Although he won’t be able to be there to perform, songwriter and organizer Pete Otis, who’s recovering in hospital from a heart episode over the weekend, will be able to rest and relax knowing that the Purple Onion Reunion event he’s organized for this coming Sat. night, May 4, at El Mocambo is going to…

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Although I’ve never seen or heard of his acting like a bigshot or a prima donna star, the fact is that hugely talented singer and guitarist Phil Naro is a cut above most of the musicians who you’ll see on the GTA club scene on an average night. Never mind that he’s got one of…

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The Music City North collection of artists who’ve been appearing fairly regularly at TO’s Free Times Café and elsewhere are stepping up their game this spring. They offered several shows in April and have a full slate in May, including a May 8-12 festival at several venues. Tonight they have four acts at Free Times,…

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It’s normally a Thursday night when 10-piece Steely Dan tribute band Pretzel Logic gets together to perform. The group is comprised of talented members from various other hard-working bands including singer/saxist Peter Graham, vocalist/bassist Jay Speziale, the Johns brothers Tim & Dave, saxist Jim Lawlis, guitar sensation Bob McAlpine and superstar skins beaters Paul DeLong and…

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I know from first-hand experience that the Actors Fund Of Canada charity is a support organization for more than just those who appear on a theatrical stage or in front of a camera to make their daily bread. The organization, as its mandate at www.actorsfund.ca explains, is there as a backstop for any member of…

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After months of semi-final shows in locations across Toronto, the Superstarz Talent & Songwriting Competition is finally ready to crown a winner. Hosted by Valerie Shearman and Juno-winner Erroll Starr Francis, the contest, which offers a studio time and promo package valued at $25,000 as the grand prize, wraps up with a gala finale tonight…

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Remember the movie “The Mouse That Roared”? One of the best things about it, aside from the performance by Peter Sellers, of course, was how it showed that using skill and talent and combining them with courage and ingenuity can allow a seemingly small force to make a huge impact on a much mightier one.…

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It’s been many years since I’ve had occasion to write about longstanding Etobicoke room Jay Jay’s Inn at 2847 Lakeshore Blvd. W. in the Mimico area. For many years it was known as a bastion of Country music until about seven or eight years ago when owner Jack Cohen decided to transform it into a…

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The Pilot Tavern has endured through more changes than the average 69-yr. old resident of the Yorkville area. The bar at 22 Cumberland Ave. opened in 1944 and has catered to artists, rockers, hippies and, for the past couple of decades, Jazz fans and players. While other rooms highly publicized by the mainstream press have…

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Like a few other artists I know who’ve reached a point in life where they seem to have acquired an sort of avuncular outlook on their role in the music community, Bill Heffernan may be just too darn nice a guy to ever be a star. Guys like him and Herb Dale, Pete Otis or…

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Although their other individual bands are apparently still alive and well, veteran Rock guitarists Jim Cornell (Still Sunday) and Mike Murphy (Murphy’s Law) could do worse than to concentrate their energies on the new CMP combo they have together based on what I heard a few weeks ago. The group had the packed house at…

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Versatile songwriter and singer Valerie Shearman is getting ready to release a new cd next month, and is tuning up her Dreamcatchers band with a show tonight at Gladstone Hotel at 1296 Queen St. W. on the lip of Parkdale. It’s billed as a Rock gig but, like the forthcoming cd, it’s bound to contain…

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A dynamic stage presence with a versatile voice and sultry looks, Amanda Rose has been a mainstay of clubs in the west GTA area for the past several years now, with occasional forays downtown and elsewhere. I’m used to seeing her when I visit the Sunday jam at Southside Johnny’s in Etobicoke, where she’s a…

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New El Mocambo owner Sam Grosso has learned a thing or sixty in his 20 years as a club owner in TO’s hottest parts of town. One of them appears to be that there’s not a lot of point in doing things by half-measures, and that philosophy seems to be at work in the way…

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They may be called the Unknown Legends, but the new trio put together by drummer Benny Sanders that I heard at Black Swan tavern in early April is comprised of names that will be pretty familiar to longtime readers of Toronto Moon or to-nite before it. Sanders has gathered up veterans Frank Wilks and Sebastian…

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After drummer and promoter Jon Long helped make last Saturday’s monthly jam at NTB Lounge a huge success, the house band of the Etobicoke event is going east to repay the favour. The Chameleon group, which features Shawn Sage on bass, guitar and harp and Kevin Treffinger on six-string, will be the feature guest artists…

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