Drinking the Water: Recent Episodes
Matt Epp
Beautiful conversations on art, philosophy, relationships, and the interconnectedness of everything.
Her music dances effortlessly through Pop, Rock, Folk and Americana traditions but stays deftly unchained by any one label, refusing to be pigeon-holed and unafraid to dip into stranger waters. The hooks hook, the hits hit hard, the words stop you dead and the music demands to be heard. Seven albums in with an eighth on the way, Christina Martin’s music is there for anyone who’s felt up against impossible odds, yet refused to lie down.
Christina Martin has been one of my very closest friends for over 15 years... and we met on MySpace. Remember MySpace?? I sat down with her in her Nova Scotia home during the Atlantic run of my own Rolling Wave Tour. She has the depth of the ocean, and the playful power of the rolling waves, too. After a week of me staying with her and her husband Dale Murray in their home, we sat down to dive deep into relationships, communication, songwriting, and why we keep going. Enjoy our conversation, recorded April 21, 2023.
Follow Christina's journey, here: https://www.instagram.com/xtinamartinmusic/ and https://www.christinamartin.net/
The brand new video for her single, "Little Princess": https://youtu.be/pWv5-Uc-BlI
A personal favourite song and video of mine, "Stay With Me": https://youtu.be/j0ZCq0wiDmc
Off-grid villages and homesteads are increasing in popularity, partially because of the slower pace, and the desire to reconnect with the land and our basic needs and survival. In this first episode of 2022, I speak with a young couple that is also part of the small new off-grid community I'm part of.
Tanner Demers is 26 years old, cooks for a living, and is President of the Board for Boreal Forest Wilderness Association; where I am also a member, along with my daughter Luma. The BFWA owns a private piece of previously mined and logged land in Northern Ontario that is being carefully transitioned into an off-grid community (Swan Lake) where the residents can live softly on the land, away from the resource-heavy use of modern infrastructure.
Lara Ferns, 29, is a thoughtful and detail-oriented woodworker and craftsperson, a photographer, and partner to Tanner. I met this beautiful pair last fall while on a volunteer weekend up at the property. Lara and I (and other lovely people) met while carrying boulders to strengthen a culvert over a creek. Later, our crew joined Tanner, carrying logs and building corduroy roads.
My daughter Luma is 7 and a half, just lost 2 more teeth while exploring Swan Lake, and is simply the cutest kid around. She joins our conversation briefly and makes us laugh. Our conversation was recorded March 2022, at Swan Lake.
Find Tanner and his wood-fired pizza business, here:
http://pacepizzaontario.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pacepizzaontario/
Find Lara and her work, here:
https://www.sageandsapling.com
https://www.instagram.com/sageandsapling/
Hear Luma's song 'Hello, Hello', here:
https://youtu.be/Rs2r7XuQmRk
Marilyn Jensen, Yadultin, Dūsts’ā̀dle and Shaawát goox is Inland Tlingit and Tagish Khwáan from the Carcross/Tagish First Nation; belonging to the Dakhl’aweidí Clan under the Tagish Keét Hít (Killerwhale House) in the Southern Yukon Territory. She is founder and a lead dancer of the Dakhká Khwáan Dancers, which is the context I first got to know her in. She created and facilitates Lateral Kindness workshops with co-creator Thomas Sheppard that have been extremely popular and well-received in the north. Marilyn lives with her family in Whitehorse and among her large extended relatives across the Yukon Territory.
Marilyn and I met at the Atlin Music Festival in northern BC in 2017 and became “besties” immediately. We’ve collaborated on writing a very special song to honour her mother, Guna, and also on the lyrics for a song called ‘Two Journey Together’ from my River of Tears album. The podcast music was taken from that recording!
Gunalchéesh, Marilyn!
We recorded our conversation in Ottawa on December 3, 2021.
