Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Ron James Kicks Out the Jams: Toronto Mike'd #939

Episode Date: October 27, 2021

Mike catches up with Ron James before he kicks out the jams.

Toronto Mic is brought to you by the Yes, We Are Open podcast, a Moneris podcast production, telling the stories of Canadian small businesses and their perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity. Subscribe to this podcast at yesweareopenpodcast.com. Welcome to episode 939 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. Chef Drop, access top chef and restaurant prepared meal kits shipped across southern Ontario. Thank you. Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921,

and Mike Majeski of RE-MAX Specialists Majeski Group, who's ripping up the GTA real estate scene. Learn more at realestatelove.ca. I'm Mike from torontomike.com, and joining me this week to kick out the jams is Ron James. Mike. Ron, how you doing, buddy? I am good, sir. Let me see if I can set something up

where there's better light in here. It's okay. I'm not actually recording the video. It's okay. It's okay. I actually think kicking out jams in the evening, let it be dark. You know?

That's a cool vibe. Kicking out jams in the evening. Yeah it be dark. You know? That's a cool vibe. Kicking up jams in the evening. Yeah, what is it there? It's about 8-11 there? It is. Same as an hour later. Who wants light? Like I say, you remember when

Venus Flytrap, it would be dark with candles? Was that a band? No, man man you didn't watch wkrp in cincinnati i did oh yeah yeah of course yeah yeah venus flytrap man you know what i have to tell you bro yeah i've got the uh i've got a terrible uh pop culture television reference i don't know why. I mean, I do remember the time the Lions ganged up on the Hyena pack in that National Geographic special. uh, he who breathes fire and, the high heat of pack had destroyed his buddy, turned on his buddy hard. Right. And killed him.

And, uh, he's, he came back to seek revenge. And you remember that. And, uh, you don't remember,

uh, necessarily Venus fly trap, uh, late into the night with the candles in the dark. I just feel like for this particular, I remember the Barney Miller episode where everybody had hash brownies though. You know what? That was a, that was a show for my youth, which was, I think it went over my head, but it was like omnipresent.

And I think I'd appreciate it far more if I revisited it today. Uh, it was a, it was a great show and they went off the air at the peak of their fame but you know i'll tell you how it's interesting yeah uh everyone thinks it's all important and you know these shows that um channel the zeitgeist and uh when we went to los angeles to way back in the early 90s to do my talk show um we were in um a issue of tv guide several of them and i saved one of them and uh to go through that old tv guide and see some of the shows. For instance, Cosby was on the front.

Of course. Right. And to see the shows that everyone tuned into and how important they were in people's lives. I don't even think Seinfeld had come on yet when we got on TV.

Anyway, it's all ephemeral. It's all passing. Where in Tonto Mela, he who breathes fire, who sought revenge on the hyenas, still lives strong in my memory. Well, Ron, you know, that time, and I'm old enough, I appreciate this time. The time, I call it before internet, when basically it was, basically we were all

watching the same stuff. Like it was a kind of a monoculture world. Now it's so fragmented. Like there might be, you know, I don't know, 30 things right now that everybody's digging, like just 40 different things. Back in the day, it was like, oh yeah, everybody watched like, I don't know, 30 something or, you know, did you see last night Seinfeld? It was a completely different universe. The popular culture was a cohesive community. Right. And just like politics, that's fragmented into a million different pieces. Right.

So have our viewing habits. And it's going to be interesting to see what coalesces comedically from the stage these days. I'm on tour in the East Coast right now, and I'm about to start. And I've not been on tour since March 7th, 2020, a week before they brought the drawbridge up and the plague came calling. the plague came calling and cause everybody will tell you just like you said, Oh, are you watching this? Are you watching that? So what are the references for? I mean, there was a while you could make a game of Thrones reference to elucidate an observation, right. Or a walking dead, but there's just so much out there now.

And then you'll hear everybody talking about a show like, let's say Ted Lasso, right? And then you'll hear, Oh, it's up for, you know, I don't know, 20 Emmy awards.

Meanwhile, go, go to a, go on the TTC one day and ask like 30 people, how many of them subscribe to Apple TV? Like, go ahead. It's like,

that's an interesting observation, right? Yeah. So, but you know, our business and our calling demands we tune into popular culture. And I'm sure somebody who's taking the subway to work at 530 in the morning or whenever it starts and works a 12 hour shift and goes back home. The last thing they're relating to is, or watching is Ted Lasso. They probably don't even have Apple TV. It's once again, George Packer in the Atlantic a couple of weeks ago, broke it down into four different demographic categories. I think it's an interesting article anyway, but but yeah you're right

you know just what you think is important maybe to the next person or the next several dozen even Game of Thrones which you're right that was the last big finale people were talking about really what percentage of the populace gets HBO like I don't have the numbers

in front of me or I didn't do my homework on this but I suspect it's a lower number than you'd guess. I imagine because I can't get it out east where I am now at my place. I wanted to stream the Capitol Hill riot because Doyle gave it an endorsement. Not that I only watch things that he does, but I find he's pretty fair in his critiques. He's been hard on me and endorsed me at the same breath.

So anyway, yeah, I don't know. Where do you sit, Netflix or HBO? I'm a huge HBO guy, but I do pay i and there's two levels at least in this neck of the woods we have a crave right which is owned by bell canada uh and you have these two tiers like you can get the ten dollar tier of crave and then you can you know cough up the big bucks and get the twenty dollar tier which means you can watch the latest episode of curb your enthusiasm or succession and i'm telling you right now, Ron, I cough up the $20 because the vast majority of stuff I want to see happens to be HBO.

So that's my big entertainment expense anyway. Well, I find they get you in these small increments. It's like Apple TV, right? Doesn't seem like much. $ much 1299, isn't it? Right. It's something like that. Something like that. And or Apple news, you get all the Apple news. And then of course I feel guilty if I don't donate to the guardian, then I like to tune into Canada land and I like to help independent

journalists out. Right. I say I'm probably coughing up about 200 bucks a month just in these kinds of entertainment channels. I read a lot, so that's it. But let me ask you this. Yeah, sure. Do you find that our addiction to social media has compromised your ability to concentrate and read a book from cover to cover like you used to? Oh, well, it's, I would say partly that, but also partly that,

I don't know, since 2002, I've sort of been manically creating content for the World Wide Web, like before this like before the podcast. And I produce a bunch of podcasts too, including one you were on the other day. Prior to that, I was blogging at torontomike.com. So I find like if I have that time, let's say I'm watching, heaven forbid, I'm watching the Leafs game.

That's a whole separate topic here. Did they ever suck last night? I'm indifferent to it all, my friend since we blew the uh three to one lead against the canadians last year i mean you're gonna laugh that that's the straw that breaks the camel's back but i'm just like completely like numb to it all i'm just like like wake me up i said i was i mean what's shanahan's plan what's the plan right what's the plan why get rid of lamorello you know voted two years in a row the best general manager in the league you know when i should have walked from the leafs when they blew

that 4-2 lead with chicago in the third period six years ago oh i can't even remember that instance because there's so many uh examples like that but there's so many there's just so many ron i wrote over to the seattle game the nfl game well i i wrote a piece on torontomic.com a couple of days ago called uh i think i called it comfortably numb leafs fan or something like that basically like this complete numbness like uh we haven't won a playoff i have a 19 year old son who actually loves hockey. He loves football and baseball. And sorry, he loves football and basketball too. He has zero memory of the Maple Leafs winning a playoff round because we haven't won a playoff round since 2004. Okay, if I do the math on that, that's 17 years ago.

