Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Lowest of the Low: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1697

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

In this 1697th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Ron Hawkins and Lawrence Nichols from Lowest of the Low about their favourite LOTL songs, the new album, finding the balance live in concert, and whether BuffaLOW is SOL while Trump is in office. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball, Yes We Are Open, Nick Ainis and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

Welcome to episode 1697 of Toronto Miked, 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 Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Yes we are open! An award winning podcast from Monaris, hosted by FOTM El Grego.

Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball. Christie Pitts has the best baseball in the city outside the dome. RecycleMyElectronics.ca, committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. Building Toronto Skyline, a podcast and book from Nick Ienies, sponsored by Fusion Corp Construction Management Inc. and Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. Joining me today, returning to Toronto, Mike, from lowest of the low, it's Lawrence Nichols and Ron Hawkins. Welcome back, Lawrence and Ron.

Hello. Hey. Lawrence, were you eyeballing that vintage Edge 102 jacket over there? I was, I was thinking it might look a little bit cooler than the jacket I'm wearing, but it's nice. Do you want to put it on? Oh, I do. But, but I guess it's too late now because people, you know, the cameras are running. I don't actually care about the cameras, but you were more than welcome to go throw it on. But that is, let me see the 102.1 the the Edge, that's from like early 90s. So are we.

And you are, no, I was gonna say, a typical day I'd be listening to 102.1 and I'd hear, I don't know, Henry needs a new pair of shoes or bleed a little wild tonight or salesman cheats and liars. And it's amazing that I consider you two pals now, you're friends. That's how it works, man.

That's yeah. You just bring us into your basement enough times. I mean, we don't want to send that invitation out to everyone, but. No, but you know how like on Saturday Night Live, when you host for the fifth time, they give you a jacket? Right. Like in theory, maybe this is like the 10th time maybe,

and you should just take home that vintage Edge 102 jacket. That's right, but then I have to turn it over to the next person who surpasses us in the next year. It'll be Steve Martin. Either Steve Martin or Ralph Ben-Murgy, who knows. Well, Ralph was here yesterday and I was thinking, oh yeah, Ralph's a buddy now. Start placing your bets, people. Is Ralph still doing that thing with the arrow on his head?

Oh, the Steve, yeah. You know, he was was a big Yuck Yucks guy in the early 80s. Ralph Ben-Murgy was a going concern at Yuck Yucks. Yeah yeah yeah. He yucked it up and I think he that was the sort of infamous New Year's Eve appearance that we did on the Ralph Ben- Murgy show back in 93. Sure'm gonna say it'll be around then yeah and we and we were at that point in our careers where we could dictate our our Expectations which was that we want to rebuild a set of sneaky DS bathroom and They didn't say get out of here. So they actually did it. Give me a few more

I mean I need details on this one. So like who is it? I'm trying to remember, but I believe like the Ralph Ben Murky show, Friday night it was called Friday night with Ralph Ben Murky. I think it was Friday night. And I think the musical director might have been James B. Oh, like maybe like it was a James B was like the musical guy or whatever, but you were, you were booked for new year's Eve. Yeah. Along with the watchman. What? No, no, um, junk, junk house was also on. Oh, I don't remember that.

But, uh, we, uh, yeah. So they asked us to do it. And then of course that you're a lowest of the low episode happened, which is that we got an argument over what song we would play. And then we got an hour over an argument about what the set would look like. And we wound up dictating all these, you know, so we want to playing beer, graffiti walls, and we demanded that they build us these, you know, so we wound up playing beer graffiti walls and we demanded that they build us a set that looked like the bathroom sneaky D so that we could you know honor the song and then our of course I'm doing air quotes now our road manager John Brooks

who was more of sort of a hype man and a security guard and a buddy, he came out and I want to say fake urinated in the urinal but knowing him he may have fake urinated in the urinal, but knowing him, he may have actually urinated in the urinal. And then he spray painted on the wall. Okay, and how did it go? Like how did the performance go? I think it was fantastic.

And I think, you know, I think it's one of those things like I think when it was done, they thought it was fantastic too, but they couldn't picture it in advance. Also, you said a very bad word live on the air. I said a swear? You said a swear. Oh God.

You can swear. Junk house, I was looking for my, there you go, you can take a peek at that or whatever, my vinyl. I don't have, a lot of times a musical guest will come on, so Tom Wilson would come over and he'll gift me vinyl, but there's nothing in this house that actually plays vinyl.

But I like having it for the studio, for when you say junk house. It looks nice, you can hold it up to the camera. I can whip it out. Yeah, it's a document. Yeah. It's a solid artifact. Yeah.

Speaking of solid people, so when I was looking for you guys, because you weren't very late, you weren't rock star late. You were minutes late, but I was all excited, I don't know, a dog at the window, waiting for me.

The owners will be home soon so it was like a couple minutes late and I was looking for you and I saw a guy standing in my driveway and I'm looking out the window and it's kind of rainy out there and I'm like oh my goodness it's FOTM Chris Tate and then I run out to see Chris and I'm like oh this is the second time Chris Tate has come to this side door of the studio here when I didn't expect him because the first time he visited, I thought he was the other Chris Tate from Chalk Circle. But this is Chris Tate from the,

and I think that was a comment from you. I'm like, oh, I accidentally booked the wrong one. And then I think it might've been Lawrence, but somebody said, actually you booked the right one. And it's true. I love this guy. Yeah. Yeah, and you made up that interview on the fly

and it was a great show. It was great. It had the funny thing because, you know, Chris was like, well, there was a very, yes, there's a very funny moment where you realize that in fact, you're not talking to who you think you're talking to, but you guys went places with that. I mean, I think Sinead O'Connor had just died

and you guys had a nice moment there talking. And I found some lazarets on YouTube so we could play and discuss. And then I know Ron, you came up and there's new lazarets. Yeah. The lazarets just finished a record which is called sweet misery, which will be coming out, I believe July 18th.

I think it's, it don't, I believe there's a show with the monarch. Yeah, I just got invited to a show at the monarch. There you go. I think it's July 18th, but it's in that vicinity anyway. And, uh, I was, uh, I had the honor of producing their record, which was an absolute delight.

And among other things, because we went back to Union Sound, which is where we've made records at before and worked with Chris Stringer, who's a fantastic producer in his own right and a sound engineer. And we did something, the drummer in the Lazarettes, when we were done said something that I was very chuffed about. He said, like, I feel like we pulled off a heist because we did all the recording for the entire album in three days. Wow. Which is relatively, you know, I mean, people have done it before, but it's, it's not usual. And it was a blast.

So we. And I like the use of the word chuffed, right? This is like a British term, right? You're turning chuffed. You were slowly turning into Billy Bragg. I think it's happened. Well, we were skint so we couldn't pay a lot of money. So you're not the only one who needs clarification

about the Chris Tate. Like I was talking to Ron on the phone and I think your doorbell went off and you said, Oh, Chris Tate's here. We're going to be producing some music. And I of course had to go, um, yeah, well Chris Tate, 90s Chris Tate or Chris Tate. It really got me. I said, no, another Chris Tate. Well, Tater, Chris, Tater, it really got me. I said, no, another Chris day.

Well, it's the only, the problem, not problem, but they have the same name, obviously same spelling and they're both musicians. But they're also, there's, there's side hustles or whatever are similar. So when you find them and they're describing themselves and, oh, I work for, I don't know, marketing agency and I play music and everything.

It all aligns. And I do feel like in my booking of the wonderful Chris Tate from the Lazarets, he kind of, I think he might've suspected, I thought I was talking to the other Chris Tate and he let me do so. Like I feel like he might've. Maybe he was inside going, it finally worked.

Yeah, like, I think he wanted to see what would happen if I just started recording with him and then I start playing like April Fool or something. Well, plus he heard he got some great palma pasta out of this. So I'm sure he knew what that was. Well, now I'm concerned that the first time you booked Ron Hawkins on the show, you weren't sure what you were getting. I asked him about his, you know, having John Lennon over and everything. And he said-

They have the same background. They're both wear a cowboy hat. They're both lady killers. But that's a good point. You know what it's like to be mistaken for another Ron Hawkins. I, not that often I don't. It's so weird. It's so, it's really weird that it doesn't happen that often. It's happened.

That's cause you died. Well, you are the one that's alive. So, I mean, it's a, it's an easier, easier distinction to make. I win. No, but I mean, one, the most hilarious time was my, was actually my mom was in the crowd at an enormous Buffalo,

uh, outdoor show in the summer and just overheard two guys standing beside her talking about how I was the son of Ronnie Hawkins. And then at some point my mom piped in and said, you know, actually, no, there's, they're not related. And the one guy looked at her sort of throwing some shade and said, yeah, I think they are. And my mom was like, um, I was there. They were mom's explaining to her.

Yes, they were definitely mom's planning. You can borrow that one. Okay. Now on our way, we're going to get to over years and overnight, which is your new album, which I've heard several times. And I've even heard a lot of these songs live. So I have a lot to say about this, but on our way, I have a few specific questions and then like a fun musical journey on our way

there. So that's like a preempt just to prepare you in case you want to bolt right now. So maybe I should put that jacket on, I don't know. Peace and quiet. So I know this is not a lowest of the low song. This is a Ron Hawkins solo song used brilliantly by Tim Thompson in that montage when the I call it when the Shanna plan came into effect too soon. So two questions. One is like, and I love I love the song independently of the montage, but I really love the peace and quiet montage that Tim Thompson put together for the Maple Leafs. of the Peace and Quiet montage that Tim Thompson put together for the Maple Leafs. And it was really helped, you know, and again, it is too soon, but it was brought in,

I feel like it came in with the new blood, like the the the Nylanders and the Marners and the Matthews and everything, and this hope we had with this new opportunity of these great young studs. But I feel like that door is closed. It feels like it didn't work out. So that wonderful montage by your wonderful songs,

peace and quiet, it did not help this core. That's like core of a statement. Way to go, Ron. Ron, I'm not like gonna blame you. Every year is a new season, Mike. And I gave it my all. I mean, there were some passengers out there on that track. But my real question is,'ve seen lowest a low play

They had like would lowest of the low play peace and quiet or maybe they have and I just didn't catch it I don't think we ever have I think we did. Well, no, we didn't well, maybe the low UK did yeah We did a no that was the night after we no no no, we like would that ever happen? I think anything could happen. I think that I think with The Lowest of the Low, the problem slash uh, joy of being in the band is that we don't need it. We just have so many songs that we can't even get, we, we, you know, we'll get, we get grief from people at the shows for songs that we haven't played from the

records we've released. So moving on to other songs, you know, but there's just, again, like, you know, this new record that's come out, there's so many very, you know, on every record, I guess there are songs that are better played live and better as recordings. This song, this record seems to have a lot of songs that are very good live and sing alongable and, you know, I'm back to chorus writing, you know,

much more adamantly than I have been. You don't need it. You don't need to play a Ron Hawkins solo song. Yeah. sing alongable and you know, I'm back to chorus writing, you know, much more adamantly than I have been. You don't need it. You don't need to play a Ron Hawkins solo song. Yeah. Cause you got enough songs. I mean that guy's good. I'm not gonna say, I'm not gonna throw shade on that guy.

