John Borra Band feat. Steve Koch @ The Cameron House, Saturday

Guitarist Steve Koch (Demics, Handsome Neds, One-Eyed Jacks) joins John Borra and crew in the front room today from 6-8 pm. 

Get a copy of John Borra's great new album "Last Dance at The E Room" via Bandcamp right here.

John Borra launches Last Dance at the E-Room @ The Horseshoe, Wednesday

John Borra will be joined by Steve Koch, Cleave Anderson and pals. Check out the new video for "Magnolia Bloom" and more.

Get a copy of John Borra's latest album "Last Dance at The E-Room" – out now – right here.

Celebrate Hank Williams' 102nd Birthday @ The Horseshoe Tavern, Wednesday

Hank's classic tunes will be sung by Toronto's finest, including John Borra, Tom Parker, Jamie Oliver, Bazil Donovan and others.

Here's the scoop...

Come down to the 'Shoe this Wednesday evening - All Hank , All Night - many guest singers on the bill - John Borra, Laura Hubert, Teddy Fury, Tim Bradford, Tom Parker, Jamie Oliver, Marco DiFortuna, Bazil Donovan, Joanna Morra, Michael Brennan, Jonathan Billings. Hank's band The Drifting Cowboys will be backing all these wonderful artists as well as Ol' Hank himself. 

Doors at 8 pm / Show starts 8:30 sharp. Advance tickets are $15 – get 'em while you can right here. Watch Morgan Neville's television documentary Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues below. 

John Borra previews new album with "Here In My Heart" video

Check out the Jesse Kawzenuk's video for John Borra's "Here In My Heart" off his Last Dance At The E-Room album – a salute to Peter J. Moore – due in October.

John Borra plays two sets at the Communist's Daughter (1149 Dundas St. West at Ossington) on Sunday (August 10).

Frank Nevada, Steve Koch & John Borra play The Boneheads @ Bell & Beacon, Saturday

Frank Nevada and Steve Koch get back together with John Borra to play a few of their Boneheads faves on Saturday from 4 pm to 6 pm. Check the clips. 

Writes Steve Koch...

"Is there life on Mars?  Not sure you'll find out but just in case, you may want to drop by the Bell and Beacon (1648 Queen St. West) next Saturday from 4 to 6 where John Borra Frank Nevada and myself play the greatest hits of our old band the Boneheads.  

"The Boneheads existed with a few lineup changes from 1987 into the early 90's and were part of the Queen West music explosion of that time along with Groovy Religion, the Lawn, Scott B Sympathy, Saturnalia and so many other cool bands.   

"We did short, sharp, sarcastic and perfect pop songs (think Nick Lowe) along with a few sprawling loosely structured jams where Frank could expound clever stream of consciousness thoughts about pretty much anything.   

"It was alot of fun and these songs are too good to be forgotten, so as the song says - why not try again?"

Adds Steve...

"A few people have been asking about who were the Boneheads so let's give credit where it's due:  Frank Nevada - our fearless leader through the whole sordid affair. Rene Frattura (Herald Nix, Handsome Neds), Pete Richards and Glen Bidmore (Cads) in the first lineup. Don Kerr, Marty Lake (One Free Fall) and yours truly in the next round. John Borra (A Neon Rome) stepped up when Marty left.  

"Ron Duffy (Change of Heart) took over the drum duties when Don moved on to other projects.  Drew Atkins totally rocked the bass for a period while John was away.  And lets not forget our great friends 'Echo' Dave Richards and Walter Sobczak who were involved in the first two recordings. On Saturday (July 26), it's Borra/Koch/Nevada at the Bell and Beacon.  Come on down!"

Check out some vintage Boneheads footage below along with this recent performance clip.

New album from Toronto's Change Of Heart due in March!

The much-anticipated new Change Of Heart album, In The Wreckage, will be out in early March reveals mainman Ian Blurton.  

Here's the scoop from Ian Blurton...

