In a 1981 interview on CNN, actor and comedian Paul Reubens explained how he came up with his alter ego Pee-wee Herman.
Photo Gallery: Boy George and Culture Club with Howard Jones and Berlin at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage
Photos taken by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her through Instagram or Twitter
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne To Be Honored By Jus’ Blues Foundation with Lifetime Achievement Award
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne has received many accolades over the course of his six-decade musical career, and this year brings a particularly honourable distinction. In recognition of Wayne’s outstanding contributions to the blues genre, the Jus’ Blues Foundation has selected him for the Jus’ Blues Bobby “Blue” Bland Lifetime Achievement Award.
For more than 25 years, the Atlanta-based Jus’ Blues Foundation has worked tirelessly to nurture the cultural heritage of the Blues through arts education programs, philanthropic efforts, and special events designed to protect the legacy and originators of the Blues.
Wayne will be presented with the award, named for the legendary American blues singer Bobby “Blue” Bland, at both a VIP Honoree Reception on August 2nd and at the Jus’ Blues Music Awards “Night of the Living Legends” on August 3rd held at the Bluesville Music Hall in Tunica, Mississippi.
“Life is a mystery and full of surprises and this Lifetime Achievement Award is surely a surprise,” said Wayne. “I am very honoured to be receiving it.”
A monster piano player, imaginative songwriter, and soulful singer in the style of Fats Domino, Johnnie Johnson and Ray Charles backed by a very tight band, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne is a member of the Boogie-Woogie Piano Hall of Fame and has received two consecutive Living Blues Magazine Awards and a JUNO Award and is a multiple Maple Blues Award winner – and the best dressed Bluesman in Canada.
Now 78, Wayne’s six-decade musical career began with him soaking up the sounds of gospel music from his father, a preacher. From there, his genre journey traversed through jazz, Latin, R&B, and soul, with explorations in swing, bebop, dance, and the standards for good measure. His Blues From Chicago to Paris: A Tribute to Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon remained on the Roots Music Report’s Canadian Chart for 37 consecutive weeks, hitting #1 on several occasions.
Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne Tour Dates:
2023-08-02 – Just Blues Foundation, Tunica, Mississippi
2023-08-03 – Just Blues Foundation, Tunica, Mississippi
2023-08-13 – Nanaimo Blues Festival, Nanaimo, BC
2023-09-19 – Soulful Cafe w/James Anthony. Brantford, ON
2023-09-09 – Southside Shuffle, Port Credit 4:30 – 5:30pm
2024-01-24 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-01-25 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-01-26 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-01-27 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-01-28 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-01-29 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-01-30 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-01-31 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-01 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-02 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-03 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-04 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-05 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-06 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-07 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-08 – Mustique Island Blues Festival, St. Vincent
2024-02-26 – Infinity Bay West Event, Roatán, Caribbean
2024-02-27 – Infinity Bay West Event, Roatán, Caribbean
2024-02-28 – Infinity Bay West Event, Roatán, Caribbean
2024-02-29 – Infinity Bay West Event, Roatán, Caribbean
2024-03-01 – Infinity Bay West Event, Roatán, Caribbean
2024-03-02 – Infinity Bay West Event, Roatán, Caribbean
2024-03-03 – Infinity Bay West Event, Roatán, Caribbean
2024-03-04 – Infinity Bay West Event, Roatán, Caribbean
Meïa Santiago Releases “I Can’t Stay Away From You” Produced by Prince’s Former Music Director
Meïa Santiago’s new single “I Can’t Stay From You,” produced by Prince’s Music Director and keyboardist Morris Hayes, tells the full arc of a love story. Blending pop, jazz, and Latin with yearning lyrics, Santiago infuses each note with sensuality, infatuation, and heartbreak.
Meïa found inspiration from a relationship that bloomed and ended in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a Spaniard living in New York City, she was particularly vulnerable—being far away from home, friends, and even sense of self. Despite love lost, Meïa’s lyrics center hope: “Through the open window I hear / 3 little birds singing / To make a new start / Sweet love bring me your wings / So I can fly away.” And in the midst of darkness, she rekindled another love: her love of music.
Santiago and Morris Hayes, Prince’s musical collaborator for 15 years, began working together in 2022 and have since brought together a breadth of talent from Spain and the United States. Working almost entirely remotely, they found a rhythm sharing sketches and demos until they landed on the special composition for “I Can’t Stay Away From You.” Meïa co-wrote the lyrics with Hayes and Elsten Torres, a two-time Grammy-nominated BMI’s songwriter.
