Category: Podcast

Ep. #271: Andy Shauf

Post author By vish
Post date July 21, 2016

Andy Shauf is a talented songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who originally hails from Saskatchewan. Over the past four years, Shauf has released critically acclaimed and vibrant pop records whose dark textures contain clever lyrics and infectious melodies. He made quite a statement with 2015’s The Bearer of Bad News and has possibly even topped that wondrous record with this year’s conceptual LP, The Party, which is out now via ANTI- and Arts & Crafts Records. He’s been busy touring and will be playing the Hillside Festival in Guelph the weekend of July 22 before heading across the United States with case/lang/veirs. Here, Andy and I discuss being in Winnipeg vs. being in Regina, the East India Company restaurant, Portage and Main, missing home and moving to Toronto, renting a condo and buying a piano and a bed, elevators are hell, dizziness and astronaut material, entering outer space on a big plane, celebrity condo, Andy’s excellent cross Canada adventure to get a new van, on the level, making The Party in a former CBC Radio studio in Regina, Jason Plumb of the Waltons, recording and working in seclusion, people who think they know what to do, the live band, being a multi-instrumentalist, drum lessons, attending a Christian high school and not thinking about that stuff too much, Olivier Fairfield, Josh Daignault, Colin Nealis, the band Fet.Nat, poaching musicians, The Party and Blake Edwards’ 1968 film starring Peter Sellers called The Party, the loose concept of The Party, drinking alcohol at a party, dumb things Andy does at parties, party life, The Party’s characters like Jeremy, Sherri, Alexander, and Martha, character studies in songs and giving them lives, “Jack and Diane II,” getting into Randy Newman, pop-punk and Elliott Smith, finding his voice and writing 100 songs, artistic trajectories and foresight, critical feedback loops, Saskatchewan gives you time, when Andy’s music transcended Canada and he got busy, gradual success, writing one new song, playing the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the song “To You,” and then things elevated.

Related links: andyshauf.com vishkhanna.com

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News Podcast

Ep. #270: TUNS

Post author By vish
Post date July 19, 2016

TUNS is the mighty new Halifax/Toronto supergroup featuring Chris Murphy, Matt Murphy, and Mike O’Neill. Chris Murphy has ushered some excellent music into this world, both as the co-curator/co-founder of the murderecords label and as a quarter of one of the world’s finest and most successful rock bands, Sloan. Matt Murphy is an accomplished journalist who has worked for CBC and Vice Canada and is one of the most dynamic musicians and showman anywhere, who’s likely best known for his work in the Super Friendz. Mike O’Neill is a busy and gifted screenwriter and sound engineer for Trailer Park Boys and Black Jesus who has released criminally under-appreciated solo records since disbanding the wonderful indie-rock duo, the Inbreds. So, if it’s not clear already, when it comes to thoughtful pop and rock music trios, this TUNS configuration couldn’t possibly be more top shelf. The band’s self-titled debut record will be out August 26 via Royal Mountain Records and they’ve been playing select shows of late, including an upcoming performance at the Hillside Festival in Guelph on Sunday July 24. I met up with TUNS at the Pho Asian 21 restaurant in Toronto recently and we had a revealing conversation about Mike’s desire for Vietnamese food in Toronto, working with Trailer Park Boys co-creator Mike Clattenburg on a new TV show about a guy who re-locates raccoons, the song “Back Among Friends” and what it captures about TUNS, Zeppelin covers and joy, positive pressure, recycling things and writing new songs, Mike’s inventive bass playing, the writing process and its progress in TUNS, Chris’ songwriting, giving the singer some, the song “Look Who’s Back in Town Again” and various TUNS Easter eggs, the song “Lonely Life” that Mike sings, whomever sings generally wrote it, Mrs. Claus, lyric collaboration, wisdom and experience and democracy, magical harmonies, being in Sloan for 25 years, “Gimme the Keys” and the extreme rarity of Sloan members’ doing solo work, Eric’s Trip and Elevator to Hell, realistic TUNS, being perceived as ‘Halifax Pop’ artists, the Technical University of Nova Scotia, the lawn jam, why Halifax people seem to get along so well, footloose and fancy free, friendly competition, strength and talent, an influence like the Police on a song like “Mind Your Manners,” talking about the band U2, also R.E.M., The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, the “Sunday Bloody Sunday” drum beat, Larry Mullen’s parts, filling and leaving space, scrutinizing Chris’ lyrics in TUNS and also in Sloan, self-awareness and self-consciousness, entitlement, purposeful pronouns, new stuff by TUNS will be more like TUNS, thinking about time and relationships, not a throwback, a Golden Girls analogy, too much like Sloan, hits, making music for fun, Royal Mountain Records and the self-titled TUNS LP is out August 26, a world premiere of the song “Back Among Friends,” and then Chris got the cheque.

Related links: tunsmusic.com royalmountainrecords.com vishkhanna.com

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News Podcast

Ep. #269: Baroness von Sketch Show

Post author By vish
Post date July 14, 2016

Baroness von Sketch Show is a very funny sketch comedy TV program that airs on CBC. This edgy yet grounded show is written by and stars four very talented and hilarious human beings: Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne, and Jennifer Whalen. They’re just wrapping up their first season on CBC with the finale airing on Tuesday July 19 at 9:30 PM ET and you catch up on past episodes and sketches at cbc.ca/baroness. I recently met up with Carolyn, Meredith, Aurora, and Jennifer at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto to chat about a roll call, Aurora’s action figure name, capes and tools, superhero skills, meeting and working at the Gladstone in Toronto, Junction Triangular or West Bender, different Canadian cities, getting to know Baroness von Sketch and where it came from, better origin stories, the Patton Oswalt George Lucas/prequel bit, spending a chunk of time talking about the Justice League, parenting and childhood nostalgia, questions about robbers, nerd lines, 20 years to BVS, TVO Kids is awesome and is often spearheaded by edgy, Canadian comedians, writing for kids’ cartoons, Odd Squad, local comedy coverage by Canadian publications, brain drain, eh, Canada’s confidence complex, America is much weirder than us, community support, people like Jon Dore who maintain their roots in Canadian comedy, the Mars One sketch Dore’s improv, beards, David Letterman’s beard, positive and negative feedback, a male shipwreck, the Fuck, Marry, Kill sketch, making your parents uncomfortable with your comedy, the fart lighting sketch, my wife, trying to describe the show and its shorter vignettes, relatable and grounded sketch, rich details, learning at Second City, Smack the Pony, The Muppet Show, 9 to 5, Monty Python, The Kids in the Hall, Amy Schumer, The Office UK, Not the Nine O’Clock News, SCTV, Superjail!, Rick and Morty, parameters and working with CBC, not a bucket of jizz, Seinfeld and saying things without actually saying it, an all-female sketch comedy show, perceptions of political undercurrents, a feminist recruitment tool, being women working in comedy, political correctness and privilege, all the stuff have white man have done, the strange responsibility of having to explain what it’s like to be a woman, just wanting to talk about the work, we’re not post-gender, comedy control, the future of BVS and oh the places you can watch the show on Tuesdays at 9:30 PM ET and Sundays at 9:00 PM ET on CBC, BVS hasn’t done it live, the Book Club sketch, and then we said good-bye.

Related links: cbc.ca/baroness vishkhanna.com

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