I’m not sure what to think about fate. Karma is just another way of saying “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”; and I’m pretty sure I don’t believe in ghosts, but let me tell you what I do believe in: fortune cookies and Sarah McLachlan. So imagine my delight getting to spend a day at Lilith Tour 2010 when it hit Toronto. Inspired by the Chinese food dinner the night before, I decided to somehow incorporate the wisdom of the cookie into my interviews and resist the urge to follow each fortune with the typical phrase, “in bed”.

I’m already pretty much bff’s with Sarah McLachlan (is that what the kids are saying these days?). I have interviewed her twice before and I was excited to unleash the power of the cookie (is that what the kids are saying these days?). I was most interested in chatting with her about how the media had really done the job on Lilith this year by focusing on the cancelled shows and poor ticket sales. Ultimately, summer ticket sales were down for most artists this summer, which affected everyone from The Eagles and Christina Aguilera to The Jonas Brothers. But Lilith seemed to get the most scrutiny and it was interesting to get Sarah’s take on that, especially when there were over 20 successful dates, more than $500 000 raised for charity and most recently, the announcement that Lilith will travel to Australia in October (author’s note: any negative music media should only be directed at online ticket re-sellers and bands who use auto-tune or use the word shorty).

ANYWAY, I like that Sarah McLachlan, she is one of the finest voices and songwriters Canada has produced and I hope she reads this so when I ask her to sing on the new Lazybones record, she feels like she can’t say no. Guilt is my religion.

It wasn’t just my girlfriend Sarah whom I had chatted with before, but also Chantal Kreviazuk and Lights, so the idea of randomly bringing out fortune cookies was a little bit easier and at the very least provided everyone with a tasty snack before they hit the stage. Chantal and I went way back to 1998 and talked a little John Denver (you will recall her having a smash hit with his “Leaving on a Jet Plane”) and we found out that Lights has fans all over the place. Not only does Miley Cyrus dig the Lights, but so too does John Mayer.

Then along came the Courtyard Hounds, who are made up of Martie Maguire and Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks. They’re a band I had not interviewed before, so I really had to work up to a comfort level that would make the appearance of the fortune cookie seem smooth. We talked about Emily’s transition to a lead singer and when I inquired if LSD had affected this Dixie Chick side project,t I had to explain to them that by LSD I meant “Lead Singer Disease” and not the drug which inspired all of your favorite songs in the history of rock and roll (drugs are dumb, stay in school, say your prayers and eat your vitamins).

What can I say? I’m a lucky dude. A day full of music at an all female festival and a bag full of delicious snacks that just happen to contain absolutely flawless predictions of what life has in store (in bed).

The Daily Fix at Lilith 2010 premieres Friday September 10 @ 7pm ET.

=mw

1. Adam Lambert - If I Had You
2. Enrique Iglesias f. Pitbull - I Like It
3. K’Naan - Take A Minute
4. Maroon 5 - Misery
5. Taio Cruz - Dynamite
6. Faber Drive - You And I Tonight
7. Fefe Dobson - Ghost
8. Eminem f. Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie
9. Metric - Eclipse (All Yours)
10. Lights - Second Go
11. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
12. Brandon Flowers - Crossfire
13. Flo Rida f. David Guetta - Club Can’t Handle Me
14. Ke$ha - Take It Off
15. Stereos - She Only Likes Me When She’s Drunk
16. Kanye West - Power
17. Drake f. Lil’ Wayne - Miss Me
18. B.o.B. f. Hayley Williams - Airplanes
19. Edward Maya & Mia Martina - Stereo Love
20. Lady Gaga - Alejandro

1. Lights - Second Go
2. Adam Lambert - If I Had You
3. Enrique Iglesias f. Pitbull - I Like It
4. K’Naan - Take A Minute
5. Maroon 5 - Misery
6. Taio Cruz - Dynamite
7. Faber Drive - You And I Tonight
8. Fefe Dobson - Ghost
9. B.o.B. f. Hayley Williams - Airplanes
10. Metric - Eclipse (All Yours)
11. Eminem f. Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie
12. Lady Gaga - Alejandro
13. Brandon Flowers - Crossfire
14. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
15. Flo Rida f. David Guetta - Club Can’t Handle Me
16. Stereos - She Only Likes Me When She’s Drunk
17. Ke$ha - Take It Off
18. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
19. Kanye West - Power
20. Karl Wolf - 80’s Baby

When I was 10 years old I was given Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation on cassette; Hangman Jury is still a song that sticks with me and I can remember sitting in my bedroom in Mt. Pearl listening to it over and over. Little did I know what would be in store for me one day, but it went a little something like this:

From 5:00 to 7:00pm our crew waited in a tiny room along with the crew from eTalk and The Hour for our 10 minutes of allotted time (each) with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, which was supposed to begin at 5:30. The first sign of trouble was an update from their publicist that Steven Tyler was still on a private jet coming from Boston and once he A. landed B. got to the ACC and C. went through hair and make-up, he would THEN decide to either chat with us or do the fan meet and greet first…..so we waited, and we waited. Then around 7:30 something happened. Steven Tyler opened up the side door of our room thinking it might be a private spot to make a phone call, but it was not. He exits just as fast as he entered and we all burst into laughter. So, he makes his phone call in the hall just outside the door while our laughing and chatter about what just happened has turned into eavesdropping silence as we triy to hear what Steven was so pissed about on the phone. I guess our quick silence was too obvious because Steven pops back in and jokingly inquires, “Are you guys listening to me? You got pretty quiet!”, and with a smirk he was gone again. A truly surreal and epic moment. Now, who his argument was with is unclear but, I can tell you it was about him being late and not feeling like there was time before the show to do press. So we wait a little bit longer and learn that the meet and greet is indeed going to happen first AND that now we have 10 minutes to split between all 3 TV shows…..MAYBE…which is not really gonna work even if it happens.

Around 8:00 George Stroumboulopoulos gracefully bows out and The Hour begins to tear down their gear as I begin shoveling a Twix bar into my mouth, assuming that this interview is not happening. *At this point I should explain to anyone who doesn’t know the history of Aerosmith that the relationship between Joe Perry and Steven Tyler is a classic rock and roll saga that at its best has brought us some epic songs and at its worse (addictions aside) has seen the two rock and roll legends literally trying to take each other out with their instruments mid-song. The past six months in particular have been a constant string of interviews by Joe Perry saying the band was looking for a new singer since Steven was not communicating with the band…yada yada yada. Steven’s lawyers got involved and the band is back on tour.*

So, I’m chomping on a Twix bar and then in walks Steven and Joe. Steven takes control of the room, exclaiming “Let’s do this! Five minutes and everyone can use the same interview!” The entire room is caught off guard (even their publicist) as the guys sit in the eTalk set-up, grab a mic and I get the look that says “JUMP THE EFF IN THERE WELLS!”

Still with a mouthful of chocolate, cookie and caramel I jump in and the eTalk and MuchMore cameras fly as I try to take control of the interview, but I still don’t even have a mic! Finally, I feel something brushing my ankle mid-sentence. I reach down to grab the mic, which has been passed on to me Olympic-relay-team style and I try to settle in, but at this point it’s a fuckin’ gong show! Joe is staring straight ahead with his arms folded. Steven is like the Tasmanian devil on his ninth cup of coffee and I am just hoping I don’t have any goddamn chocolate in my teeth. I keep waiting for the five minute wrap up, which never seems to come, and the conversation continues with Joe just sitting there refusing to take part in the Olympic-style mic relay as our producer now tries to slip him the talking baton. He obviously is not in a good mood. Little by little, however, he begins to speak and perk up and before I know it I have been chatting for 20 minutes with the dudes who gave me so many hours of pleasure back in Mt. Pearl listening to Hangman Jury. The fact that they really didn’t want to be sitting next to each other is just part of the classic relationship they have forged over the past 40 years - I was just lucky enough to witness it five feet from my face. Then they storm out of the room just as insanely as they stormed in and I still don’t know what the hell we talked about. All I can remember is that god damn Twix bar.

Check out the interview on Wednesday August 25 at 7PM on the Daily Fix and let me know what we talked about.

