Interview with Julie Lan of Pop Champagne (Summer Special 2012)

After three weeks of airing the Nat & Marie interview on CKCU-FM as part of the Summer social media edition of the radio show. A new interview was aired and it’s more on the fashion and blogging side of things. I had the opportunity to chat with Julie Lan of Pop Champagne. The topics dealt were about blogging and a bit of fashion. Doing this kind of interview is different than covering music related topics. It’s a challenge to branching out into unique themes.

August 1st Update:
New month and summer is half-way done. On the radio show, the second part to the Pop Champagne aired and a certain cartoon theme was played. It was the theme to the Japanese version of Transformers called Transformers: The Headmasters. If you’re wondering about the Japanese theme song, here’s the link via YouTube. As usual, the Wild 10 Countdown is continuing throughout the Summer. Japandroids is still number one on the countdown.

August 28, 2012 Update
The previous radio shows are posted at the other blog.
The August 15 edition – Click here.
The August 22 edition – Click here.

August 29, 2012 Update
This is the second last Summer edition. One more left and a new blog entry will be back.
The August 29th edition – Click here.

Audio/Interview
The July 25th Radio Show – Playlist is at this link. Press play to listen.

The August 1st Radio Show – Playlist is at this link. Press play to listen.

The interview with Julie Lan of Pop Champagne.

The August 8th Radio Show – Playlist is at this link. Press play to listen.

Interview With Nat & Marie (Summer Special 2012)

The Summer edition for 2012 brings you the interview with Nat & Marie. After avoiding and being negative towards Canada’s largest city known as Toronto. I had the opportunity and a change of heart for the city as I met up with the lovely ladies. I will admit that meeting Nat & Marie was the first priority over NXNE and I will leave it at that. Overall, they were great to chat with and I wasn’t overly nervous meeting them because I was in my comfort zone while interviewing them on the nice, warm June day (it was a Saturday) in Toronto.
The interview is in three parts and it mainly delves on social media and online culture. Aside from the interview, there’s the usual music and the top 10 being played on the Summer edition show.
Since it’s the Summer, the TV shows that I am watching are Hell’s Kitchen, Masterchef and Dallas. Big Brother is now added to the viewing list.

Basia Bulat at Ottawa Folk Festival – Audio Interview & Radio Shows [Preseason - Update for Sept. 7, 2011]

It was a great opportunity to attend the newly managed Ottawa Folk Festival as the new location was down on Hog’s Back Park. The new site was enormous and accesible compared to Britannia Park, the old site to Folk Fest.
What I enjoyed about this year’s Folk Festival was that several CKCU-FM hosts (including myself) got to introduce some of the workshops in the daytime.
The Folk Fest lineup pretty good as my favourite bands and artists like The Rural Alberta Advantage and Basia Bulat attended for the first time. This leads to the Basia Bulat interview, as I was able to conduct on the final day. Aside that the final day of Folk Festival became cold and very windy, I was able to do the interview. It was great to see Bulat as I haven’t seen her for a year and missing out on her concert back in March. Hope you will enjoy it.
This ends the summer festivals in Ottawa and it’s nice that the Ottawa Folk Festival ended on a positive note.

On the radio show, there was a lot happening like the top 10 countdown, the countdown to Pop Montreal, a wrap-up to Ottawa Folk Festival and the final U2 Summer Shoutout Challenge.
The playlist for the August 31st show is at this link.
The Wild 10 Countdown entry is at this link.

Lastly, this is getting close to a brand new season, hence this entry as being preseason. Season 7 on the blog is soon. The new season of WildWorks on CKCU-FM will be on September 14, 2011.

Summer Related Entry

I forgot to mention about the link from Local Tourist Ottawa about the magic of community radio in Ottawa. Click at this link. Thanks to guest editor (at that time), Hilary for convincing me to write something up.

Audio/Podcast – Updated for September 7, 2011
The September 7th radio show. The playlist is at this link. The countdown summary is at this link.
Press play to listen.

