dang! TRUTH!  would you like to get a pr0m0 for your song?! l1nk in my bckgrnd pic!

Local music legend Ellen McIlwaine passed away today at the age of 75. McIlwaine earned the nickname the "Goddess of Slide" for her slide guitar skills. She was an innovator, and a true original. Ellen McIlwaine's journey through life was an unusual and colourful one; likewise, her abilities as a musician were captivating and unique.

Born in Nashville, she grew up in Japan, where her adoptive parents were missionaries. Listening to Japanese radio growing up in the 1950s, she fell in love with R&B and early rock'n'roll records. When she moved back to the States as a young adult, she bought a guitar, taught herself to play, and dedicated her life to music. Early in her career, she made a profound musical connection with a pre-fame Jimi Hendrix, playing with him in the mid-'60s Greenwich Village music scene. She would eventually move to Canada in the late '80s, where she made Calgary her home for the last three decades of her life.

Like Hendrix, Ellen McIlwaine had an entirely personal, revolutionary approach to playing guitar. Her style made ample and flamboyant use of the slide, unusual tunings, and rapid arpeggios and slide hammer-ons. Similarly, her powerful vocal style swooped across a considerable range, and was often coloured by scat-singing, yodels, and unusual harmonies.

She had an extremely diverse set of musical abilities and interests, ranging across blues, jazz, rock, folk, funk, and various strains of world music. She was equally at home in a power trio setting, playing in a solo acoustic format, or collaborating with the likes of tabla master Cassius Khan, blues titan Taj Mahal and Cream bassist Jack Bruce. Yet no matter the context, her own distinctive musicality always shone through.

With a body or recorded work spanning from the 1960s through the 21st Century, Ellen McIlwaine won a legion of fans across the globe, with strong followings in far-flung places like Japan and Australia. Among her discography, you'll find titled released or reissued by Stony Plain Records -- based in her own province of Alberta, and run by her great friend, Holger Petersen.
A hugely influential musical visionary, a champion of women's voices in the male-dominated music industry, a relentless innovator, a builder of connections between musical worlds, and a true Alberta treasure.

In her final interview with CKUA's Holger Petersen, Ellen reflected on her more than four decade career. She spoke about her musical upbringing in Japan, her early exposure to the R&B scene, her first gig in New York, her friendship and and work with Jimi Hendrix and Taj Mahal, and much more. You can listen to the full interview, below.

Ellen McIllwain on Natch'l Blues

This week on TransCanada Music West, CKUA presents Andy Shauf and his band recorded live at The Mercury Room in Edmonton. The Regina singer-songwriter’s latest record 'The Bearer of Bad News' recently received its US debut on Tender Loving Empire/Party Damage Records. Andy’s songs prompt comparisons to records by influential greats like Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, yet they still manage to stand as something altogether unique.

Tune in this Friday, February 6 at 8pm MT, or subscribe to the free TransCanada Music West podcast to receive this show, and other great weekly concerts.

Andy Shauf live at the Mercury Room

last words

last words (demo)

Waltzed in from the Rumbling is available April 29th 2016 on Secret City Records
Order "Waltzed in from the Rumbling" on iTunes and get "Stay" instantly: http://smarturl.it/Waltzed
Listen to "Stay" on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/staysfy 

Google Play Pre-Order:  http://smarturl.it/Waltzed_GPlay
US Only: AmazonMP3 Pre-Order:  http://smarturl.it/Waltzed_Amz


Plants And Animals - Stay

"Bored Again" by Lab Coast, written by David Laing & Chris Dadge, from the 2016 release Remember The Moon, available April 29, 2016 on Wyatt Records. Artwork by Barbara Milne.

LAB COAST :: Bored Again from "Remember The Moon" (2016, Wyatt Records)

"The Magician" by Andy Shauf from the album 'The Party,' available now on Anti (World Excl. Canada) and Arts & Crafts (Canada)

Order CD / Vinyl: http://found.ee/AStheparty_store 
Apple Music: http://found.ee/Astheparty_iTunes
Spotify: http://found.ee/Astheparty_Spotify

Official Site: http://andyshauf.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/andyshauf
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andyshaufmusic

Andy Shauf - The Magician

New album 'We're All Gonna Die' out now
Vinyl/CD: http://smarturl.it/dawesshop 
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/dawes-wagdi 
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/dawes-wagda
Spotify: http://smarturl.it/dawes-wagds 
Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/dawes-wagdam 
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/dawes-wagdgp

We're All Gonna Die

Less Than Five Miles Away

Jordan Klassen's Curses will be released March 3 2017 via Nevado Music. This is the title track from that album.

Jordan Klassen - Curses

Pre-order: smarturl.it/CFCFjmb

Available digital March 17
Available on 12" April 16

Cascades

Jean-Michel Blais & CFCF - "Hasselblad 1"

I sat at my piano Monday evening with my family at our dinner table and began to cry. I was, and still am, gutted and exhausted emotionally. I've watched with sadness, like many of you, the unraveling moral fabric of the United States government. I read with horror of the murder of six fathers in Quebec City while worshiping, a civil liberty afforded to every person of this nation. I tend to believe that this is merely an episode, and that one day before too long this too shall have passed. In the meantime, those of us who refuse to live in fear, in ignorance, and without empathy must do what we have to do to sleep soundly. All I can do is sing.

Woody Guthrie wrote these words in the 1940s. My hero, Bruce Springsteen sang them in the 80s. I'd never venture to interpret these words in any one way, but no one would dispute that the message is one of uniting. Guthrie and Springsteen have found themselves on the right side of history. Unity will always be on the right side of history. Division will not. I felt last night like I had to add my voice to the millions south of our border who are demanding better. I needed to join the masses of Canadians of every "stock" who were mourning the loss of our fellow countrymen. This was the only way I could do that. 

This is what all my heroes have done in the past. They've used what voice they have to amplify the voices around them that need it most. What little I can do, I sure hope it helps.

I give you this song, I hope it lifts your spirits a little. I ask that in return, you consider donating some money to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, or any organization you see fit. Just do something with this to make someone else's life easier today. Do something that makes someone feel welcome today. Do something that makes someone feel loved today.

What we're losing in this darkness will be found again in the light those of us shine in these times of trouble. 

I love you all,
AB

To donate to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association - https://ccla.org/give/

Adam Baldwin - This Land Is Your Land

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Ellen McIllwain on Natch'l Blues

CKUA Radio

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