This week on the show I welcome broadcaster and former educator Stephen Hurley to the NSTS studios. In addition to going through Stephen’s skin-vibrating songs, our chat is centred around music education, and the fact that in schools, music is often a subject when it should instead be an experience.

I love talking music with guys like Stephen, because he’s an old soul that truly cherishes music for what can be learned from it, and what it can tell us about ourselves. The highlights of our chat include critical points in music’s evolution, Sting’s bass lines, Elton John’s piano playing ability, the importance of having a musical ‘pusher’, and our differing opinions involving Eric Clapton. Fun episode.

Hurley’s playlist:

The Eagles – Desperado

Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing

Vanity Fare – Hitching a Ride

The Band – The Weight

Neil Young – Long May You Run

Looking Glass – Brandy

Garfield – Give My Love To Anne

Cat Stevens – Father and Son

Eric Clapton – Lay Down Sally

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It doesn’t get much better than this, folks. Coney Hatch frontman Carl Dixon comes back for his second episode, and who should turn up to sit in but our pal Canadian broadcasting icon Ron MacLean!

I love hanging out with these guys, and this episode was a real treat for me to do. Lots of laughs and so many great music and sports stories…Lee Trevino’s response to Tom Watson’s open fly, Gord Downie’s surprise answer when he was asked if he was a poet or a rocker, the song that triggered Phil Esposito’s trade, the challenges Alannah Myles faced on the road, and much more.

All this, and we wrap up with a Tom Petty group singalong with Carl on guitar (I’m the one singing flat). Great fun.

Dixon’s playlist:

Queen – Now I’m Here

The Who – The Real Me

The Black Crowes – Descending

Alannah Myles – Sonny Say You Will

Bob Dylan – Simple Twist of Fate

Santana – The Nile

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Fleet-fingered Brighton Rock lead guitarist Greg Fraser calls into the show this week to talk tunes. Greg is an incredible player and a great dude, and our conversation was a lot of fun.

Topics of interest include technology’s impact on today’s music, our favourite Zeppelin tracks, the Sudbury-Soo rivalry, Al DiMeola, Steve Harris’ favourite song, Michael Schenker’s unique response to Greg’s dinner invite, and hanging backstage at the Junos with Liona Boyd.

Fraser’s playlist:

Elton John – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me

Elton John – Your Song

The Beatles – Yesterday

Led Zeppelin – The Rain Song

Liona Boyd – Air on a G String

UFO – Love To Love

UFO – Try Me

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The No Sleep ’til Sudbury podcast is back with the incredible and irrepressible Molly Johnson. She’s got fire, she’s got insight, and the lady has stories.

What a discussion – Molly talks to me about the American civil rights movement, what Aretha smoked, Rick James’ real name, the politics of tuna, where Jim Cuddy got his voice, how The Police formed, the genius of Gord Downie, and what all the greatest singers actually have in common (it’s not what you think!)

Johnson’s playlist:

Mozart – Symphony 46

Measha Brueggergrosman – Hymn to Freedom

KD Lang – Hallelujah

Aretha Franklin – Respect

Miles Davis – Birth of the Cool

Moe Koffman – Curried Soul

Blue Rodeo – Try

The Tragically Hip – Bobcaygeon

The Staples Singers – Anything with Pops on guitar

Neil Young – Harvest Moon

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If you’re a fan of the show, this will be one of your favourite episodes. Singer and vocal coach Teresa Cirillo drops by the No Sleep ’til Sudbury studios for a very honest and personal chat about the music that makes her skin vibrate.

Teresa is enthusiastic, genuine, upbeat, and she doesn’t hold back one bit. We talk about the peculiar coterie of characters that comprised Michael Jackson’s entourage, what happens to women when Chris Isaak sings, how many octaves Freddie Mercury could cover, Simply Red’s connection to her fear of death, the number of people who have cried on my show (including herself), and her Pitbull ban. To close out the episode, Teresa very vehemently invites Jann Arden to guest on No Sleep ’til Sudbury. So, Jann…what do you say?

Cirillo’s playlist:

Chris Isaak – Wicked Game

Live – Lightning Crashes

Simply Red – Holding Back The Years

Kaleo – Way Down

Jann Arden – I Would Die For You

Queen – The Show Must Go On

Michael Jackson – Human Nature

Big Wreck – That Song

Eros Ramazotti – Musica E

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Ethnomusicologist, professor, and writer Gillian Turnbull is my guest on the show this week. Gillian is a fascinating woman with a powerful social voice, and she provides some great commentary with lots of laughs during our discussion.

