The Rankins Online Website - Articles 2002 (January to June) - The Official unOfficial Website of the Rankins

One of Cape Breton’s most acclaimed songwriters and a seminal bluegrass band from Nova Scotia will be among this year’s recipients of the Stompin’ Tom Awards at the East Coast Music Awards.

Leon Dubinsky was a member of the ’80s Cape Breton rock band Buddy and the Boys. Through his involvement in that influential band, and his work with the musical theatre Rise And Follies of Cape Breton, Dubinsky penned several tunes, including the classic Rise Again, made famous by Raylene Rankin.

Dubinsky has also written music for Rita MacNeil, Matt Minglewood, Natalie MacMaster, John Campbelljohn, The Men of the Deeps and various choral groups.

Back in 1961, brothers Bill, Larry and Ken Boutilier began playing bluegrass music in and around Halifax. After teaming with banjo picker Vic Mullen, the group formed as the Boutilier Brothers, and went on to record the first bluegrass album produced in Atlantic Canada. Over the years, the band performed at many festivals through the region and beyond.

Other recipients of this year’s Stompin’ Tom Award will be Newfoundland accordion pioneer Wilf Doyle, P.E.I.’s Arthur Large and New Brunswick fiddler Matilda Murdock.

The Stompin’ Tom Award is presented annually to deserving musicians who have made a life-long contribution to the musical community in Atlantic Canada.

Stompin' Tom tribute for Dubinsky, Boutiliers

Unsung heroes to be honoured at ECMA's

January 15, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Cooke / Entertainment Reporter

Eastern Shore bluegrass pioneers the Boutilier Brothers and Cape Breton songwriter Leon Dubinsky are among the recipients of the 2002 Stompin' Tom Awards. The honours, meant to celebrate the unsung heroes of Atlantic Canadian music will be given out at this year's East Coast Music Awards conference in Saint John on Feb. 1.

Other recipients include Newfoundland accordionist Wilf Doyle, the late P.E.I. pianist Arthur Large and New Brunswick fiddler Matilda Murdoch.

Bill, Larry and Ken Boutilier began playing bluegrass music together in the early '60s, along with fiddle legend Vic Mullen, and as The Boutilier Brothers made a name for themselves nationally on the festival circuit. They also recorded the first Atlantic Canadian bluegrass album, the first of many for the trio.

Today their music has been carried forward by another generation, as children of Larry and Ken Boutilier perform in the ECMA-winning Birchmountain Bluegrass Band.

Leon Dubinsky will forever be remembered as the author of the Cape Breton anthem Rise Again, which defines the very essence of island character and determination.

However, for 40 years, Dubinsky has been a vital force in music and theatre in Cape Breton, as a member of bands Home Brew and Buddy and the Boys, and as music director of the Rise and Follies of Cape Breton Island in the 80s.

Dubinsky's songs have been recorded by a long list of performers, including Rita MacNeil, Matt Minglewood, Natalie MacMaster, John Campbelljohn, Men of the Deeps and various choral groups. Today he continues to write and record music capturing the simple truths about life on Cape Breton Island.

The Stompin' Tom Awards were named after the iconoclastic P.E.I. performer who accepted the ECMA's Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, on one condition: that an award be created to honour musicians who have made a long-term contribution to the East Coast music industry and have paved the road for the many successful Atlantic artists of today.

Each year, the Stompin' Tom Award honourees are chosen by a committee of the ECMA Board of Directors with consultation from regional folklorists. The musicians chosen are recognized at the Industry Brunch during ECMA weekend.

Top radio acts honoured

January 16, 2002 - Victoria Times Colonist

By The Canadian Press

Toronto (CP) - Sum 41, Sugar Jones, the Ennis Sisters and Joydrop were among the nominees announced Tuesday for the 2002 Canadian Radio Music Awards.

The CRMA's are handed out annually by English-language private radio broadcasters.

Nominees are selected - as first-time charted artists - based on radio play. Winners are determined by votes from radio station program and music directors and on-air personalities from across Canada.

This year's awards gala will be held March 2 in Toronto and will be hosted by comedian Rick Mercer.

Other nominees include singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman, former Junkhouse frontman Tom Wilson, hip-hoppers Baby Blue Soundcrew and Rankin Family member Jimmy Rankin.

"The nominees we're announcing today for the 2002 CRMA's represent our country's new talent and the dedication of broadcasters to promote these upcoming music stars," said Gary Slaight, Standard Broadcasting Corp. president and co-founder of the five-year-old awards.

Performances at the show will include the Ennis Sisters, rockers staggered Crossing, rapper Jelleestone and Sugar Jones, the all-girl group created for the TV program Popstars.

Jimmy Rankin, Ennis Sisters up for 2002 radio awards

January 16, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO (CP) - Sum 41, Sugar Jones, Jimmy Rankin, the Ennis Sisters and Joydrop were among the nominees announced Tuesday for the 2002 Canadian Radio Music awards.

The CRMAs are handed out annually by English-language private radio broadcasters.

This year's awards gala will be held March 2 in Toronto and will be hosted by comedian Rick Mercer.

"The nominees we're announcing today for the 2002 CRMAs represent our country's new talent and the dedication of broadcasters to promote these upcoming music stars," said Gary Slaight, Standard Broadcasting Corp. president and co-founder of the five-year-old awards.

Performances at the show will include the Ennis Sisters, rockers Staggered Crossing, rapper Jelleestone and Sugar Jones, the all-girl group created for the TV program Popstars.

THE NOMINEES

ROCK

Best new solo artist: Hawksley Workman, Striptease; Tom Wilson, Dig It; Vann, Buzz Killer

Best new group: Default, Wasting My Time; Joydrop, Sometimes Wanna Die; Sum 41, Fat Lip; Staggered Crossing, Further Again; Static In Stereo, Before My Time

ADULT CONTEMPORARY

Best new solo artist: Blaise Pascal, Rush; Chin, Anything; Jimmy Rankin, Followed Her Around; Maren Ord, Sarah; Vann, Cherish Your Youth.

Best new group: Ennis Sisters, It's Not About You; Joydrop, Sometimes Wanna Die; Smoother, East Side; Sugar Jones, Days Like That; Wave, California

CONTEMPORARY HIT RADIO

Best new solo artist: Chin, Anything; Jelleestone, Money; Jordy Birch, Moola Moola; Maren Ord, Sarah; Ricky J, No Means No

Best new group: I.D., Busted; Joydrop, Sometimes Wanna Die; Smoother, East Side; Sugar Jones, Days Like That; Wave, California

COUNTRY

Best new group or solo artist: Aaron Lines, Love Changes Everything; Ennis Sisters, It's Not About You; Jake Matthews, Do You One Better; Jimmy Rankin, Followed Her Around; LJ Daylee, What Do They Know

DANCE/HIP-HOP/RHYTHMIC

Best new group or solo artist: Baby Blue Soundcrew, The Day Before; Jelleestone, Money; Kardinal Offishall, Old Time Killin'; Sugar Jones, Days Like That; Swollen Members, Fuel Injected

ECMA's cram talent into Feb. 3 show

January 17, 2002 - Halifax Daily News

By Marla Cranston

This year’s East Coast Music Awards show aims to overwhelm the rest of Canada with the dazzling range of talent here, with an unprecedented number of musical performances.

Announced yesterday, the gala’s entertainers are many of the region’s best: top award contenders Bruce Guthro and Jimmy Rankin, Natalie MacMaster, francophone singer Danny Boudreau, Newfoundland’s Ennis Sisters, and smooth jazz trio Cindy Church, Joe Sealy and George Koller. A special bluegrass segment features the Birchmountain Bluegrass Band, Blacks Mountain and Bluegrass Diamonds.

“One of our objectives this year was to cram as much music as possible into this two-hour slot, because we know that a lot of people in this country tune in to hear what’s going on in the East Coast,” says CBC-TV’s Geoff D’Eon, coproducing the show with Michael Lewis and Jac Gautreau.

With two Geminis under its belt for Canada’s best music special, this year’s ECMA show will broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 3 from Saint John’s Harbour Station at 6 p.m. on CBC-TV and CBC Radio Two.

Rising stars invited to perform are Halifax rockers The Joel Plaskett Emergency and The Jimmy Swift Band, sophisticated pop band MIR, P.E.I. stepdancing sensations Celtitude, Newfoundland’s RASA and Colleen Power, and New Brunswick’s Chris Colepaugh and the Cosmic Crew.

In a fun twist, eight savvy talkers will share hosting duties this year: comedy actors Rick Mercer, Jonathan Torrens and Bette MacDonald, Newfoundland songbirds Kim Stockwood and Damhnait Doyle, Chris Murphy of Sloan, country singer Julian Austin, and Shelagh Rogers, host of CBC Radio One’s This Morning.

“The idea is to generate a sense that the East Coast is a talented cultural family, and the more talented faces we can invite to this family gathering, the better a reflection it is to the nation,” D’Eon says.

It’ll make for great TV watching, but if you’d rather see it live, you can still get tickets by calling 506-657-1234 or 506-674-4100.

Rankin hangs out with Eric Lindros

January 17, 2002 - Halifax Herald

Cape Breton-born singer-songwriter Jimmy Rankin is somewhat of a hockey fan.

Last Saturday night, he was in Philadelphia with his friend Peter Shoniker of Toronto to take in the NHL game between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.

While in Philly, Rankin had dinner with his friend Eric Lindros the night before the game, and was a guest of the team on the night of the game.

Rankin was nominated on Tuesday for two Canadian Radio Music Awards and is up for six ECMA Awards, to be handed out in Saint John on Feb. 3.

Before the ECMAs, Rankin will be in concert at the Marquee on Jan. 31 and will be performing an acoustic set that day at noon at HMV in Halifax.

ECMA Awards broadcast to reveal region's diversity

Program to air at 6pm Feb. 3

January 17, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Andrea Nemetz / Entertainment Reporter

Geoff D'Eon and Michael Lewis say trophies are important but what people really want during the East Coast Music Awards show is more music.

"The entertainment value of the show resides in the musical performances," says D'Eon, who with Lewis produces the show for CBC-TV. Jac Gautreau works with the duo producing the show for the East Coast Music Association and the trio won back-to-back Gemini Awards in 2000 and 2001 for the show in the best music variety program category.

"This year's show is full of music of all kinds, we're proud to be able to stuff so much in."

An unprecedented number of musical acts will perform during the two-hour show that will be broadcast live from Harbour Station in Saint John, N.B., at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3.

The show will air earlier this year because the third part of the Random Passage mini-series is on CBC at 8 p.m. that night.

Established performers include queen of the fiddle Natalie MacMaster, singer/songwriter Bruce Guthro who has seven ECMA nominations, Francophone artist Danny Boudreau, jazz artists Cindy Church, Joe Sealy and George Koller, Jimmy Rankin, who is nominated for six ECMAs and Newfoundland's Ennis Sisters, who have four nominations.

A Bluegrass extravaganza featuring ECMA-nominated Birchmountain Bluegrass Band, Blacks Mountain and Bluegrass Diamonds is scheduled, along with a slate of rising stars.

Newcomers include triple-nominee Halifax rockers The Joel Plaskett Emergency, St. John's singer-songwriter Colleen Power, alternative group The Jimmy Swift Band, New Brunswick's Chris Colepaugh and The Cosmic Crew, new artist nominee RASA from Newfoundland with a blend of soft rock and jazz, P.E.I. Celtic singers and dancers Celtitude and alternative pop band Mir.

"Our mandate, from the first time we found out we were producing the show (three years ago) was to show all the music diversity of the Maritimes," says Lewis, who lived for a number of years in Toronto. "When people think of East Coast music everyone thinks fiddle, fiddle, fiddle. I love fiddle music, some of my favourite musicians are fiddlers, but we also have rock, jazz, bluegrass and country."

The Bluegrass showcase is new this year as are the jazz sounds of Cindy Church.

"We've had classical music for two years on the show and got a standing ovation for an opera singer and people were wowed by a classical cellist," says D'Eon, noting the show also features pop, Celtic fusion and alternative bands. "What it shows is people are receptive and open to all forms of music."

Also new this year is a multi-host format. Hosts include multiple Gemini Award winner Rick Mercer, Rideau Hall star Bette MacDonald, multiple ECMA-winning Damhnait Doyle, broadcaster Shelagh Rogers, host of CBC Radio One's This Morning, bassist Chris Murphy from the nominated band Sloan, 2001 country artist of the year Julian Austin, Newfoundland singer/songwriter Kim Stockwood and last year's host Jonathan Torrens.

"There's a lot of talent in the Atlantic provinces and we've put together a fine mix between TV performers, notable personalities and musicians," says Lewis.

"We're trying to convey a sense of cultural community with more faces," says D'Eon about the multi-host format.

"We want to convey to the rest of the country that this is a region full of funny writers, talented comedians and brilliant musicians in one big bash on national TV."

Listening to us was Gzowski's great talent

Famed broadcaster made many friends in Nova Scotian travels

January 25, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Chad Lucas

Peter Gzowski's name invokes all sorts of memories among his friends: stories of yodelling, golf and muttering dragons.

But the broadcasting legend will best be remembered as a great listener, a steward of Canadian culture and a true gentleman, admirers and former colleagues from Nova Scotia said Thursday.

"He'd make you feel so special, like he was glad just to know you," said singer Laura Smith.

Mr. Gzowski helped her earn a national name when he praised her version of My Bonny while host of CBC's Morningside.

"My first time in Vancouver, all these people who'd never heard of me before came out to hear me because of Peter," she said.

"He did so much for my career in one day. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to thank him a number of times."

Children's author Sheree Fitch dedicated her most recent book, No Two Snowflakes, to Mr. Gzowski.

"My first connection to Peter, I was just a 24-year-old wannabe poet in my kitchen, hoping that man would interview me someday," Ms. Fitch said.

And he did, many times.

She remembers how sincerely he was interested in her writing, demanding to know what her made-up word "drutters" meant.

"I told him it was when a dragon mutters," she said. "He laughed and laughed."

Mr. Gzowski was great at drawing the most out of people, she said.

"I think the bottom line for me is he listened to us as people."

Like Ms. Fitch, musician Jimmy Rankin says he first became acquainted with Mr. Gzowski as a fan of Morningside.

"My earliest memories of him, I was driving a delivery truck around Halifax, listening," Mr. Rankin said.

He laughed. "I taught myself to yodel listening to his show."

Years later, he would appear on Morningside in Toronto with his family and even earn an honorary degree from Acadia University alongside Mr. Gzowski.

"It was really quite an honour to meet him," Mr. Rankin said. "For me as an artist, it was a Canadian rite of passage."

Stewart Young said Mr. Gzowski also helped boost his career, albeit in a different way.

Mr. Young, the producer of CBC Radio's Information Morning, was working for a literacy organization when he met Mr. Gzowski. The two were working on Mr. Gzowski's first invitational golf tournament for literacy when Mr. Gzowski picked up on Mr. Young's fondness for radio.

"I remember him saying, 'I'll get you in the door (at CBC) and what you do from there is up to you,' " Mr. Young said.

He brought a casual friendliness to the air, Mr. Young said.

"He reminded people that radio is the most intimate of all mediums," he said. "He was the last link between the old, great days of radio and the new world."

His annual golf tournaments for literacy have raised more than $6 million in the past 15 years.

Mr. Gzowski was a regular in Halifax and expressed a fondness for the city, despite having a bag containing his credit cards and journals stolen here in 1985 and losing his wallet the next year.

But he got both back. The bag was found in a Scotia Square washroom after this newspaper ran a story under the headline Star Robbed in City.

"I kept the story because it's the only public claim of the fact I'm a star," Mr. Gzowski said later.

The loss is just starting to sink in, Mr. Rankin said.

"It's a sad day. He was the voice of Canada."

The art and craft of songwriting

January 27, 2002 - Halifax Daily News

By Sandy MacDonald / The Daily News

Atlantic Canada has long enjoyed an international reputation for its stellar songwriting — from Hank Snow through Gene MacLellan, Ron Hynes, Kevin Macmichael, Rita MacNeil, Sarah McLachlan and many others. This week, The Daily News sat with three of the region’s best — Bruce Guthro, Jimmy Rankin and Lennie Gallant — to talk about the craft of songwriting.

Lennie Gallant, Jimmy Rankin and Bruce Guthro are all past winners of the East Coast Music Association’s SOCAN songwriter of the year. Each is again nominated for best songwriter at next weekend’s ECMA in Saint John, along with Sloan and Asif Illyas of Mir. Here are some of their thoughts on songwriting.

The Daily News: What’s your favourite situation for writing songs?

Lennie Gallant: “I like to be off away somewhere, separated from distraction. For me, the optimum is to be able to walk away from music for a while and let the well fill up again. The best situation was when I was crewing my friend Tom Gallant’s schooner. I had to focus on the boat 24 hours a day. After a month of that, I came back and couldn’t believe all the songs I wrote.” (Most of Gallant’s Believing In Better album was written in the two weeks following that Caribbean voyage.)

Bruce Guthro: “For me, it’s not a particular place, but it’s just having the time. After a while, you get saturated with the business side. Songwriting is a craft, but it’s a bit of a gift too.”

Jimmy Rankin: “I have a (songwriting) space in the top floor of my house, but mainly I write in my kitchen and the house has to be empty. I work best when I’m by myself. I’ll start out with just the guitar, and if something’s coming, I’ll go grab a scribbler.”

Gallant: “I know what you mean — I’m the same way. If someone else is in the house, I find it very inhibiting. You can’t be relaxed enough to let the ideas come out.”

The Daily News: Do songs ever arrive full born?

Gallant: “Peter’s Dream was like that. I was up the night before talking with friends at my dad’s cottage about the fishing industry. We drained a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, I think. I got up the next morning with a little hangover, sat down with the guitar and that song wrote itself. I didn’t change a word — that song just spilled out onto the page. Leaving yourself open is the key to being a songwriter. If you pick up a guitar every day and leave yourself open to ideas, something is eventually going to (arrive) if you have any talent. These songs may spill out onto the page, but the gestation period is somewhat longer.”

