Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Splash'N Boots Return: Toronto Mike'd #335

Episode Date: May 11, 2018

Mike catches up with Splash'N Boots before they kick out the jams!

Welcome to episode 335 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery located here in Etobicoke. Did you know that 99.9% of all Great Lakes beer remains here in Ontario? GLB, brewed for you, Ontario. And propertyinthesix.com. Toronto real estate done right. And Paytm, an app designed to manage all of your bills in one spot. Download the app today from paytm.ca.

And our newest sponsor, Camp Tournesol, the leading French summer camp provider in Ontario. I'm Mike from torontomike.com, and joining me is children's musical duo, Extraordinaire. I just threw in Extraordinaire. That's nice. I'm into it.

Splash and Boots. Hello just do an extraordinaire. That's nice. I'm into it. Splash and Boots. Hello. Wild applause. Yes, welcome back. Listen, if my kids were here, there'd be more than applause. I think there'd be like... Security. And I want to tell everyone, they can't see us right now.

That's the thing about podcasts. They can't see that there's another person with it. It's Splash and Boots and Lily. Lily! The infamous dog. Lily's a dog. That's not nice to say, but Lily can hear us. Lily is a canine. Yes. And Lily is here

just like, I think this is the first time an animal, I mean, other than the human beings, has been down here. Lily's very excited to be here with their five favorite songs of life. Oh, who let the dogs out?

Yeah. Let me see. Let's keep going. How about Watch the Dog in the Window? Yes, of course. Very nice.

Something by Snoop Dogg. Yeah, Snoop Dogg, of course. A Little Bow Wow. Maybe the theme song for Junkyard Dog. I don't know what it was,

but a little. Yes. Oh, Junkyard Dog. J-Y-O. Grab Them Cakes. Grab Them Cakes. I don't know what it was, but... Little... Yes. Oh, Junkyard... Yeah, J-Y-U. Grab Them Cakes. Grab Them Cakes. I don't care what it takes.

I was a big fan of the rest of the album. Me too. Why aren't they in your jams? Well, I can't... They're not that great. Oh, I just thought of another good one.

Little Bones by the Tragically Hip. Oh, of course. There you go. Bones. See what I did there? Little Bones. I want you guys

to be Splashin' Boots and Mike. Can we do this? Yeah, yeah. I have you guys to be Splashin' Boots and Mike. Can we do this? I have a lot of creative ideas. Kids like me. I got the two-year-old and the four-year-old. So I'm like used to being around. Kids like me.

You're in. That's all it takes. Well, I know how to talk to that. Like Jarvis, who's four, and is a big Splashin' Boots fan. All right on. Big fan. When I go pick him up at daycare, like I do these,

like I have these funny faces I do and these things, like his friends think I'm like, I'm like Jerry Seinfeld to these kids. Like they think I'm the funniest thing. Don't ever lose that. When they're in their teens, they're going to still say,

your dad's the coolest. He makes all these faces. You know, it goes quick. I can tell you from experience. Yeah, it's like, oh, your dad's the coolest. He makes all these faces. That's, it goes quick. I can tell you from experience. Yeah, it's like, oh, your dad's the coolest. He makes all these faces. That's a good thing.

And very quickly, your dad makes all these faces. That's not a good thing. But he always has these beautiful beers in his basement, though. I want to tell everyone listening that there is another episode of Splashin' Boots. Did I write down the number? No. Okay. Somewhere in the Toronto Mike archives.

Do you guys remember your episode number? No, that would be definitely not. I know if I didn't know. Okay. If you want the A to Z, we went way back. We covered you guys in university and we learned some interesting things I need to follow up on. But there is another episode with you guys

people can go to if they want to hear the deep dive, I guess, with Splash. That's right. Just get right into it. And we learned your real names. So let's remind everybody. I'm Tess. And Tess is Boots.

Yes. And we know she's Boots, although today I just noticed. No Boots. I always know the difference because Boots has boots, like really high boots. Yeah, she doesn't always wear those boots. No. Went straight for the running shoes today. And sometimes even flip-flops.

But I'm always, I remember this last time, I'm always a little bit disappointed that you don't come in a boot. That we don't come in costume. Yeah, I know. Yeah. And we learned that originally you were Splash. Yes. And Nick.

Okay, so Nick is Splash now, but in the very beginning, Nick was Boots. Which is so funny now. It's so weird. But when we started, we didn't know we were going to become Splash as a character, Boots as a character. That wasn't the plan. So it was just the name. Right? So...

Kids really wanted to know. Originally, you were just part of a big IKEA marketing campaign. Yeah, that's right. We still are, actually. And Sweden. We run the entire country. We're part of the curling team in Sweden now.

You know who's a big fan of yours? He has a three-year-old, and he was here last week, and he saw the, I'm holding up now, the big yellow tunes disc, okay? And he saw that, and he remarked, one thing, guys, because he's my age and I'm talking about

Jay Onright. Oh, nice. From TSN. TSN, of course. He loves you guys. You're on his TV all the time. You make his kid happy. So, of course,

he likes you guys. But me and Jay were of the same age and you guys are similar, although much younger than us. But Big Shiny Tunes was like a big deal. It was a big deal.

When he saw Big Yellow Tunes, he got very excited. Jay will have to hook you up with a CD. Oh, yeah. We have a couple thousand. Because, you know, he can't afford one on his own with that. Oh, well, the juicy back to TSN contract. That multi-million dollar contract he's got.

So Jay says hi to you. Well, there you go. Hello, Jay. And just test. Just when people Google you and stuff and they see your name is really tess yeah they should know that is said tess yes it's like a silent a is it your uh mother or father who do we blame for this i know i know i don't know so the well you want the full story yeah okay so the full name is actually tess neen so it's t-a-E-S-N-I-N-E. And it's an Ojibwe word.

It's shortened for she who holds her hand out to others. But now the story makes much more sense. Right? So then it's just Tes, straight up. Why'd you lose the nine part? Because people called it nine, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah.

They really did. Which is cool. I don't think anyone's ever called me that. My mother calls me that sometimes. Yeah. But is there, do you have Ojibwe blood? No. I think that's called cultural appropriation.

First you take the Swedish thing. Do you at least have Swedish blood? Not even. But hippie blood. Oh, for sure. To give your kid a name like that. I envision the family ties. It would be like the parents.

Family ties morphed on us. In the beginning, it was all about the hippie parents raising this conservative son. And you're all too young, I can tell. No, no. Tess is like, what's family ties? No, I remember Michael J. Fox, right? Right, right. Michael J. Fox was a conservative guy.

With Alex B. Keaton. And he was in love with Nixon and stuff. Right. He had the suit collar. Yeah. And the parents were hippies, essentially. And that was the premise at the beginning. And then it kind of morphed.

They kind of lost that. But I always liked that. But you had parents like that. That's Tess's parents. Doesn't matter. That's my parents. Not so much Nick's parents. No, because Nick is a normal name.

Well, they're also farmers. Nick is a good farming name. I have three older brothers, and they all have Steve, Brad, Jeff. These are farmer names. Right. Steve's five letters, though. That's a little excessive. Yeah, but are farmer names. Right. Oh, well, Steve's five letters, though. That's a little excessive. Yeah, but still one syllable.

I rooted for you guys hard at the Juno Award. Oh, thank you. That's nice. We had a great time. We had so much fun. We knew we were not going to win that Juno. Is that because, I mean, now, since your last appearance, I've had Fred Penner on the program. That's right.

Oh, yes. And he let me wear his hat. Yeah. If I could wear your boots. I know. I should have brought them just for that. But Fred Penner, legendary Fred Penner. Totally.

Exactly. Did he say, I wish Splashin' Boots had won that Juno? I actually tried to, I took a pipe and I tried to hit him in the kneecap thinking maybe that'll like disqualify him from judo contention. Pull a Tonya Harding on. Yeah. Yeah. Get a movie out of this. Fred is wonderful, obviously, and has been such a, you know, he, along with some others, he paved that road.

Is it him and Rafi? Are they the two? Yeah, Sharon and Bram. You know, like, it's wonderful. Al Simmons. Al Simmons. There's a great, great history of Canadian children's entertainers. The fact that he's still producing, incredible.

Do we want him to take a year off maybe next year? Sure. Yeah, because he's really blocking you. So he won. How many times have you been nominated now? Five. And you've never won? In a row.

But Fred's not winning all five times. No, but every time we've been up against him. Every time he releases an album, he gets nominated. So we've lost against him twice now. Five. And you've never won. In a row. But Fred's not winning all five times. No, but every time we've been up against him. Every time he releases an album, he gets nominated. So we've lost against him twice now. Because the voters have nostalgia for him. And the voters are way too old. So this is what's going to happen. Do the math. In 30 years,

you guys are going to dominate. Because sadly, Fred will have passed on. So that's the good news. Not good for Fred. I'm just saying. I'm doing the math in my head. He'll be like 102 years old. He'll still be in that log, man. I'm telling you. Oh, man.

So, but all the voters will have the same nostalgia for Splashin' Boots that guys my age have for Rafi. The legacy vote. Right. Right. Yeah, absolutely. Nostalgia is a potent drug.

Mike, you're just doing the math, man. You're a fact guy. And I'm sorry I killed off Fred Penner, but he is 102, and he's going to live a long, healthy life. I love the guy. He's great. Where do you segue from that?

I'm going to do this. Okay, so another reason, guys. Straight into Madonna. Right. Oh, spoiler alert. We are kicking out the jams later, so Nick and Tess have each brought five jams, and we're going to go one at a time. We're going to start

with Nick and then go Tess. Back and forth. I tested that system with Lowest of the Low. Two members of Lowest of the Low came in and we kicked out the jams. So the back and forth, five-five, it works. It's pretty good. But another guest who has been here

is Jill Deacon. That's my cousin. What? I just randomly wanted to point that out, that Jill Deacon from here and now on CBC Radio 1 was here. But yes, after, not on the recording, I guess she didn't want to be associated with you guys for some reason.

But after the recording, I don't know if she saw, something about Splashin' Boots came up, like you come up organically or whatever. And she's like, Tess is my cousin. So that's amazing. Yeah.

Yeah, we grew up together. And where is this that you grew up again? Well, I grew up in Kingston. Jill and I, we all used to go to the cottage, which was in Padua. So we spent like some summer, summer times together. And we actually,

when we first started Splashin' Boots, we did our kid's birthday party in a living room. Like, I don't know, a long time ago. And yeah, they were like big fans, her children. And yeah, they are. Yeah, her and her husband are amazing.

That's a small, I mean, it's always Canadian media world is a small world anyway, but it's just, that's interesting. Fun fact, I'll call that. Jill Beacon. She's wonderful. She's so good on the radio. I enjoy listening to Jill. She was Neighbors with

Gord Downie. That's correct. We talked about that. I didn't even realize she had a personal connection with Gord. I was actually going to talk to her about it because he's a Canadian icon. But yeah, it's interesting what you learned there. Yes. Now I have to clarify something.

