A highlight for me was arranging the musical tribute to Michelle Wright, who was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.  I arranged a medley of “Take It Like A Man,”Safe In The Arms of Love,” and “Nobody’s Girl.”  Featured vocalists were Terri Clark, Katie Love Hess and Victoria Banks, respectively and wow, did they knock it out of the park!  Thanks to Kevin Fox and string players for sweetening the band so much.  And thanks to my core band, Jeff [Mackie] MacPherson, John Dymond, Darren Savard, Tony Lind, Burke Carroll, Linsey Beckett and Dallas James for stellar performances.

Here’s Pear performing at the Industry Awards.

It was great fun to play B3 with Jimmy Rankin and his band and arrange strings for his song, “Here In My Heart.”  Our friend, Patricia Conroy, [who co-wrote this song with Jimmy] was a featured performer that night too.

Summer 2011 has been full of great projects and interesting travel.  Below are a few of the projects that have kept the hive buzzing:

Nick Perreault – Foreign Affairs

It has been pure joy to work with Nick Perreault on his CD.  Bedtracks were recorded in Toronto at Fire Escape with Gary Craig on drums and Pat Kilbride on bass, Nick on acoustic and me playing an assortment of pre-80s keyboard instruments [CP70, Farfisa, Wurlitzer, Mellotron, etc].  Electric guitars, mandos, steel and vocals were cut at Playground Recording Studios in Nashville while final mixes ended up back in Toronto.  Back to Nashville for mastering with Hank Williams at Mastermix.

For those who know Nick’s writing through his debut CD and EP, I trust this collection will feel like a logical extension and “upward expansion” [insert geek term here] as well as a colourful portrayal of his savvy musical writing and wry wit.

 Cheryl Thibideau – Paper Fire

5 months to write, record and mix this debut CD.  It was a whirlwind, a Paper Fire, if you will, of lyric tidbits, charts, Masterwriter documents, and Dropbox edits.  Using some of Nashville’s newest, oldest and best country musicians, we blazed through sessions with passion and purpose.  What a fun record to create, and Cheryl’s mature, country croon is the crown jewel.

Mrs. Johnston – Handshakes When We Win

Recorded and mixed by Adam Gabourie and me at Fire Escape.  Mastered by Adrian Carr at AC Mastering, Montreal.  Niagara’s reigning Kings of Funk/Rock have been jumping from one success to another, taking several awards at the Niagara Music Awards, releasing a debut CD and now set to launch a national tour and campaign with this upcoming release.  Think Beatles meet Red Hot Chili Peppers.  We expect to see singles service radio before Christmas.

CRWRC – Sing Hallelu

It has been a true honour to write the 50th anniversary theme song for Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, a non-profit agency serving the poor around the world.   CRWRC envisioned a recording that had a global, world-music sound to it, which eventually led me teaming up with the Erub Children’s Choir in Cape Town, South Africa.  What a joy to be walking towards the studio and hearing the sound of  African children singing Sing Hallelu as it floated into the concourse.  I knew we had a hit before I entered the studio.  Pure joy!

January 20,  2011

Happy January to you!  Hope the holiday was relaxing for you and you’ve jumped straight into great things for 2011!   I’ve stepped out of a nice, quiet holiday with family, good weather [for Toronto] and great food.  Time to climb into new projects and inspiring possibilities …

Mrs. Johnston

In rehearsals for upcoming recording sessions.  Great, high-energy rock/funk songs, grooving on some inspiration from RHCP.

Watch for my article in Songwriters Magazine, a publication of Songwriters Association of Canada.  I’ll continue to blog on their site and post those here as well.  Check out my previous blogs at It All Starts With A Song.

Michelle Owen

We’re excited to introduce a new record and the all-new Michelle Owen band, and I’m looking forward to dragging a bunch of my favourite keyboards out to shows.  Will post performance dates/links here soon…

Candelora

Candelora’s self-titled debut CD will be soon be released.  We’re very proud of the depth and sheer sonic size of this record.  Can’t wait for radio and the world to get a chance to get to know these guys!

Calgary’s Candelora take flight early 2011

Well, it got BUSY again! Here’s what the last few months have been for me…

Michelle Owen: I just produced and mixed Michelle’s glossy new pop CD, which I’m proud to say, has retro 60s and 70s horn and string elements all over it. We had a great time writing together and she is a dynamo vocalist with a great future ahead of her. I enjoyed the day in Nashville mastering the project with Hank Williams at Mastermix in Nashville.

Santa Clara: Congrats for the upcoming placement of The Fool in DeGrassi.  More coming from this great band in 2011, including a tour of Ontario and performance at Canadian Music Week.

Nick Perreault: I’ve begun pre-production with Nick Perreault for his upcoming CD. Nick calls himself a ‘reluctant songwriter,’ which I find hilarious, since his songs are so carefully crafted and articulate. Bedtracks will take place in Toronto and overdubs will happen in Nashville. Nick is also, by the way, a passionate graphic designer, who’s work can be seen on the New Nobles CD, Michelle Owen’s CD and my website. www.nickperreault.com

Matt Morgan: Matt and I worked on two songs [Jack Johnson with James Brown testosterone?] along with Davide Direnzo, Marc Rogers and Justin Abedin and look forward to collaborating on his full-length project. www.mattmorgan.ca

Candelora: I just mastered this record with Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. An elegant and exciting experience. Looking forward to this record being released early in 2011!

Sora: Calgary’s Celtic Nymph wrote the theme song for the 100th anniversary for Calgary Family Services, a piece entitled, “Legacy.” The recording is a string section and piano ensemble – a joy to write and record. With special thanks to Lenny and Wendy Solomon who always show up with a great string ensemble and attack every one of my arrangements with enthusiasm and attention to detail. www.soramusic.ca

Ann Chaplin: Ann and I have completed 3 songs which were mastered by Hank Williams. Expect to hear “Underneath the Christmas Tree” [a co-write between me and David Leask] on your local Canadian country stations.

Michael Rule: Mixing “For Loving You” for Mike’s CMT video release. Old school heartbreakin’ country.  www.michaelrule.ca

Final tracking for Michelle Owen’s CD is happening this summer – mixes being in September.  Great songs and amazing vocals on this record!

Cadence Grace just wrapped shooting for her first single/video “Living In Our Love.”  Can’t wait to see the edit!

July 9, 2010

17 year old Michelle Owen’s CD is well under way.  Songs are written, bedtracks are cut.  Now we’re finding colours and shades in overdubs and vocal performances.  This is an unusual project in that it’s clearly a pop record, performed entirely by musicians [perhaps that shouldn't be so unusal?!].  A great new project that I look forward to introducing to you this fall.