Episodes

The topic of this week’s show is CREATIVE CROSS POLLINATION and joining me on the show is the the artist behind Montreal indie rock project Hey Gorgeous - and that is multidisciplinary artist and musician Peet Massé. Peet and I had a great conversation about his journey through visual art and music, and how working across disciplines fuels creativity, emotional expression, and personal growth. We also discuss how multidisciplinary work enhances inspiration and prevents burnout, and the importanc...

The topic of this week’s show is BUILDING A BETTER MUSIC INDUSTRY and joining me on the show is the Executive Director of Women In Music Canada , Robyn Stewart. Robyn is someone who is actively trying to build a better and more equitable music industry through Women In Music Canada, and we had a great discussion about how the organization not only fosters gender equality in the music industry, but it’s also there to connect and create community, AND provide support, resources and advocacy for th...

The topic of this week’s show is FINDING YOUR NICHE, and joining me on the show are Bricks Latour and Justin Camarena from the self-proclaimed #1 Band In Golf - MAJORS . I figured these guys were the perfect people to talk to about this subject because they are a pop-punk band that only writes songs about golf – now that’s definitely what I call finding your niche. We had a great discussion about how the idea for the band started as a bit and then became a reality, how they’re leading the charge...

For our Season 6 premiere, we’ve got a really fun one for ya! The topic of this week’s show is MUSIC IS A DRAG and joining me on the show is none other than Vancouver Musician, Drag Queen, and Award Winning Event Producer (with their company Sleepy Queers Productions ) – Dust Cwaine ! Dust and I had a great chat about what it’s like to balance creativity and project management, while living a multi-hyphenate creative life and wearing many different hats. We also talk about the work that goes int...

Hello! Just popping in to let you know that after a very accidental two-year hiatus… The FM Podcast is officially back for Season 6! 🎉 New episodes start next Tuesday, June 2nd, and I can’t wait for you to hear what we’ve been working on. I’ve missed y’all, so make sure you tune in + join us for a brand new season! And tell yer friends!

The topic of this week’s show is THE EVOLUTION OF ARTIST DEVELOPMENT and joining me on the show is Elise Roller - the founder and CEO of Misfit Music , an artist development and management company based in Winnipeg. Elise and I had a great chat about the role of a manager in artist development, what artist development looks like in 2024, and she tells us about Misfit Music’s Artist Evolution services and how they are helping with the careers of independent artists in Canada. Oh and just a quick...

The topic of this week’s show is HOW TO RETURN TO MUSIC AFTER A HIATUS and joining me on the show is Winnipeg blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Romi Mayes . Romi just released a new single on May 17th, after not releasing any new music for 9 years and she also has a new album coming out at the end of June! We had a great conversation about what led to her extended break from her music career and how she made the decision to come back. It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it! F RE...

The topic of this week’s show is CHOOSING A CREATIVE LIFE and joining me on the show is Vancouver musician Etienne Siew . Etienne and I had a great conversation about how he made the decision to quit his 9-5 job to become a full-time musician. And we discuss what it actually means to live a creative life. It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it! F RESH CONTENT LINKS Etienne Recommends: Chris Stapleton - Devil Always Made Me Think Twice Jen recommends: Bon Jovi documentary - Thank You,...

The topic of this week’s show is MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR FILM + TV and joining me on the show is Film Composer, Singer and Vocal Coach - Red Janes . We had a great discussion about how she went from musician to film composer, how AI is affecting the film composition world, and how one becomes a composer for film and TV. It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it! Content Warning: Just an FYI that there are more F-bombs that usual in this episode, so be careful where you're listening to it!...

The topic of this week’s show is MUSIC PRODUCTION + SONGWRITING TIPS and joining me on the show is British electronic musician, producer and podcaster Marc Matthews . This was a really fun conversation because I was a guest on Marc’s podcast - Inside The Mix - last month discussing music promotion and social media, which is a great ep by the way, and it was great to switch things up to interview him on my podcast. We had a great discussion about the basics of music production and writing songs, ...

The topic of this week’s show is TOURING AS AN INDIE BAND and joining me on the show is Vancouver Island-based musicians Andrew Baskin and Lucas Antoni from the indie-rock band Vogue Villains . When we had this conversation, the guys had just finished a tour supporting their new album Built on Bones so they definitely had a lot to say about life on the road. We had a great discussion about the pros and cons of touring as an indie band in 2024, what kind of challenges they’ve faced, as well as so...

The topic of this week’s show is SPEAKING UP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE and joining me on the show is Victoria-based indie-pop musician, Alexandria Maillot , who is an artist that isn’t afraid to speak up about social injustice or political issues, particularly on her social media. We had a great discussion about the importance of musicians speaking up for social change and how many artists don’t understand the power they have and how they can actually use their platform to fight for social justice. It w...

