An emotionally charged power song for those finding strength to put one foot in front of the other, Saddle Lake First Nation, AB-based Indigenous blues singer/songwriter Donita Large unveils her empowering gospel-esque vocalizations and dynamic lyricism with “Going To Walk That Line” — available now.
That said, however, gospel does not define this Cree blues-inspired singer-songwriter. If anything, it’s more of the “line” Donita Large has walked in life.
With a singing career that started early on in life, and having so much Métis, country, and gospel music around her, Donita started singing at funerals and weddings early on. Learning how music could be a powerful tool in healing hearts, she decided it was time to branch out.
“I want to share my music, and belt my heart out,” she says. “I am ‘going to walk that line.’”
Going even further, the song “Going To Walk That Line” was born of a similar origin story…
Playing music with a powerful group of women, and feeling inspired by the warmth she felt afterwards from jamming — and everyone “singing their faces off,” as she recalls — Donita knew it was time to debut her inspirational message for women. “I wanted to say ‘get it done’ and ‘I hope you know your worth.’”
While the recent pandemic put the women’s gatherings at a stand-still, Donita Large knew people were hurting and needed inspiration. With that sentiment in mind, she reached out to multi-talented singer-songwriter Cindy Paul — who onboarded as Recording Engineer and Producer.
From there, she expressed her need for a “sweet, slide guitar player” that could give her the ideal slide guitar sound for her debut; Cindy Paul knew just where to go, calling on accomplished guitar player Gord Matthews. In the end, Cindy Paul’s Native American Music Awards and composition ability, combined with Gord Matthews’ run with the Reclines and extensive career as a slide guitarist, left Donita in great hands.
Before she knew it, Donita Large’s vision came to life. With the power of filesharing, she and Paul had session drummer Jaime Cooper create the fills and background percussion. From there, Winnipeg rapper and producer Osani Balkaran was tasked with the final mix and master.
The result is “Going To Walk That Line,” an Indigenous Blues inspired single filled with alluring country-blues style riffs and vocalizations, speaking to the power of women. Surrounded by people of Indigenous lineage, Donita Large is inspired greatly by her culture and people in this message, as well.
“It speaks to women’s tenacity of overcoming painful relationships and deciding what line they want to walk,” she adds.
When it comes to taking control of a room, Canadian folk-rock veteran Glen Foster is a master. And now, he’s got a brand-new live album to show just that; Feelin’ Alive is available now.
In late February, about a month before the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, Glen Foster and friends — known professionally as the Glen Foster Group — presented a full-throttle live concert to an intimate crowd of just over 150 people at the Christ Community Church in his homeland of Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, in the West coast of Canada.
Now, as Canadians are quickly becoming fully vaccinated, Foster has released this epic, 80-minute concert as his first-ever live album. It features 14 live cuts spanning his entire back-catalogue, and two bonus tracks recorded from the studio floor — “Friends Like That” and “Three Man Band.”
Whether you’re familiar or not with Foster’s music, Feelin’ Alive is a perfect showcase of his talents and capabilities; his signature folk-rock sound paired with a mesmerising stage presence, his master songwriting abilities and the roar of a devoted and enchanted crowd are all the proof you’ll need.
Reminiscing on the performance quality of the gig, Foster says they had been working steadily. “My voice was in peak form and the band was playing great,” he shares. “It worked out perfectly that we had recorded that concert, and were due to release a new album soon.”
In Foster’s 40+ year-spanning career, he’s released not only this stunning new live record and singles like the aforementioned “Three Man Band” — which was written as a stirring tribute to CCR’s John Fogerty — but eight fully-original studio albums, which include: 2020’s Not Far Away, the Party Out There Tonight EP (2019) and his 1982 breakthrough, Walk into the Mirror, released with his former band, The Falcon.
Proud of his efforts and looking forward to getting back on stage, Foster says they’re “so glad to be back playing some live gigs this summer after the long COVID-19 layoff.
“We have (this) brand new-album and single to share, and I’m also releasing a Christmas album later this year…
“I don’t have time to not be busy,” he quips, in conclusion.
