No Sleep Til Sudbury With Brent Jensen

This week on NSTS I speak with someone whose parents I watched on television as a kid - her mom is Cindy Williams, who played Shirley from Laverne & Shirley, and her dad is Bill Hudson of the Hudson Brothers. Her name is Emily Taylor Hudson, and she's a super talented singer songwriter with brand new music available.     Emily and I have a really great chat in this episode. Her new single is "Hearts We Wanna Break", from her EP entitled Love is a Dirty Word. We also talk about her deep appreciation for the classics - old school Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles' "Julia", and more.  Wonderful discussion.  Hudson's playlist (found here on Spotify) The Beatles - Revolution Enya - Caribbean Blue Marvin Gaye - Ain't That Peculiar Joni Mitchell - The Last Time I Saw Richard Sting - If I Ever Lose My Faith In You   

As he did in life, Doors frontman and rock icon Jim Morrison also commands mystique in death. The circumstances surrounding his death are mysterious and unclear - if he did in fact even die.  This week No Sleep 'til Sudbury examines the multiple theories associated with Morrison's passing, including the assertions made by some who claim he's alive and living on a farm in Oregon under the name Bill Loyer.   

It's here. NSTS episode number 200! While much has changed since the very first episodes of No Sleep 'til Sudbury were released in April 2017, the premise of the show remains the same - to celebrate music's power to connect us and enrich our lives.  The last four years have been quite a trip, I must say. The conversations and exchanges, the new friendships, and the shared music have all made for some truly life-enriching experiences, ones I feel very fortunate to have enjoyed. I wasn't sure what would happen when I clicked on 'publish' that very first time back in 2017. But I couldn't be more glad I did.  Episode 200 is a tribute to all of these experiences, and a tip of my hat to all of the people who delivered them to me.  As No Sleep 'til Sudbury turns 4, I sincerely thank everyone, guests and listeners alike, for making it all possible.               

My guest this week is Jonathan Gross, a former rock critic, Rolling Stone contributor, and music promoter who brought Run DMC, The Beastie Boys and other New York City hip hop acts up to Canada in the early 80s.  The chat that Jonathan and I have about his songs is sentimental, funny, and fascinating all at the same time. Bad breakups, getting to first base (and a half), the beauty of nostalgia, the 70s Toronto music scene, Steve Rubell, Jon's relationship with Ric Ocasek of The Cars, The Beatles versus The Stones... it all gets covered in this episode.   Gross' playlist (Spotify – NSTS Episode 199 - Jonathan Gross): Hall & Oates - She's Gone Goo Goo Dolls - Name Boston - More Than A Feeling The Cars - My Best Friend's Girl The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl               

Back in November when he was still known as Jordan Paul, Ellis Meek was scheduled to appear on the show as part of the NSTS Steam Whistle live on location series. He declined as a safety precaution, feeling slightly under the weather, but as it turned out Ellis became seriously ill with COVID. This week he returns to NSTS to talk about his recovery, how his illness impacted him, and his new outlook on life. His Spotify playlist is available here: Spotify – NSTS Episode 198 - Ellis Meek       Meek's playlist: The Beatles – It’s All Too Much   Lonnie Holley – All Rendered Truth Harry Nilsson – One Neil Young – Bandit Jefferson Airplane – Today      

Ray Coburn, original Honeymoon Suite keyboard player and current Roger Hodgson keys man, is my guest this week on NSTS, and we have a wonderfully giddy chat about our favourite music.  We cover all kinds of ground in this episode - the genius of Brian Wilson, the peculiar ambivalence of The Carpenters, the spirituality of George Harrison, what it's like to perform alongside former Supertramp frontman Roger Hodgson, the beauty of musical nostalgia, and so much more. And to close the show, Ray also very graciously asks what my skin vibrating songs are. Highly enjoyable conversation.       NEW FEATURE! A Spotify NSTS playlist is now available to you so that you can listen to the songs as we discuss them. Here's the link to this week's playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5A2fPMtOs5QMo5LQW1yCJO     Coburn's playlist: George Harrison – Isn’t It A Pity Emerson Lake & Palmer – Endless Enigma and Fugue Joni Mitchell – Court & Spark The Carpenters – Goodbye To Love The Beach Boys – Surf’s Up

