This week’s Steel Belted Radio is shaping up to be a really good one.
Our good friend Christina Martin always puts out great records, so it’s not a surprise that she’s got another winner, but her new one, Sleeping with a Stranger is so dynamite amazing, I can’t wait to play it for you. The time has come, and we’ll get Christina on the phone to chat about it and play the new album for the first time on radio anywhere!
And, we’ve got killer new music! One of my favourite artists of the past 10 years or so is Shannon Lyon, and he’s got another great album, which you can get online for FREE (or you could be a swell music-supporting soul and pay for it, if you choose…)
Jaine beat me to the punch by finding this killer new song featuring NQ Arbuckle. Now, I’m telling you about it so that Stu Reid doesn’t beat me to playing it:
Here’s a new artist with a new song that I’m loving:
This week on Steel Belted Radio, we’ve got tickets to give away for one of the most anticipated shows of the summer, as Deer Tick hits town for the first time on June 5 at the West End Cultural Centre! 101.5 UMFM is proud to support this show, and we’ve got you covered if you want to get in for free. Of course, we highly recommend that you pick some up if you don’t win, as well!
Listen to my promo for this concert: [download id=”184″]
Last year I went to the Edmonton Folk Festival. There’s always plenty to enjoy at that one, so picking a highlight can be tough at times, but there’s no doubt that one of the biggest joys of last year’s festival was seeing Deer Tick for the first time. I’d fallen for the band’s leader earlier in the year, thanks to his part in one of my favourite albums of last year by a supergroup called Middle Brother (that’s a good one, look it up.)
Deer Tick is a rough and rowdy rock n’ roll band. They’ve got the rockin’ edge thanks to their love of The Replacements and Nirvana. They’ve also got some stellar songs, influenced by John Prine & Buddy Holly. They’ve got this bad-boy party band image that would make The Stones & Aerosmith blush. They’ve also got some great musicians, including a guy from Halifax who used to play with Matt Mays (bonus points.)
This band won over everyone who witnessed one of their sets at the Edmonton festival. Later in the year, they released Divine Providence, a gloriously rough around the edges rock record, which went on to be one of my favourites of the year.
AoM: Del Barber: Headwaters (Six Shooter) *JR
2. JP Hoe: Mannequin (self)
3. Keri Latimer: Crowsfeet and Greyskull (self)
4. Picture the Ocean: Picture the Ocean (self)
5. Tony Denikos: Under the Church (self)
6. Antje Duvekot: New Siberia (self)
You know what dads like? I do. House concerts. It’s true. I’m a dad. I know. See, read this testimonial from an ACTUAL FATHER:
“I love house concerts. There’s nowhere I’d rather be. You get the best up-close entertainment, hang out with great people, and there’s tons of FREE food and beer. What’s not to love about that?” – Jeremy’s dad.
So, with that thought in mind, we’re throwing a party perfect for dads, their families, people who might some day be dads or part of dads’ families, or anybody with a dad at all. We’re family friendly (we’ve got a bunch of kids and a big basement full of toys) and all are welcome, whether you know us yet or not.
It’s a Father’s Day Spectacular, live at the Sunset Saloon, Sunday, June 17, featuring Steven Bowers, free food, beer, and at least one ACTUAL DAD!
Price: negotiable! We’d love for you to give Steven some dough ($15 is a fair amount, but $20’s better, $10 is acceptable, or just be a cheapo and come and eat and drink for FREE! Whatever!)
Time: also negotiable! We’re thinking about doing an early set then a dinner break, then a later set. You can come for the early part and walk out without any guilt, show up later for the free food and stay for the show, or enjoy the afternoon/evening with us and enjoy both – up to you! If feedback dictates that we should just do an early show or a late show, WE WILL! We’re people pleasers like that, so LET US KNOW! (fill out the comment form below or just shoot an email to tellthebandtogohome at gmail dot com.)
We’ll start early and stay late (it is our house, after all.) We’ll serve up dinner, perfect for folks looking to cheap out on Dad’s day! Alternately, you can bring your own grub to share or enjoy yourself or just come before or after whatever else you’d prefer. Wives, kids, friends, relations, strangers, hell, you can even bring your parakeet if dad wants you to!
RSVP? We love it when you do. Knowing that people are going to come lessens my anxiety, but I’m a last-minute decision maker, so we never turn away folks who decide to show up without notice. Even just saying that you might come make it helps, but if not, come on by anyway!
Ice cream? Yes, Jaine’s famous homemade ice cream is a selling feature, but it’s also a LOT of work for her. She hasn’t committed to it yet, but it’s Father’s Day, so I think I might have some extra pull this time. I’ll see what I can do… Be sure to weigh in and increase the pressure if you really want some!
Here’s some more info, in case that sales pitch hasn’t hooked you in already!
In 2009 we christened the Sunset Saloon (my living room) as a place to host amazing shows featuring great artists coming through town (and some who live here) who deserve an intelligent, respectful listening audience. We’ve hosted some greats, as anyone who’s been to a show can attest. One of my favourites of all time was one of the very first, when one of my favourite singer/songwriters in the world, Christina Martin, agreed to come and play for the first time. She was traveling at the time with a young guy from the east coast and asked if he could come and play too. I didn’t know much about him, at the time, but I would have let her bring Beelzebub himself if it meant she’d come and sing for me and my friends.
Luckily, Steven Bowers is only a charming, talented devil, and surely not an evil one. He turned out to be a wonderful discovery with a whole pile of great songs. He’s a thoughtful, literate writer with a delicate voice and a gift with a melody. He’s also got a bunch of great stories and a great personality, so he’s easy to get to know and fall in love with. His songs were great then, but everything he’s put out since then has been leaps and bounds better than the last thing he did. Honestly, I’ve never seen such growth in a songwriter in such a short amount of time. Seriously. He just gets better and better.
He’s on his way across the country to be with his lovely wife who has accepted a job in BC, which has meant too much time apart (a love story! How can you resist a love story!). He’s also got a great album that people need to hear. We’re glad to give him an opportunity to get his songs out to people who need to hear them (that’s YOU!) You can’t go wrong with a house concert, no matter who’s playing, but when it’s someone new and exciting with a promising future, it’s extra enticing.
Whether you saw him in 2009 and enjoyed him then or just want to discover something new and wonderful now, this show’s for you.
You can, if you wish, download his latest wonderful record, Beothuk Words, FREE by visiting: http://www.noisetrade.com/stevenbowers (you can also support the dude by leaving a tip or downloading it from the evil, ubiquitous iTunes store)
Check out this adorable video of Steven with Christina Martin and Jeremy, live at that show in 2009:
The official beautiful video:
Check out this beautiful new video:
or this other nifty recent video:
Fill out the form below to RSVP or send us a note. Whatever info you enter here is emailed directly to me and not made public. If you enter your email, it’s just so we can email you back, but we won’t use your info for any evil purposes.
The info you enter in the fields below will be posted on the site. We’d love to hear from you if you want to encourage other folks to check out the show!
It`s a family affair today as most of my home team comes to visit the station for some extra fun on this gorgeous long weekend. We`ve got requests & dedications, new music, and lots of laughs today.
It`s a family affair today as most of my home team comes to visit the station for some extra fun on this gorgeous long weekend. We`ve got requests & dedications, new music, and lots of laughs today.
2:00 – 2:30 pm
The Warped 45s – Victoria Day – Matador Sunset – CDN
The Warped 45s – Live Bait – Matador Sunset – CDN
Farmer Jason – Take a Hike (w/Mike Mills) – Nature Jams
Jason & The Scorchers – Days of Wine and Roses – Halcyon Times
Hoyt Axton – I Dream of Highways – Life Machine
Hoyt Axton – Snow Blind Friend – Flashes of Fire: Hoyt’s Very Best 1962-1990
Del Barber – Right Side of the Wrong – Headwaters – CDN – WPG
2:30 – 3:00 pm
Old Man Luedecke – The Palace is Golden – My Hands are on Fire and other Love Songs – CDN
First Aid Kit – Emmylou – The Lion’s Roar
Jesse DeNatale – Everywhere I Go – recorded live on UMFM
Jesse DeNatale – Pretty Boy Floyd II – live recording
Matt Epp – She’s High Water – recorded live on UMFM – CDN
Matt Epp and the Amorian Assembly – Never Have I Loved Like This – At Dawn – CDN
3:00 – 3:30 pm
Leeroy Stagger – Enough Love to Go Around – Radiant Land – CDN
Ron Hawkins – One Hundred Five – Straightjacket Love – CDN
Jim Bryson & the Weakerthans – Wild Folk – The Falcon Lake Incident – CDN
Matthew Ryan – Chrome – May Day
Gillian Welch – Hard Times – The Harrow & The Harvest
Steve Earle – Every Part of Me – I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Ken Pinchen – Mid-Century Modern – Mid-Century Modern – CDN – WPG
Hatcher-Briggs – What Yesterday Took – Getting There from Here – CDN – WPG
Garnet Rogers – All That Is – All That Is: The Songs of – CDN
Skydiggers – Northern Shore – Northern Shore – CDN
Skydiggers – Even When You Fall – Road Radio – CDN
Skydiggers – Feel You Closer – Restless – CDN
Upcoming shows aplenty tonight as we preview Woody Guthrie`s 100th Birthday Party, Skydiggers, and a missed oportunity to see Chris Trapper in Winnipeg. Plus, it`s Jesse Winchester`s birthday so a set of his songs as well as some lovely ladies to ease us into Venus Envy.
It’s Mom’s Day today, so we’ll try extra hard to be nice on today’s show. Moms are generous, we know that, so we’ve got some giveaways, including tickets to the upcoming Woody Guthrie 100th Birthday Party and the return of Garnet Rogers! I took my mom to see John Prine last night, and we’re still basking in the glory of his great songs, so a few Prine covers on the show as well as the usual mix of new music, upcoming events, and stuff we just feel like listening to today.
T-Bar’s back and he’s feeling horny tonight, so we’ve got soulful horn-filled songs. We’re also previewing great upcoming shows including tonight’s shows by David Wilcox and JP Hoe, this weekend`s return of John Prine and Dustin Bentall, and much more!
Today we’re joined by our old pal JP Hoe who drops by to play some songs from his new CD, Mannequin, and we chat with Leeroy Stagger, who returns to town to promote his new disc “Radiant Land.” As always, we’ve got plenty of new releases and news as well.
