Featured Artist for April 19: R.E.M.

Well friends, it's all come down to this. For the penultimate episode (and final Featured Artist) of Up All Night, I'm saving the best for last. That's right, we're shining our spotlight on arguably the greatest band in the history of college radio: R.E.M.

As mentioned previously, Up All Night is on final approach, giving way the first week in May to my new show OVER EASY, and with the final episode not having a Featured Artist (I've another surprise in store!) I felt the best way to end things off would be to showcase my all-time favourite band. And I plan to do it in a novel way.

R.E.M. has for nearly 30 years defined the sound of a generation of college radio bands and fans alike. And in celebration of their unique contribution to the genre, I plan to play "Firsts" from R.E.M. No, this is not a song or album of theirs, but I will play the lead title from each of their studio albums including their 1982 debut EP Chronic Town - a total of 16 songs in all!

Artists put a lot of effort deciding which tracks should lead off their albums and this Tuesday we'll honour that work and jam to some great R.E.M. titles in the process. Sound like fun?  Well, I hope so!

So join me, DJ Mark, and tune in Tuesday from 2-6am Mountain time for what I know will be a very memorable episode of Up All Night!

Featured Artist for April 12: Peter Murphy

Those who know me, know I absolutely adore the music of Peter Murphy. I've been waiting a while to present this very special program to coincide with his latest release. At last, his forthcoming album Ninth will be out in early June, and a new 2-song single ("I Spit Roses" with B-Side "The Prince & Old Lady Shade") has just dropped!

I'll forego you the lengthy bio this week, as you can read that here. There's really not much I could add to a discussion of his prolific and well-documented career, anyway. But I will say this, Peter's unearthly baritone voice and slender, ghostly features have earned him a place in alt-rock history as the Godfather of Goth, or simply the Gothfather. His uncanny knack for ethereal lyrics and compelling musical arrangements is the stuff of legend. We'll feature his solo works principally, as his work with Bauhaus is a show unto itself.

So, if you love Peter Murphy's music as much as I do, you won't want to miss this week's episode of Up All Night, airing Tuesday at 2am Mountain. If you have a favourite tune of Peter's you'd like to request, please do so in the comments section below.

Cheers eh! -DJ Mark

Featured Artist for April 5: The Ocean Blue

The Ocean Blue, formed in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1986, is an American indie pop band that combines melodic guitars and synthesizers. Its core original members included David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Steve Lau on keyboards/saxophone, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Rob Minnig on drums and vocals.

Its current line-up includes David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Oed Ronne on keyboards/guitar/vocals, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Peter Anderson on drums.

The band's sound may be best described as jangly guitar-based modern rock. Influences include such bands as The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, The Chameleons, Echo & the Bunnymen and New Order. The Ocean Blue's earliest shows always consisted of a healthy dose of covers by these bands. To this day, The Smiths and New Order covers still punctuate concert encores.

Early career

The Ocean Blue (their name influenced by the opening line in the poem "The History of The U.S." by Winifred Sackville Stoner, Jr.), first met in junior high and cut a series of demos while in high school, with friend Scott Stouffer sitting in on drums. They managed to get two of their earliest recordings, "On Growing Up" and "Wounds Of A Friend", included on Lancaster's local Christian Radio Station WJTL's "Preliminary Hearing" cassette compilation in late 1986. The compilation also included very early work from friends and mentors of The Ocean Blue, noted local artists and alternative rock legends, The Innocence Mission. Another school friend Rob Minnig, would join as permanent drummer in 1987, and the classic line-up of Schelzel/Lau/Minnig/Mittan would continue through 1994.

Sire Record Years

The Ocean Blue's members were just teenagers and still in high school when they signed a three-album deal in 1988 with Sire Records, at the behest of Sire founder Seymour Stein. The Ocean Blue's self-titled album debuted in the fall of 1989 and many listeners were surprised to learn that the band wasn't British. The first single release was the song "Between Something and Nothing", an Echo & the Bunnymen-inspired rocker which hit the modern rock top-10 in 1989. Their busy calendar included an appearance on one of the first episodes of "Club MTV with Downtown Julie Brown". The follow-up single "Drifting, Falling" was also a top 10 hit, and featured a video of the band in various locations in and around their hometown of Hershey. The band's two videos received massive rotation on the fledgling MTV show "Post-Modern MTV". The band later joined labelmates The Mighty Lemon Drops and John Wesley Harding on the 1990 Laugh Tour and EP, to which they recorded and submitted "Renaissance Man", a cover of the 1982 hit by New Wave Christian rock band The 77's. All of this promotion helped the band sell over 150,000 units of the record.

