He’s back! Triumph frontman Rik Emmett, and now Rik Emmett poet, takes over the No Sleep ’til Sudbury podcast for the next two weeks to talk about his new book of poetry, called Reinvention. 

This isn’t a rock star vanity project. It’s a personal, emotional glimpse into Rik’s life history and a look at the world from his perspective, written with tremendous candor. As always, Rik and I have some fun discussing the work – he plays and sings, and forces me to read one of my favourite passages aloud (I should have done multiple takes). 

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Back by popular demand! The great Barney Bentall returns to NSTS this week to talk about his new instrumental record called RanchWriters, a collaboration with his Spirit of the West pal Geoffrey Kelly. 

There are hints of Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake on the new record, and Barney and I discuss how the project came together, the details of how it was recorded on his ranch, and how it’s a tribute to the memory to Spirit of the West’s John Mann. Barney’s skin vibrating songs are, of course, also included.   

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Last week we looked at Guns N’ Roses singer W. Axl Rose from a factual, historical viewpoint of his life and career. This week we go beyond that, and take a closer look at Rose from a more personal perspective. Not just as a musician, but as an influential pop culture icon. 

In other words, last week we talked what the music sounds like. This week, we talk about how it feels. 

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NSTS is back this week with part one of a two part series featuring Guns N’ Roses frontman W. Axl Rose, one of the intriguing, beguiling, and mysterious figures in rock and roll history.

In part one we examine the rise of Rose – how a delinquent kid from Lafayette, Indiana would lead a band of rock and roll street urchins on to absolute global domination, and all of the insanity that took place along the way. 

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A few weeks back we lost one of the greats – ZZ Top bassist and singer Dusty Hill. 

This week on NSTS we pay tribute to Hill by looking back on his life, including his cello-playing high school days, how he came to be the bass player in ZZ Top, the time he accidentally shot himself in the abdomen, and the events leading up to his death. 

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Ten years ago we lost Amy Winehouse, a shepherd of the pop culture past whom Bob Dylan called “the last real individualist”.   

This week NSTS examines the highs and lows of Winehouse’s tragic life – her love for the girl groups of the 60s, her rise to fame, the struggles she endured with substance abuse, and her very sad and untimely end. 

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Creem magazine writer Jeffrey Morgan returns to the show this week to unveil his very unusual NSTS kin vibration playlist. When I express my lack of understanding in his choices, Jeffrey uses the movie “The Man Who Fell To Earth” to explain. And it does make sense. 

Jeffrey and I also discuss his Van Halen Diver Down record review for Creem, with began with a warning that it was “an exceptionally vicious kick in the teeth to Van Halen fans everywhere”. The band was not at all pleased about the scathing review, and Jeffrey contends that as a result, Van Halen recorded a much better follow-up with 1984. Can he prove it? Listen and find out.     

Morgan’s playlist:

Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music A1

Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music A2

Neil Young – Arc

Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music A3

Lou Reed – Metal Machine Music A4

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Remember Creem magazine? Remember Lester Bangs? This week’s NSTS guest, author and rock critic Jeffrey Morgan, worked for both of them. His new book, Rock Critic Confidential, opens with the original handwritten letter Morgan received from Lester Bangs, on Creem letterhead, inviting him to write album reviews for the magazine in 1974. 

Rock Critic Confidential is a fantastic read done in the style of a magazine, and includes all of the greatest moments of Morgan’s writing and photography career. In Part One of my discussion with him, we talk book highlights – Morgan’s chat with KISS from 1974 when they played a Toronto strip club, the time he administered a Rorschach inkblot test to Gary Numan, his three-hour lunch with Lou Reed, and chats with Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Stan Lee,  and more.   

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Dark and mysterious Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards vanished on February 1, 1995, and was never heard from again.  

Was it a suicide, or was it staged to look like one? This week NSTS examines the life of the intellectual poet, the events leading up to his disappearance, and the clues left behind that led some to believe Edwards is still alive.  

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It’s my privilege this week to be joined once again by Canadian great Murray McLauchlan, who returns to the show to discuss his new record Hourglass, available everywhere July 9. 

Murray always has some great stories for me, and he brings in another handful of songs that mean something to him. We chat about Sinatra, Tom Thomson, Ray Charles, the healing power of music, and what it really means when people crave fame. 

McLauchlan’s playlist (on Spotify):

Bob Dylan – Blowin’ in the Wind

Roy Orbison – Pretty Woman

Frank Sinatra – I’ve Got You Under My Skin

Ray Charles – Come Rain or Come Shine 

Blossom Dearie – Now At Last  

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