CBC Music Releases Year End Top 5 Album Lists

CBC Music has unveiled a number of their Top 5 Album Lists for 2013.  Local bluesman Derek Miller won the number 2 spot in the Aboriginal Album charts! Congrats!

Below are some highlights. Click here for the complete listings

Blues

1. North Mississippi Allstars: World Boogie is Coming
   
   
   
   Links: North Mississippi Allstars, Video above courtesy of North Mississippi Allstars
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2. Buddy Guy: Rhythm & Blues
3. Eric Bibb: Jericho Road
4. James Cotton: Cotton Mouth Man
5. MonkeyJunk: All Frequencies

Singer/Songwriter

1. Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell: Old Yellow Moon
   
   
   
   Links: Emmylou Harris, More Emmylous Harris Stories, Rodney Crowell, Video above courtesy of Nonesuch Records
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2. The Civil Wars: The Civil Wars
3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Push the Sky Away
4. Basia Bulat, Tall Tall Shadow
5. The Avett Brothers, Magpie and the Dandelion

Aboriginal

1. A Tribe Called Red: Nation II Nation
2. Derek Miller: Blues Vol. 1
   
   
   
   Links: Derek Miller, More Derek Miller Stories, Video above courtesy of Thruthereddoor
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3. Midnight Shine: Midnight Shine
4. Joey Stylez: Feather + Rosary
5. The Johnnys: Rock

Country

1. Caitlin Rose: The Stand-In
   
   
   
   Links: Caitlin Rose, Video above courtesy of Names Records
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2. Vince Gill and Paul Franklin, Bakersfield
3. Kacey Musgraves: Same Trailer, Different Park
4. George Strait: Love is Everything
5. Dean Brody, Crop Circles

Jazz

1. Miles Davis Quintet: Live in Europe 1969-The Bootleg Series Vol. 2
   
   
   
   Links: Miles Davis, More Miles Davis Stories, Video above courtesy of Roberto Marongui
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2. Cecile McLorin Salvant: WomanChild 
3. Wayne Shorter: Without a Net
4. Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra: Habitat
5. Chris Potter: The Sirens

Blast from the Past: Local  Musicians on CBC's Top Canadian Albums List

Click here for more CBC Lists

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Previous (New Episodes of Ensemble Online, Part 2)

Local Acts Nominated for 2014 Maple Blues Awards

Once again, our talented local musicans were honoured with quite a few Maple Blues Award nominations.

Hopefully, some of them will be receieving the kudos on the 17th annual show (run by the Toronto Blues Society) on January 10, 2014.  GOOD LUCK!

Steve Strongman, Harrison Kennedy, and Soulstack garnered two nods each: Strongman for Entertainer & Guitarist; Harrison for Acoustic Act & Male Vocalist; Soulstack for Electric act &  Drummer (Tom Bona).

Other area nominees include: Dave King (Drummer) and Brant Parker Blues Band (New Artist/Group).



Links: Steve Strongman, More Steve Strongman stories,Video courtesy of Urban Hero Magazine



Links: Harrison Kennedy, More Harrison Kennedy Stories, Video courtesy of StellaBlu477



Links: Soulstack , Video courtesy of Jon Knight



Links: Brant Parker Blues Band, More Brant Parker Stories, Video courtesy of Daragent2
 
The largest number of nominations went to Ottawa's MonkeyJunk who were listed in six categories.

Here is the complete list of the 17th Annual Maple Blues Awards nominees:

Entertainer
The 24th Street Wailers
MonkeyJunk
Shakura S'Aida
Steve Strongman
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer

Electric Act
The 24th Street Wailers
Bill Durst
David Gogo
MonkeyJunk
Soulstack

Acoustic Act
Brandon Isaak
Dawn Tyler Watson and Paul Deslauriers
Harrison Kennedy
Little Miss Higgins
Michael Jerome Browne

Male Vocalist
Bob Walsh
Charlie A'Court
Donald Ray Johnson
Harrison Kennedy
Jim Byrnes

Female Vocalist
Angel Forrest
Dawn Tyler Watson
Layla Zoe
Shakura S'Aida
Treasa Levasseur

