Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Tom Jokic: Toronto Mike'd #1003

Episode Date: February 23, 2022

In this 1003rd episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike is joined by Tom Jokic, producer of Roger, Rick and Marilyn on 104.5 (and subsequent iterations of the CHUM-FM morning show) for 32.5 years. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Canna Cabana, StickerYou, Ridley Funeral Home and Patrons like you.

Welcome to episode 1003 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. StickerU.com. Create custom stickers, labels, tattoos, and decals for your home and your business. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville.

Ridley Funeral Home, pillars of the community since 1921. And Canna Cabana, the lowest prices on cannabis, guaranteed over 100 stores across the country. Learn more at cannacabana.com. Joining me this week, making his Toronto Mike debut, is Tom Jokic. Yay!

Welcome, Tom. Thanks very much, Mike. This is great. I've been getting caught up on some of the shows. I haven't tackled episode 1000 yet because I have a life. But no, I haven't gotten to it yet, but I certainly will and can't wait to do so. Portuando who you might see on TSN and hear on TSN radio and Jason was telling me he goes Mike he goes I love you man he goes but I don't love you 5 hours and

40 minutes worth like he's basically letting me know he might not dive in meanwhile I'm blown away by the number of people who have reached out to say they just finished it like to me it's just the fact that somebody would listen to you doing anything for five

hours and 40 minutes. That's wild. It's wild. Yeah, that speaks to a dedication. That's fantastic. Wonderful. So you're excused if you don't do all 540. But for what it's worth, and again, I'm super biased on this one, but it doesn't feel like

540 because of the way it's chunkified. Like it's sort of like a journey and it's, you can do it in chunks or whatever. But Tom, before, before we get into things, a lot of ground to cover with you. I do have a song for you.

So I'm just going to play a little music for you and then we're going to get into it here. Mmm, yeah Tonight, I want to give it all to you In the darkness, there's so much I want to lay it at your feet Cause girl I was made for you And girl you were made for me I was made for loving you baby You were made for loving you, baby You were made for loving me And I can't get enough of you, baby

Can you get enough of me? Tom, this jam is for you, buddy. That's fantastic. Yeah, as you know, my favorite band, or at least my first favorite band, was Kiss. And I still love all those songs. And by the way, that song, I Was Made For Loving You, has the best three and a half second guitar solo you'll ever hear. It's just Ace really going, anyway, I can't even do it.

It's fantastic. It only lasts for like four seconds. It's done. It's great. And that reminds me of my autograph picture here, my autograph copy of Kiss Destroyer with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons autographs on there. And it's one of my most valuable possessions, even though meeting Gene Simmons was actually quite a disappointment.

I've heard. Okay. So I produced a Humble and Fred show and Gene was put on the show because they were promoting something rather shocking to think that Kiss would be promoting something. But totally,

like, I would say Gene was just rude. Like, yeah. What it was, if I'm not mistaken, if it was the same time

as them, is Gene was promoting Frank's energy drink as in Frankstronic so Frankstronic put out an energy drink and Gene was single minded in his desire to only talk about this

dumb energy drink right and so he brought in girls with him who were you know parading around with the drink. And they were kind of scantily clad. And, you know, we were saying, like, would you like to introduce the ladies? And he goes, he was doing really rude stuff like, you know, does it matter what their names are? Like, does it ever matter what a woman's name is?

That kind of stuff. It was just gross. And then when we met him at the end and he shook hands and posed for pictures he was really handsy with all of the women that posed with him and it was just awful you wanted to sock the guy that's disappointing but not surprising unfortunately but I find that aside

that in my experience kicking out the jams with many, many people that those who were the right age when Kiss hit, I won't ask you your age, but if you're like a teenager when Kiss is at its apex, it seems

like that's a recipe to kind of be a Kiss fanatic for all of eternity. But those who like Kiss like them a lot. Sure. I don't mind talking about my to kind of be a KISS fanatic for all of eternity. Like it just, it just, but those who like KISS like them a lot. Sure. I don't, I don't mind talking about my age, but I'll let people do the math.

And so 1976, when I really fell for the band, I was 14 years old. That'll do it. And so, what's that? I said, that'll do it. Yeah. Yes, that'll do it. And so, yeah, I was right, you know,

in their strike zone is in terms of audience. And I loved the music first before I'll do it. And so, yeah, I was right, you know, in their strike zone is in terms of audience. And, and I love the music first before I've ever saw them. And then I just once I heard shouted out loud on the radio, I just to have this in my, you know, 1,003 episodes. But to me, that would be like if I booked Tom Jokic on the show and he said, if you said, I'm only going to talk about famous lost words on my podcast with Christopher Ward. Right. And I would personally like take a hard pass every day of the week, but I guess some people are like, I know like Tom Jokic is a big deal. I want him on the show. And if he's only going to

talk about famous lost words, it's better than he not talk about anything. Well, thank you. I mean, you know, there's lots of stuff to talk about, but famous last words is like, you know, is kind of the love of my life next to my kids and my fiance. And it's just something I'm so happy to be doing. In 2019, I was hit with a pretty bad health diagnosis. So I'm off from Chump. So in May of 2019 was my last day there, unknowns to me. And so I've been dealing with these issues, but I got permission many years ago to do a podcast based on all the old CHUM interviews. So 1050 CHUM and CHUM FM, their music library. And over the years, I did some of those interviews myself.

So Christopher Ward and I, we host the show, and we play clips of some of our favorite interviews and we riff about it. It's so much fun. Yeah, I've listened and it is great. So is it literally like a database? You just search a database

for like, I don't know, a keyword? And then you've got... What is this library that you speak of that Chum has? So, yes. So, happily, the answer is yes. And unhappily, the answer is a profound no. Because there is a list. Someone wisely decided to get all the reel-to-reels

and copy them onto CDs, I would say in the early 90s, thinking that CD was going to be the be all end all. And for the most part, they are. So we have thousands of interviews saved. But there's also a lot on, still on reel to reel, on DAT, on cassette, and on the mini discs.

And so some of them aren't labeled. So I go through all of them. But that's part of the fun for me. It's part of the frustration, but part of the fun. But I've created, I've added to their spreadsheet with what I found, and now I have this master spreadsheet. And it's a great deal of fun to go through and to have an outlet for it where it's a podcast and a radio show.

We're on nine stations across Canada. show. We're on nine stations across Canada. It's fantastic to know that me having fun in life is also a radio show that's entertaining to others and a podcast. And we're going to get into your career with

Chum FM, but when you were no longer producing the morning show, it's nice to hear that you could still be a part of this. Like it wasn't like some clean cut where it's like, you know, you can't do this anymore. Yeah. You know, obviously, you know, I'm at the mercy of whatever they decide in the future. But, you know, Bell Media and iHeartRadio Canada have been very kind in allowing me to do this and by giving me a platform to do it.

That being said, it is a two-person operation. Christopher and I, just like yours, is a one-person operation. And so it's not lucrative at all. In fact, I would call it not lucrative at all at all. But it is so much fun that I feel, you know i just feel um lifted up by being able to do it and i mean when you uncover like some old chum fm uh like before they became like a top 40 type station when you would uncover some kind of like a motorhead or metallica interview like that's uh that's pretty amazing. It really is.

I wasn't a huge Motorhead fan and then we found this interview with Lemmy and Filthy Phil and it is astonishing. They tell great stories and they have such a great way about them. They're kind of humble. Well, they're actually really humble

and funny. Is it Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden? Yeah, he flies his own airplanes. Oh, he's fantastic. He's so funny. And then, you know, we have interviews with, you know, Casey and the Sunshine Band, for God's sake, right?

Right. Not exactly my music, but, you know, they were massive. And so to talk about them and also to play Marilyn's interview with the Bee Gees from 2001, one of the last interviews that the Bee Gees ever did as a trio, because Morris Gibb died shortly thereafter. But Marilyn and I flew down to Miami to interview the Bee Gees. And it was a thrill of a lifetime. And to work with her on that was amazing.

