Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Erica Ehm: Toronto Mike'd #762

Episode Date: December 1, 2020

Mike chats with Erica Ehm about her years as a VJ on MuchMusic, why she left, her songwriting, her work with the Yummy Mummy Club, her new Reinvention of the VJ podcast, her new children’s series Outta The Books and why she said no to her Toronto Mike'd invitation years ago but said yes now.

Welcome to episode 762 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. CDN Technologies, your outsourced IT department. Palma Pasta, enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. StickerU.com, create custom stickers, labels, tattoos, and decals for your home and your business. stickers, labels, tattoos, and decals for your home and your business. Sammy Cohn. For a complimentary evaluation of your home,

contact Sammy via email, Sammy at SammyCohn.com. That's K-O-H-N. And Ridley Funeral Home. This year's Holidays and Hope Candlelight Service of Remembrance is December 2nd at 7pm. I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me this week is Erica M. I asked this of Leigh-Erin yesterday and she got a little like, I'm not asking for your home address here, Erica, but whereabouts in the province of Ontario do we find you today? Well, I'm in Midtown Toronto in my husband's basement office.

Well, and I have a little message for your husband at the end of this episode from my good friend Sammy Cohn from The Watchman. So he'll be brought up later, But a great little message for him. So I mentioned Leigh Aron. Sorry, I can only remember the episodes I recorded in the last 24 hours now. So she's very top of mind. But we learned in that episode that Leigh Aron is really a Karen.

And the band's name was Leigh Aron, which you might have known that, but it blows a lot of minds. I didn't know. See, now you can drop that fun fact at uh at dinner parties and stuff but you're you're Erica M but I think I think this is kind of a fun fact that uh you're Erica M the way I'm Toronto M like like M is like the the initial of your last name no okay that's wrong is that wrong Let's, let's hear the facts from, uh, from you. Uh, the, the name M is spelled E H M and it sounds like the letter M, but it actually is E H M

and it's my mother's initials. And my mother's initials became my last name because my last name is very long. And when I was working at City TV answering the phones in 1981 or 1982 to 85, I had every PR person in the greater Toronto area mailing me letters, mailing me press releases. Right. So to spell my last name was always difficult. And so I shortened it. Okay. So I get a part, I feel like I'm partially right. So, so E-H-M of course comes from your, the initials, your mother's name, but your, your real last name does start with M, so there's sort of a partial credit. And when I wanted to change my name, Moses heard about it, and he didn't like it because he likes, and understandably so, he loves ethnicity and to celebrate our unique differences. And I explained to him, I said, no, buddy, it has nothing to do with that.

It's just that it's too long and it's taking too much time. And besides, it's M, like much music, like Moses. He said, okay. Well, I guess one word would explain why Moses wanted you to use your real last name would be the one word I would use would be Roszkkowski. Oh, and Mroskowski. Right. Like, like, you know, that's a name where... You can't even say it properly. And you watched her for what, 20 years? At least. That's the challenge of having a really long last name. And I thought I nailed it, to be honest. Like, I feel bad now. I thought I nailed it. Mroskowski. What am I missing there? A syllable?

I don't even know. Mraskowski. It's, yeah, it's close, but no cigar. As professional broadcasters, we have an ability to say these names. No. It's only because I worked with her for so many years. Right. So I know how to say her name.

Yeah, she's been on the show and it was, well, that was quite the convo. She's got a lot to say. It was fantastic. Let's bring you back, if you don't mind, sort of like the way we went back when we talked to Steve Anthony, that your first job was, I hope I say this right, chome, to rhyme with om. Is this where you sort of begin your career? Yeah, I would say that would be my first professional job in the music industry when I was 17.

Yeah. And I was trying to find footage from Musi Video, which I'm sure, again, I'm probably butchering that one too, but this was a local rock and video show, which when I do some reading on this, this is in Montreal, I should point out, Montreal, Quebec. It does sound like this is sort of like an inspiration for what, you know, becomes, you know, MTV and MuchMusic. Like you were there. Can you just tell us a little bit about,

you know, what you were doing with Musi Video? Well, from the time I was 16, I had it in my mind that I was going to work in the music business. And so I did. So I was working as a music librarian at Shone FM. And in the evenings, I think a few months before I turned 18, because at 18, you can go into bars. I started DJing in the clubs. So I was DJing in a place called Broadway Live, DJed in a place called Le Club Montréal, and a club called Blues. So I was like, punk bars, new wave music. And while I was DJing there, someone came up to me and said, listen, we have this new show that we would like you to co-host. And I said, sure, I'll do it. So I didn't get paid to do it or anything like that but I was it

was like a local cable company show and it was called Musa Video and myself and Richard Burrell who was one of the actual DJs at Show My Femme so he was a professional broadcaster I was just like an 18 year old super fan right and I would be brought in to talk about different albums that I loved and music that I was into. And I really was, I would think even back then, a musical curator back then. And I was passionate about playing music and talking about music and helping people discover the music that I loved. And what would be the type of, I mean, what genre or what type or what particular band were you really into in the early 80s? Oh, that's so easy. God. U2, when the first single came out, I Will Follow.

Right. That was a big one on my turntable at the club. will follow right that was a big one on my turntable at the club suzy and the banshees was big gang of four joy division um god uh soft cell yaz that was kind of the music that i played back in the day yeah psychedelic first i mean i can go on and on i know i honestly i'd be i'd be if erica m just spent 90 minutes naming all her favorite artists, I'd be pretty satisfied to be quite honest with you. But when you mentioned U2, I always think, cause you know, the early days of U2, such a cool band. I just wondered, did you, did you stick with U2 as a fan through, you know, the pop era? And as they just, you know,

when they were, you know, the Kmart tour, I always forget what they call that thing, the Pop Mart tour. Like, are you still a U2 fan? When I hear their older music, yes. The newer stuff, it doesn't matter to me. Their music evolved as we all do. So no, it's not, it doesn't have that same earnestness, innocence, passion that initially grabbed my heart. I was watching TV last night, super obsessed with a TV show called The Americans. I discovered it late. Oh my God, obsessed. And we watched, Terry and I, my husband, we watched the final episode last night. And near the end of the show, they play with or without you as part of the soundtrack and it was killing me because I love that song I love the show it was in an emotional

time of the show that was great sound for this show It sounds like a perfect storm for Erica M. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, when I think of it, because I was a big U2 guy too. And then I jumped off at some point when I guess when like around discotheque, I think I was,

I'm like, I'm tapping out now, but I mean, I feel bad because I, I don't think they sold out. I don't think that they've done anything wrong. And I feel disloyal to a certain degree, because I do think loyalty is really important to me in all aspects of my life, including the music that

I listen to. And I don't want to be sort of like a fair weather friend to the band who has given me years and years of incredible music. But I would have to say, generally speaking, that music as a whole isn't that important to me. So perhaps that's part of the problem is that I just don't feel music the same way that I used to. Is that because, you know, like many of us, you know, you have a family and suddenly priorities and perspective changes and you just like, cause when you're a teenager, music feels like it's everything. And then, you know, as you evolve, as you say, you know, suddenly it's like, wait, no, family is everything. And then there's this, and there's that, and these projects and these, these, these things that matter to you.

I don't think family took me away from music at all. It just got noisy. And I find that I'm so busy creating my own stuff that the music got in the way. Also, I feel like what happened back in the day of, well, me, but also much music. There were cultural curators at the time. There was a place where I could go to find the music that I loved. Now, at that time, that was on the street because I was, my friends were on the street. They were the record importers. They were the sort of local hipsters in Montreal downtown. And then I worked at record stores. You know, you got all the newest records.