New Artist or Group
Brant Parker Blues Band    
Declan O'Donovan
Denis Viel
James “Buddy” Rogers
The Mackenzie Blues Band                                         

Recording/Producer
MonkeyJunk - All Frequencies
David Vest - East Meets Vest (co-produced by Gary Kendall)
Julian Fauth - Everybody Ought To Treat A Stranger Right
Angel Forrest - Mother Tongue Blues
Ben Racine Band - One of A Kind

B.B. King International Artist
James Cotton
Dr. John
Mavis Staples
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Trampled Under Foot

Guitarist
David Gogo
Kevin Breit
Paul Deslauriers
Steve Strongman
Tony D (MonkeyJunk)

Harmonica
Carlos Del Junco
David Rotundo
Guy Belanger
Shawn Hall (The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer)
Steve Marriner (MonkeyJunk)

Piano/Keyboard
David Vest
Graham Guest
Julian Fauth
Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne
Lance Anderson

Horn
Al Lerman  (Fathead)
Chris Whiteley
Frank Thiffault  (Ben Racine)
Jon Wong (The 24th Street Wailers)
Shirley Jackson

Drummer
Bucky Berger
Chris Nordquist
Dave King (Steve Strongman)
Sam Harrisson (Paul Deslauriers)
Tom Bona (Soulstack)

Bassist
Alec Fraser
Gary Kendall 
Keith Picot (Brandon Isaak)
Omar Tunnoch (Fathead)
Russell Jackson

Songwriter
Brandon Isaak
Charlie A'Court
Harrison Kennedy
Julian Fauth
MonkeyJunk

Blues With A Feeling Award (Lifetime Achievement)
Alec Fraser
Michael Jerome Browne
Danny Brooks
Ellen McIlwaine
Joe Murphy
Ken Whiteley
Michael Fonfara
Stephen Barry
Tom Lavin
Brent Parkin
Bob Walsh
Jim Zeller
Nanette Workman
Theresa Malenfant
John Dickie

Blast from the Past:  Last Year's Maple Blues Award Winners

Click here for more about the Maple Blues Awards

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Previous (Bluesman Al Carter Passes) - - - Next (Videos: Workshop@Festival of Friends w D'arcy Wickham, Steve Sinnicks, Darrelle London, David Knopfler, Ken Whiteley)

Steve Strongman Wins Big at Maple Blues Awards

Hamilton's own Steve Strongman has proven that he's just as much of an award winner for his acoustic work as he is for his electric sound.  He took home three Maple Blues Awards on January  21, 2013 (Recording, Guitar Player and Songwriter). CONGRATULATIONS!

Click here for the Spectator article.

Video below courtesy of RandallStaffordCook



Links: Steve Strongman, More Steve Strongman stories

Other big winners included MonkeyJunk (Electric Act, Harmonica, Drummer) and Suzie Vinnick (Acoustic Act, Female Vocalist).

Below is a complete list.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Colin James

ELECTRIC ACT OF THE YEAR
MonkeyJunk

ACOUSTIC ACT OF THE YEAR
Suzie Vinnick

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Matt Andersen

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Suzie Vinnick

NEW ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Steve Kozak

RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“A Natural Fact" Steve Strongman

BLUES WITH A FEELING (Lifetime Achievement)
Matt Minglewood

BB KING INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Tedeschi Trucks Band

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Steve Strongman

HARMONICA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Steve Marriner (MonkeyJunk)

PIANO/KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
David Vest

HORN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jon Wong

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Matt Sobb (MonkeyJunk)

BASSIST OF THE YEAR
Gary Kendall (Downchild)

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Steve Strongman

BLUES BOOSTER OF THE YEAR
John Valenteyn

Click here for more about the Maple Blues Awards

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Harrison Kennedy Nominated for Juno

Hamilton Blues legend Harrison Kennedy has received a nomination for the upcoming 2012 Juno Awards. His latest CD, Shame the Devil is up for the Blues album of the year.

Harrison is up against David Gogo, Bill Johnson, MonkeyJunk and Suzie Vinnick. We wish him luck!

For the Roots category, we have Bruce Cockburn, Craig Cardiff, Dave Gunning, David Francey, and Lindi Ortega vying for the Best Solo CD. The Good Lovelies, The Deep Dark Woods, The Once, The Wailin' Jennys, and Twilight Hotel are up for best Roots Group CD.

Other Hamilton-area nominees include the Arkells (Group, Rock CD), David Braid (Traditional Jazz), Diana Panton (Jazz Vocal), Junior Boys (Electronic).

The award ceremony will be broadcast live from Ottawa on April 1 on CTV.

Click here for the complete list of nominees

Click here for the Spectator article

Blasts from the Past: Our review of Shame the Devil, 2009 Juno Award Winners, Jack DeKeyzer Wins 2010 Juno, Daniel Lanois Wins 2011 Juno, All of our Juno Stories

Links: Harrison Kennedy, More Harrison Kennedy Stories

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Rita Chiarelli, Alfie Smith and others on Blind Lemon's Top 20

Congratulations to Hamiltonians Alfie Smith and Rita Chiarelli for making the top 20 of the Blind Lemon Blues list of the best Canadian Blues albums of 2011. They were numbers 13 and 9 respectively.

Here are the complete results:

20 - Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne - An Old Rock On A Roll
19 - Bill Durst - The Great Willy Mammoth
18 - Sabrina Weeks - Tales From Lenny's Diner
17 - Bill Johnson - Still Blue
16 - Fathead - Where's The Blues Taking Me?
15 - Al Wood & the Woodsmen - Mood Swingin' Blues
14 - Lou DeAdder - Headlights
13 - Alfie Smith - Sometimes The Rain
12 - Treasa Levasseur - Broad
11 - 24th Street Wailers - Dirty Little Young 'uns
10 - BC Read - 1,000 Miles
09 - Rita Chiarelli - Music from The Big House
08 - David Gogo - Soul Bender
07 - Jesse Roper - The Roper Show
06 - Suzie Vinnick - Me n Mabel
05 - Colin James - Take it from The Top
04 - Matt Andersen - Coal Mining Bues
03 - MonkeyJunk - To Behold
02 - Jeff Healey Band - Live at Grossmans in 1994
01 - Harpdog Brown - Naturally

Steve Strongman Wins Guitarist of the Year at Maple Blues Awards

Congratulations to Hamilton's Steve Strongman, who won the Guitarist of the Year award at the 15th annual Maple Blues Awards. They were handed out January 16, 2012. Other winners inlcuded MonkeyJunk (3 awards), Matt Andersen (3 awards), Suzie Vinnick (2 awards), and more.

Here are the talented winners:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Matt Andersen

ELECTRIC ACT OF THE YEAR

MonkeyJunk

ACOUSTIC ACT OF THE YEAR

Matt Andersen

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Matt Andersen

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Suzie Vinnick

NEW ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

Sabrina Weeks & Swing Cat Bounce

RECORDING OF THE YEAR

To Behold, MonkeyJunk

BLUES WITH A FEELING (Lifetime Achievement)

Paul James

BB KING INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Gregg Allman

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Steve Strongman

HARMONICA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Carlos del Junco

PIANO/KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne

HORN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Chris Whiteley

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

Matt Sobb ( MonkeyJunk)

BASSIST OF THE YEAR

Alec Fraser

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

Suzie Vinnick

BLUES BOOSTER OF THE YEAR

Liz Sykes

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Rita Chiarelli and King Biscuit Boy Honoured at Maple Blues Awards

Local musician Rita Chiarelli and Hamilton's own late, great King Biscuit Boy were honoured for their entire body of work at the Maple Blues Awards on January 17, 2011. Both received lifetime achievement awards for their legendary careers. Congratulations.

Ottawa's Monkey Junk, who played last year's Blues With a Feeling gala, were the big winners with 3 awards (electric act, harmonica, drums).

Milton's Shrimp Daddy also won best new artist.

Frequent Hamilton visitor, John Mays (Fathead) received the best male vocalist award.

