Newsletter

Anyone who has an interest in the country music industry and has not yet attended Country Music Week should seriously consider for next year.  It continues to be a hotbed of both established and undiscovered talent and a goldmine of information and connections.  The seminars on all subjects country are informative and the panelists are approachable. The parties and showcases are not only fun and inspiring but again a hub to meet new contacts.  It’s also a place where you are bound to see your favourite artist perform at one of the functions. This year the CMA Ontario would like to congratulate all winners connected to Ontario. Awarded at the CCMA televised Awards Show. Fan’s Choice:   Johnny Reid, CMT Video of the Year:   The Stellas for […]

The following is an excerpt from Marlo Morgan’s book on aboriginal wisdom, lessons and values to being human. It is called “Messages From Down Under.” The following message applies to all souls everywhere. It has been appropriate for every period of time from the caveman to the present. The task is not worldly success, it is spiritually orientated. Lesson 1 “You should express your individual creativity. Each individual sees things through his own set of circumstances and so has a unique expression to offer the world. Creativity includes the arts, but is not limited to that, nor is painting, composing or writing in any way more significant that the creative measures taken to comfort someone in distress, to bring order to conflict or chaos or […]

Wounded Warriors is a non-profit organization to help soldiers who have fought in Afghanistan with reintegration back into Canada. Many problems have occurred with our soldiers involving battle wounds and missing ligaments from the war, but also non-visible issues with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other Mental Health issues. Your donations will help raise money for the charity to support the rehabilitation of our soldiers with regards to proper mental health recovery and The Segway Project which helps with mobility issues in our soldiers with visible wounds. Any help you can offer will go a long way for this charity organization and it is a great way for our communities to help a good cause and uncover the amazing talent of country music we have […]

LARGE FORMAT STUDIOS (over 250 sq. ft. live floor) BLUE BEAR SOUND www.bluebearsound.com Contact: Bruce Valeriani / studio@bluebearsound.com / 613.822.0726 CEDARTREE RECORDINGS STUDIO Contact: J Richard (Rick) Hutt / jrhutt@bellnet.ca / 519.748.5810 EMAC RECORDING STUDIOS www.emacstudios.com Contact: Rob Nation / info@emacstudios.com / 519.667.3622 HOWL STUDIO www.howlstudio.com Contact: David Falco / info@howlstudio.com / 905.257.2424 / 905.891.0336 VELVET SOUND STUDIOS www.velvetsoundstudios.com Contact: Mark McLay / worldrockschool@gmail.com / K.G. RECORDS HYPERLINK “http://www.kgrecords.com Contact: Kevin Gorman / HYPERLINK =mailto:Kevin@kgrecords.com”Kevin@kgrecords.com / 519.709.5384 SMALL FORMAT STUDIOS (under 250 sq. ft. live floor) STUDIO NOWHERE www.makeahitsong.com Contact: Glenn Talsky / glenn@makeahitsong.com / 416.266.3079

I hope everyone has been enjoying the lazy days of summer.  We at the CMAO have been working hard, but I must confess I have taken a bit of time to sit back with a cold one.  There are several things I wish to bring to your attention in this issue of the newsletter: 1.      Please review the eligibility criteria that has been announced in this newsletter and start thinking about who you think should be nominated for the inaugural CMAO awards. Click here for more about the Awards We have yet to name the awards and so if anyone comes up with the name that we select, they will win a pair of tickets to the awards show.  So put your thinking caps on […]

The CMAO is pleased to announce that a selection has been made from the Ontario based artists who submitted applications for the possibility to perform at FanFest in Saskatoon this September. The submissions went to a non-biased jury who made the final decision. The artist chosen to represent Ontario in the final national vote is Marshall Dane. The selection was unanimous. We’d like to thank the FanFest committee who worked so diligently under time restrictions to make this opportunity possible for one or our provincial artists. We know Marshall will do us all proud. And be advised, one of our board members who is instrumental in Marshall’s career (Record Producer, Brian Allen) was not involved with either the selection or the judging panel of the […]

Naomi Bristow, Canada’s Yodelin’ Cowgirl, performed with ‘Yvan Nadeau and the Bandidos’ on Aug. 10 at Comfort Suites and Conference Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. The Northern Ontario Country Music Association presented the concert and donated the show proceeds to ARCH. ARCH stands for Algoma Residential Community Hospice. They’ll get a financial boost from the country concert. The 10-bed hospice, on Fourth Line near Brule Road, opened in 2008. Dave Patterson, president of the Northern Ontario Country Music Association said, “Over the years, keeping the NOCMA and its projects like the Great Northern Opry and the Northern Ontario Country Music Hall of Fame, was a huge job. We had lot of tough years. NOCMA didn’t have the cash to donate to charities in the last […]

NO one will know until we have the nomination process completed and people have cast their votes.  However, I am pleased to announce the eligibility criteria for the inaugural CMA Ontario awards are as follows: The overall eligibility criteria for an artist/group or company for ALL categories is: 1.      The artist must be a member in good standing with the CMA Ontario.  For a group or duo at least 50% of the members must meet the Ontario residency requirement. 2.      Must be a business that is operating in the province of Ontario. 3.      To be considered an Ontario resident by the CMA Ontario, the artist must have been born in the province of Ontario; OR maintained a permanent resident in the province of Ontario for […]

Yes, another year is almost completed and I am pleased to announce that we have set the date for the AGM which is to be held on Thursday, September 13th, 2012 at 42 Lingarde Drive in Scarborough, Ontario.  Yes as members you need to come out and vote or assign your proxy.  The CMA Ontario will be seeing some changes to the Board this year and there is room for new people to get involved as Directors. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Jeff Sheppard and Sandy Graham for the work they did on the Board this past year.  They are not standing for election this year.  As well, I will not be either.  However, there is an exciting number of new people […]