Monkey business pays off

Ottawa blues band wins five Maple Blues Awards

By Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa CitizenJanuary 19, 2010

The thriving Ottawa blues scene received a shot in the arm at the Maple Blues Awards last night, thanks to MonkeyJunk. The Ottawa-based blues supergroup swept the 13th annual Canadian blues awards, scoring wins in five of the six categories for which they were nominated.

As a group, the trio landed the awards for entertainer of the year and electric act of the year. A pair of awards also went to singer-instrumentalist Steve Marriner (for male vocalist of the year and harmonica player of the year), while axeman Tony Diteodoro picked up the award for guitarist of the year. The awards were handed out during a gala ceremony at Toronto’s Koerner Hall.

The accolades are the latest in the flurry of attention that’s been snowballing around MonkeyJunk. Formed less than two years ago by old friends Marriner, Diteodoro and drummer Matt Sobb, the trio developed its distinctive no-bass boogie-blues during a few months of regular Sunday night gigs at Irene’s Pub.

The buzz developed quickly, and the band earned its first Maple Blues nomination last year, a surprise because they had yet to release a recording. They also competed in last year’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, where they placed third out of more than 100 acts, and spent the summer performing at festivals. They are also nominated for a prestigious U.S. blues award in the category of best new artist. Winners of the Blues Music Awards will be announced in Memphis on May 6.

MonkeyJunk’s eagerly awaited first CD, Tiger in Your Tank, has been out since last spring. Despite rave reviews, it did not capture last night’s Maple Blues award for best recording — that honour went to Songs From the Road by the late Jeff Healey.

There were two other multiple winners at last night’s gala. Toronto bassist-producer Alec Fraser was named the year’s best bassist and got the nod as best producer for his work on the Healey album. Ontario’s Chris Whiteley took home the

SOCAN songwriter award (for his work with Diana Braithwaite), the horn player of the year award and the Blues with a Feeling award, a nod for lifetime achievement.

Another Maple Blues winner with connections to the Ottawa blues scene was Suzie Vinnick, the Saskatchewan native who played bass in the Tony D Band when she lived in Ottawa. Now established as a solo artist, Vinnick won the Maple Blues award for female vocalist of the year, triumphing over Gatineau sweetheart Roxanne Potvin.

Marriner’s former boss, B.C.-based bluesman Harry Manx, reeled in the award for acoustic act of the year while the best new artist award went to the Toronto band Blackhorn. Fathead’s Bucky Berger was named drummer of the year, and Downchild’s Michael Fonfara earned the best keyboardist award. Eclectic blues icon Taj Mahal was voted international artist of the year.

Also honoured last night was Ed Torres, one of the businessmen behind DAWG FM, Canada’s first all-blues radio station, which will launch in Ottawa in June. Torres was rewarded with the blues-booster award.

The Maple Blues Awards are organized by the Toronto Blues Society, with a mandate to promote blues music across Canada and recognize excellence. Nominees are selected by a panel of experts. Voting was open to any resident of Canada during a specified period.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

It is noteworthy that Corus recently applied for a new all news radio station in Ottawa.

From globeinvestor.com

Media company says AM Info 690 and AM940, being shut Friday, are not profitable or viable

Ross Marowits

Friday, January 29, 2010

Montreal - Two more Montreal AM radio stations are being silenced after Corus Entertainment Inc. announced Friday it was closing the stations in a move that will cost 10 employees their jobs.

The media company said AM Info690 and AM940 were not profitable or viable in the current economic climate and would cease operations at 7 p.m. Friday.

Corus said it unsuccessfully tried to increase audience and revenues at both stations while operating them as efficiently as possible.

“We put tremendous effort into trying to find the right format and content to grow our audience base and operate profitably, but after years of effort it is clear these AM stations are not viable,” said Mario Cecchini, vice-president of Corus Quebec.

The operating licences for the two stations will be returned to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

The layoffs affect eight employees at Info690, including three journalists and two traffic reporters. One on-air host and a technician will be cut at AM940 Montreal’s Greatest Hits. The news station had previously eliminated 12 newsroom jobs in February, 2009.

