Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Chris Tait from Chalk Circle: Toronto Mike'd #1330

Episode Date: September 21, 2023

In this 1330th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with musician Chris Tait of Chalk Circle about his life in music. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Pumpkins After Dark, Ridley Funeral Home and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

No April Fool, be home today, when my kingdom falls, and yours will stay. Welcome to episode 1330 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. Use the promo code TOMIKE15 and save 15% 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.

And Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of this community since 1921. Today, making his Toronto Mike debut is Chris Tate. Welcome, Chris. Thank you, sir. Let me see your driver's license. Are you really a Chris Tate?

No, I know you're a Chris Tate. That's never the problem. But the first question that came in when I said you were going to make your debut was from Steve Leggett. And he goes, have you ever been mistaken for a different Chris Tate? Yeah.

Okay, let's hear it. Sorry. I didn't realize you were asking me. Yeah, that's for you. That was rhetorical. Well, that's rhetorical, and I am curious. So answer Steve's question. I know, but the listenership doesn't know.

So tell the listenership, tell the FOTMs how you've been mistaken. And then I'm going to play a clip from a previous episode of Toronto Mic'd involving Chris Tate. Maybe people who didn't hear that are going to be like, what's Mike talking about? This is his debut. It's all going to make sense in a moment. But tell us, when in your long career in Toronto music scene have you been mistaken for a different Chris Tate? Sometime in the 90s, I believe. I was doing

solo shows as a band as Chris Tate around town. I'd play the Rive wherever. I was there last night with the Rivoli. Oh, nice. Who were you seeing? There was the premiere of the new documentary about Lowest of the Low. It's called Subversives. Oh, wow. It's directed by Simon Head.

And I was there last night hanging out with a bunch of great FOTMs. documentary about lowest of the low it's called subversives oh wow directed by simon head and uh i was there last night hanging out with a bunch of great fotms and of course tate was probably there you know what i was shocked he wasn't he wasn't always i was expecting chris tate to be there and he wasn't there which is you know and you weren't there either but the rivoli so i was hanging out the rivoli yesterday continue yeah so cole's notes um i would do shows. I would get phone calls the next day from friends saying, we went to see you. Or I wasn't doing a show, pardon me. I would get a phone call from a friend saying,

we went to see you last night and you weren't. Like, what happened? Like, we thought you were playing at the Rivoli. I'm like, I wasn't playing at the Rivoli. Right. I would do a show at the Rivoli. The other Chris Tate, the kinder, gentler Chris Tate, would get calls from his friends saying,

I went to see you last night at the Rivoli or wherever, and you weren't, what the hell? Anyway, we soon figured out that we were both playing shows, and it was getting confusing. So we got in touch. He's a great guy. Had a good laugh about it. Decided to actually do a show.

So we did a show at the Elmo, I believe, called Me, Myself and I. Very, very well done. Look, you knew that was going to happen. I was ready for that. We found a third Chris Tate who was a photographer. He displayed his visuals and we performed. So it's like Chris Tate cubed. Exactly.

Nobody showed up. But it was a hell of a lot of fun. Because the Toronto music scene is kind of small. I mean, it's big and it's small. It depends on how you look at it, but it's fascinating that two similarly aged musicians in this city

would have identical names. It's like when Hugh, is it Chris Brown? So Chris Brown's on my mind from the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir because he just did a tour of Ron Hawkins and Steve Stanley and they were all in this basement performing and I was watching this doc

and they're talking like, will Stephen Stanley and Ron Hawkins ever perform again? And I'm thinking, yeah, in my basement. Let's get that video in there. And I realized that when you talk, Chris Brown kind of goes by Christopher Hugh Brown to not be mistaken for any other Chris Browns out there. But you and this other Chris Tate, and I'm going to play

a clip from when the other Chris Tate was on my program while we listened to Me, Myself, I. This is a great song, by the way. Oh, thank you. Thanks very much. And you wrote this song? I wrote it with the band. Okay. Just a little to whet our appetite. We're going to talk a lot of

Chalk Circle in this episode, and this is Chalk Circle. But here, let's bring this down, and let me play a little clip from that episode. So let's listen. This is when Chris Tate made his Toronto Mike debut. Nice to meet you. I feel like this should have happened a long time ago, and then we just had to get our ducks in order.

I agree with that, yeah. There was some scheduling challenges. I've dropped the name Chalk Circle many times because it's a fun fact. The very first rock concert I ever attended in my lifetime was Chalk Circle many times because it's a fun fact, the very first rock concert I ever attended in my lifetime was Chalk Circle at Ontario Place Forum That is amazing, unfortunately

that is a different Chris Tate Oh it's, tell me that's funny, which Chris Tate am I talking to right now? You were talking to Chris Tate right here I'm, it's interesting so the other Chris Tate and I have I have lives I have lives that have coincided

all through my time. You need to, you need to slow down and tell me everything because I think this happened to Kevin McDonald who's an FOTM, Kevin McDonald

from Kids in the Hall where he was, there was two Kevin McDonalds booked on WTF, this podcast. There was a famous moment where they booked the wrong one. This might have happened now

so slowly tell us exactly who you are. Cause this is making me, me, uh, laugh inside, but who the hell are you, Chris? I'll tell you.

So, um, well, the other, the other Chris Tate, uh, runs a production studio called pirate and I won call, I run one called resonator and back a million years ago.

So we both were in various and sundry bands and Chris was in shock circle. And I was at a band called sign the whiplash a long time ago. Okay. And, and million years ago, so we both were in various and sundry bands and Chris was in Shark Circle and I was at a band called Sign the Whiplash a long time ago. Okay. And then since then, subsequently, we would constantly, when we were both playing individually, we would play shows and we would both show up or one of us would show up to the wrong show. And so eventually it got to be kind of hilarious. And we actually ended up booking a show called me myself and i with both chris's and a third chris tate who's a photographer so that okay so people are like didn't you like see

this face at the door and noah's wrong chris tate and then i feel kind of bad that i just didn't like i'd face blindness and i wasn't sure what you were looking like at and at this time and anyway i so i i actually unlike that incident that i I referenced where Mark Maron had two Kevin McDonalds, at least he knows which Kevin McDonald he's talking to. Right. So when you hear that clip, I thought I was talking to you. And I don't, I've never had a moment like that on the show. But what do you think of that?

Chris Tate makes me sound really smart. Really well spoken. He's the smart Chris Tate. Is that correct? Yes, exactly. But for the record, you are the Chris Tate from Chalk Circle. Correct. Yes.

Okay. And what do you think, what are your thoughts on the fact that I thought I had you on the show and it was a different Chris Tate? I think it's hysterical. Yeah. And by the way, I think Chris Tate, not me,

Chris Tate, but Chris Tate, I thought that was about the most gracious performance of a lifetime. Like, yeah, he was very, very, very. Okay, so here's another thought. So, you know, people. Yeah, I'm sorry for interrupting you there. I'm a very rude host here.

Don't do it again. I will never do it again. I'm scared of you, actually. But, like, there's been a lot of reaction to that wrong Chris Tate episode. And I get lots of notes and people sharing their thoughts. And one of the thoughts is that how did it not like how did it never come up like hey are you sure you want this Chris Tate because there's two of us like he he might have purposely uh been vague about which Chris Tate he was because just to create that moment do you think that or is that

people are overthinking it no Chrisris tate this is so freaking weird he's like a dude like he's very successful he just put a record out um he has a great company we've actually worked together which was funny um years and years ago he wrote some lyrics and i wrote some music for this i can't remember what it was right um he's i would interview him he's the real deal no i'm glad i interviewed him and it worked yeah so i i wouldn't imagine in a million years he would think maybe you have the wrong chris tate so good point there and he knows i'm kind of embedded in that lowest of the low community yeah he's kind of embedded there so it made sense right yeah he's he's uh he's a he's a dude all right a few listener notes just off the top

before we talk about the Chalk Circle origin story here. But Jeff Burrows, drummer for Tea Party, wants you to know that Chalk Circle was a huge influence on him. Oh, wow. That's great. That's very nice to hear. Yeah, it's high praise. I'm actually going to see Jeff Burrows and the Tea Party

with I Mother Earth at 888 Yonge Street there at the concert hall. So great that that venue's back. So have you been there since they fixed it up? No, no. All I remember is Iggy Pop and Ramone shows, and one of our first kind of big show was opening up for us at Camera there. Wow. Yeah.

Okay, so your time to bury me in the fun facts from chalk circle here but hoxley workman there's another uh big canadian musician it says pass on my hello his band big faith is one of my favorites yeah so tell the listenership because i kept referring to you as chalk circles chris tate tell us about like like uh big faith so big faith started uh with i guess, really with Fergus Marsh and myself. Fergus I'd known for forever since before. I actually met Fergus at the Rivoli. There we go.

There's that place again. Ferg and I were writing songs. And then Big Faith became, eventually, Fergus on Chapman stick and bass, Mike Slosky on drums, and ken greer on pedal steel and guitar and myself and um yeah we made a couple of records we used to play all the town all the time in town at the ultrasound and hoxley used to used to sneak in he he was a massive fan of mike slosky's drumming and And yeah, and I think that was definitely what drew him to the band.

But yeah, I've had many conversations with Huxley about it. He's, yeah, he's very, very generous with his praise. And I'm like, you know, very humbled by it because he's a bit of a mad genius. So I'm a huge fan of his. Well, it's mutual.

And he comes up on many an episode here. I just had Royal Wood on the show. I think Royal Wood was my last guest in person on Monday, I think it was. And he also worked very closely with Hawk. So it all comes, it's all about Hawk. I opened up for Royal at the Cameron House once. Amazing. I know his bass player slash manager, Steve, really well too.

Okay. And don't, I know some people, I'm not suggesting this is you, Mr. Tate, but some people are hesitant to name drop. They feel it's rude somehow. And the opposite is true on this program. Like just drop names like they're hot. Chris Tate. I don't know if you know Chris.

Great guy. Lavaretts, I believe is the the name of his great new music. Okay. Buffalo Boy. Again, we're going a little out of order, but we're going to get back to the early days. But Buffalo Boy wants to know, will there be a new Chalk Circle album,

and will you guys play in Buffalo? We would love to play in Buffalo. We almost played in Buffalo this year. That may happen next year. We did a show recently, and a lot of people came up, which was really, really fantastic. A lot of people made the drive up here. Yeah, we would love to.

So hopefully next year we'll get that together. We have a show coming up, and I really want to finish something and play something new at that show um we've been talking really recently only in the last year or so about recording some new material so yeah that's definitely something that for the first time in a long time personally i'm you know i'm really excited about and inspired by um so yeah that would be that would be great so hopefully we can get it together get your shit together come on uh what where where is this uh show you're gonna play coming up we're playing uh

october 20th at the horseshoe so yeah looking forward to that yeah love it love it uh all these venues we're referencing are like uh several feet away from each other yeah exactly yeah they're all within a block that's right i was gonna because i biked to this rivoli yesterday and it's like yeah it's all it's all right here and it's funny because i just coincidentally talked about kevin mcdonald from kids in the hall when i was talking to the other chris tate and uh i realized that there's like a like a plaque tribute to kids in the hall in the rivoli like that's uh we're all where the kids in the hall that's where they started yeah yeah it all comes full circle here okay so let's talk about where it started uh i mean do we go all the way back to newcastle like i just get you don't mind that's where that's where it started it started at um in clark high school which was

newcastle and orono and Kendall and Kirby and all of these small towns, you would get bused into the high, that was the high school for the region. And Brad and the bass player, Brad, who became the bass player eventually, and I knew, we knew that we both played music and there would be jam sessions at people's homes in basements. And Paul Reddick, who's a really incredible musician, harp player, songwriter in town, actually grew up in that area as well. I remember him being at some of these jam sessions.

And then, yeah, Brad and I sort of were interested in playing, and then we sort of, our very first band was put together around a Christmas assembly. I actually played drums. Brad played guitar. Right. We had a different bass player. We had our crazy friend, Stani, was our lead singer.

We played an Eddie Cochran tune. We played God Save the Queen and something else. I can't remember. What was the original name of this band? I think that was probably pre-Reactors. So the Casualties. I don't know. The Casualties.

That was it. Wow. You got to do your homework on this program. You might not know which Chris Tate you're getting, but you got to be ready for anything. Exactly that's right the casualties didn't last that long um the casualties turned into our our uh we had a singer i played guitar brad played bass and then by then we had met derrick who was from bowmanville from a neighboring town and then eventually the casualties turned into a power trio which was just brad and

derrick and myself and we became the reactors okay and then the reactors become new edition yeah not to be confused with new edition yeah so you figured that out right after we it was like this is first of, this is a terrible name. The reactors was such a great name. Yeah, that lasted. All right, so now I have to ask the obvious question. You've probably been asked a million times. But how do you come to the name Chalk Circle?

You have a friend of yours suggest it. That was it, literally. I think we changed our name to New Edition. This is a very spinal tap. And New Edition, in case, I don't know, it that's all that was it literally um i think we changed our name to new edition this is very spinal tap but um and new edition in case i don't know i mispronounce words but a-d-d-i-t-i-o-n that's the addition we're trying to say here yeah yeah new math new math is kind of would be actually kind of a good name the new math additions was always better than the new Coke, right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, and he suggested it. It was taken from a Bertolt Brecht play,

the Caucasian Chalk Circle. We just got rid of the white guy part. Smart move there, I think. Yeah, and I just want to shout out the new VR, which kept calling itself the new VR when it was like 15, 20 years old. I think the time the new had long expired yeah new is new is um it was not going to be new eventually okay so you know you newcastle

guys here uh you guys are forming you're now you've got chalk circle so i'm trying to get you from like chalk circle to april fool here so take us back now. Did you guys move to Toronto? Moved to Toronto. Those guys are a couple of years older than me. So they moved while I was still in high school in grade 12. We would run back and forth and play like the Beverly Tavern.

And we'd play Thursday night, pack up. I would go to school Friday and then we'd play Friday and Saturday. Anyway, eventually moved to the city. We were doing a show, an outdoor show, and were approached by a guy named Tad Winklars, who eventually became our keyboard player. He said, you guys sound great, but you need a keyboard player.

We said, okay, great. So he showed up at rehearsal, we clicked and that was it. And then, yeah. And then it was just writing songs, playing shows, doing what everyone does. And really what happened is we started, we met our eventual manager who was the lighting tech for Blue Peter at the time. His name was Chris Pegg. Great guy.

He became our manager, and we started doing lots of support shows for Chris Pegg. Sorry, Blue Peter. Blue Peter, right. Which was a real education. They were still a big fan of those records. And yeah, and probably April Fool and a bunch of other songs on that record were kicking around and eventually we recorded them.

And that's, yeah, that's basically it. Okay, so I got a few questions here. Firstly, Chris Wardman is a FOTM. He's been on the program. He's from Blue Peter, of course. But he produces the uh the great the great lake yes so even more than that um uh rob sandalowich who was blue peter's front of house engineer gives us a loans us 2500 bucks to make a record wow we decided to make a

record on our own because we'd had a lot of A&R, you know, people from record companies showing up and there was always an excuse. Your songs are great, but you need to work on your live show or vice versa. And we just went, you know, it was,

we just did it ourselves. Everyone did. You made your own records, you made your own cassettes. So it didn't occur to us to not do that. So we went into Quest Recording Studios in Oshawa, did pre-pro with Chris Wardman, who was a fantastic producer for us.

We really needed someone to help us with our arrangements. Went in, recorded at Quest. We're about to mix it. When Duke Street showed up and said, we love this, we want to put it out. And we ended up mixing it at their studio, Manta Studios. Okay. I know, I love this detail here.

Now, sadly, we've lost Paul Humphrey, but what are your memories of Paul? Well, I didn't really know Paul that well when we were opening for them. I certainly knew him to say hello. But later, much later, when we were opening for them i certainly knew him to say hello um but later much later when we were playing again and blue peter were playing again we started to do shows together and uh we did the phoenix a couple of times we we did oh god i can't remember the name there's venue's not there anymore um and i got to know paul a little bit there and the last time they played together

paul you know was sick he was very sick for very long and um it was one of the most courageous performances i've ever seen he was yeah when they went on for an encore he could barely stand he was very weak and uh and he got himself together and made it up the stairs somehow and and did the encore it was very really emotional inspiring actually wow yeah a strong guy all right to set the mood for more uh chalk circle tunes here's a bit of blue peter Peter. So what are your thoughts listening to don't Walk Past here by Blue Peter? Like how inspirational was this sound?

And then maybe even tie that into these guys are always on my mind too because Rob Proust comes over once a month for this series we have on Toronto Mike called Toast. So Rob Proust was here Sunday night actually and he was keyboardist for Spoons. Yeah. I guess still at this time, I guess. So, like, how influential were these local artists at the time for Chalk Circle? Like, Toronto was crazy. Just, I don't even know how to describe it.

There was music everywhere and all styles of music. It was a really, really great time to be making music in the city. There were established bands like Blue Peter, and you mentioned The Spoons and all kinds of... Those bands are sort of like a generation. They were a little older than us. But in high school, we used to cover Blue Peter tunes. So they were like sort of heroes for us, you know, when we were kids.

And then there were all these other bands. Breeding Ground were friends of ours. Like, they were huge, vital signs. Woods Are Full of Cuckoos. Like, there were all these really great pop bands and funk bands. And, you know bands and funk bands and it was and and you know and punk bands and like it was it was it was a really vibrant scene so everything influenced us everything yeah i love hearing about this time you know yeah and i always wonder like can you have a scene like

that when you know rent is three thousand dollars a Like, it just feels like that was a time when you could afford to live in Toronto and be a starving artist. Yeah, I think it's just, I think it's actually really healthy and really great right now. It's just different. Right, okay. And I think that one of the differences is you can have, there is a community, but it's not probably because of of the cost of living but also because of technology you can have a community but it's not on a street right right right so there's a lot of collaboration being done digitally that's just wonderful and amazing you know no that's a great point you know a lot of these artists you find out oh they moved to peterborough or they moved

to huntsville or they're living in Kingston or whatever. You're right. You don't have to all live on Queen Street West. Good point. Good point. This jam, man, great to hear it. Any excuse to play a little Blue Peter, but you're so intertwined with Chris Wardman

that I thought I'd play that before I play the Big Jam. So my question is now about the Casby Award. So maybe I'll play a little bit of the uh can i just call it the big jam would that be a fan this is the big one i feel like this is the definitive chalk circle song is does that would you agree uh that i don't know what you're gonna play well you don't know i'm assuming you're gonna play april fool yeah okay play April Fool. Yeah. Okay. How did I do? Did I guess? Did I guess correctly? guitar solo See yourself in a brand new way

My open arms Through your troubled days Wish for your smiling A battle I am torn To see it through Your smiling are battered and torn Juicy and thrilled To God I've sworn, I've sworn No April Fools be hold today When my heel falls

And yours will stay Okay, Chris, at the risk of pulling a Gino Vanelli where I couldn't get off black cars, I'm going to kind of dive deep into this song, okay? So historically I get fixated on these things, and it's like, can you get off black cars already so april fool yeah again i already shared this with the other chris tate so i don't even need to say it to you okay i said it to the other chris tate but the first rock concert i ever

attended was chalk circle at uh the ontario plays forum yeah and the song that i remember when this song april fool was played i remember this young mike moment of like I I hear this song on the radio like it was like I know this song so now it's your time to bury me in detail of how this song comes to be uh everything you can remember about April Fool I'm listening I mean where do you begin yeah we it the song probably started in re in a rehearsal space, which where most songs at that time started, which it was a jam. Um, someone would start playing something. I've, I've no idea who started, if Tad started the keyboard part or, or Derek started a drum part or no idea.

Um, Derek wrote the lyrics um a real band effort and um yeah that's it i mean the the one thing i can comment on which is kind of funny but um maybe i shouldn't admit but that guitar part i remember hearing the edge and those guys using this slap back delay. I didn't realize that it was a dotted eighth note. So my delay is just an eighth note. So I have to play

all of the notes. So the great thing about that is nothing sounds exactly like the guitar part that I wrote but i uh out of ignorance thought i was playing a uh delayed um yeah sort of like an edge kind of guitar part but i was just playing it wrong okay i love it there that's a great detail so when your collab sounds like a true collaboration and song coming together like do you have a moment in the

collaboration process where you're like i think we have a hit here like you know in the movies right if they make the chalk circle biopic which i'm trying to get financing for we're gonna do a chalk circle biopic and then we're gonna have the other chris tate in it okay but like is there a moment where you're like i think we've got a hit here like i'm just curious if you knew what you had with april fool well i think the label did um honestly i know this is gonna to sound terrible. I wasn't crazy about it. Are you crazy about it now?

When you hear it now, are you like, oh, I don't like this song? I'm so grateful and happy that nobody listened to me at the time. I don't know how people pick hits. It's just the song clicks or the song doesn't. We released other songs and, you know, there's timing. It's got a catchy hook. It's just hooky and, yeah, it's hard to say. Like, when I played that Blue Peter song,

I have a similar reaction to this song, which is like this is still sounding great in my headphones as we listen in 2023. Like, these songs are from the early to mid eighties. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So the label Duke street, uh, Duke street records, uh, is where you signed.

Right. And, uh, this, according to my notes is the, the, the biggest, uh, release in the history of Duke street. Oh yeah. This is the biggest seller. I don't know if it like at the time for sure, but April Fool, which I'm wondering,

do you see an uptick on references and plays on April 1st every year? Like, is it sort of like you have a Christmas song and it gets that big play? You got an April Fool anthem here. Yes, we do.

I'm not going to lie. Every station in the country plays April Fool on April, on April 1st. Very cool. Now, what did you win? Like,

tell me about your experience with the Casby Awards. We do a lot of CFNY deep dives on this podcast. Always interested in the Canadian artists selected by you. You won most promising non-recording group in 85. Yeah. So that's before you recorded this then. I think it was during, I think we hadn't, we were on the verge of getting released um i can't remember if this was released in 85 or released

in 86 maybe it was 86 um but yeah we were we were doing really well and we were opening for people and and you know and we had an agent at that point, I think, which was kind of unusual, being a Toronto band. So we were on the verge, and it was quite validating at the time, and that radio station really held a lot of sway, and was quite an influential place. So I believe April Fool is released in 86. That's when the Great Lake Chris Wardman production there.

But yeah, this award is non-recording group. So it had to be a year prior, 1985. So it was sort of based on your live shows, I guess. The Caspian Award. Yeah, but remember, we had recorded three or four cassettes, singles, and EPs and stuff like everyone else had. So it was like non-recording artist meant not signed to a label yet, right? Okay, gotcha. Now, The World would be, for example, would be one of those cassettes demos that CFNY would get their grip.

Do you remember any particular human beings as opposed to aliens, any people at CF and Y who would champion a chalk circle? There was a guy and for the life of me, I cannot remember his name, but he had an indie show on Sundays, really great guy and incredibly supportive of Toronto talent. I remember getting on that show. It's not Hal Harbour, is it?

No, but I remember Hal. Gosh, I can't remember his name. It's terrible. They were all very supportive. Ivor Hamilton, maybe? Well, Ivor was great. Like, you know, certainly by the time we made a record, they were on board and they were, you know, they were time we made a record they were they were on board and and they

were you know they were all there were personalities and they were all most most of the people there were just got you know crazy for music and incredibly passionate and incredibly supportive but but i remember getting this one interview going you know driving to toronto sitting outside doing an interview um for this show. And it was, I don't even know if we were talk circle yet, but it was a really pivotal moment. I mean, we were from this little town. So even moving to Toronto was this, you know, getting a record deal

was like an impossibility, you know, in our minds. But I remember that being, you know, really validating, you know, us as songwriters and performers. And in addition to radio play for April Fool, of course, there's a, the timing's interesting here, only that on Friday, I'm going to be at Roy Thompson Hall

to see this documentary titled 299 Queen Street West, which is like about much music from its like, that first decade basically of much music. So much music on the mind as well. But you got a, yeah, your video was heavily featured on Much.

Yeah. I mean, they were, you know, there was another, there was something called Video Facts so you could apply for grants. And our first video, I think it cost 3,200 bucks. And and it was we shot it on a weekend we found a location there was there was another shoot happening and the grip truck truck was needed to

be returned on monday and we had it on sunday so we had dollies and camera gear and right alma chula shot it um yeah that... The only way you could do it is to get some help from someone. Well, it's huge because, you know, like, so, you know, again, I was at the Lois and Lo dog yesterday and basically wherever the signal of CFNY would go, you had Lois and Lo fans

but they didn't have what... I'm thinking of like Pursuit of Happiness if I'm an adult now but they didn't have the nation's music station featuring them so that it was, you know, C to C, the whole country. Yeah. So it sort of really helps a band out

to cover the entire country as opposed to one, you know, one city's region there. Yeah. It was unprecedented in that regard. I agree. And you got a nomination for, so we talked about you winning a

CASB. By the way, what did you get when you won a CASB? Is it like a plaque or a trophy? Remember? Was it a piece of paper? No idea. No idea.

Where is that CASB? I'm sure Derek seems to be the gatekeeper, so I'm sure he has it somewhere. I don't know. Or maybe Brad does. But you were nominated for Most Promising Group

at the 1986 Juno Awards. Yes. So you attended these Junos. Yeah. Where were they? I'm really jogging your memory today. In Toronto. How convenient.

Yeah. That's all I remember. I can't remember. At a hotel or something. I have no idea. CBC maybe? Maybe they're at a, I don't know. You can't remember.

I remember there were a lot of people there and famous people and stuff. It was crazy. Was Corey Hart there? Probably. We opened for Corey Hart. All right. When? Before we got a record deal.

Corey Hart actually was touring the country and was picking up local independent bands to support him. And we did a show at the CNE opening for Corey Hart. It was crazy. That is wild. Yeah, it was crazy. So there you go. That's wild.

In the video for Sunglasses at Night, Laurie Brown is in that, speaking of the Much Music documentary. Okay. More useless fun facts that I have nowhere to, that's why I started a podcast. Where am I going to share my fun facts here? Okay. So we now have this...

I mean, again, when I say big hit, I speak from a Canadian perspective. I actually have no idea. Like, was April Fool heard outside of this wonderful country of Canada? I actually don't know. It would have been heard in Germany and some of the Netherlands countries

and maybe in Japan, but we never did get a release in the US so. Well how come? That song to me doesn't sound like oh this is a Canadian, like it just sounds like a great synth track from the early to mid 80s. Well I mean

back then there were gatekeepers so you know if you didn't impress A&R you know and we were signed to a small independent label in Canada so if you didn't impress A&R, and we were signed to a small independent label in Canada. So if you're signed to, at the time, Universal Music, which was MCA at the time or whatever, their parent company would be the US.