Rankin: “That’s happened to me from time to time — though not as often as I’d like. Normally, after I write something I hone it and work with the words to make sure they’re in the right place.”

Guthro: “Very seldom do I ever write a song in one draft. I always go back — I’m changing lyrics right up to the hour before I sing it in the studio.”

Gallant: “Most of the time, it’s a slog. You might get the first verse and a line of the chorus. Then the craft of songwriting kicks in as you have to fill in the rest of the three verses and chorus without being redundant.”

The Daily News: What defines the East Coast style of songwriting?

Rankin: “The story-telling aspect is a really big part. In Cape Breton, story-telling is part of everyday life, little anecdotes about people or the dance last weekend. I think we’re just carrying that on.”

Gallant: “I think it grows out of traditional songwriting. Songs have often been a way of communicating in this region — for getting news out, and passing along stories. We’ve all had our hand in traditional music in one form or another. And now we’re working in the folk-pop world, and bring some of that along with us — it becomes part of your musical makeup. You take from your surroundings here, but try to make it more universal.”

Guthro: “I agree completely. Most songs I approach are worldly in subject matter, but the East Coast— where I was born and raised — can’t help but get in there. We’re really a product of our environment.”

Gallant: “It’s no different than Lyle Lovett writing about Texas or Bruce Springsteen writing about New Jersey.”

The Daily News: What advice would you give budding songwriters?

Gallant: “Keep your receipts and get a good accountant ... seriously, just be true to yourself — if you try to chase whatever’s happening out there, you’ll be chasing your own tail. Be true to yourself, and people will believe in you.”

Guthro: “Don’t expect people to come to you. Don’t expect that you can write an song, and people are gonna line up to record that song or take you away and make you a superstar. The writing of a song is just one small step toward the success — you gotta work your ass off.”

Rankin: “If you want to be a writer, you have to work at it. You may write five songs, but that’s just a start, a sketch for developing your craft.”

Gallant: “Pick up the guitar or sit down at the piano and do it often, even when you don’t think you have an idea. If you wait for inspiration to strike you, you may be waiting a long time.”

Above Photos: (Top) Jimmy Rankin, Bruce Guthro, Lennie Gallant - Photo by Paul Darrow (Bottom) Jimmy Rankin - Photo by Paul Darrow

East Coast music nominations boost for Jimmy

January 30, 2002 - National Post

By Chris Morris / Canadian Press

SAINT JOHN, N.B. - If country-folk artist Jimmy Rankin had any doubts about going it alone after the Rankins disbanded, the East Coast Music Awards must be as comforting as a hot cup of tea on a cold day in Cape Breton.

The 37-year-old singer-songwriter from Mabou, N.S., is nominated for six awards at the annual East Coast music love-in, to be held this weekend in Saint John.

All of Rankin's nominations relate to his debut solo album, Song Dog.

It's a confidence booster for Rankin, who is still recovering from the sudden death of his brother and bandmate, John Morris Rankin, and from the breakup of the Rankins, one of the most popular Maritime groups of recent years.

``I didn't really know what to expect when I made this album,'' Rankin said in a recent interview from his Halifax home.

``It's been getting great reviews and people are liking it. I'm very pleased.''

Song Dog is dedicated to John Morris, Rankin's influential older brother and musical partner who was killed two years ago in a car crash near his Cape Breton home.

The death sent shockwaves through the East Coast music industry. It also devastated the Rankin family and stunned Jimmy into a deep solitude that went beyond the reach of music.

With the group disbanded and John Morris gone, Rankin wasn't sure what to do with himself.

A long trip to Europe, with a guitar, helped him find the answer: a solo career as a singer-songwriter.

``After everything that had happened, I needed a change of scenery,'' he said. ``In Europe, the juices started flowing.''

Rankin had plenty of material in his musical sketchbook; songs he had been working on for years. But he missed his brother's sure touch with the tunes when he started putting the album together.

Rankin has always been the songwriter in the family while John Morris was the musician.

``I think he would have liked it,'' said Rankin, speculating on what his brother's reaction to the new album would have been.

``I definitely would have asked him to play on it if he was living at the time. We had a lot of similar tastes in music. ... He was a lover of songwriters.''

For the man who penned the Rankins' big hit, Fare Thee Well Love, with its lilting Celtic melody, Song Dog is a major musical departure.

The lead single off the album, Followed You Around, is climbing the charts, helped along by a steamy video shot in a strip club.

Gone are the fiddles and tight harmonies of the Rankin family's old recordings. Rankin has closed the door on the Maritime kitchen party and opened a new one to the seamier side of life.

While his solo album is edgier than anything Rankin and his siblings ever produced, he wasn't consciously thinking of a musical change of direction with Song Dog.

``I was just trying to make a good record,'' he said. ``I had an idea I wanted it to be a little raunchier than Rankin stuff, but when I started making the album, the tunes dictated their own direction.''

Still, on soulful love songs like Lighthouse Heart, fans can still hear the Maritime sound.

``In the heart of the record, right in the centre of it, there are three or four tunes that I call the Maritime moment of the album. It's where I'm coming from, the songwriterly part of the album, where it's me and a guitar and some acoustic instruments.''

Rankin's nominations include songwriter of the year, male artist of the year, single of the year, and country artist of the year. He's also been given the nod for album of the year and video of the year.

The East Coast Music Awards will be handed out on Sunday evening. The gala will be aired on CBC television.

Rankin has plans for a tour of Western Canada beginning in February and hopes to make it into the United States later in the year.

The Rankin name is well-known in the United States, as well as across Canada. But Rankin has no plans on following other Atlantic Canadians down the road.

``I could have gone down the road but I chose to stay here. I like it here. It's home and it's where it get most of my inspiration.''

Saint John reverberates with ECMA's this weekend

January 30, 2002 - Halifax Daily News

By Sandy MacDonald / The Daily News

Many people from the the regional music industry are jammed into cars and vans today, heading to Saint John, N.B., for the annual East Coast Music Awards. Musicians, managers, media, industry folks and lots of music fans have booked every bed in the city, anticipating a weekend of live music and partying. More schmoozing, less snoozing.

(I’ve wondered if it’s possible to make it through to Monday morning without actually hitting the sheets once — I’ve come close.)

This year, the organizing committee has introduced some new events to boost the live music quotient. Everywhere through the city will be musicians tuning up and performing — from pin-dropping classical to ear-pounding rock, from beat box rap to jump blues.

The new Roots Room in the Saint John Hilton will stage five artists every afternoon in a relaxed coffeehouse setting. Over three afternoons, the featured artists include Jennifer Roland, Snake Charmer, Ardyth & Jennifer, Kendra MacGillivray, Charlie A’Court, RASA, Roy Johnstone & Steve Sharrett, Isaac & Blewett and Patricia Murray.

Mike Campbell steps up to the plate again this year, putting the music where his mouth is. The popular host of Much Music’s Going Coastal has complained about the ECMA not providing enough exposure for East Coast rock and alternative acts. So Campbell has lined up a bunch of rock bands under the banner Much Music Dog and Pony Show at Tapps Brewpub.

The ECMA has also booked some young bands into a first-time all ages stage at the Saint John high school on Saturday night, featuring the Butterfly Effect, Kaleb Simmonds, Dead Red and Bucket Truck. Since most of the musical activity is centred in licensed clubs, a huge percentage of the music-buying public is left out on the freezing sidewalk.

One of the musical highlights is always the annual Black Vibes showcase, highlighting the best of African-Canadian talent. On Saturday night, the always-packed event is set for Canadian Jungle. Among the talent expected is 13-year-old Tiyaila Cain-Grant (watch for some record label interest in the young North Preston singer this weekend), saxophonist Adrien Gough, Harvey Millar and Freedom Jazz, Afro Musica and Dutch Robinson.

You don’t need to be Natalie MacMaster to get onstage with your fiddle this weekend. Ivan Hicks is inviting fiddlers to an all-weekend jam at the Delta hotel — all fiddle, all the time. Wonder how many times we’ll hear Irish Washerwoman and High Road to Linton before midnight on Sunday?

Craig Mercer from the Jimmy Swift Band is setting up the Jungle Jam at a joint called the Canadian Jungle, and will highlight indie rock bands all weekend. Check out Timber from Newfoundland, Cape Breton’s Rock Ranger, and several Halifax acts, including King Konquerer, Mir, Dr. Yellow Fever and, of course, the Jimmy Swift Band.

Fans of the East Coast blues scene can drop into the Waterfront Lounge to check out some of the best blues bands on the coast. On Friday night, organizer Bruce Morel has set the stage for a huge blues jam, featuring the five nominated bands and some special guests.

There’s also the nightly concert series at the Imperial Theatre, the mainstage showcases at the Trade and Convention Centre, the 72-hour jam and the Sunday afternoon Songwriters Circle, co-hosted by Bruce Guthro and Jimmy Rankin.

Sunday night is the big awards show, from Harbour Station. I like the line-up for the televised awards show, and applaud the producers for the rotating host concept. Where does the rule book says a show must have one beleaguered host gamely holding the show together with lame jokes and strained repartee? The live performances offer a fairly balanced perspective on the music from the region — from Natalie MacMaster, Guthro and Jimmy Rankin to Joel Plaskett Emergency, RASA, and the Jimmy Swift Band.

County dominates ECMA's Male Artist nominees

January 30, 2002 - Inverness Oran

By Frank MacDonald

Cape Breton Island has monopolized the Male Artist of the Year category at the East Coast Music Awards, and Inverness County accounts for four of the five nominations. In the hunt for the hardware are J.P. Cormier (Cap le Moine), Jimmy Rankin (Mabou), Glenn Graham (Judique) and Ian McKinnon (Port Hawkesbury). Bruce Guthro of Sydney Mines is the fifth Cape Bretoner rounding out the category.

JIMMY RANKIN
Jimmy Rankin is back after the break-up of the family act with his debut solo CD, Song Dog, which has garnered him several nominations. He is nominated for Male Artist of the Year, Country Artist/Group of the Year, Album of the Year, Video of the Year, and his single, Followed her Around is nominated as Single of the Year. Rankin and the co-writer of Followed Her Around, Gordie Sampson, are also up for the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award. Six more chances for Rankin to add to his substantial collection of music industry awards. He has received previous awards from the Junos, East Coast Music Awards, and Canadian Country Music Awards.

GLENN GRAHAM
Judique's Glenn Graham has always been a favorite among Cape Breton fiddlers. His roots go deep in the traditional Gaelic music. With the release of his most recent recording, Stepoutside, Glenn has established the direction he wants his music to take. He has added vocals to his music, proving himself as a songwriter as well as a composer. Teamed with his cousin, Rodney MacDonald, they released Traditionally Rockin' which was a double nominee for Instrumental and Roots Traditional Artist of the Year at the 1998 East Coast Music Awards. He was a Showcase performer at the 2001 Charlottetown East Coast Music Awards and is up for Roots/Traditional Solo of the Year and Male Artist of the Year at ECMA 2002. Graham has performed at numerous venues throughout the Maritimes, central Canada, Northeastern U.S., and the United Kingdom.

IAN MCKINNON
A founding member of the internationally acclaimed Celtic Rock group, Rawlins Cross, Cape Breton native Ian McKinnon has received seven ECMA awards and two Juno nominations. He is recognized worldwide as an innovator on the Highland bagpipe and tin whistle. This year, he has earned an ECMA nomination for his stunning solo piece in the acclaimed MacKinnon's Brook Suite CD, which also features Symphony Nova Scotia. MacKinnon's Brook Suite is nominated for Classical Recording of the Year at this year's ECMA. This stunning new orchestral work, composed by Scott McMillan, depicts the life and journey of Hugh and Mary MacKinnon, who emigrated from Scotland to Cape Breton. Combining the seven-time ECMA winner McKinnon with two-time ECMA winner Symphony Nova Scotia, MacKinnon's Brook Suite is sure to captivate all listeners.

J.P. CORMIER
Cape Breton's J.P. Cormier is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, sideman, recording artist and award winner. Cormier has received numerous nominations at both the Junos and the ECMAs. A multiple ECMA award winner, in 1998 he went home with the ECMA for Roots/Traditional Vocalist of the Year, and in 2000 he won Instrumentalist of the Year. His new CD is titled Now That The Work Is Done and has earned him yet another ECMA nomination for Male Artist of the Year. A giant in stature, he is considered a poet at heart. His high-energy performances have been engaging audiences for years.

BRUCE GUTHRO
Bruce Guthro is a storyteller with an amazing vocal sound. From Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, his music excites, inspires, and stirs in the tradition of great songwriters who can say what all have felt, but few can express. Bruce dominated the 1998 East Coast Music Awards, winning all five of his categories – Male Artist of the Year, Album of the year for Of Your Son, Pop/Rock Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Single of the Year for Falling. That year he also took home three Canadian Radio Music Awards and a Juno Award nomination for Best New Solo Artist. Guthro is hoping to repeat his success of 1998; he is nominated for seven ECMA awards in 2002.

Above Photo Copyright Inverness Oran

Rankin warms up in Halifax before ECMA journey

January 31, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Cooke / Nightclub Notebook

Just because it's ECMA weekend doesn't mean every musician under the sun is high-tailing it to Saint John. Just every other musician.

Jimmy Rankin is off to the East Coast Music Awards, where he has six nominations, but before he goes toe-to-toe with fellow multiple-nominees Bruce Guthro and Sloan, he plays a couple of warm-up shows for Halifax fans dying to catch the Mabou balladeer in more intimate surroundings.

This afternoon Rankin and his band play songs from his solo CD Song Dog (and perhaps a few Rankin Family favourites) in a free performance at HMV Spring Garden Road at 12:30 p.m., followed by a show tonight at The Marquee Club, with former Guthrie Matt Mays doing a solo turn to warm things up.

Anyone who saw Rankin's sold-out show at the Rebecca Cohn knows the new material and back-up band make for an exciting evening, and the informal Marquee atmosphere will ensure a certain freewheeling spontaneity.

Tickets are available in advance from the Marquee, HMV, Biscuit Clothing, Neptune Theatre box office, and the General Store (across from the Marquee) for $22, or at the door for $24.

Feels like the first time

It's an exciting year for artists up for their first ECMA's

January 31, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Cooke / Entertainment Reporter

THE EAST COAST Music Awards and Conference weekend, taking place from now until Sunday in Saint John, can be a hectic occasion at the best of times.

With seminars, showcases, late night (or even all-night) jam sessions, plus the requisite amount of schmoozing and deal making, it's the key annual event for the Atlantic Canadian music industry.

Then of course there is the award show itself, from the fuss over what to wear - last year it seemed leather pants and shiny shirts were the unofficial ECMA uniform - to what to say, should you actually be lucky enough to step up to the podium.

For seasoned nominees, your Jimmy Rankins, Bruce Guthros, and your Sloans and your Natalie MacMasters, ECMA weekend is old hat, a familiar territory of friendly faces and recognizable routine.

No, you don't know for sure who's going to win what on Sunday evening, but it is a pretty safe bet that attendees will be singing rude folk songs in a hotel hallway at 7 a.m. the next morning.

For first-time nominees though, the ECMAs can seem a bit daunting as it approaches. There's the desire to see and be seen, to make a lasting impression and to come away with renewed conviction that performing music is still a better career path than slinging hash, planting trees or becoming a provincial cabinet minister.

Newfoundland singer/songwriter Colleen Power has attended past ECMAs, playing No-Cases in Sydney and Charlottetown, but this year she's going full-tilt as a novice nominee, with a hat trick of three nods for female, alternative and new artist of the year.

It's a fitting accomplishment for the green-eyed St. John's siren, whose solo debut CD is titled Lucky You Are.

"I'm not expecting to win anything, I just want to go and play," says Power from Newfoundland, where she's busy making up show posters and rehearsing with an all-star band featuring Rawlins Cross's Dave and Jeff Panting plus producer Don Ellis and Aneirin Thomas.

"I can't even believe I'm on the show, it's freaky! All these years I've been trying to get by, and then all of a sudden I'm on the ECMA show."

Performing No Greater Queen on the ECMA awards broadcast (Sunday at 6 p.m. on CBC Television) in a new dress designed by Barry Buckle is bound to be a weekend highlight for Power, but there's a lot of grunt work that must be endured beforehand.

"I registered for the buyers' room, so I have to figure out what goes on there," says Power. "I have to go around putting up posters and handing out invitations to the showcase, and get the band ready and figure out what to wear . . .

"I have to cover everything myself, y'know? You'll see me like a little whirlwind, running around."

Big band leader and vocalist Derrick LeLacheur plans to cover a lot of ground at the ECMAs as well, handing out copies of his jazz artist-nominated CD of smooth Sinatra standards recorded with the 20-piece Swing Kings.

The Halifax-based singer and trombonist has been performing for two decades, most notably with the Stadacona Band as well as his own outfit, but this will be his first trip to the ECMAs. LeLacheur is anxious to find out how he can expand the market for a large ensemble that plays classic arrangements of Fly Me to the Moon and You Make Me Feel So Young.

"I don't want to sound naive, but I don't really know a lot about the business," says the honey-toned singer, who initially struck up the band as a fundraiser for fighting diabetes. "I've been singing big band music all over the world, and I'd like to extend my career.

"Already I've had ATV come to my home for a news piece, so that's a good thing. Being in the jazz category, you don't always get as much attention as rock or Celtic artists, so to get interviewed about my music is a good feeling."

Unfortunately, taking 20 of the best local musicians to Saint John for a weekend promotional trip is cost prohibitive for LeLacheur, who financed the recording of his CD at Alderney Landing himself. So he has to meet as many people as possible in person and let the disc do the talking.

Thankfully that's not the case for blues guru and Best New Artist contender Carlo Spinazzola, who operates on more of a "have guitar, will travel" modus operandi. His schedule includes playing brick-walled watering hole O'Leary's on Thursday and Saturday, the Up Close and Personal showcase in McAllister Place Mall on Friday and the post-awards party on Sunday.

With his current album Walk garnering reams of attention and a national tour and new CD planned for the spring and summer, Spinazzola plans to wade into the ECMAs with both guns blazing this weekend and try and entertain anyone who will listen.

"I'll work the crap out of it," he laughs from his parents' home in Sydney Mines. "You can make ECMAs work for you, and exposure and press is one of the most powerful things you can feed society.

"For the first time in ages, I'm at home at my folks' place, and I'm watching the TV, and it's incredible. It's a capsule and it's a succubus, it's an incredible medium to reach a lot of people. I can talk about grassroots all I want, but if people can't find out about my music, there's no sense in me trying to extend my business. I want to reach people, and anything in the media is worthwhile, and ECMAs is a great chance to get more press."

For Halifax-based Celtic singer Patricia Murray, this weekend's trip to Saint John is like a homecoming. She grew up there, and is thrilled to celebrate her first nomination - for Roots Traditional, Solo Artist - in the Loyalist city.

At the same time, she realizes the importance of maintaining that delicate balance between business and pleasure over the course of four days.

"When you're doing a showcase, you're trying to be as focused as you can, trying to get your name out there and meet as many people as you can," says Murray, whose schedule includes Up Close and Personal on Friday, the Roots Room with Lennie Gallant on Saturday and the post-show party with fellow nominee, Linda Carvery.

"It can get pretty frenzied, and you're just exhausted by the end of the weekend. But with this coming weekend I'm getting recognized for the work I have done over the past year. And although I'm doing a lot of performances I'm going to try and enjoy the event a little bit more and not worry so much about the business. That will still continue after the weekend."

First-time Female Artist nominee Amelia Curran is taking a low-key approach to the ECMAs, focusing on opening the rock stage tonight and keeping the 72-hour jam going at 3 a.m. on Sunday with her seven-piece SenseAmelia Project.

The Newfoundland-born, Halifax-based performer wants to make a good impression on any music biz figures that cross her band's path, but equally important is playing for a new audience, making new fans and having a good time.

"The event will certainly be crawling with music industry folk, which is why we're going up with our little business cards and a whole lot of questions to ask, but not necessarily to get into business with anybody," she says.

"We're in a pretty good position to remain an independent project, but we need to move a little faster and get a better grasp on all this stuff. So we need to talk to these industry guys and see how we're doing, because right now we have no idea if we're doing the right things or fitting in anywhere."

Traditional Antigonish fiddler Kendra MacGillivray has her niche fairly well established by now, with two acclaimed CDs Clear the Tracks and Over the Waves, but her first ECMA nominations - for Female and Instrumental Artist - still stand as a major career highlight.

MacGillivray's performing a lot this weekend, including the Roots Room on Friday where she'll join the house band for the live CBC Radio broadcast, but it's the glamour of the awards that's creating the most anticipation.

"I remember watching the ECMAs at home on TV and getting so excited. As soon as it was over I'd take out my fiddle and play, they'd get me so pumped up.

"And this year I get to sit on the floor, so I'll have first-hand experience of what it feels like. It'll be wonderful being amongst all those musicians I've looked up to for so many years."

ECMA gala up against Super Bowl

Awards show producers optimistic about scoring with musical diversity

February 1, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Chris Morris / Canadian Press

SAINT JOHN, N.B. - Atlantic Canada will match its star power against the likes of Paul McCartney, U2 and the ballyhooed contest between the Patriots and the Rams as the East Coast Music Awards airs its annual show on Sunday evening.

But the show's producers say they're confident the toe-tapping good fun of the East Coast sound will capture the same big audiences this year as in past years, Super Bowl or no Super Bowl.

``We like to think the Super Bowl is up against us,'' says Jacques Gautreau, producer of the awards gala which will be broadcast from Saint John on CBC-TV and CBC Radio Two beginning at 6 p.m. (6:30 p.m. in Newfoundland)

``Arguably, it's good counter-programming,'' adds CBC-TV producer Michael Lewis. ``The people who are perhaps interested in East Coast music are not necessarily football fans.''

It's a broadcasting conflict that could not have been foreseen when the awards show was planned months ago.

The terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11 delayed the start of the NFL season. The Super Bowl game, which is expected to grab an audience of roughly 800 million worldwide, ended up on a later-than-anticipated date.

In addition to the game between the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams, pre-game and halftime shows will feature such big-name performers as McCartney, the Irish rock band U2 and Canada's own Barenaked Ladies.

``There's no way we can say for sure we'll get the same numbers as last year for the ECMAs,'' says CBC producer Geoff D'Eon. ``We're on a little earlier and there's the Super Bowl. But I think we'll still hold our own. There are lots of people who love East Coast music and don't like football.''

The televised, two-hour gala will feature performances by such Atlantic notables as fiddler Natalie MacMaster, country-folk artists Jimmy Rankin and Bruce Guthro and a sizzling array of bluegrass bands.

The show potentially has a national audience of about 1.5 million, making it a prized venue for Atlantic musicians struggling to reach new listeners.

Lewis says the East Coast music industry is anxious to show off its variety.

``We want to shatter stereotypes that suggest East Coast music is about fiddles and sea shanties.''

The most nominated performer is singer-songwriter Guthro, another musical jewel from Nova Scotia's Cape Breton region which has produced more than its fair share of hot East Coast performers.

Guthro is noted for his soulful and moving lyrics. He's nominated for seven awards at this year's gala, including performer of the year, male artist, songwriter, top album and top single.

``Hopefully, I won't be shut out,'' Guthro says with a laugh. ``That's the scary part of seven. It's wonderful to be the guy with the most but if they shut you out, it'll be like `who?' ''

Guthro is a big promoter of the East Coast Music Awards which helped launch his career five years ago when he was spotted at the show by EMI president Deane Cameron.

``I know the ECMAs are not the Grammys. But if an artist sweeps the Grammys, they're shot to superstardom. The principle still applies no matter how big the show is. You're not going to be shot to superstardom from the ECMAs, but it does give you the credibility to climb the next rung of the ladder.''

The East Coast sound isn't as popular these days as it was a few years back when stars like the Rankins, Ashley MacIsaac and MacMaster broke on to the scene like a fresh, Celtic breeze off the highlands.

Even Jimmy Rankin, who has gone solo since the breakup of the family band, is trying a new, raunchier style of music as he looks for a wider audience.

Rankin acknowledges that musical tastes ebb and flow and what's big one day, won't be the next. He says that has happened to East Coast music.

``Nationally, the musical interest of the industry shifts to different styles and different places,'' says Rankin, who is nominated for six awards.

``For awhile the Maritimes were a hotbed for music and everybody was signing acts from this neck of the woods. That has changed. But I have to say that music has always been a very big part of the Maritimes and always will be.''

Above Photo: Ingrid Bulmer / Herald Photo - Jimmy Rankin performs an in-store concert at HMV record store on Thursday. The six-time ECMA nominee will be featured on the gala awards show from Saint John, N.B., on Sunday on CBC-TV, which airs opposite the Super Bowl on Global.

3's no crowd

Guthro, Rankin, each win 3 ECMA's

February 4, 2002 - Halifax Daily News

By Sandy MacDonald / The Daily News

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Cape Breton’s favourite sons Bruce Guthro and Jimmy Rankin split a six-pack of pewter trophies last night at the East Coast Music Awards, each winning three awards on a night that showcased the wealth of music in the region.

Guthro won male artist, pop artist and album of the year for his powerful self-titled album released last summer. Rankin, who also released his debut solo project Song Dog, took home country artist, single of the year and shared the Socan songwriter with Gordie Sampson for his hit single Followed Her Around.

“It took less time to write that song than it does to sing it,” joked Sampson backstage at Saint John’s Harbour Station. The pair co-wrote the catchy single four years ago, initially ear-marked for Sampson’s solo album Stones.

“Gordie didn’t want it,” said Rankin, who grabbed it for his own album. “Then he called later and asked for it back — and I said no.” The single has since been a hit on radio and video stations across the country. The win marks Sampson’s third Socan songwriter award in a row.

Rankin and Sampson then paired to perform the song live, the first time they’ve played the song together.

Crush capped a solid run into the ECMA weekend by winning the new artist and best rock artist awards, just a week after the quartet signed a record deal with Warner Canada. The young Halifax-based band, fuelled by Newfoundlanders Cory Tetford and Paul Lamb, have quickly emerged as a top act in the region.

Comedian Bette MacDonald kicked off the smooth telecast in a bathrobe with a towel over her hair, lampooning the earlier-than-usual start of the two hour-long show. The national telecast aired at 6 p.m. last night.

While pop music took the lion’s share, the fiddle was not forgotten in a wash of electric guitars. Antigonish fiddler Kendra MacGillivray won the female artist of the year, and instrumental artist of the year. Long in the shadow of international star Natalie MacMaster, MacGillivray topped a mostly young and emerging group in the best female artist category. The visibly surprised musician, dressed in black leather, had never won an ECMA before.

MacMaster broke the seven-year stranglehold of Newfoundlanders on the coveted entertainer of the year award, and captured the only ECMA voted on by the fans. “Thank you to Great Big Sea, for not being in it,” laughed MacMaster — GBS won five entertainer awards in a row.

“This never gets stale,” says MacMaster, of her annual trip to the ECMA. “I love to be able to sit in the front and hear all the great talent.”

This year’s ECMA packed in more live East Coast talent than ever in its 14-year history. Among the live highlights were performances by Guthro backed up by a gospel choir that included the 13-year-old singing sensation Tiyaila Cain-Grant, a bluegrass superjam featuring the five nominated bands and a hip hop set, driven by beatbox artist Kaleb Simmonds and rapper Papa Grand.

Last night’s show also put three arena-thumping rock bands on prime time — Joel Plaskett Emergency, Chris Colepaugh and the Cosmic Crew and the Jimmy Swift Band, who later won the alternative band award.

Sloan, one of the pioneers of power pop music in the region, was again rebuffed. The now Toronto-based quartet were nominated for six awards, and won just one for video of the year for If It Feels Good, Do It.

“I’ve directed all the Sloan videos — until this one,” dead-panned Chris Murphy backstage. “I guess that means I shouldn’t have been directing them all along.”

Three African-Nova Scotian acts were honoured last night. Harvey Millar and Shy Luv won for best urban recording for their innovative Hip Bopping single. The Hallelujah Praise Choir from North Preston was named best gospel group, and singer Linda Carvery won the jazz award.

Next year, the East Coast Music Awards moves to Halifax.

And the award goes to…

East Coast Music Awards 2002 winners Sunday:

Male Artist: Bruce Guthro
New Artist: Crush
Group: Ennis Sisters
Bluegrass: Birchmountain Bluegrass Band
Songwriter: Jimmy Rankin and Gordie Sampson
Album: Bruce Guthro (Guthro)
Female Artist: Kendra MacGillivray
Entertainer: Natalie MacMaster
Single: Jimmy Rankin (Followed Her Around)
Country Artist: Jimmy Rankin
Pop: Bruce Guthro
Rock: Crush
Alternative: The Jimmy Swift Band
Jazz: Linda Carvery
Urban: Harvey Millar and Shy Luv
Blues: Glamour Puss
Roots/Traditional (Group): Sons of Maxwell
Roots/Traditional (Solo): Mary Jane Lamond
Gospel: Hallelujah Praise Choir
Instrumental: Kendra MacGillivray
Classical Recording: Ian McKinnon and Symphony Nova Scotia
Francophone Recording: Bois-Joli
Video: Sloan

Guthro, Rankin mine gold at East Coast awards

February 4, 2002 - Jam! Music on Canoe

By Chris Morris / Canadian Press

SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Cape Breton song masters Bruce Guthro and Jimmy Rankin, who pounded the traditional Celtic sound of their island home into a new beat, mined gold at the 14th annual East Coast Music Awards held Sunday.

Guthro, from Sydney Mines, N.S., and Rankin, from Mabou, N.S., were the top nominees heading into the ceremony and emerged with the lion's share of the prestigious awards -- three each.

"I feel great," said Guthro, after he won the Male Artist of the Year award.

"With seven nominations, I was afraid I'd be shut out."

Guthro also was awarded pop artist of the year and album of the year.

Rankin, the first member of the Rankins to go solo, won country artist; single and, with friend Gordie Sampson, songwriter of the year for the popular Followed Her Around.

"We'll share it," said Rankin, clutching the songwriter award.

"Gordie can have it for six months of the year and I'll have it for six months."

Rankin said the nominations and the awards are a confidence booster after he decided to go it alone following the disbandment of the Rankins and the death of his brother, John Morris Rankin, in a car accident.

"This means a lot to me," he said.

The nationally-televised awards show capped a four-day festival of singing, dancing and jamming, which lifted the midwinter blues in the gritty port city of Saint John.

The Entertainer of the Year award, the only category in which fans vote for the winner, was won by perennial favourite and fiddling sensation, Natalie MacMaster.

"Thank you to God for the gift of music," she said, as she accepted the award before a packed house in a downtown Saint John arena.

MacMaster has received multiple ECMA and Juno awards, as well as a Grammy nomination last year.

The two-hour televised show was dedicated to the memory of CBC broadcaster Peter Gzowski, who was remembered for his tireless promotion of the East Coast sound.

Other big winners of the night included Nova Scotia fiddler Kendra MacGillivray, who was named female artist of the year.

MacGillivray, who also won the instrumental award, said there have been Celtic fiddlers in her family for generations.

"I'm just trying to keep the tradition alive," she said.

MacGillivray's fiddle awards proved that even though the East Coast sound is branching out into hard-edged pop, rock and alternative, there's still much love for the lively Celtic tunes that first propelled Maritime music onto the national stage.

The Nova Scotia group, Crush, won rock artist and new artist of the year.

"It's a nice pat on the back," said band member Corey Tetford.

"It lets you know that your hard work is appreciated."

Nova Scotia artists completely dominated the awards ceremony.

Of the 24 awards handed out, including a lifetime achievement award for New Brunswick fiddler Ned Landry, 20 were won by Nova Scotia artists, New Brunswick won three and Newfoundland, one.

Newfoundland's one win was big: the Ennis Sisters were named group of the year and the three sisters from St. John's said they were over the moon.

"The support and recognition from the industry means everything," said Maureen Ennis.

The sisters said the East Coast Music Awards have been a driving force for their success.

Warner Music Canada signed a record deal with the Ennis Sisters at the awards show in Charlottetown last year, giving the harmonious folk/pop group a shot at national exposure.

The two New Brunswick winners were the Moncton-based blues group, Glamour Puss, and the Acadian group, Bois-Joli.

Big night for C.B.

Rankin, Guthro, MacMaster win ECMA glory

February 4, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Cooke / Entertainment Reporter

Saint John, N.B. - Cape Breton's reputation as the musical heart of Atlantic Canada was reaffirmed Sunday night as two of its most famous sons, Bruce Guthro and Jimmy Rankin, each won three statuettes at the East Coast Music Awards.

And the coveted entertainer of the year award went to Troy fiddler Natalie MacMaster.

Guthro won male artist of the year, pop artist of the year and album of the year for his self-titled CD. The Sydney Mines singer grinned as he talked backstage at the Harbour Station arena in Saint John.

"I've had a great year so far and it just keeps getting better," he said. "I know some people were thinking 'He's had his turn' after I got five ECMAs in St. John's, but I hope I don't stop getting my turn."

Eric Wynne / Herald Photo - Jimmy Rankin and Bruce Guthro proudly display their awards backstage after the East Coast Music Awards in Saint John, N.B., on Sunday night. Rankin and Guthro each won three awards. Rankin's hat trick was for country artist of the year and single of the year and SOCAN songwriter of the year for Followed Her Around, co-written with fellow Cape Bretoner Gordie Sampson.

"It's good to be back," said the former Rankin Family member, who thanked his wife Mia, EMI Music Canada and producer Tim Thorney on his first trip to the podium.

"This means a lot since (the CD Song Dog) is my first solo record, but really I was just happy being nominated. Mostly I'm just having a fun weekend, playing a lot and seeing people I haven't seen in a while."

It's the third year in a row that Sampson has picked up the SOCAN award.

Asked when he'd get around to releasing a followup to his solo debut Stones, Sampson was coy.

"Sometime between now and the Second Coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," Sampson said with a laugh.

He's collaborating with Newfoundland divas Kim Stockwood and Damhnait Doyle.

MacMaster, whose entertainer of the year award is the only one selected by the public - was obviously thrilled.

"It doesn't matter who gets chosen for this, whether it's me or the Fables or anybody," said MacMaster, whose win breaks a string of Newfoundland acts picking up the prize, including the Fables and Great Big Sea. "You're chosen because people can tell when you genuinely love making music, they pick up on it . . . and I still love making music."

MacMaster opened up the nationally televised awards show as part of an East Coast supergroup featuring P.E.I.'s Celtitude, Halifax pop band Mir and members of Charlottetown's Jive Kings.

From just across the causeway in Antigonish, first-time nominee fiddler Kendra MacGillivray picked up two awards, for female artist and instrumental artist of the year, for her vibrant playing on the Over the Waves CD.

Bottom Photo: CP photo - Gordie Sampson and Jimmy Rankin receive the ECMA for songwriter of the year for Followed Her Around. Halifax-based pop band Crush, signed this week to Warner Music Canada, saw its fortunes rise even further by winning two awards. Led by Newfoundland-born singers Paul Lamb and Cory Tetford, the quartet earned rock group and new artist of the year, putting the icing on the proverbial cake of an eventful week.

"The icing tastes real sweet," Tetford said backstage, smiling as he held up the $5,000 cheque from Galaxie that accompanies the new artist prize.

"Awards are great, but we go back to work on Monday. We're back on the road by Tuesday, but it's a great job."

Another group of Newfoundlanders, the Ennis Sisters, were signed to Warners last year, and the investment paid off with their successful self-titled major label debut and a group of the year award Sunday night.

"The ECMAs was the start of it all in Halifax," said Teresa Ennis, dressed in a red bustier her sister Maureen jokingly referred to as "her Christina Aguilera outfit."

"It was where we were first discovered and it encouraged us to continue making music," added Teresa, referring to the days leading up to the awards show as "just like Christmas Eve."

African Nova Scotian performers had a strong showing at the awards, with Halifax's Hallelujah Praise Choir receiving the gospel artist of the year award, Halifax jazz and gospel singer Linda Carvery getting the nod in the jazz artist category and guitarist Harvey Millar sharing the urban recording award with rapper Shy Luv for their collaboration Hip Bopping.

"I'd like to thank the ECMAs for allowing us to have a voice in the industry," said Millar, who is also a business professor at Saint Mary's University. "Now it's up to record labels to pay attention to what we're doing and help us spread the music across the country."

Other Nova Scotia winners included Cape Breton's Mary Jane Lamond for roots traditional solo artist, Halifax act Sons of Maxwell for roots traditional group and Halifax pop rock bands Sloan for video of the year and the Jimmy Swift Band for alternative artist of the year.

The deeply personal collaboration between Rawlins Cross piper Ian McKinnon, conductor Scott Macmillan and Symphony Nova Scotia - MacKinnon's Brook Suite - was honoured with Classical Recording of the year.

The Eastern Shore's Birchmountain Bluegrass Band won its second straight bluegrass artist of the year award, capping an eventful weekend in which the quintet played for thousands in Market Square and the members' fathers - the Boutilier Brothers - were honoured with Stompin' Tom Awards as East Coast music pioneers.

Birchmountain also performed on the live broadcast, which saw the ECMAs attempt to branch out by featuring a wide range of up-and-coming artists: Halifax rockers Joel Plaskett Emergency and Jimmy Swift Band, Newfoundland's Rasa and Colleen Power and Moncton's Chris Colepaugh and the Cosmic Crew.

Bette MacDonald opened the show dressed in a bathrobe, delivering a saucy monologue that made New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord blush.

She bemoaned the show's early start time.

"For most of the people backstage, 6 p.m. is the wake-up call," she said. "Actually, the real reason for starting at six is because Sam Sniderman is here and he has to catch the show, have a bath and be in bed by 8:15."

Top Photo: Eric Wynne / Herald Photo - Jimmy Rankin and Bruce Guthro proudly display their awards backstage after the East Coast Music Awards in Saint John, N.B., on Sunday night. Rankin and Guthro each won three awards.

Bottom Photo: CP photo - Gordie Sampson and Jimmy Rankin receive the ECMA for songwriter of the year for Followed Her Around.

ECMA hat-tricks scored

February 4, 2002 - Cape Breton Post

By Laurel Monroe

Cape Breton singer-songwriters Jimmy Rankin and Bruce Guthro each scored a hat-trick at Harbour Station arena in Saint John, N.B. Sunday.

Rankin and Guthro had 13 nominations between them - many of them in the same categories - going into the 2002 East Coast Music Awards. By the time it was all over, they had collected three awards each, more than any other artist.

Cape Bretoners won 10 ECMAs Sunday night. Nova Scotia artists equaled that total, while New Brunswickers took two and one went to Newfoundland.

Guthro, who had seven nominations, won Male Artist of the Year, Pop/Rock Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for his latest release, Guthro.

The Sydney Mines native, who took all five East Coast Music Awards he was nominated for in St. John’s, Nfld. in 1999, said he was relieved after getting the nod in the Male Artist category, the first award of the night.

“With seven (nominations) I was afraid I’d be shut out,” he said, adding he plans to keep the trophies in his new home studio, where they “inspire me to write.”

Rankin’s Followed Her Around, the catchy first single from his debut solo album, Song Dog, was named Single of the Year and earned Rankin and fellow Cape Bretoner Gordie Sampson the prestigious SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award.

“It is special, because that’s what we do - we are singer-songwriters - and it means so much to be acknowledged for that,” said Rankin, who was also named Country Artist of the Year.

The Mabou native won dozens of music awards during his years with The Rankins, who disbanded in 1999, but his three awards Sunday were his first as a solo artist.

“This time it’s me alone and it means so much.”

Talented Cape Breton artists take home big haul at ECMA

Veterans Jimmy Rankin, Bruce Guthro nab major honours at music awards show where Islanders come home empty

February 4, 2002 - The PEI Guardian

By Doug Gallant / The Guardian

SAINT JOHN, N.B. - If there was one big winner at the East Coast Music Awards in Saint John Sunday night it was Cape Breton.

Cape Breton artists Bruce Guthro and Jimmy Rankin dominated the awards, splitting six major awards between them.

Several other Cape Breton artists also took home hardware, including Natalie MacMaster, Kendra MacGillivray, Mary Jane Lamond, Gordie Sampson and Rawlins Cross alumnus Ian McKinnon.

Guthro, a native of Sydney Mines who divides his time between a solo career in North America and the duties of frontman for Scotland's Runrig, took honours for male artist of the year, pop artist/group of the year and album of the year for Guthro.

Rankin, who released his first solo album last summer to both critical acclaim and commercial success, earned honours for country artist/group of the year, single of the year for Followed Her Around and shared the SOCAN songwriter of the year award with fellow Cape Bretoner Gordie Sampson for Followed Her Around.

Rankin joked that they'd share the award between them, six months at a time.

Artists from P.E.I. were nominated in several categories, but for the first time in a number of years came up empty-handed.

Not far behind Guthro and Rankin in the run for the roses were Antigonish fiddler Kendra MacGillivray and pop/rock band Crush, who now live in Halifax but still regard Newfoundland as home.

MacGillivray was named female artist of the year and instrumental artist/group of the year, while Crush made trips to the stage for rock artist/group of the year and new artist/group of the year.

MacGillivray's win was particularly sweet because she earned it for her debut album.

"I'm just so excited," MacGillivray said.

"I can't believe it, it's amazing."

She told reporters she couldn't believe she was sitting in the audience with so many of the artists she loved and respected and then heard her name called.

All of the other awards Sunday night went to single winners.

Group of the year honours went to Newfoundland's Ennis Sisters.

Natalie MacMaster nailed down one of the night's most coveted awards, the entertainer of the year award.

Mary Jane Lamond took the award for roots/traditional solo artist of the year.

Sloan, who've received numerous nominations over the years but have not been frequent winners, copped the video of the year award for If It Feels Good Do It.

Francophone recording of the year went to Bois-Joli who also showcased at the ECMAs Saturday night where they rocked the house big time.

Other winners Sunday night included:

Alternative artist/group of the year: The Jimmy Swift Band
Gospel artist/group of the year: Hallelujah Praise Choir
Classical recording of the year: Ian McKinnon & Symphony Nova Scotia
Blues artist/group of the year: Glamour Puss
Jazz artist/group of the year: Linda Carvery
Roots/traditional group of the year: Sons of Maxwell
Urban recording of the year: Harvey Millar & Shy Luv
Bluegrass artist/group of the year: Birchmountain Bluegrass Band.

The Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to legendary fiddle player Ned Landry, whose music has influenced generations of musicians .

Island artists may have been shut out of the awards but they made their presence felt on the awards show.

Celtitude and the horn section from the Jive Kings grabbed prime spots on the top of the show, while Kindle rocked the rafters in the closing number of the broadcast portion of the show.

Musically, the awards show offered something for everyone, from bluegrass and alternative rock to hip-hop and traditional fiddle music.

Comedians Bette MacDonald, Maynard Morrison, Rick Mercer and Charlottetown-born television personality Jonathan Torrens provided the comic relief.

Glamour Puss also had input in that department, suggesting that they were going to melt down the three ECMAs they now have and make one big one.

Sunday's gala awards ceremony climaxed one very long weekend of East Coast music in which virtually every performance venue in the city was booked solid by bands hoping somebody would take notice of what they had to offer.

They played bars, restaurants, shopping malls, schools, churches, hotel corridors and pool halls.

It was a converted pool hall in fact that served as this year's venue for the 72-hour jam.

It seemed at times as if there were almost as many venues as there were patrons.

On one bitterly cold evening I happened upon two guys playing a Ron Hynes song in a pedway.

And they had an audience.

It was a week with many highlights, from 82-year-old Matilda Murdock playing a fiddle tune she wrote for her husband at the industry awards brunch and Lennie Gallant working the Roots Room to a 13-year-old singer at the Black Vibes who left many in her audience slack jawed.

No matter what you were looking for, blues, jazz, bluegrass, country, alternative, folk, pop, it was there, sometimes on a big stage, often on a small stage, but it was there.

And the people of Saint John ate it up, sharing this musical abundance with ECMA regulars who follow the ECMAs wherever it goes.

Modest haul for locals

February 4, 2002 - The Newfoundland Telegram

By Mark Vaughan-Jackson - The Telegram

Saint John, NB - Sunday night was a very good night if you were a male singer/songwriter from Cape Breton.

Cape Breton’s Jimmy Rankin and Bruce Guthro were the big winners at Sunday’s East Coast Music Awards, handed out here at a jam-packed gala broadcast on CBC-TV and radio. Fittingly, the broadcast was dedicated to the memory of Peter Gzowski, a longtime and avid supporter of East Coast music.

Newfoundland wasn’t totally cut off from the awards podium.

Now based out of Halifax, Crush — headed by Newfoundland musicians Cory Tetford and Paul Lamb — walked off with two awards — rock group of the year and new artist of the year, the latter including a cheque for $5,000 from CBC Galaxie.

“Any time you win an award it’s great. It’s a pat on the back that let’s you know the hard work that you’re putting in is heading you in the right direction,” Tetford said.

The Ennis Sisters left Saint John with the award for group of the year, continuing a trend of success for them at the ECMAs.

It was at an ECMA showcase that they first caught public attention outside Newfoundland, and at the ECMAs last year in Charlottetown, P.E.I., they signed their record deal with Warner Music.

Maureen, Karen and Teresa — poised to start a national tour with Jann Arden — said the award this year just strengthens their feelings for the ECMAs and their East Coast peers.

“ECMAs for us was definitely the start of it all (where) we were first recognized by the record company, the media and that sort of thing. That was the start of it for us and they’ve just encouraged us to continue and keep this up,” Teresa Ennis said. “We grew a lot musically and with this latest album we took another step, we showed the original side of our music. ECMAs is a huge thing for us every year.”

Guthro headed into the awards with seven nominations, just ahead of Jimmy Rankin’s six.

Both left the Harbour Station gala venue with three apiece.

Guthro won awards for best male artist, pop artist, and album of the year, while Rankin won for country artist, single of the year and SOCAN songwriter of the year for the song Followed Her Around — the latter award shared with co-writer and fellow Cape Bretoner, Gordie Sampson.

Guthro — who won all five ECMAs he was nominated for at the St. John’s awards show in 1999 — said he would have been glad to win just one in Saint John if only to say thanks to his fans.

“It’s more than I expected. It’s incredible, it’s an honour,” Guthro said after accepting his third award. “There’s a lot of great talent out there … it’s just fantastic to be in that company.”

Rankin — particular touched by the songwriting award — said winning the awards was like coming home. They marked a return — after a long absence — to the awards for Rankin, who was a regular at the podium in past years with his sisters and brother, John Morris Rankin — who died in a car accident two years ago — as The Rankin Family.

The 14th annual ECMAs also marked the end of Newfoundland’s seven-year ownership of the coveted Entertainer of the Year Award which went to Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster. The award, the only ECMA voted on by members of the public, had enjoyed a seven-year run for Newfoundlanders: The Irish Descendants in 1994, Great Big Sea from 1995-2000 and The Fables last year.

Having been nominated in each of the seven years Newfoundland acts have won the award, MacMaster finally beat out Newfoundland’s The Ennis Sisters, The Fables, Halifax’s Sloan and Bruce Guthro.

Despite the seven-year wait, MacMaster was gracious in victory.

“The award is the Entertainer of the Year Award and there’s so many great entertainers here,” she said. “Whether it’s me or The Fables or anybody, we love music and we love to play and that comes across, people get it. That’s what it’s about.”

Another multiple winner was Nova Scotia’s Kendra MacGillivray, winning for female artist and instrumental artist of the year.

While other Newfoundland nominees didn’t make it to the podium, some of them at least made it to the main stage.

Among the evening’s performers were three-time nominee Colleen Power, double nominee Rasa and hard rockers Bucket Truck.

Other awards presented Sunday were: blues artist, Glamour Puss; francophone artist, Bois Joli; Roots/traditional solo artist, Mary Jane Lamond; roots/traditional group, Sons of Maxwell; video of the year, Sloan; alternative group of the year, Jimmy Swift Band; gospel artist, Hallelujah Praise Choir; classical recording, Ian McKinnon and Symphony Nova Scotia; jazz artist, Linda Carvery; urban recording of the year, Harvey Millar and Shy Luv; bluegrass group of the year, Birchmountain Bluegrass Band.

New Brunswick fiddler and musical icon Ned Landry was the final honoureee of the evening, receiving the Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement award.

Guthro and Rankin gather East Coast Music Awards

February 4, 2002 - CMT Canada

Bruce Guthro and Jimmy Rankin ended up the top winners after Sunday’s 14th Annual East Coast Music Awards. Both singer/songwriters are from Cape Breton and both took home three awards after the evening was over.

Guthro was awarded Male Artist of the Year, Pop Artist of The Year and Album of The Year for ‘Guthro’, his sophomore release with EMI. His video for “Disappear” was a staple on CMT in late 2001. Guthro told the Canadian Press, “I feel great. With seven nominations, I was afraid I’d be shut out.” Guthro and Rankin were the top nominees for the ceremony, which capped the four-day, annual East Coast Music Conference and Festival, held in Saint John this year.

Rankin took home trophies for Country Artist of the Year, Single and Songwriter of the Year, along with Gordie Sampson, for “Followed Her Around”. Jimmy is the first of his siblings to hit the solo trail after the Rankins broke up as a group a few years ago and sees the ECMA wins as a boost to confidence. “This means a lot to me,” he said.

Other major awards went to Natalie MacMaster for Entertainer of The Year and to Newfoundland’s Ennis Sisters for Group of the Year. The Ennis Sisters signed their major record label deal with Warner Music Canada at last year’s awards in Charlottetown.

Rankin digs up folk roots

February 7, 2002 - Winnipeg Free Press

The New England Patriots weren't the only East Coast institution to clean up on Super Bowl Sunday.

Jimmy Rankin, formerly of Cape Breton Island's Rankin Family, was the big winner at the 2002 East Coast Music Awards, held in the shadow of the NFL championship this past Sunday in Saint John, NB.

Rankin won best single for his tune Followed Her Around, a share of the best songwriter prize and was also named best country artist. Yet if you catch his show tomorrow or Saturday at Club Regent casino, you'll find he's more of a folkie.

"I'm a singer-songwriter, first and foremost," said Rankin in an interview from Halifax a week before he scored his hat trick at the ECMA's.

"The voting for any awards show is never perfect. That goes for all of the ones I've been to. But the East Coast Music Awards are actually quite good."

The recognition is a welcome bit of good news for Jimmy Rankin. First came the breakup of The Rankin Family, his longtime musical project. Then, in January 2000, his brother John Morris Rankin died in a car accident.

For Jimmy, recording a solo album was a cathartic experience. He flew to Italy, hung out in Tuscany cafes and went to work at night in his hotel room writing songs on his guitar.

"I definitely needed to give myself a jump start," he said. "I highly recommend a change of scenery - but you don't have to go all the way to Italy for that."

The result of Rankin's trip was a record called Song Dog, released in late 2001 on his own independent label. It's also the album that won him the awards.

Jimmy Rankin performs this weekend with a four-piece band. They'll play material from Song Dog as well as Rankin Family hits.

Advance tickets are available from Ticketmaster, 780-3333.

On his own

Jimmy Rankin's solo album makes its mark with fans old and new

February 7, 2002 - The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon, SK)

By Cam Fuller / The StarPhoenix

Jimmy Rankin (Sunday at Louis' Pub) didn't want the band to end, but he always knew what his next move would be if it did.

The former frontman of the Rankin Family has nothing but good things to say about the decade he and his brother and sisters dominated the East Coast music scene and made an impressive impression nationally with songs like Fare Thee Well, Love.

"I miss playing, having a hoot on the road," Rankin said recently.

"We had a lot of good times, a lot of craziness. The band was kickin' it really good and people were enjoying it. But all good things must end."

Rankin knew he'd emerge as a solo musician once the family band retired in 1999. (Their last show was in Saskatoon, of all places). The only thing that delayed his plans was the death of his brother John Morris, who died in a car accident in early 2000. Jimmy quit music altogether for awhile, but came back to it and created his solo debut album Song Dog.

The album made a big first impression with the catchy tune Followed Her Around. The video was shot in a working strip club. Rankin jokes that the idea came from his wife but in fact it was L.A. director George Dougherty.

"I thought he kind of hit the mark. He hit the sense of humour and captured the meaning of the song."

The video "kind of created a bit of a stir" back home, Rankin says slightly impishly. At the same time, it was a bit of a deliberate decision to distance himself from the wholesome image of the Rankin Family.

"I guess it was a step away from that."

Striking out on his own has been both liberating and demanding for Rankin. He has total artistic freedom of course. But he's also the guy when it comes to doing shows.

"I go up on stage and I have to do a 90-minute show with a band. With the Rankins I would sing a song and pass it on to two or three other vocalists and soloists and maybe 20 minutes later it was back to me."

Not that he's complaining. Rankin says he enjoys all sides of making music: the solitude of writing, the creativity of recording and the spontaneity of performing.

