Since the CBC lockout in August, Andy Barrie and his morning show moved over to CIUT, 89.5 fm, to continue providing their loyal listeners with the most popular morning show in Toronto. Jim Curran, the regular traffic reporter, was also part of the show -- dubbed "Toronto Unlocked".ChoirGirlz Sing to Jim Curran on CIUT
September 15/ 05
Left to right: Dorothy McDonall, Debbie Fleming, Jim Curran and Mary Ellen MooreOver a year ago, when The New Foundation set up a competition for songwriter-members to write about the topic of the CBC, ChoirGirlz collaborated, and wrote a song about Jim Curran, entitled "Good Old Jim The Traffic Guy". The Girlz have performed the song at every show since they wrote it, and their audiences have urged them to get a copy to Jim Curran. The opportunity presented itself when the producers of the new CIUT morning show "Toronto Unlocked" put out a public plea for entertainment for the show. ChoirGirlz jumped at the chance, and were lucky to be accepted to fulfill their dream of performing the "Ode to Jim" live, on-air, to the man himself!
They augmented the words just slightly, to fit into the new format (CIUT -- not CBC) and went over the song in the parking lot just as the sun was rising in the east around 6:30a.m.
The Girlz were called into the tiny studio, and after a few words of introduction from Andy
Barrie, the ChoirGirlz sang their song. Jim Curran was sitting right under their noses,
basking in the glory of it all. All the staff, who had been previously buzzing
around that dusty funky third floor studio stopped!!! They STOPPED, and hung
in the doorways and peered through the glass, smiling, clapping and laughing.ChoirGirlz have received numerous emails from people who heard the song, and
apparently CIUT was inundated with requests to hear the song again. So they have mounted an MP3 of us singing that song "Good Old Jim The Traffic Guy" live on air, and scroll down to Thursday Sept. 15th.
http://cbcunplugged.blogware.com/blog/Podcasts/TorontoUnlocked
Check out the article on Toronto Unlocked in the September 17th Toronto Globe about the Toronto Unlocked Show where ChoirGirlz get a short mention!
September 21, Busking at Massey Hall for CBCChoirGirlz set up their guitar case on the sidewalk and sang to the hundreds of people who were lined up to attend the evening in support of public broadcasting, called "End the CBC Lockout". Joined by saxophonist Richard Underhill of the Shuffle Demons, the Girlz sang songs from their repertoire -- but the most popular and most requested tune was "Good Old Jim The Traffic Guy" which most of the people in the lineup had heard the ChoirGirlz sing on CIUT. Sheila Rogers, who had heard about the song by the CBC grapevine, asked the Girlz to sing it for her before she entered Massey Hall. She smiled her radiant smile, and really seemed to enjoy it. Of course, Jim Curran walked by as the Girlz were singing and waved a hello. The concert inside was a wonderful outpouring of devotion to the CBC -- both from the performers and the audience. We NEED our CBC back!!! We are so lucky as Canadians to have this network uniting our huge country, and bringing us closer together as a nation. CBC also allows performers such as ChoirGirlz to have exposure on air that they wouldn't receive on commercial radio.
September 23, Free Times Cafe
Free Times Cafe in Toronto has become the second home to ChoirGirlz. Judy Perly, the owner, has issued an open invitation for the Girlz to reappear any time they want. The food is exquisite!!! The front patio is a lovely breezy vista overlooking the hustle and bustle of College St. with the traffic, streetcars, pedestrians and bikers frequenting this fantastic area of town, on the fringe of Kensington Market. At this show, the Girlz debuted a couple of new songs for their audience, which consisted of a few new fans who heard them sing on CIUT! The night was full of hilarity, laughs, tears -- great music and a marvellous audience.
Other Newz
The last year has been busy for ChoirGirlz. They have been in Ottawa at Rasputin's Cafe three times, and have had capacity crowds when they go there. They were commissioned to write a song for Peace Prayer Day, so they put their heads together and they co-wrote a lovely tune called "Peace on Earth", which was debuted in Ottawa in October 2004.
During the year, they have been in great demand doing house parties and private corporate gigs. The Girlz really enjoy doing their show for private house parties, and they have a lovely repertoire of songs and carols for the Christmas season.
They brought the house down at the Hollywood on the Queensway in Toronto in May at the Iridescent Music Night, when they sang Chain of Fools and Drift Away with the funky house band led by Pat Carey and Michael Fonfara.
They opened the Fresh Wednesdays farmer's market series at Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square in front of City Hall, their two hour show accompanied by Randy Kempf (Quartette) on upright bass. It was the hottest day of the year, and their show began at high noon. Needless to say, the rows of hot metal chairs in front of the stage were unoccupied, while their audience hugged the sides of the building in the shade, while enjoying the cool music the Girlz and Randy made.
They performed at the new Red Guitar Art House and Jazz Bar in August, launching the "Anything But Jazz" Tuesday night series. This is a lovely intimate jazz room, just behind Honest Ed's on Markham St. in Toronto. Great food! Wonderful sound system and ambiance. Worth a visit to hear good jazz any night of the week!
The ChoirGirlz are working on material for their next CD, and are still working on the financial logistics of the project. They are hoping to collaborate with members of the Bebop Cowboys on this recording, which will be very exciting!
