The five members of the Canadian Brass chose to let loose and make this 5-minute video featuring fun arrangements of of classics like "Frosty the Snowman" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."  They are all decked out in silly costumes and the whole thing is just corny, cheesy and everything you expect from a Christmas special (with a Canadian feel, of course!).

Music, costumes, kids and a children’s choir (they are accompanied by the Bach Children’s Chorus, at times) – what’s not to love?

image: Amazon.com

Post from: Canadian Music News

I got a copy of Hit Man: David Foster and Friends the other day and I really wanted to just sit down and get another album review "over with" (it is work after all). 

Thank goodness I put this CD on tonight – it was just what I needed!

It starts with the familial strains of "Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire" on which David is accompanied by Kenny G.  The piano, that horn-playing… I just felt a little more at ease all of a sudden. 

Then came "Home" by one of my favourite Canadian artists ever, Michael Bublé, who was accompanied by country music star, Blake Shelton.  The duet was inspired and I felt myself relaxing a little bit more.  I almost panicked for a moment because I wondered if this feeling could go on.  Thankfully, it did.

Teen sensation, Charice, delivered some standout performances of "I Have Nothing" and "I Will Always Love You" from the Bodyguard soundtrack.

I thought the Bublé/Shelton duet was great but I have to admit that the pairing of Josh Groban and Brian McKnight was just incredible!  They sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and it blew me away!  Maybe I’m biased because I love both of these singers more than anyone should but, again, it proves the genius of David Foster.

No one but Celine Dion should really sing "Because You Loved Me" and, fortunately, that’s exactly who performs the power ballad on the disc.  What can you really say?  It’s Celine.  It was fantastic!

"Wildflower" is just a gorgeous little song that makes me emotional every time I hear it.  Blake Shelton does a great job on this track.  I felt like the words meant something to him which lent real credibility to the performance.

American Idol season 5 runner-up, Katharine McPhee, sang "Somewhere," the signature song from West Side Story.  If you’re a fan of the movie you’ll understand why this gave me goosebumps.  She really softens some parts of the song which is a nice interpretation on this modern classic.

Just when I thought this CD couldn’t get much better, Peter Cetera and his glorious vocals flooded my ears.  He did a medley of "Hard to Say I’m Sorry/You’re the Inspiration/Glory of Love" and I really enjoyed it.  "Glory of Love" is from the Karate Kid 2 soundtrack (which I loved!) and I get teary every time I hear it.  This was my favourite section of the CD and I loved that it was a nice little gem towards the end.  Fabulous!

The final track is "The Prayer" which is sung by the great Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, and Katharine McPhee.  It was a decent version of the song but purists who love either the Celine Dion or Charlotte Church version might feel it’s lacking a little something.  It’s still pretty great, though

Overall, I would highly recommend this CD as a great holiday gift this year!  It also comes with a DVD which features the live performances that appear on the CD (and even more!!!).  PICK UP A COPY TODAY!

image used with permission

Post from: Canadian Music News

The pair worked together on David Foster and Friends which is now available on CD/DVD.

Post from: Canadian Music News

He, along with some major stars, created a once-in-a-lifetime experience which you can now own on CD/DVD.

The Hit Man: David Foster and Friends CD/DVD features performances by:

• Andrea Bocelli
• Michael Bublé
• Josh Groban
• Celine Dion
• Katharine McPhee
• Kenny G
• Peter Cetera
• Brian McKnight
• And more!

Watch this fantastic trailer for David Foster and Friends:

Make sure you grab a copy.  It makes for a great Christmas gift!

Post from: Canadian Music News

Last week, he released his second album Equilibrium and I’m sure it’s fantastic.  To learn more about the album and listen to clips, visit the On Target Media website.  I love the cover art (see below) too.  If I get my hands on a copy, I will definitely review it here. 

Without having listened to his most recent album, it is still obvious to me that his music is definitely striking a chord (no pun intended).  The videos on his Youtube channel have already gotten more than 4 million plays, earning him over a dozen YouTube International viewership awards.  That’s huge (and is a major demonstration of the power of the internet!).

You can also learn more about Erik through his official website.  In the meantime, you can check out Erik’s amazing finger work here:

images used with permission

Post from: Canadian Music News

Vancouver-based, TheFreshPage, has announced the first-ever contest where the winner will be crowned "Canada’s Best DJ."  Like the contest page says, I agree that it’s time for Canadian DJs to get some love and recognition (I love Samantha Ronson and those other peeps but I want some maple leaf flavor!). 

Votes will be accepted until Monday November 17, 2008.
Winner will be announced on Wednesday November 19, 2008.

Vote for your favourite Canadian DJ here!

image credit: thefreshpage.com

Post from: Canadian Music News

Post from: Canadian Music News

In the meantime, here’s a tune I heard that was submitted by Montreal’s David Makin.  What do you think of it?:

update- video isn’t working for some reason. Here’s the link: http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/mediadetail/262964

Post from: Canadian Music News

I have been reading reports about the federal government cutting $20-million in funding to the DFAIT administered program PromArt (Promotional Arts) and the Department of Canadian Heritage administered program Trade Routes.

The cuts are supposed to take place on March 31, 2009. 

I think that, if this goes through, it would be on of the worst things that could happen to our country’s musicians!  It’s bad enough that they are already leaving here and reinventing themselves in the American market (yes, I’m talking to the Barenaked Ladies, Nelly Furtado and Avril Lavigne).  It’s extremely frustrating and actually pretty sad.

If you are on Facebook (or wouldn’t mind creating a profile) you can help get the work out by checking out this "Save the Canadian Music Industry" petition.

We can work together to stop this from happening!

Post from: Canadian Music News

WOW!  What a summer for the Barenaked Ladies!  First, frontman Steven Page gets arrested for drug possesion and now this!

Ed Robertson was in a float-plane crash in southeastern Ontario!  He and three others survived after the craft plummeted into trees.  According to the Ontario police, the plane lost speed on take off and went into the trees on the west side of Baptiste Lake.  I don’t know if he was actually flying the plane but I do know that he got his pilot’s license back in 2005.

The ironic part is that he’s on that show that follows his travels by plane on “Ed’s Up.”

Post from: Canadian Music News