"I like all three aspects of it, and they're all totally different."

If going solo was a gamble, it's one that certainly paid off. Rankin earned six East Coast Music Award nominations for Song Dog and won three, including best single for Followed Her Around and, oddly enough, best country artist.

Better yet is the fact that his music seems to be satisfying old fans and luring new ones.

"When you make a recording you put your heart and soul into it," he says.

Jimmy Rankin also plays Monday in Nipawin at the Evergreen Centre.

N.S. artists among Juno nominees

Our Lady Peace, Cohen, Nickelback lead the way

February 12, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Cooke / Entertainment Reporter & The Canadian Press

An old hand, a veteran band, the newest rock sensation in North America and a slew of East Coast talent are among the 2002 Juno nominees.

Leonard Cohen with four, Our Lady Peace with five and Nickelback with four were the leading nominees announced Monday at CTV's Masonic Temple studios in downtown Toronto at a news conference hosted by comedian Mike Bullard.

Our Lady Peace hauled in nominations for best album, group, single, album design and video.

Vancouver's Nickelback, who astonished fans and critics alike by becoming one of the biggest-selling rock acts in America last year, were named in the best album, group, single and rock album categories.

Cohen, whose career began before any of the members of Nickelback were born, was nominated for best artist, songwriter, album and video.

Nova Scotia rockers Sloan, Cape Breton-born singer/songwriter Jimmy Rankin, Cherry Brook R&B singer Jamie Sparks, Halifax alternative band Joel Plaskett Emergency, and Nova Scotia jazzman Mike Murley are also among the nominees.

Rankin said he never expects to be nominated for awards, but kind of thought something was up when he was asked Friday to attend the Juno news conference.

He received the news Monday morning, while on tour in Saskatchewan, that he got a nod in the country artist category and that his engineer, Brad Nelson, is up for best recording engineer for Rankin's hits, You and Me, and Followed Her Around.

"I'm delighted," said Rankin, over the phone from Saskatoon.

"It's funny, even when I was with The Rankins, we were nominated in the country category," Rankin said. "With my music, it's hard to classify. I consider myself more alternative country, than a traditional country artist."

It's been a good transition for Rankin into the solo entertainment world. Last week, he took home three East Coast Music Awards for his efforts on his Song Dog release.

Halifax rockers Sloan are up for best album for their Pretty Together release, and best single (If It Feels Good, Do It.)

"We tend to be bridesmaids at the Junos usually," said Sloan guitarist Jay Ferguson from Toronto following the announcement. "I think we won once, best alternative album for One Chord to Another, but we've been nominated for Navy Blues and Between the Bridges since then.

"I'm not counting on winning, but it's always nice to be recognized."

Sloan's presence in the best rock album category for Pretty Together is something of a triumph for the band, beating usual suspects like The Tea Party, Matthew Good Band and Our Lady Peace to a nomination.

Ferguson also took a certain satisfaction in landing the album's lead-off track, If It Feels Good Do It in the best single category, a first for the band.

For the front man of the Joel Plaskett Emergency, a best alternative album for Down at the Khyber was a welcome surprise considering the amount of activity in the broadly ranged genre. But he's careful not to let expectations get the better of him.

"With the company I'm keeping, it feels good to be nominated," said Plaskett, who shares the category with hotly hyped troubadours Hawksley Workman and Rufus Wainwright and Toronto favourites Rheostatics (on Halifax-based Perimeter Records) and The Constantines. "Basically it's an excuse to visit St. John's. Besides that, who knows?

"But it's cool to be on that list, even though everyone on it is a little higher up on the totem pole than I am."

Plaskett's first shot at a Juno Award was with his old band Thrush Hermit, even though they'd already broken up by the time the nomination came down. This time his trio the Joel Plaskett Emergency (with Dave Marsh and Tim Brennan) is in fine fighting form and he's better prepared to reap the benefits.

"It's a good prestige thing I suppose, and maybe it'll help sell a few more records," he said matter-of-factly. "But I don't know how many people are aware of who's up for the best alternative artist Juno Award."

A R&B/soul recording nomination for Cherry Brook singer-songwriter Jamie Sparks is a welcome boost after a busy year spent trying to establish himself in the U.S. with his album Unforgettable.

"This means you should never give up," said Sparks, who has turned his attention Stateside in recent years after attempting to break through in Canada proved to be an uphill climb.

In 2001 Sparks secured management in New York City and snagged airplay on BET, but the Juno nomination will be a help in getting attention at home.

Last year's big winner, Nelly Furtado, got two nods, for best album and best artist - she's also up for four Grammy awards.

Joining the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2002 is Hamilton-born producer Daniel Lanois.

This year's Juno celebrations will be held April 14 at Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Nfld., hosted by the Barenaked Ladies (CTV 9 p.m. Atlantic). Performers announced so far include Great Big Sea, Alanis Morissette, Furtado, Diana Krall, Marshall, Nickelback and Sum 41.

With Greg Guy, entertainment editor

"We're over the moon"

Ennis Sisters, Sloan, Jimmy Rankin nominated

February 12, 2002 - Halifax Daily News

By Sandy MacDonald / The Daily News

When the Juno Awards arrive in St. John’s on April 14, the hometown crowd will be rooting for the Ennis Sisters, nominated yesterday as best new country group. Fresh from being named the region’s best group at the East Coast Music Awards, the three sisters head into the splashy awards show as Newfoundland’s only nominee announced yesterday.

“We’re over the moon,” said Karen Ennis, from her parent’s home in St. John’s. “Even to be considered in the Junos is overwhelming. When we put this CD out, we had no idea how it was going to go. But the response has been absolutlely positive.”

The Ennis Sisters’ career has sky-rocketed in the past 12 months, signing a management contract, a major label record deal and hitting the national charts with It’s Not About You. “We’re not going in there looking to win, but we’re grateful to have the nomination.”

The 2002 Juno Awards will broadcast from Mile One Stadium, a recently opened 7,000-seat venue in St. John’s. Sloan is the region’s only multiple nominee, garnering a pair for best single (If it Feels Good, Do It) and for best rock album (Pretty Together).

Jimmy Rankin is nominated as best country artist, a category he won at the recent ECMA. With the success of his Followed Her Around single, Rankin has rekindled his career on Canadian country radio. “The nomination is totally unexpected, but I’m delighted,” said Rankin yesterday, from a hotel room in Saskatoon. The Cape Breton singer is in the midst of a western Canadian tour.

As a member of the Rankin Family, he’s already won three Junos as best country group, so the category is familiar ground. Though Rankin’s solo music leans more toward country, he says he’s appreciative to be in the race. “I don’t really consider myself to be a traditional country artist. But it’s just great to be nominated. The awards can certainly raise awareness for your music. It lets people know I’m out there.”

Some of the region’s brightest new talent has also been recognized. Halifax’s Joel Plaskett is nominated for best alternative album for his Down At The Khyber. “I’m happy about it,” says Plaskett. “Seems like I’m keeping pretty good company.” He’s nominated along with The Rheostatics, Rufus Wainwright, Hawksley Workman and the Constantines.

Ironically, Plaskett was nominated for the same Juno category a few years ago with his former band Thrush Hermit. “I kinda knew we wouldn’t win — we’d broken up by that point.”

Paskett has been receiving accolades from the U.K., and played some well-received shows there. “Canada is important, but it’s also important to go elsewhere,” says Plaskett. “It’s incredibly hard to make a living as an independent artist in this country.

Jamie Sparks received his first Juno nomination for his Unforgetable album in the R&B/soul recording category, and New Brunswick country singer J.R. Vautour is nominated for best new country artist.

Halifax-based jazz singer Jeri Brown is nominated for best vocal jazz album for Triptych album. Saxophonist Mike Murley, a Windsor native who lives in Toronto, was nominated in two categories — best contemporary jazz album for his work with Metalwood, and also in the traditional jazz category for his Live at the Senator album.

One frank Rankin

Jimmy's no cowboy, but he'll take the awards anyway

February 15, 2002 - Edmonton Sun

By Fish Griwkowsky

Song Dog is a really sharp record, full of Americana soul. That's the main thing to keep in mind about Jimmy Rankin, playing tonight at Festival Place. As if to prove the point, the show is a sellout - sorry about your luck if you missed tickets.

Never mind why the Rankins, Canada's Celtic darlings, broke up in 1999. Nor why Jimmy keeps getting nailed to and nominated for country awards, even though he's about as Nashville as ... well, the Rankin Family was. See how hard it is to get away from the past? History can scar.

But going through the tracks of Jimmy's solo album, you're suddenly wading naked in a deep pool of writing, the water murky and mysterious. There are wistful songs, funny ones and, of course, a few boozers. A man can only stagger so many miles from his roots, you understand.

"I don't consider myself to be a traditional country artist," Rankin says on the phone from Banff, pointing out the obvious. Obvious to some, anyway. The Juno committee, like the CCMAs and radio, lumps him in with hat-and-twang acts like Paul Brandt and Adam Gregory. He's up for the best country artist Juno this April at the ceremony, for example.

"In this country the 'country' category encompasses a lot of styles, unfortunately, or not. I'm trying to have an Americana feel, or alt country as it's called. I'm not a traditionalist, nor do I fit in on the radio. So I'm actually very pleased at the response."

One-fifth as popular as the Rankins, to be exact, pretty good thanks to hits like the infectious Followed Her Around.

"I wasn't thinking about the market when I wrote those songs. Most of them came over a span of years, I just threw it together, then threw it out there. It's kind of a cross-section of tunes from the late '80s to the present, songs I'd written long ago that I didn't feel fit the Rankin Family format. Some of them were brand new."

One such song is Wasted, full of harmonicas, which he wrote in Italy about an old relationship. "I don't really think it's a sad song. Before I started making the record I needed a change of scenery. I wrote it over there in Tuscany in a fury, after a night of debauchery," he laughs.

Rankin lives in Halifax with his wife, and the touring band he's bringing with him tonight includes a keyboard player, a bass player, a drummer and another guitarist, all of them from Nova Scotia, none of them members of his family. His sisters had various luck getting on Song Dog.

"Cookie sang on the record, and Heather was going to. We don't play as a family any-more, but we see each other. Heather came out and stayed with us in Halifax recently. Cookie's married now, living outside of Nashville. She married the record producer from our last album, actually."

"I just wanted to make an honest record and I got to. My time with the band was wonderful and rewarding, but things just feel like they're getting going now."

Thus ends our update on the Rankin file.

The Chronicles of Jimmy Rankin

February 15, 2002 - Campbell River Mirror

The former musical leader of the Rankin family is bringing his solo tour to Courtenay and Campbell River this month.

Jimmy Rankin will be supporting his new album, Song Dog, at the Tidemark Theatre in Campbell River on Feb. 21.

After 10 years of touring, numerous hit singles, multiple Juno awards and sales of over two million albums with his brother and sisters – The Rankins which disbanded in 1999 – Jimmy Rankin emerged last year with his debut album Song Dog and moves into the realm of solo singer-songwriter.

Rankin is a chronicler of human experience: love, fate, wanderlust, fear and destination.

Through imagery, he seamlessly transports you from the waters edge in a harbour town to the gritty streets of the city, visual and musical boundaries blur on this album.

Raw emotion and masterful musicality meet pop, roots rock and Celtic-tinged flavours head-on. With Song Dog, Rankin delivers a collection of 12 tracks packed with thought-provoking lyrics, stirring melodies and edgy hooks that clearly represent a fresh, new direction for one of Canada’s most beloved recording artists.

Known nationwide as a vocalist, guitar player and principle songwriter for The Rankins, Song Dog firmly cements Rankin’s status on the solo stage as among Canada’s premier songwriters.

“I am grateful for my years with The Rankins,” says Rankin. “It was all tremendously rewarding.”

The Rankins won countless ECMAs, several CCMAs, and five Junos including Entertainer of the Year and Single of the Year for Jimmy’s self-penned song “Fare Thee Well Love,” The Rankins’ signature song, which broke the band on Canadian radio. As well, for his various hit singles, Jimmy accumulated five SOCAN awards based on top radio airplay.

Despite their success, Jimmy says of the Rankins’ break-up; “It was time for a change.

“We were at different places in our lives, and we wanted to do different things.”

After a two-year hiatus from playing, partly from recording constraints but primarily due to the untimely death of his brother and band mate, John Morris, Rankin went into the studio.

“I’ve always wanted to make a solo record to explore another part of my creative headspace. It was simply time to get back at it.

“My brother was and continues to be incredibly important to me. He will be with me forever,” he says quietly.

Not surprisingly, Song Dog is dedicated to the memory of John Morris.

Rankin steps into solo spotlight

February 16, 2002 - Calgary Sun

By Mike Bell

Jimmy Rankin's elation at his recent triple win at the annual East Coast Music Awards may have had a little confusion mixed in.

On the strength of his debut solo album, Song Dog, the singer-songwriter earned nods for songwriter of the year, single of the year, and -- and here's the baffling one -- country artist of the year.

"I'm still trying to figure out what the definition of Canadian country music is," says Rankin, who performs tonight at the old MacEwan Ballroom.

"But I guess I rank in there."

Song Dog is actually Rankin's attempts to establish himself as a singer-songwriter in the vein of Gordon Lightfoot, or, on a more contemporary level, someone like Steve Earle.

The need to prove his songwriting skill isn't something you think would be necessary given his tenure in one of Canada's most beloved acts, Cape Breton musical clan The Rankin Family. "It's interesting because I wrote most of the songs for the Rankins over the years and I think a lot of people aren't really aware of that," he says.

"I'm kind of educating people again."

When the family band broke up in 1999 -- after a decade which saw the quintet selling more than two million records -- Jimmy took the opportunity to record the album which had been on the backburner.

The delay is something he's now grateful for, explaining Song Dog wouldn't have been the same album if he'd recorded it when the impulse first hit.

"All through when I was with the Rankins, I wanted to make this record, but I never had the time," he says of the disc released last July. "The opportunity would present itself and then I'd be back on the road again."

The split of The Rankins and the ability to go it alone is only one of many factors in Jimmy's maturation.

Losing his brother and former bandmate, John Morris, in a car accident in 2000 affected him greatly, as did a soul-searching trip to Italy he took afterwards.

Consequently, the album is full of extremely reflective, vivid, and sometimes gritty material. But despite the musical 180, Rankin has been pleasantly surprised to find old fans making the effort to get to know the new him.

"I didn't expect it to be a big, huge radio commercial success. I basically, in my own stubborn way, stuck to my guns and stayed away from that big production side.

"And I think I've made a very honest and truthful record, and it's the record I had to make."

O Atlantic Canada: Top performers raise Fundy's musical tide

February 27 - March 5, 2002 - Irish Echo Newspaper

By Earle Hitchner

In "You Lovers All," an Irish traditional song dating back to the 19th century, a pair of immigrant lovers from Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, reunite by chance in Quebec and then, by choice, "live quite happily in a town they call Saint John."

Their decision to remain in Saint John, a New Brunswick seaport on the Bay of Fundy, would have been all the easier in the 21st century had they known about the 14th annual East Coast Music Awards and Conference held there from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3. It was an exhilarating celebration of multi-genre music, Celtic included, from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Labrador, and New Brunswick, the only Canadian province officially bilingual (French and English).

As a U.S. delegate invited by the Canadian Embassy, I was impressed by the breadth of talent on display at the 2002 ECMA. Costing $1.3 million (Canadian) to mount and generating $3.5 million for the Saint John economy, the four-day event showcased established and emerging Atlantic Canadian artists for over 2,000 industry delegates. There were also thousands of music fans who flocked to the city and an estimated one million viewers who watched the national telecast of the Feb. 3 gala awards show held at the Harbour Station arena.

Live music seemed to fill every pub, lounge, theater, hotel, school auditorium, museum, ballroom, atrium, and foyer in Saint John. There was even a 72-hour jam at a billiards hall that featured 83 bands, giving fresh meaning to the phrase "rock around the clock." Most events were packed, and most attendees moved from one venue to another with the help of a fully enclosed, heated pedestrian walkway system running from the top to the bottom of the city.

Singer-songwriters

A quadruple threat as composer, arranger, performer, and producer, Gordie Sampson hails from Cape Breton Island, where he has collaborated with Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie MacMaster, the Rankins, the Barra MacNeils, and Mary Jane Lamond. On stage, his grit-edged voice and crisp guitar picking combined with fresh, venturesome songwriting to create succinct narratives rooted in realism.

Equally adept in folk, traditional, rock, and pop realms, Sampson shared songwriter of the year honors with Jimmy Rankin, previously of the Rankin Family, for "Followed Her Around," a catchy, country-pop hit in Canada that also earned Rankin the award for single of the year.

From Mabou, Cape Breton Island, the Rankins were siblings (sisters Heather, Raylene, and Cookie; brothers Jimmy and the late John Morris) steeped in tradition but with a contemporary flair, especially in Jimmy's songwriting. After a 10-year run, they disbanded in 1999, and Jimmy took some time off before deciding to embark last year on a solo career and album, "Song Dog." With his Songdogs band in an ECMA concert broadcast nationally by CBC Radio, Rankin imparted a Springsteenish edge to his harmonica playing on "Midnight Angel," and his acoustic-guitar prelude to "We'll Carry On," a song about the hardship of Maritime fishing life, slid nimbly into a hard-charging rock setting with the whole band.

South Rustico, Prince Edward Island's Lennie Gallant, nominated in the best songwriter category for his song "The Pull of the Fundy Tide," sang it and "Peter's Dream" with salt-spray gusto at Saint John's Imperial Theater and also at Barnacles Pub, where patrons crammed together to join lustily in the choruses. Another song written by this charismatic performer, "Pieces of You," poignantly described the remnants of a love now ended.

Ronald Bourgeois's "Le Long Retour" was nominated for the year's best Francophone recording, and this singer-songwriter from Cheticamp, Cape Breton Island, often sang in Acadian French on stage. His original songs drew on heritage (Cajun music comes from Acadian culture) and adult folk-pop, not Lite but light, enough to bridge the two genres deftly. Bourgeois's music is anything but bourgeois.

