Fly with your Shadow

Danny Michel comes from a fertile music community in the Kitchener/Waterloo area of Ontario. That community has been a hotbed of great music for a long time, launching the careers of Rob Szabo, Shannon Lyon, and the late, great Paul MacLeod, who we profiled on episode 17 of this show. That episode featured a conversation with Mark Logan, a key figure in the Kitchener/Waterloo music community as the head of Busted Flat Records and the owner and operator of Encore Records. Just recently, Mark helped Danny put out a 25th anniversary remixed vinyl version of songs from his first two solo albums.

Danny Michel has written some great, timeless songs and released 14 fantastic albums, including a live album recorded right here in Winnipeg, a tribute to David Bowie, and a volume of re-recorded and updated songs from his catalogue, called New Coat of Paint.

He’s been hired as a guitar player by singer/songwriters Gwen Swick and Sarah Harmer, among others and has produced albums for folks like Leeroy Stagger, Damhnait Doyle, and Lindy Vopnfjord.

In 2018, Danny raised the alarm about the criminally low rates that streaming services like Spotify pay the artists that they rely on. He made national and international news by taking his concerns directly to Spotify in an attempt to change the way that artists are compensated for their work.

He's about to embark on a Canadian tour playing alongside his friend Steve Poltz, which brings them to Winnipeg on November 19th at the West End Cultural Centre and to various places out west. (Winnipeg tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/110060938FEC29D1)

dannymichel.com

digital downloads

bandcamp

music credits & more info: https://flywithyourshadow.com/danny-michel-episode-32/

Evangeline Gentle's 2023 album, Where the Diamonds Are, is a masterpiece sonically and lyrically. It’s melodic and interesting, propelled and shaped by producer and master musician Jim Bryson. He encouraged Evangeline to make a first professional album and has been a mentor, collaborator, and supporter ever since.

But even with guidance, talent, an interesting perspective, and a solid grounding, the rampant difficulties put in place by the old guard in the music industry can throw up road blocks along the way. One of the standout tracks on the album, "Underdog", deals with a traumatic setback in a young career that led to questions about whether a career in music was even the right way to go.

evangelinegentlemusic.com

evangelinegentle.bandcamp.com

iTunes Store

Join Evangeline and me at the Trout Forest Music Festival in Ear Falls, Ontario, Aug. 9-11, 2024: troutfest.com

This episode is a cautionary tale about how an artist can work hard, have talent and something to say, then just when their career is starting to take off, through no fault of their own, the rug can get pulled out from underneath and they’re back at the beginning, if not questioning whether music is even the right direction.

Mike June has a wealth of music industry experience behind the scenes and on stage. He's toured extensively with Texas songwriting legend Jon Dee Graham and his accomplished and amazing wife Jess Klein.

As he was about to release a masterpiece of an album, Poor Man's Bible, a number of broken promises and missed opportunities, through no fault of his own, set him back and had him questioning whether music was even the right path for him.

But his keen eye, quick wit, insights and informed and experienced opinions kept finding their way into songs that just had to be written, performed, and recorded. He's preparing to make a comeback with an upcoming album, Modern American Folk Music, which will finally come out on August 30.

more info: https://flywithyourshadow.com/mike-june-episode-30/

http://www.mikejune.com/

https://mikejune.bandcamp.com

https://mikejune.substack.com/

Colleen Brown (colleenbrownmusic.com) is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter on a mission - looking for beauty in the darker corners of human existence. With versatile songwriting and a vulnerable authenticity, she weaves elements of folk, roots, Americana, and pop into a sublime, striking blend. She collaborates with Scenic Route to Alaska in rock/pop supergroup Major Love, sometimes tours as a part of Great Lake Swimmers, and is currently on tour with Abigail Lapell.

Catch Colleen in Winnipeg as part of Abigail Lapell's band on April 21! TICKETS

Music credits & info: flywithyourshadow.com

I first got to know Jory Nash over 20 years ago. His albums, songs, and shows, have always been impressive. He’s toured extensively throughout North America, being featured at festivals and concert halls all over Canada and the U.S. In 2009, his album New Blue Day topped the prestigious Penguin Eggs Magazine poll of music critics, artists, and presenters.

He was also the co-founder and for nearly 20 years, the director of a multi-artist tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, called The Way We Feel, which was not only approved by Lightfoot himself, but featured regular appearances by him as well over the years.