It's kind of sad when you think about like, if that were to happen today, they'd just probably do it on Zoom or something. Yeah, this was just, it was really a thrill to get down there. You know, it's one of those things where you go to their studio for the interview and you go, okay, well, is there going to be a guard or a secretary to show us around? No, it was the actual Bee Gees who said, hey, guys, come on in. Let's show you around. And they're showing us their awards on the wall. And then they show us this wall that's dedicated only to Andy Gibb, their brother, who had died, you know, a decade earlier.

And it was really moving. It was just a wonderful experience. It was just a wonderful experience. And there's so many like that, that Marilyn and I, or Marilyn and Roger and Rick, and all the other people on the show, Caitlin Green, we've shared together, Jamar, all of them. And it was such a great experience. And we're going to talk about all those people. But just for the record, let everybody know, Famous Lost Words. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

And of course, Chris Stewart is a good FOTM, been on multiple times. He's not just the first, well, tied with J.D. Roberts, I suppose, as the first much-music VJ, but the man co-wrote Black Velvet for Alana Miles. That's right. And that's amazing. It is amazing. And he truly is one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet and work with.

He's so generous. You know, sometimes I have to pump up his career because he's just, he's not that kind of guy to pump himself up and to boast. And when he tells a story, he hates dropping names, but sometimes he has to tell the story of his experience and he's great and it's a lot of fun and we go against each other we're rivals in a way in some of our opinions uh mostly because of kiss and the song afternoon delight and we built this city we built this city oh my goodness i won't sing it my apologies i can't remember is that history yeah is that starship or Jefferson Starship? What were they called at that moment?

That was Starship at that point. It's an embarrassment that they were even vaguely related to Jefferson Airplane. Oh, what a shame. Oh my goodness. And I think that might have been the final song ever played on 680 before it went old news.

I think that's the... Yeah, we built the city. I think that's news. I think that's the... Yeah, we built the city. I think that's true. Okay, so we are going to talk about all those great people you mentioned from Chum FM. We're going to open here with a comment that came in

from another FOTM who was on the show recently. This comes from somebody named Gord Rennie. Oh, Gord, yeah. Gord, and I know you saw it on Twitter, but I'm going to read it for the FOTMs listening. Gord wrote, I just know that Tom's a great guy.

I've never met him, but when I was let go, he reached out to me to tell me that the sun will shine again on me, and it did, and for for that i'm forever grateful so nice nice words you know well that's really kind and that means a lot to me and the reason why i could assure him um that something was something good was coming is almost the exact same thing happened to me that happened g Gord at the exact same radio station. So I was fired as the morning show producer of CHFI in 1985. Wow.

And I'd been at CHFI for about a year and a half, and then Jay Nelson came to the radio station right after Labor Day. Labor Day in 1985. And by the way, that was the first day of Roger Ashby's work on Chum FM. He and Jay started on the same day. Roger moved from Chum AM to Chum FM. Jay Nelson took over the morning show at CHFI. And Jay had a hell of a legacy,

very talented guy. I think by the time he got to CHFI, it wasn't a good fit. And after the ratings came out, they said, Tom, we need to see you. And I said, we need a meeting. I said, sure, what is it? And they said, it's your three-month probation. I said, I've been here for a year and a half. And they said, well, it's three months on the morning show I said, I've been here for a year and a half, and they said, they said, well, it's three months on the morning show, and I looked at the next guy to come on to take over from the morning show, Stu Hill, great guy, great guy, just a great man, and I said, Stu, I think I'm getting fired today, and it was just the ratings were out, and you know, Jay's numbers weren't that great, but you know, I was the producer of the show, so I bore some responsibility. And so I think they decided,

let's make a change and see if it'll work out. But I was devastated. But a year later, about a year later, I signed to do another morning show at Chum FM and I had no desire to ever do another morning show. I wanted to quit the business. Right.

Wow. Okay. So this way, so just to recap for those who are like trying to follow along at home. So, so of course, if everyone who's heard the Gord Rennie episode knows that he was producer at CHFI for many,

many, many years. And then he was let go that same day that Maureen Holloway got it. So Maureen Holloway and Mike Cooper, who was like substituting for a gentleman we'll talk about soon because he was also on the show you produced, but that's Darren B. Lamb, of course. So just so everyone's following along, Gord Rennie did get let go by CHFI recently.

And then he got a gig that he's enjoying right now at uh 640 yes you were let go in 1985 from that same morning show producer role you were let go by chfi in 1985 but then before you know it like months later you're back in the business even though you weren't sure you'd ever be back in the business and you're at chum 104.5 Chum FM. And you stayed there for 32.5 years. That's exactly right. Yes, you've done your homework. No, I just I read your reply tweet. Oh, okay. There you go. You made it easy for me, buddy. But here I want to pick up some other threads here before we get into this. One is that Jay Nelson. So for the younger listeners, this is Jungle Jay Nelson from 1050 Chum.

Yeah, that's right. So, okay. Who I know, I know because I know my radio history, but also Doug Thompson came over. You worked with Doug, right? Yeah, I love Doug. Great guy. So Doug came on to just do like a deep dive into the history of 1050 Chum as a top 40 radio station in this market. The perfect guy for it. And he was the perfect guy for it.

And he had all the clips and he sent me the clips. I loaded them up and I just fired him off while he spoke to them. And if anybody listening right now is at all curious about the history of 1050 Chum as a top 40 station, today it's a sports station. But when it was a top 40 station, like before it went golden oldies, there is an episode with Doug Thompson you should check out.

But Doug gave me these 1050, these Chum cards, and they would have people like Roger Ashby on them and other greats from 1050, but Jungle J. Nelson is one of the guys I would see on these cards. But it sounds like when he came to CHFI in 85, it just wasn't a good fit, it sounds like. Yeah, it just wasn't.

You know, I honestly can't explain why because I didn't know him during his heyday. When I grew up listening to the radio, I couldn't get 1050 Chum. I got CFTR. I listened to 680 CFTR. And my guy, my guy 100% and the guy who totally influenced my career was Mike Cooper. He's the reason I got into this business for sure. Well, take a moment here before we talk about your 32.5 years, which does not include Mike Cooper.

Tell me, like, what is it about Mike Cooper that inspired you to get into radio? Like, give me more Mike Cooper good stuff here. Well, like I said, CFTR was my station. It kind of boomed into my hometown. I grew up in a small town called New Hamburg, Ontario, between Kitchener and Stratford. Okay. And so I got a job driving delivery for Mother's Pizza. They tried me to actually make pizzas.

They tried me in that role, but I was the worst at it. And so I delivered pizzas. By the way, the very first pizza I delivered, I delivered like I was carrying a suitcase. Oh, so the cheese slides down. Yeah. So I got a complaint, obviously, on my very first delivery. And I don't know why I didn't think that that would happen. But anyway, so in the car, I was usually working in the afternoon and I would listen to Mike on CFTR, and everything he said, even when he said, 680, we are CFTR, even that would make me laugh, because he said it in

such a way with good humor, of course, you know, the stupid joke of the day, but just the things that he did, and when I finally got into radio, I once called their request line and I probably let it probably rang for about half an hour before someone answered. And I said, I'm a radio student. I want to do an interview with Mike Cooper. Would you let me? They said, sure. And I came into town and that was one of the very first thrills of my life in the radio industry, interviewing Mike. And he was a great guy to me. Always, always a great guy. That's awesome to hear uh Mike Cooper hope to have him on Toronto Mic'd one day uh now tell me like was there a gig

for you in radio before the CHFI gig yeah so what happened is I I took two um I took the two-year radio course at Loyalist College and during that, I worked a little bit at a station called CKLC in Kingston. And then I switched over to a station called CKWS in Kingston. That was kind of a big station. And I worked there for a little bit, but I was only, you know, doing like 10 hours a week, and I couldn't survive. And also, I wanted to be full time. I wanted to be a producer, I wanted to be full time. And I got my first gig at a station called CJFI, FM 100 in Sarnia. And called it FM 100 even though it was 99.9. Don't ask me why.

