Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday July 20, 2019

Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU in Ottawa heard live on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and then available for on-demand streaming. I am one of the four rotating hosts of Saturday Morning and base my programming on the Folk Roots/Folk Branches format I developed at CKUT in Montreal.

CKCU can be heard at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and http://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Saturday Morning can be streamed on-demand at... https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/43915.html

Graham Lindsey w/From Away- Cook’s in the Kitchen Again

Tradhead (Wavelength Media)

Shari Ulrich- Canada

Back to Shore (Borealis)

David Newland- Out Upon the Land

Northbound: The Northwest Passage in Story and Song (David Newland)

James Gordon- You Want to Feel Heard

The Heritage Hall Sessions (Borealis)

John Stewart- Armstrong

Airdream Believer (Shanachie)

The Marigolds- Trip to the Moon

That’s the State I’m In (The Marigolds)

Sylvia Tyson- Walking on the Moon

You Were On My Mind (Stony Plain)

Chaim Tannenbaum- It’s Only a Paper Moon

Chaim Tannenbaum (StorySound)

Maggie & Terre Roche- Underneath the Moon

Where Do I Come From: Selected Songs (StorySound)

Kim Wallach- Dark and Rainy Night

Chatter of the Finches (Black Socks Press)

Tom Paxton- Central Square

Redemption Road (Pax)

Deborah Robins- The Water is Wide

Lone Journey (Zippety Whippet Music)

Tim Grimm- Staying in Love

Heart Land Again (Vault)

Guy Forsyth & Jesska Bailey- The Messenger

Conspirators (Small & Nimble Records)

El Coyote- Time Will Tell

El Coyote (El Coyote)

Tom Russell- Hand-Raised Wolverines

October in the Railroad Earth (Frontera)

Extended feature: Songs of Si Kahn – the next 15 songs were written by Si Kahn.

Rude Girls- Crossing the Border

Mixed Messages (Flying Fish)

Priscilla Herdman- Traveler

Seasons of Change (Flying Fish)

Mara Levine- Upstream

Facets of Folk (Mara’s Creations)

Si Kahn- Down on the River

Bristol Bay (Strictly Country)

Mike Regenstreif & Si Kahn (1995)

Kathy Mattea- Gone, Gonna Rise Again

Calling Me Home (Sugar Hill)

The Looping Brothers- Baltimore Blues

It’s a Dog’s Life (Strictly Country)

Blue Rose- Wild Rose of the Mountain

Blue Rose (Sugar Hill)

Si Kahn & The Looping Brothers- Brookside Strike

Aragon Mill: The Bluegrass Sessions (Strictly Country)

Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer- What Will I Leave

Voice on the Wind (Rounder)

Bob Bossin- People Like You

Gabriola V0R1X0 (Nick)

Si Kahn & The Looping Brothers- Rock Me, Roll Me

Aragon Mill: The Bluegrass Sessions (Strictly Country)

Vivian Nesbitt & John Dillon- Stitch and Sew

The Songs of Mother Jones: A Musical by Si Kahn (MotherJonesInHeaven.com)

Joe Jencks- Who Will Speak for Me

The Forgotten: Recovered Treasures from the Pen of Si Kahn (Turtle Bear Music)

Amythyst Kiah- Aragon Mill

Dig (Amythyst Kiah)

Si Kahn & The Looping Brothers- Goodbye Monday Blues

Aragon Mill: The Bluegrass Sessions (Strictly Country)

Tim Henderson- Miss Amelia Harris, Spinster

Among the Best (Snake Hollow Music)

Tom Mitchell- Church and Paydays

1976 live recording – used with permission

Penny Lang- Ain’t Life Sweet

Ain’t Life Sweet (She-Wolf)

Ben Bullington- I’ve Got to Leave You Now

Ben Bullington (Ben Bullington)

Lynn Miles- More

Downpour (Lynn Miles)

Laura Smith- Inspiration

Everything is Moving (Borealis)

Meg Tennant- A Day of Grace

Echoed Light (Meg Tennant)

Sussex- Truth and Lies

Parade Day (Lucky Bear)

Susan Werner- NOLA

NOLA: Susan Werner Goes to New Orleans (Sleeve Dog)

Martin Grosswendt & Susanne Salem-Schatz- Mama Lou

New Songs, Old Hats (Martin Grosswendt & Susanne Salem-Schatz)

Wynton Marsalis w/Catherine Russell- Make Me a Pallet on the Floor

Bolden: Music from the Original Soundtrack (Blue Engine)

David G. Smith- Straw Houses

Who Cares (Hey Dave Music)

Sussex- Eagle on the Moon

Parade Day (Lucky Bear)

The Confabulation- Windy Apples

Tunnels and Visions (Woodhead Music)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on August 17.

Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Canadian Spaces with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday June 8, 2019

CKCU can be heard at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and http://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This particular show is now available for on-demand listening. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/129/43304.html

Canadian Spaces on CKCU in Ottawa is Canada’s longest-running folk music radio program. It is heard Saturday mornings from 10:00 am until noon (Eastern time).

This week’s show was hosted by Mike Regenstreif (subbing for Chris White).

Guests: Mike Biggar, John Allaire, Missy Burgess.