Tune in to hear about her boozy encounter with Jim Cuddy, her theory as to why Billy Joel doesn’t get as much respect as Springsteen, why she loves Rush, and her affinity for Neko Case’s scatological emphasis – the lady drops an F-bomb with style.  Check it out.

Turnbull’s playlist:

Blue Rodeo – Cynthia

Ian Tyson – Elko Blues

Billy Joel – Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

Bikini Kill – Rebel Girl

Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian at Best

Neko Case – Where Did I Leave That Fire

Jason Isbell – Elephant

NQ Arbuckle – Hospitals

Rush – Working Man

Jim White & Aimee Mann – Static on the Radio

Beyoncé & Dixie Chicks – Daddy Lessons

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My pal Ron MacLean comes back to the No Sleep ‘til Sudbury studios again this week to chat about ten more songs that make his skin vibrate. It’s an absolute joy to hang out with Ron – he’s funny, whip smart, super gracious, and he knows his music.

In this episode Ron and I discuss his ritual for listening to music in the car, his affinity for Tom Petty, Todd Rundgren, and Carl Dixon, his Olympics exploits, the bond we share through an old French Canadian folk song, Blue Rodeo and smoked sausages, and why music is better when the mistakes are left in. Ron also opens up about Gerry Rafferty in a way I didn’t expect, but certainly appreciated. Great man, great storyteller. Great episode.

MacLean’s playlist:

Rod Stewart – Maggie May

England Dan and John Ford Coley – Love is the Answer

Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street

Willie Nelson Merle Haggard – Pancho and Lefty

Brandi Carlile – The Joke

Boston – More Than a Feeling

Talking Heads – What a Day That Was

Tom Petty – Swingin’

Catherine McKinnon – Dominique

Blue Rodeo – Lost Together

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One of Canada’s greatest ambassadors, broadcasting icon and massive music fan Ron MacLean joins me on No Sleep ’til Sudbury this week. Like most Canadian sports fans I’ve been a fan of Ron’s for decades, and it was my privilege to chat with him about the songs that make his skin vibrate.

In sharing his love for the songs that moved him over the course of his life, Ron offers the clever quips I’ve come to expect from him, along with some things I didn’t, and I’m thankful to him for sharing so much more of himself beyond what we ordinarily see on television. In this episode, we talk about how he prepares for Hockey Night In Canada, Don Cherry having a ‘little bone’ to pick with Gord Downie at the Junos, a poem he wrote for Matt Mays, his hesitation to include a Loverboy song in his playlist, and why The Tragically Hip deep cut “The Wherewithal” is special to him. All this and a Tom Petty impression too. Brilliant.

MacLean’s playlist:

Santa Esmeralda – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

Matt Mays – Take It On Faith

Men at Work – Overkill

Pagliaro – Some Sing Some Dance

Junkhouse – Out of My Head

Loverboy – Turn Me Loose

Mudcrutch – I Forgive It All

Prism – Take Me To The Kaptin

Anne Murray – You Needed Me

Tragically Hip – The Wherewithal

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This week, friend of the show and entrepreneurial juggernaut Terry Moshenberg drops by the studio for his second kick at the NSTS can with an all-new batch of great tunes.

Over the course of our chat, Mosh and I talk about his latest capers, cannabis and ‘little people’ wrestling, Pink Floyd’s crazy Billboard run, the power of nostalgia, Bob Dylan’s electric period, the beauty of mistakes, and the mighty League of Rock.

Moshenberg’s playlist:

Pink Floyd – Money

Bob Dylan – Sweetheart Like You

Bruce Springsteen – Wild Billy’s Circus Story

Bruce Springsteen – Incident on 57th Street

Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey

Van Morrison – Coney Island

Mark Knopfler – Sailing to Philadelphia

Bruce Springsteen – Lost in the Flood

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This week on No Sleep ’til Sudbury we did things a little differently – we taped the episode live from former Triumph frontman Rik Emmett’s home. Yep – Rik was gracious enough to welcome me in with open arms and cold beer, and he even sang and played some guitar during our chat.

Through 70 episodes of doing this show, I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy some pretty incredible experiences. Doing Rik’s episode was up there with the very best of those. He was a perfect guest – open, funny, engaging, musically savvy, and humble. His song choices were excellent, and his genuine sentimentality warmed my heart. You do NOT want to miss this episode.

Emmett’s playlist: 

Molly – Biff Rose

Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel) – Billy Joel

A four-way guitar instrumentals tie from Pat Metheny

Scarlet Ribbons – as performed by Harry Belafonte

Shadow of Your Smile – as performed by Tony Bennett

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