Let's Keep the Music Alive!

One week left in the "Driftwood - Remembering Sandy Stubbert" GoFundMe campaign. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. It feels good to be sending Sandy's music out across the country. She put her heart and soul into this record and would have loved that it is being heard.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/sandystubbert

We are wrapping up the campaign on June 15th, so get your donation in if you haven't already. Raising funds for AMHS-KFLA (Addiction and Mental Health Services, Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington) and MIKES (Music Industry Kingston Emergency Support).

DRR Live Stream from The Toucan

Dead Root Revival has been on a forced hiatus due to COVID-19, so we were most thankful for the opportunity to perform at our hometown pub again, even if there was no audience. The rock show is definitely another energy level!

Here is the full concert for your viewing and listening pleasure!

As the country continues to reopen, many in the arts community will be left behind, with no live shows aside from some possible summertime outdoor activities. Art is a vital part of our society, and I encourage everyone to do what they can to support the many artists who are in need at this time. This can be done by purchasing merchandise or sending virtual tips for livestreams, but also I encourage you to lobby local, provincial, and federal governments to continue (or give funding to new)programs that support artists during these drastic times.

Let's keep the music alive!
Tom

Driftwood - Remembering Sandy Stubbert

I had the great honour and privilege to work as producer on what would be Sandy Stubbert's final work. It has taken some time since Sandy's passing to complete the project, but it is now finally here. Sandy poured her heart and soul into this album, and this music deserves to be heard!

We had planned to have an album release/memorial concert at The Mansion in Kingston for April 10th, but due to COVID-19, that proved impossible. The plan was to raise money from the album release for community mental health and musician support organizations. Seeing as the need for financial support is greater than ever, we've decided to go ahead with the GoFundMe release.


https://www.gofundme.com/f/sandystubbert

Contributors to the campaign who give $20 or more will receive a CD or digital copy of Sandy's album.

Please honour Sandy's memory by contributing to the GoFundMe.

Proceeds from the sales of this album will be donated to two different organizations, AMHS-KFLA (Addiction and Mental Health Services, Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington) and MIKES (Music Industry Kingston Emergency Support).

We miss you Sandy. May your music live on.








Driftwood marks the fourth and final album from Sandy Stubbert.

Sandy was a gifted musician and songwriter who readily left a lasting imprint on those she met.

Her friend John MacDonald aptly describes Sandy's personality, "I worked with Sandy at Pakwash Junior Camp and reconnected with her on Facebook a couple of years ago. Then, as now, I was appreciative of her extraordinary passion for life which came through not only in her music, but in her genuine caring of those with whom she came in touch with. Her lasting friendship with her junior ranger sisters is a testament to the love she had for life."

As many know, Sandy struggled from bipolar depression for many years. The "black dogs" as she called them, continually nipping at her heels. Although her mental illness had a profound effect on every area of her life, it did not define who she was; she soldiered on despite it.
Most storms Sandy endured valiantly, however, the last storm overcame her. This album represents her new sunrise. A lasting legacy to her brilliant life.


"I'll be thrown by these storms into a new sunrise" - Driftwood

Proceeds from the sales of this album will be donated to two different organizations, AMHS-KFLA (Addiction and Mental Health Services, Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington) and MIKES (Music Industry Kingston Emergency Support).


What is MIKES?

MIKES is an organization made up of Kingston and area
community members passionate about creating a support
system for music industry workers in the region.

We are primarily for, but not limited to, providing support
(financial and other) in emergency scenarios where the
worker needs to sub out of a gig or cancel a performance
due to personal illness or injury, illness or injury of a
loved one, death in the family, etc.

MIKES also aims to create a community and list of individuals and businesses who provide
services pro bono or at a discounted rate to assist music industry workers in a number of
challenges or emergency situations (i.e.: instrument repair and lending, vehicle repair,
meals, physiotherapy, dental work, etc.).


About AMHS-KFLA

Addiction and Mental Health Services – Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington (AMHS-KFLA) is a non-profit organization that delivers community-based mental health, addiction and housing services to more than 7,000 individuals in the City of Kingston and the counties of Frontenac and Lennox and Addington.

Services offered include a 24/7 Crisis Line, Addiction Services including specialized supports for people pregnant or parenting young children, Problem Gambling services, 24/7 Housing programs, support groups and more. Services are free, confidential and non-judgmental. Learn more about AMHS-KFLA programs and services at www.amhs-kfla.ca





TRACK LISTING
Driftwood (04:20)
Circle of Friends (03:21)
In My Secret Life(04:37)
Cotton Candy Sunrise (05:53)
Fascist Architecture (03:35)
All I Want (04:27)
Red Sky (04:47)
Three Hours Difference (06:03)
Obsession (04:51)
Promises (04:51)
With Me (04:19)


MUSICIANS

Sandy Stubbert - guitar, vocals, banjo, dulcimer
Seamus Cowan - upright bass on 1,3,4,8,10,11
Bonz Bowering - drums on 1,3,4,8,10
Tony Silvestri - organ, piano, rhodes
Dan Chalmers - congas on 13
Tracie Morgan - backing vocals
Kathryn Vilela - backing vocals
Sandra Bouza - backing vocals on 7
Tom Savage - electric guitar on 1,3,4,8,10,11
Michelle Monette - electric guitar on 5,7,9
Saskia Tomkins - violin, viola, cello, neckelharpe
Rodney St. Amand - backing vocals on 2, bass on 2,6
Jim Tomlinson - backing vocals on 2, lead vocal and acoustic guitar on 6
Frank Baraczka - drums on 5,7,9
Attila Baraczka - bass on 5,7,9
Gary Barratt - Percussion on 2,6


Recorded at North of Princess Studio in Kingston, ON
Recording & Mixed by Zane Whitfield
Assistant Engineer - Dylan Lodge
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova
Art direction, design, and layout by A Man Called Wrycraft
Produced By Tom Savage

Show your community radio station some love!