That guy. We did it in Buffalo, just the two of us in an encore, one time, like maybe even last year. You know what's hilarious? That's the thing that happened. Lawrence and I, I don't know why this happened. And I think, I don't think it was just a thing we came up with. I think it was a reaction.

I think Lawrence and I had to open for lowest of the low once. And we got to witness what it must be like to open for lowest to the low, which is not that enjoyable. It's like nobody paid any attention to us. Nobody was paying any attention to us. And it was like, wait, there are two other guys. Maybe that's it. Maybe they didn't recognize us. Maybe, yeah.

What were we wearing? Different clothes, maybe. I'm glad you mentioned Buffalo. In Lo is spelled L-O-W in Buffalo. I recently had over Andrew Scott. He's the drummer for Sloan. And you've heard of Sloan? Heard of him, yep.

You know, I got to say, I want to see a Venn diagram of like lowest of the low fans and slow fans. I feel like there's a great overlap there. Yeah, I gotta say this I want to see a Venn diagram of like lowest of the low fans and slow fans I feel like there's a great overlap there Yeah, I think there is in Mike this this this might be the biggest I Mean Donald Trump has done a lot of shady things to the world, but this might have been the thing that he The most terrible thing he's done is that we were supposed to do a show with Sloan in the, at the outer Harbor and Buffalo the summer. And I had come up with this idea that we would

make a giant, Dave in the past has made these dot giant, uh, lights to put behind us. And I had the idea that it would say Sloan, but it would say S L O W N and when they were on, it would be fully lit. And when we were on, there would be a foot pedal. We could kick and the S and N would go out and it would just say, hello. Yeah. But Donald Trump has deprived us of that. So when we were on, there would be a foot pedal we could kick and the SNN would go out and it would just say, hello.

Yeah. But Donald Trump has deprived us of that. So pause right there because I'm talking to Andrew Scott. It was only a, I don't know, a month ago or so. And we had this exchange and this is going to lead to a big question. Has Sloan reconsidered playing, you know, some of these border towns like Buffalo? Sloan is one thing. I'm not going to the United States for the foreseeable future. Well, you're 25% of Sloan.

Yeah, but I can't hold anyone else back from doing whatever one needs to do. But I'm personally not going to the States for minimum four years. So basically, Andrew says as long as Trump is president, he's not crossing that border like for professional reasons, personal reasons. I'm wondering what do you think of that? But also whether you have any issues in Louis at the low, if going to play for a crowd in Buffalo? Well, if we had any issues,

they certainly would not be with the crowd in Buffalo. No, no, no. I mean, you know, there's, you know, we've had nothing but great experiences down there and those are, those are wonderful people. But I think, you know, the way Andrew described it was, was I think quite astute. I mean, he said, you know, these are, these are your neighbors and you may be very fond of your neighbors, but if they can't control their dogs. That's exactly what he says. Control your dogs.

Control your dogs, America. That's a very astute way of putting that. That's a very astute way of putting that. It's a very astute way of putting that, yeah. Yeah, and we sort of did what happened at the beginning of COVID. Lawrence was the canary in the coal mine for COVID and kept saying to us, maybe we should consider this and we should stop.

We've got some shows coming up, maybe we should cancel some of those shows. And of course, like a band of brothers, we all sort of jumped on them, like, oh boy, okay know, like we were all sort of puffing up our chests and making fun of Lawrence. And then of course, but of course he was right. Right. And it's, and it very quickly dawned on everybody that he was completely

correct. And I think about this, I was the canary saying like, you know, yeah, we could probably get over or maybe we would get hassled. And I'm not saying that any of us are going to El Salvador, but I am saying, you know, that there are horror stories getting bigger every day and something as simple as I tried to cross once as a solo performer. And, uh, there was some kind of confusion in the computer where somebody else's rap sheet got hooked up with my information.

And that person was supposed to have been a drug runner and a gun smuggler from Quebec. And it took me an hour and something to get that unraveled. And they eventually said, sir, it was a human error. And I said, Oh really? Was it? But, um, you know, nowadays, I mean, especially the fentanyl nonsense and everything that they are talking about, you know, our pound and a half of fentanyl that is across the border, you know, something like that, uh, could get you a lot of, you know, our pound and a half of fentanyl that's across the border, you know, something like that, uh, could get you a lot of, you know, hassle and trouble by accident,

you know, plus there are things that are not accidents that, you know, on our socials and stuff like that, that are not, you know, do not shine, you know, we're from the lunatic left. So, yeah, you're, you're outspoken and we're absolutely unapologetic purveyors of the woke mind virus. Like, so there's just no, you know.

That's how I got it. Yeah. It's contagious. Yeah. It's terrible. So will lowest of the low be crossing the border anytime soon? No.

Don't think so. I think, like I've been telling people on, in fact, I answered somebody today, just said, you know, until there's a regime change and hopefully that will be sooner than later because I don't think the, I answered somebody today just said, you know, until there's a regime change and hopefully that will be sooner than later because I don't think the, I don't think what's going on is sustainable. Anyway, I don't think it's sustainable. I don't think their program is such as it is, is sustainable. And I think pushback will happen and things are going to

happen. So, so it may not be four years. I mean, something may happen where we were able to do it again. And then someone else piped in and said, it's not our war. And I was quick to correct them and say, no, no, it's definitely our war. Like, I think it's our war as well. It's just that I don't see how we benefit, how it benefits anybody for us cooling our heels in a Louisiana detention center. You know, it's not going to help anyone. So,

so it's really just a strategic situation right now and we're trying to figure out, because we definitely kicked it back and forth. There's a classic case of Springsteen not going to North Carolina, I think, over trans issues, some draconian trans issues that were instilled in North Carolina. And then there was a punk rock band who also had trans people in it who said,

oh, yeah, but now the people down there who are held hostage now don't get to see their favorite artists either. So it isn't as simple as like, oh, you just put up your virtue signaling and don't go. So we did kick it back and forth, but it just seemed like it came. I think Andrew is right, I think that's exactly

the brilliant way to put it, which is that it's just too much crazy shit can happen. Uh, that doesn't help any of us, you know, and that is really too bad because I mean, there's some no end to the wonderful people we've met in Buffalo and you know, they were listening to a, was that Jack that I got over there, that 102.1. They were hearing a lot of lowest of the low. That's, that's for sure. Yeah. And we're also weirdly, I would assume by the time we get across there, uh, you know,

the MAGA contingent in our crowd is probably pretty small. You booted them already. I'm sure. Like you, I'm sure you were very vocal. Like if you're, if you're MAGA. Yeah, as much as you can, but don't, don't overestimate the degree to which some people kind of might not clue in. You know? I think I read somewhere about like the right was upset with something rage against the machine said and it was like, like, we talk about Venn diagrams, but the far right and rage against the machine, like are they not listening?

Well, you know, the far right a delightful photo of Dave Foley and Mike Myers attending a Leafs game together. Yeah, at the Leafs game. And it took a while, because I think Dave retweeted it, but it took a while. But maybe about 18 hours later, the right wing people discovered it. And it was just this torrent of abuse and people

yelling at us to stay out of politics. And it was just a picture of two guys enjoying the game. I think it said, the boys at the hockey game. And it was just this torrent of abuse and people yelling at us to stay out of politics. And it was just a picture of two guys enjoying the game. I think it said the boys at the hockey game, you know, and that set everyone off. And you have no problem and no judgment here on this one, but like any issues with the fact that

you're on Twitter at all? I, well, I mean, have you kicked that one back and forth? Oh, we have kicked that one back and forth. and I don't think we're going to be on Twitter forever but I mean, there's still, you know, the algorithm's a funny thing and I mean, there's still, there's a resistance on Twitter that still exists and is sort of in our ecosystem, our little corner of the algorithm is still the same as it always was, except unless I post photographs of Mike Myers, apparently.

But yeah, so I mean, there's some kindred spirits there still, but I mean, yeah, it's all falling apart kind of, isn't it? Like, you know, the old ways. And I mean, we're on, what is it, blue sky now, which just seems to be a much healthier, friendlier space. It's like being in the Wizard of laws and black and white and coming out into the color. Supriya Dwaveri was here and we just, we talked to, cause she, she covers the social media and everything and,

and she was in the prime minister office doing that for goodness sakes. But we talked about blue sky and she called it like a place for like Twitter refugees. And I realized that's like, that's what blue sky is. Twitter refugees needed a safe space to continue making our ridiculous observations. And that's where we're hanging out now. I think there's a safe space for the other side too, I think, right?

And true social, where they go to. Oh, that's the Trump, Trump. Yeah, sure. I mean, you know, we all, we all have our safe, we're treated to our corners now and. Jeez. Just as society intended. Oh.

You know, so we brought. Our corner men are dabbing us down for the next round. Man, lots of, so again, more heavy hitting questions and then there will be music and we're going to talk in great detail about over years and overnight, your new album. Cause I've made an observation having seen you at the concert hall a couple of weeks back.

And I'd like to share that with you, but on our way there, I got a, like a blue sky. I don't know what we call them, a post I guess, from Hamilton Mike who was disappointed that Beaches, great Toronto band, have a song that's heard right now in a Tim Hortons ad. And then I think we went back and forth, we kicked this back and forth a little bit, and Sloan, two of the members have been over very recently. And we talked about the fact that they have a song in a Coca-Cola.

Well, it's not Coke, but they own it. It's an iced tea company called fuse or something like that. And I'm wondering, would lowest of the low, sell a song for an ad of that nature, Tim Hortons or Coca-Cola, not Pepsi or Pepsi. You can be singing for Pepsi, you can be singing for Coke. Tab would be our thing, right? Dr. Pepper would be my personal thing.

Who buys Tab? Exactly. Fresca. Fresca. Fresca. My son likes Fresca. Yeah, I think, you know, I feel like we're in a world where

both arguments make sense, like so many things, both arguments make total sense. And for me as an artist and a writer if it's A song I've written and not necessarily a song that we've all written together My take is just like in my life. I have a philosophy about how I would like things to be and I'm quite willing if it's just up to me to go all in on that and say no I'm not giving any of my songs for TV commercials if it's a TV commercial for Amnesty International or whatever, whatever,

whatever, I'm saying like if it's a, for Coke, selling a product or the Toronto Maple Leafs, or the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yeah, you almost did, right? You know, as like then it's, then that's a thing. I'm quite willing to not receive what little shekels they're gonna throw our way anyway and, and, and not benefit from whatever exposure that might give. And I'm fully comfortable with doing that because I think we've had an argument or a discussion about AI recently and just like how much of that to use,

how much of it not to use and the environmental impact of it all and everything. And my instincts are always like, let's just go full hog, what do you believe? I believe that I wanna live on a planet that's sustainable. I don't think that that helps and we don't need it. Let's not use it. But I'm also working in democracy

and I understand other people's arguments. That makes sense too. It's not, so I'm quite willing to be flexible on the discussions. Like I'm not gonna be a hard hard ass and say if I wrote it, then it's not happening, you know? Okay. And Lawrence, do you echo these sentiments? Yeah, to a certain degree, but I'm way past the point in my life where I'm going to judge anybody who,

who wants to continue to make music and maybe need some money and you know, has someone offering the money to be in a Canadian tire commercial or something like that. I don't, good for them I say. But it's not. I mean we've heard tragically hip songs in bank commercials, right? Like, yeah, Head by a Century I think was used. Oh, no kidding.

For like CIBC or something like that. Hey, sometimes it's really fun when you hear a song, you know, in a commercial. There was a Tide commercial that had a. Oh, the Skydiggers. No, it had the Deers. The Deers in the. Yeah, so that was fun, but I had a similar moment of,

I think it may have been Canadian Tire, but I can't remember now. Hyundai, it was a Hyundai commercial. Hyundai, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they had, and I'm like, that's fun, but I had a similar moment of I think it may have been Canadian tire, but I can't remember now So it was a Hyundai commercial Hyundai. Yeah, yeah, and they had a and I'm like that's skydiggers But I was actually I felt happy for skydiggers that they made some cash off this Yeah, but Bob Dylan Bank of Montreal Like there was one of those so it just like but to me it's like yes I agree with everything you guys are saying but at the same time I just think yeah But then where are we then then all of life is just these little surrenders

to things that don't seem to be much on their own, but are just pieces of the Jenga puzzle to me of why we will remain here if we don't take some pretty hard stands, you know? Remember the Dandy Warhols had a song in the Ford commercial? It was their big hit, but the song starts out with the line, you got a great car. Yeah, what's wrong with it today?

And the commercials, a whole bunch of people sitting in a Ford singing along and they all, and when they get to the second line, they all go, yeah, it was scary. So they wanted the song so much that even though it was anti, it was anyway. But here's one big question. So I know lowest of the load. Shout out. So I have two members. I should tell everybody. So I've been saying, you know, lowest at lower coming over. But no, that's not technically true because it's going to be Lawrence Nichols and Ron Hawkins from lowest of the low. Shout out the members of lowest low. And then please tell me like with majority rule, like if there was a fairly lucrative opportunity for one of your songs from Shakespeare, My Butt,

to be in a bank commercial in 2025, would three out of five saying yes carry the day? Lawrence wants to do two. I believe so, yeah. That's how democracy works. Well, that's how democracy works sometimes. There would be a problem. That's tricky though,

since you specified Shakespeare, My Butt. I mean, there's only two guys in the band who were really in the band when that album came out. So arm wrestle Yeah, so my it might that's a rock-paper-scissors. And does Stephen Stanley get a vote is what I need to know. Yeah Well, who knows man? I mean, these are these are you know valid questions I mean I again I would say that there are things that I would would make an executive decision as a songwriter On and no matter how many people voted on it, you know But we've never gotten close to anything. That's very John Bon Jovi of you right like I feel like he carries the day is just the boat is one guy in Bon Jovi and

What? Yeah, all I'm saying is like, you know, the good thing about this is that there's kind of a built-in sensibility Like we're we're together for a reason and we gel like we do for a reason because we're all very like-minded people Are some of us are a little I don't know. Maybe I'm a little more stubborn about Some kind of purist things on one side or something like that But it never really becomes an issue and and it almost solves its own problem because the kind of people Where it would be a problem for me to be out voted by probably are never ever going to approach us anyway. So it's almost like it fixes itself,

but we've had a couple of these over the last couple of last year or so, I think where we discussed, you know, and I've said, you know, my vote is nope. And then it's come back and it's like, well, you know, what about this? What about that? And it's like, you know, and I'm like, well, if, if I get out voted, I get out voted. That's cool. I's like, you know, and I'm like, well if if I get out voted I get it I voted that's cool. I'm just But you know as I say like my my thing would be like we sell we make art We make records we play live shows, you know, that's what we do and everything else is is kind of like capitalist white noise to me, you know and

There's usually a dog and pony show like usually it does not you know, Lawrence, that I've gone back and forth about this stuff, like I don't really care what people think about it. It's not like I'm doing this because I want to have, you know, the punk rock crowd think I'm seriously punk rock or whatever. It's like, I just, these are the things I believe in. This is the world I want to live in and I just think all these little things chip away at that. And we'd be better to hold our ground. A man's got to have a code. Yeah. But I also, but man has to eat as well. So.

Well, people have to grow and change as well. Yeah. Yeah. And I already gave you lasagna. You can eat that. And you're not really doing this to get girls anymore either, right? So, you know. No, I'm doing this to get lasagna.

Yeah. That's so fucking true. Okay. You grow, you change. So in the. Oh, I'm doing this to get lasagna. Yeah. That's so fucking true. Okay. You grow, you change. So in the- Oh, I'm growing. So, okay.

So what we're gonna do now, and I know I have a little, I remember muscle memory that I can talk for a while. Are you allowed to play this song? Is this gonna get- Yeah, well, no, I'm gonna have problems with, two places are gonna be problems. Spotify and YouTube are gonna have problems.

So on that, okay. So I read Exclaim had an interview with you Ron Hawkins to promote this new album. Sure, sure they did. It was good. They did. Do you remember doing this? They asked you about your five favorite Lois DeLilo songs. Does that ring a bell? Yeah, you know, and then the first thing I wrote back was like this is a cruel and ludicrous thing to ask, but that never made it into the piece.

That didn't make it, on the cutting-room floor. So I wanna touch on the five because I think it's gonna lead me in some places I wanna go, but it's also gonna lead me to the new album here because I noticed how you picked your five. It's like through the years, it's like we started with this song.

So I'm playing Rosie and Grey from Shakespeare My Butt which you listed as the first of your five favorite Lois de la Lo songs. So before I play a cover by Rob Bruce I'm wondering if you guys maybe as I play the five songs the last of which is on over years and overnight the new album. If you guys would share with me why you love this Lois DeLowe song. And I know it's Ron's list and Lawrence's list might be different, but I stole this, stole it from Exclaim. Wow.

Yeah, I mean. Come at me. I don't have to make a list right now, do I? Like, oh wow. My list would have been different like an hour later or the next day. Anyway, like as I said, I meant it. Like it's kind of cruel and Ludicrous to ask me to do that.

We have so many songs. But you only chose, of course, one song from Shakespeare, My Butt, and this is it. Yeah. I mean, I can say about this song that we're all so close to it that it's like, like somebody was talking to me about the, was suggesting to me the other day that I didn't like the group of seven. And I was like, it's not that I don't like the group of seven. It's like, it's almost like I can't see it anymore. It's so ubiqu day that I didn't like the group of seven and I was like it's not that I don't like The group of seven it's like it's almost like I can't see it anymore It's so ubiquitous that I can't surprise somebody who call you out on that like

Rod you even the group of seven even love this group of seven are you even Canadian listening to your music? I can tell your elbows aren't even up man. You're almost in half-masked man And they spat at my feet. No, I said, you know, like, just I don't see it. You know, it's like Vincent van Gogh or something. That's like, obviously it's great art, but I can't see it anymore because it's so ubiquitous. And Rosy and Gray. Who's calling you out on this?

Like, Ron, do you even like the Scoop of Seven anymore? You changed, man. Yeah, that's the kind of conversations that I have that that go that swirl around me No, it was not me. It was not Lawrence. Is it Chris Tate from Chalk? It was not Chris Tate. No All right. Yeah, so it wasn't great for me like as a song song musically. I think it's a good song I think it's I think it's got I think you know the third verse the cheat or the fourth the cheeky fourth verse uh punch line, I think is very us in terms of like, as I say, not only do I think it's a fairly good pun and kind of a nice gotcha, and the workings, I would say I learned from Billy Bragg or I learned from Elvis Costello

and a way to sort of set up a thing that you then give a punchline to. But also, as I say, it's like a little Easter egg. We used to like put little Easter eggs in our songs. And that, I think, in the day was to the women who come to see us to say, hey, we know where the buttons are. Like we're progressive guys. It's all coded.

Yeah, like we care about your happiness, you know, as men. And that, you know, I sort of thought of it as a feminist act at the time, I think, as ridiculous as that sounds. But I mean, so that's a reason I like it. It's also was a breakthrough song, I think that made me realize I could write in a certain way that I hadn't been writing up till then.

So it's- Well, here's that cheeky line, homeless isn't it? And I've kissed you in places I better not name. And I've kissed you in places I better not name And I've seen the sun go down on Chacla Court But I like it much better going down on you, yeah You know that's true because everything I've done I've done

I've done I've done I've done I've done I've done I was going to ask, I think, Lawrence, you've probably heard a Toronto Miked episode in the last six months. Is that possible? Yes. Okay, good. Do you still enjoy it? Oh, sure. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, it means a lot. Okay.

Yeah. No, for sure. It's great. Means a lot. Now, Rob Pruss. I feel like I'm signing off here listening to this in the headphones. But Rob Pruss, keyboardist for Spoons and Honeymoon Suite. Sometimes I forget to shout him out that he was part of Honeymoon Suite after Spoons. Also a sweetheart who's back in the basement next week for Toast with Bob Ouellette from Indie 88, Bob's single-handedly saving terrestrial radio, but he has no say in the songs he plays, so I can't get him to throw more Lois de Lalo in the mix But I'm working on it here, but I'm wondering I don't know if Ron's heard this so I'm gonna play

Rob Proust's cover of Rosie and Grey that now closes Toronto Miked and Hear what you guys think then there's no lyrics in this version here. Okay, now play Rob's one. Sounds exactly the same as ours. Well, this is the kind of feedback I'm looking for, exactly. So maybe since Lawrence heard it on his iPhone or something back a few months ago for the first time or whatever, what did you think when you first heard this, Lawrence? Be honest.

I thought it would sound like what our song would sound like if Tom Thompson had painted it, you know. He's not a member of the group of seven, right? Oh, he cares, man. I think he's outside the group of seven. Okay, so Lauren Harris then, let's just say. There you go, I like Lauren Harris. Yeah.

Do you even respect the group of seven, Lawrence? Oh man, yeah, I thought they were the group of eight. I didn't know anything, clearly. Wow. So when you heard this, were you disappointed that it wasn't the... I was waiting for the vocals to start. But I mean, I, once I got past the fact, Oh, no one's going to sing. It was, you know, I did it. I actually, I couldn't figure out how to get, um, YouTube and to leave me alone

until this version. Yeah. Which puzzles me because we did ask Warner to make sure that you had no more trouble from them. And they said, sure, we'll get right on that. I mean, I think I need a document, and I have to go file a grievance with YouTube. You shouldn't have to, because we're sitting right here. I know. And say, Mike, you can use our songs. It's all bots and algorithms.

There's no humans. The humans are involved. But the bots are listening to us. They're always listening to us. Yes. So bots, Mike, can use our songs. I'm not even really clear what the issue is. Wouldn't the issue, to my mind, wouldn't the issue

be you're using a song that you don't have the right to use and then the people who made that song sue you? No, because for some reason, I don't know what labels are involved or whatnot, but a bot detects it almost immediately and says, you're using, and then they name the song and they tell me who owns it.

It's on behalf of Warner Music, but Warner Music doesn't actually know it's happening because... Right, exactly. So it's not like somebody heard it and filed a complaint. Weirdly when I was doing Tommy Douglas Tuesdays, when I started doing it, I thought, oh hey, you know what I'll do? I'll play other people's music as an opening band.

And then when I take my intermission, I'll play other music with the idea like, hey, this might be some stuff that other people who like me might not have heard and they might like and then they'll learn about it. And so that went on for a little while. And then I was getting posts like, you know, Tommy Douglas Tuesdays will be blacked out in and I was started to go, oh shit. And then I read it and it goes in Myanmar and Iran and I was like, oh, and I'm like flipping the computer over like, okay, all right, whatever. So I was surprised. I'm surprised that you're getting so much trouble here. I did take a long time. Fortress North America. I feel like I flew into the world.

But somehow Rob has eluded them with this, right? Yeah. Rob, this doesn't, this doesn't, this doesn't. So we had a version that was still being picked up and then we changed it a little bit. So whatever, this particular version is eluding the bots right now. Okay. and then we changed it a little bit. So whatever this particular version is eluding the bots right now. But okay, so what else also, so Rob put in Easter eggs. And I wondered if you guys wanted to take a shot at naming the Easter eggs. Well, this is early one morning, a folk song from the 17th century. You're right. You know, famous from the friendly giant, the friendly giant.

And this, do we recognize this? So the friendly giant. The friendly giant. The friendly giant. There we go. And this, do we recognize this? Oh, that's the pizza jingle, right? Yeah, that's four, three, nine. Pizza Nova.

There we go. Alfie's Apacosta. There we go. And this? Oh, this is romantic traffic. Right? This is like a Canadian quiz right now here. So Rob Coe wrote this with Gord Depp.

No kidding. We threw it in there. Yeah, of course, Elbows Rising. Yeah, I love this team. Oh, kids in the hall. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A shadowy man and a shadowy planet. Having an average weekend. Having an average weekend, correct. And then back to the- Rosie and Grey. Okay, so I had a mental note for six months. Next time I get you guys in the basement, I was going to ask you what you thought of Rob Cruz's cover of Rosie and Grey. So yay or nay. It contains multitudes. Listen to it. Yeah. Thank you, Rob. Thanks, Rob. I've actually asked for a new version, so hopefully we have

that next week and there'll be new Easter eggs in there as well. So let me roll on real quick here. Is this Rob again? Hahaha Just a little quick. Black Monday is coming around again And it feels like a friend It just won't take a hint Cause it's hanging me up And it's hanging around And I'm feeling far too lost, I feel too profound And the tone of my voice is the loneliest sound

My heroes have all become pathetic clowns And I'm feeling far too lost, I feel too profound Personal favorite of mine, and this is another song that Ron Hawkins gave to exclaim as one of his five favorite Lois the Lo song Hmm So maybe a few words about black Monday why you chose well again most of the most of the explanation to have about these songs I have nothing to do with music maybe but this stands out in my mind as a point where Lois DeLowe had become, I'm air quoting now, Canadian famous and pretty claustrophobically so like in our

own city, like it got hard to be a Lois DeLowe member in Toronto a bit because of we were pretty famous. And so my girlfriend at the time, Kate, in the song, you know, I just got to a point where I found myself doing things and being in a way in the world which I did not respect and I don't. And I had flagged, you know, when we started the whole thing, nobody in Lois de Lille wanted to be a rock star. We all kind of wanted to do what we, I think, have now achieved, which is build this community and hopefully be a part of, for lack of a more cheesy way to put it, but be a part of the revolution, be a part of the change in the world, the positive change in the world.

And so at that point, I think my boat was rudderless a little bit and I was not being a great boyfriend and I was not being a great boyfriend and I was not probably being a great friend or a great person, you know? And I think I wanted to, it's therapy sometimes, right? Writing those songs, it's like I have to write it out to figure it out, right? And I think that was a big part of that was just to re-confirming my commitment to her and you know, and thus to everybody I know. Like to be the person that I wanna be,

that I strive to be, and what I don't think was being, you know? I actually prefer the answers when they're not about the music. Like that was great, that was great. Do love this song. Quick aside, which is that I was recently at an event at the Garrison in honor of bookie

I know you guys were buds with bookie. I'm sure you and it was presented by Elliot Lefkoe and Stephen Stanley like they were behind behind this thing and it's just reminded me just chatting I remembered that I just saw like a post from I don't know who was Scott Turner or somebody I think put it on Facebook but it was like an ad for some shows coming to Leeds Palace and they had a popular front was on this bill, but Nirvana was like at Leeds Palace a few days before. Nirvana was coming to Leeds Palace

with Not With The Girl, the original genre. Anyway, these were Elliott Lefkoe Productions and just thought it was such an interesting ad to read with you guys. Yeah, Elliot was one of those guys, I think I said it in the documentary, but Elliot was one of those guys who saw something in us that I don't think was there yet. You know, he's very perceptive, like he's very... there's a bunch of people, our manager Frank Weypert was this way too, like could see stuff

that wasn't fully formed, but he could see the kernel, you know? And Elliot could see the kernel like literally a decade before the kernel popped into a piece of popcorn, you know? So we owe, you know, like Bookie, Elliot, all those people, we owe everything to those people because they gave us a chance when, you know, probably we didn't even really believe it, you know? Do you think Eli Lefkoe heard Bleach and thought, okay, I'm booking these guys or was he just he just got lucky on that one when he booked Nirvana back then at Lee's Palace? No, I think he just has a radar, you know, some people do.

I don't think I do. Like I think it's not it doesn't come just because you're good at music or anything like that. Like there are just people that are preacher naturally gifted at spotting things coming down the pike, right? And he was definitely like that. Wow. Or still is. So I saw Elliot Lefkoe and Stephen Stanley at this event. The Canadian artists were doing tragically hip covers at the garrison and then I saw like a couple days later I saw Stephen Stanley at Christie Pitts he came out to see the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team and I do have it's around

the corner I'm gonna get it for you before we go I have a great book for you on the history of Toronto Maple Leafs baseball and I do urge you guys to make it out to Christie Pitts one Sunday and check out high caliber baseball where the ticket costs you $0 and zero cents. It's a good time in the city. How do they make that work? Sorry.

