Hangin’ at CMW with Bob Segarini

The Weekend Roundup

Today’s Roundup is going to be short, but hopefully sweet, the reason being twofold:

1. Pie is back from Mexico all tan and cuter than hell (she brought back 2 bottles of Mañana agave tequila and a ceramic turtle she hand painted that we have decided to name “Señor Turtle”, in honor of Crabman’s ‘Mr. Turtle’ on My Name is Earl).

2. CMW (Canadian Music Week) started Wednesday night and there is so much going on that there has been no time to sit down and write very much.

There are too many great people in town to talk with, renew friendships with or make the acquaintance of, too many artists to see (over 700 at last count in 45 different venues) too many hospitality suites, chance meetings, and lively conversations taking place in the lobby bars and Front Street restaurants, it is an overwhelming sea of opportunity, ideas, and camaraderie. More about the weekend next Monday, but today I offer some personal highlights and observations.

Wednesday

If there was ever a person that needed 8 arms and 2 heads, it would be Joanne Smale, Her and her Planet 3 staff take care of a lot of the hard work that makes CMW run like a well oiled machine. She was already harried and doing 5 things at once when I went in to pick up my media pass for the weekend, talking on her cell, writing down memos, speaking with me, and passing on information to her staff while I stood there in awe.

Then there’s Greg Simpson, who like Joanne, is a whirlwind of activity at all times, wrangling speakers, guests, radio folk and the rest in person or with his crackerjack staff, who are always in contact through the wonder of headsets and a shared commitment to make this baby hum like Hemi-head Chrysler V8. On top of all the on-site, real time work, Greg (pictured here) also helps Neil Dixon (the Emperor of CMW) line up speakers, organize panels, schedule events, manage the stage for the awards dinners, and write the introductions for the guest panelists (about 95 of them this year). Greg knows just about everybody in attendance. Every year he introduces me to so many people, I end up not remembering anybody’s name or what they do. I’ve participated in impromptu singing sessions with artists in his hotel room, had interesting and passionate discussions about music with all sorts of people, the latest last night with a lawyer from Boston that was so much fun I almost missed my ride home, and watched and listened while Greg, walking with me through the vast corridors of the Royal York, put out fires, made changes in schedules, smoothed ruffled feathers and arranged meetings over his headset, all the while talking with me and saying hello to just about everyone we passed in the halls.

Every year, the first person I see in the hotel is artist manager Jake Gold (pictured here). This year was no exception. There he was in the lobby, doin’ business, and lookin’ dapper.

Dinner with an old friend Christian Castle, an extraordinary drummer I have known since when we both lived in Montreal, who went back to school and became a lawyer. Chris is Managing Partner of Christian L. Castle, Attorneys, with offices in Los Angeles and Austin. The firm represents artists, producers, songwriters, record labels, music publishers, film studios and technology companies. He is also Managing Member of the Digital Media Policy Group, a private consulting company. Chris is here introducing a panel that ran at 8:00 am this morning. I did not attend.

After my dinner with Chris I headed over to the Mod Club to attend the Platinum Blonde reunion concert which was organized to celebrate Platinum Blonde’s induction into the Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame this weekend. A prestigious award for a deserving band that started life in the early ‘80’s as a Police cover band, and went on to become one of the hottest bands on Much Music and sold a pant load of records. The Mod Club, one of the great Toronto venues (and very similar to the original Fillmore in San Francisco) was packed to the rafters with friends and fans alike. I was standing out front having a smoke and talking with Beatlemania Shoppe owner Peter Miniaci and his friend Mike when all three Trailer Park Boys walked past us and into the club. We got the famous Nod of Acknowledgement, and caught up with them later at the after party. Thank God  the Mod Club is only two blocks from our apartment. I would have fallen asleep on a street car if I would have had to go any further.

Thursday…

Ten dollars for a pint of Keiths? TEN FUCKING DOLLARS??? This will not stand. Don’t get me wrong. The Royal York is an absolutely beautiful hotel and convention hub located right across the street from Toronto’s elegant Union Station and directly accessible by subway, which stops in the lower concourse of the hotel. It is a 3 minute walk (if that) to Epic, the lobby bar and restaurant at the east end of the main lobby where, like Hollywood and Vine, you can find just about anyone you’re looking for. On Wednesday I ordered a Keiths at the bar and was handed a bill for $9.20. With a paltry 80 cent tip, that’s a whopping 10 bucks for a pint that would normally cost around 6 bucks in any bar in the city. WTF? Did they see us coming? A martini is up to $14 here. No wonder there were far fewer visiting bands hanging out there on Thursday, but still, the place is always packed between panels, luncheons, and award shows.