"27 years later.....new Change Of Heart LP (In The Wreckage) featuring all past members/guests out 1st week of March. Gonna play Toronto as a four piece (Taylor/Maiezza/Richardson/Blurton) late April. Tickets go on sale for that on Thursday."

Adds keyboardist Bernard Maiezza: "Our 40th anniversary and new record release show have just been announced. There is not a lot planned after this, and I am very much looking at this as my personal "retirement show" as I look to step back from my 40+ year music career to focus on my new paralegal firm, Junction Paralegal Services, that I will be officially launching in the next few days. As such, I would love to see you all there to celebrate this monumental event with us. Tickets go on sale on Thursday, and there is limited capacity, so act soon."

Check out the title track from In The Wreckage right here.

In the meantime, those Change of Heart fans playing catch up should check out the Kreative Kontrol podcast feature on the group by Vish Khanna from back in 2017, around the reissue of their Smile album.  

Tickets for Change Of Heart's album release show at The Sound Gallery are $35.42 and go on sale January 23 right here.

Toronto artists salute Dave Bookman with Left Of The Dial tribute @ The Garrison, June 6

Popular Toronto radio personality and music enthusiast Dave Bookman is being remembered with his fave Replacements songs.

Left Of The Dial: A Concert Tribute to Dave Bookman

Toronto artists play covers songs by The Replacements

The Garrison (1197 Dundas St West)

Thursday, June 6 at 8 pm (two sets)

A group of friends of Dave “Bookie” Bookman have organized a tribute night. Its called Left Of The Dial and will feature an incredible line up of artists – including Ian Blurton, John Borra, Katie Cruel, Terra Lightfoot, Tim Mech (from Dave's group The Bookmen), Bry Webb and many others (see list below) – performing Replacements covers. Admission is an item of non perishable food for the Daily Bread Food Bank. Come early it’s going to be unreal.

Remembering John Grove @ The Horseshoe, Sunday

The music of John Grove – who passed away in June – is celebrated by BFGs, Son Of Bronto and Punching Nuns starting at 7pm.

Perhaps best known for his illustrations and graphic design for Exclaim!, John Grove – who died in his sleep at his family home in Wiarton, Ontario back on June 17 – was also a key figure on Toronto's underground music scene of the late 80s and 90s. 

John's stinging Les Paul rips and subversive sense of fun helped shape the sound of Animal Stags, Son of Bronto and loads of other bands like Bad Punk, Capricorn 100, Bop Dog, Was Ist Los, More, The Babyslitters and NFB aka Nonoyerfuckinbizness to name just a few. John went incognito as "Yngwie Grovestein" during his time playing guitar with Bunchofuckingoofs. And John's artwork could be seen on most of the gig flyers promoting local shows by his bands and those of his friends along with cassette and CD covers too.  

It seems like a compilation of John's contributions to his various musical projects – starting with the three Animal Stags' songs from 1985's Questionable compilation – is way overdue. You can see John playing "Existants" with Son Of Bronto upstairs at Sneaky Dee's in 2003 below but where is all the footage of John's other bands in action?

On Sunday (September 3), John's friends and family members are gathering at the Horseshoe for a tribute featuring performances by BFGs, Son Of Bronto and Punching Nuns along with special guests including John Borra, Al Warnock of Schlonk, Michael "Lopez" Phillips, Crocky Teasdale, Daniel Joseph, Bill Dickson and John's nephew Chance Miller. 

Tonight's celebration at The 'Shoe starts at 7pm and runs through to 11 pm. Tickets are $10 available at the door. The first 50 people will get a commemorative John Grove Legend pin. You can read Alex Hudson and Ian Danzig's Exclaim! obit right here. Watch a Son of Bronto clip below. 

John Borra plays matinee @ Sauce on Danforth, Saturday

 John Borra shares some tunes from Cassettes In Common at Sauce (1376 Danforth) on Saturday from 4pm-7pm.   Photo: Jen Squires.  

Get a copy of John Borra's latest album, Cassettes In Common via Bandcamp right here.

The Words & Music of Dave Bookman @ The Horseshoe, Tuesday

Dave's musician pals perform the 13 songs of The Bookmen's Volume 1: Delicatessen with original guitarist Tim Mech. 

Glenn Milchem shares video for "Fates Conspire" shot by Monica Guddat

Check out the video for "Fates Conspire" the title track off the 2019 album from Blue Rodeo drummer Glenn Milchem. 

Here's the scoop from Glenn...

"A few years ago I made a solo acoustic album called Fates Conspire, recorded by my dear friend John Borra and filmed by my wife, Monica Guddat. The idea was to release a video of the recording of each song but shortly after we finished, Monica’s mom had a devastating stroke and the video project was set aside so Monica could devote her spare time and energy to caring for her mom. Recently, John Borra offered to pick up the reins on some of the video editing and here’s the first result of his generous efforts - the title track, Fates Conspire, which I wrote for our wedding."

Fates Conspire by Glenn Milchem is available via all streaming services. Watch the "Fates Conspire" video below. 

Toronto's John Borra shares an updated version of "The Wars"

John Borra just released a newly remixed version of "The Wars" from his Blue Wine album available on his Bandcamp page.  

Watch the video for Scott B. Sympathy's "I Remember Again"

"I Remember Again" is off Scott B. Sympathy's classic debut Neil Yonge Street just reissued by Curve Music. 

Iconic T.O. roots rockers Scott B Sympathy enter digital age... finally!

The classic first two Scott B. Sympathy albums, Neil Yonge Street and Drinking With The Poet are being reissued May 7th

Here's the scoop from Curve Music...

The late 1980s and early ‘90s on the Queen Street West scene was a golden age in Toronto’s music history. Free-spirited and imaginative songwriters and musicians were creating work on their own terms, regardless of commercial imperatives.

At the heart of this vibrant musical community was Scott B. Sympathy, a group built around the formidable songwriting chops of leader Scott B. aka Scott Bradshaw, and comprising some of the most original and talented young players in the city.

The first two Scott B. Sympathy albums, 1990’s Neil Yonge Street and 1992’s Drinking with The Poet, captured this compelling combo in full flight. The records garnered critical acclaim and substantial campus radio airplay upon their release, while the passage of time has added a burnished glow to their major achievements.

Three decades on, these records sound just as fresh and vital today. That will be reaffirmed now with the very welcome reissue of both albums, via Toronto independent label Curve Music.  Both records have been freshly mastered by Joao Carvalho, with assistance from Walter Sobczak, the producer of both albums.

Curve Music head Brian Hetherman is thrilled at the opportunity to give the two seminal records new exposure. “To me, Scott B Sympathy’s Neil Yonge Street is the birth of Americana/roots music in Canada, the same way that Uncle Tupelo was in the U.S.,” he declares. “Before Scott B. Sympathy there was lots of incredible folk music in Canada, but they ushered in Americana/roots here.”

Scott Bradshaw is outstanding in his field

After moving to Toronto from Brantford, Ontario, at age 20, Scott Bradshaw began playing the local clubs, both solo (as Scott B.) and with a group he dubbed Scott B. Sympathy. Their late ‘80s shows quickly attracted an enthusiastic following, and local indie label Smokeshow Records signed the band.

Armed with a collection of road-tested Bradshaw songs, Scott B. Sympathy headed into top local studio Wellesley Sound with producer Sobczak to record Neil Yonge Street.

Accompanying Bradshaw in the studio for Neil Yonge Street were guitarist/backing vocalist Ian Blurton, slide guitarist/backing vocalist Gord Cumming, bassist John Borra, and drummer Terry Carter, all Toronto players already making a name for themselves.

Now a revered veteran of Canadian indie rock as a musician and producer, Blurton then headed Change of Heart (a band Borra would later join), and he and Borra had played together in post-punk band A Neon Rome, while Cumming fronted The Lawn.

