Here’s the “full” list of shows I attended this year (except, of course, for the ones that I forgot, didn’t write down, or just plain don’t want to tell you about:

Jan. 10- Bebop Cowboys/Nathan-Times Change(d)
Feb. 7 – Pat Dinizio-StuDome
Feb. 8  -Pat Dinizio-Times Change(d)
March 10-Amelia Curran/Luke Doucet – Park
March 14 – Geoff Berner/Bob Wiseman – Ellice Theatre
March 21 – Bonnie Prince Billy – Pyramid
March 25 – Tom Wilson – House concert
March 26 – Slaid Cleaves/Guy Clark – CFRUC
April 3 – The Other Brothers – Park
April 10 – Brock Zeman/Dan Walsh – Sunset Saloon
April 15 – Martin Sexton – Walker
April 17 – Weakerthans/Constantines/Oh Susanna – Walker
April 19 – Wiretap – Art Gallery
April 21 – Melissa McClelland & Jason Plumb – Park
April 30 – Leonard Cohen – MTS Centre
May 1 – Madame Butterfly – Concert Hall
May 14 – Romi Mayes CD Release – Pyramid
May 21 – Nathan/WECC grand opening reception – WECC
May 25 – Hawksley Workman/G.Mac – WECC
May 27 – TTBTGH songwriters’ Circle – WECC
May 29 – Danny Michel – WECC
June 5 – Stephen Fearing – Into the Music
June 13  – Leeroy Stagger – StuDome
June 15 – Coldplay/Snow Patrol – MTS Centre
June 16 – The Watchmen – The Ex
June 18 – Kasey Chambers/Shane Nicholson – Fargo Theatre
June 28 – Jill Barber – WECC
June 30 – Al Green/Dirty Dozen – Concert Hall
July 8 – Royal Wood – Old Market Square
July 8 – Elvis Costello – Folk Fest
July 9-12 – Folk Fest
July 27 – Glen Campbell – McPhillips St. Station
August 2 – John K Samson/Royal Wood/Fred Penner – Gimli Folk Fest
August 7-9 -Trout Forest
August 24 – Liam Titcomb – Forks
August 27 – Christina Martin/Steven Bowers – Sunset Saloon
Sept. 16 – Keane – Walker
Sept. 17 – Ayla Brook/Cuff the Duke – Albert
Sept. 19 – Cohenfest – The Cyrk
Sept. 21 – Leeroy Stagger – StuDome
Sept. 24 – The Hold Steady – WECC
Sept. 24 – Two Hours Traffic – The Albert
Sept. 30 – Elliott BROOD/Wooden Sky – WECC
Oct. 1 – Gaslight Anthem – Garrick
Oct. 2 – Jesse DeNatale – Park
Oct. 6 – Two Hours Traffic – Music Trader
Oct. 24 – Paul Quarrington tribute – Harbourfront (Toronto)
Oct. 24 – Skydiggers – Glen Gould Theatre (Toronto)
Nov. 5 – Mike Plume Band – Times Change(d)
Nov. 10 – Justin Rutledge/Melissa McClelland – WECC
Nov. 13 – Skydiggers – WECC
Nov. 15 – Michael Johnston – Sunset Saloon
Nov. 18 – Joshua Cockerill – Pyramid
Nov. 25 – Royal Wood/Rose Cousins – Park
Nov. 27 – Kelly Hughes Live w/Stu – Aqua Books
Nov. 27 – Silver Creek – The Standard
Nov. 28 – Billy Bragg/Ron Hawkins – Walker
Dec. 5 – Fish & Bird – The Cyrk
Dec. 6 – Sunparlour Players – Folk Exchange
Dec. 18 – Danny Michel – WECC
Dec. 19 – JP Hoe Holiday Show – Park

Well friends, the holidays are just about over as many of us head back to the real world on Monday. With that in mind, there’s still time for one last super-sized music extravaganza this Sunday. And, because the calendar wasn’t kind to us on Thursdays this year, we haven’t yet had a chance for our Steel Belted marathon of silliness. So, this weekend, we combine ‘em both into one action packed show.

We’ll be on this Sunday from 12-5, and T-Bar and KK are expected to drop in. We’ll have “Best of” lists and music aplenty, as well as some memories of some stuff that we might rather forget.

