Mike McKenna is the ultimate journeyman guitarist. He was influenced as a guitarist early by Buddy Holly & Hank Snow.
He & his fellow musician friends learned a lot about show business by following acts like Ronnie Hawkins & Robbie Lane around notorious music venues in the Toronto area,
Early on his band scored opening spots for bigger acts like the Grateful Dead.
Mike formed a fast friendship with the late Jerry Garcia.
He has been signed with many different record labels over the years, all the while playing with notable artists like John lee Hooker.
Both of his major acts, Luke & the Apostles & McKenna Mendelson Mainline have recorded what are now classic/collectible albums.
I really think You're gonna like this one!

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John Gardiner is an upside down, left handed bass player & author.
He spends a lot of time posting short stories garnered from his memories of growing up in the small town of Hanover Ontario on Facebook. His intentions are good. He knows that people need their regular daily infusions of entertainment especially during pandemic times.
In this episode, we discuss his challenges as a lefty, his adventures with the Sterling Blues band, disappearing gigs for musicians etc. .
After a couple of Cancer scares John feels a sense of urgency to get his written works out there. He is a man on a mission & our conversation in this episode is very entertaining ... to say the least !

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From humble beginnings on the Wikwemikong First Nations Reserve on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada to a successful career in Nashville, Crystal Shawanda has come a long way.
She started singing in public at six years old & has never looked back. Moving to Nashville at sixteen, she had the courage to knock on all the right doors & her journey as a successful singer/songwriter was launched.
Facing systemic racism & misogyny in here early years on the road, she carried on with an indomitable spirit.
Among her honours over the years, She performed at Barak Obama's inauguration & she's won Juno awards for her previous works. Her current album "Church House Blues" is nominated for the 2021 Juno Awards.
Her live tours are totally a family affair. Her husband Dwight is both her producer & full time lead guitarist. Their daughter four year old daughter not only travels with the band ....but is also a frequent guest with Mom & Dad on stage.
Hers is an awesome story....& I think You're gonna like it!

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Sandy Gillis started his career in radio broadcasting in 1968 while he was still a kid in high school. It didn't take him long from there before he was hosting a local teen dance show on TV. And before you knew it he had started his own broadcasting school, hiring his radio station bosses as professors. As he quickly climbed the ladder in radio becoming station manager in short order, he gave several popular media broadcast personnel their first breaks. One of his early hires in radio was current CBC on air journalist Ian Hanomansing.
He got into comedy out of necessity when a competing radio station entered his local domain as competition. So he started creating comedic characters on air. One of those characters, "Jimmy the janitor" became a huge part of his career. Jimmy the janitor worked with other comedic greats over the years like David Broadfoot (Royal Canadian Air Farce) & Don Harron (Charlie Farquharson).
Over time Sandy would forge relationships with promoters & artists like Dobald K Donald who would often ask his advice on booking acts like April Wine etc. .
In this episode we discuss all of this and more....with a few laughs added for good measure. https://www.jimmythejanitor.com/

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Earl Johnson was a founding member of Canadian classic rockers "Moxy" along with the late Buzz Shearman (r.i.p.) . He is now the last man standing but he continues to carry the torch & was still touring with the current lineup of Moxy until the pandemic hit. He remains enthusiastic & has learned to play for the love of the music as time rolls on.
Earl got started in his professional career playing guitar with the legendary King Biscuit Boy. While touring with Biscuit, he met Buzz Shearman & they would eventually play together with the Leigh Ashford band before forming Moxy. The ride wasn't always easy but they had some momentous times recording & touring together until Buzz eventually had to quit singing because of throat issues & Earl was left trying to figure it out from there. During the height of their touring days, a young AC/DC would open for Moxy in Southern Texas where Moxy reigned supreme.
Earl describes having to physically eject a drunken Bon Scott from his hotel room & a whole lot more in this episode.
I think you're gonna like it!

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Jerry Fielden is a man who wears many hats in the music business. He not only leads his own recording act, AraPacis featuring top shelf players like Don Airey of Deep Purple & Ozzy Osborne fame, David Stone (Rainbow) & Vinny Appice among others. He has had a close working relationship with Deep Purple's long standing lead singer Ian Gillan. When Jerry isn't busy making new music he spends his time in sales with multimedia manufacturing company Duplication.ca
We discuss the early years, his friendships with mentors Frank Marino, Roger Fisher (Heart) & a lot more.
https://www.duplication.ca/

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In this edition, Jaimie Vernon of Bullseye Records play another round of Pop Trivia where I quiz him on his knowledge of Canadian musicians & bands. We discussed acts like Moxy, Copper Penny, Scrubbaloe Caine, Wide Mouth Mason, Thundermug & more.
Jaimie is the author of The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia & has a wealth of information about Canadian music history & he's kept up on a lot of bands & artists who you may not have thought about in a while.
Fasten your seatbelts folks. This is another fun ride!

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In this episode, I chat with Mario Circelli. Mario is the founder & chair of the Forest City London Music Awards & Hall of fame. We discuss how he & his team have struggled to try & support live music during this global pandemic. This is a difficult time for everyone....& musicians have been among the hardest hit by the negative economic impact of this deadly virus. We talked about the ever changing safety protocols & restrictions as they have applied to artists in the music business. And of course we talked about the resilience & adaptability required to try & provide entertainment to the public during these times .... whether it be live or virtual & the specific nuances involved. https://fclma.ca/

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Bill King was raised in Jefferson Indiana where he began his musical journey in the 1960s. He's just released his book "Bill King Coming through the 1960s" & in this episode, we discuss his long & illustrious career as he's moved through various styles of music, eventually migrating to Toronto Ontario, Canada where he really found his groove. He tells us a bit about how he traveled acroos the United states touring with an early band by the seat of his pants, working with Janis Joplin, negotiating with Ronnie Hawkins ....and a whole lot more.
This is a good one folks. Strap yourselves in for a fun ride!

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Richard Van Camp is a Dene author from Fort Smith NWT. He has released a new book annually for the past 25 years.
His latest upcoming book release, "Gather" is inspired by his days as a volunteer driving his community Elders around on the local Handy Bus as he documented their stories of wonder & magic.
He intends this new book to be a guide to your own soul medicine.
His story is fascinating to say the least.
After you listen to this episode you should check out his website www.richardvancamp.com to be privy to all of his works which include Children's books, Graphic novels, Comic books, Short Stories & Movies.

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