Hamilton Canadiana musician J.P. Riemens released his wonderful CD, Love is a Dog in 2009. Unfortunately, it is currently out of print but may be available through JP.
This is our first in a recurring series of 'Throwback Thursday' posts where we celebrate the wonderful past of the local music scene (specifically pre-2000). If you know of any videos, old posters, trivia bites, etc that would be perfect for this, please email us at blueshamilton@gmail.com
Former member Mike Daley had this to say on social media:
Baytides Cafe on King St. at Victoria was a coffeehouse with nightly performances by the likes of Edgar Breau, Russ Brice, Ken Brown, myself and Alex Bako. Ken, a talented guitarist/flautist, put together a project with Alex around '89 called the Bogus around Alex's funny and sardonic songs. Alex, who was also an actor, knew bassist Tim Hopkins from the Toy Town Troupers, who brought in Greg Allworth, a drummer that he knew from the York music programme.
The band was renamed Nine Big Dogs and they entered a battle of the bands at Mohawk College. They won, and the prize was a recording session leading to a demo tape. That demo tape was heard by Jim Skarratt, who decided that he wanted to add Nine Big Dogs to his roster, which would eventually include Guitar Mikey, the Phantoms and electric violinist Mark Wood.
Ken quit the band at that point and I, a 21-year-old jazz student at Mohawk, was asked to join on electric guitar. We signed recording, publishing and management contracts with Spy, a classic conflict of interest. Our album was recorded and mixed in Fort Erie at River Audio with Ed Stone over a couple of weekends. It came out in 1991, distributed by A&M, on CD and cassette.
"Dougie's Lament" was picked up by Don Berns at CFNY and given regular rotation for a time, which helped us to get bookings at the Horseshoe, Lee's Palace, a couple of months of Mondays at Ultrasound, the Rivoli and many more.
Spy took us out to Halifax in a tour bus where we showcased at the COCA conference for university and college bookers, where we met (and were blown off the stage by) an unsigned band doing a similar act named the Barenaked Ladies.
Dissatisfaction was growing as very little money was coming in for these strenuous efforts, and in '92 Tim Hopkins quit the group to be replaced by a young bassist named Mike Arsenault. A highlight with Mike was a live recording for CFNY at the Ultrasound complete with recording truck. Finally Alex quit the band and the whole thing was over. For me in retrospect it was a valuable lesson in the risks and rewards of the music business and a lot of fun while it lasted.
HBL's wonderful marketing queen, Linda continues to off what talented songwriters we have in the area. Every weekend, through her Facebook hashtag #LocalLyricsShowcase, she posts full lyrics and a video for a superb local song. Check them out here.
The third season of Ensemble!is in full swing at Cable 14 Hamilton and the first four episodes are online for your listening and viewing pleasure. This season, the format was changed to a half hour show with two musicians.
The links are no longer working, we're trying to see if it can be fixed. Show 1: Dan Medakovic, Chris Altmann
The 2013 Hamilton Music Awards were handed out on Saturday, November 16 (Industry) and Sunday, November 17 (main). As always, it was an incredible celebration of the best music this city has to offer. There was amazing music throughout the Hammer!
The big winners were Harrison Kennedy, who took home four trophies as well as a lifetime achievement award and hard rock band Monster Truck, who won seven awards.
No Filter is an apt name for the new album from JP Riemens and the Fabulous Barflies. Recorded live in Barry Mac's living room, the no-nonsense, warm, organic feel is evident from the very first note.
The local singer/songwriter's phenomenal storytelling shines in this immediate state. The heartbreak, joy, love and sadness in the songs stand out when they are laid bare.
The Fabulous Barflies (Brian Griffith on guitar, Carrie Ashworth on bass, and Danny Lockwood on drums) do a stupendous job of eaving a mix of jazz, blues, county and folk to JP's emotional tales.
This must-have collection is available for download on eMusic and iTunes. Physical copies can be picked up at JP's magnificent live shows. Check out the video below
Ensemble is a music-based TV show on Cable 14 Hamilton that features four singer/songwriters per episode.
The show runs on Saturdays at 10pm and Sundays at 9pm. There is a new episode each month or so. You can also watch the program online with their live feed if you are a Cogeco, Shaw, or Source Cable subscriber.
"Sadly on March 26th 2011, the world lost an amazing Husband, Father, Friend and Musician. Thank you to all of the angel's who have sent all there thought's and prayer's during this sad time." The Sumsion Family.
Terry's music was known throughout Canada, the US, England, Ireland, Scotland, and more.
Local singer/songwriter J.P. Riemens recently celebrated his brand new CD: Dirty Sunset. Even after many releases, JP has managed to bring fresh new ideas to his sound.
While still in the country vein, the disc manages to seamlessly incorporate folk, rock, a touch of blues, a bit of jazz and more. On top of everything else, JP's incredible lyrics add depth to whole proceedings.
On this disc, you'll find great toe-tappers (Roosevelt's Dancehall, This Girl Don't Cry) and slow, sweet songs (All Grown Up, Six Feet Under).
To commemorate the new release, JP performed with Brian Griffith at the Cat N Fiddle on September 2, 2010. Below are a few videos - the first is a song from the new album.
Local singer/songwriter JP Riemens is currently on break from live performing right now because he's preparing to unleash another great CD to the public (working title is Dirty Sunsets). It should be another in a long line of amazing albums.
Currently, the talented musician has 7 discs on sale at his web site, including a recent re-release of Songs From Mom's Kitchen, which was previously only available as a cassette (this should tell you how long it's been since the original pressing).
The sound on these albums and at his live shows consist mainly of folk/roots country with a lot of catchy rock and roll rhythms as well (He calls it "Acid Country"). Whatever you name it, JP's music can be soulful, tender, rocking, and much more. JP is a wonderful lyricist and storyteller as well.
He used those skills to good use with Tobacco Troubador, a unique production that combines his live performance with a theatre show.
On top of everything else, he's also a highly sought after producer and owner of Grant Avenue Studio.
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