The Guest List
Thursday June 2nd, 2016 with Joe Reilly
Interviews with Braids, The Cardboard Crowns and The Cave Singers

Today with talk to Braids, the Cardboard Crowns and the Cave Singers. First up we talk to Raphaelle Standell-Preston, the lead vocalist with Braids. The group won the Juno Award for "best alternative album" this year (for Deep In The Iris) and recently released an e.p. called Companion. We talk to Raphaelle about the evolution of the group's sound and how they are performing some of the new songs in concert. In some of her lyrics, Raphaelle is known for exploring difficult topics like rape, sexual abuse and the break up of families. She discusses these in an excellent piece on Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1129-reclamation-through-a-microphone-braids-raphaelle-standell-preston-on-how-songwriting-helped-her-process-sexual-abuse/ We discuss the power of this kind of music (and art in general) and the importance of connection to others through this music. Check out Braids at Ritual on Saturday night, June 4. http://braidsmusic.com/ Hailing from Aylmer, Quebec, the Cardboard Crowns make music that is combination of ska, power punk and funky rock. The group is returning to town to play at Live on Elgin on Saturday night, June 4. We catch up with bassist Frank Cunningham and talk about how the band felt a little tired towards the end of a busy 2015 and what keeps them going and going and going. We also talk about why you should make a cardboard crown and wear it to the show on Saturday night!! http://www.thecardboardcrowns.com/ Finally, my discovery of the week is the group The Cave Singers. I'm late to the Cave Singers' party as the group released album number 5 in the winter - the album is called Banshee. We talk to guitarist Derek Fudesco about pushing the boundaries on the new album and how the band broke from all record companies and crowd funded the new album. Check out The Cave Singers at House of Targ on Friday night (June 3.) http://www.thecavesingers.com/ Good talk and good music. Get out and see some live music this week!!