Hitmakers

How does a kid from Houston, TX become the drummer for a legendary California punk band that’s been around longer than he’s been alive? What’s it like winning the Guitar Center drum-off? These and other questions answered as we chat with Isaias Gil! Originally from Acapulco, Mexico, Isaias has been working as a session drummer in Houston since his teens. He’s been in Modern Drummer, recorded for Macy Gray and performed with David Lee Roth(!!) He’s also a nice, positive, down-to-earth dude who’s serious about the craft and doesn’t take any of it for granted. More info at learndrums.ca

"Timothy Crofts is a true 21st Century pianist. His main focus is improvisation and world music aesthetics. In performance, Timothy explores the full sonic capabilities of the acoustic piano through extended techniques and a wide range of piano preparations. He is able to coax a variety of colour and extreme dynamic contract through employing traditional and non-traditional techniques in tandem." That's what his bio says. Tim is also a professor at Dalhousie University and co-director of SuddenlyLISTEN in Halifax. The layperson would probably call what he does "avant-garde" or "experimental" music. As you'll hear, though, he's interested in all types of music as well as its social/cultural context. We talk about the art-school origins of a lot of popular music, going deep into whatever you're learning, his own start as an 80s guitar guy, and more.

Change begins at home. Your faithful host and his younger brother (beloved MTL comic James Brown, known for his work with the iconic SQUAD LAUGHS) decided a few months ago to read a book on systemic racism and record a podcast talking about what they learned. They chose this one because it seemed to be circulating, they'd heard of it, seemed like a good starting point. This is not so much a book review as a wide-ranging discussion about these ideas, the system and our place in it.

The new DOG DAY album is out THIS FRIDAY (Aug 14)! The first one in 7 years! We sat down with KC and Meg from the band to talk drums (they're both drummers and multi-instrumentalists, with such acts as NOT YOU, DIAMONDTOWN, CENTURY EGG, GEMSTONES, BAD VIBRATIONS etc), astrology, touring in other countries and much more!!!

Paypal Visit? Papa'll Visit? Is The Pope on the show? Elon Musk? Your dad? You'll have to listen to find out. JK, Papal Visit are Pierre Cormier and Adam Mowery. A recording project that became a live band (with help from some of Saint John's heaviest hitters), they have a new single out called "Destroy the Hive." To these ears, the A-side sounds like Joy Division doing garage rock, while the B-side is like Mike O'Neill fronting The Smiths. We talk about the band's past and present, illegal teenage fun in Northern New Brunswick, good and bad band names, and much more.

Chad is the singer and songwriter from the band Kestrels. Their new album "Dream Or Don’t Dream" comes out THIS FRIDAY, July 10, 2020. If you miss the "alternative rock" people made in the 90s, you’ll dig Kestrels. J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr plays on the record. We talked about that, meeting Steve Albini, touring, recording, Eric Clapton, Myspace, buying $25 CDs, DOD guitar pedals, the creative process and so much more. As a fun bonus, this was recorded on July 6, 2019. What a time capsule!

Chris Murdoch has been drumming in the Halifax, Nova Scotia hardcore scene since the turn of the millennium. By his own count, he's been in about 20 bands. He's played with Envision, Outtacontroller and currently Souvenir, fronted Word On the Street, and recently authored "Black Dots: An Afropunk Primer", available via Pentagon Black, which you should buy right now because it's only $2 and all proceeds go to Black Lives Matter Solidarity Fund NS until the end of June. An instant classic episode.

Ben Hardy, PhD is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author. His blogs have been read by over 100 million people and are featured on Forbes, Fortune, CNBC, Cheddar, Big Think, and many others. He is a regular contributor to Inc. and Psychology Today and from 2015-2018, he was the #1 writer, in the world, on Medium.com. He's got a new book out called "Personality Isn't Permanent" and he stopped by (virtually of course, he's in Orlando) to talk about it. We talk about making a break from the past, designing the future and how it all applies to musicians.

What a world. If you need a break, here's over 2 hours of nothing really important. This episode was recorded way back on May 30th with Nova Scotian musicians, sweethearts and jokesters Corey Isenor and Liam Frier. Listen to the end for a live performance (not the one they attempted to do over live stream from different locations, that one is kinda cool but kinda weird. keep going). Check out Corey's music at https://coreyisenor.bandcamp.com/ (All 3 of us played on his most recent album, "Absinthe & Smoke". It's a bit of a who's who.) Check out Liam's music at https://liamfrier.bandcamp.com/ And Corey's photography at http://coreyjisenor.com/

We sat down with singer-songwriter, recording engineer and host's-younger-brother MICAH BROWN for a wide-ranging chat on bands, the east coast vs the big city and an exclusive live performance! (almost) ZERO TALK ABOUT COVID-19! ENJOY!!!

WE'RE BACK BABY! The Season 3 home opener is something a little different. HITMAKERS: AFTER DARK is our live TV show, happening every Saturday night at 11pm (Atlantic Daylight Time) until quarantine ends and we can go to shows again. For the kickoff episode, we sat down with Saint John singer-songwriter JASON OGDEN (also of the bands PENNY BLACKS, PAPAL VISIT and HOSPITAL GRADE) to discuss the Neil Young biography "Shakey," which we discovered via Instagram that we were both reading right now. Let us know what you think of the new format! Show info, social links and more at learndrums.ca.

(Please don't sue us, Allen Klein or Tom Scharpling) One for the true heads! Let's get (meta)physical! Where have we come from? Where are we going? We're going to borrow a descriptor from a Vice article about Metallica recording "Ride The Lightning" and tell you that this is a "wild ass" tale of how one man's career crossroads led him to the streets of Saint John. Season 2 is done! Binge the whole thing! Season 3 drops when it's good and ready! ✌️

LEAKED! A brand-new track from the Halifax shoegaze darlings' debut EP "Thin Veil", out later this week. Just call us Julian Assange, without all the... actually... don't. Instead, press play! Rock hard!

Jo rules. She works as a theatre tech and puppetry teacher here in Saint John. She left behind a career as a painter for film in Vancouver, working on projects with celebrities like Nicolas Cage and.... I wanna say Denzel Washington. She's no stranger to moving around the country, first as a minister’s kid, then in a touring hardcore band, then just following her own muse. Great episode. Come hang.

Surprise!

A classic drum episode! We talk about stuff we like and stuff we can't stand. Clinton is more of a Groovy Gus than a Charlie Chops, if you catch our drift. Inspiration, tone, thoughts on Jojo Mayer, Dave Elitch, Ash Soan, Anderson .Paak, Hal Blaine, Jim Keltner, Jay Bellarose, Ringo Starr, Bernard Purdie, John Bonham, ?uestlove, Carter Beauford and more. We even find time for a laugh or two.

My best piece of drum advice at 38:29! Surrounded by info on the past and future of this podcast and its theme song, thoughts about streaming music and much more. *(the title is a Bad Religion reference if u did not get it it) (it's the worst bad religion song)(im playling guitar in a bad religion cover band s00n)

John Mullane is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, bandleader, Haligonian about town. We found what appeared to be an interview room created specifically for this episode at the Rodd Charlottetown during ECMAs to talk about bands, recording, touring, making music for film and TV, sustaining a career and much more.

Krista is an industry pro who works with artists on grant applications, PR and strategy. She's got a new podcast ("Granted") coming out on the subject of the Canadian grant system. What it is, how to use it, and some horror stories. It's a huge part of the music industry in this country and an inevitable part of building a career. Tune in to learn what to do and what not to!

No full-length show this week. Here's what's up.