PERFORMERS: MOTOWN MELTDOWN
Andrew Allen
He was born entertaining - with only a year under his belt as a solo artist, he’s shown that he not only has the drive, he’s got the whole highway! Hitting the road with a full tank of finely tuned pop songs, an incredibly entertaining live show and what seems like limitless energy, Andrew has proved time and time again that his songwriting style – sandwiched uniquely between the styles of Jason Mraz, John Mayer and Maroon 5 – mixed with his quirky personality, are the right ingredients for success. Since the release of his debut album ‘The Living Room Sessions’ in April of 2008, he's sold over 2000 copies of the record independently, toured and played live in more than 250 venues throughout Western Canada and the UK, secured airtime on the UK’s BBC Radio 1 as well as on Canada’s own CBC radio. www.andrewallenlive.com/fr_music.cfm
Dustin Bentall
Hailing from North Vancouver, Dustin Bentall has packed a lot of living into his quarter century of life and intends to colour the rest in without much concern for going over the lines. Playing alt-country songs influenced by the likes of Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Wilco, Dustin found the heart of that music and placed it under his own landscapes. With vocals that range from soft melodies to belt-it-out gravel blues, his songs speak of a bright-eyed beginning and a final truth-all at the same time. The lyrics reveal exceptionally vivid and personal tales of discovery, wonder and disenchantment, and the voice has an appealing ring, somewhere between a lonesome whine and a rough bark. Dustin recently performed at a benefit concert spearheaded by The Sarah McLachlan Foundation called Summer Sessions. Co-headlining the show were megastars Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow and Neil Young. He also recently opened some shows for Kathleen Edwards and Blue Rodeo.www.dustinbentall.com
Jaydee Bixby
Canada’s youngest country superstar BC-based Jaydee Bixby has been wooing fans everywhere he performs. Alberta born and Alberta raised, eighteen-year-old JAYDEE BIXBY has a natural feel for roots music and showed it as he flexed his vocal talent with a diverse selection of songs during the 2007 Canadian Idol contest aired on CTV. He blew them away. His fresh-faced looks and his rich velvet-coated voice soon won millions of fans across the country with songs like the Elvis classic “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” Conway Twitty’s “It’s Only Make Believe” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”
Jaydee may still be a teenager but he has been around, having performed for years with his mom, dad and a family friend in a band called The Bixbys. Now JAYDEE BIXBY is both the band leader and the star. He recently completed a tour with Johnny Cash’s backing band The Tennessee Three and his debut album Cowboys and Cadillacs was released this past July. The album is solid Jaydee all the way with a blend of down home country values and large slice good time rocking. The album debuted at #1 on the Canadian Soundscan Country chart while the first single “Old Fashioned Girls” shot up the singles charts, followed closely by the second single “The Boys in the Band. www.jaydeebixby.com
Jim Byrnes
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, “blues country”, if anyone can sing the blues, it's Jim Byrnes. He is one of Vancouver's most popular musicians, as well as one of Canada's best-known actors (noted for his starring roles in the series "Highlander", "Wise Guy" and his own variety show “The Jim Byrnes Show”). Jim is a singer solidly rooted in the traditions of blues and R&B. This was recognized in 1996 when Jim, noted for his evocative smoky vocals, won a Juno Award for his release "That River", for the Best Blues/Gospel album of the year ... and again in 2007 when his first outing with The Sojourners, "House of Refuge", won the Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year. His latest release, "My Walking Stick", carries on in that grand tradition and Jim continues to to tour actively in North America and Europe and to build his film and television resume. Jim can also be heard every Saturday night on his new radio show, "Slipping Into Darkness" on Vancouver's own Shore 104 FM. www.jamestbyrnes.com
Corey D
At age 14 Corey D was singing background vocals with Willie Dixon and his Blues All Stars and traveling and performing with artists such as The Staple Singers, Muddy Waters, and Koko Taylor. He is a multi talented musician, playing guitar, keys and percussion with too many bands to name. Corey spends a lot of his professional career performing in the Orient traveling between Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China. When not performing he produces and writes many genres of material for young up and coming artists from all over the world.
