Live at the StuDome
July 11, 2011

Chuck with the clover he picked from the lawn of
Neil Young's childhood home (1123 Grosvenor Ave.)

Your ol' pal Stu's thoughts on the concert, Steve's local yahoo contingent of yore, and bad audiences in general.

Can you tell us about the origins of the TwangTrust?
It was originally my friend Gaylene Dempsey's show. She applied to do an alt-country show shortly before CKUW first came to the FM airwaves, but because she was frequently out of town for work, she thought she should have a permanent co-host as a back-up and she asked me. Initially, I was scared to death of the idea but I soon grew to love it. Gaylene lost interest a couple years into it and I've been a lone wolf ever since. I doubt I'd ever have done it without her, so I'm indebted to her forever.

What can you tell us about TwangTrust listeners? Who are they? Where are they?
International, good-hearted folks, all. Ever since CKUW started their podcasting feature, TwangTrust has been the #1 most downloaded show. That's on top of the dozens of folks who listen to my show each week via my own website (www.twangtrust.ca). That number ranges from 30 to 300, depending on whether a particular episode gets mentioned or linked on someone's blog somewhere. Still, I spent months playing Elliott Brood's first album, begging people to check them out at their first Winnipeg show and there were 3 of us that showed up. And I know the other 2 weren't there because of me. So that puts things in perspective.

Can you talk about the importance of Bruce Springsteen to the show, and to your life in general?
I do have a personal relationship with Bruce Springsteen that I'd like to tell you about. My musical tastes aren't as myopic as you might think, based on my show, but Bruce has been special from early on in many ways. To paraphrase the website www.thestureidexperiment.com (no, I have no idea what that's about) - "None of us are Bruce Springsteen. All of us are Bruce Springsteen. You are now Bruce Springsteen." I learned the history of music from Bruce, through artists he would cover or talk about in interviews - everyone from Duke Ellington to Suicide. I started a fanzine, "Bruceness", dedicated to him back in the prehistoric age of 1981 and even met my wife through it. I do often feel weird playing an established classic-rock artist on a campus station, but I have to. It wouldn't be an honest show otherwise. The first time I heard Bruce was on the original CJUM back in the late '70's. I have been in Bruce Springsteen's dressing room before and Bruce once stood on the actual boardwalk in Asbury Park and said "Ya, I met that dude last night", talking to a friend about me. Plus, I once insulted him to his face. His wife Patti was there and she peed herself laughing.

What is the StuDome?
My living room. My wife and I throw house concerts whenever the opportunity presents itself. We've had Mike Plume, Jim Bryson and Leeroy Stagger through twice each as well as Pat DiNizio from The Smithereens. The coolest show ever was C.R. Avery and his String Quartet. Three violins, a cello, a conductor who played guitar and snare drum and C.R. doing his thing. A friend who came without ever having heard of him, said it was among the ten best shows of his life. And this was a guy who's seen a LOT of shows. Mike Plume christened it The StuDome. It was originally The Stu & Kathy Reid Theatre For The Performing Arts. Many StuDome patrons are just folks who listen to my show, who I don't really know that well. And I should add there are many listeners who have become people I DO know very well. I'm very picky about who I book at the 'Dome, but as dream-come-truey as it is to have my fave bands playing in my living room, sometimes there's something too polite about the whole thing. There's only room for so much politeness in rock'n'roll. I may soon require people to break things when they come to a StuDome show.

Awhile back there was a memo on Facebook where people listed 50 acts they had seen live in concert. Your list was absolutely sick! (As in, good.) Is there any living artist you're still dying to see, or any dream lineup you'd want to see that you haven't already?
I would love to have seen The Cramps, but of course Lux is gone now. The only living, relevant outfit on my list is one of Dan Stuart's projects: either Green on Red or Danny & Dusty. Dan's mostly retired but both acts did reunionesque shows in the last couple of years. I hope more will follow before it's too late. No one in Winnipeg cares about Dan Stuart except me. I'm Mr. Lonely.

