Please Explain Toronto To Me
73 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 months ago -It's a karaoke night!
It's a talk show!
It's a podcast!
It's all of these things and more. Join Brendan Flaherty as he attempts to find the universal muse and showcase the karaoke superstars you never knew existed, Thursday nights at Amigos.
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Episodes
Episode 23 - Kirby Wirchenko
July 13, 2016 21:30 - 40 minutes - 56.3 MBKirby Wirchenko used to play club shows in Saskatoon's nascent 90's club scene. Flash forward to 2016 and he's the Executive and Artistic Director of the community-owned Broadway Theatre. We chat about what led him to be a venue director and concert promoter, and the dynamic of promoting live performances in an increasingly digital music landscape. You can catch Kirby MC'ing at August's Regina Folk Festival and keep an eye out on the 2nd Annual Winterruption, which the Broadway co-produces w...
Episode 22 - Troy Gronsdahl
June 07, 2016 19:13 - 45 minutes - 62 MBTroy Gronsdahl is a visual artist and Associate Curator of live programs for the Remai Modern in Saskatoon. He also raps, though a bit more sporadically these days, creating music under the moniker soso. We touch on the psychological distance between Saskatoon and Clavet, early attempts at hip-hoppery, magic in objects, and wrestling with multidisciplinary art practice - the balance of doing visual art and music and living your life. This is a gooder. http://troygronsdahl.com/ http:...
Episode 21 - Rachel Elizabeth
May 24, 2016 23:36 - 38 minutes - 53.5 MBRachel Elizabeth is a Saskatoon-based musician who spent the last few years playing as "Fern". After tangential topics, including the dubious magic of "magic eye" patterns, the mysteries of sibling relationships, and the concept of "Christian yuppies" we get into the nuts and bolts of her particular journey through music and the circumstances that led her to change her "nom de tune". We also touch on the issue of ensuring that the spaces in which music is performed are safe and accessible fo...
Episode 20 - Lady Bits (Jenny Ryan & Marley Duckett)
May 09, 2016 22:45 - 46 minutes - 64.4 MBJenny Ryan & Marley Duckett are Sakatoon-based improvisers and the founders of Lady Bits, an improv company with a focus on fostering a more egalitarian community. We talk about their improv roots, the power of failing well, and the intersection of their art and activism. And then they did karaoke songs and it was relatively ridiculous.
Episode 19 - Berkley Staite
April 26, 2016 10:00 - 49 minutes - 68.4 MBBerkley Staite is a lot of things: he's a game designer, an acro yoga enthusiast, the longtime host of "Sex +" on CFCR, and a karaoke superstar. We sort of scratch the surface on these and other pursuits, all while a mystery friend of ours loads us with multiple rounds of Burt Reynolds shooters. You can hear me get drunker. Listen for it. You can also hear "Sex +" on iTunes (and everywhere that you get podcasts) and follow Berkley on Twitter as @berv_ .
Episode 18 - Broad Games
April 04, 2016 22:23 - 36 minutes - 50.5 MBIt's another epic podcasting crossover! This time, I sit down with Cara Warner and Rebecca Zakreski, creators and hosts of Broad Games - a board gaming podcast. From the trials and tribulations of getting radio reception at work, to the joys of capitalism-based childhood games, to ruminations on the nature of time itself, this one manages to cover lots of ground while remaining relatively narrow in focus (that one's on me). Enjoy! And subscribe to this show AND that show!
Episode 17 - The Wonder Years (Kevin Arnold & Uncle Reg)
March 22, 2016 10:00 - 33 minutes - 45.5 MBThe Wonder Years is a show on CFCR that is almost as wildly popular as this podcast! I sat down with the host of said program, Kevin Arnold and his Uncle Reg, to chat about their relationship, pocket wings, Paul Simon on the road, bedbug symbiosis and so much more. This is really and truly one for the ages.
