Aug 25 2009

September 2009

Hi everyone,

I hope that everyone is doing well and that a great summer was had by all. It’s been a while since an update so here we go:

There has been a lot going on with Corneille in the past few months. We finished recording his third French album “Sans Titre” and it will be released on October 19th France. Once again it was mixed by Russell Elevado (in San Francisco) and was recorded by Dan Cinelli (in Montreal) at Planet Studios (two of the best in the business). There are some interesting songs and a few new directions for Corneille. We will begin to promote it in Paris in the Fall  and we are planning to do a tour  of France in early 2010. I can’t wait to be back in France.

On July 30 we played the opening night of Montreal’s Francolfolies Festival. Corneille was the host of the night and he invited some guests to sing with him. It was a treat to share the stage with Lokua Kanza, Luck Mervil, Jacob and Joclyne from Kassav, Sans-Pression, and Marie-Luce Béland. I was the Musical Director for the show and I hired my usual gang to back up the singers. The musicians once again did a fantastic job and many, many people were impressed at how well the band sounded and how smoothly the night went. It was such an amazing experience to play the artists’ songs and it was extra special to play Corneille’s French songs again. So many people are attached to these tunes. There are some clips on You Tube showing various parts of the evening.

On Corneille’s English side, a lot has been happening, too. We were in Los Angeles in August and we filmed a performance (and Corneille did an interview) on the Tavis Smiley show. Some of it can be seen here. We were also in Chicago in the middle of August and we filmed a one-hour special for the Africa Channel. The show is called “Soundtracks at Red Kiva”. I think it will be broadcast on September 14. We also shot a video for his single “Liberation” in July and lastly we next head to New York for a number of promo shows and an opening act for Leela James in Washington.

In July I was asked to play in a concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival in a band that is made up of the teachers of the Blues Camp. I was actually replacing one of the teachers and I was referred by my great friend Sam Harrisson who is a drum teacher at the camp. We had a blast playing the gig ! It had been quite some time since I played some straight-ahead blues but it felt really good to be playing that style of music again. Some video of the concert:

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In July I played a concert with a Montreal R&B singer named Marco Volcy. We were showcasing his original material at a club in Montreal. I was the Musical Director on that one and I hired Sam Harrisson and JB Carbou to back up Marco. The gig went really well and Marco has some nice songs and he can really sing. I played some guitar on his album and that should be coming out soon. Some photos here (taken by Maciek Wilcos).

Nicola Ciccone’s tour had a few gigs throughout the summer and we have a Fall Tour throughout Quebec. This will be the last shows on the “Storyteller” Tour. I hope to be able to tour with him and his band when the next album is done.

A small video of myself playing and endorsing the new Godin Spectrum guitar can be seen on their website:

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I have recently done quite a few nice sessions and hopefully those albums will be out soon. I played on a few tracks of the singer Natalie Choquette’s album (along with a great Cuban guitar player named Jesus Perez - he’s the real deal). That was a very challenging session and I even got to record some mandolin on a few songs. I also did a record by a phenomenal singer from Montreal called Dupuis. That could be a very successful project. Dupuis is a hell of a singer and he has amazing stage presence. I am looking forward to hearing that one mixed. I also did an album by a singer named Karine Ste-Marie (website here). This was a interesting one. Karine sings some contemporary French songs that are greatly influenced by the classic Motown records. I was so impressed to hear the songs written by the producer Marc-André Bourbonnais. I couldn’t believe how authentic these songs sounded. They are old-school but contemporary. Really nice stuff.

So there you go. All up to date !

Have a nice Fall Season.

Andy

P.S. In my iPod: Robben Ford - Soul on Ten, Pat Metheny Group - We Live Here, Michael Jackson - Thriller, Rascal Flatts - Unstoppable, Keith Urban - Defying Gravity, Biréli Lagrène and Sylvain Luc - Summertime, Paul Jackson Jr. - Lay It Back, Stan Getz - Anniversary, Roberta Flack - Roberta, David Grissom - Loud Music, Rush - Exit Stage Left, Joe Bonamassa - The Ballad of John Henry, George Shearing Trio - Paper Moon, John Scofield - Piety Street

P.S.S. A few good books I have read: The Alchemist, The Patrick Roy biography, The Duane Allman Biography, Neil Peart - Roadshow