Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 14, 2023: Songs of Utah Phillips

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62730.html

Theme: Songs of Bruce “Utah” Phillips (1935-2008).

Utah Phillips & Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Utah Phillips- The Telling Takes Me Home

The Telling Takes Me Home (Philo)

Saul Broudy- Starlight on the Rails

Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)

Pop & Bodie Wagner & Dakota Dave Hull- Old Buddy, Goodnight

Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)

Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen- Going Away

Live in Concert (Compass Rose)

The Sorry Muthas Wolverine 14

Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (Wampus Cat)

Utah Phillips- Phoebe Snow

Good Though! (Philo)

Finest Kind- The Goodnight-Loving Trail

Lost in a Song (Fallen Angle)

Rosalie Sorrels- Rock Me to Sleep

Travelin’ Lady (Sire)

John Gorka- I Think of You

So Dark You See (Red House)

Penny Lang- If I Could be the Rain

Stone + Sand + Sea + Sky (Borealis)

Kate Wolf- Clearing in the Forest

The Wind Blows Wild (Rhino)

The Short Sisters- Rock Salt and Nails

Love and Transportation (Black Socks Press)

Utah Phillips & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Utah Phillips- Frisco Road

Good Though! (Philo)

Finest Kind- He Comes Like Rain

Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)

Bruce Brackney- Hood River, Roll On

Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)

Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin- Walking Through Your Town in the Snow

Heart Songs: The Old Time Country Songs of Utah Phillips (Rounder)

Priscilla Herdman & Utah Phillips- I Remember Loving You

Darkness into Light (Flying Fish)

Fred Holstein- Nevada Jane

Fred Holstein: A Collection (Fred Holstein)

Rosalie Sorrels- Ashes on the Sea

Strangers in Another Country: The Songs of Bruce “Utah” Phillips (Red House)

Margaret Christl & Simon Christl- The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia

House of Song (Margaret Christl)

Utah Phillips- Eddy’s Song

The Telling Takes Me Home (Philo)

Magpie, Dan Schatz, Emma's Revolution- Singing Through the Hard Times

Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)

Next week: Songs and Conversation with Noel Paul Stookey.

--Mike Regenstreif 

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 3, 2023: Conversation and Songs with Alan Bern of The Semer Ensemble; “I’ll sing you this October Song.”

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/62102.html

Themes: Part 1 – Conversation and Songs with Alan Bern of The Semer Ensemble; Part 2 – “I’ll sing you this October Song.”

Part 1 – Conversation and Songs with Alan Bern of The Semer Ensemble.

The conversation with Alan Bern, artistic director of The Semer Ensemble, was recorded on September 14 via Zoom. 

The Semer Ensemble’s Ottawa concert – sponsored by the Embassy of Germany – takes place on Wednesday, October 4, 7 pm, at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre. Tickets are free of charge but must be reserved in advance at this link. https://sogerman.ca/events/the-semer-ensemble-live-in-concert-ottawa/

The conversation with Alan Bern was punctuated by these three songs.

Semer Ensemble featuring Lorin Sklamberg- Ich Tanz’ Und Mein Herz Weint

Rescued Treasure: Live at Gorki Berlin (Pirhana)

Semer Ensemble- Simchu Bi Jeruschalajm/E’ise Pele

Rescued Treasure: Live at Gorki Berlin (Pirhana)

Semer Ensemble featuring Sasha Lurje- Vorbei

Rescued Treasure: Live at Gorki Berlin (Pirhana)

Part 2 – “I’ll sing you this October Song.”

Gordon Bok & Cindy Kallet- October Song

Neighbors (Timberhead)

Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy- White Swans and Black/Grey October Clouds

Two for the Early Dew (Shanachie)

Nanci Griffith- October Reasons

Poet In My Window (Philo)

Mike Regenstreif & Bill Staines (1993)

Bill Staines- October Winds

The First Million Miles (Rounder)

Anne Hills- Rondi’s Birthday

October Child (Flying Fish)

Chris Rawlings & Mike Regenstreif (2007)

Chris Rawlings- The Wild Goose

Autumn Gold (Cookingfat Music)

Cindy Church- This October Day

Love on the Range (Stony Plain)

Malcolm Holcombe- October Mornin’

Come Hell or High Water (Gypsy Eyes)

Mama's Broke- October’s Lament

Narrow Line (Free Dirt)

Tom Russell- October in the Railroad Earth

October in the Railroad Earth (Frontera)

Amy Speace- There Used to Be Horses Here

There Used to Be Horses Here (Windbone)

Lucy Wainwright Roche & Suzzy Roche- Cold October Day

Mud & Apples (Lucy Wainwright Roche & Suzzy Roche)

Cindy Mangsen- October Roses

Songs of Experience (Redwing Music)

Short Sisters- Turning Toward the Morning

A Planet Dancing Slow (Black Socks Press)

Dave Clarke- October

GuitarSongs (Crossties)

Next week: Songs of Tom Waits.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday April 4, 2023: Songs of the Passover and Easter Legends

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

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

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/60013.html

Theme: Songs of the Passover and Easter Legends.

