Tommy Solo's famous friends

Darby Mills, is mostly known as the lead singer for the classic Canadian rock band "The Headpins". Before the pandemic hit, she was on the rise under her own banner with the Darby Mills project. She had several what she considered "glass ceiling" shows cancelled during the 1st major Covid-19 lock down. In this episode, we talk about how she & her band mates have done their best to adjust & adapt t...

Rocket Norton is a lifelong musician having rose to fame in the 1970s with the Canadian classic rock band, Prism. He has played primarily drums over the years, but has also sang & played guitar with a few acts. Prior to Covid-19, things were going really well for Rocket. He had a thriving day business & had successfully published a couple of fictional novels. He was also playing small concerts wit...

Terry Draper established himself as a member of the classic Canadian band Klaatu. For some time the general public was convinced that Klaatu was really the Beatles recording incognito. While these rumours did bolster record sales, they also created situations that ultimately caused the break up of the band. In this episode Terry & I discuss where he was at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic &...

Cassius Khan & his family knew that he was a very gifted musician at a very early age. He is one of the very few, if not the only classical Indian musicians who can play the Tabla & sing simultaneously. When he was seven years old, he heard an Ellen McIlwaine record from his Father's Vinyl collection & was mesmerized by the Goddess of Slide guitar instantly. After years of classical training in In...

In this, the second in our "Rounding the corner" series, I talk with the legendary Heavy Metal drummer from the iconic band Anvil. We discussed where they were when the pandemic hit & how they managed to stay focused on their music throughout the duration of all the lockdowns etc.. We also talked about how the world is counting on as many people getting vaccinated as possible so that we can get ba...

Jonathan Holiff, the son of Saul Holiff who managed Johnny Cash through the Country music legend's most prolific years was already an established member of the television production elite. And when he uncovered his late Father's artifacts & memorabilia in a storage locker, he knew that he had something special. The 2012 award winning, globally distributed documentary "My Father & the Man in black"...

John McGale was a huge influence on me growing up in the same neighbourhood in North Bay, Ontario. He was 3 years older than me & already playing in tight bands by the time he was 12 or 13 years old. Us younger kids would flock to the basement windows of the house where John & his earliest bands would rehearse. They were like our own local Beatles in a way. I got to know John a little earl...

Jon Mykl Thor was inspired to get into the music business as a teenage bodybuilder who found an extra boost of energy in his work outs while listening to Led Zeppelin. He developed a friendship with seminal Canadian guitarist, Frank Soda early on & together they boarded a train from Vancouver to Toronto with a mutual dream of fame & fortune as their guide. After several indie releases in the early...

Alexander Mair got started in the business side of the music business as an accountant with Capital records. He would manage the career of legendary Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot through Gordon's most successful & prolific years. On top of that, he founded Attic records in 1974 & ran that company for 27 years before selling it to a public company right at the dawn of downloading pira...

Mike McKenna is the ultimate journeyman guitarist. He was influenced as a guitarist early by Buddy Holly & Hank Snow. He & his fellow musician friends learned a lot about show business by following acts like Ronnie Hawkins & Robbie Lane around notorious music venues in the Toronto area, Early on his band scored opening spots for bigger acts like the Grateful Dead. Mike formed a fast friendship wit...

John Gardiner is an upside down, left handed bass player & author. He spends a lot of time posting short stories garnered from his memories of growing up in the small town of Hanover Ontario on Facebook. His intentions are good. He knows that people need their regular daily infusions of entertainment especially during pandemic times. In this episode, we discuss his challenges as a lefty, his adven...

From humble beginnings on the Wikwemikong First Nations Reserve on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada to a successful career in Nashville, Crystal Shawanda has come a long way. She started singing in public at six years old & has never looked back. Moving to Nashville at sixteen, she had the courage to knock on all the right doors & her journey as a successful singer/songwriter was launched. Fac...

