Audio

EP 230 | Director Teresa Alfeld and original Slug Simon Kendall-Doug and the Slugs and Me Documentary

November 5, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

The film is a documentary Doug and the Slugs and Me.  The Me is Teresa.

The doc is working its way through film festivals and will eventually appear on CBC Gem.

It’s been said if there was no Doug and the Slugs there would have been no BareNaked Ladies.

Led by the charming and clever writer/artist man Doug Bennett, The Slugs cut a swath through a sea of really average 80’s bands to become the darlings of Canada’s music charts. Lots of hits. One after the other.

They sold out all 40 of their Commodore Ballroom gigs.

So….what happened to The Slugs and Doug Bennett?  That’s the bittersweet and complex story of this film.

Doug Bennett died at age 52 in 2004. The music lives on.

 

Appearing in the doc are:

  • Sir Bob Geldof
  • Ed the Sock
  • Bif Naked
  • Ron Sexsmith
  • Steven Paige
  • And yours truly.

October 29th, 2022 -New wines and Spirits at IVSA Victoria

October 28, 2022 Tasting Room Radio 00:33:54

hello

New wines and Spirits at IVSA Victoria

Proudly Sponsored by Harbour Air

THE SHOW

Got my semi-annual invite from IVSA – The Import Vintners and Spirits Association..one of the largest representative bodies of beverage alcohol import agents in Canada.

The very people who seek out great winemakers and distillers and then represent them to our liquor industry and down the line- you the customer.

Sara Parkes

They’re not really set up for media, but I have always found the room to be filled with new wines and spirits that I know we’ll be talking about later in the year or next year. Best of all , they let me walk around and interview reps, who are mid-pour and telling the story behind the pour.

I can’t talk to everyone.  For one thing, every table is filled with new releases and everyone has questions.. The reps have the answers.

But I do find friends in the room and they point out a table and say something like “check out those guys over there. Thats a rock and roll table:”

And it WAS…

So let’s take a walk around the room..at Delta Ocean Point, Victoria.

CAM DUKE – Representing Vintage West and Coastal Craft..

We talk about 2020 Ridge Three Valleys Zin

Justin Cab 2019  from Paso Robles

Boutinot whites

Bread and Butter Prosecco

Ben Marco  2020 Malbec

Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin

And Nemiroff Ukrainian Vodka, with the “can’t miss” distinctive national flag on the bottle.

In November, A portion of the sale of Nemiroff Vodka goes to United Way to support local Ukrainians.

 www.coastalcraft.ca

https://vwwinemarketing.com

 

Peter Crews – New World Wines

“for those who seek boutique”

 Peter was featuring:

Ancien Wines – Pinot Noir (Carneros)

Domaine Juliette Avril  2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Red

Sheridan Vineyards  2019 Cabernet   (Yakima Valley)

Chateau Clamens  2021 Julie Rose (Fronton, France) WoW

www.newworldwines.ca

 

Kim Hewitt  – Hewitt Brand Ambassador Services

 Kim had a table full of “everything” but two bottles caught my eye

Papalote Mezcal – ( Papa-low-tay) The Brand Ambassador is Cheech Marin – Cheech and Chong.  Tres Papalote is made in Oaxaca, of course!

Santo  – a collaboration between Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri.  Three different Tequilas (Blanco, Reposado & Mezquila)

[email protected]

 

Kyle Murphy – The Drinks List (VI Territory manager)

Celine Clarac – Caves de Rauzan, (France)  6 glasses of Rauzan wine are consumed every second. They have 312 Winegrowers.

Kyle Murphy & Celine Clerac

Celeine poured a 2021 Augey Red. It costs around $13.00 and received a 90 score from Decanter.

Also displaying and pouring  Fleur, Augey White, Rose, Red, Chateau Haut Bascia, Chateau Haut – Mazieres Rouge

She teased a wine coming in the Spring called L’Agassant.  Meaning troublemaker, impertinent, rebellious.

Meant to break the very strict rules of Bordeaux.

www.cavesderauzan.com

www.thedrinkslist.ca

www.ivsa.ca

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

Benjamin Bridge – Nova Scotia

Meyer Family Vineyards – The New Chards

Hester Creek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EP 229 | HOLDEN: After and Before The story, The book, The podcast.

October 28, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

It took me the whole of Summer 2022 to read and complete Tara McGuire’s book Holden After and Before.

I’ve known and really liked Tara for a long time.

We were in radio together and apart but – in radio. It’s a small community,  at times.

