Waterloo alt-pop band Will Currie & the Country French are touring through Ontario this spring -- and, with their poppy, piano-driven tunes, you'll have as much fun in the crowd as they do onstage.

Click below to hear the interview with Will Currie, Aaron Mariash and Daniel MacPherson, which aired on Bandwidth on May 26th.

May Long weekend may be over, but don't despair! We've got all sorts of great tunes for you this week -- from the Ottawa Valley's Hinterlandband, Hamilton's The Wild Suns, and even a bit of Feist (have you heard? She's got the 3 most-played tracks on CBC Music this week!)

We've also got a piece by the CBC's Garvia Bailey about Cold Specks' doom soul sound and her debut album (click here to listen) and a nice, long chat with Will Currie, Aaron Mariash and Daniel MacPherson from Will Currie and the Country French. We chat about everything from band dynamics (hint: it's sexier than you think) to Bach contatas... and we're playing their song that's an ode to a classic hairstyle -- the John Denver haircut (which I rocked in my younger years -- with the picture to the right as visual proof).

We also end up talking a bit of politics. It turns out that Will Currie, who penned the band's song Tommy Douglas (which you can download for free by joining the band's mailing list), is a big Power & Politics fan -- so we did a mini studio tour after the interview and the band met Evan Solomon, who hosts the show. (L to R: Evan and Will)

A big congratulations to Lenny Wu, from Ottawa, who won our AWESOME BANDWIDTH GRAB BAG giveaway. All he had to do was tweet the show to be entered in the contest, and as you can see from the picture on the right... he's just picked up a sweet haul of CDs, CBC swag, and a lovingly handcrafted paper crane from a page from this week's Bandwidth script (which I learned to make courtesy of YouTube). So keep an ear out for the next grab bag giveaway!

UPCOMING SHOW INFORMATION:

- for The Wild Suns, check out their Facebook page

- for Will Currie and the Country French, check out their website

- for Jill Zmud, check out her website

And a big thanks to you -- for listening to Bandwidth! The Spring ratings are in and Bandwidth is the #1 Saturday afternoon music show in Ottawa. And if it weren't for Quirks & Quarks, we'd be the #1 Saturday afternoon radio show in Ottawa. So thanks for lending us your discerning ears -- it means a lot!

Have a fantastic weekend and I'll catch you next week,

Meg.

Playlist for May 26, 2012

Theme: MICHIGAN LEFT - Arkells

THE BAD IN EACH OTHER - Feist

INTERVIEW PAK - Cold Specks

BLANK MAPS - Cold Specks

Sting: LIVING UNDERGROUND - Hinterlandband

INTELLIGENT DESIGN - Hinterlandband

TOMORROW MORN - The Wild Suns

Sting: ONTARIO - Will Currie & the Country French

INTERVIEW - Will Currie & the Country French

JOHN DENVER HAIRCUT - Will Currie & the Country French

WEST WIND - Jill Zmud (live)

NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE - Jill Zmud (live)

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night...

PROMISE LAND - Hooded Fang

Click below to hear my interview with Maylee, which aired on Bandwidth on May 19, 2012.

Ottawa alt-rock band Loon Choir has a great summer coming up. Their sophomore album, Fire Poems, is out on June 2nd, then it's a cross-Ontario tour... that includes opening for Billy Bragg at Ottawa Bluesfest in July.

Click below to hear my interview with Derek Atkinson, Kathleen Cauley and Brad Sheffield from Loon Choir (L to R), which aired on Bandwidth on May 19th.

And to celebrate that extra glorious day of freedom, Bandwidth brings you the May Long Mixdown -- an awesome, all-Ontario playlist of tunes to get your summer started.

We've got an interview with Maylee Todd -- her mix of disco, funk and soul is the perfect addition to any May Long mix. Next month, she'll be doing a month-long residency on Toronto Island, which is a pretty cool way to start the summer. And if you're wondering about that lion dress I mentioned in the interview, you can find it here in Maylee's video for Aerobics in Space.

Ottawa alt-rock band Loon Choir has a new album, Fire Poems, out June 2nd -- we chatted with Derek, Kathleen and Brad (L to R) for a preview. If you're in the Ottawa area, you can hear a preview of the new album on Sunday, May 20th at the Arrow and the Loon Pub. It all starts at 7 pm, and I heard there will be free corn on the cob... delicious. They've also got their CD release party at the Rainbow Bistro in Ottawa on June 2nd -- for more info, check out their CBC Music page.

!!! FREE STUFF ALERT!!!

You can win an AWESOME BANDWIDTH GRAB BAG (a mix of CDs and something crafty by yours truly) just by writing into the show this week by midnight on Wednesday, May 23rd. Tweet or Facebook or email whatever pleases you -- your thoughts on this week's show, a request, even a haiku... and you could have some sweet new music coming yer way.

Other things I promised on the show that you can find on the blog:

- Tour dates for The Wind Up Radio Sessions at CBC Music

- Upcoming shows for Amity Beach

Have a great rest of your weekend and I'll see you again next week -- if you haven't yet, remember to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter -- the links are just to the right.

Meg.

Playlist for May 19th, 2012

Theme: MICHIGAN LEFT - Arkells

BACKPORCH - The Wind Up Radio Sessions

INTERVIEW - Loon Choir

ALL BOATS DON'T RISE - Loon Choir

Sting: VICTORIA DAY - Melissa McLelland

MY HEART IS IN A BASKET ON THE FRONT OF YOUR BICYCLE - Fevers

Sting: VICTORIA - The Kinks

MINI PROFILE - Andrew Gill from Amity Beach

JAKE'S VERSION OF PARADISE - Amity Beach

Sting: STEAL MY SUNSHINE - Len

INTERVIEW - Maylee Todd

HIEROGLYPHICS - Maylee Todd

Sting: MAPLE LEAF FOREVER - Michael Bublé

THE WHALE - Will Currie and the Country French

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night...

FLAT BROKE - Fitness Club Fiasco 

This week on the show, we chat with Ottawa musician/composer/actress/mom extraordinaire Sacha Gabriel (left, with son Shea and daughter Tate) about her many projects -- including her band My Tiny Circus -- and Shea and Tate weigh in on some on them, too. Sacha just finished composing the music for kids' e-book for iPad called Flora's Forest. It comes out at the end of the month -- you can check out the Facebook page here.

You'll also hear from Lucas Haneman and Kid Koala about how their moms influenced their musical careers... and hear a story from Emm Gryner about when she gave birth to her son, Ronan (you can find her awesome blog here).

We've also got a bouquet of new tracks for you (three can be a bouquet, right?) from Royal Wood, Jarvis Church and Scarlett Jane.

This weekend might be special, but next weekend is MAY LONG -- and we'll be getting in the long weekend spirit with a mix of tunes perfect for the dock -- or the patio. Feel free to send me your favourite summer/long weekend tunes at bandwidth@cbc.ca.

You'll also see I'm now adding stings in the playlist (that's radio-speak for those quick musical bridges between segments on the show) in case there's a track you want to hear more of -- thanks to listener Angelina for that suggestion!

See you next week,

Meg.

Playlist for May 12th, 2012

Theme: MICHIGAN LEFT - Arkells

DO IT BETTER - Jarvis Church

Sting: YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW - Beatles

THE INCIDENT - Emm Gryner

TOP SPEED - Emm Gryner

RIDE ON - Scarlett Jane

Sting: DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW - ABBA

INTERVIEW - Sacha Gabriel with Tate and Shea

STUPID 2 MAN BAND - Sacha Gabriel w. My Tiny Circus

MINI PROFILE - Lucas Haneman

SMILING FACES - Lucas Haneman w. Angela Galuppo

NOT GIVING UP - Royal Wood

Sting: THE BARTENDER'S JUST LIKE A MOTHER - Slim Gaillard

Sting: STACY'S MOM - Fountains of Wayne

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night (with a story from Kid Koala)...

MOON RIVER - Kid Koala

We couldn't get you a plane ticket, but we've got the next best thing -- we're bringing you Ontario musicians with their own European connections.

