There To Now, What's New

“There To Now” – New Album

by Jamie Bonk

Just released my new album, There To Now!  I truly feel this album (my seventh full length release) is some of the best music I’ve ever made. The record has ten tracks (five guitar-based instrumentals and five vocal tunes) and it draws on a fairly wide range of styles (mainly Jazz, Pop and Folk with a little bit of Classical and Rock as well). In the past, I’ve made music where it’s just me and myself alone in the studio, but There To Now absolutely could not have been made without the help of all those who worked on it. So a big thanks to Henrik Bridger (bass), Dave Patel (drums), Wendy Irvine (vocals), Bill McBirnie (alto flute and flute) and Ron Scott (Vocals). And also thanks to my wife, Sonya, for the cover photography – never would have been able to compose the shot and definitely wouldn’t have been awake (and functioning) at the break of dawn!

If you’d like to check out the album, you can stream/download it here: There To Now

Live in the Studio

Boundless (Live in the Studio)

by Jamie Bonk

Here’s a live in the studio video of “Boundless”.  This tune was originally released on my 2007 EP “5” and it featured the incredible Jeff Oster on flugelhorn.  Hope you like this version of “Boundless” and the video!

Live in the Studio

If You Only Knew (Live in the Studio)

by Jamie Bonk

In many ways, “If You Only Knew” was one of the songs that helped me become the artist I am today. I had done quite a bit of music before releasing this track on my debut album — New Wave, Free Jazz, Classical, etc. But “If You Only Knew” and other tracks on my debut pushed me to focus on what was important (at least to me) — melody being front and centre. This Live in the Studio video of “If You Only Knew” is pretty much like the album track. As always, thanks for listening and I hope you like the music!

Live in the Studio

Tanzen (Live in the Studio)

by Jamie Bonk

I’ve always liked music that draws on a variety of sources — tracks that blend styles in a seamless way. And that’s exactly what I tried to do with “Tanzen”. All of the tunes on my 1997 self-titled debut album had some combination of styles and production techniques, but one of them, “Tanzen”, stands out to me. I think (hope!) I achieved a seamless blend of electronic and acoustic textures on the track. Here’s a live in the studio version of “Tanzen”. Thanks for taking the time to listen!

Books

“Petty: The Biography” by Warren Zanes

by Jamie Bonk

Over the last couple of years, I found myself not reading the way I normally would. I was still reading the news and magazines, and all of the social media type of stuff, but not much in the way of anything longer format (i.e. books). I suppose I could finger point and blame COVID, as it’s certainly changed many other things in our daily lives, but I just didn’t like this new pattern. So I basically forced myself to get back on track. Every night I would read, starting with a few pages and then the next night a chapter and then, after a while, many chapters.

What made this getting back on track easier was Warren Zanes’s “Petty: The Biography”. A skillful writer doesn’t pull you along so much as ask you to join. Zanes does this exactly in this book — tells you the Tom Petty story while offering all kinds of insights. Zanes made me think about how I could use Petty’s approach to music and business in my own creative endeavours.

Now every biography is at best an incomplete picture and that’s part of the deal we, as readers, make with a book. There are things in “Petty: The Biography” that I wish Zanes had delved deeper into and there were other things that I felt had too much detail. I’m sure someone else reading the book may have the exact opposite reaction. In the end though, all of my armchair quarterbacking doesn’t change the fact that “Petty: The Biography” is easily one of the better music biographies I’ve read. It is, as the cliché goes, a good read and I’m thankful it helped get me out of my reading rut.

Live in the Studio, What's New

’73 (Live in the Studio)

by Jamie Bonk

Like most writers, I find it tough to single out which of my tunes I like “better” than others. Some pieces are a true struggle to write and record and some just seem to flow right from the beginning. Some of my songs work great live and others, well, not so much. That said, ’73 is one of those pieces that, if you twist my arm, I’d put into the “like better” category. Here’s a live in the studio version of ’73. Thanks for taking the time to listen and I hope you like the music.

What's New

“The Street Below” (Live in the Studio)

by Jamie Bonk

This is a live in the studio version of “The Street Below” from my debut album, Jamie Bonk. I wrote this tune all the way back in 1991 when Sonya and I were living in an apartment on a somewhat busy downtown Toronto street. We’re living in an apartment in Port Moody now, above a different (and thankfully calmer) street, but for me not a lot has changed. I still like looking at the traffic passing by, still like staying up way too late and I still like (even after 30 years!) playing “The Street Below”. Thank you for taking the time to listen and, as always, I hope you like the music.