#ckua

[arielkroon]

Last year I had the privilege of deep-diving into campus radio with some colleagues wearing my academic research assistant hat. What we found was PRETTY NEAT.

[zed-air]

CKUA - In Our Neighbourhood: 2025

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>> Listen via CKUA OnDemand

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In Our Neighbourhood is CKUA’s weekly exploration of Alberta’s eclectic soundscapes. Two hours of songs, singers, stories, and sounds spanning the province, it’s an upbeat mix of unpredictable and essential tracks for your Friday.

*** Starting 2025-01-31 In Our Neighbourhood moved to Fridays at 11am MT ***

Opening theme music: “Strange Displacement” by Layten Kramer

• • •

TITLE • PERFORMING ARTIST • ALBUM • AIRTIME

(190) 2025-01-03 - 18:00-20:00

Since You Been Gone • Tanika Charles • The Gumption • 18:01

Sleep Tight • Aladean Kheroufi • Studies In A Dying Love • 18:04

Bear The Cold • Mitch Davis • The Haunt • 18:07

Light A Fire • Cynthia Hamar • Joint & Marrow • 18:11

Tired of Love • Krystle Dos Santos • Bloom/ Burn • 18:16

Ain't that Good News • Black Pioneer Heritage Singers • Ain't That Good News • 18:20

Somethin' Familiar • Kat Danser • Somethin' Familiar • 18:27

He Doesn't Know • Zenon Epp • Genre Z (EP) • 18:31

Radiation • Tarik Robinson • Rotations • 18:35

Capsized • Monks On Call • Lakewood Rd. • 18:41

Another Chance • Justine Giles • Another Chance EP • 18:45

Refuse to Dance • Carter Felker • Even The Happy Ones Are Sad • 18:50

Baby Oh Well • Skinny Dyck • Easygoing • ______ • 18:56

Watermelon Pink • Leeroy Stagger • ______ • 19:01

Your Shield • The Secretaries • ______ • 19:08

Jealousy • Eden Taylor • ______ • 19:12

Happy Here • Payphones • ______ • 19:16

Everyone • The Kids Are Running Wild • ______ • 19:21

Snowy Drive • Melodyalala • ______ • 19:24

Cool Car • Limited Hangout • Sight And Sound [EP] • 19:29

Stars In Her Eyes (feat. Sargeant x Comrade) • Fashion Squad • ______ • 19:32

nisis • ASKO • ______ • 19:38

Back from Irian Jaya • JJ Miller • ______ • 19:41

There Ain't No Way (Better Days version) • Celeigh Cardinal • ______ • 19:45

I Did It All For You • Jesse Murray • I Did It All For You • 19:49

Fringes • Good Information • ______ • 19:52

(191) 2025-01-10 - 18:00-20:00 (donated hour)

^^ Listener/donor recommendations/requests

Blue Lipstick • Layten Kramer • Dear Apathy • 18:02

It's Not The Same Anymore • Fish Memory • One Of Those Mornings... • 18:05

Taking It Over • Electric Religious • The Taste • 18:09

Open Book • King of Foxes • Salt & Honey • 18:12

Easy Steps • Bailey Kate • Within / Without • 18:17

Over The Moon • John Wort Hannam • Love Lives On • 18:21

Half A Heart • T. Buckley • Miles We Put Behind • 18:24

Into the Grey • Tim Isberg • RUNNING ON THE EDGE • 18:30

Places We've Never Been • Greg Herman • Around About Midnight • 18:35

Bad Bad Man • Give 'Em Hell Boys • Barn Burner • 18:39

The Ballad Of Fred And Barney • Brad Bucknell • Brad Bucknell & the oHNo Band • 18:45

Peaches & Cream • Red Hot Hayseeds • Red Hot Hayseeds • 18:49

Alberta • The Dust Collectors • ______ • 18:51

Spanish Light • The Jim Findlay Trio • Live At The Blue Chair • 18:54

You Should Know By Now • Lorrie Matheson • You Should Know By Now • 19:00 ^^

Numb Thee Olde Emotions • Vailhalen • EP002 • 19:05 ^^

Jackie Part 2 • Vailhalen • EP002 • 19:08 ^^

Simultaneously • Bad Buddy • Bad Buddy • 19:11 ^^

Everywhere I Used to Be • Mariel Buckley • Everywhere I Used to Be • 19:16 ^^

Running on Empty • Marlaena Moore • ______ • 19:19

Monster • The Crickettes • ______ • 19:24

Like a Movie • Crystal Eyes • The Sweetness Restored • 19:27 ^^

Everyone • The Kids Are Running Wild • ______ • 19:32

Love Vigilantes • Tom Phillips • Mr. Superlove • 19:36 ^^

Oxygen • Falconhawk • Here's Your Ghost • 19:42 ^^

Salt Breaker Sand • Florida BC • Salt Breaker Sand • 19:45 ^^

Sikome Beach • Chixdiggit! • Born On The First Of July • 19:54 ^^

Fringes • Good Information • ______ • 19:56

(192) 2025-01-17 - 18:00-20:00

Sunshine • Cayley Thomas • How Else Can I Tell You? • 18:02

Why Do You Call For Rain? • Aladean Kheroufi • Studies in a Dying Love • 18:05

Illusions By the Sea • Mike Edel • Casseroles & Flowers • 18:09

Almost Ready • The Hearts • Traces [EP] • 18:13

Old No. 9 Train • The Dust Collectors • Filtered Gems �� 18:17

Keep Dancing • Suzanne de Bussac • Shiver Stories • 18:20

Painless • Kaeley Jade • Turpentine • 18:23

You Don't Need the Limelight • Trevor Howlett & The Cruz Bros • Trevor Howlett & TCB EP • 18:29

How Would It Feel • Rosina Cove • Someday We Will Make it There • 18:33

How Many Days Until Tomorrow • Matt Masters • BURGENER • 18:36

EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN • Billie Zizi • LEVITATE • 18:40