We're 17 years removed from winning a playoff round. It's a macabre puppet show for multimillionaires. Right. Right? Right. Every now and then, I used to get a pass to what had once been called the Platinum Lounge. Right? These little perks.

Sure. Or the Director's Lounge. And you walk in, and I learned a lesson there. Never be in a room filled with people you make fun of for a living. It was filled with pink face, Bay street, Illuminati movers and shakers in the Toronto power broker scene. Conrad black is there.

I took my 80 year old father. Who's gone now. God bless him. And this little Newfoundlander. And we were standing in the corner, double fist and free draft, wondering what the hell was on top of our cracker. Right. I know.

I know. And you see these people who own these kids, who own these men. And they're Roman consuls, really, aren't they? You know, who spend their afternoons at a Pompeii spa having their balls powdered by eunuchs. Whatever. And, Ron, look, let's start here, even though we've actually already begun,

but let the listenership know how you're doing. Last time we checked in, I actually took a note on this. Finally, I took a note. It's December 2017 that you made your way here. You were actually here, sitting here in the basement here. Oh my gosh, was it that long ago? Yeah, December 2017. And that was the episode 296.

So I like to tell the new listenership that if they're hearing their first Ron James on Toronto Mic'd experience, to get the deep dive, the A to Z of Ron's career. Episode 296. And here's the description I wrote at the time here.

Mike chats with standup comedian, Ron James about moving to LA, returning home to hone his craft and finding his voice. And by the way, I don't know what you think of this, but we actually chatted for over two hours that day. I don't know how many interviews Ron James

does that exceed two hours. Wow, man. No kidding. And it was never boring. It's all killer, no filler. Thank Christ. I never want to be boring. Never, never, never. I mean, that's the thing, isn't it? When you,

when you become a pedantic arsehole, that's when it's time to hang up the spurs. But you're not doing that, my friend, because not only are you, uh, back on tour and where do we find you exactly? Like, where are you in this country right now? I'm listening to a hundred kilometer hour winds roll in off the Atlantic and the South shore of Nova Scotia. I got a little spot down here by the water and, uh, my 89 year old mother is still in the home. I was raised in,

I went to see her yesterday and, um, then I'm heading around. I got a dozen dates through the maritimes and then fast turnaround drive back to the big smoke and I'm out in BC for another dozen and it feels mighty good after talking to the four walls for the last two years in my Toronto condo because you know what bro a man talking to an audience in front of a microphone is a comedian telling jokes a guy doing it alone at home is rupert pupkin in his mother's basement it's not healthy well we've

come out it sounds like we're back here so what exact is it tomorrow when exactly is your first show my first show is in sydney capeon, the little corner of Nova Scotia. Once upon a time, the industrial heartland of Atlantic Canada, where the Sydney steel plant employed 7,500 people and 11 coal mines pumped out the fuel for the furnace of the Dominion, and our beams rebuilt war-torn Berlin during the Marshall Plan. And then everything fell away. And it's, you know, trying to, I suppose, build an economic stability. But that's where I was born in the coal town road of Glace Bay. And I moved to Halifax when I was nine. So I'm in Sydney, which is the capital down there of Cape Breton, really the big city. I had two shows there and then one up the road in Pictou. And I'm happy

to say we're sold out in all of them. And we added a second show at the Cone in Halifax. Great news. Yeah, it's good news, man. But you know what? I stayed active during this COVID, right? I streamed a couple shows from my living room and I did half a dozen virtual gigs for one thing or another. And then, you know, I wrote the book. Well, let's talk about the book here. So, of course, we're here to kick out the jams, but I got to find out about this book. Tell me, like he wrote this during the pandemic? I started it prior to the pandemic. And that was the silver lining in the cloud of the plague was that I had no choice but to be shackled at the desk. I mean, as a recipient of attention deficit hyperactive disorder, to sit indoors on a sunny day is a labor of Hercules for me. Is that a professional diagnosis or a self-diagnosis? Okay. Nope,

no, no. Neopren, uh, neopenephrine and the other one do a daily tap dance on the frontal lobes of my neocortex. And that's been the case my whole life. In fact, when I, it was my kid that said, dad, I think you should get checked. I got checked and I've got ADHD and your symptoms seem similar. And then when I did the checklist, it was like I was checking boxes for my father's behavior growing up, you know? Interesting. Yeah, it is interesting. So it's just a genetic thing. Although I really wish that I had inherited a really great slap shot. But instead, I had the ability to get lost chasing a bee for three weeks when I was seven. That's the joke. But do you mind if I ask, and it's very personal, of course, but what kind of symptoms are we talking about here? The inability to concentrate on one thing at the time, you know, you're always pulled in different directions. Repetitive forgetfulness, tangential thought process.

Yet, and that's just three that I can think of off the top of my head, a sense of restlessness. You know, I mean, to use the metaphor, your car is already 100 kilometers down the road before you've even pulled it out of the driveway. And when I was a kid, I stuttered a lot. You know, I was a stutterer. My father stuttered too, actually. or my father stuttered too, actually. And I remember the doctor saying his thoughts in the brain are happening too fast for his words to get out, right? And oddly enough, it was stand-up comedy that gave me control over that.

And they told me that, these specialists, They told me that the specialists, that the ability to juggle and cut and paste two hours worth of material in front of a live audience happens to be one of the strengths of the ADHD afflicted. So as much as it can be a liability, like I was never good at math, but anything that had to do with, you know, talking or clearly performance or memorization and wrote, I was great at. But the A plus B equals C, yeah. I'd rather talk than think. But I put that in the book. And the book really, it's called All Over the Map,

Rambles and Ruminations from the Canadian Road. And I was delighted to discover we held our place on the top 10 of the bestseller list for two weeks. And it's really an embrace of people and place in this adventure I've had the last, in my career really, traveling from coast to coast performing and how people from indigenous guides in the Northwest Territories to

an elder statesman of the Woodchoppers League and hockey on Lake Huron to an aging waitress at the Delta Hotel in Alberta who'd found her second chance in the promised land opened the window on their world for me. And that was the hidden boon in the road less traveled. That was the they provided a currency far greater than a payday's treasure. And there's stories about my uncle who found sobriety after being on the streets of Toronto for two years as a homeless man. And there's stories about these incredible indigenous people I've met and just people who spoke to me. And they spoke to me years before I had notoriety on television, too. We were just shooting the shit and food courts, coffee houses are on planes.

And it was it was the greatest reward besides being able to pull a career up one gig and at a time do you think you would have been able to you know document all this in the fashion you've done so with all over the map if we hadn't had a global pandemic see that's the that's the thing that i was so happy about that's a great observation when i was writing writing the book, I said, oh, wow, man, this is a world I walked through once where people sat side by side in coffee shops for a morning and talked to each other over a bran muffin. And it gave me hope. It was the light at the end of the constant lockdowns and worry and woe. And, but I never lost, look, it takes an awful long time to be proficient at this craft.

