Vish Khanna


Vish Khanna is a Canadian cultural journalist, podcaster, and radio personality, known for producing and hosting the Kreative Kontrol podcast, The Wrath of Khanna show on CBC Radio 3, his work as an assistant editor at Exclaim! Magazine, and as a contributor to Pitchfork, Signal to Noise and others. Khanna was born in Kitchener, Ontario and raised in Cambridge. He lived in Guelph for more than 20 years and currently resides in Edmonton.

Broadcasting

He co-hosted the Mich Vish Interracial Morning Show!, a weekly program on CFRU-FM in Guelph, Ontario. Since co-founding the program on April 20, 2005, Khanna interviewed many prominent artists on the show such as Steve Albini, Ian Mackaye, Nomeansno, Marc Maron, GZA/Genius, Eugene Mirman, Ron Sexsmith, Will Oldham, Patton Oswalt, Cee-Lo Green, Bill Callahan, Patti Smith, David Berman, Gord Downie, Donald Glover, Buck 65, Large Professor, Harmony Korine, Vic Chesnutt, Julie Doiron, D.A. Pennebaker, Fred Armisen, Rick Froberg, Mavis Staples, Mike Birbiglia, and members of Can, Sloan, The Jesus Lizard, Arcade Fire, Pavement, Tortoise, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and The Lonely Island among many others. The show went on indefinite hiatus on July 27, 2011.
Khanna was a producer/host on CBC Radio 3, creating The Breakfast Club, a weekly podcast derived from a segment on his morning show in which he interviewed notable Canadian musicians over breakfast in cities across the country. Many prominent guests were on the show and episodes were recorded in every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. He left CBC Radio 3 in December 2011 and went on to host and write for CBC Music before his position was eliminated in March 2013. He remains a columnist for the CBC Radio One show, The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers.
Khanna launched his own podcast, Kreative Kontrol with Vish Khanna, in May 2013 and has interviewed musicians, comedians, athletes, authors, organizers, and more. The show itself has been covered by Pitchfork Media, NME, Exclaim!, Stereogum, SPIN, The A.V. Club, and others.

Musician

Khanna was the drummer in the hardcore band Captain Co-Pilot with Steve Lambke and Dallas Wehrle, both of whom went on to play in the band Constantines. He first toured North America, as a roadie for Royal City, documenting such trips on tape, film, and via tour diaries. From 2000 on, he subsequently went on to play drums in the Neutron Stars, Calyx, Dry Tickle, Nathan Coles Outfit, and John Tielli's Metal Kites. He played guitar and sang lead in a community folk-rock band called the Cryin' Out Loud Choir, and occasionally makes hip-hop songs. He also played drums for both Wax Mannequin and The Burning Hell on the Hear Some Evil Tour. Khanna currently participates in a special events-based music project called King Neptune and his Tridents, which he co-founded in 2003.

Community Involvement

Khanna was a DIY concert organizer in Guelph in the mid-1990s. In 2001 he started the "Stay Out of the Mall" mini-festival, which takes place annually, in December. He used to organize one benefit concert a month when he worked for CFRU between 2005 and 2008. He called the series “RYV,” which stood for “Raise Your Voice,” the station's moniker for its fundraising campaign. After leaving that position, he started his own series under the banner KYEO, which is a reference to a Fugazi song of the same name. Shows were at one point co-presented with John Bonnar of the University of Guelph’s Central Student Association, and usually occurred at the Ebar in Guelph, and beneficiaries would include the Guelph Food Bank, Out on the Shelf, and the Canadian Cancer Society among others. Khanna served on the Guelph Jazz Festival's board of directors, and was a volunteer/MC for the Hillside Festival.