Catherine Taddo

A reunion of old friends is a springboard for Catherine Taddo to tour Germany.

The Sault Ste. Marie blues musician toured with Up with People in 1997. A cast reunion is held every five years.

Taddo toured Ontario, the United States and 10 European countries with the youth ensemble.

A gathering this summer will be in Ortenberg, Germany. More than 100 Up with People alumni, and their family members, are expected to gather at a castle that’s now a youth hostel.

The prospect of bringing a band from the Sault to play at the gathering struck Taddo as “interesting.” Jay Case (guitar) and Marshall Jaaskelainen (bass) will back her up. Additional dates were added with Taddo now expected to play Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Landshut and Offenburg in July.

Various Up with People cast members will help host the Sault trio, find housing for the musicians and act as sound engineer at Taddo’s dates. Those connections stretching back more than 20 years offer Taddo “a unique opportunity that I wouldn’t otherwise have.”

The civil engineer plans to play material from her two albums, Under Your Hood and This Way, and favourite covers. She’s writing new material, but doesn’t expect those songs will be played in Germany.

“It takes a huge amount of time just to book the shows and plan the travel,” said Taddo.

Her previous experience planing another European tour, with appearances in Rome, Cologne and Hamburg, while working on an album proved “a bit overwhelming.”

Taddo has several shows booked closer to home to help her prepare for her German swing.

Case and Jaaskelainen join her for Blues and BBQs at Room 21 on May 18 at 11 p.m. Cost is $15. Taddo will be at Wawa Music Festival on June 29.

btkelly@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @Saultreporter - Sault Star

Catherine Taddo
Under Your Hood
Pyrrha

Apparently Catherine Taddo is a latecomer to the blues, but listening to Under Your Hood, there is no indication that this is the case. With 9 originals and one relatively obscure cover (Louis Jordan’s ‘Men Are Like Streetcars’) Taddo has definitely set out to make her mark in the Canadian Blues world. That being said, Under Your Hood also dips into a little bit of funk (‘Under Your Hood’) and rockabilly (‘Waiting For You’) that is sure to make the blues die hard a little uncomfortable, but is going to delight fans of danceable, upbeat blues influenced music. The production throughout the album is very clean which really brings out Taddo’s commanding, silky, sexy voice while allowing the lead guitar of Rusty McCarthy a lot of room to breathe. The backbeat provided by Ed Young (drums) and Frank Deresti (bass) is absolutely solid, and while a little workman-like (and there is nothing wrong with that), they both shine on the aforementioned ‘Under Your Hood’. Deresti’s funk runs definitely add to the hip-swaying, toe tapping feel of the song, pushing the enjoy-ability of it up a few notches. Overall, Under Your Hood has a very open and airy feel to it. It’s easy to imagine these songs being played live and at times hard to not dance while listening to them. The easy, powerful flow of Taddo’s voice mixed with the slick musicianship almost compels the body to sway, tap and move along.

Catherine Taddo has created an excellent modern blues (NOT blues-rock) album and Under Your Hood is sure to be a favourite with both types of people: those who get the blues and those who don’t.

By Jason Wellwood
May 1, 2012
- Earshot

Catherine Taddo
Under Your Hood
Reviews Folk & Country
By Randi Beers

Sault Ste. Marie, ON resident and civil engineer Catherine Taddo can also add the moniker "rockabilly queen" to her belt. Her sophomore release, Under Your Hood, is a cleanly produced, upbeat collection of songs complete with tongue-in-cheek lyricism (see: "Men are just like Street Cars"). There is no doubt that Taddo gets her crowd up and dancing when she's on tour. The album's best moments include rockabilly-cum-doowop hybrid "Waiting for You" and the funk-ified "Under Your Hood." Taddo's voice has jazzy warmth, a quality that serves as the cherry on top of her catchy melodies and the crisp musicianship of her band. Catherine Taddo certainly is a talent the Ontario north can boast as theirs. - Exclaim

Under Your Hood is a straight-laced urban blues record from Catherine Taddo. Raised in Thunder Bay and based out of Sault Ste. Marie, Catherine kicks off her sophomore release with "Slow Train" and keeps things chugging through to the last track "Leave the Light On." Self-produced, self-engineered, and recorded in her home studio, Taddo's rhythm guitar and vocals are backed by lead guitar, bass, and drums. Nice of the ten songs are original and her music is finding air-play on various campus and commercial radio stations. She has toured nationally and internationally. If you are a fan of CBC's Satuday Night Blues, you'll be a fan of Under Your Hood. The CD can be purchased through her website at www.catherinetaddo.com. - The Walleye

Annual Blues For Food showcase drew a capacity crowd

Annual events such as last month’s Toystock Christmas Cheer fundraiser and last evening’s Blues For Food showcase in support of the Soup Kitchen Community Centre are testaments to the local music community’s dedication and generosity. The 8th annual Blues For Food hosted by Rusty McCarthy and the Sault Blues Society at the Water Tower Pub attracted a dozen players who all donated their time for the cause.

“It is the season of giving. We as musicians don’t have much to give, we’re not on the sunshine list. The only thing we can give and give freely is whatever talent we have,” McCarthy Told SooToday.

“It’s a great night that brings the community together. It’s kind of like going to a hockey game and the whole community is there. I like that feeling,” he said.

The Pub was standing room only as supporters enjoyed performances by local artists Five Below Zero, Paul DellaVedova, Bill Priddle, Stuart Bolduc, Liam Seymour, Tym Morrison, Rusty McCarthy, Rick Wysynski, Mark Gough, Steve Quesnele, Warren Reville, and Catherine Taddo.

“It’s fun having the chance to play with a group of musicians I don’t normally perform with. And it’s great being involved in something supporting the Soup Kitchen which is really important for the community,” Taddo said.

The giving continues throughout December with other events in support of local charities, including:

Wednesday, Dec. 20 - 10 p.m.
Acoustic Open Mic for ARCH hosted by Greg Callaghan
Coch’s Corner, 708 Queen St. E.

Friday, Dec. 22 - 10 p.m.
Stand-Up for Charity with J.P. Naphan in support of St. Vincent de Paul
Room 21, 480 Albert St. W. (upstairs)

Wednesday, Dec. 27 - 8 p.m.
The 2nd Annual Guy Thiffault Memorial concert in support of Tracy’s Dream
Canadian Night Club, 410 Pim St. - Sootoday.com

Catherine Taddo is headed back to the Nickel City to help launch a new music festival.

The Sault Ste. Marie blues artist is part of Northern Lights Festival Boreal’s Bloom festival in early March.

The Thunder Bay native opens for singer-songwriter and slam poet Medhi Cayenne at Little Montreal Bar and Deli on March 8 at 11 p.m.

“It’s nice to be involved right from the start,” she said.

Taddo will be joined by Jay Case (guitar), Frank Deresti (bass) and Mark Gough (drums). She’ll play material from two of her albums – Under Your Hood and This Way.

“We’re really excited,” Taddo told The Sault Star. “It’s a good opportunity to be involved in such a well-planned event.”

The upcoming date is her first in Sudbury since a 2005 appearance at Chapters as part of a two-month Canadian tour.

Taddo is working on material for a new album. That release will be her first since Under Your Hood came out in 2011.

Bloom runs March 8-10. Other featured acts include The Young Novelists, Nadjiwan, Shad and Bambino. Taddo called the lineup “a nice diverse crowd of musicians.” She and Case play Algoma’s Water Tower Inn on Feb. 14. Case starts with a solo set at 8:30 p.m. before joining Taddo for two sets. The pair play Room 21 at Low and Slow on April 13.

Bloom festival information is posted online at https://nlfb.ca/event/bloom-2019/

btkelly@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @Saultreporter - Sault Star

NEWS RELEASE

MUSIC AND FILM
IN MOTION

****************************
Catherine Taddo’s second album Under Your Hood is available now

SUDBURY - Ontario native Catherine Taddo released her second full length album Under Your Hood on October 28.

The disc's 10 blues songs feature nine Taddo originals, including Slow Train, Waiting for You and Leave the Light On, and a cover of Louis Jordan's Men are Like Street Cars.

The album is available for purchase on iTunes, through www.catherinetaddo.com, and in Sault Ste. Marie at The Rad Zone.

If you would like to hear the album in a live setting, there is a CD release party scheduled for Wednesday, December 7, 2011, at 8:30 p.m. at the Pub at the Water Tower Pub in Sault Ste. Marie with special guest Lindsay Pugh.