I’ve written and said publicly that this was the hardest book to read and toughest interview in memory but that’s because of my friendship with Tara. I felt tied to the story and a cloak of guilt that I didn’t know what she was going through – after and before.

But that’s just me – please don’t let me steer anyone away from seeking out the wisdom of this book.

When her beloved Holden died from an overdose, she collapsed and it took many many months for her to stand up and just breathe. Then she decided to commit herself to tell this story but going back through Holden’s friends, reconnecting his texts and emails. Imagining how he handled certain situations and dealing with the guilt that came like a wave.

If you’re a Mother,  or dream of being a parent or you currently are a parent, you will find yourself wondering “what would I have done?”

I did. For a whole Summer.

Holden After and Before is a brave, honest, unspeakably painful but simultaneously beautiful attempt by a ‘mother who was a light bulb striking pavement’ to come to terms with her young son’s life and death. Once I began reading, I could not tear myself from this account, which offers a rich tapestry of memoir and fiction – basically, anything Tara McGuire could recall, discover or imagine – about her son Holden, who died accidentally at age twenty-one after he ingested a toxic mix of alcohol and heroin. As I read, Tara McGuire enveloped me with her empathy, her desperate hunger to make sense of the senseless, and her humanity. She inspired me with her courageous and unflinching journey – in the wake of any parent’s worst nightmare – to become a writer as a means of honouring her lost son. –Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes

EP 228 | Susan Tedeschi/Tedeschi Trucks New Album ‘lam The Moon’

October 22, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

Susan Tedeschi co-partner with  Derek Trucks in life and music is our guest this week.

We first talked to Susan in May when the first Moon album,  Crescent was released. This  is the rest of the story

Tedeschi Trucks Band has created “one of those albums” that will become the standard by which all other such albums are created.

It’s an amazing story and we are thrilled to have Susan share it with us.  It’s our complete 30-minute interview – with the tracks from the first album.

The concept behind I Am The Moon, the GRAMMY-winning band’s fifth studio recording, was suggested by TTB vocalist Mike Mattison in May 2020, two months after the band was forced off the road by the pandemic.

The 12th-century poem Layla & Majnun by Persian poet, Nizami Ganjavi, was the title inspiration for Eric Clapton’s 1970 double-LP with Derek and the Dominos, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs – an influential album for Tedeschi Trucks Band.  Interestingly,  Ganjavi’s source material resonated with Mattison and the rest of the band in an altogether different way. Finding complex themes and storylines that inspired their creative process, they forged a new, modern interpretation of the vast 100-page poem.

The thought that started the project was “Instead of Majnun, let’s see this story through Layla’s eyes.

Operatic in scope, Tedeschi Trucks Band explores romantic relationships, collective struggle, faith, and the human experience on I Am The Moon.

“It’s amazing,” Trucks says, “because we wrote most of this music in a pretty short time span. There are even chord changes that mirror other tunes on the albums – themes and variations, lyrical allusions, that pop back up.” He continues: “You always want to do something bigger and thematic. This is the first time it happened naturally.”

 

The decision to sequence and release I Am The Moon in four distinct episodes came “when we started thinking of records we love,” Derek says, citing Axis: Bold as Love, the 1967 LP by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

“It’s 36 minutes long. That’s the way to digest a record.”

With that approach in mind, TTB will also present I Am The Moon: The Film, immersive visual companions to each album. The corresponding films will debut three days prior to each audio release, offering fans an early opportunity to digest each album in its entirety as a communal listening and viewing experience via the band’s YouTube channel.

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND – I AM THE MOON: ALBUM + FILM RELEASE DATES:

I Am The Moon: I. Crescent
Film Premiere: May 31
Album Release: June 3

I Am The Moon: II. Ascension
Film Premiere: June 28
Album Release: July 1

I Am The Moon: III. The Fall
Film Premiere: July 26
Album Release: July 29

I Am The Moon: IV. Farewell
Film Premiere: August 23
Album Release: August 26

I Am The Moon – All Vinyl Configurations: individual LPs + the 4-LP Deluxe Box  now available

Tedeschi Trucks Band tour:

October 21 – Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene
October 22 – Stockholm, SE – Cirkus
October 25  – Berlin, DE – Verti Music Hall
October 26 – Hamburg, DE – Edel-optics.de Arena
October 27 – Prague, CZ – Forum Karlin
October 30 – Rotterdam, NL – RTM Stage
November 2 – Dublin, IE – The Helix
November 4 – London, UK – The London Palladium
November 5 – London, UK – The London Palladium
November 6 – London, UK – The London Palladium
November 9 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy
November 10 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy Glasgow
November 12 – Paris, FR – Le Trianon
November 13 – Paris, FR – Le Trianon
November 15 – Paris, FR – Bataclan

EP 227 | Harrison Kennedy

October 15, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

HARRISON KENNEDY was awarded the 2016 “Blues Album of the Year” JUNO for his album “This Is From Here”.  This was the 6th nomination for the Hamilton, ON. based artist.

Now comes his latest album Thanks for Tomorrow

Harrison Kennedy was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario.  His family had roots in New Orleans and Tennessee,[ Kennedy sang in the Stewart Memorial Church Choir as a boy, when childhood trips took him over the border to visit relations in Arkansas, Rogersville, Tennessee,[9] and Detroit, Illinois, United States, and all these experiences expanded his love of music.,  The other border his family crossed was the Canadian border. They decided to stay and live there.
Harrison grew up in a house filled with music and famous visitors such as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Lonnie Johnson. In 1969 he took a hiatus from college to become a founding member of the million-selling Detroit Soul Super Group “The Chairmen of the Board” with whom he toured the world, as well as appearing on Soul Train, American Bandstand, and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Harrison Kennedy has released almost a dozen internationally acclaimed albums and developed into one of the 21st century’s most insightful and original Blues singer/songwriters.

To quote my friend Tom Coxworth

 

For anyone not familiar with Harrison Kennedy, he has been nominated for
12 Maple Blues awards and 4 Junos and was touted by BB King as Canada’s
premier Blues performer

We’re going to talk to Harrison about his family, his spirituality and his music!!

October 8th 2022- Checking in with The Neighbourhood!!

October 8, 2022 Audio FIle, Tasting Room Radio 01:11:03

hello

Checking in with The Neighbourhood!!

 

THE SHOW

 Tasting Room Radio has been celebrating Canadian wine and food for 15 years.

We could not have stayed the course and grown without  the support of our segment sponsors

Thus, each year we make a point of making a feature fuss about our neighbors.

Thing is, we’d be doing feature stories on them anyway because they’re all winners.

When we decided to have a sponsor for each segment we had one bottom line

“if we have to talk about someone for a year,  let’s make sure we like them!  As great people and as singular artisans”!

 We are honored to welcome our in show  neighbors into the feature spotlight (in the order in which they became available)

Jason Parkes Customs – Jason Parkes  (Founder) and Develyn Barker (Dreamer and Doer)  West Kelowna, BC

Jason Parkes and crew

Their story just keeps on growing.

Came on board as The Hatch Winery. Well named, as they released well-crafted and accessible wines but they also “hatched” a series of new labels,  all heading in different wonderful directions.

The Hatch, Gobsmacked Series, Hobo Series.

Then came Black Swift, Crown and Thieves, The Hatching Post, Truck 59 Cider House, and SmokeShow BBQ plus  wines such as  Screaming Frenzy, 14 house beers, The Angel Share rooftop restaurant, The Broken Hearts Club speakeasy (house band is Proper Man, also home to Hangover Church, etc)

They have created their own JPC Wine Trail – a 5-hour adventure you will talk about and might even remember.

…And the wines? Bigger and better every season!  Beautifully crafted and pushing the boundaries – much like the people who make them!

JPC is one of the great success stories in BC wine. Best of all, they did it their way!  Rock on!

(there is no known photo of Jason Parkes but he did send this message “wine is just yeast poop”

www.jpcfanclub.com

www.crownthieves.com

www.thehatchwines.com

Unsworth Vineyards – Dan Wright (Winemaker) Christle Pope (Manager)  Cowichan Valley, Van Island

Mere minutes from our home in Mill Bay, it’s also top of mind when we think, “it’s time for wine and dine”

The Turyk Family have created a beautiful destination is perhaps the most gorgeous small farming valley in the area.

Dan Wright  Winemaker

The bonus is , the wines are outstanding and the restaurant is hugely popular.

They have just received a Silver Medal and  91 points for their 2019 Pinot Noir from Decanter Magazine. A first for Vancouver Island winemaking.

The new owners have their own family roots deep into the history of Napa and Sonoma. One of the first decisions was to let the Unsworth team carry on making better and better wines and the second was to start production on a new vineyard outside Duncan.

The future looks very bright for Unsworth Vineyards – so we have much to talk about!

www.unsworthvineyards.com

Moon Curser Vineyards – Beata and Chris Tolley (Owners/Founders) Osoyoos, BC

At the very bottom of the Okanagan Valley is Osoyoos. It’s right up against the US border and surrounded by some of the very best vineyards in Canada.

