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| From | "Jaimie Vernon" <bullseyecanada@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Bullseye in Billboard this week. |
| Date | Sun, 17 Oct 2004 23:29:21 -0400 |
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BILLBOARD
October 23, 2004
Canada's Oldies Revival
Andy Kim, Glass Tiger, Frank Marino Among Resurgent Veteran Acts
BY LARRY LEBLANC
TORONTO - It is somewhat mind-boggling that '70s pop icon Andy Kim is back
on
Canadian radio with new music-and he is just one of a slew of veteran
artists
that is resurging in the territory.
A top-selling artist internationally with such hits as "How'd We Ever Get
This Way," "Shoot 'Em Up Baby," "Baby, I Love You" and "Rock Me Gently" and
co-writer of the Archies' "Sugar Sugar," Kim dropped from sight three
decades ago.
The Montreal-born singer/songwriter resurfaced briefly in Canada as Baron
Longfellow in the '80s.
Now, after a decade away from the recording studio, Kim has returned with
the
delightful five-song EP "I Forgot to Mention," released Oct. 19 in Canada by
his Iceworks label and distributed by MapleNationwide. A full album is
scheduled for 2005.
Other veteran Canadian acts with new releases are Glass Tiger, Frank Marino
&
Mahogany Rush, Helix, D.O.A., the Kings and Wild T.
Kim's title track-which he wrote with its producer, Ed Robertson of
Barenaked
Ladies-is getting airplay at 20 prominent Canadian radio stations.
"Music-industry people have asked music directors, 'Why are you playing
that?' But 'I Forgot to Mention' has a great feel to it," says Kim, who is
based in
Los Angeles.
Wayne Webster, music director of CKFM Toronto, warned Kim upfront that he
should expect resistance from radio. "Then I heard the song," Webster
recalls. "I
was like, 'Wow!' You really hear Ed Robertson's influence on the tune. I
asked when we could start playing it."
"What a great song!" says Jaimie Vernon, president of Toronto-based Bullseye
Records, whose roster includes veteran rock acts Honeymoon Suite, Klattu,
Goddo, the Kings and Killer Dwarfs. "When I heard the [CKFM] announcer say,
'I'm
going to play a new song by Andy Kim,' I went, 'What?' But this brings me
hope
for our veteran acts that have new material."
Many of Canada's music veterans continue to tour heavily. They gain exposure
through the Internet and on radio stations that operate under the Jack, Bob
or
Joe moniker, a format that programs current hits as well as those dating
back
to the '60s. However, unlike Kim, few veterans get airplay at stations
playing solely current releases.
"People are back out on the [club] scene again looking for their favorite
bands," Vernon says. "They are at an age where their kids are either old
enough
to be babysat or are on their own. I've seen this at gig after gig."
Glass Tiger frontman Alan Frew agrees, but adds that "a lot" of people are
seeing his band for the first time. "They are checking out the Bob and Jack
stations," he notes.
Following a string of international hits, including "Don't Forget Me (When
I'm Gone)," Glass Tiger split in the mid-'90s. The band re-formed two years
ago.
EMI Music Canada on Sept. 21 released a 17-song retrospective album and DVD,
both titled "No Turning Back," with two newly recorded tracks.
"The band is ready to test the waters [at radio] again," Frew says.
Also jumping back in is Montreal-based Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush, which
had a sizable international following in the '70s and '80s. The band split
in
1993, re-formed in 1998 and has been playing intermittently since. Just a
Minute
Records, the label operated by Montreal-based distributor Distribution
Fusion
III, will release the two-CD live album "Real Live" Oct. 20. Marino says he
now intends to step up his touring schedule.
"I love touring today," he explains, "because my family goes with me."
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