This week’s Mulligan Stew podcast features our own Leeroy Stagger. He’s the host of Dirty Windshield Radio Hour, Saturdays on CKUA Radio.
His latest album is about to be released. It’s called Pilgrimage.
Leeroy Stagger
Leeroy found inspiration by reading Alastair McIntosh’s brilliant book “Soil and Soul.”
“I wanted to write on the Highland Clearances of the 1700s that pushed my ancestors from Scotland to Northern Ireland and ultimately Nova Scotia. The repercussions of colonialism that shake the branches of my family tree and sadly still ring out throughout my home country of Canada today.”
“It was always so strange to me that I felt more at home in Scotland than in my own country; it makes perfect sense to me now. There is a deep ancestral grief for where we once called home.”
Key to these songs and the entire album is the partnership Leeroy entered into with East Coast legend Joel Plaskett. They played, wrote and produced together.
Joel suggested to Leeroy that they use his Tascam 388, an old 1/4″ 8-track machine. Joel convinced me on the magic, and I started to see the humanness of tape, in all of its warm and unpredictable glory.”
“At this point, we have to ask ourselves what kind of world we want to live in. Digital isolation or a community forward offering of storytelling, of truth in the natural world, of something tangible and real; a bit of the old ways.”
Joel Plaskett’s eleventh album—One Real Reveal is special for several reasons.
Joel sat down with a small Telefunken KM56 microphone and a 4-track recorder and recorded the tracks for One Real Reveal ON CASSETTE TAPE starting with the brilliant High Summer.
This album and its music is bare. Because it is, you find yourself focusing on the music and especially the lyrics. These are words and melodies that will still the air in a concert hall.
IF you can get in.
Joel’s current tour out west is Sold Out. Fittingly, the tour ends at Massey Hall in Toronto.
It too will be Sold Out.
Discover the new sounds of Joel Plaskett. Just like the old Joel Plaskett only quieter, more reflective.
I’ve been waiting many years to have Joel to myself. Just to exchange ideas and passions.
My timing couldn’t have been better. One Real Reveal was well worth the wait.
www.joelplaskett.com
The other welcome guest is our pal Leeroy Stagger. Host of Dirty Windshields Radio Hour on CKUA Saturdays.
But before Leeroy joined us, he was a highly respected singer/songwriter and he continues to write, record and perform his very personal songs.
Leeroy has just released his latest album 3 am Revelations.
In it, Leeroy reflects the life around him. The road, family, social issues and seeking the answers to all his inner questions.
3 am Revelations rocks. Bangers like Watermelon Pink, Count to 10, These Days.
Then finds balance with reflective gems like It’s gonna be alright (someday), Alberta Stars, Life’s a Drag, etc.
It’s good to have friends and partners like Leeroy Stagger. Great album Leeroy! You nailed it.
As I explained when this show first ran in June – I jumped the gun BY MONTHS.
This Summer, I was so eager to let music fans hear Leeroy’s interview and new music, I completely forgot about the release date in October!!!
A senior moment to be sure.
It was supposed to come out in December 2020 which is why there are several Christmas songs included.
Here’s a comment from Amplify Music magazine:
Despite a delayed release date, cancelled tours and a few more COVID-induced bumps along the way, Leeroy Stagger’s 12th full-length album Dystopian Weekends is available now on all digital streaming platforms. To celebrate the release of the album, Leeroy will perform 2 Dystopian Weekends livestream shows on November 6th and 7th through Side Door Access. Get more information and tickets here.
“Touring is so up in the air right now,” says Leeroy. “I had a burning desire to play these songs with a band, and my bandmates Tyson and Ryland happened to be in town for a few days so we got everyone together, including Nick on the drums and a few new friends to play the Dystopian Weekends material. I think the fans will enjoy it.”
Dystopian Weekends contains songs of environmental degradation, greedy land developers, Christmas songs about junkies and alcoholics, songs about race wars in America, modern day dust bowl songs of fleeing political ideology, break-up songs, and songs honouring dead friends. It all seems a bit much on paper, but Leeroy’s skillful song writing and musicianship have honoured it all in a very beautiful, relevant, and artistic way.
This week’s very special interview guest is Leeroy Stagger bringing with him new music from his forthcoming album Dystopian Weekends. Leeroy lets us know that unlike the last two albums he made for wider audiences. This one he made for him. Leeroy also talks about hosting Dirty Windshields on CKUA. It got him through the lockdown. Dystopian Weekends captures the sound of early Byrds, Clapton, Laurel Canyon.
Two stand-out songs – Buffy’s song Greedy Guts and Black Teenagers.
