Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #100: Andrew Nathan Hood Interviews Me about Jim Guthrie

Andrew Nathan Hood is a published author who lives in Guelph. He wanted to interview me because he’s working on a book about Jim Guthrie for Invisible Publishing’s Bibliophonic series and so I said “sure.” For this 100th episode of the show, I present Andrew prying into my life by asking me about why we’re doing this, the band Captain Co-Pilot that I was in with Dallas Wehrle and Steve Lambke before they formed Constantines, people I used to make music with in Cambridge, Ontario, how I got into drumming via road trips in my parents’ car, lying to my parents about owning drums, lying about Superchunk and Tom Robbins, rear-ending my high school principal, storing illegal drums, Steve’s mom likes my drumming, playing the Albion Hotel in 1996, playing music with Jim, seeing Bluetip at 10 Ontario Street, merging hardcore and indie-rock scenes, punk rock, my tiny ex-girlfriend who caught Jim’s eye, the Hubble Bunk and Coby Dowdell, Holocron, Dioctave, Venus Cures All, Plumtree and community, recording a Captain Co-Pilot album with Jim and James Ogilvie, enjoying the Beatles, Justin Stayshyn, Stephen Evans, it got louder, the song “Where Have All The Heroes Gone?” and Jim’s notes on it, 517 the man, Jim might’ve been high, Steve McCuen and speech impediments, the gift of gab and generous humanity, Tim Kingsbury and nice, cool people in Guelph, the beginning of Three Gut Records, Gentleman Reg and his red minivan, Aaron Riches and Royal City and Leslie Feist, Aaron setting up Fugazi shows in Guelph and propelling people like Jim to do stuff, King Cobb Steelie and moving to Toronto, Lisa Moran and Tyler Clark Burke, my road managing Royal City’s first U.S. tour which lasted three weeks, Nick Craine, Feist being in Royal City, when crossing the border was easy, Nathan Lawr, it’s business and it’s personal, when Royal City stopped, the power of Constantines, seeing The Late Show with David Letterman and wearing coveralls for work like Steve Albini, the Constantines song “Nighttime/Anytime (It’s Alright)” and Jim’s notes on it, disbelief about things in The Believer, Andrew’s bare bum, why Jim is influential, Stuart Berman’s This Book is Broken, when Kurt Cobain died and live music venues went disco in the 90s, Arcade Fire, why people like Jim and his music, the fact that Jim wrote the “Hands in my Pocket” ad jingle, McDonald’s, Jim’s genius as a pop songwriter, Jim’s award-winning and lucrative work as a composer of video game soundtracks, Jim knows stuff, Jim O’Rourke, Stewart Gunn and Beethoven, Jim’s open-minded curiosity, making money by doing the thing you love and employing your skillset, the Jesus Lizard and American Express, Invisible Publishing’s Bibliophonic series, Tom Clancy books, why are we doing this again?, Jim gets surprised because he’s modest, Jim’s Juno nomination and our 2004 trip to Winnipeg, Canada has a small music scene, championing, Jim’s terrible car accident, the song “Before and After” and good lord, it’s done.

Related links: andrew-n-hood.blogspot.ca jimguthrie.org vishkhanna.com

AndrewHood2

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.

Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #98: Owen Pallett

Owen Pallett is a tremendously gifted multi-instrumentalist, composer, and singer who currently lives in Montreal. Pallett was initially acclaimed for his string arrangements for artists like Jim Guthrie, Arcade Fire, Fucked Up, and many others and, particularly when he lived there, he was viewed as a true leader and champion of Toronto’s underground arts community. Since releasing his own music, Pallett’s profile has risen considerably; he was recently nominated for an Academy Award for his work with Arcade Fire on the score for the Spike Jonze film Her and he has also touched a nerve with his critical essays of contemporary pop songs for Slate. Pallett’s fourth album is a stirring and complex one called In Conflict, which is available in Canada on May 27 via Secret City and  his current tour includes stops at La Sala Rossa in Montreal on Friday May 9 and at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on Saturday May 10. Here, Owen and I talk about Columbus Ohio, great Szechuan food, and Dan Boeckner’s band Operators, the idea of parenthood and the truth, how kids are the darndest things, disassociation and themes within In Conflict, liminal spaces, sanity, change, and not feeling at home at home, going to Montreal, treating illness like a kind of gift, ‘musicians’ and ‘white people’ and music critic Ted Gioia and what prompted Pallett to write his pieces on pop music for Slate, music theory and populism, elevating social media posts and watching them turn into clickbait, his upcoming review of the new Tori Amos record for The Talkhouse, Owen’s opinionated streak and where it comes from, what Owen’s night at the Oscars was like, Joe Trapanese not Richard Trapunski, eating dinner with Randy Newman, Burt Bacharach, and John Williams, how meeting celebrities you’re not working with might be overrated, trying to write music while on the road, future plans, the song “In Conflict,” and then boom goes the dynamite.

Related links: owenpalletteternal.com vishkhanna.com

Owen_Pallett_by Peter Juhl_HIGHRES-5 low res

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.

Categories
News Podcast

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

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.