Sunday, August 27, 2017

The Roots of Racism, Family & Healing

By Bill King
With the horror of Charlottesville fresh in mind - white nationalists/supremacists on the ground, a resurgence of the KKK, communities under siege –  an open dialogue is beginning to take shape. Words are still hate-filled and coded, but for the most part, there’s push-back – folks coming forth and confronting evil. Statues to Confederate war lords are falling, as are those of slave owners and plantation barons. Those are positive signs we may be replacing bandages with healing surgery.
With that in mind, I thought I’d offer a look at our family to better understand the roots of modern day bigotry and how my brother Wayne and I dealt with it.
All you should do is turn back the clocks and gather around a kitchen table during the late fifties and early sixties down south and listen in on adult conversations. It was the blame game – it was always about the outsider – a face, a name that either prospered or endured hardship more than you. I’m talking about family. Family history.
There was always a family member, aunt or uncle who ripped on those less fortunate and those who acquired a comfortable amount of wealth. Ours was no different - the key factor still in play – southern history – one rooted in class, prejudice, and racism.
Dad’s side of the family were dirt-poor tobacco farmers who lost everything from gambling, drinking and the Great Depression. Pops' father was a hard man who put the farm and family in jeopardy. Pops never spoke kind words about him other than to remind us he was frequently beaten with a razor strop. I know from those who knew dad as a boy and maturing man, he was wild as hell. Dad ran the Kentucky foothills without a care in the world until the Great Depression. He made it as far as grade ten schooling and then, out of necessity, was sentenced to picking tobacco – back-breaking work for a child or adult. Once old enough to drive, dad ran moonshine through the Kentucky/Tennessee back country in an amped-up Ford.
 Family vacations, dad would point out roadside hideaways. Places where ‘copper stills’ were once hidden from the sight of revenuers. 
Pops railed against big government; blacks, unions, alcoholics, Catholics, fat people, liberals, communists; whoever challenged his sense of what America was meant to be.
Dad loved history. He’d cram us into his prized Ford Fairlane station wagon and travel to historic Mt. Vernon N.Y, - George Washington’s home; Hopkinsville, KY to observe Lincoln’s log cabin, Washington D.C. – colonial Williamsburg, VA. If there was a statue or symbol of America – the family arrived to witness and remember.
Across the river in Louisville, Olympic heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay was quickly dispensing with opponents and rising in the pro ranks. Pops was there for every fight pleading for an opponent to smash Clay’s mouth shut. ‘No negro should ever talk to a white man this way’, he’d say. Pops was a Rocky Marciano guy. He’d huddle front of his bedside radio - draw curtains and battle Cassius and fight personal demons.
Dad was wounded on four different occasions during World War 11, and it wasn’t until he was well into his ‘70s that he began treatment for PTSD. Recalling the amphibious landing and assault on Utah Beach, D-Day June 6, 1944 – Normandy, he suffered sleepless nightmares. Pops would interrogate himself – ask why he survived and close friends drowned or perished from enemy fire. It haunted him till death at age 89. War rarely took a day off in our home. Twelve operations, hundreds of trips to the VA hospital, long bouts of anger, pain and frustration followed him most hours of the day.
What gave Pops relief was music. He played rhythm guitar through his late teens and twenties and travelled the south in minstrel shows with singer Jackie DeShannon’s(Sharon Meyers) dad, ‘Tink’ Meyers. As told to us – they sang poor-house songs scripted during the depression. He also worked with magician Harry Blackstone setting up and packing props. All before war changed him.
As kids, we tiptoed through the house and sidestepped as if avoiding minefields. Occasionally, the guitar would come out, and pops would place his trembling hands on the fret board and shape a chord then strum. This was when he came to life - loosened up, revealing what he yearned to do with his life. Play like Oscar Peterson’s guitarist – Herb Ellis!
The Elvis ‘three-chord wonder’ recitations, those idiot rock n’ rollers declarations – only jazz musicians had it together in his head. Buddy Rich, Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman – even country man Roy Clark, honky-tonk pianist Jo Ann Castle of the Lawrence Welk Show, fared better.
Dad worked a good thirty years as a security guard at Colgate Palmolive Company until retirement. The next twenty-five were invested in his passion – fishing. That fishing habit brought him to the Everglades where he spent nearly every waking hour trolling for bass. When not in Florida, he could be found at his campsite on Cumberland Lake, in Kentucky – fishing.
At Colgate, he battled with the black community which bordered the plant. Poverty was a ‘fact of life’, and the grounds of the plant were fair game and a small income for those most in need. There were tubes of discarded toothpaste, bars of soap, detergent – products tossed aside for one small infraction or another. At night, folks would jump the fence and dad would give chase. The game played out until the old man was ambushed and whacked with a shovel, fracturing a leg. This did little to dissipate the hostility he bore for the opposite race.
Throughout high school, brother Wayne and I endured his lectures on race and equality. It was all about class and where you stood on the economic ground. He was sure blacks would always reside a few steps below whites; that’s just the way it was. Then along came Martin Luther King and all hell busts loose.
For old southerner’s, these were racial issues sorted out long ago by whites, and everyone knew their place. Integration was on the doorstep; sit-ins, civil rights marches, laws guaranteeing equality were on the books or on the legislative horizon and dad, like those of his heritage, had no control or say in these matters.
The coming years were unpleasant. Us boys saw the future and didn’t buy into the bigotry and hatred. Music demanded humility, compromise, associations, and friendships. At nineteen, I left home and never returned as a resident. Dad and I fought and argued for years – going three to five years without a conversation between us until we met on common ground at my Italian grandmother’s farm in Pennsylvania. It was there, after a year’s absent during a conversation I asked him to take a walk in the woods.
Pops stood 6’6” – a lanky, at times fierce man, but on this occasion, he was with his first son. I finally had a chance to speak openly without fear, and ask why he carried so much animosity for the poor and blacks he’d grown up alongside. He responded, “it’s all about survival. There are those that have, and the have nots. It’s the laws of survival. I have, and that’s that – the planet’s overcrowded and the weak die”. Astounding! I prod him further – he then explains this is the way he was raised and he can’t change.
I didn’t buy that.
Through the next decade, until death, I make an effort to change him; not hate him. Each month or two, I’d send him a book to read. He was a voracious reader. P.J. O’Rourke, Paul Theroux, Bill Bryson – music biographies, history, war, travel - anyone I thought who could expand his horizons and move him away from those John Birch Society and Jerry Falwell pamphlets.
Visits, he’d be locked and loaded in his recliner with FOX News blasting on eleven – wound tight and ready for a fight! We knew to keep him far away from his prized gun rack. Brother Wayne and I would teas, toy and keep him laughing. Pops did learn from our long-distance relationship, never speak to me in racist terms or language. Never demean those less fortunate, - at best, be civil.
During his last decade, we grew close, speaking every week or so on the phone. It was always about music and photography and what was in those books. Throughout our lives, I never asked him for a penny, then in the last three years of life, $1,000 arrived consecutive Christmases; a check each, addressed to my wife Kris and I, with instructions scribbled in trembling ink, ‘put this towards the best digital cameras you can buy’.
Pops and I looked at the same photo books; Henri Cartier-Bresson, his favourite, war photographer Robert Capra – my favourite – Eugene Smith. He understood what made a great image. Dad listened to music and could recognize a finely crafted solo. Pops savoured the landscape and beauty and time spent hiking and fishing – he was no ordinary man – far better than the class battles poor southerners carried as open wounds.
Leading to my fiftieth high school class reunion, my dear classmate, Jan Stratton Cooksey, prods me a good year before to attend – saying something special was occurring. Kris and I make the trip, and I find myself accepting an award for the work I’d done in music outside our community of Jeffersonville, Indiana – Commodore of the Port. We are a shipbuilding community.
The person driving this – Jimmy Gales, a black man who I shared many a day and friendship in classes throughout my school years. We hadn’t seen or spoken through the years, but Jimmy took this upon himself to make happen. I had no idea how this would play out in that Indiana has a checkered past and connection to the Klan. It’s a diehard right-wing Republican state, and me – a well-known war resister who fled to Canada. The night was exceptional and the past, for most, was the past.
Late evening, Jimmy and I speak, and he reveals to me something I’d never imagined; how much he loved my dad. Their fishing adventures and friendship. I was bowled over. It was like rumours of someone having two families or at least relationships with a muse.
I walked away with a smile in my heart. Truthfully, I always suspected dad wasn’t the shallow man yodeling epitaphs from the recliner. A far better man than the hurtful words that crippled our relationship. Jimmy spoke the words I needed to hear.

I always suspected Pops would have given up all his possessions if he could have sat five minutes on a coveted bandstand alongside Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley, Lionel Hampton and his super hero, Wes Montgomery - the giants of jazz, whose artistry and intellect demolished all delusions of superiority. Pops heard the music, and the music touched him. It was Jimmy, the family angel, who righted his soul.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

The Uprising - Isle of Saints

Paradise imagined isn’t necessarily paradise realized. From a distance, the oceanic embrace of a small plot of volcanic inspired land awakens the senses and instructs the mind to contemplate the beginnings; first people, the history, their culture and what can be gained from the experience.

It was 1989, and my first invitation as a photo-journalist to travel farther south to the island of Aruba to cover the Aruba Jazz Festival; featuring Wynton Marsalis and Dianne Reeves, amongst a roster of star- drenched talent.

James A. Michener’s historical novel Caribbean had just surfaced in airport kiosks. Somehow, this seemed a fitting read for a first-time traveller to the region. Caribbean is a fictionalized account of the pre-Columbian period of the native Arawak tribes and island life through the centuries up until 1990. Each country comes with a richly-textured story depicting a period of it’s history in conflict; colonization, the slave trade, religion, ceremony - even the trials of Columbus for genocide. To this day, I’m grateful I read this before landing on my first tropical island. It has served me well decades thereafter.

Isle of Saints is an aural composite of all my travels throughout the region as heard inside my head and felt in the heart. From Aruba to Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Dominica, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Virgin Islands, Tortola, Grand Cayman, Antiqua, San Blas, Panama, Jamaica, Santa Domingo, - Cuba. In fact, the cover art was purchased in 1998 in Santa Domingo from a street vendor and proudly hangs from one of my music room walls. It’s credited to Haitian artist; Laurent Casimir, who passed in 1990.

I rode the scribes bus for a quarter century photographing and writing - rarely mixing professional worlds between musician and journalist. I was there to listen, to feel, sense and absorb – then relay those experiences in thoughts and words. It’s the number of unforgettable people I encountered and the shared experiences, I will forever savor.

The Uprising is a name I chose to address this project. It’s about our times – a world in crisis, yet it’s us, the world’s people, who can derail the rampaging “greed” train. We can do this thorough our music – the marriage of cultures, ideas, and relationships. 

I’ve been fortunate to have a twenty-five-year relationship with Cuba and its people. The three musicians who grace Isle of Saints come from Havana and Santiago de Cuba. They all entered my life at various time periods. Bassist Roberto Riveron and I played in Jane Bunnett’s, Afro/Cuban Blues Project some years back. Percussionist/vocalist Magdelys Savigne and violinist/vocalist Elizabeth Rodriguez are currently members of Maqueque, Bunnett’s award-winning back-up band.

This project evolved from producing Mags and Elizabeth’s project, OKAN. I played them a new original composition and expressed a concept I had in mind and they threw themselves wholeheartedly into the project. Through the generosity of Slaight Music; funding arrived as quick as the project was approved. This happens when Gary and Ali Slaight and Derrick Ross hear something and green light.

