Lemon Wedges
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Lemon Wedges

Rugby, England, United Kingdom | SELF

Rugby, England, United Kingdom | SELF
Band Pop Singer/Songwriter

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Music

Press


"Lemon Wedges do a Bauhaus cover."

And here's where you probably expect me to post the song from Bauhaus. Nope. Here's a Toronto band called Lemon Wedges covering it.
- Alan Cross


"Lemon Wedges do a Bauhaus cover."

And here's where you probably expect me to post the song from Bauhaus. Nope. Here's a Toronto band called Lemon Wedges covering it.
- Alan Cross


"Jana discusses music"

If music is the universal language of mankind, the worldwide web is helping all of us discover the artist within.

Every second, every day, titanic terabytes of data are uploaded and downloaded, through ISP bandwidths, exploding in a massive global exchange of melody, tune and song.

"It is so exciting to be a musician now," says Jana Foley (aka MissRedd).

"I can connect through icompositions.com with individual musicians all over the world who do stupendous work. I can get a guitar track from someone in England and we can work together back and forth."

iCompositions.com is one of

many online sites fostering musical expression. Basically it's a global creative community for musicians, comprised of about 95,000 members.

It lets musicians the world over collaborate with each other as well as share their material with a global audience.

For Foley, an unsigned artist originally from Kingston, this new musical paradigm has provided creative vistas she never thought possible.

"I feel lucky and I feel challenged," says the artist who produces her own material, has a degree in classical music from the University of Toronto, plays flute, piano, sings, and composes.

Foley says she has many musical influences, in part, thanks to the impact of the web.

She is just getting enough material to register with SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) for copyright. Eventually she aims to secure more mainstream airplay.

However Foley, like others, says there's a downside to this brave new cyberworld.

Though online music sites are flooded with an immense amount of wonderful material -- there is just so much it is hard to sift through it all. The quality can range from brilliant to "where some of it is just garbage," she says.

One way of sorting the wheat from the chaff is to monitor music blogs, she says. If you find one you like, check out the blogger's suggestions.

Other service sites, such as www.last. fm, will quiz you about songs you like. Then, using a statistical formula, it compares you to other members and makes suggestions based on songs you and others with your profile of tastes both enjoy.

"The system is still working out the kinks," Foley says. "But the possibilities are endless for creating music, for reaching your audience and for promoting your work."

Curt Sproule, 24, guitarist and songwriter for Kingston's Beautiful Inferno, echoes her enthusiasm.

"In the past few years, some indie bands who have gone it alone, without labels, have been discovered by a wider audience," he says. "Promotion through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other web elements make it possible for you to get the music out. And for people to learn about your concerts."

The band has been together since early high school days.

They have played at BarNone and Stages, among other venues, in Kingston and have developed quite a following. They were recently interviewed on CFRC radio, which played two of their songs. However, their first serious CD is being released on Oct. 16 at BarNone.

They, too, hope to register soon with SOCAN. The band would love to have a label, but not at the expense of compromising their work.

"We believe in ourselves and we get great feedback from concerts and CD sales at concerts," Sproule says.

"I think that is how you work it. Local concerts. Hard work and loving your music. Plus your reputation when people hear you and see you and can get the CD. They can hear us online and that is a big draw. It is very important."

Laurence Godfrey, a singer/songwriter who has lent his voice to recordings by Motherlode, Triumph and Crowbar, and who is now working with SOCAN, says the changes facing artists in today's music world can be seen as "exciting or very challenging."

In the old days, artists worked in as many venues as they could to get noticed, usually by a manager with connections to an A and R rep who would get them the attention of a record label. If lucky, the artists would sign a contract with a label and get a commitment to a certain number of songs or albums.

The label did the promotion, ran the tours, groomed the band and usually linked them to radio stations to push for air play. But all along the way, the folks involved took their commission.

Godfrey, who started in the business in 1953, hit his heyday after hearings in the late 1950s in the United States were held to clean up radio payola -- the practice of giving radio stations and others in the business payoffs in exchange for airplay.

"But even after that, it was never easy," says Godfrey.

"We busted our butts playing everywhere from the time we were young teenagers and finally we got a record contract," he said. "But after that, it was still very hard. We had a few hits that got good airplay and - Kingston Whig


"Jana discusses music"

If music is the universal language of mankind, the worldwide web is helping all of us discover the artist within.

