Gin Blossoms frontman Robin Wilson has just returned from the road, touring North America alongside Canadian gems Barenaked Ladies. He’s deep in a remodel for his Long Island home, a byproduct of a tragic fire that claimed his property in 2021. 

Through it all he remains upbeat with a pitch-black humour, joking, “The tour was a breeze compared to being at home.

“I enjoy that kind of touring where we’re doing five shows a week. We stay in a bus, we’re playing with other bands on a package tour. It’s where I absolutely am at my happiest and give my best performances. So that’s easy. It’s hard being home and having to go to Home Depot twice a day and, you know, deal with my son and my ex-wife, and have to just deal with being alive at home. The road is much more simple. 

“I only have to know two or three things a day. What time is the meet and greet? What time does the show start? I have some responsibility to be healthy and prepared to give a good performance, but my life is very simple out on tour.”

Wilson’s sitdown with The Herald came in advance of Gin Blossoms’ return to Newfoundland and Labrador for the first time since 2015, when the 90s charttoppers would take the stage at the inaugural Churchill Park Music Festival. 

‘A beautiful community’

Wilson, for his part, expressed enthusiasm to perform alongside fellow rockers Our Lady Peace, also quipping that the island boasts “a beautiful community and a lovely countryside.”

But the much-hyped festival was only the tip of the iceberg for a defining year for the band. 

2022 marked the 30th anniversary of Gin Blossoms breakout album New Miserable Experience, a record that conjurers up bittersweet memories in no small part due to the tragic suicide of founding guitarist Doug Hopkins in 1993.

“Yes, it’s very heavy,” Wilson admits of revisiting their sophomore record, one that spawned the hits Hey Jealously, Until I Fall Away and Found Out About You. “There’s a lot to think about, there’s a great deal to unpack when thinking about New Miserable Experience. Of course, most of it is pride and pride in the band for surviving and for continuing our career, but there are many bittersweet memories associated with recording New Miserable Experience. Losing Doug, and then just the grind of being on tour in the van for two years promoting the record and just never being home and always being on tour in the van and sleeping in the van, driving all night. A very unhealthy lifestyle.”

The push towards platinum status  would be an arduous one for Wilson and co., with the album not becoming an overnight success, but rather a byproduct of grinding from gig to gig.

“We were in that van so much, we were always getting sick. And it just went on for, as I say, like almost two years. And it was rewarding, but it was incredibly hard work,” Wilson recalled. 

“It was a real sacrifice to just be away from home all the time for so long and to be in such discomfort, crammed in the van with everyone all the time. It’s not a lot of fun and it’s a real sacrifice to dedicate yourself to breaking the record. And so when the album did finally break and we had a hit, I feel very justified in saying that we earned it. Not only through the making of the record and the writing of those songs and keeping the band together, but all of the touring and promotion and self-sacrifice. It’s not easy. And I can wrap this up by saying that again mostly what I feel is very proud.”

‘Important as artists’

While the band and their global audience of fans toast three decades of New Miserable Experience, Wilson is adamant that all hands refuse to rest on their laurels, with new music on the horizon.

“I’d like us to make a record sometime in the next few years,” Wilson shared. “I don’t expect it to sell. It’s just not a thing that seems to happen much anymore, record sales. But it’s important as artists to continue to record and write new music, and I look forward to that process. In fact, I’ve already got songs in the can. I’m ready to go as soon as my band mates want to get into it.”

For all things Gin Blossoms related visit the group’s official website at ginblossoms.net

Randy Bachman, architect of over 120 platinum, gold and silver album/singles globally, with #1 singles in over 20 countries and total record sales exceeding 40 million albums and singles through his work alongside legendary acts The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner-Overdrive, is high atop the pantheon of icons deserving of praise.

You know the singles his godly-bestowed hands have birthed: “These Eyes”, “Laughing”, “Undun”, “No Time”, “American Woman”, “No Sugar Tonight”, “Let it Ride”, “Roll on Down The Highway”, “Takin’ Care of Business”, “Looking Out For #1”, “Hey You” and “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet”, among countless others.

Now, Bachman returns to Newfoundland and Labrador to kick off the inaugural Churchill Park Music Festival this Friday alongside Ann Wilson, David Wilcox and Harlequin in St. John’s, but not before sitting down with us for a deep dive into his storied life and career.

“I was there (in St. John’s) in the early 2000s with The Guess Who,” Bachman recalled during a lengthy and spirited interview/storytelling session with The Herald.

“We reformed in 1999 for the Pan Am games in Winnipeg just to do four songs at the closing. Everybody kind of went nuts and said, ‘Why are you only doing four songs? You got like 30 songs. Would you come back and play?’ So that year was ending. It was 1999, right? Nobody thought there was going to be a 2000. Everyone thought all the computers were going to nuke out in 2000, there’s not going to be anything. We said, Yeah, we’ll come back next year in 2000. There’s not going to be a next year. And lo and behold, January 1st came, nothing happened. It wasn’t the end of the world. And we ended up playing, I think, July 1st. That went on sale early in January, July 1st in Winnipeg, Canada Day, and it sold out in 10 minutes.

“And I remember the tour started in St John’s. I think we went there in late July. It was freezing. That cold wind when it comes off the Atlantic. I was explaining it to my son, because we’re all flying there in a couple of days, even though it’s July and August, you look out there, you see icebergs. They’re coming from Iceland or Greenland or they’re coming from the Arctic. And they actually come by there and there’s actually cold air around the ice. And even though the weather’s nice, it’s chilly there. I mean, I’ve been to Iceland in July and August and everybody said, take a hoodie. When the sun goes down, it is chilly. And if there’s wind, it’s bad. So I’m hoping we have good weather.”

Reflecting on sixty plus years in the music business – one fraught with insurmountable highs and predictable industry lows – and Bachman happily reflects on his days with BTO and The Guess Who, and the numerous reunions and high profile tours in subsequent eras.

“It’s all been quite dreamlike, because when you leave a band you think that’s it, and everybody’s got their chips on their shoulders, everybody’s got their baggage, and after a while the chips fall off, the baggage becomes lighter, and you go, What the f**k? We were great. We did like two or three albums that sold millions of copies. We put Canada on the map. We fulfilled our childhood dream. Then it happens in another band. You figure, well, that was really great. Hell freezes over. Great. And then ten years later, somebody calls us and says we want to hear the music again. Do you want to get back together? And you go what the heck? Sure, let’s do it! And you get back together.

“And the vibe is so good when you get back together because you’ve lost the baggage and the chips and the way you were pissed off, you realized it was 50% pissed off. I pissed them off. They pissed me off. It’s just like any breakup or any guy leaving a team or a marriage or a relationship or leaving your family or whatever, you run away from home. Sooner or later you go home because you like mom’s cooking. You know what I mean? And like her doing your laundry or whatever, you just like being in that comfort zone.”

Back in the glory days, when BTO would top global charts in the 70s, the daily grind of touring – and the far off future tech of global telecommunications – meant artists like Bachman would not realize the true fruits of their labours in real time.

“Everybody says you’re doing great. You’re on the road, you have no idea. We were doing 300 gigs a year. We had no idea that we were big and famous everywhere. You don’t know that everywhere the radio is playing your songs everywhere in every city and town in the world. “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” went to number one, we had no idea. It went to number one in 22 countries and we were on the road. There was no Internet. There was no newspaper. You couldn’t get Billboard magazine. You’re on the road, they didn’t sell it in drugstores. We just went on tour and every day we’d get a fax saying, ‘here’s where you’re going the next three days.'”

As for today, Bachman is honest about his interpretation about the current state of rock music.

“Everybody is going back (to the classics) because, let me be blunt, the new music is lousy. All the country music sounds the same. It’s the same guys in the studio with a different vocalist written by the same team of songwriters,” Bachman explained, delving into why the classic rock of the 60s and 70s still holds such allure five-six decades later.

“Everybody’s very reminiscent and going back to the 70s, which is the era of classic rock from about 62. The ending of Elvis is a big thing and The Beatles coming in 63, 64, going to about 76 when disco came in. There’s like 15 golden years of music for all the guys like me who were copying the Elvis’s and Chuck Berry’s and Bo Diddley’s and Jerry Lee Lewis’s and making it our own music and making it white boys prairie music because we’re from Winnipeg or Neil Young or Glenn Frey or Don Henley.

“You’re copying the black music that came out of Chicago and everywhere else and down south. You’re making it your own. And out comes this new pop rock music that now is called classic rock. And it is so good and so diverse because it came from so many sources and was then translated by so many messengers like me or Neil Young or Peter Frampton or The Doobie Brothers guys who just took that music and made it their own. That will last forever on classic rock radio. It’s a complete genre now, and everybody’s going back to embrace that.”

For part two of our one-on-one with the legendary Randy Bachman – including the story of how he reunited with his long lost guitar, and planned new music with son Tal – stay tuned to an upcoming print issue of The Newfoundland Herald.

Catch Bachman and his band at the Churchill Park Music Festival on Friday August 12th! Tickets still available!