One of them is Moon Curser. It’s the winemaking passion of Beata and Chris Tolley. It’s also their home.

Well, it was,  until they just had to move off-site to get a break from the daily weight of farming. It’s a hard road,  no whining is allowed.

Chris Tolley

In wine circles, they’re famous for the amazing varietals they make – several are the only ones being made in Canada.

However, what they do make are wines judged to be as good as anything in Canada.  That’s how they were named The WineAlign  Best Small Winery in Canada in 2019.

We’ll be talking Arneis, Viognier, Roussanne Marsanne, Carmenere, Dolcetto, Malbec, Syrah, Contraband Syrah, Border Vines, Tannat, Tempranillo and Touriga National.

Beata Tolley

There’s more. Next time we’ll talk about their bubble program featuring Eclipse, Moonlit and their Heist Rose.

Four of those wines can only be found through their wine club. Giddy Up!

www.mooncurser.com

Hillside Estate Winery  – Kathy Malone  (Senior Winemaker)  – Executive Chef Evan Robertson (The Bistro at Hillside)  Naramata Bench, BC

Kathy Malone

Classy!  

That describes Kathy and Evan, and the rest of the team at Hillside and especially Hillside Estate itself.

A much-honored winery with an atmosphere that comes from being one of the first three wineries in the area and always being a benchmark for Naramata Wines.

Hillside made a commitment years ago to only use grapes farmed on the Naramata Bench.

This conversation was important. To get caught up with Kathy’s latest releases, growing conditions in 2021, and then what dishes Chef Evan recommends from his menu to pair with each wine.

We talk  Cab Franc, Gewurztraminer, Muscat Ottonel, Viognier, Syrah,   Merlot – Hidden Valley Vineyard

From the kitchen,  Evan teases us with Tomato Capresse, Panzanella Salad, House-made fresh pasta, Gnocchi, 50oz Northern Gold Beef Tomahawk.

www.hillsidewinery.ca

 

 

 

STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON:

Noble Ridge

Bartier Bros.

Township 7

Napa/SF/Sonoma

Hillside Virtual Tasting

Bill Jones Fall Forage

 

 

 

EP 226 | David Myles

October 7, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

“Before the pandemic, I felt burnt out, I was exhausted, I was getting sick. It wasn’t great, from a mental health perspective and a physical health perspective. In fact, it was quite terrible at points. And now we’re opening things up, and I think a lot of people are asking themselves, ‘What do I keep? What do I bring with me into this new open world, back into social situations?’ ”

 

I’m reconnecting with a lot of people and a lot of old friends and my parent’s friends and all those kinds of things,” he says of being back home in New Brunswick without losing any musical momentum. “I think it also gives you a sense that it’s a special career and a bizarre and interesting and magical profession that I’m lucky to do”

Saltwire – Atlantic

David Myles and I shared the airwaves at CKUA. Me with The Stew and he with Myles from Home

He did, however, close Myles from Home so he could restart his singing and songwriting career after the pandemic. Also so he could heal himself, as he will explain.

His new album  It’s only a little loneliness has the same sweet voice, dry humor, and sharp human focus that’s made him so popular.

Tracks included are

  • It’s only a little loneliness
  • Making’ Believe
  • Mystery
  • When it comes to my turn
  • You can’t hurt me
  • Solitaire

He is back on tour now..click on the link below for dates and times.

He returns to Alberta for dates Oct 19/20

https://davidmyles.com/pages/live

davidmyles.com

EP 225 | Joe Keithley Burnaby City Councillor up for re-election (& still leader DOA)

September 30, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

Joe Keithley (Shithead) is the leader of hard-core punk band DOA and has been since the late 70’s.

In 2008  The Vancouver Sun named Joe one of BC’s most influential people – of all time!

DOA played for benefits, rallies, protests, and anything with the word environment in it.

Joe and DOA still tour. 20 dates all across Canada in June and July of this year.

So it should come as no surprise that Joe is now Burnaby City Councilor Joe Keithley.  It took him years to get voters’ attention in Burnaby but now he’s no long shot, he’s running for re-election.

This month.

There’s a documentary film crew following him around..hoping to figure out how he finds the balance between being an angry rocker and a well-spoken politician.

One of the people making comment is Beto  O’Rourke – in Texas.

Joe’s s talking about affordable housing, human rights, quality child care, helping the most vulnerable, and assisting seniors and the homeless.  He’s just an all round great guy..and scary good on stage as well.

