Canadian Musician Newsletter
- April 2011 -

CTV’s broadcast of the 2011 JUNO Awards was the most-watched JUNO Awards on record with 2.4 million viewers, up 48 per cent compared to last year in total viewers.

The broadcast, which aired Sunday, March 27 from Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, saw Neil Young honoured with the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award on top of taking home the prize for Artist of the Year, to which he comically responded, “What year is this?” Also of note, Bryan Adams officially welcomed Shania Twain into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Between the Awards Gala on Saturday, March 26 and the broadcast ceremony the following night, a total of 40 awards were presented. Arcade Fire fared best, netting four JUNOs for each of their four nominations. Young, along with pop phenom Justin Bieber, followed closely behind with three. Drake, who did a fine job hosting Sunday night’s ceremony, was shut out, missing on all six of his nominations.

For a full list of winners, visit www.junoawards.ca/2011-juno-award-nominees/. For CM‘s coverage of JUNO Week, visit canadianmusician.com/blog.

Photo: Arcade Fire performs, courtesy of CARAS/iPhoto

East Coast Music Week 2011 will take place in Charlottetown, PE from April 13-17. The event is part of the ECMA’s mandate to foster, promote, and develop East Coast music.

Showcases will be running throughout each day of the event at various venues across the Island capital, including the sure-to-be-popular RBC Discovery Stage, Roots Room Stage, Molson Canadian Rock Stage, and SOCAN Songwriter’s Circle, among others. East coast artists set to perform include Charlie A’Court, Chuck & Albert, David Myles, Joel Plaskett, Two Hours Traffic, and many others. The schedule of events is available at: www.ecma.com/event.asp?section=67.

The Industry Conference Program will feature a number of career-building opportunities for musicians and industry personnel. A full schedule of available workshops can be found at: www.ecma.com/workshops.php.

The event will culminate Sunday, April 17 with the annual East Coast Music Awards Ceremony. A list of Music Award Nominees is available at: www.ecma.com/event.asp?section=1.

CM will be blogging from the event, so keep up-to-date at canadianmusician.com/blog. Events from the week will also be streaming live at: www.bellaliant.net/ecma. For more information, visit www.ecma.com.

Photo: Carmen Townsend by Pam Samson

TASCAM has introduced its DR-07mkII, a new handheld recorder featuring a pair of adjustable condenser microphones. The built-in mics can be moved from an XY position for tight imaging to an AB position for a wider, ambient sound.

The device records to microSD or microSDHC media, recording in MP3 or WAV (BWF) file format at up to 96 kHz/24-bit resolution. It also features a peak reduction function, which sets the optimum recording level to avoid the over-level. The 1/8″ mic/line input can supply power for microphones. A Level Align function prevents uneven volume levels during playback. Variable-Speed Audition, which changes playback speed without affecting pitch, and looping are also available during playback.

Additional features include an Overdub mode and Auto Record and Auto Mark settings for hands-off operation. It”s powered by two AA batteries or USB bus power, and comes with an AC adapter.

For more information, contact TASCAM: 905-890-8008, FAX 905-890-9888, , www.tascam.com.

String Stretcha Inc. has released Stretcha, a tool designed to properly and consistently stretch guitar strings. The ergonomically shaped Stretcha is made of a crush-resistant epoxy material.

One end has a crochet-like hook that grabs the string from underneath while the other end, called the heel, has a notch to lock it into resting position, further back on the same string. The hook and heel act as pivots that spread the forces of stretching in the same way as the finger and thumb method.

For more information, contact String Stretcha Inc.: www.stringstretcha.com.