His name is Wyatt Scott and he’s running for Canadian parliament as an independent candidate for Mission Matsqui Fraser Canyon, British Columbia. “We all know politics are corrupt so lets do something about it. Put an independent in the house,” he says.
Bill Hicks: The Complete Collection, to be released on September 11, 2015
Comedy Dynamics will release Bill Hicks: The Complete Collection box set with 12 CDs, 6 DVDs, and a photo book on September 11, 2015.
Bill Hicks’ legacy has been compiled into one comprehensive box set to capture every commercially released album and special as well as over ten hours of unreleased performances pulled from Bill’s own collection of shows he recorded over his many years of touring, and a photo book and a photo book with many rare and never before seen photos. Once again Bill’s work will step into the spotlight and be enjoyed by and influence another generation of comics and fans.
Hicks tackled a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, consumerism, the media, and popular culture in a dark and controversial way. During the 1990s, he toured the United States and the U.K. extensively and made a number of high-profile television appearances. On February 26, 1994 at the age of 32, he died of pancreatic cancer in Little Rock, Arkansas. In subsequent years, his work gained a large amount of acclaim and he developed a strong following among a broad range of audiences around the world. He was named fourth greatest comedian of all time by London’s Channel 4 and 19th by Comedy Central.
You can pre-order it here.
Infographic: The Song Of The Summer over the last 50 years
It’s been a tradition ever since cars first had radios. Driving along with the windows down and sunglasses on during a hot summer day listening to the jams of the season is the stuff movies are made of. So Personal Creations thought it’d be fun to take a nostalgiac trip on the dial and give you a retrospective on the songs of the summer from the past 50 years.
Please include attribution to personalcreations.com with this graphic.
Jessi Cruickshank to host the 2015 CCMA Awards Show on CBC and CMT Canada
The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) and broadcast partners CBC and CMT are thrilled to announce Canadian television personality Jessi Cruickshank as the host of this year’s CCMA Awards Show. The 2015 CCMA Awards Show will air on Sunday, September 13 onCBC-TV at 8 p.m. (8:30 p.m. NT) with an encore airing on CMT at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
“I am so excited to be hosting the CCMA Awards! I have long admired country music artists and secretly wish I was one,” says Cruickshank. “I guarantee a wild night filled with laughs, surprises and men in tight jeans.”
Host of CBC-TV‘s Canada’s Smartest Person and etalk correspondent, Cruickshank is one of Canada’s most beloved TV personalities. She became a household name as the face of MTV Canada, hosting the daily comedy show MTV Live and smash hitThe Hills After Show. Cruickshank went on to host Live from E!, Jerseylicious, Oh Sit!, Jessi Cruickshank’s Real Hollywood Survival Guide and Olympic Morning. She has also travelled the world as the Canadian ambassador for Free the Children.
In total, 41 CCMA Awards will be given out over four awards ceremonies during Country Music Week in Halifax, Nova Scotia from September 10-13. Eight awards will be given out on the 2015 CCMA Awards Show. Ticket and event information regarding Country Music Week can be found atccma.org.
Video: The AutistiX doc on UK’s premier autistic rock group
Jack, Luke and Saul are The AutistiX – the UK’s premier autistic rock group. The boys are a tight-knit friendship group, expressing themselves through rock and roll in a way that they struggle to off the stage. Can they impress the crowds as they go on tour for the first time, and build up to their biggest gig so far, Autism’s Got Talent?
Autism Rocks – The AutistiX from Guardian News & Media Ltd on Vimeo.
MusiCounts Is The Recipient Of The 2015 Slaight Music Humanitarian Award
The Canadian Country Music Association Board of Directors announced today that MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity, will receive the 2015 Slaight Music Humanitarian Award.
In the past, this CCMA Award of Achievement has recognized those who have made an outstanding contribution in the support of humanitarian causes in Canada. The CCMA Board of Directors selected MusiCounts to receive this honour in 2015 to recognize the success of their endeavours to recognize and support music education coast to coast, impacting not only future country music artists and musicians, but all youth that benefit from such programs.
“The foundational pillars of the CCMA are to educate, elevate and celebrate Canadian country music. The mission of MusiCounts aligns significantly with the members of the CCMA, especially those that are artists, and so the association is proud to support a charity that champions music education across Canada,” said Brian Hetherman, Chair of the CCMA Board of Directors.
MusiCounts, which is associated with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), is helping to keep music alive in schools across Canada. The mission of MusiCounts is to ensure that children in Canada, regardless of socio-economic circumstances or cultural background, have access to a music program through their schools and communities.
Since the establishment of MusiCounts in 1997, nearly $8,000,000 has been awarded to help support music education in Canada. These funds have impacted over 700 schools and communities from coast to coast, supported over 320 post-secondary music program graduates and honoured ten extraordinary music teachers through the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award.
In 2012, the CCMA announced that MusiCounts would be one of the association’s official charities of choice, and aligned itself to support MusiCounts programs and initiatives through various fundraising and awareness activities. In recent years, a portion of each ticket sold to the annual CCMA Awards Show has been donated directly to MusiCounts. A number of CCMA members, including Gord Bamford, Dean Brody, Doc Walker, Kira Isabella, Brett Kissel, Jimmy Rankin, Johnny Reid and Shania Twain, among others, have enthusiastically taken up this cause by directly being involved in donating and/or being part of the many annual MusiCounts celebration presentations.
“We are extremely honoured to receive this award and would like to thank the Slaight family, who continue to be one of MusiCounts best supporters, for making this award possible,” said Allan Reid, President and CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. “The Canadian country music community has embraced MusiCounts passionately and has helped us to continue to grow and positively impact the lives thousands of children across Canada through the joy of making music.”
This award is currently named the Slaight Music Humanitarian Award in recognition of a generous donation by the Slaight Music Foundation.
“I am very pleased to hear that MusiCounts is the recipient of the 2015 Slaight Music Humanitarian Award. Our family has been proud supporters of MusiCounts from early on,” said Gary Slaight, President and CEO of Slaight Communications. “We understand the importance of music education in young peoples’ lives and congratulate the MusiCounts team in all their efforts to ensure schools are providing the best instruments to their students.”
The 2015 Slaight Music Humanitarian Award will be presented to MusiCounts during a private industry event held during Country Music Week, which takes place September 10 – 13 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Visit ccma.org for event information. For further details on the Slaight Music Humanitarian Award, and other CCMA Awards of Achievement, click here.
The Canadian Music Café Announces Artist Lineup For 2015
The Canadian Music Café is excited to announce the lineup for its seventh annual edition, taking place September 14-15, 2015 at the famed Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen West) in downtown Toronto! Canadian musicians participating at this year’s
two-day event during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF®) will have the opportunity to showcase their synch-friendly music to selected, international music supervisors and filmed media decision makers. The Canadian Music Café is a springboard for up-and-coming Canadian talent to show off their diverse catalogues and is open to industry professionals to facilitate song placements in TV, film, advertising and video games.
With alumni such as City & Colour, Dear Rouge, Martha Wainwright, Chantal Kreviazuk, USS, Buck 65, Arkells and many more, the Canadian Music Café once again brings fresh Canadian talent to the attention of filmed media professionals. Café alumni songs have been discovered at previous showcases and placed in dozens of Canadian, American and international film and TV productions and commercials. This year, the Café has invited 11 top-notch music supervisors from the UK and USA (to be announced at a later date) to join filmed media professionals at the event.
“The CMPA is once again thrilled to be a presenter of the Canadian Music Café in 2015. We are very excited to showcase the diverse lineup of talented Canadian artists to our international and Canadian music supervisor guests and the filmed media communities that gather in Toronto during TIFF,” says Jodie Ferneyhough, president of CMPA.
“Following another hugely successful edition of the Café in 2014, CIMA is pleased to continue the annual tradition, which we hope will become a cornerstone for industry during TIFF,” says CIMA President, Stuart Johnston. “Facilitating the relationship between recorded music and filmed media is so important to developing our emerging Canadian talent.”
This year’s talent lineup is as follows:
Monday, September 14:
1:00 PM JEEN (ON)
1:50 pm DONOVAN WOODS (ON)
2:40 pm MICHAEL BERNARD FITZGERALD (AB)
3:30 pm ATTICA RIOTS (MB)
4:20 pm TERRA LIGHTFOOT (ON)
Tuesday, September 15:
1:00 pm KEN YATES (ON)
1:50 pm AHI (ON)
2:40 pm KAYLEIGH O’CONNOR (NS)
3:30 pm NUELA CHARLES (AB)
4:20 pm SCOTT HELMAN (ON)
The Canadian Music Café is a joint initiative produced by the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA) and Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) whose mandates are to support, exploit and advocate for the Canadian publishers and Canadian independent music community, respectively. The CMPA and CIMA gratefully acknowledge that the 2015 Canadian Music Café is made possible with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation and the generous support from the Federal Government via the Canada Music Fund. To learn more please visit www.canadianmusiccafe.com.
Winona Ryder: The Beetlejuice Sequel Is Happening!
While making an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Winona Ryder confirms the second installment of Beetlejuice.
Patti Smith’s ‘Just Kids’ Memoir Set To Be A Series On Showtime
Patti Smith’s much sought after memoir, Just Kids, has landed at Showtime. Co-written and produced by Patti Smith and three-time Academy Award nominee John Logan, the memoir will be developed into a Showtime limited series, to be produced with Logan’s Desert Wolf Productions.
“Just Kids is one of my favorite memoirs of all time,” said David Nevins, President of Showtime Networks Inc. “Not only is it a fascinating portrait of artists coming of age, but it’s also an inspiring story of friendship, love and endurance. I’m so thrilled that Patti Smith will bring her unique voice to writing the scripts along with the gifted John Logan, who has been doing such a phenomenal job with Penny Dreadful for us.”
“A limited series on Showtime will allow us to explore the characters more deeply, enabling us to develop stories beyond the book and allow a measure of unorthodox presentation,” says Smith. “The medium of a television limited series offers narrative freedom and a chance to expand upon the themes of the book.”