So at the last episode, I asked you guys if you were ever a couple because I felt there was some intimacy like beyond partnership or whatever. Anyway, I sensed it. It's true. Okay. Because when the kids are watching, they're into the show, but I'm watching the dynamic between you two. Of course. So it was revealed

you were a couple. But then afterwards, somebody asked me, oh, they were married? And I realized I have no idea. Like, were you married? Yeah. You just get right down to business. That's awesome research. Then I get to the Jake Gould next okay wait

so we were married how long were you married for? 10 years how long ago did you break up? was it the day before you came over? there was no breakup there was a breakup but there was no breakup

we just morphed into best friends. It's funny. I think that we should probably have how to do divorce well. Oh, yeah. We could write an entire book on this because we are best friends. And we always have been best friends. And it just didn't work the other way. We're on the road and you're splashing boots and you're on the road

and then you get home and you just want to do your own things with your own friends because we see each other 24-7 and that's what happens. So we're like, wait a minute,

we're best friends and we don't ever... And we don't... Okay, I know kids are... I'm going to be... No swears in this episode in case somebody's getting on the kids

and we're going to... Whatever. Tell me if it's too personal. Of course, if it's too personal, just say it. Mike, it's too personal. Is it?

I can't tell because he winked at me when he said that. So let me ask this. How do I say it? Did anything spark the transition from romantic couple to platonic couple? Was there anything? Did someone fall in love with somebody

else or something like that? Is that too personal? Not even. It's really funny because it literally, Like did, did someone fall in love with somebody else or something like that? Actually, no, no, no, it wasn't like that at all. Like not even like, which is like, it's really funny because it literally,

it was like, it just happened slowly. And then we were like, Oh, we are actually best friends. And this is, I mean, that just happens sometimes.

And you could stay, uh, you could stay legally married and like, uh, and just see, like open it up or whatever. We did try that. Cause that would see like open it up or whatever. We tried that. We did try that. Because that would be like the path of least resistance.

And then you realize that kind of doesn't it does hold you back from actually being with other people. It depends on the person. You're right. Some people have an issue with that for sure. But some if they understand that you're not actually involved physically they might actually understand that Well look when we get asked all the time

by fans and everything, are you married? Are you married? So when we say, no, we're just best friends, we don't have to lie. No, that's right. So it's really actually not really,

and for us, there was no like, like we had a divorce party. You know what I mean? But then this is the best, this is the greatest divorce I've ever heard of. Nothing's ever changed.

We're actually probably closer. We see each other every single day. I'll cook something and be like, hey, I'm bringing dinner over. We do stuff like that all the time. Let me ask you this. Are either of you coupled up in a different relationship now? Currently, no.

Maybe that's... Currently not, no. So any of new listeners... If anyone wants to take Nick out for a coffee or a beer... No, Tess, I'm taking you out. Aren't you? Wait, what?

Just kidding, Monica. We are never going to be on this podcast again. This podcast is taking a whole new turn. Family show. Wow. Okay. Yeah. But I think it's been pretty safe, this content so far.

Very revealing. I like the content that goes over the kids' heads, but the adults are like nodding their head like, oh, I hear what's going on here. So, okay. You're both single. Yeah. But if one of you today meets, like if a listener is like DMs me today and is like hook me up with Nick. Let's make a splash together.

See what you did there. You don't want to hear the one I had for you. I'm sure. Now Nick's in a relationship. It's still cool. Everything is still the same. Not even a little bit of jealousy because you're happy for Nick. What it would be more like,

whoever this girl is, is going to have to be amazing. Well, she's going to be blind, like visually impaired. Wait, what? What's going on? I like the distance and all the compliments to test.

Oh, it was. It hurts my head to look at you, so I have to. And then I go off microphone. Oh my God. We're both very supportive of that endeavor. And not only that, we've often talked to each other about certain situations because we can help

each other out. And it's very, we have a very honest and authentic relationship. Like I'm excited for Nick to be with someone else. And I, well, that's true love. That is true love.

We'll also be my friend. I'm assuming that's what will just happen. We're going to have one of those big, crazy families. I practically have one myself. I totally get this. Let's say you meet a woman, Nick, who is jealous of boots. No, it's not going to work.

That's a deal breaker, right? Because you're a package deal. The bed will only have the two of you in it. Tess is not in the bed, but she's in your heart and in your life exactly if they don't see that they don't see the bigger picture and like I think it's remarkable what families are doing these days and I think that the definition of a family is totally different and we can have all these like other people who are part of our lives and and create something really beautiful and I think that that's what's amazing about the time that we're living in right now.

And we are all about that. Yep. And that's what's going to happen. And we preach it too. Yeah. Well, okay. Now I'm going to share something with you that my ex shot this down, but I had a great idea. Here it goes.

I was going to sell this house. Well, my wife and I own it together. We were going to sell this house. Yep. And my ex was going to sell the home I was in, but now she owns. So I gave her a house that she... So I share custody with my ex of two children. So two go back and forth.

And two are here all the time. The two Splash and Boots fans are here all the time. Of course, where the hell else are they going to go? Mom and dad live here. Come on. Where are they going? So my thought was let's sell our homes because right now our homes

are like a million bucks each or something ridiculous. Of course, we're going to have to buy in the same market so it's going to be expensive. Let's buy something big with two entrances where we can have separate lives together.

But then my teenagers who have two bedrooms, one in each home right now, they only have the one. If it's a big sporting event and it's not my night, my 16- 16 year old can just watch the game with me anyways about it being a thing like like and then also right now i've because i have a family of six in this home we've actually outgrown this home it would solve a lot of problems it would be better

on our bank accounts one wi-fi one cable thing like there's a lot of reasons why so i i dig this idea yeah that's so are you it? No, because my ex is not into it. She's like, too much. I pitched it to her. All parties have to be in agreement. Very important. I like it. But that's kind of in line with what

you're talking about. That's totally it because Splash Boots, our whole company, our whole everything is a family. So we're not going to... That is really important to us So we're not going to... That is really important to us and it's not going to be sacrificed. Speaking of family, as you talk, sometimes I hear growling. I know. Nick must be hungry.

That's what I'm thinking. Nick must be hungry. Lily is upstairs probably looking into your backyard. You have a very nice backyard. Very lush. She wants out. She's like growling at the squirrels. Oh, that's funny. Okay. Thank you for clarifying. That's a long time. It's 10 years. She's welcoming. She's like growling at the squirrels. Oh, that's funny. Okay. Thank you for clarifying.

That's a long time. It's 10 years? I'm surprised. Maybe you're older than I think you are. That might be true, too. We got married very young. How young? 25? No, 23.

23. I was 21 the first time. Yeah, we were engaged at 21. Okay. And so doing the math, 23, and how long have you been in this new modern situation? Divorce? Is that the word? Separated? What happened? Did you live together when you were married?

Or did you have separate houses? We've only had separate houses for the last year. Two years? Yeah. It's all fairly recent. But not recent at all. You clearly dig each other, which I think is amazing. It is okay.

I wouldn't, you know, you kind of want to punch her in the throat sometimes. And the way Tess looks at Nick, I think there's some unfinished business there. I'm not too sure. I'm picking up some vibes. Who doesn't? That's how everyone looks at Nick. Wait, what? Speaking of Gore Downie, lead singer of my favorite band of all time,

the Tragically Hip. Did you guys know Jake Gold used to manage the Tragically Hip? We did. Wait, what? I heard this. I heard this when he was on Canadian Idol. He was a judge. And I remember that was the billing.

Yeah, it's true. You should be aware of this. Because... For 20 years. Was this... When you were here last time, it's true. You should be aware of this. Because... For 20 years. Was this... When you were here last time, it might have been like just happening or something?

I think it was just starting. Just starting. So tell us all, who manages Splashin' Boots now? Wow, Mike. Nice segue. Jake Gold does now. He's...

Somebody told me that he dropped your name on, you know, Bob Lefsetz? Yes. Oh, yeah. Very influential blogger or vlogger. I don't know. What does he do?

A letter? Like the Lefsetz letter? Yeah. It started just as him actually literally, literally doing a letter before the internet kind of happened. Right. And like a newsletter proper. And then he became influential quite a bit in the, um.

Yeah. He seems to have a good audience in that. And, uh, he has a, he seems to have a good audience and he has a podcast and Jake Gold was a guest and Jake said a few things interesting. But one is he mentioned you guys, which is why. So I listened to this episode because I wanted to hear what he said

about you guys. Oh. Because I do my homework on this show. Sure, something. Something. That's a perfect word for it. I said something. I'm something. but jake uh he told left sets uh that uh facebook was a good way to reach grandparents he said he says target he was doing he was talking about doing targeted ads on facebook to grandparents because this is jake was talking and saying that grandparents spend more on kids than parents he said i don't know

if you know that he's. I heard the episode. And then I thought about it. And I mean, it must be true. I have no idea. I have no idea, but I trust his research or whatever. So a lot of people, when they want to buy something, like, I don't know, tickets to see Splashin' Boots live or something for children,

it'll be the grandparents that do that. We see a lot of grandparents now in our audience. It's actually pretty cool. Because I think with that, again, it's like teenagers have disposable income and all of a sudden you get to the grandparent level and then they just want to spoil their kids. And so I think there's something, you know, to the merch table, maybe a parent will say, okay, you can pick one where kids like, okay, I want the dog.

I want the shirt and the CD. Yeah. You know, maybe grandparents will say, you know what? That's what they're there for yeah but also like there's something there is definitely a changing thing like we do see a lot of grandparents at our show and it's so beautiful it's one of my favorite things just like seeing grandparents with their kid or grandchildren dancing and like it's so lovely because that would be a great if you're uh if you have young grandchildren that would be a great like afternoon out we'd be, that would be a great, like, afternoon out. We'd be taking them to Splashin' Boots.

And I think that's what's happening too, right? People want moments together. Whether that's, it's a shared experience. I think that's what's happening with the, when we look into the crowd, it doesn't matter if it's parents or the aunts or uncles or grandparents. I think that's, people want moments. And that's what's happening.

That's not your stomach right now these mics are such a girl no one can hear that but us because these mics you got to be right on right so they're like why are these guys reacting to nothing there uh that's funny so jake gold uh what's it like with jake gold as your manager well he's very um he is he really knows what he's doing and he works differently than we do. Like I would say that between the two of us, neither of us are that organized or business minded. Like we really work from the heart

and we do what we love. You're the creatives. Yeah. And we also like, we sort of approach business from a very heart centered way. Not to say that he doesn't, but he's very business. And he gets things done.

He negotiates everything. He gets things organized and he does contracts. And like that kind of stuff is not my deal. You're trying to plan ahead? I'm like, what does that mean? Yeah, we just like fly by this. I'm surprised we've made it this way. But who was managing you before Jake? No, not ourselves.

