On Jan. 22, we hung out at historic Osborne Village apartment block The Roslyn with our new friends The Village Idiots to try a really fun live experiment. The show, which we're calling "The Little Mix-Up" was a livestreamed preview of this Sunday's Big Mix-Up Allstars show. It followed the usual Mix-Up "Whose Line is it Anyway? but for music" format, but instead of audience members yelling out genres of music and song topics, they made their requests online via Facebook Live. For the show, we e...
Jan 25, 2017•59 min•Season 1Ep. 216
This week's guest, rapper E.GG, was involved in two of 2016's best local albums -- 3Peat's debut EP and the more personal, contemplative Alverstone, a solo joint that snuck in at the end of the year and gets better with every listen. We hung out after-hours in a barbershop to chat with E.GG about how his upbringing in Winnipeg's West End neighbourhood shaped him as an artist, his goals for both 3Peat and his burgeoning solo career, and his desire to introduce Alverstone and his unique storytelli...
Jan 18, 2017•59 min•Season 1Ep. 215
Music photographer/blogger Dwayne Larson was all over Witchpolice in 2016. Starting with an appearance on the show as a guest in the spring, he returned as part of our photography panel show at the Handsome Daughter in the fall. He wasn't only a guest, though. Dwayne conducted interviews with a number of out-of-town and touring acts (Chixdiggit, Limblifter, Safe to Say, Son of Dave) for his It's A Music Thing website throughout the year, and he was kind enough to share the audio of those intervi...
Jan 11, 2017•56 min•Season 1Ep. 214
We didn't forget about this episode! Back in the summer, co-host Ryan moved over to the guest chair (along with collaborator Tina) to talk about his Thieveswpg art collective. Due to other episodes being more time-sensitive, this episode continually got bumped until now. If you're a recent listener, this one is a little different than what you've been used to over the latter part of 2016. Because it was recorded earlier in the year, it follows the old random song selection format rather than bei...
Jan 04, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 213
We're not the only game in town. A group of Osborne Village residents going by the name The Village Idiots have also been exploring Winnipeg's vibrant music scene.. but instead of a podcast, they're focused on live-streaming. The Idiots' Wednesday night program, Live at the Roslyn, offers local artists the chance to perform in an intimate setting for an ever-growing audience tuning in via Facebook Live. We sat down with the Live at the Roslyn braintrust to talk about their project, about embraci...
Dec 28, 2016•57 min•Season 1Ep. 212
...so when we told Union Stockyards they were welcome back on the show any time they wanted, we didn't think it was going to be so soon! Our favourite local punks (last heard on episode #199) jumped at the chance to promote their upcoming show with brand-new locals Agapito (featuring current or former members of Cancer Bats, The Duhks and Stockyards themselves) on Dec. 29 at The Handsome Daughter. We packed most of Stockyards and Agapito into a jamspace and recorded a pretty out-of-control gong-...
Dec 21, 2016•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 211
Folk/country/roots troubadour Kevin Roy is back on the show for his third appearance since 2014! He's currently promoting his fantastic new record Heartworn Highways. We talk about the album, the trials and tribulations of being a full-time musician, his recording and songwriting process and much more!
Dec 14, 2016•57 min•Season 1Ep. 210
Just a warning on this one: the audio is pretty rough. It was recorded above a venue while a metal band rehearsed in the next room. It is what it is… a really fun, strange conversation with ¾ of very, very sad art-pop (glamour pop?) act iansucks, while some other band bashes away in the background. We talk (at length) about which audiobooks to listen to on tour, the band’s excellent new album (Don't Give in to the Bad Feelings), and a lot more.
Dec 07, 2016•54 min•Season 1Ep. 209
When we released our most recent Big Mix-Up episode (#3 in the series so far!), a lot of listeners had the same question: who was the girl with the huge voice? It's not unreasonable to ask. The owner of that voice, soul/R&B/hip-hop/gospel powerhouse Jill Alexander, is a relative newcomer to the local music scene, which she's hoping to take over by storm. We sat down with Jill to talk about her musical background, the new releases she has in the works with Thunder Bay-based BME Studios Canada...
Nov 30, 2016•54 min•Season 1Ep. 208
This week's guest, Len Bowen, is a familiar face (and voice) in the Winnipeg rap scene. Best-known for his membership in local pioneers Shadez, Len is celebrating the recent release of his new EP, Goin Away Party. We talk about Len's career since Shadez ran its course, the motivation behind his resurgent rap career, keeping integrity in a genre of music obsessed with moving on to the next big thing, the upcoming vinyl reissue of the Winnipeg classic Next School Pioneers and much more!