Five other journalists and three traffic reporters at Info690 will keep their jobs, moving over to the newsroom at Corus’ 98.5 FM station. CorusNouvelles, as the newsroom at Info690 was known, will continue to provide news to the entire Corus Quebec network, Corus said.

Info690, whose call letters are CINF, took to the airwaves in December, 1999, after it was purchased from Metromedia CMR. The station replaced CKVL which opened in 1946.

AM940 switched to playing greatest hits from an all-news format last year. The station opened in the 1920s as CFCF Radio 600 before changing radio frequencies and owners.

The closings leave Corus with just one AM station in Quebec: CKAC Sports.

In Montreal, there remain two AM stations owned by large broadcasters, a multicultural channel and a few specialty stations.

Corus, Quebec’s largest private broadcaster and employing 466 people, reaches more than 4.5 million listeners weekly through several stations across the province, including CKOI.

Corus Entertainment recently filed a preliminary prospectus to raise up to $500-million in new debt securities.

It operates a broad array of specialty cable channels, including YTV, Treehouse, W Network and Cosmopolitan TV, as well as Movie Central and HBO Canada in Western Canada.

The company has said it may be interested in buying some of the specialty channel assets of CanWest Global Communications Corp., which is restructuring its business under court protection from creditors.

Corus and CanWest are partners in the Food Network Canada and thriller genre-focused DuskTV .

© Canadian Press

How Canadians listen to radio

The following information is a summary of the 2010 Foundation Research study results. An RMB proprietary study, Foundation Research demonstrates radio’s continued relevance in a complex and evolving media market. Key findings from the 5th annual survey show radio is an integral part of Canadians’ daily life. Consumers tune in while using the internet, driving, working, and most importantly, on their way to shop. The study also provides relevant data on radio’s ability to drive consumers to the web, the use of radio station websites, and much more.

The study was was based on a telephone survey of 1,060 English Canadians representative of the national population considering age and regional distribution.

Canadians spend over 2 hours daily with radio

Radio continues to be an integral part of Canadians’ daily life. Adults spend an average of 2 hours and 12 minutes with radio daily, equal to the results from the Foundation Research study published in January 2006. Radio accounts for approximately 1/3 of adults’ total daily time spent with media, and share increases for working adults and Canadians living in households with above average income.

Radio is the most popular medium during work day.

For a typical work day radio is the dominant medium; on average adults listen to broadcast radio for 2 hours and 14 minutes accounting for 1/3 of total media. When you include time spent with online radio share increases to 40%.

Over 80% report same or more time spent with radio.

83% of adults report that their time with radio remained the same or increased during the past year. Over the past 4 Foundations Research studies, radio and the internet have had the highest percentage of respondents indicating that their time had remained the same or increased, with an average of 84% and 86% respectively.

82% or more of key target audiences felt their time with radio had increased or remained the same.

More time in car and at-work listening drive increase.

More time spent in the car and the ability to listen at work are the primary reasons for increased radio listening.

Radio listening increased significantly

Listening happens anytime, anywhere. Results from 2010 indicate that daytime listening has increased significantly over the past few years.

Activities and lifestyle influence listening habits.

Radio accompanies every activity, adults surveyed listened while running errands, commuting, relaxing at home or during work. Lifestyle influences radio listening; specific audiences are above average listeners during activities that are part of their daily routine.

Radio station websites picking up major steam

Canadians interact with their favourite radio stations online. 39% of respondents have visited a radio station website. This response has been consistent since the initial Foundation Research Study was published 4 years ago.

Young Canadians, business professionals and adults in households with above average income are more likely to visit a station website.

Streaming local stations now common

Close to 1/3 of adults have streamed radio online, with 58% of those streaming local radio stations. The majority of Canadians listen to online radio at home (69%) with work being the second most popular location (23%).

Young Canadians are above average when it comes to online tuning; 46% report that they have listened online, and 60% of those listening online are tuned to a local station at least once a month.

Implications for advertisers

Radio is a versatile medium that offers advertisers consistent market presence for their brands - listening is ubiquitous, frequent and in tune with the Canadian lifestyle.

Ottawa, January 24, 2010

By Liz Sikes, President, Ottawa Blues Society

Good early morning, Ottawa Blues Society members, I just got back to the Doubletree Hotel from the 2^nd round of semi-finals at the International Blues Challenge here in Memphis. 

The finalists from each venue were announced about an hour ago.  One band from each of the eleven ‘band’ venues and one solo/duo act from each of the eight ’solo/duo’ venues goes on to play Saturday/tomorrow (actually later today!)  Solo/duo finals in the afternoon; band finals in the evening.

There are two Canadians in the finals this year … Matt Anderson, representing the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival is a finalist in the solo/duo category and the Jesse Greene Band, representing the Ottawa Blues Society, is a finalist in the band category!

We’ve now seen two great sets from our band, and we look forward to another tomorrow evening at the legendary Orpheum Theatre here in Memphis. 

We are very proud of Jesse, Marc, Luke, Dan & Jason.

From Memphis,

Liz, Mike, Gary & Vicki

For Immediate Release
 
OTTAWA’S MONKEY JUNK BIG WINNERS AT MAPLE BLUES AWARDS

(January 19, 2010) Toronto, ON –Legendary bluesman Son House is quoted as saying “I’m talking about the blues now, I ain’t talkin’ about no monkey junk”. Such was not the case last night at the 13th annual Maple Blues Awards, held at Koerner Hall in Toronto. Ottawa based blues band Monkey Junk were the big winners with five awards; including Entertainer of the Year, Electric Act of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year (Steve Marriner), Guitarist of the Year (Tony D) and Harmonica Player of the Year (Steve Marriner).

Musician Ken Whiteley presented Chris Whiteley & Diana Braithwaite with the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award. Chris Whiteley was the also winner of both the Horn Player of the Year award and the Blues With a Feeling Award. Toronto’s Blackburn were awarded the New Artist of the Year. The late Jeff Healey’s “Songs From the Road” won Recording of the Year, presented to producer Alec Fraser, who recently recovered from a serious illness. Fraser also took home the Bassist of the Year award. A stunning performance with the Maple Blues Band from Harry Manx followed his win for Acoustic Act of the Year.

Saskatchewan native Suzie Vinnick picked up female vocalist of the year and also presented, along with Toronto Blues Society president Derek Andrews, the Blues Booster Award to DAWG FM’s Ed Torres.  DAWG FM will launch the nation’s first all blues radio service in Ottawa this June.

A celebration of Canadian blues music; the Maple Blues Awards is Canada’s only National blues awards program. Its goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field.  

2010 Maple Blues Award Winners

Entertainer
Monkey Junk

Electric Act
Monkey Junk

Acoustic Act
Harry Manx

Male Vocalist
Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk)

Female Vocalist
Suzie Vinnick

New Artist
Blackburn

Recording
Jeff Healey – Songs From The Road
Producer – Alec Fraser

International
Taj Mahal

Guitarist
Tony D (Monkey Junk)

Harmonica Player
Steve Marriner (Monkey Junk)

Piano/Keyboard
Michael Fonfara (Downchild, Maple Blues Revue)

Horn Player
Chris Whiteley

Drummer
Bucky Berger (Fathead)

Bassist
Alec Fraser

Songwriter
Chris Whiteley & Diana Braithwaite

Blues Booster
Ed Torres

Blues With A Feeling
Chris Whiteley

 
Contact:
Sarah French
Sarah French Publicity
sarah@sarahfrenchpublicity.com | 416-566-4188

Tim Des Islets                         
Toronto Blues Society
info@torontobluessociety.com | 416-538-3885

I came across this interesting article about the Ottawa radio market preparing for the launch of our radio station:

CHUM shakes up Ottawa radio with cancellations; Programs dropped as part of plan to fight new competitors

The Ottawa Citizen

November 25, 2009

Zev Singer

Ottawa radio listeners will notice changes in the programming lineups of CFRA and other CHUM Radio stations as the company gets ready to battle new competitors in the city’s radio market.

Richard Gray, CHUM Radio’s vice-president and general manager, confirmed Tuesday that CFRA’s entire Sunday schedule had been dropped, as well as the weekday evening show of Ron Corbett.

Among the cancelled Sunday shows are those of Rabbi Reuven Bulka, Gerry Cammy, Dr. Barry Dworkin, and Jim Hurcomb and Al Fleming (Middle-Aged Bald Guys).

