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Ep. #289: Lonely Parade

Lonely Parade is a fantastic band from Peterborough, Ontario consisting of Augusta Veno on guitar, Anwyn Climenhage on drums, and Charlotte Dempsey on bass. Formed around five years ago, Lonely Parade are childhood friends and excellent musicians who have toured throughout most of eastern Canada three times already, even though Augusta is 21 and Anwyn and Charlotte are both 18 years old. They’ve earned a loyal following based on their sophisticated, heartfelt, and humourous rock songs. Out this past September, No Shade is their third album and one of the finest records of 2016. The Lonely Parade are playing the fifteenth edition of Stay Out of the Mall on Friday December 16 at the Ebar in Guelph. We actually caught up at the CFRU studios when they were in Guelph this past October for an interesting and revealing chat about the ups and downs of living in Peterborough, teenaged touring and travelling, many states, courses and studying, childhood dance classes together, highland dancing and me in a kilt, a knife in my sock, bad dancing and zoo keeping, Riverview Park & Zoo, getting into music at 11 or 12 years old, leap year aging, when Ani’s dad John played drums in the Celtic punk band Mahones who should not be confused with Ramones, drum maintenance, elementary school jazz band with Ani and Charlotte, not slapping the bass, the Inbreds and Label Obscura, Jill Staveley of the Burning Hell and Trent Radio, Dave Ullrich and Zunior, Mike O’Neill’s bass playing, Augusta’s guitar playing and Girls Rock Camp and reconnecting with Ani and Charlotte and high school, piano playing, performing at their parents’ dinner parties, Yesterday’s Socks and math rock, starting the Toxic Markers five or six years ago before becoming Lonely Parade, dark humour, “My Mom Got Hit On at a Punk Show,” CBC Radio 3, Strokes and White Stripes and formative influences, cool parents, the Tragically Hip’s Trouble at the Henhouse, the cold road, a candle in the car, missing keys and Wax Mannequin and the pocket system, fast food, little scenes, Charlotte the organizer, Girls Rock Camp’s purpose and potency, everyday sexism, ageism, the new album No Shade and working with Jose Contreras, progressing as songwriters, writing about things that used to bug them, new songs, highland dancing, a day planner, Puberty Hands and cruisin’, painting and photography and an art collective, the song “Duck Hunt,” and then the parade was a little less lonely.

Related links: thelonelyparade.com vishkhanna.com

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Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #270: TUNS

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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Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #247: Cupcake Ductape

Cupcake Ductape is a very cool noise-infused pop band consisting of Steph Yates of the band Esther Grey and a folk-oriented singer and songwriter named Alanna Gurr. Based in Guelph, Cupcake Ductape have become local favourites on the strength of their live show and their 2015 EP, Get Over It. They’re playing a show at Kazoo! Fest in Guelph on Thursday April 7, and here, Steph, Alanna, and I discuss Steph’s chest cold, Alanna’s curiosity about being sick, how Alanna loves driving, stormchips, how we combine everything now, worlds colliding, the song “Champagne Birthday,” pronunciation, sparkle punk and playful music, the song “Whose Hair?,’ servers and customers, revenge, Steph meeting Alanna at the Homemade Jam Festival, getting Alanna a job, Scott went to the washroom while Cupcake Ductape wrote songs, bass and drums and Mike O’Neill and the Inbreds, melodic bass, being bratty, serious music, who cares, Alanna comes out of her shell, singing pretty versus singing roughly, being girly and tough, internalized perceptions of women, possible mutual interests, the Slits, working songs out, personal voids, getting an encouraging push from Brad McInerney, Lowlands, Nicolette and the Nobodies, growing up in Guelph, the Hillside Festival, piano tuning, Mona Lisa and Whip Cream Bikinis, two songs about hot dogs, Hamilton’s Art Crawl, Guelph needs a music infrastructure, a trip to Aruba, $1300.00, a happenstance band, fun, Too Bad So Sad Hire a Lawyer, Steph’s aunt, Little Room Labs, summer plans, the song “Unique New York,” lawyering up, and then we get over it.

Related links: facebook.com/cupcakeductape vishkhanna.com

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