By Karen Bliss The Bloody Five frontman Kevin “KD” DeFreitas, a former Annex resident who is now a high school teacher living in suburban Toronto, is lining up a giveaway for his band’s show at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor St. W.) on Nov. 26. KD is happy to be playing in his former ’hood. “I […]
The Bloody Five play Lee’s Palace this Saturday
November 25th, 2011 · 3 Comments
Tags: Annex · Arts · People · General
Daycare Records brings new talent to the Toronto music scene
September 1st, 2011 · Comments Off on Daycare Records brings new talent to the Toronto music scene
By Síle Cleary They may be new in town, but Daycare Records are showing just how feisty they are by utilizing the tag line “babysitting your stupid band.” The record label is the brainchild of music journalist Karen Bliss (whose work is published in numerous publications, including the Gleaner, Billboard, RollingStone.com and MSN) and musician/producer […]
Tags: Annex · Liberty · Arts · General
Weekly music meet-ups: bringing pros and newcomers together
August 5th, 2011 · 5 Comments
By Karen Bliss A meeting at a local Starbucks with “Steal My Sunshine” hit maker Marc Costanzo from the pop group Len gave Barbara Sedun, EMI Music Publishing Canada’s senior vice-president, the idea to host a free weekly networking event in the Liberty area. She dubbed it “BS Fridays,” which stands for her initials and […]
Tags: Liberty · Arts · General
This year’s Junofest stacked with nominees
March 24th, 2011 · Comments Off on This year’s Junofest stacked with nominees
By Karen Bliss After moving around the country for the past nine years, the Junos will be back in Toronto on March 27th for their 40th anniversary show. As part of the week-long celebration, JunoFest will take over downtown this weekend with 120 acts—more than 50 of them Juno nominees—playing 20 venues. “I believe we […]
Annex gets taste of largest ever CMW
March 9th, 2011 · Comments Off on Annex gets taste of largest ever CMW
By Karen Bliss This year’s Canadian Music Week (CMW) is bigger then ever. “The live scene is coming back in Canada, Toronto particularly. I think that’s important. We are using close to 60 venues, so that’s reasonably healthy,” says Neill Dixon, CMW president. “The festival is very multi-national now. The majority of bands are from Canada, […]
Sam James makes good joe
November 19th, 2010 · Comments Off on Sam James makes good joe
By Karen Bliss The lattes at Sam James Coffee Bar (297 Harbord St.) are a work of art and it has little to do with the carefully poured rosetta design that decorates each cup. The staff that make the coffee are trained on the bean, the temperature, and the method, making each sip something to be savoured, […]
Watch the Watchmen: ‘90s frontman works to balance music and real life
September 12th, 2010 · Comments Off on Watch the Watchmen: ‘90s frontman works to balance music and real life
By Karen Bliss Danny Greaves, vocalist from the popular ‘90s rock band The Watchmen, still plays live with the band, but he’s been working on solo material, composing for film, and has ventured into the restaurant biz. The Watchmen—Greaves, guitarist Joey Serlin, bassist Ken Tizzard and drummer Sammy Kohn—broke up in 2003, but for the […]
Boast about The Coast
September 10th, 2010 · Comments Off on Boast about The Coast
By Karen Bliss Toronto indie rockers The Coast, who celebrate the release of its sophomore album, Queen Cities, on Sept. 23 at the El Mocambo, began life in the Annex. Frontman Ben Spurr and guitarist Ian Fosbery were living on St. George Street at the time and called their band The July 26th Movement. “We […]
Choosen ones: local acts worth checking out at NXNE
June 15th, 2010 · Comments Off on Choosen ones: local acts worth checking out at NXNE
By Karen Bliss More than 2,500 artists applied for a spot at the 2010 North By Northeast music festival, which takes place all over the city from June 14 to 20, so the 650 bands and solo acts that were accepted have obviously been given the thumbs up from the organizers. “We have a jury […]