Nat Lauzon jumps to The Q 92.5 FM; Ken Connors shifting to weekends

The Q92.5 FM continues to raid the refrigerator at Virgin Radio. First it was morning man Cat Spencer, who agreed to terms in the spring to replace Aaron Rand. Because of a non-compete clause in his contract, the Cat cannot begin with the Q until late August. Today, Q General Manager Mark Dickie confirmed to me that popular Virgin mid-day host Nat Lauzon (left) is jumping shift. She will slip into the weekend (Noon to 5 p.m.) slot on the Q in October. Because of contractual arrangements she remains part of Virgin until then.

Why go from a full-time five day a week job to simply weekends'? "I think it is a lifestyle change for Nat," reasons Dickie. "For us, it is part of creating a blockbuster weekend format at the Q."
Blockbuster? Well yes, because besides Nat Lauzon weekday drive mainstay Ken Connors (right) will also switch over in August and become the host of a weekend 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. program. On Sundays he will even stick around longer, from 10 a.m. to Noon, with a separate all-request show. The Q already has a smoking hot mid-morning Saturday show (10 a.m. to Noon) with the exceptionally talented, beautiful and incredibly bilingual Anne-Marie Witenshaw.

"We are going to treat weekends just like weekdays," said Dickie.

Donna Saker will have an expanded shift, going from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Look for more announcements soon.

As for Virgin, well now that they have to fill yet another spot. Freeway Frank took over from Spencer and then Heather B left for a job in Cleveland, replaced by Nikki. Who should replace Nat? It is time to give the multi-talented Kelly A (A for Alexander) a full-time gig. She is great on weekends, fill-in and special assignment and homegrown.

Catherine Sherriffs is the new CTV Montreal late night anchor

CTV Montreal Director of News and Public Affairs Jed Kahane sure was thinking outside of the box when selecting the successor to Debra Arbec as late night anchor. Catherine Sherriffs(pictured) got the nod and she will debut on July 4. Arbec, of course, left to become suppertime co-anchor on CBC TV. Most people thought that one of the two weekend anchors, Tarah Schwartz or Paul Karwatsky would be chosen. If not them, perhaps one of the veteran reporters.

A reporter for CTV Montreal’s top-rated newscasts for the past two years, Sherriffs is a familiar face and voice to Montrealers. Additionally, she has spent the past four years as a newscaster on Virgin Radio and CHOM FM. I am sure she will not miss those 4 a.m. wakeups,

“Catherine is a dynamic and skilled journalist who can tackle any story”, said Kahane. “Whether she’s covering hard news or topics that are a little lighter, Catherine has a way of connecting with the audience, and we know she’ll continue to build that connection in this new job.”

Sherriffs grew up in Morin Heights and studied journalism at Concordia University. She is the niece of Murray Sherriffs from The Q 92.5 FM. As part of her new assignment, she will continue reporting for CTV’s flagship supper-hour newscast.

Why did Kahane choose someone who has never anchored on TV before? I asked him this question. "Because we have every reason to expect she’ll be great at it," he told me. " True, she hasn’t anchored a television newscast before, but she’s been a live newscaster on radio for years, and I’d venture that viewers who’ve seen her live reporting on CTV for the past couple of years will agree she has a great on-air presence. We’re confident that she will shine through on the anchor desk. Besides, just about every TV anchor in this country started out as a reporter, and one day, simply made the leap to the anchor chair. So we’re not exactly reinventing the wheel here."

TEAM 990 throws a terrific 10th birthday bash; awaits Habs news

Photos: Mitch Melnick and Wayne Bews; Robin Burns and Annakin Slayd; Paul Massie and Steve Traynor; TEAM 990 sales rep Elizabeth Farnesi, Ron Francis and son Rod Francis.

I had a great time last week at THE TEAM 990’s 10th anniversary party held at the Paul Stevens Dinner Club in Pointe Claire. Paul Massie and Steve Traynor (as in Paul Stevens) were terrific hosts, offering an open bar, serving up tantalizing hor d’oeuvres and a delicious buffet featuring roast beef, chicken, shrimp, mashed potatoes, rice and vegetables. There was live music by the Shane Murphy Band and comic relief from stand up comics Scott Faulconbridge and Mike Patterson.

TEAM 990 general manager Wayne Bews assembled a VIP guest list of about 200 people, inviting them to come by during a live broadcast of the Mitch Melnick drive home show from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Melnick signed off at 7 p.m. as the Shane Murphy Band took to the stage. After 8 p.m. the general public was invited in.

I have been a loyal listener of THE TEAM 990 since they first went on the air, with Melnick and the late Ted Blackman hosting the morning show. They were part of a national network, set up by CHUM Radio, which did not last very long. THE TEAM, though, survived. Initially they had broadcast rights to the Expos. When they left town for Ottawa, some people in the industry predicted an imminent death. But THE TEAM 990 was rejuvenated five years ago when Bews took charge of the operation. The station has a solid morning show with Elliott Price, Shaun Starr and Denis Casavant; Tony Marinaro is probably the best hockey analyst in town and a joy to listen to; old pro Randy Tieman turned out to be the perfect fit for radio when PJ Stock quit; Melnick is the king of sports talk radio and always includes a steady diet of rock ‘n roll as well; Rod Francis, Melnick’s producer, has great knowledge of sports and politics; Paramount Financial Services boss Lorne Rubin contributes an entertaining market minute weekdays at 4:45 p.m. sprinkled with sports notes; contributors Stephen Brunt of The Globe and Mail and TSN’s Pierre McGuire represent “must listen to” radio when their bits come up; Connor McKenna is a rising star as are a few others.

Photos: Peter Dalla Riva and Andie Bennett; NHL referee Dave Jackson and The Gazette's Pat Hickey

Melnick gave Andie Bennett the opportunity to blossom into a solid sportscaster and she did so in spades, catching the attention of CBC Radio One Daybreak which hired her last winter. At THE TEAM 990 producers became on air personalities. Besides Starr and Francis, there is Shaun Campbell, Mitch Gallo and Amanda Stein. THE TEAM 990 is the home of the Impact soccer broadcasts, with Brian Wilde and Noel Butler. Part-time hosts include Matthew Ross, Nick Murdocco and Gary Whittaker. Jessica Rusnak handles announcing and sales while Dino Ceresa works on sales and promotions. Elizabeth Farnesi and Karen Bryant-Pepper have worked there in sales since day one. Scott Saxon is the creative director, responsible for the on air commercials. Chris Robitaille oversees engineering while Bernice Davies (traffic) and Len Joseph (accounting) are also originals. A couple of new sales reps were hired recently, Ken Doran and Sheldon Novack, both with solid radio experience. Sounds like some foreshadowing for a big Habs sales campaign.

According to the buzz in the room, the Canadiens will announce very soon that they are shifting English hockey broadcasts to THE TEAM 990. THE TEAM is under the large umbrella of Bell Media, which of course also owns CTV and TSN. Bell has a minority interest in the Canadiens. The Habs play out of the “Bell Centre,” so despite the fact CJAD is owned by media giant Astral it appears as if this time the odds were stacked in THE TEAM’s favor. We will also have to watch and see if they change their name to TSN Radio, as rumoured.

Look for Elliott Price to handle the play-by-play and either Chris Nilan or Sergio Momesso to do colour commentary. Nilan , the former Habs enforcer, has enjoyed a lot of air time on Melnick’s show the last few months. He told me when we sat down in March that he had applied for the job with CJAD last summer, but lost out to Momesso who did a great job with play by play man Rick Moffat.

Back to the 10th anniversary party: everyone had a blast. The atmosphere was perfect for folks to chat and network. Among those I spotted were rapper Annakin (Andrew Farrar) Slayd and his brother Jay (manager of Maclean’s Pub), The Gazette’s Pat Hickey and Randy Phillips, Andie Bennett, football legend Peter Dalla Riva, Robert Vairo of the Montreal TV-Radio School, former NHLer Robin Burns, NHL referee Dave Jackson, Stephen Brunt and a host of others.

I told Brunt how much I thoroughly enjoy his contributions to the Melnick show at 4:25 p.m. weekdays. He will soon be taking the summer off from the program. One of this country’s great sports writers. If you want to see his brilliance on electronic media, check out this video essay he did for CTV at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
















Photos: Dwight Walton, Shaun Starr and hockey writer/ CTV web reporter Arpon Basu;The Shane Murphy Band. (all photos taken by the author)

Julia Roberts has arrived in Montreal

Actress Julia Roberts and her entourage arrived in Montreal on Thursday. The superstar actress will begin filming the blockbuster movie Snow White soon. For more details click here.

Lyric Theatre present outstanding show

The Lyric Theatre Singers, recognized as a long-standing producer and promoter of musical theatre in the Montreal area, hit the stage at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall at the NDG Loyal Campus of Concordia University with four shows between June 9 to 11. They did not disappoint.

Broadway Rhythm was this year’s theme as the award-winning vocal ensemble presented highlights from Broadway’s most popular and beloved shows: Rodgers and Hart (Johnny One Note, My Funny Valentine), Lerner and Loewe (Almost Like Being In Love), Cole Porter (Another Op’nin’, Another Show), Stephen Sondheim (Little Things, Being Alive, Sunday in the Park), Charles Strouse (It’s the Hard Knock Life, Applause, ) - as well as highlights from The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, Hairspray, West Side Story, Nine and a number of others.

This is an extraordinary organization, with the abundantly talented Bob Bachelor still waving the baton as musical director. He even stepped on stage and nearly brought the house down with his beautiful presentation of the song New Words. Bachelor also made a few cameo appearances in numbers, which prompted instant applause the moment he appeared. A busy man to be sure, he just recently completed another year at St. George’s School of Montreal where he produced and directed their high school production of Curtains. Lyric impresses you the moment the cast hits the stage – all 39 of them, ranging from a few teens to senior citizens. Their level of energy is just extraordinary and infectious I might add. I particularly appreciated the lovely Laurent Gauthier’s singing of Colors of the Wind from Pocahantas. Such poise and a gorgeous voice. The three songs from Hairspray really got the audience hopping while the way in which Cantata for A First Date played out was quite clever as four performers started out the scene in a stage of undress, putting their clothes on as they prepared for that awkward first date. Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend had the gals dressed to kill and the men waving really good knockoffs. A big thanks to Diane Dupuis-Kallos, who has provided this video link for you to watch some of the numbers and the photo you see this in this entry. Her son Richard, only 19, is one of the youngest performers in the group and he did impress.

It was great to watch Jim Brown, a public school teacher for 45 years and now retired, belt out the tunes. You can see how much he enjoys this. In fact that appears to be the same for the entire cast, the orchestra and even the spotlight man. They begin auditions in September. You can go to www.lyrictheatrecompany.com, email lyrictheatresingers@gmail.com or call 514-626-5783 for more details. One of the highlights of the closing show was a draw for tickets to travel with VIA Rail Canada. The grand prize was a return trip for two in first class between Montreal and Vancouver, valued at $9,100. There were also a pair of packages for return trips for two in business class in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor. One lady in the audience shrieked when she heard her number called and then asked Lyric president Louise Dorais to repeat it. The lady was in fact a finalist, of 12 names eligible for the three grand prizes. Well she won, hugging her friend and telling her “you are going with me!”

Where will Aaron Rand land? Here are some possibilities

Now that he has officially ended his extraordinary 26 year run with The Q 92.5 FM, Aaron Rand is recharging his batteries and reportedly contemplating his next move. Over the years, Rand has dabbled operated his own advertising agency and he is currently a partner with his close friend Lloyd Brown in the Dic Ann’s Restaurant on St. Jacques Street in NDG and the gourmet pie Bonatarte shop next door. Not yet 60 and very young at heart, there is a job out for him in the business somewhere.

Freeway Frank, the still rather new co-host of the Virgin Radio morning show, confessed on his blog last week what a fan he has always been of Rand. “For the record, I know he'll be back!,” Freeway wrote. “No way was that his last show. I wanted to write this note because I am proud to credit Aaron as one of my mentors as a kid growing up. No, I didn`t know him but it feels like I did because I listened to his radio show religiously and pretended to be him and Tasso as I re-enacted their banter every day after school, taping their shows on my old eight track-Ghetto Blaster. One day, I finally called the radio station and happened to get on air as Suzanne Desautels had made her debut on late pulse the night before. I praised Suzanne for her appearance on CFCF. I had a major crush on her.”

So what are Aaron’s options?

-Mike FM 105.1 would really put itself on the map by grabbing Rand. The station currently has weekday morning and drive home shows. Former CJAD sportscaster Dino Sisto is the wakeup guy. He could team up nicely with Rand and Tasso, especially considering that Greek programming actually dominates this station’s lineup. Tasso, of course, is a stage name for the man of many voices Paul Zakaib.
-Metro 14 is the newest TV station in town, taking over the spot formerly occupied by CJNT. The latter was owned by CanWest Global, which of course is no more. The fact that former Q general manager Brian Kenemy has been hired in sales for Metro 14 could lead to a Rand connection. Many years ago Rand and Tasso did a demo late night talk show before a live studio audience for the old CFCF TV. It was meant to be a possible Montreal rendition of then Johnny Carson and David Letterman. Perhaps now is the time for such a format to be revived.
-Global TV will launch a new morning show in 2012. What better branding could they get than a host like Aaron Rand?
-CTV Montreal was quick to pounce on Ted Bird when he left CHOM FM to do his Bird Droppings segment on the sportscast once a week. I would not be surprised to see news director Jed Kahane find a role for Rand.
-CHOM FM would be a natural fit for Rand. If he does want to work full-time, perhaps a weekend gig on Virgin Radio.
-THE TEAM 990, which this summer will likely be rebranded TSN Radio and become the new broadcaster of the Montreal Canadiens, could give Rand a return to his first love of sports radio.

