Daybreak Alberta from CBC Radio Calgary

John Wort Hannam quit his job as a teacher and spent the next ten months depleting his savings and writing his first 10 songs. Now, 17 years later, Hannam has released album number 7. It's been quite a ride for the Alberta musician who, in recent years, has become a father, turned 50, and moved to "the big city" of Lethbridge. He's also suffered through bouts of depression and episodes of losing his singing voice. He sat down with Russell Bowers to chat about his life and play the title track from his new record, plus the tune "Only Love."

Edmonton singer-songwriter Ben Sures wrote a song almost a decade ago about a family friend. That song has come back into his life as a children's book. Ben sits down with Russell to discuss what it was like to be entrusted with this story, how it will live on through young readers, and they also plays new music from Ben Sures' new album, "Poema Poematis."

A new documentary has debuted at cbc.ca as part of the Absolutely Alberta series and it's from Edmonton fiilm-maker, Brandy Yanchyk. It's called "Ms. Scientist," and some of Canada's top female scientists reveal the challenges they face, as well as their groundbreaking work and their inspirational success. To find out more about the film which you can stream for free, Brandy Yanchyk joined Russell Bowers in the Daybreak studio.

In a profound, emotional, and at times humourous account, writer and artist Vivek Shraya shares how being trans has exposed to many different forms of aggression and abuse. Her new book, "I'm Afraid Of Men," approaches all she's endured with honesty and a willingness to admit to all the things she's been forced to compromise. Vivek spoke with Russell Bowers about the new book and how modern masculinity could and should change.

Ruby Remenda Swanson says she grew up in a homophobic time, however, always thought of herself as progressive. That is until her 16 year old son told her he was gay. Swanson found herself unprepared, going through stages of shock, fear, and denial. She outlines those feeling in a new memoir taking the reader from resistance and confusion to celebrating her son's true authentic identity. Daybreak Books Reviewer, Angie Abdou, joined Russell to speak about "A Family Outing."

It's the dream of any kid that plays hockey. You fight for the championship, win it all... and then have to fight for your lives against zombies - all on the same night. It could only happen in the movies and so that's the plot of "AHOCKALYPSE" (billed as "the world's first Hockey Zombie Comedy"). The indie film is a labour of love for Craig Patrick, a movie maker who also happens to own a couple of hockey teams in real life. The film also boasts some hockey cred with cameos by former coach, Barry Melrose and former St. Louis Blue, Kelly Chase. The movie is alvailable on Amazon and other VOD services, but ahead of its release, Russell spoke with film-maker Craig Patrick, as well as NHL commentator, Barry Melrose.

With a career spanning 40 years, one would think that Alfie Zappacosta would be keen to sit back and relax. The zenith of time as a pop superstar came in the 1980's when he scored Top 10 hits with songs like "We Should Be Lovers" and "Nothing Can Stand In Your Way," along with big soundtrack hits like Dirty Dancing ("Overload"). Since his days of big coats and big hair, Alfie Zappacosta found new directions like stage musicals. It was while touring for "Jesus Christ Superstar" that he found himself drawn to Edmonton. It's now a quarter century since he took his career to Alberta and he hasn't look back since. Zappacosta is celebrating two new projects in 2018, including a documentary called "No Avoiding Cliches," as well as a new album, "Strings Attached." Alfie joined Russell in the Daybreak studio where he played Daybreak DJ and took a long look over his ambitious catalogue of work.

In 1943, one of the most important missions of World War II was undertaken by an international force of 133 aircrew, that included 30 Canadians. Eight of the nineteen bombers failed to return, and of the 30 Canadian airmen, only 15 survived. In his new book, "Dambusters - Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany," historian Ted Barris takes readers inside a Lancaster bomber to give you a first account of what it was like to carry out a treacherous secret mission. Ted Barris is familiar to CBC Radio audiences, Globe and Mail readers, as well as in the pages of his 18 books. Barris visited the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton, Alberta to help commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Dambusters raid. He sat down with Russell Bowers to discuss his book and career.

In March of 2017, Russell Bowers did a Daybreak@Night show in Cold Lake, and he chatted with Craig Conechny, owner of Beantrees Cafe, as well as Teresa Patton, a theatre professional. They both wanted to establish a downtown theatre in Cold Lake, creating a venue for plays, music and more. Well, fast forward to the summer of 2018 and the Grand Parlour theatre is a reality. August 10-12, it will host The Verge Arts Fesitval, featuring plays, live music, and other Cold Lake creators. You can get more info about tickets and shows by going to grandparlour.ca. Russell returned to Cold Lake in July and caught up with Craig Conechny to found out more about how the Grand Parlour theatre came to life.

"How can you mend a broken heart," the Bee Gees once asked. Well for two actors, part of the mending can be found in songs that remind us of lost loves, and those tunes just let us have a good sob about it. Sara Simpson and Nicole Zylstra created "All Request Heartache" for the 2018 Calgary Fringe Festival. The show takes song requests from the audience and turns them into improvised mini-biographies of love and loss. Nicole Zylstra came by the Daybreak studio to share a few a weepy songs with Russell

Brittany Lyseng has been a comedian for five years and during that time, she's played all sorts of venues from big-time comedy clubs to small town community fundraisers. It's toughened her up for the sharp elbows you have to take on the competitve world of stand-up comedy. Brittany is one of Top 18 acts named for Sirius XM's Top Comic and now she's looking for the public to cast their vote for her. She dropped by Daybreak studio to chat with Russell about finding laughs in her family, and in the elevator shaft(?).

Puppeteer, Michelle Warkintin, and her family had to face the reality of dymentia when a family member started to display symptoms of the disease and finally came to forget those to which she had been so close. As part of the Calgary Fringe Festival (August 3-11), Michelle will be performing the show, "Mii Other Woman," a tale for a character she created who also has succumbed to dymentia. The show challenges what we imagine is the internal life of someone who's forgotten their past, but also how we should feel about being forgotten.

For years, he played with popular Edmonton rock group, Tupelo Honey. But then, Dan Davidson went back to school and moved on to a solo career. Now he's on tour across Canada with the biggest independent single on the country music charts. Listen in as Dan joins Russell for a chat and plays a couple of tracks from his album, "Songs For Georgia."

Each month on Daybreak, Angie Abdou stops in to review a new Alberta book, however, she also well-known as an accomplished novelist, including her latest, "In Case I Go," in the shops now. In Spetember 2018, she has a memoir forthcoming entitled "Home Ice: Reflections of a Reluctant Hockey Mom" For the month of July, Angie Abdou is back in the Daybreak studio with Russell to review a new book from an Alberta author, and this month it's a poetry collection from a past winner of the CBC Poetry Prize, "Tar Swan" by David Martin.

As the Cold Lake gets ready to welcome visitors for its "Full Throttle Fesitval" and CFB Cold Lake's bi-annual air show, the city is doing its best to remain the tourism and retail hub for the Lakeland district. However, even with thousands working and living on the forces base, the city has taken its share of a financial hit with the downturn in the oil industry. Last year, Cold Lake's mayor, Craig Copeland ran unopposed for re-election but that doesnt mean he hasn't had to contend with some big challenges. So, with more on why the mayor says Cold Lake is still a vibrant place to live, Russell Bowers spoke with Craig Copeland at the Officers Mess on Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake.