July 11th show rundown, featuring Library Voices!

This week’s show was direct from Regina, Saskatchewan, where we got to meet up with Mike and Carl of Library Voices to chat about their prairie home base, how they think the world is going to end in 2012, and the place of politics in music. (Also be sure to listen for the multiple times we order more rounds of drinks and our extra-special spontaneous chat with Marshall of Rah Rah – it really is a small world.) And hey, don’t forget to catch Library Voices at the Black Sheep Inn on July 18th.

Mike (LV), Marshall (Rah Rah), and Carl (LV) at the Slow Food Pub in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Stream our chat below and check out the songs we spun, handpicked by the musicians themselves:

Part one of the show:

Part two of the show:

Library Voices – Regina, I Don’t Want To Fight
Rah Rah – Little Poems
Wintersleep – In Came The Flood
Apollo Ghosts – I’m In Love With The USA
JEFF The Brotherhood – Sixpack
Hooded Fang – Vacationation

We’ll be delivering you episodes from elsewhere on the prairies over the next few weeks, as we travel to Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton – stay tuned!

April 11 show rundown

Almost a month has passed and yet it only just feels as if we’re getting out of our CMW coma. That’s what plenty of live music does to you. Have no fear, listeners: we’re still in action as always, and we’ll be posting some of our most recent interviews — including those with Toronto acts Paint and Adaline, plus our CMW chats with Kalle Mattson, Samantha Savage Smith, and Poor Young Things — as the week goes on, and we’ll be getting back into that lovely Song of the Week groove (pun intended!) too.

For now, a recap of what we spun last week:

Said the Whale – Loveless
J.J. Ipsen and the Paper Crown – DaDaDa
Eight and a Half – Scissors
Octoberman – Dressed Up
Library Voices – Regina I Don’t Want To Fight
Gold and Youth – Time To Kill
Great Bloomers – Something More
The Wooden Sky – Take Me Out
Kalle Mattson – The Shore
Wintersleep – Resuscitate
Sarah Hallman – Electricity
GSJF – Messages
Bahamas – Lost in the Light

And be sure to tune into tomorrow’s show — 1pm on CHUO.fm or 89.1 on the FM dial for those listening in Ottawa — for our chat with Toronto songstress Darrelle London, who will be hitting up the Centrepointe Theatre in the nation’s capital this Friday, April 20!

‘Til then!

Oct. 12 show rundown!

Thanks for tuning in today, lads and lassies. All that we spun:

We Are The City – Morning Song
Sound of Lions – Enders
Acres of Lions – Forgive and Forget
Ohbijou – Scalpel Blade
Graham Wright – Canadian Thanksgiving
Jenn Grant – Walk Away
Faraway Neighbours – Between Lakes
Matthew Barber – Blue Forever
The Glass Chain – Bad Teenagers
A.C. Newman – Take On Me (A-ha cover)
LOOM – Around Again (Island Mix)
Lykke Li – Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers cover) [WEEKLY IMPORT]
Library Voices – Book of Love

Don’t forget: Library Voices & Graham Wright are at the Black Sheep this weekend, and The Glass Chain and Faraway Neighbours have separate shows early next week. Get out there and support fantastic local and Canadian music.

“We call him Paco the Taco Monster.” Chat with hotshotcasino and first FUNDING DRIVE SHOW, May 4th show rundown

Our first of two CHUO FUNDING DRIVE shows featured a lovely chat with Pascal, Gregg and Mark from Ottawa’s own hotshotcasino and some great Canadian tracks:

Dream Jefferson – Westminster Abbey
Long Long Long – Sure, Sometimes You Win
Library Voices – Haunt This House
Phantom Shores – Sunken Treasure
Matthew Barber – Ring Upon Your Finger
Polymaths – To See And Be Seen
Evening Hymns – Mtn. Song
The Guest Bedroom – Thread
Elliott BROOD – Northern Air

You can also listen to our chat with the boys:

And even a short piece that, er, made it to the cutting room floor. You’ll see why:

There was also more excitement this week: we’ve released our SUB-BASEMENT SESSIONS, a compilation of live sessions recorded at CHUO, featuring The Mountains & The Trees, Woodpigeon, Kalle Mattson and more! To get your hand on it, you only need to visit our Bandcamp site, and make a donation — minimum donation is $5 and we encourage you to pay-what-you-like. All funds will go to CHUO’s 2011 funding drive, so you can not only feel good that you’ve got your hands on some excellent tracks… but you can also feel great that you’re supporting community radio. Spread the word!

April 20th show rundown

Just in time — before today’s show! Here’s what we spun last week:

Library Voices – The Prime Minister’s Daughter
The Details – Weightless in the Dark
Hands & Teeth – Until The Night
You Say Party – Laura Palmer’s Prom
Paso Mino – Canadian Skin
Chad VanGaalen – Sara
Evening Hymns – Broken Rifle
Rich Aucoin – Superman
Young Galaxy – Open Your Heart (Madonna cover)
Jamie Woon – Echoes [WEEKLY IMPORT]
The Balconies – Smells Like Secrets
Graham Wright – Crooked Moon
Digits – Desire
Northcote – Energy
Woodhands – Papa Don’t Preach (Madonna cover)

Don’t forget to tune in today at 1pm when we feature artists playing at some of this summer’s best music festivals in Ottawa: Bluesfest, Jazz Festival, and Westfest, baby. Stream it online at chuo.fm!

Radio Radio is playing at Barrymore’s this weekend, you guys. March 30th show rundown

Seriously. And I’m excited, if I haven’t made that clear yet. For more info about this Friday’s sure-to-be-killer show, head on over here. Barrymore’s on Bank, doors at 10pm, tickets $17 in advance.