Nov 23, 2016•57 min•Season 1Ep. 207
We're back with another edition of our ridiculous live improvised music show, the Big Mix-Up! The third installment took place Oct. 30 at Winnipeg's historic Park Theatre. The premise of the show remains the same: Winnipeg musicians from across a wide spectrum of genres come together and form randomized 'bands' to perform improvised music on stage. The genres and themes of their songs are based on audience suggestions. Mix-Up 3 may not have had a massive turnout (due to it being the tail-end of ...
Nov 15, 2016•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 206
Sometimes dreams do come true on Witchpolice Radio! Contributor Dwayne Larson got the chance to interview an artist he's been listening to for over two decades when he spoke with iconic Chixdiggit frontman KJ Jansen. They talked about the pop-punk band's 25-year career, their new magnum opus 2012, and more! Catch Chixdiggit when they come through town on their anniversary tour this Friday (Nov. 11) at the Windsor!
Nov 09, 2016•40 min•Season 1Ep. 205
If you're a longtime listener to the podcast, you're probably familiar with the name Jon Askholm. Jon is a founding co-host of Witchpolice Radio, who appeared on approximately 90 episodes, mainly from 2012-15. He's also 1/3 of experimental pop act Glen Murray. We joined Jon and bandmates Sam Koulack (also a past guest on the show) and David Warkentin in a basement that looks alarmingly like the old Blanket Fort jamspace where we recorded a hefty chunk of Witchpolice Radio's back catalogue (but i...
Nov 02, 2016•51 min•Season 1Ep. 204
Earlier this month, we returned to The Handsome Daughter for a live Q&A panel on concert photography featuring some of Winnipeg's finest behind the camera: Dwayne Larson, Joey Senft, Jenny Ramone and Travis Ross. The well-attended show included a photo display in the venue, questions from the audience and some real insight into what the show-photo gig entails. Huge thanks to the Daughter, our panelists and the great audience.
Oct 25, 2016•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 203
Every year around this time, we head down to UMFM's studio to record a live on-air episode in support of the station's Pledge-O-Rama fundraiser. We've done it every year since 2013, but this year we ran into a conflict. Our scheduled live episode was the same night as our live Shoot First, Ask Questions Later event onstage at the Handsome Daughter ...so instead of a live episode, we aired (last Sunday) a clip show, essentially. We're calling it a "mixtape" because -- similar to last year's "mixt...
Oct 18, 2016•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 202
We continue to venture into new (to us) territory this week with jazz guitarist, composer, producer and educator Keith Price! Keith talks about how his interest in jazz developed, the difficulties around defining such a wide-ranging genre in the 21st Century, Winnipeg's jazz scene and more. Tune in for an in-depth interview plus some recordings from throughout Keith's catalogue, including a cut from his excellent reimagined soundtrack to the spaghetti western classic The Good, The Bad & The ...
Oct 11, 2016•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 201
For our milestone 200th episode, we sat down with Egg, Steve and Dill the Giant -- all three members of 3Peat,Winnipeg's hottest hip-hop group. We talked about their outstanding new EP, the local rap scene, the connections between rap and punk rock, the experience of being from immigrant families, the competitive nature of their chosen genre, and a lot more. Most importantly, we listen to a number of songs from the EP and the whole show closes out with a live performance!
Oct 04, 2016•57 min•Season 1Ep. 200
Marking their third appearance on the podcast in as many years, grizzled Winnipeg punks Union Stockyards (three-quarters of them, anyway) are back! We talk about their about-to-be-released cassette, a healthy amount of Winnipeg '90s nostalgia, and about their Sept. 28 gig opening for the legendary SNFU!
Sep 27, 2016•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 199
Dwayne Larson is back in the hosting chair this week with an episode he recorded with Brad (vocals/guitar) and Cory (guitar) of Ontario emo/alt-rockers Safe to Say when they were in town last month. They talk about their new record, being part of the Warped Tour, the rigours of touring, using their influence to stand up for their values and much more. As with some of our other 'recorded wherever we can' episodes, the audio on this one isn't exactly studio-quality (literally recorded on the band'...
Sep 21, 2016•32 min•Season 1Ep. 198
Experimental alt-rock outfit UnklElephant have been on the show before…kind of. Frontman Mac Thiessen appeared on a video minisode about the band’s DIY visual effects unit and on an early 2016 episode about the Polish Music Exchange. This, however, is the first episode devoted to his band itself, with drummer Aaron joining Mac for the ride. UnklElephant is prepping for a CD release party this Friday, Sept. 16, at the Knndy. It’s in support of their new EP, recorded in Teulon, MB and at UMFM.