We've got interviews with Ottawa singer-songwriter Kyrie Kristmanson, who now lives in Paris, as well as a chat with Rhoby Lafrance from Weston Super Mare (band pictured above) -- a Gatineau band that started in London, England. Plus, you'll hear from Matthew de Zoete, who just wrapped up a two month tour in Germany and the Netherlands.

If you're in the Ottawa area, Weston Super Mare has its CD release party TOMORROW (Sunday) night at 8 p.m. at Les Brasseurs du Temps in Hull. Opening for the band will be Kris Ward from Right by Midnight and the Brothers Chaffey -- sure to be a good show!

And if you're in the Hamilton area, Matthew de Zoete's CD release party for his latest album, Colour Films, is happening at The Pearl Company at 8 p.m. as well.

Have a fantastic weekend, and be sure to tune in next week -- we're cooking up something special for the Mothers' Day weekend!

Meg.

Playlist for May 5, 2012

Theme: MICHIGAN LEFT - Arkells

OTHER SIDE OF WRONG - Ken Tizzard and the Bad Intent

INTERVIEW - Kyrie Kristmanson

WICKED WIND - Kyrie Kristmanson

GET BEHIND ME - The Fisher Kings

INTERVIEW - Weston Super Mare

WESTON SUPER MARE - Weston Super Mare

NEW LUGGAGE - BoxFull of Groundhogs

THE FAIR ONES - Shawna Caspi

OTHERWORLDLY ARTISTRY - Matthew Barber

MINI PROFILE - Matthew de Zoete

THE GOOD LIFE - Matthew de Zoete

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night...

WHITE NOISE - Wendy Versus

You'll hear a great interview with Sault Ste. Marie's Kalle Mattson (the most NOMFA nom'ed group from the Soo and sitting in studio on your left) -- be sure to check out their music video for "Thick As Theives", which went viral earlier this year.

We've also got tracks from Faraway Neighbours, Sunday Wilde and Frank Deresti and the Lake Effect. And, if that weren't enough, there's also a tasty 90 second egg with Cody Allen and some live music from Timmins' own Cindy Doire.

A big congratulations to Emma Godmere from Toronto and Paul Vanwyck from Owen Sound for winning the Eight and Half records in our Record Store Day contest -- they're on their way in the mail!

***GREAT LIVE MUSIC ALERT!!!***

If you're in Ottawa this coming week, be sure to check out the Stage Name Summit songwriters' circle at the Ottawa Writers Festival. Performers include Oh Susanna, Snailhouse, and Masia One -- and, even better, it's hosted by All In a Day host (and Bandwidth alum) Alan Neal. It's happening the evening of Monday, April 30th -- click the link above for more details.

Have you followed us on Twitter yet? On Facebook? No? You should really get on that.

Have a great weekend, and see you next week!

Meg.

Playlist for April 28, 2012

THEME: MICHIGAN LEFT - Arkells

THIS TIME - Frank Deresti and the Lake Effect

DON'T LET THE BASTARDS BRING YOU DOWN - Cindy Doire (live)

INTERVIEW - Kalle Mattson

WATER FALLS - Kalle Mattson

SHOW ME A MAN - Sunday Wilde

EGG - Cody Allen

NEVER BE THE SAME - Cody Allen

NONE THE WISER - Faraway Neighbours

CIAO CIAO CHERI - Cindy Doire (live)

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night...

RETURN OF THE BGIRL - Masia One

Bandwidth has a new theme! It's by the Arkells, a rock band out of Hamilton, and it's called Michigan Left. They're an awesome band -- if you aren't familiar, check them out.

Today marks the 5th annual Record Store Day -- a day for us all to celebrate our independent music stores with awesome RSD releases, in-store shows and giveaways!

To celebrate, Bandwidth is handing the show over to record stores across Ontario -- we're taking their requests for top tracks from their best local acts.

***CONTEST ALERT!***

And... because Record Store Day is best enjoyed with... well, new records... we're giving away two VINYL copies of Eight and a Half's new album (Justin Peroff from Broken Social Scene and Dave Hamelin and Liam O'Neil from the Stills... what's not to love?)

To enter, email your favourite Canadian record of all time to bandwidth@cbc.ca -- or you can Tweet, Facebook, or call your answer in (leave your dulcet tones on the voicemail at 613.288.6536). Send in your entry by midnight on Wednesday, April 25th, to be entered to win one of the two copies!

Have a great Record Store Day... and be sure to tune in next week as we celebrate the Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards!

See ya next week,

Meg.

Playlist for April 21, 2012

THEME: MICHIGAN LEFT - Arkells

SHE'S GONE AGAIN - Good Pinsent & Keelor

REQUEST 1: Grooves Records in London, Ont.

STRANGE WHAT WE DO - Handsome Dan & His Gallimaufry

REQUEST 2: Cheeky Monkey in Sarnia, Ont.

LOVE NEVER FAILS - Jim Chevalier

ARTIST REQUEST: Lowell Sostomi from the Great Bloomers

SOMETHING MORE - Great Bloomers

REQUEST 3: Rad Zone in Sault Ste Marie, Ont.

NEW RAIN - Garden of Bedlam

REQUEST 4: Bluestreak Records in Peterborough, Ont.

EVERMOR'S LAST WORDS - Tin Vespers

REQUEST 5: Dr. Disc Records in Windsor, Ont.

DOLLIN' - The Spooky But Nice

ARTIST REQUEST: Ben Whiteley from New Country Rehab

DIVINE CRYSTALLINE - By Divine Right

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night...

MODERN LOVERS 1 - Rouge 

This blurry iPhone picture doesn't do Adaline's dress justice... but luckily, her amazingly catchy dance-pop music is perfect for radio. I chat with her about her new album, Modern Romantics, and what it was like to work with producer Hawksley Workman. Adaline also announced this week that she'll be on the super-cool "Tracks on Tracks" train this summer (trains and Canadian music, can it get any better?!)

Brock Zeman also stops in to talk about his new label, Mud Records, and the musicians who are on it -- Robert Larisey and Brothers Through the Hill.

This weekend is the 8th annual Jack Richardson Music Awards in London, Ont. -- and we caught up with contemporary singer/songwriter nominee Samantha Hooey. You can also find all of the awards' perfomers and all of the nominees at the official site.

In other Bandwidth news -- we got a Facebook page, just like the cool kids! Be sure to like us at facebook.com/bandwidthcbc (and don't forget to follow us on Twitter @bandwidthcbc). Any questions or comments on how we could make Facebook, Twitter, or the site better? Give us a shout -- by FB, Twitter or email at bandwidth@cbc.ca.

Next week is Record Store Day -- also known as Christmas in April for music geeks. We're working on something special for the show in honour of it, so be sure to tune in!

Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Meg.

Playlist for April 14th, 2012

Theme: SHOULD'VE COME OVER - Hilotrons

GOTTA THING FOR YOU - catl

INTERVIEW - Brock Zeman

PUSH THEM STONES - Brock Zeman

MINI PROFILE - Samantha Hooey

JUST WAIT - Samantha Hooey

ASHES & DIRT - Boreal Signal

INTERVIEW - Adaline

REBELS OF LOVE - Adaline

ANGEL OF DEATH - New Country Rehab

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night ...

(requested by Jodine Martin from London)

HEATWAVE - Backburner Crew

L to R: Meg, Rowan, Jessa and Craig

When it comes to making her records, Kiran Ahluwalia travels far from her home of Markham -- her latest record, Aam Zameen (Common Ground) -- was recorded with the band Tinariwen, from Mali.

Kiran won her second Juno last week for World Music Album of the Year -- a big congratulations to her!

L to R: Kiran and Meg 

CONTEST ALERT!!!!

Win two tickets to see New Country Rehab play at the Black Sheep Inn on Saturday, April 14th or Sunday, April 15th... just email me your top pick for a Track to Start Your Saturday Night by Sunday at midnight (that's tomorrow, April 8th) for a chance to win!

Send entries (and any other questions, comments or hellos!) to bandwidth@cbc.ca.