And then about a year and a half after that, I got the call from CHFI, a guy named John Howard, who was kind of a mentor of mine. He went by the nickname of Fuzzy. And I got the call from Fuzzy, and he brought me over to Toronto. And for the most part, it worked out fine. And then, of course, the morning show thing happened, and I was, like I said, just devastated, and it didn't work out. And then I ended up being out of the business just for a few months,

and then I worked overnights at CFMK, which is 99.9 now virgin radio yeah i did i did overnight kfm no ckfm yeah okay yeah yeah yeah ckfm that's right anyway so i did that uh for like six months and then i got the call from chum asking me if i wanted to produce their morning show which was great a surprise and even though i said yes into the microphone, into the phone when they asked me if I wanted to do it, under my breath, I said, there's no way I want to produce another morning show. But I said yes, went for five interviews. They liked all five, I guess, and I got hired. Wow, and 32 and a half years later.

Okay, so we have to get into this. Holy smokes. Okay. First, a quick note came in from Callum Management, I guess is how you pronounce this. It's the Twitter handle. Oh, yeah. Callum Management. Oh, yeah. I think I know who this person is.

Okay. But seriously, Tom is the best. Miss his voice on the radio for his music history knowledge, his all-around positivity, and because he's a genuine person. So nice words from Cali management there. That's nice. I know the person who wrote that. She's very kind.

She's actually hired me to DJ a number of events. And hopefully with the world opening up, I'll be able to do a little bit more with her coming soon. Cool. But she's a big fan of the station, but she also knows all the stations in the market, and she's very well up to date. And so it's a big fan of the station, but she also knows all the stations in the market and she's very, very well up to date. And so it's really nice to hear from her. She's been very, very, very kind to me. So before we dive into Roger, Rick and Marilyn here, I need to know just because I, you know, I have to know.

Did you listen to Christopher Ward kicking out the jams on Toronto Mike? Oh, yeah, for sure. Oh, okay. Yes. Oh, of course I did. Okay, good. Of course I did. Yes.

All right. I was naturally curious because I know you work closely with Christopher. Yeah. And, you know, when somebody kicks out the jams, you usually learn a thing or two that you didn't know beforehand. And I just wanted to make sure that you had uh you would check that one out yeah good good stuff okay so what when you when you take this job at 104.5 chum fm uh what is the morning show at that moment you take the job what is the morning show there

so the morning show at that moment is uh Ashby, Rick Hodge, Marilyn Dennis. Okay, so they're already in, how long have they been placed together before you got there? So Marilyn started in July of 1986. She was the last piece of the puzzle. I started on December 1st, 1986. So about six months later, I was there. And there was also Larry Wilson and Lane McDonald on news and there was our creative director is a guy named Larry McGinnis who is a huge, huge influence on the show

and I couldn't speak enough about Larry. So it was Roger, Rick and Marilyn, but they weren't known as that by then. They were trying to think of a name for the morning show that they thought of calling the Breakfast Club and then one day Roger just said naturally, you know, 745, Roger, Rick and Marilyn here, and our program director, Ross Davies said,

uh-huh. It does have a nice ring to it. Yes, yeah. And so it stuck. It stuck. And now in terms of a format, is it just only shortly before that? Cause,

cause Chum FM, when you, you know, you talk to, I have a lot of these, uh, you know, Chum FM guys from the seventies on,

be it like Brian Master or, uh, you know, Pete, I know Brian, Geetz Romo. Yeah. Uh,

or let me, who else? Uh, well, David Marsden, of course, uh, who is,

yeah. Now you talk about the format of the time, uh, and, uh, it's Chris, Chris Mabry, you know, maybe Marsden, of course, who is, yeah. Now you talk about the format of the time and it's Chris Mayberry, you know, maybe it was, oh, okay, I won't even drop by all these names, but of course I've had others on. But, you know, it was an album-oriented rock, like it was a rock station. And then at some point it turns into like a,

sort of more of a top 40 type station. Like, did that change happen before or after the Roger, Rick and Marilyn morning show? It happened before. In fact, I remember it. I remember one day,

I think I was working at CHFI at the time and I was listening on my way home. I was listening to, to Chum FM because they played more of the music that I personally liked. Right. And I remember hearing the last notes of of stairway to heaven uh you know and she's buying a stairway to heaven and then the first notes of how will i know by whitney houston oh wow and i know and i knew that times had changed and it didn't bother me it just it was a little shocking in that moment and so they were full on you know know, they were full, fairly full pop or adult oriented pop and some rock by the time I got there.

Yeah. Yeah. The Whitney Houston jam would be kind of the typical type song I would think of from the Roger Rick and Marilyn era in the 80s. And the name, and I said Chris Mayberry, who himself is a great radio guy, but I was actually thinking of Rick Ringer was the the uh so rick ringer is the chum fm guy from the 70s i was trying to think of there for a moment here have you talked to rick yet yes yeah he is okay i'm gonna have to go back and listen to that because he when when i listen to all these uh old interviews that i use on my show um rick ringer is doing so many of the interviews and he's fantastic and he was a great guy he was there when I first arrived and, you know, a wonderful announcer and a wonderful guy. No, check it out.

Rick Ringer on Toronto Mike. You'll dig it. You'll dig it the most. Okay. Let's talk about these human beings that are Roger, Rick and Marilyn. Two of those three have also been on the program are FOTMs. You can guess which two of three,

but I have tried to get all three, but one of them seems very busy and difficult to book for me. But tell me about Roger Ashby. So Roger started at Chum a few days after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Right. And a few days before Woodstock. Okay. Summer of moon. Right. And a few days before Woodstock. Okay. So there you go.

Yes. And he's just one of those guys who got into it because he loves music. He loves radio. He had a radio station in his, in his, you know, parents' basement. Right. He's told you that story, I'm sure. Yes. And he's, and he is one of those guys that he he kind of comes out of nowhere

he's not flashy and he's funny but he surprises you with his humor right and then and he's kind of calm and he's very even keeled and then every once in a while he'll come up with something either ridiculous or a little bit controversial or whatever um and he's just he's a he's a wonderful guy and he's very straightforward and so you're never at a loss to wonder where you are where you stand with roger and i don't know i you know he's a true legend and a deserved legend in the industry. And I just love him so much. It's funny because when I first walked in there and sat down on my very first day on the job, I wasn't actually in my producer's chair. I was sitting on a couch in the control room. And this guy walked in who'd been in the business at that point for a very, very long time.

And I'm going, well, who's the kid? And where's Roger? And Roger, of course, showed up, like just in the nick of time, sat down, turned on his mic, because Roger would never be early. But he would always be pretty much right on time. And that was my first experience with Roger. And it was great. And we, you know, I talked to him just yesterday on the phone. We're still close and I actually helped him a little bit with his Roger Ashby only show on the iHeartRadio app. Yeah. Like Roger Ashby, what I, when I think of him, I think of it a guy who legitimately passionately loves the music.

Like I like it. Call me old, call me old fashioned, Tom, but I like it when my DJs have passion for the music that they're spinning. That's perfect. So Roger Ashby, now I will, you know, we have to have a little real talk here. I need to know for the record, in your humble opinion, from your perspective, Roger Ashby, did he get up one day and say, okay, I'm done doing mornings on Chum FM. I'm going to retire after 50 years in the business. Or did somebody tap Roger on the shoulder and say, this might be a good time to retire?

Well, from my understanding, it was more the former than the latter it was roger saying you know what you know the times are the times are changing and i really like um the era of music that i really like and mostly that's the 50s and 60s i don't think it was like specifically the music that that made him make that decision but you know the hours are awful they're awful you have to get up at 3 30 or 4 in the morning depending where you live and when you've done that for more than 30 years much more than 30 years in roger's case i just think that you thought you know what i think i'd like to enjoy the rest of my life without being exhausted and at one point i remember calling him a few months later and I said, you know, how long did it take you? Like, how many naps did you have to have before you didn't have to have a nap anymore?

And he goes, I stopped having naps immediately and life was good. So anyway, yeah, I think that's what's happened. Fair enough. Now, Roger has been here. What's interesting when Roger visited, which was amazing, because it was early days for Toronto Mic'd, and I was still getting used to the fact that there would be a knock on the door and it would be somebody like Roger Ashby at the door. It was still novel at that time. And I remember he said, he goes, Mike, I got 30 minutes.

And he meant it. Like, I had 30 minutes. Now, I didn't have sponsor mentions to do, et cetera, at that time. But I remember thinking, okay, I got 30 minutes, and then Ashby's going to leave whether I'm done or not. So I got to tighten this up. But a gentleman has been over multiple times who I consider a friend is Rick Hodge. What can you tell me about Rick?

Rick Hodge is one of the most unique broadcasters there is. And when you say that, that often comes with two sides. But in Rick's case, it doesn't. He's just, he's unique in the way he thinks and in the way he expresses himself. And he was a perfect third rail for the Roger Rick and Marilyn show. He really was a great guy, lots of fun.

And, you know, we didn't, like, hang out as much as perhaps I did with the other guys. But I genuinely adore Rick Hodge. And he would just say things that were, like, not even, not inappropriate, but in a way that you're going, like, how does your mind work, buddy? You are so unique in the way you express things. He would come in and just lay down some of the funniest stuff you've ever heard. I loved him. It was a great mix for the show, a great match for the show. And he left in 2008.

Yeah, absolutely. And we know for a fact he absolutely did leave of his own accord because standard broadcasting, and I've had this conversation with Rick, which is how I know, but made him an offer he couldn't refuse, essentially. So before we get to the exit of Rick in 2008, as you said, when I think of Rick, I also think he did the the sports shorts like the sports commentary yes and it feels like as a listener there was a period like a glory day of sports commentary on the FM dial like where you would get like I mean I'm thinking of my current client and friend Fred Patterson would do it on CFNY right he. He would do sports commentaries there. Yeah, I remember that. On the AM dial, not only FM dial, because on the AM dial, you had Brian Henderson in his heyday for 1050.

Right. Henny, yes. The late, great Henny. Another, oh, what a legend he was. And a great writer, too. Man, he could put together like a great opinion piece and do it on the air. He was fantastic. Absolutely.

And Rick Hodge too. And I would also, so I like to sports commentaries, but I would be, I would never miss, I would try not to miss the Sunday Night Funnies. Yep. I love them. He was one of the very first people to play Jim Carrey on the radio, right? This was long before Jim Carrey was big.

And we had a Chum FM comedy collection, two CDs. I have them in the basement. And they have, one of them is Jim Carrey. Wow. Yeah. Well, you know, he used to take these trips, I guess, to Buffalo and pick up new material and stuff. Yes.

So, yeah, I love the Sunday because I used to listen to Dr. Demento. And I quite like Dr. Demento, but the Sunday Funnies was like, that was where I would hear like a lot of comics I heard for the first time on brought to me, Rick Hodge presenting the Sunday Night Funnies on Chum FM.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Great show. A lot of fun. So what was the reaction inside the building as producer of the morning show when Rick advised you that he was leaving the show like what was that like for this this this brand because we didn't touch on it too

much but we should that the marketing behind the Roger Rick and Marilyn show was enormous like whether you listened or not you knew Roger Rick and Marilyn did mornings on 104.5. Roger, Rick, and Marilyn did mornings on 104.5. Yeah, absolutely. And it was a close-knit team and also a very successful team. And we took great pride in that. And one of the, although you haven't asked me this, but one of the secrets behind the show, I think,

is that we were all working at Chum FM, which is where we wanted to be, because that was kind of the top of the heap in our minds. And we all were there because we had worked hard to be there. And we all respected the other person because they were there. We all kind of got there, and then we respected everyone's talents for being there. And so that was part of it. And so as far as when Rick left, I remember being absolutely stunned when he decided to leave. I was kind of, I'll be honest, I was worried and afraid because we had one of the most powerful brand names in the history of Toronto radio, maybe in the history of Canadian radio.

radio, maybe in the history of Canadian radio. And for that to come to an end, like even just the labeling of the name, for that to come to an end was shocking. But also what was the show going to be then? And who was going to replace him? And how is that going to work? So that's what went through my mind. Yeah, I can imagine because we talked about that marketing effort. So how many dollars were spent to

make sure guys like me who weren't listening to 104.5 but knew Roger, I knew what they looked like, I knew what they sounded like, I knew they were doing the mornings on 104.5. Right, and you kind of knew what they looked like naked from the

TV commercial. That. Right. And you kind of knew what they looked like naked from the TV commercial. That's right. Right. That is that is that is that was quite the commercial. Absolutely. Very memorable. But then was there any consideration given to just making it Roger and Marilyn? Like how soon thereafter did you realize you needed a third voice on that show? Well, I mean, you know, don't quote me on this exactly, but I would say that Haji left at the end of like June or July of 2008, and then they decided at the end of August to bring in Darren on the show. I don't know. I wasn't part of the decision-making to do it, but to make that change, but it was made.

And I think they wanted a third person. I think they liked that, you know? Yeah. It's just interesting in retrospect, but this is 08. So maybe there was still like money lying around. There was still money in the banana stand because you'd think that today would be a no-brainer to just go with two

because you don't have to pay for a third voice. But this is okay. Times have changed. But now to finish the Rick story here, just before we bring Darren B. Lamb in there. The Rick goes, of course, this was not a good situation for Rick Hodge because, and I remember because my friend Humble Howard was part of this Easy Rock morning show so I kind of had an interesting perspective on all this in real time but the Easy Rock show had too many voices there were four people on that show meanwhile Rick was I was there once to like live blog it on torontomic.com and I'm like Rick is running down

the hall and he's doing something on 1010 and then he's running back. And then I was there when a bit fell flat and Rick threw up his arms. And it was just such a strange vibe. It was Kim Stockwood, Colleen Rusholm, Humble Howard Glassman, and of course, Rick Hodge. And it just seemed like it was destined to fail. And at some point, Standard said goodbye to Rick Hodge. So he did. Yeah.

And you know, the fact that he threw up his hands and, you know, I don't know if I read you properly, but almost stormed off. That means the situation was not good because,

you know, Hodge, you know, on the Chum Morning Show, I suppose would, would, we would know if he wasn't happy about something, but it was never, it was never bad.

There was never like storming off or anything like that. And I'm not saying this as a reflection of the people he worked with, of course. But the situation that he was in in that new setup, you know, unfortunately, that just didn't work. And I know some of the people. I know Kim Stockwood. Like she was so much fun when she filled in for Marilyn before then. new setup that you know unfortunately that just didn't work and i know some of the people i know kim stockwood like she was so much fun when she filled in for maryland before then and i think her filling in for maryland is probably what got them the idea uh to put her on easy rocket you know i may i may stand corrected there but that was the way that was the way i saw she's tremendous

right right but not a radio like not a not a strong radio background like she'd be learning on the job, essentially. That's right. And then meanwhile, you've got Humble Howard there, who of course has been in radio, I think, since the 70s. Right. He's the first by way, you mentioned CKFM earlier. So the fun fact is that Howard leaves Humble and Fred

for like 18 months in the early 90s, and he goes to CKFM. And he's the first person to say Mix 99.9 on the air because he's the morning show host when they changed into that Brandon but okay there's your fun fact there but the um yeah the that didn't work the foursome they ended up making it a twosome uh with just Colleen and Howard and then it flipped to Boom and then anyway the rest is history but uh Rick I mean he doesn't have a lot of regrets in his life but uh if he had a crystal ball he might have stuck it out with

Roger and Marilyn there on 104.5 yeah you know it's too bad that it worked out the way it did like I said I was surprised um I think one of I think one of the reasons one of the things that um that got Rick is that one of the people who brought him over from, I guess at the time it was Standard, who hired him over was an old chum boss of his who brought him over. And then when that chum boss was let go, then he didn't kind of have his guy in place to vouch for him. He lost his champion. Everybody knows what this is like like if you know oh this sponsor your champions left it's like oh now what yeah and honestly he should have been given a two-hour show to do whatever he wanted on on news talk at that time and i think

he would have thrived greatly uh but i also think um it was it was such a shame to see him go from chum fm absolutely and you do as you mentioned uh darren b lamb comes in and i actually i've never It was such a shame to see him go from Chum FM. Absolutely. And you do, as you mentioned, Darren B. Lamb comes in. And I actually, I've never met Darren, and I don't really know his radio background before. I feel like I learn about him when he gets the job at 104.5 with Roger and Marilyn. But what can you tell us about working with Darren B. Lamb? What can you tell us about working with Darren B. Lamb? Darren was one of the most talented and funny people that I had ever met. And he was, the chemistry was often very, very good between Roger, Darren, and Marilyn.