I was at Shulm. downtown. And then I worked at record stores, you know, you got all the newest records, I was at Shome. But after working at Much, I stopped listening to Much Music. It was no longer relevant in my life, I needed to distance myself from it. In fact, I never really watched a lot of Much. I was in it a lot, but I didn't watch it a lot. So that music, I didn't find that music. And then much music became irrelevant. They no longer played music. And the radio stations don't appeal to me because the music that I like, I think falls in between the cracks of the mainstream radio stations. So there's a little bit of CBC that I like. I discovered CBC in the morning. So I like that. But I just couldn't find, I listen to Sirius now. There's

a couple of stations in Sirius radio, but not 80s. Like I'm not into the 80s. That's old. I'm not into the past. So my kids are the ones who bring me music. My son, Josh is incredible. And he brings me really cool hip hop and rap. And I honestly didn't understand it or appreciate it at all. And he brings me incredible songs. And he is, And he brings me incredible songs. And he is, he talks about Nas. And like he explains to me the history. And we listen to the lyrics together.

And it's incredible. And my daughter, Jessie, and I discovered great musical theater songs together. And now she finds amazing pop music and brings it to me. She's 17. So they're my curators now of music. I was about to say that exact sentence, that they're your curators. But where would you be without them? You'd be a little lost in the noise. I am lost still because I don't necessarily like, you know,

I'm appreciating the hip hop and rap that Josh brings me. And I am appreciating some of the songs that Jesse plays, but they're still not my music. Because I'm old, they're young, and there's different music that appeals to them. So it's hard to find music now in this era. There is no one place, like a Much Music, for example, that is sort of alternative FM, grassroots, singer-songwriter with an edge, a little alternative Americana, but not too American. Where do you find that music? This is resonating so hard with me right now to a T in that I have a teenage daughter and I have an 18 year old son who are bringing me the hip hop and the rap and they're explaining to me and I'm getting, you know, I'm getting an education

and I do like a lot of it, but I feel very similar. It's, it's, it's, it's, I love it. And we, you know, they Bluetooth it in and, you know, we, we listen to the jams. But I'm feeling what you're feeling, which is I miss what I had in the 80s and early 90s when much music and, you know, CFNY as a radio station would sort of, they would curate it. And I think we get a bit of it. I will give a shout out to Strombo, who I know you've had on your podcast, which we're going to talk about. Well, that's the only person. I don't have the patience to tune in and listen to a radio show. And I don't think I can get it in my car because I have Sirius Radio. I don't think it's in Sirius Radio. But if it was, that's what I would listen to. Right. Interesting. Okay, this is very interesting.

It's all going to come back together, too, about looking back and everything. These themes will return. But a quick, I've always wondered, when you're at CHOM, did you work with Steve Anthony there at the same time? Like, did you guys overlap? No, no. Okay, okay. No.

Just quick. I was there way before him. Also before Michael Williams. Michael Williams also worked there, as I discovered when I interviewed him last week. Oh, right. Came from Cleveland, right? Yeah. I interviewed him last week. Oh, right. Came from Cleveland, right?

Yeah. No, I was there when Benoit Dufresne was there. I don't know if he's still there. Rob Braid was the person who first gave me my job when I was 17. And I will be forever grateful for him, to him, for, you know, giving me the opportunity that I had the courage to ask for. And so young and you knew what you wanted to do and you had the courage to ask. That's a good piece of advice for anyone. Sometimes it's as simple as, you know, asking for what you want because you might just get it.

It's kind of a good life tip. Yeah, it uh my secret weapon most people are afraid except you well you know what we'll get to that over and over again to be on this show how many times in the lifetime oh i'm sorry for talking over you but in the eight years of toronto mic be honest here real talk how many times do you think how many times have i asked you like a true number because i feel like it's only two or three yeah I was gonna I was gonna say but even that over eight years though you gotta do an average but what was the reason that I gave you for not okay yes I remember it like it was yesterday uh you told me you didn't want to talk about much music anymore so I asked you to

come on and this is many years ago I think it's four or five years ago. And you said you didn't want to talk about much music. And then of course, this is and you can kind of understand my position and what I'm doing here that I can't really have Eric M on and not talk about much music. I mean, I could, of course, I could do anything I want. But I was I felt like, okay, I didn't I don't think I asked you again, even this time, like we're chatting right now. I didn't reach out to you. No, you didn't. Right. You didn't.

Right. So I got the hint. Like I am getting better at getting, like when somebody says no twice, I really don't think I ever, ever have gone back for that third. I might ask once, because this happened with Dave Bookman. Like I really wanted Dave Bookman on the show, because I love Bookie.

And I asked him and he said, no thanks. And then I asked him one more him and he said, no, thanks. And then I asked him one more time and he said, no, thanks. And I never, I never asked him again because I, once I get the two no's, that's it. Like, I'm not going to harass anybody to come on. You don't have to come on Toronto Mic'd. Well, it's sort of ironic that the reason why I'm coming on your show is to talk about much music. Don't think I've missed that irony. And I knew that you would like kick my butt about it.

But I needed time and I needed a reason because I left much music and I left frustrated because I felt that people assumed that I was successful because much music made me. And that is very far from the truth. What is accurate and true is that when I asked for the job and did the work over several years to get the job and they gave it to me, I then was given this incredible platform to make something of it. And I did the work and I built Erica M. And I felt a little resentful, to be honest, that people assumed that it was given to me or that it was easy. And when I left, I closed the door and said to myself privately, I need to do it again, and I'll do it again, and I'll do it again. Because I work hard. I'm creative. I love to collaborate. I have ideas. Let me add it. But only now do I feel confident that people understand that Much music was one chapter of an interesting book. One decade in a life well lived and you're still, I mean, I say that like you're winding down. I

mean, you're still, I mean, yeah. And again, glad you said that because I wasn't going to beat you up over it. Like I actually wasn't going to even remind people that, you know, years ago you said that because i wasn't gonna beat you up over it like i actually wasn't going to even remind people that you know years ago you said you didn't want to talk about much music and now you're talking about much music on a podcast like i wasn't even gonna rub that i wasn't gonna bring it up to be honest like i was just looking forward to the conversation because i have some some audio elements and i have a poster i'm gonna show you in a minute but i'm glad you brought it up story right right that's part of my story and my evolution. And I'm not, I don't shy away from it.

And, you know, people think that when you're on TV or when you're in the public eye, you lose your memory and you don't remember people and you don't remember what you say to people. I remember exactly what I say to people and I stand by everything that I say. And what I said to you at the time was true. Please don't make me talk about much music until I'm ready. And I had to go through a lot of soul searching to decide to create a podcast. Holy crap, is it a shitload of work about Much Music. And what's the name of this podcast? It's called Reinvention of the VJ. Now, do you only talk to VJs

on Reinvention of the VJ? Pretty much, so far. And when you, well, maybe that's actually not true. I talk to, at this point, all the on-air hosts who have been on Much Music. They weren't necessarily VJs, but they did have a role on camera on Much. And I'm sneaking in people

who were on other competitive music television shows as well, because I think that their perspective is also interesting. This is a good segue. And we're going to get back to all this. We're going to talk more about the podcast soon. But this is a good segue because I need to get you to Toronto. And then I'm going to play a clip of you on another show, but owned by the same company, but a different show. So what brings you to Toronto, the Big Smoke? I live here. What do you mean? Oh, I mean, sorry, I'm going back to, cause you're, you're, sorry, you're in Montreal. Oh, sorry. I do this linear thing and then it kind of breaks off. Okay. So, so you're in Montreal,

music video and show them. And then at some point you make your way to a city TV here in Toronto. Yeah, I got, I, I was, I had moved out of my home by the time I was 17. I was living in my own apartment. And I did that for a couple of years. And my dad said to me, Hey, if you go to university, we'll pay for your rent. And at that point, I was, you know, pretty much starving artist at the point at that point, and was looking for a change. And so I took my dad up on the offer and I moved to Ottawa and got a degree in communications at Ottawa University. And while I was in Ottawa, I heard that Moses Snymer was going to be in town for a meeting for the CRTC. And so I asked if I can have a meeting with him. And I told him about my love of music, all the things I was doing, working in the music business.

