Yellowknife (Jun 16/06) - Stuart McLean is an observer, a storyteller and a teacher, even when he is being interviewed.

Offering observations on the "infantilizing" height of a restaurant booth, the nuances of a malfunctioning rental car or the pace of life in Yellowknife, the veteran broadcaster comes across clever and thoughtful - and as someone with a clear love for what he does.

Vinyl Cafe host Stuart McLean signs copies of his books for well-wishers at the Yk Book Cellar in Panda II mall. McLean will present Vinyl Cafe live tonight and tomorrow night at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre. - Adam Johnson/NNSL photo

"I'm the guy with the spotlight in a vaudeville theatre," he explains, craning his elbows onto the too-high table. "Right now, I have the opportunity to shine the spotlight on Yellowknife."

For 11 years, McLean has been illuminating places around the world with his radio show, The Vinyl Cafe. Soon, he will have travelled from Tuktoyaktuk to Edinburgh, from Newfoundland to Australia, sharing stories of Dave and Morley, the owners of The Vinyl Cafe (motto: "We may not be big, but we're small"). In the process, he has given his insights into the places he visits, and has introduced people to a lot of good music.

McLean is quick to explain why he spends 200 days of the year on the road.

Quoting the NWT's 11 official languages and history of premiers with First Nations backgrounds the former Ryerson journalism instructor says "there are great lessons to be learned here."

"As a broadcaster, I want us - the Canadian us - to be our best selves," he says, reflecting the goals he set out as a teacher. In that sense, McLean says he is still a teacher, but a student, as well. As he speaks, it's easy to see why 700,000 people tune in to his show every weekend.

These are the same folks who bought every available ticket to his shows at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre within 12 hours. McLean doesn't seem to enjoy dwelling on that sort of thing, however.

"I like the idea of it," he says, the idea of 600-plus people coming out to watch a man sit and talk, without a lot of noise or artifice.

McLean says he appreciates the enjoyment audiences pull from the stories and characters of the Vinyl Cafe itself, even though he doesn't know what kind of world they really live in.

"I'm not sure where it comes from. Maybe it comes from my childhood. It might be the way I want the world to be. It might be how I thought the world was."

"I think it's the way I see the world," he says, as he drives to the hotel, late to pick up his slightly flustered producer, Jess Milton, en route to dinner at the Wildcat Cafe.

He says the future of the show, taking it to more and more places around the world, is what keeps it fresh and invigorating for him. Tied into that, he says, is the show's promotion of new music and new artists.

To this end, he will be sharing the stage with Yellowknife favourites Leela Gilday, Brodie Dawson and Tracy Riley.

"It's the process of keeping yourself awake," he says, as the car door closes and he drives on down Franklin Ave.

Stuart McLean will present Vinyl Cafe live tonight and tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. at NACC.