TIPPE A FAN FAVE FOREVER

Rick Tippe marks his 30th wedding anniversary later this month admitting, with an impish grin, that he hasn’t exactly stuck to his end of the deal for the past 15 years.
That blunt confession, from one of Maple Ridge’s favourite sons, is literally music to my ears –and others calling themselves connoisseurs of exceptional country-rock.
You see, the proudly independent King of Honky Tonks and Cool, promised wife Bonnie – before all the adoring fans, hits, the standing ovations, overseas concerts and heart-breaking thank-yous – that he would write songs, but never play in a band.
Well, as he sings, “yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery” – but his next few days are hectic as he prepares to perform at the two-day Rockin’ River Music Fest.
Tippe admits to being “extra excited” as his band tunes up for Sunday’s 6:45 p.m. gig, just before the legendary Ronnie Milsap closes the Mission Raceway Park show.
“I was a millworker, in construction for 12 years and a realtor for another two and now I get to play on the same stage as Ronnie? Man, somebody pinch me,” says Tippe, while juggling phone calls on Tuesday from his home north of the new Golden Ears Bridge.
The fact Tippe is even around these parts performing is amazing – and we’re not just talking about his close call with disaster last year when he fell off a stage and landed on his head while playing at Abbotsford Agrifair.
“I love B.C. I’m from here. You couldn’t get me to move,” says the son of Canadian and B.C. country music hall of famer, Elmer. “This is the best place on Earth for sure.”
Tippe started playing guitar at age eight, wrote his first song three years later and was earning royalty cheques by his 16th birthday.
In the early-’90s, insisting to Bonnie he was just “dabbling,” he and guitar player Chris Rolin put together a small demo tape for Nashville. They hit it big.
Their first two albums, Should’a Seen Her Comin’ and Get Hot or Go Home, spawned an impressive 12 Top 40 singles. The hits, despite being an independent artist without the huge marketing dollars, never stopped until 2006 when Elmer had a stroke and Rick called time out to look after his “biggest musical influence.”
His latest album, 2008’s The Power of One, contains the monster hit Forever, which has become a wedding anthem across the country. He’ll undoubtedly play this money-making gem Sunday, along with his other treasures Get Hot or Go Home, The Craziest Thing, Shiver ‘n’ Shake, Radio On and The Future Is Looking Brighter.
Another emotional song that has generated touching notes is Keepin’ The Faith, written for cancer survivors and cancer fighters, with proceeds from CD sales going to help find a cure.
Tippe pauses, and almost tears up, when recalling the heartfelt letters – many without happy endings, but with moving praise for his inspirational lyrics, including the poignant “Today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.”
He reveals his performing days are now numbered, citing his 51st birthday in December and a new passion – his online project Ricky’s Music World, where he can use his experience to help aspiring musicians pursue dreams.
“I’m working on this one with Bonnie,” he says smiling. “We really want to see somebody from around here reach that superstardom level of a Shania [Twain] or a Paul [Brandt].”
If, in fact, he pulls the plug on his must-see, high-energy act, it will be a huge loss for concertgoers who enjoy getting their money’s worth from a classy showman with turbo twang.
“If I die tomorrow, no regrets,” Tippe says. “Can you name another job where people clap for you every 3½ minutes, shout out your name and send notes saying your songs made a difference in their lives?”
The Power of One, indeed.

* Check out Rick's great website, and music samples, at www.ricktippe.com

Taken from http://myextratwobits.blogspot.com/

CHARLIE A MAJOR PLAYER ON SUNDAY STAGE

Give Charlie Major credit.
Surrounded by bikers, leather jackets, punks in cheap sunglasses, bald-headed boomers and tattooed women all anxious to see and hear Texas headliner ZZ Top, the clean-cut Canadian country music artist quickly reminded a small-ish Sunday crowd why he was country’s king of the ’90s with a short, but superb opening set.
The pride of Aylmer, Quebec, Major turns 55 next month – he looks 10 years younger – but on this night he was the energetic young gun of the Double Down Live Tour, which could have been aptly named Grandpas Gone Wild.
He opened with his 1997 monster hit I’m Feeling Kind of Lucky Tonight that immediately got people dancing and clapping – and remembering why he ruled the charts for a decade.
His 1993 album The Other Side spawned six No. 1 hits, including I’m Gonna Drive You Out of My Mind, which earned him one of two standing ovations at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre.
Halfway through his performance he jested: “Hey, I know it’s Sunday and all, but what do you say we party here a bit and show the rest of B.C. how it’s done?”
A whole bunch of beer-induced “we love you Charlie” cheers rained down from the stands and he performed his hit It Can’t Happen To Me, which ironically addresses the dangers of drinking and driving!
Major, who sounds just as good live as he does on radio, did a great job of interacting with the audience, shared a few funny Canadian stories, but mostly let his great from-the-heart music do the talking.
He spent no time pitching albums, or reminding folks about his many Junos, Canadian Country Music Awards or appearing on Holmes on Homes.
In his prime he was described as “Canada’s Bruce Springsteen.” On Sunday night he gave the early arrivals full value with (I Do It) For The Money and You’ll See Angels, and he left them standing and wanting more after performing his closing number Backroads, a monster hit he wrote for Ricky Van Shelton in that artist’s heyday.
The only knock on Major’s performance was that it didn’t last longer. Then again, those old guys need their sleep, right?

Taken from http://myextratwobits.blogspot.com/

KUDOS TO A SHOW OF HEARTS

A woman called the other day, scolding this scribe for "killing trees" to cover the inaugural Rockin' River Music Fest.
Seems this crusty gal is not a fan of "stupid country music” and wanted me, editor and author, to smarten up ASAP.
She snapped, before returning to Jerry Springer's latest educational program: "How do you guys make your decisions to cover stuff anyway?"
Fair question, really.
Once upon a time when newsrooms had bodies, we used to play Spin the Bottle, darts or cards to determine newsworthy events. Now, we either go where there's swag, free food or where the boss's pals are staging functions.
Being editor and making those life-or-EI decisions can be painstaking. People scream, threaten your life or promise to torture and humiliate you. And that's just the staff. Readers can be less forgiving.
Editors used to meet for brewskis and group hugs. It's tougher to do these days because most of the retired ones are in padded cells with arms locked in the cover-thy-butt position, muttering such silly things as HST, Olympic shortfalls, gas taxes, health-care cuts and on time, on budget. Poor souls.
As you read this, I'm in the early stages of a stay-cation. I'm exploring where I'd eventually like to build that padded cell. Several staffers even volunteered to help (wink, wink). But I digress.
While some went to Music Fest last week to listen, to drink, to try out cowboy pick-up lines – "Got eight seconds?” – or to avoid weekend chores, this scribe went out of respect for the artists who do much more than play weekend music in dim-lit honky-tonks.
Take Ken McCoy of Mission. Dude plays some awesome, dirt kickin' music. His songs Georgia on a Fast Train, Praying for Rain and Mexican Jail are solid gold. Larry Delaney, the editor of Country Music News, writes: "How this man's music remains ‘undiscovered’ at a national level remains one of Canadian country music's unanswered questions."
More pure than McCoy’s music, however, is his heart.
When his band played the 2007 West of the Rockies Rodeo in Prince George, McCoy met grief-stricken father Ron McCully, whose 25-year-old son Cpl. Matthew McCully was the 55th Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Ron couldn't sleep at night and, while never questioning the cause, struggled with the loss. He set up the Matthew McCully Foundation to keep his brave son's name alive and organized groups to send upbeat messages to soldiers unselfishly fighting for our freedoms.
McCoy returned home, hit the studio and wrote Right to be Free, which he performed at Mission Raceway Park to a standing ovation. He has donated proceeds of that passionate song to McCully and has since received letters from all corners of the world for his paying it forward spirit.
Rick Tippe of Maple Ridge, limited to just six songs at Music Fest, is celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary on Monday. His love for wife Bonnie is understandable, given his loyalty to making a difference in this challenging world.
In early 2000, Tippe was asked to write a song for cancer survivor Norma Curzon. The result was Keepin' the Faith, a terrific song of encouragement to fight the good fight one day at a time. Proceeds of the hit have gone to the Canadian Cancer Society as it tries to find a cure for a nasty disease.
So, to the gal who suggested my judgment is whacked, tell Ron McCully or Norma Curzon, or other soldiers and cancer survivors, that I'm wasting time covering a "stupid country music" show.
I can live with that "mistake."

