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 …
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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 …
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This week SongTalk welcomed David McLachlan to our studio. David McLachlan is a prolific songwriter with 7 albums released, one in the can, for release next Aug 2020. Several years ago David ventured to Nashville to record with some stellar A-list players. He found that experience to be so rewarding it changed the way he …
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Our own Michael Proudfoot proudly stepped into the world of cover songs. He uncovered a treasure trove of examples and ideas. Have a listen as the Song Talk Radio team plus Blair Packham (The Jitters) tackles: when everything was a cover the difference between 45, 78, and 33 1/3 rpm records professional songwriters writing for …
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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 …
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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 …
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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. In addition to two very authentic folk songs (Dusty …
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Singer/songwriter Robert Davis stopped by with some great fun songs and we talked about the following: Download robert-davis-lyrics here Differences between kids and Adult songs Dr. Demento Koerner Hall Mark Russell (piano player / songwriter / political satirist) Subversive themes in children’s songs Country Music songwriting approach NSAI Socan House (Nashville House) Factor.ca Country Music Association Ken …
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The extraordinarily talented singer-songwriter and producer Marlon Chaplin joined us to talk about his crafty approach to songwriting, and share two songs. Dave Miner also joined us to fill in for Bruce as co-host. Thanks a million, Dave, you were great! Download the lyrics for Marlon’s songs to follow along as you listen. We talked …
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Addie Denison shares songs that at first sound like classic country, until you realize they’re (in part) about revenge, or blasting off into outer space. Sonja Seiler guest hosted. Stuff we talked about: The Songwriter’s Cafe Meetup Songwriting as storytelling in its purest form Download the lyrics here: Wheelhouse & Red Dirt Asymmetrical structures Feedback from …
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The uber-talented Sonja Seiler brings her own brand of passionate, emotional songs to Song Talk Radio for the second time, this time with a country twist. Stuff we talked about: transitioning from writing on piano to guitar letting an idea percolate for a while before writing the power of imagery what’s the right tempo for …
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Michael Cooper, raised in Stony Plain, Alberta, now living in Toronto, calls his music “country re-defined” and we agree. He’s been writing heart-felt tunes for over 20 years! His goal is to make the mundane extra-ordinary. His influences include Hank Snow.
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