“I’m looking forward to it very much,” shared frontman Robin Wilson in advance of the showcase. “It’s a beautiful community and a lovely countryside. I’m planning to make the most of it. I’m coming up with my girlfriend and I’m a big fan of Our Lady Peace, so to share the bill with them is exciting. I’m a big fan, so that’s exciting.”

The band have been touring in support of the chart-topping sophomore record New Miserable Experience, with the exercise in revisiting their breakthrough record a bittersweet one, Wilson shares.

“Yes, it’s very heavy,” Wilson admits of revisiting their sophomore record, one that spawned the hits Hey Jealously, Until I Fall Away and Found Out About You.

“There’s a lot to think about, there’s a great deal to unpack when thinking about New Miserable Experience. Of course, most of it is pride and pride in the band for surviving and for continuing our career, but there are many bittersweet memories associated with recording New Miserable Experience”

For our full one-on-one with Wilson check out an upcoming issue of The Newfoundland Herald. Tickets are still available for the inaugural Churchill Park Music Festival!

For the first time in over 20 years, Canadian rock legends The Tea Party return to Newfoundland and Labrador.

The trio of Jeff Martin, Stuart Chatwood and Jeff Burrows, whose eclectic blend of rock, blues, prog and Middle Eastern influences popularized the term ‘Moroccan Roll’, make their long-awaited return to The Rock at the 2022 George Street Festival on July 29th.

Reflecting on past excursions to our rocky shores – including an opening slot for Bon Jovi in Grand Falls in the summer of ‘95 – and Burrows laughs at one particularly memorably hilarious moment during the 2001 Salmon Festival.

“The one big one I can remember is the Salmon Festival…” he shared in a stidown with The Herald. “I think Nelly Furtado was on the same bill. And it was really weird because she came up when we were playing Heaven Coming Down, and she started doing this kind of scat rap. And that’s when Jeff Martin went to go into his solo. And we’re not usually used to sharing the stage with anybody. He went into his solo, and he started backing up and doing his thing really hard. And she was looking the other way and he almost zambonied her completely. Just missed her. And I mean, we’re all six feet plus and she’s got to be five feet. And it was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen, the poor girl (laughs).”

Pandemic Downtime

Jokes aside, the pandemic downtime has been arduous on the global workforce at large, and especially crippling for the touring entertainer. 

The band was scheduled to return to The Rock for the Saints and Sinners tour in 2020 opposite fellow Can-rock luminaries Big Wreck, Moist and The Headstones, before the advent of COVID-19 put all travel plans on hold.

“I mean, everybody’s going to tell the same story, but you get your hopes up,” Burrows shared of the reality of the pandemic for working artists. 

“Schedule a tour, canceled. Schedule a tour canceled. Canceled two Australian tours. Canceled a European tour. It’s pretty disheartening, right? I mean, you’re getting ready. You’re prepping, looking forward to seeing the guys. I literally have not seen my bandmates, because everybody lives so far away, in three years. So it’s really strange. Jeff lives in Australia, Stuart’s in B.C. … so it’s just really, really strange.”

The band did manage to keep the momentum going thanks in no small part to the release of two collections of EPs released in the pandemic era, though Burrows himself was quick to admit that creativity did not come easy to him during isolation.

‘Hard to be Creative’

“The last three years has been like a microcosm of a really depressing life. I don’t know. I mean, I’ve been up in weight and down and weight and up in weight and down in weight, then drinking too much and not drinking and eating too much and going on a diet. It’s just been ridiculous. I found it very hard to be creative.

“Some people flourished in it. Jeff did a solo record, which is good, so he kept touring as much as he could in Australia in the meantime. Stuart does his video game music, I do work in Windsor when I’m there and I have a contract with the college so we all kept busy. It’s just didn’t hit me that way. I could bring nothing to the table at that point,” Burrows shared refreshingly, adding that, being old school rockers, the road is where they make their bread, and have their best creative awakenings.

“We’re not in the game of TikTok. We’re a band who literally started on the road and love to be on road. And that’s where we’ve earned our living. We don’t have album sales of Nickelback or anything like that. So that’s always been our thing, that we earn a living on the road. So it was pretty tough when the breaks were not let off at all for three years, and who knows what’s going to happen even now come fall or whatever. I don’t know anymore. It’s so weird.”

Reflecting back on over three decades of content – including the impending anniversary of their breakthrough album Splendor Solis – and Burrows jokes that the surreal nature of the bands’ success and longevity is never lost on him.

Gigging for Gas Money

“Yeah, it’s always shocking whenever I speak to anyone about how long it’s been. Like when we first started in 1990 till now, it’s a longer time between 1990 and now than 1990 and when The Beatles stormed America. That’s f****ng nuts. You know what I mean? It freaks me right the hell out,” he laughs, honestly sharing that, in those early days of the band, royalty cheques and chart-topping prowess were a far cry from the reality of gigging for gas money and drive by meals.

