From author Bob Mersereau It's been an exciting few months, and the wait is finally over. THE TOP 100 CANADIAN ALBUMS book will be released this Thursday, Oct. 18. Already some early review copies are circulating, and the reaction has been over the top. It's a beautiful book, and the people at Goose Lane Editions have done a marvelous job on the graphics and artwork. It's turned out to be the fitting celebration of Canadian culture that we'd hoped from the beginning. All of you who participated deserve a great thanks. This was always planned as a full survey and a consensus vote of music lovers from across the country, and I hope this is reflected by the albums that made the list. You'll find something from every genre of music, from rock to pop to jazz to classical to folk to metal to hip-hop, and something from every area of the country. It reflects your tastes and knowledge. When the book is published this Thursday, you're going to see and hear lots about it in the media. Already interviews and articles are scheduled in most major national and regional markets. As well, I'm about to set out on a two-week tour of the country, for more media opportunities, as well as some scheduled appearances. Originally, we had planned a launch party in Toronto, but we had to change those plans because of a few reasons. The first was a delay in publication; the book was pushed back a couple of weeks by the behemoth that is Harry Potter. Pressing plants in the country were backlogged because of the boy wizard, and the initial date was pushed back two weeks. Also, media demands during my time in Toronto became rather heavy, and there were also some conflicting events in the area that day. So, we simply decided to concentrate on the launch and media needs for the 18th. It's an enviable problem: people want to know what's in the Top 100, and I have to do all these interviews. There is, however, a launch Saturday in Halifax, at 5 PM at Tribeca, as part of The Halifax Pop Explosion festival. If you're in the area, please stop by, there will be a special musical guest from the Top 100 book. As well, I'll be in Calgary and Winnipeg, at the McNally Robinson bookstores, on Oct. 24 and 25, for book launches there. Again, please stop by if you're in those areas. Here's the complete schedule: Toronto media days: Oct. 17-18 Interview on www.CFRB.com to air Sunday @ 6PM EST For media members of the jury, if there are any interview inquiries surrounding the book, we've made yours the priority. Many of you have already been contacted, or will be shortly. If you have any requests for interviews, contests, etc., please get ahold of Colleen Kitts at Goose Lane, she is handling publicity and will make sure your programs and publications get what they need. She's at ckitts@gooselane.com. And please, anyone in any of these areas I'm visiting, if you'd like to meet up for a coffee during these days, just send a note to this email address, I'll be checking constantly, and hopefully can work out a time. Of course, there's a website too, with a discussion forum and more. It's at www.top100canadianalbums.com and I'll be posting from the road. Once again, thanks for all your help with this project, and please check out the book soon. You're all in it (check the back pages) and it never would have happened without your participation. Best, Bob Mersereau ****************** Myself and Gary Gold are both name-checked in the book. Jaimie Vernon, President, Bullseye Records http://www.bullseyecanada.com SWAG: http://www.cafepress.com/bullseyecanada BULLSEYE LIVE 365 RADIO: http://www.live365.com/stations/bullseyerecords Author, Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/ http://www.myspace.com/jaimievernonsmovingtargetz _________________________________________________________________ Send a smile, make someone laugh, have some fun! Check out freemessengeremoticons.ca