The gang celebrates 4 years of Song Talk nerd-ery! Station tech genius Michael Newton stops by too. What we talked about: Our fav guests the past year Bad jokes Angela Saini Rachel Raditz Nolan Hubbard Theme shows The Oh Chays Listen to the Full episode
Shows
Halloween Special
The next time Halloween will occur on a Tuesday will be in 2023, so we were supernaturally possessed to take advantage of the freaky intersection and dig up some Halloween themed songs for this show. But first, the important stuff. Since this is radio, we figured Halloween costumes were in order. Phil showed up as …
Ed Roman a Canadian original
Ed Roman is an award-winning singer/songwriter, performer and multi-instrumentalist from Shelburne, Ontario, Canada. Blurring the lines between pop, rock, folk, and country music genres, Ed’s uniquely crafted songs have received regular rotation on more than 100 terrestrial radio stations across North America and more than 400 stations, worldwide. On this program we had some lively discussions …
Exploring non-standard time signatures & EDM with Neel Modi
Our very own Neel talks about creating non-standard time-signature based EDM music. Past guest and composer Frank Horvat co-hosted while Neel’s better half, Hema handled the social media. Some stuff we talked about: Dave Brubeck Goldie – Timeless Writing Better Lyrics – Pat Patison Frank’s webpage Dave Brubeck’s Take 5 One of a Mind lyrics No …
Michelle Thibodeau moves from opera to pop
Michelle Thibodeau is a pop-folk singer/songwriter from Moncton, New Brunswick, now based in Toronto. She performed live for Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber (2012) and David Foster (June 2017) as well as recently playing the leading lady “Nancy” in a professional production of Oliver the Musical. Her most recent single “Checkmate” (Oct 2016) was played nation-wide …
Book Writing for Musicals with Stephen Witkin
Stephen Witkin joined us again to talk about his career writing the book for various musicals, and shared three songs resulting from his writing. We talked about: The difference between “On Broadway” and “Off Broadway” Prom Queens Unchained available from Samuel French different sub-genres in musicals the nature of collaboration between book writer, lyricist, and …
The Oh Chays: the ins-and-outs of making a living as a songwriting couple
The always surprising, risk-taking, gear-shifting, soul-belting Oh Chays are beholden to no single genre. Currently writing and recording their second album, The Oh Chays are a husband and wife duo raised on trad jazz, rockabilly, gospel, and the Detroit radio of the 70’s and 80’s. Consistently wowing audiences with their versatile musicianship, songwriting, and razor-sharp …
Non-songwriting careers in music
Bonnie Fedrau, Administrator at ACTRA-RACS and David Misener, Product Specialist at HHB Canada joined us to share their wide-ranging experiences in the music industry. Here are some of the cool things we talked about: Neighbouring Rights royalties performance rights being a Product Specialist Re-Sound (royalty collection) Recording Artists’ Collecting Society Working as a Scout/A & …
Blair Packham and two of his favourite songs
For this special episode, good friend of the show Blair Packham (frontman of The Jitters, co-creator of Song Studio), brought in two of his favourite songs and together we dove deep into each song. We talked about: Blair’s new album Unpopular Pop Specificity and universality in lyrics and storytelling An episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist …
Shelly Peiken – writing the hit song
Multi-platinum hit songwriter Shelly Peiken, has written songs for, and with, Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Cher, Reba McEntire, Christina Aguilera, Meredith Brooks, Britney Spears, Natasha Bedingfield, NSYNC, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Idina Menzel and Demi Lovato. Shelly Peiken is also a successful author who has written a book detailing her experiences in songwriting – …
Brighid Fry: Songwriting with multiple collaborators
Teenaged singer-songwriter Brighid Fry joins us to talk about her many collaborations and solo songwriting processes. Singer-songwriter Carmen Toth filled in for Neel – thanks Carmen! We talked about: the challenges of being a teenaged singer-songwriter collaborating in different bands songs written for placement in TV, movies, etc are perfect rhymes overrated? Regina Spektor how …
Sintja Baba – songwriting with a band’s support
Multi-instrumentalist and back up vocalist Sintja Baba has been playing alongside various Toronto acts and is currently playing that role in Marlon Chaplin’s band. She started her own band THE NAIVE, where her music has taken the shape of various genres. Her EP, “Saw the Sun” is a medley of catchy upbeat hooks and mellow ballads. We talked about: Jazz …
Keeping it short & sweet with Jef Leeson
Playing multiple instruments & writing songs since his mid teens, Jef eventually succumbed to a music career in his early 20s. 2½ years in he joined the backing band for the multiple award winning CCMA duo of the year, Tim Taylor & Anita Perras. By the mid 1990s Jef became founding member & lead singer/bassist …
Pop songwriting with Amir Brandon
Pop music singer-songwriter Amir Brandon joined us to talk about two of his upcoming songs, working with producer Thomas McKay, and the stories behind his songs. We also talked about: Collaborating with other songwriters Battle Royale: grammar vs. lyric vs. meaning vs. melody How to write a really long chorus Chord choices and mixing up major, …
Using Non-Verbal Hooks in Your Songs
In our latest theme show, we explored non-verbal hooks in songs. We looked at Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side, The Police Do Do Do, Da, Da, Da, Da and we played The Parkdale Hookers “Stop Draggen’ us no where, baby“. It was just the gang so its always a lot of fun. Stuff we …
Nolan Hubbard and his happy summer tunes
Singer/songwriter Nolan Hubbard, originally from Gananoque, Ontario, brought us some summer sunlight through his stories and two of his catchy, tuneful songs – “Today” and “Sandbanks”. In this informative and entertaining program we talked about: Douglas Romanow producer Recording in Nashville Organizing your own cross-Canada tour (with your Dad) Metalworks recording studio and school – …
Chord-based and conversational songwriting with Sean Bertram
Up and coming singer-songwriter and Humber College music student Sean Bertram joined us to talk about his education and his chord-based approach to songwriting. Blair Packham subbed in for Phil – thanks Blair! And welcome to Raphael, our new technical and audio specialist – welcome to the team! We talked about: why bother making an …
How to write songs with a looper pedal with Rachel Raditz
The very talented singer-songwriter and improvisational artist Rachel Raditz brought one song to Song Talk Radio that she had written previously. The other she made up on the spot in the middle of the program. “Back in Hali” about a friendship that might be more set in Halifax had an unconventional structure and a melody …
Bridging classical and modern idioms with Jenny Perez
Jenny Perez is a classically trained pianist and vocalist. She’s recently begun her journey as a singer-songwriter, bringing her classic flavours to her modern songwriting. For this show, Jenny was accompanied by Sherry Jacoby on guitar and backup vocals. We talked about: the difference between classical and modern pop singing the learning your technique debate: how …
Special Pride Theme Show
To celebrate Pride in Toronto this week, we brought in five LGBTQ-themed songs to play and talk about. The songs spanned from 1983 to 2017, and included a diverse range of songwriters and topics. Musical book writer Stephen Witkin joined us for the show. Special thank you’s to Hema for handling our social media, and @SharonRose2012 for …
How to get noticed by a music publisher with Vincent Degiorgio
Vincent Degiorgio, president of CYMBA Music publishing, joined us to tell tales and give tips to songwriters on getting your songs published. We talked about: mechanical rights and copyrights separating the performance from the song what it takes to get a publisher’s attention how to finish your songs Jason Blume – 6 Steps to Songwriting …
Jordan Paul returns with some awesome ambient sitar sounds
Jordan Paul returned to the Song Talk Radio studio on Gould Street in Toronto with a surprise – a beautifully handcrafted sitar. And he played it! In this detour from his usual singer/songwriter explorations, Jordan Paul combines samples with his own sitar playing to create mesmerizing melodies and soundscapes. In this fascinating program you’ll learn about: …
Pop songwriting with feeling with Lora Ryan
Pop singer-songwriter Lora Ryan joined us with her guitarist Andrew Scott to share two songs and talk about her songwriting process. Singer/songwriter Lora Ryan is poised to make some noise in the independent music scene. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, she recently relocated to the Hollywood of Canada: Toronto, Ontario. Lora draws on personal experience …
Bob Wiseman on pushing your songwriting envelope
Producer, composer and Blue Rodeo founder, Bob Wiseman stopped by to share tips on pushing your songwriting approach to get out of a songwriting rut. Listen to the episode here: Some stuff we talked about: Working with songwriters Blue Rodeo BobWiseman.com Bob Wiseman on Wikipedia Download lyrics for “The Reform Party at Burning Man Download the …