“When I think about it, 30 years ago we made not one dime touring that (Splendor Solis album). It was like okay, well here we are Chicoutimi. Let’s go play some acoustic guitars and bongos in the park so we can get some gas money so we can get to the next small town, Victoriaville in Quebec. You didn’t make money.”

Fast forward to the summer of 2022, and the trio’s status as flag-bearers of a particularly fertile time for Canadian rock is firmly established.

Come July 29th, at their more than long awaited Rock return, eager fans can expect the hits – classic cuts like Fire in the Head, The Bazaar, The River and Temptation. And to trust in the fact that the band will be just as eager to hit our shores as we’ll be to welcome them.

“Man, I can’t wait. I can’t believe we’re actually going to Newfoundland. It’s so great. It seems surreal to me because it’s been forever. And you know, Jeff and Stuart, they live so far away, so far away from Newfoundland. I know Stuart’s flying his wife just for that because she’s never even been, because they met after 2000. So it’s just incredible. I can’t wait.”

For more information on The Tea Party visit teaparty.com. For tickets to The Tea Party with special guests Sam Roberts Band and Women of Rock visit georgestreetlive.ca

In 20 years, Dallas Smith has gone from an – admittedly unexpected – platinum selling rocker, to one of Canada’s most in-demand and celebrated country music stars. The journey from point A to point B was not without its twists and turns. “It was a sink or swim kind of deal for myself,” begins Smith, reminiscing on the 20th anniversary of his rock-outfit Default’s platinum selling album The Fallout. 

“In September ‘99, I just started singing with that band. I’d never sung in front of anybody before, just goofing around. And then like two years later we had a platinum record in the US, which is just insanity.”

Reflecting on those still-green days as a much-demanded frontman – Default’s breakout single Wasting My Time rocketed up the charts across the globe – and Smith admits there were lessons and truths he has since learned he wished he was armed with then.

“It was an amazing time in my life, I just wish that I had a bit more of an ease into it where I could have, as a front guy, as a vocalist, I could hit the ground running a little bit more as opposed to just like, f**k, here you go,” he shares candidly.

“It was an incredibly wild, unpredictable, adventurous time that I had with some really good friends and I made some great friends along the way. And it really taught me a lot,” he shared.

He’s gained knowledge about the business side of things, he added, and learned things about himself along the way. “I’ve learned not just about the business but who I am in the music business and what am I willing to take on and what’s important to me and the balance of family life.”

The life of a rocker

The life of a rocker – then or now – is far from easy, as Smith admits the life of a road-warrior took its toll early and often.

“I was married during the early parts of the Default stuff. We were gone for like three months and then we were home for a week and then gone for four months. That’s just the way it was pre-social media and pre all these other ways to market. All of that stuff falls victim in the name of your career. It’s those kinds of lessons that I think, not only about the music business, but about how to survive as a human through this. I take everything from that time of my life.”

Fast-forward to 2022, and Smith is a chart-topping country-music star and a multi-time CCMA winner, including 2021 wins for Entertainer and Single of the Year.

Smith credits his Default days for helping him acclimatize to the, honestly, more rock-based era of country music we find ourselves in today.

“The sounds of rock, what I liked and what I loved, it was a little more few and far between on rock radio and stuff. And honestly it was a natural transition for me to go back to a lot more of the guitar driven stuff and a lot of that was in country music,” Smith shared.

“If you look at the country festivals now, it’s what the rock festivals looked like 15, 20 years ago. It’s the same kids I’m playing to… It’s all guitar driven, beer drinking, let’s go have fun music. That’s just always kind of what I’ve really been into. I always loved music that pulled at the heartstrings and told a great story. And I mean, that’s country music. You just line up a great voice with a great story. And it’s all organic musically. I feel way more at home here more so than ever.”

Back to The Rock

Smith heads back to ‘The Rock’ on his cross-Canada Some Things Never Change Tour alongside James Barker Band, Jojo Mason, Shawn Austin, Kelly Prescott and Manny Blu, touching down at Mary Brown’s Centre on June 14th.

“That’s a great part of the country, man. I love being out there. Don’t get out there enough. I always say that,” Smith admits, preparing fans for the festival-esque lineup that will descend on St. John’s in short order.

“We’re pumped to have this many artists on this bill. I’m friends with a lot of these artists, most of them. We’ve all been sitting around doing nothing. So it’s time for a lot of us to get back to work. And it was nice to be able to put a package together like this show has a lot of musicians, a lot of artists, a lot of crew and get back out there and make the most of it. It serves us well, but I think it also serves the fans well too. You buy a ticket and you’re getting a big lineup.”

