Songwriters Unite! @ Maxwell's Oct.4 2009
Songwriters Unite! Presents:

Jacob Moon
http://www.myspace.com/jacobmoon

Noah Zacharin
http://www.myspace.com/noahzacharin

Laura Fernandez
http://www.myspace.com/laurafernandezband

blueVenus
http://www.myspace.com/bluevenusmusic

Jon Brooks
http://www.myspace.com/jonbrooks

Jake Willis
http://www.myspace.com/jakewillismusic

with host Peter J Slack
http://www.myspace.com/peterjslack

Come join us to celebrate earth day and help raise funds for Engineers Without Borders.  This evening featuring the music of: The Sultans of String, Jon Brooks, Noah Zacharin, Russell Leon, Peter J Slack with Jen Gillmor, and Stacy Ricker.  Don't miss this special music event!

 Date: April 22, 2008

 Time Start/End: 8:00 pm / 1:00 am

 Venue: The Gladstone Ballroom

     http://www.gladstonehotel.com/
     1214 Queen Street West
     Toronto, ON M6J 1J6
     (416) 531-4635

 Cover: $20 Advanced / $22  Door
     (Tickets can be purchased online)

 Website: http://www.lovecasting.net/

 Contact Info:

   Peter J Slack
   1-519-217-4935
   pslack@pjslack.com

Engineers Without Borders ( http://www.ewb.ca ) responds to the needs of people in developing communities to help gain access to technologies that will improve their lives; technology that, when appropriately incorporated into each community's social, cultural, economic and political context, can drive extraordinary change.

Don't miss out, this LOVECASTING happens only once a year on Earth Day and this year, Songwriters Unite and Lovecasting.net have assembled an amazing line up of artists to help celebrate including:

 The Sultans of String
   http://www.thesultansofstring.com/
 Jon Brooks
   http://www.jonbrooks.ca/
 Noah Zacharin
   http://www.noahsong.com
 Russel Leon
   http://rleonband.com/
 Peter J Slack with Jen Gillmor
   http://www.pjslack.com
 Stacy Ricker
   http://www.myspace.com/stacyricker

 With host: Laura Fernandez
   http://www.laurafernandezmusic.com/

Thanks to our kind Sponsors for supporting this event. Please visit our website for further information and to purchase your tickets.

 http://www.lovecasting.net/

Hello to all fine folks,

http://www.pjslack.net/emumaoutravida.mp3

This is an instrumental tune dedicated to Amanda Martinez and Laura Fernandez, both hosts of the Cafe Latino radio program that airs Saturday afternoons on 91.1FM or online at http://www.jazz.fm/ for those not in the GTA.

"Em uma outra vida" translated from Portuguese means "in another life". I don't speak a word of Portuguese (and thanks to the powers that be for online translators) but I played in a Brazilian jazz band several years back and was reminiscing,it seems like a lifetime ago, in another life. I started a mini project called Cafe Latino after I heard news that Amanda was stepping down and following her beautiful voice and that Laura Fernandez (also of a beautiful voice) was taking over as host of my favorite radio show. As with any change there is both excitement, uncertainty and we always have moments missing the life we had before changes, those inevitable blues.

The band I played with was a regular in Niagara on the Lake and played Saturday nights at the Anchorage. The show still goes on and is hosted by Steve Goldberger and the Niagara Rhythm Section. On my long drive into NOTL on those Saturdays we played, I always managed to be traveling the same time as Cafe Latino aired, this show always started my fire for those Saturday night Latin gigs and Amanda even spun up a recording that featured some of my playing once,my first time on air play! Thank you Amanda! I was fortunate to meet Amanda once many years back as she was hosting a show at the Latin Arts Festival where I was playing guitar in a backing band. Since that time she launched an amazing singing career. But this is not the end of the story, one wintry night in Orangeville I happened to meet Laura Fernandez at the annual HAMS party. Laura is also an amazing singer / songwriter and now the new host of Cafe Latino! So congratulations are in order to both these ladies for their positive life changes and this song is for you both.

Here's some links to check out:

Amanda Martinez
http://www.myspace.com/amandamartinezsola
http://www.amandamartinez.ca/

Laura Fernandez
http://www.laurafernandezmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/laurafernandezband

There are also live recordings of the saturday night sessions. You should talk to Steve about getting your hands on some live recordings with the Bushman (me) on guitar, you might end up dancing:

http://www.stevegoldberger.com/shedrecords.html

With warm wishes,
PJ

Music (C)opyright 2008, Peter J Slack SOCAN

FEBRUARY 9th WINTERFOLK @ the Willow 2-4 pm

Songwriters Unite! Showcase featuring:

Jess Graham,
Tanya Philopovitch,
Lucas Spagg,
Adlai Waxman,
Peter J. Slack and Jen Gillmor,
Sara Kamin,

hosted by Russell Leon

www.thewillow.ca

193 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON, Canada
(416) 469-5315

For details and ticket information:
http://www.abetterworld.ca/WinterfolkV.htm

On Saturday November 17th at 8:00 pm there will be a musical celebration for the benefit of Artscan Circle.  We along with our kind sponsors have assembled a cast of some award winning artists to perform at the beautiful and historic Holy Trinity Church in Toronto (right beside the Eaton Center and right across from Toronto city hall) to raise
funds and awareness for Artscan Circle.  We hope you can join us in this celebration.  If you can't I humbly ask that you consider making a donation to this benevolent organization through their website :

        http://www.artscancircle.ca/

For more details about the concert please go to the concert site:

        http://www.lovecasting.net

We also ask to help us out and organically spread the word about this concert. Below are links to posters and promotional images you can help spread the word and forward this email or put up posters:

Poster JPG
http://www.lovecasting.net/ace-POSTER.jpg

Poster PDF
http://www.lovecasting.net/ACPOSTER.pdf

Handout Flyers PDF
http://www.lovecasting.net/FLYERS.pdf

Warmest Regards,
Peter J Slack

Hello to all fine folks,

Songwriters Unite is a proud partner with the Jai Dee Children's Fund to announce The 2nd Annual Toronto Songwriters' Festival on October 13 - 14 at the Hugh's Room.

Last year, Songwriters Unite! collaborated with the Jai Dee Children's Fund and managed to raise almost $6000; enough money to build a kindergarten classroom in Laos Cambodia. This year we look forward to another successful event with your support!

Come on out to Toronto's two-day annual acoustic festival, where you get to groove to the original compositions of some of our top homegrown talent. The best part? All proceeds go toward helping to educate poor children in Laos and India--proving that you can have fun and make a difference at the same time! CityTV did a segment on our show last year and the local paper also wrote about us. The quality of the music is phenomenal and it's great to know you are making a difference in the lives of poor children. You can even shop at our silent auction for exotic things like handwoven silk scarves from Laos. Door prizes too! Please join us!

Sat Oct 13 is for adult music lovers, featuring:
Joshua Bartholomew, Kat Goldman, MEA Stars, Andy
Carey, Tucker Finn and Peter Verity.

Sun Oct 14 (11-3) is for young music aficionados
and their family and friends (you'll be amazed at
the talent of these young songwriters!).

For more info drop by our festival website:
http://www.torontosongwritersfestival.com
http://www.songwritersunite.com

Ticket Information:

Saturday October 13th, 8pm to 12am: $25.00 advance, $27.00 at the door.
Sunday October 14th, 11am to 3pm: $10.00 advance, $12.00 at the door.

Contact Hugh's Room for tickets and dinner
reservations. Phone: (416) 531-6604 or Fax: (416)531-9545

Man on a String: Song Track
http://www.pjslack.net/manonastring.mp3

I'll tell you what's really going on is I'm preparing offerings for the kind music spirits in preparation for the launch of "Brewster'sCoffeehouse Tour" starting August 4th in Sauble beach at the community center and then coming to a town near you. Come out to the beach and catch a concert in the evening for more information:
http://www.myspace.com/brewsterscoffeehouse2

I've been fortunate to learn and participate in acoustic solo style music alongside some of the best writers and performers around. This song is a sample of that solo style and what you'll hear from our coffeehouse tour. I call this a fractal blues.

There's ghosts outside the window
and wolves outside the door.
I count the times I miss you,
but I don't count no more.

Man on a string,
can't buy a diamond ring.
Doesn't mean he doesn't care.
We all fall down sometimes.
We all break our crown sometimes,
and it doesn't mean that we don't care.

Love to you all,PJ

Words and Music (C)opyright 2007, Peter J Slack

WHAT:   Performances by
        Peter J Slack & Jen Gillmor,
        Clare O'Mahony,
        blueVenus

WHEN:   April 23rd, 10:00 pm

WHERE:  Mitzi's Sister
        http://www.mitzissister.com/
        1554 Queen Street West
        Toronto
        416-532-2570

HOW MUCH: Pay What you Can..

PETER J SLACK
http://www.myspace.com/peterjslack

 "Life is not made up of great sacrifices and
 duties, but of little things; in which
 smiles and kindness given habitually are what win
 and preserve the heart. " -- Zappha

Peter is an independent Canadian
singer-songwriter, musician, aspiring music
producer, mechanical engineer, philosopher,
philanthropist, and entrepreneur.  Peter has a
lifetime of musical training and involvement. In
his teens, Peter studied jazz guitar at Eli
Kasner's guitar academy for 5 years and is self
taught on the piano.  He began writing and
recording music independently when he was 13
living in Toronto.  Peter turned momentarily from
the musical path in 1984 and spent the next decade
obtaining an Engineering degree at the University
of Western and practicing as an Engineer. In 1996
Peter began producing music and formed a music
production and recording company, Digital Bird
Studios. Peter produced several albums for young
independent artists and continued to
experiment with his own recording and writing
styles in the digital realm. In 2004, Peter was
inducted into the Toronto area collective of
songwriters known as Songwriter's Unite!. Peter
has spent several years writing songs and gaining
inspirations through performances with and among
other amazing artists in this collective.  Peter
has just released his first official CD: "The Cat
Continuum", a folk-pop album.  Peter publishes
philosophy, words and music both on his podcast
that has worldwide distribution (
http://peterjslack.blogspot.com ) and on his

website ( http://www.pjslack.com ).  Peter is also
a member of SOCAN and an active member of the
Headwaters Acoustic Music Society and director of
Royal City Records.

JEN GILLMOR
http://www.myspace.com/jengillmor

  "I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too
   great a burden to bear." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jen Gillmor has been a bass guitar player on the
Toronto scene for many years, playing with such
acts as Roach Motel, Evalyn Parry, and her current
band Brazen Crush. She has only recently
consummated her life-long love of the cello and
performing with Peter has been a much appreciated
opportunity to share that love and put it into
action.

BLUEVENUS
http://www.myspace.com/bluevenusmusic

blueVenus materialized in 1998 out of a moment of
pure, clear-sighted inspiration. In an instant,
singer-songwriter and violinist Andrea de Boer
glimpsed the blueprint for her band's name,
flagship song and musical destiny. "I realized my
music depended on being completely vulnerable and
truthful...and that my goal was to take the

listeners outside of their everyday reality." Soon
destiny would reveal guitarist and composer Devrim
Eldelekli, a fellow Berklee College of Music
student, who proved to be both a life partner, and
an irreplaceable influence on the blueVenus sound.
blueVenus performed extensively in Boston,
developing their material and intimate performance
style before heading to Toronto.

CLARE O'MAHONY
http://www.myspace.com/clareomahony

   "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
   --Helen Keller

Clare first began performing at one of Cork
Ireland's most popular songwriter nights held in
Fred Zepplin's. After performing her songs at
these open mic nights, Clare went on to support
local acts such as Annette Buckley and Jennifer
Lomasney at Cork's Lobby Bar. Clare recorded an
all acoustic EP entitled Soulfire in June
2002.This EP was launched to a sell out crowd at
Cork's Fred Zepplin's. Clare then took part in a
series of double headliner shows with Ann Scott,
Mick Flannery, Andy Dunne, Anto, Tessa Perry and
Nicole Maguire. Since then, Clare has gone on to
perform alongside James Blunt and John Spillane.
Clare also played in New York and Newfoundland
(Atlantic Crossroads Festival) in June '05 in
support of her debut album Secret World. Her debut
single "I Can't", produced by Declan Sinnott,
received local, national and international
airplay, as well as reaching the semi-final stage
of the International Songwriting Competition 2005.
"A singer-songwriter with a bright future" -
Sinead Lohan "..the voice is great and the song
writing is great" - Kieran Goss "A truly fine and
talented songwriter. The songs are extremely well
constructed, the voice and delivery is well
controlled, mature sounding, soulful and
authoritative. Overall I was entirely captured by
the songs" - PJ Curtis (Grammy winning producer)
"Her songs are finely crafted little gemstones
gentle on the ear" - Paul Dromey (Evening Echo
January 22nd 2004) "Her songs have a poignant
quality which makes one feel that one is
eaves-dropping on her most intimate thoughts" -
Don O' Mahony (Evening Echo January 2004) "Some of
the most haunting and delicate songs.." Mark
McClelland (Evening Echo August 19th 2003)

Music Festival for Engineers Without Borders

A FESTIVAL WHERE ART, SCIENCE AND SIMPLE TECHNOLOGY MEET

When

April 22,2007 8:00pm

Where

IN THE BALLROOM OF THE HISTORIC

How Much

$12, Ticket proceeds to be donated to EWB

Why

A music celebration and silent auction to raise money and awareness for ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS

Featuring Musical Performances By

JOINING US IN THIS CAUSE ARE A MIX OF SOME OF THE BEST SINGER-SONGWRITERS AND MUSICIANS IN THE WORLD
	THE LARRA SKYE QUINTET In December 2005, Larra released her debut album 'The World Disappears' at the famed Montreal Bistro in Toronto to a sold-out crowd. Since then, her original compositions have been receiving airplay from national campus stations, jazz stations and the CBC (including Jurgen Gothe's DiscDrive). In June, HMV took 'The World Disappears' nationwide and within a month, it was on their bestseller charts for jazz. The album is also being sold through Indigo and Chapters stores across the country. At 23, Larra has performed with some of the best in Toronto's jazz music scene. She continues to write music and is currently studying privately with Lisa Martinelli. Larra is currently on tour from the east coast to the west coast. Joining her this night will be Eric Boucher on piano, Rich Brown on bass, Rich Underhill on sax and Anthony Michelli on drums.
	EVALYN PARRY Greg Quill of The Toronto Star: "...Parry has surpassed expectations with this expansive two-CD set...inventive instrumentation and imaginative arrangements enhance the theatrical spark of Parry's verbal wit, as she builds a complex series of vignettes occupied not just by her own thoughts and preoccupations but also by lively characters, apparently the remnants of real-life encounters, acting out their own perplexing parts. Adventurous stuff." Says Robert Everett-Green of The Globe and Mail, in his "Essential Tracks" on Feb 27, about "War Dream" (first track on the record): "Toronto musician Parry glides between song and speech in this slippery,sinister number about a world turned inside out."
	KARYN ELLIS Her most recent CD, HEARTS FALL, is fast becoming a CBC and campus station favourite, appearing on CBC playlists like the Vinyl Cafe, Bandwidth, Freestyle and Radio Canada International and spending six months on regional campus top-30 charts across Canada as well as reaching number 49 on the national campus Top-50 chart (exlaim!) and number 19 on the national campus monthly folk/roots/blues charts (earshot-online.com). About the record, CBC's Amanda Putz from BANDWIDTH comments: "[Karyn's] voice is lovely, the arrangements are simple & clever, and there's an almost rustic quality to the record-likely from being recorded live off the floor-that makes it extra sweet."
	NOAH ZACHARIN Noah Zacharin was born, weaned, and raised in Montreal. Inspired to ask for a guitar by a camp counselor who played ukulele; grateful he didn't ask for one of those. Learned to play at the feet of his parents' hi-fi speakers, listening to, among others, Mississippi John Hurt, Dave Van Ronk, Reverend Gary Davis, David Bromberg, Bob Dylan, and Patrick Sky. Wrote his first song at 13 listening to his dad's AM/FM/SW radio (removed from the family Rambler for the occasion) for the most beautiful girl who walked the high school corridors and around whom he could never remember how to speak English. Performed regularly from a very young age both as a solo act (first gig, beer bash for college boys: they didn't care much for Joni Mitchell or ragtime, both of which were in his set) and as a guitarist for all brand and manner of singer. Caught the poetry bug in college, symptoms of which included hanging out with poets in bars in the east end of town, and publishing poems and translations all over the place. Currently augments his work on his own work (read: songs, records) producing recordings for other songwriters in Toronto where he now lives. Hosts a monthly show (weekly in the Summer) on CKLN radio, featuring recorded music and live performances by new talent as well as veteran performers. Loves music, bicycles, truth, animals, G-d.
