Big Shiny Tunes: A Celebration of Community and Music

In this episode of A Chat with Heart, host Christina Martin welcomes her friend Stephanie Purcell to discuss the upcoming Big Shiny Tunes event in Halifax. They share insights about the event's origins, the selection of performers, and the vibrant energy that characterizes the show. Christina also updates listeners on her upcoming performances. It's a great episode to kick off a new season!

Ticket Link for Big Shiny Tunes Feb 6/7 in Halifax, NS

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to A Chat with Heart
• 6:05 Big Shiny Tunes: The Event
• 10:56 The Making of Big Shiny Tunes
• 14:58 The Energy of the Show
• 17:35 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Transcript

Christina (00:00.206)

Hi, welcome to a chat with heart podcast. I'm your host Christina Martin. I'm a singer songwriter. live on a dirt road in rural Nova Scotia with my best friend, Dale and our Calico cat, Olivia. This podcast is totally just a chill chat with her. As soon as you tune in here, I consider you one of my little heartbeat listeners. I love sharing these personal stories and recording these episodes are great practice for me to try and calm the fuck down.

just be myself. If we just talk about it We can shut away, we can break a day off day If we just talk about it We can cut away, we can make a better day

Christina (00:55.182)
Hi there, my little heartbeat listeners. Welcome back to a Chat with Art podcast. This is technically season five. Yeah, we're entering year five of recording episodes for this and it's been a life enhancer for me. Yeah, I want to thank you for tuning in and listening if you're new or old to the podcast. And if you're just tuning in now and you like what you're hearing,

Listen, might as well start from the beginning. My first episode was with my best friend, Dale. And over the years, I've had a plethora or a plethora, depending on how you want to say it. I'm going to say this year, I'll try to stick with plethora. No, plethora of incredible people, incredible humans, great stories, highly inspirational.

And just a lot of them just fun, you know? Today, today we're going to, I'm going to give you an update on some of the stuff I have coming up, but we're going to quickly go into a chat with my dear friend, Purcell, who if you haven't listening, little heartbeat listeners, you will be familiar with Steph. She is the founder of Vox Management in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And

Steph also is the co-producer for the Big Shiny Tunes with Dave Sampson and Mike Farrington Jr. and she has a lot of fun. I have a lot of fun with Steph. She's actually been one of those people in my life that has inspired me to invest time in myself and my friends. And it's made my life more enriched. And she's one of those friends that I love spending time with.

So yeah, we're going to chat today about Big Shiny Tunes, which is the big epic event of the year at the Marquis, February 6th and 7th. We'll tell you how to get tickets and all that jazz and share a little bit about why it's such a special event to attend. Yeah. So let's see. I just wanted to let y'all know if you're in the Halifax area, I do have a...

Christina (03:21.11)
a house concert coming up at one of my favorite places to play. It's called Patchwork House Concerts. Lovely hosts and friends, Monique and George have been hosting this incredible concert series for many, years. And so it's not our first time playing there and I hope it won't be our last, but that's February 14th, Valentine's Day. You can get tickets on my website and we're going to try to play, I was going through my catalog.

We're going to try to play all songs with the theme of love. There might even just be the word love in the song. I don't know, but that's our goal is to just focus on love on February 14th. So get your tickets for that because it is our only show, other than a sold out house concert in the South Shore coming up here January 17th with Pam and Alan Sampson. We love them.

Love their house concert. They had us last year and invited us back this year. But yeah, it's sold out so I can't tell you to go buy tickets for that. So February 14th is the last show before Dale and I go to Europe for a small stint of shows, 12 dates in April and early May. And I'm sure there'll be other things coming up. I just don't know what. Other than that, we are...

getting ready to release an album called The Essentials, which is a digital compilation of songs that we've enjoyed playing and have been fan favorites over the years, and a new single that will be released with that. So that's what we're working on, new music and writing more songs. I hope this year is great for all of you listening. And I'm feeling really good about it. Had great holidays. I feel...

pretty recharged and if you listen to the podcast, I've been trying to keep a pretty steady pace on my day to day. And I plan to do more of that. I do not have any wild expectations or aspirations other than just like paying off debt, keeping things simple, writing more songs, collaborating and more of what's been working, like spending time with friends and family and

Christina (05:45.514)
and snuggling with Dale and the cat, Olivia. Okay, everybody, so I hope you enjoyed this episode of A Chat with Heart with Steph Purcell, my dear friend. Go get your tickets to Big Shining Tunes.

Christina (06:05.89)
Okay, Stephanie, for anybody hearing for the first time about big shiny tunes, what is it, where is it, and where can people grab tickets?

Well, the show will be at the Marquis Ballroom on Goddagen Street where we've been hosting it every year. This is actually our fifth year. Tickets can be found at TicketPro. It will be taking place February 6th and 7th in the evening and tickets are $40 plus taxes and fees, you You the taxes and the fees, they gotta happen.

taxes and fees.

It's worth it. Yeah. You'll be like, why wasn't it a hundred dollars plus taxes and fees?

Exactly. People tell us it helps them get through the winter.