The band’s sound was a compelling and original hybrid style that incorporated folk, rock ‘n roll, country and punk elements. The clever pun of the album title, Neil Yonge Street (coined by William New of Groovy Religion), alludes to this by referencing one of Bradshaw’s musical heroes.

On both these albums, Scott B.’s poetic songwriting and ruggedly authentic vocals provided a firm foundation upon which the band constructed a thrilling guitar-based sound. Many of the tracks feature a fluctuating combination of Bradshaw’s acoustic, Cumming’s shimmeringly atmospheric slide, and Blurton’s potent and visceral electric guitar playing. Add in the tight rhythm section of Borra and Carter and backing vocals from Cumming and Blurton, and you have a broad musical canvas.

Looking back on the sound of those records, John Borra notes that “this was definitely before the whole Americana thing became a genre, but I wouldn’t say it was out of place in the post-punk ‘80s. Back then it seemed like bands were doing anything and everything as long as it was artistically minded and didn’t have overt commercial aspirations. There weren’t a lot people on the Toronto scene playing acoustic guitars but there were some, like Handsome Ned and Blue Rodeo, so Scott wasn’t alone in that department.”

Upon its release in September 1990, Neil Yonge Street quickly met with critical approval. “Repeated listening reveals the rough, haunting brilliance of this debut album,” wrote The Toronto Star, while NOW noted that “Scott Bradshaw is capable of colouring his songs with totally descriptive narratives.”

Neil Yonge Street also soon became a favourite on campus and community radio stations across Canada. It remained on the NCRA National Chart (for campus radio) for four months, peaking at No. 5 in Nov. 1990. Tracks received some commercial airplay, CBC radio offered support on a variety of its programs, and videos received solid rotation on MuchMusic. Scott recalls that “a bunch of the songs on Poet were written after Neil Yonge Street, though some came from before. That is why the two records seem connected to me. They fit together. The sound is a touch booted up on the second record. There’s a bit more production, and everyone’s playing is a little better.”

Upon its release, Drinking With The Poet scored strong national campus airplay, significant MuchMusic and CBC exposure, and glowing reviews, including a 4-star rating in NOW and positive notices in The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star.

DWTP leads off with the title track, a full-blooded rocker that shows the band firing on all cylinders and features both a fluent mandolin solo and searing electric lines from Ian Blurton.

Powerful ballads “Watching You,” “Memory Fades,” and “Coming Home To You” showcase Scott’s convincingly passionate vocals, while “Hiatus” is one of many tunes demonstrating his clever wordsmithery (“one day I thought I had a vision, but it turned out I was just seeing things”).

A revamped lineup of Scott B. Sympathy went on to release two more albums, 1996’s Long Way Down and 1999’s Unfinished Sympathy, followed by Bradshaw’s 2006 solo album Home Movies. He later reunited with Gord Cumming as the band Massey-Harris, and their 2020 self-titled EP has received a positive response.

News of the reissues of the timeless Neil Yonge Street and Drinking With The Poet caught Scott by surprise, but he declares “I’m very glad and honoured by it. This is part of my legacy. I always did have a sense these songs would age well.”

This is a legacy well worth exploring. You won’t regret it.

You can now pre-order Scott B Sympathy's fantastic Neil Yonge Street and Drinking With The Poet albums via Curve Music's merch page right here. 

Check out Scott B Sympathy's videos for "I Remember Again" and "Hiatus" followed by the CBC's Ear To The Ground special on Scott B Sympathy from the early 90s. 

John Borra's Blue Wine record release @ Supermarket, Wednesday

John Borra launches his new solo album Blue Wine including "Trace In The Wind" and his cover of "Foggy Notion" feat. Kevin Hearn.

LINKS
John Borra: site
Rick McGinnis' Photographs: John Borra

Happy Birthday Scott B!

Scott B Sympathy with Ian Blurton, John Borra and Gord Cumming rock the Slither Club in '89