.  I thought I detected a slight pained look on Emmylou's face and thought maybe she did not suffer unprofessional stage antics but then she said at one point that in all her years of touring this was the most fun.

The sound at Dundas Square was not so meticulous. I heard a few tunes and Raven continues to amaze me with his guitar virtuosity. Plus I know he's full of musical ideas. The sound was not great, probably just making the best of a bad situation in that square, but they could at least turn off the effects on the vocal mic when Raven was talking between songs. He's incorporated a DJ into the band and the guy is using Ableton Live software to make his beats, the same software we use for the experimental adventure called Blain Blain (see BlainBlain dates above but be forewarned, this is entirely instrumental electronic sounds…last time, I think I noticed a slightly shocked look on one Brian Blain friend/fan as she made her exit halfway through the set). Anyway Joel and I continue to battle it out in our MIDI wars, arguing who should be "master" and who should be "slave"…well if you're going to fight with someone, it should at least be kin.

Oh did I mention that the tickets for Emmylou & Co. were not at the box office, and when I went to the backstage are the publicist was wrangling a bunch of photographers so I just headed up to Dundas Square to the "Opening Ceremonies." Saw a very well-dressed Raoul and Darren preparing for their first night at the Luminato "Artist Lounge". Anyway, I better get this Blainletter sent off because I have to pick up my Luminato credentials at 10:30 AM tomorrow…and the media desk is only open for one hour (I kid you not). Plus it's located at Yonge & Bloor the busiest intersection in the country where it's impossible to "pull over" for more than a few minutes. Argh

In This Issue:
 

•            Happy Mothers Day at the Sky with Jerome Godboo and Layla Zoe
•            BLAINblain ... again – "can you say EXPERIMENTAL? "
•            Go west Old Man
•            Welcome home Butch Coulter
•            Out and About
•            The contract from Hell
 
 
Thanks to all those who continue to encourage me to blather on in the Blainletter. It never fails that just when I'm wondering if it's worth the trouble (not just writing this blurb but chasing gigs and renting recording gear and all the rest) some message from the heavens encourages me to go on. This time it was a few kind words from a new fan who found my music via Reverbnation where I had posted some demos that were not intended for public consumption, but you, dear fans, are welcome to look them up and take a listen. And look at that, there are a few gigs:
 


 
Mothers Day, Sunday May 10 (3:30pm) at the Sky Lounge, Mississauga
Brian Blain guesting with Jerome Godboo and Layla Zoe
Sky Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge, 2680 Skymark Ave, Mississauga
I may even perform my 1972 underground (very underground!) cult classic "Don't Forget Your Mother". (yes that's my mom with me from a photo shoot for the release that never happened). I had to listen back to the recording to remind myself of the last verse – I forgot it when I sang the tune on a radio show last week. If you want to hear, I've put it up at MySpace/brianblain for a very limited time only…
 
Tuesday May 12, 2009
BLAINblain @ Thymeless - 355 College St.  9pm
$5 or PWYC
We've still got our "second Tuesday" of all instrumental ambient electronica…"we" being myself and son Joel (aka DJ COI) What could be more fun than playing with your own son!

Fulford Hall, Saltspring Island, BC Saturday May 23
I'm delighted to be opening a show for Harry Manx right there in his home town and spending a few days with him taking in some of that clean west coast air…and I will inhale!
 
The Superior Cafe, Victoria, BC, Saturday May 30 (7pm)
…and the next day I head back home in time for...
 
The Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival, Sunday June 7
where I will be kicking off the Acoustic Stage at 1pm on Sunday afternoon and then doing a couple of other appearances here and there at this wonderful high-spirited event
 
Welcome home Butch Coulter! Butch has been living in Germany for so long I'm sure Canada seems like a foreign land to him but he's coming to visit and bringing his whole family with a brand new baby!  Butch has been thoroughly enjoying being a new dad but I have to say it's put a damper on my European touring (we've done it together three times now, twice as a duo and last time backing up Kathi MacDonald). Any way if I can't get to play with Butch in Germany, I will play with him in Toronto and it looks like we've got a date at the Dollar on July 18. More in the next Blainletter.

Out and About: The Blues is going uptown in TO and last Monday's CD launch for the Maple Blues Revue at the elegant Old Mill showed that blues fans are not only getting older but they are prepared to spend a little more than the price of a beer to hear some good blues. The Delta Chelsea's Thursday blues night with Jerome (he's everywhere) Godboo is also a rather upscale joint. Also got to see Buddy Guy w/Shemikia Copeland at Massey Hall and I can report that Buddy was on his best behaviour and playing his ass off. He is certainly ready to assume the mantle  "king" of the blues even if it isn't his last name.
 
Read and weep: I'll leave you with this gem that has been circulating. It's a contract for a club I'll never play and it's a taste of what's to come for us poor struggling musicians. This takes the "pay to play" concept to another level:
 
The following explains how a CABARET @ STATLERS operates successfully for
both artist and venue (the establishment).
 
You promote to your family, friends, fan club, loyal followers.through
your Website, MySpace, Facebook, etc.
 
The following information must be included in all promotional material: The
date, name of artist, name or theme of cabaret (if there is one), name of
establishment (Statlers Cabaret) address of venue, time the doors open for
dinner/cocktails, 6:30 PM, show time, 8 PM, etc.
 
In your promotional material, you advise all guests that attendance is by
'reservation only'. In order to make CABARET DINNER RESERVATIONS, go to
Statlers website and link to the ³DINNER CABARET RESERVATIONS² button to
make their reservation for your cabaret show. Guests MUST make
reservations, no walk-ins accepted.
 
There must be at least 20 guests within five days (5) prior to show time or
show is automatically cancelled.
 
You can charge either $12.00 or $15.00 per person cover - (artist receives
80% of cover, house receives 20% for administrative expense of handling the
reservations and door). There are no complimentary reservations accepted.
If an artist wishes to provide a complimentary entrance to someone, they
must pay the door cover and then from their revenue, rebate themselves or
the party they complimented. There are no complimentary seats allotted for
artist¹s family members, camera people, lighting people etc. They too must
make reservations and pay the entrance fee, etc. (the number count of
guests must be accurate and reconcile to the door fees received ­ space is
limited and both the artist and house are required to extract as great a
revenue as possible so the entire event is worthwhile).
 
There is a Food & Drink Minimum of $10.00 per person. This must be
advertised on all your promotional material without fail.
 
You are to either create a poster or we can create one for you for a fee of
$25.00 if you provide a picture or graphic detail, etc. All the information
above will be contained in the poster and this too should be copied to all
your advertising material and mediums of promoting your cabaret. The house
will print three posters, two for the house front window and a hard copy for
the artist. The artist will also have been provided with an electronic
version of their poster so they can print additional copies at their
choosing.
 
NOTE: We are averaging guest lists via the VIP Reservation ³Only² system of
about 40 people per show. If the show has less than 45 guests, it is held
upstairs and if more than 45, it is moved downstairs. We have a Baby Grand,
Yamaha G20 downstairs, and a Steinway Antique upstairs, full sound system
and stage management administration to assist and support in making the
cabaret event, one of the most memorable in an artists career.
 
Please let me know your thoughts and compliance on the above guidelines for
Cabaret at Statlers?
 
We are currently booking the next three months at this time. Many seasoned
artists have reserved their gig dates.
 

