Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Alan Frew Kicks Out the Jams: Toronto Mike'd #1390

Episode Date: December 12, 2023

In this 1390th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike catches up with Glass Tiger's Alan Frew while he kicks out the 80s and 90s jams. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Raymond James Canada and Moneris. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

Welcome to episode 1390 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. 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.

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hosted by FOTM Al Grego, and Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. Joining me today, returning to kick out the jams, is Alan Frew. Two quick questions, Alan. One, how are you? I'm good, thank you, Mike. Good to see you again. And the second question, are you

ready to kick out the jams? I am ready. Thank you. I got it bad You don't know how bad I got it You got it easy You don't know when you've got it good It's getting harder Just keeping life and soul together I'm sick of fighting Thank you. I don't wanna be here no more Would it be good to be in your shoes Even if it was for just one day

Would it be good if we could wish ourselves away What a start, Alan. Talk to me. What a song. Tell me why you chose Wouldn't It Be Good. Oh, I mean, just listen to it, man. It answers itself. It's just a classic.

Just a beautiful classic, classic song. So well crafted. You know, great lyric, great melody. You cannot help but tap your foot or get up and move. Sounds great in the cans too. Yeah. It's amazing. All right, lots of ground to cover with you.

Again, I'm glad you're back. I want to congratulate you because Glass Tiger finally got inducted into Canada's Rock of Fame. Thank you. Long overdue. I think when you came over earlier in 2023, you came over in May. It was episode 1,253. At the time we talked about,

can you believe it? We talked about Glass Tiger. Yeah. Don't you forget me when I'm gone, which I might have to play before you leave. Someday my town, the Weezer sound alike, your love of sports. I think you had a soccer match you needed to check out on the telly.

And your stroke, your recovery. Since then, you got the exciting call, right? Yeah, it finally came through. And, you know, people ask me what I think of it. And it's fantastic. But cliche as it sounds, I always felt that it was going to be a great opportunity to thank those loved ones family members who have sacrificed watching

dad walk out the door time after time after time and that's what I chose to do that night. Do you remember that during the day I guess there was a red carpet at Massey Hall. And do you remember taking the elevator up to this function? And I was in the elevator with you. Do you have any memory of this? Oh, no, man. Okay, so you pointed at me in the elevator

and you said, you're the lasagna guy. Any memory at all? No, I do. No, I do. You are the lasagna guy. And yeah, you were telling people I gave you a lasagna. And I'm going to tell you something. I'm having

a little get-together with this band, 889 Rewind on Sunday, and guess what? I'm serving them when they come over to my place. Palma pasta lasagna. That's it. Because you're not leaving here, Alan, without another large it's frozen right now in the freezer.

I got another large lasagna for you to take with you. Wow, fantastic. I've got the band coming over on Sunday. So which band? This one that we're talking about today. I call it 80 to 90 Rewind. All right. Okay, so maybe a little context.

We'll dive into more details because I'm going to play nine more jams. Actually, I have a couple of bonus jams, actually. But what exactly is 80s to 90s Rewind? Okay, so several years ago, I started having fun with the Glass Tiger audiences and I would ask them how many people have seen Glass Tiger before. And it was surprising the amount of people that hadn't. Like it was maybe a third of the audience would put their hands up saying, yeah, I saw you before. And then of those who'd seen us before,

I would ask, who saw us in 1986? Boom. Like maybe half of that again, right? Like it's just a fraction. So it began to dawn on me just how this new generation of lovers of 80s music and hopefully 90s were coming out.

They were discovering that through their parents and whatnot. So I recorded an album, took my first stab at it, a solo album. Looking back on it, it's a little tame you know i i i nailed a couple of them maybe peter gabriel in your eyes john spoiler alert john wait missing you um so i and then i i kind of missed the boat on a few but it was testing the waters then i put this band together uh called 80 to 90 rewind and it's killer i've got some of the finest players actually in the world never mind canada well i don't want to get you gotta we gotta doll out the details like spread it out a little bit because your second jam is my you know

next to glass tiger my favorite band of all time you're ready for this i gotta get to it this is unbelievable alan fru kicking out some tragically hip Oh yeah Oh yeah, yeah, Grace too And these are your jams, so you can tell me to bring it up, bring it down, you could talk over top, you know Well, you could play me this song any day of the week You know when we lost Gord

I we were about to play a gig in Montreal at L'Estrale and Asglas Tiger, actually. And as a tribute to Gord, we cranked this song, Grace 2, out and people went insane. And, you know, who wouldn't put this on their 90s playlist? Come on, just let's go

She kinda bit her lip Jeez, I don't know But I can guarantee I can guarantee That we don't knock on the door I can guarantee I'm told I'll throw There'll be no knock on the door

That's what I'm here for The first time I met the hit, I was in London, England, doing some solo writing. And there had been a death in my family. I got a call, there was a death in the family. And I was feeling pretty down and I went downstairs to the pub. And the boys and The Hip were sitting across from me and we chatted together that night. What a wild place to first meet them. A couple of GTA rock stars meeting in London, England there.