What are your thoughts? Please share them with me?

Hazzan Nathan Mendelson Music Foundation Concert

The Hazzan Nathan Mendelson Music Foundation of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim (450 Kensington) in Westmount will be presenting a multi-media concert on Monday, June 13 (7:30 pm) in the main sanctuary. “The Voice of the Cantor - From Shtetl to Stage" will transport the audience back to the shtetl (little town) in Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and take them on a journey to the new world where, in the 21st century, the cantor has become revered as a performer, be it in the synagogue or on the Broadway or opera stages. This production will be accomplished by live performances, enhanced with amazing archival film footage and original narration by Allan Nadler, a professor at Drew university in New Jersey and a former Rabbi at the Shaar. Cantors Asher Hainovitz of the Jeshurun Central Synagogue in Jerusalem and Gideon Zelermyer of the Shaar will be accompanied by the synagogue choir, directed by Stephen Glass. The Shaar is marking its 165th anniversary and this concert will mark the start of the Montreal International Yiddish Theatre Festival

The Hazzan Nathan Mendelson Music Foundation was established in 1982 to honour the life and memory of Nathan Mendelson, who served as Hazzan (a Jewish musician trained in vocal arts) of the Congregation for 35 years, commencing in 1938 and concluding in 1973. He was then appointed Hazzan Emeritus of the Congregation and continued to serve until his untimely passing on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, 1977.

“So much Torah was contained in the world and life of Hazzan Nathan Mendelson that I am convinced that the world was justified in its creation because of him,” Rabbi Wilfred Shuchat commented in his eulogy. A lawyer, ordained Rabbi, Talmudic scholar, musician and Mohel, Hazzan Mendelson had a profound influence on all members of the Congregation and the Montreal Jewish community at large, regardless of age, whose lives he touched. Possessed of a curious mind and intellect, he read voraciously in areas such as advanced mathematics, physics, metaphysics and philosophy, notes his son David, for many years a leading figure in the local Jewish community himself.

As described by Rabbi Shuchat, “When Hazzan Mendelson came to Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, he brought to his responsibilities a combination of dignity, depth and authority. He was a master of Jewish liturgy. He could interpret a verse in the Siddur with the imagination of a mystic.”

The creation of the Hazzan Nathan Mendelson Music Foundation was largely due to the efforts of the Shaar Hashomayim’s late S. Laddie Kert, founding chair. “Laddie undertook a major campaign that succeeded in attracting 30 founding patrons who held Hazzan Mendelson in high esteem. In recent years, the Foundation Committee, under the leadership of Sharron Feifer, has been expanded as has the patron base,” said David (pictured above). “The Foundation has remained true to its longstanding commitment that the capital would remain in perpetuity and only the interest would be used to subsidize or fully fund the concerts and other undertakings of the Foundation.”

Since its inception, the overall goal of the Foundation has been to keep alive the memory and influence of Hazzan Mendelson. With this in mind, the Foundation Committee developed objectives centering on performance and creativity. Thus, the Foundation not only presents to the public important Jewish musical works, but also seeks to foster their creation.

Over the 29-year period of 1982 to 2011, the Foundation has presented to the Jewish and broader Montreal community, 21 concerts and related Jewish musical events. These have featured choral, cantorial, operatic, and instrumental genres highlighting Canadian composers, music of the Holocaust, music of prayer as well as classical and modern repertoire, lectures and Shabbaton weekends, performed by a diversity of local, Canadian and international artists. All of the Foundation’s concerts have taken place at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim.

A gala concert event took place on October 28, 2007 in honour of the Foundation’s 25^th anniversary. The year 2007 also marked the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Hazzan Mendelson, as well as the year in which his 30^th Yahrzeit was observed. These milestones were reflected in this concert which saw an attendance of over 1,000 in the main sanctuary. A CD of Hazzan Mendelson’s recordings was created for this occasion and distributed to all who attended this event.

Going forward, the Foundation remains committed to working in close cooperation with the other musical arms of the Congregation in planning innovative programs and featuring outstanding artists and musical works.