Goddo bassist, rock icon, and author Greg Godovitz is my guest this week on NSTS. His new book is called Up Close and Uncomfortable, reaching back to his earlier days before the musical career he describes in his first book, Travels With My Amp.       Greg shares a few of his stories on the show, including his adventures with the Sinister Scout Master, his friendship with famed producer Eddie Kramer, his exposure to Black Magic in England, and much more. We also talk about his next book project, which I suggest should be called "The Third Verse Is The Same As The First" (Goddo fans will get it).  Godovitz's playlist: The Beatles - Here, There, and Everywhere The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset The Beatles - In My Life The Beach Boys - God Only Knows The Rolling Stones - Time Is On My Side  

If you want to have a great chat about music, Montreal-based radio personality, podcaster, and musician Jeremy White is your guy. He's my guest this week on NSTS, and it was a discussion I thoroughly enjoyed.  Jeremy touches on all kinds of topics - how Yngwie Malmsteen almost killed him, the bionic ears of Mutt Lange, why Eddie Van Halen should never be called a shredder, how the 80s impacted KISS and Alice Cooper, and so much more. But most importantly, his outlook on music reminded me how important it is to be less critical and to just enjoy music for what it is - that a good song is just a good song. White's playlist: Van Halen – Top of the World Shania Twain – She’s Not Just a Pretty Face Def Leppard – Armageddon It   KISS – Unholy Bryan Adams – Don’t Drop That Bomb On Me    

I haven't seen my pal, former VH1 veejay and current Q104.3 New York on-air personality Ian O'Malley, for more than a year. We decided last week we'd catch up via the show and talk about the songs that have been making his skin vibrate lately given the current times.  O'Malley can always be relied upon to bring some very compelling conversation, and some great stories too - this time around we chat about John Mayer, Judas Priest's Rob Halford, and an incredible tale about Stevie Ray Vaughn.       O'Malley's playlist: Stevie Ray Vaughn - Life Without You John Mayer - In Repair Judas Priest - Tyrant Extreme - When I'm President   

Famed music producer Phil Spector died in jail a few days ago, and his legacy begs the question - was he a musical genius who committed murder, or a murderer who happened to be a musical genius?  This week NSTS breaks down the bizarre life of Phil Spector, from the question of his parents being relatives, through his legendary successes as a songwriter and producer, his culture of abuse and cruelty, his alcohol and drug-crazed gun-wielding episodes in the studio, and his conviction for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.        

Given the interest in NSTS Episode 171, "Bizarre Musical Conspiracy Theories", I elected to return to the territory this week and examine perhaps the greatest rock and roll hoax of them all - the 'Paul is Dead' conspiracy theory.  Such an interesting phenomenon to delve into - the assertion that Beatle Paul McCartney secretly died in a car accident in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike, with all kinds of hidden clues subsequently provided by the remaining Beatles on album covers and in song lyrics. This week's episode looks at the most intriguing aspects of the theory, including the impacts the phenomenon would have on pop culture in the decades to follow.             

It's my pleasure this week to host Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go's on NSTS from her home in Austin, Texas to chat about her fantastic memoir All I Ever Wanted, and of course, the songs that make her skin vibrate.  Kathy and I have a great down-to-earth discussion about the incredible events she's experienced in life, both good and bad. She also shares what she had really hoped to convey in her book, how music helped her to feel normal, and how that unorthodox electronic handclap found its way into my favourite Go-Go's song, "Head Over Heels".             Valentine's playlist: David Bowie - Rebel Rebel Rod Stewart - Maggie May Kenny Burrell - 'Round Midnight The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U   

Happy New Year everyone, good to be back. We're going to kick the year off with a chat I had with a good friend of mine from England, bestselling author and editor of Bass Player magazine, mister Joel McIver. Joel's writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Classic Rock, and loads of other publications, and in having written more than 30 books on bands like Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Motorhead, and others, often alongside members of those bands, Joel has earned the trust, respect, and friendship of countless musicians. In this episode Joel and I discuss his latest book project, an upcoming official biography of an Icelandic folk metal band called Skalmold. Fascinating, super interesting cultural learnings in this discussion. And at the top of the show, some great bonus stories about having completely unlimited backstage access at the very first Big Four show in Poland, hanging out with members of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax.      McIver's playlist: Skalmold - Skotta The Beatles - Across The

I had mentioned earlier that I left Rik's house after taping this year's NSTS Christmas special with almost four hours of material. After considering options, I decided to create THREE episodes, one more than the usual two we produce every year. So technically, we can consider this a bonus episode!    This is just all fun, fantastic content. Laughs, insights, analysis, and intimate acoustic performances from Rik, including Burt Bacharach's "Alfie" and a breakdown of Marcus King's "Goodbye Carolina", concluding with a composition of his own, "Cobalt Blue". A perfect close to the year; regularly scheduled NSTS shows resume in January 2021.  Merry Christmas everyone!    Emmett/Jensen Xmas 2020 playlist: Burt Bacharach - Alfie Marcus King - Goodbye Carolina Rik Emmett - Cobalt Blue    

