Witchpolice Radio

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.

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 the show, this one starts a little rough, but once the musicians get a feel for the show, we ended up with some outstanding performances. Stay tuned for details on our next Big Mix-Up coming soon! This edition of the show featured the following musicians: Casimir Gruwel (tenor sax), Daniel "Bartley Knives" Guezen (guitar, vocals, drums), Kumaran Reddy (bass, vocals), Brett Ticzon (bass, guitar), Brian Gluck (drums), Peter Vander Hout (baritone sax, vocals), J Riley Hill (drums, guitar), Kaeleigh Ayre (Moog, vocals), Paul Pilgrim (guitar), Ashley Bieniarz (keyboard, vocals), KittyKittie (vocals), Tim Haverluck (guitar, vocals), and Darin Rudd (guitar, bass, vocals).

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 recording-style interviews (literally in a field) with Shine On performers such as None the Wiser's Eli Matas, Micah Erenberg, and Roger Roger ...not to mention a backstage interview and rehearsal recording of Raine Hamilton and her string quartet.

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.

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 Treson as a full-fledged member -- their brand new record and more!

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!

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 interview he did with Ryan Dahle of Limblifter when they were in town for a show at the Handsome Daughter last month. They talk about Limblifter's new album, the band's longevity, Ryan's other projects, like Age of Electric and Mounties ...and a lot more.

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 more. She's joined by Leonard Sumner, an Anishinaabe MC/singer/songwriter, representing the many talented local acts who are part of the 2016 event.

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.

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!

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!

Spoken-word poet, interdisciplinary artist, bass player and all-around ball of creative energy KittyKittie hung out with the fellas this week in her front yard to talk about "victory" songs, sucking the pretentiousness out of poetry, avant-garde performances, and the fictional straight-edge hardcore band Globthorn on a really fun episode of the podcast.

Rapper/producer Abstract Artform is on the show to talk about "wolf" songs, live bands vs. backing tracks, breaking into the local rap scene and more. We also discuss the Living Proof project, which is a collaboration between Abstract and Doodlebug of '90s rap icons Digable Planets.

This week, we sit down with three members of local 'heart-pop' noodlers À La Mode -- outgoing (as in 'about to leave the band') guitarist Andy Cole, frontwoman/mastermind Dominique Lemoine and latest addition Ava Glendinning. (You may recognize Dominique and Ava from our recent Big Mix-Up show). We talk about 'robot' songs (and just robots in general), hear a stripped-down acoustic performance, and discuss the members' other overlapping projects, including the recently defunct Eagle Lake Owls and Witchpolice guests from this spring, Bicycle Face.

This week, we're in an apartment with really nice floors hanging out with young punks Suburban Hypocrites! We talk about the growing punk scene centred around the King's Hotel, "plaid" songs, the impossible task of defining "punk" and a lot more!

Live from Winnipeg's Park Theatre, it's Witchpolice Radio's Big Mix-Up! Volume one (oh yes, there will be more) of our randomized jam-band crapshoot improv extravaganza was a smashing success, with unrehearsed, on-the-spot creations like "Skanald Trump" and "Disco Banana". The premise of the show was that 15+ local musicians -- of all genres and styles -- were gathered together and drawn randomly into "bands" who were forced to create songs based on audience suggestions with no preparation whatsoever.

If you've paid attention to the local music scene at any point over the past decade-plus, you likely have a number of albums from Winnipeg's Transistor 66 Record Company in your collection. We sat down with label owner Art MacIntyre for a one-on-one conversation about Transistor 66's history (and 100-release deep catalogue), the ins and outs of running an indie label and a lot more!

Although it snowed a week or so after this episode (of course it did, it's Winnipeg), we took advantage of the nice weather for an outdoor episode recorded on a picnic table at Assiniboine Park(!) with up-and-coming folk-punk artist Harley James Flett. In a conversation that goes in all kinds of directions, we talked folk music, Bad Brains, the ins and outs (but mostly outs) of attending music festivals, "chin" songs, the cassette renaissance, Harley's already-prolific Bandcamp catalogue and a lot more.