http://web.me.com/coreyd2/Corey_D_%40_Work/CDA_Intro_Page.html
Candus Churchill
Candus Churchill was born into a musical family in Louisville Kentucky. Heavily influenced by her grandfather who taught music, her father’s jazz collection, and WLOU Radio Station where she listened to all the R&B artists of the day. During the 70’s Candus moved to L.A. and worked in the A&R dept. at Motown. “It was amazing to be seeing Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson around the office!” She arrived in Vancouver in 1980 with rock funk group Dragon Fly. She has performed across Canada, the U.S. and parts of Japan with groups as opening act for The Temptations, B.B. King, Lou Rawls, Michael Bolton, Bobby Bland, Candi Staton, Graham Central Station, and more. Candus has been featured in countless TV, Film and Theatre productions too numerous to list. She is also a founding member of The Gospel Experience which she has helped maintain for almost 20 years. www.canduschurchill.com
Oliver Conway
Band leader, vocalist, harmonica player, rhythm guitarist, producer and song writer, Oliver has been delivering his own brand of blue-eyed soul with Oliver and the Elements and Incognito for over 20 years in Western Canada. Known for his soulful voice, funkifized playing, and his connection with an audience, he is an exciting and experienced musician with 2000 performances in his career, including stage musicals, TV and radio appearances and club and cabaret work all over Canada. He is also the proprietor of Aero Music, a full service music recording and production company, based in the Commercial Drive area of Vancouver, Canada. www.aeromusic.ca
Dr. Dee Daniels
Dee’s international career includes performances in eleven African countries, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan, as well as North America and several countries throughout Europe. While in Europe, she had many wonderful opportunities to perform with such ‘Legends of Jazz’ as Toots Theilemans, Johnny Griffin, Ed Thigpen, and Monty Alexander to name but a few. Two other personal highlights were having the opportunity of singing the Blues with the late, divine Sarah Vaughan in The Netherlands, and singing Gospel with the late great Joe Williams in Germany. In 2002 she was inducted into the ‘BC Entertainment Hall of Fame’ and a plaque was installed on Vancouver’s ‘Walk of Fame’. In 2003 she received the prestigious ‘Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’, and was inducted into the University of Montana’s School of Fine Arts ‘Hall of Honor’. www.deedaniels.com
Alita Dupray
Alita Dupray lays down a song with finesse and a totally creative approach. Her smooth, swinging style, improvisational talents and impeccable delivery get to the very heart of the lyric. A beautiful young chanteuse possessed of an uncanny ability to bring another time spirit, mood, and place and conjure them present, Alita pours bluesy woe, spinning a web of purring delight, illuminating both lyric and melody with a sound and feel obviously her own. www.alitadupray.com
Roy Forbes
Roy Forbes has been a strong Canadian musical presence since the early ‘70s. This two-time Juno nominee and multi West Coast Music Award winner has nine solo albums to his credit as well as two CDs with UHF (Ulrich Henderson and Forbes). Roy has a semi-regular and popular show on CBC Radio One, “Snap Crackle Pop”, as well as a weekly show on CKUA – Roy’s Record Room. In June, 2007, Northern Lights College gave Roy an honourary arts degree and the City of Dawson Creek named a street in his honour – Roy Forbes Drive. www.royforbes.ca
Babe Gurr
This roots/rock singer-songwriter has been turning heads for years with her blend of roots/blues/pop. Recent winner of the Sonic Bids Nashville Song Contest, Babe’s latest release Chocolate Lilly has been garnering rave reviews in Canada and the US. Her music has been compared to the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt and Sheryl Crow, yet she still retains her own unique sound and style “It’s only a matter of time before Gurr’s star rises above the Canadian Content Rule and she truly becomes an International artist”. Gary Allen (Charlie Daniels Band, JJ Cale) www.babegurr.com
Al Harlow
Born in Vancouver, Al Harlow, nee Hawirko, began leading local Brit Invasion style bands in 1966. A displaced Mod in the psychedelic Retinal Circus scene, he moved to London, England in the early ‘70s, seeking success. Recording his band “Harlow” in ‘77, Al teamed up with ex-Seeds of Time bandmates to help create PRiSM. Eight albums, two Junos and five years of US & Canadian tours later, Al began lecturing in the Capilano College Music Dept, while playing R&B and producing. Al now tours with PRiSM while writing, teaching & performing locally. www.prism.ca
Bill Henderson
