QCCR hosted a session on Thursdy to generate ideas for events on the Liverpool waterfront and elsewhere. (Rick Conrad)

A food truck festival, a chili cookoff and Movies on the Mersey were among the dozens of ideas for Liverpool’s Privateer Park tossed around Wednesday evening at Queens Place Emera Centre.

QCCR hosted a community meeting to generate ideas for more events on the Liverpool waterfront and elsewhere in Queens County.

Station manager Norm Amirault said he wanted to hold the session after seeing some comments on Facebook about people wanting more to do in Privateer Park.

“And honestly, I’d felt that way myself,” he said in an interview. “You have this beautiful park, and you wonder why there aren’t more activities going on there. 
I always thought if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. … And based on the feedback tonight, there’s a ton of good ideas out there that people really do want to see more activities there.”

About 20 people discussed ideas for a more vibrant waterfront, like holding more seasonal festivals similar to last March’s Light Up Queens Winter Night Festival, more events targeted toward youth, encouraging more performing arts besides music in the park. And there was even talk of a Beatles festival.

Min Smale is the secretary-treasurer of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce. She’s also the chair of the Privateer Days committee, which holds the popular annual festival in the park every June.

She was impressed with people’s ideas.

“I think they’re fantastic, and I think it’s really going to revitalize both the waterfront or Privateer Park as well as some of the smaller, lesser-known venues across Queens.

“I think it was great to see the younger folks come in here and enjoy the conversation. They need to be involved in the music and the entertainment scene here.”

One of those young people was Easton Goodwin. He and some of his high school bandmates were at the event.

“I’m glad I came out tonight. 
Usually, not a lot of people like me come out to this kind of thing. And it’s such a great opportunity, you know? There’s a lot of voices in Queens County that really need to be heard.”

“We definitely do have some highlights, such as the Astor Theatre, a lot to explore there, but also, you know, a group of teens want to hang out Friday night, where do they go? 
So, some spots for people to just explore, hang out with friends, and more opportunities for the youth.”

A couple of roadblocks exist in turning the ideas into reality — finding enough funding and volunteers. 

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton told the group that while the municipality can’t fund everything, there could be some money available for certain events.

Amirault said he’ll collect the ideas into some common themes, and then approach some local groups like the chamber to try to get things going.

“Maybe as we talked about bite sized pieces, partnerships, and focus on a few things and do them well. Maybe that’s a reasonable first step.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Joe Wood of Liverpool has been inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. (Photo courtesy of Joe Wood)

Joe Wood serves up a little music history every week from a Tim Horton’s in Liverpool.

The veteran of the Canadian country music scene is now part of history himself. He is this year’s inductee in the Stan Klees builder category in the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.

For the past 35 years, Wood’s RDR Music Group, which he co-founded with his ex-wife Trudy Wood, has been helping independent country artists and others in Canada and elsewhere get their music onto radio stations.

“At this point, we’ve sent over 10,000 songs and albums and videos to radio stations across Canada and the United States.”

Wood’s wife Lauren Tutty is also involved in the music business. Lauren Tutty Promotions tracks the music for artists once it gets to radio.

QCCR spoke to Wood recently on the phone from Toronto, where he was visiting family.

Originally a singer-songwriter in the late 1970s and ’80s, he started out in Toronto pressing vinyl, cassettes and CDs for other artists. 

And when things got less physical, he pioneered digital delivery for independent artists. His was the first company in Canada to send music to radio stations over the internet. His office is anywhere he can get a connection.

“Sometimes I’ll go to MacDonald’s or Tim Horton’s or sometimes, I’ll tether my computer to my phone and I’ll go out and sit in Western Head or I’ll go out and sit in Milton and work in the car for an hour especially if it’s a beautiful day. And that’s the wonderful thing about this job. I can work anywhere that there’s internet.”

Wood says music lovers likely wouldn’t have heard of Yangaroo/DMDS, the service he uses to push music to radio, but they’d be familiar with the artists.

