Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Kim Clarke Champniss: Toronto Mike'd #977

Episode Date: January 3, 2022

Mike chats with Kim Clarke Champniss about his appearance in Village of the Damned, managing Images in Vogue and Serial Joe, his years on MuchMusic, City Limits and The New Music, being at Woodstock '99 and his recent health challenge that has him keeping on keeping on.

Thanks, Mike. This is the first time I've done anything public since the Operation Joe. There you go. Happy New Year and welcome to episode 977 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. The Yes, We Are Open podcast, a Moneris podcast production

telling the stories of Canadian small businesses and their perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity. Subscribe to this podcast at yes, we are open podcast.com sticker. You.com create custom stickers, labels, tattoos,

and decals for your home and your business. Palma pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. And Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me this week is Kim Clark-Champness. Hi, Kim. Hi, Mike. can you hear me yes thanks for doing this it's great to great to see you i'll bring these boys okay yeah i'm i love it i'm just glad that we can hear your

stories my friend i can totally understand you but if you ever feel like you need a break or anything you just let me know right right? I don't want to make this difficult. No problem. I'm used to people walking out on my interviews. Perhaps off the top, because listeners are going to hear your voice and wonder,

where is that British accent we heard for so many years? Are you okay maybe discussing the health challenges that you've been facing lately? Absolutely. In fact, I consider that to be one of my main tasks these days of trying to inform people that there are about 60,000 other people that have speech disabilities. So whatever I can do, until I like the situation, I will do that. So what exactly are you dealing with here that has altered your voice in this manner?

Well, I got that throat cancer for the second time in Christmas 2019. And this time, they could not do radiation or chemo, as I had already been radiated. or chemo as I had already been radiated. So they cut out my throat and my thyroid and lymph nodes and then rebuilt the feeding to my throat and inserted a prosthesis on the anus road. This button there, this is what allows me to breathe. It goes in there, but this stops the air from coming out,

and when I push it, it pushes the air into coming out and when I push it it pushes the air into that prosthesis and it comes out through my mouth science is wonderful isn't it I think it's just amazing that here we are and I can have a deep dive conversation with

the great Kim Clark Champness and that you're able to communicate amazing when it works with the great Kim Clark-Champness and that you're able to communicate. Amazing. When it works, it is amazing. The downside is that it's unreliable because, without getting into too much detail, but all kinds of gunk comes up from your lungs and fills the prosthesis

and I have to go and clean it, you know, like a chimney sweep. Getting in there. Understood. So there was a possibility that it would not be functioning right now and that we would have to delay this conversation until you could actually speak again. That's correct. Although, now into my third year, it took me a year of having no voice, and I've had this for almost two years.

And it's only now where it's becoming slightly more dependable. Well, I'm going to ask, I hope this doesn't sound callous, but other than this speaking issue, how do you feel? I feel great. You know, you go through so many changes in your life. And I have had a life of so many extremes. And this is just another one and what is important particularly given the fact the whole world is going through

COVID, it's really important to keep on keeping on we gotta just stick with it and not be overwhelmed by all the problems. Although it is a challenge, no matter what is going on in your world. I'm so glad you're going to keep on keeping on, my friend. And I'm going to jog your memory a little bit here. And I know you don't remember meeting me because I'm just some guy, but I definitely remember

meeting you. This was an event that my friend Ed Conroy, aka Retro Ontario, he was hosting an event for the launch of Christopher Ward's book about Much Music. And it was almost, I will say it was surreal to be there as a civilian, if you will, because I was witnessing a Much Music reunion. i'm like oh look there's ziggy and and there's simon evans and look oh there's kim clark champness and uh i did briefly meet you there so we have been in the same room at one point that was a marvelous night uh yeah that was a lot of fun that we went to a movie theater afterwards, did we not?

I think it was held at, is it the Royal? I want to say it was held at a movie theater. Yeah, and then I teached it afterwards, if I remember rightly. Right, and that's when I felt like maybe I should make my exit because I wasn't one of the cool kids. But absolutely, I do believe that's true. And so that was a great night and i got to meet many people that eventually would appear on the show and i'm honored that finally uh i've got you on the program and i'm gonna bring you way back but because i mentioned ed's name i just want to

ask his question because last week i had ed conroy on the program for Christmas Crackers Volume 4, and when he learned you were coming on the next week, he said, you have to ask him about, are you receiving? He says, it doesn't get enough love. So maybe now we address Ed's are you receiving question, and then I'll bring us to kind of a chronological review here. Are you receiving was the electronic show on MuchMusic.

And, you know, I've been a big fan of the electronic music coming through the new wave and everything. And then, of course, electronic music morphed into techno and modern dance music, for want of a better phrase.

And, you know, it was the time of the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers and I wanted much music to dedicate an electronic show. And so I tapped it, Are You Receiving? And the title came from a killing joke song. When I was a new wave DJ, we used to play Are You Receiving at the Love Affair nightclub in Vancouver and it would drive the dancers wild.

And so I always wanted to use that title. And so we launched Are You Receiving? Love it. So Ed wants you to know that it was underappreciated. He and many others, big fans of Are You Receiving? It was a great showcase for electronic music

at just the right time. And, you know, here in Canada, we had Richie Orton, you know, who's one of the pioneers of electronic music. And, you know, today we've got people like Deadmau5, you know, doing their thing. Absolutely. Now I'm going to take you way back. So unlike some other DJs and talents I know

who kind of put on a bit of a British accent to kind of create a persona, you come by your accent honestly. You're from London, England, my friend. I was raised in London, England, and just after my 19th birthday, Just after my 19th birthday, the Hudson's Bay Company hired me in London and flew me to Eskimo Point, Northwest Territories to be a training manager in their northern stores department. Wow. Okay, before we get to Canada here, though, I'm going to just play a trailer for a 1960 film.

We have to address this, my friend. Here's a, it's a couple of minutes, but I think it's worthwhile. Here we go. Science fiction has never imagined so strange or terrifying a story as that of the village of Midwich, England, cut off from life as we know it by some mysterious force. And later, at one and the same time, a child was born to every woman in the village. Children that grew to look like this. Beautiful youngsters behind whose fiery hypnotic eyes lurk the demon forces of another world they're not human they

ought to be destroyed forces put to such sinister use that it became a national emergency we are gathered here as advisors as scientists as government experts we established anything about the origins of these children? There is a possibility of the transmission of energy. Let me get this straight. You imply that these children may be the result of impulses directed towards us from somewhere in the universe? What we need is time to investigate. Are you aware of life on another planet? Why are you so nervous when an aircraft flies above you?

Until recently, we haven't been able to make our control reach as far as a high aircraft. And now you have, is that it? Today, their control reaches out into space. Tomorrow, will it girdle the globe? There's nothing you can do to stop us. Leave us alone. Kim, I had to include all two minutes because it's glorious. Please tell the listenership, the FOTMs,

why did I just play the trailer for Village of the Damned? You know what? I'm going to go to my grave with the motif that I was a child in the den. Yes, in 1959, 1960, I was recruited to be one of the children put at a very baby level. I was only four, I guess, maybe five. And I played what two parts that made it to the movie Final Cut. My mother told me I actually played three parts, two boys and a girl. And now it's not a speaking part, but it's a pivotal moment in the movie that George Sanders, who has his son David, wants to show when one of these alien children learns something, they all learn it. So there's a little Chinese box and he gives it to his child and the child opens it and gets the chocolate. And then he runs down to the village of Midwich

and two alien children are in a house and I'm those alien children, a girl and a boy. And it's the first time in the movie that our eyes are illuminated. And of course, that became the key element to the movie. And it's become an iconic image to this very day in pop culture. And it's been all downhill from there. Well, actually, you know,

there's some kind of truth in the idea of being a child of the damned. You know, I've always been kind of damned in the idea of being a child of the damned. You know, I've always been kind of damned in my life. You know, the punk world attitude I've always had. Anti-authority. You know, think for yourself. Question authority and storm the barricades of mediocrity.

So how does somebody with the punk rock attitude end up moving to Canada to take that job with the Hudson Bay Company? Like, how does that come to be? Like, why did you emigrate to this country? Well, again, you know, just using that idea of being a rebel. And I did not want to go into the city of London and follow in my father's footsteps.

I wanted adventure. of London and following my father's footsteps, I wanted adventure. And to this very day, I've always believed, you know, why sacrifice your life for a comfortable pension when, you know, you're wasting all those great years of youthful energy. So I kind of risked everything and to this day, I kind of risk everything because, you know, life is for living. Go out and live it.

I'm going to play a little bit of another song here. Any opportunity to add some nice audio elements? And there's so many opportunities with you. So here, let's listen to about a minute of this.

Then I'll fade it down and then I'll ask you why I'm playing this jam. It hits hard No doubt When the truth lies there Like glass So unashamed Unstained I've never lied Or told the truth

Don't mistake my lust for love Don't mistake my lust for love Still love this song, Kim. Okay, so we've got to get this story right here. We've got you at working for the Hudson Bay Company and you mentioned, is that Northwest Territories? Yeah, the Northwest

Territories. So I'll give you the timeline. So I lived a year up there. Then I went down to Winnipeg, picked up my paycheck, pumped around Canada for another year. Ended up in Vancouver, mid-70s, enrolling at UBC, University of British Columbia,

and put myself through university as a disco DJ. Wow. When I graduated. I thought, okay, maybe I should get a straight job. But the rebel in me said, no. okay, maybe I should get a straight job. But the rebel in me said, no. I've been a DJ at a very famous New Wave nightclub called Love Affair.

And the guys in Images in Vogue, who you just heard, they were just starting off. They hadn't played a gig yet, and they invited me to the first gig. And I went to see them, and then they wanted to play the love affair and I got them the gig of the love affair and in the process of doing that they said why don't you manage us so I ended up managing images of Vogue and you're still very young man I'm just doing the math in my head,

but this is quite the opportunity. So here you are. Now you're DJing at Love Affair, and now you're a manager for Images in Vogue. I guess this sort of puts your path in life in the musical realm. You're now a professional music know music manager if you will no well exactly even though i didn't know what i was doing i crossed over and because images

were so ahead of the learning curve you know very very progressive for 1981 everyone was like who is this man who Who is this manager? Where has this come from? And it changed my life and it changed their life as well. Now, most people listening to us now, they might not remember you as the DJ at Club Love Affair and they might not have even seen any you know any 1960s uh horror movies but the vast majority of people will remember you first from much music so now i need this story because here you are managing uh images in vogue and you know then when we first see you you might be hosting rock flash or maybe

on city limits or something how do you end up in the, the, the, the Moses, uh, environment? How do you end up working at city chum there? Well, the images success was pretty great. You know, we went from nothing to one of the pioneer electronic bands of Canada. And, uh,

you know, brought attention to me as well as the band. And, uh, and quite honestly, we would have continued together as a partnership, but we didn't crack the big market. We couldn't get into the United States. And so, I'm good friends with the guys

even now. I said, the best thing I can do is walk away from this, give you everything, and let me try and find a way to pay my rent. And, man, I couldn't pay my frigging rent. And so for a year or so, I worked for Sam Feldman in the music booking agency, Bruce Allen's partner, which taught me that side of the industry. And I worked with Denise Donovan and Sam Feldman. And in 1985, John Martin, the head-on show of MuchMusic, hired Denise to do Rock Flash. And then the following year, she moves on to the new music when Daniel Richler

leaves and she recommends to John Martin. That's when I got a ticket to Toronto. Okay. Now, what year? Do you remember what year it is that you come to Toronto? September 1986. Okay. So, you're actually, you mentioned names like Terry David Mulligan and Bruce Allen, and you're in Vancouver, and what I think about is the coming together of Tears Are Not Enough. Were you at all in that circle of, were at all around that scene when Tears Are Not Enough is kind of coming together?

No, because Tears Are Not Enough was very mainstream. Of course, Corey Hart, Blaine and Blonde, and then images of Vogue, like The Spoons, and the other electronic bands were still very fringe. We're essentially CFNY. Right. Do you remember, because we do a lot of deep dives

into the spirit of radio, CFNY, with David Marsden, and I won't drop all the names, but Ivor Hamilton and Scott Turner and, and they'll eventually made pods and eventually Alan cross and people like that. But I'm curious, can you remember any of the champions of your music at CFNY back at that

time? Then we'll get to the, the much, we have a lot to talk about a much, but do you remember any of the CFNY champions of, of images in Vogue? First of all, CFNY was crucial to the development of images in Vogue? First of all, CFMY was crucial

to the development of Images in Vogue. When we did our first big EP, the Educator Man EP, you know, I'm sending records to various record stores in Toronto, and then one day,

we got a call, or I got a call, from I got a call from the music programmer for Save M.Y., whose name I can't remember. I think Earl Veal. Earl Veal, yes. I think it was Earl Veal that called me and said, look, we're adding the record. And we were like, really? And then the next minute, Record Peddler, the record store,

is calling me up and says, you know, can we have 30 copies? And I was like, 30 copies? Wow, we had the big time. And CFMY ended up promoting Images of Vogue. And in 1985, shortly after I quit managing and the band came to a name group of the year and the song in the house was named single of the year. So collectively, CFMY supported us.

Do you remember if that was a UNO or a CASB? Do you remember if that was a, you know, or a Casby? Do you remember? No. You know, shout out again to FOTM, uh, Mars bar. Uh,

absolutely. Now I love, I love all that. So any detail like that, share it. But, uh, now that we have yet much,

I have another clip I want to play. Cause I want people to hear how, uh, Kim Clark champness might've sounded on. let me make sure I have the right cook, on Rock Flash. So let's listen for about a few minutes here. Can you ever tell that guy it's no way to treat a fine musical instrument? It's a little edgy. Well, I'll tell you, it's apropos because we've got some sort of rockabilly news here. Yeah, believe it or not, how does Cheap Trick and Fleet

with Mac fit into rockabilly? Boy, this it or not. Yeah, believe it or not. How does Cheap Trick and Fleetwood Mac fit into rockabilly? Oh, boy, this is for professional kids. You guys in college, this is a professional segue. Here's Kim Clark-Chambers at the Rock Flash desk. Thanks, Steve. Yeah, really, how does Cheap Trick and Fleetwood Mac fit into rockabilly? Well, you'll find out in a minute.

First up, Cheap Trick. They, of course, have recently had a big hit with a remake of Elvis Presley's Don't Be Cruel. Well, the band is coming to Western Canada in the month of February. They're going to be on the road with Eddie Money. Here are three dates that have been announced by local promoters Periscope. First up, Ian Cargory, February the 19th. Cheap Trick with Eddie Money will be at the Saddledome.

Edmonton, February the 20th at Northlands Coliseum. And Cheap Trick along with Eddie Money will be in Vancouver, February the 24th, PNE. Right, from Cheap Trick into Fleetwood Mac. But before we get to Fleetwood Mac, if you're a hardcore fan, maybe you can recognize this particular tune. Well, now the class are rocking and everyone's feeling all right All right Say that I'm with Steve and there's sure gonna be a fight Yeah, a fight I see somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight

Well, if you are a hardcore fan, you may know that cult classic, which is ten years old now. It comes from the Rizzillo's album, and the song is Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight. Nice romantic number there. Well, what's really quirky about it is that, in fact, that is a cover tune, and the band that originally did that song was, believe it or not, Fleetwood Mac. Take a look at this. This is their 1969 single, Man of the World, which went to number one in the United Kingdom that year.

On the flip side of Man of the World, which went to number one in the United Kingdom that year. On the flip side of Man of the World is this particular song. Somebody's going to get their head kicked in tonight, and they did it under a pseudonym, Earl Vince. Can you see that? Earl Vince and the Valiants, and that was the alter ego of Fleetwood Mac. The whole idea behind it was the songwriter Jeremy Spencer who played alongside Peter Green at the time. This is what Jeremy Spencer looked like in 1969. Well, the man really did have a sense of humor and also he was a great person who could parody numbers.

I got a chance to speak to Mick Fleetwood recently about that particular song. You know, I could listen to that entire thing, Kim. I love that. Like, I just love what you deliver there. It's just mind-blowing, fun fact, and music news. That was awesome. Thank you for listening to that.

I am reminded how important not just much music, but rock, flash, bringing you rock and roll news for Canada. Where else would you know that Chick Trick and Eddie Money were playing the saddle dope? And my role, as I understood it, was to be that informer, that individual that helped push rock and roll in Canada because there was no national outlet for news on the airwaves. And it was a crucial role, and I took it very seriously.

And we loved you for it. For guys like me, and I grew up watching much music, because like you said, that was my national thread. That's how I got introduced to a great deal of music. That and 102.1 are basically my two main sources of music at the time. And I really appreciated that, what we heard there, which is almost, if I made a quick tangent, I try to capture the spirit of that on my podcast. Like we will have episodes with kind of just mind

blow after mind blow like that. Like, I don't know where else, maybe you'd read it, maybe you'd read it in Rolling Stone or some magazine or something. But you know, that the fact that you're kind of presenting this education to a national audience. This is, of course, pre-internet times. That was invaluable. I've really only recently come to realize that what my role was then and is now, it's to entertain and inform.

Now, on a personal note, I'm curious though, when you listen back, do you have a moment ever where you miss your voice? Do you miss sounding like that? Well, I miss being 21, but I don't regret it.

That's true. Like you said, keep on keeping on. Now, I have a question, though, about your role on City Limits. Can you share with us, okay, so Rock Flash, I guess Rock Flash, does Rock Flash eventually get replaced by Rapid Facts?

Yeah, it became Facts then Rapid Facts. So what happened? Just thinking of the timeline, well, first of all, Christopher Ward, who was hosting City Limits, he was concentrating on the music career with Annalena Miles and asked me if I would take over City Limits around about 1987. And I just brought all my alternative enthusiasm

to the show. And of course, it was just at that time where the alternative scene was becoming one of the most important scenes in all of the world. And ultimately leading, you know, to Pearl Jam and Nirvana and the like. And so I was overjoyed. And along with Simon Evans, who produced the show,

he and I were able to play whatever we wanted. You know, so Joy Division, The Kramps, The Wonder Stuff. Do you remember The Wonder Stuff? So we were able to do that. And once again, I am in a role where on a national level, I am exposing alternative music. And there was only one other national outlet, and that was Brave New Waves.

So between City Limits and Brave New Waves, we were able to promote this music and play what we wanted. I love City Limits and I'm very proud of it to this very day. Now I'm going to play a little promo. This is when Christopher

Ward was hosting, but just to give us a taste of that time, here's a quick 30 second promo. Friday and Saturday nights for people who like to stay up late. City brings you all night video. City limits. When everyone else is signing up, we're just warming up. From 1.30 a.m.,

City Limits. Finally, Toronto gets all-night video. City Limits premieres tonight. And City Limits, correct me, I believe I have my story right here, but you'll correct me, that's why you're here. But City Limits, correct me, I believe I have my story right here, but you'll correct me, that's why you're here. But City Limits, this is a John Martin production that's essentially, this lays the bed for Much Music, right? This was sort of like your, almost like a Much Music test bed of sorts.

Do I have my facts right there? Yeah, sort of. Although John had already launched the new music. Right. So between the new music and City Limits, those two shows were laying the foundation for what would be much music. Right. And the new music, I shouldn't be confusing these, but it's been a long time.

But the new music, that's the show that had, that Papa's got a brand new, that's got the pig bag jam as the theme, right? That's correct. I am truly honoured that Kim Clark-Champness chose Toronto Mike as the first venue in which to make his first public appearance since his surgery for throat cancer. I am absolutely tickled pink by it all because I've been a fan of Kim Clark Champness

for as long as I can remember, at least going back to the mid-80s when I first discovered Much Music. And it's an absolute thrill that I get to speak to him today. I'm able to do this because of the support of tremendous sponsors like Great Lakes Brewery. That's fresh craft

beer brewed locally. You can find it in LCBOs across this fine province. Free home delivery in the GTA. And of course, you can visit the retail store at 30 Queen Elizabeth Boulevard down the street from the Costco. And if you're looking to shop locally,

I highly recommend Palma Pasta for authentic Italian food. They have four locations in Mississauga and Oakville, and I eat it on the reg. This is delicious. Not just the lasagna, but all of it. StickerU.com. Staying local.

They're in Liberty Village, but of course, that's an e-commerce website. You can find it wherever you have an internet connection. Go to StickerU.com to get your stickers and decals. And I love partnering with the fine people there. Shout out to the purple onion. Speaking of fine people, I had the pleasure of chatting up Brad Jones. He's the funeral director at Ridley Funeral Home.

They've been pillars of my community since 1921. Go to RidleyFuneralHome.com to learn how you can pay tribute without paying a fortune. And last but not least, I'd like to thank Moneris for their

continued support. Al Grego has been traveling the country interviewing small Canadian businesses, and then he tells the story of their origin, their struggles, and their future outlook in a new podcast called Yes, We Are Open. If you're a small business owner or entrepreneur like myself, you'll find this podcast both helpful and motivational. Yes, We Are Open is available wherever you get your podcasts, but you can subscribe right now at yesweareopenpodcast.com.

