Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Michael Grange Kicks Out the Jams: Toronto Mike'd #1268

Episode Date: June 7, 2023

In this 1268th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike catches up with Michael Grange will he kicks out his 10 favourite songs of all-time. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, the Yes We Are Open podcast from Moneris, The Moment Lab, Ridley Funeral Home and Electronic Products Recycling Association.

Welcome to episode 1268 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Season four of Yes, We Are Open, the award-winning podcast from Moneris, hosted by FOTM Al Grego.

RecycleMyElectronics.ca. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. The Moment Lab, brand marketing and strategy, PR, advertising and production. You need The Moment Lab and Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of this community since 1921. Today, returning to Toronto Mike's to kick out the jams is Michael Grange.

Welcome back, Michael. I'm impressed that you, I don't know if I'm impressed or concerned that you still have to read that word for word. You know, you've done it 1300 times. You think you might just have it memorized. You'd think so. Or maybe even have it drop. You just press something. See that? I wouldn't do that. See, that's interesting because, yeah, a lot of

podcasters would pre-record it and drop it in. I do it live every time because to me that's all part of the experience. This is all live to tape, Michael. Come on. I refuse to do the pre-record, but welcome back. It's a little smoky out there today. Come on. I refuse to do the pre-record, but welcome back. It's a little smoky out there today. It is. When Smokey Sings. Is that one of your jams

when Smokey Sings? It's not. No, but it's kind of like I was saying to my son. It's kind of a nice smell. It's like a campfire smell. You just don't want it for 24 hours. Right. A couple of hours of campfire smells. Oh, I'm with you. I actually like it when I go camping. I camp every year

with the kids and I like it that I get the smoke in my hair. Sure, your flannel shirt. Yeah, and I like that. You're right. I do like the smell of campfire but I don't really want to bike through it for an hour or a half. Enough is enough. Let's get the fans on.

Keep it special. Okay, I'm actually going to stop talking to you michael grange because uh i have pledged to get to the first jam right away we'll catch up between jams so i have but one question for you listening are you ready to kick out the jams i am ready to kick out the jam. I want to know who my representing here tonight. Hold on, hold on. I keep letting you back in. How can I explain myself? You said you care for me better.

Woo! Low-Easy-Anna. Murder on the beat. Something for y'all to cut up to, you know Yeah Everybody get your Roll on, I don't show you and she doesn't want no slow song Had a man last year, life goes on Haven't let a thing loose, girl, in so long

You been inside, know you like to lay low I been people, what you bringing to the table? Working hard, girl, everything paid for First, last, phone, bill, car, no cable With your phone out, gotta hit them angles With your phone out, snapping like you Fable And you sure know, but it's alright And you sure know, but it's alright This is your life, yo Shot out of a cannon, Michael.

Drake, nice for what? Talk to me. Yeah, well, it's funny because, you know, doing what I do, covering the Raptors as I have, Drake is kind of ubiquitous, right? But this song I wanted to include. First of all, let me just say, these are my top 10 or 11 songs, but they're probably not.

Tomorrow it could be another top 10 or 11. It's fluid. Right. Of course. But this one I wanted to include because I have a little pet argument that I feel given the generations I span, I'm not old, just the generations I span. Careful because I doubt you're much older than I am, but please continue. I feel like I'm well positioned to argue that this is actually

a Springsteen song. Whoa! Yeah, yeah. And given, you know, I certainly wouldn't be the first or last sports writer to be on here and have a Springsteen song in there kick out the jams, I'm sure.

And I am a huge Springsteen fan. Like, no, like, I'm not casting any aspersions. I could have had a top 10 Springsteen song. Right. But, you know, when this song hit, I mean, obviously, it's an awesome song. It's catchy AF. Yeah, it is for sure my favorite Drake song. And, but, you know, as I kind of listen to it more and more,

it's like, you know, when you go back to, like, old Springsteen stuff, and it's like, you go back to old Springsteen stuff and it's like, we're waiting for the weekend, we're going to jump in our car, we're going to go and shed our whatever concerns are of the week and have a dream come true type thing. And I think it was okay. So if you fast forward 40 years, what would that sound like? Well, it'd be about a woman, not a guy. It would be about, you know, a single mom. It'd be about, you know, working overtime, get the car gassed up,

you know, your phone bills paid for, all that struggle that so many people have to go through. And then they're looking for an opportunity to cut loose and they don't care what some guy's going to tell them or some dude online is gonna slag them or whatever it might be they're just gonna go and be for themselves and their friends and once i kind of made that connection i just thought this is an unbelievable song and uh so this is this is my token springsteen song in my top 10 i think it's eric cor Koreen who would say that's quite the hot take. I think hot take.

It's not that hot. I think I'm a hundred percent accurate. And I've had this discussion with Eric Koreen, I think. And yeah, so there we go. And I don't think a lot of Drake fans are in position maybe to make that connection.

I love it. No, this is, this has already been stellar. This kick out of the jams. I can stop right now and it's still going to be great. But as a Raptor guy,

a guy who covers the Raptors and Drake, of course, the... Ubiquitous. Not really ubiquitous, but when he's there sometimes, his music is there all the time. His music's there all the time and he's there when the going's good,

I noticed. He's been there a few times in the rough times. I'm not going to go down on it but have you had any one on one conversations of Drake you know we are going to touch on some of my experiences with some of the people on this list

artists on this list I have not had a one on one interaction with Drake I've been in a couple of scrums with Drake I guess my best my favourite Drake reference would be, I used to work out at a gym where Drake's bodyguard worked out.

And Drake's bodyguard, and all I really wanted to ask him, I was terrified too, obviously, was like this guy was about 6'2", maybe 275. Like he was enormous. Right. And he also had tattoos all over his shaved head. And I just felt tattoos all over his shaved head.

And I just felt that was extra. Like, I mean, you're terrifying. Now you're really, really terrifying. I didn't have the chance to bring it up. Yeah.

I'm sure he's a great guy. I'm sure he's like one of those cuddly, soft, soft, but yeah, but, but that's almost like above and beyond. Like you're already intimidating.

We don't need the tats on the skull. So we went, so once when Drake was getting escorted off and this buddy was helping, was doing the escorting, I was like, I almost did the, hey, I know you from the gym. And no, it wasn't the time. All right. So I'm going to let the listenership know

this is not the, you know, we're used to the initial visit by somebody. We do like an A to Z. We walk through the bio. Okay. So you've been here, done that. I don't know if you bought the t-shirt, but you were here and I was looking at the time you were here. You were here March, 2019, which is significant. We'll get back to that in a minute,

but here's what I wrote at the time. That was episode 442. In this 442nd episode, Mike chats with Sportsnet's Michael Grange about his years writing for the Globe and Mail, his work at Sportsnet covering basketball, R.J. Barrett was on the agenda, and the Toronto Raptors and more. And spoiler alert, only a few months after we talked, well, firstly, I'm wearing my Kawhi Leonard The Shot t-shirt because that hadn't happened yet when you were on the show. And also, you know, flags fly forever. We Leonard, the shot t-shirt. Cause that hadn't happened yet when you were on the show. And also, uh, you know,

flags fly forever. We won man. That was amazing. That was an amazing, that was an amazing season. Amazing year. Amazing playoff run. Uh,

yeah, definitely career highlight. And, and maybe me being on your podcast was somehow responsible. I'm feeling that. I think for sure. I will say that, uh, there was that double overtime game against the bucks. I want feeling that, I think, for sure. I will say that there was that double overtime game against the Bucks, I want to say,

where... Yes, game three. Right. And we would have gone down 3-0 if we lost that game. And it was close. And we did pull it off in double overtime. The next morning, bright and early, like 9 a.m. the next morning, Leo Roudens dropped by for his initial deep dive. I remember that. Yeah, and there's like a convergence.

It's just that 2019 pre-pandemic. So we got to all, you know, there's no thoughts of any, you know, a million of us could gather for the parade. We were going to die of something else back then. We were going to what?

Sorry? We were going to die of something else back then. Right, right, right. Well, now we're going to die of like smoke inhalation when smoke gets in your eyes. Hundreds of ways.

A hundred ways to die. Okay, let's get to jam number two. And again, between these jams, we'll catch up. I have some gifts for you. I have a gift for you that you probably already have, but we'll get to that later. Spoiler alert. Let's kick out jam number two. I had this dream where I relished the fray

And the screaming filled my head all day It was as though I'd been spit here Settled in, into the pocket Of a lighthouse on some rocky socket Off the coast of France, dear An afternoon for a thousand men Tied in the water, here And five hundred more refreshing Madly as parasites Mine in your blood

Now I'm in a light boat To San Juan Every time I kick out this fantastic hip song, I realize there is no verse, chorus, verse structure to this song. Like, there's actually no natural place to fade down. Talk to me about the tragically hip and nautical disaster. Yeah, well, I... Yeah, there's no way I was going to get through this without a hip entry.

And, again, could have been many. And I just... I will say this, I feel incredibly lucky that I was kind of in that, you know, that whole music thing that was happening in Toronto, but really Canada, sort of late 80s to mid 90s, maybe 2000. You know, and it's interesting having kids who are that age now and how different their musical experience is. We'll kind of get to that.

But anyway, so this song in particular I chose, and I have tons of hip stories, so don't let me go on too long. You have three hours. Go ahead. I think it was summer of 95. I know it was summer of 95 I was working at the Globe. It was my first year there, I was a summer intern. I'd just finished school. My girlfriend then, now wife, had an apartment right at Spadina in Queen.

