Ottawa BLUES Society Summer 2009 In this issue: Op-Ed — Digital Armageddon 3 Update on DAWG FM 4 OBS Board Bluesfest Picks 5 Bringing the Blues to Blues Series 8 Eastern Ontario Kat Danser’s Blues Pilgrimage 14 Ottawa Blues Cruise 17 CD Reviews 18 Postcards From The Road 26 Corporate Directory 30 In this issue … … lots of info about several popular Blues Series in the Ottawa area, heads-up on the upcoming Blues Cruise and this year’s ‘On the Road to Memphis’ local blues competition, update on the DAWG-FM saga, our very first Op-Ed column, the final installment of Kat Danser’s ‘Blues Pilgrimage’, the latest ‘Postcards From The Road’ from JW-Jones and … our CD reviewers went crazy and reviewed CDs from musicians appearing at Bluesfest, CDs from wonderful Canadian musicians and CDs from some up-and-comers you need to hear. 2 OBS CONTACTS OBScene Deadlines Website: www.OttawaBluesSociety.com Issue Copy Deadline Distribution Date E-mail: Please use feedback form on website Fall September 15 Online mid-October CORRESPONDENCE AND ADDRESS CHANGES OBS Mission Ottawa Blues Society Winter December 15 Early January 2010 P.O. Box 708, Station “B” To foster appreciation, Ottawa, ON K1P 5P8 promotion, preservation OBS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND DIRECTORS From the Editor … and enjoyment of the President:: Liz Sykes Starting last Fall, two issues of the blues in all of its forms Vice President: Mike Graham OBScene each year will be converted to Secretary: Gary Paradis electronic only (available on the OBS Directors : Brent Diab, Rob Dufresne, Ken Fraser, website at www.ottawabluessociety.com/ Mike Graham, Denis Paquin, Gary Paradis, Debra newsletters.php). OBS Mandate Thornington Treasurer: Gary Paradis The Fall 2008 OBScenE-news debuted (in To bring together the blues Legal Advisor: Alan Hirsch November – a little late!) and from the community in Ottawa through reports we’ve heard, it was a success. OBS COMMITTEE CHAIRS participation in blues events and Corporate Liaison: Ken Fraser The Fall newsletter was followed by the activities. Spring 2009 OBScenE-news, posted to the Membership: Rob Dufresne To work with the blues community website in early May. Merchandise: Denis Paquin in expanding awareness and Community Relations: Debra Thornington Your Editor likes the flexibility of the new appreciation of the blues. Volunteers: Brian Scott format, although, like most of you, I would To publish a newsletter to inform OBScene STAFF not want to ‘go electronic’ for every issue – ½ & ½ seems about right. the blues community of all aspects Editor: Liz Sykes of the local blues scene and events Layout & Design: Commeleon Inc. Members who have read the Fall & Spring Writers: Kat Danser, James Doran, Ken Fraser, issues are very enthusiastic about the as well as some highlights of the Kathy Gillespie, Mike Graham, Pat Hertel, JW-Jones, advantages of the online version – Canadian and international blues Denis Paquin, Alexandre Petit, Jim Roy, Liz Sykes, including tonnes of colour photos, and live scenes of interest to OBS Debra Thornington, Ed Torres, Grant Zwarych links to other websites for further Photographers: Roland Bouten, Kat Danser, Diane members. information on a wealth of topics touched Leduc Doran, James Doran, Jake Morrison, Deborah To provide timely blues information A. Routly , Liz Sykes, www.jw-jones.com on in the articles. to OBS members by a website & e- COVER PHOTO: The only downside is that our members mail. like to have a print copy of the newsletter OBScene is published quarterly by the Ottawa Blues To develop, maintain and increase Society, and is available via OBS membership. to read. You are encouraged to print the Spring & Fall issues are electronic only; Summer & online issues – they are in pdf format – for its membership as a means of Winter issues are printed and mailed. The opinions a more permanent record; if you have a fostering and supporting blues. expressed in the articles, reviews and critiques colour printer, you’ll get all those lovely To stage or assist in staging events contained in this newsletter are those of the photos in full colour. individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the that will foster appreciation and opinion of the Ottawa Blues Society. If you have a Please note that although the Summer and awareness of the blues. different opinion, please share it with us. Winter issues are actually printed in black To present a "Blues Heart" award ADVERTISING RATES and white, our copy layout is in colour. These