Haines
& Leighton Promo Bio
Who, What, When:
Mark Haines
& Tom Leighton
established themselves as a duo in 1992 with the
release of their first cd, "Foot To Floor (repeat
on beat)". They perform an original and traditional
repertoire influenced by their Celtic and North
American folk roots. Their engaging humour and
personality has made them popular performers in
theatres, festivals, concerts, and clubs. These
Borealis
Recording Artists have
rambled along Canadian highways from Ontario to the
Maritimes, into the mountains of New York, and
across the seas to Britain, Sweden and
Taiwan.
Their Sound:
Mark's voice "is a one of
a kind". Add Tom's superb harmony and arranging
skills, and the stories and images come vividly to
life. These multi-instrumentalists combine the
traditional "tug at your heart strings" sounds of
the fiddle, accordion, guitar, bouzouki, and
bodhran, with the "turn on your ears" new
technology of synthesisers, tone generators and
processors. Tom sometimes plays FOUR instruments AT
ONCE; left hand pumping the accordion and bass, the
right hand thumping the drum, while his feet deftly
work the pedals of the keyboards. These two guys
can create a HUGE sound.
Others
say: - "Gentlemen: Your
Chicago area performances were nothing short of
fantastic. Thanks for gracing us with your music",
Rich Warren, host of WFMT Radio - 98.7 FM's folk
music show (Sept. 04)
"Their enthusiasm and love of
music is so encompassing and pervasive that the
audience is swept up in a contagion of joy".
Lillian Wauthier,Acoustic Harvest Folk Club
- "A two man folk
festival", Grit Laskin,Borealis Records
- "Driving the crowd insane
with pleasure!", Chronicle Herald,
Halifax
- "Absolutely the hit of the
White Oak Folk Festival Last July!!" - Jim
Marino, host of the Freewheeling Folk Show on 93.3
CFMU in Hamilton Ont. July 2003
- "I had the breath sucked
right out of me by the fantastic musicianship of
Mark Haines & Tom Leighton, they sound at times
like a symphony...", Nancy White, Toronto Sun,
(and Canadian singer/songwriter icon).
Awards:
- Song of the Year, PEI Mus
Awards '02 for the title track from "Hand To Hand"
- Song Writer Of The Year (to
Mark Haines) PEI Mus Awards '02
- Nomination for Roots Group of
the Year, East Coast Mus Awards ''02
- Steve Fruitman's Porcupine
Awards 2001 - the CEC McECHERN AWARD (to Tom
Leighton) for an outstanding musical accompanist.
http://www.backtothesugarcamp.com/porcupines
CD's:
"Hand To Hand"
"Optimists Jig"
"Foot To Floor,(repeat on beat)"
-
Music
Theatre:
- Folk opera
"Minerva",
Regent Theatre,Picton, Ont. '03 & 04 Mark was
an acting lead, Tom has been the music director for
8 years and composed the incidental
music.
-
"The
Needfire", '00, the
Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, Ont.
TV
Soundtrack:
Haines &
Leighton were featured on
Doug
Wilde's
soundtrack of
"Expulsion",
a C.B.C. - TV feature on the explusion of the
Acadians, aired '04
Selected
festivals:
The Vara World Music Festival,
Sweden
Red Rock Folk Music Festival
(Ont.)
Summerfolk, Owen Sound,
Ont
Fox Valley Music Ferstival
(Il)
Ottawa Folk Festival (Ottawa,
Ont)
Almaguin Music
Festival
Mariposa (Coburg,
Ontario)
Festival Of The Islands
(Gananoque, Ont)
Grass Roots (Pickering,
Ontario)
Stan Rogers Folk Fest., Canso,
N.S.
"Back by demand"
festivals:
Eaglewood Folk Festival
(Pefferlaw, Ontario)
Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival
(Lunenburg, Nova Scotia)
Octoberfolk,
Brantford,(Ontario)
Miramichi Folk Song Festival,
Miramichi, N.B.
Home County Folk Festival
(London, Ontario)
Blue Skies Music Festival
(Clarendon, Ontario)
Brampton Folk Fest., Brampton,
Ont.
DeCoste Centre, Pictou,
N.S.
Arranging
Credits: - commissioned to
write arrangements of traditional Canadian music
for the Canada Pavilion at
Epcott
Centre, Disney World,
Florida.
-
Rita
MacNeil recorded their
arrangement of "Farewell To Nova Scotia" with the
Men of the Deeps.
- Tom has arranged &
orchestrated for the
Kingston
Symphony Orchestra including
a Haines & Leighton evening, and songs for
Georgette
Fry and Canadian idol
Ryan
Malcolm.
- Tom's vocal arrangments
performed by many choirs including the Blue Skies
Choir, Common Thread Choir, Summerfolk Community
Choir, Canadian Men's Celtic Choir, Open Voices
Choir, Wexford C.I. School for the Arts
-Tom's instrumental arrangments
have even been performed by the
Royal Marine
Band on board the Royal
Yacht "Britannia"!
Offical
Showcases:
North East Reginal Folk
Alliance, Montecello, N.Y.
- Offical showcase 2002 (There
are a huge number of applicants hoping for this
honour)
- Offical Tricentric showcase
2003 (Two years in a row?? - WOW!!!)
- Ontario Arts Council Contact
'98
- East Coast Music Awards
'03
Selected Radio
features:
"The
Midnight Special &
Folkstage"
WFMT Radio - 98.7 FM (Chicago),
Rich Warren,
host.
"Madly
Off in All
Directions"
(hosted by Lorne Elliot - CBC national
radio)
"Sounds
Like Canada"
(hosted by Sheila Rogers - CBC national radio
)
"Back
to the Sugar
Camp"
(hosted by Steve Fruitman, CIUT - FM)
"Fresh
Air" (hosted
by Jeff Goodes - CBC reginal radio )
"Nova
Scotia Kitchen
Party" (CBC
national radio)
"Swingin'
On A Star"
(hosted by Murray McLaughlin - CBC national radio
)
"Later
The Same
Day" (hosted
by Catherine O'Hara)
Host band for C.B.C.'s national broadcast of
"The
Canadian Open Old Time Fiddler's
Contest",
Shelbourne, Ontario
"Night
Side"
(hosted by John Oakley and Richard Hesselink)
"CHIN
Points East"
(hosted by Karen Parmeter)
Festival
Workshops:
Haines & Leighton have
performed in at least 100 workshops such
as:
Fiddle and/or Accordion Styles,
Art of the Duo,
Songs related to: love,
humour, social justice, songwriting heros, the
blues, jugband, cowboy, old timey, rock'n roll,
disco folk!, swing, and war - protest or
remembrance.
They've accompanied dance
workshops of different styles.
Tom has directed community choir
workshops.
Contact:
E-mail
Mark
mark.haines@pei.sympatico.ca
(902) - 687 - 1404
E-mail
Tom
(tom@haines-leighton.com
(416 ) - 425 - 8233
E-mail
Tracy
Harrison
from
Just
Canadian Folk
Eh! is
now helping us with our bookings -
artbyharrison@yahoo.com
hm: 519- 941 -
7317 or cell:416 - 554 - 7714