This week's episode features a surprise visit from Montreal punks Lost Love, who stopped by as they were passing through Winnipeg on a Canadian tour. They're currently on the road in support of their new Stomp Records release, Comfortable Scars. If you're a fan (and you fuckin' should be), they're back in town this Friday, May 13, for a gig at the Handsome Daughter with our pals Clipwing.

This week, Sam makes a visit to the downtown office of The Enemy Magazine to talk DIY, hip-hop, Winnipeg youth culture, "predator" songs and a lot more with the magazine's mysterious braintrust. The Enemy is making a name for itself by being "honest and unmerciful" when reporting on the good, the bad and the ugly of Winnipeg arts, culture and politics (and by the way, they're looking for contributors!)

We talk soul music, Winnipeg neighbourhoods, 'neck' songs and a whole bunch more with local funk/pop/rock/R&B gang The Heights, who are new on the scene despite having played together (in various combinations and projects) for over a decade. With a debut EP being released June 11 and -- if you can't wait that long -- a show at the Garrick this Friday with past Witchpolice guest Casimir Gruwel -- plus upcoming tour plans and more, The Heights are going all-in for 2016. They played a couple of excellent stripped-down tracks from the record on the show as well, so stay tuned 'til the end!

This week features a long conversation with 2/3 (or 2/4, depending how you look at it) of the hard-to-define Winnipeg (via Kenora) rock band 1971. The fellas have a new tape -- Burning Bridges Before They're Crossed -- coming out today with a house show at their own Sad Boys' Club (assuming you're listening the day this episode gets released). Stay tuned until the end of the episode for an excellent live, acoustic take on one of the tracks from the upcoming EP.

This week, we talk to the hilariously-named Bartley Knives about his solo project, "volcanic" songs, a sense of place in song lyrics, campus radio and a lot more. A past guest on this show in early 2015, "Bartley" is best known as a member of local acts like The New Wild and Sibyl. Under his current guise, he's exploring songs that were too strange for his other bands.

All five members of rising St. Boniface combo Jeremie and the Delicious Hounds are on this week's episode to talk about their upcoming debut, "futuristic" songs, Winnipeg's francophone music scene... and to play some sweet soul music live on the show.

There's a weird contrast this week: plenty of ridiculous conversation about various Muppets (the theme of the week is "puppet" after all) alongside discussion of really serious issues, like the subject matter of guests Mulligrub's new single, "Europe". The Winnipeg alt/punk/twee(?) trio are gearing up for the release of their debut full-length, _Soft Grudge_ , on April 23. They talk about the new record, defining their sound, opening for Propagandhi and a lot more!

Fifteen years after the release of their last album, iconic Winnipeg two-piece Duotang -- best-known for their late-90s Mint Records output -- are back with a new release coming in 2016! Rod Slaughter (bass/vocals) and Sean Allum (drums) talk about gettin' the band back together, their new record, a bit of history and that pesky "mod" label that critics have always used to describe their sound. Mixed in with the interview are rough versions of some new Duotang songs, some old classics, and a live performance at the end!

This week we explore another element of the local music scene: photography. Sam is joined by camera-wielding photographer and blogger Dwayne Larson of It's A Music Thing, who talks punk rock, "hill" songs, DIY, the ins and outs of photographing bands and much more!

It's a crossover episode! This week, Sam hangs out with Anthony and Steve of local hip-hop roundtable podcast If You Don't Know Now You Know! The episode is split between our format and theirs. "Question" songs, lots of rap talk and much more!

Winnipeg indie-pop duo Bicycle Face not only have a phenomenal band name (and logo, holy shit), but they have a fantastically unique keyboard-and-guitar sound. They hang out on this week's episode to talk about the group's background, select "queen" songs and perform a few live ditties (so stay tuned until the end)!

Rootsy, harmony-slingin' folk-rockers Rory Verbrugge and the Ruckus sit down to talk about their forthcoming debut album, "pearl" songs and much more on the latest episode! This one also features some glorious live performances, so stay tuned until the end of the show.

Dilla Day 2016 at The Good Will in Winnipeg: an interview with Brendan Kinley of Super Duty Tough Work and R&B chanteuse Keisha Booker. It's the second time Super Duty have organized Dilla Day Winnipeg, which is to honour the late great hip hop producer's life and works. The night had guest performances by 3Peat, Fenom, Bazooka Joe, Chris Bvnnvtt and Keisha Booker. Together since 2014, Super Duty Tough Work is the brainchild of Brendan Kinley. He's an accomplished drummer and MC that has been in the Winnipeg music scene for a decade. They're an ensemble of musicians from the University of Manitoba's School of Jazz. SDTW plays 40 Dilla beats as they weave between them with the meticulousness of a DJ. The players at the 2016 performance: B.Grey (vox), Keisha Booker (vox), Shannon Kristjanson (alto sax), Anthony Bryson (trombone), Alec Meen (keys), Sam Little (bass), Kevin Water (drums), Jocelyn Gould (guitar).

This week we have a special episode dedicated to Winnipeg's 35th annual Black History Month celebrations. Big thanks to past guest Kumaran Reddy, who provided the interview recordings with members of the Black History Month committee, performers at the upcoming musical celebration and others involved with the events throughout February. The Black History Month Celebration of Music Showcase takes place Feb. 12 at Jekyll and Hyde's Freehouse, and includes (among others) an all-star band performing a variety of music with a heavy reggae influence. As a preview, the music you'll hear on this episode is taken from rehearsals for that show!

After a long history in the local music scene as a sideman, backing up some of Winnipeg's finest on saxophone onstage and on record, Casimir Gruwel is going solo. With his debut single, "Winter," generating some buzz and a debut album in the works, Gruwel is stepping to the front of the stage for the first time.

This week's live performance-heavy episode features four members of pop/rock/alt/folk gang Tin Can Bandits. Ian (guitar/vocals), Ryan (guitar), Peter (keys, vocals, trumpet) and vocalist Sabrina -- who has since parted ways with the group -- sat down to discuss the upcoming Rushing River EP, "dad" songs and much more.

This week, we're talking about the fourth edition of the Polish Music Exchange, a semi-annual 'celebration of popular and contemporary music with an Eastern European twist'! To promote the event, we hung out once again with Arturo of Polish-Canadian dub wizards Hypernashion alongside Unkl Elephant's Maclean, who represented the non-Polish (or "exchange") part of the upcoming gig.

We kicked off 2016 with a bang at Winnipeg's Handsome Daughter with our second (of what will hopefully be many) live podcast in front of an audience. For our "Holiday Hangover" show Jan. 3, we hung out with ukulele-slinger Erin Shorten, country singer's country singer Quinton Blair and psychedelic organ magician Smoky Tiger. Each of our guests performed three songs and sat down for a conversation! Thanks to the Daughter for having us (again) at their venue, thanks to Garbage Hill Media for making the show happen, and special thanks to Rob and Ted of Loose Fit DJs, who entertained before and after the show proper.

Things get a little cosmic this week as we sit down with Kumaran Reddy of psychedelic jam collective Cilly Cyb Fung High and the LSD25 Records label. We talk "attention" songs, reggae, Kumaran's YouTube strategy (it's the only place his music is available), overdubs and a lot more!

Building on the success of this spring's fantastic OK Night cassette, rising Winnipeg indie rocker Micah Visser has been generating a lot of buzz lately, especially around his new single "I Will Not Return As A Tourist". We hung out with Micah to talk about his first-ever tour, his formats of choice, his new material, "fence" songs, and much more!

We sat down with most of the gang from Bearfight for this week's episode to talk about "bush" songs, the trials and tribulations of playing heavy music in Winnipeg in 2015, the future of music consumption and much more. These guys are working on a new record and playing a can't miss show Jan. 8 at the Park Theatre!