issues are also posted to the to an individual who has made an Business card size $ 25.00 Quarter page $ 35.00 website archive, so if you view them online, outstanding contribution to the Third page $ 50.00 you’ll see the photos in full colour (and you blues. Half page $ 75.00 can print them too!) Full page $ 100.00 Liz Sykes 10% discount for four issues paid in advance. [email protected] Although op-ed refers to location in newspapers (opposite the editorial page), it has also come to mean ‘opinion-editorial’ and it is this role we want the OBS Op-Ed to play. We hope it will get you thinking about issues relevant to music and blues in particular. We encourage our readers to submit ideas or articles for future Op-Ed columns. Long-time OBS member Pat Hertel authored this first thought- provoking piece. Digital Armageddon – the 99¢ question 3 Unless you have been living in a cave deep in the Canadian only pay for that one song. The front-end effort put in by the woods, you may have noticed, just in passing that ALL media artist is much the same, but what if he/she sees only one or are going digital. Vinyl is now merely quaint, 35 mm film is two songs selling on the back-end? Mind you, your going the way of the dodo, VHS/Beta is dead and tape is out. distribution headaches are pretty well gone. You can get a cut Your newspaper will disappear. You will still have your from the latest JW oeuvre even if you are in Togo or Brazil. subscription but you will be reading it on your iPhone or a There is a further problem though. The day of record similar device. Books will follow, being replaced by a device companies backing artists is coming to a close (you OWE it to not much larger than a paperback that can access the entire yourself to see this film clip: http://www.spikedhumor.com/ contents of a Chapter's outlet. If you think that last one is articles/172371/Before-The-Music-Dies.html). We are in a science fiction, open your browser and Google "amazon world where just about anyone can create content with a bit of kindle". You will be disabused. software and minimal equipment, that represents more than What does all this mean? what Sun Studios ever had. I could bang something out in a few hours. It would be terrible. A little thing like lack of talent As we move to digital it is important to realize that WE ARE can be an impediment although software can correct even for CONCOMITANTLY MOVING FROM THE PHYSICAL TO THE this … "pop" music does it every day! VIRTUAL. This has profound implications for the music industry in general and artists in particular. It is something So, how does JW get heard above the cacophony? How will they have been slow in understanding. they know about him in Togo or Brazil? Good question. My generation still likes to own that CD, hold that newspaper Well, you have just downloaded the title cut from "Tiger In Your or book. This demographic will change. A CHILD BORN IN Tank" and out it goes to a million of your closest, most 2009 WILL NEVER BE A CONSUMER OF CDs OR ANY SIMILAR intimate friends. MonkeyJunk has a million-seller on its hands PHYSICAL MEDIUM. and the guys have made … 99 cents. The CD, with one foot in the physical world and one in the At this point some of you are thinking "copy protection". First, virtual (its content) is a crossover. It may last a little longer let us dispense with the idea of copyright. Once the rabbit is but it WILL die and the future is "downloads". In my view, this out of the hat and is reproducing all over the net you will never is a potential Armageddon for those who do not or will not or be able to stuff it back in the old chapeau. It is not practical to can not adapt. In the following I hope to show you why. go after thousands of people spread all over hell and gone. Right now you can buy the latest CD from MonkeyJunk (tell So, okay, let's discuss copy protection. While the artist may them I sent you ☺), take it home and "rip" it i.e. copy it to your see it as his/her saviour it will not be favourably viewed by the PC. Now each song is now a separate WAV file which can also user. It can mean that you can't copy the file for backup be converted to MP3 for your iPod or to some other format. purposes against loss. It may mean that you can't put it on Want to cop some of Tony's licks? Slow it down without even your iPod (if you downloaded to your PC) without actually affecting the key. Want to sing along with Steve but he's not buying another copy of something the user will feel he/she in your key? Change the key.