The Guest List
Thursday August 5th, 2021 with Joe Reilly
The Return of Mick Kern - Part II. Today we feature Mick's solo album called Habitual Orbits recorded and released this week under the moniker The Ring Shepherds.

On the show today we talk to a man who was an integral part of Ottawa's music scene back in the 1980s and early 1990s, having written songs with, recorded with and played live with the Randypeters, the Town Cryers and Porcelain Owl. He was also a celebrated (even award-winning!!) producer/host here at CKCU-FM and few who heard him on air can forget memorable shows by Mick and the Rev. Over 20 years ago Mick Kern moved to Toronto and today he is a respected sports broadcaster working of Sirius XM's NHL Network where he produces and hosts programming. Mick continues to make and play music in Toronto. He has recorded and performed with Cousins of the Moose and Mike Thompson. Now he unleashes his very first solo recording, an album entitled Habitual Orbits recorded under the name The Ring Shepherds. In this version of the Guest List we hear nine of the sixteen songs on the album and talk to Mick about how this recording came together. He talks about personal themes explored in the lyrics, the challenges of putting the album together completely on his own during periods of lockdown and why he feels driven to write and record music. And, as anyone who knows Mick will completely understand, there are plenty of musical references to many of Mick's musical icons and heroes during our conversation. It is always great to talk to Mick about music and it's great to hear the new songs he has created. Check out the full album on the Ring Shepherds Bandcamp site below. https://theringshepherds.bandcamp.com/releases Note that this On Demand version of the program includes 2 songs and 2 interview segments that were not included in the FM broadcast on July 5th, owing to the time constraints of the Guest List. Remember to support independent musicians any way that you can. Purchasing their music is a great way to do this, notably since streaming services pay them next to nothing to use their music. By the way, here is Pitchfork's obituary for Emitt Rhodes who Mick mentioned during the program. https://pitchfork.com/news/emitt-rhodes-dead-at-70/ And if you like, you can hear four songs from Emitt's self-titled album (recorded completely on his own) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CvzawbXLS8 Enjoy