Follow Marilyn at https://www.instagram.com/tlingit_drummer
Follow the Dakhká Khwáan Dancers at https://www.instagram.com/dakhkakhwaan
Follow the Lateral Kindness Movement at https://www.instagram.com/lateral_kindness
Aliqa Illauq is from Kangiqtugaapik in the Qikitaaluk Region of Nunavut. She works as an Instructor with Inuit youth, and is doing a combined Honours in Law, Human Rights, and Social Justice, with a minor in Indigenous Studies. Aliqa is Inuk (a human) - a thoughtful, kind, hard-working, and badass revolutionary kind of human - and mother to three.
I heard Aliqa speak for the first time in Isaac Murdoch's first 'Revolution of the Heart' online concert event, which we both contributed to. Since then I've had the pleasure to listen to more of her thoughts and challenges through her social media platforms. I am very grateful that she made time in her very busy schedule to sit down with me and have this wonderful and inspiring conversation. Qujannamik, Aliqa!
We recorded our conversation in Ottawa, October 2021.
Follow Aliqa on Twitter, at https://twitter.com/aliqaillauq
Steve Bell is a songwriter, storyteller, and troubadour for our time. Over the course of a 30 year solo career, he has been sharing a message of love, hope and faith through songs, stories, and writings. He is a purveyor of truth and beauty and champion of kindness, on a focused mission for “refreshing Christian faith and spiritual tradition for the weary and the wary.” He is a mentor to many, and an advocate of numerous meaningful causes. He lives with his wife Nanci in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Métis nation.
This is a special episode to me because Steve's music has been a presence in my life since before I can remember. He's been a personal encouragement when I started fumbling around with writing, singing, and recording in my early 20s. We've become good friends over the years, and I think of him sort of like a generous big brother; a mentor that relates as a peer.
We recorded our conversation in Steve's cabin on Lake Winnipeg in September 2021.
Make sure to listen to Steve's latest album 'Wouldn't You Love To Know', wherever you listen to music.
For all things Steve Bell, stevebell.com
Samantha Whelan Kotkas was born in Canada, raised in Africa, and educated in Calgary and Houston. She is an Artist through-and-through; a symphony trumpeter, a teaching artist with the National Arts Centre, a wife and a mother of two amazing young women (successful parenting is a hugely creative endeavour), and she writes and produces elaborate, unique, and collaborative shows... most recently 'Wandering With Wonder'; an enormous project that I am very fortunate to be included in as a composer and performer. Samantha is also one of my very dearest friends on Earth, and we've known each other for 10 years. We recorded this talk in her backyard studio in Calgary, Alberta in July 2020.
Wandering With Wonder
"Inspired by the land, water and sky, ‘Wandering with Wonder’ is an immersive outdoor musical storytelling experience using the arts to reconnect people with nature. This 90-minute performance takes the audience through an adventure of mystery, loss and discovery while featuring newly composed music by five Canadian composers: Chris Andrew, Jordan Andrew, Matt Epp, Sherryl Sewepagaham and Walter MacDonald White Bear. On this journey, the audience will meet a magical young woman (a puppet), Wonder, who will guide them through a day that never was. Through her eyes, we experience the transformational power of nature, music and friendship as she goes in search of her lost song."
The world premiere of Wandering With Wonder was sold out and took place September 18 + 19, 2021, at the Leighton Arts Centre in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains. All Samantha news is here, https://www.samanthawhelankotkas.com
Isaac is from Serpent River First Nation. He's a very good friend to me and to many, and an artist I admire greatly. He's an Ojibwe knowledge keeper, master storyteller, loving dad, sweet guitar player, revolutionary, and all-around fun and magical human to be around. We recorded this talk Isaac's home at Nimkii Aazhibikong back in November of 2020.
Enjoy this first episode of Drinking The Water. We sure enjoyed having this chat. And while you're streaming the water online, check out the album Isaac and I co-wrote and produced, called 'You Were Chosen To Be Here'. The full album came out everywhere on October 1, 2021.
All things Isaac can be found at https://isaacmurdoch.com