Episode 16 - Aralia Maxwell
March 15, 2016 10:00 - 28 minutes - 38.8 MBAralia Maxwell is a visual artist who grew up on a farm near Maidstone, SK. She channels her interest in the social construct of femininity into thought-provoking paintings and collages that evoke a bygone era of domesticity that's still all-too familiar. We chat about her art practice, Paul Simon, jellied salads and the group show she's curated at BAM, Women's World (which runs until March 20th). araliamaxwell.com
Episode 15 - Dakota Hebert
March 08, 2016 17:46 - 43 minutes - 60.2 MBDakota Hebert is an actor and comedian whose own Twitter bio describes her as "a Nehiyaw-speaking Dene with a Lakota spirit name raised by a Cowboy", and she's got the barrels of personality to match. From rippin' jumps in Meadow Lake, to fixing chipped windshields, to citing powwow as her experience to fellow kids in an audition, we cover enough ground to establish just how sit-com-worthy her experience is. Give this person a TV show! You can see Hebert next in Salt Baby, as part of the Liv...
Episode 14 - Dr. Ryan Meili
March 01, 2016 11:00 - 40 minutes - 56.3 MBRyan Meili didn't get into medical school at first. So, he packed his bags and traveled to South America to get perspective, eventually filling a re-purposed bus with prosthetic limbs and driving to Nicaragua. And that's just the tip of the tale. Since becoming a physician, Meili has also worked with SWITCH and the Westside Community Clinic, run twice for Saskatchewan NDP leadership, written a book, and founded on-the-rise NGO Upstream. He also does a mean Sinéad O'Connor.
Episode 13 - Stephanie McKay
February 23, 2016 11:00 - 43 minutes - 59.5 MBStephanie McKay has seen the media landscape change over her years on the arts beat for the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. We chat about nearly a decade of newspaper reporting, McKay's experience on the Polaris Music Prize grand jury, boy band love, and bagels - all without throwing anybody under the bus! I also sound particularly drunk on this one, which is weird because I wasn't (I swear).
Episode 12 - Dr. Darren Miller
February 16, 2016 18:09 - 34 minutes - 47.1 MBDarren Miller grew up in Saskatoon, joking around with his Dad and being wary of authority, fitting right into the strange and vibrant local music scene before decamping to the left coast to get a doctorate studying audio morphing software. Let's listen...
Episode 11 - Charlie Clark / The Lost Episode
February 09, 2016 12:00 - 16 minutes - 22 MBThis week's episode, through a confluence of circumstance and bad luck and lack of foresight, is lost to time. It was pretty good, but you'll never hear it. I do my best to sum it up, and Charlie Clark - ward 6 City Councillor in Saskatoon - was kind enough to do a follow-up interview. I predict big things for that guy.
Episode 10 - Dr. Isocellator / J.J. Neufeld / Mojo
February 02, 2016 18:08 - 30 minutes - 42.1 MBEpisode 10 and it's the weirdest one so far! Join me as I sit down with J.J. Neufeld aka Dr. Isocellator aka Johnny Baconbitz aka Jamie McClevver as we hash out his superheroic origins in community radio and locally produced cable television. If you never saw the original run of his excellent / eccentric show NightDesk (and the chances are good), I suggest following the show on Facebook for updates on the forthcoming series. This show also features a human ape named Mojo. So...
Episode 9 - Man Meat
January 26, 2016 11:00 - 41 minutes - 56.3 MBThough I don't normally have bands on the show, when I get a chance to open the stage up to a band like Man Meat I can't help but take it. They're a fierce 3-piece that defy genre and defy convention. I chat with two of their thirds, and by chat I mean that I mostly just sit there while they work their way through what is probably the most interesting episode of this show so far. It's a fun one.
Episode 8 - Weirdo Magnets
January 20, 2016 01:30 - 39 minutes - 54.3 MBFINALLY, THE PODCAST CROSSOVER THE FAN(S) HAS/HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR Weirdo Magnets meets TNWCYL! Not that we didn't already know each other. Step into our pod-parlour and find out just how frivolously (or not?) you can undertake the task of podcast-making. It's fun! It's fresh! It's weird! Dean and Dana have an interesting chemistry, and once you add this show to the mix, things go off the rails (ish). Enjoy!
Episode 7 - Theo Kivol
December 15, 2015 11:00 - 37 minutes - 52 MBTheo Kivol was kind of my boss at community radio (inasmuch as the program director is in charge of the volunteer hosts and he was the former and I am the latter) and he's kind of my boss at his comic book store Unreal City (inasmuch as I still work there, albeit barely and rarely) and he has helped me get other jobs. So I do believe I refer to him in this episode as my "benefactor". We touch on all of that, albeit briefly, and much more. There are tangents within tangents. And at the end of...
Episode 6 - Dan Smolinski
December 08, 2015 11:00 - 40 minutes - 56.1 MBThis week, we turn to another show promoter: Dan Smolinski, who works over at Louis' on the U of S campus. But Dan has had a very interesting journey indeed, from townie to suit to cartoonist. His comic Fuck! by Dan can be found in the campus newspaper The Sheaf and on his Instagram. We chat about cartoon cats, rock star stature, and so much more. Enjoy!
Episode 5 - Isaac Bond
December 01, 2015 12:00 - 38 minutes - 52.6 MBRight here we've got a basketball-reffing arts educator with a love of hip hop and a talent for rap and spoken word. His name is Isaac Bond aka Ibonic. He's at the helm of a youth-oriented workshop community called Write Out Loud. He used to run Tonight It's Poetry in Saskatoon. He's highly regarded in the national spoken word scene. And he graciously offered his time to do this interview. Things get serious! Check it out.
Episode 4 - Rich Taylor
November 24, 2015 12:00 - 28 minutes - 38.5 MBEvery time you see bands play, there's probably a show promoter who has something to do with it. Rich Taylor is just such a person. From back in his days with Vive, to his current tenure with Vangelis Tavern and as artistic director of MoSo Fest, Rich has begun making a career out of helping bands find an audience. Though he lives in Toronto now, we won't hold it against him.
Episode 3 - Charlie Petch
November 17, 2015 17:09 - 26 minutes - 36.2 MBThis one gets a bit hot and heavy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sit down with Charlie Petch: spoken word poet, master of the musical saw, playwright, and co-founder of Hot Damn It's A Queer Slam in Toronto. She's from Peterborough (and that comes up here with an unexpected connection to a very famous Canadian rawk band), but she now calls Toronto home - a very epic move indeed. This was recorded in the midst of the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, which had Cathy in a coach rol...
Episode 2 - Charly Hustle
November 10, 2015 12:00 - 27 minutes - 37.3 MBEpisode 2 contains the following (in no particular order): Coors Banquet, break dancing for kids, Rainbow War, swearing, Michael Jackson. Plus, it contains my guest Charly Hustle. He just came back from being the Canadian rep at Red Bull Thr3estyle World Championships in Tokyo. He's kind of a big deal. He's one of those DJ's who fits well into a multi-genre lineup, and a multi-genre competition, because that's his whole thing. Think Girl Talk with less showing off. Somehow we didn't talk a...
Episode 1 - Craig Silliphant
November 02, 2015 18:04 - 34 minutes - 47 MBOur maiden voyage! Here's hoping the sailing stays smooth and the waters remain at a satisfactory level of un-choppiness. Craig Silliphant writes about music (and more) for Planet S Magazine. He runs an entertainment forum called The Feedback Society. He's published a book of writings on the Saskatoon music scene entitled Exile Off Main Street. He's a Polaris Prize jurist. He frequently can be heard reviewing movies on CKOM and CFCR. And (and!) he's the creative director at Thoughtlab Medi...