Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Alan and Michael Zweig: Toronto Mike'd #1405

Episode Date: January 5, 2024

In this 1405th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with brothers Alan and Michael Zweig. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, The Advantaged Investor podcast from Raymond James Canada and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

Welcome to episode 1405 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. 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 Advantage Investor Podcast from Raymond James Canada. Valuable perspective for Canadian investors who want to remain knowledgeable, informed, and focused on long-term success. And Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. Today, returning to Toronto Mic'd is filmmaker Alan Zweig, and making his Toronto Mic'd debut,

I'm going to give you this name, and then you can tell me you don't use this name anymore, Michael Z. I do not. Okay, how long has it been since you've been Michael Z? Since I haven't been Michael Z. Long time ago. Long time ago. 90s.

In the 90s. My last record as Michael Z was maybe like 94. So I'm Michael Zweig. Michael Zweig. Okay. And that's, he's here. Yes. Just to be clear, we're brothers.

We're brothers. That's right. It's a brother show. You guys are brothers. Brotherly love. You guys get along? Yes. Yeah.

What the hell? Michael Z though. Yeah. Not the hell? Michael Z, though. Yeah. Not Michael Zed. No. You know what? That was just a guy that was managing me at the time. You know, it was, well, I guess a tough name to remember.

Somebody just gave me that, and I accepted it. You know, just to, when I think about this, I think about, Who gave it to you? Just to, when I think about this, I think about, so I was friends with Eddie Schwartz before the song became a big deal. He was, I had a friend. Hit me with your best shot. Hit me with your best shot. I had a friend, David Chud.

We were at film school together. We were making a film, and his friend from childhood, Eddie Schwartz, came in and did the soundtrack, including, I heard the demo for Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Anyway, I'm only mentioning that because when Eddie Schwartz had records out, the guy said, Eddie Schwartz, perfect, don't change it. That's a good name. Eddie Schwartz, Schwartz, you know, works.

Do I? Yeah, I can see. You know, when I went into a, when I was looking for a deal many years ago, I went into Capitol Records and this guy, the late great Dean Cameron, he said, wow, did you change it?

It's like, I changed it to Zweig? Oh, okay. Are you kidding me? Yeah, the weird thing about Zweig, when we, Michael and I, when we die, we'll be able to accumulate a full year that we spent correcting the spelling or pronunciation. Because people say Zweig.

Most Zweig. Zweig, Zweig, Zweig. Yeah, Zweig, most common. Every year on my daughter's birthday, it's like a game we play. They announced the birthdays on the PA, and honey, what did they call you this year? Kelly's Wick or something like that. It's like they don't even get her first name right. Well, look, I'm happy to meet you, Michael Zweig.

Me too. We have the same first name, but you're a Michael, I'm to meet you michael zweig me too we have the same first name but you're michael i'm a mike let's not confuse those two things and alan i'm glad that you're back man uh we have a lot of correspondence like uh yeah a lot of a lot of fetching for me and which i appreciate defensiveness from you i well i well that's we can air it all out at some point here i I have some clips. We're going to learn all about the fresh meat in the room. That's you, Michael. And we are going to get some feedback from Alan because I do appreciate that you listen.

And I do want to hear all the feedback, be it positive or negative. I just want to let people know, Alan has been on the show before. So if you want to hear the A to Z of Alan Zweig's career. Very nice. January 2023 is when you drop by. That's a year ago.

Every year Alan's going to drop by. No. Really? Yeah. I took a note. I took a note. January 2023 and it was episode 1195 and here's the description I wrote at the time. Filmmaker Alan Zweig dropped by to chat about his documentaries from Vinyl and Hurt

to When Jews Were Funny, which we're going to talk about later because I know, Michael, you're involved in that too, and the many FOTMs to whom you are connected. I believe Blair Packham's the guy who connected us. Is that right? No, Jim Shedden connected us. You know what?

Blair could have connected you with Michael. Blair should have brought in Michael after he brought in David Steinberg, but I had to. You had to. I had to correct that wrong. I'm excited to learn more about Michael and to catch up with you, Alan.

Okay. Can we, off the top, do you mind? I feel like the name Shecky Green is not appreciated enough by my Gen X cohorts, and I'm wondering if you could maybe just share a word or two about meeting Shecky Green, who just died at the age of 97. You're asking Michael to do that, or me? No, you.

You, Alan. Only because I saw on social media you were referencing. Okay, yeah. Well, when I went, you know, half the reason I even came up with the idea for my film when jews were funny was to try and meet the jewish comedians of my childhood the ones who had been on on itself and essentially and i had a producer perry who had produced the super dave show and a couple other shows and he knew a few unfortunately he didn't know mel brooks or jerry seinfeld or

right etc the ones i was or yeah mel brooks was the one i was aiming for because mel brooks was the first person who i saw made my father kill himself laughing and that was such a rare thing. Anyway, Perry did, however, know four guys. Shecky Green, Shelly Berman, Norm Crosby, and Jack Carter. And all of those, every one of those, was a thrilling experience for me.

Jack Carter probably the most thrilling just because he had the most modest house and you knocked at the door and fucking Jack Carter. There he is. But, uh, Shecky, we had to drive to Palm Springs and that's what I most remember.

If you ever drive to Palm Springs from LA, you got to drive through this long, many miles of those electric windmills right to the point that you're like you think there's some mars is sending messages into your head the whir of those things and then you get the famous palm springs and again it's a nice house not an amazing house and Shaggy Green answered the door and I can't really talk adequately about Shaggy Green what I suggest you do is there is this WFMU website and there the great Canadian writer Cliff Nesteroff wrote a piece about Shaggy Green about the transgressive comedy of Shecky Green. He was not just some guy, I'm Shecky, I'm whatever.

He was like a great comedian. And yeah, he just died. He was 97. And he was very generous to me. And he did kind of exactly what I wanted all those guys to say, which was completely argue with my premise. Well, shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. We lost Shecky Green, and thanks for that little story.

But somebody else that we lost in 2023, I want to ask Michael about, because it's going to help bring us to your origin story as we learn more about your career. But could you spend a few moments telling us what it was like to play with FOTM Bob Segarini? Oh, yeah, yeah. My friend Vic, who was in that band too

and played with me many, many, many years, Victor Darcy, when I told him, when I texted him, Bob had died, because I found out fairly early, he was like, yeah, he was a lovable piece of work. And that's really,

he was a strange guy. But you. And that's, that's really, he was a strange guy, but you know what? Bob had all the talent. I don't know why. I don't know why he didn't get any. Well, we know why. Cause every time he had an opportunity,

he shot himself in the foot, almost, almost intentionally. If you ask me, well, like, you know what? So much music,

like all the city TV, if you will, like he had all these opportunities, Q and O stuff. And then he would fuck it up. He would say something or do something stupid. And then they'd say goodbye. A lot of guys like him, people that are successful,

they just heed their own advice. And they don't really take a lot of input. And that was what Bob was like. And any time he took a big swing to do something right whatever like put the cat's face in yogurt that's i think that's how we lost that gig right that does this the uh was that much music it was he was an all-night guy on city right and something happened with a cat where he did something and i threw the cat and then they said something got complaints and like oh the cat and then the next episode he's got the cat back it's like see the cat's fine and then jams its face into a little yogurt cup

see i will say if anyone wants to hear more memories of bob segherini there's a uh ridley funeral home a memorial episode where i spoke of cameron carpenter oh yeah you know cam i do yeah i know him oh yeah really good guy and i these are all guys, I know so many, that's the other thing, I know so many guys through Bob. I met Burton Cummings through Bob. They were my closest friends in the 80s. That's when I kind of, when I really, I played with Bob. Bob produced a record for me.

Yeah, you're right in a way in that he lands badly, almost always. But he was a talented guy. And at one time, his singing, he was as good a singer as anybody. He had bits of Bowie. Yeah. He, the first, you know, I met Bob much later. I mean, I met him maybe through Michael,

but I went to interview him much later and the thing that i appreciated about him was he dropped a lot of names because he was actually in la in the 60s and he was hanging out genuinely with people he has a great story about when he met nelson but anyway he made the very first record that he made was in a band called Family Tree. And that record is fucking great. It's like a great orchestral pop record from the 60s. Yeah, Bob. Bob was great.

Bob was great, yeah. I mean, he was, you know, he abused himself and they couldn't really sing that much at the end. And I don't even know if he was, like he wasn't that old. He was 75 or something something like that uh did you guys ever see the edison twins the canadian series not

only did i see it i drove on it i drove on it i drove i drove sunny besson thrasher many times and i knew them so yeah i i know if you want to talk about driving on movies we could do okay like what the hell i'm trying to figure out what that means like you're driving to the set yeah there's a transportation department on every film and usually they're iatsy guys but you know the stars have to get to the set of course then people have to drive to trucks then people have to drive to winnebago's then people have to empty the shit out of the Winnebago's. We call that dumping a Winnie. We do all those jobs.

And yes, I drove. For the Edison twins. I drove for the Edison twins. It's not a good story, but I have stories. I drove on Follow That Bird, which was the. I've seen Follow That Bird. Sesame Street movie. I have lots of stories, but I'm not here to tell my story.

You're kind of the co-host of this episode, and we will have a little... I need a little Alan in the mix here, okay? So we're going to go deep into the life of Michael Zweig. Of course, the reason I brought up... Without ever mentioning his brother or anybody member of his family. I brought up Edison Twins for a reason,

just not to leave everyone hanging, but Bob Segarini wrote and sang the theme song to the Edison twins. That's why I brought up the Edison twins. Yeah. I don't, I don't know. I think I've heard it. It's a good song.

I mean, again, the Edison twins, how does that go? I do. I have a teacher. Okay. So Michael,

we're talking about Bob Segarini because you in the, uh, I mean, you played with Bob Segarini. I in the, I mean, you played with Bob Segarini. I played with Bob and then he produced a record for me with his label that went under. There's a guy. Which label is that?

Is that Ready Records? No, no. Ready Records was a guy named Andy Crosby. Okay. So. I need to know this stuff, Michael. Okay. So here's this, I'll just give you a quick.

Or take your time. I played with, when I met my friend Victor, who I just mentioned, I was playing with a guy named Danny Brooks, who was then called Danny Middlebrook. I don't know if you know Danny Brooks. He's great. He's a great blues guy. He's a great blues guy, plays the harmonica holder stuff and a resonator guitar, and his wife plays a cajon

and he's he's kind of the real deal anyways uh somebody told me that bob was gonna was gonna be looking for a whole new band i think he had fired his whole band or the record company made him anyways i was thrilled because i was a fan and i went me and vick went to his house to and we didn't even audition. It was like noon and he was drinking Jack Daniels and so we hung around all day. Then Danny Brooks found out that we had done that and so he fired us.

And so then we started a band and sometime later that band became Bob's Band for like, I don't know, eight months or something like that. But this is the 70s, right? Late 70s? Would have to be. No, 80s. Okay, 80s. Okay.

I'm just going to interject, so maybe you don't get to this. My brother started life and show business as kind of like a hot shot young guitar player. And for the first 10 years or so, he was somebody's hotshot guitar player. You know, Michael Hasek, Ray Materic, you know, Linda. Lisa Hart.

Linda put the coffee on. Peter Foldy. Lisa Hart. Peter Foldy. When I did some homework. And then he morphed into, you know, then he started getting his songs out there and got his own company, his own records with him singing. Do you want to get to that? Okay, so I mentioned Reddy Records.

No, I'm more interested in all the people he's played with, like L. Shannon and Herman Shermits. So sometime after that whole thing with Bob kind of went tits up and I didn't have, then I still had that band and we were playing 60 stuff and somehow we got hooked up with the guy who brought the bands in for Lulu's. Do you remember Lulu's and Kitchener?

