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Last Updated on May 19, 2021

Gig Posters Calendar Sale

TwangTrust FunDrive 2021
G R A N D T O T A L :
$3,000.00
Well, whadayaknow? With your generous help, your ol' pal Stu has once again had the title of The $3,000.00 Man returned to his mantle. Thanks for supporting independant community radio!
If you pledged at the $70 or up levels and didn't take a tax receipt, then you were entered into a draw for a mess of prizes. Check out the official list of 2021 winners here!

And even if you did opt for the tax receipt, if you did pledge at the $70 or up level, you DO have a bonus coming from Stu himself - your choice of a vintage gig poster that is featured on the GigPosters204 website! Take a look, see what you like and let Stu know. He'll do what he can to get you your poster ASAP. (Not all posters there are available so you may want to pick an alternate).

 



TwangTrust FunDrive 2012
G R A N D T O T A L :
$3,305.00
Once again, thanks to the good-hearted, generous listeners of TwangTrust, your ol' pal Stu
can reclaim the title of The $3,000.00 Man. Big thanks to The TwangTrust Mystery All-Stars:
Del Barber, Ridley Bent & Chris Dunn and J-Rod with extra special thanks with awesome sauce
on top to our house band, Hatcher-Briggs. Thanks for supporting campus/community radio!

If you missed all the fun, you can listen to the show here and still pledge to to the CKUW 2012 FunDrive. Without your support, the station doesn't exist. It's that simple. DONATE NOW!

Twang Trust FunDrive 2012 Twang Trust FunDrive 2012 Twang Trust FunDrive 2012

 


 

Chuck Prophet
CHUCK PROPHET
"No Other Love"

Live at the StuDome
July 11, 2011

Chuck with the clover he picked from the lawn of
Neil Young's childhood home (1123 Grosvenor Ave.)

And I thought getting my name in bold print in Miss Lonelyhearts' gossip column was a big deal...
>> LISTEN TO THIS! <<

The TwangTrust
Christmas Spectacular Collection

During Christmas seasons past, we have been fortunate to spend our holiday show with some very special guests. For your festive listening pleasure, here are some musically seasonal conversations, full of joy and triumph.

XMAS 2011
with Mark Browning
from Ox
XMAS 2011
with Dan Gaarder
from Trailer Trash
XMAS 2007
with Chuck Prophet and
Alejandro Escovedo
Xmas 2006
with Serge Bielanko
from Marah
XMAS 2005
with Garry Tallent
from the E Street Band
Twang Trust Christmas Spectacular

 


 

 


 

The $3,000.00 Man presents
TWANGTRUST FUNDRIVE 2011!!!
W E D N E S D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 6
$3,340.00
Our total keeps creeping upwards even after FunDrive has ended. THANKS FOLKS!!
Feel free to keep it coming! We'll take donations (and give out swag) all year long!

Twang ButtonsTwang Trust Fundraiser

 


 

Stylus Magazine

Get To Know Your Ol' Pal Stu
CKUWho - December 2009
Stylus Magazine Profile

Can you tell us about the origins of the TwangTrust?
It was originally my friend Gaylene Dempsey's show. She applied to do an alt-country show shortly before CKUW first came to the FM airwaves, but because she was frequently out of town for work, she thought she should have a permanent co-host as a back-up and she asked me. Initially, I was scared to death of the idea but I soon grew to love it. Gaylene lost interest a couple years into it and I've been a lone wolf ever since. I doubt I'd ever have done it without her, so I'm indebted to her forever.

You're known as "The $3000 Man" because you consistently raise that amount of money during your FunDrive show. What's the secret to your success?
Bruce content! No one else on CKUW plays Springsteen as much as I do. Coincidence? I think not... Seriously though, while It's not a "my music is better than your music" kinda thing, I think the kind of music I play has a deeper personal connection to the people who enjoy it than that of most other genres. Also, I don't just throw together a bunch of songs that I like. Most everything I play gets played for a specific reason, whether it's a local gig preview, a set of music with a theme, be it conceptual, historical or a common musician, songwriter or whatever. There's something to learn on the show if you're prepared to pay attention and regular listeners appreciate the work I put into it.

