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These
archive versions of The Session are posted as initially published. Deadlines,
contacts and links have not been updated. Please keep this in mind when
using this resource. In some cases, updates can be found in a more recent
edition of The Session.
December 1998INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
We put in new carpet! (It's a big deal to us.) Jessie Oberik finished her internship with us, so we're back to doing our own photocopying. There are several events coming up: an Export Forum, Business of Music seminars, and the Regina Country Music Weekend. Check out the details in this issue. For those of you who have been confused, Lorena has changed her name to Lorena Kelly. And, the office will be CLOSED from December 19 to January 3. Please leave a message or send e-mail if you have inquiries during this time. BIG EXCITING NEWS! Praire Music Awards Announced SRIA, ARIA (The Alberta Recording Industry Association) and MARIA (The Manitoba Audio Recording Industry Association) are joining forces to develop the Prairie Music Awards, an addition to All Indie Weekend (now called Prairie Music Weekend). Details on the event are still being worked out, but you can count on it bringing much needed exposure to the artists of these provinces! SRIA has initiated an e-mail "press release delivery" service for our members. Thus far, no recipients have asked to be removed from the list (a good sign). E-releases reach approximately 200 musicians/music lovers in Saskatchewan, including media. With two months between Session editions, there have been several events missing the timeline for the print version. If you have news - a new single, new album available in stores, upcoming shows, etc., you can request that your information be included in an upcoming e-release. (Please note: E-releases will include ONLY important/pertinent information, not casual news like "we have a new drummer".) The e-release is intended simply to augment the Session, and will be sent only when there is sufficient news. If you have e-mail you can forward requests to info@saskrecording.ca, or call Lorena at 306-347-0676. IN FOND MEMORY The Saskatchewan Recording Industry Association offers their condolences to family and friends of Mike Semchuk, who passed away on November 11, 1998 after a brave battle with cancer. Only twenty-three, Mike played guitar for Saskatoon band bent. bent has informed us that they are dissolving the group: "bent was about the friendship the five of us shared…that's what made bent what it was. We want our fans to remember bent as Mike with the four of us...a group. We have not given up music, as we know Mike would want us to keep playing, and you will see us all again with a new name and songs sometime in the near future. We also want to thank everyone who supported us. The 5 years in bent was the best time of our lives and it will always be more than just a band to us." Rest in peace, Mike. The Loan Program, Video Grant and International Showcase Support programs are now closed until April '99. This month's reminders… * Make sure your copyright notice is on any and all of your lyric sheets, cassettes and CDs (e.g. Words and lyrics © Joe Songwriter 1998). * If you performed at Flatland 1998, we gave you a pink SOCAN Festival Logging Report. Did you fill it out and send it in? If you didn't, you're almost out of time to submit it and claim your performance royalties. If you lost your pink form contact SOCAN at 1-800-55-SOCAN, or if you're confused call SRIA. Don't say you don't know about it. We told you back in October. We even moved the dates to give you more time to make plans to attend. Here they are:
Registration is CHEAP LIKE BORSCHT, so we'd better see you there. This is the scoop: Saskatchewan Book Publishers, Saskatchewan Craft Council, Saskatchewan Motion Picture Association, SaskCulture, and SRIA are collaborating to present this Cultural Export Forum, with these goals:
If you have product for sale, if you are planning on someday releasing product, or if you are interested in touring in another country, this forum will be of interest to YOU. Let's face it, if you want to make a living in this industry, you're going to have to tap into a market a little larger than Saskatchewan. Come with your questions and be prepared to learn, even if you don't know the first thing about exporting.A registration form will be mailed to you from SaskCulture. We'll just point out the cost*: If
you register by January 15, it's If
you register after January 15, it's *** Did we mention this includes a continental breakfast and buffet lunch? Special rates are available at the Regina Inn and Howard Johnson, in case you're travelling from out of town. So we fully expect to see you there. Okay? Performance applications are online. Please fill them out carefully, as we really do need all the information requested. The only difference this year is we are giving you the option of being paid either directly from SRIA, or through the union. (Why you wouldn't want to take the higher rate the union pays, we don't know, but you have that option.) The criteria for this year's Festival, as always, are:
Preference will be given to those artists who have newly released product that they are trying to promote. These artists really need the exposure and sales at this stage in their careers. And yes, if you played in '97 or ‘98 we MAY overlook you in favour of a "new band". We simply want to give as many bands as possible the chance to perform at least once. Plus, even if you aren't chosen, we keep your application here and use it to book other events, or recommend you for other shows, because those who've applied to Flatland are obviously interested in getting out and playing. P.S. We'd like to increase the number of country bands applying, so if you know any, please tell them! TASTE OF SASKATCHEWAN/RIVER BOAT RACES NOTICE SRIA has decided NOT to handle this event in 1999. Although there are many benefits associated for SRIA and our members, we feel it could be more efficiently handled by another association (especially due to the short time frame between it and the Flatland Music Festival). This event will still go ahead, and we will let you know how to contact the new organizing association as soon as it is confirmed. UPCOMING SRIA SEMINAR: "The Business of Music" Returns!
Each one-day session is an in-depth look at the music industry and its various components. Industry structure and the key roles played by artist managers, record companies, agents, concert promoters, producers, engineers, radio music directors & independent distributors are explained in detail. The business of songwriting is also covered, including copyright, protecting your songs, income sources, SOCAN, and a general overview of music publishing practices. This workshop is a MUST for songwriters, recording artists, managers & people thinking of becoming any of the above. If you're working in the music business, you have to understand how the business works, and this workshop is a great place to start. The session will be led by Craig Horton, who has been work-ing in the Canadian music industry since 1982, and currently provides music publishing and copyright consulting services to Colin James, k.d. lang, and many others in Vancouver. Craig was a workshop leader at our All Indie Weekend in September/97, and his sessions were extremely popular with conference delegates. We've brought Craig back to expand on the information that he presented then, and give you the benefit of his complete seminar. The Business of Music will be presented in both Regina and Saskatoon.
Regina
Seminar: Saturday, January 23 Saskatoon
Seminar: Sunday, January 24 Complete the registration form and mail it in to us as soon as possible. As mentioned, seating is limited in both cities. For more information or to register by phone, call Lorena at SRIA, (306) 347-0676 or send an email to info@saskrecording.ca .
Regina trio Nickeltree recently held a CD release for their new self-titled debut album at Bushwakker's. Check them out on the SRIA site! Don Modderman, Martin Sattler and Alf Zumpano have formed a new group titled The Rocky Mountain Rangers to perform western ragtime swing from the late 1800s-1920s. Feederchain recently completed their new video for Grewsome with producer Norm Lepage of Saskatoon. A release party was held Nov. 20 at the Bassment. Rockin' Rod Records roster update: Saskatoon songwriter/multi instrumentalist Rusty Bower, having toured Great Britain and the U.S., is preparing for a new folk-ish album to be released early '99. Rock n' rollers The Koolstones (formerly known as Loose Change) have been working on pre-tracking for their debut release with vocalist Darren Kowaluk. Jackie and Larry Marquis (formerly heard as Shyne) will soon be recording an album with their new, as-yet-unnamed band. Jay Hails continues to develop his solo career through recording, showcasing, and plans for a future album. Portage la Prairie p-rockers The Blair Hordeski Sandwich are finishing up their debut, which includes help from Mitch Dorge (Crash Test Dummies), Richard Moody and Mark Reeves. Gayleen Froese has been mastering the rest of the songs for her Chimera, at Audio Art with the very patient Mr. Dwayne Harder. She's pleased with the new album, which still centres on piano and voice, but includes multi-tracked vocals and a variety of piano sounds. Gayleen describes Chimera's sound as "kind of humid". Please feel