What a thrill and honour to interview an iconic Canadian music legend to end this season of the Talk Music podcast: BRUCE COCKBURN.

Among his many achievements (including the release of 39 albums), the Ottawa-born artist has been honoured with 13 Juno Awards, an induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, Canadian Music Hall of Fame, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and has been made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Bruce is an artist revered around the world. With his repertoire of musical styles and skillfully-crafted lyrics, his songs have been covered by diverse artists such as Jerry Garcia, Chet Atkins, Judy Collins, The Barenaked Ladies, Jimmy Buffett and K.D Lang. His pioneering guitar playing, both acoustic and electric, has placed him in the company of the world’s top instrumentalists. THE NEW YORK TIMES called him a “virtuoso on guitar,” while Acoustic Guitar magazine placed him in the esteemed company of Andrés Segovia, Bill Frisell and Django Reinhardt. Bruce remains deeply respected for his activism on issues spanning native rights to land mines, the environment to third world debt, and he has worked for organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders and Friends of the Earth.

In this episode, I go deep with Bruce as we chat about his early beginnings, his time at Berklee College of Music in Boston, the inspiration behind some of his most memorable songs (Wondering Where the Lions Are, If I had a Rocket Launcher, The Mines of Mozambique), and we chat about his memoir Rumours of Glory. Whilst navigating his entire career, we explore his in-studio relationships with producers Colin Linden, Eugene Martynec, Jon Goldsmith and T-Bone Burnett.

This is a highly recommended must-listen. Enjoy!

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Hi everybody, welcome to another episode of The Talk Music Podcast!

I’m thrilled to announce my guest is LES STROUD! Best known as the producer, creator and star of the hit TV series SURVIVORMAN, Les is also an accomplished musician/songwriter. His music is a rich tapestry of rock, world, prog rock, folk and blues, and it reflects his deep connection to nature. Steve Vai, Bruce Cockburn, Colin Linden and Slash have all lent Les their musical talents for his recordings. Les has guested on stage with Journey, Alice Cooper, Blues Traveler, Steven Stills, Chicago, Randy Bachman, Tommy Shaw, James Cotton, Dave Mason and Slash (who’s latest solo album Les performs on).

Les has always operated in two lanes: his Survivorman and music careers, the latter being his most recent focus. His latest album MOTHER EARTH, produced by MIKE CLINK (“Appetite for Destruction” by Guns N’ Roses), blew me away. Some song clips are sprinkled throughout.

I loved chatting with Les about his beginnings, both our experiences at Fanshawe college, his remarkable journey as a survival expert, and of course his lifelong passion for using music to express his love for our planet.

This in-depth chat took place the day after I saw Les perform as a guest on harp at a truly magical Bruce Cockburn concert. Afterwards, surrounded by nature at his well-hidden cottage, we enjoyed a hot sauna, cold beer and a quick dip in the lake. A blissful time I will always remember.

Enjoy!

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Hi everybody and welcome to another episode of the TALK MUSIC podcast!

My guest this week is BOB ROPER! This is a great, entertaining deep dive into his illustrious career. Bob has done it all! From booking concerts at university to doing major label promo, to working for top concert promoter MICHAEL COHL doing marketing. Bob then became an A&R guru at WARNER Music where he signed acts such as HONEYMOON SUITE, BLUE RODEO and FROZEN GHOST. He also helped ALANNAH MYLES and RUSH get their US careers going.

Before joining Warner, he spent time as tour manager of SUPERTRAMP who, then at the peak of their career, ended up playing Madison Square Garden. After leaving Warner, Bob jumped into management working closely with SHARON LOIS AND BRAM, where he brought them to another level before moving on to handle A&R/management for the SRO/ANTHEM company (home of RUSH, GOWAN, MAX WEBSTER & CONEY HATCH).

Following that, Bob ran his own management company (GOWAN, MOLLY JOHNSON) and then taught at the HARRIS INSTITUTE for 30 years! Wanting to be closer to home, Bob spent a couple of years working at the PRECISION manufacturing company and he just recently retired.

I truly loved this interview as I also had a chance to THANK Bob for taking a chance on me as Producer of the debut album for HONEYMOON SUITE.

His faith in me and the massive success of the 4 Top 10 singles (and TRIPLE PLATINUM sales of the album) was a game changer for me and changed my life forever!! Take a listen, there’s lots of interesting stories in this one and I can honestly say Bob really is another one of the really good guys out there.

ENJOY!

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