What can you tell us about TwangTrust listeners? Who are they? Where are they?
International, good-hearted folks, all. Ever since CKUW started their podcasting feature, TwangTrust has been the #1 most downloaded show. That's on top of the dozens of folks who listen to my show each week via my own website (www.twangtrust.ca). That number ranges from 30 to 300, depending on whether a particular episode gets mentioned or linked on someone's blog somewhere. Still, I spent months playing Elliott Brood's first album, begging people to check them out at their first Winnipeg show and there were 3 of us that showed up. And I know the other 2 weren't there because of me. So that puts things in perspective.

Can you talk about the importance of Bruce Springsteen to the show, and to your life in general?
I do have a personal relationship with Bruce Springsteen that I'd like to tell you about. My musical tastes aren't as myopic as you might think, based on my show, but Bruce has been special from early on in many ways. To paraphrase the website www.thestureidexperiment.com (no, I have no idea what that's about) - "None of us are Bruce Springsteen. All of us are Bruce Springsteen. You are now Bruce Springsteen." I learned the history of music from Bruce, through artists he would cover or talk about in interviews - everyone from Duke Ellington to Suicide. I started a fanzine, "Bruceness", dedicated to him back in the prehistoric age of 1981 and even met my wife through it. I do often feel weird playing an established classic-rock artist on a campus station, but I have to. It wouldn't be an honest show otherwise. The first time I heard Bruce was on the original CJUM back in the late '70's. I have been in Bruce Springsteen's dressing room before and Bruce once stood on the actual boardwalk in Asbury Park and said "Ya, I met that dude last night", talking to a friend about me. Plus, I once insulted him to his face. His wife Patti was there and she peed herself laughing.

What is the StuDome?
My living room. My wife and I throw house concerts whenever the opportunity presents itself. We've had Mike Plume, Jim Bryson and Leeroy Stagger through twice each as well as Pat DiNizio from The Smithereens. The coolest show ever was C.R. Avery and his String Quartet. Three violins, a cello, a conductor who played guitar and snare drum and C.R. doing his thing. A friend who came without ever having heard of him, said it was among the ten best shows of his life. And this was a guy who's seen a LOT of shows. Mike Plume christened it The StuDome. It was originally The Stu & Kathy Reid Theatre For The Performing Arts. Many StuDome patrons are just folks who listen to my show, who I don't really know that well. And I should add there are many listeners who have become people I DO know very well. I'm very picky about who I book at the 'Dome, but as dream-come-truey as it is to have my fave bands playing in my living room, sometimes there's something too polite about the whole thing. There's only room for so much politeness in rock'n'roll. I may soon require people to break things when they come to a StuDome show.

Awhile back there was a memo on Facebook where people listed 50 acts they had seen live in concert. Your list was absolutely sick! (As in, good.) Is there any living artist you're still dying to see, or any dream lineup you'd want to see that you haven't already?
I would love to have seen The Cramps, but of course Lux is gone now. The only living, relevant outfit on my list is one of Dan Stuart's projects: either Green on Red or Danny & Dusty. Dan's mostly retired but both acts did reunionesque shows in the last couple of years. I hope more will follow before it's too late. No one in Winnipeg cares about Dan Stuart except me. I'm Mr. Lonely.

Do you ever see a day when you'll hand the reins of TwangTrust over to someone else, permanently? (Brittany, perhaps?
Yes, I'm old and will be dead soon, it's true. That was certainly the motivating factor in raising a child. Five year old Britt is coming along great, playing music "for the whole family" on Mud Puddle Radio every third Saturday at 9a.m. (I'll occasionally tech for her). However, we may soon need to consider a second child as a back-up. This past May, just before going in to see her third Springsteen show in St. Paul, we asked her if she was still a big Bruce fan. Britt said "Uh,... I'm actually more of a Tchaikovsky fan." Damn kids and their classical music...

 


 

Twang Trust 2009

CKUW FUNDRIVE 2009 - February 11

It grows even after the show ended...

$3,375.00!!

