NSTS is back this week with part one of a two part series featuring Guns N' Roses frontman W. Axl Rose, one of the intriguing, beguiling, and mysterious figures in rock and roll history. In part one we examine the rise of Rose - how a delinquent kid from Lafayette, Indiana would lead a band of rock and roll street urchins on to absolute global domination, and all of the insanity that took place along the way.
A few weeks back we lost one of the greats - ZZ Top bassist and singer Dusty Hill. This week on NSTS we pay tribute to Hill by looking back on his life, including his cello-playing high school days, how he came to be the bass player in ZZ Top, the time he accidentally shot himself in the abdomen, and the events leading up to his death.
Ten years ago we lost Amy Winehouse, a shepherd of the pop culture past whom Bob Dylan called "the last real individualist". This week NSTS examines the highs and lows of Winehouse's tragic life - her love for the girl groups of the 60s, her rise to fame, the struggles she endured with substance abuse, and her very sad and untimely end.
Creem magazine writer Jeffrey Morgan returns to the show this week to unveil his very unusual NSTS skin vibration playlist. When I express my lack of understanding in his choices, Jeffrey uses the movie "The Man Who Fell To Earth" to explain. And it does make sense. Jeffrey and I also discuss his Van Halen Diver Down record review for Creem, with began with a warning that it was "an exceptionally vicious kick in the teeth to Van Halen fans everywhere". The band was not at all pleased about the s...
Remember Creem magazine? Remember Lester Bangs? This week's NSTS guest, author and rock critic Jeffrey Morgan, worked for both of them. His new book, Rock Critic Confidential, opens with the original handwritten letter Morgan received from Lester Bangs, on Creem letterhead, inviting him to write album reviews for the magazine in 1974. Rock Critic Confidential is a fantastic read done in the style of a magazine, and includes all of the greatest moments of Morgan's writing and photography career. ...
Dark and mysterious Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards vanished on February 1, 1995, and was never heard from again. Was it a suicide, or was it staged to look like one? This week NSTS examines the life of the intellectual poet, the events leading up to his disappearance, and the clues left behind that led some to believe Edwards is still alive.
It's my privilege this week to be joined once again by Canadian great Murray McLauchlan, who returns to the show to discuss his new record Hourglass, available everywhere July 9. Murray always has some great stories for me, and he brings in another handful of songs that mean something to him. We chat about Sinatra, Tom Thomson, Ray Charles, the healing power of music, and what it really means when people crave fame. McLauchlan's playlist (on Spotify ): Bob Dylan - Blowin' in the Wind Roy Orbison...
This week on NSTS we look at the life and death of one of rock's most polarizing icons, singer Scott Weiland. Weiland has always been an intriguing figure, with a voice like Bowie crossed with Lennon, a wild and chaotic stage persona, and a decidedly perplexing personality. This episode examines that personality in depth through Weiland's own eyes, and also from the perspectives of those closest to him amidst the madness.
Alex Huard is the host of a great series called Release Day, a program that promotes new album releases by independent artists that don't have the marketing reach of a major label. Alex and I have been talking about collaborating on something new for a while now, and we finally landed on something that came together very organically as a result of him listening to No Sleep 'til Sudbury. This new project, called Thursday Night Record Club, is going to be a lot of fun. We discuss the details of TN...
My old pal Zero from The Kings makes his return to the show this week to talk about what's going with the band lately - new videos, new records, and a few pretty prestigious awards received for their classic single "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide". Z wanted to do something a little different for his skin vibration segment, and he did. These are the songs he listens to in the wee hours when he's not rocking out - opera! Z's playlist (in Spotify ): Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli - The Prayer...
This is an absolutely fascinating story. A song appeared on the internet in 2007, with no information surrounding its name, the artist responsible for the song, or when and where it was recorded. To this day, despite the search for this information going viral, the mystery remains unsolved. This week on NSTS we dig into this phenomenon, and consider the notion of something being unknowable in such an information-rich age.
We could all use a little more 'happy', couldn't we? And this week, an infusion of musical happiness comes compliments of Chris Stamper. Chris and I met through working together with The Awesome Music Project, an organization that promotes music's influence in improved mental health. He recently wrote an article outlining how music contributes to maintaining a positive mental attitude, which included five of his 'happy' songs. So of course, it was a no-brainer to invite him to talk about them on...
Rock documentary The Story of the Hard Luck 5 tells the fascinating tale of New Jersey band Rye Coalition, a group loved by Dave Grohl and signed by one of the world's largest record labels. They seemed destined to take over the world, until it all imploded. Rye Coalition drummer Dave Leto joins me this week to recount the unbelievable series of events the band experienced, along with some great stories about Dave Grohl and Interscope mogul Jimmy Iovine. Leto's playlist (on Spotify ): Neil Young...
Shortly after it occurred, it was widely believed that the death of INXS singer Michael Hutchence was the result of autoerotic asphyxiation - a sex game gone wrong. This week on NSTS I wanted to dig a little deeper to shed some additional light onto the circumstances surrounding Hutchence's unfortunate passing, because there was a whole lot more going on than just sex games - a larger, important truth exists under the tabloidification.
The energy and enthusiasm that guitarist Sean Kelly brings to describing the songs that make his skin vibrate is unparalleled. Sean takes the notion of skin vibration very literally with his songs, and it was a joy for me to experience his excitement during our chat on NSTS this week. In addition to his enthusiasm, Sean shares impressive musical insights and an honest sentimentality that makes this show special. Highlights include a funny Dee Snider conversation, why he never wants to meet Pye D...
Andy Curran is back on NSTS this week to talk about the five-ish songs that make his skin vibrate - he actually sneaks a few extra tunes in! Before that, we finish up last week's discussion detailing how Coney Hatch's excellent new new live record Live at the El Mocambo came together. Along with the song discussion, there are more incredible stories. Andy recounts how Robin Zander took his request and played his favourite Cheap Trick song for him during their Toronto show, what it was like seein...
As a Coney Hatch fan from waaaaay back, it was a privilege for me to host Coney singer and bassist Andy Curran this week. The band has released their new live record, Coney Hatch Live at the El Mocambo, recorded in October 2020 at the historic Toronto venue. Andy has some tremendous rock stories, and he shares many of them with me in this episode - playing tennis on the road with Iron Maiden's Steve Harris and getting pelted with cutlery on stage opening up for Judas Priest among them. You don't...
Since its inception, Heavy Metal has spawned a countless number of subgenres. Black Metal is one of them, and in the early 1990s Norwegian Black Metal became more than just a musical subgenre. It developed into a violent, deeply sinister belief system. In this episode of No Sleep 'til Sudbury, we examine the dark origins and horrifying transgressions associated with the genre - Satanism, murder and corpse mutilation, church burnings, and the disturbing extremism of Norwegian Black Metal's purvey...
Longtime NSTS listeners know that I love speaking with up-and-coming musical talent on the show. And I anticipate that country singer songwriter Nelson Sobral will be a well-known name fairly soon. Nelson's imaginative with the instrumentation he utilizes in his country-inflected material, a nod to his sophisticated musical tastes - something he credits to his mother. We talk Crowes, Otis Redding, The Ronettes, Howling Wolf....and we see things very, very similarly. Sobral's playlist ( available...
This week on NSTS I welcome back one of the industry's 'good guys', Jitters frontman Blair Packham. Blair is a friend and it's always a pleasure to have him on the show. In addition to chatting about the new record he's currently working on and his skin-vibrating songs, we also discuss how his dad inadvertently named his last record, the interesting story behind how Blair became acquainted with Crowded House's Temple of Low Men record, what Malcolm Gladwell sees him as, and how he really feels a...
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 appreciat...
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 ...
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...
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 pl...
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...
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...
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 impo...
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'Mal...
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...