'Grass/roots ability

The two pairs of singing sisters making up Blacks Mountain -- Lisa and Donna Bennett, and Dawn Ellis and Joyce Miller, who share the maiden name of Kennedy -- have performed bluegrass, old-time country, and gospel music for 15 years out of St. Martins, New Brunswick. "We're not exactly Britney Spears," admitted Lisa Bennett, and these middle-aged women's comic disdain for the celery-nibbling, bare-midriff image of so many female singers today provided a whiff of needed body-image sanity. They are four delightfully harmonizing un-divas who never got Mariah Carey-ed away with themselves.

At the Sunday night ECMA telecast, the award for roots/traditional artist of the year went to Mary Jane Lamond. She plumbs the lesser-known but no less rich tradition of Gaelic singing on Cape Breton Island.

Fellow Nova Scotian Kendra MacGillivray has a strong musical pedigree: her grandfather was fiddling legend Hugh A. MacDonald, her instructor was Stan Chapman, and her fiddle classmates included Ashley MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster. MacGillivray played the fiddle with infectious energy on stage, proving her two awards -- for female artist of the year and instrumental artist of the year -- were well-earned.

"Baby Barra MacNeils": that was the moniker given by some to Sl�inte Mhath, a quintet featuring Ryan and Boyd MacNeil, two younger brothers of the more established Barra MacNeils from Sydney Mines, N.S. But Sl�inte Mhath, who've shared the stage with the Chieftains, the Sharon Shannon Band, and Dan� in the past, offer a different, distinctive brand of Celtic music. They play flute, fiddle, highland bagpipes, guitar, bouzouki, drums, electric bass, bongos, shakers, and keyboards with controlled abandon, slivering their sound with intended distortion. It's an audacious prog-trad-rock spin on Irish and other Celtic music, performed full-blast.

Two days after celebrating her 82nd birthday, Matilda Murdoch, a fiddler from Miramichi, N.B., won a Stompin' Tom award that recognizes the unsung heroes of Atlantic Canadian music. With her son Owen on guitar and her friend Maureen Coughlan on keyboards, Murdoch received two standing ovations for her age-defying fiddling of her own tunes: "Loggieville Two Step," "Up and Bartibog," "The Napadogan," and "One for Francis," written for her late husband.

24/7 live music

Late Saturday night, I went in a shuttle van down snow-encrusted Prince William Street to the fifth annual Black Vibes showcase, hosted by the African Nova Scotian Music Association in a club called the Canadian Jungle. With me the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Myra Freeman, and her husband, plus Anna Gibbs, the cultural affairs officer at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

As the four of us walked into the packed club, rapper Papa Grand, beat boxer Kaleb Simmonds, and turntablist Skratch Bastid were on stage performing together. A nominee in the ECMA category of best urban recording, 19-year-old Kaleb Simmonds from Halifax took the rap-backing rhythm of hip-hop and transformed it through an amazing array of percussive sounds and instrumental mimicry made solely by mouth. At one point, he became a one-man band, punctuating his own steady rhythm with some soulfully elliptical singing of a Stevie Wonder song.

The retro-swing craze may have died down in the U.S., but Prince Edward Island's Jive Kings need not worry. Most of the material the octet performed at the Imperial Theater on Feb. 1 was original and noirishly witty, dripping with a Mickey Spillane-like attitude guaranteed to elicit a smile. They ended with "Captain Crunch," a call-and-response song filled with hilarious reactions to various breakfast cereals.

Also on stage that night were Joel Miller, a gifted tenor and soprano saxophonist from Sackville, N.B., whose melodic style fondly recalls John Coltrane and Stan Getz, and Les Muses, a comely, compelling vocal quartet from Moncton, N.B., whose eclectic, mainly French-sung repertoire covers chanson, Acadian, and modern pop and jazz songs. Les Muses especially stood out on "A La Claire Fontaine," an Acadian traditional song, and "Java Jive," a former hit for both the Ink Spots and the Manhattan Transfer.

Other highlights

In a voice with the vibrato-rich reach of Tori Amos but well-grounded in Gaelic and other traditional singing, Prince Edward Island-born Patricia Murray sang such Irish songs as "My Johnny's Gone for a Soldier" and "I Wonder What's Keeping My True Love Tonight" with stirring emotive power and beauty.

Though she was sometimes too precious in her presentation, Florenceville, N.B., vocalist Eleanor McCain shone in her rendition of "She's Like the Swallow," a song claimed by both Irish and Newfoundland folk traditions.

The rock ranged from the arena-pitched, anthemic sound of Nova Scotia's Crush, whose hook-ladened song "Live" had the audience up and dancing, to the furtively melodic punk, grunge, and thrash-metal music of Newfoundland's bucket truck.

Did I like everything I saw? No. In a country-music showcase at the Imperial Theater, I quickly tired of Fredericton, N.B.'s J.R. Vautour, whose hyper-energetic, insistently ingratiating performance bordered on crowd pandering. Also, New Brunswick folksinger Brent Mason had a small voice that got smaller as he sang, and Newfoundland Irish singer Neal O'Leary suffered from an all-too-familiar ballad-bashing style bred in the Maritime bars.

But these were the exceptions to a deep, diverse pool of Atlantic Canadian talent. It's obvious that the country has much more than Olympic gold-medal ice hockey and pairs figure skating, or Roots caps and jackets, to export below.

Kenny Rogers show adds Rankin

March 7, 2002 - Halifax Herald

ECMA 2002 country artist of the year Jimmy Rankin will open for Kenny Rogers at the Metro Centre in Halifax on April 11 at 8 p.m.

Three-time Grammy nominees Diamond Rio will also open for American icon Rogers, who is promoting his 60th record.

Tickets start at $34.34. Gold Circle seating is also available. Tickets are on sale now at the Metro Centre Box Office or at participating Sobey's locations or by calling (902) 451-1221.

Rankin among artists helping food bank

March 17, 2002 - Halifax Herald

Raylene Rankin, Linda Carvery, Sons of Maxwell and Mir will perform at CBC Radio's Spring Food Bank Drive on Thursday, March 21 at the Regency Ballroom of the Lord Nelson Hotel and Suites, South Park Street, Halifax.

The public is invited to attend three shows and donate to the Metro Food Bank.

From 6 to 9 a.m., Information Morning with Don Connolly and Elizabeth Logan will feature performances by Raylene Rankin, Linda Carvery, Bill Stevenson and friends. There will also be a poetry face off with five poets competing with new works using the theme of love in Nova Scotia.

From noon to 2 p.m., Maritime Noon's Costa Halavrezos will present a musical hour featuring pop-folk band Sons of Maxwell. Correspondents Steve Sutherland, Laura Chapin and Catou MacKinnon will also participate. Between 1 and 2 p.m., the phone-in regulars will give out advice on a wide variety of subjects.

On Mainstreet from 4 to 6 p.m., George Jordan will present two musical hours featuring Mir and Tiyaila Cain-Grant.

Volunteers will be outside the Lord Nelson Hotel from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to accept food or cash donations.

Macmichael benefit set for March 28

March 20, 2002 - Halifax Herald

On Thursday, March 28, at 8 p.m. an all-star cast of East Coast talent will take the stage at Halifax's Olympic Gardens Hall to put on a party for noted musician Kevin Macmichael and raise funds for cancer research in Nova Scotia.

With A little Help from My Friends will include performances by Nick van Eede (Macmichael's partner in the British group Cutting Crew), Jimmy Rankin, Frank MacKay, Ritchie Oakley, Sam Moon, Wayne Nicholson, Tribute, The Hop and more, along with Macmichael himself.

Growing up in Halifax, Macmicheal played in local groups Spice, Chalice and Fast Forward before forming England's Grammy-nominated and platinum-selling Cutting Crew, and playing with musicians ranging from Beatles drummer Pete Best to Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant. He retired from the international stage several years ago, and now lives in Halifax again. Macmichael is seriously ill, and this event is in support of him, his daughters and cancer research.

Tickets are $20 at all Musicstop locations in Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, Sackville and New Minas, or at the door.

For more information call Musicstop in Halifax at 496-6900. You can also visit the event's Web site at www.nwwe.net/kevin.htm

School gets band aid

March 20, 2002 - Halifax Daily News

By The Daily News Staff

Jimmy Rankin will make a presentation of $10,000 worth of musical instruments and equipment to the students of Ball’s Creek Elementary School in North Sydney tomorrow.

The school is one of seven across the country to receive Band Aid from the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, producers of the Juno Awards. Band Aid receives funding from the five major record labels in Canada and awards instruments to schools which have music programs that are in jeopardy.

Ball’s Creek Elementary School is a rural school with 93 students from Primary to Grade 6. The last school year saw the introduction of a band program for students in grades 5 and 6, to an enthusiastic response. Many instruments had to be borrowed from other schools, and students needed to share or use damaged instruments. As more and more students expressed an interest in joining the band, the school struggled to accommodate everyone.

“Our program is only in its second year and the interest is growing all the time. These instruments are a great boost for the school band, and we are very thrilled,” says music teacher Noelle Wadden.

Music students in awe of C.B. musician

March 23, 2002 - The Cape Breton Post

By Julie Collins

It was a big deal for a small rural school to be host to one of Canada’s finest singer/songwriters.

Cape Breton’s own Jimmy Rankin, multiple Juno winner with the former Rankin Family, was guest of honour Friday as he presented Ball’s Creek Elementary School band with $10,000 worth of musical instruments and equipment. Rankin has been nominated for a 2002 Juno Award in the best country artist category.

The BAND AID grant is from the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, producers of the annual Juno Awards show.

The youngsters were in awe as Rankin was introduced to the students, parents and community.

Even school board and municipal officials got into the act with Superintendent of Schools Ed Davis doing a tap dance much to the delight of the crowd and regional mayor John Morgan mouthing a tune.

In his comments Rankin said that Cape Breton is renowned for its world class musicians.

“Maintaining a lasting legacy depends on the next generation and that’s you guys,” Rankin told the band members. “Hopefully these instruments will be both inspirational and assist you in your musical journey. The responsibility is yours to maintain your instruments and create new music that has been and will become the fabric of our culture and heritage.”

Rankin said he didn’t have the good fortune of having music in his school when he was growing up.

“These youngsters are very fortunate and I hope that they continue to receive funding for the music programs in these schools.”

Rankin said he was predestined to be a musician.

“My family and community were very musical, I was lucky in that way. I don’t know how to read music, so perhaps being involved in a school band could have opened up doors that might have offered better opportunities. Most kids may not go on to pursue music. If they don’t, it is still something they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.”

BAND AID is part of the CARAS Music Education Program and receives funding from the five major labels in Canada. It awards these grants to schools which have music programs that are in jeopardy or in need of assistance to sustain their long term development.

Music Director Noel Wadden said the students and parents were thrilled with Rankin’s visit to the school.

“Our program is only in its second year and the interest is growing all the time, “Wadden said. “These instruments are a boost for the school band.”

Principal Barbara Mercer said words couldn’t describe the excitement which pervaded the school when they were notified that they were one of the winning schools.

“Not only will these instruments assist in the long term development of our band program,” said Mercer, “they will also provide access to band instruction for all interested students regardless of their financial situation.

Above Photo: Julie Collins / Cape Breton Post - Cape Breton recording artist Jimmy Rankin (left) listens to a few notes played on the trombone by Balls Creek School band member Sandy Bushell, 11. The Grade 5 student entertained the gathering after Rankin presented the school band with $10,000 worth of musical instruments. The presentation was made possible by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Band-Aid program.

Jordan exits Mainstreet

Consummate radio man moves on

March 29, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Cooke / Entertainment Reporter

After 17 years on CBC Radio's Mainstreet, George Jordan is applying for a change of address.

The affable afternoon show host said farewell to listeners on Thursday, before symbolically riding off into the sunset to the strains of Roy Rogers' and Dale Evans' Happy Trails to You.

The news came as a surprise to many, with even his co-workers unaware that Jordan would be signing off Mainstreet for good before the Easter weekend.

"The timing was right, I've got some other things I want to do," said Jordan from his desk in the CBC Radio building on Sackville Street. He first signed onto Mainstreet in December, 1984, setting the tone for an entertaining drive-home program featuring news, music and interviews, with a strong focus on local issues and entertainers.

"I've got a film project underway (with actor/filmmaker Anthony Sherwood), I've got interests in Mexico. Little dribs and drabs, here and there."

Even though it may have seemed sudden to some, Jordan said the decision to leave the show wasn't made lightly. It had been on his mind for some time, even before he took a few months off in 1998 so he could donate a kidney to his stepdaughter Jennifer Akerley.

Rather than face the stringent pace of hosting a daily current affairs show, Jordan is looking forward to working at his own speed, taking time for acting and gardening with his wife Jacquie at their Dartmouth home.

"The end of the fiscal year came up, and that seemed like a pretty good time to do it," said Jordan. "And it's clean from CBC's point of view, they're undergoing some changes and making changes in the daytime schedule.

"It just made sense from different points of view."

Listeners shouldn't expect any sweeping changes to Mainstreet when they tune in on Monday, but director of radio programming for the Maritimes, Susan Mitton, says the search will begin in earnest for a new host.

However, she admits Jordan will be a tough act to follow.

"We're going to miss him terribly," she said. "He's been an outstanding contributor, both on-air and off, in this community.

"He really spearheaded, for CBC, building positive relationships with many communities, the foremost of which is the black community. Before people were really concerned with reflecting diversity, George was well ahead of the curve. He really pushed us there in a positive way, which was a huge contribution."

Mitton noted that hosting Mainstreet requires a broad range of skills, with Jordan filling the roles of broadcaster, journalist and personality, plus relying on a wide knowledge of music and culture.

His devotion to arts on the East Coast helped give a boost to local performers featured on the show, including Mabou's The Rankins, who heard their music played on Mainstreet in the earliest days of their career.

"I'm sad to hear that, I listen to George," said Jimmy Rankin from his home in Halifax. "I'd like to tell him thanks for all the support over the years, and I'm going to miss talking to him.

"He's been a great supporter, not just of the Rankins, but of East Coast talent over the years. We've done a lot of interviews, and I remember that he was always well-informed about the music and took time to listen to the albums and find out what was going on."

MacMichael's benefit recorded for future CD release

April 4, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Stephen Cooke / Nightclub Notebook

CONGRATULATIONS to organizers of last week's benefit for Kevin Macmichael and cancer research at Olympic Gardens. Event organizer Bob Atkinson says the hall was at capacity attendance for the tribute to the former Cutting Crew guitarist, and they managed to raise in the neighbourhood of $10-15,000 (some expenses are still being worked out).

It was a star-studded event with a mini-Cutting Crew reunion between Macmichael and vocalist Nick Van Eede, plus appearances by Ritchie Oakley, Jimmy Rankin and Bruce Guthro, as well as Macmichael's cohorts in Tribute. It was the kind of evening where the beer ran out around 11 p.m., but the party continued until well into the wee hours.

Atkinson informs me that a digital recording of the evening was made, and as soon as the details are worked out it will be available for sale on compact disc as a fundraiser. Photos taken at the show will also be reproduced and made available in autographed form.

For more information on these items and the Bank of Montreal trust fund set up on behalf of Macmichael and his family (bank transfer number: 21893-001-3072-417), keep an eye on the Web site at http://www.nwwe.net/kevin.htm

Blossom Festival announces lineup

April 11, 2002 - Halifax Herald

Bruce Guthro, Jimmy Rankin and The Ennis Sisters will be blossoming during the 70th anniversary of the Annapolis Valley Blossom Festival this year.

The award-winning trio of East Coast acts will perform (rain or shine) at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 1 at the Concert on the Field at Raymond Field, Acadia University, Wolfville.

Admission is $20 plus HST and tickets are non-refundable.

To order tickets call Acadia's box office at 542-5500 or 1-800-542-8425.

Box Office Hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Saturdays 1-4 p.m.

Now, how do you like those apples?

Halifax gets lucky with Juno-bound artists

April 11, 2002 - Halifax Daily News

By Sandy MacDonald - Behind the Beat

THIS WEEKEND, THE focus is on live Canadian music — whether you’re lucky enough to be in St. John’s, Nfld., for the annual Juno Awards or here at home. Either way, metro is enjoying some Juno spill-over, as a handful of bands are stopping off en route.

Canada’s current queen of pop, Nelly Furtado, plays the Metro Centre tomorrow night before she heads to Newfoundland to scoop up an armload of Junos. It’s the first big pop show we’ve had in a while, and Furtado’s career is hot as a pistol.

(Unfortunately, Nelly isn’t chatting with the local press this week. Her handlers in Toronto advised us mid-week that “Nelly was sick” and unable to grant interviews.)

Sum 41, the power-punk band which busted out globally with their single Fat Lip, has booked an all-ages concert at the Halifax Forum on Monday night. The album All Killer No Filler has been a huge hit — double platinum sales in Canada, triple platinum in the U.K. and 1.5 million in the U.S.A. Tickets are $23.50, with special guests H20 & Autopilot Off.

Toronto’s Rheostatics boast one of the country’s most devoted fan bases, which is well deserved for their intelligent songwriting and entertaining live shows. After 20 years together, Dave Bidini, Tim Vesely and lead guitarist Martin Tielli are still at the top of their game. Check them out tomorrow night at the Marquee — tickets are $16 in advance, $18 at the door.

Meanwhile, a couple of the most successful East Coast artists of the past decade come out of retirement for a big fundraising show tonight at Pier 21. Both Rawlins Cross and Raylene Rankin have been lying low for the past year or two, but will rekindle their music for a concert dubbed All Together Now for Liberal leadership candidate Danny Graham.