free to write her if you have any idea what that means. A video has been completed for Act of God, which will be on Plague (a promotional EP) as well as Chimera. A QuickTime version of the video will be on Plague, along with an interview, song info, lyrics, & clips from Obituary. Chimera and the video will be released in February. F.A.Q., an unproduced play by Saskatoon author Jamie Simpson, was the inspiration for two of the songs on Obituary. This play is now in the early stages of production, and should be performed in Saskatoon as an AIDS benefit later this year. House music will include Inheritance and Obituary. Gayleen had her traditional Hallowe'en concert on October 30. She stated in her advance release, "Be there in costume if you like, or, for god's sake, at least have the decency to throw underwear this time." Susie Vinnick and guitarist Damian Arokium (Amanda Marshall) appeared in Saskatchewan during October. She's just returned from an exciting trip to the Persian Gulf where she entertained the many Canadian peacekeepers stationed in the area. The duo was also fortunate enough to entertain Canadian Peacekeepers stationed in Bosnia back in May. Five Minute Miracle is seeking a manager and booking agent. Meanwhile, their track "Al Bell's Secret Passion" showed up on an American college football game on ABC. The boys will be touring the mountains in January (Banff, Jasper, Nelson, etc.) The
Korte Sisters will be touring over the holidays to promote their Christmas
album, Christmas with the Korte Sisters. They will be appearing…
VideoFact released the names of 30 approved applicants from their October deadline, and Nicol Lischka was one of them. The award-winning Marc Simard will be directing Lischka's first video release; "Nobody Finds Me" (co-written with Shaun Verreault.) Watch for it on Muchmusic and Muchmoremusic in early 1999! Marc Simard has a website at: www.geocities.com/SoHo/Square/7491/videos.html . Nicol was recently a "Feature Artist " on Sympatico's 1st & Main. Nicol welcomes comments at her new email, nikido@hotmail.com Baritone Henri Loiselle has released a Christmas album and will performing selections from it, accompanied by pianist Bonnie Nicholson, on CBC's Gallery December 19/25. Gallery can be heard Saturdays, 5:05 p.m. (Radio One 540) and Sundays, 12:05 p.m. (Radio Two, 105.5 FM Saskatoon) Wide Mouth Mason is preparing for the release of a second album early in '99. Weyburn's Another Wave is set to release their debut CD of ten originals, "Life's a Cherry". The band tracked at the Songwriting Centre in July with Evan Rust, who also mixed the album at Touchwood Studios. They're celebrating the release by bringing their brand of guitar heavy, energetic rock to stages in their hometown. An all ages gig will be held at McKenna Hall on December 18, followed by a club gig at Dillingers on the 19th. They invite everyone to come out and party with them. For info contact bobrocks69@hotmail.com, hillstud@hotmail.com or yodaddy8@hotmail.com. A talented young female vocalist is seeking a country band in need of a singer. Her credentials include making the finals in the GX94 Star Search; 2nd place at the Dauphin Countryfest; Craven, Fort Whoop Up; 3rd place at the CKRM Bud Country Star Search; and various appearances at rodeos, exhibitions, etc. You can contact C. Clark by phone, (306) 675-4435 after 4 p.m. (Kelliher) or send an email to gvclark@sasktel.net Jack Semple is re-releasing a live cassette on CD this Christmas. Titled "Live from Formerly's" it was originally released on tape in 1991, but due to its popularity, he's re-releasing it on CD. Jack will be doing a "Tour of the Tundra" this December in Saskatoon, Vermillion, Edmonton and Calgary AB. Colin James' latest has gone platinum in Canada. Skin Tight Orbit and The Other Side (2431 8th Ave., Regina) are excited to announce a Boxing Day Bash on Saturday, December 26. They invite everyone out to show off their turkey tummies and new Christmas socks! Skin Tight Orbit, Sinadik, Jive Boogie Man and Danu will be hosting this post-Xmas parade with great music, surprises, antics and overall joy. There will be specials, door prizes, and yes, we're gonna raffle off "The Big Gahona". And there's a rumour of a special unveiling of Ed's Wine (?) Doors open at 7:30. Tickets ($6) are available now, at the door, or call at (306) 789-3346; email skintightorbit@cableregina.com . DISCLAIMER: STO assumes no responsibility nor does it endorse boxing, wrestling or any form of violent sport on Boxing Day, so leave the gloves at home. Off Kilter just finished recording their new CD at Grind Studios and held an "advance release" party at The Other Side. They are also happy to have appeared at this year's Huron Carole. Gilles Turcotte is assembling a Canadian tour for fall ‘99. He will be sharing the stage with Nancy Ruffer, an American flautist who lives in London. Currently Gilles has been invited to perform in Montreal at an "Inovation en Concert" concert series featuring contemporary electroacoustic performers, and will be holding workshops at each of these places to share techniques with other like-minded musicians. Rockin' Rod Records will be assisting Gilles with promotion and publicity for his album. Gilles is selling his Audio Technica 1040 with shock mount; asking $1200. The microphone is only two years old and is in perfect condition. Interested people can email turcotte@the.link.ca or phone (306) 955-5004, Saskatoon. The Cockrum Sisters have released a new single and album, "Mystery to Me". The four youngest in a family of twelve children, Lorraine, Laura, Bonnie and Carol began singing in a little country church not far from their hometown of Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. Gospel songs were part of the family tradition, but with influences like The Corrs, Wilson Phillips and Amy Grant, the Cockrums are now ready to leap into the world of contemporary music, with songs about life and relationships. Produced by internationally recognized producer, Declan O'Doherty and recorded at Lakewind Sound and Sound Edge Productions. For further information, contact Lorraine Edelman at (306) 236-4851 or email cockrum.sisters@sasktel.net. Introducing Oscar's Hollow. a Saskatoon-based country band consisting of Dwayne Harris (drums), Kris Mihilewicz (guitar), Kevin Kwiatowski (bass) and Lee Harris (guitar, vocals). They've been appearing in Saskatoon and Prince Albert at numerous bars and festivals. Currently, the group is working on an EP for release in early '99. Candace Lacina has just released a six-song EP titled "Moshi Moshi" and celebrated with a huge party at the Bedford Road School, Saskatoon. The alternative/pop album was recorded at Right Tracks Studio and is available around Saskatoon. Candace and her band will be touring locally, including an opening spot for the Skydiggers @ Louis'. Listen for Faster Gun's new single "Could You Love Me Girl", which will be released to radio early in ‘99. Along with the debut of the new single will be the release of a video to CMT. Please don't hesitate to phone your local radio station and CMT to request the single. New Saskatchewan label: Slyngshot Records is recording a variety of Christian music from ska to adult contemporary, to mainstream rock. The label is a privately owned and operated venture, closely associated with Port-Trax Recording Studio and Briercrest College. The link with the two other organizations allows access to their recording gear (including an 8-bus recording console with a Pro-Tools-24 Mix-Plus system) as well as to the school facilities such as the 9-foot Bechstein grand piano, Hammond organ with 2 Leslies, 100 seat rehearsal/recording hall, voice booth, and the large 3000 seat chapel wired in to the studio control room. Slyngshot Records is accepting submissions, although the next act recorded will not be until late spring/summer 1999. The first release, "Shake Your Faith" by Dale Dirksen will be available in the first week of December, with another release scheduled for mid-January by the duo of Marc Martel and Jason Germain, and other acts in line as soon as the studio is free. Contact Leroy Harder, Slyngshot Records, Box 147, Caronport, SK., S0H 0S0. The Helberg-Warner Band has expanded to a 9-piece - all the better to play jump/blues with. The Mix at Grind Recording: Sangtar finished up remixes for Roma Music's (England) Waris remix release, "Megamixes". The CD is out and selling like hotcakes...the City Of Regina Pipe Band were in tracking for their debut CD. Sessions are continuing through the winter as the band is looking for an early '99 release. The group is the first pipe band in Saskatchewan to cut an album since the early 1970's...Section 98 Records artists Ned Of The Bush recorded & mixed 5 songs for a forthcoming release that they are sharing with labelmates, Keycar, who also tracked & mixed 5 songs for the disc...Brendan Cross finished up mixes for his soon to be released disc, "Nothing"...Kathy Stochmal (a.k.a. Michaels) was in to track & mix a 3 song demo with help from Tony Martin and Dan Fortier of Off Kilter...speaking of Off Kilter, the group tracked & mixed their soon-to-be-titled debut and will be mastering shortly. Michelle Garuik engineered the sessions with Ray Bell in to produce...Eva Gold were back to track & mix 2 more songs. The group is amassing tunes for a spring CD...the Queen City's ska group, Rapskallions, were in to start tracking for their debut CD...From The Ashes were in to record & mix 3 songs…and