Toronto music production company The Einstein Bros. has formally parted with Supercorp and John Labatt Limited.

As of Dec. 1, the company will be operating out of a temporary office at Sherbourne and Adelaide Streets, and on Feb. 1, it will be in a permanent office above the Duncan Street Grill.

This is the latest in a string of departures from Supercorp, such as cofounder Syd Kessler and Bob Fortier of Animation House.

The brewery is wrestling right now with the future direction – and even its role – in the entertainment company.

Einstein head Jody Colero says his company will stay basically intact. Only Steve Convery and Clive Desmond, on the music side, won’t be coming along. They’re opening their own company at Spadina and Adelaide.

And copywriter Peter Byrne is leaving to start his own ad agency with Jack Bensimon, who comes from the account side of Scali McCabe Sloves. They won’t be that far apart, though. Bensimon/Byrne will be opening just down the hall from the Einsteins at 20 Duncan Street.

Colero is matter-of-fact about his split with Labatt. He got involved with Supercorp when Kessler came looking for music people to replace the likes of Rick Shurman, Robert Armes and Kerry Crawford, who split from the Air Company after Labatt got connected.

‘They (Labatt) leased us for three years is what happened basically,’ says Colero.

Colero, who opened The Einstein Bros. seven-and-a-half years ago with partner Tim Thorney, says he expects to move into more film and episodic television work in the years to come.

In addition to the existing roster of talent, which includes composers and arrangers Doug Riley and Jack Lenz, producer Scott Boyling, producer/writer Frank Kitching and writer Graham Shaw, the Einsteins will add singer/ songwriters David Blamires and Joel Feeney.

(And, yes, the Einstein name comes from E = MC2 fame. Colero says he admired the wisdom and humanity of Albert Einstein, and combined that with the elements of brotherhood and family that ‘Brothers’ connoted. Also, it made the name sound like a music band. ‘Hey, we didn’t have a reel and we needed a name that could get us through the front door,’ says Colero.)

Proctor an Artist

gillean Proctor has signed on with the newly opened Artists Company Canada, headed in Toronto by producer Karen Silver.

Silver says she is now working on a new reel for Proctor, who was part of a wave of stills photographers who made their way into commercial direction in the early 1980s.

Proctor is best known for his work on cars and tabletop, but Silver says he has recently moved into people photography.

`Business as usual’

spot Film and Video and Film Opticals of Canada are not out of business. The details twist and turn a bit, so hold on for the ride.

A bankruptcy trustee has been on the premises because, according to operations vice-president Al Lindsay, the company is seeking court protection under the Bankruptcy Act from a person who wants to prevent the company’s sale. Spot decided voluntarily to involve the trustee to forestall the efforts by this person at pushing the company into receivership.

Meantime, Lindsay says it’s business as usual with all accounts payable being honored and work ongoing.

A win-win proposition

stripes goes to Vegas came out a winner, if not always on the casino floor at least on the good-time-had-by-all metre. Counting ‘four or five’ hours of sleep a healthy maximum each night, Stripes staffers ate, drank, gambled and were merry for a few days mid-November.

Highlights…Miroslaw Baszak took a ‘gambling is a silly waste of time’ attitude to Vegas but then the fever hit. Says Stripes boss Ross McLean: ‘He (Baszak) then proceeded to sit down at the machines and earn enough points to receive a Luxor hat and a free adult movie for the next time he returns to the Luxor. One requires a minimum of 400 points to obtain prizes and each quarter is worth one-fortieth of a point. Doing your math, you find he ran $4,000 through the slot machines in two days.’

Sally Leggett seemed to have a tough time getting her quarters to cash out of the combination boat race machine. ‘Silly Sally,’ says McLean, ‘you pushed the wrong button and bet 12 coins at 19 to 1 odds. The machine had its race and her combination came in and paid 228 coins.’

Dan Ford’s wife Cheryl asked to see ‘Sigmond and Freud.’

McLean says he, wife Sandra and Linda Dowds played one eight-hour, ‘loud and raucous’ blackjack session at the Las Vegas Club hotel, only leaving long enough to go to the bathroom. ‘Eventually, Eddie the pit boss gave (us) free dinners at the restaurant, just to get rid of (us).’

And finally, the piece de resistance. Recounts McLean: ‘At the Bacchanal Restaurant in Caesar’s Palace during our Roman feast for 22, a large armor-clad, sword-wielding centurion suggested the girls be photographed with him. All the girls and John Smythe got up for the shot. When questioned, John stood his ground, insisting he was one of the girls, and got included in the group shot.’

In other Stripes-related news, the commercial directory put together by McLean and Linda Dowds originally consisted of 1,000 copies, 500 of which have been sold. McLean says he’s considering an offer to take the other 500 off his hands, along with the database.

Musical chairs

players Music has shuffled its staff roster and tells the tale with a grand slam of baseball metaphors. Jennifer Ward, with Players for eight years, is the new managing director. Brian Gagnon, creative team leader, is the music director. A man handy with several instruments and the midi, Gagnon is a singer to boot who looks after creation of original music, customization and sound design. John Clarke has been promoted to serve as executive producer. He looks after digital audio post, sound design, music creation and mixes. Scheduling and client relations are handled by studio manager Diana Smyth while Sandy Cesario is the company’s controller.

Steve’s world

if you haven’t seen much of Steven Surjik lately, it’s because the Canadian Film Centre graduate has parlayed his Road to Avonlea, Kids in the Hall and Mary Silliman’s War directing credits into a major Hollywood studio title. Surjik’s name can now be seen on the promos for Wayne’s World 2 – as the flick’s director. McWaters Film Company International, his Canadian commercial rep house, hopes Surjik will now be available for some spot shooting.

Where to chow?

the big speculation of the month is where The Partners’ Film Company executive producer Michael Schwartz intends to take the Leo Burnett production department for their annual Christmas lunch. The Street has learned that a chic and intimate King Street eatery has been given the nod.