August 31st radio show. Press play to listen.

The Basia Bulat Interview at Ottawa Folk Festival.

Almost Wrapping Up and Preparing for Canada Day – S06E42

It’s one of those unique timing as I didn’t have an audio recorder or not bring an USB microphone to pre-record the first half of the show as I was on for 2 hours at CKCU-FM. I wasn’t expecting to air some kind of interview segment as I decided to interview someone from The National Capital Commission to talk about Canada Day. Due to the unique timing, it was best to get the interview over with as I wouldn’t have an opportunity to have an extended time on the airwaves. The first hour was the Wild 10 Countdown and there’s a new number one song and it’s Lose It by Austra. They bumped Kill Count by The Balconies off the top spot.
The second hour had the interview with Denise LeBlanc of the NCC to talk about the plans for Canada’s 144th birthday celebration.
Since Polaris Music Prize is near, I played some of the would be contenders that will most likely be on the long list for June 16th’s announcement.

As for wrapping up, there’s two shows left until the end of season 2′s radio show and the blog will coincide with the season finale as well.
Oh yeah, how can I not forget to give a usual shoutout to Nat & Marie as I’ve been enjoying their Internet show on Wednesday night. Even though, they conflict with The Wedge on Much.

The playlist is posted at this link. The final song I played on the show, it’s a cover to Leo Sayer’s When I Need You. The Chinese version was released in 1999 and was the theme song to a Hong Kong TV drama by TVB.

Thursday Update
I had the opportunity to go on for Thursday at CKCU-FM and sub in for the Hip-Hop show, Fundamentally Sound. The host, Dennis was running late and decided to go for a bit. I didn’t have time to play the would be contenders for the Polaris Music Prize Long List. The two songs played on Thursday’s extra show were eventually on the long list. The playlist is at this link.

Audio/Podcast
The June 15th Radio Show – Press play to listen.

The June 16th Radio Show – Press play to listen.

2010 Summer Special

It’s this time of year where I sporadically post entries during the Summer. I had the opportunity to go for more Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest dates compared to last year. I was able to do audio interviews with several artists. It will be provided here. Overall, I was excited to see some of the performing acts. Worse part was enduring the heat.

The Ottawa Folk Festival Edition (Posted on August 18, 2010)

You can listen to the August 18th edition of the radio show. Aside from the top 10 countdown and Arcade Fire songs, there were interviews from Rolf Klausener of The Acorn, Aidan Knight, Jill Zmud, & Jim Bryson.
Press play to listen.

Apparently, I am taking part in this blog rally challenge, check the blog link out by clicking here. If you like my entry on Ottawa Bluesfest or the radio show, just comment away. Finished on July 26th.

Don’t forget to check out http://wild5countdownckcu.wordpress.com/ as it will be the only blog to be updated weekly during the Summer. I have been mentioning Arcade Fire over on the other blog.

Cameo In Audio Form on Other Radio Shows

Posted: August 4, 2010
There are two radio shows where I made a voice cameo appearance.
The New Midnight Jamz on July 31, 2010 – press play to listen.

The Drunken Master Revue on August 4, 2010 – press play to listen.

Wrapping Up Season 5 – S05.2E10 (Season Finale)

Summer Extra
I posted up the three Canada Day audio interviews at this link. The site is at the Wild 5 Countdown site.

Part 2 (June 30, 2010)
Finally, I finish up this entry as Wednesday’s radio show wrapped with the conclusion to the Young Galaxy interview and final original interview at venues with Born Ruffians.
The playlist what I played is at this link.
This is it for the Summer as I won’t be writing too much entries but expect a few Specials on the blog. The radio show will continue on with specials and re-airings.
Without further ado, here’s the audio links to listen.

The Full Radio Show for June 30th, 2010. Press play to listen.

WildWorks Extra – 2nd hour: Songs by Beyond. A Tribute to Wong Ka-Kui, who passed away on June 30th, 1993.
Press play to listen.

Band Interviews
Part 2 of Young Galaxy: Press play to listen or download it.

