No Sleep Til Sudbury With Brent Jensen

I'm pretty stoked about this week's episode, which focuses on the rise of the Grunge movement of 1991 - the stories behind how Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and other acts came to found this musical movement.   The most interesting aspect of what people understood to be 'grunge' is that many of the bands thought to represent the genre, including Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, and Alice In Chains, really weren't grunge at all. So what were they really? And what was really responsible for the eradication of hair bands in 1991? Hint: it wasn't grunge... 

Guitarist and friend of the show Greg Fraser calls in to NSTS this week. He's got a brand new band called Storm Force, with a brand new record, Age of Fear - and it's been getting a lot of attention around the world since its release last week. Because he's such a great Canadian, Fraze brings in five Canuck tunes that make his skin vibrate. As always, we have some laughs and a great musical chat that includes catching Geddy Lee on an off day and Lars Ulrich's opinion of Streetheart. Fraze's playlist: Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush - World Anthem Triumph - Magic Power Goddo - AnacanaPanacana So Walk On Streetheart - What Kind Of Love Is This Rush - 2112 Overture

This week on No Sleep 'til Sudbury, I examine the year of 1978 through some of the most bizarre and fascinating events that shaped it musically, including Richard Branson trying to have Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten join Devo as their new singer after the Pistols broke up. The facts behind the untimely deaths of Sid Vicious, Keith Moon, and Chicago's Terry Kath are also discussed, as is the ill-fated KISS solo albums strategy, and the massively far-reaching influence of New Wave. Don't miss it!                  

Singer songwriter and friend of the show Suzi Kory drops by the NSTS studios this week to talk about her recent gig at the Horseshoe. Her new single "Settle of the Dust" just dropped, and you can check it out wherever you listen to music. Always a lot of fun to have Suzi on the show - she's funny, insightful, and loves to talk about music, navigating social media trolling, and the "Love Revolution". Check it out.    Kory's playlist:  John Lennon - Imagine   Kacey Musgraves - Rainbow   Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers - Islands in the Stream KISS - I Was Made For Loving You    

Happy New Year, everyone! To kick off 2020 I welcome a very special and unique guest to the show. Jon McMurray has been described as the man with no memory, following a severe head injury he sustained in his 20s. However, he does remember music - and it's the bridge back to his previous life.  His attitude is incredibly inspiring, as is his story, which he graciously shares with us this week through the songs that helped him recover after he awoke from his coma. McMurray's playlist: David Bowie - Space Oddity Beastie Boys - Something's Got To Give Sloan - I Can Feel It A Tribe Called Quest - Can I Kick It? Rheostatics - Fan Letter to Michael Jackson          

Welcome back to the 2019 No Sleep 'til Sudbury Christmas special, featuring none other than the legendary Rik Emmett. In Part II of this year's special, Rik and I return to his home studio to chat about the controversy behind Christmas classic "Baby, It's Cold Outside", who wrote the Jeopardy theme, the back side of the beat, and so much more. And, he performs another Christmas classic. Once again, Rik approaches his favourite Christmas tunes with humour, passion, and insights that introduce a entirely new level of understanding of music most of us tend to enjoy superficially. Cheers to him for being an incredible guest once again this year. This concludes the NSTS programming schedule for 2019, returning the first week of January. To my valued listeners, all over the world - I wish you a very Merry Christmas and an amazing 2020. I appreciate your loyalty, and it's been my privilege to have you tune in this past year. All the very best to you. Happy holidays!     Emmett's playlist: Sammy Davis Jr. - Baby, It'

He's back! My pal Rik Emmett has joined me once again this year on No Sleep 'til Sudbury for two special Christmas episodes of the show, live from Rik's home.   I love working with Rik on this stuff, because he's so enthusiastic about it and puts in so much preparation. He killed it again this year, with more compelling perspectives, historical insights, and hilarious stories - all while playing his guitar. And this year folks, Rik performs TWO songs. Do not miss this.        Emmett's playlist: James Taylor - The Christmas Song Michael Buble - Let It Snow   Tuck Andress - Jingle Bells Joni Mitchell - River    

