With my friend Steve Conte–owner of FunnyBooks, the comics store in Lake Hiawatha, NJ–we are today announcing the launch of R3NYNJ, a fan group in the NYC metropolitan area to celebrate Canadian indie rock n’ roll, borrowing our name from CBCRadio3, the fabulous Internet radio station based in Vancouver that is such a rich portal for the work of 100s of great Canadian musicians, many of whom have international followings, or will have fans worldwide. Under the banner of this new logo (inspired design by Steve), and the Twitter hashtag, #R3NYNJ, we will
* promote upcoming live shows, post showtimes & info;
* spread word of US releases of new albums by Canadian artists;
* share coverage from The Great Gray Bridge blog of shows we’ve attended;
* invite new fans–denizens of Gotham and Canadian transplants–to join us in the group and at live shows;
* be a rallying point for Canadian artists touring in the NY area;
* cover the venues where the bands often play;
* inform Canadians in the NY area who want to stay connected with all the great music now being made by the seriously great bands, singer-songwriters, and performers of our dear neighbour to the north.
More details on #R3NYNJ will follow in coming days. We’re starting to use the hashtag and logo today. For contact with us, please follow me personally on Twitter and contact me there. My handle’s @philipsturner. This would be a big help, as I will naturally be using Twitter to make the hashtag hum and grow. [Please note, this is an “unofficial” group, not formally affiliated with the CBC.]