O say can you see Watchmen singer?

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This article was published 16/03/2015 (4181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DANNY AND THE JETS: At the MTS Centre on Saturday, March 21, Danny Greaves, singer for the Watchmen, will warm up for his band’s Burton Cummings Theatre show later that night — by singing both the Canadian and American anthems before the Winnipeg Jets game against the Washington Capitals. Greaves, a former Winnipegger, is a staunch Jets fan; in the Motel Bar, the Toronto watering hole he owns, it’s well known that he will show any Winnipeg Jets game on the pub’s TV above all other choices.

 

PURPLE IS THE NEW BLACK?: At the Osteoporosis Canada (Manitoba Chapter) fundraiser on Thursday, March 12, at the Caboto Centre, people at the Purple Tie affair arrived in 50 shades of mauve, violet and screamin’ purple — a great relief from boring black. Organizers also had a more serious point to make: osteoporosis is not an old lady’s disease, attacking one in six men and one in three women.

CTV’s Colleen Bready hosted the show. Attendees were whisked into the big dining room for wine-and-cheese pairings, baron of beef on a bun, veggie trays and a wide array of desserts, from Nanaimo bars to cream puffs.

The Wine House and Eclectic Wines provided the wine; Eclectic’s guru Jack Olinkin designed the pairings and demonstrated to the crowd of 180 how to correctly uncork champagne so you don’t take an eye out.

Spotted: Deanne Crothers, minister of healthy living and seniors, and retired educator Joan Bartley, who told the crowd of her personal struggle with osteoporosis — her upbeat attitude clearly is a weapon in fighting back. Also making the scene — Bothwell Cheese people Kevin Thomson, Megan Deaust and Mike Raftis; Dairy Farmers of Manitoba’s Jason Brandes and David Wiens; Impact Security’s Ron D’Errico, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries’ Kari De Groot; Edmond Financial’s Doreen Sigurdson; Mature Women’s Centre’s Dr. Heather Frame; Manitoba Hydro’s Scott Thomson; and Free Press columnist Gordon Sinclair Jr. with wife Athina.

 

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: The March of Dimes Toronto gang helped greet people at the door for a first Battle of the Bands Winnipeg MOD event at the West End Cultural Centre on Friday, March 6, hosted by CITI-FM’s Howard Mandshein. Five Shades of Grey, headed by Jan Harding-Jeanson, took the trophy. Harding-Jeanson, who used to supply the vocals in Sally Screw and the Drivers, started slowly in her powerful lower register and finished by hopping up a few octaves — a move that pretty much wrapped up first place. Her band included Rex Guetre, Ernie Kull, Al Shell, Bob Leigh and Brian LeClair.

Judges were Chris Martin from the Movement Centre, musician Mark Reeves and musician-producer Chris Burke-Gaffney. In hot blue shirts emblazoned with “Frostbite,” another band of mature adults shocked the mixed-age audience when they started jumping up and down, new-wave style. A mighty Cori Durand commanded on vocals, backed by Niels Bonde, John Diffey, Don Schewaga and Kevin Nebroski. Asked about her background, Durand confessed, “I played in a band about 10 years ago, and now I work in a credit union.”

The March of Dimes made a healthy $8,000 at the fundraiser.

 

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Paul Ong, who gained fame with his performance on Canada’s Got Talent in 2012, and his Tim Hortons “Hometown Hero” clip, quietly walked into Rock the Mic at McPhillips Station Thursday night and signed up to sing with Danny Kramer and his band.

Ong, a soft-spoken man in his 20s, proceeded to lift the roof off the casino with Josh Groban’s You Raise Me Up. When he finished, there was stunned silence, quickly followed by deafening applause.

So where did Ong disappear to after the Canada’s Got Talent contest? “I was up in Red Sucker Lake, a two-hour flight, teaching high school and it was a great experience.” Though he’s taking six courses at university this year, he’s also working on his music career.

Ong just got word he’s one of 10 finalists representing Team Canada in the ninth annual World Championships of Performing Arts (a.k.a. Talent Olympics) in Hollywood July 10-18. He’s raising funds to make the trip to California. Call 204-417-3459 for more info on $10 tickets to his fundraiser, the multi-act April 30 bash at Jimel’s International Cuisine, 1045 St. James St.

 

FRANK SINATRA’S LUCKY CHARM: Winnipeg singer-songwriter Mae Losa had the ghost of Frank Sinatra on her shoulder as she recorded 14 tracks for her first CD at Capitol Records studios in Los Angeles recently, singing into the special microphone Sinatra used to get his rich, full sound.

“Just knowing that some of my favourite standards had been performed on that very mike that I was using by such a amazing talent as Frank Sinatra was such an inspiration for the music I was recording there,” said Losa. “It is something I’ll never forget.”

Jazz musician Walle Larsson, who splits his time between Winnipeg and L.A., co-produced the 21-year-old’s recording.

“A friend of hers came banging on my door in Winnipeg saying, ‘You gotta hear this!’ and gave me a demo of Mae’s jazzy music,” Larsson says. “As soon as I put it on, I knew she was destined for great things, and I wanted to be involved.”

Larsson took a chance and invited Losa to L.A., where she landed a record deal with Mesa Blue Moon.

You can hear her debut in Winnipeg at a Hunger for Hope fundraiser at the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre on April 21. Tickets are available at Boston Pizza, $50 each, for a night of musicians, wine and appetizers.

Got tips, events, special events going on? Call the tip line at 204-474-1116 or write Maureen Scurfield c/o Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg, Mb. R2X 3B6., and a — –back ‘s