Bobby Cameron

PREVIEW

Bobby Cameron

When: Saturday, doors at 7 p.m.

Where: Queen Alexandra Community Hall, 10425 University Ave.

Tickets: $20 at tixonthesquare.ca, Acoustic Music and Myhre’s Music

Sixteen years ago, Bobby Cameron didn’t think twice about hounding Canada’s most powerful music executive.

The local singer/guitarist was so eager to make a name for himself, he wouldn’t stop calling Bruce Allen, manager of Bryan Adams, Loverboy and Anne Murray.

“His secretary even said, ‘If you don’t stop phoning, he’s going to chuck your CD in the garbage can,’ ” remembers Cameron, referring to his second album, Drowning on Dry Land (1999).

“I said: ‘I don’t care!’ I finally got Bruce on the phone and the first thing he said was: ‘What do you want?’ I told him I wanted him to be my manager. Nothing ever came out of it, but it was fun.”

These days, Cameron is no longer obsessed with becoming a global sensation. At 53, the father of two is more content with trying to develop the next generation — penning and/or producing songs for aspiring stars such Marissa Rae, Andrea Nixon, and Kristy T. (He’s also worked with Jully Black, Ryan Malcolm and Bernard Quilala.)

Every so often, Cameron still releases his own tunes. His first album in 12 years, Comfort Zone, is a smattering of roots, blues, and rock — with tributes to Alberta; his former stage partner, the late Long John Baldry; and Edmonton’s one-woman musical empire, Kirby, who died of cancer last year.

Yet Comfort Zone — available at Saturday’s release party at the Queen Alexandra Community Hall — was anything but for Cameron. He initially started writing this, his fourth album, in 2007, but almost scrapped it several times.

Q: Why were you so reluctant to release this album?

A: It’s almost been like a monkey on my back. I was going to release it six years ago, then kicked the songs around for another two years, and worked on lyrics — I self-produced it, so I could work on it until I was happy with it. But then, I lost momentum because I spent about 90 per cent of my time producing other artists, trying to offer some kind of service from what I learned in the music business and how it’s all changed — from corporations running it to indie artists using social media to get their records out.

Plus, the world’s going to keep turning tomorrow if I don’t release this record. This is probably a negative thing to say, but I’m not taking this as seriously as I used to. I’m still passionate, but I’m not driving myself like I used to — I went so hard for so long. It’s one thing about being driven, it’s another about being so driven that you’re not checking out the things that are happening around you. I’m trying to have more fun with music.

Q: When did you stop putting your career first and start sharing your knowledge with other artists?

A: You mean, when did I stop being a selfish bastard? I’m just joking. Honest to God, I never really thought I had a lot of knowledge until I moved back (in 2007 after a brief stint in Toronto) and I started getting a lot of phone calls unrelated to my performing or artist thing.

At the time, I thought my retirement plan was going to be either of two options — and busking in front of a liquor store was one of them. I’m serious — I even had one in mind — a liquor store in Cape Breton, next to the house I grew up in.

Q: What was the other option?

A: To resurface as a producer, working with younger artists, and it just seemed to flow naturally that I would do this. And it’s helped me as a songwriter because I started not just settling for whatever quick thought that came into my head; I started pushing myself. Then I had a deal with a small publishing company out of New York, Carlin America, and I started doing a lot of co-writes with musicians I respected and that really opened my eyes to how meticulous they were. So, it was a learning curve, but here I am. And before I’m gone, I want to say I wrote a song as good as Walking In Memphis. That’s kind of what keeps me going. Or being in a room with a young songwriter that I helped in some fashion, who can say: “We got it right.”

Q: Which of your songs did you get right on Comfort Zone?

A: I think I got Diggin’ Down Deep right; I could’ve used that 10 years ago. I love Sueanna — I wrote that song with John Capek (Rhythm of My Heart is one of his previous hits). I told him: “We need a song that melds my blues world with my pop world with all my other worlds.”

Q: What was it like to write a song for Kirby?

