He started playing guitar at age 7 and has never stopped. He played his way through high school and university in a collection of bands that ranged from country, to rock to celtic music. In university he was again inoculated but this time, by the writing bug. An open stage at the Free Times Café in Toronto started his acoustic, performing songwriter’s journey.

Laderoute has played many acoustic venues in North America from the Free Times Café, Hugh’s Room and similar acoustic stages in Toronto, to Nashville’s famed Bluebird Café and Dallas Texas’ Sons of Hermann hall. He has been featured on live radio and television broadcasts over the last 20 years as well as at folk festivals and songwriting seminars. He has sat in with writers such as Guy Clark, Verlon Thompson and Townes Van Zandt and is an habitual frequenter of open mic stages.

His original music covers a wide spectrum of topics and is peppered with images of the wide-open road, small town barbers, 40-pound shoulders of pork and lost souls seeking redemption and renown.

A CD, tentatively titled "Barfly Dayz" is in the works and should be available by summer’s end.
Michael Laderoute  at the opening Oasis North Concert, July 23, 2003 , with  Natascha Laferriere on vocals.   The opening concert was very succesful, with a full house enjoying the three superb perfromers.


 

Laura Bird
Laura Bird is taking flight. A singer-songwriter known for her warm, powerful and versatile smoky alto voice takes her listeners on journeys through folk-roots, bluegrass to sultry jazz standards. As comfortable singing cowboy as cabaret, her influences are varied and many. Her own writings include vignettes of childhood small town life, stories of struggle, triumph and defeat, dreams and desires; the changing seasons and images of the landscapes that continue to inspire her, are all common threads running through Laura’s lyrical fabric. Whether she’s singing one of her own tunes or interpreting someone else’s, her soulful vocals and solid guitar playing create a very charming and intimate stage presence. Her debut CD "Dreamwalker" met very enthusiastic reviews. The eclectic offering of musical flavours combined several of Laura’s own compositions with a few covers written by some favourite songwriters, a new twist on an old tune and a hidden rendition of a sweet jazz standard. "The Fly By Night Orchestra" includes quite the roster from violinist Marion Linton, to harmonica extraordinaire Mike Stevens to the sweet support vocals of David Francey. Laura sincerely hopes to be back in the recording studio early 2004. This summers appearances include Quinte Spirit, Blue Skies and Summerfolk Festivals, accompanied by Dobro player and long time friend Jack Walker.

Blair is perhaps best known as former lead singer with the Jitters. As the Juno-nominated band’s main songwriter, Blair wrote or co-wrote five Canadian hits, including "Last of the Red Hot Fools" and "’Til the Fever Breaks".  In 1991, Blair started writing music for TV and film; his work can be heard on the Discovery Channel, TSN, CBC Newsworld, Teletoon, Global Television, MuchMusic and YTV.

Since 1995, Blair has been volunteering for the Songwriters Association of Canada, the country’s only national voice solely representing the creators of lyrics and melodies.  In 2000, he was elected co-Vice President of the SAC; among his regular duties has been production of the Toronto version of the Bluebird North, a songwriters-in-a-row-telling-stores event that plays regularly to sell- out crowds.  In 2002 and 2003, Blair organized cross-Canada tours of the Bluebird North, which brought the Songwriters Association and the interests of creators into the national spotlight. Recordings:
Everything That's Good (2001)-independent/EMI Music Canada distribution
Louder Than Words (1990)-EMI Music of Canada
The Jitters (1987)-Capitol-EMI Music of Canada
www.blairpackham.com

John’s songs are real songs, about real experiences, as solid and as earthy as his log cabin in the woods near Huntsville, an area that has provided inspiration for much of his writing. They are well-crafted acoustic tunes, easy to listen and relate to, and range from gentle folk, through catchy country, to wanna-get-up-and-dance blues or bluegrass style. In concert, John easily engages his audience with his energy and enthusiasm, whether playing solo (accompanying himself on guitar and harmonica) or backed by other musicians.

David Newland
David Newland’s first cd, Evergreen, has just been released
A citizen of the world, but Canadian at heart. Born in Ottawa and shaped by the winds of Parry Sound. Aged by the Indian sun and wizened through the shepherding of 300,000 seedlings. David Newland is a young man with an old man’s sense of this world.

David is not just the sum of his many jobs or his vast travels. His mind transcends the here and now, freeing his body to take up residence wherever it sees fit; be that an aged man contemplating his waning days or a hopeful youth at a country dance.

David is a father, a lover, a friend, a writer, an artist. Since the age of seventeen, he has found a companion in music. While attending Pearson College outside Victoria, British Columbia, he picked up a guitar and found the true essence of the instrument when a fellow student told him to "just play what you hear". His catalogue of songs now approaches 200.

Several years in Montreal led to a fine arts degree in photography. The result is a portfolio even larger than his music collection. Subjects have ranged from the people he called neighbors in India to landscapes in Costa Rica to cityscapes of anywhere, Canada.

The port town of Halifax served as a stage for the eager busker, singing and playing for one summer on a pier alongside the Bluenose. David found comfort in the skin of a musician and the Maritimes stuck to his "velcro soul."

