Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - 10 Toronto Jams: Toronto Mike'd #677

Episode Date: July 1, 2020

Mike is joined by music journalist Michael Barclay on Canada Day to kick out his 10 Toronto Jams.

Welcome to episode 677 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Palma Pasta, enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Garbage Day. Weekly reminders for garbage, recycling and yard waste pickup. Visit GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike to sign up now. StickerU.com. Create custom stickers, labels, tattoos and decals for your home and your business.

The Keitner Group. They love helping buyers find their dream home. Text Toronto Mike to 59559. And we welcome back our friends from Pumpkins After Dark. More on that soon. I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me in person from the TMDS Backyard Studio on this beautiful Canada Day 2020 is Michael Barclay. Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back, Michael.

This is one of the most beautiful Canada Days, I would have to say. Biking here from downtown, Waterfront Trail, glorious. Wow. Crowded already in the morning, too. Hey, you know how they've been closing? So on weekends during the summer, we've been getting Lakeshore closed to traffic so you can bike on it. They didn't do that today, right? No.

Oh, I was thinking that would have been a nice touch. Throw that in on Canada Day because I want to get out there later. But yes, good on you for biking here. I see your bike behind you. Brand new bike. Oh, yeah. Okay, cool. My other one got stolen at the beginning of all this pandemic,

so I had to buy a new one before they sold out from every store. I heard they're in demand, the bikes here. While I just quickly boost you a little bit, so let's tell the people about your microphone if we can, because you're the first guest to bring his own mic. B-Y-O-M. about your microphone if we can, because you're the first guest to bring his own mic.

B-Y-O-M. So I'll be adjusting your level on your, and I want to just let the people know, this mic required I turn on phantom power, and I felt that was very appropriate because you are the man who wrote the unauthorized biography of the Tragically Hip. Correct. And remind us of the name.

I have it, I've read it, it's very good. What's it called? It it called it's called the never-ending present story of gordowny and the tragically hip came out april 2018 on ecw press available in hardcover and paperback ideal for all your canada day needs and uh just the other day i had alan cross in here and one of the listener questions was something like now that now that uh he's right uh who's uh you okay over there yeah yeah yeah um now that we uh well who's the guy who's hebsey's buddy who's in charge of the hip again jake gold you know that's what you're gonna be hearing about that yeah because i was like i was pulling up the name jake gold which i say on a regular basis sometimes i wake up and go thank god for jake gold and i couldn't pull it out i'm like where's that name and that's a sign of my me getting older i think but uh now that jake gold's

in charge of the tragically hip while working with the tragically hip again managing them i asked alan cross like what would he like jake gold to do and alan talked about uh the vault and he talked about like an authorized biography and et cetera, et cetera. But you, you're kind of the authority on the tragically hip stuff. Like,

like what would you like Jake Gold to do now that he's back there? I want him to release the hounds. Okay. Now like Mr. Burns, like Mr. Burns, like the current owners of Prince's vault,

crack it open and let's see what's there. Yeah, I mean, I'm told, again, I wrote an unauthorized biography, so I interviewed Jake for that, but not the members of the band. So I'm not inner circle by any means. But Alan Cross will tell you that he has seen the vault and there's tons of stuff in there. At the very least, I think fans want some kind of pictorial archive. There's tons of amazing posters and photos and all kinds of stuff. I don't know if they have to go full Neil Young archives on the whole thing,

but there's a lot there. But the other interesting thing with a band like that is sometimes you wonder if they didn't put out a lot there but the other the other interesting thing with a band like that is sometimes you wonder if they didn't put out a lot of stuff like if it's maybe we have all the gold already you know what i mean like a lot of people are no pun intended yes right but a lot of people do a lot of editing and kind of give you the best and and that's that's great now in terms of studio stuff that is there's tons of live stuff that i know want, and there's been a slow trickle of stuff coming out over the years.

But yeah, especially live video footage. I think there's a lot of early stuff that a lot of people have never seen. I mean, even like that Misty Moon special that was on Much Music Forever in the early 90s. You know, it'd be great for that to have an official release. There's lots of stuff they can find and put out.

Like, is there a, like, I'm thinking of like a You Know You're Right or something, like Nirvana had a hit, you know, in 2002 or whatever. Oh, yeah. The Greatest Hits record. Right. And it was, you know, got heavy airplay, and I dug it, and, you know,

that was many years after Kurt had passed away. Like, is there anything like that? Or even what's the Free as a Bird, right? What's the Beatles had a hit with Free as a Bird? Come on, those are not great songs. I don't have any high hopes for a new material that we haven't heard from the tragically hit um there's you know infamously a shadow version they called it of day for night which apparently is pretty weird and and they themselves were weirded out by it and didn't want to put it out i'm super curious to hear that i've talked to

mark howard the producer of the record. You also talked to Mark. Yeah, he's an FOTM, yeah. Yeah, I'd love to hear that stuff. And I'd love to hear stuff from the Man Machine sessions because that's one of my favorite records. I love what Kevin Drew brought out of them and Dave Hamlin. And, you know, that was kind of one of their weirder records too. So, I mean, I like the weirder stuff.

So I'm kind of curious what's there. Or maybe there's better versions of some stuff that we already know and love. I know there's also some interesting stuff from Phantom Power. Steve Berlin told me about some interesting alternate takes. There's a version of Fireworks with a bunch of trombones on it apparently. It could be terrible, I don't know, but I'd be really curious to hear it.

Yeah, it'd be nice to hear it and then say oh it sucks rather than never get to hear it right let's like release the hounds as you say i mean you know there's all this uh this is true of any artist you know and prince fans have gone through this for years and or someone like jeff buckley who dies after one real record and then there's a slow trickle of all kinds of stuff of varying quality over the years. Right. As a fan, I don't always have high expectations of that, no matter who we're talking about. But I'm intensely curious, as I'm sure a lot of hip fans are,

about what might be there. And new stuff, stuff Gord was working on in the last year of his life, like a record with Dinner Is Ruined, other stuff with the Sadies, other stuff with Kevin Drew, Kevin Hearn. He was very productive in that last year, year and a half or so. So, yeah, there's a lot of interesting stuff, I think. Do you know of the Jake Gold deal? It's just the Tragically Hip, right?

Would it include that stuff too? My understanding is it includes Gord. Wow, okay. I haven't revisited that press release, but it did mention something about it because I think the Downey brothers, Patrick and Mike, are, I don't know if legally this is the case but for lack of a better term they're executors of the estate so uh I'm pretty sure they entered into that partnership too with Jake so good stuff good stuff so so how you doing um I don't know if you

heard we're in the middle of a global pandemic so uh yes my mom my mom got it for her 80th birthday that was the day the day was declared was her birthday. Oh, I thought you were going to say she got COVID for it. No, no, no. I was like, wait a second. How's she doing? Okay. So, but everyone is healthy? Everyone's okay? I got tested last week because a drunk old man coughed on my partner. So we both got tested.

And I had a friend, Stu Stone, if people listen to the stew stone pandemic friday episode he was describing it he said it was like a big q-tip tickling your brain yep uh it's a combination of being punched in the nose and getting water up your nose after doing a cannonball it's some kind of special combination of those two sensations and how many seconds does that sensation last for approximately? I don't know if you had to stop one. Five seconds. Maybe. Okay. Longer than you want it to, but it's not interminable.

Okay. Well, I'm glad it came back negative for you there. And so everybody's safe. Everybody is healthy. And masks are, I don't know, what date do masks become mandatory in public indoor spaces? I thought it was yesterday. Maybe. Only about half the grocery store I was in had them.

I feel like maybe it's not, maybe it's July 2nd, maybe. Like maybe it's tomorrow. I should know. Oh, we get the day off. The day when most people gather. Well, I don't know what your thoughts on this are, but to me this is like such a giant no-brainer. Like we know it's such an inexpensive way to kind of halt the spread of this, you know of covid 19 done it three months ago i i think i i know i tweeted because i retweeted

yesterday but uh like the best time to make masks mandatory was three months ago but the second best time is right now like what are we waiting for but look it happened so uh uh but you when you're outdoors i saw how like when if you're walking uh you you have a partner you, when you're outdoors, I saw how, like when you, if you're walking, uh, you, you have a partner, you, uh, when you're walking with your partner, do you wear a mask? I, I wear a mask. I live near Queen and Austin. So I wear a mask if I'm on Queen or Ossington. Um, but generally I take alleys or side roads or in the park and I don't then, but if I'm

anywhere crowded and certainly if I'm anywhere indoors, I do. Yeah. Indoors to me is for sure. I don't then. But if I'm anywhere crowded and certainly if I'm anywhere indoors, I do. Yeah. Indoors to me is for sure. And you're right. If you can't control like who's within, you know, two meters of you. Like generally we walk on streets where it's quite easy to walk into the middle of the road and not worry, like just avoid people entirely. So, but I mean, as it goes on and all the idiots come out, like I've, I've started feeling

like just wearing it all the time anyway, just to F you to people who think it doesn't matter. Like just to make it socially normal, I feel like I should be doing, even if I'm totally safe, even if I'm biking through a park and there's nobody there, I feel like maybe I should just have it on. So to normalize it when people see me. Maybe, except I can tell you,

cause I was, I biked to the no frills yesterday and I wore it in the no frills. And then I had it on for like the first, I would say the first 10 meters of my bike ride. And I remembered why I never bike with it on very uncomfortable, especially on a hot day like this, very uncomfortable, but,

um, masks are mandatory. Everybody, uh, indoors, indoors, indoor public spaces in Toronto, I guess.

