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FYI

Our Back Pages with Doug Chappell & Friends

It was late September on one of those balmy post-summer days when Gary Muth and David Farrell decided to amble down to visit some of the old gang that had retired and moved to or near Niagara Falls

Our Back Pages with Doug Chappell & Friends

By David Farrell

It was late September on one of those balmy post-summer days when Gary Muth and David Farrell decided to amble down to visit some of the old gang that had retired and moved to or near Niagara Falls. A sort of Big Chill trip down memory lane where we could wolf down plates of hot chicken wings, fries with gravy and cheeseburgers with all the fixings. The devil's food, plated out on a roadhouse patio serving cheap draft and dirty bloody marys. It was a bit of heaven on earth where the laughter was infectious and the stories, well... the kind shared with friends with zippered lips and 'in the know'.


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It was the kind of day that 2020 ripped away from us, just as the year has ripped us of so much... and so many.

Left to right at this momentous 2017 summit: Gary Muth, George Semkiw, Duff Roman, Joanne Smale, Jan Haust, Kim Clarke Champniss, and Mr. King of the World-Doug Chappell, standing proudly with his vintage cherry-red Alfa Romeo convertible.

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Coco Love Alcorn
Courtesy Photo

Coco Love Alcorn

FYI

Music News Digest: Music Community Rallies to Support Coco Love Alcorn Through Cancer Journey

Also this week: more trouble for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Toronto scene veteran Paul James turns 75 with a free hometown show at The Phoenix and a date is set for the first Canadian Blues Music Awards.

Canadian pop and jazz singer-songwriter and choir leader Coco Love Alcorn has just revealed that she is fighting an aggressive form of cancer. This will involve a long period of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and further surgery. Alcorn explains that "I have had to cancel all my touring, teaching, and performances for 2026 and my local choir is on hiatus till further notice. I also had 3 trips planned to BC this winter/spring to record my new album and that project is also on hold."

A GoFundMe campaign to assist her has been set up. Donate here. The rapid and generous response to her campaign reaffirms the peer respect she enjoys.

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