Witchpolice Radio

FEB. 2022 NOTE: Dave having been one of 600+ musicians interviewed on this show over the past decade DOES NOT mean anyone involved condones either the incident he was recently arrested for OR the various disgusting things he was accused of a few years prior. At the time of this podcast, he was just a guy in a band.   The podcast is usually prerecorded in a casual basement setting, often weeks prior to appearing on this website and months before being aired on 101.5 UMFM in Winnipeg. This week, however, is UMFM's annual Pledge-O-Rama fund drive, so we made the trek down to the UMFM studios at the University of Manitoba to do a live on-air broadcast.   Fortuitously, Dave Z, of such bands as The Brat Attack and Dead Peasants Revolt, happened to have one day left in his trip to Winnipeg from his new home in St. John's, Newfoundland, so he appeared as our guest. Former Brat Attack drummer -- and once and future Up n' Atom drummer -- Johnny Perrin made a surprise visit to the station while the show was underway and became guest number two.   UMFM's pledge drive runs until Oct. 25, so depending when you read this, there may still be time for you to support campus/community radio. There are a ton of amazing incentives for making a pledge. Just check out the station's website and be sure to mention Witchpolice Radio if you're planning on donating! ...

This week's theme is "gunslinger," but it might as well have been "wrestling" as our guests -- pro wrestler "Outlaw" Adam Knight and rapper Employee of the Month -- found a lot in common on that topic.   In addition to 19 years in the rasslin' biz, the Outlaw is also a published author, with a new book on the e-shelves, Cowboy Ending. Employee, who records for our pals at DEAFWISH, has a new wrestling-themed album out, Thunderslutpunch. He also performed a live track from that record at the end of the show (see below). ...

This week, it's a Sam solo-host job, with three guests: the brain-wizards behind DIY t-shirt manufacturers/filmmakers Big Flaming Pile.   In a rare remote show, this time from BFP Headquarters in Winnipeg's West End, the trio of Derek Heaman, Alex McPhaden and Brian Griffith talk band merch, rural metal shows and this week's randomly-generated theme word: polar. These guys are best known today for their merch biz (highly recommended), but they started out doing no-budget filmmaking way back in the 1990s, including such gems as Cop Fiction. For the past 10 years or so, they've been moonlighting in the rarely-performing punk rock group the Damn Dirty Apes, whose 2004 debut Mixed Ape can be downloaded from Witchpolice. They also performed live at the end of this episode. ...

Jon, solo-hosting this week, is joined by two Jesses: returning guest Jesse Matas of the Crooked Brothers and Jesse Warkentin of Mahogany Frog. They talk the "sushi" theme and listen to a ton of crazy Japanese music.   Matas, of course, is a long-time friend of the show who appeared on a two-part episode of the podcast earlier in the summer, and has a bunch of music on the blog. Warkentin, on the other hand, is a member of Jon's favourite local psych-y/rock-y/synth-y band. ...

This week's episode comes to you from deep in the toilet (doo deep doo) of Winnipeg punk rock. Our guests are Adam Parsons of local band Up n' Atom alongside "Fuck Face" of amazing Winnipeg hardcore monsters Terrorist. We talk about skateboarding, going to local shows, Canadian horror movies and this week's theme: "cube."   Adam -- who performs a live song at the end of the show -- is actually the fourth member of Un'A (although the only current one) who has appeared on the show, following in the footsteps of Johnny Perrin, Drew Diduke and Steve Jowsey. ...

After the success of our special Wu-Tang episode, Witchpolice Radio is straying from the usual random-theme format again this week. For episode #42, Rob Crooks pulls a solo-host job alongside guests Elliott (Nestor Wynrush) Walsh -- threepeating here as the guest with the most appearances -- and fellow Winnipeg rap artist Yy. This time, the focus is on Winnipeg's Gruf the Druid, a mainstay of the local hip-hop scene dating back to the 1990s, and someone the host and both guests know and have worked with on a personal level. They're all big fans of his music, though, and that's what makes this such a great episode. If you're a nerd about Winnipeg rap, or Canadian underground rap in general, there's a lot for you to take in here. Whether you first heard Gruf's music on a Frek Sho album, or on the Fermented Reptile CD, or as a member of Sound Barriers, or never at all... you'll dig this. ...