Don't Wait For the Gatekeepers To Say You Are Worthy

 Success is not a straight line. It is forward and backward and up and down and side to side....and when you're a creative person, the line blurs as to what success means. It's not solely monetary gain...for many artists I would say that is not number one on their list. But we live in a world that pushes us toward this capitalist/consumerist way of thinking/behaving.

Success in art for me, means being as true to yourself and your vision as possible. If you're going to be a full-time musician, most will need to take jobs that don't speak to them artistically...for those on the lower income end of things, there are the monetary considerations of buying groceries and paying rent. For those on the higher end of the income(and fame)scale, there are teams of people pushing and pulling you in different directions, and fans expecting you to perform certain songs in a certain way.

There's a sweet spot in there somewhere. I haven't completely found it myself, but I feel a bit closer to it with every passing year.

My greatest strength as an artist has been my ability to persevere. It's an important attribute to have in the music business. Rejection after rejection after rejection after rejection....there was a time when these rejections would really bother me...

But here I stand! A full-time working musician, performing material that I have written myself (for the most part), halfway through my 33rd year in the "business". I put "business" in quotes because, outside of the odd festival booking or opening slot with a name act, I've largely been shut out of THAT world.

I'll tell you what though, it makes what I've accomplished all the sweeter:

• The longevity of my career. The fact that I have built a loyal fan base who attend my solo shows and Dead Root Revival concerts.

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• The respect that I've garnered from my peers. The friendships I've made with some truly wonderful people.

• A body of creative works I can look back on and feel proud of (meaning, most of the time when I listen to old records I don't cringe and shout, "What was i thinking?!"...MOST of the time.😅)

And for all of this, I just had to work my ass off! And continue to do so…

BTW I'm writing this for those young musicians starting out, or musicians who have been at it for awhile and are feeling disillusioned....

Sometimes the powers that be in the music industry will shut you out and try to shut you down. But these rejections are only worth the weight you give them.

This year, for example, Dead Root Revival applied to pretty much every festival in Ontario, and we didn't get accepted to any. We may have gotten five "sorry not this year" replies.

One of the most common questions I get at our shows: "Are you playing any festivals?". My reply: "We're trying!! Tell your festival AD about us."

I know our band is good. The best I have ever had the pleasure of performing with in my 30+ years as a professional musician. Oftentimes that doesn't matter. Festivals have their agendas, booking agents have their agendas... block-booking of acts at multiple fests for logistical reasons, or a who-you-know clique mentality. Not to mention the hundreds and hundreds of submissions that programmers can't realistically go through in a way that gives everyone a fair hearing.

My point: Yes, apply for everything, but if nothing turns out, don't let it get you down. Keep going!

*same goes for clubs btw*

Don't Be Afraid To Take A New Approach

If the gatekeepers of the music industry aren't picking up what you're putting down, you can do one of two things:

1) Get yourself a decent stockpile of drugs and booze and quietly crawl into your pit of despair and self pity

or...

2) You can keep going! Keep trying new things. Keep failing!! Because if you keep trying, failing, learning, and growing, then that in itself is a success.

With DRR, we have taken the approach of promoting our own shows: renting the hall, providing the sound, printing the posters and tickets, taking care of the social media marketing, and more often than not working the door and merch table at the show. This has proven to be extremely effective, not just because we have a killer show that people want to experience, but because of (I believe of equal importance is) our connection to our fans. Ours is a grassroots approach that focuses on building community through music, and I have come to realize that this is my comfort zone for everything I do in regards to my music career. I would rather be working the door or chatting with fans at the merch table, instead of sitting twiddling my thumbs in the green room, or schmoozing with music industry types.

A New Festival Is Born

The logical next step for us was to create our own music festival. Dead Root Revival's Summertime Shindig had its first run at Two Blokes Cider in Seagrave, Ontario in 2024 with a very stripped down lineup of 3 acts. In 2025 we are kicking it up a notch, doubling our number acts, and featuring The Weber Brothers, Brock Zeman, Emily Burgess, Brodie Bell, Georgia Rose, and of course a closing set from DRR.

Will it succeed?

Hopefully.

Will it fail?

Possibly

Will we learn?

Undoubtedly

Will we keep going? 

Definitely!!

Goodbye Sheila Rock: Northern Ontario Indie Rock Stalwart

I was saddened to hear recently of the loss of my friend Sheila Stathopoulis, who had been living with cancer for many years. She passed on March 23rd, 2025.

Sheila was the owner/operator of The Apollo in Thunder Bay, Ontario for many years. The Apollo was a Northern Ontario indie rock outpost, where travelling Canadian bands would rest their weary heads for a night, play a set, drink some beer, and often enjoy a home-cooked meal prepared by Sheila and her mother Tina(who shuffled around the bar, visiting with the musicians, conversing in her thick greek accent, browsing and buying merch, and making sure everyone had been fed).

I must have played there 30 times over the years( I toured Canada a lot), to the point I was mistaken for a Thunder Bay local on a couple of occasions. The Apollo was indeed a home away from home for me, and I was always happy to find myself there. It was a weird and wonderful place and Sheila was a weird and wonderful owner.

Tina(left), a young, clean-shaven me, and Sheila(right)in The Apollo kitchen cooking up some grub...2007(?)

No other place that I have played across Canada exemplified the struggle to keep the music alive in this country like The Apollo did. It was a lifeline for many an indie musician, whether it be singer-songwriter, punk rock, blues, indie rock, etc. The fact being, Thunder Bay is a long way from anywhere...8 hours from Winnipeg...11 hours from Sudbury...15 hours from Toronto!! That is touring in Canada baby! It is daunting. It is stark. It is a threadbare two lane highway with no alternate routes...

It is beautiful.

For those of us who get in the van and lay it all on the line, we know what having places like The Apollo means for music in Canada, even as we watch them disappear one by one(The Apollo closed a few years ago btw)to be replaced by coffeeshops or condos. The geography of the Apollo's location profoundly accentuated how integral the venue was for artists making their way across the vastness of Ontario.

But what was unique about The Apollo was that it didn't pretend everything was okay. It was gritty and it was real. It didn't try to cater to people or create a social media buzz. It had so much character, with Sheila, Tina and sound tech/bar tender Alex always there steering the ship in their own ragtag style.

Sheila wasn't shy about speaking about her struggles, about the venue's battles with the city just to keep the lights on. I took comfort in her honesty, because I too was struggling...in a way I had gotten used to it to the point of satirical enjoyment...but struggling just the same. The venue mirrored the experience of many of the artists stopping into play a show there.

And Sheila unapologetically carried the torch for those underdog indie musicians. She herself was an underdog, and it is in this that I believe we recognized ourselves in each other.

I'll miss her. The Canadian music scene will miss her. She affected so many lives, she supported so many touring musicians, she gave everything she could give to the arts in this country.

That's one helluva legacy if you ask me.

I wrote a song years ago that referenced The Apollo, entitled, "Northern Ontario Highway". It was always fun to play it at the bar, and have people hoot and holler when they heard "Thunder Bay" or "The Apollo" in the lyrics. Have a listen. I'll think of Sheila and my friends at The Apollo every time I play it.

Goodbye Sheila Rock!