In a world in which radio is dominated by music content that is determined by a handful of people at corporate headquarters in Toronto or L.A. , it is refreshing that we still have community radio  to turn to when we want to hear something different. Something new! 

As much as I love CBC, I have to confess that Radio 2 can leave me flat, after having heard the same song at same time every day for a month. Contrary to what their advertising suggests, there is definitely playlisting  going on, and the general feeling of having a tune shoved down your throat. "You will like this! This IS REALLY GOOD!" Well, maybe it was good before you played it 50 zillion times...

Community radio cuts away the music business BS, and focuses on the music and its merits. This gives my cynical little mind hope for the future of art. 

And of course there is the community aspect. Supporting local musicians and promoting local community events is what they are all about.

This is why on Friday I will be lending my talent to help kick off CFRC Kingston's funding drive at Musiikki Cafe on Brock St. It's going to be a great night of entertainment and a fun party! Also on the bill will be Megan Hamilton ( who sang on my new record, and will sing a couple of songs with me on this night) and The Nate Crockett Band.

Lay down your 10 bucks and support your local community radio station Kingston!

8:00 PM start

Brock Zeman at The Toucan this Saturday

Saturday night I'll be playing an opening set down at The Toucan,  for my friend Brock Zeman and his band. Brock is one helluva wordsmith and he plays the bass parts with his feet! It's gonna be a killer show. Check out this video for his tune, Day Before Tomorrow.

10:00 PM start

A couple of weeks left!

The crowdfunding campaign for my new solo CD wraps up on July 21st. If you dig what I'm doin', if you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down, then get on board this train by pre-purchasing your copy of the new record. Lots of great new music for you plus the added benefit of supporting my art.

Thanks to all the friends and fans who've already jumped on board! Just need a few more. The project is currently 88% funded.

https://www.sellaband.com/en/projects/tom-savage

Pre-purchase your copy of the new album by JULY 21st

For those of you who have not yet pre-purchased your copy of my new solo album, you now have a deadline to do so. July 21st. This isn't an arbitrary date by any means. We have already started recording and July 21st is when we need the cash to pay for things like pressing CDs, artwork, etc.

When you pre-purchase your copy of the new solo album, you will also receive the new Foley Mountain Playboys digital album. Two very different albums, but both great collections of songs (if I do say so myself).

I want to thank everyone who has gotten on board so far. I literally couldn't make this record without you. This is a 100% independent operation here, so it feels great to have your support, and it motivates me to carry on with creating art. Thank YOU!

Support status for the new album is currently at 82%. Sellaband funds are in Euros. So 2470 Euros is equal to 3754 Canadian dollars. That means we need about $805 to wrap this campaign up. Let's get this done!

Crowdfunding Update

We were so close! We actually had all of the funding in place, but due to an internet glitch, the last transaction didn't go through. That means my profile was deactivated, and I have to start over again. Extremely frustrating!

On the positive side, you guys really came through for me, and I am extremely grateful and overwhelmed by the support you have shown for me and my music.

If you've purchased a part, go to the new profile I've just set up, and re-purchase those parts. You will not have to pay any money. It just assigns those parts to my profile. Let's get this thing done, so we can get on with the business of recording a bunch of really cool songs!

Contribute now to Tom Savage's Sellaband Campaign

2014 : The Year Of Creative Possibility

Incredibly excited about this next calendar year, for it will be filled with a multitude of creative projects for me. Since the creative surge that produced a string of albums, Never Shed No Tears (2006), TST's The County Line ( 2008), and Live @ The Acoustic Grill (2009), I have definitely dropped off in my frequency of releasing albums, with the Internet-only EP Living Room Session (2011), and the limited edition release of TST's Overdrive Express (2012). The latter two albums were very much less involved projects. They were experiments, in a way, of alternative methods of recording and releasing albums.

I think 2014 is the time to get back on that horse. I'm looking at the possibility of releasing three different albums with three different groups. In fact, the process has already begun, with our recording of the Foley Mountain Playboys last month. A great session that sounds really promising.  Also, we've had tracks for the Aldous Huxters record down for over a year. Will 2014 be the year when this project sees the light of day? I certainly hope so. A great collection of songs there that deserve to be heard. 

Last but not least, 2014 will also the release of my first (studio) solo record since 2006's Never Shed No Tears.

More on this project in the weeks to come.

Add my live show schedule to all of these projects, and one might think I've got too much on my plate, but I say, "Bring it on!!".

Currently fundraising for my solo album on Sellaband. From now until the end of December, I will personally match any contribution towards this project. i want to wrap this up so I can concentrate on the music.

'Train Keeps A Rollin' voted the Talentcast Song Of The Week

Thanks to everyone who took a moment to vote for me on Talentcast last week. It turns out that "Train Keeps A Rollin" was voted song of the week. Pretty Cool!

Here is what that means :

* Ede FM will play the Song of the Week at least 40 times. 
* All winners will be featured in the SellaBand news. 
* Winners from SellaBand will be in the Hot Music section on the main page of SellaBand.
* TalentCast plays the Song of the Week again in the next edition.

Not bad. Let's hope it kicks up the fundraising support a notch or two for my new album. By the way, if you buy three parts of the new project on Sellaband, you not only get the new (yet-to-be recorded) CD, but you also get an Exclusive EP (for those who invest only), and a copy of "Overdrive Express", the album that contains " Train Keeps A Rollin". Deals!