The Sunday Best show, a Sunday morning program on The Team 1200, was also cancelled. Several other staff members at CHUM Radio were also let go, including two copy writers, an engineer, Majic 100 announcer Drew Corley, and CFRA and TEAM 1200 program director Dave Mitchell. Five employees will have their hours reduced.

Gray said the moves were not motivated by cost savings, but were intended to strengthen the on-air product to face new competition.

“You have to adapt in order to grow and to thrive. Astral and Torres Radio are both licensed to launch new stations in here in early 2010. While both are FM music stations and have little to do with competing directly with CFRA, they will very much be aiming to aggressively draw listeners and advertisers away from the CHUM Radio Ottawa group of stations that includes Majic 100, Bob FM, CFRA and The Team.”

The new programming lineup is being finalized over the next day or two, Gray said, and will be announced within a week or two.

Mitchell, 52, who worked for the company for 30 years, said he was surprised by the management shuffle that has left him out of a job.

“I’m just going to relax and enjoy the (Christmas) season with the kids, and we’ll figure out what to do later on,” he said.

Bulka, whose Sunday night show was on the air for 15 years, was characteristically upbeat, even with the idea that Gray felt the show wasn’t fresh enough anymore.

“He may be right. Who knows? Fifteen years is a long time,” Bulka said. “It wakens you up to the idea that nothing is forever.”

The New 101.9 DAWG FM today announced that it has submitted an application to the CRTC for a new transmitter location and resulting change in service contours.

“We needed the change becasue negotiations with our original Landlord could not be concluded within a reasonable time frame. The rent amount demanded by the Landlord was extrememly high and there was no guarantee that the building tennants would even approve,” said Frank Torres President of DAWG FM.

“Our new location still does not adequately cover our entire service area but it is an existing telecommunications and broadcast site and the Landord is quite accustomed to our type of operational needs.”

Despite the change, DAWG FM is still scheduled to launch in the summer of 2010 and has requested an expedited process from the CRTC.

For Immediate Release

ED TORRES FROM THE NEW 101.9 DAWG FM WINS THE BLUES BOOSTER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Toronto, ON January 5, 2010 — The Toronto Blues Society has announced the recipient of the Blues Booster of the Year award, a very special Maple Blues Award honouring outstanding contribution to the Canadian Blues industry.

This years Blues Booster of the Year award goes to Ed Torres, one of the founders of all blues radio station 101.9 DAWG FM. “It’s a great honour to receive this award on behalf of the staff of The New 101.9 DAWG FM. The real boost for the Blues and all of the Canadian Artists that make it their life’s work starts June 1, when we light up our full service commercial Blues FM station in Ottawa. There’s a real buzz in the Ottawa radio scene, advertisers are excited and the applications and CD’s are flooding in,” said Torres.

What was to be Canada’s only all blues station based in Ottawa and Gatineau, DAWG FM was licenced by the CRTC in August 2008, only to have the licence sent back for reconsideration. Torres was instrumental in launching an exhaustive and expensive year-long campaign to have the licence upheld and to pave the way for all Blues radio formats across Canada.

In August 2009, the CRTC re-issued the licence for DAWG FM and the station is set for launch in the summer of 2010. “We were very pleased to get the licence re-issued by the CRTC. The appeal of the first licence was emotional and exhausting. It’s unfortunate that we’ve been delayed almost a full year but as it was explained to us by countless politicos that we met along the way: democracy isn’t always efficient but in the end it works. The excitement of our June 1st launch date is building hourly. The CRTC has acknowledged that Blues is not just an essential North American art form but that it can be the basis of a financially viable commercial FM station. This paves the way for the first Blues radio station in Canada.”

Ed Torres will receive the Blues Booster of the Year Award at the 13th annual Maple Blues Awards gala on January 18 in Toronto.

What: The Maple Blues Awards
Where: Koerner Hall - The Royal Conservatory (273 Bloor Street W., Toronto)
When: Monday, January 18, 2010, 7:00PM
Website: www.torontobluessociety.com Tickets: $20.00 - $28.00 available at www.rcmusic.ca or 416.408.0208