The 'complicated' story of Avril Lavigne's rise...
Plaques presented to Cliff Fabri
In the beginning, the lyrics to Complicated and the footage in the mall set Lavigne up as her own girl, a rebellious tomboy who refused to be fenced in. She stepped into the spotlight at the perfect time, just as legions of young music fans were getting bored with the synchronicity of boy bands and the plastic perfection of Britney Spears. Lavigne's bratty attitude was a refreshing change.It struck a chord with listeners around the world as they swarmed to buy Lavigne's first disc, Let Go. More than 20 million copies have been sold worldwide, one million of them in Canada.
Finally, music fans thought when they first heard Lavigne's striking voice, here's someone who writes her own songs and plays by her own rules. She wasn't made up on TV or created by a record company. Avril Lavigne does her own thing, and looks like she always has.
Or has she? To borrow a word from Lavigne, the "famouser" she got, the more questions emerged. How could a barely articulate teenager write such clever songs? How does an unknown kid from Napanee get to New York City in the first place, let alone get an audience with Arista Records' L.A. Reid? And does she really know how to skateboard? Although born in Belleville, Lavigne was raised in a nice suburb on the edge of Napanee. She is the middle child of three born to John, a Bell Canada employee, and Judy Lavigne, a devout Christian and stay-at-home mom. Avril worshiped her older brother Matt, and grew up playing hockey and going hunting and fishing with him. She also has a sister, Michelle, who is three years younger.
During one performance in a bookstore in Kingston, she was heard by Cliff Fabri, a well-connected, self-made music-industry person who lives in the area. It's clear that Fabri is the missing link in her career: He's the guy who introduced her to songwriting, help develop her talent, brought her to New York, hooked her up with LA Reid and was in Los Angeles to hook her up with Clif Magness andThe Matrix. His fingerprints are all over her debut release, "Let Go". He also negotiated the deal that made her a millionaire before her 18th birthday, which was last Sept. 27. Good thing, too, because she dropped out of high school at 16.To groom her for the business, Fabri coached Lavigne on the need to find her own style and write her own songs, although he saw that she'd require some guidance in that department. 
"She has this confidence when she's singing," Fabri says. "Avril has a glow. You meet her and you don't know if you want to hug her or slug her."
RomanLine Ent / 333 Music Today..Finally, music fans thought when they first heard Lavigne's striking voice, here's someone who writes her own songs and plays by her own rules. She wasn't made up on TV or created by a record company. Avril Lavigne does her own thing, and looks like she always has.
Or has she? To borrow a word from Lavigne, the "famouser" she got, the more questions emerged. How could a barely articulate teenager write such clever songs? How does an unknown kid from Napanee get to New York City in the first place, let alone get an audience with Arista Records' L.A. Reid? And does she really know how to skateboard? Although born in Belleville, Lavigne was raised in a nice suburb on the edge of Napanee. She is the middle child of three born to John, a Bell Canada employee, and Judy Lavigne, a devout Christian and stay-at-home mom. Avril worshiped her older brother Matt, and grew up playing hockey and going hunting and fishing with him. She also has a sister, Michelle, who is three years younger.During one performance in a bookstore in Kingston, she was heard by Cliff Fabri, a well-connected, self-made music-industry person who lives in the area. It's clear that Fabri is the missing link in her career: He's the guy who introduced her to songwriting, help develop her talent, brought her to New York, hooked her up with LA Reid and was in Los Angeles to hook her up with Clif Magness andThe Matrix. His fingerprints are all over her debut release, "Let Go". He also negotiated the deal that made her a millionaire before her 18th birthday, which was last Sept. 27. Good thing, too, because she dropped out of high school at 16.To groom her for the business, Fabri coached Lavigne on the need to find her own style and write her own songs, although he saw that she'd require some guidance in that department. "She has this confidence when she's singing," Fabri says. "Avril has a glow. You meet her and you don't know if you want to hug her or slug her."However, right from day one of talking to the press, Lavigne has glossed over Fabri's role in her career development, no doubt because of the lawsuits that bounced back and forth. Neither side will discuss the split, but both sides acknowledge that they're happy with their respective settlement.
Fabri states, " Look, things happen in this business that you learn from and hopefully you don't repeat the same mistakes. I gave Avril Lavigne everything I had and I'm very proud of what we accomplished.Once the monster starts to grow, you have a lot of "yes" people entering the fray. You can only hope that what you've built with honesty and integrity will hold up. Once that is breached, there is no turning back. You make the best of what you can and you move on. I believe Avril and I both agreed that it was time to move on. (continued below)
Fabri states, " Look, things happen in this business that you learn from and hopefully you don't repeat the same mistakes. I gave Avril Lavigne everything I had and I'm very proud of what we accomplished.Once the monster starts to grow, you have a lot of "yes" people entering the fray. You can only hope that what you've built with honesty and integrity will hold up. Once that is breached, there is no turning back. You make the best of what you can and you move on. I believe Avril and I both agreed that it was time to move on. (continued below)
Jeff Craib (Feldman and Assoc.) - 20yr veteran of the Music Industry
"It was fantastic!!
She has an unbelievable voice.. I did get a quick second to say Hi to Em and she seems so genuine"..
She has an unbelievable voice.. I did get a quick second to say Hi to Em and she seems so genuine"..
