Stories Less Spoken

In the second instalment of the Little Story Series for Season Two of Stories Less Spoken, Cole sits down with Victoria musician Michael Wilford to talk about the lyrics behind his new single  Rattle My Bones, feat. Sail Cassady.

It is a darkly playful song born from the Covid-19 pandemic with a chorus about being
haunted by your demons and the ghosts in your closet. Michael opens up about his own ghosts, his songwriting process and the role creating art plays in coping with difficult times during the pandemic.

In episode two of our second season, we explore two tales of accidents and injury, to see if what doesn't kill you truly does make you stronger.

In our first story,  we dance between myth and memory as a father describes the origin of three holes in the back of his head, and the Greek gods who kept him safe.  Our second story is a tale of a young girl,  unspoken dreams, monotonous work and an unfortunate incident with a wood splitter…

In this episode:

Loucas Raptis, author, They Named Me, More or Less, Immortal
performed by Trevor Ainsworth 

W.M. Herring, author, The Wedge 
performed by Jessica Woollard

And a very special thanks to both our acting coach, Joy Emmerson, and also to our guest helper Helen Cranstoun, who helped us with Greek pronunciations! 

Time and death and all the inspiration in between... On the very first instalment of the Little Story Series, host Cole Kelly speaks with Victoria musician Nick Mintenko about the story behind the lyrics in his new song Phantom,  recorded live off the floor at the Barnhouse Studio in Qualicum, BC.  

"My music is often a way for me to self soothe, or celebrate small victories. Another way to put it is that my poetry, when put in a musical context, helps me share and experience life more fully with my friends, family, and anybody really. I have lots of far reaching roots in music and composition. My musical influences, education, professional, and personal experience range across genres (including Folk, Jazz, RnB, Rock, and many more) and are contextualized by my life and love of art. I have toured across North America and Europe, written 100 songs, recorded maybe a dozen albums. I’ve done it all as a sideman and a bandleader, and I’d do it again."

​

 What role do places play in our longing, our grieving, and our loving?  What lengths do we go to hold onto the memories of a place we have left, or to disassociate from one we are still in?

In the first episode of our second season, we explore places that we long to go back to, and places where we have forgotten we still are.

Featured in this episode:

Places I Return to Often, Christine Bissonette

Darius and The Joshua Tree, Shawnda Wilson 
Performed by Arlen James Finnerty 

 

Performing live from Moon’s Records in Cumberland, BC, for the famous Woodstove Festival, a man is brought to the brink of insanity when he can’t get noticed by a barista, a new mother struggles with an absent sex drive and a wayward husband, and a mom at home sees her day through the lists she makes to fill it up. 

Featured in this episode: 

A Day’s Work, Marlet Ashley 
Performed by Kim June Johnson 

Needs, Traci Skuce 
Performed by Melisa Devost  

The James Bay Cafe
Written and performed by Cole Kelly 

Strap yourselves in listeners, we’re about to go for a ride...

In this episode, finger paint therapy at a women’s prison doesn’t achieve the desired results and a chase ensues after a half blind man tries to escape the imprisonment of a retirement home.

Featured in this episode: 

Jeni Gunn, author and performer, Fingerpaint Therapy 

Mel Dagg, author and performer, Over the Line 

Spoken word poetry, slam poetry,  live literature. These are pieces intended to be performed and heard, so that’s exactly what this mini episode is about.
For our second instalment of The Little Story Series we will be showcasing an amazing collection of poetry performed by their authors...

Some things in life are timeless. Whether it's a classic story that has been passed down for generations, or a prized possession with profound sentimental meaning, not everything is subject to the ravages of mortality.

​In this episode, an ancient myth about two global flood survivors gets a modern, irreverent twist. Plus, a long forgotten relic lost to the sands of time resurfaces in an alien world. Come join us, because old is new again.

Featured in this episode:

 Molly Desson, author, Deucalion and Pyrrha
performed by Ashlee Loney

Rafael Nuncio, author, But a Tiny Speck of Golden Sand
performed by  Muddy Watters

with guest hosts John Abboud and Jack Stanley

Have you ever been in a moment you didn’t want to leave?  Have you ever clung on to the present because the future held something you were afraid of, or things unfinished in the past were coming back to find their resolution?

In these two stories, a murder and a missing mother hold the key to the past - while a family, in their last act of defiance against a terminal illness, travel over 21 thousand km across the country.

Featured in this episode:

Leandra, C.J. Papoutsis         
performed by Jas Wong

And Here We Go, by Heather McLeod
performed by Joy Emerson 

Since the very start of Stories Less Spoken, we’ve received stories and auditions from very talented young writers and performers in BC. We wanted to produce an entire episode featuring young voices and the stories they have to tell.

Featured in this episode:

FEAR, written and performed by Lina Janeksi 

Little Things, Linnea Wiggers 
Performed by Aia Segal