No Sleep 'til Sudbury with Brent Jensen

One July evening in northern Ontario back in 1994, I had a very unusual liaison with a person from the United States who would appear and then disappear within a span of about 12 hours, never to be heard from again. Until she reappeared on the No Sleep 'til Sudbury podcast almost 32 years later.

Here's part two of the two part series featuring Rik Emmett live at Black Bellows in Collingwood, hosted by NSTS. In this set, Rik takes us through some songs by Jimmy Webb and Brian Wilson (RIP) that he wishes he'd written, along with insights into how they were composed. We also go through some Triumph material and the stories behind those songs, and wrap up with a Q&A with the audience. This was an incredible evening, and Rik made it fun and memorable.

Former Jitters frontman and songwriter extraordinaire Blair Packham drops by this week to talk about his brand new record The Impossible Dream, and he brought his guitar to do a couple of the album's songs for us. In addition to playing the tracks, Blair shares the stories behind the songs, which leads to some conversation around Canadian history, touring hijinks, and why he sometimes has to close his eyes while he performs.

He's back! The legendary Rik Emmett returns to No Sleep 'til Sudbury, or rather we return to his home studio, Eli's Loft, to discuss his new Ten Telecaster Tales project. It's always plenty of fun hanging out with Rik - the stories, the music, the insights, the voices he can do...in addition to talking about Ten Telecaster Tales, Rik and I go way off track and talk about his violin lessons, his way-too-tight pants days, little known Beatles facts, his three wedding rings, and lots more. Later this month on Friday, March 21, Rik and I will be recording two LIVE episodes of NSTS at Black Bellows in Collingwood, Ontario. Don't miss it!

It was my pleasure to host executive producer Stuart Coxe on the program this week. Stuart's credentials include producing CBC TV news program The National, developing the Dragons Den and Shark Tank TV programs, and working alongside Gord Downie on the Secret Path multimedia project. Stuart has since founded his own production company called Antica Productions, focusing on podcasts, television and film. He comes to the show bearing soundtracks to discuss, and his stories featuring his work with Downie, will.i.am, Ron Sexsmith and NASA's Space Shuttle are incredible.

CHUM-FM producer, Famous Lost Words podcast host and friend of the show Tom Jokic makes his return to NSTS this week with a brand new angle. Tom does a segment on his podcast called "When Rock Stars Attack", a hilarious take on snippy-ish musician interviews found in the CHUM-FM and MuchMusic archives. Today he graciously shares some of these clips with us, featuring Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr, Jann Arden, April Wine's Myles Goodwyn, and a Beatles skirmish involving George Harrison and Paul McCartney. Lots of laughs and great conversation.

Jazz singer songwriter Lori Cullen calls into No Sleep 'til Sudbury this week to talk about The Thunder and The Bay, her new record dropping this Friday, June 7. Lori goes in a slightly new direction with this release, introducing elements of electronica and taking the material to new places - the songs are airy, colourful and dynamic. And with her selection of songs that make her skin vibrate, she completely stumps me - I'd never heard of any of them, a first for NSTS. But as always, it's all about the discovery.

In the NSTS interview seat this month is Eye Eye and Bill Wood and the Woodies frontman Bill Wood, talking about the songs that have shaped him over the course of his life. In tandem with these songs, Bill shares some fascinating behind-the-scenes details of Eye Eye's success and navigating the pressures of their record company, his Steve Earle-inspired revelation, the early days on the road with The Oh Nos, and the many projects he currently has in the works, including a reunion project of sorts with Eye Eye guitarist Andy Ryan.