And a blank page is still a blank page, bro. Right, you have to do the grunt work at the desk before the fun happens on the stage. And I'll be damned if a pandemic was going to scuttle the 42 years I put into this calling. With Second City initially for 10 years, the struggles in L.A., coming home, starting at the Laugh Resort in 95, home, starting at the Laff Resort in 95, and finally becoming proficient at this wonderful and peculiar calling. I didn't want the muscle to atrophy. It's just, you know, I just couldn't. So that's where it really helped. And yes, to answer your question, this book could not have been written during a pandemic because it's about engaging with the wider world of wonders.

Do you have a preference with how a listener, somebody listening to us right now, they realize I need to get all over the map for my mom or my dad for Christmas or I want to read this. How would you like them to buy all over the map? Or do you care? Just find it. I think everybody buys a book for a different reason. There's readers who just like to read. But I would like them to buy the book

so they're made aware of a world beyond the myopic perimeter of the big smoke so they can see that the country's not as fractured as we might feel it is. That once, that the gray areas of relationships beyond the front page and the pundits, that's where the soul note sings. That's where you hear the heartline hum of people in place. Whether it's in the Northwest Territories watching caribou move through a spectral dawn behind a boulder that was dropped eons ago during the Ice Age, as a Dene elder looks to drop a caribou for a supper at Fort Resolution. Or whether you want to know what it was really like to struggle in Los Angeles, chasing the bogus sitcom dream another lifetime ago.

And if you want to find out what the industry's about from a perspective of somebody who was just a foot soldier in the entertainment industry, because that's all I've ever seen myself as. And, you know, it's like Billy Connolly said to me at jfl and i put his quote in the book chase fame see what that does to your soul just sing your song isn't that a great thing to say brilliant and it's funny because your answer there was so like so fantastic but i was actually i was asking a much less intelligent question i was thinking like logistically like do you want them to go to amazon do you want them to go to Amazon? Do you want them

to like, is there a, I prefer that they, uh, I prefer that they see, this is a trick question because a lot of people, and look, I'm as dubious about Amazon as the next person, right? It's the new sweatshop of North America. Uh, but, um, independent bookstores may only carry half a dozen of my books. For instance, I discovered in Nova Scotia that Indigo never ordered my copies, and it hit the stand September the 28th, and they had to put a rush on copies. I don't know what clueless buyer at Indigo, but we still made the top 10. So there you go. But I think the independent bookstores, I mean, I want those guys to succeed, but they

may only order half a dozen copies or 10 copies. Right. So I would suggest that go to your independent bookstore first. And if you need to buy it and you can't find it, then go to Amazon. But also, Amazon carries the Audible version too, right? Right. Because I read it. And I take a lot of tangents in the studio.

It would be amazing, I think, to pick up the audio version of this book that you're reading just to hear it. Because nobody really spins a yarn, like, has, you It has such a way with words. I think hearing it in your voice would add that extra dimension. And by the way, just last week I had Ralph Ben-Murgy on the show. And he wrote a book. So people should buy both, okay? I don't want you to pick Ben-Murgy's over Ron James'. Buy both.

But Ben-Murgy was complaining about how a bunch of big stores, I think he called out Indigo and some others, simply didn't have it. Oh, no, they're awful. They're awful. And tip of the hat to Ralph, it pisses me off so much. And you talk to some poor bastard on the floor working 10 hours a day,

why the books aren't on the bestseller list, Mansbridge's face is there because, you know, God love Peter, he needs the press. And I'm sure that's a... I had him on the show last week too, of course. Did you? Good. Great. But it's not there. And I asked the guy, I said, why is it not there? He said, I don't know. I said, he goes, a lot of people came in asking for it. We didn't have it. I said, why didn't you have it? He Said, I don't know. That's above my, that's above my pay grade. I said, do you have any now? He said, I don't know. I said, well, why don't you go back and see? He goes,

we have 24. I said, well, why don't you put them on the fucking shelves? What is it? Like people just don't give a shit anymore. Like, what is that? You know what? No, there's an entrepreneurial lethargy in Canada. To a certain degree, there is. Look, I signed with a publicist in the States for the book, too, because it's it's being released in America. And I was a little dubious at first, but they found me. They hunted me down. OK, cool. And I'm going 24-7. I mean, they got me hopping all the time. And granted, there's 375 million people there,

but there's follow-up calls, right? And there's an enthusiasm, an enthusiasm for the work. And I don't mean to, and I'm not saying I don't want to piss Canadians off because God knows I've decided to make my living here and I love it I love traveling but when push comes to shove uh and the I think people take the easy route sometimes and as somebody who's pulled this career up from the muck and started touring the frozen lip of Lake Superior in February, playing church basements, community centers, and high school gymnasiums in Dryden, Attaquok, and Manitowosh, and Terrace Bay, when logging trucks threatened to bounce me into the afterlife off their Peterbilt logo so my dubious end

would be marked by one of those spooky white crosses coyotes happily hop the highway to piss on I over the years in concert with my producer we've developed a system and the system

is really simple get Get the word out. And once the word is out, capitalize on the momentum and deliver a good show. It's so simple. You know, I mean, if you're running a dairy, you're not going to drop off sour milk. Right. Right. Your product has to be ready and longevity doesn't get get, anyway, this opens up another door for expectations. That people have expectations that they should be somewhere where they're not. I certainly had expectations, though, to be featured on the bestseller table at Indigo when I made it. But that's not a guarantee here for some reason. I don't know why. Maybe they don't want to sell books. featured on the bestseller table at Indigo when I made it. But that's not a guarantee here for some reason.

I don't know why. Maybe they don't want to sell books. Bizarre. I find it bizarre. Because when Ben Murgie was explaining this, it's tough enough to sell a book in this damn country, let alone having the deck stacked against you like that. Well, it's very frustrating. And as Ralph will attest, and anybody who sat down, it's like Flannery O'Connor said, the great Southern writer, everybody knows what a book is until they sit down to write one.

prior to the onset of social media, where I, like everybody else, felt compelled to post innocuous photographs of whatever the fuck I'm eating on a Tuesday afternoon in Restagouche, so somebody in Salmon Arm, B.C. follows me on Instagram could get the dopamine hit. Oh, look, Ron's eating French fries with a funny comment and rest the goosh. How about that? Right. And, but, but I, I, at the same time, I do love Instagram, you know, and Facebook has been so instrumental in sustaining my business. Right. Well, it's a, it's a, it's like cell phones, you know? If everybody knew where every component for the cell phone came from,

we'd throw them in the ocean. You know, we're complicit with warlords in the Congo for the tantalum that runs them. Right, right. It's nuts. It's nuts. You got a book, and I'm going to kick out the jams with you. I don't know if, if you're ready,

do you know exactly how this works? Like, have you, did you, did you, you didn't decide to like, let me hear, I don't know,

name, name somebody here, how they kick out the jams. You're going in blind here. Yeah. Okay. So you got 10 jams. I literally,

I'm going to play, I'm going to start playing the jam and I'm going to let it go. Depending on the song, I might let it go for 45 seconds to 60 seconds or something. Then I'm going to start playing the jam, and I'm going to let it go, depending on the song. I might let it go for 45 seconds to 60 seconds or something. Then I'm going to fade it down. Then we're going to hear you tell us anything you like, really. Maybe there's a story about the song. You can tell us why you love the song.

Basically, that's where it's the Ron James show, if you will. And this might be my favorite type of Toronto Mic'd episode because I love hearing people tell me why they love the songs they love. Like, I'm just so excited about this, but before I press play on the first jam, did you Ron James ever come across Norm MacDonald in your standup travels?

