NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Toronto Argonauts

More entertainment added to Stop the Violence Walk

June 5, 2006 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
Toronto Argonauts News Release


Toronto - In addition to previously-announced Juno Award winners jacksoul, other artists have stepped up to help Stop The Violence by committing to perform at the Stop The Violence Walk on Father's Day. The Stop The Violence Walk is being organized by The Argos Foundation - Stop The Violence, in partnership with the Toronto Police Association, event sponsor ATU Local 113, media partners Citytv/CP24, AM640 Toronto Radio and the Toronto Star, and will feature entertainment at a post-walk rally. Toronto's DJ Dopey, Montreal's Bless, solo artist Edwin, dynamic entertainers The Salads and dance troupe 2Badd will all lend their talents to this important cause. Additionally, Spence Diamonds will serve as the house DJ for the gathering at Nathan Phillips Square.

Over the course of the last ten years, Toronto band The Salads, have become Canada's leading ambassadors of fun times. Their ferocious performances that leave smiling faces and sweaty bodies behind are legendary. The inspired musicianship and rock prowess of Dave Ziemba (guitar), Chuck Dailey (bass) and Grant Taylor (drums) is boundless on stage. It should be - they've been playing together in the same band since grade 7! With singer Darren Dumas added in 1999, they had the frontman and voice that would turn this band into powerhouse that it is today. In January 06, a new record of 10 songs entitled The Big Picture was finally completed. Its tone is more personal and yet universal as it touches more meaningful topics than the band had not dared explore before. "Growing Up" deals with life's changes as you get older, and coming to terms with that reality. Trying to affect real, positive social change is dealt with in "A Better Way", a song that touches on issues in line with the Stop The Violence message. This album displays The Salads at their best: as songwriters, as a band, and as men.

Darren Dumas, lead singer of The Salads, observed, "As a citizen of Toronto for a decade now, I have witnessed and heard of countless acts of violence in this city. When will people come to the realization that this sort of mentality gets us nowhere? The Salads are very honoured to be asked to be a part of the Stop The Violence Walk...where our mission will be to help create a crowd of happy, smiling faces to help us spread the love!"

By the time he was 16, Bless was already garnering a reputation as being a battle MC in Montreal. A chance meeting with the legendary Guru of Gangstarr in New York earned him a gig as Guru's hype man on a world tour. Upon their return, Bless began work on his debut 12". The result was "Talkin' to Me" which featured Guru and peaked at #6 on the underground hip-hop chart in the U.S. Bless decided it was time to take things into his own hands and started the "Platinumberg" imprint. After an album with 3 singles, all going Top 5 on MuchMusic's Rapcity, Bless toured extensively, linking up with Obie Trice, Beatnuts, De La Soul, Lloyd Banks and Gangstarr. Bless also made history as the first Canadian artist to have a full character in a Def Jam video game - "Def Jam Fight for New York". On November 1, 2005, Bless released his debut solo album The Book of Bless, which includes guest appearances by Rah Digga of Flipmode, Cappadonna of Wu-Tang, JR Writer of Dipset, Planet Asia and Tony Touch. Bless most recently won three awards at the MU Underground Awards for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Collaboration of the Year for the hit single "Jealousy".

Commented Bless, "I wanted to be involved in the Stop the Violence Campaign because as a hip hop artist I think it is important to make a positive mark on the community."

In the 1990s, you couldn't turn on a radio or television in Canada without hearing Edwin's voice, or seeing his face. As the front man for I Mother Earth on their first two multi-platinum Capitol albums - Dig (1993) and Scenery & Fish (1996), Edwin departed the group in 1997 and became the voice of Victor, a band founded by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson in 1998. Edwin was signed by Sony Music, recorded and released his debut solo album in 1999, Another Spin Around the Sun. It was a massive success in Canada, released internationally, and spawned four singles, "Hang Ten," "And You", "Rush", and Alive". The emotional ballad "Alive" crossed over to Top 40 radio and went on to be one of the biggest radio hits of the year. Edwin's accomplishments as a visual artist were even more impressive - the video for "Hang Ten" received a 1999 Much Music Video Award (MMVA) in the category of "Best Rock Video." Edwin won "People's Choice: Favourite Canadian Artist" at the 2000 Much Music Video Awards (MMVA) and "Best Video" at the 2001 Juno Awards for the "Alive" video. Now with Linus Entertainment, the Toronto native is currently touring Japan and preparing to release his new album Right Here in August.

