Shows

Exploring Reggae influenced songs with Fergus Hambleton (revised)

Satellites front man and singer songwriter Fergus Hambleton stopped by and shared some reggae influenced tunes. Listen to the show: Watch the live performance:

Blending Jazz and Soul with Avery Raquel

Teen-aged jazz/soul superstar Avery Raquel joined us to talk about moving from covers of jazz standards to her own blend of jazz and soul to better connect with her audience. We talked about: Jazz standards by Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra Listening to songs analytically Tension and release in a song …

How to approach the media and get results

Okay, so you’re talented singer/songwriter and you’ve recorded a few tunes. Now you’d like to get some media attention to promote you and your music. In this value-rich hour, Phil explains some of the things you must NEVER do, and some the things that will work. We talked about: do NOT send e-mail blasts customized …

Dokter Nomi – writing the pop song

What a pleasure to have Dokter Nomi back in the studio to share his hooky pop tunes. This time, one of them was produced by our very own Neel Modi. During the show we talked about: the songwriting process (melodies first) starting with stories and poetry music scene in Kamloops, BC Louie, Louie how to …

Fathers Day Special with Allister Bradley and Sean Bertram

For a special Father’s Day episode, we invited father and son Allister Bradley and Sean Bertram to share their experiences working on music together and independently. Friend of the show Dave Miner filled in for Neel – thanks Dave! We talked about: Sean starting out with piano lessons, Guitar Hero and Rockband Allister finding the …

Dean Hajas exploring songwriting strategies

Songwriter Dean Hajas stopped by and talked about grabbing inspiration and making a career in music. We talked about Dana-Keith-Dean-Hajas-22I-Cry22 lyrics Secure Our Streaming Rates and Royalties 4 Canadian Musicians Song creation strategies Pushing yourself Recommended reading: The Talent Code: Greatness Isnt Born. Its Grown. Heres How. The importance of expanding your world and networking Listen …

All about hip hop with iLLvibe

Toronto-based hip hop recording artist iLLvibe dropped by to share his music and his thoughts. Runner up to Drake for Toronto Rapper of the Year in 2016 and winner on “Canada’s Smartest Person” it was indeed an entertaining and informative hour! We talked about: vocal delivery style Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, Q-Tip, Grand Master Flash flows, patterns, and rhythms …

All About Key Modulations with Frank Horvat

Good friend, manic composer, and musically big brained Frank Horvat joined us to talk all about key modulations, with three example songs. We talked about: the difference between borrowing chords and modulation chromatic alteration, where a single semi-tone difference can change the contour of your chord progression referring to the circle of fifths to see …

DAHLIA, long-term views on writing songs

Songwriter DAHLIA stopped by after her tour in India to talk songwriting. Listen to the episode: What we talked about: How do you start a song? Are “hooks” teachable? Pulling apart your fav songs Getting Funding from the government Falling in love with your demo’s Jule’s first single Rick Beato “Why makes this song great?” …

Songs about mental health

It was Canadian Mental Health Week‘s 66th year and we thought we’d put a spotlight on songs that talk about the challenges of maintaining mental health. This year’s hashtag is #getloud. For this special show, we had guest host Adi Aman from Beige Shelter, and four songs that talk about mental health. We talked about: Beige …

Songwriting across nations and cultures with Amanie Illfated

South Sudan-born, Toronto-based indie fusion singer, model and writer Amanie Illfated joined us to talk about her songwriting journeys across nations and cultures. Guest host and singer-songwriter Kayt Lucas filled in for Phil – thanks Kayt! We talked about: Amanie’s journey from Regina to Toronto at age 16 blogging and modelling as they apply to …

Angela Saini: on preproduction, songwriting and being memorable

Singer/songwriter Angela Saini returns with a couple of great tunes and some pretty in depth talk about songwriting concepts. Listen to the full show Stuff we talked about: Angela’s first appearance on Song Talk Radio Preproduction https://www.angelasaini.com/ Songs: live vs recording https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roncesvalles,_Toronto Constructively using audience response to songs We were wrong “A Hard Day’s Night” …

Rhyme-a-rama with Blair Packham!