Not wanting to mooch drinks all day, and unable to afford to spend as much time in the Schmooze-ateria as I normally would, I stopped on the way to the hotel and grabbed a six pack of Old Milwaukee in 16 ounce cans to sequester in a friend’s hotel room and visit when necessary. Total cost of the six pack? $10.75. Harumph…

Among the friendly faces on Thursday…Broadcaster and Humanitarian Supremo Gary Slaight (pictured here), Producer, publisher and all around good guy Ralph Murphy, up from his home in Nashville, Steve Anthony and the lovely Tanya, Toronto’s Kid Rock, Keith Corea, Corus Vancouver’s J.J Johnson (not to be confused with the Daily Bugle’s J.J Jameson) CHUM historian, producer, writer, teacher, Doug Thompson, the inimitable and wonderful Harvey Glatt, the man that brought great record stores and the FM powerhouse CHEZ FM to Ottawa back in the day, and many other friends and acquaintances from my years in music and broadcasting in Canada.

Toward the end of the afternoon I ended up in Simpson’s hotel room with artist, guitarist, and world class chef Peter Kashur, the great Monica Slack, whose charity compilation of Kingston Ontario blues artists has been featured in A&R Online, Trish Knowles, DJ from Kingston’s FM 96 (pictured here), and award winning singer/songwriter Donna Creighton, who played and sang some great music in a spontaneous moment that led to her and I harmonizing on some Everley Brothers songs. We invited a young artist who was doing his vocal warm-ups in Greg’s bathroom (good acoustics) before his showcase in The Library Bar to sing along with us, but he didn’t know any Every Brothers songs…in fact, he had never heard of them. I am sooo old….

Joined by good friend and purveyor of fine merch for movies, TV and the like, Joel Rabinowitz (pictured here with Paul McCartney), Peter Kashur, Joel, his son Mike and I head out for dinner and end up at an amazing place called the The Over Draught Irish Pub, about a half a block West of the hotel on Front Street. Great food and drink at reasonable prices with on-top-of-it waitresses in short plaid skirts. Woot!

We weren’t there for 20 minutes when we were joined by Monica Slack,  Trish Knowles, singer/songwriter Pat Temple (funny story from Pat that you have to see to understand) and Prairie Oyster’s Russell deCarl. After moving to a semi private alcove, 2 hours of stories, laughter, and all around good companionship ensued. A great dinner with wonderful people, to me, the most important aspect of CMW.

After spending some time back in the lobby bar surrounded by the happy, smiling faces of this years CMW crowd, I had a great conversation with Boston lawyer Walter McDonough that didn’t last near as long as I wanted it to. I’ll be looking for a rematch tonight, speaking of which, I’m 3 hours late to the Royal York. Looking forward to Isle of Thieves at The Great Hall on Queen Street, Mike Robbins at the Tattoo Rock Parlour and the Gladstone, and maybe hitting the fun at the Rose and Crown on Yonge above Eglinton after midnight. Tomorrow night (Saturday) the exceptionately talented Ali Milner (pictured here) at the The Central on Markham Street in Mirvish Village at midnight, the Maritime music blowout at the Rivoli at 8, the Happy Pals at 4 in the afternoon and then Seb Agnello after 9:00 pm at Grossman’s on Spadina, and the Free Press at Club 279 above the Hard Rock Café on Dundas Square. I need a clone…and I’ve gotta get going.

The Weekend Roundup will be back to normal next Friday with A&R Online and all the other regular features. Have a great weekend, we’ll see you on Monday…

That’s enough for now. Email me at segarini@fyimusic.ca with your comments, complaints, and thoughts…and remember…don’t believe a word I say.

Bob “The Iceman” Segarini was in the bands The Family Tree, Roxy, The Wackers, The Dudes, The Segarini Band, and Cats and Dogs, and nominated for a Juno for production in 1978. He also hosted “Late Great Movies” on CITY TV, was a producer of Much Music, and an on-air personality on CHUM FM, Q107, SIRIUS Sat/Rad’s Iceberg 95, (now 85), and now provides content for radiothatdoesntsuck.com with RadioZombie, The Iceage, and PsychShack. Along with the love of his life, Jade (Pie) Dunlop, (who hosts and writes “I’ve Heard That Song Before” on RTDS), continues to write, make music, and record.