Kim & Reggie Harris- Go Down Moses

Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad (Appleseed)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Tell It on the Mountain

In the Wind (Warner Bros.)

Rabbi Jonathan Kliger & Reggie Harris- Man Come Into Egypt

Let My People Go: A Jewish & African American Celebration of Freedom (Appleseed)

Caroline Doctorow- Wade in the Water

That Changes Everything (Narrow Lane)

The Short Sisters- Moses

A Planet Dancing Slow (Black Socks Press)

The Klezmatics- Moses Smote the Water

Brother Moses Smote the Water (Piranha)

Charlie Haden & Hank Jones- Wade in the Water

Steal Away: Spirituals, Hymns and Folk Songs (Verve)

Michael Jerome Browne & Harrison Kennedy- Pharaoh

That’s Where It’s At! (Borealis)

Jesse Winchester- Pharaoh’s Army

Learn to Love It (Stony Plain)

Bob Franke- Walkin’ in the Wilderness

The Desert Questions (Robert J. Franke)

Shelley Posen- And We Sang ‘Ha Lakhma Anya’

Manna (Well Done Music)

David Olney- Jerusalem Tomorrow

The Stone (Deadbeet)

David Olney- Brays

The Stone (Deadbeet)

David Olney- Brains

The Stone (Deadbeet)

David Olney- Flesh and Blood

The Stone (Deadbeet)

David Olney- Barabbas

The Stone (Deadbeet)

David Olney- A Soldier’s Report

The Stone (Deadbeet)

Reverend Gary Davis- Crucifixion

A Little More Faith (Prestige/Bluesville)

Ralph McTell- Jesus Wept

Sand in Your Shoes (Red House)

Charlie Haden & Hank Jones- Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?

Come Sunday (EmArcy)

Next week: Old Friends.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday November 1, 2022: Radio

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

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

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/58131.html

Theme: Radio.

This show airs during CKCU’s Annual Funding Drive for 2022. Please visit https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/75976 to make your charitable donation to help us continue bringing you creative, volunteer-programmed, listener-supported community radio for another year.

Joni Mitchell- You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio

The Asylum Years 1972-1975: Miles of Aisles (Rhino)

Danny Marks- Man on the Radio

Man on the Radio – single (Danny Marks)

Nanci Griffith- Listen to the Radio

Winter Marquee (Rounder)

Tom Lewis & Mike Regenstreif (2006) photo: David Shapiro

Tom Lewis- Radio Times

360º: All Points of the Compass (Borealis)

Jamie Anderson- Public Radio

Better Than Chocolate (Tsunami)

The LYNNeS- Heartbreak Song for the Radio

Heartbreak Song for the Radio (The LYNNeS)

Small Potatoes- Turn Your Radio On

Raw (Small Potatoes)

Emily White- Radio

Radio – single (Emily White)

Amelia Curran- Song on the Radio

They Promised You Mercy (Six Shooter)

Blackie & The Rodeo Kings- Song on the Radio

Bark (True North)

Wanda Fischer & Mike Regenstreif (2017)

Wanda Fischer, Eric Erickson & Matt Watroba- Late Night Radio

Singing Along with the Radio (Wanda Fischer)

Katy Moffatt- Midnight Radio

Midnight Radio (True North)

Dave Alvin- Border Radio

Live from Austin TX (New West)

Aengus Finnan- One Hand on the Radio

North Wind (Borealis)

The Short Sisters- Ten Pound Radio

Live from Four States (Black Socks Press)

Rod MacDonald- Distant Radios

Highway to Nowhere (Shanachie)

Clela- Angels on the Radio

More Love and Happiness (Clela)

Matt Patershuk- Turn the Radio Up

An Honest Effort (Black Hen)

Susan Werner- Barn Radio

Flyover Country (Susan Werner)

Erin Ash Sullivan- Radio Show

We Can Hear Each Other (Willoughby)

Bruce Cockburn- Radio Shoes

Inner City Front: Deluxe Edition (True North)

Next week: Addendums to Past Themes.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday January 11, 2022: Songs of Winter

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

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

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/54825.html

Theme: Songs of Winter

Mike Regenstrif & Quartette: Caitlyn Hanford, Sylvia Tyson, Cindy Church, Gwen Swick (1997)

