NAUGHTY, NICE & NOISE SPILL MAGAZINE TEARS INTO THE BEST & WORST OF THE 2025 CHRISTMAS RELEASES (THE ALBUMS) It is that time of year again. The stores are getting busy, Hallmark movies are the television, and music is in the air. This [...]
PUT YOUR POLITICAL MESSAGE ACROSS WITH A LITTLE HONEY A CONVERSATION WITH SEAN ONO LENNON In 1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote and recorded a song that would go on to become a perennial Christmas favourite. Fans in the U.K. had to wait until [...]
A CELEBRATION OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT US TO THIS POINT A CONVERSATION WITH DAVE BIDINI OF RHEOSTATICS The recently released, lucky 13th studio album The Great Lakes Suite from Toronto’s Rheostatics celebrates the band’s 45-year history and [...]
BIRDS AND MUSICIANS HAVE A LOT IN COMMON A CONVERSATION WITH COLEMAN WILLIAMS Let us get this out of the way, immediately. Coleman Williams is part of one of the most important musical families of all time. Hank Williams is his great [...]
REWIND, REMIX, REIMAGINE A CONVERSATION WITH ROLAND GIFT OF FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS The person who unwraps a copy of the Fine Young Cannibals’ recent release FYC40: A Definitive Anthology on Christmas morning this year might be a vintage-minded [...]
JUST GET OFF THE FUCKING PHONE A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN FAMIGLIETTI OF HEALTH If you’ve spent any time in underground music communities, or surfing through music-adjacent web forums, then there is an incredibly good chance you’re familiar with [...]
NAUGHTY, NICE & NOISE SPILL MAGAZINE TEARS INTO THE BEST & WORST OF THE 2025 CHRISTMAS RELEASES (THE SINGLES) Well, it is that time of year again, to gather friends and family and get together for Christmas, the most wonderful time of [...]
IT WAS A VERY POSITIVE ALBUM, STILL IS A CONVERSATION WITH JEREMY CUNNINGHAM OF LEVELLERS Levellers formed in 1988. Taking their name from a 1600s British political movement, it was no wonder that the folk-punk and post-punk band had a [...]
THE MAGIC OF IT ALL A CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN WILLOUGHBY We lost Dave Cousins of Strawbs fame in July of this year. It was a huge loss in many ways. And although new material from Strawbs camp is always welcome, the new documentary, The Magic Of [...]
WE COULDN’T LET THE GRASS GROW UNDER OUR FEET A CONVERSATION WITH CHRIS CONNELLY OF FINI TRIBE When Chris Connelly and David Miller formed Fini Tribe in 1984, they could not have predicted that over 40 years later they would not only still [...]
WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF REFERENCE A CONVERSATION WITH ALEXISONFIRE’S DALLAS GREEN On November 7, Alexisonfire returned with their first studio release since 2022’s Otherness. Copies of Old Masters Vol. 1 collects four songs, originally by The [...]
ASKING FOR TROUBLE A CONVERSATION WITH COLIN MOCHRIE It’s been over 35 years since his first appearance on the British version of the popular improvised comedy television show Whose Line is it Anyway? but Colin Mochrie is still enjoying making [...]
OUR ONLY EXPECTATIONS ARE TO PLEASE OURSELVES, RIGHT? A CONVERSATION WITH CESCHI RAMOS OF CODEFENDANTS From my first moments with Ceschi Ramos of The Codefendants, a few things are obvious. One, he’s got a genuine passion for music, and two, [...]
THERE IS A LOT OF SOUL SEARCHING IN THERE A CONVERSATION WITH SIMON RAYMONDE Simon Raymonde has had, and continues to have, a rather fascinating career. Along with Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie, he was one third of Cocteau Twins—he joined [...]
YOU SHOULDN’T BE SETTLING AT ANY STEP OF THE WAY A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN-ANGUS MACDONALD OF THE TREWS For the past 20 years, The Trews have taken Canada by storm with smash hits like “Highway of Heroes,” “Not Ready to [...]
SHED A DIFFERENT LIGHT ON RINGO A CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR AARON BADGLEY “I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but I’m a big Beatle fan!” Spoken ironically and in jest, the quote above is truly an understatement. Aaron Badgley has been a [...]
ONE FINE MORNING A CONVERSATION WITH PAUL HOFFERT OF LIGHTHOUSE When keyboardist Paul Hoffert met vocalist/drummer Skip Prokop, previously of The Paupers, they discovered many commonalities between the two. Both were already firmly established [...]
WITHOUT WIND/WITHOUT AIR A CONVERSATION WITH ROGER ENO I first became aware of Roger Eno in 1983 when I purchased the album, Apollo, an album he recorded with his brother, Brian, and Canadian producer/musician Daniel Lanois. The album, and Roger [...]
IT’S DISCIPLINE, NOT A FORMULA A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN CALABRESE OF DANKO JONES Bassist John Calabrese is one of those people who doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously. In a business that is very cut-throat and unforgiving at times, having [...]
WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON BEING AN ANTI-GATEKEEPING EVENT A CONVERSATION WITH MAC DOWNEY, FESTIVAL DIRECTOR OF THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL MUSIC VIDEO FESTIVAL From November 7-9, the Toronto International Music Video Festival returns for its third [...]
THE ITEMS CARRIED IN JOHN GOURLEY’S SIX-FOOT TOBOGGAN A CONVERSATION WITH PORTUGAL. THE MAN Most musicians who find themselves in possession of a coveted Grammy Award are inclined to stay the course from there. They’ll write songs to [...]
LAST NIGHT ON EARTH A CONVERSATION WITH FINGER ELEVEN’S SCOTT ANDERSON On November 7th, Finger Eleven are set to mark their return with the long-awaited release of Last Night On Earth, their first studio album in a decade. While the Canadian [...]
WHERE’S ONE? A CONVERSATION WITH STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK Strawberry Alarm Clock is back with a new single, their first new music in quite some time. The single “Monsters” features five of the original members: Gene Gunnels (drums, [...]
THE LIGHT STILL SHINES ON THE MAIN A CONVERSATION WITH JORY NASH Regarding the way that people, places, and situations change over time, the phrase, “You can’t go home again” is a poignant one. But singer-songwriter Jory Nash is challenging that [...]
