Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Wake Me: Toronto Mike'd #1367

Episode Date: November 16, 2023

In this 1367th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike takes a closer look at a 90s jam that mattered: Rusty's Wake Me. 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]

The Toronto Argonauts tied a CFL record by winning 16 regular season games. That's 16 games in the 2023 season. In the CFL, if you win your division, you get a bye to the divisional finals, which means the Argos were literally one win away from the Grey Cup for several weeks. Quirky, but true. That Eastern final was on a lovely Saturday, and 25,000 Argos fans came out to BMO Field to cheer on the Double Blue. It was by far the biggest attendance they've ever had to BMO Field to cheer on the Double Blue. It was by far the biggest attendance

they've ever had at BMO Field, and the on-field response was abysmal. The Argos were hammered by the Montreal Alouettes, and their best regular season ever ended with not a bang, but a whimper. Watching the second half, I tweeted a gif of one of my favorite shows of all time, Mad Men. I tweeted Pete Campbell exclaiming, Not great, Bob. Hold that.

How are you? Not great, Bob. Fun fact, I met Vincent Kartheiser at the Ontario Science Centre when he was there with his kid while his wife, Alexis Bledel, filmed The Handmaid's Tale in town. Vincent, who plays Pete Campbell, seemed very nice and very un-Pete-like. I say that often, at least when I'm not saying,

Not so good, Al. Shout out to Weezer. Good work, guys. I mean, you were really great. Thanks, Al. Sensational. Hey, anyone try the fish tonight? That's not so good, Al. Not so good, Al. Sensational. Hey, anyone try the fish tonight? That's not so good, Al. Not so good, Al. Yeah.

Yeah. But this isn't about happy days. This is about Mad Men, one of my favorite TV dramas of all time, along with The Wire, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, and Oz. Remember when Mad Men creator Matthew Wiener teased us all by having Megan Draper wear that star shirt that Sharon Tate once wore? Megan Draper, for those who haven't watched, was Don Draper's second wife, born in Montreal.

Thank you. Thank you all for coming. I think we should call it a night. Absolutely not, Don. You stay there. Did you buy him a pony? Un, deux, trois, quatre! Sous-titrage ST' 501 Zoubizou, Zoubizou, mon Dieu qu'ils sont doux Zoubizou, Zoubizou, Zoubizou, Zoubizou, Zoubizou, Zoubizou, Zoubizou, le bruit des bisous Dans les buissons sous le cielancien du mois Les amoureux glissent à pas de loup Comme les oiseaux ils ont rendez-vous On entend partout Zoubi-zoubi-zou Zoubi-zoubi-zou, zoubi-zou, zoubi bisous mon dieu que c'est doux

Me dites-moi savez-vous ce que veut dire entre nous Ce que veut dire zou bisous çaou Zoubizou, Zoubizou Ça veut dire, je vous l'avoue Zoubizou, Zoubizou Mais oui, je n'aime que vous Zoubizou, Zoubizou, Zoubizou, Zoubizou Mon dieu que c'est doux Zoubizou, Zoubizou

Oh! Allez, c'est fini! The actress who portrayed Megan, Jessica Paré, was also born in Montreal. Her uncle Paul was a member of the sketch troupe Radio Free Vestibule. This is the part of the song that's really quiet. We play very soft. It sounds like a ballad And this is the part where we play real hard It's much louder than at the beginning And we go back to the quiet part again If the whole song was this way

it would be boring So we go back to playing loud It's like the first time but slightly louder This is usually the place where it would be quiet again But we don't want it to be too predictable. Predictable. Predictable. That was the grunge song by Radio Free Vestibule. And it's still amazing. What a fun fact. But that's not the only fun fact I'm going to hit you with

regarding Jessica Paré. For a period of time, Jessica dated musician John Kastner and even had a son with him back in 2015. John Kastner is likely best known as a founding member of the Doughboys. 1993's Crush is a bonafide CanCon alt-rock classic. The single Shine off the album

was named by Chart Magazine as number 38 on their 2,000 list of the top 50 Canadian songs of all time. Eat your heart out, FOTM Randy Backman. Much music viewers might know this song best as the theme song to The Wedge. Shout out to future FOTM Simon Evans. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol.

Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. Mae'n ddiddorol. I'm not alone, I'm not alone I'm like a one in a million face And I'm down to your front door

And then you come, and then you come You make me feel so bright Make me feel brilliant And so white, it's like I shine It's like I shine It's like I shine It's like I shine It's like I shine It's like I shine Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod.

Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod.

Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhyrchu'r cyfnod. Cynhy dyna sut rwy'n teimlo Ac i'w llenwi, mae'n wir Nid oes unrhyw un yn ymwneud â hyn Oes eich llaw yn wyf o'ch gilydd Eich llaw yn wyf o'ch gilydd I bawb i'w llenwi It's like a shine It's like a shine It's like a shine

It's like a shine It's like a shine It's like a shine It's like I shine It's like I shine It's like I shine On that song, you hear Jonathan Cummins on guitar. Cummins was a Toronto guy who moved to Montreal to play with Circus Lupus. He was recruited by Kastner to play in the Doughboys because founding member Scott McAuliffe was booted.

You might read on Wikipedia that Scotty Mac left to form a new band. This is not true. How do I know? I asked him when he visited Toronto Mic'd for episode 340.

Alright, so Scott, this is for you. This is past my days. This is past your days. This isn't Scott playing guitar. I worked on this video for you. Oh, jeez. Now, this is... Okay, so... This is past my days. This is past your days. This isn't Scott playing guitar. I worked on this video. Did you? With Roy? I worked with the art department.

Oh, wow. This is... And I stayed at John's house. Okay, so let's tell everybody. Scott, you were in the Doughboys. I started the Doughboys with Kastner and Brock. You can't hear it. And then I was the first guy out.

You can't hear it. I'm sorry. Yeah. Remember, you guys, I just went for the record. I thought it was just going to be two of you. This guy's surprised. And I only have the two, the headphones. So, yeah.

So, John right now can't hear this jam, unfortunately. So, you'll have to sing it. Okay. So, sorry, Scott. You were telling us. Yeah, you started the Doughboys, but you left the Doughboys before this album, which was sort of the album everybody knows from the Doughboys. Yeah.

Although, I've come to see, notice lately that, well, at least on Facebook or on the internet, there's a big little, not a big, it's a small cult of lovers of the first album, whatever. Just because a lot of people, I think it's the age. They came of age in 87. They heard that album. There wasn't a ton of stuff going on.

I mean, there was, but Montreal didn't have a big rock scene. And so a lot more people liked that record than... In fact, do you know that guy Chris Pagerkamp, Ottawa musician? They did a tribute to the album in Ottawa, and they all... different singer-songwriters, Jim Bryson and that, they all came and did...

played songs from whatever as a concert, theme concert. Seminole. You call that album Seminole. Seminole, yeah. All right, so that's the beloved album, and this is the one that Much Music loved and played the best. So, Ken, it's amazing in the small world, again, that you worked on this video because this video was on high rotation on the Much Music. Because of the work I did on it.

I know. I was going to say, clearly. And Roy Pike directed it. Roy Pike. Why did Roy Pike come up every day? Our good buddy. The Roy Pike Show.

But I, yeah, I remember the first time I heard this song, I was at Ivan's house and John played us the mixes

when he got back from recording this. He was very excited about it and I really liked it. I mean, and I would honestly say I'm not really sure I was a Gold Boys fan before this record He was very excited about it, and I really liked it. I mean, I, and I would honestly say, I'm not really sure I was a Doughboys fan before this record.

Like, this is more what I would have liked from the night. I thought this was a good record. But I saw something today that Peter Arsenault posted, who used to play bass for one of the many bass players for the Doughboys. Didn't you play with the Doughboys? No. I just thought of that. But anyways, we're getting off topic.

But anyways, he posted something on Facebook with an album cover by the Doughboys that I totally forgot about. And I'm wondering, did they put out a record after this? After Shine? Crush. Yeah, the album's Crush. This song's called Crush.

This album's called Crush. Sorry. This album's called Crush. But was there an album after it? I don't think so, but I don't know. I got to go on. Someone get the phone out and look at Peter Arsenault's... That's John's job.

He's the Googler. Anyways, yeah. What did he say about it, that he had not come out? He just played a song from it. And I was like, I don't even remember this. Yeah, there was Leaves Home or Returns or Home Again or something. I don't know. I don't think there was a record after Crush, but I could be wrong.

When did you start playing in All Systems Go, Johnny? That's Kastner's band after this. Yeah, John played. Can I say, you mentioned Pearl Jam earlier, Ken. I saw All Systems Go on the small stage of Molson Park prior to the Pearl Jam show in 1998. There you go. There you go.

I saw them at... I don't know. I saw Pearl Jam. I think Hayden was there too, actually. I saw Pearl Jam at the concert hall. Oh, wow. Do you recognize that album cover? No.

No, I don't. It's called... The album is called... For anyone out there who would know, Turn... I can't even read it. Turn Me On. Turn Me On by the Doughboys.

Interesting. And the song is called Perfect Something. I just don't, that rings a bell to me. I think they might have put on a record after it. Scott, why did you leave the Doughboys? He was asked to leave. I got kicked out. I left Montreal and, if you leave the Doughboys? He was asked to leave. I got kicked out. I left Montreal.

If you want the real story, I left Montreal to do the tour, and then we got home. Well, none of us had apartments except Kastner, which I helped pay for his rent while I was on tour, but I had no apartment. My stuff was in a storage at the rehearsal space. We got home. I had no place to live in Montreal,

so I went and hung out with my girlfriend in Kingston. And then I just didn't got home. I've had no place to live in Montreal, so I went and hung out with my girlfriend in Kingston. And then I just didn't come home. I didn't come back to Montreal because I didn't have anywhere to live in Montreal. And John, I guess, we didn't communicate because, you know, phones back then. It was a little harder to get a hold of people. And he just replaced me without telling either the band or me. And

the only thing I was really bummed out about, I was pretty well ready to quit at this point. We were kind of grinding up against each other. But the show we were going to do in Montreal in October was opening for Husker Du. And I was a huge Husker Du fan. And I really wanted to play that show and then maybe quit after that. I phoned my buddy Pat and he said, oh, I've heard you've been replaced in the Doughboys. I was like, really? I didn't hear that.

But I guess now I know. Scott referenced the earlier Doughboys album that did feature him on guitar. That is Scotty Mac, aka Scott McAuliffe. That's right. You can hear him on this song from the first Doughboys album, Whatever. This song is called You're Related. It's no blinding, you're not a liar Can't live here with any dream of happy days to be And if I make the change today, maybe someday you'll see You're a liar, you're a liar You're a liar, you're a liar Today may be a little while, but love is waiting

Tomorrow never comes, so let's do it again The world is just outside your door, but never make a need Stand up and be counted, take the pride to the deep You're waiting You're waiting You are waiting You're waiting You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning

You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning You are winning, you are winning, you are winning, you are Yeah Yeah Messages that shuffle all over your home There ain't nobody out there who's standing alone Don't look it up, the past is gone, the road ahead is long

Destiny is out of hand, doesn't let it wait too long You're here You're here You are here You're here You're here You're here You're here You're here That, my friends, is as early as the Doughboys get. Now, after John Kastner fires Scott McAuliffe from the Doughboys,

what band does he go on to form? How did you form Rusty? Ken was living over in Liberty Village and I was living in Parkdale and we were just hanging out as buddies. And I was, I remember we'd drive around in your car. I'd play like these tracks I was doing with Luther Victim and stuff.

And Ken would be like, oh, that sounds good. And we were just buddies. We were friends because we met through William probably. William knew was a buddy of both of ours. So we were just friends. We were just because we met through William probably. William knew, was a buddy of both of ours and we were just friends. We were just hanging out and then at one point, Ken was kind of like fed up

and he was like, you know, we want to change guitars. We want to start fresh, do a new thing. Do you want to play guitar? It was just a simple invitation. I came down,

played and then never left. Did I mention joining Scott McAuliffe on episode 340 of Toronto Mic'd? Was Ken McNeil lead singer of Rusty? Heck, John Sutton was in the room with Scott and Ken. That's essentially the whole band minus the drummer. Rusty was on Toronto Mic'd.

