Double-Juno nominated musician “Tony D” is hosting a workshop this month at the Ottawa Folklore Centre to share his guitar tricks and discuss the influences of post-war blues music. The veteran guitarist has two Juno nominations in the blues album category.
Tony Diteodoro received his first Juno nominations for his band MonkeyJunk’s second album, To Behold, and his contribution to Susie Vinnick’s album, Me ‘n’ Mabel.
The 49-year-old grew up in Centretown and has been respected in Ottawa’s blues community since he was a teen.
Ottawa is hosting the Juno Awards on April 1 at Scotiabank Place to celebrate the best in Canadian music. MonkeyJunk will perform at Irene’s in the Glebe on March 30 for JunoFest, a multi-venue showcase of Juno nominated artists. Diteodoro will lead workshops at the Ottawa Folklore Centre on Bank Street where he has been teaching guitar for seven years and began taking lessons himself 33 years ago.
“I’ve always loved the music school here because it is accomplished and produces many great musicians in Canada,” he says.
The avid musician teaches in a studio in the basement of the centre. The beige walls are lined with posters from blues music competitions and concerts.
“It was a great time to promote the city’s local talent for the upcoming Juno Awards,” says Alan Marsden, director of the Ottawa Folklore Centre School of Music.
The workshop will be 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. each Saturday from March 24 to April 14 at a cost of $30 per session. It will discuss the stylings of musicians Magic Sam, Jimmy Rogers and blues legend Freddie King.
“It’s crazy because four years ago we were playing at Irene’s, a bar where we would pass around a tip jar because we didn’t get paid,” Diteodoro says while strumming his guitar.
MonkeyJunk is made up of Diteodoro, harmonica player and lead-vocalist Stephen Marriner and drummer Matthew Sobb. The band is known for having no bass player, giving the group a soulful sound, says Diteodoro.
The band got its first break in Memphis at the 2009 International Blues Competition where it placed third out of 100 groups. This helped them land their first record deal
The band has won a total of 12 Maple Blues Awards, Canada’s national blues awards program.
“The whole experience has been surreal,” says lead-vocalist Marriner. “I was in Barbados when I found out about the Juno nomination and I immediately cracked open a bottle of champagne and went down to the beach.”
Arthur McGregor, owner of the Ottawa Folklore Centre, says it’s no surprise MonkeyJunk is nominated for a Juno.
“The band isn’t one of your down-and-out blues types, it’s an uptown kind-of-together band that’s playing music because they love every minute of it,” he says.