Still to that time, I was still working in the music business. And asked him for a job. And he asked me what I wanted to do. And I said, anything that's creative. He got really mad at me. And he said, every job at City TV is creative. And I was like, what are you talking about? And, you know, when I look back, he's right.

And I think that is an incredible piece of advice for anybody doing any job that you choose to approach any job, either with, let's just get this thing done, or let me do it to the best of my ability and make something of it. In any case, eventually he gave me a job answering the phones for the new music, which was the precursor to Much Music. So I worked at City TV for three years before there was even a Much Music. So you're literally like an internal hire. So I guess at some point in 84, they're now hiring the VJs and you just apply from within. Yeah, exactly. So Much was live in 84. At that point, I was already working at a local cable company at night and on weekends doing an entertainment show. No one really knew about it. I was just doing it because I like to do stuff. I like to learn stuff. wanted to be an entertainment reporter. I didn't want to be a VJ. I wanted to be the person that interviews all the actors and clubs and fashion. Jeannie Becker. Sounds like Jeannie. I wanted to

be like Jeannie Becker, who I was. I was her assistant. And I made my tape. I showed it to JD. And JD said, this is a terrible tape. And he redid one with me, with the crew in the studio. They were very generous and gave me an evening. And then we gave it to my boss, John Martin, Nancy Oliver, who sent it to Moses. And they hired me, but not as an entertainment reporter. But they just threw me on live TV with no training. Go. Be well, my child. Sink or swim.

Erica, you're the answer to a trivia question, but you're the wrong answer to a trivia question. Because a lot of times, you know, here we'll talk about who's the first woman DJ in much music history. And I would say 99% of people answer Erica M. Like they answer you, which is incorrect. That is correct that which is incorrect. That is correct that it's incorrect. And in fact, uh, Catherine McClanahan is my future guest on, uh, Reinvention of the VJ in a few weeks. And we talk, we talk all about that. And, uh, I asked her why she believes that she was kind of wiped off the face of the pop culture map. Right. And she gives me the whole story. Okay. I can't wait to hear that episode. I suspect it has something to do with Moses, but we're going to listen to your podcast and find out. I do have a

couple of quick fun facts about her, though, that I like to share, which is one, she was married to Jean Valaitis from the Jesse and Jean gene show and i didn't know that yeah really yes that's real and that's so but she's currently i mean did this come up who she's currently married to no one she's divorced oh she's okay so her second husband i guess i didn't realize they were divorced i guess that happened in the last five years or whatever but uh the the gentleman uh who was he was on the show coach but he might be most famous for being the voice of Patrick star on SpongeBob square pants. Yeah.

Well, she's an LA girl now. So she moved to LA. I think a couple of years after she left much. So shout out to Catherine, uh, McClanahan, who's a future,

uh, going to be heard on your podcast, Erica, and she's the first woman, female, VJ. I don't know how you word that, but you are number two. And I'm just going to play a clip in a moment from Toronto Rocks. I'm going to very brief clip. But first, I'm going to show you something here.

So I hope you can see this. Hold on here. So just to let people know, because it's an audio. Do you see this poster? Sure do. So that's from Graffiti Magazine. Right. And in fact, Catherine and I talk about this poster in our interview.

Oh my goodness. What's interesting is you can't really see it because you're holding it and there's a bit of a glare. Okay. But I'm standing far right. And you can notice that there's a big space between me and I think it's Samantha Taylor. Yeah, from Video Hits. And I think I'd been on the air for about two months.

And that picture to me captures who I really am, which is incredibly shy and uncomfortable being on camera. So I was separated, if you look closely at that picture. I felt like an outsider. And that picture always makes me remember how I felt starting on air at Much. I was so uncomfortable being, in quotation marks, famous. All I wanted was to do the work. And you mentioned that I was a hire from inside. What that really meant was my job for the first three years was answering the phones and doing work internally. And then I got the job as the person who would be hosting the show and interviewing the bands. But basically I sat at the same desk and it just was my job changed. Right. And it was so weird. I remember this was at 99 Queen Street East,

which was the first studio that we were at, walking down Queen Street one day, the Queen East, and people were staring at me and I was like, what the fuck? Why is everybody staring at me? And then I went, I'm on TV. Right.

They recognize me. And that's when my life changed. Not necessarily for the better, by the way. Okay. Well, I got a few notes to get to there, but I do want to just thank my friend, Joel Goldberg. So Jay Gold gave me that poster because he knows I was a big fan of, you know, video shows and the like. And again, I'm about to play a clip

from Toronto Rocks. But also Shirley McQueen's in that poster, which I love. I just caught up with her. She lives in Alberta now. And, you know, it just, what a great, what a great picture of the early days.

I did get a question here, but from a guy who, his handle is Jerry the Garbage Man, which is a great picture of the early days. I did get a question here from a guy. His handle is Jerry the Garbage Man, which is a great handle. He wanted me to ask you about the rivalry with CFMT. What's CFMT? So CFMT, that's the station that aired the show that Jay Gold, Joel Goldberg, hosted. It was like an early music show that very few people remember anymore, but it was just when Much Music was launching, I guess it was. Yeah, but I don't know. This is

just Jerry's question. I just promised him I'd read it. But it sounds like Much Music wasn't too concerned with what was happening on CFMT back in the early to mid 80s? Yeah, I don't think so. I was friends with Lori Hibbert, who was sort of my colleague. She worked at YTV. She did something like YTV Rocks or something. So we were all, like all the women who worked in the music industry, we worked, well, we didn't work together,

but we supported each other. And I don't think there was any competition at the time, but I don't remember that, that show, unfortunately. Yeah, that's when, that was when Joel Goldberg was Jay Gold. I didn't even know that. Yeah, he, yeah, before, when he came to City TV, I guess he became his real name, Joel Goldberg, but he was Jay Gold when he was on that show. Shout out to Jay Gold. He's a good boy. I want to play a little clip for you and talk about this gentleman

and what you say in this clip. So this is you on Toronto Rocks. And there's Hold Me Now from the Thompson Twins on Toronto Rocks, 4.30 now. John Major here with you. This is Erica M. from Much Music. And you've seen Erica on the show. Do you know that I got my big break here? Where?

On your show on Toronto Rocks. Did you fall off a chair or something? No, John. No, John. Do you know, I don't know if people saw me when you had crew day about five months ago. Oh, don't you know that show was preempted? You didn't know that, was preempted you know that well anyway i'm really sorry but it was i did my little stick and i got my job on much music

so your show gave me the big break and we're gonna miss you on much music it's okay erica it's alright i'll be back to haunt you and i think basically what we're waiting for here, how long are we back to much? Any idea? Another video away. Another video away.

Lots of videos and much music. We did this before with J.D. Roberts a week or so ago, and we simulcasted across the nation and, of course, across the city with J.D. And he called me a knob then. You're not going to do that, are you? No, I just call you a tool. Well, that's... This is a knob then. You're not going to do that, are you? No, I just call you a tool. That's... This is a family show. Okay, well, we're going to tool right on out of here.

