Vinyl Cafe Stories

Written on 17. Aug, 2011 in Things We Love

Nana Kwabena Owusu

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Love Ghana. Love the Web. Trying to connect them through content.

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I’ve got to state this off the bat, I love stories!! I’ve always been an avid book reader although admittedly these days I don’t read as much as I wish I could. For context of what I mean by avid book reader, I’ve read an entire book on my BlackBerry. Yes, tiny screen be damned I was so into the story over the course of three days, I read Stieg Lessigs, the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo using the Kobo Reader for BlackBerry. So with that out of the way, let’s move on.

Stories come in all forms and audio storytelling in the form of audio podcasts have now become a part of my weekly routine. So it is with great pleasure that I tell you about one of my favourite story oriented podcasts, Vinyl Cafe Stories broadcast on Canada Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Canadian version of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, by Canada’s best storyteller arguably, Stuart McClean.

The Vinyl Cafe is the radio show hosted by Stuart McClean, recorded either in studio or at live concerts across Canada and broadcast primarily on CBC  and some US radio stations. The Vinyl Cafe is also the name of the second hand record store owned by a fictional character created by Stuart whose stories, the ‘Dave and Morley Stories’ are the mainstay of the radio show. The stories revolve around Dave, who owns what he calls proudly, the smallest music shop in Canada with the tagline, “We may not be big, But we’re small” and his family. His family comprises of his wife, Morley and their son and daughter, Sam and Stephanie and pets who come and go. There are quite a few friends and nieghbours in the stories too.

I love two main things about the show. Live concerts always start with Stuart telling us a story about about where in Canada the show is being recorded and what is special and different about the people in that town or city. This is usually based on experiences he and his production team have had over the days before the show and he does a wonderful job of it too. The other segment I really like is called the Story Exchange, where ordinary Canadians write in and tell a story about something that’s happened in their life, happy, sad, good or bad, each story has something to share.

Now a confession. A section on 233 Life&Style, the Story Exchange, is inspired (an unashamed ripoff) of that idea, which I feel could be a powerful way to learn about who we are as a people. There are many facets to life in Ghana which gets lost in the sea of politics and sports we call radio. The Story Exchange idea (and the Vinyl Cafe in general) resonates with me because it is at its heart about community and people sharing stories, to get in touch with the basics of humanity we sometimes lose with the hassles of modern life. I hope Stuart Mclean understands, I should really write him about it sometime. Probably after we get that section alive and kicking with stories.

The Vinyl Cafe, that is the stories about Dave and his family and friends are available as books and audiobooks and most times it is a selection from the books which are narrated on the radio show and on tour by Stuart. To get you started I will recommend three of my favourite Vinyl Cafe podcast episodes. Choosing only three to share, was much more difficult than I thought. Here goes;

• Sam Lost in Quebec City: This was the first episode I discovered and will always remain a favourite of mine.

• Waterslide: Hilarious!!! A guaranteed good laugh any day!

• Morley’s Gloves. Dave and Sam teaching each other some important lessons in life. Thoughtful.

A good story always hits home removing barriers of geography, economic circumstance and life. These stories always bring a smile to my face and a good feeling, that all will be well. Hope you love this as much as I do.

Ps. Its always nice to share things with others, if you enjoyed this recommendation, share a place, story, website, book or anything you love back.

Tags: audio, concerts, podcasts, radio, shows, stories, story exchange, vinylcafe

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herman Russell

Hello: I am trying to find out information or to get the story I partially heard on CBC radio on Sunday past, August 21, 2011, and aired at at around 12;30 pm., NL time, concerning a man speaking about Quebec...the story was on I believe, CBC radio, ???final/vinal caffee, story exchange program. As I said it was a man talking about quebec and it geography/heritage/communities, etc. and I only got to hear part of it. it was really interesting and I would like to receive a copy, or however you choose to have me receive it. Please reply to my email address or send copy to : Herman Russell, 74 Bauline Line, Torbay, NL. A1K 1H4

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Nana Kwabena Owusu

Hi Herman. Based on the name you gave above, it does sound like the Vinyl Cafe. Unfortunately I am not in Canada and I haven't downloaded the last 2 podcast episodes of the radio show, so I cannot tell which exact story you mean. I however see the show is currently touring Quebec too. You can download past episodes of the radio show on the CBC website or also here, if the versions available do not contain the story you want then here are ways to connect with the crew for the show on Facebook and also other forms of contact. Note the downloadable audio podcast usually features either the latest concert show or radio show, so if you do not get what you need please contact them. Good Luck!

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