Taken from http://myextratwobits.blogspot.com/

HOT COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL

HANDING OUT 'GORDOS' TO THE DESERVING

CAPTION: Ken McCoy, who sang about our troops, our country, our firefighters and our national pride, proved paying it forward is what makes the man and his band. If he's playing in your city, go see him. Class-act dude, great music!


BY GORD KURENOFF
Managing Editor
Abbotsford-Mission Times

If you checked out the spiffy websites of the independent artists who performed in last weekend’s Rockin’ River Music Fest, you may have noticed the abundance of awards.
Everyone who hummed a note at Mission Raceway Park last Saturday and Sunday had been either nominated or decorated with a musical honour of some kind. Some, in fact, had more awards than hits, which is kind of interesting!
So, with that same Honour Thy Artist generosity on this critic’s mind, we offer the first annual Music Fest Gordos.
Please hold your applause to the end and remember that you’re all winners (wink, wink!).
The envelopes please:

THAT'S JUST GOOFY AWARD
Nikki Werner of Mission, who gained a new fan (me) for her powerful singing and terrific tunes Dashboard Days and How Can You Love Someone, was going to drive her three- and six-year-olds to Disneyland after Saturday’s gig. (In a Minnie-van?) Bet mom’s going to suffer some Disney spells after seeing more than enough Tigger and Pooh in Anaheim, Calif.

D’OH! WE ARE ALL CANUCKS AWARD
Cloverdale crooner Damian Marshall may be “the next one” according to music critics who rate B.C.’s rising stars. While he earned applause for his songs and stares from the ladies for his poster-boy looks, he earned some boos after he announced he was originally from “Edmonton Oilers land.”

SEND HIM SHOPPING MORE AWARD
Mission country whiz Kenny Hess – one of the event co-organizers – performed three songs that he wrote after “trips to the local grocery store.”
All the tunes, including one about Angelina Jolie and the other about a homeless person asking for change, received standing ovations.

REALITY OF THIS GIG AWARD
Julian Austin, who made a name for himself in 1997 with the huge hit Little Ol’ Kisses, and who currently has a monster hit The Red & White – which he didn’t play for some reason – said this about his up-and-down career: “It ain’t a 9-to-5 living, but it keeps the bills paid!”

YOU REALLY ROCK MAN – IN COUNTRY AND OUT OF COUNTRY AWARD
Ken McCoy of Mission, who gained another huge fan (me) for his brilliant set on Sunday, made people cry, beam with pride and stand on their feet clapping after his touching tribute to our troops and fallen soldiers (Right to be Free) and brave firefighters (Pray for Rain) and Canadians (Great White North).
His cover of Copperhead Road would have made Steve Earle roll out the welcome mat to Guitar Town.

PASS THE HANKY AWARD
Kenny Hess sang Randy Travis’s I Told You So with daughter Kate. Not a dry eye in the crowd, or on stage! That first-ever duet tugged the heartstrings. Would have made Brent Lee cry, too!

ALWAYS THINK POSITIVE AWARD
Patricia Conroy, who sounds and looks better than ever, quipped: “You are a small, but mighty crowd.”

BLAST FROM THE PAST AWARD
Best “glory days” line in the show goes to Conroy: “For those over 40 who remember me when I had long, black hair and my bandmates had mullets, please keep those memories between us!”

MAKING THE BEST OF AN UNFORTUNATE SITUATION AWARD
Rick Tippe of Maple Ridge, with one of the hottest power ballads in the country right now (Forever), found out at the last minute his highly anticipated 50-minute set was trimmed to 28 due to Sunday’s schedule running late.
“Forgive me for talking and singing fast, I got a lot to squeeze in,” said Tippe.

