Orlando Valencia Jr.

What do you get when you mix English with Spanish, salsa with R&B, and pure passion with an unstoppable desire to make people move? Salsa Urbana is the answer. This CD, which was released in 2007 and is currently sold out, was created by none other than Orlando Valencia Jr. Orlando’s Latin and R&B music have been forcing Canadians to get up and dance for a number of years, and with a second CD in the making, salsa nights may be replacing the common dance/club scene in Ontario.



Orlando is also a smart businessman. Though he has been approached by record labels before, Orlando is not signed with anyone as of yet. He wants to ensure that his sound never has to be compromised or forced into a mould. However, when he does find a label that feels right and understands his theme, Orlando says that he is willing to sign. Born in El Salvador but raised in Canada, Orlando Valencia is a dynamic artist who is able to create a sound which speaks to a variety of people. It was practically inevitable that Orlando became heavily involved with music; his mother was part of the National Ballet in El Salvador and his father was and still is a musician. Growing up with and expressing himself through song and dance, Orlando eventually became fluent in these two universal languages. Though he was eager to be a great singer, Orlando’s father made sure that he knew that it takes more than a voice to create great music, and as a result Oralndo is today a talented percussionist and vocalist. For more than a decade now, Orlando, his father and younger brother have been working together. They perform live four to five times a week for people yearning to dance to authentic salsa, merengue and bachata. Orlando feels that there is something extraordinary about being able to do what he loves while also making people happy; it is truly a gift that is appreciated and shared by artist and fans.

When Orlando is not performing with the band, there’s a good chance that he’s working in the studio. It’s a very different experience being alone in a recording room late at night because you have to generate your own energy, shared Orlando. The musician seems to have no trouble finding that energy though, and Salsa Urbana is proof.

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Message from Sean Murphy

As you've probably heard, last week there was a horrible 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. The estimates say more than 100,000 people have been killed, and a huge amount of damage was caused. Haiti is an extremely poor nation, and can use monetary help from everyone around the world to deal with and recover from this crisis.

In partnership with FanBridge (the company I work with to manage my fan list) and Direct Relief International, I wanted to give you a link to donate to the relief effort. Through Direct Relief, 100% of the money that is donated will go towards Haiti relief efforts (aka none is taken out for administration fees).

Click here to see more

Live Nation - Ontario Concerts

LIVE NATION SETLIST
Just Added | This Weeks' Shows | Venues Event Search: Go
Featured
Carole King and James Taylor
Carole King and James Taylor
Friday, May 28
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, ON
On Sale Sat, 1/23, 10am
More Info

Click here to find out more!

Giselle Minns

Giselle Minns is truly one of the more unique artists I have come across this year. A unique fusion between classical and contemporary music makes her a true music mover.



Her latest album "Turning Circles" is a classical crossover album, combining opera with more contemporary sounds including electronica, and pop. Her wide vocal range compliments this crossover. "My music has been compared to Enya and also a kind of Imogen Heap style."

As most artists, Giselle started early. "When I was three years old, my mother taught me vocal harmony and when I was five, I started piano lessons." She has since picked up the cello and the much coveted skill of writing her own music.

Put nicely, Giselle says that she gets her song writing inspiration from "the big Canadian sky; and life." Her songs are based on stories, but many are also fantastical stories that exist in other people's lives.

In terms of other artist inspiration, Giselle cites opera singer Maria Callas and the pop/electronica artist, Bjork. "Both have influenced the way I look at life and at my music."

For someone who is putting opera back into the mainstream vein, Giselle doesn't find the Canadian indie environment terribly challenging. "I find that Canada is extremely encouraging to emerging artists and there are many different avenues open for us to explore. The music network is supportive and informative and most doors are left ajar for us to fling wide open."

So what is the best part about making music?

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Sean Ward

Comic artist, musician, trend setter and philosopher, Sean Ward does it all. Author of Benny Bunny on Wheels, Mr. Lollipop and The Sean Ward Electric Comics Freak-Out, evil genius behind Peanut Punch Crank Calls and rap master responsible for “Paid to Party”, I recently had the privilege to pick his brain on what makes the man behind the legend, and where he sees himself in the big picture. A glimpse at this extremely talented, Toronto based, self-made entertainment mogul's vast repertoire of hilarious, artsy and radically unique creations can be found at http://www.seanward.net and http://www.myspace.com/seanward



Jessica Rodriguez: I know its probably next to impossible to do this, but I'm banking on your above average intelligence to humour me.

