Not many people can say they changed the cultural landscape of a city. This guy can. Legendary promoter Gary Topp is my guest this week on NSTS. 

Topp and his business partner Gary Cormier would come to be known as The Garys, a concert promotion colossus that introduced Toronto to Punk and New Wave, having brought bands like The Police, MC5, Talking Heads, and The Ramones to the city for the first time. They were also responsible for the riot that was The Last Pogo, but I’ll let Gary tell that story. Don’t miss this.  

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Former Wargasm bassist, writer, and friend of the show Bob Mayo joins me this week on NSTS to chat about more songs I’ve never heard.   

Regular listeners will remember that Bob has told some pretty courageous personal stories on the show previously, and that he’s an incredibly authentic individual. Recently he was asked to give a talk at MIT about, in his own words, how heavy metal didn’t necessarily save his life, but certainly gave him one. Bob is definitely the real deal.  

Mayo’s playlist:

Blue Oyster Cult – The Golden Age of Leather

Gillan – Abbey of Thelema

Immolation – Fostering the Divide

Voivod – Neutrino

Wishbone Ash – Lifeline

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As discussed last week on NSTS, 1991 was the year that grunge exploded. However, the scene was still very much in its infancy – hard rock and heavy metal were still the most dominant version of rock.

So this week, in addition to talking about U2, Garth Brooks, and Lollapalooza, we look at the two most powerful heavy rock bands of 1991 – Guns N’ Roses and Metallica. Axl Rose made history doing something no artist had ever done before with the Illusion records, and the recording of Metallica’s Black Album was so intense that three of the four band members would get divorced before it was completed. Don’t miss this.  

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I’m pretty stoked about this week’s episode, which focuses on the rise of the Grunge movement of 1991 – the stories behind how Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and other acts came to found this musical movement.  

The most interesting aspect of what people understood to be ‘grunge’ is that many of the bands thought to represent the genre, including Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, and Alice In Chains, really weren’t grunge at all. So what were they really? And what was really responsible for the eradication of hair bands in 1991? Hint: it wasn’t grunge… 

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Guitarist and friend of the show Greg Fraser calls in to NSTS this week. He’s got a brand new band called Storm Force, with a brand new record, Age of Fear – and it’s been getting a lot of attention around the world since its release last week.

Because he’s such a great Canadian, Fraze brings in five Canuck tunes that make his skin vibrate. As always, we have some laughs and a great musical chat that includes catching Geddy Lee on an off day and Lars Ulrich’s opinion of Streetheart.

Fraze’s playlist:

Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush – World Anthem

Triumph – Magic Power

Goddo – AnacanaPanacana So Walk On

Streetheart – What Kind Of Love Is This

Rush – 2112 Overture

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This week on No Sleep ’til Sudbury, I examine the year of 1978 through some of the most bizarre and fascinating events that shaped it musically, including Richard Branson trying to have Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten join Devo as their new singer after the Pistols broke up.

The facts behind the untimely deaths of Sid Vicious, Keith Moon, and Chicago’s Terry Kath are also discussed, as is the KISS solo albums strategy, and the massively far-reaching influence of New Wave. Don’t miss it!  

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Singer songwriter and friend of the show Suzi Kory drops by the NSTS studios this week to talk about her recent gig at the Horseshoe. Her new single “Settle of the Dust” just dropped, and you can check it out wherever you listen to music.

Always a lot of fun to have Suzi on the show – she’s funny, insightful, and loves to talk about music, navigating social media trolling, and the “Love Revolution”. Check it out.   

Kory’s playlist: 

John Lennon – Imagine  

Kacey Musgraves – Rainbow  

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Simple Man

Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers – Islands in the Stream

KISS – I Was Made For Loving You

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Happy New Year, everyone! To kick off 2020 I welcome a very special and unique guest to the show. Jon McMurray has been described as the man with no memory, following a severe head injury he sustained in his 20s. However, he does remember music – and it’s the bridge back to his previous life. 

His attitude is incredibly inspiring, as is his story, which he graciously shares with us this week through the songs that helped him recover after he awoke from his coma.

McMurray’s playlist:

David Bowie – Space Oddity

Beastie Boys – Something’s Got To Give

Sloan – I Can Feel It

A Tribe Called Quest – Can I Kick It?

Rheostatics – Fan Letter to Michael Jackson 

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Welcome back to the 2019 No Sleep ’til Sudbury Christmas special, featuring none other than the legendary Rik Emmett. In Part II of this year’s special, Rik and I return to his home studio to chat about the controversy behind Christmas classic “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, who wrote the Jeopardy theme, the back side of the beat, and so much more. And, he performs another Christmas classic.

Once again, Rik approaches his favourite Christmas tunes with humour, passion, and insights that introduce a entirely new level of understanding of music most of us tend to enjoy superficially. Cheers to him for being an incredible guest once again this year.

This concludes the NSTS programming schedule for 2019, returning the first week of January. To all my valued listeners, all over the world – I wish you a very Merry Christmas and an amazing 2020. I appreciate your loyalty, and it’s been my privilege to have you tune in this past year. All the very best to you. Happy holidays!  

Emmett’s playlist:

Sammy Davis Jr. – Baby, It’s Cold Outside 

Diana Krall – Christmastime Is Here

Vinyl Cafe – Dave Cooks The Turkey

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He’s back! My pal Rik Emmett has joined me once again this year on No Sleep ’til Sudbury for two special Christmas episodes of the show, live from Rik’s home.  

I love working with Rik on this stuff, because he’s so enthusiastic about it and puts in so much preparation. He killed it again this year, with more compelling perspectives, historical insights, and hilarious stories – all while playing his guitar. And this year folks, Rik performs TWO songs. Do not miss this.       

Emmett’s playlist:

James Taylor – The Christmas Song

Michael Buble – Let It Snow  

Tuck Andress – Jingle Bells

Joni Mitchell – River

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