My jackass friends Brad ‘Jammer’ Jemmett and Kent ‘Blaze’ Bailey are back for the third installment of their little hip hop exercise, and after we finish winding Blaze up for playing the French horn in high school band, Jammer goes through Blaze’s playlist from Episode 10. Quite critically. Lots of trash talk.

Listen along as we talk Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Slick Rick, Wu Tang Clan, and how Blaze’s high school girlfriend looked like MC Lyte.

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Colin Lumsden is a personal friend, a highly intelligent business executive currently working in the field of higher education, and a massive music fan. In the first of this two-part series with Colin, he eloquently shares his deep knowledge of punk rock, the personal reasons why it compelled him so much as a younger man, as well as some incredibly insightful perspectives on the genre and others.

We also discuss the very unique and scientific way in which he derived his playlist, which impressed but did not surprise me. This is a really great chat.
 

Lumsden’s playlist:

The Beatles – Strawberry Fields Forever

Arctic Monkeys – When The Sun Goes Down

Dead Kennedys – Where Do Ya Draw The Line

The Fratellis – For The Girl

Green Day – Coming Clean

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Canadian rock journalist Mitch Lafon joins me in NSTS episode 24 with a classic hair metal playlist that brings me back to my high school days.

Join us as Mitch talks about the disappointment that was Montreal rock radio in the 80s, and why he’s tight with Slash and Alice Cooper. He even teaches me a dirty little secret I didn’t know about German rockers Scorpions!
 

Lafon’s playlist: 

Bon Jovi – Wanted Dead or Alive

Metallica – Enter Sandman

Whitesnake – Still of the Night

Scorpions – Big City Nights

Poison – Talk Dirty To Me

Honeymoon Suite – All Along You Knew

Alice Cooper – Ballad of Dwight Fry

Bryan Adams – Heat of the Night

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Twisted Sister founder and guitarist Jay Jay French joins me in episode 23 to discuss Sister, his slew of new and intriguing projects, and of course, his playlist.

Jay Jay and I talk about my first ever concert (Twisted Sister opening for Iron Maiden) and his frigid trek across Canada in December 1984, how his guitars (like his wife’s shoes) seem to copulate overnight, how Johnny Cash approached him for his autograph in Toronto, why 1967 was such an important year in music, and what it was like to audition for KISS in 1972 before Ace Frehley joined the band.

All this and a chat about his unusual obsession with The Beatles too!
 

French’s playlist:

Chuck Berry – School Days

The Beatles – I Want To Hold Your Hand

Bob Dylan – Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright

Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Born in Chicago

Albert King – Crosscut Saw

Pink Floyd – See Emily Play

David Bowie – Five Years

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Seattle editor and author of Welcome Thieves Sean Beaudoin joins me via Skype to talk about one of the most unique and compelling playlists ever submitted to the No Sleep Til Sudbury podcast series.

Sean supports his playlist with eloquence, interesting facts, and hilarious stores surrounding his experiences with these songs. Listen along as he tells us what his father thought Husker Du really meant, why being at a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds show is akin to witnessing the inner workings of a cult, the dangers of being a Blue Oyster Cult fan, why he turned his Firm t-shirt inside out, and how he proved he was a real Captain Beefheart fan.

Beaudoin’s playlist:

The Doors – The Changeling

Soft Machine – Hope for Happiness

Syd Barrett – Octopus

Miles Davis – On The Corner

Stiff Little Fingers – Suspect Device

Blue Oyster Cult – Hot Rails To Hell

The Minutemen – Ain’t Talkin Bout Love

Captain Beefheart – Lick My Decals Off, Baby

Husker Du – Pink Turns To Blue

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand

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In the most candid episode of No Sleep Til Sudbury to date, comedian and Sirius XM on-air personality Allison Dore shares some very honest and personal insights from her formative years as reflected through the playlist she created for the show.

Musically and emotionally, there’s a little bit of everything. Allison takes us through her love/hate relationship with cowboys, her perspectives on Steve Earle, and our weakness for the ‘crafty’ types. But most importantly, Allison shares an important message surrounding mental health that shouldn’t be ignored.
 

Dore’s playlist:

Hank Williams Jr. – Family Tradition

The Beastie Boys – She’s Crafty

Steve Earle – Angry Young Man

Steve Miller – The Joker

The Emotions – Best of My Love

Blue Rodeo – Try

Britney Spears – Stronger

Destiny’s Child – So Good

Lennon Stella and Maisy Stella – Joy Parade

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In NSTS episode 020, I’m joined by New York filmmaker Chris Cassidy to talk about his upcoming documentary Dennis and Lois, which chronicles the fascinating story of a couple who have lived out their rock and roll dreams for more than 30 years.

Chris’ playlist is centred around the film’s soundtrack, featuring an assortment of bands that interacted with Dennis and Lois. As we discuss the songs, Chris shares the details behind the towel containing Joe Strummer’s DNA, how Dennis and Lois procured the dirty socks of the Gaye Bykers on Acid, and what it was like to watch bands at CBGB alongside Lou Reed playing pool.

As this is an independent documentary film, a Kickstarter campaign has been launched and contributions can be made here. Dennis and Lois is slated for a late 2017 release.
 

Cassidy’s playlist:

The Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop

The Mekons – Where Were You?

The Happy Mondays – Dennis and Lois

Fat White Family – Whitest Boy on the Beach

The Bogmen – Oceans Apart

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Killer Dwarfs singer Russ Dwarf and I get his birthday festivities started a day early in Episode 019 of No Sleep Til Sudbury, as Russ takes me through the playlist of songs that make his skin vibrate over a few Sapporos.

All the important stuff gets covered – classic Sudbury establishments like The Coulson and The Brockdan, opening for Iron Maiden at Wembley and Hammersmith, The Dwarfs’ very first gig in Oshawa, and what it’s like to sing Rush songs alongside Rush’s own Alex Lifeson.

Happy birthday, Russ!
 

Russ’ playlist:

Alice Cooper – Generation Landslide

Rick Derringer – Uncomplicated

Rush – Anthem

Max Webster – On the Road

Motorhead – Killed By Death

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Look who’s back! The Pink Chief, Chris Long, makes his triumphant return to the No Sleep Til Sudbury podcast.

In this episode, The Chief completely flouts my format and does something completely different – no playlist in favour of his confession of a guilty pleasure. And it wouldn’t be Chris Long if there wasn’t some controversy.

Fun episode. I love this lunatic.

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Canadian kid and fleet-fingered guitarist for hot new heavy blues band Crown Lands, Kevin Comeau brings his guitar into the studio for Canada Day, replacing my usual intro music with some tasty slide guitar. He even plays us out with a little bit of Rush in the spirit of Canada’s birthday.

Kev’s band Crown Lands just won the 97.7 HTZ-FM 2017 Rock Search and their new album, called Rise Over Run, drops shortly. He brought in an incredible playlist of the songs that make his skin vibrate, and he makes me look bad with his eloquent and highly knowledgeable discussion of said songs. The kid is wise beyond his years, folks.
 

Comeau’s playlist:

Rush – Xanadu

Explosions in the Sky – Your Hand In Mine

Bob Dylan – Boots of Spanish Leather

Yes – Heart of the Sunrise

King Crimson – In The Court of the Crimson King

Fleetwood Mac – Silver Springs

Paul Simon – Graceland

Tycho – Awake

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