Streetlights • Midnite Gossip • ______ • 18:44

Mountain Standard Time • Justine Vandergrift • Mountain Standard Time • 18:47

Wicked Game • Give 'Em Hell Boys • Barn Burner • 18:53

Time, Love & Tenderness • Osyron • ______ • 19:01

Stole My Money (Daniel Adams remix) • Electric Religious • ______ • 19:06

I'm Okay • Tegan and Sara • Crybaby • 19:10

London Destroyer • Rae Spoon • I Can't Keep All Of Our Secrets • 19:13

Stars Still Dying • Clea Anais • Circle Zero • 19:17

Glitter On The Dancefloor • 0Stella • Freefall EP • 19:22

I Can't Wait • Meisha And The Spanks • ______ • 19:25

Watermelon Pink • Leeroy Stagger • ______ • 19:28

Get Together • Major Love • Major Love • 19:31

I Am Slumber • Mallory Chipman • Songs To A Wild God • 19:36

Little Bird • Cynthia Hamar • Joint & Marrow • 19:41

There • Wyatt C. Louis • Chandler • 19:45

Hockey Song • Corb Lund • Modern Pain • 19:49 ^^

Fringes • Good Information • ______ • 19:53

(193) 2025-01-24 - 18:00-19:30 (Friday night finale, shorter due to special festival programming)

Strange Displacement • Layten Kramer • Dear Apathy • 18:00

The Long Goodbye • The Hearts • ______ • 18:06

BIG DREAMS • Billie Zizi • LEVITATE • 18:10

Fall in Love • Rosina Cove • Someday We Will Make it There • 18:14

The Hairless Cat • The Ramblin' Ambassadors • Avanti • 18:21

The Ride • Double Rider • Times Of The Day • 18:24

Beneath The Lies • Kaeley Jade • Turpentine • 18:27

What Is a Broken Heart For • The Hello Darlins • In The Sundust • 18:31

Left In June • Jed And The Valentine • ______ • 18:35

Wherever You Are Tonight • John Hewitt • Wonderlust • 18:38

I Just Wanna Drive • Amy Bishop • Just Like Her… • 18:45

Everything Fades Away • Sam The Living • ______ • 18:49

Hope That • Mitch Davis • The Haunt • 18:55

Blue Lipstick • Layten Kramer • Dear Apathy • 19:00

My Baby Just Cares For Me • Krystle Dos Santos • Krystle Dos Santos • 19:06

Grim Reaper • Karimah • TR/GR • 19:08

Take a Little Piece of My Heart • Jay Gilday • The Choice and the Chase • 19:12

Where Your Love Lives • Cynthia Hamar • Joint & Marrow • 19:16

I Can`t Do It Alone • Souls In Rhythm • ______ • 19:22

Fringes • Good Information • ______ • 19:25

(194) 2025-01-31 - 11:00-13:00 (Friday morning debut)

(195) 2025-02-07 - 11:00-13:00

(196) 2025-02-14 - 11:00-13:00

(197) 2025-02-21 - 11:00-13:00

(198) 2025-02-28 - 11:00-13:00

(199) 2025-03-07 - 11:00-13:00

(200) 2025-03-14- 11:00-13:00

(201) 2025-03-21 - 11:00-13:00

(202) 2025-03-28 - 11:00-13:00

• • • 

FUTURE PLAYLISTS TO FOLLOW BROADCASTS

>> Explore my playlist history for other dates and programs.

~~ Featured content ^^ Listener/donor recommendations/requests ++ Tonight’s ‘odd one out’

• • • 

PROMO TEXT

Focusing on home-grown talent. An eclectic all-Albertan playlist, with the best and brightest our province has to offer taking center stage. New releases… familiar favourites… we’ve got it all. Sidle up to our local jukebox and make yourself at home. The folks are friendly and the music’s good in our neighbourhood.

[oldshowbiz]

Radio CKUA

[paulgrossaddict]

Paul Gross recorded an interview with CKUA Radiod it's airing today (9.23.2024)

https://ckua.com/

https://ondemand.ckua.com/search/shows/traffic%20jam

⚠️(online now and expires in 6 days, interview right after Bowie, it's 2:47:10)⚠️

https://ckua.com/event/an-evening-with-paul-gross/

[sinceileftyoublog]

Jennifer Castle Interview: Recognize My GPS

Photo by Jimmy Limit

BY JORDAN MAINZER

I first came across Canadian singer-songwriter Jennifer Castle ten years ago, upon the release of her fourth album Pink City. Enraptured by its lush arrangements, I caught her live at the Hideout later that fall, only to watch her play the record front to back, with no breaks in between, on solely acoustic guitar, putting its awe-filled lyrics front and center. Ever since then, I've realized Castle is an artist who can do it all--she'd follow up Pink City with 2018's grief-stricken, expansive Angels of Death and 2020's unvarnished, semi-improvised folk record Monarch Season. And whenever she comes out with an album, it seems like it comes just when you need it, at the right time of year to boot. Alas, earlier this month, Castle dropped Camelot (Paradise of Bachelors), another autumn opus that finds something celestial in the earthbound.

On Camelot, Castle culls from the best qualities of her previous records. Unsurprisingly, it returns many of the same personnel, like members of her venerable backing band: guitarist Jeff McMurrich, who co-produced it, as well as drummer Evan Cartwright, bassist Mike Smith, guitarist Paul Mortimer, and vocalists Victoria Cheong and Isla Craig. Jonathan Adjemian, who played piano and organ on Angels of Death, bolsters the choogling mid-album highlight "Mary Miracle" and sweeping ballad "Fractal Canyon". Legendary composer Owen Pallett, who provided string arrangements to much of Pink City, does the same for dramatic ballad "Blowing Kisses", a song that, prior to Camelot's release, appeared in an episode of the third season of The Bear. In a sense, Camelot could be a good entry record for those unfamiliar with Castle's albums and performances. It's got a gentle guitar waltz ("Trust") and solo performance ("Earthsong") as well as expressive, upbeat folk songs (the title track, "Louis").

Yet, Camelot simply sounds bigger than Castle's prior music. That's partly attributable to her looser control of the band. For the first time, Castle played only acoustic guitar on the record, giving control of the piano and keys to Carl Didur. The band's mission to unlock the rhythms of the songs, like puzzles waiting to be solved, eventually sees them play up their 70's rock and country influences. "Lucky #8" finds something holy in dance. Backed by slide guitar from none other than Cass McCombs, Castle sings, “So just give the money to the dancers / While their hips go figure eight / And they entrance us with the answers / And we hope and pray the message ain’t too late.” "Full Moon in Leo", meanwhile, juxtaposes a psychedelic keyboard groove with saxophone from in-demand multi-instrumentalist Stuart Bogie, a strutting country tune with a hazy, flower power AM radio edge. It's one of a few times on the album where the song is self-aware. "I did not come here to talk about orange / And all of the things that have come up before us / And Florida and that warm catchy chorus," Castle sings, her free association-style rhyming giving you a front row to her state of mind. The song is a mix of absurd substance and style: At one point, Castle actually sings, "Big hair, don't care."

What's best about Camelot, though, is Castle's mere control of language. For one, she can write tongue twisters that make your ears itch. On "Earthsong", she sings, "Names are small, and names are games / And forces gain good ground / When light moves tat the speed of sound." On "Blowing Kisses", she declares, "I'm not a beggar to language any longer," and later follows it up with a well-timed obscenity that's a humblebrag statement of conquering: "I'm so fucking honored." On "Fractal Canyon", she sprinkles details of people who sound so mythical they have to be real. "I'm with Paul, who's speaking in an Irish accent / Him and I wear tiger eye, and that's no accident / I take comfort in the stripe, the stone of protection / From Daffodil Bill and the thrill of rejection." Whether or not you know who these people are, it's the line repeated over the song's verses that matters most: "I'm not alone here." In the world of music--from her backing band to the characters in her songs--the writer who often performs on stage by herself is anything but solitary.

I spoke to Castle last month over Zoom about how Camelot fits in within her discography, her writing and recording process, capturing negative human emotions, and stripping down her songs for stage. Read our conversation below, edited for length and clarity.

Jesse Harris' Camelot cover art

Since I Left You: The themes on Camelot alternate between the very real and tangible and the more cosmic and abstract. Can you talk about that interplay?

Jennifer Castle: I wonder if that interplay is always present with my songwriting, which tends to feel like an opportunity to travel great distances while, at the same time, tipping your cap to exactly where you are. In writing, it feels very beneficial for me to recognize my GPS, where I am at the moment, whether that's details, something very literal, or something very grounding that I can mention, I can take to ground the concepts, which often tend to try to transcend where I am at the time. I think both distances, the small, minute place, and the large, vast, potentially infinite spaces, are interesting to try to map out when I'm making a record.

SILY: I see that in all of your songs, but it did stand out to me on this record.

JC: I think you're right. There were definitely times when I was recording where I was trying to address larger orbits, larger spheres.

SILY: I might be a little bit taken by the sound of it, too, because your previous record was comparatively minimally arranged. What inspired your decision to make this a much fuller sounding record with a band?

JC: I think Monarch Season was more of a definitive decision than Camelot was. It's challenging for me to be as consistent in vibe as Monarch Season was. I [wanted] to make a record where I set a tone and [continued] that tone all the way throughout. I tour a lot solo because it's accessible, and people afterwards would come to me and say, "What record is like what you just did?" And I'd say, "I don't actually have one." I was always describing my records, saying, "Pink City has these arrangements," and "Angels of Death has a band," so I really made a decision to make Monarch Season the way it was. Camelot returns back to a natural musical sensibility where I like all different types of songs.

Monarch Season also came out right as the pandemic happened. I had made it while I was really busy touring. I stole away a weekend in 2019. It was released at a time when some people were in really still, quiet places, at home. It was seen as something bare and minimal, and collectively, we were going through something that was more essential or quiet. While I was going through those years, I was back to imagining all those great spaces I can take up. I envisioned the Camelot songs sounding the way they did before we even made them.

SILY: Some songs on Camelot do lend themselves to the way you play live, but others I'd be interested to see how you bring down to something more stark. Did you write the songs on guitar before fleshing them out?

JC: More or less. Maybe "Blowing Kisses" I wrote on piano. I think that might be it on this record. I just played acoustic guitar in my kitchen. My son was home a lot--he wasn't in school at the time--so I wrote them at home with my little life happening around me. I have distinctive memories of, not writing in lyric, but strumming out "Mary Miracle" and thinking, "What a funny tune!" It has a propulsion to it. I could already hear it. It's almost like it was already there and I was waiting to get to go and record it.

SILY: That's funny--I wrote down "propulsive" a lot when listening to this record. I love on "Mary Miracle" how you're ranting and you don't finish your sentence before you go back into the chorus: “And I want to know how you came to value / The practice of dragging by the hair those pals who / On their invisible crosses / Of their capitalist bosses / Who in the trash tossed out / That red beating thought that / That all is not lost and / That belief at all cost and...”

JC: I felt this record had a little bit of a breathlessness to it in general. It felt lyrically exhaustive. I don't mean that as a diss to myself, but it had a run-on-sentence aspect to it. Monarch Season, the songs were more lyrically refined or even taking a page from haiku. This one felt like the narrative always could have had one more thing to say. That even presented itself in the recordings and performances. They're wordy.

SILY: Were there any newfound aesthetic or instrumental influences on Camelot?

JC: I certainly have never just played acoustic guitar all throughout a record before. I gave the majority of the piano and keys to Carl Didur, and the rest to Jonathan Adjemian, who does the run on "Mary Miracle". I sat back and let us perform as a band ensemble. I hadn't done that consistently throughout a record before. I often perform bed tracks and build them, and maybe a handful of songs we'll do together, or there's more of a balance between built bed tracks and recording. Other than the two spare guitar songs that I play, [on Camelot,] we went in together. It has a cool ensemble feel, which I love, and I'd like to learn more about how to do that and trust that process.

SILY: That makes a lot of sense. For instance, I had never heard a song of yours ever quite like "Lucky #8" or "Full Moon in Leo", that give jangle pop and Dolly Parton/Emmylou Harris vibes, respectively.

