Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Hayden: Toronto Mike'd #1336

Episode Date: October 2, 2023

In this 1336th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Hayden Desser about his career in music, Dream Serenade and his allergy to bullshit. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Pumpkins After Dark, Ridley Funeral Home, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Raymond James Canada and Moneris.

It's with these arms. Don't break my chair, Hayden. Welcome to episode 1336 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. TOMIKE15 saves you 15% at PumpkinsAfterDark.com. RecycleMyElectronics.ca. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. The Advantage Investor. From Raymond James, Canada.

Valuable perspective for Canadian investors who want to remain knowledgeable, informed, and focused on long-term success. Season five of Yes, We Are Open, an award-winning podcast hosted by FOTM El Greco and Redleaf Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making his Toronto Mike debut is Hayden. Welcome to Toronto Mike, Hayden Desser.

Well, thank you. Thanks for having me. Is that your voice? Okay, only because I'm going to have to boost you, but you... That is my voice. I'll get a little closer if that helps you. Yeah. Can you put that Ridley effect on me? I like that. Ridley funeral. Hayden, I don't know... You did that with your voice? I thought you added reverb on the mixer listen that's my voice no reverb no that's the talent is that true because that's high praise from you uh

i can't believe you're here nice to finally get you on the show i think it was 1335 episodes was just like an excuse to convince you to drop by for a chat because i've wanted to talk to you for a very long time oh nice well you don't know it's nice yet how do you know it's nice no it's nice the sentiment is nice the what the result might not be good at all we'll find out here you're very curious about like there's gifts on the table and you actually brought me a gift and i told you to give it to me on the air but you're like so i don't know humble or whatever that you're like no but but do you want to do a quick gift exchange before we get into this? Sure.

Is that cool? Sure, we could do that. And here, I got music for us, okay? Because can you name the composer of this song? It's tough because I don't know if this is your jam or not, but... Want me to help you out? Frank Sinatra? No.

It's a... I know. Frank Sinatra is a good cake song. They use it in a good episode of The Sopranos. It's Vivaldi-like, but it's not. It's, I don't know, let's say... That's a good guess. Let's say Bach.

Jesus, it's scary. It's a good guess. Let's say Bach. Jesus, it's scary. It's a jump scare. It's Halloween time. Hayden. This is Hayden. Oh, Hayden. Hayden. Is that how you say it?

Fuck, I'm so stupid. Okay. It's like Hayden without the E. Hayden. Okay, but you're Hayden, not Hayden. Yes. Because I just learned Randy Bachman. It wasn't great.

It wasn't a great gag but this this the sentiment was good i have randy backman on the show in my entire life like five decades of my life i've called him randy bachman and i've just been told it's actually randy backman did you know that no i did not know that see there you go you go. You're learning today. Have you ever met Randy Backman? No, I have not. Okay. See, that's the first tough question here. Okay.

Actually, it's amazing how many people I've never met. We're going to run down a list of people. Have you met Anne Murray? No. Okay. Bird incoming. Keep going. No.

There is a Canadian legendary. You have to leave the house to meet people though. You don't like to leave the house? Just for gigs? I like to. Sometimes. But you're a busy man. Okay.

We're doing the gift exchange. And then I actually, my last guest on this show is a guy who went to Thorne Lee Collegiate. And then I mentioned, you know, I promote the next episode and he's like, make sure you shout out Thornley. So you went to Thornley, right?

Why do people need to shout out their high schools? Why not? Like, you know, life is short, Hayden. Well, honestly, if it wasn't for my band in high school, I wouldn't have had a ton to say about high school. But that's something. Like you... I think I'll shout out my band.

Okay. Not my high school. Do that. Shout out your band. Come on. I forget the name. You do? Was Noah Mintz in this band?

Yes. Okay. You know he was. Because he went on and on about it. I'm sure. In a good way. Did you listen to Noah Mintz on Toronto Mic'd? I meant to.

You never did? No. So much love for you in that episode. I'm actually... Can we just... Do you have the greatest hits that I could just hear now? No, because I'm going to play a song and ask you about it and see if your story matches up with his.

But you and Noah Mintz... I hope it's not. Listen, you're here now. You're in loving hands. Music's making me nervous. Does this have to be behind us? No, it doesn't have to be. So, okay. Well, I'm going to save

the Thorne Lee check because Noah comes up in this first song I want to play. But I do want to give you just a few gifts because you're here. And'm glad you're here and i should just disclose that this is not the first time we've met we were we've actually met a few times this past summer and uh it was a pleasure getting to know you yeah yeah it was fun it was fun for me to get to know you i'm sure i'm sure it was all right let's do this right this is you're welcome that's what you say i can't believe you've never met Anne-Marie I feel like all Canadian rock stars

Are all hanging out together You've never golfed with Anne-Marie No, but I did grow up in Thornhill And I remember we used to skate at a pond Just off of Yonge Street And everyone used to say Anne-Marie lives just over there I thought you'd have a connection.

That's the closest. That's really something. Did you know she's a hell of a golfer? No, I could see that, though. Oh, also, her nephew was in my band once. Well, you see how this works? I drop a random name, and it turns out it leads to a couple of interesting like uh you know uh discussion points now we know that we're you know you you grew up near ann marie's place or whatever and

that you had a ann marie's nephew in your band dale murray a member of cuff the duke and uh he played with me with along with those guys for a couple at least. And he's a great guy and an incredible musician. And do you think I would have got that story if I didn't shout out Anne-Marie? No, I would not have come up. Giving you gifts, you're going to give me a gift too. I insist upon it. And then we're going to chat and you're going to have a good time. You're in loving hands here.

But I get the sense from your career, which I've been following since the early 90s, that you don't love press. You're not a guy who likes to do what you're doing right now. Am I wrong? No, not really. I think I just always had this thing where uh you know i realized that part of this career choice was the idea of having to talk about what you're doing and i just always felt that i put what i wanted to share into the world into my songs so anything after that i just felt wasn't i wasn't strong at communicating verbally in an interview setting i would either be you know if i was hungry i'd be in a bad mood if i was uh tired from being on the road i would be rude to people i wouldn't open up sometimes i

would say too much and regret it. You know what I mean? I never felt overly comfortable discussing my music or my career in this setting. Yeah, so I got to go. Bye. And that. That's it.

All right, so much unpacked there. But one of the things is, seriously, be honest with me. This is the land of real talk. I don't get bullshit yeah that was no but this is this is coming out like how do you feel right now like are you hungry are you tired would you rather be anywhere else like do you feel comfortable for a little chat here yeah yeah this is fine as as as the years have gone on i'm a a little more okay with it. I'm not like... Like you didn't come here because you're like, oh, this guy, like our kids play on the same soccer team.

I can't say no to this guy. I mean, I'm not super excited to be here. I'm like, it's fine. It's good. It's good. You're nice. I'm nice. Nice enough.

