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.
On this episode, Adriel gave a lot of tips and best practices for artists to follow and explained the process of how songs are chosen to be played on college radio. He also brought in a track from a great new artist he discovered through his role as Music Director – Haviah Mighty.
We talked with Adriel about:
the best way to approach college radio stations
how to prepare a package to showcase your music
what he looks for in new artists
how often new music is added to college playlists
which musical genres are most likely to get attention
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 professional singers
How The Beatles shifted pop culture by both writing and performing their own songs
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
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.
Singer songwriter Sintja Baba returned to share some songwriting tips.
Sintja fronts Toronto based band THE NAIVE on guitar/vocals/keys, and is the principle song writer. Last year they released their Debut EP “Saw The Sun” followed by single “My Guitar” in July of this year. They released their most recent music video for single “The Moon” off their Debut EP on Nov.19 shot & directed by Marlon Chaplin.
With the holiday season just around the corner, we decided to help you out with some great gift ideas for songwriters and musicians in your life. We put them into four categories:
Stocking Stuffers ( 0 – $15)
Small Gifts ($15 – $100)
Good Gifts ($100 – $300)
WOW! Gifts ($300+) (the, gee if I only had a super-generous someone who had money to burn…)
Our suggestions ran the gamut from a cool Christmas tree ornament (under $15) to a Bob Dylan model Gibson guitar (WAY over $300).
So have a listen. It’ll make your holiday shopping a happier tune.
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:
Maybe you didn’t ask for it but we did it anyway – the 90’s song draft – this time with Canadian songwriters. Blair Packham sat in for a sick Bruce, Vanessa joined the gang for her song picks, and much fun was had. Of the many writers of the Great White North, here are a few highlights:
Julian Taylor is a Canadian singer-songwriter formerly with the band Staggered Crossing. His songs have appeared in television series including Degrassi: The Next Generation. He now fronts the Julian Taylor Band. Julian dropped by the studio with his daughter Ella. We talked about:
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:
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