It’s that time once again, and this year I thought I’d combine music history and Christmas music to close out the 2024 No Sleep ’til Sudbury programming schedule. 

Christmas music actually evolved from Gregorian chanting to celebrate the winter solstice and the return of longer days, as far back as the 4th century. From there, a number of eras were responsible for the gradual development of the ‘carol’ onward through the centuries, and in this episode we touch on all of them. Merry Christmas everyone! 

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CHUM-FM producer, Famous Lost Words podcast host and friend of the show Tom Jokic makes his return to NSTS this week with a brand new angle.

Tom does a segment on his podcast called “When Rock Stars Attack”, a hilarious take on snippy-ish musician interviews found in the CHUM-FM and MuchMusic archives. Today he graciously shares some of these clips with us, featuring Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr, Jann Arden, April Wine’s Myles Goodwyn, and a Beatles skirmish involving George Harrison and Paul McCartney. Lots of laughs and great conversation. 

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Ah, the eternal question – of all of those truly great Beatles albums, which one is the best?

In this special episode of No Sleep ’til Sudbury, we go through the discography of the one of the greatest musical groups of all time, and arguably, the band that started it all, to determine their best work. Which album is it? Press play and find out. 

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Jazz singer songwriter Lori Cullen calls into No Sleep ’til Sudbury this week to talk about The Thunder and The Bay, her new record dropping this Friday, June 7.   

Lori goes in a slightly new direction with this release, introducing elements of electronica and taking the material to new places – the songs are airy, colourful and dynamic. And with her selection of songs that make her skin vibrate, she completely stumps me – I’d never heard of any of them, a first for NSTS. But as always, it’s all about the discovery.   

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In the NSTS interview seat this month is Eye Eye and Bill Wood and the Woodies frontman Bill Wood, talking about the songs that have shaped him over the course of this life. 

In tandem with these songs, Bill shares some fascinating behind-the-scenes details of Eye Eye’s success and navigating the pressures of their record company, his Steve Earle-inspired revelation, the early days on the road with The Oh Nos, and the many projects he currently has in the works, including a reunion project of sorts with Eye Eye guitarist Andy Ryan. 

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Friend of the show and vocal powerhouse Sandra Bouza drops by for a cup of coffee and a chat about her incredible new record, A Sound in the Dark. 

Sandra turns the tables and asks me to go through MY favourite tracks from the record, followed by an exclusive live performance of a brand new and very personal song she just wrote.  

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A few months ago filmmaker Sean Menard released his MuchMusic documentary entitled 299 Queen Street West, celebrating the history and cultural significance of what would come to be known as “The Nation’s Music Station”. 

I attended the premiere screening at Roy Thomson Hall in downtown Toronto, spoke to Rick Campanelli, Denise Donlon, Ed the Sock, Sook-Yin Lee, Bill Welychka, and other Much alum as they walked the red carpet, and offer my personal thoughts on the film here.   

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In the last episode of 2023, No Sleep ’til Sudbury welcomes legendary pro football running back Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons, a man who’s equally celebrated for both his athletic achievements and his neverending kindness and generosity.   

Pinball and I discuss the accomplishments of his charitable foundation and the upcoming “Christmas with the Clemons” gala, a fundraiser in service of marginalized youth. We also find out what Christmas songs can be heard in the Clemons house over the holidays.

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This week on No Sleep ‘til Sudbury I’m joined by writer, musician, and fellow Sudbury kid Sean Barrette. Sean has written a book entitled Heartstrings – First Guitars, and it’s a very interesting project involving some notable guitar players and the stories they share with Sean about their very first guitars. 

Of course, we also talk about the songs that make Sean’s skin vibrate, as well as the ever-compelling Friday night pizza playlists he puts together using his old iPod. 

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He’s back! 

Rik Emmett’s new book, Lay It On The Line, is the focus of our latest chat live from the newly renovated music room of Rik’s home. As usual, the discussion is funny, insightful and highly entertaining – not unlike his new book. 

In part one of our two-part conversation, the insights are particularly interesting. Rik sheds light on his motivations behind writing songs like “Fight The Good Fight”, “Magic Power”, and “Hold On”, how a Triumph album cover tried to capture a Beatles motif (but with lasers!), how “Suitcase Blues” prepared his fans for a post-Triumph Rik Emmett, and so much more. 

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