Rawlins Cross piper and band-leader Ian McKinnon attended St. Francis Xavier University with Graham in the early 1980s, while Rankin and Graham plowed through Dal law school together. She will perform a short set, backed up by Rawlins Cross and guitarist George Antoniak, who is just getting back into playing after a long layoff. Great to see him back on stage.

Also on that bill are Acadian singer-songwriter Ron Bourgeois and jazz artist Harvey Millar and his Freedom Jazz band. Tickets are $25, and available through the Metro Centre box office, select Sobey’s outlets and at the door.

Meanwhile, Raylene’s brother Jimmy is playing the Metro Centre tonight, opening for country crooner Kenny Rogers.

Singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith brings his solo show to the Velvet Olive tonight, as part of a short solo tour as he winds his way to Newfoundland for the weekend. Tickets are $20. And as if that’s not enough, Canuck star-power Amanda Marshall headlines two nights at the Rebecca Cohn, on Monday and Tuesday. She’s invited local rockers Crush along as special guests.

So there’s no shortage of live music over the next few days.

Rogers takes fans through the years

April 12, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Paul Kennedy - Concert Review

After a 13-year absence, the king of cross-over country returned to the Maritimes last night. Kenneth Donald Rogers shared those familiar hits with 4,000 or so appreciative fans at the Halifax Metro Centre.

The gate should have been better for a performer of his stature. However, that $80 price tag for the best seats may have spooked some ticket buyers.

What Rogers lacks in vocal range, he more than compensates for with his charisma, showmanship and witty banter. As was the case during his visits in the '80s, he frequently fraternized (good-naturedly) with the crowd.

Although he doesn't appear to be working up a sweat on stage, when he croons classic love songs like the Lionel Richie-penned Lady, he can do no wrong.

His trademark, raspy renditions of songs like Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town, Coward of the County, Lucille and, of course, The Gambler, were just what his longtime fans wanted to hear.

Rogers threw a $10 bill, of course in U.S. currency, to a new fan named Don, for each Rogers' hit he recognized.

Don went home with $100 and a Kenny Rogers' T-shirt.

The 63-year-old Rogers wisely included such rock-edged tunes as Love or Something Like It, Stand Up and Daytime Friends in the mix. He is a music icon who still has what it takes.

Many of the real country fans in the crowd were probably more impressed with Diamond Rio. This Marty Roe-led six man band was playing their first-ever Maritime concert, and they displayed their CMA award-winning prowess from the get-go. Their togetherness after more than a dozen years is quite refreshing.

The stellar musicianship from Jimmy Olander on lead guitar and drummer Brian Prout was out-standing on feel-good songs like How Your Love Makes Me Feel, Meet In The Middle and Norma Jean Riley.

Roe, one of the finest lead singers anywhere, sparkled vocally on such killer songs as One More Day and their latest single - Beautiful Mess. A number of concertgoers may have felt like they got their money's worth, even before Mr. Rogers entered the neighbourhood.

Jimmy Rankin, no slouch when it comes to raw talent, opened the show with music from his solid Song Dog solo album. He convincingly proved again that he could deliver a story song with the best of them. Followed Her Around and a more Stones than Rankins-sounding You Feel The Same Way Too set the lively tone for the evening.

Paul Kennedy has been the voice of country music in Nova Scotia for more than 25 years.

A look at Nova Scotia's Juno Nominees

April 12, 2002 - Halifax Daily News

By Marla Cranston / The Daily News

(article excerpt)

Jimmy Rankin

With a shelf full of Junos at home in Halifax for his work with the Rankins, this year’s country artist nod still means a lot to Jimmy Rankin. His EMI solo debut Song Dog, which earned three ECMAS, is his first offering without the Mabou musical dynasty, so it’s a nice pat on the back for his songwriting skills. He’s also playing the Juno songwriters’ circle with Bruce Guthro, Paul Lamb, Alan Doyle, Ron Hynes and others.

“The Junos have never been here, so in a way it kind of shows that they’re recognizing the East Coast is a valid music source in Canada. I don’t think they’d have it here otherwise,” he says.

Circle of friends lights up Junofest

April 15, 2002 - The Telegram (Newfoundland)

By Rob Antle / The Telegram

Bruce Guthro had one question for the audience "Isn’t it a wicked thing happening in St. John’s this weekend?"

Few in the capacity crowd would have disagreed.

About 900 people filled the St. John’s Convention Centre Sunday afternoon for the concluding event of Junofest 2002 — the highly anticipated songwriters’ circle.

On a raised platform in the middle of the darkened convention centre floor, 10 of the country’s top songsmiths — surrounded by fans and lit only by eight spotlights — played guitar, sang, and took turns talking about their music.

The artists seemed to be having as much fun as those who came to see them. They played for nearly an extra hour, turning a scheduled two-hour event into three hours.

"It was incredible, just incredible," said co-host Barry Canning. "The crowd just ate it up. The brilliant writers, music… I just can’t express it. I got cold shivers."

The first songwriters’ circle was hosted by Canning, and featured Juno nominees Ron Sexsmith and Maren Ord, Paul Lamb of Crush and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Daniel Lanois.

The second was moderated by Guthro, and included Ron Hynes, Alan Doyle of Great Big Sea, Maureen Ennis of the Ennis Sisters and Jimmy Rankin. Lanois also came back to perform an encore.

The capacity crowd got to hear some familiar songs performed in slightly different ways, and hear many of the stories behind the music.

Lamb played a song he wrote while going through a bad stretch three or four years ago, a time when he said he made some bad choices. Some friends, including Canning, helped him out of trouble. Lamb told the audience he found writing Where’s The Man therapeutic "This song is about that journey, what I was going through at the time," he said.

Sexsmith played a song he wrote with a guitar in Daniel Lanois’ living room, but eventually recorded on piano.

Doyle debuted a song about passion turning from love to hate and back again. The song, tentatively titled The Worst in The World, was partially inspired by the characters in Othello, one of his favourite Shakespeare plays.

Doyle later picked up the beat with the GBS hit Ordinary Day, which got the crowd clapping. Hynes, Ennis, Rankin and Guthro all joined in to sing the chorus.

Hynes played A Good Dog Is Lost, which he co-wrote with his daughter, and Guthro performed a new song inspired by the events of Sept. 11.

Maureen Ennis was joined by her sisters Teresa and Karen on vocals for one of her numbers.

Instrumental

The afternoon was a fitting tribute to the late Roger Skinner, a longtime president of the provincial Music Industry Association who was instrumental in making the Junos songwriters’ circle become a reality.

Less than two months ago, Skinner collapsed backstage at the Celebrity Secrets concert shortly after finishing a set with the Du-Cats. Efforts to revive him failed.

Canning said Skinner asked him to participate in the Junos songwriters’ circle just before he died. "And here it is, just happened, 900 people and some great writers and a beautiful day — a great day."

Skinner would have loved Sunday afternoon’s show, Canning said.

"I think so … He loved this aspect of music, this singer-songwriter (aspect). He would have loved to have been here today."

Proceeds from tickets to the songwriters’ circle will go to a new scholarship fund established in Skinner’s memory. And the event will help do exactly what Skinner wanted, Canning said aid Newfoundland musicians.

"It takes you up a level, and it’s creating a buzz around Newfoundland music and what we’ve got to offer."

The three-day Junofest saw 62 acts perform in six venues throughout downtown.

Fine-tuning Apple Blossom concert

Triple-bill set for Saturday, June 1

April 20, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Larry Powell

Wolfville - Organizers of the Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival are hoping three East Coast acts can do what the internationally famous Barenaked Ladies failed to do last year - pack Acadia University's Raymond Field.

Nova Scotia entertainers and renowned tunesmiths Jimmy Rankin and Bruce Guthro, along with Newfoundland's sky-rocketing Ennis Sisters have signed on for the 8 p.m. June 1 concert which organizers hope will draw crowds from across the province.

The Barenaked Ladies, expected to be a sure-fire hit last year, attracted about 7,000 people and was a reported money-loser for the festival. Ironically, the Wolfville crowd was said to be the largest Maritime audience ever for the Ontario group although it was far short of Raymond Field's capacity.

But festival organizers didn't blame the Ladies for lack of appeal. The concert was hot and those who did attend raved about the act.

However, construction on Highway 101 in Hants County caused major traffic problems and reported delays of up to three hours.

Festival president Claud O'Hara is hoping that won't happen again and organizers have been in communication with the Department of Transportation in an attempt to solve the problem.

If that snag is worked out, O'Hara is predicting standing-room-only for this year's Saturday evening triple-bill and is basing his optimism on a number of indicators, not the least of which is ticket sales to date and word on the street.

"We've received a great deal of positive response from people planning to attend," O'Hara said Thursday.

"We learned a great deal from our venture last year. One of the most important things we learned was that if you host an event in the Annapolis Valley and expect people to come from across Nova Scotia, Friday night is less appealing than Saturday night."

He said Saturday night just makes more sense because concert-goers can come early, spend time in the Valley and make a whole day of it.

He thinks ticket sales are going well not just because of three major acts for $20, but because the acts are what the public wants and through their diverse appeal to all ages. All three acts did well at the recent East Coast Music Awards and the Ennis Sisters were given top billing at the annual Junos.

Atlantic Superstores has come onboard to help sponsor the concert and will also sell tickets. "It's a very positive thing for us because of the benefits of such a sponsor and everything they bring to the table," O'Hara said.

Tickets are also available at the Acadia Box Office, (902) 542-5500 or 1-800-542-8425. The box office is open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 1 to 4 p.m.

Putting funny business on TV

Walsh decides what jokes make the cut for CBC

April 21, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Andrea Nemetz / Entertainment Reporter - Behind the Scenes

NEWFOUNDLAND IS blessed with an abundance of funny people - think Rick Mercer, Mary Walsh, and Cathy Jones to name a few.

"I was born to be part of the comedy scene," laughs St. John's native Moya Walsh, whose job it is to turn the Ha!ifax Comedy Festival into TV shows for CBC.

"I've got the best gig in town. I love to laugh. My favourite people are the people who make me laugh."

Walsh will be literally surrounded by laughter for the next few months.

The comedy festival kicks off on Monday with Improv Knights at the Velvet Olive. On Wednesday, things get into high gear with the first of three nights of shows at the Waterfront Warehouse. And on Saturday, (April 27) there's the grand finale at the Rebecca Cohn, in which all the festival comics have five minutes to highlight the best of their performances.

While the shows at the Cohn and the Waterfront Warehouse are being taped, Walsh is in the production truck, scribbling furious notes to herself on what's funny, what's not and what's too risqu� for TV.

Before taping begins, she looks after cameras, lights, dressing rooms and make-up. Walsh also works closely on the line-up with festival producer Fiona Diamond of Brookes Diamond Productions, so shows work not only as live events, but have the pace needed to translate into TV.

"Then I listen to tapes for four weeks over and over to pick the best performances. If after four weeks, something still makes me laugh you know it's truly an outstanding performance," says Walsh, who does her own pre-production, production and post-production.

Some of those outstanding performances include Sackville comedian Nikki Payne, whose outrageous act brought down the house at shows at Casino Nova Scotia and the Cohn last year.

"Some of her material is not broadcastable but she killed them at the Cohn, people jumped immediately to their feet."

North Carolina-born Rich Hall, now living in England, was drop dead hilarious in his shows two years ago, while Shaun Majumder's performance that year was nominated for a Gemini.

"And whatever Bette MacDonald does is hilarious. Last year the applause went wild before she opened her mouth. Her husband, Maynard Morrison is also a huge favourite."

After Walsh decides what's funny she runs her picks by executive producer Jack Kellum who has the final say.

"Comedy is subjective. What makes you laugh might not make someone else laugh. Sometimes I might not get it, but if the audience is rolling in the aisles, you know people like it."

This is the seventh year for the festival and Walsh's fifth. In addition to producing shows from the four live performances, this year she's putting together a "best of" special that will be aired in June as part of CBC's Trans-Canada Comedy Festival.

Directing is an adrenaline rush, says Walsh, who has also directed shows for Newsworld.

"It's the most exciting thing you can do to sit in a chair and call the cameras."

With her girl-next-door good looks, Walsh seems like a natural for TV, but in a career spanning 20 years at the network, she's always worked behind-the-scenes.

"My mother was a broadcaster in radio in St. John's and I got a summer job at CBC and loved it from the start," she recalls. "I couldn't have picked a better career. Working in TV production is endlessly challenging and fascinating."

One of the highlights was working as a producer in Toronto on the Journal with Barbara Frum in the early '80s.

"There were 150 handpicked staff, incredibly talented people, working on the show and you felt you were doing something really important, really groundbreaking. To be live-to-air on the daily news was fabulously exciting."

She met her husband - John Dalton, now CBC's executive producer of radio performance - at CBC St. John's, and when they were ready to start a family, they moved to Halifax.

She was mainly a stay-at-home mom to her three "incredible sons", Ben, 16, Seamus, 13 and Noah, 11, working part-time to keep her foot in the door and abreast of new technologies.

In 1998, the vivacious Walsh rejoined CBC Halifax on contract as a special projects producer. This year the work has been full-time.

"It's our busiest year ever and we're not slowing down, which is just great."

Since 1998, she's been CBC's production co-ordinator for the East Coast Music Awards show.

In the fall, she was producer for a new series, Songwriters Circle, which is still waiting for a slot on the schedule. "We have six great hours in the can and hope to do more. We had tremendous talent - Jim Cuddy, Colin James, Dan Hill, Jimmy Rankin."

And she goes back to St. John's for a couple of gigs a year, including the Arts Council award show, which she directs.

"When I fly in over Signal Hill, I feel my heart swell. It's such a fabulous city, I'm home, doing work I love, I see friends and family. I get to run around Quidi Vidi Lake. It's absolutely perfect," she enthuses.

Walsh says she couldn't live without running, which she took up after the birth of her first child when she was didn't have time to get to the gym.

"That precious 30 minutes a day keeps me sane. I organize things, let my mind clear and get great ideas on long runs. The only week I don't run is the ECMAs."

Right now she's training for the Valley half-marathon in October with friends and family.

She counts her family as her best friends.

"There are seven kids in the family, all born and raised in Newfoundland and my parents and six siblings, their spouses and children all live here. We travel in a pack. You'll never see just one Walsh. When we get together there's 25 people for dinner.

"They all have an incredible sense of humour and make me laugh."

And Walsh, in turn, is keeping Canadians laughing.

Acadia students pledge cash to help festival

April 24, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Gordon Delaney / Valley Bureau

Wolfville - Acadia University students are coming to the rescue of the Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival.

The student union has launched a fundraising program to help the festival, the longest-running in Canada, overcome its financial difficulties.

"The Apple Blossom Festival is the most important community event of the year," Acadia student union president Michael Peddle said.

Acadia students are a "fundamental component of the Valley community" and want to help out, Mr. Peddle said. "Our organization wants to do our part in ensuring the livelihood of a festival that is such a vital aspect of the local area."

The students have launched what they call the Vested Interest Program, in which they will sell fleece-lined vests emblazoned with a logo of the festival, set for May 29 to June 3.

The vests will sell for $39.99, with a part of the proceeds going to the festival committee.

The festival fell on hard times last year after an unsuccessful concert by Toronto pop group Barenaked Ladies. Less than 7,000 people attended.

Critics said concert prices were too high at $39.

The festival also had to pay the band a $200,000 appearance fee.

Festival organizers blamed construction on Highway 101, saying traffic tie-ups of more than three hours prevented many people from getting to the Raymond Field show.

The organizing committee has returned to popular Nova Scotia talent as the drawing card for this year and has lowered ticket prices to $20.

The concert, being held Saturday night instead of Friday, will feature Cape Breton singer-songwriter Jimmy Rankin, Bruce Guthro and the Ennis Sisters.

The festival will also feature parades, fireworks, a dance and other family entertainment.

The theme for the 70th anniversary event is Our Neighbours - Near and Far, in recognition of the help that Valley residents provided when 800 air travellers were diverted to Camp Aldershot after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Parker to lead cast in Marion Bridge

April 25, 2002 - Halifax Herald

Top Canadian actors have been cast in the feature film, Marion Bridge, which begins shooting in Halifax on Sunday.

Molly Parker (Last Wedding, Men With Brooms), Rebecca Jenkins (Black Harbour), Stacy Smith (New Waterford Girl) and Marguerite McNeil (The Divine Ryans) are among the cast for the movie which is being adapted from Cape Breton-born playwright Daniel MacIvor's play.

Heather Rankin and Ashley MacIsaac are expected to make cameo appearances.

Local actors Kevin Curran, Jackie Torrens, Ellen Page, Emmy Alcorn, Joe Rutten, Nicola Lipman, Jim Swansburg and Deb Allen are also on the cast list.

The movie is a co-production by Halifax's Bill Niven of Idlewild Films and Toronto's Julia Sereny and Jennifer Kawaja of Sienna Films (who produced New Waterford Girl).

The movie is being directed by Wiebke von Carolsfeld.

Cameras are expected to roll for five weeks, with most of the scenes being shot at Halifax locations, including the Tour Tech East soundstage. Some exterior shots will be filmed in Cape Breton.

Marion Bridge is about three women in their 30s who come home to Cape Breton to be with their dying mother.

In 1999, MacIvor received a Governor General's Award for Drama for the play.

Apple Blossom Festival to be launched May 30

May 21, 2002 - Halifax Herald

KENTVILLE - The 70th annual Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival will be launched May 30 in Windsor, with official opening ceremonies and the president's reception.

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Hants County War Memorial Community Centre and will reflect this year's theme of Our Neighbours - Near and Far.

Annapolis Valley residents helped many travellers stranded during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Festival organizers said those tragedies brought home to them the importance of family and friends no matter where they live.

Numerous family events are planned from Windsor to Digby from May 30 to June 3, including the crowning of Queen Annapolisa May 31, an afternoon street parade in Kentville on June 1 and a concert at Acadia University's Raymond Field on the evening of June 1.