POWER OF ONE AWARD
A woman who barely survived a nasty battle with lupus, turned around after Tippe sang Keepin’ the Faith and said to people behind her that his song really stuck in her heart. Wiping away a few tears she said: “And that’s tough to do considering I still have a small hole in it!”

LOVE THE ACCENT AWARD, EH!
Ronnie Milsap, who showed at age 66 there is no such thing as mailing it in while he’s on stage, asked folks what they thought about his new Canadian accent: “We’re having a good time, eh?”

Taken from http://myextratwobits.blogspot.com/

HESS HELPS LEC MUSIC DEBUT SHINE!

Kenny Hess, bottom left, performed with daughter Kate at last month's Mission Music Fest. Friday he played in front of 3,000-plus fans during the first-ever music event at the new Langley Events Centre. High Valley, top photo, made their first visit to the area one to remember.



Langley Events Centre, one of the impressive, spanking new arenas in the Lower Mainland, hosted its first concert Friday night, attracting more than 3,000 people to see Canadian country music star Paul Brandt of Calgary, Mission's Kenny Hess and the three-brother Alberta group High Valley, which has the word "future superstardom" branded all over their young act.
While Brandt did the predictable and had girls screaming and singing his many hits from the moment he walked on stage, and Hess had the early arrivals laughing and clapping along to his entertaining set, High Valley caught everyone off guard with a performance that rated 11 on the scale of 1 to 10!
If you watch the Canadian Country Music Awards on Sunday night (live on CBC-TV, to be replayed on CMT), Brandt will share the stage with High Valley and they will sing When You Call My Name, a Brandt hit. They did this number together Friday during Brandt's set and it was the "moment" of the night.
Three Mennonite kids – Brad, Bryan and Curtis Rempel – with great family values and greater music talents, proved once again that giving it all on stage will reap rewards and new fans. They grew up in the small Alberta town of La Crete, have already opened for Keith Urban, Reba McEntire and Brad Paisley, and after Canada sees them on CBC, they should be making bronze statues of the class-act brothers in downtown La Crete.
Couple other songs – On The Combine and My Way Back Home – should soar up the iTunes charts after When You Call My Name runs its monster-hit course.
Check out High Valley's new website at www.highvalley.ca – guarantee you'll love their music! And you'll even be impressed after reading their bios!
High Valley is playing in Chilliwack this Sunday night where it says here they'll be the talk of the town Monday morning!

Taken from http://myextratwobits.blogspot.com/

WRIGHT TIME FOR FESTIVE FUN? WRIGHT NOW!