Foster is simply a “do-it-all-myself” kind of guy. Whether working the fretboard or the microphone, he makes it all look easy. Of course, easy is easier said than done; it only comes with decades of blood, sweat, toil and tears. Foster knows that first-hand.
For Foster, music is a lifelong labour of love. He grew up on a balanced diet of guitar bands like The Ventures and Santo and Johnny, pop icons like The Beatles and Beach Boys, and singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Paul Simon. He’s criss-crossed the country with countless bands, backing Ray Materick of Linda, Put the Coffee On fame and fronting The Falcon. He’s gigged with everyone from Lighthouse, Dr. Hook and Stan Rogers to Valdy and Sammy Hagar.
On top of playing gigs all across the world, he’s been an instrument repairman, salesman and a teacher — just to name a few of his day jobs. He was even a music student with two silver medals from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Fans itching for more original music from this Canadian legend can also look forward to his upcoming Christmas-themed album, The Spirit of Christmas, due out this November — suitably titled after his best-selling 1986 holiday single of the same name.
And, in the meantime, Feelin’ Alive is available now!
Join us as we wander through Brian Wilson’s newly released online rarities, ponder how many miles of tape are still left in the vault, and listen to Darryl go “boooiiinnng … boooiiinnng … boooiiinnng.” Sonic Reducers: One topic. Two music nerds. Five minutes. Everything you need to know. Boooiiinnng …
Gord Downie’s Coke Machine Glow was released in 2001, in between Music @ Work (2000) and In Violet Light (2002), the ninth and tenth albums by his mighty band of brothers in The Tragically Hip. The first solo project by one of the world’s great wordsmiths, Coke Machine Glow’s sixteen painterly songs were released with an accompanying book of poetry, collectively emanating Downie’s heartrending stories, from the road as from home, in his signature quirk and complex, approachable wit. Twenty years since its release, Coke Machine Glow remains a teetering, charming body of work, never static, shot across its canvas in brilliant glowing embers and warm honey tones.
Now, to mark its 20th anniversary, Arts & Crafts announces a special expanded reissue that posthumously revisits the songs and poetry of this prolific period of Downie’s career. Entitled Coke Machine Glow: Songwriters’ Cabal, the triple-album features the original two-disc set plus a bonus record of twelve unreleased demos, alternate versions, and never-before-heard outtakes – carefully curated by Gord’s “oldest Toronto friend” Josh Finlayson and brother Patrick Downie with Arts & Crafts’ Jonathan Shedletzky – including the ominous “I Stand Before The Songwriters’ Cabal” and two opposing versions of the mysterious “Contact.”
The in-all 28-song collection presents a portrait of Downie with a rarely before heard intimacy, unrefined and dripping in the wildness of the moment. Elegant alternate studio takes of classics like “Vancouver Divorce” and “Lofty Pines” express the fluidity of the family band that comprised the Gas Station recording sessions in Toronto, that May of 2000; while home recordings dated November 1999, Carlaw Avenue, of “SF Song,” “Trick Rider,” and “Chancellor,” and more, spotlight Gord in close communion with his tape recorder and coffee machine. Produced by GD, Josh Finlayson, and Steven Drake, featuring Dale Morningstar, Julie Doiron, Kevin Hearn, Atom Egoyan, Dave Clark, Don Kerr, and more, Coke Machine Glow: Songwriters’ Cabal is a document of Gord at the precipice of his illustrious solo career.
Concurrently, Penguin Random House Canada announces the first ever Coke Machine Glow audiobook, a complete reading of Downie’s original book of poetry by family members, band members, and friends, like Sarah Harmer, Dan Aykroyd, Ron MacLean, Bruce McCulloch, Don Kerr, and many more, produced by Patrick Downie. (See here for the full list of readers.) Ultimately a book Gord wrote about the distances that bridge and separate us, Coke Machine Glow is bound by the dedication of those he loved and was loved by – a rich, haunting collection that reveals both the public and private selves of Gordon Edgar Downie. In poetry that is urban, gritty and political, romantic and nocturnal, nostalgic and whimsical, Downie allows us a glimpse inside his world, with loved ones carrying the gift of his words onwards.
