Episode 146: Record Store Day / Hillside Festival

Folk Roots Radio on April 19 2014 (Episode 146) included a couple of interesting interviews – Mark Logan from Encore Records in Kitchener discussing Record Store Day and Sam Baijal, Artistic Director at the Hillside Festival discussing the performers appearing at Hillside 2014.

Our Easter weekend show started off with six songs with, as you’d expect, an Easter Time theme.  If there’s one movie that epitomizes this time of year for me, it is the musical Easter Parade from 1948 featuring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.  “Happy Easter” sung by Fred Astaire and other members of the cast was a natural way to kick things off.

Mark Logan from Encore Records in Kitchener joined us in the first hour to chat about Record Store Day, an annual event that celebrates independent record stores. Record Store Day started in the US in 2007 and has since developed into a worldwide event, and now comes complete with a whole raft of special releases and artist in-store appearances. One of the things that was clear from our interview, is how important these stores are to the community they serve.

Although many record stores have gone to the wall in challenging economic times in a rapidly changing industry, the ones that remain are thriving because they work hard to provide a knowledgeable customer service and selection that doesn’t exist online or, dare I say it, Wal-Mart. You can also credit part of the success to the resurgence of vinyl, and an appreciation that it was, and probably still is, the best way to listen to recorded music.

Later in the show we played an interview with Hillside Artistic Director, SamBaijal. The performers for this year’s Hillside Festival were announced on Thursday April 17 2014. We caught up with Sam shortly after the announcement. Full artist bios are available here. As usual, there is something for everyone.

Tickets for Hillside go on sale on May 3 at 10 a.m. at ticketbreak.com or by phone at 1-866-943-8849. Tickets are also available from The Bookshelf (41 Quebec St.) and The Beat Goes On (23 Wellington St. E.) in Guelph; Encore Records (54 Queen St. S.) in Kitchener; and at Soundscapes (572 College St.) in Toronto. For more information, visit hillsidefestival.ca.

There was no Guilty Pleasure this week, however it will return soon. We’d love to hear from you if you have a Guilty Pleasure to share. Remember, a Guilty Pleasure is that song you still love even though you think others may find it unfashionable. You’ll be surprised how many people love it too!

If you have a guilty pleasure you’d like to share – that song you still love though you think other people would find it unfashionable (believe me, they won’t), get in touch. We’d love to play it for you! And, if you have a good story about why you love that song, so much the better.

And, if you have suggestions for artists we should be playing on the show, or know of a musician we could invite into the studio, feel free to share that too.

Well that’s just about everything I need to mention this week. You’ll find the full playlist for the show below.

Thanks to all the artists who are sharing their music with us, and thank you for listening. We’ll see you next week!

Mystery Theme: “Easter Time”

Fred Astaire
Happy Easter
Easter Parade OST (1948, Turner)

The Blue Nile
Easter Parade
A Walk Across The Roof Tops (1984, Virgin)

Richard & Linda Thompson
Calvary Cross
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974, Island/Rykodisc)

Ray Price
The Rugged Old Cross
The Old Rugged Cross (1993, Dominion/K-Tel)

John Mellencamp
Easter Eve
No Better Than This (2010, Rounder Records)

Steve Goodman
Easter Parade
The Easter Tapes (1996, Red Pajamas Records)

Lydia Loveless
Blind
Mile High / Blind (Single) (2014, Bloodshot Records)

Interview: Mark Logan, Encore Records, Kitchener, Ontario about Record Store Day, April 19 2014

The Pogues (feat. Joe Strummer)
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
Live In London (2014, Rhino)

Drumhand
The Long Road
Cheer On The Sun (2013, Self) CDN

Roosevelt Dime
Calvary
Full Head Of Steam (2013, Self)

Brian Pickell Band
Whip-poor-will
Waves On The Shore (2014, Self) CDN

Matt Andersen
Weightless
Weightless (2014, Linus Entertainment) CDN

Interview: Sam Baijal, Artistic Director, Hillside Festival discussing the performers for Hillside 2014

Basia Bulat
Wires
Tall Tall Shadow (2013, Secret City Records) CDN

Fearing & White
Emigrant Song
Tea & Confidences (2014, Lowdenproud) CDN

Kim Churchill
Some Days The Rain Must Fall
Silence/Win (2014, Fontana North) CDN

Craig Cardiff
Lenny Bruce Lee
Love Is Louder (Than All This Noise) (2013, Self) CDN

David Celia
Instant Puppy Love
I Tried (2010, Self) CDN

Theme:
Mary Margaret O’Hara
Anew Day
Miss America (Virgin, 1988) CDN

Background Music:
Bob McLean
Rose of Allendale
Six Strings North of the Border Volume 2 (Borealis, 2005) CDN

Lawrence Blatt
Into The Abyss/Infra Red
The Colour of Sunshine (2005, LB Music)

Nicolas & The Iceni
Lucy She Rises
Roll Right (2014, Demo)