Albert Anyone
Albert Anyone is my band. We play mostly my songs, and our mascot is a stick figure.

Animal
Animal's a great drummer, doing music full-time. He used to co-host Oasis Open Stage and play in the house band. He plays with several of the groups listed here, but I were to list 'em all, it'd soon be out of date.

Mike Audet
Mike's a friend I met at U of T who's a great musician. He's also been heavily into recording and stuff. He's helped both with my tape and my CD. I've always thought he's excellent, but he's never satisfied, always pushing to get that little bit better.

Marianne Baker
After months of silence, the artist formerly known as Simon Katz returned to her real name, announced an upcoming CD, put mp3s on the web, but denies allegations that she has "surfaced".

Laura Fernandez
Laura's got a great style with interesting chord patterns. She's recently released her CD and put up a new web site. They're both looking great.

Tony Hightower
Much of what I am today is what Tony helped me become. He was a good friend and taught me a lot about playing guitar and writing songs. Now the bastard's gone to New York, but I still love his music.

The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones are a power trio fronted by Dominic von Riedemann, with Sarah J. Ternoway on bass and new drummer Jeff Kahl. The songs often have smart lyrics and punchy melodies, and the band's delivery is right on.

Jason Lapidus
Jason's one of the hosts at the Oasis open stage, where I often play and do sound. Jason and Animal (on drums) usually play songs Jason's written, and they always sound good to me. Jason and Animal also play as a band with me at the open stage, but that's not special treatment-- they'll play along with you if you ask them to.

Rich Lowenberg
This guy's got a fascinating, powerful guitar technique and a great voice. We share many friends and use the same laundromat. This morning, I saw him triumphantly returning from the convenience store with orange juice on my way to work, after he'd gone drinking with my junior high crush.

Kevin Quain
Kevin Quain has got to be the only musician I know who's actually making a living playing his own stuff. The man's got three or four different bands going. His own band, The Mad Bastards is practically a different lineup every week. (Sometimes even Kevin's replaced) but they're always a tight, great-sounding band, even if they sound different from week to week. And when he's not playing in a band, he's hosting The Mad Bastard Cabaret, which I used to attend more often than him. He's probably the funniest musician I know, too. People compare Kevin to Tom Waits, but give me Kevin Quain any day.

Dave Marcotte
In some ways, Dave is the anti-me. I strum, he finger-picks. I write 3-minute songs, he writes long songs. I usually write the chorus first, he usually doesn't write a chorus. I hate rap music and techno, he likes them.

But somehow, as different as it is, I really dig his stuff. He's got great, strong lyrics, and cool guitar technique. This is Dave's new web site. It has mp3s.

The Mighty Fine Pair
These Scottish lads only arrived recently, and already they're all over the Celtic venues. When they're not doing doing energetic renditions of traditional Scottish and Irish tunes, you can sometimes catch them doing some great, original songs.

Mor
If all she had was that voice, it would be enough. But Mor's got way more going for her than that; good songs and captivating performances. 'Nuff said.

Signe Miranda's Veranda
It's lots of fun to catch SMV (or "smoo"). They're good people too. I've shared a bill with them, I know a bunch of their songs, and their drummer Jamie is also my drummer.

Snoovy
Snoovy knows all these musicians I know, but never the way you'd think. She was Andrew Woolner's co-worker. She went to school with Signe Miranda. I had a great time at her last show. And she plays the same kind of guitar as me.

Chris Staig
Chris is a great guitarist and songwriter. He hosts an open stage at The Old York that I don't get out to nearly often enough. He's also game to join in with little notice.

Rhonda Stakich
Rhonda's got it all: great vocals, neat guitar sounds, and a sure and steady songwriting hand. Definitely on my "worth seeing" list, but I don't think she needs my help!

Kevin Stock
Great songwriter. Great musician. Great guy. What more can you ask for?

Jeff Stone
Jeff's a fun guy and he writes some great songs. And I'm getting tired of these silly blurbs, but Jeff's a silly person like me, so maybe he'll understand.

Erika Werry
Erika's one of the musicians I've known the longest. For ages, she ran an open stage at Graffiti's, and she plays around town. I really like her vocal style-- it's a soft voice that catches just the right way. She's peformed on some songs, and been the subject of others.

John Whitaker
John's stay in Toronto was all-too-brief. Apparently, Immigration figured that John was too great a threat to native songwriters to let him live in Canada. But we sure had some good times while he was here. Anyone can sound great with a full band backing them up, but one of my favourite recordings is just John and a borrowed guitar in Tony Hamilton's house.

Matt Wolfe
Matt's another American, like Whitaker and Hightower. But I hope he's with us longer than them. He's got a whole whack of great songs, and a neat style. And if I say one song sounds like "Every Breath You Take", well, I must be paying attention.

Questions, comments or suggestions about this web site? Email me at aaron.bentley@utoronto.ca