Episode #494 Sunday, May 5, 2013

Today we hear from one of my all-time favourite artists and very favourite people, David Francey, about his amazing new album, its inspiration, and plans for the future. We’ve also got some fantastic new music and a couple of can’t-miss concerts to preview.

Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist

2:00 – 2:30 pm

David Francey – So Say We All – So Say We All – CDN
Easily Amused – Social Song – Novice – CDN – WPG
D. Rangers – Social Season – The Paw-Paw Patch – CDN – WPG
Luther Wright & The Wrongs – Darlin’ – Guitar Pickin’ Martyrs – CDN
Ridley Bent – Faded Red Hoodie – Buckles & Boots – CDN – WPG
Tannis Slimmon – In and Out of Harmony – In and Out of Harmony – CDN

2:30 – 3:00 pm

David Francey – Pandora’s Box – So Say We All – CDN
David Francey – Rain – So Say We All – CDN
David Francey – Long Brown Hair – The Late Edition – CDN
David Francey – The Waking Hour – The Waking Hour – CDN
David Francey – Border Line – Torn Screen Door – CDN

3:00 – 3:30 pm

Matt Epp + The Amorian Assembly – Hold Me – Learning to Lose Control – CDN
Matt Epp + The Amorian Assembly – When You Know – Learning to Lose Control – CDN
Jason Isbell – Traveling Alone – Southeastern
Gregory Alan Isakov – Saint Valentine – The Weatherman
Ben Kyle – Simple Life – Ben Klye

3:30 – 4:00 pm

Ben Kyle – The Dark (Featuring Ryan Adams) – Ben Kyle Sampler
Ben Kyle & Carrie Rodriguez – Your Lonely Heart – We Still Love Our Country
Paul Kelly & The Stormwater Boys – They Thought I Was Asleep – Foggy Highway
Paul Kelly and The Messengers – Everything Is Turning to White – So Much Water So Close to Home
Paul Kelly – Other People’s Houses – A to Z
Paul Kelly – If I Could Start Today Again – …Nothing But a Dream
Paul Kelly – You’re 39, You’re Beautiful, and You’re Mine – Stolen Apples

90s Hitmakers ODDS, live @ Sunset Saloon, June 28!

If you listened to rock radio or turned on Much Music in the 90s, you know this band’s songs, but unlike some of the other bands you heard a million times, you liked these ones, and they hold up very well 20 years later!

Odds

Backyard Bash (weather permitting) (Westwood, Winnipeg)
Friday, June 28
7:30 pm
Suggested donation $20-25 (price flexible, all proceeds to this legendary band)
Bring a lawn chair if the weather is nice (perhaps bug spray…), and/or a drink for yourself, and/or a snack to share, but we’ve always got plenty of all of those on hand!
All are welcome (bring the kids, friends, family, people off the street, whatever)
Questions? RSVP? Fill out the contact form below!
Forward this to a friend!

Also check out:
Joshua Cockerill (Animal Parts) @ Sunset Saloon, June 21!
Shannon Lyon @ Sunset Saloon, July 6!

The plan is to have an intimate, rockin’ bash in the back yard. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we will have a stripped down, more acoustic set indoors, where seating will be much more limited. If we need to cut down the guest list due to a move indoors, first responders and people who PAY IN ADVANCE will get preferred admission!

Odds hits are the soundtrack to many music lovers’ experiences in the 90s. Smash hits included “Love Is the Subject,” “Heterosexual Man,” “Eat My Brain,” “It Falls Apart,” “Jackhammer,” and the #1 hit, “Someone Who’s Cool.” The band played a big part in this history of The Kids in the Hall (and the Kids starred in a couple of very memorable music videos (see them again below). They toured as the backing band for the legendary late, great Warren Zevon (who guested on “Jackhammer”) and extensively with Barenaked Ladies and The Tragically Hip. After the 90s hits, the band went on hiatus and lead singer Craig Northey went on to a solo career, as well as to tour with Kids in the Hall, record and tour with Colin James, as Strippers Union (including Rob Baker from The Tragically Hip, backed up by Odds rhythm section), and as half of Northey Valenzuela, who were responsible for the beginning and ending themes for CTV’s classic comedy “Corner Gas.”

The band regrouped without original singer/guitarist Steven Drake, capably replaced by Murray Atkinson, in 2008. Their album “Cheerleader,” was a return to form. The recently released a very strong EP, “The Most Beautiful Place on Earth,” which proves that this is more than just a nostalgia trip, this is the return of a band that sounds as vital and exciting as ever!

The band was named the Vancouver Canucks ‘house band’ of the 2010 and 2011 NHL playoffs. Odds performed the theme music to the CBC/IFC television series The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town. They backed up Elvis Costello and Randy Bachman on Hockey Night in Canada!

To say that these guys are highly successful would be a major understatement. To see this band in an intimate house concert setting is an opportunity of a lifetime, and is not to be missed!

Special thanks to Romi Mayes at Sure Shot Bookings for making this amazing dream come true!

Leave a comment for the world to see below!:

Shannon Lyon @ Sunset Saloon, July 6!

Shannon Lyon
Outdoor house concert
July 6, 2013
7:00
Suggested donation $15-20 (price flexible, all proceeds to a talented musician making his way across this vast country)
Bring a lawn chair if the weather is nice (perhaps bug spray…), and/or a drink for yourself, and/or a snack to share, but we’ve always got plenty of all of those on hand!
All are welcome (bring the kids, friends, family, people off the street, whatever)
Questions? RSVP? Fill out the contact form below!
Forward this to a friend!

Also check out:
Joshua Cockerill (Animal Parts) @ Sunset Saloon, June 21!
Odds @ Sunset Saloon, June 28!

Last year I was thrilled to welcome one of my all-time favourite singer/songwriters to my house, as Shannon Lyon returned to Canada after a lengthy absence for a cross-Canada tour, making stops in several out-of-the-way locations, including some joker’s back yard! Hearing some of my all time favourite songs in my own backyard was a dream come true, and everyone who attended raved about the show afterward.

Well, we’re excited to welcome Shannon back again this year! Once again, he prefers to play outside (weather depending), so you may wish to bring a favourite lawn chair, or take advantage of whatever’s on hand here.

For those unfamiliar (you poor souls), Shannon Lyon is a Canadian musician and singer-songwriter. Born in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada, Lyon began his musical career in Kitchener, Ontario in the early 90’s forming his first band Strange Days (1990-1993) recording one album entitled ‘Life Aint Easy’ produced by Nelson McCrossan. During this time Lyon also started his low-key solo career and released his first solo studio album entitled ‘Buffalo White’ in 1994 which was recorded by friend Bill Braun. 

Since 1994 Lyon has released ten studio albums and has received critical acclaim and commercial success in Europe, North America and Australia.

Lyon was the first Canadian signed to Richard Branson’s post Virgin Records label V2 in 2004(becoming label mates with The White Stripes and Paul Weller) with the release of the critically acclaimed album ‘Wandered’  which was recorded in a 17th century farmhouse in the south of Holland with Dutch producer Bj Baartmans. Wandered was released in Australia on Collision records and in Europe on Inbetweens Records. 

In 2003 Lyon signed with Canadian Roots label Busted Flat Records (Matt Anderson, Jay Semko, Paul MacLeod), a roots music label founded in 2002 by Mark Logan and based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Busted Flat has released 5 of Lyon’s albums to date. (Bound, Safe Inside, Someday Mourning, El Sol, and Broken Things).

Lyon moved to Holland in 2000 and spent the better part of a decade living and touring in Spain, Germany, France and The Netherlands.

Lyon is currently located in Canada.

(Lyon has toured and shared the stage in Europe, Australia, USA and Canada with such artists as Lucinda Williams, Richard Buckner, Jay Farrar, Ray LaMontagne, Blue Rodeo and Bruce Cockburn).


When I hear Shannon, I hear the rhythms of the Midnight Cowboy, the 
harmonies of an earth-bound angel, the acoustic guitar that knows the pain 
of a heart, the steel guitar that stirs the lonely and restless lovers. But 
most of all I hear the voice that echoes Earle, Farrar and Buckner, a voice 
that haunts you like a heavy fog on a barren field on a cool October 
morning.
Bob Egan (Blue Rodeo, Wilco)

Some highlights from last year’s show:

More Shannon:

 

Episode #493 Sunday, April 28, 2013

Spring has finally sprung, so we’re in the mood for a celebration, and what better way to celebrate than with some great music? We’ve got lots of great new releases, a look back at some great shows from the previous week, and a few old favourites. On a less joyful note, George Jones died this week, so paying tribute to one of the greatest singers of all time is a must. Rest in peace, Possum.

Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist

2:00 – 2:30 pm

Greg Brown – Spring Wind – If I Had Known:Essential Recordings 1980-1996
Greg Brown – If I Had Known – If I Had Known:Essential Recordings 1980-1996
Jackie Greene – About Cell Block No. 9 – Sweet Somewhere Bound
Eliza Gilkyson – Wonderland – Land Of Milk And Honey
David Myles – Cape Breton – On the Line – CDN
Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans – Metal Girls – The Falcon Lake Incident – CDN
Brandi Carlile & Emmylou Harris – Take Me Home, Country Roads – The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver

2:30 – 3:00 pm

Steve Earle & The Dukes (& Duchesses) – After Mardi Gras – The Low Highway
The Good Family – Taller than the Pines – The Good Family Album – CDN
Luke Winslow-King – The Coming Tide – The Coming Tide
Kim Richey – Breakaway Speed (w/Jason Isbell) – Thorn in my Heart
Dar Williams – I Am the One Who Will Remember Everything – In the Time of Gods
Scott Nolan – My My Hey Hey – Montgomery Eldorado – CDN – WPG
Ridley Bent – Suicidewinder – Blam – CDN – WPG
Ridley Bent – Zombies – Skeleton Crew – CDN – WPG

