EP 218 | Tom Wilson and Colin Linden-Blackie And The Rodeo Kings

August 13, 2022

hello

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.

The name alone gets your attention. I mean, they all wear black suits. So, you may ask, which one is Blackie.

They are all Blackie.

Stephen Fearing, has a fine solo career with a seriously growing fan base, outstanding critical reviews and he’s a Blackie.

Tom Wilson is a multi-talented singer, songwriter, artist, and author. A bear of a human, a Mohawk soul, and a good man.

Colin Linden is a music lifer. He’s doing what his head and heart told him to do. Starting when he was perhaps 8.

Colin left Canada fully formed and famous, for Nashville and set up his studio. He’s been making music ever since. Solo career, writing, creating, and producing Blackie music. Produced Keb’ Mo’s Grammy album. Produced the last 8 Bruce Cockburn Albums.

Toured as part of Bob Dylan’s band.

So Blackie is Stephen, Tom and Colin. Together, in spirit, in spirituality, and bound by 12 notes and the truth.

New album is O Glory: Lost those blues again

(Stephen spent a great deal of time teaching in the Maritimes this Summer. Was not available for our Zoom interview)

The zoom video can be seen and heard on our terrydavidmulligan YouTube Channel

www.blackieandtherodeokings.com

colinlinden.com

stephenfearing.com

tomwilsononline.com

EP 217 | Tami Neilson. New ‘Album KingMaker’

August 6, 2022

hello

“Could the King of Country Music be the daughter, not the son”

The 5th Tami Neilson Album is called Kingmaker.

The song Kingmaker “addresses the gatekeepers and kingmakers who hold tightly to the keys of equity and minorities in the music industry and, more largely, society as a whole.”

It’s an amazing breakthrough album for this Canadian/New Zealand singer and songwriter.

The song Beyond the Stars is about loss and grief. Tami lost her Father. As Tami wrote the song, she kept hearing a duet with her father’s voice. She thought the best voice on the planet should sing her Father Ron’s lyric – Willie Nelson. Willie was fully in, as he had just lost his sister.

Tami moves through, blues, country, rock, and roots, with an ease that comes from years of street busking.

As we talked via Zoom I was thrilled to tell her that she had the number 1 album on the CKUA Top 30.

EP 216 | A conversation with Cheech and Chong

July 29, 2022

hello

“Comedy is the ultimate truth. Jazz is hitting the notes that no one else would hit, and comedy is saying words that no one else would say.” ~ Tommy Chong

“Marijuana was a new phenomenon when we started. Now it’s for everyone – doctors, lawyers, presidents.” ~ Cheech Marin

I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Again.

While I was doing rock radio in Vancouver, Richard Marin and Tommy Chong were creating comedy stand-up in a strip club. Between the strippers’ sets, they would take the stage and riff for 10 minutes. Tommys’ family owned the club so they could work the stage as much as they liked.

Things got funny.

One night I was walking through Bacedas..a swanky 5 room club downtown and there in the comedy room were Cheech and Tommy gathering up camera gear from around the stage.

Me – “whaddya doing guys?”

Cheech – “we’re recording all the bits we do and whatever gets the most laughs, we’re turning it into a pitch for a stoner movie”

Years later “Up in Smoke” was a blockbuster, made for chump change and they were off and running.

As Tommy says in the interview – we got so successful we broke up.

Cheech headed into films and tv work – Tommy did one-nighters and scratched out a living. Tommy then famously got busted for manufacturing glass bongs. He turned his 9 months in jail into a book and a documentary.

It wasn’t until they sat down and talked things through that Cheech and Chong returned to tours and work and fame.

I found this interview hiding in an old file. If I happen to get my hands on the rest of the interviews, I’ll let you know.

This was in Vancouver at the Opus Hotel during their reunion tour. First time back on stage in Vancouver in many years.

Survivors. Going bigger and better than “the man” ever thought they would.

Enjoy –

EP 215 | Courtney Barnett Documentary- Anonymous Club

July 22, 2022

hello

Our guest Danny Cohen is a Melbourne-based director who has filmed and photographed some of the most interesting and influential figures in contemporary music.

Shot on vivid 16mm film over a three-year period, ANONYMOUS CLUB chronicles notoriously shy, Melbourne-based musician Courtney Barnett’s ups and downs on the world tour for her album Tell Me How You Really Feel. Featuring Barnett’s unguarded narration from her audio diary, recorded on a dictaphone provided by filmmaker Danny Cohen, the film delivers frank and unprecedented insight into Barnett’s creative process, the sacrifices and inner conflicts set in motion by fame, and the sometimes dark backdrop to her whimsical, relatable poetic compositions.