Quartette- Song for a Winter’s Night
Rocks and Roses (Outside Music)

Jesse Winchester- Snow
Jesse Winchester (Stony Plain)
Lynn Miles- Wintery Feeling
Winter (Lynn Miles)
Ronney Abramson- Long Lonely Winter
Stowaway (Castor Island Music)
Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop- The Hill
Red Shoes (Borealis)
Sean Gagnier- (Song of the) Wheelhouse Door
Circle Harbor (Sean Gagnier)

Jenny Whiteley- Log Cabin in the Sky
The Original Jenny Whiteley (Black Hen)
RanchWriters- Winter Flood
RanchWriters (True North)

John Gorka & Mike Regenstreif (2012)

Steel Rail- A Thousand Miles of Snow
A Thousand Miles of Snow (Crossties)
John Gorka- Holed Up in Mason City
Bright Side of Down (Red House)
Rosalie Sorrels- Snowing On Raton
Borderline Heart (Green Linnet)

Herdman, Hills & Mangsen- The Druggist
At the Turning of the Year (Hand & Heart Music)
Noel Paul Stookey- Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland – single (Neworld Multimedia)
The Roches- My Winter Coat
Where Do I Come From: Selected Songs (StorySound)

Short Sisters- Snow, Snow
A Planet Dancing Slow (Black Socks Press)
Rod MacDonald- The Coming of the Snow
After the War (Blue Flue Music)
Ian Hanchet- Girl from the North Country
Dealin’ from the Bottom (of My Heart) (Ian Hanchet)
Jodi Jean & Aylon- Winterlude
Bobfest (Jodi Jean & Aylon)

Jane Voss & Hoyle Osborne- Witch Hazel
Beyond the Boundaries (Ripple)
Sue Horowitz- January
Strings, Wings and Curious Things (Sue Horowitz)
Laurie MacAllister & David Glaser- Birches
The Lies the Poets Tell (Laurie MacAllister)
Bruce Cockburn- The Coldest Night of the Year
Greatest Hits (1970-2020) (True North)

Molly Mason, Mike Regenstreif & Jay Ungar (2005)

Jay Ungar & Molly Mason- The Snowstorm
The Pleasures of Winter (Fiddle & Dance)

Next week: Songs of Leonard Cohen – The Middle Years.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday August 10, 2021

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

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

This episode of Stranger Songs was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/53007.html

Theme: The Legacy of Stan Rogers: A postage stamp celebration

My friend Stan Rogers was already one of Canada’s greatest folksingers and songwriters when he died tragically at the young age of 33 on June 2, 1983. On July 21, Canada Post issued a postage stamp honouring Stan Rogers and his contributions to Canadian folk music.

Stan Rogers- Barrett’s Privateers
Between the Breaks…Live! (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

Paul Mills- 45 Years
The Other Side of the Glass (Borealis)
Dave Fry- Giant
Troubadour (Dave Fry)
Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers- Make and Break Harbour
The Best Times After All: Live (Snow Goose Songs)
Stan Rogers- Fogarty’s Cove
Fogarty’s Cove (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)
Tom Lewis- Northwest Passage
Poles Apart (Self-Propelled Music)

Stan Rogers- Plenty of Hornpipe
Fogarty’s Cove (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

Lui Collins- Second Effort
Baptism of Fire (Green Linnet)
Priscilla Herdman- Turnaround
Forgotten Dreams (Flying Fish)
Laura Smith- Song of the Candle
Remembering Stan Rogers: An East Coast Tribute (Brookes Diamond Productions)
Stan Rogers- The Jeannie C.
Turnaround (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

John Gorka- Lock-keeper
Writing in the Margins (Red House)
Short Sisters- Tiny Fish for Japan
Live from Four States (Black Socks Press)
Stan Rogers- White Squall
From Fresh Water (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

Stan Rogers- The Field Behind the Plow
Northwest Passage (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)
Priscilla Herdman- Lies
Seasons of Change (Flying Fish)
Garnet Rogers- Sailor’s Rest
Summer’s End (Snow Goose Songs)
Stan Rogers- The Mary Ellen Carter
Between the Breaks…Live! (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

Ofra Harnoy- Barrett’s Privateers
On the Rock (Analekta)

Next week: Music from my high school years: 1967-1971

Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Canadian Spaces – CKCU – Saturday August 3, 2013

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

This week’s show was co-hosted by Mike Regenstreif and Chris White.

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). It was hosted for more than 33 years by the late Chopper McKinnon and is now hosted by Chris White and a rotating cast of co-hosts. Today was my third time in the co-host’s chair.

