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!)
On this episode, Neel, Phil, Michael and Blair talk about:
- how the film was made
- what has made the movie so popular many decades later
- our favourite Spinal Tap moments
- why this early mock-umentary was so influential
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Singer-songwriter Pete Eastmure grew up on a horse farm, on the side of Blue Mountain. Needing to find something else, Pete at a young age hitchhiked out to California and entered into a personal musical journey that forever changed him. Pete honed his craft of songwriting from many years of exploring musical genres like folk, pop and jazz, only to go back to the well spring of his country roots.…
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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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Singer/songwriter Linda Lavender shares the story of her song They Won’t Catch Me Again. Follow her journey from it’s birth on a five-hour road trip to its studio recording. We talked about:
- Linda’s album The Rosseau Sessions with Often Running
- Bluegrass music
- Influencers like Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, Alison Krauss
- People on the run, rebels, a female protagonist
Listen to the whole show
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Eric Walker is a singer/songwriter from Toronto and a member of the blakeley walker band. He was a founding member of the Toronto Songwriters Association which has met the second Saturday of the month for the past 17 years. We talked about:
- playing Harry Belafonte songs on the ukulele
- writing a song with 47 chords
- master songwriting teacher Andy Krehm
- composition teacher Gordon Dalimont
- SONG – “Umbrella” – looking back at the beginnings of a relationship
- SONG – “Renovations” – building and renovating love
- short chorus – good or bad?
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Virtuoso harmonica player and singer-songwriter Harpin’ Norm Lucien joined us to talk about two of his songs and why you need many, many harmonicas, ideally on a Batman-style utility belt. Sherry Jacoby filled in for Neel – thanks Sherry! We talked about:
- how to write simple songs that are also nuanced and have substance
- starting your songs with the chorus or the title
- how to incorporate sing-alongs in your performances
- our How to Approach the Media episode
Listen to the whole show:
Download the lyrics for I Wish I was the Strongest Man and Strong Enough for Love …
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The gang celebrates 4 years of Song Talk nerd-ery! Station tech genius Michael Newton stops by too.
What we talked about:
Listen to the Full episode
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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.…
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Singer / songwriter Davis St. Bernard stopped by and we explored the issue on complexity in one’s songwriting.
What we talked about:
Listen to the full show:
Watch the live performances:
Connect with David:
AND it was Vanessa’s birthday!…
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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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Singer songwriter Sherry Jacoby stopped by with our old friend Alon and played some wintery tunes.
Listen to the full Episode:
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Saskatoon-born, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Melanie Peterson joined us again, this time with her original holiday-themed love songs. Melanie has been deemed “Mary Poppins with a broken heart” by the BBC and a “superb songwriter” by Joe Warmington of the Toronto Sun. She was last on our show in 2015.…
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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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With 10 albums over a 20-year career, Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarist Jacob Moon dropped into the studio to share a wealth of helpful tips and clear insights. “Live a Little” is a truly exceptional tune, a perfect marriage of lyrics, melody, theme and variation. …
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From the moment Blair Packham started to speak, we knew we were in for some great lessons from a master songwriter and experienced teacher. If You Were Mine featured a great bridge and instrumental break. In Her Dreams started out as a story of a woman in a call centre and moved to a daughter caring for an ailing mother. …
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The ever talented Liz Jaremyn returned with two great songs. Here’s some stuff we talked about:
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On this highly informative and entertaining show, we talked with John Glover:
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A very special show with Song Talk Radio’s co-host and co-creator Bruce Harrott, showcasing and discussing the process behind some of his best songs. We talked about:
- Bruce’s traditional approach with writing lyrics first, and trying a different approach now
- working with different producers
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- writing about real experiences (“staying true to the story”)
- using different melody/chords in bridge vs.
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Our very own Tweeting SongBird, Janice moved to the other side of the mic. We talked about her having Opera training and her natural bluesy style.
Some stuff we talked about:
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Madrid, Spain born indie-folk songwriter Daniel Caceres has traveled to Toronto for a year and stopped by the Song Talk Radio studios with some great folky songs. He’s played in bands back in Madrid but is now exploring writing songs on his own.…
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Singer-songwriter and occasional co-host of Song Talk Radio, Eric Sorenson, returned to the show to showcase tunes from his upcoming EP, Directions Home, and a crowd-pleaser from his live shows. Eric was joined by his bandmates Liz Jaremyn and Andrew Ages.…
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Erin Ford graced the Song Talk Radio studio to play some tunes from the upcoming release of her CD Natural Progression, a project 8 years in the making. We also chatted about:
- how her 10-piece band brings a collaborative element to her music
- seriously cool chord changes
- the use of vivid imagery in lyric writing
Erin’s links:
Website erinford.ca
Facebook Page www.facebook.com/ErinFordandTheGoodLife
Facebook Profile www.facebook.com/ErinLFord
Twitter www.twitter.com/erinthegoodlife
Instagram www.instragram.com/eringoodlifeford
YouTube www.youtube.com/erinfordcanada
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Singer-songwriter Tony Burns shares his fun but sensuous, blues-inspired tunes and talks about taking part in various singing communities.
Other great topics in this show include:
Listen to the full Episode:
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Melanie treats the team to two live performances, talks about duality and contradictions in her songs, and asks the ultimate Facebook quiz question, “Is your guy good on paper?”
We also talked about:
- Pat Pattison’s songwriting seminar on youTube
- writing from a title
- crowdfunding for your album on indiegogo
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