Available via digital audiobook retailers, the Coke Machine Glow poetry collection will also be included on CD with A&C’s physical music editions. The Songwriters’ Cabal 3LP vinyl is presented in a beautiful embossed triple-gatefold package, limited to a one-time pressing of 2000 hand-numbered copies. In addition to the 3CD set, A&C is for the first time offering a Coke Machine Glow songbook for voice, guitar, and piano. The album, audiobook, and songbook are out on August 27, 2021. The Coke Machine Glow: Songwriters’ Cabal limited edition vinyl is expected to ship November 15, 2021.
That Coke Machine Glow did not sound like a record by The Tragically Hip was both not a surprise, and is still in every way a surprising work: Downie’s oblique yet vicarious poetry undressed of its electricity, redressed in a glorious other voltage. A snapshot of spontaneity, recorded but barely rehearsed – its arc of clandestine art pop clashing with the hum of collective stream-of-consciousness – Gord Downie’s Coke Machine Glow feels like a wild passage through listless places, burrowing in the magic of whatever delicate moment. Maybe Downie was the genius orchestrator of this Goddamned Band, or perhaps he was just always prepared with the right thing to say. You might have listened to this record for the last twenty years, and still not heard some of its finest details – that is the happenstance when onesome poetry is rightly crossed with collective improvisation. On Songwriters’ Cabal, the curtain is pulled back, as Downie rose from his kitchen table/hotel room desk, notebook in hand, and “stepped to the mic and sang, voice tinkling like a chandelier, until god or a reasonable facsimile appears.”
NOT included on either the music album or the spoken word audiobook is a bonus music edit of Rob Baker of The Tragically Hip’s reading of the poem “I Stand Before the Songwriters’ Cabal,” set to an instrumental snippet of the same titled song. Shared today, listen here:
Josh Finlayson on the Coke Machine Glow sessions (from the liner notes): “Having lived in Toronto for over 10 years, Gord wanted to make his first solo record in his adopted city,” co-producer and musician Josh Finlayson recalls. “He had met and befriended many artists in different disciplines and was keen to collaborate with that community. The Gas Station recording studio was located in an old warehouse district of Toronto close to the exhibition grounds near King and Dufferin. Located on the fourth floor, it was an open spaced room with 10 foot windows that had spectacular views looking south to Lake Ontario and east towards downtown. Owned and operated by Dale Morningstar and Don Kerr who after 10 years of operation were being evicted from this location. Coke Machine Glow ended up being the last session at the Gas Station from April 29-May 10, 2000.”
The one concrete idea we had going into the recording was that Gord would sing these songs quietly, as they had been written. The recording room was large (50’X25′) with high ceilings. The musicians were spread throughout this room facing the centre where Gord was sitting. Don Kerr (drums) and Kevin Hearn (piano) were only available for the first day of recording which was also our set up day. By late afternoon we were ready to start and their time constraints led to the decision that we were going to make a live off the floor record using an 8 track machine. In hindsight, this was a fortuitous decision as it created a structure that forced us to work within certain parameters. All the songs ended up being cut live, including Gord’s vocals. The only overdubs were done by guests who weren’t available at the time and had to add their parts later. For the remainder of the session Dave Clark took over on drums and Dale Morningstar who was assistant engineering, played several different instruments throughout the recording. There was little rehearsal time for anyone so in most cases the songs were run through once or twice and then recorded.”
The Coke Machine Glow 20th anniversary collection, including exclusive merchandise commemorating this landmark release in Downie’s career, is available for PREORDER NOW via Gordieland, Arts & Crafts and Penguin Random House Canada.
