Hey folks… We are taking a little April break. To work on “exams” and …stuff…

We’ll be back before you know it with some more sick chats and we’ll leave you with some of our best shows in the meantime.

April 9th the interview show with Grimes

April 16th the interview show with Myths

April 23rd the interview show with Rich Aucoin

April 30th the interview show with Leathan Milne

May 5th the interview show with Cancer Bats

When I met Liam from Cancer Bats, in the alley behind the Rickshaw, I could not have predicted how off the rails this interview would get. While we chatted, we watched a woman shoot up heroine and I thought this was as wild as it could get. I was wrong!

Before either of us knew it, this interview was hijacked by Chi Pig, the legendary frontman of SNFU. Imagine meeting a member of SNFU in an alley in the DTES?! Then Chi Pig from SNFU literally chased us around and tried to blow smoke up our asses after Liam got a little starstruck.

When I sat down with Canada’s resident electronic party-maker Rich Aucoin backstage at Vancouver’s Media Club, he was just back from a trip to UBC’s Museum of Anthropology. “I just like to keep learning,” he told me. In fact, Rich visits the big museums in every city he hits while on tour. Later, I watched him put up the parachute and set up the multimedia spectacular for his show and I could understand why a Rich Aucoin show is not to be missed.

Now it is your turn to learn all about Rich Aucoin and his record We’re All Dying to Live by listening to our chat. Does he give out his cell number to the audience at the end of each show? Did 500 musicians work on his record? One night, how did he end up as Girl Talk‘s hype man? His music is so uplifting–does he in fact bleed rainbows?

I get to the bottom of everything!

the interview show with Rich Aucoin

Rich Aucoin “P.U.S.H.” (A little bit of a Daft Punk influence is never a bad thing.)

Rich Aucoin “It” (Upbeat electronic music at its best.)

Myths is a partnership of best friends Quinne Rogers (a former fashion designer) and Leif Hall (from the legendary Vancouver band Mutators). They create dark electronic music that combines all the things that make up their friendship: fantasy, art, politics, feminism and more. Talking about their music this way makes it sound dull and academic, which is definitely not the case. It’s neat to discover all the thought and layers embedded in each Myths track.

If you really want to understand Myths, you should really make the effort to see them live–they are one of those bands that put as much effort into their live show as their music–but listening to my chat with Myths is a great place to start!

the interview show with Myths

Myths “Deadlights” This tracks was inspired by a horror movie marathon.

Myths “The Labyrinth” One of my favorite Myths tracks. It starts with a sample of someone walking in the snow and builds from there to delicious and sinister depths.

Philoceraptor is Justin, Phil and Steve. I caught this new local band at the end of a session in their Yaletown practice space. They were a couple of beers into the night, which made for a perfect time to chat.

One of the unique things about Philoceraptor is that they are a two guitar and drum kit trio. When I asked them what it would take to get a bass player in the band, Steve told me that he was the taco eating champion of the band. And that any bass player would have to beat his taco-eating record, 39 tacos in one hour, in order to join Philoceraptor. “Not a single note until you are at 40 tacos in one hour.” I think this sums these guys  up perfectly.

Listen to our excellent chat for some more crazy moments, including when I get the guys to do a Philoceraptor cry. Beer does wonders.

the interview show with Philoceraptor

Philoceraptor “Clever Girl”

Philoceraptor “PYT”

Grimes is a musician, visual artist, video director and producer based out of Montreal/Vancouver and lately everyone has been falling under her spell.

Influential UK music mag NME picked her as one of the most exciting acts of 2012. Listen to her latest record Visions and you would have to agree.

When I sat down with Grimes, she was a lot more giggly than I would have expected, but she had a lot to say when I asked her about “not knowing any music theory” (a controversial rumor about her) and her witch house roots.

the interview show with Grimes

Grimes “Oblivion”

Grimes “Crystal Ball” (Nautiluss Remix)

Thanks for listening. We are back with an all-new series of new episodes. Stay tuned for my chats with Philoceraptor, K.Flay, The Wombats, Myths, TheeSatisfaction, Paper Lions, Metronomy, Braids and many many more.

Grimes just kicked off a big tour with North American and European dates. Check her out if she comes your way.

Hey folks… Happy 2012! We are on our winter break. But we will be back before you know it. Until then we will leave you with some of our fav interviews from 2011.

Dec 26th the interview show with Skrillex

Jan 2nd the interview show with Leif Vollebekk

Jan 9th the interview show with Nü Sensae

Jan 16th the interview show with 12th Planet

Jan 23rd the interview show with Mother Mother

Jan 30th the interview show with Kim Churchill

Feb 6th the interview show with Hot Panda

Also here are some tracks to enjoy. :)

M83 “Midnight City” (My fav track from 2011)

TB1 “Showertime” (The first original track from a MTL-based remixer)

Tyrow James is a fellow Surrey boy, so when he emailed me about his new record The Brass Knuckles Effect, I knew I had to have him on the show. Tyrow likes to make tracks that are a dangerous mix of Beastie Boys and Dayglo Abortions. He tells me The Brass Knuckles Effect is a break up record and a document of the last hellish year of his life.

No matter what you think about rap rock or hip hop break up records, Tyrow James is a local character worth checking out.

Warning: This show is not for the faint of heart. :) It is a hip hop interview after all.

the interview show with Tyrow James

Tyrow James “Bombsheel!” Tyrow says this is the best track his record.

Tyrow James “Get Rad or Drink Trying”

Here is a link to his video for “Vanarchy” a track inspired by the Vancouver Riots.

Tyrow James featuring Vicious 5150 – “Vanarchy”

Also, Tyrow is having a CD release party this week! Friday, December 23 at 9:00pm at Olympia Pizza & Restaurant in Surrey.

We are done for the year, so the interview show will be back before you know it with new shows. In the meantime we shall leave you with our favorites. Next week, my personal fav of the year… Skrillex!

When young Julia (above) first came to North America from her homeland (Romania), all she wanted to do was sing in a band. She sang in a pretty successful band in her homeland, so she thought she could just continue her music here. That should be pretty easy right? All she would need to do is find three or four like-minded people who could play some instruments… Well, it was not as easy as she expected. And this was only the beginning of the journey for Julia and her band Me TalkPretty. Tune in to hear her amazing story!

Strange band fact: Me TalkPretty is named after a David Sedaris book!

the interview show with Me TalkPretty

Me TalkPretty “Wake Up”

Me TalkPretty “BrokenHearted”

Well, 2011 is nearly done and we only have one more new show this year! Who will it be? Well, we are going local and I’ll give you a hint: It’s a Surrey Boy! See you next week.

Toronto-based Bonjay are an interesting duo. Talented singer Alana Stuart almost signed a big record deal, until she found out they wanted to make her over into “Donna Boogie.” Instead, she found DJ Ian “Pho” Swain at a party and Bonjay was born. Bonjay‘s music starts at dancehall, but veers off somewhere different. They are both strongly committed to creating something new. You have to respect that.

the interview show with Bonjay

Bonjay “Jamelia” (Caribou cover)

(If you listen carefully, you can hear Diamond Rings talking in the background of this one. For such a quiet guy in these interviews, he is sure loud in others.)

You may know local beatmaker Tarun Nayar from his very popular touring group Delhi 2 Dublin or from Beats Without Borders. This year, Tarun released a solo album 22º of Beatitude. Like all his projects, the record is a fusion of more mainstream beats and music from Eastern cultures. But the record also serves as a travelogue of sorts, compiling of all the sounds Tarun has collected from over 10 years of traveling around Asia.

Join us this week as we talk about Tarun’s fantastic journeys.

the interview show with Tarun Nayar

Tarun Nayar “Kezang La” This track merges a traditional chant of some Bhutanese monks with a hip hop beat.

Tarun Nayar “Daybreak”  It took a couple of attempts to combine the typical morning sounds from a city in India with the right beat.

Katie and her crew have made one of the best electronic albums for the year with Feel it Break.

This week, I get Katie to talk about The Knife comparison, her show choir childhood, sorcery and critics calling the record “sleazy new wave.” Hey, she was trapped in her car, I could pretty much get her to chat about anything! :) Do I get her to sing a Christmas Carol? Listen to find out!

the interview show with Austra

Austra “Beat and the Pulse” One of my fav tracks this year!

Austra “Lose It”

Austra is in town this Wednesday at The Electric Owl. See you there!

If I had to describe Kim Churchill to a stranger, I would classify him as an extremely talented surfer singer-songwriter, like a young Jack Johnson or Xavier Rudd.

Kim would probably not like the last part. During our chat, he bristled at the “surfer singer-songwriter” tag.

His twitter tag line is “on tour somewhere” and he is one of those artists who tour like a mofo. And when he is not touring, he is busking, testing out new songs for street reaction. Kim has been doing this almost nonstop from high school and you would be wise to catch him when he comes to your town soon–before you can only see him at those impersonal arena gigs, like Jack and Xavier.

the interview show with Kim Churchill

Kim Churchill “Turns to Stone”

Kim Churchill “Rusted Walls”

It has been a great year for Mother Mother. Their song “The Stand” from their latest record Eureka has caught a lot of attention.  And this band deserves more attention. They are a must listen for any fan of Metric.

When I reached Ryan from Mother Mother, he was doing the dishes at his father’s house on Quadra Island. Ryan was enjoying a bit of down time.  I am glad he was relaxed because I could ask him questions like “What does wearing women’s underwear onstage do for his swagger?” Listen to the interview for his answer and more crazy questions!

(This show goes out to Coral, a devoted Mother Mother fan who insisted that I have them on the show.)

the interview show with Mother Mother

Mother Mother “The Stand” It’s great to see your hometown team knock it out of the park. One of my favorite songs of the year.

Mother Mother “Ball Cap” Ball Cap is one of Ryan’s first MM songs and one of his most favorites. It shows the band was hitting home runs from their first record.

This month, the interview show attended the Vancouver International Film Festival and chatted with some of the brilliant minds behind some of the best shows on TV: Alexandra Cunningham started on HBO’s Rome and spent some time on ABC’s Desperate Housewives and now is the head writer on NBC’s Prime Suspect; Aaron Zelman started on Law & Order then moved to Damages and now heads up AMC’s The Killing.

We also chat with 3 of our favorite local bands about how film has influenced what they do: Peter & Robbie from Humans, Parker from Gay 90s and Steve from Philoceraptor.

the interview show at the movies

Gay 90s “Coming Together” (What does this song have in common with William Shatner? Listen to the interview to find out!)

Humans “The End” (What secret [about Robbie] does Peter accidentally reveal? Listen to the interview to find out!)

Philocerapter “Clever Girl” (Which 90s blockbuster inspired this song? Listen to the interview to find out!)

Next week: MOTHER MOTHER!!!!