Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Maureen Holloway: Toronto Mike'd #217

Episode Date: February 15, 2017

Mike chats with CHFI morning show host Maureen Holloway about her years at 99.9, Q107 and taking over for Erin Davis on 98.1.

Welcome to episode 217 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a local independent brewery producing fresh craft beer and chef's plate. Delivering delicious and locally sourced farm fresh ingredients in refrigerated kits directly to your door. fresh ingredients in refrigerated kits directly to your door. I'm Mike from TorontoMike.com and joining me this week is CHFI Morning Show host Maureen Holloway. Welcome, Maureen. Hello. I can't believe it's taken 217 episodes to get to me.

I think my nose is out of joint. Now when I say that, I'm actually worried that'll be the first observation because you're right. Now it's like, what took you so long? But actually, you've been top of mind for a long time. I thought maybe you were out of reach. And then I thought, let's go. I said, let's do a Hail Mary pass and see if I can score Mo. The first time you asked, I said, yes, I'm that easy.

What I need is a list of the people who will say yes the first time I ask. And then I can just do them first instead of having, like, your friend John Derringer will talk about. It's like I'm trying to get Obama on this podcast. I know, I know. Radio people tend to not be that, they tend to be kind of reclusive. That's the truth. That's the irony? That is the irony.

We're the greatest overcompensators in the world. Scratch a radio personality, you found a shy kid who was pushed around in high school. Is that right? Because, yeah, it's funny. You hide in plain sight, I suppose, would be what you'd say. That's what I would say, but you said it already.

So I'm not going to say it. I got to confess, though. I have a Maureen in my family, so I've grown up with this name, a cousin Maureen. But I can't name anyone under the age of 40 named Maureen. So what happened? That's pretty funny. That's adorable because I am over 40,

and that's as far as we're going to go into that. Well, I didn't want to jump to conclusions. But you're right. We were talking about names the other day, and I never liked my name, partially because I grew up in French Canada, Montreal. I went to a French school. Nobody could pronounce it properly. So that's why I adopted Mo. So there's the answer to

that question that you hadn't even asked. That was my first question. But I don't like Maureen because it does, to me, in my mind, and not to offend anybody, Maureen is like a 50-ish, red-haired, overweight insurance saleswoman. And, you know, I think a lot of people may feel that way and not call their children that. That's funny. So I actually tried to come up with like other Maureens I know, like famous ones. Maureen O'Hara.

But they're all older, right? They're all older. Yeah, or dead. Well, there's Maureen McCormick from the Brady Bunch. She's still kicking. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. But she's like 60, I think. Oh, yeah. And she's crazy. Yeah, you're right Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. But she's like 60, I think. Oh, yeah.

She's crazy. Yeah, you're right. Maureen O'Hara? Yeah. Is she one of those like Tea Party Brady Bunchers? I'm not sure. I'm not sure.

There's Maureen O'Hara and Maureen Stapleton and Maureen O'Sullivan. Those are like your trio of Maureens. Yes. Then there's Maureen Tucker from the Velvet Underground,

which is why I'm playing the Velvet Underground. Wow. There's Maureen Tucker. Wow. I did not know. Played some drums with the Velvet Underground, which is why I'm playing the Velvet Underground. Wow. I did not know. Played some drums for the Velvet Underground. She played drums for the Velvet Underground?

So that's the coolest Maureen out there. Actually, you're the coolest Maureen out there. I think Tucker's in second place. So we should tell everyone, we're recording early in the morning, but you... Oh, this is the end of my work again. I was going to say.

So tell me about today so far. You came straight from CHFI. I came straight from work, yeah. I finished at 9. You're still wearing your badge. I'm still wearing my badge. Because you have to wear it in the Rogers compound. And when I met you at the door, I asked to see some ID just to make sure. I don't want any... Because I did tweet you

on your way. I didn't want somebody to come to the door and pretend to be you. Pretend to be me. Why would anyone do that? So I'm glad you wore it. Tell me, so what time do you wake up? I wake up at 3.30. Wow. Okay. And what time do you go to bed in order to wake up? Well, that's a good question. Different morning people do it differently. I aim for nine. I actually am in bed by 10 and asleep, but I nap extensively. I don't catnap. I actually can nap for two to three hours during the day. That sounds like a good idea. Like 10 o'clock sounds...

I think I'm tired at 10. No, most people are. And I don't... You know, my family still... I still have my family at home and you want to spend some time with them. And we don't usually eat before seven. So getting to bed early is not going to work for me.

So I have to make up for it during the day. And okay. So you, what time, 3.30 you get up and you arrive, obviously, what time do you arrive at the Rogers Complex? The Rogers Complex. So CHFI's morning show is the earliest morning show in the city. I did not know that when I signed on. They start, we start at 5 a.m. Is that right? Yes. You see, you didn't know that. I did not know that when I signed on. They hit that for me. We start at 5 a.m.

Is that right? Yes. See, you didn't know that. I had to guess. If you said my guess and you already told me it was early, I'm going to say 5.30 maybe. 5.30. Most shows start at 6. A couple start at 5.30. We start at 5. That's who I'm the new girl. I'm not one to argue with that. It has worked

for them. So we are the first morning show on the air. And it's funny because I So we are the first morning show on the air. And it's funny because I think some of the other morning shows listen to us on the way in. So, yeah, I live in town, which is helpful. And it takes me 12 to 13 minutes to get to work along Bloor Street. And so, yeah, being a woman, I have to get up and shower and put makeup on. The men don't have to do that. The men don't have to do that. You're just saying that because you see I clearly haven't done that in a long time.

You don't need to do that. I don't need to do that. All right. Now, and just, and we're going to, like, we're going to go chronological. But off the top, I'm curious about something. So you got, like, news and traffic and music and ads, like, that run. So in a typical hour with Darren B. Lamb, like, how much talking would you do in a typical hour? Surprisingly a lot. So in a typical hour with Darren B. Lamb, how much talking would you do in a typical hour?

Surprisingly a lot. It is probably one of the busiest full-service morning shows still out there. And by that I mean, yes, we do have news and traffic and ads and contests. It's an extremely jam-packed show, but we get to talk. I think we calculated the number of minutes. We get to talk like 16, 18 minutes an hour, which is when you add it up over a four-hour show is a lot of talking. You might do, I think

if we do an hour, you might have to talk for 60 minutes. Yeah, I know, but really, but I'm just warning you. That is a real insight into talk radio for people who don't have music to go to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And to be able to keep an audience. That's why I'm just warning you. That is a real insight into talk radio for people who don't have music to go to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And to be able to keep an audience. That's why I'm always curious

because I always hear, you know, they're talking less and less is what I hear. Yes, they are. And then they do the math and someone is like, you know, they're only talking like eight minutes an hour or whatever, but you're doing a good 18 there. Yeah, a good 18. And I know that probably doesn't sound like much,

but it has to be focused and tight and it can't go on too long. And it's actually harder to speak briefly and eloquently than it is to go on ad nauseum. Now we're going to do a deeper dive into this big move to CHFI. Okay, let's go. But first, I'm going to encourage

all those Maureen Holloway fans out there. They should go to, first of all, get your wallet, get a valid credit card, and go to patreon.com slash Toronto Mike. And if that sounds difficult, go to torontomike.com and click the orange button on the side. And then help keep this going, even a dollar a month, help crowdfund this.

Because Maureen, these are good microphones, right? I'm really impressed with your setup here, Mike. I'm impressed with the fact that you are a true radio fan and that you do this. And it's a labor of love. And yeah, you could use all the sponsorship and support that you could get

because, yeah, this equipment's pretty fancy. I like it when you radio veterans and professionals can actually attest to the fact that these are quality microphones. Yeah, they're professional microphones and mic stands and they don't come cheap. And your headphones are comfortable and the volume's good.

