Song for Africa.

I'm signed up for so many newsletters and Google alerts, that if I go a couple of days without checking my e-mail inbox, I can drown in unread messages. I checked around mid-week and I believe at that point I had 138 unread.

Yet there are times I still find it hard to come up with something to post about. I don't want to go over old ground unless it's to add a twist to things previously talked about. There are only so many things you can say about certain subjects without repeating yourself and/or being preachy. I'd like to avoid both (though I probably repeat myself all the time, since I do it in person).

But even though I probably have 200+ e-mails to sort through, the topic of conversation tonight came as a result of trying to see what the members of the greatest band in the world were up to.



That's right, Big Sugar. I've seen these guys nine times in eight different venues, including one in Kingston (thanks again, Kathy). They broke up a couple of years ago but the various members remain in the music business and I'm convinced at some point, they're getting back together.

In any event, my attention was drawn to a link on the website of a member of theirs named Mr Chill (Huh...that's not his real name...). He states...

Mr. Chill participated in the recording of this song, along with Gordie Johnson, Ian Thornley, Danny Greaves, Damhnait Doyle, Choclair and Ian D'sa (from Billy Talent) to name just a few. Please go to iTunes to download the song and video and we urge you to go to Song For Africa for more important info. Learn how you can help fight the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

Gordie Johnson was Big Sugar's front man, and if they did get back together, it wouldn't be Big Sugar without him and Mr Chill reunited.

So what's the deally-o, daddy-o, with this Song for Africa, anyway? Well...

Over the past several years, it has come to the attention of certain key industry players involved in the Canadian Music Industry, that the aids pandemic in Africa has become a worldwide call for concern. It is now a statistical fact that over 21.8 million deaths have occurred since the beginning of the aids pandemic. It has also become harsh reality and statistic to report that over 4.3 million children have been killed by the aids pandemic since it’s beginning. Furthermore, there are over 18 million orphan children living in the world who have lost their parents due to the aids crisis. It has also been suggested that over 6600 people are dying daily from this disease...

With the above facts in mind, representatives based in the Canadian music industry including top recording artists, writers, producers and media have felt the need to utilize their powerful influence in the Canadian popular culture and mass media to raise awareness and call Canadian citizens to action all over the country, those who are not aware of the aids pandemic occurring throughout the world, with a specific focus on Africa.

Ah? I'd be lying if I said that I recognize most of the names of the list of artists involved, but so long as those two are involved (and Tara Slone's name jumps out at me too...she used to sing for Joydrop), I'm interested. Especially if proceeds are going to a good cause. Maybe we'll give this a listen...