Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Brad Giffen: Toronto Mike'd #1350

Episode Date: October 25, 2023

In this 1350th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Brad Giffen about his years hosting Toronto Rocks, his move to 104.5 CHUM-FM, switching to news, working at CTV News Channel, and happiness as Brad Avenyou. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Pumpkins After Dark, Ridley Funeral Home, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Raymond James Canada and Moneris. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

Toronto! Toronto! Welcome to episode 1350 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. Pumpkins After Dark. Get your tickets now at pumpkinsafterdark.com. Recyclemyelectronics.ca. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past.

The Advantage Investor Podcast from Raymond James Canada. Valuable perspective for Canadian investors who want to remain knowledgeable, informed, and focused on long-term success. Season 5 of Yes, We Are Open. An award-winning podcast from Moneris, hosted by FOTM Al Grego, and Redley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making his Toronto Mike debut is Brad Giffen. Welcome, Brad. Brad Brad is in the house. How you doing, Brad? I'm doing like a million bucks us mike oh that's uh real money yeah if i was any happier i'd be a disney character it's good to see you

honestly uh what a pleasure it is to see you you i don't know why why it took me so long you were like i don't know i was getting there i was just getting to the g's but it took me almost 40 years to be worthy to meet you what What a nice setup you have. Okay, let's... This is great. Can I ask you a couple of quick questions? Ask me anything and then share any praise you wish about the studio, and then we'll crack open our Great Lakes on the mic.

Go ahead, Brad. My question or my beer? Well, you want to do the beer first? Let's do the beer real quick. So you do it on the mic. You've got a lager from Great Lakes. Okay, well today, putting aside my question for a quick sec, and any comments about your setup here

in your studio. This is a Great Lakes brewery product, and it's premium lager. Ice cold. On the mic, Brad, on the mic. Just listen to this. It sounds too good to be true. I'm going to do the same. i have an octopus wants to fight ipa

so cheers brad cheers to you nice to meet you wonderful to meet you too now i'm ready well do you want to do the questions or do you want to let the listenership know uh what is it like when you see the studio for the first time like are you underwhelmed as sloan would say are you uh is it tell me what you think it's a lovely studio it's got three mics uh two desks a mixing board you're working off a mac and what kind of mics are these road procaster microphones yeah very good are Are these USB? No, these are XLR, so they go into the board here, and then the board connects to the laptop via USB. Oh, outstanding. I have a Neumann TLM-103 and a Sennheiser 416 at my place.

And I bet you with those pipes, they sound pretty damn good. Well, you know, that's the equipment part of it. I think a lot of voiceover people start turning into gear heads because they think the equipment's going to make them sound good. No, I wish. You know what? It's really all about coaching.

So that's where it goes. And you do a lot. I mean, I feel like I'm talking to Brad Giffen. That's who I'm talking to. But, uh, there's another gentleman you might know named Brad Avenue.

Correct. Well, that's my, that's my voiceover name. That's my professional name now as I record voiceovers. What's your real name? Is that your real name? Okay, so Giffen's your real name. And that's, I mean, as you can imagine,

I have Toronto Rock's questions up the wahoo here. But Brad Avenue, you decided to what? Reinvent yourself for your voiceover career? Well, tell you what, we'll get to that a little later on as we go through this somewhat. Because I'm going to tell you, as we sit not too far away from where I was born. Where were you born? 122 Hillside Avenue in Mimico. Wow, Mimico boy, okay.

And my cousins live just three streets south of here wow not south of here what am i saying east of here east of here okay towards closer to mimico now growing up in mimico did you play lacrosse it's funny you should mention that so when my uh mom would get tired of my brother and sister and i fighting should say if you don't settle down, I'm going to sign you up for lacrosse. So that was always the great punishment. That was the threat? That sounded like it was more of a,

that's more of a treat, no? No. No, for some reason it was not. Something to do with those hard sticks and those hard, small rubber balls. And those tough Mimico boys. Yeah, those tough Mimico boys. Yeah, those tough Mimico boys. I mean, Brendan Shanahan's family.

I mean, a lot of great lacrosse players come from Mimico. When I was growing up, this was very much a separate town. New Toronto, Mimico, Alderwood. Long Branch. And we had our own police and fire, mayors. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was pretty amazing. And then I think it was around 1967,

it all became amalgamated into Etobicoke. Right. Okay, so we were kind of independent until 67, then amalgamated into Etobicoke, and then 1998, Etobicoke gets amalgamated into Toronto, and here you are. Yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing.

You're from Mimico. I had no idea. So, so much ground to cover, but what were your questions? I don't want to forget. Do you have questions? No, that was it. Oh, that was it.

I was just curious about your mics. Okay. What kind of a setup you use in this electronic palace. I was ready for some like deep, deep dives here and it's just, you want to know.

Yeah. So yeah, any questions at all, anytime Brad. I want to shout out a gentleman, a good FOTM, Joel Goldberg. Because Joel's the guy who said you should have Brad on.

And I'm like, firstly, I should just tell you, I loved Toronto Rocks. Like, I can't wait to talk about Toronto Rocks. And, you know, as you know, sadly, I will never have John Major on the program. True. And J.D. Roberts is not returning my calls. And I'm thinking, oh, Brad Giffen is now in my basement. This is a big deal. So I'm so excited.

Oh, gosh. Well, Joel is just a terrific guy. And we've been able to stay in contact all throughout the years. And those years, gosh, almost coming up on, what, 35 years? Because I left Toronto Rocks, I was there from 1985 to 1988 before I went to CHUM FM. Right.

So that's how that worked. But Joel and I have been friends since. He's a terrific guy. Very talented. And because I know Joel's listening, I got to play a little drop for him. Cool. No Cleveland, no Bowie. That's for Joel Goldberg, the Cleveland boy. And Mike Williams doing that. Yes.

Fellow Cleveland boy, Mike Williams. Again, everybody's calling him Mike. I had a guest yesterday. I'm going to talk to you about him in a minute. Oh, Michael Williams. Right. I say, can I call you? I'm a Michael.

I like to be called Mike, but you can call me Michael. I won't get upset or anything. It's on my birth certificate. But I asked Mike straight out, can I call you Mike? Sorry, I asked Michael straight out, how about Mike? And can I call you Mike? Sorry. I asked Michael straight out. How about Mike? And he's like, I talk into a Mike. My name is Michael.

Yeah. I like Michael's attitude. He suits Michael. My brother-in-law. Yeah. Is a Michael, not a Mike, a Michael. My cousin Mike is a Mike. Yeah.

Mike Giffen. Yeah. Michael Wheeler. Well. It's interesting how that all folds out. Brenda, Bradley, Randy. But we all, you know, you choose the name. I was called Bradley usually by my aunts when they were angry at me.

But I kind of grew into the name. And so now my closest friends call me Bradley. But I still go by Brad. Have you heard an episode of Toronto Mic'd in your time? Yeah, I've heard one or two. Yes, indeed. I really enjoyed your conversation with Dan Matheson, for instance, and Lance Chilton, and of course, Jules.

Right. Yeah, you've done some terrific. You've had some great conversations with some really impressive people. All you have to do is go into your podcast full show to see how many people you've spoken with. And finally, I'm adding Brad Giffen to the list. Well.

Better late than never. So two days ago, we're talking on a Wednesday, but Monday, I was visited by a gentleman named Jonathan Gross. In your professional life, did you cross paths with Jonathan Gross? I did not. Okay, so he was writing about rock for the Toronto Sun, but then

he actually had a spurt. I certainly knew of Jonathan, but no. Never met the man? Never knew him personally, no. I believe he took over for John Major on a show on CFMT called Video Singles. Rave. When I recorded with Jonathan, I thought maybe he was replaced by Jonathan Major,

but some subsequent research I did, I kind of dove in. It sounds like basically John Major is the first host of Video Singles, and then Jonathan Gross takes over at some point when John Major probably, like I'm guessing, moved on to maybe Toronto Rocks. Are you able to definitively give me the history of Toronto Rocks? Who are

you before Toronto Rocks? I'm going to just shut up and listen. You know what? Do you want to listen to some nostalgic Toronto Rocks audio to set the stage here? I pulled some clips. Do you want to hear some Toronto nostalgic Toronto Rocks audio to kind of set the stage here? I pulled some clips. Do you want to hear some Toronto Rocks?

Sure. Okay, let's do this. To Toronto Rocks, I'm Brad Giffen. We have the distinct pleasure to be able to announce the audition results from the High School Stars for Chedi 8. Paul Johnson and the gang there have done a terrific job, and these are the bands that are going to be appearing. The High School Stars for Chedi 88 at the end of January 1988.

Pelican West of Toronto, Something In Between from Toronto. From Georgetown, It's First Class. After Hours from Toronto. Polyester Breakfast from Mississauga. Blues Review from Toronto. Downstream from Toronto. Waiting for Jane from Ridgeville. Blue Jam and the Electric Toasters from Etobicoke.

The Changeling from Richmond Hill. There for Three from Toronto and Tempest Fugit from Toronto and congratulations to all of those bands these bands are all once again confirmed to play at the end of January in the fourth annual High School Star Search and the specific dates and times of performance will be announced as we get closer

to that so for a lot of friends and fans of those bands we're eagerly awaiting the High School Star Search I was listening to the names of these bands wondering if any of these bands made it big I didn't recognize any of those bands were eagerly awaiting the high school stars. I was listening to the names of these bands, wondering if any of these bands made it big. I didn't recognize any of those names. It'd be kind of fun if we hear that and it's like, oh, you know, this band, you know, like Blue Rodeo, whatever.

But here, I actually started with the Wrong Toronto Rocks clip. This is the one I wanted to start with. And just about ready here. Okay, 401 Toronto Rocks is where you got it. Brad Giffen with you here. And hey, how are you doing? We got a great show for you today. Let's get fully adjusted here. Okay, all set.

Got coming up on the show. That's a microphone I'm adjusting. A chance for you to have a summer full of music in the Music World Toronto Rock Summer Full of Music Contest. Also on the way, Level 42, Stones, the latest one from Simply Red on the way in this first half hour, and Honeymoon Suite, and some big, big news on Wham! We're going to tell you about in a second. But first of all, I am your man. This on Wham! We're going to tell you about in a second, but first of all, I am your man. This is Wham! from Toronto Rocks.

Wham! on Toronto Rocks! You know, honestly, Brad, if this episode was only you and I listening together to this episode from, who knows what, mid-80s, but here, I'll bring you down from the 80s and listen to you in 2023 tell me everything. Bury me in detail. This is like

the definitive Toronto Rocks again John Major's never coming so sadly shout out to Rayleigh Funeral I lost him too young we'll talk about that but of course J.D. Roberts is now on Fox News I don't get a sense he's nostalgic for his you know much music days or even

you don't know you ever hear from J.D. Roberts sure from time to time. It's been a little while. Tell them Toronto Mike's looking for him. But your turn. Sure. Who were you?

How did you end up on Toronto Rocks, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera? Well, Toronto Rocks came about midway into my career. I had already been 10 years into a career that started with radio in Lindsay, Ontario. Okay. And from there went to Peterborough, and then from there back to Toronto, where I was born, got into commercial work. Anyway, so speed forward a few years, a couple years, a couple more years at this point. I'm with the CBC, and I'm doing a limited 18-part series called Rock Wars. And I'm doing a limited 18-part series called Rock Wars.

And Rock Wars, also, its duties included filling in for Terry David Mulligan on Good Rockin' Tonight. And also, Samantha Taylor's video hits. Now, go back to Peterborough. John Major, I became acquainted with John back in about 1977. And I had the audacity to contact him and Roger Ashby and Devin Grant, CKOC in Hamilton. And I said, you know, this is where I'm at. I'm, you know, a beginner. And I wonder if you would critique my air checks, please. And all three of them did.

But John went the extra step. But John went the extra step. John Major went the extra step. And he said, whenever you're in Toronto, man, you know, come on in and come over to my place over on Merton Street at the time. And I think his wife's name was Dion. Yeah. So John and Dion would have me over to the house. And I mean, honest to God, it was like walking amongst giants to be with John Major and later to meet some unbelievable people

like Terry Steele and Scott Carpenter, who, Pat Bergen on your show. Right, right. One of your guests. And on and on and on. One of your guests. And on and on and on. But John was just so particularly generous with his advice. And even with opportunities. One of which was when Toronto Rocks was about to become available.

Because John was going to go back to the morning show on 10 50 chum, 10 50 chum, not the morning show. He'd been doing, I think afternoon drive. Right. So he had the opportunity to work at 10 50 chum and,

uh, in the morning. So he said, would you be interested? And I said, I don't know, but I'd be interested in, you know, filling his shoes on Toronto Rocks? To me, the idea was laughable.

I thought, there's no way. And he says, no, you can do this. You really can. And I said, well, I'll give it a try. Where do we start? And he says, well, I'm going to introduce you to John Martin and a few of the others who are going to make the decision. And the story of John Martin, okay, so you know him, Manchester, thick accent.

John says, John Major says to me, now all you have to do is just answer John's questions and, you know, in the end, if you can just keep him playing his crossword puzzle, he'll be perfectly happy. Just keep it like that. Right. Fly under the radar.

And so I said, okay. So we sat down at a bar next door to city TV. That was John's office. It was called x-rays co-owned by Dan Aykroyd, by the way. That's a fun fact. Yeah.

X-rays. So we sat down at the bar. John Martin, John Major, Gene Bushy, me. And I'm not sure there might have been one or two others there. Kind of at a distance looking at this guy who was proposing to take over for John Major. And this is 1985. And John, of course, with his strong Manchester accent. You are more and more strong.

And I've worked at CBC, sir. Well, yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah, I've done that as well. Well, and John turns to me and he says, well, you've got the job. And all the time there was a beer bottle spinning and it was almost like spin the bottle. Kind of like, will he be the host or will he not? But anyway, so that was my interview at X-rays.

And I think it lasted about a half an hour. at x-rays and I think it lasted about a half an hour. And so I started soon after and was enjoying it right from the start. I was amazed by how, first of all, the people that I was working with were just so top notch and they were guerrilla TV, if you know what I mean, you know, because there was a whole Aryan thing happening on all the other television stations at that time and that was one of the great things about Moses, was that he was totally against the grain when it came to hiring people that were totally against the previous typecast of

television types in Toronto. So anyway, we've got this show that's being run by these incredibly talented, rebellious people. And I just couldn't believe my good luck. So anyway, long story short, one and a half years of the old building, 99 Queen Street East,

and one and a half years at the new building, as we used to call it, 299 Queen Street West. And I tell you, I had the good fortune to work back. When I look back on the people that I worked with, I mean, from that time, not only was there John Major, but there was also John Roberts. He was a great help in the early part of my career as well, J.D. Roberts. John Roberts, John Martin, we mentioned Mike Rhodes, Joel, of course, who took over for Mike Rhodes when Rhodes went to Mike and Mike's

excellent cross Canada adventure with Mike Campbell. FOTM Mike Campbell. Whole lot of Mike's in here. Janice Groom, who was the director, Francis Bartlett, who succeeded Janice Groom and Nancy Malick, Sharon Cavanaugh, Peggy Rennick. And Peggy Rennick was just so sweet.

We just had a wonderful time together. It was just a lot of fun. And then, and then all good things have to come to an end. And that was 1988. And that's when I went to Chum FM. Okay. When does Toronto Rocks end?

Well, I don't really know, to be honest with you. Do you know who hosted after you? Yeah. Yeah. It was Lance who hosted after you? Yeah. Yeah, it was Lance Chilton. Really nice gentleman. Now, Lance, I believe, was doing entertainment with City Pulse. I didn't know Lance at the time. He's one of many people I wish I'd got to know better during those years.

But, you know, you get crazy, you're doing stuff, and jumping up and down, and the next thing you know, you can't remember you're doing stuff and jumping up and down. And next thing you know, can't remember anybody's name or you haven't met them. And that was the case with Lance. Great guy. Really enjoyed his interview, by the way. Yeah. You know, that was a remote and I typically don't enjoy remotes, but I thought that was pretty damn good.

You know, next time I have Lance on though, he's got to be sitting in the basement. He knows it too. But the end came and you know, it's funny, because I didn't know the answer to that very question. My girlfriend, Liliana Reyes, asked me, so how did Toronto Rocks end? Right. And I said, you know, I don't think I know.

So what I did was I sent a message to Joel, and we had a quick little conversation. I said, Joel, this is going to sound funny considering, you know, how long ago 1988 is, but what happened to Toronto rocks after I left? He said, well, it went to Lance. And why did it end for me? And he said, well, they were taking another direction. They wanted to add more comedy or interviews or something like that.

And I said, was the show dying? And he said, no, but much music had always been available. And throughout the years, Toronto Rock's viewers, well, they didn't have to wait until four o'clock anymore. Right. To see their favorite videos. That happened to me. That happened to me. Like much music killed Toronto Rocks for me.

Hmm. Yeah. Okay. So that's, that's more or less what happened. So the audience leeched away to, rightfully, to much music. Same old issue. Leaving a decision to be made about Toronto Rocks, You know, it's going to have to change. Or as my biology teacher, Mr. Below, used to say, evolve or die.

And so. What school was that, by the way? Martin Grove Collegiate. Oh, yeah. Okay. My daughter used to do dance recitals at Martin Grove, my oldest daughter. How interesting. Yeah.

How old is she now? 19. Oh. She's at McGill right now in Montreal. Oh, that's wonderful. Yeah. But we digress. That's what we do in Toronto, Mike.

Yeah. And so anyway, that's more or less the long and the short of the story. So Lance took over that part as Toronto Rocks, as Joel explained to me, transitioned to this new format of a little bit of this, a to this new format of a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little bit of comedy, a little bit of interviews, and a little bit of music and whatnot to make it distinct from much music. I, unfortunately, wasn't really aware of that because almost at the same time that I learned Toronto Rocks was going to pass into other hands, I was invited to go to Chum FM.

I can't tell you the magnitude of that invitation. Remember, I had started in radio, and I had, by 1980, pretty much given up that I would ever, ever be at 1331 Yonge Street, the Chum Headquarters. Right, of course. For both AM and FM. Condos now, right? Yeah.

And to get that invitation was like an invitation from a biblical figure. This was Ron Waters, one of the Waters family, Scions. And I said, sure. Well, you just go up and talk to Ross Davies, who was just wonderful throughout those three years that I was at Chum FM, who brought me and fine-tuned me to the Chama FM way of doing things and speaking and so on. Ross Davies was just invaluable to me, and I've had a lot of these guardian angels throughout my career,

whether it be John Major, Ross Davies, Paul Rogers at CFTO, Ross Davies, Paul Rogers at CFTO, people who have reached out and pulled me to them, in some cases pulled me up. And I don't know that I've ever really properly expressed my gratitude to those people, but I thank you, each and every one of you you got great pipes do you know this like i'm listening to the headphones right now and i'm like why can't i sound

like brad giffen listen to yourself you ever just go just listen to yourself you know that's illegal in 27 states right right right and another thing uh i'm thinking you know people like hey you know hi i'm brad giffin and they're like uh no because brad giffin has uh like dark hair you have white hair i do yeah i do so when did that like like when did the white hair show up uh i think you're kind of frozen in time for i mean yeah we'll get to your CTV news. My first mortgage, actually. Did it. My daughter was born in 1987. I'm not saying that she was the cause of white hair. My dad started turning white hair. But did you dye it for a while?

Yeah. So, because I don't remember, I mean, at what point did you realize, I'm a white-haired, handsome guy. I don't need to be a, you know, like I feel like Colin James was on the program and he talked about the moment he had where he said he started looking like a magician. This is what he told me. And he's like, he realized, no, just go gray.

Just go gray. So at some point you had the same epiphany. No, not exactly. So I guess there was a little bit of, I don't know, I can't really remember. During Toronto Rocks, there wasn't much gray to speak of. But by the time I got to Salt Lake City, which was 1993, Salt Lake City and Fox, I was starting to turn gray.

So hair. Wait, wait. So hold on here. Salt Lake City. All that kind of stuff is part of the contract. This is post Chum FM. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Okay. So look, let's go keep a case. Okay, well, tell you what. I'll give you the quick run through. Or let me finish with Toronto Rocks. Didn't you know, Brad, you're here for two hours about Toronto Rocks? Was I not clear about that? Two hours. No, I'll give you a quick run through. Or let me finish with Toronto Rocks. Didn't you know, Brad, you're here for two hours about Toronto Rocks? Was I not clear about that? Two hours? I'm just kidding.

Good lord! I kid with you. I kid with you. But I want to just get this right. My brain needs to wrap around it. So the original host of Toronto Rocks is John Major, right? Correct. Okay. So was J.D. Roberts ever a regular host or was he like the fill-in guy for john major occasionally filled in okay so this is so my memory and again apologies to fotm lance chilton

but i actually have i can't i don't remember lance on toronto rocks but i think i had switched to much music like i think lance 88 to however long toronto. And then it morphed into something else. Oh yeah. So Toronto Rocks, I think another show, electric circus or whatever. Another Joel Goldberg creation. Okay.

So let's get this right. So John Major. He's got a million shows in him, that guy. He sure does. John Major, first host of Toronto Rocks. And again,

for guys like me, I, for whatever, you know, us young kids, we don't choose our cable packages, okay? It's like whatever our parents pay for, that's what's coming up for us.

So I didn't get Much Music for a number of years. I think it was like, I don't know, it was a few years of Much Music airing. I think it debuts in 1984. Did you see the 299 Queen Street doc yet? No. Okay. So I feel like I know way too much about the history of

much music at this point but it was a few years in the running before it got to my eyeballs okay so i missed for example katherine mcclenahan do you know that name i do i know she's an fotm as well first woman uh vj in much music history and i never saw her because i didn't have it at that point so john major i would watch, uh, after school, I'd watch him on Toronto rocks. Big deal to me. John Major, like you mentioned,

he, uh, got the opportunity to go back to, uh, 10 50 chum. Say that again in your great pipes. 10 50 chum. Wow.

So he really wanted to take that morning show. He had never really disassociated himself from Chum, right? You understand? And even at Toronto Rocks, that was part of the Chum group as well. Yeah, of course. So, you know, it was all one family. So John had the opportunity to host the morning show. He was great too, by the way.

This is a very nomadic business, though. by the way. This is a very nomadic business, though. And within a couple of years, I think he had picked up sticks to start a show with a woman named Heidi Bohe in Los Angeles. Elliot Knight was the name of the program. That was 1986, I believe. So he left the country, left us behind here.

He was from the States, so he crossed the border quite easily. Right. And of course, he sadly passed away far too young. He was only 53 years old. 2007, January. Did you get a chance to talk to John before he passed? I did. Yeah, many times. to talk to John before he, uh, before he passed. I did. Yeah.

Many times. I can only imagine, uh, my condolences to you, uh, to lose a, to lose a friend and a mentor at the, the young age of,

like I can see. Like that's in your rear view mirror there, Brad, but I can see it from here. Like it's like 53, that's way too damn young. Yeah. Wow.

Okay. So when he leaves, you take over. And then when you are. When he leaves for Chum. When he leaves for 1050 Chum, you take over Toronto Rocks. Brad Giffen's the host. Really, I didn't really take over for John. I just kind of warmed the seat.

There was nobody that could ever, ever take over for John. And he just more or less handpicked me and said, here, just sit in the seat and keep it warm. But you had to, you had, I guess the boss was John Martin. So I know, oh, Moses is the boss, I suppose, but he's the executive producer of everything

as I learned. I only recently met him for the first time. How was your relationship with Moses Neimer? Never met him except once socially and once professionally, once socially and once professionally. Once socially and professionally, it was just to go up to his office that I had to ask where it is and thank him before I left. So those were the only two times. But that's a bit of a mind blow, I think.

I would think the reputation of Moses is that he was kind of, not that he would be directly involved, because John Martin, I guess, would be directly involved. You know what the magic to this is? Let's hear it. The great credit. I thank you, Joel Goldberg. Joel played point. I've always been somewhat wary of authority,

and I was so blessed to have Joel Goldberg there to take the word from Moses. This is sounding biblical, isn't it? Yeah, on Mount Sinai. Well, I've never been to that hospital, actually. So Joel would come down with the tablets, and he would say, this is what Moses wants us to do. And it was wonderful.

I loved that relationship because I'm, I'm sure Moses is wonderful and he's got an outstanding reputation professionally for what he's accomplished in Canadian television. People call him a visionary. And, uh, you know,

I don't know. I'll just take it for granted that he is. I've seen the evidence of his work. Let's put it that way without actually meeting the man. Bit of a mind blow there, right, Brad? I think people would assume you had met Moses more than the one-time professional. Thank you, Joel. So Joel, okay, so today, in 2023, as we speak, Joel Goldberg still works with Moses.

Yes. At the Zoomerplex there. Yes, not an easy task when you think of it. with Moses. Yes. At the Zoomerplex there. Yes. Not an easy task when you think of it. Moses is a, as well as being a visionary, he's very particular. And

Maybe he's mellowed in old age. Oh, I doubt it. He's in his 80s now. Yeah. Yeah. But I don't think so. That fire still burns bright. And I would have to say that it takes a special skill, skills that Joel Goldberg have to say that it takes a special skill, skills that Joel Goldberg has to handle that hot flame for 40 years.

Good on Joel. But if I may, Joel has been, and Joel believes that Moses should come on Toronto Mike. This is a Joel, I've had these private conversations, not so private right now, I'm telling you on the record here, but Joel Goldberg has told me to my face, Moses should come on Toronto Mike. Joel has been unable to convince Moses that he should come on Toronto Mike.

Do you think Moses Neimer should make his Toronto Mike debuts so we can, you know, collect all this data and information about this visionary? I think only Moses can answer for Moses. Well, let's call him up and see. Okay. So John Martin, I want to shed some light on this guy

because he's a guy, we talk about him often, but not always glowingly. Like I can tell you Ziggy Lawrence came over and I think Joe Ziggy here actually was Ziggy's chauffeur for this episode. But Ziggy's been over a couple of times, but does not. Ziggy's wonderful. Does not speak warmly of John Martin.

I don't know John Martin. You know, it's funny. This goes back to what I said. You're doing what you do and you kind of wish afterwards that you'd spend a little bit more time getting to know these people that you were working with.

You know, the people that I mentioned and John Martin included and many others within that building that their faces in the hallway, you wave at them and think it's going to go on forever, but maybe next week I'll actually sit down and have a beer with this person. But more often than not, it was John Roberts and me and Gene Bushy and a few of the others spending misspent evenings, especially at the old building at the

Windsor House, around the corner playing darts and drinking beer. And that was kind of our circle. How's your beer today, your Great Lakes beer? Have I told you how tasty and full-bodied this Great Lakes Brewery beer is. This is the premium lager that we're drinking today with a 5% alcohol content and 47 milliliters of just handcrafted goodness.

This is why you're a voiceover professional. Honestly, I'm going to tell the guys at Great Lakes who to hire when they finally do their radio campaign. Brad Giffen. Oh, no, sorry. You can't hire Brad Giffen for that. Yeah, Brad Giffen's on a beach someplace. Why the name change?

Why this avenue is obviously named, it's a fake name, like Street or Road Avenue, right? Yes, you are correct. Feel smart. Did you know you were in the presence of genius here when you came on toronto first moses now mike oh my gosh one's richer than the other what happened was in about 2013 i i had been looking for an alternative for news for some time. And 2013, 2014, there were some changes at Bell Media. And I thought.

That sentence is evergreen, by the way. Like for always, there's changes, cost cutting, and crazy shit going down at Bell Media. Paws cutting and crazy shit going down at Bell Media. And they laid off my good friend Dan Matheson, and I thought, this is going to be serious. Because I knew that my ass was just as, almost up as high as Dan's on that flagpole. Two years before, though, I had taken the precaution to cast around in my mind,

what would I like to do? And I thought back. Some of my happiest days were at Chum FM and doing commercial work with Jeff Shire, who was the commercial producer, Zeke Stebiak and Jeff Shire. But it was particularly Jeff Shire that I was working with. He introduced me to the Chem FM studio, production studio.

And those were my first chops where I learned them. And well, okay, so moving forward a little bit, by 2013, okay, a lot, 30 years, I'm casting around thinking. It's okay, we'll come back. It's like a Tarantino movie. We're jumping around. I thought, what would I like to do aside from news? And it settled on me that I would like to do voiceover.

So I started taking acting classes. I took business classes and this is a long way to answer why did you go from Giffen to Avenue? So by 2015, I was actually working as Brad Avenue under the radar for a couple of reasons. I didn't want potential casting agents to think of me as a guy who could do only news reads. And even though News Channel, CTV News Channel, was very relaxed, not as relaxed as Toronto Rocks, obviously, it's the news, but there was a news read. And I didn't want casting directors to think, okay, this is the only sound that he can do.

okay, this is the only sound that he can do. And so I thought that and also to avoid any conflict of interest or perception of conflict of interest, because Brad Giffen can't be talking to the CEO of some meat packaging company about some outbreak of salmonella and the next day doing his commercials, right? Right. So I thought, what name can I choose in amongst all the other decisions you have to make when you are creating a business and opening up accounts

and coaching and everything else? Make it easy. Well, I live on Avenue Road. I thought, I'll just make it Avenue, A-V-E-N-Y-O-U. And that was the easy, and on to the next pressing question that I had to answer, of course, in those early days of setting up my company, Avenue Voice Services. Listen, much like George Costanza said,

you got to keep those worlds from colliding. Okay. So yeah, you're right. You're reading the news. You can't be doing it. You're right. You can't be doing a news story. Meanwhile, your voice is like the voice of the campaign on it.

So two brads. Yeah. Smart. There was overlap, obviously, because I didn't leave news until 2018. Right. Didn't leave CTV News Channel until 2018. Well, maybe now so let's walk through it but before we leave

Toronto Rocks, John, because you know I told you two hours in Toronto Rocks. This is the deal. Two hours in Toronto Rocks five minutes on Chum FM, five minutes on CTV News Channel. Just kidding of course. John Riddell wrote in and said so he's thinking about you Brad Giffen on on Toronto Rocks,

which I'm sure you've heard from many a Gen Xer. What a big deal that was for us that we could go home and hear Helix's Rock You. It was a big deal back then, wasn't it? Yeah. It was the whole idea of the, you know, we were already listening to the music on the radio, but suddenly that we could watch the videos,

be it a Brian Adams video. I always point out Helix's Rock You, because I feel like I saw it a lot on Toronto Rocks. There was a lot of that hair metal. But this was a big deal. And again, for us less rich people who didn't get much music in 1984, we had to wait for it to come to

some. Same with TSN, by the way. TSN would get Blue Jay games and I used to want to see every game. You'd have to know somebody with a TSN. It's like, oh, we got to go to this house because this person actually can get that Blue Jay game or whatever. But it took a little while for us and less wealthy people to get there. Okay, so I digress.

But John Riddell says, did that video lever on the panel actually push the video, or was it a useless prop? Do you know the video lever that John is speaking of? So give us the lowdown pushed the video or was it a useless prop do you know the video lever that john is speaking of so give us the lowdown on that video lever there were three aspects of this studio as i remember the shot box as as we used to call it this is in the old building 99 queen east and there was first of all what's known as the psych. Because this, the Toronto Rock Studio was no larger than the studio that we're sitting in right now. Right.

It's about the same size. Right. Long and, you know, but the width that we have, which is about 10 feet long, and then it would go deep, about 15 feet. That's where the camera and the cameraman would be parked. But you could literally stand in the middle of this space and touch both walls. Wow. In this rectangular space that ended with the set and the psych and me behind that desk. So that was to make it look larger that's like if you look back on sort

of a pink thing that kind of graduates in right the levers that's an actual old mixing board and the lever was part of that and me reaching up to place the video I would have been doing with my left hand into that slot. Well, there was a, there was a video, there was a big old, one of the old, you know, two inch videos there. And I'd push that in. But as I reached up, that would be the cue for the director to hit the video because there was a little bit of lag time. So that's coming up on Toronto Rocks.

So in that time, the video would hit. So it is a useless prop because it's not really firing off any video. It's just the signal for the video to be fired off by somebody else. Well, that's an important thing when you think of it. Yeah.

We're here for the details here. You know, i know what you mean no it did not serve a mechanical function other than signaling right like those when rogers got the nhl deal they they spent all this money on the studio and it was so to me it was so pretentious and like gross and dare i say it was very american but like they'd have all these like phony baloney i don't know ice things they'd hit and things would happen and it was like it was very american but like they'd have all these like phony baloney i don't know ice things they'd hit and things would happen and it was like it was all such useless nonsense but anyway your hair john riddell wants wants me to talk to you about your hair then and now 10 out of 10 he

says your hair was 10 out of 10 i will point out you still have your hair yeah which is half the battle uh in itself as a matter of fact i I grow crops of hair for hair impaired people now. No, I don't. Let me go back to something. I bid on that. So this is how naive I am. Let me go back to that lever question. Yeah, okay.

Spend an hour on the lever question. Absolutely. It goes back to something that I learned from my very first station, a fellow named Ernie Courtney, an old fellow, back in 1976. Okay. And this is Lindsay now. from my very first station, a fellow named Ernie Courtney, an old fellow, back in 1976.

Okay. And this is Lindsey now. And Ernie Courtney, he was probably the ancient age of 60, which is ancient to a 19-year-old. Right. Ernie was this wonderful, gnome-like man who had been in the business forever,

and this was probably his last before he left the business at CKLY. And he'd wave his fingers like this. He'd wave his fingers. And he'd say, Brad, there's three things you've got to remember. Don't tell me anything. Don't gossip. It's all done with smoke and mirrors be conscientious about what you do but don't take yourself or your job too seriously right and that's where the lever comes in right

and he said number three this chair in front of the mic is not yours it belongs to the company you serve the pleasure of those who hired you. And those three pieces of advice have served me so well throughout all these years. And I think when you violate those three rules, you do so at your own peril. Smart advice for anybody in the business today. Now, okay, so I want to get you to Chum FM, but did you ever meet Terry David Mulligan when you're filling in for him, or is it all? Oh, yeah. Okay, so.

Was I a personal friend? No. I find him to be a rather, much like yourself, like a fascinating figure in the Canadian media zeitgeist. Oh, I'm not fascinating. I'm as boring as paint. Well, you're boring only compared to Terry Dave Mulligan. Oh, stop that! I can tell you

TDM. I don't know Terry. I had an exchange with Terry, who's an FOTM, and it was about the 299 Queen Street West dock, and he was sort of going off on how it's typical Toronto bullshit, like ignoring that the rest of the country exists, because there's zero mention of

much West, And anyway, he's not in that, but I just, it's interesting that you did fill in for him. That was a good rock and tonight, of course. And I also find. 83.

Yeah, around 83. And you know, I didn't, I've never seen rock wars on CBC, although I do now want to see rock wars on CBC, but. I think,

I think there are a couple of YouTube clips. I got to find this thing. I was a bit young for it, I think. I was busy watching Fraggle Rock or something. But Samantha Taylor, key figure, a future FOTM, because I absolutely have to get her on the program because we keep covering...

I just had Jonathan Gross talking video singles, which John Major was on. He leaves that gig, I believe, for Toronto Rocks, and that's how Jonathan Gross gets it. You're excavating ancient history. It's just happening, man. But Samantha Taylor, you believe, for Toronto Rocks, and that's how Jonathan Gross gets it. You're excavating ancient history. It's just happening, man. But Samantha Taylor, you filled in for her. These are the OGs of the Canadian video show.

Original gangster, I suppose is what it stands for. Shout out to Ice-T, who my wife met in Vegas, okay? We do a contest in our family. You are such a shameless name dropper, Michael. Well, I didn't meet him. I didn't meet him. But we do this game in the family, like who's the most famous person you ever met?

And my daughter, Michelle, always wins this contest because she met Will Smith. But Monica's contribution is meeting Ice-T, which is also a very big deal. And I'm like, I met Brad Giffen. And I always end up losing the contest. But what was Samantha Taylor like? Like she's a, like I said, OG.

I haven't the foggiest notion, except she seemed very nice. Well, you know, the few times that I ran into her, she was wonderful. Okay. And, but I, I don't know her personally. I had never. She won't take your texts here? I would never claim to know her personally. Okay.

So let's get you. Nor would Terry David Mulligan. I'm sure he's a wonderful man too. I'm phoning him tonight. I don't know either one of them. I'm going to get 90 minutes of Terry David Mulligan on all things. Brad Giffen tonight. You know what's going to happen?

You're going to ask me all these names that you want to drop and I'm going to go, Hey man, I don't know. Hey, you were part of the scene. These names are all tied to the scene, right?

So you're in this scene. You know, the world moves on and the sun comes up, the sun sets. Do that every day for 30 years. You got to let it go. You got to let it go until you come on Toronto Mike. Then it's like, let's talk about this.

Because you know the deal coming over here. Okay, so on that note, because now I want to ask you about Chum FM. But you've got your fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery. You're going to bring some home with you. I also have in my freezer for you, Brad. Is there a palm of pasta waiting? Palm of pasta home with you. I also have in my freezer for you, Brad. Is there a Palma pasta waiting? Palma pasta lasagna. Can you believe it?

In my freezer. Wonderful. Thank you, Mike. Take that home. You'll love it. You'll love it. Thank you, Palma pasta. And Palma pasta is hosting us, FOTM.

Brad, you're invited to this. It's on December 9th at noon at Palma's Kitchen. We're going to record a Pandemic Friday reunion. That means Stu Stone and Cam Gordon. And people like yourself who show up will pop on the fourth mic and say hello and happy holidays and all that jazz. And we're going to eat Palma pasta and we're going to drink Great Lakes beer. I have a couple other gifts for you. I have measuring tape for you, Brad Giffen. This is courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home.

Oh, that is fantastic. That's an interesting take. That's a little bit of, that's an interesting piece of swag. So why would that, is this to? Well, what do you think? There's no answer to this. Is this to measure the corpse? That's the go-to joke, but I

feel like it makes your life easier. Sorry, I went to the go-to joke. Brad, leave the comedy for the experts. Yes, that's right. Don't try this at home. Shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. Enjoy that. It'll make your life easier.

Thank you very much. And I have a Bluetooth speaker for you, Brad. Thank you, Ridley Funeral Home. Thank you, Ridley Funeral Home. And another, Brad, the chief bottle washer over there, the funeral director, is a gentleman named Brad Jones. Brad on Brad. You're Brad, he's Brad. Right. There's got to be a club. You know, there was a Brad Jones. Brad on Brad. You're Brad.

He's Brad. Right. There's got to be a club. You know, there was a Brad Jones at Chum. I knew this. Yes. Is he a good guy? Is he with us still?

I don't know. I should know these things. You don't know this. I don't know. I don't know anybody. Google it. I'm a terrible nameless name driver. As long as you can talk to me about Joel Goldberg, I'm happy.

Okay. This is a wireless speaker for you. Courtesy of Mineris and Brad. In addition to listening, need to, uh, do you like the band Moby Grape? I had a glass of it earlier this morning.

It's fantastic. I start every day with Moby Grape. You know, when you are stressed, you lose vitamin b only moby grape can recharge your spirit and get you going right back what is moby great what if i told you so moby grape was a part of that uh california scene that gave us the mamas and the papas crosby stills and nash the drummer for Moby Grape

is a guy named Don Stevenson who's lived in Toronto the past 10 years. Is that right? You can see him busking at Toronto at TTC stations. I literally, the guy dropped by today. We covered his history with Moby Grape and everything and that episode drops tomorrow.

But just curious if you had heard of the band because Moby Grape is a band that like students of the scene can talk to you about Moby Grape, but normies like us. How is it though that he's not still performing in a professional setting? Well, he will be at Massey Hall next month

for a Last Waltz tribute, like a tribute to Last Waltz. But he at the age of 82, this guy, Don Stevenson, is making his Massey Hall debut. Isn't that wonderful? Yeah. So it's not too late for you, Brad.

You can make your Massey Hall debut. Okay. I have to learn to play an instrument first. Well, you can sing with those pipes. So this is a Bluetooth wireless speaker for you, Brad. Thank you so much. But you know what you got to do with that?

This is a box-an. Box-an. You need to listen to season five of Yes, We Are Open, which is a Moneris podcast hosted by FOTML Grego, who went east. He went to the Maritimes, Newfoundland, and he's been talking to small business owners and collecting their inspiring stories

so we can be inspired. So season five of Yes, We Are Open now available. And I'll be able to listen to it on my box sand. Box sand. Box sand. Oh, we heard some police songs on Toronto Rocks, didn't we? Yeah, one or two. One or two, absolutely.

Yeah. And last, but I'm going to come back to a couple more later, but I do want to tell people to subscribe and listen to The Advantaged Investor, which is a podcast from Raymond James Canada. Whether you already work with a trusted financial advisor or currently manage your own investment plans, The Advantaged Investor provides the engaging wealth management information you value

as you pursue your most important goals. Brad Giffen, please, I know that this wasn't like a big part of your fascinating career, but you did pop on Chum FM after Toronto Rocks. How did that come to be and how was that experience? Oh, my friend, that was a big part of my career. Yeah. It was an important part, but not a lengthy stretch, right?

Well, you'll notice if I went through my resume with you here. Let's do it. Let's go to your LinkedIn account. You would notice that there's a three-year commonality to each one of these positions that I've been. And Chem FM was probably, not probably, was the peak in my career, I've often said. And I know that sounds funny to be referring to something

that was the last half of the 80s, but everything from there was gravy. Chem FM was my personal peak. It was where every dream I'd ever had was fulfilled. And I met, not only was I on the radio, but I met all my heroes among them, John major who I'd met in 77. Of course I knew him, but Mike Holland and Daryl B and Terry steel and Scott Carpenter and John Donabee and David Marsden,

Roger Ashby producer, Tom Jokic, who was Roger producer. Is he Jeff Shire? Of course, who I mentioned earlier. And of course, uh,

uh, program director, Ross Davies at Chum FM. I mean, these were all just legendary people to me. And Chum FM, everything after Chum FM, everything after 1990 was gravy. Wow. You know, but Chum FM was for me the defining part of my career. Is that because you grew up listening to 10 50 chum yeah well that'll

do it right that was the pinnacle of my family when you know fm started to become the thing so i was listening to them both so pete and geats yep and david marston as you mentioned absolutely what's in my brown paper bag the mars bar love. Love it. Love it. He's been suffering from COVID lately. I hope he's doing better now, but he had a tough, tough run with COVID. I want to shout out a good FOTM, Brian Master as well. He was also a sweetheart and he showed up at

TMLX 13. So hopefully he's at TMLX 14, but he's a sweetheart. So this, this Chum FM is a dream come true. Yes, very much so. It was the, it was the most stunning three years of my career. It was everything. And then after that was news.

So everything post-Chum FM is news in your professional life, other than the voiceover work. Yeah, exactly. So after Chum FM, I was with Fox in Salt Lake City, thanks to John Roberts, who suggested that I get in contact with his agent of the William Morris Agency. And I did. We're skipping a little bit here, only because you did do a little work at CFTO. CFTO, oh yes, I did, didn't I? I'm here on your IMDb page.

I mean, you're sorry, your LinkedIn page. No, you're exactly right. 1990, I went to CFTO, as CTV Toronto was known. I was a general assignment reporter. I was there during the time of Austin Delaney. Who just retired. Gail Smith. Tom Gibney was the anchor. What was Gail Smith like? I get more questions.

I feel like I need to track her down. I get more, and I won't name the questions I get, because you can imagine the urban legends in the, or I don't know if they're urban legends or not, but they roll over the schoolyard. But what was she like Gail Smith? I have no idea. Do you remember any of the, you only remember the icons, uh, John Major. You remember, uh, John, uh, David Marsden, but okay. I remember Gail as being a hard worker.

Okay. I remember Tom Gibney as being a hard worker, but I didn't know them outside of work. Okay. We just lost Tom a couple of years back, I guess. Yeah. We lost Tom, but Gail's out there.

Gail, reach out to me, mike at frontofmike.com. Let's talk. I need to talk to you. So CFTO is your last, that's, then you go to,

as you said, Salt Lake City. Yeah. Fox News, that's 1994. You go there. How long are you in Salt Lake City? 93.