The Afro-Métis Nation (featuring Chris White & George Elliott Clarke)- Hymn to Portia White

Constitution (The Afro-Métis Nation)

Kaia Kater- New Colossus

Grenades (Smithsonian Folkways)

Michael Jerome Browne- Where is the Song

That’s Where It’s At! (Borealis)

J. Reissner- Follow the Sunshine

Fallen Star (J. Reissner)

Po’ Girl- Abilene

Po’ Girl (Jericho Beach)

Old Man Luedecke- Easy Money

Easy Money (True North)

Wade Hemsworth with the Mountain City Four (lead vocal: Kate McGarrigle)- The Log Driver’s Waltz

Wade Hemsworth with the Mountain City Four (Peter Weldon)

David Newland- Poor William Braine

Northbound: The Northwest Passage in Story and Song (David Newland)

Jamie Andersen- Open Water

The Truth Appears (Tsunami)

Ken Tizzard- Boy from Old Perlican

A Good Dog is Lost: A Collection of Ron Hynes Songs (Ken Tizzard)

Irish Mythen- The Bravery

Little Bones (Irish Mythen)

Same Latitude as Rome (with Sean McCann)- Stay the Course

Stay the Course (Same Latitude as Rome)

Mose Scarlett- Lulu’s Back in Town

Precious Seconds (Borealis)

Leon Redbone- Polly Wolly Doodle

On the Track (Warner Bros.)

Dr. John- Didn’t He Ramble

Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)

Mike Biggar & John Allaire- All the Same

Live in the studio

John Allaire & Mike Biggar- Magnets

Live in the studio

Mike Biggar & John Allaire- What Can I Do

Live in the studio

Missy Burgess- Time

Play Me Sweet (Missy Burgess)

Missy Burgess- Blue Sweater

Lemon Pie (Missy Burgess)

Tom Russell- Play One More

Play One More: The Songs of Ian & Sylvia (True North)

Ian Hanchet- I’ll Fly Away

New Life (Ian Hanchet)

Alana & Leigh Cline- The Black Mill

Alana & Leigh Cline (Scimitar)

My next show on CKCU is June 22 when I’ll be hosting the Saturday Morning program from 7 until 10 am.

Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

The Way We Feel – The Songs of Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot was still in the relatively early stages of his career as a major folk-rooted singer-songwriter when my own musical interests began to centre on the folk scene. His third LP, Did She Mention My Name, was the first of Lightfoot’s albums that I bought new when it first came out in 1968 and I quickly acquired the first two and many of the ones that followed. His 1960s albums, and several from the ‘70s, still resonate particularly strongly with me.

Over the past decade, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Jory Nash has organized an annual tribute concert at Hugh’s Room in Toronto, in which a revolving cast of artists, and a house band, each do a pair of Lightfoot songs. Lightfoot himself has shown up occasionally and performed a couple of songs – including last Sunday, the third of a three-night stand.

Last night, Jory Nash brought The Way We Feel – The Songs of Gordon Lightfoot to Centrepointe Theatre in Ottawa. Interestingly, although there was overlap, the roster of artists was substantially different from the Hugh’s Room shows last weekend.

MC David Newland, who opened the show with a song and did a great job of keeping the show flowing, and the superb house band – guitarist Jason Fowler, pianist David Matheson, bassist David Woodhead, and Christine Bougie, who switched between drums and lap steel – as well as featured artists Lori Cullen, John Wort Hannam, Jory Nash, and Andy Maize & Josh Finlayson of the Skydiggers, were on the Hugh’s Room bill. The additional artists in Ottawa were Cadence, Rick Fines, Oh Susanna and Suzie Vinnick (fresh from winning a couple of Maple Blues Awards last week). Band members Jason Fowler and David Matheson also took turns in the spotlight with a couple of songs each.

In the hundreds of songs Lightfoot has written and recorded over his long career, the artists had a wealth of material to choose from and included several of his best known songs and several of the more obscure.

Certainly, the evening’s high point was when the entire cast gathered on stage at the end for gospel-style version of “Rich Man’s Spiritual,” which Jory Nash pointed out was the first song on Lightfoot’s first album. Each verse was led by a different artist or group of artists, with everyone else joining in and leading the audience on the call-and-response parts. It was a joyous moment and a perfect finale.

Among the other highlights were Jory’s solo version of “Mother of a Miner’s Child,” Lori Cullen’s jazz ballad version of “Rainy Day People,” Rick Fines’ soulful rendition of “Ribbon of Darkness,” which included some sublime slide guitar playing, Oh Susanna’s country version of “Early Morning Rain,” John Wort Hannam’s lovely solo rendition of "Your Love’s Return" and Suzie Vinnick’s electrified take on “If You Could Read My Mind.”

In all honesty, there were a couple of arrangements that didn’t work for me. Lori Cullen’s disco version of “Song for a Winter’s Night” robbed the song of the beauty of its quiet intimacy. And I really wished that a cappella quartet Cadence had just concentrated on the lyrics to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” instead of also using their voices to imitate the musical instruments – the net effect was to lose much of the impact of the song’s story.

In a concert that included just 22 songs, there were so many great Lightfoot songs left unsung. No wonder this show can be mounted annually without losing its freshness.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif