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 Kiefer Sutherland, star of the action TV series 24, poses between two RCMP officers while holding his star at the Canadian Walk of fame in Toronto on Sunday June 5, 2005. Lowdown's Karen Bliss reveals Sutherland's other passion -- music.(CP PHOTO/Tobin Grimshaw) |
Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland, who was inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame yesterday, is an avid music fan and guitar collector, who also co-owns Ironworks Music, in Silverlake, CA, which is more than just a recording studio.
"It's a label and a production company, and actually we do management, as well," says Sutherland, the star of the hit TV drama "24." "We take care of Lifehouse, which is on tour now and we just finished our tour here in Canada with another one of our artists named Rocco Deluca (Ironworks first signing)."
Sutherland's partner is Illinois-born musician/producer Jude Cole, himself a recording artist with a handful of solo albums to his name. Sutherland, who has never recorded an album of his own, actually made a spoken-word appearance on "Joe" from Cole's 1995 album, "I Don't Know Why I Act This Way."
The long-time friends built the studio from scratch in a historic ironworks foundry. It is decorated with more than two dozen of Sutherland's vintage and new Gibson guitars. They don't rent out the studio, rather bring in developing artists such as Australia's Ry Cumming.
"We work in two facets," says Sutherland. "We either release a record on our own through independent distribution facility, like RED, otherwise we might shop a deal like we did with an artist like MoZella for Warner Brothers."
While working in Toronto filming political thriller "The Sentinel" with Michael Douglas and Kim Basinger, the Los Angeles-based Sutherland -- who was born in the U.K. to Canadian acting parents Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas -- has been catching some local talent. Just two weeks ago, he took in a set at Clinton's by new EMI Music Publishing (Canada) signing Rise Electric, a rock band whose singer, Lukas Rossi, used to front Cleavage (which won best Canadian unsigned band honour at NXNE 2000).
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Was he scouting or there for pleasure?
"Both," Sutherland says. "I love music. When I see a band that I think fits what we're trying to accomplish with the label, obviously I'll approach my partner. The Rise Electric show, he was fantastic. That's a fantastic band and I was just walking down the street and I heard them playing and I walked in."
Told that the band is unsigned and he chuckles. "I know. I have their information."