The band is made of international prestigious musicians as Shelby J (backing vocalist for Prince for almost 10 years, D’Angelo, NPG…), Chris Bailey (drummer for Chaka Khan, Britney Spears, NPG..) Malcolm Joseph (bass player for Grace Jones, Neneh Cherry, Massive Attack…) David Pastor (trumpet player for Celia Cruz, Santiago Auserón, Presuntos Implicados…) among others.
The resulting song combines their wide-ranging musical backgrounds to create a wholly unique production, fluctuating between passionate intensity and the sleek coolness.
Santiago notes, “My work has always explored femininity and sensuality, but “I Can’t Stay Away From You” goes deeper. Aphrodite is the muse—acting as a guide for my lyrics and musical approach. I am eager to write music about love and passion through the lens of the feminine, highlighting the unique power women have in their bodies and emotions.”
In conjunction with the release of her song, Santiago debuted a new video for “I Can’t Stay Away From You” directed by Blake Davis who’s also the photographer of the single’s images and single cover.
They were looking for a retro aesthetic, that could visually translate into images the nostalgia and the sensuality of the music.
They shot the video at Blake’s studio; DreamTone NYC, a studio that has been place of many fashion shootings, music videos for independent artists and other videos for successful hip hop bands.
Toronto Indie Rock Band The Alter Kakers Unleash the Torrid Tale of Love’s Highs and Lows in “Stopped Being In Love”
Love is a double-edged sword. At its highs, nothing beats it. At its lows, you’re fully defeated. Toronto indie rock band The Alter Kakers captured the torrid experience of a love affair gone wrong in its latest single, “Stopped Being In Love.”
Combining influences from both rock and country, vocalist and guitarist Steve Bronstein serenades the listener with a twangy sound that emanates the emotion and turbulence of a relationship falling apart. He starts from the beginning, explaining how he and the nameless woman met at a truck stop some time ago. The relationship unfolded from there, but it fell apart down the line, and now Bronstein confesses that he might have stopped being in love.
The track intertwines with the band’s motif – alter kaker is a Yiddish term for an old person, or as the band likes to call it, it means “an old fart.”
“Is this band a group of Alter Kakers?” the band asked, rhetorically. “Probably, but think of it this way: to become an Alter Kaker, you need to have the will to never give up or stop trying, and that’s what we have done.”
While “Stopped Being In Love” mostly touches on the sadness and loneliness that a love gone wrong can deliver, it maintains a balancing act, acknowledging that for as bad as things feel right now, there will be a tomorrow.
While writing the song, Bronstein said he wanted contrasting ideas in the chorus. It all came to him while sitting at a red light in his car on his way home from the dog park. All it took was about 15 seconds, he said.
“Then I think I need a counterpoint like Lennon and McCartney, as in ‘you say yes, I say no,’” he recounted. “So then I sing, ‘but it’s not,’ then another triplet, ‘the end of the world,’ and hold the word, ‘world.’”
He repeated it in his head until he got back, then figured out how to play it on the guitar. His bandmates, bassist and background vocalist Cary Corvair and drummer Dan Barsi, co-signed Bronstein’s creation, and they went from there. Fast forward about a week into the future, and The Alter Kakers have what they consider to be their best single yet.
In June, the band published a music video to go along with the song. It was an organic idea that came from Bronstein and Corvair meeting up at the Bloor Viaduct and seeing what happened. Shooting the video themselves, it turned into a story of a man and woman who can’t quite get on the same page. The man is always too many steps ahead of the woman, played by Bronstein’s dog walker, Julie Logie, who finds clues along the way to hint that she’s onto him but just a bit too late. The video implies that the man may have jumped off a bridge in the aftermath of their breakup, but it leaves that open to the viewer to decide.
“I took a chance filming on the first night by jumping up onto the concrete ledge of the bridge, standing close to the edge,” Bronstein said. “Even though there is suicide netting, it still made my stomach turn. I am afraid of heights.”
All three of the band’s members are seasoned professional musicians, individually and as a collective. The Alter Kakers have recorded three EPs and an array of singles, including a cover of Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” that earned Sports Illustrated’s video of the day recognition and helped put the band on the map.
The Alter Kakers especially pride themselves on their live shows. They’ll play original music and covers of the greatest hits – they’re entertainers and don’t mind playing to a crowd. Their work has received such notice that the band achieved its dream of playing at The Dakota Tavern in Toronto. In fact, The Alter Kakers have featured at the venue now a half-dozen times with great success, and there are more dates on the way.
