Kreative Kontrol

This episode of Long Night with Vish Khanna was recorded at the Rocket Room in St. John's, Newfoundland, as part of the seventh annual Lawnya Vawnya festival on Saturday May 13, 2017. Our guests were community advocate, rapper, and dance music enthusiast Chippy Nonstop, singer songer Jim Bryson, and punk rocker and women's defence activist Renee Sharpe. Recorded by Chris Meyers. Photos by Tom Cochrane. House band is Hooded Fang. Produced by Lawnya Vawnya and Vish Khanna. Special thanks to Jud Haynes and Krista Power. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee.    Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bruce McDonald is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker and director based in Toronto and Nick Craine is an acclaimed graphic artist who calls Guelph, Ontario home. McDonald’s fifth film was an adaptation of Michael Turner’s novel, Hard Core Logo, and chronicled a first wave punk rock band’s disastrous reunion tour across Canada. The influential 1996 film was an underground hit; even Quentin Tarantino became smitten with it, securing its U.S. distribution rights. The next year, Craine’s graphic novel adaptation of McDonald’s film was published and, to commemorate its 20th anniversary, House of Anansi has issued an expanded edition of Craine’s Hard Core Logo: Portrait of a Thousand Punks, and the occasion is being marked with book launch events and screenings of the film. I met with Bruce and Nick at Bruce’s Toronto office recently and we discussed how they first met some 25 years ago, the work of comic artist Chester Brown and other underground comic artists, making road movies and graphic novels, Canadian cont

Jessica Moss is a well-respected and talented musician currently based in Montreal, Quebec. Perhaps best known for her membership in Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, Moss is a violinist who has also played prominent roles in Black Ox Orkestar, Carla Bozulich’s Evangelista, and collaborated with Vic Chesnutt in the last years of his life. Though accustomed to working with others, Moss recently made her first solo record; it’s a compelling one called Pools of Light, now available via Constellation Records, prompting her to tour across England and Ireland after upcoming shows in Montreal and Brooklyn respectively. Jessica and I caught up for a conversation, in which we discussed meeting Leonard Cohen during a Silver Mt. Zion recording session at the Hotel2Tango studio, being abroad when Trump was chosen to turn the United States of America into a failed casino, parenting in a weird world, working with Kevin Doria and receiving encouragement to write her own music, global warming, and much more. Sponsored

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy is a moniker employed by Will Oldham, a truly gifted and idiosyncratic songwriter, singer, musician, producer, and actor based in Louisville, Kentucky. Throughout his illustrious run, as one of the world’s most prolific and singular artistic forces to have emerged in the past 25 years, Oldham has spent some of his time performing songs that were composed by others, often delving into their inner workings to make them his own. His latest release is Best Troubadour, a tribute to the works and work ethic of the legendary country star, Merle Haggard, who passed away in 2016. Best Troubador is out via Drag City Records and Will and I caught up recently to discuss why he doesn’t see the point in telling people that you miss them once they’ve died, how he hoped to start a dialogue with Merle Haggard, how a record like this one might push back against a thoughtless music industry and the way some of us are conditioned to consume art, the strange ritual of music streaming and telephones, unattain

Jesse Ruddock is a talented writer, photographer, and musician currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Originally from Guelph, Ontario, Ruddock graduated from Harvard cum laude, after attending the university on an ice hockey scholarship. She was a hotshot goalie who got into hip-hop and underground rock thanks to Jim Guthrie and pals like Noah23 and Livestock. She’s made her own music under monikers like Koko Bonaparte and Koko Blue and her writing and photography has appeared in The New Yorker, BOMB Magazine, and Vice. In February 2017, Coach House Books published her debut novel; it’s called Shot-Blue and has received raves from the New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews among others. Jesse and I caught up at the CFRU studios recently when she was home in Guelph and she surprised me with stories about her past life as a hockey goalie, her writing influences, the power of her peers in Guelph, her remarkably talented family, and where her novel Shot-Blue may have come from. Sponsored by Pizza

