“I have music; I have a family, a house, a barbecue. I’ve got pants and a
hoodie, I got all kinds of whatever,” he says. “So that’s what I am
struggling with, this deeply internal thing. What are we doing here? We’re
just here on this rock for such a short time, and then we die.”
Afie Jurvanen’s comments from an article in American Songwriter
Afie Jurvanen is the creative spirit behind the artist known as Bahamas.
Afie has just released his fifth album – Sad Hunk
In Sad Hunk he writes and sings about – Forgiveness, dreams. belief, making
a living, family dynamics, cool/not cool,
Afie and his family moved from Ontario to Halifax and it’s reflected in his
spare, settled narration.
And music? His fans are going to love these tunes and it will win over
non-believers.
He’s the real deal..a Juno winning singer/songwriter who’ll be back at the
podium for next year’s awards.
Enjoy this Zoom interview with the funny and very direct Afie/Bahamas.
The rest of The Stew includes lots of music you can cook and dance to….at at the same time…
Tower of Power, Taj Mahal, Paul Simon Live, Terra Lightfoot, Walk off the Earth, Marc Cohn and the Blind Boys of Alabama, Herbie Hancock, Tedeschi Trucks with Sharon Jones and the Daps Kings, Michael Kiwanuka, Marcus King, Bonnie Raitt, and Norah Jones.
No interview today…2 hours of tunes for the start of your hard-earned Saturday night.
Kick off with Ry Cooder, The Jerry Garcia Band, new Bahamas, and a remixed Instant Karma from John and Yoko.
There’s a boogie set with John Lee Hooker/David Wilcox/Colin James
Remixed Goats Head Soup from The Stones.
Hour two starts with Little Feat Live/Jann Arden & Jackson Browne and a great new track from War and The Treaty. (next weeks guests and podcast)
Speaking of MulliganStew Podcast.
This week it’s one of the most unknown legendary figures in rock. Bert Berns. Wrote huge hits. Produced stacks of soul hits, hung with the mafia and has an amazing documentary you might want to check’ out HERE.
Maybe you’ve heard some of the songs he wrote and gave the World.
Twist and Shout. Piece of my Heart. Here comes the Night. Hang on Sloopy. Brown Eyed Girl. Under the Boardwalk. Cry To me.
He produced Solomon Burke. The Drifters. Ben E King. Wilson Pickett, LaVern Baker, Isley Bros, and Van Morrison.
Bert was the first American Producer to record British bands in London.
One was Them, featuring Van Morrison. Led Zeppelin recorded Baby Come on Home for their first album. Was released later in a box set.
He started his own label BANG. It featured artists like McCoys, Strangeloves, Neil Diamond. Van Morrison recorded his first solo album with Bang Records. It featured Brown Eyed Girl, the great TB Sheets, and the first-ever version of Madame George. Van has said “Bert Berns was a genius”
Berns was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died in 1967 of childhood rheumatic fever at age 38. A lot of songs died with him.
This is an interview I did with his son Brett who was one of the directors and producers of Bang! The Bert Berns Story, a documentary on his father’s life.
The film is narrated by Miami Steve van Zant from the E Street Band. It’s an inspired choice as Steve is known for playing a mob gangster, which is exactly what Bert Berns was known for. Hanging around mafia guys when he wasn’t working.
Enjoy the story. I believe you can find this documentary on Netflix.
Hello All and thank you for checking us out on The Stew.
Matt Quinn, lead singer, and songwriter for Mt Joy is our interview guest.
Mt Joy is an LA based band with strong Philadelphia roots.
Earlier this summer, they headlined an impromptu Livestream event on their social media featuring appearances from The Lumineers, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Liz Vice, Houndmouth, and many more. They all raised more than $30K for MusiCares and Philabundance – a show of the band’s civic pride. mtjoyband.com.
Their second album is called Rearrange Us.
Rearrange Us was not just a popular breakthrough but an emotionally mature, philosophically expansive work produced by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse) that shows that Matt and Mt Joy are continuing to grow sonically and artistically. A growing reputation as a great live artist Mt Joy has toured with The Lumineers, Neko Case, and The Shins; they’ve played Bonnaroo, Newport, and Lollapalooza!
They loved playing in Canada…Matt remembers Toronto especially as being the first audience to love them from the first notes and that they were each given their ownroom in the hotel. Just like real people.
Enjoy the music and conversation. Great Fun. What a fine band.
As for the rest of Mulligan Stew ….
So much music to play..so many memorable songs..all neatly tucked into two hours of airtime.
Frazey Ford, Paul Butterfield, Steely Dan, Dave Mathews Band, Tom Waits, The Police and U2 Live, Harry Manx, Norah Jones, Feist, Imelda May, Amy Helm, Peter Gabriel, and Small Glories.
The 2 hours is dedicated to the life and memory of Abeg Kon of Chestermere.
Like all great songwriters, Matt Quinn from LA band Mt Joy started all of his formal music training – in his bedroom in Philly
Even though Matt always had a desire to write and create music, he eventually started law classes.
He was deep into tort law class when he saw that his first release Astrovan had 60,000 plays in one day on Spotify.
So much for the law career.
The second Mt Joy album is called Rearrange Us
Matt describes the release as a “breakup album” with an ending that speaks to personal growth and progress in the face of sorrow and is filled with hits!