Christina (06:49.164)
Yeah, it helps me get through the winter. It's pretty much one of the biggest things that I like every day. I kind of rehearse a little bit and while I work out or whatever and like it just at first I was really terrifying, but then it just started to bring me more joy. It's it's really life enhancing.

Well, it's very good and you really shine on that stage. Like, everyone's like, Christina, she just always delivers.

What if I don't this year?

Then you'll be fired.

There's no guarantee that I'll be high next year.

Stephanie (07:27.982)
I know what you're doing. It's gonna be great.

It's not the same lineup every year, so.

I have to change it up a little bit, but it's really hard to say goodbye to people. Like, really hard because we want everyone. But the show can only be so long and, you know, you can only have so many people. And we like the format that we have. It works really well. So and we like to bring in a few new faces every year. So we just change it up. we've people have gone and then returned. Like we've got some people that have, you know, didn't didn't do it for a couple of years and they came back and.

So how do you choose the performers for Big Shiny Tunes Show?

It kind of comes down to there are a few real fan favorites that really deliver. And they also don't do a lot of other shows like this. So it makes a difference to have people that are on this show that aren't doing all these other kind of shows that are in town. And we just pick, honestly, we just like to have good people who bring the good vibes. The vibes need to be as good backstage as they are out in the crowd.

Stephanie (08:32.469)
And the people that bring like the really awesome energy to the green room, we love that. And we've had like just such a great group every year. Like the people that have come and done this show have just been so much fun. They love being there. And yeah, it's just all about the good vibes.

So how do Big Shanty tunes this particular event actually begin?

This event began with a conversation around the kitchen table, like so many things do. Dave Sampson, Mike Farrington and I were just hanging out one night having drinks. And we just started talking about like fun show ideas. It was still in the pandemic. it was, our first show was the spring of 2022. So it was, you know, it was early in that year, early in 2022. And we wanted to come up with an idea of a show that was just a fun night out.

that people, that there was no hierarchy in the like, who's opening, who's headlining. It was just like, everyone was on the same level and we were trying to come up with a good idea and it just, we're just kind of, you know, shooting the shit, coming up with ideas. And then the big shiny tunes idea came up, like, who doesn't, what's your favorite big shiny tunes album? You know, Dave asked me, he's like, what's your favorite big shiny tunes album? And he's like, two. And I was like, okay. And then we just kind of went from there.

Like that is the number one selling compilation in Canada and like of all time is Big Shiny Tunes too. So yeah, that's really just where it came from. And we reached out to a bunch of people and we're like, do you like this idea? And then we came up with the concept of the two bands, a band for each set. And that was also a way of bringing in more people, like just bringing more people to the party, you know? More band members.

Stephanie (10:30.283)
in addition to the artists.

The bands are hot. So fun to be on stage with them.

They're so good. Like as much as I love the singers and they always shine, like the band blows my brains. both bands, like everyone is so good. Like the songs to me sound so much like the record. It's the records. It's unreal, really.

Yeah.

Christina (10:56.042)
As a performer, gives me more confidence and I take it more seriously knowing that the bands are so hot and I think so much more fun. I'm not worried about anything except myself and messing it up, know, forgetting lyrics.

No, I get that. like, honestly, I feel like from day one, like the people that we picked, everyone like showed up. I think it was like you look around the room and you're like, I'm not going to be the, you know, this. I'm not letting anyone else outshine me. Like I need to like, I need to bring it. And I think everyone came with that same attitude. And yeah. And so the band has been like a repeat band every year. We don't.

We don't change that up. It's really about the core of the, that, band is available and, and we go.

Good. Don't fuck with it. It's working.

Yeah, it's a recipe that works, so we're happy with that.

Christina (11:55.502)
So how do you decide each year which songs make the cut?

The songs, it's...

I know the process and it's not simple.

No, it is not simple. also there's Mike and I are the same age, but Dave is about 10 years younger than us. So like what he knows and what we know is also like very different or what really like hits our hearts versus what hits his is also can be very different. Like songs that are so nostalgic to us. He's like, I don't even know what that is. You so you throw a lot of songs around.

And then we also ask for input. Everyone's really excited to give input from the band and from the singers as well. And then we just, but it's like, we can't have things that are, can't have things that are all too similar. Like if you decide like, we're gonna do a Nirvana song, like we can't do all things that are so skewed to like that genre. Like they have to be, you have to have pop, you have to have the rock, you have to have the heavy, you have to have the indie, you have to have the alternative, the grunge.

Stephanie (13:05.538)
You gotta have a little bit of everything to bring it all together. And like slow songs, we really try to only keep one slow song per set because the room definitely wants the energy. They crave the energy, like a lot. And if you don't know a song, like from the first, you know, two bars, it's like, no. Like if I don't know it immediately, like...

Same. I can't sing it if I don't really get to, but I'm often pitching songs that are not even on the big shiny tunes.

I get that.

Stephanie (13:40.48)
We took a handful of songs from that era because even sometimes there might be a hit song that garbage had, but the song that's on the record is not as big of a hit. I'd say just probably because much music couldn't afford to pay for the bigger hits, so they got the lesser ones. We take our own opportunity to pick whatever it is that we want. We keep coming down to like,

We're making the rules here, like we're producing this show, so it's okay to just pick something different. You know, we can just like make them up, make the rules up as we go along. But it is a lot of just hammering it out, listening to so many songs. And we all just listen to songs that are own, then we come together and work through it, really.