I did not. I did not know Norm. My buddies did. I came to the game late and I didn't start at Yucks. I came to the game after LA. I came to the game at the age of 38. Right. 38. Yeah. Yeah. So that's when I started playing the Laugh Resort. And I think Norm was called to the stage at the age of 18. But Keith Tomasek, who I've worked with diligently for the last six years in terms of my IT and my social media, he worked at Yuck Yucks in the days when Norm came in as an 18-year-old and he was doing Ed Broadbent material then. When you start doing stand-up. It's, you know, it's cats and dogs and dick joes. And he was already playing at the

top of his game. And when you talk to people who work with Norm, I mean, he'd be bombing on the road at these, you know, biker bars. And he would never be playing to his lowest common denominator. He always adhered to the dictates of his art. That takes a lot of guts. We'll return to this jam-kicking with Ron James in just a moment. I want to thank Great Lakes Brewery for their continued support. Fresh craft beer brewed right here in southern Etobicoke. I also want to thank Palma Pasta.

They've been on board for a few years now, and it's authentic, delicious, authentic Italian food. Guests who visit leave with not only the Great Lakes beer, but they get a Palma Pasta lasagna, and it's just a great pairing. Speaking of gifts, ChefDrop.ca wants to give everybody listening here in Southern Ontario a, well, it's buy one, get one 50% off. It's a fantastic promotion. You just need to go to

chefdrop.ca, order one of their fantastic pre-prepared meal kits and use the promo code FOTMBOGO. That'll get you the 50% off the second one. What a deal. Thank you, Chef Drop. StickerU.com has been sending over fantastic Toronto Mike stickers for guests. If you need stickers, decals, badges, anything of that nature, head over to stickeru.com. The Yes, We Are Open podcast is hosted by FOTM Al Grego. Al travels the country interviewing small Canadian businesses, and then he tells the story of their origin, their struggles, and their future outlook. If you're a small business owner or entrepreneur like myself, you'll find this podcast both helpful and motivational.

Yes, We Are Open is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please subscribe at yesweareopenpodcast.com. Mike Majewski is the real estate agent who's been ripping up the GTA real estate scene. Go to realestatelove.ca. Reach out to Mike if you're looking to buy and or sell in the next six months. Mike's also a fantastic follow on Instagram. Hilarious videos he posts regularly of homes that are available. And you can follow him on Instagram at Majeski Group Homes.

Ridley Funeral Home have been pillars of this community since 1921. If you go to RidleyFuneralHome.com, you can reach out to the good people there. Brad Jones has been a tremendous supporter of the program. What an FOTM. Thank you, Brad, for your support. And last but not least,

McKay's CEO forums have a podcast called the CEO Edge Podcast. It's fireside chats with business executives and thought leaders. Very inspiring stuff. And I urge you to check it out. I post a new episode on toront TorontoMike.com every week. And now let's get back to those Ron James jams. Ron James, are you ready to kick out the jams? I am, sir.

Ah. Scarlet land And late at night A hand would knock And there would stand a stranger Yes, I'm the son Of Hickory Holler's tram Yes! Here you go! Woo!

Yeah, the weeds were high The corn was dry All right, Ron, tell me about this jam. What are we starting with here, buddy? Oh, hold on, actually, you know what? It's funny. You're coming in on the same channel as the song. I'm used to people doing this in person, and you're on a different pod.

But if I bring down the song, I bring down Ron James. So I fixed it now. Now let's hear you. O.C. Smith, i believe 1970 i think and uh used to have a little um sony transistor radio and i think like some of the songs i've chosen it's just so evocative of a time and i don't think CanCon had made its introduction yet. Maybe the Stampeders were coming in with Sweet City Woman at this point. Not quite sure. But I love the arrangement in this song. I love the congas and the great

instrumental that comes in. I can't explain it that well, but I always like this song. And it's a maudlin tune. It's a song about perseverance, right? Where this guy's father leaves his mother with 14 children, and she becomes a hooker in order to feed them. And the path is worn to the front door with the red light above the door. And I guess as a 12-year-old kid, I was impressed with the perseverance of the matriarch to sustain them through that. And then it ends with,

even though she died and passed away, there's 14 roses left on her grave every year. So anyway, it's just evocative of a time and place. Can you share with us what radio station you might have been listening to at the time? T.J.C.H. Halifax AM Radio.

In fact, when I joined Second City and I knew all these songs, they'd say, did you only listen to AM Radio? Because I can still tear up a little bit. I still tear up a little bit at the Christmas version by the Royal Guardsmen of Snoopy and the Red Baron.

Right. When the Red Baron has a change of heart and he doesn't riddle him with bullets. Right. Right. In this neck of the woods, you would have been a chum bug. I imagine I would have liked chum. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

And shout out to my mom who reminds me that all she did was listen to 1050 Chum back at this time. So I love it. And this gentleman, O.C. Smith, I don't know if I'm familiar with O.C. Smith. Yeah, he didn't stick around. And he was an independent, and he wasn't of the Philadelphia sound, and he wasn't from Motown. But he's got such an incredible voice. He kind of reminds me of Lou Rawls a bit, but he's faster. Right.

Love it, Rob. And see the big trumpets. Ba-ba-da-ba. And a nice little fade out there. Okay, love it. Love it. Love it. And are you ready for your second jam ron yes sir seven lonely days and a dozen towns ago

I reached out one night and you were gone Don't know why you'd run, what you're running to or from All I know is I want to bring you home So I'm walking in the rain, thumbing for a ride to bring you home So I'm walking in the rain thumbing for a ride on this lonely Kentucky back road I've loved you much too long

and my love's too strong to let you go never knowing what will grow you go, never knowing what we'll grow. Kentucky rain keeps pouring down, and up ahead's another town that I'll go walking through. With the rain in my shoes. Kentucky rain. My favorite Elvis song.

My favorite Elvis song. And the opening, once again, is just, it sounds like rain falling. And the orchestrations and the arrangement. And then, of course, the best voice of rock and roll in the 20th century. Hands down. Yeah, I'm hearing you. I'm hearing you. It puts me, and it was before

he got obese, right? I mean, this song came out shortly after his comeback special when he shows up in Memphis. That's the 68th comeback special, right? 68 was the comeback special, when he shows up in Memphis. That's the 68th comeback special, right? 68 was the comeback special, and I believe Kentucky Rain may have come out in 69 or 70. Okay.

Around Aloha from Hawaii, when he was just starting to eat too many chocolate bars. All right. He could still do a dropkick, though, I think. It is true. I will say this as a slightly younger man than yourself, that the Elvis that first comes to mind now, unfortunately, seems to be that mid-70s Elvis

just before he passes. A bloated figure in his jumpsuit. A bloated parody of his former self, which is too bad. Do you realize that he opened for Hank Snow his first gig? I honestly had no idea, but that's an amazing CanCon fun fact right there. Can you imagine what Hank Snow, a surly... He wrote 627 songs, I think, Hank.

A surly, he wrote 627 songs, I think, Hank, but a surly bejeweled Nashville transplant from the Maritimes who never moved, singing Miller's Cave and songs about dead dogs. Right. Sees that force of nature open for him and every young woman in the audience lose their minds yeah is this uh is this like mid-50s uh well whenever elvis broke i think it was 55 wasn't it yeah i think so i think you know years ago um when my buddy was a vj on much music in the early days chris ward i know christopher ward of course he's a he's also an fm yeah please yeah went on to write black velvet well we used to do a scene in second city a sketch called uh melvis and delvis the elvis brothers that we were the illegitimate spawn of elvis presley and we'd i'd go over to much music when it was on Queen Street in those days, and we would do Melfis and Delvis,

and a fellow from Agincourt would go on and do a little character called Wayne. That became Wayne's World. Right. Wayne Campbell. A little fella. The funny thing is I just had his brother on. Paul. Yes. Paul is the salt of the earth.

