The Weekend Roundup for September 18^th 2009

In Today’s DBAWIS: Ali Milner, the Canadian Music Café, A&R Online Volume 29, and our regular Friday features.

Before we get started…

You’ll notice that the header for this column now contains the date on which  it was posted, and a little info as to what the column contains. The reason for this stems from a conversation I had with one of the most dedicated music lovers I have ever known. During the second day of this year’s Canadian Music Café, he pulled me aside and suggested I put the date and some info on these columns so you’ll know if it’s a new one or not. Because I respect everything he has ever done, have experienced his ability to call ‘em like he sees ‘em, and his uncanny knack of knowing a great artist or song when he hears one, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t take his highly valued advice.

So, if this change is to your liking, don’t thank me, thank the one and only Richard Flohil. You’ll find him listening to music, discovering new artists, or letting the rest of us know about something good.

Thanks, Richard.

I was and am a big fan of today’s Queen of Industry. You might even say I had a crush on her back in the day. The first day I went to work at the old CITY TV building at 99 Queen Street East, she was the first person I saw once I got past the reception desk. I opened the door to the tiny, (and I mean tiny), elevator to go up to Much, and there was already someone in the lift. She was wearing a pale yellow skirt and jacket and an off white blouse. Her hair covered her face because she was demurely adjusting a garter to a stocking, and I don’t think she noticed me enter the elevator. When she straightened up, I saw who it was, and was too nervous to say a word. I’m not even sure if we ever really met. Here’s a great open and honest visit with a fine person, newscaster, hostess, and writer, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dini Petty…

FYIMusic FaqFile

Queens of the Industries

20 Questions

Name: Dini Petty
Birthplace: Kingston on Thames, Surrey , England
Current Business: Small business owner, speaker, writer/poet

01. What got you started:
My Mother Molly Petty was one of Canada’s first talent agents. I worked in the office and one day while posting the amount of a check on the card of a leading actress; I looked at how much money the woman had made in the past year and decided not to go into the business cause so few made any money at it.

I got a job at one of Toronto’s first commercial studios “Peterson Productions” (Dean Peterson directed the first TV commercial made in Toronto).

I started as a gofer ( go for this, go for that) and ended up producing TV commercials. Then the company closed its doors and I was out of a job. Needing to pay the rent and eat , I was a little frantic when a friend (Pegi Clarkson) suggested we go to lunch to figure out what I was going to do for a living and she would pay.

George’s Spagetti House was one of the places to go and upstairs was Castle George and there we were. As we sat down, three men came in from CKEY radio and sat down a few tables away. We knew one of the guys ( Tommy Vrandenberg) and he knew I had done some skydiving in my wild and crazy youth. During their luncheon they started discussing their big problem, which was finding a girl to fly a pink helicopter. Traffic reports were a new thing then and most radio stations had two helicopters and there was a helicopter/traffic reporting war going on. The PR guy at CKEY came up with the bright idea of finding a girl, putting her in a pink helicopter and getting her do traffic reports and also fly the helicopter.

At most radio stations there was a guy flying and a guy doing the reports but at CKEY Bob Carter did both. At some point during their discussion, Tommy looked at our table and said, “See that girl over there, that’s Dini Petty. I know she’s crazy enough to jump out of airplanes, maybe she’s crazy enough to fly a helicopter. As Tommy walked to our table, Pegi had just said, ” Well Dini, what are you going to do?”

” I don’t know Pegi, I can’t be an secretarial assistant, I can’t spell -  this is long before spell check – and I want to use my brains and be challenged. ” At that point there was a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and there was Tommy and I heard the words that changed my life:  “How would you like to be the girl in the pink helicopter.”

02. Mentors/Influences:
So many , if I saw /see someone doing something I like or admire I copy it. Fashion, manner of walking, speaking etc. etc. I am therefore
“a part of all that I have met.” The only real mentor I had was John Black Aird, former Lieutenant governor of Ontario. John would send me books that he felt I should read, it was years after his death before I finally got through them all.

03. Best decision(s) you ever made:
I said yes to Tommy and flew that pink helicopter for five thousand hours, the best thing I ever did.

04. Worst decision(s) you ever made:
Husbands. Yes that has an S on the end of it. Four in total. What the hell was I thinking?

05. Best working experience(s):
Living in the skies over Toronto for four hours a day; detached from the earth with the freedom that only pilots and birds can understand.