With “Stopped Being in Love” available now and two more releases, along with accompanying videos, on the way, The Alter Kakers are extremely excited for the future. Check out “Stopped Being In Love” to follow along on the band’s musical journey.
Lynyrd Skynyrd Commemorate A Half-Century Of Flying High As One Of America’s Preeminent Rock Bands With ‘Fyfty’
Southern by the Grace of God indeed. On October 13, Geffen/UMe/Universal Music Canada Recordings is set to release FYFTY, a 4CD/digital 50th anniversary box set that celebrates the enduring legacy of one of rock & roll’s most pre-eminent bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd. The career-spanning 50 tracks featured on FYFTY represent the best of the best music the band has offered up to its loyal, worldwide fanbase from the very beginning. Within this box set, fans of all eras of Lynyrd Skynyrd can trace the band’s roots by way of their early Muscle Shoals recordings through an abundance of iconic songs that defined the literal soundtrack of the ’70s. From there, listeners can revisit live cuts from the historic 1987 tribute show that ignited the band’s ensuing reunion, then continue onward and upward with the determined last-band standing defiance of fist-pumping latter-era tracks like “Last Of A Dyin’ Breed” and “Last Of The Street Survivors,” and eventually touch back down on earth with a special live performance of “Gimme Three Steps” that was culled from the band’s final show with co-founding guitarist Gary Rossington in November 2022, a previously unreleased live track.
FYFTY is available to pre-order now via uDiscover Music and LynyrdSkynyrd.com. A limited-edition version of the collection with a signed litho will be available as an exclusive release available via uDiscover and the band’s touring packages. Pre-order FYFTY now HERE
FYFTY comes housed in the sturdy, vinyl-size 12×12-inch format, with a gatefold jacket that holds a detailed 40-page booklet featuring opening notes penned by a longtime friend of the band —esteemed rock journalist, screenwriter, and director, Cameron Crowe — along with detailed liner notes and track-by-track analysis by respected Detroit rock journalist Gary Graff. Additionally, FYFTY is filled with unreleased photos of the original band and the reformed band, a stirring visual chronicle of Lynyrd Skynyrd both then and now.
The legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd is etched in stone, and it is most readily accessible through the band’s deep, rich catalog of great songs — a half-century’s worth of material spread across 14 studio albums and myriad of compilations and live recordings that, over the years, have unearthed unreleased gems and rarities that have only served to enhance one of rock & roll’s richest bodies of work. “We just kind of notice what’s going on around us and write songs so people relate to them,” Rossington observed in the liner notes. “That’s always been our style. We learned that from Ronnie [Van Zant]; he always had a great way to take a subject and write a cool story around it so people could relate. We’re just trying to keep that going.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s story is a well-told tale of triumph amidst and over tragedies. After five years of touring small venues under assorted monikers with varying line-ups, the band officially became Lynyrd Skynyrd in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969. The group’s handle, a sly twist on the name of a long hair-hating high-school gym teacher they all knew firsthand, Leonard Skinner. Skynyrd spent years honing its craft through relentless touring, hard living, and hot material including the down-home mission statement “Sweet Home Alabama” and the anthemic opus “Free Bird” — the latter represented here on FYFTYvia a previously unreleased live version from the band’s performance at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 7, 1976. These and other iconic Skynyrd tracks like “What’s Your Name,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “Simple Man,” “Call Me The Breeze,” and “That Smell” all contributed to making the band one of America’s biggest acts by the mid-’70s. Lynyrd Skynyrd had become such a bona fide arena headliner that gave the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Who a run for their money when opening for them — a confident band that even had the impudence to take shots at Neil Young for disrespecting the Southland. (Good ol’ Neil didn’t seem to mind too much, by the way.)
The group’s ascent abruptly and tragically stopped on October 20, 1977, when the plane taking Skynyrd to its next show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed in a Mississippi forest, in turn killing three band members — vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines. Guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins, bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, drummer Artimus Pyle, and backing vocalist Leslie Hawkins were all seriously injured, but all survived. As a beyond tragic result, Lynyrd Skynyrd ceased to be for a decade.