Expect surprises and – most importantly – the return of the power of live music on show-night, Smith shares. Because, whether tearing the house down at a rock show or kickin’ it country, Dallas Smith always delivers. Some things, do indeed, never change.

“We’re just going to get up there and have fun and hopefully we can see and we can feel that pent up release that needs to be happening from music fans because we definitely are feeling it here and can’t wait to go out.”

For more tickets and more information on Smith and the June 14th tour date visit: dallassmithmusic.com and marybrownscentre.com

From Gimmie All Your Lovin’ and Sharp Dressed Man to Legs and La Grange, ZZ Top will celebrate 50 years of kickin’ it and keepin’ it real when they take to the stage at the Mary Brown’s Centre on May 13th & 14th. 

Ahead of the maiden voyage on NL soil, vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons chats with The Herald.

We’d love to know if there’s anything you are looking forward to and if you will get time between the two show dates to do any touring around our city while you are in St. John’s?

It seems we’re charged large to finally make it. Looking forward to seeing the sights and would be open to checking out the marine life. 

Frank’s (drummer Frank Beard) an intrepid fisherman so you might see him casting off if there’s time. As far as local cuisine is concerned, we’re looking forward to cracking a lobster or two … We’ll bring the Whisker Bomb hot sauce for good measure. 

It’s the 50th anniversary of the band. I’m dying to know if live performances are still providing the high they once did? Is it still a thrill to step on the stage in front of fans and rock out to Sharp Dressed Man?

Oh, yeah! We get a real charge out of it. We get out there, the crowd is up for it, you plug it, turn it up and it’s magic. Works just about every time. 

My daughter is 13. She’s a fan. I’m 52 and I’m a fan. Does the multiple generation appeal thrill the band as they tour? Wondering if, when the band started 50 years ago, you realized the possibility of such mass appeal and longevity. 

We’ve borne witness to the intergenerational phenomenon and it always impresses us. When we first started, the audiences were, for the most part, our same age or maybe a little older. As things progressed, those folks had kids and they brought them along and when those kids grew they came to the show and then they had kids and now they’re out there. Age is kind of irrelevant when your aim is having a good time. 

You lost a friend and a band mate in Dusty Hill, but the band has said the show must go on in his memory. Tell us about his place in your legacy of performances and recordings. 

To us, nobody was as genuine nor as talented as Dusty. 

Making loud noise was what he lived to do and nobody did it better. It’s an understatement that he’s sorely missed, but we carry on in righteous memory of The Dust. 

Your hat is famous. I read the tale about how it was quite the trade. Any other signature pieces that fans should be on the lookout for when you take the stage? 

The hat was acquired on a visit to Cameroon in West Africa, which I like to say is the source of just about everything we like including the blues and soul food. It’s made by the Bamileke people there and was gifted to me by a tribal chieftain. 

He liked my Texas style cowboy hat and I was told it would be wise to gift it to him. I figured we could make it an even trade and he was up for that so he got the 10 gallon and I get the famous Bamleke hat. 

Speaking of Texas duds, there’s a limited edition line of BFG boots out now from Alvies that bear my brand. Get ‘em while you can: alvies.com/pages/bfg-boots-billy-f-gibbons

You’ve worked with some interesting artists. I noted back in 1969 there was a Jimmy Hendrix experience when you were with the Moving Sidewalks. Anything to share from those days?

Off stage (Hendrix) was kind of shy and on stage he was ferocious. He was very friendly and showed us some guitar moves that we still employ to this day. We once got to hang out and jammed together with sponges wrapped around the headstock of our respective guitars. 

We dipped those sponges in day-glow paint and spattered a blank canvas under blacklight as we played. The resulting painting, if you want to call it that, is long gone, but the memory lingers.

When you think of music’s good old days, what decade comes to mind and why? 

Didn’t Carly Simon sing “these are the good old days?” I would think it’s the 40s and 50s, the era when country, Jesus, hillbilly and blues came together. As far as the band is concerned, La Grange broke us out, which was a real kick. 

And on into the 80s with the advent of MTV which brought new twists and turns into the mix. Now that we’re hitting the road again, this just might be the time! 

Anything else you want to share about the show and the tour? Newfoundlanders think our province is fairly cool, but having you b’ys visit will make us so much more so! 

We’re excited to come and visit so get out and see us. It’s gonna be a good time!

For tickets and more visit mbcentre.ca

Shannell Lewis may have been born in Ontario, but with both parents hailing from Newfoundland, she grew up listing to traditional Irish/NL music. 