Guest: Sneezy Waters

Steel Rail- Cool, Cool Walls

River Song (Crossties Music)

Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop- The Hill

Red Shoes (Borealis)

Russ Kelley- Sometimes It’s So Simple

Crazy Shades of Blue (Ark Road)

Allan Fraser- Dancehall Girls

Supermoon preview (Allan Fraser)

The Short Sisters- Upon Finding Just One

Downsized (Black Socks Press)

Ana Miura- Get Free

Dancing Alone: Songs of William Hawkins (True North)

Me & My Uncle- Next Train Blues

Me & My Uncle (Laughing Cactus)

Jayme Stone- Radio Wassoulou

The Other Side of the Air (Jayme Stone)

Tom Russell & the Norwegian Wind Ensemble- St. Olav’s Gate

Aztec Jazz (Frontera)

Night Sun- Summer Songs

One Moment of Grace (Borealis)

Anna McGarrigle, Chaim Tannenbaum, Lily Lanken, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright- Dink’s Song

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle (Nonesuch)

The Good Lovelies- Hallelujah

Live at Revolution (Six Shooter)

The next six songs punctuated our conversation with Sneezy Waters.

Sneezy Waters & Mike Regenstreif (Photo: Chris White)

Sneezy Waters- Bill Morgan and His Gal

Live in the studio

Sneezy Waters- License to Kill

Live in the studio

Sneezy Waters- Do Re Mi

Live in the studio

Sneezy Waters- The Eddystone Light

Live in the studio

Sneezy Waters- I Heard the Bluebird Sing

Sneezy Waters (Sneezy Waters)

Sneezy Waters- Stars Fell on Alabama

Live in the studio

The rest of the songs on the show were by artists who will be at the Ottawa Folk Festival, September 4-8. ottawafolk.com

Emmylou Harris- My Songbird

Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Amanda Rheaume- Ancient Rime

Keep a Fire (Amanda Rheaume)

Lynn Miles- Million Brilliant

Downpour (Lynn Miles) – new release

Chris Smither- Miner’s Blues

Time Stands Still (Signature Sounds)

The show is now available for online listening. cod.ckcufm.com/programs/129/13030.html

I’ll be co-hosting Canadian Spaces again on October 19.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

The Short Sisters – Downsized

THE SHORT SISTERS

Downsized

Black Socks Press

ss.mapping.com

I really like what happens when three talented women singers come together in glorious harmony. Groups like the Wailin’ Jennys, the Good Lovelies, Herdman, Hills & Mangsen (Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills, Cindy Mangsen) and the Marigolds – all of them very different in sound and repertoire – are quite wonderful with what they do with a song.

Along with the groups mentioned above, the Short Sisters are one of my all-time favorite trios of harmonizing women. They’ve been singing together since 1979, but Downsized is just their fifth album and their first since 2002 – and like its predecessors, the CD is a treat from the first song to the last. In fact, the opening paragraph I wrote 11 years ago for my Sing Out! magazine review of their previous album, Love and Transportation, is just as applicable to Downsized:

“The Short Sisters – Fay Baird, Kate Seeger and Kim Wallach – are not real sisters.  However, when their voices combine in sweet harmony on this set of traditional and contemporary songs drawn from a variety of sources, they sure do sound like siblings who have been harmonizing for a lifetime. It is also obvious that they have chosen and arranged these songs, to borrow a phrase from the late Townes Van Zandt, simply for the sake of the song and the joy of singing. When they’re not singing a cappella, the Short Sisters keep the arrangements tasteful and simple, acoustic guitars played by Kim and Kate, banjo by Fay and occasionally, some very nice harmonica work by Dean Spencer.”

The only thing I need to add is that Kate also plays autoharp on a couple of songs on the new album.

While all 16 songs in the hour-long set are delightful, a few of my favorites include “The Vikings,” a satirical tune by Jez Lowe (perhaps my very favorite British songwriter), a beautiful version “Ca’ the Yowes,” a Scottish song written or collected by Robert Burns, Kim’s “Home in Old New Jersey,” a delightfully arranged nostalgic piece about the state she grew up in, and “Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt,” Otis Jackson’s tribute to the president who introduced the New Deal (this is the song my friend Jesse Winchester rewrote about 40 years ago to also pay tribute to the Canadian politicians whose policies allowed safe haven for Vietnam War resistors).

I was also delighted to hear the Short Sisters’ version of “Upon Finding Just One,” a terrific round written by my neighborhood pal Ann Downey, the traditional “Goin’ Down to Tampa,” and Lester Simpson’s “Twenty-Four Seven,” a labor song for these times we’re living in.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif