Records & Rockstars

Another special session in the recurring “Performances” series featuring past guests chatting with Jeff and delivering song set-ups and stories, and live acoustic performances from Wild Woods Blue. This time, lotsa laughs and talent too, pulled from the 56 minute session of episode #163, wherein the update features highlights from one of the finest and most diverse rock drummers around, showing his other side as a singer/songwriter and how that feels versus drumming, as Glenn Milchem performs two of his own songs, and tells of his feelings around stepping out from behind the kit to sing, of his tenure with Blue Rodeo and of their induction to Canada's Music Hall of Fame, and of giving life advice to his kids in the words to one of the two songs he does here. We also find out that we share in our love of what we're happy to call the finest live band around, and they're Canadian too. Here comes 38 minutes of pure music talk and performance, from Glenn Milchem.  

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One of the most intimate and moving performances yet, it's another special episode in the recurring “Performances” series featuring past guests chatting with Jeff and delivering song set-ups and stories, and live acoustic performances from Wild Woods Blue. This time, pulled from the full 90 minute album premiere special (Episode 182 May 2023), we “head for the hills” with an excerpt from it, featuring an outstanding acoustic performance of a stand-out cut from “Something Easy”, Justin Rutledge's tenth record. His story finds Rutledge having negotiated major life changes as he overcome numerous obstacles on his path to better ways forward. And his growth as a recording artist, engineer and producer has been immense, too. His 10th album “Something Easy” is a profound work, and you get a taste of it performed live right here. 

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It's another special episode in the recurring “Performances” series featuring past guests chatting with Jeff and delivering song set-ups and stories, and live acoustic performances from Wild Woods Blue. This time, pulled from the original Feb 2022 full 51 minute episode #123, from Toronto, it's the incomparable Eamon McGrath, sharing songs from the accliamed album “Bells of Hope”, and more. Eamon, on his Martin guitar, gives you two exceptional renditions of original songs, and tells of playing in a band backing Daniel Johnston (RIP), and covering his poignant and everlasting “True Love Will Find You in the End”, which is also included! Episode run time: 29 minutes.  

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Here's the fourth in a recurring series we call “Performances”, featuring past guests, and how it works is we go back to those sessions, and pull out a bit of the introduction, along with the artists song set-ups and stories, followed by the live performances they delivered at Wild Woods Blue, this time featuring multi-award-winning artist and songwriter Dani Strong, who brings her guitar and her smile and her stories to Wild Woods Blue Studio. Her songs have landed in television and movies, and on record, and here with her Martin guitar in hand, she performs two gems: “Slow Down”, and “Loved” and her voice and playing are PERFECT. Plus, as Dani Strong is both a teacher and manager of other artists, for anyone thinking of creating and releasing music, hear Dani's Dos and Don'ts. Runs 32 minutes. (For more, hear the full episode #191, runs 88 minutes).

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I remember this day vividly. November 1997, when I was still recording artist interviews to quarter inch tape, and using a razor blade to move stuff around and add in the perfect songs, to get the special ready for radio. In walked Angus Young. He wasn't alone. In fact, he was dwarfed by the presence of two people, sitting on either side of him, across the recording console. Their presence seemed to fade from my view as Angus and I got into his memories of the great Bon Scott, to whom AC/DC was paying tribute with the then forthcoming box set Bonfire, titled, in a way, by the former front man himself. Angus tells that story, and so many more about his and Bon's bond, and their rise together on the long way to the top.  

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Somehow, I had never been to Las Vegas. Then along came the opportunity to talk to Carlos Santana, September 3, 2010,when I got to the Hard Rock Hotel with guitar in hand—a black Gibson SG, knowing that the SG was the model of guitar Carlos had long ago played, and it’s truly one of the classic models (also associated with Angus Young of AC/DC and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath). Carlos happily autographed it for use in an auction event I would later stage to benefit music therapy services in Canada. I thanked Carlos for coming and congratulated him on the imminent release of Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, featuring guest performances by everyone from Joe Cocker to Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland and more. This is that.

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Is that a pocket full of kryptonite or are you just happy to see me? This time, the third in a recurring series we call “Performances”, and what a performer he is! A guitarist whose talents and hits would land him on the cover of Rolling Stone (Jan 1993), and on stages all over North America to this day. Joining Jeff Woods in-studio, solo, for a chat and impassioned acoustic performances, it's Spin Doctors guitarist Eric Schenkman. We're going back to a select session from March 2019 at Wild Woods Blue Studio, from which we've pulled out set-ups and stories, preceding three killer performances including two spirited originals: Who Shot John, and Agent Orange Blues (guess who that's about!?), and one classic cover: Statesboro Blues, in a loving nod to the Allman Brothers and the Blind Willie McTell song of 1928.  Runtime: 3 minutes. (For more, the original episode #33 runs 66 minutes)

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Here's another in a recurring series of special episodes, Records & Rockstars Performances, taking you back to select sessions, as we pull out songs and set ups and stories to go with, as delivered at Wild Woods Blue, this time starring Jeff's special guest, from Toronto and playing left-handed, it's Delyn Grey with two stellar performances of original songs. Runtime: 17 minutes. (For more, the original episode #192 runs 39 minutes)

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From Jeff's personal archives, it's all things Rolling Stones, with one-on-one conversations with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in Toronto (1998), talking about the Stones in concert (including playing Russia for the first time), Ronnie Wood in New York (2010) talking about art and music, playing guitar and playing bass, and Jeff Beck (Toronto 2010), with the story about how he "auditioned", so to speak, for the Stones before they ended up acquiring Ronnie.

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Not one but two tall drinks of water, as Gregory Childs and his wife bring along crack guitarist Jonathan Billings and band, to Wild Woods Blue to play a couple new songs, and one long ago made famous by Waylon and Willie, plus Greg opens up to Jeff about the who, what, when, where, why and how of his need to write and sing and play. Sometimes a school-teacher's doubt is just the thing a kid needs to fire up his soul and sing his heart out! 

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