Fresh back from a road trip down south, I’m in the mood to rock out a bit, and that’s what this episode is pretty much all about.
Steel Belted Radio – April 7, 2011
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April 17, 2011
It’s Record Store Day/Damnwells weekend, so we’re out of town and lovin’ it, but not to worry, we’ve got your usual Sunday goodness pre-recorded for your listening pleasure. We got off to a start with some Tom Waits songs, for no real reason, before settling in for a good long set of rockin’ good tunes. We also preview a few great upcoming shows including the Japan benefit featuring Keri Latimer, Greg Macpherson, and Ridley Bent, as well as the CD release for the new album by Matt Epp, and next week’s return of an old friend.
Let’s bring Depression out of the shadows
After reading some emails in response to John Bottomley’s untimely death by suicide, as well as the brilliant piece on Roots Music Canada I’m even more moved and inspired. Bottomley’s death had that sad, silent feeling to it that he’d been claimed by the awful disease that is depression, and I was sorry to find out that my fears were true.
I’ve spent a lot of time down that long, lonely road that eventually took John. I’ve never talked publicly about that. The nature of depression is that you feel totally alone, but the reality is that those of us afflicted, clearly, are not.
The RMC post says that for artists “depression is almost an occupational hazard,” and that is probably true. It certainly feeds into much of the great art that is created. I talk to a lot of great musicians who kind of dance around the subject, but don’t often get into how they’ve been affected and how it comes out in their art.
Personally, I’d like to have John Bottomley’s death lead to something productive, something meaningful, and something that has the potential to do a lot of good. His last CD contains the inscription, “Music has a healing power.” Let’s have some musicians and music lovers channel that power. John doesn’t have to be the poster boy, by any means, but the impetus for something good.
Perhaps if John knew that he wasn’t alone and many of us knew EXACTLY what he was going through, things would have been different.
Perhaps if he had a forum to discuss his struggles and put a voice to it, he would feel better
Perhaps if he knew that telling his story might help someone else who was struggling, he would have felt that he was doing something important (which, of course, he already was, but in the thankless job of a brilliant, under-appreciated Canadian songwriter, he obviously lost track of that.)
Sharing these stories helps remove the stigma, gets this HUGELY widespread problem out in the open, and has the great potential to greatly impact the person telling it and to reach someone who might feel all alone.
I’d really like to be part of something that gets talented and creative people (and at least one non-talented, non-creative, but very passionate campus radio dj) talking about this. I think that knowing that some of us have some public visibility and have managed to “succeed” (survive) with depression might help someone, somewhere.
Can I (we?) do something? A website? Videos? Write something?
If you want to steal that idea and run with it, please do. I’m glad to help. If you have ideas or assistance to offer, let’s talk. I’ll keep thinking on it and try to get something going if nobody beats me to it.
Hopefully, if there is any good that can come out of a loss like this, it is that maybe we can give a little bit more visibility to this deadly , all-too-common condition which claims so many, yet is so rarely spoken about.
Episode #386 Sunday, April 10, 2011
This one felt like such a busy show, yet we only managed to play 4 artists in 2 hours – I don’t think we’ve ever done that before! We had to pay tribute to the late, great John Bottomley, who left us this week, but left behind a lot of great music. RIP. We look forward to my trip to finally see the Damnwells live, and we were joined in-studio by Taylor Ashton of hot up-and-coming roots band Fish & Bird to chat about their great new record and upcoming shows.
Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist
2:00pm – 2:30pm
Christina Martin – Subject to Change – I Can Too – CDN
John Bottomley – You Lose and You Gain – Blackberry – CDN
John Bottomley – With a Little Help from Heaven – The Healing Dream – CDN
John Bottomley – Lion Is the Child – Raggle Taggle – CDN
John Bottomley – The Way I Feel – Songs with the Ornamental Hermits – CDN
John Bottomley – Klee Wyck – Blackberry – CDN
2:30 – 3:00 pm
John Bottomley – She Is Mine – Blackberry – CDN
John Bottomley – Sarah Whitehead (The Bank Nun) – Songs with the Ornamental Hermits – CDN
John Bottomley – The Fire of Love – The Healing Dream – CDN
Angela & Alex Dezen – Coming Home Tonight – Sweet Water Child ~ Lullabies For Getty
The Damnwells – I Will Keep the bad Things from You – Bastards of the Beat
The Damnwells – She’s The New York City Skyline – demo
3:00 – 3:30 pm
The Damnwells – Everything – One Last Century
The Damnwells – She Goes Around – No One Listens to the Band Anymore
The Damnwells – The Sound – Bastards of the Beat
The Damnwells – Golden Days – Air Stereo
Fish & Bird – Well Run Dry – Every Whisper Is a Shout across the Void – CDN
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Taylor Ashton (Fish & Bird) interview
Fish & Bird – Winnipeg – Every Whisper Is a Shout across the Void – CDN
Fish & Bird – Circle Tune – Every Whisper Is a Shout across the Void – CDN
April 3, 2011
Episode #385 Sunday, April 3, 2011
What an action-packed show today, featuring live performances by Catherine MacLellan and a chat with her and her chauffeur, Del Barber! We also heard some great new music, as well as some tales from the road.