They all are, Peter, Paul, and Mike. I've known them all for 42 years. But Paul is just, they came, he and Lacey came to visit me in Nova Scotia a couple years ago. Yeah, they knew people down here, so it was always, always good to see them. We go back a long way. Yeah. He's of the Gravel Berries, of course.

This is the, the 90s alt rock band. And yeah, I noticed on, you don't have any Gravel Berries on your list here, but I do have some great jams to come. You ready for number three?

Yes, please. Yes, please. the echoes of my mind People stopping still I can't see the faces Which still has the record for the only X-rated movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars. I saw that a while ago and I don't know why it was X-rated. Do you?

Honestly, it must have been of a time when it didn't take much to get the X-rating because that would sure change very quickly. Wow. I just find his voice so haunting. And I find the... I've just always liked it. It carries me away. It's got the wind. Beautiful song.

Really is a beautiful song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And look, I realized when I gave you this list, I didn't have anything from the 80s, because I should have given you some. No, man. Your jams are your jams. I don't have enough old country either.

I don't have enough old country. I'm a big old country fan. Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, and Steve Earle's son, of course. I'm kicking my butt. I didn't put Harlem River Blues on there. Gee whiz. He's named after Townes Van Zandt. Yeah, sadly, he passed away not too long ago.

Absolutely. Here, I'll help you out here. Yeah, Justin Townes Earl. Justin Townes Earl, yeah. Amazing voice. Thought he was as great as his dad his dad was in my favorite television show of all time

speaking of TV because his dad has a role in The Wire yes and he had a regular role in I Love The Wire how great is that there's my box set here oh good for you look at that uh were you gonna say Treme or what were you gonna tell me next yeah

yeah Treme yeah which is also fantastic love it and uh okay oh it's uh these songs are actually I guess of an era when they were a little bit shorter because nowadays you know some people kick out jams and it's like, oh, I'm kicking out this Bob Dylan song and it's like, okay, 11 minutes later, this thing will fade down. I have no Dylan, you know. How about that 15-minute song you get on the Titanic? I don't even know what this song...

What is it? What is it? I'm saying it more articulate than he would. By the way, I will let you know that at some point we could do a sequel, like, and that would let you get in some eighties jams and some, Oh,

fantastic. Let's do that then. And I'll give you some Dylan and some all country. I mean, I listen and I have nothing from Johnny Cash's five American recordings that Rick Rubin produced, which are phenomenal.

What would you have from there? Would you have the cover of Nine Inch Nails hurt? Or would you have... No, I would have... Delia's Gone? Sorry, go ahead. No, no, no, no. I wasn't listening.

I'm sorry, I was babbling. What was the second one you said? Oh, Delia's Gone is a song. Delia's Gone is a good one. That's from the first one. Right. I would have When the Man Comes Around. Yeah. I would have...

That's the one. I would have Row Your Boat. Right. And I would have... Rusty Cage, maybe? Would you throw in a Soundgarden cover? Rusty Cage is a pretty good one. That's pretty good. And what's the Depeche Mode one?

Reach out and touch faith. Personal Jesus, I believe, is what it's called. That's great. Yeah. You're on top of this. I love it because now you're in my scene here. The Rick Rubin, Johnny Cash stuff is sort of, for my peoples, my Generation X, you know, that's sort of what delivers Johnny Cash to us. It's like these are the people.

It was just, I mean, it was redemptive. And by the fifth one, I mean, when he sings Four Strong Winds, I love the fact that he does a fifth album and there's two Canadian songs on it. If you could read my mind and Four Strong Winds. And I can't believe I don't have any Neil Young on this list either. I did it too fast. Well, you do. I would have had Neil Young singing Four Strong Winds. You do have that.

I'm literally, in fact, let me play your fourth jam for you, Ron. It'll jog your memory. Oh, there it is! Great! Great! Think I'll go out to Alberta Oh, beautiful. Weather's good there in the fall.

I got some friends that I could go to work in for. Beautiful. Alberta features strongly in my book. I mean, it was

absolutely the land of the second chance for maritimers. And it's where I shot my second special Quest for the West at the Jack Singer for maritimers and it's where i shot my second special quest for the west at the jack singer in 2006 and when i travel the length and breadth of alberta i always listen to ian tyson's albums and i'm going to put a song from him on in the next jam uh live at longview

and it was ian and sylvia who wrote four strong winds of course right. And he has some, I used to rock my daughter to sleep to Navajo Rug, his Navajo Rug. Morning out Navajo Rug, aye, aye, aye. Katie, shades of red and blue. Ah, beautiful song. And so I would travel the length and breadth of Alberta. And that's why that's in there. I mean, I was playing Alberta in the days when oil was 421 bucks a barrel, man. Every time a car blew up in Baghdad, there were two new trucks in the Western driveway. It was a heady time to be making some bread.

Right, right. It's wild to me how unsure you are of the jams you've submitted, that you were just about to chastise yourself for not picking Neil Young doing four strong wins. Here I am. Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting Neil Young? I have not. I met Steve Earle, though, backstage in Belleville several years ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And he told me there's no way that Oswald could have shot Kennedy with the gun he was using because he used one just like it himself. Wow. I thought maybe you should let that go. It's funny. Just earlier today, I had an email exchange with Dave Hodge because Dave Hodge comes on this program once a year, just before kind of the end of the year,

to kick out his 100 favorite songs of the year. And Dave's a big... Like Dave Hodge from the NHL days? Pen flip himself, Dave Hodge. The Dave Hodge. Wow, man. Every year he does that. In fact, we have a...

I'm trying to remember. I think it's called thehodge100.com. VPps sales and we maintain a website just just for these special episodes anyways today he was trying to book his time and place because he doesn't want to do it by zoom now you are in nova scotia you have to zoom this in that's a you're a long ways away but dave wants to make the trek here maybe even in the backyard to do hisams. And I was just thinking he would love to hear you kicking out some Steve Earle. That would be right up Dave Hodge's alley. Oh, boy, I've got all Steve Earle stuff. Yeah, I mean, that was a pretty brave album he put out called Jerusalem shortly after 9-11.

Come on, man. Shortly after 9-11, when America invaded Afghanistan, he was speaking Arabic on his album about the kid who got... Remember the kid who they found at that... The American kid who joined the Jihad and the CIA agent got killed in the fort

when they were looking at the guy and they put him away for 25 years? I have a faint memory of it, my friend. Yeah, it was a big issue at the time, but there was a guy singing in Nashville doing a song like that. Man, oh, man. You know, I used to get them going quiet

when I made fun of donuts in Hamilton, not far from Ron Joyce's headquarters. Right, right, right. Hard to keep it sane. All right, my friend, we're going to kick out your fifth jam, which was a late-breaking change. So maybe the jam it replaced gets brought back to life for your second round.

But I guess what I was saying, so the Dave Hodge thing, every year he comes back and kicks out these jams, favorite 100 of the year. And we could have a regular thing, depending how much you dig in this, like maybe once a year. Buddy, I am so up for that. Are you kidding? All right, good, Cause I would love it.