I couldn't be happier. You're going to get happier, okay? Because that Great Lakes beer in front of you, that's going home with you today. A six-pack of beer. And you know what? This beer is not just for breakfast anymore, so I will have this for lunch.

Thank you very much. And because you woke up at 3.30, this is like noon to you. Oh, it is. That's one thing about living this way is you do. You want like a steak at 10 o'clock in the morning. So you can crack one open as soon as you get home. You could crack one open now.

I don't care. It's fine. I don't know. That's going a little too far. Only one morning show host at the same time cracked open a couple. Really? Mike Richards. You should have let me guess.

I should have let you guess. I know. You're right. I got to make more trivia on this show. You're right. But I got more for you. Okay. So that's Great Lakes Beer, which by the way, is celebrating their 30th birthday. I saw a bunch of cool tweets about it. 30 years in Southern Etobicoke and they're great guys over there. Happy birthday, Great Lakes Beer. Happy birthday, Great Lakes Beer. You got to eat. You mentioned a steak. So I'm actually going to hook you up. Thanks to our friends at Chef's Plate. Maureen Holloway gets two free meals.

Whoa! You didn't know this was all good. I'm a radio personality. We love swag. This is great. So I'm going to send you a link and you're going to tell me the two meals that you and your family would like the most. And then you give me a shipping address and then the magic happens. And they send the food to you?

Yeah. And it's like a refrigerated box. So let's say you don't get it for 12 hours. It's okay because this box keeps it refrigerated. Oh, this is awesome. Yeah. And it comes to your door. And then there's like a, I've done this.

So there's like a single page cheat sheet like how to prepare so it's all fresh stuff and healthy and tasty and it's all pre-portioned so you don't have to measure anything and you follow this instruction which looks like dummy proof because i was able to do it and next thing you know what you have this like home-cooked healthy locally sourced meal you gain two of those and if listeners want two free meals, they go to chefsplate.com and they use the promo code Toronto Mike and they get two free plates as well. Delish. Lovely. Thank you. No, you're welcome. You're welcome. That's courtesy of Chef's Plate. Now let's deep dive

into Maureen Holloway's radio career. So I know you first from Mix 99.9, but please tell me, how do you end up at Mix 99.9? Well, you have to dive deeper. Let's dive. Because it was originally CKFM. Right. And I was hired out of school, out of Ryerson. I was in the radio and television arts program, which I think is now called media and television,

because radio is old school. That's right. And I was hired, was offered a summer job and CKFM at the time, this is back in the 80s, was the number one FM station in the country

in terms of the most listeners and was just the sound of our Toronto. And you're too young to remember this, Mike. I'm too young to remember this. And I was hired. It was a summer job. I was a boat reporter. And this is back when stations had huge promotional budgets. They had boats that cruised around the Toronto harbour. And my job was to say, hey, it's a beautiful day. Come on down to Harbourfront.

Now you'd have a kayak, I think. If you were lucky. With holes in it. An interesting side note on this, the guy, there was an engineering student from U of T who was driving the boat that summer. And I married him. Get out of here. No, you get out of here. That's a fantastic fun fact, I'd say.

And are you still married to him? I am still married to him. And he is now director of real estate for Rogers. And he is built, even though we're in completely different fields, he's just built our new studios. And that's just a coincidence. That's a coincidence. That's ridiculous.

I know. I'm actually, I need a moment, actually. Yeah, you do. Why? I should have played my, I have a brand new, I used it for the first time

last episode, brand new, breaking news sound effect. I'm going to save it for... Well, I don't know if this is breaking news because we've been together a long time.

It's all about... Come on, Maureen. It's all about the spin. Yeah, well, it is about the spin and the symmetry when you think about it. That's how I started and this is where we are now.

That is amazing. Yeah, he's been with Rogers for about five years and it's just coincidence that I came across. CKFM, what kind of music were they playing?

So if I get my timelines right, it becomes Mix 99.9. I'm saying like 91 maybe? Yeah, so this would have been an 86. Okay. And they were playing... They were an AC, an adult contemporary station, very much like what CHFI is now.

And yeah, I guess so. I think that would probably be the closest comparison. Although I will say, because I look at your playlists, and you're a bit cooler than that. We're a bit cooler now. You've cooled up lately, I've noticed. Yeah, we have. We play a lot more contemporary music

than the station did even a year ago. So there's been some changes there. But CKFM was an adult contemporary station. And interestingly, Mike, a lot of the people that were working there, because it was the FM counterpart to CFRB. And a lot of the people that were working there over, because it was the FM counterpart to CFRB. And a lot of the people that left in the subsequent years are now at Rogers at CHFI or 680 News. So it really was a bit of a homecoming for me.

And this was a standard? Was that the company? Standard Broadcasting. And just after I joined, it was bought by the Slate family and became Slate Broadcasting. And yeah, I was there for 15 years. Wow. They switched to mix in the early 90s. I stayed throughout. And yeah, that was my first act. Humble Howard tells me that,

so he's with Fred on 102.1, but he leaves like in 1991 or 90. I can't, I just said it like that. But he leaves to go to CKFM. But he tells me he's the first DJ to say Mix 99. I believe that. Cause he's the morning guy. He's the morning guy there.

He switched and they switched to mix. Uh, yeah. I mean, now you're really, well, he's making the claim. So I don't think he'd make that up.

I'm not going to dispute that. I think it was Howard for sure. Interesting. So one of the big mix, think it was Howard, for sure. Interesting. So back in 89, for example, a big name you'd be working with would be like Ted Wallishan. Okay, Ted Wallishan. He'd want me to correct you. No, that's my bad.

Don Daynard was there when I started, and then he left and went to CHFI. And as I said to Erin Davis before she left, our careers have been very, um, intertwined. Don Daynard left Ted Wallach and came over, took over mornings and,

uh, and I became a cohost with Ted. So that was my first, I'd been doing traffic before that, but this was my first sort of kick at the big can. And, um, yeah,

he was there for a while. And who came after Ted? I can't remember. I think maybe Mike Richards and I do know, Big Jock in Calgary, Forbes, Jerry Forbes replaced Ted. And then after that, I'm going to lose track. You know, I feel bad about butchering Ted's last name, but that name is legendary.

Well, yeah. I never listened, I'll be honest. Otherwise, I wouldn't butcher that last name. Ted was on at the Edge, then he went to CKFM, and then he was at CFRB for a while. He actually took over from Wally Crowder. Is it fair to say that when I'm growing up anyways, these were old people stations?

Yes. That's not a negative thing. That's pretty fair. Hey, we all become old people. That's true. But I'm still not... Well, the Edge was and still is targeted at younger men, actually. Absolutely. But I think I was busy with...

What's his name? Tom Rivers on CFTR. Wow. Wow. Yeah. So you grew up listening to CFTR. CFTR was my big top 40 in primary school and top six at six and recording it to cassette and all that jazz. You are a radio geek from the get-go.

Somewhere you have to get your Madonna and all that stuff. But I recently had Jesse and Jean on this show. Oh, did you? And I had KJ on who was on CFDR. And then I had, he's a cop now, but Bob Callahan. Oh, I love Bob Callahan. And you know he's a detective. I knew he's a cop now, but Bob Callahan. Oh, I love Bob Callahan. Did you, and you know, he's a detective.

I knew he's a detective and I think he's working on, in a very challenging and difficult area. I think he's, he basically takes down pedophiles online. He's a far worthier person

than any of us. I was going to say, he's doing some real work there. He seemed pretty upbeat for a day job like that. Oh, Bob is fantastic. Now,

I have a few, so the CKFM that you kind of walk into and you're very, very young. So what is it like being so young and you're surrounded by 60-year-olds? Yes, I was the youngest person there. So it's really strange because

there were legendary old radio veterans like Carl Bannis and Russ Thompson, who just passed away, actually, I think a couple of weeks ago. Don Dayner was the morning man. Wally Crowder and Betty Kennedy were still on the air. I think Betty retired like a month after I started. And it was daunting and also a little dusty.

Well, yeah, you mean 60-year-olds playing Muzak and you're fresh out of Ryerson. Well, there weren't a lot of people my age. But that didn't matter. I was constantly being told, you're so lucky to be here. And you know fresh out of Ryerson. Well, there weren't a lot of people my age. But that didn't matter. I was constantly being told, you're so lucky to be here. And you know what? It really was. Most people start out in small markets. And I was starting out at the most illustrious radio station,

ZA, including CFRB at the time. It's nice. You know what? Being the youngest person in a situation is not the worst thing. Being the oldest person might be, though. I think I might be both by the time this is done. Well, you have a long career ahead of you.

That is true. Well, I'm on the third act, I would think. But thank you. Now, Mix 99.9, there's a lot of cheesy DJ names at that station. Oh, we had a PD that had to rename everybody. You know, downtown Mike Brown. I was like, but Mike lives in Richmond Hill. Downtown Richmond Hill.

You got Griff Henderson and Catfish Morgan and Punch Andrews. Yes. Sadly, those last two guys have passed on. Yes, they have. And Catfish Morgan, my dear friend, Andre Mazen, have just passed away this year. This was, I am going to blame and give credit

to our program director, J.J. Johnson, who at the time felt that everybody should have a radio handle. It was a Schmilson Wilson? Yes, Schmilson! Again, J.J. There was Kit Calico. Not me, I wouldn't let him get near.

Listen, this is my name and I'm hanging on to it. Your name, it's hard to butcher the pronunciation of that name, so I appreciate it. I get Marine Halloway. You know, that still happens. Now, I guess the big station you competed with would be, at the time, would be Chum FM, right? 104.5?

Yep. Yep. Chum FM has always been the one to beat for everybody. And still is. Easily. Particularly their morning show. That and, I mean, my good friend Rick Hodge is no longer there.

But those two have been together since mid-80s? Roger and Marilyn. And yeah, they are, I think it's, they're like mom and dad, aunt and uncle, your brother and sister. They manage to be everything to everybody and deservedly so. I mean, just fantastic broadcasters.

Marilyn's a good friend of mine, actually. Okay, let me tell you this story then. I reach out to Roger Ashby. Yes. Right away, he's happy to come over. Roger's been in this basement. No, Rick Hodge. Roger's been in this basement?

You're saying it. I renamed it the Ashby Chair. Yes, you should. And of course, Rick Hodge wasn't there anymore, but he came over, of course, and it was a great conversation. But I asked Marilyn. Yes.

And I was told she's too busy. She is. Is that true? You know what? Even though I'm so flexible. I know you are. It would be better if you could go to her. Marilyn is the busiest woman in show business.

I mean, come on. She's got the number one morning show. I'd like to change that, in the country, and one of the top television shows. And she works constantly. And I don't know how she does it. So don't take it personally. I'm sure if you could somehow

put all this in a suitcase and go and visit her, she'd be happy to talk to you. You're going to have to send her a text after this episode. I will. Just say, you have no idea what you're missing.

Everybody's doing it. I did it, for God's sake. Get off your ass and get down here. If Maureen Holloway can get her butt send her a text after this. I will. Just say, you have no idea what you're missing. everybody's doing it. I did it for God's sake. Get off your ass and get down here. If Maureen Holloway can get her butt just wherever you are, you probably have no idea

where you are. You're like, where the heck am I? I know, I'm in darkest Etobicoke. It's West Oblivion. You're right. You know what?

You're Southwest, but people don't realize it goes like south of Lakeshore. Yeah. Like they don't realize there's actually homes. There's a whole world down here. You're in the danger zone now.

All right. And this is where you had, is it Entertainment Toronto? Is that the Maureen Holloway show? Yeah. That's right. It was called Entertainment. Look at you. You really did do some research.

Come on. Entertainment Toronto. This was back when we still did foreground programming. Because it was a law, right? I think it was the law. Scott Turner was on, and he was in charge of this at CFNY. That's right. He explained to me, and I can't remember all the details.

You had to have foreground programming. It did so much spoken word. And so that's how they did that. But it was also music. It was a half-hour music magazine, so I got to meet everybody. I was the person that interviewed every artist that came through town from, say, 1985 to 2000. So I've met everybody. Okay, give me a couple of the biggest names.

Robert Plant. That's a big name. That's a big name. My I've met everybody. Okay, give me a couple of the biggest names. Robert Plant. That's a big name. That's a big name. My favorite was Leonard Cohen. Favorite interview because he's the most, was the most interesting man in the world. Yes. You know, just hilarious.

Those are big names though. Yeah, I know. I can't think of another one. Robert Plant also told me he's too busy to come on. Yeah, well, it would help if you were a pretty young woman. Yeah, I got to work on that. Now, okay, now, this is how, so yes, you have this great career at Mix 99.9, but I first hear you because you were doing spots,

like I would hear on Q107, for example. Is this the last word? Okay, so the history. Tell me how this works. So I started, and I can tell you how this started. I was doing afternoons with Dan Williamson at CKFM and I was doing traffic. And, uh, he said, why don't you do a little show busy thing, like a little gossipy thing. And, uh, we'll call it other people's business. Well, I came up with the name and I started just doing that. He was just incredibly generous. And I think I did it at 10 after five in the afternoon. And it took off.

And without, you know, stepping on anyone's toes, I think I was one of the first people to do this. Now, almost every woman on every radio show does a little gossipy showbiz piece and they call it whatever. But I think I was the first person to do that. That's how ancient I am. So I'm taking that credit. And it did really, really well.

And so when I switched over to Mornings, I took it with me, and it was other people's business the whole time that I was there. And when I went to Q, the standard broadcasting, which soon became Astral, which became Bell, would not let me have the rights to that.

So we renamed it The Last Word, and I did The Last Word at Q, and across the country for the next 15 years. And now I've gone back, and now I've gone to a CHFI, and they have appropriated the original name and trademarked it. Good.

So it's now Other People's. It's the same bit. It's what I've based my entire so-called career on. Yeah, absolutely. Now, so you're doing this from home, though. Is that right? Yeah. Tell me, okay, so I guess first I want to know is why do you leave Mix 99.9? Like, help me understand why you... Why did I go

from Mix to Q? And I need the real talk. This is real talk, too. I was doing a television show for the Comedy Network called The Dish Show. I was doing a morning show with Rob Christie at Mix. My career was taking off in all sorts of ways but there was resentment um at uh at at mix because maybe some people felt that i was getting a little too big for the room in my own mind or whatever but you know i rob was supposed to be the star of the show not me

and um it just yeah they weren't uh they weren't as supportive as they could have been to you know what was happening to me and along came chorus although it was called something else at the time i was with the rock radio network and they said you know we'd like you to come and do that bit with us and we're going to syndicate it across the country and you can work from home. I think that's a pretty good answer. They made you an offer you couldn't refuse. And you're being very kind. It sounds like Rob's ego was potentially bruised here. I know you have to be kind.

I sometimes guests come in, they're still in the business like you. They're very kind and they soften edges. I noticed you have to. You got to work with these people. And then others come in like Ann Ruskowski, for example, or somebody who's can I swear on this show, Mike? Yes, you can. Out of fucks to give, potentially.

And then it's, you know, hey, there's no padding here. Well, listen, it's not a nice business. And you're right about massive egos. And a lot of people get very badly hurt. And it's not for the thin-skinned. I've been extremely lucky. Maybe some talent, but extremely

lucky. I left because there was a bigger name in the room. I wanted to remain the bigger name. I hear similar stories. I notice often it's morning show guys. Surprise, surprise. I won't name any names, but there are similar

stories in the Toronto market about morning show guys like that. You were vulnerable. It's almost like your husband's treating you poorly and this other man comes and courts you. It's like you're vulnerable. The big selling point was working from home, too. They wanted to syndicate it, and they said, okay, this is now Chorus. We're going to simplify it and call the company what it is now.

