andPOP » Juno Awards

City and Colour Debuts New Single, ‘Fragile Bird’

@coltondaniel — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:36:07 +0000

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The true Canadian songbird Dallas Green will release his third solo album ‘Little Hell’ on June 7th, but today we were offered a taste with the first single: “Fragile Bird”.

Green recorded the follow-up to Bring Me Your Love over the winter at Saint Catherine North Studios in Hamilton, Ontario with Alex Newport (Death Cab for Cutie, Mars Volta). The new LP explores the high-points and the hellish moments of a relationship and echoes the intimate acoustic rock that made Green Songwriter of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards.

‘Fragile Bird’ delivers a Black Keys vibe with the use of heavily fuzzed-out guitars clanging against a tambourine backbeat. Save your scissors fans, there is still the same-old high soaring vocals delivered by Green. And what? Is that a guitar solo?

City and Colour performed a tribute cover of Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’ at this year’s Juno Award’s and are currently touring around the world.

‘Fragile Bird’ will be available on iTunes on April 12th.

But for now, listen to ‘Fragile Bird’ here. Enjoy!

Shania Twain’s Stalker-Doctor Gets Arrested

Elisheva Baer — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:51:57 +0000

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What I want to know is who gave this guy his medical license?

According to the Toronto Star, While Shania Twain was inside the Juno Awards in Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on Sunday, Dr. Giovanni Palumbo was arrested outside the venue, while wearing a Shania Twain T-shirt and clutching her book, for violating conditions to stay away from her.

“Him being there within 20 meters of the victim was in breach. Therefore he was charged,” Constable Drummond said, according to RadarOnloine.com. “He went to court the next day.”

The Toronto Star goes on to report that Palumbo’s history of Shania-stalking includes having “written the superstar eight love letters, showed up at her grandmother’s funeral since he and Twain “are going to be family one day,” and mapped out the similarities he and Twain share, including the fact that they both went through separations in 2008. He has also mailed flowers and showed up near her cottage.” Talk about a creeper!

“He was charged with three counts of failed to comply recognizance,” Toronto Police Department Media Relations spokesperson Constable Wendy Drummond told RadarOnline.com.

“Allegations were that he was seen at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday, March 27 during the Juno Awards. He was also charged with criminal harassment.”

The stalker-doctor was arrested before 10:00 p.m. after someone from Twain’s “camp” noticed him hanging around the award show’s venue, as Palumbo tried to convince a Canadian reporter to set up a meet and greet with him and the country star. Never works buddy, but nice try.

“Twain, who lives in Switzerland with her husband Frederic Thiebaud, failed to show up to a March 7 hearing in Canada after charges arose that Palumbo criminally harassed her by sending love letters and flowers to her home overseas,” adds RadarOnline.com

According to the Toronto Star, Palumbo is to remain in jail until at least April 1, when he will have a bail hearing on the alleged breaches of a previous court order.

Juno Awards Returning to Toronto in 2011

Sara Harowitz — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:33:46 +0000

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The annual Juno Awards are set to return to Toronto in 2011, reports CHARTattack.com. The show will be held on March 27, 2011 at the Air Canada Centre.

Juno Week will take place from March 21 to 27, 2011 throughout Toronto. Next year’s show will mark the Juno Awards’ 40th anniversary.

“The Juno Awards has had such a significant impact on Canada and the Canadian music industry over the past 40 years,” said Melanie Barry, president and CEO of the Canadian Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences (CARAS). “There is much to celebrate and reflect upon within four decades of accomplishments, and we can’t think of a more fitting city to hose the festivities than Toronto.”

“Toronto is sure to put its own vibrant and distinct personality to Canada’s most recognizable music awards show – a perfect convergence of music, culture, diversity and industry,” she added.

It will be the first time that the awards have been held in Toronto since the year 2000, when they were hosted by The Moffatts (who!?) at the Rogers Centre, which at the time was still called the SkyDome.

Since then, the Juno Awards have been held in Hamilton, Ont., St. John’s, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Saskatoon, Calgary and Vancouver.

The Juno Awards were held in Toronto every year until 1991. Vancouver was the first Canadian city other than Toronto to host the awards show. The 2010 Juno Awards will be held on April 18 at the Mile One Centre in St. John’s. The host and nominees have not yet been announced.

Dragonette’s Martina Sorbara, As Unique As They Get

Jeremy Singer — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:26:09 +0000

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Martina Sorbara’s music career has been like one one-night-stand after the next.