And now back to my conversation with the legend that is Kim Clark-Champness. All right, so Osorna, but you also co-hosted, just to confuse things a little bit, you also co-hosted the new music. I know that again. When Denise moved on, and then a gentleman, Wyatt and myself, ended up hosting the thing.

Officially, my title was a special assignment reporter, I believe. Right. So I want to ask you about a few things. And these, I should point out, I did pop on your wiki page. My role here is to flesh out the facts. So you might see, there's a line on your Wikipedia page. And you know, anyone can update Wikipedia, but I'll just read the line verbatim.

It says, it talks about you working at the new music. And it says, in this role, Marianne Faithful, John Lydon, and the Bee Gees all walked out of interviews with Champness because they objected to his interview questions. I must ask you now that I have this opportunity, is that true and what did they object to exactly?

Let's take them one at a time because you're not the first person to bring that up. Okay, so Mary Ann Faithfull, she was doing a publicity tour for her autobiography. And I had been pre-warned going into the interview that she had had a tough time with the interviewer before me,

a very famous guy we were mentioning. She was very tired. And the promo person asked me to go gently on her and of course I'm a big fan and then I started asking her questions and it is where it becomes strangely ironic. There are many references in the book to the village of the damned and the children of the damned. And she looks at me quizzically. And then I realized that she didn't write a book. She had a ghostwriter. And then I pointed out, I said, well, look, guess what?

I was one of the children of the damned. And at that point, she's like, oh, my God, I got to go. So she left. It wasn't so much she objected to my questions. All right, next up, well, Johnny Robin and the Sex Pistols. So that's the filthy lucrative 1996. 1996, Denver, and John was strategizing how best to get the most out of the interview and wanted to duplicate all his other famous get up and, you know, the have that. So the opening question, when I suggested that maybe

the music created the archetype, you know, Johnny Robbins, Sid Richards, and the sense of theater about the sex pencil, and they just use that as the moment to rip off the microphone and to insult me. At the same time, it revealed an awful lot about me and the other sex pencils remained. And now the Bee Gees.

It wasn't all the beaches. It was Robin Gibb who was two hours late for the interview. Myself and his brothers have been waiting and waiting. And I gave my opening question and set him off

and he walked out and the brothers were like, yes, I want. I'm so glad that we uh clarified this because this is one of those like clickbait type headlines you know what did kim say to offend these people and of course as you tell these stories it's even though criticism is the handmaiden to the arts, you've got to do some probing. You cannot continually just play the media game and have a nice day. Right.

All right, I've got to ask you about John Martin before we leave your time your time here at much in the new music and and john martin uh who i never had the pleasure or depends on your perspective i suppose of meeting but i will just say that that ziggy came over and just she unloaded on john martin and had very difficult time working uh for him and with him. And I was hoping we could hear, how was your business relationship like with John Martin? Well, first of all, I am not disappointed. I had a hard time with John.

John changed all of our lives. J.D. Roberts, Jeannie Becker, Denise Donovan, Steve Anthony, myself. You know, he created the channel along with Moses. But, you know, John was a rebel and very much old school. And I think the world of John Martin, but at the same time, he was very difficult.

And, you know, if you wanted to have a meeting with John, you had to go to the pub, you know, to discuss whatever it was you wanted to talk about. And, yeah, he was very rough around the edges, but I loved him dearly. I understand that, yeah, he had a phone. This is back, of course, I believe this is when you could smoke in bars in the city,

but he had, I guess, phone calls would terminate or resolve at the bar across the street. calls would terminate or resolve at the bar across the street. There's a very famous story in 1985, before I joined Match Music,

when Match Music was going to be carrying Live Aid. And John Martin was at the Emilio's bar, which was next to the old studios at 99 Queenies and the phone rang

and the bartender picked it up and said, hey John Martin Bob killed him for you I love it I love it now maybe we'll just finish you off at the Moses Empire by asking you about what it was like working for a visionary like Moses Namer. Well, I'm trying to think of something very...

Right, because unlike John Martin, Moses might listen to this. First of all, Moses is a real good visionary. There's no doubt about that. Second of all, he is not the most arguable individual you'll ever meet in your life. not the most arguable individual you'll ever meet in your life. Third of all, intellectually, he will play mind games with you and he loves it when you attempt to play mind games back. Moses really, although he would often give us all such a hard time, you cannot take away from him the visionary aspect of what he wanted. And I was just talking the other day to someone that used to work for Much Music

about that moment sometime in the 90s, I can't remember, but he called us all in a meeting, and he was talking about the launch of internet technology and how this was going to be the future. And we were all like, yeah, okay, you know, those computer nerds, whatever. There we are all these years later, and it is the future. Well, that's why we call him a visionary, right? And Kim, I'll point out though,

I know you paused there before answering and thank you for your answer, but I did produce for a period of time, I produced a podcast for, it's called Gallagher and Gross Save the World. It was with John Gallagher and Peter Gross and I just loved producing this because the Moses stories that I was inundated with

on a weekly basis were something else. So, yeah. So I've heard some stories. Yeah, Moses and I, I think it would be fair to say that he and I were always at log heads. But I got to tell you a story. When I was working for the new music, I got sent the Diamond Rio MP3 player,

which was the forerunner to the iPod. It was one of the very first in all of Canada. I had absolutely no idea what it did. And I went up to the internet technology department and I said, look, guys, I got this. What does it do? And they freaked out, you know, being the nerds that they were, they knew.

