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 …
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 …
On this program Bruce, Neel, and Phil, (and Linda) each brought a three-chord song to share. We looked at what each song needed to do (if anything) to compensate for the lack of chord diversity. We talked about: Now You’re Leaving by Bruce Harrott The Joker by The Steve Miller Band BBC by Ming Tea Street Spirit …
The Song Talk Team reviews songwriting apps, with special guest Allister Bradley, who went above the call of duty and showed up on crutches! Listen to the show We talked about: MasterWriter – a lyric-writing app with built-in thesaurus and rhyming dictionary Music Memos – like having a back up band in your pocket! GuitarTuna – …
Toronto singer/songwriter Michael Thorner dropped by the studio for a chat about his music. He brought two catchy tunes from his recent webcast/album release The ehMTee Show; Don’t Let it Go and Point Edward Fair. We talked about: chamber/orchestral pop Point Edward, Ontario church organist at 10! Mouth Congress (Scott Thompson & Paul Bellini) Marker …
Teen-aged jazz/soul superstar Avery Raquel joined us to talk about moving from covers of jazz standards to her own blend of jazz and soul to better connect with her audience. We talked about: Jazz standards by Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra Listening to songs analytically Tension and release in a song …
Singer/songwriter Angela Saini returns with a couple of great tunes and some pretty in depth talk about songwriting concepts. Listen to the full show Stuff we talked about: Angela’s first appearance on Song Talk Radio Preproduction https://www.angelasaini.com/ Songs: live vs recording https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roncesvalles,_Toronto Constructively using audience response to songs We were wrong “A Hard Day’s Night” …
We figured it was time to talk about rhyme; a cornerstone of songwriting. So we invited one of our favourite singer/songwriters – Blair Packham – to take a closer listen to songs with a plethora of rhymes and one with virtually none! We talked about: The songwriter’s personal approach to rhyme Does rhyme distract from …
Part way through her cross-country tour which began in her hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, singer/songwriter Rebecca Lappa stopped in at the Song Talk Radio studio to share two original songs. She was accompanied on piano by the talented musician Nick Samoil. We talked about: releasing your first album at the age of 12 FACTOR grants …
We had the pleasure of having the prolific Toronto poet, novelist, and singer/songwriter Robert Priest (with David Hynes on guitar) back in the studio to share a couple of his children’s songs. We talked about… testing a song on a 6-year old moving from writing for adults to writing for children on the same day …
True to form for Song Talk Radio, the day before Valentine’s Day seemed a good day to talk about break-up songs. So Phil brought “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels)” by Jim Croce, Neel chose “One More Minute” by “Weird Al” Yankovic, Bruce performed a new original tune “I Don’t Love You Anymore”, and …
Blues-rock-soul singer-songwriter Gravely James shares his journey from a trumpet-playing kid to a kickin’ singer-songwriter. He also treated us to two incredibly energetic performances of his songs. We talked about: Song Studio Niagara region favourite blues band More Bad News and the Horns from Hell, and Blood Sweat and Tears 12-bar blues How timbrel variety has …
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? Newtonbrook SS Rush-Stick-It-Out lyrics https://www.rush.com/ Neil-Young-After-The-Gold-Rush lyrics Whistle-Down-the-Wind-Tom-Waits-Lyrics Playing everything …
Popular guest co-host and guest on Song Talk Radio, Patrick Ballantyne dropped by the studio to share two of his favourite Canadian songs. “Help Me” by Joni Mitchell is a great example of her unique combination of melody, structure, and lyrics to evoke a casual conversational tone. Includes a great instrumental hook. Patrick’s other pick was …
Michelle Thibodeau is a pop-folk singer/songwriter from Moncton, New Brunswick, now based in Toronto. She performed live for Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber (2012) and David Foster (June 2017) as well as recently playing the leading lady “Nancy” in a professional production of Oliver the Musical. Her most recent single “Checkmate” (Oct 2016) was played nation-wide …
The always surprising, risk-taking, gear-shifting, soul-belting Oh Chays are beholden to no single genre. Currently writing and recording their second album, The Oh Chays are a husband and wife duo raised on trad jazz, rockabilly, gospel, and the Detroit radio of the 70’s and 80’s. Consistently wowing audiences with their versatile musicianship, songwriting, and razor-sharp …
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 …
Teenaged singer-songwriter Brighid Fry joins us to talk about her many collaborations and solo songwriting processes. Singer-songwriter Carmen Toth filled in for Neel – thanks Carmen! We talked about: the challenges of being a teenaged singer-songwriter collaborating in different bands songs written for placement in TV, movies, etc are perfect rhymes overrated? Regina Spektor how …
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 – …
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! We talked about: why bother making an …
The very talented singer-songwriter and improvisational artist Rachel Raditz brought one song to Song Talk Radio that she had written previously. The other she made up on the spot in the middle of the program. “Back in Hali” about a friendship that might be more set in Halifax had an unconventional structure and a melody …
Pop singer-songwriter Lora Ryan joined us with her guitarist Andrew Scott to share two songs and talk about her songwriting process. Singer/songwriter Lora Ryan is poised to make some noise in the independent music scene. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, she recently relocated to the Hollywood of Canada: Toronto, Ontario. Lora draws on personal experience …
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. Listen to the bridge in particular and …
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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