Me. We rotated on the management team. Yeah, you're right. It'd be like very reactive, right? Like as opposed to proactive. That's what it is. Totally. I can see that

because you're so focused on the brand and the creative and the kids. Plowing forward. I'm like, can I just go do some more hugging? Yeah, you needed somebody.

You needed somebody to manage that. Yeah, so we kind of laugh because personality wise, like hilarious difference. But in the whole scheme of things the uh having someone that is not like us sometimes is the best thing you know if you're if you don't clean your house sometimes you you want somebody that you know can clean your house they like doing that very organized you know that's also a good thing i think the best is a good cop bad cop okay like this you guys can, you guys can stay good cop.

Yeah. Always. You can help it. You can sick bad cop on, I don't know who you're dealing with business wise, but negotiating these deals or contracts or whatever. And you guys can just smile and say, Hey, that's Jake's department. You know, I'm just here to make the kids happy. We have a tour manager as well.

And she deals with everything, but Andrea and she's the ying to Jake's yang. You know what I mean? So it's really funny too, because she gets to deal with all the parents' emails that ask the questions every day. Yeah, Andrea is really amazing. She's our other, like, we have a crew that really keeps us together so that we can just hug children. It takes a village to entertain the children. It really does. No, yeah.

So Andrea is like the glue, I suppose. Andrea is, yeah, she really. And Jake's like, she's like the glue, I suppose. Andrea's, yeah, she really. And Jake's the business. Yeah. You guys are the creative, the content creators or whatever.

Yeah. All right, cool. I'm happy for you because the Jake Gold, that's a big name. Yeah, no, it can open some doors. Like yesterday,

I was at the Blue Jays game at the TD Bank box. I'm going tomorrow, by the way. Oh, fantastic. But not in that box. No, that box is amazing. But that's through a connection through Jake and blah, blah. And they want to meet us and blah, blah, blah. You know what I mean? It's just these connections that I'm going tomorrow, by the way. Oh, fantastic. But not in that box. That box is amazing. But that's through a connection through Jake

and they want to meet us and blah, blah, blah. You know what I mean? It's just these connections that I'm like, oh, there's some doors that are opening. Right, because Junior J's, I don't know, is it still Junior J Saturday? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, of course. Right. So can you tell me your targeted demo? Like I'm sure Jake, like what's your target? Is it just any, like at some point

kids outgrow Splashin' Boots. It's the sad reality. They do, but what happens, so we don't target, like if you're on a TV show, yes, you have to target. They're very, who's your target audience? But for us, if you're a fan at say age five, and then all of a sudden you have a younger sister or brother, you might get up into the

eight or nine tens. Okay, I hear you. Because you'll still come to the show because you know the songs. Right. But are they an intro fan? No. We find the fans like they're getting younger and younger all the time. Because Treehouse is so preschool. So it's like one-year-olds are into it. You're always on Treehouse.

They should rename it the Splashing Boots Network. We should talk to people. I mentioned this, but I didn't say it on the air, but whenever you're on Treehouse, Jarvis, my four-year-old looks at me and says, Daddy, your friends are on TV again. So you're my friends because at some point I'm like,

oh, Splash of Boots came over. I have met you guys a few times at different festivals or at the C&E. The Bloor Festival. Bloor. You know where else we met each other is when the kid pulled the fire alarm. my god that's

right okay so we had this is like it's a pretty good story we had a show in toronto at bluer and spadina at a theater and we were about to do the meet and greet so all everybody's lined up in the theater and then all of a sudden the fire alarm goes off you know i watched the kid pull it you did yeah and i watched the kid pull it and uh so i'm going to put him at four. Yeah, sure. I'm going to put him at four. So a four-year-old pulls it. And I saw him playing with it. And so if it was my kid that close to the fire alarm, I'd be in there like, hey, you can't pull this

because then this happens. And never, ever, ever pull a fire alarm. Parenting moment. Unless there's a fire. Yeah. But yeah. But when it's not your kid, it's a bit of a... I was a bit back.

And then I was like, oh, sure, the mom will step in. The mom didn't step in. Next thing you know, the kid's yanking this fire alarm. But what I remember is the kid, the four-year-old who pulls the fire alarm, he kind of blended into the crowd and he was still in that. He was right behind us in the meeting, which you pointed out. So you had...

We had to do it outside in the parking lot. We evacuated. All the VIPs went outside with us and then the fire trucks came. Yeah, it was a huge thing. There was outside in the parking lot. We had to take the whole, we evacuated. All the VIPs went outside with us and then, and then the fire trucks came. Yeah, it was a huge thing. There was like graffiti in the parking lot

beside a dumpster. it was a huge thing. So lots of trucks shutting it down. And meanwhile, I've seen the four-year-old pull it. Like,

I'm like, I'm telling them, you know, I witnessed this. This is definitely, I know they have protocol. That's the thing. Once you pull it,

they have to do all the stuff. Even though I witnessed the kid do it and there was no fire anymore. Put your axes away, boys. Multiple trucks were all outside. But you guys made lemonade out of those lemons.

You have to. It was kind of funny. It was. It was a good moment. I just thought it was so funny that the four-year-old who pulled it, the mom was like, I'm not saying a word. And then the four-year-old just blended in like, I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything. Smart. He took off his jacket and blended it right into

the crowd. Meanwhile, I'd be like sacrificing my child to take my son to jail. I saw him do it. Call the police as well. That's funny. Thanks for reminding me of that story. Bob Richardson says when his four-year-old son discovered that the

churlies were actually just upside down heads, chins. The chinlies. Chinlies. Oh my God, churlies. That makes much more sense. I've seen this bit. It totally blew his mind. He didn't know and innocence was lost. I saw this. It was on Twitter, right?

Yeah. Funny. That's funny. That whole skit, it's been done for years and years. We didn't make that up, obviously. But I remember doing that skit with my uncles. I saw them do it.

It was a thing I saw as a kid. I was like, that's funny. So that was the whole premise. It is funny. And I remember that moment as a kid when I realized whatever show I was watching was doing it.

Something was doing it when I was a kid, too. And when you have that moment, you realize, oh, that's the upside down. Google the eyes. It's not just kids that freak out. Parents are like, wait, what? Well, it's like the upside down clowns

at the Santa Claus parade. You're like, oh, I see how they're doing. You have your moments. That was from Bob Richardson. Anything else? Now, I see that you're promoting a show in Labrador. Yes. So this is a pretty good story.

Yeah. So, okay. So here's what happened there. Out of nowhere, I thought, let's run a contest for fun. Yeah. Whoever puts the name of a town or city in front or in the comment section will get a free Splashin' Boots show. And I would like to say that this is one of those spontaneous things that we do without the thought process of what's going to happen.

But do you run it by Jake? No, this is pre-Jake. Pre-Jake. But he had to come in and kind of fix this problem. So what happened was it went viral and over 30,000 comments

across Canada. Which is good. Fantastic. But we're like, oh no, it's too many comments. We had to hire somebody to go through them.

Literally go through them. And Labrador City won this show. Wow. Which is had to hire somebody to go through them. Literally go through them. And Labrador City won this show. Wow. Which is the most expensive place to go to. Exactly. And so we went, oh no.

Yeah. That was it. And so we even spent a whole year trying to figure out how to get up there and blend it into a tour, blah, blah, blah. So now,

yeah. So we ended up adding two more shows to Labrador, Churchill Falls and Happy Valley Goose Bay. Say that 10 times fast. Happy Valley Goose Bay. Say that 10 times fast. Happy Valley Goose Bay. So yeah, we're going to drive there.

We're driving. That is, because I actually drove to Prince Edward Island, and I didn't have time to get to Newfoundland, because you have to do this whole, you know. Well, yeah. We're going up through like Quebec City. So yeah, so we've been to Newfoundland a bunch of times, but Newfoundland, it's an island.

But then Labrador is this crazy mass of land. It's all 600 kilometers of gravel after Quebec City. And there's gas stations every 300 kilometers. Can I expense it somehow? I think so. You can just keep potting as you go. If you can ever

tell Jake that Channel Mike's on board here. I would totally go, by the way. We're really excited, though. The fans up there, we sold out VIP tickets for the Happy Valley Goose Bay. It was like 200 tickets for VIP only, but they sold them in five minutes. Wow.

It's new. We're like, wow, okay, there's a market up there that they really want us to go to. They're underserved, probably. They are completely underserved. Because people have to drive for 600 miles they're sick of like Uncle Frank down the street doing like magic trips

Jimmy with a harmonica do it so no we're it's going to be a really when is this again that's happening June 8th wow and we're off to

Whitehorse Yukon next weekend yeah where we've also never been there no because you're like based in the GTA

where there's like 4 trillion people but you're going off to the GTA where there's like four trillion people but you're going off to like... That's how squash moves roll, man. Yeah. Because how many people

live in that territory? 2,000 maybe. Well, I think about 25,000 think of Whitehorse. But that's amazing. That's the last city. Labrador City and Whitehorse are the two major cities

we haven't done yet in Canada. Right. And they get treehouse there so they're seeing you in their living rooms. When we were in the Arctic Circle last year at this time, the kids up there, they knew exactly who we were. It was amazing. That's exciting for you. I'm taking responsibility

with the Toronto Mike appearance that really took off in Labrador. They love me in Labrador. Thank you. I've heard that's your biggest market outside of GTA. I do well in these big gravel spots. Oh, that's great. And any other updates? Because we're going to kick of the GTA. I do well in these big gravel spots. Oh, that's great. And any other updates? Because we're going to kick out the jam.

Here, let me... Well, before I proceed, hold on here. Let me give people... Where is this? Is this playing? There you are. Oh. So, okay.

So, since you... Last time we were here, big yellow tunes had just come out. And there's nothing since then right well that yeah yeah there has been oh my goodness

we released Love, Kisses and Hugs and that was the latest one that got nominated for a Juno so this one was nominated for a Juno but the latest one was more of a lullaby album

so we have 11 albums so I still love the Shake Your Bums and this is a song I always like you have a couple of songs that I feel like you could change the words a bit

Re-orchestrate it a bit And it would be good for adults Yeah Absolutely Hey, that's half our audience, right? Yeah They have to endear us The other one

Here's the one I actually I'm surprised I don't hear it on Kiss 92.5 yet Come on What's it gonna be? Oh Come on, right? This is a...

Already I want to jump up and down. Don't do it down here. You'll hit your head. That's true. We did all the jump songs last time we were here. Yeah, that's right. That sounds like something I would do. Jump songs. There's a lot of great jump songs. Criss Cross, House of Pain,

Van Halen, Pointer Sisters. Just name four off the top of my head. Yeah. There you go. And this one. So I wanted to give

everyone a taste. These two are from the Big Yellow Tunes, but there's a new album since then because you guys are prolific. Kanky A-Bump.

