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Ep. #238: Stuck in Your Head – Idée Fixe is 5!

The excellent Toronto record label Idée Fixe celebrates its fifth anniversary this week with two hometown shows. On Thursday February 25, established and gifted artists like Jennifer Castle, Bry Webb, Alex Lukashevsky, and Schmidt’s solo outlet, Fiver, play the Horseshoe Tavern. The next night, Friday February 26, newer additions to the label like Bart, Doc Dunn & Co., Mauno, and Schmidt’s other band the Highest Order will play a show together at the Garrison.

Idée Fixe is owned and operated by Jeff McMurrich and Alex Durlak. McMurrich is a seasoned and well-respected recording engineer and producer who owns and operates a studio called 6 Nassau St. His credits include albums by Constantines, Alvvays, Bruce Cockburn, Rockets Red Glare, Fucked Up, and many more. Durlak is a musician and designer who founded Standard Form, a print shop and occasional label and publisher.

Here, they along with musicians Simone Schmidt of the Highest Order and Fiver, and Christopher Shannon of Bart, a new addition to the label, discuss the history and significance of Idée Fixe and celebrate five years of high quality work and mutual R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

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Related playlist: “Lonely Weekends” The Highest Order | “The Pie” Alex Lukashevsky | “The Wall” Bart | “Latch Key Kid” I Can Put My Arm Back On You Can’t | “Joy Joy” Deloro | “Too Beautiful to Work” The Luyas | “Working for the Man” Jennifer Castle | “Ex-Punks” Bry Webb | “In Your House” Bart | “Untitled” Doc Dunn & Co. | “The Crying Game” The Highest Order | “Times of Gold” Bart | “Fountain of Youth” Alex Lukashevsky

Related links: ideefixerecords.com vishkhanna.com

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Ep. #144: Man Forever

John Colpitts is a prolific and skilled percussionist based in New York City. Also known as Kid Millions, he’s a founding member of the Brooklyn-based band Oneida who are acclaimed for their euphoric, propulsive, and open-ended rock sound. Over the past four years, Colpitts has been exploring the outer limits of drums under the moniker Man Forever, which often finds him working with notable musicians, starting improvised drum kit circles, and touring the world. His latest release is a collaboration with New York ensemble So Percussion. It’s called Ryonen, it’s out now via Thrill Jockey Records, and has prompted Man Forever to tour different parts of the world, including China, where he has a few shows this week. Here, John and I discuss living in the distinctive area that is Queens New York, Ramones, Ryonen and Wordless Music and connecting with So Percussion, going beyond indie-rock, the two Ryonen tracks “The Clear Realization” and “Ryonen” and why he doesn’t remember what the lyrics are for the former, meditating on detachment, the sky above and drones and surveyors, humans not martians, the utterance of words in relation to the music being played, the thing is the thing, meditation parallels, distractions and drummers getting into the zone, Ryonen the naked girl and the disturbing Zen kōan about Ryonen, the relationship between Zen Buddhism and psychedelia, Music for Children, piano lessons with a terrible teacher, scales, dropping music, listening to Top 40 music until college, damn dirty hippies, how Oneida came to be in Brooklyn, the band Mongrel, Oneida never broke up, I keep missing John in Ontario, where Man Forever came from, Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music, Ulrich Krieger, playing with Yo La Tengo on TV, working with Jim Sauter of pioneering noise band Borbetomagus, playing with the Boredoms in Japan, Oneida is making an album with Rhys Chatham and one of their own too, a People of the North EP called Judge a Man by His Fruits, the record John is making with Bry Webb, the song “The Clear Realization,” and nothing more.

