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Notes from FMO meetup
Canadian Women in Music Meetup Friday, October 17, 4:30pm Folk Music Ontario Conference Notetaker: Trish Facilitator: Candace Shaw Attendees: Enid Carol Goodman, Gabrielle Papillon, Corinne Rose, Allison Brown, Suzi Wilde, Nicole Colbeck, Emily Mitchell, Kathleen Merrett, Joanne Mill, Sarah Beatty, Mimi Shaw, Jayne Mitchell, Francine LeClair, Kristine St. Pierre, Shawna Caspi, Heather —, Leah Morise, Mike Bourgeault, Laura Spink, Terry Hart, Mary Bennett, Maryanne Gerard, Nancy Dutra, Eve Goldberg, Julie Kerr, Lea Dalgoy, Sarah Elizabeth, Amanda Rheame, Trish Murray, Rachel Barecca, Marianne Girard, Treasa Levasseur, Anita Lennon-Barlow, Tannis Slimmon, Brian Litvin, Victor Hugo Lopez, Rodrigo Muniz, Graydon James, Clela Errington… Discussion: Candace welcomed everyone, outlined ideas that are a starting…
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What goes in an EPK?
It’s Autumn, the time of year when an artist’s thoughts turn to next Summer’s gigs. You’ve come off the road for the year, and you want to make sure that the promotional material that you’re putting out there is working for you. And you’re thinking of creating – or re-assessing – an EPK. An Electronic Press Kit is a page on your website that provides resources for bookers, media, and technicians. My theory is that a website, overall, is for personal interaction with fans, but the EPK page on your website is for your professional interactions. It’s for someone in a hurry who sees literally thousands of band sites and just wants…
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Musicians: It’s worth paying artists.
You’re a musician; you work hard to hone your craft, you practice, you rehearse, you write and re-write, you book your own gigs and manage your website and do your own promo, and when you make some money you plough it back into your work, upgrading your gear, fixing the car, paying rent on your rehearsal space. You’ll fiercely defend a musician’s right to get paid, making jokes – sometimes bitter – about driving $5000 in gear in a $500 car to a gig where you’re paid $50. You lament the culture of free music – people so used to downloading Kanye illegally that they forget that most musicians do not…
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2014 Canadian Festival Report Card
In 2014, we made out first (of, hopefully, many) attempts to capture the data behind how many women are appearing on festival stages in Canada. We asked for volunteers to submit stats for festivals, looking primarily for how many bands played each festival, and how many of those bands were fronted by women. Here are the results: A 45% – 50%+ (2 festivals) Home County ON – 55.56% Wavelength ON – 50% B 35% – 44% (3 festivals) Summerfolk ON – 40.48% Montreal Folk Festival PQ – 40.91% Winnipeg Folk Festival MB – 40.48% C 25% – 34% (2 festivals) Sappyfest NS – 25.81% Wintergreen Concert…
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My Rules
I’ve been a music booker for a while now, ((People have even paid me to do it at places like The Montreal House, The Peterborough Folk Festival, Harbourfront Centre, and The Distillery Historic District.)) and over the years I’ve developed some guiding practices that govern most of what I do – something I think of as my rules for booking. I tend to stick to these rules because they work, and because whenever I’m unsure, I’ve got them to point to true north. Other bookers are their own people, and I neither expect that they’d adhere to this exact set of ideas nor do I think any of these are…
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Fuck Instrument Thieves
A lot of my friends and acquaintances are musicians, and so fairly regularly I see notices crop up on forums and social media about stolen musical instruments. Every damn time, it makes my blood boil. Any performance-level instrument is worth a few hundred dollars, at the very least – most a lot more than that. Depending on quality, age, and customization, they can be worth much more – easily thousands of dollars. So I understand why it’s tempting for the sticky-fingered, desperate, or unethical person to grab a guitar and go, heading to Craigslist or shady pawnshops to offload their ill-gotten beauties. ((I’ll admit sympathy for some thieves, based purely…
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Artist Spotlight: Claire Morrison
There’s something about Manitoba; it’s not the largest Canadian province, nor the most populous, but something in the air or the water or the quality of the light seems to create a terroir ((That one’s for you, Eli!)) that informs and supports the growth of great musicians. Is it the long Winters, or the support of amazing organizations like Music Manitoba, or some other, less tangible factor? I don’t know, but somehow Manitobans seem to consistently delight me. I first heard Manitoban/Montrealler Claire Morrison at the Folk Music Ontario conference this past Autumn; I was part of a panel called Demo Derby, where artists bring a demo of a song and,…
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Ideas: the difference between a folk festival and a music festival
The difference between a music festival and a folk festival isn’t the kind of music they book. I can’t tell you what is and is not folk music; like most genres, the definition is shifty and slippery and very personal, and I’m not too interested in what it really is. And I don’t pay much mind to people who complain that Folk festivals don’t book folk music any more, partially because I think the argument is bullshit, partially because I think that a lot of musical traditions have picked up some of the torches that folk has dropped, but mostly because I don’t think a Folk Festival is defined by…
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Artist Spotlight: Ozere
For the duration of my life, guitars have driven almost all of the music around me. Whether they be sensitive strummers or wailing rock gods, they’ve been sort-of inescapable. And as I’ve moved through different jobs as a music booker, I’ve found my ears got kind-of worn-out on the guitar; even great players rarely catch my interest. It often feels like the possibilities of the guitar have been explored, past the comfort of familiarity and straight on to dull repetition, especially in the Folk community. ((Sorry, dudes, it’s just… y’know. I still love a lot of guitar-playing acts; it just rarely gets me all excited to hear a new guitar-based…
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Folk Music Ontario Conference
The Folk Music Ontario Conference ((Formerly the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals!)) is an annual event that draws just under a thousand artists, presenters, and other music industry people to hang out together, jamming, learning, and talking music for four days every October. It’s always a highlight of the year, a chance for bookers, promoters, writers, and DJs to hear some of the best emerging touring acts in one place over one weekend in one hotel. This year, the conference takes place in Mississauga, Ontario. Secret Frequency founder and writer Candace Shaw will be in all of her usual haunts at the conference – wherever there’s good music or good…