The Burnaby Election is October 15th . If you can donate or support Joe’s fight…Please contact him at

www.Suddendeath.com

[email protected]

@joe.keithley

October 1st, 2022- Van Wine Fest Part Two  (plus 2 special guests)

September 30, 2022 Audio FIle, Tasting Room Radio 00:38:09

hello

Van Wine Fest Part Two  (plus 2 very special guests)

THE SHOW

Walking into the Vancouver Wine Festival at the Convention Centre, as an interviewer,  is like working the field at an All-Star Game.

Familiar wine star faces and voices are everywhere.

I think I did a dozen interviews and these are the last three.  However,  I needed one more, So I decided to re-run one of my all time favourite interviews.

Proudly Sponsored by Harbour Air

From our coverage of the 2019  VanWineFest on Tasting Room Radio we present California wine royalty.

Gena Gallo and her winemaking husband Jean Charles Boisset.

Not just talking about their wines but about surviving cancer, raising their twin daughters and their love of Vancouver and the wine fest.

Wine Fest Part Two includes interviews with

Tony Holler – Owner of Poplar Grove (Naramata Bench) www.poplargrove.ca

Tony Holler & crew

Ray Signorello – Owner of Signorello Estate  (Napa) www.signorelloestate.com

Ray Signorello

Mark De Vere – Master of Wine.  Robert Mondavi Vineyards (Napa) www.robertmondaviwinery.com

Mark de Vere. Mondavi

Gina Gallo, Vice President, Winemaking – Estate Wines. E. & J. Gallo  www.gallo.com

Gina Gallo, JC Boisset, TDM

Gina Gallo, JC Boisset, TDM

Gina Gallo developed a deep respect for the land early on. After studying winemaking at the University of California at Davis, Gallo became an apprentice winemaker at E. & J. Gallo Winery, under the careful guidance of her grandfather Julio. Today, as the winemaker behind the Gallo Signature Series, she carves out specific blocks on Gallo’s most sought-after vineyards to hand-craft limited batches of wine.

 

Jean-Charles Boisset, Proprietor, Boisset Collection      www.boissetcollection.com

Jean-Charles Boisset was born into the world of wine in Vougeot, Burgundy, France. Under his leadership, the Boisset Collection operates 24 wineries in California, France, and Canada. Decanter magazine has included him on its “Power List” of the 50 most important people in the wine world each year of its publication since 2007.

His many honours include Meininger’s International Wine Entrepreneur of the Year, “Innovator of the Year” from Wine Enthusiast Magazine and the first-ever French-American Partnership Award from the French America Foundation.

 

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STORIES WE’RE WORKING ON

  • Scorched Earth

  • Bartier Bros.

  • Township 7

  • Hillside  Estate

  • Napa/SF

  • Thanksgiving Wines

  • Noble Ridge 

 

 

 

EP 224 | Dr John ‘Things Happen That Way’

September 24, 2022 Mulligan Stew Podcast

hello

New Orleans, Louisiana is one of the World’s greatest music cities.

Mac Rebennack was Dr. John,  one of the singular faces and voices of New Orleans music.

A true leader in the studio, on the streets, and on stages of the World,  Mac won 6 Grammys and became friends with Ken Ehrlich, the long-time producer of the show.

Mac was planning future projects when his life was unexpectedly cut short in 2019. Now, 3 years after his passing, Things Happen That Way will see the light of day. The album, which features three brand new original compositions, an amazing reworking of Dr. John’s 1968 classic, I Walk on Guilded Splinters, and new interpretations of songs by Willie Nelson, Cowboy Jack Clement, Hank Williams, and The Traveling Wilburys was released on Friday.

Things Happen That Way marks the fulfillment of a long-time goal of the six-time GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter/pianist and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, who first began plotting a country-inspired album decades ago. The album also features guest appearances by Aaron Neville,  Mac’s long-time friend and frequent musical collaborator Willie Nelson, and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real.

Our guest this week is Mac Rebennack’s and Dr. John’s good friend, Ken Ehrlich.

When Mac passed, Ken was asked to write the liner notes for the album and give a farewell speech at Mac’s  Celebration of Life.

Ken paints a warm verbal picture of the man called Dr. John. Through his dark days of prison and drugs, breaking free of addiction to light up the stages of the world!

And he reads the closing paragraphs of his farewell speech.

Join us as Ken Ehrlich remembers the legendary Dr. John and tells the story of  his last album Things Happen That Way