We'll be back after a quick break. Sounds like it's the final show for John Major before he left the city family there. So I guess two questions is, you remember everything, so I'm sure you remember that. But also, if you could share, cause we're kind of blessed in that we haven't lost a lot of our much music personalities. I can think of two off the top of my head,

but we did lose John Major far too young. And if you had any, any words to say about that. Well, you mentioned the word family, and I think that's really a great way of describing the relationship. It was a dysfunctional family, for sure. It was intense in our office, but everybody got very close. And when I say got close, I don't mean like I knew everything about each person's family. In fact, we were not close in terms of friendship, but there was, I think it's kind of like a relay race

or a marathon where you have to trust each other because you're constantly passing the baton back and forth like you just saw over there that's improv and so we we were all highly in tune with each other like second city i guess where you depend on your co-workers to support you when it's live television and we no one ever told us to do that but you know you have you learn that we need to support each other and say yes to the crazy things that are going on in order to make great television and john major was a gentleman always and uh very professional obviously, as you can see, he was getting a kick out of me being the new kid and supporting me. Like he was walking me through it.

He was there as the old professional, if you will. And this very excited young girl with not a lot of skills, but a lot of enthusiasm, was learning, watching him. Yeah, gone too soon. And the other much music personality that comes to mind that, you know, passed away before his or her time would be Dan Gallagher. Dan Gallagher was larger than life personality that we all loved watching him on Much Music.

And he's another one who just left us too soon. Yeah. That was really horrible. Super nice guy. Very, like, first of all, just a nice guy. As nice as he appeared. Really savvy about broadcasting and, you know, creating community and understanding comedy and out of the box for sure. Having said that, I didn't work a lot with him because he was mostly doing his game show.

And that was produced by John Brenton. And it was not in the day to day of much music. So I didn't have that much experience with him, which isn't to say that I didn't know he was a great guy because he was. And he's one of those guys like he was gone way too soon. Like what the hell happened? That was that way too soon. Like what the hell happened? That was, that was really sad. Let's talk a little bit about, cause you kind of alluding to it when you talk about the improv and how you

lean on each other. But I mean, I've done, I've done a lot of reading on this. I really, really enjoyed Christopher Ward's book. Is this live? I really highly recommend it. And I'll quote you in a moment from that book, Erica. But like, what was Moses's style in your words? Because my understanding is it was rather loose. Is that a good word for it? But really, Moses is a genius. He would find people, all of whom were creative and unique with big personalities, each person different. And he would, it's almost like we were colors of a painting or something. You know, we were all different materials for his multimedia work of art. And he gave us no direction.

The only direction was be yourself, be yourself. And he picked each of us because he knew that each of us were authentically interesting in and of ourselves. And he understood that it was the mix of people that would create this, I guess, family of, I guess, is it cultural curators or is it mentors for young people to look up to? There was something for everyone, different flavors, different styles, different voices.

Right. He didn't, I know for sure he didn't give me ever any direction, which in fact was hard. But I also didn't get any flack for doing crazy things. And everything that I wanted to do, I could do. I wanted to do a show about fashion. So I found someone on the crew who would be my, in quotation marks, producer. And her name was Joni Daniels. And so Joni and I were the little fashion rebels. And we went off and did Fashion

Notes, which was interviewing all the street designers and creating that connection between fashion and culture and music. And Much Music just started running it once a week. We had fashion notes. And then I decided I want to do something about books because I'm kind of a book nerd. And so I started a show called Between the Covers, where I interviewed all different performers about what books they were reading. And again, much let me run it as interstitials between videos. And I would send out book lists to people. And it was just get to do this. I want to welcome FOTM Sammy Cohn to the family. You might know Sammy best as the drummer for The Watchmen,

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Again, it's Wednesday, December 2nd. That's tomorrow. RSVP by calling 416-259-3705 or write contactus at ridleyfuneralhome.com. Now let's get back to this conversation with Erica M. It sounds and it felt like it, as somebody who was watching you guys on the television, because I've been very public about the fact of how important much music was to me,

you know, as a youngster. It sounds like you had an opportunity to figure it out on the air. So, like, you're literally in our living rooms as you're figuring this out. And we can see you evolve and improve just by putting in the reps and doing it. You're just doing it live. Yeah. Having said that, I do wish that they had given me some feedback. Like, really? From day one, it was, you're up, you're live. And there were no writers, there were no researchers, no wardrobe, no directors.

producers on specialty shows, and there were floor directors every day for our show, which was, okay, we're up in 10, three, two, one, you're up, wrap it up, that kind of stuff. But in terms of content, delivery, zero help. And it's too bad. I don't think that that was a smart decision. If there was someone who at the time, like, I'm sure that Denise Donlan did that for future generations when for like what I call much 2.0, who were the VJs that came after. I'm pretty sure that she gave them feedback and helped them sort of become their best self quicker. I learned the hard way. And it's made me incredibly strong. But I'm not particularly proud of the early days. And I wish that I didn't learn in front of a country. I wish that someone gave me some help early on. and Ziggy was very, very vocal about how she felt about John Martin. So, you know, when you talk about Much Music, yes, Moses, he's the visionary,

you know, we all know Moses, he's like a biblical figure, Moses. And then John Martin is a co-creator of Much Music and she was not shy about how sour her relationship was with John Martin. Like she just came out and said that she did not like working with John Martin. By the way, Ziggy loves you. I just want you to know, she's a big fan of Eric M. And if anything, she says you helped.

You made her feel inferior because of how smart and beautiful and the rest. This is, you know. But what was your relationship like with John Martin? It wasn't great. I probably am closer to the Zig relationship like with John Martin? It wasn't great. I probably am closer to the Ziggy school of John Martin because he was really an old school dude. He was a big drinker, big partier, big smoker.

I'm not sure. I don't think he disliked women, but he just probably related better to men. And I was more like an insignificant flea for him. And he was amazing in terms of his big picture vision. But if anybody were to have been the person who would give me feedback, it would have been him, but he was busy in the bar. But that's, you know, that the chaos that was in at much is because of him for better or for worse, right? Because he didn't, you know, really do his job in some ways. didn't, you know, really do his job in some ways. We, we made this shit up and it worked.

But as Ziggy said, he, he wasn't, he wasn't a very supportive or nurturing kind of guy. I mean, some of the stories, I mean, like if you wanted him, you had to call the bar is what I heard. Like you would, you would. Yeah. Or walk over. Sure. Across the street. Right. Right. Right. Right. I'm just going to read a quote from you here and then obviously we'll move on. But this is a, again, I mentioned Christopher Ward's book. It was, this, is this live is the name of Christopher Ward's book. And he came on the show and talked about it. And I find it,

I find it fascinating, but here's a quote from you, Erica. When I worked at MuchMusic, I had no direction. I was repeatedly reminded how insignificant I was and that I was easily replaceable. I was paid less because I was a girl. I said to myself, if I ever run my own company, I will do the opposite. So that's a little, I guess, a little more blunt is that statement, I think. But it

doesn't sound like a particularly nurturing environment. No. And that's the business end of Much Music. So let's separate it, right? That's the people who ran Much Music, the people who paid our salaries. There was, I guess, a strategy to keep everybody feeling humble, and at the same time, a little bit unsure, so that we don't ask for more money. And at one point, 1989, I remember this, when I discovered that I was getting paid way less than the men. I'd been on the air for four years at that point and had upped my game and was now able to introduce videos coherently and carry on good interviews with bands. And I had a huge following. and I went to the boss. So his name was Dennis. So he wasn't John Martin or Moses. He was, he was the, the VP of finance

or some sort of financial job there. And I asked him for a raise and he said, no, because I was difficult to work with. So I knew that that was a hundred percent not true because that's what I like to do is to collaborate. So I told him to fuck off and I left the office and, oh, sorry. I said, fuck off. I quit. And I left the office and people saw me run out. What the hell? And then I didn't answer my phone and word got out that I'd quit. And about, well, I called my friend, Tim Thorny. Tim Thorny is a songwriter and a jingle producer, good friend of mine.

