How It Went Down - July 29, 2011

Tonight I had special guests from Melbourne, The Little Stevies, who are playing Fire & Water in Lac Du Bonnet this weekend but joined me to play some live songs and talk about touring Canada. Then I had boogie-woogie pianist Ben Waters on the phone from the UK talking about his connection to the Rolling Stones and Jools Holland and why he's playing the Great Woods Music Festival next weekend in Beausejour.

Here's what was played:

Set One: 6:30 PM - 7 PM

The Heavyweights Brass Band – "Nueva Orleans (feat. Ogguere)" [Independent]
The Little Stevies - "Feel It" [Live at UMFM]
The Little Stevies - "Because I Have You All" [Live at UMFM]
The Little Stevies - "Leap Of Faith" [Independent]


Set Two: 7 PM - 7:30 PM

The Little Stevies - "No Button" [Live at UMFM]
The Little Stevies - "Accidentally" [Live at UMFM]
The Deep Dark Woods - "Sugar Mama" [Six Shooter Records]
Sarah MacDougall - "Mmm" [Rabbit Heart Music]
Kae Sun - "Weh-Weh" [Urbnet]


Set Three: 7:30 PM - 8 PM

Ben Waters - "Watching The River Flow (feat. Mick Jagger)" [Independent]
Ian Stewart - "Bring It On Home" [Independent]
James Struthers - "Together Again" [Independent]
TV Girl - "Baby You Were There" [Bandcamp]
Interstllr - "Is There Thunder" [Koko Bonaparte]


______________________

Next week's show is a busy one - I'll be talking to traveling troubadour Brooke Wylie who will be in town on August 19th at the Times Change(d), the Crooked Brothers will be joining me to play live in studio and debut songs from their new record Lawrence, Where's Your Knife, and Ben from the Rainbow Trout Music Festival will be giving us the lowdown on this year's edition.

And the following week, August 12th will be a very special episode, dedicated to my wife Michelle. It's our fifth wedding anniversary that night and I've got some great guests lined up to help celebrate.

How It Went Down: July 22, 2011

So I talked to Charlotte Cornfield, who'll be playing the Times Change(d) on Thursday with my guests for August 5th, The Crooked Brothers, to start the show. Then we had Justin Olynyk checking in to wrap up his reports on the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. I managed to connect with Ryan from The Sheepdogs earlier by phone to discuss their headlining gig at the Brandon Folk Festival this weekend and then Rob Rousseau came in to talk about what he's got planned for this year's Islendingadagurinn Saturday Night @ The Pier and Alternative Folk Festival.

Here's what was played:

Set One: 6:30 PM - 7 PM

Box Of Wolves - "Secret Affair" [Venom Blog]
Charlotte Cornfield - "Construction On The Street" [Independent]
The Weather Station - "Came So Easy" [You've Changed Records]
Marijosee - "Comme la route" [Independent]
Portugal The Man - "You Carried Us (Share With Me The Sun)" [Atlantic]

Set Two: 7 PM - 7:30 PM

Interview with Justin Olynyk
Interview with Ryan from the Sheepdogs
The Sheepdogs - "Catfish 2 Boogaloo" [Independent]

Set Three: 7:30 PM - 8 PM

This Hisses - "Keep What's Good In Your Heart" [Transistor 66]
Royal Canoe - "Me Loving Your Money (Gonna See Us Through)" [Independent]
Ingrid Gatin - Take These Walls" [Pipe and Hat]
Brown Bag Allstars - "What It's All About (DJ Brace remix)" [Nostomania Records]

How It Went Down - July 15, 2011

This Hisses joined me in the studio to discuss their album release show at the Pyramid on July 23rd, and to play some of the songs from Surf Noir live. [Speaking of which, UMFM's Live Sessions page is now up, and features This Hisses and more!].
I was joined on the phone by Justin Olynyk, Fringe-fest phenom, who gave us the low-down on the early goings of the fest. And while I had hoped to talk to The Burning Hell, a robbery and assault in Eastern Europe while on tour meant they were talking to the police instead of me. Instead, I spoke to Dean Tzenos of Odonis Odonis prior to that band's show at the LO Pub on July 18th.