Well, I think actually last time I think we were here, it was in the summertime and I think we just started to write the album and we released it October 1st, I think actually last time I think we were here, it was in the summertime. And I think we just started to write the album and we released it October 1st, I think. We did it fast. Yeah, that one was amazing. Like those early days of the Beatles, they were pumping out albums every few months.

You are. I always say that because, you know, when I talk to anyone whose kid is not young and I say, oh, Splashin' Boots, whatever. They're like, who? Like, who the hell would oh Splashin' Boots whatever they're like who? Like who the hell would know Splashin' Boots if you didn't have kids or grandkids or whatever and then I'm like

oh yeah you get yourself a two, three, four year old they're like the Beatles to these kids. That's it. That's how I describe you guys. That's nice.

I'll take it. You could do worse I think. Yeah. PayTM Canada you guys have to pay bills or does Jake pay your bills from you like who's paying

the Splashin' Boots bills we're paying Jake's bills now yeah I believe that look you know I don't know who's paying our bills the government just comes in and takes it

see Jake knows you guys stink at the business side of things and he knows that so he's like a shark he can smell the blood in the water yeah that's right

so he probably makes 90% of your he takes 90% of your... 95. 95. We said, okay. Well, Paytm Canada is an app that if you pay bills like I do,

like most people, and it doesn't matter which bills, all the bills can be paid through Paytm Canada app. So paytm.ca and you download the app and when you use the promo code Toronto Mike,

all one word, you get $10 towards your next bill so Paytm Canada gives you money they also give you points when you make payments through their app so they basically they pay you to pay your bills and they make it easy and they're wicked awesome people so go to Paytm.ca

download the app and use the promo code Toronto Mike what's so funny over there you kids just got caught in download the app and use the promo code Toronto Mike. What's so funny? What's so funny over there? You kids just got caught in kindergarten laughing. Do you want me to really tell you?

This is classic Tess. Classic. She has to pee all the time. You have to pee? And I really need to pee right now. I got to pee. This is what happens right before we go on stage as well.

That's fine. It's because you're so excited. I know it's an excitement pee. I totally, totally. So go. But when you flush it hold it down for two seconds because I'm I know it's an excitement pee. I totally, totally. So go. But when you flush it, hold it down for two seconds because I'm going to talk to Nick

about some things. Okay, great. We're going to talk about you. Thank you. I got to tell you that. So we have a show. There's like 700 people out in the audience, right?

And I like to be prepared. I got my guitar. I'm backstage. And I'm like, the stage manager comes by. It's like, oh, where's Boots? I'm like, oh, yeah, no, she's coming. She always, you know, never late.

The trick is, though, as long as she can go to the washroom without having to remove the boots. Oh, the dog just came back down. Hey, Lily, welcome back. You can take a microphone. We have an extra microphone. Lily's not,

as long as she doesn't unplug us, we're fine. Yeah, it's also disposable thumbs that she has. Nick, do you speak French? Un petit peu. No, I don't. I really don't. Un petit means a little, right? I'm just trying to learn

these phrases. You know what? I'm trying to think. The target audience for the Camp Tournesol French camps is 4 to 14. So there is a little bit of overlap in the Venn diagram of Splashin' Boots fans and potential Camp Tournesol camp attendees.

Very cool. So there are those guys. Like if you're a four-, five-, six-year-old, not only should you be listening to Splashin' Boots, but you should be in French camp. So ask maybe the grandparents. Maybe Jake's on to something. I know.

Grandparents could send their grandkids to French camp, and you could watch their French skills explode over the summer. Explode. Explode. And it doesn't matter if the child is francophone or French immersion or has no French experience. There's a day camp or an overnight experience for them. The promotion here. So if you use the promo code Mike when you go to campt.ca, campt.caca Sign up for a French camp

and use Mike as your promo code there and you get $20 off your first order. I wish I had something like that when I was a kid. I say that every time I talk about Camp Tournesol. I wish I had done that as a kid. Absolutely. Like I said, the Venn diagram,

there's some common ground there between the Splashin' Boots fans and the Camp Ternasol attendees. Everybody wins. Hey, welcome back. Boots? I'm back. Boots, I have a... I'm much better now at focusing. No, listen, you can't

focus on anything with a full bladder. No, I know. I'm the worst on road trips. It's going to be a wonderful trip to Labrador. Just have an empty two-liter bottle. Oh, in the worst on road trips. It's going to be a wonderful trip to Labrador. Have an empty two-liter bottle. Oh, no, you're a woman. You know what's funny? I'm like, how does a chick do that?

You'd be surprised. There's like those camping things you can get. I have to plead ignorance on how women urinate in cars. I don't think you can. It's like a funnel, you know? We've never tried that. It's not a thing. No, that's one of the best parts about being a man, right, Nick?

You can be anywhere. It's one of them. One of them. There's more, but I'm biased. No, that's it. That's the only one. That one, and we can open tightly, the jars that are closed tightly,

men can open them easier than women because of all of our testosterone. Wait, what? It's science. Is that a real thing? It is science. We must be stronger. We're all equal intelligence, etc., but we must be physically stronger. I'm in trouble. Biologically, I mean.

Biologically, men must... Otherwise, there'd be women in the NHL and stuff. How's that? Is that a controversial statement? I think we should go to the jams. No, what we need now is to get get hammered here someone get me some jars i need to prove my strength over here yeah i didn't say i could open the jar but nick looks like he could open it with my chicken farming hands oh yeah wendell clark was a farmer and i remember they said

that's why he was so strong. Yeah. Wendell Clark. It's given him Kelvington, Saskatchewan. Well, it's funny. I grew up near, well, a small town, but Lucan was a town. Which is also a great Pearl Jam song. Please continue. Lucan is a great Pearl Jam song from No Code.

Yeah, nicely done. But the farmers, they would practice ripping the, what's it called, the string on bales. String. Is it called string? It's called string. But they used to snap the The string on bales. String. Is it called string? It's called string. But they used to snap the string off the bales and that's how they would do

the first move of a fight. And these farmers, these boys are really good at fighting because they practice on hay bales. Like the Hart family in Calgary or wherever they are, somewhere in the prairies. I know those farmers.

I'll tell you. There you go. So don't mess with a farmer. They'll kick your ass. Oh, I almost swore. You kick tell you. So don't mess with a farmer. They'll kick your ass. You kick your ass. Especially, I'm a chicken farmer. Then you don't have to be that strong to be a chicken farmer. It's one thing when you're wrestling. The pigs are strong,

right? The horses are the... What else is strong? What else is on a farm? Cows? Chickens? I could take... Tess could take on a chicken. Lily could take on a chicken. Lily and I together. Lily is thinking on a chicken. Look, chickens are deadly, okay? Can we have Lily? Lily is thinking

about coming down. Why don't I have a video camera in here? That's good. So cute. Let's get hammered. So, each of you get a six pack.

I was thinking, Mike, each of them get a, they should share a six pack, but no, each of you get a six pack. That's 12 cans of Great Lakes beer.

Thank you. Thank you, Great Lakes beer. Did you get beer last time you were here? We did. And on the way here, I was Great Lakes beer thank you thank you Great Lakes did you get beer last time you were here we did and on the way here I was like

ooh do you think we're gonna get beer again and I said I don't know if he gets a second visit gets you beer I didn't know that

see if I were out of pocket on the beer I would have a rule you don't get it your second visit but the Great Lakes people provide the beer so of course

that's really nice thanks Great Lakes Brewery thank you this is really good beer so I was thinking you guys should play Great Lakes I'm like your target is really good beer. I was thinking, you guys should play Great Lakes. I'm like, your target audience can't drink. But the parents can. I've heard you do the Oasis

and I've heard you do the Guns N' Roses. You could play Great Lakes. They have a great patio. Let me know if you're into it. I think it would be great, actually. In all seriousness, because of course we're all hilarious, but there will be an evening at some point this summer where Toronto Mike listeners are going to get together

on the patio of Great Lakes Brewery and we would love somebody to perform. It's either going to be you guys or Biff naked. Why can't we do a double bill? I could hook that up. Imagine you guys with Biff naked. Why not? I am imagining it.

I think it's great. Because Biff is a neighbor of mine and she lives in the southern part of the city now. She just moved here with her new husband, Snake. Snake, great name. Splash and Boots and Snake. And Biff, I'm totally going to... Roll off the dog.

We can make this happen because Nick and Snake are the guitarists and you and Biff and Boots. Oh, my God. Biff and Boots. It should be like Snake and Splash and Biff and Boots. Stick and Stats, Biff and Boots. Yeah my God. Biff and Boots. It should be like Snake and Splash and Biff and Boots. Stick and Stats, Biff and Boots.

Yeah, there's alliteration there, sort of, on the Biff and Boots. Biff and Boots is perfect. And the Snake and Splash. Snake and Boots is really nice. You should be careful, Splash, because you're Boots. Splash, be careful,

because Biff and Boots has a good ring to it. I know. Maybe too good? And I like, considering she's so full of tattoos and she kind of has this punky hard rock style,

she's super family friendly. Like she's perfect for your, for the kids who like Splashin' Boots. I'm telling you. It's going to work. It's going to happen. I love myself today. Hey!

Not like yesterday. So the beer is yours, but you need something to pour that beer into. So there's pint glasses. You need to get a pint glass. Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you.

We're doing the collection. And that's courtesy of Brian Gerstein from propertyinthesix.com. Do you have a theme song for him? Yeah. He's got a message for you guys. Oh. I just hope he called Tess Tess. Let's listen.

Did he call Tess Tess or did he call her Tess? Let's find out. All right. Propertyinththe6.com Hi, Tessa, Nick, Brian Gerstinger, sales representative with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of Toronto Might. Now is a fantastic time to sell your condo

and move up to a detached home as the gap between the two has never been smaller. Call me at 416-873-0292 so I can provide you with a quick evaluation of what your condo will sell for and do a search in the low-rise market for you as well. I guarantee you that you will be pleasantly surprised. There has never been a better time to move up

before you are priced out of the market. Tessa Nick, wondering when putting your own list of your favorite top five jams together if it was an easy process or you had a tough time doing it. Who wants to go first? Mine was easy. So Nick, five rattled out of your head pretty quickly. Yeah, I would say within 10 minutes. Yeah.

This is not what happened to me. Okay, tell us what happened to you. Well, because I thought this was going to be easier and I literally, like it was not easy at all. And it was also kind of fun because I listened to a lot of new, like new old music.

Right. And then I, and I'm also like tend to be not the best decision maker. So I'd be like, oh, I really love this song, but there's not really a good story attached to it. So I went with the story ones

and like the songs that make me feel things, but no, it was not easy. It was not easy at all. Good question. But a worthwhile exercise. It was really fun. It was really fun. Totally.