Speaking of the “Best of” we’ve still got a stack of Best of 2009 CDs here. The folks who responded to the survey should have theirs now (well, almost all of ‘em, anyway), but we’re still glad to send a few more out into the world. Either fill out the survey and LEAVE YOUR NAME (http://www.tellthebandtogohome.com/survey.htm), or, just respond to this email, call in during the show, take out a billboard, whatever works for you. For those who might not be aware, every year for the past 8 years I compile a CD (two, actually) of some of my favourite music of the year, as well as some live on UMFM recordings and some other fun stuff, as my gift to you. If you’re an iPod/.mp3 listener, we’ve got the full thing on one handy CD, or you can download the entire package at your leisure. Whatever suits you, just let me know and it’s yours to enjoy! If you know anyone who might like in on that, just ask for an extra copy or let me know who to send one to and we’ll make it so.

Hope you can join us for some fun this Sunday. Drop me a line any time. Thanks for being out there,

Jeff



Merry Christmas, happy days off, enjoy your life, or whatever greeting you prefer!

I’ve been having a wonderful Christmas so far with my family, and I hope that you are doing the same with friends & family that you love (or at least that you can tolerate once a year, anyway).

A couple of quick notices:

1) Tell the Band to Go Home is Super-Sized for the holidays this Sunday (and next) when we run from 12-5 pm central time. I’ve got a few ideas for how to fill the time this week, but I’m always open to suggestion, so do let me know if you’ve got any to offer.

2) Steel Belted Radio is pre-empted tonight (obviously) and next Thursday, but we’ll be back in action in the new year!

3) The long-awaited Best of 2009 compilations are ready! Finally! Some of you have requested CD copies, and I’ll get those to you as soon as I can, but in the meantime we’ve got the digital download versions ready to load into iTunes or your .mp3 player or whatever you use. Of course, those files will be available on CD as well (soon), so if you want to wait for that, we’ll get back to you soon with details on how you can get yours.
If you haven’t requested a copy yet, get in touch! Better yet, fill out the survey (link below) and request a copy that way!

If you wish to download the compilations and information yourself, I will email you links to the .zip files. I’ve already sent those out to the folks who previously requested it or expressed interest so if you don’t have that link, I either forgot/messed up (entirely possible) or you haven’t dropped me a line lately. Let’s fix that, ok?

Whatever you celebrate, do it safely, and do it with love and great music. Hope to hear from you soon, but I’ll be in touch in the next little while…

All the best to you & yours,

Jeff

Hi Friends,

I’ve been so overwhelmed by the great, thoughtful feedback I’ve received from the folks who have responded to my listener survey I mentioned earlier in the week. I really value your comments and suggestions, and will do my best to make the show as interesting and relevant to you, but I need to know what you like and what you want. The responses are surprising, enlightening, and oh so interesting. I’d love it if a few more of you took a moment to fill it out. I promise to get Best of CDs out to survey respondents first (ok, as part of the very first wave, anyway), and with any luck, that will be very soon, so get your responses in. I’m also going to put together a few CDs to give away to a couple of lucky folks who fill out the survey, so leave contact info if you want in on either of those deals. The survey can be done anonymously and all questions are optional.

If you have a few moments, please visit the following site:
http://www.tellthebandtogohome.com/survey.htm

Any feedback (even negative) is VERY helpful and MUCH appreciated. The goal is to give you more of what YOU want, so here’s your chance to speak up.

Thanks, now back to work on those CDs…

The staff at TTBTGH is hard at work putting together this year’s Best of compilation, and that, as well as the end of a year and looking forward to a new one, has us looking back and wondering how we can make things even more useful and interesting for you, the listener. Before we put it all together, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Of course, you’re welcome to email or call us any old time, but we (who the heck is we… who am I trying to impress? I’m a one-man operation.) have also designed an easy survey that you can fill out anonymously if you like, so that we know what you would like on the show and what you think of the compilations.

If you have a few moments, please visit the following site:
http://www.tellthebandtogohome.com/survey.htm

Any feedback (even negative) is VERY helpful and MUCH appreciated. The goal is to give you more of what YOU want, so here’s your chance to speak up.

Thanks, we’ll (uh, I mean, I’ll) get back to you soon when the compilation is ready.

Greetings friends,

It’s this time of year that I start thinking about my annual “Best of” compilations and going through my favourite songs & CDs of the year. There have been plenty of good ones, so there’s no shortage of material. I also start looking back on the guests who have appeared live on the program for that compilation. We’ve had some pretty stellar live guests this year, but I was a little bit worried that I wouldn’t have a whole lot for that compilation. I don’t agressively chase interviews & live performers as much as I used to, so there haven’t been as many guests as in some previous years. I didn’t want to let you down, though, so I’ve been hard at work securing some GREAT live guests in the near future, including this week’s Tell the Band to Go Home, which promises to be one of the best of the year.

First up is a guy who is quite honestly the most important songwriter in my life, Ron Hawkins of The Lowest of the Low. I live and breathe great songwriters and have done so, ever since I heard Ron’s songs. I was already a big music fan, but I had no idea how powerful a truly great song could be until I heard an album called Shakespeare My Butt in 1992 (at least, I think it was ’92…). The melodies and the music fit right in with the stuff I loved on the radio, but there was something about Hawkins’ lyrics that seemed like they were written for me. I understood them. I felt like I lived some of them. I laughed, I was moved, but most of all, I was motivated to hear more great music that I wasn’t hearing on the radio. That band has continued to be a cornerstone of my musical existence, and I suppose they always will. In 2005 I was lucky enough to have Ron & Stephen Stanley from the band come into the studio, and it was a very intimidating experience, but one that turned out to be one of my favourite interviews of all time. They were intelligent, interesting, and I don’t think I embarassed myself too much. They even liked the interview, so much so that they took a copy and have several times suggested that when they eventually get around to rereleasing Shakespeare My Butt, our interview will be included as a bonus (the rumour mill is buzzing that it will happen soon… I won’t hold my breath.) The Low took another long hiatus a couple of years ago, but Ron Hawkins is not one to retire. He’s been active and making some of the best music of his career. His new album 10 Kinds of Lonely is a gem. It’s a more country/rootsy kind of affair, but it contains the same lyrical genius that changed my life so long ago. Hawkins describes it as “Songs about dead-ends, deadbeats and deadmen… Tunes about whiners, piners and miners…Ditties about dust bowls, watering holes and lost souls…” and what more could you want from a collection of songs. Ron Hawkins makes his long, long awaited return to Winnipeg next Saturday, opening for the legendary Billy Bragg. I’m very excited to be speaking with Ron on the phone this Sunday about it all. Please join me.

And he’s just the opening act. Following that, joining us live, IN-STUDIO after that is one of the most exciting, interesting, original live bands in this country or any other, Sunparlour Players. Those guys came to our attention a few years ago when they opened for another band that fits that description, Elliott BROOD at the West End. Sunparlour Players get a lot of comparisons to the BROOD (they’re both trios, both primarily acoustic, both write some pretty country songs about death & other touching topics, and both can REALLY rock out live). However, don’t go see this band expecting to hear Elliott BROOD v.2.0, beause they are an entity unto themselves. There’s something so powerful about leader Andrew Penner’s vocals and Dobro guitar, and drummer Rosie is one of the most entertaining stickmen I’ve ever come across. Multi instrumentalist Dennis rounds out the trio in fine style. All three are expected to join us for some songs & conversation this Sunday. Trust me folks, this band is the real deal. Get your tickets NOW to see them Dec. 6 at Folk Exchange, because after they play live on the radio this Sunday, the word will be out and the rush for tickets will be on.

And that’s just Sunday. We’ve got even more guests lined up for Thursday on Steel Belted Radio, so mark your calendars, set your alarms, do what you have to do, but don’t miss these episodes.

New music, considerations for Best Of lists, upcoming shows, classics, stories, etc. etc., you’ll get it all this Sunday, so tune in!

Just a quick note to tell you about some exciting guests on this week’s edition of Tell the Band to Go Home:

This Sunday night at The Park Theatre there’s a great benefit show called Babes for Breasts (http://www.babesforbreasts.com) (easy T-Bar, it’s not that kind of show…) featuring some great female singer/songwriters raising awareness and money for breast cancer research. One of the babes is a singer/songwriter who I’ve had on my radar for a couple of years because of some great projects she’s put out. Her name is Amy Campbell (http://www.amycampbell.ca), and she seems like such a great person and a talented artist that I know we’re going to love her. She’s going to drop by the studio to chat and sing us a few songs and talk about this great event.

Also, we’ll talk to the legendary leader of Junkhouse, member of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, solo artist, and now leader of Lee Harvey Osmond, Tom Wilson. He’s bringing the Lee Harvey Osmond (http://latentrecordings.com/leeharveyosmond/) collective to the West End this week, and I know that’s going to be an amazing show. I also know that Tom has a million stories and a lot to say, and I’m really excited to be talking to him for, believe it or not, the very first time on the air.

And the usual new music, pointless chat, as well as me bragging about the trip I am going on next weekend!

As if that weren’t exciting enough, we have some very special guests lined up for Thursday on Steel Belted Radio as well. I’ve learned the power of suggestion and the old “ask and ye shall receive” policy, and lucked into a special in-studio guest, as well as a fun phoner that I know we’ll enjoy. I’ll give you more details on TTBTGH and in a few days through this list.

Hope you can join us!