After a lengthy tour and time in the studio, in 1991 they released the lush and dreamy sounding Cerulean. It had two hits in the modern rock platform. "Ballerina Out of Control" was a #3 hit on the Modern Rock chart, and "Mercury" followed at #27. Both featured videos that fully displayed the band's deepening atmospherics. Cerulean managed to sell 175,000 copies just as the grunge explosion of late 1991 hit and changed the music business. During this time, drummer Rob Minnig and his brother Pat Minnig began to hone their song production and mixing abilities, which would later be reflected on the next album and its b-sides, which the band chose to produce themselves.

The final Sire Records release came in 1993 with Beneath the Rhythm and Sound. This album saw the band adding more lavish sounds but still riding on the same formula that had gained it such a following. "Sublime" received top 40 airplay, with a video filmed amongst the steaming, geothermal geysers of Iceland. The album sold over 100,000 copies. There was no second single that had the charting stature of "Sublime", but the Peace and Light EP released in 1994 helped wrap up the Sire contract for the group.

Before the close of 1993, the band contributed songs to the Eric Stoltz film Naked in New York. Originally, the group was asked to cut a new song, and the band wrote and recorded "City Traffic". For reasons unknown, the song was scrapped and instead two other tracks from their third album were included instead. The song still remains in the band's vaults.

For the duration of their 1993/1994 tour in support of Beneath the Rhythm And Sound, the band toured as a five-piece with newly added second guitarist Edward 'Oed' Ronne. Westwood One Radio Networks also recorded the group's June 20th, 1994 concert in Ventura, California for a promotional CD. To this day, it is the band's only official live album. After getting a spot on ABC for new bands and playing the usual late night shows such as Conan O'Brien, it seemed as if the band had made it.

During this time, keyboardist/sax player and original member Steve Lau had begun to make his intentions clear, he was becoming more interested in the music business and wanted to move from Hershey to New York City. Further issues arose within the band, when Lau publicly came out that he was gay. In a 1995 Out magazine interview, he claimed that his homosexuality was the reason for his departure, as it had caused friction with the more conservative leaning members of the group. Concurrently, the band had also been looking for a reason to include friend and touring guitarist Ronne in more of the band's songwriting. It seemed a good match as Steve wanted to leave the group and Oed wanted to join.

Despite the departure of Lau, the band ended his era on a high note, with a live cover-version of The Smiths classic "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" as on the Peace & Light EP. Peace And Light would feature the only recordings of the five-piece The Ocean Blue released to the public. Steve Lau exited the band in late 1994, and Oed Ronne was brought in full time. Lau later became a record executive with a Sire records subsidiary known as Kinetic, a label specializing in indie dance music. (In the latter years, it appears that these childhood friends had somewhat buried any ill-will. Lau was spotted by many fans at the groups' October 2000 New York City Mercury Lounge concert, and in the spirit of good cheer, David Schelzel and the Ocean Blue directed accolades to Steve from the stage.)

Subsequent career

By 1996, gone was the light and airy synthesized sounds of the band, and in was more guitar driven music thanks in part to Oed Ronne. Mercury Records picked up the band and released See the Ocean Blue that fall.

See the Ocean Blue was released to lukewarm results despite Ronne's renewed input. At the last minute, the company cancelled plans to film a video for the second single "Slide", and never really promoted the album at all. Despite a nationwide tour, it was a victim of the global record company mergers and purges of that engulfed late 1996 and early 1997. Literally overnight, numerous bands worldwide were dropped by their labels. These record company politics and shakeups also left one of the band's idols, Morrissey, without a record deal for over seven years.

In 1999, after three years of downtime, the band recorded and self-released Davy Jones Locker through their website. It was a breezy album reflecting nearly every style of their careers, and for the first time it featured lead vocals by David, Oed Ronne, and even drummer Rob Minnig. Because of its indie status, it received little airplay.

Two EPs, Denmark and Ayn were released by March Records in promotion of the album and tour, and each featured three new b-sides. The band was producing new material at a great pace, with over twenty songs recorded in just over a year.

Finally in 2001, Davy Jones Locker was resequenced, remastered, and re-released on March Records. Again, little fanfare and touring was put into promoting the album. March Records marketed both the album and the EPs, but the band's dedicated fan base had seemingly moved on. Growing weary of touring, around 2000 or 2001 Rob Minnig decided to leave the group after fourteen years, and Peter Anderson (a friend of the band from Minneapolis, Minnesota) was brought in for live shows and eventually permanent recording work.

