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