Okay. So we're taking the temperature now where you're not super excited and then in about an hour i'm gonna follow find out how it went for you here but here's some gifts here so you said sometimes you're hungry you're in a bad mood but i'm sending you home with so much delicious lasagna from palma pasta is it just sitting here like getting it's an empty box cold okay so the actual frozen lasagna is in my freezer and you're gonna leave with it and it's an empty box cold okay so the actual frozen lasagna is in my freezer and you're gonna leave with it and it's gonna feed the whole family and you'll have leftovers and you're gonna love it and you're gonna write me a note and say mike that was the best lasagna

i've ever had from a store okay thank you yeah i like that so thank you palma pasta and uh i don't know if you partake but if you do enjoy a fresh craft beer, I'm sending you home with delicious fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery. Yes. I have a case of their... I'm being paid for this. I have a case of their gin in a can situation, the little green one, green and white.

Yeah, that was very popular. That is a good one because all of those pre-made canned drinks are always so sugary and that's the good thing about that one anyway. That's good, man. Yes, I'm familiar with Great Lakes. Okay, so Great Lakes going home with you. Delicious, fresh craft

beer. There's a speaker here. I mean, you can give it to one of your kids or you can enjoy it yourself, but this is a Bluetooth speaker, but it's a speaker here like i mean you can give it to one of your kids or you can enjoy it yourself but this is a bluetooth speaker but it's a quality speaker you're gonna dig it and that's courtesy of manaris because with that wireless speaker you hayden are gonna listen to season five of yes we are open the award-winning podcast from manaris hosted by fotml grego you're gonna love the sound that comes out of that thing it's just connected by bluetooth and then make sure, though, tell your kids they've got to listen to Season 5 of Yes, We Are Open,

which is a great podcast that'll inspire you where Al Grego talks to small business owners. And that's talking about... Yeah, I'm going to tell my kids to listen to that. Thank you. And while your kids are listening to podcasts, I just want to shout out The Advantaged Investor from Raymond James Canada, now available

hosted by fotm chris cooksey and you can uh you can you can listen to that as well all right hayden we're gonna get into it and then i got some more stuff for you later oh one more quick thing since i'm giving you all the gifts off top and you're gonna give me something this is a measuring tape man you never know if you have to measure something that's courtesy of ridley funeral home pillars of this community since 1921 so how do you feel now you came here you got gifts you can't leave now. Now you owe me. What's the connection between a funeral home and a measuring tape?

Just that the measuring tape makes your life easier and then Ridley Funeral Home makes your death easier. I just made that up. Like, is that good? I just think pulling this... But it's not just handy. It's kind of dark. All right, I'm ready to receive my gift

before we dive into Noah Mintz and Thornley here. All right. What would you like to give me? Well, a few months ago, I took the lyric. Well, no, actually, during the pandemic, when things were a bit dark for everyone, I thought it would be a funny idea to take lyrics from my 95 song bad as they seem and put that put on a hat things are as bad as they seem love it and i love that song oh thanks anyway so i brought it for you thank you hayden i'm honestly that's really cool because i did i loved it at the

time and i still love it and we're going to talk about that song. But let's start with this. I need the definitive story. So I know you're like, oh, God, he's going to play it. Yeah, I'm going to play it, and you're going to talk about it. And shout out to FOTM, Noah Mintz. I know you don't like the shout outs, but I do the shout outs. But let's listen to a bit of this, and I got questions for you. You can't leave now. I gave you lasagna. Take me home. Also, I enjoy this song. Take me song take even if you don't me with you take me home

take a part of me take all of me come with me get away from me. Come with me. Get away from me. Please agree with me. Disagree with me. Come with me. Get away from me. Okay, this is Take. I have questions. All right.

Is this part your submission for what, a CFNY New Music Search competition? Yes. Okay, what do you remember? Like, why did you enter and do you remember what the prize was? Like, what do you remember from that? I think it's a 1993 New Music Search. Well, yeah, I remember a couple things. I slowed down or even stopped playing music and writing music when I went to Ryerson for radio and television.

And during that time, Noah, who was playing in Head with Brendan Canning, they started doing quite well, and I would go to their shows, and it was just a really fun situation, and the whole grunge scene was happening. It was an interesting time. And I don't know. It's possible I was inspired by how much fun noah was having because we were quite close and then also what was happening with uh with the east coast at the

time it just inspired me to maybe uh to to want to play music again basically basically, because I was focused on filmmaking. I'd done some music videos for Noah's band as well. Hold on, pausing you for a moment, because Robbie J., Rob Johnston, did write in when he heard you were coming on Toronto Mike. He wrote me a note to say, oh, my good classmate from RTA. I remember when he would bring his guitar and gear into the audio studios.

So Robbie J. remembers you might have been dabbling at RTA. Yeah, see, that's funny because I, that, yeah, I mean, God, I'm not known for my memory. Let's just say that. But I don't remember, it's funny that it's quite possible. I mean, I'm not going to doubt him, but yeah, I don't remember that. I always felt they were separate, but maybe towards the end of RTA, I did start playing again. So your good friend from Thorne Lee, Noah Mintz,

who's been on this program, people can find Thorne Lee's, which is a great episode, by the way, because mainly because there was a lot of Gian Gomeschi stories in the Noah Mintz episode. Well, Noah's awesome. So I'm not surprised. It was a great episode. You guys still close? Still friends? Yes, we are. Beautiful. Okay. So people can not surprised. It was a great episode. You guys still close?

Still friends? Yes, we are. Beautiful. Okay. So people can go there to hear all the details. But one fact that is kind of a mind blow if you were there in 93. So that's on. So speaking of Head, Head has Happy.

Happy's on that 93 new music search CD. And Hayden's take. And that's not you singing on his take, is it? No. This is like court yeah i was doing a long long-winded explanation oh no anyway what i guess i was getting to why noah is singing on that song is it i i uh i borrowed i think i lent noah an electric guitar for one of his tours and he either lost it or broke it so that when I asked for it back, he gave me an acoustic guitar back. I believe this is what happened. And I also borrowed a four track recorder from him. recorder from him and because i had an acoustic guitar for the first time since i was like 13 i had my first guitar was my parents bought me an acoustic guitar at 13 but i sold it a year later for a digital delay pedal because i was really into the edge from youtube of course um anyway

because i had a uh an acoustic guitar i started playing and recording in my parents' basement. And that being said, I was never the singer of my high school band. I never really sang much at all. So when it came time, I wrote this take song and I decided to get Noah to sing it and our friend Lorraine Ursa Marzo, who is great and a great friend, who ended up, when I started playing shows at places like Future Bakery and the Rivoli and stuff, Lorraine would sing and other people would sing my songs and I would just play. So for a period of time, was that maybe the plan that you were going to be like, you know, have guest singers,

like Mike and the Mechanics or whatever? You just bring in these like other people to sing your songs? I guess so. I guess I don't know if I thought my voice was terrible. I just didn't see myself as a singer. And then I believe I had booked a show and a couple of people that were supposed to sing didn't show up and i was like okay i guess i have to sing and then a couple people in the audience like the only two people that were in the audience were like oh yeah yeah that

sounded pretty good and then now that was all it took and then i was like you know fire all the singers i'm the lead yeah you can do it yourself you don't need them anymore that's like noel gallagher right when it like liam wouldn't show up and then noel have to sing the songs and really you know he could do it fine he wrote them he can sing them right yeah you're noel gallagher man you're the canada's noel thank you it could be worse okay so that's meant to be a comment. So who wins? Do you have any recollection? You don't win this new music search in 1993 from CFNY. No, because Noah's band won. Yeah, they won $100,000.

That's amazing. I know Bare Naked Ladies won it one year, and then they made Gordon. Is that what the... Yeah. I mean, it was an interesting time in Canadian radio. Long gone. But do you remember who at CFNY might have been, like,

your champion or your contact? Like, do you remember any of the personalities at the time that might have been helping you get exposure? No. No memory from the CFNY 90s. Okay, I'm not. All right, soah's on take you don't win but noah wins with his band uh head now we're gonna talk about the lyric i see on this great new hat you gave me you ready for this because this is i think i would say yeah i had the 1993 new music search

cd and i actually loved like legit love take like I love that song although I thought it was you singing I didn't you know you fooled me for many decades I you fooled me for a long time I won't disclose how long but okay this is the jam

I think most people would remember from either your local alt radio like alt rock radio like CFY or much music Girl of my dreams Things are as bad as they seem

She is only 16 That's why she's only a dream Woman of my dreams Lives right down my street Has a daughter who's 16 That's why she's only a dream What do I do this for? I've got to get out some more

Go down to the grocery store Meet someone out the door I actually don't even want to fade it down. I'm digging it. And I'm curious, what do you feel when you listen to this version of this song in the headphones, Hayden? I don't know.

I mean, just now I was focused in on the drum part for some reason. I have different things every time I hear it, you know? Yeah. It definitely definitely this song definitely like uh spearheaded the direction of uh of the following 30 years that's for sure much music video of who's telling me this was a cam gordon i think cam gordon's a guy who went to thornley and like he's explaining to me like the location of this video is like two blocks away from gianco meshi's house and i was getting this whole like thornhill history or something and then i guess stew stone's dad was running like a sluggers memorabilia like sports memorabilia

place anyways it all connects shout out to stew stone way. But here, I promise we're not going to spend 90 minutes on this song from everything I long for, but I do need just any information you can share with me, and I'm going to read some notes from people who love it as well. But do you remember writing it? Do you remember filming the video? Do you remember seeing it for the first time on Much Music, hearing it for the first time on CFNY?

What do you remember way back in the early to mid-90s here? Well, I definitely remember the video because it was, you know, I fancied myself as a director at the time. So I remember like writing out all these storyboards and the idea of setting up my bedroom inside the Rivoli on the stage. I remember we did an invite for people to come

and be in the video. So there was a crowd of awesome kids in the audience. I do remember also, I think we were kicked out at some point in the day. I think they were setting up for a soundcheck at the Rivoli. So we went out to this like school parking lot behind the Rivoli and the whole crowd came out and sort of sat and stood in the pavement of this schoolyard. And I played a bunch of other songs outside. I remember that.

Yeah, it was an exciting time because things were, you know, even before this song was sort of known or whatever, I was just having a great time driving my tercel to to different shows and um you know making little newsletters and just feeling this uh this grassroots fan base grow and it was it was yeah it was a really exciting time steve leggett uh wrote me an email when he heard you were coming on the show and i'm going to read it to you. It's very, very nice email. Steve writes, Mike, so glad that Hayden is coming on the show. Hayden was a super important artist to me when I was younger. His album, Everything I Long For, is probably my favorite album from the entire decade of the 1990s. I'm pausing for you to just drink that in, okay? All the albums really, OK Computer, Nevermind, you know, Fluke.

I'm throwing Fluke. All these great albums. I love Fluke. All these great albums. You and I were at a soccer game and I was talking about Rusty and you're like, you don't even know any Rusty. And it's like, well, how can Hayden not know Rusty?

But you know. No, but then you sang one of the songs and I was like, no. Well, because I can't sing. Shout out to Ken McNeil. Okay. So the one of the songs and I was like, no. Well, because I can't sing. I shout out to Ken McNeil. Okay. So the, uh, continue with,

I remember rusty. I'm joking. Hey, see, you have a very dry sense of humor and sometimes I can't tell if you're joking or not. You have to touch your nose when you're joking from now on. Is that okay?

No, I'm not comfortable with that. These songs, I'm back to Steve now, and this is not me, but, uh, those songs are both beautiful

and rocking. A true Canadian masterpiece. What I'd like Hayden to know is that his current music is also every bit as important to me, and he has done a terrific job of continuing to make terrific music many years later. No happy

birthday, a song about his daughter is the most beautiful and touching song I have ever heard. Not all artists are able to make important music as they grow and change and get older. I am looking forward to the dream serenade. Steve Leggett. Wow. That's really sweet. Wow.

I'm going to play a bit of No Happy Birthday because he shouted it out. And then I actually going to ask you about Dream Serenade now before I get back to my thing. But just a little bit of the song that Steve Leggett considers the greatest song he's ever heard. I've been waiting I've been waiting I've been thinking I've been wanting to sing you this song

I know you may not Understand my thoughts But you'll know where it's coming from Grab your guitar Or your maraca And play with me on your wooden drum Grab your guitar, oh you're my rocker Play with me on your wooden drum It's no happy birthday, but it's my way Maybe one day you'll sing along

And as you go through life, they may be unkind I won't always be there by your side And as you go through life, they may be unkind. I won't always be there by your side. That's on my mind, yeah, that's on my mind. That's on my mind almost all of the time. Hayden, please tell us what No Happy Birthday is about. Well, initially it was written as a way to communicate with my daughter who was born in 2009 with a developmental disability she has a missing chromosome and she she's nonverbal she's still nonverbal and she she she always used to respond really well at birthdays to Happy Birthday,

the Happy Birthday song she loves that was known as her favorite song even when she was like three. And so when I went to write a song for her, I thought I should incorporate the words Happy Birthday into the songs to get her interested in it. So yeah, it was just, that was the idea behind it. It is a beautiful song and a very touching song. And your daughter, who I've met a few times, laughs at my jokes.

Good sense of humor. Yeah, she's awesome and she has a great sense of humor. Very funny. Now tell us about Dream Serenade here. Tell us what prompted you to start Dream Serenade, what it is, and maybe tell us a little bit about the upcoming Dream Serenade at Massey Hall. Yeah, well, Dream Serenade was in a way a response that my wife and I had to when we first found this school for our daughter called Beverly Street School and our daughter went there for kinder for kindergarten and

you know the years leading up to that were you know pretty scary and dark and we were trying to navigate uh what it meant to you know have have a kid uh with with exceptionalities and um you know it's it was complicated in many ways. And when we arrived at Beverly, the staff, the principal, the teachers, the social workers, everyone there just was so welcoming. And it was such a relief that we felt that after a few months of being there, we just, you know, we had a discussion like, what could we do anything to help this place? And one of the great things they had there was this Friday music program

that every Friday afternoon, three of the teachers would play ukuleles and guitars, and everyone would come into the main room and listen and sing and play drums and and the kids just loved it so that with that in combination with us being appreciative of the place and wanting to do something and then the final piece was me having very very strong memories of uh of performing at the 1996 Bridge School Benefit, Neil Young and Peggy Young's annual benefit show for their child who had exceptionalities and how I felt about that. It all came together for us just to be like, let's try a benefit concert. And that was nine years ago.