Sorry for your loss there, but you couldn't encounter better guys to make you feel better when you're miles away from home. I mean, probably my personal, you know, I take my own music out of it and looking around me, other bands, probably my favorite Canadian band. It's high praise.

Hey, so I mentioned Rock of Fame and I saw you that day and I was the lasagna guy, which I was honored to be the lasagna guy because it's delicious lasagna. Thank you, Palma Pasta. But that night, it turns out I was on lasagna guy, which I was honored to be the lasagna guy because it's delicious lasagna. Thank you, Palma Pasta. But that night, I was on the red carpet there to say hi to people like yourself, and I missed Miles Goodwin from April Wine. And I'm wondering any anecdotes about Miles who we lost just last week.

Boy, I mean, what a loss. I'm glad I got to see him that evening, brief as it was. Lucky enough to have done shows with April Wine, and the most fun, actually, was I opened for them just acoustic guitar and voice, three or four shows a few years back. And Miles wanted to talk to me about writing a book, because I had put my book out, The Action

Sandwich. And Miles and I sat a few nights after a gig. I was having a beer, and he was just talking to me about what it was like to be an author and that he wanted to put a book out and he was asking, you know, for some pointers and getting it published and blah, blah, blah. And I believe he completed that task, if I'm not mistaken, Miles did. He did, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had him on Toronto Mike. He talked about his book and, you know, even when I talked to him for 90 minutes, which was a couple of years ago, he seemed pretty in good spirits and good health.

So whatever took him, took him pretty quickly, I think. A great loss. Great loss. I had Chris Murphy from Sloan here yesterday. And that's a Maritimes band. And, of course, this was a Maritimes band. April Wine was a Maritimes band as well. Big deal at a time when most bands were coming out of Toronto.

Yeah, man. Okay, and here's a Kingston band. We're going to let Gord take us home, and then I'm going to slide right into Jam 3 because it's my other favorite band of all time. So I think you're... I got a funny feeling you might be coming out to this gig I'm going to do. So when is the gig?

It's February the 17th at the Opera House. Great venue. I recorded live ones from the Party for Marty. So April 17, 2024. No, February 17th. Sorry.

I was thinking of April Wine. It's all Miles' fault. But February 17, 2024 get your tickets because you're not only going to hear some Tragically Hip you're going to hear the band I'm about to play here so What a song. Did you like Pearl Jam the first time you heard this song on whatever,

you heard it on Much Music or whatever? Absolutely. I told a story earlier today about being in Berlin, Germany, with Glass Tiger, and I got a care package that used to come quite often, a little care package would come, and in that care package was two bands that I'd never heard of in my life before. One was Nirvana, and the other one was Pearl Jam,

and I immediately knew a new sound was coming. Were you worried that this new sound would trample all over your sound in Glass Tiger? Yes and no. One of the great things about the 80s and the 90s was that

the sounds were so diverse. We were all allowed to be at the same party. You could have Boy George and Queen. You could have The Police and Nirvana. You could have, you know, Tragically Hipping Glass Tiger. So that's why I love these eras. No, good point.

And what I liked about, you know, top 40 radio back then is that you had all these different sounds back to back to back. Like it seemed like you could sit down you could hear uh i don't know a rap song right next to a deaf leopard song right next to uh i don't know uh edie brickell and the new bohemian you know my daughter is 19 and when when she's blasting her music it it's exactly like that. It's Ozzy Osbourne, and then it's Boy George, then it's Queen, then it's Pearl Jam, and just exactly what we're talking about. Maybe we mentioned this during your first visit,

which was back in May 2023, but we have that in common. We both have 19-year-old daughters. Yeah. So we're in the club together. So congrats to you, man. You're in the club. All right. Gotta say, this 10 is a playthrough too.

I thoroughly, I still listen to 10 and absolutely love it. The only song I now really typically skip is Jeremy because it's so overexposed. It was everywhere. It was too much. So it's like I got sick of it. But I still enjoy Evenflow. Yeah, Evenflow. I never get tired of it. Never it was everywhere it was too much so it's like i got sick of it but uh i still enjoy even flow yeah even flow and i never get tired of it never get tired of it so like so essentially is it just uh you are kicking out the jams basically in uh february at the opera house february 17th by the way tickets reasonably priced tickets i am like aghast sometimes when

i'm like i want to go see a band and then i'm like i don't want to spend you know 250 on a ticket like like the fact i can get into the opera house and rock out with you guys with your 80s and 90s you can get in there for 40 bucks like like to me this is a great great value so people should thank you should see good for you for not gouging us. No chance. You could upgrade the automobile or something. That's good on you here. So 80s to 90s, rewind all 80s and 90s, obviously,

but is the rule that you have to love the song or you're not going to play it? What gets the song on the playlist? Well, it helps if I love it. It helps if I feel that the range puts me through my paces. My voice is still at the top of its game, and I sing all Glass Tiger songs in the original keys, so I sing all of these songs in the original keys. Good for you, man. Good for you.

