Aion Clarke gets ready to share his soulful voice at the Rose Theatre on March 3.

1. Who’s a regular on your I-Pod?
Regulars on my iPod include Kings Of Leon, Kanye West, Coldplay, Marvin Gaye and Rick Ross.. I know it’s a strange combination but I love all great music in any genre.

2. What’s in your fridge?
Leftovers from last night dinner so, rice and black-eyed peas, bbq ribs, and stew chicken. YEAH *smiley face*

3. What was the best day of your life?
This past weekend I sang the National Anthem at the NBA All Star Saturday Night at the Staple Centre in LA!! I’m a huge basketball lover so that was a big deal. I will say that I know better days are already on my schedule *wink*



Aaliyah

 4. Who was your celebrity crush when you were young?
I had so many, but for sure my number one was Aaliyah Dana Haughton God rest her soul. I can speak for a lot of guys my age and say one of my goals was to marry her when I got older. She will always be loved and missed.

5. What video do you find yourself watching over and over on YouTube?
I find this collage of interviews by Will Smith very real and inspiring. I watch this one a whole lot!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSK_Likqv24

An interview by Richard Ouzounian - printed in Odeum Magazine, March 2011

“It’s going to be the same, only different.”


Those are the words Gino Vannelli uses to describe his March 11 concert at The Rose Theatre and they should come as a relief to his long-time fans, but also as a welcome bit of excitement to concert-goers who might not yet have sampled the Vannelli magic, but are always eager to try something new.

The 58 year-old, Montreal-born artist has been a major player on the pop music scene for 38 years, but he’s not content to simply rest on his laurels and show up singing the tunes like “I Just Wanna Stop” and “Wheels of Life” that made him famous decades ago.

“Look, I’ll level with you,” Vannelli says on the phone from his studio in between recording sessions, “I know that recording artists have to live or die on the hits that put them where they are now. And over the years, when I’d get tired of singing certain songs, people would give me hell for it.

“So what was I going to do? I had to be true to myself, but I didn’t want to disappoint my fans.”

And Vannelli came up with a novel solution that seems designed to make everyone happy.

“I sat back and took stock of everything I’d done over the years and asked myself how I would sing these songs now if I were recording them for the first time.”

In some cases, that meant Vannelli was going way back into the 1970s and that created a whole new technological playing field for him.

“Every time I’d hear a recording of mine from the early days, I’d think ‘Damn, we could make it sound so much better if we recorded it today!’ and I don’t mean just cleaning up the tracks or sweetening the accompaniment.

“No, I’m talking about using the recording technology of 2011 from the very start. Making a whole new record, a whole new sound.”

And once Vannelli opened up that door, he found that he wanted to reinvestigate the very songs themselves.

“I sat down at the piano and man, I tore those songs apart. The melody, the chords, even some of the lyrics. I revaluated the textures of the numbers, looked at the particular mind-set that had created them, everything.”

The end result, The Best and Beyond, was released last October to positive response and Vannelli has been pleased the way it’s been working out on many levels.

“It’s really working for everybody,” he enthuses. “The people who hear the songs are glad to be hearing them again, but with something new added. My musicians are excited because they’re all part of a sound that they helped create. Let’s be honest; you can’t get a great band to just imitate the riffs of 35 years ago and I don’t want to tour with anything less than a great band.

“But most importantly, I’m feeling more fulfilled as well. When I was asked to write some new liner notes, I found myself opening up and tapping into feelings I had either never known or never acknowledged. I wound up writing a whole biographical riff called Stardust in the Sand that tells a lot about me.”

Vannelli tries to explain the whole process of change that occurred in his music by looking at one of his biggest hits, “The Wheels of Life”.

“You know, I first started writing that song when I was 18 years old. Man, I blush at that now. I didn’t know what life was back then, or what kind of wheels I was going to start turning around in. But I learned pretty soon.

“And when I recorded the version that everyone knows, I was 26.

When Vannelli sat down with the song a few years ago to re-examine it, “I tried it as a folk number, an R&B tune, everything. Then I just asked myself ‘What is this about, Gino?’ And I got the answer. It’s about the fleetingness of everything in life, the sensation of things running away.”

There seems to be a bit of sadness in Vannelli as he speaks, but he explains it.

“Yeah, I’m a romantic and there’s a pain to romanticism, but there’s a welcome pain because it stirs your soul.

“It helps you feel things and without feelings, believe me, life means nothing.”

Urban Jazz Songstress Kellylee Evans

1. Who’s a regular on your I-Pod?
An artist out of France named Ben L'oncle Soul. His voice is a cross between John Legend and Cee-Lo over class Motown sounds. All sung in French. When I first started listening to him, I had no idea what he was saying. But I kept working on it and listening and translating his lyrics. He's amazing. And the live show is wonderful. One of the best I have seen ever.

2. What’s in your fridge?
Berries. My kids are berry fiends. I could spend hours making an intricate meal, and my youngest two will still take one look at the meal and ask for berries. We buy the big containers from Costco and they can finish those in one sitting. We should just start growing our own berries at home, hydroponically, but I'm afraid the high hydro bill would have the police convinced we were growing something else.

Kellylee Evans Online:
www.KellyleeEvans.com
www.myspace.com/KellyleeEvans
www.Twitter.com/KellyleeEvans

Marisa McIntyre of
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

1. Who's a regular on your I-Pod?

Sweeney MacArthur of
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

1. What YouTube Video could you watch again and again?
I am addicted to watching the many videos of "Big Cat Rescue". They're an organization that rescue cats from the circus and small badly operated zoo's etc. Here is one of my favourites showing how they celebrate Halloween:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcT4paZfflg




2. Did you have a celebrity crush when you were young?
Growing up we only had 3 TV stations. The BBC would go off at around 11pm and then they would put up a test pattern. I've included the picture(right) of the girl. Well, from the age of 2 I think I wanted to marry her...or the clown....well now I'm just confused!

3. What happened on the best day of your life?
Well at the risk of making people throw up I'd have to say my wedding day, but I believe that will change in April with the birth of my first child. I know, sickeningly sweet...I'm getting a cavity just
writing this!

Denise Fennell of
Late Nite Catechism

Steve Solski

Toronto is famed for its cosmopolitanism, its passion for the arts, and its mosaic approach to embracing literally hundreds of diverse ethnicities; making it an obvious and exciting host to act as a bridge between Indian and world cultures. Recognizing, however, the strength of the South Asian population to the north-west of their city, Toronto has honored the Rose Theatre and the City of Brampton (along with Mississauga and Markham) with an invite to co-host the pre-awards festivities and world-wide telecast of events.

The Rose and the City are largely active in the IIFA Buzz Fest; hosting events from June 13-21 leading up to the three-day awards extravaganza in downtown Toronto. Our aim is to create a vibrant, inspiring, and anticipation building celebration of South Asian music, cinema, food and culture.

The IIFA Awards are not only a chance for the GTA to celebrate and explore the aesthetics and values of a public geographically distant to our own. They are also a reflection and confirmation of our city’s, our province’s, and our country’s growing ties with the incredible Republic of India. Geographically we are far; in company we are ever closer. Having already garnered the attention, support and enthusiasm of the Premier of Ontario as well as the municipal, cultural, and economic powerhouses of the GTA, I can already assure you this event will be of great significance to our local and global identity.

I couldn’t be more excited to welcome the celebrated industry of Indian cinema to Toronto and onwards to Brampton. I hope you will join me in representing our city as a destination worthy of their motto: “One People. One World.”

Steve Solski is the Manager of Arts Culture & Theatres for the City of Brampton