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Thursday, 06 December 2007

Performance is Dave Borins’ version of living a fantasy. The weight of the world is lifted from his shoulders, and his personality is revealed, naked, unchecked and unapologetic. In addition to his original compositions, he also draws on an enormous and eclectic repertoire of great songs by other artists. Dave’s energetic performances have long been a closely held secret among a small group of people in Toronto and Montreal, but he is starting to make waves.

Dave grew up in Toronto, but his songwriting and performances have been shaped by his experience working as canoe trip guide in Algonquin National Park, and attending school in Montreal. Although folk, classic rock and roots music is the cornerstone of his musical background, Dave refuses to confine himself to one genre. His musical education has taken him to the Far East, South America, and the South Pacific, and as a teenager, he developed a reputation as a jazz vocalist, singing in an ensemble that included Sophie Milman, before she became a top-selling jazz artist. More recently, Dave has been exploring children’s music, working as an early childhood educator and becoming an expert campfire singer. Through it all, however, Dave has developed a unique voice and style that is all his own.

Dave plays with one ear in the sky, and one in the dirt. Nothing is sacred, but all things are respected. Old-fashioned, roots-based music and themes are fused with modern ideas, characters and situations. His music is catchy and familiar, yet somehow otherworldly. His lyrics are deeply influenced by literature and poetry, adding depth and subtlety to the infectious melodies, but this music is truly inclusive. He mixes the sweet with the bold, the old with the new, and he is setting the groundwork for a long successful musical career.

He thought he completed his Debut album "Songs of Sense and Colour" in July 2007, but Dave has recently been picked up by legendary producer Bob Gallo, RLF Entertainment and THEDORSEYTOUCH Promotions. They brought him in to Phase One studios to recut some of the tracks, and a major promotional campaign is in the works. Songs of Sense and Colour was originally written, recorded and performed by Dave, now it is in the process of being re-envisioned.

Dave was recently nominated for "best live acoustic artist" at the 2007 Toronto Indie Music Awards. Other recent accomplishments include this summer's "campfire tour" where he performed throughout Ontario in outdoor venues large and small. In 2006, he was a finalist at the Toronto Independent Music Festival, and the demo version of the song “You Don’t Really Love Me” was licensed to air across America on PBS’s Road Trip Nation, a reality show about finding a personalized path to success.

If you haven’t heard of Dave Borins, you will soon. He’s been making heads turn and hands clap in small venues all over Toronto and Montreal, but you can’t contain energy like this for long. Dave Borins is definitely one to watch.

Produced by Legendary Bob Gallo:
He began work at AudioSonic Recording Studios in the Brill Building where he continued his training by the best in the business at studio engineering. The Brill Building was the home to the best of the creative talent of the sixties, and Bob Gallo worked with the top talent around.

At the age of 21 Bob Gallo was called in to do a recording session at Bell Sound Studios in New York, with a singing group called the “Crests” that included the young Johnny Maestro. One of the songs recorded and produced by Bob that day, entitled “Sixteen Candles” went on to become a Number One hit, and that was the turning point in Gallo’s career as a music arranger and record producer.

By 1966 Bob had opened his own recording studios, Bob Gallo’s Talent Master Recording Studio at Broadway and 42nd St. and it was here that he worked with so many of the giant talents of the sixties, sometimes engineering, sometimes writing, and mostly producing for the likes of James Brown, Ben E. King, The Drifters, Bo Diddley etc. He engineered Wilbur Harrison’s #1 hit, “Kansas City”, produced a stack of demos for a young Richie Havens, and frequently had Carole King rehearse there.

Because of his classical background, Bob was one of the first arranger/producers to encompass large orchestrations in Pop music.

Recognizing Bob’s great success and talent, Jerry Wexler, President of Atlantic Records bought into Bob Gallo’s Talent Master Recording Studios so that he could access Bob’s talents for his own stable of stars. Bob Gallo was responsible for the production of many huge hit singles including; Grammy winning No. 1 Hit, It’s a Man’s World, by James Brown, No. 1 Hit, “96 Tears” by Question Mark and the Mysterions, No. 1 Hit, “Groovin’”, by the Young Rascals.

As a talented musician, arranger and composer Bob Gallo wrote for and produced such legends as Ottis Redding, James Brown, Ben E. King, Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Big Mabell, The Drifters and Bo Diddley.

Being very much in demand Bob divided his time working for both Atlantic Records and Columbia Records throughout the sixties and early seventies.

Bob has an amazing ear, and ability to scope out new talent. Shadow Morton brought a young unknown band to Bob’s Long Island Soundview Studios in 1970 and Bob, feeling the band had great promise engineered their first demo recordings. That group was KISS.

Shortly after that, while at a music convention in England, Bob Gallo spied a young Elvis Costello, strumming for change outside on the street and recommended him to Walter Zetnikoff, than President of CBS Records. He encouraged a couple of other young talents with sage words of advice and direction, the unknown Neil Diamond and Billy Joel.

In the early seventies Bob headed to Nashville and produced Ronny Prophet but found the musical environment at that time too restrictive for any fresh approach.

