Friendly Rich is a mad composer from Oakville, Canada. Mr. Rich composed background music for 3 seasons of MTV’s The Tom Green Show. Since 1994, he has recorded exclusively for his own eclectic record label, The Pumpkin Pie Corporation. Rich just completed his PhD in music education from the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Lee Bartel.
Friendly Rich and his modern music ensemble The Lollipop People have toured the world, sharing the stage alongside such artists as Of Montreal, The Tiger Lillies, and Amanda Palmer.
A musical chameleon with a near five octave range, Christine Duncan uses her voice as an instrument, exploring its full tonal, timbral and textural range. She is involved with everything from jazz, R&B, gospel, improvised music, sound poetry, to new music, opera and musique actuelle.
She performs with many musical groups and projects, most notably Hugh Fraser’s VEJI (Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation), Barnyard Drama with drummer/electronic artist Jean Martin and Tanya Tagaq. She developed and directs an improvising choir in Toronto called the Element Choir and regularly teaches voice and improvising workshops. Christine is a professor in the jazz programs at Humber College and the University of Toronto.
Though a slight twang sometimes reveals her Montana roots, ZINNIA is a Toronto-based artist whose songs cut right to the bone. ZINNIA has a way of spinning tiny mirrors til they catch the light like disco. This is music as a bedazzled catharsis of divorce anthems, rebound ragers, and indie ballads.
Guts and glory, baby.
ZINNIA's synth-infused debut album Sensations in Two Dot garnered comparisons to Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, and Sharon Van Etten, and was listed in CBC's "Favourite Lyrics of 2019". Presented as a series of collaborations with dancers, Sensations established ZINNIA as an artist at large and sought to find compassion within areas of doubt.
ZINNIA's upcoming album Dollar Store Disco marks a divorce epoch of triumph and perseverance: one part broken, one part rage, and one part escapism with a heavy nod to 1970s Italian disco. Due out in early February 2025 on the Montana label Anything Bagel.