Every second, every day, titanic terabytes of data are uploaded and downloaded, through ISP bandwidths, exploding in a massive global exchange of melody, tune and song.

"It is so exciting to be a musician now," says Jana Foley (aka MissRedd).

"I can connect through icompositions.com with individual musicians all over the world who do stupendous work. I can get a guitar track from someone in England and we can work together back and forth."

iCompositions.com is one of

many online sites fostering musical expression. Basically it's a global creative community for musicians, comprised of about 95,000 members.

It lets musicians the world over collaborate with each other as well as share their material with a global audience.

For Foley, an unsigned artist originally from Kingston, this new musical paradigm has provided creative vistas she never thought possible.

"I feel lucky and I feel challenged," says the artist who produces her own material, has a degree in classical music from the University of Toronto, plays flute, piano, sings, and composes.

Foley says she has many musical influences, in part, thanks to the impact of the web.

She is just getting enough material to register with SOCAN (the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) for copyright. Eventually she aims to secure more mainstream airplay.

However Foley, like others, says there's a downside to this brave new cyberworld.

Though online music sites are flooded with an immense amount of wonderful material -- there is just so much it is hard to sift through it all. The quality can range from brilliant to "where some of it is just garbage," she says.

One way of sorting the wheat from the chaff is to monitor music blogs, she says. If you find one you like, check out the blogger's suggestions.

Other service sites, such as www.last. fm, will quiz you about songs you like. Then, using a statistical formula, it compares you to other members and makes suggestions based on songs you and others with your profile of tastes both enjoy.

"The system is still working out the kinks," Foley says. "But the possibilities are endless for creating music, for reaching your audience and for promoting your work."

Curt Sproule, 24, guitarist and songwriter for Kingston's Beautiful Inferno, echoes her enthusiasm.

"In the past few years, some indie bands who have gone it alone, without labels, have been discovered by a wider audience," he says. "Promotion through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other web elements make it possible for you to get the music out. And for people to learn about your concerts."

The band has been together since early high school days.

They have played at BarNone and Stages, among other venues, in Kingston and have developed quite a following. They were recently interviewed on CFRC radio, which played two of their songs. However, their first serious CD is being released on Oct. 16 at BarNone.

They, too, hope to register soon with SOCAN. The band would love to have a label, but not at the expense of compromising their work.

"We believe in ourselves and we get great feedback from concerts and CD sales at concerts," Sproule says.

"I think that is how you work it. Local concerts. Hard work and loving your music. Plus your reputation when people hear you and see you and can get the CD. They can hear us online and that is a big draw. It is very important."

Laurence Godfrey, a singer/songwriter who has lent his voice to recordings by Motherlode, Triumph and Crowbar, and who is now working with SOCAN, says the changes facing artists in today's music world can be seen as "exciting or very challenging."

In the old days, artists worked in as many venues as they could to get noticed, usually by a manager with connections to an A and R rep who would get them the attention of a record label. If lucky, the artists would sign a contract with a label and get a commitment to a certain number of songs or albums.

The label did the promotion, ran the tours, groomed the band and usually linked them to radio stations to push for air play. But all along the way, the folks involved took their commission.

Godfrey, who started in the business in 1953, hit his heyday after hearings in the late 1950s in the United States were held to clean up radio payola -- the practice of giving radio stations and others in the business payoffs in exchange for airplay.

"But even after that, it was never easy," says Godfrey.

"We busted our butts playing everywhere from the time we were young teenagers and finally we got a record contract," he said. "But after that, it was still very hard. We had a few hits that got good airplay and - Kingston Whig


Discography

People & Places (Single 2013)
Space.In.Between (Single 2013)

Photos

Bio

Influences? Many from Beethoven to The Clash.

October 2013 Lemon Wedges cover 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' by Bauhaus.

Kevin Misan played in various local bands in his hometown Northampton UK before arriving in Toronto. He's posted his own songs as 'zallaz' and been played on radio stations globally as well as releasing (now deleted) an EP 'Cobblers By Name'.

Jana Foley got her degree in music from University Of Toronto. She has written her own songs for many years and goes by the solo artist name of 'MissRedd'. The last 5 years she has worked in the retail area of the music industry, sold a stack of other peoples music. She continues to sharpen her own already formidable musical ability.

Band Members