Tommy Solo's famous friends
I talk musical careers & random adventures with Canadian musicians, promoters, photographers, broadcasters etc. who I've connected with in the biz over the years since I started playing music professionally in 1976. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tommy-solo-s-famous-friends--4318572/support.
Episodes
March 29, 2024 • 24 mins
Honey Moon Suite started gaining momentum globally in the early 1980s & they've barely looked back since then. They've released over a dozen albums over the years & have just released the fruits of their labour over two years in a global pandemic. Teaming with American producer Mike Krompass, known for his work with Steven Tyler, Smash Mouth etc. Honey Moon Suite have once again broken the mold with "Alive".Â
I spoke with l...
I spoke with l...
Mark as Played
March 20, 2024 • 26 mins
Formed from the ashes of the Hillbilly Headhunters & Moon MD in 1998, the Hillbilly Moon Explosion have since released several successful albums culminating with their latest album "Back in time" featuring the singles "Sometimes at night" & "Knocked down" . In this episode I discussed with Oliver Baroni how his Hillbilly Headhunters merged with Emanuela Hutter's Moon MD so many years ago, & how they've managed to keep ...
Mark as Played
February 25, 2024 • 35 mins
Singer/songwriter Rik Emmett was known as the virtuostic guitarist & singer with iconic Canadian band Triumph, and he has been an independant solo artist since the 1990s.
In this episode we discuss his new memoire "Lay it on the line" which is as he describes it "A backstage pass to rockstar adventure, conflict & triumph" . But that's not all we talked about.
This is a fun one!
https://www.rikemmett.com/
If you enjoy this ep...
In this episode we discuss his new memoire "Lay it on the line" which is as he describes it "A backstage pass to rockstar adventure, conflict & triumph" . But that's not all we talked about.
This is a fun one!
https://www.rikemmett.com/
If you enjoy this ep...
Mark as Played
January 20, 2024 • 33 mins
Legendary Canadian rocker Myles Goodwyn left this mortal coil on December 3rd 2023 after a lenghty battle with various illnesses.
On December 18th 2023, I was fortunate to share memories from the life & times of Myles Goodwyn with his three surviving original co founding members of April Wine.
David, Ritchie & Jim Henman gave their individual & personal thoughts in memory their fallen brother in this episode.
This is a he...
On December 18th 2023, I was fortunate to share memories from the life & times of Myles Goodwyn with his three surviving original co founding members of April Wine.
David, Ritchie & Jim Henman gave their individual & personal thoughts in memory their fallen brother in this episode.
This is a he...
Mark as Played
January 7, 2024 • 32 mins
You may know Terry Draper from his tenure with the classic Canadian band Klaatu. Did you know he has just released his 20th solo record? His new release "In the beginning" is a quirky prog pop collection featuring solid songwriting & solid performances throughout.
And this time Terry harkens back to the glory days of album packaging as inspired by the classic albums from the Beatles, Pink Floyd etc..
I reached him at his winter...
And this time Terry harkens back to the glory days of album packaging as inspired by the classic albums from the Beatles, Pink Floyd etc..
I reached him at his winter...
Mark as Played
December 18, 2023 • 21 mins
This is part two of my 2020 conversation with seminal singer/guitarist/songwriter Frank Soda.
In this part of our chat Frank talks about how he survived the music business by widening his horizons & not being afraid to diversify his act.
As this episode was originally recorded during the big Covid lockdown, he also reflected on expanding his musical horizons further & his plans to return to Ontario with his classic rock show...
In this part of our chat Frank talks about how he survived the music business by widening his horizons & not being afraid to diversify his act.
As this episode was originally recorded during the big Covid lockdown, he also reflected on expanding his musical horizons further & his plans to return to Ontario with his classic rock show...
Mark as Played
December 11, 2023 • 18 mins
In part one of my classic interview with Seminal Canadian rocker Frank Soda we discuss his early years starting out in the Canadian bar circuit in the 1970s. From his time with Buddy Knox to muscle rocker Thor & beyond, Frank shares his experiences leading up to Frank Soda & the Imps signing with Quality records.
I met Frank Soda while he & the Imps were backing up Thor at the St. Regis hotel in North Bay Ontario (my ho...
