Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Andy Kim: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1581

Episode Date: November 18, 2024

In this 1582nd episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike catches up with Andy Kim as they discuss Rock Me Gently, his work with the Barenaked Ladies, meeting them at Molly Johnson's Kumbaya Festival, and his 20th Andy Kim Christmas show at Massey Hall. 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, The Yes We Are Open podcast from Moneris and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

It's always a good day when Andy Kim dreams about you. Let's rock and roll here. What's up, man? Toronto. VK on the beat. Check. I'm in Toronto where you wanna get the city love. I'm from Toronto where you wanna get the city love.

I'm in Toronto like you wanna get the city love. Toronto, the city love me back. For my city love. Welcome to episode 1582 of Toronto's The City of Love. I'm Andy Kim. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto.

I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. I'm from Toronto. Welcome to episode 1582 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. The Advantage to Invest Your Podcast from Raymond James Canada. Learn how to plan, invest, and live smarter. Season 7 of Yes We Are Open, an award-winning podcast from Minaris

hosted by FOTM Al Greggo. RecycleMyElectronics.ca, committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. And Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. Today, returning to Toronto miked is Andy Kim. Welcome back Andy. You know I'm living in a dream obviously. You had a dream about me I need the details. Okay so here's the way it goes. I'm speaking to Eric Alper. I think everybody knows Eric Alper. You know, you're on the subway and you say, hey, I need a dime. And they say, well, we'll give it to you if you can give it to Eric Alper. He's everywhere. So basically, I'm talking about, you know, interviews and things, and I'm running and all of this stuff. And I said to him, I said, you know,

Mike has asked me to be on his show. He said, okay, I'll just ring him up. Right. Then he rings me back and he said, Mike hasn't spoken to you in a couple of years. Probably the 299 Queen Street West Dock. Were you at that premiere at Roy Thompson Hall? That's the last time we chatted. Okay, so

He said you must have dreamt it up And then I started thinking wow, okay Um, I probably did dream it up. I saw you in a dream. We had a conversation He says you got to come back and do the show now, obviously I was hallucinating In the meantime, I started thinking to myself. Okay. So how embarrassing is it? is

I call eric up and I say eric Look, I don't have to do the show. I just, I'm embarrassed. He says, no, he wants you on the show. I want to talk to you, but I felt like I was imposing. First of all, you're, you're a order of Canada recipient. You're a living legend. I mean, you're a number one Billboard hot 100 artists.

Like how many times can I go to that? Well, you visited me twice in the past. I'm almost like too shy to say, hey Andy, how about a third visit? You're Andy Kim for goodness sakes. But you dreamt this and then I'm like, I would love to have Andy Kim on the show. You'll see, this is gonna be an all killer hour here. But how often do you think about me?

Like am I in your subconscious? You're just like Toronto Mike. You're like, I mean, am I the Eric Alper of your dreams? Well, you know what? I mean, I think I think I think about you when I think about the Italian tradition simply delicious food. No, right. Right. When you think about delicious Italian food, you think Palma pasta and you're like, how do I get myself some free lasagna? You're like, that's Toronto Mike. That's

Toronto Mike. So in all seriousness, I'm gonna to go on record as you're the only one that I've ever spoken to that just gets it, gets it all. And I feel so comfortable just talking about anything with you. Sometimes you're there and you're having a conversation with someone and, and it's pre or it's, it's preordained. They asked the question, the written, the question, and, you know, so how tall are you today? You know, that one, and I still remember, um, our photos from, from when we're done, there's a photo taken.

Yes, by the Toronto tree. And Dave Thomas gave it that name. I didn't name it the Toronto tree. Dave Thomas gave it that name. Well, I said the photo and you said by the tree, the Thomas tree. The Dave Thomas tree. And so is the tree a photographer or is it you that's taking the picture? No, come on, you remember I'm in a selfie mode here.

I know, man. You know it's gonna be round three for you. So here I am. You know, I feel the, look, I got up this morning and I knew that I had to do television and do all that kind of stuff. But I kept thinking about you.

Because here, I'm relaxed. I'm not thinking about, okay, is the camera angle good? Is it not good? Is this gonna be, I just knew that you'd be in a good mood. I'm in a good mood because I saw my calendar said Andy Kim was dropping by and you know I consider this just a conversation like I have some stuff. I have some audio elements loaded up I know some places I want to go but I don't Script this like we'll see where it goes and at the end of the day there'll be this

Authentic piece of audio content the legend of the living legend Andy Kim and I just shooting the breeze in my basement I love it man and I wish you'd visit yearly you should come by every year before your fantastic Christmas special so I need to I need to kind of set the the public straight on this okay I'm the kind of set the public straight on this. I'm the third of four brothers. I wrote songs and had hits, but I'm the third of four brothers. So I don't walk around,

I'm Andy Kim, a superstar. It's just, it's the last thing I think about. You know, it's the last thing I think about. And it's just too much pressure. So I'm just this guy that looks like that guy who was Andy Kim, the guy who sold all those records and wrote those records. But I'm kind of a little shy about the title.

Well, you do seem like a humble down to earth guy. The first clue I have that you're not, have no heirs about you is the fact that you'll visit some guy's basement in South Etobicoke and shoot the breeze with him. There are stars at your level of fame that simply would consider themselves above that like you know they would be like I'll go do Q and I'll maybe I'll pop on I don't know 10 10 or CBC radio one but I'm not gonna go to some guy's basement in South Etobicoke.

They're fools whoever they are they're effing fools. By the way is there anything I can drink here? I'm gonna so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna set you up here and then I'm gonna go upstairs and get you a beverage okay. I will get yeah it won't be okay. I mean my beverage. It's too early for you don't want to drink a beer right? You want no no I'm no I just I'm gonna get you a drink. Cold water. Cold water. That's what you're gonna get here So why don't I do this and i'll talk in the meantime? Yeah. Yeah, so i'm gonna say to you

Congratulations, andy kim on your 20th Andy kim christmas show you're back at massie hall on december 4th. So this episode drops right away So the day we recorded this is november 18 lots of time to grab tickets to see the Andy Kim Christmas show on December 4. So why don't you tell the good people listening, who can they hear? Give us a little info on this 20th annual Andy Kim Christmas. First of all, we're almost sold out, which is mind-boggling, and I'll tell you why we're sold out. Number one, the Bare-Naked Ladies are going to show up. Alex Lifeson from Rush is there.

Broken Social Scene is there. Dan Hill, sometimes when we touch. Love that song. William Prince, who just has a new Christmas album coming out. Billy Talent. Molly Johnson. Molly's gonna talk about, she's gonna sing, but she's also gonna talk about the Kumbaya time, the Kumbaya days. the days when I think there was no cure and AIDS really kind of just kind of hit us all in such a tragic way. So there's still no cure, but I'm happy that we can sometimes save people.

Um, the friend of mine, M. Griner, um, who's on the show and I love M. I've loved her for a longest time. And, um, and there's also a friend of mine from Quebec called the Rock Wasine who's coming in to be Rock Wazine. That's a big name. And Men Without Hats and Safety Dance.

Of course. I don't think as I look at the lineup there's any room for me to sing this song. That's actually a far more robust lineup than there was when your press release came out. Like, because I got the list from this press release and yeah, it's got Bare Naked Ladies on it and Broken Social Scene and Alex Lifeson. And now I'm hearing some names that aren't even on this. That's, that's quite a lineup. And you're telling me there's still a few tickets available. So it's almost sold out. So somebody listening right now could grab a ticket.

Yes. And the tickets are, if you go to ticket master, 39 and $89. Like today that's nothing. That's like, Hey, free show. My first show was 25 bucks. And so we've graduated to 39 and 89, whatever. Right. And M. Griner was at, so M. Griner is an FOTM like yourself. She's been over, I love that woman. She was singing with David Bowie for years. Yeah, you know what? I met M. Griner, she came and she did

one of my Christmas shows. And then there's so much going on. And basically I haven't, I really have no idea how this show runs. And people, you know, think I know what I'm doing, but it's just spur of the moment for me. And the next time is when Chris Hetfield, is he a general yet? Or is he still a...

Speaking of David Bowie, he covered David Bowie in outer space. Absolutely. And he and I got inducted into the Walk of Fame together. And one of the things that Walk of Fame does is they come to your hometown as well and they give you a little plaque. So so Chris wanted to know if I would come to Sarnia. And I know that M used to live there, maybe she still does. And it's on 4739 Opulent Street is where she lives. And it's guarded.

There are, you know, 45 hound dogs around the area. So anyway, so we both... Like Mr. Burns lives. So, so I got to know her real well. And then we then we had dinner and stuff. And the cool thing for me, when I think about the out. And it's, you know, sometimes they'll, they'll put two people in the same. It's not block, but you know, help me here. Okay, there's two people in the same area? I don't know.

Yeah, well, you're walking down a street. There's a chunk of cement, and then there's a little bit of dirt, and then there's another chunk of cement. What are you, anyway. I can see it. I'm now dreaming about this walk of fame stone that you're describing.

Okay, and so they sent me a picture and I, you know, I look at it and I know that it's just the two people. I'm on the left, depending on where you're standing. And this gentleman's on the right. And the first thing I thought about it was that guy is turning over in his grave Because who's that guy next to him Leonard Cohen Wow Wow, you know speaking of Montreal. That's that's a that's mr. Montreal right there. That's a big deal Yeah, you know if you could pick a bunk mate. You couldn't do any better than Leonard Cohen Yes, like you're being but you know what shout out to Ridley funeral home It's like you're being buried together, you know, but you're you're like I said a living legend

You're on the right side of the dirt. Well My brothers were not that impressed with my everything, you know, the only thing they were impressed with was the order of Canada because and the truth is I'd give away all my gold records and all of that stuff just to have this pin that I can wear. Amazing accomplishment. But before you give away all the gold records, I want the rock me gently for my studio wall. Okay.

I'll look for it. No, I'll look for it. And you I'll say that you can borrow it. How about that? I honestly I'd borrow it just to take photos of it and then just to be around I want to dive in a little bit to I want there's a lot of ground I want to cover I'm so glad you're here. Congratulations on the Walk of Fame as well. Like every time you come by there's new accolades to celebrate with you There's a name. Please tell me and I went up to get you water

I might have missed it is Molly Johnson performing at your 20th anniversary celebration? Yes. Okay, Molly, it was 30 years ago that Molly Johnson had the Kumbaya Festival. Did you play the Kumbaya Festival? I did, I did. And that's, and guess, guess what happened.

What happened was, I got a phone call from a stranger, Molly Johnson, and she's telling me about Kumbaya. I have no idea what she's talking about. I'm living in LA and I'm kind of like on a sabbatical for 10, 20 years or whatever. You had to find yourself. We'll talk later about your identity crisis. And so and she starts talking about this Kumbaya

and the thing and you know we would love to have you here it's so important that you're here and all of this stuff and and I'm listening I mean I'm not paying that much attention and and she, and there's this young band and this band really would love to play Rock Me Gently with you. And I said, oh, what's the name of the band? And she said, The Bare-Naked Ladies. And so this guy who's on a sabbatical,

gets a phone call. And so this guy who's on a sabbatical, right? You know, get your phone call. I'm out of the loop. I'm out of, I don't even know who Molly Johnson is. Right. I know how to get to Toronto. So I said, look, can I call you back? And what there was like this little battle, what do you want to go for?

Why? And who is she? And this was, nobody had a computer. I mean, I didn't have a computer and you can't look. I wasn't interested. No, 94, right? Yeah. That's, most of us did not have an online life in 1994.

Maybe some students in university, I was at U of T, I was getting online for the first time, but yeah, you didn't have an internet enabled computer in your home in 1994. Well, maybe Andy Kim did, but you sure there's nowhere to go. Where are you going to find the Molly Johnson page? There was a GeoCities tribute to Molly Johnson, but I was the guy. I was the webmaster of that page. So anyway, so I, um, I, I, I heard a whisper and the whisper was, so what are you afraid of? Why don't you go? What are you afraid of? So as soon as I heard that challenge in my heart, I dialed her back and I said, okay, so could you give me, um, you know, I'm going to fly from LA to Toronto.

Where do I go? And all of this stuff, logistics. Yes. And, and can I meet the band? And, um, she set it up that I was, oh my God, I wish I could remember. I don't know if it's, it's on Queen Street and it's such a- The Rivoli. No, no. Cameron House.

Cameron House, I think it was the- Second guess, not bad. Yeah, and so I fly, I get a room at the Hilton, Cameron House. I think it was the second guess. Not bad. Yeah. And, um, so I fly, I get a room at the Hilton and I find my way to Cameron House. And I hope that's, you know, Mike, I don't really know that it was there. Something like that on Queen Street. And so there are two guys that was there. Something like that. Yeah. On Queen Street. And so there are two guys that are there.

There's Ed and there's Steven. And so I introduced myself and the whole thing and they had a key to the door. We walk in and you know, and so Ed starts playing and I sing and they do the harmonies that are so friggin great. And I'm like, fuck, I'm sorry to say that. You can know I don't need to be that this uh, this is, this is the CRTC has no place in this basement. Yeah. Because they don't know where you live yet.

A way to Larry Calper gets all the, um, so don't wrap me up, buddy. So anyway, um, and I'm stunned really. I mean, these just was the blend was perfect. So I said, this, the blend was perfect. So I said, you guys are great. Can we just do this one more time just for myself? Cause I'm loving what I'm hearing. So we do it and I love it.

And Ed's putting his guitar back in his case. And I said, so when do I meet the keyboard player? Cause I want to tell him about the clap part. Right. And he said, oh no, we don't have a keyboard player. It's just myself, Steven, upright bass and drums. Right, Tyler.

And I said, oh, great, great. Okay, thank you. I go back to my hotel room and I tell myself, okay, I'm gonna get on a plane. I'm gonna go back to LA. And it's gonna be like, no, there's no collab part. I'm not done this. I've not performed in a little while.

Okay, so that's what's happening. Right. So I pick up the phone and call Air Canada to get my... It's called a flight. No, my ticket changed and you got to be with me all the time now so you can help me with my sentences. We finish each other's sandwiches. You know that.

So anyway, and then I hear the whisper. You know, I said, what are you afraid of? So I kind of sat down and I said, hey man, just do it. I'm an emotionally happy individual. Ever since I was a kid, I lived every day that day. If I had an issue the day before that really kind of hurt me or a misunderstanding, I didn't bring the hurt to the new day. I just, I brought the memory of it and the lesson, but it didn't disrupt my day.

And I was like that as a child. So, make a long story longer. That's a good old day for you Andy. I decide to go. So, someone picks me up and they take me. I think it was Ontario Place, but I'm not, I don't even remember. I think it's the forum at Ontario Place. So I got out of the car and there are, and I'm, I'm exaggerating here.

There are a thousand cameras and people taking pictures Andy Kim Andy Kim Oh my god, Andy Kim. I had no idea there was any profile in me here Let alone You know unless my records were played, you know throughout the world and you travel throughout the world and then you're not traveling anymore and it it arrested me that There were so many people that showed up. And we did the song. It was great. Rock me gently.

And I speak to Ed and he says, you know, I'd like to write a song with you sometime. write a song with you sometime. And I was like over the moon that I had the courage to even put whatever anxieties I had aside because I never saw myself in the place of being anything other than the third or four. It sounds like you didn't realize you belonged in the same casket as Leonard Cohen. Yeah. If I can do, and it's okay because it, I'm really a happy guy being who I am.

I've never looked over my shoulder. I've never thought, oh, you know, my record should have done this. I remember Eric called me up one day, he had interviewed a band, and the band's record went to number 17 on the Billboard charts. And they were like angry and pissed off

at 16, 15, 14, 13 13 all the way to number one, right? And so Eric said well, what about you if your record stalled at 17? How would you feel I'd say thank you God. Thank you This is and I started laughing thinking that someone would stall their lives. Just, you have to be present in your life to know that you're living your one and only life without a sequel.

You're not living your parents' life. You're not living your brother's lives or a combination. You're living your one and only life without a sequel. And to get angry is to get angry that you stayed at 17. I celebrate. Look, I'm just very, very, very blessed on all levels of my life. What song did Ed Robertson write for you? We got together in a place that I rented on Tranvie in Toronto.

And he came in with an idea. And by the time he left, I forgot to mention was something that we finished. He said, okay, so maybe we can get a US producer. Maybe we can, I love that. I have to tell you. Well, let's listen. You can talk over it. It's your jam, but it's a great song. Well, I'll tell you. It's all Ed. He produced this record when we couldn't get anyone else to produce it.

He helped me find a way to sing a little differently from the Andy Kim time. The world around them look at me with you Feel just like a schoolboy You are my reflection Looking in the mirror I just see their deception They got all the reasons for all of the suggestions. But I forgot to mention. Now I see you whirl around and look at me.

I'm whirling around and I can't see. Andy, you realize this could have been a Bare Naked Ladies song. This could have been on a Bare Naked Ladies album, but he wrote this for you. You know what? I'm just so blown away by all of this. You know, the interesting thing for me is that, you know, I've gone to every recording session that I've ever... songs I've been... that I've written for myself and others, songs that I wasn't... shouldn't have been there, been around Phil Spector and John Lennon when they made that record in LA. Been around a lot, a lot of phenomenal producers, writers. So I tell Ed, hey, you know, when can I,

you know, when do you start? Because I've always liked to see how the engineer, you know. How the cook makes his broth. Yeah. And he said, no, no, he said, how the cook makes his broth. Yeah. And he said, no, no, he says, I'm going to do this and I'll call you and you can come when it's finished and you can tear it down if you want. And when I just want to play you what I what I feel this record should be.

And I got there. There was nothing that I would change. It was like a new era. He gave me an opportunity to be reborn again. RG I, the way I'm like, listen, and now I know why you dreamt this visit because I'm listening to you and I hear two things. I hear, in a sense, Molly Johnson sparked the fire. Like it sounds like Molly Johnson inviting you to the Kumbaya Festival 30 years ago begins the rebirth. You meet the bare naked ladies there. I'm about to play something sung by Stephen Page, right?

So this is an Ed Robertson song he wrote and sings with you. This is because of that, like it all connects and these two, Steven and Ed, are just massive Andy Kim fans and they're proud to share the love for you. Well I, I'm in awe of that to be honest with you, you know, it's not that I walk around as a stranger to life, but somehow there's a thing about growing up a certain way, that thoughts have always stayed with me. My gold records, by the way, are in everything that I've ever, Heart Foundation in the US, everything I've ever, you know, the Heart Foundation in the US,

everything I've ever done is in a box in my kid brother's basement. Where's that basement by the way? Like what city? It's in Montreal. Montreal, you know, my daughter's in Montreal right now. I gotta get over there and bring her back home for Christmas. I'll pick up your gold records

and they'll be in the Toronto Mike studio. To be discussed. that would be great That's the whole purpose of your dream So Ed Robertson writes that song for you, but I you know no longer in the band So he won't be at Massey Hall Steven page But I do want to play a more recent single and get your take on this so listen closely I think I know what you're gonna play So listen closely. I think I know what you're going to play.

Spoiler alert here. Let's see if I can play this thing for you. Hold on here. That sounds familiar. And I've seen them perform this live at the Horseshoe Tavern by the way. Touching you, so warm and tender Lord, I feel such a sweet surrender Beautiful is the dream Canada Highwayman, That I have never been in love like this before This of course is the Trans Canada Highwaymen and on lead vocals is Stephen Page, formerly of Bearnake Ladies, who you played with at the Kubebaya Festival 30 years ago. How did they do? I want to review. I'm just blown away by all of this. And blown away by today, to be honest with you.

This conversation is, I'm going to relive this conversation. Should I be recording this? Not really. Just a private chat here. Again, I saw them perform this live at the Horseshoe Tavern. I was biking the other day and I biked by Moe Berg, who's part of the Trans-Canada High Women. I literally biked by him and I said,

he goes, what are you doing in my neighborhood? I said, well, I just dropped off my old Asterix comics. Do you have any memory of Asterix? No. Okay, well, I grew up reading these comics. They came out of France, but they were translated into English. And I had all the, and I kept them. I've had four kids and every single one of the kids I tried to get

them to enjoy my Asterix comics and I've had since I was like whatever eight seven eight years old none of them seemed to care for these these these these French men who were trying to resist the Roman Empire okay but so I just went on a blue sky actually and I said hey who wants my Asterix comics like free to a good home? And some guy who lives down the street from Moberg asked if I would drop them off. I biked them over, saw Moberg, but enough about me.

They did a pretty smashing job. Like this is a recent single. So that tells you for the past, how many years? Since 1974 probably, although if I do the math, I think Stephen Page was in diapers but this is a favorite song of both Stephen Page and Ed Robertson and they're still paying homage to you. I'm honored and humbled to be honest with you. Um...

You wrote a great song, Andy. That's you, man. Well, thank you. See? Here we go back to 1974 for a moment? Yes. Okay, 1974. If I can remember. If you can remember.

Here, I'm here to jog your memory. You're all comfy over there. Got you some water, there's gifts coming your way in a moment. 1974, and I know in your first appearance we went over this, but it's just like greatest hits, I want to revisit it, but it just seems like one of the more unlikely success stories, Rock Me Gently. Like remind us, where were you in your career in 1974? How do you produce Rock Me Gently? And then of course the song goes to number one. That's something you share with the Bare Naked Ladies. They had a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. Yeah, Pinch Me, I think.

No. It was Chickadee China, the Chinese chicken. You have a jump stick in your brain. What is that song called? I can sing it before I can tell you the title of the damn song, but it's not Pinch Me, it's, but I'll get it in a minute. But please, just share with us the details. Where were you in 1974? And then give us a story, the origin story of Rock Me Gently.

Okay, so I had just moved from New York City to Los Angeles. I- One week, by the way, before I go too far, because people are yelling at their podcast aggregator right now. One week is the big number one. Please continue. So I landed in LA, and my business manager,

who was with me until he passed away a few years ago at 92. So, you know, I've always been someone who, if I'm comfortable with somebody, I'm there for life. So, I bought a penthouse on Sunside Boulevard and overlooking the city. And in the underground parking was a brand new Mercedes. But I didn't know how to drive.

I didn't have a driver's license. Never wanted to drive. I always, in my dream of dreams, someone would drive me. Right. And so in New York City, you take the bus, sort of subway or whatever, you know, walk. So, a guy from the area So a guy from the area that I was living in, I had kind of known a little bit about.

And so he said, hey, look, I'll help you get set. Let me know what you need. And so we talked, and we went. And then he said look I will I need to drop this off at the attorney's place and I said fine he said you want to wait in a car you want to come up I said I'll go up and so I'm sitting in the lobby and he's in the attorney's office doing stuff. And back and forth was the one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen in my life.

Now there's a lot of beautiful girls, but she was like. You have my attention now. And she really didn't pay any attention to me, but I kind of looked, you know, she was just stunning. And we get in the car, we get in the elevator first and I said, who is she? Don't bother.

I said, what do you mean don't bother? Everyone's after her, don't bother. She's just not interested. I said, what, you know, but, you know, maybe. He said, no. We got in the car, I said, look, just give me the office number and her name. Just that.

And so he started laughing, he said, sure, good luck. And she's so he started laughing he said sure good luck So I call and I asked for her she gets on the phone. I said excuse me. My name is Andy Kim and I was outside Forty-five minutes ago and and my friend Was she's oh, yeah, I saw you. I said oh well, okay. I just moved here and And I'm just wondering if maybe I Don't know anyone here if I can buy your dinner

That's all I'm interested in just to get to know people and get to know the landscape. I said, well, you know, I really don't know. I said, okay. I said, look, here's my phone number. It's a landline. And I just, I don't know the city. I know New York City. You can walk everywhere.

I don't know my left from my right and where I'm gonna go. And she said, okay, so what time were you thinking? I said, whatever time is good for you. And she said, well, you know, you can pick me up at nine o'clock. And I said, well, I don't drive. I got a brand new car. So if you would take a cab, I'll have my brand new Mercedes.

I'll have the bell kept and bring the car up and then we can drive my car because I don't even know anything about this car. She said, okay, give me the address. So I give her the address and I'm there waiting and she pulls up and she was more beautiful than I imagined. than I imagined.

So she gets in the car and she starts driving. She says, where do you wanna go? I said, I don't know where. I don't, just we'll go for a bite to eat and that could be that. And she said, well, how about Malibu? Have you been to Malibu? And I said, I said, I've not been to Malibu, but I've seen what it looks like, you know,

in the movies and stuff. She said, well, we'll go. So we go to Malibu. We have dinner, there's people there, and I think a couple of people kind of nodded, you know, saying hi to her and stuff. And it was on the beach, we decided to go for a walk. She drops me off at about four o'clock in the morning,

and she said, you know, I'll call a cab. And I said, no, take the car. It's just, I don't have a driver's license, so I'm not going to drive this car. Take it. Use it. You know, this is not a payment for anything. This is just She's are you sure I said, yeah so it was a great relationship for a while she had the car for a while and then I

had flown back to Montreal and Was able to To get a driver's license. That was the weirdest thing, you know. There's always someone who's driving that will now be a passenger. So I get picked up and the girl gets out of the car and she's gonna go to back seat.

She says, oh my God, you're Andy Kim. And I said, she's going to go to backseat and she's, oh my God, you're Andy Kim. And I said, yeah. You know, the implication was Andy Kim and you don't know how to drive. And this guy's going to teach you how to drive. Right. Anyway, make a long story longer. When, when I was dropped off at four o'clock in the morning, my habit had always been if I'm going to be home late, I'd make some Turkish coffee. So I made some Turkish coffee, got the guitar, and started playing and the chorus came first and then it's not a biography or of anything of what happened but that moment just inspired that song of being

around her dinner dinner and stuff. But you are with me here tonight Music playing, our bodies swaying in time Touching you, so warm and tender Lord, I feel such a sweet surrender Beautiful is the dream that makes you mine Beautiful is the dream that makes you mine Rock me gently, rock me slowly Take it easy, don't you know That I have never been loved like this before Baby, baby

Rock me gently, rock me slowly And Andy, you personally financed the production, the recording of this song? I financed the recording of the song. I didn't know any musicians and a buddy of mine in New York said why don't you just call the musicians union and hire the kind of guys you want. So I called the musicians union and I said I need a you player, a keyboard player, I give a list of five people. And they showed up and in about an hour and a half I had helped create the track and it blew me away, blew me away. And that middle part did not have a clav part. I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't want a regular sax. I didn't want a guitar. So one night I was listening and Stevie Wonder showed up in my ear. So is it like superstitious or whatever?

Yeah, that's it. The ridin's on the wall. It's a fun fact. So, um... So it's an anniversary for this song too, because I was born the same year as this song and I just turned 50. So this is the big, because you came over when we talked about Sugar Sugar for the anniversary of Sugar Sugar, but this song to me, this is like a rocky type underdog. It's like you got to start your own label, you got to finance it yourself and then you know, you don't have enough money for a B side.

So the B side of this song is literally like an instrumental version of rock me gently and then you kind of watch it What's it like watching it climb the charts because it takes 14 weeks But eventually on September 28th, I should have had you over on September 28 September 28th 1974 this song that you released in June for my birth It looks like it was one week before my birth, maybe less. But on September 28, 1974, this song goes to number one. Like, what's that like? Well, first of all, you know,

it's always been about the journey. And I thought I had made the best record. I mean, after listening to the clap part and after mixing it, I sat there and listened for three hours at $750 an hour in 1974. I didn't care. I just, I just, I thought it was the best thing I'd ever done. I thought this, this, this is who I am. My early records were sped up. And, and here I am, I'm actually singing the way I speak and all of this.

This is Andy. And for me, I just, I thought I was gonna get a record deal. Everybody turned me down. And then I decided, you know what? I'm gonna start my own label. I've been around people that started their own labels. You know, I mean, like Spectre and Bob Crew

and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and so many people were doing indie stuff. And I always was impressed by the, the travel log of you make a record and how does it get on the radio? And who do you have to speak to? And who do you have to pay? And who do you do all of this stuff?

And I just figured, you know what, to be honest with you, I have never heard the word no to mean anything other than for me to create my own destiny. No was fine. No, okay, I don't know. That's, it's canceling what I don't need in my life, basically. Um, and I started, you know, to pick up some radio stations in, in, in Canada. But the one radio

station that I was hoping would would happen would be the one CKLW because close to the Detroit market. Of course. And the Detroit market was the first place, first radio station to play How Do We Ever Get This Way? And then Shoot-'Em-Up Baby and stuff. And I just thought, okay, maybe. And then I get a phone call from a stranger. And I just thought, okay, maybe. And then I get a phone call from a stranger.

And he said, are you Andy Kim? I said, yeah, who is this? And he tells me his name and that he's there from LA and all of this stuff. And he said, look, you haven't hit a record. I don't know what you're doing. I said, well, I have a trucker that's coming in about 10 days and we're gonna bring 5,000 units

to Detroit. And he said, no, no, what you don't understand is that you have to have 20,000 units on Monday. This is a Wednesday. And I said, well, I don't think I can do that. He said, well, I can help you. Why don't you take the master to Wally at Capitol? And I'll take it from there.

And I said, I sounded like a kid, which I was, but still. I said, do you want to sign me? was, but still I said, do you want to sign me? And he said, no, I don't want you to lose this record because this is a number one record and I don't want you to lose this record. And in the meantime, chum was playing my song and they played it for a couple of days and I was climbing the charts and then they took it off. And I freaked out. I absolutely freaked out because if Chum drops you then every radio station figures you're not selling, you're not doing anything.

So he had 20,000 units in the Detroit market. So I think in all of May, I was working the record in Canada and in June, WKNR in Detroit started playing it. And it took months to get to the number one. Yeah, from the time it enters the charts to the time it hits number one is 14 weeks. 14 unheard of today. Like that's wild.

Well, you know what? I'm I would, I would freak out because if, if you're climbing the charts that slowly, you know, it's going to stop at 40 or you know, it's just going to stop at 52. Cause it's just keeps on going. And, um, it's just, so on a Tuesday at just past midnight, I get a phone call. You're gonna be number one in Billboard, Cashbox, Record World, every chart in America.

I cried, I crushed my body within myself and cried for a good 20 minutes. It was like someone running the marathon and they got there. They won the gold. So for me, I just, I just feel so blessed to be able to do what I want to do and hang around with the people I want to hang around with and hope I can hang around with people that maybe don't want me around. But or just I'm just living the best only life I have with no sequel.

YOLO. You only live once. I thought I invented that term but now I realize Andy Kim invented that. No. I will say that you can draw these lines right because of course people want to hear a deep dive into sugar sugar, there's a previous Toronto Mike episode of Andy Kim and it's very good. You should probably listen to all the Andy Kim episodes. But to me, rock me gently. That's like you birthed that, like you made it happen.

You hired the session musicians or whatnot. You financed the recording session. You start your own label, Ice Records. You know, this, and again, you get this own label ice records, you know, this and again, you get this call from capital records here. Slow burn because it's a good song and it's your baby. I bet you if I asked you and maybe we'll get you to definitively answer this question right now, but of all the songs you recorded in your life, which song are you most proud of?

Well, it's not rock me gently. I set you up for the come on. I pitched it right. Okay, waste time fastballing. Okay, you just took it. So um, so look, here's here's the interesting when I think of my life, I think about it in these terms a little bit. You know, and I think I went through this book with you before, May 24th 1969. Maybe I'll love you hit the American charts for the first time became my first million seller. May 24th 1969, what happened then? Not Woodstock, Man on the Moon. What's going on? I don't know. Sugar sugar was released. I should, I should've, I'm thinking bigger, okay. Okay. Nothing's bigger, go on.

So, so Sugar Sugar's released, and it is only in July that one radio station in San Francisco on a bet played it one time, and the phones were, it just kind of blew this phone system off. Right. And so sugar sugar then becomes this dislodges the stones from number one and the stays number one for four

weeks. Right. So it's two weeks in September and two weeks in October. The second week in September, that Sugar Sugar was a hit. Five years later, Rock Me Gently went to number one on the second week. Not that it means anything, but it means a lot to me. Right.

And you know, when you are talking about sugar sugar, people aren't tying, the average person is not tying sugar sugar to Andy Kim. They're thinking the Archies. Look, it was written for Betty and Veronica initially, and then Jughead and Archie showed up. Oh, Jughead and Archie. Right. You know what, is that true? So originally this was going to be women performing this? No, no, it just, you know, there was a catacomb basically. And Don Kershner sent a note to every songwriter

on this planet. Right. Would you write a song for the Archies? Right. So I come up with a chorus. I usually come up with the chorus first. I don't know why it's the catchiest part. Don't bore us, get to the chorus.

And, so this one starts with the chorus. Right. But somehow or other, it's not become me anymore. It belongs to everybody and every generation. And I am blown away by it. Oh, I don't mean to discredit that great song, except that when Rock Me Gently people say Andy Kim, okay?

I'm just saying the great unwashed, the less knowledgeable amongst us, think a comic book character, it might as well have been Asterix, okay? But it was Archie Andrews is behind Sugar Sugar. So I just feel like this is your moment where, you know, there's Andy Kim is now on the pedestal. He wrote the song, he self financed it, he produced it. It's his song. And this is the number one song in America. Rock me gently.

So kudos. And many years later, we talked about Bare Naked Ladies, but I'm still hearing fresh versions of that song because Trans Canada Highwayman only recorded that last year. And of course you mentioned the kumbaya. Well, I think I brought it up, but I wanted to talk about Molly Johnson, one of the more memorable guests on Toronto Miked, and her kumbaya festival, which you know, she eventually has what you have, the Order of Canada, and that's a big reason why. It was a great fundraiser, AIDS benefit. I will say that it sounds like you and the Bare Naked performed rock me gently at Ontario Place Forum for that event. Because a gift that keeps on giving is what I'm telling you. Well you know what, sugar

sugar was just iconic. Not only iconic, you know, you get to you know buy buildings and buy houses, and that's when you were getting paid for your work. Plus rock me gently. But in the end, I really feel how lucky I am to always listen to myself. You know, and rock me gently with all these great musicians.

I had a six-4 bar. And while we were rehearsing, someone came up to me, one of the band members came up to me and said, you know, you have a 6-4 bar here. He says, you know, I think, you know, rock and roll is like four, four bars. I say, Okay, well, let me hear what that sounds like. So they went out there and they played it and then the six four bar was eliminated and my whole body at that section going no. And I said, Okay, look, I appreciate your talent. And I appreciate that you guys are just absolutely incredible musicians. But I have to go with my gut. I have to go with how I feel. And I've always done that. And I'm not here to be anybody else. I'm not here to win. I'm just here to fulfill this joy that I have in my life about music, about

being around people and being around musicians. And look, I have no idea that Kevin Drew was going to come into my life and broken social scene and we would end up doing the Letterman show together and I find myself in Los Angeles and I'm singing Sugar Sugar with Courtney Love. Wow. That happens when you're with Kevin Drew. That happens when you just say yes to the universe and find a way to love yourself, not love yourself in a way that destroys you,

but understand that you need the sustenance of love in your life. And if you care about your life, you want to help people. If you want to be this person that walks the streets, takes the subway, takes a bus, not in a humble way, but just I want to be part of a bigger life than just me, you know Well at this point it I'd like to remind the listenership that your 20th annual celebration the

AndyKim Christmas that returns to our legendary Massey Hall on Wednesday, December 4, December 4, 2024 Proceeds support cam H's gift of light, the gifts of light, CAMH. And that's a wonderful charity. So you are giving back. You know, I, um, when you help somebody, you're really helping yourself. You selfish bastard. somebody really helping yourself. You selfish bastard, you know, and in the end is like what, what picture are you painting?

You know, I don't take a bow for, for helping. I just, it's in my nature. It's who I was, who I am. I am who I was born to be. You give back because you can. Okay. You can write that down. That might be a part of a song. You know, I'm not smart enough to figure it out, but I'm smart enough, as I said earlier, to live it. Right. So I have no idea. I mean, bumping into Ed and Stephen for Kumbaya, that was already written.

I just had to have the courage to show up. And look, I know that, you know, usually you, you listen to somebody like myself and you talk and it ends up being like, was it a 10 minutes your podcast 10 minutes usually? Never, never. And so, so I'm look, I'm fine. I came for the food and Oh, you see you have actually we'll do a temperature check. So you're about an hour into this thing. You tap it out now or do I get a few more?

Oh, no, you want to know something? I am having the best time with you because I can be myself. Well, can you hold that thought only in a moment? I'm going to give you a couple of gifts and I have questions that came in when I said you were just really quick rapid fire questions from your fan base. So I'll give you a few gifts. We'll address the questions that came in and then I'll take your temperature and see if I can go somewhere on that note. Being the most Andy Kim you can be because I love these chats too, because I feel like I'm just chatting up a bud in a bar. Like it just feels very authentic. So the gifts,

I promised you, I know you're really here for the lasagna, right? Wow. Okay. Well, it's a bonus feature. Okay. There you go. Well, you dream this to being because you were hungry for the lasagna, right? Wow. Okay, well, it's a bonus feature. Okay, there you go. Well, you dreamed this to be because you were hungry for the palm of Paso Lan. So I do have a lasagna for you in my freezer, but this is an important message to you, Andy Kim and to the listenership. I'm hosting a live event, a live recording. It's called TMLX 17. That's the Toronto Mike listener experience, our 17th. It's not quite the Andy Kim Christmas

but it's what I do every holiday season at Palma's kitchen in Mississauga. And everyone's invited. This is a free event. You show up, we do the live recordings, so I have open mics. If Andy Kim shows up, he pops on the mic and he wishes us all a festive season. Everybody eats for free because Palma Pasta will feed you. So come hungry darling. Palma Pasta will feed you again November 30th noon to 3pm. I will bring fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery. Andy I'm sending you home with some fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery. Ridley Funeral Home. I'm hoping Brad Jones will be

there. Maybe he'll bless the event. I don't know if funeral directors are like priests or whatever, but this is a measuring tape for you, Andy, from Ridley Funeral Home. You can measure anything you want. How about measuring a lifetime? You're going to need a bigger tape. Okay. And there's conflicting reports of how old you are. Okay. I've heard you're somewhere between the ages of 30 and 130. So maybe at the end, you'll tell us for the record here, okay, Andy? But I have one more wonderful gift for you. This is a wireless speaker, and Menaris sent that over. And with that wireless speaker, Andy, not only can you listen to some great Bare Naked Ladies

songs, you can listen to Yes We Are Are Open because Season 7 is dropping now. Episode 6 just dropped. Al Grego had a fun visit with Neil McGalsky and his team and they talked about the home gaming industry and the 60 plus year history of AVO Game Room. Every episode of Yes We Are Open is a story about a small business, their origins, their struggles, their future outlook. I love this series. Al went to Winnipeg for season 7. So subscribe and listen to season 7 of Yes We Are Open. Enjoy that speaker, Andy. Can I call you to see how I open the box and plug it in? Eric Alper does that for you. Okay, thank you. Eric Alper knows what he's doing with that.

Last tip for you, RecycleMyElectronics.ca. Okay. Thank you Eric Alper knows what he's doing at that Reese last tip for you recycle my electronics dot ca Andy if you have old electronics old Cables old devices don't throw it in the garbage those chemicals end up in our landfill go to recycle my electronics dot ca Put in your postal you live in LA, right? Okay The this is for Eric Alper who's listening at home put in your postal code code and find out a depot near you and send Andy's old tech to that depot, recyclemyelectronics.ca. Here are the questions because I'm worried if you escape without these questions being answered, these people will be mad at me. Rock Golf says, ask Andy if he ever gets things that were intended for the new Korean American senator for New Jersey who is also named

Andy Kim Yes, so About a couple of years ago someone sent me a clip from Fox News and they started to talk about Andy Kim and play rock me gently and then the I guess the host said oh and that's not that's not the Andy Kim it's the other Andy Kim so So I don't know, three weeks later, I get a someone finds my email

address and sends me a note saying, it's Andy Kim, the the politician in in in New Jersey and it's going to be his 40th birthday. Would you, uh, do a little song for him? Wow. And, uh, I said, sure. So I forget the lyrics, but, but kind of like happy birthday to me. I'm, I'm the first Andy Kim, using my name. I forget what it was, but it was really funny. And I just figured now I need a good publicity. And so there he is, I'm letting Eric Alper go,

don't tell him, but Andy Kim will now. Alper, Alper, you're out buddy. Just earlier I heard you Andy Kim, the original, the OG Andy, although we'll talk later whether you are at all. But I did hear you say you're fiercely loyal when you're comfortable with somebody, but Alper's on his way out because you got a new Andy Kim running the show there. That's a fun story. Now Diamond Dogg says, awesome, he's excited about this episode, Diamond Dogg, I don't know if that's his real name either,

but he says, could you ask him if he's still in contact with Jeff Berry, Ron Dante and the Archies folks? Absolutely. At least every couple of three weeks, Jeff and I talk and we will have lunch. And I have to tell you that, you know, Ron's record would not have been as great without Ron on that and Tony Wine, those two. I'm the recipient of so many just great moments that happen when just wonderful great people get together.

You're very blessed. Rick says, Can you at long last ask me for and ask Andy Kim for me about the song? Who has the answers? What prompted him to write it? Is it? Is he religious? Was he religious? Is there anything he can share about who has the answers? Thank you. Rick is very keen on who has the answers. You know, there's a video out on that. I probably should post it somewhere. I was an altar boy. I went to Catholic school. I was an altar boy. And I loved, I loved the ceremony. I loved what, what it meant to be in church. You don't have to pray when you're in church just to be there to the ritual. Yeah. It's, it's food for the mind basically.

You know, try it, because... Do you still go to church? I do. Because I also was raised, not an altar boy, but raised Catholic and spent most Sundays at Mass. And I no longer go to church, but you're still attending. Yeah, you know what? It's OK.

You can do whatever you want to do. The important thing is, what are you thinking? What are you hoping for? What is your destiny here? And I think that the idea of finding a way to have positive thoughts, you know, it's like, it's like meditation in a form, but you know, some people, when you hear the word meditation, just wake up every morning,

just knowing that this is maybe your last day, but know that, that you are alive. And if you've had an argument with someone, it's easy to say, Hey, you know what? I'm sorry we got here. I don't know if we agree on something, but there's gotta be a bit of simpatico in our lives. There's gotta be a bit of simpatico in our lives.

You can't live your life being angry at someone. If you do, then you're losing very valuable heartbeats. And it's not that I have lived the la-di-da world, it's just that I think my foundation has helped me understand that what I think about all day long, what I hope all day long, what I want to accomplish all day long are all positive thoughts and food for life. Well said. Rob Pruse is actually on our live stream at live.torontomike.com. Earlier I heard you talk about,

oh, we need a keyboardist or something. And I was thinking, oh, I know one, but he was very young back then. But Rob Pruse was the keyboardist for spoons when the spoons were in their glory. Have you ever performed with the spoons? No, I've heard so much about the spoons to be honest with you and every now and then I ask myself, okay, so we've got to be, I'd love to have them on my Christmas show.

Well, next Christmas, let's get the spoons on your show. Gore Depp, Sandy Horne. Maybe we'll bring back Rob Pruss to be the second keyboardist, but Rob Bruce's rock me gently hit number one the week I turn nine. It's one of my all-time favorite songs that clavinet Did I say the right clavinet? Yes that clavinet opened my ears to the magic of keyboards other than piano So we can draw connect because he was a prodigy Rob Bruce He joined the spoons when he was 15 years old. He had to get a special note to play the bars when you had to be a legal drinking age. I will say that no rock me gently, no romantic traffic.

Come at me everybody. But that's massive. Okay. So your decision to get the get that clavinet and rock me gently it has you don't even feel like a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world. Who knows what change it's affecting across the globe? I agree.

I think we're in simpatico. Look, and here's, so here's my, that's it for the questions, but I now need to know, you've given me more than I could ask for. We're at over an hour now. If you want, you know, you touch your nose right now, I'll wind this down. But I had, there's one more topic

I did wanna broach with you, but I don't, you can come back. You could dream this into existence again, and we could do that next time. Tell me now how you're feeling. There's no wrong answer here. I want the truth, Andy Kim. You wanna just say, that's it for now, we'll do another show, or do you want me to go to

the another song you're involved with? I'm feeling so alive. And I guess I dreamed of my being here. At least that's what Eric said. And I thought I actually saw you, but I feel so alive. So I can play this song right here, just to get a few details. ["I Feel Alive"]

As every day goes by, how can we close our eyes? Until we open up our hearts We can learn to share, and show how much we care Right from the moment that we start Seems like overnight we see the world in a different light Somehow our innocence is lost Can we look away Cause every single day We've got to help it and become We can bridge the distance I hear some Andy Kim in that chorus there. Okay, please tell me what details do you remember?

Did you get a phone call from Bruce Allen saying, Andy, Andy, we need you at the studio. We're going to record a famine relief charity single. Tears are not enough. What do you remember, Andy? First of all, this is the first time I got shivers just listening to this and going back in time. 1985. You know what? I have no recollection who called me to fly in from LA. I don't know if it was Bruce or someone who in his world.

But it was such a moment that we all got together and there was a feeling of brotherhood and not, you know how many records I sold last week and you know how many tours I'm going on this week. Because it was never about that with me, it was just about the ability to be around those artists that you respect and love and Gordon Lightfoot man. The late great Gordon Lightfoot, he's the first voice we heard on this song. I'm listening to the voices, I hear Dan Hill's voice, I'm like he's at your Christmas. Yes. Love that guy Yeah, we've done some shows together, too Called me up I

Think in May and said, you know, are you interested in? like I'll sing I'll sing a song and then you sing the song and then you can talk about stuff and everything. I was going to bring this up. And I said, look, I don't care what it is. If you're there, I'm there. Don't you want to know? I said, no, I don't care. I've known Dan since 1977 and loved him then, you know know as a human being so we just we did I think five six shows together and and it was by the seat of your pants and I had no idea

really what I was gonna do I just and I I would not the one to talk about yesterday and stuff but I started to and now we're gonna do a tour in the spring summer. Okay so here's a small world story for you. I produced the Humble and Fred podcast and our guest tomorrow morning because I was putting together the show notes for the guys like you know who's on the show what you need to know you know blah blah blah. Carla Collins is the guest tomorrow morning, because I was putting together the show notes for the guys, like, you know, who's on the show, what you need to know, you know, blah, blah, blah. Carla Collins is the guest tomorrow morning, comedian Carla Collins, and I went to her Instagram to see upcoming events and boom, she's opening for, I believe for Dan Hill and Andy Kim,

is this possible? Pembroke? Pembroke. Basically, kind of off the record. The gentleman that runs it is ill. And so they asked if I would come and do some songs. And I immediately said, look, why don't I call Dan and see if he can join me. And Dan was available and that's what we're doing. So you'll be at Pembroke and people can, you and Dan, you know. Yeah, it's this Friday I think, isn't it?

Well that's why, so Carla lives in LA, but she's in our time zone because she's here for a couple of local things including that and in Pembroke hockey town You know, they call Pembroke hockey town, Canada Look, you know what? Here's here's two things. I think about when I hear about hockey. Yeah, I think about the fact that you know the Leafs have not won since 1967 and Montreal has not won since 1993 yeah, so I And Montreal has not won since 1993. Yeah. So I got nothing to say. I got nothing. Well, it also interesting to note that 1993 Stanley Cup by the Montreal Canadiens,

which should have been ours, but don't get me started. That is the last time a Canadian based franchise won the Stanley Cup 1993. Mind blow, right? I don't know what's going on. I just, you know, it's like, I've stopped watching the game, I've stopped thinking about it. Well, I can't stop thinking about you, Andy.

So, what I'm learning now is you don't have memories. I can't pick your brain for the details of recording on that winter day. It was February 10, 1985 at Manta Sound Studios here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. David Foster, Jim Valens, Brian Adams, they, I mean more than that. I guess everybody.

Well, those were the composers, the writers, if you will. But yeah, I mean, FOTM's that were involved. I'm just going to shout out a few FOTM's. So of course, in addition to yourself, and I know I want to close, but I shout out Sylvia Tyson. Who's been on the program? Ian Thomas brother of the guy who named the Toronto tree. He's been on this program Uh, who else I want to show kim mitchell has been on this program A quick shout out to dan hill, of course, who's been on this program? And you my friend, uh, oh leona boyd, I always like to shout out Leona Boyd, who was there, have you ever performed with Leona Boyd?

No, but I shared a plane ride from Toronto to LA. You lucky man. I think we were the only people in business at that time, I forget, you know, there was just the two of us. She was sitting in one seat, I was sitting in another and then we sat together. She's pen pals with the royal family. This is Leona Boyd. So I don't know if you're pen pals with Prince William or anything like that.

All right. On the way out again, we're closing up here. You've been amazing. But of course, when you're doing Cheers are Not Enough, you're not Andy Kim. At that point, you're I don't know if you're Longfellow or if you're Baron Longfellow. We talked about this during your first visit, but I listen to you talk and I wonder if sometimes you have a little bit of this, I won't call it an identity crisis, but Andy Kim, you kind of, and I read this about you, like people would see that you've got a darker complexion as a proud man of Lebanese descent and people are looking for like a blonde blue-eyed surfer dude sometimes with your earlier songs right?

Absolutely I mean I sounded like it anyway. Yeah so but you know you're of Lebanese descent there's not a lot of blonde blue-eyed men of the... No I'm 6'2 and that's usually you're looking for... You didn't bump your head did you? Okay so I guess so so you're you're for the record here just share what's your birth name? Let's not get into that. Not going there. Not going. Okay so so bottom line is Andy Kim is a you anointed yourself Andy Kim then there was the Baron Longfellow and then the Longfellow. Well the record company anointed me as Andy Kim I I had no idea that I was going to be Andy Kim. OK, I just wondered if there's a week because these different brandings, I'm wondering if you this is part of your search for your your true self,

like your search for the real Andy. So I have never had to search for me. You can ask my father. You know, he said I was stubborn. And there used to be this little ballad that we played like, I'm the third of four, so who's number one? Well, number one's like your mom. Number two is like your mom and dad, number three you're like yourself. There was nothing that

attached me to anything and my kid brother was like my mom and that was dinner chat at the table when we all sat there and So I I am like myself Whatever that is. Well sitting here across from you for the last Almost 90 minutes. I can tell you Andy You seem content. You seem very happy and you're very appreciative of everyone who helped you along the way. I feel good having sat down and talked to you like this is why I enter your dreams. I believe it. And I'll be back don't get you know don't take the melatonin or whatever I'm

coming I'm like what was it a nightmare on Elm Street right? Freddie Krueger would enter the dreams well I'm gonna be back in your dreams, Andy, and you're going to be back in this basement. I love this very much. So thank you. Thank you. By the way, this is a new closing theme that was, you know, just keyed this morning by the aforementioned Rob Proust.

We're trying something new here. So you're the first episode in over 12 years to have a different closing theme. I saved it for you, Andy. So thank you. Is he getting any royalties on this? Well, this is at lowest of the low songs, so I don't know who gets the royalties. I'll have to look into it. I'll talk to my business manager. I'll talk to Lauren Honigman when I finish this recording. And that brings us to the end of our 1,582nd show. Go to torontomike.com for all your Toronto Mike needs. Andy, good luck with the 20th Andy Kim Christmas.

Still some tickets available. Good luck. Massey Hall, that's the perfect venue for you. That's an amazing lineup you've got there. Kudos. I'm blessed. And much love to all who made this possible. That's Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, RecycleMyElectronics.ca, Raymond James Canada, and Ridley Funeral Home. See you all tomorrow when my special guest is Jeff

Silverman. He is the president of Yuck Yucks. We'll talk about his work with the Garys and then we'll talk about his work with Yuck Yucks and we're gonna get into a whole bunch of fun areas here. See you all then. So So I guess I'm damn because So So So Music Music