IT’S AN understatement
to say Halifax singer-songwriter Jill Barber
had a good day on Tuesday.
She was sitting down in Toronto
chatting with Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy about
his appearance in her video for Don’t
Go Easy when her manager tapped her on the shoulder
to let her know she’d been nominated for
four East Coast Music Association awards.
"I’m in a great mood,"
she said by cell phone from the St. Lawrence
Market where she and Cuddy began filming at
7:30 a.m.
Barber was nominated for FACTOR
recording of the year, female recording of the
year, SOCAN songwriter of the year and folk
recording of the year. She was one of three
artists along with Halifax band In-Flight Safety
and Newfoundland singer-songwriter Ron Hynes
who were quadruple nominees when the East Coast
Music Association announced 149 nominees for
this year’s awards at a news conference
at the Marquee Club.
George Canyon and J.P.
Cormier will be vying for the most
hardware when the 19th East Coast Music Awards
are held in Halifax Feb. 15 to 18. Each claimed
five nominations.
Pictou County cowboy Canyon,
who now divides his time between his ranch in
Alberta and his home in Nashville, was nominated
for recording of the year, male solo recording
of the year, entertainer of the year, video
of the year and country recording of the year.
Cape Breton’s
Cormier received nods for male solo recording,
bluegrass recording, DVD, instrumental recording
and folk recording.
Charlie A’Court, the Chucky
Danger Band, the Joel Plaskett Emergency, Sloan
and The Trews each received three nods.
In-Flight Safety performed the
title track from their album The Coast Is Clear
to open Tuesday’s festivities, and later
learned they’d claimed four nominations.
"We didn’t expect
as many nods. It was very welcome news,"
lead singer John Mullane said of the nominations
for CBC Galaxie rising star recording of the
year, video of the year for Surround, alternative
recording and group recording of the year for
The Coast Is Clear, which was released in January.
It’s been a break-through
year for the alternative pop quartet.
"I think the main thing
is we finally put out a full-length record and
it snowballed from there. To have a video alongside
Nelly Furtado and Eminem is a real highlight.
We watched Much Music as kids growing up,"
says Mullane, who also plays guitar.
"We also toured in the
U.K. and played in Ireland this year and we
were pretty happy about our success at the Nova
Scotia Music Awards." In-Flight Safety
took home trophies for group of the year, album
and alternative album at last month’s
awards in Liverpool.
Barber, who was nominated two
years ago for ECMAs for folk recording and female
recording of the year, joked she’s doubled
her nominations this year. The one that means
the most to her is the songwriting nomination
for Don’t Go Easy, which appears on her
disc For All Time.
"It brings the most satisfaction
when you feel your talents as a songwriter are
recognized. That’s where the art comes
in. And it’s fairly safe to say it’s
a category that tends to be fairly male-dominated."
Other songwriting nominees are
Bruce Guthro for Holy Road, Joel Plaskett for
Nowhere With You performed by the Joel Plaskett
Emergency, Hynes for Dry and Rose Cousins for
Good Enough.
Cousins, who was also nominated
for the rising star award, was among the announcers
Tuesday. Among the others were members of the
Halifax Mooseheads hockey team, politicians
Len Goucher and Dawn Sloane, actor Kelly Peck
and Fred MacGillivray, CEO of the World Trade
Centre where much of the action for the ECMAs
will take place, including the gala awards broadcast
from the Halifax Metro Centre on Feb. 18 at
8 p.m. on CBC.
MacCallum Settlement’s
Charlie A’Court said he was like a kid
in the candy shop after learning he’d
been nominated for FACTOR recording of the year,
male solo recording of the year and pop recording
of the year for Bring on the Storm.
"The male solo artist is
a heavy category. I’m competing against
Bruce Guthro (Beautiful Life), George Canyon
(Somebody Wrote Love), J.P. Cormier (Looking
Back Vol. 2 – The Songs) and Ron Hynes
(Ron Hynes). To have the association view me
with the same regard they do these artists,
artists I’ve grown up listening to, to
know they house us all on the same playing field
is a bit of a shock."
A’Court, who was previously
nominated for three ECMAs for his debut album
Color Me Gone and won blues artist, says the
fact the ECMAs draw delegates from around the
world is helping artists’ careers.
"I showcased the last time
the ECMAs were in Halifax in 2003 and delegates
saw that showcase and told me they could build
me in the European market, facilitating my tours
there."
Enfield-raised rapper Classified,
who was nominated Tuesday for video of the year
and rap/hip-hop single track of the year, says
it’s been a very good year. The winner
of hip-hop recording of the year at last month’s
Music Nova Scotia awards says success has been
a long time coming. He put out his first album
in 1995.
He has just returned from a
28-date, month-long tour featuring top Canadian
hip hop artists and is working on a video for
the single All About You, which he expects to
drop in January.
"People have been saying
it’s very Jack Johnson-ish. It hits a
different market," he said, noting he’s
also busy producing a CD for local artist Jordan
Croucher that will be a mix of R and B, soul
and rock.
The first round of ECMA showcase
artists was also announced Tuesday including
the Mainstage Showcase featuring double nominees
Catherine MacLellan and JP LeBlanc, as well
as nominees hey rosetta! and Old Man Luedecke,
among others.
The Roots Room Showcase at the
Schooner Room in the Casino will feature double
nominee Amelia Curran and nominees Duane Andrews,
Elmer Deagle, Lennie Gallant, Madviolet and
The Divorcees, among others.
And the Max Trax Rock Showcase
at the Marquee Club will feature nominees Chris
Colepaugh and the Cosmic Crew, Jon Epworth and
the Improvements, On Vinyl and Two Hours Traffic,
among others.
More showcase performers, industry
nominees and participants in the 72-hour jam
are expected to be announced in mid-January.
( anemetz@herald.ca
