5-year-old piano prodigy preparing for Carnegie Hall show
Just a year after starting piano lessons, a Los Angeles 5-year-old is preparing for his debut performing at Carnegie Hall in New York.
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CBC
17 minutes ago
- CBC
Winnipeg's Ariel Posen electrified with signature Fender Stratocaster crafted to his specifications
Ariel Posen has been a member of the Juno Award-winning Bros. Landreth and more recently a solo artist, but now the Winnipeg musician is sharing a stage with legends like George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly. Fender, the storied electric guitar manufacturer, has created a signature Stratocaster in his honour, and named it after him. "I'm just super grateful. It's not an opportunity everybody gets to experience," Posen told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Friday. The limited edition model, which can be purchased by the public, was unveiled last week at the Fender factory in California. Posen, 37, who has been playing guitar since he was nine, calls it a dream come true. Every aspect is customized to his liking. "I've had a relationship with the folks at Fender for a long time and I've always been experimenting with different configurations on instruments and trying stuff out," he said. "I had been in contact with them, just letting them know about what I was doing and what I was thinking about doing." During the discussion, the folks at Fender suddenly suggested "why don't we do a signature," said Posen, who has been recognized by Rolling Stone and Music Radar as one of the top guitarists in the world. "I value them and I'd like to think they value me. I guess from their end, they saw … the potential of doing something unique with the ideas I was suggesting, which are nothing groundbreaking, but slightly different than what that model and that style of guitar usually includes," he said about Fender. "It was an opportunity I couldn't really say no to." That was 2½ years ago. The lengthy process involved prototypes and testing and tweaking. "It wasn't like, 'OK, we finished the one model for you, we're going to announce it tomorrow. Hope you like it,'" Posen said with a laugh. "This has been years of going back and forth, making sure it's right, and to be honest, they pretty much nailed the important things right out the gate." Some of the customizations involved the neck profile, the pickups and "just little things in the electronics and the shape," Posen said. "Every single detail was something that I wanted to do. It wasn't just like they said, 'Hey, why don't you just pick something off the website? You pick a colour and we'll make it.' Literally every aspect of it was something I suggested. "It's a true representation of what I would do for my own guitar." The Fender website says the maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and faded Lake Placid blue finish give the guitar the look and feel of a well-loved mid-'60s instrument, while it can "deliver anything from flowing, bell-like chime to gnarly, punchy tones." When it was time to pick it up, Posen performed for the staff on the factory floor. "We just tried to show them as much love and appreciation. I wanted to make them feel valued and special and play a couple songs for them," he said. Posen is now preparing to take the new instrument on the road as he embarks next month on his Future Present Tense Tour, which will wrap up with a hometown date at Winnipeg's Park Theatre on Dec. 12.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
U.K. police charge actor Micheal Ward with rape and sexual assault
Micheal Ward arrives at the premiere of "Eddington" on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at the DGA Theater Complex in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Hulk Hogan's death resurfaces painful contradictions for Black wrestling fans
World Wrestling Federation heavyweight champion Hulk Hogan, left, and Mr. T. appear at a news conference on March 18, 1985, in New York's Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo/Corey Struller) One of Kazeem Famuyide's earliest memories is sitting on his father's lap watching Hulk Hogan wrestle in the 1988 Survivor Series. His love of Hogan in the ring became inextricable from what would become a lifelong obsession with the sport — including a yearlong role touring the country and writing scripts for WWE's top talent. 'He was a superhero to a lot of people, including myself,' said Famuyide, who is Black and now co-hosts the WWE-themed podcast 'The Ringer Wrestling Show.' He remembers Hogan telling audiences to 'train, say your prayers and eat your vitamins,' often in front of giant American flags. But for the 38-year-old Famuyide and other Black wrestling fans and sports commentators, Hogan's death this week at 71 has resurfaced an irreconcilable contradiction in the iconic wrestler's legacy: Hogan's undeniable role in broadening wrestling's appeal to fans of all backgrounds versus his well-documented racism. 