Catherine will also be performing a few songs with Blues for Food, at the Water Tower Pub on December 10.

The first single Slow Train has been released to Commercial Rock radio in Canada.

100.5 FM in the Sault has played tracks from the album.

The CD has also been released to community and college/university radio in the US and Canada, in addition to CBC Radio.

Other stations that have added Under Your Hood to their playlist include CHES FM near Toronto, and CVUE FM near Vancouver.

Under Your Hood was recorded over the past year at Taddo's home studio.

The recording features Ed Young (drums), Frank Deresti (bass), Rusty McCarthy (lead guitar) and Paul DellaVedova (guitar on Under Your Hood, Waiting for You and Slow Train).

Catherine Taddo brings her experiences, passion and voice to her music.

After repeated moves as a youngster, at age 11 she found a home playing guitar and has been playing and writing songs ever since.

Taddo's first album This Way received significant radio airplay and reached number two on the charts at CKXU 88.3 FM.

Both CBC and campus radio supported the album, comparing Catherine's unique musical style to that of Norah Jones.

Community First Credit Union selected the title track from the album for commercial use, and the album was also nominated for Best Engineering at the Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards (NOMFA).

For more information on Catherine Taddo and her new album ,em>Under Your Hood, visit www.catherinetaddo.com - Sootoday.com

Local chanteuse Catherine Taddo set the stage on fire at this week's premiere Northern Songwriter's Showcase at Loplops Lounge and Gallery. The show featured music written by Taddo and performed by other local musical artists, as well as by Taddo herself. She'll be releasing her first full-length CD June 10. Musicians joining Taddo on Thursday night also performed some of their own music and a few covers to an enthusiastic audience. Loplops proprietor Steve Alexander said he decided to host the event because he wanted to give local musicians an opportunity to showcase their original music and to raise some money to help offset the high cost of reproducing CDs. "With the kind of things happening in our community now it might be a good thing to do a sort of fundraiser," said Alexander.

One idea Alexander said he is tossing around for the Northern Songwriter's Showcase is a 'various artists' CD sampling performances he's thinking of calling Live at Loplops."It's all about promoting live, original, local music," Alexander said.He said he also intends to pair local artists with shows he brings in from out of town this summer whenever possible because it benefits both the musicians and Loplops patrons. Supporting Taddo at this week's showcase premiere:- Amanda Pierosara- Chris Belsito- Jay Case- Startlefish- Lindsay Pugh - Mark Kuntsi. The evening of performances wound up with a boisterous impromptu reunion of the Chris Belsito Band joined by James Case to belt out Belsito tunes old and new. Taddo plans to return to Loplops to officially release her CD on June 10 and to launch the Canadian Elemental Tour. For the first two weeks of the tour, Taddo will be joined by local music icon Chris Belsito, southern Ontario group Vile Richard and Caroline Spence, winner of The Great Canadian Talent Search, sponsored by Canadian Musician magazine in 2003. The official tour launch, featuring Catherine Taddo, Caroline Spence, Chris Belsito and Vile Richard will go down at The Cameron House in Toronto on June 15. The tour will pass through the Sault and stop at Loplops again on June 23, midway through the three-week Elemental Tour which will wind up with Taddo and Spence in Vancouver on July 3, 2005.
- SooToday.com

When the time came to record her first full-length CD, Catherine Taddo had a rough idea how the album would fall into place.“This is going to be a simple recording,” she recalled thinking.The focus would be on her voice, guitar, bass and some drums. Most of the work would be done by her and musical partner Lindsay Pugh.But as the Sault Ste. Marie singer began recording the 10-track This Way at Red Gecko Studio in Hilton Beach, that basics approach was scrapped.“We started thinking ‘You know, this one could really use piano’, so we brought someone in,” Taddo said earlier this week during a tour stop in Montreal. “Then we need some percussion in the background to fill things in. It just kept going and going. Once you got to a certain point you’re thinking ‘Wow, it would just be absolutely perfect if we had this person doing this one part because there’s so many talented musicians in the Sault.” More than a half-dozen musicians, including Eugene Gassi, Jamie Case and Cliff Alloy, ended up joining Taddo and Pugh on the folk-blues disc. “That’s the nice thing about recording,” said the Lakehead University graduate.

