TWO DOLLAR COVER: Under The Underground And Over The Hills

Remember Toronto’s Queen West scene in the 80’s and 90’s? Clubs like The El Mocambo and The Horseshoe Tavern were world famous. Local original bands played in clubs every night for a $2 cover. Original live music was everywhere, supported by The Spirit of Radio and programs like The New Music on CITY-TV. There was an abundance of unclassifiable artists, each doing their thing and making waves. Toronto was a hub of the burgeoning Canadian music business. There were the name bands on their way to world acclaim, then there was the underground – indie labels that catered to niche markets. Under the underground there was an even lower level, nurtured in small basements like Fat Albert’s Coffee House, where money meant nothing and originality was all that mattered. That’s where Amatish Music came from, an indie label trying to create its own genre. It’s Bill Monahan’s story of his own exploration in search of what songs do to us, what process creates them, and how they reach the public. From early explorations of Yorkville when Joni Mitchell still played The Riverboat, a muddy weekend at Woodstock, an evening on the set of “Going Down The Road”, and a taste of the “hippie commune” life, the story goes on to follow the quixotic adventures of an idealist in search of a song, and the colourful cast of characters encountered along the way. Pick up a copy and lose yourself in a world that used to be.