That's probably. I don't know. It's, you know, I don't think they're allowed to like ticket an event at Christie Pitts. How could it be any good if it's free? I urge you to come out. I was there two Sundays ago. I was there this Sunday and it's, it's free. I urge you to come out. I was there two sunnies ago. I was there this Sunday

and it's it's great ball and if mother nature cooperates, it's fantastic and you can drink a beer. You could drink a Great Lakes beer or drink a beer left field beer at Christie pits and you don't have to worry about it. It's baseball, right? It's baseball. Yeah. Is that a no? Great baseball. If you like baseball and it was great seeing Stephen Stanley At the game on Mother's Day actually. All right third jam. We're getting to the new album almost there The crash on your show carry sailors bones from shipwreck days. When all those vicious handcuffed words constrict, contract, constrain. Well, I'll meet you on the barricade in the cool defying rain

During one of your visits maybe multiple visits I told you how much I love this relatively new lowest of the low song Relatively new and it's a it's a staple now. It's a lowest of the low staple. Yeah It's in every set now every set now Times call for it, you know, And I feel like other than Rosie and Grey, this might be the only song that's closed a low concert in recent history. Maybe. Lawrence is thinking about it. I am thinking about it. This is just one man's perception.

We usually close with Rosie and Grey, but there was that time where we were playing that place where all the people had arrived by boat, so once the sun started going down, they all left and we hadn't even got to Rosie and Grey yet. So we just stopped, right? Right. This might've been the last song. But I've seen, I think I've seen the last, you know, in the last six years or five years or whatever,

I think I've seen a Lois the Little concert where you close with the barricade. Yeah, it might've been that show. Just to throw us off. It might've been one of those horseshoe anniversary shows where we did those short sets, yeah. Right. Okay, in these times, tell us Ron Hawkins and you, Lawrence, why, although Ron picked the jams, I'm picking on him, but the barricade. Yeah, I think the low has a few

avenues that we travel and some of them are more us trying to create something fascinating sort of sonically and maybe go to some places we haven't gone and everything and then others are just like a job of work you know like folk music like I grew up with folk music and punk music and always wanting to deliver a message at some point in some of the songs this one I brought this, kind of in this kind of shape. And then we, David Bottrell was producing our record. And I think both the band and David, we wanted to try and take it somewhere.

Cause we were like, well, it's a pretty simple, straight up folk song, right? Folk broadside kind of classic thing, right? So we tried, when we tried a million different ways, and it was fun to do so. But I think we all kind of eventually just looked at each other and thought what are we doing like you know like we're trying to put this in a square peg in a round hole it's like it's it's delivering a message and we won't just want to support it and

do it you know as if i'm busking on the corner or something and and I think that was the good call like I think it was like just let's stay out of the way of this one and so every now and then like there's songs like that that I think we do very well too. It's like, here you go, not too much trimming. And I like that. I like that. I like that we have some meat and potato stuff and then we have some stuff where we go like, oh yeah, we're also musicians. And we like to play. In the line, of course, my next vote's with a brick. We talked about this at great length. I think once in the backyard during COVID, like I was like forbidden.

I was forbidden from having you guys down here and we did a backyard after it was great. But is that, that, that line it's, uh, gets the heart. Like I, I love that line. My next votes with a brick. And I think it was controversial at first maybe. And then the, well we talked about, you know, the idea inside the band, we just talked about the idea of like how much violence do you condone and, or are you condoning violence? And you know, you know, the idea inside the band, we just talked about the idea of like, how much violence do you condone and, or are you condoning violence? And, you know, it's, I always come back to the thing. Like if you look at any major progressive step forward that we've ever made,

like nobody ever hands over the keys. No, no power structure ever hands the keys over, right? Right. It's all taken by force or by suggested force. And you know, there's a perfect example going on right now, which is that, so there's a fascist dictatorship being built in the United States and you look at Bernie and AOC out on the road, their anti oligarchy tour and it's incredibly popular and tens of thousands of

people are showing up everywhere. And my only thing in the back of my mind is like, please don't shepherd all these people back to the democratic party. Like, please you have this once in a lifetime. This is probably a linchpin moment where we can build something else down there that will actually represent the people, you know? I love what you're saying, but you, if you build something else, you hand the keys to the Republican Party for all of eternity, right?

Like it's a two party system down there. Like you can't. But this is what I'm saying. It has been a two party system. But I think the fact that all these people, you know, I would include MAGA people in this. I think half of the people who voted for Donald Trump who are a MAGA, it's not that they're hateful, horrible people. It's that they're so sick and tired of no choices and each choice and especially the one choice that pretends to represent them, always throwing them under the bus. And especially the one choice that pretends to represent them, always throwing them under the bus.

And I just think it's time to say, hey, there needs to be another party that truly, I mean, and we'll have to prove it on the ground. It can't be talk. It's going to have to be the bulwark that stands up against fascism. And then people see, oh, these people can stand up against fascism and they're not about to sell us out to, you know, whatever, like the, you know, genocide in Gaza or whatever it might be. Like, you know, they're not gonna just roll over and do what the Republicans would do, you know? Well, the Republicans completely rebuilt their party into something else. Like, you know, I mean, so, you know, maybe, maybe it could still be the Democratic party,

but just something totally different from what they've had now, I don't know. Maybe, but I just think there's a danger of that. You know, like it's like Dave talks about rebranding popular funding, the lowest of the low. It's not like the parts change so much. But it is a matter of, you know, we presented it in a different light, you know?

Yeah, those footsteps upstairs, that's the 11 year old is home from school. Oh, and he's got a heavy foot. It's not Homeland Security. Yeah, I'm ready to get stopped Security coming in just at that time. Oh Jesus. Yeah. Goodness gracious. Okay. But anyway, that's the brick thing is, is, you know, violence is always, you know, just there under the surface on both sides. And I don't, I think it's, I think it's, uh, uh, naive to ignore that, you know?

Well, look, I'm ready. I got my bricks. I'm ready to go. So just say the word Oh, fearless leader. Okay. So we're almost at the new album. One more. On a bad day All I feel is sadness and frustration When the end of history becomes a pop sensation It's a bad day On a bad day Folks have fewer rights than corporations On a bad day, folks have fewer rights than corporations. On a bad day, workers have to fight for liberation.

For decent wages, toilet breaks, and even paid vacations. On a bad day. Another recent Lois of the Low song that I love hearing live and we're going to talk more about this in a moment, but tell us why you chose On a Bad Day Ron Hawkins. Because I think it was a very successful version of the list song that we like to make every now and then, which is the, these are the things that are pissing me off. And I think, I think why I like it so much is is I think it was a pretty successful attempt at say the obvious thing in a non-obvious way you know like all of the things I'm saying are pretty obvious to people but it's how can I deliver it and put a smile on somebody's face while they're you know while we're connecting

the dots I love that about songs when somebody's connecting the dots to some degree for me and, but they do it in a way where I go, oh yeah. Like we didn't start the fire. Exactly, because I thought we had. And then I found out that we just ignited it. Those seven verses just illuminated everything. We didn't start it, but we did ignite it,

which is kind of the dictionary definition of starting it. So yeah, it's, there's this weird. think Schrodinger's piano man what album is on a bad day found on welcome to the plunder dome yes now so we're gonna get to over years and overnight which is that's a whole album of strident bangers you know political bangers. Welcome to the plunderdome. Welcome to the plunderdome. It's almost agit-pop.

Yeah, no, we were on a roll, you know, but... Yeah, things were horrible then. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now everything's calmed down. Now that you've succeeded and everything is good again. I do want to... So Lawrence, am I right in remembering

that you're pretty much responsible for the playlist, the song list that you have? Yeah responsible for the the playlist that the song list that you get? Yeah, I mean I bring the blueprint for every show and then sometimes people change stuff and that's that's because that's how we work but yeah I have to I have to do that for this weekend. Any requests for this weekend in St. Catherine's? Email Mike very quickly. Yeah well you know you were you were just on you were just on Humble and, well, Ron was on Humble and Fred's show and I was giving them the dates coming up. And so shout out, like we're in Ontario, can we see you guys? We're at the warehouse in St. Catharines on Friday and Saturday.

Friday is sold out, Saturday is almost sold out. Then next week we're in Kingston on Friday at the mansion. And then on Saturday we are at the Fergus Meadows Fest. Meadows Fest, yep. Which is a music festival with lots of other great artists whose names escape me at the moment. I'll Google it. No, it's really good.

Is Sky on that bit? Sky Wallace is on. Sky Wallace is playing. I saw her at the garrison. We were saying, and now I consider her a friend and I met her through you guys. What did she sing? What hip song did she do? Oh God, I consider her a friend and I met her through you guys what did she say what's what hip song did she do oh god I can't remember I but I okay you know what it was lots and everybody did a great job and I

cannot remember anymore she's a big hip fan I know that she's a bit she likes she likes her some hips so but what does she think of the group of seven well we'll ask her like the hip and not like the group of seven? I don't know. Is that allowed? That would be a weird schism, I think. Yeah. Yeah. And then after that, we're playing at the Ridgeway, the sanctuary on June 6th. So when I saw you at the concert hall a couple of weekends back, I don't know, two or three weekends back, it's all a blur to me now. But what I took note of,

and I've been noticing this for years, which is that I think you've struck the balance and I'm giving the kudos here to Lawrence because I know he's probably responsible for this. Because I need to talk about this because there are some Lois and Lalo fans who just want you guys to stay in the 90s. Like, okay.

And I mean, I bumped into one at this concert and I hadn't been to a show since I can't remember 94 or something like that. I can't remember. But, and we were talking, I had been to many shows in the last five years and I was explaining, uh, there's a lot of good new, uh, there's a lot of good new Lois and Lo songs, but there are songs you play live now that I would be disappointed if I didn't hear. Like I'm going to say a song like power lines. Okay. Like to me now I need to hear that just like I need to hear a salesman cheats and liars. Oh, it's nice to hear that. That is nice to hear.

Like, and there's a lot of new songs and we're going to play some from the new album even I think that fit, but like maybe speak to finding that balance. Well, there are, there are some people that, that coming for them, coming to see us is, is, is an exercise in nostalgia. I think, I think that's very nostalgia, I think. I think that's very true and I think that's valid. And we want those people to keep coming because honestly I still really like playing

all those old songs. But at the same time we are unapologetic about the fact that we are still making new music that we think is pretty good. You're kind of prolific now. I feel you're prolific. I kind of feel that too. We've really cranked out a lot of music.

