Littleslean.com Contest!

Littleslean.com is two!

Yep, it's confirmed. This pretty little toddler was conceived about 3 and a half years ago and birthed over the holidays 2 years ago. To celebrate, I am running a contest, only available to the subscribers of the newsletter (so go sign up if you haven't yet!) The winner will receive a mini slean button that reads "I want to be brave" (and has a picture of a nightbug on it) as well as an unopened brand spanking new album of one of my favourite local Torontonian female musicians. Sorry, it's gonna be a surprise, but I will let you know that said musician features our very dear Kevin Fox playing the cello on this album.

Contest details:
Answer correctly all 5 of the questions below and tell me (in 150 words or less) what your favourite sarah slean song is and why. The winner will have his/her story featured in the next newsletter, and of course win my wonderful prize package.

But you better act fast. Contest ends Sunday, Jan 2, 2004 at noon (Vancouver time).

Oh! And for the questions (hint, all answers can be found somewhere on littleslean.com).

1.) Which character from "Alice in Wonderland" did Sarah play when she was in grade 4?
2.) For what rock album did Sarah Slean and Damhnait Doyle collaborate vocals?
3.) Which previous back-up vocalist produced her own album with the help of Melanie Doane and her brother?
4.) In which horror flick was "Weight" played?
5.) Sarah Slean was featured on which daytime talk show in the past few months?

Submissions should be sent to nicole@littleslean.com or you can pm me on the sarahslean.com message board.

Good luck all you little passioneers!

~ng

Governor General Awards - Reminder

Reminder, that Sarah playing at the Governor General Awards will brodcast Thursday at 8:00pm on the CBC. According to viewers of the SRC broadcast on the 26th, Sarah will play "The Score" accompanied by an orchestra. She plays approximately 40 minutes into the performance (8:40pm).

Weathered Out?

Update December 29th. Sarah's management posted that Sarah was sick the morning off the Mix 99 concert and was unable to sing or attend. Full thread.

The Mix 99.9 Christmas show went on at 6-9:00am dispite being dosed with a heavy hit from winter. The Court House was packed with performances going off without a hitch and the addition of some of the boys from BNL. Sadly, pretty early in the show Sarah's name was dropped from their list of performers. In the end she couldn't make it to this show.

+ Tickets for the Hamilton Theatre show went on sale with Ticket Master this morning.

Governor General's Awards - Watch Dec 30th

Sarah was at the Governor General's Awards last month. It's being aired December 30th @ 8pm on CBC. The awards will all so be aired on December 26th @ 8pm on SRC. I'm not to sure about where the SRC brodcasts and what language it would be in.

"The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Gala A glittering evening of
entertainment honours seven outstanding Canadian performers at the 13th annual
Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Gala, hosted by Gregory Charles. The
Gala, taped at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in early November features
performances by Emmylou Harris, Jackie Richardson and her daughter Kim
Richardson, singer/songwriter Sarah Slean, The Drums of Arashi Daiko, George Gao on the erhu an ancient Chinese instrument accompanied by the National Arts
Centre Orchestra, sopranos Marie-Josée Lord and Lyne Fortin with baritone Gino
Quilico and Gregory Charles in a rousing finale with a 50-member choir. "

Source, YenC

Have breakfast with Sarah Slean

December 23rd, 6 - 9 a.m. Courthouse Bar & Grill in Toronto
Tickets are by winning on the Mix only

contests imformation

- source: Sweet One

On Monday December 13th's Mix 99.9 morning show, around 7:30 am, tickets for the Christmas Party started to be won with a Humble & Freds "Christmas Idol" competition. Each morning callers can sing a Christmas song on air and at the end of the show one of them will advance to Friday's final competition. The idol (winner) from the Friday competition will get to sing at the Christmas party. The good news is that everyone who competed is invited to the party.

You don't need to sing to win tickets. The "Pull My Finger" contest on Mix 99.9 contestant all so was granted an invite to the Christmas party.

Now I believe the Mix99 will be doing a live brodcast from the downtown Real Canadian Superstore (Dufferin & Steeles) and between 10-2 this Saturday. If you drop off a new toy, they should grant you an invite to the Christmas show.
Promos for this are being aired every hour or so all day on the Mix99, it might get pretty crowded. They are really looking for new toys for the 13+ age as thier is a shortage.



Cameron Bay.

Black Widow!

For those Six Shooter Records fans out there... this news arrived in your inbox today too. For those of you that aren't, here's the scoop:

Martin Tielli in BLACK WIDOW

Our own Mr. Martin Tielli can now add a slash in his title by becoming
a musician/actor. Alongside Sarah Slean and Mary Margaret O'Hara, Martin stars in a movie about a woman (Slean) from Hamilton who, with the help of her mother (O'Hara), murders her husband (Tielli) and their baby.

