Steven Page to host 2008 ECMA show !

[Jesse Joe]

Steven Page


Steven Page to host 2008 ECMA show

Barenaked Ladies frontman will roam Fredericton to document performances for viewers at home



By ADAM BOWIE
Canadaeast news service Published Monday January 21st, 2008


Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page will host Barenaked East Coast Music! from Fredericton.
The East Coast Music Association and Moncton-based production company Dream Street Pictures announced that Page, who has never attended the ECMAs before, will help viewers across the country explore the festival by taking a role as tour guide for the TV special.
The one-hour ECMA television special will air on CBC television March 2 at 7 p.m.
Page will roam the streets of Fredericton with television crews to document musical performances at the two major arena shows and in bars, clubs, hotel rooms and wherever else musical magic happens.
Rick LeGuerrier, producer with Dream Street Pictures, said Page will be an engaging host. "Certainly Steven Page is one of Canada's superstar performers," he said.
"We needed a host for this and we thought long and hard about what function is that host going to perform and in this case it's because we're looking for a tour guide. What better tour-guide than to have than someone who is discovering it themselves for the first time?"
LeGuerrier said he thought Page could help people across the country discover the fun behind the ECMAs for the first time. "We thought we needed an outsider," he said.
"And then we thought that it's all about music, so wouldn't it be great if we had an outsider that's connected to the music world and definitely Steven Page, as one of the lead singers and main songwriters of the Barenaked Ladies, is definitely connected to the music world."
CBC producer Geoff D'Eon said the broadcast's new format is a positive step forward.
He said he hopes that the decision to broadcast an edited compilation of moments from across the weekend in place of a two-hour awards gala will better represent the nature of the festival.
"Everything changes," he said. "All things in life change and it was kind of time to turn the page on that and try something new and different."
"The selection of Steven Page as a host is designed to reach out to people across the country that maybe aren't as aware of the East Coast music scene as they should be.
"Pretty much everyone in Canada has heard of the Barenaked Ladies though. So, yeah, it's a naked attempt to grab viewers."

[Jesse Joe]

Lennie Gallant



Songwriters' circle is intimate ECMA event

SOCAN songwriters' circles take place on Saturday and Sunday, cost $25


By STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
Canadaeast news service Published Thursday February 7th, 2008


It's the next best thing to getting inside a songwriter's head.
The SOCAN songwriters' circle on Saturday and Sunday at the East Coast Music Awards in Fredericton features 10 of the best-known performers in Atlantic Canada jamming and talking about their creative process.
"It is one of the most popular events for music lovers and delegates at the conference," said ECMA spokeswoman Meghan Scott.
"It is almost like they (the audience) are participating in the writing of a song."
The songwriters' circles will be held at The Playhouse from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $25.
On Saturday, Fredericton musician David Myles will host Jean-Francois Breau, Thom Swift of Hot Toddy Trio, Damhnait Doyle and special guest Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies.
On Sunday at 1:30 p.m., Lennie Gallant will host Christian "Kit" Goguen, Jenn Grant, Roger Howse and special guest Martha Wainwright from Brooklyn, N.Y., who's the sister of Rufus Wainwright.
"The artists all sit up on stage together in a semicircle and they chat about how they write their songs, where their inspiration comes from," said Scott.
"They perform the songs (and) they tell the audience about their stumbles and their successes in trying to get the song recorded or published or put to music," she said.
Traditionally, Scott said, many audience members at songwriters' circles have an appreciation of the creative process and its pitfalls, especially those who might be artists suffering from writer's block and need inspiration.
This will be the first time Myles has hosted the ECMA songwriters' circle, although he said he's participated in many circles before.
The 26-year-old, who now lives in Halifax, said a good songwriters' circle should be informal, intimate and fun.
"It should seem less like a performance and more like people playing music in their living room," said Myles in a telephone interview.
He said because most of the participants know each other, they are comfortable playing together.
"So if someone feels like singing a harmony to someone else's song while playing guitar, (they can)," he said. "I think usually the most interesting part of a songwriters' circle is the interaction between the people on stage and the audience."
Myles said he's been looking forward to coming to Fredericton for the ECMAs.
He said he was born and grew up here, adding he even delivered The Daily Gleaner newspaper for seven years. He moved to Halifax a few years ago.
"Fredericton is my home," he said.
Myles said composing songs is a constant thing for him.
"My big thing is just making sure that I give myself time every day to sit with my guitar with the intention to write," he said.
"The first thing I did this morning is I sat with my guitar for an hour, played, hummed melodies, think about it and then something will come up and I will revisit it this afternoon," he said.
But Myles also said inspiration can hit in the strangest places, including while on bus rides, running or at the gym.
"I wrote the song (When It Comes My Turn) that I won that international songwriting competition (in 2006) with on a bus in Alberta," he said.
"I was just humming this melody in my head.
"By the time I got off the bus, I had written the chorus and the first verse. And once you have a chorus and the first verse, it is just a matter of working through the details."
The inspiration, the mood and the melody are the hard parts, he said.
For Myles, usually the melody comes before the words. He said that's the opposite of songwriting convention.
He said sometimes he even leaves the melody without words for a while.
"That is basically my life," said Myles. "I probably have four or five tunes in the hopper right now, waiting for the appropriate words. It (the words) seems to just appear out of no where."

