One year ago today, my phone rang, I looked at the screen, and knew immediately what the call was about.  I knew it was coming but I still couldn't believe that my best friend and musical collaborator, Bob McNiven, had died from the ravages of ALS. 

You've probably noticed that Bob hasn't gone away.  Neither has his band Whiskey Jack.   Bob may not be on stage with us (when those days return) but his music has filled the airwaves. 

The night he died, I got to work and assembled some photos and announced…

Whiskey Jack released a fantastic CD in 2019 and we want you to hear it. It's called "Rhymes & Good Times".

Our Youtube channel will be presenting all of the cuts from this CD in video form over the next few weeks. We begin the second show of all of our theatre concerts with this song, played brilliantly by Canada's National Fiddle Champion, Randy Morrison.

Marg Osborne and Charlie Chamberlain sang a short version of "Goin' To The Barn Dance" on every Don Messer Show (CBC).

Duncan Fremlin on banjo, Douglas…

Good day and good health to everyone. Here at Whiskey Jack headquarters, we continue to “keep the faith” and are planning live music events this spring/summer/fall. However, there’s one little glitch. The business of live music as we knew it is over.

There is no one, neither fans or industry people, who knows what live music will look like in the years to come. So, we ask for your help in shaping this future by offering suggestions on where we can play and how we can do this safely. We invite everyone, fans…

We did it! We now have over 1000 (and counting) subscribers to this channel. Thank you all.  

YouTube notified me directly with the news. So many to thank...and it's all in this short video. @Stompin' Tom Connors @adrenneclarkson @Gordon Lightfoot @j.p.cormier

You are?  Let's talk!

Good day from Whiskey Jack headquarters.

A good percentage of our fans are north of 50, perhaps even 60. They tell us they will not be buying a ticket to a live indoor show until this pandemic is behind us. They don't think this will happen until late 2021 at the earliest.

However, they very much look forward to supporting our show when presented outdoors, this coming summer, in a safe environment. They haven't dipped into their entertainment budget for a long time so financially,…

Friends, family and fans of the late Bob McNiven have come together to sing and have fun with Bob's most popular Christmas song, "Underneath The Christmas Tree".

Stay for the out-takes.

Featured in this video, in no particular order, are:

Howard Willett - Bob's right arm, best buddy and musical partner as singer and harmonica player, one half of that great duo, Roots and Branches!

Wayne Derby and Chris Saunders - members of one of Bob's earliest bands, Derby, Saunders and McNiven;

John Hoffman - Bob's…

Happy Canada Day to you and yours from Whiskey Jack head office. We thank you for supporting our music over the years. It continues to give us hope that some day we'll once again stand on a stage, sing our songs and share our stories.

In the meantime, we're doing what we can to keep the dream alive by using the tools and opportunities available to us. This week, the "new" Whiskey Jack assembled 6' apart, played a lot of tunes and reminisced about the biggest and most thrilling gig of our lives. On July 1,…

Bob McNiven, professional singer, songwriter, guitar and banjo player, unapologetically romantic with a smile permanently imprinted on his face, was born in Pennsylvania on May 24, 1952 and died at home in Toronto on May 4, 2020 of ALS. 

Bob’s unusual childhood was the roadmap for his life as a professional musician. He grew up singing and playing music with his family band, The Singing McNiven’s. His dad was a preacher and they travelled America singing gospel music in camps and churches. Originally from…

Erin Davis from CHFI fame was recently interviewed on a podcast called Toronto Mike'd. It was an all encompassing conversation and in a round-about way, she made mention of Whiskey Jack. Her husband Rob Whitehead played bass for us for many years. She also spoke glowingly of Arlene Zock, our brilliant vocalist who died in 2011. I'm very pleased to announce that Arlene's fans can now, for the first time, listen to her on Spotify, Apple Music and all the other streaming platforms. I'm sorry it took so long to…

It's now official.  Banjodunc made his debut today on this great podcast and much was said about our main man, Stompin' Tom Connors.  Let the advertising campaign begin and please everyone, share the news that the 7th Annual Stompin' Tom Birthday Celebration is coming up at Zoomer Hall on April 16, 2020. Tickets are on sale now.    

Mike and I spun a few discs and talked about many things and people ... Dan Kershaw's Bramalea, Douglas Cameron's Three Chord Johnny and Mona With The Children, @BernieFinlest…

When we're not on tour with Whiskey Jack performing Stories & Songs of Stompin' Tom Show across the country, Duncan and Douglas are making friends and music as a duo. They call themselves Doogie and Dun. Sometimes, with too much time on their hands, things get out of hand.  This is what happens.  

Think of this as a Fantasy League for Canadian music fans..."What would happen if?"

In this case, what would have happened if Leonard Cohen got fed up with trying to write the lyrics for his little ditty…

As Whiskey Jack begins its seventh touring season, our quest for world domination continues.  Increasing our footprint... our profile - that's what it's all about.  I'm happy to report that we are making progress on that front.  We have entered into a business relationship with what we think is the hottest media outlet in the GTA and beyond, a podcast called Toronto Mike'd.  There is even hope that this is a game changer for our show.