Another week on the TwangTrust, another new CKUW FunDrive record! CKUW's most downloaded, award-winning weekly show is yet again the leader of the pack. Vrooom! It's all for one and one for all at CKUW... the individual show totals are not a competition in any way... But I'd be fibbing if I didn't say this feels reeeeeal good. Thanks again, folks, for letting me know you appreciatte what happens each week on the TwangTrust and each day on CKUW. I don't take your support for granted and it means the world to me.

 


 

 


 

 


 

2008 WINNIPEG FOLK FESTIVAL COVERAGE

Check out the official 2008 TwangTrust Folk Fest Photo Gallery!

It's the perfect accompaniment to our 2008 Folk Fest Review Episode featuring interviews with Kathleen Edwards, Tres Chicas, Jim White and Justin Townes Earle.

 


 

CKUW Fun Drive 2008

CKUW FUNDRIVE 2008 - Feb.13

Hey - looks like we're up 5o bucks!

$3,150.00!!

It's the second year in a row we've walked the path no local radio show has dared walk before. They say it's not a contest and they're right. CKUW is one big multi-headed, one-hearted organism and it's all for one and one for all. But that doesn't mean I don't have the coolest listeners of any show on any station in the city! You guys!!! Thanks for letting me know you're alive out there. Special thanks to Jeff Robson, David Briggs, Jeffrey Hatcher, Matt and the Geek Street Band, Garth Hardy and all the other lights at the end of my tunnel. I'm gonna let you shine.

 


 

Feb.15, 2007

$3,110.00!!!

That's what was in the coffers at the end of the TwangTrust's 2007 FunDrive show. Un-freakin-believable. And it's still trickling in! You people are insane. But in such a good way! The first show in CKUW fundrive history to crack the $3,000 mark. I am humbled, flabergasted and at least three other things I don't know how to spell.

Thanks to our red neck pals on the Black Mask, we were joined by Winnipeg's very own Bruce Springsteen tribute band, The Geek St. Band for a few boss tunes and as it turns out, it was probably the band's farewell performance (unless they get invited back to the Harvest Moon Festival, so keep that in mind, promoters).

Next up was a visit from the cutest and subversavist little roots combo in town, Nathan. A pair of gems from their new album Key Principles was only the beginning. Check out the Podcastin' Action at left to hear the gang joined on vocals by the lovely Brittany Magnolia.

It was a special love-filled Valentine's night - one we won't be forgetting anytime soon. Thank you one and all.

Twang Trust 2007

 


 

Amy Rigby

July 19, 2006
Amy Rigby
WEB EXCLUSIVE
Folk Fest Interview

The biggest delight at this year's Folk Fest was undoubtedly the first Winnipeg appearance of longtime TwangTrust fave, Amy Rigby. We had the lovely opportunity to sit down and chat with Amy too, unfortunately, the wind was really whipping down the boardwalk that afternoon, and as a result, the recording isn't up to broadcast snuff. It was such a nice chat though, that besides being written up for the August issue of Stylus Magazine, we have the recording here for your listening pleasure, if you don't mind putting up with a bit of wind distortion. I'm buying a new microphone next year, honest.

Listen to Amy Rigby Interview

 


 

Billy Cowsill
1948-2006

Though not unexpected, it was with a heavy heart that we learned of the passing of one of the staples of the TwangTrust. Billy Cowsill of the legendary Cowsill family as well as the TwangTrust theme-song artists, The Blue Shadows, died on Friday, February 17, 2006. We celebrate the life and music of Billy on the Feb. 22 episode.

Billy Cowsill

 


 

Hatcher Briggs Band

February 15, 2006

$2,600!!!

After all the smoke cleared, that's how much TwangTrust listeners managed to bring in during this year's fundrive on CKUW, setting a new fundrive record for a single show. Yet it was no surprise at all, really. Y'all have been an amazing bunch of folks from the get go. It was great to see so many familiar names on the list from fundrives past. I hope to hear from you during the rest of the year as usual too. Congratulations to all the folks who won prize packs.

A huge thanks to all the guys in the Hatcher/Briggs Band too, for coming down to serenade us on one of the coldest nights of the year. The show is now up in the podcast section, so if you missed it, be sure to check out some great new tunes from Winnipeg's finest.

What'd I tell ya? The light at the end of the tunnel was you.

Your ol' pal,
Stu