[Jesse Joe]

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Joel Plaskett addresses the crowd after winning the East Coast Music Association video of the year award in Fredericton, N.B., on Sunday.



Joel Plaskett Emergency cleans up with six East Coast Music Awards


Chris Morris, THE CANADIAN PRESS Published Sunday February 10th, 2008

FREDERICTON - A rocking song about fashionable people doing questionable things led a parade of awards for Halifax band Joel Plaskett Emergency, which cleaned up at the East Coast Music Awards on Sunday night.
Plaskett and his band won six awards related to their album "Ashtray Rock," a semi-biographical look at the world of Clayton Park, a sprawling Halifax suburb that overlooks Bedford Basin.
Plaskett, along with drummer David Marsh and bass player Chris Pennell, creates a narrative on the album about three friends growing up, falling in and out of love and playing music.
The hit song from the album "Fashionable People" was named group single of the year and also won for best video.
"I want to thank all of the people who turned out for the video shoot - both the fashionable and the unfashionable," Plaskett said as he accepted the best video award.
As well, Plaskett won the prestigious songwriter of the year award for the bouncy tune filled with beat changes and background vocals.
"Ashtray Rock" also took group recording of the year, rock recording and recording of the year.
Nova Scotian performers took the lion's share of awards at the gala in Fredericton.
New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island also had several winners, while performers from Newfoundland and Labrador were shut out.
Plaskett has been nominated for a Juno Award, and "Fashionable People" recently received first-place honours in the pop song category of the 2007 Billboard Magazine World Song contest.
Although the lanky Plaskett just completed a whirlwind tour of Australia, he said nothing would keep him from the East Coast Music Awards - the annual, dead-of-winter tribute to Atlantic Canadian music and culture.
"The awards have always been a big part of my year," he said shortly after he arrived in Fredericton.
"The ECMAs mark a kind of beginning of a new year, but it's also an acknowledgment of what you did in the past year."
Plaskett had seven nominations heading into the gala. The only one he missed out on was the coveted entertainer of the year award, which once again went to Nova Scotia country singer George Canyon.
It was the fourth-consecutive win as entertainer of the year for Canyon, the square-jawed singer from Pictou County who came out of obscurity by finishing second on 2004's "Nashville Star" TV talent search.
Canyon was unable to attend the awards ceremony.
The gala awards show in Fredericton on Sunday capped four hectic days of showcases and stage events held at various venues around the snowy New Brunswick capital.
A snowstorm that moved in Sunday wasn't enough to discourage more than 3,000 people from attending the ceremony, held in a large hockey arena.
For the first time in more than a decade, the awards show wasn't broadcast live nationally by CBC-TV.
Citing award-show fatigue and facing stiff competition from the Grammy Awards, which also were held Sunday, CBC decided on a different format this year for the East Coast extravaganza.
The CBC will air an hour-long, condensed version of the awards' performances on March 2, with host Steven Page of the Canadian band the Barenaked Ladies.
Dave Gunning, The Rankin Family and Jamie Sparks each picked up two awards. Other Nova Scotian winners included rising star winner Stephanie Hardy.
"I'll just keep doing it as long as I'm able to do it," said Gunning after he received the award for male solo recording of the year.
"This is an incredible pat on the back from the industry and all of the people who voted."
New Brunswick winners included Thom Swift, who won for blues recording, and the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, which won classical recording of the year.
The Divorcees from Moncton, N.B., won country recording of the year.
The top bluegrass recording went to the lively Saddle River String Band from Prince Edward Island.
Also from Prince Edward Island, Nathan Wiley won alternative recording of the year for "The City Destroyed Me."
"Every little bit helps," Wiley said. "It's recognition. It feels good to know people are listening."