The lead singer of Electro-Pop group Dragonette has been involved in many projects – both as a solo singer and in group settings – but she has yet to be part of a follow up album – until now.

Dragonette’s second album Fixin to Thrill, was released last month, and Sorbara’s feeling of the album’s completion is sublime.

“It’s a huge deal for me,” Sorbara, 31, tells andPOP. “Just putting out a second album is kinda like a milestone. I just think that every time we finished a song, that was a big high point for myself.”

Following the solid reception the band received in Canada and the UK for their 2007 debut album Galore, which earned them a Juno Award nomination for Best New Group, the four-person group -comprising of Sorbara on vocals, Bassist Dan Hurtz, Guitarist Chris Hugget and Drummer Joel Stouffer- approached their sophomore album like any other.

“We were pretty focused on moving on where we left off,” says Sorbara, “and trying to make a cool follow-up.”

With a musical style resembling the syth-folky textures of MGMT, Dragonette was formed in 2005 by -now married couple- Sorbara and Hurtz. Martina laughs at the aspect of working with a spouse, and admits that her greatest gift can also sometimes be a curse.

“It’s challenging,” says Sorbara, “because we wrote most of the album in our basement studio in London, ON, so you’re locked inside with your husband 24/7. There’s moments where it gets intense, because there’s no feeling of ‘Ok, I’m just going to go home now to my family,’ because it’s always there.”

“But believe me,” adds the artist chuckling, “It’s been way more fun than I thought it would be. The album is a lot more serene than the battles that went along with it. But the hysterical battles brought us to where we needed to be.”

The Canadian-native describes the finished product as “a mouthful,” mentioning that it’s also “aggressive, yet emotional at the same time- still holding the story-telling aspect.”

And as a songwriter, storytelling is one of Sorbara’s favorite pieces of the album’s puzzle- it gives her the chance to take what inspired her and inspire everyone else.

“I guess I like taking a topic that means something to me,” says Sorbara, “and be able to say an interesting take on it that’s never been done before. It would be a story that’s familiar to people, but I can go and put it in a unique language. A unique angle, that’s what gets me to write.”

Only, there’s one small obstacle in the way.

“I have almost zero discipline as an artist,” she says laughing.

“So if I’m not having fun, then I’ll just go and ride my bike or something.”

But Sorbara’s figured out a sure-fire way to keep herself content when boredom strikes. No doubt riding on the bus for the next two months with all the guys during their Fixin to Thrill tour across Canada, the US, Europe and Australia – can get a bit overwhelming.

Her fix?

“I love to knit,” she says. “I love to create, that’s how I shut out the world.”

A sweater or scarf was the first assumption. But that was quickly corrected.

“Dude, I’m so much more advanced than that,” she raves. “I’ve knitted dolls, a lion, a sheep, a poodle…and they all have names. And another thing I did was a full double sided queen size blanket; took me two years.”

Continues the singer, “this year, I’m gonna knit a pig. It’s the only way. I need something to show after sitting on my ass doing nothing. The boys watch movies, and I knit.”

“Though there’s one rule above the rest,” she says that her husband made.

“There’s no knitting in bed.”

Dragonette’s 2009 Canadian Tour Dates:

Waterloo, Ontario- October 7, 2009- 8:00 pm

Toronto, Ontario- October 8, 2009- 8:00 pm

Winnipeg, Manitoba- October 12, 2009- 8:00 pm

Calgary, Alberta- October 14, 2009- 8:00 pm

Edmonton, Alberta- October 15, 2009- 8:00 pm

Vancouver, British Columbia- October 17, 2009- 8:00 pm

Victoria, British Columbia- October 18, 2009- 8:00 pm

Juno Memorabilia Goes on Auction Block

andPOP Staff — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 04:15:27 +0000

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Various items collected from the 2005 and 2006 Juno Awards — including posters and hockey jerseys signed by the likes of Broken Social Scene, Great Big Sea, The Tragically Hip and Alexisonfire — are set to be auctioned on eBay with the proceeds going to MusiCan.

Starting July 14, fans can bid on 30 autographed items from the Awards shows. The auction will close on July 24.

In addition to signed jerseys, hockey sticks from the 2005 and 2006 Juno Cup games will also be auctioned off.

A number of posters including autographs from the likes of Coldplay, Joel Plaskett and Pamela Anderson will also be sold off.

MusiCan is a music education program that helps support music programs across the country.

To bid, visit the auction page on eBay starting July 14 at: http://members.ebay.ca/aboutme/caras-junoawards