Based for much of her adult life in Melbourne, Courtney Barnett first found critical acclaim with 2013’s The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, and broke into the mainstream in 2015 with her debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. Garnering a coveted Best New Artist Grammy nomination and numerous other accolades, the album stands as a generational classic.

Barnett is also a powerhouse live act, playing slots at festivals including Coachella, Bonnaroo, Governor’s Ball, Primavera, and Lollapalooza. In 2021, she released Things Take Time, Take Time, a remarkable artistic step forward.

Anonymous Club opens across Canada over the next several weeks.

EP 214 | Interview with directors of Documentary Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen. A Journey – A song

July 16, 2022

hello

It’s not just a story of the life of Leonard Cohen. It follows the life of his song Hallelujah.

Leonard wrote 130-150 verses for the song. Took him years and years.

Then when he released it on the album Various Positions, his label in the USA, Columbia Records, refused to release it. It never got played and was almost forgotten…until John Cale recorded it for the tribute album I’m Your Fan and it began a life of its own. The songs passed from Dylan to Cale, to Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, kdlang to the Shrek Soundtrack. Now, it’s legendary. However, with Fame comes The Lame. Various singers have crushed the life out of Hallelujah in TV Talent shows.Some crediting the song to Buckley without knowing that Cohen lived it and wrote it.

Hallelujah started as a spiritual journey and ended, with various Leonard rewrites, to become a secular and sexy anthem.

Post Shrek, Hallelujah took Leonard Cohen to audiences all over the World. It’s a heartfelt film that captures the brilliance of Leonard Cohen and the song.

The film was released Friday in the USA and in Toronto/Montreal and I’ve heard it opens across Canada very shortly.

This is smashing filmmaking and epic storytelling.

The directors are Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine and they were my guests on Saturday’s Stew

https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/hallelujah/

EP 213 | Music Festival Season 2022 pt2

July 10, 2022

hello

Welcome to the 2022 Summer Music Festivals. Part Two

We’ve kept Edmonton, Calgary, and the next event the Vancouver Folk Festival in the mix.

Added this week is HUFF the Halifax Urban Folk Festival. Its artistic director is a classic Canadian troublemaker, Mike Campbell.

The same Mike who co-hosted Mike and Mike for

MuchMusic.

Mike Campbell

Then curated the rise of a great music room The Carleton in Halifax. It just won the best small live room in Canada.

Like its leader, the HUFF is wonderfully different.

Enjoy!!

Here we go…

When the pandemic hit at the beginning of 2019 anything that qualified as a gathering took the brunt of the hit.

Restaurants, concerts, sports, schools, music tours, group travel, etc!

Festivals of all descriptions were immediately shut down and artists went home and stayed home.

So, here we are two years later and this summer the music festivals have been fully booked by artists who can’t wait to get on the road and on stage. To be met by audiences and music fans who truly missed the live music experience.

We’ll touch on four music festivals but they do represent all festivals, big and small. Please find one near you and support the festival and the artists.

Each web link below has info on the performers, their schedules, and ticket sales.

Our guests are

Terry Wickham – Producer, Edmonton Folk Music Festival Aug 4-7

www.edmontonfolkfest.org

Kerry Clarke — Artistic Director Calgary Folk Fest Prince’s Island Park July 21-24

www.calgaryfolkfest.com

Debbie Salmonsen – Artistic Director Vancouver Folk Fest – Jericho Beach July 15-17

www.vancouverfolkfest.com

www.thefestival.bc.ca

Mike Campbell. Artistic Director HUFF. Halifax

End of August and early September.

The Carleton.ca

Amazing lineups and special events. The info is here in the Podcast and on the website – Enjoy!

Mike Campbell

EP 212 | Music Festival Season 2022

July 2, 2022

hello

When the pandemic hit at the beginning of 2019 anything that qualified as a gathering took the brunt of the hit.

Restaurants, concerts, sports, schools, music tours, group travel, etc!

Festivals of all descriptions were immediately shut down and artists went home and stayed home.

So, here we are two years later and this summer the music festivals have been fully booked by artists who can’t wait to get on the road and on stage. To be met by audiences and music fans who truly missed the live music experience.

We’ll touch on four music festivals but they do represent all festivals, big and small. Please find one near you and support the festival and the artists.

Each web link below has info on the performers, their schedules, and ticket sales.

