GORD DOWNIE TO RELEASE GRAPHIC NOVEL AND ALBUM
Just weeks after his last scheduled live performance, Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie is preparing to release a new album accompanied by a graphic novel that delves into the tragedy of the residential school system.
``Secret Path'' tells the harrowing story of a 12-year-old First Nations boy in Ontario who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont.
Downie says he learned the story of Chanie Wenjack, who was misnamed Charlie by his teachers, from a 1967 Maclean's magazine article entitled ``The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack.''
Downie recounts in a news release how the boy died beside railroad tracks trying to escape the school and trying to walk to his home 400 miles away.
Proceeds from the album and graphic novel will go to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Winnipeg.
Downie revealed in May that he suffers from an incurable form of brain cancer (glioblastoma) and last month completed the emotional ``Man Machine Poem'' Canadian tour with the Tragically Hip in his hometown of Kingston, Ont.
``Chanie haunts me,'' said Downie in the news release.
``His story is Canada's story. This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were.''
Downie began ``Secret Path'' as 10 poems that were fleshed into the 10 songs for the album, which was recorded over two sessions near Kingston in November and December 2013.
The album and 88-page graphic novel published by Simon & Schuster Canada will be released on Oct. 18, 2016.
(The Canadian Press)
SUSPECT IN DRAKE THEFT IS HOMELESS
The man accused of stealing a briefcase of jewelry from Drake's tour bus is a homeless man who works as a janitor.
Court documents indicate Travion Lamar King lives at a shelter and works for a company that cleans large facilities. He's charged with burglary and theft and has been released on his own recognizance.
Phoenix police say King stole the briefcase from the bus while Drake was onstage at Talking Stick Resort Arena Tuesday night. Police had said initially the jewelry was worth three-million dollars, but court documents say the victim estimates the value at 400-thousand dollars. The jewelry has been recovered. King was identified from surveillance footage and was already in jail for trespassing in Tempe.
---
MOBY RECALLS 9-11
One day in 2001, Moby had planned to work on music, then go out with friends for his birthday. His birthday happens to be September 11th and he was living in lower Manhattan at the time. Moby says he woke up to the plane hitting the first tower at the World Trade Center. He says his lasting impression of 9-11 is a ``provincial one,'' because while it was a huge catastrophic event for the country, it was in his back yard. Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of 9-11.
---
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BREAKS CONCERT LENGTH RECORD AGAIN
For those of you keeping a stopwatch on Bruce Springsteen, he keeps flirting with breaking his concert record.
Wednesday's show in Philadelphia clocked in at four hours, four minutes and 46 seconds, according to Philadelphia Daily News sports statistician Bob Vetrone Junior. That marks the longest show Springsteen has played in the U.S., breaking a record he set just last week. Springsteen's longest show was four hours and six minutes in Helsinki, Finland, in 2012. Springsteen has two concerts left:
Pittsburgh on Sunday and Foxborough, Massachusetts, next Wednesday.
---
``PURE IMAGINATION'' GETS BOOST AFTER GENE WILDER'S DEATH
Gene Wilder's death caused a lot of people to rediscover the song ``Pure Imagination'' from ``Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.'' Billboard reports Wilder's rendition of the song was streamed 239-thousand times in the week following his death. Even cover versions saw a boost. Versions of ``Pure Imagination'' by Josh Groban, Fiona Apple and the cast of ``Glee'' saw significant jumps as well.
---
LAUREN ALAINA ADMITS SHE WAS BULIMIC
Lauren Alaina is going public with her struggle with bulimia, what she calls her ``deepest, darkest secret.'' Alaina tells the Nashville Tennessean she Googled herself while she was a 16-year-old contestant on ``American Idol'' in 2011 and found a blogger who put a pig nose and ears on her in every post. She got so obsessed with her weight that she ate 500 calories a day and took injections to lose weight while on the ``American Idol'' tour.
Alaina admitted her illness when she saw a doctor about polyps on her vocal cords that she had since she was young. The doctor told her if she didn't quit throwing up, she'd never sing again. Her mom and friends helped her overcome her bulimia. Now she has a chef and a trainer to help her. Alaina's struggles inspired her new single, ``Road Less Travelled.''
---
RIOTFEST ACTS MADE INTO GARBAGE PAIL KIDS CARDS
Andrew W-K and NO-F-X have been made into Garbage Pail Kids cards. ``Awesome Andrew'' has blood spurting out of his nose, and the NO-F-X card plays up Fat Mike in an obvious way. GWAR and Taking Back Sunday are also part of the limited-run series that will be sold at Riot Fest in Chicago next weekend.
---
FRIGHTENED RABBIT DISCUSS THE WEATHER
Frightened Rabbit have found that one thing that can have a surprising impact on their sound during an outdoor show is which way the wind blows. Drummer Grant Hutchison says it may appear to the audience that the sound keeps cutting out, but it's the wind. Frightened Rabbit are from Scotland and the weather can be a real factor in their concerts. Hutchison says Scotland has a lot of rain and cold, but a show on a sunny day with a cup of beer can be ``brilliant.''
--- FAITH HILL AND TIM McGRAW WILL GET NASHVILLE Honour
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw will be the next inductees into Nashville's Music City Walk of Fame. The medallions in their honour will be unveiled in a ceremony on October 5.
---
BARBRA STREISAND WILL SERVE AS CHAIR FOR PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Barbra Streisand will lead the efforts to create a performing arts centre at the World Trade Center in New York. She will be the chair of the proposed Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center, named for the billionaire businessman who donated 75-million dollars for the project. The centre's design calls for three theatres. The Tribeca Film Festival eventually will be moved there.
The centre is set to open in 2020.
---
(The Associated Press)
