No Sleep 'til Sudbury with Brent Jensen

In the NSTS interview seat this month is Eye Eye and Bill Wood and the Woodies frontman Bill Wood, talking about the songs that have shaped him over the course of his life.  In tandem with these songs, Bill shares some fascinating behind-the-scenes details of Eye Eye's success and navigating the pressures of their record company, his Steve Earle-inspired revelation, the early days on the road with...

Singer songwriter and friend of the show Stephen Stanley makes his long awaited return to NSTS this week, joining me live to chat about his excellent new record, Before The Collapse Of The Hive.  The new record is a triumph - Stephen once again weaves vivid visual landscapes as an accomplished lyricist, but this time he goes further by fusing his familiar brand of rootsy Americana to new elements,...

Friend of the show and vocal powerhouse Sandra Bouza drops by for a cup of coffee and a chat about her incredible new record, A Sound in the Dark.  Sandra turns the tables and asks me to go through MY favourite tracks from the record, followed by an exclusive live performance of a brand new and very personal song she just wrote.  

A few months ago filmmaker Sean Menard released his MuchMusic documentary entitled 299 Queen Street West, celebrating the history and cultural significance of what would come to be known as "The Nation's Music Station".  I attended the premiere screening at Roy Thomson Hall in downtown Toronto, spoke to Rick Campanelli, Denise Donlon, Ed the Sock, Sook-Yin Lee, Bill Welychka, and other Much alum a...

In the last episode of 2023, No Sleep 'til Sudbury welcomes legendary pro football running back Michael 'Pinball' Clemons, a man who's equally celebrated for both his athletic achievements and his neverending kindness and generosity.    Pinball and I discuss the accomplishments of his charitable foundation and the upcoming "Christmas with the Clemons" gala, a fundraiser in service of marginalized...

This week on No Sleep 'til Sudbury I'm joined by writer, musician, and fellow Sudbury kid Sean Barrette. Sean has written a book entitled Heartstrings – First Guitars, and it's a very interesting project involving some notable guitar players and the stories they share with Sean about their very first guitars.  Of course, we also talk about the songs that make Sean's skin vibrate, as well as the ev...

Welcome to part two of my latest NSTS chat with the very talented and always entertaining Rik Emmett, live from his home. Last week we talked about his new book entitled Lay It On The Line, and this week we discuss some of the other stuff he's been working on - including reworked versions of some old Triumph classics and a new project called Ten Telecaster Tales. And guess what? Rik was kind enoug...

He's back!  Rik Emmett's new book, Lay It On The Line, is the focus of our latest chat live from the newly renovated music room of Rik's home. As usual, the discussion is funny, insightful and highly entertaining - not unlike his new book.  In part one of our two-part conversation, the insights are particularly interesting. Rik sheds light on his motivations behind writing songs like "Fight The Go...

I have no idea how this happened, but my pal Famous Lost Words host Tom Jokic and I taped an episode of the show in early May of this year that's just getting up now.  Anyway, Tom is in fine form once again, recounting stories from his interviews with Lisa Marie Presley, Meat Loaf, and the late great Gordon Lightfoot (who had passed just days before we taped this). Tom even brought along a clip of...

The previous episode of little known behind-the-scenes facts about your favourite rock artists and records that aired a little while back was so popular with you guys that I decided to do another one.  This time around, we look at stuff like what the actual "song from 1962" referenced in Bob Seger's "Night Moves" is (and that it was in fact from 1963), how OMD and Depeche Mode's influence over ZZ...

Speaking of The Redwood Theatre... It was the site of my conversation with my pal Rob Preuss as we talked about his exciting new project, Rob Preuss and Friends. This episode was taped back in April, but I explain why in the intro - before Rob does his own show intro (and outro at the end of the show).  If you're in the Ottawa area this weekend, you can see the Rob Preuss and Friends show at Bar R...

I knew it would be enjoyable, but I have to say that this was one of my favourite all-time NSTS conversations. Songwriter to the stars Rob Wells joins me at my home this week, and the musical geek out session we have is off the charts.  In addition to bringing in some fantastic songs, Rob shares his astonishing story about how a kid from Peterborough was eventually tapped to write songs with Justi...