And, you know, that lasted from 2008 until 2015. And then he decided to go to CHFI, right? There's our arch rival again, right? And, yeah, it was just the kind of thing, I think, where when you're working with people of such a stature as Roger and Marilyn, no matter how talented you are, and make no mistake, Darren was exceptionally talented. I think that I think he wanted to be an anchor or co anchor himself of a morning show. And so I think that's why he took took that role. Well, this is where your idol idol is that the term I want to use for mike cooper comes back into play right because it's cooper leaving uh the show right that opens the door for uh aaron davis needing a new co-host which is why so yeah so darren b lamb actually takes over for mike cooper on chfi right and then

darren b lamb uh stays obviously with Aaron Davis until Aaron Davis decides she's moving to British Columbia and leaving the show and this is when Maureen Holloway takes over comes from Q107 here's your ongoing history of Toronto Radio but Maureen Holloway leaves

Q107 afternoon drive there to become, to get the Aaron seat if you will, on the CHFI morning show alongside Darren B. Lamb. And this comes back to Gord Rennie off the top with his message to you because Gord Rennie was the producer

of this show. And this all only blew up, I guess, in 20... Well, there's a whole thing here and I don't know how much you know of it, but Darren B. Lamb is off the air for quite a while, so Mike Cooper comes back to sub for Darren B. Lamb.

So it's Mike Cooper and Maureen Holloway, and then they make the big changes for Gurdip Aluwalia and Pooja Honda. Now, so many things there to ask you about, but boy, when Darren B. Lamb announced he was leaving for CHFI, what's the reaction in the room at that point? I think that, I think we weren't, I was actually really surprised when it happened, but I think had I looked back at it, I wouldn't have been totally surprised.

Like I said, I think he just wanted a little bit more real estate on the air. Darren was absolutely brilliant at finding his two or three second slice of conversation to go in there and just nail a really funny comment. But again, you know, when you're kind of working in the shadow of Roger Ashby and Marilyn Dennis, that might not be gratifying enough for you. So, you know, he made that decision. And there was some, you know, just like the first time, there was some fear on my part that the the show would would suffer and it is funny because one of the things that Darren brought to the show was humor and he was very good at and in a weird sense of humor um just like Rick Hodge but in a completely different way than Rick Hodge but oddly what happened is that Marilyn and Roger,

just face-to-face by themselves after Darren's departure, actually were given so much leeway at that point, they became funnier. And it was one of the most beautiful things to see because I wasn't sure, not to doubt their talents, but just to lose a funny guy like Darren, is the show going to be as funny and for, and it was funnier. And that was wild to me. It was mind blowing, blowing in was really,

it was a real relief that we could carry on. The ratings were doing really well. So everything, everything worked out. And you know, Darren, I think left for a fairly substantial contract and got more real estate on the air and uh and he was happy and you know good for him Ain't you gonna find it? You got to treat yourself like no one wants you You need to be reminded Need to be reminded

It doesn't matter what you do or say Just forget the things that you've been told We can't do it any other way Everybody's got to rock and roll Oh, oh, oh Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud If you don't feel good We'll return to Tom Jokic on Toronto Mic'd in just a moment.

I want to thank those who helped fuel the real talk and keep this juggernaut going. This is episode 1003, for goodness sake. Thanks so much to Great Lakes Brewery. Fresh craft beer brewed right here in southern Etobicoke. Find them in LCBOs or get free delivery if you're in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Delicious, authentic Italian food.

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What, oh, like I said, lots of questions here. Sorry, can I just jump in with one more thing? Oh my God, yeah. One of the things that I think other stations were always trying to do, that I think other stations were always trying to do because for years, off and on, they had trouble beating Roger, Rick, and Marilyn or Roger, Darren, and Marilyn in the ratings. So one of the ways to beat them was to break them up.

Right? Honestly, and I do believe that that was a huge factor. I actually think it was a massive factor in pulling away Rick Hodge and a factor as well in getting Darren. Tom, this is part of my theory as to what happened to the current CHFI morning show. I actually think on some level, Breakfast Television, which is owned by Rogers, some level uh breakfast television which is owned by rogers was trying to uh break up the juggernaut that had become that was cp24 breakfast with gurdip and puja and i think one of the uh ways to do that is to uh make them an offer that they can't refuse so they right so right so there's

like so many it's i'm glad you that. There's other factors at play. So now, yeah, yeah. So it's almost like Maureen is like a victim of this chess match that's happening. Yeah. And you've got Pooja and Gurdip doing mornings at CHFI, but they're not on CP24 Breakfast anymore. That's right. And that helps Breakfast Television.

I just want to jump in with one more comment, if I may. Anything. And that is Aaron Davis and I met at Loyalist College in Bellevue. We were in the same class in the same year. And so Aaron and I know each other really well. I think she is a wonderful person. I think it was a shame that she left CHFI. And we've kept in touch a little bit.

We weren't super close friends, only because Erin was so wildly talented when we were in school together. Like she was on another level. We're almost like in awe of her. Whereas, you know, I was like kind of scraping by and trying to become a person and she was fully formed, right? She was like,

she was 100% going to make it and be a major player. And so I just wanted to acknowledge that. I've known her all these years, and I'm a big fan of hers and an admirer of hers as well. Well, I'm sure she's listening right now. I love that woman. And she's one of the many voices you'd hear on episode 1,000 of Toronto Mic'd. Oh, great. She sent in a great clip, too.

It meant a lot to me. Hey, in that case, I'll listen to all five hours. I think you can probably hear her in the first 45 minutes, I think. Then you can bail after you hear Erin. But, yeah, no, Erin Davis, she's the greatest. And you mentioned ratings, and we haven't talked much about ratings, but in your targeted demo, you know, obviously your big competitor is CHFI. ratings, but in your targeted demo, you know, obviously your big competitor is CHFI,

Roger, Rick and Marilyn, uh, at some point does, uh, Aaron Davis and Mike Cooper, you know, catch the juggernaut. Like what happens in that ratings battle through the years? Uh, um, you know what, there was off, there was oftentimes when I think that happened and we would go back and forth and then, or all of a sudden, and there was like, once we finished in third or something like that sudden and there was like once we finished in third or something like that and it was like like it was just so shocking to fall back like that far back but then we made it back up and honestly i you know i was never shown specifically the numbers other than to be told whether management was happy or not right But for the most part, they were almost always very, very happy. And everybody was like, and also we kind of didn't pay,

like we kind of knew we were doing really well, but we also didn't sit down and wait for the book to come in. And Roger didn't even want to know. Like, just tell me, are we doing okay? And should we keep doing what we're doing? And I kind of agree with that. Like, don't let the numbers get into your head't don't let the numbers get into your head don't let the ratings get into your head you know tell us who you want our audience to be we will aim our we'll do best to aim our conversations

and our content at them and uh and off we go and you know sure yeah i'm sure they beat us once or twice and we beat them two or three times. But when you finished third, who jumped up? Was it Boom? It might've been, I don't really remember, but I think so. I think it was Boom. Shout out to Stu Jeffries and other FOTMs. No kidding. Good rocking tonight. That's right. They kind of quietly just kept climbing and climbing and good for them.