Well done, Hayden. And fellow, you know, I know I keep dropping FOTM and you're like, what the hell is FOTM? A friend of Toronto Mike, you're now an FOTM. Nice. I can't even get out. I can't even give it back. Like it's already happened here.

But a fellow FOTM is Torquill Campbell. And I see on the bill uh you got stars on the bill but you want to shout out some of the artists at this year's uh dream serenade and i mean are is it sold out like can you still get tickets uh you you can still get tickets but it's it's getting uh it's getting full it's quite full um yeah stars so excited amy milan's played before solo uh and uh she's so incredible she's a great supporter of cream serenade the sweetest person ever anyway so yes the whole band stars are playing i'm very excited about that um uh serena rider and is is also playing on her own and also with William Prince, who's incredible.

Serena's coming back. She's played it before, and also William Prince played it when we did a virtual version from his house or whatever. But he's so incredible, so I'm excited for him as well. A fellow from Englandland named howard jones uh i actually that's a big deal i can't believe we we got howard jones yeah i think kevin hearn uh is as friendly with him and he set that up and i'm very thankful so that's awesome kevin hearn uh is is joining as usual i think he's done every year uh either with bare naked ladies or with various projects that he's involved with when are you gonna reunite uh look people for a dream serenade and then kevin hearn can play with james b

oh interesting well that that could be up to him too. Maybe he'll do that this year. That would be good. Yeah, and then a band that I played with over the summer at Hillside, and they just blew me away as people. And there's a band, Daniel Romano's Outfit. They're incredible. So they're going to bring the rock and roll

to Dream Serenade this year. I don't know. Am I forgetting someone? I don't think so. But that's amazing. But also, we also... Because you're on the bill too. Oh, yeah.

I'll play some songs. We also have surprise guests, and those are always kind of crazy. We've had some great folks show up, and the surprise element is always a blast. Have you ever been surprised by the surprise guests, like you didn't know they were coming? No, because I'm one of the main organizers,

but the year Gore Downie was a surprise guest, in a way was a bit of a surprise because we didn't know up until the night before if he was going to be up for it because he was doing the Secret path show at roy thompson hall and we just didn't know if he uh if he'd be uh be able to and then he he did and it was something i'll never forget he opened the show he just came out with the band and it was so powerful it was something else amazing there's a great episode of toronto mic with kevin hearn where we talk about uh so powerful. It was something else. Amazing.

There's a great episode of Toronto Mike with Kevin Hearn where we talk about his relationship with Gord in those final years, and that's a beautiful episode, man. Yeah, well, yeah, he's, yeah. Well, Kevin's a special person. Gord was one of the most special people I can imagine, yeah. Wow.

Okay, so Dream Serenade, excellent music, one of the most special people I can, I can imagine. Yeah. Wow. Okay. So dream serenade, excellent, uh, excellent music, but excellent cause. And, uh,

maybe there's a couple of tickets available, but jump on it now because it's, uh, it's, it's going to sell out super soon, but good on you for that initiative. That that's, that's an amazing event you got there.

So thank you. Congrats to you. Okay. Bringing you back to everything I long for, because my question is, is that an independent release? Like, Steve. Okay, bringing you back to Everything I Long For, because my question is, is that an independent release? You're not with a label for Everything I Long For, right, in 1995? Well, Everything I Long For was a combination of some recordings from a cassette that I had put out before that called In September.

from a cassette that I had put out before that called In September. And then I went back in with my friend Joe Corvalho and we recorded, re-recorded a couple things, including Bad As They Seem. And he was quite involved in the additions to that record on songs like Drive and Bad As They Seem, as I said, and a few others. And he played drums and I think bass on a couple songs. So yes, it was independent when it came out on CD originally or right when it came out or a month later,

CD originally or right when it came out or a month later, Sonic Onion kind of became the record company that put it out. My buddy is also a friend that was in my high school band, Josh Malinsky, who was in a band called Polito with my other friend in the band from high school, Mitch Roth. They were on Sonic Onion, and they spoke highly of those guys, and they were all part of that scene. So it was an easy fit, and the guys at Sonic Onion, they're great. They were great at the time, so that just made sense. Here's a question I've been holding on to since 1995. You ready?

Yes. Did you consider putting take on everything I longed for? No, because that just, I don't know. I think because it wasn't me singing, it just didn't make sense. I felt like take was just this one-off thing. And I think I lost my, you know, I didn't love it too much. I had this thing also early on where there were some songs I would write,

and I was so quick about putting them out that, you know, sometimes there was a bit of regret, and I'd sort of try to erase the history of them so interesting because you know you talk about the the the indie cassette in september but you did re-record some of the gems on that for everything i longed for so i wondered if there was a moment where you're like oh if i was going to re-record yeah i should yeah sorry because you could sing it as you discovered at some point you can sing and i could sing it. As you discover it at some point, you can sing. And I did sing it. Yeah, and I used to, yeah, I used to sing it live, yeah, early on.

Yeah. Right, because as far as I know, it's tough to find. Like, I happen to have a copy of the 1993, you know, CFNY New Music Search compilation or whatever from 93. I have that. but most people, you can't go buy that online or whatever. It's like, it's not on a single Hayden. Like, I'm just curious.

You can't find that on a Hayden album. No, no, you can't. And you can't find it on streaming. You know what you have to do? You have to find the video on YouTube, which is how you get the potato quality. But here I am telling you what to do. But draw but there's also like a there's one of my like you know i guess quote most requested songs live is a song called trees lounge and that is also not available

on streaming sites so you know there's some things going on oh there you go i was hoping you'd say the magic words it's like a peewee's playhouse if you say trees there's some things going on. Oh, there you go. I was hoping you'd say the magic words. It's like a Pee Wee's Playhouse if you say Tree's Lounge, because I was going to ask you about this. But just a bit of Tree's Lounge, and I got questions about that. And I have a question about a name you just dropped, Neil Young. I sit here in trees now I pour it in my mouth I need something to go, yeah

Got me in this mess Feeling this and that Judgment is not here I do things that I'm scared I would never do How do you end up on the soundtrack for Steve Buscemi's film Tree's Lounge? How does this come to be?

Well, first of all, I haven't heard that in a while. It's a very Our Lady Peace snare sound, isn't it? It's like... You know, I always wonder how often an artist hears the old stuff that you can't even find on freaking spotify right now but uh i think it sounds great man no no it sounds cool it's it's well the quality of the recording is not that great but the drumming i'll tell you this is it the okay well i'll tell the whole story, I guess. Is it, I don't know. I was just, at that time, it was right after I signed my American record deal and publishing deal.

And through the business folks, I got this request that Steve Buscemi had a finished film, his directorial debut. It was MCA Records. They were putting out the soundtrack, and it was filled with very old music, like Brenda Lee and the Ink Spots, stuff that's incredible and i guess they were looking to have something more contemporary on the the soundtrack to the that with the hopes of maybe selling some copies to younger people and they heard the buzz about me you know just it was it was a business about you in the mid 90s like yeah so it was like a kind of like a a BS kind of entry point to being involved. But the beauty of it in the end was that they sent me the finished movie screener.