I called him and I said, Tim, I quit my job. Can you believe it? I mean, I was really upset. I was upset that they spoke to me that way, which was completely uncalled for. And I was upset that I quit my job because I really did love it. Tim said to me, can you write a song? I said, I don't know. And he said, come on over, Emmy. We'll write a song. And so we did. no. And he said, come on over, Emmy. We'll write a song. And so we did. We wrote a song. I think it was called Your Place in the World. And he goes, Emmy, you're not bad. Let's write another one. So we wrote a couple of songs. And a few days later, John Martin, I put my phone back

on the hook, if you know what I'm talking about. I do. I do. Because there weren't cell phones at the time. And John Martin had called me. I picked it up and he goes, Erica, come on. Let's talk about this. I said, I want my fucking raise. And he said, OK, you've got your raise. Come back to work. So I went back to work with a raise and a songwriting partner. Wow. And Tim and I started writing songs from that time on. And we ended up winning Juno Awards and running a record label together, writing about 300 songs. And he still is one of my favorite people on the planet.

Can I play a little bit of a song you wrote? I would love that. We danced the tombstone from the moment we first met. met Together we'd spend our days dreaming of the night And now that these nights are gone Where do we both

belong No one really knows what we're going through So when they come up to you You can see that they're sadly mistaken It's not that way at all We started as friends And I guess that's where it ends I think this will be a nice surprise for some people listening

to find out about what an accomplished songwriter you are. Yeah, it makes me really happy. Those songs that we wrote for Cassandra Vasek were the story of my life. Cassandra was a really incredible vocal talent, but had no interest in writing songs. And so Tim and I decided to write an album for her. And she said, just write whatever you want. So Tim and I wrote songs that were important to me and to him, obviously. But we were such good friends and he understood me. And we would come in and I would

say, this just happened or, you know, something like that. And we would write a song and Cassandra would sing my life. Wow. Wow. Yeah, I think this, well, this is sadly mistaken if people are wondering what song I've been playing here. And it's Cassandra Vasek, as you said. And it's beautiful. Honestly, Erica, it's a beautiful song.

Thank you. Thank you. I think that won a Juno Award. I think the album won Juno or it was the best country album or she was best country best country artist I think that song sadly mistaken might have won a country music award or a Socan award I don't remember but it's a little time ago do you get any of that hardware like does the songwriter get any of that hardware? Like does the songwriter get any of that hardware? Okay. Where do you have it right now?

There's a Socan one there. Can you see it? Oh yeah. There's a Socan. Yeah. Yeah. I see it. Yeah.

Oh, that's where fortune smiled on me. That was a duet. Okay. With Cassandra and Russell to Carl. Wow. And that was a Juno for Cassandra's country, female vocal artist of the year.

And I have more of them upstairs in my office. Wow. And this is like, earlier you talked about when you left Much Music after 10 years in 94, that you talked about how it was important to you to succeed in other arenas, like to show that, you know, Much didn't make Erica M. Erica M just did the work. She put in the work. I talk about you like you're in the third person now, if that's okay.

This is a great example where you're still extremely young, because I'm doing the math in my head. Four years in, now you're writing, not just writing me. I'm sure I could go write a song, but it isn't going to win a Juno. It's part of what you've

done throughout your entire career. It's almost like reinventions, it's part of what you you've done throughout your entire career is almost, almost like reinventions, constant reinventions and kudos to you. Thank you. I love making stuff and I love collaborating on projects. It's what turns me on. So I'm always, you know, I'm an opportunist in life. For some reason, there's a negative connotation to the word opportunist. I guess some people think about it as it's me standing on the shoulders of other people taking advantage of others. But for me, it's finding mutually beneficial scenarios where there are people who are looking for something and I might have it or vice versa. there are people who are looking for something and I might have it or vice versa. And we collaborate. And every single one of my projects has been where I find a collaborator, where an opportunity presents itself, or I find a collaborator and we make an opportunity happen.

So Tim was certainly a gift for me. Excellent. Excellent. Now I realize I got to get you out of Munch Music, but I do have a few, you know, it took me years to get you here, Erica. I have to ask you some, a few more, just real quick. So bear with me here real quick. I love, and I think this resonates because it's not very long before Kurt Cobain takes his own life. But your interview with Kurt Cobain was what I thought was just fantastic. And I'm wondering, what is your personal,

before we speak to the Kurt Cobain interview, unless this is the answer, but what's your favorite interview of your years at Much Music? What do you still look back on and you're quite proud of that particular interview? First of all, I don't remember a lot of them because, and I've done

research into this since, and it started when Christopher Ward interviewed me for the book and he was asking me lots of questions. And I was like, Christopher, I honestly don't remember. I don't remember. And then I realized that because I was under so much stress, I didn't realize it. But when you're doing live TV amidst chaos every day, knowing that there are millions of people watching you, not or flight mentality physically. I mean, like cortisol, like right up there. And I don't think that your memory works well when you're in that state of mind. So the only memories that I have of specific interviews are the ones that I took the time to go back and watch after the fact. Or there are some of them where the artists became friends of mine and they stayed on for a long time. So they weren't just sit down one-on-one interviews.

They stayed on for like an hour or they'd come back several times to talk to me. Those are the ones that I remember with great fondness. And I think that they were great TV. So Dwight Yoakam, for example, I loved him. And we hit it off. He kept on coming back. And he would come on for an hour and he wouldn't leave. And we actually became friends. I'd go and hang out with him and his manager flew me to different

locations and they liked me because I wasn't a groupie, but I was intelligent. So he had a woman to spend time with, but I didn't want anything from him. So he was a really great guy. Super, super intelligent guy. Loved him. Otmar Liebert. So I don't know if you know who that was, but I hosted a show called Clip Trip, which was the international music show. And he was a flamenco guitarist. New age, lived in New Mexico, German, but lived in New Mexico. And again, we had an interview and we just had a meeting of the minds and we became friends over the years. Blackie Lawless. That was a surprise. Blackie Lawless. Hate his music. I hate everything he stands for. I hate it. Yes.

I hate heavy metal. I hate speed metal. I hate it all. I hate his look or his look at the time. But he was on my shift, so I had to do the interview. And wow, he was a freaking great guy. I loved my interview with him. And we ended up going out for dinner and having an amazing conversation. We never stayed in touch for whatever reason. I don't remember why, but he was a great guy. So, you know, those are like different examples of the different types of artists, different types of music. Right. But sometimes I think I'm actually very earnest. I'm not silly. I don't like to be silly, kind of cerebral. My husband doesn't like

it at all. He says, man, you are no fun. But those are the artists that I related to are the ones that were kind of cerebral and liked having sort of deep conversations. And those are the ones that attracted me. I'm going to get back to Blackie Lawless here, because there's a question that came in from a listener. But I did notice that the way you broke the ice with Kurt Cobain in Seattle there was to talk, you didn't start talking about smells like teen spirit. You open up by talking about a book you knew he was into. That's your approach. You come at him, you warm him up by having him talk about that book he loves I think that's a smart move if anything I've incorporated elements of that

into this very program you know we don't yeah you gotta I think it's a smart way to warm up and build a rapport with a with a guest like Kurt Cobain yeah I went into that interview quite worried because when you do your research on an artist, you can tell if they like the media or how they are in interviews. And he was petulant for sure. And I think introverted, you know, as rock and roll as he was. I think he was a private guy. Right. And I also think he's anti-authority. Shocking, obviously.

He was a young guy who doesn't like mainstream media. And here I was being sent to Seattle amidst all the other rock journalists from around the world, each given a hotel room to do a shitty interview with the artists and with the band. So I had a strategy, which was get him to see me as a person and not act like some slick professional broadcaster. millions of people have seen now on YouTube is that the questions that I was asking him were presented in a very, call it unprofessional or non-broadcaster way. I used very silly language. I was giggling, but I did it on purpose because I wanted him to talk to me like a peer, not as being interrogated by mainstream media.

No one is supposed to ever see that tape. In the olden days, we used to do something called re-asks, which is cameras only on the artist. We ask our questions, we do whatever we need to do in order to get a great interview. And then after, when the artist leaves, the camera turns around and we do what's called re-asks, where I ask the question in a more elegant, refined way, more like mainstream broadcaster, which everybody expects from us back in the day anyway. And you glue it together, you edit it together. But some bastard took the raw tape and posted the raw interview. So number one, you never get to see my face. And number two, I asked the questions in a way that was only supposed to be for Kurt Cobain, not for the average listener.

And it comes across authentic because that you're right. You said that's the way it was done today. I feel like that would be the way it would be done. It would be you'd want the you would be less showy today. It would be less smoke and mirrors. And you'd probably the way, you know, it's more organic, I suppose. Well, this is this is the new way we're doing it right now we're doing it right now there's a different expectation i think when social media um became the main

uh platform for interviews mostly done by people who are not mainstream broadcasters. Let's call us or call whoever me, I'm one of them now, unprofessional or whatever, more down to earth, more grassroots. There's a different caliber of, and a different expectations and expectation in terms of caliber of broadcaster and, and also just the medium itself, like grainy, not good sound. All that is acceptable today. Back in the day when I was on Much, although Much Music was kooky, we had state of the art equipment back then. It still was a mainstream broadcaster, but we had a grassroots feel.

That's what made it so incredible is that we were playing on the same stage as all the mainstream broadcasters, but we broke all the rules. Right. Christopher Ward was one of the first hosts. I guess it was City Limits where he would have Mike Myers on in the guise of Wayne, Wayne Campbell from, you know, Wayne's World. And it's almost much music. It's almost like Wayne's World, you know, you got to, it's, you know, that same kind of spirit, I suppose. But the personalities had an opportunity to shine and you were most definitely one of them. But I actually have to read this question from Midtown Gord before we leave Blackie Lawless behind, because Midtown Gord wrote me to say, question from midtown gourd before we leave blackie lawless behind because midtown gourd wrote me to say i remember one time i took issue with a comment erica made one time on much music with regards to the intelligence of metal musicians i may have made reference to blackie lawless from wasp and

the education he had erica was nice enough to answer my letter and send me an autographed picture. So I just want to say thank you. So that's nice. But I do stand by what I felt back then, which I think that there was no requirement for deep thought to be a metal artist. And some artists broke the mold, like Iron Maiden, for Bruce Dickinson those guys they were brilliant and I think the guys in Metallica were really bright and they became brighter

I think that becoming when you're a young musician you have a couple of ways of going you could stay just a dumb musician or you can reap the benefits of traveling around the world, meeting incredibly interesting people, starting to learn about the world and how you can make a difference in the world. And I think Metallica, for example, is a band that really evolved and grew as people. They reinvented, I would almost say. And a lot of artists didn't, but that's okay. As my husband says, there's a seat for every toilet. Not everybody has to be deep and earnest and intellectual. The fact that I think that or thought and continue to think that a lot of metal artists are dumbasses, it's okay. That's, that was, that's their, their jam. Right. And you had, I mean, I will, we, I won't make you retell the story, but you know, you had an experience of KISS, for example, that I was reading about in the aforementioned

Christopher Ward book that was, it wasn't a great interview and experience interviewing KISS, for example. Yeah. You know, it's interesting that I've spoken to several women, Jeannie and Jeannie Becker and Teresa Roncon for my podcast. Right. And they all have really bad experiences. They're, they're just morons. I actually, sorry, I booked Gene Simmons on Humble and Fred once, and it was a phone call and they're not, they're, they're, they're dudes and Gene was an asshole. Like it was just,

he was just awful. Yeah, they're just, that's their vibe. That's his shtick. That's his shtick. He knows what he's doing. But I don't like to be the butt of the joke. Right.

So he can fuck off. Like I don't want to play that game. I don't play games. And he does. That's his thing. So go find someone else to play with okay you been very clear i think on why you left but uh you left in 94 i know clear about a lot of things can you tell well now my only concern now is this is a good time to tell me like if you need to i

don't know if you have an appointment you can't miss in 10 minutes. I'm in lockdown, buddy. Don't worry about it. You never know, because I've noticed you popping up in places all of a sudden. But okay, good, good, good, good to know. Because I mean, we talked a lot about people you worked with here, but there's a gentleman I just, and again, if you don't have any information you want to share,

that's fine, of course. You're very much in control what you say. But I was wondering if you knew how Kim Clark Champness is doing. Do you know how he's doing? Well, I don't know specifically, although he and I just emailed back and forth two weeks ago, and I said to him, I need to have you on my podcast. And I said, we have to figure out how to do it. Right.

So I know that he lost his voice box. So he had throat cancer. So we have to figure out, he can talk, but I think he only could talk for a short amount of time now. He really, poor guy, man. But he's such a great guy. That's what I hear. So I'm glad to hear glad to hear, though, that, you know, you're engaged with him and that there might be you might find a way to get him on to get him on your podcast, which is good news here. So you leave Much Music in 94. And I didn't even I could have I was going to ask you questions because you were very upfront about early days of Much Music. You got a lot of like, I guess you'd call it fan mail, but it's not really fan mail because it's not

saying, oh, you're great, you're the best're the best but you would get mail for example people saying uh i think you said they would they would ask you to get a nose job and things like this like so i mean you're very very young you're you're learning on the air at much music you were there for 10 years and you're getting mail like that uh it's you know it's it's no it's no wonder you, you know, you stormed out and demanded a raise. It's just, I mean, that's, I'm just sorry. That had nothing to do with it. Okay. And the amount of mail that I got that was negative was so small compared to the other. But you know, it is a very human nature, one of, something that those of us who get negative comments always focus on the negative ones. You get a hundred fantastic ones, and then you have a few people who say something

bad and you focus on those, which I don't do anymore, by the way. But certainly people didn't think that I looked good enough to be on much music. And so I remember going to my mom and saying, Mom, do you think I should get a nose job? And my mom said, Yeah, you can. But you just won't look like yourself anymore. And I was thinking about it. And I was like, actually, the reason why I was hired, because I look like this. And there's nothing wrong with my nose. And there's nothing wrong with me. And those people just want my job. And that means I'm doing my job, which means I'm evoking emotion in people. And of course, I never have done anything like that, nor by the way, have I ever done any work on my face, because I really believe that it's important to age gracefully. And I feel like I have

responsibility. I feel like I'm a role model still to this day. And I feel like there's so much pressure for women to look a certain way. And, you know, when you're loved, it's not because of the way you look. It's because of who you are. And there's these evil forces in the media and in industry, particularly pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, that are causing women to feel so insecure about aging and making billions of dollars on our insecurity. I'm one of them. Trust me. I'm aging. This is 60. I'm almost 60. Is that right?