Based on a true story, even! Sounds like a pretty sketchy story to me. The convenient thing about having a cast made up of musician/actors is that you can also wind up with a built in soundtrack, in this case produced by our own Michael Phillip Wojewoda. Martin has been getting into character by lurking around in a pair of black pajamas with pipe cleaner spider legs attached to them all week.

~ng

New Single - featuring K-os

Sarah Slean's single When Another Midnight is exclusivly being sold on iTunes. It features K-os who sampled Sarah on his latest album, Joyful Rebellion.

For those with iTunes: Sarah's iTune page


Show reviews and pictures are being posted in the tours forum. Some nice shots from the Toronto Show. Tour News ss.com. Sarah's merchandise is all being sold in the new Boutique section of her page.

Nathan Wiley opener and T.O. Contest

"Nathan Wiley will appear as the special guest of Ron Sexsmith and Sarah Slean during a maritime tour beginning at The Playhouse in Fredericton on November 17th."
source

Now magazine is offering tickets to see Sarah in Toronto.
Enter here for your chance to win .

Sarah Slean at Sugar and Sugar

Though 35 winners were randomly chosen through the Georgia Straight and a local radio station, perhaps only 5 or 6 showed up with their guests. Fortunately, I happened to be one of them, but I wasn't the only one a little curious as to why there was such a slim turn out.

It was pouring rain that night (a fact that couldn't deter a die-hard fan like myself, but perhaps those who had no clue who Sarah Slean was) and the promoters only contacted the winners the night before the show.

In any case, the show was spectacular, perhaps especially so with such a small audience. Sarah played 5 songs and played them beautifully on the grand piano provided by Sugar and Sugar, an upscale art gallery with bar. Contest winners were rewarded not only with a stellar performance, but also with free champagne and deluxe chef-made desserts.

I also had the priviledge of speaking at lengths with one of the owners of Sugar and Sugar, some of Sarah's friends, and a Warner representative.

I wish you all could have been there! It was a wonderful night. Below is the best picture I was able to bring from it, and it is still pretty fuzzy. My apologies.

~ng

Vicki Gabereau Show

As posted on the offical page, Sarah will be doing a live performance and chat on the Vicki Gabereau Show this Friday.

"This show will air on Monday, November 1st on CTV Network, 2:00 pm Eastern Time or 1:00 pm Pacific. Check local listings in other markets. This will be rebroadcast on Saturday, November 6th (on TALK TV Network)."

You should be able to confirm airdates on this page.

Vancouver Solo Show!

Win tickets through the Georgia Straight to see Sarah Slean perform before an exclusive and intimate audience at Sugar and Sugar.

straight.com

Good Luck!

+ Montreal Show Added

This Wednesday Sarah will be playing in Montreal opening for Jamie Cullum.

October 20 Montreal ON CANADA The Spectrum

For information on tickets and Jamie Cullen, you can visit the Sarah Slean message board.

source.

+ Kingston Show Added

Although not yet posted on sarahslean.com, Snuffy from the message board pointed out that there is a show slated for:

November 23 Kingston ON CANADA Elixer

Tickets are on sale now from rockcrew.ca under ron sexsmith. Their upcoming events page confirms Sarah is also playing. You can order them online from here, with tickets costing just $16 including tax and the service charge.

source

Maritime shows:

Tickets for all shows go on sale this Friday, October 15.
Tickets are $27.50 in advance, $35 day of show, taxes included.

St. John’s: 12pm @ Arts and Culture Centre box office
and by phone (709)729-3900
Chester: 12pm Chester Playhouse box office
and by phone (902)275-3933 or 1(800)363-7529.
Fredericton: 10am @ The Playhouse box office
and by phone (506)458-8344.
Summerside: 12pm @ the Jubilee Theatre box office
and by phone (902)888-2500 or 1(800)708-6505
Liverpool: 10am @ the Astor Theatre Box Office
and by phone (902)354-5250.
Halifax: 12pm @ the Dalhousie Arts Centre box office
and by phone (902)494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669

St. John’s, Fredericton, and Halifax can also be purchased online at www.sonicentertainmentgroup.com

source

+ Toronto Show Added

Another show squeezed in there:

November 25 Toronto ON CANADA Danforth Music Hall

Public ticket sale takes place on Octobober 16 but sarahslean.com and ronsexsmith.com will be offering a presale information for this show. Most other dates are on sale now or will be on sale shortly.

source.