And then they showed me. And in the space of, you know, two minutes, I had three or four people's songs on this mobile player. And I was like, oh my God, this is a revolution in my head. I knew it. You know, you look like a winner. And I was like, who can I share this with? And I went to Moses, knowing that Moses would appreciate what I just discovered.

And sure enough, yeah. Wow. appreciate what I just discovered. And sure enough, yeah. Wow. I remember those days in the mid to late 90s when we were just sort of getting our feet wet and you described the Diamond Rio. I remember the Diamond Rio

and my memory might be a little off here, but I remember something like, oh, you can fit 256 megabytes of music on this and your brain would explode because you're used to the CD capacity whatever that was 74 minutes or whatever it was

and this whole idea like I can get a lot of mp3s in 256 megabytes meanwhile I think this laptop I'm recording this on now has a couple of terabytes of space on it but what a time to be around this revolution here wow

I gotta say I've been really lucky I've been What a time to be around this revolution here. Wow. I've got to say, I've been really lucky. I've been blessed to have participated in four to five decades of music and pop culture. In the 60s, I was a fan. In the 70s, I was a disco DJ. In the 80s, I was a new wave DJ, a manager, an agent, and then a VJ. In the 90s,

I ended up releasing my own poetry spoken word stuff. And then, in the 2000s, I published two books, so I've been really lucky. Well, here, you talked about great music. Let me play something that will tie into something you just said here. Let's listen. Thank you. The sect addressed her as Mother

But Annie was her name The New World was her Eden But from England she came. She taught that she was Christ incarnate in the body of a woman, man's true fate. Through fate. Through celibacy and austerity. Life would be enhanced by the maker. All would be revealed in the dance.

The dance of the shakers. Sex death machines. Rule our lives. Rule our lives. Rule our schemes. Shake and be free. Be free of sin. Shake, shake, shake. Let purity in.

The Shaker. The Shaker. Kim, that's The Shaker. Who has the credit on this jam? So the music is Tovis Vare from Images of Vogue. The lyric is me. Daryl Flint, I I think is on there as well who played with National Marriott and I think Dave

Rout who played with Rational Youth and Digital Poodle I think he's on there as well and it was recorded at a Daryl Flint studio in

Toronto and then we recorded a mix at the Skinny Poppy studio in Vancouver. Wow. Okay, so this is credited to KCC and DanceSpeak. Yeah.

Dude, you've done it all. I hope you take a moment to soak it in. You kind of, just before I played this jam, you kind of surmised it nicely. But for decades, you've been this musicologist. You've been all around. And I haven't even got to... There's something I'm about to drop on the FOTMs listening.

That's Friends of Toronto Mic'd, by the way. And Kim, you're now an FOTM. And I'm honored that to drop on the FOTMs listening that's friends of Toronto Mic'd by the way and Kim you're now an FOTM and I'm honored that you're now an FOTM but I'm about to play a jam that we play quite a bit on Toronto Mic'd and we play it because I consider it a guilty pleasure and maybe I should remove the word guilty from that but let me bring down this fantastic KCC and dance speak and play a song listeners know. And we got to get into this. This is kind of a mind blow here. I'm just warning everybody.

But here we go. Do you know how to find what you're looking for? You're stuck in the maze of promises Don't know what's real or not Promise you everything They'll never lie Do you even know what it is you want? So why can't I even try? It's a lonely state How long will it take?

When the dreams are all gone This, of course, is Serial Joe's mistake. Okay, Kim, the microphone is yours. I will be quiet because I need to hear, like, how do you come to leave Chum City and the work you were doing with Moses, et cetera, and end up working with the good people with Serial Joe? Please tell me this story. I'm Fats Damora, that sounds really great.

I haven't heard that in years, and my goodness, that sounds good. Yes. Much music was behind Serial Joe when they were an indie band. We played Skid Row, and I think they won Indie Video of the Year. We played Skid Row and I think they won Indie Video of the Year. And Ryan Dennis, the lead singer, who was 16 at the time, his mother, Debbie, was managing the band that had taken him to that level. An incredible success for a suburban mum who knew nothing about the industry.

Then one day she came to me and she had a demo of that song, Mistake. And I went, oh my goodness, you've got to hear it there. And I said, you need serious management to take it to the next level. So I gave her a list of about 10 major managers in Canada. And about six weeks later, she came back to me and she said, no one wants to manage with me. And I was so like, what?

I couldn't believe it. And then she said, well, will you co-manage? So I stepped into the co-management role. And we got Dave Ogilvie of Images of Vogue and Skinny Bobby Fame to produce the record. And we laid it down and we ended up sequencing at Brian Adams Warehouse studio in Vancouver, which was amazing. And we ended up getting a deal with Aquarius Records out of Montreal. studio in Vancouver, which was amazing. And we ended up getting a deal with Aquarius Records out of Montreal, with the famous Donald K. Donald.

