This week we took a dive into the 1978 mockumentary – The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash – a satire of Beatlemania and the Fab Four. Aside from being one of the first mock-docs, it is also a very funny film featuring some Monty Python alumnae, a few famous faces from early SNL and …
Shows
Songs with a social stance with Ann Vriend
The two-time Maple Blues Award songwriting recipient and two-time Edmonton Music Award recipient is an internationally recognized musician known for her soaring vocals, socially conscious lyrics, and outstanding musicianship. With a vintage sound reminiscent of the Roots/Blues style of Stax Records and Muscle Shoals recordings, singles from the album have already found their way onto …
Working with a Publicist: Bad Parade’s Kari Zalik
Bad Parade is a music publicity firm focused on bringing musical talent to every corner of Canada. Created by Canadian publicist, Kari Zalik, Bad Parade works to secure key media coverage for Canadian and international artists, working with broadcast (television, radio and podcasts), print, and digital outlets for maximum exposure. Kari’s artists have appeared in top media including the Globe …
Mike Fuller and the Joy and Hard Work of SongWriting
Mike Fuller’s rock and roll roots run deep. The son of a church organist and a cover band singer/rock and roll enthusiast, it seemed only natural Fuller would follow the musical path laid by his parents and find himself writing a collection of uptempo, foot-stomping tunes. Mike spent much of the pandemic like many of …
Fresh Songwriting with Sarah Tolle
Vancouver-based Sara Tolle stops by to talk about her new adventures in singing/songwriting. We also talked about the latest songwriting challenge on the title “Why Do You Cry” Sarah Tolle is a singer-songwriter based in Vancouver, BC, whose warm, energetic music is an exploration in radiant self-expression and a loving invitation to sing and dance. …
Our Favourite Music Documentaries
On this episode, we talked about our favourite music documentaries – films and TV series. There are links to streaming services and free places you can check them out for yourself. Enjoy and happy watching! We talked about: The Song Talk Radio Songwriting Challenge for 2022 Artists on Spotify are mad about more than Joe …
Storytelling In Song with Jeffery Straker
This week SongTalk welcomed Jeffery Straker a Canadian folk/roots singer-songwriter, who is based in Toronto, Ontario and Regina, Saskatchewan. His piano-based pop musical style has drawn comparisons to Elton John, Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, and Kris Kristofferson. Straker grew up listening to country music on his parents Saskatchewan grain farm at the same time he …
Catchy and complex songs by Peter McDermott
Peter McDermott is a New York City based singer and songwriter. He grew up in the Long Island music scene playing with several alternative and punk bands before going out on his own. Peter has become known for his distinct ability to write for various genres. His first release, One Big Picture Show, mixed his …
Writing Harmonies with Quote The Raven
This week SongTalk welcomed Newfoundland Americana/Folk duo Quote the Raven. Jordan Coaker and Kirsten Rodden-Clarke have been bewitching audiences with haunting harmonies and East-Coast meets Americana songwriting for a decade. Their album Golden Hour (2018) earned multiple nominations including the 2019 ECMA Rising Artist and the award for 2019 MusicNL’s Group of the year. After …
Tips for songwriting with MAS Education Director Chad Shank
Chad Shank is a songwriter and music producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has been writing and recording his own music since middle school, heavily influenced by artists that made the “Minneapolis Sound” famous like Prince, Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and The Time. As an adult Chad worked in radio for many …
Keeping it fresh with Martha and the Muffins
Described by UK critics as “one of the most innovative of their era” and that “even to this day they sound brave and fresh”, Martha and the Muffins emerged from the early punk/new wave/art pop scene in 1977 – which was centered around various clubs along Toronto’s Queen Street West and the Ontario College of …
How to Write A Hit (or not) with Greg Wyard
This week SongTalk welcomed Pop-rock artist Greg Wyard – a singer-songwriter, guitarist and bass player who has been diligently working at his craft since he was ten years old. Greg moved to Canada from his native England at age 13 and settled in Toronto, earning a reputation as one of its most hardworking solo performers. …
