Gab Godon and Emma Beko are HeartStreets, and they are a game changer if I've ever been humbled enough to see such a thing live. Hailing from Montreal, where just so much great Canadian music rolls out of, these two make me proud to be a female in the music world.  SOCAN invited them to camp. This is a thing. It's a pretty exclusive songwriters camps we've been hearing about for a while now but I have yet to meet anyone who's been lucky enough to go. This place is the stuff of legends ya'll,...

Not sure what this guy isn't up to these days but playing live shows again can be added to the incredible mix of managing bands like The National (you read that right). It was such an incredible night of solid Cuff the Duke fans revelling in their sudden return and new fans forged in the foggy, heady goodness of Koop Stage, Riverfest.  Then Wayne stepped into my trailer and told me what deems to be his favourite story. One all his friends know but one never shared publically before now....

Katrin Sawatzky, Jordan Gabriel and now AJ Johnson are Royal Castles. They sit down with me after their main stage show at Riverfest and get into stories, such great stories you guys. Tattoos in Majorca level good. It's a new level I'm coining here in honour of their storytelling abilities on this very episode. 

Motel Raphael: three women, Clara, Emily and Maya have much to say and sing. Please check them out, they are brilliant and talented and make me want to join a band immediately.  www.motelraphael.com FB/motelraphael Twitter: @motelraphael One of my favourite quotes from the interview: Hello Kitty Nightmares.

Hailing from Niagara/Toronto, the perennial festival closers and dance floor inciters mix New Orleans style grooves with funk, jazz and hip hop.  Bolstered by a giant horn section and the well-oiled rhythm players, emcee Jacob Bergsma and vocalist Sylvie Kindree drive the show with Danno O'Shea.  My Son the Hurricane has “stood out like a sore, yet extremely talented thumb at every show they’ve played” (Pulse Niagara), and become revered for their live performances.

Raina Douris of CBC Music's Mornings joins me in studio (ahem, trailer. But like a decked-out mother of a trailer backstage at a music festival, so ya know, a studio) for a one-on-one chat about, well, everything. She's a music buff and major fan of Canadian music so we had quite a bit to talk about and she tells great stories. Listen in to our convo and thank you again Raina, it was a pleasure. 

Laurel Sprengelmeyer lives in Montreal, she's a visual artist, producer and musician and when she's making music, she's Little Scream.  She has worked with The National (part of Riverfest 2018!!), Barr Brothers, Saltband and countless others as well. Please go and check her out at www.littlescream.com and follow her on Twitter @littlescream   Follow me too if you aren't already, I love people!! @stories_podcast and no, I don't have a Facebook page and I make no apologies for that. 

Tim Newton, Sage McBride, Jordan Vlasschaert, Ty West and of course Eddie Annett are Shred Kelly, hailing from Fernie BC. Where? Oh yeah, it's that small but their sound is pretty huge.  I play Archipelago at the end of the episode, their new single and you are going to love it. Check out their tour dates this summer and go see them, you will not regret it.  NO CORN www.shredkelly.com @shredkelly on Twitter Thanks again you guys, loved it.

Nintendo to Nirvana: a USS interview

Backstage, Riverfest: Ryan and Jasmin from what is quickly becomingone of Canada's biggest bands join me, knee to yoga toned knee to chat about humble beginnings, the best almond milk on the market, what it takes to make your parents proud and of course, yoga. LIttle known Paula fact, I am a yoga teacher in my spare time (of which I have none so this is a misnomer at best). Check out their 5th and latest album NO CULTURE here and see them live if you get the chance.  xo Paula

We chat Riverfest Elora, Elora Brewing Company, existential crises, banning water bottles, aesthetic sense and more. Oh and MUSIC galore. Hear MGMT live in the background why don't ya?

I sit down face to face with DJ Jazzy Jeff and Scratch Bastid and ask them to tell me stories, while eating jelly beans, and trying not to blurt out my super embarrassing former DJ name. Mixed results on holding that back.

Teaser for upcoming season featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff, Scratch Bastid, Neon Dreams, Little Scream, Motel Raphael, Darcys, Raina Douris, Mother Mother and many more. Backstage interviews, intimate one-on-one chats with folks at the forefront of music today.

In this episode I sit down backstage with Oh Susanna to talk Boyfriends.

Sometimes you stumble upon a perfect combo and feel slapped upside the head by the obviousness of it. Chocolate and peanut butter; brie and apples; bacon and well, anything. Imagine a singer-songwriter, more specifically - please take a moment to envision JF Robitaille and let's pair him right up with one of the purest, most gently arresting voices I've had to pleasure of falling upon in ages: Lail Arad and you have what happened to me backstage at Waterstock. They shared a story, they...

Blue Rodeo is synonymous with Canadian music, they helped put us on the map. They laid the groundwork for hundreds of Canadian bands to rise up in international waters so thick with America's take on rock people simply didn't know what hit them when Blue Rodeo hit the stage.  Jim Cuddy formed Blue Rodeo and has lead them through worldwide tours in the ensuing decades since. He also formed the Jim Cuddy band with other musical genius' that hold a special place in my heart like Kathleen...

Enjoy Warpaint in anticipation of their upcoming 2017 album release for which I CANNOT WAIT, except I have to, so I am semi patiently. This is a band I wanna see main stage this summer and I hope there's a festival hosting them at that level because they would be on the cutting edge of what's happening on the indie circuit.  Lead Singer Luke Roes, Bassist Chris Levesque, and Drummer Thomas Perquin make up Ivory Hours, listen in as I sit down with Luke. https://ivoryhours.bandcamp.com/ ...

Bry Webb is the frontman for The Constantines, one of my most beloved bands. Stemming from their start in 1999 they traveled and toured and put out 4 full length albums and 2 EPs, skyrocketed to indie fame and broke up in about 2010. Then in 2014/15 they hit the scene again, hard. The Constantines, or Cons, as they're known on the indie scene, played Massey Hall May 27, 2015 - one of the most pivotal moments in my life even tough I wasn't there (oh I wanted to be but you will hear why I...

The Slackers are the kind of New York Ska band your momma warned you about, they live up to every expectation possible in ska love and you know damned well I was into ska in the 90's like every other good natured music geek. Getting to finally meet and sit down with Marcus Geard was nothing short of brilliant and the culmination of my 15 year old self's every joy. Marcus did not disappoint and I managed to capture so much of his life story he almost missed his ride out of town.  The Slackers...

That one time though, there was a snake.  But its a real thing to walk into a room of 12 rockstars and tell their tour manager (not quiet enough) that you need to move the interview to a different greenroom because there's a live, loose boa constrictor in the building and you can't record in the studio you'd booked because, well - the snake was last seen in that area.  Police were called. Animal control was called. More beers please was called, mostly to calm nerves but also because the...

This week on TMS I host Justin Rutledge, and I don't want to blow your minds but he has played with Dolly Parton. Yes. My personal white whale ebbs ever closer my loves. Justin blew my mind actually when we talked about how he writes.  www.justinrutledge.com A love note to my listeners: You'll note I didn't do a retrospective on the year and this is mostly because so much happened I am not sure what to include and what to leave for another round. This time last year I had just pressed GO...