“They’ll hear Lennie Gallant, Jimmy Rankin, they’ll hear Valdy, they’ll hear Gord Bamford, they’ll hear Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, all those clients have come through my hands and actually, the majority of those clients came through Liverpool.”

He was among the first to create a compilation CD of independent artists for radio, called Country Pak. And he launched one of the first toll-free services for artists to market their music.

About five years ago, from his home in Liverpool, Wood helped a Garth Brooks song debut at No. 1 on the Billboard country charts.

“So I was part of the team in Canada and there were three others in the United States. … We all got on the phone at the same time. Literally from Mersey Avenue, we counted down the time and it was like 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, click, we all pushed go at the same time, said goodbye to everybody, hung the phone up, and the next day, Garth Brooks debuted at No. 1 on Billboard.”

Wood’s involvement with the Canadian Country Music Association goes back to 1991. He served on its board of directors from 1992-96 and helped establish the CCMA Independent Awards in 1997.

As part of the induction, Wood’s name will be displayed on a wall at the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame at the National Music Centre in Calgary. And he says he’ll likely donate an original copy of that first compilation CD as his piece of memorabilia.

Wood isn’t the first Queens County resident to be named to the hall. He’ll join Brooklyn’s Hank Snow and Port Medway’s Carroll Baker.

He said being honoured by his peers with an award named for his friend, Canadian music pioneer Stan Klees, is pretty special.

“When you work in the sector of the industry I do, the independent sector which is massive now, it just means that they acknowledge it, they understand that that sector, that the people that are the up-and-coming artists have a voice. And for me to be recognized in that area means everything.”

After almost five decades in the music business, the 71-year-old says he’s still passionate about it. 

“I love the music. It’s not work. It’s certainly not work. I get to sit down every day and there’s fresh stuff on my laptop that I get to hear. And you get to help people too. That’s the great fun. I help people go to radio. And I make sure people don’t make mistakes, the mistakes I made.”

Wood says someone asked him recently when he plans to retire. 

“You know what, I’m getting the kids of the parents I put out many, many years ago, 20 years ago. And now I get to work with them. And they’ll tell me at the end, “Oh, you worked with my Dad or you worked with my Mom.’ And I’ll say, ‘Oh my you tell them I said hi.’

“It’s fun. I think I’m gonna hang in there till I get the grandkids, then I’ll retire.”

Wood will be formally inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame with artist Lisa Brokop in a ceremony during Country Music Week from Sept. 10 to 13 in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Members of the South Queens Middle School Grade 7/8 band perform at the Queens County Music Festival in late April. (Rick Conrad)

It looks like the band program at South Queens Middle School in Liverpool will live to play another day, though it’s unclear in what form.

Parents and others vented their frustrations online a couple of weeks ago when they heard the school planned to cut the program for next year.

It came on the eve of the 80th annual Queens County Music Festival at the Astor Theatre. The festival features young musicians and vocalists from school and private music programs being scored on their performances by trained adjudicators.

The middle school’s Grade 7 and 8 band competed at the festival.

Principal Stacy Thorburn told QCCR on Wednesday that she hopes to have good news for students and parents by the end of the week.

“It’s in the works. I’m in conversations to find out how it will look next year.”

The program includes about 40 students. 

In a message to students and their families on Friday, the school said they’re looking at ways to continue offering it next year. 

“School administration is having ongoing conversations with nearby schools to explore potential collaboration opportunities and are looking at creative staffing solutions, all with the intention to continue offering the band program,” the note read.

“Additionally, discussions regarding the band program are planned with the school advisory council.”

Thorburn didn’t want to comment on what led to the worries about the program’s survival.

“I would rather not because there are lots of things that go into play. And I’ve had conversations with our (school advisory council) and members of our community who have asked so I’d rather keep it at that for now, until we know for sure what’s happening.

“It will be here next year in some form.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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