They said, you know, we want to put you on in Montreal and across the country and work from home for the same money. And I would have been nuts to say no. And so that's what I did. And actually, as it turned out, I was pregnant with my second child. So it all worked out really well. Honestly, this is ideal for you. I love that you're working from home. And what, they come and they install like an ISDN line?

An ISDN, POTS, Plain Old Telephone Service. It's a dedicated broadcast line. And I had the absolute privilege of working from home for 14 years. Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah. I work from home. Yep. Sixth year.

And the flexibility with stuff, like my oldest, he thought he might have vision problems. So he needed an optometrist appointment yesterday. And you took him. Yeah, I took him. My daughter's braces, one of the wires snapped. Like, this all happened yesterday. It's just, yeah, it's great. It's really nice, and I've been able to be there for my kids after school.

We have dinner together. It's been a real privilege. I mean, how many people can do that? But I did start after a while. I started going in on Fridays only. And then a couple of years ago, I joined the morning show at Q&A several times in the flesh in the studio. You actually had to commute. You had to commute.

I had to commute. All right. So the last word is syndicated. You do it from home and you pop on. I guess you're popping on with Derringer in the morning. I'm popping on with everybody. Syndication is the easiest word to use, but actually I was live.

It's okay. That's the word I used. I was live on, I think, up to at one point, we were 10 different morning shows. And do you have on the wall, so you don't get the call things mixed up or the name? I never had to use the call letters. They always introduced me. But you didn't call anyone John?

It was amazing. Or tell the same story twice. Yeah. You can eat a Matrix or whatever. I know. I was on at one point. The busiest was from Halifax to Vancouver. I was doing four hits in Calgary with Terry DeMonte and I think eight hits

with The Morning Show in Toronto and then one in almost every other major city in the country. It was jam-packed. I talked non-stop for four hours every morning in my jammies on my third floor. Okay, so tell me, many, many years working from home and then you start coming in, what did you say, one day a week you started? I started, we felt that it would be a good idea and to just put some more energy into it. I was getting more and more committed to Derringer in the morning and spending more time that I said, okay, you know, I'll come in every Friday, see the fellas.

And then, and that was great. And then it became a full-time thing. So John Derringer is a big name in this market and he's been on Toronto. He did a little trip to Montreal and he comes back, but he's now been here a long time. Oh, he's been to Toronto. Yeah. And what was it like? Tell us, because a lot of people listening, first comes back, but he's now been here a long time. Oh, he's been to Toronto. Yeah. And what was it like? Tell us, because a lot of people listening,

first of all, they want to hear John on this show, but I'm working on that. But they want to hear what it's like working with John Derringer. Well, John is a huge, huge talent and probably one of the most gifted broadcasters, just naturally gifted. He can just turn the mic on and speak eloquently, and he's a college of musical knowledge He's just naturally gifted. He can just turn the mic on and speak eloquently.

And he's a college of musical knowledge and just an amazing, truly amazing broadcaster. And I probably learned more working with him than anybody else. And yeah, he's a big alpha male ego. And that's all part of the deal. That's part of the package. Was there any Rob Christiness coming off of John Derringer? No, they're completely different people.

I mean, in terms of morning show ego. Well, no, they're both big egos, but in terms of style, they're from different galaxies entirely. Right. And I mean, you probably heard the... Here, I'm going to play my breaking news for this because I have it here. I want to play it.

This broke yesterday morning, but we'll pretend it's breaking now. Breaking news from your old home at Q107. Derringer in the morning have made a big announcement that Jennifer Valentine, formerly of Breakfast Television.

Yeah, from Rogers, yeah. And I know Rogers let her go after a million years. I know. And then she did hook up, of course, quickly because she was doing that bachelorette and i did not watch but on the w network i did not know it didn't know it existed but uh w network had like a bachelorette canada post game recap or something like a post show yes and she hosted that that's right and that's all chorus yeah this is all chorus and then she's on the global morning show

a little bit because that's chorus now and now she's on q107 do you have any uh advice for jennifer valentine as she becomes john's co-host yeah it's interesting you know because there's i was very interested to hear i guessed by the way i called last week i sent uh brand director uh blair bartram a tax quank jennifer valentine because. Because it was the February 14th announcement, right? I also knew they were looking to put, to, to,

to put a woman in the morning show. And, and, you know, she was available. She definitely had to be on their radar. And as it turns out, I was,

I was right. She's in the family. You're smarter than me. Cause I made a guess too. Cause we were all guessing. Were you guessing Ingrid? I guessed Ingrid. Because I think that,

because I think she would, I'm sure it's too soon. Like I'm sure that she's still working with legal on stuff. Like I'm sure it was way too soon. Because I think that, because I think she would, I'm sure it's too soon. Like I'm sure that she's still working with legal on stuff. I'm sure it was way too soon. And I don't, I didn't think businessy like that, but I knew she was theoretically available. And I knew that,

I think she would sound good on that stage. I think she would. Although I think Ingrid is, is very much a midday personality. Mornings are different than any, I didn't, I did afternoons at Q for a year and a half. Yeah, we're going to get that. The Mo Show.

Yes, but back to your question, do I have any advice? Well, first of all, congratulations to everybody. The show really needs a woman and this is no reflection on the fellow's ability, but you need to have a balance, right? Some listeners tell me

that it sometimes gets a little caveman-y. It gets a little locker room-y. It gets a little testosterone-y. And they need a woman, but not just any woman. And if I had advice to Jennifer, it would be like, you know something?

Find something and make it your own. Because it is a guy's show. And I was lucky that I had the last word. And I had something that I... I had a break that they very graciously gave to me. Said, this is yours. So you need to draw a line in the sand and say this is my area

before you get swallowed up on the whole, you know, guy thing. John Derringer has said that he's taken, he first of all, he promoted this, he might have oversold this. I think he may have when he says the most interesting, the biggest thing that has happened

in his broadcasting career. Right, exactly. So, you know, that's all that spin radio, whatever. So, you know, at that point, you're like,

holy smokes. And Zane Ingrid, this is, I think Obama's going to be the new co-host. Or Hillary, actually. Hillary, right. Says they're looking for a woman.

Needs some estrogen, that's correct. But like, okay. So, but then he elaborated and he said that it was because this is the first time he chose. I think that was his words. Oh, really? He said that was his choice? That's interesting.

Yeah. It was saying it was his choice. So, you were not John's choice. I'm perilous is news to me. I thought it was. I'm not trying to cause any friction here. No, that's okay. In case you haven't noticed, I left.

Okay. Okay. Let's get you out of the door here. So, okay. So you're, you first of all, you're right. You, of course you're right. You know your career better than I do. You have the Mo Show.

Is that what we call it? I almost know what I'm doing. Yes. That was the afternoon show. So this was, I remember, I remember this big announcement that you were going to get an afternoon show. You were going to trade one John for the other, as I remember. Right? That, okay. that you were going to get an afternoon show. You were going to trade one John for the other, as I remember. Okay, so that was an interesting thing that happened

because I actually had, it was time for me to leave that show, that morning show. You know, I'm not getting any younger, and I wanted another act in my career. And frankly, I was getting bored, and I wanted to do something else and there wasn't anything else for me to do on that show. Um, so as it turned out, Kim Mitchell was planning his retirement and the powers that be said, well, why don't we put you there? They,

they offered me afternoons. I didn't ask for it. I actually was kind of champing at the bit. I was looking at talk radio. And they said, well, why don't we build a show around you and put you in Afternoons? And I was like, oh, okay. I might as well try that. I've never done that. And John Scholes was, he's a great guy. I didn't, he was already in place.

John's going to be your co-host and your operator and your producer. And it's going to be your show. It's going to be just your show. And you know what, Mike? I found out that I don't like to have my own show. I like to be part of a team. Interesting. I'm not a bad dancer on my own, but I'm a better dancer with a good dancer.

Interesting. Yeah. Also, I didn't like doing afternoons. That's also interesting because the two revenue generating spots we always hear about are like the morning drive and the afternoon drive, right? Yeah, but mornings are everything. I'm going to be honest with you. Mornings are everything in radio. Even with that

3.30 wake up, it's still worth it. I would rather do that because starting at 3, which is 3 in the afternoon when I was doing afternoons, it's there ahead of you while you get up. And I stayed on in Montreal, so I was still getting up at five and doing a bit with Shom,

with Belle in Montreal. So this is complicated. You know what? I'm not going to confuse you. I like the inside baseball stuff. The listeners, they may go, that's okay because this is a passion project. Yes. Well, for your sake, yeah, I stayed on. I had a separate contract with Belle and they allowed me to stay on with my dear friend,

Terry DeMonte, uh, in Montreal, whom I miss every day. So I was getting up early and doing that on ISDN in Montreal and then doing my own show in the afternoon. But that deadline's always there. You can't really do anything.

You can't go for lunch and, and, and I'm, I've done mornings for most of my life. I like being the first one up. I like being free as a 10 in the morning. Which is amazing. Yeah, I guess it is.

I hear you. Never complained about it. Everyone's goal seems to be to get the show named. That's the big thing. They need to name the show after you. And the Mo Show was Mo. Yeah, that's why they can't put anybody else in there unless Mo Berg is available.

He might be, though. Come on, he's an adult now. I got to call you out on something. Speaking of great cam con like Moe Berg, by the way, I used to work at Dufferin and DuPont at a price. It was actually a food city, okay? I'm a teenager. But I used to live at like Charles Street and Young.

Right. So I was going to U of T. So I did this bike ride all the time, like Davenport and DuPont route. I took it every day to go to work. I used to see Moe Berg. This is like early 90s, I'm going to say. He would be walking along DuPont and Davenport there. He'd just be strolling all the time.

I'd see Mo Berg. He's a real guy. What a cool guy. I know. Great. I love Pursuit of Happiness. My daughter, when she was 8, now she's almost 13, but she had a podcast. And she had one, then she quit it. She won't do it now.

I can't even get her to do it now. But it was called She's So Young. And her theme song was the Pursuit of Happiness is She's So Young. She's So Young. There you go. Anyway, that's my little tangent. So this runs the family, doesn't it? Well, because I have these expensive mics and I don't let big...

No one's using them. Let's do something. Okay. Now, I mentioned Moe Berg. You mentioned Moe Berg, but we're talking about Kim Mitchell for one second because you nicely said there that he was planning his retirement. Yes. I need you to stare.

Look at my eyes. I'm looking at your eyes. You're telling me Kim Mitchell wanted to leave. Kim was leaving. Kim may have left earlier than he wanted to, but he was planning to leave. Okay. Because the vibe I got, I don't know. I don't know.

You're in the business. No, go ahead. It felt like he was pushed out before he was ready to leave. No, my understanding. And this is, you know, I feel bad because I think he did leave before he was ready to. But he was, I think he had done an interview that I read saying that he had a year left on his contract and he was hanging it up after that because, you know, he's still touring. He's still performing.

Oh, yeah. And I think they offered the probably offered it to me prematurely, but I was planning on leaving. So that was the I guess that was their solution. And if Kim, Kim, if I pushed you out, man, I'm so sorry. But then he went and had a heart attack later. I actually saw him before the heart attack down the street. He did a concert at Sam Smith Park.

And I saw him. He was great. Yes. And then he had the heart attack. Yeah, he lives in the West End too. He had a heart attack. And then I had people texting me going, you killed Kim. And I'm like, first of all.

First of all, he's alive. He's alive. Second of all, no. See, it's not murder. It's attempted murder. Okay. There's a big difference. Come on. I'll ask's attempted murder. Okay? There's a big difference. Come on.

I'll ask Bob Callahan about that. There's a big difference. Yeah. If Kim is hearing this, I know he's doing fine and he's well out of it. I don't think anyone thinks Maureen pushed Kim out. This is definitely Coris who pushed Kim out. And then Coris thought they'd kill a couple of birds with one stone. You want to do something different.

So, yeah. The Mo Show. The Mo Show does not last a very long time. A year and half okay okay it's a year and a half of the mo show and i'm gonna guess that you got another offer you couldn't refuse well yeah pretty much okay let's talk now i should tell you uh and by the way i've recently chatted with erin davis and she says hi oh well i'm supposed to say hi to you from er Davis. She's out west. She's writing a book. She's going to be doing a project with Rogers. So Erin will be back

on the air in this city, although not physically. And Erin, her departure and the welcome that I've received, which happened at the same time, I think was just one of the most graciously accomplished transitions in radio.

I want, you know, when I left chorus also allowed me to say goodbye. Oh yeah. I got, there's a lot here. You're right. Now talk about that.

I actually wrote about this. Yes, you did. Because I like this new trend where you can leave for another station and get to say goodbye. It's happened several times lately. You can, if it's, yeah,

I don't know if it's like a sort of, I don't know if everybody got together and said, let's be nice about this for a change. Well, maybe. I think if you're leaving of your own volition, as opposed to being. Oh, no, if you're fired, you can't say goodbye. No, Ingrid didn't get a chance to say goodbye. No, Ingrid never got to say goodbye.

They walked out on a Thursday. Yeah. And I don't know why that had to be handled that way. I mean, I heard through the grapevine she was escorted from the building. Like she'd done something wrong. I heard the same thing. And 40 years. 40 years.

That's amazing, right? That's a slap on the face to everybody in the industry because it could happen to any of us. I wrote about that too because that bothered me. I've only met her one time. She sat here.

It was a great chat. She's very interesting. But I just think if you're 40 years on the same station, you don't walk them out with a box. You know what I mean? No, you're right. It's shameful.

In my case, so what happened? We knew the, I can't really tell you everything I'd like to tell you because the way it was handled was very careful and respectful and there were legal documents involved. So, yes, they were looking. Aaron was planning to leave. I didn't know when. I had a conversation with Julie Adam, who I'd never met, although our paths crossed so many times. And, uh, and I said, yeah, if there's some truth to the fact that I didn't know, but if there's some truth to the fact that

Aaron's leaving, I think I'd like to throw my hat in the ring. And it happened so quickly that they said, yes, I met with Darren and I met with the programming people and it all just seemed to be right. And everybody was excited about it, but I had to go back to chorus now and say, well, they're like, what do you want now? And I was, I still had a year left in my contract there. And, uh, I said, I've been, I'm being offered Aaron's job. And, you know, Chris Sizem, our general manager, said okay. And I said, you know what? You know I haven't been particularly happy in afternoons

and the show's not taking off. I'm not used to failure. And this is the kick at the can. This is the third act. This is the brass ring that I think I've been looking for for a long time. So can you see it? And they need me now because Aaron wants to go. And can you see

your way to letting me go early? And he worked out or rather, um, Troy, our, our president of radio worked out a deal with Rogers. They let me, I worked another four weeks. They, it was all announced very carefully. They let me say goodbye. I took six weeks off uh and started in january and it was the most civilized thing i've ever seen in radio and i've sat in with aaron and darren on their second to last day and aaron gave me the key to her locker wow and and we talked about all our shared experiences she started with don daynard i started with don daynard. I started with Don Daynard. And it was just the most natural thing in the world. And everybody was so gentlemanly

and whatever the female equivalent of gentlemanly is, womanly, about the whole thing. And I think we pulled it off as an industry and as a group. I think we made the transition. That's a great story. And that's what we need,

more of those stories, right? More of that. And I don't know why it can't. Well, because when you let someone go, they're usually angry. Right. And they might say disparaging things. And they might say disparaging things. About mother core.

Yeah. And spill the beans and say hateful and hurtful things. Because. Justifiably. Right. Right. Right. Right.

But I mean, they still want to work, right? In the space. Like you don't want to burn the bridges. As soon as you're angry, right, right. But I mean, they still want to work, right? In the space. Like you don't want to burn the bridges. As soon as you're angry, you burn bridge. I've seen broadcasters across this country torch the ground that they walked on because they're so hurt and upset. But what they did with Christine Bentley,

and I know that's TV, not radio, but they went to her and said, your time is up. This is her word. So your time is up. But let's spin it, to use that term again, which is another word for lie. Yeah, it is her word. So your time is up. But let's spin it, to use that term again, which is another word for lie. Yeah, it is a lie.

Let's pretend you're retiring. She had no interest in retirement. But they said, so that we can say goodbye to you and everything and you can go and retire. So that, I mean, I don't know if they didn't give Ingrid that option or whatever. Ingrid can't talk yet because she's got severance things to work out because she had 40 years there. 40 years!

40 years. So back to your situation, which was handled perfectly. So it sounds like they worked out a deal because my sources tell me the free internet for chorus, I think, Rogers is going to get free internet.

And it was a deal they couldn't refuse. You know, it's Chris, when I said to, again, this is my conversation with our general manager and I said,

you know, I feel kind of bad because you've been so good to, they have been so good to me, and you're making it easy for me to leave. And he said, well, this is one of the biggest chairs in the country. You know, we're not going to stand in your way. Well, that's the thing. At the end of the day, you got an offer you can't refuse. Like, you couldn't refuse that offer. I couldn't.

I wouldn't have considered it. Those don't come up every day. No. This is huge. Like, this is massive for you. Yeah. I'm excited for you here. So they call this the Darren and Mo show.

Yes. Aaron insisted her name come first with Mike Cooper. But that's the way it should be. But he was there first. Well, think about that, though. This is the natural progression. So it was Don and Aaron, right? And Aaron started with Don and Aaron.

It was Don and Aaron. And then Don retires, and Mike comes along, and it's Aaron and Mike. Right? I mean, there were some in-betweens. It was Aaron and Mike. And then Mike leaves, and it's Aaron and Aaron. And then Don retires and Mike comes along and it's Aaron and Mike. Right? I mean, there were some in between. It's Aaron and Mike. And then Mike leaves and it's Aaron and Darren. And then Aaron leaves, so it should be Darren and Mo. Right.

We're equal co-hosts, but Darren was there first. And I don't care. No, and that's a... And also Darren and Mo sounds better. And it sounds much better, which is the most important thing. So, yeah. So you've done that recap there, which is, I'm going to say, not too long ago, Mike Cooper had his retirement and got a very nice goodbye by Rogers.

Because he retired and wasn't going to the competition. And he had the 510 stupid joke of the day. Was that colliding with your 510? Was it the last word at 510, or was it the other one? Because you moved from... I never... That's right. I never thought of that. Well, I'm sure everything competes with everything at some point.

Yeah, that's true. I just heard 510. I just struck that word there. So, thought of that. Well, I'm sure everything competes with everything at some point. Yeah, that's true. I just heard 510. I just struck that. Yeah. So Mike Cooper gets his retirement. And Darren B. Lamb, speaking of Marilyn and... Yes. See, it's all so incestuous here.

Well, you think, you know, the younger broadcasters go, why is it the same old hacks that keep moving around and the same big jobs? But with all due respect to my fellow old hacks. But it sounds like Julie Adam, someone at Rogers, poaches Darren B. Lamb. No.

Like how does Darren B. Lamb get pulled from that? Julie does, Julie Adam is remarkable. I've actually met her because she was doing some work with the Humble and Fred podcast

like four years ago. She's a remarkable radio executive. She loves radio, passionately. And is a huge fan. And if she wasn't doing what she's doing now, which is basically running the industry, she'd be in her

basement doing what you're doing because she loves radio. She knew that Aaron was going to leave. She told me this. She said she did the research on everybody in the market. This wasn't like, oh, I like her and I like him.

She did the research. But the Darren one, that's Mike is leaving. She knew Mike was leaving and then she knew Aaron was leaving. But does somebody just say, hey, do you want to meet for coffee and then say what's going on? Who approached whom? Yeah, somebody just says, hey, Darren, let's grab coffee. I think Darren wanted to, you know, that was a three-person show and Darren always wanted to have more control. He was like the bastard son of Marilyn and Roger.

But he did well. Like, think about it. Darren B. Lamb, who I actually did not know until, I know he was a personality. Okay, so he comes in sort of the Rick Hodge seat, right, of an established show. Yes. Right? Yes. Now he parlays that into the Mike Cooper seat in a very big show.

I know. And now he's the first name in the, like now he's the man with you on this huge CHFI Marshall. First of all, you're putting too much emphasis on the order of the names. It is equal billing. It is equal billing. But he does do the heavy lifting. He likes to do the back selling and the weather and all that stuff, which was important to him.

And I was like, oh, you do it, man. I can sit here and think of funny things to say instead. But yeah, Darren's talented, Mike. No, I mean, my mom loves Darren. Those are the worst things. My mom loves you. I wish I had a commute and I could listen to more morning radio. Because like I said, your playlist has improved greatly on the CHFI.

It's a lot cooler there. So to your point, yeah, Darren and I went from being second wheels or third wheels to being, you know, having our own wheels. That's a really bad analogy, but we have our own show. That's great. And I'm just thinking, so Aaron Davis, who a legend in this market as well, who wanted to move out West. Well, you, we all know what Aaron had her life derailed in the most horrible, horrible way. And, and she, and, and her husband decided, and this is so brave and so courageous, and I'm not paying lip service to this.

This is, her heart was broken. Their hearts were broken when their daughter died suddenly and, and, and left them a grandson. But, but I believe her, her, their son-in-law is remarrying and lives in Ottawa. And they realized that they couldn't go on the same way.

And they're young enough. I mean, they're both in their early fifties. They're young enough to have another act, but it had to be something completely different. And so they very, again, courageously decided,

okay, we're, we're going to change everything. We're going to sell the condo. We're going to sell the cottage. We're going to walk away from a career. And they were both invested in Aaron's career. And we're going to move to the other end of the country where we don't, where not everyone knows your name and we're going to start another life. And that's, I think they, and I think it was a very sudden decision. I think it was sort of like, it sounds like it comes together very quickly because even the conversations you're having with Julie,

it's like, this is happening now. It's all happening. You're on this bus now because this bus is leaving the station. Well, when I said, when do you want me?

And this was last fall. They said, Christmas. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was actually surprised that she was leaving before Christmas.

Like this is, yeah. And, and I mean, I mean, Erin, like, I still chat with her privately. Like, she's fantastic. She's lovely. She's fantastic. She's, you know, the thing about Erin, and I feel like I've missed getting to know her better.

Because, like I said, I am friends with Marilyn. Like, I'm personal friends with Marilyn. Erin, I never really got to know. But even the very brief time that we had before she left, she is so funny and so smart and so down to earth. And she's very, very sweet and warm on the air.

And I'm not saying she isn't off the air, but there's an authenticity to her that might take people by surprise. Just read her blog, which she's been maintaining forever. And it's her journal, as she calls it. And she's still writing it. Yeah, it's very maintaining for ever and it's her journal as she calls it and she's uh yeah she's still writing it yeah it's very open and heartfelt and honest yeah it's it's a great read

like i subscribe to that because it's just it's a great honest read i like real talk i am humbled you know by this and so grateful to have been given and i've i'm told by listeners all the time god bless them oh you have big shoes to fill but you're doing a good job yeah you have big shoes to fill that's the best you can hope for. Yeah, well, that's the, of course, absolutely. And I mean, when she was,

earlier in her career, when she was tossed aside for Mad Dog and Billy, you remember this? There was like, Oh, everybody remembers this. Julie Adam remembers this very well because it was Julie's call.

Right. And there was riots in the street, as I recall. There were. But because you mentioned the personal tragedy, it's just, this all, she needs to do this.

And you're right, it's courageous and we just hope, you know, she finds peace and happiness. She's going to write a book and she's doing some special projects for Rogers because she's a woman that has to stay busy. Right.

And yeah, I hope she finds, I hope she finds more than peace. I hope she finds joy again. Sure, yeah, I hope she finds, I hope she finds more than peace. I hope she finds joy again. Sure, yeah. Again, I mean, I'm not even, you know, it's a topic that's almost hard to discuss because you're a mother,

I'm a father, and you can't go there and imagine it. You can't imagine. All you know is that it would change you forever. It has, it has. And she's so honest enough

and forthcoming about what has happened in fact the book she's going to write is not an autobiography she wants to write a book about grief but it ended up beat way sorry Aaron if I'm not selling your book but yeah

it's like life can throw it can happen to any of us not to be too much of a downer and the way she passed the baton to you on the exit she did you a great service there and that's why you're getting he's like you know big shoes to fill but you're doing a great job which is basically the best case scenario for someone stepping into those uh absolutely it's as generous as you can be and you know getting back to derringer and his announcement that's the woman of his dreams arrived yesterday i said i got a

note um you know somebody a few people commented on social media, where's Auntie Mo? Or somebody said, oh, it'll never be like you and Mo. And he tweeted that and included me in it. And I wrote back and said, hey, you guys, I send you love and all the best wishes. I mean, there's room for all of us. You know what I mean? Yeah.

You know? So, I mean, it is a backstabbing business, but not always. And at least you got to say goodbye at Q. I know we glossed over that, except the other examples recently, really quick, is that Josie Dye got to say goodbye on CFNY. Josie got to go. And she left. She's about to pop up. She had a 90 days or something.

Yeah, yeah. I know where she's going. We all know where she's going. We all know where she's going. Yeah, she's going to Indy. Yeah, exactly. And that's direct competition, but she still gets to say goodbye.

You have to leave for another station on good terms, and then on your way out, you get to say goodbye. Darren got to say goodbye to Roger and Marilyn. Yes. I don't know if Dean got to say goodbye on the sports show. No, no, no. He got to tweet goodbye. That's a whole different story.

But I think that goes back to the executives. And again, I'm going to... But he didn't leave front of the station too, Dean. No. But you know what? He was really gracious in his departure. But I'm going to say this goes back to the exec. Chris Isom, who is our general manager, is such a class act. And this would be his thing.

Good. By the way, do you know Dean at all? Oh, yeah. I know Dean. I love Dean. Because Dean's a divisive figure. I love Dean. Polarizing guy. Yeah, I'm on Team Dean. You? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I know Dean. I love Dean. Because Dean's a divisive figure. I love Dean. Polarizing guy.

Yeah, I'm on Team Dean. You're on Team Dean. Yeah. So he's always treated you well. Well, I mean, I don't think Dean would even want to not treat me well. Oh, that's funny. No, I find him, I think he's a terrific talent, and he's got to be unleashed. He says he's retired from radio.

I know. Is that just a... Well, I think he's retired unless somebody made him a fantastic offer. That's great. He's got to be unleashed. He says he's retired from radio. I know. Is that just... I don't think he's retired unless somebody made him a fantastic offer. That's great. He's got to do something. He's got opinions, and he's funny as hell.

He's going to end up doing what I'm doing. You watch. He's going to podcast. You know what? That's quite possible. I hope he pops up somewhere. I don't need many more competition, okay? You professionals,

you guys stay over there and leave this for us independent warriors. I think, you know, I'll go as far as to say that I think Dean was thrown under a bus. I really do. I think there were some horrible mistakes that were made, but I think it could have been handled differently. The spin on this, that term again,

is that they wanted to be more sporty, like more sportsy. Is it sporty? I guess it's sportsy. They want to have a deeper sports dive, and that Dean was not interested in that. Oh, I don't mean thrown under a bus at Rogers. No, no.

I think when they had to let him go on the edge. Oh, 102.1. Yeah, 102.1. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the ratings plummeted, you know? Oh, for sure. Yeah, but they saw no other way, and I think maybe there might have been

uh yeah as sports he's not a sports guy he was willing to try to be a sports guy but as he said when he left he doesn't want to swim with one arm anymore and uh you know he had to censor himself and he had to know more about something that maybe wasn't his passion when the building is full of people who love sports more than life itself right right right now i gotta get a little serious here a moment. So this is a Twitter question for you that I think is a great question. It's from Topper Harley. And if that's a real name, that can't be real, right? Topper Harley? Great handle, Topper. Amazing. That's right. I would like to know if the fact she had cancer still weighs on her mind or does she not even think about it? No, Topper, of course, I think about it all the time. But that was 12 years ago.

And it was a real life-changing experience because I had a very grim prognosis. I had a rare kind of cancer. Two different types of cancer. Now we call it triple negative breast cancer. But at the time, they didn't know where it was coming from. And so I had surgery, I had chemo, I had radiation. And none of that was, the scariest part of it was not really knowing what the future held. And that triple negative has a high rate of recurrence too. But once you

get out of the woods, then it's like you never had it. That being said, I've had a couple of health scares since then. And, you know, it comes back to you like a bad dream. But I'm so grateful for the fact that I'm here and that I've survived when so many of my friends and family have not. And I try not to let it define me. You know, I only play the cancer card for humorous purposes or I can get something for free out of it right of course of course who wouldn't it's left its mark on on on my family and um you know it's what can I tell you I like I said I don't in the years that followed I did a number of things for for cancer awareness and so on. I'm still doing something.

I'm doing something for Wellspring next week, a fashion show with Holt Renfrew. But I don't like to make... I don't want to be the poster girl for it. You don't want it to define you. Exactly. You are not your disease. Yeah, I'm not my disease. And although I have greater understanding and empathy for people who are going through that,

it's not something that I want to have in my portfolio. If that's, that's probably not putting it as well as I could. No, no. I think that's like, you're not, it's,

uh, it's, yeah, it's real. Like it happened. It happened. You know, and it still weighs on your mind,

obviously, because you, that's gotta be traumatic to get back on the news. It's the worst. But you look, I mean, so your health, what's your health status?

Oh, my health is fine. Cause you look great. Thank you. You sound great. Thank you. And I mean, so what's your health status? Oh, my health is fine. Because you look great. Thank you. You sound great. Thank you. And I don't know, it sounds like things have, you're out of the woods? Is that your expression?

I'm completely out of the woods. I'm as healthy as I can be. My family is great. I love my job. My husband loves his job. You have free beer? I have free beer. I laugh, I start every day

laughing, usually really hard. And life could not be... People always say, it'll be greener on the other side or it'll be better if I did this or one day I hope to do this. I'm at this sort of golden spot in my life where everything is just

great and I appreciate it. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Now I got to play a promo that was for the Darren and Mo show. And I got to ask you about this promo. Okay. Just let's listen to this. While Darren B. Lamb gets to know his new morning co-host Maureen Holloway.

It's only fair. You get to know her too. Favorite vegetables. Zucchini, obviously. Duh. Maureen Hollowucchini, obviously. Duh. Maureen Holloway joins Darren B. Lamb. Weekdays, 5 to 9 a.m. starting January 9th.

Only on 98.1 CHFI. Maureen. Maureen, I have to talk to you about that. We did a bunch of those. It was just on the fly. You did a bunch of them and they were great. But zucchini. No, come on. Come on, Maureen. Comeen come on chfi what's going on with this it's funny that you should

bring that up because when they hired me um there was some concern that and i and i've heard this voiced in different places on social media and so on that i was i'm kind of cheeky. That's how one person put it, or edgy. And built a reputation for being kind of, you know, not crass, but maybe a little more shocking than CHFI would be used to, coming after Aaron. Yeah, she wouldn't do the zucchini joke.

No! But look, they used it as a promo. And I was really heartened. They're giving me a lot of leeway. And we've had a few people say the show is going in a different direction and I don't necessarily like it. It's a family show. And I have to filter everything that I say with the idea that there are families with kids in the car.

Sometimes I push the envelope. I can't help it. It's what I do. But so far I haven't had anybody tell me to tone it down. The clever thing about the zucchini joke, for example, is it goes right over any kid's head, right? Of course. Ideally, right?

Oh, yeah, I think so. And I don't know. I'm trying to think, would my 13-year-old girl pick up on it? But probably maybe not. You know, but that's okay. I did actually do one bit where we were talking. I was talking about Gwyneth Paltrow, and she has these eggs that she sells, these stone eggs that you put in your vagina.

Oh, yeah, I heard about this. Yeah, you heard about this. So I actually was talking about it on the air, and after work at our show prep meeting, my program director was like, I don't know if I'm comfortable with that. Well, when you stop and think about it, there shouldn't be any reason why we don't talk about that. Right.

But I think the idea is we don't necessarily want to be pushing parents into having conversations. Oh, okay. That's right. People are like, we listen to this show, we want to hear some light chatter,

hear about the Oscars or whatever. What happened at the Grammys last night? And we do that. And now I got to explain to my daughter why somebody would willingly put stones in their vagina. But really, why would they? You're asking the wrong guy.

While you're at it, explain to me. I'm not a doctor, but I bet you there's negative health ramifications there. But yeah, I also was told we don't say porn star on CHF. I always say adult film star. Oh yeah, the P word can't be said. No, you can't.

So there's certain, you know. Zucchini's good for you. Zucchini's good for you. And you're dwelling on it now. I'm dwelling on it. No, I thought for that exact reason, I found it refreshing. It was cheeky and cute.

And you wouldn't have heard that on CHFI before. No, I will tell you that they are giving us enough rope to hang ourselves. That being said, we are very aware that this is a family show. And we respect that. And not said, we are very aware that this is a family show, and we respect that. And not only, you know, CHFI has that clip I just played that is

hosted on their servers, on their webpage. They are, you know, that is, they are endorsing that 100%. Yeah. This is all good. One more, on Twitter, Kathy Penny says, Hubby and I miss her so much on Q. Just can't bear New Station's music programming.

Now to Kathy though, you can address that in a second, but her final words I want to share is, please show her lots and lots of love. So for Kathy, I've been trying very hard

to show Maureen massive amounts of love. You've been showing me a lot of love. Thank you. And Kathy, thank you. So before we shut this down, which has been fantastic,

tell me a little bit about changes to the music. Because a lot of times if you don't like the music, I know what this is like. You like the hosts and the personalities, but you don't like the music. Usually that means you don't listen to the station. So tell me about changes made to CHFI's music and what kind of stuff you hear there and why people from Q should come over and give it a shot.

Well, you know, they say that there's no competition between Q and CGFI. That was one of the reasons why they were okay about me going over within six weeks. But that's not true. And the real, I don't think I'm telling any tales out of school. We're all competing with Boom now. Right. Boom, which came out of left field. The Boom effect on Q's playlist is massive.

Like you can hear Duran Duran on Q107, which you would never hear, but that's a Boom effect. Yeah, because Boom took away a lot of the guys that Q wanted. Q's playlist is massive. Like you can hear Duran Duran on Q107, which you would never hear, but that's a boom effect for sure. Yeah, because boom took away a lot of the guys that Q wanted, because boom was the station that both men and women will listen to. Whereas Q was skewed towards the men, and CHFI and Chum FM have been skewed towards women.

But we want it all. So we're all chasing boom to tell you the truth, although our ratings are bigger. But yeah, this is the boom effect is why you're hearing all these adjustments to the music because everybody wants that big audience. Absolutely. And you mentioned ratings.

Ratings kind of infuriate me because I don't get to see them, but every station does a demographic type thing where they're all number one in something. I know. It drives me around.'re all number one in something. I know. It drives me over. Number one. Toronto's number one morning station.

You can't all be number one, right? It's like, oh, yeah, we're men. It depends on your demographic. You know, Chama Fam has the biggest morning show. Roger and Marilyn are king and queen and have been forever. And God love them for that. But CHFI has the biggest audience

for the whole day in total. CHFI is also number one with women. Q107 is number one with men. Boom's got everybody else though. So Boom is probably, you know, it's also the fastest growing station. Didn't mean to promote them today. But May Potts is a

lovely lady. Stu Jeffries is a great guy. I made him cry twice. Well, that's easy. He's just a big pussy. That's what he said. No great cry. I still say it and then they're like,

oh, everyone can make him cry. Stu cry. How did you make him cry? I can't remember, but I think we talked, he was just, his comeback because he had been

tossed aside with Colleen and then he kind of rose like a phoenix. He rises from the ashes. I think he teared up when he talked about when he was number one, I guess, for his targeted demo in the mornings.

And just because of where he had come from. And it sounded like it was really rough when he was tossed aside. It's right. It's like going back to what we were saying earlier. This is not a business for thin skinned people. It's not a business for the faint of heart. Some really lovely, kind people get tossed

aside and some assholes make it to the top. And I'm really happy for Stu because he deserves it. He's a good guy and he's very talented. And a rare example of someone who comes back to the same station. I know it was Easy Rock and then it was Boom, but it's still the same. Sort of like Greg Brady

right now, I noticed. Greg Brady was back at Sportsnet. Sorry, right, right. Sorry, the fan. The fan, right. And Bob McCowan at some point in his long career was fired from the fan

and came back. But yeah, so Boom caused a shift in Q's playlist, which means Q is basically, in my opinion, they do more 80s, more poppy,

kind of 80s stuff. Which, the P1s do not like that. The old core Q listeners are not happy right with that but you can't this is the thing you know you can't please everybody and everybody's trying to please everybody right now but if uh there's a q listener out there who misses maureen holloway and you're and if they're not one of those like i need to hear just zeppelin all the

time or whatever because you don't play a lot of zeppelin on the chfi my husband says you know see it's amazing you the music see, it's amazing. The music, it is. It's Katy Perry. It's Bruno Mars. It's Beyonce. But you're sprinkling in. You have sprinkled in some of the boom stuff.

We're playing some of the great vintage classic rock. So, again, we're trying to please everybody. So come on in. The water's fine. Everybody, that's 5 a.m., the earliest morning show. I can't believe that. But I guess there's a reason for that, like to get in first, maybe? Yeah, to get in.

Once you got them, maybe you can keep them. You can't have a lot of listeners at 5 a.m. Well, I'm trying. I won't blame you for that, though. But some people do need to sleep, Maureen. Come on. We tell a joke at 5 o'clock. Get up early.

So for the record, Kathy Perry, Kathy Penny, I almost called her Kathy Perry. That's Katie Perry, but Kathy Penny. I did show Maureen lots and lots of love. Yes, you did Mike. Thank you so much.

Thank you for coming. And that brings us to the end of our 217th show. You can follow me on Twitter at Toronto Mike and Maureen is at Maureen Holloway. That's H O L L O W A Y. And our friends at Great Lakes brewery are at Great Lakes beer and chef's plate is at chef's plate. C A. See you all next week. Read Andrew Miller and wander around And drink some Guinness from a tin

Cause my UI check has just come in Ah, where you been? Because everything is kind of rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the snow, snow Warms me today And your smile is fine And it's just like mine