Crush recently demoed 4 songs. Polly Esther's new CD "Platforms et Sandales' was celebrated with release parties in Saskatoon and Regina. They recently toured Quebec, Moncton, Toronto and Ottawa as part of the Coup de Coeur Francophone, where they had the opportunity to open for well-known performers from Quebec, the Maritimes, France and Italy. In April they're travelling to Louisiana for Francofete 99, an international event celebrating 300 years of French influence in Louisiana. In the meantime, catch them at Lydia's (Saskatoon) on December 30 and watch for a review in the next Session! Ratty's l'il webpage is up at www.ratty.sk.ca . Learn interesting and/or nauseating tidbits about Ratty members; link to non-existent hockey leagues; waste time. This page will be updated often, so come around any old time. Watch for an on-line contest to win free tickets to the Ruby CafT/ Cathedral Village Free House (13th Ave. and Albert St.) New Year's Eve Extravaganza, where Ratty & friends will be appearing. The Dangles will warm up with cool and soothing girl-rock songs, and things will get noticeably raunchy with the Backseat Girls. Both bands feature members of Ratty and Sourmash as never seen before! A tasty buffet is included in the ticket price of $20. Advance tickets only, available at the Cathedral Village Free House. Kevin Churko reports that he has finished mixing the new Johner Brothers album, "Perfect Life", due out January 27 (Warner). The first single/video is "Still In Love With You". Kudos to the boys for keeping the work in Sask. Beds were tracked at The Songwriter Center (Buffalo Pound) with analog overdubs at Sound Edge Studios in Saskatoon; and mixes at Touchwood Studios, Regina. Kevin's also finished the new Sour Mash, Iron Brew and Skin Tight Orbit.
THE 10th ANNUAL SASKATCHEWAN COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS
SRIA is assisting with the Songwriting Seminar portion of this year's event. Further details will be announced in our February edition. THE BLANK TAPE LEVY (BILL C-32):
Songwriters are reminded that recently SOCAN mailed a letter offering members an "Assignment of Right of Remuneration for Private Copying," permitting the society to administer this right on your behalf. It will only take you a minute to sign the letter and pop it in the mail. Once all the haggling over the Bill is over, YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION, now or sometime in the future, for recordings you have produced. To put it simply, blank tapes sold to the general public in places like HMV, Future Shop, etc. will have a surcharge added. The surcharge money will go into a pool to be used to compensate artists for all those people sitting at home and recording their friends' CDs instead of going out and buying their own copy. This SHOULD NOT affect the cost of manufacturing your own album on CD and cassette. Exemptions will be put in place to recognize the fact that manufacturers are working on behalf of the copyright owners. There are concerns over the exemptions for Bill C-32. The Bill has been passed in a "general" form, with details to be put in place at a later stage. That stage is now coming up. SOCAN and the Neighbouring Rights Collective Coalition (NRCC) are representing the industry with presentations to the Copyright Board. They are sorting out what the exemptions should be, and how to get them approved by the Copyright Board. This process includes researching how other territories handle this issue. Other countries have this in place already, including exemptions for professional users. Hearings with the Copyright Board will not take place until May/June, so everything will need to be filed by April/March at the earliest. In the meantime, a cross-country caravan is being planned to hold community meetings and consultations in every major city, including Regina and Saskatoon. There are justifiable concerns from studios, who will have to pay the levy on tapes sold after January 1st - even though the amount won't be determined until June. (Who planned this?) This Bill is really important for artists, and a huge step towards increasing your earning potential. It means trusting SOCAN, the NRCC and CIRPA to come up with recom-mendations that all of us can live with. However, SOCAN is one of the few organizations with the financial resources to do the research and the legal work to come up with suggested amendments. They are looking at other models to help them. We will keep you posted and prepare a letter of support for the recommendations when the time comes. Having a file full of letters of support from across Canada can be very influential with the Copyright Board. We will also notify you of the dates for these cross-country meetings, if they happen.