I watched it, and the night that I watched it, I wrote the song, taking one verse directly from the script of Steve. So he became a part writer of the song. I think like four days later, I was in a Toronto studio, you know, booked a half day. I don't,

unfortunately, I don't remember who engineered it or anything, but I do remember that Glenn Milchum, a Blue Rodeo's drummer, awesome guy. He drummed on the song and was just killer like he he's he's a major part of the character of that song and then i just uh i filled in all the other instruments and um we did it very quickly and then sent it to the steve's people, and he loved it.

He was very excited. And I think either because of us sending him the song or even just before or when the label said they were going to contact me, I forget the timeline, but he either got really into everything I longed for or was into it I just that detail I don't know but he in the end started getting into my music so and then three weeks later I found myself in New York co-directing the video for the song with him so

that's wild yeah it was wild Steve Buscemi, wow. Okay, Everything I Long For, you mentioned indie release, and now all of a sudden you're talking about this US record deal. So what do you remember about this? There was a bidding war, right?

I mean, the famous story I always heard is that Neil Young, the buzz on you was big, and I hear you doing the harmonica, and I'm thinking, that's the next Neil Young

I'm listening to right here, Hayden Dessler. What was that buzz like when people are like, you're the next Neil Young and having Neil Young make you an offer, like what's that story? Well, it was such a bizarre time and it, you know, it all, everything sort of happened. You know, one thing would happen

and then the next and then the next so so like if if if if yeah i'd gotten rid of the six months before neil young leaving me a message on my answering machine my mind would have been absolutely blown but because of what happened in the six months leading up to that i was like i was like I'm very excited that he had left a message, but I wasn't like, you know what I'm saying? It was just, I actually do know what you're saying. It was such a weird time, but yes,

it was, it was incredible that, that that happened. I mean, and it's also completely bizarre that I chose not to work on, to be on his label. So why did you, like, I mean, when you get a call from Neil, you accept the charges, right? This is, I've never got a call from Neil.

In my whole life, no. That's a Simpsons quote. Sometimes I'll drop lines and they're coming from the Simpsons, but okay. That's like half my vocabulary. The first eight seasons of the Simpsons right but this deal like this is the Geffen records right this is the one million dollar deal like any regrets uh I'm curious because going back there of this buzz next Neil Young bidding war Geffen records it just you just seem like a pretty low-key artist here. And it's like, I don't know.

Do you have any regrets about signing with Geffen? No, I don't live with regrets. The only thing that happened because of the way everything went down, and I don't begrudge anything because I was very lucky about how everything went down. But the thing that sort of could have been better in a way was just how I was presented in the rest of the world versus how I was presented in Canada. You know, everything happened so naturally, and there was no initial hype about me when I was first introduced in Canada.

But because everyone had heard about all these labels wanting to sign me, it was just naturally what happened when Everything I Long For came out internationally is everyone was like, okay, impress me. Right. Right? Sky high expectations. Yeah.

Because the buzz was so palpable. Yeah. And I wasn't this grassroots artist anymore. I wasn't this guy driving to shows by himself and playing between loud grunge bands. I was just this thing. And then it was also in the time of the sellout, the indie sellout,

and just how powerful that term was at the time. You know what I mean? Like Green Day? Yeah, like just anyone that was on a major label was like a whole section of the population you're just like no not for me so so yeah so i just i i wasn't because i felt like an underdog leading up to that and then all of a sudden I was on the other side of it and you know I at the time judged people artists too who came out as

these major label like oh this is the next big thing and I'd be like yeah impress me or you know get lost so right yeah did you always stay based in Toronto I actually don't know did you did you ever like go to la or you

know new york or something no yeah i stayed in toronto did you ever think about it like okay now that i've got the u.s record late deal it's time to i don't know be the next neil young i gotta move to california no i mean truthfully you know when when neil moved to California, it was at a time when you had to, you really did have to kind of do that. Right. So it was a different time, to be fair. Right. Okay, now I'm going to read a note.

Again, it sounds like we're going to just talk about everything along the way, but we're going to cook with gas in a moment here, so don't lose hope here. But I do want to read a nice note that came in because these listeners are excited you're here. Brian K. writes in, songs like We Don't Mind and Skates pull me in

and I feel like I'm right there in the story. Are there songs you wrote that play out experiences you'd rather leave behind? Songs I've written? Yeah, and he had a follow-up which is are there any that were never played beyond the recording that people yearn to hear oh maybe that's even a better like are there songs in your catalog that people want you to play but you just you just don't want to play maybe because of the maybe there's a story in it that you don't want to revisit i'm curious like in the same song in that bad as they seem it They Seem, she's not 16 anymore, right?

Like you made an edit as you aged. Well, live, yeah. Yeah, live. Yeah, I changed that. The number keeps going up the longer I do this. But yeah, there's been some songs. the longer I do this. But yeah, there's been some songs.

Like there was a song on my cassette and there was an earlier version of the Everything I Long For CD that had 16 songs instead of 14. And there was a song called Bunk Beds on that that was a sort of a quote fan favorite in the early days that people still yell out at shows that I took off, but not so much because the story was too hard to sing

or inappropriate or anything. I just found it to be silly, you know? So I took the liberty of removing it from an album um uh and then they i mean no there yeah there are some songs early songs that i don't sing they just you know like any artist has that though there's some songs that make the cut and don't after a while it's just how it goes does anybody ask you to play Freebird yeah that's been yelled out a few times over the years alright there's a song on

so I actually wrote about this on torontomic.com because again everything I longed for, it hit me at the right time you know a lot of times an album not that it wouldn't be a good album if it hit me at a different time but I was like literally like 19 years old when I picked it up and so it just kind of like hit and I think you got maybe you got a year or two on me but i was like literally like 19 years old when i picked it up and so it just kind

of like hit and i think you got like maybe you got a year or two on me but it was bang it hit me and uh there's one song i'm just gonna play a bit of it and then i'm gonna tell you the song i pair it with and hear your thoughts on that this happy little ditty. When I was younger A part-time job worker Job worker Department store center I saw a man enter He was middle-aged Deep lines on his face Tired mouth and eyes placed Our

lips just have raised When I look at him He looked at me He looked so sad

I had to say what did he want What could it be What had he been Drew before me Seeing him in the store I worked for That year So that skates from everything I long for. I can hear your vocal cords there.

You can't sing that first. You can't sing it like that. Your voice wouldn't last the show. That was never a first song of the set. That's for sure. I don't know what it, you know, the chord it strikes, pun intended, the chord it strikes in me, though, but I just fucking love listening to that song. I don't know what it, you know, the chord it strikes, pun intended, the chord it strikes in me though,

but I just fucking love listening to that song. I just love it. Wow. Yeah, that's great. Did they see you shrink? What?

No, no, it's, you know, it's funny that I say that a middle-aged man, I mean, I'm now older

than the guy buying skates. Do you want to hear... That's funny, too. You want to hear the song... You're older than Wilford Brimley was in Cocoon. That's a fact. We don't get any older. Was I telling you about that?

My friend Howie, Howie Beck, every month he sends me another text about what famous actors. Like, you're now... This is a thing. Yeah, you're now older than the Golden Girls. I'm like, what the hell?

Oh, man. Oh, they're all gone now. Okay, I'm going to play the song I paired this with. You know, we talked a lot about Neil Young in this episode for good reason. I love Neil Young. But here you go again. Listen to that. All right, so I'll bring down Skates.

Here's a song I would pair it with. Merry Christmas, everyone. It's coming on Christmas. They're cutting down trees. They're putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away

on But it don't snow here, it stays pretty green, I'm gonna make a lot of money, then I'm gonna quit this crazy scene i wish i had a river i could skate away on i wish i had a river so long i would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

So yours truly, this might be very, very subjective, this observation, but I parry those songs together. I like your skates with Joni Mitchell's River. Yeah, well, as soon as you put that on, I got goosebumps. That's a stunning song, and that record, Blue, is in my top five, consistently top five records of all time for years.

Yeah, that's a good pairing. consistently top five records of all time for years. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good pairing. So that's a bit of a Christmas song. And here's an awkward segue for you as we listen to Joni in the background. But this is Halloween season, and I just want to let the listenership and you, Hayden, know that the award-winning

Halloween event, Pumpkins After Dark, is in Milton right now running through October 31st. You can buy your tickets right now at pumpkinsafterdark.com and save 15% with the promo code TOMIKE15. T-O-M-I-K-E-1-5. Save 15% on your Pumpkins After Dark tickets.

Happy Halloween, Hayden. Thank you. I was wondering how you found out. Okay. And I want to, that was weird. Yeah. You know,

I wanted to get you back in the game here. Okay. So also there is a wonderful website called recycle my electronics.ca. And if you go there, you can find out a place near you where you can drop off your old electronics, your old devices, your old tech, so it can be properly recycled and the chemicals don't end up in our landfill.

So don't throw out your old, I don't know what you got, old A-track player, Hayden. Don't throw it in the garbage. It might be broken, but you can recycle it at recyclemyelectronics.ca. And last, but certainly not least, well, actually, you know, that's everything.

I'm happy that you got your lasagna, you got your beer, you got your Ridley Funeral Home measuring tape, and you got your speaker from Moneris. So you're good. You got lots of goods to take home. I don't have any pumpkins or recycled electronics. You can recycle your pumpkins, but you can just put that in the green bin. Don't worry about recycle my electronics.ca. Great question came in from Tyler.

This is for you, Hayden. Big fan of Hayden. Excited to hear your, okay. Hayden's a good friend of the show. And I told him that your son and my son play on the same soccer team this summer big fan of Hayden, excited to hear your fellow soccer dad on the pod would love to know more about Hayden's relationship with the National

I really enjoyed his co-write with Matt on Matt's solo album what can you share about your relationship with Matt and the co-write there? Well, that's a pretty simple story. In the early, early 2000s, late 90s maybe, this guy named Brandon Reed would sneak into my shows in Philadelphia.

And so I met him a couple times in Philadelphia. And then I think he did sound at a small club there. And we exchanged numbers or something. We exchanged numbers or something. Anyway, he called me in 2008 to tell me that he was in town doing sound for this band called The National at the Opera House and would I want to come down and see them and say hi. And I'd never heard of them at that point. So for some reason, I left the house that night

and went, which is bizarre. And I watched them play this record, Boxer, and I was kind of blown away. I was so into it, and it was just right up my alley. And then I went backstage to the dungeon part of the opera house after their show and met the guys, and they were just the sweetest people. And I think all of them were fans of mine.

They had all sort of gravitated to certain records. I remember Matt in particular, and maybe both the Destiners, Closer I Get was the record for them. Right, your 98 album. and maybe both the Destiners, Closer I Get was the record for them. Right, your 98 album. Yeah, and it was just, they had found that at a meaningful time in their lives and they told me about that. And anyway, I think like four months later,

I found myself touring Europe supporting them so and matt has supported your dream serenade yeah matt's matt and aaron played once uh well they played the very first one and they're the reason that the dreams that dream serenade started so big at massey hall and it didn't start at like the rivoli palace yeah because they generously came aboard very early and then i was like okay well this could be we could make a it was quite a serious thing so anyway that is an amazing venue that you guys have just part of it just yeah well massey halls is incredible and it's also like it it's a way to also entice artists, right? It's not just, this is this cause and it's great.

And now we have the history of it behind us. But it's also like, hey, would you like to play Massey Hall? Yeah, you don't have to say, we're at Sneaky D's on a Tuesday night. Please come. So anyway, yes. And then Matt's Serpentine Prison Project played a couple, or just, yeah, 2020 as well. So very generous to the cause. And yeah, anyway, once again, long story short,

him and I have been throwing song ideas back and forth to one another for, I think like eight years now. Let me ask you this. So I saw the national at Budweiser stage this summer and I was wondering in my, in my mind, like, is there any possibility like Hayden's here and maybe to makes a cameo appearance or whatever,

but were you at that show? I was at that show. Yeah. Okay. I think they should have brought you on stage to sing the co-write there. Well, the co-write's not a national song, though. No, and that's true. That is true.

It's a solo song. That is true. But anyway, I got up with them at Massey Hall when they came in the Trouble Find Me Tour maybe, and I sang Spiders, what's it called? Anyway. Well, you can sing? Okay, good. I don't remember. Anyway, it was really fun.

It was really fun. All right, to bring us more up to speed here. So you mentioned The Closer I Get. That's the follow-up to Everything I Long For. And you did work with some big producers on that. So what was it like now that you've got the big record deal and you're making your first album, I guess, under the new record label?

You can have all these big-name producers working with you. Yeah, I'm a weirdo. working with you yeah i i i'm a weirdo i wasn't like oh my god i like use the best crazy people that i have made records that i've loved i kind of like the whole process of that uh record was me sort of dipping my feet into things because a few people around me were like you know this is like this could be your one opportunity to to work in big studios in these classic places and you know you really should and then and the other side of it was me like oh but i record on a four track and it's the only way for me to be authentic and to keep things in my little world inside my head. So there was a lot of like back and forth

of like not committing to do a whole record with someone but do like maybe we'll do three songs at Ocean Way with this guy or maybe I'll go to Seattle and do like three songs with this guy. Just, you know, I just was dipping my feet. I get that. And unfortunately, sometimes not fully engaged in the recording. And so like, you know, one or two songs would come of it.

And then I would take it back to my house and like play like 45 guitar tracks over something to try to make it feel like it was more mine and not that it wasn't but anyway it was a very strange long recording process of like a lot of try this take away that go to this try this version of that so but but by the time the record was what I was comfortable putting out, I was exhausted from trying to keep it mine. And in the end, I did keep it mine, but it took its toll. I was quite done by the time that record was out. And there were a bunch of, I'm assuming there were a bunch of Hayden fans

who kind of just want more like everything i long for like they just want more of this like uh like sort of bare bones folky rock thing that you're making on your four track player or whatever well yeah the big ingredient that was missing from from the new record uh was um there was no none of that screaming the growly grunge teenage angst had paid off well, and then you were bored. Well, yeah. Well, I wasn't bored with it. I was just like, I just, I'm not, like, I honestly, I'm just like the worst faker.

People can tell. You're allergic to bullshit. Yeah, and I'm not saying it like I'm so great. I'm just, I can't. Like, you know, some people I know are really great. Even if they show up at a party, they've had a shitty day there, they can be like, hey, I cannot do it. So I should just stay home.

