Author Archive: Kat Leonard

New Show Announced: Baby, It’s Warm Inside!

Sunday Dec 7th-Smiling Budda,
961 College St. Toronto 7pm $5

It’s only a few times a year I get to toast Santa’s Sack within season! Come see Arlene Paculan join me on this festive tune! 🙂 xo

 

BabyItsWarm

 

For one evening, 8 artists will be teaming up to kick off the Christmas season with cocktails & carols 🙂 AND all for a great cause: NEDIC (The National Eating Disorder Information Centre)! http://www.nedic.ca/ So please come out and show your support!

Each artist will be putting their own personal style into your favorite Christmas songs and also playing some of their own original Christmas songs 🙂

Admission: $5 at the door (all goes to NEDIC)

So come out to ‘The Smiling Buddha Bar’ on Sunday, December 7th @ 7pm! It’s a great opportunity to:

#1. Enjoy some live music!
#2. Get into the Christmas spirit!
#3. Do something good for charity!

Hope to see you there!!! =)

ARTIST LINE UP:
The Willows
Georgian Bay
Arlene Paculan & Kat Leonard Music
Chris Rouse
Candice Sand
Brian Corbett
Julia Bentley
Jessica Speziale

Sure hope to see you there!

🙂 xo

Your life could be a write-off – Expert advice from a rock’n’roll accountant

The art of taxes!

S.A.C.'s avatarSongwriters Association of Canada

Creative Commons licensed image by 401(K) 2012. Creative Commons licensed image by 401(K) 2012.

By Jae Gold

In the songwriting business, “reasonable expectation of profit” can be significantly different from other businesses. The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) admits that there’s often a longer ramp-up period before a songwriter starts making a profit. That’s why it’s important for artists to work with an accountant who knows the business.

An experienced entertainment accountant knows how to ensure that your losses are allowed by the CRA year after year until you make a profit, or until you stop trying. But let’s hope you keep trying! Jae Gold (rocknrollaccountant.com) has worked with many of the songwriters you hear on radio, and graciously offers his expertise by answering questions posed by S.A.C. members.

What are the most common mistakes made by artists when filing taxes? Missing filing deadlines; under-reporting income; not claiming allowable expenses; claiming expenses that are too personal in nature to…

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PEOPLE PROFILE:Candice Sand!

Meet Candice Sand!

Candice
Ah…. Candice Sand… Professionally she is a remarkable Pop/R&B recording artist and songwriter described as a blend of Nastasha Bedingfield and Alicia Keys. Personally she is a bright light of strength and fun, and I find great inspired comfort in her friendship. Her newest single Go On featuring JRDN is currently dancing on the radio and TV airwaves and you should check it out!

candice jrd
Another one of my fave Candice Sand tunes is I Got This. I am in particular love with the lyric video because I feel like the text is interpretively dancing to the beat of the lyrics.
candice lyrics

Candice Answers:

What is your career?
I am a recording artist, singer, and songwriter.
What are the greatest challenges and greatest rewards of your career? 
I think what can be a challenge is the fact that a life as a musician is about endless growth and learning. What you can do with, and learn, in terms of music is so endless. I think that you really have to love music if you want to make a career out of it for that reason. You have to enjoy learning and expanding because really that is what you are doing most of the time. If you are focused on only a superficial end goal, I think that’s when this can be a challenge. You don’t enjoy the process and the art itself.
Greatest rewards? there are so many. Traveling, being on stage, connecting with new people, receiving messages from people all over the world that have heard your music and have connected with it. There are so many things that are rewards.
Advice to others embarking on similar career?
Do it for the “right reasons”. For the love of music and your own creative expression. Don’t change who you are to fit into a trend, be authentically you. Enjoy the process. I think those are the big three things for me.
In the past 5 years, what have been your greatest triumphs? Moments of joy?
Again, so many things. I’m really so blessed. Writing and recording my new album ‘Against Concrete Walls’. Having the opportunity to perform for the amazing producer David Foster, prime minster Harper, and the Mulroney family at the David Foster Miracle Gala. Being able to tour Canada. Having my music video “Go On” supported by MuchMusic and MuchFact. Being able to record with Choclair and JRDN. Sooooo many things. I sometimes think I must have a four leaf clover in my back pocket.
In the next 5 years, what will be your greatest triumphs? Where do you see yourself?
Well let’s see… I make goals and I plot road maps of what I’m planning to do, but I try to stay flexible. I like to call it “surrendering to the unknown”, meaning I’m open to following the path as it unfolds and see where it takes me. I’m going to be writing another album starting in 2015, I’ll keep promoting “Against Concrete Walls”, and keep working to be the best singer and songwriter I can be. I see myself still in the music industry writing and performing. I have ideas of what that will look like then, but I try to keep that to myself. It’s my own little secret I like to keep 😉
What does being an artist mean to you? 
It means expressing yourself, but to me it’s mostly an expression of life and emotion… experience. Connecting people to a feeling through music. Relating to each other. Helping people escape or give them whatever they need to feel. Freedom, love, loss, or appreciation. That’s what I’ve gotten from the artists/songwriters I’ve been influenced by and I only want to do the same for others.
What would you say to your 8-year-old self? 
I would tell her to enjoy her imagination. To let her mind play and dream.
What would you say to your 80-year-old self?
I would probably want to ask her questions! haha I think I have a good grounding of what is truly important in life, but I would be interested to get advice from her. What pearls of wisdom would she be able to share with me that might ease my mind or help me move through life.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I’m completely sentimental. I love reflecting. Counting my blessings. I appreciate the people around me so much that if I think about it long enough, I’ll likely get a little misty eyed.
What is your favourite quote?
“Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain
Candice takes plenty of inspiration from other artists, including Emily Sande.
Candice has said: This song took on a new meaning for me when I read the description she wrote on the youtube video: Emily Sande: Clown
candice emily
For more Candice Sand, please try to catch her live and visit her online…
Candice Sand Music
BUY the debut EP Candice Sand: #AgainstConcreteWalls now on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/against-concrete-walls-ep/id890178291?ls=1 
Thank you for your attention, everybuddy!
Wishing you a most glorious of daze!
🙂 xo love Kat

 

Artist Removes One Letter from Famous Movie Titles and Illustrates the Results

I love this kind of brilliance!
Well-thunk! 🙂

twistedsifter's avatarTwistedSifter

Writer and illustrator Austin Light recently shared a funny series of sketches from his notebook that reimagines movie titles with one letter removed. The idea started on reddit where users were asked to, “Pick a movie, remove one letter, give a brief description“.

As a daily art project, Light took the concept one step further, drawing a scene from the imaginary film. He also penned a brief synopsis for each. You can see the entire album on Imgur. For more from Austin, check him out at the links below.

AUSTIN LIGHT
Website | Twitter | Online store

1. Obocop

The story of how a police officer works through his PTSD and adjusts to his new robotic implants with the help of the sexy soothing sound of his oboe

movie titles with one letter missing illustrated by austin light (1)

Artwork by AUSTIN LIGHT
Website | Twitter | Online store

2. Rave

One red-haired Scottish girl. One dance floor…

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Leslieville | Living in Torontos Best Neighbourhood

Leslieville | Living in Torontos Best Neighbourhood
…and finding the hottest new designer there too, Jacqueline Peres of Maison Jacqueline! I have seen this girl in action, and she reveals beauty overlooked every time! And with such a generous wit and charm! For real! 🙂

41 Regrets You Don’t Want to Take to Your Grave. | Rebelle Society

41 Regrets You Don’t Want to Take to Your Grave. | Rebelle Society.

I wish everyone would read this and realize that reading it is not enough.
We must also take heed.  🙂

In the spirit of collaboration – A story from the S.A.C. Songwriting/Blogging Challenge 2014

A lesson in cooperation…. a sweet sound! 🙂

S.A.C.'s avatarSongwriters Association of Canada

Rosanneby Rosanne Baker Thornley

Every song is a journey. At the middle of which is a compelling statement, an engaging story, an emotion. It’s your perception, your belief, what you struggle with, or towards, it’s your aspirations – set to a melody. And whether the song reveals your deepest corners or is a story captured and told through your eyes – whether it’s your song to sing or for someone else to sing – at the heart of the song, is you.

I began songwriting at the age of 8. Embedded in the folk scene at 14, I crossed the ocean at 16 to perform in Europe, spent many years as lead singer and songwriter / co-writer with various rock bands touring North America and then went on my own, focused on writing and releasing my album. I’ve written an extensive catalogue of songs over ‘a few’ decades – and…

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About | Up The Creek: Dawsons Creek Revisited

You know how some things you found so awesome as a youngin’ seem kinda less so when you’re an oldin’? The snow hill that was so high? The Disney movie that was full of horror? The Wagon Wheel that was enough for a snack?

What happens when Jen and Jenn go back up Dawson’s Creek? Punchy prose, that’s what! 🙂

This: About | Up The Creek: Dawsons Creek Revisited.

Entertaining, topsy-turvy romp of political shenanigans & scandal in Ubu Mayor

life with more cowbell's avatarlife with more cowbell

UBU #2 - Richard Harte centre - w Astrid Van Wieren& Michael Dufays - Yuri Dojc photo Astrid Van Wieren, Richard Harte & Michael Dufays – photo by Yuri Doje

One Little Goat Theatre Company opened its run of Adam Seelig’s Ubu Mayor at the Wychwood Theatre last night. Inspired by Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi – and the wacky antics and scandals of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, Councillor Doug Ford – Seelig describes Ubu Mayor as “an all-out romp of asinine absurdity. With music.” This is One Little Goat’s first production with music, and Seelig is wearing several hats for this piece – also the composer and director – with music and live band direction by Tyler Emond.

Mayor Ubu (Richard Harte) is a well-meaning, but not too bright, bicycle riding guy with a vision who wants the best for his city. He also thinks his wife Huhu (Astrid Van Wieren) is cheating on him with his older brother Dudu (Michael Dufays). The audience…

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B-Side|Wonder Women-Los Angeles

Flip it to the B-Side! Thanks once again to The Harlton Empire for their tireless support of artists! Please add them to your Reader and follow along! They are always up to super shenanigans! 🙂 xoxox

Unknown's avatarThe Harlton Empire

wonder women la

We just don’t have the time to explore everything we love. So we give you ‘B-Side‘- a random collection of things we love that we think you should explore further. Today’s post is all about Wonder Women LA and empowering female artists. Check out their press release below:

FEMALE MUSICIANS RAISE FUNDS FOR LOCAL CHARITY

(Wonder Women Los Angeles Will Donate Funds to the Women Like Us Foundation)

September 7th at Arcadia Blues Club, female musicians, and artists will perform at “Wonder Women Los Angeles.” The movement aims to empower young women to use their artistic voices, while raising funds for the Hollywood chapter of the “Women Like Us” Foundation.

Wonder Women was created by singer-songwriter, Arlene Paculan, to showcase female artists while supporting female-driven charitable organizations. Paculan met artist and activist April Snow on a trip to California and the two began working together to…

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