Canadian Musician Podcast

This is a BIG one, folks. We've got international superstar Avril Lavigne speaking about her upcoming self-titled fifth full-length release, as well as some insight into her live shows, some reflection on her early career, and more. We also spoke with Canadian country star Gord Bamford, currently touring with Reba McIntire in support of his upcoming release Country Junkie. Gord also just donated $100,000 to 10 children's hospitals across Canada - what a stand up guy. Finally, CM Academy is in session with the gents behind Cloud Empire - a new Toronto-based music consulting company with a whole slew of services on offer. The company was launched by some industry vets who've propolled the careers of the likes of Protest the Hero, Lights, Abandon All Ships, and Closet Monster.

Mike was out at the CASBY Awards in mid-October thanks to our pals at 102.1 The Edge and Corus Radio, so in addition to seeing performances by acts like Hollerado, Mother Mother, and Serena Ryder, he also had the chance to catch up with Said the Whale and Walk Off The Earth, both of whom have been enjoying a ton of on-air success of late.

We have a double dose of artist interviews in this week's show, as Mike speaks with Jacquie Neville of Toronto-based rock trio The Balconies. The band has spend the lion's share of the last year on the road and are currently crossing Canada and the US with a string of shows. Then, Andrew catches Jay Malinowski, frontman for the reggae rock trio Bedouin Soundclash, who's preparing for the release of the debut from Jay Malinowski & The Deadcost called "martel," based on the life of one of his actual ancestors. We'll also speak with Cristina Fernandes, the founder of Listen Harder, a publicity company based in Toronto that's propelled the careers of artists like The Lumineers, Tokyo Police Club, Monster Truck, City & Colour, and a long list of others. She'll talk about effective publicity campaigns, how to recognize the need for a pro PR campaign, and more.

This week's episode is a special one - especially if you're a fan of the multi-talented Hawksley Workman. To kick things off, Andrew and Mike will round up the latest news and interesting stories to have hit the wire in the last week. Then, we have PEI singer/songwtier/stand-up gal Ashley Condon in the hot seat for CM's 20 Questions. Ashley just received her second Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, this one surrounding the release of her second full-length, This Great Compromise, proudced by CM contributor David Francey, an acclaimed writer in his own right. Then, CM Catches Up With... Mr. Hawksley Workman for one of our most in-depth and explorative interviews yet. We'll talk about his latest work, the one-man show "The God That Comes," along with a bit about his on-the-rise side outlet Mounties, plus things like music journalism, extracting joy from everyday life, and plenty more. It's a long one, but should be a lot of fun...

Welcome to yet another edition of Canadian Musician Radio. We have a pretty diverse bunch of interviewees this time around. First, we'll speak with Sean Kelly, who currently plays guitar with Nelly Furtado and has also performed with and written for a long list of notable artists. His project "Metal On Ice" features stories from some Canadian heavy metal greats. For CM Academy, we grabbed The Agency Group's Adam Kreeft at Showcase PEI 2013 to chat about how artists can make a lasting impression at showcase events and festivals, and also about proper follow-up. Finally, CM Catches Up With... Nashville-via-Toronto rockabilly phenom Lindi Ortega about her move to the US, her chameleon-like approach to touring, and of course, her upcoming record, "Tin Star."

We're very excited to have Mike speaking with Peter Dreimanis, one half of Toronto-based gritty blues/rock act July Talk. The band's self-titled has been turning a LOT of heads over the last several months, and their live show is making those heads spin like crazy. If you haven't heard them yet, check out the videos for "Paper Girl" and "Guns and Ammunition" and then tune in for some insight from someone behind the songs. Also, we'll be speaking with live production professional and frequent CM contributor Mark "The Drifter" Desloges. Mark has toured with acts like Cancer Bats, Classified, Johnny Reid, and a slew of others. Lately, he's been rigging up video walls and lighting for major acts as part of the Tour Tech East team. He'll have some inside info on life behind the scenes on major events for anyone thinking of getting into tech work.

In this week's episode, we'll chat with Brendon Saarinen of Toronto's Still Life Still. The band's latest record, Mourning Trance, just dropped via Arts & Crafts and has a notably different tone to that of their debut. We'll speak about what informed the shift, the band's experience with Arts & Crafts to date, and plenty more. But before that, our friend Josh Hogan will play double-duty, first in the hot seat for CM's 20 Questions as the lead vocalist of Halifax metal outfit Orchid's Curse, then as our CM Academy prof as the Co-Owner of Red Tentacle Music Solutions. Thanks for checking us out!

Western Canadian blues/country crossover artist Little Miss Higgins will be speaking with us about her latest recording, Bison Ranch Recording Sessions. The album features her band, dubbed with Winnipeg Five, and is full of lush arrangements and multi-part harmonies all recorded in an old barn in rural Manitoba. We'll also speak with Shawn Bradley, Fadernoise.com recording engineer and author of "The Other Side of the Tracks" recording blog on CM's Blog Central, about the continually shifting paradigm of home recording and some tips on getting the most from your home studio set-ups.

Andrew and Mike are together again, chatting about Mike's upcoming trip to Northern Ontario with ArtsCan Circle - an organization that brings music and art to underpriviledged residents of remote Canadian communities. We'll Catch Up With... French-Canadian songstress Lisa LeBlanc, where we'll talk about her terrific self-titled record, summer performances, working with Karkwa's Louis-Jean Cormier, and much more. And in our CM Academy session, we'll speak with Heather Gardner of Vapor Music, a Toronto-based music licensing company, who'll talk about what a music supervisor does and how you can network with people in that role in hopes of landing a placement for your work in a film, TV, or gaming project.

Toronto rock outfit The Darcys have a new record dropping in September, so Mike will be speaking with Wes Marskell about the release, expected through Arts & Crafts, as well as the band's other current affairs. Also, Raoul Juneja, otherwise known as Deejay Ra of nationally-televised entertainment program V-Mix, will speak to Mike for CM Academy about how artists can lock down potential television opportunities and make the most of them - whether it's an interview or performance. Plus, plenty of other news from the Canadian industry and updates on some of your favourite artists and events.