I’ve been talking forever about music’s ability to elicit an emotional response. My guest this week is musician Rob Carli, and he’s created a special campaign that embodies this very idea – The Awesome Music Project. 

Rob and his business partner Terry Stuart created The Awesome Music Project as a collection of stories detailing music’s transformative impact on people, which eventually developed into a book and a campaign whose goal is to build a community that can accelerate mental health solutions using music. The book is incredible, full of stories from celebrities and everyday people alike, who have been positively impacted by music in some way. It launches everywhere Thursday October 10, Mental Health Day, and it’s available for pre-order on the AMP website. This is a great cause, one I fully endorse. Get your copy today!      

Carli’s playlist:

Skye Wallace – Not Ready for This To Start

Led Zeppelin – The Rain Song

Rheostatics – Queer

Tame Impala – Led Zeppelin

Anderson Paak – Make It Better

Aretha Franklin – Eleanor Rigby

Vampire Weekend – Rich Man

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Garage rockers Alissa Klug and Brendan Albert of Queens & Kings join me on the show this week, celebrating the release of their hot new single and video “You Got Me”.    

We play a snippet from the single and talk about some songs that make their skin vibrate, in addition to other topics like stage fright, photography, Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder, and where the intensity of their music really comes from. 

Queens & Kings playlist:

PJ Harvey – Grow Grow Grow

The Kills – Last Day of Magic

Temple of the Dog – Hunger Strike

Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows

Bucky James & Alissa Vox Raw – Walkin’ the Fine Line

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Julian Taylor drops by the NSTS studios this week to talk skin-vibrating tunes. His new record Avalanche is a funk and soul tour de force, and if you haven’t heard it yet, you should. Julian is a super talented musician and songwriter who should be a lot bigger than he is. 

We chat about his old band Staggered Crossing, a band I’ve loved since the late 90s, and lots of other stuff – the Funk Brothers, what sounds good and what doesn’t sound good driving in his new ’66 Mustang, bagpipe solos, hanging with Noel Gallagher, and more. But my favourite part of his visit was him playing an acoustic version of Staggered tune “Further Again”. You’re gonna love it.           

Taylor’s playlist:

Sturgill Simpson – All Around You

Mipso – People Change

The Frighteners – Nothing More To Say

Greyhounds – What’s On Your Mind

John Farnham – You’re the Voice

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No Sleep ’til Sudbury is back with Canada’s Queen of Punk, Bif Naked! 

Bif’s achieved a lot of things – topping charts with hit singles, beating cancer, and performing in Lilith Fair to name a few. We talk about the 20th anniversary of Lilith Fair and lots more – Desmond Child, New Wave, where I Bificus came from, Sudbury, protest songs, Iron Maiden and Madonna, and her upcoming seniors burlesque school. I love this woman.  

Naked’s playlist:

Foxy Brown – Hot Spot

Asking Alexandria – Moving On

Grimes – Realiti

Tarkan – Kuzu Kuzu

Belly – Now They’ll Sleep

Youssou N’Dour – No More

New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle

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