Slim Twig, 19 years old. Greektown.

Slim Twig is pretty damn slim. I didn't ask to weigh him during our interview (a missed opportunity to be sure) but you've probably seen those black, rail thin jeans of his slinking down Queen Street, on his way to the Music Gallery.

In this column we talk to musicians; sometimes about the music they make, sometimes about whatever tangent they happen to go off on. And once in a while we may talk to non-musicians as well, just to keep you on your toes.

In this installment, we talk to manic frontman for Toronto's Run with the Kittens, Nate Mills (aka Nate Milk) about bikes, petty theft, cocaine, devotion, and comedy.

This weekend Beats, Breaks & Culture will celebrate its fifth year anniversary, bringing some of the best new music and culture to the Harbourfront Centre.

This year in particular the line up is quite impressive, with some of the best national and international talent such as Ladytron and Crystal Castles on the bill.

And did I mention that admission is FREE?

For well over a decade, Montreal-based musician Mike Feuerstack has released solo material as snailhouse. I remember always liking his lo-fi acoustic songs whenever they were played on the Indie Hour, but it was always kind of a mystery because I rarely heard about the band anywhere else.

Turns out that Mike was busy with his main band Wooden Stars. They released four acclaimed albums and after an eight-year hiatus they reformed in 2007 and won a Juno award for their collaboration with Julie Doiron. Mike also plays in The Acorn, who I loved at Canadian Music Week.

Luckily for us, Mike has found the time to record and release a very sweet new snailhouse album called Lies On The Prize (Unfamiliar Records). Mike's voice is soulful and his lyrics are very thoughtful. The instrumentation is top notch and the album takes a few interesting turns as it goes along.

But why is he called snailhouse? What does he think about Toronto? What's up with his CD release show this Thursday at the Drake? I asked Mike these questions and many more.

Keep reading for the complete interview.

With a heavy heart I type this edition of my Q&A series. This is the first one where I'm speaking to a band who are about to play their last shows. Foreign territory for me, as I tend to focus on "up- and-comers" who I encourage our beloved readers to check out.

A Northern Chorus is an ambient rock band that every fan of moody, atmospheric, heart-felt music would like. But sadly, after eight years and four full-length records (released by Sonic Unyon Records), they are packing it in before graduating past their "up-and-comer" status.

A Northern Chorus play their final Toronto show tonight at the Horseshoe. Singer/guitarist Pete Hall shared some memories with me about how the band started, the difficult road they travelled and why there is still lots to look forward to.

Keep reading for the complete interview.

North America has really embraced the new electro house movement with open arms, and it boasts a lot of popular DJs and producers in the scene. While European countries like Italy might still prefer the more traditional club sounds, Italian duo Crookers are representing their homeland in a very big way these days with rap-inspired electro house sets and killer remixes for big names like Kid Cudi, Armand Van Helden and Chromeo.

I was on a mission to see just how un-jazz I could make my jazz festival experience this year, so I hauled ass to The Mod Club (722 College) on Wednesday night to see turntablist extraordinaire RJD2 (aka Philadelphia's Ramble John "RJ" Krohn).

Sadly, when I got there, the gentleman checking names at the door informed me that there were to be absolutely no photos of RJ himself. In order to get my camera in, I had to swear on a stack of vintage funk and R&B vinyl (and all else that is sacred) that I'd comply. Not wanting to violate any personal beliefs about soul theft, I contented myself with digging the tunes and shooting the openers.

TO's DJ T-Lo kicked it off with a 2-table set mixing up a lot of deeply funky hip hop records (lots of Tribe in the mix). Cool grooves, very laid back.

As part of the TD Jazz Festival this week, Montreal chanteuse Amanda Mabro will performing at the Supermarket tonight. Amanda's old school belt-out jazz has a sense of theatrical throwback as she mixes in French and German cabaret influences - think Ella Fitzgerald meets Marlena Dietrich more than Jane Monheit. Having just released her Red Rows EP which CBC Radio 1 calls "groundbreaking", Amanda is busy with the jazz festival season with another concert at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal next week. She also produces WAWA (WeAre WomenArtists) which recently wrapped its fourth annual show back in her hometown.

In this new column, we talk to musicians, sometimes about the music they make, sometimes about whatever tangent they happen to go off on. And once in a while we may talk to non-musicians as well, just to keep you on your toes.

We're going to kick the whole thing off this week with ten things you ought to know about one of the busiest musicians in town, guitarist Reg Schwager.

Toronto queer indie darlings, Dance Yourself To Death, are becoming one hot ticket these days, and thanks to hat-trick style gig booking this Pride Week, they're also making it pretty much impossible for you to miss a performance.