As the band members are now in their mid-thirties, their music has taken a backseat to their professional jobs and families. In 2004, the band self-released the EP Waterworks via their website. A diverse collection of music is found on this six-song disc, again showcasing Schelzel and Ronne's keen ability to craft '60s-inspired pop-music, with Bobby Mittan's basslines and Peter Anderson's rapid-fire drumming. The Orange Peels' Allen Clapp also contributes music and production to the EP. In 2004, the group toured select dates around the nation, even adding The Owls' saxophonist Brian Tighes as an homage to Steve Lau's sound.

In 2005, to reciprocate, Oed Ronne and Peter Anderson contributed to Allen Clapp and The Orange Peels' album Circling The Sun. In October of that same year, David Schelzel entered the studio to record a solo version of Adolphe Adam's 1847 Christmas classic "O Holy Night". This song was available only as a digital download via the band's website for the 2005 holiday season.

In late 2005, the Ocean Blue's entire five studio album catalogue and the Waterworks EP became available for purchase on iTunes, as well as the band's first four videos.

On June 1, 2006, the Ocean Blue's Schelzel/Mittan/Ronne/Anderson line-up played its first ever South American concert, with a show at Teatro Rajatabla El Llonja, Barranco-Lima, Peru.

In July 2010, the Ocean Blue's long-unreleased 1993 studio track "City Traffic" was uploaded to You Tube, with an accompanying homemade video. The song was originally intended for release with the Eric Stoltz-starred film soundtrack "Naked In New York", but was dropped in favor of two other songs from the band's third album.

In December 2010, the band's website announced that a new record may be released in 2011. The website also offered a free Christmas download of a newly recorded cover version of the ancient Basque Carol "The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came", by David Schelzel and Don Peris.

DJ Mark Says...

"I became a fan of The Ocean Blue in the late 80s after hearing one of their songs on a Sire Records sampler. I was immediately charmed by their simple, pure arrangements and wistful style. I hope you enjoy this exploration of the career of a band whose fame never approached their collective talent for songwriting and performance."

acknowledgements: wikipedia.com; theoceanblue.com

Featured Artist for March 29: Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey (born 22 May 1959), known primarily as Morrissey, is an English lyricist and singer. Morrissey was born in Davyhulme, Lancashire to Irish Catholic immigrants. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band the Smiths. The band was highly successful in the UK but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career, making the top ten of the UK Singles Chart in the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Widely regarded as an important innovator in indie music, Morrissey has been described by music magazine NME as "one of the most influential artists ever," and The Independent has stated "most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status he has reached in his lifetime." Pitchfork Media has called him "one of the most singular figures in Western popular culture from the last 20 years."

Morrissey's lyrics have been described as "dramatic, bleak, funny vignettes about doomed relationships, lonely nightclubs, the burden of the past and the prison of the home." He is also noted for his unique baritone vocal style, though he's known to use falsetto for emphasis. His forthright, often contrarian opinions, especially on the subject of race, have led to a number of media controversies, and he has also attracted media attention for his advocacy of vegetarianism and animal rights. He has also been noted for his quiff haircut as well as his performance style of his early years.

DJ Mark sez:

“I’ll leave it there, as Morrissey’s bio is excruciatingly well documented in the popular press around the world. It’s safe to say I could write a book out of all that’s been compiled by and about him throughout his storied career. But unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 30 years, you likely know all too well about his influence on music, pop culture and his songcrafting as an art form unique unto itself. Morrissey’s impact on music, his fans and other musicians is simply too large to ignore. Therefore, Up All Night will cast our artist spotlight squarely on THE MOZZER this week. Priscilla will be joining me in the booth and we’ll have lots of great tunes and conversation to share. So tune in and turn on eh!”

Featured Artist for March 15: The Lightning Seeds

The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer) in 1989.

Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie, The Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following Jollification (1994). The group experienced commercial success throughout the 1990s and are well-known for their single "Three Lions", a collaboration with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner which reached No. 1 in the UK in 1996 and 1998.

1989–1993: Formation and early years

In 1989 Ian Broudie began recording alone under the name Lightning Seeds and achieved success with the psychedelic and synthpop hit "Pure", from the album Cloudcuckooland, which reached the UK Top 20. The same year "Joy" and "All I Want" were also released but failed to make an impression. "Pure" had some success in the US Billboard Top 40 reaching #32. Both "Pure" and "All I Want" also reached the Modern Rock Tracks top 10. In 1991 Broudie returned to song-writing and moved labels from Rough Trade to Virgin.