And that's why you don't like to do these interviews, because if you're hungry, you can't, you know, you're hungry. And if you're freaking tired, you're tired. You're not going to, you know. Yeah, I'm a bit hungry now. Are you sure there's no lasagna in here? It's frozen. You're going to break your teeth, Hayden,

you got a dental plan? What's going on? I do not have a dental plan. So be careful and make sure you cook it first. That's an order here. All right. Do you have any of that Skyscraper National Park in 01? The story that floats around is that you had

a hundred handwritten, packaged, and numbered copies that you gave to your friends and your your family and it'd be like you got any of those still or they've all been uh enjoyed by other people those those initial yeah no i have i have like a little personal stash of everything that's uh rare but um yeah those those were interesting. And I truly, when I made those, I wasn't, I was still, I had made this record because it was, you know, healthy for me to create. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to get back into music as a professional thing. Interesting. So that was just me.

But what else would you do? I know your dad's like a professor. He's like a famous, you know, I don't know, parasitology? How do you say that word? Yeah, exactly. Okay, well, so. The study of parasites.

And there you are. You've decided I'd rather be like a starving artist or whatever, but was there any pressure to go into academia? Like you got your degree from the TMU, which was called Ryerson, of course, at the time. But, like, you were, you know, did you ever think, wait, maybe I should just go, you know, do something like my dad?

Well, the whole idea of going to Ryerson was, in a way, me trying to have a, you know, do something that would be a backup plan to the pure arts. I mean, I was inspired to go to RTA or to... TMU. TMU, originally because in my last year of high school, I had my own radio show at CY... What's the...

CY... No, the York one. Oh, I never remember the name of that one. Yeah, how did we forget it? I know the Ryerson one and I know the U of T one. Oh, I never remember the name of that one. Yeah, how did we forget it? I know the Ryerson one and I know the U of T one. I'll Google it while you work. It's weird that I can't. C-Y-U-T?

No, that's U of T. Yeah, of course. I went to U of T. The U of T? C-H-R-Y. Yes, of course. I had to Google it. That's embarrassing.

My son goes to York. Shout out to York University. Nice, yeah. Yes, of course. I had to Google it. It's embarrassing. My son goes to York. Shout out to York University. Nice. Yeah. So I had a great time doing this like Saturday night show. I believe it was like 11 p.m. till 2 a.m. or something. It was the time slot no one else wanted. And I had no social life.

So yeah. But I had this thing, a radio show it was called the independent study okay and it was basically a ripoff of brave new waves of course uh i was a huge brent bambury fan and a huge brave new waves fan i loved the way he you know they delved him and his team delved into the history of uh you know indie rock and these great uh artists so yeah i basically mirrored that and i you know i did these little scripts on the mud honey and nirvana before uh their big breakthrough or whatever and were you at the lee's Palace for the 1990 Nirvana gig pre-Dave Grohl when they just had Bleach out?

Were you there? No, I was at the Opera House show when they were right the week before If It Smells Like Teen Spirit became a hit. So close, but no cigar. Yeah, so anyway, because... And so i had this radio show and i was like oh my god this is radio's incredible this is the way it is and then when i got to ryerson i realized that was not what radio is it's like it's like you're you're basically you know my my take on

it at the time was that you had like 30 seconds to say some silly thing that happened in the news and then everything was written for you. Anyway, real life radio was not Brave New Waves. Let's put it that way. You're right. And shout out to Bram Brambery. He's a good guy.

Is he a friend of Tron? He's an FOTM. Yeah, he's been here. That's a great episode too we talk all about because he's not the original host of brave new waves but he's the one most remembered by people like you and i but uh he uh yeah radio like you don't get to choose what you play this is the great disappointment for us when we really because we grow up i don't know about you but i watched wkrp in cincinnati and i'm pretty sure venus flytrap was playing

whatever record he wanted okay that's the vibe I got. And then you find out, no, it's all, no, they're not choosing these songs. But okay, I'm going to play one more song here, just a little bit of it, and then we're going to... Is this Neil Young or Hayden? I can't tell. Don't get down

Don't waste time I can't tell. Write a song All your new ones are the best you've ever sung Write another one And all you need to do Is get away from everything Quit this sad old sin Come back when you feel the need Well, I'll be here for you So here's something from Elk Lake Serenade.

That word serenade, if I may, just for a moment. Near here, where you are now in New Toronto, there's a street called Lake Promenade. And sometimes when I'm listening to Google Maps telling me how to get somewhere, it'll say, take a left on Lake Promenade. Like the American pronunciation is like promenade. But we all say promenade. And then I'm wondering when I see a word like serenade,

like maybe it's supposed to be serenade. Am I overthinking this? Yeah. You've lost Hayden. He's taking a nap here. Okay, but 2004. I overthink things. 2004, this is the follow-up to Skyscraper National Park,

Elk Lake Serenade. And this is what you mentioned, Cuff the Duke earlier, right? That's where Anne-Marie's nephew? Mm-hmm. Cuff the Duke. Okay, so what do you remember about this era

before we bring you up to current uh current time um i don't know i remember it as a really nice a good time i my uh in 2001 like basically the in the month before skyscraper came out i met my future wife and you know we we fell in love and we were i was in a nice zone so uh and then i did i did shows for skyscraper uh and they went really well and the response was really great and I started feeling really good about playing music again you know not writing

music and but just presenting it to the to the public I kind of I got rid of sort of the whole 90s what that turned into in my mind. And I was just having more easy breezy time with it, you know.

And the expectations weren't quite as high. So anyway, I felt, started feeling a bit like an underdog again, which was a more comfortable feeling. started feeling a bit like an underdog again, which was a more comfortable feeling. So yeah, no, I remember the recording of Elk Lake and the presentation of it with Cuff the Duke as the Elk Lake Serenaders as a really nice time, yeah. Okay, and then you're back, baby,

because now it's like, now you're just going to, you know, write and make music. And fast forwarding to 2012, your seventh album comes out on Arts and Crafts. Oh, yeah, you really jumped there, sure. Well, yeah, but I don't know how much time you want to spend here. No, no, I'm just saying it's fun.

Are you comfortable with a four? I didn't get the vibe you wanted to hang out for four hours. I would do four hours. If I had brought a sandwich, I could have done four hours. would do four hours if i if i you know if i had brought a sandwich i could have done four hours next time you bring a sandwich bring a guitar and uh yeah we should do like why don't we do like up until a certain date today and then do a part two where i talk about i would do that if i believed i'd have to stare you in the eyes and see whether you'll really come back how did this like like... We won't get you back.

It's like, I would do that in a heartbeat if I knew you'd come back here. So how about this? Because I do want to bring you back. Oh yeah, we're on a beach. We're drinking income taxes and the sand at our feet. We're on a beach. Oh yeah, we're on a beach Oh yeah we're on a beach We're drinking income taxes

And you're fond of me Just breathe out and in Keep your eyes on this ring As I swing it back and forth On this here string Eyelids are heavy when back and forth on this here string. Our lids are heavy wings. All the things that trouble you fall right out of the room and we begin.