Ottawa rock band The Balconies have recently made the big move to Toronto... but they were back in their hometown for Junofest. I caught up with them at one of their favourite haunts -- Bridgehead Coffee -- and we fried up an awesome triple yolk edition of the 90 second egg (it is the Easter weekend, after all!)

L to R: Jacquie, Liam and Steve.

The band made their first music video -- Kill Count -- this year... but it turns out that rocking out in a wrestling ring is harder than it looks... especially keeping balance on a soft, moving mat! Check out the music video here on YouTube.

I'm often snapping photos from the week and posting them on Twitter -- be sure to follow me @meghw and the show @bandwidthCBC.

Have a great long weekend and see you next week!

Meg.

Playlist for April 7, 2012

Theme: SHOULD'VE COME OVER - Hilotrons

THE LAW - Sue Newberry and the Law

INTERVIEW - Kiran Ahluwalia

MUSTT MUSTT - Kiran Ahluwalia

EGG - The Balconies

KILL COUNT - The Balconies

INTERVIEW - Craig Cardiff and Rowan Reymond-Cardiff

FLOODS AND FIRES - Craig Cardiff

MINI PROFILE - Andrew MacLeod from Years of Ernest

MY MOUTH - Years of Ernest

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night...

A GOOD DAY - The Brights

Congratulations to Richard Thibodeau of Kanata -- he's won two tickets to tomorrow's Junos Singer-Songwriter Circle, an awesome intimate show with a bevvy of this year's nominees (check out the last post for a list of some of the great acts).

If you heard Hallie Cotnam's piece on the Juno Pianos scattered around the city this weekend and want to try them out for yourself -- find their locations here.

This weekend, I'll be tweeting from tonight's gala dinner at the Conference Centre -- where most of the awards will be handed out -- as well as tweeting from Sunday's Singer-Songwriter Circle AND the big show Sunday night at Scotiabank Place. So be sure to follow me on Twitter @meghw ... and check out cbcmusic.ca for all of the latest Junos info!

Have a great weekend -- we'll debrief on the Junos next week!

Meg.

Playlist for March 31st, 2012

Theme: SHOULD'VE COME OVER - Hilotrons

TIME IS RIGHT - Cuff The Duke

INTERVIEW - Rise Ashen and Falling Down Thunder

ONE NATION - Rise Ashen and Falling Down Thunder

JUNO PIANOS

EGG - Alyssa Reid

ALONE AGAIN (ENCORE SEULE) - Alyssa Reid

INTERVIEW - Monkeyjunk

MOTHER'S CRYING - Monkeyjunk

SAFE HERE - Craig Cardiff

And the Track To Start Your Saturday Night...

RECKLESS (WITH YOUR LOVE) - Azari & III

This week, hear from Cody Allen -- a singer-songwriter from North Bay with a distinct voice... as well as Ottawa's premiere all-girl pop-rock band, Apocalypstic (Laurie and Emily from the band are sitting pretty in the picture on the left).

Ottawa rapper Atherton shares his hangover cure in a 90 second egg (spoiler: you might not want to try it yourself). His new album isn't out until May... but you can find an awesome video for his Tim Horton's rap, 1 out of 6, here on Youtube.

****CONTEST ALERT!!!!****

Win tickets to the JUNOs Singer-Songwriter Circle here in Ottawa (sorry... tickets only... so you'll have to find your own way there!)

Dan Mangan will be hosting the event on Sunday, April 1st at the Centrepointe Theate at 1 p.m... and will be joined by Terri Clark, David Francey, Max Kerman from the Arkells and Lindi Ortega.

To win two tickets to this awesome, intimate concert -- email me at bandwidth@cbc.ca with your favourite 2012 JUNO nominee. Send it in my midnight on Sunday (yes, tomorrow -- Sunday the 25th) to be entered in the draw for the tickets.

It's that easy! And who knows.... maybe next weekend you'll be rubbing shoulders with the musicians! (I'll be there too, if ya want to come by and say hi).

And a musician I want to put on your radar... Kirt Scholte (who just goes by Kirty) is from Orillia and has a new album coming out this spring/summer. Until then, catch her Wednesday nights at the Cameron House in Toronto (on Queen St.) from 6 to 8 p.m.

