For previous NEWS entries, click here. Something New at Algoma U: Belsito Set to Play Speak Easy A variation on the Belsito Band theme will be playing a double bill with Startlefish at Algoma U's Speak Easy Pub on Saturday, February 25th. This particular variation on a theme will feature Craig West on bass guitar duties (as Lindsay is still in the monastary for another month or so), Jay Case on guitar, Ed Young on drums -- and yes, playing the role of Chris Belsito for the evening will in fact be Chris Belsito. This tag-team event will begin with a set by the ever-expanding Startlefish (just to be clear...we are referring to the number of band members not their collective waistlines) at 10:00 p.m., followed by the Belsito Band at 11:00 p.m., followed by Startlefish at 12:00 a.m., then Belsito Band at 1:00 a.m. -- you get the picture. The Speak Easy is a great new pub and we are encouraging friends to come out and give it a try. The more people that come out the better the first impression. The better the first impression the more likely there will be future gigs. And for the record, the poster above does in fact feature Belsito's face fused to that of Salvador Dali's (courtesy of Craig West). This gets us to thinking that there just might be enough time for Belsito to grow a pencil moustache before Saturday's gig. Hope to see you there! P.S. If a full band show just isn't enough, Belsito will also be playing a solo acoustic gig at the Steamy Bean on Sunday, February 26th beginning at 8:00 p.m.(February 19/06) Breakthrough Performance at Searchmont The mini-version of the Belsito Band played an energetic and ultimately successful show at the Searchmont Resort. It is obvious that patrons at the chalet are getting used to the idea of live performances by the fireside. The crowd was into it almost as much as the band - who played some very interpretive versions of classic Belsito tunes. Ed and Craig (with their side project Startlefish) will be performing next Saturday at the chalet for those interested in the listening to live music set to the smell of old ski boots. Next Belsito Band performance will be at the Speak Easy Pub at Algoma U. on Saturday, February 25th as part of a double bill with said side project Startlefish. Pictured above: Three men wearing glasses who have been performing under the name of the Belsito Trio. (February 11/06) What Should Have Been in 2005 - Part 5 Up in an austere Zen monastery on Mount Baldy lived a monk known as Jikan (or "Silent One"). To the rest of the world, he was known as Leonard Cohen. Until his recent financial woes hit the news, he had quietly disappeared from the world. Disappeared, in a fashion not unlike the Belsito Band's own Lindsay Pugh. With Belsito playing so many solo acoustic gigs these days, one wonders what has become to the man they once referred to as Lord Pugh. The good folks at chrisbelsito.com figured that we would check up on him. We called his abode - and a lady answered. We left messages for him, but they went unreturned. His silence got us to thinking about..."What Should Have Been in 2005 - Part 5". Pugh should have (and may have for all we know) slipped away to live a life of solitude on Mount Baldy and become a Buddhist monk like Cohen. But that got us to thinking, what about the lady who answered the phone? The Buddhist monks surely wouldn't approve of that. Then again, they accepted the man who refers to himself as the "bad monk, a sloppy monk." We would say that life has been good to Leonard (despite his recent financial woes). What is good for Leonard, it is surely good for Lindsay. We know that both Lindsay and Leonard have strong attachments to Montreal. Both speak French and are musically inclined. Need we say more? Besides, we thought they would play nice together in the monastary (as pictured above). Stay tuned for the 6th installment of "What Should Have Been in 2005". (February 10/06) The Belsito Three Play Encore Performance at Searchmont The economy sized Belsito Band, otherwise known as the Belsito Trio, will be performing an encore show at Searchmont in the Chalet on Saturday, February 11th from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. There are more Belsito shows in the near future. Dates and venues to be announced shortly. Stay tuned! If you are wondering about the photo below, read a little further down the page. (February 8/06) What Should Have Been in 2005 - Part 4 There are things you find out about a person that sometimes do not match what you thought you knew about them. Take Belsito band guitar player Craig West for example (pictured in full flight above). He never struck any of us at chrisbelsito.com as a skiier, but that is something he turned out to be. High-demanding physical activity and Craig never really seemed to go hand in hand, but the truth is folks, he has been skiing since he was a little kid. Well, that leads us to "What Should Have Been in 2005 - Part 4". Craig West should have quit his job and left his various bands in order to move out to Banff and take on extreme skiing. Considering how comfortable he looks in this picture, we are sure he would have been a natural. Why the long hair you ask? Well, we quote The Steamy Bean newsletter where Craig West is described as the "young girl with the big voice" (we are serious folks - read it for yourself). Well, we always knew there was something he was hiding inside but was too scared to share with the rest of the world. We figured that while Craig was skiing in the land of P.M. Harper, he could let his hair down so to speak, wave his freak flag around, and truly get a chance to find his inner "girl with the big voice". Besides, we thought it was funny. Stay tuned for the 5th installment of "What Should Have Been in 2005"...Coming soon! P.S. The photo above also is fitting considering Belsito's next gig at Searchmont. (February 7/06) A Taste of Cinnamon So, what do Tom Waits, Leann Rimes, Steve Vai and Loretta Lynn have in common? They all listened to Belsito's "And Cinnamon" and advanced it to the second round of an international songwriting contest. With more than 15,000 entries, Belsito's song advanced into the top percentile of songs. Although the track didn't make the final third and final round, Belsito was absolutely honoured to: a) have his song chosen out of 15,000 entries to make the top cut; and b) simply have the opportunity to get an audience with some of the industries top writers, musicians and performers. As well as those listed above, other judges on the panel include: Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC), Joss Stone, Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), Macy Gray, Sonny Rollins, BeBe Winans, Charlie Musselwhite, John Scofield, Benji Madden (Good Charlotte), The Donnas and last but not least Peter Hook (New Order). If you like the "Degrees of Seperation" game and you have listened to "And Cinnamon" - then take your pick of these artists and consider yourself only one step away. Ok, not really, but its fun to think so. At least it seems Belsito is heading in the right direction. Hey Belsito, get writing, will you? You need more fodder for the music industry to hear - so you can get rich and pay us more (or at all) for maintaining this site. (February 4/06) Good On You, Ol' Bean The Steamy Bean has its own special charm. It was a cold and wintery Sunday night, but the Bean was warm and smelled of fresh roasted coffee. Belsito performed two-hours of his material for what was to be his third show in a little more than 24 hours. In fact, in the course of just over a day, Belsito put in over 7 hours of performance (not even considering the time it takes move and set-up PAs). The small but appreciative crowd who took in Belsito's show were treated to a couple of oddball songs from the songwriter's early days. When the show was over, Belsito was able to purchase some fine, fair-trade expresso beans with his evening's earnings and was alseep by midnight. Such is the rock and roll lifestyle when living in Sault Ste. Marie. Thanks to all the friends who came out to the show last night! (January 30/06) Signing Out From The Library With an audience age demographic that ranged from 6 months to 77 years old, the SSM Public Library show must have been deemed a success. Although the storm was raging outside and the tour bus (ok, Craig's van) was stuck in the library parking lot, the show inside went seemingly well. There was a small audience who took advantage of the comfortable seating in front of the stage (ok, the window), some who perused the books in the nearby aisle, and those who did the 'listen from afar' routine - but ultimately, there was an audience who seemed to like the show. The backdrop of the river and freshly fallen snow was truly "camera ready, picturesque". Belsito's urge to keep things quiet ('cause he was in a library y' know) kept the show mellow and relaxing (ok, someone in the crowd nodded off). Belsito reminded the audience that they could in fact sign out three of his four albums (thereby eliminating any possibility of selling his product at the show). Thanks to the library for once again supporting original music - this time in a live format. To read more about the show, check out Sootoday's coverage by clicking here. To read their pre-show coverage, click here (and for the record, Chris would never wear pleated pants...you'll see). Photo courtesy