1. Starpainters
2. Vancouver Divorce
3. SF Song
4. Trick Rider
5. Canada Geese
6. Chancellor
7. The Never-Ending Present
8. Nothing But Heartache in Your Social Life
9. Blackflies
10. Lofty Pines
11. Boy Bruised By Butterfly Chase
12. Mystery
13. Elaborate
14. Yer Possessed
15. Every Irrelevance
16. Insomniacs of the World, Good Night
Songwriters’ Cabal:
1. Vancouver Divorce – Alternate Take
2. Trick Rider – Demo
3. SF Song – Demo
4. Contact – Demo
5. Down Down Down – Demo
6. Putting Down – Demo
7. Chancellor – Demo
8. The Never-Ending Present – Demo
9. I Stand Before the Songwriters’ Cabal – Outtake
10. Contact – Outtake
11. Mystery – Alternate Take
12. Lofty Pines – Alternate Take
Audiobook Readers:
Dan Aykroyd, Rob Baker, Andrew Cash, Dave Clark, Julie Doiron, Charlyn Downie, Clare Downie, Clemens Downie, Lou Downie, Mike Downie, Patrick Downie, Paula Downie, Willo Downie, Johnny Fay, Josh Finlayson, Sarah Harmer, Kevin Hearn, Dave “Billy Ray” Koster, Paul Langlois, Ron MacLean, Andy Maize, Bruce McCulloch, Dale Morningstar, Larry Murphy, Andrea Nann, Dr. Pee, Gillian Reiss, Damian Rogers, Gord Sinclair, Kaya Usher.
The Battle of Mexico City from Rage Against the Machine concert was recorded in Mexico City’s MX Palacio de los Deportes in 1999 as part of their The Battle of Los Angeles Tour. The city was chosen as the band had been longtime supporters of various political causes in Mexico (it was also the first time they had played there). The VHS was released in 2001 and later released on DVD in 2002, including a one-on-one interview with Noam Chomsky and a message from Subcomandante Marcos. On June 12 this year, it was release on vinyl as a Record Store Day exclusive.
With the first being his son, Raimi, award winning Canadian creator Brooke Burgess has released his second greatest opus; double-single “DADBOD” and “Best Friend,” and titular double-album DADBOD, are here and available now.
After 25 years in the entertainment industry writing, directing, and producing video games, animations, interactive narratives, and audio projects (see: Electronic Arts, Broken Saints, The Cat’s Maw — plus a win at the Sundance Film Festival), DADBOD lands as more than just a mid-life singer/songwriter flex.
No, this is the legend of an incredible boy, the man who was transformed by his love, and the kind of bond that comes around once-in-a-(thousand)-lifetimes.
“Oh,” Burgess adds. “And dinosaurs. My super-Buddha schools me spiritually, but he’s also part dinosaur. T-Rex, we think. Hence one of the tracks.”
Beyond being a labour of love, DADBOD was also a product of unexpected circumstances — aka COVID-19; while stuck in southeast Asia during the peak of the pandemic, Burgess wrote, produced, shot, edited, recorded, and mixed most of this epic, endearing and ultimate ode to fatherhood.
Working collectively and collaboratively with acclaimed Canadian talents, including composer Tobias Tinker and Chrystal Leigh (Sons of Daughters), Burgess says DADBOD is “1980s swaggering synth-pop chewing on bubblegum punk; it’s bangin’ 1990s hip-hop meets an East Coast kitchen party and it’s grunge homage, where the flannels are lined with R & B silk.”
A wild ride with promises of a little bit of pop, funk, rock, hip-hop, and folk, this genre-spanning behemoth also features a plethora of music videos to coincide with the release: 20 original tracks, 20 killer videos — “all for him.”
Raimi, that is.
Triumphant, while humble at their roots, lyrical lines like ‘To put your hand in mine, I will bear the weight because you are my best mate: You’re great’ and ‘From your sense of style, to your guts and your guile to the blinding light from that million-dolla’ smile — #1 fan ’til the day I die’ tug at the heartstrings start to finish.
Considered a fun and funky summer anthem on fatherhood, “Best Friend” features thick beats, heartfelt crooning and a brass and Hammond hip-hop climax “that’ll stir any soul in earshot.” The punk-rock-chic title track is almost a confession about family life and what happens to a father’s body when it transforms over the years into *gasp* — a “DADBOD.”