Born Ruffians Interview: Press play to listen or download it.

This ends Season 1 for the radio show and Season 5 (full) on the blog.

Part 1 (June 23, 2010)
This is the first of 2 parts to the end of season or series 5 of my blog & my radio show. The radio show will continue during the Summer as I will still be on the air and airing past interviews. It’s more like “the best of.” Expect no new materials for all of Summer but there’s a possibility of a few themed specials. The blog itself will be on a Summer break, just like the TV shows which ended in May.
The June 23rd show was considered the 2nd last show before the Summer break as I needed to air a couple of new interviews. Joining me on the radio show was a CBC Radio 3 fan/listener, Johanna Innes. She’s from Ottawa but studying at South Carolina. It was a blast having her on because she’s so interested in Canadian music and really enjoy being on the radio. Another reason for her to be on was that she recently attended NXNE in Toronto over the weekend and also talked about The Polaris Music Prize Long List. We discussed the positives and negatives as who were on the list and who wasn’t on the list. It was a shock that Said The Whale weren’t on the list. I had to play False Creek Change as a sort of protest in a tongue and cheek manner.
I was happy to hear that You Say Party (formerly You Say Party! We Say Die!) will be continuing after the death of drummer of Devon Clifford. Although, they lost another founding member but added two new members. It’s great that they will be continuing on.
Also on the show were two interviews being aired. The first was Vancouver’s fanshaw and the other was The Besnard Lakes. I had an extra half hour and aired the first part of the Young Galaxy interview.
Here’s the playlist for what was played on the show. Click here to check it out. The Wild 5 Countdown is on link list (right side if you can find it).

Last thing, I did not experience the earthquake as I was on the bus. I missed out on the fun and fear. If you’re interested, you can listen to CHUO’s Now Playing at this link. I was listening on the bus and the fire alarm almost gave me a hearing loss.

Without further ado, you can listen to the radio show by pressing play here. To make it simple, I also have hours 1 & 2 for separate listening if you don’t want to listen for all of 2 hours.
Full show

Radio Show – Hour 1

Radio Show – Hour 2.5

The fanshaw Interview
Press play to listen or download it.

The Besnard Lakes Interview
Press play to listen or download it.

The Young Galaxy Interview (Part 1)
Press play to listen or download it.

So long until the Fall!

It’s Basically The Whole Month of May Entry – S05.2E08

Updated on May 26, 2010
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to chat with Leif Vollebekk at the 1st May Whee Festival at Zaphod Beeblebrox.
Wednesday’s radio show will be fully updated later but for now, the Leif Vollebekk audio interview is posted up. You should enjoy the interview as it became a hilarious interview. I even made some goof-ups on the interview. I apologize for messing up on the question about The Balconies. He didn’t form the band, he helped gave Jacquie, Stephen and Liam the name.
Also on the radio show was an expanded edition of the countdown. For this week only, my Wild 5 Countdown became the W10 Countdown.

The W10 Countdown for Week of May 5, 2010.
1. Fixed – Stars
2. Forced to Love – Broken Social Scene (new entry)
3. Your Hands (Together) – The New Pornographers (new entry)
4. The Right Time (feat. Tyler Bancroft) – Hannah Georgas
5. Laura Palmer’s Prom – You Say Party! We Say Die! (was #1 last week)
6. No Ghost – The Acorn (new)
7. Celestica – Crystal Castles (new)
8. Breakneck Speed – Tokyo Police Club (new)
9. Authentic – Young Rival (new)
10. Ghost Pressure – Wolf Parade (new)

August Extra #3 – i(heart)music festival With Oh No Forest Fires, Modernboys Moderngirls, The Love Machine and The Balconies

I decided to blog another Summer entry and it’s nearing a fifth series/season because this person lit a fire under me because this person enjoys reading my live music entries. The hint is this person works for the Ceeb #2 (in Radio). That’s all I will get into, but thanks! (Hope you read it). With the fifth season looming may come a name change for the blog due to the fact that I am not really traveling around the world.
On Friday night, I checked out the i(heart)music festival at Cafe Dekcuf for The Love Machine and The Balconies. I am familiar with those two Ottawa bands because my brother is good friends with them. What’s nice is that both bands are great friends with each other. It’s good to see connections from one another.
For anyone who doesn’t know about i(heart)music, it is by an Ottawa-based music blogger who writes and promotes up and coming Canadian indie singers and bands. It’s more like giving them exposure and bringing good music to the Nation’s Capital and throughout Canada.

