As an Edward Van Halen fan from the age of twelve, it was necessary for me to commemorate him on NSTS upon learning of his passing last week. I feel fortunate to have a platform to offer this tribute.      

Even though we didn’t know each other at all, I felt like I’d lost an old friend. Without him knowing, we made some pretty incredible memories together, Eddie and I. We should be so lucky in our lives to have experienced something that thrills us with so much intensity. And for me, Ed did that. He’ll be missed, but never truly gone.   

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Hey! This is part two of my chat with author and MuchMusic veteran Christopher Ward. We finally get to the songs that make his skin vibrate, and hearing Christopher’s take on them was a great experience for me.

Highlights of our music geekfest discussion include Bob Dylan’s revenge themes, the inspiration behind him writing Alannah Myles megahit “Black Velvet”, who “Son of a Preacher Man” was initially written for, and the time he danced with The Temptations on Much. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.      

Ward’s playlist:

Aretha Franklin – Chain of Fools

The Beach Boys – Till I Die

Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone

Dusty Springfield – Son of a Preacher Man

The Temptations – Just My Imagination  

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Yes, original MuchMusic VJ, author, and songwriter Christopher Ward and I geeked out gleefully over little-known music facts this week on NSTS. And yes, as a result it’s a two-episode series. Hey, we had a lot to talk about!

Since his earliest days as part of the Second City troupe befriending an unknown Mike Myers, Christopher has had a lot of stories to tell. He’s interviewed Paul and George of The Beatles, attended Live Aid, dined with Robert Plant, raised the ire of Elvis Costello, danced with The Temptations, and embraced the chaotic madness that was MuchMusic in its heyday. And in this first episode of two, we cover most of that and more. Enjoy!   

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Remember Wide Mouth Mason? I never forgot ’em – always loved the band, and I listen to them regularly. In November they’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album Stew by releasing a special version of it on vinyl, and WMM drummer Safwan Javed called into the show to talk to me about it (and of course, the songs that make his skin vibrate). 

Safwan is an incredible musician and a great dude, and we have some good laughs during our chat. He’s got some incredible stories from Wide Mouth Mason’s days opening up for The Rolling Stones and ZZ Top – having dinner with Charlie Watts, being invited to Billy Gibbons’ house for BBQ and homemade guacamole, and more. And what a playlist! Really enjoyed this chat with Safwan, check it out. 

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It’s here! The third and final part of the special No Sleep ’til Sudbury Honeymoon Suite series featuring HMS singer Johnnie Dee and guitarist Derry Grehan. It was a real pleasure to be a part of this very laid-back conversation between two legendary musicians who have been in the trenches together for decades.   

In this series finale, Johnnie and Derry discuss the music that makes each other’s skin vibrate – they chat about their playlists in terms of what they expected to see from each other, what surprised them, what they would add to their own lists, and which specific Honeymoon Suite songs give them goosebumps. Plus more great stories, including the time Ratt singer Stephen Pearcy visited their tour bus.     

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Welcome back to No Sleep ’til Sudbury’s three-part Honeymoon Suite musical discussion series. This week is part two, in which fleet-fingered HMS guitarist Derry Grehan joins me to chat about the new single and the songs that make his skin vibrate. 

He immediately won me over with his playlist, particularly the Van Halen and Deep Purple picks. There’s a song I wasn’t expecting in his list but Derry shares the reasoning behind it, along with some other great stories and a great Ted Templeman impression to boot! Don’t miss this. 

Grehan’s playlist:

Grand Funk Railroad – Are You Ready

Alice Cooper – Eighteen

Van Halen – I’m The One

Peter Gabriel – Don’t Give Up

Deep Purple – Burn   

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In the first of a three-part Honeymoon Suite series, HMS singer Johnnie Dee joins me this week on No Sleep ’til Sudbury to talk about the band’s new single, “Find What You’re Looking For”, and also of course, the songs that make his skin vibrate. 

For Johnnie, it’s all about lyrics and melody in music. The songs he brings to the show reflect his love for sentimentality and purity in music, and in our discussion, I was reminded of how important it is for him to convey a genuine purity of his own through Honeymoon Suite’s songs. Really enjoyable chat. 

Dee’s playlist:

Chris Cornell – The Promise

Bruce Springsteen – Stones

Coldplay – The Scientist

Sting – Fragile

Ian Hunter – Standing in my Light  

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CHUM-FM Morning Show producer and Famous Lost Words cohost Tom Jokic is my guest this week on NSTS. Tom’s been in the music industry for decades, and has some great stories from his time spent interviewing some of the biggest names in the business. His Famous Lost Words podcast, which he hosts alongside MuchMusic alumni Christopher Ward, unearths those archived interviews for our listening pleasure.  

During our chat Tom shares some tales from his past, along with the songs that make his skin vibrate – not to mention the one that makes his skin crawl.          

Jokic’s playlist: 

Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone

Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah

Bruce Springsteen – My City of Ruins

Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime

KISS – Detroit Rock City

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Following our examination of the conspiracy theory surrounding Kurt Cobain’s death, this week on NSTS we look at other music-related conspiracy theories – ranging from the ridiculously far-fetched, through to the maybe kinda believable. 

Did Supertramp and the Freemasons try to warn us about the September 11 attacks with clues hidden in their Breakfast in America album cover, 22 years earlier? Did David Bowie reference Kanye West’s rise to fame with Ziggy Stardust and Blackstar? Did Elvis fake his own death in order to hide from the mob? All of these theories and more are addressed in detail this week on the No Sleep ’til Sudbury podcast. 

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It’s here! The second half of my chat with the lovely Erica Ehm is now live, complete with the songs that make her skin vibrate (and that John ‘JD’ Roberts cliffhanger conclusion).

Erica’s playlist was compiled as a retrospective of her life thus far, documenting childhood memories, her time at MuchMusic and the artists she befriended, motherhood and her connection to her mother, and driving Bono and the rest of U2 around Toronto in her mom’s car. Erica also shares the silly reason why she was never permitted to interview U2 as a MuchMusic VJ. Enjoy!        

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