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The sixth annual Ontario Country Music Showdown is known as a launching pad for up and coming talent, said organizer Gale Ellis.
"Our mandate is to help singers make it in this industry," said another organizer, Christina Deline. "Here they get a step up by getting on the big stage at the jamboree and they win some money."
There were 21 contestants performing at the show this year, Ellis said, ranging in age from 12 to 60. The first-place winner gets to perform at the Havelock Jamboree.
"If that were me, I would be ecstatic to perform on stage at the jamboree," Ellis said. "You never know, they may get discovered."
Along with prizes for first, second and third place, Ellis said, this is also the first year for a fans' choice award.
People, many of whom are in town for the jamboree, brought a camping chair to the Havelock Community Centre to watch the contest.
"It's a great show. All the performers are really good," said Sharon McEwen, from Ingersoll, who is camping at the jamboree with her partner, Doug Sharp.
While the bands played, some couples danced, but many more clapped, stamped their feet and sang along.
Chantele Booth, 23, said the show offered a good variety of ages and styles of country music.
"I think this is amazing and a great way to find new talent," she said.
"It's been a really good show."
All profits from the show will be donated to the Five Counties Children's Centre, Sick Kids Foundation and several local youth organizations such as minor hockey and figure skating, Ellis said.
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Winners
2008 Havlock Country Music Showdown - Fan's Choice Award: Teak Rivers & The Handsome Shadows
- Peterborough Examiner
Discography
Hope & Heartache - 2009
01. Only One For Me
02. Heartache
03. It's Not Happening For Me
04. One Horse Town
05. Favourite Waste Of Time
06. That's What I Want
07. Under Your Spell
08. Draw A Line In The Sand
09. How Can You Blame Me
10. 1985
11. It's Only Time
12. Some Kind Of Magic
Photos
Bio
Although Teak Rivers is new to the country music scene, he has been playing, writing and recording music for a number of years. Teak Rivers is the flip side of Gary Brown, a name Canadian music fans will recall from his successes as lead singer and principal songwriter with THE TENANTS - a power pop unit which toured with Rush, Simple Minds, Tom Cochrane and Red Rider. Scoring Top 40 hits from two albums, most notably "Sheriff", a song that landed in the Top 10 for 5 weeks - and is still heard on radio today.
Gary left the mainstream music scene to build a Toronto rehearsal and recording studio. This put him in steady contact with new music and some of the best players the city had to offer. In the process, he honed his ability to craft a song from the notebook to the mixing boards. Later an opportunity came to relocate to the Kawartha Lakes and build a world-class studio combining old school analog with a cutting edge digital environment. This is where the debut album from Teak Rivers and the Handsome Shadows - Hope and Heartache was recorded.
The album houses 12 songs mixing new country, rock and pop sensibilities, not unlike what you would hear if The Byrd's went country. The Coles Notes summary of the record would read: Melodic songs with hook-laden choruses, heartfelt lyrics, and top-drawer musicianship.
Some of the players who lent their talents to the record include:
Drummer - Randy Cooke (Five For Fighting, Ringo Starr, Kelly Clarkson)
Bassist - Rob Laidlaw (Alannah Myles, Honeymoon Suite, Mike Reno of Loverboy)
Drummer - Chris Neil (Glass Tiger, Amanda Marshall, Randy Bachman)
Organist - Eric Lambier (Shania Twain)
Pedal Steel - Steve Smith (Tommy Hunter)
Also tapped was Dee Long (Klaatu) who arranged strings and Damian Jacobs who acted as co-producer, engineer, backing vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and occasional sparring partner.
"Teak Rivers is actually a project I started awhile back, because I had some songs written that didn't fit the style of the bands I was in at the time. It seemed that my writing over time just naturally changed to my present style. As corny as it sounds every song on this project is something I have lived through. They are all heartfelt and sometimes painful songs about going through what life throws at you. There may be a little more depth to them lyrically than my earlier work, but you can still sing along or dance to them. These are the types of songs I tend to gravitate to when I hear them on radio."
In 2008, Teak Rivers and the Handsome Shadows beat out 21 other acts to claim the Fan's Choice Award at the Havelock Jamboree kickoff!
Charged with the challenge of bringing the album to the concert halls and juke joints are "The Handsome Shadows". The band creates a big, intricate sound with keys, pedal steel, mandolin and other surprises and is comprised of Frank Watt, Brent Farrow, Andy Luck, Steve Smith, Chris Hiney, PJ Hovercraft and Brayden Brown - Teak's 19 year old son.
With so many talented people making contributions to the record, it's not surprising to learn how much of an asset Brayden (aka Teak Jr) was to the project. He has two co-writing credits on the album, played a variety of instruments on the recordings and when it came time for the Teak album photo shoot, Brayden suggested a young photographer friend named Joey Lawrence who was gaining street cred with many underground bands. The photo shoot was a huge success and when talk turned to getting a video together for a future single, Joey L was on board right away.
Since then the rest of the work has taken notice of his unique abilities. Most notably Joey did the still photography for the film "Twilight" and has worked with acts such as Panic at the Disco, Disturbed, G-Unit and the Jonas Brothers.
Teak Rivers and the Handsome Shadows are ready for the mainstream, and we all know a main stream needs its rivers.
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