	RUSSELL LEON Russell Leon is a unique songwriter and captivating performer who has been building an impressive reputation on the Toronto music scene. With an acoustic CD under his belt, Leon expanded on his folk roots and cranked up his electric guitar to form the Russell Leon Band in 2001. Propelled by the dynamic drumming of Larry Kline and a stellar cast of supporting musicians, the band began to create music as diverse as the city it calls home. Regular performances around Toronto found them playing to a growing number of enthusiastic fans in settings ranging from wild rock concerts to intimate acoustic shows. In 2005, the Russell Leon Band completed a full-length CD and welcomed Marcus Walker aboard on bass (photos to be updated soon). The band plays many of the city's top live music venues, including the Cameron House, the Rivoli, the Reverb, Rancho Relaxo, Clinton's, Holy Joe's, and Graffiti's. Recent RLB gigs of note include Canadian Music Week, North by Northeast, and opening slots for music legends Ike Turner and Leon Russell(!). All of the members of the Russell Leon Band are experienced players with a flair for shifting stylistic gears. These world travellers are all over the musical map, making it difficult to define their overall sound. But the music is grounded in Russell Leon's compelling lyrics and spirited vocal performances. His eclectic storytelling and social commentary go straight to the heart, while the band's irrepressible energy brings people to their feet. Raising consciousness and raising the roof, the Russell Leon Band demands to be heard. Now it's time for everyone to discover a true jewel of the independent music world.
	PETER J SLACK Peter is an independent Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, aspiring music producer, mechanical engineer, philosopher, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. Peter has a lifetime of musical training and involvement. In his teens, Peter studied jazz guitar at Eli Kasner's guitar academy for 5 years and is self taught on the piano. He began writing and recording music independently when he was 13 living in Toronto. Peter turned momentarily from the musical path in 1984 and spent the next decade obtaining an Engineering degree at the University of Western and practicing as an Engineer. In 1996 Peter began producing music and formed a music production and recording company, Digital Bird Studios. Peter produced several albums for young independent artists and continued to experiment with his own recording and writing styles in the digital realm. In 2004, Peter was inducted into the Toronto area collective of songwriters known as Songwriter's Unite!. Peter has spent several years writing songs and gaining inspirations through performances with and among other amazing artists in this collective. Peter has just released his first official CD: "The Cat Continuum", a folk-pop album. Peter publishes philosophy, words and music both on his podcast that has worldwide distribution ( http://peterjslack.blogspot.com ) and on his website ( http://www.pjslack.com ). Peter is also a member of SOCAN and an active member of the Headwaters Acoustic Music Society. Peter is an activist to heal the world with music.
	JEN GILLMOR Jen has been playing in Toronto-area bands of many stripes since 1988. Currently, her main project is a collaboration called Brazen Crush (basses, cello, vox). She also plays bass with Kelly and the Kellygirls, fretless bass and cello with Peter J Slack, and has recently begun playing cello with didgeridoo player William Pypher. Jen also plays cello and bass with Eric Nagler and Matt Segriff. Jen has toured nationally and internationally with numerous projects, recorded around a dozen albums, appeared in nationally broadcast music videos and on various local and national television shows. Jen has either recorded, performed and/or toured with: Roach Motel, Amer Diab, Evalyn Parry, The Wetspots, Tucker Finn, duo with Lyndell Montgomery, Dropdeadbeats, The Matriphiles, Random Order, Women Ah Run Tings, Tamara Williamson, The Kitchen Sink Project, Meryn Cadell, Snowdogs, The Nancy Sinatras.

Our Kind Sponsors

• The Historic Gladstone Hotel
• Now Magazine
• Penguin Eggs
• Songwiters Unite!
• Sound & Vision Design
• DigitalBird Studios
• Agricultural Mineral Prospectors