Radio gets onstage

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This article was published 22/09/2015 (3678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hanging out with bands and talking about music every week — Samuel Thompson and the rest of the Witchpolice Radio contributors are living the dream.

The Witchpolice Radio podcast, which was started in 2012, is about to hit its 150th episode, and in a stroke of good timing, it’s the show that’s been chosen by the Garbage Hill network to be performed live at the Handsome Daughter.

“I didn’t have to even force it,” Thompson, a St. James resident, said. “I wanted to do something to celebrate anyway.”

Over the last three years, Thompson has been interviewing local bands and performers. When the show started, it was a way for Thompson to keep up with friends he used to play music with, something he found hard to do for after becoming a father of two. Elliott Walsh, known on the show as Nestor Wynrush, has been involved from the start.

“He’s become a random co-host and contributes a few episodes as well,” Thompson said. “It was kind of an obvious choice to have him on our first live show. I like his music so it was a good fit.”

“I’m super excited,” Walsh said. “It will be cool to hear the final results and how people will react.”

The two, together with Rob Crooks, Jonathan Askholm and Ryan Sanders have made Witchpolice Radio into what it is today. Developing from a forum to talk with musician friends, the roster of guests has grown to include new and out-of-town bands as well as other people in the community who enjoy talking about music. 

“I found that the show has been growing organically through that period,” Walsh said. “It started with archiving local tapes and songs and so forth, then it was going to hang out with people and talk and hear what they have to say, now we have the look-backs and the oral histories (of bands)… everything was evenly paced, nothing was rushed.”

The show separates itself from other music podcasts with its unique format.

“We’ll select songs that connect to a theme word,” Thompson said. “It makes (the guests) think a little too, and you find out what people have in their music collections. If it’s a weird word they have to stretch it a little.”

For the live show on Sept. 27, however, the format will be slightly different. Instead of having a theme word, four guests will chat with the hosts before performing a few of their songs. The live music aspect is a new thing for Witchpolice, and the group is looking forward to interacting with their audience.

“Sometimes I hear nothing about the show,” Thompson said, laughing. “I look at the download numbers and think okay, people downloaded this, but did they like it? Did they download it and then delete it immediately?”

“The podcast world is completely different from doing campus or even commercial radio,” Walsh added. “You’re actually seeing the downloads as they happen and you get some sort of reaction. I’m excited to put together the two together, the live performance and the actual interviews.” 

Check out www.witchpolice.com for more info and episodes. The live show will take place at 7p.m. on Sept. 27 at the Handsome Daughter (61 Sherbrook St.). Admission is free.