Right now, uh, you were mentioned in the Ben Rainer app. So like, maybe take a moment here if we can, and let's describe the backyard studio just for those listening on the podcast. So we're live on Periscope, but okay.

So do you feel safe? I guess because you're very aware and following the rules. How do you feel safety-wise? We're about three meters away. I did bring my own microphone and audio technica from forfeited podcast aspirations 10 years ago

that I've been using for Zoom calls at home. You've got a handy bottle of hand sanitizer right here. For you to drink. That's right. As well as your sponsored product here. No, this is very comfortable, very safe. Now, the mic, it's a... And may I say, it's a lot more pleasant than your basement.

I said, well, Iceblatt was over here yesterday He says hi by the way Since I mentioned his name I'll bring this up and we'll go back to the Ben Rayner episode But Mark Weisblatt said He always read Remind me, I'm sorry What was the name of the publication where you could be read

While he was writing in iWeekly? I also wrote for iWeekly. Okay. I also wrote for Exclaim. I wrote for the Waterloo Record, which maybe he read. He reads a lot of weird things. But we both wrote for iWeekly at the same time, I believe. Although he was a day one-er and I didn't start until about 2000.

Well, he was telling me yesterday about how he used to hate read you. I'm sure it's mutual. till about 2000. Well, he was telling me yesterday about how he used to hate read you. And he, he was, he was wondering aloud if, uh, did you ever hate read him? This is, uh,

the query I have for you. I don't have hate in my heart. There's no, you don't hate read anything. I, I, I know why he would probably hate read me because, uh,

I'm very earnest. And, um, and also I, I think think part of his whole shtick, if I can use that word, is he really liked pissing people like me off. And because he loved to talk about, you know, like one had wondered top 40 CanCon stuff.

Or, you know, like that's his thing. And he was far ahead of the game in terms of what we now call poptimism, like placing, you know, that's that's his thing and he you know he was far ahead of the game in terms of what we now call poptimism like placing you know ariana grande on par with whatever i don't know dirty projectors i don't know why i just thought of them but sure it's like uh this notion that you know everything is is equal and we should treat you know taylor swift as importantly as as we treat uh i don't know, Bjork, you know? Right. So he was far ahead of the game for that.

And I was a very earnest indie rocker for the most part. So he does say hi. I have great respect for his work. No, it's a mutual respect. I just found it interesting that he was hate reading you. And he wondered if you were hate reading him at the same time. The only person I ever hate read was Tim Perlick. But there's no hate in your heart so how did you

muster that? Well I've got over that. I have a lot of empathy for him now but yeah he would purposely like yeah he's a fascinating character in the history of Toronto music journalism. Well okay speaking of Toronto music journalism more recently like

can you share some thoughts on Ben Rayner? Because Ben was the first guest in the Backyard studio, and then Wise Blunt, so all three of you at some point were writing about music somewhere in the city. For the Toronto Star Empire. Right, that's right, Toronto Star.

So Ben, no longer with the Toronto Star, he did mention he saw your very tall doppelganger. News to me, yeah. I have not seen this. There's one in Peterborough apparently, but I haven't heard of one in Toronto. So they're out there. Well, what

are your thoughts? I think your perspective would be interesting on the fact that the Toronto Star no longer has the Peter Howells and the Ben Rayners covering entertainment and arts from the city. Yeah, I think it's terrible because I love the arts and I loved Ben's writing and Ben was one of the reasons I subscribed. I know that all his bosses will tell him that nobody read his stuff online. I did. I got a physical globe and a digital star,

and those are my Toronto paper readings. I love his writing. He's been a great thing for the city in the last 22 years. He has much broader taste than maybe he gets credit for. Often when I'd be researching something, I would find a full feature on that artist by Ben. I'm talking about a new Somali artist from northwest Toronto or something, I would find a full feature on that artist by Ben. Like I'm talking about like a new, you know, Somali artist from Northwest Toronto or something. I'd be like,

I'm surely sure no one's written about this person. Oh, there's a feature by Ben. Right. And so I think he's great. I have maximum respect for his work and his work ethic and just who he is. What I would add to all that, though, is that I worry that it leads to this dumping on the star as a publication, and it's like, everyone's like, oh, screw the star, and it's like, well, I think the Toronto Star does a fantastic job of covering the city. I briefly wrote for the West End Phoenix last year

writing about municipal politics, and just reading more closely what people like Jennifer Pagliaro do and her, that whole team there. Right. They really do fantastic work. And they also cover different corners of the city incredibly well in ways that the Globe Mail just does not, that is not part of their mandate whatsoever.

And just frankly, I've never been a sun reader or a Post reader. So I don't have really informed opinions on those. But I do think the Star does a fantastic job. I think it's an essential paper. And maybe what the Star should do is just be that city paper, like cover the city really well. And I don't know what people will pay for or what they won't,

but that would cut their overhead and serve the city well. I wish that arts was part of that equation, but I'm not one of these people who are like, screw the Toronto Star and end all legacy media. So are you no longer writing for the West End Phoenix? I'm taking a year-long book leave. Can you tell us the topic of this book? It's in my

wheelhouse. I thought we would have announced it by now. We will be announcing it sometime this summer, but it is another Canadian music book. I will say that. Okay, so clearly... So I'm taking this year to write it. This is the unauthorized biography of Rusty, which I've been

waiting for, by the way. I'll be the first customer. I'll let you write that one. No disrespect to Rusty, but I've been waiting for, by the way. I'll be the first customer. I'll let you write that one. No disrespect to Rusty, but I'm pretty sure you're a bigger fan than I am. Come on. You've got all the source material. You've already done the interview. Just write it.

No, it's true. It's true. One day I'll write a book, Toronto Mike's Greatest Hits or something like that. You're right. I have done all the hard part. Okay, so you mentioned you're not ready to make the announcement on which musical, musician or band you were.

It's not one band. It's not one band. It's a whole scene. Okay. Okay, this is exciting. I can't wait to, when you make the announcement, make sure you drop by the Backyard Studio and make it here.

I want it here. I made a pretty obvious reveal on Twitter a while ago, but absolutely nobody noticed. Okay, well, just recite that tweet right now, and people will notice. I don't remember when it was. It was a couple months ago. I think it was on the NeverEnding Presidents anniversary.

So in April, sometime in April. If you really want to scour my April tweets, you can do that. Okay, all right. I'm going gonna make a quick announcement which is this is from the chief pumpkin ear his name is james he's the james is the chief pumpkin ear and james writes uh because of covid19 and the fact that halloween may not happen this year is that true is it are we considering i guess that's true right because you can't go door to door are you not wearing a mask well you're guess that's true, right? Because you can't go door to door. Are you not wearing a mask?

Well, you're right. A mask. This might be the safest holiday we have this year. That's true. And maybe we could rejig it. We're like, I don't know. I guess, yeah, it'll be tough. But you have like the treats. Like you don't go to the door anymore.

The treats are like. Oh, yeah, you have to sanitize. Yeah. There's got to be a way. We've got to figure this out. I don't know. Okay, but a cheap pumpkin. Back to apples.

You can wash them in the sink very easy. You don't have to worry about packaging. You don't have to worry about razors because that was always an urban myth, right? There were never razors. Fresh fruit. Just go and get fresh fruit, wash it in your sink, you're fine. You grew up in the 80s, right?

Why were we so, we were very scared of razors and all of it. I don't remember. I remember the story being around, but I didn't know anyone who was actually scared. I think, I'm pretty sure I had to go through my stuff after, like it had to go on the table to be analyzed. But you did stop getting apples, that's true. Because there was a dentist on my street who always gave everybody apples. Yeah, the apples did disappear, absolutely. Okay, Chief Pumpkineer James is talking.

Let's give him the floor. Because of COVID-19 and the fact that Halloween may not happen this year, I felt it was extremely important that we put on an event so that kids and families have something to look forward to at this incredible time of year. Unfortunately, due to the drive-through format, tickets will be extremely limited. And once a time slot is sold out, it's gone. So here's what's happening. And I'm just going to share a few details because the promo code hasn't even kicked in yet, but this is

July 1st. So pumpkins after dark are going to be a 2.5 kilometer driving route through an 88 acre farm in Milton. It's called Country Heritage Park and there's going to be over 150 sculptures and 7,000 pumpkins. That's up from the 5,000 last year. They're carving out 2,000 more pumpkins. So I'll have more information later, but I just want to welcome back Pumpkins After Dark. It's just nice to have them back. And last year they were here for like September and October, but this year it's only July 1st. We're already talking about Halloween. So this is very exciting. So welcome back Pumpkins After Dark. I think your Garbage Day sponsor just drove by. I don't know if that was on the mic

or not. I got an alert. Okay. And you have Michael. I don't even have to ask you. I know because you listen to, well, you'll probably cherry pick. I suspect you cherry pick your episodes of Toronto Mike. That's okay. I'm okay with that. Yes. GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike. You've signed up, of course, right? Absolutely. You wouldn't lie to me.

Everybody should. Great service and you get your alerts of what's going out to the curb tonight. So thank you, GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike. And of course if you have any Toronto real estate questions at all, you go to, you text Toronto Mike to 59559. Talk

to Austin Keitner from the Keitner group. Looking to buy and or sell in the next six months. He's a great resource to converse with on that topic. And you can do so very safely via Zoom or on phone, etc. So contact Austin for that. And you have, it's early, so you haven't cracked it open yet because it's still kind of like, it's morning.

But there is a Great Lakes beer in front of you. It's cold. It's there if you'd like it. And thank you, Great Lakes. Happy Canada Day. As they say over there, Gord Levesque Day, because they have the Canuck Pale Ale. So happy Canuck Day. Happy Canada Day to everybody who's listening. Palma Pasta.

If you want authentic Italian food, Palma will take care of you. Palmapasta.com. And now I'm going to give Michael his own mic. I'd say give him my mic he's getting he's on his own mic so if michael doesn't sound as good as i do it's because of his microphone i'm just gonna throw that on the official record right now but michael tell us um today what we're kicking out and then be very specific like are these your favorite like about tell us about the process of how you came up with these 10 jams that we're going to play now.

I do want to shout out your sponsor because I've had beer delivered to my house from Great Lakes. And not only do I enjoy their beer, but I appreciate their support of Toronto Mike and the West End Phoenix and the Strombo show, which is, I think, where I first had Great Lakes at one of his shows. Yeah, he had a custom can, right? Oh, I don't know. But I just I went to one of his house shows. Yeah. Anyway, so I appreciate what they do in the community. And I also really enjoy the beer.

And great free delivery in the Toronto area. Yeah, and family-run independent craft beer locally made and served. Yeah, great people. So thank you for that. I've been meaning to mention that on Twitter or something because the delivery was great. I picked, there's so many things to pick. When you talked about me coming on here, we talked about Canada Day like well that's pretty broad do you want 24-hour playlists so me being who i am so we narrowed it down to toronto and then you're like you're gonna pick the best 10 best toronto songs i'm like well first of all as we all know these things are

subjective and then you just you're never ending complaints about why tom sawyer is not or whatever like i love Tom Sawyer. But I'm just saying there are very obvious songs that everybody plays for Toronto jams, right? I also want to shout out my friend Johnny Dovercourt, who you should have on this show. He just put out a book called Any Night of the Week on Coach House. And it's a history of Toronto music from the 50s to 2000. I'd have him on. That name is very Toronto,

so he's got to come on. He has to come on. Anyway, we can talk about his book for a while, but he also put out a playlist of, like a soundtrack to his book. And I checked this morning and I actually don't cross over with him at all, except for one song.

So I picked songs that I like. I grew up in the 80s. I was born in 1971. And I feel like you, Toronto Mike, cover 90s can rock very well, Rusty and Friends. Lowest of the Low. Lowest of the Low, yes.

My neighbor, Ron Hawkins. You play Lowest of the Low every week. So I didn't feel, and you've had people like Dave Bedini, the Real Statics, and you've had a lot of 90s people on your show. So I thought, well, I don't want to overplay Toronto Mike stuff. You also cover Toronto hip-hop very well, to your credit.

Oh, thank you. And playing Maestro and Mishy and stuff like that. Rumble MC. Yeah, exactly. All that stuff. Ghetto concept. That should be a part of any essential Toronto thing thing too. So I just want to qualify everything by saying that this is my

Toronto. Which it should be, right? You're curating this list and you're going to speak to these jams. It really should come from yourself, your heart. Other guests from this segment are playing their favorite songs, right? Right. I don't want the burden of representing all of Toronto,

but we'll play some good songs. But is it, I mean, I don't want to spoil anything because we're going to play these 10 songs now and it's exciting to find out what comes next, but am I correct in hearing

that we won't hear any real statics? Like, is that going to, is Bedini going to be upset? That's what I want to know. Is Dave Bedini on this show? Yes. That's why he's not on this list. Okay.

I don't think any of these people have been on your show. No, the closest I got is a sister-in-law, but we'll get to that. Oh, okay. So that's the closest I think we've got here. All right. You're right. You're right.

You're right. So I purposely picked people who have not been on the show and who, like I said, I haven't listened to every episode, but I really enjoyed the Stephen Page one the other day. But, you know, there's no Barenaked Ladies here. Yeah, there's lots of people missing from this list. Because there's only 10 of them. Okay, so remind us of your Twitter handle, so if

any complaints people have about jams that were missed, they can tweet at you and it is what? MMM Barkley. So three M's there. Yeah. Three M's and then Barkley. Yeah. Okay. So we're going to, you know how this works. I'm going to start playing it. And now I like that this is not a Zoom episode and you're right there.

I'm going to be looking at you even though you got those cool shades on there because we're outdoors. But I'm going to get, I'm going to, I'm going to sense basically. I'm going to sense when you want to start talking about the jam and then I'm just going to fade it down. So there's going to be a little. So I can talk for you. This is like a, like a DVD commentary thing. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah in fact i see here is as you know there's a little this is a little secret out there i think people know it maybe they don't but there's no legal way there's actually no legal way to license

music for a podcast right so i actually prefer it if we talk over the jam right because uh when dave hollywood's your ass i just i feel like maybe there'll be a, I don't know, I'm guessing and hoping that maybe that the fact that it's not just the whole song uninterrupted, maybe they won't, like, file a complaint or something.

But I don't know. Maybe, but that's what I prefer because then if they want the song, they can go get the song. But they'll hear enough and then they'll hear you talk about it. But when Dave Hodge comes on

to kick out his jams, he's adamant that we aren't allowed to speak over the song. Like, this is a... So with the Dave Hodge episode... Is kick out his jams he's adamant that we aren't allowed to speak over the song like this is a like so so with the Dave Hodge episode that was so can what is it no there's nowhere to clear that's the thing man if it's a business right so if someone said there's a reasonable amount I could pay every year to do this legally I would do it but there's nothing and you should yeah I can't I can't believe that when were the first podcast like 2005 I cannot believe it's been 15 years. And I used to work at the CBC.

I used to work at a show called Brave New Waves, which I think would have thrived as a podcast. And they were terrified of doing anything because even though it was just hazy legal ground and they knew that someday someone would come collecting retroactively. So they just didn't want to. And they're the CBC. When you're the CBC, you you got to be a different level of careful

than when you're TMDS. Oh, totally. That's why they're paranoid. Yeah. Mind you, the Radio 3 people did this thing where they only played Canadian artists and you would upload your own music to the site and effectively waive the rights

for them to use it on their podcast, which is brilliant. So Radio 3 managed to do it. But that's kind of the only... Anyway, that's a whole legal discussion. But all this is to say that i'll start playing it and then you know i like i do like a good minute of it uninterrupted and then i'll bring it down and you'll talk over top of this so and then i'll like say no no we got to hear this part

and then oh yeah yeah i love that back and forth you're like oh wait till you hear this i'll turn it up okay so let's start by kicking out uh the first of michael barclay's uh 10 toronto jams on this beautiful can Day 2020. Oh, I can measure the big, big bus Oh, the big, big, big, big bus And I can measure the redwood tree Oh, the redwood, redwood tree I ain't got a ruler Small enough

To measure your memory. There was a time not long ago, not long, not long, not long ago When the people of the state didn't even know Didn't know, didn't know, didn't even know Somebody could ever come along and dare Come along, come along, come along and dare To suck the earth dry from smoking the air Suck the earth dry from smoking the air

I ain't got a ruler Small enough to measure your memory. So, that organ is clearly Bob Wiseman. This song is called Gabriel Dumont Blues. It's from Lake Michigan Soda, his 1991 album. This is an ideal Canada Day song for me about Gabriel Dumont and Louis Riel and not having a ruler small enough to measure your memory. Here we go. Here's the kicker. From Halifax to Victoria and not having a ruler small enough to measure your memory. Here we go. Here's the kicker.

From Halifax to Victoria, it's a big, big country. But it wasn't always so easy to see in the big, big country. Sewage in the rivers and parking lots in the big, big country. All the settlers, they brought a lot to the big, big country I ain't got a road that's not enough to measure your memory Michael, I look at the waveform of these songs

and I load them in, right? This is like a big block. It's beautifully noisy. Amazing drums, Michael, I look at the waveform of these songs and I load them in, right? This is like a big block. It's beautifully noisy. Amazing drums, amazing distorted guitar. Just craziness. And Wiseman's organ. He will hate that I bring this up right away,

but of course many people still know Bob Wiseman best as being Blue Rodeo's original keyboardist, so that is the sound of the organ you heard on a lot of those first three records, four records. This is from his second solo record. His first one was called In Her Dream, another amazing Toronto album. So many great people on it. Such great songs. Lake Michigan Soda was the second one, and he's put out many since. He's one of my favorite musicians for a whole

bunch of reasons, lyrically musically, as a keyboardist I play keyboards and he's always been a hero of mine and you would hate me saying that as well but I thought this was a great Canada Day song, I thought about the In Her Dream record

is a really Toronto record for me, a very late 80s Toronto record in terms of who's on it and the way it sounds. And it's a record that really cracked open my mind. Uh, I was never a Dylan guy, but I think, feel like that record did for me what Dylan did to others. His voice is very unconventional. Um, he's an amazing singer in the way he uses his voice. Uh, uh, I can understand why it would turn people off the timbre of it but um

you got construction next door when when when rainer was here it was 7 p.m so all that was done and all we had was birds but we're gonna have to mess with the uh the canada day can you know construction crowd or whatever yeah so anyway wiseman is a great writer a great songwriter um great producer great player uh and this song i feel feel like Canada Day, I love Canada Day. I love this country. I write about it a lot. I love the people in it. But the kind of Canada Day that always bothers me is when people wave flags

and they pretend that, like, nothing is ever wrong here and that everything is great. And there's a lot of great here. But I think with anything you love, you have to question it and you have to call out its faults and you have to work on improving it. And so, you know, this is something Gordani was doing in the last years of his life. This is what a lot of what's happening right now

politically and reckoning. And so this is a song from 1991 that's like, I don't have a ruler short enough to measure your memory. And I feel like there's a lot of stuff that just wasn't talked about in Canadian history for so long that we're finally talking about now and thank god and I don't think that means you don't love your country any less it means like reckoning with that history and working on improving it so that's why I wanted to play this song to lead off a

Canada Day show and I would say that this uh this record is out of print and hard to find, but Bob Wiseman is on Bandcamp, and this track is on a compilation that he has on Bandcamp. So you can find it there, or you can scour the record stores in the used bins when they reopen. And most importantly, that song rocks. It also just rocks. It's a great riff, the organ and the drumming, everything.

