Music Biz Headlines, June 26, 2019
Kevin Drew (pictured) gets reflective, the Montreal jazz fest turns 40, and Jagger's swagger is back. Also in the headlines are Kelly Jay, Said the Whale, fake bands, L CON, Rockonomics, hip-hop mixtapes, BET Awards, Will.I.Am, O-Town, and Elliot Roberts.
By FYI Staff
Montreal jazz fest at 40: music celebration defines summer in our city
The Montreal International Jazz Festival reaches a milestone as its founders prepare to blend into the crowd. "(The fest has) come to embody something Montreal is all about: inclusion." – T'Cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette
Jagger swagger gives fans satisfaction as Rolling Stones kick off North American leg of tour in Chicago
Because even with his cardiologist on speed-dial, the 75-year-old singer never wiped his brow, never sighed in relief, never was anything other than carefree in manner and loose-limbed in gesture.“ – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
Musician Blake Fordham made people feel cool to be Canadian
During the early 1970s, no musician wore his Canadian nationality more proudly on his sleeve than Blake Fordham, better known as Kelly Jay, the charismatic man mountain who fronted the boogie-rockers Crowbar. – Nicholas Jennings, Globe and Mail
Meditate with Valerie
The Halifax shoegaze outfit offers contemplative lyrics sunk in layers of guitars. – Jonathan Briggins The Coast
On Our Radar: Said the Whale takes the low-tech approach again with new "Record Shop" video
The Vancouver indie-pop band has teamed up with director Johnny Jansen again for a video that employs a very old-fashioned technique to modern ends. – John Lucas, Georgia Straight
Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew on doubts, the future, and his spiritual bank account
In advance of a free Canada Day show by BSS at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, the 42-year-old bandleader and musician spoke to us about the strength in numbers, the liberation of simplicity and banks full of things better than money. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
Hello Peril and Ashley O continue a tradition: fake bands releasing real music
Like the Monkees, the Blues Brothers and Spinal Tap before them, these made-up musical stars have crossed over into the real music world by releasing their songs to the public, which leads to the question: When does a fictional band become real?– Raju Mudhar,Toronto Star
What's in your fridge: L CON
What’s In Your Fridge is where the Straight asks interesting artsts about their life-changing concerts, favourite albums, and, most importantly, what’s sitting beside the Heinz Ketchup in their refrigerators. Here's T.O. songstress Lisa Conway/L CON. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
Review: Ensemble Made in Canada kicks off Summer Solstice Chamber Music Festival
The First Baptist Church on 109th Street hosted the main concerts of the Edmonton Chamber Music Society’s Summer Solstice Chamber Music Festival, which opened for its 12th season last week. – Mark Morris, Edmonton Journal
Jooj member Adam Litovitz dead at 36
Toronto Police confirm the writer and musician, who was reported missing last week, has died. Litovitz and Sook-Yin Lee co-founded the experimental duo Jooj, which released a debut album via Last Gang Records in 2015. – Radheyan Simonpillai, NOW
International
The Bowie Theory and the music business: Alan B. Krueger’s Rockonomics
This analysis of economic trends in the music industry cuts through some of the more opaque elements of the biz, dispels tall tales and presents us with some genuinely surprising statistics. – Happymag
A generation of hip-hop was given away for free. Can it be archived?
They won't be lost to fire, like much of the Universal Music catalog, but who will save the mixtapes?– Jack Denton, Pacific Standard
A Mary J. Blige halftime show? A Cardi B cleanup? Yes, BET got its groove back
The BET Awards and its branded festival, BETX, have often told contrasting stories. The network’s weekend of festival offerings connected to its awards spectacle hasn’t always translated seamlessly, but last weekend was a success.– Gerrick D. Kennedy, LA Times
Music Industry: The most prolific producers of the last 60 years
musicMagpie has looked at 20 of the most prolific producers of the last 60 years, analysing their long and impressive careers. Using this information, they’ve pitted them against each other based on a number of different categories to see who comes out on top. – Jacob Wolinsky, Value Walk
Hip-hop legend Will.I.Am partners with innovative Montreal AI company
The celebrated frontman of the hip-hop supergroup Black Eyed Peas and tech entrepreneur announced the launch of Kepler at C2 and his involvement with the Montreal AI company Stradigi. – Joanne Shurvell, Forbes
O-Town locked in trademark dispute with Universal Music Group
The record giant claims the re-formed boy band's name is too similar to that of legendary label Motown Records. – Chris Eggertsen, Billboard Biz
Elliot Roberts, manager of rock stars, is dead at 76
Along with David Geffen, Roberts was one of the crucial figures behind the singer-songwriter scene in Southern California in the late 1960s and early ’70s. – Ben Sisario, NYT