“It killed two bucket-list birds with one stone,” Burgess shares of the sweet, raucous, inspiring, family-friendly and transformative tale that is DADBOD. “One, make an epic cross-genre music and video project. And, far more importantly, two, become a Dad — underlined, and with a capital D.
“And with 20 awesome videos — and more than a few surprises — the love was clearly made to be shared. It’s father meets son, father loves son, father freestyles increasingly hip tunes to son, father records sweet birthday versions and videos for son…
“You know,” he confesses, “until father is humming and drumming lines into Garageband, and cashing in every last favour from musicians around the world, all to make an insane double album for son…”
DADBOD — including “DADBOD” and “Best Friend” — are available now.
Sometimes it takes some Borrowed Thoughts to remind us all you must wind down, surrender to your feelings, and take in the moment instead of life expediting past you. For Waterloo, ON singer/songwriter, screenwriter, martial artist, and bath enthusiast, Michael Masurkevitch (Borrowed Thoughts), pressing pause is imperative. And it was when he gave into this utter oneness with the world that he developed the loving mantra that now beats like a drum in this, his latest single, “Decompress” — available now.
Produced by Julian Cassia, “the song was conceived when I was meditating in an urban woodlot off the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto,” BT explains — sharing that he began to cry with the release of processing his feelings. “I began singing to myself through my tears.”
For BT, the song revealed itself like a gift from the Universe. “I found a talented producer to help me turn it into a gift that can be shared,” he shares. “The result is a cathartic baroque-pop ode to taking time for mental health, with a roguish lilt and notes of my Romani heritage.”
Clocking in at just over four minutes, “Decompress” works as a chant as it does a subtle reminder to simply “be.” The song plucks its way through tightly woven melodies, charming accordion, and mesmerizing harmonies. What Borrowed Thoughts has been able to produce is a track that finds its niche in folk pop while daring you to slip it on while you’re looking for the right alternative rock song to explain exactly what’s going on inside your head.
“The song has been described by listeners as ‘a quarantine anthem’,” BT remarks. Other commentators have suggested “Decompress” is a “really sweet reminder to take time to love myself,” and it’s been described as “fun and whimsical, but then with this real sincerity and melancholy underneath.”
Having allowed the geyser of creative juice to flow through him from the inception of “Decompress,” Borrowed Thought’s debut lands as a charming ode to self-awareness and enlightenment.
And whether you opt to stream “Decompress” with a tumbler of bourbon or toss it back with a kombucha tea — either way, you’ve made the right pairing.
That’s exactly what Borrowed Thoughts seemingly manages to accomplish with his breakthrough debut: a song built for yoga while offering you a chance to lose yourself on a swirling bar room dance floor. The interpolations of questioning and answering, hoping and losing, giving and finally taking a chance to leave it all behind is where the song finds its strength.
The song asks you to stop thinking but rather lean into what you’re feeling. And there are no wrong answers to the questions. Toss a rug on the floor. Light a candle. Inhale. Exhale. “Decompress.”
With the pandemic highlighting the importance of taking care of each other as much as ourselves, one man’s selfless effort to express gratitude to health care heroes has also inspired a group of top-class Canadian musicians. Calling themselves Everyday Lemonade, the all-star collective is honouring him with the new single, “You’re as Good as Anyone (Jordan’s Song),” and it’s available now.
It all starts with a 38-year-old gentleman named Jordan Power. In Spring 2020, Power’s mom fell ill, and was hospitalized; she made a full recovery, thanks to the incredible healthcare workers who took great care of her.
With his mom on the mend, and his June 19th birthday approaching, Power’s wish was to supply lunch to the hospital workers to thank them. With the help of his friend Donnie Blais, owner of Toronto’s Rancho Relaxo restaurant, the wish came true, feeding 400 healthcare workers in one day from Blais’ food truck.
As much as Power and the healthcare workers he and Blais fed would have liked to share hugs, COVID restrictions made that impossible. But Power didn’t know for sure if the wonderful gesture he had orchestrated with Blais was good enough, and so…
Enter: Everyday Lemonade.
Moved by Power’s selfless act, Toronto songwriter Patrick Kelly, along with co-writers Dale Harrison (drummer for Headstones/Alannah Myles) and Stan Miczek (bassist for The Guess Who, Randy Bachman, Kim Mitchell) created “You’re as Good as Anyone (Jordan’s Song).”
Legendary record producer Eddie Kramer (Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, The Rolling Stones) came on board to produce the track with Harrison and Miczek as the rhythm section, Michael Hund (Derek St. Holmes, Von Hund) on guitar, Des Leahy (Classic Albums Live) on slide guitar, John Jamieson on piano/keyboards and Kelly on background vocals and percussion. In observance of COVID safety restrictions, the instrumental and vocal tracks were recorded in six different studios.
Jordan Power’s birthday wish and act of gratitude has also given one very talented, aspiring singer something to be very grateful for. 23-year-old Deacon Wayne was working as a fry cook in a London, Ontario Arby’s, and posting YouTube videos featuring his exceptional vocal talents. While Kelly and Kramer were looking for the right singer to take on the lead vocals for “You’re as Good as Anyone,” Kelly happened upon Wayne’s YouTube videos and was suitably impressed. “He has a four octave range and no formal training,” says Kelly. “Ironically, the song was shopped to many famous singers for eight months…
“But (we) decided to go with Deacon because he is also ‘As Good As Anyone’.”
“This is a dream come true for myself,” Wayne says in a recent CityTV News report. “You know, you would never think that you would have this opportunity.”
In the same report, Kramer endorses choosing Wayne to sing. “This young kid. He has the power. He really does,” Kramer says. “The range of emotion. The four octaves. I mean, he’s a complete unknown but I think, after this, he’s got a career.”
The music video for “You’re as Good as Anyone” features a heartwarming look back at Jordan’s lunch delivery to the health care workers, as well as 23 Canadian celebrities thanking Jordan personally — including Toronto Mayor John Tory, Lawrence Gowan, comedian Ron James and Goddo (Greg Godovitz). The video is also in memory of Patrick Kelly’s dear friend Paul Humphrey, lead singer for Blue Peter, who died during the making of the video.
Jordan Power’s kindness and gratitude continues to pay it forward in song and serendipity. Deacon Wayne perhaps knows that best. “I’m so humbled and honoured to be a part of it,” Wayne reflects. “And, as Patrick would say, ‘You know, you’re as good as anyone’. So, it’s just such a privilege.”
“You’re as Good as Anyone (Jordan’s Song)” is available now.
Sonic Reducers. One topic. Two music nerds. Five minutes.
Join us as we unreservedly celebrate the fact that Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones are reportedly making a new Faces album, delve into the storied history of this influential reverse supergroup, and lament the fact that they almost certainly won’t tour again like they did in the ’70s — with an onstage bar and bartender mixing cocktails.
An inspiring and motivating speech on how you can be creative in the modern business world. This talk is given by a man who has been fronting one of the world’s most successful metal bands – Iron Maiden.
The speaker and TEDxMalmö have permission to use the third-party content in the video. Bruce Dickinson is the lead singer of Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden is an institution embodying fearless creative independence with a following that spans every culture and generation. Their latest album “The Book Of Souls” (2015) went straight to No 1 across the world in 24 countries, becoming their fastest ever selling album.
In 2012 Dickinson set up Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance company, which amongst other things, signed an agreement with the Djibouti government to help re-launch their national airline. Dickinson has also invested in the world’s largest aircraft: a hybrid of a plane, balloon and hovercraft, the Airlander 10. He has also created an aircraft fleet as a one-stop solution for airlines to use.
In 2013, Iron Maiden collaborated with Robinsons Brewery in Stockport, England to create Trooper, a 4.8% cask/4.7% bottled ale whose recipe Dickinson formulated with head brewer Martyn Weeks. As of May 2014, the beer has sold 2.5 million pints in 40 countries, making it Robinsons’ most successful export.
Dickinson’s list of accomplishments seems endless and are continuously growing. He has been described as a polymath and now brings together all his creativity and experiences to share with audiences around the world.