This week on NSTS I welcome Chris Sisam, formerly an executive with Corus Radio and The Edge and manager of 90s pop band Wild Strawberries, who's now doing some very interesting things in the music publishing and royalties space.  Chris offers some interesting insights into how the financial aspect of the music business works, and touches on Clarence Clemons' sax solo in Jungleland, Springsteen's...

This may be the first time a live banjo performance is heard on No Sleep 'til Sudbury. Former Stompin' Tom bandleader and banjo player Duncan Fremlin returns to the show this week, and he brings along his Doogie and Dun partner, Juno-nominated singer songwriter Douglas John Cameron. In addition to sharing the albums that were formative in their musical lives, the two perform a medley of songs from...

Most of us like the trivia and the behind-the-scenes stuff. So this week on No Sleep 'til Sudbury, we feature some little-known facts related to some of your favourite musical artists. For example: The unusual recording request Axl Rose made during the Appetite for Destruction sessions. The hilarious misunderstanding that led to a lyric change for The Cars. Why Aerosmith whipped themselves with an...

Whiskey Jack frontman, former Stompin' Tom Connors bandleader, and author Duncan Fremlin drops by this week to chat about his new book entitled My Good Times With Stompin' Tom.  Duncan's a Soo boy, and he ignites the Sault Ste. Marie - Sudbury rivalry right out of the gate. We do manage to have a civilized conversation about his years spent touring with Stompin' Tom Connors however, and about the...

Last week, we were stunned by the news that guitar legend Jeff Beck had died. This week, No Sleep 'til Sudbury returns to pay tribute to a man who was considered by many to be one of the greatest guitar players ever.  Our tribute reflects on the highs and lows of Beck's haphazard musical journey - being fired from the Yardbirds, the brief triumphs of two different Jeff Beck Groups, throwing guitar...

As the year comes to a close, I wanted to share a fun and personal Christmas music playlist that gets a lot of airtime at the Jensen house around this time every year. Last year's holiday playlist contained more familiar Christmas tunes - this one, less so. But I do hope there's something on it you like. Here's the playlist link on Spotify .  Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays to each an...

A few weeks back my pal former Brighton Rock and current Storm Force guitarist Greg Fraser and I sat down to chat about his new single, a cover of Alanis Morissette's "Uninvited".  As is usually the case when the conversation is good, the show ran long and we didn't get to Fraze's skin vibrating songs. So, here they are - welcome to part two of our chat. Fraze's playlist: Ritchie Blackmore's Rainb...

An old friend of the show drops in this week to talk about his band's haunting new single - a cover of Alanis Morissette's "Uninvited".   Former Brighton Rock and current Storm Force guitarist Greg Fraser talks about how the band came up with the unorthodox choice, how former Honeymoon Suite keys player Ray Coburn helped develop the idea, and all the events that led up to the single's release. 

I love discovering new music, and I also love sharing those discoveries with others. This week's guest on NSTS is indie singer songwriter Annabelle Chvostek, and her music is definitely worth sharing. Annabelle's latest record is called String of Pearls, recorded in both Canada and Uruguay, and features jazz, tango, and classical musicians from both countries. We chat about how the record was made...

Former Spoons and Honeymoon Suite keyboardist Rob Preuss and I are working on a special and very exciting new project together, one that we originally started talking about five years ago. It's in full production now, and this week he calls in to NSTS to talk about it.  Specific details won't be divulged until the project is in its later stages, but in keeping with the No Sleep 'til Sudbury theme,...

Something rather unexpected, highly improbable, and absolutely moving happened to me last week, and I was so inspired by it that I wanted to share it on the show.  It's a personal story about how Metallica's very first record impacted two 14 year old kids, almost 40 years apart. One of those kids was my stepdaughter. The other kid was me.    

You're likely familiar with a question that's been all over the internet lately - "what's up with Bon Jovi's singing voice?"  There are a lot of theories and a lot of positions out there, but I personally think there's a little more to it than aging, COVID-19, the absence of Richie Sambora, or technical issues. And this week on NSTS I share my perspective. 

The legend of Elvis Presley is tremendous, but his entire story arc is tragic. Towards the end of his career, the poor kid from Tupelo, Mississippi who became the King of Rock and Roll was lonely, exhausted, and depressed, eventually succumbing to the pressures of his own fame.  Is it conceivable to think that his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, a man with a dark history who lied about his real ident...