If you can believe it... next week is the JUNOs! I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty psyched (yes, I still use the word psyched)... and will be tweeting from all sorts of JUNO events, so be sure to follow me at @meghw.

Catch you next week,

Meg.

Playlist for March 24th, 2012

Theme: SHOULD'VE COME OVER - Hilotrons

WE ARE THE SELFISH ONES - Cowboy Junkies

INTERVIEW - Cody Allen

IF THIS TAKES ALL NIGHT - Cody Allen

1 IN 6 - Atherton

EGG - Atherton

NO THREAT - Atherton

INTERVIEW - Laurie Stewart and Emily Vinette from Apocalypstic

RAINSTORM - Apocalypstic

MINI PROFILE - Kirty

WHAT I HAVE IS ALL I NEED - Kirty

And the Track to Start Your Saturday Night...

SICK TOMORROW - The Jilted Lovers Club  

Little Stella is a folk-rock band out of Manotick that's busily preparing to record their first LP -- and have made some big life choices to do it.

Glenn Nuotio is an Ottawa-based musician who's enlisting YOUR help to raise the money to record his first album. If he succeeds -- and he's already 75% of the way there -- it will be his 40th birthday present to himself. Check out his campaign at indiegogo.com/GlennIs40.

And Audrey Junior is a Toronto-based band that takes do-it-yourself to the max -- they write their music, record in their in-house studio AND even print their own album covers! Check out this awesome YouTube video that shows the band playing -- and printing.

And Amanda Putz helps out with the show despite being on leave (she's sneaky that way!) with a rather revealing 90-second egg with Kelly Sloan.

I also gave out those Zeus CDs -- if you missed out, better luck next time!

Have a great rest of your weekend -- and give me a shout with any questions, comments or requests.

Cheers to a great St. Patrick's Day,

Meg.

Playlist - Saturday, March 17, 2012

Theme: SHOULD'VE COME OVER - Hilotrons

WALKING ON WATER - Johnny Reid and Serena Ryder

INTERVIEW - Little Stella

EGG - Kelly Sloan

MOUTH IN MIND - Kelly Sloan

ON THE LANDING STRIP - Camp Radio

MINI PROFILE - Glenn Nuotio

INTERVIEW - Lucas Wilson from Audrey Junior

CYCLONE - Audrey Junior

And... the Track to Start Your Saturday Night...

YONGE STREET BUM - Noni Crete

... figuratively, of course (unless there are reins hidden somewhere in the office that I haven't found yet. I'll keep you posted on that).

It's week one for me here at Bandwidth -- and what a week it's been!

As I take the reins for the next year(ish) and add my own spin to the show, I got to thinking about cover songs... and Ontarian musicians who have added their twist to the classics. So this week, you'll hear some great reworked tracks from Emm Gryner and The Golden Seals.

You'll also hear a great cover of The Guess Who's "Laughing" from Zeus... but it's only a half-cover, really, as they're joined by Randy Bachman (who wrote the song!) If you want to check out the full video of the band's session with Randy on CBC Music, click here. And be sure to check out the other Reworking Randy sessions -- including videos with Royal Wood and Nikki Yanofsky.

 
***

***

Ottawa's "pub at the edge of the universe", Zahpod Beeblebrox, turns 20! Zaphod's owner Eugene Haslam and I chat about the bar's big 2-0, and how it's still going strong after two decades.

Ottawa band Sound of Lions is one of the hottest acts in the capital... and they're taking the stage for Zaphod's birthday celebrations. I've got a 90 second egg with lead singer Whitney Delion and a track from their debut album 11:44. Keep an eye out for their upcoming shows at Canadian Music Week in Toronto and Junofest in Ottawa.

And Windsor singer-songwriter Crissi Cochrane shares the story of how the city's music community helped her make her first music video... which you can find on her website.

A huge, huge, HUGE thanks to Producer Extraordinaire Jessa Runciman for all of her help this week.

Oh... and Bandwith's now on Twitter! Are you? Follow the show @bandwidthCBC and myself at @meghw.