More Canadian Tour Dates

October 23 Winnipeg MB CANADA West End Cultural Ctr.
October 25 Saskatoon SK CANADA Broadway Theatre
October 26 Edmonton AB CANADA Horowitz Theatre
October 27 Calgary AB CANADA MacEwan Hall Ballroom
October 29 Victoria BC CANADA Central Bar & Grill
November 2 Vancouver BC CANADA Commodore Ballroom
November 6 Ottawa ON CANADA Governor General Award
November 12 Peterborough ON CANADA Gordon Best Theatre
November 13 London ON CANADA Grand Theatre
November 16 St. John's NL CANADA Arts & Culture Ctr.
November 17 Fredericton NB CANADA Playhouse Theatre
November 18 Summerside PEI CANADA Harbourfront Jubilee Theatre
November 19 Liverpool NS CANADA Astor Theatre
November 20 Halifax NS CANADA Rebecca Cohn
November 27 Ottawa ON CANADA Capitol Music Hall

~ng

Day One Review

Two and a half years after the release of Nightbugs (WEA) and over a year since her last tour circuit, Sarah Slean emerges in September 2004 with a new full length album “Day One,” which featured several songs written in the woods of rural Ontario. The album is markedly different from her previous releases, but is not a far cry from some of the upbeat sounds heard on Nightbugs.

Long-time fans who appreciate the more mellow aspects to Sarah’s music may be disappointed with this album due to it being strongly produced and percussion heavy. The album, perhaps shockingly, has Major chords! Sarah Slean grew, got noticeably happier in her music, and is fearless in letting it show. With the help of Pete Prilesnik and Dan Kurtz, she was able to create the pop rock album she’s always wanted, but been unable to create.

The surprisingly confident and catchy “Pilgrim” serves as the opening track to Day One, followed by “Lucky Me,” the album’s first single. Both songs signal long time fans of a dramatic change to Sarah Slean’s musical approach on this album. As with most tracks, guitars and drums take over where Sarah’s piano once lead, both in previous albums and in live performances.

California, though a particular favorite among many, lacks the emotional fervor captured in her live renditions of the song. Despite this, it remains one of the shining pieces of musical craftsmanship on this album. This track is seated closely alongside Wake Up for its musical quality and Vertigo for its spectacularly well-written lyrics. Not so surprisingly, these three songs are the most reminiscent of Slean’s past work.

Day One marks a new day in musical creativity for Sarah Slean. With already unsettled, mixed reviews, this album will raise a few eyebrows. Which may be just what Sarah Slean is looking for.

~nicole g

Canadian Tour Dates Announced!

October 23 Winnipeg MB CANADA West End Cultural Ctr.
October 25 Saskatoon SK CANADA Broadway Theatre
October 26 Edmonton AB CANADA Horowitz Theatre
October 27 Calgary AB CANADA MacEwan Hall Ballroom
October 29 Victoria BC CANADA Central Bar & Grill
November 2 Vancouver BC CANADA Commodore Ballroom
November 6 Ottawa ON CANADA Governer General Award

Also... only 3 more days until Day One is released!!!

~ng

The official website has confirmed a tour in Europe supporting Ron Sexsmith.

The dates are as follows:

August 31 Chester UK
Telford’s Warehouse

September 2 Derry N. IRELAND
Nerve Centre

September 3-4 Dundalk IRELAND
Spirit Store

September 5 Belfast N. IRELAND
Empire

September 7 Cork IRELAND
An Cruiscin Lane

September 8 Galway IRELAND
Cuba

September 9 Limerick IRELAND
Dolans Warehouse

September 10 Dublin IRELAND
The Village

September 12 Utrecht HOLLAND
De Helling

September 13 Tourcoing FRANCE
Le Grand Mix

September 14 Brussels BELGIUM
Le Botanique

 Unfortunately...  
 
the Bluesfest has been cancelled.  Looks like the Ontario listeners are going to have to wait a while longer for a live show from Sarah.  
 
~ng

Sarah Slean's first single off the new album is "Lucky Me" and can be downloaded from puretracks.com

A video has been made for Lucky Me, and a picture from that video shoot can be viewed here

~ng

Day One tracklisting:

1. Pilgrim
2. Lucky Me
3. Mary
4. California
5. Day One
6. Out in the Park
7. Vertigo
8. When Another Midnight
9. The Score
10. Your Wish Is My Wish
11. Wake Up

DAY ONE...

That's the name of Sarah's new album which is slated to be released on September 14th. She'll be doing some touring in the next few months as well:

Tuesday July 6 Los Angeles CA Genghis Cohen
Wednesday July 7 Los Angeles CA Hotel Café
Tuesday July 13 Los Angeles CA Tangiers
Wednesday July 14 Los Angeles CA Genghis Cohen
Sunday July 18 Los Angeles CA Alter Knit Lounge
Tuesday July 20 Los Angeles CA Genghis Cohen
Thursday July 22 Los Angeles CA Tangiers
Saturday July 24 Toronto ON Toronto Blues Festival (full band)
Tuesday July 27 Los Angeles CA Tangiers
Wednesday July 28 Los Angeles CA Genghis Cohen
Tuesday August 3 Anaheim CA House of Blue (w/ Rasputina)
Wednesday August 4 San Diego CA Canes (w/ Rasputina)

check the official website for more details.

