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Ep. #81: Doug Paisley

Doug Paisley is a very gifted singer, songwriter, and musician based in Toronto and specializing in country and western tunes. His latest album is called Strong Feelings and beyond containing some lovely love songs, it features a glorious guest list, including Mary Margaret O’Hara, Garth Hudson (The Band), Emmett Kelly, Colin Stetson, and members of Blue Rodeo, Zeus, Bahamas, the Weather Station, One Hundred Dollars, and many more. Strong Feelings is available now via No Quarter Records and Doug is playing select shows over the next few months. Here Doug and I discuss parental hair pressure, FaceTime and non-electronic electronic issues with technology, self-absorption, metrics, and social media, @RingoStarrMusic, why Doug won’t be listening to this interview, challenging people’s perceptions of him and his music, being self-aware but also insulating oneself from external considerations, the fine art of banter and avoiding self-effacement, stand-up comedy, home renovations, Gord and Dave Tough, Strong Feelings’ stacked guest list, Mary Margaret O’Hara and filmmaker Jem Cohen, working with visual artist Shary Boyle, the saga of recording music using Glenn Gould’s piano with the Band’s Garth Hudson, naming your kids, music that is timeless but of a time, being a teenaged reggae musician and country fan, Kenny Chesney in Jamaica, growing up in Toronto in a musical family, writing love songs in a world full of love songs, how Hamilton might be the new Toronto and the divisiveness of municipal politics, Stompin’ Tom Connors as a Canadian role model, working on new songs, an upcoming Record Store Day 7” with an outtake from Strong Feelings featuring the Weather Station called “Lies Lead to Lies,” the song “Old Times” and more.

Related links: dougpaisley.com noquarter.net vishkhanna.com

doug-paisley-2013

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Ep. #80: Mac DeMarco

Mac DeMarco is a Brooklyn-based musician, songwriter, and multimedia artist who is quite popular among people who enjoy cool songs that sound awesome. Originally from Duncan, British Columbia, DeMarco also spent time in Edmonton and used to present his work under the name Makeout Videotape. He began using his own name with the 2012 EP Rock and Roll Nightclub and later that same year, the acclaimed album 2. On April 1, Captured Tracks will release his excellent new record Salad Days and he will tour the world extensively, including Canadian stops in Wakefield, Sherbrooke, and Montreal in April and also NXNE in Toronto in June. Here, Mac and I discuss loving Brooklyn and not loving Montreal, the TV shows Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Girls, Minor Threat, Shakespeare, and the expression ‘salad days,’ how his jaded perspective was measured by reflection on his new songs, how touring can be a springboard into adulthood, how Mac’s songs are primarily about him and his own life and that he’s on something of an “insane egomaniac ride,” his upbringing in Edmonton and how the local scene there inspired him to start playing music, his love of the Beatles, the Gories, and Beat Happening, how John Lennon and Harry Nilsson shine through in his work and why young people dig it, his future recording plans and a unique Record Store Day treat, his collaboration with Tyler, the Creator, a guy named Chas, his live band, the song “Chamber of Reflection,” and more.

Related links: capturedtracks.com macdemarco.bandcamp.com/ vishkhanna.com

Mac DeMarco Cigarette Heaven

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Ep. #79: Nick Sewell of Biblical

Nick Sewell sings and plays bass in a mighty rock band from Toronto called Biblical. Formed in 2010, Biblical features members of the Illuminati, the Bicycles, and the Old Soul and are hailed for their heavy, swirling take on psych rock. The band’s blistering new album is Monsoon Season, which is out now via New Damage Records, and it’s prompted them to tour, including a stop in Guelph during Kazoo! Fest between April 9 and 13. Here, Nick and I discuss his dad John Sewell who was Mayor of Toronto between 1978-1980 and has some thoughts about Rob Ford and the current state of municipal affairs, Nick’s own political aspirations or lack thereof, whether or not Biblical is a metal band and how Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet might be a subtle influence, other possible misconceptions about the band based around ‘psych’ or ‘stoner rock’ tags, the emotional complexity of Monsoon Season, being small in a huge space, travelling, fleeing, and restlessness, Biblical’s new songs and upcoming plans, the song “All Justice No Peace,” and more.

Related links: biblicalband.com newdamagerecords.com kazookazoo.ca vishkhanna.com

biblicalphoto

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