And yes we kicked off the show with some Radio Radio — but spun some more goodies, too:

Radio Radio – 9 Piece Luggage Set
Born Ruffians – Higher & Higher
Library Voices – Drinking Games
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Under The Knife
Katie Moore – Honey on Juice
Gobble Gobble – Lawn Knives
The Albertans – The Wake
Said the Whale – Out On The Shield
Timber Timbre – Black Water
The Withering Pines – Until the Morning Comes
Young Rival – Just Can’t Stay Here
Memphis – I Want the Lights On After Dark
Scott Orr – In The Belly of A Whale

Don’t forget — for all of your local listings needs, check out our dedicated page. See you at Barrymore’s Friday night!

It’s all about the groove. The Golden Isles interview + Sept. 22 show recap

Montreal’s The Golden Isles were in town last week to play the awesome Avant Garde Bar (so awesome, in fact, that one of the two fellas I interviewed, Adam, was inspired to make a wonderfully descriptive monologue during the interview) and I got a chance to sit down with one third of the band (make that two members, Adam and Richard) to chat about what brought them together, what the Montreal scene is like, and their first time bringing their tour to Ottawa.

As always, we spun some sweet tracks this week, too:

Wintersleep – Preservation
Bend Sinister – Jimmy Brown
Library Voices – Party Like it’s 2012
Karkwa – Les Chemins de Verre
Owen Pallett – Midnight Directives
Tim Gilbertson – Holga 120’s
The xx – Night Time (Weekly Import – ’cause since we played 2010 Polaris winners Karwka, we had to play the 2010 UK Mercury Prize winners, too)
Noah – Mannequin
The Acorn – Kindling to Cremation (Megafun remix)
The Golden Isles –  Don’t Tell Me
The Eatons – One More Night
Dan Mangan – Tina’s Glorious Comeback

Be sure, sure, sure to check out our Local Listings page as some badass shows are just around the corner (Winter Gloves, anyone?) — in fact, a bunch of the artists we spun today are making their way to Ottawa soon. Just whom, you ask? Well you’ll just have to head on over to the listings page. Do it.

Get out and see some shows, folks — support local and Canadian music. ‘Til next week!

June 16th show recap

It may have been overcast outside, but the sun was shining in the CHUO studios. Corny? Perhaps. But some great music and one of the greatest interviews ever was played over our community radio airwaves:

Rah Rah – Lightning
Dance Movie – Structurally Unsound
The Pining – She’s Gone
Hollerado – Got To Lose
Youth Crime – Stone Age Romance
Old Crowns – Weathered
Architects and Builders – My Song is Your Keyboard Breaking
Band of Horses – Evening Kitchen

I got the chance to sit down with Steve, Joel, Sam, and Alex from Ottawa’s own Old Crowns earlier this week (before they gallivant off to Toronto this weekend for a NXNE gig at the Drake Hotel) to chat about their vinyl release, get their take on the Ottawa music scene, and knock back a few Jack and Cokes (I’m not kidding — you can hear Joel ask the waitress for another drink at one point. I cut out the part when all five of us ordered more in the middle of the interview. This is how awesome these guys are).

Steve, Joel, Sam, and Alex from Old Crowns (click to listen, right-click to save file)

I also chatted about the Polaris Music Prize, and offered a few of my predictions for who’ll make the long list (announced tomorrow at 1:30pm at the Drake Hotel — will be “twittercasted” via @polarisprize). Fingers crossed we’ll see some local acts like The Balconies or Hollerado on there.

And, of course, what to do this weekend? Some listings for you:

• Library Voices + more at Mavericks, Thursday, June 17th, (ten bucks, 8pm)
• Sadie Hell, Ghostkeeper + more at the Elmdale Tavern, Friday, June 18th (ten bucks, 9pm)
• Old Crowns + Johnathan Chandler from Amos the Transparent at Canteen Sunday, June 20th (free admission, though donations are accepted, 3pm)

Look for more great music coming your way next week: same time, same place, CHUO 89.1FM next Wednesday at 1pm.

Upcoming shows and upcoming show

I’ll likely get excited over these all over again on the “official launch” of the show this Wednesday, but might as well spread the joy now: there are some truly awesome shows coming this way over the course of June. A sampling (updated, as Steve St. Pierre reminded me about Old Crowns’ vinyl release party — I knew I wasn’t going to remember everything):

• Lisa Bozikovic and Ferriswheel at Raw Sugar Cafe on Friday, June 4th (eight bucks, 8:30pm)
• The Anybody at The Cajun Attic on Wednesday, June 9th (pay-what-you-can, 9pm)
• Rah Rah, Loon Choir + more at Cafe Dekcuf on Thursday, June 10th (seven bucks, I’ll guess 8pm)
• Library Voices + more at Mavericks on Thursday, June 17th (ten bucks, 8pm)
• Old Crowns + Jonathan Chandler (from Amos the Transparent) at Canteen on Sunday, June 20th (free admission, 3pm)
• Born Ruffians, Young Rival + more at Mavericks on Thursday, June 24th (thirteen bucks, 9:30pm)
• Great Bloomers + more at Cafe Dekcuf on Friday, June 25th (ten bucks, 8pm)

Obviously, there are so many more — and undoubtedly more to be added — and I’ll do my best to keep up the buzz over the next few weeks.

Speaking of buzz, there are also some great releases coming out this week that I will be spinning on Wednesday (excitement!). Get ready for some long-awaited new Born Ruffians and The Acorn tracks, among others, at 1pm this Wednesday on CHUO 89.1 FM.

‘Til then!