The Sound Affect

Gavin McLeod is a 22-year-singer-songwriter from Milton Ontario. Gavin's raw guitar-based sound is rooted in classic rock and blues as well as the modern sounds of Sam Fender and James Bay, but is - obviously - also influenced by the sounds of Neil Young. He joined the Sound Affect to talk about the impact of Neil's 1974 On the Beach, his fifth studio album and the second in his so-called "Ditch Trilogy" in which he grapples with feelings of alienation and melancholy. Listen and hear how his Grandfather propelled this album to mythic proportions.

Toronto's legendary Change of Heart are back baby! After 27 years, the members of the post-Smile line-up of the band have a new album, In the Wreckage, and are hosting two shows at the end of the month in Toronto! To celebrate this, bassist/lyricist Rob Taylor and Guitarist/Singer Ian Blurton joined us to discuss one of their early influences, The Days of Wine and Roses by California's The Dream Syndicate.

Kitchener's I, the Mountain, pick an album by their kindred souls, Toronto's The Strumbellas.Formed in 2009, they soon picked up residencies at legendary Toronto clubs like The Cameron House and The Horseshoe Tavern before releasing their debut albumMy Father and the Hunter. They then  signed with Six Shooter records and brought on The Lumineers' producer Ryan Hadlock to make their sophomore releaseWe Still Move on Dance FloorsJoin us as we chat with I, the Mountain, about The Strumbellas, The Red Dog in Peterborough, and community.

25 years ago, the Toronto and Canadian music landscape was turned on its ear with the release of The Russian Futurists' internationally acclaimed debut, The Method of Modern Love. The album is an unabashed confession of romance built on a bedrock of thrift-store toy keyboards and cheap guitars recorded on a porta studio. The Method of Modern Love won fans in R.E.M's Peter Buck, former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, and filmmaker Jason Lee. The Magnetic Fields' first two albums, Distant Plastic Trees and The Wayward Bus, were the template for The Russian Futurists and a change in the direction of Canadian indie music!

We at the Sound Affect hope you had a wonderful 2024 and we wish you a great 2025! This episode lists some of of our faves of the year!

In the early days of the new millenium Toronto was alive with new innovative music. This new indie music revolution was spearheaded by one band in particular: Broken Social Scene. And, now, almost 25 years after it began, they are the subject of a documentary. Stephen Chung's IT'S ALL GONNA BREAK unearths the intimate behind-the-scenes footage that shows the creation of Canada's indie-darlings of the early aughts, Broken Social Scene. Founding member and Toronto-indie-rock-darling Brendan Canning joins The Sound Affect to discuss the movie and the band's legacy.

NRTHRN is the solo project of composer and producer Felipe Elioenay. He started playing hardcore in 2002 in his hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil. His ever-evolving music style explores the Cinematic powers of the Guitar. His love of Post-Rock music stems from his first listen to San Marcos, Texas band This Will Destroy You and their debut album Young Mountain.

Toronto's Alex Southey has a penchant for indie folk. His sound encompasses various styles, making him a popular minstrel in the Toronto indie scene. He is a staple in bars across Toronto, and his latest EP, Entertainers Bring May Flowers, is out now. He is also the host of the podcast “Your Worst Song” which is a great listen when you are not listening to The Sound Affect. Alex joins us to discuss George Harrison's debut album All Things Must Pass.

Hello! We have been on a summer hiatus but are returning with an amazing episode featuring Kingston, Ontario's The Meringues' picking The Hives' Tyronnosaurus Hives. The Meringues have a new album out on September 16th and their live show is something to behold! So, listen to the podcast. Then listen to The Meringues and The Hives. Then go see them and support indie music!

The Flaming Lips have established themselves as one of the most important alternative acts of the 21st Century! So, why did it take us until season 4 to finally discuss them and their album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots? Mindblowing! Alas, here we are... Ottawa's Lives Like Skyscrapers have a lush sound that is full of layering and powerful musicianship. Their debuted album At Dawn We Said Goodnight is out now! Go and buy it!

Toronto's The Anti-Queens have just released their latest album, Disenchanted on Stomp Records! Their heavy punk is a perfect blend of pop mastery and gritty aggression! And, as you will learn in this episode, they come by it naturally! Lead vocalist and guitarist Emily Bones and lead guitarist Valerie Knox join us to talk about Brody Dalle and the Distillers and the impact of her on their sound and the sound of many young women in punk music.

This week we are joined by Toronto's pHoenix Pagliacci who is here to talk about everyone's favourite Stevie Wonder record...The Woman in Red soundtrack. Weird choice? Well, before you judge hear her thoughts on the song "Love Light in Flight", sampling, and challenging her artistic self on her latest single "Close to Me".

Who's up for the summer festivals...oh my back.

2024 marks the 20th and 30th anniversary of many iconic Canadian records. Today we are going to look back at one such record: Thrush Hermit's debut EP Smart Bomb. As the Halifax music scene was beginning to surge 4 very young men came onto the scene with a penchant for pop and classic rock. Smart Bomb instantly made young music fans pay attention, and over the next five years, Thrush Hermit would release several classic Canadian albums. Let's sit down with Joel and Ian and take a trip back to 1994!

Sometimes we cut things out of the podcast that should really be heard. Here's what Jaguar Sun had to say about his excellent version of For What It's Worth.

Well, now for something completely different. The charming country sounds of Spencer Burton obviously have some country and folk influences, but on the making of his latest record, North Wind, Spencer found his biggest inspiration was nature. Secluded in northern Ontario, Burton tapped into the world around him and created a stunning album of elegant wonder.

Whether you love or hate them, the impact of Coldplay on modern music is undeniable. And, their impact on Dreampop musician Jaguar Sun is equally undeniable. Join us as we chat with Toronto's Jaguar Sun about the importance of Coldplay's X & Y on his layered pop masterpieces.

Because you know you've been waiting.

Seattle, Chicago, and Vancouver combined to create Autogramm. A pure power-pop masterclass, their new album "Music That Humans Can Play" brings their love of everything 80's to an epic crescendo! In this episode, Autogramm's Lars Von Seattle joins us to chat about hometown Seattle heros The Heats and their debut album "Have an Idea".

T Rextacy

Kitchener's Rachel Hickey kicks Dave and Tom out of their comfort zone and sends them flying all the way back to 1997's where they will revisit the absolutely massive hit album Come on Over by the pride of Timmin's Shania Twain. Don't know Rachel HIckey? Check her out wherever you get your music. Or, better yet, catch her live on Saturday, November 18th at Quinn's in Ottawa, or Saturday, December 8th at The Transac Club in Toronto. https://www.racheljhickey.com/

Toronto's electro-pop-rock band Rise Carmine have a slew of influences, but for lead singer and guitarist Liam Colbert one stands above the rest: Radiohead's The Bends.

This summer, we have seen the passing of several legendary musicians. We want to take a few minutes in this pop-up episode to look on the music of two of these legends: Sinead O'Connor and Robbie Robertson. Take some time and wander with us down this "crazy river" as we look back on "the last days of our acquaintance" with Sinead and Robbie.

 Matt Rhode is the bassist for Vancouver's progressive-indie band Bend Sinister. Their latest single Price You Pay and Hot City, was released on July 14th, 2023 and they are currently working on their next album release in early 2024. And, when we asked Matt what album he wanted to chat about he answered Styx's Paradise Theatre. Yup. Styx baby! So, hop about the Sound Affect time machine to the AOR years when radio was filled with big bold poppy-proggy-jazzy-rock n' roll!

WOW, it's our 50th episode! Kilometre Club's Daniel Field describes himself as someone “who has entirely too much time on his hands”. However, this abundance of time has allowed him to create some of the most interesting ambient and electronic music coming out of Canada. Fields joins us to discuss his love for Hayden's 1998 album The Closer You Get.

Marc Byrd is one half of American ambient/post-rock band Hammock who formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2003. The band consists of composers and instrumentalists Marc and Andrew Thompson. Hammock's music is characterized by its ethereal, atmospheric soundscapes, lush melodies, and emotional depth. The Cure are...nevermind, you all know the Cure. Listen to hear the best "album discovery moment" on our show's history and relive the glorious mid-eighties when the Cure could do no wrong!

Sorry for the delay on this episode, but we wanted to make sure we got this pop-up episode right. The loss of the reat Tina Turner is a hard pill to swallow. Dave and Tom reflect on their love of the Queen of Rock n' Roll and all that she did for the music industry. Rest in Peace Queen.

For over 30 years, Stuart Chatwood has been 1/3 of Canada's legendary Tea Party. He has also garnered great attention as a soundtrack composer for video games like Prince of Persia and the recently released Darkest Dungeon II. Whether it is as a member of The Tea Party, in his role as a music producer, or his soundtrack composing, Chatwood pushes the sonic landscape to create a musical aesthetic like few others. His choice of album is Echo & The Bunnymen's classic Ocean Rain, and album well worth a visit.

We give you 4 to check out for yourself!

This week Canada and the world lost the legendary Gordon Lightfoot. His music touched the souls of so many. It was only suitable to spend a few minutes reflecting on his passing and his enormous impact on the music world.

Brent Smith arrived in Ottawa in the late 1990s and brought a penchant for pop music! That pop music is the root of his latest project Tin Constellations. Joined by Andrew Robertson on violin/mandolin, Brennan Plikington on drums, and Rob "Chops" Snasdell-Taylor, Tin Constellations' debut EP A Cosmonaut's Lament is a daring narrative-folk record that distinctively fuses pop sensibilities with folkish flair and creates a sound that is both comfortable and original. The Tin Constellations take to the road in May to play Ottawa (Live on Elgin), Waterloo (The Dive Bar), and their Toronto debut at The Dakota Tavern.

We are going back to Toronto in the late nineties, and two albums that shaped the Canadian indie music scene. On the heels of his new album The Best That I Can Be, Sunnsetter joins us to chat about all the importance of Charles Spearin and Kevin Drew's KC Accidental, and how this album came to shape Broken Social Scene, the Canadian music scene, and his latest record!

Lots of great new music out right now, some old favs and new stuff to!

After joining the Barenaked Ladies in 1995, Kevin Hearn has released innovative solo records and collaborated with everyone from Ron Sexsmith and Mary Margaret O'Hara to The Violent Femmes and Lou Reed, for whom Hearn acted as a musical director and keyboardist from 2007 until his passing in 2013. Hearn was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2018 as part of Barenaked Ladies. Canadian violinist Hugh Marsh began playing music professionally in the late 70s. Although he began playing Jazz, he branched off by joining Bruce Cockburn's band in 1979. Marsh was a founding member of the band Nick Buzz.  But, throughout his distinguished career, he has also played with Loreena McKinnett, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, Robert Palmer, Hans Zimmer, and most recently, the Rheostatics. These pillars of Canadian music have released Dreaming of the Eighties, a celebration of a decade that we either love or hate. After listening to Hugh and Kevin's record, I think you'll agree that they have tapped into that love!

Formed in 2012 by Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay, Toronto's July Talk has spent the last ten years building up an incredible following based on an energetic live show and three stellar albums that won them the Juno award for Best Alternative Album. They have just released their fourth studio album, Remember Never Before, on Six Shooter Records. They are about to hit the road on a massive tour that begins with two shows at the legendary Massey Hall before crossing Canada and forging into the US! The two of them wax poetically about Leslie Feist's 2017 album Pleasure, an album that Leah and Peter would agree is almost perfection!

In what very well might be the most entertaining interview (at least for us) in the show's history, we are joined by Ottawa's Jim Bryson to discuss Grandaddy's album "Sumday". This may very well be our last episode, as Jim decided halfway through the interview to take over the show. I think he was okay with us joining him, but by all accounts, this is his podcast now. So, listen to Jim Bryson's The Sound Affect. I hope you find it as entertaining as we did making it! These guys sound sketchy - Jim Bryson

For the first episode of our third season, we are so excited to be joined by Glenn Milchem. Most of us know Glenn as the drummer from Blue Rodeo a band he joined in 1992 after cutting his teeth with Groovy Religion, The Plasterscene Replicas, Vital Sines, and of course, as the drummer on Change of Heart's Smile. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he played with the Swallows, Starvin' Hungry, Holy Fuck, Luke Doucet, Andrew Cash, and a slew of other great Canadian bands. Join us as we discuss The Silver Jews' album "Natural Bridge".

Legend.

As we wrap up 2022 - and our second year on the air - it is time for us to look back on the year that was! A special thank you to all the amazing guests we had this year and an extra special thank you to Ian Blurton, Bucky from Royal Canoe, Abigail Lapell, Dave from the Golden Dogs, and Manfred from Elephant & Stars for sharing with us some of their favourite albums for 2022. Listen in to find out our favourite moments, our favourite records of the year, and why it is that Darryl Hall topped Dave's favourite singles of the year! That's right, I said Darryl Hall.

Edmonton's Eamon McGrath has been making a name for himself since releasing his debut Wild Dogs in 2008. Ever since then, McGrath has been a non-stop touring machine playing both stripped-down folky solo shows and upbeat punky rock with his band. His 11th record Bells of Hope was released earlier this year. And when he is not recording music, he has also published two books. He is just coming off a tour of Japan and will no doubt be back on the road delivering a hearty blend of Springsteen & Neil Young folk and rock to fans in 2023. A perfect guy to speak passionately of his affinity for Black Love by the Afghan Whigs.

Because it's 2022, we discuss our most hated Christmas songs...oooooh controversy.

The aggressive sounds of IDLES have turned them into one of the world's premier rock acts! So, it should be no surprise that Montreal's post-indie darlings Family Man has chosen IDLES' 2017 debut album Brutalism to chat about.

Since we began this little podcast over 18 months ago, we have always wanted to try and pull it off live. Well, this past weekend, we did just that! At Together We're Bitter Brewing in Kitchener, we had the pleasure of interviewing Marcus Addams from Hyness! And, wouldn't you know it, he picked one of Tom's favourite records, Teenage Fanclub's Grand Prix. Special thanks to David Harnes at Midtown Radio for mixing the chaos on the fly. And, a special thank you to everyone for showing up and listening! Strap in and listen to our live episode in its wacky glory. And be sure to let us know if Dave is right or if Tom is right.

Vancouver's Dan Mangan has gotta be Canada's nicest guy! So, can we even possibly come close to explaining what an honour it was to have him join us on The Sound Affect? No, we cannot...and wait, what? He picked what album? Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot! So, why am I still reading this and not listening already?

The Beatles White Album is so gigantic that we needed two episodes with Dave Azzolini from The Golden Dogs! So, join us for part two of our chat about one of the most essential albums of all time! This episode includes an excerpt from John Cage's - Radio Music Remember to check out our playlist with the songs we play on the show!

So, today we are talking about a little band called The Beatles. And, we are talking about a little album called The White Album (maybe you've heard of it). So, needless to say, there is a lot to chat with the great Dave Azzolini of The Golden Dogs about. As such, we are posting this as a two-parter. One this week and the follow-up next week. We hope you enjoy Part 1. Share it on your social media, and be sure to include The Golden Dogs and The Beatles. The latter needs a push right now! And remember, all the music we discuss and play is on our Spotify playlist!

The guys discuss a couple of their favorite Greatest Hits Albums. That's all... Dave - If you aren't tapping your toes by the end, you aren't human. Tom - What the hell was that?!

If you know Jose Contreras and By Divine Right, Jose is a huge music lover. As such, it should be no surprise that the Candian Indie Rock All-Star couldn't pick just one record to chat about on this week's episode. So, join us to hear what Jose says about Neil Young's Tonight's the Night, Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence, D'Angelo's Black Messiah, and Kraftwerk's Radioactivity. Whether or not you hear these sounds on By Divine Right's latest record, OTTO MOTTO, is one thing, but there is no arguing that the guts these icons showed on these records are truly inspiring!

Toronto's effervescent and ultra-cool Domanique Grant is a Pop-Soul Singer/Songwriter with a penchant for empowering music! Named one of Buzzfeed's top 20 artists to watch, her EP Queen/Dom is a "fusion of feel-good pop, moody R&B and soul". It should come as little surprise that her music has been influenced by 90s' icons TLC. In this week's episode, Grant joins us to chat about the influence and the message behind TLC's third album Fanmail. Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and follow our Spotify Playlist!

Toms away and now is the time for the truth about Dave's co host to come out!

Toronto's Kiwi Jr. has released their newest album Chopper on Sub Pop Records. Jeremy Gaudet joins us to chat about a strange band and an equally strange album that he was listening to a lot when making this record. So, sit down and relax with Ween's 1997 album The Mollusk. From the very start to the very end enjoy the strange ride of #tensionandrelease that make up this wonderfully strange ride!