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Hockey, beer and music: Sam Roberts chats with Jim McGuinn

  Play Now [14:31]

by Jim McGuinn

November 22, 2014

Jim McGuinn and Sam Roberts
Jim McGuinn and Sam Roberts in The Current studio.
MPR photo/Luke Taylor

Capping off a cavalcade of Canadian acts to come into The Current this week (the Barr Brothers and Stars), Sam Roberts stopped in to the studio to talk to Jim McGuinn. The Sam Roberts Band play tonight at the Turf Club in St. Paul, after playing in Winnipeg earlier this week. "Lake Superior," Sam posits, "Do you go above it or go below? Going to Thunder Bay and Sault Sainte Marie is our more traditional route, but we decided to come through Minneapolis and hit up Chicago tomorrow night."

With hockey, beer and music in common, Sam and Jim have a great chat. Like The Current, the Sam Roberts Band have delved into their own craft beer. Ontario-based Spearhead Brewery initiated the conversation. "It's as intense as making a record," Sam says. "There's a whole creative process behind it … How do you define the spirit of the band via beer?"

Listen to the whole interview to hear Sam and Jim play a trivia game, "Dead, Canadian, Neither or Both."