Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe welcomes listeners into the warm and comforting world of the Vinyl Cafe. Each episode features stories about Canada’s favourite fictional family: Dave, Morley and the kids, narrated by the late Stuart McLean and recorded live in concert. For the first time ever, long-time producer Jess Milton shares rare, behind-the-scenes stories from her 15 years touring, travelling, laughing, and recording with her close friend Stuart.This is a world that is rooted in kindness, connection, and the laughter of recognition. A world that brings people together to rejoice in our ridiculousness. A world where we celebrate the...
Latest episodes
-
46 min
Friendship - The Science Experiment & Newsboy Dave
“I found my father’s old chemistry set…”Today on the pod, two hilarious Stuart McLean stories about friendships, old and new, sometimes with explosive results!Ad-free listening is…
-
51 min
Loading In - The Lost Chords & The World’s Smallest Record Store
“Dave thought, it will never get any better than this. Some people have God, and some people have money, and some people don’t have anything at all. I have this. I have the beat an…
-
47 min
It's Arthurs Time!
“When Stuart stepped off his bus and waved goodbye, he thought to himself: This guy deserves an award.”Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! This week: shout-outs to some new Arthur nominee…
-
29 min
Performance - Kenny Wong and the Tank of Tranquility
“When things go wrong, when, it is seldom the result of some big thing, it is always a chain of simple things, almost all of them avoidable.”What makes a good performer? What makes…
-
48 min
M’Chigeeng - Le Morte D’Arthur
This week we’re spending the entire episode on beautiful Manitoulin Island. We have Stuart’s opening essay from our wonderful visit back in 2010, plus a story exchange and a very s…
-
52 min
Looking Good - The Hairdresser & The House Next Door
“Coming into Dave and Morley’s house is a bit of a challenge. You have to really want to get in.”There’s how things look…. And how things actually are! Today on the pod, two storie…
-
46 min
School Days - School Lunch & Planet Boy
“Just one day, she wanted one of them to come home and say ‘Gee, lunch was good.’”The alarm clocks are set, the pencils are sharpened, the backpack is loaded. It’s September! We’re…
-
1 min
Season 8 - Starting September 11th
Whether you've been on the road, by the lake or curled up with a good book, we hope you have enjoyed your summer. We are so looking forward to welcoming you back to the Vinyl Cafe.…
-
40 min
REWIND WEDNESDAY: All’s Well That Ends Well – Car Wash & Murphy’s Bar Mitzvah
"Thank God, he thought, help has arrived.”Dave tries to be helpful by offering to take Mary Turlington’s car to the car wash — but things don’t go exactly as planned. No stranger t…
-
38 min
REWIND WEDNESDAY: Summer Things - Dave and Morley, Dancing
"Dave said: 'You're thinking about dancing, aren't you?'"We’re looking towards summer on today’s episode. We have a script Stuart wrote about a magical evening spent in pursuit of…
-
35 min
We Regret to Inform You: Rejecting the Goalie Mask
Today we bring you an episode from our friends at the Apostrophe Podcast Network – one of the most-loved shows from the podcast ‘We Regret to Inform You.’If you’re new to the pod,…
-
30 min
REWIND WEDNESDAY: The Cricket - The Cricket & I Need to Pee
“He’s not well, Stuart.”We’re going way back today with two pieces from pre-Vinyl Cafe days! One is a favourite you’ve been requesting, back from Stuart McLean’s regular appearance…
-
51 min
REWIND WEDNESDAY: Hero Dave - The Yoga Retreat & Dave's Truck
“Dave chose Happy Hour: Three honey-mint-refresh-colonic cocktails.”The Yoga Retreat: a place of well-being, calm and reflection. Usually. But not always; or not for Dave and Steph…
-
41 min
REWIND WEDNESDAY: Seeds of Hope - The Fig Tree & Morley's Garden
“Eugene’s fig tree is the best-known tree in the neighbourhood.”We’re all about gardening on the podcast this week, with two Dave and Morley stories about the act of faith and hope…
-
29 min
Under the Influence - Setting the Table: Best Opening Stories
This week we bring you an episode from another Apostrophe Podcast network show: Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. In this episode, Terry shares some of his best opening stor…
-
48 min
REWIND WEDNESDAY: Bonus Episode - The Boy Who Went Over the Falls
In this bonus episode you’ll hear my conversation with Roger Woodward, the boy who went over the Falls. You loved hearing his remarkable story in our Niagara Falls episode (back in…
-
50 min
REWIND WEDNESDAY: There’s No Place Like Home - Tree of Heaven & Burd
“She was a woodland bird, in the middle of the city, way off course, and she had landed at his feeder.”Stuart McLean tells two Dave and Morley stories that explore the idea of home…
-
52 min
Summer in the City - The Waterslide & Rosemary Honey
“This waterslide was the waterslide to end all waterslides” School’s – almost – out for summer! For our final episode of this season we've got the podcast equivalent of a banger en…
-
49 min
Summer Adventures - MacCaulay’s Mountain & Letter from Camp
"This is the first summer Sam has been in Big Narrows without Dave and Morley..."We are so ready for summer here! Are you? So on today’s podcast we’re talking summer adventures, st…
-
52 min
Dads - Field Trip & Dave and the Rollercoaster
We're a few weeks early, I know, but this week on the podcast we’re celebrating Dads! We’ve got two hilarious stories about Dave’s parenting adventures.Ad-free listening is here! L…