I love it. All right, let's kick out another Toronto Jam organ and the drumming. Everything. I love it. All right. Let's kick out another Toronto Jam from Michael Barclay. Also topical. I got a bone to pick with you. Not so friendly, boys in blue When you come out of the station and into the street Everybody beats a hasty retreat

Well, it was late one Friday, I'm a little bit wrecked You're on your way to serve and protect You buzz out on a cruiser like bees on a hive And ask me if I want to go for a drive. Go for a drive. That's why I'm riding on the Cherry Beach Express. My wrists are broken and my face is in a mess. And I'm hanging on my statement signed address.

52 Division, handcuffed to a chair I'm trying to align, I'm trying to fall down the stairs I tell you why you miss it, I try to explain But just making sure you don't do it again Go away! That's why you're riding on the Cherry Beach Express That's why you're riding on the Cherry Beach Express Your ribs are broken and your face is in a mess And we strongly suggest you confess I confess

I confess I am mystified by the way you're occupied I confess I'm horrified why are you so terrified does the pain get any less if I confess so here we go with an incredibly 80s guitar solo

that I feel like you could cut and paste onto a lot of songs, which is great. I'm not complaining. This is the Puckett Orchestra. I've been thinking about this song for a lot of reasons lately, primarily the death of singer-guitarist Graham Williamson, who was a Scot living in Toronto and kind of lived back and forth, I understand.

I don't know the story of this band super well. But he passed away last week, which led to a lot of people posting this song. My friend Nick Jennings was also on this wavelength. And a song called Cherry Beach Express. It's about police brutality in Toronto. And obviously, we've been talking a lot about this and defunding the police and all kinds of things.

There aren't a lot of happy pop songs about police brutality that I'm aware of. This song is, the only minor chord is in the end of the chorus there. Cherry Beach Express refers to, allegedly, the fact that Toronto police would take street people or drunks or people they didn't want to deal with, they would take them down to Cherry Beach and beat them up. That would be kind of like what the ports were in New York City or what the RCMP in the prairies called starlight tours

when they would take drunk indigenous people and leave them in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere when it's minus 40. So sadly not an uncommon story. So this was written and recorded in 1984. Puck Orchestra really only put out one record. There was like a follow-up of Odds and Sods later. Did very well.

This was on the radio. They had bigger radio hits with a song called Listen to the Radio, written by Tom Robinson from the UK, and also Might As Well Be on Mars, an original that was later covered by a UK band called The Straubs. So really just one record. Artwork by Barbara Klunder on the cover I learned recently, who is kind of an iconic 80s Toronto designer,

along with Kurt Swinghammer and Fiona Smythe and some others. Yeah, so it's very 80s in the sound and even the composition, the choice of chords, the guitar solo. But it's one that I feel like, unless you were there, younger people don't know or even talk about the Puck Orchestra.

I think that listen to the radio might be the only cut you might be familiar with. And just a couple of weeks ago, Huxley Workman was on the show, and I played his favorite song of all time, which happened to be, and this is prior to the passing, Listen to the Radio. Oh, wow. That's interesting. And we did play it again yesterday with Mark Weisblatt because of the passing. We did the Ridley Funeral Home Memorial section.

But like you said, that's an ideal song for this list, I think. Great choice and relevant messaging i i i tweeted that out last week and uh a young toronto writer from now magazine was like some toronto band needs to cover this right now i was like yes absolutely hello july talker pup or you know whoever like somebody should somebody should do that right right yeah july talk would be great Okay, let's kick out your third jam. This is not by Lois of the ground. Ada is a Hitler in the marketplace. Rita is a drummer in the band. Heather is part of the inside collective. And she let a woman identify her money.

So per se, we are subversive. We are underground. We are subversive. We are underground. We are subversive. We are on your ball. You have obstructed for me an obstruction of your likeness and my book is an approval at my feet. You made me a uniform,

a place in line, sitting in the dictionary, legitimize your understanding Like this is a definition The in-transits verb in a line I break from your sentence Crack the paragraph of my own Create new forms Space

I can name ways to jump your highway ride turn gutters into trenches we we are the subversives we we are the underground we

we are the subversives we we are the subversive We, we are the underground We, we are the subversive All right, so that is Lillian Allen from her album Revolutionary Tea Party, which is, sorry, I'm blanking on the date. It's like 88 or 89. Juno winning record for Reggae Record of the Year.

And this is one of the great 80s Toronto records to me. Lillian Allen was then known as a dub poet. Came out of the written word. Had a very successful independently published poetry book, which really the numbers, from what I'm understanding, would make it a bestseller. And then she transitioned into music. Other people doing this, people like Linton Quasey Johnson in the UK and others.

But her band was the Parachute Club, primarily. And Lorraine Segato and Billy Bryans and the rest of them, who I think are really underrated as a band. I mean, a lot of people know Rise Up and they see the video and people wearing parachute pants and it's become this weird cliche. But I still think that is an amazing song. I listened to it the other day. Lyrically, I love it. So did Jack Layton, who wanted that song played at his funeral, which Lorraine Ciccato did

perform it on Roy Thompson's stage. As a friend of mine points out, is it weird to sing Rise Up in front of a man in a casket on stage? Anyway, great song. I understand why he loved it. So they're the band here. Billy Bryan's on drums, who was really Mr. Toronto until he died about 10 years ago.

He was in Yorkville bands. He was in early punk bands. He was in a bunch of reggae bands. And then he was in Pearshoot Club and then doing a bunch of other stuff at the same time. Apparently carrying his drums around behind his bicycle from gig to gig down Queen Street kind of thing. Lillian Allen still records music occasionally. But the two or three records she put out in the late 80s, early 90s I think are really integral. Obviously coming from Toronto's rich Caribbean community.

And her voice is so interesting. This is kind of a more conventional song, but on the more reggae songs, the way she plays with her voice, she has this really high-pitched kind of way of bending around notes, and the way she uses it as an instrument is fascinating to me. So, uh, and she is now a professor, uh, OCAD, if I'm not mistaken, uh, or last time I checked she was, um, so she's still around and she's still, um, doing a lot of stuff. I mentioned earlier that one of your jams is by the sister-in-law of an FOTM,

and this is not that example, although I will just point out Lorraine Segato's sister did marry FOTM, Jean Valaitis from Jesse and Jean. Whoa. And I think Lorraine Segato herself is married to a member of the Landsberg Lewis clan. Fun fact. Yeah. I'd have to fact check that, but anyway. It's okay. Now it's on the official public record seven points of lorraine sagada if wikipedia wants to print that they can just point to this episode it's michael barclay's and it's true all right i loved it yeah these have been great i mean i don't know maybe it's uh i just cracked open uh i thought it's canada day so i got a red leaf

lager going from great lakes and uh it's beautiful day i'm enjoying the jams and the headphones but so far so good my friend let's kick out let's kick out another one Every time I take a walk She makes me feel small She always wants a thing I can't afford Every time I take a walk She always wants a thing

I can't afford Chips, chicken, I gotult like Chips, chicken, I got a stick Chips, chicken, I got a stick That's what she needs The other day I took her out now

To my surprise You know she don't Listen to the phone The fence I looked for surprise Banana, chip chicken, banana split Give me some chicken Chip chicken, banana split I need it, baby Chip chicken, banana split Oh, yeah Listen to those drums. This is an insanely funky song.

Yes. And it's also tasty. Chips, chicken, banana split. I almost feel terrible admitting this. Prior to you sending me this song and then me listening to it and loading it up, I don't remember hearing this song. No, you didn't. And I'll tell you why.

So this comes from an incredible compilation called Jamaica to Toronto. It came out, I'm blanking on the year, mid-2000s, maybe 05, 06, assembled by a guy who grew up in Toronto but spent most of his life in Vancouver, Kevin Howes, who really deserves the Order of Canada for stuff he's doing in terms of music in this country. He also did the Native North America compilation and a bunch of other things. So Jamaica to Toronto.