3:00 – 3:30 pm

Rob Vaarmeyer – Cadavra – Poster Child – CDN – WPG
Townes Van Zandt – Brother Flower (w/Kimmie Rhodes) – Legend
Jesse Winchester – Eulalie – Live From Mountain Stage
Buddy Miller – A Showman’s Life – Midnight And Lonesome
Buddy Miller – Nothing Can Stop Me – Poison Love
Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels – That’s All It Took – Live 1973
George Jones – He Stopped Loving Her Today – Love Songs

3:30 – 4:00 pm

George Jones – Walk Through This World With Me – All-Time Greatest Hits Vol. 1
Ridley Bent – She Thinks I Still Care – Rabbit on my Wheel – CDN – WPG
Drive-By Truckers – George Jones Talkin’ Cell Phone Blues – The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities And Rarities 2003-2008)
Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors – Wine We Drink – Bonnaroo NoiseTrade Sampler
The Milk Carton Kids – Memphis – The Ash & Clay
Doug Paisley – Two Like Us – Golden Embers – CDN
Andy Sheppard – Farewell to Winter – Live at Smash! – CDN

April 21, 2013

Always a pleasure to catch up with a couple of my favourite people and musicians, both of whom are coming to town this week, Christina Martin and Ruth Moody. Christina stops by The Sunset Saloon next Sunday while Ruth Moody stops in at home on Thursday night. Both ladies have wonderful latest albums and both are great to talk to. A real treat. Also, yesterday was Record Store Day and as usual I came home with a bag full of new tunes, so we had to spin some of those as well as a few new releases. Busy show!

playlist
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Episode #492 Sunday, April 21, 2013

Always a pleasure to catch up with a couple of my favourite people and musicians, both of whom are coming to town this week, Christina Martin and Ruth Moody. Christina stops by The Sunset Saloon next Sunday while Ruth Moody stops in at home on Thursday night. Both ladies have wonderful latest albums and both are great to talk to. A real treat. Also, yesterday was Record Store Day and as usual I came home with a bag full of new tunes, so we had to spin some of those as well as a few new releases. Busy show!

Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist

2:00 – 2:30 pm

Scott Nolan – Nobody Lives Here Anymore – Montgomery Eldorado – CDN – WPG
Ray Ullenboom – Don’t Tell the Band to Go Home – March 2013 – CDN – WPG
Mike Plume – Coming Home Again (Hey Hey What D’Ya Say) – Red And White Blues – CDN
Shannon Lyon – Blue Flowers – LIVE from Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands (2011) – CDN
Ben Kyle & Carrie Rodriguez – If I Needed You – We Still Love our Country

2:30 – 3:00 pm

Rose Cousins – What I See – We Have Made a Spark – CDN
Elliott BROOD – Northern Air – Days Into Years – CDN
Whitehorse – Lipstick – Record Store Day single – CDN
Calexico – Two Silver Trees – Spiritoso
Tift Merritt – Real Good on my Own – Markings
Jackie Greene – Love Is A Shining Catastrophe – Record Store Day Digital Download
Randy Travis w/The Avett Brothers – Three Wooden Crosses – Music from CMT Crossroads

3:00 – 3:30 pm

Christina Martin – Falling for You – Sleeping with a Stranger – CDN

Christina Martin interview

Christina Martin – This Kind of Pain – Sleeping with a Stranger – CDN
Dale Murray – The Grove – Dream Mountain Dream – CDN

3:30 – 4:00 pm

Ruth Moody – These Wilder Things – These Wilder Things – CDN – WPG

Ruth Moody interview

Ruth Moody – Trouble and Woe – These Wilder Things – CDN – WPG
The Wailin’ Jennys – Asleep at Last – Bright Morning Stars – CDN – WPG

April 14, 2013

I’ve done a lot of interviews over the past 12 or 13 years, but very few as moving, interesting, and memorable as today’s chat. And it’s with a guy that we’ve talked to many times before, Scott Nolan, who called us from the snowy road on the way back home after a marathon tour with Mary Gauthier. Thursday marks the premiere of his new documentary film, Chasing a Song. Besides that, we’ve got some upcoming shows and show news, and still a bit of time for some interesting new releases.

playlist
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Steel Belted Radio – April 11, 2013

I’m still buzzing after a couple of AMAZING house concerts this week, so a few moments from those, as well as some house concert dreams and some hot new music.

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April 7, 2013

Wasn’t that a party? Corin Raymond & The Sundowners came to town to celebrate the release of Paper Nickels, and I was there for 2 out of the 3 shows. Magical. The project aims to expose great underappreciated songs & writers, so in true folk detective style, we’ve got some of the many songs that Corin played and recommended, as well as some friends and colleagues. On a more sombre note, this weekend marks the anniversary of the death of the late great John Bottomley, as well as the star-studded tribute to another great musician gone too soon, Jay Smith.

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Steel Belted Radio – April 4, 2013

A look behind the scenes as we’re joined by a couple of folks behind one of the most amazing and inspiring projects in a long time, Corin Raymond & Rob Vaarmeyer. They were the guiding forces behind Corin’s “Paper Nickels” project which collects together some amazing, underappreciated songs from across the nation.

Playlist
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