A: She was working with me, I guess you could say co-managing this stuff for a long time. I had this instrumental piece, with a Latin feel and Santana groove, and I kinda wrote it with Kirby in mind, because I knew she’d say, “Where in the Jesus did that come from?” It used to be called Out of the Blue because it did come out of the blue, one day, when I was in Ottawa. I sent it to Kirb and we were both connected to that track. When she passed, I sent the track to her daughter Jade and said: “Kirby really liked this and I want YOU to rename it.” So Jade came up with the name: Kirby’s Last Dance.

ssperounes@edmontonjournal.com - SANDRA SPEROUNES, EDMONTON JOURNAL

As talented as he may be, blues guitarist Bobby Cameron is tired of being called “Canada’s Greatest Guitarist.”

“That’s absolute bullshit,” he says. “I don’t know who gave me that.”

He hypothesizes that the label may have come from being crowned the winner of MuchMusic’s National Guitar Wars.

“I was glad to win it, but come on,” he balks. “That’s definitely not true. I’ve been pegged.”

That being said, Cameron has drawn scores of praise from some of the biggest names in the business, including Jeff Healy, Sandro Dominelli and the late great Long John Baldry. Yet, Cameron is still restless.

“It’s got me through a lot of doors, but at the end of the day, what’s most important to me is moving someone with my music,” he explains. “You’re taught to believe that you’re only successful when you get that big deal. I know people that have big deals and they are miserable.”

He admits to feeling much the same way in his budding career as a songwriter with the publishing agency Carlin America. Writing material that was used by Kaylan Porter and Ryan Malcom, among others, Cameron’s heart just wasn’t into it.

“I was so focused on that that I lost track of some things I had to have in my life,” he recalls. “I’ve been away from [my own music] too long.” Cameron is back in the studio these days, however, recording a follow up to 2003’s Emotional Drift.

“It’s coming together, bits and pieces here and there,” he says. “With ProTools, you can record just about anywhere you need to.”

The songwriter promises that the new album will contain more of his blend of blues, roots, folk and pop—a combination that he feels doesn’t jive with the established blues community.

“I haven’t really been accepted by the blues community in Canada,” he explains. “I like playing those 12-bar blues songs, but I like to pull some pop into it. You can stretch that box beyond its boundaries; I think they underestimate their audience.”

Cameron certainly appreciates his audience in Edmonton, given his strong connections to our festival city.

“I first made a living as a musician out here,” he remembers. “You guys support the talent. There are so many talented artists here, so many people that are really going hard to build what they got.

“I’m living in Toronto, but I still consider Edmonton home.” V

- VUE

Nothing drying up for Bobby

Cameron inks new deal

By MIKE BELL







Keep your options open. Good advice, especially in the music industry where avenues and doors close with alarming frequency and even more alarming indifference.

Edmonton-based singer-songwriter Bobby Cameron is playing it smart and keeping as many options open to him as possible -- and it's paying off.

After years of working his tail off hustling himself as a roots-grounded rock performer, he's now turned his attention to the songwriting side of things, having just signed a deal with a New York publishing company.

"I'm focusing on the publishing," says Cameron, who plays tonight and tomorrow at Kaos. "You know, in through the back door."

Cameron admits it's a little frustrating that he has to take that route, considering his history is one that's dotted with awards and accolades, such as earning the title of MuchMusic National Guitar Warz champion.

His two independent CDs also earned him a great deal of attention, especially his 1999 release Drowning on Dry Land, which was recorded with an impressive budget and has a sound that could compete with any mainstream rock record out there. Unfortunately, stardom or a major-label signing failed to materialize.

"There are a lot of bigger stories than mine, but I've been so close so many times," Cameron says good-naturedly.

"A lot of people went twice the distance on less the bio."

That's not to say that Cameron has entirely put aside thoughts of having the front door to the music industry opened up to him, and making it big on his own terms.

"I'm not giving up on this," he says. "In November, I'm going to start recording a blues album. I have a whole side that's never really seen the light of day as far as CDs go. So I'm pushing that forward."

And, hopefully, opening up a whole new slew of options.



- Calgary Sun

Bobby Cameron has been working in music in Canada for over 20 years, and in that time he's continued to find new aspects of the music business to keep him going. As his career has been unfolding, there seems to be no end to the man's talents, as he's not only an accomplished performing singer-songwriter, but also a collaborator, producer and talent developer: he's written songs for Canadian Idol contestants and is currently helping local Edmonton artists get on their feet when it comes to navigating their early years as working musicians in Canada.