Related links: twitter.com/ManForeverUSA thrilljockey.com vishkhanna.com

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Ep. #119: Constantines

Constantines are a powerful and influential band who originally formed in Guelph, Ontario in 1999. After releasing four acclaimed and inspiring post-punk/rock ‘n’ roll albums, Constantines went on indefinite hiatus in 2010. The band have reconvened in recent months and Sub Pop reissued their classic 2003 album Shine a Light this past June. Constantines are playing a number of shows over the coming months, including stops in Sackville, NB (SappyFest, Aug. 3), Peterborough, ON (Peterborough Folk Festival, Aug. 22), Ottawa, ON (Arboretum Festival, Aug. 23), Toronto, ON (The Molson Canadian Amphitheatre w/ Arcade Fire, Aug. 29), Toronto, ON (The Danforth Music Hall, Oct. 2), Montreal, QC (Club Soda, Oct. 4), Vancouver, BC (Commodore Ballroom, Oct. 8),  Calgary, AB (Commonwealth Bar & Stage, Oct. 9), and Edmonton, AB (UPDT Festival, Oct. 11). Here, Steven Lambke, Doug MacGregor, Dallas Wehrle, Will Kidman, Bry Webb, and myself discuss playing “Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World” with Jack Layton, Olivia Chow, and members of Barenaked Ladies, Dallas Good calls Dallas Wehrle, the yellow tape, unsafe seasonal tours, the freak hail storm at the Sasquatch! Music Festival, Paul’s Boutique and shows at Who’s Emma, Mike Haliechuk from Fucked Up set up a Captain Co-Pilot show, hardcore bands from the 90s, Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton, the video for “One” by Metallica, Mats Naslund and Wayne Gretzky, skiing, Glenview Park Secondary School, Dallas won the gym award, Rob Pal, I won the French award, Tyler Williams, Dallas liked industrial music, the high school airband showcase and Nine Inch Nails, Ted Lambke, discovering music in skate videos, Doug’s band Shoulder, the Button Factory in Kitchener, Pain Don’t Hurt, Gaffer, “New School Calypso (NSC),” Rob Pal named Captain Co-Pilot, the London hardcore scene, Hoover and Lincoln, why Shoulder ended, why Captain Co-Pilot ended, tiny ladies are time-consuming, the 37 Elizabeth Street house, Tony the landlord, Tom McKnight, bouncer dudes from the Palace, how Constantines started, Cambridge eyeroll, excited about bands like ourselves, Three Gut Records origin show, the song “Arizona,” Dallas recalls the hilarious legend of crusty punk/European road manager Jörg, that Sasquatch! Music Festival hailstorm story again, Dallas thought he might die, Will climbs the rafters, Ayr and Cambridge, Southwood Secondary School, Ayr house show, Patrick Swayze and Road House, this guy Ryan, Cambridge shows would always get shut down, the Mighty Fishermen, that guy Brent who ripped us off, we all had a crush on Jill Holmberg, Dallas and Steve and I played in a band called Dioctave, the Unfuckable Cum Bums, the bands Curb, Ground, and the Mighty Fishermen, Mr. Gouveia’s French class and Tony Tabu, work on your scales, Mr. Carbone’s guitar class got Dallas playing music, judhaynes.com, Metallica again but also Ministry, adding a drum machine to a three-piece punk band, playing in Dallas’ living room and Ted Lambke yelled at us about Black Sabbath, Minnow was a big influence on Captain Co-Pilot, Will became a Captain Co-Pilot fan and gave Steve a tape of his music at that show, Dallas wasn’t into HPX, small women, how Will joined Constantines at a recording session, Who’s Emma, Cons reunion, the song “Insectivora,” Bry’s the most frequent guest on this podcast except for Jon Spencer, acting and fakery, everyone assumes Constantines are very serious, playing the first reunion show in Guelph in June, 106 Huron Street, shy guys, playing in a newly-invented eco-village in Sweden whose design was partially influenced by Guelph, a social night for Swedish teens, dreams come true, being scared to death about selling out, integrity and the end of the Cons, returning with sensitivity, contemplating writing new songs with the Cons, expanding the tour dates to play a show with Arcade Fire in Toronto on August 29 and across more of Canada, as well as Seattle and Portland, the Danforth Music Hall, dealing with Cons stuff and Bry Webb and the Providers at the same time, Sackville and Dawson City, Sandbanks Provincial Park, Massey Hall footage, the song “Time Can Be Overcome,” and then time can’t be overcome.

Related links: theconstantines.wordpress.com subpop.com/artists/constantines vishkhanna.com

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