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CounterPoint at the Nuance 2008 show

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CounterPoint is the kind of band that you DO NOT want to miss seeing live at least once in your life. These guys are just that good.

I read their bio’s from the evenings program and it was so nicely done that I have decided to show you all what was in it.

Member Biographies taken from the Nuance 2008 program:

Rick Kazmirchuk, Keyboards & Backing Vocals.

In February of 2008 he went out on my own to start the CounterPoint project as I wanted to write a more aggressive style of progressive rock. I needed to find players with a high level of musicianship to pull this off which I am happy to say has been accomplished with Jeff Morrison handling vocal duties, Chris Noto on bass and Joe Pawslowski on drums.

Joined my first band (Purple Haze) at 15 playing cover material and some original. Worked with numerous original bands over the years (Meshiana Wish, The Wish, Spinal Tramp, Media, NRG) still writing and performing original material and playing more cover material that was progressive-oriented along the lines of SAGA and Genesis and played in a SAGA clone band in the early 1980’s.

In 1986 I joined CERAFIM and was the major contributor and influence to the writing of the band’s
music in the styles of progressive and contemporary rock. CERAFIM went on to record 4 well received CD’s and is still musically active through Internet radio stations and is distributed internationally by a number of independent record labels.

In January of 2005 I ventured into a new musical partnership as keyboardist with the Canadian original progressive rock band THE LAST PLACID DAYS OF PLENTY.

Chris Noto, Bass guitar

Chris has been playing bass guitar since 1972 and has been surrounded by music as far back as he can remember as his father Sam Noto is one of the best jazz trumpet players in the world.

Chris brings a unique style of bass to the band, a cross between prog rock greats such as Chris Squire (YES) and Greg Lake (ELP) as well as a be bop jazz influence from his father. Chris grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and moved to Toronto in 1975 and has been here off and on ever since.

Chris opened for the band Mountain in Las Vegas when he was a mere 21 years old. He has played with keyboardist Rick Kazmirchuk in NRG, CERAFIM and a brief stint with the Last Placid Days of Plenty before teaming up with Rick as bassist for the CounterPoint project.

Joe Pawlowski, Drums & Percussion

I’ve been playing drums for almost 30 years. My main influences are Gene Krupa, John Bonham, Carl
Palmer, Billy Cobham, Bill Bruford, Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy. I have been in a variety of different bands, from Rock, Jazz and Progressive.

I plan to give you a blow by blow description of their show in upcoming posts in the future. Stay tuned for more … I promise it will be more then worth the wait!

CounterPoint, Keep on Jammin’




Lorne Hind at the Nuance 2008 show

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Lorne Hind from LorneHind360, was a natural opening act to kick start the Nuance show. He is also listed as the only instrumental band to play that night as well!

Lorne Hind

Lorne began his musical career in his hometown of Whitby, Ontario. As they say, good things grow in Ontario! Sorry that was a bad one, but there is absolutely nothing wrong in his playing style at all.

There at the impressionable age of 9, he was enrolled in the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music. I started taking lessons from a teacher with these accreditation, but as you know some people are natural instructors and some … well not so much.

As a student of guitar, he was taught music theory, classical guitar and wanted to take what he fathered there and move on to learn about the electric guitar. This is where he found his first love.

He said that his knowledge of music theory was a little shaky in the beginning stages but, that didn’t stop him from forming a teenage garage band. Now let this be a life lesson here kidz, don’t think that you’re not good at playing any instrument at first try. If you keep up the love and the drive, you CAN and WILL achieve anything that you set your old brain box to do.

At the age of 16, his parents moved the family to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Now while residing in the USA, Lorne concentrated his efforts on teaching himself more about music theory and the structure of songwriting. This is something that I did, but the structure of songwriting is the only thing that has eluded me still to this date!

So while looking over his site, take note of when and where he is playing and go out and see him live. Like myself watching him for the first time, you’ll probably say, who the hell needs Jeff Beck when we have Lorne!

Keep on Jammin’

Nuance 2008 Music Festival

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This was a celebration of Art/Progressive music scene in Toronto. In it’s 3rd year, I find it was more than what was advertised in the Toronto media.

I once again proudly proclaim that this years 2008 Nuance Art Rock Festival was a massive success!

I just can’t say enough great praise for this event. If you live in the Toronto/GTA area and your a big lover of Progressive rock, then keep your eye out on all of my blogs for next years event. Having missed the last couple of years, I feel that I have lost an opportunity to see other bands of this great musical genre and help keep this torch alive for future generations to come!

So check out some of my links to see what it is that I am talking about!

Keep on Jammin’ Nuance

How to play the pipe organ

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Rick Wakeman shows off his church pipe organ skills at Lincoln Cathedral.

