This Friday and Saturday Dave Stewart and Cindy Gomez are going to appear at the Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is opening today. Canadian Music Week is Canada’s leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country’s music, media and entertainment industries. Combining four information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; a film festival; four awards shows and the nation’s largest New Music Festival – Canadian Music Fest – CMW spans a five-day period from March 10 to March 14, 2010 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and various downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe.

Friday, March 12th, 2010 – 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
“Keynote: Dave Stewart”
Room: Ballroom

A multi-media entrepreneur, Dave Stewart is recognized as one of the most respected and accomplished talents in the music industry today. From his creative works as a musician, producer, writer, and advertising director to his business acumen as consultant and industrialist, Dave Stewart will be imparting his vision and intuition to Canadian Music Week delegates during a keynote address on Friday, March 12, 2010.

Saturday, March 13th, 2010, 1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
The Kings Of Songwriting
Room: Concert Hall

Using “Dance Fabulous” – a dance game that bridges music and gaming – as a platform to launch the career of Canadian artist Cindy Gomez, the game’s star character, they are engineering a new distribution model for the next generation of the entertainment business. Along with Cindy, Dave will be participating on Canadian Music Week’s “Kings of Songwriting” session on Saturday, March 13 – a special performance in-the-round by chart-topping songwriters as they share their stories behind the hits and debut new songs.

For more information, visit www.cmw.net.

Introducing Dave Stewart

Bob Dylan once described Dave Stewart as “a fearless innovator.” It is that approach to his life and work that has led Stewart to become one of the most sought-after writers and music producers today. It has also given Stewart the freedom to extend his talents well beyond the music studio and become a multi-media entrepreneur, leading his company, Weapons of Mass Entertainment, to the forefront of innovation to link creative ideas to a host of projects in film, television, books, theater and new media.

In 2008, Stewart launched the Rock Fabulous concept brand that embraces the empowerment of rock and roll, and its attitude for both men and women. The Rock Fabulous brand fuses the very best in high-end fashion, luxury goods and music. Stewart has partnered with luxury streetwear designer Christian Audigier to create a luxurious line of Rock Fabulous Apparel for men and women. In addition to the Rock Fabulous concept, Stewart is hard at work creating a musical adaptation of the 1990 Jerry Zucker film Ghost, originally starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Stewart has partnered with songwriter and producer Glen Ballard for the project.

In August 2008, Weapons of Mass Entertainment and Surfdog Records released an album of newly recorded versions of some of Stewart’s most celebrated material. The 21 songs have been with recorded with his touring band and full orchestra. The aptly titled “Dave Stewart Songbook, Vol. 1,” is accompanied by a book of the same title. In addition to songs from Eurythmics, the book includes information on timeless tracks penned by Stewart including Tom Petty’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” No Doubt’s “Underneath It All,” Mick Jagger’s “Old Habits Die Hard,” and Celine Dion’s chart-topper, “Taking Chances.”

This is a mere glimpse into the eclectic life of Stewart who, at the age of eighteen, was given a publishing contract at Island Music by legendary impresario Chris Blackwell. A record contract followed one year later, through Sir Elton John’s Rocket Records imprint. Over the past 25 years, Stewart has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide with Eurythmics’ partner Annie Lennox. Driving ten releases to multi-platinum sales levels, the duo was behind such inventive rock as “Here Comes The Rain Again,” “Who’s That Girl,” “Would I Lie To You,” “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves” (with Aretha Franklin) and “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” Continuously recognized and celebrated for their contribution to the music world, the Eurythmics were inducted into the UK Hall of Fame, along with Mick Jagger and Sting, in 2005. Stewart and Lennox have received numerous awards, including the very prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Brits (the UK equivalent to the Grammy’s). Stewart has won Best Producer four times, as well as numerous Grammy’s, MTV Awards and Best British Songwriter awards. Stewart is considered one of the pop world’s greatest guitar players and has shared the stage with everybody from B.B.King to The Edge, from Eric Clapton to Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.

There are no boundaries to Stewart’s creative endeavors. Stewart has written numerous film scores for directors such as Robert Altman, Paul Verhoeven and Ted Demme. In the world of publishing, Stewart produced “Walk In” (2007) a Virgin Comics graphic novel about a parallel universe, and the Virgin Comics graphic novel, “Zombie Broadway.” Stewart produced the award winning documentary, “Deep Blues” and has directed numerous music videos. His first feature film, “Honest,” starring Peter Facinelli, was described as a “cult classic” by the UK Times. As a photographer, Stewart has exhibited solo and in group shows at The Paris Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum NYC and the Saatchi Gallery in London. In 1997, Stewart founded “The Hospital” in partnership with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Located in London’s Covent Garden, The Hospital is a private social and professional network for those working in the media and creative industries. That same year, Stewart was approached by Nelson Mandela to help fight against the AIDS epidemic. Featuring performances by Beyonce, Bono, Bob Geldof, Queen, Peter Gabriel, and long time partner Annie Lennox, along with many of Africa’s legendary artists, Stewart helped stage a 4 ½ hour concert, which was broadcast live in South Africa (SABC) and worldwide on MTV on World AIDS Day, to over two billion people.

Stewart was recently hired as a consultant for Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone company, where he was given the unique title of “Change Agent,” charged with ensuring the artists’ point of view is represented in the “new world” and creating new content business paradigms for the entertainment industry.