Wow. Look at this. Okay. Now there's a name I can't believe I forgot to dive into this person. This tells you how when you don't sit down in this chair in the TMDS studio, you're not top of mind with me. And that's Marilyn Dennis. Marilyn still there, was there, like you said, I think it was 85 or 86. 86. Talk to me about marilyn dennis um one of the most uh profoundly influential uh female broadcasters in canada um marilyn's

marilyn there's two marilyn's right so on the tv show show Marilyn basically is in is in charge right she is the focus of the show on the Roger Rick and Marilyn show Marilyn kind of reacted to things and Marilyn was hysterically great like funny and smart and everything the way she reacted to mostly what Roger was saying or what Rick was saying. And, and she kind of grew into this role and, you know, like none of this could have been possible without her. And I would suggest that,

you know, the, the fortunes of the current morning show on, on Chum FM rest heavily on her on her right and i know that's no slight to jamar who's a you know excellent broadcaster really nice guy and caitlin green who's a great friend of mine and like incredibly smart and hopefully we'll talk about her a little bit more later yes and jamar but um but marilyn is one of the great all-time people as well. When I got sick, she was one of the very first people to call me.

We are in touch probably once a week by phone. We always have a good heart-to-heart. And she tells me the news. She tells me some of the gossip sometimes. And she's just good-natured and incredibly loving. And what else can I say? She was just like, there was something both glamorous and down to earth about her.

Especially when we went out, she would look like astonishing. And then, but she could also like when she walked into the studio with her hair not done and, you know, no makeup or whatever. And she would just be one, you know, she was just, she was just a down to earth person, by the way, she once said, you need to, we need to do something about your clothes. And she took me shopping.

This was in the late eighties. So we had, so we had only kind of gotten to know each other. And by the way, we entered a few lip sync contests, Marilyn and I together for the United way that were held at, I think at the Copa. I think. And we won. I think we won one and we came in second on another one.

And I got to tell you, Mike, we were good at lip syncing. Well, that's a fun fact right there. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Very, I'm a very good friend with, with her and uh and and roger to this day and also caitlin and jamar and marilyn of course uh her son is uh now um down the hall i guess is that down the hall i've never been to the studio literally is down the hall um it's probably about 45 feet down the hall. Use the door on the right. Uh, Adam is one of my favorite people. I've known him since he was born.

Uh, he's a delightful, funny young man. And, um, and, uh, just a great guy. And Marilyn hired me to DJ Adam's wedding. Wow. Okay. Now let the record show. I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to get either Marilyn Dennis or Adam Wilde on Toronto Mic'd. One of these days. Keep trying, buddy. Keep trying.

There's a fine line between persistence and annoyance. So I've kind of laid back for a couple of years here. All right. Try to take those hits. She's a wonderful person. Hopefully, you know, hopefully you'll get her someday. You never know who I did get a couple of times has come over. Jamar. So tell me. Yeah. Like what I'm interested to know is, OK, so obviously Jamar comes in as the third voice. But I'm and you'll you'll tell me the specifics. But I'm sure at that point it's because there's knowledge inside the building that Roger Ashby will be saying goodbye by the end of the year. So is that how it went down?

Like once, you know, we needed a post-Roger strategy for the morning show? I think so. I think that was what was going on. Like, I didn't know exactly. Boy, I'm trying to remember exactly how this worked out. But I think you're exactly right. I think they thought, okay, you know, Rogers announced his decision to leave probably at the end of the year. So why don't we ease in this new guy, see how he fits. And then if he does, then he'll take over. And, you know, it's a completely new show. and it's a completely new show. And I think it worked really quite well.

And Jamar is just a friendly guy. On the very first day that he joined the show, so Roger and Marilyn were there, and then I showed, we got a camera and I showed Jamar. We literally walked around downtown and I showed him around. it's i am not an mc right you don't want me to kind of be uh somebody's tour guide but we really had a lot of fun we got to know each other a little bit then and then over the years um you know he and i share an interest in uh american politics so you as you can well imagine uh we have lots to talk about.

And so we catch up every once in a while. We talk on the phone with some frequency, but a very talented guy and able to really bring a friendliness and a warmth to that show. I still listen every day and, and I enjoy hearing him in Maryland talk. When I went to the C&E bandshell, it was,

there was like a beer fest going on and they had some hip-hop acts playing the C&E Bandshell. And I was there to speak with Chuck D. I'm a lifelong fanatic of Public Enemy. Love Public Enemy. So I'm there to be like, basically, that's like, I don't know, if I were to tell you you're going to meet Gene Simmons

or whatever. It's a big deal to me. And after the opening combo about him, maybe that's a bad example, but Paul Stanley, let's say that. And Mishy Mee, who's an FOTM, who I'm quite friendly with, Mishy Mee was performing so I watched Mishy Mee. And who do you think

Mishy Mee's DJ was? It would be Jamar. That is correct. Yeah, J-Nice. Not just Jamar, but J-Nice. That's, I think, his DJ name. Right, because he was a fan of Nice and Smooth is where that comes from. Yeah, and I think Jamar was expecting to be called J-Nice on our morning show, if I'm not mistaken.

But I think that they wanted it to be like, they didn't want it to be nicknames. They wanted it to be real names just to suit the sound of the show. But he fell into that role really nicely. I won't say there was controversy, but there was some discussion in some circles. Was there no Canadian talent that could have been brought in to replace Roger Ashby? Because, of course, Jamar was recruited from the US of A like does I mean does it matter I don't even know anymore a lot of our DJs I loved

turns out were American I just had no idea so yeah I think in the in the kind of a heyday of of 1050 Chum and even Chum FM a lot of the jocks were American. I think they searched, and I think that they wanted, I really think they wanted someone unknown and really fresh on the show. And so, you know, like there was a lot of very, very capable people who could have fit in, but I'm not sure that it would have gotten the reaction that it did in terms of oh really i wonder who this guy is as opposed to oh yeah okay yeah kind of makes sense so let's have them let's have them you know on the show to do to do a morning show again in toronto or you know i don't know it know. I think it was a really smart move because it really shook things up.

And also, quite honestly, you know, this is a diverse city. Like, you know, we need some diversity, and this is a talented guy who is perfect for the role. You know, there was no, I don't think you were losing anything by bringing him in, like at all. He was just so good. No argument from me, man. I liked him right away.

And I just love the fact he was new to, like literally like new to the city. And he's knocking on my door to sit down and talk about it all. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Friendly guy. Very easy. Very easy. Like very approachable. And yeah, wonderful.. Friendly guy. Very easy, very easy, like very approachable and yeah,

wonderful. Now I will plead a little ignorance. What can you tell Caitlin Green? You've mentioned her a couple of times, but is she like an uncredited third voice on the show? What exactly is her role in all of this? Yeah, kind of. So Caitlin joined us, I think, in 2010. And it was going to be, I think, for, she was going to just fill in as an associate producer's role while one of our other producers, and I think it might have been Stephanie Canonico, was on Matt Levy.

And so Caitlin came in there and, you know, she had a really nice, very pleasant interview with me and I went, yeah, okay, yeah, she sounds good and all that. And then when we got to know her, she has one of the sharpest, funniest, and weirdest senses of humor and like a great mind, so clever. And we became very good friends and remain so to this day and um and so what she

does on the morning show and what she did then what she's really good at is something called trending so she does once an hour she does what's trending on on chum chum 104.5 and uh and she's she's just great at it she's a good presence i've always thought that they should give her a one-hour show on News Talk 1010, and she could just have fun with it, but I know that would be a very heavy lift. That's a tough role, especially for a woman in this current environment, to have an opinionated woman on their radio. Boy, it really rubs people the wrong way, but she would be perfect for it. She's very, very smart and, uh, and, uh, just wonderful. Well, it's funny, uh, earlier you were referring to diversity because Jamar is not a white dude. So, uh, you know, in Toronto is not all white, but this is a fun fact for you, Tom, and for the FODMs, but I recently learned that half of Toronto is female.

I feel like 1010 could use a woman's perspective on those airwaves. Half the city is not male. Yeah. No, I think Caitlin would be great. And also, you know, there was a few times where we traveled to, well, once where we traveled to, well, once where we traveled to Barbados together for the annual Breakfast in Barbados broadcasts. And I remember that week with her and her husband

as being one of my favorite weeks ever. And she was part of the reason for that. She's just great. And Marilyn was like a tour guide because Caitlin had never been there. So Marilyn showing us around, just wonderful. So the show continues. Jamar and, well, Marilyn and Jamar continues.

By the way, before I ask you the obvious, which is coming in moments here, what did you think of the rebranding? Like 104.5, I'm sorry, yeah, Chum FM became just Chum. Like they sort of decided like, we're dropping this whole FM clarifier we don't need or whatever.

Well, I take a lot of pride in working at Chum. And even when I was at CHFI, maybe this didn't go over well, but I used to say in the very early part of my career, if Chum calls, take a message because I want to talk to him. And even like I think I even said that once to one of the programming assistants. but here I'm going to show you something just for people who are watching this. So I have a classic Chum shirt, right? Love it. It's a classic 1050 Chum shirt. And then of course my other favorite radio station when I was a kid was Chum FM. That's an old Chum FM logo, the home of rock and roll. That's from the Brian Master years, right?

Absolutely. Brian Master, yeah. I think Paul Fisher was there around that time. Terry McGilligand. Oh, the late, he just passed away a couple years ago. And, you know, Lee Eckley, Rick Ringer. Oh, you know, Lee Eckley's in the calendar, so I just want to shout it out.

And I've been working on getting him to get his butt over here for a while, And, you know, Lee Ackley, Rick Ringer. Oh, you know, Lee Ackley is in the calendar. So I just want to shout it out that, and I've been working on getting him to get his butt over here for a while, but he is going to be making his debut next month. A guy, hilarious and wonderful. And he's got a great history. And of course, Ingrid Schumacher is one person I should not forget. Have you had her on the show? I absolutely, I did.

I had her on before she was let go. I see. But yeah, she was great because she was on the show i absolutely i did be i i had her on uh before she was let go uh i see but yeah she was great because she was on the air she was on the air 104.5 chum the night that john lennon was uh died yeah yeah i'm not surprised saying a lot of people have a lot of history there and and ingrid again is another one of my favorite people and you know one of like one of the great things is the more i talk about the people who work there is that we hired great people who are also nice people. And so to have a connection and have a, you know, a relationship, a current relationship with those people like Ingrid and Rick Ringer and Lee Ackley just tells you that they're great people who you want to stay in touch with yeah absolutely by the way what when we take our photo so uh because you've shown me a few things now from the kiss item and then the shirts there what will you hold up for the photo we'll take after this conversation that will sort of follow this episode for all eternity oh like have you thought have you thought on that that? Like, not that we're wrapping up right now,

but just that you need to think on what exactly will you hold up when I snap that picture? Well, maybe this little Chum FM shirt. Yeah, okay, that'll be the one then. Okay, that's cool. Yeah, it does look like Rick Ringer was rocking one of those back in the day. No, I didn't really answer your question. But when Chum FM went to Chum, you know, your first question is, oh, why do we need to do that?

But they wanted to freshen up the image and the sound of the radio station. And to work at just Chum was actually really great. I really loved the rebrand. And I just, I don't know, I think it's, you know, those letters, CHUM sounds so good when you put them together. And also they made much, M-U-C-H, right? Right, right. And so, yeah, I loved it.

I really enjoyed it. And that, I believe the slogan was, Make Toronto Pop. And still is, I think. And this might be a fun fact. I might have to retract it at some point, but I have a lot of personal conversations with the aforementioned humble Howard Glassman.

But I feel like his daughter, Charlie Glassman, was working for the marketing team at the agency that put that campaign together. Oh, that's news to me. That's a bonus fun fact for you here you here all i know is that the program director who helped execute that is uh was sarah cummings okay who is now i think the program director for all the bell media stations um music stations across uh across the chain well um and she was wonderful boy talk about you know coming into a new situation where you're actually changing a well-branded morning show and a well-branded radio station and having the nerve to make those changes. And one of the greatest human beings in the industry is Sarah.

my big question for you, Tom, and I think listeners are wondering the same thing. So if Marilyn and Jamar are, and with Caitlin there are still, uh, clicking along new branding, et cetera, like after 32.5 years, why is Tom Jokic no longer part of that team? Well, on May 23rd, 2019, um, it was a Thursday and I said to the guys, I said, yeah, I got a, Thursday and I said to the guys, I said, yeah, I got a, I got a call from my doctor that they want to see me. And, um, and, uh, I'd been going for a lot of tests because I had, uh, been experiencing certain amount of pain. And, and so, and then when I showed up at the doctor's office, they just laid it on me. Basically you've got like, it's bad, It's cancer. You probably got four to six months left to live. And it was a shocking revelation. And fortunately, it turned out to be not exactly true.

I still have cancer. And in fact, I did have cancer and I still do. But it wasn't as bad as they said. And it was treatable. And so after the initial shock, I actually thought, I'll be back in a few weeks. And it was actually Sarah, my program director, who said, you know what, Tom, just like get this whole thing behind you before you come back, just so you can focus on your health. The longer I stayed away, and the more sleep I got, the more I realized this is

what I need to be doing. I'm still extremely happy in my life. You know, I've got, I've got two boys that I love to pieces, they're in their 20s. I've got my fiance, who's working upstairs right now, as we speak, Renee, she's fantastic. And I've got this podcast to keep me company in case I don't return to the radio station. And I'm very happy. And despite the fact that I still have a lot of things to deal with, including cancer, I'm as happy as I've ever been. So I don't think I'll be coming back. But if I did, I mean, I love the job. I loved it every day. It made me laugh. But I also know it was extremely hard on me. And now that I'm out of it, I don't quite know if I'll ever be back. Well, Tom, I'm glad that initial diagnosis was wrong.

Yeah, you and me both. So, I mean, I hope to never have to know what this feels like when a doctor tells you you've got four to six months. Like, I can't. Yeah, I can't. And you've got, you know, like you said, you're a family man and you got your two kids there. And I can't imagine. But what's it like day that they tell you that it's bad and you're probably not going to survive it is really weird. Because at first, you're just listening to the words and then you're going, oh, this is that conversation. This is the conversation that people tell you about. And so I remember hearing it and being very almost professional and then listening. Okay, this is what I need to do, this is what I need to do. This is what I need to do. And then I remember that there was a single solitary tear that was running

down my face at the time. And I go, oh yeah, okay. So I guess the reality is starting to kick in, but it's weird because you almost separate yourself from it. And then when they said the tumors are not exactly what they thought they are, there's something called neuroendocrine tumors in my liver. the tumors are not exactly what they thought they are. There's something called neuroendocrine tumors in my liver. And then they said, and we just, I looked at the guy blankly,

and he said, I got to tell you, this is great news. Actually, I think it was my female surgeon. She told me, and she said, Tom, this is great news. And this is Dr. Molden at Princess Margaret Hospital. And I have nothing but the greatest things to say about her and her team. And so, you know, there's still there's been other things that have happened since and some of them, you know, fairly, you know, a little bit life threatening, but hopefully I can beat them and we'll see. Talk to me in a year. You know what? I'm

positive I'll be here in a year, so I'm not too worried about it. Well, Tom, no guest of Toronto Mike has ever left this planet, so I'm sure you'll be here in a year. That's right. Yeah. Oh my god, I'd hate to be the first.