Film director Sergio Navarretta and screenwriter Alessandra Piccione are the founders of SNAP Films, and they are also my guests on NSTS this week. They're here to talk about The Cuban, their new movie starring Lou Gossett, Jr., and also Arctic Dogs, a new movie they worked on with Alec Baldwin, Heidi Klum, and John Cleese.      We have a great chat about their NSTS playlist, in addition to the criticality of selecting the music for The Cuban, the best places to eat in New York, Afghan culture, and much more.  The playlist: Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah Frank Sinatra - New York, New York Lucio Dalla - Caruso Billy Joel - Piano Man Ibrahim Ferrer - Quizas Zeb & Haniya - Paimona 

Flute! We have flute! British producer, guitarist, and Grammy & Juno winner Chris Birkett makes his return to the show, bringing with him Free Spirits collaborator and flautist Shari Tallon to talk about their new record, called 11:11. They play two songs from the record, and as always, Chris has some entertaining stories - this time around, they involve Dexy's Midnight Runners and Thomas Dolby. Check it out!     Birkett's playlist: Thomas Dolby - Commercial Breakup Dexy's Midnight Runners - Geno Steve Earle - Copperhead Road The Free Spirits - The Power of our Love The Free Spirits - Follow The Light     

His story began with a broken neck. Joining me this week is performance physiologist, author, speaker, and music fan Dr. Greg Wells, and he shares his incredible story of coming back from a life-altering injury to achieve extraordinary heights. The playlist he provides serves as a guiding soundtrack to this journey.      Wells' playlist: The Who - Baba O'Reilly INXS - Kiss The Dirt The Tragically Hip - In View Bryan Adams - Summer of 69 Foo Fighters - Times Like These

This week I host someone I used to stay up late to watch as a teenage sports fan - broadcast legend Mark Hebscher. Since his days hosting the innovative Sportsline, Mark has done a number of other things including having written a new book entitled The Greatest Athlete You've Never Heard Of.  Hebsy is also a massive music fan, and we chat about all sorts of stuff - Mick Taylor, Paradigm Phantoms, being introduced to Los Lobos, why catchers paint their fingernails, and how he got to hear an early version of The Hip's "Ahead By A Century" as it was being written by the band.       Hebsy's playlist: King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Shoes The Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knocking Los Lobos - Theresa The Tragically Hip - Ahead By A Century  

Sometimes people just blow your mind with their depth of musical knowledge. Professor and author Rob Bowman did that to me this week on the show.  This guy operates on a completely different plane, folks. His musical knowledge is matched only by his passion for it. He's been hired to write for the Stones, Dylan, Rush, and so many others. We talk about his latest book The Flyer Vault, and also Zeppelin's first time in Canada, which Beatles song has eight different hooks, the importance of musical experimentation in live contexts, and the unusual way Keef recorded the demo for Jumpin' Jack Flash. Unreal.      Bowman's playlist: The Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash  Bob Dylan - Trying To Get To Heaven Patti Smith - Horses Public Enemy - Fight the Power James Brown - Cold Sweat    

I finally talked former Tragically Hip manager Jake Gold into coming to the studio to do a NSTS episode.  As you can imagine, he told some terrific stories - about how he came into contact with the Hip for the first time, what the Road Apples record was originally supposed to be called, the dark stories surrounding "Locked in the Trunk of a Car". But also the special reason why a Cat Stevens song made his list, and what he and Andy Frost thought of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer". Don't miss this.        Gold's playlist: Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes The Tragically Hip - Locked in the Trunk of a Car Bob Marley - the Redemption Song Cat Stevens - Father and Son Genesis - Supper's Ready

I have so much in common with Steve Jones. We both grew up in small towns in Northern Ontario, used music to cope through our small town isolation, went on to write music-based books, and now we both speak on what can be learned from music and applied to various aspects of work and life. And this week, we sit down and shed light on our intriguing similarities. We chat about Sudbury, The Violent Femmes, Bob Marley's Canadian connection, the story behind that little laugh that can be heard if you listen closely at the beginning of The Police's "Roxanne", and how the music we both chose offered Steve and I the community we desperately needed as kids. A truly enjoyable conversation for me.    Jones' playlist: Morrisey - Suedehead Bob Marley - Redemption Song The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns, and Money Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run

This week marks the first time I've ever hosted a full band in the NSTS studios, and that band was the very talented Jessica Rhaye and the Ramshackle Parade. Jessica's new record Just Like A Woman dropped last month, and the band stopped in to talk about it and also to discuss some skin-vibrating songs - each band member brought in one each. They wrap the show by playing Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" live, and you're not going to want to miss it. It's damn good.            Rhaye's playlist: Robyn Hitchcock - 1974 (Chris)  Joe Henry - Our Song (Clinton) John Hartford - The First Girl I Loved (Bill) Buffy Sainte Marie - You Got To Run (Sandy) Jann Arden - Unloved (Jessica) 

My pal Kevin Comeau, guitarist of Crown Lands, drops in this week for an impromptu chat on the latest with the band and what it's been like opening up for Jack White and Rival Sons across North America.He came up with his song list on the drive over.            As always, Kev and I have a great chat, and after we talk about Crown Lands heading down to Nashville to record the new album, the conversation goes into some interesting places - his interest in coffee on tour, why Saskatchewan is so underrated, Jack White's vocal warmup routine, The Goonies, Tool and modal jazz, and if bands were sandwiches, what Crown Lands, Motorhead, and Queensryche would be. I love this guy.      Comeau's playlist: All Them Witches - Am I Going Up Elder - Dead Roots Stirring John Carpenter - Escape From New York Soundtrack Haim - Nothing's Wrong         

I've been talking forever about music's ability to elicit an emotional response. My guest this week is musician Rob Carli, and he's created a special campaign that embodies this very idea - The Awesome Music Project.  Rob and his business partner Terry Stuart created The Awesome Music Project as a collection of stories detailing music's transformative impact on people, which eventually developed into a book and a campaign whose goal is to build a community that can accelerate mental health solutions using music. The book is incredible, full of stories from celebrities and everyday people alike, who have been positively impacted by music in some way. It launches everywhere Thursday October 10, Mental Health Day, and it's available for pre-order on the AMP website. This is a great cause, one I fully endorse. Buy the book now!         Carli's playlist: Skye Wallace - Not Ready for This To Start Led Zeppelin - The Rain Song Rheostatics - Queer Tame Impala - Led Zeppelin Anderson Paak - Make It Better Aretha Frank

Garage rockers Alissa Klug and Brendan Albert of Queens & Kings join me on the show this week, celebrating the release of their hot new single and video "You Got Me".     We play a snippet from the single and talk about some songs that make their skin vibrate, along with other stuff like stage fright, photography, Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder, and where the intensity in their music really comes from. Check it out.    Queens & Kings playlist: PJ Harvey - Grow Grow Grow The Kills - Last Day of Magic Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows Bucky James & Alissa Vox Raw - Walkin' the Fine Line

Julian Taylor drops by the NSTS studios this week to talk skin-vibrating tunes. His new record Avalanche is a funk and soul tour de force, and if you haven't heard it yet, you should. Julian is a super talented musician and songwriter who should be a lot bigger than he is.  We chat about his old band Staggered Crossing, a band I've loved since the late 90s, and lots of other stuff - the Funk Brothers, what sounds good and what doesn't sound good driving in his new '66 Mustang, bagpipe solos, hanging with Noel Gallagher, and more. But my favourite part of his visit was him playing an acoustic version of Staggered tune "Further Again". You're gonna love it.              Taylor's playlist: Sturgill Simpson - All Around You Mipso - People Change The Frighteners - Nothing More To Say Greyhounds - What's On Your Mind John Farnham - You're the Voice  

No Sleep 'til Sudbury is back with Canada's Queen of Punk, Bif Naked!  Bif's achieved a lot of things - topping charts with hit singles, beating cancer, and performing in Lilith Fair to name a few. We talk about the 20th anniversary of Lilith Fair and lots more - Desmond Child, New Wave, where I Bificus came from, Sudbury, protest songs, Iron Maiden and Madonna, and her upcoming seniors burlesque school. I love this woman.     Naked's playlist: Foxy Brown - Hot Spot Asking Alexandria - Moving On Grimes - Realiti Tarkan - Kuzu Kuzu Belly - Now They'll Sleep Youssou N'Dour - No More New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle