It’s June – Radio Show: Loon Choir, Graham Wright & Gianna Lauren Interviews – S05.2E09

It’s June and I am almost nearing the end of the blogging series but there’s a couple of more week of new materials for my radio show. To start off, it’s a first of sorts as I used the Apple iPad to play music tracks over on the Ottawa airwaves. Cutting edge technology to say the least. I had the opportunity to air the Loon Choir interview, which was recorded in late April but their full length album was not released until May. I had to hold out until the album was released.
The playlist is posted up on CKCU’s Playlist site, here is the link.
You can listen to the radio show by pressing play.
Radio show for June 2 

The Loon Choir Interview – press play to listen or download it.

The Wild 5 Countdown will be posted on a new page at this link.

Kudos go to CHUO’s Now Playing as the host has set up a blog for her radio show. I guess I got some “competition” as we play the same kind of music and interviews. It was nice to hang out for the June 2nd inaugural show in a non-speaking role but using the iPad.

Radio Show for June 9, 2010 – The Graham Wright Interview

Two hours of exciting music from Canadian independent artists and bands. I was happy to play new tracks from Black Mountain, Meligrove Band and Hot Hot Heat.
It was an opportunity to do a short interview with Tokyo Police Club’s Graham Wright. It was originally recorded in late March but aired it on Wednesday because his band’s 2nd album, Champ got released. It was fitting to air it as I still like “Breakneck Speed.”
Also on the show were the Wild 5 Countdown and talking about the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer in South Africa. Played the ever famous Three Lions but it’s the 2010 version.
The playlist for the radio show is at this link.

Here is the June 9th edition of my radio show. Press play to listen.
June 9, 2010 Radio show

The Graham Wright Interview
Press play to listen or download it.

Radio Show For June 16, 2010 – Two Interviews: The Luyas and from Bands Undone, Gianna Lauren & Field Assembly

It’s jammed pack show with the two interviews. The Luyas was recorded in late April. The one from Bands Undone is a new one. I had the opportunity to check out formerly from Ottawa and now based to Halifax, Gianna Lauren and joining her is Field Assembly. They are embarking a train tour across Canada. They have a blog for their cross Canada tour at this link [via Tumblr].
The playlist of the show is at this link.
You can listen to the radio show by pressing play.
June 16th Radio Show


The Luyas Interview – Press play to listen or download it.

From Bands Undone – Gianna Lauren & Field Assembly
Press play to listen or download it.

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)

End of April and Beginning of May Shows & Monday’s Radio Show – S05.2E7

There were two awesome live show this past weekend to marking the end of April and the beginning of May. The show on the end of April was The Balconies returning to Ottawa after their cross Canada tour. It was at Zaphod Beeblebrox, opening up for The Balconies were Sandman Viper Command and The Belle Game. It was great to see The Belle Game but it was three out of the eight members. Overall, they performed a good set and one part of their was when front man, Adam Nanji gave me a shoutout for being supportive. Even though I was slightly embarrassed, I had to use my hat to cover my face in a funny way.
Here’s a video that I shot of The Belle Game.

Dan Mangan Concert Plus Interview & Sad Love Songs in Chinese – S05.2E06

Dan Mangan was amazing at Mavericks on April 24, 2010. Opening up for Dan was the Australian indie pop duo, An Horse. Ottawa was the final concert of his tour. The concert didn’t disappoint as it was sold out and it was also the night when the Ottawa Senators got ousted by The Pittsburgh Penguins. What made the show interesting were ladies screaming for Mangan and the crowd literally sang along to songs like Sold, Road Regrets and etc. This leads me to the photo above and then Wednesday’s radio show. As I mentioned on-air and as you see the photo that I had a chance to join on stage for the song, Robots, with Mangan and diehard fans. It was a nice opportunity to interview Mangan because I haven’t seen him since 2008 when he first performed at The Mercury Lounge. Nice, Nice, Very Nice was released last year and he performed at The Black Sheep Inn and at Algonquin College. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to see him.

What I played on Wednesday’s show were another audio interview with Pawnshop Diamond.
For the second hour (called WildWorks Extra), there were sad love songs in Chinese being played. Even though it’s the last day to host solo for 2 hours on the radio. I wasn’t sure what kind of Cantopop/Mandopop songs for the final week and decided to go for sad love songs. The final two songs I played were linked towards the Qinghai Earthquake which hit April 14th. The first song played is a new song and the last song is a classic as both symbolize hope.