We figured it was time to talk about rhyme; a cornerstone of songwriting. So we invited one of our favourite singer/songwriters – Blair Packham – to take a closer listen to songs with a plethora of rhymes and one with virtually none! We talked about: The songwriter’s personal approach to rhyme Does rhyme distract from …

Paul Lamarche – writing hooks and sailing the seven seas

Drummer, songwriter and guitarist Paul Lamarche stopped by to trade songwriting tips. We talked about Working as a musician on cruise ships Different pronunciations of words for style Writing songs for others to sing Working in 6/8 MEET-ME-HALFWAY-lyrics MAKE-IT-GOOD-lyrics Cakewalks SONAR DAW now free Show sponsor: easyDNS.com Listen to the show:

Songs by the Hosts Special

For this special episode, each of the Song Talk Radio hosts shared one of their own songs for discussion. We talked about: a Gaurdian article about the Hall & Oates song I Can’t Go For That our upcoming show on key modulations Bruce’s experience with his producer an email we got about our Comedy Songs …

Songwriting with a purpose; Rebecca Lappa

Part way through her cross-country tour which began in her hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, singer/songwriter Rebecca Lappa stopped in at the Song Talk Radio studio to share two original songs. She was accompanied on piano by the talented musician Nick Samoil. We talked about: releasing your first album at the age of 12 FACTOR grants …

Comedy Songs Special (a.k.a. How to be a funny songwriter)

We got our funny on by looking at what makes comedy songs tick. Friend of the show Mike MacInnes “Phil’d” in for Phil. Thanks Mike! And our own tech person, Linda Lavender, treated us to a live comedy song she just wrote – great stuff Linda! We talked about: why Top 40 charts don’t have …

Randy Newman’s “Cowboy” & “Somewhere” from West Side Story dissected with Patrick Ballantyne

Patrick Ballantyne stopped by to pull apart two of his fave songs. The open and emotive “Cowboy” by Randy Newman, and “Somewhere” from West Side Story by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein. Stuff we talked about: Patrick Ballantyne’s website Randy Newman “Cowboy” Lyrics Somewhere Lyrics Northwood Records West Side Story Randy Newman Leonard Bernstein Somewhere …

Robert Priest – how to write songs for children

We had the pleasure of having the prolific Toronto poet, novelist, and singer/songwriter Robert Priest (with David Hynes on guitar) back in the studio to share a couple of his children’s songs. We talked about… testing a song on a 6-year old moving from writing for adults to writing for children on the same day …

Bridging Jazz and Pop with Sean Bertram

Sean Bertram returned to the show following the release of his debut album, The Right Place. We talked about: Sean’s studies at Humber College in Music Guitar poetics in your lyrics changing chords and melodic centre between sections of your song contrast in pop songwriting self-doubt in songwriting Taming Your Gremlin by Rick Carson how …

On composing jazz songs with Paul Novotny

Paul Novotny (born Peterborough, Ontario, 1958) is a composer, bassist, producer, and engineer. He is the bassist on the international runaway hit video-game, CUPHEAD; over 50,000 sales in 2017. As a producer, his record label has achieved three Juno nominations and one Juno win for Joe Sealy’s Africville Suite. He has composed music for feature …

How to write a break-up song

True to form for Song Talk Radio, the day before Valentine’s Day seemed a good day to talk about break-up songs. So Phil brought “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” by Jim Croce, Neel chose “One More Minute” by “Weird Al” Yankovic, Bruce performed a new original tune “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, and …

Gravely James: Rockin’ the blues with soul

Blues-rock-soul singer-songwriter Gravely James shares his journey from a trumpet-playing kid to a kickin’ singer-songwriter. He also treated us to two incredibly energetic performances of his songs. We talked about: Song Studio Niagara region favourite blues band More Bad News and the Horns from Hell, and Blood Sweat and Tears 12-bar blues How timbrel variety has …

Deep Dive: Penny Lane & Strawberry Fields – how do they work? with Blair Packham

Songwriting master Blair Packham stopped by and we gave a deep dive on The Beatles Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. Friend of the show Mike MacInnes sat in for Bruce. Stuff we talked about: John Lennon / Paul McCartney comparisons Candy Flip’s version of Strawberry Fields Key Modulations Penny Lane Lyrics & Chords at UltimateGuitar.com …