All About the Circle of Fifths
On this special episode, we decode the ins and outs of the Circle of Fifths and how to use it to create interesting chord progressions. We talked about: Why the fifth is so important in music What does diatonic mean? How to expand your musical palette Which chord is your “home” chord Samples songs we …
Holiday Gift Guide 2021
Gather ’round kiddies for our Annual Holiday Gift Guide! with Special Guest Mike MacInnes! Full of stocking stuffers, friendly little gifts and great big wowsa! gifts. Buy them for the songwriter/musician in your life – or get yourself something nice, ’cause you deserve it. Is there anything that you’re hoping to find under your holiday-appropriate …
Freestyling with hip-hop artist D.O. Gibson
D.O. Gibson is a Guinness World Record setting rapper, author, professional speaker and music executive. He set a Guinness World Record for the longest freestyle rap ever (8 Hours and 45 Minutes). Gibson has coordinated tours for himself and his artists in Asia (Taiwan, Japan, Singapore), Europe (England, France, Netherlands), USA (NYC, Miami, Los Angeles) …
Kelli Baker on writing songs full of atmosphere
“Six Feet Under” sees Baker’s notable smoky, sensual and illustrious vocals draped in an air of whiskey-soaked mystery. Lyrically, the track finds Kelli Baker speaking with deep-rooted assurance; acting as a melodic “try me”. Baker sings from a perspective that comes with experience. A bit jaded, yes- but on solid ground, so to speak. Almost …
Lockwood Barr: Tips on Co-writing in Nashville
Songwriter Lockwood Barr stops by to share her experiences in co-writing in Nashville. We talked about: How to approach co-writing Helluva Habit Lyrics – Lockwood Bar We should Write Sometime co-writing app SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3E4HnLFuksywb7geo3uHa2 WEBSITE: https://lockwoodbarr.com/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/musicbylockwood/ Lockwood Barr is a powerhouse country artist tinged with a rocker edge. Based in Nashville, TN this …
Voices Only with Jordana Talsky
We have a fascinating show this episode with our special guest, Jordana Talsky. Jordana is a singer, songwriter and vocal looper who fuses multi-genre influences into her own sound. She accompanies herself by voice with a Roland Boss RC505 loop station. Her ethos is to incorporate digital means into live performance in an organic way, …
Trusting in your producer with Marlon Chaplin
This week, Marlon Chaplin joined us again to talk about how trusting in his producer/collaborator made all the difference in creating a new direction for his new album, Synestalgia. Songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Marlon Chaplin is back with a brand new full length album, the first since 2018’s critically acclaimed rock record, ‘The Circle’. His …
Writing a song based on a name with Sean Bertram
Sean Bertram returns to the show to talk about his new album. In the past four years, Sean Bertram has released his debut album (The Right Place, 2018), graduated at the top of his class from Humber College’s prestigious Bachelor of Music program, released his first EP (Echo, 2020), and won “Best Pop Song in …
Music – the International Language
This week SongTalk tried something a little different. We brought in some our favourite songs sung in a different language than English. They say music is the international language so we thought we would put that to the test. Phil, Neel and Mike each presented three songs in a language other than English and we …
Summer Songs
What are the tunes that bring you back to the lazy, hazy days of summer? Mike, Neel, and Phil share some of their favourites. What are yours? Let us know. Give our Summer Songs playlist a spin (or a click):
Keeping it simple (on purpose) with Jeremy Voltz
This week we welcomed the return of burned-out mathematician turned indie-soul artist, Jeremy Voltz with his new song, Like the Very First Time. Voltz’s music is inspired by thinking deeply about the people in his life and what he’d love to have the courage to say to them. Reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, Hozier, and Stevie …
From Classical to Personal with Bradley McCaw
Bradley McCaw is an award-winning singer/songwriter. His career started with him singing classical music and touring internationally with the group THE TEN TENORS. A native of Australia, Bradley spent fifteen long years making good in every job a musician and writer could possibly have, ending his day with a stack of old vinyls by his …