Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Sylvia Tyson: Toronto Mike'd #1362

Episode Date: November 8, 2023

In this 1362nd episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Sylvia Tyson about Ian & Sylvia, Four Strong Winds and You Were On My Mind, going solo, Quartet, her new album and playing Massey Hall again as an 83-year-old. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Raymond James Canada and Moneris. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]

Four strong winds that blow lonely, seven seas that run high, for those things that don't change, come what may. But our good times are all gone And I'm bound for moving on I'll look for you if I never Back this way What up my imp? Toronto VK on the beat, uh-huh, check, uh-huh I'm in Toronto baby you wanna get the city love

I'm from Toronto where you wanna get the city love I'm a Toronto Mike, you wanna get the city love My city love me back for my city love Welcome to episode 1362 of Toronto Mike Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer.

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means properly recycling our electronics of the past. The Advantage Investor Podcast from Raymond James Canada. Valuable perspective for Canadian investors electronics of the past the advantaged investor podcast from raymond james canada valuable perspective for canadian investors who want to remain knowledgeable informed and focused on long-term success season five of yes we are open an award-winning podcast hosted by fotm al grego by FOTM Al Grego, for Moneris, and Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. Today, making her Toronto Mike debut,

is Sylvia Tyson. Hi. Hi, Sylvia. How are you? I'm very well, thank you. Sorry about the mix-up yesterday. I heard you popped on the Zoom a day early. Yes, well, they're coming at me from all directions,

so I'm never quite sure who I'm speaking with at any given time, but I assume you're Mike. I am Mike. An absolute pleasure to be chatting with you. How much time do you have, Sylvia? As much as you need. Okay, several hours if that's okay.

Well, on the other hand. Whereabouts are you in the universe? Where do we find you today? I'm in Toronto. Okay, I feel like we could have met up. You don't have to be too specific, but what neighborhood approximately? Rosedale.

Okay, All right. I'm speaking to you from South Etobicoke, so maybe a bit of a trek. I want to give you happy belated birthday wishes. You turned 83 years old. Could that be true, Sylvia? Absolutely, yes. Where did the time go? Well, I'm going to ask you about quite a bit of this time,

but I thought I'd start in the present. Just last week, I had a gentleman over here named Don Stevenson. He was the drummer for Moby Grape. Right. And he was telling me, you know, he's going to make his Massey Hall debut in a couple of weeks from now. And it's because of the last Waltz concert. I see you're on that bill as well.

That's correct. I had done the show once before at the Horseshoe Tavern and they came back and asked me if I would be part of this. And of course, Albert Lee is an old friend and Cindy Cashdaller and... Yeah, anyway, people I'd worked with before. Amazing. Do you have any idea how many times you've played Massey Hall in your career?

Probably not that many times, maybe four or five. That's a bit of a mind blow to me. I would have suspected it would be much higher. Not really. We did, you know, I did mainly small concert halls across the country and down into the States. And, yeah, it was the situation at that time was you only did it once every three or so years. So they would feel that you hadn't overextended the market. Right, right. Well, I think you underextended that market,

in my humble opinion. Well, thank you very kindly. All right, so we're going to start in the present day, and then I'm going to drag you back, because I have questions about the early days and your great career, your fantastic career, your Order of Canada-worthy career, so congrats on that.

Thank you very much. Yeah, I was very proud of that. How often do you put on that pin? Well, it depends on whether I have to dress up and be somebody. I noticed, well, I can't see. You're not wearing it today. I guess when you come on Toronto Mike's program, uh pins not required well they said it was audio only so i didn't feel it was required okay well listen if i had the order of canada which will never happen i would never take it off i might sleep in it well i possibly was like that at one point but it gets a bit tedious after a while right now your new album which is now available

is called at the end of the day and i was you know reading into it i'm about to play a song from it and you're on the record as saying that this your is your final album say it ain't so sylvia how do you know this is the last album you want to make, the odds are that it's my last album because the material that's on this album, some of it's as old as like 15 years and I simply never had a chance to record it and I finally pulled together

12 songs that I really wanted to do. Some had been written by other people but not by me and it was time to do it and the reason why I thought it was time to do it. And the reason why I think probably I won't do another album is because it takes me a long time to pull together 12 songs. I'm a slow writer. How much time? I'm curious.

