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Ep. #131: Ronnie Spector

Ronnie Spector is one of the most influential vocalists and performers in all of pop music. Her work with the Ronettes in the 1960s was legendary, altering the course of rock ‘n’ roll with its style, attitude, and gigantic international hits like “Be My Baby,’ “Walking in the Rain,” and “Baby, I Love You.” Spector simply casts a long shadow on contemporary culture, influencing filmmakers, fashion designers, hair stylists, and a list of musicians that includes the Beatles, Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Ramones and Amy Winehouse among many others. On September 19, Spector heads to the Riatlo Theatre and Pop Montreal with her acclaimed show, Beyond the Beehive, an evening of music and stories about her life. Here, Ronnie and I discuss the rock ‘n’ roll state of Connecticut, the origins of her current stage show and its unfiltered examination of her entire life, talking about yourself in an age of oversharing, how artists don’t have lasting power in the current music industry, doing her Keith Richards impression, making the live Ronnie Spector experience a special one, how her marriage to Phil Spector impacted her ability to tour and release records, losing years in court battles, deflecting her icon status, raising kids and living a perfect life, Bed Bath & Beyond, cooking, falling in love with the voice of Frankie Lymon, music homework, going to the Apollo Theatre for amateur night at 11 years old, what Phil Spector was like to work with in the studio, the wall of sound was people, her relationship with “Be My Baby,” how there is still a lot of unreleased material by the Ronettes and Ronnie that has yet to see the light of day, we get cut off, the song “Be My Baby” and that was it.

Related links: ronniespector.com popmontreal.com vishkhanna.com

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Ep. #129: Scott Merritt

Scott Merritt is a very talented songwriter, musician, singer, and producer who lives in Guelph, Ontario. He has been creating and occasionally releasing inventive pop music for close to 35 years and has collaborated with people like Daniel Lanois, Adrian Belew, Willie P. Bennett, and Fred Eaglesmith among others. He also keeps himself busy on other people’s projects in his studio, the Cottage, which might be one reason why he hasn’t released a new album since 2002’s stunning The Detour Home. On Thursday September 11, Scott headlines an Eden Mills Writers’ Festival event dubbed ‘Taste and Transmission’ at the Ebar in Guelph. On his back deck a couple of days ago, Scott and I talked about the Cottage, leaving Brantford for Guelph for his son/my friend John, the Barmitzvah Brothers, ages and grades, John’s Cafe at the top of the stairs, imaginary worlds, banning kids’ music in favour of the music you actually like, Van Morrison, the Beatles, Dean Martin, Ramones, my parents put me in tennis lessons, pie plates and elastic bands, his first musical mentor Stanley, “Foxy Lady” and “Manic Depression” by Jimi Hendrix, fantastical and observational lyrics, strange sounds, if you can say what it is, don’t do it, fussy exploration, my obsession with Wayne Gretzky’s Brantford and sprinklers at the Woolco, Alexander Graham Bell, the manufacturing sector of the 1970s and 1980s, seeing Rush, Max Webster, and Breathless play at his high school, Spalding might’ve made basketballs in Brantford, giving music a try instead of going to school, parental guidance, playing better, garage bands and blood donor clinics, Max Rat, Leo Kottke, the record store in the mall, Bitter Grounds in Kingston and other coffee houses for songwriters, pay or play in Hamilton and a life-changing night, making Desperate Cosmetics, Duke Street Records, labels and DIY hardship, I.R.S. Records and Miles Copeland, making Violet and Black, making Gravity is Mutual with Roma Baran, Adrian Belew’s chaos management in the studio, Scott’s first new album since 2002, which he finished just last Friday, the new song “Everwill” and the idea of a parade that has no beginning or end, and then this podcast with a beginning also has its end.

Related links: maplemusic.com/artists/sco/default.asp edenmillswritersfestival.ca vishkhanna.com

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Ep. #120: Steve Albini

Steve Albini is a world-renowned recording engineer and the owner and one operator of the stellar Electrical Audio recording facility in Chicago, Illinois. He is also one of three singers and one of one electric guitarists in Shellac, one of the most significant and influential underground rock bands of the past 25 years. On September 16, Touch and Go Records will release Dude Incredible, the fifth official album by Shellac. Here, Steve and I chat about a cool Chicago July and the Polar Vortex revival, his recent interview with High Times who care a lot about drugs, how smoking weed is a young man’s game, how certain things should be experienced by all of us who wish to relate to everyone else, the last time he tripped balls, rolling fatties, Kevin Goldstein and getting the royal treatment at a recent White Sox/Astros game in Chicago, meeting Steve Sparks and talking about knuckleballers, living in Houston, being on-field for batting practice, the Cubs are really embarrassing statistically and otherwise, Wrigley Field is cool but Sox games are more fun, the Steve Bartman incident, baseball and curses, National League versus American League baseball, when he first fell in love with baseball as a kid, the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s, why baseball might be the most appealing, compelling, and distinctive major team sport, pulling the goalie, participating in events like the World Series of Poker, welcome back Gabe Kaplan, why poker can be so engaging, oddly complex games like baduci, winning, tells in poker versus the dramatic arts, interpreting behaviour, reverse psychology, and pantomime, the honesty of Jamie Gold, streakiness, the significance of the Ramones, laughing at the Clash, the Jesus Lizard’s BOOK, David Yow and cats that demand respect, Gary the cat, making At Action Park 20 years ago, taking time with Shellac, the Shellac albums don’t need to be remastered, why Shellac haven’t released singles in a while, contemplating a Shellac singles compilation album, a one word encapsulation of every song on Dude Incredible with a slight elaboration on that one word, the Evens, his upcoming Pop Montreal speaking engagement, recording symposium with Howard Bilerman, and a cooking exhibition, making a record in Winnipeg this fall, and that’s the end of radio/podcasting.

Related links: touchandgorecords.com electricalaudio.com vishkhanna.com

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