Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - April 2023 Memorial Episode: Toronto Mike'd #1246

Episode Date: April 30, 2023

In this 1246th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike pays tribute to those we lost in April 2023. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, the Yes We Are Open podcast from Moneris, The Moment Lab, Ridley Funeral Home and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them. As always, I open this episode with that quote from George Eliot, because I sincerely believe it to be true. By remembering those who have passed, we give them life. Let's remember those we lost in April 2023. This memorial episode of Toronto Mic'd is brought to you, as always,

by Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of this community since 1921. Tarek Fata was a journalist and author and friend to John Moore, host of More in the Morning on News Talk 1010. Here's my conversation with John about his friend, Tarek. John, we lost Tarek Fata the other day at the age of 73. My condolences to you. Oh, thank you. Would you mind sharing with us your memories of the man

and what he meant to you? It was such a funny relationship because we certainly clashed, and you and I can talk about what we clashed over. But the thing I loved about Tarek that I said in my tribute to him on the radio was that he had this almost elf-like quality. And he was funny and he had a titter and an almost silly laugh because he was able to laugh about pretty well everything. However, there was the other Tarek Fatah and I know that Laurie Goldstein was talking about this in the pages of the Toronto Sun where

Tarek would fight tooth and nail over a column or with us about something he wanted to put on the air. We'd say, you can't put that on the air. It's too inflammatory or it's even possibly libelous. And he would argue and argue and argue. But what I adored about Tarek is there was this off switch. You know, we would get to the end of that debate and he would go, all right. And then he would go back to being the Tarek that we absolutely adored, who was an insightful, worldly guy with just this incredible

life experience. Here's a quote from Tarek, how he described himself. He called himself an Indian born in Pakistan, a Punjabi born in Islam, an immigrant in Canada with a Muslim consciousness grounded in a Marxist youth. You know, though, I mean, for our listeners, that's so complicated a background to think, to wrap your head around. But I think it speaks to the sort of the worldliness of Tarek Fattah. And why? You know, he's much more than a Toronto media figure. He was a global media figure. And that could be problematic. Like people talk about how he was followed in India. And yes, he was followed in India because there's a bit of an audience there for somebody who wants to talk about Islam, perhaps not in the most favorable

frame. But yes, Tariq Fatah was an international figure. And you know what? I went to see him at the hospital a couple of weeks ago. And I knew, as you probably do sometimes, I guess we're getting to a certain age where you go and see somebody and think, this is the last time I'm going to see you. But the guy who was in the room was his best friend from back in India who had immigrated to Canada. And Tarek and the best friend are married to sisters. And it's just like this incredible interlace, this amazing life story, this narrative that I guess is kind of bigger than the life I live at the very least. And that was Tarek. How did Tarek end up appearing as a regular contributor to the John Moore Morning Show? You know what, I'm not sure what the trajectory

toward the start of the show was, except that I think we used to have Tarek on quite frequently. We had met on the Michael Coren Show, and we had had all kinds of debates. And people recognized that Tarek was a really significant voice and a really insightful guy when it came to politics. But I will never forget the Grand Hotel on Jarvis Street, which has been demolished since.

We all met in 2009, and they unveiled the new lineup at News Talk 1010. And part of that was a slide comes up and it says, Moore in the morning with John Moore. And then right below that it said, and Tarek Fatah. And so Tarek was our analyst every single day. He would join us kind of like now we have a different pundit five days a week at 620 in the morning for the morning brief. And Tarek would offer his insights on all of the stories.

And Tarek just had this incredible following because I think people loved his fearlessness about pretty well everything. And he was contributing, I think, what, until 2015 or so? Yeah, I'd have to take a look back at the old schedule that we had. But, I mean, he and Ryan Doyle had a show together for two years. Tarek was beyond a contributor. He was a show host at News Talk 1010, and very much a part of the orbit that we have

had of some of the most interesting talkers, I think, that there are in Canada. Absolutely. Friendly Fire with Ryan Doyle and Tarek Fattah, and of course the Tarek Fattah show on Sunday afternoons. Yes, which I think was unofficially, I don't know if it was ever official, it was called What the Fatah, which always made us laugh. And of course, from 2012 to 2023, he was writing a regular column at the Toronto Sun and a frequent commenter back in the day on the Sun News Network.

The city's lost a bright man, an interesting man, and again, sorry for your loss and for all who knew and loved Tarek. Oh, well, thank you. And yeah, I mean, I can also say that going to see him, when I found out that he was sick again, because I remember the first time he was battling cancer.

I wrote to his daughter, Natasha, who, as you know, is a noted journalist at the CBC. Yes. And I said, listen, you know what? Tarek and I had a bit of a falling out and it wasn't, you know, with recrimination or anything, but we we didn't we weren't talking with each other for a good long time. I said, do you think the Tarek would enjoy seeing me? And she said, please come. And so the next day I went and it was a bittersweet affair, I have to say, because he was very disoriented following a test that he had undergone. And then finally I pulled down my mask and he said, it's you. And it was the Tarek that I adore, you know, with bright dazzling eyes and incredible curiosity and incredible compassion. And so we had this fantastic last meeting together. Would you be willing to share any detail as to why you had a falling out with

Tarek? Well, I mean, to call it a falling out is probably too exaggerated. I think we just kind of drifted apart. But also, when Tarek was our analyst on the morning show, I became somewhat uncomfortable with what I felt was too much of a preoccupation with Islam and Islamic terror. And it wasn't that I didn't recognize that Islamic terror is a problem or that Islam is somewhat malign in influence sometimes on global affairs. But I just felt that Tarek was just all about that all the time. And so eventually, I don't even remember, like, I don't think I went to anybody and said, that's it, Tarek's got to go. It's just somehow we drifted apart on that. And then it just became, as you probably know, if you do a shift like I do,

you don't live a normal existence. So you don't end up seeing some people who used to be in your orbit very often. And so as a result of that, Tarek and I kind of drifted apart. But I was so delighted. And, you know, I got to pay tribute to Natasha, who took a leave of absence from the CDC to tend to her father. And for her, it was all about what's going to make my father happy for the next hour. And for me to be able to walk into that room and for us to sit there and chat and talk and knowing that Tarek was not going to be with us for much longer, I was delighted.

And I'll bet you that made Tarek very happy to see you. And I'm really glad that you got to say goodbye at the end and patch things up. That's kind of beautiful. Well, there was a very funny moment too. Like I said to you that when he recognized me, all of a sudden he awoke from this very disoriented state. And then he did what is a very typical thing for Tarek. He would cover his eyes and then take his hands off and say, it's you. And then he'd cover his eyes again and take his hands off and say, it's you, and then he'd cover his eyes again and take his hands off and go, you're still here.

And, you know, that is just such quintessential Tarek Fatah behavior. Tarek Fatah died of cancer on April 24th at the age of 73. Don Daynard has moved. You know the hardest thing about changing radio stations after 12 years? Remembering the new of 73. Don Daynard has moved. You know the hardest thing about changing radio stations after 12 years? Remembering the new call letters. C-H-F-I. It's easier for you. All you have to do is set your dial once to my new station, C-H-F-I, 98.1 FM, and that's it. I've got to remember it every time I open my mouth. CHFI. CHFI. CHFI. I'm Dane Donner. Don Daynard, now on CHFI.

So heading up to 619. Listen, if you watched Final Jeopardy last night, here's your chance to win dinner for two at the Keg. Whoa! Our final Jeopardy category is U.S. Cities. And we'll take caller 5 at 872-2434. All right, we'll open up the lines we'll take caller 5 at 872-2434. All right, we'll open up the lines and take the fifth caller at 872-CHFI.

CHFI FM 98. Toronto's perfect music mix. That's Madonna, who's that girl? Madonna says that her marriage to Sean Penn is officially off. They're officially separated. Anyway, it's 623, time for Jeopardy! And we've got Mike of Thornhill on the line. Morning, Mike, how you doing?

Not bad, Don. It's a pleasure to talk to you. Well, it's a pleasure to talk to you, Mike. It's time for the game here, and our final Jeopardy! category is U.S. cities. The answer is, before Washington, D.C., this city served longest as capital of the United States. Okay, Mike, you've got around 10 seconds or so. Give us the final Jeopardy question. Remember, your answer must be in the form of a question. Okay, Michael, what's your Jeopardy question for me this morning? Well, Nancy, Philadelphia.

Correct? Yes, that's correct. We've got an accountant who does impersonations. Yeah, give us Harry S. Truman. Now, that's a toughie. Wow. Hello. Okay, Mike, you've won a dinner for two at the keg

and an audition at Yuck Yucks, from the sounds of it, and a CHFI FM 98 t-shirt. That's great stuff. Okay, Mike. You're not taping this bit at home or anything, are you? Yeah, I see. You could keep the tape and practice. Well, anyway, keep it up. Maybe if you come to get a good Don Daynard impression, call

the boss, and they'll hire you and get rid of me or something. I don't know. Anyway, remember watch Jeopardy! Tonight, Channel 47 Cable 4. Do Donald Duck again. All right. Now, here's some music. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha.

This is Abba Zulu at CHFI FM 98. Don Daynard was the Toronto radio legend who worked at CFRB, CKFM, and then CHFI, where he was teamed with Aaron Davis. Here's Aaron Davis chatting with me about working with Don Daynard on episode 84 of Toronto Mic'd. August of 88, I got a phone call. I had left CKO.

I was sick and tired of it. I went to Easy Rock, which was then owned by Redmond. It was, yeah, Easy 97. Yeah, 97. And I was working there. I decided to go back to my music roots and just play music, get out and use. And I got a call the same week from Taylor Parnaby. No, no, no. Yes. From Taylor Parnaby at CFRB and from John Hinnan at CHFI, both news directors, both asking me if I wanted to do morning news on Wally Crowder's show and Don Daynard's show. Legends. Yeah. Speaking of legends.

Yeah, so I decided I wanted to go where I was going to have the most fun, and I chose CHFI, and it ended up being just a great choice. Yeah, the Don Daynard CHFI. I mean, you guys had a lot of commercials. I noticed you had a commercial the other day, actually, because I never see commercials anymore for radio stations. And then I saw one yesterday, I think it was. Yeah, it's kind of neat. We still believe in it. Not as much as we spend our advertising in all different places,

or our money actually goes more towards prizes and giving away the big bag of cash and that sort of thing. But we, yeah, Don and I did a ton of commercials and we had some great, great times. We would go down to Nashville to a place called Filmhouse and they would procure some of the best names, like from TV, Les Nesman and Herb Tarlick and Gilligan, Terry Garr.

Gosh, speak up if you're thinking, and if you can remember anybody else I missed there, Robbie. Oh, you said Les Nassman. Yeah, so it was fantastic. We had such a good time. And I remember one of the gimmicks, I guess, was Don Daynard. It was Day Donnard? Day Donnard, yeah. He was trying to remember the call letters. I got to remember the call letters. Got to remember the call letters. That was when he first came to the station in 87. He came a year before I did. And so that whole thing was, and then the polka dot shorts and all of that. So that kind of followed him along during his whole tenure there until 1999 when he retired.

So that kind of followed him along during his whole tenure there until 1999 when he retired. Dazzling Don Daynard passed away at the age of 88 on April 20th, 2023. Down the way where the nights are gay and the sun shines daily on the mountaintop. I took a trip on a sailing ship and when I reached Jamaica I made a stop. But I'm sad to say I'm on my way. Won't be back for many a day. My heart is down, my head is turning around. I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town. Sounds of laughter everywhere and the dancing girls swaying to and fro.

I must declare my heart is there, though I've been from Maine to Mexico. But I'm sad to say I'm on my way. Won't be back for many a day. My heart is down, my head is turning around. I had to leave a little girl in kingston town down at the market you can hear ladies cry out while on their heads they bear Thank you. My head is turning around, I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town. Down the way where the nights are gay and the sun shines daily on the mountaintop.

I took a trip on a sailing ship and when I reached Jamaica, I made a stop. But I'm sad to say I'm on my way. Won't be back for many a day. My heart is down, my head is turning around. I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town. Sad to say I'm on my way. Won't be back for many a day. My heart is down, my head is turning around. I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town.

Harry Belafonte was the barrier-breaking singer, actor, and activist who became a major force in the civil rights movement. He passed away on April 25th, and that morning, Donovan Bailey and Jason Portwondo visited me to record an episode of Donovan Bailey Running Things and to discuss the legacy of Harry Belafonte. I don't want to say we're starting on a sad note. Let's say we're starting on a celebratory note, if you will.

Celebratory. You can say the word however you want. Celebratory. Celebratory? Celebratory. Yeah. Hello, people. You can hear the word however you want. Celebratory. Celebratory? Celebratory. Yeah. Hello, people. You can hear the song in the background.

If you don't know who that is, that's the great, amazing Harry Belafonte. You know, when you think of pioneers and trailblazers, you know, it's funny enough, Jason, two names always seem to pop up in my head. Sidney Poitier. Right. And Harry Belafonte. Like, I'm just saying to you that these two men that use their platform to do amazing work,

to stimulate and inspire generations of great, productive people, and, man of great productive people. And, man, it's just, I mean, you know what? You know, 96 years. It's sad to say that he passed away. It could be an hour ago. This was probably not our intent to start the show this way. A celebration of his life, though, right?

This is not a sad, you know, obviously, it's a road we're all going to walk one day. 100%. Right? But, I mean, you think of what he was able to do. You know, in the 1950s, when segregation was at its highest of heights, here's a man who was able to persevere.

So, you're right. It's a lot more than just about his music. Right. Oh, a lot more civil rights leader. A lot more, a lot more. I mean,

I'm the, I mean, this, this man was an activist when activists, activism wasn't cool. And it, and, and funny enough,

sometimes people use that word activism, but is it though? I mean, if this man truly embraces his own culture, his own self, his own blackness, uh, truly embraces his own culture, his own self, his own blackness, and he's able to speak proudly with high esteem,

that's allowing other people, and it doesn't matter what your race is, allowing other people that they themselves can get up and speak proudly and be productive and still be incredible at your craft. Because as an actor, as a singer, you know, obviously, you know, all the paternal things, father, grandfather, all those things,

an amazing human being, you know, and I tell you, man, I had the honor of meeting him many, many years ago. And I'm saying that, you know, rest in power. This is an incredible human being and uh it definitely sets the standard for like i said i you know this moment reminds me of like class and culture sydney poitier and harry mellifonte the first two names probably that come to mind obviously because of um the caribbean heritage background, and the fact that my parents and your parents probably was playing this music and watching them

and kind of showing us as little boys that you too can be amazing at whatever you plan on doing one day just by watching these two people on TV. So rest in power, man. Rest in peace. 96 years, my God, that's a great resume for us folks to gather evidence and data and live by.

A leader paving the way, but he also followed in the footsteps of other greats like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald back in the day. Amen. Trying to change the look, the face of the game. So age 96, we salute, we celebrate the life of one Harry Belafonte. They look at me and say, what a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy. And when you were born, they look at you and say, what a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl. Got these chains hanging around our necks.

People want to strangle us with with before we take our first step. Afraid of change. Afraid of staying the same when temptation comes. We just look away. This name is the hair shed I wear.

This hair shed is woven from your brown hair. This song is the cross that I bear Bear with me, bear with me, bear with me Be with me tonight I know that it isn't right Be with me tonight Go to school

I write exams Superpass, superfail If I drop out Does anyone care about time And if they do On April 2nd, 2023, Seymour Stein passed away at the age of 80.

Most of the obituaries you'll read online focus on how he co-founded Sire Records and was vice president of Warner Brothers Records, signing such bands as The Talking Heads, The Ramones, The Pretenders, and Madonna. I like to look at everything through the lens of a Gen Xer living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. So my interest in Seymour Stein is more about him signing Katie Lang and to bring it even closer to home, a quote,

fine bunch of talented young men with a great sense of humor. These talented young men were a little band out of Scarborough, discussed often on this podcast, the Barenaked Ladies. Joining me today to talk about the late Seymour Stein and to dive into the details as to how he signed the Barenaked Ladies to a U.S. record deal is founding member Stephen Page. Welcome back to Toronto, Mike Steve. Nice to be here. Good to see you, Mike. Can you take us back? What do you remember about the first time you met Seymour Stein? Well, I was terrified probably more than anything else because he was like,

he was the big New York record guy. I grew up looking at Sire records spinning on my turntable. Like you mentioned, Katie Lang. But before that, Talking Heads. In North America, you had things like Depeche Mode and The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen. And then there were things like, obviously, Madonna, Pretenders. All those records that I grew up obsessing over. So to me, that yellow Sire label with the kind of yin and yang S in the top was like a mark of quality. And so when we heard that Sire Records was interested, which happened, I guess, there's a couple different people who I think took the idea of signing us to Seymour Stein.

We had a manager at the time, Nigel Best, who used to work for Warner Music Canada before he managed us. So he knew Seymour a little. And I think we were in New York for what was the New Music Seminar at the time. And he went and met with Seymour and played him the the tape and then another guy mark nathan who's been at a million different labels around the united states for years worked with um with todd rundgren for years and so on and worked at casablanca records and worked mca records and whatever he had briefly worked with sire in the 70s and uh fell in love with the band and brought our tape to a whole bunch of record people and basically got laughed out of the room, except for with Seymour, who went, oh, he got it. He said, it's a Simon and Garfunkel for the 90s.

And so he saw past the shtick and heard the music, which was really great. In Canada, most of the labels didn't take us seriously. They really saw us as purely a novelty group. I think they figured that by the time the record was out, we'd be over. And we were getting a lot of play on CFNY in Toronto and CBC, and it was beginning to be much music and so on. But the labels they when they started to finally give us offers they were crappy little offers like embarrassing little offers like

are they putting you in the same sorry to interrupt here but I'm uh are you are they putting you in the same bucket as like I don't know Corky and the Juice Pigs well you know we did have we we were affiliated with Corky and Juice Pigs early You know, they had us as their opening act and so on. But I think, yes, and I think Canadians sometimes can get pretty embarrassed by their own. Like they kind of don't, they don't want people to go out there into the world and embarrass them. And then we always end up doing that anyways. That's just the way of, that's human nature. You know, we try and go out there and and be great canadian ambassadors but you know you think i think it's it's kind of the the trauma of um when when people

thought it was all ben johnson's fault back in those days in 80s think about the summer of 88 of ben johnson uh losing the the the gold medal right and gretzky moving to la right sense so like we would walk down the street when we were successful people would go hey stay canadian which really just means don't embarrass us and you know eventually we all embarrass you eventually regardless but i think that like that's where like those kinds of um you know we became a punching bag for some people. Nickelback were for years. Remember how Loverboy were for years?

Like that punchline of a joke. I literally just spoke with Brad Roberts from Crash Test Dummies. And he lives in New York now. And he basically said he ran out of the country because he says, and he made a great case for it, that Canada eats its young. Totally. Absolutely. But I'm also like, the other thing is like,

but that Canadian-ness is a huge part of my identity. And I'm responsible for it. Like I, I, I have done that to other people over the years and, you know, I've tried to curb that behavior. But when I was younger,

this sense that like canadians somehow meant second best um you know the joke was always that we were always saying uh go for silver and because that way you can't be disappointed uh and then when the world's looking at you you get very self-conscious um right so when seymour he actually sent somebody up i hadn't met him yet he sent andy paley who was a producer part of the paley brothers group that were on sire records early on uh but he produced uh the brian wilson comeback record in the late 80s and so on and he came up to see us open for the sky diggers at Carlton and called Seymour that night and said, yep, go for it. So Seymour sent us this offer. So I don't think we actually ended up meeting

with Seymour until we were in the boardroom at Warner Music Canada. He and Howie Klein, who was the VP at Sire at the time, later became president of Rep reprise so we had a long relationship with him and their lawyer came up and we talked about the potential for this deal now when we actually so he was you know i i'm looking back now if he was 80 when he died that means he would have been like 49 then right but i think i thought he was 70 then, it just doesn't make sense that I'm older than he was when he signed us. But he just had this like vibe of being like, you know, an old New York guy. And and we were these kids. So he seemed much more worldly, which he definitely was. So he seemed much more worldly, which he definitely was.

But when we signed the deal, part of our requirements for signing the deal was we wanted to actually do the signing in public. And so we staged a concert in front of the Scarborough Civic Center, Albert Campbell Square in front of scarborough civic center and and we played a performance there out on the the steps of the uh um civic center with like several thousand people came to watch us and then we sat at this big long table with seymour stein and all signed the contract um which it's like it's a very kind of 60s thing to do to sign your contract yeah it's like the Beatles or something yeah it's exactly that's how but we it was all about our kind of pro Scarborough shtick yeah at the time and then afterwards we decided we let's go for dinner together we'll do it we'll do a dinner and we booked for whatever reason we booked Calie's Buffet, like a kind of a very like ordinary buffet restaurant when that was a thing in Scarborough. Right.

With our moms and dads and our brothers and stuff. And then Seymour Stein actually came to this thing. I mean, I'm sure he lasted 15 minutes and then went downtown for something good. But at the time, we were like, this is great. Look at all the food you get. We were not ironic about it at the time. We were like, look at how much food you can eat. One of my greatest memories of Seymour was one time he would take us out for dinner

when we were in New York, which was always, like, exciting and terrifying. He'd take us somewhere, and I remember one time Andy Cregan, our keyboard player, percussionist, said he's very serious about music stuff. And he said, you know, a place where I can buy an accordion here in New York City? And Seymour's like, yep, there's a store downtown where you can buy an accordion on one side of the store and a monkey on the other side of the store. So you go and you get your accordion and then you get your monkey and you can stand out in the street and play your accordion with your monkey. And he thought this was hilarious. Andy did not find this funny.

But I remember one time we played at the bottom line club in New York where we used to play there for quite a bit. And that was a venue where you'd play two, two shows in a night, like a seven 30 and an 11. So after the first show, he threw us on a cab and took us down to little italy and took us out for dinner got us all really full and drunk and he's like singing at the at the table he was he's always people always talk about how you love to sing sing old songs standards and country songs

and whatever and uh then we got back to the venue we played our second set and we're all just stuffed to the gills of italian food and um we look and down like almost in the front is there's seymour sitting at the table and he is singing along with what a good Boy, and he's crying, and he knows all the words, and then you look back, and he's sound asleep. That's the greatest. All right, so take me back just to last week, I suppose it was. Yeah, I guess it was last week. I've lost track of time these days, Stephen,

but when you learned, and how did you learn, and what was your reaction when you learned Seymour Stein had passed away at the age of 80? I had heard that he had he hadn't been well for a few years now. And I'd seen, you know, I knew some people who'd seen him at shows and so on, he was having mobility issues and and had been in and out of hospital and so on. So I guess I wasn't shocked. I was shocked to find out he was 80. I mean, he's the same age as my parents, and they seem a lot more sprightly than he ever did.

But he liked his Bacchanalian delights. He liked to eat and drink and enjoy life. And, I mean, this is a guy who's been through a lot of tragedy, too. Lost a daughter. His ex-wife, mother of his kids, was murdered, tragically, by her assistant several years ago. And I know they were still very close. So that was just, you know, it was horrible stuff that he had gone through.

But he had such a positive impact on so many lives in the music business, both of artists and people who worked for him. You know, I have a friend of mine who worked for him who said he was like one of the toughest people to ever work for just because he was erratic and hard to hard to predict what his behavior was going to be like. but he was also really generous and uh that's that's what i remember thinking when i when i saw that i mean i was shocked but because you're shocked when anybody you know has passed away but i was also maybe not surprised well my condolences steven you sounded like a like a great guy he was a big part of our lives for sure. And a big believer in bare naked ladies, as was I, when I heard on CFNY bare naked ladies back in,

back in the late eighties there. So he had good taste in music. Awesome. Yeah, he was great. It was great. I have lots, lots of great memories of him.

And, and that's the thing is like still all of those artists will always be associated with him and his, his vision. Williams with a hand, literally in Commodore's face. always be associated with him and his his vision williams with a hand literally in commodore's face francis by bowman wasted the dribble francis open and he'll make it a three-pointer for greg francis a 32 three-point shooter he has 55 for the year to lead the fairfield team

and he can get the lead. Shot clock at five. Francis a step back three. Step back jack. That takes a lot of effort. Not an easy nine, ten, eleven men. There's a three pointer. Well, if his angle was bothering him it wasn't for long. Francis has

twelve now on four three pointers. He's had two games this season in which he's made six three-pointers back in ball two he was a major key shooting threes in the first half he's been very quiet here in the second and your call too as williams gets there a little bit late coach mcdonough francis buries the three 15 for greg francis the only player to start every game this year. They've done some nice stuff, Sean. Here's a double at the end of it.

Francis for the lead. Bale back up by one. 18 points on six. Three-pointers for Greg Francis. Third time this year he's had six threes in a game. Francis long three that Greg Francis made in 1997 in the NCAA tournament first round loss to Vince Carter and the number one seed North Carolina Tar Heels. That might be the greatest single performance by a Canadian basketball player in March Madness history. a Canadian basketball player in March Madness history.

He almost led Fairfield University to that massive upset, but he'd go on to play for Canada at the 1998 FIBA World Cup and the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Greg Francis died on April 2nd, two days before his 49th birthday. Rob, do you recognize what I'm playing yet? I do indeed. What are we listening to? We're listening to the theme from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.

Yes. Soundtrack composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who passed away several weeks ago now. But they announced it. Well, since we last recorded. Since we last recorded, yeah. He suffered with cancer for several years and several different bouts of cancer.

But yeah, I think he was like 71 when he passed away. Art is long, life is short. Yeah, I mean, the accolades have been pouring in, but I have to plead some ignorance. Like I had to, this happens quite a bit. I'll say, somebody passes away. People I respect like Rob Proust and people like that will tell me this is a, what an inspiration, what a genius.

And then I'll go, oh, like I missed this. Let me catch up and then I'll dive in. And he's been around, right? I mean, that's the thing, like for us in the, like as musicians, we knew him because he was involved with, in the 80s, he was in a band called Yellow Magic Orchestra, which was a super cool Japanese electronic band. And then he did work with the band Japan from London as well.

Then he started getting into his film scores and doing solo piano work, solo electronic music, and collaborating with so many people in soundtracks. And David Bowie was in this film with him. They were both in the film, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, as well. But yeah, just like an amazing body of work that he did. And maybe not known to people, you know, who don't at first glance think, oh, who is he?

But then you start reading the things he did and it's mind-blowing. That's how I felt. Bob, did you have a similar experience to me? Are you like, Rob, you're a real cool guy who was all over Riatsu, sorry. Ryuichi. Ryuichi Sakamoto.

I have to admit, also a blind spot in my life. I feel like I know a fair amount of movie scorers. What about Japanese electronic artists? Outside of some J-pop bands and K-pop bands. No, definitely not.

They didn't play this on Edge 102. This was not played on any of my former radio stations, and there are a fair amount of them. You're going to add it to the Kingston playlist? There you go, yeah. It'll definitely go in well with the stuff we play on. Fresh radio, yes. Well, it sounds gorgeous.

It's beautiful. His variety of music is crazy, and also this piece of music, he did so many versions of it. Like the one in the film has like drum machine and synthesizers and stuff, but then he orchestrated it

with orchestras did it. I've heard classical guitarists play it and because it's just such beautiful melodies, you know, that he kept on sort of reinventing it. Well, I'm going to let this beautiful song

take us home. Merry Christmas. Are we done? Thanks for coming. Mr. Lawrence, take us home. Yeah, take us home. And then. Are we done? Thanks for coming. Take Us Home. Yeah, Take Us Home. And then I'm going to introduce our very special guest. So here's a few seconds. Rest in peace. Shout out

to Ridley Funeral Home. Yes. Nice version you chose, too. That was an excerpt from the 16th episode of Toast. And the voices you heard belonged to Rob Pruce, keyboardist extraordinaire with spoons, and Honeymoon Suite, and Bob Willuellette.

You can hear that episode of Toronto Mic'd in its entirety if you seek out episode 1234. One, two, three, four. Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away at the age of 71 on March 28th. ¶¶ He can cheer you up when you're feeling low With his funny little grin from ear to ear He'll make your troubles disappear What me worry, I don't even care What me worry, worrying can't get you anywhere He bought a little hot rod coop last year

Then he chopped the top and he lowered the rear Does 90 miles an hour and it shimmies and shakes Look out, man! He's got no brakes! What me worry? I don't even care What me worry Worrying can't get you anywhere

He lost an upper middle tooth And it left a big hole It sort of looks uncouth But he's never gonna worry Cause he gets a big hand Every time he whistles with a rock I absolutely loved reading Mad Magazine as a kid. Al Jaffe was the last surviving member of the original Mad Magazine.

Jaffe was famous for his covers and his articles, but especially his artwork. He came up with those amazing fold-ins that appeared on the last page of the publication every month. If you were looking for snappy answers to stupid questions, Al Jaffe was your man. He didn't retire until he was 99 years old. Al Jaffe died of organ failure on April 10th at a Manhattan hospital. He was 102. I have had a constant craving to have a little chat with her for a long time now. Please welcome K.D. I brought you something from my homeland of Canada, a golden beer mug for your anniversary. Is there any maple syrup in it?

Not yet. A little residue. Well, it's a horrible thing, but it's the thought that counts. There we are. Lovely. You call me Edna. What do I call you? KD? KD will be fine, yeah. I'll call you KD. you're very appealing I get a

lovely vibe from you already what does Katie stand for Catherine Dawn Catherine Dawn yes you know it must be wonderful to write a song like like constant craving for example I've watched the video of that and it's interspersed with tramps doing things. You remember that? Who are they? What's that? Just Los Angeles tramps. Just Los Angeles tramps doing quirky things? Doing trampy and quirky things, yes. Actually, it was the director's idea

to sort of emulate Waiting for Godot. Really? Yeah. And what's that got to do with constant craving? I don't know. Nothing really. That's probably why we haven't heard much of that director since... Growing up in the 80s and 90s, it seemed like Dame Edna was everywhere. Dame Edna was the alter ego of Barry Humphreys,

the comedian, actor, author, and satirist. Dame Edna Everidge, her full name, made her debut in 1970 and, of course, became very well known on film and television. Barry Humphreys died following complications from hip surgery in Sydney, Australia, on April 22nd. He was 89 years old. Hold on to what you try to be, your individuality When the world is on your shoulders, just smile and let it go If people try to put you down, just walk on by, don't turn around You only have to answer to yourself Don't you know it's true what they say, that life it ain't easy

But your time's coming around So don't you stop trying Don't stop, never give up Hold your head high and reach the top Let the world see what you have got Bring it all back to you Dream of falling in love Anything you've been thinking of

When the world seems to get too tough Bring it all back to you Yeah, yeah Paul Cattermole was the singer and actor best known for being a member of the pop group S Club 7 from 1998 until his departure in 2002. If you were watching much music in the early 2000s, you were familiar with S Club 7. Paul returned to the band in 2014 for their reunion tour, and there were talks he'd rejoin S Club 7 again for another reunion this year in 2023. But sadly, on April 5th, Paul Catterall was found dead at the young age of 46.

I'll bring it all back to you. Dream of falling in love. Anything you've been thinking. Wow! Down the Fraggle Rock, work the gears away. Dancing's for another day, let the Fraggles play. We're go-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-bee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee-bo-lee I love Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock. That opening theme was composed by Phil Balsam. Phil Balsam wrote 194 original songs for Fraggle Rock, often in collaboration with his friend and lyricist Dennis Lee. That opening theme, Down in Fraggle Rock, managed to crack the top 40 chart in the United Kingdom.

I urge you to read an excellent article on the life of Phil Balsam in the Globe and Mail, written by Brad Wheeler. Philip Balsam died on March 31st. He was 79 years old. Unorthodox. Unpredictable. And unleashed into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015. Whoa!

Yeah! Hey, hey, hey! Whoa, whoa! The Bushwackers! Come on, come on. Luke and Butch, the Bushwackers. They're the new tag team from New Zealand. In 1989, Luke Williams and Butch Miller went from the outback to the forefront

of sports entertainment, captivating audiences across the WWE universe with an energy never before seen. Bushwackers obviously speak the international language and excitement. The most important thing on their mind is having a good time. Mean Jays look at you with spines.

Doesn't he look so tiny and sick? Could you hold this a minute, mate? Look at this one, cousin Luke. You're about my son. Look at that man. Oh, he's using his teeth.

And while this fun-loving tandem may have been known to wear camouflage, the Bushwhackers were two of the most colorful superstars to stand out in WWE. Be it their mile-a-minute lifestyle, or their taste for the unusual. Oh, boy!

Where comes the bloody cheese, mate? What are you guys doing? I'm waiting out five for seven. Seven. Seven. How would you like to have the Bushwhackers over for your family's Christmas dinner? And their appetite for the exotic extended to their opponents as well. A late night stop there.

From down under to on top of WWE, the Bushwhackers have dealt out a licking and have taken them too. En route to winning 26 tag team championships spanning their career around the globe. You can't prepare because they're not prepared. They're just going to have to go nuts. These guys are a little bit flaky. I guess that's why they're named the Bushwhackers. But even if imitated, there's no way Cousins Luke and Butch could ever be replicated. The Bushwhackers are proudly welcomed into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015. It's gonna be the year of the Bushwhackers! Bushwhacker D.A.!

Bushwhacker Butch, the New Zealand professional wrestler best known as a member of the Bushwhackers, whose real name is Bob Miller, died in a Los Angeles hospital on April 2nd at the age of 78. Barring a preference, we're going to put you to work on a wrestling picture, Wallace Beery. I say this because they tell me you know the poetry of the street, so that would rule out westerns, pirate pictures, screwball, Bible, Roman. Look, I'm not one of those guys that thinks poetic has got to be fruity. We're together on that, aren't we?

I mean, I'm from New York myself. Mince, if you want to go all the way back. Which we won't, if you don't mind, and I ain't asking. Now, people are going to say to you, Wallace Beery, wrestling, it's a B picture. You tell them. Bullshit! We do not make B pictures here at Capitol.

Let's put a stop to that rumor right now. Thanks, Lou. Join us, join us. We're talking about the Wally Beery picture Excellent picture Yeah, we got a treatment on it yet? No, not yet, Jack We just bought the story Saturday evening post

Ah, to hell with the story Wally Beery is a wrestler I want to know his hopes, his dreams Naturally, you have to get mixed up with a bad element And romantic interest You know the drill Romantic interest or else a young kid An orphan

What do you think, Lou? Wally a little too old for a romantic interest. You know the drill. A romantic interest or else a young kid, an orphan. What do you think, Lou? Wally a little too old for a romantic interest? Look at me. A writer in the room, and I'm asking Lou what the goddamn story should be. Which is it, Bart? Orphan? Dame? Both, maybe?

Maybe we should do a treatment. Hell, let Bart take a crack at it. He'll get into the swing of things or I don't know writers. Let's make it a Dame-Bart, keep it simple. We don't gotta tackle the world the first time out. The important thing is we all wanted to have that Bart and Fink feeling. I mean, I guess we all have that Bart and Fink feeling. But since you're Bart and Fink, I'm assuming you have it in spades.

Seriously, Bart. I like you. We're off to a good start. If all my writers were like you, I wouldn't have to get so goddamn involved. I'd like to see something by the end of the week. Oh, I heard about your show, by the way. My man in New York saw it. Tells me it's pretty damn powerful. Pretty damn moving. A little fruity, he said, but I guess you know what you're doing. That was Michael Lerner as Jack Lipnick in Barden Fink. That earned Michael Lerner a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards. You might also remember Michael Lerner from 8 Men Out, Amos and Andrew, No Escape, Clueless, The Beautician and the Beast, Godzilla, Elf, and X-Men Days of Future Past.

Michael Lerner died of complications from brain seizures at a hospital in Burbank, California on April 8, 2023. He was 81 years old. She ain't got a lot of money, but love, she's really got a lot. My gal is red hot. Yeah, she is. My gal is red hot. She ain't got a lot of money, but love, she's really got a lot. Say, man, I got a girl with a whole lot of bread. Yeah, I see.

Don't let that go right to your head. My gal is red hot. Your gal ain't doobly-swat. She ain't got a lot of money, but love, and she's really got a lot. My gal can do the shimmy. She can do the boogie too. She ain't a gym dandy. She's a snapperoo. My gal is red hot. Your gal ain't doobly-swat. She ain't a lot of money But lovin' she's really got a lot

All right Play for my gal, man Play for my gal Cause your gal ain't doobly-squat My gal is Red Heart My gal is Red Heart Your gal ain't doobly-squat My gal is red hot Your gal ain't do this what My gal is red hot

Your gal ain't do this what She ain't got a lot of money but love Billy the Kid Emerson was an R&B and rock and roll singer and songwriter turned preacher, best known for his 1955 song Red Hot. Ike Turner recruited Billy into his kings of rhythm in the early 50s. His single Red Hot, recorded for Sun Records, became a hit for both Billy Lee Riley and Bob Luman, and later for Robert Gordon and Link Wray.

With commercial success eluding him, Billy turned to religion and became known as Reverend William R. Emerson. Billy the Kid Emerson died in April 2023 at the age of 97. Since we heard the tale About the guy who learned his wall But was a she-male Yesterday, it occurred to me That I've been watching a bit too much Jerry Springer Holy cow, did you see it last week? Well, I had this one freak Whose sucker punched his whole family Do you recall when the brawl became a total free-for-all

And Jerry's in the middle trying to be the referee? Hey, see the stripper with the implants? She likes to lap dance And date the boyfriend of her mother Now here comes Jerry's next guest And it's a slugfest Cause it's a true and trash brother If a maniac is back in crack, it's like when animals attack, they all exhibit reprehensible behavior

Hit em in the nose, tear off their clothes, step on their toes, that's how it goes, they get so violent they have to sign a waiver They're always whoring, cursing, kicking butt and pointing blame, on the air they don't care, they got no shame There was one guy who I'm sure felt a little strange, when he found out that his wife had a sex change They have a Dennis Dito scream and yell constantly constantly They have a history of ripping off their shirts It's been one week since they had the fight With the Siamese twins and the transvestite Five days since that awful brawl They still haven't got the blood off the wall

It's been three days since the bitter feud Between the KKK and that gay Jewish black dude Yesterday he finally dawned on me Spending way too much time on that Jerry Springer Baby, I've been sleeping with your sister Which one? All of them Well, I've been sleeping with your sister Which one? All of them Well, I've been sleeping with your best friend, Jake

Yeah? Well, me too! And I've been sleeping with your dog, Woofy Woofy, you b****! Well, I'm also sleeping with your pet goat! Well, that goat doesn't love you! Once you start watching, there's just no stopping Your brain shuts down, then your IQ's dropping Jerry's the king of confrontation He's a sensation

He puts a sentence in the occasion It's totally worse, looks like a bad check It's like a train wreck Don't wanna stare, but you can't look away Like Sally Jesse, he does talk shows But with more weirdos The ratings jumping higher every day If you've seen the show, well then you know

It's just as low as you can go The guests are tacky and they're lacking in their hygiene And pretty soon some ugly goose comes in the room And then it's boom in the face of Some unsuspecting drag queen Well it's the kind of show where people scream obscenities Yanking hair, throwing chairs at their hubbies Derry, derry, now the crowd starts their favorite chant

Should I turn off my TV? I just can't I have a tendency to watch it religiously I have a history of taping each one It's been one week since the show about Psycho killers with problems they should work out Five days since the big surprise When some loser's wife said that she's still in 20 guys Three days since he interviewed

A bunch of fucking porn star majors who are all new Yesterday, it occurred to me That I've been watching a bit too much Jerry Springer Tired of wasting my time on that Jerry Springer I got way too much class to watch Jerry Springer Come over here and pull on my finger. I hated Jerry Springer's talk show. Of course, I stumbled upon it all the time.

Back in the day when you'd actually watch TV without pressing the on-demand play button. But I could barely last 20 seconds because I just felt so horrible for everybody involved. Was Jerry exploiting these people? Probably. But Jerry Springer, the man, is rather fascinating. He was born during World War II to refugees escaping the Holocaust. He grew up in New York City, became a lawyer, worked on the campaign of Robert Kennedy in 1968. He entered politics, was elected to the Cincinnati City Council, and had to resign when he admitted to soliciting a sex worker, whom he paid with a personal check. But

he was re-elected and ended up serving a year as the 46th mayor of Cincinnati. Jerry Springer, the talk show, debuted on September 30th, 1991. In the beginning, it was politically oriented. In the beginning, it was politically oriented. He'd have Jesse Jackson on. He'd talk about homelessness, gun politics. Then, in early 1994, the show was completely revamped in order to gain higher ratings. This is where the tabloidish sensationalism

came into effect. You just heard all about it in a Weird Al Yankovic parody that didn't age particularly well. But by 1998, Jerry Springer was beating the Oprah Winfrey show in many cities, reaching more than 6.7 million viewers. On July 26, 2018, Jerry Springer aired its final episode in syndication after 27 seasons. So today we start our 25th year of doing this show. My gratefulness surpassed only by my surprise.

My surprise that it's longevity. How in the world did we last so long? Let's be honest, virtually anyone could do what I do, which is to basically say three things. You did what? Come on out. We'll be right back. You practice that and you'll be hosting your own show in no time. Oh, there is one other thing that brings success. Luck. Lots of it. And surround yourself with smart, talented people who know a heck of a lot more about television than I do. smart, talented people who know a heck of a lot more about television than I do. Look, I've been blessed through these 25 years to have people of enormous talent and drive producing a show of constant challenges which can't be saved day to day by simply booking a big-name celebrity.

You see, we don't have any on our show. No, just regular folks of no fame, little if any wealth, and very little influence. Folks just taking a moment, which they rarely have ever get, to let the world know something about what they are thinking or feeling or doing. Admittedly, it's often crazy or outside the norm of accepted behavior, but what I've learned over our quarter century of shows is that deep down, we are all alike. Some of us just dress better or had a better education or better luck in the gene pool of parents. I'll say it again. Deep down, we are all the same.

We all want to be happy. We cry when we're hurt. We're angry when we've been mistreated. And to be liked, accepted, and respected, not to mention loved, is the greatest gift of all. Yes, we're all alike. Know this, there's never been a moment in the 25 years of doing this show that I ever thought I was better than the people who appear on our stage.

I'm not better, only luckier. So thanks for the 25 years. We've signed on to do a whole bunch more. And as long as I stay healthy, we will. And on that note, take care of yourself. Jerry Springer died at his home in Evanston, Illinois, on April 27, 2023. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer only a few months prior. This has been the Ridley Funeral Home Memorial Episode of Toronto Mic'd for the month of April 2023. If you lost somebody you love in April, my sincere condolences. Peace and love to all.

I'm Toronto Mike. අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි Thank you.