That last song deals with the headlines this very weekend. The Floyd George Murder.
Full disclosure – I jumped the gun on the release date. It’s not coming out until October 1 but as Leeroy says “the whole model of what is an album release has changed. Given Covid, lockdown, and technical innovations it’s a whole new format. So, run with it.”
This week’s very special interview guest is Leeroy Stagger bringing with him new music from his forthcoming album Dystopian Weekends. Leeroy lets us know that unlike the last two albums he made for wider audiences. This one he made for him. Leeroy also talks about hosting Dirty Windshields on CKUA. It got him through the lockdown. Dystopian Weekends captures the sound of early Byrds, Clapton, Laurel Canyon.
Two stand-out songs – Buffy’s song Greedy Guts and Black Teenagers.
That last song deals with the headlines this very weekend. The Floyd George Murder.
Full disclosure – I jumped the gun on the release date. It’s not coming out until well after Summer but as Leeroy says “the whole model of what is an album release has changed. Given Covid, lockdown, and technical innovations it’s a whole new format. So, run with it.”
The complete interview can be heard on The Mulligan Stew Podcast. Right after the show.
The Festival Radio Series launched last week and it airs during the first 30 minutes of The Stew – so this is our second 90 minute Summer Show!
Those 90 minutes become very important.
If you check the playlist below you’ll see we start with the co-host of Festival radio Dawn Pemberton. She’s a sanger!!
Some “Live Butter”
Curtis Mayfield
The Band/The Byrds/Fats/Robert Plant/iskwe & Tom Wilson/Dusty/Beatles/Tony Bennett and k.d.lang.
Also a Frank Zappa Live album Zappa 88: The Last U.S. Show and the haunting doo-wop ballad Love of my Life.
Frank and I got to be pretty good friends. I did maybe 6-8 interviews with him. The last was in his Laurel Canyon house. With young versions of Moon Unit and Dweezil running through the room.
The walls were lined with 1-inch recording tapes..100’s of them. Each one a concert performance from somewhere. He was the best interview in rock – but you had to be prepped and ready because you were dealing with a very sharp mind and a bone-dry sense of humor.
Here are two shots of Frank and I.
Me. Clean shaven and me years later – all hair. Frank was Frank.
Here’s to Frank Zappa. Truly gifted and one-of-a-kind.
To mark the release of his latest album Me And The Mountain, Leeroy Stagger sits down with Terry to discuss the inspiration behind the new collection of songs. The podcast includes the tracks “Broken Generation”, “Open Up Your Heart,” “Fire And Fury,” and “Caught in the Middle”.
Leeroy opens up about addressing a marital rough patch, and past trauma through the new record. Plus, he provides details on the companion album Strange Path due out in September 2019.
I knew Leeroy Stagger was working on and then releasing a new album. I was “waiting inthe weeds” for the first sign of it. (That’s what we “weedies” do)
I’m happy to report that the wait was worth it.
Love Versus is a marvelous collection of songs & storieswith structure, insight and melodies that linger in your head and heart.
I caught up with Leeroy by phone at the home ranch.
In a business filled with gotta be’s and would be’s Leeroy is a true original.Bless his heart
This is a breakthrough LP for Leeroy who grew up in Victoria and was a fixture on the Coast.
His 11th Lp
Killer band..has Elvis Costello’s drummer sitting in.
First music made in Leeroy’s new studio in Lethbridge
It’s been said before that love is a battlefield, and on his latest album Love Versus (out April 7, 2017 through True North Records), Leeroy Stagger comes well armed. The eleventh studio release by the Western Canadian native is also a milestone, marking the first recording made at Stagger’s home studio in southern Alberta. But more significantly, his ever-evolving fusion of roots, rock and pop reaches new heights on Love Versus, resulting in 10 tracks that confirm his status as one of Canada’s best contemporary singer/songwriters.
“Leeroy is one of the most insightful songwriters I have ever come across. He has a gift for distilling complex images, commentary and concepts into brilliantly succinct lyrical one liners,” says Geoff Kulawick, President, True North Records.
It’s not that Stagger needed much more validation; after working with acclaimed producers Russell Broom (Sam Roberts) and Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) on his previous two albums, Stagger teamed up with Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan, Black Mountain, Yukon Blonde) to produce Love Versus, and put together a dream band for the project. Longtime friend and collaborator Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat, The Mounties) remixed and ‘reimagined’, as Stagger would say, the title song and single in Vancouver.
The cornerstone was Pete Thomas, longtime drummer for Elvis Costello, who came up from L.A. for the sessions, joining guitarist Paul Rigby (Neko Case), keyboardist Geoff Hilhorst (The Deep Dark Woods), and Stagger’s longtime bassist Tyson Maiko. Over the course of three weeks, they christened Stagger’s new studio, and in the process changed his perspective on his art.