Bill Henderson is best known for his work with Chilliwack, one of Canada’s top recording acts in the 1970's and 80's. As lead singer, guitarist, producer and songwriter, Bill played a major role in the success of the twelve Chilliwack albums with hit songs such as "Raino", "Lonesome Mary", "California Girl", "Fly at Night", "My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)", "I Believe", and "Whatcha Gonna Do", which garnered them a host of awards and international acclaim. For the last 10 years or so, Bill has built a reputation as an exciting solo performer playing at numerous folk festivals and clubs, community theatres, Classic Rock concerts and workshop gatherings of songwriters and performers. Several summers ago he put together a powerful team of players to bring Chilliwack’s songs back to festival stages across Canada. Bill is also one of the members of UHF (Ulrich, Henderson, Forbes). www.gonegonegone.com
Riley Inge (formerly on stage with The Temptations)
A consummate entertainer, Riley Inge has mesmerized audiences worldwide. He has worked with the industry’s best and opened shows for artists such as Smokey Robinson, Keith Washington, Stephanie Mills and many others. After performing on stage with the legendary “Temptations”, Riley is now a solo artist. He is the founder of The S.T.O.P. Society (Steps To Overcoming Problems) focusing on the problems and solutions associated with bullying. Riley has recently completed a video (Don’t Be A Bully) with the assistance of the Community Mobilization Program (Safe Schools Initiative). Being a true humanitarian, Riley supports many community events and all types of programs for children and youth. www.rileyandtheryzeband.com
Linda Kidder
From a long lineage of performers, Linda Kidder carries on the family tradition. Both a bass player and a performer, Linda has toured with kd lang, Gary Fjellgaard, Michelle Wright, and Norman Foote to name a few; plus an extensive list of studio work including Bon Jovi and Rita MacNeil. Linda has two CDs, 'Mom and Me,' singing jazz standards with her mom Betty on grand piano; and her recent 'Close to Bliss' featuring her originals. and Canada. Linda has sung hundreds of jingles for television, radio and on countless album projects. Some of her highlights include "Letterman", "Leno" and the "Grammy Awards.” She is also a proud member of the musical group August.
Tom Landa (The Paperboys)
Tom Landa, the lead vocalist for The Paperboys, is hailed as a world talent and killer songwriter, excelling in creating beautiful melodies. He delivers ballads about lost love, longing, hope, and nostalgia with depth and tremendous sensitivity. The Paperboys received a Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (Molinos); and Juno Award nominations for the three of their albums; two West Coast Music Awards for Best Roots Recording (Molinos, Postcards) and three more nominations in that category. Add to this list, an American Indie nomination; a Genie Award nomination for Best Musical Score for the film 'Lunch With Charles' and appearances in both that film and the movie 'Marine Life.' The latest release 'The Road To Ellenside' (2006) was wholly recorded at a country manor in rural England. Ellenside was recently listed in the Top Ten critic's poll in The Village Voice, while the video for the single 'Fall Down With You' camped out in MuchMoreMusic's Top Ten for a staggering ten weeks - peaking at Number Four alongside Nickleback, Madonna, and Nelly Furtado– a feat almost unheard of by an Indie band. The follow-up video for the single 'Fragile' was shot entirely on location in Morelia, Mexico and enjoyed constant rotation on video channels, not to mention thousands of hits on YouTube and other video websites. www.paperboys.com
Cecile Larochelle
Cecile Larochelle is delighted to be back in Vancouver after a 12 year absence. Besides singing her way across the U.S., she earned her degree in vocal music and became passionately committed to sharing vocal technique and stylistic interpretations with other singers. She started her vocal studio in Orlando, Florida and recently opened "LaRochelle Vocal Studios" at The Beaumont Studio in Vancouver. Cecile continues with her own studies in the Seth Riggs Speech Level Singing Technique in Los Angeles. She has appeared on television and stage as both an actress and singer in Canada and the United States. She has worked with Jon Bon Jovi, John Denver, Sheena Easton, Long John Baldry and has penned and produced numerous albums including her own gospel and children's albums. www.cecilelarochelle.com
Ali Milner
Pegged as one of British Columbia's future stars, the 19-year-old Whistler local has been turning heads with her velvety voice and engaging stage presence since her self-titled debut five years ago. A household name in her native Whistler, Milner brings a decidedly upbeat feel to her music. In addition to singing with some of music's biggest names, Milner's growing list of accomplishments include performing at several Olympic and Paralympic Games countdown events, as well as traveling to China with Premier Gordon Campbell to sing at a cultural festival televised to 90 million viewers. www.alimilner.com
Jane Mortifee
Jane has been active in theatre, television and the studios for over thirty years. She has been nominated for countless awards and has enjoyed theatre roles in “When The Rains Come”, “Cabaret”, “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well”, “Side by Side By Sondheim” and “A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline”. Her acting credits include the TV series “Neon Rider”, “21 Jump Street”, and “Danger Bay” and a starring role in the feature film “My American Cousin. Her first love is singing and Jane has performed as a guest soloist on numerous television productions and live musical specials as well as doing studio work as a jingle singer, voice-over and animated series talent. www.janemortifee.com
Terry David Mulligan
Terry David Mulligan is an iconic Canadian actor and television personality. After leaving the Mounties, Mulligan worked as a radio DJ for 20 years, and then joined CBC Television as host of the music video series Good Rockin’ Tonite. He left the CBC in 1985 to become a VJ and producer for MuchMusic as host of the long-running Much West series.
Mulligan is also a prolific character actor who has been featured in supporting roles in many movies and television series.
He also co-hosts a television wine show called Hollywood and Vines with fellow actor Jason Priestley which is filmed in wine vineyards around the world. Currently he has been hosting and producing a weekly 2 hour food and wine series called The Tasting Room, heard on various radio stations all over the Okanagan and as a podcast at iTunes or at www.tastingroomradio.com.
He continues to host Mulligan Stew, a long-running two-hour Saturday night music show on CKUA in Alberta which covers a vast range of great music from the past and present. Recorded from home and his barn studio, Mulligan Stew has received rave reviews and is considered some of the finest hours of music on Canadian radio. TDM considers The Stew the best radio he’s ever done.
Sara Ramsay
Sara Ramsay could sing before she could talk, and talk before she could walk. Sara is the third generation of a family of professional musicians
that dates back to the vaudeville era. Sara’s professional career began when she was just three years old, voicing commercials for a host of national advertisers, which grew into on-camera performances, noteably in the highly successful Richmond Auto Mall TV campaign. Sara’s recording career has most recently included singing for Marianas Trench, Girlicious, and Paul Rodgers of Bad Company, and she performs frequently with her band, Free Will Orchestra.
James Rogers
Vancouver based guitarist, singer and songwriter James Rogers has toured extensively throughout Canada, United States and parts of Europe opening and playing shows with artists such as Kim Wilson & the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Long John Baldry, Kenny Neal, Elvin Bishop, Indigenous, Holmes Brothers, Sue Foley, Long John Hunter, Canned Heat, Powder Blues, Jerry Doucette and Jim Byrnes. James' music has been played in over 15 countries, as well as on TV with the series "Highlander" and "24 Hours of Le Mans" telecast for Speedvision. With 24 years of experience to his credit and only 34 years of age James Rogers is an unstoppable talent. www.jrband.ca
ShutterFly
Shutterfly is a Vancouver-based Alt-country/pop family group consisting of Taryn Sinclair on lead vocals, Zak Sinclair on guitar and vocals and their father, well-known guitarist David Sinclair (Sarah McLachlan, kd lang, Straight Lines). They have released two CDs of original music, receiving airplay across Canada, and have performed concerts and festivals throughout B.C. www.shutterfly.ca
The Sojourners
The Sojourners originally came together to provide background vocals to Jim Byrnes' Juno award winning CD project, "House of Refuge". They have since come into their own and have released two CDs to date, "Hold On" in 2007 and their eponymous sophomore release, "The Sojourners", which came out in January 2010. The Sojourners have an active touring and festival schedule in North America and Europe and have shared the stage with a veritable who's who of musical legends, including Dr. John, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Dixie Hummingbirds, John Boutte, Marie Knight and many more. Their recording of "Eyes on the Prize" from "Hold On" was selected for inclusion in a recent Time-Life compilation. "Freedom to Sing" celebrating the music of the civil rights era. www.thesojourners.ca