Artist – Song title – Album Title – CDN=Canadian – WPG=Winnipeg artist
2:00pm – 2:30pm
Fearing & White – Heart o’ the Morning – recorded live on UMFM – CDN
Catherine MacLellan – Isabel’s Song – Water in the Ground – CDN
Catherine MacLellan – Too Easy – Church Bell Blues – CDN
Catherine MacLellan – Take a Break – Water in the Ground – CDN
Del Barber – Home to Manitoba – Love Songs for the Last 20 – CDN – WPG
Catherine MacLellan – Water in the Ground – Water in the Ground – CDN
2:30 – 3:00 pm
Catherine MacLellan and Del Barber interview
Catherine MacLellan – Not Much to Do (Not Much to Say) – Water in the Ground – CDN
Catherine MacLellan – Trickle Down Rain – live performance – CDN
Catherine MacLellan – What Is True Love – live performance – CDN
3:00 – 3:30 pm
Catherine MacLellan – The Same Way Again – live performance – CDN
Del Barber – Songwriter’s Lament – Love Songs for the Last 20 – CDN – WPG
Steve Earle – Waitin’ on the Sky – I’ll Never Get out of This World Alive
Lucinda Williams – Blessed – Blessed
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Kirsten Jones – There’s a Right Way to Break my Heart – The Mad Mile – CDN
The Decemberists – Rox in the Box – The King Is Dead
Tim O’Reagan – These Things – Tim O’Regan
The Band – It Makes No Difference – A Musical History – CDN
Martyn Joseph – Call It Democracy – Run to Cover
James McMurtry in Minneapolis
Back in January, I somehow convinced Jaine to drive all the way to Chicago to see our pal Del Barber open for the great James McMurtry because, as I said at the time, “he never comes so close to Winnipeg.” Thanks to James for at least waiting until 2 days after we returned from that (insane) trip to announce a Minneapolis show. When he did announce said show, it was billed as being with The Bottle Rockets, a full band electrified show (Chicago was solo acoustic) and it was on Spring Break. How could we say no?
So, we loaded up the van and trekked down to Minneapolis to see the show at The 400 Bar in Minneapolis on April 1, 2011. It was pretty amazing, despite the cramped, noisy, dingy venue.
Want proof? Check out the evidence below:
Wish you were there? We wish you had come too. Hear what you missed with our exclusive noisy lo-fi bootleg of the ENTIRE show! Download it and pretend that you’re rocking out in the comfort of your very own home, car, workplace, prison cell, etc. It’s noisy as all get out, and not edited or fixed up in a dignified way, but hey, had you shown up, I’m sure you could have done a better job!
Choctaw Bingo:
Levelland:
The Lights of Cheyenne:
TTBTGH remembers John Bottomley
Sometimes Facebook can be a good thing, because it really is a good way to keep informed, but sometimes you learn things that really bring you down. Such was the case when I read that one of our great, underappreciated songwriters, John Bottomley has died. There isn’t much real info to be found, but we’ll update you if we hear more. I have to pay some small tribute on the radio tomorrow. I only wish that he could be on the show to speak for himself. I meant to book an interview, it’s been on my list for weeks, but never got around to it. I’m not feeling good about that at all.
If you haven’t already, check out John’s music. He has a “new” album that came out a while ago called “The Healing Dream,” and it’s great. His 1995 CD “Blackberry” remains one of the finest CDs I’ve ever heard. It’s in elite company as one of those very rare albums where I love every song, every moment. It’s even more rare that I can find an album that appeals to everybody. When I have people over and I want something that’ll please everybody, it’s one of only a few discs that I’ll grab – and I’ve got a hell of a lot to choose from. We all know that Colin Linden is a masterful musician, writer, and producer, and in my opinion, probably his fnest playing and production is on Blackberry. It’s a masterpiece, and it was just the tip of the iceberg.
if you’re looking to hear one of the most amazing albums of all time, and make your life a lot better, please consider buying this album: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bottomley4 or on itunes
I think I’ve been pretty good about telling musicians how much the music means to me. I hope you all know that your talent and passion is appreciated – no, never by enough people, and the rewards sometimes don’t seem to justify the effort, but the world needs great art. You’re all important and all of it means something to somebody.
In no particular order, and for no other particular reason, thanks to: Del Barber, Christina Martin, John Wort Hannam, Jory Nash, Alex Dezen, Matthew Ryan, John K Samson, Ron Hawkins/Stephen Stanley & The Lowest of the Low, Bidini/Tielli/Veseley/Clark/Kerr/MPW & Rheostatics, Keri Latimer & Nathan, Michael Johnston, Oh Susanna, Jim Bryson, Kathleen Edwards, NQ Arbuckle, Madison Violet, Fearing/Linden/Wilson & Blackie, Leeroy Stagger, Skydiggers, The Cash Brothers, Mike Plume, Lynn Miles, etc. etc. etc.
FAR #140
Artist: Album (Label) *JR
AoM: Keith Mullins: Localmotive Farm (self) JR
2. Geoff Berner: Victory Party (Mint)
3. Steve Dawson: Nightshade (Black Hen)
4. The Decemberists: The King Is Dead (Capitol)
5. Lucinda Williams: Blessed (Lost Highway)
6. Bobby Long: A Winter Tale (ATO)
Sunday, April 3, 2011 – Catherine MacLellan, live in-studio!
Ever since we heard Catherine MacLellan’s amazing album Church Bell Blues a few years ago, she’s been one of our favourites. We had the chance to speak with her on the phone a while back, but this weekend, we’re expecting to meet her and hear her play live on Tell the Band to Go Home! Surprisingly, this will be our first live guest of 2011, and the first performer in our fancy new studio, so this should be great!
Tune in this Sunday, 2-4 pm to hear Catherine MacLellan, LIVE!