20 or 20

A recording of Toronto on the Rise: Community-Minded Music Making hosted and curated by Mackenzie Cameron. Featuring three short interviews with members of No Tourists, Ray HMND and Dex Robinson of Studio 145 Co-operative and Mac Rogers and Devon Savas of siblinghumanbuddypal. From June 8th, 2021

Tone Bonk Doc: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-193-fresh-air/clip/15847789-how-community-toronto-musicians-found-ways-thrive-creatively

Keeper E. aka Adelle Elwood goes 20 or 20 discussing; her love of the east coast; learning to play violin at the age of 3; tiny violins; piano and classical music; the desire to learn "cool" instruments; studying classical music; writing songs as rebellion; Bach's irrelevance; Made In Heights and Sylvan Esso's influence on The Sparrows All Find Food; her debut album The Sparrows All Find Food; sonic electronic exploration; dissonance; "be careful what you sing"; simple things in a complex world; climate change and writing about climate change; finding hope; bread and much more.  

Featured Songs: "Please Don't Tell Me", "Telling The Truth", "Everywhere I Go"

Recommended Artists: Leith Ross, Jennah Barry

Micah Brown aka Pillea goes 20 or 20 discussing: heading east; the musical might of Prince Edward Island; living on islands, including Montreal; his past musical projects; his new musical project, Pillea; Pillea's debut album Swell; "Great Success"; priorities and sacrifices; the eternal greatness of Jimmy Eat World, Motion City Soundtrack and The Weakerthans; emo; the inspiring music of Oso Oso and Foxing; recording himself and much more,

Featured Tracks: "Great Success", "Swell"

Recommended Artists: Pony, Kiwi Jr.

JayWood goes 20 or 20 discussing: growing up in Winnipeg; sleepless nights listening to Hot 103; Sugar Ray; the Winnipeg rock scene; the surprising diversity of Winnipeg's music community; shredding; Sugar Ray again; the evolution of JayWood; re-recording and re-releasing his he EP Some Days; the sickness of his live band; writing for them; live shows; writing feel-good tunes; ignoring genre; Gorillaz; that Owl that keeps appearing on his album covers; Gorillaz again and much more.

Featured Tracks: "Some Days", "What You Do To Me"

Recommended Artists: Super Duty Tough Work

Dorothea Paas goes 20 or 20 discussing: growing up in Toronto; going to church; how cool it was to have a house band at church; finding a musical community (free from church) in Kingston; finding a sonic direction in Kingston; CFRC; the long road to Anything Can't Happen; the music that inspired Anything Can't Happen; surprising musical changes; avoiding traditional musical structures; lyric writing; the difficulty of maintaining musical connections during the pandemic and much more.

Featured Tracks: "Container", "Closer to Mine', "Anything Can't Happen"

Recommended Artist: Poolblood

TOVI goes 20 or 20 discussing; the Red Deer music scene; learning classical piano and jazz; wanting to rock; writing rock; going solo; moving to Toronto; her new EP Hard Feelings; the sick drums on her new EP Hard Feelings; genre-melding; Gorillaz; making bagels and much more.

Featured Tracks: "Hard Feelings", "This Could Have Been A Love Song"

Recommended Artists: Emma Beko, Alyson McNamara

Tryal aka Alex Samaras goes 20 or 20 discussing: memories; finding, not choosing, a career in music; being a doer; his new album DogGone; recording in lockdown; his extended musical family; writing songs; the practice of performing; acknowledging audiences; being inspired by actors and dancers; covering Radiohead; covering Sondheim; Toronto's musical community and much more.

Featured Tracks: "Cameo", "The Map", "Time+X"

Recommended Artists: Lydia Persaud, Christine Bougie, Luka Kuplowsky; Johnny Spence

Black Dresses is one of the best selling artists on Bandcamp, and yet, Canadian Music Media has largely allowed them to fly under the radar. Why? 

Aly Laube, journalist, host of Cushy Radio on CITR in Vancouver, and author of Exclaim! Magazine's first ever review of a Black Dresses album (2021's Forever in Your Heart) stops by for a brief and basic history of Black Dresses and a deep discussion on why a band with such a fervent following online and a unique, challenging and original sound can be so overlooked by an industry.

It's a meeting of the Macs as Mac Rogers goes 20 or 20 discussing: his path to jazz; ditching business and switching to music; the musical might of Humber College music grads; his new EP Where Stems Meet Noise; Mac and Devon Savas's "home to creations of an unbridled, cathartic nature" sibblinghumanbuddypal; trust; Toronto's history of community-minded music making; inviting audiences in; arranging songs and much more.

Featured Tracks: "Struck", "Hymn of Hmm"

Recommended Artists: Eulogy, Eulogy, Alexei Orechin, Burs, Leith Ross, Dan Edmonds, Tryal

Jenna, Lauren and Emily of Virgo Rising go 20 or 20 discussing Winnipeg, Rock City; their origin story; Emily learning about The Weakerthans; their debut EP Sixteenth Sapphire; writing music; their signs; my sign; before bed routines; pandemic past times and more.

Featured Tracks: "Molly Ringwald Dances in the Front Row", "Headlights", "Back of a Head, Body of a Couch", "Juice"

Recommended Artists: Urban Vacation, Jamboree, Living Hour