And then Donald managed to get us on, or get the band on the Emerging Artist stage at Woodstock 99. And then we ended up getting a deal with Columbia Records out of New York, serious money, I mean more money than I'd ever experienced, it's a signing bonus but of course when you split it up you know you're not left with a lot. But just at that moment Napster and MP3 had hit and the music industry went into decline. And now even though Columbia and New York had given us a whack-a-dow up front, had bought the master tapes, it was financially advantageous to actually drop the band. financially advantageous to actually drop the band and I was to keep the money and just get on with our lives. And the reason being is because there were clauses in the contract for

tour support, video support, promotional support and it would have cost them a lot of money just to release the record at a time when the industry was tanking. So that was it. I'm very proud of what we achieved with Serial Joe. And I remember some of the best advice I ever gave. They released another album called Last Chance at the Romance Dance. And it didn't fare as well.

And I remember saying to the guys, go back to school, they were still only 17, finish off your schooling and you've had no damage because this industry will really damage you if you stay in a long time. And that was the best advice I did and you know if they wanted

to be serious musicians after your schooling relaunch your career I tell you what though it would be a great time for Serial Joe to have a reunion and because all the fans, the young

girls especially that grew up with cereal joe they would come out and see him i think you're absolutely right uh now i once controversially with my tongue in my cheek i once referred to cereal joe as a boy band and i i didn't mean that they're an orchestrated because they were organically and they played their own music and i i legit love that song but just that they were i i was saying it because they were organically and they played their own music. I legit love that song. I was saying it because they were so young. They were boys.

It's interesting you say that because of the first marketing meeting I went to in Columbia, in New York. There's about 20 people from the department sitting around and I'm explaining to everyone who the band was

and what we'd achieved. And one of the women in the marketing department says another boy band. I'm not going to work another boy band and walked out of the meeting. I think the better compare would be, not so much like a Backstreet Boys or NSYNC, but the far better compare, I think, is Silverchair.

Yes, they actually played with Silverchair on the Edgefest tour. Yeah, they did. Very much. To some degree, almost parallel careers. Right. And I was at that Edgefest at Molson Park in Barrie. But another outdoor festival I did not attend that, honestly,

I hope you're doing all right there, Kim. I feel like in an alternate universe, I do two hours just on this. But what can you share with us? Because, of course, it's been in the news lately because of the documentary we've all seen. But what can you share with us about attending Woodstock 99? It was out.

It was really out. So, at zero we got a tour bus that breaks down a mile from the gate. We have to push it in through security. Then Woodstock itself begins to unfold in a riotous behavior, and it got out of hand.

It was a horrible, horrible event, and the promoters really have to answer for that, but so do the fans who intend on causing damage. You know, the catchphrase was that it was known as dead stock. Right. Because all the guys wanted to do was scream a ghost show as you did. And then, of course, they set it on fire.

And we'd get out of there in time. Well, you can blame the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They had to break out their cover of Jimi Hendrix's fire, right? I don't know. Well, plus also Limp Bizkit, you know. Yeah, it was a disaster

and they were gouging the fans and it was incredibly hot and it was awful. Right. But, you know, in retrospect, in retrospect, I mean, I've seen Limp Bizkit in concert. I'm not ashamed to say about 2000, I think, around this era, of course. But that's sort of their M.O. Like, this is what they do. I remember being at the Dome to see them, and they basically ordered everybody in the upper

levels to come down to the floors, like security be damned. The song is literally called Break Stuff, and they urged their fans to go crazy, go nuts. So in retrospect, this was a recipe for disaster. Yes, it was.

You know, you look at the recent Travis Scott debacle and how quickly things can get out of hand. But that's the one thing that people don't realize about what they're doing. There's 50,000 people out there

who are reacting to what you're saying or singing. And sometimes end up being very ugly. But at the same time, that's what rock and roll is as well. No, no doubt. It's funny. Earlier you mentioned in the rock flash I played, you were talking about Cheap Trick. And as I'm listening to you talk about cheap trick,

I'm thinking, Oh, I saw them open for a Pearl jam and Molson park in Barry Wentz. And I was with my first wife there. And I distinctly remember, I remember this is a Pearl jam crowd. So it's not quite your aggro, um,

you know, new metal crowd. Uh, although there were a lot of frat boys in the crowd, but that's another story for another time. But I distinctly remember we, I took her, like I had to take, use all of my muscle as little as I have and bring her to the back. Cause I realized there was a wave going towards the stage and it really felt dangerous.

And this was just, I don't know, Molson Park in Barry. I don't know what that is, 40,000 people or something in a field. But when you have that number of people in one spot in, in it's not assigned seating, as they say, that is a very real risk. Very much so. You know, as a wayward teenager, I was a football fan and I was used to the violence and the idea that someone was coming to get you. the idea that someone was coming to get you and you become very aware of the vibe you can tell instantly when things are going to get out of control. Right.

The fight or flight kicks in too, so it's just a recipe there. But Woodstock 99, that's terrible news to hear about the bus breaking down and they had to push that thing for a mile to get in, and then it sounds like it was a, pardon my French, it was a shit show. But it was kind of neat, though, that, I don't know how you got Serial Joe on that lineup.

Do you have any insight into, like, how that happened? Because, was that the record label, or how the heck did Serial Joe end up being on the lineup? It's because of Donald K. Donald out of Montreal, up being on the lineup. It's because of Donald K. Donald out of Montreal and his connections. He was connected to the

individual that was booking the talent for the emerging artist stage. And yeah, so that was it. We wouldn't have got it without Donald. Because there were only so many Canadian acts on the bill, although the Tragically Hip were there, as I recall. Quite the event.