The First Two Bands – Oh No Forest Fires and Modernboys Moderngirls
There were two other bands I got to check out who were on the bill. First up was Oh No Forest Fires, they started off with a wild and rocking set and during their performance, the lead singer of Oh No Forest Fires made jokes about Jerry Seinfeld in Ottawa. What was even funny during their performance was their mic stand kept falling off and one almost hit my head. That was a close call and would of knocked myself silly. What’s also surprising is the lead singer is the brother to one of the members of Hey Rosetta.
You can check the photos here via Flickr.

Onto Modernboys Moderngirls, I missed the first part due to interviewing the members of Oh No Forest Fire. They’re a new band and they performed to a great rocking set.
You check the photos here via Flickr.

The Beloved Two Ottawa Bands
How could I not say about returning Bandwidth host, Amanda Putz’s favorite Ottawa band, The Love Machine. They totally rocked and energized the crowd for their performance. At one point of their set, Jacquie and a friend were doing the robo dance and it was funny part to their performance. They announced that they will be doing their first music videos and needing females to be part of it and there were some jokes included, which I won’t say.
You check The Love Machine photos here via Flickr.

Last, but not least, The Balconies. Prior to arriving early, I decided to hang out with Jacquie and Liam for some food. Went to a Thai restaurant and I only ordered shrimp spring rolls. The worse part was that I didn’t stay for all of their performance because of a lousy bus service in Ottawa. I only stayed for about 10 minutes to hear their usual rockin’ songs. They still rocked out pretty late and even a good turnout. There were worries about the turnout due to Jerry Seinfeld at the NAC, Ottawa Folk Festival and Britney Spears at Scotiabank Place. Overall, things were pretty good for a Friday night at Cafe Deckuf.
You check the The Balconies photos here via Flickr.

That was my Friday and now onto Joel Plaskett at Ottawa Folk Festival for Sunday (Aug. 23).

August Extra #2 – Horses Spilled Milk and Guest Hosting for Kristal’s Method

I know the photo is not really linked to this particular entry but I mentioned at the start of Horses Spilled Milk that I went to Perth, Ontario on Saturday for 2 lion dance performances. Check the 2009 Summer page for the short entry. I had to sub in for co-host for the beginning of the show because he was running late. I was basically a lifesaver for Horses Spilled Milk and Kristal’s Method.
Halfway through Horses Spilled Milk, there was a classic 80s song played and the hint; The Breakfast Club, directed by the late John Hughes.

Afterwards, I unexpectedly decided to guest host Kristal’s Method because Kristal wasn’t around. I had to scramble and figure out what songs to play. I had help from Armen of Thematics at CKCU-FM at the first host break. This time, I totally played 100% Canadian independent music.
Note: Audio for both shows are no longer available to listen.

August Extra: Fundamentally Sound on August 6, 2009 and Still With Summer

You can listen and download.

I was able to be a guest co-host on Fundamentally Sound with Dennis Molnar on Thursday. Fundamentally Sound is a Hip-Hop, Rap, Funk, Soul radio show that airs from 12-2pm at CKCU-FM.
Warning, there are several songs that have swearing and this blog being PG-friendly, I just want to give an advance warning. Overall, I was very comfortable being on-air because at least there someone in the on-air studio. I was calm, cool and collective and not as nervous when hosting your own radio show. Although, my loyalty still lies with Canadian indie music radio shows but my roots still lie with enjoying various forms of musical genres.