JC: I don't know all of everybody's songs or catalogs, but I've gotten their downloads. I know the energy. Often, people are more taken back live when I share that, but I can embody the energy really easily. I don't know that I had necessarily put it on record before. Even "Sparta" on Pink City was built up from a really spare bed track. Songs that are more rock songs that I've made were more architecturally built. "Lucky" has flourishes, but we got it as a band together. Same with "Full Moon in Leo".

SILY: Even the songs you recorded as a band together have an aspect of restraint that's reminiscent of some of your earlier work: the calmness of the title track, the way "Louis" is built around the bass line.

JC: I always have a fairly funny joke with the people I'm recording with: I don't mean it literally, but I always say we're in a crew. It's kind of like Lord of the Rings. We all have to hunker down together, we all have to find the groove, and not many people get to have fun. Then, there'll be a moment where the bass gets to go for a tour, or maybe we hear something from the guitar player. There's lots of rock music where everybody is doing tons of stuff. If we're going to be together, I like us to hunker in together and hit the groove. That's more of a style I think I have.

SILY: I wanted to ask you about the following lines on "Trust": “Scientists insinuate / That facts are facts and lines are straight / Doctors say they can help / Then stoke you with the fear of death," and, “Church is good / church is great.” Are you bouncing back and forth in tone on those lines? Are you at all being facetious? From what perspective are you singing?

JC: I think that song was the last song we recorded. The band had never heard it. It wasn't even really a song before we recorded it, but I had a hunch it was maybe a song. That song starts with really basic human negative emotions we're all prone to and then scales it out to places where people are in a position of power. The way I think about it, you have the church, then the medical fields and science, then government. [The song] keeps going for places where power is played up. I think it's interesting that it at first links it to these basic human emotions we all feel. I didn't have something I was trying to get across in that song. I had a hunch it would be interesting to include something more paranoid and uneasy with this collection of songs, even though I wasn't quite sure how it would fit in. I thought that was kind of cool, in a resonant way.

I learn a lot about that song when I listen to it, too. I still have things to learn about it. I don't know where it's necessarily entirely coming from, or what it means. But I don't think it has a particular meaning. What I've gleaned is that what starts out in our tiny resonant selves can escalate. You can be in a massive position of power and just work from core human emotions, and those are the negative ones: cynicism, jealousy, anger. I'm not saying they're not good or that I've never felt them. I'm just saying they're there and they run through us. How do those work? At what place do they stop being within the cages of our own being, and more into what we think of as social and collective?

SILY: "Trust" fittingly comes after "Some Friends", a song that deals with the complexities of friendship and interpersonal relationships. I feel like "Trust" is like "Some Friends", but amplified.

JC: ["Some Friends"] has betrayal right up front. Sometimes, I like to get the tough stuff out at the front of the record. I remember when I was sequencing Pink City, I was like, "We have to have 'Working For The Man' and 'Nature' up front." People were saying, "Put 'Sailing Away' up front!" and I said, "No, no, no, we gotta...introduce the spectrum of feelings that might be on the record." There are hurt feelings on "Some Friends". I hadn't really explored that too much. I don't think it's bitter, I think it's more hurt. When you're a writer, you can turn a phrase really quickly and cast it off as being bitter or cynical. I've done that a million times and probably still will. I like sharp wit. But I thought there was something sitting a little more complicated in those first couple songs.

SILY: On "Lucky #8", when you sing, “And I don’t want to lose ya / You’re my only audience / Nor will I abuse ya / By not making sense,” are you breaking the fourth wall and making a comment about obtuseness in songwriting?

JC: [laughs] I like the idea of breaking the fourth wall. It's another thing that would fall under the GPS context, making it suddenly very clear where your position is and where you're at, at the very moment. "Suddenly, I'm singing, and I'm looking directly at the audience." That song is an absolute run-on sentence to me. By the time I get to that place, there is a part of me saying, "Don't turn away yet, I'm trying to get somewhere." At the same time, I think there's me, the human, that wants to communicate so much, and me, as an actual person, I really struggle to communicate. I'm probably really obtuse on a good day when I'm in my kitchen. So I try to communicate really clearly in song, but at the same time, I believe song is like an abstract art. I like abstraction. I've even thought about that line but then thought, "Don't go out of your way to make too much sense if it doesn't serve the moment." Allow things to kind of be multi-faceted or have lots of ambiguity in them. I like that [songwriting is] an abstract art. I want [my songs] to live in spaces that aren't mine and minds and hearts that aren't mine, so I have to cherish abstraction on some level. I have that in common with a lot of people, that it's hard to communicate from our deepest wells of what we think and feel. As a writer, I stab away at it.

SILY: I also wanted to ask you about the album art. If I had heard the record first, or picked up the record in a store based on the art and listened later, I'd feel there was a definite contrast between the starkness of it and the lushness of the record. Was that an intentional contrast?

JC: I gave it all to Jesse Harris, a Toronto artist I admire. He has a severity to him. It's like he's carrying a sword. He cuts away everything in his artwork that doesn't need to be there. There's a very severe austerity to his work, and he's deeply funny. I offered him an opportunity to design the record. Lyrically and sonically, it's really detailed and rich, so I sent him the link to the record, and it wasn't too long until he sent me back the door. I was like, "Oh my god, what does it mean?" and then thought, "Okay, yeah, the door, I love it." [The cover] could have been baroque or a whole visual world to match. In that simple gesture, I think we got to go through the door, and from there, it unfolded. I don't want to speak for him, but I remember in the early days when we were designing it, he saw Camelot as a land he was referencing, like on an old board game like Snakes and Ladders, where you never know where you're ending up, where you can fall down and lose everything, or you can keep climbing and get somewhere. He saw it as a hard place to navigate and wanted to convey that, not to make linear sense of it but to know that there's a journey, or that somewhere, someone's trying to get somewhere. I love the door now. I think it's iconic for this particular record. It's so simple.

SILY: Have you performed these songs live?

JC: I'm just starting to. I performed "Lucky #8" a few times a few years ago when I was on tour with Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as "Louis". That's when Jeff McMurrich, who co-produced the record with me, heard them, and asked, "What are those run-on sentence songs you were singing?" [laughs] But I haven't played that many shows. I played "Trust" for the first time last week when I was in Halifax. I hadn't ever played it save for when we recorded it. I just started to play "Fractal Canyon". I've never played "Mary Miracle". They're just starting to come around now.

