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We talked about protest songs way back in 2016, and things still didn’t get any better. Here’s a throwback to dissension through music.
Here’s the original show page if you want the lyrics.…
Throwback Thursday Themeshow: Protest Songs
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Public Relations in the music industry with Eric Alper
This week we were privileged to have Eric Apler, of ThatEricAlper.com to talk about his work as a Public Relations (PR) professional in the Canadian Music Industry.
We talked about:
- What a PR professional does for your music career
- Other team members such as manager, booking agent, and publisher
- When is the right time for an artist to approach a PR professional
- Why you should be following Taylor Swift on social media
- What your artist bio and press releases should be about
- Why video is very important today
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Keeping It Real with Blair Packham
This week SongTalk welcomed our old friend Blair Packham to our studio.
The Toronto-based artist, first gained attention for his work with ’80’s power pop band The Jitters. He is now an acclaimed solo artist and musician. Blair released two strongly-reviewed solo albums before shifting his focus to composing music for TV and films, teaching songwriting at the post-secondary level and in numerous special event workshops, and co-hosting a long-running major market weekly radio show about music (“In the Studio” on the BellMedia talk radio network).…
How Featurette add emotion to Electro-Pop
This week SongTalk welcomed FEATURETTE to our studio.
The Toronto-based duo FEATURETTE, formed by singer Lexie Jay and drummer, Jon Fedorsen, makes emotionally-charged, heavy-hitting electro-pop music that has been met with international critical acclaim.
After receiving their first full recording grant from FACTOR Canada, the duo released their debut LP CRAVE in October, 2016.…
Best Songs of the Decade Special
Super-fan of the show Mike MacInnes joined us for our final live show of 2019, and indeed of the decade, for our personal takes on the best songs of the last 10 years. We also created a Spotify playlist of all the songs!…
Beige Shelter: How To Write Within A Band
Beige Shelter is an ambitious and eclectic five piece band from Toronto that brings fire, passion and a political conscience to their music. Through electrifying live performances, the band showcases both original songs and interesting twists on cover songs. Beige Shelter is currently working on their 2nd EP release.…
Steve Koven – Play Piano, See The World
This week, SongTalk welcomed jazz pianist and teacher Steve Koven. Steve is a composer, performer, producer and educator. He has one of the longest standing trios in Canada, performing, touring and recording together for over 26 year. Aside from performing and recording with his trio – Steve Koven Trio – Steve also has other recording projects such as the Koven Collective and Koven & Law as well as Lazersuzan
We talked with Steve about:
- his process for writing
- how he communicates his song ideas to his bands
- the touring opportunities available through consulates and embassies
- where he finds inspiration for his music
- what improvising can bring to songwriting
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Making the most of your voice with Taylor Abrahamse
This week, professional singer/songwriter, voice actor & co-founder of Silverthorn Studios recording, Taylor Abrahamse joined us in the studio at SongTalk World Headquarters. Taylor was a Top 40 finalist on Canadian Idol, has performed on stages across Ontario, has also written & produced musicals, and music for animated series and viral internet music through Corus, DHX & Super Planet Dolan.…
Stark Naked and the Fleshtones: classic punk rock band
Stark Naked and Eugene Ripper of Stark Naked and the Fleshtones joined us to talk about their heyday in the early 80s as an awesome live band in Toronto.
We talked about:
- how songs are shaped by band dynamics
- working with the “right” producer
- the punk music attitude
- live vs.
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Robert Ball: Giving Voice To The Personal
This week SongTalk welcomed Robert Ball to our studio.
A native Torontonian, Robert Ball is a multi-faceted singer who has traveled to and performed in over 60 countries around the world.
His sound has been described as soulful, jazzy, Neo-soul and he is a much in-demand session singer.…
College Radio: How Do I Get My Music Played?
This week SongTalk welcomed Adriel Smiley to our studio. Adriel is the Music Director of CJRU – Ryerson’s Radio station – and Adriel brought a wealth of information about college radio and the best way musicians can get their music played on these stations.…
This Is Spinal Tap: 35 Years Later
This week SongTalk Radio has a special episode celebrating the 35th anniversary of the classic film, “This Is Spinal Tap”. And joining us in our trip down memory lane is one of our favourite guests on the show Blair Packham. We talk about where and when we first encountered this classic cult comedy and how true it was to our own experiences in the music business (hint: very!)…
One in the Chamber on their debut EP
Indie rockers One in the Chamber joined us following the release of their first studio EP, I’ve Got Something To Say…. We talked about:
- One in the Chamber’s first appearance on Song Talk Radio
- difference between their demo EP and their studio EP (hint: pre-production)
- writing as a band collaboration
- thwarting conventions around song structure
- guitar solos: a good thing or a bad thing?
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Blair Packham: From song inception to development
One of our favourite guests and friend of the show Blair Packham returned to the show to share his song ideas, from titles to bits of songs, and how he develops them into full-fledged songs.
We talked about:
- Song Studio
- Hugh’s Room in Toronto
- Songwriting Apps: OnSong, Rhyme Genie, Tunesmith, and Music Memos
- Writing the lyrics or music or the hook first
- Call your next song “Star Wars” if you want: You can’t copyright a title!
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Angela Saini: Writing and collaborating on her new album
Angela Saini returned to Song Talk Radio with a new album and a fresh bunch of earnest and optimistic songs.
We talked about:
- Structured vs. casual collaborations
- When should an artist make a trip to Nashville?
- Making a personal connections to songs you’re performing, even if you didn’t write them totally by yourself
- Live performance vs studio recording
- Using a “weirdo” chord change for the bridge of your song
- Should melody trump the natural shape of the language in your lyrics?
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The organized chaos that could only be White Cowbell Oklahoma
BEHOLD! The triumphant latest release – Seven Seas of Sleaze – from Canada’s legendary rock armada White Cowbell Oklahoma – now in it’s 20th glorious year!
WITNESSETH! The 70s-inspired boogie-prog army’s seventh full-length release, featuring seven blistering tracks, brought to you by seven heavily-perspiring musicians.…
Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie review
Did you love the new movie Bohemian Rhapsody? Hate it? Something in between? Listen as Bruce, Neel, Phil, Michael, and Vanessa let loose! Hear their takes on the Bryan Singer helmed Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic released in late 2018. While they found much to criticize, they had a few raves too.…
Sintja Baba on her 1st EP
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.…
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
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Exploring songs with “talk-singing”
We featured songs on this episode that use the unique “talk singing” technique. For the most part, we agreed that talk-singing meant that the singers were using short notes without too much melodic range, but still consciously in the key of the song.…
Creating songs when you have an unconventional singing voice
You don’t necessarily need to have a fantastic voice to write or even perform songs well. We looked at some of our favorite songwriters with unusual voices and how they did it.
Listen to the episode
We talked about
- Is pitchy the same thing as unconventional?
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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.…
Movies have songs too. Here’s our favourites.
This week we picked our favourite songs from movies. We talked about:
- La La Land (the movie)
- People bursting into song for no reason vs. singing in sensible places in the story
- The Big Chill
- Movie Musicals
- key modulation
- Quentin Tarantino’s unique approach to picking songs for his movies
Listen to the show:
Our selections:
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