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 – performance program
- Covers on YouTube
- “Today” – a call to action, no chorus, whistling, G to G Augmented, C to Cminor
- Finding a publicist – Hype Music, Toronto
- Collaborating vs.
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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!…
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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 much technique is too much?
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I know many of you don’t care for music theory. It’s clinical, it’s boring, and it sucks the soul out of songwriting. Well, news flash: you’re using music theory whether or not you intend to. For myself, I know my theory pretty well, as I learned it at young age.…
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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.…
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The show you’ve all been waiting for…or maybe that was just Neel. The Song Talk Radio Team tackles the subject of the pre-chorus; what it is, what it does for a song, and why have one? Singer/songwriter Melanie Peterson joined us to perform one of her songs as an example, “Been So Long.”…
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Singer-songwriter Stacey Dowswell joined us to talk about her literature-inspired and poetic take on songwriting with two original songs, Ties that Bind and Wax Wings. We talked about:
- Poetic vs. more straight forward lyrics
- How to add complexity to a simple 1-4-5 chord progression
- How to incorporate a cliche
- Contrast and space
- Using dynamics in your performance
- The benefits of noodling around to start a song
Check out Stacey’s EP release show at The Painted Lady in Toronto on June 15, 2017!…
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Popular guest co-host and guest on Song Talk Radio, Patrick Ballantyne dropped by the studio to share two of his well-crafted songs. “Where Things Used to Be” is great example of the skillful combination of melody, structure, and lyrics to evoke a strong feeling of longing in the listener.…
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Young pop sensations the Command Sisters (Charlotte and Sarah) joined us to talk about writing as a sibling duo and working with producers. Patrick Ballantyne filled in for Bruce.
We also talked about:
- how to write a 2-chord song
- the musical Book of Mormon
- whether to repeat lyrics in each chorus
- the challenge of writing direct lyrics vs.
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Emily Mac is a singer-songwriter and a regular at our Songwriter’s Roundtable Meetup. She joined us with piano player Joel to perform and talk about two of her songs, Back to the Rhythm and When It’s Gone. Special guest host Carmen Toth filled in for Neel.…
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Braeden Mitchell returned to Song Talk Radio for his third visit and contributed to a very lively and informative discussion of songwriting and recording. He shared two songs with us, Glory Days and Everyday Girl, both from his upcoming EP release.…
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Crazy talented Jeremy Voltz joined us with his Stevie Wonder inspired, but totally original songs, In the Clear and Wrong With Me.
We talked about:
Listen to the show
Download the lyrics
In the Clear
Wrong with Me
Watch the live performances
Connect with Jeremy
Artist website:
http://jeremyvoltz.com…
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Toronto-based virtuoso electronic music duo Audio Insurgency joined us for a second time to talk about their latest projects, including an album of inventive video game music covers.
Audio Insurgency is made up of Alon Rodovinsky and Ivan Popov. The guys previously appeared on Song Talk Radio in early 2016.…
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Moody, original and unexpected are three words that describe the song writing of Louis Moon.
He started his musical life when he took piano lessons at age seven. Three years ago, influenced by Korean Hip Hop artists, he began to create his own beats.…
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Toronto and Mississauga-based singer-songwriter Ashley Braga joined us for two live performances and insights into her unique approach to songwriting. While most songwriters turn largely inwards to write, Ashley provides a service writing songs for other people, based on their relationships and emotions.…
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Kirk Felix arrived at our little studio with a whole band; bass, violin (fiddle), and cajon. As we did our sound check the Song Talk crew all savoured the gentle, soothing and heart-warming sounds of a folk ensemble. Patrick Ballantyne sat in for Neel Modi who was on assignment.…
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Born in England, raised in The Netherlands, Paul Vos shared two of his songs with us at Song Talk Radio.
The first was “Lost Along the Way” a song about finding love when you least expect it. Listen for the awesome 80’s background vocals on the chorus!…
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Toronto-based singer-songwriter Angela Saini joined us to talk about her process and two beautifully crafted songs: Something Like I’m Beautiful and Living on the Bright Side. We talked about:
- Switching from a major to minor key for your bridge
- How to connect emotionally with your listeners
- Song endings – to resolve to not resolve?
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I hope you’re not like me and just keeping all your songs just in your head, It’s a bad habit I’ve developed over the years and one I’m still working against.
I’m especially bad at writing my lyrics down, which is surprising considering how bad I am at writing lyrics.…
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Piper Hayes is a New York born singer/songwriter currently living on the outskirts of Hamilton, Ontario – home to a burgeoning arts scene. Piper started writing her own songs because she couldn’t play other people’s songs on her guitar. On this fast-paced and informative show, she sang “You’re Gone” and “Honey” and we talked about:
- musical theatre training and the singer/songwriter
- the influence of Stephen Sondheim
- specific versus ambiguous lyrics
- using the rhythm guitar to drive a song
- the right mood for writing
Connect with Piper
http://pipersings.com/…
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Singer/Songwriter Jordan Paul stopped by with a couple of brilliant songs. His sound has been described as “if Queen, Mimicking Birds, Radiohead, and Led Zeppelin all had a beautiful love-child.” A clever songwriter at only 24–his writing and musicality is well beyond his years and his voice is otherworldly.…
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What can you say about the exceptionally talented poet, novelist, and prolific singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen.that hasn’t already been said? Well, the Song Talk Radio action team didn’t worry about that. Bruce, Neel, and Phil simply dove into their memories and had a close look at three of his many, many songs.…
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The Song Talk Team had the distinct pleasure of spending an hour with the very talented and original singer/songwriter Dan Edmonds. His fresh takes on music and how it’s made were both illuminating and engaging. He played two of his intriguing recordings – “Love Can Be a Tunnel” and “To Be That Needle”.…
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Okay, so we couldn’t get Bob to come to the studio for the show. Not surprising considering how the Nobel Prize people can’t find him either. On this show about Bob Dylan we discussed:
- The new film from Ron Howard – The Beatles, Eight Days a Week
- How the Beatles wrote songs
- Should the Nobel Prize for Literature have been given to Bob Dylan?
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