Here's why it's so important.  In our 40+ year history, Whiskey Jack has…

The great Mac Wiseman died yesterday.  His voice was a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  In the 1950's, Don Ramsey's radio show in the Soo was on all the time in our little house on Pumpkin Point Road in Laird Township near Bar River, Ontario and Jimmy Brown the Newsboy was my favourite song at that time.

Years later, I played banjo for Mac on one of his Canadian tours.  Whiskey Jack even recorded a radio special with Mac on David Essig's show on the CBC.  I have that recording somewhere.  On…

For Immediate Release: September 4, 2018 • Please include in your listings/announcements

Shaun Pilot and 8Horse Music Present

Whiskey Jack - Highlights From 41 Years In Canadian Folk/Roots Music

Free Times Cafe, Toronto, On

On Friday, October 12, 2018, veteran Canadian All Star band Whiskey Jack, will perform highlights from their storied career and segments from their touring show, Stories & Songs of Stompin’ Tom, at The Free Times Cafe, Toronto, On. This Toronto based band, a mainstay on the…

We're very pleased to announce that Whiskey Jack has just signed our 5th licensing agreement with the two organizations that run Tom's affairs, Stompin' Tom Ltd. and their record label, Ole Majorly Indie.   The photo below includes, from left to right, Robert Ott, CEO of Ole, Duncan Fremlin, Manager of Whiskey Jack and Andy Curran, Senior Consultant, Ole. We're all very excited to continue spreading the spirit of the Canadian mosaic associated with Canada's favourite troubadour, Stompin' Tom Connors.

The…

“Whiskey Jack Presents Stories and Songs of Stompin' Tom” was born shortly after Stompin' Tom died in 2014. However, Whiskey Jack started collecting the songs and stories that eventually became part of this show in 1990 when Duncan Fremlin, Whiskey Jack's leader, toured with Tom for the first time. There were many adventures along the way. 

The show is 100% Canadian - not only a portrait of their years on stage with Stompin' Tom, but also anecdotes and songs from their years as cast members on the CBC's…

It was a fantastic and fairly typical winter afternoon to celebrate Canada and her greatest singers and songwriters.  Fantastic because the musicians were in fine form and the songs that they sang were heartfelt and soothing to the northern soul...and typical because it was storming outside.  The large and enthusiastic audience was not discouraged by the icy roads (although many out-of-towners didn't make it).  

One fan, a trucker from Sudbury wrote to say he "had a terrific time yesterday - bought the…

We thank you for your interest and continued support for Stompin' Tom's legacy and for our show, Stories & Songs of Stompin' Tom.. 

Note the new location and the time. We are grateful to the many of you who drive long distances to attend our shows so hopefully, this earlier start will make for a more enjoyable day. 

We have commissioned a short 15 minute theatrical play about Stompin' Tom. It will be presented during the intermission at our show on February 11. 

Whiskey Jack & Zoomer Radio 

present 

…

Last Wednesday was a monster day in the life of our show.  We were invited to perform the Hockey Song as part of Stompin' Tom's induction into Canada's Walk of Fame ceremony at the Liberty Grand Ballroom in Toronto.  It was a thrill of a lifetime for all of us.

Don Cherry and Ron McLean introduced the segment via video and as we all expected, it was all about "hockey".  We then sang a rousing version of The Hockey Song accompanied by an unbelievably good house band.   We invited "Prime Minister Mulroney…

We're very pleased to announce that our show on October 28, 2017 at the Milton Theatre for the Arts will be filmed by the highly skilled professionals at Orchard TV and streamed live on the internet.  Dave Ferri and his Orchard TV crew have completely rebuilt and modernized their facilities.  Their new mobile studio is state of the art and a thing of beauty.  

                                                For Immediate Release: August 26, 2017 • Please include in your listings/announcements 

Whiskey…

My good friend and an important part of the Stories & Songs of Stompin' Tom entourage Jim Baine is the man primarily responsible for the Canada 150 Program that we've been giving away at our shows this summer.  It's a very impressive publication with essays by the Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, John Farrington (Tom's ghost writer), Jim Bain and me, Duncan Fremlin.  

We're happy to report that Jim is working at a new version that will be available at our 2018 shows.   There'll be a few more stories from my…

Here at Whiskey Jack head office, we sat down with our pencil and abacas to figure out how many shows we've performed since this tour began in 2014 and we were amazed to discover:

# Shows - 38

# Fans who have attended these shows - 9500

# Shows booked into 2018 - 10

# Songs in repertoire....A LOT!

# CD's released featuring Whiskey Jack and Stompin' Tom - 3

# Videos posted on our Youtube Channel - not sure but over 25 for sure!

# Videos that have gone viral - 1 (last time we looked, there were 89,935…

I'M NOT SURE when the Canadian flags began to appear in great numbers but by the time we got to Webbwood, they were impossible to ignore - they were everywhere. 

IT WAS TWO days before the July 1 party was to begin and we were on our way to Wawa to perform our Canada 150 show.  Stompin' Tom's music was going to return to Wawa to help that famous town celebrate the unveiling of their new goose.   It was obvious that the country, or at least Northern Ontario, was in the mood for a party, the incessant rain…

"It was, as always, a terrific show!    What is so clear is the tightness of your performance, a feat that comes from years of close affiliation, camaraderie and playing together."