"When I first started out it was just as an artist," Cameron recalls. "Over the years, though, I've become a producer and songwriter on the sidelines, and now I'm helping develop young talent in Edmonton to help them further their careers. And this all came my way while I've been networking online. All these things took off for me as an independent artist. If you have any drive at all, no matter what your goals are, those goals are just totally out there for you."

Cameron marvels at the resources at artists' fingertips these days, from the Internet to home recording software, all within the convenience of home.
"I've been doing this a long time, and when I started it was simple: if you didn't have record label, you didn't get out there. And if you weren't touring, you were just a local story. Now if you have any business savvy at all you can build up your fan base on the web—you can do some serious damage. There are a lot of independent bands doing that now, and record companies are scratching their heads, trying to figure out how to control that.

"And that's exciting," he continues. "Bands don't even want to be signed anymore. Now that you have your marketing at your fingertips, you can make your own records at your house. There's no reason why anyone shouldn't be selling out a gig these days."

As his resume shows, Cameron's talents span farther than performing. He's really found a new excitement in helping young talent find their way, using all the hard lessons he's accrued over the years.


"The talent alone in this city is incredible—I'm just blown away," he exclaims. "The vocal talent, the maturity and quality of the songwriting is just so good. The tools I'm using as an artist, and what I've learned in the studio has really helped me work with new artists. I'm drawing from the same pool of talent when I'm working in the studio. And then I take what I learn there and fire it back into my own music. It's all about relationships, and trying to get the best results possible."

Being an artist first, however, means that he'll always continue to find his way to the stage to do what he loves most: sharing his music.
"I just love writing songs, I love playing to people, helping people out and getting projects completed," he admits. "It's playing material and getting received. I'm a lifer. I may be switching gears now, but it's just unfolding, and the universe keeps offering me new things to keep me going." V

- VUE WEEKLY

Music
Music Scene
BY SEE STAFF
Releasing Release Me

Bobby Cameron, the East Coast-raised singer/songwriter/guitarist who made a name for himself here in Edmonton and now splits most of his time between Edmonton and Toronto, will release the first single off his upcoming album with a performance Saturday, May 29 at the Sidetrack (10333-112 St.). And why not? The song’s entitled Release Me, after all.

Cameron has had solid radio success with his past records, especially considering he remains an independent act. The new disc, Drowning on Dry Land, is set for release in July and promises more success, boasting a production team of Edmonton’s much-respected Marek Forysinski as engineer and music industry guru Mike Plotnikoff (Van Halen, KISS, Aerosmith) handling mixing duties.

And it’s always special to have Cameron perform back in Edmonton, where he can call on some of his most trusted musical collaborators. Saturday, he’ll be joined by a killer band, including Mark Puffer on guitar and vocals, Douglas Radford on bass and Sandro Dominelli on drums.

- SEE MAGAZINE

EDMONTON - He may be a Maritimer by birth and a resident of Toronto these days, but to many Edmontonians, Bobby Cameron is a homegrown artist.

After all, it was here that the gifted guitarist and songwriter cut his teeth, becoming a popular draw at clubs like the Sidetrack Cafe.

And it was as an Edmontonian that Cameron won the national Guitar Wars competition, opened shows in concert venues for acts like Jeff Healey and came to the attention of the late Long John Baldry. In the last few years of Baldry's life, the legendary British bluesman took Cameron on as a sideman.

Cameron is back in Edmonton for a few days visiting his in-laws and showing off his new baby girl, the best Christmas present he could ask for.

So it only makes sense that he also packed his guitars, booked a gig at the new Sidetrack and invited his longtime fans to rock around the Christmas tree with him for an evening.

"Edmonton will always feel like home," Cameron says. "Just in the past few days, I've been recording some tracks for my next album. It's been a ball working again with Sandro Dominelli, who is laying down the drum parts for the new songs."

He'll hit the Sidetrack stage Friday night with Dominelli, bassist Doug Radford and singer/guitarist Mark Puffer.

That Cameron would insist on having Dominelli help build his tracks from the ground up says a lot about loyalty and the respect he has for the drummer's abilities. There are any number of superb percussionists he could have called on in Hogtown.