The album Sense (1992) featured the song "The Life of Riley", written by Broudie for his son, which reached #28 in the UK Singles Chart and just registered at #98 in the US Billboard Hot 100. An instrumental version of the song later became better known as the BBC TV theme for the "Goal of the Month" competition. The album Sense would mark Broudie's first Lightning Seeds song-writing collaborations with former Specials singer Terry Hall. The album's title track "Sense", co-written with Hall and climbed to #31 in the UK Singles Chart, however the album only achieved #53.

1994–1998: Touring years and commercial success

Broudie's contract expired with Virgin and Epic agreed to sign him. Broudie put other projects on hold and embarked on a touring schedule. By the end of 1993 Broudie had finished the Jollification (1994) album, which included contributions from Terry Hall and Simon Rogers as well as Ian McNabb. A promotional tour began in August 1994 with their lineup consisting of guitarist Paul Hemmings, drummer Chris Sharrock, bassist Martyn Campbell and keyboardist Ali Kane. The tour benefited from the success of the second single from the album "Change", which reached #13 in the UK Singles Charts, becoming Lightning Seeds second UK top twenty hit. The album Jollification became a critical success and the singles taken from this album, "Lucky You", "Marvellous" and "Perfect" made noticeable impact. Mark Farrow's album cover featured the use of computer graphics to create an enormous strawberry and depicting seeds with superimposed human faces.

The band purchased Eel Pie Studios, created using a barge moored on the River Thames, from Pete Townshend of The Who. During this period a number of songs were recorded for the fourth studio album Dizzy Heights. The single "Ready or Not" was released ahead of the album and reached #20 in the UK Singles chart.

In 1996 The Football Association commissioned Broudie and Lightning Seeds to write theme music for the Euro '96 football tournament. Broudie agreed on the condition that comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel wrote the lyrics. The resulting song "Three Lions" became the band's first #1 on the UK Singles Chart and was adopted as a football chant, not only in the UK but also in countries such as Germany, where the single and accompanying video reached #16 in their charts.

During this period the band achieved three more UK Top 20 hits, including a cover version of The Turtles "You Showed Me", which became one of their biggest hits. Between 1996 and 1997 the band's line-up changed. Chris Sharrock left to work with World Party and was replaced by Keith York & Mat Priest from Dodgy. Angie Pollock, who had previously worked with Shakespears Sister and Terry Hall, replaced Ali Kane on keyboards.

1997 saw the release of Like You Do... and a UK promotional tour followed. "What You Say", one of two new songs included with the compilation, was released but failed to register in the top forty. Part way through the tour Zak Starkey, son of the Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, replaced Priest on drums. In 1998 "Three Lions 98" was recorded for the World Cup in France, featuring a re-written lyric. The song reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart and became the first song to top the charts on two separate occasions with different sets of lyrics. In 1998, the Lightning Seeds also performed on the Main Stage at both the Glastonbury Festival and the V Festival in the UK.

1999–2005: Tilt and hiatus

Their album Tilt (1999) was dance-oriented and featured collaborations with Stephen Jones. The single "Life's Too Short" was heralded by BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles as "one of the band's strongest singles to date" and rose to #27 in the UK Singles Chart. ""Sweetest Soul Sensations" reached #67 and did not attract serious attention.

The Lightning Seeds performed along with Space and Stereophonics at Cream 2000. In 2002 Broudie confirmed, in the Liverpool Echo, that The Lightning Seeds were to take a long break after a final show at Liverpool's L2 venue. In 2002 Italian dance music producer Alex Farolfi sampled "You Showed Me" for his first solo single "Burnin'", which featured Corinna Joseph.

2006–present: Reunion and Four Winds

The band's second greatest hits album The Very Best of the Lightning Seeds was released on June 12 2006, followed by the re-release of "Three Lions", which rose to #9 in the UK Singles Chart. In the summer of 2006 Broudie formed a new Lightning Seeds line-up for indoor shows and festival appearances.

The band released their sixth studio album Four Winds, in 2009 Numerous festival dates followed with both Martyn Campbell and Angie Pollock reprising their roles in what was now once again a four piece group, with the position on the drum stool taken by Rob Allum. In a tour that took in numerous dates, including Dockfest, Cornbury, Guilfest, Cardiff big Weekend (where Angie contracted swine flu so the band performed for the only time to date as a three piece) Liverpool Philarmonic Hall and the V Festival, they played old and new tracks together to promote the new album. During December 2009 Broudie performed on a short acoustic tour, sharing the shows with James Walsh from Starsailor. He played along side Angie Pollock on keyboards with Riley Broudie contributing on guitar. In early 2010, a short Lightning Seeds tour was announced. Angie Pollock returned on keyboards, the Drummer was Stephen Gilchrist and Didz Hammond played Bass, with Riley continuing on guitar.