But I digress. Rusty is essentially Scott McAuliffe plus a band known as One Free Fall. Scott took the vocalist, bassist, and drummer from One Free Fall and created Rusty. So what happened to One Free Fall, Ken? Well, I mean, like I said, it sort of just turned into Rusty. Rusty really is One Free Fall with me as a different member, really.

It's the same band. I like the name Rusty better, I think. Me too. Good. Do you know where it came from? No. Should we tell that story? Can I guess?

Can I guess? And then you can tell the story. I'm sure I'm wrong, but the friendly giant, it's the name of the giraffe. Everyone says that, but it's not that. Should I tell the story of your pops?

Go ahead. Well, it's funny because I didn't like the name Rusty at first and I said to Ken back then, I was like, that's what you would name a dog, Rusty, not a band. But anyway, it's our name

and we, you know, you get used to names and most people don't like their band names anyway but fast forward like three years and we're in a halifax hotel room with ken's dad and we've been up late drinking beer and he's ordered some room service breakfast and he's trying to keep us awake we're like we got to go to sleep we got to leave at noon tomorrow and i remember we had like our blankets over our head and ken's dad goes ken do you remember that time you brought that stray dog home and called him Rusty? And I sat bolt upright in the bed. I'm like, what did you say, Bill? He goes, yeah, he brought this old dog home and called him Rusty.

I was like, I looked at Ken. I wasn't able to keep it. I can't remember whatever happened to that. It was a beagle, too. It was a little rabbit dog. Oh, that's great. So anyway. And then it became Rusty.

We became Rusty. So guys, my brother loves my podcast. That's good news, okay? My brother's great. So anyway. And then it became Rusty. We became Rusty. So guys, my brother loves my podcast. That's good news, okay? My brother Steve. But he's never ever like submitted a question ever. This is episode 340. But he submitted a question for you guys. So this is like a big deal to me.

Wow. Huge fan. So okay, let me read his thing. So this is from Steve, my brother. Tell Rusty I saw them a few times and they were great every time. They opened for Foo Fighters at Arrow Hall in 97 97 and it was an awesome set the the pits were intense and i have to know for sure this is the big question okay because we grew up in west toronto me and my brothers and uh he says this is for you ken i think this is for you ken were you a cook at uh bluer west in bluer west village

or was that just an odd west toronto rumor Because everybody in West Toronto talked about how Ken from Rusty was like a cook in Blue or West Village. I certainly was. So which weir? You can't remember? I can't remember the name of the place. It was weird because a long, long time ago when I was in Winfrey Falls, I was a cook at a place called the Nevada

in the beaches. And I remember the owner's name and everything. Orris Callaby was a guy and he was a West Toronto guy. That was his sort of neighborhood. He was a Ukrainian dude. Oh, that would be like Bloor West Village. Right.

But they still have that Ukrainian. And then he opened a big restaurant with a store in it and everything. And I just can't remember the name of it. And when I first, I mean, that must have been pretty recent. But on Bloor Street, right? Yeah. Like between like Runnymede and Jane? Yeah.

Somewhere around there. Yeah. And all those restaurants are on the, they were on the like south side. It was some light liquor license thing. This was definitely on the south side and it was. Like Byrne and Ernie's was there. I can't remember the name of it, but. Okay.

And I worked there for probably, that was probably right after Rusty. Like that was probably pretty, pretty soon after one of my first jobs. Because I knew him, right? So when I needed a job again, I wasn't in a band anymore. I needed a job. So I went back to my old boss. It's funny how there's like back then,

like before, you know, there was like this urban legend in the hood that, hey, because Ken from Rusty is working at one of the restaurants or whatever. And it was, it took him till 2018 for his brother to have Ken in his basement for him to be able to find out

whether that was true or not. Isn't that bizarre? And you would still have the dreads and be pretty recognizable, too, at that point, I would think. I also worked as a busboy at, what was that place? Velvet Underground.

Oh, really? Seriously, like a year after being a Red Rusty. Well, the other one I heard at the time, I was working at the C&E at the time, and somebody said, Ken from Rusty, I knew this wasn't true because I knew enough that this was a different guy who looked a bit like you, but Ken from Rusty was in

Wayne's World. This is what I was told. You know the Bohemian Rhapsody scene in the car and the guy in the backseat who's going to retch? The guy's going to puke or whatever? That that was Ken. And then if you look at that guy and you look at Ken at the time, pretty similar. Yeah.

But not the same, but similar. I think we'll go with a little Bohemian Rhapsody, gentlemen. Good call. Mind blows galore. When it comes to Rusty, you cannot trust what you read on Wikipedia. If you go there now, at the time of this recording, you'll learn their first EP released in 1994 was titled Fluke. That's the same title they give their first album in 1995.

But if you ask the guys, like I did, you'll find out that first EP was actually self-titled. It was called Rusty, but it did include a song called Wake Me. But now it is no one I'm so tired It seems that I once had the world But now I'm no one I'm so tired I'm so tired And if I fall away, will you take me away? And if I fall asleep, will you wake me? And if I fall asleep But the way it feels, I can feel my time Now freedom comes at a cost that no one pays

And for one time And who am I? I know I said I would leave, but still here today And who am I? So I can't follow no one to chase me And if I wanna see it, it won't be Even better Thank you. Cynhyrchu'r ffordd y byddwn ni'n ei wneud yn y ffordd y byddwn ni'n ei wneud. Well, I've got some plans that I might just still want to change And who won't die Oh, I'm tired Well, I've got some friends that you might still think that it's strange Oh, I'm tired Oh, I'm tired

And if I run away Will you chase me away? If I fall asleep Will you let me in? Will you pull my clothes? If I run away Will you chase me away? If I Wake Me shook enough cages through Much Music and CFNY and Canadian Campus Radio to score Rusty a major label distribution deal

with BMG Records. Then came Fluke in July 1995. But let's hear it from Rusty themselves. I did a lot of jobs. You guys were doing film and commercials mostly, right? Yeah, a lot of commercials. All right, so we're going to dive in here. Sponsors are taken care of.

You guys are comfy. If you get thirsty, you pop one open. It's all good. Nice, beautiful Saturday. I may begin. So was this jam here, Wake Me. This song was on like an EP before Fluke. Did you have an EP called Fluke before you had an album called Fluke?

No, it wasn't called anything. It was just, as they say, eponymous. It was just the name. Okay. Just Rusty. There's bad intelligence out there. I think they're starting to call that EP Fluke, which is stupid. You can't call your EP Fluke and your album Fluke.

That would be confusing, would it not? It is. Yeah, it confused me. It was a demo tape that turned into an EP. We have two records out, and they're both the same. They have the same songs, and they're called the same thing. Right, right. It was called Rusty, five-song EP.

And how did that kind of translate into getting a record deal? What's that story? Well, in a way, we sort of had a record deal already in Canada because our manager ran a label called Handsome Boy Records. So that first EP came out on Handsome Boy. But after we made a video for this song, it happened to get played on 120 Minutes on MTV. MTV.

And so that got the American record companies all courting us, so we had a bit of a bidding war. We were still on Handsome Boy in Canada, but in the States we ended up on Atlantic Records through the video for this song, basically. Which is a great song. Let me say, this is a kick-ass song. And it sounds as good today as ever.

It's still a kick-ass rock song. Good on you guys. It's funny because the tremolo guitar... You know why the first success of this song was the radio? Everyone talks about much music, but the first thing that ever happened to Rusty when we first formed was CFNY. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's where I heard it. They put the fucking shit up in the song.

And it was indie label. And other radio too, like 89X in Detroit played this song 49 times a week at its peak. Like they were the biggest player of this tune. And we got U.S. Radio Airplay in New York and Texas and a bunch of places off the tune. Now, throughout the 90s, I listened to 102.1. That was my station. And, yeah, that's where I, that's, I mean, yes, there was that much music, which was great and all, but. It started on the radio.

They were, yeah, they were our biggest supporter forever, yeah. Or whatever they are, 102.1 The Edge, whatever. Now what is it? Like, it's still that. It's still, no, it's still 102.1 The Edge. It still is. Yeah. And now there's Indie 88 as well.

Yeah. You'll still hear us occasionally on there. Help pull one out. Golden oldies. Yeah, like a retro throwback or whatever. Yeah, I don't really listen to radio much, but people will tell me. I heard you on this station. Indy 88, they got a little house in Liberty Village there where they record from.

But it's good to have another kind of like a new rock station in town. At least there's two of them. I used to live in Liberty Village, but it wasn't Liberty Village then. Before it became trendy? It was just a place that I lived in a warehouse. It's funny because I did an interview yesterday with Jess Samet from Sirius. Who's been on the show? Yeah, great guy.

Because he was on The Fan forever. Yeah, and a big fan of ours. He comes to the Horseshoe Show. He's been to a few of our shows. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I mentioned the story because I was walking there, and of course it brought me back to hanging out with Ken in those days when the place was just

empty. There was no people on the streets. And I went at lunchtime and there were thousands of people on the streets. This is so weird. And I mentioned to Jeff that Ken and I, when we first got together, that was the neighborhood he lived in. In fact, he's like five doors down from where they're located. Is that building still there? The building I live in?

It's still there. They just painted it over and fixed it up, but it hasn't been torn down. I'll never forget when the tour bus came and parked out in front of it all day. I remember that, too. I got home from the bar, and there was a tour bus parked in front of my shitty little studio. I've got to get on a bus.

Zamit's a junction guy. It's like a Little Malta junction guy now, I think. Jeff Zamit, I think. Little Malta. Little Malta. There's a junction guy it's like a little Malta junction guy now I think Jeff Zamit I think but little Malta little Malta

there's a little Malta like Dundas and like I mean even I think when I heard that my comment was I don't even think Malta's all that big you know what I heard

I don't know if it's true but I heard there's more Maltese in Toronto than in Malta is that possible it is possible Malta is emptying you never know there's been a winter in the junction

and I did go to Little Malta just to see what it was all about. They do have really good little pastries and stuff. Pastitsis. Their big thing is called pastitsi. And they're delicious. My buddy Joe is Maltese and he's always talking about the six and six. Six with cheese, six without. Get the pastitsis. They got a Malta bake shop there and they got a little Malta park and that's pretty

much it. You're done with your little Malta. That's funny. Oh yeah, Sam is a good guy. You know, it's it. You're done with your little Malta. Yeah. That's funny. Oh yeah, Sam is a good guy. You know, it's funny, you're a sports media guy but he was the guy doing the producing

of Landry and Stelic. You remember Landry and Stelic, the morning show on the Fan 590? Oh, that one I don't remember for some reason. He would do like,

you remember, there was a character called Vito from Woodbridge who was like a Leafs fan from Woodbridge who would call in and be like, we should trade,

like I don't know, trade some shitty Leaf Blue liner for like Crosby or something. Yeah, and that was him. So Zammett was,

he would do the voice of Vito from Woodbridge. He wasn't real. He wasn't real. Vito from Woodbridge was not real. Oh, that's funny.

So how did you, can you tell me really quickly about how, because I'm only going to do this for a few songs, but how Wake Me comes to be, like who writes it and how it came to be?

That song was when I got there, these guys already had some bass lines and some sort of structures already starting, and Jim Moore was doing that bass line. In Kensington Market. Yeah, in our little rehearsal space. And then the song built from there. I don't think all the parts were there,

but the sound that you hear eventually, it didn't sound like that when we got into the studio. And Chris Wardman, I was using all his guitar. From Chalk Circle. No, from Vital Signs. No, one of those bands like that. Not Chalk Circle. Just before.