Once a year Ron James kicks out 10 more jams and we're going to kick out your late breaking jam here. But I have a question about something you mentioned. You mentioned that, you know, singing a song to your daughter. How old's your daughter now? She's 33 tomorrow. Oh, happy birthday. That's exciting. Yeah. Kaylee, my eldest is 33 tomorrow. And my youngest Gracie is 28 on, I can't believe it, 28 April

the 14th. And that's your baby, the 28 year old. Yeah. Yeah. A firecracker. Because I would sing songs. I have teenagers and then I have the younger ones who I'm still kind of singing songs to. But if I hear a song that I used to used to sing to my one of my kids um

be a james who's 19 or michelle who's 17 i will i get so emotional like it triggers like i would just i could just start crying because you remember and i don't i mean i literally just got the five-year-old her flu shot today and she was screaming and crying didn't want to get her flu shot like this just happened before i turned on the Zoom call. So I'm still in that world. I'm not as far removed as you are. But if I think about, you know, big man James and when I would be, you know, cradling him, maybe he had a fever or something. I'm singing these songs.

It just gets me so hard and I just want to just weep. It's quite the emotional response. It's incredible, isn't it, what music can do in that respect. I can't hear when my, during the lean years of Los Angeles when my daughter was little, we went there when she was 18 months old and came back when she was almost five.

I took her to see Beauty and the Beast, just her and I. And I can't listen to that theme song without tearing up. I mean, come on, man. You've got to be a cynical, hard comedian in order to survive this world of thick skin

and drunken hat wears, the second show of Sudbury. But I'm telling you, it just slays me. Yeah, and that's the power of music. And here is this I mentioned. We had another jam. I won't reveal it because we're going to hear it the next time you kick out jams with me, but this is the jam late breaking.

Here we go. Oh, get off. I left my home in Norfolk, Virginia, California, home of mine. I straddled that gray-handed road in Norfolk, Virginia, California Holdin' my mind I straddled that greyhound and rode him in the Raleigh

And on across Carolina Had more trouble to turn into a struggle Halfway across Alabama Well, a hound broke down and left us all stranded In downtown Birmingham Well, right away I bought me a through-train ticket Right across Mississippi. I was on that midnight flyer

out of Birmingham smoking in the New Orleans. Somebody helped me get out of Louisiana, just helped me get to Houston town. There are people there who care a little about me and have all had to pull more down. Hey!

Yeah, sweet. you. Yeah. Sweet. Sweet. Great. Once again, another Elvis song from the same, uh, same era,

the same era as Kentucky rain. Only this is the live album. And, um, I love the way the base of the drums come in. I believe Sonny West was the drummer, and I forget who his bass player was. I don't think it was one of the Jordanaires.

I think it was a great session player from Nashville, and this is an old Chuck Berry tune, of course, and, you know, Chuck Berry's only number one song was Mike and Elaine. I know the answer, which is shocking. Isn't it? Shocking, absolutely. And that's one, I like to drop that fun fact just to blow the odd mind of somebody

who's not paying attention because nobody would guess that in a million years. It's just like a novelty song. A novelty song. It's hello, mother. Hello, father. Here I am at Camp Grunner. It's, yeah. Anyway. On that Camp Grunner. It's, yeah.

Anyway. On that note, though, Ron, real quick, because we're on this topic. Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, a couple of artists you probably dig, never hit number one as the singers of their song, but they both hit number one with someone else singing their song. Did Bruce hit number one with Blinded by the Light when Manford Mann did it? Correct.

And Dylan hit number one with somebody else singing... Turn, Turn, Turn. No, he hit number two. It was a bird singing turn turn turn you got it you got it wow you got it yeah so anyway continue i just like to drop these fun facts on people i'll tell you this one uh years ago at university uh we used to have a variety show at acadia each year and uh elvis had died in the summer of 78, I believe. I think it's 77.

Was it 77? Okay, summer of 77. And so we wanted to do a tribute to him. So we went down to the local undertakers and got a coffin, like something you'd bury a pauper in. Right. something you'd bury a popper in. Right. And so me and I had pallbearers and I was in the coffin and we walked down the center aisle of the auditorium to the music of Elton John funeral for a

friend playing. Right. And we got on stage and boom, this song kicked in and I jumped out of the coffin and said, how are you doing? This was my first live performance since i died last august and you just lip sync this shit sure yeah way we went it was fun so it brings back good memories of days when you were just doing it for fun man love it now i have to wrap up my uh bruce springsteen bob dylan fact that neither hit number one as a singer, but both hit number one as a writer of someone else singing their song,

covering their song and hitting number one. The third guy in that trifecta there that has the same fun fact tied to them is Randy Newman. So Randy Newman hit number two as a singer, but only hit number one with someone else covering his song. Do you want to take a guess at which song hit number one with someone else singing it? I thought he hit number one with short people.

Two. And of course we're talking here, of course, about the billboard hot 100 here, but number two. That hit number two, short people. Right. Correct. But somebody singing his song hit short people. Right. Correct. But somebody singing his song hit number one. Right. And it's okay to...

Okay, give me a hint. Give me a hint. Was it a while ago? Or was it a cheap song to a film? I think we're talking 1970. Oh, I know. Three Dog Night. Mama told me not to come.

You got it, buddy. Well done. Thank you. Well done. Hey, I'm happy about that one. Well done. Well done. All right.

Let's bring it back to some CanCon here. Here's your sixth jam. Here we go. Picking up the pieces of my sweet shattered dream I wonder how the old folks are tonight Her name was Ann and I'll be damned if I recall her face She left me not knowing what to do Every highway, let me slip away on you

Every highway, you've seen better days. The morning after blues, from my head down to my shoes. Every highway. Yeah, I had to have one from Gordy in there. I saw that documentary on him, did you? I have not seen it yet. No. Yeah.

It's pretty interesting. It's not the happiest of campers. When they asked him at 84, what would you like something to happen this year? He's got a head like a flying Dutchman, right? And he's looking in the camera. I just want to be happy. I just want to be happy. I just want to be happy. I said, well, buddy, you're 84.

You might have figured it out by now. But I love this song, Carefree Highway, because I think it was written, it's so emblematic of the redemptive powers of the road to run away from your pain and your sadness and to be redeemed by the big wide road and how painful it is to spend time in the belly of the whale to get out of Toronto and to stretch my legs and just feel the wind on my face far from the confines of the big smoke where everything went south. I just loved And I loved this song before I really knew what it must have taken Gordie Lightfoot to write that. See, I work best in comedy when I'm happy. Because it's deconstructionist by nature but for songwriters who are feeling such bottomless pain uh it's pretty courageous

to put it all on the page like that man without a doubt i think you know and i think i i'm no stand-up comic like yourself but it seems to me like some of the the best stand-up seems to come from people who have a sort of, uh, darker souls. I don't even know the terminology for this, but less than happy go lucky people. Well,

it, that never worked well for me. It just didn't. Uh, although my buddy saw a set of mine that I did in Coburg, uh, a week after I separated and they brought some friends from the States and they were watching me and I was raw. And he still says, that's my Lenny Bruce set. He said, I've never seen anything like it. People reached out to me and said, I hope you take that because I've never heard anything

like it in my life. And I was raw and broken and sad and estranged from my kids. Right. And I just opened a vein. And their friends were just looking at me open mouth. And it wasn't profane. It was just personal. Right. And my friends and his wife looked at each other and they looked at them and they said, this is really different than it usually is. It really is.