Everton Paul has been a music soulmate of mine for a good forty-five years and his home studio Side Door Records is the most inviting living room for making music anywhere. Along with two great engineers; Shane ‘Shakey J’ Forrest, who presided over the recording and my long-time recording engineer friend, Michael Haas from Inception Sound, - did the mixes.

When things feel right –they are usually right. I’ll be forever indebted to all who contributed to this – the many pauses to perfect lines, the joy of laughter between Elizabeth and Mags – the serious intentions that rumbled through the main room and the final out come. The ingenious contributions of bassist Roberto Riveron and my desire not to recreate or impersonate indigenous music, but to bring artists together and encourage them express themselves in their own musical vocabulary, and breathe life into the notes I scripted on manuscript paper. We are the best of friends on this musical journey – the long conversation. Welcome to our journey to the – Isle of Saints!

Bill King – Producer/arranger/composer/keyboards
Elizabeth Rodriguez vocals/violin
Magdelys Savigne – drums/vocals/percussion
Roberto Riveron – bass
Engineer – Shane “Shakey J” Forrest
Mixing Engineer – Michael Haas
Recorded at Side Door Records, Toronto – 2017
Slaight Music
1.       Havana Odyssey
2.       Isle of Saints
3.       Carmen’s Veranda
4.       Ivory Town
5.       Clear Mountain Moon
6.       That’s the Way of The World

647 883-2919

Friday, April 28, 2017

A Conversation with CD Baby’s Kevin Breuner

It took a musician to tackle the issue of selling independent music online – direct to the consumer. CD Baby founder Derek Sivers did this by creating a website to sell his own music in 1998 and saw the potential of doing so for others. Most everything about digital commerce was a scary proposition back then. Once a member, you shipped five CDs and waited until they were sold and then reordered. A check would arrive in the mail, along with your cut. Keep in mind, folks were petrified of online banking.

From day one my experiences with CD Baby were always straight forward, clean of mistrust and never once did I have to chase after a payment. To this day, musicians applaud the upgrades, stability, and easy access.

I caught up with VP of marketing Kevin Breuner at Canadian Music Week and asked him about the current business model and what to expect in the future.
What brings you to Toronto?
Canada has been our second largest market for many years and we’ve been doing things like expanding our publishing and administration services, which have been available in Canada quite a while. We are starting to take more care of other markets outside the U.S. This is my first time at Canadian Music Week, even though we’ve had others attend in the past. We are trying to get better connected with the music scene in Canada – stronger relationships and continuing to grow our presence in this market.
You must be under pressure from publishers and rights collectors to properly account for every recording that finds its way through CD Baby and the many streaming platforms you access?
Fortunately for us, we were going way beyond the norm collecting data from artists; even back when I started working there in 2006. At one point, we even debated stopping that practice because it wasn’t being used by anybody at that time and was causing a lot of extra headaches in the sign-up process. I’m glad we kept it. With digital service providers like iTunes and Spotify, and because they got pressured to better account for publishing royalties and songwriter credits – increasing the requirements in those areas; we were prepared for them.
As the world was becoming digital, all of these publishing royalties due independent artists weren’t being collected or accounted for. The publishing world was still old school in their thinking. We know who the big players are and they get paid, then they kind of swept the rest under the rug. There’s no reason there shouldn’t be a one for one deal. Same should be true with publishing and songwriter royalties. That’s what that service is about. Going around the world and collecting that information – making sure the data is out there – songs properly registered around the world, so we can collect that money.
I guess one of the gratifying CD Baby practices all musicians appreciate is the monthly payments. Historically, other than the superstars, getting paid was one sad tale. Volumes have been written about music industry rip-offs.
We actually pay weekly, if you are generating that kind of revenue. We have big artists who do really well and payments are consistent and they can count on them.
Does this break down by genre?
I wouldn’t say so. I see everything. Musicians playing instruments I never knew existed are making lots of money because they could connect with a certain audience. The one thing all those who are selling well have in common is, they have connected with an audience or tapped into a market that hadn’t been reached. They are good at cultivating fans. They also write great music.
 We see a lot of singer/songwriters do extremely well. That’s really based on outside circumstances. There was a period we had these singer/songwriters getting massive placement in film and television because that was popular at the time. It’s that kind of situation that will drive a genre or groups. It’s more cyclical. It’s about being able to capitalize on the opportunities when they happen and owning that relationship with fans. Keep cultivating, so they can take it to the next level and keep engaged so they keep coming back.
What have you added to CD Baby that gives an artist a better understanding of how their music is being received and what can be done to improve outreach?
Two things very recently. We added these trending and analytic reports which are amazing. They become addictive because you start looking at them every day. We have these great trending reports for Apple Music, iTunes, and Spotify and you can look day by day and see where your streams are happening, down to obscure cities anywhere in the world. You can get into a Spotify artist and get stats – you can get the top fifties cities, but with ours, you can zoom in the map and see, for example, who in the Toronto area is streaming. Could be fifty miles outside the city in some little town and someone is streaming you like crazy - why not play a show there? It also gives demographic information.
A lot of artists go about trying to communicate with their fans in the wrong way. For example, a lot times an artist will try to imitate what the pop icons are doing. Pop icons are in a different class of their own and part of a marketing machine geared at youth. That may not be your audience. You may be wondering why that girls’ shirt you have at your merch table geared towards teenage girls isn’t selling. That’s because your audience is fifty-year-old men. There’s data that covers that, that will help you make better decisions. The coolest thing about Spotify, it shows who is streaming your music on the playlist. That’s incredibly helpful – there’s no other way to find that information.
We had kind of a hidden success for my band last year. We released a Christmas album a few years ago and this year somebody had put our album in their playlist. He was just a random guy and a Spotify user. In think he just kind of lucked into twelve thousand followers to his playlist, using some very generic key words that just happened to work. We got 80,000 plays just off that playlist. We would have never known had we not had these trending notes. It helped us to move and figure how to build on that and drive more traffic now – not wait. It made us more proactive. For us, it also happened with Pandora. A lot of these platforms are driving their own eco-system and doing things in different ways.
With Pandora, we had a cover song that was off that same Christmas album. For whatever reason, between November and Christmas, it got a half million plays and we would have never known if we hadn’t looked at the data. We could watch all of this go down in real time. We sold a lot of albums and streams.
How many platforms does CD Baby reach?
We are distributing to a hundred outlets.
Do you pay more to reach more outlets?
The only thing the higher distribution fee adds is publishing administration. It includes all of the stores.
What are some of the new extras?
We just acquired this new marketing platform called, Show.co, it’s an amazing platform. Someone came to us with this and said they were transitioning their business and would you guys be interested in this platform? It was a platform pretty much all the major labels had been using. The client list using this platform every day is impressive – Universal, The Orchard, Nettwerk Music, Sony – they are all in there every day in their accounts launching these campaigns. Absolutely, we said, we want this.
We got it and are making it free to all CD Baby artists. It features campaign pages that are designed to get a specific action from your fans. The major labels have been using it for contests, email exchange and for downloads. You can do different things with it like featuring a new official music video. It cuts all of the garbage out that YouTube puts on it. It shows the video and tries to get everybody to subscribe to your channel.
The one page the major labels have been using that is really cool is called Social Unlock. Basically, if you follow someone on Spotify, it unlocks content or gets you into a contest and when your fans follow you on Spotify, you also get their email address. It helps you build a list. The people who manage the Oasis catalogue use this constantly to do contests because the band doesn’t play or do anything together anymore because they can’t stand to be together.
They have millions and millions of plays on Spotify and are using this tool to capitalize. Britney Spears, Maroon Five have used it. We are just rolling out to artists and it’s available now, for free. The link will be on artist dashboards in just days. Instead of going out there and saying “buy my music, buy my music” and irritating fans – here’s a tool that will help you get creative and get things done and improve your efforts, whether building subscribers, getting plays, getting followers, building email lists – you are unlocking more opportunities. 