'You never really got the feeling that Hulk Hogan truly felt remorse,' Famuyide said. Reactions to Hogan's death reflect American divide on race 'The Right Time' podcast host Bomani Jones noted there were two sharply different reactions to Hogan's death. Remembrances have split between those who see no need to harp on past controversies and those who struggle with his behavior that got once got him banned from the WWE. 'This was never going to be one where people were going to mourn quietly,' Jones said. Hogan's death drew remembrances from politicians, celebrities and fans alike, celebrating his accolades. Many applauded how he was able to parlay his wrestling persona into movie appearances, brand deals, a reality television show and notable political influence. On Friday, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, whose fame arguably rivals Hogan's acclaim, paid tribute. Johnson, the son of pioneering wrestler Rocky Johnson, one of the WWE's first Black champions, said Hogan was a hero 'to millions of little kids.' 'You may have 'passed the torch' to me,' Johnson wrote under a 2002 video showing him and Hogan facing off at Wrestlemania. 'But you, my 'drew the house' meaning you sold out every arena and stadium across the country in your prime as Hulk Hogan, on your way of becoming the greatest of all time.' Other notable Black professional wrestlers, from Booker T and Mark Henry, to Jacqueline Moore and Carlene 'Jazz' Moore-Begnaud, have found success and fame in the WWE. But just as many people took Hogan's death as an opportunity to regale Hogan's more controversial behavior. In 2016, a Florida jury awarded Hogan over $115 million against Gawker Media, after Hogan sued them for posting a video of him having sex with his former best friend's wife. The litigation led to the discovery that Hogan had used racial slurs in 2007 to describe his daughter's Black ex-boyfriend. 'I am a racist, to a point,' Hogan said, before adding the slur against Black people, according to a transcript. Hogan apologized at the time and called the language 'unacceptable.' Around the same time, some outlets reported that Hogan used the same slur on a recorded phone call with his son. Hogan's enthusiastic endorsement of conservative political figures like longtime friend President Donald Trump made many people doubt the sincerity of that apology, Jones said. 'It's one thing to get caught on tape saying these things in private. It's another thing for you to decide publicly to align yourself with a cause that many Black people find antagonistic toward us,' Jones said. Professional wrestling has a history of reckoning on racist tropes For many Black wrestling enthusiasts, Hogan's death brings up familiar contradictions in how the sport deals with race. Lyric Swinton, 27, a freelance wrestling writer, first fell in love with the sport when she was 8. She describes wrestling as 'the most nuanced and colorful' form of storytelling. Although she feels representation has improved, Swinton remembers WWE use racist tropes in Black wrestlers' plot lines. Swinton recalls Shelton Benjamin having a 'mammy,' played by Thea Vidale, invoking a racist caricature. Swinton considers Benjamin one of the most talented wrestlers at the time, but feels he never got the recognition that his contemporaries did, in part because he was scripted to those roles. 'I kind of felt like I had to check my Blackness at the door,' she said. Hogan hasn't tarnished sport for all Black fans For WWE enthusiast and sports journalist Master Tesfatsion, the mixed reactions to Hogan's death mirror fault lines that exist throughout the country, and highlight how central wrestling has become in pop culture. Growing up, Tesfatsion, who is Black, remembers watching Vince McMahon, the company's co-founder and former chairman, use a racial slur in a match with John Cena in 2005; or the storyline in 2004 when wrestler John Layfield chased Mexicans across the border. 'In some strange way, the WWE always had a pulse on where America stood,' Tesfatsion said. 'You cannot tell the history of America without all these issues, just like you cannot tell the history of the WWE without these issues.' Tesfatsion was in the audience at Hogan's last appearance at a professional match in January. He was one of the many who booed Hogan. After decades of fandom, it was his first time seeing Hogan live. 'I never thought that I would see 'The Hulk' in person, and that I would resort to bullying him. But that's what his actions made me do." Still, Tesfatsion said he will never stop being a super fan. 'I still love America, I still love the WWE. It's an emotional contradiction that I choose to deal with because I still find value in it,' he said. Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press