Maybe you don't. No. Lulu's was a- One of the complaints your brother has is that I'm too young. I think that's one of the complaints. Well, I'm kind of surprised that you don't know Lulu's, but it was a big, big club just outside of Kitchener.

Okay. Also, I'm not as cool as you guys also. Yeah, no, Lulu's is, I'll tell you, absolutely Lulu's is not a cool place. Lulu's was a place where you weren't allowed to wear jeans in Lulu's, and if you came in with jeans, they told you you have to put these on,

which were green sweats. So that was your kind of punishment for showing up with jeans. Here, you can't get in. You're wearing this. It was a great, it was a big club that had all these guys in it. And we used to,

when those oldies guys would come into town to play Lulu's, which had house bands, if they wanted to do gigs elsewhere, then sometimes we would back them up. And that was really one of the greatest times for me, playing with all those guys. Like?

Like. Yeah, name drop. Peter Noon was the first one. And this was an amazing thing. Like, again, somebody gave me like his number. You got to call Peter and set up the gig. And I just was like, I was terrified. I called Peter and said, hello.

And like, I can't believe I'm talking to Peter Noon. I had Del Shannon's number. I played with Bo Diddley. Wow. We played with Little Anthony. There's my Little Anthony story. So, it was,

this was the, okay, do you remember the old Ontario Place Forum? That I do remember, yes. Finally, finally. Okay.

Okay. So we played, that was like a Richard Nader show of like a cavalcade. So it was a Friday night and a Saturday afternoon, Saturday night. And Friday night, and I don't read music.

A couple of the guys in the band read, a couple of the guys didn't. We hired a couple of horn players who of course read. And we were sitting with uh the musical director little anthony's musical director and said must be tough working with a different band every night and he said yeah no you know it usually works out okay but some of these guys they don't even read like i know that is stupid you That is awful. Anyways, that was a fantastic experience.

Fabian. I don't know if you remember Fabian. Yeah, I know Fabian, yeah. Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis and the Playboys. I'm trying to think. Oh, Leslie Gore. Yeah. Lou Christie.

Lou Christie. Yeah. No, these were, I mean, it was amazing. Leslie Gore was really nice. She was the only one who bought us a drink, a round of drinks. So that was, oh, Billy J. Kramer. That was another one. Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.

You know Billy J. Kramer, right? From the Beatles era. Billy, yeah. Billy J. Kramer. Yeah, okay. Little children. The thing is, when you're saying to Mike, do you remember? No, he doesn't remember because he wasn't alive.

But you've heard of Billy J. Kramer. Most of the names you dropped, I know those names. I'm not too sure about Billy Kramer. Billy J. Kramer. I hope that's okay. But I do want to just chime in because I like to bring in the live stream viewers. I want to say Steph is on the live stream watching you guys right now. And says BTO played Lulu's a lot in the late 80s and early 90s

and maybe the b and bto will be brought up later in this uh conversation right that was that was they did they became it became more of a concert venue for kind of everybody you know when i was there it was really an oldies thing so like the headliner would be chubby checkers or the grassroots or buddy knocks people like that so yeah um buddy knocks that is that's obscure now you're yeah no but you would know party doll right you know the song part come on be my party doll come on maybe vaguely yeah okay it was a pretty big hit i mean it was his only hit on the hot seat today i like it okay so i'm getting nervous okay so in 1984 you signed a ready record so so who were you then and how did that come to be and this is when you are uh told you're now michael z right michael's wife yeah so the record that i made with bob it was a four song ep and then that label went under and uh so I managed or somebody I can't remember maybe I did

it managed to sell that record to ready records okay and then they went under while we were making the second album so that was kind of a cautionary tale to anybody who uh and also also i don't know is this true does what i remember the rec you made the record and they lost the tapes right and then masters so lost the masters and they had to release your demos not it's not demos but what happened was bob this is that thing you were talking about about bob kind of fucking things up in the end the record was and you know any record in the mix that's kind of where the rubber meets the road like you really can destroy a good record in the mix right so bob is known for that so he listened to whatever i think it was like he brought in stuff that was happening. Some Def Leppard was early Def Leppard. It was really new.

Maybe Bowie's Let's Dance. Stuff that was big on the radio. And he tried to apply some of the sounds to my record. And it was not good. So when they went under, we remixed it. The receivers let us remix it. Then I sold it to Reddy with a remix. Said, we're going to have to mix this.

Then I sold it to Ready with a remix. Said, we're going to have to mix this. The guy who put the money up, who, anyways, he left the, I think he sold them, the master tapes, just for stock tape. Oh. Just to make some money back. Because, you know, those things were, I mean, in 1984, they were $250 a reel. Wow. Yeah. Let's fuck this guy for 250 right i think he just had a few this is the real talk i'm looking for michael wow okay and when you were coming down into the basement for the first time this is your first visit yeah i said watch your head and then

you i think he said something like oh i'm not that tall and i'm like well listen i know how tall you are okay you're tall enough to hit your head. And I know because the name of this EP, this first record, is called 5'7", Maybe 5'8". Yeah, but I was never 5'8". And I don't think I'm 5'7 anymore. Stand up and let me know. I'm just kidding.

Afterwards, I'm going to see. I think you would hit your head. I was 5'11 1⁄2". If I'm 5'10". Yeah. We've already shrunk. We've shrunk shrinking okay it shrinks okay look forward to that i'm gonna play a song if you don't mind i'm gonna uh i

really enjoyed this song when i discovered it it's from 5 7 maybe 5 8 to give us a taste of what michael z sounded like and then we'll uh talk more about it yeah this is a jam. Yeah. Oh, man. It won't do if I got to plead with you Don't tell me I'm going too fast Cause you want me to stay around Won't you just turn me down And throw those scraps around my way I finally got the map

And put bits on my back And if you think I'll stay around for more I've got news for you I've got news for you You told me Mike, would you agree that Miles Goodwin had nothing on that song? I know you're obsessed with Miles Goodwin lately, so I'm just saying. Yeah, lately I'm obsessed with him.

Only because he died. If April Wine had put out that song, it would have been a big hit. But you know what, Alan? What I'm really thinking is that I have a visit in two weeks. Rob Pruce is going to be here. Again. I'm going to play this for Rob. Yeah, my label mate.

Okay, so you know Rob. I don't know them well, the Spoons. I know who they are. I mean, I've met them. And you know Gord. Gord Depp. He's out there. Well, Gord and Sandy still have the band together.

They just replaced but also Gord I Like this is a thing Where I actually Quite admire Gord When the When the spoons Weren't happening anymore

It was like He wasn't like I'm too good To do this He was just like Well this is what I do I'm a fucking musician Right

He went out And played covers In 90 different Kinds of things Just kept hustling And I thought That's That's right. That's a Canadian musician.

Like you can... That's, you know, in a way, it's easier for my brother that he was never as successful as the Spoons because he has nowhere to go down. I stay on a level plane and then it's like there's little lumps. Oh, that was nice.

Anyway, I just have this... As my brother's brother, it was hard to watch somebody make good songs, good whatever. It's funny that this one is on the YouTube as AOR. That's what they're calling it. Yeah, I know. Adult-oriented rock. But my brother also did the video. He did, we did the video for I'm No Loser.

From that same EP. And from that same, and that was like a rockin' song. And you know, it just, yes. You know, I'm a record collector. There's lots of great bands that didn't make it. But I wish my brother hadn't been one of those. Okay, I'm No Loser. Let lots of Great bands That didn't make it But I wish my brother Hadn't been one of those Okay

I'm no loser Let's play a little of this The other jam I loved On YouTube Was I'm no loser Oh yeah That's why I pulled it Your eternal optimist

But I had my days You lay light of herness But baby I got my ways Wait, wait, go get to the chorus. Is this the chorus? No. Oh, this is not the 5-7-5-8? What song is that in? I think it's in the outro. Okay, well just be the conductor and go like that and I'll bring her up.

That was an unkind thing I said about that Michael was never as big as the spoons. Okay, well there's no no-haired in your category. No, I don't feel bad about it. It's the spoons. I'm not. Well, okay, well, there's no Noah Hart in your catalog. There is no... No, I don't feel bad about it. It's the truth. I wasn't. And let's talk about the hair for a moment, if you don't mind. So I'm on YouTube, right?

So they have the album covers and stuff. Yeah. So I think at my door, I think you're going to have that hair, but you don't have it. Did you really? No, I didn't really. That was 1984. Okay.

I'm 66. Michael, he was very handsome back there on that cover. I was a bad looking guy. He was like Al Pacino, a Jewish Al Pacino. I didn't say you were bad looking. No, I know. You're still a handsome guy. I just noticed the hair's much shorter.

Yeah, no, I can't do that with my hair anymore. Although you would think, you would think in Burton Cummings band, they would want a guitar player to have hair like Michael Z. They might. They might. But I don't offer that option anymore. So give me the, like, what happens to Michael Z? I know you are Michael Z.

No. Okay, what happened to your hair? That's what I really want to know. I just shaved it off. You know what? I did have, like, that hair. I had really long hair. I mean, I had ponytail hair.

Yeah. But I think it just got to be like, I don't know. It's a lot to take care of and I didn't want it anymore a lot of maintenance time to move on yeah absolutely you got bigger fish to fry

and I don't want hair do you have any seventh son there on YouTube you know what I couldn't find I know I want to talk next about seventh son because I know it was the knockouts right

and then the knockouts become seventh son because there was a knockout I was trying to look for she's insane I found a live version but I wasn't happy with it. But like, tell me what happens with you

and the knockouts, which become Seventh Son. Okay, but I should also mention the record company that I put out Seventh Son on went under. You're snakebitten. Yeah. That's shitty.

Yeah, the knockouts was these guys. Am I bringing this up though? Is there something we're listening for? There it is. Yeah. That's shitty. Yeah. The knockouts was these guys. Am I bringing this up, though? Is there something we're listening for? There it is. Nice. Maybe 5'8". That's what I'm saying. Mine.

I just remembered Alan said, or somebody, you said it was at the end. It is. This is the end. Okay. Yeah. For sure. Okay. Nice call.

You're good at, I have to admit, having just experienced. Does it hurt you to admit this? No, no, no. Because, you know, this is kind of whatever inside baseball. I like inside baseball. Because I'm involved with some people, including Jim Shedden, and we do our little podcast. We've only, you know, we've done, it's not a serious money-making thing.

Your producer was here with him. Right. And we brought, and we used to do the episode, podcast we've only you know we've done it's not a serious your producer was here with thing right and we brought and we used to do the episode and then take it away for two months to try and edit it and in the meantime i come here and he puts it out five minutes after i leave the basement and i said to our group why don't we do it more like toronto mike so they came here to learn how to do it but you know the and that was pretty recently yeah but the the not not only that you have the songs ready but that you're you know talking to people on the live feed and responding and going on google and finding things and throwing them in.

You're watching the thing and while I'm telling you a story, wait a second, and it's like, boom, that's it. As an interviewer, you're still learning. But as a guy putting it together on the floor, you're really good at it. Yeah, I know that was very impressive. You'd be a good TV director on the floor. Thank you really good at it. You'd be a good TV director on the floor.

Thank you. Later, I do want to hear all the things I suck at. We have to make time for that. I didn't say it. None of them I've said you suck at. How long will that be? Maybe he'll come back and do that. We'll need a whole show. I'll come on with Robert Lawson and we'll

fact check everything you've ever said. We'll talk about Robert Lawson, don't worry. But at some point when Bird and Cummings organically comes up, I have some music and stuff, we're going to talk about Bird and Cummings and we'll talk about Randy Backman and then we'll talk about that. Everything will come up. But I do need

to know from Michael Zweig, I need to know what happened to Seventh Son. Okay, so that band that I was talking about that backed up all those oldies guys, those same guys, we eventually got tired of being a 60s band. We wanted to do our own stuff. We had some really near misses

with some really possible good record deals. But again, all near misses. We ended up getting signed to this guy, started his own label, this guy who left CBS. He signed us along with Platinum Blonde, but they were the Blondes. This was their Blondes period. So post-Platinum Blonde. Yeah, well, he had signed Platinum Blonde. Jeff Burns? and blonde but they were the blondes this was their this was their the blondes period so post platinum blonde yeah well they he had signed pat platinum blonde and he jeff burns jeff burns yeah

so jeff i don't know if anybody knows that name but no but we i need the names because for the next time i hear it jeff burns was a he he had a label called grt i think he signed dan hill so he he's he brought sometimes when we touch to the world uh wow he signed i think he signed dan hill so he he's he brought sometimes when we touch to the world uh he signed i think he signed lover boy um so he was a guy with a bit of a golden touch but you know again time to go so they he left uh he started a label the band that was the knockouts became seven sun because there was a knockouts already right so there was like well we can't be there oh there was this it was uh frankie and the knockouts they had a i don't know if you remember frankie and the knockout no i remember that they exist yeah they had a band

called little darling frankie the guy frankie wrote i've had the time of my life so like yeah so he's a he was like a heavy guy in a way although frankie and the knockouts didn't really break big certainly not in canada but that was and the Knockouts didn't really break big, certainly not in Canada. But that was just the thing of like, we can't be the Knockouts. You've got to be the seventh son. Seventh son, because of Johnny Rivers. The seventh son.

That was in my searches. Seventh son is a blues reference. The seventh son of a seventh son is like some kind of blues. And Iron Maiden as well for some reason. People would say to us when they come and see, how many Iron Maiden songs do you... I don't even know what you're talking about. I was searching YouTube so extensively

for a studio version of She's Insane that I... Yeah, a lot of Iron Maiden. You know what? There's a video of it. Like a professionally made video. Not as good as the not as good as the next one that alan made for me but the song that alan makes films so i tried to make a music video he made me a great a great i tried to make a music video i wasn't i i wasn't that good i made some music videos for an artist named lor Scott, a R&B friend, and I made one for Michael.

And it's okay, but it's not... It's a good video. The thing about the video is that he made us look really good, which is an important thing. The song was not a single, and the record company guy who was supposed to be like, I know what a single is, and he wanted to do this, and it was like so you can you're

wrong you those videos are on youtube yeah i put them on okay they're on my channel i think okay mike he'll he'll he'll lace it into the interview i'm sure he's already looking now he's looking but he's not finding i know i'm not looking at all but i because i could but i do have i do have some choice clips we're going to get plenty of Michael Zweig. Do not worry. But I need to know what happens to Seventh Son. I need some closure here. The closure is that we made a record.

We had a little bit of action on a song called She's Insane. That was the most action of anything on the record. And then, you know... Can I ask what action? Does that mean you're going to hear it on Q107? Yes, yes. You're going to see it on Much Music?

Yes, both. Yeah, that's... But not a ton, not a ton. No, but just... But, you know, yes, the video was on Much. We did hear it on Q, and, you know, across the country on... Rock stations.

Yeah, all the FM stations. It was kind of a... That was more like album oriented rock um and and when it came time to do another record they the record company was like well it was in our contract that they had to give us so much money they didn't have the money and we were just like thank god because this is a shit record company and so the band folded and that was the end of that the band dissolved yeah okay now this is the chap record company. And so the band folded, and that was the end of that. The band dissolved.

Yeah. Okay. Now, this is the chapter. Again, if we're doing chapters here, you're like a jingles guy. So, yeah, that would have been really not long after that. You're still in the 90s here. Yes. So if the record came out in maybe 90, I think, um, 90.

Then I started, I met a guy, um, a guy who, who also just passed not that long ago named Tim Thorny, who was a fabulous, fabulous musician. He worked with, uh,

Alanna, Alanis Morissette. He worked with, uh, this woman, Cassandra Vasek. Anyways, uh, they got me into singing jingles.

Those guys got me into ACTRA. They got me, like, I just, you know, paid my way in, and I sang jingles, and then I thought, this is a pretty good way of making money. Yeah. Okay, so I know that, for example, I can tell you, Michael, I can tell you that you did spots, you wrote and produced spots for like ford gm sears adidas like these are some big time brands right those are the ones i those so those

were my account but i before that i sang you know diet coke and and uh beer stuff and no i mean again i was not never ever hugely successful at anything but i was i did some some big stuff that was there and there's a hockey one hockey we're gonna get that was late we're gonna get to that don't worry yeah don't worry alan i'm all loaded up on the hockey one that's when i heard many many times but is there a jingle in the 90s that you wrote and performed that i would recognize well i did i have one i pulled a bit later okay i did i did i did home hardware anything that says homeowners helping homeowners i did unless they're still using but you didn't make that up come on i know no i don't write copy i don't write copy homeowners helping homeowners that's theirs that's their line that you have to work it yeah that guy is

successful wherever he is can i play uh can i play a song I remember about a place I was literally at earlier today? Okay. Is that quite the teaser? How's that? I don't know what you're talking about. Go. Oh. All right, let her roll.

Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll.

Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll.

Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll.

Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll.

Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll.

Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. Let her roll. let her roll. I know it's a bit of it. Yeah. Did you, did you, I did. Cindy Lauper get any money for that? Well,

Cindy Lauper didn't write it. That's a cover song. And it was, yeah. A guy named Robert Hazard. She sort of put it on its head though and made like a woman empowerment. So luckily we're probably lucky for the Ontario place that it wasn't Cindy Lauper wrote it because it was cheaper to buy.

So you literally, you just get, you tell me, is this like a... It's a thing where you license the rights to the song. And then you can cover it or whatever. Yeah, or you can do what they call a needle drop if that was the case. Like you just use the song, the record. That's usually double the price. But we licensed the song, the record. That's usually double the price. But we licensed the song.

I did all of that music I did by myself in my office. All of it, like all the samples and all that stuff. And then I called Jim Thorny's wife to come in and sing it. Okay, that's Jim Thorny. Okay, wow. This is the fun facts are flying. Was that Rachel? Megan's sister. Yeah, sister, wow. This is the fun facts are flying. Was that Rachel? Megan's sister. Yeah, sister, yeah.

So that, I'll tell you, that Ontario Place gig, which I don't even know how I got. It just kind of, it was because it was a big gig. I was a small company. It just landed in my lap. Wow. That and home hardware fed me for a number of years. That was like a real,

yeah. I mean, I had other clients like as you see, but that was the, yeah, those retail clients, which people shit on, uh,

those are the ones where you can really make money. Are you working on like a spa, um, jingle for the New Ontario Place? Oh, no, no, I'm done. That's his Doug Ford joke. Yeah, I'm done. I'm done in that business completely.

I have more Doug Ford jokes coming up here. Okay, see, he likes them. Okay, good. So now I'm going to play a song by the Carpet Frogs, and then I need to learn everything you can uh tell me about the carpet frogs so let's listen let's get a taste of the carpet oh this i've never even heard this well buckle up i just heard the trans canada Highwaymen sing this song.

Do you know where this is from? This is Loving You Ain't Easy. It's back in the era. No, I know what it is, but... So what I don't know is if this is the Carpet Frogs that I was in. What's this from? Frog Curry? Okay, so there's multiple Carpet Frogs? How does Carpet Frogs... Tell us, what's multiple Carpet Frogs. How does Carpet Frogs...

Tell us, what is the Carpet Frogs? Carpet Frogs is a band started by a guy named Nick Sinopoli, who's still in the band. Okay. You know, like a classic rock cover band.

Like a party band. Yes. They're the world's greatest cover band. They're the world's... The best band you've never heard of. And I'll just say it.

I don't want to jump too far ahead. I think this is your Carpet Frogs. It just might be, I don't know which iteration of this. No, you should. Do you have their. Where is it from? Do you have the Christmas song that the Carpet Frogs did on there? No, that, I think you find the old Christmas song.

Because Michael, Michael wrote some songs for the Carpet Frogs. Good songs that they put out, not just covers, but... No, we have an album that I don't know if you find it on YouTube, but I'm trying to think if this is... Because they covered this in a band with Greg Godovitz. Dotto, FOTM, Greg Godovitz.

See an FOTM? Yeah. Ah, you found it. This is the Krunk Christmas song that we did. Yeah. Ah, you found it. This is the Christmas song that we did. Yeah. When I think of all the things I love about Christmas Whether it's snowflakes falling or all the hills I chill But if you're not sitting down beside me at Christmas Just go to the chorus.

It's a good song. Yeah. I've gone on around here Throw in a mistletoe Fire burns down low No chestnuts roasting by the fire No night can come No chestnuts roasted by the fire of night King Cole Christmas, could not be Christmas

Could not be Christmas Would not know what to do Baby, Christmas, could, baby Christmas. A lousy Christmas without you. Right. That's Nick Sinopoli singing. Why wasn't that a big hit? Why? You know, I was just thinking of this earlier.

It's so nice. When your younger brother is 66, should you stop saying he's your little brother? But anyway, my little brother has written some great songs and all of them

could have been hits. He could be, you know, they could be covering him in the highway, in the highway, in the high, in the Trans-Canada Highwaymen,

but it's just bad luck. Or maybe because we're Jewish. It could be because we're Jewish. But you know what, but you know what's interesting about that song is, first of all, that, so I, that Nick Sinopoli,

that was the first thing we ever did together when I joined the Carpet Frogs. He wrote all the lyrics except for the chorus. I wrote that song one year to my wife when I had no money. So I wrote a whole song and I made in it, I made fun

a lot of her mother. But then it came to the chorus, which is a sentiment. Christmas would not be Christmas without you. Meaning my wife, not my ex-wife, not my late mother-in-law. Right, right. We dug this up, I'm glad.

But now tell me though, so the Carpet Frogs, we get this is like the world's best party band, Toronto-based rock band, but how does Randy Backman and Birding Cummings, what do they have to do with the Carpet Frogs? Educate me, Michael. I will.

I will. Not in order. Before I was even in the Carpet Frogs, Burton's road manager, who is now his manager, a guy named Sam Boyd, he and Nick are friends. Burton would come out sometimes.

Burton was a big, for a lot of years a big sitter inner guy he would always show up somewhere and he was always game to get up which was really nice i think a lot of i know a lot of bands would have like were thrilled but then he would get up and play with them so uh there was a bit of a connection and And then at one point, I would say in 2002, he decided he wanted to have a band, like to go out and play, because he had been doing like singles shows,

like playing Up Close and Alone, just piano and him. And so he called us and we became his band and we're his band still. I mean, I was out of the band for about five years in the middle but it's still the carpet frogs have always have been burton's band since the early 2000s and then sometime around 2005 i think randy played with us uh and then he stayed i think till i think till 2009 or so. But I was out already. So did you ever play with Randy Backman?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Many times. What's your most famous gig with Randy Backman? What is my most famous gig? Oh, I actually know the answer. Can I answer this for you now? Oh, yes, yes. Live 8.

Live 8, which was supposed to be both of them. That one's my, he's like my wingman. He just sits there. No, that's pretty impressive. He was in Live 8. Listen, you're selling me on this. I'm impressed, man. I love how much he loves you.

Do you feel like he's proud of you? Let me just say, I'm just going to say one little thing. So I'd heard the name Toronto Mike, but I had no idea. And it's weird. I had an image of you completely based on nothing. Six foot five. And and for some reason i thought you you were at queen and broadview i don't know why i thought of that anyway then my friend jim shen was on the show yes then i then whatever my name came up and i said okay i'll be on the show

when you listen to your show you realize on one hand you are obsessed with Toronto, but on the other hand, you know, and this is not a criticism, you know what you know. You're very interested in sports figures. You're very interested in radio. You're very interested in people who have been on TV, et cetera. And you have, like all of us, your own somewhat narrow view of what Toronto is. And when I listen to the show and it's like,

oh, he's got Steve, I love Steve Bacon. Steve Bacon was a goalie on our pickup hockey team. But anyway, like, it's just like, oh, you know, there's giant swaths of Toronto culture that, you know, I'm not going to book, I'm not going to start booking your show. Well, Blair does. But I could, like people in film and theater and all kinds of people that I grew up with.

So I just thought, well, instead of having lowest of the low on five times, you could have my brother. And then from my brother, you could go, you could go out, you know, you could pick on other, you could get his, I mean, Tim Bovacanti, who he plays, Tim should be on your show. But here's how, I'm telling you,

I'm telling you this how it works, okay? You're right, I have this very narrow what I know, right? This is the comfort zone that I actually know this, like I remember this, I like this, I've touched this, whatever. So I'm very interested in that, and Paken's in there, et cetera. Then there's this, I want to learn things I don know this. Like I remember this, I like this, I've touched this, whatever. So I'm very interested in that and Paken's in there, et cetera. Then there's this,

I want to learn things I don't know. I have a yearning to be educated and have on people. I know you do. But that's where you're doing it now. But I'm thinking of people like Steve Paken and Gare Joyce and Blair Packham. These are people who said,

you need to talk to this. You need to talk to Robert Priest. You need to talk to... He's been over. He's played live here in the basement. I didn't know Robert Priest. Blair Packham literally had a conversation with me and said, there's this guy, Robert Priest, here's what he's done, he's a poet, this, that.

And then I said, Blair, I would love to talk to Robert Priest. And then I booked the guy. Okay, I'll send you a list. So Michael Zweig, who I admit, do you know Dana Levinson? No. to talk to Robert Priest and then I booked the guy. Okay, I'll send you a list. So Michael Zweig, who I admit, I don't, do you know Dana Levinson? No. Okay, Dana,

maybe, is there another Michael Zweig hanging around somewhere in the city? In Toronto? I don't know. Probably not. Who's Dana Levinson? Dana Levinson was on

CTV Toronto, which used to be CFTO, for like 19 years doing various reporting things and weather and stuff like that. And I was, I produced her podcast and I just mentioned that Michael Zweig and Alan

Zweig were coming up. And, uh, she said, I know Michael Zweig. And she was trying to remember how she knew you, but she knew this name. How old is she?

She's early fifties. Okay. No, cause you know, you know what? Another FOTM that my brother is connected with. This is like a left more in your world. Yeah. Michael went to high school with Michael Landsberg. Yes. He's an FOTM that my brother is connected with. This is like a left. More in your world. Michael went to high school with Michael Landsberg.

He's an FOTM too. We were great friends. Back to Pagan. They did a show together at U of T. Yeah, I haven't seen him in years, but we were great friends for a little while. Anyway, I'm not being critical of you being narrow. I don't know what I don't know,

but I am trying to have people on. He's trying. If somebody vouches, like I just had the guy, like this has happened, Don Stevenson. Don Stevenson from Moby Grape. Okay, but there's the thing.

Tim Bovocanti tie-in. Tim plays with him. Okay, so this is what I need to learn. I only know what I'm being educated right now. So Tim is in Burton's band. He's the other guitar player in Burton's band. So Tim and I are great friends. Tim,

and Tim produced an album for Don Stevenson. They're buddies. I'm not sure how. Tim also, I don't know if, I don't want to make this whole show about Tim,

but I will say about Tim that Tim one day was, went into, I don't even know where it was, a coffee shop or something. And there was Rodriguez.

He just passed away. Yes. Just still. And Tim went up to him and said, I'm your, yeah, I'm a big fan. And Rodriguez was like, oh, I'm playing at Hughes Room tonight. Come and play with me.

So Tim played with, and then he opened for him at Massey Hall. So yeah. So I don't know Don Stevenson, but Gare Joyce, who has been on a bunch of times, he reached out. He's just like, you should talk to my brother. I'm like, yeah, I'd love to talk to Michael Zweig.

So Gare came over with Don. Don played live right by the tree where we take the photo. We talked all about Moby Grape. No, he didn't. No. You heard it. You didn't talk all about Moby Grape.

You talked about Moby Grape's first record. Ignored the five records they made after that that was for me that was like a frustrating we're introducing ourselves to Moby Grape I'm not please I'm not being critical I'm just saying I did say to you that yeah sometimes when you're

older like I am not a rock expert I couldn't write a book about this I know what I know but sometimes when you're older, like I am not a rock expert. I couldn't write a book about this. I know what I know. Right. But sometimes when you hear younger people talk about music from before they were born, they speculate. Okay, but Don was in the room. I know, whatever.

Is that what Don wanted to talk about? Don was sitting here. But did he want to talk about mostly the first? No, I wanted to be educated on Moby Grape because I don't know Moby Grape. But I understand they're an influential band. Like it's a kind of didn't have a hit, right? So it was hard.

They did have a hit, but anyway. But not a hit that lasted till 20. Honestly, I don't know them well either. But Burton Cummings, massive fan of Moby Grape. I mean, a lot of people. Yes. Yeah, like a lot of people of that age. Okay, you know what?

I'm sorry I brought this up. No, no, no. But my point, like a lot of people of that age. Okay, you know what I'm older than me. Like, I'm sorry I brought this up. No, no, no. But my point is, so I know nothing about Moby. Gare knows enough to be dangerous. And Don's in the room, who is a founding member of Moby Grape. Yeah, that was great that you had Don Stevenson. That was great. Educated.

And it's wrong of me to criticize you for not mentioning. I mean, it's funny. You guys did hit on, you did touch the Skip Spence record. Yeah. But the Skip Spence or record is one of the great, obscure, lost, classic, genius records ever. That Skip Spence record, one time I was in this guy's apartment,

and he was selling, he had an amazing record collection and he was selling every record for five dollars whatever it was and it came to the skip cement record a record i'd wanted all my life and he said five bucks and i was like dude you can get you could get 50 bucks for this easy you could get a hundred bucks for this why i didn't there say and here's 50 bucks yeah i didn't so i didn't take it for five bucks or 50 bucks and then regretted it for the why didn't you for the next 20 years and eventually i said to myself now that it's 250 dollars i am going i i gotta put this to rest i will pay 250 dollars so paid 250 for not even a good pressing of this fantastic record

by skip spence from windsor ontario who was in moby grape and also drummed for just for an airplane yes anyway that's that's neither here nor there anyway mike please let me just say, taking the piss is just like something we do, but I don't mean to be cruel. At least I tried. You're glad I tried. I don't mean to be overly critical of you in any way. I'm sorry if I'm doing that. You're not being overly critical.

Also, when I'm taking time away from my little brother. Honestly, I've got more clips for Michael Zweig. We got a lot of, you know, I got the hockey night song. I won't, I won't. Tom Cochran questions. Okay. But I need to know this. No, I want, I'm the boss.

I'm the boss around here. And Alan, here's what I want you to do. Since we mentioned the carpet frogs and we mentioned Live 8 and of course, Burton Cummings and Randy Backman. And of course your brother brother Michael playing with them that is awesome and you played on their Jukebox CD. Yep I did. Amazing. And Burton has a new record. Yeah

so the Live 8 thing Burton was supposed to be there we had played the night before Burton and us in whatever King Carden I think it was and then we were going to go right to barry to do this thing burton was sick as a dog and so we showed up there without burton and randy had

come in from somewhere out west he didn't know burton wasn't coming or he would have brought his own band so we got lucky uh and he just said okay we barely knew randy at that point really barely knew him and he just said okay we're doing this knew Randy at that point. Really, barely knew him. And he just said, okay, we're doing this, this, this. And we did it. Oh, cool. BTO songs. BTO songs. But he did this weird thing that Randy does this stuff.

I don't know why. He reimagines his stuff. And it's like, maybe that's not really. Like a different version of a hit song? Yeah, but it's like, why are you doing that? This song is so great. Bob Dylan does that all the time. So, who does?

Bob Dylan. You know what? Randy Backman is no Bob Dylan. That's what I was going to say. I hate to say Randy Backman is no Bob Dylan. I like Randy. These are songs that are so, like, you know. Like, Ain't See Nothing Yet.

He'll make it like a jazzier. Well, he, I don't know. Do you know Four Wheel Drive? Are you a... No, I only know the stuff I hear on Q&A. The big stuff. Okay, so what he did was, and we were kind of like aghast.

You could see our faces. He said, he wants to do Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, Hey You, Hey You, and of course, and with Taking Care of Business. But he wanted to do Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

and Hey You in a medley where we made Ain't Seen Nothing Yet sound like it was Hey You, and he just sang the words, and it was just like, what? That's such a great song. Why are you killing it for Hey You? Especially for this is live-aid. Yeah. Like of all the places to fuck with your material.

We did three songs, and two of them were a shitty medley. It wasn't his first choice. I want to do Ain't Seen Nothing Yet like we're Sergio Mendez. Right. Yeah. No, no.

He would do some song and he would say like, oh, we do this song usually as a line dance. And it's like, what? What is that about? I love the Backman stories.

I hope Robert Lawson is listening right now. I am going to say, I did say this on your Twitter. Everybody in Canada has listened to Randy Backman tell stories like on Vinyl Tap and rolled their eyes.

And yet when you, you know, fact-checked him. When Robert Lawson fact-checked him. When you hosted a guy fact-checking him a month after he was gracious enough to be on your show. Yeah, that bugged you. For the first time in my life,

I felt sorry for Randy Bachman. That's all I can say. Can we, I really do want to explore this a little further. Okay, so. No, please let's not. Just a little bit because it's one of, you know, this and then maybe Buffy St. Marie. Those are the topics.

Well, you can always say. Not going there. What do you want to say? Robert Case, we'll stick to this. Randy Backman was on Toronto Mic'd. I think I only had a half an hour with him. I might have taken an extra 10 minutes because he's talking about getting BTO back together

with his son and he talks about Fred Turner and everything. Okay. So, I loved the episode. I said, and I didn't hide that, I loved my chat with Randy Backman but then for unrelated reasons

I was chatting with an FOTM named Robert Lawson who wrote a book about the guest. Yeah, yeah. I've read the book. Okay, he manages

Sunrise Records at Cloverdale Mall and that's why I was chatting with him. I know Cloverdale Mall. I'm in Etobicoke here. I used to go there

after my therapist who was on the East Mall. There you go. And I'm like, they have a great home hardware, by the way. This all comes back to Michael Zweig. They have a great home hardware. I'm done with home hardware.

I'm finished. They left me alone. If you want to revisit 1984 when my brother had his first record, go to the Cloverdale Mall. Yes. Okay, right. So Robert Lawson manages that location.

Anyway. Yeah. So I'm chatting with Robert about that. And he's like, I heard Randy Backman, of course, he's a big guess who guy. Yeah.

He goes, I have grievances, or I can't remember his exact semantics. I take exception. He's got, he goes, and I said, well,

I said, I wanted to have you on to chat about this Cloverdale Mall Sunrise Records thing. And I said, why don't you fact check him? he says okay so yes i did host a show in which a man who wrote a book about the guess who fact checked randy backman and i thoroughly entertained it but i don't think randy backman was uh particularly what were the things what were the some of the facts oh come on let's not let's not go back there okay Go listen to this. I'm just saying. You should listen to this episode of Robert Moss and Fact Check. I'm sure many people.

It's wild. I'm sure many people. No, listen, I know Randy, and he's a good storyteller. He's an excellent storyteller, and he doesn't let the facts fuck up the flavor of his stories. You know what? And who cares where American Woman was written? Right, the stories are fun.

Well, someone can care about that, right? This does bother me because I don't need to print the legend because it's a better story. Like, I'd rather know the truth than the better story that's the legend people print. I know, but Mike, you know,

would you put on your website, come talk on Toronto Mike, but if you get any facts wrong, I'm going to have a guy a month later fact-check everything you said. Okay. How many guests would you get if you did that? funny thing is shortly after that rick emmett uh ghosted me for a chat right okay and and there were people speculating that it's because i fucked

with randy backman and now musicians won't come on because i fact oh no no i don't know he came on right away he made a mistake anyway whatever okay. See, a lot of people won't come on because of that. Not just musicians. At least I got Michael Zweig, okay? And we are going to fact check you. I have said nothing untrue. I have Robert Lawson on standby. Robert Lawson doesn't even know me.

He knows nothing about me, so I can lie and lie and lie. If you played with Randy Backman, he knows you. I have played. I toured. I did a whole tour with Randy Backman. He knows you. We did played. I toured. I did a whole tour with Randy Backman. He knows you. And then we did, I guess it was like last, not last summer, 22. We did a Backman Cummings run.

And just, okay, I'm just going to put a bow on it. If Randy, Robert Lawson is listening to this. He is probably listening. And he thinks I have a bone to pick with him. I don't. I don't mind that he thought, my bone is with you, that you put him on to fact check. Yeah.

You know, a guy who's a beloved figure. Whatever, whatever. I'm just saying, myself, I'm not worried because everything I say is an absolute fucking fact. So you can fact check the fuck out of me. But Randy's an entertainer and he's got good stories. And Randy's got some great stories.

He's got great stories. I'm not an anti-Randy guy. No, okay, one sec. We will, my brother and I though will agree that when, guess who went to the States,

there was no chance that they were going to get drafted. Oh, is that one of the facts? Okay, thank you. Is that one of the facts? Yeah. That one you agree with. I don't know why he's, I don't know why he said that. They were going to get drafted. Oh, is that one of the facts? Okay, thank you. Is that one of the facts? That one you agree with. I don't know why he said that.

They were drafted, everybody. And I said, Winnipeg musicians are going to get drafted into NAMM. To me, that's not fact-checking. That's just like, come on. On the day when he said that, if I was the interviewer, I would have said, okay, maybe that's not true. Yeah, it's tough to interrupt the great Randy Backman when you're chatting with him.

I think I'm making it clear I can interrupt anyone. All right, okay. So that was one of the things that you fact-checked. Oh, yeah, and again, I was hosting this. But how does Robert Lawson know if that's true? Well, Robert Lawson doesn't believe that they were drafting Canadian citizens. No, it's not possible. They could not possibly.

Otherwise, Miles Goodwin would have been in Vietnam. Well, everybody, look at, Moxie used to go down to Texas all the time. Now, Segarini's American. He could have been drafted. Except that he was, well, he was not, well, he could have been drafted then. So yeah, he would have been.

He would have been drafted. He could have been, but he came to Canada. He came to Canada a long time ago. I know, but that's different. Okay, so let's move on. But I want to know about, because I do have loaded up that song that all hockey fans listening will know.

I can't believe you guys have to do it. But just tell me a little bit about future FOTM because we have chatted and he says he'll do the show. Tom Cochran. Oh, but this has nothing to do with Tom. No. Oh, okay. I know Tom. First I'm doing the Tom and then I'm going to go into the other song. Yeah, I know Tom because the guy who plays

bass in the Carpet Frogs and Burton Cummings band, Jeff Jones. Who you should also have on the show. Jeff Jones is a, yeah, he's a god. Jeff, was he in Motherload or Ocean? No, he was in Ocean. You wouldn't know Ocean, but they had a big song called Put Your Hand in the Hand.

And he was in Red Ryder. He joined Red Ryder. I don't know if you know that there was a Red Ryder before Tom. Yes, I do know that. Yeah, and they were great, but they didn't have those great songs and they didn't have a great singer. Tom was a good friend of dean

cameras did you i mentioned him earlier and you said to well i know uh many many people i know were mourning his loss yeah it was a sad i've never met him actually yeah he was a great guy um he tom i think dean played drums in tom's band maybe in Winnipeg or something, but that's how, so the Frogs have backed up Tom a few times because of Jeff, which is a pleasure. But sometimes when Burton goes out, Tom Cochran wants Jeff,

and then somebody subs in. Oh, Jim Nielsen, who was in the Knockouts, plays with us. Jim Nielsen. Everything's connected. That's why we got to do this. That's why Alan's here, to remind me of all the other guys that I'm looking at. But also people you should, Jeff Jones, definitely.

Yeah, and Tim Bovocanti. You should turn him into an FOTM, because he can connect you with lots of things. Yeah. Also, Jeff's wife, Sarah, is a film editor and she should also come on and talk about all the great documentaries

she's edited. What's her name again? She just won an award. Sarah Petty. Yeah, she just won an award for, Remember, Michael,

I go to FOTM multiple times as David Quinton Steinberg. Yes. I still haven't had Alex Lifeson on the freaking show. let me just, I'll just say david's more connected to one of my abiding memories is you know my brother played guitar

and he learned to play guitar and he had teachers i don't think i'd ever seen him play live let alone sing but one day i went to forest hill collegiate to the front lawn of the high school i'd been to and there was my brother on stage with david steinberg on drums and joe rockman on bass and they were shredding some the thing that used to kill me is my michael used to sing this bb king how blue can you get how blue can you get and there's all you know in the chorus he's 15 or something, and he's singing, I gave you seven children, and now you want to give them back. I lived hard. I had a hard life my first 17 years.

That was pretty good singing, I have to admit. Why don't you guys make music together, what I'm hearing here? David? No, you two. Oh, me and my brother, yeah. Because Alan's fingers are too fat to play guitar. He's keeping the vocalist. All right, before I play this song,

I think this is going to be a mind blow for a lot of listeners of Toronto Mic'd. Do you like Italian food, Mr. Zweig? And I'm speaking to you, Michael. Love it. Two Mr. Zweigs in the room. Okay, I have in my freezer a frozen lasagna courtesy of Palma Pasta.

Fantastic. I'm taking that home with you. And I have one for you too, Alan. Okay. Did you get one last time? I did. It was great. It was good.

It was actually very tasty. I was shocked. Well, I'm saying, when somebody gives you a frozen lasagna, you don't expect it to be that good. Yeah. But I've heard, I've heard. But wait a second.

I have a complaint. Go ahead. Just one more complaint. Is it about the pasta? It's not about the pasta. It's about the fact that if we'd been on this show two or three weeks ago, you would have had another sponsor and we would get a Bluetooth speaker. But you weren't.

But we're not getting a Bluetooth speaker, which I also didn't get the last time I was on. So if you have any. Three months on, three months off. If you have a Bluetooth speaker in the freezer, I'll take that. You know what? I'll see if I can slip you one. Okay, thank you.

And that would be courtesy of Moneris who are not sponsoring January's episodes, but Raymond James Canada is back for January and their podcast that you too should subscribe to

is called The Advantaged Investor Podcast. Because we have a lot of money to invest. From our many careers. Even you have a little bit to invest, right. All that money he has from Ready Records

and those other companies that went out of business is ready to invest. Well, you will learn how to plan, invest, and live smarter with the Raymond James. I will say, my brother owns his house, I write. That makes you a multimillionaire. Yeah. I would hardly call it of myself a multimillionaire.

I don't know what the house is worth. Well, if you own a house in Toronto, more than a million. Maybe not even a million, but whatever. Yeah. I'll be listening to that podcast when I get home. Okay. Right away.

You are going to listen to The Advantage Investor. You got your pasta. Yeah. This measuring tape is courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home, Pillars of this Community. Can I ask you one more question? Anything, Alan. I love talking to you, Alan.

You know, you do these in memoriam episodes, once a month i just saw them first of all have i been on this show enough that when i die i'll be slam dunk even if you were never on the show because i was a fan of your dog and then the other before i met you this may be how many people who are fotms that die uh are buried with ridley Funeral Home. Do you know this as a statistic? I don't have that number at my disposal. I'll find out. You would think.

Brad was here yesterday. The funeral director was over here yesterday for his podcast. I think all FOTMs would go to Ridley Funeral Home. We can't because we're Jewish. So can you explain it to me? You need to go to where Howard Berger, FOTM Howard Berger works. He works at Benjamin's. He was a sports...

Right, we would, yeah. But you know what? Who knows what's going on? I mean, my wife isn't Jewish. So there's still a chance you could end up at Ridley Funeral. I think, do they cremate? Yes.

Oh, okay. Okay, well that's a good thing to keep in mind. Well, if you die around here, it would be automatic. And if you die on the show, I could just call Brad to pick you up

and it's just seamless. And he can measure me for my casket with this thing. See, he would be automatic. And if you die on the show, I can just call Brad to pick you up and it's just seamless. And he can measure me for my casket with this thing. See, he's catching on. Why is it? I'm curious as to why this is their bit of swag. It's meant to make your life better. It's handy, makes your life better. They want you to have a good life

and then when your life ends, they want to see you. They want it back. By the way, that's another thing that we get called swag. That's right. Alan and Michael's swag are here. Okay. Thank you. And one more shout out here.

Oh, I got two more shout outs. Do you drink beer, Michael? Yeah, sure. It's okay if you don't. Some people don't drink beer. His wife's not Jewish, though, so she does. She doesn't drink beer. I know plenty of proud Jew that drinks fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery. You don't know plenty, but there drink beer. I know plenty of proud Jew that drinks fresh craft beer

from Great Lakes Brewery. You don't know plenty, but there are some. I know plenty. I know plenty. I noticed, yeah, okay. You know who likes a good beer is Mark Hemsher.

He likes a good fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery. I don't believe he's Jewish. He was here two days ago. I know he's Jewish because I co-hosted a show of him and he drops much Yiddish. Yeah, for five years

called Head See Does David Steinberg drink beer? No I don't think he wouldn't drink well you know I don't know it's true that

Jews don't drink a lot of beer I would say now I'm quickly I'm relaying Peter Gross does not drink beer he's a good

producer Peter Gross yeah doesn't drink beer he was in that Don Shabib film yes Ripoff

yeah I did a whole episode about him. Peter Gross, I think, went to Beth Sedek. I don't even think, I'm not sure who he is. He was a Jewish guy my age who ended up on City TV doing things. Was he driving a cab or something? Yeah.

He's a contemporary of mine who I think one day in Beth Sedek, we nodded at each other, but I don't think we know each other. But anyway, that was cool. Well, not a week goes by that I don't get a phone call from Peter Gross. I'm pretty sure Peter Gross. So does he drink beer? No. No, he doesn't drink beer.

Because he's Jewish. Do you think Miles and Lenny drank beer? I don't know. Saul didn't really drink beer. Miles and Lenny? On the, when Miles Goodwin was interviewed about all the times he lost Junos, he said he kept losing Junos to people who were never heard from again. And then he claimed he lost a Juno to Miles and Lenny.

We know Miles and Lenny. Okay, yeah, I remember this. Because Miles and Lenny were two Jewish guys who lived in our neighborhood. And also our friend Saul Keshen, who also could be on your show yeah played bass with them and also with the Good Brothers yeah and also one of whom's in FFM with Michael and in a band now I will say Michael and I were both in the same band but not at the same time I started a band a punk band because I heard that you could be in a punk band and not be able to play your instruments.

So I asked all these people I knew who couldn't play their instruments, and I couldn't sing, and we started a punk band. Except you had Saul, who could really play. And then we got my friend Saul, who I lived with, who was a professional bass player, and we learned something that many people should learn, which is when you sound like shit,

but you have a good bass player, you all of a sudden sound pretty good. Yeah. Let me acknowledge just a couple of people who are chiming in with feedback as they watch you two live. They're enjoying the show. One, Mark Weisblot.

I don't know Mark Weisblot. Does he drink beer? Well, he says the concept of a Jewish cab driver is more alien today than a Jewish beer drinker. Yeah, that could be true. Is the concept of a Jewish cab driver is more alien today than a Jewish beer drinker? Yeah, that could be true. I mean, it wasn't exactly a non-Jewish thing to do. And also, maybe in Toronto, in the in the before the generation before me.

There are a lot of Jews. The Diamond Cab was owned by Jews. I got my cab from this guy, Sam Newman, who lived at St. Clair. My generation of Jewish cab drivers, yeah. That is true, I guess. Also, why don't I know?

It's funny. Mark Weisblatt is like a guy like Perry Stern, another guy kind of around my age who was a Toronto. I think he's younger than you. A Toronto, but yeah, I know. Like early 50s, I'd put him. No. Early 50s, that's not even close.

No, I'm just telling you Mark Weisblatt's early 50s. Okay, maybe. So maybe that's why he drinks beer. I've spent a lot of time with this man. Okay, okay, anyway. Mark Weisblatt, I know the name. I've read his stuff, time with this man. Okay, okay, anyway. Mark Whitewater, I know the name. I've read his stuff. But we've never met

as far as I know unless he wants to contradict me. Maybe I picked him up in my cab. Basement Dweller is live on live.torontomic.com

and he just points out, Michael, that Santer's was on Ready Records. Yes, yes, but I don't know him either. I didn't, you know what, I didn't know a lot of those guys. The extras were on Ready Records. Do, yes, but I don't know him either. I didn't, you know what,

I didn't know a lot of those guys. The extras were on Ready Records. Do you know the extras? Remember the extras? Leon Stevenson and Dennis Keldy. Why do I think they did Rubber in Your Wallet?

Who did the rubber? You got a rubber and I got a rubber in my wallet. It left a circular impression. I'll Google it in a minute. Okay. One guy, one guy,

too bad he can't be an FOTM. One time I got a call on the radio to go to 145 Marley where our friend Ralph Ben-Murgy used to live. He should be on your show. Oh my God. And this guy got in the back seat and he said, I'm going to Dundas. So I started

to drive to Dundas Street and he said, no, Dundas, Ontario. And it was Long John Baldry. And I drove him to his home in Dundas, Ontario, and I don't believe we talked at all. Okay, so the extras. He didn't try to lay no perky wood.

Circular Impression, 1981. I used to hear it all the time. Oh, okay, I don't remember. I remember they had a, I Can't Stand Still. That was the song, I think, of the extras. One more from Basement Dweller

before I play that hockey clip I've threatened to play for the last 25 minutes is he says, this is the best episode of 2024 thus far. This is the third episode of 2024.

That means you beat, though. The bar is low. Okay. But you beat the aforementioned Mark Hebbshire, who was here on Tuesday, and yesterday, Ed Keenan from the Toronto Star.

Wow, Ed Keenan is a very interesting guy. But maybe this basement here on Tuesday, and yesterday, Ed Keenan from the Toronto Star. Wow, Ed Keenan is a very interesting guy. But maybe this basement dweller, like myself, doesn't give a fuck about sports. So maybe that's why Mark Hebbshire is a great broadcaster. But, you know, how many minutes can you spend talking about a guy who was maybe going to come to Toronto, but didn't come to Toronto?

Like, that's not, you know, that's like a non-event that you guys thought this Otani was going to come here. Oh, is this a sports thing? Didn't come here. Like a leaf or something? That is something I do like to talk about. But again, no, he was going to be a Blue Jay in the end, an LA Dodger. But it was a big moment.

If you cared at all about the Blue Jays, it was a big thing for a while. But just quickly, did I miss this? Maybe so much going on right here and we're going to get back to that. So much interrupting. Did you suggest that Ralph Ben-Murray should be on Toronto Mike? Yeah.

Yes. So Wiseblood's enjoying that sentiment only because I used to produce Ralph Ben-Murray's podcast and he's been on like a half dozen times. He's a diehard FOTM. Really? Okay. See, that's in the period before yeah when did you jump on the the toronto mic to bus here because it's been 11 years uh only a year ago so when was ralph on uh it's probably been more than

a year because uh this was hot and heavy you know but but ralph michael and i both have numerous connect he's ralph was michael's friend because he was a little younger than me although a little older than michael but he knew in high school i didn't know him but i met him i even let him use my water bed for a week while i was away wow and then i he we made a couple of films together, but he's traditionally more Michael's friend. Yeah, we were very, very good friends for a while. But he's in two of my films, one of which was good. Okay, I'm going to play a trailer for one of your films because it's going to tie to your brother, Michael,

who's here making his Toronto Mike debut. But first, I promise to play a song that fans of hockey in this country will know. Oh! that fans of hockey in this country will know. The place will be rocking because it's Saturday night. Because it's hockey tonight. Because it's hockey tonight. Let's go. Let's go. I love this guy.

Because it's Saturday night. Welcome to a commemorative edition of LaBat Saturday Night. For the last time from Maple Leaf Gardens, here's Rob McClane. Somewhere in all that noise, I heard my brother's voice. Yeah, no, that's me. That's you. So let's not bury the lead here.

You co-wrote that song and you're the performer on The Place Will Be Rockin' because it's Saturday night. And I played the guitar. Wow. Yeah. So I wrote that with my,

with the guy, this guy Robert Arms, who made records back in the 70s. Oh yeah, he had solo records. And then became really like a big, big player in the jingles. So he got

involved with whoever was doing CBC Sports. He wrote the lyrics and then I wrote the music. And you sang it. And I sang and I played guitar. But then there's another version now. They got, I think Divine Brown sang a kind of a... Okay. But I think it's dead now.

No, no, no. You don't hear it anymore. Yeah, you don't hear it anymore. But that was great. I can tell you by the reference at the end there that that was the last game at Maple Leaf Gardens, which was 1999. Wow.

I want to say that that version was played, that extended version. Now, I know Alan here doesn't care about sports. Do you like sports? This is the funny thing. He cares less. No, I don't care about sports. So, there's this one and there's a thing that I wrote,

same thing with Robert and my partner Danny then, for Global. They had their own, where they had weekly games, not Saturday night games. And it was called Go Leafs Go. I think Mark Hebbshire was one of the guys who would interview players

between intermissions and stuff. But here's what I'm saying about not knowing sports. No, no, I'm just gonna say that they wrote it and it was like... Can you sing it for me? The Go Leafs Go? that they wrote it, and it was like when they... Can you sing it for me?

The Go, Leaves Go? Yeah. I can't. I can't. I can't remember. Disappointing. Go, Leaves Go. That was the chorus.

The boys are back, you know. But anyways, there was all these names, because it was all written about the Leafs. Like this one is just hockey. Yeah, yeah. This is a national broadcast. The one you're talking about is a regional broadcast. the leaves yeah so they would they we would change it every once in a while to put in a new guy but for me it was like a swedish guy singing like it was

all phonetic like who's that i don't know who that is and they're like you're saying his name wrong yeah because i've never fucking heard yeah right i didn't't know any of these guys. So here's a, this is a sort of interesting thing to me to even think back on this. Michael and I are two of four children. Okay. We had an older sister who passed and then me, then we have a sister between us, Netta. She could also be on the show.

And then Michael. So my father was into sports and my father and I did share sports. My father had season tickets to the Argos and I went with him and my father would get me a ticket to a hockey game every year on my birthday. I was at Maple Leaf Gardens

when Daryl Sittler got 10 points. 10 points, wow. Because it's like february some i'm february 6th and that happened february 4th for whatever um uh you know that there is that whole story about how the older kids and the younger kids are treated differently when the parents sort of get a little, that didn't happen in our house. There was this comedian I loved who said that his older brother was treated like, like very strictly. But by the time he was a kid, it was basically no heroin in the living room.

So, so, but in our house, I don't think that was true. My father was a bit of a, a little bit true, but anyway don't know just made it clear no i'm not going to an argo game no i'm not going to a game so i did go to some but i didn't did pay attention to sports until my early 20s when i went to india a couple of times and then you come back after two years and you don't know who the fuck anybody is and after that it was like i couldn't bother catching up and i stopped paying attention to sports when i was but i did and that's why a lot of these names you mentioned i kind of vaguely know but i don't know anybody that you know okay we'll move on from sports but i just want to share a quick story so mark hebbshire was here tuesday This is for the people who do give a shit about sports.

Hebbsy, I call him. Hebbsy was here. And he says to me, Mike, I'm leaving your house to go visit Doug Gilmore. Do you know the name Doug Gilmore? Yeah, of course. I said his name phonetically in one of the other songs. He was saying DeGilmore, and they said, no, it's Doug Gilmore. It's like the guy from Pink Floyd.

Okay. Anyway, so where are we at? Oh yeah so he says hey because he knew I have this jersey I bought in December 1992 I bought a number 93 Doug Gilmore jersey. It's my favorite leaf of all time and I gave it to Hebsey who gave it to

Doug who assigned it and at some point I'll get this back from Hebsey and I'll have my 1992 Maple Leaf jersey, Doug Gilmore jersey signed. One time I used to have a hockey stick signed by all the Toronto Argonauts because they played a charity game of hockey. See, my father was also, my father was one of these people that people thought he's a responsible man

who can make things happen. None of this was passed on to Mike. And so he was friends with Robert Hall. Too bad you can't have him on the show. Robert Hall was Monty Hall's younger brother. Wow. And Robert Hall was kind of in show business because he was Monty's brother. And they worked, he was at the Variety Club.

And whenever he needed somebody to like make a phone call and like make something happen he would ask our dad so my dad was kind of in the variety club too and we ended up with all he ended up doing all these sort of weird favors including also my father was the accountant nobody remembers danny nicoluk but he was a toronto argo and then my father was the accountant for danny lawson who in the first year of the wha he was the biggest scorer wow so he had danny nicoluk danny lawson mr donut and then a bunch of people when did mr Mr. Donut disappear? I feel like maybe I did know, and I just don't remember.

I think they just went when they were under. They did now. In the 80s? Mr. Donut was the first. Earlier than the 80s? Oh, no, no. They were still here in the 80s. When I drove cab in the 80s,

there was a Mr. Donut in Finch and Young, and there was one in Wilson and Bathurst. But yes. But there was also some downtown. There was one around Wellesley and Young. I think they just, yeah, they just couldn't, too much competition. Yeah, but whatever, you know. Tim Hortons was huge.

There used to be a country style. There used to be town and country. There's still country. There used to be. I don't know what happened to country style. You know, everything was taken over by coffee time and Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons took over a lot. one time i went into the coffee time at dupont and saint george and the woman was kind of weird with me i was like hello hello and then

come to tell but she basically said to me i can't serve you now because this guy's holding me up oh and then i was like wow and the guy didn't have a gun or anything. I was like, could you hurry up? I just want to get a coffee and go into the, anyway. I'm going to play a trailer. And I did when Alan Zweig was making his Toronto Mike debut. We talked about this film. We've actually referenced it already in this episode, but you two kind of work together.

So I want to talk about this. And then I want to find out, Michael, this is like a teaser. I want to find out what's your next project? Like, what are you working on? But let's revisit a previous project. Are you trying to wrap things up now? Not necessarily.

They weren't really better than everybody else. But when you had a Jewish comedian, he was damn good. The comedians of our world were basically Jewish. I don't even know what you're asking. No. No. No.

It's that rhythmic. Right. Pausing. It's hysterical. It's funny. The history of 20th century humor is Jewish. Period. That's what we're missing. It's just the accent.

We're the same people. Wait, you're talking about why Jews are funny, and you haven't talked about Jewish mothers yet? You're either saying Jews aren't as funny as they once were, or Jews are funnier. Both are wrong. This is Jewish. This is very Jewish.

So basically, you're making a film because you feel guilty. I don't know that we can solve all your problems. What's the thesis of this whole piece? Are you listening to me? Because I'm wasting my time if you're not. It was sensational. That was Howie Mandel at the end. Yeah.

Oh, man, I remember, you know, I'm just going to tell. So we were going to L.A. to interview these old, old comedians, mostly. And I asked Perry, why don't I remember Perry's last name? But Perry was a comedian and a producer of their vintage who knew them all. I asked Perry, when I asked these old guys stories about growing up and about their parents what are they gonna think and he's like oh they'll love it because they never get to talk about that and completely wrong they don't they couldn't give a they were like who is this guy you know shelly berman who gave me this incredible gift the film ends with him singing this Yiddish song,

It'll Break Your Heart. But when the interview was over, it was in Calabasas. I'll never forget. I'm in his front yard. He's got like grapefruit trees and orange trees. But I'm glad it's over. And he comes out and talks to Naomi Wise. He's like, that was an interview.

That was an interview. If you knew he was going to do that. Anyway, that was the first film that Michael scored. Yeah, although that piece of music is not my music. Okay, so let me, again, I'm bearing the lead here. No, that's not mine. That's just a piece of stock music. Alan wrote and directed When Jews Were Funny.

It won the 2013 Best Canadian Feature Award at TIFF. At TIFF, yeah. And you did the score. Yes. Okay. But I didn't do that trailer score. Okay. That's such a common thing that this trailer.

You scored, Michael, you scored When Jews Were Funny. Yes. How'd you get that gig? Do you know anybody? I knew somebody, yeah. I begged. But he has scored. Jews were funny. Yes. How'd you get that gig? I knew somebody, yeah. I begged. But he has scored my last. There is a house here.

There's a house here. Coppers, records. He scored. He's my permanent composer. I'm the new guy. Alright, don't tell Moneris. I don't think anyone of Moneris is listening, but I am giving you a wireless speaker, even though I'm probably not allowed to do this. Thank you. I'm probably going to upset one of my great sponsors.

I'm sorry for all the criticism. I put all the stress. You know what? And because I'm giving you the speaker, now I feel I should tell you that there is a great podcast from Menaris called Yes, We Are Open, which is an award-winning podcast

hosted by FOTML Grego. They're not a January sponsor. That's fine. That's fine. That's life. But you are going to subscribe and listen because you've got these wonderful wireless speakers.

Not until they start dealing with you again. Are they going to sponsor you again? So far, the trend is they do three months on, three months off. So they come and they talk

about their new season. I think we should do a public pressure campaign to bring them back. So are they coming back in April? I just, so the host of that show is a guy named Al Grego. Yeah. Who come, he's been to 13 of 14 Toronto Mike listener experiences.

We call these TMLX events. You too should come to TMLX 15. We all gather at Great Lakes Brewery. You don't have to drink beer, but we gather at Great Lakes Brewery. It'll be in late June. I'll give you more specifics. and it's just a collective like uh listeners collect collect i would have come to the last one if i don't want to get into this story you can bring me back to tell the whole story of how i got my driver's license suspended but if i didn't have my driver's license suspended i would

have gone and so would you use a broadcast? Well, so it depends. This one in late June, I'm probably not going to broadcast, but the one that Alan almost came to, which was at Palma's Kitchen in Mississauga in like early December, we absolutely did a live recording. We had like people like Stephen Brunt,

talking about that guy who didn't come. Talking about Sean and Tony, your favorite sports hero. Anyway, a lot of good chatter. Let's talk about a guy who didn't come to our team. It was only the night before. It was very exciting. We were very excited by all of this.

You know, what's the name of the guy, the guy that did come to the Leafs, lives in my old neighborhood where my old house. John Tavares? Yeah, he lives in Roncesvalles neighborhood where I used to live and he's... Probably John Tavares. Yeah, he's very...

Yeah, high-parth. He's supposedly very good at... On Halloween, he's very generous with people. Seems like a nice guy. Nice man, John Tavares. Shout out to Roncesvalles. Where about...

What neighborhood do you live in, Michael? Kind of like Riverdale East around Jones and Danforth. He's been quite, he lives in the pocket. I live in the, but I don't know who knows what the pocket is. Oh, but the pocket is a famous neighborhood. It's a desirable neighborhood, accidentally.

That's why you're a multimillionaire. Yeah, well. We've established that. You know what, we couldn't, that was the only, the East End was the only place that was affordable 25 years ago when my wife and I bought our house. I'm actually here because when my wife and I bought this house over 10 years ago, this was like a pocket that hadn't yet...

It still hasn't really come up, but it could. No, but I feel like this house is probably $1.5 million. I said to my brother today... Oh, okay. Oh, yeah. I told my brother today that I keep saying this. You know, there's all these complaints from my friends who are artists my brother today oh okay well oh yeah i told my brother today that i keep saying this you know there's all these uh complaints from my friends who are artists of all the neighborhoods like the

warehouse district they move up to ossington and dupont then that gets gentrified they got to move somewhere else someday all toronto artists will live out here in mimico and it'll be the new brooklyn and it'll be groovy as hell. And it's right near the lake. And it's nice. It's very nice, but it is, he's never been here. I, I used to come to the vinyl museum, used to have a outlet at, uh, Islington and the lake shore. And then they're still there. No, they're called vinyl village maybe or something. That's a whole other. That guy, you should have that guy, the Vinyl Museum guy.

Anyway, yeah, I'm very familiar because I drove cab in Toronto for 20 years, so I know everything. I have a name for you, Alan. Okay, so the name you've been struggling to come up with is Perry Rosemond. Oh, Perry Rosemond. Yeah, Perry Rosemond. So he was, yeah, he produced Super Dave. He produced the John Biner Show. John Biner's an FOTM. Yeah. Yeah. Perry Roseman. So he was, uh, yeah, he produced the super Dave. He produced a John Biner show.

He produced. John Biner's an FOTM. Wow. I didn't know. Yeah. Yeah. Right. He produced. He's gone, right?

Who? John Biner. He's still with us. Really? Okay. We haven't had him in a memorial episode. You should have. He's still with us.

If you can find Perry. You're thinking of Bob Einstein died. I know. No, I know. I thought John Biner. Okay. King of Kensington, uh, follow follow that bird as you mentioned earlier that's a uh perry roseman and

i found out from uh mark wiseblot that he's 87 years old and he's still with us yeah he lives uh he lives on the russell hill road you know when you're like yeah i i'm not i know you're the castle loma yeah i'm not telling where the exact number i have a client who lives on that street very very yeah anyway perry would be perry was he could he should have been in my film like he was a very funny old guy but anyway perry roseman yeah very good hello to jeremy hopkin hello to moose grumpy hello to ian service these are just people who haven't been chiming in. Andrew Ward is here and

we've already been talking in the basement. Wow, people are watching. Like, where's the camera? Right there. So it's sort of like I don't know where to put the camera down here where all three of us get in the same shot. I'm glad I'm not in the shot. Although this is not my best side. You're blocked by, yeah. Wow, that is so cool that

people watch the live feed like that's crazy so before i mop up here and i will say this that alan uh you're welcome back anytime i i like that you challenge me on these things i know we're not talking about buffy but i like that you talk talk to me about buffy i like that you'll say you know this this is not nice to randy backman whatever you know we screw up something about you know the thing about i don't know if you know, this is not nice to Randy Backman, whatever. You know, we screw up something about. You know, the thing about, I don't know if you know this, Mike, but people who listen to the Toronto Mike Show, they're not listening for the guests.

They're just listening for you because you are. To screw up. You're a character to them. It's more like a fictional movie in which this character we're getting to know is going to like, you know, a guy's going to come on the show and say please there's only one thing that i don't want to talk about and we're all going to sit there and just wait for the time when mike not only he says look i know you don't want to talk about this but i have to bring this up and then he when you say i don't want to talk about it mike doesn't

go okay i'll stop talking about it. He'll like, no, now I'm going to double down. No, no, we're not talking about it. More, no, I'm just talking, whatever. Like, so that we, I enjoy watching, listening to the show and seeing how is this person going to mix with this character Toronto Mike that we're getting to know. Have you ever heard an episode

where i was like oil and water like we just didn't mix no well you know i think i famously said to you i any any person who knows you would have thought you and jane siberia could not be a worse mix and yet you probably got the best interview just by annoying her you eventually got her to like open up in a way that i i wouldn't you know i wouldn't have been able to get that interview because i would have been a little too reverent but you if anything are not reverent so that's what we like about you michael you got to listen because uh she didn't appreciate the fun fact i brought but it was it wasn't it wasn't a fun fact it was it was it was a it was a mild coincidence i heard it was something a mild coincidence a kid of the mind blow somebody that

somebody about her video direct mimi on the beach is probably your most famous yeah fantastic okay so the director of that video would go on years later to father a young woman who is the most decorated Canadian Olympian of all time. I know, but you know, that's... Process it, Michael. Just process it. But who is that? I guess that's the thing. The thing is, if he called her Mimi, or if she then did music that was influenced...

You know, I saw somebody the other day talk about how people are like amazed that they have the same birthday that's one in 365 okay there's only one most you know i have the same birthday as bob marley and ronald reagan what does that say about me nothing those people are bad at math okay okay I was born on the same day as Bob Marley fun fact see I see that's bullshit that's one in 365 okay

but what I'm referring to is there's only one most decorated Olympian but one in 365 what are the odds oh I see the odds are better are you kidding me

like the I know that you're saying what does that have to do with directing a music video well it's her most famous it's her Jane Sibri's most famous video has a director

who would follow the most decorated. So you don't have to say this is fucking, my God, like stop the presses. Why isn't Peter Mansbridge down here covering this event?

Like I'm saying it is a fun fact. Okay. But if she says to you, that's a coincidence that I don't find that charming. Yeah, I don't find it that interesting.

That interesting. Anybody, I don't find it that interesting. That interesting. Anybody, any normal person would say, okay, let's move on. I did try. But the fact that you were like, no, wait a second. I had to come back to it. Really? You don't find it fun?

But I'm surprised that she didn't. I'm surprised myself that she didn't just sort of go like. No, she's not. She's not. Yeah, yeah, sure. That's like a circle. I like what Alan said, which is that you're right on paper, I guess, or whatever,

me and Jane Sibri are wired so differently that that should have been a disaster. And for a couple of minutes, I thought this might be a disaster. But for whatever reason, it did come together, and it was a beautiful conversation. And also, you know what? I took no offense at the fact that Art Bergman, who I have interviewed for four days in a row

nonetheless said you did the best interview with him that he's ever done and again art bergman also you would art bergman and i were a natural as a sort of thrust and perry and that film may still get made. But you and Art Bergman, not such a natural. And then on top of it, you brought up things. I can't remember. Buffy. You brought up Buffy and stuff like that. Art is not going to talk about that. We talk about Gaza.

But nonetheless, you got a good interview out of Art Bergman. So your relentlessness often pays off. What is your next project? Like, what are you currently working on, Alan? Me? This isn't Alan Zweig. No, but that's... No, you see, this isn't Toronto Mike.

This isn't Toronto Alan. I need to know what Alan Zweig is working on if you're willing to disclose it. Actually, my fans... And then I'll get to Michael. My fans have requested that I come on your show once a week. I would do that, but don't tell me. And, okay.

But only if you talk about the episodes from the previous week. I am about to start directing my next documentary, which is on the somewhat taboo, but very common phenomenon of people taking their own lives. So it's inspired by the suicide of a very close friend of mine four years ago. And why my Megan film was the suicide? Same answer as everything. Because my 10 other ideas got rejected,

and that's the one that they took. Including, I always love to say that cbc turned me down to make a film about stomp and tom connors so like you know when you're getting turned down for obvious crap like that yeah you just anyway so my next film is about suicide okay and i have one more thing yeah which is uh it will not compete in any way or show any of this side that I'm showing you here. But sometime in 2024, I will have five or six episodes of a podcast on Canada land with myself as the host. They will float it out there. It won't work and it'll get canceled, but I'll have had the host. They will float it out there. It won't work, and it'll get canceled,

but I'll have had the experience. So Jesse Brown has welcomed you into the family. Well, he's in the guest room, maybe. All right, that's big news, but this documentary about taking your own life, that's a fascinating subject, and I know you'll handle it well because you're an excellent filmmaker.

Why were you sitting down and talking to Art Bergman for four days? When Art Bergman won the Order of Canada, it was kind of a weird coincidence. And we went to the Slate family. Maybe you know those people. Yes, I do. And we got a little bit of development money to make a film about Art. And at that time, Art lived just outside of airdrie

alberta in a little farmhouse with his lovely wife sherry right and we spent three days in the christmas of 2021 with art in that house with sherry interviewing the out of him annoying him interviewing the fuck out of him annoying him he played songs and you know it was and i intended to make the whole film just keep on visiting him in this little farmhouse where he wasn't exactly retired but he was kind of like and i just wanted to make a film about a man turning 70 who's an artist and all the aging punkers still etc but then and originally sherry his wife she thought she wouldn't be in the film but when i met her she was so beautiful and charming and also so helpful because you know art's one of these guys unlike with you did a good job but with me he didn't want to tell stories one of those guys like oh that story i want to tell that story

so you would always ultimately say sherry can i have the story and then she would tell the story so she was in knit into the fabric of the film right away but in february unfortunately the following february she died and then art was in grief and then we didn't get any more money and maybe the film was dead and maybe I was going to turn those three days into a short film. But then whatever, Art came to Toronto to play a gig and even though we had no money, we thought, ah, what the hell, let's catch up with him. So I'm kind of still making that film,

although the fact that nobody will fund it might be a problem. But, yes. And we're going to interview him in Vancouver when we go there. And maybe it'll turn into a film. It won't be as good as, of course, the lowest of the low films. Any of these are the 299 Queen Street West films that are made, because they're made by first-time filmmakers,

and when you're making your 13th film, you know, you're a little too precious. Quick, just an interesting convergence here, is that FOTM Jason Schneider, who is actually the guy, you know him, right? I met him, yeah. So he wrote a book about

Art Bergman called The Longest Suicide. Right. And your two projects you're working on are Art Bergman. Right, there's a thing, a suicide. That's what I'm here to tell you. Is that a fun fact? Yeah, that's a fun fact. I haven't seen the lowest of the low documentary,

but I'm looking forward to it. I saw the trailer. I really liked the trailer, but i'm looking forward to it subversive i saw the trailer i really like the trailer so i'm looking forward to it the 299 i'm not looking forward to that as much well i'll just put it that way and uh shout out to kim clark champness who's oh who's a legend who's not in who's not in the doc no but he is on an episode of Toronto Mike. Oh, is this about Much Music? Yeah. Oh, okay. So Michael Williams, I see him.

He comes and DJs for Frogs gigs. So I heard about this thing. Okay, he came over twice. Yeah, yeah. He's a friend of Jeff Jones. You should ask him about Jeff Jones as well. This is what I'm glad we're having this conversation. Should I have recorded this?

Because this is good stuff. You're not recording anymore? I'm still recording. Ask Michael what he's doing next. Why are you telling me? Come on, Alan. Listen, this is trying to mic steal. I am, of course, going to close with Michael.

Nothing. I just wanted to ask you one more question, Alan, which is since you spent so much time with Art Bergman and you're possibly working on a project, who knows what will come of that footage. What did you personally think of Art Bergman's appearance on Toronto Mike that he deemed the greatest interviewer of his life? I thought it was the best interview he ever did,

but I'm just saying, I know I talk too much, and you didn't get to talk to my brother at all about Burton Cummings. Okay, well. Okay, well. Okay, whatever. I assure you, this is the deepest Michael Zweig dive that's probably happened in some time. Oh, way deep. Yeah. Okay.

Tell me anything I've left on the, this is not on actually, but Burden Cummings, I've knocked over a canvas. So that's what I'm doing next. What is your upcoming project? What are you working on, Michael Zweig? I'll work on Alan's film when it's done. Does he make you audition for these gigs or slam dunk? Not anymore.

Sometimes. I used to. And then I'm working on, Burton has an album coming out, so we're still working on that. And other than that, you know, I don't really know. I mean, I wait for things to come to me. When they do, like I said, I don't do any more advertising. I play mostly.

I don't do as much composing as I'd like to do. But most of the time, yeah, I'm just playing gigs. Amazing. Yeah. And also, Burton Cummmings let's face it has written some great songs yes and nonetheless on burton's new record which he could write all by himself he asked michael to write some bridges yes i wrote a couple he's a legend he's a fucking legend he's a fucking legend yeah he's again this trans canada highwayman steven page uh does undone

yeah and and there's a little tribute he does about the great voice of Bird and Cummings. Yeah. No, no. That's a classic song. He was one of the greatest rock singers in the world. Not just in Canada. He was a truly great singer. Yeah, absolutely.

He was, yeah, some of that stuff. And if you go see The Guess Who now, you will not hear that voice. Well, that's a whole separate episode. That's all bullshit, right? There's a lot of stuff going on there. I don't, I shouldn't, I can't comment a lot about it, but I stand behind Burton, for sure, in that it's crazy that those guys, I think,

it's crazy that those guys are just saying, we're The Guess Who. But you know what, it'll come down to a legal thing where if that there's somebody who owns that name, right? Is it the drummer? No, well I don't know who owns it now, but the bass player ended up sort of copywriting the

name at some point. Yeah, but if you own the name you can tour under the name. I think that there's new rules Like it's bullshit, but it's probably legal bullshit. I think that there's some rule about Like it's bullshit, but it's probably legal bullshit. I think that there's some rule about, I think there's some kind of new thing like the, they call it the drifters or the platters rule. You know, because, you know, there were those bands,

they were out. There's multiple. Yeah, at the same time. In fact, I played with the platters. Not only that, but do you know that Gallagher used to send out his brother also as Gallagher? Yeah. Because how much, if you were bald and you smashed a water bottle.

I wasn't sure that he sent him out or whether his brother was pissed. Oh, no. I went to see Gene Pitney at Roy Thompson Hall, and they said, opening for Gene is Canada's greatest impressionist bob little and then rich little rich little's brother came out oh and he also was doing rich little's act so wow you should have him on here well here's the big question for michael's wag before i play some of uh alan's favorite band lowest of the low when will burton cummings be in the Toronto Mic basement? Wow.

He doesn't live in Toronto. He lives in Moose Jaw. You know what? I zoomed for Randy Backman because he was in, I think, Listen, I'll ask him if you want. Yeah, of course. I would love to talk to Burden Cummings. And here's this.

I pledge not to fact check him. Unless Robert Lawson tells me we have to do it. Oh, no, he doesn't. Burden doesn't exaggerate. He's not a bullshit. No, no, he's all facts. Yeah, no, he doesn't exaggerate. He's all facts. Yeah, no, he doesn't.

No ham. Yeah, absolutely. But I'll have a word with him. I would appreciate it. I'm disappointed this is over. This is so much fun. But you'll be back. I have no doubt you'll be back. And, you know, we went for an hour and 50 minutes.

Oh, that's good. And I got to say, what an interesting career you've had, Michael. And it was a pleasure getting to know you. You too. I was hoping for more hair, but you can't always get what you want. You get what you get, man. Your hair lately, Mike, is really high. I know.

I guess this is, again, it comes back to Louis Lalo because Ron Hawkins came over and it was kind of shaggy from the pandemic. And then he said to me, Mike, if you can grow it, you should show it. And for some reason it hit me differently. Like all my life, I've just kind of kept it kind of short like yours actually, Michael. And I was like, yeah, like if I can grow it, I should show it. So I'm actually kind of leaving it alone on top to see what happens. I'm curious what will happen. Yeah, well, I can tell you mine would not look like that. Not anymore.

Yours is standing out, but mine just goes out. This is natural, too. There's no product in there. No, no, hey, I can see. I would never accuse you of... Do you want to rub your fingers through my hair, Michael?

I'm going to fact check that. Let's get that product thing happening. The joke is, they had a good time in the live stream. They were talking about how Robert Lawson's hiding in the bushes.

When you guys, when we leave to take the photo. By the way, I love Lowe's. Lowe's of the Lowe's is a great band. I used to have their first record, Shakespeare. Shakespeare, my butt. I had a CD of it. Yeah, I have nothing. You know, Page Publications put out

Shakespeare, my butt. That was Steven Page's dad. Who put out the first Carpet Frogs record that I wasn't on. Really? Yeah. Frog Curry. The yellow tape from Barenaked Ladies, which sold something like 80,000 units. The yellow tape. And Shakespeare My Butt. Those are the big three

in Canadian music. Really. I'm glad Stephen Page, a lovely guy, but I'm glad he wasn't here so he would get all the questions when he's here. Shout out to Chris Murphy. I love Chris Murphy. Alice, you'll be back, right? What do you want to say about Chris Murphy before I play it? I have met him a few times. We have a mutual

friend. I like him. I think Sloan is one of the greatest bands ever in Canada, but I was really I think Chris Murphy handled himself very well being on your show. But it was really, I think Chris Murphy handled himself very well being on your show. But it was a second visit. Being on your show

and basically being asked no questions. It was a second visit. And he was really fucking funny. Yeah, he's very funny. Like, he was really, I never knew he was that funny. It's the first time I met Stephen Page. So you understand, right?

First time I met Stephen Page. Meanwhile, I had a 90-minute one-on-one with Chris Murphy before. Right. So there were more Stephen Page questions than Chris Murphy. We didn't even know. Oh, is that a 90-minute one-on-one with Chris Murphy before. Right. So there were more Stephen Page questions than Chris Murphy. We didn't even talk about it. But you know, you didn't ask Stephen Page, which he told me when I interviewed him, that when

Barenaked Ladies went to the studio to make their first record and lived in the house, they were so bored that at night they lit each other's farts. One more quick thing. So Tyler Stewart, drummer for Barenaked Ladies, used to drive Super Dave Osborne to Agincourt to film a Super Dave Osborne show.

That's cool. I worked on the first episode. That is a fun fact. You guys are learning. I drove on the first episode of Littest Hobo, a job I got from my friend Eric Weintal, who should also be on the show. And on that first episode, Alan Hale Jr., the skipper, was in that episode,

and at one point he called me little buddy. This is too much, but I've got to quickly ask you, when I did the episode with hayden oh yeah i had a story anecdote there the nothing story my friend matt pollock who should also be on the show told me that one time he was walking up in and here comes hayden and another guy who should be on the show the great howie beck they're friends, and he saw Hayden and Howie Beck walking towards him and he said, hello singer-songwriters.

I don't know, I just thought that was funny. And that brings us to the end of our 1,405th show. You can follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky. I'm at Toronto Mike. How can we follow you guys? You know, as

Mark Breslin used to say, you can follow us. We'll be taking the Lake Shore streetcar home. Much love to all who made this possible. That's Great Lakes Brewery. That's Palma Pasta, Recycle My Electronics, Raymond James Canada,

and Ridley Funeral Home. See you all tomorrow when Tyler and Cam drop by to talk about the, uh, FOTM, Glossary of terms. Tune in to find out what the heck that is.