With acclaimed albums, regular touring, truly engaging and entertaining shows, and a high-profile tribute show with his name attached to it, somehow, still, Jory was unable to make a living doing what he does best, so a few years ago, he decided to step off the stage and put his music career in the past.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to visit Toronto, where I saw a show called Homeward Bound, an Intimate Evening of Simon & Garfukel’s Greatest Hits, and it featured none other than Jory Nash. I knew that Jory was a big fan of Paul Simon, one of his most obvious influences, so it didn’t surprise me to see him on the bill, and it was very obvious that he was back where he belonged, on stage, singing songs and telling stories, even if they weren’t his own. Shortly after, Jory announced that he was planning on giving music another shot by recording a new album and booking some shows again.

I couldn’t wait to catch up with Jory and find out all about his return to music and find out more about the factors that led to him stepping away in the first place.

You can help Jory make a new album by supporting the ongoing crowdfunding campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jory-nash-make-his-10th-studio-recording

Music Credits:

More information: https://flywithyourshadow.com/jory-nash-episode-28/

Fly with your Shadow is back after an unexpectedly long absence with a bit of a broader focus to allow for some new guests and different types of conversations!

Channelling pain into beauty, Ken Yates’ fourth album is a breathtaking triumph of the human spirit. The cool-hued Cerulean captures the artist’s intimate reckoning as he grieved his dying mother, giving listeners a vivid window into the rollercoaster of intense thoughts and emotions that accompany such a personal, yet universal experience. The result is a transcendent record that surges with tightly held energy and intimate moments. The listener hears the artist growing in real time, moving towards a space of acceptance and peace as he himself moved to the country, began therapy, and wrote the songs he needed to hear.

Cerulean may be born from grief, but it is not musically grieving: its surefooted and softly radiant arrangements shine with the quiet hope of a soul put through the wringer. “This is the first time that I’ve made a record where I feel like the songs were going to be written whether I wanted to release an album or not,” Yates explains. “I was writing because I needed to. I never would have described songwriting as a cathartic process in the past; it was just something I liked to do.” (from the bio by Mitch Mosk)

Music Credits:

“The Big One” is from the album Cerulean, which is available on Bandcamp.

“Honest Light” is from the album Cerulean, which is available on Bandcamp.

Melanie Brulée is a bilingual singer/songwriter originally from Cornwall, Ontario. She spent much of her 20s living in Australia, where she first picked up a guitar and developed an interest in singing and songwriting.

She came back to Canada and quickly established herself on stages and at festivals across Canada and in the United States. She’s got two full-length albums out, a French-language album called Débridée, which came out in 2015, and an English language album, Fires, Floods, and Things We Leave Behind, which came out in 2018.

As you’ll hear in our interview, after some intense touring and hard work promoting that album, Melanie found herself burned out and questioning the direction she was headed in.

A step away from music allowed her to focus on other areas of interest, including mental illness and mental health, which took on new importance for her after she learned, long after the fact, that her estranged father had taken his own life. This led her to learn more about mental illness and deal with mental health issues of her own.

In conjunction with Mental Illness Awareness Week 2020, Melanie organized a series of conversations about mental health on Instagram Live and released a powerful song and video called “The Mess,” which is a take on an all-too-familiar inner struggle: a showdown between Anxiety and Depression, each fighting for power over its host, leaving THE MESS in the wake.

This year, she released another powerful song and video relating to the topic, this time in French, called “Crier.”

More information, videos, and music credits: https://wp.me/pdcjXL-83

Today’s show features a story of trauma that is really difficult to hear. This might be the most intensely emotional episode of this show so far, and it’s one that many listeners might find difficult and disturbing. It is a story about a young boy who was sexually abused by a Catholic priest and the devastating effects that it had on the boy and his family. If these topics might be difficult for you, or you have a strong attachment to the Catholic church, this might not be the episode for you.

This story came to light in a powerful new song and video by Madison Violet (madisonviolet.com) Brenley MacEachern's brother Stevie. On September 22, 2021, Brenley posted on social media:

Fifteen years ago today, my brother Stevie was strangled to death in a stairwell, between the 12th and 14th floor of an apartment building on Alexander Street in Toronto. Of course, that was just a small part of the string of bad luck following Stevie around; unlucky 13 on the last day of his life just summed it all up, I suppose. …

It’s been so hard and anxiety-inducing to decide to share Stevie’s story. This video has only been out in the world for a day so far. Already the support and the stories messaged to us have strengthened my conviction that telling the truth and ending the stigmas around abuse, can help set us free.

The effect that the abuse had on Stevie led to his life unravelling and spiralling out of control, and leading to his murder. Although Stevie is the one who suffered through the abuse, his loving family members suffered a different kind of trauma, watching a beloved family member struggle so visibly. Rightly, Brenly is emotional telling this story. She also carries and conveys a lot of anger towards the perpetrator and an organization that seems rife with such stories.

Again, this episode, especially the second half, may not be for everyone. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, there are many mental health professionals that may be able to help. There are links to many great organizations on the Mental Health Resources page of flywithyourshadow.com.

music credits and more info: https://wp.me/pdcjXL-7R

Mike Plume is one of the most glaring examples of the unfair nature of the music industry. You’d like to think that if you have immense talent and appeal and work really, really hard, you’d become a major star. But it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, an artist just grinds away, developing a rabid following outside of the mainstream.

Don’t get me wrong, Mike has been successful and is known and loved by many. But for my money, he has written some of the best songs and put out some of the best albums this country has ever produced. For years, he led one of the best live bands on the planet, and they were willing to play anywhere and everywhere, and they did.

Mike, along with his oldest friend and drummer Ernie Basiliadas, along with guitar slinger phenom Dave Klym, and a couple of bass players, most notably Derek Mazurek, were and still are known as Mike Plume Band. In their most active years, from 1997-2002, they were fixtures in bars, theatres, and at festivals across Canada, into the U.S., and across Europe, performing, up to 250 shows in a year. Their shows and albums at the time, I believe, stand right alongside some of the biggest bands in Canada, like Blue Rodeo and The Tragically Hip.

But Mike never got the big-scale audiences or the acclaim that Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor, and Gord Downie did. He ran into just about every roadblock you can imagine. He had bad management, he got ripped off, had deals that never really panned out, and opportunities that, through no fault of his own, did not work out. The band released an album called Fools for the Radio, which should have catapulted them into the upper echelon of Canadian bands, but it had the unfortunate circumstance of being released on September 11, 2001. And there are countless, incredible stories, many of which you can read at Mike’s website, mikeplume.com.

Eventually, he cut back on the touring, married the love of his life, another super-talented singer/songwriter named Jenny Orenstein, and kind of settled down into a quieter life. They have a daughter named Ruby who is blossoming into a major musical talent. Watch out for her.

But the songs keep coming, the stories keep getting written, and the stage keeps calling, and Mike keeps churning out powerful recordings.

His latest album, Lonesome Stretch of Highway, again, had the unfortunate circumstance of being released right at the beginning of a global pandemic. He took a day job to help pay the bills while he couldn’t tour, and the interview and training process helped him to realize and face that he’d been living with an undiagnosed learning disability since grade 5.

Never one to just sit around, Mike became one of the bright lights of online streaming shows over the past year and a half, as he went live once or twice a week for nearly a year.

Catch Mike in Winnipeg at the newly renovated Park Theatre on October 19. Tickets are available through Eventbrite HERE

I’ve got a whole lot more of my chat with Mike and a bunch of music to share on my other show, Tell the Band to Go Home on the October 10 and 17 episodes. You can find and follow that show at tellthebandtogohome.com

music credits and more info: https://wp.me/pdcjXL-7D

John Wort Hannam hails from Alberta, where he started out writing narrative story songs and character sketches and carved out a name for himself singing those songs and telling those stories all across Canada and beyond.

He made a couple of albums independently, then a couple with the help and backing of influential and successful producer Steve Dawson, which were released on Steve’s Black Hen Music.

In 2011, John and his wife Jenny welcomed a son, Charlie, and he started writing more personal songs, exposing more of his own feelings and experiences. That’s where he really found his stride as a songwriter and began to create his most meaningful work.

Wanting to record closer to home, he made a couple of albums with Leeroy Stagger, who was my guest on the first episode of Fly with your Shadow.

His latest release, 2019’s Acres of Elbow Room, came about after a particularly difficult period of dark depression for John which culminated in a physical manifestation of years of undiagnosed and untreated difficulty, when he lost his voice and couldn’t sing.

In just a couple of weeks, on October 15, John will release a new album, again produced by Steve Dawson, called Long Haul.

music credits and more information: https://wp.me/pdcjXL-7q