Female quartet hits right notes

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This article was published 24/06/2019 (2481 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE winner of the $1,000 first-place prize at the CJNU Senior Star competition at the Red River EX! was a female barbershop quartet called At Last. CJNU show hosts — musicologist and author John Einarson, morning man Frank Stecky and myself, a.k.a. Miss Lonelyhearts, judged the show.

The At Last quartet members confessed they were singing the first song they’d ever finished together, but they were already so startlingly good, they took the top prize, beating 11 other talented acts. Anita Munn sang tenor, Marlaine Stevens sang lead, Diane Zielonko handled bass and the baritone was Carole Carlson.

Red River Exhibition CEO Garth Rogerson was on hand for the presentation of the big money. I asked the quartet as they left what they intended to with their prize, and they had lots of ideas. “New mics,” shouted one. “No, let’s go out for a big dinner!” hollered three more. It was a happy problem to solve.

Second place and $500 went to country singer Jerry Hallock, while the third-place prize of $300 went to 97-year-old comedian Jean Morrison, who bases her humour on the ironies of old age, especially expiry dates on credit cards and 20-year mattress offers.

Rosella McLean, a 77-year-old belly dancer, was also a crowd favourite as she wove through the audience with her sparkly tassels and veil. Tom Dobbs sang The Cuddles Mary Gave a cappella with a booming, resonant voice. Also taking the stage were singer and accordion player Marty Green, the band Stay Tuned, powerful musical-theatre singer Mark Olson, musician Walter Lysack, singer/guitarist Joy Murphy and comedian/ukelele player Kelly Ryback.

SMOOCH BRINGS CROWDS RUNNING: Adam Richard Hanney’s indie-rock/R&B project Convenience played the jazz fest free stage at the Cube last Thursday following a light rain shower. Hanney was singing and jumping up and down and Travis Hunnie was “slaying” (a Hanney expression) on the drums, but the crowd was standing way back, afraid to sit on the wet grass.

Hanney confessed he was feeling disconnected from the audience and invited them closer, but they were too shy, so he said, “I’ll fix that with the next song.” The lyrics were full of sexy come-ons and invitations to get closer. People started moving slowly toward the stage. Then, the impatient singer jumped down off the stage and kissed a friend crowding the fence — a long, smoochy one. That got everybody going and there was a mosh pit in minutes!

Drummer Hunnie sat a little too far back on the stage, probably because Hanney is a manic ball of energy who ran and hopped up and down all over the place while playing short phrases and chords on keys, grabbing his guitar and running forward to sing into his microphone. It was a great act to chase away the rain!

FOUND HIM: Super chef George Chamaa is serving up his famous Lebanese food at the new Beaurivage Bistro at 788 Corydon Ave., where Kenko Sushi used to be. For the past four years, he has worked at the St. Boniface Hotel. “I put this new restaurant together in 28 days,” he says with a laugh. Older folks will know him from Phoenicia Restaurant.

Chamaa learned his trade from his mom back in Lebanon. “I have the nose!” he says. When he was a teenager, he says, he could tell by the smell if the spicing was off and tell his mother what to add — and to her annoyance, he was right.

Now, he’s a cookbook author, believing good food should be available for everyone. His book, soon to be out, is called Food for Good Mood, and he says he has 1,000 people on a list to buy it already. All the recipes are original, with photos and nutritional information.

And the majority of the recipes are strictly for women. “I had a friend who was anemic and on a lot of pills,” Chamaa says. He researched the things lacking in her body and that started his passion for cooking to make women as healthy as possible, so they won’t need so much medication. He also addresses other nutritional situations such as pre- and post-pregnancy needs.

You will definitely see his shiny, finished product with big pictures at the restaurant when you go in, as this is one proud cookbook author!

Got tips? Cool events happening your world? Been rubbing shoulders with the stars? Email Maureen’s Tips at mscurf@shaw.ca