SILY: Is it just as rewarding as an artistic endeavor to bring the songs back down to their bare elements for an audience, as it was to make them in the first place?

JC: Yeah, it's kind of cool to start to get to know them. I've never played "Full Moon in Leo". I think a band is going to start to rehearse for some shows. That will be cool to hear them with a rhythm section and the vocalists. Me playing them solo is tender. It reminds me of where I was when I wrote them, which can be a really weird element of time-travel.

SILY: It puts you in the same headspace as their original inception. Does that help you connect more with the audience?

JC: I think it does. Catching it on these early incarnations is cool for the audience. You're really hearing something more becoming even if it has a recorded version. Years from now, I'll have played "Full Moon in Leo" dozens of dozens of times, and I'm sure it'll be great, but it'll be really cool to hear these songs start to come to life.

SILY: Are you planning on coming to Chicago?

JC: I'd love to! I'd love to come to the States. The UK is popping up, and Canada is popping up, but it's challenging with the visas to get over to the States. I have to trust, and if people want me to come, I always like to go. It just takes a couple of people, a festival or a promoter reaching out, and I can start to piece it together. But I don't have anything planned. It's challenging I can't just pop over [to Detroit]. I had to say no to a couple shows a couple weeks ago because they would have put me in that region. But it was last-minute, and these visas are very expensive. They take quite a long time to process, months and months. Hopefully, in 2025, I'll come to the States. It would seem weird not to. We are neighbors. [laughs]

SILY: Is there anything else next in the short or long-term for you?

JC: I'm just gonna be trying to get these [songs] up and running to tour. I have a couple shows coming up for the Winter Solstice I play every year. In terms of writing, just a little bit. I'm not taking a break, but I'm focusing more on how to present this music.

SILY: Is there anything you've been listening to, watching, or reading that's caught your attention or inspired you?

JC: I'm sure there has, but I can't really think of it right now. I'm mostly just getting outside and walking around. But I love my friends and the music they make.

Tour dates

12/20: Tranzac Club, Toronto, ON

12/21: Tranzac Club, Toronto, ON

1/22: The Artesian, Regina, SK

1/23: Handsome Daughter, Winnipeg, MB

1/24: TBD, Saskatoon, SK

1/25: CKUA Radio Performance Hall, Edmonton, AB

1/26: The Palomino, Calgary, AB

2/13: The Globe, Cardiff, UK*

2/14: St Luke’s Church at Queens Park, Brighton, UK*

2/15: EartH, London, UK*

2/16: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, UK*

2/17: St Mary’s Creative Space, Chester, UK*

*with Jake Xerxes Fussell

[bechdelexam]

honestly not getting to listen to the radio is the only l of taking public transit.

[beyond-a-name]

I saw some cool art of someone in the U.S. wearing a mask because of the smoke from forest fires here in Canada, and like. It's cool to see art of a problem affecting my country, but it's downright depressing that it only happens when it's affecting the U.S., (or at least that I only see it then).

Living here is exhausting, but a part of me knows there is actually quite a lot of wonderfully uniquely Canadian things to celebrate and share, but we never see it because our politicians are too busy copying the U.S.'s inadequacy to support any of it.

A local university radio station in my province, CKUA, has to ask for funding damn near every month to keep open, despite being some wonderful and varied public broadcasting. The UCP hasn't done shit to curb hateful protests at drag events. We have so many variations of French here in Canada specific to most of the Eastern provinces, and I learned that this year because I went looking for it after never having had any conversational French language education in school. We never learn any indigenous languages, despite that arguably being some of the most defining cultural heritage we have. Any time I hear that an actor is Canadian, I'm genuinely surprised. We have a few staple shows that everyone seems to know (like Letterkenny or Reboot), but what about all the underground and upcoming art movements here in Canada? I know we have them, but why don't we ever hear about them? What are they?? Or or Canadian architecture, maybe?? Why don't we read about Canadian literature movements, or scientific advancements? I know who threw the first brick at Stonewall, but I have to really dig for the roots of Canadian queer history to the point that I barely know where to start looking.

And like, we've been dealing with these forest fires for around 5 years now. Our government doesn't care; Trudeau bails out oil execs and every conservative or centrist with half a brain cell to rub together parrots the same shit talking point about how "Canada's a huge country and so our trees and such actually mean our carbon footprint is negative," or "Actually what we need in Canada isn't clean energy but more pipelines to process our own oil because fuck indigenous lands and my failhusband works in oil and it's unthinkable that he could simply get a job in the new blossoming clean energy sector, then he'd lose his oil job!!!!!"

Like the entire town of Litton burned down last year in record breaking heat and I had to make a DIY AC unit because my landlord sure as fuck wasn't going to use the half of my salary that I gave him to work that out. This year my friend had to evacuate for two weeks, and the entire time I want to sit and worry about him, I'm too busy trying very hard to make it into affordable housing that's probably going to get kneecapped thanks to the UCP's second term here in Alberta. Entire reservations (that still don't have clean drinking water!!!!!!) are simply being ignored by the government even more than usual and crowdfunding evacuations to escape forest fires. Now all of the Eastern provinces are ablaze and the first time I see political art of someone giving a shit it's because half a country evaporating into smoke inconvenienced The Home of The Brave in the Good Ol' U S of A.

...

I'm tired. Like, I used to be in cadets and care about the flag, and I really think Canada has a lot of room to grow and a unique culture to embrace and share and improve further. But boy is it so exhausting that no one gives a shit about us until the U.S. gets a taste of what we've had to internalize and cope with for years now. At least now the public opinion in the U.S. might push some party head to pay lip service to climate change, before they ignore it, of course.

[blogparanormalexpresso2stuff]

Chilling GHOST STORIES From Canada's Most Haunted Radio Station

It’s not often that you hear of a ghost inhabiting a radio station, but accounts of this presence go back over decades. More recent accounts of the ghost at CKUA Radio, in Edmonton, Alberta Canada seemed to start in 2009, when a summer intern reported a very strange phenomenon. She was working at the station, and at the time based in an old building called Alberta Block, when her work experience became quite unnerving. The young woman was the only person at work in the dark, dank basement, when she suddenly had a distinct feeling that she was not alone.

[yegarts]

Happenings on Churchill Square

Churchill Square programming is in full swing with an array of free, family friendly special events coming up in May and June. You can also catch our regular free weekly programming which includes Live at Lunch, Zumba, Salsa on the Square, Cypher Wild and the crafts with the AGA Art Cart. Check out our roundup of upcoming events below: 

Downtown Spark  

Get ready for whimsical art installations from around the world, family-friendly fun, concerts, dance parties and more! Starting this week, explore large-scale art sculptures throughout the downtown core at Downtown Spark. From May 25 to June 4 giant art installations will be located at six different locations, with the largest piece Evanescent by ATELIER SISU coming to Churchill Square. Edmonton is the first city in Canada to host Evanescent, after appearing in 22 international cities and 12 countries. There will also be FREE lunch-time programming, with local musician Aladean Kheroufi kicking things off with a live performance at CKUA on May 25 from 12 – 1 pm. For more information visit https://www.edmontondowntown.com/spark/.  

Paper Airplane Day 

Did you know that May 26th is Nation Paper Airplane Day? The Alberta Aviation Museum will be bringing their Paper Airplane Test Lab to Churchill Square on Friday May 26 from 12 – 2 pm where you’ll have a chance to build different airplane designs and compare what makes them great at tricks and skills. There are designs for everyone from beginners to the paper airplane pro, or you can put your own designs to the test. Staff will be on hand to help fold and decorate your airplane, then it’s up to you to let them fly! 

Splash Day 

Come down to Churchill Square and beat the heat! On May 27th the City of Edmonton is turning on the fountain in front of City Hall, and we’re marking the occasion with Splash Day. Join the EAC and the City of Edmonton from 11 am – 4 pm for performances by the Tsunami Brothers and the Trincan Steelpan Orchestra, roving sea creatures, food trucks, games and more. 

UP on the Square: Benjamin Oswald  Stop by TIX on the Square between June 3 –17 to find a selection of work from Benjamin Oswald's residency, the unveiling of his City Marigold collection and many other surprises. Many of the ceramic pieces on display were created with glazes developed with the support of a recent EAC grant. Select items will be available for purchase.  

Benjamin Oswald has shown and sold his work in multiple spaces in Edmonton and beyond, including Latitude 53, AGA, TIX, the Artworks and Studio 21 Gallery in Halifax. Through a project with TIX, Benjamin was commissioned by the City of Edmonton to create a special collection which references our civic flower, the marigold. He recently returned home from a residency in Denmark, where he experimented with new forms, glazes and forms. 

Opening Reception: June 3, 12 - 2 pm, exhibit runs: June 3 - 17.  

New child-friendly public art

Have you spotted the new artwork being installed on the Square? Created by local artists Erin Pankratz and Christian Peres Gibaut of Red Knot Studio, A Mischief of Could-be(s) consists of five standing sculptures, drawing inspiration from how children freely interpret and imagine the world through play. The tree-like quality suggests the idea of a magical forest, while the ambiguity of the forms allows for other interpretations, such as tentacles, snakes, arms, stalagmites, etc. The whimsical shapes and colourful palette make the art engaging for art lovers of all ages. To celebrate the installation of this new public art, the EAC will be hosting a kid-friendly celebration with the artists. Keep your eyes peeled for more details in the coming weeks.  

Please note that all events are dependent on weather and air quality. Be sure to check the EAC's social media and website for updates about cancellations.

[xeffer]

Bob Dylan

It’s his eighty second birthday today on the same day that Tina Turner dies at eighty three. My childhood is fading away. I did this image for a CKUA fundraiser about fifteen years ago. It was a fun experiment with aging the surface.

[zed-air]

CKUA - The Score: 2025

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>> Listen via CKUA OnDemand

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The Score is an exploration of new releases and current events in classical music. The program is not era-specific, so baroque and chamber pieces will sit inquisitively against avant-garde and vocal selections, and there may even be occasional deviations into composers with electronic and jazz backgrounds. Theme music: “Franz Schubert” by Kraftwerk.

• • • 

TITLE • PERFORMING ARTIST • ALBUM • AIRTIME

(40) 2025-01-01 - 20:00-22:00

F. Mendelssohn-Hensel: January A Dream • Anna Shelest • Donna Voce, Vol 2 • 20:03

R. Sakamoto: Lack Of Love • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Opus • 20:08

R. Sakamoto: BB • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Opus • 20:12

R. Sakamoto: Andata • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Opus • 20:15

D. Scarlatti: Sonata K. 466 • Matteo Mela & Lorenzo Micheli • Scarlatti: 12 Sonatas • 20:19

D. Scarlatti: Sonata K. 519 • Matteo Mela & Lorenzo Micheli • Scarlatti: 12 Sonatas • 20:26

D. Scarlatti: Sonata K. 531 • Matteo Mela & Lorenzo Micheli • Scarlatti: 12 Sonatas • 20:29

V. Kobekin: Ariadne's Lament • Anastasia Kobekina • Venice • 20:34

B. Eno: Emerald and Stone • Anastasia Kobekina • Venice • 20:44

M. Ravel: I. Prelude (Le tombeau de...) • Seong-Jin Cho • ______ • 20:47

F. Chopin: Waltz in Am (Found in NYC) • Lang Lang • ______ • 20:51

Splendor Falls • Graham Reynolds • ______ • 20:52

Drive Song • Stephan Moccio • Legends, Myths and Lavender • 20:55

A. Baranowski: Windermere Children • Angele Dubeau • Portrait Alex Baranowski • 21:00

T. Riley: In C 01-10 • Maya Beiser • Maya Beiser X Terry Riley • 21:05

(41) 2025-01-08 - 20:00-22:00

R. Sakamoto: Lack Of Love • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Opus • 20:02

R. Sakamoto: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Opus • 20:07

M. Richter: A Time Mirror • Max Richter • In a Landscape • 20:15

M. Richter: And Some Will Fall • Max Richter • In a Landscape • 20:19

M. Richter: Late and Soon • Max Richter • In a Landscape • 20:27

M. Richter: Love Song (After JE) • Max Richter • In a Landscape • 20:34

Trad: My Lagan Love • Duo Oriana • How like A Golden Dream • 20:42

Corprario: 'Tis Now Dead Night • Duo Oriana • How Like A Golden Dream • 20:47

G. Handford: Come, Sullen Night • Duo Oriana • How like A Golden Dream • 20:52

A. Vivaldi: Peace and Love Forever • Janoska Ensemble • The Four Seasons in Janoska Style • 21:00

J. S. Bach: Cantata, BWV 12 • Vikingur Olafsson • Bach: Continuum • 21:07

J. S. Bach: Cantata, BWV 150 • Vikingur Olafsson • Bach: Continuum • 21:09

J. S. Bach: Cantata, BWV 159 • Vikingur Olafsson • Bach: Continuum • 21:11

J. S. Bach: Cantata, BWV 21 • Vikingur Olafsson • Bach: Continuum • 21:16

J. S. Bach: Das alte Jahr vergangen... • Vikingur Olafsson • Bach: Continuum • 21:19

J. S. Bach: Komm, subser Tod, BWV 478 • Vikingur Olafsson • Bach: Continuum • 21:23

J. Brahms: Violin Sonata #1 op 78 • Yuuko Shiokawa & Andras Schiff • Brahms / Schumann • 21:28

(42) 2025-01-15 - 20:00-22:00

R. Sakamoto: Happy End • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Opus • 20:02

R. Sakamoto: Trioon • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Opus • 20:06

C. P. E. Bach: Symphony H.649 Wq174 • Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin • CPE Bach Symphonies • 20:14

C. P. E. Bach: Symphony H.651 Wq176 • Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin • CPE Bach Symphonies • 20:23

W. A. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto K622 • Orchestra Mozart • Clarinet Concerto... • 20:38

CAPRICORN The Ambitious • Tony Ann • ______ • 21:07

J. Sibelius: Symphony #5, Op82 • New Zealand Symphony Orchestra • Symphonies 4 & 5 • 21:14

Riviere Du Nord • Amelie Fortin • Aqualudes • 21:48

Chute-aux-Galets • Amelie Fortin • Aqualudes • 21:53

(43) 2025-01-22 - 20:00-22:00

R. Sakamoto: Solitude • Angele Dubeau & La Pieta • Blanc • 20:03

R. Sakamoto: Bibo no Aozora • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Opus • 20:07

C. Champagne: Symphonie gaspesienne • Orchestre symphonique de Laval • Symphonie gaspesienne • 20:16

A. Prevost: Celebration • Orchestre symphonique de Laval • Symphonie gaspesienne • 20:36

Panorama • Christian Bernard • Black Lotus • 20:45

Invisible • Christian Bernard • Black Lotus • 20:49

Passage • Christian Bernard • Black Lotus • 20:54

Fugue (Fantasia & Fugue) • Who Cares • Simple Lines of Enquiry • 21:00

Blood Night Song #1 • Jessica McMann • Incandescent Tales • 21:08

Inni • Jessica McMann • Incandescent Tales • 21:14

Placentia Bay • Mark Haney • Placentia Bay: Summer of 1941 • 21:23

E. LeBel: …Lingering… • UltraViolet Ensemble • … and the high leaves… • 21:45

(44) 2025-01-29 - 20:00-22:00

(45) 2025-02-05 - 20:00-22:00

(46) 2025-02-12 - 20:00-22:00

(47) 2025-02-19 - 20:00-22:00

(48) 2025-02-26 - 20:00-22:00

• • • 

FUTURE PLAYLISTS TO FOLLOW BROADCASTS

>> Explore my playlist history for other dates and programs.

~~ Featured content ^^ Listener recommendations/requests ++ Tonight’s ‘odd one out’ / vintage vinyl

[chester-fester]

I've never been particularly 'up' on pop music (CKUA, my beloved), but being on tumblr has increased my awareness, if not familiarity, with it. Just from seeing the lyrics used in gifsets or textposts. For example, my sister was singing a Sabrina Carpenter (known to me primarily for her Yoo-hoo boys Bugs Bunny outfit) song at me because I did not recognize by title (I also didn't recognize it by her singing, nor could I tell you the title now). But after a few bars, I mustered up, 'is this the one with "I beg you don't embarrass me, motherfucker"?' And it Was.

[facesofcsl]

Jule Asterisk-Project Manager for the Society of High Prarie Regional Environmental Action Committee (REAC)

Jule Asterisk (she/her) is the Project Manager for the Society of High Prarie Regional Environmental Action Committee (REAC). She also contributes to community outreach by giving presentations to the communities and schools all around Northern Alberta. 

Can you trace your involvement with the CSL Program?

When I started working with CSL in 2015, I was with a different organization, Keepers of the Water. We were involved in many projects and had lots of opportunities for interviews with community members who wanted to give their input, but we didn’t have the capacity to perform the interviews. So, we put together a couple of projects for CSL, which was so awesome! It was not only great for our organization, but we realized that the students were very appreciative of having this opportunity and having direct communication with community members in the Fort Chipewyan vicinity regarding their health concerns. A CSL student with a Mennonite background interviewed Traditional Knowledge holders in the High-Level vicinity. That was a real eye-opener for the student, who was so amazed. It was a great collaboration because it was cross-cultural and cross-generational. Because many charitable organizations generally consist of older people, it’s been great to have full perspectives of youth and gain insight by looking at ourselves through their eyes. 

Why did you choose to incorporate CSL students into your organization?

It was partly due to capacity. There were things we wanted to do that we just couldn’t. When we were introduced to CSL, which had people available to do such things, it was a natural fit. Once we started with CSL, we formulated projects every semester. Since 2015, I’ve worked with at least two groups per year, so many students! 

What do CSL students learn in their placements?

Students learn how non-profits or charities work. We once participated in the Non-Profit Board Internship Program, which was super interesting. Students benefitted from many insightful discussions and conversations. Students also had the chance to come to Calgary with us for a special meeting. Students will learn many different things, such as how the organization works. From there, they learn all kinds of things about the interaction between Indigenous cultures and environmental work. So far, with every single student we have worked with, we feel that we’ve made a good impression on them and is highly relevant to their studies and lives. It also increases our capacity as an organization. 

What have you learned by being involved with CSL?

I’ve learned that every student we've worked with has been dedicated to the work we’ve put before them. I’ve also gained an understanding that the youth we work with sense the environmental impacts on the projects we work on and sometimes feel very deeply about it. I have to say that such urgent feelings from the youth have pushed our organization forward. We’ve been pushed quite far into places we were unwilling to go. For instance, we now have a website, which a student initiated! The student said, “You just can’t do this without a website,” and spoke to our board and convinced them to make it. 

Interestingly, sometime in the late 90s or early 2000s, we won a website through CKUA Radio and were excited about it. One of our members was placed to be the liaison and work with the company providing it. It was all set and ready to go until the board declined to make it live because we didn’t have anyone capable of updating it. We’re also in Northern Alberta, where some areas have internet-free zones or no cell phone services. So, we’re still in a place where half of our board members don’t have internet. However, the young student was passionate about convincing our board that we must have a website! I was the only board member who voted to have the website go live, and now we’ve had it up and running for a year and a half. It’s been very useful, and we just had our first successful website update. This was a critical moment when a very passionate CSL student highly influenced us. 

What have CSL and CSL students added to your organization?

We ended up hiring a CSL student who was on my team a year ago. She did a fantastic job with her editing skills, and we hired her to work on our social media. She created an Instagram account and a couple of other accounts. We’re waiting for TikTok to run right before our big fundraising event. This is another example of a skillset we don’t have but need, so it’s been a great opportunity for us and the students in the CSL program. So, we were super glad to hire the student we now have working with us, which will make a huge difference in our upcoming major fundraiser campaign later this year. We wouldn’t have gotten to this point if it weren’t for CSL. 

Throughout the organization’s involvement with CSL, is there a particular student project, interaction, or moment that piqued your interest, and why?

There have been quite a few of them! One moment of interest was the student with a Mennonite background who interviewed Traditional Knowledge holders. When we filled out his evaluation form, I was pretty amazed at how profound of an experience it was for him. That was a yes moment!

Another exciting moment was with a student who addressed our board about making the website live. He was so passionate about the need to have our organization widely known, along with the work we’ve done to promote selective logging. People often don’t know about the very real solutions that exist, so there needs to be a broader scope. So, that student made a huge impression on our board. This has happened over and over again because of the collaboration of youth. We’ve been working on so many important things. For instance, we’ve been working on our files, such as the Swan Hill Hazardous Waste Treatment Centre’s file, for decades. Nobody knew about it for a while, so a page about it is coming soon on our website! The passion of students has uplifted us and made us do more. 

With the support of CSL’s BHER Partnership, what projects and initiatives is your organization working towards, and how has this partnership benefitted your organization?

This is a new era for us with CSL. It’s been a huge support. I no longer have to convince my board that my extensive work with students is worthwhile because they see we’re getting funding from BHER. Our project has gotten a lot bigger because of the focus on climate change and preparing for tomorrow. We are having a fundraiser to purchase precious plastic equipment, which is small-scale recycling equipment. We will provide it for free to the rural, remote, and Indigenous communities with the best business plan. The fundraiser starts this year, and for preparation, we did many video interviews with experts in the field, including scientists, plastic recyclers, waste management professionals, and Indigenous communities. 

The word plastic means malleable so you can make anything out of it. Once communities have information about the risks, downsides, and opportunities, they can decide whether to partake in Precious Plastic projects, re-manufacture their community’s waste plastic, or make new things. So, that’s what we’re working on, the Plastic Re-manufacture Project. Last semester, we had a group of students working to update our marketing manual for communities, which BHER also funded. One of our students was from Germany, which was great since they had information regarding Germany's extended producer responsibility and Europe as a whole. I got our student to look into European stats regarding what occurred with EPR in the last 25 years. It was so interesting because it gave us a real heads-up on what to watch for. Recycling has gone up, and landfilling has gone down, which is great. However, incineration has tripled, putting pollution into the air in the form of highly toxic particulate emissions. 

We’re human beings. The systems we make are not perfect either. So, we feel that incinerators are not a great waste management tool! They are dangerous and emit a lot of pollution in the air, which is what we learned about with our student from Germany last year. This was a crucial piece for us, so now we can submit comments to the United Nations on their current plastic pollution document. It’s a great opportunity to have outreach in places we would have never imagined, and we are very grateful. 

How would you sum up your experience with CSL in one sentence?

Our collaboration with CSL has hugely benefitted our organization and, based on their comments, had a major impact on the students we work with. 

In partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER), and with support from the Government of Canada, CSL provides financial support to environmentally-focused community partners for their educational and mentoring roles with CSL students.

[nonesuchrecords]

"The album explores a stunning collection of dance remixes dating from 1992 to 2000. It's a collection that invites us to re-assess k.d.’s one-of-a-kind journey and body of work all over again—but this time, on the dance floor," CKUA's Grant Stovel say of k.d. lang, his guest on Hidden Track, and her new album, makeover. Also on the episode is "k.d. lang superfan" Tegan Quin, of Tegan and Sara, with an appreciation of lang's work and role as an LGBTQ+ trailblazer. You can hear the episode here.

[emerald-soul]

Protip

If you’re lonely or just need a place to be contemplative, give this here a listen

Brilliant radio show with a mix of poetry, music (mostly folksy/indie stuff) that I find supremely comforting

[heavyedhunt]

Thank the gods for CJSR, commercial radio stinks bad. #edhunt #edhuntart #stink #smell #safety #northsafety #protection #protection #cjsr #88.5fm #Canada #Canadian #freedom #free #canadaland #ckua #theroadhome #democracynow #working #work #democracy https://www.instagram.com/p/CVBQV-jvNXG/?utm_medium=tumblr