This Friday (August 22nd) I'll be talking to Charlotte Cornfield prior to her July 28th appearance at the Times Change(d). Justin Olynyk will be back with Fringe Fest wrap-up giving us his best (and the rest) of the fest. And I'll be talking to Rob Rousseau about all the great music he's got planned for Islendingadagurinn this August long.

Here's what was played:

Set One: 6:30 PM - 7 PM

My Tiger My Timing - "Endless Summer" [Snakes & Ladders]
This Hisses - "Swagger" [Live at UMFM]
This Hisses - "Sparrow" [Live at UMFM]
Interview with This Hisses
This Hisses - "Gold On Fire" [Transistor 66]


Set Two: 7 PM - 7:30 PM

This Hisses - "Lycanthrope" [Live at UMFM]
This Hisses - "Bad Vacation" [Live at UMFM]
Handsome Furs - "Damage" [Sub Pop]
Interview with Justin Olynyk
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Even In Dreams" [Slumberland]
The Express - "Nobody Knows" [Independent]


Set Three: 7:30 PM - 8 PM

William Elliott Whitmore - "Don't Need It" [Anti-]
Interview with Dean Tzenos of Odonis Odonis
Odonis Odonis - "Mr. Smith" [Palmist Records]
Zomby - "Natalia's Song" [4AD]

How It Went Down - July 8, 2011

Relatively quiet on the guest front on Friday as I was joined by Eric Wood and Joe Kalturnyk to discuss Post No Bills, an outdoor commercial art gallery the duo have developed to run in conjunction with the Winnipeg Fringe Festival (speaking of the Fringe fest, I'll have the first of two talks with Justin Olynyk of Play It Again this coming Friday at 7pm to give us the scoop on the best and the rest of the fest...), but other than that, I just played a lot of music.

This coming Friday is a busy one though. In addition to Justin's Fringe report, I'll be joined in studio by This Hisses, who will play a live set and talk about their new record Surf Noir, which gets its CD release on July 23rd at the Pyramid. I'll also be talking to The Burning Hell who have a great new record called Flux Capacitor. In addition to quizzing them about whether they're Back To The Future fans, we'll be talking Brandon Folk Festival where they play July 22nd and 24th.

The following week I've got the second of two Fringe reports from Justin, wrapping things up with his top picks, and I've also confirmed an interview with Charlotte Cornfield, who will be playing the Times Change(d) on July 28th. Mark your calendar because this is an up-and-comer you don't want to miss. Still waiting to hear if I'll be talking to the Sheepdogs, who will be closing off the Brandon Folk Festival on the 24th, but fingers-crossed I'll be talking to frontman Ewan Currie about beards and baseball... stay tuned.

Here's what was played:

Set One: 6:30 PM - 7 PM

Teddy Wilson - "Air Mail Special (take 5)" [Black Lion]
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Ffunny Ffriends" [Fat Possum]
Hooded Fang - "ESP" [Daps Records]
Revelstoke - "We Stood Staring At The Lights" [Independent]
Daniel Isaiah - "Anita On The Banks" [Secret City Records]

Set Two: 7 PM - 7:30 PM

Interview with Eric Wood and Joe Kalturnyk
Bon Iver - "Holocene" [Jagjaguwar]
Kris Ellestad - "November Steppes" [Independent]
Christa Couture - "The Most Lovely" [Independent]
Tom Waits - "Briar & The Rose" [David Lynch Foundation Music]

Set Three: 7:30 PM - 8 PM

Frank Tuner - "Rivers" [Epitaph]
Arctic Monkeys - "Brick By Brick" [Domino]
Ministers of Cool - "Line Between The Lines" [Independent]
Cousins - "Secret Weapon" [Urbnet]
Joan Of Arc - "Howdy Pardoner" [Polyvinyl]
Forged In Fire "Scatter The Riches" [Independent]
KEN Mode - "Obeying The Iron Will" [Profound Lore]

How It Went Down - June 24, 2011

So the fine gents of A Waste Odyssey joined me in the studio, though sadly we didn't have enough time before the show to get them set up in the live room for an in-studio performance (we'll have to have them back for that at a later date), but they did sit down for an interview and selected a few tracks from We Are Mourning People, their solid EP on I'm Trying Records. Then it was two straight phone interviews - the first with Swedish electronic producer Johan Ageborn and the second with Canadian indie-rock icon Joel Plaskett. Both totally swell guys to have a chat with. Podcast is up on UMFM if you missed it.

Here's what was played:

Set One: 6:30 PM - 7 PM

Library Voices - "Generation Handclap" [Young Soul Records]
A Waste Odyssey - "Burgundy" [I'm Trying Records]
Interview with A Waste Odyssey
A Waste Odyssey - "Middle Name Honesty" [I'm Trying Records]


Set Two: 7 PM - 7:30 PM

Interview with Johan Ageborn
Johan Ageborn - "Casablanca Nights" [Paper Bag Records]
Bodies Of Water - "Open Rhythms" [Thousand Tongues]

Set Three: 7:30 PM - 8 PM

Interview with Joel Plaskett
Joel Plaskett - "On The Rail" [New Scotland Records]
The National - "Think You Can Wait" [Mom and Pop Records]

This coming Friday is Canada Day and I'm taking the kids to the Forks, but I'll be pre-recording a show featuring a slew of great Canadian artists, and then I'll be back live in the studio on July 8th!

Friday Focus: June 24 2011

This week's show is quickly coming together. I've got an in-studio with A Waste Odyssey who have a great new EP out called We Are The Mourning People. They'll be playing some songs and answering some questions. Then I've got a phoner with Canadian indie-rock icon Joel Plaskett who has a new album of b-sides and rarities. The title is entirely too long for me to type out here. And finally I've got Swedish electronic producer Johan Ageborn. Best known for his work with Sally Shapiro, his album Casablanca Nights is sure to make people more familiar with him in the coming months. And I may just have Alex Litinsky of A.M. Overcast on to talk about his awesome new record Shepherd Moon, though it hasn't been confirmed yet.

Sadly my interview with Irshad Manji about her new book Allah, Liberty & Love has been cancelled (along with a host of other press stops), but I am in the process of lining up an interview with another author for an upcoming show. Dale Barbour has written a history of Winnipeg Beach that's a pretty fascinating portrait of this northern Coney Island.
Plus I've confirmed a live performance by This Hisses on July 15th, prior to the release of their new album on Transistor 66.

On a somewhat related note, I'll be guest-hosting The Sounds Of Science tomorrow and my special guest will be Dana Moore - aka Gt. Dane - who is back in Winnipeg to celebrate the release of Mourning Yer Host. He'll be playing some songs for us and I'll be playing some new tunes from the likes of Vetiver, EDM (fka Early Day Miners), Karl Hector & The Malcouns and Dawes. Tune in, 3-5pm CST!

How It Went Down: June 17, 2011

As always, lots going on here on TGIFR. My first guest of the night is Jordan Fine, who records under the moniker Fine Canadian Forces. His record, Hebrew Lessons, is a recent favourite and he joins me by phone. Also by phone is Paul Nolin, artistic director of the Jazz Winnipeg to give us the rundown on the fest (which started last night and runs til next weekend). Finally, Zoppa will be joining me for a live set and interview.

Set One: 6:30 PM - 7 PM

Ocote Soul Sounds - "Pathways" [ESL]
Interview with Jordan Fine of Fine Canadian Forces
Fine Canadian Forces - "Breaking It Away" [Independent]
John Maus - "Streetlight" [Ribbon Music]
Malajube - "Synesthesie" [Dare To Care]

Set Two: 7 PM - 7:30 PM

Handsome Furs - "When I Get Back" [Sub Pop]
Interview with Paul Nolin
Robert Glasper - "Butterfly" [Blue Note]
Nat Baldwin - "Lifted" [Western Vinyl]

Set Three: 7:30 PM - 8 PM

Zoppa - "Lovin' Train" [Live at UMFM]
Zoppa - "Somewhere Beyond The Ocean" [Live at UMFM]
Interview with Zoppa
National Parks Project - "Bruce Beckons" [Last Gang Records]
Zoppa - "To Those Who Bask In the Blue" [Live at UMFM]
Charlotte Cornfield - "Construction on the Street" [Independent]

Next week I'll be joined by A Waste Odyssey for a live set and interview, plus more to be confirmed...