The concert features Jimmy Rankin, Bruce Guthro, and the Ennis Sisters.

Festival season blossoms in Valley

June 2, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Larry Powell / Valley Bureau

Kentville - Queen Annapolisa 2002 Erinn Freeman of Bridgetown was the darling of the 70th annual Apple Blossom Festival parade Saturday, as thousands of subjects thronged Kentville streets for a first glimpse of new royalty.

"It's been a fantastic turnout and a tremendous day so far," festival president Claud O'Hara said as the first floats in the street parade ended their trek through New Minas and Kentville to disperse at the town's park.

Spectators from across the province were sometimes 10 deep on Kentville's sidewalks or perched on top of cars, craned from balconies, and stood on roofs.

They smiled, cheered and waved as more than 100 floats, marching bands, horses, cars, and walkers carrying signs and banners passed before them beneath sunny skies.

Mr. O'Hara called the festival a major success, not only due to the crowds for the parade. Friday's family showcase and fireworks at Kentville Memorial Park, and the coronation of Queen Annapolisa at University Hall in Wolfville, were better attended than in years.

Princess Middleton Jayme Butt was named the pageant's first lady-in-waiting and Princess Berwick Kara Rood was named second lady-in-waiting.

Mr. O'Hara said he expected a big turnout for Saturday's concert in Wolfville.

The Ennis Sisters and Jimmy Rankin, two of the performers, rode in the parade and drew cheers as they passed and smiled for the cameras.

Bruce Guthro was the third scheduled participant in the concert, at Acadia University's Raymond Field.

"The festival is planned over 12 months and is especially for the children," Mr. O'Hara said, noting that the children's parade and is still the largest of its kind in Canada.

On Thursday the Royal Canadian Mint issued an Apple Blossom Festival 50-cent piece, and last year the festival had a stamp issued in its honour.

Today, festival events move to Lockhart Ryan Park in New Minas for live entertainment and a royal visit.

There's also the Apple Blossom Duck Race at the nearby White Rock Canal on the Gaspereau River, an event presented by Kings and Annapolis Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Wolfville Rotary Club.

On Monday the festival's royalty will tour schools and communities in the Annapolis Valley.

Rain fails to stop blossom festival concert diehards

June 3, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Larry Powell

Wolfville - Drenched to the skin, Bruce Guthro proved the indomitable Maritime spirit isn't just in the songs he writes, as he performed through rain and wind Saturday at Acadia University.

"We're not afraid of a little rain, are we?" he shouted out to a soon-to-be-soaked crowd of about 5,000 that had already soaked up performances by The Ennis Sisters and Jimmy Rankin.

The much-anticipated Concert in the Field at the university's Raymond Field was a highlight event of the 70th annual Apple Blossom Festival.

Guthro was three songs into his set shortly after 10:30 p.m. when the first drops hit the stage canopy. But he plowed on into Stan's Tune, a ghostly tribute to the late, great Stan Rogers. If the song wasn't eerie enough, the Guthro lyrics of wind, rain, and thunder soon conjured up the real thing as driving horizontal sheets of water pounded the stage.

"I think we just heard from Stan," Guthro said halfway through the song. By the end of the tune, the keyboards were wiped out and the stage and equipment were soaked.

The rain stopped as quickly as it started, and Guthro told the crowd to give him five minutes to assess the damage.

It was too late by then, and when the concert didn't resume right away, more than half of the cold, wet crowd headed for the exits. Nobody seemed to be upset, but backstage Guthro was adamant he would go back on despite the threat of lightning and questionable condition of the electronics.

"I'll go back on and do an acoustic set, I don't care," Guthro told concert organizer Len Hawley. "Anybody who wants to join me can."

The several thousand diehard Guthro fans who stayed were chanting "Bruce, Bruce, Bruce," as crews mopped up the stage.

They weren't disappointed. The fiddle started up and brought the show back to life. Then Guthro launched into his hit, Walk This Road, and all was right with the world.

"The folks who stayed were just on top of the world," said Apple Blossom Festival president Claud O'Hara. "They thought it was just great."

Guthro belted out songs for almost half an hour, hauling up just short of midnight in a town with an 11 p.m. noise curfew.

Some might blame Jimmy Rankin for the change in the weather, since he energized the atmosphere before the Guthro set in a highly charged performance.

The former Rankins tunesmith hit the crowd with This is the Hour, Midnight Angel, and You and Me from his solo debut CD Song Dog.

"We're gonna do an old Rankin's song. You can shake it around a little if you want," he quipped as he launched into the hard-driving rock/blues Movin' On that got the crowd going.

If the crowd was pumped, so was Rankin - despite the rising wind that had earlier knocked down the Plexiglas screen around the drum kit. With the crowd roaring for "Jimmy," Rankin had no sooner hit the ground backstage than he turned to his band and said "Have we got time for another one? Let's go guys."

Again it was an old Rankin's favourite, Forty Days and Nights, followed by the foot-stomping Feel the Same Way Too.

Newfoundland's The Ennis Sisters - Teresa, Maureen and Karen - started the evening with a short set that included the first single, It's Not About You, from their new CD. But the harmonizing sisters, with Maureen on six-string acoustic and fronting the trio, awed the crowd with their rendition of Red is the Rose, and their take on the traditional ballad, Hard Times, which was aptly dedicated to the Montreal Canadiens.

This was the first time their tightly knit, pure-voiced Juno Award-winning harmonies were heard live in the Annapolis Valley and the relaxed crowd drank it up.

Above Photo: Larry Powell / Halifax Herald - Jimmy Rankin performs at the Apple Blossom Festival.

McLauchlan, Rankin, Ennis Sisters among Canada Day celebration cast

June 8, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Canadian Press

CHARLOTTETOWN (CP) - Murray McLauchlan, Jimmy Rankin and the Ennis Sisters will perform during a nationally televised Canada Day celebration from Charlottetown's historic waterfront.

The hour-long telecast will begin at 10 p.m. on CBC-TV and take viewers on a journey across Canada and through time.

Organizers and provincial and federal politicians were decked out in red and white from head to toe to make the announcement Thursday on the waterfront.

The show will also include a performance by Muhtadi and the World Drummers, Juno Award winners for best new artist or group.

McLauchlan will present a special tribute to great Canadians of the past.

The program will share Canada's 135th birthday festivities with communities across the country, including live from Parliament Hill in Ottawa, a live segment from Victoria and Amanda Scott and Tom Jackson from Canmore, Alta.

The broadcast, which normally takes place on Parliament Hill, is being moved to the birthplace of Confederation because of an expected gathering of anti-globalization protesters in Ottawa on June 26-27. The protesters are expected to voice concerns over the G-8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta.

As a result, CBC crews won't have time to set up for its annual hill show.

The show will be hosted by John A. Macdonald, to be played by a surprise guest, and CBC personality Jonathan Torrens.

Despite locating the party in Charlottetown, the CBC will continue its tradition of a live 90-minute news special from Parliament Hill on Canada Day. The special will begin at 1 p.m. and be hosted by Peter Mansbridge and Alison Smith.

At 9 p.m., the CBC will also broadcast highlights of the decade's best Canada Day performances from Parliament Hill.

Canada Day festival set for waterfront

June 16, 2002 - Halifax Herald

On Canada Day weekend, from June 28 to July 1, it's Alexander Keith's Canada Day on the Waterfront.

Queen's Landing will be transformed into an all-out party complete with music, beverages, entertainment and a beach made with 30 tonnes of sand.

With children's entertainers in the mornings, a DJ competition in the afternoon and performances from Nova Scotia's best bands in the evening, there's something for everyone.

Performers include Jimmy Rankin, MIR, Shyne Factory, Jimmy Swift Band, Mike Cowie, King Konqueror, Barnacle and John Gracie.

And playing each night will be some of Halifax's best local DJs including Skratch Bastid and Kaleb Simmons, Idris, Zoo and Sonny D.

The afternoon of June 29 features the much-anticipated Atlantic Canada elimination round of the Technics / DMC DJ Championship. The winner will win a place at the national championship in Toronto with a chance to move on to the international championship in London, England.

There will also be a special salute to the Canadian Forces and their families, who have helped shape Canada's history.

The festival is open to the public, free of charge, until 7 p.m. when it becomes a 19-plus venue with a cover charge of $7.50.

For more information, contact Premiere Event Group, (902) 423-0921.

Staged with style

Varied stars help raise $35Gs at festive, carefree AIDS benefit

June 18, 2002 - Ottawa Sun

By Denis Armstrong

Last night's The Stage For AIDS gala was not a night to suffer in silence.

Au contraire, it was a fabulous night to be loud and proud.

Hosted by CBC announcers Brent Bambury in English and Gregory Charles in Francais, the annual benefit concert drew public awareness and raised about $35,000 with one of the bigger variety shows the Southam Hall stage has seen recently.

The audience got more than they bargained for talent-wise in a smooth-running and nicely packaged show that featured The Canadian Brass, country singer Paul Brandt, jazz crooner Carol Welsman, east-coast rocker Jimmy Rankin, dance company O Vertigo, guitarist Robert Michaels, The Thirteen Strings Orchestra, Michelle Wright and pop-folk singer Ron Sexsmith, all donating whatever they'd normally earn to the AIDS Committee of Ottawa.

Produced by Michael Tabbitt and Kent Newson, The Stage For AIDS showed promise of becoming the capital's own version of Fashion Cares, Toronto's outrageously successful AIDS fundraiser.

FLAMBOYANT GGS

While first-timers like myself might have been expecting something imaginatively over-the-top, last night's edition, the sixth Stage For AIDS since 1995, turned out to be a flamboyant version of the Governor General's showcases.

The mood was a little tipsy. The usually sombre Southam Hall crowd was in a mood to party and enjoy the brief boutique sets that, considering the variety of talent -- classical, country, jazz and folk -- flowed together surprisingly well.

"Marlen's dog thought that he was the only pink poodle in Ottawa tonight," cracked an effusive Bambury, referring to the drag-queens sitting in the boxes.

The Canadian Brass heralded the concert in with a New Orleans-style hymn A Closer Walk With Thee and a bizarre take on The Beatles' Come Together, followed by an encore excerpt by Montreal dance company O Vertigo of Luna, which played at the NAC Theatre Friday night.

Jazz singer Welsman, looking delicious in a slinky pink slip, was charming speaking French and crooning in English and Portuguese on Girl From Ipanema, while newly independent Rankin, Jimmy, quoted a couple songs from his new album Song Dog.

MOVING COUNTRY SET

Performances closed out with individual sets from Wright and Sexsmith before a massive encore, featuring almost every singer on the bill.

Country singer Brandt was a last-minute addition. A registered nurse before he turned to singing, Brandt "had seen too much of the disease, especially tragic when the victims are children." His set, which included hits Letting Go and I Do, was particularly moving.

A little emotion went a long way last night. But for the most part,The Stage For AIDS was about having carefree fun.

That was amply demonstrated on emcees Bambury and Charles' take of Dan Hill's Sometimes When We Touch set to a Michael Ondaatje poem. Sheer silliness, but it cracked the house up. Trust me, you had to be there.

Pre-concert festivities were hosted by the Sun's favourite diva, Marlen Cowpland.

THE STAGE FOR AIDS

Southam Hall, NAC

'Fabulous night!'

Sun Rating: 3 out of 5

Rankin misses connecting with audiences

Singer back to honour the Maritime sound

June 18, 2002 - Edmonton Journal

By Roger Levesque

Life for Raylene Rankin is a little slower than it was in the mid-90's.

Back then, she was busy touring much of the year as a member of The Rankins, riding a wave of popularity for Celtic and Maritime folk that brought the sweet harmonies and unbridled rhythms of the Cape Breton siblings to an international audience.

About a year before the group disbanded, Raylene had chosen to leave music-making to raise her own family. The Halifax-based singer got back into it a couple of years ago to do Christmas concerts with her sisters Cookie and Heather but being a mother has kept her busy. Now she's weighing her priories once again:

"For about 10 years, we were on the road most of the time and that's a long time to put the rest of your life on hold, but I didn't want to leave music completely. The Christmas concerts sort of planted the bug again for me. I don't miss the long tours but I do miss performing and that connection with the audience."

Tonight and Wednesday, she's celebrating Maritime music with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and tapping real vintage material.

In the early 20th century, a Maritime folklorist toured around recoding the songs and stories of the region and eventually published several collections of that material. When Halifax arranger/conductor Scott MacMillan became involved in a National Film Board documentary about Creighton he asked Rankin to voice some of the songs.

About half of the concerts then will involve songs from the Creighton folklore collection including several numbers in Gaelic and some pieces that MacMillan first started arranging 20 years ago. The rest of the material will include covers of Rita MacNeil and other contemporary Maritime songwriters, a Raylene Rankin original, and one or two faves from the Rankin repertoire.

The five original Rankin members actually came from a family of 12. They got involved in music as children, long before the group first known as The Rankin Family started performing and recording in the late 1980's. Thanks to their special chemistry and hits like Rise Again, the group managed to sell more than two million records during their decade together.

"Being part of The Rankins was a very special time in my life that I wouldn't trade for anything. The hype isn't around so much any more but there's still some amazing music happening. The excitement is cyclical but the music still continues to evolve."

She loves to work with an orchestra.

"It's fabulous. It's like being supported by a beautiful cloud of sound."

Great Big Sea, Jimmy Rankin to headline Rock the Dock concert

June 26, 2002 - Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY – The Action Week Waterfront Gala has tripled in size and has taken on a new identity.

One of Cape Breton’s biggest outdoor concert events has expanded from one night of entertainment to three and will feature some of the biggest names on the East Coast music scene.

Rock the Dock at Harbour Fest, will be staged Aug. 8-10, and will feature Newfoundland’s Great Big Sea, Cape Breton’s own Jimmy Rankin and rising pop stars Crush, who also hail from Newfoundland.

The Accents, another popular Cape Breton band, is also on the weekend roster with more bands to be added in the upcoming weeks.

Rankin drew thousands of spectators to Sydney’s government wharf as the headliner of last year’s event.

Raylene Rankin returns home for Mabou Ceilidh

June 27, 2002 - Halifax Herald

By Patrick MacIsaac

Mabou - Former Rankin Family vocalist Raylene Rankin will headline this year's Mabou Ceilidh celebrations taking place from Friday to Monday.

Rankin will play Mabou's Strathspey Place on Sunday for her first hometown show since the group split in early 1999. She is excited about playing at home again, this time as part of the ensemble act, Raylene Rankin and Friends.

Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the show will feature performances from Celtic Crew, Gaelic singing with Coisir An Eilein and Colin Watson and step dancing by Gerard Beaton, Craig Debaie and Dawn and Margie Beaton - all of Inverness County.

"I'm excited to be a part of what will be a celebration of the music of Mabou and the surrounding areas," Rankin said. "We have a great lineup, one I think that makes for an excellent representation of the sounds of the area, so it should be a very good show."

Rankin said although her set list is still up in the air, concert-goers can expect to hear several favourites from the Rankin Family recordings, as well as some traditional and folk-style numbers she's picked up since the group disbanded.

"I've been performing with Symphony Nova Scotia, as well as symphonies in Edmonton and Kitchener-Waterloo," Rankin said. "And with them I've been doing a few things out of the Helen Creighton folk song collection, as well as some more contemporary stuff, like Rita MacNeil. So some of that might make it into the June 30 set in Mabou."

Tickets to the Raylene and Friends show are $12.

Ceilidh committee representative Daniel Rankin said organizers were overjoyed when they secured Rankin for the schedule of events. He said they are excited about all of the upcoming festivities.

Music lovers should also be aware of the outdoor concert at Dalbrae Academy on Saturday following the (annual street) parade.

Saturday's outdoor concert will be followed by an adult dance at the Mabou Arena, with music by The Rocking Saints.

Also on Saturday afternoon a milling frolic will be held at between 1 and 5 p.m. at the Dalbrae Academy.

The festivities open Friday evening with a boat parade on Mabou Harbour at 6 p.m.

On Monday afternoon, music, fun and games continue with a Canada Day birthday cake at the Mabou Hall in the centre of the village.

Jimmy Rankin to Highlight Canada Day Show

June 28, 2002 - The Guardian
June 28, 2002

Popular Cape Breton entertainer Jimmy Rankin will be one of the feature entertainers for the two-hour Canada Day show being held as part of the Festival of Lights.

The show runs from 9-11 p.m. and the second hour will be telecast live on the entire CBC television network. The line-up also includes the Ennis Sisters and Muhtadi and the World Drummers.

After 10 years of touring, numerous hit singles, multiple Juno awards and sales of over two million albums with Canadian musical act The Rankins (which disbanded in 1999), Jimmy Rankin, is now a solo singer-songwriter. His debut album, Song Dog, was released last year.

The stand-out at this year's East Coast Music Awards, Rankin stole the show by taking home three awards during the 2002 ceremony in Saint John.

He won Single of the Year for Followed Her Around and the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Award (shared with co-writer Gordie Sampson) for the same song. He also received the ECMA award for Country Artist of the Year.

The hometown recognition is rewarding, and to further validate Rankin's successful return to the music scene, he is nominated for a 2002 Juno Award for Best Country Artist, while Song Dog got the nod for Best Engineered recording.

While often slotted in the country category, ultimately, there is no denying Rankin's crossover appeal as evidenced by his recent Canadian Radio Music Award (CRMA) for Best New Solo Artist � Adult Contemporary.

The CRMAs honour Canada's hottest up-and-coming music artists as chosen by radio broadcasters.

Equally compelling is Jimmy Rankin's live show. Spanning the course of five months, Rankin's Canadian tour has consistently met with great audiences and brilliant reviews. In reviewing Rankin's Peterborough concert, Jeff Macklin writes "a night of music which again and again bore out the fact that he is one of the best song-writers in the country � musically on-fire."

His Charlottetown stop is part of a cross-Canada tour planned for this summer and fall.

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