How long would it take you to put together 12 songs for an album? That's totally unknowable. You know, sometimes you write a song in 10 minutes and don't change a word or a note, and other times it takes you months and even years. So it's really hard to predict. Well, I'm going to go on the record making a prediction since we're recording this. I'm going to make a prediction.

This is not your final album. That's my prediction. Well, one never knows, do one. I would like to play, and i'd like to play it so that you can hear it uh not just add it in post i'd like to play some sweet agony is that okay with you if i play a little bit and then we talk about okay and this tell me just before i press play when did you write sweet agony i guess I wrote it with Cindy Church who did the melody. We probably wrote it six or seven

years ago. Cindy recorded it on a quartet album. I really like the song and I wanted to do it myself, so here we are. Alright, let's listen to this come to me sweet agony i am ready

to fall in love again If I can have that ecstasy I'll take my chances with the pain love gives, for it takes away. Oh, love can hurt, or it can heal you. It's a gamble we all take And we live with our mistakes It's both a curse And a rescue

Is love steadfast or is it fleeting Lifetime devotion or random meeting? We're all floundering fools in a game with no rules. What magic makes it worth repeating? Sweet agony Well done, well done, Sylvia. Thank you. I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times over the past six years,

but hearing it right now again with me, you must be very proud to hear this. I am. I'm quite proud of this song because it's not a love song. It's a song about love. And it's ups and downs and sideways. Sweet agony.

Yeah, great sentiment there. Okay, so much, much love to you and your new album, of course, available now at the end of the day. And now I'm going to take you back. Maybe I'm taking you back in the day here. I had the pleasure of having a gentleman named Barry Witkin on this program. And Barry was one of the three founders of the Purple Onion in Yorkville.

And we were just sharing, you know, he's telling me stories about Joni Anderson playing there. You know, ironically enough, he was telling me about how Buffy St. Marie wrote Universal Soldier there and some of the folklore but can you please you were there can you take me back what was the the folk musics I know we can talk about Greenwich Village which we will but what was it like in Toronto like what were the venues like? What was the scene like in Toronto in the early to mid-60s? Well, the very early 60s, there were probably more places to play than there were people to play in them.

Mind you, they didn't pay much, probably about $25 a night. And it gradually built up to the point where there were certainly more places to play, and the Purple Onion was one of them. And that was part of the Yorkville scene. Ian and I missed a lot of the Yorkville scene because we were touring kind of nonstop in the States doing college concerts. But we were in and out and we did perform at the Purple Onion and the First Floor Club and various other places. Like the Riverboat Cafe, for example? Absolutely, yes.

That was a major venue, really. Considering how small it was, it was a major venue. Right, right. Just an amazing time. You know, we hear about nowadays when we think about Yorkville, you know, we think rich people buying expensive stuff. That certainly wasn't at the time. As a matter of fact, somebody once said to me, what was it that drew people to Yorkville in that way?

And I said, cheap rent, which was absolutely true at the time. It's amazing how that switched up at some point in the city's history. Well, now there is nowhere left in Toronto for cheap rent. Absolutely true. I don't know how people do it. My son is looking for an apartment right now, and he's well able to pay for it. But what they want him to pay for it is outrageous. I have a

21 year old and a 19 year old and I often say, I don't know how I guess unless they get parental assistance they don't live in Toronto. I guess you have to move far away and just be glad that you have the internet to connect you to what's

going on in the big city. I don't know what you do. I know. Or you live with your parents, which is another story. Well, you know what? That wouldn't be so bad, but I could get tired after a little while. But okay, so the Toronto folk scene, I'm thinking Neil Young covers Four Strong Winds.

