Gino Vannelli had a lot of ambition as a young man growing up in Montreal. According to him – you have to have that fire to succeed. “I was filled with fire as a kid. I moved to New York when I was young and signed a record deal by the time I was twenty-one, which was fairly young for even today’s standards. None of … Continue reading Gino Vannelli; All Those Nights in Montreal. Part Two
Hometown boy turned man; Gino Vannelli, is coming back to Montreal in November … What else is new? The man who started his musical career as a drummer in Montreal and a current resident of Portland,Oregon – often comes home. He frequently visits his Mom and was most recently in Ste. Agathe to play a festival. He was also in Montreal scouting out the location … Continue reading Gino Vannelli – All Those Nights in Montreal …
What’s a bass player – without a bass? A bass player of course. But not just any bass player. The musician in question who landed in Montreal just hours before his show at the Rialto Theater, sans bass, was former ( and current?) Stray Cat Lee Rocker … “I am a little nervous …” Said Rocker moments before he took the stage following a great … Continue reading Lee Rocker – Strays From the Cats …
Double Concept Productions once again presents the Annual Red Hot & Blue (RHB) Rockabilly Weekend, now in its ninth year, from August 29th to September 1st, 2013. Held for the first time at the lavish Rialto Theatre, Stray Cat Lee Rocker opens the festival as part of a double bill also featuring the superb Long Island-based The Lustre Kings, rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson’s back-up band at … Continue reading 9th Red Hot & Blue Rockabilly Weekend at The Rialto
The kids’ hearts are in the proper place … That was the feeling jumping around The Rialto Theater on Friday in Montreal. The children of Duke Ellington – April and Edward Jr., suspended in time. Starting with their clothes, the duo transcended time and place right back to the era of the Big Band prominence of the 1940’s. With the big band boppin’ behind them, … Continue reading Savvy with The Savoy Ellingtons
‘ I just thought that every Father did what my Father did …” Says Edward Ellington Jr. ” It was only years later, I realized the magnitude of what my father accomplished. For a long time, I thought he was a travelling salesman.” Edward Ellington Jr. and his sister April, are the duo responsible for The Savoy Ellingtons. A group that has been together for twenty … Continue reading The Ellingtons; The Kids are Alright …
In a Quebec market which is bogged down in radio politics, One Road, after almost an entire year of charting and obtaining radio airplay everywhere in Canada – still cannot get their ‘Southern Rock‘ sound on the radio in Quebec ( k103.7fm excluded). “To say that our sound is ‘too country’ for a rock station and then play Lynyrd Skynyrd and even Mumford and Sons – … Continue reading One Road or Une Rue …?
Imagine starting a race without shoes on the hot desert sand …? Kind of puts a runner behind the eight ball. No chance of winning. Not a hope in hell to finish in the top three. Winston Foster started his life that way and guess what? It became even harder for the man known as Yellowman. Winston Foster grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. He was raised in an … Continue reading Yellowman; Winning the Race …
Here we are … The final five. The top four leading to the number one Blues guitarist. Agree? Disagree …? That is the problem. No one will ever agree on the contents of a top ten list. Here are the TOP TEN Blues Guitarists … 10. Buddy Guy 9. Eric Clapton 8. Otis Rush 7. Elmore James 6. Muddy Waters 5. B.B King King is … Continue reading Top Ten Blues Guitarists – Part Two
How can you not like a guy who wants to burn down a Walmart …? This is the legacy and mindset which Steve Earle – composer of ‘Copperhead Road‘ and ‘ Guitar Town‘, carried into Montreal last night at The Virgin Corona Theater. An arsenal of soul-defining songs? Not the only baggage which arrived on stage in the form of a fifty-eight year old Texan. … Continue reading Steve Earle; The Voice of Reason …
The Virgins For a while – it all seemed dicey … The Virgins. an American band who just happened to open up for Iggy and The Stooges ( once upon a time ) – seemed destined to not draw any attention late Sunday night. A half hour before the show, a crowd of less than capacity did not fill Club Soda. As the band took … Continue reading The Virgins Concert Review; Too Much Attitude!
Elvis … Gladys and Vernon Presley‘s son had many monikers. Movie star, Elvis ‘the Pelvis’ and ‘The King of Rock n Roll’ – to name but three very important ones. ‘Wanda Jackson‘s boyfriend’ was also a name Elvis toted for a while. Few know it – everyone is impressed when it is discovered… For Wanda Lavonne Jackson of Maud, Oklahoma – it was a special … Continue reading Wanda Jackson – A Legend; Pure and Simple. Part One
Rick Keene Music Scene 