And I can appreciate that someone who loves Peril Jam expects Eddie Vedder's voice, but that's not what this is about. This is about having a party. Right. And I present the songs exactly the way the fans would expect them. I don't try and jazz them up or do crazy versions. And it's all about, you know, the band will be exactly the way you expect it,

and it'll be about my voice. It'll put me through my paces and I'll nail it. How did you keep your voice so in, like, is there any secrets? Is it you just decided not to smoke? Guinness, Guinness. You see, that's a dirty word around here because we drink Grey Lakes beer on this program. No, I, you know, it's just, it's just a force of nature.

Some, some of us get the chance to hang on to it. And, you know, one of my favorite, one of my idols was, is Paul Rogers. And, you know, Paul's been belting it out. And some guys, they lose it. And so far, touch wood, touch my skull, I'm still one of the ones that, as long as I'm healthy, my voice is still in the same range it was in in 1986. Love it so much.

Okay, so you, you're a Scotsman who's been living in Canada most of his life. Nick Kershaw, he's an English chap. You kicked out some Canadians in the Tragically Hip. Pearl Jam, that's an American band. You want to go down under for the next one? Ah. Yeah, what a song. Yes, sir.

I mean, this is a classic example of a vocal, from a vocalist that couldn't be more different than I am but when we play this and I belt it out it's killer holding racks and boiling diesels steaming 45 degrees the time has come to say fair's fair I have to breathe. The time has come to save this fair.

To pay the rent. To pay our share. The time has come. Yeah, it's so infectious. Some say this is Australia's tragically hip I wouldn't fight that I'll tell you I think I would agree with that

And so as I mentioned, I realized pretty quickly that there's a whole new generation or two out there digging this music when they come see Glass Tiger. So getting the chance to put all of these great hits together, anybody who's into the 80s and 90s is going to have a great time you're talking to the right demo right here

I'm telling you how long you been doing this is this how many years well you know I dabbled with the album about 8 years ago

I will tease you here I have a bonus jam I was going to surprise you with, but it might be from the album you're referring to. Okay. So I dabbled with that album. When I look back on it, it's a little tame compared to what we're doing now,

but that was my first step into it. I think I nailed a couple, and I think I hit the goalpost in a couple. But it was the beginning of me thinking that there's something here to present to a new generation of listeners and fans. And so that's where it came from. And I've been doing it sort of corporately. It's a kind of corporate dream evening.

And now we're going to test the waters at the Opera House and see if people actually want to come out as if it was uh coming out to see their band love it love it very much andrew war andrew ward writes in let's give it back there's a sentiment okay can you ask alan about his collaborations with fellow scott by way of brampton johnny reed and their collaborations together. What was it like when you first met Johnny and where did things go? Johnny and I are good pals.

His story is very similar to mine. Normally he's about, I think, maybe 10, 12 years younger than I am. Comes over as an immigrant. Ends up jumping in a van with his pal. Drives to Nashville. And the rest is history. He's a great songwriter, a great businessman.

He's done great things. Johnny and I have written two or three things together, but the biggest one was a song called Fire Up, which was a big hit for Johnny. And the legendary Joe Cocker recorded it and made it a big hit in Europe. Amazing. Alan, I know you're looking for a Guinness,

but did you enjoy the Great Lakes beer I gave you last time you visited? Of course, man. And so did a couple of my pals, actually. We had a lovely time with lasagna and beer. Why don't you invite me over next time? It sounds like a party right there. Are you kidding me? Okay.

Well, I'm going to get you some more fresh craft beer to bring home with you today. Lovely. Thank you, Great Lakes. Thank you, Palma Pasta. I want to give you something else here before I kick out this next jam. bring home with you today. Lovely. Thank you, Great Lakes. Thank you, Palma Pasta. I want to give you something else here before I kick out this next jam.

A wireless speaker. That is a quality Bluetooth speaker for you, Alan. That's courtesy of Moneris because they want you to listen to season five

of Yes, We Are Open, which is an award-winning podcast hosted by FOTM Al Grego who went out east. He went to the Maritimes. He went to Newfoundland. He collected inspiring stories from small business owners, and he shares these stories in the wonderful podcast, Yes, We Are Open.

So look, you've got lots of gifts going home with you today. And then last gift here, except for my charm and my good nature. There's a measuring tape for you. I see that. That's courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of this community since 1921. So hopefully you won't be seeing Ridley Funeral Home anytime soon, but they're here for you and your loved ones, and you can use that measuring tape responsibly in the meantime.