Before I post the link for the playlist, here’s the Wild 5 Countdown. You Say Party! We Say Die! is #1 for the 2nd week.

The Wild 5 Countdown for the week of April 28th, 2010
1. Laura Palmer’s Prom – You Say Party! We Say Die!
2. Fixed – Stars
3. The Right Time (feat. Tyler Bancroft) – Hannah Georgas
4. Lulu – The Balconies
5. Shoulders & Turns – The Belle Game

Don’t forget to check the playlist by going to this link.

The audio archive is somewhat back on but there’s a slight issue with the host break segments and some of the songs being played. You may have to adjust the volume for parts of the host break segments.

Radio Show
The full 2 hour radio show, press play to listen.

WildWorks Extra (2nd hour), press play to listen.


The Audio Interviews
Dan Mangan – press play to listen or download it.

Pawnshop Diamond – press play to listen or download it.

The Language-Arts Interview and Another Mishap – S05.2E05

Wednesday’s radio show had an airing the lovely band from Vancouver, BC, Language-Arts. The interview was recorded back in March and here’s a video that I helped filmed for Bands Undone at Canteen Art Shop + Gallery.

Since it’s another week that retrieving the audio for my radio show has been difficult due to issues surrounding the software. In short summary if you missed it, after the Language-Arts interview, I played Coughdrop and mentioned that I had been sick for a week and took some coughdrops. Let’s say that I briefly sang, “Ricola.”

The recap of the Wild 5 Countdown has 2 new entries and 3 songs slipping down a notch.
The Wild 5 Countdown for April 21, 2010
5. Search for Sarah Jane – Hawksley Workman
4. Fake It – Plants and Animals
3. Fixed – Stars
2. Odessa – Caribou
1. Laura Palmer’s Prom – You Say Party! We Say Die!
The reason for choosing Laura Palmer’s Prom was because of drummer, Devon Clifford, who passed away on Sunday, April 18, 2010. It’s been sad for Canadian music fans and the Canadian music industry because it was a sudden shock. As previously written on the last post, it was a privilege to see the band back on April 3, during the Easter holiday. Devon was the last person we chatted before heading back for a long walk to the hotel. Devon, Becky, Stephen, Krista and Derek of YSP! WSD! are the nicest people I have met. Without Devon’s humourous presence during their performance, it wouldn’t be same. I’m still pleased to see them several weeks and giving them their full support.
Also on show were brief mentions for Ottawa Bluesfest’s lineup (only played Metric and Basia Bulat), played 3 versions of Wavin’ Flag by K’Naan (one was a Chinese version) and Sandy Lam songs (her birthday is on April 26th)

Here is the show for April 21st, but the audio quality is not the best. You can check the playlist at this link. There’s a possibly of replaying some songs again in a few weeks when the host returns from his vacation in England and Europe.
http://www.archive.org/download/WildworksShowOnCkcu-fmForApril212010/wildworksapr21.mp3″

Interview with Language-Arts – press play to listen or download it.

Delays Due To Being Sick and Malfunctions – S05.2E04

Sorry for not posting a new entry for this week because I got sick with the cold and sore throat as I didn’t have the energy to write. The second reason is that I don’t have the April 14th edition of the radio show because of a software issue at the station I do have the show but it’s on a different audio format.
I also debuted a new addition to the show, I got a top 5 countdown called The Wild 5 or W5 Countdown. Here’s the debut list.
W5 Countdown – April 14, 2010
5. Red Door – Tall Trees
4. Kettering – The Antlers
3. Fake It – Plants & Animals
2. Fixed – Stars
1. Odessa – Caribou

The playlist from the radio show is at this link.
Here are the interviews that were aired on the April 14th radio show. Even though the interviews were recorded back in February, it was considered unique timing because Young Rival’s full length album was released and Bahamas returned to Ottawa for a concert with Zeus and Jason Collett.

Young Rival Interview – press play to listen or download it.

Bahamas Interview – press play to listen or download it.