Quote of the day: "The artist is here to give the listener the opportunity to dream, a very
profound and special gift even if he's minimally successful." John Mellencamp
 
 
So, dear fan, if you ever wondered how important you are to the struggling artists, now you know. Without you, there's no gig. Hope to see you out at a Brian Blain gig sometime…but it won't be at this place! Bye for now, BrianB
 
 
*** Most of this was compiled from my blog, http://torontobluesdiary.blogspot.com.

--

OVERQUALIFIED FOR THE BLUES available at northernblues.com, iTunes.com,
music.yahoo.com, allmusic.com, amazon.com, cduniverse.com 

PART-TIME (BARELY)MANAGING EDITOR
Downtown Jazz | Crescendo | MapleBlues
www.torontobluessociety.com
www.torontomusicians.org
www.torontojazz.com

brianblain@brianblain.ca

In This Issue:
 
•            The Return of BLAINblain - Tuesday Mar 10 at Thymeless
•            Mothers Day at the Sky with Jerome Godboo and Layla Zoe
•            What is it about 432 hz?
•            Treasa, The Guitar Workshop and words of wisdom from Richard Bell
•            The Grammys
•            Morgan Davis remembering Rod Phillips
 
 
Welcome to the last-minute (almost)Spring Blainletter. If you got this via Facebook and you would like to subscribe to the monthly Blainletter send a blank message to info@brianblain.ca and put "subscribe" in the subject line.  Last month's experiment with the Reverbnation mailing list did not really work out so for the moment I will be managing the fanlist the old-fashioned way (maybe that's just as well – your email will stay completely private and close to my bosom). First, a couple of upcoming shows:

TONIGHT  Tuesday March 10, 2009
BLAINblain @ Thymeless - 355 College St.  9pm
$5 or PWYC
Get ready for something entirely different from the Brian Blain you've come to know and love. It's all instrumental ambient electronica but we're having fun. What could be more fun than playing with your own son!
 
Mothers Day, Sunday May 10 (3:30pm)
Brian Blain guesting with Jerome Godboo and Layla Zoe
Sky Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge, 2680 Skymark Ave, Mississauga
 
Jerome at the Sky: Last Sunday I took a trip out to the hinterland of Mississauga where I have rarely tread. I saw Gary Kendall's matinee at Hollywood on the Queensway (though I missed their special guest, Steve Strongman) and I visited a new venue, The Sky  Restaurant out at Eglinton and Renforth. There on a big stage with great production was Jerome Godboo and Friends including the amazing Dave Murphy on keyboard and guitar (dare-I-say) "legend" Pat Rush. He's certainly a local legend and he's made his mark around the guitar world too. Pat was getting a great sound out of a cheap Fender Squire guitar and when I asked him if he had modified it he said is was right out of the box. $135 at Long & McQuade.  It's amazing what they're able to turn out these days. I tried Pat's guitar and although the neck did not feel as welcoming as my beloved Strat, I think I could manage quite well with one. I never was too fussy about guitars as long as they stay in tune.
Anyway…Jerome invited me to be a special guest at the Sky's big Mothers Day show. Layla Zoe will also be guesting. Mark your calendars. I may yet organize some kind of Motherless Day concert around that…I would like to maintain the tradition, but if that doesn't come together I'll get to sing "Don't Forget Your Mother" for the west end crowd .
 
My encounter with A432: A couple of months ago I received a call from a rather intense young man who wanted me, as editor of the Toronto Musicians Association newsletter, to know about from a gentleman who was very excited to let all musicians know that they should tune their instruments down to A 432 hz (from the standard pitch of 440). It's a miniscule difference but you can hear it ..
Norbert Brainard was a violin virtuoso. He founded the Amati String Quartet. He passionately supported the use of the "Mozart A" (aka the Verdi A) of 432 Hz "in opposition to today’s absurdly high 'Karajan tuning' of A well above 440 Hz." He recorded certain tones (and their octaves) both in the low and high tuning, did a spectral analysis, and discovered the lower tuning created a larger sum of overtones, which explains the fuller sound; it was also proven, that Brainin’s Strad had its best resonance by far at exactly C=256 Hz, which is about A=432 Hz." Other theories abound that involve sacred geometry and the dimensions of Egyptian pyramids and now there is a new movement advocating this pitch as being a healing factor and more consistent with our natural state. There is even a conspiracy theory that Nazi madman Goebbels had orchestrated (pardon my pun) the move to 440 as the "standard pitch" just to hold the population from spiritual growth and making it impossible to "Transform to the Light"...OK this is getting a little weird but I had to see (hear) for myself so I went and bought a guitar tuner that could be calibrated at 432 hz and I tuned one of my guitars with it. This was my resophonic guitar, pretty loud to start with, but once I had it tuned and strummed a big chord it sounded much bigger and fuller. No doubt in my mind (ears). I have since tuned my flat-top to 432 and recorded about a half hour of my usual guitar noodling. I didn't really notice a dramatic difference this time but I'm going to get it online but I haven't figured out how just yet - it's a pretty big file. Now I'm going to tune the old Epi back to 440 so that I can go out and jam with the rest of the universe but I am quite fascinated by this.
 
Treasa, the guitar workshop and words of wisdom from Richard Bell: Last night I went to the jazz hang out where the old Montreal Bistro regulars get together on Fridays, "Quotes" on King Street. The bandleader is the wonderful drummer Don Vickery and his guest this Friday was the *very* lovely and talented Colleen Allen and there she was playing all these very legit jazz standards...that girl can do it all! If you haven't see her with the fabulous Blainettes horn section, then please take a few minutes (ten, actually) to view the little video montage I made of our show at the Toronto Jazz Festival. It's at http://www.brianblain.ca  Sure hope I get to play with that great horn section again this summer.
The Toronto Blues Society's Blues Guitar Workshop was at Long & McQuade's modern presentation room above their store in Toronto. One of my new musical friends Steve Strongman was a guest and he was playing great...alongside John Tilden, Teddy Leonard and the great Harrison Kennedy who regaled us with stories of Billie Holliday and Duke Ellington visiting his home in Hamilton...and taking harmonica lessons from Sonny Terry. Harrison admitted to only playing guitar for five years (though he's been a world-renowned R&B singer for 45) but he has really developed his own thing on that old Stella that his 98 year old grandma gave him. It was not the slick sound of the other players, but he's sure come a long way since he played one of my Motherless Day concerts a few years back. Make me think of watching Jeff Healey as he developed his trumpet playing. He would always be down at the Reservoir Lounge sitting in with the resident swing band. He knew the repertoire inside out but his lip was still developing and clams would occur. Nobody cared - that guy had so much music in him that he could make a kazoo sound like a virtuoso instrument, and same goes for Harrison.
After stopping by at Michelle's for a great homemade pizza, I decided to swing by the Silver Dollar to see Treasa Levasseur (Michelle's former Bandleader). Treasa dedicated a tune to Richard and everyone raised their glass. There is a certain immortality to being a musician...at least if you're one who touched people with your music. I'm sure he had many other tips, but Treasa Levasseur remembered that Richard's advice to her was: Always be on time, be polite, and play your ass off on every song even the ones you're not crazy about. Treasa and I were recording with Richard about the same time, I think (with the same producer, David Baxter). Richard's wisdom also touched me and I remember one bit that revolved around this little repeating lick he played throughout one of the slow ballads we were doing. I said to him after the first take that I wasn't too crazy about that bit but he said, in the most cordial way, something like "look kid, I've been doing this a long time and that is something that will subconsciously grab the listener". We we left it in, and by the time overdubs were done and the thing was mixed that little riff was really back there...but holding the whole thing together...subliminally. He was totally right.