You know what's really fun? Listening to these songs and then talking about why you love them. We're starting with Nick. Okay. Nick. Yep. What song are we doing?

Well, let's find out. Are you ready Bring on the jams! to kick out the jam? Kick them out. Kick it. There it is. This is where the part comes in.

He just really kicks it. Oh, yeah. They might be giants. Birdhouse in your soul. Yes. I can't believe I still remember the lyrics. I love it. I love it. I love the song. Tell us why you love this song.

Well, this, so two guys, John and John, and they started in Brooklyn. And my oldest brother, Brad, lived in Vancouver. He moved out early. But he came back, when he moved back to Ontario, he brought this album. They just came out, this album, 1990, and I fell in love with this whole album and this song in particular. I just remember listening to it over and over and over again,

and there was something about melodically, lyrically. It just struck me i think uh it was a big influence on me in my songwriting and and i just bought tickets to see them for the first time in november they're coming to toronto awesome yeah so i'm really excited did you buy me one yeah is that right is it good to buy me one yeah my green i remember on much music they used to play uh the video for Istanbul, not Constantinople. That's on the same album.

Istanbul, not Constantinople, not Istanbul. And that's another, and I didn't know at the time that that's like an old folk song or something. Yeah, yeah, that's not their song. It's a staple. They did a, yeah, but this, and they're prolific.

Like they're still around. They're still writing music. And this song in particular was, as a it was mature enough to get me out of the idea of what a song looks like

and the song still stands up to me when I hear it I'm like yep there it is I believe previous jam kicker Norm Wilner

who writes about movies for now magazine I believe he kicked out and I can't remember which one at this moment but he kicked out They Might Be Giants song. Oh, there you go.

But this is a great, great cut. Oh, I love the song. Probably their biggest hit. I think there's, yeah. I mean, they'll probably close their concert with this song. And yeah, no. I guess we'll find out when us three go together. I know, I can't wait.

November. What's the venue again? It's a date. I don't even know. It's like the Roxy or something. Does that make sense? Yeah, I don't even know it's like the Roxy or something does that make sense yeah I don't know it's

just let me know so I know where to go where to bike actually here's a fun fact on our album I think it was on Back in Yellow

that album the drummer for They Might Be Giants we met him at a conference and he ended up drumming on our album that's enough yeah keep those coming because I live for those fun facts it's funny drummer for They Might Be Giants. We met him at a conference and he ended up drumming on our album.

Keep those coming because I live for those fun facts like that. It's funny because we met him. No one else cares, but I care a lot. No, it was cool. We care a lot. You know like that when you get to meet people that you love and then you realize you're one separation from that person. It's cool. It happened when I answered the door about an hour ago. Are you kidding me?

Tess, I have a question for you as well. Okay. Are you ready to kick out the jam? I'm ready to kick them. Oh. Too much? No, that was perfect. Okay, thanks.

Oh, lovely. don't you just feel something right you hear that a little bit it's very lovely my heart's fluttering i know it's i love this band yeah this is a great jam right let's let's get a kick in here here we go it's It's a false start there. Oh, just, is that beautiful? It's so good. But this whole album,

am I right? Oh, this is the, is this, uh, the one that I remember the most is something about argue is in the title. No need to argue. Right.

But is this from no need to argue or the one before that? No, this is no need to argue. Beautiful album. Feel free to sing along because people with bad voices sing along and you guys have good voices. Her voice is something special. So good. And you guys have good voices. Her voice is something special. I thought it could be true, but honey, so did you.

So good. This whole album makes me feel things from beginning to end. And it's always the album that I put on when I need a little lift. And then all of a sudden, I'm singing this at the top of my lungs wherever I am. Is this the album with Zombie on it? Yeah. Was it all on that? Yeah. There's that same cover,

right? There's a black cover and they're on the couch and there's two albums that came out really close together. Here's the only thing and I didn't look it up

or anything but in my memory bank, this album is before the Zombie album. The Zombie album has Ode to My Family on it. Which is so good. I almost picked that one

actually. Okay, so the reason I picked this one is when I was in high school, my best friend and I used to sing together and it's basically like how I learned how to harmonize or like figured out that I wasn't that good at it and really practice. So we, we were doing a coffee house. It was in the days of coffee houses and we were on stage singing this song and like

she is the friend who we can just laugh about things that aren't funny and a lot so something happened and i still don't know what it was but we got the giggles in the middle of this and all of a sudden we were laughing so hard that they like we couldn't when we keep trying to start singing again and you're biting your lip right because you're trying to reset yourself I know that feeling like tears were coming down to the point where they turned the lights out on us and the stage manager

was like get them off the stage you did Cranberry's justice yeah they're ruining Dolores O'Riordan the late great Dolores O'Riordan. Yeah. Legacy. The late, great Dolores O'Riordan. Not to bring us down. I know.

But we cannot talk about that. How did not everyone just all of a sudden reach for their, however they play music, but just, everyone just went to Cranberries again.

Like, it was like amazing that you had to go, wait, what? Yeah, because she had a connection to Canada. She did. She was married to a Canadian. Yeah, she was.

And she lived in Peterborough for a while. That's it, yeah. For like three or four years and yeah. And maybe she has kids that live here maybe. She had kids

while she was here for sure. I don't know if they're still here or not but there was definitely a Canadian connection for sure. That's sad, yeah. But no, that was really sad. So sad.

But man, what a gift those albums were. And that Zombie track, this jam is great of course. The Zombie though was such a... It was saying something about the Northern Ireland

and the Ireland and the bombs and their guns. She fought for that song to be on. Her record company said, we're not going to put that song on. And she said, if you don't put that song on... It's so good. I know. And it fits so well because at the time,

as you remember, it was grunge time, if you will. And that's fit in. That sound fitted so well. And her look. She was so cool. Woodstock 99 or whatever. Maybe it was grunge time if you will and that's fit in like yeah it does sound fitted so well and her look and she was so cool like woodstock 99 or whatever maybe it's 94 she just looked cool she was so cool oh sold and linger is a great jam but remember the one there was a hit before this that was all over movie trailers dreams and if you play dreams you'll you'll think a movie trailer is about to... Right.

That's the one. It's like the movie trailer song. Every day, every possible way. So good. Dolores O'Riordan. I like when she talked. Her accent was awesome. Yes.

Everything about her is awesome. Thanks, Jamboots. You guys Everything about her is awesome. Nice jam boots. You guys both great starts here. Great starts. Oh, Nick. You're going to dedicate this one to Jake Gold? I don't know, but let's kick out your second jam. By the way, the order I'm playing them in is in the order you sent them.

Oh, okay. I would never mess with the order you sent it because I figured there's a reason you put them in that order. Yeah. Okay. I was trying to figure out, I knew I had to put a hip song on. I didn't know

which one. I think this song means the most to me, I think, so. I think this song means the most to me, I think. Oh, and that bass comes in. Yeah, you're totally preaching to the choir here. This is amazing.

Yep. Yeah, we even did a cover of this song on Toronto Island as a dedication just when Gord came out with Brain Cancer. Right. So we just, we did this song. But I don't know, it

was one of the first songs I learned on the guitar as well. And I don't know, I think when it comes on the radio, it's one of those songs you just, you turn it up and you

just sing along. It has that, it's a beautiful song. I think this is a song that even if you're not a hip fan, you like this song. There's a sort of like Bob Cajun. This one, there's a few of those.

It was actually between Bob Cajun and this song, actually I wanted to put on, but, but yeah, I, it's one of those songs I play around the campfire. And then that's what the hips were. They were,

they were known for that ability to just create these iconic songs. And this is by far one of their biggest. I saw them. I saw them many times, but I saw them New Year's Eve 1999. So it was a big, long show, too. And we all counted down to year 2000 together at the Canada Center. And right after we counted down, so 10, 9, 8. Yeah, Happy New Year's 2000.

They broke into a head by a century. Oh, wow. Which is very cool Oh, cool. Right after we counted down, so 10, 9, 8, yeah, Happy New Year, it's 2000, they broke into a head by a century. Oh, wow. Which is very cool. Very cool. Oh. Yeah. It's a good memory.

For a band that came, you know, from their roots of just pure rock, you know, they were really, it's like... Right, because,

well, sorry, you're right, but Tess is a Kingston girl, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that's what they were. Right there.

But they have a song in the catalog that has this song that kind of grabbed everybody, I think, by the collar and went, what was that? And then, you know,

it's beautiful. And it's from a later, like everyone talks about the hip. They talk about maybe Up to Here and then Road Apples and then Fully Completely. And that's massive, Fully Completely,

massive hit lead. Oh, yeah. And Courage is on. Everything, bang, bang, you know, 50 Mission Cap, everything on there. This one's from Trouble at the Hen House, which is actually kind of, I mean, not since then, of course, but

later and relatively speaking, it's later. Yeah, they were positioned, I did talk to Jake about this song, actually, and he remembers hearing this song and knowing this was their chance to break into the States. actually. And he remembers hearing this song and knowing this was their chance to break into the States.

Oh, interesting. And everything was all positioned and ready and there was details that I can't properly, you know, articulate,

but he can tell that story much better than I can. You know, maybe tell him to come on this damn show. Maybe I will. There you go. But it was funny.

But yeah, this was, this was, everything was positioned and this was the single and everything was like ready to go and then complications happened.

And I think one thing that Hip always kind of stuck to their guns with, if they didn't want to play a show, they weren't going to, they weren't going to do a show. And I think there was some of the monkey business

that was happening with them to jump through hoops and they kind of said no. And, you know, the song. Speaking of them breaking the states, I was always,

personally, I was always surprised that New Orleans' sinking speaking of them breaking the states I was always personally I was always surprised that New Orleans is sinking didn't break in the states only because I never ever heard when I I mean I was

I was a teenager and I loved it instantly but it was a bluesy rocker it didn't sound Canadian you know a lot of people say oh the hip they're too Canadian

the lyrics they're talking about you know Tommy Thompson and all so Canadian these lyrics Americans don't appreciate that poetic quality of Canadiana.

But New Orleans is sinking. First of all, New Orleans is sinking. That's an American city, okay? It definitely is. It's recorded down there. The sound, it was just a great bluesy rocker. Totally. I never understood what Americans don't like this.

What is it they don't like about New Orleans is sinking? Yeah, well, I think that song in particular was an amazing song, but I think the hip had this anti-establishment look and they didn't bow down to anyone. They just were who they were. They didn't want to be groomed. They were perfectly

them. Thankfully, my ears are. Absolutely, no. Man, we saw that last tour, the big, wow. Did you catch him on that last tour? We did, yeah.

Because there were three Toronto spots. You were at two of them. I was at two of them, yeah. Which one? I was at the middle one. Because they added the third one late.

Yeah, I did the third one. And I was at the third one in the first one. Yeah, I think you did one in the third. So combined, we read all the shows. Wow, look at us.

Oh, man. Yeah, I missed he did one in three. Combined, we read all the shows. Wow, look at us. A pair of notes. Oh, man. Yeah, I missed the hip. The last guy who kicked out the jams was just the other day. Sean Fitzgerald from The Athletic. And he had a hip jam, too. He had a couple, actually. But yeah, a lot of hip on the kick out the jam shows.

Okay, let's play another. Oh, yeah, this will be fun. This will take me back. I'm telling you now. Let's listen to this test jam. I know which one it is. When are all... When are all... When are all... When are all... Yeah. Oh, yeah. This will be fun. This will take me back. I'm telling you now. Let's listen to this test jam. I know which one it is. Mine are all... What are you looking at? Yeah.

Oh, yeah. This happened. What are you looking at? 1990? Is that right? Yeah. So I was like a big Madonna fan as a child. Sure.

I remember like putting on like doing after dinner performances for my parents and like my girlfriends and I would like have a full routine to these songs I'm sure you weren't the only one no yeah like like a prayer was like our big one but the reason I picked this one is because um so when Nick and I first met we were we both auditioned for this show at Queens called Queens Players. And it was basically like in a bar. And you sing. There's like what, like eight or ten of us in it? Yeah.

And everybody sings a song like this. And then the rest of the group like does choreo in the background for it. And you're like getting past drinks the entire time. And it's like a full experience. It's sketch comedy. It's like sketch comedy. And then you's like a full experience. It's sketch comedy. It's like sketch comedy and then you do a song like this. So Nick and I,

beginning of our meeting each other, were on stage during this song doing backup dancing for the singer. And I will always remember looking over and seeing Nick do the Vogue. That's how he seduced you. I watched my Madonna moves. Check this out. That's how he seduced you. I was like, I'll watch my Madonna moves.

Check this out. That's a good move because most guys wouldn't think of that. I know what I'll do. Do you remember any of the dancing for this part? Oh, it's ingrained in me. Let's go! He still uses that move. It's funny, the sketch comedy, the Queen's Players,

if you do get handed a beer during the show the whole play stops and you have to chug it I like that rule and then there's a I should do that here crack open a Great Lakes you have to chug that

you have to chug chug it was something and then my dad came to see the show he was like wow well he didn't even taste nine he should be pretty

liberal of these things. He totally is. Yeah, it's a little different than our shows now. It's funny because I'm gay, so no one can see this. Why do I not have a video camera here? I should add one. But this is a gift

from yesterday's guest who worked at 680 CFTR when it was all hits. Oh, 680 was hits in one run? Until 1993. Yeah, you weren't here. That's right. I have to educate you.

Until 1993, I think. Okay. It was Top 40. And My Station at the time. Yeah. And then they went all news. Yeah, yeah. But they hosted some kind of like a pizza party at the Dome for the Blue Jays in 1990.

And I was working at the cne and i won two tickets to this and the only way i could get off work was if my boss who had long blonde hair and a ponytail and she thought she was madonna i had to take her to the game and the pizza party that was the deal and then it was funny because uh this is the logo of the station that i won the tickets from and that's like that was the I was personally, I preferred like a virgin stuff. Like I didn't, I didn't like this. This is when I was out,

I was tapped out of the Madonna world by this point. I really liked like a virgin, but anyway. But yeah, she was Miss Blonde Ambition and I think Tess was too.

There it is. She's still, look at that, you know, this hair is Blonde Ambition. Yeah, thank you. Oh, this part, the build up. This is the blonde ambition. Yeah, thank you. Oh, this part.

The build up. This is the best part. Seriously, though. This whole album was like Virgin. It's a great put on your house dance around album. What was the name of this album? In the Kitchen. Do you remember the name of this album?

Should I look it up? You can if you want. Because after Like a Virgin was True Blue. Okay. Okay. And this is the one after that, I think. But like I said, I don't know my Madonna albums.

I just know the hits. I know. I just have like a playlist of all the... Okay. Because the first one, the very first one had Holiday on it, remember? It's just called Like a Virgin. But Like a Virgin didn't have...

This song is way after Like a Virgin, because Like a Virgin was with... Like a Virgin was the big hit off Like a Virgin, and that was like 80, I don't know, 85 maybe or something. I don't know. But this is like 1990. So she had True Blue after Like a Virgin, and this is on the album after True Blue.

So whatever album comes out after Chew Blue. I'm Googling it now. I thought you know what she's Googling. I'm breathless. That's the album? Yeah. Are you sure?

Yeah. Vogue. Vogue. This was a massive hit. I remember she... I want to Google something now okay madonna hold on we're gonna get the answer here albums here we go so the answer is

i'm reckless i'm having a dance break over here. How are your Google skills over there? I think I won the Google Award. It is. No, she's right. It's called I'm Breathless. But that was the soundtrack.

It was a soundtrack to Dick Tracy. Was it? Yeah. Because she was dating the... Dick? Yeah. What's that actor's name? Yeah.

He was Beatty. Warren Beatty. Warren Beatty. She was dating Warren Beatty and they were in Dick Tracy together. And I'm Breathless was the soundtrack to Dick Tracy. You're right. Tess is right.

And Vogue was on that soundtrack. Yeah, Tess was right. Did I say that? You can extract that and put it as your ringtone. And I could open all of the jars. Not all the jars. Like some of those really tough pickle jars. You need Nick to go and get that.

Smash on the ground. All right, let's kick out another Nick jam. Nick jam. When that cello comes in here, right there. Yeah, this one gives you all the feels. It does. And I see the video in my head. Like they're on that.

They're on the track of Scarborough, yeah. Yeah, Scarborough. Going to the A&A Records. Ed comes flying up here with his little hair. And they have those sweaters. Oh, yeah. The turtle back. Yeah. Never get to stop and open our eyes. One minute you're waiting for the sky to fall.

This is your soundcheck song, right? Because I've heard you do this. Yeah, exactly. Jane and Run-O-Meet or wherever that was. Not Jane. Blue and Run-O-Meet. We sing this song every single time. Every show, dessert. I think White. Blue Iron Renovation. We sing this song every single time. Every show.

The Zer. You know, Sam. I think I recorded it and tweeted it once. You did? Yeah, every show. Yeah. And it's funny

because people expect us to do one of our own songs and we're just throwing this one down. You get tired of singing your own songs. Well, in this song, I don't know.

I wouldn't know. I wrote a rap once when I was a teenager, and my 13-year-old daughter knows it by heart and makes fun of me all the time. And, like, sometimes she'll have me just do it for her friends so they can make fun of me. Have you ever done it on the podcast? I might have at some point, maybe.

I can't remember. I'm not doing it now, though. It was really cool to see these guys get inducted into the Hall of Fame this year at the Juno Awards, too. That was pretty cool. And I got to chill with Ed for a while at the Juno's this year. And that was pretty cool to me. I'm a huge Ed Robinson fan.

Yeah, it was really cool. Did you get good seats? There he is! Was it a Cops Coliseum? Where was it? It was in Vancouver. Oh, Vancouver. So it wasn't a Cops Coliseum.

Let me tell you, you could see us in the broadcast. Our seats were that good. We were right by David's lights. But I watched. We were sitting inside the Arkells, literally. It was such a good show this year. Oh, yeah. I watched.

This brought in a lot of viewers, too, I think, that don't normally watch the Junos. They want to see Ed and Steven together again. Yeah, no, totally. And they did a wonderful tribute to Gord Downie as well. But, oh, man. But this song, I know it's not their song, but their version of it, I think

it's amazing. It stands up. I'm with you. Better than the original. I think it is too. It's hard to say that, but I can say it. I just did. Mic dropped. I love this song. I really do. Are they picking up the speed here.

Then back to the drums. That's gorgeous. Quick fun fact. Do you know Steve Simmons from the Toronto Sun? I don't know him personally, no. Do you know he exists? I've heard of him before. He's Steven Page's cousin.

Oh, there you go. That's one of the fun facts you like. See, Tess gets me. Yeah, I really do. Let's bring Jill Deacon back. Oh, I should have, yes. Fun fact. Because Jill Deacon, of course, was in a band.

She was. Bag of Hammers? Yeah. Jill Deacon is a great singer. Oh, yeah. And she plays ukulele. She came over for dinner and we played ukulele together. Yeah. Jill Deacon is a great singer. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And she plays ukulele. She came over for dinner, and we played ukulele together. Yeah.

Last year. And we did Joni Mitchell. Yep. Oh, man. Which Joni Mitchell song? Did I ever want to put Joni Mitchell on my list? I can't believe I didn't do it. See, normally you get ten jams. I need ten.

Because you brought Nick, you only got five each. What do you mean? I brought her, I thought. Oh, man. I want my own. Lily brought your bow and arrow. I got another ten. Yeah, where's Lily? Who her, I thought. Oh, man. I want my own. Lily brought your boat with her. Yeah, where's Lily? Who knows?

Good question. Yeah. Or like, oh. I really wanted to put the Joni Mitchell river. Beautiful song. I want to cry. They were only like 19 and 20

when they shot this video and recorded this. Yeah, what were we doing at 19 and 20? We were doing Queen's Players and chugging beers. It was funny. The more you talk,

the more I think we're closer in age than I think. I've got myself a good decade ahead of you guys, but we're not that far off, I don't think.

No, I'm turning 37 this month. Okay, that's almost, that's not, okay, okay, because I'm 43. Yeah, well, it's closer to a decade than nothing. But yeah,

that, love that cover. That was kicked out by Fred Patterson, by the way, of the Humble and Fred show. He kicked out that exact version. I'm thinking of Madonna. He kicked out the virgin. Just to clarify why I said that. I have kids, okay?

Alright, let's kick out... This is another Tess jam. What's it going to be? Oh, yeah. Do you know which one it is? No, I don't know which one it is. Oh, there it is.

So the reason I picked this song is because it was my lullaby when I was a kid. My mom would sing it like every single night. And I think it's so pretty. And just like every time I hear it, you know, we always remember the songs that you hear before bed. Okay, but she changed this line. Hang on. So the line is, your daddy's rich and your mama's good looking.

But my mom was like, your mama's rich and your daddy's good looking. I like it. Yeah. Head of retirement. Yeah. This is a great standard, absolutely. This is a beautiful song.

And I love this version. So Sarah Harmer made an album called Songs for Clem and that's what this is off of. It's actually an album she made for her dad. Is this Sarah Harmer? Yeah. It's an amazing album.

And also Sarah Harmer's voice just gets me. I don't think there's many vocalists that have a better voice than Sarah Harmer. I love this version. Remember we saw Sarah Harmer in Ottawa doing a soundcheck?

No, that was in Prince Edward Island. Was it? Yeah. Because Serena Ryder opened for her. That's right. Right? Is that the one you're talking about? And I just remember being like, her voice in person. It's just like you hear it and it makes you feel all the things.

