Wondering where your once so handy copy of What’s Goin On is this week? Lost not knowing what to do this weekend to be entertained? Unsure which way to turn without Rachael Starr’s uncanny glance into your future? Was last week’s somewhat vague editorial really foreshadowing a world without the weekly guidance of What’s Goin On magazine? Tune in to CBC Radio One’s Mainstreet with Wendy Bergfeldt Thursday afternoon (June 6 around 4:30pm) when What’s Goin On’s founder/publisher/editor Dave Mahalik tries to explain what’s happening. (1140 am in Cape Breton, online at CBC Sydney) Although whatsgoinon.ca and What’s Goin On magazine share content and contributors the disruption in publishing What’s Goin On magazine will not affect whatsgoinon.ca which will continue to be updated regularly. Listings are up now. Check back Friday for updates on RHAPSODY QUARTET, JOHN CAMPBELLJOHN TRIO, THE BURDOCKS (pictured here), RUDY HUXTABLE PROJECT, SPINCYCLE SQUARED, AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL, BOTH OF YOUR HANDS, 3 PIECE SUIT, DAVID USHER, THE BURKES, 4/4 THE LORD, THE HIVES, NEIL YOUNG, JASON MACDONALD, MATT MINGLEWOOD, REBEKA REED, SUAS E! and more.
COTTARS ANNOUNCE SUMMER TOUR. Surely by now you’ve heard of the COTTARS, that oh so cute quartet of Celtic music-making youngsters from Baddeck and Mira. Last Friday (May 31) they were on CBC Radio One’s This Morning, a couple of weeks before they were featured in their very own television special called Meet The Cottars aired in Atlantic Canada on CBC tv and now they’ve announced tour dates for the summer that’ll see them in some pretty impressive company including SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY.
HOWIE MACDONALD OFF TO ONTARIO.Popular Cape Breton fiddler and funny man HOWIE MACDONALD will be featured in Canadian Loonie, A Musical Ride of Humour and Political Satire. This world-premiere production will enjoy a three-month engagement at the intimate, 140-seat Schoolhouse Theatre in St. Jacobs, Ontario, from June 5 to August 31st. The production was conceived and is directed by Alex Mustakas, Artistic Director of Drayton Entertainment, one of Canada’s most successful professional summer theatre companies.
JUNO WINNER DAVID USHER AT SAVOY MONDAY. David Usher will be bringing his soulful voice to the Savoy this coming Monday June 3rd. Quite an honor for the Theatre as he is one of the most accomplished Canadian singer/songwriters and is in the running for the People’s Choice: Favorite Canadian Artist category during the Muchmusic Video Awards in Toronto on June 16th. He and his band recently spent time in Thailand, Hong Kong and Germany, and are making a stop in Glace Bay during the east coast leg of their current tour. Don’t miss this chance to hear another top Canadian performer.
POPULAR STORYTELLING SYMPOSIUM NEXT WEEK. Storytellers from throughout Canada and the United States will be in Sydney on June 7 and 8 for the 6th Annual Storytelling Symposium, held in conjunction with University College of Cape Breton (UCCB). The two-day event, sponsored by the UCCB School of Arts and Letters, will be held at the Delta Hotel in downtown Sydney.
NEW RECORDS ON THE HORIZON. Two bands with Cape Breton roots or connections are getting set to release new albums. Newfoundland’s LIZBAND and Halifax-based THE BURDOCKS are almost ready to offer new music to their eager fans. LIZBAND has been playing in Cape Breton for years. It’s been about five years since the release of I’ve Been Here Before, LIZBAND’s last album, and recognizing that’s a long time, they’ve put a sample of their new record, Devotion online at www.lizband.com. The band is expecting a July release date. THE BURDOCKS, who are playing at the Marquee in Halifax this weekend with ELEVATOR, will also be releasing their new album I Have A Million Friends in July. It’s taken two years, but the band is happy with the results. I Have A Million Friends will be distributed by no distribution.
CAPERS UNITE. Cape Breton bluesman JOHN CAMPBELLJOHN has recruited fellow islander KEITH MULLINS to play drums on his upcoming European tour. MULLINS sat in with the JOHN CAMPBELLJOHN TRIO last weekend at Daniels in Sydney for their first show and he didn’t miss a beat.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS. The Documentary Studio is pleased to announce a call for documentary proposal submissions. The application deadline is July 1, 2002. The Studio intends to provide all funding for individual documentaries, with the exception of the filmmakers equity. The Documentary Studio is a truly collegial environment in which the six most promising emerging filmmakers in Canada come together for a year, each to develop and produce a one-hour documentary for broadcast, on a subject of her or his own choice. Personal exploration of the human condition is the goal of the Studio and its primary task is to nourish creative independence. The Documentary Studio Chairman is internationally acclaimed filmmaker Allan King, with Debbie Nightingale as Executive Producer. The Documentary Studio has formed a partnership with Sheridan College and Innis College and is now seeking support from sponsors committed to getting powerful, evocative and creative new documentaries on air and into public view. Deadline for Applications is July 1, 2002. Applications and more details can be obtained by visiting www.thedocumentarystudio.ca.
LEGENDARY CELTS ON ATLANTIC AIRWAVES. This Saturday (June 1), CBC Radio One’s Atlantic Airwaves broadcasts a special concert recorded during last fall’s Celtic Colours International Festival. Legendary Celts, staged at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, brought together some of the legendary figures in the world of Celtic music. Part 2 features Scotland’s ARCHIE FISHER, ISHBELL MACASKILL, PHIL CUNNINGHAM and Cape Breton’s JOHN ALLAN CAMERON. The show airs at 6:00 pm Atlantic Time on CBC Radio One.
ASHLEY MACISAAC ON BRAVO. And then at 8:00pm on Saturday, for those cable television subscribers out there, Bravo! presents an exclusive, live to tape performance by ASHLEY MACISAAC, featuring his “unique blend of old highlanders fiddle music with a modern twist of urban soul before a rapt audience in Bravo!’s state-of the-art Rehearsal Hall”. In this world television premiere, hosted by LANCE CHILTON, MACISAAC answers questions from the audience and performs various selections including “Sleepy Maggie” and “The Devil in the Kitchen.” And to the delight of the audience, MACISAAC reveals that he’s not only a talented fiddler but also an impressive singer, as he belts out “Captain America” in American bluegrass style. In writing “Captain America” (slated to appear on his upcoming CD to be released by Decca Records), MacIsaac was tapping into the musical sounds of O Brother, Where Art Thou? — taking the Celtic fusion movement he has cultivated into yet another creative direction.
TIGHT ‘N’ TASTY TUNES. Two of the more distinct-sounding local bands are teamed up this Saturday night at Chandler’s in Sydney. ROCK RANGER’S timeless riff-rock and 3 PIECE SUIT’s surf-flavoured sounds are a great combination of tasty tunes, played tight as can be. ROCK RANGER has been hard at work lately, grinding the gears, working on tunes for a new recording. Pier boys Jay Smith (guitar) and Dan Baldwin (bass) have practically grown up playing music together and since Baldwin stuck his foot in the revolving door of bass players, their sound continues to refine itself with Mike Morrison (drums) as the backbone. With a new album looming on the horizon, ROCK RANGER have been writing tunes faster than they can book gigs to play them. This Saturday night at Chandler’s is ROCK RANGER’s big chance to get some of this new material out in the open and a chance for ROCK RANGER fans to perk an ear toward the future of Rock’n’Roll. 3 PIECE SUIT is Thomas Allen (drums and theories), Shane O’Handley (bass and wise cracks), Bill Potter (guitar and song title consultant) and Evan MacNeil (guitar / trumpet and sound effects)and they’ve been together since the summer of 2000. One of the most popular bands on the local all ages circuit, 3 PIECE SUIT released a CD full of delightful surf-rock ditties of their own creation last year which available for sale at their website and at shows. The group will go on hiatus in early June so take this chance to catch some atypical east coast sounds.
VA – VA VOOM. Combing wah guitar, loops and samples with more traditional elements of bagpipes and fiddles, SLAINTE MHATH takes their exploration of Celtic-based fusion to a new level on their just released CD VA. The Cape Breton quintet celebrates the release of VA at the Capri Cabaret Saturday night (June 1).
CAPE BRETONERS IN AMERICA. ANDREA BEATON and MAC MORIN will be in Watertown, Massachusetts Saturday night, (June 1) for a Cape Breton Dance at the Canadian American Club. BEATON’s debut recording, License to Drive ‘Er, is attracting a lot of attention to this next generation of the BEATONS of MABOU.
THE BURKES AND 4/4 THE LORD. THE BURKES (ECMA nominees) and 4/4 THE LORD will be in concert together at the Savoy Theatre Sunday night (June 2) at 8:00 p.m. These groups have performed separately around the local area and beyond and have raised thousands of dollars for charities. Together, this is sure to be a concert of Gospel and Inspirational music not to be missed.
GREAT BIG SEA ON TV. Newfoundland’s favourite native sons, GREAT BIG SEA, star in their first television special Sunday night (June2) on CBC. The special features live footage from a concert in Upper Canada and interviews with band members.