The mountain community of East Margaretsville, Nova Scotia was the next home to beckon David. All he owned went to build all he would own. A cabin took shape amidst the trees of the Evergreen Co-op and was the backdrop for a year and a half of life as a record store owner and an artist billed as "the psycho-folk phenomenon".

David’s return to Ontario was not one of triumph, but instead, a new beginning. The obvious choice for a man of leadership, confidence and a mastery of the written word was to jump on the rising star of the Internet. This was an anchor by which to rebuild and flourish. Music remained cathartic, inspiring, vital.

Now living in the house built by his grandfather’s grandfather, David calls Toronto home and all that is beyond, opportunity.
www.davidnewland.com

Brian Gladstone
"Psychedelic Pholk Psongs" ... a very different album to any I have heard in my 35yrs as a broadcaster for country music, your Guitar licks are great, your vocals are great ... a rating of 4 **** Stars. Brian, as an indie artist you are great, we will have you on prime time rotation for one month. This CD has a great feel to it, and you have worked overtime on this album. Dave Peters, CEO. Radio F.M.Country 97.4 FM 24hr Country and The Worldwide C.D.Distribution Network. July 2003.

Toronto singer / guitarist Brian Gladstone is a finger-picking guitar master, a prophetic lyricist, a philosophical story-teller and a dynamic performer. Canada Music Week Magazine, March 2001

Brian's particular way of seeing things through irony and old time approach reminds me of great artists as John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, and Mississippi John Hurt. He is their own true son and he continues their great sounds. Remo Ricaldone, Susa Onda Radio Network, Italy

The man is such an anomaly on the side of modern music; a self-propelled master of folk, a throwback to days when music was simpler, yet somehow more touching. The Toronto-based singer-songwriter is an early Bob Dylan, a guitar wizard on par with Jesse Cook, and a lyricist who can evoke a plethora of emotions with a single song. Dave Brosha, from his article 'Where Does One Begin to Describe Brian Gladstone', October 2001, CanEHdian.Com

Gladstone is an imaginative and intuitive songwriter and a natural storyteller, unrestrained by conventional limitations. A fair-to-middling' guitar picker, Gladstone has a friendly voice and an infectious musical personality. Your humble scribe doesn't know a whole lot about folk music, but know what I like and I like Psychedelic Pholk Songs more every time I listen to it. Psychedelic Pholk Songs is a breath of fresh air, an honest album by a real musician. (Reverend Keith A. Gordon from his column 'The Review on Pop Culture, Aug 2002.)

Marianne Girard
"I think of the beauty of the voice and the song when I think of Marianne."– Ron Nigrini, recording artist.

"Honesty and understatement, sweet melodies and that clear and wonderful voice."    -- Rob Wakelin, concert presenter.

"Marianne Girard is a uniquely gifted songwriter."- George Graves, Chief Mastering Engineer at The Lacquer Channel, Toronto, ON

"….elegantly simple, folk-tinged ballads, very personal tales of love and panoramic ruminations, well served by a light and airy, almost casual treatment.." -- Greg Quill, The Toronto Star, October 2002.

From rural Ontario Canada, across the continent of North America and parts of Europe, to festivals, universities, clubs, recording studios, on radio and television, is Marianne Girard’s journey of twenty years.

Her long awaited new CD, ‘IN THIS TOWN’ (2002) is produced by the acclaimed John Switzer. It profiles Marianne as the world-class artist that she is.

But where’s the catch? Another CD? Another pretty voice? Marianne’s music does what good art is supposed to do: it evaporates the world you came in with and shows you a whole new one. You leave remembering the songs, and Marianne herself. She is at home in front of an audience. It is like second skin. And then, there is that voice. It’s not simply the ease and control of range and dynamics; it resonates a purity of soul, and a passion of conviction. Its sound can transform leather and denim into angel’s wings. It is described as ‘compelling’, ‘riveting’, and ‘haunting’ by audience and reviewers alike. And it’s better than ever.

Marianne Girard is an astonishingly gifted artist of great integrity, and clarity, and defiant faith in the human spirit. With patient compassion and restless urgency she reveals both fool’s gold and diamonds. Her love of traditional music is evident, all the while embracing the influences of her lifetime. There is an ache, a joy and a longing that are bone and sinew deep. She carries with her, younger days of apple trees, tobacco fields, bad boys and tough small town girls, and singing in the church choir. Radio, early folk records, and the Ed Sullivan Show brought the promise of a bigger world beyond the farmlands, and by 16 she had left home. By 18, she was playing guitar, and by 21 she was in Nashville, where her voyage as a writer began in earnest. But the music began in London Ontario. This small city was a mecca for Canada’s best. Willie P. Bennett, Stan Rogers, Colleen Peterson, Doug MacArthur, Collin Linden and a multitude of national and international artists contributed to Marianne’s early playing and writing style.

Perhaps it is her French/Irish heritage that gave her a restless spirit. Always a gypsy, always on the move, she has shied away from the vagaries of the showbiz spotlight. Ten years ago, Marianne eluded us again by settling down in a small town to give her kids a full life. In her own words: "It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done." But the river of song that flows from her is deep, heartfelt, and so imbued with her passion that it seems to have a life of its own. The music never left her. And the road never stopped calling to her.

Now the kids are grown, the last cat has finally died, and it’s a long slow train back. But, Oh My! How that lonesome whistle blows.