Canadian Musician Podcast

Today, we're joined by a stalwart Canadian musician, who is none other than Honeymoon Suite’s Derry Grehan. Here, Grehan chats about the process of making his new Godin Guitars signature model, as well as his practice routines, writing process, and new material.

Honeymoon Suite, formed in 1981 in Niagara Falls, ON, is one of Canada's best-known rock bands, with hits like "New Girl Now," "Feel It Again," and "Burning in Love."

Today we have an interview with with Vancouver-based rock band Chase The Bear’s vocalist Troy Gilmore, as well as producer Danny Craig. Chase The Bear is set to release their debut album Honey on January 20, 2023 via Rock Is Dead Records.

Honey was produced by Danny Craig, who is the co-founder of new Vancouver-based record label Rock Is Dead Records (the first-ever label to be distributed by 604 Records) and a member of Canadian rock band Default.

Originally hailing from Fort St. John, BC, Chase The Bear includes vocalist Troy Gilmore, along with guitarists Leo Gilmore and Jordan Philips, drummer Connor Brooks, keyboardist Kevin Parker and bassist Braedan Royer. The act has performed over one hundred shows, including a sold-out show opening for The Trews at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom.

Today's guest on the Canadian Musician Podcast is Lindsay Schoolcraft, a JUNO-nominated singer, harpist, pianist, songwriter, and more from Oshawa, ON. In 2021, Schoolcraft took home the Oshawa Music Award for Artist of the Year, and she’s been releasing her own solo music since 2010, which blends symphonic elements with modern metal music.

Schoolcraft is also always looking to further her musical education and knowledge, and even coaches other artists on how the music business works. Listen to hear Schoolcraft's thoughts on life in the music industry, her own development as an artist throughout her career, and how you can never learn too much, or even enough, about music.

On this week's episode of the Canadian Musician Podcast, we're joined by KEN mode vocalist/guitarist Jesse Matthewson, ahead of the release of the Winnipeg noise rock outfit's latest offering, Null. Matthewson gets candid about what life on tour is really like, what it takes to work together as a band, and how he keeps his performances consistent as he gets older.

KEN mode, formed in 1999 by Matthewson, along with his brother, drummer Shane Matthewson, has released eight studio albums and done a massive amount of touring in their tenure as a band. They also took home a JUNO Award in 2012 for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year for their album Venerable.

This week, we bring you our first episode hosted by Manus Hopkins, one of Canadian Musician's editors, who has taken up the mantle of podcast host from Mike Raine. We're sad to see Mike go and know he'll be missed, but the podcast will go on, and we hope you'll all continue to tune in each week.

Today's interview is with Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet, the husband-and-wife duo that forms Hamilton folk-rock band Whitehorse. Whitehorse's new album, I'm Not Crying, You're Crying, is out January 13. Here, Doucet and McClelland take us through the process of making new music together in lockdown, and share stories from throughout the band's career about how they became the group they are today. They even set the record straight about how they really chose their name.

So, this is it, Mike Raine’s last episode as host of the Canadian Musician Podcast. Mike kicks off the show by introducing you to Manus Hopkins, one of the editors at Canadian Musician who you’ll be hearing on the podcast from now on. And then, Mike shares his last interview for the Canadian Musician Podcast, and it’s a prime example of the type of conversation he’s loved having here. It is with Menno Versteeg, founder of Royal Mountain Records and former frontman of the band Hollerado. Menno – in his typical funny, honest, and self-deprecating way – tells the story of Royal Mountain’s creation and how it almost accidently grew into Canada’s best indie label, with an all-star roster that includes Alvvays, Mac Demarco, Orville Peck, PUP, and so many more outstanding artists.

On this week’s episode, Canadian Musician Editor-in-Chief Mike Raine chats with Brad Simons. Brad is a man of many hats — he is a musician, computer scientist, Juno-nominated producer, and the owner of Edmonton-based studio and artist services company Velveteen Music. Brad tells Mike about his life in the music industry and the evolving vision for Velveteen Music and how he and his team are creating a multi-faceted company and studio facility that is geared towards helping indie musicians not just record music, but empower them with additional tools and content that are needed in the digital era. They also go down a rabbit hole of discussing the pros and cons of streaming apps and how the platforms could be made better for both music fans and the folks behind the scenes who help make the music.

Joining Canadian Musician Editor-in-Chief Mike Raine on the podcast this week is Vanessa Thomas, who was recently tapped to lead Sound Royalties’ Canadian operation. Sound Royalties offers a unique royalty advance model for independent artists and small music companies.

Vanessa is a respected Canadian industry expert with more than two decades of music industry experience, including six years running Canada’s Songwriters Hall of Fame as part of her work with SOCAN. Canada provides notable funding for the arts, but advances can still often be limited and capped. This is not always in line with the rapidly changing financial needs of the artist. The working relationship between Thomas and Sound Royalties aims to provide more nimble options to existing funding solutions that can help to build a more robust music ecosystem in Canada.

On the podcast this week, Mike Raine chats with award-winning artist agent and event promoter Paul Biro. He is the co-founder, president, and operating partner at the Sakamoto Agency, one of the top companies in Canada’s live country music industry. He has also helped lead Sakamoto’s expansion with the creation of the Sakamoto Music record label and GPS Promotions. Paul recently received his fourth Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Award as the Talent Buyer or Promoter of the Year. The Sakamoto Agency also continued its CCMA Award streak after winning the Booking Agency of the Year award for the third year in a row.

Paul takes Mike all the way back to his days as a truck driver and how that actually helped him break into the radio and music industry. From there, Paul discusses the creation and growth of Sakamoto Agency, his approach to artist relations, how to grow artists’ live careers, the future of radio, and a lot more.

This week on the podcast, Canadian Musician Editor-in-Chief Mike Raine speaks with two rising Canadian rock bands who he’s become a big fan of, Goodnight Sunrise and Les Shirley.

First up, Mike chat with Vanessa Vakharia and David Kochberg of Toronto-based band Goodnight Sunrise about their new album, ‘Against All Odds,’ and Christmas single, “Single All the Way,” as well as getting on streaming playlists and radio, album art, and, naturally, the classic Christmas rom-com Love Actually.

Next, Mike spoke with Raphaëlle Chouinard and Sarah Dion of Montreal-based band Les Shirley. Their musical style is redefining the indie rock genre connecting the dots between 90’s grunge, 2000’s punk rock culture and catchy pop tunes. The girls are solid musicians with a flair for flaming hot melodies and bursting riffs. In 2019, they were named the best breakout band in the province at the Alternative Independent Music Gala of Quebec. Mike spoke with them on the day their new album, More is More, was released.