He's a record collector. He's a crate digger. And he loves old reggae and soul. And he found all this stuff that came out in canada some of it had slightly higher profile most of it didn't and songs like this were recorded in toronto by largely jamaican immigrants to toronto released on canadian labels and not played at all by Canadian radio. Wow. I can't imagine working at a...

Wow, as funky as all hell. I can't imagine working at a Canadian radio station, a Toronto radio station in 1972 or whenever this was actually made. I should have brought the line notes. And not adding it to your playlist. Right. It's so great.

And the entire record is as good as that. And the record is, contrary to what you would think, it's not really a reggae record. There's maybe one reggae song on it. There's other reggae records in the series that follow Jamaica to Toronto, but the actual compilation

is primarily stuff like this, R&B, soul. So if you like Stax records and Motown and James Brown and everything else, there's tons of stuff. And so he puts out this record. A lot of these guys have long retired from music. One of them, Jay Douglas, is still very active. Have you had Jay Douglas on here?

No. Okay. He's, he's like a Jamaican Toronto. Your homework is to send me the list of people I should have on this show. Okay. Jay Douglas. Absolutely.

But a lot of Jay Douglas still performs all the time and he's probably playing somewhere today if there is any Canada Day celebrations. But, but a lot of these guys, you know, grew up and became barbers or whatever, just owned businesses on Eglinton West or something. So this record comes out. Suddenly this young hippie white guy

starts asking questions about their past. And they get back together and they do this show at, well, they did a couple. There was one at Lee's, but they did this show at Harborfront that is one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen in my life. And so I get really weepy when I

see old guys get on stage and rock out. And this was just so emotional. Because a lot of these guys have not played in a band, like at all, in years. And like the drummer still has it, like the keyboard player still has it. Like, just phenomenal musicians. And the singers, has it, like the keyboard player still has it, like just phenomenal musicians and the singers, the one guy, the mighty Pope,

it was like seeing Otis Redding. Like he had that kind of voice and that kind of charisma and that kind of build, like just a big guy and it just, it was so incredible. See, just knowing this guy's been hiding somewhere in Eglinton for years,

not performing, and you're like, how is this possible? There's talk, I think the Sadies were going to do something with him at some point. might even be the singer in this band jojo and the fugitives um but he has solo stuff as well as the mighty pope but um again i should have brought the liner notes but anyway by the record read the liner notes hear the story it's it's really incredible and it really bothers me that you haven't heard of this and it's not your fault because a canadian radio did not play this in the seventies.

So it didn't even have a chance, like just the racist power structures or whatever. Yeah. Um, uh, black artists really didn't get on the radio till the eighties and even then very spotty in, in,

in Toronto when there's been such a wealth of stuff. We didn't have black radio. Like I often read about 10 years ago or whatever. This song I never heard of. They'll be like, Oh, it was really popular on American black radio. Like I often read about this song. I never heard of them. They'll be like, Oh, it was really popular on American black radio. Like there was an entirely different,

you know, we didn't have black radio here. No. And I know people in Windsor who know a lot of great, uh, African American stuff because they heard it on Detroit stations, you know, but that's just never really crossed here.

But we're talking about people who live here. We're not talking about like Americans. We're talking about, uh, so yeah. And the band again, Banana Split. What are they called? Oh, the band is JoJo and the Fugitives.

Okay, JoJo and the Fugitives. The track is Chip's Chicken Banana Split. Gotcha. And some of these people like Liberty Silver went on to do stuff and became better known in Toronto music circles. Jay Douglas still performs. Yeah, there were people who did continue continue but a lot of them didn't and it's a it's a real real shame so uh i mean god bless kevin house for getting all this stuff

together and making it available so he put out um a bunch of reggae records that were made in mississauga um noah ellis uh and uh jackie matu um one of the more famous jamaican musicians who lived in toronto for most of thes, made some great records here. Wishbone and a couple others. So there's this rich history of Jamaican music in Toronto that I still think is swept under the rug. And I think anyone who loves music in Toronto needs to hear that compilation and then go on from there and do more exploring. Well, as I hear you talk about it, I now have a memory of Errol Nazareth on CBC talking about this.

Has he been on the show? I know, but him I've invited several times. So it's not my fault on that one. When I spoke to FOTM Chuck D, let's drop that here, he was talking about Errol Nazareth kind of inspiring the title, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold His Back. And I had already asked Errol Nazareth kind of inspiring the title It Takes a Nation

of Millions to Hold His Back and I had already asked Errol Nazareth because I quite like him when I hear him on CBC Radio he's very good and of course

I wanted him on the show and once again I wrote him again Errol and I said okay now Chuck D says Chuck D just dropped your name on my podcast

I said you gotta come on it still hasn't happened but I haven't given up I just don't want to be that annoying guy who doesn't take a hint so that's my challenge here but uh yes that that was great honestly like if so far i've loved everything and again these are not i i wouldn't consider any of

these songs like you're right there's no cliche overplayed canada day jams like these are all kind of like i think a number of people are hearing a lot of these songs for the first time which is really cool which is is what I love doing. I'm not one of those guys who gets off on obscurity. It's like, I'm the only one who knows this. I'm like, I want everybody to know this. So let's kick out another one. This one people might know. guitar solo In a crowd, in a city, I call my home

Undercover on the edge, I move on Face a step across at me With eyes that look but cannot see Out of reach, out of love, stepping out of bounds Everyday it's tomorrow and I never know what tomorrow will be Everyday it's tomorrow and I feel someone move close to me Everyday it's tomorrow and I never know what tomorrow will be Every day it's tomorrow and to dance is all I need

Dance for me Dance for me Dance for me Dance for me Dance Bar In a park, in a city not for you Martha and the Muffins, Dance Park. Spelled like a French word, D-A-N-S-E-P-A-R-C. I love Martha and the Muffins. Again, I think

they're incredibly underrated people know Echo Beach which they should Total Toronto Jam I love the fact that we have an outdoor venue

named after that song that makes me very proud but you know and later on they called themselves M plus M and they had

an incredibly underrated song called Black Stations White Stations and that song's good because you don't have to think about what year it's from because they drop it in the lyrics. Constantly.

They say, this is 1984. And it references constantly what you were just talking about, about Black Radio and White Radio and things that are hits on Black Radio. So why did they change their name? Because muffins sound stupid. I feel like the branding police are like, now you can't just do that yeah they've since changed it back and yeah but um and re-release those records as martha loves but uh no i think um so they made three records with daniel anwa uh the one before this this is the

ice age then this one dance park and then um mystery walk that had black station white stations and black station white stations i think is like the best Talking Heads song that the Talking Heads never put out. Like the groove is so incredible, the crazy Inuit synths are so good, the horns, and anyway. But this came out before this. And a good video, too, because I actually knew it from like Toronto Rocks or whatever, much music. So this was not a big hit. I love it.

I love the bass line. This is like really icy new wave. I love that slashing guitar sound and the saxophone and her voice, obviously, Martha Johnson. This is like a good, in the rare times I DJ, which is never anymore, but you drop this, people are like, what is this? Because it sounds so good loud and on the dance floor

and this is also yeah in the crowded city I call my home I thought this is a good Canada Day Toronto jam and also the video for this song shot at the Guild Inn

right near where I grew up in Scarborough do you know the Guild Inn I don't know Scarborough very well what Scarborough

Scarborough Mike so I grew up near like Markham and Lawrence area so the Guild Inn know Scarborough very well. What? You call yourself Scarborough Mike. So I grew up near like Markham and Lawrence area. So the Guild Inn is just south of there. I know East York pretty well now, but it's not the same thing. Okay, I apologize. So the Guild Inn is this

estate. It wasn't in, it used to be like an artist colony a long time ago. And I kind of want to know more about the history of it, but it has all these like faux Greek structures, pillars and stuff. And so the video for this song is them dancing around there at night, like peeking out from behind Greek pillars and doing 80s modern dance and stuff. So great Toronto video, great Toronto song, great Toronto band all around.

Great Toronto video, great Toronto song, great Toronto band all around. I just realized I don't see any Spoons on this list here. I love the Spoons. Second concert I ever saw, Ontario Place Forum, 1985, right after Gowan and before Douglas Slugs. That's around the time I saw my first concert ever, which was Chalk Circle at Ontario Place Forum. Yeah.

Only time I saw Chalk Circle was opening for Rush at Maple Leaf Gardens. Oh, wow. Hold your fire to her. And the reason I'm not seeing any Rush, I know we're only halfway done here, but Rush is just too popular? Is that the deal? Too mainstream?

Too obvious? I don't need to introduce anybody to a Rush song. That's a good point. But I love Rush. All right, let's kick out number six. This is a Rush song. That's a good point. But I love Rush. All right, let's kick out number six. This is a curveball. Slow dance. The creepiest slow dance in the history.

This was a top 40 radio hit, which astounds me. Early 80s? What are we looking at here? 84. 84. Maybe 83. 83 or 84.

Just imagine this beside like Born in the USA and eat it I get excited when I Feel the footsteps in the hall And this is the jam that I'm There's an FOTM connection to this jam La la la la la la la la Ooh

Outside your balcony I have a room with a view And I'm watching you I dial your telephone Each and every afternoon I wait by your door Till you're asleep at night And when you're alone I know when you turn out the light

You follow for your keys I'm six or seven steps behind you I'm so close to you Are you terrified of me? What do I know about you? How did I find out? You think I'm a fool, baby So kind of lunatic

Say I'm wasting my time But I know what to do And yet it's as plain as black and white I'm gonna get close to you Oh, oh, so close to you I'm gonna get close to you Oh my God. I love this so much. This is Del Bello. Lisa Del Bello.

