Paul "Hat" Hovan

Following the Valdy concert last year, I got to talking to Warren Carr. Warren is a Vancouver-born film producer, production manager, and actor. His many film credits include The Adam Project, The Terror, and Happy Gilmore. As happens much too often these days, Warren was the bearer of bad news about one of our peers. He told Valdy and me that Paul Hovan had passed away. Valdy was upset by the news, as Paul had been a big influence on the local music scene all the way back to the Easter Be-Ins in Stanley Park.

Warren went on to say that Paul was a giant in the live music world in B.C. and Canada. His varied history includes running the talent side of the Commodore for about fifteen years and his stories are legendary, like lifting Burton Cummings' white grand piano by helicopter to the top of Grouse Mountain. His support of so many musicians like Jane Mortifee, Paul Pigat, David Gogo, Billy Dixon, Valdy, Norman Foote, and more.

As Blue Frog continues to promote live music and concerts, Warren, Kelly Breaks, and I all agreed that mention should be made on The Word about Paul Hovan’s contributions to the local entertainment, and especially the local music industry.

I would like to paraphrase a wonderful tribute to Paul compiled by his close friend and associate Mark Fancher for Billboard Canada. Paul passed away on December 4, 2024, a day shy of his 75th birthday.

Mark wrote:

Paul "Hat" Hovan first discovered and fell in love with the Vancouver music scene in the late 1960s, managing local acts and producing live shows at local universities. This led to the founding in 1971 of the Vancouver Musicians Co-op, a network for musicians to find and get work at non-union clubs and bars in the city.

In the early '70s, Hovan began producing larger shows and festivals including Greenpeace benefits that featured among others Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Valdy; as well as several of the popular Stanley Park Easter Be-Ins. Around this time, he also began promoting and producing several successful shows in Vancouver clubs which led to a meeting with Drew Burns, manager of the Commodore Ballroom, the premier Vancouver venue favoured by club acts touring in the 1970s.

A handshake partnership resulted; with Burns handling the front office and Hovan booking and promoting the acts at the Commodore from 1973 through to 1981. Major names featured included Tina Turner, B.B. King, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Buddy Rich Big Band, Hoyt Aston and dozens of others. Additionally, local bands always filled the opening act slot, usually hand picked by Hovan to complement the headliner.

In 1975, Hovan formed “The Producers Co.” Ltd. which promoted and produced shows across Canada and Northwestern U.S.

In the early '80s, Hovan changed career, leaving the Commodore and forming Quest Advertising Ltd. In her eloquent Facebook tribute, Hovan's daughter Nadia noted that his career detour "was to become a loving and loyal family man to provide for Mom, Blake, and I. A difficult and selfless decision that I'm eternally grateful for (because he gave us an amazing childhood)... but I'm relieved he eventually got back into the music industry. It's truly his heart and soul."

Over 25 years, Quest Advertising Ltd. produced hundreds of radio, TV, and print commercials as well as several nationally syndicated radio programs, hosted by local personalities David Foster, Terry David Mulligan, Dr. David Suzuki, and others.

In 2003 the ad agency created Quest Publishing and published Terminal City Weekly, a city scene newspaper focused on music, art, culture, and entertainment.

In 2007, Hovan formed Quest Records as a philanthropic legacy label for veteran artists and performers who contributed to the local scene but did not have a legacy recording to represent their presence and music. These include Dalannah, Jim Foster, formerly of Fosterchild but now performing as a solo act, singer-songwriter Warren Marx, and Robbie Steininger, probably one of the best guitar players in the country. Quest Records allowed artists to retain all their publishing rights.

Alongside his label work, Hovan also produced 10 annual tribute shows for local legends like Robbie King, Long John Baldry, and Billy Cowsill; eight Blues For Christmas concerts in the Commodore, six community theatre concerts, and almost two dozen benefit concerts.

By 2018, Quest Advertising was winding down and Hovan prepared for retirement when he learned of a small North Vancouver bistro close to where he lived that hosted live music. He soon began helping the Corner Stone Bistro with bookings, attracting such major names as David Gogo, Jim Foster and Shari Ulrich. Artists at the Thursday Night Music series would play for a small guarantee plus whatever the audience dropped into a top hat that would be passed around.

In August of 2024, Paul’s health began to fail and although he continued to book shows, his attendance on Thursdays dropped off. By late November, when it became clear that Paul was not coming back, audience members and Corner Stone Bistro performers began a 'Hat Carries On' campaign. With bookings already made to the end of February, it would appear that the impact Paul Hovan has had on Vancouver’s music scene for more than half a century will continue.

Many of the artists and music industry types Hovan worked with paid tribute on social media and to Billboard Canada.

Veteran B.C. singer-songwriter Jim Foster (Fosterchild) offered Billboard Canada this tribute: "Paul Hovan was an integral part of the Vancouver music community from the late sixties to 2024. A promoter, producer, supporter and cheerleader for decades. He will be dearly missed."

Canadian music publicist and industry executive Rebecca Webster told Billboard Canada, "Paul was a much-loved promoter on the north shore of Vancouver. He was always passionate about those he was putting on stage, his love of music was unshakeable. He will be missed."

B.C. blues star David Gogo posted this on Facebook: "We lost another gooder last night. Mr. Paul Hovan. A true friend of music. In 2023 I was fortunate to have him on my podcast, “Soul Bender.” We could have chatted all week."

Juno-winning B.C. folk/roots music star Shari Ulrich paid homage to Billboard Canada, noting that "I’ve known Paul since I started in music in Vancouver in the very early '70s with the Pied Pumkin. He was always, always doing whatever he could to champion musicians - creating opportunities for them to play. There was no one else in Vancouver who was as much of a fan and entrepreneur through all those years, right to the end. He had a huge heart.”

Paul “Hat” Hovan, a champion of the local music scene. As David Gogo mentioned, we lost another "gooder."

Till next week...
Wayne