I want to talk to you a bit about that and then play a song that you wrote because I know Ian wrote Four Strong Winds. I want to talk to you a bit about that and then play a song that you wrote. Because I know Ian wrote Four Strong Winds, right? He did. First song he ever wrote. Is that... Okay, so I've heard this legend and then I always think like

that's a convenient truth. Like I'm hoping it's true, but is it really true? You can tell me on the record now. Is it true? Is that his first song he ever wrote? Four Strong Winds? Absolutely.

Well, we were hanging out in Greenwich Village with Bob Dylan, and he was writing about 10 songs a day. And we thought, if he can write songs, we can write songs. We didn't keep up with his output, I have to say. But, you know, that kind of was the start of the whole singer-songwriter thing was Dylan breaking through in the village. How did things change for you when you recorded Four Strong Winds? Well, they didn't change that much. As I say, we were doing mainly college concerts. We were with an agency that had been the booking agency for the Kingston Trio. And they had a map in their lobby that had a red pin for every college and university in North America, and it was a mass of red pins. So there were a lot of places to play, and we were just on the

road almost constantly. Here, I'm going to put you on the spot here, Sylvia. Of all the covers of Four Strong Winds, what's your favorite cover? Oh, gosh. I would be hard pressed i actually i think the ian and sylvia version is probably the best i think you're right uh you know i always think of it as like one of our national anthems that song are you surprised at how um how beloved that song still is as like a definitive canadian anthem i i'm not surprised because certainly at the time, it was the first time people became aware of the fact that it was a song about Canada, as opposed to the American Hip Parade. And I think that resonated very, very deeply with people. And, you know, I do, although I didn't write it, I do include it in my shows when I perform.

And people always sing along and they get quite misty-eyed about it. All those things that don't change come what may. But our good times are all gone, and I'm bound for moving on. I'll look for you if I never-backless way. Think I'll go out to Alberta. Weather's good there in the fall. I got some friends that I can go to work in for. can go to work in full. Still I wish you'd change your mind if I asked you one more time.

But we've been through that a hundred times or more For strong winds that blow lonely Seven seas that run high For those things that don't change Come what may But our good times are all gone And I'm bound for moving on I'll look for you if I ever back this way If I get there before the snow flies

And if things are going good You could meet me if I sent you down the fair But by then it would be winter There ain't too much for you to do. And those winds sure can blow cold way out there. Four strong winds that blow lonely, seven seas that run high All those things that don't change

Come what may But our good times are all gone And I'm bound for moving on I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way Bob Dylan was in town last week. I think it was last week.

It was recent anyway. Did you catch his show at Massey Hall? No, no, I didn't. I was otherwise involved. You had other things to do. You're a busy woman. Yes. I would like to play an Ian and Sylvia song with you,

one that you wrote, and I'd love to talk to you about writing this song. So here, let's listen to this. Okay. God of this morning, you were on my mind And you were on my mind I got some aches and I got some pains and I got some wounds to bite

Went to the corner Just to leave my pain It was just to leave my pain I got drunk and I got sick and I came home again I got a feeling down in my shoes He's way down in my shoes I've got to move on I've got to travel

Walk away my blue Sylvia, I don't even want to fade it down because wonderful song. I need to hear, you know, how you wrote this, how it came to be. But when you listen to this song in the headphones, what I like is that you're in my right side and Ian's in my left side. I just enjoy the whole idea that you're to my right singing this in my ear. It's quite

wonderful. Actually, that's quite interesting because Vanguard Records, who we were with at the time, their idea of stereo was to put my voice in one speaker and Ian's in the other. And I've since talked to any number of people who said that they really liked that because they could learn my parts. Right. Very easily.