of Carol Martin of Sootoday.com (January 29/06) Saturday Searchmont Show Surprise The gig at the Searchmont Ski Resort was a grand ol' success. The trio formation worked nicely for this low-key show. It was a perfect day for skiing, so those in the chalet were in extra good spirits, making the audience very receptive and welcoming. One person even approached Belsito and asked the band's name. When Belsito informed him that it went under his own name, the gentleman said, "Oh, you sound a lot like Rainhorses." For those in the know, Rainhorses was the moniker that Belsito used to perform under many years ago. This particular audience member had seen a show many years prior in Sudbury at the Northern Lights Festival and purchased a CD which he thought fondly of. That pretty much made Belsito's day, and the fact that the show went well was an added bonus. Next up is the tour stop at the Sault Ste Marie Public Library this coming Sunday, January 29th from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. This should be a unique and hopefully entertaining show. As if that weren't enough shows for the weekend, another has been added in at the last minute: a fill-in show at the Steamy Bean (on Great Northern Road) on Sunday night beginning at 8:00 p.m. That should be plenty of shows for this particular week. More future shows to be announced shortly. (January 28/06) Rockin' the Biography Section Chris Belsito will be playing a special show at the Sault Ste Marie Public Library this coming Sunday, January 29th from 2:00 -4:00 p.m. Yes, yes, we know. Belsito has taken some ribbing about this particular gig - about how the "mighty have fallen", about the possibility of him breaking into storytime mid-song, etc. We will have you know that the SSM Public Library has been taking on some great new initiatives (the concert series being one of them), has a great CD/DVD collection that gets better all the time, and some great staff who work there. Mock Belsito for this show and the staff just might throw the book at you (bad pun, we know). This gig gives Belsito a chance to play for the early birds who wouldn't stay up till the midnight hour and aren't likely to wander into a bar very often. Besides, we are pretty sure Belsito has something to return that is long since overdue. The performance will take place in the Main Library Reading Area. This solo acoustic show marks the first "library" show that Belsito has played, but it's certainly not the first time he has been surrounded by books during a performance. If you scroll back through the NEWS pages, you will find some info about Belsito's Chapters gig (in Sudbury) with the "book-shelf peepers" and such. Now the SSM Library might not be the "Rock Library", the show should certainly be rockin' - no, maybe folkin'...no, that sounds dirty...it will be a good time. See you there! P.S. If you are more into skiing than reading, read the next article. (January 25/06) Encore at the Chalet Belsito, West and Young will be playing out at the Searchmont Ski Resort on the afternoon of Saturday, January 28th. The show begins shortly after 2:00 p.m. in the main chalet (near the fireplace). This show will be less than a full band show, but more than a solo gig. West will take on the bass guitar duties for this show, making this a Belsito Trio sort of event. Performing at a ski hill is a very different experience. How do we put this? Skiing makes people tired. They get into the lodge by the fire and zone out. Belsito's last gig there was, shall we say, quiet. Especially considering it was a packed house. Instead of applause, he got a big round of blinks and a few occasional yawns. Ironically, as he was leaving, people said how much they enjoyed the show. What can we say? Skiing is tough work and when in the chalet - a skiier must conserve their energy. Belsito appreciates the opportunity to play the gig as he needs some first hand experiences to add some realism to the ski-themed rock opera he is composing. (January 24/06) What Should Have Been in 2005 - Part 3 For those of you in the know, Crank Sound Distribution is Belsito's sound company of choice. Over the past year, Crank Sound have made quite the name for themselves and quickly become the number one sound company in the area. When Crank Sound founder and CEO, George Ravlich was devising a game plan on how to take the local market by storm, a number of ideas were floating around the board room table. And this brings us to the 3rd installment of "What Should Have Happened in 2005". We thought Crank Sound should pursued the suggestion of changing their image and getting "crunked". Yes folks, we felt that 2005 should have been the year that Crank got crunked (Hey, even Webster's is including rap terminology in the latest edition of their dictionary). George Ravlich could have grown out his current "mohawk" hair style to a full beautiful fro. Then he and faithful sidekick Andrew could have added some "bling bling" to their look by shopping at Iced Out Gear. With this new look, they could have marketed themselves to the urban music scene in Sault Ste. Marie. Oh right...there is no urban music scene in the Sault. I guess it is a good thing they stuck with the more conservative approach to marketing Crank Sound. Really, it's too bad. We truthfully thought the pimp attire looked good on them. For those who want to have a bit more fun with this picture of Crank's crunked look, try to find the following in the picture: 1) the bling ring; 2) the pimp stick; 3) the pimp cup; 4) the iced letter black leather belt...do we really need to continue? For the record, we are not making these names up - they are rap industry standard. Stay tuned for the 4th installment of "What Should Have Been in 2005". (January 16/06) Belsito's Afternoon With Ed Young Trumping the previously announced first shows of 2006 will be a special fill-in gig with multi-instrumentalist Ed Young out at Searchmont Ski Resort this Sunday, January 14th beginning at 2:00 p.m. You may remember Mr. Young from his television Ministry, inspirational radio shows, and more recently, his book entitled The Creative Ladder. Yes, Ed Young's Ministries have inspired thousands to unleash the power of their creative potential through God's word...good lord, wait a minute...that doesn't look like Ed at all. What is going on here? Scratch everything we have just said about Ed. If you are out skiing and the cold is getting to you, the warm sounds of Young and Belsito will be awaiting you in the chalet. To read chrisbelsito.com's lies about our Ed Young, click here. For those more interested in "connecting" with the other Ed Young on a higher level, click here. (January 13/06) Skibunnies and Bookworms Unite: First Shows of 2006 Announced Belsito, West and Young will be rocking the slopes with a special gig at Searchmont Ski Resort on Saturday, January 28th. This special show will be kicking off around 3:00 and ending at approximately 6:00 pm. After a short reprieve that evening, where Belsito will be checking out the Shauna Major CD Release event at Loplops, Belsito will be playing a solo acoustic gig the following day at the SSM Public Library to kick off their new in-house concert series. I guess libraries aren't just for quiet anymore - who knew? Times for the "rocking the fiction section" event will follow. Stay tuned! (January 10/06) What Should Have Been in 2005 - Part 2 Friend, cow bell connoisseur, web designer and originator of the "Curt O' Neil Effect", Curt O' Neil has had a pretty busy year. As local fans of the cowbell likely already know, Curt helped with the original design of chrisbelsito.com. Since then, he has gone on to start Murderfly Multimedia, launched a website for Jay Case and bought a dog (which he named Domino). As part of our original series that focuses on the missed opportunities of the past year, we thought that Curt's excessive bonding with his pooch should have caused him to physically morph with his pet. This process would revolutionize the art of pet-owning and pretty much send the Curt O' Neil Effect in obscurity. The process would, of course, be called the "Domino Effect". Original huh? Pictured above is our very-own, high falutin' theory for how the morphing would have taken place. Unfortunately, the fact that the morphing hasn't taken place yet likely means that it probably won't happen in 2006 either. The World Weekly News has nothing on our shakey Photoshopping skills, wouldn't you say? Now the only question is, who is holding Domicurt's leash? Jes? Stay tuned for the 3rd installment of "What Should Have Been in 2005". (January 8/06) Belsito's Eyes Hurt The site needed a change - any change. The staff at chrisbelsito.com were so tired of hearing how the brown tone of the website was "hurting" Belsito's eyes, they took matters into their own hands and changed it without permission. We actually think it might have been the crotch shot below that made Belsito's eyes grieve, but who are we to say. Yes, the change is only minor, but change is always good. More to come in the near future. (January 6/06) What Should Have Been in 2005 - Part 1 Reflecting on the past year, there have been both challenges and successes that have been well-documented on this site. For your enjoyment...we are going to dedicate a new chrisbelsito.com original series that focuses on the missed opportunities of the past year. What do we mean