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Island Toes A'Tapping

ONE SMALL PROVINCE, SO MUCH MUSIC
 

A galaxy of music stars twinkles from one tip of Prince Edward Island to the other. How does Canada’s smallest province produce so many talented musicians?

A new book, Island Toes A’Tapping by Jay Scott Kanes, strives to answer that question while profiling the province’s leading music-makers. The real-life characters, including Bluestreak, Wayne Brown, the Celtic Ladies, Chiquesa, Fiddlers’ Sons, Chas Guay, Lazy Jacks, Roy MacCaull, Catherine MacLellan, Cynthia MacLeod, Janet McGarry, Michael Pendergast, Rodney Savidant, Keelin Wedge and numerous minstrels named Arsenault, Chaisson or Gallant, total in the hundreds.

“I hope that Islanders and visitors alike may enjoy concerts and ceilidhs even more with this book near at hand,” said Kanes.
Island Toes A’Tapping has some special features:

  • A guest introduction by Fiddlers’ Sons lead singer Eddy Quinn, PEI’s male vocalist of the year in 2005 and 2003;
  • A special commentary by the late Urban Carmichael, 2005 PEI Music Awards lifetime achievement winner; and
  • A six-page section designated for readers to collect autographs from PEI musicians.

“The idea for the book crystallized after a Fiddlers’ Sons concert in 2004 as I spoke to Eddy Quinn outside the Benevolent Irish Society’s hall in Charlottetown,” Kanes said. “Research and interviews began in 2005.”

KEY DETAILS

Island Toes A'Tapping, 240 pages, Cairns Media, 2006. ISBN-13: 978-988-98350-2-6, ISBN-10: 988-98350-2-9, Retailed priced at CDN $9.90

Distributed by: Kindred Spirits of PEI, Tel: (902) 836-5502. Appearing in PEI bookstores and gift-shops.

PROMOTIONAL EVENTS

Friday, June 30: Book-Signing / Music Party, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., The PEI Emporium, Gateway Village, Borden. Live music by leading PEI entertainers.

Tuesday, July 4: Book-Signing / Music Party, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., The PEI Emporium, Gateway Village, Borden. Live music by leading PEI entertainers.

Thursday, July 6: Book-Signing at the Close to the Ground Concert, 8 p.m., Kaylee Hall, Pooles Corner. Starring Fiddlers' Sons.

Sunday, July 9: Book-Signing Event, 4 p.m., Reading Well Bookstore, 87-A Water Street, Charlottetown. Live music by Courtney and Wayne Francis.

Tuesday, July 11: Book-Launch Party, 6 p.m., Spinnakers Landing, Summerside, PEI. Live music by Rodney Savidant.

Wednesday, July 12: LeFurgey Lit Author Reading / Discussion, 10:30 a.m. to noon, LeFurgey Cultural Centre, Summerside.

Thursday, July 13: Book-Signing / Music Party, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m., The PEI Emporium, Gateway Village, Borden. Live music by leading PEI entertainers.

Friday, July 14 - Sunday, July 16: Book sales at the PEI Christian Music Festival, Jacques Cartier Arena, Alberton.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jay Scott Kanes is a pen-name used by John Cairns, who grew up in Lower Freetown. An Islander by birth, he arrived decades ago at Summerside’s now-demolished Prince County Hospital. Later he graduated from the similarly demolished Athena Regional High School and then the (still-standing) University of Prince Edward Island. After stints as a newspaper journalist in Ontario and Saskatchewan, Kanes moved to Hong Kong, where he lives on an outlying island with his wife, four cats and a dog. Ideally, he returns to PEI each year. While some visitors gorge on lobsters and fresh farm products, Kanes feasts with his ears on Island music. His own musical skills extend only to playing radios or CDs. Previously, he published two novels: High Degree of Atrocity in 2004 and Dog-Gone Cat Case in 2005.

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For more information: email info@cairnsmedia.com

 
©2006 Cairns Media