Tranzac Club

Come hear the songs and poems of MAX LAYTON and experience the musical wizardry of BOB COHEN, ED ROTH and MARY HANSON. There's beer on tap and no cover but please PWYC..This month our special guests will be BLAIR PACKHAM and JOHN GLOVER!

BLAIR PACKHAM, a critically acclaimed songwriter for over thirty-five years, still has lots to say and somehow still finds fresh ways to say it. Once a rock-band kind of guy, he nowadays usually sings and plays his sometimes-earnest and sometimes-cynical songs solo.

JOHN GLOVER joined the popular bluegrass/old-time band The Humber River Valley Boys in the 1970s, and also accompanied several singer-songwriters including Willie P. Bennett. After a lengthy biochemistry career, he is returning to songwriting. He performs solo, in a duet with Janice Lewis, and as part of BanjoGoBoom!, a fine Toronto acoustic band performing all-original material. John’s songs are known for their rich melodies and heart-felt lyrics.. . MAX LAYTON'S most recent CD, TRUE THE NORTH, is an album of Max's original songs entirely devoted to Canadian stories and themes. About Max's previous album, LEONARD COHEN said: "This is a terrific record! Can't praise it highly enough!" Max also reads from LIKE, his latest book of poems. Dennis
Lee called Max’s first book of poetry “a genuine pleasure to read” while, according to Joe Rosenblatt, Max “is the wittiest and most experientially sublime poet around in Canadian poetry!” More about Max at www.maxlayton.com

BOB COHEN began his career as a professional musician in 1972 in London, U.K., where he learned his craft in recording studios and on stage. Before moving to Toronto, Bob worked mostly as a guitarist while recording and touring with major artists such as Tim Hardin, André Gagnon, and Jesse Winchester...

ED ROTH is a self-styled “musician” who likes to brag about his “Yorkville roots” and his years in LA. He claims to have worked with Rick James, Raffi and Daniel Lanois and is personally to blame for tons of jingles and TV music. He owns a digital accordion and will play it if provoked. Be warned: His playing only sounds like music.

MARY HANSON arrived in Toronto from Australia in the mid 1980s and debuted her keyboard skills with the Pukka Orchestra at the Bamboo. That's when she fell in with a gang of "Queen street" musicians including Robert Priest, with whom she still plays some thirty years later...