I met Frank Soda while he & the Imps were backing up Thor at the St. Regis hotel in North Bay Ontario (my ho...
Mark as Played
November 18, 2023 • 25 mins
On November 10th 2023 Burton Cummings & Randy Bachman launched a false advertising law suit against former bandmates Jim Cale & Garry Peterson.
In this episode I spoke with one of the leading experts on all things "The Guess Who", Robert Lawson about this news.
Robert's book "Wheatfield Empire" details pretty much everyone you could ask about the history of one of Canada's most successful bands.
He spoke with members of Burt...
In this episode I spoke with one of the leading experts on all things "The Guess Who", Robert Lawson about this news.
Robert's book "Wheatfield Empire" details pretty much everyone you could ask about the history of one of Canada's most successful bands.
He spoke with members of Burt...
Mark as Played
November 10, 2023 • 42 mins
When I interviewed Ronnie Hawkins in 2021 he was already 86 years old, but he proved that he was still the king of one liners & had me laughing throughout our conversation.
Growing up in Arkansas he was influenced by the music he was raised on & when he brought his brand of Rockabilly music to Canada, he quickly became a seminal figure in the musical landscape here.
The list of musicians, actors etc. whose careers he helped ...
Growing up in Arkansas he was influenced by the music he was raised on & when he brought his brand of Rockabilly music to Canada, he quickly became a seminal figure in the musical landscape here.
The list of musicians, actors etc. whose careers he helped ...
Mark as Played
October 31, 2023 • 48 mins
John McGale was one of my hometown guitar heroes. He was a couple of years older than me & my neighbourhood pals & was playing in a working band around the time I learned to ride a bicycle.
He was very popular both in the neighbourhood & at our highschool where he was elected to the student's council as social convenor. He would often entertain us at school assemblies playing guitar, flute & singing.
It was while he ...
He was very popular both in the neighbourhood & at our highschool where he was elected to the student's council as social convenor. He would often entertain us at school assemblies playing guitar, flute & singing.
It was while he ...
Mark as Played
October 28, 2023 • 23 mins
In part two of my chat with Alex Machin, we pick it up from where he was a staff songwriter with United artists in LA.
While he would inevitably reunite with A Foot in cold water, there was a lot more to his story in the in between years.
Did you know that Alex was the lead singer with Moxy for a few years?
We discuss all that & more as we continue our conversation here.
And hey...if you like my show & would like to help us k...
While he would inevitably reunite with A Foot in cold water, there was a lot more to his story in the in between years.
Did you know that Alex was the lead singer with Moxy for a few years?
We discuss all that & more as we continue our conversation here.
And hey...if you like my show & would like to help us k...
Mark as Played
October 20, 2023 • 28 mins
Alex Machin is the voice behind one of Canada's most iconic classic radio hits, "Make me do anything you want." When he & guitarist extraorinaire Paul Naumann joined forces with the remaining members of Nucleus; Bob Horne, Danny Taylor & Hughie Leggat, musical magic happened.
A foot in cold water was signed to Daffodil records & they were off & running with Make me do anything you want charting in the top 40 on radio...
A foot in cold water was signed to Daffodil records & they were off & running with Make me do anything you want charting in the top 40 on radio...
Mark as Played
October 14, 2023 • 47 mins
Jaimie Vernon has been a music business insider for decades serving as a musician, record company president & author among other things.
He has been described as a walking pop music encyclopedia & in fact, is the author of the "Canadian pop music encyclopedia".
The following is how this episode was described when it was originally published in 2021:
Jaimie Vernon makes a return visit to Tommy Solo's Famous Friends , this time...
He has been described as a walking pop music encyclopedia & in fact, is the author of the "Canadian pop music encyclopedia".
The following is how this episode was described when it was originally published in 2021:
Jaimie Vernon makes a return visit to Tommy Solo's Famous Friends , this time...
Mark as Played
October 6, 2023 • 32 mins
This is a reissue of my interview with Canada's Country Gentleman, Tommy Hunter.
When I reached out to him in the summer of 2020, he was more than accomodating with me & we had an awesome discussion about his early beginnings & his 30 plus years on both CBC TV & on the Nashville network.