And I was very strategically and conveniently located. And the Globe back then, you didn't start until 10 a.m., which was awesome for my drinking. And so, you know, there were many mornings, and in this case, a weekday morning, we'd kind of stumble out of there at whatever, 9 a.m., and there's a coffee place right at the corner, southeast corner of Queen and Spadina, like directly across from the Horseshoe Tavern. And so, bleary- eyed coming out there one morning

I'm like why is there a lineup of people outside the Horseshoe Tavern and so I wandered over why is there a lineup of people well there's a they were the hip were having a spot what do they call it now like a you know a spontaneous concert what's that word

I don't know a spontaneous concert you know there's a word call it now? Like a spontaneous concert. What's that word? I don't know. Like a spontaneous concert. You know, there's a word for it now on the internet. But anyway, they were doing a... Pop-up? Pop-up. That's what they were doing. And it was like a rehearsal for their upcoming tour.

Right. And I was like, wow, cool. So I got in line. I must have commissioned my wife to go and call other friends because we didn't have cell phones then right and uh yeah so a handful of us got that lived around there got the word got in line um i'm going to imagine it was jake gold actually who gave me the wristband might not be true but i think it was somebody one of their like fotm jake gold yeah it was one of their like long-term management type people and then came back that night for, at that time,

like I'd seen the hip and I could go on forever, but the first time I ever saw the hip, I think it was like summer of 87. That's early for the hip. Yeah, upstairs at the Elmo, because I had a degenerate friend from Mount A where I went to school who had gone to school at I think lower, whatever private school, one of the either, I don't know, Paul Sinc, I think, lower,

whatever private school, one of the either, I don't know, Paul Sinclair, I think, went to one of those, one of them. And so he kind of, it was his buddy's band. He said, check these guys out.

And so that summer, 87, I saw them in Now Magazine, upstairs at the Elm Hall, I go, sure, I wander over by myself. I didn't make a big deal of it. And again, I was living around the corner.

Yeah. And get in there and they were terrible. I was't make a big deal of it. And again, I was living around the corner. Yeah. And get in there and they were terrible. I was like this. What were they doing? I would envision like Van Morrison covers. They were past the covers. But the joke of it is that wasn't the band. They were, that was the opening band.

And so the hip come on like an hour later and they were incredible. But just for a little perspective for those who aren't as into the hip as you and I are, like up to here, which is where the normies clue in, up to here, and that doesn't get released till 89.

That's when I'm hearing it on Q107. Oh, blow it high dough. Whoa, what the hell is this? I got to get this disc, and then I'm in love with the hip. But if you're on board like before up to here, you're a hip OG. That's a big deal.

Yeah, I mean, and they, and again, going back to what a lucky era it was, you know, it was kind of... It's the Highway Girl era, right? Yeah, Highway Girl. And there was like this, the whole college music scene at that time was really huge. That's why so many of these bands,

or some of these bands we'll talk about, were able to exist. And so they would come to Sackville, New Brunswick, and play, I saw them playing in a dining hall that would sit 400 people at what we would call a beer garden. And I remember them doing boots and hearts and looking, and yeah, they're all wearing boots.

One of my all-time favorite hip songs. Oh, yeah. There's a lot of choices. Is anyone if you include the fact that he don't care? That would have been one. Three Pistols would have been another one. Yeah. And anyway, so yeah, had a long history seeing them in all the relevant bars around the city.

But by this summer, 95, they were huge, right? Like they were, like, so they, I hadn't seen them. Well, Fully Completely is out by then, right? Yeah, it was. That's huge. This was Day for Night. Right. So they were prepping for the tour to support Day for Night

in the summer of 95. So is this before or after the Saturday Night Live appearance? It was the same. Same era. I'm going to say it probably was after

but it was the same era. The same period, right. And so you couldn't see them in a bar anymore. No. It was unless you went to the States. Right, right. And so I stumbled,

my point is I stumbled into this thing. It's at the Horseshoe Tavern. I probably hadn't seen it with the horseshoe for like five years. Right. And it was amazing.

And I remember this song and it's not quite a beat drop, but there's that build up and then, you know. Oh, it's an excellent song. Like I literally got goose pimples listening to Nautical. Yeah, and what I remember now,

I remember both at that show. Yeah. That kind of the whole crowd jumping as one once. It's like waves, right? Once the drum comes in. So years later, and then I remember seeing them at Halton.

I thought I was kicking out the jams here for a minute. Sorry, keep going. At Cops, which was the last show I saw on that tour. Or their farewell tour. Oh, Man Machine Poem. No, no, it was their farewell tour. Yeah, I think that tour was called Man Machine Poem. No, no, it was, well, their farewell tour. Yeah, I think that tour was called like Man Machine Poem. Oh, it was?

Okay, thanks. And anyway, and the same thing, except it's 20,000 people 30 years later or 25 years later. And yeah, so. Did you cry at that concert? No, but the, I remember the next morning after watching the concert, um, the final concert and just being,

you know, pretty, you know, pretty messed up and going somewhere with my dog. And it was like the whole city was asleep still. And just being really, and what I reflected on is, you know, because of so many factors, not just their brilliance, but also, um, that the, the nature of the music industry at that time, the nature of the Canadian music scene at that time, how, you know, we had seen something that will never probably be, uh, repeated. And it, you know, you talk about Drake, you talk about the weekend, you talk about so many of these artists who their first, you know, I'm sure, you know, people, there's OGs who are kind of onto them in their communities early. I'm not suggesting that doesn't happen, but you know, they, their,

their rocket ship is in the States. And whereas, you know, for some of these artists, it was possible to have that organic, homegrown thing. And then for that, for Gord Downie in particular, it'd be such a freak show talent. And then for obviously the tragic way it ended, it's just like an epic movie, you know? And I have one Gord Downie story. I was about to ask. You know, and I do have some good ones.

But so I think it was in 93, and I had to write something down, it's not on some of these dates, but before I started The Globe, I was a a welfare worker I worked for the city of Toronto and uh I worked at an office showing how the city's changed the office at the time was at Dovercordon College which then was kind of a little rough neighborhood right right you know and uh so you you know so um and there was this was pre-Starbucks. And so you'd get your coffee at this little Korean owned variety store next door. And I go in there and maybe, you know, once a week I would run into Gord Downie.

And cause he would, he lived in an apartment across the street. Wow. And you know, I introduced myself and it was a totally low-key environment obviously it was literally one of those tiny little Korean shops that are like they call those bodegas in New York here we call them but yeah a little 12 by 12 shop and they'd have

the coffee and the glass are in there and right Gordon I would have our coffee and you know we chit chat and one day he says you know listen why don't you come across to the apartment and uh you know i want you to listen to something i'm like okay and so we go across and i'm going to imagine there's at least one or two other guys from the band there and um he plays a recording of uh the hip covering uh limelight by rush which was turned in so they were practicing for rush's not induction to the academy music hall of fame but it was

some tribute at the junos that year and uh yeah so i was like you know that that's an amazing story like just to even have the, you know, have one-on-one conversations with Gord. Yeah. And he could have been nicer. And I was like, yeah,

that's great, Gord. That's really good. You know, and then, you know, I think pretty soon after that, he moved back out to Kingston on some farm that he was,

you know, whatever, but. Wow. So it's recently as what, what, what is this early June? So just before the,

uh, Victoria day long weekend in late May, I kicked out hip jams of a couple of big hip jams. Like, like your ideal, like summer long weekend hip songs. And we played 10, what we deem like the best 10 hip songs for a long weekend.

You can't separate like a long weekend in Canada from the tragically hips catalog. Like, and one of the great jams for a long weekend in Canada is Bob Cajun, in which Gord references those checkerboard floors from the Horseshoe Tavern. Yeah, one of my favorite spots literally on the planet. And during the pandemic, I just wanted to go back there so badly.

I love that spot too. We'll tease it and I won't mention the band, but there is a band coming up that I've seen many times at the Horseshoe Tavern and just like thinking about like December near Christmas you're seeing this band at the Horseshoe like I can't wait to get to that I love your jams we're going to get to all of them

but thank you for kicking out some Tragically Hip and sharing your story about Gord that's awesome that's awesome alright and if you have any more Gord stories, by the way, I would make time for them. I'm just trying to think.

Oh, and so my, well, the last one is the bookend to the whole thing was in, I was covering the NHL lockout for Sportsnet in the summer of 2012, which I recognized was just because none of the NHL guys wanted to be anywhere near it because they knew it wasn't going to get resolved till, you know, November or December. So I was the sucker uh okay I'm literally I would go to New York

and with on an open ticket and just stand around on the sidewalk for hours and days but um but I have a good friend who lives down there and he uh let me know the hip were playing and um it was their 25th anniversary year and we saw them I don't know the name were playing and um it was their 25th anniversary year and we saw them i don't know the name of the venue but it was about a 1200 person venue like a kind of a warehouse type space and i hadn't seen them at that time for probably 10 12 years like yeah i just kind of like i was you got busy i was a parent and um you know and it was incredible. Like all of a sudden I'm like 25 years and they were pulling songs from every conceivable corner, nailing them.

It was, you know, and it was funny because of the locker. There was like all these NHL people around. It was a pretty fun, a pretty fun night, but that was, uh,

you know, and that, and that, and then the whole experience of, you know, once Gord got sick and just experienced, you know, you really dove back into them and recognize that, no, it wasn't just you as a kid.

It was like, no, this is a special thing. There you go. That's all I got. You had me at hello. Okay. So I realize now when I was teasing that band I love seeing at Horseshoe Tavern, it's actually the next song. There you go. But here, you mentioned, you know, drinking.

You get to start at 10 a.m. because you got a good time drinking. I'm going to send you home today, Mr. Grange, with some fresh craft beer from Great Lakes Brewery. I'm very happy about that. Delicious beer. Thank you, Great Lakes, for supporting the program. It is good beer. No, it's legit.

Like, I know. They pay you to say that. They don't pay me to say it. They don't pay Michael Grange to say that. They don't give him a dime. But they do give him some beer. But yeah, it's fantastic. Enjoy enjoy that and while i'm giving you some fresh craft beer i want you to know that you're taking home with you a uh a large frozen

lasagna from palma pasta i don't know and did you get a lasagna in 2019 i did and it was awesome we're getting another one i'm very excited my guest yesterday was proudly of italian descent and telling me how her mom cooks this lasagna. She's going to review the Palma Pasta lasagna from Miss Rita DeMontis, for those who haven't listened yet. And I can't wait for her review, but most people will tell me

it's the best lasagna you can buy in a store. So thank you, Palma Pasta. One quick hip note. I've seen them, I think I saw them 13 times in total. I went to that final show. They had three shows in Toronto. I was at the middle show because we had a road trip.

We were actually going to Prince Edward Island and I ended up seeing, just for what it's worth, I was in Inganish, Nova Scotia in Cape Breton when the final show aired and I watched it with my family there. And I remember weeping while I watched that final show. Some lines just hit differently. Like, this isn't a dress rehearsal.

This is our life, I guess. You know, head by a century. But I will say, so I was seeing the hip many times live. And one song I never saw live was 38 Years Old, which is a song I loved from up to here. I loved 38 Years Old. But they never played it live. But finally, I don't know, 2012 or so,

I saw them at Fort York. So I'm at Fort York. I see the Tragically Hip. I'm wearing my Bill Borilko jersey. It's a nice summer night and they break into 38 years old and it turns out they rarely for whatever reason uh they just never played 38 years old but i saw it there at fort york so you can you know check that off the uh the bucket list or whatever and yeah love that band i miss that band i I miss that band. I also love this band. Let's kick it. I know you will never leave me Don't you know that it's alright And it's alright

It's alright I know you're just trying to squeeze me Don't you know that it's alright I know you would never deceive me Don't you know that it's alright? You should know I'm not forgetting what you've done You should know I'm not forgiving you It's alright Don't you know I'm not forgiving you?

It's alright, it's alright I know you're just trying to tease me Don't you know that it's alright? I know you will never believe me Don't you know that it's alright, it's alright That voice belongs to an FOTM, Michael. Talk to me about the Sky Diggers. Wow. So, not to make this always all about me, but... Well, it is all about you.

Honestly, this is literally all about you and your love of music. So as it was, you know, of these bands, I'd say the one I've kind of returned to more regularly would be the Skydiggers, in part because they have this fantastic show around Christmas time. Yes. And it was, last time was at the Danforth, last few times at Danforth Music Hall. A little bit disappointed about that, not going to lie. Right.

But, you know, if you can fill that place twice versus the horseshoe three times, I get it. And, you know, and so you go see them around Christmas time. It was like a reunion. You just see how many people you would know. And as I kind of got into them, they kind of started a little bit later than Blue Rodeo or The Hip. And I think I got into them through my girlfriend at the time who was like a dancer, like a modern dance professional.

And one of the people she worked with was at the time, I think, I don't know what their status is now. I shouldn't even speculate. I really don't know, but it's been somewhere forever. But it was Andy Mays' wife, Andrea. And so I would kind of get into them. And they were, I just think that they're amazing. Like their first four albums, you kind of go through them. And they're just gem after gem after gem. They have like their first four albums, you kind of go through them and there's, you know,

they're just gem after gem after gem. And I was kind of looking up, you know, when I was doing this, I was like kind of just trying to refresh my memory. And it turns out like their first four record labels all went bankrupt. Yeah, okay. So there is an episode of Toronto Mike of Andy Mays

in which we talk about this and you come out of that episode realizing how much of your success in the music business is luck versus the quality of the music like they just had the worst luck with their labels and they did they lost the access to the the masters right right and you go back to to you know you can get it on Apple Music I'm sure Spotify whatever and there are legitimate in my mind like hits on multiple on four, at least four or five of those records. Yeah. And, you know, there was literally probably almost nothing stopping them from being.

Wilco. Yeah. I don't know. Like, you know, you never know. They could have been. I don't know why. Why are they Wilco? You know, like if Hip couldn't make it huge in the US, but whatever.

My point being is they were an exceptional because yeah because it wasn't like there was like two records two songs on three records it was like nine songs on five records right and um you know i just chose this one could have been many other and it's interesting too their songs are always super they're almost likely in that two and a half minute range and they kind of have their own little structure that's a little bit different. But anyway, so, you know, through this girlfriend, I got to meet Andy

and hang out with them. Who's a sweetheart? He's a wonderful guy. And then, you know, I called him once to fix my furnace. As I transitioned from girlfriend to another girlfriend

who became my wife, got to make sure these things are clear. Get it straight. You know, my wife, who's always had great musical taste, she was already a Sky Diggers fan, so it was very convenient. And, you know, we try to go to that show every chance we get.

And I have a funny Jim Cuddy story from going to that show. So I'm sure we'll touch on that. Hold that one. It is interesting to hear you kick out Sky Diggers right after Tragically Hip because I have a memory memory and I can't, you'll tell me if this is a real memory, but doesn't Gord quote a penny more during his Saturday Night Live performance?

Doesn't he like finish a song with a line from a penny more? I would have to Google. I was about to Google it, but there was a lot of stuff coming up because the hip covered a penny more and stuff a lot. I have to, somebody tell me in the live stream, live.torontomic.com where this is live. I saw a lot of stuff coming up because the hip covered a penny more and stuff a lot. I have to, somebody tell me in the live stream,

live.torontomike.com, where this is live. I saw a bunch of people. Somebody was yelling out, Moose Grumpy was yelling out, pop up. We were struggling with the name pop up and it was like,

it was there. I should have just gone in and, pop up. Okay. Which we finally did get, by the way. So thank you for kicking out Sky Diggers. Again,

if you haven't heard Andy Mays on Toronto Mike, I'm cross promoting here, but it is an excellent episode and he, that band is under episode. I'm going to listen to it, actually, because I missed that one. Michael Grange, what are you doing here? I'm going to do this real quick here because there's so many jams to get to, but it's funny because I had a delivery today, a gentleman named Al Grego, who hosts a award-winning, excellent podcast called Yes, We Are Open. It's a Moneris podcast, and Al travels the country, and he gets inspiring

stories out of small business owners and entrepreneurs. And I listen to these episodes, and it inspires me as the smallest of business owners and an entrepreneur. And Al Grego was here dropping off more wireless speakers because I have one for you, but he did remark, because he knew you were my next guest, because I said, oh, you're going to be at 1015 or whatever. He said,

oh, I think Michael Grange has a bunch of these speakers already because he thinks maybe your wife scores them here I'm dropping Great Lakes beer everywhere it's okay but here is a wireless speaker courtesy of Moneris so you can listen to season four of Yes We Are well you know I'm going to have a word I got to be careful here because

you be careful I'm not saying anything more my wife does have very strong connections to Moneris and what I'm really concerned about is she's probably given this to me four times and I haven't paid attention. And so she's going to be mad. Well, I'll just envision you have a room in your home full of wireless speakers from Moneris. You got another one there anyways. You can add it to the collection.

Thank you, Moneris. Thank you, Moneris. Great partners of this program. Great partners of my program. Great partners of my program. So I hear. Okay, let's kick out another Michael Grange

jam. I walked in the corner with the body screaming dollar. Never sold a bag but look like Pablo in the photo. This gon' make him feel the way like Tony Q. Minoru. You already know that. You already know that. I walk in the corner with the money on my finger. She might get it poppin' on my wife's phone. I'm out. I get too lit when I turn it on Can't handle my behavior when I turn it on Too fast to last, life don't last, don't do it all Or I'll miss who you wanna be

And I know you won't tell me why I don't know St. John, no O required. So, as I'm listening to this I recognize I failed to include the word remix oh right and so that's all my that's all my fault it is all your fault but I can go to I can play it on YouTube if you want to hear the remix

okay here so but this is a great version this is the studio this is the album version but we got to make our guests happy. You can start talking about it and I'll cook it up here in the back. So I spent a lot of time sitting in arenas

and you hear a lot of... Well, you do hear some good music sometimes, but you hear a lot of music you'd rather not listen to and you hear it often and over and over again. You got music coming out of you. Oh, my bad. Is that you? You playing roses?

No, because I was... Is it the Amambic remix? The Amambic remix, yeah. Okay, so it's going to go... There we go. Oh, yeah, okay. There we go. I can feel the weather turning humanoid You already know, you already know I'm up in the corner with the money on my face

She might get it poppin' on my wife's photo card I already know, already know, I never know All I need to run up and he turn my way And I turn it on You know how I get too lit when I turn it up. Can't handle my behavior when I turn it up. Too fast, I'm a ass, the lights don't last, I'm through it all. With a nigga rock, it's who you wanna be.

Yeah, very different. Still good. Tell me about why you chose this remix. So as I said, this is a direct contrast to I think everything on this list in that I have zero knowledge, connection, insight, anything. You've never had a conversation with St. John?

No, or the guy who remixed it. Nothing. It's kind of crazy, but you would hear it. I think it was a Peloton commercial. I would hear it in the of crazy, but you would hear it, I think it was, it was a Peloton commercial and I was like, and then I would hear it in the arena sometimes,

but they'd only kind of play snippets and I was kind of like, what is this song? It's so cool. And I finally was able to track it down and,

and, and like I, I actually was coming on, I kind of looked some stuff up about it and I'm like, so the singer is Guyanese, the producer is Kazakh, like from Kazakhstan.

Okay, yeah. And it got big on Snapchat. See, we're way too old for this. And I don't have Snapchat, nor am I Guyanese. No, because your kids are on Snapchat. Right, they are. So anyway, to me, I just love the song. I think it's super, and like I say, I'm in arenas all the time.