She has a street, rose and book named after her. She has a syndicated radio show, hosts TV specials and travels the world supporting soldiers, sick and starving children.
And despite dominating country charts and award shows during the ’90s, guesting with Jay Leno and appearing on the cover of every magazine imaginable – including the coveted Sears catalogue – 48-year-old Michelle Wright still has a fond place in her good heart for small-town Canada, and the magic of Christmas.
In two more sleeps, Wright’s bus rolls into Mission for a concert at cosy Clarke Theatre. It will be the ninth stop on the I’m Dreaming of a Wright Christmas odyssey, having opened the tour on Nov. 24 playing five consecutive nights in Saskatchewan where she learned plenty about Rider Pride, a microphone malfunction and Moose Jaw’s tire-eating roads.
Despite all her fame and good fortune, and more than two million record sales, this gregarious farm girl from tiny Merlin, Ont., takes nothing for granted, especially the fans who have packed each venue on her feel-good tour.
“I remember being called an overnight sensation once,” Wright shares with this scribe before playing in Saskatoon on Friday. “That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I played six nights a week, 50 weeks a year in some of the toughest places for 10 years. Heck, I even played gigs in smoky strip joints. I was 29 before I got a break in the music business.”
She credits longtime manager Brian Ferriman for believing in her when waitressing or canning tomatoes back in Leamington, Ont., seemed like better career choices, or when there was a lot less ho-ho-ho in her upbeat show.
“Brian explained how the ebbs and flows work. How you can be on top one day and the bottom the next. That’s not easy for an artist to accept, but he always kept me going when my mind wanted me to stop.”
Without the benefit of iTunes, or YouTube or the Internet to launch her career, Wright combined her farm girl worth ethic, her athletic competitive spirit and her love for people, travel and music into an act that found radio play and star status, especially after the release of her 1992 album Now & Then, which featured huge hits Take It Like A Man, He Would Be Sixteen and Guitar Talk.
Her latest album, Everything and More, is a terrific stocking stuffer and features yet another clever musical makeover for the star who has changed her style more times than Madonna to remain relevant in her ever-changing industry.
Given her longtime love for sports, and a history of competing in track, basketball and volleyball, Wright says she’s extra excited about visiting B.C. as the province prepares to host the 2010 Olympics.
“I always wanted to be an Olympic athlete for Canada. I just loved running and jumping, but I blew my knee out while competing in long jump and that dream ended.”
Describing her current show as 65 per cent Christmas tunes and 35 per cent “the other stuff,” Wright can be excused for having an emotional attachment to the festive season.
She and hubby Marco Convertino were engaged on Christmas Day in 2001 and married the following year. Her Christmas tour is now in its seventh season and she describes the people who roll out the welcome mat for her annual arrival as “the best gift a person could ever wish for.”
There’s also her “reluctant” hit He Would Be Sixteen that tugs extra on the heartstrings during this “family time” of year.
The bring-your-hanky tune is about a young mother forced to give up her son, but not a day goes by when she doesn’t think about how he’s doing, how tall he is, if he owns a car or if he is in love and healthy.
“I didn’t want to do the song at first,” Wright admits. “I wasn’t ever married, or pregnant and just couldn’t relate. But Reba [McEntire] said sometimes you just have to be the messenger for a great song.
“I learned after the song became larger than life that I didn’t know everything about music! I can’t believe how many people have expressed their thanks and emotional stories – it really hit home.”
One more thing Wright wants you to know – this is not a Christmas shopping tour. Her bus is already tightly packed with clothes and shoes (mostly hers) and the crew has been “warned” to not add anything to slow down the vehicle as it still has 11 other cities to visit.
Sounds kinda Scrooge-like for a Christmas tour, doesn’t it?
“OK, we might bend the rules on that one,” she laughs. “Especially if we see something I like!”
Wright on.

Taken from http://myextratwobits.blogspot.com/

FANS TUNE OUT FEST IN THE WEST

CAPTION: Ronnie Milsap – what a difference he made to Music Fest's life. At 66 the Grammy-award winning star put on a music revival and capped off a weekend that I really enjoyed – beats mowing the lawn and other "senseless" house work!