The album called Human Forces. If people think Every Breath You Take is a creepy stalker song, this is just to the nth degree so creepy and yet so amazing. Very 80s. And maybe that turns people off. I don't know. But this woman's voice is just astounding what she does with it. And, yeah.

She co-produced this with Mick Ronson from David Bowie's Spiders from Mars. But apparently she had to fight to get, she didn't tell her record label that she was co-producing it because they didn't think she could do it because she's a woman, I guess. And so she invented a pseudonym to like get paid twice. Okay. Yeah, I don't know the full story there, but it's this great story about fighting sexism in the 80s major label world. Again, but how is this song on the radio?

Like, this is, I love it. I love everything about it. Like, you don't hear this on Boom, for example. They might play Let's Tango. Like, that will be the go-to Del Vallo, I think. Or Black and Blue, yeah. Okay, here, quick connection here. FOTM Danny Elwell

Hang on, let's make sure we turn it up before her big operatic Well here, let's let it finish up Then I'll give you the fun part Here it comes Do it, higher, higher Higher Do it. Higher, higher. I'm going to get close to you. Mariah Carey, eat your heart out.

Like, I haven't analyzed the lyrics, so you're saying this is stalker-esque. It's not just sexy. It's not-esque. I need to revisit these lyrics here. Well, just watch the video. Here's the thing. This song is not on any streaming service that I could find.

So the only way you can hear it right now is to watch the really creepy video. On YouTube, yeah. So, okay. So just to finish that thought I started is Danny Elwell, great FOTM, now doing her own jazz thing jazzcast.ca Danny Elwell formerly of CFNY and CKFM and Jazz FM she is married to Lisa Delbello's

brother so there's my only the closest we're going to get to I thought you personally were related somehow to Lisa Delbello oh no did I if I teased it like that it was too aggressive. My marketing team must have spun it that way. But no, no, no.

And FOTM is related to Lisa Del Velo. But my personal memory is, and you only have a few years on me, but I remember very much Let's Tango. But I do not remember this jam. Yeah, this whole record is actually really great. And so was at least the one after that i don't i don't know the full discography but um she had uh actually this song was covered in the 90s by queens reich if that means anything to you yeah and and having a man sing it just just makes

it weird i can hear but i can hear prince singing that song. Oh yeah. We have vocally. Yeah. Right, right, right. Lyrically when a man sings this, then it's just, it's just disturbing. But, um, but also she had a big fan in the band Heart and Heart covered, uh, I believe at least two of her songs. Uh, and I'm trying to remember which ones, but, um. Well, Heart's like their honorary Canadians. That's right. Yeah.

But they, they had hightailed it out of here by then. Right. Like they, they left, Hart's like they're honorary Canadians. That's right. Yeah. But they had hightailed it out of here by then. Right. Like, they left in the late 70s because they started in Vancouver

with their draft Dodge and Boyfriends. Right. Right. That's how... Oh, no, no. I'm getting... My story's conflated,

but the reason Andrea Martin is an honorary Canadian because she's American is because she was dating a Toronto actor, Jeff Coat? Jeff,

do you remember? she did live here for a long time. Yeah, because she came here for her, she came here for the Toronto Boyfriend.

Okay. And this is, yeah, that Godspell thing that was happening or whatever with SCTV. Yes. That's a book

I want someone to write. There's an entire book to be written about that production and everybody who came out of it. Why do I, it hasn't,

no one's written that book? Okay, because you're right, absolutely. What came out of it. Why do I, it hasn't, no one's written that book? Okay, because you're right, absolutely. What came out of that Godspell, but you're right. From Martin Short to, yeah, all of them. Have you read Martin Short's book? That is one of the best memoirs I've ever read. I heard on the Gilbert Gottfried podcast, which I'll cherry, I will listen to that.

I cherry pick those guests, but it's very, it's very much what I'm trying to do from a Toronto perspective, except old, old Hollywood or whatever. They had Andrea Martin on and it was really a wealth of info. Like it was really, it was really interesting.

And she, but yeah, we, I don't, again, can you give us a clue on your, your book that you're working on? Like a clue without getting in trouble?

It's about a certain generation of Canadian music. Very dear to my heart. All right. And not the generation I already wrote about. I wrote a book earlier, co-wrote a book with two friends of mine

called Have Not Been the Same, which is about Canadian music from 85 to 95. Specifically, English-Canadian so-called alternative music. Right. So that's still available too

on ECW Press. Yeah, yeah. Promote stuff now while we have four chances. That book is about like, you know, it's about the

Tragically Hip. It's about Blue Rodeo. It's about Katie Lang and Skinny Puppy and Sarah McLaughlin and Daniel Anwar and

Cowboy Junkies and Spirit of the West. Dave Ogilvie follows me on Twitter. He's been liking my tweets. Yep. Do you know where

Chris Shepard is? I know very little about Chris Shepard, but my friend Lisa Latasura would know. Oh, yeah, with two I's. Yes. Yes, I used to listen to her. Yeah, absolutely.

I used to listen to her. In fact, once I wrote a blog entry once, many years ago, she went off on Tragically Hip fans, which is probably fair game, because when I would go to hip shows... She had first-hand experience. Right.

And in retrospect, I wish I had been more empathetic about my reaction. I took it the wrong way. But at the time, because I was a big hip fan going to lots of shows, but you're right. I actually would always intentionally go, wherever the beer garden was,

I went on the other side on purpose. So I totally need to apologize to Lisa Lentisour. So I would have her on. Yeah. And I follow her on Twitter. She's very cool. Okay. Oh, the other Del Bello fun fact.

Yes, I love Del Bello. I don't know if she still does this, but certainly when Peter Mansbridge hosted the National, she was the voice saying, tonight, Peter Mansbridge on the National. That's a great fun fact. Yeah.

Because her sister-in-law is like the McDonald's voice and doesn't, you know, that's, that's, that's, keep burying me in those fun facts. So I wish, I wish I could hear her sing. I don't know what she's doing musically right now. Um, but, uh, but she does a lot of other voice work. I think a lot of spoken voice work. Oh, very cool. Very cool.

And she was a, she, she'd been in disco music before she went in this direction and won a Juno for most promising artists for like a disco record, which I own and is not very good. Once, uh, you know, once once as you know, Kim Mitchell once won Best Male Vocalist at the Junos. And he called it White Boy Yelling or whatever he called it. But Kim Mitchell has booked for Monday. I just want to let the listeners know. I know. It's the first

time he's been on. So that'll be interesting. Now, we're going to kick out four more. I just want to note to myself. So this is my third backdoor session. And they've been at different times. The first one was 7 p.m. The second one was 2 p.m. and this one was 10.30 a.m. I just want to

let myself know that these 10.30 a.m. I can't see. It's too much sun on me. I need some kind of coverage here. I can't see my gauges and stuff because of the sun. That's a note to myself when I listen back, but let's kick out your,

this is another one. People might know seventh jam, but maybe not. When you're on Toronto, Mike, you got to play Toronto. I love you. White light takes two To cover up the first one Said none Nothing you can do

Got you racked down pretty well I know you believe yourself Little voice in the back of your mind Gonna keep you awake at night Stop telling the truth Stop telling the truth It's time to get right Stop telling the truth

Stop telling the truth Thought you had it Pick it up and move They'll hit you with a big one Now you know I'm talking about you Well I know where you're coming from Talking about you. Well. I know where you're coming from. Too scared to turn it on.

I've worn those shoes before. Running blind for an open door. Step to the door. Step to the door. Toronto. The band Toronto. The band Toronto. Singer, Hollywood. And again, talking about a great Toronto female vocalist, we were really spoiled in the 80s in particular.

Growing up in Toronto in the 80s, I was like, so many of my favorite Toronto artists were these really powerful female singers. So Toronto also underrated because it's kind of like cheesy time in Canadian, or just in rock and roll in general, like kind of lover boy time. It's Your Daddy Don't Know, right?

This is that song that would appear on those Juno compilations, like Oh Canada and stuff. Yeah, Your Daddy Don't Know is an amazing song, also covered brilliantly by right this is this is that song that would appear on those uh chuno compilations like oh canada and stuff yeah your daddy don't know is an amazing song also covered brilliantly by and faithfully by the new pornographers i don't know if you've heard that version hearing nico case sing it is okay it was great i like the new um so uh yeah so this is like a period of of music that's not really celebrated other than like ironic people belting out don't stop believing or something but um uh i i genuinely think this is a brilliant song this song has been on my mind for i don't

know at least the last three and a half years for a whole bunch of political reasons um but uh yeah the album was get it on credit um and i think like yeah it depends like the headpins do you remember the headpins they weren't frompins. Do you remember the Headpins? They weren't from Toronto, but. I do remember the Headpins. Darby Mills? No. Is that somebody else? Anyway, another great rock belter.

And also, I mean, you think about this time, other than Pat Benatar, there weren't a lot of like women in like hard rock singing, you know, and. When does Lee Aaron enter the fold? Around this time, yeah. But I'm saying like Canada had per capita more like strong female rockers in this time.

You're right, because Lena Ford was like more like a hard rock kind of a, she didn't quite go mainstream. And she came out of the runaways, but yeah, neither were particularly mainstream. Right, right, Joan Jett too, yes, of course. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yeah, Joan Jett, too. Yes, of course. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Joan Jett, Babanter, Heart. But then I feel like there's a whole bunch in this country.

And speaking of Heart, what about Love? This band is What About Love, and Heart covers that. I was just going to bring that up. But The Trial never put out that song. It was a demo, and their record company rejected it, apparently. And then the song found its way to Heart and became a top ten. The problem of a band, the band Toronto and maybe bands like Europe and Asia

might also feel this. Chicago? Yeah. Boston? Bad for SEO. It's very difficult. They weren't thinking about that in 1982. No, they weren't.

The first band I can think of that really thought hard about that might be Linkin Park because apparently they intentionally spelled Linkin wrong so they could get the domain name this is oh really right yeah because they spell it of course can i tell you the funniest seo story of course yeah i was talking to uh torkel campbell of the band stars recently right he's an outspoken guy. Yes, he has a few things to say. So he said, when they started the band, it's called Stars. And somebody told him, his record label manager,

somebody said, great name. He's like, yeah, it's the best. But it might be hard to find on the internet. This is 1999. And he's like, what are you talking about? He's like, well, there's this thing called Google, and it's like a search engine, and people want to find out about you. I think that might be Yahoo time.

That might be pre-Google. Well, he said it was Google. Okay, then early 2000. And he said, no one is ever going to look for music on something called Google. The gateway to all on the internet. Right. Famous passwords. I will say, I've never kicked out the jams, but sometimes I wonder if I did my own kicking out the jams.

If your ex-lover is dead, might not make that list. That's how much I enjoy your ex-lover is dead. I think it's a great song. Toronto band. I mean, they've lived in Montreal their. I think it's a great song. Toronto band. I mean, they've lived in Montreal their entire career, but everybody in that band is from Toronto. Do they have a connection to Etobicoke School of the Arts or am I conflating all my CanCon bands?

Amy Millan. Yeah, okay. That's the same with Metrix. Kevin Drew and Emily Haynes. I don't think you can see, but there's a Cardinal that just showed up. Ophishel? Right, I wish. Cardi's here. Get six feet away from Michael and bring your own mic. I don't think you can see, but there's a cardinal that just showed up. Oh, for sure?

Right, I wish. Cardi's here. Get six feet away from Michael and bring your own mic. But, yeah, I see a cardinal over there, which I just get excited when interesting birds. Recently back here, for the first time, and I'm in my mid-40s, and I've never seen one in my life, in real life. I've never seen one.

An oriole. Oh, yeah. I've never seen one. I don't know. Some people are like, I guess it depends where you live. I saw my very first Oriole and I feel like I kind of pay attention to these things. My first Oriole showed up in this tree

I'm pointing to right now. My lady likes the birds and I've... Oh, the band? No. Also, yes. But we've seen Orioles at Leslie Street Spit. So maybe they don't make it this way west.

I feel like it's only now that they've showed up in New Toronto here. But interesting anyway. But the Cardinals have been around, but they're always fun. The Cardinals always come in pairs too. So if you see like a female Cardinal. I get lots of Cardinals. And they're always a treat, right? Because, you know, get another boring Robin.

Get out of here. I want a Cardinal. Okay, let's kick out another jam. This is fun. guitar solo I was born in a cornfield underneath the Texas sun My mother died of childbirth cause her husband owned a gun My mother loved that man, but I wasn't his son My mother died of childbirth cause her husband owned a gun Just you and you and you and you and me

Just you and you and you and you and me I know the grave's no marker Except my useless eyes Dumb like water Reflecting empty skies Till they built that Texasaco station down on 65 Now the friendly star lies above her only grave Just you and you and you and you and me

Just you and you and you and you and me. guitar solo Oh mother, it's been so long since I've seen your eyes Feel myself burning and I just don't know why Now these rules of men and us keep pulling me down since I've seen your eyes. Feel myself burning and I just don't know why. Now there's rules of man that just keep pulling me down. I'm so far gone from here, I just can't get myself from it. That's you and you and you and you and me. Woo!

Oh, yeah. Crash Vegas. Wow. Michelle McAdory, Colin Cripps. Rhythm section went through some changes. I can't remember who's on this specific track. But how's that for like an opening line of a song? My mother died of childbirth because her husband had a gun.

Jesus Christ. This is one of my favorite women. Incredible, incredible incredible voice great lyrics one of the most compelling performers I've ever seen and I wrote about this in The Never Ending Present about how they played with the Tragically Hip a lot they were good friends and I interviewed both Michelle and Colin for the book

but yeah she was up there with Gord Downie for me in terms of like people that you just, you had to watch, like just so, um, uh, just so compelling and even without even doing much, you know, there's some people you see them. Uh, I had this with PJ Harvey too. Like when I saw PJ Harvey, it was like, I can't believe I'm in the same room as this person. Like she had that much just natural charisma. And Michelle McIntyre is in that category for me. And this is another Toronto band that nobody under 40 knows anything about. Maybe even under 45. I feel like they really got lost.

The records were out of print for a super long time. Are they Inside Out or am I confusing? Inside Out, yeah. Okay, because that song i okay go ahead i definitely remember that one but yeah so that was that was kind of the biggest hit from the first record red earth and their first record which i also really really love um uh was uh produced by uh malcolm burn who did a lot of work with daniel anwa and daniel and all his sisters in the band so they kind of got tired with this land walking and the record sounds like a land while

record kind of it was recorded it was the first thing. And the record sounds like a Lanois record kind of. It was the first record made in his New Orleans studio. Oh, wow. It's very atmospheric. But live, they were much more of a rock band. And on the second record, which this song is from, they really jacked up the amps. I mean, these guitars sound amazing, even today,

the production on that. No, that was a great, honestly, that was a great jam. Are you kidding me? And it's got a bit of that, like devil goes down to Georgia. Like it's a bit of a dirty. So yeah. And that,

that's not what the band sounds like. This is a bit of an outlier in their sound. It sounds nothing like inside out, for example, which is the big hit I think of when I think of. Well, there's a big Collins really ripping on the slide. There's a lot of slide guitar,

right? So, which is also something the early hip had, right? Rob Baker used to play a lot of slide. Yeah. Yeah. So I, and then, then yeah so then for whatever reason i don't think they've ever fallen into that can con shuffle that you know stations like boom live on you know like i just i'd never hear crash vegas on the radio and the records were out of print for a super long time

only recently warner somehow got it together to reissue Red Earth on vinyl a couple years ago and they played reunion shows. So they did a big one at Danforth. And this one, Stone, popped up on Spotify recently. The third one, Aurora, I don't think is available anywhere.

And that one had, actually their other most popular song was a cover of Neil Young's Pocahontas. I think that one does get played. And it's a brilliant cover. Again, one of the most, I love their own songs, but they also were great interpreters of other people's songs. And that's one of my favorite Neil Young covers.

Does that show up on like a Baro Tunes? That's where it started, yeah. It came from there. A lot of good jams came out of that Baro Tunes. And then it resurfaced on their own El Morora. But anyway, so Grash Vegas, yeah. I feel like nobody under 40 knows anything about them, and they should,

because I really think they're one of the great... It's a bit like another band that seems to disappear. The Wild Strawberries, this was a big deal when I was at... I don't miss the Wild Strawberries. I couldn't even name one of the songs. I'm going to tell them that. Actually, a friend of mine knows them and is a big fan. But I...

No, I hear you. Okay, yeah. Everyone has their band, you know. It's like, everybody should know about this band. And for me, it's Crash Vegas, among others. And I will also say that Michelle McAdory put out a great solo record a couple years ago. Whose title escapes me.

It's not In Her Dream. It's something similar to that, though. Any relation to Chumbug Bob McAdory? Yes. Niece. See, that's a fun fact right there. I can drop that on a feature. And she would actually also be a great guest. She's got lots of great Toronto

stories. Is she still living here? Yeah. I'm going to try to make that happen. That'd be amazing. Go listen to more Crash Vegas and then call her up. Michael, I told you I was excited about this episode because these songs and these artists you've chosen are not, you know, particularly,

you're not hearing them on Q107 every day necessarily. And I'm really digging this. This is great. I can't believe there's only two to go here. So we're going to skip over the 90s right now and we're going to go to the early 2000s. You want to just play it? Yeah, I'll play it here.

But I like how you have a no 90s rule. I like that. We should. Too much 90s on front of my head. Early 90s. But I will say before we hear it that this is recorded live at Massey Hall. I just like hearing crowd noises right now. Right. It's hard not to surrender

To the bold and comely world What swayed the blood in my death While I hang above the graceless earth It's hard not to surrender I'm not sure. Nighttime is my life I want to talk about this now because the ending is really killer. So this is the Constantines. This song is called Nighttime Anytime. It's from the 2003 album Shine a Light. This was recorded during their comeback.

They broke up in the late 2000s and then got back together about five or six years later. This is recorded live at Massey Hall. It appears on a record called Live at Massey Hall, a compilation of a new Canadian artist at the venue. There's a great video of this as well. This is a band formed in London and Cambridge and Guelph. Yeah, Guelph band.

I always think of them as a Guelph band. Yeah, they moved here shortly after forming and really became beloved here in the early 2000s and Three Gut Records. Okay, this is where I got it here. Thank you. We'll be right back. Anytime, anytime, it's alright Anytime, anytime, it's alright Nighttime, anytime, it's alright Nighttime, anytime, it's alright Nighttime, anytime, it's alright

It's hard not to run So go and come to love Now I miss live music, man. Oh my God, I miss live music. There's nothing like it, eh? When you're in that moment, there's nothing like it. Hey, is it David Barclay? Did you hear Michael Barclay?

Is it David McPherson who's writing the book about Massey Hall? Yes. I can almost hear Massey Hall. Like, you can hear Massey Hall in this recording. You can hear the crowd, but you're also like, yeah, what a temple. The city is my sister and the nighttime is my lover. No, yeah. No, I love temple. The city is my sister and the nighttime is my lover. No, I love it.

Love it. It captures that energy. It's the closest we're going to get, I guess, for a while. Yeah, go back and listen to all your live records. Well, again, yesterday, because it was just yesterday,

it's the only thing I can remember now. I couldn't remember Jake Gold's name at the beginning of this episode. But yes, Dave Weisbach, we played, I guess in early March, Alanis Morissette recorded this live ironic thing in the UK

and we just played it to remember what it's like when you hear the crowd engaging with the artist. Yeah, it's magic. I have a funny... So I was looking at Costine's footage recently and this should all be dropping hints about what I'm writing about. And I was looking at Costine's footage recently, and this should all be dropping hints about what I'm writing about. And I was looking at this footage, and Bri Webb, the singer, was backlit.

There's lights at the back of the stage. And it showed him singing to the microphone. And all I could see were all the droplets coming off his mouth. And I'm like, oh, my God. Well, now we look at everything. I'll watch a show with my wife, and I be like they're not they're not uh two meters apart like everything just seems like in little things like yeah i'm sure when i met you the first time this is our second time but the first time you came over i'm sure i shook your hand at the door right yeah oh yeah i only

stopped doing that i did uh a few episodes that that week before the march break i call it but before friday the 13th and that week i had a new, I call it, but before Friday the 13th. And that week I had a new rule. I wasn't shaking hands of guests, but that was like in March 2020. And it's like when we get the vaccine and things come back to normal, I think I'm done with the handshake. Oh, I will shake hands again. But watching this footage of him singing and what, and not him, watch anybody sing into a microphone. Right.

And as someone who uses microphones often, also on stages, and apparently singing is one of the worst ways to transmit it, right? Oh, sure. There's a huge outbreak during like a choir meeting once, right? Yeah. That's why you can't sing on our patios. But I'm like, you know, how many times do I play in a band where we're all sharing a mic

or there's different singers coming up to sing different songs? And it's like... And this is why you brought your own mic. Yes, there you go. Although I want to just let the people know. So the mic that I have, my mic, I did, after Wise Blot used it yesterday, I did take my Lysol wipe and very thoroughly went over this thing. I just want to let the people know.

I don't want to get COVID from the guy who used to hate read me. Now that would be like Atlanta said. That would be ironic. All right, one more to go. You ready? All right, we're jumping right to recent days. This record is two years old. Hey, feeling a past, there's no need

There's a freedom in the unknown, feel it, it will pass Now is a time for savoring All you knew is curious Acronyms make her delirious All you knew, considers winning Pink lace, engaged in spinning All you knew, let go Of the hand of the Holy Ghost Seems sure the new falls

But all you knew, it's all over Thank you. Open up again How am I to know if you're holding me in Or you're leaving I'm alright But if I'm in Let me shine a light Think that my face reflects the truth Stop looking, looking, looking, looking What is happening to you? Oh, I know I love you.

I love you. Don't look at me. All right, that is Bonjay from Toronto, Alanis Stewart and Ian Swain. The album's called Lush Life, came out a couple of years ago. Let's let her sing a bit. I've got to hear this part. Tell me what are you looking for, my love? Oh, my love, oh, my love. Tell me, my love, my...

Oh, my love. Tell me, my love. My. Oh, my love. My love. My love. It's you. There you go. There's a Del Bell moment for you. It sounds good in the cans, right? Oh yeah Just wow

I was thinking if I were a neighbour of mine If I were my neighbour All we'd hear is us talking You don't hear the jams I feel like we need to set up a speaker So people know what we're listening to What we're talking about Yeah

So this is one of my favourite groups of recent years And Alana Stewart in particular Is just an astounding vocalist Yeah, so this is one of my favorite groups of recent years, and Alana Stewart in particular is just an astounding vocalist. She does stuff with Bonje, her partnership with Ian Swain, but she also performs with the Queer Songbook Orchestra, which is kind of like a chamber music pop group kind of thing. And so she sings much more subtly and softly there, and it's a whole other thing.

But I love what she does with Bonjay, and Ian Swain, too, is a producer, arranger. I just feel like there's a lot going on there that's beyond words for me at this moment in the morning. But Lush Life is the name of the record. It's really great. There's a whole bunch of new stuff. I thought of playing one of my favorite new records this year is by this Filipino band called Panteo,

who use traditional Filipino percussion in kind of like R&B electronic bands. Okay, cool. Weaves, one of my favorite Toronto rock bands of recent years. So they've been dormant for a while. I don't know what's going on. Not that I expect anything super from anybody. Well, not to be confused with the Weavers who were blacklisted.

Uh, uh, Hawaii Mighty, who won the players last year. Uh, Oh, Buxom, who produced a record,

a song on that records, uh, Witch Prophets, Bad, Bad, Not Good. There's a bunch of stuff. How,

how are the people, the young people today to discover this great music you're talking about right now? Like, uh, cause you know, back in our day, Michael, it might hit the radio or much music. Like, like how are they discovering the music now? They hoping that, like, like who's their guide?

You should ask a young person, not a 48 year old. I'm related to some young people. I'll find out. But it's just, it's just, you're naming bands. I don't know. And I'm thinking, but where, where should I be tapped into? Is it at CBC Radio 3? Is this where I should be more connected?

CBC has some good resources. I mean, I just read a lot. Right. And I'm on the Polaris jury. And I get a lot of great tips from fellow jurors there and from different parts of the country too. Yeah, it's tough. I feel like it used to be, I mean, say what you will about limited.

When things were limited, it almost made it easier because there was one filter through which everything went. The monolithic cultural. Yeah, and there's a lot of problems with that because a lot of stuff gets left out. We're talking about Jamaica to Toronto right here. It's a classic example. But it did mean there was one place you could go and find all this stuff. gets left out as we're talking about Jamaica, Toronto, or Harris as classic example. But, um,

but it didn't, didn't mean there was one place you could go and, and, and find all this stuff. So these days, I don't know. I mean, I always tell people like, I feel like the Polaris long list is a great place to start. There's a lot of stuff that doesn't even make that, that I think is amazing. Um, because as you know, and as Ben Rainer knows and other FOTMs, like you'd mentioned, you read a lot and that's great because uh but but it used to be you could actually just open up a paper and read about you know and even that seems to be but the advantage now of course is that you can actually hear it before you even read about it so i mean i'll admit to using algorithms and maybe five percent of what they serve me actually leaves me somewhere interesting um right, right. But, but for me, it's

still reading and reading a lot of different sites. Um, and you know, obviously bigger ones like Pitchfork or whatever, but also, uh, smaller ones too. Uh, and, and the band camp daily thing has a lot of great stuff there too. There's, there's ways to make algorithms work for you. I'm still not a fan of it. I love, I still love listening to radio. I still love, uh, listening to CIUT here in Toronto or listening to WFMU online out of Jersey. There's another one I just found called K-Piss out of New York City,

run by a Canadian woman named Barkley. So I'm predisposed to like it. She's from Edmonton originally. Just free-form radio stuff I still love and really miss because I miss that curation that people give me, right? Because, like I said, the algorithms don't always feed me well. Now, we weren't going to let this episode end without a lowest of the low jam. So they are represented.

This is a great Toronto jam. Although I liked what he, what Ron sang at TMLX3 at Great Lakes Brewery, which is, I want to take a street car downtown, listen to Toronto Mike, and wander around, drink some Great Lakes from a tin, is how he put it. But Michael, thank you so much, not just for bringing the music, bringing the jams, but for giving it all some context

and educating us. I thoroughly enjoyed that. Beautiful. Thank you so much for having me. And I did put together a little Spotify list, if that's anybody's jam, of some of these songs, not all of them, and some extra ones too. So you'll link it up, I'm sure.

I'll retweet that for everybody. Thanks again, man. And that brings us to the end of our 677th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Alright, Michael, you're at MMM Barclay.

So three M's, like Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, but not them. Okay, so three M's and then Barclay on Twitter. Follow Michael. Our friends, by the way, you never considered being a Mike? Michael Landsberg told me a Mike is a guy who fixes his car. And he said, I'm always going to be a Michael.

You just, you like Michael. That's on your birth certificate. When I left home, I introduced myself as Michael, and that's what I've been. You're Michael. Okay, so I don't judge the Michaels. The elevator man still calls me Mike. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta.

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And Garbage Day. They're at GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike. See you all next week. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Rome Phone. Rome Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls. Visit RomePhone.ca to get started.