Monday, April 24, 2017

Bill Covers CMW Seminars

Last week in many ways shed a bit more light on the future of podcasting and streaming. The fact is, the tech world never stands still and the tools keep getting more user-friendly and with that comes change and confusion. Here is a synopsis of five events I found most enlightening.

Panelists contend that the narrative podcast is more potent than television, as the imagination is more active when listening than watching. And the next wave - contextual radio streaming, with the internet broadcasting real-time music, news, stories and local information - is here. Listeners will tune into radio longer hours as it returns to great storytelling and individual topics of importance and interest. The automobile will be a paramount location for "driveway moments" - staying in your car until the story fades. Listeners will self-design their own apps, and a new language, consisting of terms like EFFT, RDJD, GEO Soundscaping, Assisted Intelligence, Voice Triggers, Spatial Storytelling will be absorbed and practiced. - Bill King

Loading up on apps is outdated; at least that’s what the esteemed panelists addressing trends and innovation had to say. We are about 5-to-10 years away from sorting out the pie to a fairer pay system that will eventually serve artists, labels, creators and product managers. Since 1999, the ground that has been given to services like Napster and tech companies is only now beginning to be made up. For every dollar SOCAN collects, another remains uncollected, emphasizing the importance of registering with collective management organizations around the world. Rates from streaming services like Spotify - which pay top dollar to the most popular artists and pennies to everyone else - need to be renegotiated. One bright spot: indie artists have the tools, blueprint, and more platforms and avenues to positively determine their own future. Your horizon is closer - Bill King

Podcasting To Millions: Podcasting is no longer the unrefined cousin of terrestrial radio. In the U.S., 42M people tune in weekly to podcasts, and that number shoots up to 67M listeners on a monthly basis.The key attraction is good storytelling from an amiable, well-spoken host, schooled in their chosen field, with Amplifi Media's Stephen Goldstein stating: "People don’t watch crap on TV anymore. Personal control is the big change - the same on radio as it is on television.” It's determined that podcasts draw 15% of a U.S. audience that listens weekly, wherein Canada it's 15% of those 18+. In Canada, The Humble and Fred Show gets downloaded 12K-15K daily, running sponsored promotions ranging "product in hand" fan endorsements through social media platforms Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Sponsorship and licensing fees supply the main revenue. “We live in an on-demand – customizable world. People want to listen on their own schedule,” says H&F's Howard Glassman. Globally, 10B podcasts were downloaded in 2016. - Bill King
  
Why Steal When You Can Stream? Carnegie Mellon University professor Rahul Telang singles out data as the key to becoming a dominant player, confirming that with such series as Netflix's House Of Cards and the movie star appeal of Kevin Spacey, the linear way of watching TV is over.Telang also claims that streaming services have had a negative impact on piracy because free content discourages stealing. Defining the "4 P's" as product, price, placement, and promotion, Telang says Netflix understands the public tolerance level for streaming service pricing. Studios have caught onto data value and are now limiting sharing of info on such streaming hubs as Spotify. The challenge for all is identifying your audience. - Bill King

Platforms are unifying public and private radio stations: With the launch of Radioplayer Canada and iHeartRadio Canada, radio needs to be where people are and integrated on all platforms. Rogers' Julie Adams says, “it’s about agreeing on technology and competing on content." The UK-developed Radioplayer app brought public and private broadcasters together at the dawn of streaming's popularity, offering a standard web player to make the listener experience easier.iHeartRadio Canada boasts 100M+ listeners and 120 platform integrations, division head Rob Farina said, adding that the brand wants to reach the consumer on the platform of their choice. Cars are the next frontier and the medium is still advertiser-driven.When it comes to teenagers, Zack Sang & The Gang, heard on 75 stations across the U.S, is one of the most successful in grabbing their attention.
“It’s a big thing for everyone, making sure your brand lives 24/7," Sang says. "Digital opens this up. Not all content put out there is solely audio. Content will always be a priority. People want somebody they can follow. They want a pulse, something real on the other end.” - Bill King




Monday, March 6, 2017

In Conversation with Pianists Danae Olano and Jenie Thai


Anyone who has ever sat in front of a piano understands what a charitable instrument it is. Let the hands and fingers drop to the keys and a sound comes upward. Maybe not the most appealing, but something that catches the attention. The piano summarizes the potential of all the instruments in an orchestra and allows you to play in combinations. You can be a big band, a string quartet, a rockin’ rhythm section, a mood changer, accompanist, or a singular artist in control of the most magnificent instrument on the planet! Did I just say that? No offense to all of you lute players out there. Just being a keyboard snob.

