Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Al Grego: Toronto Mike'd #1371

Episode Date: November 22, 2023

In this 1371st episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Al Grego about season 5 of Yes, We Are Open, an award winning podcast from Moneris. And yes, there are jams, and a major TPS mindblow. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Raymond James Canada and Moneris. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

Welcome to episode 1371 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. RecycleMyElectronics.ca.

Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. The Advantaged Investor Podcast from Raymond James Canada. Valuable perspective for Canadian investors who want to remain knowledgeable, informed, and focused on long-term success.

Season 5 of Yes, We Are Open. An award-winning podcast from Moneris, hosted by FOTM Al Grego! And Ridley Funeral Home. from manaris hosted by fotm al grego and ridley funeral home pillars of the community since 1921 today returning to toronto mike to kick out more jams is al grego how are you al i'm good and you good thanks for asking. See, you're just going to autopilot.

Like, I don't even know if I'm thankful that you asked that ridiculous question, but I just said thanks for asking. Like, that's how we were raised, right? That's what you say. With manners, exactly. Do you remember Miss Manners? Yes. Okay. Do you remember Goofus and Gallant?

No. Okay, so Goofus would be like a rude boy. He'd be doing, oh, do I have them backwards? Yes. Okay. So Goofus would be doing terrible things. Like he wouldn't say thank you. And maybe he wouldn't even like take his dishes to the sink when he was done or whatever.

And then Galant, always proper. Good boy. Thank you very much, Mrs. Cleaver. May I help clear the table right he's the gallant one yeah yes see you're the smart one in this coupling here we're going to do some catching up

I can't wait to talk to you about season 5 of Yes We Are Open and again when we kick out our fifth jam I'm going to ask you about something major, something significant that's happened in your podcasting life. No idea what you're talking about. But right off the top,

so everyone don't bail. Okay. Cause after song number five, mind blow coming your way. Some of you already know others will have their minds blown, but one question right off the top. Al Grego, are you ready to kick out the jams?

Let's do it. Turn it magical Turn your magic on With me she'd say Everything you want to dream away We are legends Every day That's what she told me Turn your magic on. To me she'd say.

Everything you want is a dream away. Under this pressure. Under this weight. We are diamonds. And I feel my heart beating. I feel my heart beating. You make me feel like I'm alive again. Not your father's Coldplay.

No, no. Very different Coldplay. No, no. Very different Coldplay. What jam are we listening to, Al? We are listening to Adventure of a Lifetime. Released, was a lead single on their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams. And yeah, released in 2015. I like that debut album from Coldplay with Yellow. And was the song Shiver?

Do you remember this song? It's called, or Don't Panic or Shiver? What was that song called? I think it was called Shiver. But I remember they were kind of really cool, Brit poppy kind of alt rock band. They didn't sound like this back then. No, no, this is a bit of a departure.

Not that there's any, this is more like, oh, we need to be like Imagine Dragons. Yeah. Because that's what the kids are listening to. Or U2, I mean. Well, yeah, I mean they started off sounding like U2. They just kept on sounding like U2. That's right. Or they kind of like, if U2

had a baby with Radiohead, you might call that baby Coldplay. But this is more Imagine Dragons-y. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Good jam, though. Sounds good in the cans. Yeah, sounds great in the cans. So, yeah, hit number seven in the UK, single charts,

number 13, Billboard Hot 100. The idea for the video, I mean, the most notable thing about the song is the video. Have you seen the video? No. It's basically got stopped. Should I quietly watch it over here while you're talking? No, you don't need to. But basically, it's motion capture.

Andy Serkin, or Serkis, sorry, met Chris Martin on a plane one day. They got together, and the video for this was done at Imaginarium, where they did Planet of the Apes and parts of the Avengers movies. And yeah, the video itself is just a bunch of apes dancing to this song. Sounds cool. I'm going to check that out.

So the reason I picked this one here, the first one, so as you know, I went to Eastern Canada for season five of Yes, We Were Open. Have you noticed how I've been saying it? So I'm like, I'll win East. Yes.

And I know enough to not just say Maritimes because that pisses off Newfoundland who are not, they don't consider themselves part of the Maritimes. They're like Atlantic Canada. So you got to say the Maritimes and Newfoundland. Correct. So my first stop was Newfoundland. I went to Conception Bay South. And the company I visited first was Ocean Quest Adventures.

Adventures of a lifetime. There you go. See, I'm first was Ocean Quest Adventures. Adventures of a lifetime. There you go. See, I'm not just a pretty face. You're not even that. No. Rick and Debbie Stanley, since 1997, treating visitors of Newfoundland to thrilling adventures, snorkeling, zodiac boat tours, kayaking, paddle boating. Yeah, it was a really cool first visit. And I got to talk to uh john olivero their

uh chief uh happiness officer that's a title for i know and and you know what he kind of lived up to the billing it was it was an awesome uh visit and uh had a lot of fun talking about did you know like there's like hundreds of ship shipwrecks off the coast of newfoundland no like i only know the song Nautical Disaster by the Tragically Hip, but I didn't know. And I know not far off the coast is when Titanic went down. Right. That's not far off the coast.

But these shipwrecks are from like World War II and stuff. Like German U-boats would sink them as they were coming in. I had no idea. Yeah, weird. So anyway, it makes for amazing scuba diving. And they also have these underwater mines that were flooded that you can also dive through and stuff.

So yeah, it was an interesting. When you go out east, as you did this season, you went east and then you collect your inspiring stories from small business owners and you are going to piece them together for episodes of Yes, We Are Open, a podcast people can subscribe to right now, wherever you find your podcasts. Correct.

Courtesy of Moneris, hosted by FOTML Grego. Okay, check, check, check, check. Okay. Do you think, okay, Ocean Quest Adventures, that's my premiere episode of season five. It's so strong. I'm meeting with it. Do you do a sequencing like they do in albums?

A little bit. I mean, I tried to, I mean, this was also the time of Hurricane Lee. meeting with it do you do a sequencing like they do in albums a little bit i mean i tried to i mean this was also the time of uh hurricane lee so um i wanted to kind of give it like throughout the season i also told a bit of a story of how hurricane lee was kind of i was racing the hurricane to charlottetown because that's where i ended up and hurricane lee was also scheduled to hit charlottetown the same day i was supposed to arrive so this time around there was a little bit of sequencing but at the same time i wanted to keep arrive. So this time around, there was a little bit of sequencing,

but at the same time, I wanted to keep a bit of an order because by the end of it, I wanted people to go, did Alan survive? No, you're right. That would force the ordering because you don't want to have like, oh, we just missed it. It's gone.

And then it's like, oh, it's coming. It's like, where's the drama? You got to sell in the drama. That's a live song from Throwing Copper, right? I like Throwing Copper too. It's a great album. I don't know of any other live albums right. That's a live song. Yes. From Throwing Copper, right? Yes, very good. I like Throwing Copper too. It's a great album. I don't know of any other live albums, but that one's a good one.

No, because I remember one about the dolphins. Do you remember? No. Later there was a single on CFNY about dolphins. I don't know if the dolphins were crying, but it was about dolphins or something. Okay, I'll take that. But when you play with the weekends,

do you play any live? No. No lightning crashes. A little down tempo. We try to keep it upbeat so people can dance and sing along and stuff. Lightning crashes would bring the house literally down. It is a very sad song. Yes.

It's kind of depressing. The angel opens her eyes. Okay, I'll stop singing. That's my pledge. Yeah, we also don't do any bend folds, if you're wondering. Yeah. You know what if you're wondering. Yeah. You know what? You're right.

You pair Brick with Lightning Crashes, sad songs about women going through some trauma. Okay, let's kick out. How about this? The next time, not for a Moneris episode, but for an Al Grego episode, let's kick out the trauma jam. Are you digging it? Oh, man. All right, so you opened season five.

Yes. With Ocean Quest Adventures. And how was your trip to Newfoundland beyond the great conversations? I loved it. I highly, I mean, that was my second time there. Highly recommend Newfoundland. It's probably my favorite place in Canada to visit now. And yeah, it was great.

The second time around. George Street in St. John's is an amazing place to go have some drinks and take in live music. Yeah, it was great. Okay, so when I subscribe to Yes, We Are Open, the season five does open with Ocean Quest Adventures. But before we get to episode two, and we're going to kick out a jam before we tell you what episode two is about,

there's actually like a piece of audio called International Podcast Day. Meet Alan Grego, the voice of Mineris Podcast. Like this is like a special. I was just a little article, a little interview that was. Oh, but it's in the feed, right? No, no. It's not in the feed. It's a text article in the blog. Yeah. Okay. I was interviewed by. If I mentioned in that article is what I'm wondering. Like, is there any mention to about Toronto Mike in the, because it says here,

we sat down with Alan Grego to learn more about the programs and what inspired him to become a professional podcaster. And I thought you could slip in there. You were in partly, even if it's 1%, you were partially inspired by this local podcaster you were listening to named Toronto Mike. Highly likely. And you visited his studio and, cause that's the origin story. You know the story so well, you can listening to named Toronto Mike. Highly likely. And you visited his studio and cause that's the origin story. You know the story so well,

you can tell it on your own. You don't need me here. And I actually realized that if you didn't become the podcast person at Moneris, you could have hired me to be the podcast person on Moneris. So all this goodwill actually cost me a gig. Cause I would be a great part of the team at Moneris. But okay, I digress.

Love that Coldplay jam. And you know, you got to move with the times, right? You can't just keep making, unless you're ACDC and then you can just make the same song over and over again. But how many can do that?

You want to kick out jam number two? Let's do it. When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all And when my lack of education hasn't hurt me none I can read the writing on the wall Hold a throne Give us those nice bright colors

give us the greens and summers makes you think all the work till a sunny day oh yeah I got an icon camera

I'd love to take a photograph so mama don't take my Kodachrome away From Coldplay to Paul Simon. What jam are we listening to, Al? We are listening to Kodachrome by Paul Simon. It's the lead single from Simon's third studio album, There Goes Rhyme and Simon.

Yes, thank you. Released in 73. This song is older than you and I. A couple years for me anyway. I always think you're like a 74 baby and then I learn you're a 75 baby. But you know why I think you're 74? Because half the FOTMs listening are 74 babies. So why wouldn't you be one? But you're off I think you're 74? Because half the FOTMs listening are 74 babies.

So why wouldn't you be one? But you're off by a year. Okay. This song's older than us. Yes. Love this song. It was supposed to be called Going Home originally, but he called it Kodachrome.

Named after, obviously, Kodak's first color film. You watch Mad Men, right? Yeah. Okay. In the pitch meeting when Don goes, right? Yeah. Okay. In the pitch meeting when Don goes, it's not a wheel. It's a carousel.

Right. I just want to cry. Like it's the, I want to, whatever they're selling, whatever Don is selling in that scene, I'm buying it twice.

Yeah. It's a great line. Okay. It's a great show too. Yeah. So I picked this one here because second visit was in St. John's, Newfoundland, to Lane Gallery. I visited Don Lane, who opened this gallery in 76.

Talk about that era. So he's been there since 1976. Now he's in a Sheridan Hotel in downtown St. John's. I've been a fixture there. And he's selling his photography, like beautiful, gorgeous pictures of Newfoundland and the cities and the scenery and icebergs and the ocean. Yeah, great stuff. I love it when you talk to these guys who have lived it.

They've been there. They're seasoned vets, so to speak. Don Lane. Also a cool name, right? Don Lane at the Lane Gallery. Amazing. And you can even tell, he's been there so long, he can talk about the St. John's Maple Leafs.

He can, and he can talk about meeting, Elton John came through, because the hotel he's in, a lot of famous people came through there, and he mentioned one of the more famous ones was Elton John. And was that while Elton was married to a Toronto guy? Oh, I don't know. I know you don't know. Do you have any? I didn't ask the Toronto Mike question.

Only because, you know, when Elton married into Canadiana, it might increase the chances he would need to spend a night in St. John's, Newfoundland. Right? Yeah. Because now he's like, you know, he's married into Canadiana. Anyways, yes, the husband of Elton John is a right yeah because now he's like you know he's married into canadiana yes anyways yes the husband of elton john is a born and raised in the t dot so you know we celebrate everything

toronto on this show isn't there an fotm connection there too yeah well mary joe eustace you're setting me up here i like it actually like t-ball. There you go. Mary Jo Eustace's Childhood Friends with David Furnish is his name, and he did appear on her podcast. Absolutely, yeah. I won't say the name of it, because the B word is in the name of it. I'm trying to keep it clean

here, but absolutely, Mary Jo has a great episode with David. And Elton, spending time at Don Lane's, is it a hotel? No, so his gallery is just in the hotel lobby. You know how sometimes- He slept on Don's couch?

No. Elton John was staying at that hotel, came down to appreciate some of Don's photos. And his pictures are adorned walls all over the planet. Like, he's everywhere. And yeah, it was a fun visit with Don and I got to meet his employee, David. And yeah, it was a really interesting visit.

Okay. And will Don here, will you tip Don off that we talked about him on a podcast and say, hey, here's a link? I'll let him know. Yeah. Okay. Because I've never been to Newfoundland

and it's on my list of things to do before I die. And who knows? We're not getting any younger right now. So I need to do this at some point soon. And when I get to Newfoundland, I'm going to get my butt to the Lane Gallery and check out these photos. Amazing.

Okay. Now, this time, we're cooking with gas here, but season five, you went out east okay maritimes and newfoundland we're going to talk about the other great episodes in season five how does it work exactly like how do you decide where you're going and then i'm also curious like does is it like any other series where it's like okay we five is in the can great it's critically acclaimed okay you can quote me it's one of my favorite podcasts and it's you know you deem it commercially successful uh and then you get renewed like

is there a meeting they're like we're gonna green light season six it's not quite exactly like that it's more like if if i'm employed i'm probably doing another season because that's you'll just do it until they stop paying you. Until they say, thank you for your service at Moneris. No, as far as I know, we're doing a season six and it'll be next spring and my hope is I'll be headed out to Calgary.

That's where I was going. How do you determine which part of this vast country you'll be visiting? I look at the map. I see where I haven't been yet. I also see the time of year. And unfortunately, it's either late spring or early fall. So I didn't

schedule any season. Well, that means you're going to British Columbia. Like that's where you got to go, right? I've already been to BC, right? Oh, you've been to BC. I know that. No one knows that better than I do. Let's kick out another jam. Lots of catching up to do. I do. Okay. Let's kick out another jam. Lots of catching up to do. I do want to clarify,

make an announcement of sorts regarding TMLX 14, which is absolutely happening December 9th from noon to 3 p.m. at Palma's Kitchen. Al Grego, will you be there? Yes, I will. Oh good, because you're bringing the speakers. Exactly. I'm bringing the sound system.

And don't forget that cable this time. Remember last time we had to rent a cable? Yeah, it was bizarre, but yes. Yeah, we won't forget. I'll even phone you that morning and say, Al, you got the cable? And then, and are you bringing, here's a question, are you bringing your children for the lasagna,

or not just lasagna, but the pasta from Palma Pasta that they'll be able to eat for free? Maybe. We don't know yet. Because the answer was originally yes, absolutely. But now, you know how December things pile up and now they might be somewhere else that day. But I will definitely be there. But you'll be there.

Yes, absolutely. Okay. And just so you know, you're not leaving here today without a frozen lasagna from Palma Pasta because your family does, like legit, there's no ad here. You legitimately,

you guys love your Palma Pasta. Absolutely. Actually, I think it was this year's Thanksgiving meal was Palma Pasta lasagna. Why not? Like just make it Christmas too. Like why not?

This one will be for Christmas. Yeah. You're eating, there's no rules here. You don't have to have a be for Christmas. Yeah. You're eating. There's no rules here. You don't have to have a kill a bird. Okay. Just you're eating delicious lasagna. It doesn't matter.

Okay. So you're taking home the lasagna and I just want you to know I have some fresh craft beer for you from Great Lakes Brewery as well. And if you, when you do come to TMLX 14, again, an announcement is coming soon. I'm going to kick out another jam first. But when you do come, I will have a cold can of fresh beer for you, courtesy of Great Lakes Brewery. It pairs very well with the Palma Pasta.

Excellent. Y'all in? I'll take a Canuck Pale Ale. Yeah. Do you want one? Oh, I was going to say, you have a coffee, by the way. And thank you for the coffee. Yeah, you're welcome.

Anytime. Let's get to another jam. Which one did you choose? I want to hear at what point you can tell which version it is. You chose the Carpenters, yes. Sing a song. Sing out loud.

Sing out loud Sing out strong Sing of good things, not bad Sing of happy, not sad Sing Sing a song Make it simple to last your whole life long Don't worry that it's not good enough For anyone else to hear Just sing, sing a song For anyone else to hear, just sing.

Sing a song. Sing by the Carpenters. Yes. But first. But who are these kids here? First, it was written for Sesame Street. And actually, 1971, written by Joe Raposo, who also wrote Being Green, C is for Cookie, The Alphabet Song. But two years later, The Carpenters made it a number three hit on Billboard Hot 100.

So two years after it was on Sesame Street, it became a hit. Now, just so you know, I pulled both versions because I wasn't sure. So I'll put it in the background, the Sesame Street version. This is the one where you learn how to speak Spanish. Better late than never. This was on the K-Tel Sesame Street album that I own. I was more of a Sesame Street fever man myself. Oh, yeah.

Grover in his white bell bottoms. What is that, a jumpsuit? I think I had them both. I might have had them both, too. I was a big Sesame Street fan. Oh, yeah. That's all we had in the mid-70s. All right, I'll bring her down here.

Oh, this one doesn't have the Spanish song. It's from an album, but maybe they had themselves a hit with this Joe Raposo jam and they just re-recorded it every three months or so. I think actually the Spanish one came out in the early 90s, so it was much later.

Yeah, I just ignore anything unless it's Rusty or Lois L low, you know. But tell me why we're, why are we playing a song called Sing, Al? Well, this, for season three, I went home to Bradford, Ontario. Wait, wait, wait. Did you expense that trip? Yeah.

Yeah, it was a whole 10 minutes away to Bradford, Ontario, and I visited the Bradford Academy of Music and Tyler Tisonian, who is the newish owner of Bradford Academy of Music. It's a pretty personal story because I actually used to be a student at the Bradford Academy of Music. Because you're great. For those who don't know, I've heard Al perform. You performed at the first three Toronto Mic Listener Experiences. Yes.

And you're a great singer. Thank you. I appreciate that. I was taking organ lessons back then. So think about... Insert joke here. I know, right? You know, the double decker and the foot pedals, you know, I could play at a church and or a hockey arena. Right. Yeah, so those

are the lessons I was taking when we moved into our house. Is this Spanish? Hold on. What are they saying here? Yeah, there you go. There's the Spanish part. Sing a song. Come down, I'll come to you. Make it simple. To last your whole life. But Bradford Academy Music started like 40 years ago

in Rita Hunt's basement. And that's where I used to go have my lessons. Wow. Yeah. And so now a few years back, Tyler bought it off of Rita. And yeah, it's a great story and kind of a coming home for me. And I really enjoyed that one.

I think it's wild in the middle of your, I've been, you know, Al goes out east. You did a Bradford episode. No hurricanes in Bradford. No hurricanes in Bradford, no. You know, I'm very familiar with Bradford. I know you are. I know. I guess I'm reminding the listenership.

My grandmother lived in Guilford, Ontario, and when it was time to take her grocery shopping or go grocery shopping with her or do something that required a bigger city than Guilford, which had a corner store or something, we always went to Bradford. So I know Bradford well. Which grocery store?

Foodland or IGA? Well, there were two, I remember. How was it? IGA and Foodland. And there was the Bax Market too. It might've been that. I can tell you there was a restaurant she loved called the Bullfrog.

Yes, the Bullfrog. I don't know what happened to the Bullfrog, but absolutely. Oh, it shut down years and years ago. That building doesn't even exist anymore. In the 1980s, I spent many a Sunday afternoon at the Bullfrog. Okay, so.

And the funeral home, not Ridley Funeral Home, but the funeral home that she was buried at. You don't bury them at a funeral home, but yeah, where she was resting after she passed is in Bradford, Ontario. Yes, Warchucks. Yeah. That's it. And again, if she were to have passed away, you know, closer to where I speak to you now,

without a doubt, I would be calling Brad Jones at Ridley Funeral Home because they're pillars of this community since 1921. And I know you like to measure things. Your wife says you're always measuring things. I'm giving you a measuring tape courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home. Thank you very much. That's wild, though. You didn't think about holding on to that Bradford episode for another season? Like, was that even a thought in your mind? Like, hey, what am I doing?

I'm going to the Maritimes in Newfoundland. I can't drop a Bradford episode. I did four stories out there. I needed eight for this season. Oh, I see. So you have to pepper in a few local ones as well. Right, and that one was worth the drive to Bradford for that one. Okay, very good. Very good. Okay, and I did tease everybody that after

Jam 5, I would blow some minds with a non yes, we are open fact. Oh, we're on number four still. Yeah, we're only on four. No, don't worry. I even numbered them, okay? I'm a professional. I don't misorder my jams here. So let's kick

out Jam Number Four. Jam number four. I'm the blade, you're the knife I'm the wave, you're the kite They were right when they said We were breathing underwater Out of place all the time In a world that wasn't mine to take I wait

Is this my life? Am I breathing underwater? Is this my life? Am I breathing Underwater to school at a topical school of the arts which you could probably throw a rock from here and yeah i didn't know that we were just talking about that school actually an hour ago in my office were you yeah i was talking to a co-worker and his uh daughter's into the arts and uh she's looking at which which high school you gotta go to topical school there's right and remember you obviously didn't hear amy milan on toronto mic we talked about her uh she went to the topical school there it's too there's a whole whole bunch of broken social scene artists that kind of met up there. Yeah.

Yeah. Okay, good job. Why are we playing a song called Underwater? Well, our fourth episode was with Torpedo Rays in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. I visited with April Weikert and her dad, Jason Weikert. with April Weikert and her dad, Jason Weikert. And yeah, we talked about starting a scuba school and shop in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. And surviving the pandemic and all that stuff that went with that.

Torpedo Rays. That's not the farm team for the Tampa baseball team. No, it's not. No. Okay, amazing. You ever done diving? Did you see diving? No, it's not. No. Okay, amazing. You ever done diving? The deep sea diving? No, actually, that's not true. On my honeymoon, I took some scuba lessons in the pool.

And it was fun. Wait, you never left the pool? No, but I'm not a strong swimmer. But I had the thing on, and I had the breather, and I went under. Yeah, but you're in a pool. Yes, I was in a pool. I was in the pool. I was in the pool. I was in the pool.

Shout out to George Costanza. Love the Seinfeld references. I can roll with the Seinfeld references, the Simpsons references. I struggle with these Letterkenny references, but we'll get to that later. Okay? Okay. So I've never done the diving thing either. But if I ever get that bug, I'm going to make my way to Torpedo Rays in Dartmouth.

When I visited, this is 2019, I drove to Charlottetown, and you go through the Maritimes, by the way. That's how you get there, by the way, when you drive there. And I can't get it mansplained to you where it is. But I was surprised at the proximity. I don't know if I was just an ignorant Torontonian probably but like there's halifax there's dartmouth like it's like oh you just right across the bridge and you throw i had to throw a loony yeah a loony in the thing and i'm

like oh you just you get throw a loony and you're in the next one like they're just attached yeah make that one big city and well it's one big uh municipality now but uh yeah i i did spend some time in Halifax because I believe you made fun of me last time when I was in Newfoundland. I never make fun of you. In New Brunswick. I'm just jealous of you.

I was in New Brunswick and I didn't have any seafood. So this time I made a point. Did I make fun of you? Yes, you did. I made it a point this time. It doesn't sound like me. I went to Halifax and I sat by myself and I had lobster and it was awesome.

Okay. Well, listen, if I didn't make fun of you, okay. I got a question on the live stream. So we're live at live.tronemag. This is an important question because HeyRef wants to know if you experienced any shrinkage when you were in the pool. That's too easy, HeyRef. Come on.

Oh, yeah. It wasn't me. By the way, I didn't make fun of you for not having the seafood. It was YYZGord. Was it? He's claiming it. He's like, I won't use the analogy I was going to use, but he's claiming that it was him. Okay. Maybe it was YYZ Gord. Was it? He's claiming it. Is he taking credit for it? He's like, I won't use the analogy I was going to use,

but he's claiming that it was him. Okay, maybe it was him. It was one of these. And Rosie's on the live stream. Rosie. Hi, Rosie. Rosie also is, am I allowed to say,

a 74 baby like me? She is obsessed with Underwater by Metric. It's a great song. You know, and quick question aside, and then I'll get back. And by the way, I do want to say hello to Moose Grumpy

also on the live stream. But now that AI is in the news everywhere, is it annoying you that Al looks exactly like AI? Yes. It would drive me nuts.

I've been often blamed for stealing people's jobs and then I, when I go to defend myself, they're like, what are you talking about? We're talking about AI. There's nothing to, you can't like visually look at AI

and know it's not Al. Correct. And because of my ego, whenever I do say AI, the first thing I think of is me. Well, you should always be your own first thought, right? We're always top of mind here. My guest yesterday misspelled Michael in his middle name. Not his fault.

He was literally minutes old when this decision was made. But this is important to me, because I am a Michael. You're just obsessed with what you had. But okay. So shout out to Jerry, a great singer-songwriter who was on Toronto Mic'd yesterday. You're also a singer.

Do you write songs? Not anymore. But you did. There are a couple albums out there with my name on them. Is this PFTW? Maybe. Possibly. Okay, because that's your handle on Twitter. Don't tell me. Something for the worm. Poised for the

worm. There you go. I should get a t-shirt that says poised for. Oh, I almost wore my poised for the worm t-shirt. What shirt are you wearing? We'll talk about that after the next jam. I'll insert my TMLX14 update now, because after the next jam, we're going to talk about different letters,

not TMLX. Okay, so I have been promoting, in fact, I wrote about it on TorontoMic.com, that what's going to happen at TMLX14, which is at Palma's Kitchen, December 9th from noon to three. I've been promoting a Pandemic Friday reunion. Exciting.

Very exciting. Yeah. Very exciting. And then I got a text last night with some bad news on that front. Let me guess. Stew. Stew? Here's the thing.

So Cam Gordon and I, we have like, my job's a bit weird, but I do it always in toronto right or maybe mississauga who knows but okay i'm in the gta and cam's always working in toronto so we're sort of based here stew is like a nomad of sorts like when a gig arises wherever it is he goes there like cam and i have kids we. We have jobs here. We're kind of grounded here. And Stu is floating around. He's hustling. He's out hustling.

He's grinding. He's out hustling. So he has an opportunity in California. He's got to take it. So he's not going to be able to turn down an opportunity. He's not like, I got a commitment to reunite Pandemic Friday, especially because I'm not paying them. I was going to give them some pasta and some beer

here. So, let me just say this out, which is that Stu can't make TMLX 14, but Cam and I are going to host, and we're going to have two open mics, and we're going to really make this about people who come out. Like, I want Al Grego on a mic.

I want, you name it, everybody who basically comes to TMLX 14. I want Al Grego on a mic. I want, I want, you name it. Everybody who basically comes to TMLX 14. I want to get them on a mic and wish them happy holidays. And then we'll kick out some, you know, festive jams. And we're going to have an amazing time, but it's going to be Cam Gordon and I.

Stu will not be at Palmer's Kitchen. And I wonder, there's that couple, right? Steve and his wife, we're going to make a long trek. And I think they might have been doing that for Stu. Oh, no.

So anyway, they'll know the news because now that I've broken it, it's going to make it into the private chat. And then Steve will learn about that. But anyway, I hope everybody comes out. Stu, you know, Stu, he's a busy guy. He won't be here.

But TMLX14, which by the way, we're all going to eat for free. Thanks to Palma Pasta. We're all going to get a fresh can of Great Lakes beer. We're going to have a live recording. We're going to all be together. It's going to be amazing.

Doormat's going to be there. We're going to roast him on the mic. It's going to be amazing for everyone. So even without Stu, I hope people come out. Now, are you changing your mind now? Are you thinking like, no Stu, no Stu, no Al?

Is that what you're thinking right now? I might have some plans. No Cleveland, no Bowie. Now you're out of here. Okay, so that was my little announcement. Stu can't make TMLX 14, but Cam is 100% committed and will be there co-hosting with me and we'll have two open mics

and we'll have lots of great chatter with everyone who comes out. I hope to see you all there. And now we're going to kick out the jam that'll lead to the big fun fact about Al that you're all going to learn in a moment. Let's kick out jam number five. Chiefs in the building, homie, pipe down. Middle fingers up for my hometown. From underground chiefs to the braves to the briefs. Lucas got my back when it goes down.

On the outside, I'm at a world peace. I'm a mouse in the palace, inside I'm a beast. Put a fist to the sky for the Sioux tribe. Middle fingers up to the pipeline. Shout out to the red skinned bloodhounds. Holding down for the red camp right now. All my people getting mauled, getting put on by the dogs. And we're still being cuffed like outlaws.

Resurrecting the indigenous, black snake killers We got every other village out there fighting like gorillas And we're here to take the power from the biggest eagle maniacs Our voice is a weapon and it's powerful And I'm sweating ammunition Coming out the shadow, no camo No Dariels here, no Orlando Steel Don't fuck with me, I got hands, bro

For standing rock, I stand Lay loose, voice I am We deploy the brace, we destroy the land. About to take it all back, we them village boys. Let's go. Still we all go round. They don't enjoy us. We only ride or die.

Cause we warriors. And that's where to the wild. We convulters, we stay loyal to the soil. Y'all can't beat us, might as well join us. Bitch, we go Skoda. Skoda. Skoda. Digging it out out what are we listening to here we are listening to skodan by the snotty nose res kids uh they are a first nations hip-hop duo composed of haste heistla rappers darren young d metz and

quentin young tribes nice uh from kit kit kit a mat uh village in bc uh yeah they released this Tribes Nice from Kitimat Village in BC. They released this in 2017 on their author album The Average Savage, shortlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize, and nominated for Juno in 2018. This music was featured on Shorzy, but there's lots

of great music period on both Letterkenny and Shorzy, but also a lot of really great indigenous music on both shows. Amazing. Okay, tell the uneducated, is Shorzy a spinoff? Like, is there a common thread between Letterkenny and Shorzy? Absolutely, there is. So Letterkenny, in Letterkenny, there was this character named Shorzy,

a very annoying character, played also by the show's creator, Jerry Kiso. You never saw his face. His appearances were very brief and fleeting, but he always made an impression because he was always chirping at other hockey players and saying how much he's like getting with your moms and stuff. So very, very, very one dimensional character. with your moms and stuff so very very very one-dimensional character so when they the announcement came that uh there was going to be a spin-off and everyone was like oh which character are they going to spin off and it came out that it was shorzy we were all like how the hell are you going to do that a you never see his face b all he does he's got this annoying voice and all he does is chirp uh people's moms what up And it's turned out to be an amazing, amazing show

that everyone should be watching right now. Hey, and this is on Crave, much like Letter Kenny. If you're in Canada. Jared Kiso. So he's the creator of Letter Kenny? That is correct. And he's a star of Letter Kenny. Like, Letter Kenny is his baby.

Creator, writer, showrunner star okay so if you in theory just work with me here al like if you were going to have a podcast that celebrated letter kenny i would think that your ideal guest would be this jared kiso fellow you would think okay so i'm wearing a t-shirt right now. I'll take some work. I'll take off the, I got a new hoodie from Great Lakes Brewery. Very nice.

It's got the octopus wants to fight on the back. So for the photo, I'll take it off. So I'll just be wearing the produce stand t-shirt. So the, you have, so this is aside from the wonderful. Yes,

we are open. Manera's podcast. Manera's has nothing to do with the produce stand. No. They wish, right? They're like, can we buy this off you? And you're like, it's not for sale. No, it's not exactly suitable for work.

Okay, so the produce stand is a podcast that you produce and host. Correct. To celebrate Letterkenny, and I guess now also Shorzy? Yep. Because it's the same universe. Okay. How many episodes have you recorded of this podcast? letter kenny and i guess now also shorzy yep because it's the same universe okay how many episodes have you recorded of this podcast i think we're at 209 maybe 210 that's a big number yeah

three years how many podcasts get to 200 not many i mean yours did a couple of times over but mine did sure but i'm exceptional you're also recording five six episodes a week uh we're yeah 200 is a big number for podcasts yes okay. Okay. And very, very what I'd love to know the percentage of podcasts that have an episode one and also hit 200. I bet you it's like 1%. This is just my feeling on that. I feel like most episodes don't even get to episode 10.

No, you're probably right. So you got to episode 200. Along that route were there how many like how hard and how aggressively did you pursue Jared Kiso as a guest? As aggressively as we pursued any cast member as a guest. And we've had a bunch on, but it was always well known that Kiso did not do a lot of media.

And in fact, he doesn't like it. He's like Hayden Desser. He doesn't like talking to the press. If you, if you do a search for Kiso interviews, you're going to find two interviews, basically a W5 by CBC. Sure. And Q by CBC. to the press. If you do a search for KISO interviews, you're going to find two interviews, basically.

W5 by CBC. Sure. And Q by CBC. That's about it. You won't find them on any... Oh, and there's a much music one. Is W5 CTV or CBC? I think it's CTV.

I think it's CTV. Because Fifth Estate is CBC. That's right. You're right. So CTV... Only because I watched Buffy's Fifth Estate 500 times. Okay, so...

And those interviews were years ago. Also, Crave is owned by Bell Media. Correct. And CTV is a Bell Media thing. That's right. So there's going to be some cross promotion. Okay.

So say those places again. Prior to the big news, we're going to drop here. Q and W5. Okay. Yeah. So those are two big, big things in the Canadian media landscape. And that was years ago. The Americans who are listening, because I know there's a lot of Letterkenny Americans who would

listen to the produce stand and they wouldn't know a Q, or they might know a Q, but they probably don't, or a W5. But these are major Canadian media outlets. Major. Right. Okay. So those are the two places where you could

hear Jared Kiso talking about. And these were years ago when Letterkenny was first starting and they were, you know, trying to promote the hell out of it, right? Like there were commercials for Letterkenny on Canadian Super Bowl coverage. Like that's how much they were pushing it back then. Since then

he hasn't been on anything. Doesn't like to talk to the media. So I've never reached out to Jared Kiso but it goes without saying if I did ask for Jared Kiso, he'd probably give me a polite no thank you. Or a hard no. Like he says, or a not so polite.

He's like, screw you. I'm not doing this show. He's actually a very nice guy. But he's not popping on. I just booked today, I booked Rick Emmett from Triumph for his second appearance. And then it's like, he's like the opposite.

I feel like he does lots of things like he'll zoom if he can do it on zoom he's going to do a hundred different podcasts whether there's anyone listening or a million people listening he doesn't care jerry kiso he's not that guy right so so i'm building this up really big here yeah appreciate it but at some point he must have become aware of the produce stand i think we wore him down after a while. So let's not bury the lead. Let's spill this out. What is the big news for listeners of your personal podcast,

The Produce Stand? Who is the great guest you recently landed? So recently they... Do you want a drum roll? Yeah, Bell Media announced that season 12 of Letterkenny was going to be the last season of Letterkenny. Is that the one we're in right now? That's the one that's coming up around Christmas.

Okay. Is the final season of Letterkenny. It's going to be done. No more Letterkenny after that. This was big news. And we were, you know, contacted by them and said, hey, because in the past we were given, you know. Give me a, put up your finger when you want the drum roll.

Because I really do feel like before the punchline we're going to get a drum roll in here. We asked and we're all told, you know, maybe when Nauta Kenny's over, Jared will come on. So last week we had, as our guest on the protostand, Jared Kiso. Holy smokes. Jared MFing kiso okay and what's what's significant here is that this would be the most desired guest and it's like a it's like a white

way it's like moby dick it's a white whale because elusive doesn't do much you know yeah q whatever q my guest yesterday was on q. W5, a CTV big, it's a big thing, obviously. He did those two years ago, probably part of the deal to tell people this Letter Kenny thing exists, but nothing since there's nothing. I can't, I can Google the hell out of this. I'm not going to find any

Jared Kiesel podcast appearances. No. And as far as we know, this is the only interview he's going to do. So he did, when did the interview happen? The interview happened a couple of weeks ago. So you put it in the can. November 9th. You recorded this interview. Who conducted the interview from the produce stand?

The four of us. So it's myself, my wife, Tanya, and my other two co-hosts, Matt and Victor. The four of us peppered him with questions. Okay, so when this was arranged, since he doesn't love talking to you, but he agreed to talk to the product. This is amazing, by the way. You do realize, I don't know what the equivalent would be. I don't know. Neil Young in the basement? I'm trying

to think of what my equivalent would be. Well, it was Ann Maromer for the longest time. And then she came back and came back. So that's our hope. Maybe he'll come back. Maybe we've broken him down. Maybe. So when you were, I'm sure there's a middle person,

like you're working through some kind of Bell Media PR maybe? Yeah, we were working with the producer of the show, and I've worked with, we've dealt with her for a few things already. Sure, okay. She was great. Did they apply? Like I just went through the Jason Priestley. Did you enjoy the Jason Priestley episode?

Yeah, it was great. Only because I remember I was listening to it on my way here and yeah, I loved it. Okay. Well, I was told you got 30 minutes and somebody was on the Zoom but they turned off their camera

and was counting like nicely counting the minutes and I think I did 34. Yeah. But I actually, you know, I didn't want to go too much further than that because I knew that person was there and I did promise to do 30 minutes.

When you had Jared Kiso on the show, did they give you a similar timeline? Like said, you have this many minutes? We had an hour with him. That's good. Yeah, we knew we had an hour with him. He's up in Sudbury right now. They're currently shooting season three of Shorzy.

He's a busy guy. But an hour is good. We had an hour with him and we took probably an hour in 10 minutes. So you had an hour and 10 minutes with the guy who created the art that you celebrate with a podcast committed to that art. What's that like? I just need to know. Obviously, people can hear this now.

Is there a number episode? What do they look for? I think it's 109. That's bad. You're not as good at numbers as I am. I can tell you all my numbers. I believe it's episode 109. You know,

my brother Steve, when I hit like episode 80 or something, he said, numbers were amateur hour. I need to lose the numbers. And I said, like just tracking everything, I said,

I need the numbers just to track everything. And I'm glad I kept the numbers. But people can find the Jared Kiso episode of The Produce stand wherever you find your podcast but i'm just wondering what was it like like when when the hour must have breezed by and then you're like we then you're like we got it yeah and uh we were laughing because i've had you know we've met him in person a couple of times when we were up there a few months ago. So he's a prince of a man.

And any time you hear something nice or good said about him, it's all true. Like there's no artifice. There's no Hollywood BS with this guy. He's just a really good guy. He just doesn't like the limelight. And he'd rather give the spotlight to his cast members and to other people on the show because he's fine being in the background. I respect that 100%. Guess what career he chose?

He chose to make television shows that not only he's not a quiet guy in the background writing them or directing them, he's starring in them. So it is an interesting contrast that you've chosen to be in our living rooms and be a very public figure. You just don't. And I get it. Yeah, he's a very different cat when it comes to that. But he said yes to you. Yeah, he said yes to us and we were honoured

that he did and we took full advantage of having him on. And yeah, you can listen to him. So you're like the only place to hear him talking about this in, I don't know, let's say the last five years or something. Yeah, I'd say that. You're the only place.

He's not on the national, although he'd probably come on the CTV national news and talk to Omar because it's a Bell Media production. Probably. And you're fiercely independent. Yes, we're absolutely. You're not a Bell Media plant. No, we are not. There's no money coming in through the side door

from Bell Media. None at all. No, we'd love it, but no. Okay, dude, I got to say, this is very impressive. I'm not just saying that because you're a good FOTM. Whatever I said now triggered my Google on this phone. I didn't even say the G word. Okay, but man, so here's one problem

because, you know, Ann Romer is not the same as Jared Kiesel. So I was able to pick other white whales, but there is only one white whale in your world. So now that you got an hour plus with Jared Kiesel and it was great, I can't wait to listen, man. I can't wait to listen. But now there's a risk. I have this feeling of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Like my whole life, I've wanted to see the Leafs win the Stanley Cup. And now we're at a point where my fear is we're going to win the freaking thing one day. We're going to win it. We're going to stumble into a Stanley Cup. Then what? Then what? Like, I feel like you've got your white whale. There's a little bit of a letdown after that,

like a little bit of a depression. Like, okay, we did that. Now what? Like, I've climbed Mount Everest. Right. There's only one Mount Everest. Have you considered that? No, I mean, there's still lots to talk about.

There's still Shorzy, and there's still a lot of cast members from Letterkenny we haven't had on that we would love to have on. So we're happily going to continue doing this because it's fun. And we have a great community behind us that look forward to episodes every week. And we wouldn't want to let them down either.

And there's just so many more things to look forward to anyway. So we're happy to keep doing this. Just looking at the chat real quick here. YYZ Gord says that Jared Kiso would be the logical guess, but he is famous for not doing any interviews at all. There are many folks that would love to have him. Are you secretly,

maybe we'll call this like a slice of Schodenfreude, but are you secretly hoping you never hear him on any other piece of media for as long as he lives? Like you don't want him to show up on Toronto Legends or something like that, right? Like you want this to be the TPS exclusive. I think we got that. We got the Kiesel.

No, if he's on Toronto Mike tomorrow, it's tainted a little bit, right? I mean, maybe. Well, I have a big announcement to make. Where's my drum roll? Could you imagine? Okay, okay. No, we're not selfish.

If he wanted to do more, obviously we'd be listening. We'd totally be, because we're fans. We. No, we're not selfish. If he wanted to do more, obviously we'd be listening. We'd totally be listening because we're fans. We're fans of what he's done. Of course. You must be to do a podcast, aren't you?

I do want to say another amazing thing that YYZ Gord, it's all about him, you know, in the chat, is that he canceled, he claims he canceled

his trip to Paris to attend TMLX 14. Do you think he did that for Stu Stone? You know, if he did, he'll be very upset about that. Well, he's going to be pissed off, missing out. Now, we kicked out snotty nose res kids for another reason. Yes.

Because I realize we also kicked it out because it applies to a episode of Yes, We Are Open. So tell me that story. Episode five, I visited Anin. They're a clothing company or a retail company. At the time that I recorded them, they had a storefront in Stack Market in Toronto. So I don't know if you've ever been. Have you ever been to Stack Market?

Where is it? Does that answer your question? Bathurst. Yeah, I guess it is my question. Anyway, you should go check it out. It's a really cool place. Like Bathurst and what? Bathurst and near Fort York there.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah, we drink beers under the Bentway. Yeah, so it's near the Bentway. Anyway, so check this place out. It's an indoor-outdoor market all built with shipping containers. It's a very trendy looking place. Like season two of The Wire.

It's all shipping containers. It's a very trendy looking place. Like season two of The Wire, it's all shipping containers. Very cool. Sure, except with less, you know, refugees and stuff like that. Yeah, there were bodies in this. Smugglers and stuff. Anyway. Have you ever seen The Wire?

I have, yes. What do you, you know. It's really good. It's a quality show, obviously. Did you know Molly Johnson's brother directed the first four episodes or something? You forget who curates your best dubs here. I know.

Sometimes when I talk to you, though, you do know I'm talking to the listeners. Like, I know you know everything, but I have to play a little dumb. You have to play a little dumb so we can tell the listeners. Okay. Please spell Aneen. A-A-N-I-I-N. Okay, good. Because that'll help with the Googling of it.

So Aneen Retail Inc. So they're an indigenous shop. They sell only indigenous, made in Canada, made by indigenous clothing and jewelry and apparel. Amazing. Stacked market. And stacked, we should spell too, because people are going to think it's like stack E-D, but it's actually stack and then a T at the end.

Yeah, S-T-A-K-t um but she's no longer there actually since the recording of that interview which is i believe you made her famous she's now uh opened up a a spot at um what's the mississauga mall uh square one yeah burnham thorpe in here just this weekend she opened up a spot in square near the m the Maryland Monroe buildings. There you go. So that's Chelsea Petit or Pettit. I'm not sure how to say her last name. I think maybe Petit because Michelle Petit played for 10 or 11 different franchises. And I remember he came over

he was in the, we traded him in the Gilmore trade, right? He was French Canadian, right? Chelsea is indigenous. I'm going to Petit. We'll have to get her to break the tie here. Chelsea started this in 2021 streetwear brand um amazing story i am wearing one of her shirts there you go so this is actually uh a mean spelt in the indigenous um symbols uh and a mean just is means hello and uh it's just

a really cool brand and and you want to show off your pectoral muscles. Really high quality, if you want to call them pecs, sure. Really high quality clothing and really cool. And you go in and you talk to her and like the stories she can tell. It's just a really neat experience. And you didn't have to go all the way to the Maritimes for that one either. Not correct. So that's right here in Toronto. Okay, fantastic.

And that is, again, episode five of season five. Yes, we are open. About to kick out your sixth jam. Heck, I'll just do it because one of the producers of this song was in my basement like two weeks ago. That is right. Yep, go ahead.

Oh, well, you're going to drop that as a fun fact. Okay, I'm treading all over you. Yeah. Woo. Treading all over you. Yeah. Woo. My mother wanted me to make another song. Something brand new so she could dance to too. So this one's dedicated to no other than my mother, my father, my sisters, and my brother. Or you could say the family, or better yet, the families.

Oh, wait a sec, what the heck? This one's for Jamaica, Africa, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts, Bermuda, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Martins, and do not forget Montserrat, Nevis, Aruba, Grenada, Guyana, Aruba, St. Vincent, Anguilla, Bahamas,

Puerto Rico, Curico, Dominican Republic, and Rio, Martinique, and Guadalupe, and Virgin Islands. Truly,

this one's for my mother when we were playing. What a great song. I love it. Dream Warriors. Amazing. One of my favorites. Yeah, they're a hip-hop duo from, comprising of King Lou and Capital Q.

And you had who in your basement? Maximum 60. Yeah, that was a great episode. Richard Rodwell. And he was part of that crew. And previous episodes of DJ Ron Nelson share more of this. And there's a great episode of Kish in which he talks about the studio where this was recorded. Because it was literally in DJ Ron Nelson's house.

But a huge part of Toronto music history. And now the legacy begins. Yeah, 1991's And Now the Legacy Begins is the name of the album. What a year for music. Yeah, it was a great year. So the reason I picked this one is because in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, is where I went for episode six. The place was called Stryker's Den.

And this place here is really cool. Ashman Mandirata, he's the owner. And he moved here from India with his wife and opened this place. And he basically sells tabletop games from all over the world. And as soon as I walked in there and I saw the ludy board i knew exact like back then i fast forwarded to today and i knew exactly which song i was kicking it that's a no-brainer yes um and some of the some really cool stuff that he has there like uh board games from all over the world and this guy himself he's an actual historian he's like actually written a history book.

So he can tell like the history of the world through board games and where, you know, where they started and where they ended up. Like chess wasn't, you know,

didn't start in Russia or whatever. It started in India or, yeah. Oh, not Bangkok. Or, I don't know where it's, anyway, but. Bangkok, Oriental City,

but the city, that's the, yeah, One Night in Bangkok is about chess. That's right. Sports jam. There you go.

Anyway, it was a really interesting visit with him. And the cool thing about this too, I mentioned I was being chased to Charlottetown by Hurricane Lee. The day that I left, like I left Dartmouth a day early because I was afraid I was going to hit, like encounter the hurricane on my way to, because I drove, I drove from to encounter the hurricane on my way to, because I drove. I drove from Dartmouth to Charlottetown.

So I crossed the Confederation Bridge, and it was a gorgeous, warm, hot summer day. You wouldn't tell that there was a Category 5 storm coming. Wow. And when I got to Charlottetown, I locked myself up in my hotel room with my storm chips, thinking I was going to spend the day. Love that reference.

Locked in and nothing, like not that nothing happened. It was windy and rainy or whatever, but luckily we were spared. We had a worse day yesterday. Yeah. So I went out for a walk and so this one wasn't in my schedule. I just, I noticed it. I went in, it was a cool looking place and I noticed that they were a Menaris merchant. And I said, Hey, can I record a story with you? And he's like, sure. So this one was like a last minute ad that we did. Good for you. Look at you. You're like a real journalist now. And amazing. You got

this Stryker's Den story from my show. I've also driven that Confederation Bridge, by the way. And did you have any cows ice cream? No, you know what? I didn't. The weather wasn't great, so I didn't spend a lot of time outdoors, unfortunately. It's a beautiful place, though, and I hope to go back. You got to come back. Go back and get the cow's ice cream. It's the law, I think. They don't let you into Charlottetown PEI without that. I'm very aware of cows.

They're all over the place there. Absolutely. Amazing. I would like to just take a very quick moment and shout out the Advantaged Investor Podcast. You know, if you wouldn't, you know, whether you already work with a trusted financial advisor or currently manage your own investment plans, the Advantaged Investor provides

the engaging wealth management information you value as you pursue your most important goals. So wherever you find Yes We Are Open, you'll find the Advantage Investor podcast from Raymond James Canada. And recently Cliff Hacking was here kicking out jams, like recycling jams and garbage jams. like recycling jams and garbage jams. And that's because he works with EPRA,

and they're the good people behind recyclemyelectronics.ca. So if you need to dispose of some old electronics, cables even, he likes to remind me about the cables, the cable you forgot to bring to TMLX last year. If you need it, if that broke, don't throw it out. You don't want those chemicals in your landfill. Go to recyclemyelectronics.ca and find a place near you where you can

safely drop it off. And you know you're not getting a speaker, right? Because you have a Moneris speaker already. I've got a couple, yeah. You've got a couple. You don't get one of those. But everyone else on the show gets one and they love it. The guy yesterday thought he won the lottery.

Honestly, he's like, I need one of these, and I said, not anymore. That's what I said, not anymore. My goodness. Oh, you know what? We still have three jams to go, so let's get to it. It's worked so far, but we're not off yet. I want to know what you're thinking. There are some things you can't hide.

I want to know what you're feeling tell me what's on your mind The Pure Energy Mix. I'll bring her down because I got to dance, buddy. You want to dance with me? Yeah, let's do it. Where's Chris Shepard when you need him? There's an event tonight with Simone who sang in Love, Inc. She was the singer for Love, Inc. and I was chatting with somebody about this event and I wondered

I said, you phone me if Chris Shepard shows up. I'm looking for that man. So shout out to Simone from Love, Inc. The ever elusive. Did you ever watch Searching for Sugarman or whatever? He just passed away. Did he? Oh no. Rodriguez. Rodriguez, yeah. Yeah, he just died.

You obviously missed your Ridley Funeral Home Memorial episode where we talked about it. But I talked to myself about it because no one's there with me anymore. Thanks, Mark Wiseblock. Anyway, you need to do one of those for Chris Shepard for sure. Well, he's alive. I know he's alive. To find him and not the Ridley Funeral.

I'm searching for Shepard. I have this idea, but I need to The searching for Shepard. Somebody's got to pay. I have this idea, but I need to go to Costa Rica and start asking questions. And I don't want to expense my trip to Costa Rica myself. So I need to know. If Maneras wants to finance this, you let me know, okay?

Why are we playing What's On Your Mind? The Pure Energy Mix by Information Society. Well, the season seven, I was back in Toronto in Queen West interviewing Robert Thompson, owner of TechFuel. And they're an IT firm, so I thought Information Society was an apt kick out because there aren't a lot of IT jams out there.

So I went with kind of a thematic. Ian Service disagrees with you. He's got a whole playlist. Oh, does he? Okay, he'll have to share it with me because I had a thematic. Ian Service disagrees with you. He's got a whole playlist. Oh, does he? Okay. He'll have to share it with me because I had a hard time. Anyway, I found this one and I thought this is a great one. And like, you know, one from back in our clubbing days.

So I had to bring it in. And yeah, so I think listeners of this podcast will love at least the first part of that episode. Because I do a bit of a deep dive on Queen West and how cool it used to be. And I mean, it's still cool, but in a different way. The black market's still there. In a different way. But yeah, I waxed on poetic a little bit about Queen West, but it was fun. And yeah, in my visit with Robert Thompson, we talked about him, you know, leaving big corporate Canada and starting his own.

I love those stories. That's what inspires me as an entrepreneur is not that you should do this, Alan, because Mineris is a wonderful place. But, you know, giving the finger to corporate Canada, as you said, and going on your own, it's scary and risky, but very rewarding. And you can be inspired AF by Yes, We Are Open. Absolutely. You should do a Mikey Manry on Queen West.

by Yes We Are Open. Absolutely. You should do a Mikey Manry on Queen West. You know what? I got to say, I have a lot of memories of, you know, lacing up my Doc Martens and going to those like, I remember the Black Market.

I'm trying to name them all, but these like secondhand clothes stores on Queen Street West. You could get jeans for like five bucks. This is like early 90s. It was more about the venues, like the 360, the Horseshoe, obviously,

the Rivoli. Well, those, at least they're still around. Some of them are, yeah like the 360, the Horseshoe, obviously, the Rivoli. Well, those, at least they're still around. Some of them are, yeah. The 360 I don't think is anymore. No, but the Rivoli for sure. I was just there, and Horseshoe, I was just there. Boys for the Worm played the 360. Really? Yeah, and we played the Horseshoe once. Cameron House, too, is right there, too. Yeah, I never played Cameron House,

though. John Borah can hook you up. I think he lives there. And what was dropped? I want to say it was Michelle McAdory. They're all blur right now. I did three in a row. But somebody talked about a venue that Molly Johnson lived above the venue

and they were talking about this venue and it all come back to me when I finish. It might have been yesterday's episode. In Queen West? Yeah. I mean the only thing the bamboo maybe? Maybe. In Queen West? Yeah. I mean, the only, like the bamboo maybe? Maybe. But anyway,

she lived above the venue and she would come down and maybe it was Michelle McAdory. I need to revisit. I was just listening to Michelle McAdory too, but I only got about halfway through. I loved Michelle McAdory. That was great. Yeah.

Absolutely. I told Michelle McAdory, I didn't get the spotlight very long because Jason Priestley said, get out of my way. But I loved Michelle McAdory. And I love that you've uncovered this gap in popular music. Where are the IT jams? Because there's a lot of IT nerds who get really into music and they need songs too.

Like why are there no IT jams? Absolutely. And maybe this is a chance for Ian Service to let us know because I'll share it on, I have Toast on Sunday. So I will actually like list IT jams

if Ian Service and others want to tell me because off the top of my head, I'm just thinking of things like I can't think of any.

Like there are like Kraftwerk songs about computer or whatever, but I don't know if there's any IT jams. No, I'm not sure there's a lot of artistic. How much time did you spend on this project, Al, before you came up with Information Society?

Minutes. Which is fine. Minutes. It's okay. This next song, I have a little story that I will share, but I can't wait to kick it out. You ready? Let's do it.

Woo! Big jam, everybody. Mm-hmm. Don't look back. You can never look back, you can never look back Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach I feel it in the air, the summer's out of reach Empty lake, empty streets, the sun goes down alone I'm driving by your house, though I know you're not hurting I can see you, your brows can't shine in the sun

You got your hair combed out And your sunglasses on, baby I can tell you my love for you Will still be strong After the boys are So long Am I allowed to love this song? I feel like maybe that's not cool. Is it cool?

Is it okay if I love this song? Yeah, I found that lately people have been shitting on this song and I don't know why. I think it's a great song. It's a great song. Who's shitting on this song? I like maybe that's not cool is it cool is it okay if i love this yeah i found found that lately people have been shitting on this song and i don't know why i think it's a great song right who's shitting on this song i don't know it's not about baseball is it because i know that's he's got the other song uh put me in coach or whatever no apparently it's it's just about you know looking you know aging and looking nostalgia nostalgia so this one here obviously uh boys of summer by don henley composed by mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. And so Tom Petty loved this song and regretted passing it up. This could have been a very different song if it was a Heartbreakers song.

But still, a great song. Okay, yeah, Mike Campbell. Not to be confused with Mike and Mike's Excellent Adventures, Mike Campbell. F-O-T-M, Mike Campbell. Yes. Who's in the Maritimes. That's right. You could have talked to him.

I could have. I should have maybe. Yeah, released in 84, lead single from Henley's album Building the Perfect Beast. Reached only number four, well, only number five on Billboard Hot 100. But I feel like this song is like everywhere. And that's an era where I feel like that's the Michael Jackson. Yeah. 84.

Yeah. I feel like that's the Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Madonna juggernauts there. It's tough to crack the top five back then. Ranked 416, shout out Toronto, on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Wow. Okay. Well, and then I want to hear more because I want to know why we're playing this song. But I'll just quickly tell you, I have a nephew named Xander. Hello to Xander.

And Xander's mom and I, we were talking, I don't know, it came up organically. The Boys of Summer came up. This is a long time ago, by the way. And she goes, oh, yeah, I love that Brian Adams song. And then I just very calmly, I was not as, I was more of a jerk back then, possibly. But I did try to, I was not as, I was more of a jerk back then possibly, but I did try to restrain myself. And I said something to the effect of, no, you're confusing Summer of 69. I said, this is a Don Henley song.

But she actually stood firm and planted her feet in and tried to tell me that this was a Brian Adams song. And I was thinking, anyway, I won't, it's getting me angry just thinking about it. But when, it's okay to be wrong. Yeah, yeah. How often am I wrong? You listen to Toronto Mike most of the time, right? I know.

I think usually you're right. You've got that steel trap memory. Yeah, but once in a while I get it wrong. And then I will be very quick to say, I was wrong. I screwed up, but this is what I learned is actually correct. But no, that didn't happen anyway. So now let's hear why I'm getting angry over here. It's not good for my blood.

Tell me why you're kicking out The Boys of Summer by Don Hammond. All right, this one just came out this Monday. This is a season finale. It's not even on the website yet. Like I go to your website. I like to go to maneras.com and then get to the Yes We Are Open podcast page. No, it's not even on the website yet. I go to your website. I like to go to maneras.com and then get to the Yes We Are

Open podcast page. It's not even up there. It's only up to episode 7, Tech Fuel. I'm going to have to talk to the blogger about that because it should be up. Anyway, this is a Maritime Fun Group. I don't want to cause any trouble here. Okay, sorry. Maritime Fun Group. Yeah.

I spoke to their president, Matthew Jelly. And they're Atlantic Canada's largest amusement and theme park company. Watch out, Ardo. Right? So they own, I think it's two theme parks in Cavendish. Yeah. One in New Brunswick. Good potatoes there.

They own like water parks. They own like all sorts of things. The reason I picked that is because his story is really cool because it's like he tells the story of his him and his two brothers growing up and going to theme parks and working at theme park it had a very nostalgic feel to the story and so does this song uh and i loved listening to him and and so him and his two brothers they they you know in 99 bought a theme park you know they were like 20 years old and they thought hey let's let's buy a theme park and then of course the first question i ask is how do how does one procure rides for a theme park and of course

expensive right there's there's a website i was gonna say like i know when because i just talked to the guy from screamers yeah arto's soners, Ardo's son, and there's a convention in the States, and you go there, and they show you all the new rides and stuff, and you can, you know, this ride is, I'll make it up, this ride is to usedrides.com and you can buy theme park rides or attractions from carnivals and stuff. Used and it's crazy. Is there a zipper there? Is there a used zipper? Probably. You could probably, I mean,

we were on there the other night. I went over to a buddy's house, had some drinks. We were looking. I was like, hey, we can buy a mechanical bull and have it in your basement, you know? Urban cowboy. Yeah. Yuki's coming back. have it in your basement. You know? Urban cowboy. Yeah.

It's coming back. These things are cyclical. You want to get ahead of the curve. Love it. So anyway, yeah, Maritime Fun Group. I had a great time speaking with Matthew and telling that story. Did you say his last name is Jelly? Jelly, yeah.

As in J-E-L-L-E-Y. You know that's a cool name, right? Yeah. So I think you've been to PEI, right? Yeah, I've been to Cavendish. Okay. So we're talking about-i i have been to cavendish okay so we're talking about i rented a cottage in cavendish mike matthew is the mayor of cavendish okay i actually just remember the beach being beautiful in cavendish i have photos of myself on the beach

in cavendish and uh oh amazing and apparently cavendish is the most fun place on the planet because it's population 350 and they've got two theme parks and, and all these other attractions owned by Maritime Fun Group. It's like the beach and camping, like you can do everything in Cavendish. So unfortunately because of the storm, I couldn't visit Cavendish. I interviewed Matthew in, in Charlottetown,

but definitely the next time I go, I'm going to be visiting Cavendish. Love it so much. And I will just say, if you're looking for a great beach in Canada, PEI, like I was a little surprised at how wonderful the beaches were in Prince Edward Island. So I don't know if the hurricane following you around, you didn't get a chance maybe to enjoy the beaches.

No, unfortunately I couldn't. Okay, love that so much. And I can't believe we're maybe to enjoy the beaches. No, unfortunately I couldn't. Okay, love that so much. And I can't believe we're down to our last jam. Yes. And I'm glad not only is it CanCon, but it's Newfoundland. I love that we're closing with this. Are you ready, Al, for your final jam?

Let's do it. And I got a big mind blow for this one. Oh my God, I'm ready. I love mind blows. Mind blows. I've got the sun in the sky, all the water surround me Oh, you know Yeah, I win now and sometimes I lose I've been battered but I never bruise It's not so bad

And I say Hey, hey, hey, it's just an ordinary day And it's all your state of mind At the end of the day You just got to say it's alright Great Big C! Released in 1997, the second single after the third album, Play. So, this song was inspired.

I hope you guys haven't covered this because when I saw this, I'm like, holy crap, I can't believe this is true. Inspired by the story of a girl busking in Vancouver who was robbed and beat up really pretty bad. But then she went back to the same place and started playing again. So that's the inspiration for this song. Okay, I did not know that. That's not the mind blow. It better not be because you really hyped it up. The mind blow is that girl.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Oh my God. Sarah McLachlan. No. Wait a minute. Okay, before you give me this name, is this somebody famous now? Yes. Okay.

Somebody... So, 97, you said? Okay. So, that girl played Megan Draper on Mad Men. That's unbelievable. What? Okay.

I'm trying to... Okay. No cheating. Okay, I don't know. I'm not going to cheat. I don't know. Can you maybe give me more clue? Like, is it a singer? Okay. No cheating. Okay. I don't know. I'm not going to cheat. I don't know. Like, can you maybe give me more clue? Like, is it a singer?

Yes. It's a singer. So it's a famous singer. What age are we? I wouldn't dare to guess, but let's put it this way. Carly Rae Jepsen. She is FOTM adjacent. Frig.

Okay. All right. Well, it's Emily Haynes. Nope. Because, you know, Avery Haynes is an FOTM. Yes. So that would make you FOTM adjacent. Oh my goodness. This is killing me. Is this...

I don't know. You want to give me one more clue and see if I can pull this out? And then I'll just... Well, I'll give it away with this. All right. Give it away. All right. Just tell us. It's Jan fucking Arden. Really? Yes. Yeah, she was in a movie with Stu Stone. That makes

her FOTM adjacent. That and she's, you know, not gonna, she's refusing to be on your podcast. She just doesn't, she's like, who are you? Yeah. Why would I do your, she's the Jared Kiso of Toronto Mike. So she, yes, she was the girl who got beaten up but went back and then...

Really? And this was confirmed by Alan Doyle. Okay, well, if I ever get Jan Arden on the show, that'll be my first question. Like, I will get the real story from her. I'll lead with that. That's a mind blow that I did not cover because I didn't know it.

Hey, quick shout out to anybody listening who was on the live stream that my internet went out for a second and then when I reconnected the live stream and this is fine because the recording is fine i'm recording it actually but my stream key didn't the process didn't die so i can't use the same stream key until the process is killed which means that wonderful mind blow is on the podcast so that's like a podcast exclusive although i did record this record this for you to have a personal copy for your wallet. But that is a wild mind blow.

Now, why are we kicking out Ordinary Day? Well, this is just a bonus track. And I'm like, I can't go out to Newfoundland and not kick out a Celtic, you know, Eastern Canada song. This is a bonus jam. I got to say, like everywhere you go in St. John's, there's live music every single night of the week and it's great, great atmosphere and so I needed to kick out some great Big C. I love that you did that.

Now similarly, Cape Breton too. I spent some time in Cape Breton on my way to Prince Edward Island and same deal, you know, like everyone, every family's got a fiddler in there and they're playing live.

It is like part of the DNA is music. And we have so much great music coming out of the Maritimes and Newfoundland and Great Big Sea did make, that album that you just kicked out from Up, that Up was a monster album,

really broke that band. And Sean McCann is an FOTM. So a member, a founding member of Great Big Sea is absolutely an FOTM. So a member, a founding member of Great Big Sea is absolutely an FOTM. As are you, Al. That was awesome. I'd like to come with you to

wherever we end up going. Calgary, wherever we go for season six. I'd like to maybe carry your equipment or something. Sounds dirty, but it's not. Dude, you're awesome. You know Toronto Mike. I speak for the whole enterprise. Me, why not? It sounds dirty, but it's not. Dude, you're awesome. You know Toronto Mike. I speak for the whole enterprise,

me, myself, and I, how much we appreciate the support from the good people at Moneris. And you're one of the great people at Moneris. And you're a great podcast host. How many, maybe I should have asked this earlier, but how many podcast awards are you currently nominated for? Four.

It's getting silly, right? Just rename these the El Grego Awards. This is silly. When do the winners get announced? Apparently the show will happen December. I don't have a firm date yet, but it'll be December. Okay, you've got twice the nominations I have, so I am not worthy.

But thanks for dropping by again, talking to me about season five of Yes, We Are Open. And I can't wait to see you at TMLX 14 on December 9th. Looking forward to it. And that brings us to the end of our 1,371st show. You can follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky on that Toronto mic. Okay, Al on Twitter is at PFTW, Poised for the Worm.

Correct. But you're also on Blue Sky if people just search for Al Grego. Yes. Right? Yeah. And Produce Dan Pod on all social media.

Don't miss the exclusive interview with Jared Kiso, the man behind Letter Kenny and Shorzy. That's a big, that's a big get for

Al here. So congrats to you. And much love to those who made this possible. Of course, Moneris. It's been all about Moneris today. But Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta,

Raymond James Canada, RecycleMyElectronics.ca and Ridley Funeral Home. See you all Friday when my special guest is Peter Kent. He was a journalist.

Then he was a member of Parliament. This guy's had quite the career. He's going to sit down here in the studio and tell me everything. Can't wait for that. Peter Kent on Friday. See you all then. Cause I know that's true Yes I do I know it's true Yeah I know it's true

How about you All that picking up trash And then putting down ropes And they're brokering stocks The class struggle explodes