The band’s re-emergence in 1987 for what was supposed to be a one-off tribute tour was surprising and controversial — until the group hit the stage, that is. With younger brother Johnny Van Zant now out front — of whom Ronnie had told others was the best singer in the family — Lynyrd Skynyrd became a formidable force once again, releasing nine more studio albums to date and continuing to do what they do best out on the road. Skynyrd also welcomed a myriad of additional band members to the ranks to carry the torch as others sadly passed on — namely, Collins in 1990, Wilkeson in 2001, Powell in 2009, original guitarist Ed King in 1996, and, most recently, Gary Rossington, the last co-founding member, who left us in March 2023. Thankfully, Rossington’s swan song has been captured forever in the aforementioned live version of “Gimme Three Steps” taken from the last show he performed with Skynyrd that took place at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 13, 2022.
As Johnny Van Zant himself put it quite touchingly in the liners about his lifelong friend Gary, “We miss him so much. What kept me going was calling [Rossington] and having these conversations. He was my cheerleader. So now I’m gonna have to remember his voice to keep my spirits up and keep this thing going. . . as a tribute, and so people remember him and Ronnie and all the others who have been part of this.”
Still going strong and true with its current lineup, Lynyrd Skynyrd most recently joined forces with spiritual Southern brethren ZZ Top for their first co-headlining tour — cleverly dubbed The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour — in turn getting to rock out together in over 22 cities in North America this summer. After that tour wraps up, and coupled with the knowledge of how these perennial Street Survivors operate, Lynyrd Skynyrd may not be done touring just yet. For now, all current tour dates can be found HERE
As Cameron Crowe succinctly pointed out in his opening comments in the FYFTY booklet, as rock & roll only continued to get bigger and bigger, “through it all, doggedly making one authentically great record after another, Lynyrd Skynyrd had risen through the ranks to become one of America’s greatest bands.” The proof can be found within the grooves of all 50 tracks on FYFTY.
LYNYRD SKYNYRD: FYFTY [4CD]
CD 1
- Comin’ Home (Original Version)
- I Ain’t The One
- Gimme Three Steps
- Tuesday’s Gone
- Simple Man
- Sweet Home Alabama
- The Ballad Of Curtis Loew
- Workin’ For MCA
- On The Hunt
- Made In The Shade
- Whiskey Rock-A-Roller (Live)
- All I Can Do Is Write About It (Acoustic Version)
- Gimme Back My Bullets
- Double Trouble
CD 2
- Saturday Night Special (Live)
- T For Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1) (Live)
- Travelin’ Man (Live)
- Free Bird (Live – Unreleased)
- What’s Your Name
- You Got That Right
- I Know A Little
- Down South Jukin’
- White Dove
- Was I Right Or Wrong?
- Georgia Peaches
- Mr. Banker
CD 3
- Call Me The Breeze (Live)
- That Smell (Live)
- Smokestack Lightning
- Southern Women
- The Last Rebel
- Born To Run
- Devil In The Bottle
- Talked Myself Right Into It
- Berneice
- Voodoo Lake
- Tomorrow’s Goodbye
CD 4
- Mad Hatter
- Pick ‘Em Up
- Red White And Blue
- Skynyrd Nation
- Simple Life
- Still Unbroken
- God & Guns
- Gifted Hands
- Start Livin’ Life Again
- Mississippi Blood
- Last Of A Dyin’ Breed
- Last Of The Street Survivors
- Gimme Three Steps (Live – Unreleased)
Billie Eilish And Environmental Non-Profit Reverb Partner With Lollapalooza To Use Solar Powered, Intelligent Battery Systems For Headline Set
Billie Eilish is joining forces with environmental non-profit REVERB and Lollapalooza in bringing solar-powered, intelligent battery systems to Billie Eilish’s highly anticipated headlining set at Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL on Thursday, August 3.
The zero-emissions battery systems partially powering Billie Eilish’s forthcoming set, supplied and managed by Overdrive Energy Solutions, will be charged via a temporary onsite “solar farm” and will serve as a powerful demonstration of clean energy technologies that can drastically reduce live music’s greenhouse gas pollution and accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels.
This groundbreaking effort is part of the Music Decarbonization Project that Eilish helped launch and fund, and is REVERB’s campaign to advance innovative climate solutions to directly eliminate carbon emissions created by the music industry. This bold and revolutionary move will be a powerful example of an emerging clean energy solution that can help rapidly reduce the carbon emissions of live music. The goal at Lollapalooza is to further prove clean energy technology’s ability to provide power to large stages and drive the music industry toward a future that is less reliant on highly polluting diesel generators.
