In part two of David Henman Guitar Talk, we discuss more things guitar including favourite brands, models etc. along with some of David's influences & tips for young players coming up today.
David was an original founding member of the iconic Canadian band, April Wine & he has done a lot more in the music business since then.

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David Henman, along with his younger brother Ritchie & their cousin Jim Henman founded the iconic Canadian classic rock band April Wine after recruiting their neighbour, Myles Goodwyn (who is still leading April Wine today). That said, AW is just a small chapter in David's career. He's done a lot musically both before & after April Wine. In this episode, we discuss guitars & his progression as a guitarist in his early years.

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In the last couple of years, I was introduced to Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins through mutual friends.
I felt extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to interview him twice during the Covid-19 pandemic & was hoping to one day chat with him face to face.
Alas, with his passing away on May 29th 2022, meeting on this mortal plane will not happen.
I do however feel that this episode of Tommy Solo's Famous Friends is not only, in all likelihood one of the Hawk's last public interviews.
It felt very natural when we recorded this one, & I felt a definite connection with the now, late great Ronnie Hawkins.

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In this second installment of our "Guitar Talk" series, I talk shop with one of Canada's top shelf guitarist/singers, Frank Soda.
Frank got his first break in the music business as a member of Jon Mykl Thor's band & within a few years, Thor & the Imps morphed into "Frank Soda & the Imps". He learned a lot about showmanship during his tenure with Thor & quickly gained a reputation for his awesome live shows where he would do guitar battles with himself (with the aid of VHS videos on stage) & blowing up TVs on his head.
You might think that his showmanship obscured his talent. That was not the case. Early on after branching out from Thor, Frank & his band were sponsored by one of the biggest radio stations in Canada at the time, CHUM FM to record a live album at Toronto's infamous Piccadilly Tube bar. He was signed with Quality records before too long & was a featured player on Lee Aaron's debut album.
The pace has slowed down for Frank since the pandemic hit, but he's still active as a session guitarist.
If you're into guitar & like hearing from seminal players like Frank, this episode if for you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JcW65kpZ5I&ab_channel=Kat%27sMetalLitterBox

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Almost two years ago, I struck up a friendship with Canada's "Country Gentleman", Tommy Hunter. We've had several conversations both before & after this interview was recorded in summer of 2020. He was a regular visitor to Canadian living rooms every week for decades even before the Tommy Hunter show was picked up by the Nashville Network in the U.S.A. . Most of my generation have fond memories of him & the family friendly entertainment his show provided for us. In recent months, Tommy Hunter has been under the weather & could use our moral support.
At the time of this interview from the summer of 2020, I was very impressed with his eloquence & his humble appreciation of his Millions of fans.
I hope you enjoy listening to this interview as much as I enjoyed conducting it.

Jake Thomas was a journeyman lead guitarist whose career started in the 1960s & goes on to this day. Having cut his teeth with bands like Buckstone Hardware, George Oliver & Friends, Bill King & more, his return to his home town of North Bay Ontario was very much welcomed. He has continued to make a splash, having been a featured act with his band Jake & the Fundamentals at festivals including the Beaches Jazz festival in Toronto. His experience & knowledge made him my first choice to debut this new series "Guitar Talk".

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Bernie Labarge's musical career started in 1967 & he has hardly looked back since. A seminal, journeyman guitarist for most of his career, he is a peer with other Canadian top shelf players like Danny Marks & the late Domenic Troiano. He's also worked with other awesome guitarists including Alex Lifeson. Working with a very young Daniel Lanois, he landed a deal with WEA in 1981 for his smash single "Dream away". This opened many doors for him. Over the years, he's worked in TV as the guitarist on the CHCH TV "Smith & Smith" which would spawn "Red Green".
His career is too prolific to describe briefly here, & our conversation was very intersting....to say the least.
https://bernielabarge.com/

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Andy Curran first came into public view as bassist & co lead singer in the iconic Canadian band, Coney Hatch.
Since then, he has worn many hats in the music business including that of record company executive where he worked with acts like Big Wreck. The Tea Party, & Rush.
While Coney Hatch is still a going concern after all these years, Andy's personal friendship with Rush's guitarist Alex Lifeson has culminated in a brand new recording project called "Envy of none". This new project is a departure for all involved.
We discuss all this and a lot more in this interview. Enjoy.

And hey...if you enjoy my show & would like to help us keep it going without a paid subscription, why not click the "buy me a coffee" link below to show us your love?

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tsolobandq

https://kscopemusic.com/artists/envyofnone/

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Nick Panaseiko started promoting teen dances in the early 1960s. He eventually worked his way to becoming one of Canada's most prolific record promoters in the golden era of the record business. Nick has promoted records for everyone from Donna Summer, Phil Collins, Kiss to Queen & beyond. His story has been a long time coming & is quite fascinating to say the least.
Partnered with photographer to the stars, John Rowlands since 1975 the evidence of his prowess as a top shelf "Promo Man" is abundant.
Finally Nick's story is in print as authored by Bob Klanac.
Bob is a music journalist who has penned hundreds of music reviews & interviews. He was a juror for the Polaris music prize & is currently a Juno awards juror.
In this episode we discussed the making of the new release book "Promo man back stage tales from the vinyl jungle" ....and more!

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Who plays guitar with Crash Kelly, Nelly Furtado, Carole Pope, Coney Hatch, Helix & Emm Gryner?
Sean Kelly does. And he teaches music in an elementary school at the same time!
In this episode, we talked about all this & more.

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