Ever since I was a young boy and went to St. Basil’s church to attend mass there, I loved hearing the pipe organ that they had. The longest pipe is over 70 feet long and when you stood beside it and the organist pulled out all the stops, the sound that emulated from it was overpowering to say the least! This is where the origins of the phrase “Pulling out all the stops” comes from!

I don’t write too many posts on classical music, but I do want to show you another section of my love for this mostly forgotten form of music.

Check out the guy in the background who has the envious task of working the multiple stops on the organ. I don’t know about you, but I’d be very nervous about trying to help the God Father of Progressive Rock adjust his sound, while he is playing just inches away from you!

Keep on Jammin’

Don Kirshners Rock concert

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Don Kirshners’ Rock concert brought us the best that Rock & Roll had to offer. It was the best and most viewed music show on television during my youth … and we thank you for it Don, wherever you are these days. This music variety show premiered on September 29, 1973 and sadly ended on January 1, 1981.

I can vividly remember staying home and watching this show countless nights, seeing musical giants strutting the stage! My mind would wander, imagining myself performing with these greats. I thought about how in the hell, what did these guys do to make the guitar sound like that? Did they sell their souls to the devil for unearthly musical powers?

At the time, Don Kirshners Rock concert was a land that I wanted to go to and be part of some how, some way. I now realize that this show helped me to become hooked on guitar playing.

The shows that really were embedded in my mind were Black Sabbath, Frank MarinoPoco, Brownsville Station , Kool and the Gang (as a young guitar player, these guys were out of sight man!), and John Klemmer (I distinctly remember this being my first exposure to jazz guitar playing).

Here is just a PARTIAL list of the musical who’s who of Rock, that played on the show, as well as helped forge my R & R experience for years to come!

Bad Company, Badfinger, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Black Sabbath, Brownsville Station, Joan Baez, Pat Benatar, Black Oak Arkansas, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Blue Öyster Cult, David Bowie, The Byrds, Harry Chapin, Cheap Trick, Jim Croce, Devo (one of my favorites!), The Doobie Brothers, Eagles
Earth, Wind & Fire, Edgar Winter Group, Electric Light Orchestra, Fleetwood Mac, Foghat, Golden Earring, The Guess Who, The Hollies, James Gang (the guy who lived down the street played in this band, Domenic Triano), Billy Joel, Johnny Winter, Kansas, B.B. King, Kiss, Mahogany Rush, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Frank Marino, Don McLean, Ted Nugent, New York Dolls, Billy Preston, Prince & The Revolution, Ramones (the ultimate wedding band, imagine the version of the bird dance!), Lou Rawls
The Rolling Stones, Todd Rundgren, Rush (my home town band from Toronto), Santana, Seals and Crofts, Sly & the Family Stone, The Stampeders, (love these guys!), Steely Dan, Steve Miller Band, UFO, Uriah Heep, War, Weather Report, and T.Rex. Holly shit batman, what a partial list that was!

I ask people at work if they remember anything about this show and most of the time I get these blank stares looking back at me. Is it just me, or was this show one of the greatest shows to watch as a kid?

God bless Don Kirshner, where ever you are!

Keep on Jammin’ Don

Gatemouth has got the real blues

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I came across the tragic tale of the late great Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown today and just had to share it with you all.

a musician’s musician who blended genres into what he called “American music, Texas style.”

It starts out with the great blues man and his life and times.

Frank Zappa was influenced heavily by this great guitarist, it’s one of those from the file of “I did not know that” . Then came Katrina that wiped out his beloved home in Slidell, La., on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain a suburb of New Orleans, and also took his beloved 1977 black Cadillac.

He then moves back to Orange county,his home state of Texas, awaiting for his New Orleans to right itself. Unfortunately while there he dies just 2 weeks later of lung cancer. He was later buried in an all-black cemetery located on the west side of the Sabine River called Hollywood Community Cemetery, but the story doesn’t end there.

Hurricane Rita moves into the picture at this point in his story. She now forces his casket, like many others, from the ground. The whereabouts of his remains are unsure.

Canada’s Streetheart

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I never knew this, but the band Streetheart was Canadian band! Hum, something else for us to be proud of!

These guys were the first big rock concert that I saw at Ivor Wynne Stadium (originally Civic Stadium) in Hamilton! This was when Under my thumb was huge back when I was younger!

The band had so many hits over the years that they just seemed to be one of those bands that stood the test of time.

They weren’t always in your face, but were there politely sitting in the background, waiting for their turn.

Songs that stick out in my mind were Action, Hollywood, Here comes the night and Snow White.

Anyone else heard of these guys? I’m not sure if they were just big in Canada, but remained mainly obscure in the rest of the world.