Our guests are

Terry Wickham – Producer, Edmonton Folk Music Festival Aug 4-7

www.edmontonfolkfest.org

Kerry Clarke — Artistic Director Calgary Folk Fest Prince’s Island Park July 21-24

www.calgaryfolkfest.com

Doug Cox – Artistic Director Vancouver Island Music Festival – Courtney, BC July 8-10

www.islandmusicfest.com

Debbie Salmonsen – Artistic Director Vancouver Folk Fest – Jericho Beach July 15-17

www.vancouverfolkfest.com

www.thefestival.bc.ca

Amazing lineups and special events. The info is here in the Podcast and on the website – Enjoy!

EP 145 | Buffy Saint-Marie Turns 80-REPEAT!

June 25, 2022

hello

Last Saturday Singer/Songwriter, Educator, Social Activist, Mother, and leader Buffy Saint-Marie celebrated her 80th Birthday.

She had some cake she made the night before and called us from her home in Hawaii.

This is the complete interview

(Keep your ears open for chickens and roosters in the yard and about 15 minutes in a huge rainstorm pounds the roof. She does live in a rainforest after all)

Because we have known each other over so many years, I went all the way back to her birth. She was abandoned as a baby and adopted by a family who gave her love and education. Buffy explains that she doesn’t really know her real birthday date but it didn’t let her stop becoming a legend.

Original photography by Jack Robinson.
www.robinsonarchive.com

She was told at 6 years old in school that “there were no more Indians around. All Gone. Maybe some in Arizona”. We talk about what has changed for young native students. If anything.

Buffy has always lived a life looking at ”the long view”. In our talk, she explains what that means and how well it served her. She likes “busy”. Busy is good.

She’s won a Grammy, An Oscar, received an Order of Canada, spent 5 glorious years educating on Sesame Street, and has received countless honors.

You can read about her amazing life in Andrea Warner’s Book, Buffy Saint-Marie – The Authorized Bio.

We welcome back – The Buffster.

Subscribe to the MulliganStew podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify

EP 112 | Jim Cuddy and Barney Bentall on Fathers Day- Encore Presentation

June 17, 2022

hello

This Fathers Day gathering took place June 2020. It was so informative and fun that we decided to repeat it this year. Yes there’s talk about lockdown but what that chat reveals is the joy both guys found in “watching the seasons change” and that included their children growing up. They have a revealing discussion between themselves about their children following in their footsteps and the mine field of giving those children advice.

It still rings true.

Welcome to The Mulligan Stew Podcast. Encore Presentation

OK. Its Fathers Day weekend.

It’s also Summer Solstice

I always hear a phrase…. “I’m in the family business”

Now, that works if your family are Store Owners, or Office Workers, Doctors. Nurses. Teachers. Farmers etc.

We have two guests today who are friends and fathers.

Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo and The Jim Cuddy Band.

Barney Bentall. Leader of Cariboo Express. High Bar Gang. BYU and his own solo career.

How has the family dynamic changed when their sons and daughters follow them in the music business.

Share the stage. Maybe even write songs together. (maybe being the key word)

And how do family members like being the subject of songs they hear on the radio?

I was excited to get these two pals together and exchange life experiences.

Saturday June 18 Barney plays the Beaumont Blues & Roots Fest. New album Cosmic Dreamer

Jim and Blue Rodeo play the PNE Aug 21

We connected on Zoom and you can find the complete conversation below:

EP 211 | Joe Keithley-Hardcore Politics

June 10, 2022

hello

Guest is a long-time friend Joe Keithley (also known by his D.O.A hardcore punk stage name Joe Shithead)

One of the very few punk artists who didn’t bring their stage characters into their real world.

Joe on stage was wild, pissed off, and very much in your face.

Off stage, he was just a great guy from Burnaby. A regular Joe.

Joe founded D.O.A

Founded Sudden Death Records

Rock Against Racism

Harmony for all – gathering used instruments for Burnaby residents who don’t have access to them.

D.O.A is celebrating the 40^th anniversary of their LP Hardcore 81

And Director Scott Crawford is shooting a documentary on Joe and DOA called Something Better Change (named after DOA’s first album)

He’s already shot and released Creem: America’s only rock and roll magazine and Salad Days. Both were outstanding.

Many of Joe’s former bandmates are long gone but he’s continued to grow and learn to such an extent that he’s now a twice-elected Burnaby City Councillor and Joe’s just gearing up for another run for office. Knocking on doors is his specialty.

I think he mentions 13,000 during one campaign.

Here’s the best part – he’s still making music with DOA..getting in a tour of Ontario, Quebec, and BC’s interior before the election.

To quote Dan Aykroyd “ is it a floor wax or a shampoo”

Can a guy be a hard-core punker and a politician???

Yes.. yes you can. If you’re Joe Keithley.