In 1974, impressed by Bob’s ability to spot and nurture talent, CBS Records Canada head hunted Bob Gallo to become head of A&R for CBS Records Canada. He developed some great R&B talent and music for Pop Radio and was the instrumental factor in the acceptance of Black R&B music on Pop Radio.

Ben E. King introduced Bob to a young singer named Jimmy Young who Bob developed into a top artist, writing and producing five albums for Jimmy Young that gained wide success in Canada, the United States and Europe. Bob was responsible for many top hits while working with many Canadian artists such as Jackson Hawk, Patsy Gallant, The Hellfield Band, Zon, and produced the first Nylons album which reached Gold and Platinum status and received a Juno Award.

For further information contact:
Ricki Landers Friedlander
RLF Entertainment Productions
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Press Release:

Gathering from his diverse array of influences, Borins takes his sounds to a whole new level on his debut album. Taking his reputation as one of the best live acts currently touring, (Dave Borins was nominated for Best Acoustic Performance in the Toronto Indie awards earlier this year) Borins’ debut album is full of vigor, with Bob Gallo taking the power of Dave’s live energy and filtering through the production process. “These pieces of music were written so well, I wanted to make sure that the production helped push them over the top and into the hits we all knew they could be,” Gallo says. “The live aspect of music has always been my main focus,” Borins says, citing classic rock jam band The Grateful Dead as a huge influence. “I saw the Dead at a really young age, and ever since I did, I knew the true power of a live performance.” Borins says that he tries to make more of a ‘show’ out of his performances rather than just entertaining through the music alone. “Something about being onstage and being the center of attention makes me feel like I should be really entertaining and not just play the song straightforward, but deliver it from the places deep down from which it came.” His intense view of performance comes as no surprise, seeing how Borins live shows have been the talk of Toronto for quite some time already, nabbing him a coveted Indie Music Award nomination for his show stopping sets. “With the Dead, Phish, and Dylan, you never got the same show twice. Each one is a unique experience and I try to live by that,” Borins says. “Every time I step onstage, I know I need to prove myself all over again. It’s a challenge that I enjoy overcoming.”

After recording a version of Songs of Sense and Colour on his own, fate had Borins' demo make it into the hands of industry mover and shaker Ricki Landers Friedlander of RLF Entertainment Productions LTD. “As soon as I heard Dave’s music, I knew I had to put him together with Bob Gallo. The kid’s got natural talent,” Friedlander says. Getting into Phase One Studios with the legendary Bob Gallo was a huge step for Borins. “I was recording in my parent’s living room, and then the next thing I know I am in one of the best studios in North America, Phase One Studios, with a legendary producer.” Things happened quickly for Borins once he began his work with RLF Entertainment Productions LTD. “I met with Bob before we started,” Borins says, “It was surprising how much we had in common. Our taste in music was so similar that working together seemed very natural. Bob has been working in music for decades, but he is hip enough to have his finger on the pulse of modern music while having the wherewithal to know what it takes to make hit albums from his years of experience.” Working with the who’s who of music, Gallo knew exactly what he wanted to do with Borins sound. Picking the tracks “To Know You are Loved”, “You Don’t Really Love Me”, “She’s Under My Wing”, and “My Hit Song” off of Songs of Sense and Colour, Gallo and Borins began the process of recording in Toronto’s famed Phase One Studios.

“Recording in Phase One was a great time,” Borins says, “My focus primarily lies on my live show, so it was nice to not only be in a professional studio, but to be under the wing of someone like Bob Gallo. It was something I had always dreamed of, but being there was still exciting every time I walked through the door of that studio.” Now that the album nears completion, Dave Borins prepares himself to release Songs of Sense and Colour and tour internationally. “Working with RLF Entertainment Productions LTD has really shown me how important it is to work with the right people. They get the job done and allow me the space I need to stay creative and focus on the music. I can’t wait to get out on the road and meet other musicians to share ideas with.”

Borins’ view of camaraderie for his fellow musicians is something that separates him from his contemporaries. In a time when most artists can barely watch their own back, Borins is a team player. “Sometimes I will perform alone, but I love having a band behind me when I have the chance,” he says. When asked where his inspiration to write and record his music comes from, Dave Borins states, “I am really just looking to communicate through the music. I have always wanted to be part of the power that influences me. Whether it is a cover of another artist’s song, or one of my own originals, I feel that power and by playing I contribute to it. It is overwhelmingly fulfilling to give back to something that has done so much for me.”

“I am very proud of the music I have made, but I am always looking to the future and the changes that will come with it.” Given the talent that this young man already has, the future seems like it will be a very bright place.

Interview by:
Justin C. Scro
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Stereo Subversion
www.stereosubversion.com

Digital Underground Magazine
www.digitalundergroundmag.com


Webpage:
Location: Toronto & Montreal, Ontario & Quebec, Canada
Description: Viability of Jack Johnson, artistic integrity of Banhart through the wisdom of Bowie. Understanding the key points of modern music like Wilco and the Arcade Fire, the classic rock mainstays like Zep and Young.
To receive promo CDs, press kits and to set up interviews, please contact THEDORSEYTOUCH Promotions at 727-784-2595 (office), 813-732-5529 (cell) or 727-674-5525 (24 hour hotline). Or, simply email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with a contact name and phone number and we will return your call.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 08 August 2009 )
 
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