I had the good fortune to invite two young women with great skills and deep musicality around the microphone this week at the Bill King Show, CIUT 89.5 FM and talk piano. One comes from the rich Cuban traditions and intense schooling, the other from blues and New Orleans influence. Both are classically trained and focused on their careers.

Danae Olano was born in Havana, Cuba May of 1992. She obtained a Best Bachelor of Arts at the Conservatory of Music Roldan in Havana, then finalized her studies at the Superior Institute of Arts graduating cum laude. She captured a Juno prize in 2015 in the Best Jazz Album category with the band Maqueque, led by saxophonist Jane Bunnett.

Pianist Jenie Thai was born in Chiang Mai Thailand and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. She graduated Grant MacEwan Jazz and Contemporary Music Program as a performance major. After graduation, Thai was offered a part-time teaching position at Grant MacEwan University and gained acceptance into Paul McCartney’s International Music School based in Liverpool. She was nominated “Artist to Watch” 2013 and “Female Artist of the Year” 2014, from the Edmonton Music Awards and 2016 Maple Blues Award nominee as” Best New Artist of the Year”. In their own words.

Around the microphones are three classically trained musicians who have changed course. Jeni, did performing that repretoire live make you uneasy?
Jenie: Yes - much, much stress learning the music. I studied through a campus of music at the University of Alberta and having to learn pages of pages of really difficult repertoire over a few months, then perform.
Is it the performance in front of adjudicators or just an audience that unnerves?
I find with classical music it’s all about the notes on the page and not much room for error. When you are practicing by yourself – by the time you perform, you never really – I think - never really practice enough. By the time I do perform, it’s under high stress to play all of the notes correctly; the tempo – everything as written. With other forms of music, you can play whatever you want.
I must have been sixteen in the Louisville Academy of Music and it’s my first major recital – Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 11 in B flat – it took six months to memorize 28 pages of music. I remember that moment in front of the adjudicators and my head went blank with fear. You talk to yourself. Danae, you gave your first piano recital in Toronto – The Art of Piano – the Cuban Masters. Were you feeling the pressure?
Danae: A little bit. It was my first concert here – Larry Kramer and Jane Bunnett’s idea. They wanted me to play my music and arrangements and classic Cuba piano music. Music from the 19th century to nowadays. Cervantes, Lecouna, and do two pianos with Hilario Duran. In Cuba people, don’t know nothing about pianists like Emilio Grenet. Between jazz and Cuban style. And my music with violinist/vocalist Elizabeth Rodriguez and Jane Bunnett.
Two or three days before a test or audition or concert the music plays in my head and I can’t sleep. It wakes me up all night.
Jenie: Or your hands are playing all of the time on your lap. Then you mess up on a run on your lap. By the time, you get to the piano you don’t know it anymore.
I remember seeing a renowned concert pianist on an airplane with just a weighted keyboard, playing away – quietly go through the motions. Then there were masters like Horowitz who wouldn’t play for a decade- sit down and play the repertoire perfectly. That I don’t get! Do you have a daily practice routine?
Jenie: It starts with coffee and read for a bit and do the things I do every day, but rarely in the same order. I’ll be practicing piano and working on some writing. I like to run a lot. I often go for a run during the day. The rest depends if I have a rehearsal or a show or going to a show.
You play at Nawlin’s.
Jenie: Yes, this cool little club I recently started playing at with these great players; JoJo Bowden drums and Collin Barrett bass. I’m playing every Monday night at the Cameron House – it’s a residency with a full band – guitar, bass and drums backing me and every week I have a special guest songwriter.
How long have you been in Toronto?
Jenie: Since mid-October.
And your routine Danae?
Danae: I stay with Jane and Larry and they have a grand piano. I just have to go down the stairs and start to play. My home is in Havana and I have my own piano in my house.
Jenie, how did you come to play that New Orleans, blues style of piano? Did it find you – or you it?
Jenie: Kind of both. I came across some Oscar Peterson transcriptions from the recording Night Train. And some other albums too. I found a transcription of his composition Hymn to Freedom when I was in high school and asked myself, “What is this?” It was the most beautiful song I’d ever heard played in my life. I went to a record store in Edmonton and searched for Night Train and they had one copy left. Since then, I think I’ve gone through eight copies. I love Duke Ellington’s music too. In fact, that got me on this track and leaving Beethoven behind.
We don’t know why a certain music picks us. One day you’re listening to Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Prokofiev and then another music genre seeps in and you are captivated.
Jenie: It keeps changing. What I didn’t like to listen too when I was younger, I’m getting into now. I didn’t understand Thelonious Monk – the weird dissonances. Now, I think it just the cooilest. I’m excited for the next ten years and the stuff people are throwing at me now and what might hit me.
Are their other music genres you love to play Danae?
Yes, after sixteen years studying classical music I decided to get serious with jazz, Cuban music and my own. I try to improve my career as a pianist. I love classical music, but it makes me crazy.
I’ve had this conversation with classical pianists who marvel at the fact other musicians can improvise; free themselves from the written page. In the past, when teaching beginning students, I have them compose from day one.
Jenie: I like that you did that with students. Transitioning from reading music to playing music was very frustrating at the beginning. I knew I had the technique and knowledge how music kind of works. Then when I sat down with a chart in front of me and no other notes, I felt like an amateur and it was frustrating. I knew I could play the piano but didn’t know how to make those other sounds.
You don’t hear much blues in Havana, do you?
Danae: No, we don’t hear it. I listen a lot and read a lot about jazz music because in Cuba we don’t have jazz education in the schools. If you want to learn, you have to learn by yourself. It’s crazy because we have great jazz players but don’t have a program. In Cuba, they give you one audition in a year, for Cuban music. So many Cubans know nothing about our music.
I remember a piano recital in Old Havana a decade or so back of Cuban piano music in a church with doors wide open. I was one of a handful of people who showed up for this. I was astounded listening to the music. It was that connection between late eighteen-hundreds piano literature and the rise of ragtime piano in New Orleans, Kansas City and throughout America. Those syncopation’s and that Spanish influence is undeniable.
Danae: In Cuba, if you are not a superstar that people know about and you are doing a recital, there will be in the theatre like, ten people. All the people know salsa! It’s still one of the richest music’s around the world. When I play with Maqueque we mix all of the music we know. All of the musicians contribute to the arrangements in the band. You learn through the other musicians. Classical training gave me my technique and I apply that.
Does Jane Bunnett still practice all day?is
Danae: All day and all days!
I’m sure whoever stays with Jane does the same – it becomes routine. Jenie are you always exploring – looking to hear music you haven’t heard before?
Jenie: I don’t have to try too hard. There’s so much I haven’t heard. Actually, I’m looking to get a new record going. That’s my next big project. I have a busy summer coming up doing festivals out west and some in Ontario. I’m looking to enjoy Toronto in the summer. Everybody says it’s amazing.
If there is a place and time in history and a pianist, who would you want to sit close by and watch play?
Jenie: It would probably be James Booker. I’d want to ask him what to do with my tiny hands – how do I play 10ths? What would he tell me?
I’m fascinated with his playing and spent considerable time trying to sort out how he gets that tension between right and left hand and then it dawned on me – he plays in a major key with one and minor key in the other – on corresponding chords. Danae?
Danae: It’s a hard question and it depends on the style of music, but for me, one of the greatest pianists in Cuba was Frank Emilio. It’s just amazing. It’s the feeling in the way he plays.





Stomp and Swerve: American Music Gets Hot, 1843–1924


“The early decades of American popular music are, for most listeners, the dark ages. It wasn't until the mid-1920s that the full spectrum of this music -- black and white, urban and rural, sophisticated and crude -- made it onto records for all to hear. This book brings a forgotten music, hot music, to life by describing how it became the dominant American music -- how it outlasted sentimental waltzes and parlor ballads, symphonic marches and Tin Pan Alley novelty numbers -- and how it became rock 'n' roll. It reveals that the young men and women of that bygone era had the same musical instincts as their descendants Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and even Ozzy Osbourne. In minstrelsy, ragtime, brass bands, early jazz and blues, fiddle music, and many other forms, there was as much stomping and swerving as can be found in the most exciting performances of hot jazz, funk, and rock. Along the way, it explains how the strange combination of African with Scotch and Irish influences made music in the United States vastly different from other African and Caribbean music; shares terrific stories about minstrel shows, 'coon' a motley collection of performers heretofore unknown to all but the most avid musicologists and collectors.” Author David Wondrich…

Recently, I entertained the idea of ordering a DNA kit from National Geographic. A musician friend received the results, and the details were fascinating. Although his roots are in Ireland – there are bits and pieces of him all over Europe. I know my dad’s side of the family is from the Appalachian region of the upper south and my mother’s, Italy. This leads me to believe, musicians, have a deep connection with their earliest ancestral cousins. It’s why we choose the music we play and why some sounds connect with us over others.

Someone posted a request on Facebook recently looking for a good music biography read. Former Globe & Mail jazz columnist Mark Miller posted a few, and others he thought were impeccable reads. Stomp and Swerve by David Wondrich caught my attention. I’m forever caught up in tracing the origins of popular music. Much of what we know and understand is tied to the advent of recording technology of the late 1800’s. Long before, popular music was taking shape in the form of Irish jigs, Mexican and Cuban habaneras, Celtic sounds, and African influence.

The late 1600s saw the beginnings of “chattel slavery” – African blacks designated by race as property – some 12,000,000 shipped through the Americas and Caribbean (the New World). We also witnessed hundreds of thousands of Irish, Scots, English, and German prisoners, - itinerants, orphans, and undesirables, transported for the purpose of; “indentured servitude.” Many arrived in the Carolinas, Virginia, New England, Brazil and the West Indies. The West Indies - the Irish in Antiqua and Montserrat.
Along with the forced re-settlement came new sounds, new music, new language, and customs. You can hear that throughout the south – from Appalachian old-time country music, mountain swing, bluegrass, gospel, African-American blues, and ballad singing – the English ballads, Irish and Scot traditional music and hymns. It was within this melting pot, music would undergo revolutionary change. We began to move away from the waltz kings, the corny warblers, the march kings, and embrace America under the influence of immigrants. A new rhythm based music that borrowed from the brash howls of marching bands, the syncopations of Brazilian and Caribbean music, the poetic writings of authors with a sense of the true human condition, took hold - the poverty, the suffering, the repression, a critical sense of one’s surroundings.

Artists before audio documentation were searching and reveling in cross-rhythms and exotic melodies. The number of ragtime pianists with ample European style flashy chops and original works
extends way beyond the Scott Joplin’s of the era. Many survive on piano roll – the best-recorded technique of the era.

It’s that marriage of all that occurred between 1843 and 1924 I find absolutely fascinating. There is nearly eighty years of incredible musicians, music, and collaborations that got us to the Drakes, Metallica’s, Chick Corea’s and Willie Nelson’s. Wondrich connects the early decades and current times beautifully. Stomp and Swerve is written in such a way that it’s literate, insightful and extremely entertaining. You can find on Amazon or Google.