[charlene]

I'm so happy for Dave Gunning! He's a lovely kid and a great talent..

[Jesse Joe]

Hi Charlene,

The name Dave Gunning does ring a little bell. But I cant say that I know much about him. So I had to go check You Tube.

He's pretty good indeed, with a great sounding guitar on this particular video...

YouTube - Dave Gunning "hard working...

[Jesse Joe]

Veteran Ron Hynes, did a tribute to someone dear to him I think, who died over the weekend. And Im not sure but do think that it is this same song he did from last year ECMA's. Bits of the awards will be broadcast on CBC March 2nd.

YouTube - Ron Hynes - Dry (live)

I really like him, down to earth guy, just like our Gordie is, who is starting his 2008 tour tonight... The legend lives on.

[charlene]

Mr. Hynes is a dear friend our RonJones..and Dave Gunning performed one year at the Lightfoot Trib.show at Hugh's Room. He was adorable and as down east as you could get..He was backstage at Massey in 2006 and was quite nervous about meeting Lightfoot..I snapped a pic of them as they chatted and sent it along to him..he was surprised and thankful for that little memory he could keep.
He's George Canyon's best friend and is in George's TV specials and in a couple of his videos as well.. they're Pictou county boys..

[Jesse Joe]

Ok ! {lol} An Ontario Lightfoot fan having to explain to a New-Brunswick Lightfoot fan, about east coast talent. lol Goes to show how much I know. Thanks Char your great as always.

[Jesse Joe]

Lennie Gallant is also a Lightfoot fan !

The story & the pic is from late 80's or early 90's...

[Jesse Joe]

ECMA Winners

Published Monday February 11th, 2008



FREDERICTON - Winners at last night's East Coast Music Awards:

* Entertainer of the Year: George Canyon

* Recording of the Year: Ashtray Rock (Joel Plaskett Emergency)

* Female Solo Recording of the Year: If You Were For Me (Rose Cousins)

* Group Recording of the Year: Ashtray Rock (Joel Plaskett Emergency)

* Male Solo Recording of the Year: House For Sale (Dave Gunning)

* Rising Star Recording of the Year: Brand New Skin (Stephanie Hardy).

* Group Single of the Year: "Fashionable People" (Joel Plaskett Emergency)

* SOCAN Songwriter of the Year: Joel Plaskett for "Fashionable People" (performed by Joel Plaskett Emergency)

* Video of the Year: "Fashionable People" directed by Randall Thorne (Joel Plaskett Emergency)

* DVD of the Year: Back Stage Pass (The Rankin Family)

* African-Canadian Recording of the Year: It's The Music (Jamie Sparks)

* Alternative Recording of the Year: The City Destroyed Me (Nathan Wiley)

* Bluegrass Recording of the Year: Saddle River String Band (Saddle River String Band)

* Blues Recording of the Year: Into The Dirt (Thom Swift)

* Classical Recording of the Year:

Forbidden City Tour (New Brunswick Youth Orchestra)

* Country Recording of the Year: You Ain't Gettin' My Country (The Divorcees)

* Francophone Recording of the Year: 11 :11 (Vishten)

* Folk Recording of the Year: Looking Back - Volume 2: House For Sale (Dave Gunning)

* Gospel Recording of the Year: New Beginnings (Chelsea Nisbett)

* Instrumental Recording of the Year: Live From the Music Room (Troy MacGillvray)

* Jazz Recording of the Year: For The Record (Bill Stevenson & Tom Easley)

* Pop Recording of the Year: Little Jabs (Two Hours Traffic)

* Rap/Hip-Hop Single Track

Recording of the Year: Hard To Be Hip Hop (Classified)

* Rock Recording of the Year: Ashtray Rock (Joel Plaskett Emergency)

* Roots/Traditional Group Recording of the Year: Reunion (The Rankin Family)

* Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year: Falling On New Ground (Kimberly Fraser)

* Urban Single Track Recording of the Year: If You Were (Jamie Sparks)

* Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award: the Acadian New Brunswick group, 1755.