Oh, sure. I can just go like this and it's just a Sylvia song. No Ian required. All right. So you were on my mind. I mean, We Five covers this in 1965. I think it was 65, but it takes it to number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Please, since you have a little bit of time for me,

I need to know everything about you composing You Were On My Mind. Well, as with the internet, this was the first song I ever wrote. And I still get plaintive calls from my accountant asking me if I could write another one of those. But, yeah, it's been paying the rent for many years now. I wrote it in Greenwich Village in a bathtub in the Earl Hotel, and it was a suite in the Earl. That sounds very ritzy, but it wasn't. The reason I wrote it in the earl that sounds very ritzy but it wasn't the reason i wrote it in

the bathtub was i wasn't taking a bath it was one of those old enormous cast iron bathtubs and once i had the plug in it was the one place the cockroaches wouldn't go so that's funny and it had good acoustics as well i know I know when I sing in the shower I think to myself oh I sound good but like I don't have a good voice it is absolutely the miracle of the bathroom the natural echo yes very useful

also you know I think the way your voice bounces around your skull it's like you need to hear yourself on the recording and you go I sound terrible not you I sound terrible. Not you, I sound terrible. Sylvia, you sound great. When I woke up this morning You were on my mind

And you were on my mind I got troubles, oh I got troubles, oh, I got worries, oh, I got wounds to bind. So I went to the corner just to ease my pain, just to ease my pain I got troubled I got worried I came home again But I woke up this morning

You were on my mind You were on my mind I got the road, oh, oh, oh I got the world, oh, oh, oh I got the moon, too far And I got a feeling Down in my shoes And way down in my shoes And I got a friend, oh, oh, oh

I got a friend, oh, oh, oh I got a walk away from my blues But I woke up this morning You were on my mind And you were on my mind Hey I got to vote, oh oh oh oh I got to vote to be vote I got to vote to be vote

I'm not alone When did you get inducted? Oh, gosh, that was probably, what, five, six years ago. I don't recall exactly. I'm very bad on dates. The reason Ian and I were inducted separately is because we were not working together at that point. We were separate artists. Point of interest, I was one of the founders of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, the original board, and I was president twice of the organization. I'm really glad to see that it's still going strong.

I'm glad you brought that up. I literally, when is it? Just a couple of days ago, I guess, they put a few more songs, including Echo Beach from Martha and the Muffins. That was like November 1st, I think, maybe. Yes. Okay, and Snow got in with informer which was uh which i took great pleasure in a good toronto boy who's going to come on the program

but yeah amazing okay that's still going strong because i had a gentleman in who helped he was a co-producer this is just on the weekend he came over richard rodwell he's a co-writer co-producer for my definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style. That's by the Dream Warriors. That song was also celebrated that night. It was indeed. It was indeed. It was a great evening.

Previous shows that they had done, they were really more concerned with getting bottoms in seats and people paying for them. This was much more intimate and much more to do with songwriters. You know, it was quite a wonderful evening. And the reason we started the organization in the first place is because we realized that it was always the singers who were getting the awards or the record companies or the producers. And, you know, you might get Song of the Year or something like that.

But it was like the songwriter was the last thing people thought about when it came to music. And quite frankly, the music industry wouldn't exist if it wasn't for songs. No, no, I'm glad. I did not know this part of your history, but I'm glad you brought it up. Because there's some another thing I can't find, you know, when you go to the Wikipedia page and you try to read the bio on Sylvia Tyson, you know, some stuff's omitted that you think you know is true.

And this is like my opportunity. It took me a few years, but now I can finally find out. Let's hear what you have to say about this. Did you work with Samantha Taylor on video hits? did you work with Samantha Taylor on video hits? I was a researcher and script writer on video hits for about four or five years. It was a nice stopgap for me because I had a young son at home and didn't want to be on the road so much.

And so CBC television really came through for me at that point and kept me going. I'm fascinated with the 1980 the 1980s video programs you know just before much music where you had I just had on Brad Giffen who was a host of Toronto Rocks and of course excuse me video hits with Samantha Taylor big deal I love knowing that Sylvia Tyson was like a producer of sorts on video hits. Well it was an education for me because one tends to get inside one's own head when one's a songwriter and performer. And it really opened me up to hearing a lot of Canadian artists I would probably never otherwise have listened to.