So you had a direct pipeline. If you're an independent label, you're knocking on every door just to try and you know so we had a couple of times we had people come up and see us play and we had showcases in new york and stuff like that but we just didn't get a deal yeah well i think that's bullshit chris i do too like when you you know you mentioned you use the word on the verge you use the word about 15 minutes ago and i was gonna ask you i didn't i didn't want to be a dick but like on the verge of what like what was the what was the goal to be you too like what is the goal i guess why wouldn't you just uh reach for the stars no i i mean by the time we were making records my goal was to make a living

and make more records right like i mean we were kids right so you're 20 you still look awfully young i'm doing the math in my head it's like okay so you're 20 years you still look awfully young i'm doing the math in my head it's like okay so you're hearing this in 85 86 and uh you know you look like uh you look younger than i do so i don't know how that math works i don't think so that's not possible if it's based on hair there's no way i look at least you're holding on i'm holding on yeah barely okay i don't want to judge the follicly challenge. That's like saying, it's like judging someone for being short.

That's like people, that's hate. That's what that is when I look at that. I just get gorgeous. You can take some home with you. I have more to spare here. Okay, so again, we can't, obviously you'll be here several hours if I. Yes.

So we are going to kind of jump ahead, but not too far because I do want to play, let me play this song guitar solo Heaven's a clock and they talk again About evil destruction and a new re-gun For my defense A man to vent When my head hits the pillow Am I looking up? Ground zero for heaven's sake

I am wide awake The morning comes soon This morning makes me blue The morning comes soon This morning makes me blue All right, so the follow-up album, full-length album here, is called Mending Wall. And this is 87 now.

And this is sort of the big single from that album. This is This Morning, but morning has a you in it. Because this song is saying something, Chris. Like there's some political commentary in this song. Yeah. This song, I mean, we grew up in the, you know, the age of, I was convinced that we were all just going to die in the nuclear war. So that was sort of, you know, just always on your shoulder

and always in the news constantly and that the arms race and the morning after and all that yeah and do you remember like what they would say like if in case of a nuclear attack which really i grew up i'm only a bit younger than you but uh big real legitimate fear for young mike was this and they said you got to put your you got to put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye. Yeah, exactly. It was like, you're fucked. Well, I do remember, like, this was for different reasons, but when they were, I think because of our proximity, I remember getting under chairs in public school,

doing, like, little drills. But anyway, the idea of the song is that, you know, the stress and the anxiety about that is you're already sort of slowly killing people with that sort of looming nuclear annihilation narrative. Just sitting there every day. So yeah, just right what you know, I guess. Yeah, I know for sure.

The Ronald Reagan era there, for sure. Now, this single just had another. I do want to just touch on it here. Let's bring her in real quickly because... Yeah. From the sublime to the ridiculous. So I knew this song as a chalk circle song before I knew it as a T-Rex song. Oh, really?

Yeah, well, that was dumb. That happened to me a lot, actually, as I look back. I was very naive, 20th century boy Speaking of covers, I was way too old by the time I realized Blue Peter's Listen to the Radio was a cover. I had no idea. So there's a whole bunch of examples of songs

I just thought were from the artist I knew it from and then it's like, oh, that's a cover. Like, I had no idea. So there's a whole bunch of examples of songs I just thought were, you know, from the artist I knew it from. And then it's like, oh, that's a cover. But this is a cover. Okay, so you guys were T-Rex fans? So 20th Century Boy. It was because it's, you know, I heard it. Yeah, I mean, T-Rex, Mark Bolan fans

and pop music fans. I think this was I can't remember how this happened. I think it was suggested by Chris and to be honest we started playing this in the studio for fun and it was

and started recording it for fun. I don't think anyone intended it to be on the record. So when we got bored or we were kind of hit a wall, we would just throw this multitrack on the reel-to-reel up and just throw something else at it. So it was a blast to record. That's what I remember.

Amazing. Now, before we get to the next album here, and then I want to talk about all the amazing stuff you've been up to post Chalk Circle, and we'll get a thorough update on the current status of Chalk Circle, but it sounds like you're playing a concert later this month at the Horseshoes, so there's a little teaser, but we're going to give some love right now

to a few places that make Toronto Mic'd possible. So I urge you podcast listeners to subscribe to the Advantage Investor podcast from Raymond James Canada. Whether you already work with a trusted financial advisor or currently manage your own investment plans, the Advantage Investor provides the engaging wealth information you value as you pursue your most important goals. So that podcast is called The Advantaged Investor. Pumpkins After Dark is an award-winning Halloween event. It's taking place in many locations across the country, but here in Toronto, we know it as the Milton event.

So in Milton, Ontario, and it runs September 23rd through October 31st. And if you buy your tickets now, you can save 15% with the promo code TOMIKE15. Chris, do you have any old electronics, maybe in a garage or an attic or a basement? Old tech that you...

In a drawer. In a drawer. So don't throw that in the garbage, Chris. Go to recyclemyelectronics.ca. You'll find a depot near you where you can drop it off to be properly recycled so those chemicals don't end up in our landfill. And of course, as always, Toronto Mic'd is brought to you by Palma Pasta. They're going to host us at TMLX 14 on December 9th at noon.

Chris, you're invited. All the Chris Tates are invited. I want all three of you at this event because Palma Pasta will feed you for free and Great Lakes Brewery will make sure you get a complimentary fresh craft beer. So much love to Great Lakes. Much love to Palma Pasta

and shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. I actually have something for you. Courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home. I actually have something for you. Courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home. Your tickle trunk there? This is in my tickle trunk. Hey, there's a new Mr. Dress-Up dog. I got to see this thing. There's an FOTM in there too.

It's fantastic. Yeah, I loved Mr. Dress-Up. Okay, this is a measuring tape for you, Chris. You never know if you need to measure something. Just tell you how long you have to live. What does it say for you? How many years you got? How many more trips around the sun do you have? Oh, no.

This is it. You know what that tells me? This audio is going to be very important because I'm going to have to release a tribute to it. We talked about Hal Harbour. Hal Harbour just passed away. Oh, I didn't know that. Yes, sadly, just passed away.

I realized I had this really in-depth 90-minute conversation with Hal Harbour about what he was doing at CFNY. He was instrumental in the Barenaked Ladies getting radio airplay, and he was a big champion of that band. And I said, oh yeah. So I did a little editing, and I put it in the feed,

and it was really a lovely tribute to Hal Harbour. So if you want to learn more about the great Hal Harbour, whose real name was Doug Barron. Hal Harbour, not a real name. Chris Tate, is that a real name? That's a real name. Just checking. I never know anymore.

I don't trust anymore. But yeah, shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. We did lose Hal Harbour, a champion of local bands. We just lost him. So, okay. So now this is interesting. So we just played a couple of songs

that came out in 1987. And then your follow-up here is 1989, As the Crow Flies. Yeah. A few things I want to touch on here. One is the song that inspired the Jane Sibury episode of Toronto Mike. So I was preparing for who I thought was Chris Tate from Chalk Circle. It turned out to be a different, but equally lovely Chris Tate. And I had a great conversation,

but it means I never really got to play this, but I had spent some time listening to, I'll just put it on the background and then I'll bring it up for the part. But I spent some time listening to Blue Heaven. Wow, deep cuts. Because of a guest vocalist on this song. And I'll bring it up when I hear her, but Jane Sibury is on this song. And I'll bring it up when I hear her,

but Jane Sibury is on this song. Yeah. So, and this is on As the Crow Flies from 1989, which is, fun fact, that's your, is that your final album?

Yeah. So everything since then has been like greatest hits and packages and stuff like that. Yeah. We remastered the records when we got, when we got all of our, all our masters and publishing back, we remastered the records. When we got all of our masters in publishing back, we remastered everything and re-released it.

And then there was, yeah, there's like a best of that Universal did. Sure. So let's listen to these two voices swimming together. So I'm listening to this song, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I find it hauntingly beautiful. I really like this. It might be a deep cut, but it's great. And Jane Sibury's voice is in there, and I'm thinking, man, I loved, I should say current 10,

but I love Jane Sibury's voice. I reached out to a buddy who's friends with Jane, and I ended up recording with Jane, and it's a highly memorable episode of Toronto Mic'd. Everybody should check out Jane Sibury. It's really resulted in a lot of feedback, because she's sort of different. But I'm wondering, what was your experience like with Jane Sibury?

It was a privilege. It was great. Yeah, we were in Manta, and we just got together. She heard the song. I asked her if she'd like to sing on it. She liked the songs, and we just sort of riffed this back and forth sort of duet for a couple of hours in the studio. It was a really, really lovely experience. Yeah, she's pretty special.

What a voice. Anyways, I've got a lot of time. I've proven it. I have a lot of time. I've proven it. I have a lot of time for Jane Siboree now. Do you remember who engineered this album? Michael Voya Voda produced and engineered. Yeah. He's great.

Yeah. You finished that thought. Fantastic genius. Beautiful man, Michael. He's, you know, once you dig into the Canadian music scene from this era, he's involved in everything. Like, I'm going to get him on Toronto Mic. I know he's friends with Blair Packham.

We're going to make this happen. Who I think connected us, right, Blair? Yes. Yes. He got you the correct phone number. Well, you know, right after that episode, I'm like, okay, I need to get the other Chris Tate now. I've been communicating. He texted me at 10 o'clock at night.

I think, yeah. That sounds like me, actually. I don't sit on things here. I've been communicating. You texted me at 10 o'clock at night. I think, yeah. That sounds like me, actually. I don't sit on things here. I'm a man of action here. But I realized that I'd been communicating with a different Chris Tate for so long, and I thought I was talking to you the whole time. And I'm like, I need to talk. I need a communication. I think, did you phone me

that night? You said, can you talk? And I was driving, and you called me. And then you said, I just spoke to Chris Tate, but it wasn't you. Right. Yes. And I was just so mind-blowing. We had a great chat, and then we got this.

And even though it took us a little bit to put this together, but here you are now. You're here now. Would you take home and enjoy a large meat lasagna from my freezer if I gave that to you? Sure. Do you enjoy it? Okay, well, let me ask it differently. Do you like Italian food? Yes.

No, no. I will definitely take home a frozen lasagna. I'm not going to poison you. My problem is I'm not going home right away, so it may turn into a thawed out meat lasagna.

How many hours until you're at a home with a freezer? Probably three. Oh, it's frozen solid. Oh, okay. And it's not like it's 40 degrees outside. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, definitely. I'm in. I'm in. Okay, so I'm going to make sure you've got a palma pasta lasagna with you. My kids will be very happy. Now, Vauve, I always see it because W is a V in Michael Phillips' last name. Say the name again. Voivoda. Voyevoda.

Voyevoda. He got a Juno nomination for Best Recording Engineer in the 1990 Junos for this album. That's a fun fact for you. Oh, I did? I don't know if you know that. Yeah, I forgot about that. Hey, I'm here to remind you of all the great stuff.

Okay, so why does Chalk Circle come to an end, Chris Tate? Simply, I left the band. I was ready to, for a lot of reasons, which I always find, I always trip over my tongue and have difficulty articulating. But basically, our label had disintegrated. Our label was basically just the owner of the label and his executive assistant left.

There was no one else at the label. In fact, the very last single we released, we did it on our own. Everything sort of came full circle. I got a bank loan to fund a music video for the song Together, ironically. Ironically titled. um we did it all independently because we didn't want to give up on the record but what was glaringly obvious is

we didn't have a label we had signed a horrible record deal like everyone had signed and we still owed them seven albums and uh i'm like i i can't i just can't do this anymore. It was not an easy decision. It was really tough. I just said to the guys, I've got to bail. I didn't really do anything after that for two or three years. Can we elaborate a little bit on your comment, like a horrible record label like Everybody? Because this is a common thread with musicians of your ilk

in that it almost sounds like a record label basically it sounds like a bank loan like it sounds to me when i hear it described by artists like yourself is that the label just lends you money to make videos and promote and stuff but you got to pay it back like it sounds like a sucker's game it's yeah i mean everyone who's making records like you know i was 19 when we signed or something or 20 when we signed or like i don't know i'm like someone wants to give make it you know we're gonna make records like you're gonna be on the radio you're gonna be on no idea and then you wake up and realize what you signed yeah you basically back then and i mean things are completely different now um i think in a lot

of respects much better but everybody signed those deals um yeah you you're like we're going to pay for everything and we're going to you know pay for your records i mean it was it was a bit of a racket going on with independent um some independent labels where they would get factor money which was the foundation to assist canadian talent on record i can't believe i remember that um they would get factor money and they would put that money in their pocket to fund the recording which was the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Record. I can't believe I remember that. They would get factor money, and they would put that money in their pocket to fund the recording of the album. And then they would put you in their recording studio

and charge you commercial rates and basically take the money out of one pocket and put it in the other. It was almost like the laundering money. Yeah. And then at the end of the day, they would say, say yeah you owe us hundreds of thousands of dollars um so just pay us hundreds of thousands of dollars we'll let you out of the deal you're like what i can't pay red right you know we're bailing we didn't make any money on those records nothing we made our money

playing live and from performance residuals so yeah i didn't see a penny on record sales it's almost like your business in business with... We had gold records in Canada. It's ridiculous. You don't. I find it so funny as a guy who's never been in the business. I just learn when I chat with people like you. It's almost like you're in business with... I'm re-watching The Sopranos

with my wife because she has never seen The Sopranos. I'm living this world every night. You're in business with the mob. The game is rigged. You have to sell... And it's not just small, cottagey

independent labels. Neil Young was sued by his label years ago because he wasn't writing commercial enough music. Prince changed his name to a symbol in part because he he wanted to get out of his you know he was suing the label and they would they were making but he was beholden to this ridiculous deal he's like huge artists have have been going through

this as well you know where money's missing and and um yeah so in the so was it chalk circle three three albums in total? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, we covered all three here. Now, when you decide,

you know, we'll call it creative differences. Okay. But in 1990, when you leave the band and the band essentially breaks up, Chalk Circle, I'm talking about like,

when you, so again, you're still young, but you had, you had radio hits, you had much music hits and your bank, your bank account was uh

like like i mean you don't have to give me a number or whatever but i've had artists on with albums that were canadian popular canadian big hits all over much music and they're like i made 19 or something like these it's like no is there any money at the end of that experience no no but but are you in debt no well you're in debt to the label, right? Like, you know, if I wanted to record again, I was told by the gentleman who owned the label that he really loved what I was doing and would love to work with me again,

but if I decided not to he understood blah blah blah blah blah considering there was no one to label um and if I did want to record again for someone else that's fine I just had to pay him 350,000 and I'm like I can't I have a girlfriend and that's the only reason why I'm not homeless like wow like so it's so screwed up right so and and but the the thing is i i you know i don't want to i probably sound horribly bitter i'm not like it was the best time like like i feel so lucky to have been able to make records and met some incredible people and worked with some incredible people we had we toured with rush which was unbelievable wow we toured with crowded house which was an amazing um musicians and people and we had such great experiences and it wasn't

the end of my music career or anything it was just you know that it's it's like anything they're going to be really great things and not so great things so okay so off the top we had uh hoxley workman telling us how much he loved big faith so you you mentioned off the top of fergus uh marsh michael slosky and ken greer are part of uh big faith with you yeah so chalk circle since 1990 is it's like periodic uh reunion shows like what what constitutes like what is the current status of chalk circle you just you'll play those old hits that uh you mentioned the horseshoe taverns coming up or at i don't know lee's palace or the phoenix or wherever it's just a periodic thing like how

do you decide when there's going to be a chalk circle gig uh when someone calls us and asks us if we want to play like it's very laissez-faire rock band. Right. Yeah, I mean, we all have lives and families. So we don't have an agent or anything. It's sort of like people have reached out through Facebook and said, are you guys still playing? We're like, yeah, sure. And so if we're not going to lose money and it's going to be fun, then we're like, yeah, it'd be great.

And it is fun it's it's we just we just played a show a few weeks ago at the rib fest in burlington with the box and images and vogue wow great great to see those guys and and hang and and um just have an absolute blast performing there's no pressure we're not trying to sell anything we're just having fun so it's been it's a been a really liberating um time um and inspiring time to to just play with those guys again well speaking of blue peter like does jason uh snyderman uh play keyboards for you jason jason has been playing keyboards with us for years like yeah gosh like 12 or 15 years at this point we did a show together with jason um it was a some sort of june award anniversary and i can't remember what it was

and they did a series of shows at the horse show every week was a different decade and we played and blue peter played and it was amazing it was a lot of fun and jason played keys with us because tad wasn't playing keys with us anymore and um it was a no-brainer i mean he was always sort of a fifth beetle you know he was always in the studio with us um because obviously he played with with chris and blue peter for years so um yeah and he so he's been playing with us ever since and it's it's an absolute privilege to share the stage with him and he's such a beautiful human being and i'm yeah i feel lucky to know him and shout out to share the stage with him and he's such a beautiful human being and I feel lucky to know him. And shout out to Sam the Record Man. Yes, son of Sam. Son of, yes, very well done.

Dark humor. No, I love it. Son of Sam, I love it. Okay, Summer of 77. Okay, now you are more than just a musician. Well, it all ties into music, but I did pull something. I want to talk about your life

beyond these bands like Chalk Circle, but let's listen to this. The harder they're gonna fall My money's on the little guy He can keep it close Or he can take it outside One day he really gonna show up My money's on the little guy On the tiny shape and the tiny size He's making me feel

Like a ten feet tall My money's on the little guy All right. Please tell us, what did I just play, Chris? So that was a piece of music I wrote and performed for the launch of the Mini in Canada, the Mini vehicle. The BMW. BMW Mini, yeah. Okay. So this is a good segue.

So after Big Faith breaks up, and why does Big Faith break up? segue so after big faith uh breaks up and why does big faith break up well we were all i mean we were all first of all um bitter guys i love it you know everyone like you know i didn't want to we had we had been offered record deals and we didn't want them because we all hated the music business but we loved playing we loved writing we did a a tour, our last tour, in the 11th hour, Mike Slosky backed out of the tour. And he said, very honestly, and he was right, he's like, I make a living with playing drums. And if I go on the road with you guys for three weeks,

I'm not going to make any money. I'm going to be broke. I'm going to lose my apartment. So Troy Feer stepped in which was amazing troy's such a great great player and it was a lot of fun to do that tour with him but yeah we just you know it's just hard we were older i was i was at this point i was starting to to get busier um with a i was uh became partners with a really good friend of mine doug pennock and we had a production company called Tantrum,

a music production company. And that was starting to get busier. Kids were showing up. I mean, it was just, you know, again, the music, you know, the recording, like I felt like a kid in a candy shop with that band. Like those guys are all monsters. I would sort of wake up like, why am I here? You know, I had imposter syndrome the whole

time but you know it was such an incredible experience to play with them and perform with them and write with them and um but yeah life just got busy and you can't it's it's really really difficult to make a living so you know you you know so you you pursued a career you're like a don draper here you pursued a uh career in advertising and promotion so that's where the jingle comes from we that was from uh 2002 that jingle i played for the uh the bmw mini and you wrote that and uh this is what this is how you pay uh singing too i thought it was i thought it was. I wasn't sure if you would. Yeah. And I wanted to pull one jingle, like, you know, because that's kind of one that we all remember. It was a big fucking deal, as we say on the program.

But, yeah, you got a real job, so to speak, and you could pay your freaking bills. And you're still at it, I guess. Shout out the name of your, I think the other Chris Tate might've shouted it out, but what is the name of your current company? Well, I, I'm, I'm no longer there, but Pirate,

I, I started a company with my, my very good friend, Doug Penick. And I know this name and I'm trying to remember how I know this name, but I absolutely know this name. Oh yeah. Oh,

great. We met in a restaurant. I lied to get a job waiting tables. And we, anyway, it's a long story. I like long stories. I won't. Yeah, I won't. Stop, squirrel.

Okay. That's my department. And then eventually I left Tantrum to join Pirate Toronto. It was called Pirate Radio and Television and eventually became Pirate Toronto. Now it's called pirate sound so they've rebranded it's quite it's actually great rebranding i think it's perfect for them so i was a partner at pirate until january of this year and uh wow i left myself

you left you but but you're still uh what do you do in these days since January? I'm leaving here to go do a voice gig. I do voice work. I mix records, which I love doing. I still write. Last year, I was shepherding an animated series that Pirate was producing called Rosie's Rules. I wrote the theme for and a bunch of cues for that. Yeah, I'm still writing. What I'm loving is that i'm able to spend all of my time on music which is what was what's my passion so i feel really you're living

the life lucky yeah you're living the life and uh do you live in do you call toronto home or yeah okay you can afford to live in toronto that means you're you're it means i it just means i got in early that's all it means I got in early. That's all it means. I got in early. That's so true, right? Like I couldn't afford this house today. So you're absolutely right.

It's all about when you get in. It's, you know, if you... Yeah. Anyway, I think 20 years ago, there was kind of a movement where some people were like, we're going to pay rent because the bubble is going to burst

and then we're going to go in. And I always think like, what are they thinking today? Like that bubble never did burst. I and then we're going to go in. And I always think like, what are they thinking today? Like that bubble never did burst. I only see these prices going in one direction. It's like the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago and the second best time is

right now. But you got to be rich. And this is another conversation for another time. But the city is in danger of becoming a place for the wealthy and as shocking as it is, that would include you and I, I think, at this point. Well, if you're a homeowner, I mean, it's like whether you want it to be or not, suddenly, you know, I mean.

No, you're right. And I am a homeowner. And the latest episode of Toronto Mic'd in the feed is actually FOTMs submitting their favorite songs with a pause in it. And this idea came to me in a bike ride as I was thinking about Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age. And there's a song I love on that album. I love that whole album. But there's a song on that called I Ain't Got a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire.

And there's this moment in the song when it just shuts down for a couple of heartbeats and goes quiet. And then it comes back. And I always thought like, and this is a little tangent, but I'm thinking of being a millionaire here, but it's that the, the utilization of silence in the middle of a song and how effective it can be.

And then I'm like, I wonder what people's favorite songs of a pause in it are. Anyways, that's the most recent episode in the feed. I have thoroughly enjoyed this. I do want to just touch on the fact that you also released a solo album hello my name is chris tate yeah absolutely amazing so you're living the life and now you're an fotm how does that feel uh a privilege really a privilege glad we finally made this happen yeah likewise before i play the lowest of the low to play us out though there is a gentleman who comes up early and often on this program so i mentioned

royal wood was my last in-person guest that was on monday royal wood um like so many musicians who come by plays with uh kurt swinghammer yes and my friend crazy talented well i want i'm gonna ask you to speak about kurt swinghammer but I did do a poll on Twitter, and I asked, who's got the better porn name, Royal Wood or Kurt Swinghammer? And Kurt won that poll. Really? Kurt Swinghammer won, I know, over Royal Wood.

I was quite surprised by this. But, and then I think Dave Bedini said that Ron Sexsmith should have been in that poll. Well, Ron and Kurt used to do a duo show called Sexhammer. That's right. There you go. Oh, Kurt's very... And Kurt, who shows up early and often, like I said, on the program,

but also when Rob Pruess was here Sunday, he just played the Elma combo. And Kurt was performing. Kurt was performing. So your turn now, before I play us out, say some nice words about the gentleman who is also an FOTM and biked here. And I love it when guests bike here. Shout out to Kurt Swinghammer.

What do you want to say about guitarist Kurt Swinghammer? Kurt, I'm sorry I fell asleep on the couch and didn't make it to ping pong night. True. It's like a confessional. No, Kurt. Yeah, Kurt. I met Kurt at Larry's Hideaway a million years ago. He's a very, very dear friend,

one of the most talented visual artists and musicians and guitarists and people I know. And yeah, I love him to death. Well, Chris, I think I love you to death now. This was a shout out to Ridley Funeral Home, but thanks for doing this. You know what? I hope nobody asks me which Chris Tate episode was my favorite because I can't choose.

They're like my children. Love them equally. Shout out to the other Chris Tate if he's listening. I hope he is. And shout out to Chalk Circles Chris Tate. You hit it out of the park in your Toronto Mike debut. I love this. Thank you, sir.

Privilege. And now playing the song from Shakespeare My Butt. It reminds me in this doc there's a scene where i guess lois and lolo are playing for music execs who are thinking of assigning them to their label but they're wearing t-shirts that says uh corporate rock sucks cock and it's one of the great moments in lois and lolo history where they basically did whatever they could to not be too successful like we're not going to make videos. Yes.

You know, and I... How not to get your video played. And it sounds like you were on the verge. Yeah, you own a shirt that says Corporate Rock Sucks Cock. I'm just curious. I did not. No, I cannot lay claim to that.

And that brings us to the end of our 1,330th show. Wow. You can follow me on Twitter or Blue Sky, at Toronto Mike. Where's the best place to follow What's Up With You, Chris Tate, in the social media world?

Probably Facebook, I guess. Chalk Circle is a Facebook page. Chalk Circle, because if they look up Chris Tate, they might get the other guy. Yeah, they'll get a lot of us, yeah. No shame in that. Chalk Circle, yeah Facebook page. Chalk Circle, because if they look up Chris Tate, they might get the other guy. Yeah, they'll get a lot of us, yeah. No shame in that. Chalk Circle, yeah. On Facebook.

On Facebook. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Don't leave without your lasagna, Mr. Tate. Recycle My Electronics are at EPRA underscore Canada. Pumpkins After Dark, they're at Pumpkins Dark. And Ridley Funeral Home are at Ridley FH.

See you all next week. What are you measuring there, Chris? Okay, my next guest. This is exciting. So I mentioned I'm going to see this documentary on Friday night about Much Music. And then on Monday, Michael Williams, you know, the OG from Much Music, is going to come by. Because he hasn't seen this doc.

We're going to see it together for the first time on Friday. He's going to come by Monday. Tell me what he thought of the documentary. And then we're going to, you know, have another chat with Michael Williams. So that's Monday's show. See you all then. I won't go away Because everything is rosy and green Well, I've been told that there's a sucker born every day

But I wonder who, yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize there's a thousand shades of green Cause I know that's true, yes I do I know it's true, yeah I know it's true How about you? They're picking up trash and they're putting down ropes And they're brokering stocks, the class struggle explodes

And I'll play this guitar just the best that I can Maybe I'm not and maybe I am But who gives a damn? Because everything is coming up rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow warms me today and your smile is fine

and it's just like mine and it won't go away cause everything is rosy and gray