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The career of David Finlay / Finois (Fin-Wah) began in the late 1960's with a love of music. While attending High School in Napanee, Ontario (the home of superstar Avril Lavigne), David started Great Canadian Rock Tours, which brought such bands as Staccatos (The Five Man Electrical Band), The Marshmellow Soup Group and others to perform. Great Canadian would continue to be active in the concert business until 1999.
At Queen's University, David was fortunate enough to be involved in the heyday of University concerts. As Entertainment Director and Marketing Manager for the AMS (Alma-Mater Society), David continuted to bring top-rate talent to play in Kingston. During his years at Queen's, David arranged, booked, produced or marketed such unbelievable acts such as Genesis, Lou Reed, Bruce Cockburn, The Guess Who, Styx, Gordon Lightfoot, Rush, The Strawbs, Darryl Hall & John Oates, Elvis Costello and many, many more. With the success of such concerts, David was able to provide Queen's University with special boards to cover the ice surface at Jock Harty Arena, thus making the transition from hockey to concerts much easier and affordable. David graduated from Queen's as a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm) with honours. |
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First Great Canadian Rock Tours
'ticket'; a button for The Guess Who |
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Genesis Button |
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Eden Musicfest (Aerial Photo) |
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David with owner of TARGET @ Woodstock 99 |
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After graduation, David went on to try his hand at all facets of the music business. Acting as a producer, he helped create an album by the legendary (and now long forgotten) 'The Great Urban Band'. He also spent a great deal of time consulting and producing many, many local acts in Kingston, Ontario.
During the 1980s and 1990s, David continued to work on a variety of very interesting projects and concerts. Along with Sound Investments, David and Great Great Canadian Tours participated in countless concerts at Kingston's Memorial Centre and other venues across eastern Ontario.
- 1978; The first major concert festival at Mosport Raceway - Canada Jam. David worked with producer Sandy Feldman, and featured the band Kansas.
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1980 found David working at Mosport Raceway for the infamous Heatwave Festival featuring Elvis Costello and Talking Heads. Great Canadian Rock Tours provided transportation coordination, Ontario-wide marketing and ticket sales for this legendary punk show.
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1981; David worked with promoters to arrange the marketing, transportation from Eastern Ontario to the legendary The Police Picnic.
- 1983; David was brought in to San Bernadino, California to manage and coordinate the fan facilitation and travel arrangements from around the world at the original 'Us' festival. This event was promoted by Steve Jobs, of Apple Computers fame.
- 1986; David partnered with Pepsi, 7up and local radio station giant CKLC to produce the Classics of Rock - an affordable concert series brought to Kingston that included such legends as Roy Orbison, The Mamas & The Papas, The Turtles, Peter Nune, Rare Earth and Tommy James and the Schondels.
- 1993; Great Canadian Rock Tours handled all tickets sales and front office operations for the Kingston General Hospital benefit concert at Richardson Stadium featuring The Tragically Hip and Headstones.
- 1994;
David organized in coordination with Target to provide tickets and transportation to bring Canadian clients in for Woodstock '94.
- 1995; David partnered with local businesses to bring The Canadian Friendship Festival to Kingston's Fort Henry - a difficult even built around four stages and three days of musical choices and 40 different bands from many different genres.
- 1996; one of the truly historic festivals at MosPort Park was Eden Musicfest, where David partnered again to provide consulting, management and travel coordination for this concert featuring The Cure, The Tragically Hip, Bush, Live and many others.
- 1998; David pushed his musical forrays by producing a historic Rave at Kingston's Fort Henry - now a World Heritage Site
- 1999;
Once again, David organized in coordination with Target to provide tickets and transportation to bring Canadian clients in for Woodstock '99.
Throughout the 1990s, David consulted on a variety of projects at Fort Henry such as Tom Cochrane, Dwight Yoakam and others. |
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In 2000, David and the rest of Great Canadian Rock Tours were obsorbed by the world's largest concert travel operator - ETS / Escape Routes. In David's role as Entertainment Director, he coordinated a large staff in various offices to produce hundreds of entertainment events throughout North America. The highlights were Paul McCartney, Madonna, U2, The Rolling Stones and The Backstreet Boys.
David and ETS participated in the largest single event in North America, SARStock (the Concert for Toronto) featuring The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, Justin Timberlake and a host of other performers. David and his team coordinated the transportation and sales of tickets to hundreds of clients from across North America for this monumental and legendary concert.
In 2005, David reinvigorated his old company (Great Canadian Rock Tours) under a new name - Ovation Travel Experiences (OTX), who have recently finished handling hotel and fan party arrangements for the final leg of U2's Vertigo Tour in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. Sponsors such as Guinness, Budweiser and Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park were along for the ride throughout the Pacific.
With over 65 years of experience, David and his team have had the priviledge of working in the music business from almost every aspect, and are willing to share their knowledge as consultants or partners in entertainment related business. |
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David & Crew @ U2 in Calgary |
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