Where is Brian Blain? I hope that my absence at the two big folk music conferences, OCFF in Ottawa and Folk Alliance in Memphis did not lead anyone to believe I'm out of the game. Let's just say I'm taking the year off to make a record.
I applied to two festivals and was invited to two festivals (but not the same two). I don't know that I've got it in me to start writing/calling. When I have a little music time, I want to spend it playing guitar not hustling gigs ...or posting blogs...I'm off to play some guitar
 
The Grammys: I think I've got a new conspiracy theory: I was just watching this commercial for a cell phone service and the slogan was something like "we just got friendlier". Well it depends what you mean by "friendlier" - it occurs to me that with all these touch screen phones it means now they can prove whether or not someone made a phone call because they'll have his fingerprint recorded. I saw the commercial while I was watching the Grammy Awards - until I was bumped out of my son's room (he has the only TV in the house). I guess I could pull rank and catch a bit more of the show but I've got some practicing to do...with said son, known in his world as DJ Coi. We're playing together on Tuesday...
…ok, I've pulled rank and just saw Allison Krauss and Robert Plant get two big awards...and a great performance. A good night for Rounder records...yea Ken & Donna! Now I'm only a couple of degrees of separation from the Grammy Awards because I slept in the same bed as Allison...not at the same time, of course, but it was only a week later or so...in the guest apartment at the Rounder mansion in Newburyport.
Beautiful to see Sir Paul McCartney sitting right in the front row and singing along with Smokey Robinson and the last remaining "Top" of the Four Tops. McCartney played "I Saw Her Standing There". Now there's a blast from the past!
 
Morgan Davis on Rod Phillips: As the song says, "Some people live for music but musicians play for life" and the music you create is still rolling around in the subconscious of all the fans who danced to it and especially the musicians who played with him. I've got a video on you tube  ..  and the other day I noticed a comment that said "That's my dad on organ" and then I got a message from Morgan Davis and was looking for something on his website when I came upon this heartfelt tribute. We've lost a couple of great blues guys this month, Al Kirkaldy and Big Daddy G but Rod made quite an impact on my musical life (in his most understated way). Here's what Morgan had to say:
"Rod Phillips was a heart and soul kinda musician. His joy came from playing the music, not playing the "industry" game, consequently, he was not a household name. Nevertheless, musicians knew about Rod, and it was always a gas to share the stage with him.
I came to know Rod by sitting in on the Sunday matinees at the Blue Goose. He and the Pie Guys would kick things off with a few standards and I was always mesmerized by Rod's groove and passionate singing. Along with our love of groovish music, we shared an interest in herbal medicines, and would often spend time between sets discussing the merits of herb in the parking lot.
Our friendship led to Rod playing on my "Painkiller" disc, and in the studio Rod was so helpful in laying down so many grooves, establishing such a wonderful mood, and displaying not only his great Hammond sounds, but surprising the hell out of me with his performance on the piano, which I had not heard him play before. He was right at home with Howlin' Wolf.
Rod was a most humble and gifted musician. We shared a lot of grooves and a lot of laughs. I'm missing him.  Morgan "
 
(from Morgan's website www.morgandavis.com .. )
 
 
*** Most of this was compiled from my blog, http://torontobluesdiary.blogspot.com.
 

In This Issue:

•    Letter of the Week
•    Brian Blain & Larry Kurtz at Greystones, Orangeville  Friday Feb 5 8pm
•    Back to Winterfolk (Mambo Lounge 2pm Saturday Feb 14th)
•    The Return of BLAINblain – Tuesday Feb 10 at Thymeless
•    Blues Summit IV and Maple Blues Awards
•    My memories of Eggertons
•    Some Fast Facts about Digital Downloading


Here's a nice letter from Bruce at the Illinois Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (??):

> Brain Blain,
> I found Overqualified for the Blues at the local library.  I really
> think it is good stuff; best new CD I found last year.  Sadly I'm
> disappointed that you have only one CD out.  When will you put out
> another one?
>


Answer: It's in the works, Bruce. It's nice to get some encouraging words, especially when your trying to get yourself all hyped up to contact festivals and grovel for a slot. I'm happy to report that in the time I've been putting together this Blainletter, two festivals have invited me to play – both return engagements. Solo acoustic gigs, though, and I'm still hoping a couple of festivals will spring for the band…featuring the fabulous "Blainettes" horn section!

Welcome Bruce and Theresa and all the other folks who were anxious to know where I'm playing next and to the folks that came up to say how much they enjoy the  Blainletter...and even those who gave me shit that I didn't send out a Blainletter to promote my Blues Campfire which was an informal kick-off to the Blues Summit at the Delta Chelsea on the week-end.

And how about that hotel busboy who remembered me from the campfire two years ago?? He even remembered the song "No More Meetings"...   Well, sorry but the campfire was not really open to the public (though the showcases were). I can report that a great time was had by all, new musical connections were made and I was delighted to meet and play with two wonderful artists from western Canada, Marshall Lawrence and Dalannah Gail Bowen. Also joining me were Wes Mackey, Tracy K from Thunder Bay and the irrepressible Danny Marks who always makes our little gatherings more fun.

Apologies to all the folks who came a long way and only got to do one song. The problem with being the "unofficial" kick-off and the first thing happening is that the PA was still being set up when were supposed to be singing! We weren't sure that there would be a Campfire at this summit but at the last minute I was invited to do it again. I was also asked to moderate a panel on digital downloads (see some quick facts about music downloading at the end of this Blainletter).

In the end, there was not a lot of jamming happening at the summit. We had one false start and that was in the Montreal Blues Society hospitality suite where I was looking forward to jamming it up with Steve Strongman and Steve Marriner but the minute the guitars came out there was a knock at the door from hotel security telling us to shut up. Shades of last year when our jam got shut down at 4am but at least we got in a couple of hours. I love playing with Steve Strongman and Steve Marriner is proving to be a real force on the blues scene and his performance at this year's Maple Blues Awards was stellar. He has developed his own voice...very blues and gritty but without a hint of trying to sound like an old black bluesman. And I loved the way he guided the band in the jam by holding his harmonica with one hand while he kept his other hand behind his back to signal the chord changes. Of course, that wouldn't be so easy for a guitar player.

Speaking of the Maple Blues Awards gala, the music was stellar, even the short little "stings", but there were a couple of performances that were really jaw-dropping...Treasa Levasseur with the Sojourners (a gospel vocal group from BC for those who might not be familiar) and the amazing Shakura S'Aida who has now grown into that "larger than life" persona that separates the great stars from the rest of us. The most touching moment...well, there were a few, but they were all about Jeff Healey. Dave Murphy who was part of the Jeff Healy Blues Band - a phenomenal musician himself - received the Keyboard award and made a long, emotional acceptance speech that left most of the other Healey band members speechless when it came to accepting their individual awards. Healey's dad spoke about what an amazing experience it was watching Jeff grow up. Danny Marks also talked about Jeff...saying that when Jeff lost one of his senses he was able to build up all his other senses far beyond what most of us live with. A new spin on the "when life gives you a lemon..."  

Eggerton's: I've just been reading a few list serve comments sharing memories about a club called Eggerton's. I lived in Toronto for a short stretch in 1973-74 but before I moved here, I came up from Montreal on a promotional tour for a single I had just released on GoodNoise/Polydor. I met a promo gal called Lori and we went around to a few radio stations but on one of those nights in Toronto I was going to play a few tunes at the new "showcase room, "Eggerton's. I had previously played at the legendary Riverboat, opening for my friends Fraser & DeBolt. And I'm not sure if I was playing with F&DeB, but I was travelling with them when they played a week-long stint at a club called "Grumbles" (owned by Neil & Joy Dixon). Now here I was at Eggerton's for the first time and I think it had been arranged for me to do a guest spot but all of a sudden a large party arrived with the hottest new sensation on the Toronto folk scene, Dan ....I actually have forgotten his last name...but the song we all remember... "Sometimes When We Touch". Anyway, he comes in - I think publicist Richard Flohil may have been in that party - and he becomes the VERY special guest and as I recall I never got to play at all that night...If I did, even I forgot it. And I didn't even het to meet Danny boy!

It's not like I was chopped liver. I had just opened shows for Lou Reed and Seals & Crofts in Montreal, toured with April Wine, recorded with a bunch of Frank Zappa's Mothers, but alas, I could not get their attention in Toronto. Still can't! (ooops, I'm getting self-deprecating again and I've been warned about this tendency) January 13, 2009 Things are not so bad This is the year of the earth Ox (also called year of the Bull or Buffalo). It looks like we may have an honest, candid and open natured year ahead. The earth Ox is dependable, calm and modest, unshakably patient, full of hard work and tireless. Darlene sent that

Today was probably the last day for me to decide if I was going to the Folk Alliance conference in Memphis next month. It would wipe out my little nest-egg of US dollars and add more debt to the credit card and I can't say that I would expect any gigs out of it. I had a hope of hooking up with the ultimate musical collaborator, someone who was a virtuoso mandolin or banjo player with a high tenor voice that would blend beautifully with mine and we would put together the ultimate BLUESgrass band. In my dreams!

Doug Kirby was a popular agent in the roots music community and he passed away on Christmas day. He was a booking agent and there was a big wake/celebration of his life. Saw some old friends and I think there were some other friends whom I haven't seen in so long that I didn't recognize them. One was the first agent I had, well maybe not the first agent that booked me but the first one who actually had some 8 x 10 glossy promo photos of me made with his name underneath. Now that's committment!

The Story of Fleetwood Mac: Here's a great link (courtesy of Bob Lefsetz) of a lecture by an academic named Gladwell who illustrates the development of the band Fleetwood Mac. He uses many examples to support his theory that it takes "10,000 hours" (or ten years at 4 hrs a day) to get to the "top" level of your field, whatever it is.
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/video-gain-2008-gladwell


Some fast Facts about Music Downloading:


Record labels down 40% since 1999 (the year people started downloading)

95 percent of all music downloads are acquired illegally

2008 digital sales were roughly 2 billion, level with 2007

(covers all singles, including those packaged into albums, and represents a dominant majority of paid music transactions.  According to the IFPI, digital albums gained 36 percent in 2008.)

digital sales jumped 25 percent globally to $3.7 billion last year.  

digital formats accounted for 20 percent of overall recorded music sales in 2008, up from 15 percent in 2007.


RESULTS OF UK SURVEY 2008

Around 90% of respondents now own an MP3 player. They contain an average of 1770 tracks - half of which have not been paid for.

58% have copied music from a friend’s hard drive to their own, and 95% copy music in some way

63% download music using P2P file-sharing networks. 42% have allowed P2P users to upload music from their computer. Much of this behaviour is viewed as altruistic

80% of current P2P users would be interested in a legal file-sharing service – and they would pay for it too.

The CD is not dead. Even if a legal file-sharing service existed, over 60% say they would continue to buy CDs.

Money spent on live music exceeds that spent on recorded music




Thanks for reading to the end. Below is a "fan collector" which I would like to strt using to manage my email blasts. It will require everyone to "opt in" so if you want to be an early adopter of this new wizardry, please sign up here:

Despite my best intentions to send out personal greetings to friends, I've dilly-dallied and now the holidays are upon us...so pardon the group greetings. I'm at a bit of a loss about all this friend business. When I was a kid I had two or three friends. Sometimes one, and glad to have him. Now I've got my Facebook backing-up with fifty or so friend requests from people I've never really met and then another batch of friend "suggestions". What to do? My son says I should accept as many people as I can to be my friends...and viral marketing experts will agree that I should confirm them, make them fans and I guess ultimately sell them a CD?? First of all most of my friends on Facebook (and MySpace) are musicians who would be more inclined to swap CDs than buy them. I think I'll just end this charade and be friends with anybody who'll have me and send them all my Holiday Blainletter! (now I half expect to get messages back that say "This friend request has expired. You will have to come grovelling back if you still want to be friends"...or something like that.

I cast my runes today and the prediction was something like "stand still"...you've planted the seed, wait for the harvest...learn from the obstacles put before you...Nothing very encouraging! And nothing that I haven't seen so many times before in my readings. Well, I'm not going to stand still! I will be moving forward... at my usual pace-slow and steady!

I have a handy little utility called Google Alerts which notifies me when my name comes up on the web and a couple of days ago it flagged a website that was selling my tunes for way less than Itunes: 20 cents. Wonder if there's anything in there for me??? Check it out here

Tonight I got another notification and this time it's a website GIVING AWAY my songs! Well, three of them, anyway. They've created a page for me...they found a video of "Blues is Hurting" and a picture of me that I don't think I've ever seen - it's me performing with Brian Kobayama (probably spelled wrong...the guy from Creaking Tree String Quartet) at the Twisted Pines festival two or three years ago. I downloaded one of the free songs and I think the quality is not right but then they had that "Brian Blain player" that played 30 seconds of every song and I thought that was pretty cool. The most interesting thing to see was the section on "Similar Artists": Karen Kay. Corey Harris. Mississippi Mud. Doc Watson. Terry Gibbs, Gary Stewart, Pat Martino, The Bluenotes, Clark Terry, Joe Droukas. Now I'm quite flattered to be grouped with some of these great artists, but I've never heard of half of them ...I even checked out Karen and Joe. Hmmmm. How do they figure out who's similar to who? Is there some kind of algorithm??? Well, as always, I'm grateful that someone cared enough to go to all this trouble. Oh yeah, the website is soundflavor.com Their slogan is "We built a know-it-all record store clerk just for you...Find thousands of free songs based on the music you love" But....eh, WTF?

Decisions Decisions: On Fri night I was looking forward to the Wayne Shorter show at Massey Hall - I had requested a media ticket for one of my scribes on the jazz newsletter and he got two so I decided to jump on board. Then at 5 o'clock in the afternoon I get a call from my friend Cynthia offering me some "platinum circle" tickets for Neil Young at the Air Canada Centre. It's interesting that those two artists exist at the separate extremities of my musical taste...Wayne is jazz but not too "out there" and Neil "rough and ready", even a bit out-of-tune at times but full of heart. (interesting aside: I remember the story of David Foster complaining to Neil at the "We Are The World" recording sessions that he was singing out of tune and Neil responding "Hey man, that's my sound!". Now Foster reveals that he actually did fix that vocal after the fact...)

