By David Farrell
The Rolling Stones and the El Mocambo have been making headlines of late, so we've included this snap of Mick Jagger with former Warner Canada exec Gary Muth (above) outside London's Marquee Club where the official launch of the band's infamous Love You Live twofer album was held 44 years ago. That album included tracks recorded at the Elmo by Eddie Kramer with subsequent artwork by Andy Warhol. Of course, the Elmo shows sparked a dramafest of scandalous and salacious headlines involving Anita Pallenberg, the PM's wife, drugs, and a whole lot more. To this day, the Spadina Ave. club has been reliving the moment, which is a whole lot more than can be said for April Wine that was set up to open for the headliner posing as The Cockroaches.
–David Browning is known to enjoy a good lark and his latest may be his best so far. He’s teamed up with the Vancouver Men’s Choir to record a charming and comical nod to chanteuse Sarah McLachlan (below).
– CARAS, along with TD Bank, is funding a program to cover the cost of Juno submissions from “underrepresented communities” in 5 categories.
– The Canadian Live Music Assoc. has released a national concert and covid regs guide. It’s the first of its kind.
– The CCMA seems to have found a novel way to flip the drag on ratings for televised awards shows by hiring a drag queen to co-host the Country association’s annual, staged at London, ON’s Budweiser Gardens on the 29th of this month. Global TV has broadcast rights. Pride Queen and Drag Race headliner Priyanka (Mark Suknanan) and CanCountry singer Lindsay Ell share honours on a marquee featuring performances by Dallas Smith, Tenille Arts, The Reklaws, Sacha, Tim Hicks and Don Amero.
– Ra McGuire and Brian “Smitty” Smith announced on Facebook this week that they have officially retired from Trooper, the west coast band they co-founded in the mid-'70s that went on to rack up a string of hits that included Raise A Little Hell, We’re Here For A Good Time (Not a Long Time), Two For the Show, and The Boys In the White Sports Car. Cumulatively, Trooper sold several million albums at home in its heyday, including 600K copies of a Hot Shots compilation in 1979. Trooper will continue touring in name, but without the two founders who, between them, wrote most of the band’s numerous hits. For reasons unknown, Trooper has yet to be named to Canada’s Music or Walk of Fames.
– London, ON joins the ranks of The Fab Four’s Liverpool, Natty Dread’s Kingston, Big Joe Turner’s Kansas City and 46 other cities designated as a UNESCO City of Music. Among notable names to have called the former home of Carling Breweries are the Lombardo brothers (Guy and Lebert), Tommy Hunter, Johnny Cowell, Shad, and Justin Bieber.
– Alfie Zappacosta is back on the road to promote Saved, his most recent ALMA Records/UMC album that earned generous reviews when it was released earlier this year. Show dates include a Hugh’s Room Presents at the Elmo in Toronto on Nov. 24.
–– True North releases Bruce Cockburn Greatest Hits (who can have guessed), a 30-track, 2-LP set that spans a 50-year career and includes faves such as Wondering Where the Lions Are, Lovers In A Dangerous Time, and that old romantic fave–If I Had A Rocket Launcher. Coinciding with its release is a 28-date “2nd Attempt” anniversary NA concert tour that plays Massey Hall and the NAC, April 22 & 23 respectively.
–– US-based indie digital Symphonic Distribution offers a ‘how to' guide for musicians on how to earn coin from SoundCloud that advise on collecting advertising revenue generated in territories where the service is active.
– Michael Cohl is back in the news in a joint venture with Euro live entertainment promoter CTS Eventum that plans to take on Ticketmaster with the launch of a North American ticketing venture called EMC Presents. Cohl and CTS Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg also plan to bring top international artists to stages in the United States and Canada. The first NA venture has sold a reported 300K tickets for Genesis’ North American tour, which opens mid-November in Chicago.