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15yr veteran of The Canadian Music Industry
"We grow very cynical in this business of hearing this is a must see! But, this is a must see! Phenomenal talent, rivals anything this great Country has ever produced musically"..
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Rob Baker - The Tragically Hip
Angelic with just a hint of sultry devilishness. Wow! The girl can sing! If you follow what is new or up and coming in the Canadian music scene you will probably have heard of Emily.
I first saw/heard Emily in a bar/restaurant in Picton a few years back and was immediately impressed by her voice and comfort on stage.
Recently Emily has drawn her music into a much sharper focus which emphasizes her keyboard , jaw-dropping vocal talents and well written personal material.
This gal is a rocket ready for take-off. See her now so that you can say 'I saw her when...'.
- RB
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Gene Simmons-KISS-Simmons/Universal Records
"Miss Emily, who has the best pipes we have ever heard, in an unsigned artist ! We are moving ahead, and want to sign Miss Emily to our label.
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Major Label Marketing Person
"The awesome thing about Miss Emily is that you have a throw
back vocal with this modern twist. You immediately think Amy Winehouse minus the baggage..This is a Touring, TV appearances, viral type act. Imagine a really hot Susan Boyle"...
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From entertainment blog posted Feb.2012
A huge congratulations goes out to Miss Emily for blowing the minds of
THE CANADIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY !
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A can't Miss talent..
By GREG BURLIUK, THE WHIG-STANDARD
Miss Emily is one of Kingston's busiest performers. It seems like scarcely a weekend goes by in which she isn't playing at one of several venues.
That may be ending soon because it looks like the rest of the world is finally figuring out what the Limestone City has known for a while -- that she is a giant talent.
Gene Simmons thinks so.Yes, the KISS legend, who is now also a record mogul, offered Miss Emily a recording contract. He's not alone, though, as so have other record companies, which has left her team sifting through offers to figure out the right one.
On Simmons Records website, simmonsrecords.com,Fennell was recently praised.
Gene Simmons thinks so.Yes, the KISS legend, who is now also a record mogul, offered Miss Emily a recording contract. He's not alone, though, as so have other record companies, which has left her team sifting through offers to figure out the right one.
On Simmons Records website, simmonsrecords.com,Fennell was recently praised.
On the home page is a news update that reads:
"We were recently in Toronto as Keynote Speaker at Adweek Conference. And we had some time to go see some terrific, new Canadian talent.
"We saw: Miss Emily, who has the best pipes we have ever heard, in an unsigned artist. We are moving ahead, and want to sign Miss Emily to our label.
"We were recently in Toronto as Keynote Speaker at Adweek Conference. And we had some time to go see some terrific, new Canadian talent.
"We saw: Miss Emily, who has the best pipes we have ever heard, in an unsigned artist. We are moving ahead, and want to sign Miss Emily to our label.
Miss Emily / Gene Simmons (Toronto, Canada)
Emily's career took a jolt upward a year ago when she got a new manager, Cliff Fabri, the man who shepherded Napanee native Avril Lavigne to fame. Fabri had moved to Wolfe Island and heard her playing at the Wolfe Island Grill. He learned that she had a rock band as well as a country band.
"I write all different types of music, but there were several songs I had written on the piano which were rock soul songs but I wasn't performing them," she says . "He wanted to hear different stuff so I played him 'The Sellout" . After hearing it he said, "holy _ _ _ _ !!!" Paying homage to my performance, he exclaimed-Miss Emily!"
Emily says Fabri opened doors for her that previously had remained firmly closed.
"I am the artist, but 50% of what I'm doing now is because of Cliff," she says.
"I go about my life, but the business is 24 hours a day non-stop and that's what Cliff does. I get an e-mail from Gene and it's Sunday night at 1:30 a.m."
No one is really sure how Simmons heard about Miss Emily. In December, she played at a showcase in Toronto for reps from several record companies including Warner and Universal, and Simmons has his own Simmons label with Universal.
"Then on January 3, I get a message from the Universal rep that Gene wanted to talk to me," she say's. "He told me he was coming to Toronto later in the month and would I play a showcase for him."
The showcase would be on Jan. 27 in Toronto, and two days before, the Universal rep asked if she wanted to meet Simmons so she wouldn't be as nervous on the day of the show. It was to be at the venerable Horseshoe Tavern, where Simmons was checking out another act. Miss Emily discovered only when she arrived that she was part of a taping for Simmons' TV reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
Emily says Fabri opened doors for her that previously had remained firmly closed.
"I am the artist, but 50% of what I'm doing now is because of Cliff," she says.
"I go about my life, but the business is 24 hours a day non-stop and that's what Cliff does. I get an e-mail from Gene and it's Sunday night at 1:30 a.m."
No one is really sure how Simmons heard about Miss Emily. In December, she played at a showcase in Toronto for reps from several record companies including Warner and Universal, and Simmons has his own Simmons label with Universal.
"Then on January 3, I get a message from the Universal rep that Gene wanted to talk to me," she say's. "He told me he was coming to Toronto later in the month and would I play a showcase for him."
The showcase would be on Jan. 27 in Toronto, and two days before, the Universal rep asked if she wanted to meet Simmons so she wouldn't be as nervous on the day of the show. It was to be at the venerable Horseshoe Tavern, where Simmons was checking out another act. Miss Emily discovered only when she arrived that she was part of a taping for Simmons' TV reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels.
Rob Baker (The Tragically Hip), Miss Emily, Van Sheen )