What is most striking about Love Versus overall is the wisdom at the foundation of each track, and indeed, for anyone who has followed Stagger’s career to this point, it should be apparent that this is the album he’s been destined to make. Since first making his mark on the Canadian independent music scene at the turn of this century, Leeroy Stagger has toured the world, both on his own and with the likes of Steve Earle, Pixies, Modest Mouse and Evan Dando. After almost two decades of consistent output, Stagger certainly does have the respect of both his peers and Canada’s music industry tastemakers. However, the addition ofLove Versus to his (ahem) staggering body of work opens a new chapter, promising to reach many more ears.
Stagger has also announced a 10-date Western Canadian tour, kicking off March 17 at Panorama, BC and ending in Vancouver on April 22. Dates are below. Mar 17 8:00pm Panorama Ski Resort Panorama, BC Mar 18 8:00pm Panorama Ski Resort Panorama, BC Mar 24 8:00pm St. Basil’s Cultural Centre Edmonton, AB Mar 25 8:00pm The Bailey Theatre Camrose, AB Mar 26 8:00pm Tavern 1883 Canmore, AB Apr 19 9:00pm The Queens Nanaimo, BC Apr 20 8:00pm The Waverly Hotel Cumberland, BC Apr 21 8:00pm Sugar Nightclub Victoria, BC Apr 22 9:30pm Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC
Leeroy Stagger Website: http://leeroystagger.com
Leeroy Stagger on Twitter: https://twitter.com/leeroystagger
Leeroy Stagger on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leeroystaggermusic
Leeroy Stagger on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leeroystagger/
Just the way it worked out. The sacred steel of the Campbell Brothers is heard live Friday in Calgary at Festival Hall and Saturday at The Arden in Edmonton. Then Saturday on Mulligan Stew Chuck and Phillip Campbell guest. Their latest release is Beyond These 4 Walls. Also on a busy weekend The Palomino in Calgary welcomes the three amigos Dustin Bentall, Ridley Bent & Leeroy Stagger, they’re buds and decided to tour together for 4-6 shows. After the weekend, they hook up with the Grand Caribou Opry and tour through Winnipeg and the West Coast. Then they rejoin The Opry head back to Alberta for dates in November. 27th The Horowitz in Edmonton. 28th the Ironwood in Calgary. 29th in Bragg creek Comm Centre Enjoy!!
PLAYLIST:
Keep Up Blues
The Rolling Stones
Some Girls (Deluxe)
Hercules
Aaron neville
Uncut (july 2205)
Host
MulliganStew.ca
coming Up Interview with Campbell Bros
Please Come Home
Gary Clark Jr
Live
Key to the Highway/Trouble in Mind
Led Zeppelin
Led Zep 3 (rough Mix)
Why can’t we be frinds?
War
Why can’t we be friends?
Dumaine St
Trombone Shorty
For True
Break
Mulligan Stew
playlist mulliganstew.ca
Interview with Phillip and Chuck Campbell
Campbell Brothers
On Tour
Campbell Brothers
Live
Tonight at Arden. Edmonton
Interview with Phillip and Chuck Campbell
Campbell Brothers
On Tour
Nobodys Fault but Mine
Campbell Brothers
Beyond These 4 Walls
Interview with Phillip and Chuck Campbell
Campbell Brothers
Tonight at Arden. Edmonton
It’s all right now
Campbell Brothers
Beyond These 4 Walls
Embrace another Fall
Robert Plant
Lullaby and ..the ceaseless roar
Break
TDM Mulligan Stew
Coming up Dustin Bentall. Ridley Bent.Leeroy Stagger
Arrow Flight
Boy and Bear
Harlequin Dream
Little Red Rooster
Sam Cooke
The Rhythm and the Blues
Sulphur to Sugercane
Elvis Costello
Secret.Profane.Sugarcane
Host
playlist www.mulliganstew.ca
Coming up Dustin Bentall. Ridley Bent.Leeroy Stagger
Neil Young
Who’s going to stand up?
Storytone
Too many people
Paul McCartney
RAM
Look Out Cleveland
Jackie Greene
Endless Highway
Host
coming up dusty. LeeRoy and Rid
Get up Stand Up
Bob Marley
Legend
Back to the Earth
Jason Mraz
Yes
Helpless
kd lang
Recollection (deluxe)
Host
mulliganstew.ca
Take the money and Run
Dustin Bentall
Six Shooter
Interview with Dustin Bentall. Ridley Bent & Leeroy Stagger