And I was there until 96. i went to abc uh abc news new orleans abc 26 aren't you supposed to say norlands a few ways to say it nolens is one of them but new orleans you know even to this day it kind of grates on me when somebody mispronounces and calls it new orleans and there are so many examples in song however that riding on the city of new orleans you know willie nelson and then even well that's not well that's not willie nelson who is that i don't i think he did a cover that i know like i think i know the willie nelson version on the road again and anyway do you more than this show really is a show of digressions isn't it i want to from there i went to abc seven in uh sarasota which was part of the top 10 tampa market and then in 2008 in the as a result of the cataclysmic economic collapse, our station had to start doing layoffs.

And I was in the second wave. I had been the employee of the year just the year before. Really? And then. But that was a terrible, like that was a big year. That was the. All media is dependent. All media is dependent. All media are dependent on the local market in which they are situated.

So if, think of the commercials that are on radio or television or in the newspaper. Oh, remember those? or in the newspaper. Oh, remember those? And if the furniture is not being sold to people, then the furniture stores stop advertising. And if they stop advertising and the car dealerships and everything else that's associated with the advertising on various forms of media,

then those stations, those media platforms have to start contracting, and I was part of that contraction in 2008. Yeah, so on the bright side, I mean, this economic downturn does bring you back home. 2008. And it actually was a blessing in disguise, and I became much closer with my family who had moved up back to Toronto. And so my son and I came back in 2008.

And my sister Brenda and her husband all became closer. My daughter, Ajala, and her husband, Shane, three grandkids now. Nice. So that was 2008. And I had expected to be back just for a summer gig. And because just while I was trying to get my feet again in 2008, I thought, who can I phone? So I phoned the CBC, a friend of mine worked there,

and phoned CTV, another friend of mine had worked there, Paul Rogers, fellow reporter, excellent reporter, probably the best reporter in my cohort of that year of 1990 to 1993. Paul was a star. So it was no surprise when I learned subsequent to that that he had been named the vice president of news. So I phoned up Paul and he says, you know, it's funny you phoned. I'm just looking for somebody who'd have, who can fill in for the summertime. One of the reporters is either off on maternity leave. And I think it was Naomi Parnas.

Who I saw the other day at Dana Levinson's event. Oh, how wonderful. Yeah. They're both doing great. Both wonderful people too. That I do know them a little bit better. Okay. Let's spend the next hour on Dana.

Oh yeah. That's a loaded statement. Anyway, yeah, Dana's, you know, I've got a story, a quick story about Dana.

Tell me, cause I do, so you know, I produce her podcast today on the DL, Dana Levinson. Yeah. Oh, she's wonderful.

So, uh, at one point when I first began at 2000, 2008 at CTV, I was filling in on what I thought was going to be a summer job on CTV Toronto. And somehow I got invited to, in a different unit, Canada AM, to do their morning break-ins. So those are the quick little news breaks at the top and bottom of the hour.

Right. So I'm doing News Channel. No, I'm doing CTV Toronto. Pardon me, I'm getting a little bit confused here. That's Bell Media's fault, by the way. No, I'm thinking. Or is it Great Lakes? I'm thinking it's Great Lakes Brewery.

Did I tell you? Great Lakes Laundry. Doesn't it add? 5%. The combo's better with Great Lakes? I'm thinking it's Great Lakes Brewery. Did I tell you? Great Lakes Laundry. Doesn't it add? The combo's better with Great Lakes, right? I'm so glad you said yes when I said, would you share a beer with me? Well, who could say no? You'd be surprised.

So I was doing CTV Toronto. I was doing Canada AM, and I was doing CTV News Channel. I literally had a day timer when day timers were a thing that had days that were highlighted with different colors according to the unit that I was working. Which brings me to my Dana Levinson story. It's not a big payoff, but it's kind of sad. So I'm doing the late night after having worked news channel earlier that morning. Now I'm doing the 11 o'clock news and it comes time for me to introduce dana levinson i introduced her as dana delaney oh like austin delaney yeah

yeah like austin delaney or dana delaney the Oh, you know, I forgot about her. Okay, yeah, of course, of course. So I tried to, you know, backpedal. Tap dancing. And Dana was so gracious about it. And then, of course, days later, I was just mortified. Right. Days later, she walked through the CTV newsroom, CTV news channel newsroom, and where I was.

And I said, again, Dana, I am newsroom. And, uh, where I was, I said, again, Dana, I'm so sorry. She says, not a problem. She was, she couldn't have been more gracious,

but there are, I have worked with people who would have been highly offended and would have let you know it in that moment on the air. That's the list I want. Okay, Brad, who are those people? No, you wouldn't know them. Can I give you a fun fact about Dana? And she's great. Again, on the air. That's the list I want. Okay, Brad? Who are those people? No, you wouldn't know them.

Can I give you a fun fact about Dana? She's great. Again, on the DL. She's wonderful. We just did a live event. It's funny. I was at this live event and it was all about menopause,

which obviously will not affect me directly. Oh, you could get menopause. Menopause. I'm like, who put the men in menopause? It was, and honestly, I learned so much

and I found it fascinating even though, you know, it won't affect me directly, although at some point it will probably affect my wife, so whatever, blah, blah, blah. But it was a great live event, and it's now shared on the DL feed. But a fun fact about Dana is her dad was one of the fastest people in the world.

The man ran 100 meters. He's no longer with us, sadly, but he was one of the fastest people in the world and went to the Olympics. Wow. Impressive. So her father, Dana Levinson's dad, was world and went to the Olympics. Wow. Impressive. So her father, Dana Levinson's dad, was a world-class sprinter.

Huh. There's your fun fact. And Naomi, I want to shout her out because she just launched a new. Yes, she did. Consulting practice or whatever. And I did. Yep, communications. Yeah, I worked with her on a project

called Mind Over Matter, a woman's brain health initiative. And it was great working with Naomi. Yeah, go ahead and give her, give her slightly was great working with Naomi. Go ahead and give her sight. Shout out to Naomi. Tron-like shout out. Yeah, always. Naomi Parnas, who I think she crashed the show.

I had Mark Saltzman over who talks about tech. And I think Naomi and I were doing something else and she crashed that party. But she has yet to come over for her debut. So Naomi, let's make that happen, okay? All right. So as you said, is this where you meet Dan Matheson? I think it's the narrative is the name of our new company.

Okay. Shout out to the narrative. Is Dan. I saw it on LinkedIn this morning. I, yeah, so did I. Look at us all connected here. Okay. Shout out to Elvis, the LinkedIn man.

Dan Matheson. This is where you meet him because you're popping on. I got a funny story for you. Yeah. I love this guy. So I do too. And, and Dan and I are, oh, I got to tell you, Dan is one of the best raconteurs, bon vivant, sophisticated.

He cooks like a world-class chef. And he's a, well, as you know, you've spoken with him. You sat in this very chair. Yeah, he's a terrific guy yeah and and he he and i have become friends throughout the years but i didn't know him before ctv news channel but let me take you back to a story so it was 1976 my very first station manager whose name i won't say out of respect for his family, but this gentleman who hired me at CKLY in 1976, I was completely green, and he said to me, boy, and that's how he'd address everybody, and he had this red face and it would sweat.

He'd always shout when he'd speak and he'd get those little bits of foam in the corner of his mouth. Hair sheared and he'd have these sports jackets that looked like they could double as a picnic tablecloth. All right, so he's up on this raised desk in the back of this old house on Kent Street in Lindsay. And I'm sitting in front of him about to get this job. He says, boy, I got to teach you how to be a radio announcer. But I want you to make a commitment to be here for two years. Now, for instance, when you introduce Frank Sinatra, you don't call him Frank Sinatra. You call him old blue eyes.

I said, okay. Thank you, Mr. Blank. And he says, listen, though, I'm going to teach you, and I want you to make a commitment. You're going to be here for at least two years. Well, you're 19 years old, but you want the job. Right. Yes, sir. Because I don't want you taking off like,

and the name meant nothing to me. Right. So years later, I meet Dan Matheson when I go to CTV News Channel. Wonderful guy. We get talking and find out he's been to CKLY too. He spent time there as well. He was there just the year before I got there in 76. He was there in 1975.

Okay. And the penny finally dropped. Right. The boss had said, when I told him I was leaving the next year, he was so mad. The station manager, station owner. I was going to Peterborough. Jesus Christ, boy!

You made a commitment! You're no better than Dan Matheson! And it came to me. He was speaking of Dan. I've told that story to Dan. We've laughed about that. I said, considering how far you've come, Dan, I would say I'm an awfully good company.

He's done a couple of things. Your impression of this unnamed individual reminds me, I watch a show called King of the Hill, and Hank Hill's dad, Cotton, that's how he sounds. Oh. It's like, so you could, you know, if you need a replacement for Cotton.

How interesting. Yeah, there you go. Said no one. And this just speaks to what a small world the Canadian media, like, yes, I think it was yesterday I was watching a little bit of, and we're going to get to your time at CTV News Channel, but I've been catching a bit of it, and I could see, I don't know, Justin Cheneau. No, there's nothing.

No, go ahead with what you got. But I see Marcy Ian there. I think I've expended my best stories now. The rest is just news stuff. Well, the rest is going to be all about Moby Grape, okay? So Marcy Ian is in the frame, okay? And I'm looking at her, and I'm like, am I looking at the next Prime Minister of Canada?

But Marcy Ian, who's also an FOTM, like you and Dan Matheson, comes out of Canada AM. What are your thoughts? I know you haven't worked on Canada AM in many years, but what are your thoughts on the whole cancellation of Canada AM and the replacement of your morning?

Any thoughts on that at all? None. Zero, no thoughts? Negative? No. Is this a, because you're hesitant to, uh,

speak, you know, poorly about anything. I know that Dan Matheson had things to say about it. No. And I'll tell you this, it goes back. It goes back to Ernie Courtney rule.

Number three, the chair in front of this mic is not yours. It belongs to the company. Right. It's not yours to decide. It's not even yours to comment on. So Bell Media can do what it wants with their morning show. And if they want to cancel Canada AM and then like a phoenix rising from the ashes is your morning,

shout out to future FOTM Ben Mulrooney. That's their prerogative, right? I don't know why Bell Media even owns these media companies. I feel like to sell cables. There are a lot of FOTM. To sell cables. Present, future, and past. Oh, my God. Has anyone fallen out of favor as an FOTM? Oh, yeah.

Have you ever had to fire an FOTM? Firstly, once you're an FOTM, you're always an FOTM. But that F is a little. Kind of like being a colonel or a general or even a president. I will say there are absolutely some people who have appeared in the program and then have become like frenemies. Like they turncoats. Like they turned on me for no particular good reason.

Yeah, a couple of names come to mind. I don't want to have to even explore that. That could get so ugly. Very few. I will point out there are hundreds of them and very, very few would turn on Toronto Mike who only roots for talent like yourself here. Why does it end for Brad Giffen? What's ended?

Well, your run at CTV News Channel ends because people were tweeting at me in 2018 to say, where's Brad? And I had no answer at the time. I didn't even reply. Like, I don't know where Brad is. What happened to you in Bell Media? I just got to the point where, I'll be honest with you,

it was a chaos and the sadness. It was a cumulative effect over the years. And then there was the Trump business, and every item turned into a Trump tweet that we were reporting every time he burped. Right. And I thought, man, I am so tired of having this vile man's vile words come out of my mouth. And I had that discussion with management, and I said,

we've got to use some form of news judgment here. we've got to use some form of news judgment here. And what probably more than anything it peaked, it was, you know, Trump going off on LeBron James. The news story was about LeBron James opening a school and promising that he would pay for the college tuition of anyone who graduated a school. Wonderful, wonderful gesture. That's a leader.

And tacked on to this wonderful story about LeBron James was this response from that sniveling Donald Trump slagging LeBron James and one of the anchors on CNN. And I'm reading this and it's coming up in the prompter now. It's coming up cold, of course. And I thought, no, no more. And so that's the long and the short of it. And I was able to move on because I had ramped up from 2013. And by that point, my voiceover career was almost equal with my TV pay. So I was just able to transition smoothly.

Build the side hustle while you got the primary gig, and then you can switch over at some point, like many of us have. And that seemed like an opportune time with the president still in power for another two years after that. So did you essentially retire from MSN to mainstream media to focus on your Brad Avenue voice talent career? Did I? What?

Like you essentially retired. My MSN? And mainstream media. Oh, my MSM? Yeah, MSM, mainstream media. i talk short and everything these days man what's an og remind me again i forgot that one original gangster have you not heard oh original gangster by ice tea you've never heard this album what's a nice tea what are your what are your jams those when i go home i know moby grape's not on the list but what are your

jams like if you were listening to music in your private time, what are you listening to? Helix? Like, what are you listening to? Anvil? I don't mean to laugh, because Helix was a great band, but it's not the first one that would probably come to mind. But what do you listen to?

I need to know. I need to know. Are you like a Sade guy? Are you... A Sade guy. Another 80s, right? Or 90s? Wait, I've got to modernize this.

Are you listening to Arcade Fire? Was it White Stripes stripes what's going on have you heard the the latest rolling stones yeah and the the new lady gaga uh backed up uh single is fantastic yeah yeah it's very good i think it's great i'm just still going through it i i'm a big fan of Spotify. So. Okay. You know, I've got everything from Puccini to Prince on here, but. Oh, you went back there.

Kim Mitchell. Okay. When you're talking about Canadians, Canadian artists. Yeah. Fantastic. So would you go back to Max Webster or do you start with solo Kim? Yeah.

All the way back to Max Webster. Okay. Now I'm interested. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Do I know anything about Kim Mitchell? I won't quiz you on him, but if you like way back to Max Webster. Okay, now I'm interested. Yeah, for sure. Do I know anything about Kim Mitchell or Max Webster? I won't quiz you on him, but if you like the music.

I know nothing. That's fine. Did you know he's an FOTM? Isn't everybody? No. Unfortunately not. I'm still working on Tom Cochran. Yeah.

Okay. Like Don Henley, Sting. Jeez, you know, it could be anything. It's funny you criticized me for going back to the 80s and all these artists are 70s and 80s artists and my son has i think my daughter does too she's a big steely dan fan but my my son uh loves progressive rock and you know what's your theory about that liking prog rock what do you No, I'm talking generally about the, I should explain my son and daughter

were in their early 30s. They, like many others of that similar age, liked the music that I liked. What do you think that is? I don't know. Did you play a lot of it when they were growing up? That's possible. Is it possible that a lot of the music

that's out these days is less than excellent? Okay, I often think that and then think if I say that out loud, I'm going to be like Abraham Simpson. Like, don't you miss bands that have backup singers, for instance? Yeah, what I miss is

I miss bands. Don't you miss music that wasn't mixed in somebody's bedroom? Yes, I do. And that's why when I go to a concert, typically it's for an actual band. Like there's an actual live drummer, there's a guy on bass guitar, there's a guy lead guitar, there's a singer, sometimes there's a keyboardist. Shout out to Rob Pruse

who's visiting on Friday. But I absolutely... I'm sorry, who? Rob Pruse is the keyboardist for The Spoons. Oh, I know that. But more importantly though, more importantly, he is what? He's an FOTM. I will say that there's a lot of footage out there of

Gore Depp and Rob Pruess on Toronto Rocks, but I think all that footage is John Major. I don't know if there's enough Brad Giffen Spoons content out there. No, I don't think I ever had the pleasure to interview anyone from the Spoons. Who's your favorite interview in the Toronto Rocks days? I couldn't think I ever had the pleasure to interview anyone from Spoon. Who's your favorite interview in the Toronto Rocks days?

I couldn't tell you. Not even one artist that you interviewed on Toronto Rocks. None of them stand. I can't believe I got to talk to X. None of them stand out whatsoever. And I'll tell you why. Wow. Everybody's on their best behavior.

They're there for four or five minutes. Yeah, that's true. They stand delivering. You don't get 90 minutes with these guys? No. And that's another thing about fame, you know, or at least the fame that I experienced, on whatever level that may be measured.

I was famous only because I was sitting next to somebody who was famous. It was fame by association. But someone had to do it. That sounds like one of, uh, Ernie Courtney's rules there. I believe that was

rule number one. It's all done with mirrors. You know, never believe your own press. Fred Patterson from Humble and Fred tells me, uh, he often talks,

but he goes, you're only as good as your call letter as he tells me, which, and the suggestion there is that you could put some, like, pedestrian bozo on a big, I don't know, CFNY or Chum FM or some big thing,

and it's like, okay, the actual star of the show is these call letters, and then you're, like, lifted up by association somehow. What's he referring to? You're only as good personally or you're only as good professionally? Because I think, as your call letters. Okay, I think this your call letters. Okay. This is what he, I think this is what he means when I drill him on it. But let's say I'm going to take a guy like a real life person, Bob McCowan.

Okay. So Bob McCowan had a successful afternoon drive sports talk show on the Fan 590. Okay. If you took Bob McCowan and you lifted him out of the Fan 590 and you dropped him on another station. I'm just making this up. Let's say you put him on Saga, like some kind of,

like some station, and now he's got the exact same show at the exact same time on this other station. Did the Bob McCowan fans abandon the Fan 590 and move to this other station to hear Bob McCowan, or did they stick with the brand of station that they're

loyal to the fan 590 and just listen to I don't know the replacement Jeff Blair and Stephen Brunt or whoever the heck is on at that point like that's the great discussion we don't know the answer that question because Bob never did leave the fan he got fired and then he started a podcast but

Fred is of the opinion that no you're only as good as your call letters you can't just lift a brad giffen here from chum fm and drop them on i don't know mix 99.9 and have the same results yeah i think there's something to that so you're talking about professional um you're only as good professionally as your call letters, because there is, there are implications for people who might say, I'm only as good personally as a person. My worth is tied up in my call letters.

Oh yeah. If you lose those call letters, right? Some people lose themselves. You know, you know who I'm thinking of right now is I'm thinking of a man who literally had the station's call letters tattooed on his ass. Was it a man? It was a man named Martin Streik.

He was king. Do you do any movie trailer voiceovers? No. So I won't go to a Cineplex and hear some Brad Giffen. I don't think they kind of don't do those things. Yeah, you know what? I haven't been to a theater. I gotta say, since COVID, I haven't been to a theater very often. Movie trailers don't think they kind of don't do those things. Yeah, you know what? I haven't been to a theater. I got to say, since COVID, I haven't been to a theater very often. No, but movie trailers don't usually involve in a world where laughter was king.

One man, a girl, two girls. Or men at all. They don't do that anymore. They let the, well, you you know you look at movie theaters or movie trailers and you see them well you see them on social media you see them on youtube right they don't require most times okay so to put a bow on the um the marden streak story is that the man uh worked 25 plus i don't know he's so identified with the station he he tattooed the station's logo on his ass long story short is chorus ended up owning the station's logo on his ass. Long story short is Chorus ended up owning the station

and Chorus parted way with him in 2009. Two months later, this gentleman took his own life. And I'm not here to connect any dots. I don't know. I can't even speak to his mindset and everything. But the man, regardless of whether anything to do with it,

I would never say, oh, Chorus is responsible for the death of Martin Strait. I would never even suggest such a thing. But there is a danger in identifying too closely to your call letters when that is owned by some conglomerate and you have no control over your employment there. Yeah, it's dangerous.

You cannot tie your sense of self-worth with call letters or company name or whatever else. Any of us. But you could do that for Brad avenue here because that is you like at least now you you are an independent i'll never fire myself right right well i got the same deal going on here okay so it took you like 40 plus years to find your calling that's where you're at today you found your calling yeah yeah i do believe i'm doing exactly what i want to do now i i love every day i work with companies and producers all over the world as a matter of fact

before i came here today i'm working with a producer in london on a project that originated in slovenia and uh i've got one more waiting for me too. That's from Kiev of all places. It's a space project that I do weekly for this company's space channel. It's called, I haven't seen it yet. Okay, good on you.

Cause I know you have a few key, a few key clients that keep you very busy and you don't, you don't miss mainstream media at all, do you? No, not at all. And they don't miss me. You know? No, I mean that. That's Ernie Courtney rule number three.

This chair in front of the mic is not yours. It belongs to the company. So doesn't it, like I think. So don't tie your self-identity to those call letters. So now. We know people who have done that recently, don't we? Yeah.

And it must feel very good for you. Aside from the one that you've cited. Well, which is a tragic story there. But it must feel very good for you that now when you go to work, you're working for Brad. Like it's like, I represent Brad. I am Brad. Let's work. You're not making money for Bell Media.

Oh, I don't mind. You know, either way, I was happy to make money for Bell Media as long as they're paying. I'm doing what I'm doing, having fun. I enjoyed that experience. I really enjoyed my years at Bell Media, up in Agincourt at McCowan Road. Great group of people that I work with.

I love them. And I've got some friends, Lisa Robbins, Debbie Holbeck, people who I will have as friends for the rest of my life if I'm fortunate. You know, there are many others like that. Dan Matheson came out of that experience as well too, you know. came out of that experience as well too you know so i was almost exactly almost exactly 10 years with ctv news channel 28 to 2008 to 2018 and then my first to go around with ctv when it was you know cfdo was 1990 to 93 and i i met wonderful people like austin delaney and Tom Hayes back in those days. I was also scared during those days too. I had some of the toughest news directors there that I've ever had in my entire career.

Ted Stubing, Darwin Smith, they were excellent journalists and they were taskmasters. And they really kicked off all my, not all of them. I still had a few more rough edges to get kicked off later when I was in the United States. But they started me on the road. And I think that's, Mike, one of the things that young journalists miss these days. They don't have farm teams to start with, up in Elliott Lake and a hard-ass news director to tell them which way is up.

Right. And they end up, in some cases, coming straight out of Ryerson and sitting in and they're writing for the country's largest news station, you know? And that's not fair to them. No, because these smaller markets. And it's not fair to the viewers.

Where you cut your teeth, right? This is where you make your mistakes, you get better, and then you go, it's like to the big leagues. You don't start in the big leagues. Yeah, work your way up, yeah. It's just such a disservice to viewers, listeners, and to those young people

starting off when, you know, there's no one there to at at at a station like ctv to tell them that you know there's a better way of saying this you should do it subject verb object you know sentence structure and consequently why why is there no one there to tell them how to do it well well there's no one there because those people who could tell them, those people with the institutional knowledge have been laid off. They've been victims of cost cutting by the corporation. But, you know, once again, it comes down to a corporation.

This chair is not yours. That was some worthwhile advice you got early in your career that has stuck with you all these decades and served you very very well I want to shout out two websites two websites everybody get ready one is pumpkinsafterdark.com that's where you buy your tickets right now for the award winning Halloween event

pumpkins after dark it runs through October 31st obviously so get your tickets now and I want to shout out recyclemyelectronics.ca. They're committed to our planet's future, and that means properly recycling your electronics of the past. So if you have any old electronics, old devices you want recycled, go to recyclemyelectronics.ca.

Brad, I got to tell you, I was a big fan of Toronto Rocks. I'm very excited to have you on. And how was this for you? You got to see where the magic is made here how was your experience here in your toronto mic debut this is bad and i'll tell you why that's real talk we're one hour and four minutes into this are we no we're longer than we started earlier yeah this is actually one hour and 26 minutes oh my my Lord. This has gone past so quickly. How is this possible?

So you thought it was quickly when it was an hour and four minutes. When you found out it's an hour and 26 minutes, you're going, Oh my God. No, listen, people, uh,

for people listening, I haven't been too damn boring. No, I enjoyed it thoroughly. It doesn't matter what the people think. It matters what I think. Okay. By the way,

I want to shout out Dimitri. Dimitri sent me a note to say, I forgot to bring this up during the Toronto Rocks segment, but he wanted me to ask you if you replaced John Major on Toronto Mics. And as you said so succinctly there, you don't replace John Major, but you did take over the role. I warmed the seat for John. John went to 10.50 chum. 10.50 chum.

Wow. You know what I recommend to you, Brad, if you're bored one day? Go to episode 1050. That's episode 1050 of Toronto Mike. I listened to it. Okay. Several of my radio gods were there on that episode, and I was thrilled. Okay.

Well, listen. That's a pretty mellow response, man. No, man. I wasn't sure you were done there. I didn't want to trample on you, man. You're an OG, like I said. You just sparked a memory, and then you just mellowed down into this? What's up with this?

You're an OG, Brad. And this won't be the last time we hear from you. And again, what are you doing on December 9th? Are you coming over to Palma's Kitchen to hang with us listeners and the FOTMs at TMLX14? What do you got going on? I don't know. I'll check my calendar. Get back to you, buddy. If it's anything like this, this has been a real

pleasure, Mike. And if it's anything like this, I'll be back. It'll be a lot like this. Open mic. I gotta say, we'll talk more about Moby Grape at TMLX14, because you love the taste of that Moby Grape. And Brad Giffen, I don't know, this Brad Avenue guy, that's who I hire for my voiceover work.

But when I want to talk about Toronto Rocks, I got Brad Giffen in the house. Thanks for doing this, buddy. I love the nostalgia. Truly my pleasure. And that brings us to the end of our 1,350th show. That's a round number, Brad. 1,350.

Joel Goldberg didn't get a round number like that. 1,350. Yeah. Almost. That's like 1,050 plus 300. You can follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky. I'm at Toronto Mike. Is there somewhere in the social media universe where people could follow the ongoing adventures of Brad Giffen?

No. No. Listen, you got to talk to me if you want to get to Brad. Okay. This is how Brad Giffen. No. No, listen. You've got to talk to me if you want to get to Brad. Okay, this is how we're working here. Go to LinkedIn, actually. Brad at AVSvoice.com. Brad Giffen's on a beach. Yeah, yeah.

Marie Curtis, I think. Okay. Shout out to all those who made this possible Marie Curtis Park Beach I bike through it almost every day so I shout out

Marie Curtis Park and a very lovely park it is too it is it is shout out to Great Lakes Brewery you're bringing some beer home with you

yes thank you Palma Pasta I have a lasagna for you thank you Palma Pasta Raymond James Canada you got your actually they don't give you anything

Raymond James step it up. We need to give gifts to people. Thank you, Ridley Funeral Home. They gave you the measuring tape. Yes, that's very, very handy. Thank you. Mineris gave you the speaker. Yes. Pumpkins After Dark, guys. Go to pumpkinsafterdark.com. Get your tickets now. And as you said...

Oh, and recycle my electronics. I got Cliff Hacking here soon. As you said, Brad, shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. See you all tomorrow when my special guest is Don Stevenson, original member of Moby Grape. Cool. You didn't know you needed this deep dive,

but trust me, it's great. And I actually have a special co-host for this episode, FOTM Gare Joyce. Don't miss that. That's episode 1,351. See you all then. And your smile is fine and it's just like mine and it won't go away. Cause everything is rosy and green. Well, I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain.

And I've kissed you in places I better not name. And I've seen the sun go down on Shakhty Kul.