Just to bring it back to the Tragically Hip for a moment, which is my job. I love the song Silver Road. Oh, I do too. Sarah Harmer and the Tragically Hip for that Men With Brooms. Yes.

Soundtrack. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was cool because Sarah Harmer also did the tribute to Gore Downey at the Junos this year as well with City of Color. But when they start singing, wow. Magic.

So good. And she does a lot of work for preserving the escarpment. She does. She does a lot of good work. She's been in the news lately. Not to go political. No, a lot of good work. She's been in the news lately. Not to go political. No, get political. We had a moment of silence

and Mike and I were like, yeah, do it. You're in favor of destroying the Greenbelt? I'm a huge fan of cement. You like the gravel. We already established that. That's right. Coming from the country. let's pave it all everyone pave it

you know you'll depress me if we get too political right yeah that's right well I'll let Sarah Harmon do that for the moment she's great we all agree

she's fantastic and I love that she made an album for her dad so I have this dream of doing an album with all of these like 40s songs because I love,

I just love, as you'll know by my other one. Yeah. And they like, they're just such beautiful songs and the lyrics

are very universal. Kids should know them. Kids should know them. And like, yeah, I just think they're so beautiful. You know who covered this

now that I remember is Sublime. Do you remember Sublime covering this? I don't remember them covering this, but they're sublime. Yeah. And on the 40s. Oh, I want to hear that. 40s is alime. Do you remember Sublime covering this? I don't remember them covering this, but it's fine. And on the 40 Ounce...

Oh, I want to hear that. 40 Ounce is a Freedom Room. Is it good? I can pull it up if you want. But yeah, it's very good, but you need to listen to it at 4.20. I think that's the key. Right, we just passed that.

No, every day, there's two 4.20s every day. 4.20 a.m. and 4.20 p.m. Oh, I didn't know it was a time of day thing. That's amazing 420s every day. 420 AM and 420 PM. Oh, I didn't know. It was a time of day thing. That's amazing. But yeah, that's great. A lot of people cover that, of course, because it's a standard. But Scarlett Johansson covered that.

Really? All these things? I don't know. I generally do listen to that album a bit. Let's kick out another Nick Jam. What one is it? Oh, there it is. Oh, this one. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- How I Learned to Play Guitar with Open Tuning, Jeff Martin and the T-Bar.

When the winter... I love this. Wait a minute. I didn't realize this was The Doors. Is that Jim Morrison there? There it is. When the winter and the memories Will turn with light This was my very, very first rock concert in London, Ontario, the Tea Party.

Very cool. I heard this song, mind blown. And then I got in to see them, probably the most actually of any band. Huge fan in high school, Tea Party. Oh, yeah. I mean, their first three albums. The first single I remember from the Tea Party was The River. Oh, man.

Amazing. It's still, by the way, my favorite Tea Party. I think you always cut that first song you love from a band. Oh, yeah. It stays your favorite. Yeah. The River's amazing. This is a great jam.

Yeah. When it kicks into the mosh pit part, I used to cover this song in high school. I used to play it on guitar. I would kick out this jam hard. It's coming. It's brewing. It's percolating. It was.

Yeah. So this is when Jeff Hart would grab his bongo or congo and put it between his legs. And then he goes. And then everyone's like, oh, it's mosh pit time. Is the build happening? I like it when it builds. And then he comes in. One, two, three, four.

The Middle Eastern influences you can hear. Like, what a bridge. Good old Tea Party. And the big gong here. And he's like, all right, everybody, you want some more? And we're like, yeah! And that's when we started juggling. Sister walk through these fields of dry I don't even know what he's saying.

It's great. Sister walk So this one I picked just because it was such a They really got me into guitar. When you find a So this one I picked just because it was such a... They really got me into guitar. When you find a... The internet was just happening, and that means the guitar tab was available online

for the first time. And so I would, with my friends, we'd figure out how to open tune the guitar and then learn how to play the song. It was such a feat at the time. Okay, so when Biff Naked was here, we talked about how she appears in the Moist, the video for Moist's Silver.

Sliver? No, Silver. We are Silver, yeah. She's in that, and I had this memory of like Edge Fest would take turns, like Moist and Tea Party. The two bands were never in the same place at the same time. Maybe there's a few

that we don't know about. Maybe or maybe David Usher and Martin, Jeff Martin are the same person. Maybe. That's probably it. They sound a little different

obviously. Well, there was that sound that 90s rock sound. There were so many of those great Canadian bands. I love 90s Canadian rock. Our Lady Peas and Tea Party

and all these so many of them. Do you remember Rusty? Rusty, no. Okay. I was 90s Canadian rock. Our Lady Peas and like Tea Party and all these so many of them. Do you remember Rusty? Rusty? No. Okay. I was a big Rusty guy. Okay.

But 90s CanCon that's my jam right there. Edge Fest. Yeah. All the Edge Fest bands. Yep. They were great. Lily!

Lily had a guest appearance again on the top of the stairs looking down. She's like, I'm really thinking someone could let me into the backyard. I'm going to kick your jammy. Come here, my girl.

So there it is. Sister Awake. They always end their concerts with this song. If they ever need cash, like if they ever have an issue and need cash, they can always sell their domain name. People would pay a big money for teaparty.com. That was in the papers there a while ago really yeah i think they got an offer of like a million dollars something yeah and they made a comeback too but tea party they

were uh they were gone like i think jeff martin started his own solo thing but then they came back and they were rocking a bunch of concerts last two years i think a lot of these bands are back now like i'm mother earth you can see now right speaking of great king and uh well sloan is a new They came back and they were rocking a bunch of concerts the last two years. I think a lot of these bands are back now. Like I'm Mother Earth. You can see him speaking of great king. And well, Sloan has a new album out. Yeah. Big Rex still going. But is Ian Thornley still in there?

Yeah. Okay, good. That's it. That's it. Bunch like that. Maybe they're just going to, you know, CD sales aren't what they used to be So I hear it

Get out and tour Just simply back to the acoustic guitar This is like when we first met. This is what Nick was singing at bars. Oh, yeah. I can see it.

I was rocking out. Yeah. And then he'd lose his voice, and we'd have a show the next day for probably like four kids. Maybe four kids. That's kind of what kept happening, and then that's what made you decide not to do this.

I was like, I don't think I'm going to do this rock thing. That's funny. It didn't work well. That's funny. Now we have to change this rock thing. It didn't work well. Now we have to change the pace here. This is something a little different. It's so funny. Mine are all old. Older?

Yes, they are. Some are really old. One's really old coming up. This one's pretty old, but I looked at the CanCon so far. Good on Nick because the Hip, Bare Naked Ladies, and Tea Party are great Canadian bands. I don't want to do a spoiler but you might hear another from Nick. Meanwhile, Tess here

she does have Sarah Harmer but nothing else Canadian. But I also saw your list and I was trying to be a good... Let's dive right into Tess's second last jam here. Oh, nice.

I know. So this, my dad, my dad really, my hippie dad has a record player in the, what is it, that other thing he has in 98? What is that? 78. 78.

It's something, there's an 8 in it. But I grew up listening to The Beatles and James, this is James Taylor. And I was like, it's something. There's an eight in it. But I grew up listening to the Beatles. This is James Taylor. And yeah, we would just listen to this on Sunday morning and Saturday morning. It's a great Sunday morning jam, Fire and Rain. Are you kidding me? It's like the Pancake Wonder, right? With your dad's wood stove and all that.

Yeah. Totally. That sounds amazing. And the first time I ever sang adult songs with a guitar at a bar. Which was actually like a big, I was really nervous because I don't really do that. But I did this one. You did a great job. And I did Summertime.

That's funny, actually. These songs have stuck with you. Like a song for my mom and a song for my dad. Lily's now sleeping at the foot of our car. Oh, that's cute, actually. These songs have stuck with you. Like a song for my mom and a song for my dad. Lily's now sleeping at the foot of our car right here. Oh, that's cute. Wow. We should put some headphones on Lily so she can hear the jam. I always say, like, I can have, like, long chats with you guys and learn a lot about you,

but when we kick out the jams, that's where you really get to know someone. That's true. You don't even realize how much you reveal about yourself when you talk about your favorite songs and why you love them. Yeah, that's true.

I think the entire part of this is so pretty. He's got a great way of communicating through songs. Yeah, I like Sweet Baby James too. My firstborn is James.

A big reason is because of Sweet Baby James. Oh, that's cute. Did you sing it to him? Yeah, of course. James is still touring isn't he not yeah I actually got my dad

tickets when he was here but we were on tour oh that's right but he watched it yeah the Budweiser multi-name theater Budweiser stage now it was like a couple years

ago maybe two years ago but he said it was amazing yeah he has so many good, like his songs just tell such good stories.

And an amazing cameo on The Simpsons when Homer was in space. Yeah. And the, something broke on the space

shuttle and James Taylor was performing for them but he had a story about when Art Garfunkel helped him get ants out of his home in, where's that place in Massachusetts?

Cape Cod, I guess, or something like that. Yeah, you don't remember this. You didn't see this episode of The Simpsons. I didn't, but some people are right. Wonderful, and Tessa's like, I don't watch The Simpsons. I know, Tessa. I'm better than that.

But Nick, I'm disappointed in you. You look like a Simpsons guy to me. Yeah, I watch The Simpsons, but I'm not one of those people that can just pull out facts. But Nick, I'm disappointed in you. You look like a Simpsons guy to me. Yeah, I watch Simpsons, but I'm not one of those people that can just pull out facts. But there are Simpsons people that can just do that. Only the first 10 seasons,

usually, with us guys. Because I'm one of those guys. But the first 10 seasons. How many seasons are there? There are 30 now, I think. I think it's 30. I know, it's really... I know, I know.

It's going to be like us. It's hard to believe I can watch a new episode of The Simpsons next year because it got renewed for next season. I can watch a new episode of The Simpsons next year because it got renewed for next season. I can watch a new episode of The Simpsons next season when I was literally watching new episodes of The Simpsons when I was 15 years old.

Think about that. It's amazing to me how long that show has been on. Great jam, Tess. I wish you guys... How many beers have you guys consumed so far here? How many each of you? At least 12. We actually dipped into your storage too.

Well, this is the jam we need to close off Nick's Jams with right here. Some songs, when they play that first chord, Yeah, this one for sure. It just changes. It can change the house. Bing, bing, bing, bing. You have to excuse me.

I'm not at my best. I've been gone for a month. I've been drunk since I left. These so-called vacations will soon be my day I'm so sick from the dream I need home for a rest We arrived in December and London We stayed in for a long time

We never stopped, but grass times are no more and they were there to do a week-long show. Their management was all pumped up. They were pumped up. And then the gig told them they're not doing the gig anymore. A singer from Canada named Katie Lang has been hired instead. And their flight was not for another week. So the story goes they were in London with nothing to do.