We're on a beach. Oh yeah, we're on a beach. We're drinking income taxes and the sand at our feet. We're on a beach, oh yeah, we're on a beach. We're drinking income taxes and you're fond of me. Now you take your turn and concentrate on the sound of my voice or the spaces in between my words. And find yourself in a world where you can simply relax, see most of your worries lapse or seem absurd. See most of your worries laugh so seem absurd We're on a beach

Oh yeah, we're on a beach So the yada yada yada through, I don't know, a good solid decade is because you are going to come back for the deeper dive into this era. But here, this is a 2023 jam and that beautiful voice alongside Hayden's is Feist. Cool. Yeah, very cool. She sounds so good.

Well, you guys sound good together here. Where the sun rises behind palm trees This ain't meant to be Yeah, listen to our You know, I had, who did I have on here? A couple weeks, I guess it was about a month ago now. It's a little blur, but Paul Langlois dropped by and he brought his guitar. So next time you bring a guitar.

So Paul Langlois was here and we were talking about the, like, you know, will the Tragically Hip ever do a tour again? Gord's no longer with us, but there is one instance since Gord's passing that the Tragically Hip did perform together with Leslie Feist on vocals. Yeah, I saw the footage of that. It was really, it was powerful. Powerful. And it's great that you have her. You know, we talked about the move to arts and crafts.

And this is from Are We Good? Now I'm going to count from one to three. Oh, you have this version. You're going to open your eyes, feeling fully aware, rested, calm and relaxed. One. You're feeling perfect in every way. Your mind and your body are quiet and comfortable. 2. You're slowly returning to your full awareness. Feeling emotionally peaceful and surreal. Three.

Open your eyes. Steve in the end there. Is that Steve Buscemi? The aforementioned one? Yeah. Okay, I'm re-watching The Sopranos with my wife because she's never seen The Sopranos. And yeah, Steve Buscemi's in there. Okay, so this is, again, a 2023 release.

This album, Are We Good, is a 2023 release. We are speaking, Hayden, in 2023. But there was a pretty good gap there. How long between releases are we talking is it like eight years or something like that well yeah to 2015 i released a record called hey love that's the record that no happy birthday was on and uh yeah it's a long story but yeah is that for the sequel? Like when you come back?

Because I'm going to look you in the eyes in a minute. And if you commit to coming back, I'll do another deep dive with you. But you can give us the Reader's Digest version now. Don't leave us hanging. Long story. long story but yeah the readers i just is the the short version is just that uh i you know you when you're doing creative stuff sometimes you're it's hard to do it and so it's you're not feeling it you're you can't find the time you're sometimes you struggle sometimes it flows well i've been doing a long enough to know not to panic if i'm not in in if things aren't coming you know because they will but you have to you have to live and experience things to be inspired too so but eight

years right that's uh well eight years you know i don't know. I got sidetracked with doing some reissues and reissue tours. And my family life is absolutely complex, to say the least. My wife works a lot. There's a lot of things uh involved you're not just a single guy who makes music like you've got you've got a couple of kids you got a wife you've got other things going on yes i'm getting you off the hook that's my excuse too whenever something i gotta go i got four kids give me a break here and only smokes okay so but let's let's we have to get something straight though is that i've never i've never been um accused of um being ambitious you know and uh i when

things aren't ready till they're ready i'm never in this huge rush to put something out because i feel pressure that i have to, you know, do the folk festival circuit on time or whatever. So if it's eight years, it's eight years. I'm not proud of it. I'm not here to beat you up over it. You know how many albums I released in the last eight years? How many?

Zero. Can you believe it? But I did release over a thousand episodes of Toronto Mic'd. That is impressive. Not quite the same creative content as a Hayden album. But Are We Good? It's out now. And when exactly is Dream Serenade again?

And Dream Serenade is Saturday, October 21st at Massey Hall. That's amazing. And I think, I'll be honest, though yeah we know each other a little bit because our kid played kids played on the same soccer team this summer but legit i've been waiting i think if i do the math on this i think i've been waiting mike do math okay like 30 years to have a chat with you because i've been loving your music for three decades and i think you're incredible and i just want to say thank you for dropping by and chatting with me and i can't wait for the sequel.

So I'm looking in the eyes. I'm looking Hayden in the eyes. You've got beautiful eyes. She's really buttering me up for the sequel. Would you come back for a sequel so you don't have to do the four hour episode here today?

Will you come back for a sequel? I'll get you more lasagna. Yeah, yeah. More beer. Yeah, why not? Is that a commitment? Sure, but I mean, I don't know when.

Heck, it could be summer 2024. Yeah, we'll do it. We'll do it. Yeah, why not is that a commitment sure but I mean I don't know when heck it could be summer 2024 yeah we'll do we'll do it yeah why not why not you heard it here first and thank you

that's very sweet you're very sweet well invite me over for that lasagna and oh I only get to take it if you can if you come over

to eat it a thousand people come over they get a lasagna but they have to invite me over when they cook it no enjoy dude you're amazing congrats again on all your success come over to eat it. A thousand people come over, they get a lasagna, but they have to invite me over when they cook it. Enjoy.

Dude, you're amazing. Congrats again on all your success and Dream Serenade is such a wonderful event at a great venue and it's for a great cause and good on you for doing that. I think that's amazing too. Thank you, Mike.

Do you know the guys from Lowest of the Low? I know a couple of them, yeah. They're very nice. Which couple? What's his face and what's his name? Ron Hawkins and Lawrence Nichols. No, Lawrence Nichols.

I know Ron. Ron's great. I'm just joking. Ron Hawkins' voice will be the voice we hear in a moment. And that brings us to the end of our 1,336th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Hayden doesn't really tweet.

Like, I've been tagging you on tweets for the last week promoting this episode, and it's like crickets coming from your Twitter account. You don't log in. You've had enough of that place. Yeah, ever since the icon changed to the X. Yeah, fuck that. Where should we go to learn about, hey, do you have a social media place?

Like, is it Instagram? Is there a place we can go? Yeah, that's my connection to, yeah, it's Instagram. So find Hayden Desser. I don't know if we ever mentioned that word on this show. I'm just going to, you're like Cher, Madonna. Like you're just, you know, Feist.

We don't call her Leslie Feist. You're just Hayden as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, no, that's the way it is, I guess. Much love to all who help make this possible. That's Great Lakes Brewery. That's Palma Pasta. That's Raymond James Canada. That's Moneris. That's Great Lakes Brewery. That's Palma Pasta. That's Raymond James Canada. That's Mineris.

That's Recycle My Electronics. That's Pumpkins After Dark. Use that promo code TOMIKE15. And that's Ridley Funeral Home. See you all tomorrow. And this is interesting. My special guest is a woman named Catherine McClanahan. And she was the very

first female DJ at Much Music. She flew to Toronto from LA to see the debut of this, the premiere of the 299 Queen Street West documentary about Much Music. She's got some concerns and wants to chat about what she

perceives to be a great slight that she might have been deleted from the history, but we're going to talk about that tomorrow. See you all then. 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 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 Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow warms me today. And your smile is fine, it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Cause everything is rosy and gray.

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 But I like it much better going down on you Yeah, you know that's true Because everything is coming up rosy and gray. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow warms us today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy now.

Everything is rosy, yeah. Everything is rosy now Everything is rosy Everything is rosy and great