Porcupine
Awards - 1996
WINSTON 'SCOTTY' FITZGERALD AWARD FOR CELTIC
FIDDLING
Sandy MacIntyre, Toronto/Cape Breton
A tireless player, teacher and good will ambassador
of Cape Breton. Sandy carries on the tradition of Winston Fitzgerald
and Buddy MacMaster by performing and teaching youngsters the tunes
and step-dances of Cape Breton. He was once a member of the famed Cape
Breton Symphony.
WILF CARTER WESTERN CANADIAN AWARD
Roy Forbes,
Vancouver
For years of dedication and devotion to the roots
of country and blues. Roy has been writing songs and collecting them as
well, instilling in his listeners a truly Canadian blend of of his Western
heritage.
HARRY HIBBS AWARD FOR PERSEVERANCE
Penny Lang, Montreal
Penny had a great career going for her in New
York and Montreal. She gave it all up to get her head together and raise
her son, Jason. She fought off addiction and depression and re-emerged
with her wit, talent and intellect intact delighting audiences through-out
North America.
NATIVE MUSICIAN AWARD
Brian Black Thunder,Toronto
A Moose Cree who utilizes a great blend of Native
lore and contemporary stylings to highlight the plight of his people with
Rock, Country and Blues overtones.
MARIUS BARBEAU AWARD FOR FIELD RESEARCH
Father Germain Lemieux, Sudbury
Father Germain Lemieux has to be recognized as
one of the earliest collectors of folk songs in Northern Ontario.
Father Lemieux was born in Gaspé, Quebec
in 1914. He became a Jesuit and received ordination in 1947. The following
year he was found in Sudbury collecting the lore of the Franco-Ontarians.
Lemieux wasn't only after music, he also collected
stories and folk tales. Obviously inspired by Maruis Barbeau, the grandfather
of modern day folklore collecting in Canada, and founder of the Canadian
Folk Music Society, Father Lemieux stumbled upon a treasure trove of untapped
folklore in the Sudbury area.
Folklore is what is handed down through the generations,
a roadmap through time that can be used to understand the way we have evolved
to this day. The modern usage of the 'folk' word has rendered it into the
four letter category; much maligned, it is still the best way to conjure
up tradition. The folklore that Father Lemieux collected was mostly anonymous,
brought over from France and adapted to the Canadien experience. However
there were also folksongs of Canadien origin that survived from the days
of Les Voyageurs and les boucherons (woodsmen).
Voyageurs songs were used for paddling in the large
birch bark canoes. These canoes were large enough for up to 12 men and
their cargo. Then needed the rhythm in which to ply the waters with syncronicity.
Les boucherons lived the winters away in the shanty
camps, the spring saw the great river drives that took so many lives away.
Songs were made so that their stories would not be forgotten, passed down
through the generations.
Father Lemieux collected three such songs which
appeared in Edith Fowke's book Folklore of Canada. Mon
Canot (My Canoe) was collected from Wilfred Clement of Timmins
in 1967 when he was 66.
Seated in my bark canoe,
Seated in the coolness of the day;
Yes, I brave all the rapids,
I do not fear the white foam.
I take my canoe and I launch it
Across the rapids, the white foam,
And then by great leaps it advances.
I am not afraid even of the ocean.
My canoe is made of fine bark
That they strip from the white birches.
The sides are made of root
And the paddles of white wood.
And when we reach the portage
I take my canoe on my back;
And there I turn it over on the shore,
It is my home for the night.
I have traveled along the coasts,
Also the great St. Lawrence River.
I have known the Indian tribes
And their different languages.
A farmer loves his plough,
A hunter his dog and gun,
A musician loves his music.
As for me, my canoe is all my wealth.
PORCUPINE BOOK AWARD
Stompin' Tom Connors, Erin ON for Stompin'
Tom Before The Fame
Truly a moving book in his own words, we go through
the therapy with him and eventually discover the hard and winding road
of the Northern Bar Circuit, the early Toronto Country Music Scene, and
his determination to sing his songs the way he sees them.
OFF BEAT FOLK AWARD
Michel
Faubert for Careme et Mardis Gras
Mostly a traditional singer of Quebecois folk
songs, Faubert twists them, eeks out their intensity, and uses dark images
and meaningful arrangements to conquer spirit of the songs.