“We hope and believe this will be a watershed moment for the music industry.” says Adam Gardner of REVERB. “There are real climate solutions available right here, right now. By showcasing this technology with one of the biggest artists in the world, on one of the most revered festival stages, we’re accelerating the necessary transition toward a decarbonized future, for music and beyond.”
It’s A Full Moon, So Peter Gabriel Releases Another Song – “Olive Tree”
On the full moon, Tuesday, August 1, Peter Gabriel releases the eighth track from the album i/o. This month the song is “Olive Tree” and the first version to be heard is the Bright-Side Mix, by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent.
Written and produced by Peter Gabriel, “Olive Tree” is another song about connection, both how we interact with nature and the other species around us, but also a greater sensitivity to the potential for broadening human experience, ‘in some ways I do think we are part of everything and we probably have means to connect and communicate with everything that we often shut off. We only want to see and listen to the things that seem important and relevant to us and shut out the noise of everything else when, probably, hidden in that noise there are all sorts of things that can help us realise our place in this future world.’
Like the song Road to Joy, released in June, “Olive Tree” is also part of a separate brain-related project that Peter is currently working on, as well as being partly influenced by his interest in the brain reading research of the likes of Jack Gallant’s Lab at Berkeley and Mary Lou Jepsen’s work at Openwater.cc, ‘it feeds into this idea that we’re no longer these islands that have our own private thoughts, that our thoughts are going to get opened up to the outside world. The lubrication that allows society to function is based, in part, on not being able to read what’s going on in other people’s minds, so unless we get more comfortable with how we really are, we’re probably going to prefer to stay partly buried in our private worlds.’
Musically, “Olive Tree” provides another up-tempo moment for the i/o record, ‘I wanted it to have some speed to it but I also wanted some mystery, too. I think it is a celebration in a way and there’s a real sense of being alive.’ The song features a string arrangement from John Metcalfe, with further contributions from Manu Katché on drums, Tony Levin on bass, David Rhodes on guitar, Josh Shpak on trumpet and additional percussion from Jed Lynch. The song was recorded at Real World Studios, Bath, The Beehive and British Grove, London.
This month’s full moon release comes with artwork from the artist Barthélémy Togou and his work “Chroniques avec la Nature”.
‘I was aware of Barthélémy Toguo’s work, which I found very haunting and very strong, but I first met him at WOMAD in 2015, when he came as artist in residence. I wasn’t talking about this project at that time, but when I was thinking about re-connecting to nature and his work seemed ideal. I think it’s super strong and looks wonderful on stage.
Barthélémy listened to the song and his piece was created as a direct response to the music, which hasn’t always been the case with the other artists, but he was determined that he should generte something new and I’m very glad he did, it’s wonderful.’
Just like the previous full moon releases, “Olive Tree” will come with differing mix approaches from Mark ‘Spike’ Stent (Bright-Side Mix), released on August 1, and also from Tchad Blake (Dark-Side Mix) and Hans-Martin Buff’s Atmos mix (In-Side Mix), released later in the month.
Further details on the release plans for the full album will follow.
Peter Gabriel’s i/o The Tour 2023
North America
Friday, 8 September Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre
Saturday, 9 September Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre
Monday, 11 September Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
Wednesday, 13 September Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Thursday, 14 September Boston, MA TD Garden
Saturday, 16 September Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Monday, 18 September New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Wednesday, 20 September Washington, DC Capital One Arena
Friday, 22 September Buffalo, NY Keybank Center
Saturday, 23 September Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena
Monday, 25 September Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
Wednesday, 27 September Cleveland, OH Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
Friday, 29 September Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena
Saturday, 30 September Chicago, IL United Center
Monday, 2 October Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum
Tuesday, 3 October St Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Saturday, 7 October Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Sunday, 8 October Seattle, WA Climate Pledge Arena
Wednesday, 11 October San Francisco, CA Chase Center
Friday, 13 October Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
Saturday 14 October Palm Springs, CA Acrisure Arena
Monday, 16 October Denver, CO Ball Arena
Wednesday, 18 October Austin, TX Moody Center
Thursday, 19 October Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Saturday, 21 October Houston, TX Toyota Center
SO-SO’s Mind-Blowing Medley of Super Mario Bros. Theme Remixes Will Leave You Spellbound
SO-SO mesmerized the audience with an awe-inspiring performance, showcasing his extraordinary beatboxing skills in a spectacular medley of Super Mario Bros. theme remixes.