Some of the stuff, you're just like, please, can we just get on with it? But once in a while, you'll just hear something that's new to me, at least. And the other, so I wanted to include something from my arena life. Sure. And the other option was one thing by Anne-Marie. Do you know that one? I'd have to hear it. Yeah, you probably wouldn't know it to hear it, but it's just absolute banger, as they say.

So everybody was over the other night, meaning that even the older two kids, everybody's here. And I was kicking out, getting your jams ready and playing them. And I will say my daughter, who's turning 19 next month, knew this song very well and loved it, like was very excited that Michael Grange was kicking this out. So that's all it is. I mean, I got nothing to give you other than,

to me, it's just an incredible contrast in how you gain access and experience to music now. You know, some ways for the worse, in a way, like there's not like this super lively bar scene, you can go see live acts, but other ways, the better, that some dude from Kazakhstan and artists from Guyana can somehow become earworm to me.

Okay, on this note. So here, just give me a chance. I was going to ask you anyways about the process. Like you normally guests bring 10 jams. You brought 11 and you're Michael Grange, so I'm going to allow it. You did for Ann Romer. I noted. You know what?

I can't say no to Ann Romer. How could you? I listened to that. I was like, wow, yeah, I guess not. So I guess a good question. When you heard you were kicking out of the jams, you had to go and cherry pick one to hear how it goes down.

Is that what happened there? Is Ann Romer the only jam kicking you've heard? No, no, I've listened to a few others. Did you ever hear Ryan Walstat kick out 90s hip-hop? No, but yeah, and I bet you it would be really good. He wrote me a note yesterday because he had just, Donovan Bailey kicked out the jams be really good. He wrote me a note yesterday because he had just, Donovan Bailey kicked out the jams last week.

And he wrote me a note, Ryan, who also covers the Raptors, he's at the Toronto Sun. And Ryan was telling me that his jams and Donovan's are identical. Like he said, he's never heard it because he listens to all the kick out the jams. He's listening to us right now. Hello, Ryan.

Hello, FOTM Ryan. But he said that the Donovan Bailey jams were like completely jams that Ryan Walstat might kick out. So I don't know if that would be okay for you. Ryan is, he's got, like we've talked 90s hip hop before. I like, it's not really a strength of mine.

Like it should be given the age I was and all that. But, you know, I certainly. There's no biggie on your list? Let me check. Well, that'd be the problem. If I were to include, it would be like the equivalent of

Stairway to Heaven for hip hop. And I'm like, you know, no, no, like, I mean, those are incredible songs.

They're amazing, but I, I, you know, it just would have felt like the most obvious choice. So I chose something different. Okay, cool.

Well, let's get to another jam. Oh yeah. So the process of coming down to the, whittling it down to 11, like, do you, I'm curious, do you start with like, I don't know, here's 50 songs and you just start turning?

It's a great question. I kind of started with bands, with artists mostly. And then obviously there are a couple of cases where it was just a song. And I think what I ended up deciding was to, the way my brain began to organize was sort of not so much eras as groups. to organize was sort of not so much eras as groups. So we got our, you know, the, you know, the Canrock, uh, Canon of which, you know, I have like some personal interactions with. Right.

And then, you know, this song and a couple of others are, you know, how I've kind of come to experience music now that I don't really, you know, it's hard to find original new music at the stage in life. So how did you, how did you discover music in you discover music in the 80s and 90s? Like, I know we're similar vintage. But was it literally like listening to the radio, watching much music, and then having friends recognize you? Yeah, no, 100%.

Yeah, that'd be it. And then the one wrinkle in that that kind of was huge for me was i went to university in sackville new brunswick and uh you know it's changed a lot now but at the time you know much music was around it wasn't quite as it was kind of a we weren't quite clear how big a culture force it was going to become and so so you could go to a place like Sackville and it was definitely off the map in a way. And, um, but I was really lucky for two reasons. One, the basketball coach there, a guy named Dave Crook, who was really young in his career. We were only about six years apart in age. We became really good friends, still are. He was the youngest of, I think, three brothers from Winnipeg. And he had this, what seemed to me,

like the most crazy record collection of all time. And you'd go to his apartment, it would be like walls of music. Right. And so he would kind of introduce you to stuff that you'd never otherwise have a chance to hear. There was a college, you know, we had a radio station there, and so that was pretty good. And there was a really good live, because of Sackville, Sackville is kind of like, if you're going to tour the

Maritimes, you'd pass by it. You can't really avoid it. And so we'd get these incredible bands coming there. Like everybody seemed to show up multiple times. And so, uh, yeah, it was kind of like this weird confluence of events and yeah. So so, and then in the summers, I'd come back to Toronto and then I was, you know, I was old enough to be out in the bars. And so, you know, you'd open up Now Magazine and you just go and- Shout out to Now Magazine. Absolutely.

It was really fun. What a time. Okay. What a time to be alive. What a time. You know, it was, I will say that with confidence. Yeah. Now let's kick out the jam.

So I mentioned my almost 19-year-old daughter loved that last jam, but my nine-year-old daughter loved that last jam, but my nine-year-old son... See, I'm spanning generations here. This song here I'm about to kick out. My nine-year-old son loves this song and actually dressed as this person, character, I want to say.

I don't know. But let's get to this jam. Yeah, I'd rather be a lover than a fighter Cause all my life I've been fighting Never felt a feeling of comfort All this time I've been hiding And I never had a feeling of comfort All this time I've been outed And I never had someone to call my own I'm so used to shit Love only left me alone But I'm at one with the silence I found peace in your violence Can't show me there's no point in trying

I'm at one And I've been quiet for too long I found peace in your violence Can't show me there's no point in trying I'm at one And I've been silent for too long Marshmallow Who my son did dress as for Halloween last year, by the way Good for him Talk to me about silence Yeah, so, you know, kind of touching on what you're referring to You kind of get to a certain stage and then Like if I looked at my

You took my iPhone What are those called before they were iPhones? Smartphones? What are we talking about? Androids? The music thing. Oh, the music thing. The playlist iPods. The iPod.

Thank you. Anyway. That's not that long, Michael. Oh, man. Believe me, it's been a busy 20 years. But so you looked at my iPod in 2000, which was the year before my daughter was born and looked at it

and say 2018, by which time, you know, there wouldn't be that much new music on it. Like it was just, you're just kind of completely,

there's no time to be casually sampling tunes. They say by the time you're like 21 or whatever, all that, your music is your music. Like you just carry that for the rest of your life.

Which saddens me a bit, right? I know, but it's true. And so, but the bonus is you start to experience things through your kids as they get a little bit older. And I'm sure you've had that experience with your daughter. And so the summer of 2017, my daughter was really, really playing volleyball at a really high level.

And so we were, you know, I was driving her out to Burlington. It felt like three days a week for training. I can't remember. And, uh, so this album called American team by Khalid came out and she was really into it. And I loved it. Like I loved every track on it. I listened to it all the time. We wore that thing out going back and forth to Burlington. It felt like, and then at the same time, my son was a little bit younger. He was kind of getting into some EDM and things like that. And, you know, so when Marshmallow, you know, did this thing with Khalid, a collaboration, a collab, right? Absolutely.

You know, and I just thought it was awesome. I think it's great. And it also makes me think of my kids. And now it's, you know, they're like a real resource to me. Like, you know, when we go on drives, they always have the aux cord, as they say. And, you know, but our tastes are kind of fusing a little bit like my son's spotify thing is featuring a lot of songs that i kind of knew and recognized and uh my daughter too a little bit but then there's all you know as you'd expect there's stuff that i'd never come across

and and uh it's it's been great it's been a really fun little little ride so this is sort of this a song that makes me think of how those things happen and i love it i think it's a great song honestly i relate 100 because my my oldest child is uh 21 about 21 and a half and i learn about modern day hip-hop from him he's a bit of a hip-hop head himself although he goes back and he'll kick out the 90s stuff. And I'm like, yeah, I'm telling him stories. I was there. I'm telling these stories or whatever, like an old man in my rocking chair or whatever.

But even artists that aren't that new but are still new to me because I sort of cut things off at some point, like Earl Sweatshirt and stuff. He's giving me the history. And we're playing all the new stuff. And yeah, I learn a lot about music from my kids. The older set, the younger set, it kind of keeps you fresh. You just got to get through

that stage where their musical taste is terrible. You know, that age 7 to 13, it's like, please. And then you're like, oh yeah, I remember I was big on

my pop music, my CFTR. By the way, today's the anniversary. You work for Rogers, right? Okay. I do. So today's the anniversary of when CFTR left Top 40 for All News 680.

This is on this day in 1993. So there's a fun Toronto radio. How do you know that? I think Mike Epple tweeted, FOTM Mike Epple tweeted about it today. And then I took note. I learn all my things from Twitter. Okay, Michael? Keep tweeting.

Nothing wrong with that. Here's a quick gift. I'm giving you a lot of note. I learn all my things from Twitter, okay, Michael? Keep tweeting. Nothing wrong with that. Here's a quick gift. I'm giving you a lot of gifts. I know, I'm feeling blessed. Did you bring me anything, Michael? My passion. Can I call you Mike? Yeah, you can call me Mike, yeah.

Okay, just, you know, Michael. There's a big thing right now in the NBA where Michael Malone, the head coach of the Denver Nuggets, was once known as Mike Malone, but now he really wants to be known as Michael Malone. He's changed it up. I've never cared.

It's like, was it Joey Bell wanted to be Albert Bell? Okay. Manny Lee did that, I think. He gave like a notice to reporters that, call me Manuel or something like that. Okay, this is a flashlight, Michael. You know, you're in the dark, you don't want to fall and trip and end up at Ridley Funeral Home.

So this is courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of this community since 1921. OG Ananobi this year introduced like O.G. So like for Matt Devlin, it didn't matter. Right. For us, I was like, oh, frig. Yeah, yeah, because you're right. It was like, why'd you do this, OG?

It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Really? Is that important to you? Your style guide is updated there. Yeah, right. Speaking of're right. It was like, why'd you do this, OG? It's like, yeah, yeah. Really? Is that important to you? Your style guide is updated there. Yeah, right. Speaking of Devlin, on Twitter this morning, he broke his foot.

I know. I got to give him a call. I feel bad. In our business, to screw up your summer is excruciating. It's the worst. It's like that Simpsons episode

when Barb broke his leg and they had the pool. Break your leg in January, no big deal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. June, horrible. I feel bad for Matt. Tell Matt,

because many, many times Matt has committed to coming on Toronto Mic'd and then for various reasons and never got on the calendar. Now maybe we'll wait for the cast to come off or something,

but remind him. You won't be able to get down these stairs. You won't be able to do it outside. I can do it outside. I can move this around. Ooh, Jack Armstrong made me set up in his hotel just before the pandemic and just shortly

after you, I guess. Speaking of the Danforth musical, I went to Jack's Christmas record release. Right. Which was actually pretty good. It was pretty good, yeah. Okay. He's quite the character. I love that guy.

Okay. Let's kick out another Grange Jam. Well, when I was young, I was so full of fear I hid behind anger, held back the tears It was me against the world, I was sure that I'd win But the world fought back, punished me for my sins I felt so alone, so insecure I blamed instead Made sure I was heard

They tried to warn me Of evil ways But I couldn't hear what They had to say I was wrong Self-destruction Got me again I was wrong

I realize now that I was wrong And I think about my loss What have you done? Social distortion. Social D, baby. How far back do you go of this band? Like the adult American hardcore stuff? How far back do you go of this band? Like the, the adult American hardcore stuff or how far back do you go? No,

like I think post his post prison stint, I think. So like he, like they had a couple of records out and then he went to rehab. Then I think they went to jail. They've been able to sit in jail there. And then, uh,

then they had a real nice run in the early nineties, mid nineties. I think this is off their, like the last of their big records, I think. White light, white heat, white trash. And yeah, no, I just, you know, I think my first really favorite band was probably The Clash. And I really kind of wish I had at least one track class song on this thing but I figured I could at least talk about the You can always do a sequel like Nick Summer come back and kick out

10 more jams. I know just to keep coming but I mean so anyway so like I kind of you know I enjoy you know some punk-ish music you know and I just found this song,

and they've got a bunch of great songs, but this one, I love the edge of it. I love the snarl of it, and as I've gotten older, I love the fact of it. You know, like I was wrong. You know, I don't really, I can't say I've probably, you know, Mike Ness does a lot more things to regret than I do. But, you know, just that theme of kind of looking back and going, man, I'm an idiot or I was an idiot and I was wrong. And I just, it kind of hits home.

I've like listened to the song and choked up before. Like it's just kind of, you know, if you ever, you know, that whole thing, you know, no regrets. I that whole thing you know no regrets i find anytime actually anyone says that i want to punch them yeah that's gotta be bullshit i think it's the stupidest thing ever um because yeah i got plenty of regrets and uh this song is clearly aimed at that demographic and uh it's just great song great song you know it's a great song and i saw i saw them at the government, you know, on this tour. Rest in peace.

Yeah. And it was awesome. Like, you talk about, man, that was a lot of, like, people who enjoyed venting their anger in one place. Well, I think that would attract some, because these are, like, in the, I guess, early 80s. This is, like, an American hardcore band, right? Like, you're listening you're listening to this song and it's so accessible like this is not part of that but uh i did an episode i want to shout out brother bill who was on cfny for years and you know we talked about how we were introduced to music a lot of times i would hear brother bill spin a song on cfny and i'd be like i gotta get that i gotta go down to sam's or hmv and get that

album whatever or a and a whatever but uh we did an American Hardcore episode where we just talked about the history of American Hardcore and kicked out the big jams. So check out that episode if you want to hear more. But I do have a fun fact for you, Michael Grange, here, which is that this is the biggest hit. If you go by charts, you know, and chart schmarts. But the biggest hit of Social Distortion's career is that jam we just kicked out. And it's the only song they've ever released that hit the US Billboard Hot 100. There you go.

And I would say they probably have, I was kind of listening to their, I was on a, I took a road trip down to New Jersey. I kind of listened to them for one stretch, about four straight hours. And they got about, they probably got about 10, 12, like absolute bangers and this one I just find resonates the most.

Great. And I love that. That's a great actually, it's a great segue to your next jam I find. But I do want to ask you about your pandemic look. So I sent a tweet yesterday and I said this handsome devil is visiting tomorrow morning

and it's a picture you tweeted during the pandemic. You grew out your beard. So talk to me about the pandemic look, if you don't mind. And will we ever see it again? Well, it's good timing because the next bunch of songs are kind of pandemic, you know, the songs that I kind of got into. For all the legitimate tragedy and bad things about the pandemic, the legitimate tragedy and and bad things about the pandemic um one of the great things was it just sort of slowed your life and you for me i listened to more music than i had in you know the

two decades before and kind of was able to get into some to me new things and um but yeah so so yeah i don't know why everyone stopped shaving i did. I kind of do it sort of off-season anyway, and it became just a thing. And it is still my Twitter profile. I suppose at some point I might change it. But it's great because you kind of can see Michael Grange in that face. Like I can say, oh yeah, that's Michael Grange. But at the same time, it's so radically different

than the Michael Grange I'm looking at right now. Right, right. And it would kind of, and I also, I always have a picture of me like all clean cut in ring, Steph Curry. So it's like,

I just needed to have that. I couldn't have it, I needed that just to make sure. But it wasn't just the beard, right? Because you had the hair and I did that during the pandemic. That's how I felt. Yeah, I agree.

What a time. When you look back, because we're kind of, you know, I'm sure COVID is still causing a lot of grief to a lot of people and it's still here, but it's no longer at the forefront of our daily now we're worried about smoke in our lungs or whatever so we had to switch gears here but

that when i look back and i think about things like okay i remember because i had young kids at the time and i remember things playgrounds got shut down like when i look back oh they shut down playgrounds and i don't golf but i have friends who golf and like we can't golf right now and i'm thinking like it was just such a bizarre time. And it was so bad for so many people's mental health. And I just think it's going to take a long time for a lot of people to actually recover from the trauma from the COVID-19 pandemic. I think that's reasonable. And it was really bad for people who cut hair for a living.

And it was really bad for people who cut hair for a living. Like they were the ones who, who like arguably was this, this segment, them in restaurants, right. We're the ones who had it the worst. Right.

Um, so live performers had it bad too. They did too. They did too. You weren't going to the horseshoe. No, but I, no, I don't think the,

uh, I'm a little vain, um, as I presume most people are, but, uh, but I don't, won't be bringing that beard back because at the time it had just a little touch of gray, no big deal.

Now I'd be worried. I'd be worried. Touch of gray, biggest hit in Grateful Dead's history. Yeah, good song. So no, I don't think I'll be bringing back the COVID beard anytime soon. All right, well, since we introduced COVID, let's get to some more jams

and we hear more from Michael Grange. I'm loving this, by the way. Here we go. Every morning we burn the bread. Yeah. Walk it down to the water's edge. See the seagulls eat cigarettes. Check your breath in a spoon.

All your stuff in the storage shed Twisted sheets on the trundle bed And the anti-psychosis meds Made you feel all marooned Made you feel on the run Last summer at the shore When I was working Cleaning carpets at some hotel That was haunted by some sailor Who supposedly was murdered

After losing all his treasure In the harbor That's back when I found Romance in East Coast I was honestly more bothered by the hundred miles of hallways than the clanking of the shackles or the shadows in the doorway

And we snuck into the ballroom And made echoes and it's empty And I grabbed you and I spun you And we both just started laughing. Unpleasant breakfast. The Hold Steady. There you go. Yeah.

So I'm a little, I was almost a little hesitant including this because I know the Hold Steady fan base is like super intense, right? Like they're like, and I am very much kind of a dabbler Hold Steady wise. You know, I certainly, you know, I think they're great. Like I'm looking forward to seeing them in concert, although I hear you got to be prepared. Like it's a little scary. Wait, are they like deadheads?

I think they're like super intense, kind of a little aggro, but I could be wrong, so don't sue me. We just have to talk to Dave Hodge. He's seen The Hold Steady a bunch of times. But, you know, I think it might even have been Steve Brunt who kind of put me onto that.

Did you hear his visit last week? No, I've got it favored. I got a little bit more. Yeah, absolutely. Anyway, so, you know, like I'm really prone to kind of narrative music. You know, I love a story. I love an arc within a song. It doesn't have to be that, obviously, but it kind of always tweaks me.

And when it's done well, it's amazing. And I don't know if there's anyone who does it better than these guys, you know, since Springsteen. And so this album came out during the pandemic. And, you know, this was year two of the pandemic. And so I just, as we all did, I became, the Raptors were in Tampa at the time. And this kind of covers the next few songs. And so I would go to the studio,

or the studio was set up in the practice facility at Scotiabank Arena. And we'd go in there and watch the game and then talk about it on TV. And, you know, the games that we weren't broadcasting, I'd watch at home and write about. And otherwise I had a lot of free time on my hands. Like, you know, you're not running around the city going to practice and doing all these kinds of things. And so I got really into home maintenance

and did a bunch of stuff around my house. And in particular... That one's turning into a Springsteen song, I think. Yeah, it does at the end, yeah. And I got into painting, drywalling. Good for you. And obviously you're at home with two teenagers and your significant other,

and headphones become your friend. Yeah. And so this song, this album came out, and this song I just felt... I think it's amazing. It's just got so many layers to it um i spent some summers at the jersey shore my brother lives down there and so it kind of makes me think about that too and and it's uh it's kind of a sad song it's about somebody who kind of has a

uh i believe some kind of overdose i think and um but it's yeah just it just kicks i just love it it's got those tempo changes in it, just like a Springsteen song. Sucker for that. Yeah. I'll let the rap up here. This coffee's cold. This toast is gross. I no longer see the romance in these ghosts.

Great jam. Great choice. So you mentioned Stephen Brunt, and then i mentioned dave hodge and then i was thinking just off the cuff here that there are certain sports journalists that probably love music more than sports okay like i noticed this because i kick out the jams of lots of them that's why most of them do kick out a springsteen song by the way but but not necessarily steven brunt whose jam kicking was amazing too. I bet, yeah, it would be.

You got some Brunt catching up to do there. But I'm curious, like, so now I'm learning more about, that's why I'm glad we're doing this because I knew one, this all came from, and I'm not going to spoil it, but we're going to close with a band and then it's all going to become apparent like where this all kind of comes to the kernel of all this.

But I'm excited to hear what songs does Michael Grange love. And now I hear you're a big music buff, you know. And do you have some, when you encounter in the wild the Stephen Bruns and the Dave Hodges of the world, do you guys talk music? And like, who else would you throw on that list? Like, who are these sports media people who are massive music fanatics?

You know, Eric Kareem comes to mind and you know, the, the downside with sports media now is, you know, there's so, so much less crossover. Um, there always was, you were always kind of in your own little hockey tribe or basketball tribe or whatever it might be. That's true. But you would sort of, there'd be occasions you'd retreat to an office and encounter other people or whatever. So that's a little kind of a,

a little downside. Yeah. But among my little group that I see, I mean, Ryan is a, you know, a huge hip hop guy. He'd be my source.

And then, but Eric Kareen is a guy who, you know, he's, he's just enough younger than me that we cross over a little bit, but he kind of, kind of puts me on to some stuff. So he's a good resource. It's kind of funny.

At the other extreme of this, earlier this year, I think I was in I don't know what city, and the way you do it on the road is is the they'll have a shoot around on the road at the arena and you know they always say be there at 10 15 and then the team will roll in at like 11 and so you end up sitting around a lot and so it was i'm gonna say it was me savannah hamilton who's the the sideline person for sportsnet and uh and kayla gray was there i think and eric was there and we somehow were talking about music. I can't remember exactly the context. And I think Savannah asked me, you know,

so what are your five favorite songs or five favorite bands or something? There you go. And I kind of just off the top of my head said something. And like by band two, her face just went blank. And like Savannah's amazing. She's great. But she's a lot younger than I am. Right.

And, uh, it was not resonating. There was not, the crossover was not there. The sky diggers? What is this? The cloud,

the what? Anyway, so, but that said, I bet you Savannah's, if you were to have her here. I would totally, I now I need Savannah to kick up the jams.

I think would be worthy, but, uh, Oh, one name. Oh no, you're in a sentence here. I was going to just drop one name

because you work with him on raptors broadcast but i don't think there's a bigger bruce springsteen fan in toronto media than brad fay yeah no we've had he's in triple digits yeah we've had a lot of 100 plus times yeah and he and we've i've talked to him quite a bit about it and um like it just sounds like the funnest thing ever right like you know i remember we were in philly and he was talking about going to see Springsteen in Philly one time. Right.

And just, you get there, it's summer. There's like a, you know, you're just surrounded by people who have the same passions you do and everyone's kind of tailgating. And I'm like, oh, that sounds great. Sounds really good. Yeah. He kicked out the jams and obviously. Did he have any non-Springsteen?

Well, I don't let you kick out more than one song from the same artist i didn't even i know i didn't tell me that well i was i usually call you out on it when you do it but uh i kind of knew you weren't gonna do that okay we got a few more jams here i'm loving this let's kick out another one suddenly i find i got darkness on my mind. It's a question mark that keeps me looking. And it's never satisfied. And it's never what I thought. Saying I'm happy when I'm not. No, I got darkness on my mind

Leaning out the frame When it's particulate and gray I'm perpendicular to my whole being When I lean a certain way Saying I'm happy when I'm not Finding roaches in the pie No, I got darkness on my mind Some people spend their whole

lives looking for someone who could understand Meanwhile I lie like a man Now sometimes all the dry in this land

No, it's been a long time coming I'm angry and I know that's weak Digging it, Michael. Okay, Darkness by Pine Grove. I remember foisting a sigpon, my daughter in the car at some point. And they're going, are you okay, Dad? Is everything all right?

Why, is it a little emo here? Yeah, I think their band description is alt-country slash emo. And this song in particular is, you know, the guy's clearly going through something. Right. But, you know, I'm a big fan of the, you know, the sad song that's actually, the happy song that's actually a really sad song. Oh, like Hey Ya by Outkast.

Hey Ya is one. You know, the ultimate in this genre is Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett. Oh, yeah. And it's almost like a Rorschach's test. Like you can, if people think that's a happy song. Right. Then for me, they're not my friend. like you don't get it you haven't paid attention and if you actually listen to it you're not listening to the groove and um you know but it's you know that's margaritaville is a pretty sad song and uh so this is you know again i just love how clean it is it's got a little bit that

wilco vibe and this band i got into during the pandemic, a buddy of mine, Jay Foster, who I went to school with, is a really smart music guy. And his sister, Jennifer, actually did some stuff with – she was a musician, actress, did some stuff with Moe Berg. Love Moe Berg. Moe Berg. And I came close. Cigarette Dangles was very – if we had 12 songs, it might have been on.

And Sarah Harmer as well. Anyway, so I remember just talking to him over the pandemic. And he's like, no, what do you listen to? And he said, these guys are good. Turns out they're from Montclair, New Jersey, which is adjacent to where my brother and his family lives. And I remember asking his oldest, have you ever heard of these guys? He goes, no.

I'm like, okay, whatever. But so yeah, they're not like this huge band by any stretch. They're, you know, they kind of,

I think they ran into a little bit of headwinds with, there was a, might've been a bit of a me too thing, a mild one. If there's such a thing. I went to the wiki page. I got myself up to speed because I'm not familiar with this band. No,

and, and, whatever. But I mean, they've, you know, that three or four records, and they kind of were trending,

and then between that and the pandemic, I think they kind of lost their wind. But I just love the song. I'm a sucker for that sound, super clean, and just the message, that resonates sometimes too. Fantastic here. So we're winding down. Only a couple of jams to go.

And I have a note here from FOTM Dan O'Toole. Play golf with Dan. Well, this is Dan's question. Be sure, well, comment, I guess. Be sure to ask his thoughts on the historic Stanley Thompson designed Peterborough golf and country. A wonderful spot. And yeah, it was really cool. A couple of weeks ago,

a really good friend of mine, Ian Armstrong, has played there like since birth almost. And I always try and get up there and play with him at least once or twice a summer. And he says, hey, you know, so Dan O'Toole plays out of there now too.

And he said, do you mind if Dan joins? I go, sure. And it was kind of funny because I'd only ever met Dan once at the 2010 Olympics. And so, you know, but it was like, hey, Dan, how you doing, Dan? Well, you just know each other from the television. Kind of, yeah. This is how we're, who, have you golfed with him recently?

I think he had a career best day that day we played, Dan. Is that right? He hit 90 there. What did he hit? Oh, I think he might have been lower than that. He played pretty well. Okay. So one of the all-time

great Toronto Mic'd episodes is the Dan O'Toole episode. It would be. It was really great. And then he told me the drive almost killed him. And that was back when I would never do a remote

because pre-COVID I would not do remotes. Like you had to be sitting here in the basement or this doesn't happen. And that was true for everybody. And he's like, he's coming from Orono

or something. He goes, I almost died doing this. Anyway, so we got to get him or this doesn't happen. And that was true for everybody. And he's like, he's coming from Orono or something. He's like, he goes, I almost died doing this. Anyway, so we got to get him back at some point. But yeah, Hebsey did tell me he golfed with Dan O'Toole,

I think this, like recently. I think so. But okay, great. Love to hear that. And here, let's get to another Michael Grange jam. Like some empty dress on the bed You've laid out for tonight

And maybe I'll tell you sometime Time I'll tell you sometime Time Sometime You were right Right You were right Outside By your doorstep

In the warm night Great song, but great title for a song. I go to the barn because I like. This is Band of Horses. Thank you. Yeah, great job on that fade, actually. I was wondering where you were going to do it, and you picked the right spot.

So I referenced earlier the guy who used to play basketball for Mount A a million years ago. He's now athletic director at Winnipeg and had a pretty good coaching career. After he stopped coaching me, his career picked up. It did, actually. He won a gold medal for Canada, or bronze medal for Canada once, actually. Amazing. Yeah. Anyway, so

he's, again, another guy I go to, a resource, and he did a band of horses, and I'd sort of vaguely heard of them. They're certainly not a new band, but again, they fell in that 2002 to 2019 void, or 18, whatever it might be, and so I kind of, and they,

and one of the first bands I really got into as a kid was the Beach Boys. And my mom used to work at the library. She'd bring back records for me. And I just love harmony, like really, really good. Well, that's why you like the Skydiggers. I like harmony and minor keys. Those are my two, those are my two weak points. um and so it's i remember when i think of the song and i remember just walk my dog at night during the pandemic just to get a house kind of and and you'd have

the headphones on and it was just they could you you know it was almost like in the old days where like a whole side of a record would just be seamless you know and uh they they they would almost organize their records like that and this one just kind of jumps out at me but it could have been several others because they're just their harmonies are amazing and uh yeah just i'm a sucker for band of horses too i mean the big jams would be like no one's gonna love you or the funeral you know or, or is there a ghost? Amazing songs. And yeah, just, just, I love it. That's great jam. Now I just, I wasn't, shouldn't do this, but I just was poking around here, getting, kicking

out that jam, listening, and I received word. Were you a big WWF fan back in the day? I have my Georgie Animal Steel and my Andre the Giant here. Did you ever get into WWF wrestling? Not really. I mean, I grew up in Montreal, like and my Andre the Giant here. Did you ever get into WWE wrestling? Not really. I mean, I grew up in Montreal when I was a little kid, and so there was a big wrestling scene there. So I'm more like Andre the Giant era.

And then when I was at university, somebody was my way into it, so the Hulk Hogan era. But otherwise, no. But that era you're referring to, in fact, I think I have memories. The golden age. That golden age. That's my time. I was done with it by like 88 or something.

Although now it's make this huge comeback, right? Like everyone's a dude again. So I hear. Shout out to Stu Stone. But I did just receive the sad news that the Iron Sheik passed away. Oh. And I think Hulk Hogan might have got his first WWF belt by pinning Iron Sheik. He wouldn't have been a young man though.

He couldn't have been. Cause I mean, he was wrestling in the seventies, but yeah. So anyway, shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. My only, yes,

go ahead. Shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. There's something I'll say when I learn somebody passed away. I did, I did get changed once at the old Curzon gym at Sky, at the old Sky Dome beside Ric Flair. Wow. But he never wrestled in a WWE.

I mean, he's not a minor. I don't know why. But he was like big in like WCW, I think. Who knows? I'm showing my ignorance here. But I do recall the tan lines. Yeah, he's still alive, believe it or not, which I think beats the mods here. Okay.

So this is your penultimate jam because we're closing. We have a special closing jam. Uh, let's kick it. Let's kick it. You said we should look out further. I guess it wouldn't hurt us. We don't have to be around all these coffee shops.

Now we got that percolator Never made a latte greater I'm saving $23 a week We drive to a house in Preston We see police arresting A man with his hand in a bag How's that for first impressions? This place seems depressing It's a Californian bungalow in a cul-de-sac

It's got a lovely garden A garage for two cars to park in Or a lot of room for storage if you've just got one Or a lot of room for storage if you've just got one. And it's going pretty cheap, you say. Well, it's a deceased estate. Aren't the pressed metal ceilings great? Then I see the handrail in the shower. A collection of those canisters for coffee, tea and flour

And a photo of a young man in a van in Vietnam And I can't think of floorboards anymore Whether the front room faces south or north And I wonder what she bought it for you can really hear the aussie accent in this one uh courtney barnett yeah just uh i could have chosen about 10 songs. I don't know. I honestly don't really know how popular she is.

I kind of stumbled into her because that band Alvaze, right? And Marry Me Archie is one of my favorites. I love that song. I love that song. It's one of my favorites. And they were produced, I think, by Kurt Weill. And Kurt Weill, you know, I just was literally like stumbling this, raking the leaves one day listening to music. And Kurt Weill did a record of covers with Courtney Barnett.

And, you know, there are two or three hits off of that. A lot of sea lice yeah and there's a couple of really really over everything is amazing there's another really good one and so you know I just kind of kind of went down a little bit of a rabbit hole and I've never come out uh you know and she is you know we talked about Springsteen but I think she's the it's stupid for me to say because there's obviously a million people I have have no clue who they are, what they're about. But for my experience, she's the best songwriter, best lyricist I've ever heard. If you're into like wordplay and, you know, and this song is a great example.

Like it's just this kind of funky little story about them going to buy a house as a young couple. And, and it it's you know it touches on a lot of themes about commercialization of real estate gentrification all the kind of things but you know she just spies the handrail in the shower and the the photo of the young man in vietnam and like the song goes in a completely different direction in my mind at least yeah and it's really moving and um you know and i could go on and on like she's she's got a song called avant-garde about her having an asthma attack which is like it's unbelievably funny and good and clever

and uh just the most mundane day-to-day thing and she's writing this like maybe kind of a hit song about it i'm not sure and uh and really what does it matter anymore? Like, sort of like, what is a hit? Like, what is that anymore? Like, Billboard Hot 100 is dominated by like a small group of hip hop and R&B artists. It's like this song that we're listening to now can't chart on a Billboard Hot 100 anymore like it did back in our day or whatever.

Like, it's, what is day or whatever like it's what is hit like everything's about your lane it's like this is this is you know it's like you've got to be you've got to be enough in your lane that you can sustain yourself i think would be the thing and and and so on that note like she the first indoor concert I went to, the first outdoor concert I went to was at Ontario Place, Budweiser stage. And Band of Horses opened for the Black Keys, I think, which was a little disappointing, actually, in the whole scheme of things. But Courtney Barnett played at the new Massey Hall in, I believe, January, February. Were you there? I was there.

Amazing. Did you go? No, I I was there. It was amazing. Did you go? No, I didn't go. It was a funny crowd. I'll bet you anything Dave Hodge was there. It's possible. I bet you he was there.

It was possible because the crowd was very LGBTQ, I'm running out of the letters, but that's sort of her base maybe a little bit. And then a lot of guys like me who, uh, I guess like songwriting. You're just there for great music. And, uh, and it was, and you're always a little anxious when you kind of get into somebody through

the recorded stuff. Like what, like it's, you're prepared almost for a letdown. And, um, and she just killed it. Like it was her,

I think it's just three pieces was her. She's the guitarist, the bass player and a drummer. And they just were so good. So tight. uh, no, it's just three pieces. She's the guitarist, the bass player, and the drummer. And they just were so good, so tight. And no, I'm a big fan. Love it so much. And we have one jam to go here. Again, your 11th jam.

It's like a spinal tap. You turned it to 11 here. I have to thank RecycleMyElectronics.ca because if anyone listening has any old electronics, old tech that they need to dispose of, do not throw it in the garbage. It just ends up in the landfill. There's chemicals in there

that we don't want in the landfill. So go to recyclemyelectronics.ca and find out the depot closest to you where you can drop off the old electronics to be safely disposed of. They do great work. So thank you, recyclemyelectronics.ca.

And thank you to the Moment Lab. The Moment Lab would be a great help to a big brand like Michael Grange. They basically specialize in public relations and have a team of experienced professionals who know how to craft stories that resonate with your audience and generate positive media coverage.

I am happy to introduce everyone listening to Matt and Jared at the moment lab, and you can learn more about how they can help you achieve your public relations goals. So we're closing with this jam. I actually pulled a clip with a conversation I had about you with somebody that you know,

and I might play that before the jam. I'm now debating in my head, but I do want to ask you the one Raptor question. So obviously we're not talking Raptors today, but who is the next head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Michael Grange? I'm going to check my phone

and make sure it hasn't happened. Well, it's all iron chic all the time right now. I don't know. I don't know. It's kind of... Well, that's what you're here for, to break the story.

A little bit odd that they haven't... The fact that they haven't hired someone yet makes me think there's either a couple of coaches who are still working. There's a couple of an assistant with Denver. I think you could, I don't know if he's in the mix, but it makes me wonder. And then, uh, Sergio Scarriolo, who, uh, is still coaching in Italy.

Great. Another name for me to butcher. Yeah. So, but again, like I'm certainly not reporting anything. I'm as lost as everybody else. We're lost together. We're lost together. Okay, here we go. So here's what I've decided I'm going to do. I'm actually going to play a couple of minutes of a conversation I had with someone named Jim Cuddy.

And I'm going to play this and then go right into this final jam, and then we're going to talk about it on the other side. So let's listen to my conversation from toronto mic'd with jim cuddy michael grange who does a great job covering raptors for uh sportsnet i don't even know where this is going you tell me what this means does he does jim remember the blue heads of course and so what about not even not even do i remember it i have tried to mention it to michael on the few times when I've met him, and he looks at me as if he doesn't remember. But I believe it was Mount Allison.

We used to play Mount Allison. We used to play the – significantly back when we started, almost all the universities had full-time programmers, music programmers. So somebody that was hired, not even a student, just somebody who's hired to bring in music. And it was always live bands, and that was the renaissance of Canadian bands. They were bringing in one band after another.

But are we talking about like Max Webster? We're talking about later than that. We're talking about Katie Lang. We're talking about Jeff Healy. We're talking about us. We're talking about Cowboy Junkies. We're talking about... Anyway, we're talking about Jeff Healy, we're talking about us, we're talking about Cowboy Junkies, we're talking about... Anyway, we're talking about all that era of Canadian bands.

And so we'd play Mountie because it was a very good place for us to play. And then we'd go and do PEI or we'd do this. And all of a sudden we'd see on the boat the same people we saw the night before, Michael Grange being one of them and then we'd go to halifax and michael grange would be there now he would have been he would have been a mountain student at the time right and it was the first time that we ever had any of that you know deadhead stuff right that people are following us around seeing every show wild so uh that was a big deal called blue heads i don't know whether we named them or they named themselves,

but we were very impressed by that. So then, you know, flash forward many years later, I see Michael on, because I recognize him. I see him on, he's doing the basketball, and he's this serious. Yeah, three-point green. He's this serious guy. And a couple times I said, Michael, hi.

You remember him? And he just blanks it out like, okay, I guess you don't want to talk about it. Well, when he heard, because he follows me on Twitter, when he heard Jim Cuddy was coming on, right away there's a Michael Grains. He wants to know if you remember the Blue Heads. I love that story, by the way. That's amazing. That was a big deal for us.

That was a big deal. Going back to one of the other questions, when did you know you'd made it? Right. I mean, we never thought we'd made it. I kept my union card until 95. I kept my job until after we were touring Diamond Mine. So anyway. But there were so many things that were so different,

like being recognized in an airport. People, oh, my God. Right. Or people following us in the East Coast. Those were things that had never happened to us before. And so they were little inklings that things were different. I don't think that we could ever admit to ourselves we'd made it. Here on the Atmosphere of life

Dreams They'll never come true But if you photograph seldom come true but listen to photographs emotional holographs credits for the figures you might have been reflections of a life that you once lived As the evening descends

You're conscious of every breath And every moment is a crisis I get turn out the window of your hotel room you let one too many fire underneath that stone well I guess you

deserve the chosen gift real life Well, I guess you deserve the chosen gift. Real life just out of view. That's just here on the outskirts. Yeah, that's here. On the outskirts. Of your life. Bluehead Michael Grange, talk to me about Blue Rodeo.

Yeah, well, I heard that episode. Well, I hope so. It was for you, man. Yeah, exactly. And Jim's being really gracious there. I will quibble with me blowing off. That never once ever, ever happened. It's just funny.

And as I kind of look back at Skyder's hip, you know, and it's just, it's just funny. And as I kind of look back at, you know, Skyder's hip, all that, just again, I, like I said at the top, I just feel really lucky because it was just, you know, there's been books written about this, right? Like it's just a very special pocket of Canadian. Michael Barclay wrote the book. Yeah, I have it. And, uh, you know, of Canadian music history, right? It's just a conflation or conflation of so many things.

Never was the same. No. Okay, I'll come up with a name. I have it too. It's never was the same. I do have it. It's a long book. It's like 1,200 words, three pages.

But just so many things happening, like Jim said, that allowed this music scene to grow and take off and peak. And so just being the age I was, you know, and it was kind of easy to kind of stumble into these experiences, literally sometimes stumble. And, um, and so, yeah, so anyways, going back to Mount Allison, you know, Outskirts came out, I think really, I think maybe my second year university, they toured, they smashed it. my second year of university. They toured. They smashed it. And I remember going,

you know, going to a bar called the Upper Deck, or sorry, the Middle Deck in Halifax and drinking peach schnapps in the back of this Lada the entire way.

It's about a two-hour drive. The driver wasn't drinking. We all were. And just, and, you know, predictably, I think I had to be, I had to be rescued

from being thrown out. And so, you know, that was maybe if I was ever sheepish, it was because I'm still embarrassed by that. But anyway, they would come in and then in those years, I would still come back to Toronto work in the summers. And then they would be at Lee's Palace or wherever. And I would go see them then and, you know, and shout out Blue heads whatever and and so it probably we probably seemed like we were following them a little more than you know it was just because i was in different places but you know one of my fondest memories was i think they were doing it was a diamond mine tour probably and uh they we saw them i think in in uh at mount a and in sackville

it might have played it might even have been homecoming like pretty early in the year and then basketball season had it started and so we all piled on to the ferry because they were playing in Summerside PEI the next night and we didn't have a ticket around there was probably six of us and we just get on the we get on the boat

and you know it's a big ferry but it's not that big and we kind of encountered them and you know how interested were they in speaking with us I'm not sure right like you know, it's a big ferry, but it's not that big. And we kind of encountered them. And, you know, how interested were they in speaking with us? I'm not sure. Like, you know, a bunch of college kids and they were, you know, on tour. But they were great and they were really nice. And they like they left us a bunch of tickets at the door.

We showed up and just like it was just an awesome show. And that kind of would sort of keep happening. Like I remember running into Jim Cuddy at the Central Y and saying hello. Or I'd run into Greg Keeler once in the street on Carlton and saying hello. It was at a Becker's or something. And, you know, not that they, you know, and not that they were like, I was just a fan, like, you know, and they were very, always very gracious and nice. And, um, and, you know, you look at their music and wow, like, you know, this is like, again, like just an incredible catalog of incredible stuff. And, um, you know, and, and, and so I think maybe one of my peak moments was at one of the Sky Deer's Christmas shows.

And Dave Festinger and I wrote a book called Leafs Abomination, which might be due for a re-up based on how things have gone this year. And it was pretty popular at the time. We were doing a lot of support, uh, support around it and media around it. And, um, and Jim was one of the guest performers with, uh, the sky diggers at this Christmas thing.

Right. And, uh, you know, he was coming out or, and I, and we just kind of crossed paths in that narrow bar area, um,

at the horseshoe. And he, and he recognized me like I knew who, of course I recognized him. I hadn't seen him in years. And, um, and you know, he made a point of coming over to saying hello to me and congratulating me on the book. I couldn't believe it. Then like the people I was with were like, what? And, uh, and, and, you know, and so the next day I went over to their, uh, their offices and dropped off a whole bunch of books for them. And the woodshed. Yeah. I think that's where I

recorded with Jim. Yeah. Yeah, and, you know, and so it was really cool. And it's amazing that he remembered that and the context of which he put it was really nice. And I sent that clip, that episode out to a whole bunch of my friends.

Oh, nice. They were all excited by it. The Blueheads. Yeah. Well, that's when they knew, I love that line where he talks about, like, because, you know, he jokes that, you know,

mid-90s, they still didn't know they made it. But that know seeing like oh we have like these blue heads following us was a big deal to that band right that kind of yeah and i don't know that they might make it and being on the other side of that you just you know you're almost embarrassed a few years later like what were we like how you know but it was cool that they appreciated it. And my wife and I went and saw them at Budweiser stage. It might have been the last time this summer before. They don't think any band has played that venue more often than the Blue Rodeo.

And I hadn't seen them live for a long time. And I would say that I was amazed at how good they were. You could almost argue they were better, right? And I would say this about- How long ago was this? This was about two summers ago. I was there. Is this when the Great Big Sea Guy was opening?

Could have been. Okay, I was there. Could have been. And what was interesting to me- Alan Doyle, by the way, not just known as the Great Big Sea Guy. This is true of Sky Diggers as well and is well, why wouldn't they be better? I mean, they've been

playing for, you know, it's not like they are not super expert and they just kept honing and tightening and expanding and, you know, to their credit, man, I was blown away by how good they were and you know, I don't like living in the past too much.

I mean, you're kind of forced to sometimes with, when you talk about music, but, but, um, it is nice that when you do think about the past, like that,

it's, it's reaffirming, you know, like, damn, you know, it was a great time. It was a great era.

And, uh, I was really lucky just to kind of touch, you know, some of the figures in that era in very tangential ways, but it was fun. The name of the Michael Barclay book, we almost had it right, but it's called Have Not Been the Same, The Can Rock Renaissance, 1985 to 1995.

Also helping with that book quite a bit, I want to shout out, because Michael Barclay's an FOTM, but also Jason Schneider, who's an FOTM, also helped with that book. And I'm just looking at the cover right now and all these great bands, like some we've kicked out today, but you know, you mentioned the Pursuit of Happiness. We're now listening to Lowest of the Low. Yes. Another, it could have been on this too.

Love them guys. I'm disappointed they weren't here. Sorry, buddy. I mean, little bands like Grapes of Wrath, for example. Cowboy Junkies. Yeah. Cowboy Junkies, Junk House. You know, you could throw-

5440. 5440. Yeah, Cowboy Junkies, Junk House. You know, you could throw... 5440. Yeah, absolutely. Spirit of the West. Man, we lost John Mann there. That's terrible. Cash Brothers. Yeah, even Bare Naked Ladies comes out of this scene, right? We didn't even talk about Sloan. You know, you could throw Sloan in there.

Not very much of an oversight. I love Sloan, especially my East Coast roots. Apologies to Sloan. Because they're going to listen and be upset. So I just want them, they'll be in the sequel, maybe,

if we do this again. They would be, 100%. This was great. I loved your songs. I loved hearing you talk about the music and it was great

to catch up with you after, shout out to Colin James. I almost had five long years, but it's been four long years and hopefully we don't wait another four years for your return. Oh, you are. Thanks, but it's been four long years, and hopefully we don't wait another four years for your return.

Oh, you are. Thanks, Mike. This is really fun. And that brings us to the end of our 1,267th show. You can follow me at 67 or 68. Do you know? I don't want to get that wrong.

It is 68, I believe. I'm going to have to redo that whole thing. I'll fix it in post. And that brings us to the end of our 1,268th show. You can follow me

on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Michael, you're at Michael Grange on Twitter. That's it. Yep. Follow Michael Grange. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Don't leave without your GLB. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Don't leave without your lasagna. Mineris is is at Palma Pasta. Don't leave without your lasagna. Mineris is at Mineris.

Throw that speaker in the pile you got there. It's a great speaker. Recycle My Electronics are at EPRA underscore Canada. And The Moment Lab are at The Moment Lab. And Ridley Funeral Home are at Ridley FH. See you all. I'm just going to check the calendar really quick and real. They don't do this on Sportsnet,

but here I am checking out to see who is next. Okay, interesting. My next guest on Toronto Mic'd is Brad Bradford. So join us on Friday morning for that, and then we have a doubleheader because that evening we will have toast with Rob Pruce and Bob Ouellette, and that'll be live at live.torontomic.com at 6.30 p.m. That evening we will have toast with Rob Proust and Bob Ouellette.

And that'll be live at live.torontomic.com at 6.30 p.m. See you all then. Yeah, I know it's true How about you? They're picking up trash and they're putting down rogues And they're brokering stocks, the class struggle explodes And I'll play this guitar just the best that I can Maybe I'm not and maybe I'm not and maybe I am but who gives a damn because everything

is coming up rosy and gray yeah the wind is cold but the smell of snow warms me today