DAVID PARRY AWARD
Brian Taheny & Loretto Reid, Toronto
They came here from Sligo in 1988 and have since
performed in Tip Splinter and more recently on their own, their
own fusion of Irish traditional music with the natural feelings of their
adopted land. Great players, original and traditional music.
DON MESSER CANADIAN FIDDLE AWARD
Pierre
Schryer for New Canadian Waltz
Not since Graham Townsend have we seen such a
fiddler!
JACK HAYES AWARD FOR OLD TIME MUSIC
The Schryer Family,
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
They are about the biggest thing to come out of
The Soo since the Esposito Brothers. I can remember a billboard
along Highway 17: "Welcome to Sault Ste. Marie, home of the Esposito
Brothers - Tony & Phil."
However great the Espositos were, the Schryers
have dittoed their feats in the world of fiddle music. The four brothers
totally dominated the world of Canadian competitive fiddling for the past
10 years.
Julien Schryer was born in Blind River and
married Juliette Audet of Noranda. They moved to The Soo where they
sired five sons and a daughter. Patrick, the eldest, was a guitar
picker; he was followed by Raymond who was influenced by his uncle
Bud
Schryer, a fiddler, and followed in his footsteps. The triplets were
born in 1968: Louis, Dan and Pierre. They were only two when
Raymond started playing and it must have rubbed them the right way. They
too began fiddling as soon as they were old enough to hold a bow. Sister
Julie
Lefebvre plays piano and still accompanies her brothers.
The Schryers were all classically trained violinists
before switching to the more popular fiddle style so closely associated
with the Celtic strains that run through the Canadian consciousness. They
listened to Don Messer, Graham Townsend, Ward Allen, Ned Landry
and other great fiddlers; Jean Carignan of Montreal, Sean McGuire
of Ireland and Yvon Cueuillier of Quebec; Jerry
Holland from Cape Breton and Americans Mark O'Connor, Johnny
Gimble and Bobby Hicks.
Where it got them has become almost legendary.
Since the Schryers hit the scene they have dominated Canadian fiddling
like no other family before them. After entering their first competitions
at the Bon Soo Winter Carnival there was no holding them back. In
1982 the triplets recorded their first album on the Boot Records label
when they were just 14.
At Shelbourne Louis won the Canadian Open in 1986
and 1987, followed by Pierre in 1988 and 1989; Louis again in 1990 and
1991; Raymond in 1992 and Louis again in 1995.
The Grand Masters in Nepean (near Ottawa) is an
invitational event; 5 competitors are chosen from each province and invited
to compete for the gold. Pierre won it all in 1990 and Louis followed suite
the next three years (after three wins, a champ has to retire).
But the toughest test, according to Louis, was
his win in 1995 at Pembroke. The Ottawa Valley is a spawning ground for
great fiddlers and this is the win that he cherishes most.
AL CROMWELL CANADIAN FOLK/BLUES
The Whiteley
Brothers of Toronto for Sixteen Shades of Blue
This album contains 16 songs of original blues
by brothers who’ve paid their dues at the feet of the masters. The Whiteleys
blend years of experience with the ability to think together as only brothers
can do.
MAC BEATTIE AWARD
Glen Reid of Burk's Falls, ON for the CD
Heritage
River
Glen has reached into his heart and produced songs
that incorporate the love of the land and its people. He may credit others
for his inspiration but when it comes right down to it, Reid has defined
for himself and others, what it means to be of this land. This is his second
Porcupine Award.
FOLK MUSIC BUILDERS
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Tim Harrison, Toronto - Founder of Summerfolk
and Northwinds folk festivals, and currently the Artistic Director
of the Eaglewood festival.
-
Sue Goldberg, Toronto - one of the organizers
of The Woods Camp and the weekly Song Circles.
-
Colm O'brien, Toronto - Host of CKLNs 'The
Long Note' Celtic radio program for the past 10 years.
-
Ron Jones, Scarborough, ON - supporter of many
up and coming artists whose loyalty and optomism inspires them to greater
things.
-
Bernie Finkelstein, Toronto - Founder of indie
label True North in 1970, home to Bruce Cockburn, Murray McLauchlan
and many others.
ACOUSTIC WORKSHOP SONG OF THE YEAR
Rick Spires of Toronto for Comes A
Time
STAN ROGERS GOLDEN QUILL
AWARD FOR SONGWRITING
Rick
Fielding, Toronto
Rick has the uncanny ability to transform places
with his music, while painting the details with his lyrics. Comfortable
in almost any genre of North American folk, with his strong playing and
voice, he is able to create scenes that are accessable and memorable.
FORIEGN PORCUPINE AWARD
Stefan Hannigan, UK
Champion piper, Hannigan has been popping up on
all sorts of CDs by Canadian artists. Well known for his musical abilities
in the UK, he is starting to make his mark on North American soil.
MDME. LA BOLDUC AWARD FOR QUEBECOIS FOLKLORE
Les
Charbonniers De L'Enfer, Joliette, QC
Made up of some of the cream of Joliette traditional
singers, this group features Michel Faubert, Normand Miron, Jean-Claude
Mirandette, Andre Marchand and Michel Bordeleau. Together their acappella
arrangements frame each song in a spectacular way.
JEAN CARIGNAN AWARD
Gilles Losier, Montreal
A piano tuner who has toured the world playing
music with some of the greatest names in traditional French music. Started
performing at a young age, backed up Jean Carignan and Philippe
Bruneau on their albums, composed wonderful melodies utilizing his
wonderous mind. His music expands and contracts on chord patterns in ways
that keep a simple melody with rich textured phrasings.
THE LENNIE BREAU AWARD
JP Cormier,
Cape Breton
"If it's got strings on it, he can play it."
Thus
spake Fieldingthustra. JP is well known
for his ability to crank out fiddle tunes, but he is also an excellent
singer/songwriter, guitarist, mandolinist and who knows what else?
NOEL DINN HERITAGE PRESERVATION AWARD
Brian Adam, Pembroke, ON
Long a city councillor in Pembroke, his family
hails from the hamlet of Chapeau, Quebec on Allumette Island. Always hung
around the traditional singers learning the songs of the Upper Ottawa Valley.
Loy
Gavin proclaimed him to be an exceptional traditional singer, most
capable of his handling of the famous Chapeau Boys.
PRODUCER AWARD
John Switzer, Toronto for Three Sheets
To The Wind
Producer of many fine recordings, John was recently
rated the Number 1 producer in Toronto in a Now Magazine poll. He
began with the Jane
Siberry band and has since dedicated himself to the fine art of
production - of allowing artists the benefit of making the kinds of albums
they always dreamed of making. This one was is one of those exceptional
recordings.
CANADIAN HISTORY AWARD
Jim Stewart, St. John, NB for The
Marco Polo Suite
Jim has single handedly brought the plight of
this famous vessel to the fore, where it belongs, up there with the Bluenose
as one of Canada’s finest ships ever built. This album is dedicated to
the resurrection of a replica of the original tall ship.
CLASSIC CANADIAN ALBUM
Ward Allen's Country Hoedown, Vols 1 - 3
on Spartan Records
Three albums of tunes of one of Canada’s most
unique fiddlers. Recorded in the late 1950s, they are sadly not available
commercially any more.
ACOUSTIC WORKSHOP PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Brandon Scott of Toronto
GEM OF CANADA ALBUM
Jean Paul Loyer for OJNAB: The Messenger
When I was in Montreal I attended a music session
and over the course of the evening tunes from this album were being played
with so much gusto. When they performed at a house concert in Toronto in
the Fall of 1996 people went away humming the tunes. And during the course
of listening to this CD over the past 12 months, I too have been convinced
that this is an album that should be in every collection.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Memorial
-
Wilf Carter, Tuscon AR - moves over to the
Memorial catagory
-
Edith Fowke, Toronto - moves over to the Memorial
catagory
-
Father Germain Lemieux, Sudbury ON
-
Colleen Peterson, Peterborough ON
Member
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André Alain, Quebec - fiddler
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Eddie Duke, Kirkland Lake ON - jazz musician
-
Wolf Hess, Sudbury ON - CBC announcer responsible
for recording hundreds of musicians in Northern Ontario.
-
Estelle Klein, Bloomfield ON
-
Bernie Finkelstein,
Toronto ON
GOLDEN PORCUPINE AWARD
Estelle Klein, Toronto
Principal mover of the Mariposa Folk Festivals
from the mid-1960s till 1979. Founded the workshop ideal that became standard
fare af folk fests throughout North America. Still dedicated to the ideals
of folk and currently sits on the board of the Prince Edward County
Arts Council.
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