A string of summer dates followed, taking in dates across the country as far as York's Galtres Festival, Hampton Pool, Wychwood Festival, a gig at the Gloucester Guildhall as an approach to two Glastonbury Festival shows amongst many others. The line up changed again; Riley remained on guitar, Martyn Campbell returned on the Bass, Raife Burchill on drums and James Bagshaw (of The Moons) on keyboards.

A one-off gig in Indonesia at the Jakarta Playground festival, coupled with a long flight home was the Lightning Seeds based highlight of October and the lineup had changed slightly; the band returned to a 4 piece, with Rob Allum again replacing Raife on drums and Riley having gone to university.

DJ Mark says: "I've always loved the sweet yet sincere sound of The Lightning Seeds" since discovering them in the early 90s. Ian Broudie has a knack for creating wonderful pop tunes with incredible catchiness, sensibility and, above all, fun! I hope you enjoy the selections I'll feature this week from a truly wonderful band!"

acknowledgement: wikipedia.com

Featured Artist for February 22: Sarah Harmer

This week on Up All Night, we feature a true Canadian original, the sublimely talented Sarah Harmer. Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Sarah gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the scarcely-known Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she was invited to join a Toronto band, The Saddletramps. For three years, she juggled The Saddletramps with her studies in philosophy and women's studies at Queen's University.

After leaving The Saddletramps, Sarah put together a band of her own with several Kingston, Ontario musicians, and settled on the name Weeping Tile. The band released its first independent cassette in 1994. Soon afterward, they signed to a major label, and the cassette was re-released in 1995 as eepee. The band quickly became a popular draw on the rock club circuit and on campus radio with their subsequent albums, but never broke through to the mainstream, and broke up in 1998 after being dropped from their label.

Also in 1998, Sarah recorded a set of pop standards as a Christmas gift for her father. After hearing it, her friends and family convinced her to release it as an album, and in 1999 she released it independently as Songs for Clem. Sarah quickly began working on another album, and in 2000, she released You Were Here.

A poppier, more laid-back effort than her work with Weeping Tile, You Were Here became Harmer's mainstream breakthrough, spawning the hits "Basement Apartment" and "Don't Get Your Back Up". The album also appeared on many critics' year-end lists, including TIME magazine, which called it the year's best debut album. It was eventually certified platinum for sales of 100,000 copies in Canada. Almost half of the album (including both of its major hits) consisted of songs she had previously recorded with Weeping Tile or The Saddletramps.

In 2004, Sarah released All of Our Names. The album included the singles "Almost", which made the top 20 on Canadian pop charts, and "Pendulums".

Her fourth album, I'm a Mountain, was released in Canada on November 8, 2005 and in the United States in February 2006. It was nominated for the 2006 Polaris Music Prize, a jury-selected $20,000 cash prize for the Canadian album of the year.

Sarah has also appeared as a guest vocalist on albums by other artists, including Blue Rodeo, Great Big Sea, Rheostatics, Bruce Cockburn, Luther Wright and the Wrongs, Skydiggers, The Weakerthans, Neko Case and Great Lake Swimmers.

In February 2007, Sarah received three Juno Award nominations. I'm a Mountain was up for Best Adult Alternative Album and her DVD Escarpment Blues was up for Best Music DVD. Sarah herself was also up for Songwriter of the Year for her work on "I Am Aglow", "Oleander" and "Escarpment Blues".

In 2010, Sarah released a fifth album, Oh Little Fire, which has been nominated for three Juno Awards.

Sarah is also active in the environmental preservation arena as well. In 2005, she co-founded PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land), an organization which campaigned to protect the Niagara Escarpment from a proposed gravel development which would see some parts of wilderness near the escarpment removed. To support the organization, she and her acoustic band embarked on a tour of the escarpment, hiking the Bruce Trailand performing at theatres and community halls in towns along the way. A documentary DVD of this tour was released in 2006 as Escarpment Blues.

Sarah has performed and canvassed in support of the NDP and Marilyn Churley, her friend in the fight for the protection of the Niagara Escarpment.

Up All Night is thrilled to present this true Canadian treasure in all her musical glory. Listen in Tuesday from 2am-6am Mountain for a real treat. And if you're a fan of Sarah, leave a comment!

acknowledgements: wikipedia.com, sarahharmer.com