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The
Silver Dollar Room is the "Home of the Blues" in Toronto.
From the very beginning of the project, Gary Kendall (the talent
buyer at the Dollar) helped me a great deal with providing me
access to the musicians as well as by sharing his knowledge
of the blues to me. In addition to him, everyone at the Dollar
(including many of the regulars) have been very supportive of
my project. |
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The
Harbourfront Centre was the first ones to give me access to
some of the blues artists. As I have stated elsewhere, it
was through Harbourfront that I conducted my first four interviews
which began this whole process. They have been supportive
from the very beginning and I appreciate the help they have
provided me with over the years.
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The
Ottawa Blues Festival is the largest blues festival in Canada.
The people at the Cisco Systems Bluesfest (especially, A.J.)
have been very supportive of my project. Last year, they allowed
me to have access to 14 different artists who I interviewed
during the festival. |
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Electro-Fi
records has been supportive of my project from the very beginning.
Through Andrew Galloway, I have had the great pleasure of getting
to meet and interview some of their artists like Johnny Laws,
Fathead, Snooky Pryor, Mel Brown and Paul Oscher, as well as
Andrew, himself. This is a great record company who is dedicated
to the preservation of the great blues. Recently, I passed on
a CD by one of my favourite blues guitarists named Enrico Crivellaro
to Andrew and he was kind enough to sign him onto his label.
Although, I really had nothing to do with the signing, I feel
privileged to have been involved in this relationship between
the artist and the record company. |
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The
Blues Foundation's mission is to preserve Blues history, celebrate
Blues excellence and support Blues education. If you don't know
anything about them, please click on the logo and check out
their site. Jay, and Wesley at the foundation have been a huge
help to my project and they are certainly people I feel very
lucky to know. |
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James
and Jeff at Evolution have assisted me in some of the video
shoots and edits for this project. They have been there from
the very beginning and I'm sure were one of the first ones to
think I was crazy for pursuing this dream - however, they never
questioned it and have always been very supportive all the way. |
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I
received a call in March of 2002 from Charlotte Engel who informed
me that Bravo TV Canada was interested in my series. After many
months of work and many days filled with doubts, Charlotte made
my dream of having a television show about the blues, come true.
What this will mean in the long run is yet to be determined
but this was the opportunity that I had dreamed of and I'm very
thankful to her for allowing me the chance to share my dream. |
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Rico
Ferrara is a promoter of the blues who has introduced me to
a lot of great musicians. People like Sugar Ray Norcia, Big
Joe and the Dynaflows, Deanna Bogart, Byther Smith to name a
few, were artists I knew nothing about until Rico introduced
them to me. It was also through Rico that I met Al Kirkcaldy
of "Blue in your face" at CFFF-FM. Needless to say,
I have learned a great deal about the blues from Rico and Al
and I'd like to think that has made me into a better person. |
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I
had come across Bob Putignano's name in various places over
the past few years while working on the Talkin' Blues project.
I told my friend, Philippe that I would like to meet Bob one
day to which he replied, "I'll make it happen". Recently,
at the Toronto Blues Summit II, Philippe introduced me to Bob
and I had the pleasure of spending some time with him at the
conference. It didn't take long for me to realize that Bob was
as knowledgeable of the Blues and Jazz as I thought he would
be...and then a hell of a lot more. He is writer, a KBA winner,
an award winning radio deejay host of "The Sound of Blue",
the president of the New York Blues and Jazz Society and a whole
lot more...but most of all, he's an absolutely great guy. Check
out Bob's link to find out more and you can listen to his radio
show online at LIVE365.com (24 hours a day/7 days a week). A
link to his online show is can be accessed from Bob's site. |
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I
met Tim backstage at the Ottawa Blues Festival. I was interviewing
Lucky Peterson and he was interviewing Rico McFarland. This
chance meeting lead to a few emails being exchanged between
us and when my show aired, he was not only kind enough to write
about the show on various internet sites but to offer a review
on each of the first six shows. Needless to say, I was blown
away by the coverage he provided my show. |
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As
evidenced on this page, there are a lot of amazing people out
there who are working hard to promote the blues in many different
ways. Baron and Andie of canadianblues.ca are two very special
people who have dedicated their resources to build an impressive
web site to support and promote Canadian blues. If you haven't
checked out their site, I certainly recommend that you do so
as soon as possible. They are the ultimate blues fans! |
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Fred
Litwin started up his record company soon after I began my project
on the blues. Over this short time period, he has released a
number of great blues CDs and has introduced me to some very
fine music by some incredibly talented musicians including Paul
Reddick, Otis Taylor, Harry Manx and Rita Chiarelli to name
a few. Fred has been a supporter of my project since the first
time I met him. |
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Eddy
B knows his blues - in fact, Eddy has spent a good part of his
life, collecting. documenting amd spreading the blues in one
form or another. He has taught me a great deal about the blues
as we spent countless hours watching various bands perform at
the Silver Dollar Room. Eddy has just created his own web site
which is worth a visit for anyone who's into the blues. His
photographs of the blues are stunning and well worth a view.
Check out his site! |
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Andy
Grigg out of British Columbia has been publishing this great
magazine for a number of years. He's a great supporter of the
blues - and even a greater supporter of Canadian Blues. |
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Every
musician that I have met during the course of this project have
been very supportive. Some, such as those listed below, have
gone out of their way to assist me in every possible way. |
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Jack
de Keyzer is one of the best blues musicians in Canada. Not
only has he taught me a great deal about the blues but he has
given me much of his time to assist me in my project. He was
also generous enough to allow me to use his song, "Deal
Me In" off of his latest CD, "Six String Lover"
as the theme song for my series. |
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From
the moment I met David Rotundo, he has treated me like a good
friend. Through this friendship, he has provide me with an invaluable
insight into the business of the blues. He's also introduced
me to a lot of great blues music. |
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Michael and Louise Pickett fall into the category of those who
have been helpful to me from the moment I met them. I feel fortunate
to consider them as my friends - although they may think differently
of me. Michael is a brilliant player who is truly focused on
his art and love of music. |
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There are those select few that you meet early in life, who
manage to grow with and inspire you throughout the journey.
My writer friend, Stuart Ross is one such person who has been
there through it all with me. Although, he may not have anything
to do with the blues, he has supported me and my project from
day one. He is a true friend. |
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More
friends to be added soon...as soon as I make them. |