Yeah. So I'm right in there. Wow. And I look at myself every day. I see all the things that age is doing to my face. I see all the things that age is doing to my face. And I just say, this is what 60 looks like. Back in the day, that's what I looked like when I was on Much Music. If you don't like it, turn it off. And today, this is what 60 looks like. And someone recently in a mom group, someone told me, someone was like, oh, Erica looks really good. She must have got lots of face work done. And a friend of mine jumped in and said, Erica doesn't get work done. I'm only talking about it because I think it's important for women to know that there's an alternative out there.

Not to feel pressured to feel, to look younger than we are. Because what is wrong with aging? I mean, you can fake the skin, but inside you're still getting older. Don't you want to be treated, you know, with the wisdom that you've acquired over the years? treated, you know, with the wisdom that you've acquired over the years. Well said. Well said, Erica. And for what it's worth, as a guy of a big Irish nose, I also wondered, I also asked my mom, should I get a nose job? And she said, I wouldn't look like myself. So I'm glad I also said no to that temptation there.

I am now going to ask you, and I know that this is worthy of 90 minutes on its own, but maybe you could very quickly surmise so we can get, I want to get back to the reinvention of the VJ podcast and my buddy Steve Anthony here. But Yummy Mummy Club is, and again, it's been around. It seems very big.

And I'm sorry, part of my ignorance. I've never been a Yummy Mummy. But can you just give us a little taste of like where, how it started and the success it's had and, and talk about the yummy mummy club? Sure. It's, it's my job still to this day. I launched it, um, 14 years ago after I helped produce a TV series called Yummy Mummy for Life Network and Discovery Health, which was syndicated around the world. And it was a show that was important to me because I had just had kids and was having a really hard time adjusting to motherhood. And so the website was launched after the TV show finished its run after two years. It was a little tiny website

called yummymummyclub.ca. And over the years, it became the largest independently owned property for moms by moms. I'm really proud of it. It's a tapestry of voices of women. And I borrowed a lot from Moses. And I didn't understand it until I was into it for about four years or so. I've been doing it for 14. But the idea early on was to find these unique voices, all women who had strong points of view and strong skills. And they each became collaborators and contributors to the website. And they have all gone on to really interesting jobs and careers in the industry. And they become influencers and influential. And I also started a marketing agency. It's called M&Co. And the business model is connected to the community

that I built. And essentially, I help brands connect to moms in meaningful ways, using social media and content. And the skill that we have is understanding a mom's state of mind and also the, the importance of never patronizing women because that will blow up in your face. So it's advertising agency, marketing agency with a focus on digital, digital. What's your dog's name? Snoop. Snoop. I love it. Come here. Do you want to see him?

Yeah, sure. Of course. I think he wants to go pee. That's why he's crying. Did you need a break to do that? No, it's okay. He can wait. Maybe if I put him on my lap. Come here. Come on, Snoop. Is Snoop named after the Charles Schultz peanut character or the character in The Wire or the rapper?

It's the rapper because my kids named him but i call him snoopy because that's my era so he's cool that's a good name my daughter asked for the dog okay and then when we finally got him she doesn't like him so he's oh really she's too busy you know teenager but look how cute he is no adorable no we're pro dog here that's the one one joy of uh the zooms is you can still have your dog there by your feet although you know you can bring your dog into the backyard anytime you like erica it's all good with me uh okay we're gonna get i really reinvented the vj podcast but i did i've been i'm friendly with steve anthony he's been on a few times, and he was telling me about this plan and I just want to know what happened to this if it was abandoned in favor of Reinvention of the VJ, but there was going to be a syndicated show with former VJs, you and Steve and Michael Williams? I don't know what's going on with that. I was just like a collaborator in it or just one of the hosts. So I know they've had a lot of trouble with Bell because of the name

Much Music. And so I just couldn't wait anymore. And I wanted to do something that, you know, just brought a lot of the different elements of who I am together. And a lot of people have been asking me for years, when are you going to start a podcast? And I was like, who wants to listen to, I don't want to do something on moms. You know, I've been talking about moms for 14 years. And I didn't want to talk about myself. Like, I mean, I'm flattered that you want to talk to me for so long, but really, I'm kind of sick of myself. I'm over myself. So when Steve was bringing everybody together, we were sitting and having these amazing

conversations. And I was thinking, someone needs to tell the stories of the behind the scenes like Christopher did, but firsthand, where each person gets to tell their stories. But for me, what really interests me in life is the concept of reinvention. And the idea that you are not just one thing, you can be many things. Something that has sort of dogged me over the years where people still say, oh, Erica M from Much Music. And I go, buddy, that's 35 years ago. You're talking to me right now, right? You're looking at me. I was curious to find out if my former colleagues had the same experience. Did much music, does much music define them?

If so, what do they do about it? If not, how did they get past it? And so I decided to combine two things that interest me, and certainly something that no one else can really speak to, which is the concept of being in much music and the idea of reinvention, two things that only I can speak about. And so the podcast was born. And man, it's been way more fun than I thought it would be. Reconnecting with all my former colleagues and having really heart-to-heart conversations, not unlike this kind of a format. We just sit and talk on Zoom. And then I'm also connecting with a lot of the hosts who I never met before. So I had a great conversation with Stephen Kersner, for example, who is the hand behind Ed the Sock. Right.

And the brains and the voice. So I'd never watched Ed the Sock. I loved my conversation with him. Really had a fantastic conversation. So those are, it's been a really great experience so far. And people are loving it. And I'm so grateful for the feedback. I'm getting people on Twitter and on Instagram and Facebook and email, and they're going to my website. I'm just

like, I'm getting so many amazing comments from people thanking me for, you know, bringing their past back and for all the great stories and the good questions and the deep conversations. It's really been great. Reinvention of the VJ is the name of the podcast. It's safe to say in the Venn diagram of people listening to us right now on Toronto Mic'd and people who would be interested in that podcast, I think it's one big circle. I think that's the Venn diagram. So I hope people pause now, subscribe to Reinvention of the VJ, and then come back for the final words here. But you mentioned some names. So we talked Strombo and you said Catherine's on soon and Steve Kersner. Do you want to name drop just a few more? everybody. Yeah, there's, I'm going to be interviewing at least 40 people. There's a huge list of people. So, so far, live, already, you can listen to the interview with Steve Anthony. And that one was very surprising for me, because I've known Steve for a long time. And he makes me

absolutely crazy. He knows it because he's, he's really frenetic. I'm the opposite. He's all out. I'm all in. We're like oil and water, but we've become friends over the years and also with his incredible wife, Tanya. And, um, so I was a little worried about our interview because Steve doesn't sit still. Right. But guess what? He does. And he was fantastic. I saw a different side of him. And in fact, at one point, I got a little choked up.

Wow. It was really very special. I spoke with Rick Campanelli, also known as The Temp, who continues to be the nicest guy in broadcasting. I spoke with Jeannie Becker, and that was really special for me, considering I was her assistant back in 1982. Wow. And she was very generous to me back then. Also, this conversation will show you how hardworking she is and also how generous she is as a person. I have so much respect for her and she has earned every single thing that she has in her life.

