AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS

1. New Jeff Healey Blues Band album out in April
2. Juno Awards Nominations, and many more, for Stony Plain artists
3. Corb Lund; The Endless Tour Starts Up Again
4. What They're Saying About Stony Plain's New Releases
5. New Blind Pig Releases in Canada
6. Current Releases from Stony Plain Records
7. Getting in touch with Stony Plain

JEFF HEALEY RELEASES FIRST BLUES/ROCK ALBUM IN EIGHT YEARS

Jeff Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, is releasing his first blues/rock album in eight years — a bustling, bright collection of tunes he's titled "Mess of Blues." The CD is being released in Canada by Stony Plain Records and internationally by the German blues label Ruf Records. "Mess of Blues" will be available in Europe March 20, and in the United States and Canada April 22.

The album was recorded late last year, with the musicians who regularly accompany the guitarist at Jeff Healey's Roadhouse in Toronto. Two tracks, in fact, were recorded at the club, and two more cut at a concert in London, England.

The guitarist calls his group "the best damned bar band in Canada," and it consists of Dave Murphy on keys (he also sings on two cuts), bassist Alec Fraser (who co-produced the record with Healey), Dan Noordermeer on guitar, and Al Webster on drums.

"Making this record is a chance to introduce the band to wider international audiences, and give some great songs a new and fresh lease on life," says Healey.

Choosing the songs for the new CD was easy, he says. "For the most part they're tunes that get the best response when we play them live, either on tour or at home in the club." Classics like "The Weight," "Jambalaya," "How Blue Can You Get," and "Shake Rattle and Roll" are all marked by Healey's innovative and sparkling guitar work.

Adds Healey: "I'm really grateful to Stony Plain and Ruf Records for giving me the opportunity to show people that my respect for the blues remains as strong as ever, as does the commitment we all have to the people who come out to hear us when we play."

Healey, now 42, first came to international acclaim in 1988 with his multi-million selling "See the Light" album on Arista Records. It was followed by two more releases, 1990's "Hell to Pay", and "Feel This" released in 1992. Since then there have been two minor releases, the last in 2000, as well as a live CD and video recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and two "best-of" compilations of the Arista material. In 2002 he released the first of three albums of classic jazz with the Jeff Healey Jazz Wizards, the classic jazz group with which he plays trumpet as well as guitar. The most recent Healey jazz record — a 2006 collaboration with British trombonist Chris Barber — was released internationally on Stony Plain, which has also reissued the first two jazz CDs. The Jazz Wizards are currently completing another jazz CD for the label, set for release later this year.

Blind since early childhood, he picked up his first guitar when he was three, and began to play it flat across his lap, "accidentally" devising the revolutionary technique that became his signature style. He played his first gigs when he was six, and by his teens had played a variety of music in a number of different bands.

By the mid-'90s, Healey had played with dozens of musicians, including B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and recorded with George Harrison, Mark Knopfler and the late blues legend, Jimmy Rogers. A family man with a three-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter, he prefers to stay close to home. "I've traveled widely before — been there and done that," he says, determined to avoid the lengthy, exhausting tours that marked his life in his twenties and early thirties.

Despite this, and an ongoing battle with cancer, he still undertakes two or three European tours a year with the blues band, and earns ear-splitting applause — and enthusiastic critical response — whenever he plays.

JUNO NOMINATIONS FOR STONY PLAIN ARTISTS

Corb Lund's "Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!" has been nominated for a Juno Award in the Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (solo) category. The other nominees are David Francey, Jill Barber, Justin Rutledge and Oh Susanna.

"In Good We Trust," the Stony Plain Records debut from Harry Manx and Kevin Breit, has been nominated in the Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (Group) category. Other nominees are James Keeaghan & Oscar Lopez, John Reischman & The Jaybirds, Nathan and The Sadies. The engineer on that session, John "Beetle" Bailey was nominated as Recording Engineer of the Year for his work on Harry and Kevin's album, and on a track from Sophie Milman’s album "Make Someone Happy."

Congratulations all around! The Junos will be presented at ceremonies in Calgary on April 5 and 6.

STONY PLAIN ARTISTS SCORE AT MAPLE BLUES AWARDS

Congratulations to Big Dave McLean! Winnipeg’s best-known blues artist, was presented with the Blues with a Feeling Award at the Maple Blues Awards. The award, acknowledging a lifetime of achievement, was presented by Colin James, who produced Dave’s debut Stony Plain Records CD, "For the Blues…Always" (SPCD1249).