=mw

1. B.o.B. f. Hayley Williams - Airplanes
2. Lights - Second Go
3. Adam Lambert - If I Had You
4. Enrique Iglesias f. Pitbull - I Like It
5. K’Naan - Take A Minute
6. Maroon 5 - Misery
7. Lady Gaga - Alejandro
8. Faber Drive - You And I Tonight
9. Fefe Dobson - Ghost
10. Taio Cruz - Dynamite
11. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
12. Karl Wolf - 80’s Baby
13. Metric - Eclipse (All Yours)
14. La Roux - Bulletproof
15. Brandon Flowers - Crossfire
16. Flo Rida f. David Guetta - Club Can’t Handle Me
17. Eminem f. Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie
18. Stereos - She Only Likes Me When She’s Drunk
19. Ke$ha - Take It Off
20. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

After four studio and two live albums, ten years on the road, six Grammys, numerous public fall outs over insensitive interviews, and many, many questionable high-profile relationships, John Mayer’s fans have stuck with the singer during times that have killed other artist’s careers. With his narrative, highly emotional and honest music as the backbone to his identity, Mayer’s fans see John as a their friend rather than a celebrity. And you don’t turn your back on your friends.

Playing to a packed house at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto on Wednesday August 11, the always-confident Mr. Mayer ensured that the night was about the people that have been coming to see him play his folky-rock blues music since his 2001 release Room For Squares. Dressed in green cargo pants, a black tank top, a pink bandanna on his head and Silly Bandz bracelets on his wrist, a subdued John Mayer took the stage for his two hour plus set.

Using his iPad throughout the night Mayer repeatedly checked his Twitter account to determine what songs the audience wanted to hear. Many of these requests went beyond music, with tweets requesting Mayer remove articles of clothing throughout the night. At 6′3 with curly brown hair and boy-next-door good looks, coupled with the majority of his lyrical subject matter centering on longing for love, Mayer’s audience members tend to lean towards a mainly female make up, with Wednesday nights show being no different.

The set list for the night included tracks from all six of Mayer’s albums, including Vultures, Bigger Than My Body, Waiting on the World To Change, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Why Georgia, Perfectly Lonely, Clarity, Gravity and Half of My Heart. At the request of a Twitter follower Mayer played 3 x 5 from his debut album, saying that it was the first time he had played the song while promoting his current Battle Studies tour. He also indulged a follower by playing his cover of Tom Petty’s his Free Fallin, citing it as the only cover he’s ever played that he felt he was able to make his own because of the huge amount of love and respect he had for the track.

Mayer appears to have moved away from his blues background, engaging in his usual guitar solos only sporadically throughout the night and eliminating the blues covers that he has performed in past concerts. Although his latest release, Battle Studies, features a cover of blues legend Robert Johnson’s Crossroads, a song that Mayer frequently plays in concert, the album is Mayer’s least bluesy record yet.

With the 2009 release of Battle Studies exhibiting Mayer’s weakest offering to date both musically and lyrically, I was unsure as to whether the hugely respected and accomplished musician still had the drive and passion for his music that has been glaringly obvious in the past. Mayer appears just as comfortable and self-assured on stage as he did during the height of his career upon the release of 2003’s Continuum. Engaging and joking with the audience throughout the night, Mayer graciously thanked his fans repeatedly for supporting him throughout his career.

Delighting the audience by first changing lyrics in Who Says to incorporate a Canadian theme and later appearing on stage for his encore wearing his own merch t-shirt reading ‘It’s been a long night in Toronto’, Mayer praised the audience for their energy and enthusiasm, amazed at the high level of reception and fervor in their singing to each song. As a singer whose personal lyrics resonate on a deep level with many listeners, Mayer has amassed a following of fans who credit him with helping them through difficult periods. And as karma goes, these fans have been there to help Mayer through his times of discontent as well.

All photos by Allison Bowsher.

1. Lady Gaga - Alejandro
2. B.o.B. f. Hayley Williams - Airplanes
3. Lights - Second Go
4. Adam Lambert - If I Had You
5. Enrique Iglesias f. Pitbull - I Like It
6. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
7. K’Naan - Take A Minute
8. Maroon 5 - Misery
9. La Roux - Bulletproof
10. Rihanna - Rockstar 101
11. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers
12. Karl Wolf - 80’s Baby
13. Faber Drive - You And I Tonight
14. Fefe Dobson - Ghost
15. Metric - Eclipse (All Yours)
16. Brandon Flowers - Crossfire
17. Flo Rida f. David Guetta - Club Can’t Handle Me
18. Taio Cruz - Dynamite
19. Stereos - She Only Likes Me When She’s Drunk
20. Ke$ha - Take It Off

1. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
2. Lady Gaga - Alejandro
3. B.o.B. f. Hayley Williams - Airplanes
4. Lights - Second Go
5. Rihanna - Rockstar 101
6. Adam Lambert - If I Had You
7. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers
8. Enrique Iglesias f. Pitbull - I Like It
9. La Roux - Bulletproof
10. K’Naan - Take A Minute
11. Maroon 5 - Misery
12. Jason Derulo - Ridin Solo
13. Karl Wolf - 80’s Baby
14. Faber Drive - You And I Tonight
15. Fefe Dobson - Ghost
16. Metric - Eclipse (All Yours)
17. Brandon Flowers - Crossfire
18. Flo Rida f. David Guetta - Club Can’t Handle Me
19. Katy Perry f. Snoop Dogg - California Gurls
20. Stereos - She Only Likes Me When She’s Drunk

I scored a paperback copy of “A Streetcar Named Desire” at a Value Village in Ajax, ON last week. There are some cool photos of the original cast including a pretty epic shot of Marlon Brando (Stanley) on the cover and I have decided to not remove the 99 cent price tag from the back…it was a good score.

The best part of this particular copy is the introduction, which is actually an essay written by Tennessee Williams that appeared in the NY Times November 30, 1947 (four days before it’s opening on Broadway). It is amazing and the whole piece reminded me of a topic I often bring up with artists I interview about the small window of creativity before someone becomes famous where making music (or creating any type of art) is a very honest and organic thing that somehow can never feel that way again once there are expectations and notoriety.

It seems like for a lot of the musicians I have spoken to over the years the story is the same—after years of touring and dealing with the business of music the hope is to somehow get back to the place in their minds when none of that mattered…….ya know, careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Young, hungry, unknown musician have dreams of being a well-known musician and sometimes their music gets them there. But once that happens it’s rare to make music in that same way. Tennessee Williams says this in his essay “Security is kind of a death, I think, and it can come to you in a storm of royalty checks beside a kidney-shaped pool in Beverley Hills or anywhere at all that is removed from the conditions that made you an artist, if that’s what you are or intended to be.”

A funny thing happened to me after finding this essay…I was invited to the opening night of a play in Toronto called Imbalance. I quite honestly didn’t know what to expect but I walked away so happy that I ended up there that it made me want to tell as many people about it as possible…before it ends its short run, so here I go:
I find myself watching performances with the same feelings Tennessee Williams was talking about in his essay: the raw and honest emotion that exists within a young artist when the goal is just simply to create and express. Imbalance is the story of John and his struggle with mental illness within society and his own family that ultimately ruins his life. It is damn good. I’ve had the fortune of seeing a lot of shows, in particular Broadway musicals and plays (most recently the revival of Speed The Plow with Jeremy Piven) and this tiny production was just as well thought-out and enjoyable. Using a minimal stage, a couple of tables and a few chairs I was just as captivated by anything I have seen in the past because the writing, directing and in particular the acting was so good.

It’s a rare moment in time when you get to see these types of performances. It’s like finding that independent band playing a small gig before they blow up and take over the world. The writer and lead actor, Michael Clarke, is almost perfect in this and is supported by some stand out performances by Ryan Cooley (Degrassi the Next Generation), Tara Grm and amazing direction from Tom Davis. If you’ve got 15 bucks trust me and spend it on this.

Imbalance
July 21st - 31st
Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse-79A St. George Street
www.pandemictheatre.com

1. Katy Perry f. Snoop Dogg - California Gurls
2. Jason Derulo - Ridin Solo
3. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug
4. Lady Gaga - Alejandro
5. B.o.B. f. Hayley Williams - Airplanes
6. Rihanna - Rockstar 101
7. Lights - Second Go
8. Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers
9. Adam Lambert - If I Had You
10. Stereos - Butterflies
11. La Roux - Bulletproof
12. Enrique Iglesias f. Pitbull - I Like It
13. K’Naan - Take A Minute
14. Maroon 5 - Misery
15. Karl Wolf - 80’s Baby
16. Faber Drive - You And I Tonight
17. Fefe Dobson - Ghost
18. Metric - Eclipse (All Yours)
19. Nickelback - This Afternoon
20. Brandon Flowers - Crossfire