Paul James

Paul James turned 75 on Jan 18 and still looks like a young rocker. Recently, through the grapevine, I heard Paul had a health scare. I won’t speculate on that because his party at the Phoenix proved he is still our Rockabilly champion.

His drummer so and so, could not make it out due to his own personal problem so Paul scrambled to get a new drummer.

Each year around this time Paul James throws himself a birthday bash to show us music fans that he is very grateful that he gets to do what he loves and he gives us a birthday present each and every year.

This actually started about 25 years ago when he threw his first birthday bash at Healey’s.

Paul did that for a few years and then moved his party to the larger Healey’s on Blue Jay Way. Since then, he has had his parties at the Sound Academy, the Opera House. The last plenty of years Paul has been throwing his party at the Phoenix.

This leaves a big question. Where will Paul throw his party next year?  As you know the Phoenix is in its last year operating at 410 Sherbourne Ave and is currently looking for a new location for next year.

Free Show

I have a lot of conversations with music lovers about everything and one of the hot topics is that concerts are too expensive. I totally agree. There are artists and venues that are working hard to combat these gouging prices and still want to bring in a happy audience.

The good news is that there are plenty of free shows and Pay What You Can (PWYC) shows around town. Blast Toronto will be looking for those kinds of shows and put them in our Events Calendar. We are working towards a very comprehensive music directory so you can find out what shows are happening that are free or inexpensive. I truly am NOT a fan of spending hundreds of dollars for a couple of hours of entertainment. It’s almost cheaper to hire a hooker and a bottle of wine to enjoy a night out these days. (Remember that guy at the Coldplay Concerts with his Girlfriend? That night the tickets probably cost him $1000, and his divorce MILLIONS!)

The Party

The Phoenix was pretty packed with a great mix of his loyal fans over the years as well as some newcomers who probably got dragged out with a friend to this show. I am sure you are thanking your friend for dragging you around.

Our local rockabilly legend did not disappoint. He came out with a mission. I am 75 Years young and we are celebrating life tonight! So, beside his classic rockabilly songs like, The Joint out Back, and Lazy Crazy days, Paul pulled out a bunch of classic rock songs.

He is the first to tell you he has a lot of musical heroes, but the names I hear over and over are Bob Dylan and Bo Diddley. With that combination, you can be pretty sure you are going to hear songs like, “Highway 61 Revisited” and “Like a Rolling Stone”.  You also know we are going to sing, “Hey Bo Diddley” with him at some point.

If it is classic rock that you love, you are going to love his choices. He played some Chuck Berry, some Roy Orbison, some Animals and Rolling Stones.

There is always a touching moment when Sweet Sue makes her appearance and does a duet with her man. It now feels like truly intimate show.

One of the highlights came when Paul began to play “Jailhouse Rock” and seeing Max Brand run on stage to sing this song. If anyone has seen Max live, you know he puts in 110% when he performs. Just go to my Instagram page and see for yourself. Here is the link.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTvnj_CESyr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Some awesome shots of Paul James:

 Let’s get this conversation started

Toronto is so filled with talent that it could take decades to getting around seeing all of our artists. We are dedicated to bringing you every genre of music, so you, as sound explorers can go out and enjoy the richness of our musical city. We will be on the pulse of up-and-coming acts as well as letting you know when legends are playing around town, like Paul James.

When you read articles like this, I would love to hear your comments about what you would to see happen with our scene or simply make a comment about the show I am talking about. Blast Toronto wants to be able to help shape the musical scene to be a place of joy and exploration.  I need you to guide me and let me know what is truly important to you and the music scene.

For you artists that would like to gain more attention, invite us to your shows, let us interview you or do something to garner more attention. This is your chance to help build up our magazine to really inject the city with a new way to go and enjoy music.