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News Podcast

Ep. #509: Owen Pallett, Zalika Reid-Benta, Michael Balazo, James Hartnett on Long Night

This episode of Long Night with Vish Khanna was recorded before a live studio audience at the Tranzac in Toronto, Ontario during Long Winter on Friday November 22, 2019. Our guests were author Zalika Reid-Benta, comedians/Landlord and Tenant Podmess hosts Michael Balazo and James Hartnett, and Oscar-nominated musician Owen Pallett. With announcer/sidekick James Keast and our house band, the Bicycles. Recorded by Dave MacKinnon. Produced by Vish Khanna and Long Winter. Photos by Shane Parent. Sponsored by Pizza Trokadero, the Bookshelf, Planet Bean Coffee, and Grandad’s Donuts.

Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #264: Choir! Choir! Choir!

Choir! Choir! Choir! is a Toronto-based community music project spearheaded by Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman. Founded in 2011, Choir! Choir! Choir! features a committed group of gifted and amateur singers who meet twice a week, in a no pressure environment, and attempt to learn and interpret pop songs by artists like Prince, David Bowie, Extreme, Tegan & Sara, Patti Smith, and many, many more. Since forming, the group has performed in various venues across Canada, including the AGO and Massey Hall in Toronto, at ceremonies for the Juno Awards and Polaris Music Prize, and at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York. Choir! Choir! Choir! will be performing at the Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario the weekend of July 22 and so I met with Nobu and Daveed at the now shuttered Caffe Brasiliano in Toronto recently where we discussed why Nobu brought us there before it closed its doors forever on June 17 2016, why Daveed applauds his efforts, missing Toronto in Halifax, the warmth of Toronto’s Annex in the 1970s, Nubu and Daveen, Drake and Kanye West and NOBU, C!C!C!’s origin story and connection to TUNS’ Matt Murphy and his birthday, the infectious energy of singing in a community choir, unusual choirs, sound people getting a grip on C!C!C! and its sound needs, a social choir, how the choir works and the hard parts, soothing people, you’re not cool, a McDLT reference, Toronto’s disposition and perceptions of the city’s attitude, the Hidden Cameras, C!C!C! paying tributes to Prince, David Bowie, and Extreme, hair metal bands and alt-rock’s rise, “We Belong” by Pat Benatar, Belle and Sebastian, Bryan Adams, Simple Minds and Jim Kerr, performing with Patti Smith at an AGO First Thursdays event, my Patti Smith story, a social media phenomenon, the Choir’s core, empowerment and entitlement, managing people, “Ignition” by R. Kelly, politics and context and music, listening to people’s concerns, protesting Putin with Sting, taking C!C!C! on the road to Vancouver to play a Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” playing Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall for David Bowie, it was almost Bieber instead of Bowie, “Space Oddity” by Bowie, critical decisions, the good music industry timing of C!C!C! and ADD, covers and the potential for C!C!C! originals, playing the Hillside Festival and how that works, the New Yorker dot com, Prince’s “When Doves Cry” at Massey Hall, and then it was over! over! over!

Related links: choirchoirchoir.com vishkhanna.com

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