Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Bob Wegner: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1622

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

In this 1622nd episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Bob Wegner about his life in music, auditioning for Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor, We Will Rock You, Max Webster and more. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

Welcome to episode 1622 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. RecycleMyElectronics.ca. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past.

Building Toronto's Skyline, a podcast and book from Nick Ainiis from Fusion Corp and Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. Joining me today, making his Toronto Mike's debut, is that possible? It is Bob Wagner. Welcome Bob. Mike, thanks for having me. We met for the very first time in the living room that belongs to FOTM Blair Packham. That's right. Yeah, yeah. That was a wonderful party.

Now, okay. So I meet you and you're talking to me about, you know, you're a great musician and then you wrote a book on Max Webster and you're a fascinating guy. And then at TMLX, I think it was TMLX 15, I saw you there at Great Lakes Brewery. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was, I ran to Rob Pruce first and then I ran to you. So yeah, Rob Pruce. We'll get back to him in a moment.

So did you become an FOTM attending TMLx events because we met at Blair Packham's house? Or was there another channel by which you discovered the TMU? Yeah, this other channel you allude to is a friend of mine, John Deferia, he mentioned the FOTM verse. Say this last name again, John. Deferia. Deferia. Yeah, he's a wonderful friend in Toronto,

and so he took me out to this event and enjoyed the La Palma pasta and made a whole bunch of new friends and saw lots of old friends. And now you're a beloved member of the Toronto Mike universe. It's a wonderful universe. I looked at the list of the names of people you've had on here and I listened to a bunch

of the episodes throughout the week just before coming in and just a variety of people you have is wonderful. Well, thanks man. Look, thank you very much. So it's I think that's wild coincidence though, because I meet you at Blair and then you it's this other gentleman who kind of brings you to drags you to TMLX 15. So at this time when I'm, you know, in East York and seeing you at Blair Packham's house, and

then you're in South Etobicoke at Great Lakes Brewery, you're a Toronto guy. Like have you always been a Toronto guy? No, I, uh, I grew up in Hamilton and I just listened to your episode with Steve Paken and, uh, also a Hamiltonian and being a Ticat supporter. But I lived in Toronto for a good chunk of about 15 years.

Okay. So you went from Hamilton to Toronto? Yes. Okay. But you're not living in Toronto anymore? No, no, no. I just recently took off to Montreal. So I have questions.

So I'll let the listeners should know, you're a wonderful musician. We're gonna talk about it. We're gonna talk about Queen and We Will Rock You. And we're gonna talk of course about Max Webster and we're gonna cover a lot of ground in this chat. I'm really happy to see you. But I need to know the specifics like why,

so you go from Hamilton, then you spend quite a bit of time in Toronto. That's where I met you. You were living in Toronto. And then very recently you decided to up and move to Montreal. So give me some details, like why did you move to Montreal? What is it like for somebody from Hamilton and Toronto to now find themselves living in Montreal? Bury me in some details here. Oh my goodness. Well, I just always loved that city and it was as simple as a friend of mine offer being an apartment and I couldn't say no. I just, I love the place.

It's not like in Mongolia, it's just Montreal. And I'm still here every month or two and uh, cause I always have my Toronto ties and I'm always happy to come back. You do make your way back to uh, the four one six every month or so. Yeah. And the nine Oh five if, if you're even the nine Oh five, cause you know, that's where Palma pasta is in the nine Oh five. That's right. Okay. So yeah, and the 905 if, if even the 905, because you know, that's where Palma Posta is in the 905. That's right.

Okay. So how like, how's it been going? How long have you lived in Montreal now? Oh, just about two or three months. Not very long. That's exciting to me that you're still kind of fresh there. So how quickly did you adapt? Did you know any French?

How is life going in Montreal? But everyone speaks English in Montreal. I think I've met literally one or two people who don't. And that probably wasn't the case 20 and 30 years ago, but now it's just very anglicized and you leave the city. That's a different story, but I've just, I've always loved it there. And there's, there's a great music scene and, live in Westmount, it's just a really nice space and it's just quieter.

I think I just got to a point in my life where I needed a little more quiet. Okay, so it's going well. It is, yeah. I mean, as a- You're not gonna come back anytime soon. You're gonna make a go of this. I'm here right now, but I mean,

the thing is, but as a musician and a writer and a freelance editor, just a lot of these things, just you can just be in any place really, kind of the digital nomad thing going on. Have you made a new group of friends in Montreal? I've got older friends there, but yeah, I'm meeting a few people there now. It's a slow turn.

Have you bumped into Sam Roberts? No, no, no, no, not yet. Amy Millan from Stars, another Torontonian who made her way to Montreal. Oh, I didn't know she ended up there. No, I haven no, no, not yet. Amy Milan from stars, another Trontonian who made her way to Montreal. Oh, I didn't know she ended up there. No, I haven't run into her. Okay. Well, let me know if you bump into any other rock stars in Montreal. Yeah, I will. Gino Vanelli is not living there anymore.

Gino Vanelli, where did he end up in? Where did he end up? LA or something. I think he was in California or something. I think so. I got to get an update. After his wife died and he just kind of had to keep going. So I only learned about this. So I believe Gino's wife passed away in like May or something, but I only got word from Mark Weisblatt reported it to me like this week. Yeah, I saw it. And it's the write-up he did for his wife is just probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen someone write to their their partner who just recently passed. If you

haven't seen this, yeah, free marketing for Gino Vanelli here. But it's a really nice thing. Well listen, you know what, we do free marketing for FOTMs and much like you are now an FOTM, friend of Toronto Mike, Gino Vanelli is a beloved FOTM. Oh that's fabulous. Oh yeah, he sat down here with his guitar. I would ask him like questions like about, you know, his flight in from Montreal and he would break into like wild horses could not drag me away from you. So you don't have a guitar though. I did not come prepared with a guitar. Okay, but I see you have luggage. So did you come straight from like Union or something?

I was in Hamilton for a couple of days, seeing some friends and family and stuff. Okay, you were in the home, that's where Ralph Ben-Murgy lives now. Oh, yes, yes. So I got to know, Ralph doesn't listen to this show, but I got to know this week from Ralph Ben-Murgy, we should, we should get to, we should have, I don't know how we worded it, but basically he was asking for a double date, like my wife and I, and him and his wife, meeting somewhere. And I'm like, I'm thinking like I would, I'll meet, I'll do this. Like I'll have this double date. This might be fun. But I'm not going to Hamilton for this.

Like that's my thought. It's like, oh God, he's in Hamilton. Like do we meet in the middle? Like do we meet in Burlington or something? Shout out to Rob Bruce. And then I'm like, Oh, where are you thinking, Ralphie? And he's like, well, if it's a Saturday night, we don't mind heading to Toronto and like done. We're going to do this in Toronto on a Saturday night. I'll report back to the FOTN listening how my double date goes, Ralph, his wife, Courtney, and my wife, Monica and I.

And this is maybe I should live stream this thing. I live stream a double date. Yeah. What do you think? Oh, well, that's you're tapping into it. You tune in from Montreal for the double date. Fabulous because yeah, that's a that's a market that needs to be tapped into the double dating voyeur market. Wouldn't you want to hear the conversation that will take place at that table?

Well, plenty would, of course. Okay. I brought up Ralph. Why did I bring him up? Yeah. Cause he lives in Hamilton and you were just in Hamilton. So here you are now, Montreal is going well for you. Proust has come up twice now and you'll probably come up again in this conversation. You know, I think about Rob Proust 24 seven, like, like any sane person, right?

But he, you know, we talk about how he was like a piano prodigy. Okay. Like CBC was putting them on TV when he was like, I don't know, 13, 14 years old or something. And then of course he's in the spoons by 50. And like, we talk a lot about how very young age Rob Proust is a tremendous pianist. I said pianist. I didn't even go there. My dirty, dirty mind. I went, I make sure I nailed the T on that word, but Bob Wagner, take me back. I understand you were similar in that at a very young age, you had some musical talent developed. It basically was all in by about age 13. And then about 10 years later,

I find myself in a room auditioning for the remaining members of Queen. Okay, so when do you start playing piano, for example? Piano, I'm about five, and I'm just taking piano lessons as anyone does. And it's not really a serious thing. It's not until I grab the guitar that I start to realize this is a thing I really want to do.

So you're, yeah, like many kids, you're taking piano lessons. Did you enjoy piano lessons at five? I did not enjoy it. I would say that my little recitals I did in kindergarten and stuff made me stick out. And I guess I was comfortable with being a performer, but then I remember being in a giant choir on I've been thought this in years At the Sky Dome I was seven and I'm a huge Blue Jays guy if you want to talk about that

I love the calendar on your wall the 1986 shoppers drug more calendars stuck on May because that was the George Belmont Well and and now from 1987 so a correct decision That was a great episode too by the way. Oh that's Gere Joyce who did that. Yeah. Give props to Gere Joyce the collapse or the sorry the fall of 87. Fall of 87 that was beautifully put together. Yes. Yeah. I wish I could take credit for that production. Well maybe next time.

But I am sharing it with the Bob Wegners and the masses, but shout out to Geert Joyce. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you did a great job with that. But I was on the field, I was seven, part of a large choir singing the national anthem. And that was in 1990, so those were the days when they were getting four million a year. And I remember not even looking up higher than the 100 level, and just looking back on that, it's amazing I became a performer.

What's it, you were like stage fright? You were nervous? I don't even know how I can characterize it. I remember far more enjoying just walking by the bullpen. I'm pretty sure I saw, was Mike Flanagan still on the Blue Jays in 1990? Yeah, I think so. I'm pretty sure I saw him warming up in 1990.

So yeah, I was seven years old. And then we had these seats in the 500s and the game was not memorable. Actually, I went to some MLB database recently just to look up that game and the result. It was a one hitter for the Red Sox and it was just not an enjoyable game as a Blue Jays fan. One hitter, okay.

Now 90 was a tough year because we won the pennant in 89 and then we won the pennant again in 91 and then we won the World Series in 92 and 93 but 1990 was one of those off years. Yeah it was and but that was all your fault man. Well I take the blame. Let's have it. Just send me the hate mail. Someone's got to take the hit. Well I've got thick skin man. We'll find out. We'll find out by the end of this hour, Bob. I'll take your skin. So young man, you're picking up this guitar at 12,

and now, because I read a line in your bio, I'm gonna read it to you, okay? Let's have it. Okay. I picked up the guitar at age 12, and there began my quest to become a professional musician. I officially retired at age 19 and picked up my first guitar teaching job.

So by the, are you telling me at the age of 19, you decided being a professional musician might not be in the cards for you? Is that what that means? No, retire means I retire from the idea of getting a nine to five and definitely want to be. Okay, you know what, You gotta workshop that sentence. That's very, very misleading, that sentence.

Oh, interesting. Because I'm completely thick, because we're talking about music here. And you pick up the guitar at 12, and then you begin with, your quest is to become a professional musician. And then your next sentence is, I officially retired at age 19 and picked up my first guitar teaching job. So my brain thinks, okay, you retired from being like a rock star. Like Bob Wagner, I just had the guy yesterday, Eric Schenckman, who's a founding member of Spin Doctors. You could have founded a band and had a big hit like Two Princes. And then by 19, you realize, okay, I'll go teach because that's, so I misinterpreted that line completely. That's very interesting. but I'm not the brightest light in the chandelier Bob.

This is a no negative self-talk here. Oh, there's lots of negative self-talk zone. Yeah, well not when I'm here. Not when you're here. Okay, we can only talk trash about Bob Wegener. Okay, so you mentioned Brian May and Roger Taylor. I don't know if you mentioned it by names, but these are the surviving members of Queen. So I want to hear this story. I find this fascinating. You had to audition for Brian May and Roger Taylor in order to become a guitarist in We Will Rock You.

Yes, I did. And to be clear, John Deacon's still alive, but he's just not officially involved with the band anymore. But as was just May and Taylor. But yeah, I was at Cherry Beach studios with, uh, you know, some of the top Toronto players, I'm 23, 24 years old. And as the second edition, you had to pass one round first. And I think that was at the Elgin or Winter Garden theater.

Okay. And then, and there it is, uh, you're sitting there waiting and then in walks Brian May, and I just remember he took a picture of everybody. He's a real photography buff and such a nice guy and a good hair too, right? Oh, to this day still he's got to obviously a great stylist. Let's not bury the lead here. Okay. Now this we, again, I'm going to talk, I can only be myself, but I have huge blind spot, huge levels of ignorance exposed off and on toast when Rob Bruce and Bob Willett are my co-hosts because they're so well versed in like musical theater.

Okay. So I'm going to tell you, I might get some of these facts wrong. You're going to correct me, but we will rock you, which I sadly missed completely. Like I, this is how out to lunch I am, but this ran for a couple of years and you know Almost a million people Smarter than me attended a showing of this musical in Toronto. Mm-hmm. Yeah And you were like how many guitarists are in this show? There's two you were one of the two guitarists and we will rock you Yeah, you must be a pretty damn good guitarist. Well, Brian seemed to think so and, uh,

and hasn't balked yet on that. I have a quote from Brian. You ready to get your tires pumped? Yeah, let's have it. And I won't do the accent, OK, but pretend I'm Brian May. I'm hugely humbled and grateful for all the wonderful work

you put into our show. Thanks and continued thanks, Bob, for giving it your excellence. Who said that nonsense? Why don't you get a tattoo with that? And I love that, you know, it's Brian May, but because he's Brian May, he's been knighted. And apparently he's got like a doctor. He's Sir Dr. Brian May now. So the proper title for this gentleman with the great hair is Sir Dr. Brian May now. So the proper title for this gentleman with the great hair

is Sir Dr. Brian May. Get a tattoo with that quote and then dash Sir Dr. Brian May. People write in and tell me what font that should be inscribed onto my back. OK, let me know. Yeah, they'll send the notes, OK? So We Will Rocky runs a couple of years. But it also gets you on Canadian Idol?

Yeah, there was an episode of Canadian Idol where Brian and Roger were the coaches and our house band for the gig was the house band for the rehearsal scenes, not the show itself. And so the mics were all turned off so we didn't get to hear what was going on with the contestants, one of which was then 16 year old, not yet known, Carly Rae Jepsen. And she was a sweetheart. And so we just had our seven songs we had to play, not all of which were in the show actually,

we had to learn a couple other songs and in different keys of course, because people had different vocal ranges. And so yeah, we did that and we were just kind of hurry up and wait. And it was just, we're just there alert where do they come to Kennedy Night All it was the same it was the it was at the Canon Theatre at the time now Mervish Theatre and they did the rehearsal scenes right there and then after that

that was in the afternoon then we went for dinner and then and had they screwed up Roger Taylor's dinner that's another story and then that's the story I'm looking for screw up Roger Taylor's I don That's another story. And then- That's the story I'm looking for. How do they screw up Roger Taylor's dinner? I don't remember what the dinner was, but I just remember him not being too pleased. It wasn't Palma Pasta, was it? It was not Palma Pasta. He ended up having to go into the Eaton Center

and just got something for dinner because they just got something wrong. That's too funny. That's still great. But that night, then we do a regular performance at We Will Rock You. Yeah. And that was actually Susan McNeil's last performance on the show. And at the end, normally one of us, Tristan Avakian or I, would come out and do the solo in Bohemian Rhapsody when the gates would open and this big, big, big, you know, big, big moment. But that night

of course it's Brian. And almost nobody knows. And I cannot describe to you how exciting that must have been for an audience member to go and see this show. And not every, maybe some people knew, but this is before everything was written on social media before it happened. So it was legitimately exciting. And then at the end, we, for one time only, we performed The Show Must Go On with Brian and Roger. So we got to play with basically half a queen for about 10 minutes of our lives.

It was spectacular. I'd rewrite your bio and say that you took Freddie Mercury's spot in the queen. Um, I, sadly they didn't give me a microphone. So, uh, but I was kind of an appendage of Brian May, I suppose. But can you sing? Not quite. I'm a decent backing vocalist. I'm not Mick Jagger. I don't have that kind of, that kind of stage presence in that that sense but I love dealing with an audience and Especially my solo acoustic show where I mostly play instrumentally, but I love the banter back and forth with an audience

I love that far more than than anything. Well, it sounds like you've come a long way since 1990 when you were singing the Doing the national anthem at the Dome. Yeah, it's honestly like I said It's a wonder I became a performer because there would have been zero indication at that time that this was going to be in the cards for me. Wow. So how do you transform from somebody who almost is like a, what is it, a deer in the headlights almost possibly to somebody who's performing in front of like a million people Queen songs? Yeah, well it's obviously not overnight

and you learn from mistakes like in anything. And I think, so the first time I really did a proper solo show was about a decade ago now. And I remember I had my jokes written out in long form on cue cards, crib notes type thing. And just because I was doing so many things, I was playing five and six instruments and the show was being streamed and

And and there's a video screen. I always have the album covers behind me of the songs I'm playing so but for your first time doing it as a bit off more than I can chew But over time you just get comfortable with it. I worked on a on a cruise ship and I did Six shows a week basically playing for you know American tours were my guinea pigs so you do the six times a week for months at a time and you get comfortable speaking with an audience so it doesn't happen overnight and people who are afraid of public speaking are like deathly afraid of public speaking right apparently they have done studies and there are more people who are afraid of public speaking than

are afraid of death. That's crazy. But this cruise ship that you were working on back in 2015, you kind of put in some reps and you shook those nerves out. Well, yeah. I walked in with about 20 or 30 pieces in my repertoire and six months later I've got 200. Because I took requests from the audience members and

You're you sometimes you're playing in just a little pub for 20 people But sometimes you're playing in a theater type atmosphere for 200 people so in the smaller ones you can kind of workshop your things sure and and so basically what happens is Is I start taking requests and people give me their little bar napkins and so you come up with little jokes and it's just okay, but you know, the song title, artist name and no phone number, ha ha ha. So people like that. And then people started requesting a lot of Pink Floyd because they were English guests.

And so they'd ask for, you know, can you play time? Can you play money? Can you play us and them? And I started realizing, wait a minute, I just have to learn two more pieces. I can play the whole album. And this is where this all begins, where now I'm just, I play complete albums of all kinds. Is this Classic Albums Live?

Well, no, this is me doing a solo acoustic thing. This is completely me. But I did play with Classic Albums Live. I did three different albums with them. It's hard to track your whereabouts here. Okay, so you did, you definitely were part of the company that is Classic Albums Live back in like, maybe before the cruise ship.

But before and after it was on and off. So Led Zeppelin IV for example, which was like when I was in like, I don't know, grade eight or nine or something like that, it was like mandatory to pick up the Led Zeppelin IV CD. Like this was like a mandatory prerequisite. There were like these certain classic albums you had to have, like you had to have Bob Marley's Legend, for example,

but there were these certain albums you had to have, and Led Zeppelin IV was one of them. So you would, I believe this would be your first show, but you would basically play all of Led Zeppelin IV? So basically the format of those shows is the album is played with no speaking between songs, songs is literally like watching a classical recital of everyone dressed in black and playing the album and then the second set is way more informal and then there's banter with the audience and then it's just the greatest hits type set or or sometimes deep cuts and but another hour of that artist

So it was it was a lot to learn just to do one show but I got hired to do both Will's guitar and mandolin and keys so it was it was a big learning curve but I grew up I love Led Zeppelin. I love Jimmy Page and still do he's a brilliant arranger and composer I mean he's he's one of the finest obviously but I grew up with his playing and that was a huge part of my education and learning how to play the guitar and then I got to professionally play a Led Zeppelin show and it went I still remember the two notes I got wrong and I still am angry about them. Just a tiny little bit of the just those two little notes one was in

battle of evermore on the mandolin just it's not even that harder thing to play but it happens you know you end up in front of it. Does anyone notice except you like like is this one of those things where nobody has a clue you screwed up? Probably not. Of course not. I mean if it's so egregious that most of the audience notices you probably shouldn't be there. Right. So but that's, but that said that's even, even that's unfair. Just people are human. Just I've seen even you know masters of the instrument like John Petrucci from Dream Theater make mistakes. Even these guys are human. You know the Petrucci family owns Palma Pasta.

Get out of here. I wouldn't make that up. Is it that Petrucci or a different Petrucci? You know, I don't know. I'm gonna plead ignorance on that one, but it is just fascinating that it's the same surname as that place. So let me do this now,

cause I'm gonna play some. I wanna hear, you're great. I wanna hear some of it. I'm gonna play some. What happened? But first I'm letting you some I want to hear you. You're great. I want to hear some of it I'm gonna play something but First I'm letting you know. Mr. Wagner that there is a lasagna in my freezer for you from palma pasta Oh, I can't wait and you did get some palma pasta at tmlx 15, right? Oh, yeah, was it good? It was fabulous. Of course. Okay good. Did you grab a

Great Lakes beer while you were at the brewery? I did not. I was very fixated on the lasagna. Okay. Do you drink beer? Not a big beer guy. That'll do it. Yeah. But I definitely know people who will enjoy a Great Lakes brewery beer. Good, good, good. I know. Are you going to see Blair Packham during this visit? Have you seen Blair Packham since you left Toronto? When's the last time?

Because you were so close that you were just hanging out in his living room? Like, I mean, I had never visited. I don't think I had ever, I had ever vis, oh, I had visited his backyard actually, but I don't think I'd ever been in the house. And then Monica and I came to a house party at, uh, you know, Blair Packham's house.

And then we were sitting in the living room and then this tall dude, uh, great hair, uh, and you had different energy. Uh, I have a question and if it's too personal, let me know. But I find I'm like this, do you have different settings for like energy levels? Because the Bob Wagner I met at Blair's house was a far, kind of reminds me of how I can get sometimes,

but I won't use the word manic, but far higher energy person than the Bob Wagner I'm chatting with right now. Do you know what time it is Mike? So let me ask you this though, when you have a mic in front of you do you put yourself into like you tone it down? These are such fascinating questions because it's easy to observe these things in other people and you know I'm a pretty self-aware person but I'm not consciously... So you're not slowing it down just because you think

if you go at your normal pace, people won't be able to keep up. Well, what is my normal pace? I don't know. It was a wonderful party. It was full of people. We were, you know, with Blair, I think we were talking about Stephen Page,

and just, it was, you know, nice conversations all over the place happening. And, but I'm just relaxed. I mean, it's the morning. That was the evening. That's the thing. See, so all over the place happening. But I'm just relaxed, it's the morning, that was the evening, that's the thing. See, I am not a morning person. I was up a few hours ago. So we had an 11 o'clock start, 11 is early for Bob Wagner.

Oh, it can be. He's your musician. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was hardwired to not be a morning person already by age 14, 15 in high school, it was death. So, okay, so in a typical day, what time is sleepy time? What time is bedtime for Bob Webber? There just is no typical anything. My projects tend to get me up and have me go to bed. And

I enjoy being up at night because no one can bother me then really. And I can really get things done uninterruptedly. But I also love the morning. I love seeing the sunrise. I like to see this basically this time of year, just as much of the daylight uninterruptedly. But I also love the morning. I love seeing the sunrise. I like seeing, especially this time of year, just as much of the daylight as I can. But those two statements I just made are obviously incongruent. That's what I was gonna say. It's like, I love the sunsets.

Just don't wake me up before noon. I mean, sorry, sorry. I love the sunrises. Sunrises. Just don't wake me up before noon. Well, here's the thing. During the pandemic, I just kind of, here's the thing.

I love having a cup of tea in the morning and reading a book and all that. But I just kind of, here's the thing. I love having a cup of tea in the morning and reading a book and all that, but I just kind of combined all these things. I saw the sun, right? But I stayed up until the sunrise. So I got to do all these things. I got to work through the night, stay up until sunrise, have my tea, read my book, and then go to bed.

It was perfect. But then I missed a lot of daylight. So that's the only drawback. So it's entirely possible if we were recording at, let's say, I don't know, 8 p.m. tonight, I might get a different Bob. I don't know how different it would be. You know what, if I'm ever going to be so fortunate to have an encore performance, then yeah, let's do it in the evening and let's see what I'm like.

Okay, well, comparing contrast. For science. You know, it's hard to see it in yourself. And I do have that difficulty too, seeing it in myself. But because I do this, you know, every day somebody else is sitting there and sometimes I know the person, sometimes I don't. Like the guy from the spin doctors, I met him for the first time at the door. I'd never met him before, so I have no rapport of him. But I had seen you at Blair's house and then I saw you at TMLX 15. So I feel like I've got a vibe on Bob Wegner, who's just a crazy, talented, creative soul.

And then I am listening in the headphones and I'm like, did Bob take a, like, did he take a downer or something? Like, not that you're, no, and not that I'm saying I want the other Bob. I'm just naturally curious if, and this, I think I can be like this. You stick a microphone in front of somebody and you're conscious of the fact you're being recorded

And you know, I'm not gonna edit it. So you slow it down a little bit so that you're you know more thoughtful Maybe you just it's just an intentional I'm gonna slow this down because if I give them my full-throttle Bob Wagner, it's gonna be just mania Well, it's funny. I have so many thoughts as you said that they bury bury me in thoughts. Okay oh my goodness where do I begin? Red Light Fever is a lot of musicians especially and singers deal with that for sure but I've done so many interviews and I've conducted a lot of interviews for my book. I interviewed 20 people so I've been on both sides of the mic. This is the Max Webster book. Yeah. So Maxster, high class and FOTM Ron Sexsmith did the forward. Okay. And we are going to get back to this actually. Sure. Sure. Sure.

Max Webster at the end. But so did you get any media training at all in your extensive musical career? No, my first time, let me think my first time doing media would have been when I did a second version of the wheel of Ralky show and we were, it was mostly an American tour, a bit of Canada, a bit of Mexico. And in some of the American cities, we had TV spots and I know we played, maybe I was interviewed once or twice on for radio. I'm pretty sure that happened.

And then I definitely remember being nervous for one of those. Do you remember what station? Oh it was in the first one certainly was in Albany New York because we were playing in the bustling metropolis of Schenectady. They made a Philip Seymour Hoffman movie about this uh with that in the title. Schenectady? Yeah. That really rolls off the tongue doesn't it? Well that's I won't even say it but I can visualize the DVD cover But okay, so Albany, okay, I thought maybe it was like a guy tell me it's Q107 No, it was no no this was in the States and I did a couple of these maybe one in Philadelphia It's kind of a blur when you do 30 cities over the course of 40 something weeks

It becomes a little bit of a blur but but to answer your question though. I definitely It's something you just settle into. And with each passing one, you do radio interviews when you're promoting your, you know, your shows, your albums, and then my book, and then suddenly you get on breakfast television cause I've got a good publicist and got me on that.

And I'm sitting there with Sid and we dorked out about the blue Jays. And then. Sid Sixero. Sid was awesome. And you are chatting about what about Max Webster? Yeah, about my book when that came out and, and just, I, I'm just just I was cool as a cucumber on that. I wasn't nervous. It was funny. So funny story here about what's going on in my head though as I'm doing that. So there's, I'm sure everyone's seen

the black and white footage of the Beatles when they go on to Ed Sullivan. And so the second time they're doing that, he performs yesterday. And just for a rock band, a pop and rock and roll band, to have one of the guys go up and play an acoustic ballad was completely unheard of with strings happening because classical music and rock and roll were just seen as mortal enemies and just in purest role. How dare you do this to classical music?

But the Beatles are doing this. They had George Martin, he was the grownup in the room. And so it's a cool thing they're doing, but he goes on and he's going to do that. And so we've all seen the footage of George Harrison going over one pole McCartney of Liverpool opportunity knocks. And then, and then the curtain opens up and off he goes, what you

don't see. And he has told about was there's some, someone backstage and, and he's one, he's the stagehand is's holding the curtain about to open it and he just asked Paul, how you feeling, are you a little nervous? And Paul goes, you know, a little. He says, well, you should because there's gonna be about 50 million people watching

and he just rolls it open and off he goes, deer in headlights. And that's kind of what it can feel like if you don't have time to prepare for because of course you know how many people are watching breakfast television could be a quarter million, half a million people depending on the day. But who told you that? Well, you just can look up audiences and you know, I don't think, okay, that's fine. Um, maybe, maybe, uh, before the internet, maybe, but, uh,

you think it's less than that now? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, what, what a beef do you have with, with breakfast television? Mike, it's just, no, I'm fine with breakfast. Are they not tuning into Toronto? Mike? How are literally I literally recorded a 30th anniversary special for breakfast television with the original cast that morning from David on Lee to Steve Anthony to Ann Romer to the sports gentleman whose name will come to me in a minute, but John, but I am a big BT head over here. Mm-hmm. Well, and when I went out with... Much love for BT.

Yeah, and I've been on it, you know, multiple times, and, but that time, just because it's different when you're playing music, you're just playing music, and you just do what you do, but when you're on that interview, and then you just, you see that it's in real time. John Whaley, I'm gonna say, is now the sports guy whose name I forgot there. Okay, everybody write in, let him know if he's right. John Whaley and Bud Pierce, the original producer. But okay, so it sounds like you've had quite a bit

of experience talking into a microphone, even on television, breakfast television, so not just radio, And maybe through this experience, you don't need to bounce off walls in a conversation. You can kind of slow it down a little bit. So maybe there are two modes. I will say there's one mode of Bob Wegner with a guitar because Canada Kev is on the live stream

and he's eager to make a Rob Pruss and Bob Weggener show happen. And he says that you're just an absolutely awesome guitarist. So I'm wondering as we dive in a little deeper, maybe I'll do a little more psychoanalysis later and I won't send you an invoice at the end of that. Don't worry. But maybe we hear a little bit of this guitar virtuoso that I have in the basement right now.

Where do I begin? Can I play some Vivaldi? Where should I start? I'm probably thank you. The check clearly came through. You know what check hasn't come through? What? Now you're in Montreal, so you may not qualify for this now, but this premiere is

supposed to send everybody 200 bucks and it's, it's a bullshit plea to secure votes. As he calls it unnecessary. He has a, he has a majority government. Yes. So he calls it unnecessary. He has a majority government. Yes. So he has a mandate. I know and some of the checks aren't cashing by the way which is just gut-wrenchingly hilarious but do go on. An FOTM's wife uncovered that story that's all I can say on that front but I will say I know there was a postal strike and things are a bit messed up at the post office so but I haven't received my $200 check yet. I'm going to check for that.

I mean, I don't want it. I don't, I'm like Abe Simpson. I don't need it. I don't deserve it, but damn it. It better arrive. And I'm going to cash it right away. So, okay. But can I play some Vivaldi? Yeah, let's have it. Okay. So everybody, this is, this is Bob Wagner. I'm going to listen. Then we're going to talk over it because, um, cause I talk over it because I wouldn't know Vivaldi if he was at the door, but let's listen here. This is the piece that Leona Boyd says since- I'm glad you brought that up. You brought, you sent in a- Can you tell me a little more about that while we have you

in the background? I know bring it up in a minute. Well, yeah. it was her version of this piece that was the first one that I heard. I've heard so many since and this is what really got me into Baroque music was her Baroque favorites album and so I had to make the string track for this and I played this. This is a live version of this piece that you're listening to. So this is live? Yes, it's a live version I'm playing. Where are you playing? This is at the small World Center on Shaw Street

Just north the Queen this would have been last October. So this Baroque version That the FOTM Leona Boyd performed. That's what drew you in not the picture of her on a horse Have you seen Leona Boyd on this horse? That isn't that album, but I sure have Different album. Okay, you probably have a poster on your wall in Montreal. False. I do not, but I don't really know. I'm an open-minded guy. But there was another piece on that Baroque favorites album that I inquired of her and she responded to me on her episode. There was this wonderful concerto by this obscure Italian composer named Domenico Cimarosa. And it's a clarinet concerto and she arranged it for the guitar. I just want to know if she has charts for this because I'd love to compare my notes

with hers. I think it got pretty close. She never got back to us, right? She gave us some answer on the recording, but I think I sent her an email seeking more specifics maybe and didn't hear back. Is that possible? Entirely possible. I should ask her again.

I might have to revisit this with Leona Boyd. She replies to my emails, but I want to make sure we get these charts. Yeah, she replied to me once too, so I should just ask her. I know I got close, but I'm sure there's just a little something I missed, because it's a really quick piece. It's the Allegro. It's a tricky, tricky piece. Well, this sounds like a tricky piece.

Again, I'm a layman. No expertise, but let's listen a, tricky piece. Well, this sounds like a tricky piece. Again, I'm a layman, no expertise, but let's listen a bitch, Wagner. Oh bless you, sir. If there's just something so ethereal about some of this baroque music, it's 250 years old and it's just timeless. As timeless as Led Zeppelin IV. Oh god, yeah. I'll talk about Led Zeppelin all day. I'm a giant Led Zeppelin nerd.

What's your favorite band of all time? Ooh, that's tough. Well, the two bands that have kind of helped me facilitate a career are Queen and Max Webster, of course. There's so many bands I love, though. But the short answer, yeah, those are the two. And maybe I could make a Mountain Rush that but the short answer. Yeah, those are the two and You maybe could make a mountain rush more of two more, but would rush be on that Mount Rushmore. Oh, yeah, they'd be close I mean maybe pick Floyd. I mean, I love Led Zeppelin But all these obscure indie bands and anything any band I've heard of any been well, yeah

Well, the Beatles they have a fighting chance actually, you should check them out. The Rolling Stones. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. I love Steve Howey, he's a brilliant musician. I love Muse, British band Muse, they're such a cool band. Okay, so there's something from the last,

I was gonna say recent, but probably not as recent as my memory thinks it was Muse. Yeah, but you're just listening to Vivaldi, I mean, this stuff is comparatively recent. That is true. That is true here. OK. Now, did you really open for Tony Levin?

I did, yeah. That was a really cool experience. That was, I think, probably my first proper time opening for a major artist. And I actually was given an encore, and I played a Frank Zappa song. Which song did you play? From Joe's Garage. I did Watermelon in Easter Hay. Joe's Garage. I feel like that's as accessible as Zappa got. Yeah, yeah there's that and of course there was also Valley Girl.

Valley Girl is the hit. Yeah and you know and you know Don't Need the Yellow Snow that was I think a minor hit. I co-hosted a show with Mark Hebbser for five years. It's been a while now. We miss you Hebbsy, but, uh, huge Zap ahead. And he introduced me to a lot of Zappa. And when he came over to kick out the jams, there was some Zappa in there. And the more you read about Zappa and the more you listen to Zappa, you

realize that, uh, this guy was, you know, I think I'm a gifted student. He was a, you know, cream of the crop. This guy was bright as dim a light as I am in that chandelier. He lit the whole damn thing. Hmm. Smart, smart mofo there. My goodness gracious here. All right.

You, I kind of want to play something else from you, but I wanted to ask you about changing of the guard. Like you released a solo album. Album? Somebody told me I say album. Album. Yes. I feel like it should be album. Album. Think about it. Yeah, right. So the album people about that. I'm sure they love to hear. Did you, uh, as a child, did you, uh, eat pablum? Negative. What is that? You know what? My, I have four kids, none of them touch pablum, but I think I was raised on pablum Like maybe this explains a few things but album. Mm-hmm. It's just funny to say bum. Okay album

You released a solo album called changing of the guard. That's right. Yes, 2017 2017 what did that comprise of? Right, yeah, 2017. 2017, what did that comprise of? Mostly my own pieces. I did a Segovia piece on there too, but the rest was mine, there were 12 tracks. And it's just kind of a combination of all these things that I've been writing.

And I didn't write with the intention of making an album, but I hit a point where it's just, okay, I've written six or seven pieces and I should make an album. So I got into a good creative phase around that time and There was one particular piece I remember was I wrote a string quartet and kind of like one of those Baroque things and inspired by the Leona Boyd kind of thing and you know Julian Bream and all those cats and just writing a string quartet with a guitar part and

And I brought in the string players and recorded them actually one at a time which was not what I thought would happen I thought they'd all come in at the same time and record under a single mic kind of like the cowboy junkies in the church but no they recorded separate yeah beautiful album yeah and but no they really came in separately because they remember the studio told me that they had to push it back or rather forward a few weeks because they're gonna do renovations and I had to get make it all happen suddenly. And so the string players just on a short notice, they all came the same afternoon, but not at the same time. So that was a very unique way of recording a string section. And but

mostly it was it was just one instrument and but different instruments. I was playing playing guitar of course, but I played this Irish bazooka I played this East Coast instrument called what was it called a Merlin it's from Quebec I think Quebec Company but remember buying it in Halifax so what's that first thing the Irish what a bazooka he's got eight what the hell's a bazooka it's it's got eight strings it's in it's in no four pairs. It's kind of the same I think it's the same tuning as a mandolin. It's in fifths, but a very very different sound and it's a beautiful sounding instrument It's fun to say bazooka. Bazooka. Yeah, it's fun to say that. Okay, shout out to bazooka Joe. Just as fun to play

I promise. Okay So I have a song here from you called looney Tune. It's right, yeah. Is that from this album? It is, yeah. Well, let's listen to some Bob Wagner for goodness sakes. Yeah, this is the penultimate track here. At home drawing pictures of mountaintops. Right?

Stop ruining my song. I worked so hard on this I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy

I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I'm gonna be a good boy I wrote this. This is really nice. Yeah, it sounds great in the cans. I can't believe you wrote this. It's funny. I've never really listened without being hypercritical.

I just listened to it, and kind of let that wash over me. It's just, that's a really nice piece of music, and I wrote it. Some of these songs were hard to record. This one I did in, I think, two takes. It was pretty quick. So you got this great instrumental piece.

Did you ever think about joining forces with a singer to write lyrics for? No. What I did with this stuff, I put it into sourcing firms to, you know, they're kind of the middleman for people making TV and film. And of course, it's a bit of a crap shoot and whether or not they discover you is, you know, it's not nothing. Blair does that a lot, right? Blair Packham's stuff shows up on a lot of... he does a lot of themes for cartoons and stuff. Why are you talking about that? Because yeah, some of these pieces I would love to have on TV or in film. But because a piece like this,

it's a very melodic piece and I couldn't put a voice on top of this particular kind of piece because the melody is in the guitar playing. I mean, I feel like it's a complete piece as it is But there is one vocal piece on the album And it kind of became a bit of a Brian Mayish Kind of production with this orchestra of guitars that sounds like it's on an early Queen album And actually I sent that song to him and he loved it. That was that one that means more than all the the Grammys I'll never win And the main theme reprises again

But I just but I want to think I've learned from a lot of music I grew up listening to was you just never do the same thing exactly twice I reprise that theme but then I go to this different little coda to finish the piece off I reprise that theme, but then I go to this different little coda to finish the piece off Beautiful You never want to outstay the welcome of anything you always turn left a little bit You're showing great restraint in that I feel like this could have been 15-17 minutes? I have written a 15-minute piece with my trio U-Phonic. It's about six movements. It's a really

cool little piece. We wrote this in our early 20s. U-Phonic? Yeah. Who's in U-Phonic with you? A couple guys I grew up with in Hamilton and well, they met in my early 20s. I'm Jeff Ball on cello and Vince Waters on drums. And yeah, it's a bunch of untitled pieces just called song one, song two, song three, just like, you know, Beethoven concertos. And that's the longest one. I think it's about 14 or 15 minutes

and it's five or six movements. And they call this folk fusion. Folk fusion, because industry people want to categorize things. So that's the best way to do that in two words or less. You know, it's just yesterday I mentioned the guy from spin doctors was here and his dad was with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

That's how this American ended up in Toronto. And his dad is a cellist. He was, he's passed on, but he was like a world renowned cellist and I read the word cellist, C-E-L-L-I-S-T. I read it word cellist c-e-l-l-i-s-t I read it as cellist. Cellist. I saw cell phone and I said cellist and I realized very immediately I realized it's cellist. That's the technical term for prison guards actually little known fact. Cellist okay wow euphonic a little euphonic in there so I know how I want to close and not that

we're winding down because I'm gonna spend quite a bit of time on this, but I want to talk in great detail about Max Webster. As you know, Kim Mitchell's an FOTM, but first I would love to give you a measuring tape from Ridley Funeral Home. Bob, you finally got your measuring tape from Ridley Funeral Home. What do I need to measure with this, Mike? I don't need to know the details. Whatever needs measuring, you can take care of it now. Oh, bless bless you sir. And you guys said you got the lasagna, you got the beer. I want to remind you because this works in Montreal as well that recyclemyelectronics.ca is available to you

if you have any old cables, old electronics, old devices that have ended their lives. You do not throw them in the garbage because the chemicals end up in our landfill. You go to recyclemyelectronics.ca. Got it? Roger that. Roger, Roger, he's a member of Queen. Oh yes, I was thinking more of a pilot to bombardier. Roger, Roger.

I'm now thinking airplane. Airplane comedy classic. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is in that scene. Oh my God, that's a great, that's a great. I need to rewatch that, it's been that scene. Oh my God, that's a great, that's a great movie. I need to re-watch that. It's been 20 years. It's such a great film. See, that's a great movie, but my introduction to this world was The Naked Gun.

I'm a little older than you and I saw The Naked Gun in theaters and then I went back and saw Airplane, but I thought The Naked Gun was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Yeah, that's just slightly, slightly before my time. But I've been told they need to watch those films. There were how many? I think the, I mean, the spoof was, I think there was one called number two and a half. Yeah, there was two and a half and there's 33 and a third, but that first one, okay.

Your baseball fan, the Reggie Jackson must kill the queen stuff. Oh my God. You got to see the naked gun. Oh, Reggie Jackson. And there's like so many things that I think about often. Like I think about Frank Drebben, Leslie Nielsen is at the airport and there's a mob of people there. And then the guy tells them, oh, no, they're not here to see you, Frank.

Weird Al Yankovic is on that plane. And it's this whole like scene where Weird Al comes off another plane and the crowds going nuts at the airport. It's just little things like that. Like I need this in my life. He's mic'd up for this press conference because the Queen is coming and he's part of the security detail and he keeps his mic on as he goes to take a leak in the bathroom. And just this scene alone with the mic he's wearing and the urinal scene, you got to see

the naked guy. Oh man. Okay, that's in order. Give me a reminder. You can come back and we can talk about it. So why, oh yeah, we talked about, that was Roger Roger, I'm like, why am I talking about The Naked Gun? I do wanna talk about Max Webster,

but I just wanna say, just before you got here, Bob, I was recording a new episode of Building Toronto's Skyline, which is a podcast from Nick Ainiis, and he had this great architect down here and they were talking about this the real talk about the current state of the condo industry because there's a lot of fear uncertainty and doubt and there's a Lot of moving parts and they're all connected and right now There's a lack of market for the many many condos that are in development right now. Like it's it's quite a I think the the Slogan I heard was survive 2025. Like it's, it's, this is where we're at.

That's dark. Yeah. Well, it's, it's dark if you're trying to sell your condo, I can tell you right now. So there's a supply and demand issue here. A lot of, there's a missing middle that people are focusing on now and rentals, et cetera. There's some pivots there, but it is a fascinating discussion on that topic. And Nick Aini is again, proud sponsor of this program. Subscribe to building Toronto's skyline.

I want to talk about Max Webster with you, Bob. You are a Max Webster expert. And I think a good way to segue us over to the Max Webster chat is you, Plain Lily. Let's play this and talk about this. So I played a show, that show in last March, not March, last October at the Small World Center. And I find out hours before that Kim Mitchell's coming to my show.

And so I had to make a slight adjustment to my set list and ensure I'm playing a Max song. And so I did this one from slight adjustment to my setlist and sure, I'm playing a Max song. And so I did this one for the first Max Webster album. And at this point, you think I'm nervous, but just, I don't know, I've played in front of Brian May. Just I've played in front of, I think I've played for M&M once. That's another story. You want to throw that at me now before we get back to Max Webster? That's another story sure but and yes remember those memes going around where people saying here's ten things

and one of them's not true and I knew did the whole play for Eminem and everyone thought that where did you play for Eminem he was evil rocky yeah he cruised with with his with his kid on a Royal Caribbean ship and he watched us and tried to stay in cognia but we but we picked him out yeah yeah okay that's amazing so this is great at the end here so I get heckled by the boss here Man, I can't do that. That's amazing. Yeah. Pretty flattering, isn't it?

I know a bad attitude. That's a good line, too. Can you win this round, Mitchell? You still made me. You still. Okay, so you performed that version of Lily in front of the... Can you imagine? Can you imagine?

I can't just quit now. I mean, it's only going to end in a little bit. Used to maybe, used to. Okay, so you performed that version of Lily in front of... Can you imagine? Can you imagine? I can't just quit now. I mean, it's only going to be a little bit longer. Honestly, just what is it like to be the artist and someone plays your 50-year-old song, some guy that wasn't born when that came out, and just what a mixture of feelings that must

be. But he came and it's just cool, what an honor. And he heckled me after my, you know, playing, but he came and it just cool. What an honor and And he heckled me after my you know playing of his song. It's very cool. Kim's great How were you introduced to these songs of Max Webster? It was just on the radio It was it was on the playlist growing up just you hear the Beatles you hear April Wine Well, hey, I'll bring so cuz I know When I think of like growing up and again, I'm older than you, but we both grew up in Ontario, staples of like, you know, rock radio, like this song, for example,

I was thinking of Max Webster, cause I had this old Canada compilation, had a million vacations was on it. Yes. So it's like, okay, a million vacations. But then you realize these songs have just, you've been like, like April wine. You've been swimming in these songs all along.

I know. And this isn't even Kim's. This is Terry Walken's song is one of the biggest hits they had. It's a fantastic song, right? Although it reminds me of another song. It reminds me of ever since, was it it, Gone So Long, You've Been Gone So Long, You've Been Gone Gone Gone So Long. Which one came first? I don't know when that one was recorded. But just everything about

this song. Well let Canada Cav tell me on the live stream. Canada Cav find out for me. Just this is so well produced. It, just the melodies, I mean everything, the arrangement. It's a beautiful sounding track. It's got a yacht rock vibe to it and it's like so well crafted. But again, it's just that these key changes and, I mean not so much a key change, but just these little unexpected left turns. This is what I grew up listening to, you know? And then here is a diminished seven chord. Just who does this in pop songs now?

It's a beautiful song. It's just perfectly crafted. A great hook. Just everything about this is great. The layered guitar parts just, you know, beautiful. So you appreciated the musicianship and this band, Max Webster. Now I find Max Webster an interesting band to focus on because they're sort of like the Kirkland brand Rush. Am I crazy to say such a scandalous thing? Oh get out of your basement I'm so deeply offended. No they were just well these kind of start at the same time really. I mean Rush were kind of a barb and a little before Max

were but they were just barely beyond or just barely behind I should say. But why did Rush have such a global commercial success that seemed to elude Max Webster? Well, it's the music business. You know, there's the great Hunter S. Thompson quote, the whole, the music business is a dark and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side. That's funny. It's the music business. But Max Webster, where every bit is good and interesting, unique, creative as Rush, but in a different way.

They had a sense of humor that I would say that that's where Rush got their concert sense of humor from was from having Max Webster open for them 200 times. Yeah, because Rush were very... Forever intertwined. They are. Well, because they were such a serious band when they were playing in the 70s and early 80s. And then as soon as Max Webster breaks up,

then they start doing the whole, okay, we're gonna play the weapon and let's all bring on our 3D glasses, which is a Max Webster lyric from Czech. And so you watch on the Grey's Under Pressure Tour in Toronto video and everybody puts on in the audience their 3D glasses. That's something, you know, that Max Webster would have done with their audience, you know, because they were the funny band. Rush were the serious guys.

Am I right that you got to perform this at a gig in 2015 with Terry Walkenstein? Oh, God, yeah. It was at the Musidium run by Donald Kwan. That's at 401 Richmond. It's a really cool space if you've never been, I don't even know if it still exists anymore, but it's a really, really cool space with all these world instruments. And it was a shop by day and a music venue by night. And it was a bit before Christmas and about 10 years ago.

And I got a call saying you know Mike Tilka can't make it can you play bass for Terry Walken's and I said sure I'd love to yeah okay and just a quote I'm gonna read from Paul Kersey he saw you play that that actual Lily there's a video of that Lily he saw and he loved it so there's some more praise on the drummer it's pretty wonderful I know I'm in time in touch with all the guys in Max in one way or another. And I'm just so lucky there are so many people who write biographies about bands, but the biographer and the subject butt heads.

And just everybody in Max Webster in one way or another was great and helpful. And just no real serious issues with anyone. It was such a such a great thing to do. Well, we're going to pivot to specifically high class, which came out, well, less than two years ago, about a year and a half, year and a half ago. But it is, you know, worth mentioning on this topic of Max Webster and Rush that you have appeared in a film because there was a documentary directed by Tom Gordon about the history of Battle Scar by Max Webster and Rush. And you're one of the, I guess, a talking head on that thing.

Yeah, that was, that was great. I filmed that in a living room in Guelph because I'm so, so Tom, so he had a band that did a cover of Battle Scar and to give it a whole new meaning and made this video with this indigenous American kind of thing going on and just it was a really cool take on the song And then they did a documentary about the making of that and the song as a whole because Especially for americans just even a ton of rush fans do not know that the one time that rush ever Performed or recorded as a whole with anyone else was with Max Webster at phase one in 1980. They maxed this is one of the earliest Max Webster songs from 1973. It was one of the first songs they became in Pied de Bois wrote, but then it just kind of grew into this larger thing.

And then they started playing it again on tour opening for Rush and the guys are side stage watching from stage left or whatever and just saying if you guys record that song We'd love to do that with you and they had the vision for it and then lo and behold it actually happens and there they are So you got Jack Richardson, you know the guest who's producer with a baton in the middle Just basically being the referee between Max Webster and rush and just the technology to get to 24 track boards Jerry big together in 1980. No one had ever done that. It was an insane technological achievement. Nevermind the musical achievement of this incredible song.

So, so Tom did this great, you know, 15 minute documentary on YouTube about there, just the making and the history of this song. And yeah, I've been talking ahead in a couple of times. Cool. The only other time I can think, and this doesn't really count because she was kind of a hired gun, but Amy Mann is on Time Standstill. One of my favorite Rush songs. Such a good track. But I don't even know, like I did look into it because I'm like, oh, that's the only

time I can think of where you hear a woman's voice on a Rush song. Um, I'd say you're correct. So and Amy Mann, of course, you know, till Tuesday and big deal and I'm a big Magnolia fan over here and it all kind of ties together and she's married to Michael Penn, I believe. I believe so. I believe she's married to Michael Penn who is hit maker in his own right.

Great musician, but who of course the Sean Penn's brother, Sean Penn's other brother who's shouted to really funeral home no longer with us was in a movie with Stu Stone. Great FOTM. So that's Chris Penn. But okay, so back to Michael Penn, Amy Mann. I think they just like hired, they wanted to hire a woman for this part. And I don't think they necessarily targeted Amy Mann. I feel like I think, I think it's just sort of like they got Amy Mann, but I don't think this was like Hey, let's do something with Amy man truth be told. I don't know the the story of how that all together there's a documentary on time. Stand still, do a little homework and you'll be the

talking head on that one too. Maybe I should go to guy. I do get calls for these things though, which is interesting and truth be told, sometimes I take them and sometimes I don't because for instance when when Taylor Swift was in town I don't know who is batting coming to bat for me but I get the phone call when something like Taylor Swift happens and then radio stations want to interview me about the significance of this and one time they really compare it to Woodstock then you know you're getting you're getting Eric Alpers, uh, leftovers. That's a leftover. That was a fun conversation.

That was actually really great. It's funny. And now I'm just working in some Alper jokes here because I, uh, I did have it again, again, that was my fifth reference to Eric Schenkman yesterday, but he performs every Wednesday at the gross Grossman's Tavern and, uh, Grossman was, uh, Alpers grandfather. Oh my goodness. Tangle what we weave. There you go. But you, I want to talk high class specifically here, okay?

So like about a year and a half ago, you released High Class. If anyone listening is interested in anything to do with Max Webster or, you know, Kim Mitchell or even Rush or whatever high class can you still get high class? Unfortunately no. I just sold it and you can't even get it. Good news and it sold out in six months. People love Max Webster. I printed a thousand of these and they sold out. So now I'm doing... You think about you know you know doing another print run? Oh yeah I'm doing a second edition. I'm working on it now. When's that coming out Now I'd imagine by the fall. Um,

so yeah, if anyone's got deep pockets and wants to help finance the printing of the second edition, cause you have to, as a self published book, you have to, um, you have to put the money up to the, uh, the printer upfront. So if anyone loves any of this, these aforementioned artists and feels like they want to help, have you talked to Martin pop off yet? I feel like this is his realm. Yeah, well he was the, he was the the kind of guy that inspired me to do this because

he did a paperback on Max Webster called Live Magnetic Air and I just thought, yeah, I want to take this a step further. And Martin was super cool and he was very supportive and you know, just yeah, Martin's great. Also an FOTM, okay? Martin Popoff and I know he, yeah, he's written a million books yeah all the rock fans know pop-off but rush yeah he's written a bunch of rush books as I recall here but you wrote high class and this is the Max Webster book and is it like is it one of those books Kim Mitchell would endorse or would he distance himself from home he was I think a little hesitant at first and but he came on board once he saw it he He just he thought this is great and he you know

He just I gave him a few copies are we went through it and so we got together at At a Japanese place in his hood. He's around blue and royal York and and and of course to which a friend of mine Luke Jackson quipped might as well go for a sushi But but we went and just Kim was, I've met him so many times. So many Kim Mitchell's, Royal York and Bloor. Something like that, yeah. Bike, bike ride intersection at least four, maybe five days a week. Yeah, well he's, yeah, he's, now and again you find him at the music store on the corner there. Run by my pal Lou. I'm taking notes over here, okay shout out to Lou. Yeah, he's he's not again you find him at the music store on the on the corner there

Run by my pal Lou taking notes over here. Okay, yeah, but yeah, yeah, yeah So but yeah, we went out and so I just basically I brought the book and he just leafed through about the first half of the book we hung up for a couple hours and You know a lot of the older musicians when they're in legacy mode and all that no looking back and reflecting on their careers Very often they default to saying, I don't have a great memory, which is funny. I just listened to the Robert Lawson episode you did with him talking about Randy Bachman's memory or whatever euphemism for memory you wish to use

in Randy's case. But so often though, I mean, it's just legitimately people forget things that happen. Making up things or stretching the truth for current marketing is one thing but sometimes legitimately people forget things that happened 50 years ago and I'm kind of in the middle of all this now because I've done all kinds of interviews with people and Just you hear the same story from four different people and it's four different stories And I don't reckon and that three or four of those people are trying to lie just because memory isn't it isn't just a tape machine it's it's a copy of a copy of a copy and it's distilled by our emotions over time and

shockingly unreliable oh god so you kidding me when they when things like 9-eleven happen they have massive studies with people and they bring them Malcolm Gladwell we heard Malcolm Gladwell so you know so I don't need to get in this but in case no one's heard this I didn't mean to interrupt you finish that thought so this is so so so good basically these major events happen they have this is always an opportunity for a study and they bring people in but a month later and they asked them so who are you with when you found out who was the first person you called, what was the next place you traveled to, etc. etc.

And then they bring people in again a year later and five years later and ten years later. And by ten years, 70% of people's memories have changed. It's just so fascinating to me. It really does, you know, because I feel I have vivid memories. I can remember exactly where I was. I remember who told me about the first plane because I heard about the first plane on the radio. And I remember tuning in. I remember exactly where I was streaming what from the office in Thornhill I was at that day, September 11th, 2001. Like

I have these vivid memories, but I just assume these to be true because I've had these memories since 2000. That's 24 years now. 24 years. But I don't, I wouldn't trust these memories. That's the thing. And when you realize that our memories are inherently flawed, then you just don't get so precious about them. And that's why I'm not so bothered when now and again, someone has just a recollection,

maybe they're just mixing up two dates, you know. Peter Gross kicked out a song, Mamas and Papas. He was saying, oh, I used to listen to this song when I was delivering papers when I was whatever years old. And at some point I'm like, well, you know, Peter, that song didn't come out until this year and you were already this many years old. So there's an example where like,

he's got this memory of listening to the Mamas and Papas as he delivers papers as like a nine-year-old or whatever. And it didn't happen like he's conflating things. Yeah. But, but it's like the flavor of the story is intact. Yeah. And you know, you can be the pedantic, you know, and to me that's different than printing the legend, right? Like this is just simply, uh, like you said, we have our memories are caught. Well, I said copy of copy of a copy and unreliable and they conflate through the years and different memories get combined with other memories and attached to others and different details get morphed and change and that's called being human. It's just life, I know. So meanwhile, so here I am with

Ken Mitchell showing him his book and to me, I'm the historian, I'm the biographer, he is in his mind perhaps, this is, oh, this is a scrapbook of my 20s. And you know, and just, he has a whole other trip to this than I do as the person who put this together. For him, it's a whole bunch of stuff that he either hasn't thought of in 40, 50 years or hasn't even seen.

He hasn't seen so many of these photos. And then he's going through them, but he remembers every guitar and where he bought it and for how much and how much he sold it for. And then he's going through this book and then he says, oh yeah, this is my, you know, this is this guitar and this is that guitar.

And then he gets to the Massey Hall photos the first time they headline Massey Hall. And again, this is the guy who claims, as many of these types do, just, hey, I don't have a great memory. And then he looks at this one particular photo, he says, oh, that's Massey Hall. And I'm playing my ovation acoustic

and my head is slightly tilted back from the mic. So that must be the last note of the song, words to words. I said, Mitchell, you are never ever allowed again to say I've got a bad memory. Cause he was completely accurate. You jogged it out of him by music takes you back, photographs, they take you back and they trigger things. You said off the out of him by music takes you back photographs. They take you back and they trigger things you said off the top of this episode. Oh, I haven't thought about, I haven't thought about

this in years. Yeah. Different converse long form conversations like this. You start to, you know, paint your picture. Yeah. And that's memory recall. That's a whole different thing from just memory. Right. When you see the picture, something triggers the memory. Of course it's all in there somewhere. There just has to be a reason for it to come out. And when you had the release party for high class, a coffee table book available in that, not available, but another printing is coming. That's another story to come. Do you want to drop like a website address or yeah, it's a high class max.com. So you can sign up for the second edition and I've got about 200 something names on it. So there's definitely people who want that.

Highclassmax.com. Highclassmax.com. Is Robert Lawson on the list or he's already got his copy? Ooh, that's a good question. He's kind of selling, you know, he manages a record store at Cloverdale Mall. They should be selling high class over there. Oh yeah, the Sunrise.

Yeah, second edition. I mean, we'll get some on consignment or something with him. That's a good thought. Yeah, do it in Cloverdale Mall signing before they bulldoze that place. Okay, but how many members of Max Webster attended the release party? Five, and a week earlier, it was two.

Well, how many did not attend? Because I'm not sure how many people are in Max Webster. Well, it was, I mean, well, there were different periods. I mean, it's just, because there were, for this album, you have these guys and there were only two consecutive albums where you had the same lineup. And so basically five of the primary guys that played in Max Webster were there. So Kim and Paul Kersey and Terry Walken's and Dave Miles and Gary McCracken. So for those five guys played on let go of the line. So those guys had not been in a room together in 43 years. And I felt like I got to beat those back together.

Amazing you did that. See, look at you. By the way, so Let Go of the Line, I played it already. And then I always think of that Chilliwack song. So let me just play it again off the top. Hold on. Sure, let's have that. We have some answers here from our crack researcher, Canada Kev.

So I hear this. What year did this song get released? Do you know? That's 79. 79, okay. So this song's 79. Gone so long, you've been gone so long, you've been gone, gone, gone so long.

Ever since the... So this is the song I'm singing is My Girl by Chilliwack. According to Canada Kev on the live stream, Chilliwack releases My Girl in 1981. Max Webster was first. First to the finish line. But again, I got to play them kind of back to back. Okay, go for it. Yeah. Since I met you, I'm my girl.

Yeah, I can't sing. Don't call us, we'll call you. I can't say. Don't call us, we'll call you. I will not be a, I'll be the singer over your instrumental here. So bring this down. One fun fact that just, cause you mentioned Massey Hall a moment ago

in the picture of Kim Escher, but you played Massey Hall. Yeah, I'm about to play Massey Hall again, actually. I'm going to be part of a thing called Rush Fest. It's going to be on August 1st. This is massive. Does Rush Mike know about this? Does James Edgar know about this? So Rush Fest, do you know any who else is on this bill? Oh yeah. Jacob Moon, Dave Barrett. Um, actually, I actually

took a couple of notes here. Who else is on the bill? Wow. Is let me see. Let me see. Oh, I'm trying to remember, but yeah, there's a couple of tribute bands that are on it. Just it's, it's basically everybody getting to play a few songs, I guess. And it's just going to be kind of, I imagine it'll be kind of like a Star Trek convention for Rush fans and they're going to fill it.

And there's so many Rush fans. Oh yeah. That's incredible. Will Alex Life Center, Geddy Lee be appearing at this? Do not know. I do not know at this point. Of course. That's the hope. I was at Massey Hall for when they did the spoken word event for Getty's book, which was a beautiful experience. Was that Strombo who did that? Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. It was first it was Alex. I wanted that gig, but they gave it to Strombo. Well, he famously was one of the very few people to actually get Neil Peir to open up in an interview. It's an amazing conversation. Oh, the Red Chair Show on CBC. Well, he famously was one of the very few people to actually get Neil Peir to open up in an interview It's an amazing conversation. The Red Chair Show on CBC. Yeah, that was really really good He goes through moving pictures one track at a time. It's so good. But yeah to answer your question I played Massey Hall with Classic Albums Live

We did Queen and I at the Opera and we had a large choir This is about an 11 piece band and an army of five guitars. It was a really cool show. You know, you're a cool guy, great musician, love this chat, but you're tied to something else in the TMU, the Toronto Mike Universe, I'm gonna ask you about on the way out here, okay? Oh, that's happened.

So, not long ago, Jeff Woods. Jeff Woods, I won't even do a Jeff. That's Saltery Baritone. Who can do that? Hi Mike. Mike. Oh my goodness. Jeff Woods was doing a crowdfunding, like, uh, he was raising money to publish his book, Bean By, and he was going to open up and talk about his, uh, being bisexual. And he's, I think, I think I get credit. I got to see if I'm in the book. You might know. I gotta see if I'm in the book. You might know that I'm just playing that in a minute. I edited the book. Of course I know.

So I know. So that's where I'm going. Yeah. Come on. You just spoiled everything. I was going to build it up. Game over. Game over. Being by available now. Oh, it's been out for a couple of months. I gotta get Jeff Woods on. Yeah. But I, uh, he raised enough money to, to, to publish Bean by you edited this book. Yeah. Is it a good book? Yeah. Fabulous book. He's, he's such a thoughtful guy.

So he does the kind of the history of bisexuality going back to Abraham Lincoln and is all Abraham Lincoln was bisexual. Hell yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah. Big Abe. And so in just, is he use a really funeral home measuring tape. All right, continue Abraham Lincoln. I believe that's slightly anachronistic. Perhaps he predates Ridley funeral. Oh yeah, 1921. I

forgot Pillars of the Community. Okay, yes. So great book. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you there, but I threw in a like a dick joke because I'm as you should. Oh, come on. Just a child here because I'm as you should come on just a child here, but You you enjoyed not just because it's your job to edit it you legitimately enjoyed reading Jeff's Not everything that you're given to edit is great But fortunately everything I've edited so far has been great and I hope that's always the case But yeah Jeff's book just he's super thoughtful guy, the history of bisexuality, the current affairs of bisexuality, and of course his own personal personal experience of it and and his kind of take is the whole hey I'm the biker rock classic rock radio guy and I can come

out as bi just you know that anyone can because because he says and because another research is there you know the whole lgbtq there's more B than all the others combined. And apparently something like a quarter of people under 30 now identify as bisexual, which probably means they always have, but now it's just safer to do so. That's without a doubt that it's safer to do so without a doubt here. Now, when is there a part of this book and I need to get a copy. I am so sorry I'm late on the being by. I was there for raising the money and then I took my eye off the prize here. But does he speak to the fact that he reveals his bisexuality public for the first time on Toronto Miked?

I'm trying to remember. I know we- Oh, you wouldn't forget a thing like that, Bob. I know we spoke about it. Did it make the book? This is a very important- No, no, no. You know what? It's entirely possible it's's in the book. It's funny when you,

you edit it out, no, when you're, when you're doing the book, you see, it's funny again about memory. This is a recent memory. And when you're in it and you're doing the thing, right, you have a whole different connection to it. So you get this. So the, the, the, the last Metallica bassist, Jason Neustadt, he was once on an interview and they asked him, what is your favorite song off the load album and he says I don't even know what songs are on load or reload. He said you're in it you put a hundred percent of

yourself into it and then you disconnect from it. So I've not yet read that book. If I want it when I read Being By now that I've edited it and I've just spent some time away from it then for sure I could instantly recall if that was in there. I don't want to say for sure that it was, but I think it is. Oh my goodness. If anybody's read it, let me know if I'm in the book here. So on our way out here, I've thoroughly enjoyed this and we're going to take a photo by Toronto tree, uh, long overdue. I think it's been a couple of summers since I, uh, or I don't know when I met you in Blair Packham's living room, but I'm glad I did.

Year and a, Was it last summer? Well, I'm glad you will. TML X 15 was June 27, 2024. And I'd met you before that. So it may be, it was a spring who knows sounds about right. Yeah. So, but it was good to see you see there that memories intact because that was my 50th birthday and I received the kayak.

So I'll never forget that day. And, uh, what an amazing day. It was so happy to see you there. So on our way out though, uh, when do you return to Montreal? Oh, tonight. Oh, tonight you're back to Montreal. Okay. And what are you up to?

What's the life like? What is going on in that? Can we expect anything else exciting? I mean, a second edition of a, your high class working on that. Well, there is one thing I'm working on now and I'm, uh think this is gonna be the first time I talk about it in any public way. You didn't mention it on Bob's basement? No, because this is a very, very, very new thing. So it's been on my mind for years now, but I finally pulling the trigger on this.

It's I heard I read the story about Paul McCartney's Hoffner bass, the original one that went missing in 1972, and it was found. And it was seen in public at his last concert of his tour last year in London, and his tech brings it on. And he says, yeah, this is my original Hofner bass. It was found after over 50 years of going missing. And so I love these stories.

Neil Peter Franton got his legendary Les Paul back. Randy Backman told us a similar story. Got his Gretsch back, and all love these stories. Neil Peter Franton got his legendary Les Paul back. Randy Bachman told us a similar story. Randy got his Gretsch back. And all these great stories to me, Page's Black Beauty, so they're all fantastic stories. And Kim Mitchell had a Gretsch guitar that was stolen after a gig in Hamilton in 1975. And I just thought, I gotta launch a campaign.

I gotta do this. If they can find Paul McCartney's bass, then this Gretsch of Mitchell's, this orange Gretsch from the mid sixties, it's a Gretsch Nashville, just, it's probably just sitting in some basement in Hamilton and nobody, whoever's got it doesn't know that it's just the history of the guitar. Just it was stolen, but then it was probably sold and sold and sold again, exchanged hands. And now it's just, someone's playing it probably. So I've got, you know,

all the major medium I'm about to go to, but I've got a website up called kimslostguitar.com. And so I really want to find this guitar for Kim. Can I tell you, I love this premise here and I love that you're doing this. I love this project. Like I need updates along the way. I'll let you know. So what's that URL? That domain name again?

kimslostguitar.com. kimslostguitar.com. And so I've got all the existing photos of this guitar. I mean, it's because it's all early in his life that he had this guitar. His dad bought it for him as a teenager and he was completely crushed when, you know, the other Max Webster members told me this and a very meaningful guitar because I mean his dad paid 700 bucks in the mid 60s you know when a house was 11 grand right not a lot of money a lot of money today actually and so he just so you know but he was always seen with that orange Gretchen the early Max Webster years and in his bands before Max Webster

when he was new a teenager and there's that one black and white photo where he looks like George Harrison. That's a kind of legendary photo when he's 15 years old. And so there's just a small handful of photos and one little Super 8 film of him playing it opening for the Guess Who in Windsor. And so there's not much documentation of it but just but there's quotes from Kim about very specific blemishes on the guitar that would uniquely identify as that guitar. So I'm going to get it out there specifically in Hamilton because hopefully it's still there and hopefully it'll be found. Love it, Bob. Love it so much. By the way, we talked about Rob Proust quite a bit, but

because he worked in musical theater for so long and you were on We Will Rock You, did you guys ever professionally cross paths? Yeah, well I was on a show of his at the Moonshine in Oakville. That would have been maybe a couple years ago now. I was at, with Canada Kev, I went to one of the shows at the Moonshine. Is this with Sandy Horne? No, this was the other show. Okay, I missed you. So yeah, he... Yeah, that's funny how close I came though, because I was at the Sandy show. Okay. So yeah, he How close I came though cuz I was at the San Juan well, he couldn't get sandy that night So he had to elect to have the consolation prize of Bob Wagner instead No offense. I'm I'm taking sandy at this one. Okay, I'm not offended

I can't I can't pull that off make the same choice. He makes him choice. All right. This was great Thank you so much Bob for dropping by My daughter's in Montreal right now, so I'm a big fan of that city as well. Wonderful. Rob did this song, by the way, Rob Pruce. Oh, cool. That's what made me think of him here. So he gets the exit music.

He covered Rosie and Grey by Lowest of the Low for me because I'm trying to elude copyright police algorithms and some success. It's a trial and error. I might have taken a shot at this. This was great. I love this. I'd love to come back. This was such a nice...

You're such a great conversationalist. I thoroughly enjoy listening to so many conversations. I listened to your Charlie Angus and Kathleen Wynn and just such a great conversationalist. I thoroughly enjoy listening to so many conversations. I listen to your Charlie Angus and Kathleen Wynn and just such a wide variety of people you have on here. And yeah, you're pretty all right. And that brings us to the end of our 1622nd show. Is that right? Oh my goodness. 1622. Amazing. Who's 16? Mark Maron. Who's 1623? I'll tell you in a moment. I'll tell you in a moment. Oh, I'm

running out of song here. Okay. Go to torontomike.com for all your Toronto Mike needs. I'm on Blue Sky. I'm very active there at torontomike.com. Much love to all who made this possible. That's Great Lakes Brewery. That's Palma Pasta. That's Recycle My Electronics.ca. That's Building Toronto's Skyline and Ridley Funeral Home. See you all Monday when my next guest, Bobby, we're gonna find out together here. It is... Okay, a great rapper named Socrates. You, you know, hip hop heads know Socrates. Socrates in the basement, making his Toronto Make debut 1pm Monday. See you all then!