It’s my distinct pleasure to introduce this week’s No Sleep ’til Sudbury guest, former Joydrop lead singer and current Sportsnet Hometown Hockey co-host Tara Slone. Tara joins me in person to talk about the songs that make her skin vibrate, and the result is a great discussion in which she graciously shares some fantastic stories, insights, and laughs.

In this episode T and I have an emotional chat about Bowie’s final album, the soundtrack to her grade 9 crush, how Hall & Oates made a surprise appearance on her final playlist, the impact of The Ramones on her life, and the artist that she and Ron McLean both love. And if that’s not enough, she even does a little singing!

Slone’s playlist:

George Michael – Father Figure

David Bowie – Blackstar

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Knock Me Down

Ramones – Rock and Roll High School

Toto – Rosanna

Pretenders – Middle of the Road

Tom Petty – Only a Broken Heart

Mew – The Zookeepers Boy

Leh-Lo – 2 out of 3

Blinker the Star – Below the Sliding Doors

Hall and Oates – One on One

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On the 40th anniversary of the release of the KISS solo records, friend of the show and KISS lunatic Chris ‘The Pink Chief’ Long joins me this week from Florida to talk about the songs from those records that make his skin vibrate (spoiler alert – they all do).

I wisely limited The Chief to 6 selections, and here’s what he came back with:

Chief’s playlist:

Paul Stanley – Tonight You Belong To Me

Paul Stanley – Hold Me Touch Me

Ace Frehley – Rip It Out

Ace Frehley – Speeding Back To My Baby

Gene Simmons – See You Tonight

Peter Criss – I’m Gonna Love You

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Returning to the studio for NSTS episode #60 is former Jitters frontman Blair Packham, to cover off the songs we didn’t get to during his first appearance in episode #58.

Blair is a compelling guest for a lot of reasons, two of those being his great sense of humour and the visceral insight he provides while dissecting the songs that make his skin vibrate. During this week’s chat Blair and I discuss the particulars of Squeeze’s songwriting, the dark origins of MTV’s Unplugged series, Blair’s Jitters days playing alongside bands like Rheostatics and Blue Rodeo, and a reconsideration of Bob Marley.

Packham’s playlist:

Squeeze – Is That Love?

Jules Shear – This Primal Fire

Bob Dylan – It’s All Over Now Baby Blue

Bob Marley – War

The Beatles – Hey Bulldog

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This week on No Sleep ’til Sudbury I’m thrilled to host one of my favourite guitar players from my early teen years, Autograph’s Steve Lynch. Steve was one of the earliest innovators of fretboard tapping. After hearing Autograph’s 80s megahit “Turn Up The Radio” in my car recently, I called Steve up to do the show and talk about the songs that make his skin vibrate.

Steve brings in some great tunes and recounts some cool stories from his Autograph days on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip, including how the band shot guns in the studio to incorporate into their snare drum mixes, and how Van Halen’s tour manager warned Steve not to tap during their set because it was “Eddie’s thing” when they opened for VH in 1985.

Lynch’s playlist:

The Rolling Stones – Sympathy for The Devil

Led Zeppelin – Ramble On

Charlie Sexton – Cry Little Sister

Jimi Hendrix – The Wind Cries Mary

Small Faces – Itchycoo Park

The Beatles – And I Love Her

Led Zeppelin – The Rain Song

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Canadian veteran singer songwriter and former lead singer of The Jitters Blair Packham joins me live in the studio this week to talk about the multitude of projects he has on the go these days, and he brings in some great songs and tremendously thoughtful lyrical insights to chat about. Blair really gets the show’s gist, and his perspectives bolster some great discussion.

Blair and I talk about our common fondness for sad songs, our love for John Prine and Elvis Costello, the absurdity of musical guilty pleasures, and whether or not people will be talking about latest musical trend reggaeton in twenty five years. Probably not.

Packham’s playlist:

Steve Goodman – The Dutchman

John Prine – Far From Me

Elvis Costello – I Want You

Jennifer Warnes – Song of Bernadette

Ron Hynes – A Good Dog Is Lost

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