“You kind of go in with an open mind. It’s nice to have a vision of where you want it to end up, but if you start taking away things just because they happened in the moment and you didn’t plan it, well, sometimes those are the best parts.” Taddo and Pugh are touring Canada, from Quebec to British Columbia, in June and July to promote This Way. They are part of the Elemental Tour which also includes fellow Sault talent Chris Belsito and Victoria-based Caroline Spence. During their sets, Taddo and Pugh are featuring material from the new disc, and covers of blues songs by stalwarts such as John Prine and Junior Wells. She described her first Canadian tour as tiring, but fun.“It’s just getting out there and meeting the people that’s really going to help you the next time around and seeing for yourself what the venues are like,” Taddo said about what she has learned from the experience.

- Sault Star

By Brian Kelly, The Sault Star
August 2011

Catherine Taddo happily mixed business with pleasure during a recent trip to Europe.

During a three-week jaunt overseas in July, the Sault Ste. Marie musician's itinerary included visiting with friends, taking in Scotland and Ireland and performing three shows in Cologne, Hamburg and Rome.

Taddo performed material from her new album, Under Your Hood, music from her first full-length, This Way, and some of her favourite blues covers.

"I was hoping to expand my audience base in Germany and Italy," said Taddo in an email.

Hitting the road isn't unusual for the civil engineer.

Taddo toured Canada, from Quebec to British Columbia, in 2005 to promote This Way. Since then, the Lakehead University graduate has played shows in the Sault and region and a date in Nebraska.

Next up is an appearance Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Roberta Bondar Pavilion as part of the city's summer concert series. Admission is free.

Under Your Hood was recorded over the past year at Taddo's home studio. The recording features Ed Young (drums), Frank Deresti (bass), Rusty McCarthy (lead guitar) and Paul DellaVedova (guitar on Under Your Hood and Slow Train).

The disc's 10 blues songs feature nine Taddo originals, including Slow Train, Waiting for You and Leave the Light On, and a cover of Louis Jordan's Men are Like Street Cars.

"My goal was to write a blues album with a lot of energy," said Taddo.

"I spent a lot of time in the writing process, but ironically Slow Train is one of my favourites from the album. (It) took less time to write than most of the other songs."

The album's artwork by Brian Tremblay features Taddo with a 1955 Chevy on Gore Street with the Barnes Block in the background.

Under Your Hood will be released this fall. Cost is $20. Copies can be ordered at Taddo's website. - Sault Star

Saturday night at Loplops, Catherine Taddo wowed a crowd with her amazing mosaic of incandescent spunk.

The crowd capturing Catherine was so captivated that Steve Alexander is going to have to think twice about his 'candles everywhere' decor.

After contemplating the funky smell of something burning for almost 10 minutes, it became obvious that certain very interested crowd members had neglected to notice the proximity of the candles and papers on their table and thus commenced to set a small table fire.

Hardly anybody noticed; Catherine had the full attention of nearly 100 pairs of eyes directed towards the stage.

We can basically say she was 'Smokin'!

Ablaze; On Fire; Sizzling; Warm; Cozy; Sparkling; Hot.

Check out our hot party pics and choose your own adjective.

Playing with fire takes on a whole new meaning.

It's fun.

Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare to be ablazed.

- Sootoday.com

Catherine Taddo warmed up to recording a new take on a winter classic.

The Sault Ste. Marie singer-songwriter collaborated with Vile Richard on the pop standard, Baby It's Cold Outside.

Taddo recorded her vocals at her home studio and e-mailed them to the Toronto-based alternative pop band.

"It worked out really well," she said of the long-distance recording project.


"It was a lot of fun working remotely. You hear songs on the radio where it's been done and I'd never done it myself. It was good."

The Frank Loesser-penned track is one of nine songs included on the recently released Vile Christmas. Other album cuts include Greensleeves, Away in a Manger and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Taddo met Vile Richard's Olaf Alders and Andrew Vanhorn when both acts toured Ontario and Western Canada in 2005.

They've kept in touch since. Alders contacted Taddo by e-mail earlier this fall proposing Baby It's Cold Outside.

There are countless versions of the song that was penned in 1944, including collaborations between Willie Nelson and Norah Jones, Michael Buble and Anne Murray and Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton.

This new version finds, at Alders's suggestion, he and Taddo switching the male and female lines.

There are also harmonies in the roughly two-and-a-half song that are "a little different than some of the versions I've heard," said Taddo.

The song, accompanied by winter photography, can be heard on Youtube. Search Taddo's name.

It had 321 views as of Tuesday.

She also contributed harmony vocals on Vile Richard's Poison Pill.

That song is included on the band's 2005 release, How to Find and Fascinate a Mistress.

Taddo's participation on Baby It's Cold Outside marks a rare recent chance to hear the Thunder Bay native sing.

She's only performed three times this year, at Steamy Bean Coffee Co. in November, a private party in June and Loplops in February.

"I took a little bit of a break," she said.

"I've been doing some other things. I got invited to do this song. I thought it would be fun."

Will local audiences get to see, and hear, more from Taddo in 2010?

"I think so," she said. "Yeah."

Vile Christmas is a collection of holiday songs the band has recorded for family and friends over the years.

"Catherine was my first choice for other part," said Alders in an e-mail.

"She's great to work with and she took her end of things very seriously.

"She's much more of a perfectionist than I realized, which is actually a very good thing. So there were lots of discussions about little things here and there before we nailed down the final version of the song, which I think turned out very well."

Taddo's voice, he added, "has a lot of character."

"I think it blends very nicely with mine which, I've been told, takes some getting used to."

The disc can be ordered through the band's website.

Cost is $5 US.

On the web:

www.catherinetaddo.com www.vilerichard.com www.youtube.com

- The Sault Star

By Shannon Leahy
Special to
The Chronicle Journal
Catherine Taddo is both a musician and an engineer proving that her left brain and right brain make beautiful music together.
“There are a lot of skills that are transferable,” Taddo explains from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., about her two passions. “The engineering math skills don’t hurt when it comes to the business side of music. Plus, touring nationally and internationally takes a lot of preparation and organizational skills.
”If you think the civil engineering degree Catherine earned in 1997 from Lakehead University is the brains of the operation, think again.
“Being a musician involves a technical side in terms of sound recording and musical equipment,” she explains. “I’ve been able to setup a recording studio in my home and have recorded a number of Sault Ste. Marie bands, and musicians.” The 36-year old has been playing guitar since she was 11 and recalls an immediate love of music.
“My parents introduced me to after-school guitar lessons and I’ve never stopped playing,” she says. “While I was in high school, I sang, played clarinet, bass clarinet and oboe, and joined just about every concert band and ensemble possible. Today I focus on singing and playing both electric and acoustic guitar.”
Although Taddo has performed nationally and internationally, she still considers herself an aspiring musician.
“I think most musicians just want to keep learning because there’s always something to learn; that’s part of the joy of being a musician. I want people to enjoy listening to my music and I want to enjoy playing my songs.
”When asked to share some tips for novice musicians, Taddo says: “I think the best advise is just to stay at it. A lot of people who are taking lessons or just picking up an instrument for the first time want to see immediate results so they get discouraged quickly. Making music takes a bit of perseverance.”
Since moving from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie in 1999, Taddo splits her time between civil engineering, music and performing.
“In 2005 I toured across Canada with my first album, This Way. My band and I started in Toronto and headed to Nepean, Kingston, Montreal and then across to Vancouver.”
While still living in Thunder Bay and fresh from her Lakehead graduation, Taddo spent a year touring North America, as well as France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, and Switzerland.
She’s performed in front of a lot of crowds, but Northern Ontario crowds hold a special place in her heart.
“In 2004 I played the Live from the Rock Folk Festival in Red Rock, which has developed quite a following. Musicians feed off the energy of the audience and vice versa so it’s always great when you have a fun, captive audience,” she explains. The Thundering Women’s festival is another favourite event and a special career highlight.“
I remember Serena Ryder playing in Thunder bay in 2004 and then a few years later show on the 2008 Juno Award for Best New Artist. There was so much buzz around her.
”Having Wendell Ferguson, an award-winning guitarist who’s toured with Shania Twain, play guitar for Taddo was almost as sweet as this memory: “I was on stage performing and watched Jane Siberry walk in, sit down and listen to my show. I’ll absolutely never forget that.”
As Catherine works on her second album and prepares to tour Europe next year, her life sounds in perfect pitch. - Chronicle Journal