Do you ever see a day when you'll hand the reins of TwangTrust over to someone else, permanently? (Brittany, perhaps?
Yes, I'm old and will be dead soon, it's true. That was certainly the motivating factor in raising a child. Five year old Britt is coming along great, playing music "for the whole family" on Mud Puddle Radio every third Saturday at 9a.m. (I'll occasionally tech for her). However, we may soon need to consider a second child as a back-up. This past May, just before going in to see her third Springsteen show in St. Paul, we asked her if she was still a big Bruce fan. Britt said "Uh,... I'm actually more of a Tchaikovsky fan." Damn kids and their classical music...

Another week on the TwangTrust, another new CKUW FunDrive record! CKUW's most downloaded, award-winning weekly show is yet again the leader of the pack. Vrooom! It's all for one and one for all at CKUW... the individual show totals are not a competition in any way... But I'd be fibbing if I didn't say this feels reeeeeal good. Thanks again, folks, for letting me know you appreciatte what happens each week on the TwangTrust and each day on CKUW. I don't take your support for granted and it means the world to me.

Hey - looks like we're up 5o bucks!

$3,150.00!!

It's the second year in a row we've walked the path no local radio show has dared walk before. They say it's not a contest and they're right. CKUW is one big multi-headed, one-hearted organism and it's all for one and one for all. But that doesn't mean I don't have the coolest listeners of any show on any station in the city! You guys!!! Thanks for letting me know you're alive out there. Special thanks to Jeff Robson, David Briggs, Jeffrey Hatcher, Matt and the Geek Street Band, Garth Hardy and all the other lights at the end of my tunnel. I'm gonna let you shine.

$3,110.00!!!

That's what was in the coffers at the end of the TwangTrust's 2007 FunDrive show. Un-freakin-believable. And it's still trickling in! You people are insane. But in such a good way! The first show in CKUW fundrive history to crack the $3,000 mark. I am humbled, flabergasted and at least three other things I don't know how to spell.

Thanks to our red neck pals on the Black Mask, we were joined by Winnipeg's very own Bruce Springsteen tribute band, The Geek St. Band for a few boss tunes and as it turns out, it was probably the band's farewell performance (unless they get invited back to the Harvest Moon Festival, so keep that in mind, promoters).

Next up was a visit from the cutest and subversavist little roots combo in town, Nathan. A pair of gems from their new album Key Principles was only the beginning. Check out the Podcastin' Action at left to hear the gang joined on vocals by the lovely Brittany Magnolia.

It was a special love-filled Valentine's night - one we won't be forgetting anytime soon. Thank you one and all.

The biggest delight at this year's Folk Fest was undoubtedly the first Winnipeg appearance of longtime TwangTrust fave, Amy Rigby. We had the lovely opportunity to sit down and chat with Amy too, unfortunately, the wind was really whipping down the boardwalk that afternoon, and as a result, the recording isn't up to broadcast snuff. It was such a nice chat though, that besides being written up for the August issue of Stylus Magazine, we have the recording here for your listening pleasure, if you don't mind putting up with a bit of wind distortion. I'm buying a new microphone next year, honest.

Listen to Amy Rigby Interview

Billy Cowsill
1948-2006

$2,600!!!

After all the smoke cleared, that's how much TwangTrust listeners managed to bring in during this year's fundrive on CKUW, setting a new fundrive record for a single show. Yet it was no surprise at all, really. Y'all have been an amazing bunch of folks from the get go. It was great to see so many familiar names on the list from fundrives past. I hope to hear from you during the rest of the year as usual too. Congratulations to all the folks who won prize packs.

A huge thanks to all the guys in the Hatcher/Briggs Band too, for coming down to serenade us on one of the coldest nights of the year. The show is now up in the podcast section, so if you missed it, be sure to check out some great new tunes from Winnipeg's finest.

What'd I tell ya? The light at the end of the tunnel was you.

Your ol' pal,
Stu