East Toronto resident Mike Ford, who is playing the Renaissance Cafe Saturday night, helped make a bit of music history when he was with Moxy Fruvous, becoming only the second independent label act to score a number one hit in Canada.
Archive for March, 2007
As promised, here is the continuation of my interview with Suba Sankaran of Autorickshaw …
“I had a Queen cover band when I was at Earl Haig (Secondary School), so it’s pretty hilarious,” she said chuckling. “You have kind of a double identity in a way. Only in recent years have I been able to bridge the two (cultures).”
Riverdale resident Suba Sankaran would like nothing better than for Autorickshaw’s third CD to follow in the steps of their second CD in garnering a Juno nomination (world music category).
But she’ll have to wait until next year to find out, as the new CD, entitled So the Journey Goes, released earlier this winter, is not eligible for this year’s Juno Awards being hosted by Nelly Furtado April 1.
Diana Braithwaite has performed at Massey Hall as part of the Women’s Blues Review this past November, at the huge Beaches Jazz Festival this past summer, and at the Molson Amphitheatre in 1999 where she opened Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair before 18,000 people.
She has toured throughout Canada, the U.S., Africa, Europe, and most recently the U.K where earlier this month she conducted a week-long blues workshop followed by a concert in Birmingham.
But there’s one very conspicuous place she hasn’t performed at – home! Here in Scarborough where she was born and raised along with five siblings, and where her mother has lived in the same house for more than 60 years (her father passed away last year).
That’s about to change this Saturday, March 17, as the acclaimed singer, who has shared the stage with the likes of Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Tracy Chapman, John Lee Hooker, Jeff Healey and Buddy Guy, will bring some old time blues to Acoustic Harvest’s monthly concert presentation.
Life will be a highway this month for Dala, a Scarborough pop-folk duo, as they embark on a cross country tour with Tom Cochrane.
“We’re pretty thrilled,” said Amanda Walther, one-half of the talented singer-songwriting duo, the other half being Sheila Carabine.
The two met and formed their duo while attending Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough (Walther is a 2001 grad, Carabine 2003).
The 13-date tour, with nine nights already sold out, gets under way Saturday in Banff and ends Saturday, March 31 at Massey Hall in Toronto.
It won’t be their first date at Massey Hall as they opened for Jan Arden’s 2005 tour, which also made a stop at the venue.
“That was a pretty amazing experience over a year ago, and it’s nice to have that chance again to be on big stages – Massey Hall once again,” Walther said, in a phone interview.