Maz Jobrani is an outspoken standup comedian and actor based in Los Angeles, California. A proud Iranian-American, Jobrani has made appearances on late night tv shows, taped comedy specials for Netflix, wrote the bestselling book, I’m not a terrorist, but I’ve played one on TV, starred in films like Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero, and he currently appears as a character named Fawz on the CBS sitcom, Superior Donuts. Jobrani will be in Montreal July 12-27, 2017 to host 19 performances of The Ethnic Show, a beloved segment at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. He was in Toronto recently for a show of his own and I caught up with him for a brief chat about Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, domestic racism and racist immigrants, the Ethnic Show, and much more. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Saltland is the moniker of composer and cellist Rebecca Foon who calls Montreal, Quebec home. A former member of A Silver Mt. Zion and currently in Esmerine, Foon has just released, A Common Truth, her second album as Saltland, and a lovely, stirring album released by Constellation Records on March 31, 2017. Rebecca and I recently had a chat about her yoga practice and perceptions of mental health, climate change and the actions of people who acknowledge and deny its impact on Earth, her role in co-organizing the successful and star-studded Pathway to Paris concerts for climate justice, Flea and Warren Ellis, her own music, and much more. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee.     Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tim Darcy is an exciting and provocative American poet, singer, songwriter, musician, and performer currently based in Montreal, Quebec. Well-respected for his work as a dynamic vocalist and intricate lyricist in the band Ought, Darcy recently stepped out for a record and tour under his own name. The record is a great one called Saturday Night, which was released by JagJaguwar Records in February 2017, and Darcy and his band have already crossed parts of Canada, the United States, and Europe to spread the word about it and play some shows. With some more concerts ahead of him, Tim and I caught up for a chat a few weeks ago where we discussed his experience at this year’s controversial SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, which faced backlash over performance limits they imposed on travelling musicians, the political climate and consciousness in America and Canada, how writing with and playing in Ought has influenced him as a solo artist, what’s up with the new Ought record and his own musical plans, and much more.

Elliott BROOD is a well-established Canadian band whose unique form of enigmatic folk-rock has been captivating audiences for 15 years. Consisting of childhood friends Casey Laforet and Mark Sasso, and early adopter Steve Pitkin, the trio of multi-instrumentalists in Elliott BROOD have won awards and toured the world hard, releasing five acclaimed albums along the way, including their most recent LP, 2014’s Work and Love. Assigned to write an Exclaim! Magazine piece, I recently travelled to their new HQ in Hamilton, Ontario to check out their workspace, talk about Grandad’s Doughnuts, the time Mark and Casey saw Nirvana in Detroit, what they make of Hamilton, their work contributing songs to the new Anna Paquin show Bellevue, what their new album might be like, and more. All that, plus you can hear a yet-to-be-released song called “The Fall” from their next record, Ghost Gardens, at the end of our talk. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee. Support this show http://supporter.aca

Robbie Fulks is a brilliant singer and songwriter who is based just outside of Chicago, Illinois. His latest album is Upland Stories, which was nominated for two Grammy Awards at the 2017 ceremony, and was released by Bloodshot Records where it earned its spot on ‘best of 2016’ album lists compiled by Rolling Stone, NPR, the Guardian, Salon, Chicago Tribune, and more. Upland Stories is certainly a favourite around my house so I made an effort to connect with Robbie recently and he and I discussed things like the way people listen to music and each other these days, his interest in the Second City and teaching Tina Fey how to play guitar, talking with Trump people, working with Steve Albini for almost 20 years, seeing Bruno Mars and Beyoncé live at the Grammys ceremony, what the word ‘schmoz” means, and much, more. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informati

Century Egg is an artful young pop-rock band based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Featuring lyrics in Mandarin and English sung by a young woman named Shane Keyu Song, Century Egg are an animated quartet in more ways then one. They’ve just released a new EP called River God, and are set to play select shows across Canada, including stops at the Ebar in Guelph on April 7 for Kazoo! Fest. Song, Robert Drisdelle, Tri Le, and Nick Dourado make up Century Egg and all of them recently joined me for an in-depth conversation about what life is like in Halifax, Calgary, and China, Shane’s upbringing in China and her background as a graphic artist and animator, oppression and liberation, racialized and underrepresented musicians in Canada, playing cool music, and much more. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode of Long Night with Vish Khanna was recorded at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, as part of the Long Winter festival on Friday March 24, 2017. Our guests included a Toronto music venue discussion panel featuring April Aliermo (Hooded Fang, Phèdre), Brian Wong (It's Not U It's Me), Greg Benedetto (Not Dead Yet Fest), and Kevin Ritchie (NOW Magazine), actor and comedian Pat Thornton (Filth City, Cousins, Different Times), and award-winning Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer and artist, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Recorded by Dave MacKinnon. Photos by Rick Clifford. House band is The Bicycles. Produced by Long Winter and Vish Khanna. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bonnie Trash is a cool, arresting new rock duo consisting of twin sisters Emma and Sara BV. Based in their hometown of Guelph, Ontario, the BV sisters also play in a psych rock band called the Folk, which is currently on hiatus so that the pair can concentrate on the darker pop of Bonnie Trash. Featuring distorted guitars, synthetic percussion, and impassioned vocals, Bonnie Trash is a compelling live band about to release their first EP, Ezzelini's Dead. At the end of this interview, which is really fascinating if you're into Nirvana's In Utero, Steve Albini's record engineering, Black Sabbath's final lap, cannibalism, the long, shared history between Guelph and Italy, and more, we actually premiere a song from the EP called "Sleepless Sheep." Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Derm Kean and an Incredible Woman is a rock band that originally hails from St. John's, Newfoundland. Fronted by the wild, crazed, and compelling Derm Kean, the band recently released a new album called Incredible. They were touring Southern Ontario towards the end of 2016 and so met with me at CFRU in Guelph for a chat about their history, what it's like growing up in Newfoundland and the political climate in the province these days, the Lawnya Vawnya festival, making a new record with Steve Albini, and much more. Sponsored by the Bookshelf, Pizza Trokadero, and Planet Bean Coffee. Listen, subscribe, rate/review to Kreative Kontrol on iTunes, audioBoom, Google play, Stitcher, and tunein.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jon Mckiel is an excellent musician based in Sackville, New Brunswick. A masterful underground rock music maker, Mckiel and his killer band are about to tour behind his fourth album. It’s called Memorial Ten Count, it’s out via You’ve Changed Records and also Headless Owl Records, and it prompted Jon and I to have a chat […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Richard Laviolette is a very talented singer, songwriter, and musician from Guelph, Ontario. Originally from Tara, Ontario in Bruce County, Laviolette has been making some of the most affecting, outspoken, and catchy folk and rock music to emerge in this century. His new album is a lovely and reflective one called Taking the Long Way Home, […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tommy Stinson is a legendary musician who currently resides in upstate New York. Originally from Minneapolis, Stinson is a founding member of the Replacements and went on to form bands like Bash & Pop and Perfect, as well as joining Soul Asylum and Guns N’ Roses. Though Bash & Pop broke up in 1994 after […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

David Pajo is an esteemed musician who lives in Los Angeles, California. A truly great and distinctive guitarist, Pajo originally hails from Louisville, Kentucky where he played in Slint and with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy among others. He went on to join bands or collaborate with the likes of Royal Trux, Tortoise, Stereolab, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tim Kingsbury is a musician based in Montreal, Quebec. His new band Sam Patch is about to release their debut record, a cool one called Yeah You, and I. It’s out February 17 via Tim’s own imprint, Dep Records, and the band will be touring in select cities throughout March. I’ve known Tim a while now and […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode of Long Night with Vish Khanna was recorded at the Theatre Centre in Toronto, Ontario, as part of the Long Winter festival on Saturday February 4, 2017. Our guests were Toronto consultant, activist, and organizer Walied Khogali, Lisa Conway and Andrew Collins of L CON, comedian Ali Hassan, and film critics and Everything But Sports podcast hosts Tina Hassannia […] Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.