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Ep. #198: Nigel Chapman of Nap Eyes

Nigel Chapman is the visionary singer and songwriter for a Halifax band called Nap Eyes. Featuring members of the neato band Monomyth, Nap Eyes released their debut album this past March and it was recently reissued in Canada on You’ve Changed Records and elsewhere via Paradise of Bachelors. The record is called Whine of the Mystic and has prompted Nap Eyes to go on tour, including stops in southern Ontario between July 15 and 18. Here, Nigel and I discuss sitting in a park in Boise, Idaho, the Gipper, the American geographical landscape, being a technician in a biochemistry lab at Dalhousie University, a G protein-coupled receptor called the apelin receptor and recent research on its mysterious impact on the human body, messenger cells, how this major scientific breakthrough might impact Nap Eyes songs, microcosms and big pictures, “No man needs to care about another man’s hair,” external judgment, social dynamics and skills, lonerism and friendship, Dookie by Green Day, content and intent, conversational thoughtfulness, I enjoy the work of Bob Dylan, assessing the Mighty Northumberland, the fine people of Monomyth, details about the yet-to-be-released and relatively quieter new Nap Eyes album that has a title that only some people can know about, the media, outside of the lab, tour dates, the Nap Eyes song “Delirium and Persecution Paranoia,” and then it was nap time.

Related links: youvechangedrecords.com/artists/nap-eyes/ vishkhanna.com

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Ep. #197: Nels Cline

Nels Cline is an American multi-instrumentalist and one of the world’s most renowned and inventive guitar players. Best known these days as a member of the popular Chicago band Wilco, Cline has collaborated with hundreds of musicians, most often within the realm of jazz or improvised music, but also touching upon almost every music genre human beings currently comprehend. Near the beginning of this century, Cline started a new free jazz ensemble called the Nels Cline Singers, featuring drummer Scott Amendola, bassist Trevor Dunn, and percussionist Cyro Baptista, and to date, they’ve released six albums, including 2014’s Macroscope. The Nels Cline Singers are playing at Guelph, Ontario’s Hillside Festival during the weekend of July 24 and here, Nels and I discuss being back in New York City after playing Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival, MassMoCA and the state of Massachusetts, Chicago music festivals, 318 Canadian music festivals, catching up to Europe, music and social skills and community building, punishment, curating Solid Sound, Jeff Tweedy and Tony Margherita, the new Solid Sound documentary Every Other Summer, when the Nels Cline Singers get together to play, the expanded NCS, Marc Ribot’s open letter to Steve Albini about copyrighting art, the vague notion of making the latest NCS album Macroscope, the 1970s and high school, the Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, MIles Davis, Yuka Honda and Cibo Matto’s new record Hotel Valentine, playing in Cibo Matto, being a dad and not knowing or being able to do anything, proteck ya neck, a terrible nerve pinch, being there when ‘there’ is in Wilco, more people are coming out to see Nels play outside of Wilco these days, the Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofé, hearing classical Indian music in grade 10, hearing Jimi, an entire side of Ravi Shankar goes a long way, visiting India, touring modern, his guitar style or lack thereof, classical Indian sitar elements within his playing, various influences, drones, rising music stars and great younger guitarists, buying new CDs, Julian Lage, the forthcoming double-album of orchestrated ballads called Lovers that Nels has been working on for two decades, at least one of these ballads is by Sonic Youth, it should be out by January, working with John Zorn, new Singers stuff, scoring a new documentary about veteran suicide with Yuka, trying to guess how many records Nels has appeared on, new Wilco recordings and their state of completion, the Mack Avenue record label, the song “Respira,” and so the raga is over.

Related links: nelscline.com vishkhanna.com

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Ep. #196: José Miguel Contreras of By Divine Right

José Miguel Contreras is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, film composer, and amazing songwriter currently based in Toronto. Contreras is best known as the only consistent member of By Divine Right, a tremendously significant band whose past contributors include Feist and musicians who went on to form Broken Social Scene, Holy Fuck, and Sheezer among many others. By Divine Right’s first show took place in June 1990 and, on July 1, they celebrate their 25th anniversary with a big, all-star concert at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, featuring past and current members and other special guests. By Divine Right are also returning to the Hillside Festival on the July 24-26 weekend and will release a new record this year as well. Here, José and I talk about being in bed, freshening and boning up, the history of BDR, when they sucked, when they ruled, wanting and not wanting people to be in BDR’s revolving door lineup, Lysh and Geordie, Mark Goldstein on drums forever, the three-night stint with Change of Heart I saw in Guelph in 1997, getting going with a tape and touring with the Inbreds, the first person to ever leave BDR, the only time BDR might ever stop for good is now, the chemistry, the differences between Toronto and the internet in 1990 and now, seeing high school mate Hayden succeed, the importance of James Ogilvie, finding cool sounds, playing with Mark and James could be a bit dirty, Guelph’s Trasheteria, Dallas Good and drugs, going to high school with Sean Dean, born in Chile on John Lennon and Sean Lennon’s birthday, Yoko Ono might be creepy for not suggesting John hang out with the Beatles every once in a while, Chilean folk music and the Monkees, Beatles comps, where does happiness come from, finding your purpose, bliss bubbles, growing up in Thornhill and attending high school with Jian Ghomeshi who could be weird, Jian’s little black book, playing Jian’s high school show Swé, José’s role in the new film Porch Stories, his co-star Laura Barrett, the film’s plot and themes, acting again, music for him versus music for BDR, upcoming solo and BDR releases, leaving the Beaches for the west end, Divine @ 25 at the Harbourfront Centre, “itineration,” juicy past band members taking part in this thing, two hours of BDR, figuring out my role in this event, playing Hillside again, the song “More Thorns,” and that was it.

Related links: bydivineright.ca vishkhanna.com

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