But to live on that razor's edge every night and work like that, I understand why darkness might get people. And I never wanted to slip over the edge to that bottomless pit of despair. I always feel, and I know this might sound maudlin and corny, but so what? I like people leaving my audience feeling lighter than when they went in. I don't think it's my job to add another brick to their back on the journey, but to lighten the load. That's the truth. Well said.

Well said. Here's jam number seven. Oh. ¶¶ Further up the road, further up the road I'll meet you further on up the road Where the way is dark and the night is cold I'll meet you further on up the road Where the road is dark and the seat is sold Where the gun is cocked and the bullets cold.

Miles are marked in blood and gold. I'll meet you further on up the road. Further up the road, further up the road. I'll meet you further on up the road. Where the way is dark and the night is cold. I'll meet you further on up the road where the way is dark and the night is cold i'll meet you further on up the road this live in dublin album is my favorite album i play it non-stop it's my workout album and um it's about 12 years old now i'd say and they do a lot of Pete Seeger songs on here too old Mary don't you weep um keep your eyes on the prize um he does a great version of Atlantic City one of his own

Ballad of Jesse James uh and uh Jacob's Ladder the The orchestrations are incredible. And to watch it on DVD is remarkable. And, I mean, I grew up with the boss. He's encoded in my DNA. Seen him five times. My buddy who runs the Empire Theatre, who plays in a band with Jake Clemens, Clarence's nephew. I've had him over here.

Have you? Yes. Yes, sir. Mark Rashad and Jake? I've had Jake on. Yeah. Good guy. The little big man, I think, is his nickname.

Yeah, a good cat. Anyway, I think Mark, who plays lead with him a guitar impresario i think he's seen the boss more than 40 times i think he saw the rehearsal at the stone pony in new jersey for live in dublin then he saw him in dublin wow wow yeah well i i just want to name check somebody in another fotOTM like yourself, but Brad Fay, who people might know best as a Sportsnet personality, you see him on Raptor Games, et cetera, but Brad Fay has seen the boss over 100 times.

Holy Jesus. I know. Really? Yep. Yep. Wow. So he's played a fair bit of air piano then. I dare say he's moved into air piano.

That's what my sister and brother-in-law came up to Toronto to a concert. And my brother-in-law said, wait till the lights come on. You see all the guys playing air piano. Right. Right. And the piano, the keyboard is huge and it rises in height. I'm a great air piano player. Hey, you're doing so well at the

trivia. So, you know, I mentioned earlier that Bruce Springsteen's biggest hit went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. I'm referring to songs of his that he sang himself. Do you want to guess which song that was that went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100? I think it's from Born in the USA album.

Correct. Which is my least favorite album. I think it's Born in the USA. Good guess. Hold it, Dancing in the Dark. You got it. You're doing well at this, buddy. There you go.

Because I'm trying to think, I was just trying to think of a song that had so many pop hooks in it that the masses would dig it. I find this generational. I'm not surprised to hear you say you don't like Born in the USA. I think if you're a 70s Bruce guy, then you don't love this pop star that we had in the mid-'80s, Bruce Springsteen, alongside Madonna and Michael Jackson. No, I don't think he likes that version of himself either. I don't think he likes it either because when you –

it was a wonderful autobiography. I thought it was amazing. I thought he really laid it out there, man, especially with his struggles with mental illness, right? That's pretty great. Right. And he, but he doesn't spend a lot of time on that album. And one of the nicest things about Born in the USA, though,

was that he told Reagan to take a hike where they wanted to use it as a Republican rallying cry when he said, listen to the lyrics, Tool. One of the most misunderstood rock songs in music history. Unbelievable. How can you misunderstand that song? I know. Absolutely.

My brother, Apkason, now he's all gone. Really? How do you miss that? You know this. Nobody digs beyond the headline, right? So nobody puts in the work anymore. Man, this has been great fun. Did you know the word anti-penultimate?

I bet you you're a wordsmith kind of guy. You know how to turn a phrase. I bet you you know the word anti-penultimate. Well, you got me on that one. I don't. So the third last the word anti-penultimate. Well, you've got me on that one. I don't. The third last is the anti-penultimate. Okay, that makes perfect sense. Right. And I always

knew about penultimate and then there's the ultimate, the final one. It's hyphenated too, I would expect. I don't think it is. A-N-T-E. Right. Okay, Excellent. So I've only recently kind of started throwing this word around, but it sounds a lot more, maybe a little bit pretentious,

but it sounds better than saying third last. So here's your anti-penultimate jam. One, two, three, four. And it's from the album Transcendental Blues. Nice. A lot of great songs on that album, but this, he was my road sage throughout, pretty well from 2004 until 2010. I played him non-stop, non-stop, and He's a prolific musician, a prolific songwriter. And he, I mean, you know, he kicked heroin twice. He did time in jail.

He's been married five times and now he's lost a son and he's still singing. I don't understand how you do it. I don't understand that. understand how you do it. I don't understand that, how you continue to take those torpedoes to the bow and keep producing the way he does. And beautiful songs. I love that duet he does with Alison Moore, his ex-wife, which was a beautiful duet. And the stuff he sang with Lucinda Williams, who I'm a fan of as well. Right. Although I saw her live show at Massey Hall years ago and she just said, okay, here's my next song and just played it from a,

she had her songs on a stand and that was that. Huh. You know, and then you see that, that, that piece of rock and roll jerky Mick Jagger. How old is he now? 111? He's getting there. Anyway, I love Steve Earle. All his albums are just great.

Here's a parallel for you, and maybe you'll say, Mike, you're out to lunch, and you wouldn't be the first one to say that, but if you look at an artist like Steve Earle and you compare him to an artist like Warren Zevon, and the reason I say that is because these are fantastic singer songwriters that each had like a hit, like this one hit that sort of permeated to the masses. Cause you ask the average Joe,

well, Warren Zevon had a big hit with werewolves of London there and that was it for hits. And you got, I would say, it's hard to believe considering he's so incredible. Right. But again, sort of like drugs and money, um, uh, the, the ballot of Frank and Jesse James, um, um, uh,

oh my gosh, why are these things not coming into my head? Um, that's okay. It's late. That great ballot from the late seventies, uhs where he's trying to get his fix. It'll come to me. It'll come to you. But Steve Earle, to bring it back to Steve, when I was a teenager growing up, the big song on Q107 was Copperhead Road.

That's the one that everybody goes to on Steve Earle. Because it was the big hit. If you're going to hear a Steve Earle song on the radio, that's going to be it. That's going to be it, yeah. So that's why I always think of Zeevon and Earle in the same spirit because these are guys with big catalogs

that music fans love the depth of the catalog. But if you're going to hear a song on the radio, you're only going to hear one Warren Zeevon song probably on the radio and you're only going to hear the one Steve Earle song on the radio. That's the gentrification of taste. That lays solely in the lap of whatever kind of person is running these radio stations. Is it advertisers that run them?