Let's talk about Saskatchewan artist recognition for a minute, since I feel like ranting. (It's been a long month…) We're under-represented at music festivals, like New Music West, North by Northeast, and Canadian Music Week. We hardly ever show up in the Reviews section of major publications like The Record, Chart magazine and others. Few Saskatchewan projects receive FACTOR funding Guess what? IF YOU ACTUALLY SUBMIT SOMETHING, YOUR CHANCES IMPROVE! Up until recently, we've been thought of as "the poor cousins". Why do Toronto and Vancouver bands get all the exposure? Is it really because they're "better than us?" Hmmm…their population base is WAY bigger. Let's say 200 Toronto bands apply to showcase and 20 get in. Then let's say 10 Saskatchewan bands apply. Odds are, only one will be accepted. What about local coverage, you say? I have personally been contacted by program directors, music editors and television producers, and asked, "why don't more bands send us stuff?" Some bands actually expect the media to hunt them down and beg them for interviews, OR have told radio staff "don't be so cheap - go buy our CD if you want to play it on your station." Amazing yet true. Which brings me to one more oversight. While collecting names for our year-end list of Saskatchewan based releases, I checked the SOCAN publication Words & Music for any I might have missed. I found approximately four listings for Saskatchewan artists this entire past year, which shocked me into thinking, "Is it possible that the majority of you ARE NOT EVEN REGISTERED WITH SOCAN?" In case you missed the last issue of The Session, which dealt with SOCAN and how royalties work, let's review. You record an album. You send it to SOCAN, who registers all of your original songs and album in their database. You can also register with SOCAN if you regularly perform original songs in a live setting (see below). SOCAN is the only rights organization in Canada. If you do not register with them, you do not get one penny of royalties, even if you are eligible due to any of the following…
Have you ever had someone come up to you and say "Hey, I heard one of your songs on " ? If so, there's a good chance you've got royalties coming. My point is that sometimes you don't even KNOW you're getting exposure. If you've registered with SOCAN, however, you might someday get a pleasant surprise in the mail. Their number is 1-800-55-SOCAN. Their website is located at www.socan.ca. Many local bars, events and businesses pay a fee to SOCAN in order to be licensed to use music in their establishment. These business people don't seem to mind paying the fee - as long as it's coming back into the pockets of local musicians. It's amazing that some of you are not bothering to claim your share. After all, you wouldn't play a gig and tell the booker to just keep the money they owe you, would you? Just a few of the recently released Saskatchewan albums - find them in record stores, the Flatland Music Store ( www.flatlandmusic.com ) or our website (you're here). Do YOU have a new release you would like us to feature? LORRI
SOLOMON
DON
WAITE NICKELTREE
RATTY
HUNDRED ACRE WOODS
JUST
JUNIOR - "Reviews" by Lorena Kelly and Chad Guy |
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