All right. Some people say that when uh alan fru is going to visit it's just like heaven wow another great song wow these are all bangers yeah can you imagine that when we come out february 17th and hit the stage just hit after hit after hit and I guarantee you my band sounds exactly like this when we play whoever we're doing the band sounds exactly like the original it's so great

well let's hear a little of Just Like Heaven because it's such a classic and then when I bring it down would you name check your band? I want to know who's in this band okay And then when I bring it down, would you name check your band? Sure. I want to know who's in this band. Sure. I'll make you do that trick, the one that makes me scream, she said, the one that makes me laugh, she said, through her arms around my neck. Show me how you do it, and I promise you, I promise that I'll run in your band when I come out in February? Okay, so the drummer for Glass Tiger, Chris McNeil, is my drummer. The bass player for Glass Tiger, when Wayne is not performing, is Tommy Lewis.

And my backup vocalist, Carmela Long, the three of them join me. And then I've got a choice of three killer guitar players Sean Kelly, so many people know Sean. There's a name, yeah I know that guy, shout out to Midtown Gord who keeps telling me to get Sean Kelly on the program and I'm telling you Midtown Gord in 2024 we're going to do that

Russell Gray and Bob McAlpine so I have three guitar players to choose from, and they're all available. This is the amazing thing. All my players are available February 17th, so I think I'm going to bring them all out. On keys, a choice of two of the great Canadian keyboardists,

Peter Kedar and the one and only Matt Giffen and both of them are available so I've been chatting with all the gang and I thought you know let's all get together

so we'll see I might bring every one of them out yeah okay if you need another great keyboardist just let me know

because I'm being visited later it sounds like I'm being visited by the three Christmas ghosts or whatever Christmas past present and future but I'm being visited by the great rob pruse oh rob yeah yeah for sure

he's uh he's here in the basement in late december and he's always looking he's he loves to play like he's like oh please get a third keyboardist okay opera house stage okay he'd be amazing too i don't see any spoons any spoons on the playlist. Not yet, no. But, you know, I mean, come on. If you add Rob, you're going to have to add Novahart or something like that. Yeah, for sure.

That'd be killer. Alright, man, I'm just digging the jam so much. And this jam is going to lead to the bonus jam. So let's kick out... You know what? Why am I so surprised every time I kick out the jam I go

what a classic I'm like of course you're kicking out classic 80s and 90s yeah don't act so surprised Mike come on

I mean what a song wow I get so lost Sometimes Days pass And this emptiness fills my heart When I want to run away I drive off in my car But whichever way I go

I come back to the place you are All my instincts I connect to the place you are All my instincts, they return The grand facade so soon will burn Without a voice, without my pride I reach out from the inside In your eyes The light, the heat

Your eyes I am complete In your eyes To see the door Classic, classic There's a thousand churches Here, Alan, I'll set you up here for a minute. Classic, classic. Here, Alan, I'll set you up here for a minute. Did you ever consider covering this fantastic jam?

I did, actually. And it's one of the ones I think I'm... I always wished Peter could hear my version of it because I think he would have given us two thumbs up. Well, Peter Gabriel, if you're listening right now, we know you're a subscriber to Toronto Mike, who could blame you? An award nominated podcast now in his 12th year.

Let's listen to Alan's take on In Your Eyes. eyes. Love Why get so lost Sometimes Days pass And this emptiness Fills my heart When I want to run away I drive off in my car

But whichever way I go I come back to the place you are. Oh, my instincts, they return. And the ground facade so soon will burn. Without a noise, without my pride I reach out from the inside In your eyes, the light, the heat I am complete.

I see the doorway to a thousand churches. The resolution of all the fruitless searches. Oh, I see the light and the heat. I think the logic nailed it. I think the laddy nailed it. I'm listening to your voice, and you were pointing out that it's still pristine, and then I'm like, yeah, it's still pristine.

Can you hit the note in A-Ha's Take On Me? Have you ever tried to tackle that one? No, but... But you could probably get there, right? Probably. I've still got a pretty cool falsetto going on, so probably. Okay, that's for volume two.

But you have to think... Sometimes you've got to think live, right? So, you know, when your voice is maybe... You've been belting out 10 or 15 songs, and then all of a sudden you've got to go to your falsetto. I'll tell you the one that's got falsetto as well is uh right here right now by jesus jones so uh history love that song love your voice on this track this sounds great buddy thank you i think i broke my glass uh window over there it was right was right on pitch here.

Wow. All right. I have a, since we're listening to your voice right now, this is a good little segue here. So we'll break away from the jams for a minute. We got four more to go.

We're actually cooking with gas. It's been great. Now here's a song. So I got a note from a listener. I actually saw this listener. Her name is Jill. I saw her on Saturday at my event.

It's called TMLX14 at Palma's Kitchen. Great to see Jill. Jill wanted me to know, ah, this is one of her all time favorite songs and she adores it. So I told her I'd play it. This would qualify for nineties. What's to drive a long time. Yeah, this is her jam, she said. This is Jill's jam, All I Ever Wanted.

Wow. That was a solo album I did with a great producer called Rick Tate. Who did I write this with? Yeah, let's see if we can join. I told her I'd try to get you talking about it. I didn't know how top of mind it would all be. I wrote it in Nashville. I can't remember who I wrote it with off the top of my head. Yeah, I get a lot of compliments about this track

Glass Tigers actually played it in our more intimate Sort of acoustic shows Nice Alright, so this is for you, Jill Yeah, Jill, thank you Kicking out All I Ever Wanted, Jill. Yeah, Jill, thank you. Kicking out all I ever wanted, your jam, with the man whose voice you love.

Mine. Alan Cruz, of course. I couldn't resist. That's okay. I just can't get over missing you All alone I had to face the truth I wrote it with a Canadian writer who was living in Nashville. I just can't remember the guy's name right now. If it comes to you during the next 20 minutes, spit it into the mic. Brains are funny, right?

Sometimes I don't edit, so these are all live. Might as well be live to tape or whatever. And I'm, what's the name of that person? And I can start picturing their face and I'm like, what's their name? And I don't have it. I just can't pull it out. So I move on because it's like the show must go on, okay? And then maybe

eight minutes later that name will pop in the head like it's like where were you when I was looking for you like it's like the brain so wild it's like it's like I can't find it when I'm hunting for it and then I move on and then suddenly boom it just shows up and then of course all you

can do is scream out the name but when it comes to you you'll spit it out okay so thank you that's some bonus material here. We got to get back. Thank you, Joe, for that compliment. Here's a song my mother loves so much. Next to Kenny Rogers, this is like her favorite song of all time.

So let's get to this one. Ah, what a song. Ah, what a song. Now, as of yet, this one is on the list to do. I don't know whether we'll get to it before February, but what a song. Paul Carrick, what a voice. He did Tempted for Squeeze, right? Oh yeah.

Every generation blames the wonderful and all of their frustrations come beating on your door. I know that I'm a prisoner To all my father held so dear I know that I'm a hostage To all his hopes and fears I just wish I could have told him

In the living years Oh, it's a sing-along. You've got to play this at the opera house. Come on. Everybody's singing in unison. Filled with imperfect thoughts. Still to conversations. I'm afraid that's all we've got.

You say you just don't see it He says it's perfect sense You just can't get agreement In this present tense We all talk a different language Talking in defense Beautiful. Say it's my day It swells. You can feel the swell and it gets you emotional.

Of course. Is that a children's choir? Are you going to have one of those? Yeah, really. Calling Bishop Strong. Yeah. That's right. That's right.

Paul Carrick, interesting guy because I guess Mike of the Mechanics, it's Mike Rutherford's outfit. He had just different lead singers would pop in. He didn't tap a knock on your door and say, Alan, we need you to sing one of these. No, and I'm still waiting for them. When we were playing The Tragically Hipped,

I was thinking, oh, I heard Gord sing this on Saturday Night Live. That was the famous episode of Saturday Night Live with The Tragically Hipped and Ackroyd introduces him. And I was thinking, how come Glass Tiger

never played Saturday Night Live? I don't know it's all a hit and a miss right? It's like you know why that never happened who knows

we're just out there knocking it out and I've always said it's the music business is small m capital B. So, who knows?

Right. Right. You just thought you had a Canadian connection maybe because Lorne Michaels was at the helm, you know, what the heck.

And you definitely had your big US hits. Oh yeah. You know, unlike the hip, which played two songs that were Canadian hits, you know,

Glass Tiger can play a couple of big, big, big jams that are American hits. Okay. Interesting. But this is a great song, and I'm glad you're kicking it out here tonight. There's a note from

Moose Grumpy on the live stream. Gotta get to that. Moose Grumpy says, Wow, all this music takes me back to a time. Then she points out she remembers playing the thin red line vinyl over and over and over again. So that's what music does, right?

It's like a time machine. Yeah, it's a tough time of year right now. There's a lot of stress going on. Yeah, I'll tell you a story I think you're really going to enjoy. The first time I ever met Paul McCartney, I went to his press conference and they took me. I thought that was it. I was going to get to see him at a press conference and they took me I thought that was it, I was going to get to see him at a press conference and then this lady came out and said

Capitol Records, Party of Six and an Alan Frew and I put my hand up and she goes, yeah, I said I'm an Alan Frew and she goes, okay, come along and I said, come where? She said, you're going to meet Paul McCartney Wow. I said, oh shit

so as I'm walking down the hallway To go meet him I'm trying to Paul thank you for my life Thank you for being who you are So she opens the door To this back room

And he's actually the very first one there But his back is to me He's got a tour jacket on Paul McCartney tour jacket on. And the record rep looks over his shoulder and can see that I've entered the room. And she says, oh, he said, oh, Paul, here he is, Alan Frew. And Paul turned around, shook my hand and said,

hello, mate, don't forget me when I'm gone. And I went, holy shit. Oh, what a lead in. And of course, you know, it makes sense because when Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone was climbing up the charts, it was up there with Duran Duran, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Janet Jackson, and everybody watches the charts to see who's right. So, of course, it makes sense that Paul would know Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone, but when you're the recipient of that from Paul McCartney, it just blew my mind.

And Don't Forget, Don't Forget, don't forget me when I'm gone. It's catchy AF. Like, it doesn't matter whether you're from, you know, Newmarket or Newcastle, right? Like, it doesn't matter. This song is a banger. Yeah, it's infectious for sure. The podcaster, journalist, blogger, Lefsetz, he actually praised this as the classic pop song. He wrote about it.

You know, it deserves any love it can get. From any generation at any time. I remember it when it was, you know, a modern hit and absolutely adored it. You know, I was really in the top 40 at the time and this was one of my jams. I know we talked about it in depth. I'll just let the listeners know.

They're like, hey, Mike, normally you spend like 90 minutes on this song. What's going on? It's like, no, we did that in May 2023. So go back to episode 1,253 where we dive into this song and Someday in My Town and we kind of get into it. This is just

a quicker visit for Alan Frew. We're going to kick out some 80s and 90s songs, talk about his event at the Opera House in February. But I'm vamping a little bit because I do want to revisit the involvement of another Canadian rock star,

Brian Adams. So he's coming. So maybe get you started chatting about it a little bit. So Jim Valance is the producer at the time in the studio. Jim is Brian's songwriting partner through all the classics. And Brian, like a married couple,

Brian used to call his partner and just check in. Is this it? I think it's two. Yeah. Right. Brian... Yeah. Right. Brian. That's me. Yeah, he comes later.

Okay, we'll bring it back. So Brian would call the studio, and then they put me on the phone with him, and we met on the phone first. And then on one particular evening, he popped into the studio and then they put me on the phone with him and we met on the phone first and then on one particular evening he popped into the studio and uh we had a few uh a few pops uh and jim said why don't the two of you go on the microphone and we did it for fun that was it it's wild how uh here we get him again here right i think so so what i would say is that when you hear rockwell's uh somebody's watching me which was a big song in the mid 80s and then and then you hear, oh, and the chorus,

that's Michael Jackson on the chorus, and it's like, okay, this is the same deal here. You're getting a great song, great, great song, but it's going to have a little bonus in the chorus. There's Bryan Adams belting it out. Yeah, and people make a bigger deal out of it than it really was. It was just a couple of guys with a few beers in them going on a microphone. Well, you and Brian made a very sweet symphony together.

Ah, what a song. This one's a little more bitter. Yeah. Beautiful. Now, have you seen the live version when he sings it with Coldplay? I don't think so. Oh, it's brilliant. I've got to hunt that down.

Yeah, so Coldplay hit the stage, and then they start playing this, and out he comes. I'm glad Mick and Keith decided to give back the money there. Yeah, for sure. Cause it's a bittersweet symphony that's life Funny, that's life Tryna make ends meet You're a slave to money Then you die I'll take you down

The only road I've ever been down. And that video, that video, remember when he just, it's like one take. Yeah, he's walking, just walking. He's pushing people out of the way or something. I love that video. It's great. It's a great, cool 90s video. By the way, I was looking for like a fancy, quick way to get people to the,

to where they can buy tickets for the Opera House performance on February 17, 2024. Here's a tiny URL. So listen closely because at this point you're like, where do I get these tickets? Well, you can Google this and find it or you can go to tinyurl.com slash

8090 Rewind Opera House tinyurl.com slash slash 8090 Rewind Opera House. tinyurl.com slash 8090 Rewind Opera House. And we'll get to hear your band, Alan, play Bittersweet Symphony. Again, we're meeting on Sunday. I'm going to add four new songs to the set list.

When you crank that out, it could be. It could be. 80s to 90s rewind. I think it's Ticketmaster as well, is it not? I'm sure it is. Your notes would be better than my notes.

I think so. Hopefully. I think so. You'll find these tickets at Ticketmaster too. 80s to 90s rewind. And I love that you're doing it because you could have done

one show for the 80s, one for the 90s, but you're going to do an 80s and 90s together. Good. Cool. Of these musicians we've kicked out, we've got two more to go here. I'm always curious when you've met the artists.

Did you ever meet The Verve? No. No. Boy, I need to start thinking who we crossed paths with. It's been a long career, yeah. Yeah. What about, like, have you met Mike R, uh, who we cross paths with. It's been a long career. Yeah. What about like, have you met Mike Rutherford and Genesis? No, no, no.

But bands like, um, uh, Cheap Trick. Uh, we did a thing with you, the Rhythmics in Switzerland. Uh, John Waite. Um, uh. He's missing you. Yeah. Yeah. We did that.

Um, oh my goodness me. What about, um about The Cure? Did you have cross paths with... No. Robert Smith? No. Pearl Jam, you ever... Hey, there's Eddie Vedder.

What's going on, buddy? No, see, that's completely... Well, you know. Hey, I met Chuck D. You could meet Eddie Vedder. It's absolutely possible here. Okay, cool. And Peter Gabriel, you've never had the pleasure. Yes, I've Chuck D. You could meet Eddie Vedder. It's absolutely possible here. Okay, cool. And Peter Gabriel, you've never had the pleasure. Yes, I've met Peter, yes.

I got a great funny story about Peter, actually. Let's hear it. We were nominated for a Grammy the same time Peter was out with Sledgehammer. And a great story. On one of the breaks, I went for a pee. And to my left was Peter Gabriel, and to my right was Roger Daltrey.

And then, after we all washed our hands, Peter and I shook hands and he told me how much he loved Sunday. Nice. Amazing. Peter, have you ever met Midnight Oil? Any of the guys in Midnight Oil? No. Alright, here. amazing have you ever met Midnight Oil any of the guys in Midnight Oil no alright here

so we got hey I'm going to shout out quickly I'm going to shout out a podcast called The Advantage Investor Podcast from Raymond

James Canada whether you already work with a trusted financial advisor or currently manage your own investment plans, Alan, The Advantage Investor provides the engaging wealth management information you value as you pursue your most important goals. Hosted by a good FOTM named Chris Cooksey. And if you have any old cables or old electronics or old devices that you need to get rid of, Alan,

you go to recyclemyelectronics.ca and find out where you can drop those off to be properly recycled so the chemicals do not end up in our landfill. The penultimate jam is coming up. Then we're going to close with a song, and I'll tell you the story of when I started to love this song But here we go Ah, what a song What were these guys? Well, didn't work with them Ah Ah What a song I worked with these guys

Well Didn't work with them Worked at the same time With them Two different stages In Disney Wang Chung And Glass Tiger

What a song By the way, your event is on Ticketmaster because Moose jumped over to buy tickets. Hearing all these songs. Fantastic. Can't miss it. Fantastic. Hopefully there'll be a herd of Moose that'll be at the Opera House. And I'm encouraging you all, your listeners, come out dressed in your best 80s flamboyant fluorescent gear or your grungy 90s look.

Wow. It's your choice. Wear my nirvanic threads for sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. To live and die in L.A. I wonder why we waste our lives here When we could run away to paradise What a song. That's what we should have been doing this entire 52 minutes, Alan.

I should just be putting the songs on low in the mix and you sing over top. Yeah. Yeah, so Wang Chung and Glass Tiger played Disney at the same time. That sounds like an event. Holy smokes. Okay. Everybody Wang Chung tonight. Very cool. Okay, so I'm going to

set up the final jam that's coming up, which is to say, I found it when I was, for some reason, I felt it was kind of cheesy. Like I didn't, I liked it fine, but I didn't love it

until this song was used in the series finale of a show I loved. And I had to watch this scene and when I play it, we'll all know what I'm talking about but I had to play this final scene from this final episode of this show I loved. I had to play it over and over

and over again because I was like fascinated by dissecting every little detail in it and then what is he saying with this character and why does that guy turn his back there and why is it framed like this? It was a Pruder film. i was breaking it down frame by frame so i you know this song i kept hearing it and then i had this realization i now love this song

like it was like uh there you go that's quite the build-up right for the i was going to take a guess but it's it's certainly not something i would sing uh but i will you know do you want me do you want to guess the uh well i mean one of the most one of the most famous endings to classic is the sopranos well of course that's what i'm talking about absolutely alan yeah like so so yeah i guess no spoiler required here so Don't Stop Believing and I know the guys from Journey were like they knew they had a couple of songs being used they didn't know like how they were going to be used but the way

that Don't Stop Believing is used in that finale of the Sopranos I think it's absolutely brilliant and I will say the way the song ends in that episode is different than how the song ends on the album yeah and I

now can't hear it any other way like it needs to just anyways we'll talk about it in fact Wang Chong we're gonna bring it down in the mix here

because it's time to kick out the final jam Alan I just want you to know I thoroughly enjoyed this there's no better way to spend time I know too pal

it was great it was great to catch up with you and great to see you again. The Lasagna Man delivers again, right, buddy? Yes. Yes. Palma's Kitchen, thank you for the most amazing lasagna. In this party that you're going to have with the Palma

Pasta, just slide the invitation under the door and I'll be there. Okay, buddy. Okay. Now, the ending of this show for a second blew my mind i thought i was disappointed and then i realized it was genius 100 same reaction at first i'm like no and then i was like thank you we toured with johnny for three months Glass Tiger opened for Journey for three months.

And Steve adored Someday and Neil Sean. And one day we were doing a soundcheck, and they did it so fast I didn't even realize it. And I'm on the stage in some stadium, and I'm singing Someday, and I turn around and Neil Sean's on guitar and Steve Perry's on drums. And I'm on the stage in some stadium and I'm singing Someday. And I turn around and Neil Sean's on guitar and Steve Perry's on drums. And I'm singing. And it's like, what a moment.

You feel blessed you had a life full of these moments, man. Yeah, man. I've lived a thousand lifetimes and I hope I've got at least 500 more to go. At least. Yeah, it's official. I love this song now. Yeah, it's official. I love this song now. Yeah. Ah, you're a real deal, man.

I just revisited the whole series, too, with my wife, who had never seen Sopranos. Oh, yeah? Holds up, man. And now I can just picture Meadow's trying to park the car like she's doing her parallel. Come on, Meadow,

you can get this. And that anticipation is just building. And the guy at the corner of the bar who decides to go to the washroom and you're like,

oh. The members only jacket. That's everything. That guy goes to the washroom and then you're thinking the Godfather, right? Yeah. And every time, every time the and then you're thinking the Godfather, right? Yeah. And every time,

every time the bells, the chimes of the door, you hear the chimes of the door and then Tony looks up who's at the door. One time it's Anthony Jr. One time it's Carmella. And so many people

complained about the ending. Yeah. You know, they wrote in saying, how dare you? And I just thought it was genius. Alan, you and I are on the same page, man. Let me know when you want to plan our rewatch. I'll watch it again with you, man. Okay.

We're on the exact same page. And, you know, when I hear this voice, I'm sitting in the dressing room. I'm drenched in sweat. I'm having a beer and this voice, night after night, singing this is fantastic. Takes you back to that tour, right? Yes.

Did they close with this, you know? Was this a for the encore? It's been a long time, man. Long time, yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if it was part of their encore because this has that emotional swell too Jonathan Cain

on keyboards who was in a band with John Wick called The Babies right what a voice wow now I'm sad

not only did the Sopranos end but now this episode with Alan Frew is coming to an end but again everybody this is the takeaway there's gonna be more Alan Frew Toronto Mike

experiences but this is the takeaway. If you don't remember anything else, just know 80s to 90s Rewind Show is coming to the Opera House,, oh, oh. Wow. Streetlights. People. Don't stop.

Cut. Believe it. You should have done it. I should have done it if I was a better producer. So this is the album cut. And this, of course, fades out, as many a song does. But as we know from The Sopranos, as he says,

don't stop. That's it. That's where you cut in. You get silence there. Alan Froog. What a show. That went by fast. Yeah.

You kicked ass. We kicked out 10. I threw in a few bonus jams. I wasn't going to let you get away without me playing Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone. Thank you. Because what a song that is. Every day of your life, somebody's going to come up to you

and tell you thank you for Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone. Wow. And good luck on February 17th. I hope a lot of listeners are buying their tickets now. Tickets range from $40 to $65. And in 2024 it's like giving them away. So that's a great value right there.

Good luck to you. Again, congrats on the Rock of Fame. Thank you, Mike. Congratulations to you. This is one of the pleasures to do when you're doing the promo circuit. Thank you very much. And it was a pleasure to ride an elevator with you at Massey Hall.

That was a dream come true. The lasagna guy. You looked at me and you spotted me in the elevator. Of course, I recognize you, but I didn't want to bother you with your band and everything. They don't know who the hell I am or whatever. But you saw me and then you lit up like you're the lasagna guy. I was just excited to be recognized by Alan Fries.

I could write a song called The Lasagna guy. I was just excited to be recognized by Alan Fries. I could write a song called The Lasagna Guy. I wish you would. Don't just think about it. Do it, do it, do it. And that brings us to the end of our 1,390th show. You can

follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky. I'm at Toronto Mike. I think Lasagna Guy, that's probably Anthony Petrucci at Palma Pasta. He's probably got that handle already, the Lasagna Guy. Much love to all who made this possible. Again, that's Great Lakes Brewery. I've got the beer for Alan.

It's Palma Pasta. I've got his lasagna. It's Raymond James Canada. He's going to invest his money with Raymond James because they've got a great podcast. It's Moneris. He's going to invest his money with Raymond James because they've got a great podcast. It's Mineris. He's got his speaker, Recycle My Electronics, and Ridley Funeral Home.

You got your measuring tape. See you all tomorrow when Ivor Hamilton drops by for his exit interview. He just retired, and he's going to start telling all the stories from his music label days. Yeah, it should be good. He's going to spill the beans. We're going to learn a lot.

See you all then. I've been told that there's a sucker born every day But I wonder who Yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize There's a thousand shades of gray