Sunday, March 5, 2017

A Conversation with Ted Woloshyn



It was late December 2,010 when I get a call from broadcaster Ted Woloshyn inviting me to bring some of my “singing divas” to his Saturday radio show at NewsTalk 1010, and serve up a bit of holiday cheer. I corralled five singers – the young women from Real Divas and blues singer Shakura S’Aida. At the time, Ted was filling out four-hours of magazine style radio. Through the afternoon we shared plenty laughs and discovered an easy bond between the two of us. A month later Ted calls and asks me to write a theme song for him. That I did – “King City Stomp” – which has endured the past six years. A few additional conversations and I’m music director for Saturday’s with Ted.

Roll ahead to 2017 and Saturday’s with Ted is solidly into year seven, and NewsTalk, soaring in the ratings game.

It’s been a grand ride sitting a few feet away from one of Canada’s broadcasting icons. This has been my doctoral in radio. In some ways, we are like the Odd Couple – a lefty and a righty politically; absent partisan anger. In fact, much has changed since those first car rides to CFRB at St. Clair and Yonge. Ted has stopped hammering ex- premier Dalton McGuinty and former mayor David Miller! In fact, very little politics, and more human interest stories – that up-lifting stuff; fine foods, great music, and positive vibes.

The past years with Ted we have witnessed some compelling stories. The death and memorial service of much beloved political progressive, Jack Layton, the untimely deaths of pop icons Michael Jackson and Prince. The bizarre reign of the Ford brothers – the allegations, investigations, and passing of former mayor, Rob Ford. Ted through it all has been the consummate professional. A Charlie Rose as opposed to Rush Limbaugh.

I’m forever indebted to station head Mike Bendixen and Ted for the half-hour music segment sponsored by Slaight Music – one of a kind in main-stream radio. That’s 300 plus guests, with multiple visits from singer/songwriter Marc Jordan, and Amy Sky, Sylvia Tyson, Ian Thomas, The Lemon Bucket Orchestra, jazz great Roberta Gambarini sings Willie Nelson. Country singer Iris Dement sings the theme from the Cohen Brother film, True Grit. Cuban jazz icon Arturo Sandoval blows jazz trumpet in a taxi; walks off the street straight on air. Local guitarist Donna Grantis drops by for a chat and learns a week or so later Prince and company caught a video of her on YouTube and fly her to Minneapolis. She scores the guitar position next to the great one in 3rdeyegirl. And who the hell gets to play improvised piano selections live on the air, anywhere? Big thanks to Roland Canada for keeping 1010 keyboard friendly.

Saturdays begin early. Ted first dials me when in my territory; the pick-up and a bit of conversation. Honestly, who would do this week after week for six years? Ted! That’s the kind of kind-hearted, honest, thoughtful, humble, and generous soul he is. I get to hear what’s on his mind and a preview of what to expect on the show and am reminded the Green Bay Packers are his team – Aaron Rodgers his quarterback.

Occasionally, we drop by Tom’s Place in Kensington Market, one of Ted’s long-running sponsors, and that’s when you realize the man is the “reluctant celebrity”. Folks line-up to engage Ted and tell him of a devoted family member who has followed him throughout his career and his charitable efforts; possibly a celebrated sports figure, a councilman, or the mayor himself; John Tory. Big respect!

It’s taken a few years to get Ted to say something. I was fortunate to corner him this week. Here’s a bit of that conversation.

Bio facts about Ted Woloshyn. (born December 1953) is a Toronto broadcaster. He hosted The Ted Woloshyn Show, mornings from 5:30 to 8:30 on CFRB-AM in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 3 November 1996 until 15 December 2006. He currently hosts Saturdays with Ted from 12 to 3 pm on Newstalk1010. He previously worked for Toronto-area stations CFNY-FM, CILQ-FM and CKFM-FM. Woloshyn currently lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

Ted started his radio career in 1974 at CHIC in Brampton. He moved on to work in Peterborough, Montreal, Hamilton, and finally, Toronto. Ted began hosting the CFRB morning show in November 1996, following in the footsteps of the legendary Wally Crouter.

As of September 2016, Woloshyn writes an opinion column in the Toronto Sun Woloshyn hosted Saturday with Ted Woloshyn on NewsTalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) from 2010 and on.

What troubles you the most with the way news is disseminated today?
That depends on who or where it’s coming from.  I think our national broadcasters do a terrific job, whereas at times, some broadcasters are not in full understanding of their stories or their roles and they lack depth. What some people believe should lead a newscast makes me shake my head. The answer could be, you get what you pay for.

How would you describe the Ted Woloshyn Show?
It’s like a weekend newspaper…or what they used to be like; with a combination of news, current affairs, entertainment, food, and some opinion delivered I think in a comfortable style.  But then again, I don’t listen to it, so what do I know.

Have you always had an interest in far-reaching topics?
Yeah, I think so, certainly more so since I started working in talk radio. I’m often amazed at filmmakers who produce documentaries on topics I would never have considered and find them to be fascinating. I think the real trick for me is not so much in finding those far-reaching topics but turning them into compelling radio.

You’ve also tempered your on-air commentaries on political figures you see making a mess out of government. Is the pull-back more to do with accepting there are things beyond your influence and a change in the direction towards advocacy; with a smile and diplomatic touch.
I think that by the time my show rolls around on Saturday those who deserve to be dumped on have been. I don’t think I’ve ever hidden my dislike for what Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne have done to this province.  But, it does get to a point where the audience says, “Ok I got it now, move one.” Diplomacy, I’ll agree on.  Smiling at Wynne not so much. But I’ve probably mellowed.

What is the first section of the newspaper you read in the morning?
I start from page one, unless I’m looking for a specific story or if it’s available the fashion section.