Welcome back to No Sleep 'til Sudbury's 2020 Christmas special, live from legendary Triumph frontman Rik Emmett's home studio. In this episode, Rik continues to deconstruct the songs that make our skin vibrate, this week's picks being Lulu's "To Sir With Love", The Beatles' "And I Love Her", and "Planet Caravan" from Black Sabbath. Rik sings and plays them section by section, breaking them down with fascinating technical analysis and humour, insight, and some great stories. He and I have been doing the Christmas shows for a while now, but his enthusiasm still amazes me. Another incredible episode you don't want to miss.      Emmett/Jensen playlist: Lulu - To Sir With Love The Beatles - And I Love Her Black Sabbath - Planet Caravan  

I am SO excited to share this with you. Legendary Triumph guitarist Rik Emmett is back for his annual NSTS Christmas episodes, but in planning this year's content, we decided we would do something different... Rik told me earlier this year that he had exhausted his list of Christmas songs that make his skin vibrate. But, in keeping with the theme of that special warmth Christmas brings, he proposed an idea - that I offer five songs that make MY skin vibrate, and in turn he would bring five songs to match mine that make him feel a similar way. He also proposed to do two things - illustrate why these songs make us feel this way by demonstrating on his guitar how they're composed, and, outline the science behind how our brains process music. Crazy! Nobody works harder on their NSTS appearances than Uncle Rikky, and I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed working with him on this. You really do not want to miss these shows, trust me.                The Emmett/Jensen Christmas 2020 playlist (Episode I): Stere

What better way to wrap up the Steam Whistle live on location sessions than with my dear pal, the incredibly gifted Stephen Stanley? In this finale episode, Stephen and I cover a lot of ground - his new record, his new radio show, his new t-shirt...! In addition to sharing some fantastic skin-vibrating songs, Stephen also shares some great stories, like the time when he was introduced as "Steve and Stan Lee", his experiences in America with Lowest of the Low, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck playing his guitars during a Horseshoe gig, and how an owl both terrified him and inspired him to write a very special song which he performs live for us. Thanks and sincere apologies to Lisa Taillefer (in fact pronounced 'tie-fair') and everyone at Steam Whistle for making the live on location series an unforgettable experience. Stanley's playlist: The Flaming Lips - Mother Please Don't Be Sad David Bromberg - Mr. Bojangles Drive By Truckers - Thoughts & Prayers   The Weather Station - Robber Daniel Romano - (Gone Is) All But A Q

Friend of the show and one-woman hurricane Suzi Kory drops in this week for episode four of the No Sleep 'til Sudbury Steam Whistle live on location series recorded at the Steam Whistle Roundhouse in downtown Toronto. As she always does, Suzi brings her unique high-energy blend of engagement, inspiration, and lots of laughs. And this time around as an added bonus, she's joined by guitarist Jeff Brown for her NSTS singing debut, performing her single "Outlaw".                Kory's playlist: Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust Bellamy Brothers - Let Your Love Flow Little River Band - Cool Change Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird John Lennon - Woman

Back by popular demand, R&B songstress Sandra Bouza returns to the show as my guest for part three of the NSTS Steam Whistle live on location series. Her first appearance on the show got a lot of attention, and now she's back with a new list of songs and another searing acoustic performance. Highlights of our chat include Janis Joplin, her very unique way of forgiving others, Blood on the Tracks, and Sandra's tendency to surreptitiously sneak extra songs into her NSTS playlist.            Bouza's playlist: Andreya Triana - Woman Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue Jill Scott - You Don't Know Bob Dylan - Simple Twist of Fate Howling Wolf - Smokestack Lightning

Sandy Horne and Gord Deppe of The Spoons join me this week for Episode II of the No Sleep 'til Sudbury multi-show series live on location from the Steam Whistle Roundhouse facility in downtown Toronto. Sandy and Gord have both been on the show solo previously, so we thought it would be cool to have them come in together and play, and fool around with the idea of skin vibrating songs. They attempt to guess each others' selections, which results in a lot of laughs and also sheds light on some interesting Spoons trivia. And, they perform a great song from their new record called "Landing Lights". Really fun episode.  Deppe's playlist: Liam Gallagher - It Doesn't Have To Be That Way Post Malone - Circles The Weeknd - Feel It Coming Horne's playlist: Original Theme From Star Trek Styx - Light Up Beethoven - Moonlight Movement Number 14