NXNE

There is a local music promoter and publicist here by the name of Richard Flohil. He was the promoter for the Stacey Earle show the other night. I wound up becoming Facebook friends with him the next day and introduced myself. Richard suggested that we meet and I agreed. I sort of thought that might take place at some vague time in the future, perhaps before or after a show. He thinks a little differently and we wound up meeting for coffee the very next day. We met early that afternoon and for nearly two hours exchanged stories and histories at a mile a minute. He is a vigorous man in his seventies with shoulder length white hair. You should read his bio at this link to get a sense of his energy and enthusiasm. He has been involved in the Toronto music scene for thirty years and knows practically everybody in the business and written countless album liner notes. I told Richard that by meeting him that I had probably in that instant doubled the number of people in my personal ‘six degrees of separation’ game. He agreed. Our time was up and we went our separate ways at the corner. He had snagged a cab before I even crossed the street. I found out later that he had three more appointments that Saturday afternoon.

A few days later he suggested we see another act he was promoting as part of a showcase for NXNE, Toronto’s version of SXSW. The artist’s name is Jadea Kelly and she was the third act of eight scheduled that Friday, again at the Dakota. We were already considering going as I knew the first act, the Wiggins Sisters for over ten years through selling their album at Village Records.com. This made the decision much easier, that and the fact that we were familiar with the venue and the route to get there as well.

I enjoyed meeting the Wiggins Sisters face to face for the first time. They put on a great show especially considering the time constraints of the showcase format. There is only so much you can do with a 50 minute set. We wound up surprising ourselves and stayed for four acts getting us home well after midnight.

For an added bonus we met a couple sitting next to us who once lived on our street and they gave us some great restaurant tips.