Dave is working on the final details of a follow up to his second Stony Plain CD, "Blues from the Middle" (SPCD1290). A release is planned for late 2008.

Cheers, too, for Harry Manx and Kevin Breit, who won the Maple Blues Award for Acoustic Act of the Year, while Harry earned the Songwriter of the Year Award.

DAVID WILCOX, CORB LUND NOMINATED FOR CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS

Corb Lund has been nominated in the Folk/Roots Group of the Year category at the Independent Music Awards, a highlight of Canadian Music Week being held in Toronto March 5-8.

David Wilcox is nominated in the Favorite Blues Group or Duo category, thanks to his incendiary live appearances and his recent Stony Plain release "Boy in the Boat" (SPCD1325).

Corb Lund — well on the way to Gold status with his third Stony Plain release, "Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!" - starts a 19-date tour in Canada, this Tuesday February 19, in Victoria, BC. When the tour ends four weeks later in St. Catherine’s Ontario, he and his band have four days to get to Australia and undertake an eight-date tour down under.

We’re convinced he’s running for the now-vacated title of Hardest Working Man in Show Business!

• Feb. 19 MacPherson Playhouse, Victoria, BC
• Feb. 20 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
• Feb. 21 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver. BC (sold out)
• Feb. 22 Community Theatre, Kelowna, BC (sold out)
• Feb. 26 Whiskey, Calgary, AB (sold out)
• Feb. 27 Enmax Centrium Arena, Red Deer, AB
• Feb. 28 Enmax Centre, Lethbridge, AB
• Feb. 29 The Arena, Medicine Hat, AB
• Mar. 1 Odeon, Saskatoon, SK
• Mar. 2 Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB
• Mar. 5 Cowboy’s. London, ON
• Mar. 6 Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON
• Mar. 7 Capital Music Hall, Ottawa, ON
• Mar. 8 Saints Showbar, Montreal, QC
• Mar. 9 Empire Theatre, Belleville, ON
• Mar. 11 Peter Clark Hall, Guelph, ON
• Mar. 12 Rose Theatre, Bampton, ON
• Mar. 13 Gryphon Theatre, Barrie, ON
• Mar. 15 Brock Centre, St. Catharines, ON

Australian Tour

• Mar. 19 Empire Theatre, Toomwoomba, QLD
• Mar. 20 Seagulls Club, Tweed Heads, NSW
• Mar. 21 East Coast Roots & Blues Fest, Byron Bay, NSW
• Mar. 22 Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton, QLD
• Mar. 23 The Rose, Torquay, VIC
• Mar. 25 Hallam Hotel, Melbourne, VIC
• Mar. 26 Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba, NSW
• Mar. 28 Sandringham Hotel, Sydney, NSW

Back in Canada

• April 1 Crystal Centre, Grande Prairie, AB
• April 2 Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, AB
• April 4 Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB

Corb's next single is "Family Reunion". The Video will be seen shortly on CMT and the single will go to radio on Friday February 22nd!

CORB LUND - Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! - SPCD1327 "Corb Lund didn't set out to make a concept album, but his new album "Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!" has a lot about horses and the soldiers who have mounted them over the centuries. He brings honour and respect to centuries of horse soldiers, from hussars and Huns to Englishmen and Mounties. The title cut follows the fate of horse soldiers over the centuries, a sympathetic homage to those on both sides of the battle. "The opener and closing reprise on the disc, 'I Wanna Be In The Cavalry,' is a Celtic-themed sing along. Lund calls 'Especially a Paint' the album's most autobiographical track, bemoaning the gradual end of his own, and others', horseman days. There are modern stories, too, including one inspired by American soldiers on horseback in current campaigns in the Middle East. "So, even though there is a lot about horses, it's really more of a collection of story songs, largely set in the past, with a Western focus." - Bob Mersereau, Saint John Telegraph Journal

DAVID WILCOX - Boy in the Boat - SPCD1325 "One of Canada's best blues guitarists, moves seamlessly from funky original tunes, to terrific arrangements of traditional tunes, drawn from Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind Boy Fuller." - Mike Regenstreif, Montreal Gazette

DUKE ROBILLARD - World Full of Blues - SPCD1323 "His only constant is his absolute passion for his craft; this double disc smorgasbord is proof of his wide ranging interests and groundbreaking command of his instrument. Duke's vocals are in fine form across this enthusiastic undertaking. If you were ever a borderline fan, this is the disc to drive things. home." - Eric Thom, Penguin Eggs

RONNIE EARL - Hope Radio - SPCD1324 "... His deeply personal process of squeezing out taut, precise notes during many slow passages makes for riveting listening...." - Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat

"Mr. Earl gets down on another all-instrumental effort, recorded live in the studio before an audience at Wellspring Sound in Acton, Mass. All the tracks are original except for "Blues for the West Side," a 1966 single by saxophonist Eddie Shaw that boasted Magic Sam on guitar. "Because health problems prevent the guitarist from touring, this is the next best thing. 'Eddie's Gospel Groove' sounds a little like early Santana (mostly because of Dave Limina's excellent Hammond B-3 work), but after a nearly two-minute intro, the refrain leaves no doubt about the groove being gospel. The midpoint change-up, 'Katrina Blues,' offers an acoustic break. 'Wolf Dance' pays homage to Howlin' Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin's 'Smokestack Lightning' riff. Then it's back to slow blues with 'Kay My Dear' and 'Blues for the Homeless.' Earl tears it up with 'Blues for Otis Rush' before taking the album out on a hopeful note with the piano-centric 'New Gospel Tune.' "The flawless performance is exquisitely recorded, but the real star is the tone: Guitar slingers capable of playing as clean as this can be counted on one hand, and half of them are dead. - Peter Hund, www.goodnewmusic.com

"After a long career that has found him doing everything from replacing Duke Robillard in Roomful of Blues, to backing a rotating cast of lead singers including Kim Wilson, Sugar Ray Norcia and Darrel Nulisch in his own band, "The Broadcasters", to nearly losing it all to drugs and alcohol, guitar master Ronnie Earl has finally found that he communicates best by focusing solely on instrumental tracks. "While the absence of words often means the presence of instrumental indulgence, such is not the case with this talented crew of Broadcasters, who have crafted a disc that is marked by restraint and a respect for all that happens in the space between notes. While the band is deserving of much credit for its tight, intuitive interplay, at the end of the day it is Earl's guitar that carries this disc to its often stellar heights. "With more change-ups in pace, tone, and dynamics, than most blues musicians use in an entire career, Earl engages your mind in the same way as the most adept jazz or classical music composers. - Mark Smith, Jazz & Blues Report

Keep an eye and ear open for two new releases on the Blind Pig label in Canada, distributed north of the American border by Stony Plain and Warner Music Canada. Queries from outside Canada should go to Debra Regur at pigpress@blindpigrecords.com

WEBB WILDER & THE BEATNECKS — "Born to be Wilder" - Blind Pig/Stony Plain BPCD5120. A wild(er) and woolly mixture of rock 'n' roll, surf, edgy country and wacky humour. Whoever described this artist as "a kind of Tom Petty for the trailer set" was pretty close to the mark.

POPA CHUBBY — "Deliveries After Dark" - Blind Pig/Stony Plain BPCD5121. The prolific Ted Horowitz follows up his double "Electric Chubbyland" set with another collection of visceral rock and roll, played with reckless abandon. Are you ready for the theme from "The Godfather"? Bronx-raised Popa Chubby certainly is, and the opening cut, "Let the Music Set You Free" is a powerful anthem.

CORB LUND: "Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!" (SPCD1327) Now available in Canada.

RONNIE EARL: "Hope Radio" (SPCD1324) Now available internationally.

DAVID WILCOX: "Boy in the Boat" (SPCD1325) Now available in Canada.

VARIOUS ARTISTS: "THE GIFT: A TRIBUTE TO IAN TYSON" (SPCD1322). Featuring BLUE RODEO, CORB LUND, JENNIFER WARNES, CHRIS HILLMAN, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, and more. Now available internationally.

1) Check the website: www.stonyplainrecords.com
2) Write to us at P.O. Box 861, Edmonton, AB T5J 2L8, Canada.
3) Call or FAX:  Ph. 780 468-6423.   FAX: 780 465-8941.
4) Talk to the boss: Holger Petersen: holger@ stonyplainrecords.com
5) Want off this list, or know someone who wants on: E-mail the
       editor: Richard Flohil: rflohil@sympatico.ca
6) Need records to review, interviews with Stony Plain  artists, or
       backstage passes? Same thing: e-mail rflohil@sympatico.ca