Yeah, well, Gare Joyce said he'd hate to be the first. Yeah. Well, Gare Joyce said he came close to being the first and then, and then you read stuff, you know, you'd read about like Ted Wallachian was battling COVID-19 in the hospital and stuff. And, and there was some concern about Ted, although he's looking okay these days, but also, so I'm sure you'll be here, but I did read the piece you wrote. You wrote very interesting piece about spending uh some time uh in the covet 19 ward at lake ridge health oshawa hospital now you didn't have covet

19 no i didn't but you don't have a spleen so uh that's correct see i did my homework but that's because i read this article you wrote it was really interesting uh but you were sharing your experience as somebody who uh you had pneumonia that's's what you had, not COVID-19. Yes, and I knew I had pneumonia, but it was the early days. It was April of 2020. And so they were being extremely careful. And because I had a fever

and because I had some of the symptoms of COVID-19, they put me in there and I said, guys, I do not have this. And, but they said, look, we kind of don't have a choice for safety reasons. We need to put you in there. So I went in and at first I was like madder than hell. And then, and then, uh, I stayed the night and then the doctor came in the next morning and looked at me and said, okay, what are you doing here? And I said, I've been trying to say that the whole time. But you know what?

I learned a lot, and it was actually a really good experience in a sense to learn at the precautions they were taking to really lock everything down and the precautions they took just to look after me. And it was a great group of people, And I talked to a couple of nurses and the nurses there were like, this is early days. And they were already traumatized by the number of people that had passed away on that board. And, you know, obviously, thankfully, I wasn't one of them, but they were wonderful. Those nurses were great. Great. But this adds a whole new dimension to this pandemic because I speak to you as a guy in his mid to late 40s who's a healthy guy.

And I got my fully vaxxed. I'm healthy. I'm here. And that's one thing. But really, the reason to get vaccinated, for no other reason, it's for the Toms of the world who don't have a spleen. Yeah.

Well, thank you for saying that. Yes. Like, don't be so selfish. And I'm speaking to the world who don't have a spleen. Yeah. Well, thank you for saying that. Yes. Don't be so selfish. I'm speaking to the people who have chosen not to get vaccinated, obviously. You might want to refer to them. Go ahead. Obviously, if you give one rat's ass

about me, it would be great if you got vaccinated and helped protect yourself, your family, and people like me who are the most vulnerable and your kids and other people's kids. And, you know, you know,

I don't know. I'm not going to climb onto a big soapbox, but, but yes, thank you for saying that. So, yeah, I,

everything I do, I do it for you. Shout out to Brian. Look into my eyes. Tom. Wow. You know, do it for you. Shout out to Brian Adams. Look into my eyes. Tom, wow. You know, the radio history, just what you've been a part of.

And even to get that, I'm glad we could clarify why you're no longer on the show because we live in a time and place where when somebody's not on a show, our first thoughts are what, you know, what happened to Gord Rennie, for example, which is, you know, or what happened to Gord Rennie, for example, which is what happened to you at CHFI back in

85, which is like... Well, in that day, I was on the other side of the glass and Jay Nelson only referred to me as Spike. And so nobody knew who it was and I didn't really talk on the show at all. They wouldn't have missed me at all.

They wouldn't have known. Yeah, so... Is there a scenario before we say goodbye like just to leave the window open like like in a post-pandemic world where you're feeling better and you're fully recovered we you could theoretically return to uh the 104 point sorry i guess what do you call that? Chum Morning Show? Chum 104.5. Yes, there is a possibility that I could, but the circumstances would have to be perfect. By the way, there's, Mike, a lot of people ask me who, if we've ever kind of gotten in trouble

or what the most unusual story was that someone ever told us on the air and i have to tell you the story so eric braden who's well known for playing victor newman you know the story no i don't know the story but i know i know who eric braden is because mike richards does quite the impression of eric braden right he does yes i know I know. Anyway, so Eric Braden's on the show. And we asked him, we say, so Eric, there's a lot of really, really, like, you know, passionate, young and restless fans. So what's the weirdest thing that ever happened with a fan? Like, what's the weirdest thing a fan ever did? And Eric Brayden says, well, I was in Washington, D.C., and I was walking in front of my hotel, and a guy came towards me. And I didn't know, like, you know, he scared me a little bit, and so I didn't know what was about to happen and so the guy's walking towards me and he walks by me and then i hear him go hey and eric braden turns around and the guy says to him

hey motherfucker are you victor newman so eric braden tells this story on the air. And he doesn't say, he says the F word? He says that word. Wow. Right? And so we're dead silent for a second and then we all break out laughing. And it was just, it was so shocking. And Mike, you wouldn't believe

the number of complaints that we got. Can I guess? Yes. Zero. Zero. Zero. Is that the only time in the history of this version of Chum FM anyways that the mofo line was dropped? I would guess yes.

Yes. Yeah, for sure. And no, it's one of my favorite stories. It's one that I like to tell people. And it was just one of those wild moments. And he posed for pictures. He was a great guy. And he said right afterwards, on the air, while he told the story, he goes,

you know, I can't tell that story on the air in the United States. And we go, you can't tell it here. See, we have a reputation for being so, like, liberal. They just assume you could say motherfucker on the air in canada it's funny whoever says it i love that story well tom uh as far as i'm concerned this conversation was perfect uh you know we got the radio history but also of course famous lost words which we did discuss on this program uh i think the second time Christopher Ward came on to kick out the jams, but,

and you got some homework to do because you've got to go find that Rick Ringer episode of Toronto Mike. And absolutely. And I can't wait to hear the Lee Ackley and the Ingrid interview. Ingrid's is fantastic. Cause we learned she was married to the original drummer of a blue rodeo. That's all. Yeah. And he once taught me how to play drums. I'm a bit of a drummer. because we learned she was married to the original drummer of Blue Rodeo. That's all in there. Yeah, Cleve Anderson.

Yeah. He once taught me how to play drums. I'm a bit of a drummer. I'm a really bad one. And one day I was talking to Ingrid about how bad I was, and she said, I'll just come over to the house and Cleve will set up the second set of drums and you guys can play together.

Love it. Love it. Love it. Also, the Geetz Romo, if you haven't heard that yet, of course, you've got to get that. Oh, yeah. Love Geetz. Love Geetz. Love Geats.

Got to get Geats. And David Marsden. You know, on the very last, the very last, my very favorite broadcast that we ever did was the very last Roger Ashby one. Okay. And one of the reasons was I myself worked quite hard on making that show what it was. And I think the fact that we pulled it off is a real relief for me. But it was a, it was a great show.

And David Marsden was a real relief for me. But it was a, it was a great show. And David Marsden was one of the people there. And I think he really appreciated the really respectful sendoffs that we gave to Roger. And I think it was really meaningful to a lot of those old chum people. Right. And I don't mean to call them old, but I mean the people that were part of the legendary, you know,

the chum legend from the late sixts all the way through the present day. And it was one of my favorite moments. Well, thanks again for doing this, Tom. At some point, I hope to meet you in person because, as you know, I have goodies for people who come on the program. So, well, yeah. So shout out to the sponsors of this fine program. So, uh, well, yeah. So shout out to, uh, the sponsors of this fine program. But,

uh, Tom, are you on Twitter? Yes, I am. I, oh man. And I'm on Twitter a lot.

I just always forget what my Twitter handle is, but it's at, I think it's, uh, at Tom underscore Joe. Okay. J-O-K-I-C. And I'm also,

uh, at Famous Lost Pod on twitter as well and that that brings us to the end of our 1003rd show you can follow me on twitter i'm at toronto mike tom as he mentioned he's at tom underscore joeic. Did I get that right? Yeah. Okay, good. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery, they're at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta.

Sticker U is at Sticker U. Ridley Funeral Home, they're at Ridley FH. And Canna Cabana are at Canna Cabana underscore. See you all next week. Don't go away, cause everything is rose and green.