This is always an interesting category, one that I feel is the most important class here as it reflects my personal tastes more accurately than the others. And the nominees for the Juno Award for Group of the Year are:
Today we will be looking at the Juno nominees in the Fan Choice category. This is a great cross-section of who’s hot, not only in Canada, but around the world The choices are:
A slow week for releases here in the Great White North (snowed here today).
Hey Rosetta!
The first band we will take a look at is “Hey Rosetta!“, who released an EP today titled “Sing Sing Sessions”. This is a set from this group of very talented musicians from Newfoundland. Just a bunch of Canadians doing what they like to do, play. The EP is a selection of the bands past songs done acoustically. I think you will agree, good stuff.
Welcome
–
The second artist (and final) for the week is Toronto singer/song-writer Emma-Lee. This is her 2nd album release and is titled “Unsung Heroine”. Listening to the featured song, I am taken by the strength in the structure of the song. She has a great voice, and, if she keeps writing material as strong as this, she could easily become a force on the Canadian music scene.
Not Coming By
–
My International pick of the week is Paul McCartney and his new album “Kisses On The Bottom”. It is Valentines Day so enjoy Sir Paul’s song from the album “My Valentine”.
In this edition of Canada’s essential 500 songs we have an acclaimed producer, writer, singer, 2 more classics from Canadian icons, and a couple of classic rockers, one from the 70’s and the other a bit more recent. A pretty good set for you.
Daniel Lanois is the acclaimed one noted above. He has produced albums for Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Ron Sexsmith, Neil Young and Peter Gabriel. This, in addition to writing and playing classics such as “Shine”. As you are listening to this tune, read the lyrics. Good writer.
Canadian punk legends from the mid 70’s, Simply Saucer join the list with their classic “Electro Rock. Daniel Lanois produced some of their material back then as well. Small world.
Today we will be looking at the Juno nominees for Album of the year. The category contains some major international superstars. a tough category for myself as I am not a big fan of a few of them. I will keep that to myself. The nominees are:
Avril Lavigne (Goodbye Lullaby)
–
Drake (Take Care)
–
Justin Bieber (Under The Mistletoe)
–
Michael Buble (Christmas)
–
Nickelback (Here and Now)
–
And the winner will be, a 5 way tie, everyone goes home happy.
Tuesday was a big day for Canadian music as it was the day that the Juno nominations were announced. The Juno Awards are Canada’s Grammy Awards and the competition is stiff every year. This year, the show will be coming from Ottawa, Ontario, the nation’s capital. Every year, the festival has grown bigger and bigger. It’s now a week-long event. This year it begins on March 26, culminating in the actual award show on April 1. As an added bonus, William Shatner is hosting this year.  I remember it in Saskatoon a few years ago, when we lived there. Every possible venue was filled with fans and musicians listening to Canadian music on stage. A real celebration. This year will be no different.
I will be presenting a number of posts over the next week or 3 highlighting the nominees in each category. Nothing fancy, just the category, the nominees and a video. If you like, follow the link to their website, or head off to iTunes or Amazon and get the music.
It’s Tuesday and time to run down the latest in Canadian music. A very active week it is as well. I have also added an International release of the week as, apparently, there is other music in the world besides Canadian music.
First up, we have Bahamas new release, titled Barchords. Bahamas is actually Afie Jurvanen. Born and raised in the Toronto, he has played with such people as Feist and Zeus. This is his second release. The song I have added here is titled Lost in the Light and is a live rendition.
Lost In The Light
–
Rococode at Green Couch Sessions (Photo credit: Raul P)
Next up is alternative band Rococode and their new album “Guns, Sex and Glory”. That name should bring me a few hits off search terms. They are a 4 piece band out of Vancouver. This is their first full length album. the song I chose to showcase is dynamite. Enjoy “Empire”.
Empire
–
The next is a live album by one of my favourites, jazz pianist Michael Kaeshammer. The album is simply titled Kaeshammer Live. This guy is great. I saw him live once so when you view the attached video, imagine yourself sitting in the front row, no stage and the drummer about 6 feet away from you. The best seats we ever had for any concert. the song is called Lovelight.
Lovelight
–
Next we have The Experimental Tropic Blues Band and their new album, “Liquid Love”, which should also generate a few search hits. A rocking blues band out of Quebec, their album promises to be a rollicking good time. The song is a live version of Keep This Love.
Keep This Love
–
My international pick for the week is the new release from The Fray. Their new album is titled Scars and Stories. The Fray is from Denver, Colorado who have enjoyed major success since the release of the “How To Save A Life” album in 2005. Good band. I have inserted “Heartbeat” from the album. The song is true to their style.
A who’s who of Canadian alt-country/blues scene, each member of this band is superbly talented in their own right. If you like this, follow-up with Stephen Fearing, LEe HARVeY OsMOND and Colin Linden. You will not be disappointed.
Another entry by Canada’s number 1 classic rock export. This is another tune written after the departure of Randy Bachman, and was penned by Kurt Winter.
It is Sunday and time for the next 5 of Canada’s best music. In this edition, we have an alternative/folk player, some classic rock and some unidentifiable pop.
Coney Hatch, from Toronto, is an 80’s classic rock band. Moderately succesful, they released 3 albums during their run in the sun.
A further entry to the list by Canada’s biggest selling band. This is a live version of Bus Rider, performed by the original band on a reunion tour in 2001. This song was actually a collaboration between Cummings and Kurt Winter. Kurt and Greg Leskiw were tapped to replace Randy Bachman when he left the group. Not that it took 2 players to replace him, just a change in philosophy as the band evolved, utilizing some additional flexibility.
