The Volume Knob

OK, so. As always, I want to take a minute to thank Zach for his fantastic story. The time he's spent and the vulnerability he was willing to bring forward talking about a tough time in his life were inspiring. If it's not obvious from listening to him, Zachary is an extremely intelligent and thoughtful man. Really a pleasure to have him on the podcast. If you're interested in his work as a lawyer...

So excited that Nisha made time to share her story with us this week!  Her work has appeared in some of the "biggest" venues in the personal storytelling "business" (hey, these are all relative terms, folks) including The Moth and Risk! If you're interested in more of Nisha's work you can check out her website and her different social media .  (You can even see here playing violin on her youtube c...

Many thanks to James for his time, talent and vulnerability this week. You can check out James' music on his Bandcamp  page or by watching the video that he and his landlord (!) made for All of Arkansas the lead single on his most recent album Stars Blue Wheel. You can also follow him on the socials .   As you may have gathered from Katie's review this week, Songs: Ohia is a band in pretty heavy r...

Claire's storytelling talents have been featured all over including several different episodes of Confabulation. So many thanks to her for sharing her time and talents with the show. Paul McCartney has told interviewers that She Loves You   was initially written  in Newcastle while the Beatles were on tour with Roy Orbison and Gerry and the Pacemakers and completed at his home in Liverpool. He say...

So many thanks to Kadi for her time, vulnerability and storytelling talents this week.  You can hear another one of Kadi's stories (about a less than relaxing yoga retreat) here . She also has a   soundcloud ! Check it out to hear her young adult fiction podcast called YA! podcast. You can also check Kadi out @kadi_d on all the socials . I'll See You In My Dreams isn't exclusively a ukulele jam. I...

Many thanks to Charlie for his time and unbelievable sense of humour this week (the Tina Turner impression KILLED me). He really is a force of nature!  I have to admit that musicals have never been my cup of tea. That said, in preparing this episode I've been left humming Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You ... a lot! The kids have complained particularly that the quartet melody has sneaked its way int...

As always, many thanks to Arn for his time and vulnerability (especially for digging up his 30-plus-year-old diaries for me to virtually rummage through). You can learn more about him and his research into the interaction between resource companies and indigenous communities on his web site .   The Whole of the Moon is an interesting track with some serious staying power despite it's rather dated...

Many thanks to Michael for sharing his story with us this week.  You can read a bunch of his writing on his blog Radio Free Canuckistan  or by picking up one of his books . Learning more about Condition is tougher. You can pick up a copy of their 1985 record Mumbo Jumbo (which features Play Me That Rhythm) on Discogs . There is little to no other evidence of the band on the 'net! As always, you ca...

Thanks to Jeff for his time, vulnerability and good humour this week.  You can learn more about him on his website .  You should also keep an eye out for his storytelling courses. He's an excellent teacher (he taught me!) who has been doing online work during the pandemic. As always, I encourage you to seek out a copy of the song that inspired the story and listen to it either before or after you...

Many thanks to Vesna for her time and vulnerability this week.  You can learn more about Vesna's coaching practice on her website or by checking her out on Instagram .  I had a B-L-A-S-T researching this week's episode. In large part because it gave me the opportunity to listen to literally DOZENS of covers of Stevie Wonder's Don't Worry 'bout a Thing.  If you're into falling down music rabbit hol...

Thanks to Andy for his time and vulnerability this week.  You can learn more about Andy's music on his website  or buy a copy of one of his records on Bandcamp . Though it wasn't Myles' jam, you might want to set 15 minutes aside and listen to I Dream a Highway before or after you hear Andy's story. If you're interested in falling down a Gillian Welch rabbit hole  you can check out this track (whi...

Every episode I thank my guests for their time and their vulnerability.  Sharing personal stories requires bravery; not only the bravery required to let the story "out there" and belong, in a sense, to the rest of the world, but also to confront the emotional content of a time in one's life which may be scary, embarrassing or painful.  In that way, Kate is the bravest guest I've had on the show. C...

Many thanks again to Shane for his time, vulnerability (and indeed his writing skills) this week. Left and Leaving is the title track of a Canadian classic album that you should totally listen to if you haven't already. Maybe once before you hear Shane's story and then a second time afterwards.  If you listen wearing headphones you'll hear a cool interplay in the opening bars of Left and Leaving b...

Chi miigwetch to Waubgeshig for his time and vulnerability this week. Waub is currently working on a sequel to his bestseller the award-winning novel Moon of the Crusted Snow .  If you weren't a teenager or in your early 20s in the early 1990s you may have missed out on the deeply angry and wholly political landmark that is Rage Against the Machine's self-titled record (featuring Take the Power Ba...

Thanks to Mario for his time and vulnerability this week.  In addition to being a journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , Mario drums in the Ottawa band Gentlemen of the Woods . He also shares his very photogenic adventures in Italian food and culture through his Instagram account This Italian Kitchen .  In case you haven't heard it, you really ought to take a moment to listen to C...

Thanks to Peter for his time and vulnerability this week.  Pete is the promotion brains behind Ottawa's Flora Hall Brewing .  As always, you really ought to take a second to listen to all eight-and-a-half-minutes of Pictures of You  before or after you hear Pete's story. It's pretty interesting to compare Pete's recounting of walking around the bay, to the snowy images of the band  in the video, s...

Thanks to Lauren for her time and vulnerability this week.  She is the co-author of The Boss of You: Everything A Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business . You can read more about Lauren (and sign up for her coaching services!) at laurenbacon.com .  You really ought to listen to Cranes in the Sky  either before or after you listen to Lauren's story. Grammy Awards are a com...

The Volume Knob is an exploration of personal stories through music.  Every week I’m going to ask an interesting person to share a story about how music has shaped them by getting them to describe the Song that Saved their Life.  The cool thing about these stories is that they end up being about more than music. They’re stories about the essential emotions that music inspires: thought provoking, f...