heya! welcome to another episode of indie whimsy, in this episode you’ll hear …

hiya! welcome back to another episode of indie whimsy, in this episode you’ll hear …

When Mike Trebilcock thinks back to the 1990s, his memories don’t start with chart positions or industry milestones—they start inside a building. Specifically, the MuchMusic and CityTV headquarters on Queen Street in Toronto. It was a place of live performances, interviews, cameos (including a blink-and-you-miss-it walk-on in the film Balls Up), and it was where Canadian bands felt seen. Long before that, though, The Killjoys were built on a lifelong friendship. Mike and drummer Gene Champagne had been playing together since they were kids, shaped by ’70s radio, bubblegum pop, punk, and power pop. That mix became the band’s signature—catchy, scrappy, and true to who they were.

Listening back now, Mike sees The Killjoys’ catalog as a series of moments in time. Starry captured their DIY beginnings, Gimmie Five reflected a leap forward recording at Memphis’s legendary Ardent Studios, and Melos Modos gave them space to experiment back home. Revisiting those songs years later feels “like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes,” he says—helped by the fact that he wrote them in a range he can still sing without thinking. Being part of Big Shiny Tunes and the MuchMusic era didn’t feel historic at the time, but looking back, Mike sees how it put Canadian bands on equal footing with bigger American acts. These days, he brings that same creative energy to scoring films, working on indie projects that he describes as “a bit punk rock” themselves—DIY, imaginative, and slightly off-colour. His music can be found across platforms like Tubi and AMC+, with new projects always on the horizon. Much like the indie music scene he came up in, the indie film world thrives on risk, personality, and heart.

Looking back, The Killjoys didn’t set out to define an era—but they became an essential part of one. And decades later, those songs still fit just right.

Tracklist:

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Hello again all. I’m really happy that you’re here and what a treat we have for you!

A few weeks ago I was asked if I wanted to interview Canadian rock legend Brian Greenway of the Canadian Multi Award winning band April Wine!

I don’t have rock royalty crossing my path too often so off we went.

It was such a great time.

Don’t take my word for it. Listen to this!

Copy and paste this Linktree address below to get there.

https://surl.li/yzhjpa

Or click that little arrow below.

Enjoy!

Artist – Track || Album

Episode 25. A selection of music released in 2025.

Artist – Track || Album

Tonya profiles strong female and non-binary artists in today’s episode of People Need Music.

Playlist:

Serena Ryder – Stompa ::

Kathleen Edwards – Change the Sheets ::

Allison Russell – Eve Was Black ::

Patsy Gallant – J’ai besoin d’air ::

Erin Saoirse Adair – Gaslight ::

Amelia Curran – Watershed ::

Jenn Grant – Parliament of Owls ::

Louise Burns – Storms ::

Feist – How Come You Never Go There ::

Lynne Hanson – Uneven Ground ::

Jane Siberry – Everything You Knew As A Child ::

Mo Kenney – I Faked It

Artist – Track || Album

I gotta say, heaven to me could be to become the wind, blowing through the trees. But right up there would also be hanging out in the Grey Temple with two titans of the show, PAT and NUGGETMAN64! My God! The banter! The belching!

I made Pat dig through his semi-retired CD collection and he came up with some stone classics. His first pick has been in my head for roughly 30 years. His last pick is Beck, which if you know Pat (and you wish you did, believe me) is maybe the Pattest pick going!

On the other end of the spectrum, GT-fave, Nuggetman64, picks a couple of tracks from some brand new CDs he got for Christmas.

Then I fill.out the rest with picks from the grotesque monument to consumerism that is my CD collection!