Easter Weekend Fun in Montreal with You Say Party! We Say Die! & Part of The Belle Game – S05.2E03

You Say Party! We Say Die! in Montreal
Back from Montreal, QC over the Easter holiday. It was a spur of the moment because You Say Party! We Say Die! was in Montreal for a show there and they skipped Ottawa and a few other Ontario cities. It was nice to go outside of Ottawa for a concert. It’s been a very long time I went to a concert in Montreal and that was back in 1993 for Duran Duran at the once famous and legendary Montreal Forum. The slight irony with these two different bands that they are in the New Wave music genre.
Back to YSP! WSD! in Montreal, they were performing at La Sala Rossa. As previously mentioned, it’s the first time to check out an indie music venue in Montreal and my lack of knowledge of the Montreal music scene and venues are minimal at best. Prior to their performance, I arrived to the venue a bit early because I am not familiar with area of Montreal and I saw some of the members and they remembered me.
Overall, their performance was energetic and lot of dancing around. It was great to remember half of the songs because I always kept playing songs from XXXX on my radio show. The crazy part came almost near the end of the set when Like I Give a Care was played and then the opening acts (Braids and Makeout Videotape) came out on stage and delivered the mosh pit/crowd surfing. Lead vocalist, Becky Ninkovic joined in the fray towards the crowd. The other crazy part was her back or leg landed on me as she was getting back on stage from the moshing.
The photo on top was when the band performed on Like I Give A Care.

Seven Years On Without Leslie Cheung & More Music Related Stuff – S05.2E02

It’s every year that I always write about Leslie Cheung on his passing. It’s the 7th year since Leslie Cheung left his fans, followers and the Cantopop music industry in Hong Kong. This time is unique because I got to express it on my radio show. After several yearly entries of expressing by words, I got to express it by voice and music. As I explained on-air my reaction on the morning of April 1st in Canada, night time in Hong Kong, it still saddens me on April Fool’s Day because it was a total shock. Leslie Cheung is still missed but his legacy of his songs still continue on. I hope you will enjoy the March 31st edition of the radio show. I split it in 2 parts, one for the whole 2 hours and the other for the Leslie Cheung tribute.
Another thing, I aired the interview with Ottawa’s Musk Ox. They are a Neo-Folk and Classical trio based in Ottawa. It was recorded back on Feb. 28 at Bands Undone and it was after Team Canada won gold in Men’s Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
I also mentioned about Doctor Who returning to the airwaves (England first and then North America on April 17th) and “retiring” the theme to Series 4. The 11th Doctor brings on the new look, new theme and new series. Totally can’t wait for it. Another event was this past weekend happenings as I enjoyed the Said The Whale/In-Flight Safety/Graham Wright concert at Zaphod Beeblebrox. The following day was the Snailhouse concert at Raw Sugar Cafe. Expect those interviews to be aired around April.
Here’s the playlist for hour 1 and hour 2. Hour 2 will be problematic if you have a Chinese text encoder on Windows.
Click on hour 1 to view the playlist.
Click on hour 2 to view the playlist, if you can read Chinese.

Radio Show
The entire show – Press play to listen.

The Leslie Cheung tribute from the 2nd hour – Press play to listen or go to this link to listen.

Musk Ox Interview – Press play to listen or download it.

On YouTube, I found this Mandarin version of “Missing You.” Here’s the live clip.

The Whales Taking a Safety Flight With a Tokyo Police Clubber – S05.2E01

Friday night was probably one of those unexpected moments because I was at the Said The Whale, In-Flight Safety & Graham Wright concert at Zaphod Beeblebrox. Ottawa was the 2nd day of their 2010 Spring tour.
For the past weeks, I have been going to Zaphods for other shows and they were not packed compared to Friday’s show. It’s been awhile that I have attended a sold out show at Zaphods. It was awesome to see Said The Whale filled the crowds. What I also liked were the fans singing along to their songs and I basically couldn’t believe it. It was funny when Tyler Bancroft (guitarist and vocals) poked fun that at 11pm, Ke$ha would be played. Another funny moment was Ben Worchester (guitarist and vocals) threw a quarter and a toonie to packed crowd.

The opening acts, In-Flight Safety and Graham Wright were excellent. It’s my first time to check In-Flight Safety because the last time I went to another venue, I skipped them. Overall, they were rockin’ great and I interviewed the lead singer of IFS after all bands finished up. I got mentioned that the band is like the Coldplay of Halifax and asked about various Halifax bands in general.

As for Wright, he’s from Tokyo Police Club and he’s doing his solo tour. As for his other band, let’s say that I still haven’t seen TPC live yet. It’s still a shame but at least I got to interview one third of TPC. One irony being that the interview was short and compared it to TPC’s albums because their songs are short.
Expect all three interviews to be aired in sometime in April. Said The Whale’s interview is version 2.0 because I wanted to ask them about their experience during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
The video on top happens to be Camilo (The Magician).