As a musician, you put yourself out there in the public and you have to be ready to appease your fans. That means answering questions after the show. The most common question I get is, “How long have you been playing?” Well, I’m here to tell you, I don’t know. It seems music has always …
The 2018–19 season of Home Routes Concerts kicked off in September with a tour by country singer Tim Hus, accompanied by his sideman of 15 years, Spider Bishop. Hus, on vocals and guitar, is reminiscent of a younger incarnation of Stompin’ Tom Connors, with whom he did tour at one time. In a live performance, …
Making his seventh album was the most fun Gordie Tentrees has had as a musician, but it didn’t start out that way.
It’s been 30 years, or thereabouts, since I first ran into the iconic Canadian folksinger-songwriter-poet who goes by the simple – but exotic-sounding – name of Ferron. There was no reason she should remember me. I was just a volunteer driver for the Edmonton Folk Festival, shuttling performers to and from the airport. But I …
Regardless of what else may be happening, on 1st Saturday of the month during a school year, these open mic events are a regular occurrence.
If you’re doing a stage show about a highly-admired guitarist, being able to render the music is a big help. Fortunately, Whitehorse musician Nicholas Mah has been playing the music of his dramatic subject, the late Lenny Breau, for decades. Mah was 12 when he first encountered Breau at a guitar society meeting in his …
Scott Wilson doesn’t credit either ’50s TV host Arthur Godfrey or campy falsetto Tiny Tim with the current popularity of the humble ukulele. Instead, the Whitehorse musician thinks it likely stems from a few years back, when Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s hauntingly beautiful medley of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “What a Wonderful World” became …
Your first perception of Duncan Sinclair may be of a reserved, buttoned-down guy – a civil servant, most likely. You wouldn’t be wrong. Sinclair spent decades in the territorial public service, rising through the ranks before retiring in 2002 as top dog of the Yukon Development Corporation. Next time you see him, he has …
In an interview, Bob Weir, rhythm guitarist for the Grateful Dead, admitted somewhat sheepishly, that yes, it was a bit embarrassing learning how to play the slide guitar on stage. All his mistakes were out there for the audience to see. Judging by the success of the Grateful Dead’s live shows from the mid ‘60s …
There’s a post on Leela Gilday’s Facebook page from a woman who had just bought a guitar for her daughter. The young girl’s immediate response was, “I’m going to sing just like Leela soon, Mom.” That’s the kind of reaction the Yellowknife singer-songwriter cherishes. Gilday recognizes how she and other First Nations performers, such as …
Cancer Fundraiser produced by Brandon Isaak with performers Hank Carr, Ed Isaak & The Midnight Sons Band is a tribute to Johnny Cash.
Squinting her left eye a little in emphasis, Danette Readman says she started her introduction to the Suzuki Method of musical instruction with a grain of salt. “To be honest, I was a little skeptical, so I took it out of curiosity,” Readman says about her first teacher training in 2004. But she found it …
Playing a guitar as fast as he can is a novelty that wore off for Don Ross by the time he was 17 years old. “It wasn’t about how many hand stands I can do on the thing,” says Ross over the phone. “But, really, a good tune is more important than how fast I …
Classically trained in guitar and well-versed in the banjo, Kim Barlow has been releasing albums of her own hauntingly beautiful roots/folk music for years, notably in her 2003 Juno award-nominated album, Gingerbread and in 2007’s Champ. And here we only scratch the surface for a taste of what Barlow has been up to. In addition …
You have to be thrilled for Gordie Tentrees. The first time his ears perked up to enjoy a folk tune, it was at a Fred Eaglesmith picnic. The first 20 songs he learned to play on a guitar were Fred Eaglesmith songs. This week, Tentrees is hosting the Canadian music legend and will be opening …
Real entertainment from Fred Eaglesmith and Gordie Tentrees Read More »
He calls it, “The Lenny Moment.” “I found myself frozen as music played the way I’ve never heard it before,” says Pierre Brault, a veteran Canadian playwright and actor who has performed in operas and Shakespearean and contemporary plays. He is speaking of the first time he “experienced” the music of Lenny Breau. His taste …
How come eggs, don’t have legs? My poodles, eat noodles. Are those horns, or thorns? Lots of butter, makes me stutter. There’s a spider, in my cider. Do worms, have germs? Did the owl, growl? My goats, eat oats. Do loche, ever wash. The dragon, is in the wagon. The gorilla, has my umbrella. Are …
As a member of the WhiskeyDicks, Ryan Enns will be purveying high-energy “Celtic Gypsy Punk Rock” on Friday and Saturday at Foxy’s Cabaret. Come Sunday, he’ll offer a more intimate performance of solo voice and acoustic guitar at Whitehorse United Church. The second half of that concert will feature his own compositions as a singer-songwriter. …
Don’t mind the flashing lights and funky sounds, folks. This time machine is not the type you were thinking about. Based out of Whitehorse, their new project, Old Time Machine, blends the acoustic songwritingstylings of Ryan McNally with the ambient elements of Kyle Cashen’s inner workings. The machine is powered as follows: McNally sings and …
Mike Rud has packed a lot of musical mileage into his 44 years. The Edmonton-born jazz guitarist has three CDS to his name, not to mention an impressive list of performing and teaching stints in Vancouver, Edmonton, New York City (where he studied with guitar master Jim Hall) and Montreal, where he lives and works. …
