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mark tonin

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Posts posted by mark tonin

  2. REVIEW: Can-Am Jam 2002 @ Planet ZooZ

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    Thanks for the review, Jim, and for organizing this event.

    I hope that you and your family at the ZooZ are willing to try and make something happen in 2003, even with the disappointing turnout this year.

    I think with lots of early grassroots promotion we could get many more people out to an event of this nature.

    All the best to you, and hope to see you out at some shows in the near future.

    Peace, Mark

  12. Roll Call: Nero in Hamilton on Friday

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    I'm torn ... I've had the nero show on my calendar for a month, but now that the Golden Caramels are playing in Kitchener at Hoolio Studios (154 Victoria St. South unit 7 ... call MK at 519-569-7132 for more info) I may stay in town. I can walk home from the studio ... the walk home from the Casbah in Hamilton is a bit much for me, especially after a night of dancing to nero [smile]

    Peace, Mark

  14. favourite shows so far this year ...

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    ... we're 7 months through the year and here are 3 of my favourites so far:

    nero in Toronto at the Comfort Zone for the Phil Lesh afterparty show ... I enjoyed this more than the Phil show ... the band was cooking and everyone there was on a high from the Phil show

    Trey at Darien Lake ... great show, loads of fun, it was a blast sharing this show with great friends and lots of friendly Canadians

    Jukejoint at the May festival at Frontier Town ... these guys are the shit! I loved watching the expression on people's faces as they were repeatedly blown away.

    There are many more memorable shows, including GTB, JSB and Friends of Hefner from the May Fest at Frontier Town, and Jomomma/JSB at the Comfort Zone, but the above rank as my 3 personal favourites so far.

    What do you think?

    Peace, Mark

  16. Guelph Hillside

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    Wow, talk about timing ... I was just getting ready to write a few thoughts about Hillside and bang, I notice kung's post. Here are a few more thoughts about the festival.

    First off, this is a huge production, with 4 stages, lots of great food, workshops for everyone, etc. ... lots for the whole family to do. The festival ended up selling out on the Saturday.

    Each day starts at 11 a.m. with a huge drum jam in front of the main stage ... and man are there drummers at Hillside. They run drum workshops all weekend at the festival and the quality of drummers at Hillside during the weekend is phenomenal.

    My Friday night highlight was Passenger out of Guelph ... funky, groovy, psychedelic r&b music that would fit right in at Frontier Town ... I'm hoping I can make it happen for Labour Day.

    Saturday was a family-oriented day, meaning my wife and I did lots of stuff with the kids while taking in "chunks" of music all day. Heard lots of good stuff. Bullfrog was lots of fun but didn't take me over the edge. However, I missed the very end of their set, which I heard from a distance, and it sounded hotter than most of what I'd heard up until then.

    Sunday was my favourite of the 3 days ... started out with Bitch & Animal while swimming in Guelph Lake with the family right beside the stage that they played at. Yes they are raging lesbian feminists, but they grooved, had great stage presence, and they were hilarious!!! Songs about a car crash (which was really groovy), vaginas (one called pussy manifesto), dildos, etc. At one point I went into the tent to check them out and there were lots of people dancing up a storm, mainly women, some topless, and yes some kids ... after all it is a family festival and they played in the early afternoon. One of my favourite acts from the weekend.

    My other highlights from Sunday were House of Velvet, a Guelph based reggae band that played their cd release party (Liana my wife loves reggae so we were grooving, and we had a babysitter for the kids on Sunday night), and Michelle Shocked, one of our favourites from years ago. She made Liana and I laugh, she made us teary, and she made us shiver. She had 3 great musicians with her and the only thing I didn't really care for was she got a bit "religious sounding" at one point ... but then she broke into the song When I Grow Up, which just rocked big time!!! I thought her set kind of faded out a bit ... I was hoping for a more intense ending, but on the whole it was a great set of music and entertainment ... lots of stage presence from the whole band.

    I wish Nick Ali & Cruzao didn't have so many sound problems at the start of their set, as they turned Liana and I off. We were right up front for them, and the band was obviously really pissed off at the lack of sound coming through the stage monitors ... they were so pissed that it turned me right off. Musicians ... don't swear and act totally pissed about the sound when you are on stage ... people are watching you and it is a turn-off. Yes do what you can to let the sound guy know you have problems, but do it politely.

    On the whole a great event ... I look forward to next year's festival. I highly recommend this festival to anyone looking for a family festival with a great range of music and lots of stuff other than music. But yes, this festival needs a few bands like nero, GTB, JSB, etc. Hillside does have a web site and discussion forum so when the time comes we should go on a letter writing campaign!

    Peace, Mark

  17. State of our Scene- opinions??

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    Wow ... I arrive home from the Hillside Festival, a wonderful music festival featuring a whole range of musical styles, to find one of the most interesting threads that I have ever read on this board.

    I really don't know where to begin, but here are some thoughts.

    First of all, I thank the bands that are sleeping on floors and eating Kraft dinner for making the sacrifices and doing what it takes to bring great live music to us. Anyone who does some basic math will realize that there is not much money in this scene. Sure there are exceptions, some great festivals that draw lots of people, some clubs that draw people and reinvest the money into making the live music experience even better ... but on the whole the Canadian "jam" community as it currently stands is relatively small. And this means that bands don't make much money, clubs don't make much money, promoters don't make much money, ......

    Having said the above, let's remember that it is hard to make a living as a musician in Canada no matter what style of music that you play.

    I am excited by the increase in the number of bands that are currently a part of this scene. Having said that, when you take a relatively small group of music lovers, and increase the number of choices that they have, it fragments the market even more. This summer has been filled with a huge number of great music shows, from larger festivals to smaller bar gigs. There just aren't enough people in this scene at the moment to attend all of the wonderful shows that are happening. For example, on July 20 there were 3 events going on that sounded fantastic ... Jukejoint & Tala at the Comfort Zone, Jomomma cd release in Brantford, and 3 bands from the West (TFOS, SNA and FF I think) at the Casbah in Hamilton. On Aug. 10/11 there is Lose Yer Shoes, the Can Am Jam, and Bob's bash. On Sept. 21 there is Fat Cats/Caution Jam and Drums & Tuba in Toronto. Lots of great choices, perhaps too many on a regular basis given the size of the scene as it currently stands.

    So, from my perspective, we've got to do what it takes to make the scene grow. And this means reaching out to new fans using the methods discussed throughout this thread. As for the "jamband" label, I really don't know what to do about this label. I like the terms grassroots, groove, etc. etc. etc., but lets face it, a label doesn't do justice to the range of music played by the bands we enjoy. Having said that, we need some sort of label or short catchy phrase to make it easy to communicate (e.g. for a web site name, magazine name, etc.) I like the idea of using the jamband label when communicating with existing fans, but describing the music in a different way when trying to get new people out to shows.

    I am also in favour of trying to have fewer, bigger events, rather than lots and lots of small events. From my perspective, I'd rather see 300 people out at one show instead of 150 people out each of 2 shows, or 75 people out at each of 4 shows, or ... so I am in favour of pairing up bands, and making the shows feel more like events. We cannot expect the majority of people to go out to shows every night or almost every night ... most people don't have the time or the money to do so. I also think that anyone coming out to a show for the first time would be much more impressed if it was an "event" rather that poorly attended bar show.

    Well, I've reread what I've written so far and I don't think I've really added much to the thread, so I'll end by saying "Do what you can to support groovy grassroots Canadian jam music!!!"

    Peace, Mark

  18. planet ZOOZ

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    Last week I spoke with Jim Tykoliz, the guy who booked the bands for this event. It sounds like a great time and if all goes well, we can look forward to shows at this awesome amphitheatre in the future.

    If I remember correctly from my conversation with Jim, it is a natural grass amphitheatre that holds 7000 people ... perfect for a big jam show at some point down the road. I know that it is short notice, and that there is lots going on during the weekend of Aug. 10/11, but if you are in the Niagara Region for the weekend of Aug. 10/11, go and check out what's happening at Planet ZooZ.

    Peace, Mark

  20. CTMF at Frontier Town August update ...

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    August 2, 3, 4

    ... sorry for the delay in getting some updated info to you but here are the bands that have been booked as of now:

    Threat From Outer Space

    Freeflow

    Diesel Dog

    Mark Wilson & The Way It Is

    Downtime

    Caveman

    Outside the Wall

    plus some acoustic acts and more t.b.a.

    Please ignore the many rumours that are floating around about the August long weekend, and head to the festival prepared for a weekend of great music and plenty of fun.

    Tickets should be at the locations on Monday July 29. Visit the web site for ticket locations:

    click here for ticket locations

    Peace, Mark

  21. Help! Is there a CTMF in Aug?

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    All right everyone, I just talked with Mark Wilson about the August long weekend at Frontier Town and here are the bands that have been booked so far:

    Threat From Outer Space

    Freeflow

    Mark Wilson & The Way It Is

    Diesel Dog

    Caveman

    Downtime

    Outside the Wall

    plus some acoustics acts and more t.b.a.

    Please ignore the rumours ... the weekend will be a typical weekend at Frontier Ghost Town ... probably smaller in scale but still the same cool vibe.

    Peace, Mark

  22. HILLSIDE MUSIC FESTIVAL

    in Cavern Archive

    Posted

    h,

    My problem when I attend a show is deciding whether I am going to attempt to document some or all of a show for the web site or the magazine, versus just letting loose and getting down without thinking of reporting on anything.

    For Hillside, it will probably be more of an enjoy it type of event, as I'll be there with my family and lots of old friends. However, I will probably bring a camera to take some pics and I definitely want to talk with a few band members and spread the word about the web site and magazine. But at this event, whatever happens in the way of reporting will be very loose and spontaneous.

    I haven't had my necessary quota of morning coffee so I hope that the above makes some sense.

    Peace, Mark

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