And the only thing that came out of that trip, they didn't get the gig. And they wrote this song. Which is an anthem now. It's an anthem. And it's all references, if you listen to the lyrics, it's all references from London, England. That's a great, if you listen to the lyrics, it's all references from London, England. Wow. That's great. I did not know this.

And John Mann, the lead singer, he has on set all-timers. And last year, they do this fundraiser in the spirit of John. And they do this song. He can't sing anymore. He's still on stage, but he's not singing anymore. Still dancing around. It's amazing to watch. But last year, it was in Vancouver at the ballroom,

and everyone that was on that show did this song together. So the Barenaked Ladies came out. Alan Doyle was there with his band. Sarah McLachlan was singing with them. And if you YouTube this song and just write charity concerts, Spirit of the West. Anyway, it's like when I saw it on YouTube, I was like, are you kidding me?

It's one of my favorite songs of all time, sung by some of my favorite artists of all time. I lost my mind. I'm going to check that out. That sounds amazing. Oh, it is. It's incredible to watch. That was a rough year for great Canadian bands because a lot of great Canadian bands retired, some for sadder reasons

than others, but even Rush stopped touring that year. Okay. I didn't realize they stopped touring that year as well. Yeah. Tragically Hip stopped touring that year. Rush stopped touring that year. John, you mentioned the Spear of the West stopped touring. Yeah. Well, Leonard Cohen, Spear of the West stop touring. Yeah. Well, Leonard Cohen,

I think, was right in that, within that window of time anyway. These are heavyweights. Yeah, man. But this song, man. How could you not have a good time? He cranked it up. A lot of my friends

make fun of me because I'm such a, I love Canadian music so much, but I love these kind of songs. And they're like what about the new songs I'm like but these ones are so good

that's the thing like yes I love the new Arkells but nothing makes me feel like a drunk teenager than this this is the song that brings me back

to when I was young that's nostalgia this part and there's a bass line that comes up here right here And there's a bass line that comes up here. Right here. I love that bass line. Then they do it again.

Let's go! A lot of people thought this was Great Big Sea, so they've always had... Right, I was going to say Alan Doyle would kick, because it's the Celtic influence, and we don't expect it from the West Coast. We get that from the East Coast. Yeah, they nailed it, man.

Some of the songs... There's another song called The Venice is Sinking. Yeah, of course. And it's one of my all-time favorite songs. Spirit of the West, a lot of people know this song, but I encourage your listeners to go check out their catalog, because it's some beautiful lyrics and beautiful songs. But they just happened to get known for this one in particular

because it got on one of those Frosh Week albums. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I do know this Frosh Week album. Frosh Week, remember that? Tub Thumping would be on there or something like that. Yeah, that would be a favorite part of that. I'm pretty sure that's going to be Tess's last jam, Tub Thumping.

I think it is. Which, by the way, call it a guilty pleasure, whatever, but if you kick that out right now, I would love it. Yeah. Tub Thumping. No. Chumbawamba.

Yeah, Chumbawamba. Man. There are some good 90s ones I really wanted to throw down, but not air jams are great too, Tess. I'm just bonding with Nick here. It can't be all about you all the time. I get knocked down.

But I get up again. You know, we're going to keep it down. I think Splashin' Booge should be doing Tucked On Down. It's a great song, right? Yeah, that part when it just slows it down. Just hearing Home For A Rest, fantastic jam. It reminds me of,

do you remember Sleepy Maggie by Ash McKissick? I saw Ash McKissick last week. I'm actually sincerely curious what Ash McKissick is up to because Sleepy Maggie, which has a woman doing Gaelic. I don't remember her name right now.

I can't remember her name. I can't. No. But that single, I still listen to it all the time. And it's got immense. He's a Cape Redding guy, I guess, and a lot of the fiddle stuff

and the Celtic stuff. Yeah. Love that song. What's Ashley up to and how did you see him? I went to Halifax for the night last week because I heard a rumor that Alan Doyle was going to do a secret

show at the Lower Deck. So you live in Toronto and you just went to Halifax? I did. Wow. On a hot tip. You guys are living the life. Well, we get these WestJet passes for doing the Christmas party. That makes more sense. It was like a $100 round trip. It's basically taking a Uber downtown down time roller all right i got you no so it just so happened that we had the

the night off mind you when i did get back from halifax we drove right to sick kids hospital and did a show there so it wasn't like we no duties were missed yeah it's like picking them up but the east coast music awards were happening at the exact same time so i was at the lower deck heard a rumor that the east coast music awards were happening i was exact same time. So I was at the lower deck, heard a rumor that the East Coast Music Awards were happening. I was like, you know what? Alan Doyle's not showing up. All good. I'm going to break into these awards. It's like the Junos for the East Coast. So I get in there. Break in.

Well, I found somebody that I knew. I was like, can you get me in? No problem. You can't just show your treehouse pass. Yeah, I just wear it always. I'm from the Big Yellow Boot. Do you know who I am? I have no idea. And anyway, I walk in and there's Ashley McIsaac

just full on hard, going hard. I think he's playing Devil in the Kitchen. Yeah, that's great too. Yeah, that's a great Southern rock.

But Sleepy, Sleepy Maggie, I listened to yesterday. I'm not gonna lie. Are you serious? I'm not even joking. He was on my, I'm telling you.

I know. I started off pro test, but now I'm moving over to, I was on my... I'm done. I know. I started off pro-Tess, but now I'm moving over to... Now you want Nick to sit over here. I'm going to switch spots here with Tess. I know. Honestly, there's not a lot of people who have listened to Sleepy Maggie

in the last week, I'm going to say, but you and I have both done so. I could show you proof on my Apple Music. I believe you. You'd never lie to me. Things are getting weird over here. You would never lie to me. No.

How can you lie about Sleepy Maggie? We opened this by open call. If anyone wants to take Nick out for a coffee, we didn't realize it would end with me taking him out for a coffee. Jess is like, guys, where are you guys going? It's called a twist ending. I'll be here with Lily. Listen to the end of the podcast and see what really happens.

Tess is going to take us back. Take it back. You thought we went back. This goes really back. Real back. Not cranberries back. This is real back. This is really back. Let's kick it. My baby back. Real back. Not cranberries back. This is real back. This is really back. Let's kick it. Like baby back? Oh.

So my, this one goes for my granny. The way you wear your hat. Oh yeah. So my, my granny had Alzheimer's and I spent a year with her at the end of her life taking care of her. And not taking care of her, just spending time with her. I was lucky enough to just finish university and Nick was finishing his last year.

And we listened to this song, well, this entire album so much. So I now listen to it all the time also to remind me of her. And we would like dance around the kitchen. And I always, I'm always amazed at how music really bring, like it really brought her back to being young again. And so anyhow. That's beautiful still that's beautiful that's beautiful now we're crying i'm serious go ahead that's a beautiful story it's a nice time to talk over as

well you know the video has got that and you know you can hear the song and you're back with your granny yeah wow and that is the power of music it's beautiful I listen to this song all the time and I don't usually cry but I guess I know young people tell that story but I do I feel really strongly about the power of music for older people my grandpa is now 92 and we actually go down to Grossman's

every Sunday when I'm home and listen to it's like New Orleans jazz and it is so fun. And he also, it's like all of a sudden, he's 40 again. And his arms are moving and we're dancing and he can't move that well anymore.

But, you know, he's dancing from his seat. And we actually got up and sang last week. And it was one of my most favorite memories with him. In the same way that this song was with Michael. Plus, how can you not love these two singing together? Nick is a great Louis voice. I was going to say, I can't take them away from me, no.

You know what I think is Louis Armstrong. Instead of not Louis, I think it's Louis Armstrong. That's very pedantic of me. Such a beautiful story from Tess. Here comes Grammar King over here. Buzz kill Mike here. I think it is. I mean, I think it's Louis Armstrong.

I think it's Louis Armstrong. I think people just have forever been saying it wrong. When you come back the third time, I'll have the answer. And I'll either be apologizing or I'll be accepting your apology. I think you're just trying to get back from the Madonna thing. You're like, guys. Strike a pose. Guys, I got this. Don't Google it.

I did say Tess was correct. I believe it's her new ringtone. She cut out that audio and it's her new ringtone. You're right, Tess. You're right, Tess. But you can't open that jar. Yeah. Oh, no.

I thought the lid did. Okay. Let's open that jar. Yeah. Oh, no. The religion. Okay. Let's tell people. Ella Fitzgerald. And Louis. Louis Armstrong. New Orleans tone. Beautiful song.

I love that story, but that's what I like about Kicking Out the Jams. You shared so much right there. That's more... Now we know each other. There it is. Hey, wait.

Are you on Team Tess again? Yeah. I've switched over again. Do you remember CP Maggie? I had a flame of Nick, but now I'm back. Because Tess shared her soul. Not a birdhouse in her soul. This is a nice callback.

That's good. I love this. I love that story about your granny. That's amazing. How long ago did your granny pass? It's only after university. Ten years ago. Ten years ago. 10.

10 years ago. I like these old recordings. You can hear how they recorded it. You can hear it. What's his nickname? Satchmo? Is that his nickname? Yeah.

Sounds true. Louis Armstrong? How many times can you say Louis before we wrap this up I think if he did a lot of that though I think when you did your Splashin' Boots

tomorrow it would be it would be like hope for a rest that's amazing. No, they can't take that away from me. Will you repeat that again, dearie, please? No, they can't take that away from me. To the bottom of the air. This was too much fun. Wow. Should I record it, Liz? This is a much fun.

Wow. Should I record it, Liz? This is a good practice. You ready to do it for real? Yeah, we got to get going. I always do a rehearsal before I record. People don't know that. That's amazing.

So you have to recreate those tears. Yeah, just keep it going. No problem. I got a lot of those in there. Lily finally is home for a rest. No, but seriously. Splashin' Boots. Lily. Lily. Hey, thank you for those in there. Lily finally is home for a rest. Splashin' Boots. Hey, thank you for having us back.

Thank you so much. We love coming here. Oh, and thank you for the gifts you brought. Sweet Baby Morrigan and Little Jarvis. Little Jar Jar are going to love that. They're going to have their minds blown. Boom! It's amazing. Thanks so much for kicking out the chance with me. Yeah, it was fun. And thanks for the ticket to Labrador.

I can't wait. Yeah, no problem. I can do whatever you need. It's a lifetime deal. I can do your social media. You need that? Yeah, yeah. Anybody got that gig?

Are you starting a new business? Yeah. Oh, shit, I've got to wrap this up first, and then we'll talk, man. And that brings us to the end of our 335th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Splash and Boots are at Splash

and Boots. So that's Splash the letter N and then Boots. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Propertyinthe6.com is at Raptors Devotee. Paytm is at Paytm Canada and Camp Tournesol is at Camp Tournesol.

See you all next week. Yeah!