What a shock that a homicide occurred Saturday evening sometime between 8:30 and 8:40 PM in front of the Lone Star Restaurant in plain view of hotel rooms facing East. The Toronto Police asked anyone that saw or heard anything, please contact Detective Sgt. Carbone direct at (416) 808-7400, or to provide anonymous tips at 1-800-222-TIPS.
By any chance did you see any of my posts on Folk Music Ontario’s official twitter page? I was excited to be on “duty” as Social Media Coordinator. I did share a few instagram, and Facebook photos on my own accounts, as well as several tweets… it was a fun project to have as a way to earn my conference registration.
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| a uke player in a Sylph tunic?! |
My roomies-of-the-year and I enjoyed lots of passionate conversation, and lots of laughter, and played music. It was grand to listen to lots and lots and lots of music… Did you attend because you think you can build a meaningful career in the music biz without losing heart and soul? I’m certain many left richer in experience, gig calendars and festival line-ups, as was the President’s Message in the program...
Speaking of the program, I thought the piece authored by Aengus Finnan of Folk Alliance International about the keynote speaker was interesting. Donna Walker-Kuhne delivered the 8th annual address, "generously sponsored by Long & McQuade." I thought the logo placement was awesome, it seemed like the company has sponsored all the past keynote speeches, with a list of past speakers. This year's talk was from a down-to-earth person opening the doors and windows on the house of issues, assumptions and misunderstandings on the noble and daunting responsibility of audience diversification.
After a trip to the exhibit hall, I vowed to explore the possibility/benefits of joining
Actra.ca/racs (a royalty collecting society) as well as the Canadian Federation of Musicians at afm.org and I was interested in the music industry consultant's letter in the delegate bag, and might check out rocknrollaccountant.com. I keep hoping somehow the expenses incurred over the weekend could be written off under my buddy's clothing biz... Did you see who else was accidentally modelling one of the Sylph tunics while she worked?
Did you know that Folk Music Ontario has the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Arts Presentation Fund’s Development component) to thank for some funding? Did you participate in the fundraiser silent auction? I noticed the guitar donated by L&M with a retail price of $569 generated a $500 bid - wow! My favourite item might have been the free brilliant idea of Lyric postcards...
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| this pic is from the Official Showcase |
It was cool to get invited to attend a private showcase by The Lonesome Ace String Band, and to also make the private showcase by Coco Love Alcorn and her new band! So much talent! Totally appropriate to read her description in the program "the ultimate musical spark plug." She was sharing a band mate, Drew McIvor, with Alysha Brilla, another acclaimed and enjoyable soul-funk singer/songwriter.
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| Drew took this pic and posted on fb |
Also incredibly gifted in connecting with the audience with lovely music was Melisande, who draws from the rich heritage of Quebecois traditional songs, but adds feminism, and odd instrumentation, including sequencing.
Before the AGM on Saturday, I attended a workshop called “Maintaining Health” where we ended up discussing the need for volunteer dentists to run dental clinics for performers at festivals, as well as our desire for healthy food options at festivals and conferences, among many other issues. It was interesting to hear Raven (Digging Roots) tell his tale, and I was glad I had followed Darlene DarlenYa to the session, where the panel quickly became a roundtable. She provided some copies of a “road survival” kit she’d authored full of tips and useful tricks for travelling well. The panel also included a rep from Unison Benevolent Fund, a non-profit registered charity that provides counselling and emergency relief services to individuals within the Canadian music community in times of crisis.
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| did you vote at the AGM? did you thank a board member for their contributions? i did! |
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| Leonard Summer |
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| theremin! |
The “Form and Function: Songwriting Workshop” with James Keelaghan, Ken Whiteley and Coco Love Alcorn covered quite a diverse range of topics, including ways to change your sound by trying unfamiliar instruments, the challenges of “owning” a co-written tune, how to focus a song on one main idea and save other nuggets for future, when to trust a producer’s opinion vs. your own artistic sense and more. There were even performances of tunes by attendees for feedback. Fantastic!
Of course it was also worth attending her amazing Official Showcase, with an audience that was a veritable who’s who of the Folk Music Community all singing along. You can tell the human spirit is her muse, and, what a voice, and what a presence.
I would like to thank The Box Car Boys for inciting me to want to go practice trombone straight away — they were a wonderful band, with a unique and powerful instrumentation. I would have loved to have picked up one of their cd’s, but I felt guilty because I couldn’t promise airplay on hoofbeats, so I didn’t grab one, alas!
I totally admired the stupendous voice, charisma, bravery and humour of Irish Mythen in the Folk Music Canada “Top-Notch Canadian Folk Music” showcase. And, I want to learn more about Tim Chaisson's music. He has three albums out already and was awesome as a member of the PEI Celtic trio the East Pointers. Have I told you about Scott Cook's wonderful songwriting yet?
As a happy accident, it was nice to meet a new health practitioner singer/songwriter guelph-ite, who plays ukulele, and who would love to help finding our club a new home, suitable for those with mobility issues, for future gatherings!
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| Jane Lewis and Katherine Wheatley with Allison |
I was thrilled to learn that Allison Lupton won the Songs From The Heart Grand Prize, and to snap this pic of a couple of my dear, beautiful friends/neighbours singing with her!
I drove there and back on the backroads instead of the highway. I'm sure you can see why!
Many people have asked me to remind them about L&M’s free set up day! Don't let me forget.
Many people have asked me to remind them about L&M’s free set up day! Don't let me forget.
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