When we first stumbled upon the Winnipeg Music Project, there was something very recognizable about it. A blog/radio show that features interviews with local musicians? Sounds like something we might be into ...so we sat down with its creator, Ashley Bieniarz (also a musician in her own right) and compared notes about the ins and outs of interviewing local artists, discussed her reasons for starting the project, "rain songs," classical music, and a whole lot more.

We cover new territory on this week's episode in a sit-down with four members of Amnesiac, Winnipeg's finest Radiohead tribute band. Far from just a cover band, the Amnesiac boys talk about the business behind tribute acts, taking on such a challenging songbook, and their upcoming gig at the Pyramid on Dec. 18.

Occasional co-host Rob Crooks is back for an outernational conversation with his Sugar Pill Gang cohorts Pip Skid (Winnipeg) and Tom De Geeter (Kortrijk, Belgium). They talk European tours, Tom's local connections with the Marathon of Dope label, and most importantly, the new album by Tom's Zucchini Drive project.

Once a year, we help out our pals at UMFM 101.5 during their Pledge-O-Rama fund drive and head down to the UMFM studios to record a live on-air episode. We've done it in 2013, 2014 and now 2015 as well. This episode was recorded about a month ago, on election night, just minutes after we watched Stephen Harper's concession speech on live TV. Our guests were Daniel Peloquin-Hopfner of excellent roots/folk trio Red Moon Road and UMFM's own program director Michael Elves

This week's guests, Futurekids, were on the podcast in late 2014. They're back again about a year later with a drastically different lineup, a new sound and a new album coming out Nov. 21 (CD release party at the Windsor!) We talked to 3/4 of the new-look Futurekids about 'mixing' songs, working on the forthcoming This is Everything, going shoeless and a whole lot more. Check it out!

On this week's episode, Sam and Ryan hang out with Chantel Emond, better-known as chanteuse-in-chief behind Winnipeg alt-pop act French Press. We talked "riot" songs, Chantel's jazz education, her love of backing vocals, the new album she's finishing up, and her current tour (happening as you read this!) with fellow local artist Micah Visser.

Gearing up for the Nov. 6 release of their debut full-length, When it Was (10 pm at the Good Will in Winnipeg), the hard-to-define alternative pop/rock/folk/whatever foursome in Autumn Still sat down for a return appearance on the podcast. We talked "dictator" songs, synthesizers, nostalgia and more. Also, gourds were involved in one way or another. Check it out.

For the triumphant return of powerviolence ("Euro-violence"?) maniacs Terrorist, we bounced around quite a bit. This podcast started off being recorded in Ryan's living room, then moved to a van -- sorry, a Toyota 4Runner full of Canadian Tire money -- then to the parking lot of the vendor at Winnipeg's notorious Sherbrook Inn. We talked to the fellas about "lung" songs, the new full-length they're currently recording, how shitty they are at marketing themselves and a lot more. Like their previous appearance on the show, things got weird pretty much immediately.

On Sept. 27, we pulled out all the stops for our first-ever (and hopefully first of many) live onstage podcast. The show, celebrating our milestone 150th episode, featured interviews and live performances with old friends and collaborators Rob Crooks, Nestor Wynrush, Country Steve and first-time guest Mona Mousa. Although the turnout wasn't record-breaking, the crowd more than made up for it in volume and enthusiasm. We certainly hustled to get the word out about this event, with coverage from local newspapers The Metro, The Uniter and a number of campus radio interviews leading up to the big night. Huge thanks to everyone who came out and supported. It was a blast. We can't wait to do more live and direct events in future!

Sheldon Birnie -- Winnipeg writer, journalist and frontman for cow-punks Cheering for the Bad Guy -- guests on this week's episode to talk about his upcoming new book, Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock 1990-2001, which hits stores and the Internet Oct. 24.

Our pals in 'Peg-centric punks Union Stockyards are back on the show for their first appearance since episode #79! The fellas are old(er), wise(r) and working on a new record. They joined Ryan and Sam to talk "mask" songs, the state of the local punk rock scene and the Winnipeg accent (among other topics).