06. Worst working experience(s):
I worked on Third World Aid for several years, trying to get people to sponsor destitute children. I went to Romania shortly after the stories of what was really going on in the orphanages became public. I spent two weeks there, went into several orphanages and what I saw permanently scarred my soul and prompted this poem:

Why Do I Go ?

Why do I seek adventure, why does my soul need to roam,
To places dark and distant that leave me crying for home.
Must I go and see these things that disturb and rob my soul
and find myself looking once again into another black hellhole.

Is this part of my destiny, it this merely part of my fate?
To see the ugliest parts of life that thrive in the lowest state.
I find each time I go there, I arrive in stunned surprise
To learn one more life lesson, wrapped in an ugly disguise

What good comes of any of this, am I better somehow
Did I need to be humbled and tortured, did I need to learn to bow
To the forces of good and evil that breathe insanity into life
Is it simply my way of knowing that always there is strife.

I’ve seen so much of hell on earth, there are scars upon my soul
And I’ve heard the tales of others who’ve paid a greater toll
And still I ask the question, is this just the palette of life?
The other side of joyousness, the cutting edge of the knife.

Sweet misery you’ve come again, the arm of death is near
Another soul has lost their way in the never-ending fear
That one-day will call my name, and I too will be at last,
Ingrained in the memories of others, part of a fading past.

07. Biggest accomplishment(s):
Giving birth twice and raising two fabulous human beings. Anyone who has ever met them agrees. That and staying alive and healthy this long.

08. When the going gets tough.
I have failed so often at so many things besides marriages that I’m an expert at it and if you don’t know how to fail, you’ll never know how to succeed. Winning is easy, losing is when you get to know yourself.

09. Best advice I ever got:
“Don’t marry him.” But who listened???

10. Best advice I ever gave:
When I turned 60 I decided I was old enough to give advice. Here it is. I did mention I was a poet didn’t I?

Take Care of Yourself Love

Take care of yourself love,
because if you don’t
No-one else will.
My Grandmother’s advice,
Edith Petty, born 1900 – 1978
To which this granddaughter,
Dini Petty 1945- to who knows when.

Adds

Throw yourself at the world ,
seize every moment and opportunity.
when you fail, and you will fail,
Drop gracefully to the ground,
lie there for a moment or five
and do whatever you have to do.
Then get up, dust yourself off
and go at it again, again and again
until life itself sings through your soul.
Seek out the beauty in all things and in
all beings and remember that,
“by their actions you shall know them.”

Learn through stones and arrows,
ask every question that crosses your mind,
follow every thought that seems right to you.
Love every man worth your love.
Take a moment or two for every Tom
Dick,Harry and Jane
and a hundred thousand more moments
just for you.
Enjoy those dreams that do come true
and endure
But
what ever you do
where ever you go..
Take care of yourself love,
Because if you don’t,
No one else will.

Take care of yourself love
with the best hairdresser, accountant, lawyer
and financial information you can find
seek counsel from those you respect
but in the end make your own decision
based solely on what’s good for you.
Let people earn your trust,
don’t give it away
and let them earn your respect
every single day.
But
Take care of yourself love
because
if you don’t ,
no one else will.

11. Funniest story(s):
I had a running game of one-ups-man-ship with Stanley Clarke ( the bass player).  I had arranged with his wife that after dinner at their hotel a supposed waiter would call saying there was a problem with the dinner bill and Mr. Clarke needed to resign the bill. He let the man in, who got the signature, whipped a boom box out and stripped down to a g-string.

A year or so later, Stanley was playing the El Mocombo , I was among a crowd of hundreds. The performance started when suddenly two huge bouncers picked me up, carried me through the crowd , up onto the stage and deposited me in front of the microphone. Stanley leaned forward and whispered softly in my ear, “Sing bitch.” He won!

12. Worst story(s):
Oh God, which divorce shall I recall…

13. I quit…
flying helicopters because after five thousand hours flying time, which was fabulous I had also done 5-6 traffic reports each hour! I left CITY TV because I could not go any further and CTV offered me a national audience. I left CTV cause they asked me to.

14. I never quit because…
I think its important to know when to quit. Too many of us hang in too long for obtuse/ridiculous reasons. If it ain’t working, it ain’t working.

15. The most important thing to keep in mind is:
ENJOY THE JOURNEY.

16. Best boss(s):
hmmm… had some good ones Dean Peterson a legend in his time. Bert Cannings first news director. Ivan Fecan as my news director at CITY. Heather Ryall and Barb Williams, who produced the Dini Petty Show. Moses was worth knowing. Doug Bassett was/is a good soul.

17. Best employee(s):
The staff and crew of the Dini Petty show…amazing collection of talent who produced 2,800 shows of the longest running talk show in Canadian television history.
Bravo folks.

18. If I could change my industry…
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we actually supported each other.

19. Words of wisdom:
Slow down.
We go as fast as we can for as long as we can, chasing whatever carrot we are pursuing. Most of us don’t get enough sleep, are dehydrated, don’t eat properly and don’t exercise. Time is the issue, we all believe we don’t have enough time. There isn’t enough time. There will never be any more or any less time in a day then you have today, its how you view it that makes the difference. Realizing this a few years ago, I created this mantra for myself, ” I have all the time in the world.”
I recall being in a store and the woman serving me and several others was a little frantic, “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

I replied, “It’s OK, I have all the time in the world.” She stopped, turned to me with a puzzled look, ” No one’s ever said that .”
Slow down.
Slow down.

20. Current project/whereabouts:
One Woman Show ” A Broad View that I’ve done about 40 performances of around Canada. Next one, October 9, 2009 Capitol Theater in Port Hope, Ontario and then touring Eastern Canada come spring. I’m doing more writing, most recently VIE magazine’s premier issue which has two of my articles and considering published my poetry. I did publish the Queen the Bear and the Bumblebee, a children’s book and CD that did well. Of course its a poem, an epic adventure which takes me about 7-8 minutes to recite and I think its one of the best things I’ve done creatively. .
Nutrafem.ca , which sells an alternative product for women struggling with menopause. It saved my life and the lives of thousand of other Canadian women.
Oh and I getting married again.
Well I’m pregnant, and sorta have to!

My suggestion for one more question:

21. My greatest asset:
My sense of humour. If you can laugh at yourself, you’ll make it though anything.

Dini Petty

And now…

This Week’s Headlines:

• Desperate, Insecure Seat Filler Interrupts Star’s Award Acceptance Speech
• Penny Candy hits the Dollar Mark
• The Flintstones in San Francisco: They’ll have a Gay Old Time
• Report: Existence of Sarah Palin Questioned by Scientists
• Jar Jar Binks Takes His Own Life. Note Reads “Meesa Sorry”.
• Simon Smith’s Amazing Dancing Bear Eats Partner on “So You Think You Can Dance”
• Ghost of Elvis Presley Spotted in Knoxville Tennessee Waffle House
• Record: Kid Rock Goes 23 Days Without Punching Anyone
• Jesus Rides Dinosaur at Hialeah, Comes in Fifth
• Bono Quits Show Business Becomes Salvation Army Santa
• Twitter Hits 34.5 Million Twits
• Economy Downturn Causes Neil Diamond to Change Name to Neil Zircon
• Vegan Activists Mistake Lady Ga Ga for Ronald McDonald: Cops Charge 6 With Assault
• Spongebob Squarepants Loses Contest to Scott Towel
• LaToya Jackson Says Michael Still Looks “Fabulous”, No Room In Mouth For Third Foot
• New Social Community for Drunks Debuts on Internet: Facedbook
• Missing 10 Minutes of Nixon Tape Turns Up on Latest Lil’ Wayne CD
• Record: Sly Stone Shows Up For Gig 32 Years Late
• Conclusion Reached after 10 Year Study: Cars with Loudest Sound Systems Play Worst Music

…and them’s the headlines.

Ali Milner: Doin’ it the right way…

If you read Wednesday’s column, you know how knocked out I am about this young singer/songwriter from Whistler B.C. She is not a product of a phalanx of writers, producers, managers, label heads, choreographers, and assorted advisors. She is the product of a tight knit family, a love of music, natural talent nurtured and refined by hard work, discipline, and an extraordinary sense of taste and self for someone just recently able to graduate from Shirley Temples to Brandy Alexanders.

Far from naïfs, Ali and her mother, (who acts as her manager as far as I can tell), seem as relaxed dealing with the business of show as most mothers and daughters are having lunch together while trying to decide whether to keep shopping or go to a movie. Watching them interact with music industry types as well as other artists when they dropped into the TIFF Canadian Music Café showcases this week was refreshing as hell. No attitude, self aggrandizing or nervous self promotion. Just questions and genuine interest in the people they spoke with and what they had to say. Our Fail of The Week would do well to learn some manners from these two.