Sep 14, 2016•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 197
The Big Mix-Up is back! Our second instalment of the popular (in our own minds) local musical improv event was held Aug. 29 at Winnipeg's historic Park Theatre. We wiped the slate clean after the first Mix-Up and started with a completely fresh group of musicians. The premise of the show is that musicians' names are drawn out of a hat and made to form randomized 'bands'. The bands then perform improvised songs onstage based on audience suggestions of genre and topic. Like the first version of th...
Sep 06, 2016•1 hr 47 min•Season 1Ep. 196
Our original plan may have fallen through, but we still came out of Kerry, MB, with a solid podcast from Shine On Festival of Music and Art. Initially, we were supposed to be presenting a live podcast on the side stage -- similar to what we've done at the Handsome Daughter in the past -- on Saturday morning at the festival. For a variety of reasons -- everything from guests still being asleep to hornets besieging the stage -- that didn't quite work out. Instead, we got some excellent field recor...
Aug 30, 2016•54 min•Season 1Ep. 195
This week features an interview Dwayne Larson conducted with former Winnipegger Benjamin Darvill -- an ex-member of the Crash Test Dummies who has spent the past couple of decades as a solo act under the name Son of Dave. He brought his one-man harmonica/beatbox jams back to Winnipeg for the BBQ and Blues Festival a few days prior to the release of this podcast, which also ran in an edited form on UMFM last week.
Aug 23, 2016•28 min•Season 1Ep. 194
Toronto's finest reggae act is hitting a Winnipeg stage for the first time in four years this weekend. The Human Rights, a group with a deep roots (no pun intended) in Canada's reggae scene, are playing the West End Cultural Centre on Aug. 21 as part of their #ReggaeForRefugees tour. We talked to frontman Friendlyness (who you may also know from groups like Big Sugar... and if you go back far enough, Culture Shock) about the tour, the group's lineup changes -- including the addition of vocalist ...
Aug 16, 2016•42 min•Season 1Ep. 193
Things get semi-cosmic this week with guest Kevin Desjarlais of Winnipeg synth-wizards Hana Lu Lu. We talk "comet" songs, synths, new wave, Hana Lu Lu's long-in-the-works album and much, much more!
Aug 10, 2016•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 192
If you're a regular listener to this podcast, you may have heard an episode we did earlier this year with Dwayne Larson, a Winnipeg concert photographer who also blogs about music on It's A Music Thing. Dwayne does a lot of great interviews with touring bands, so we're teaming up with him to present some of those on our podcast, and hopefully Dwayne will be involved in some regular episodes and other Witchpolice projects in future. To kick off his contributions to the podcast, here's an intervie...
Aug 02, 2016•38 min•Season 1Ep. 191
We're recording outdoors this week, sitting behind the mainstage at Winnipeg's iconic meeting place, The Forks. For three days in August (the 12th through the 14th), that stage will play host to some of North America's finest roots acts at the second annual Interstellar Rodeo. Sara Stasiuk of Six Shooter Records is on hand to talk about the Rodeo's roots and some of the exciting artists on this year's bill, including Wilco, case/lang/veirs, Lee Fields and the Expressions, Serena Ryder and many m...
Jul 27, 2016•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 190
He's back... but not for long. Local rapper/songwriter/producer/man-about-town Rob Crooks -- an original co-host of this very podcast and occasional contributor -- is heading east to further his education. Before relocating to Ontario, he made a last appearance on the show (for now) and talked about his long-in-the-works full-length with Disintegration Records, his recent series of EPs for Marathon of Dope, the trials and tribulations of arts funding and a lot more.
Jul 19, 2016•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 189
On a summer break from his studies in New York City, local saxman Niall Bakkestad-Legare guests on this week's episode to talk about his experimental jazz/funk/soul/R&B project Fauxpasfunk, who are on the verge of releasing their debut album. We talk "host" songs, trying to get into the vast universe of jazz and a lot more!
Jul 13, 2016•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 188
The three longest-running members of local emo outfit Boys' Club (their newest member is a past Witchpolice guest in his own right) invited us to an elementary school music room (seriously) for our latest episode. We talk 'cobra' songs, defining their genre, their unorthodox recording/performing schedule and more! Stay tuned 'til the end for an exclusive acoustic performance of a new Boys' Club song from their upcoming album!
Jul 05, 2016•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 187