This was one of my most applauded interviews & I'm proud to feature the legendary Tommy Hunter as my first "classic" episode.
If you ...
When I reached out to him in the summer of 2020, he was more than accomodating with me & we had an awesome discussion about his early beginnings & his 30 plus years on both CBC TV & on the Nashville network.
This was one of my most applauded interviews & I'm proud to feature the legendary Tommy Hunter as my first "classic" episode.
If you ...
Mark as Played
October 4, 2023 • 28 mins
In part two of my conversation with Danny Taylor, we discuss how the iconic Canadian band "A foot in cold water" was formed, the creation of their biggest hit & more.
Danny started in the music business as a teenager still in highschool & he has a lot of interesting stories to share.
And Danny along with original lead singer Alex Machin have new A foot in cold water music to share with the world. We talked about this as we...
Danny started in the music business as a teenager still in highschool & he has a lot of interesting stories to share.
And Danny along with original lead singer Alex Machin have new A foot in cold water music to share with the world. We talked about this as we...
Mark as Played
September 24, 2023 • 21 mins
Danny Taylor has been a part of Canadian music history since he was a teenager in highschool during the 1960s, finding success was as drummer with "the Lords of London", once considered to be Canada's answer to the Monkees.
After having some commercial success with a few radio hits, the Lords of London disbanded & morphed into a more progressive jazzier/psychedelic sounding "Nucleus".
Both bands were signed to record deals &...
After having some commercial success with a few radio hits, the Lords of London disbanded & morphed into a more progressive jazzier/psychedelic sounding "Nucleus".
Both bands were signed to record deals &...
Mark as Played
September 13, 2023 • 21 mins
This is the first in my new series "in performance with" & we're getting things rolling with Sandy Gillis aka comedian Jimmy the janitor.
Sandy started in radio way back in 1968 & some 30 years later developed the Jimmy the janitor character as part of a radio show. It didn't take long before Sandy took Jimmy the janitor on the road & made several appearances doing stand up comedy live on stage & on TV all over Nort...
Sandy started in radio way back in 1968 & some 30 years later developed the Jimmy the janitor character as part of a radio show. It didn't take long before Sandy took Jimmy the janitor on the road & made several appearances doing stand up comedy live on stage & on TV all over Nort...
Mark as Played
September 10, 2023 • 31 mins
Ray Rabbit Harrison joined Del Shannon's touring band in 1962 at a mere 16 years old & he hasn't looked back since.
He's been the keyboardist over the years in the Greaseball boogie band, Shooter, Crowbar & more top shelf acts. Currently he is still tickling the ivories with his long time band, the Cameo Blues band.
in this episode we discuss playing keyboards & a lot more.
Ray has a lifetime of music business insider tale...
He's been the keyboardist over the years in the Greaseball boogie band, Shooter, Crowbar & more top shelf acts. Currently he is still tickling the ivories with his long time band, the Cameo Blues band.
in this episode we discuss playing keyboards & a lot more.
Ray has a lifetime of music business insider tale...
Mark as Played
August 30, 2023 • 31 mins
Walter Zwol started fronting the band Brutus in the late 1960s & he hasn't looked back as a pro singer since.
He was the first Canadian artist to be signed with EMI records in the USA & had chart success with several singles.
While he has worked in the business side of the music business, his passion has always been as a singer.
We talk singing, vocal technique and a lot more in this segment of "the singers" series.
If you en...
He was the first Canadian artist to be signed with EMI records in the USA & had chart success with several singles.
While he has worked in the business side of the music business, his passion has always been as a singer.
We talk singing, vocal technique and a lot more in this segment of "the singers" series.
If you en...
Mark as Played
August 1, 2023 • 36 mins
Greg Godovitz went from thinking that the Beatles with their odd haircuts looked wierd on their debut album cover to being heavily influenced by them as a budding singer as a kid in the 1960s.
By the early 1970s, he would travel as far away as England with his first top shelf band, Fludd.
After that his own band, Goddo featuring him as not only the bass player, but also lead singer & frontman would make a huge splash in the roc...
By the early 1970s, he would travel as far away as England with his first top shelf band, Fludd.
After that his own band, Goddo featuring him as not only the bass player, but also lead singer & frontman would make a huge splash in the roc...
Mark as Played
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