Annie Lennox also commented the event in her blog on MySpace:

It was great to be out there “on the bridge” today to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. And I was very glad and delighted that Sarah Brown personally joined in…first of all, because she can set the tone by standing up, and speaking out for women’s rights, and also because she sets an example to the wives of other International political leaders, who could all use their platform to extend allegiance and solidarity  in the demand for women’s rights.

It has to be understood, that, for the most part, women who’ve been brought up in Western countries have generally had a very different up bringing and life style from the sisterhood of the South.
My travels to Uganda, Kenya,South Africa, Morocco, Brazil,  Mexico, the Caribbean, and various parts of Asia have given me an insight into the lives of girls and women living in the extremely challenging circumstances of chronic poverty…and this  has changed my concept of  “normal”…

What is generally  “normal” in the West, is the notion of freedom of speech, democracy,  access to education, medical treatment, decent nutrition, housing, a job..a future with freedom of choice and opportunities..etc..
Visiting the homes of  men and women dying from Aids related TB or Pneumonia…. Talking to  HIV positive widows of men who died of AIDS related causes trying to stay alive to raise their children… Spending time with “child headed households” who have no one  to protect or care for them..Witnessing the daily walk to access water and firewood, or the grueling wheelbarrow ride to a clinic that has no doctors..

These kinds of experiences made me understand that “normality” is relative. When I left Cape Town in November 2003 I vowed that I would speak out about the genocide of the HIV AIDS pandemic , as it affects millions of women and children, especially because I am a woman and a mother. According to UNAIDS…. THE LARGEST CAUSE OF GLOBAL FATALITIES OF WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE IS HIV AIDS.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Get off the couch and engage……

Read a short article some photos  (e.g. of white balloons shaped like doves) on London-SE1.co.uk.

Listen to the speech held by Annie Lennox on AudioBoo.

See more photos from Annie Lennox at the march at Contactmusic.com and at Demotix and on Zimbio.

Read the previous news post about the event here.

Click here to visit The SING Campaign website, A voice for HIV/AIDS women and children founded by Annie Lennox. Click any image in the article to enlarge.

(source + photos: Annie Lennox MySpace blog)

Watch now the amazing performance of the second duet of the night, “Sea Of Love” here:

To honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world, Women for Women International is hosting a global campaign called Join me on the Bridge on International Women’s Day: March 8, 2010.

Annie Lennox will join thousands of women (and men) at 10am on Monday, March 8 at Victoria Embankment Gardens, where they will walk to the Millennium Bridge. There will be a women’s festival along the embankment and, at 12:00, they will join together on the Millennium Bridge. Along with other bridge events happening around the world on the same day, this event will be filmed and featured in a viral video to be produced and widely released following the campaign.

The event will take place in many cities around the world, click here to find the event closest to you and take part in a global movement that says NO! to war and YES! to peace and hope.

Visit: www.womenforwomen.org to find out more

You are challenged to write lyrics to a backing track provided by Dave Stewart and to sing them onto it – and the best version is going to be professionally recorded by Dave himself!

Get inspired by the track now:

In Dave’s own words from Twitter:

“Download the track now , best lyrics written and sung on top of track will win the prize [that] I will record it”

“[The] Competition is [to] write lyrics and sing them to the track then send link to youtube so I can hear it I will decide 2 wks from today the winner”

Don’t worry about the recording quality of your entry, a mic in your computer is doing well or as Dave Stewart said: “Laptop will do fine”. He is also going to add contest video links to the official Dave Stewart YouTube channel so we can follow the entries over the next two weeks. So all you need now is a bit of inspiration and the following links:

Download the track here.

Keep up with Dave on Twitter here.

Post your creation on YouTube and check back on the official Dave Stewart YouTube channel here.

Download the beautiful bit here and follow Dave Stewart on Twitter here.

Photo and more from Stevie Nicks on The Nicks Fix.

Read the previous news post about the collaboration here.

The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood is an international coalition to promote increased public awareness of the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women and newborns.

This March they ask everyone to hold a dinner party dressed in white to celebrate the 100th International Women’s Day (taking place on March 8, 2010), mothers and saved newborns and remember the lost ones.

Press coverage with photos, also of the stunning looking Annie Lennox:

Celebrities attend safe motherhood event
Tess Daly and Sarah Brown bond over motherhood

Find out more about The White Ribbon Alliance and how to get involved on how to get involvede on the official website or donate online here. Visit the official Global Dinner Party website here.

Wanna find out which track from “Doolittle” it is?*

Join the mailing list and street team now and get your free track!:

The photo on the left is one of many cool ones (promotional, private, live, …) you can find in the photo section on his facebook page, … nice!

*(a hint: It’s the third song on the album)

A website created for the album is still online: at AllThingsMustPass.com you can access some funny pages via the bottom menue and a hidden transcript of the first (and last?) online chat George Harrison ever did with fans (on February 14, 2001) and in which he explains e.g. why the original cover photo of the album is altered in commercials and on the website by adding roads and urban development to the picture: “It symbolizes that our world is being concreted over.”

The front page of the website changes after a little while and shows George Harrison becoming an angel and going to a beautiful, heavenly place. George Harrison died of cancer on November 29, 2001.

Watch the complete “not exactly” EPK video for “All Things Must Pass” below or the 39 seconds shorter iTunes version (in better quality) here. To purchase the edited video from iTunes click here.