Blue Peter. Blue Peter. You know what? He might have Not Chalk Circle. No, no, no. Blue Peter. Blue Peter. You know what? He might have produced Chalk Circle or something. He might have produced a lot of stuff, actually. Yeah, Blue Peter, you're right. But I was using all his guitar stuff, and much like Ian did on this record,

I would play and he would knob twiddle, and he was looking for the sound. So that sound, that tremolo sound, comes totally from Chris Wardman just playing with a Vox AC-30 amp and saying, play the riff, play the riff. It's killer, man. The sound is all him.

I think it started with bass. Yeah, it was a bass line. Jim Moore bass line, yeah. Fluke spawned four singles. You had Wake Me, then you had Groovy Dead, then you had Misogyny, and finally, California.

And if you picked up the single for California, you got the B-side. And the B-side was a beautiful acoustic version of Wake Me. It used to be kind of fun, but now it is not. It used to be kind of fun, but now it is not. In home, I'm tired. I used to once have the world, but now I do not want. In home, I'm tired, I'm so tired And if I run away, will you chase me up?

And if I fall asleep, won't you wake me up? Won't you pull my cuff? I'm tired. And home, I'm tired. I know I said I would leave, but I'm still here today. And home, I'm tired. I'm so tired. And if I run away, won't you chase me up? And if I fall asleep, won't you wake me up, won't you pull my cuff? guitar solo And if I fall asleep Won't you wake me up

Won't you pull my cuff guitar solo Well, I've got some plans that you might just still want to change And oh, I'm tired Well, I've got some friends that you might just still think are strange And oh, I'm tired I'm so tired And if I run away, won't you chase me up? And if I fall asleep, won't you wake me up?

Won't you pull my cuff? And if I run away Won't you chase me And if I Fluk was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 1996 Juno Awards, but lost out to What Fresh Hell Is This? by fellow FOTM Art Bergman.

That album, What Fresh Hell Is This? was also produced by FOTM Chris Wardman from Blue Peter. Now get this. Remember One Free Fall, the band that became Rusty when Scott McAuliffe joined them? One Free Fall, pre-Rusty,

collaborated with Art Bergman on a cover of Prisoners of Rock and Roll for the Neil Young tribute album, Borrowed Tunes, a tribute to Neil Young. How about that? We'll never listen to the record coming in. The world changes. That's why we don't want to be good. That's why we don't want to be good. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, down taking orders for record company grand that's why we don't

want to begin that's why we don't want to begin oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh It's a fucking war This is a fucking war This is a fucking war We'll be right back. I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present

I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present I'm a ghost of the past and the present Thank you. If you want to dive deeper into the history of Rusty, you want episode 340 of Toronto Mic'd.

For Art Bergman, you don't have to go back very far. He visited a couple of weeks ago for episode 1,358. Chris Wardman, who produced Fluke, one of my all-time favorite albums, was my special guest for episode 840. If you enjoyed this episode, you'll likely enjoy the first episode in this series, in which I better explain what I'm doing

and why I'm doing it. That episode was all about Sloan's Underwhelmed, and you can hear it for free right now in the Toronto Mic'd podcast feed. It's episode 1310. Toronto Mic'd is fiercely independent. And that means it's fueled by great partners like Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, RecycleMyElectronics.ca, Moneris, Raymond James, and you. That's right, you can become a patron right now at patreon.com slash Toronto Mike.

And if you are interested in partnering or starting your own podcast, I'm right here waiting for you. Shout out to Richard Marks. Write me today at mike at torontomike.com to get the conversation started. I'm closing this closer look at a 90s jam that mattered with a live version of Empty Cell by Rusty at Sneaky D's last November. I was there in the front row, and when Ken McNeil saw me, he shouted me out. Achievement unlocked. She loves me, I'm not kidding Cause I'm grown up, don't forgive

Don't forget that I'm I can't stop you I can't stop you She loves me, she loves me She's dead She's dead She's dead She's dead She's dead I'll picture her face

No more She knows I'm not a girl I've been through I've been through She needs me She needs me Thank you. I'm killing him I'm doing him The thought that I Feel I'm alive

I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive I'm alive

I'm alive I'm alive Thank you.