The topic of this week’s show is DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS FOR MUSICIANS and joining me on the show is Peter Carruthers, who is the former Marketing and Digital Manager at Arts & Crafts where he worked for 7 years, so has quite a bit of experience to share with us! We had a great discussion about the current trends in digital marketing and what musicians should be thinking about when it comes to their digital marketing plans when releasing new music this year. It was a really great chat and I hop...

The topic of this week’s show is GENRE FLUIDITY IN MUSIC and joining me on the show is Yukon-based singer-songwriter, storyteller, and contemporary guzheng player Erica Dee Mah . Erica and I had a great talk about how more musicians are creating music outside of the traditional genre norms, what her experience has been like making music that is “outside the box," and how audiences are embracing new (and sometimes unexpected!) music genres a lot more these days. It was a really great chat and I h...

Welcome to Season 5 of the podcast! I’m so happy to be back! I really missed you guys! For our Season 5 premiere, we have our very first return guest to the podcast! This week, I’m talking to Tyler Bancroft who is a guy that wears many hats in the music industry - he’s the lead singer of Vancouver indie rock band Said The Whale and he’s also a music industry professional who runs a record label and manages artists, among many other things. And we’re going to talk about where we think the industr...

Hello! Just a quick check-in to let you know that we're back baby! Season 5 of The FM Podcast will premiere next week - on Tuesday, March 12th. I've really missed y'all, so make sure you tune in + join us!

The topic of this week’s show is CARVING OUT YOUR OWN SPACE and joining me on the show is Toronto musician Sandra Bouza . Sandra and I had a great chat about how it can be hard to find your place in the music industry when you don’t fit into one specific genre. And how she decided to carve out her own space by SPOILER ALERT: just being herself. I really felt a connection with Sandra on a lot of her experiences, you know just by being a woman in the music industry, so it's a great conversation an...

The topic of this week’s show is THE ROLE OF MUSIC LAWYERS and joining me on the show is musician and entertainment lawyer - Kurt Dahl . Kurt and I had a great talk about what exactly it is that a music lawyer does, when is the right time to hire a music lawyer, and how being a musician shapes his work as a lawyer. (ICYDK, Kurt is also the drummer in Canadian rock band One Bad Son .) It was a really great chat and I hope you enjoy it! FRESH CONTENT LINKS Kurt recommends: Joni Mitchell at Newport...

The topic of this week’s show is KEEPING A POSITIVE MINDSET and joining me on the show is Vancouver musician and all around positive person - Beau Wheeler . Beau and I had a great conversation about how hard it can be to stay positive as an artist in the music industry and how music helped them to overcome struggles in their life! It was a really great talk and I hope you enjoy it! FRESH CONTENT LINKS Beau recommends: Charlotte Cornfield - Cut and Dry / New Boygenius album Jen recommends: Little...

The topic of this week’s show is PRODUCING MUSIC ON A BUDGET and joining me on the show is record producer, songwriter and recording artist Winston Hauschild , who works out of The Treehouse Studio on Bowen Island here in BC. Winston and I have known each other for a long time, so prepare yourself for a good ol’ back in the day discussion from us, and we also talk about how to stretch your budget when producing an album or single. It was a really great talk and I hope you enjoy it! FRESH CONTENT...

The topic of this week’s show is THE IMPORTANCE OF CAMPUS RADIO and joining me on the show is Jasper Sloan Yip , who is the Programming Director for CITR here in Vancouver and he’s also an indie artist himself. We had a great chat about whether Campus Radio is still relevant in 2023 and he gives us some great tips about how to pitch and service campus radio here in Canada. It was a really great talk and I hope you enjoy it! FRESH CONTENT LINKS Jasper recommends: Devours - Homecoming Queen Jen re...

So the topic of this week’s show is SURVIVING AS A WORKING CLASS ARTIST and joining me on the show is Montreal-based musician Russell Louder who just released their new single Movie Queen a couple months ago and has a new album coming out this summer. We had a really great conversation and talked about how hard it is to survive as an independent artist in 2023. We both get fired up and pretty radical, idea-wise, on this one - so brace yourself! It was a great talk and I hope you enjoy it! FRESH ...

The topic of this week’s show is CONTENT CREATION FATIGUE and joining me on the show is Vancouver musician Ché Aimee Dorval , who released her new full-length album The Crowned earlier this year. And since she’s just coming off a cycle of album promotion, she definitely knows a thing or two about having to churn out content to promote an album. We had a great conversation and discussed how hard it can be for indie musicians to do all of the things that come along with promoting your music on soc...

So the topic of this week’s show is HOW TO WRITE A MUSIC GRANT and joining me on the show is Jessica Hoefsloot who writes a lot of funding applications through her company Sad Kids Collective - an artist-friendly management company offering services from digital marketing, grant writing and day-to-day business management for artists & industry. And by day - Jessica is also an Account Executive for Influencer Marketing at Viral Nation. We had a great conversation and discussed many tips and trick...