I mean, you know, rock and roll would never have existed had it not been for the rebel voices who said, look, I'm not going to play Percy Faith anymore. Right. Right. I'm not going to play Doris Day. I'm not going to pay, you know, Jim Reeves. We got to, there's this new kid called Elvis. Right. So if you hear Copperhead Road, one would assume that it would open the door to say, okay, let's see what else this guy's got. Right. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you. Yeah, there's a few artists like that

I always think of that are kind of like your... By the way, the Warren Zevon album, that last album that he cut before he died is amazing. And what were those words he said to David Letterman on his final appearance on The Late Night with David Letterman on his final appearance on the late, late night with David Letterman. Do you remember? No. He said,

uh, enjoy every sandwich. Fantastic. And I've never forgot. I've never forgot those words. Enjoy every sandwich. Ron, this is,

I know. Amazing. Now, um, this is a guy who's, I mean, this guy could play Rachmaninoff when he was nine. Right.

His father was an accountant for the mob, right? I didn't even know that. Yeah, I think so. But he was also. The song I'm trying to think of is Carmelita. Carmelita. Carmelita, hold me closer. I think I'm going down.

Cause I do, do, do that heroin on the other side of town. Anyway, he's a beautiful voice too. No, I mean, he's got a great hockey song too. He sings hit somebody. Do you remember the song? Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah. And in fact, there's, speaking of David Letterman, he's got a cameo in the song. He's the guy who says hit somebody. It's about a, it's about a pugilist.

It's about a fighter in hockey whose only job is to get on the ice and be a goon basically. It's quite the song. Actually. It's beautiful. My friend, this has been amazing, but we're at the penultimate song. You ready for this one?

Yes, sir. Ah, okay. You always won Every time you placed a bet You're still damn good No one's gotten to you yet Every time they were sure that you caught

You were quicker than they thought You just turned your back and walked You always said cars will never do you wrong This album's Still the Same, was the pillar to Born to Run. I mean, it came out later, but still. It was Born to Run, 1979 or 78? 78, I think. Was it? No, 80.

No, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry. The River was in 1980. Right. And this was in 1979 and uh once again evocative of a time my last year in university and uh i just love seagr's working class detroit rock and roll great piano player and one of those one of those voices that just stands the test of time

and this is a great song I mean it's who's it about who is it is it about it seems to me it's about that kind of person we all knew or maybe that person we'd like to be.

It's anthemic too. As you can probably tell, I'm a sucker for anthemic songs. No shame in that. No, no, no, no. What fun this has been, my goodness. I'll tell you this. So I will have people on typically the first time we do the, I call it the A to Z.

You heard me earlier describe it. But we walk through the career and we kind of get a feel. Okay, you know, you did this and then you went to L.A. and it didn't work out. You came back, but look what you did here. Now you can tour the soft seats theaters across the country and then you do these New Year's Eve specials. We kind of do the A to Z of, you know, Ron James. Rightames right but then i find and i've been doing this for almost 10 years now

that when i get you back the second time to kick out the jams now i learn about you like this is when i this is what reveals ron james is when you talk about why you love the songs you love and people don't even notice they don't even realize how much they're giving you and how open they are because it's sort of sneaky that way it's like i love it i i feel i know ron james in a way i didn't know from the uh the a to z you know walk through well that a to z career stuff gets redundant after a while doesn't it it? It's, it's not the sole note that they're, that you're shooting for and vice versa. May I say the same, you know, uh, uh, it's, it, it feels so totally different than the last time I'm older too. I don't, I, I just want substance

in my life, man. Well, there is one thing better than this, though, and you'll experience this next time you kick out the jams, I'm sure, but kicking out the jams in person is a whole next level. Like, we do this in person. Next time you're going to be here, buddy. Next time you're going to be here. Fantastic. I look forward to it.

I look forward to it, man. Yeah, this has been just excellent. And we'll get more alt country in next time i'll pick my favorite dylan song get some guy clark another we'll get a clip from the we'll get a song from the rick rubin johnny cash section maybe emmy lou harris will come in there too there's a song of hers i really enjoy and love it cindy williams that'll be the theme next time and i i almost put Brandy in here. Oh, you know what?

You know, we've only done nine, right? Oh! There's one more to go here. That was the penultimate. I think Brandy's my last one. There's a port on a western bay And it serves a hundred ships a day Lonely sailors pass the time away And talk about their homes

and there's a girl in this harbor town and she works laying whiskey down they say Brandy fetch another round she serves them whiskey and wine they say, they say Brandy

you're a fine girl what a good wife you would be Yeah, your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea Love it. I never tire of it. Ever. It's a good story. He walks you through the town. You're in the seaside town, wherever it is. There's great licks, great hooks, nice backup. And it's once again reminiscent of the day when life was simpler.

So nostalgia, I always think of a line from Mad Men. I think he talks about, Don Draper talks about how it's looking back with this like this pang though. It's sort of a bittersweet look back at simpler times. I like nostalgia, but there's a, it's not all, you know, you know, bread and roses here. It's

you can't go back. You can't, but it's how you go back that matters. If you go back and just dip your toe in the pool, that's what my book's about. I mean, I spend time in the book, and I don't want to sound like I'm suddenly wrapping up with a shameless plug. No, do it, buddy, do it. the word nostalgia has corrupted a deference for memory of a day that's gone. And I think it's how you embrace those memories and how you articulate them that makes sense. I mean, I know people who have never left high school, right?

You go in their man cave and their jackets up there and their letter and, you know, the photos of their hockey team or their football team. And you know that that's somebody who is still measuring worth based on standards from when they were younger men. I don't want to be that younger guy anymore. I don't want to be that younger guy anymore. I don't want to be that fella. I've worked too hard and I've lived too much and I've raised children and I've had my successes and my sorrows and they've tempered me.

They've made me what I am today. And the only way that I was able to look back and break out all those journals from a day long gone and to reflect on being a kid growing up was because I'm stronger now. Right. I'm stronger. And I think people who are unduly nostalgic think that they were stronger then. I don't. I don't. I like where I am right now. I'm going to be 64 the end of January. I've never felt more optimistic about the way things are going. And it's not just career. optimistic about the way things are going. And it's not just career. And I know the world is in a state of perpetual flux. As I said to someone the other day, I said, geez,

given how fast the geopolitical landscape has changed, I wouldn't be surprised if the Martian invasion is the next thing we have to deal with. But maybe that would be good. We'd stop hating each other's guts and could concentrate on fighting guys with big green heads. But I, and I just don't mean in terms of career, I just mean in terms of, of comfortability with the craft, right? With, with how you're, how you're walking through the world, I guess. And don't get me wrong, I have blue days and stuff too. It's not like I'm, you know, the baton major and up with people for Christ's sake.

But I... I get that reference. Look, man, it's been two years since I've had an opportunity to embrace my calling and make a living again. And I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. As Warren Zivon says, enjoy every sandwich. Beautiful. What a statement. And that brings us to the end of our 939th show.

You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Ron is at the Ron James show on Twitter. Follow him there. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Chef Drop is at Get Chef Drop. Mineris is at Mineris. McKay CEO Forums, they're at McKayfDrop. Manaris is at Manaris. McKay CEO Forums,

they're at McKay CEO Forums. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker U is at Sticker U. Ridley Funeral Home, they're at Ridley FH. And Mike Majeski of Remax Specialists, Majeski Group, they're at Majeski Group Homes on Instagram. See you all next week. The wind is cold, but the snow won't stay today.

And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy and green. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Roam Phone. Roam Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls. Visit RoamPhone.ca to get started. You know that's true because everything is coming up rosy and green. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow won't stay today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy and green.

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