I interviewed George and I never had worked with George before. So I was always thinking like, what's this big thing about Strombo? What's the big deal? Well, I figured it out. He's an incredible guy. The conversation was more like a monologue. And I mean that with respect because he has so much to say. So I loved our conversation. I didn't want it to end actually. And yesterday we dropped Nam, Namagini's Kiwanuka. Namagini Kiwanuka is a VJ that started way after my time. She's on TVO right now. Right. She works with Steve Paikin and I have a serious girl crush on her. She's brilliant. She's brilliant.

She's great. I think she's fantastic. She is fantastic. And she was, she's a refugee from Africa. And she, I mean, she was almost living on the street in Toronto. She had a really hard life. And look where she is now. Great, great conversation. So other, other ones coming up,

Teresa Roncon, who is a friend of mine. We, we shoot the shit on boyfriends that we've had over the years and how she has done some serious reinventions over, over her life. Terry David Mulligan, who is the face of Much West. We talked a lot about his past and, you know, he had great stories about Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell, like fantastic stories and also the importance of Canadian music. I spoke with Bill Wilichka, who I did not know was one of the longest VJs on Much. When I knew him, he was just an editor.

And then he started hosting on Much. And he still is a successful broadcaster. Denise Donlan, a great conversation with her. Christopher, obviously, Christopher Ward, Jen Hollett. I mean, seriously, I've done 16 or 17 of the interviews already. And I'm lining up like the whole next round of them. Ziggy is in that grouping, which I'm looking forward to. And, you know, it's, it's been really very emotional reconnecting with everybody as an adult. And to get their perspective on what my life was, really. We're sharing our experiences of a very intense time in our lives. So when we exchanged emails a few years ago and you weren't ready to talk about

much, so we decided, right. And it was a good call because this has been a great conversation. I really appreciate all the time you gave me. But we just, you know, obviously we were going to wait because don't you, I wasn't going to have Eric on you have so many other things to talk about, but I did want to talk about much music. Cause that's a key, key thing we talk about here, but it sounds uh now you're doing an awful lot of talking about much music because you you you've come to kind of accept that as a uh it sounds like you accept it

as a key part of your development uh as as an entrepreneur and businesswoman and creator because you're yeah it sounds like you're you've embraced I love hearing. Yeah, it took me a long time. It took me a really long time. And I always acknowledge that much music was incredibly important to my formative years as a broadcaster and as a content creator, and as an entrepreneur. But I'm more than much music. And now I'm able to have it all. Quick note for your husband from Sammy Cohn. Sammy Cohn is not just a, he's not just the drummer for the Watchmen, which is a great Canadian rock band, but he's a real estate agent. He just wants me to, he says, please wish Erica's husband good luck with real estate and have him reach out to me for tips on the transition from rock and roll to real estate. So quick note from Sammy Cohn for

you. Well, that's great. Yeah. We're, you know, this has been a hard year for us. He had to close his business. It was called League of Rock And because of COVID, no music. So my husband has had to reinvent. And it's been really hard. He's been doing the real estate license, getting his real estate license. The course is really hard. But he's been working really hard at it. And he's going to be a great real estate agent.

He's a really good negotiator and is super personable and has a ton of contacts. So I imagine that he'll do really well when he passes all his tests. And for me, it's also been challenging. You know, let's be honest. I made a living, not just with my agency, but as a keynote speaker and hosting events. And that whole business is gone. So my husband and I have had a really, really hard year financially. And, you know, had a really, really hard year financially. And, you know, we just have to persevere. And,

you know, doing a podcast, I, there's, at least from my perspective, I'm not doing it. I don't expect to make any money doing it. I noticed that when you start your show, you name off like six different awesome local sponsors, which is fantastic so that you can earn money doing it. But I don't anticipate this being a money earner for me. This is really a passion project. It's yet another creation from, you know, the mind of Erica M. And thank you for, thank you for starting that podcast. Cause that's like catnip to people like me. like me. Like I just love the behind the scenes stories of, of much in the whole city empire there. But again, thank you. You gave us so much time today and it was such a, go. Yeah. Okay. Yes. The reason why I'm actually on your show is because Eric Alper emailed you about a show that I wrote.

Oh my God, Eric, I'm so sorry. You know, cause it's, uh, yes, please. I thought it was about reinvention of the VJ, but it's not. I am so sorry. Please continue telling us about this, another, this venture. I apologize. I'm going to slap my own wrist. So, um, okay. I like to make stuff. I like to collaborate. And I got an email last November from a woman who does VP of production at the Jim Henson Company saying that she has a composer, writer, songwriter in L.A. He has a composer, writer, songwriter in L.A. who's looking for somebody to collaborate with to write a play, write a jukebox musical for a bunch of songs that he'd written.

And so, of course, I said yes. And we collaborated virtually using FaceTime, et cetera, for about six months. And I wrote a show for him. It's called Out of the Books and it was supposed to premiere in Edinburgh, in Scotland at the Fringe Festival and then COVID happened. So our dreams kind of exploded, but rather than cry in our beer,

we decided to pivot and I rewrote the show and the, we turned it into a eight part YouTube series. It's a show for families and it sort of touches on fairy tales and it's, it's a really cute story. And we ended up shooting it with actors from the UK and the US. All the actors shot their scenes at home against a green screen. We directed it on Zoom. Two of the actors are from the cast of Hamilton from London's West End. Really amazing performers. And the show is just starting to launch on YouTube now.

So it's a family friendly show. It's really sweet. It has a lot of fairy tale characters, the music, the songs are fantastic. Brian Banks, my collaborator is a really established composer songwriter from LA, who's worked with people like Michael Jackson and like he's been around and so he had this idea to turn fairy tales into pop songs and my job was to write a show around that concept so if you have kids please go and check out Out of the Books on YouTube. O-U-T-T-A, like Outta. We're kind of cool, right? It's OuttaTheBooks.com.

I have kids. And I apologize. Eric, if you're listening, I apologize. There was too much stuff in the Erica M universe and I dropped one ball there. But I'm so glad you didn't let me wrap this up without talking about that. And I promise you, when I send the show notes to Humble and Fred later this week, that that'll be the core, of course, because that's happening later, I think on Thursday, I think. But honestly,

that sounds great. I'm going to watch that with my kids. And yeah, tremendous. Again, thanks again for taking the time. And again, I think you said this on Twitter, but well worth the wait, I'll just say. I'll wait years to get this right. That was a fantastic Toronto Mike debut for you, Erica. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed our conversation. And that brings us to the end of our 760-second show. You can follow me on Twitter Twitter I'm at Toronto Mike

Erica is at Erica M our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta Sticker U is at Sticker U CDN Technologies are at CDN Technologies Sammy C U is at Sticker U. CDN Technologies are at CDN Technologies.

Sammy Cohn is at Sammy Cohn. That's K-O-H-N. And Ridley Funeral Home are at Ridley F-H. See you all next week. Well, I want to take a streetcar downtown Read Andrew Miller And wander around And drink some goodness

From a tin Cause my UI check has Just come in Ah where you been Because everything Is coming up rosy and green 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 Because everything is rosy and green Well, you've been under my skin for more than eight years It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears

And I don't know what the future can hold or do For me and you But I'm a much better man for having known you. Oh, you know that's true because everything is coming up rosy and green. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow won't stay today. And your smile is fine, And it's just like mine And it won't go away Cause everything is

Rosy and great Well I've been told That there's a sucker born Every day But I wonder who Yeah I wonder who Yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize There's a thousand shades of grey

Cause I know that's true Yes, I do I know it's true, yeah I know it's true How about you? Are they picking up trash and then putting down roads. 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 Because everything is rosy and gray And your smile is fine and it's just like mine and it won't go away. Because 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 Chaclacour. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Rome Phone. Rome Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls.

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