That she can now be heard most every Sunday alongside OZFM’s Danielle Butt as the highly popular radio personality hosts Jigs & Reels is simply an honour and a pleasure, she shared.

“I love helping Danielle on Sundays. Giving the weather or passing along any local happenings or helping out with requests is always so much fun. Jigs & Reels with Danielle is such a Sunday tradition that I feel like part of a much larger family,” she said with a smile.

But then Lewis feels at home almost anywhere, including on the stage. 

Lewis, who performs with many bands including the Shannell Lewis Trio, Miss Conduct, Women of Rock and The 8 Track Favourites, shared that performing on stage at the beloved establishment, O’Reilly’s Irish Newfoundland Pub, is high up on her list of proudest accomplishments. 

‘Interesting History’

“I love performing for Brenda O’Reilly down at O’Reilly’s, and a big congratulations to her on the 25th anniversary. It’s a great atmosphere. The staff are so friendly and the audience is always so much fun. It’s a really great place to perform, and it has so much interesting history and I’m thrilled to be a small part of that,” she said. On stage for O’Reilly’s Women of the Rock performance series on Wednesdays, Lewis said she feels “Very fortunate and very happy to be a part of it.” 

Lewis added that her bond with Brenda O’Reilly and O’Reilly’s Irish Newfoundland Pub is part of her Sundays as well on Jigs & Reels. O’Reilly’s is actually a sponsor on Jigs & Reels every Sunday, and she enjoys hearing Butt and O’Reilly chat each week about what’s happening downtown. 

“Danielle is a great host and she makes everything feel so relaxed and I’m very fortunate to work with her every week. I’m a producer of her show, so if you call in and make a request, I make sure those are ready and I work closely with Danielle to get those on every week.” 

‘Close Family’

When Butt is away on vacation, Lewis is ready and willing to step in, she added. But her bond isn’t just with her coworker, it’s also with Butt’s adorable Shichon, Miss Stevie Nicks. 

“She’s so cute. Danielle brings her into the office sometimes, and she does laps around the desks, usually being chased by Jay (Lawrence, Station Manager) or Robert (Shawn). It’s so funny to watch.” 

Lewis adds that the folks at OZFM are a “close family” and celebrating the fact that the station is now number one has been a pleasure. Lewis has had the privilege of co-hosting the Morning Jam with Randy Snow when Stephanie O’Brien takes some time off and she’s co-hosted the number one morning show with Mitch Colbourne too. 

“Before I came over here full time to do Herald sales, I was working at OZFM, and I like filling in whenever they need me. If somebody is on vacation or something, I’m available. Mitch and I had a ball filling in together on the Morning Jam. I love working with Mitch. He’s a lot of fun. In fact, all of the team over there are really, really great.”  

Of course, part of the thrill of working in radio is the music, she added, and Lewis lives to perform. “Both my parents are from Newfoundland, as many people know, so I’ve been around Newfoundland music for my entire life, and in fact, I grew up taking Irish dancing classes.” 

A huge fan

While she may not get to step dance much, she still enjoys the music. 

“The 8 Track Favourites is fronted by Larry Foley, and he is also with The Punters and I believe they’re celebrating their 25th anniversary as well, and I love working with Larry and with Sandy Morris.”

There’s so many artists she’s a huge fan of, she continued. “Traditionally, I love the Irish Descendants. When I was younger, we went to see them in Ontario when they were on tour and it was so much fun. I love Sam Hall and Peter Street, they are probably my two favorites, but I love Clancy, Evans & Doherty too. I love their music.” 

Besides hearing her idols each and every Sunday on Jigs & Reels, Lewis has had the opportunity to meet some of her musical idols too, even introducing them onstage at events like the George Street Festival. 

“Shanneyganock. Masterless Men. It’s been incredible,” she said of her career.

When Lewis performs at O’Reilly’s on Wednesdays, she added they like to do a little bit of everything, including some Irish tunes. “We love to sing Sweet Forget Me Not and Black Velvet Band.”

When she’s not working at The Herald, on air at OZFM, or performing on stage, Lewis can be found enjoying the quiet and the beauty of Newfoundland. 

“I love to go around the bay. It’s a quiet life out there, and I enjoy that time.” Since she’s usually on air while everyone else is putting on their Sunday dinner, we ask when she gets a chance to enjoy her jiggs dinner. “Jiggs is my favourite meal. My all time favourite, in fact. I’m a meat and potatoes kind of girl so you can’t beat a good jiggs dinner.” 

Listen to Jigs & Reels Sundays from 7A.M. – 1P.M. & follow ‘The NFLD Herald’ on social media or visit nfldherald.com.

The Cherrytree Music Company, Live Nation and evenko have confirmed that Sting will perform three very special My Songs concerts in Atlantic Canada this year, including the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, May 2, the Avenir Centre in Moncton, September 13 and the Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s, September 16.

Tickets for all three shows go on sale next Friday, February 25 at 10 a.m. local time.

Tickets for the Halifax show will be available online at ticketatlantic.com, evenko.ca and livenation.com.

Tickets for the Moncton show will be available online at ticketmaster.ca, avenircentre.com, evenko.ca and livenation.com. Tickets will be available in person at the Avenir Centre Box Office (150 Canada Street) beginning on Monday, February 28 at 9 a.m.

Tickets for the St. John’s show will be available at the Mary Brown’s Centre Box Office (50 New Gower Street) by calling 1-709-576-7657 and online at mbcentre.ca, evenko.ca and livenation.com.

Members of Sting’s Fan Club will have the opportunity to access exclusive pre-sale tickets prior to the general public by visiting Sting.com.

For complete tour, ticket, and fan club information visit: Sting.com.

Sting’s My Songs concert is an exuberant and dynamic show featuring his most beloved songs, written throughout the 17-time Grammy Award winner’s illustrious career both with The Police and as a solo artist. Hailed a “masterful performance from start to finish,” the concert “takes fans on a musical journey through time,” with “hits like “Fields of Gold”, “Shape of my Heart”, “Roxanne” and “Demolition Man” punctuating an unforgettable show.” Fans can also expect to hear “Englishman In New York,” “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne,” “Message In A Bottle” and many more.

On tour, Sting will be accompanied by an electric, rock ensemble. Special guest Joe Sumner appears at all newly announced dates.

Sting’s latest album, The Bridge, showcases his prolific and diverse song writing prowess. Representing various stages and styles from throughout his unrivalled career and drawing inspiration from genres including rock n’ roll, jazz, classical music and folk, the eclectic album features Sting’s quintessential sound on pop-rock tracks such as the album’s opening rock salvo “Rushing Water” and the upbeat, whistle-driven earworm “If It’s Love.” To explore the album, please visit the interactive hub: thebridge.sting.com.

The late, great Johnny Fisher passed away on December 2, 2020. One year later, and his bandmates in heavy outfit Last Soul Down honoured his memory with a touching message, and the release of a new album of material, In Hindsight. Full statement below!

“Today is the anniversary of Johnny passing, and suffice to say, anyone who knew him are missing him extra hard right now.

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“From all of the fun, funny moments we spent with him, to the incredible performances and music we shared together as fans and bandmates, he gave us something we should cherish, that we were lucky enough to have had someone as special as him in our lives. So let’s all post some amazing memories we shared with him, and remind the world how great he was, and still is in all of our hearts.

“In honour of Johnny, Last Soul Down is releasing a digital version of the vinyl today so we can all share in enjoying his music, which has always been Johnny’s heart and soul. He is a punk rock and metal legend around here, and I personally would love if we can keep that legacy alive as much as possible.

“We will eventually be physically putting out the vinyl next year once all of the manufacturing is completed, and we finally have it in our hands.

“In the meantime, here is a link to the album on our Band Camp page. It will also be available on the other streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. https://lastsouldown.bandcamp.com/album/in-hindsight

“We love and miss you Johnny!!!”

In Hindsight was recorded over three days in August 2018 by Don Ellis at Mt Scio Studio in St John’s NL Canada. It was mixed and mastered by Don in August 2019.

Stay tuned to The Newfoundland Herald for much more on Last Soul Down and In Hindsight

It’s good to be the King … sometimes. If one could be a fly on the wall for a year in the life of Elvis Presley during the final two decades of his life, it would be something to behold the sheer amount of pressure heaped on the shoulders of the undisputed King of Rock ‘N’ Roll.

From sex symbol, to chart topping musician and A-list actor, Presley was the dominator of the tabloids and charts of all size and scope for decades.

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The Newfoundland Herald – in conjunction with the official home of Elvis Presley, Graceland – retrace the King’s 1961 and 1971 for the 60th and 50th anniversaries of pivotal years in the life of a once in a generation artist.

From box office triumphs to career misses and personal lows, we follow a year in the life of Elvis Presley.

FEBRUARY 25, 1961

Elvis appears at a luncheon in his honour in Memphis … Following a press conference, Elvis performs an afternoon and evening show at Ellis Auditorium to benefit around 38 Memphis-area charities. Other than the Sinatra television show, these shows are the only times Elvis has performed live since his Army discharge.

“Elvis Presley Day” is proclaimed by Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington. Every year after this, Elvis donates money to a list of Memphis-area charities, eventually reaching 50 or more, usually around Christmas time.

