Witchpolice Radio

Folk artist Ben Stopfel spent the majority of his musical career here in Winnipeg, before decamping to Nashville a couple of years ago and plying his trade as a songwriter in Music City. 

He’s back home for a show at Public Domain on Dec. 28 (which means this one is time-sensitive and jumped the queue).

Here's our conversation about the two cities, coming back to Winnipeg, the differences ...

Just over a year ago, folk singer Fernanda appeared on the podcast for the first time. 

We caught up to talk about her newly-released concept album, ‘Deer Trails’, the name change from her previous Julie Fern identity, working with field recordings, experimenting with new genres, and much more!

Need more Fernanda? Check out episode #953 (November 2024).

This episode brought to you by our ...

It's another 'Manitoba-adjacent' episode! Shoegaze-inspired singer-songwriter Kevin MKAI may be based in Toronto these days, but he cut his teeth in Winnipeg’s music scene of the early ‘90s. 

Here's our conversation about his new music, his early experiences here in his hometown, poetry open-mics, having to change the spelling of his own name due to a DJ issuing a cease and desist, and mu...

For various technical reasons, no new interview episode this week... but I'm not gonna leave you hangin'. 

Instead, here's a bonus episode that was originally released exclusively on the Patreon page back in 2022: it's, essentially, the full discography of my old punk/noise/space music trio The Mouth-Boat, complete with my rambling recollections about the songs and recordings, etc.

The Mo...

The new record by rapper/producer/singer/songwriter/Winnipeg expat Rob Crooks is a layered, cinematic meditation on grief. 

Here's our conversation about the four-song ‘Unhomely’, taking creative liberties with deeply personal stories, sonic experimentation, Winnipeg from an outside perspective, and much more.

Need more Rob Crooks in your life? He was an original co-host of this podcast wa...

This is a bit of a different episode than you're used to on the podcast. As many of you know, in addition to releasing new interviews every week, I also have a Patreon page. 

Basically, that exists as a way for people who want to support the show, throw me a buck a month or whatever they want to donate, and they get to help out the podcast, keep the lights on, keep things afloat, but they...

Last time Show Pony was on the podcast, they were juuuust starting out, and in those early days, they were playing alt-country… but times have changed.

I sat down with the band’s core members to talk about the shift to high-octane rawk sounds, harnessing their live energy in the studio, their excellent merch designs, and much more.

Need more Show Pony in your life? Check out episode #560...

Really interesting conversation on this episode with Good + Plenty Arts Collective's Amber Neufeld and Mckye Hildebrand, all about the upcoming ‘Music Cocoon’ show at the West End Cultural Centre (Nov. 16)!

The event, which features performances by local artists (and past Witchpolice guests) Ila Barker and Two Crows for Comfort, is a family- and sensory-friendly matinee.

We talk about the...

Country singer-songwriter Chris Micheal was on a path to success a few years ago, until the momentum he had built was suddenly derailed and he all but disappeared from the music scene. 

Tune in to our conversation about the way back from health problems and addiction, and his newfound vulnerability as a songwriter and a human being. This is the first in-person interview I've recorded for...

Gettin' spooky on this one (just in time for Halloween) with Trevor and Mike from Omens!

Check out our interview about the (deliberately) slow roll-out to their second album, navigating the world of streaming and weird Google censorship, emerging from the Jet Set Satellite shadow, Halloween songs, and much more!

Need more Omens in your life? Hear Trevor on episode #904 (June 2024).

This ep...

One of the coolest things about doing the show for eleventy trillion years is I get to watch interviewees’ careers grow and develop, and in some cases — like with JayWood — I get to see that hard work pay off with well-deserved critical acclaim and success. 

JayWood sat down for a fifth Witchpolice interview (six if you count his appearance at a 2017 live event) and we talked about his ne...

It's a return appearance on the podcast by singer-songwriter Doug McArthur! Tune in for a great conversation about collaborating with other writers, shifting his sound away from the alt-rock thing, unconventional ways to promote his new single, and much more! 

Note: early on in the episode there are a couple of weird artifacts -- sounds almost like a weird computer voice muttering some g...

Caught up with the fellas in Car287 to talk all about the new record, ‘Through the Lens’, the band’s recent upward trajectory, navigating acoustic versions of their songs, and much more!

Note: this was recorded a couple of weeks back, so some of the things they mention have already happened... like the new record, which has already been released. Get it now!

Need more Car287? Check out t...

Great sitdown on this episode with the big homie Jeff Darichuk of new Portage la Prairie folk-punk outfit Chucky and the Cheapskates! 

Tune in for a chat about getting back into the game in your 40s, the imminent new Cheapskates record, three chords and the truth, his old band the Naked Midgets, and much more!

Need more Chucky? He was on episode #561 (Feb. 2021) with the Naked Midgets!

Th...

I sat down with BreakOut West executive director Michael Dawson to talk about the festival/awards show/music industry conference, which will take over Winnipeg beginning later this week!

Tune in for all the details!

This episode brought to you by our pals at Devine Shirt Company.   

Huge thanks to everyone who supports the podcast on Patreon. You can help out for as l...

I caught up with all-Ha(i)ley classic rock/pop/alt-rock trio The Haileys to talk about the band’s upward trajectory, collaborating with outside writers, the dad crowd, their first time at the Royal Albert, and much more! 

Need more Haileys in your life? Check out their appearances on episode #796 (May 2023) and episode #590 (May 2021)! 

This episode brought to you by our pals at Devine S...

Andrew Ritchot, a/k/a Lifte, is back on the show to talk all about 'How Strength Creates Tolerance', his new and deeply personal record that closes out a series based on his experiences as a caregiver for his late wife. 

Tune in for our conversation about music as catharsis, the future of this project (if there is one), and much more! 

Need more from Andrew? Check out his appearance on e...

It's here! Episode 1,000! Who knew this silly podcast would have lasted so long?

This, probably unsurprisingly, isn't a regular episode of Witchpolice Radio. It's a conversation -- led by my friends and fellow podcasters Sean and Todd McGinity (and shoutout to Ron Moore for his contributions as well) -- about the show's history, podcasting in general, the local music scene... and much mor...

Great chat with award-winning singer-songwriter Stephanie Westdal, all about balancing bold, vulnerable lyrics about serious issues with danceable pop songs, the upcoming Goddess Series of events celebrating creative women, and much more! 

This one is jumping the queue because it’s a little time sensitive and I’m working around the big 1,000th episode coming soon... 

This episode brought ...