Hidden construction makes me cry...

So there was a bit of a change of plans from what was previously announced. Kings of Convenience was pushed back (again) and the Russian Circles interview will likely happen next week as there were some phone connection issues on first try and we couldn't schedule a redo Thursday/Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

The Construction & Destruction interview went off without a hitch (my thanks to Colleen Collins) and the interview I taped with Joel Gibb of Hidden Cameras earlier today (one of the more painful interviews I've ever done, to be honest) aired along with my fascinating talk with Stephen Brunt, author of Gretzky's Tears.

Here's what I played tonight:

Set One: 6:30 - 7 PM

Crush Buildings - Ghoul Pounds [Independent]
The Paperbacks - Regrettable Tattoos [Parliament of Trees]
Interview with Colleen Collins of Construction and Destruction
Construction and Destruction - Balaenoptera Borealis [The Quarantine]
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Hard Row [Saddle Creek]

Set Two: 7 - 7:30 PM

Monsters of Folk - Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.) [Shangri-La]
Interview with Joel Gibb of Hidden Cameras
The Hidden Cameras - Origin: Orphan [Arts & Crafts]
Hannah Georgas - All I Need [Independent]

Set Three: 7:30 - 8 PM

Interview with Stephen Brunt
Maps - I Dream Of Crystal [Mute]

In The Works For Next Time...

Well if you tuned in tonight expecting to hear me you got something a little different than usual. I was once again pre-empted for Bison Hockey play-by-play (there'll be more where that came from in January/February 2010), but was manning the boards and handling the production duties for the game so you did occasionally get to hear my throws to the Max Bell arena.

Things'll be back to normal next week and it's looking like the 27th and the next few episodes after that are going to be barn-burners. I've been conducting a number of pre-recorded interviews lately and have a few more lined up in the coming weeks that will be aired on Thank God It's Free Range so I thought I'd take a moment to let you know what to expect.

As it stands, next week's episode will include a live phoner with Nova Scotian indie-rock act (and married couple!) Construction and Destruction. Their latest record is called Video et Taco and is a great, textured listen.

I'm also scheduled to speak to members of Chicago post-rock outfit Russian Circles about Geneva, the follow-up to my number one album of 2008, Station.

And fingers-crossed, my third guest that night will be Erlend Øye, from one of my absolute favourite bands, the Kings of Convenience. It's been five years since Riot on an Empty Street, but Declaration of Dependence was worth the wait. The interview was originally scheduled for this week but was pushed back due to conflicts with some European dates.

Needless to say, that's about all I can cram into the one-and-a-half-hour timeslot and still have time to play some great new music but like I mentioned above I've been conducting a lot of interviews that will air in the coming weeks.

I've been talking to a number of authors lately and just today spoke to both Globe & Mail sportswriter Stephen Brunt and University of Waterloo professor John English. Brunt and I had a lengthy conversation about Gretzky's Tears, his book about THE TRADE. If you want to hear that interview before it airs on TGIFR, my good friend Trevor at Hockey Blog In Canada has it posted in its entirety.
Meanwhile, Professor English and I had a very illuminating discussion about Pierre Trudeau, the subject of Just Watch Me, which is the second volume of his biography of our former Prime Minister.
I'm also working on an interview with the Ecoholic, Adria Vasil. Growing beyond her weekly column in Toronto's NOW magazine, Vasil has two books on becoming an ecoholic and her latest, Ecoholic Home, is about greening your house with a number of interesting suggestions / hints / words of advice.

I've had so many interviews with authors lately that I'm considering launching a series called Turning Pages that would simply be my conversations with these writers about their books. Keep your eyes peeled to the program guide on www.umfm.com for more details on that program, but until then, stay tuned to TGIFR, Fridays from 6:30-8 PM CST.


****Quick Update****
Almost forgot - I've got the Hidden Cameras scheduled for a talk on Friday the 27th, meaning Russian Circles will likely be bumped to the following week as the Cameras will be playing the Albert on November 30th and their impending live date takes precedence!

Jazz and roots - what is this? Sunday?

Tonight's guests were local jazz artists Amber Epp of Trio Bembe and pianist Will Bonness who are holding a dual-CD release party on November 23rd. Amber joined me in the studio while Will phoned in from a gig. Speaking of phoning in, we also talked to Andrew Penner of Sunparlour Players who's currently in Creemore, Ontario but will be coming to town with Wil, playing the Park Theatre on November 23rd. And it was just announced today that they'll be swinging back through town on December 6th at the Folk Exchange.

Here's what I played:

Set One: 6:30 - 7 PM

Maiko Watson - Some Kinda Love [Independent]
Trio Bembe - Sin miedo [Independent]
Trio Bembe - Victory [Independent]
Canaille - Vincent Massey [Standard Form]
Patrick McDowall & The Melodramatic Pop Orchestra - Gwendolyn [Independent]

Set Two: 7 - 7:30 PM

Ola Podrida - Sink or Swim [Western Vinyl]
Will Bonness - Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise [Independent]
Interview with Will Bonness
Will Bonness - Walking On Water [Independent]

Set Three: 7:30 - 8 PM

Interview with Andrew Penner of Sunparlour Players
Sunparlour Players - Point Pelee Is The Place To Be! [Outside]
These Hands - Always Finds Its Way To Me [Independent]
The Schomberg Fair - Drunkard's Prayer [Hi-Hat/Sonic Unyon]