Well, I must say that the set lists are incredible and I've been there now two years in a row and this is coming up my third year and it's just, I mean, it's just wild. Like for someone coming for the first time, these are ticket buyers too listening, maybe they haven't been before. How would you describe a typical big shiny tunes night?

I the night as have, it's very positive energy, like positive vibes in the room. The bar staff too at the marquee, they love the show. So everyone's like amped when they go. Like everyone's just like in a good head space, having fun. And once the, and we also, play like, I also make a playlist of songs like from those genres, like from that era. So when you're in, you're already listening to songs from that era.

and then you go into the show. We've been really trying to do a bit of a dramatic, like, you know, killer song off. We were very specific about how we pick the first song because it really sets the tone for sure. The first song at the top of each set is selected specifically just because we really feel like it'll make an impact in the room. And then honestly, people are just singing along the whole time. They're dancing, they're screaming. Like, it is wild.

Stephanie (15:55.859)
and so much fun.

Yeah, even if I get so carried away in the moment, I don't want to forget my lyrics, but if I were to or slur a word, the audience is right there with you, giving you the lyrics back. Because it can be distracting. You're looking out and people are so into it and you kind of want to have a moment with everybody in the audience. But you got to stay on the beat.

And yeah, it's one of the most remarkable as a performer, like the energy, one the most remarkable events for really getting it back in your face. Like everything you give, you get back a million times more.

when you did the killer song that was, think that was your first one that you did. And you came off stage and you were just like, my God, was insane.

I hope it was such a blast.

Stephanie (16:58.688)
Yeah, it was just so fun for you to do it the first time because it's just, well, it's like there's 750 people in the room and, you know, they're just, they all know the words, like they're all singing along. Like it's just so, it's intensely, extremely fun.

Yeah, yeah. So go get your tickets, folks. your tickets. Yeah, don't let this be the year you miss and you'll never want to miss it again. Let's get out there and fill the room. And Steph, is there anything else you want to say about the big shiny tunes? And it's coming up. It's coming up soon.

Is there anything I want to say Big Shine Toons? It's, you know what? Get out and see some live music. It's a great time of year to get out of the house. It's early. We have it in the winter. You know, it's the first weekend of February. You will not be disappointed. You will have a great time and I'll give you your money back guarantee. It'll be a great, great time.

will give you your money back. Guaranteed.

Yeah, it's yeah, you will not regret it. It's such a fun night and yeah, it helps boost you through the winter.

Christina (18:08.142)
Yeah, totes. And a lot of us are staying at the Moxie Hotel.

Yeah, the Moxie Hotel is right around the corner and very convenient and a very fun little hotel, great bar, great restaurant. And you can also hit up the Winter Warmer in the middle of the afternoon. You want to go Saturday afternoon? We're on Friday night and Saturday night and then the Winter Warmer is on Saturday afternoon. I mean, you don't even have to go very

the warmers. I love them. It's actually, it's a similar kind of amazing positive vibe. And those are my two favorite shows in Halifax, so the winter.

Yeah. some of the members in the band that from Big Shiny Tunes also play or in the the warmers band and or perform and it's or performing in the show. it. I'm like, are you guys not so tired? They do three shows in 48 hours is one.

They're probably doing cocaine.

Stephanie (19:05.783)
No.

Christina (19:10.612)
No, it's incredible. Like, it's incredible what they do. Yeah, I would think they would be exhausted. I mean, I only have to do two songs.

I know. they'd be like, yeah, some of them like, like Tori Cameron, like she'll be performing. She sings every, she sings backup on every single song at Big Shiny Tunes and takes the lead on a song. And then plus she's like performing with the warmers. Like that girl is like unstoppable.

She is incredible. I love sharing the stage with Tori. All of them. Well, thanks, Steph. Thanks to you and thanks to Dave and you and Mike for making this a thing that people don't want to miss. It's like everyone wants to be a part of it. And get your tickets, folks, if you haven't yet. Do it. We'll see you there.

Christina (20:04.078)
I don't wanna say goodbye to you

Christina (20:12.711)
I don't wanna say goodbye to you

Christina (20:21.378)
Welcome to the Heartbeat Hotline, 1902-669-4769. I'm the host of a Chat with Heart podcast, Christina Martin, and I'm so excited you called. Leave me your question, suggestion for the podcast, or a comment about this episode. Please be aware your message may be used on the podcast and social media. Tell me your name, where you're calling from, and it's also fine if you want to remain anonymous. Thanks for listening.

Have a great fucking day. Hey, thanks for listening to a chat with heart produced by me Christina Martin Co-produced and engineered by my partner in life and sound Dale Murray. Dale's not just a wizard with knobs He's also a killer singer songwriter session musician and music producer go snoop around his world at Dale Murray dot CA the podcast theme song talk about it And I don't want to say goodbye to you were written by me and recorded by Dale want to support what we do

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