Okay, Kim, so we've covered a lot of ground here, but may I ask, did you leave Chum to manage Serial Joe? Like, is that one had to go for you to focus on the other, or how did you leave Chum? My contract was coming to an end

and it just coincided with that. Yeah, it was just the way it worked out. It wasn't a deliberate move on either part. And I could have bought the serial job because I couldn't believe no one heard the fact that that was a hit song. And my job is to promote hit songs. And the other side of it,

I had been with Max Music Jam for 15 years and time for a new adventure. Time to do some other things. In 2005, you do return to, you were hosting The Word this week on Book Television and A Channel.

I got to ask you about this because I'm trying to remember it, but you appeared on Edge 102. Did you work there for a little bit? Scott Turner was doing the Spirited Radio shows on Sunday afternoon asked me about coming and

filling for him so yeah I did that for a while. You know I gotta just shout him out because I know he's listening. I love Scott Turner. I will have him over as often as he'll visit. And we just do these deepest dives into like, be it Energy 108 or CFNY or even Flow. He's just an unsung hero in this marketplace.

Yeah, man. And again, for me, it was a debt to CFNY as to how important they were in the development of the alternative scene. Without a doubt. Without a doubt. Funny, I just had the spoons on the show a couple of weeks ago, and we discussed that as well.

You mentioned you wrote some books. I want to just shout out The Republic of Rock and Roll, The Roaring 80s from Curtis to Cobain. And I bet you listeners of this program would love to dive into that. So that's awesome. I got to read that as well because that's from Curtis to Cobain. You had me at hello.

But you also received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Writing in a Lifestyle or Reality Show for your work on the Juno Awards of 2017. So it sounds like you've been keeping yourself busy. Well, for about a dozen or so years, I contribute work to the Junos, the scripts, and I produce the old and famous awards. You know, when you see those tribute tapes honoring Randy Backman or whoever. Yeah, I wrote and produced

those, and I did the same for the Walk of Fame. I did one on the Walk of Fame, the Alan Slate Rising Star Award, back in 2014, I

think, went to The Weeknd and at the time I'd never heard of The Weeknd and he hadn't done any interviews and they allowed us to interview him and

that became one of the best pieces of work I ever produced and of course I grew to to love the weekend's music. You know, he still doesn't like to do Canadian media. I don't know if you've noticed this, but he seems to be very selective in what he'll do. And it typically ends up being American and not Canadian. But that was quite the coup for you. Yeah, it was his first major interview.

And if anyone's listening, they can search it out. It's on YouTube. The Weekend Walk of Fame, channel Walk of Fame. Real good. Now, Kim, again, we talked off the top about your

recent health struggles and as we wind down here, you know, you talk about one of your highlights being that interview with the weekend, uh, without a doubt, one of the highlights for me, and this is 970 something episodes and almost 10 years in was this last hour I spent with you. Uh, honestly, Kim, amazing. You've been around. You can review the tapes. I don't say this to every guest, but this was awesome. And I'm wondering, like, how are you keeping yourself busy these days?

What have you been up to recently? Weird. A new project is my house. That's all I care about right now. I've moved to Fort Aire. It's right by the border. The border is just 50 feet away.

Buffalo is on the other side. Wog. I'm lucky enough to be able to ride occasionally and cook. Believe it or not, I do jigsaws. And in these COVID times, of course,

I try and reduce the amount of interaction with people. That's what it's come down to. And if I can get another 10 years out of this, then I would have considered it a success. If you're going to play a song of mine, and there's a song on YouTube called Naked in the Deep Insomnia, it's one of the proudest things I've done. Six nights without sleep. Tired and alone, I'm naked in the deep.

Lost and exhausted, I stare at the ceiling, float and listen To the drift of cars On wet roads And my anxious mind Haunted Insomnia Swims over me Insomnia Please let me be

What should I do? No hope without sleep Lost and alone Naked in the deep Decisions like sharks swim over the waves And I tread dead air like cold, uncharted water I turn to you asleep But peacefully warm You are unaware. I hold you gently, then pray I don't panic before the rescue of morning. Swims over me It's only us Please let me be

What should I do? No hope without sleep I'm lost and alone Naked in the deep Darling, I cannot tell you About things that have no charm With the cluck of my finger I follow the dolphin curve of your back Then I am gone

Into the deep where questions feed on my body and my soul comes to the surface like my love it is swept away insomnia

swims over me Insomnia Please, let me believe What should I do? No hope without sleep Lost and alone Naked in the deep Insomnia

Swims over me Insomnia Please, let me be What should I do? No hope, no without sleep I'm lost and I'm alone I'm naked in the deep Keep on keeping on, my friend. It's been my motive.

It's so important. For all of you out there, no matter what it is that you're going through, you got to keep on keeping on. And that brings us to the end of our 977th show. And our first of 2022. Happy New Year to all FOTMs. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike.

Kim Clark Champness. He's on Twitter at the mighty KCC. And mighty he is. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Moneris is at Moneris. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker U is at Sticker U. And Ridley Funeral Home, they're at Ridley FH.

See you all next week. Because everything is kind of rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold, but the snow won't be the day And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine And it won't go away Because everything is rosy and gray 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 gray 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 green Well, I've been told that there's a sucker born every day But I wonder who Yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize But 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 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 And it won't go away Because 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 green 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 and great. Rosie and Grace