The Pearl Company

Gary Santucci Solo & Pearl Review Re-View: Saturday, January 21, 8:00pm. $15 door/$10 artists/students – For Concert and Reception: (free Pearl Review as part of package.) Response was so good that if you missed The Pearl Review kick-off last week, we’re doing it again this Saturday with a concert thrown in. Come on by! We’ll start the evening with an intimate evening of guitar music: Classical guitar, World Music, and original compositions from Gary Santucci. (Trained in Spain [and Canada] and playing his unique brand of flamenco and world music for over 30 years, he has become a consummate musician whose repertoire spans numerous genres.  Among his awards is Best Classical Musician 1982 [Hamilton Wentworth Council of the Arts],  The City of Hamilton Arts Award for Music 2004, and together with Barbara Milne, The City of Hamilton Arts Award 2008 for Lifetime Achievement.)
After the concert: 10:00pm. No charge; except you have to buy a newspaper….  We’ll adjourn to the loft to celebrate The Pearl Review Quarterly: This packed first issue of 76 pages for $2.95 is filled with compelling, inquiring, diverse opinions, photo essays and stories.  Come join the party; purchase a copy; become a Patron subscriber.  Special patron subscriber packages include Art Bus Certificates, discounts on Pearl Company events and Pearl District products, and a free Gary Santucci CD. We will have Food and Refreshments available.

BEETLEBARROW Books Presents: A Japanese Bookbinding Workshop: Saturday, January 14: 9:00a.m. – 4:00p.m. $60. Want to meet fellow bookbinders? Looking for a great way to spend a Saturday? Join local artists Chandra Rice and Lindsay Slavin and learn how to bind your own books using ancient Japanese techniques and modern tricks of the trade.  Go home with a beautiful hardcover book you’ve made from start to finish. You’ll be making a large, hardcover, Japanese Stab book.  For $60, Lindsay and Chandra will provide all the materials and tools.  They will even feed you a delicious home-made lunch.  All skill levels are welcome and make to look good. Sign up with a friend, or come and make new friends! Workshops will be happening monthly: January 14, February 18, March 17, and May 12.
Chandra Rice is a maker; most herself when making something with her hands.  She’s been a teacher, a researcher and a Jill-of-many-trades.  Lindsay Slavin’s studio is ready to make books, photographs, paintings, quilts, drawings which all play very nicely together.  To register or for information email makers@beetlebarrow.ca www.beetlebarrow.ca

Pearl Review Launch: Saturday, January 14. Open House! The Pearl Review Quarterly Lifts off from the Loft on Saturday beginning @ 8:00pm.  A packed first issue of 76 pages for $2.95.  Compelling, inquiring diverse opinions, Photo Essays and Stories.  Join the party; purchase a copy; become a Patron subscriber.  Special patron subscriber packages include Art Bus Certificates, discounts on Pearl Company events and Pearl District products, and a free Gary Santucci CD. (If you are already a subscriber, come by and get your copy and your package!)  Food and refreshments available.

The Art Bus is Sponsored by Judy Marsales Real Estate Brokerage:

First 2 Fridays of every month! (Except January when it is only the second Friday…) Check out an art scene which changes every single month and which will leave you breathless!
Seats available for upcoming buses.  Next dates: February 3 & 10.

January 13: We will start with a stroll down Ottawa Street – Earls Court Gallery, Under the Moon, Allsorts Gallery, and Sketch Gallery .  We will then head to the James North Art Crawl with its blocks and blocks of studios, galleries, eclectic shops, music  & more… Finishing up at the inimitable Tiger Group Studio Gallery; more great art and refreshments!

Andy White: Thursday, January 12. 8:00pm. $15 door/$10 artists/students: White has earned a global following for blending folk and pop stylings with a poet’s sensibility. Working with the great names of Irish music – Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison – and writing with the likes of Peter Gabriel and Neil and Tim Finn, Andy has won Ireland’s top songwriting awards and toured the world many times over. This singer-songwriter carries a 12-string guitar under his arm and wears his particular brand of Irish charm on his sleeve. With the political edge of Billy Bragg, the romance of David Gray and the Celtic lyricism of the Waterboys, Andy is a fully paid up ‘21st Century Troubadour’ (and that’s also the title of his first book, recently published in Ireland to rave reviews).
Belfast born and raised, Andy’s latest release ‘Songwriter’ is his tenth studio album. Released on Floating World in Europe and slated for release by Judy Collins’ Wildflower Records in North America later in 2011, it was recorded in Vancouver with members of the Be Good Tanyas, Neko Case’s band, and features special guests Allison Russell from Po’ Girl on vocals and Radoslav Lorkovic on piano.
As well as touring ‘Songwriter’ and his second book ‘21st Century Troubadour’ (Lagan Press), Andy is preparing for the release of the eponymous debut album from Fearing & White, his collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Stephen Fearing.  www.andywhite.com

Ryan Van Sickle: January 7; 8:00pm. $15 at the door: Born and raised in Dundas, now living in New York,Van Sickle comes home to rock The Pearl! Writing songs of character and integrity that resound the timeless and universal, Ryan Van Sickle uniquely translates the themes of love, war, life and death and the epic and mundane struggles within. Following in the steps of the masters from his native Canada, Ryan draws on the influences of Neil Young, Daniel Lanois, and Leonard Cohen alongside American greats Bruce Springsteen and Emmylou Harris. With the release of his latest album Ghosts Of The Brokenhearted, Ryan emerges as a powerful singer songwriter; asserting prowess in building a lyrical highway with a strong voice to carry his listeners on the journey. http://www.reverbnation.com/ryanvansickle

Valdy: Friday January 6. 8:00pm. $20 advance/$25 at the door:  Born Valdemar Horsdal in Ottawa, Valdy has been part of the fabric of Canadian pop and folk music for over 34 years. A man with a thousand friends, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to Texas to New Zealand, he’s a singer, guitarist and songwriter who catches the small but telling moments that make up life. Valdy has sold almost half a million copies of his 13 albums, has two Juno Awards (Folk Singer of the Year and Folk Entertainer of the Year) with a total of seven Juno nominations and four Gold albums to his credit.
Valdy has taken his music to a dozen different countries, from Denmark to Australia and been an often-invited performer at the prestigious Kerrville Festival in Texas. His recent television appearances include Canada AM and Open Mike with Mike Bullard. Valdy has also been a panelist on Front Page Challenge, and played a lead role in an episode of The Beachcombers original series.
Today, he is based on Salt Spring Island, where he lives with his wife Kathleen, three dogs and a large cat. All three children are grown, flown and doing famously living in or near Vancouver, or Colorado.  www.valdy.com (more…)