Sarah will be doing a few shows in LA this month... these are the ones that I have seen confirmed but there are a few more still unconfirmed.

Tuesday, July 6 (9:30)
Wednesday, July 14 (9:30)
Tuesday, July 20 (8:30)
Wednesday, July 28 (9:30)

all the shows are at genghis cohen. www.genghiscohen.com (look up the calendar under the "music" link.

-thanks to scott for posting to the nightbugs hotel

~ng

Sarah Slean is scheduled to perform at the Toronto Bluesfest on July 24, 2004 at 9:30pm.

This is her most recent live show since her gig with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

With Simon Wilcox and Martina Sobara on the list just before Sarah, it promises to be a great night.

for more information go here: Toronto Bluesfest

~ng

According to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's publications, Sarah's new album is to be called "Day One." Perhaps Sarah is still unsure?

The new album is rumored to be titled "Baroness" and she has apparently finished her photo-prep by the looks of the new professional photo of her found on the promotion for her upcoming set with the Toronto Sympphony Orchestra on May 29th. She has confirmed donation, for the second year, of a few signed prints of her artwork to the auction.

Expect to pay quite a bit for her short appearance though, tickets to the TSO at Sonic Bloom start at around $100 CAD. But, to hear Sarah Slean play with an entire symphony orchestra, it might just be worth it.

Now, if only Sarah would tell us more about this elusive record that is due out sometime this year.

~ng

So Sarah says she's working on a novel.

On her blog she wrote:

my book is coming along...it's called "ravens"... a record of my brief attempt at extreme self-denial. some of my best painting happened amongst those trees, i shall share it with you in this little volume. i just know you'll love it.

I hadn't even heard rumours of a book before she mentioned it on the blog, nor afterwards.

I am very interested in whether or not she has a book deal and even moreso to know more about what she's writing about. Any informants out there... spill! SPILL!

The evils of the internet revealed...

For the record:

Sarah Slean did NOT write a song called "Molly." It has been circulating on the internet as one of her songs, but is actually written by another talented female named Pepper McGowan.

Sarah Slean also did NOT write a song called "I Love You." This has also been mislabeled when it actually belongs to another artist named "Fisher" (Whose album is fantastic, by the way).

The New Record (what I know of it):

Sarah got a great deal from the town of Mississippi Mills this past summer whereby she was able to use their town hall for rehearsal and concert in return for shared profits from her shows. It was during her time in the "woods" that she wrote a whole gamit of new music and started recording.

Sarah herself called this recording an "expensive dress rehearsal" and is now due to have started her real recording.

It was rumoured a while back that Sarah was trying to get Jon Brion to produce her latest album. He has worked with artists such as Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright and the Eels.

Recently Sarah put on a surprise show in Los Angeles at the Mint which has two recording studios. Jon Brion also happens to live in the LA area and puts on regular shows at the Largo. Big coincidence? probably not.

Songs for the new album? It's all speculation but here are my best guesses:

Older Songs:
Everything by the Gallon*
Vertigo*
California*
Count Me Out
Little London Night
Day One
The Score*

Songs from the Woods:
Pilgrim*
Wilderness
Out in the Park
Mary*
Lucky Me*
Your Wish is My Wish
Baroness

*these songs have my highest likelihood votes

Hello and welcome to "The Buzz." This section of the website is a more indepth version of any of the news posted on the mainpage of littleslean.com and will include information that hasn't neccessarily been confirmed or released. This "heresay," or rather, collection of rumours (hopefully inspired by mostly truth!) will be updated as regularly as the information is provided. Here you will find talk about the new album, live shows, new songs, etc. It is not a place of gossip about Sarah's personal life.

The information will be a compilation of information found in various places: the official website, the several forums and message groups, the world wide web, and word of mouth. If I use information here that you have provided in any of these means or otherwise and want it removed or have credit given (I will try to give credit as much as possible) email me and I will make ammendments.

If you have news to contribute, click the contributors button on the side.

If you are interested in becoming a regular contributor, please email me and I will add you to the blog contributor's list. Please understand that this means you must follow the rules below:

1) No profanity
2) No boot swapping advertisements
3)Stay on topic
4)No personal gossip
5)Posts should be in the form of "news." Comments can be made in the comment box.
6)Any posts made are subject to editing.

Well, I hope this will become an effective means of staying up-to-date with Sarah Slean's musical career!

take care and think ferociously!