FYI
Cameron Carpenter's Weekend Adventures During CMW
It was an early start at The Sheraton on Friday, but we managed to have a quick chat with Canadian Live Music Association CEO Erin Benjamin followed by a conversation with Velma Barkw
May 12, 2019
By Cam Carpenter
It was an early start at The Sheraton on Friday, but we managed to have a quick chat with Canadian Live Music Association CEO Erin Benjamin followed by a conversation with Velma Barkwell who has just partnered with Natalie Pancer on the new company Boom Music & Media Solutions. We caught up with Catherine Jones Of Connect Music Licensing and then Instinct Entertainment's Michael Perlmutter who introduced us to Concord Music's Head Of Synch Tim Bickford.
Next up was a meeting with Alberta Music rep Olivia Street who also fronts the emerging Edmonton indie band King of Foxes. Managed to lament the Raptors game six loss with Mike Millar of Vox Somnia before running into Jake Gold from the Management Trust.
We participated in a mentorship session, and it was great to be quizzed by so many up and coming artists who were looking for advice and tips for breaking into this industry. Thanks to Mono Chef, Polky Village Band, Blisk, Meghann LeBlanc, Dan Kelly and Andrew DeVillers for seeking what advice I might have to offer. Also thanks to Sony's Warren Copnick for stopping by to say hello to myself and band manager Bernie Breen.
Thanks to Denise Donlon for reading the column and offering to buy me a drink but I think she may have bought me a few when we worked at Sony together.
We ran into the Nielsen Team of Scott Ryan, David Bakula, Paul Tuch and Paul Shaver as well as MDM's Mike Denney.
After an illuminating meeting with Pop Montreal's Tessa Smith and Maxine Dannatt, and a hello to May Ling Ko from Chugg Entertainment in Australia, it was a quick jaunt down the street for the annual eOne Hangover Party at their beautiful offices on Peter Street. Complete with an Oxygen Bar, hangover pills and Vitamin C packets, the party was a welcome stop for those who had been out late the night before. We saw eOne's Nathan Quinn, award-winning producer Gavin Brown, Jude Coombe from Starfish Entertainment, Al & Sebastian Mair, Winnipeg rockers Moon Tan and Silence Kit, Rock 94.9's Bob Willette, Mike Fox from World Vision, Birds Of Bellwoods, Feldman's Jordan Powley, David Hayman from Supergroup Sonic Branding, and CARAS President Allan Reid.
Next stop was The Lucky Shrike on Dundas for the Cadence Music/A.Side TV party. Cadence President Iain Taylor is excited to be moving his team down to their new headquarters at 77 Berkeley Street in the coming weeks. From the Cadence team we saw Linda Bush, Rich Brisson, Erin Carroll, Matt Vlahovich and Cole Stephenson, as well as The Trews, Like A Motorcycle, A Minor' Present's' Japeth Maw, Google's Andrew Lindsay, musician and teacher Gregg Jarvis, Eggplant Management's Claire Rosenbaum, Apple's Aaron Zorgel, and F. Scott & The Nighthawks.
On the way to the next venue, I stopped by Subway for a quick bite and ran into Adam Bentley from Auteur Research who I finally had a chance to speak with face to face.
The Phoenix, dubbed The SiriusXM House for the evening, was at full capacity for the sold-out. Tokyo Police Club/Dirty Nil show. We saw Max Kerman from Arkells, MRG's Timur Inceoglu, Dine Alone's Joel Carriere, Stephanie Friedman from Play MPE and, of course, Jeff Leake from SiriusXM.
SATURDAY
With the finish line in sight, Saturday started early and the lobby was packed as delegates moved between panels and the BnB Bar. We ran into Samantha Pickard from Strut Entertainment who introduced us to Adrian Lock from Pit Bull Promotions. It was as nice to meet artist Baby Blue Blue and to see old friend lawyer Paul Farberman. Had a quick chat with 2018 CCMA Producer of the Year Jeff Dalziel and then settled into a lunch meet with Luke Danelon from Ghost Rocket Music.
Next up was a meeting with David Silbaugh from Summerfest in Milwaukee. We chatted music and were soon joined by Natalie Kwiatkowska from the Polish band Cheap Tobacco. When I asked her if she had any samples of her music or links, she cued up her iPad and passed over a pair of wireless Beats and played a short EPK with four songs in various settings in little under 5 minutes. It was well put together and gave an immediate impression of what the band was all about. We were then joined by Diana Studenberg from the band Trope who tour Europe with King's X this September. Lyricfind's Robert Singerman dropped by to say hello and then it was off to Music CIties Summit Reception with Music Canada and Music Policy Forum hosted by creative workspace community Signal.
After an introduction by City of Toronto Music Office Mike Tanner, Mayor John Tory spoke to the group and welcomed the delegates. Formed Music Canada's Amy Terrill was in attendance as were Signal founding partner Chris Corless, Garriison and Baby G owner Shaun Bowring, Downtown Yonge BIA head Mark Garner, Collective Arts Breweries Graeme Steele, Robert Kerr from Toronto Economic Development & Culture, former Councillor Josh Colle and current Councillor's Ana Bailao and Joe Cressy.
The final event of the day was the CD Baby/MusicOntario CMW Wrap-Up party at The Joint on Colborne Street, the venue inside of Hogtown Smoke. Heli Del Moral, VP of International Development was introduced to the capacity crowd by Darryl Hurs who joined the CD Baby international family earlier this year. Spotted in the audience were Michael Hollett from NXNE, IndieCan Radio's Joe Chisholm, producers Vic Branco and Russ Mackay, Mediazoic's Greg Nisbet, Sarah Ferries from MusicOntario and a multitude of artists including Urvah Khan, Johnson's Creek, Autopilot, Running Violent, Tribe Royal and Suzi Kory. Hartley Pickens from SEEROCKLIVE had the mobile unit parked outside and interviewed many of the bands.
There was a line up at The Horseshoe for the sold-out Danko Jones show. We arrived just in time to catch rock duo The Standstills and then some of the Danko set. We talked to Billy Talent's Ian D'Sa and Sam Roberts Band drummer Josh Trager, had photos taken with the Original KId Rock, and saw APA's Ralph James.
The last stop of the night was The Rivoli for a great set from Lost Cousins. After a little street gossip and with a streetcar in sight, it was time to call it a week.
See you tonight at The Prism Prize!