Dance troupe 2Badd were selected to perform at the Walk by the Stop The Violence Youth Advisory Committee who saw them perform at the Stomp competition. The hottest & youngest dance crew in Toronto, 2Badd's members include 9 year old Shemar Charles and 11 year old Lamar Johnson. Seven months ago, these two heartbreakers got together as a group and started to perform at different talent shows and special events. Blaze Entertainment took notice of 2Badd and showcased their talents at The Marc Ecko Getting Up Festival. Lil X thought they were so hot he cast them in Sean Paul's Temperature music video. Besides being on YTV's the Zone, Daytime Toronto, many music videos and commercials, their biggest accomplishment to date is appearing on the nationally televised Showtime at the Apollo. Despite their age and size, 2Badd is a force to be reckoned with!

As the art of turntablism continues to delight audiences across the globe, it goes without saying that Toronto's DJ Dopey has played an integral role in its rise to the forefront. A former World DMC Champion (2003) who's shared stages with artists including Eminem, Gang Starr, Nas and Slum Village to name a few, DJ Dopey has been blessed with the opportunity to travel across the globe entertaining audiences with his talent on two turntables and a mixer. Having also performed alongside the art form's finest including DJ Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike, DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Beat Junkies, A-Trak, DJ Craze and The X-Ecutioners, DJ Dopey recently wrapped up a tour across Asia alongside Detroit Rap duo Frank N Dank. Currently putting the finishing touches to his upcoming DVD album due out early 2007, DJ Dopey can also be seen doing what he does best 5 days a week on MTV Canada's newest show "MTV Live" where he serves as the network's resident DJ. You can also catch him this Summer across Canada and the US as he jumps on board the Vans Warped Tour alongside punk group Dead Celebrity Status.

Remarked DJ Dopey, "I'm glad to be taking part in the Stop The Violence event happening on June 18th. I think it's important for us to recognize these types of issues that are affecting our youth in neighborhoods not only in Toronto but as well across the entire country. Along with the Toronto Argonauts, I look forward to making a difference in my community by showing kids that resorting to violence is never a positive alternative."

Spence Diamonds is no stranger to entertaining crowds. A Toronto DJ for 15 years, Spence was nominated this year for Radio Mixshow Deejay of the Year at the Ericsson Stylus Deejay Awards. He is the tour DJ for Choclair, performing over 500 show across Canada, Europe & thee US where he has shared the stage with some of the biggest & best in the business including Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, De La Soul, Gang Starr, Mixmaster Mike, Fabolous, 112, Wyclef Jean to name a few! Spence is one of the most sought after DJs for parties, getting things hyped up for private parties thrown by Usher, LL Cool J, the Chicago Bulls, Fabolous, Kelis, the Toronto Raptors and the Juno Awards. He can be heard on Friday Night's Power Mix Show on Z103.5 FM Toronto and can be seen on regular TV appearances including Much Vibe, NBA XL and Canada AM.

The walk will raise awareness and funds for programs supported by The Argos Foundation, with hopes of unifying concerned citizens of our community. The two kilometre walk will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Father's Day at Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen Street West. More celebrity guests will be announced.

EVENT: STOP THE VIOLENCE WALK

DATE: Sunday, June 18, 2006

TIME: 1:30 p.m.

LOCATION: Nathan Phillips Square

100 Queen Street West

Toronto, Ontario

HOTLINE: (416) 491-4301 ext. 234

WEBSITE: www.stoptheviolence.ca

Launched in August 2005, Stop the Violence is a community-wide response to the violence that has rocked our city. Encouraging grassroots support, business sponsorship and the active participation of communities, schools and government, Stop the Violence focuses on a clear set of goals: to unify a shaken city, to respond to the violence with constructive actions and to strengthen the city's resolve. A multi-faceted plan, including a commitment to raise another $500,000 by the end of 2006, The Argos Foundation - Stop The Violence will focus on awareness, mentorship and education. In addition to the Argo Breakfast Club that was established at Monarch Park Collegiate, the Foundation awarded $100,000 in grants to four community-based organizations which are committed to ending gun and gang violence in the GTA. Leave Out ViolencE, the Ontario Gang Investigators Association, the Violence Intervention Project with East Metro Youth Services and Project Peace -The Students Commission all received $25,000 in funding.

The Toronto Argonauts are North America's oldest professional football club, having celebrated their 130th anniversary in 2003. The Toronto Argonauts have 15 Grey Cup championships to their credit. For information on 2006 season ticket packages, please contact the sales team at (416) 341-ARGO. Full roster details are available at www.argonauts.ca.

Check out the Toronto Argonauts Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Canadian Football League message board...

Canadian Football League Stories from June 5, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Toronto Argonauts Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central