Before we reflect on the spectacular Sunday night revival by Ronnie Milsap, the touching tribute to our troops by Ken McCoy, the inspirational lyrics for cancer survivors by Rick Tippe, the tear-jerker duet by Kenny Hess and daughter Kate, or the cache of catchy country tunes about love, lust, breakups and hookups, we need to discuss The Brent Lee Band.
Despite intermittent performances in the Canadian Tire Beer Garden on Sunday – just a few pickup trucks north of the main stage where the “big bands” were allowed to play – the Vancouver-based entertainers had drinkers and onlookers hooting and laughing out loud.
And, thanks to a superb sound system that carried extremely well at Mission Raceway Park, some blushing mothers were forced to cover their kids’ ears as the beer garden party boys sang about sex, women, camels, hooters, butts, lust, Surrey girls and . . . well, you get the drift.
Two giggling 12-year-old boys, leaving Rockin’ River Music Fest Sunday night, were singing Lee’s “get your tongue out of my mouth, I’m kissing you goodbye,” and snickering about the mischievous ditty “big, big teets,” which Lee served up four hours earlier. Ah yes, lasting impressions!
Speaking of which, for a first attempt, organizers of Music Fest did a great job lining up efficient volunteers, award-winning talent, sponsors and vendors.
Unfortunately, not too many people gave up their rain-free summer weekend to enjoy the two-day party. An encore performance will undoubtedly require deep faith, deeper pockets and, without question, enhanced advertising/promotion to get the word out to the majority who stayed away for whatever reason.
There were some glitches that can easily be fixed. There were some acts that can be rebooked for longer shows and some, perhaps, chalked up as ineffective and replaced by bigger, crowd-drawing names.
Toby Keith was mentioned, for example, as the ideal magnet to pull in fans for 2010.
Dixie Chicks, Doc Walker, Rascal Flatts, Big & Rich, Keith Urban, Emerson Drive or Sugarland would work, too!
The few people who paid to see an all-star cast of B.C. country artists, some out-of-province stars, Loverboy and Milsap, didn’t go home disappointed. There just weren’t enough there to make it feel like a can’t-miss party, save for those who indulged in the brewskis with Brent Lee, Live Rust and Bud Webb!
I was at the first Hedley Blast, then followed that dog-and-pony show to Merritt. It was always packed and boasted top names. There was no recession back then and country-rock acts meant big crowds. Eventually, the party got too big, too pricey, too risky, with too many drugs, thugs and bugs.
Merritt Mountain Music Festival decided to “reinvent” itself two years ago to include families and fewer knuckleheads and took a financial bath, despite bringing in Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney and Johnny Reid. It may have had its last call last month. Go figure.
Music Fest decided to include entire families, keep it fun, keep it clean and, for this year at least, keep it mostly country, recruiting acts you can find most weekends at Gabby’s, Boone County and Rooster’s – or local casinos.
I was surprised, for example, the Canadian Idol faithful didn’t turn out on Saturday to see a much-improved and vocally gifted Karen-Lee Batten perform. I was somewhat surprised that the Lower Mainland-based bands, all with websites and legions of loyal followers, didn’t steer more fans toward Mission.
I wasn’t surprised Loverboy didn’t fill the grounds, and I was disappointed more people couldn’t have witnessed and enjoyed Milsap’s inspiring gig. Pure Love doesn’t even come close to describing the best act of the weekend.
At 66 years of age, the Grammy-award winning Nashville icon put on a brilliant performance that rivals anything we’ve seen in these parts for a long time. I could have easily watched another hour of that masterpiece. If every concert has a “moment,” that was it, even if the kids are still humming Brent Lee songs around the house today!
So, do organizers need more stars, more variety, more hype to make this thing grow? Do they need to change the dates, spend more money or just be patient and stick to the Field of Dreams mantra – a.k.a. “Build it and they will come”?
Tickets were fairly priced, vendors sold everything at flea market, bargain prices and the good folks from Mission’s Tim Hortons gave out free coffee at the park. The sweet hostess had me at “hello, help yourself!”
The majority of performers, many just arriving home from performing for our troops, were not only great musicians, they were quality people. One of them, Ginette Genereux of Langley, went to the Persian Gulf last year to sing for the troops. The model-like musician then went to Afghanistan this spring to do the same and has been nominated for B.C. Country Music’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.
She wrote the emotional song What You Are To Me a few weeks ago and on Sunday afternoon sang it for the first time to fiancé Trevor Biro, who was sitting near the front with a lump in his throat. They will marry on Nov. 7.
One of her lesser-known songs, and perhaps the optimistic theme of Music Fest, was On The Verge of Something Better.
As Rick Tippe said: “This sure beats driving up the Coke [Coquihalla] every summer.”
As Patricia Conroy stated: “I love the look of this. Bring your friends and your friends’ friends next year.”
And as Brent Lee said . . . uh . . . um . . . uh . . . nevermind!
See you next year – hopefully!

Taken from http://myextratwobits.blogspot.com/

Volks'n'roll 2007

What a party! Two incredible bands live in concert saturday night, the Soul Shaker and the Hormonauts. These guys have broken the calm of that country with that monstruos rockabilly music. My compliments go to the Vintage Wheels crew for the awesome meeting. See you next year ;)