by missed opportunities? Well, take the band big suit for example. When they were thinking about cover artwork, Belsito was one of the first out of the gate with a suggestion - and a good one at that. Pictured above is Belsito's pick for 2005's missed opportunity #1. The big suit CD should have used this "Belsito original" as a cover. Very Canadian (as illustrated through the use of Loverboy's classic cover art from 1981) and very sexy, don't you think? On top of it all, the cover features one of the band's members - no pun intended. We're not telling who it is, but maybe you can figure it out if you analyse the entire package. Stay tuned for the 2nd installment of "What Should Have Been in 2005". (January 6/06) Growing Up for Free In their neverending search to provide you, our reader, with more value for your dollar when you visit this website, our crack team of researchers suggested providing another free song on the site for your listening pleasure. "Growing Up in the Universe" has been added to the chrisbelsito.com SOUNDS page for those of you who have not heard Fade Dissolve as of yet. To listen to Belsito's music for free - click here. To buy yourself a copy of Fade Dissolve, click here. (January 4/06) A Bit Blurry in the Morning Morning North host Markus Schwabe played Fade Dissolve's "Blurring" shortly before 6:00 a.m. this morning, likely as a good morning, wake-up call for his listeners. A big thanks to Markus Schwabe for not only supporting northern independent music (as always), but also for playing Belsito when the listening audience is most suceptible to influence and suggestion - while still groggy. To find out more about Morning North by clicking here. (January 3/06) Happy New Year! Chris Belsito and the members of his traveling musical outfit would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! 2005 saw many great successes for Belsito and plans are currently underway for making 2006 even better. Our favourite website, www.chrisbelsito.com has successfully documented the various ups-and-downs of Belsito's year and almost tripled its regular readership. Belsito's bandmates have also had their own independent successes throughout the year. Craig West's Startlefish launched thier first CD, entitled Regretfully Yours. Jay Case's big suit put out self-titled CD. On top of big suit, Case formed popular R&B outfit Big Wheel and the Spokes and more recently launched a solo website (click here). Ed Young, among other things, developed a solo show with traveling electronic marimbas making him the cat's meow. In 2005, Lindsay Pugh found his way into almost every cool Sault band in SSM and capped his most recent tour at the Pathways Retirement Home. Former Belsito band member and sound guy of choice, George Ravlich, saw his company Crank Sound Distribution grow into the city's busiest and best sound company. Most importantly, 2005 saw the Sault Ste. Marie's local, original music scene become as healthy as it has ever been! So, raise a toast to the successes of 2005 and let's make 2006 a year to remember.(January 1/06) 12 Musicians Show A Smashing Success Tickets for the 12 Musicians of Christmas Show at Loplops Lounge were sold out by the early hours of the evening. With a full house, the 12 musicians took the stage in succession, performing three songs a piece, and put on what had to be Sault Ste. Marie's musical event of the year. From Shannon Moan to Big Wheel and the Spokes - and everything that came in-between - there wasn't a moment anything less than stellar. Those who were lucky enough to see the show were given a crash course in this city's original music scene - which has grown into something absolutely tremendous. Belsito's mini-set featured regular his band members as well as special guests Cliff Alloy and Laura Alopeaus (who once again showed off her fabulous voice by singing along on "Tempest"). By the end of the evening, Belsito was even rambling on (to those who would listen) about how proud he was to be a part of such a diverse and talented music scene. The crowd in attendance showed it through their support, but the Sault as a whole should be truly proud of this immense pool of talent within its borders. If a record executive had accidently stumbled into the event, there is no question they would have been overwhelmed by what was happening. To read Sootoday's coverage of the event, click here. Above: The Belsito band (not shown Cliff Alloy). Below: Laura Alopeaus joins the band for a track. Photos courtesy of Carol Martin.(December 30/05) For more NEWS, click here. If you would like to receive brief updates and live performance notices by email, send your name and email address to chrisbelsito@hotmail.com.