Anyway I took the "high road" and went to Wayne Shorter and I'll never regret it. To see these four master musicians who have been playing together for years just walk onto the stage and start playing whatever came into their heads and take you on a beautiful journey...it was awe inspiring. I went home and did a recording that night - some spontaneous improvised guitar noodling...as close to jazz as I'll ever get.

Did a few more Blues in the Schools sessions...this time for the Stellula music project up in the Georgian Bay area, Orillia and Pennetanguishene. Lately it's been older kids and music students. They are a great audience and I'm happy to share some "real world" experiences with these budding musicians.

How long have I been playing "Terrace Inn"? I think I wrote it in 01 or 02. Always trying to rock out with that little break in the middle - my "hommage" to Magic Sam - which seemed like a nice obscure reference except since then I've seen many a guitar player doing the Magic Sam "thang" way better than me. I always seem to be playing it with folks who've never heard "Terrace Inn" and who are just trying to follow my "body language". That's one of the things I've got to work on - how to signal the band to stop for my guitar riff. Then getting them to all come back in together! This time I'm sitting in with the Odyssey Blues Band at their Saturday Matinee in St Catharines (running for the last 8 years). This time I really got my signals crossed so they were playing where I wanted them to stop and stopping when I wanted them to jump back in. As always, the audience probably thought it was all part of a worked out arrangement...Ha! Note to Self: Work on cues for Terrace Inn and come in with high energy for the unaccompanied guitar break.

Look at this - five years later and the reviews are still rolling in (yes, I have begun working on the new album):

Brian Blain Overqualified for the Blues (Northern Blues Music NBM0011) Review Date: Nov 2008 by Gordon Baxter

"This is one of two recent releases from Canadian based label Northern Blues Music that have focused on Canadian roots and blues artists. The catalogue numbers for Brian Blain's "Overqualified For The Blues" suggest that it has been in the pipeline for a while, and the liner notes confirm this: the first tracks were laid down just before Christmas 2002.

Blain is an astute observer of life and this is reflected in his lyrics which are shot through with a wry sense of humour. Few would be able to get away with the opener "Saab Story" which cleverly plays on the Saab/sob pun, but Blain pulls it off with consummate ease. Blain sings and plays guitar throughout, accompanied by a range of familiar names including Michael Jerome Brown, Harry Manx, Paul Reddick, and the rhythm section from Downchild. Despite the various line-up changes, the musical quality, remains unfailingly high throughout, as Blain traverses the blues and roots landscape. The album has a light, relaxed feel to it, the main exceptions being the straighter blues tracks, such as the excellent Magic Sam influenced "Terrace Inn" which has more of a rocking groove. Every one of the tracks has a tale behind it, and they are all memorable in their own way. The closing track ("The Big Fire"), in particular, occupies a soft spot in Blain's heart. Every year he enters it into the "Songs From The Heart" contest, although he is still waiting to pick up first prize!

"Overqualified for the Blues" is a real grower that amply rewards the listener with repeated plays, and every track has something to recommend it. The standard of musicianship and songwriting throughout is of the highest order. The mixture of Blues and Roots music that makes up "Overqualified For The Blues" is one that is well worth tracking down." Thank you for the kind words, Gordon Baxter!

I did my last gig for the year on Saturday and I guess it's fitting that it was the rockingest Ole' Colorblind got all year. I was guesting at the Liquid Lounge blues matinee and the rhythm section was going full tilt and my little Fender Vibrolux was cranked to 9 (and still needed to be mic'd).

I'm feeling good about the last year, even though I'm sure I would have had more gigs if I wasn't sitting around waiting to be invited. (and probably sell more CD's if people didn't have to practically pry them out of my guitar case!) There are so many young, talented musicians (and in my capacity as a media mini-mogul, I encounter more than most) and they are all so desperate for that precious stage time. They say the Bodhisattvas of the earth won't ascend to the Precious Land until everyone else has reached enlightenment. Let's just say I'm a Bodhisattva of the Blues! I like that better than Buddha of the Blues, which is a tough moniker to live down. I cringed the last time I heard myself being introduced as the "Buddha of the Blues"...

Last night was the staff party for the jazz festival crew and after some Christmas cheer we made our way to Downtown Jazz's last show of 2008...in a humungus stretched SUV limo. It was quite something to ride in that multi-screen floating bedroom with lights that changed colours but floating is probably not the appropriate adjective because it rode more like a truck. The show was Tuck and Patti, a duo that I remember from the sixties and they still put out that "peace & love" vibe. It did get to me but then I just got all chocked up by a movie about a little girl and her horse...so I'm a sucker for that sort of thing.

So without getting too maudlin, my most sincere gratitude to all of you who made it out to a Brian Blain show in 08 and and my hopes that we'll see you again next year in your town (as Morgan Davis used to say)...when we get there.

As the year winds down, It's a good time to make ammends. I think I owe my fans an apology - all six of them. Well, maybe there's more than six Brian Blain fans out there but in the space of the last two weeks I've managed to "inconvenience" a good proportion of my cherished supporters.

- Sorry that I didn't include a start time for the Free Times gig in my last Blainletter

- Very sorry that to the fans who had to write to me to get the start time. Especially sorry that I mistyped my reply and sent them to the club at 6:30 instead of 8:30 (they stayed till the bitter end, mind you).

- Also sorry to Zoe Chilco for bailing out on her gig at the Black Swan

- Extremely sorry to the fans who went to Zoe's show especially to see me

- Sorry about the last-minute notice to that house concert in Midland

- Sorry about the last-minute cancellation of the last-minute house concert in Midland

- Sorry to the lone fan who didn't get the cancellation notice to the last-minute house concert in Midland

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I will make it up to all of you. In fact I'm planning a "Make-Good" Concert with free admission for all those who may have been inconvenienced when my other life gets in the way of my music.

Speaking of my "other life", and while I'm feeling apologetic, I should say sorry to my desktop publishing clients, The Toronto Musicians Association, The Toronto Blues Society and the Toronto Jazz Festival. I will confess right here that there were times when I should have been working on your publication and I just pushed it aside and went to play guitar. In fact, it never fails that I get an idea for a song just when I'm scrambling to meet some deadline.

Well, I'm glad to get that all off my chest :-)


For those who check my blog, "Colorblind Brian's Toronto Blues Diary",  you will note that I have dropped in some postings from 1990-98. In those years I had an online diary stashed in a corner of the jazz festival website - a blog, though they weren't called that back then. When we moved to a new server in the mid 90s it was all lost, but just a few weeks ago I found a print-out of the old entries and I've been adding those postings from when I first arrived in Toronto. It's good for a laugh. Go to http://torontobluesdiary.blogspot.com

I will end my Blainletter with this little "IT" tip (for those who hung in and read this rambling rant right until the end): If you're like me, your email inbox is full of messages and you've got all kinds of folders with more correspondence...maybe pictures, other stuff.... Before Jan 1, I'm going to move all the mail in my inbox into a new folder called "inbox 08" and I'm going to move all my other (non-email) files into a folder called "DOCS 08". Likewise with all the pics and client files. Then when I have some time, I will copy those folders onto a CD for back-up. I like having a fresh start at the beginning of the year. May you all have a nice fresh start.

November Gigs:

-    Halloween at Seasons on Mill Street, Orangeville –  Brian Blain (solo) TONIGHT – 7pm start – no cover – great Tapas

-    Friday, November 7 at Free Times, 320 College St. Toronto  $5 cover.  The debut of…blainblain  my new father/son collaboration project.

