Stars played the mainstage at the Calgary Virgin Fest. I sat down in the band’s trailer for a chat with Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell. Here’s the audio:

Stars Interview

Constantines played Calgary Virgin Fest main stage on Saturday, and the show featured a guest appearence from The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie. I had a brief chat backstage with drummer Doug MacGregor. Here’s the audio:

 Constantines Interview

Sloan have a new album out called Parallel Play, and are playing a Calgary show in July at Tequila. Chris Murphy from the band called in for a chat. To see the “controversial” National Post piece, click here. Interview Audio:

Sloan Part 1

Sloan Part 2

It seems to be a guy thing. Guys love cereal. Perhaps it’s the ease of filling a bowl with cereal goodness, then simply pouring in some milk. We talked about the phenomenon of sugar cereals, cereals generally and took some calls. Mmmm. Cereal.

Cereal Talk

Cereal Callers #1

Cereal Callers #2

Greg is a Weird Dude. Last week Greg Beharrell (X92.9 Evening/Weekend Guy) and I ate on a patio, and he was complaining about the sun. It turns out, he doesn’t like the sun, or daytime activities at all. Listen to his explanation here:

Greg Hates the Sun

I was talking about who my go-to-girls were for when I’m alone (or thinking about someone else…see post below.) Celebrity-wise, Scarlett J. comes into the picture. Also Estella Warren, hot Canadian. But there’s also exes and various ladies you meet along the way. What’s yours?

Caller Audio 1

Caller Audio 2

Newsweek Magazine offered an article on The Nine Most Obnoxious Habits of Gym Rats. Highlights:

1. The Sauna Stovetop A manager at a New York Sports Club was walking through the women’s locker room a few years ago when she smelled cheese. Puzzled, she opened the door to the sauna, where a woman had placed bread and cheese on the hot rocks to make a postworkout grilled cheese sandwich. “Not only was it a health code violation, it was not really respectful to the other people in the sauna,” says NYSC PR director Linda Hufcut. “She said, ‘I do this all the time.’ That was, obviously, the last time she ever did it.’”

2. Nude Fitness? A couple of visitors to a Gold’s Gym in Paramus, N.J., decided to get naked and weigh themselves before they started working out. The two men didn’t seem daunted by the fact that the scale was outside the locker room. They hung out by the scale, in full view of the other, clothed patrons, until a manager asked them to put some clothes on. They told Mike Epstein, the gym’s owner, that they did that sort of thing all the time at their home gym. Perhaps they meant “home gym” as in the one in their basement.

3. Creative Blow-Drying A man in a California Crunch gym decided that the best way to dry out his sweaty shoes was to stick a hair dryer in each of them while he took his after-workout shower. He was shocked when managers asked him to cease and desist. “He said, ‘I didn’t even realize I shouldn’t be doing this’,” says Keith Worts, chief operating officer of Crunch, a national fitness chain.

4. Downward Dog? At another Crunch location a man had a habit of taking a yoga class while wearing shorts without underwear. He was more than happy to correct his faux pas as soon as managers made him aware that other members were uncomfortable with the view they were getting.

5. Work Out, Sleep In Some people get a little too relaxed at the gym. Gold’s Gym managers have reported finding customers who fell asleep in the tanning facility and didn’t wake up until the gym was closed, as well as customers who fell asleep on the bench press in between sets.

6. Killer Karaoke It’s common and profoundly annoying: gymgoers get carried away listening to their music players. Before they know it they’ve treated everyone in the room to an off-key rendition of “…Baby One More Time.” “I call it karaoke gone bad, because there is no background music and they’re singing at the top of their lungs,” says Harry Reo, a regional vice president for 24 Hour Fitness.

7. Talking (Too Much of) the Talk Fed up with people gabbing on their cell phones as they used the elliptical, many gyms have banned cell phones around workout equipment and designated areas for patrons to make calls. Still, people forget. “There’s nothing worse than running on the treadmill and having someone next to you conducting an extremely loud conversation,” says Hufcut, who’s seen some people use walkie-talkies while on the treadmill.

8. Sweat Sins It seems basic, but enough people forget to wipe down their equipment after using it that this was one of the four deadly gym sins included on an informational video NYSC taped a few years ago. During the segment a careless gymgoer didn’t dry off his machine; when he stood up, the entire machine was covered in dripping goo.

9. Scrimmage to Scuffle It’s only logical that testosterone can run high at the gym, and sometimes managers need to break up altercations on the basketball court, says Nancy Pattee Francini, co-founder and president of the Sports Club/LA, which has 10 locations around the country. “Those guys, when they’re playing basketball, can get into fights,” she says. “They’re not terrible fights—we’re a high-end club.”

Your calls on the matter

Dogs are used for leading the blind, therapy, drug-sniffing, and all sorts of other helpful jobs. But dogs can rock apparently. I came across a band called Caninus, fronted by two pitbulls. And a band called Hatebeak, whose lead singer is a 15-year old parrot. We listen to some audio clips and chat about the phenomenon here:

Singing Dogs n Birds

Comedian Shaun Majumder is performing at The Laugh Shop this Friday and Saturday night. He came by to co-host my show on Thursday afternoon. Here’s the conversation, plus a few calls we got that didn’t air on the show.

Majumder Part #1

Majumder Part #2

Majumder Part #3

Call from a Newf

Call about Rashida Jones

I was in a fast food joint over the weekend and my ears were assaulted by the sounds of the Calgary radio station geared towards teenage girls. The scary thing is, I’ve actually heard this music/station in mens’ cars. These men should go to a vet and get neutered. The station also gives out stickers. Got one on your car? You’re advertising your bad taste in music. Here’s the discussion, including a montage of terrible music. (Please be warned that if you have any kind of taste in music, the sounds might hurt your ears):

Bad Music on the Radio