All photos taken by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
Photo Gallery: Sleeping with Sirens with White Noise, Palaye Royale, and Chase Atlantic at Toronto’s Opera House
Audible brings the best in digital spoken-word entertainment to Canada
Audible Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, today announced the launch of audible.ca, a dedicated service for Canadians. Audible.ca will offer a broad selection of more than 300,000 audiobooks, original programs, lectures, comedy and more, including over 100 new titles from Canadian authors in English and French available at launch, as well as other long- and short-form local content specially curated by and for Canadians. To celebrate the launch, Audible.ca is offering its special edition of Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE, performed by Claire Danes and featuring new content original to the recording, as well as Catherine Leroux’s landmark Quebecois novel LE MUR MITOYEN, performed by Julie Le Breton, free to all Canadians for one month at www.audible.ca/handmaid and www.audible.ca/lmm.
“Honoring Canada’s distinctive literary and theatrical tradition and supporting the creation of rich local content, Audible.ca is a dedicated, authentic, and vibrant multi-language destination for English- and French-speaking Canadian consumers that puts Canadian talent and spoken-word content front and center,” said Audible founder and CEO Don Katz. “Millions of listeners around the world already turn to Audible to enhance the character and quality of daily life, and we look forward to delivering an even richer and more culturally resonant listening experience to our Canadian customers and customers to come.”
“Audible has earmarked $12M CAD over the next three years to invest in Canadian writers and voices,” added Katz.
“Audible’s dedicated Canadian service is great news for Canadian writers of all kinds,” said Atwood. “Artful voice performance enhances text, and Audible gives authors access to a rapidly growing audience for whom listening is a wonderful way to experience gripping narratives and forceful words.”
Audible is celebrating its Canadian launch with an event at Toronto’s Union Station, featuring Katz, Atwood and actress Elisabeth Moss. Moss portrays Atwood’s character Offred in the television production of THE HANDMAID’S TALE. Katz will also make an appearance on September 14, 2017 at Gare Centrale in Montreal with Julie Le Breton and Catherine Leroux.
Among the titles and programs available at launch or shortly forthcoming on audible.ca are:
- Justin Trudeau’s COMMON GROUND, narrated in both French and English, with a new introduction narrated by the Prime Minister
- An unabridged recording of Margaret Atwood’s ALIAS GRACE, performed by Sarah Gadon
- ANGEL CATBIRD, a dramatized, multi-voice production of Margaret Atwood’s graphic novels adapted for audio by the author
- Roz Nay’s suspenseful cat-and-mouse thriller OUR LITTLE SECRET
- Barbara Gowdy’s novels MISTER SANDMAN, FALLING ANGELS and WE SO SELDOM LOOK ON LOVE, available for the first time in audio
- THEY CALLED ME NUMBER ONE, written and narrated by Bev Sellers, the author’s personal story of surviving a government-sponsored religious school to assimilate indigenous children
- HELLGOING, Lynn Coady’s short story collection and winner of the 2013 Giller Prize
- 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award for French Fiction winner SIX DEGRÉS DE LIBERTÉ by former Canada Reads winner Nicolas Dickner, performed by Atriana Reeves
- Winner of the 11th Grand Prix de la relève littéraire Archambault and finalist in both Le Prix littéraire France-Québec and Prix des Cinq continents de la Francophonie in 2011, PETITE ET LE VIEUX by Marie-Renée Lavoie
- Jean-Jacques Pelletier’s thrilling mystery BAIN DE SANG, narrated by Jean Brassard
Audible.ca will also highlight Canada’s unparalleled comedic tradition with a catalogue of comedy content captured in leading Canadian comedy clubs.
“It is so gratifying that Audible is providing Quebec authors and actors this powerful medium to showcase their work,” said Leroux. “Quebec has a unique culture and storytelling tradition, and deeply values the arts. I think the Quebecois public will love hearing the works of their favorite Quebecois writers brought to life in this way.”
Beginning in 2017, Audible.ca will also be the exclusive audiobook sponsor of the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
To support its dedicated digital storefront for Canadian customers, Audible recently extended its innovative audiobook rights marketplace and production engine, the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) to Canada. ACX enables individual authors or publishers to work with professional actors and producers to create audiobooks. Since launching in June, ACX has already added almost 500 audiobooks from Canadian authors to the Audible service.
Photo Gallery: The Fell with Second Pass and The Jacob Hamilton Band at Toronto’s Rockpile
All photos taken by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
The 4th Annual Dream Serenade at Massey Hall Is A Go
Massey Hall is proud to host the fourth annual Dream Serenade benefit concert on Saturday, November 11, 2017. Featuring performances by Sloan, Sam Roberts, Owen Pallett, Skydiggers, Hannah Georgas, Hayden & The Big Sound plus very special guests.
Dream Serenade began in 2014 as an event to raise funds for Toronto’s Beverley Street School and services for children with developmental and or physical disabilities and their caregivers.
The show, created by Toronto musician Hayden Desser and his wife Christie Greyerbiehl, features unique live performances and collaborations from local and international artists who generously donate their talents to this worthy cause.
Previous years have included memorable appearances by: Feist, Matt Berninger & Aaron Dessner of The National, Gord Downey, Broken Social Scene, Barenaked Ladies, Billy Talent, Serena Ryder, The Persuasions, Bahamas, Joel Plaskett, Sarah Harmer and many others.
“In the four years of its existence, Dream Serenade has become a very important part of our lives” say Hayden and Christie, whose daughter was born with a chromosome deletion causing developmental disabilities. “The evening is always so incredible, not just because of the performances, but the coming together of a community that is often in the shadows. Please join us for what is shaping up to be another unforgettable evening,” says Hayden and Christie.
The Tenors bring harmony to the holidays with new album and North American tour
Multi-platinum, JUNO Award-winning vocal supergroup, The Tenors are gearing up for the international release of their fifth studio album CHRISTMAS TOGETHER, out on October 13 through Universal Music Canada (UMC), the country’s leading music company, and Decca Records/Verve Label Group in the United States. Bringing the spirit of Christmas to their fans and to complement this release, The Tenors will embark on a 16-city North American tour beginning November 18 in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, September 15 at 10 A.M. Visit tenorsmusic.com for details.
CHRISTMAS TOGETHER is a 10-track album that captures the joy and magic of the season combining a mix of holiday classics, contemporary favourites and original songs. Highlights include soulful interpretations of traditional carols “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Little Drummer Boy,” and a powerful a cappella rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” featuring JUNO Award winner Johnny Reid. The Tenors’ songwriting is featured in their #1 Christmas hit “When We Are Together” and a new single “Santa’s Wish” inspired by and written around the classic jingle “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” (full track list below).
Praised by Billboard Magazine “…the star of the show is the Tenors’ voices and tasteful arrangements, which flow liquid-smooth from tag-team lead exchanges to rich, choral harmonies,” The Tenors, comprised of Victor Micallef, Clifton Murray and Fraser Walters, not only lend their powerful voices to each track, they also write, arrange, produce and play instruments on the album.
“The three of us have been performing at Christmastime since we were kids – from church choirs to community concerts, carolling around the neighbourhood or belting out songs in our living room with our families around the Christmas tree. We wanted to relive those magical childhood memories and bring our fans along for this nostalgic journey,” said The Tenors.
Collaborating with The Tenors on CHRISTMAS TOGETHER are Grammy-Award winning producer Keith Thomas (Blake Shelton, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight), renowned producer Bob Ezrin (Kiss, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper) and Grammy Award and Oscar-winning orchestrator, Jorge Calandrelli (Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé, Plácido Domingo).
CHRISTMAS TOGETHER is the sophomore Christmas album from The Tenors. Their first Christmas album The Perfect Gift, released in 2009, is certified triple-platinum.
Visit TenorsMusic.com for exclusive offers and to pre-order the new album. Limited edition products include a Charmed Aroma ‘Christmas Together’ scented candle with a chance to win a fly-away experience to see The Tenors live in concert during a future 2018 tour. In partnership with The Tenors, Charmed Aroma brings the element of surprise to life with the excitement of revealing expertly designed jewelry – worth up to $5000 – inside each thoughtfully crafted, scented candle.
TRACK LISTING: CHRISTMAS TOGETHER
1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
3. When We Are Together
4. Mary Did You Know?
5. Santa’s Wish
6. Please Come Home For Christmas
7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (featuring Johnny Reid)
8. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
9. Little Drummer Boy
10. Auld Lang Syne
CHRISTMAS TOGETHER NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
In partnership with Plus One, The Tenors will donate $1 to MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity associated with CARAS and the JUNO Awards, for every concert ticket purchased for the Canadian dates of their CHRISTMAS TOGETHER tour. This donation will help give children and youth access to musical instruments and equipment in their schools and communities across Canada.
Tour Dates include:
November 18: Los Angeles, CA
November 19: San Francisco, CA
November 21: Portland, OR
November 22: Victoria, BC
November 24: Vancouver, BC
November 25: Seattle, WA
November 30: Edmonton, AB
December 3: Airway Heights, WA
December 5: Regina, SK
December 8 and 9: Winnipeg, MB
December 12: Toronto, ON
December 15: Naperville, IL
December 16: Windsor, ON
December 18: Greensburg, PA
December 21: Lynn, MA
December 22: New York, NY
If You Didn’t Hate Elevators Before, You Will After Watching Radiohead’s “Lift” Video
Has any lead singer looked so unassuming in a video, and yet, you know anyone that actually looks like this would kill to sound this good? Lift is one of the previously unreleased songs from OKNOTOK, the band’s 20-year anniversary reissue of OK Computer.
Sinead O’Connor Speaks Out after Hotel Breakdown: The Dr. Phil Interview
Grammy Award winning Singer Sinead O’Connor is best known for her shaved head and her haunting rendition of the Prince song “Nothing Compares 2 U.” A recent Facebook video posted by the Irish songstress revealed she was depressed and desperate for help, living alone in a modest motel room in New Jersey.
Sinead asks Dr. Phil for help placing her in a long-term treatment facility, and for a platform to tell her story to destigmatize mental illness.
Jidenna: Tiny Desk Concert
“Classic Man,” the 2015 debut single from Nigerian-American MC Jidenna, caught everyone off guard. The song found him teetering between rapping and singing about elegance, politeness and Nat “King” Cole, and the melody felt irresistible. Then there’s the look: He rocks thrift-wear tailored to a T. The song eventually went double platinum and earned a Grammy nomination. Jidenna followed it with a few more club bangers before releasing his debut album, The Chief, earlier this year. A tribute to his father, a Nigerian chief, the record is peppered with African rhythms and themes.
Jidenna and his band recently visited NPR to perform three reworked selections from The Chief. They excitedly explored every nook and cranny of the Tiny Desk in search of props, eventually settling on a toy, the magic microphone, a tambourine and a bottle of whiskey. Jidenna bounced straight through “Trampoline” to “Long Live the Chief,” in which he explains why his threads are always so sharp:
You can either sink, swim or be the captain
Get the last word I’ma get the last laugh in
Now they say, “Jidenna, why you dressing so classic?”
I don’t want my best-dressed day in a casket
Finally, the band pauses, glides into the arresting harmonies of “Bambi,” and finishes charming the socks off the entire room.
Set List
“Trampoline”
“Long Live the Chief”
“Bambi”
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club announces new studio album “Wrong Creatures” set for release on January 12th, 2018
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club announced their forthcoming album Wrong Creatures, out on January 12th, 2018 and released the first single “Little Thing Gone Wild”.
The widely acclaimed California-based band consists of Peter Hayes (vocal, guitar, harmonica), Robert Levon Been (vocal, bass, guitar), and Leah Shapiro (drums). They’ve been crafting perfectly honed, bluesy, psychedelic garage-rock since 1998 and return with their 7th studio album. These rock and roll stalwarts have been praised by NPR for their “gutsy rock ‘n’ roll” while Rolling Stone has called their sound “expansive” and Entertainment Weekly has called it “deeply hypnotic narco-blues.”
Wrong Creatures was produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Arcade Fire) and is available for pre-sale beginning today in all digital music stores and directly through the band’s online store. “Little Thing Gone Wild” is available for purchase as an individual track beginning today and everyone who pre-orders the album will receive the song immediately. In addition to the CD & Digital album version, Wrong Creatures will also be available for pre-order in a deluxe box format, which, in addition to the exclusive colored vinyl LP, comes with a custom BRMC harmonica made by Höhner, and more. The deluxe box is available exclusively through the band’s online store – Click here to see everything the deluxe package includes.
Recorded in Los Angeles, Wrong Creatures takes a journey throughout rock’s history, taking unlikely twists and turns, both peppered with historic influences but also having one foot firmly in the present. Their biggest focus remains in developing their own musicianship, never resting on their laurels, preparing to enhance the live experience they can offer fans. “We caught some cool performances on this record,” says Hayes.