What's Canada's number one video show? Why, it's video hits. And that's because coast to coast, we play the hottest music around. the hottest music around. This week, I've got Billy Ocean, In Excess, Tiffany, Ice House,

Henry Lee Summer, Johnny Hates Jazz, Def Leppard, Natalie Cole, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Terrence Trent Darby, and lots, lots more.

Like our new feature, My Pick of the Week, and an interview with Vancouver's Boulevard. Tune in weekdays and find out for yourself why we're number one in video hits.

Did you participate in the 1985 recording of Tears Are Not Enough? I did, but I was way in the back. All right. So they buried you in the back. But you got the phone. I'm just, when you got the phone call, I'm just curious. Does Bruce Allen phone you or does Bruce Allen call your manager or something and say, can Sylvia do this? I'm not sure.

I think it was an assistant of some sort that called and asked if I would be part of it. I don't honestly remember. It was a long time ago. Well, at least you got the call. You know, Randy Backman never got the call.

Huh? Well, I guess I couldn't get everybody. I think I'm not here. I think there was some bad blood between Bruce Allen and Randy Backman regarding BTO, but I think that was some bad blood between Bruce Allen and Randy Backman regarding BTO. But I think that was personal against Backman. But I'm glad you were invited to participate, for sure.

Yes, it was good to be a part of it and a very good cause. Now, I've never been a musician, but I'm sure if you're a famous du duet and your partner is also your husband, like it gets a bit, I guess it gets a bit hairy there. So a marriage ends and, you know, you two as a duo ends and you go solo. Like does one happen first or does it all kind of happen in one big? And I know it's a personal question, but at some point Ian and Sylvia comes to an end. But at some point, Ian and Sylvia comes to an end. Well, it sort of started when Ian got his CTV television show, because that was really his show. And we had talked about it and decided that that was probably the way to go, because, again, I had a young son at home.

And I was very much involved with being a stay-at-home mom at that point. And I basically did half the shows. There was a kind of a mindset at that point in CTV and probably generally in the Canadian media that if it was all guys on a show, that was fine. But if there were two women on a show, it was unbalanced. And so if I was on the show, there would not be another female artist on the show. Interesting. Yeah, that's, that's, that's garbage. By the way,

your son's still friends with James B. Oh yes. Yes. As a matter of fact, his, my son's last birthday, we went out to a restaurant and who should be there with, with some clients of his was James B. I hadn't seen him in a while, but he doesn't change. No. A true character in this city. I'm a big fan.

But one of the common discussion points on Toronto Mic is, is James B. famous? I'm of the opinion James B. is famous. Now, you're a little biased here, but in your opinion, Sylvia, is James B. famous? I don't know if he's famous. He's certainly a mover and shaker. James B. Famous.

I don't know if he's famous. He's certainly a mover and shaker. And I mean, I go way back with James because he and Clay were in a band, the Look People and the B People. And so it definitely is part of the history of my family and music. Sorry, I left the mic there for a moment because I just wanted to show you I've got Look People vinyl here.

Oh, you do have it. Yes, that's amazing. I think I have a copy of that somewhere. So I see in the back it says here, I'm reading it right now, Clayton Davidson Tyson. Is that right? Clayton Dawson. Dawson.

You see, you know what? Because it's the squiggly letters and I'm not wearing my glasses here I should know that but yeah so there's a great fun fact you know it's not just Bob Scott and James B your your son is there too and of course Kevin Hearn went on to do some interesting things himself he's now a member of Barenaked Ladies yeah no kidding I love it when things come back to look people here. Now, as I went to go find that album, I did everything on my desk just fell over here, but I will fix it later.

A photo of Wendell Clark, okay? So make sure that's intact here. Now, okay, so Ian and Sylvia comes to an end, but you've got more music in you. You don't mind, I'm going to play another song and we're going to talk about this one here. Here we go. Come and sleep on my shoulder for a while And I'll hold you far away from bad luck High above your troubles

Come and sleep on my shoulder for a while In my arms you will find Some place quiet to unwind And you won't have to be The hero to me There's a house on the corner with a light in the window and a name by the door that makes you smile. Steps to the landing, to the place where I'll be standing. Come and sleep on my shoulder for a while. Sleep on my shoulder. Well, that takes me back.

Mid-70s, I guess? Approximately 75 or so? Yeah, would be. What are you thinking about? Do you remember writing this song? Do you remember when this is, you know, I guess this is your solo debut, right? I think, yeah, it probably was. It was probably

One Less World. Yeah. Oh, my goodness gracious. Okay, okay yes my studio falls apart behind me yes it is actually from woman's world in 1975 okay you released a couple albums on capital records i did yes so what do you remember about uh sleep on my shoulder in this this uh era in your lengthy, illustrious career? Well, I was going more to the side of country music at that point. My writing generally is pretty eclectic. And at that point, I was doing more country

because that's kind of what Ian and I had been doing later in our duo career. And I think when he and I split up, people knew what he did because he had his television show, but they kind of had no idea what it was I did on my own. I got together with an old friend, Larry LeBlanc, and Larry became my publicist and kind of got me out there so that people knew who I was and what I was doing. I still get emails from Larry. Uh-huh. Well, he's sort of on top of everything, isn't he? Absolutely. No, absolutely. Now, you mentioned earlier you referenced quartet. So how does quartet come to be and where does that like fit alongside your solo career? Colleen Peterson was approached to put together a woman songwriter show for an afternoon down at Harborfront.

And at that point, that was Colleen and myself and Cindy Church and Caitlin Hanford. We lost Colleen, of course, a couple of years later, and Gwen Swick joined us. But that afternoon was kind of extraordinary because we had gotten together to rehearse what we were going to do. And we realized this as the rehearsal went along that we all knew each other's songs and we started singing harmony on them and it just kind of all gelled. It all came together. And I think that that afternoon at the Harbourfront, if we'd had an album, we probably could have sold a bunch of them. Wow. Wow.

Again, I've got you held captive here for just a little bit longer i'm gonna play a song again and then uh talk about this one feeling out of place got no place to turn I felt the fire of love touching me and I burned So now I stare at shadows in this empty hotel room Shadows in this empty hotel room Packing up the tears I cried for you Leaving El Paso with a red hot blue Standing on the borderline waiting for the morning

Words echo in my heart like thunder and lightning I'm going to go to bed. Red Hot Blues, Sylvia. Love it. Yes, well, Colleen Peterson, a great voice lost, unfortunately. Yeah, I'm so sorry, but the quartet did carry on without her. Is there any chance any new quartet could find its way to... Well, we just kind of called it quits last November after 26 years, which is, I think, some kind of record for a group.

And it just, you know, what with COVID being off for three, four years and the work just wasn't coming in and as much as we loved the group and loved singing together, there just wasn't the market for it, so we decided to call it quits after 26 years. Did Quartet ever win a

Juno Award? We came close. You know, you revealed earlier that you were a board member, I suppose, of Factor and the Juno Awards. Now, how many Junos do you have yourself? I don't have any, actually. How is that?

Like, I just need to process this for a moment. What were you going to say there? Hey, don't ask me. I mean, I came close a couple of times, you know, was nominated, but didn't win. I think at that point, certainly it had a lot to do with record sales. And whereas I had good steady sales, I never had enormous sales. And so we really tied in with sales as much as anything else. Now, it is interesting, though, that is interesting though that you do a poll. If CBC

decides it's going to have a contest, like what's the most influential song in Canadian history or maybe what's the most definitive Canadian song, any contest of that nature, without a doubt, the top five, and I don't know where you'll fall, but the top five will include Four Strong Winds. It is very interesting to me that Four Strong and I don't know where you'll fall, but the top five will include four strong wins. It is very interesting to me that four strong wins did not garner a Juno win. The Junos didn't exist when four strong wins came out.

