It's a karaoke night! It's a talk show! It's a podcast! It's all of these things and more. Join Brendan Flaherty as he attempts to find the universal muse and showcase the karaoke superstars you never knew existed, Thursday nights at Amigos.
http://pleaseexplaintoronto.libsyn.com/podcast
Episode 47 - Denise Valle
Denise Valle is a prodigiously talented R&B singer/songwriter based in Saskatoon. For this show's final episode at the Saskatoon Public Library (for now?), we delved into the multi-purpose and echoey space in the Frances Morrison basement - presumably closer to wherever the forbidden books are stored.
We chat about singing with your back turned, Valle's Rosthern-based upbringing (home of the Wheatkings) and California-based education, the influence of El Salvadorean rancheras music and American pop around the house, the doors that opened from winning a local singing competition (The Duo) along with Brock Fehr, experiences performing in Mo' Love ("what about the elephants?"), cross-border observations, Valle's parents' journey from El Salvador to Los Angeles, the importance of and liberation in talking about experiences with racism and discrimination out loud, "vulnerability hangovers", building up songs from "skeletons", the artistic relationship with validation, the magic of Daniel Caeser, the wonder of Stevie Wonder, and other topics and tangents.
Denise Valle on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/denise-valle/tracks