Legendary Canadian Blues band, Downchild (featuring another frequent guest to the city, Chuck Jackson) won Best Recording for their CD, I Need a Hat.

See below for the full list of winners.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Matt Andersen

ELECTRIC ACT OF THE YEAR

Monkey Junk

ACOUSTIC ACT OF THE YEAR

Matt Andersen

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

John Mays (Fathead)

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Shakura S’Aida

NEW ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

Shrimp Daddy

RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Downchild / I Need A Hat / Linus
Producer – Don Walsh

BLUES WITH A FEELING (Lifetime Achievement)
Rita Chiarelli

BB KING INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Garrett Mason

HARMONICA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk)

PIANO/KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Julian Fauth

HORN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Chris Whiteley

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

Matt Sobb (Monkey Junk)

BASSIST OF THE YEAR Keith Picot

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

Paul Reddick & Colin Linden

BLUES BOOSTER OF THE YEAR
Gord MacAulay
SPECIAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
King Biscuit Boy

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Monkeyjunk@Blues With a Feeling (May 29, 2010)

Click here if you can't see the videos.









Click here for one more video from this show

Blues With a Feeling @ Leander Boat Club (May 29, 2010)

Later on, we'll be posting individual blog entries with more performances from each band.



Links: Eddie's Club Blues - More Eddie's Club Blues Stories
Unfortunately, this was the only song from Eddie's Club Blues we managed to record. Click here for more videos from them.

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Links: Smoke Wagon Blues Band - Sonny Del Rio - More Smoke Wagon Blues Band Stories - More Sonny Del Rio Stories

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Link: Monkeyjunk

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Link: Blackburn

Steve Strongman's CD in CHOM FM's Top 20

Local guitar slinger Steve Strongman's new CD, Blues in Color is climbing the charts at CHOM FM in Montreal

From June's Top 20 Blues CD's:

1 Joe Bonamassa - The Ballad of John Henry
2 John Nemeth - Love Me Tonight
3 Damon Fowler - Sugar Shack
4 Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood - Live From Madison Square Garden
5 Susan Tedeschi - Back To the River
6 Michelle Malone - Debris
7 The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band - Blue Again
8 Cyril Neville - Brand New Blues
9Jason Ricci And New Blood - Done With the Devil
10 Shemekia Copeland - Never Going Back
11 Buddy Guy - Skin Deep
12 The Insomniacs - At Least I'm Not With You
13 The Alex Dixon Band - Rising From the Bushes

14 Steve Strongman - Blues In Colour (17) UP 3 from last month!!!!

15 Rick Estrin and The Nightcats - Twisted
16 Monkey Junk - Tiger In Your Tank
17 Nicole Hart - Treasure
18 Joe Louis Walker - Witness to the Blues
19 Blues Delight - Open All Night
20 Rory Block - Blues Walkin' Like a Man

As with any radio station you can make online requests!!

http://www.chom.com/shows/requests

Links: Steve Strongman, More Steve Strongman stories

News Roundup (Slye Fox, de Keyzer, Grammys)

The Slye Fox Pub, won 3 Burlington Post Readers' Choice Awards.  They won for Best Pub and Best Live Entertainment (for 3rd year in a row). Also, the Fox achieved 2nd place for Best Atmosphere.

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Local blues guitarist Jack de Keyzer was contacted by PM Stephen Harper's wife to play with their 12-year-old son.

Ben Harper is a budding blues rock guitarist himself and has been playing for over a year. De Keyzer said he was a quick study. The Hamilton musician also got a tour of 24 Sussex, home of the PM.

Click here for the full story.

Links: Jack de Keyzer, More Jack De Keyzer Stories

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Unfortunately, neither Steve Strongman nor the Bluesers won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.

The good news is MonkeyJunk (from the Ottawa Blues Society) did get third place in the contest. Congratulations.

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Zeppelin's Robert Plant and country singer Alison Krauss were the big winners at the Grammys Sunday night (Feb 8)for their collaboration Raising Sand, a collection of folk-styled songs.

Click here for full story.

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