All right, you know what? I should have done my homework here. I was going to lash out at the Junos for being, you know, they didn't exist. Not their fault. If you don't exist, you can't be responsible for that. I think I'll go out to Alberta Weather's good there in the fall

I got some friends that I could go to work in for Still I wish you'd change your mind If I asked you one more time But we've been through this a hundred times or more Four strong winds that flow lonely Seven seas that run high All those things that don't change Come what may

If the good times are all gone Then I'm bound for moving on. I'll look for you if I never back this way. If I get there before the snow flies and things are looking good You could meet me if I send you down the fair But by then it would be winter Not too much for you to do And those winds sure can blow cold way out there

Four strong winds that blow lonely Seven seas that run high All those things that don't change come what may. The good times are all gone, so I'm bound for moving on. I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way. Any excuse to get Neil Young on the program. The woman's voice you hear in the mix there is Nicolette Larson. I know you want to get back to Sylvia Tyson.

She's a living legend. So I'll be very brief here. Great Lakes Brewery, delicious fresh craft beer. That's what you drink if you're an FOTM in Ontario. So I'll be very brief here. Great Lakes Brewery, delicious fresh craft beer. That's what you drink if you're an FOTM in Ontario. And if you're hungry for Italian food, the best food on the planet, in my humble opinion, Palma Pasta. Go to palmapasta.com.

You won't regret it. You also won't regret subscribing to Yes, We Are Open. Season five is underway. Al Grego has been sharing inspiring stories from small business owners. This is an award-winning podcast, people. Another great podcast is the Advantaged Investor Podcast from Raymond James Canada. Get educated.

Chris Cooksey does a great job on that podcast. I hope you enjoyed the recent episode with Cliff Hacking from EPRA. RecycleMyElectronics.ca is where you go if you have old electronics to dispose of. And last but not least, shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. I'll look for you if I never get back this way. When you perform at Massey Hall, and it's wild, we can see you at Massey Hall later this month.

I actually have the, I know you're not good at dates, but I took a note on the date somewhere here. November, standby, standby. November 22, maybe? Maybe I'll have to do a quick little google search to make sure i get this date right before we uh skip it here but i'd have to run into the office and look at my own calendar i don't it's soon though it's soon i oh it's 18th i got it now massey hall it's november 18th tickets still available the last waltz do you know what you're going to perform uh probably you were on my mind.

They definitely wanted Four Strong Winds because Neil Young had performed Four Strong Winds in the original concert, although it didn't appear in the documentary. And there's a song written by one of the members of the band that have put this together that we'll be doing at the end, I think, as a closer. Okay, that sounds amazing to me. So at be doing at the end, I think is closer. Okay. That sounds amazing to me.

So at the end of the day, now out, you think it might be your final album. Only time will tell, but people can get this now. And I just want to say, Sylvia, what a pleasure it was.

Is anything else on your mind you want to talk about? I, you know, you were a part of this Greenwich Village scene and the folk music of the early 60s. I don't get an opportunity very often to talk to somebody who was there, but you mentioned Bob Dylan and you shared a manager with Mr. Grossman, and I just love hearing about any stories or interactions from that scene

at that time. It's amazing to me. Well, it was a great time. And I think a very interesting time musically, too, because the folk scene, both in Toronto and in New York, the artists were very supportive of each other. We did each other's songs. We, you know, we played with each other and it was very supportive i think it's less so now i mean you have to go through so many levels of management

to even reach somebody to do something like that you know people talk to me about the festival train and maybe that could happen again well there's no way on this earth because the number of people you'd have to go through to put that group together and be able to afford it would be crazy yeah and then it all comes back to what we talked about earlier which is that you can't afford to be a starving artist in toronto or new york in 2023 no i i think i would hate to be starting out now i I think that it's very hard. And not only do you have to have some totally unique music, but you have to be very computer savvy. And those two things don't necessarily go together. And you got to cut through the noise because one of the great things about the internet is that anyone can do it. But one of the terrible things about the internet is that anyone can do it, but one of the terrible things about the internet is that everyone can do it.