"My producer John Capek was all for me recording some of the bed tracks here with Sandro and engineer Jerry Woolsey."

Capek has written hits for Rod Stewart, Chicago, Manhattan Transfer and Joe Cocker, and has been behind the board for some of singer/songwriter Marc Jordan's best work.

"It's been an education working with someone of John's stature. He's really taught me how to use the entire range of my voice and has me singing in a lower register which gives some material a darker and moodier feel."

The album that Cameron and Capek are now working on is, in Cameron's words, "a blues disc in a Clapton-oriented style."

"There's a cajun thing called Sueanna and an unplugged tune featuring the dobro titled Alberta's Calling. I also wrote a tribute to Long John simply called LJB. I look back on those tours I got to do with Baldry, just the two of us, and they are filled with fond memories. John was so gracious and I remember one gig in particular, the Syracuse Blues Festival, where he just kept giving me all these solos and letting the audience know who I was. I was blessed to work with him."

He'll serve up a few new tunes tonight, as well as fan favourites from his Drowning On Dry Land and Emotional Drift albums. Two songs from Emotional Drift are finding new life elsewhere, as Coffee Cup is being used to promote the Osa + Martin clothing store chain in the States while Fighter Who Believes has been plucked for a feature TV movie titled MVP that will air in March.

Tickets for Cameron's show at the Sidetrack are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. City Vox opens with a set at
- Edmonton Journal - Peter North

Christmas is a time of year when many former Edmontonians come back to the city.

Bobby Cameron may hail from Cape Breton but his musical career was solidified in Edmonton 20 years ago. Since relocating to Toronto, Cameron returns here every Christmas.

His pre-Christmas bash is at the Sidetrack tonight.

Cameron was in Canmore at his mountain hideaway when the Sun caught up with him earlier this week.

"Like anybody else in Alberta, they have a little spot in the mountains they tend to gravitate towards and I try and get there once a year," said Cameron, who is also busy finishing up his fourth solo record.

"With the state of the world today, I have a recording studio I can travel with now because it's on my computer," Cameron said of his Pro Tools software.

"I wanted Sandro Dominelli in Edmonton to record the drums, so I flew out a week earlier and got him to play drums for the tracks we've already recorded."

The blues rocker has been entrenched in the commercial music industry since moving to Toronto. Already an independent musician, Cameron signed a publishing deal as a songwriter five years ago with Carlin America.

He also cut a publishing deal with BMG Canada where he participated in the Canadian Idol writing camps. Besides being credited for October Skies, a track that appears on Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm's debut album, Cameron met an ally in fellow songwriter/producer John Capek.

"He actually just got nominated this year for a Grammy in the songwriting department," said Cameron of the man producing and mixing his new album in Toronto.

"I use a lot of slide guitar, a lot of dobros. It's not as rock/pop as my other records and is really more traditional. It's probably really leaning more towards the blues and folk, which has been a big part of my sound anyway. It's just always been masked by all the electric guitars."

Alberta, and Edmonton in particular, has always been a supportive home for Cameron and his music. "You could play (here) five nights a week. There were a lot of venues and I just realized it was a good base," he said.

His new album is slated for release next spring, "whether it's indie or not. I'd prefer it the other way, but it's coming out," he added.


- The Edmonton SUN

Everyone who attends the New Year’s Eve concert at LB’s Country Kitchen will be welcoming the upcoming year with some honest, heartfelt live music.
“It’s definitely going to be a good show,” says Bobby Cameron, who is grooving the St Albert stage on Dec 31. “I’m looking forward to playing with my old friends again.”

The friends Cameron mentions are keyboard player Gary Bowman, bassist Doug Radford and drummer Sandro Dominelli, who Cameron last played with four years ago when he lived in Edmonton.

Now residing in Toronto, Cameron still sees the Alberta capital as his second home.

“I find that here in Edmonton, if you’re really going for it as an artist, it’s easy to get the media and people behind you,” he says, taking a sip of his coffee. “Edmonton is home to me, no doubt about it.”

Even after getting into a fender-bender just a week after arriving here, Cameron is still very happy to be back.
“It still feels really good despite that,” he says laughing. Cameron has enjoyed plenty of successes over the last year, so he’ll be celebrating 2007 on New Year’s Eve along with everyone else at the show. He’s earned awards for Best Blues Artist, Best Blues Song for “Sueanna” and Artist of the Year at the Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards, and he also recorded a song with fellow Canadian singer Jully Black for her new album Just a Moment.

“Yeah, as a songwriter it was a really good year,” he says. “The song with Jully and some other parts made it memorable.

“Jully’s the real thing,” he continues, nodding his head. “We got together in my studio, started collaborating and we instantly clicked. She’s an amazing fireball of ideas.”

With a solid year behind him, the father of a one-year-old girl named Jaiden also has a lot to look forward to in 2008. He’s completing proposals for an independent radio show in Ontario and has his fourth CD coming out in April entitled, Out of the Blue, which is the first album he engineered and produced himself. His last album, Emotional Drift, was released in 2003 and since then, Cameron has withdrawn from the industry to focus on singing, producing and creating something that he believes is truly important in the grand scheme of things.

“I just want to create something real and something people will hopefully like,” he says about the new album. “I simply wanted to make a good record.”
And people will get to hear this sincerity when Cameron shares some of his new songs at his year-end concert, including a tune written for his late-friend and blues legend Long John Baldry called “The Boogie Woogie King.”

“I thought he was such a sweet man and I loved touring with him,” Cameron says, looking down at his coffee cup. “He taught me to play from the heart.” V

- VUE WEEKLY

One of the most striking aspects of Bobby Cameron is his versatility. As a performer, Cameron can play to any kind of venue, with a full band, by himself, with just a few musicians or even just a drummer, and he has enough material that he can keep any kind of crowd happy. As a songwriter, Cameron can write in a variety of styles, from his rock and folk tinged work on three solo albums, to the writing he’s done for Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm and R&B singer Jully Black. Not only is he versatile, he’s pretty busy too.



This Friday’s Blue Chair gig will be of the solo acoustic variety, a type of show that offers some advantages for audience members explains Cameron.



“The intensity’s the same but you really get inside of the song more and you can actually hear the essence of the song cause everything else is cleared away,” he says. “When you’re solo like that everything gets more exposed, and I guess it really gives the listener an intimate version of your trip.”



Excited to be performing live in his hometown of Edmonton, Cameron has spent much of the past few years writing for others. A different perspective on the music biz, being a hired gun was often a challenge for Cameron, something he says he enjoyed immensely, but not as much as performing.



“For most of my career I was just an artist really going for it and when I wrote, I wrote for myself. When I ended up with a publishing deal and for five straight years co-writing with other people, it was different. I would go into a room with four or five songwriters and we were writing with someone particular in mind and I never wrote like that before because whenever I wrote I just wrote when I felt I had something to say for myself and I’d only write something I’d actually be able to sing and play with a context or a lyric I really believed in,” he explains. “So this is really different—it took me a while to get into that because it’s almost like fast food, going into a drive thru to get a song written.”



Even though he spent a lot of time writing for others, nothing could have stopped Cameron writing for himself. In fact, the singer-songwriter should have an album ready to go by early next year.



“I’ve actually got one in the can right now that I’ve been massaging for the last year and a half and over the last few years I’ve been so busy working with other people that I kind of put it on hold,” he says excitedly. “I’m just putting on some final touches and then I’m gonna find a mixing engineer to mix it.” V

- Vue Weekly

"Bobby Cameron should be the next big solo artist to hit it large from this country, if he doesn’t, then we have a problem here folks. This is strong rock and roll filled with a ton of good hooks and dominating the whole proceeding, is Cameron’s fantastic guitar work”

- THE RECORD

"I have had the great pleasure of Bobby joining me on tour both in 2002 and again in 2004. Both tours were great successes as Bobby's guitar playing was a highlight both times. Bobby is one of Canada's great young guitarists and his talent is equal to many of the world's great guitarists. Please maker sure to catch Bobby whenever you can and I hope to have him join me on tour in the near future. Best wishes "

- Long John Baldry

“He isn’t looking for his musical identity, he knows who he is. He’s a great singer with great songs”

- Randy Staub - Recording Engineer (Nickleback, Metallica, Bon Jovi)