It's been what like since 2016, 2017, we put out Do The Right Now. So we've been sort of bashing around for a year before that. And then since then we've played with what? Three albums, four albums? Yeah, and I think consolidating the lineup we have now, as I've said several times is like, it feels to me like low 1.0.

Like it feels like the spring of 1991 to me when I'm around these guys, because it's like we have really consolidated, it makes totally, like it makes total sense. It's a great hang, everybody understands what the mission is and you know. Yeah and we're totally, we get really charged up to play the new music and I mean it's really,

it's kind of funny sometimes where you see, you know we're playing and we will drop into an old song and the crowd goes, yay! And then at the end of that we will drop into into an old song and the crowd goes, yay, and then at the end of that, we will drop into a brand new song and the band goes, yay, you know, so we try to keep that balance, keep it rolling. Well, this is it, I'm so curious, like,

do you have a rule set or maybe it's even subconscious, Lawrence, about how many songs in a row you can play before you take us back to the night? It's not a hard and fast rule, but I sort of know it when I see it, I'm like, oh, that's too many new ones. You know, and I slip in something. So, and I am, there's many of these, and we're going to play a couple from the new album that I feel are just great live bangers, but I can sense in the crowd,

like there's a crowd vibe I can sense where people are a little quiet, not too quiet, but they're a little quiet. And then you'll hit a song from Shakespeare, My Butt. And it's, everybody's singing along and jumping a little higher. Like it's, it's a different, so it's so. I think we also have a, you know, you're talking about the democracy of the band. I think we also have varying, like I think me and Greg every now and then we'll go, fuck it, we're playing the whole record and then a sprinkling of things at the

end. And then everybody goes, hold on. We talk and we work it out, like what everybody feels comfortable with. But I was going to say to you guys, like, are you not the same way? Like, I feel like I'm the same way as those what everybody feels comfortable with but I was gonna say to you guys like Yeah, are you not the same way like I I feel like I'm the same way as those low fans not in that I don't want to hear somebody making new music but like for instance, let's just pull Billy Bragg out of the hat like if I was to go see Billy Bragg I gotta say I'm probably the most excited about hearing the songs from the first four records and You know, and of course, I'm right there with them with new stuff and but I get it like because you know because we're all the same way

we came to those songs at a very exciting part of our lives usually and yeah well I just thought change of heart at the sound garage like this is only a few weeks back yeah we were out of town we were in a town yeah I loved it except it had the same thing which is like could we I hate to say it like I only want to hear myself say it But can we get back to the 90s like it's like you know me like if they because it was front So the late the earlier stuff was at the back end so the was kind of the new stuff was like front-loaded But there was that feeling of like I know you these are I'm sure these are fine songs But we I don't know them yet

Like I think I think I personally need to hear a song a few times and then I can anticipate parts of it. And it's, oh, I actually really like the song. But the first time I'm hearing a song live, it could be the greatest song of all time. I might be a little underwhelmed if that's a word. But the funny thing is, do we slip into that? I know that it's not.

Set a pair of shoes, because clearly when you first heard those first change of heart songs you heard them right well So I think you guys have found a better balance where and I'm not there's no judgment against Ian blurred in the our Lord and Savior Ian blur to me everyone on the show knows how I feel about I'm still searching I think I found the gong I'm talking to Laura's now because I feel like he goes I'm talking about I do and Ron's gonna be like what are we talking about? Somebody I thought it was in one song and then somebody says, you can hear it at the end of this other song.

And I believe, so I believe I found the gong. This is on the Change of Heart. Yeah, okay. Smile. On Smile. On Smile. There's a gong that is credited to Gilmore from Triumph. But I had a coincidental booking

where I had Gil in the basement and then I had Ian Blurden the next day. So like Gil's down here and I'm asking him about the gong and Gil has zero memory of the gong. But then I had on Ian Blurden and we're asking and he's kind of talking about the gong. But he doesn't know what song it's on. He has no idea. It's something on Smile has this gonging and I found the credits and the credits were attributing production of Gong to a BW and we're just talking

around Ian and then like a light bulb goes off in Ian's head and he goes BW Bob Wiseman right so it turns out Bob Wiseman produced this Gong that was performed by Gilmore whether he remembers it or not and is found on Smile and I think I found it and this let's just say this will be a micumentary coming soon. This does sound like a hallucination somebody had though some sort of can-con hallucination it's like no it's bob weisman with a gong man and gilmore's gilmore's hitting a gong at his uh whatever and then they emailed it to us right well i don't even know it probably pre-email well that album was recorded like i think i had one of the zip disc or something they had to fly it in somehow right you know so I think somebody biked it over. Maybe Ian picked it up on bike or something.

From Mississauga all the way to New Reaction. Oh, it is great. This is great. You're doing some can rock service here, Mike. You know, what's the point of all this if we don't figure out the gong on Smile? That's right. Right? Like, what is the point of all this?

I know we'll always have like Exclaim and some of these other places that still give us shit, but. So you were just waiting to hear the gong the whole night in the studio. Yeah. I was like, I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to go to the gym. on smile. That's right. Right? Like what is the point of all this? I know we'll always have like exclaim in some of these other places that still give a

shit but so you were just waiting to hear the gong the whole night the whole change of I thought well yeah pretty much and I but on smile which I listened to over and over again I thought I had the gong and then I think I played it on we do this monthly episode called toast and one of the people is the aforementioned Rob Bruce who is like a musical genius. He was 15 years old playing keyboards for, he was on CBC before that for being a piano prodigy. Like this is a musical genius, this Rob Bruce.

So I, you know, is this a gong? Cause what do I know? Like, you know what I mean? Like I think it's a gong, but I don't really know my gong. Yeah, second opinion on that. But on Instagram, somebody slid, I don't think it was on DM.

That gets like a public reply to something I posted about the gong and said they think they found the gong and I think this person's right. So we have, we have a break in gong gate if you want to call it that. Okay. But I do want to get you guys to over years and overnight because I feel like I've made you wait long enough. So the fifth song that Ron Hawkins gave to exclaim as his five favorite lowest low songs, which sound like they may have changed five minutes later. Ron might've had a different. Yeah, I don't know what's coming. I didn't read the article, so I don't know.

I don't know what's coming. Well, who's running PR for lowest level low these days? That should be you. I saw that it happened though. I think it's a great idea. So my initial gut is a fuck like that's something I would do and it's exactly what I would do. And why didn't I think of that first? Like, why do I have to steal it from Xclaim? Xclaim should be stealing from me.

Kick out your own favorite jams that you wrote. So here is the fifth jam. All right. I thought I heard your sweepers calling in the streets to me But it was just a broken record Playing in my memory, yeah Life's a mystery, life's a mystery A little sadness, a little history And here they come again

All the seven sorrows. Here they come again, out of the seven sorrows. Did I hear a gong in there? No. Hey, that lonely boy, don't make me sound surprised. It's actually Gilmour's gong. Yeah, it's Gilmour. It's Gilmour's gong, yeah? No. Hey that lonely boy Don't make me sound It's actually Gilmour's gong. It's Gilmour. It's Gilmour's gong, yeah. Not Dougie Gilmour. Gilmour, okay. Look at that.

The Seven Sorrows, huh? Seb, so please, tell me and for the listenership this is a song, I'm going to play a few from the new album because I noticed no guitars made their way into the basement today, that's okay. The Seven Sorrows from Over Years and Overnight. Why did you choose this one, Ron? their way into the basement today. That's okay. The seven sorrows from over years and overnight. Why did you choose this one Ron? I think I chose it because of the, I think it's interesting for us

the bells, the bells and whistles, the bells that are in there. Not a gong. Not a gong. That's Lawrence on the bells. On the church bells. You do a hell of a bell. Thank you. You'll notice the pattern is a seven note pattern because of the seven. See? He's playing three notes each. There's also a seven note synth pattern in the chorus. You can't really hear it. It's kind of buried. But you know, everything is seven notes. This is what happens.

Yeah. I didn't tell you about this. It's just something we did. I felt it, I guess. Yeah, I guess. You didn't have to tell me. You know, and just, you know, it's about, I think, that's funny because the phrase, the seven sorrows,

I sort of thought I had made it up. And then I guess what it is is that as a songwriter, I'm just a sponge, so somehow that phrase has gone in and then different people were telling me different things. The funniest one was Greg said, yeah, I was thinking like, what's wrong, getting religious or something? And I was like, what?

Like, well, that's the farthest thing that I would imagine Greg would think would suddenly happen to me at this point in my life. But apparently the seven sorrows is something, there's some Catholic connection to that. And then Chris Tate, actually, who was out in your driveway earlier, told me something about ladybugs. There's something called the seven sorrows and it's related to ladybugs. And so there are all these people were hitting me with these definitions of the seven sorrows. I was like, I just thought it sounded cool. Yeah. I thought it sort of summed up this idea that we've, I feel like since let's say 2016, but also through a pandemic and through this late stage.

We've been through some shit. Eh? We've been through some shit. We've been sort of like surfing. I think surfing wellness. I mean, a lot of people have been really struggling, but I said even those that aren't are sort of surfing this kind of crest of wellness,

ready to fall off the surfboard a lot at any moment. And so there were lines like that, hey there lonely boy, don't make me say I miss you brother. Like just we've lost some people and whether we've lost them completely and physically or whether we've just lost them psychically or they've just fallen into hard times. I wanted it to be uplifting sonically and deliver that message that we hear you and we see you and I'm surfing the same way you are.

I like certain little lines. I like the life's a mystery, a little sadness, a little history, you know, but the bell thing was fun too, because I think at first we, it was one of those things. And there's a, there's an analog to the Lazarus record, which I'll tell you in a second, but I think when the, when the bell thing first started, we were all kind of, everybody sort of like smushed up their face a little bit and was like, hmm, yeah.

Does it sound like the Taco Bell bell, you know, or like, we're making a run for the border here. And it was like, I think it went back and forth and there was a chance that it wasn't gonna happen. And then we kind of did the dive, you know, and- I'm okay with that anyway. I have never been to Taco Bell in my life. So I'm just, you know, safe.

I don't think I'm a Taco Bell. I'm not sure I've ever been in Taco Bell. You know what's the weirdest thing in the world? When the low toured with the Cadillac tramps from Orange County, half the band are Latino guys and the rest of them have all grown up in Southern California. They love Taco Bell.

I'm like, your grandmas and you know, probably are furious that you're going to Taco Bell. Like, I couldn't believe it, but they loved it. So, they'd also been in jail, so I don't know maybe. Maybe their taste buds have changed a little. So Lawrence, as you do in the seven bells, yes, first thing I know, just before we move past the bells part is on the Lazarette's record.

There was a song that Bryce is the keyboard player in a pre-production. I went in for a night for pre-production and the song came up and suddenly there was this kalimba running through everything. And I was like, my first reaction was like what the hell are you doing and then halfway through the song I was like actually that sounds pretty cool and then by the end of the song I was like we absolutely have to keep that kalimba right and you know and it was like and then there was pushback from the other guys in the band like we love it but I'm

not sure about the kalimba like after I had mixed it and everything I judiciously maybe put some in the intro and a little in the second verse and so that it wasn't it wasn't everywhere And I was like I think you're gonna be really sorry if we take this out we can do that But I said I think if I said it's a near worm and it's it's a structural part of the song that it's really cool And I feel it the same if we had left those bells out It's not gonna be on my top five. Let's face it It was there any particular Song with bells that inspired that Lawrence? No, no, it was Ron's demo that inspired it. Cause I think you put it on the,

you put those bells in there. Oh, was it in the demo? It wasn't quite the same part because you may have played eight notes and I had to correct that. But you know, I, you know, but, but yeah, but no, the sound of the bells were there and it was this, you know, there's the, I mean, I, for me, I guess there would be like, you know, what's the, what's that tune that a girl group tune Christmas tune, you two covered it. A Darlene Love.

Please come home. Yeah, Darlene Love. It has bells in it, right? You know that, yeah, it's sort of like Motowny. That's definitely in there. Oh yeah. What's the soul song? And They Don't Know by Tracy Allman. It's got the same thing.

Love it. You know, so those are tubular bells, I think is what, is what those. You know, that's a cover. Do you know this? Yeah. They Don't Know by Tracy Allman is what those you know, that's a cover, you know this Yeah, they don't know by Tracy Elman is a cover is not a Tracy Elman song. I don't think so I think it's a cover. Oh, it's yeah, that's right. It was some Kristi McCall wrote that song. That's right No, Kristi McCall speaking of great Christmas songs. Mm-hmm. Okay fairy tale New York now, so that's the five songs I don't like any of the other songs

Okay, but now we see what a what a nice hour, brilliant segue over to over years and overnight. So I have questions about the new album. Shoot. But I'm going to play another song real quick here. You took the 502, I took it pretty hard You took my snakeskin boots, you took my credit card You left this place ransacked, but you can have all that I want my heart back, give me my heart back I feel this great as shit, it's an acquired charm This ain't possession, it's nine-tenths of the law This ain't no lovers nest, this is a house arrest

I want my heart back, give me my heart back Finders, keepers Lovers are heavy sleepers Fatalists and daydreamers Okay, amazing. I think this new album is full of bangers. It's a great song. I agree. Thank you.

Thank you. You ever made an album and said that sucks? No. No, not yet. Not yet. Okay. It agree. Thank you. Thank you. You ever made an album and said that sucks? No, no, not yet. Okay. It hasn't happened yet. And I prompted for it earlier. So before I pass the mic to you guys to talk about a little more about the new album, I wanted to shout

out the rest of Lois and Lo. So, uh, it seems like my go-to Lo members are of course, Ron Hawkins and Lawrence Nichols and it's fine, but you mentioned Greg Smith. So he plays bass guitar. Mike McKenzie on guitar and David Alexander of course. Am I allowed that? Was David okay for the concert hall show? Okay, because he played really well. Yes he did. Ten minutes before that show started at the concert hall, Dave was

very far from okay. Yeah, so I kind of had this, I had until I have a mole on the inside, he needed me this info. So I was kind of watching him closely and he looked normal. I think the music brought him back. It was the it was the bangers from the new album. But when you came back from like your... He did soundcheck and then he was in the there's a laneway right beside the door to the side stage and he was in the van

From sound check until five minutes before we went on Pale as a ghost and sweating and puking he puked five times in the alleyway and like food poisoning Yeah, something like that happening and then like to the point where he said like you better be prepared for me to just run off The stage and so we had asked, who was the drummer in the Daniel Lodge band, uh, opening for us, uh, any chance you could just jump up and, you know, I know you don't know all our songs, but could you, could you be behind the kit if we needed you and he was, so he was prepared to do that. And yeah.

And then Dave, I guess the adrenaline kicked in and Dave just was a hero. And he was a legend. And at the end of the night, he felt a lot better. So he was fun. Well, I was gonna call up Andrew Scott, get him over there. Yeah, yeah. Oh, it was funny.

I was talking to Don Pyle or something. I was talking to Noel Webb, the Sky Diggers drummer after the show. And he said when he walked in, Sean, the guy who runs the concert hall, came up to him and said, listen, you feel like you might be able to play a little. That's like when you had the emergency goaltender.

Oh yeah, we could have had a drummer choir up there. We could have had like all kinds of drums. There was a Zamboni driver. A Zamboni driver was ready to. Can we play drums? Ready to kick it up. But yeah, he was not good, but he became good. He became excellent.

Okay, because you guys sounded. Legend, the legendary Dave Alexander. The legend grows. And he does, he made your recent video. I was seeing this on the- He's made all of our recent videos. All of our recent videos. Everything since Landslide was his.

Okay, so specifically, I did enjoy the only one I see, which I might play in a moment actually, because you can't stop me at this point. But just tell me, maybe tell me a little bit about the new album and what Lowell fans who haven't heard it yet can expect and how they can get it in all that jazz. Well I think I definitely want to touch on what Ron said earlier about how it's definitely deliberately much more upbeat and less political than our more recent material.

Not because everything is better now, but just because music has lots and lots of purposes, it can educate, it can insight, and it can also mollify and soothe and be a bomb in difficult times, and that's B-A-L-M, or it could be a bomb in difficult times as well. And so- My next vote's with a brick, remember that. Yes, exactly. So I kind of feel like this was deliberate.

We were trying to be a little more upbeat, and with a few notable exceptions have more. I'm not sure I would use the word deliberate because I don't know that there was a thought process to, I don't think we were writing towards it. Well, I just remember it, what I think, yeah, it might've gone into the process of curating the songs for the record.

And I know that at some point you had expressed a desire that you wish you could write, I don't know, Walking on Sunshine right now, just to be that lift, that spring in people's step that might have been... You know that was an attic record's release before the version that became a worldwide hit. Actually, I kind of think I did. Maybe you heard it on trial. You might have heard that. Another thing that low fans might get tickled by is that the horn section on

Walking on Sunshine is the same horn section on London Calling. Oh that is a fun fact. Which is really wild. What a versatile group of people. And you get a lot of horns on you get a lot of horns when I see you live now you got like a horn section. Yeah. Yeah well the other thing I wanted to say before we move on to the legitimizers is that I think another thing just subconsciously that people might get from this record is it's the sound of a band jelling even more than they were, you know, like we, we wrote three of the songs on this record completely

together, which is, you know, for, for the exception of bottle rockets, which was kind of an accident in a jam space a long time ago, this deliberately writing together is a absolutely brand new over, you know, 35 years later, it's brand new to do this. And I feel like that's not just about us doing it, but it's about the comfort level and the gelling

of these musicians as a unit. So I think you're also hearing that. I think that's a bit contagious is that there's a sort of a joy in that that's on the record, you know, that's palpable on the record. It could also be that some of us finally wanna be in a TV commercial and if we're all co-written songs. I can't wait for that vote.

Can I record the vote? Well, it's just, you know. We leave it to Ron. For posterity. Yeah. So, when you have a new album like you do right now that you're promoting, you want people to hear your new art, how many of the new songs might make a typical

Lowest of the Low set? No more than seven. No, we did eight at the concert hall, didn't we? That's a lot. That's a lot, that is a lot. And I mean, when you do that, you start leaving out, I don't think we played anything from Sorted Fiction at the concert hall.

You just have to, you know, right now what we're doing is primarily we're playing Shakespeare songs from we're playing brand new songs And then you know a couple of greatest hits from the last few years And yeah, unfortunately, it's just not possible to fit everything in every night So you know and you have to be comfortable with the idea that you're gonna disappoint somebody because it's impossible Not just my family to see Paul McCartney in Chicago Yeah, and he played for three hours. And in the parking lot on the way out,

I heard two dudes behind me going, oh, I can't believe he didn't play Get Back. And I was like, oh man. But on that note, so I saw for the first time ever, I saw Bruce Springsteen last November and he goes like three hours. But what didn't he play? What didn't he play?

He didn't play any of these soundtrack jams. I grew up loving the. Did he play Get Back? He didn't. He played Get Back, yeah. None of these soundtrack jams I grew up loving. He played Get Back. None of the soundtrack jams he was famous for in the 90s. Like Street, No Streets of Philadelphia? Yeah, yeah, No Streets of Philadelphia or Dead Man Walking or any of that kind of stuff here. I think kind of the same song. Like, can we be honest? Well, I like them both, so maybe. Like, I like them both. They're pretty. I'm a soundtrack. Where's the dead man gonna walk?

If not the streets of Philadelphia. So you guys go hard for, I don't know, about 90 minutes or so. Like it, it seems to be a thing now that you, I saw guns and fucking roses at the dome and they went three hours. Uh, you can debate amongst yourself whether it was good or not. But do you guys think ever think like, Hey, what if we went longer or are we old? We've done that. We've, we've definitely played our share of two hours,

two hour plus shows, I think. Yeah. And I've recently come off the BHS tours, the Brown Hawk and Stanley experience. And those- I saw Chris Brown at the Garrison. He did a great- Those sets were very, very long.

And I lost a democratic experience when I was voting for like, guys, 30 some odd songs is too many songs. You know, like, I'm, you know, and it's like, I'm like, you know, you know, I'm in for a marathon as much as the next guy, but that's a lot of songs and I don't think it's necessary. Think of our demographic too.

I mean, people asking people to stand for like, I mean, at two thirds of the way through that show you're talking about, there wasn't exodus of people going, okay, well, I guess that's it. Even though they were still clearly not done, everyone's like, whoa, boy, you know, because everyone's back was hurting. Have you noticed though, people bringing out their kids now? Like, I do notice now 20-somethings in the crowd and often dads right there. It's also not just that though, because the other-

Push back. There seems to be two schisms, which is that there is the Taylor Swift three and a half hours or whatever it is and Then there apparently there's an awful lot of young bands who are like no, it's an hour We're doing an hour like a hard hour, you know, yeah, so I don't think it's even just about people being older or younger I think there's just two philosophies about like how much do you need? you know everything back to like the 60s like the beat those Beatle tours that would go with the Beatles and you know, if you think back to like the 60s, like those Beatle tours that would go with the Beatles and Paul Revere and the Raiders and you know,

three other acts and everybody would play like 35 minutes. No, that's true. But luckily those songs were like, yeah, two minutes long. Yeah. Has the lowest of the low in recent history, have you played Regina Saskatchewan? No. Define recent history, like it was, we played-

Post 2012. Define Regina Saskatchewan. We played Regina Saskatchewan the day after Donald Trump was first elected president. 2016. 2016. I saw Bruce the day after Donald Trump was elected this time. So this is the move? Is that a mind blow? Okay.

Any fond memories, Ron, of playing Regina Saskatchewan? No. Somebody had the same answer. Of course. No, because actually our manager at the time when we were when we were going across the country a lot for a big part of that our manager was Sandy Pandya and her family was she's from Regina her family was there so we were always treated to you know lovely Indian meals before their shows and stuff like that. And yeah, like, like what did they have the venue?

I think there used to be a few different names, channel one, the venue, the same place. And we played the casino there. And, and to be honest, once you get into the past, the ring road of all of these Canadian cities, it's, you know, it's really hard to tell where you are at times, you know, like we would do the. We would do the hotel, the club, some after party, the hotel, back in the van, sort of wake up hungover, driving around the ring road of what gas station, what subway, sandwich. It's like there's very similar experiences until you hit certain landmarks. Well, I only bring up Regina because Al Gregor, the host of the award winning podcast from

Minaris, Yes We Are Open, he went to Regina for season eight and episodes from season eight are dropping now. And I'm going to shout out the most recent episode of Yes We Are Open where Al visited Jim Baiton, the founder and owner of Tumblr's Pizza in Regina, Saskatchewan. Jim shared his journey from making pizza boxes at 14 to building a pizza empire that sells Regina-style pizza in over 140 locations across Saskatchewan. So you get to hear the story behind the unique name,

the secret formula for their incredible sauce, the challenges they face along the way. I know what you're wondering. Yes. What is Regina style pizza? Don't Google it. Well, I'm sure it's revealed in this new episode of, yes, we are open from Al Gregor

and the good people at Monaris. And last but not least, you guys know that if you have a drawer or a room full of old cables, old devices, old electronics, you don't throw that in the garbage because the chemicals end up in our landfill go to recycle my electronics dot CA Put in your postal code and find it where to drop it off. You know who else was from Regina was the Waltons Yeah, yeah and the rain song

No, yeah, I'm standing in the pouring rain. Yeah. Which was a lovely song. Was that called, uh, naked rain? Oh yeah. The naked rain. I don't know if there's a done there. Okay.

One last jam here. Legendary. Glisses and blessings, my fingers and toes I hear there's a garden that feels mighty close A taste of a good life, you come up and smell it like a rose Another song that sounded great live. Okay, good stuff. We're catching on. We're catching on to this. Catching on. All right, I'm going to give you guys each a measuring tape from Ridley Funeral

Home because once again you guys were awesome, big fans. When I see, oh what are you going to make a measuring casket Joe? No, no, no. Okay, I was going to say you made that last time Ron. Come on, we need new material, new material on Toronto Mike. Jill Riley, ever heard of this person? I have heard of her work. Is she good? Yeah, she's good. She's got a vocal credit, so she can be heard on this new album.

Yeah, she was very excited that she said, like, I've made it onto Hawkins solo records over the years, but I've never broken into the lowest of the low pantheon. So she was excited to be asked to do the counterpoint vocal on Wake Up and Smell the Roses. And she does a chorus vocal in the Seven Sorrows as well. It's very nice.

So exciting. And it was so well received by the band that Dave said, you've got to go and we got to put her on all the songs. And I was like, you want me to go and write counterpoint vocal parts for all the other songs? He said, yes. songs? He said yes. And he said yes. Grab me by the lapels. Scruffy your collar.

Coming soon. But you know you've had recently, I've noticed with Lois & Lo, more ska type, more ska essentially, but this is like the only ska-ish song on the new album, am I right? Yeah that would say technically it's not really a ska-ish song. But it's got elements. Because it's slower but yeah well it's just that thing you know it's funny because we've had such long careers and we have passed through a few other iterations before Lowest of the Low that when we first introduced some Scotch stuff onto Agipop I think people were like oh my god it's

amazing that you guys are branching out and trying you know and I was like well it's kind of that's a little bit of a full circle to before Lowest of the Low because we used to do that before the band and so it's just you know it's one of those things I think everybody grew up. What I love about this band too is that when we all grew up listening to different sections of different kinds of popular music and so some of us have the kind of New Wave and ska stuff and then other people have the folk and the punk rock, and some people like metal, and some people like,

but all of that stuff goes into a little pot. And then all the things we've heard, other people like us have made these gumbos of their things and we get inspired by them. And so it's like a take on somebody's take. And eventually just get to this place where it's a beautiful mixture of different inspirations and you know and again everything in the band is like a very productive rock-paper-scissors over

different kinds of things happening or not happening you know sometimes we'd push the envelope some too far this way and somebody goes you know we're all good check on each other I think think our own, you know, where you were going to name check the, uh, the horn section, I think earlier. And then I distracted you. Oh yes. They got named the legitimizers at some point because, uh, you know, I just made the joke that, you know, we're us.

And then when the horn section comes on, we suddenly, we sound legitimate no matter what happens, if they're playing behind us, you know, everything sounds more legitimate. So they became the legitimizer's horn section. And yeah, it's been an absolute blast to play with them. And I write, I love horns as much as the next guy. So every time I'm writing, I'm always kind of thinking, like, is there horn parts for this?

Cause I'm excited by that. And I'm gonna go further and actually name them. That's Ruhi Devji on saxophone and Kristin Prince on bigger saxophone. And that's Steven Deitt playing the trumpet and Kristin Overton playing the other trumpet. No, the longer trumpet, the trombone. The bone.

The bone, yeah. And they've, three of them have been on the last three records. Yeah. Kristin was a new addition to this one because the family is growing. And live we've had John Jout has joined us on trombone as well and-

And James. James has joined us. James played once. James the band. Alfons played there once. And, oh, we're forgetting someone. Anyway, yeah. Send it and I'll fix it in post. Oh yeah, fix it in post. I'll slide it in someone. Anyway, yeah. Send it in.

I'll fix it in post. Oh yeah, fix it in post. I'll slide it in there. Mr. Black. Mr. Black played some trombone for us. You guys, lowest of the low.

I, you could rest on your laurels and just do the nostalgia circuit and play Shakespeare by heart and us Gen Xers will come out because it's like the only way we know of to go like back to university or college or whatever and we could do that for alternative. But you guys keep making great new music and mixing it up with the old classics. And I say kudos to you that you guys are fucking rad. Well, thank you, Mike.

Thanks Mike. And thanks so much for having us back. Again, we're rad, you know. Yeah. We're creating nice rad triangle here. You really think I'm rad? I'm a, that's awesome. Circle of radness.

I'm chuffed to say that you're a rat. And that brings us to the end of our 1,697th show. Go to torontomike.com for all your Toronto Mike needs. Lawrence, you're the, I feel like you're the social media guy. Where's the best place to follow Lois to the Low to know what's going on? Oh, probably on Facebook. I think Ron handles Facebook mostly and... Which is social. And...

I made a weak assumption there. No, no, no, no. That you were the social night. Ron's the Facebook guy. I look after Instagram and I look after Twitter and Blue Sky. I'm older than Lawrence so I do the Facebook stuff. But feel free to exclude the more fascist platforms and just, your choice is good. A lot of variety there for the low heads out there. Much love to all who made this possible.

Again, that is Great Lakes Brewery. I do, like, I don't know why, but I just don't think either of you drink beer. Am I wrong? Lawrence, do you drink beer? And Ron, you don't drink beer. These are delightful cans, though. They look like a quality product.

I didn't give you the beer because it's like, every time I do it, it's like, why do I waste my time? They don't want the beer. They want the lasagna. So much love to Great Lakes Brewery. I'm actually recording. It looks beautiful. Yeah.

The guy, I think the guy who's responsible for the cans used to work at the only cafe. Fabian. Yeah. Fabian from the only cafe. Oh yeah, yeah. I know Fabian. Okay.

Sure. I thought so. You guys should write a song about the only cafe. Put it on the list. Shout out to Palma Pasta. I got lasagna for you guys. Minaris, Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball, RecycleMyElectronics.ca, Building Toronto Skyline. We're recording two new episodes on Friday morning. Thank you, Nick Ienies and Ridley Funeral Home.

See you all tomorrow. Actually, that's a lie. I'm going to see you on Friday when my special guest is Adam Bunch and we're going to talk about the ongoing history of Canada versus the United States of America. Toronto history from Adam Bunch. Don't you dare miss it. See you then. So So so You