-    Friday, November 14 - playing with Zoe Chilco at the Black Swan on Danforth (8:30 start). I'll be doing a few of my tunes as well.

-    Saturday matinee – Brian Blain (guesting with the Odyssey Blues Band) 3:30 pm at The Lion, 15 Lock St, Port Dalhousie


(there's more gigs and more news but I'll have to save that for next time – I've got to hit the road and try to beat the traffic out of town. As always, thanks for you support and encouragement. BrianB)

Here come blainblain

The big news is that my prodigal son Joel (aka, DJ Coi) is back – he's been out at the Cape all summer but he's back now and we both have a renewed desire to make music together (he's more on the electronica side of things but we are finding some common ground). We had a good run through last night. Come to Free Times next Friday and check it out!

October was fine despite the fact that it's the first October in 4 years that I haven't been on a European tour. Butch Coulter who was the key to these European adventures is a new dad and was less inclined to go out on the road this year, even though there was some interest in return engagements for the Kathi McDonald Band and even a couple of inquiries about getting Brian & Butch. Well, it's over to 09 I guess.

Going Home
I did have a "mini-tour" (tourette??) of Quebec and went back to my old stomping grounds, Sutton, Quebec to play a gig at the Cafe Mocador, now the Mocador Pub, but in the same location on main street Sutton. Many old friends came out. I've passed through Sutton a few times since I left there almost 18 years ago, but never stayed around to hang out. This time, I took a leisurely walk after my sound check and ended up in the upscale Italian restaurant that occupies the building where I lived upstairs with wife & kid and had my studio on the main floor. I did not get any special consideration because I had lived there so many years ago. I had the most expensive plate of spaghetti I ever had…but it was worth it to sit in the old homestead and take in the vibes.

Out and About:
When I got back to town I had a chance to see Harry Manx playing at the Hamilton Place. He's got some great new material. While we were hanging out in the backstage area, he brought me to another part of the complex where Yes were rehearsing for their big gig in Hamilton the next day. Fascinating hearing the signature bass sound of Chris Squire coming through that door. Also got to Tressa Levasseur's CD launch.  Michelle Josef plays on the album but is regrettably no longer in the band. I joked that it took two drummers to take the place of one Michelle Josef.

The OCFF Conference
As one of the pitiful few who was supposed to be there but wasn't, I've been following the post-mortem discussion on the maplepost listserve. I was to host the blues campfire again this year but regretfully I couldn't get to Ottawa because I had to attend to my (desktop)publishing empire (!).  I'm seeing lots of comments from attendees that there were not enough opportunities to jam. In the past, the campfire room has not been sufficiently exploited to provide playing opportunities. Don't know how it went this year, but in past years it was a dozen or so players in a circle and I didn't think there was ever more than a dozen listeners. This has always been musicians playing for musicians – not much help in "career development," I've been reminded. Still it can provide a "walk-in" opportunity to join the circle and play a couple of tunes.

My Open Letter to Jack Layton
Dear Jack, Congratulations. I just listened to your victory speech and as you listed all the things you will fight for, I was waiting to hear "arts and culture"...particularly since it was Harper's marked disdain for arts and culture that cost him a majority.
I voted for you (yes, I am a constituent) because I think you can be a real champion for the arts - many of us expect that of you. The first thing you should do is jump on the proposal to double the Canada Council funding. That would send a good message - one that would serve you well down the line.

Yours truly.... Brian Blain

Happy Thanksgiving to all Blainletter readers. This goes out to my most valued fanlist - folks who have encouraged me one way or another. And on this Thanksgiving week-end I thank you for that. As long as there’s some folks out there that enjoy what I’m doing, I’m going to keep doing it.  This is a long Blainletter but it’s been a while. Feel free read it later at www.myspace.com/brianblain  - once you’ve marked the gigs in your calendar, of course ☺


In this issue:

Upcoming Gigs
A New CD begun
Tuning to A 432
Out and About


GIGS GIGS GIGS (but nary a one in this town)

Friday, Oct 17 (8:30 start) Hey Townshippers, It will be a homecoming of sorts when I play a gig at the Mocador Pub in Sutton, Quebec

Saturday, Oct 18 (6-8pm) I play La Brullerie Du Roi in Joliette, Quebec (part of their "Octobre En Blues" festival.

Friday Oct 24 at 11:30 AM (that's not a typo, it's 11 AM!) I'll be hosting Colorblind Brian's Blues Campfire at the OCFF Conference - that's in Ottawa - Ballroom B of the Crowne Plaza on. Hoping I might find some obliging music room for a late night campfire, as well.

Friday, October 31 (7pm start) Then it's back to Season's in Orangeville (back by popular demand!) on Halowween Night (oh gawd, what to wear?) - All my Orangeville friends (you know who you are) here's the perfect excuse to close up the house early and be done with those pesky trick-or-treaters.

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A new album

Yesterday I borrowed a couple of good microphones from my friend Don Richardson and cleaned up the studio to prepare for some serious recording. I moved my noisy mac G4 out of the room and man did that make a big difference. I never realized to clock on the wall makes an audible "click" -  it was always buried by the computer humming. This is as close to a c-c-c-commitment as I ever get and when I announced my plans to start a new album at the Borealis/NorthernBlues office I heard a voice from the back of the room saying "so I guess that will be ready about 2011." It's a running gag over there but we'll see how fast I can put this one together. Of course, the minute I try to settle into a recording schedule, the distractions begin and Thursday was a banner day for distractions - two big ticket CD launches (Michael Jerome Browne and Chris Whiteley and Diana Braithwaite), the opening of a photo exhibit by rock & roll photographer Bob Gruen at a fancy Yorkville gallery and the official launch of the Small World festival. They used to call these "press conferences" then "media conferences" but nowadays they don't expect much of a turnout from the working media unless it's the film festival or some huge sporting event. Now it's an occasion to invite the "VIP's" and tastemakers... I couldn’t get to everything so I skipped Chris and Diana I had just seen them at the Southside Shuffle anyway.

Speaking of the Southside Shuffle, I made my way out to Port Credit and did the walkabout on the street to see lots of friends and familiar faces playing up a storm. Lots of great talent on one street at one time but in their effort to hire all the bands they want, everyone is just too close together and the sound bled into a caucophony that made it hard to enjoy anyone. Surprisingly, they had the same problem on the big stages in the park and I felt sorry for the Blues Society Talent Search Winner, Scott McCord playing on the side stage while the Jeff Healey tribute band blasted through the park. At the risk of sabotaging a gig for myself, I have to say they need to hire less bands, put them further apart, make sure the bands start and stop when they're supposed to and maybe try to introduce some new faces... One thing about the Shuffle that stuck with me was watching Bob Babbitt playing bass with the Funk Brothers. There's not too many of the original guys left...they may have to hang it up pretty soon. But Babbitt has the pedigree, even though he had to step into the shadow of bass icon James Jamerson. Watching Babbitt play was a revelation, though. Such a light touch on the bass and yet a totally punchy sound. I heard that he had some interesting comments on the music industry so I checked out his website and he has a fascinating essay there called  "Who's Playing Bass?" It's at http://www.bobbabbitt.com/whos.htm


I had my share of offbeat gigs in the last month. The most fun was at the Woodbine Racetrack wher I had recruited Jerome Godboo and Chris McKhool to add some harmonica and fiddle to my "Bloozegrass" gig. Jerome even brought along a button accordion and I believe it may have been the first time he pulled it out on a gig (but it won't be the last). The weirdest was guesting with Brian Gladstone at the Gate 403. When we started up there was an audience of three women – and they were talking up a storm through his tunes. Then when I take the stage, two of them leave to have a cigarette so it was a bit of a command performance for the one lady left (and thank you for staying, mam).  I did my  "pro bono" for the month and played a benefit in Kitchener to raise money to pay for the legal bills of Brenda Martin – that Canadian woman who was imprisoned in Mexico for a couple of years. I was glad to play in K-W, even if it was for free. I can't seem to get a gig in that town if my life depended on it (it doesn't).

I had a truly memorable time in Fredericton, New Brunswick at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival - what a well-run event and what a great town. Hospitality Central! I was met at the airport and kept on schedule the whole time I was there by a wonderful couple of volunteers, Cathy and Jerry, who made sure I was where I had to be at all times and became my number one fans for the duration. I think we made a few other fans, too, walking though the tent after my set at the late-night finale jam I encountered many smiling faces and congratulatory pats on the back.  I played a couple of nights at a Mexican Restaurant and I had asked for a small Fender amp. They said they had a "Blues DeVille" for me and I pictrured that as a nice small amp with one speaker – Wrong! It's a big heavy amp with 4 speakers and it was in a road case that was as heavy as the amp. At the hotel I had a short visit with Thom Swift and saw him do a set on the big stage (opening for Charlie Hunter). Then He got word that his wife was in labour and he raced off to Halifax. It was a bouncing baby girl! Steve Marriner was all over the festival – he's got one of those baritone guitars and having a great time with that. Watch for his new project, Monkey Junk with Ottawa guitarist Tony D

My highlight at Harvest was discovering Eric Bibb. I can't believe this guy has slipped under my radar all these years - I even had one of his CDs on the shelf! He was positively inspiring and I had the chance to tell him so. He had the best guitar sound I ever heard - I was sure he was using some kind of octave pedal to give his guitar that incredible bass. There was no pedal, but he did tell me that tunes his guitar lower (and probably uses fatter strings).

I was anxious to hear Ana Popovic and she did not disappoint - in fact, I owe her one because I got to fill in for her at the Guitar Workshop when she was delayed at the border. She is a phenomenal player, I only wish she would get her foot off that wah-wah pedal once in while. Derek Trucks is a beautiful player too, but I wish he would put down the slide. Alas both those thangs are part of their respective "signatures" so I better get used to it. I discovered one great Chicago blues guitarist who I had never heard of - Nick Moss. He is, as they say, "the real deal" and it's not just because he's from Chicago. He was part of Colorblind Brian's Blues Campfire along with Treasa Levasseur (& David Baxter), Steve Marriner and Stuart MacDougal from Alberta. We had a big crowd for the Campfire so the usual guidelines for the more intimate campfires (ie, brand new original tunes) went out the window and we just played a lot of favourite blues tunes and passed around the solos. I did start it off with my newest composition, "The day Coke saved the blues" and late that night as I was jamming with Steve Marriner and Shirley Jackson's band, Nick was at the side of the stage shouting "play 'the day Coke saved the blues' " When you meet Nick Moss you will see that he is one of the "larger than life" characters whose requests you should heed. So I played it for the crowd though I wondered if it might be a little "inside" for public consumption. It is the story of how a song gave a second wind to my record label, Northern Blues, when it was used in a Coke commercial. Now everybody in New Brunswick is humming it!


Just in from the new "hotspot" in Toronto, The Dakota Tavern. I dropped in to see my old buddy Matt Masters - I thought it was his show but it turns out he was opening for another Alberta cowboy singer/songwriter - Tim Hus. I never heard of Tim but as I was watching his set, I overheard someone (his manager?) telling a buddy that they just heard Tim was nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the upcoming Canadian Folk Awards. How does somebody come out of nowhere like that (it was his first appearance in Toronto) and get on the ballot? It makes me think there could not have been too many people submitting to that category...or perhaps to the folk awards generally. Not to dis his songwriting but I could not really hear much of either Tim or Matt because the crowd was so noisy. I wondered what this guy was thinking, he drives all the way to Toronto (though he had a nice ride if that was his Sprinter van parked out front) to play the hip new bar and nobody is really listening. Anyway he had the upbeat tunes to play for that crowd but not a great showcase for a Songwriter of the Year. Our favourite publicist/scenester told me "Justin is here, Serena is here, only Luke Doucet is missing!" And I had a chance to catch up with young Liam Titcomb who is just back from a songwriting session in Nashville.

Many friends were launching CDs over the last couple of weeks, I didn't make it to either Suzie Vinnick's launch at Hugh's Room or Paula Shear's launch at the Gladstone because I just ran out of steam. I was cooked on Sunday from a late night and miles and miles of walking at the Nuit Blanche last Sunday. That was quite phenomenal - amazing installations, one by Byron Wong who filled a small park with microphones and speakers and created feedback loops that he processed through a bank of synthesizers (all electric, as he pointed out - nothing digital). In addition, there was another artist who created a video program that allowed the sound to be manipulated as you passed your hand in front of the screen. Up the road at the Ontario College of Art, one young man had a projector in the back of a pick-up truck and had somehow installed a wireless mouse and some kind of laser pointer into a spray can so that if you pointed at this 4 or 5 story wall you could "draw" by pressing down the button on the can. Hi-tech graffiti - and easy to erase!

I saw my Montreal buddy Michael Jerome Browne (and partner B. who made it to town for the occasion). He was releasing his new CD at the Gladstone – he had a great young organist with him – the name was Don Cummings, but when I asked Don about what other stuff he was doing it seemed he does not play a lot – he was subbing for Ken pearson, who played organ on Michael's CD. I also got to Carlos del Junco's CD launch at the Dollar and he was playing up a storm – with a new guitarist, Eric St-Laurent (I think…). This guy had some big shoes to fill following in the footsteps of Kevin Breit and Shawn Kellerman but he pulled it off. Not to forget Mark Sepic, who played a lot with Carlos and who composed one of the tunes they played. Dropped in a Mark's jam in the beaches the other day and did a couple of tunes with him. I must get out more often (to the jams, I mean).

The most amazing band I saw this month was a group from Turkey called Baba Zula – and it was the visual element that added to the impact. The band was a guy playing beats and loops with a percussionist and a guy playing something resembling a 3-string guitar which he ran through a bank of pedals and effects. What was most fascinating was an artisr off to the side doodling on a graphics tablet and creating real-time graphics on a rear screen projector. My eyes were glued to that screen – except for when the belly dancer came out… Also got to hear Vieux Farka Touré as part of the Small World Festival and he was terrific, too. Not as versatile as his late dad, Ali Farka Touré, but he had that African guitar groove that I love.

Meeting Mr. Russell

I never heard Tom Russell, or even knew what he looked like, until last week when I got to meet him in Newburyport, Mass. He gave a great show and I got to hang out a bit because we were both crashing at the "Rounder Mansion" - Tom because he was playing a gig in the local theatre and me and my gang because we were stopping over to visit my friends Ken and Donna on the way back from Cape Cod. I told him that one of the tunes he recorded was written in my living room - Dance Hall Girls by Allan Fraser.

The Next Generation

Speaking of Allan Fraser, it was a delight hearing his daughter Kaya Fraser perform at the Cameron. She's got some powerful new material. There werent' many people out for what will be her last performance in Toronto for a long time, but one of them was publicist Jane Harbury who was suitably impressed.

Not My Dog

Finally checked out this favourite Queen West hangout where Tressa Levasseur had a residency for a while. The featured artist was Jadea and it was her guitarist Tim who invited me to come by and do a couple of tunes. I got there ahead of any of the other guests, got my guitar plugged in and ready so then when it was guest time I got to go first. Then I handed off my guitar to Roxanne Potvin who played some new material (one in French) and then Max Cann (from England).  

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 Has anybody out there heard about this theory that tuning our instruments to a concert pitch of 432 (instead of the current 440). That's musician talk but some guy was referred to me - and called me with a bit of a conspiracy theory of how we got away from the original concert pitch of 432 (which they say was built to be tuned at 432. They claim the vibrations are much more "sympathetic" at 432. I always relate to music as vibrations...and the frequency of the vibrations. I think I'm going to look into this a little further - maybe try tuning down to 432 (for solo shows only, mind you). To read more about it go to www.omega432.com


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I always like to highlight a career development tip for fellow emerging artists so let me leave you with Randy Newman's two rules of show business:  Never tell the audience that you¹re sick and never leave your wallet in the dressing room.

In This Issue:

• Brian at Olivia's at 53 SUNDAY NIGHT
• Brian on CKLN with Noah Zacharin Sunday 7-8pm
• Back to Orangeville – Season's Friday, July 25 7pm start
• Brian at Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival Sept 12-15
• Toronto Jazz Festivals (2 down, 1 to go)
• My Day at the Races
• Out and About – Scott McKeon, a real contender


Brian Blain and Roberta Hunt
This Sunday Night 8:30pm
Olivia's at 53
53 Clinton St. Toronto ON
416 533 3989
http://www.oliviasat53.com
NO COVER
If you're around on Sunday Night, this is as intimate and interactive as it gets. No PA, no amps. Just me and my guitar with Roberta on the piano. More like a house concert (that just happens to ttake place in a 5-star restaurant). This is part of Raoul's Blue Sundays series. I was his guest a couple of months ago and we had a great time playing together (Terry Wilkins and Jimmy Bowskill dropped in and we had a great jam). Raoul is away this Sunday so he asked me to sub for him. Since there's a real piano (a rarity these days), I've invited Roberta Hunt to join me – she's just back from a European tour with her regular band, The Happy Pals.

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It's always nice to get invited back and there's no better place to go back to than Orangeville and that great restaurant/café called Season's. Thanks to Sharon Grace for introducing me to this place (and for introducing them to me…)

Brian Blain (solo)
NEXT FRIDAY Jul 25 7:00 PM
Season's
19 Mill Street, Orangeville, Ontario

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Two jazz festivals down and another starting tonight.

The closest thing I have to a day job is hanging around the Media Trailer at the Toronto Jazz Festival and not much time for playing but I did get a last-minute call from Roberta Hunt to sub for a band at Grossman's on the last day of the festival so in the end I did get a gig out of this. I love playing with an acoustic piano. I invited her to join me for a few tunes at the jazz fest Volunteer Party but I knew that would be a tough gig - this is the last chance for the volunteers to socialize amongst themselves before next year so it's not a very attentive crowd. Some people got into it.

More Jazz Festival Notes:

June 28, 2008 No more red carpet at the Rex
After a phenomenal show of guitartuosity from John Abercrombie, Mike Stern and John Scofield in a 1-2-3 punch at the mainstage, I made my way over to the Rex and for the first time ever I did not get waved in by the manager but was expected to pay my $15 like everybody else. OK, maybe I had a slight sense of entitlement after all these years of promoting that club in the jazz and blues newsletters I produce...and they've always welcomed me (even though they do not honour any jazz festival passes - all access, media or otherwise). Well, maybe it's because of their war with my other client, the Toronto Musicians Association. Boo hoo, I didn't get to see DMBQ

June 23, 2008 Jazz fest Day 3 - Skipped the mainstage concert to do the rounds - first Pat Carey's CD launch at the Orbit Room. Lots of energy on that stage. Michael Fonfara doing a pretty legit jazz gig on the B3 organ - with bass player Garth Vogan sounding exactly like the bass pedals would if Fonf was playing them. Ted Quinlan, Toronto's go-to guitarist for any occasion was replacing Jake Langley who had to rush out of town to be with an ailing parent.
Finally took the occasion to see Nikki Yanofsky and try to get some idea what all the fuss is about. Sold out house - $40 ticket - and the audience loved her. Who wouldn't? The kid delivers, but at the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, it still didn't reach right into my soul. Neither did the Billy Band, though they sure have something special. A bunch of Russians playing Tom Waits songs. Go figure. Then before packing in it, I dropped into Grossmans where I will be playing next Sunday afternoon with Roberta Hunt. The double-steel man, Brian Cober, was playing his home-away-from-home for the last 24 years. Actually he may now have more of a domestic life - he just got married. Congratulations Brian!

More about Orangeville
June 16, 2008 They should call it Bluesville One week after the Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival and I'm back in this great little town playing an organic cafe/bistro called Seasons. A couple of the tables were people who saw me playing on the street the week before and one couple had come back because they saw me at the festival film fundraiser when I did a few tunes before the movie "Honeydripper." The great thing about a small town like Orangeville is that a venue can put a poster in the window the week before your gig and within a few days, the whole town knows about the gig. After setting up, I took a little walk about and walked by at least three establishments where blues music was wafting out the front. Then when I packed up and brought the car around, I walked past 3 bars that had live music going on - all pretty bluesy...and two of them were playing the same song at the same time - That's Allright Mama! Larry & Bruce (Trouble & Strife) were playing at another venu down the road and they dropped in while they were on a break and sat in for a tune. A great listening crowd and a re-booking on the spot. Who could ask for more.


A Day at the Races

Finally a good-paying gig so I could call in The Blainettes. Colleen Allen couldn't do the gig (she played baritone last time) but I got Gene Hardy (who actually played on my first album...and I just remembered he was the only person I actually paid to play on that recording - everybody else was bending over backwards to encourage me and they played for free...that doesn't happen very often!)
We had to play between races, we were set up on the apron right next to the track and we would play between races. We had a minder who would signal when we had to start and stop - and when she signaled "stop", we had to stop right at that moment - sometimes right in the middle of a line. Anyway, it was a good payday. My Fender amp took a big fall but seems to have survived. When I started complaining that this was about the weirdest gig I'd ever played, Gene said "Well, we're not wearing mascot costumes, are we?"

I had a couple of out-of-town gigs just cancel and I might be a little bummed but I got bolstered by a very nice comment that was left on my YouTube page about my song "Last Time I Saw Lenny". He said Lenny would have liked it. That was nice to hear, not that I even attempted to play like Lenny.


Out and About

Meet Scott McKeon. Heard a great young blues guitarist from UK. His name is Scott McKeon. Very tasty player considering his young age. I'm sure his living up to all the hype that's being generated. After playing some big festival stages, they made a club appearance in Toronto even though they were virtually unknown and Toronto audiences do not come out to support unknowns so when I got there there were more people at the band table that the rest of the club. It picked up a bit from there but I should do my part and tell you all what a great show you missed! I'm sure he'll be back.



….and it is now 6:29 and I wanted to get down to Woodbine Park to hear the kick-off of the Beaches Jazz festival. Roxanne Potvin is scheduled to play a set at 6:30.