Yeah. Well, a dear old friend of mine, a name you would recognize, Susie Rodolo, who was Bob Dylan's girlfriend back in the 60s. And, you know, we remained really good friends. And her quote, which I love, is that the internet is more and more about less and less

I might steal that that's pretty good could there be an Ian and Sylvia today what happened to you guys in the late 50s into the 60s could that happen today I think the market is very different now and I would hate to predict I mean certainly there are duos about that are really good. But again, breaking through is so hard now.

And it used to be back in the 60s and early 70s that a record company, you had a proper chance at it because they would put out three albums before they would decide whether they wanted to keep you or not and uh now you're lucky if you get one that's a great point you're right sylvia thanks so much again happy belated 83rd i can't believe you you know you're spry you're gonna be at massey hall uh long may you run well thank. I've enjoyed talking to you. And that brings us to the end of our 1,362nd show. You can follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky. I'm at

Toronto Mike. The new album from Sylvia Tyson is called At the End of the Day. She says it's her last. I hope it's not. Much love to Sylvia Tyson is called At the End of the Day. She says it's her last. I hope it's not. Much love to Sylvia and everyone who made this episode of Toronto Mic'd possible.

That's Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Moneris, Raymond James, RecycleMyElectronics.ca, and Ridley funeral home. Join me tomorrow when my special guest is Alison Stewart. She's the director advocacy and public policy for cycle Toronto.

That's right. It only took 1,363 episodes of Toronto Mike, but I'm finally doing an episode about cycling in Toronto. See you all then. And your smile is fine and it's just like mine And it won't go away Cause everything is rosy and green Well you've been under my skin for more than eight years It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears And I don't know what the future can hold or do for me and you.

But I'm a much better man for having known you. Oh, you know that's true because everything is coming up rosy and gray. Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Wants me to date And your smile is fine And it's just like mine And it won't go away

Cause everything is Rosie and Gray Well, I've been told That there's a sucker born every day But I wonder who, yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize there's a thousand shades of grey Cause I know that's true, yes I do I know it's true, yeah, I know that's true, yes I do I know it's true, yeah

I know it's true How about you? I'm picking up trash and then putting down ropes And they're broken in stocks, the class struggle explodes And I'll play this guitar just the best that I can Maybe I'm not and maybe I am But who gives a damn? Because everything is coming up rosy and gray

Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow warms me today And your smile is fine and it's just like mine Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow warms me today. And your smile is fine, it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Cause everything is rosy and gray. Well, I've kissed you in France, and I've kissed you in Spain. And I've kissed you in places I better not name And I've seen the sun go down on Shakhty Kul But I like it much better going down on you Yeah, you know that's true

Because everything is coming up rosy and green. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow warms us today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy now. Everything is rosy now Everything is rosy and Everything is rosy and gray In the early morning rain With a dollar in my hand With an aching in my heart I'm a long way from home

And I miss my darling soul In the early morning rain We had no place to go Out on runway number nine 8707 said to go But I'm stuck here on the grass Where the cold winds blow Where the liquor tasted good

And the women all were fast There she goes, my friend. Oh, she's rolling now at last. Hear the mighty engines roar. See the silver wing on high. She's a way westward bound High above the clouds she'll fly

Where the morning rain don't fall And the sun always shines She'll be flying on my home She'll be flying over home In about three hours time 1 tbs of salt 1 tbs of sugar 1 tbs of honey 1 tbs of honey

1 tbs of honey 1 tbs of sugar 1 tbs of honey 1 tbs of honey 1 tbs of honey 1 tbs of honey 1 tbs of honey 1 tbs of honey

1 tbs of honey 1 tbs of honey This old airport's got me down It's no earthly good to me Cause I'm stuck here on the ground Cold and drunk as I can be You can jump a jet plane Like you can a free dream So I'd just be on my way In the early morning rain You can't jump a jet plane

Like you can't afraid to dream So I'd best be on my way In the early morning rain