Keep on Jammin’

Guitar players finger nails

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If you look at the picking fingers of a guitar player, don’t be surprised if you see long finer nails. So the next time you see a guy with long finger nails on one hand only, ask him if he’s a guitar player before jumping to any conclusions, ok?

I am a guitar player who plays many different styles of music. From classical, folk to SOME country and blues. I use a pick for the most part, I use a pick in combination with my fingers and I also use straight forward finger nails.

When I started playing classical guitar seriously, my nails were great. I took gelatin capsules and some nail hardener that my aunt, and beauty salon owner, told me to use. Maybe when your young, you have stronger nails? Anyone aware of this stat?

So I don’t have fake nails on all the time. I tend to put them on only when I know I will need them to play live somewhere OR if I’m working on perfecting a piece of music that I am working on at that time. Your finger nails, like your skin, need to breath.

If you have them on all the time, it can do some serious damage to them. They will become brittle and break like crazy. Aesthetically, it can make your nails, and even you, look like your some kind of weird person who lives on the fringes of society. If your into that sort of look, then look no further.

When I have them off, I do a light buff and apply a nail moisturizer to them once in a while. I can’t stress this enough.

I’ve tried things like Ecrnal, Triple Strong Gel and even crazy glue. Bruce Cockburn uses crazy glue, but it just doesn’t work for me. I’ve talked to countless people and there seems to be no other solution out there for me. Does anyone out there have the magic bullet that I am searching for?

Keep on Jammin’

Is the Guitar Solo dead

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Is the guitar solo really dead? Good question.

Once a intricate portion of any rock song, it seems to have skipped a musical generation of today’s Top 40 scene. To some listeners, if you play one you are dating yourself. The bands today, if you can call some of them that, seem to think that they take up too much precious air time. What the hell are they thinking/smoking?

Depending on your musical upbringing, you might now be praying for a musical messiah! Remember when Disco was at the height of musical fashion and you were of the Rock & Roll ilk? Everyone wanted to dig disco an early grave. Maybe we should entertain this train of thought for some todays bands?

Today’s musical style seems to be influenced by the alternative and the grunge scene of the 90’s. They seemed to have got the ball rolling on the decline of the guitar solo. They concentrated more on the means and lyrics of their songs. Let’s not even venture off into the dance or hip hop scene for the time being!

As for the general listening public of today, the intricate aspects of this lost art is well … lost! Should we also blame the bands themselves? Do they think it’s too hard to come up with new ideas to share with us OR is it the music industry stunting it’s grow? Why isn’t anyone out there using this tried and tested rock and roll tool? Ok, just maybe the hair bands of the 80’s went way over the top (or just plain showing off!) on this one, but lets try and rethink this one a bit shall we?

I think that the guitar solo’s of the 90’s and even todays’ bands, are not as singable as the fore fathers of the guitar solo intended them (knowingly or not) to be. Everyone in the world can hum along to the guitar solo in Hotel California, Stairway to Heaven and that ilk. So why can’t they do this now?

The public now seems more fixated on that little plastic guitar thingy called Guitar Hero. I honestly thought at first, this was a good thing, but the jury is still out on that one. They have these blistering solo’s in their play list from past guitar greats such as Van Halen or Jimi Hendrix on this toy. I for one am waiting for the next wave of guitar greats to be added to the collection! What’s your take on this one?

LONG LIVE THE GUITAR SOLO!!!

For the love of God, Keep on Jammin’

Illness puts Yes tour on hold or does it

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The super group YES, had to cancel their latest tour, due to asthma attacks that will sideline the bands lead vocalist Ian Anderson.

His physician told him that he just has to rest for six months after suffering an asthma attack. Respiratory problems are nothing to take lightly! I’ve seen what toll it can take on people personally … I work in a hospital … remember that SARs thing, I do?

Anyway, because of his health issue, Ian Anderson is “deeply disappointed” but realizes one’s health must take priority!

“You can’t ever really replace Jon Anderson, because he’s been such a force in the music business,” Squire said. “We look upon his replacement as more of an understudy.”

So how does one replace this little iconic powerhouse of a vocalist … you simple go and search on Youtube like everyone else does. Da, Da, enter Benoit David.

His band is called CLOSE TO THE EDGE as well as the symphonic rock band Mystery, is from Montreal Canada!

Chris Squire, the bands bass player and only other founding member of YES, and YES is back on tour again! Chris found this guy on Youtube with his YES tribute band playing Close to the Edge and just like that, YES is back on the road!

Chris admits that it’s impossible to replace the diminutive singer, but they can have an under study.

So decide for yourself, worthy or not worthy?

I sure as hell wouldn’t want to fill those shoes … no matter what his size is.

Keep on Jammin’

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