Kendra Sprinkling
Kendra has been involved in music for 35 years, working with B.B. King, Martha Reeves, Taj Mahal, the Doobie Brothers and Slade, as well as singing in sessions, commercials and performing in musical theatre. In 1986, Kendra first performed in Starry Night, an AIDS fund–raising variety show, developed by the Art’s Club’s David Harrison (who succumbed to the disease in 1995). She has produced and directed the show since 1995 and year 2010 marked the “25th" Anniversary Performance. She is the Founding Executive Director of the Shooting Stars Foundation, a special events organization, which is dedicated to raising funds for direct service AIDS organizations. She is the creator of all the Shooting Stars events which also include producing, Fit For A Queen, (a fantastic “Drag” Extravaganza), Gambado! (Dinner and Auction), undercover (a unique wine tasting), Jazzilla (a Monster Jazz event) and co-producing Motown Meltdown - (40 guest artists "Do Motown). www.shootingstarsfoundation.org
Sibel Thrasher
Sibel Thrasher has performed in all 1,000-plus performances of the Arts Club theatre’s all-time longest running production, Ain’t Misbehavin’, both locally and nationally. She also had great success in the Arts Club productions of Black and Gold Revue I and II, Blues In The Night, The Club, When The Rains Come, Tapestry, and Little Shop Of Horrors. Her extensive credits include recording in New York with legendary recording artist Roy Ayers, and in Canada with Long John Baldry and Linton Garner. She toured with the renowned Platters in the US, Japan and the Philippines. Sibel has traveled extensively as a highly sought after jazz, gospel and R & B singer in the cruise industry on Alaskan and Caribbean tours. In 2004 she was in the movie “Fierce People”, starring Donald Sutherland and Diane Lane and enjoyed a 6 month engagement in Shanghai, China. She most recently returned from a tour of London, England and a concert in New York with a group she performed with many years ago (Ramp), which is enjoying an amazing resurgence which includes an impending album release. www.myspace.com/sibelthrasher
David Wills
David Wills is best known as the lead singer of Stonebolt and currently performs as well with the high-energy dance band “The Dynamics”. With the current cultural revival of music from the earlier decades, and the fact that the members of Stonebolt still like to make music, the vote was passed and the creation of “Regeneration” Stonebolt’s newest album was realized. This CD is a compilation of the band’s biggest hits including “I Will Still Love You” and “Don’t Ya Hide It”, as well as three new songs written and recorded by the original members. In Canada Stonebolt became a popular radio act with a number of hit singles topping the Canadian charts and in 1978 became an international hit, recognized as word wide stars. The band had hits in the US, Europe and Japan and played concerts as far away as Osaka Japan. Stonebolt made regular appearances on national TV shows such as American Bandstand and Midnight Special and received a Grammy nomination. Stonebolt was a Canadian band that achieved international stardom and now the band and their lead singer, can now be discovered again by today's generation of music lovers. David is actively involved with producing other projects.
Garfield Wilson
UK-born and Edmonton-raised, Garfield Wilson has had an extensive and diverse career in music for the past 15 years, which has seen him successfully lead a funk/soul cover band in Edmonton, a rock band which was a winner on Vancouver’s local CFOX Seeds contest in 2000, plus have his own solo career in R&B. Garfield also contributed his back-up vocals to Colin James’ 2001 Warner release Fuse, 2003’s Traveler and on Colin’s subsequent tours. He has worked in musical theatre with a leading role as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, plus had a supporting role in Hair. Garfield has also acquired a lengthy list of acting credits, including work on Dark Angel, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Andromeda, The Dead Zone as well as a role in the feature film Edison Force starring fellow musicians Justin Timberlake and LL Cool J, along with Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman.
AJ Woodworth
West Vancouver’s AJ Woodworth confidently straddles the line between contemporary country and roots/pop, infused with a dash of soul. With a distinctive voice, look, and writing style, you hear how she’s taken classic influences and forged her own sound. AJ won last year’s Canadian Country Music Ass’n. New Talent Showcase Award, and was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year at the BCCMA’s. Her new CD is set for release this summer.