Ali is off to England for two weeks in October and comes back to Ontario to do some dates in November. In the meantime, and seeing as how Ali played the Canadian Music Café last year, she leads off this week’s A&R Online which features some of the artists that played it this year.

A&R Online Volume 29

Thanks to the always busy, gracious, and accommodating Joanne Smale and her cohorts, (Hi Leanne), at Planet 3 Communications, I was fortunate enough to be invited down to Club 279 on Dundas Square to enjoy the annual Canadian Music Cafe showcases that have been a part of the Toronto International Film Festival for the past five years. The organizers present a raft of artists to music supervisors for motion pictures and television over a three day period that has led to many Canadian artists music being featured on the big and little screen both here and in the U.S. A great idea, beautifully executed, and run a lot smoother than most of the shows I’ve been to with a fraction of the acts. Planet 3 has always been a first class operation, and Joanne Smale is one of the hardest working people I know. She also has a nose for quality, and, if you ask politely, a beer ticket or two.

To learn more about Planet 3 go here http://planet3com.net/

I wish I had more time, (and space), to have included more of what I heard this week, but here’s a cross section of what went on. Every one of these artists are unique. There were no ‘cookie cutter’ performances, proving that the rumours are true: there is more good music being made today than ever before by dedicated, hard working people that care more about the music than the fashion and fame…it’s just harder to find.

You can hear all of these tracks by going to www.radiothatdoesntsuck.com/myWimpy.html and click on ‘A & R Online Volume 29’ Just Google the artists names for more information about them.

Enjoy…

Ali Milner-Crystal Clear: The lead off single from Ali’s forthcoming album, an economic arrangement and honest production surrounds Ali’s smokey vocal and jazz tinged piano, and makes it an intimate performance of a song that could have been a hit in any of the last 8 decades. This young woman can write, play, and sing.

Spiral Beach-May Go Around (In A Mania): Live, this bunch is as much fun as a box of puppies. A constant flurry of motion spinning out songs that sound like Frank Zappa, the Ramones, and Devo racing through world-beats and mixing everything from Latin grooves to Bollywood cheek. Large fun.

Jets Overhead-Heading For Nowhere: I was totally surprised by this group. With a name like Jets Overhead, I expected another contestant in the the sound-alike rock band sweepstakes. What I got was a fine example of quality songwriting and excellent musicianship. There were times they reminded me of the Mamas and Pappas if they could have been a band instead of just a vocal group.

Terri Clark-If You Want Fire: Terri’s been around for at least a decade but sounds as fresh as she always has. You could feel the savvy in the room. I noticed the younger performers gathered ‘round to see how it’s done. One woman, one guitar, one great artist.

The Duhks-Mighty Storm: Again, I get an unexpected treat from a group that is rootsy, folksy, and hip without even trying. Great fiddle work, vocals, and everything else.

Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees-You Don’t Miss Me: The hands-down winner of the cool name award, (‘Thoughtful Bees’ comes from a line in an old Byrds tune), this band is way fun. They didn’t so much play songs, but rather made music with their instruments, Ruby’s voice, and electronic doo-dads and gizmos.

Ruby Jean had an open suitcase on a barstool which enabled her to sing harmony with herself, turn uh-ohs into chants, and layer her scatting using a great deal of interesting echo-co-co-co-coh… Fun to watch and, along with Spiral Beach, worthy of a Saturday morning cartoon show and a line of Lunch boxes.

Win of the Week

Fringe. What a show! Thursdays at 9 on Fox.

Fail of the Week

Obama called him a Jackass. I refuse to mention him by name. Personally, I think he is all Emporer’s New Clothes and an insecurity and self absorbed ball of fear and jealousy all rolled up in a baggy suit that lights up when he starts singing and makes sure you know where to look. He may never be a has been, but I honestly think he should be a never was. Seriously, why do we put up with this kind of shit from ‘celebrities’? Taylor Swift should have punched him in the throat…it wouldn’t have hurt his only talent: Self Promotion. At least when Mohammad Ali said he was The Greatest, it was true.

Parting Shot

Is this truth in advertising? Is it!? IS IT???!!!

Have a great weekend, 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, and The Segarini Band 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.