Wrong Creatures is an exercise in getting back to the core of BRMC’s alchemy. From the Cave-esque murder balladry of “Haunt” to the garage punk of “Little Thing Gone Wild,” it runs the gamut of classic rock, allowing the band to flex every muscle in their armor. They remain opaque about the songs’ greater meanings, fearful of past misunderstandings. “I find myself writing about death a lot,” says Hayes. “I find myself having a discussion with death, which sounds dark. For me, it’s dark humor.” Talking about mortality allows Hayes to explore life’s great mistakes and regrets. Channeling them through rolling riffs and dirge-laden rhythms, however, extolls the demons within. It’s a great catharsis for the band, and it’s a great unifier for their audience who can also seek solace in the emotional heft.
Ultimately, the band are survivors during an era where rock’n’roll can often be overshadowed by garish pop and domineering hip-hop. Black Rebel Motorcyle have learned how to cut out all the noise and concentrate on what matters. “We are truly an island – insular and our own thing,” says Been.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club also announced their North American tour which will be kicking off on January 15, 2018 with dates in Washington DC, Boston, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and more. The trio will also be hitting Europe and the UK for select tour dates this fall beginning October 23. Pre-sale for the North American tour dates begins today and general on-sale begins on September 15th –Purchase here. The band has partnered with Plus 1 for the tour in which $1 from each ticket will be donated to War Child, a worldwide organization that supports programs aiding women & children dislocated and impacted by war, political unrest, terrorism and poverty.
North American Tour Dates:
January 15 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
January 16 Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
January 18 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
January 19 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
January 20 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
January 21 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
January 23 Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
January 24 Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
January 26 Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
January 27 Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
January 29 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
January 30 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
January 31 Boston, MA @ Royale
February 2 Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
February 5 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
February 6 Toronto, ON @ Rebel
February 7 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
February 9 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
February 10 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
February 11 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
February 12 St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
February 13 Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
February 15 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
February 16 Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
February 18 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
February 19 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
February 20 Seattle, WA @ The Show Box
February 22 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
February 23 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
February 24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
Bob Dylan Announces U.S. Tour for The Rest Of 2017
Actually, that headline might be a lie. Bob Dylan continues his Never Ending Tour with a month’s worth of shows, leaving the potential for more in mid-November, and don’t rule that out, either. Dylan’s endless touring schedule started on June 7, 1988. During the course of the tour, musicians have come and gone as the band continued to evolve. The tour’s name was cemented when journalist Adrian Deevoy published his interview with Dylan in Q Magazine no.39, December 1989:
AD: ‘Tell me about this live thing. You’ve gone straight into this tour again — one tour virtually straight into the next one.’
BD: ‘Oh, it’s all the same tour.’
AD: ‘It’s the Never Ending Tour?’
BD: (unenthusiastically) ‘Yeah, yeah’.
But then again, in the sleeve notes to his album World Gone Wrong (1993), Dylan wrote:
Don’t be bewildered by the Never Ending Tour chatter. There was a Never Ending Tour but it ended in 1991 with the departure of guitarist G. E. Smith. That one’s long gone but there have been many others since then: “The Money Never Runs Out Tour” (Fall of 1991) “Southern Sympathizer Tour” (Early 1992) “Why Do You Look At Me So Strangely Tour” (European Tour 1992) “The One Sad Cry Of Pity Tour” (Australia & West Coast American Tour 1992) “Outburst Of Consciousness Tour” (1992) “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down Tour” (1993) and others, too many to mention each with their own character & design.
See? What do I know?
Bob Dylan 2017 Tour Dates:
October
13 – Valley Center, Calif. @ Harrah’s Resort SoCal – The Events Center
14 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ The Cosmopolitan Hotel – The Chelsea Theatre
17 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Eccles Theater
18 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ Eccles Theater
21 – Denver, Colo. @ 1STBANK Center
23 – Omaha, Neb. @ CenturyLink Center
24 – Ames, Iowa @ Stephens Auditorium
25 – Saint Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
27 – Chicago, Ill. @ Wintrust Arena
28 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Van Andel Arena
29 – Bloomington, Ind. @ IU Auditorium
November
01 – Detroit, Mich. @ Fox Theatre
03 – Akron, Ohio @ E.J. Thomas Hall
05 – Columbus, Ohio @ Palace Theatre
06 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Heinz Hall
08 – Uniondale, N.Y. @ Nassau Coliseum
10 – Richmond, Va. @ Coliseum
11 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Tower Theatre
12 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Tower Theatre
14 – Washington D.C. @ The Anthem
16 – Boston, Mass. @ Agganis Arena