"Bobby is such an incredible talent. He’s truly one of those guys, that with the right connections, he’s going to be so well known. People from outside Edmonton who know him absolutely love his stuff. We’re definitely going to play him"
- Steve Jones - Director of Programming K-Rock and Mix 96

"Cameron knows a hook. His songs have radio play written all over them. He's a born front man with killer moves and a rough-edged voice that never lacks emotion"
- Neil Watson - Entertainment Editor Edmonton Sun

“An extremely well-rounded performer with intriguing songs, multi-faceted vocals, and onstage confidence that’s irresistible”

- Helen Metella - Edmonton Journal

"Multi-instrumentalist and superb songwriter Cameron also has a smoky rich voice that reminds me of Mark Cohn’s “ Walking in Memphis”
- Shane "Sled Dog" Michaels - The Bear

“Drowning on Dry Land, Bobby Cameron’s latest release, has a sound that could compete with any mainstream rock record out there”

- Mike Bell - Calgary Sun

“Congratulations to you on winning the National Guitar Championship. I know for you it is like winning the Stanley Cup”


- Mark Messier - New York Rangers

"Singer-songwriter Bobby Cameron's Drowning On Dry Land is 24-Karat, folk rock gold. Highlighting his superb vocals with acoustic and slide guitars, this runs the full gamut of emotions. From the opening vocals on "Inside Out" to the slashing chord changes of Grass is Never Greener, you'll be hooked"

- Emusic

"Singer-songwriter Bobby Cameron's Drowning On Dry Land is 24-Karat, folk rock gold. Highlighting his superb vocals with acoustic and slide guitars, this runs the full gamut of emotions. From the opening vocals on "Inside Out" to the slashing chord changes of Grass is Never Greener, you'll be hooked"

- Emusic

As Bobby Cameron will quickly discover, the music scene here has changed a bit since he left for Ontario a few years ago.

That a haunt like the Sidetrack Cafe is gone, where Cameron played his share of gigs over the years, will be the most obvious loss to the guitarist, singer and songwriter who made good use of his time in Ottawa and Toronto.

But if any musician is capable of adapting to change, it's the talented and extremely likable Cape Breton native who hit town in the late '80s and whose talents were quickly embraced by our music fans and musicians.

"That I have spent more of my life here than in Cape Breton says that this really is my hometown," he says.

Cameron, his wife and their little one opted to return to Edmonton where extended family will be an important component of day-to-day living. Trying to juggle family life with his career and his wife's profession was overtaxing, but Cameron exited Toronto with a number of business relationships built from the ground up on firm foundations.

As a songwriter he placed a handful of tunes with artists that are selling units including Canadian Idol success story Ryan Malcolm, and as a performing artist Cameron caught the attention of Toronto scenesters as he was recently named best blues artist at the Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards, and his tune Sueanna was named best blues song at the same awards show.

That Cameron's name sits with a co-writing credit on Just a Moment, the fourth track on Jully Black's Revival album, is only going to enhance his rep as an adaptable and very capable tunesmith.

"Jully's publishers hauled me into that camp because they wanted a tune for her album with a rootsy edge and I loved working with her. I also played some shows with her as a guitarist.

"There were successes and I broadened my resume. Through the backdoor, via my home studio, I started doing more engineering and helping develop some younger artists. One is a very good singer named Natasha Waterman."

Producer John Capek and Cameron also put the finishing touches on his next album, titled Out of the Blue, slated for release in April.

It's a straight-up roots and blues disc that will include the Sueanna tune and his tribute to Long John Baldry, The Boogie Woogie King. Cameron toured extensively with Baldry as his guitarist in both acoustic and band settings in the last two years of his life.

"Another recent highlight for me in Toronto was playing Hugh's Room at a show honouring Bernie Finkelstein and the anniversary of the fabled Riverboat club.

"The artists on the show played tunes by some of the great singer-songwriters who played there in its heyday. One of the songs I performed was Neil Young's Old Man."

Cameron will be playing a New Year's Eve show in St. Albert at LB's Kitchen.

"The band is Gary Bowman on keyboards and vocals, Sandro Dominelli on drums and Doug Radford on bass. With that lineup I plan on having a lot of fun," says the bandleader of his homecoming gig.

Phone 460-9100 for ticket information on that show - BY THE EDMONTON JOURNAL