Sandy Gillis started his career in radio broadcasting in 1968 while he was still a kid in high school. It didn't take him long from there before he was hosting a local teen dance show on TV. And before you knew it he had started his own broadcasting school, hiring his radio station bosses as professors. As he quickly climbed the ladder in radio becoming station manager in short order, he gave seve...

Earl Johnson was a founding member of Canadian classic rockers "Moxy" along with the late Buzz Shearman (r.i.p.) . He is now the last man standing but he continues to carry the torch & was still touring with the current lineup of Moxy until the pandemic hit. He remains enthusiastic & has learned to play for the love of the music as time rolls on. Earl got started in his professional career playing...

Jerry Fielden is a man who wears many hats in the music business. He not only leads his own recording act, AraPacis featuring top shelf players like Don Airey of Deep Purple & Ozzy Osborne fame, David Stone (Rainbow) & Vinny Appice among others. He has had a close working relationship with Deep Purple's long standing lead singer Ian Gillan. When Jerry isn't busy making new music he spends his time...

In this edition, Jaimie Vernon of Bullseye Records play another round of Pop Trivia where I quiz him on his knowledge of Canadian musicians & bands. We discussed acts like Moxy, Copper Penny, Scrubbaloe Caine, Wide Mouth Mason, Thundermug & more. Jaimie is the author of The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia & has a wealth of information about Canadian music history & he's kept up on a lot of bands &...

In this episode, I chat with Mario Circelli. Mario is the founder & chair of the Forest City London Music Awards & Hall of fame. We discuss how he & his team have struggled to try & support live music during this global pandemic. This is a difficult time for everyone....& musicians have been among the hardest hit by the negative economic impact of this deadly virus. We talked about the ever changi...

Bill King was raised in Jefferson Indiana where he began his musical journey in the 1960s. He's just released his book "Bill King Coming through the 1960s" & in this episode, we discuss his long & illustrious career as he's moved through various styles of music, eventually migrating to Toronto Ontario, Canada where he really found his groove. He tells us a bit about how he traveled acroos the Unit...

Richard Van Camp is a Dene author from Fort Smith NWT. He has released a new book annually for the past 25 years. His latest upcoming book release, "Gather" is inspired by his days as a volunteer driving his community Elders around on the local Handy Bus as he documented their stories of wonder & magic. He intends this new book to be a guide to your own soul medicine. His story is fascinating to s...

Jaimie Vernon makes a return visit to Tommy Solo's Famous Friends , this time to play rock & roll trivia with me. Jaimie is the president of Bullseye records & an authority on Canadian pop music history. He is currently writing a weekly blog, an extension of his former publication....Great White Noise. In this episode, we discuss a random mix of Canadian bands & solo recording artists as I quiz Ja...

Ronnie Hawkins' career in Music, TV & Film spanned over 63 years....& it may not be over yet! Having immigrated to Canada in 1958, he has since become well known not only for his own many accomplishments....but for the many careers he has fostered & launched. He is responsible for introducing the world to the likes of Robbie Lane, Beverly D'Angelo, David Clayton Thomas & David Foster. Ronnie had u...

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Mitch Field immigrated to Canada from England as a young boy, but not before he had the chance to see the Beatles live in concert right before they broke internationally on the Ed Sullivan show. Like so many of our classic rock icons, Mitch was inspired by the Fab Four to become a musician. One of his first gigs was drumming for John Lee Hooker & he's never looked back since then. In this episode...

David Carruthers is a Children's book author & Social enterprise entrepreneur & philanthropist. He has spent years dedicating himself to empowering kids & youths, traveling to over 250 schools giving inspirational talks. David is also in the business of helping new authors to get their works published. We discuss all this and more during this episode. You can dig further into the services offered...

John Rowlands is a world renowned arts & entertainment photographer, having shot photos for major record labels over the years including pics of the Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen ...among others. Since his retirement, he's suffered a couple of major strokes. The most recent one nearly killed him & he needs our help on his road to recovery. While we did discuss certain parts of...