MARCH 25, 1961

Elvis arrives in Hawaii for a press conference, then an evening concert at Bloch Arena at Pearl Harbor. He is there to perform a benefit to help fund the building of the USS Arizona Memorial. Hundreds of fans mob the airport as he arrives. His show raises around $62,000 for the memorial.

This turns out to be Elvis’ last live, non-movie performance until his 1968 television special.

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LATE MAR/MID-APRIL 1961

Elvis remains in Hawaii to do location filming for his eighth motion picture, Blue Hawaii, having already done soundtrack recording.

Later, there is additional filming to be done back in Hollywood for this film, which will open later in the year.

With this second and longer visit, Hawaii would become one of Elvis’ lifelong favourite places to vacation.

JUNE 22, 1961

Wild in the Country, co-starring Hope Lange, Millie Perkins and Tuesday Weld, opens nationally to mixed reviews. Like Flaming Star, it’s a melodrama with limited singing by Elvis, and not one of his most successful motion pictures.

Also in June, the album Something For Everybody is shipped. It hits the charts in July, staying for 25 weeks and spending three of those weeks at #1.

JULY-AUGUST, 1961

Elvis records and films for his ninth motion picture, Follow That Dream.

OCTOBER 1961

The soundtrack album for Blue Hawaii enters the Billboard chart for a year-and-a-half run, staying at #1 for 20 weeks, second only to GI Blues as the biggest album of Elvis’ career on the Billboard charts.

OCTOBER 1961

It also yields a #2 single destined to become an Elvis classic, Can’t Help Falling in Love.

NOVEMBER, 1961

Elvis records and films for his 10th motion picture, Kid Galahad, completing it on December 20, 1961.

Blue Hawaii opens nationally to warm reviews. The film hits #18 on the box office charts for 1961 and #14 for 1962.

It earns recognition as one of the Best Elvis movies, and is top-grossing film of his career thus far. Its characteristics of a non-cerebral plot, lavish scenery, lots of songs by Elvis, and lots of pretty girls, become the basis for the “Presley formula” movies of the sixties.

DECEMBER 1961

Other than the Army years, this is the only Christmas Elvis will spend away from Graceland. He will spend from December 22 to January 29 in Las Vegas.

JANUARY 16, 1971

Elvis attends a day of functions culminating in an evening awards banquet. He and nine others accept the honor of being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (The Jaycees).

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1971

Elvis plays another month-long engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas.

MARCH 1971

Elvis begins a recording session in Nashville, but cancels it due to pain and inflammation in an eye. He is treated at a Nashville hospital where he is diagnosed with secondary glaucoma.

MAY 1971

Elvis is featured on the cover of Look Magazine, which carries an installment of the forthcoming biography on Elvis by Jerry Hopkins. Many books and articles have been written over the years, but this is the first in-depth, serious biography.

Elvis has recording sessions in Nashville. Much of the work is for his forthcoming album Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas.

JUNE 1971

The two-room house Elvis was born in opens to the public for tours in Tupelo. The house was restored by the East Heights Garden Club in Tupelo.

Elvis has more recording sessions in Nashville, this time mostly for an upcoming gospel album, He Touched Me.

In addition, a long stretch of Highway 51 South, part of which runs in front of Graceland, is officially renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard.

JUNE 16, 1971

Elvis releases his 14th studio album Love Letters From Elvis. The album received mixed to negative critical reviews and failed to crack the top 20 Billboard charts in the United States, but fared better in the UK and Canada.

JULY/AUGUST 1971

Elvis plays a two-week engagement at the Sahara Hotel in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. With this first appearance at the Sahara Tahoe, 2001 will now be Elvis’ entrance theme for his concert shows. He breaks attendance records for this venue.

AUGUST 9-SEPT. 6, 1971

Elvis plays an engagement in Las Vegas at the International Hotel, which has been renamed the Las Vegas Hilton International Hotel. This run of Elvis shows in Las Vegas tops his previous attendance records once again.

During the engagement, an award is presented to Elvis in his dressing room. It is the Bing Crosby Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that also presents Grammy awards.

NOVEMBER 5-12, 1971

Elvis goes on a 12-city concert tour. J.D. Sumner and the Stamps Quartet have now replaced The Imperials and Jackie Kahane is now the opening comedian. The famous Elvis jumpsuits now feature matching capes.

LATE 1971 – EARLY 1972

Elvis Presley and Priscilla separate. She moves out on her own with her daughter Lisa Marie.

For more by Staff Writer Dillon Collins, click here

*Partial timeline information from Graceland.com, the official home of Elvis Presley