You are a huge sports fan. When your team loses, do you take it to heart?
I used to but not anymore. Now, I take it to my wallet.

Life is complicated and you are always thinking. Are there moments you wish you could shut it all down and sit by yourself on a beach with a beer and a book?
Yeah, an I’m glad for that because if I didn’t I’d probably be living a boring life. And yes, a beach, and a beer and a book work for me. But not necessarily by myself, because then I would get bored.

If so, what would you be reading?
Biographies, mostly because I find people fascinating. How they plan, how they deal with adversity and how they engage with others.

You are strong ties with Toronto’s Ukrainian community and enjoy conversing with those who drop by your show of the same heritage. Are you terrified of the damage the Russians are doing in that area of the world? The Russians interfered in the recent U.S. election – there is evidence they are doing the same in upcoming elections in Germany and France. Do you have a theory what the end game may be for them?
Vladimir Putin is a frightening man with one main goal and that is to reunite the Soviet Union.  Part of that plan includes destabilizing other nations, creating chaos as he did with the Presidential election and as you mentioned, the upcoming elections in Europe. People need to pay attention to him because I think he’s capable of anything. I truly believe he is without a conscience or a soul.


Working next to you the past six plus years, one thing amongst many things that stick with me is your insistence on fact checking. No item should air unless vetted beforehand. Have you always been this principled?
Not in high school, but talk radio audiences contain many a stickler for facts and seem to be waiting for you to screw up and the idea of looking like a complete idiot, is not one I cherish.

When you first entered radio, what was your ambition?
At first, to work in top forty-radio at CHUM.  I never made it there but the old CHUM sign hangs outside our studio, so I guess I came close.

Comedy and you have a lifelong relationship. You have spoken many times you preferred the Johnny Carson style of late-night hosting to that of the politically partisan voices. In this current climate, have you views changed?  
Johnny would take on both sides in a measured way but in the last few years’, late night hosts too often sound like they are shills for the Democrats. I realize Trump is magnetic for comics but where were the Obama jokes all those years.  There weren’t any because the Obama’s were often guests.

Who makes you laugh now?
Chris Rock, Louis CK, Jann Arden are a few but there are so many now that are very good.

You have read extensively about the Kennedy’s and in some way or another researched every aspect of JFK’s presidency, from butlers to mistresses. Why the fascination?
I think it’s more of a fascination of all Presidents and the intricacies of the White House. We’re missing that in Canada I believe, not so much in our leaders but our version of the White House is a topic for a home improvement show.

Tom Mihalik of Tom’s Place and you have a long-running friendship. Tom is a sponsor of your show. The Mihalik’s arrived from Hungary in 1956 during after the Hungarian Revolution. Does the history of the region of the world link both families?
To a certain degree, but I think our friendship has many aspects it to it, especially respect for one another.

Both Tom and you are no strangers to charitable causes. You with the Breakfast Club, golfing event, Sports Hall of Fame, organ donor programs. You always make time for the least vulnerable. Has service to others always been a motivating factor in your life?  
Yes, and I think that anyone who has the great opportunity to be on the radio needs to utilize that opportunity to help others. I think it’s the responsibility of everyone who sits behind a microphone.  It doesn’t matter what the cause may be.

You’ve interviewed the greatest names in sports. Your favourite or best interviews? Red Kelly, Cito Gaston - Don Rickles was a lot nicer than you may think. Dozens and dozens of musicians.  But, I can’t say I have a favourite. I do however have moments in my career that will stay vivid in my mind; like the attacks on the World Trade Centre

I was on the air when the first tower was hit and for weeks after I spoke to witnesses, first responders and one man who was in a group who were split on their decision to leave or take the stairs to the lower level. He left and on his way down heard a man yell from under rubble.  He pulled him out and helped him down to ground level. He was totally beside himself in tears as he told me the story and then went on to say that he and the man he saved had become close friends.

On the first anniversary of the attacks a number of shows were broadcast from New York including the morning show.  We stood outside the Carnegie Deli talking to people on the street about how the last year had been for them. The sun was shining brightly on a beautiful New York morning just as it had been one year ago. Afterward, Mike Bendixen my producer at the time and I went to the Verizon building with its broken windows and twisted metal frame staring out over Ground Zero.  CBS, with whom we were affiliated had taken the second floor and set up a broadcast row for their affiliates, including CFRB along with a main set for Dan Rather and various anchors.  It was surreal to say the least.

I’ve been there when a George Chuvalo, a Sandy Hawley, the late sports broadcaster Bill Stephenson, Cito Gaston, - great baseball, football, boxing, horse racing figures recognize you in a room and they make a point of coming over for the big hug and “how’s Teddy” doing. How does that make you feel?
Very special and honoured to be honest.

You inherited the most difficult job in radio – morning man at CFRB in 1996 replacing icon Wally Crouter, who sat in the seat a good fifty years. You held on for ten. Any regrets?
I’ve always said I didn’t replace Wally, because no one could replace him. I simply followed and it was the greatest honour I could have ever imagined, and he was such a great supporter, as was Bill Stephenson. I’m very appreciative to the Slaight family for the opportunity. As for regrets; I don’t have time for regrets.

How would you describe the Ted Woloshyn show and your biggest champion - the relationship between you and program director Mike Bendixen?
Mike’s a very good friend whom I first met when he was an intern and I guess about 20 years old. To see what he has accomplished makes me very happy, but I’m not surprised.  He claims I did him a favour because I pushed for him to be my producer, but honestly, I did it for my own good and the good of the show. I could tell this guy was going to do well. I believe he possesses a great radio mind. And I don’t think that’s a very large club.

With nearly a half century in radio approaching – how would you like to see the years ahead play out for you?
It is literally something I’ve wanted to do since I was about nine years old and playing radio with a Seabreeze turntable and the base of a lamp without a bulb that I pretended was a microphone. I think I’ll always want to have some involvement in radio, it’s a very special place for me.