Thunder Pie | Q&A Vol. 1
Here it is, the very first Q&A session with myself that I’ve ever hosted. Hahaha. If that seems a bit whack to you, well, imagine how I feel. However,...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | Boombox Favourites
I couldn't do my own music without the incredible advances in home recording technology in the past decade. Not only can I not afford to work in a traditional...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | Whole Lotta Les
I have been reading Andy Summers’ fantastic memoir One Train Later. It's loaded with stuff I didn't know, including the tidbit that the eventual Police guitarist was the person...
Thunder Pie | My Place in the Pipes
Before my mom and dad divorced, I stumbled into this place in the basement where I could hide and watch. I guess I was 7. Maybe 8. It was...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | Any Colour You Like
Just like Jimi Hendrix, Bing Crosby, Meat Loaf, Rod Stewart and Neil Young, I'm colour blind. It's way more common with dudes than ladies — 8% of men have...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | I Saw Her Again
I am a big fan of The Last Podcast On The Left, and recently I was diving into some unheard, older episodes when I got into one about supposedly...
Thunder Pie | My Rock-n-Roll Heart
“When you're with a group of semi-psychotic people, you kind of lose track of reality; it's almost like being in some sort of cult or something.”
— Tommy Ramone
Now I’m...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | 1974
As a ’90s teenager in Pembroke, Ont., one of my favourite places to get T-shirts was the old hot-transfer concession in the mall. They had several big photo album-like...
Back Stories (Birthday Edition) | My Unedited 2010 Interview With Neil Diamond
I just noticed that today is Neil Diamond’s birthday. That reminded me that I was lucky enough to speak to the legendary singer-songwriter back in 2010, when he was...
Back Stories (Birthday Edition) | My Unedited 2016 Interview With Robin Zander
Happy birthday to Cheap Trick frontman Robin Zander, who turns 71 years old today. A few years ago, I interviewed him just before he and his bandmates were inducted...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | The Match Game
When The Beatles were playing their asses off in Hamburg in the early 1960s, the raucous German crowds repeatedly demanded the young men to "Mach schau, mach schau!" Putting...
Thunder Pie | Mossy Oak Steering Wheel
Tuesday morning, talking to Charlie on the couch, I coughed and heard a rib pop. It was on my left side, a rib I’d already managed to bruise severely...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | I Cast Thee Out!
It used to be that "getting cancelled" was something that only happened to the likes of Manimal, My So-Called Life, The Green Hornet, Archive 81 and The Tick. But...
Area Resident’s Stylus Counsel | Rockin’ Royalty
When it comes to rockin' royalty, the men way outnumber the women. Not only that, but many of the women are actually men.
At first I was a little surprised,...
Thunder Pie | Tiny Essays About Loving Books
“I cannot sleep unless I am surrounded by books.”
— Jorge Luis Borges
The Pure Joy of Holding Wonderful Books Hostage from the World Until One Dies
I spend too much time...