Sean Ward: Heh, OK.

JR: Summarize yourself in one sentence.

SW: Sean Ward is Beatles meets vintage Def Jam on the retro space age, pre-psychedelic acid pop tip as a Saturday morning cartoon. How's that?

JR: Incredibly condensed! You say that one of your main goals is to help bring artists together.

SW: Yeah, like helping them get going, get producing work, and pushing themselves.

JR: How do you envision yourself doing that?

SW: The main way is through the work itself, I hope. I try very hard to work something into the stories I tell that's going to be inspirational to people who have a vision to do something big or unique. So the more I learn and grow, the more I'm able to put into it, you know, on that level. And then it's through being an example. I've always been pretty open about how I live and what goes on behind the scenes, and that's so that people can see how it happens and what it takes. It's not easy but if someone says they stepped up to the challenge because they've been watching me or reading my blog or following my adventures, then I feel like what I'm doing is working.

JR: How far along that process do you feel you are?

SW: Farther all the time. I have given speeches at schools, I've conducted workshops, it's very hands-on. When I do a signing or an appearance and some dude's watching me draw him a sketch or whatever, and he's telling me about how he thought that if I could do it maybe he could do it, and now he's working on his own movie or music or whatever, those are the moments that give me juice. That's what makes it easy to keep going when it gets difficult.

JR: As an artist you bridge over many different disciplines, from comics to music to acting, although you mention that right now you want to focus on comics. Do you think having such a broad range of artistic outlets dilutes your passion or ability for any given one?

SW: I fight with this all the time. That's something I have to continually face in myself, 'what's with this compulsion to always be starting all over again?' But at the same time, it's about taking my art seriously and treating it like a business and thinking about how I can differentiate myself amongst people who are all talented and all visionary. My comics are the heart and soul of everything else that I do. Take out the comics and the rest doesn't hold together because you've lost the context. You've lost the philosophical connecting thread, does that make sense? Yeah, comics are the main thing for right now, but it all fits together. On the one hand, its an expression of my own issues and insecurities that I always have tostart new whenever I just get going on something, but on the other it's me expressing what I'm about.

JR: About your comics, the characters you create are all very distinctive, both physically and in personality. Do you base them off of people you know, or are they completely fictional?

SW: It's both. I have modeled certain characters on real people, but most of my main characters jumped pretty much fully form


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Sonny Boy Mick

Sonny Boy Mick's long road in the music industry has been landmarked by a variety of unique experiences. All experiences that led him towards national and international acclaim for his songwriting and performance ability.



Sonny Boy Mick, a.k.a Steve McPhail, started playing guitar at the tender age of eleven in his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. "I played in bands through high school and university and then moved to Burlington where I joined a club act of T.O. I played and sang with several prominent clubs in the GTA."

He then had a band called Fall From Grace in the 90s, that was released in Europe. And if that wasn't enough, he purchased a music school and recording studio in Burlington called Melody Man Studios, and has been running it over the last 6 years.

The studio has been a real place of inspiration for Steve and his songwriting, "Because of being able to play everyday at the studio teaching or recording I find musically things just pop out, alot of times when I'm tuning somebody's guitar or just sitting around playing."

With this new environment to work with, he started writing under the name Sonny Boy Mick, which resulted in the release of the new CD "Peace, Love and Sonny Boy."

How would Steve describe his style? "A melting pot of all the covers and styles I've played since I was a kid- Beatles, Bowie, Prince, Zeppelin, Police, Stones, U2, Coldplay, Pumpkins, Radiohead, Buddy Holly, and I'm sure a slew of 90's bands."

What Steve prides himself in is his ability to write authentic music, "I think my music is real, it's not fabricated, it's just a reflection of my day to day existence. I play everyday and if you see me live chances are you'll see I love to play music, I've been told many times that when I play "live" I have that "somethin" --you can't fake that stuff, it just happens. I've been very fortunate to play with great band members in the last 10 years who bring years of experience to the studio as well as live shows."

Speaking of authenticity, all of Steve's songs have been inspired by some event that has occurred in his life. "If I had to pick one [to talk about] it would be "Northern Town". I was home in Sault Ste. Marie on a family matter


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