Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe comes to Apostrophe

Episode Date: January 11, 2023

We are very excited to welcome Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe to the Apostrophe Podcast Network.Each episode will feature two Dave and Morley stories as told by Stuart McLean. And for the first time ever, his longtime producer, Jess Milton, will tell you the backstories behind those stories.I have a story, too. The first time I met Stuart.Enjoy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please, do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan, you just have to love storytelling. Subscribe now and don't miss a single beat. Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. I want to tell you a story about the first time I met Stuart McLean. It was back in 2013.

I was considering taking under the influence across the country on a stage tour of recording shows live on stage. But I didn't know much about the mechanics of taking a show on the road. So out of the blue, I decided to send an email to Stuart McLean, because he has toured his show for years. Now, understand something, we didn't know each other. My show, Under the Influence, had been on the air for about eight years, and Stuart was a veteran at CBC. His show was rounding 20 years plus.

But I thought, you know what, I'll just take a shot in the dark, and I'll send Stuart an email asking if I could pick his brain about touring. I got an email back from Stuart not long after, and it said, you're coming for lunch at my home. Now, that was pretty remarkable because, again, we didn't know each other. He could have easily not answered my email, or he could have said, yes, send me your questions via email. But instead, he invited me to his house for lunch.

So on the day I went to Stuart's house, I met him for the first time and his wonderful producer, Jess Milton. And we had a delicious lunch that Stuart prepared. And then we sat around the table and talked, I think, for about three hours. They literally answered every single one of my questions. They held nothing back. They gave me insights, tips, stories about what went right on the road and what went wrong. Stuart couldn't have been more welcoming or warmer or more helpful. And again, he could have answered my questions via email. But he invited me over to his home. That was the kind of guy he was. He was a good man. Now, all these years later,

in a full circle moment, our Apostrophe Podcast Company is thrilled and honored to announce that Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe is coming to our network. So, Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe is a very special podcast because in every episode, you'll hear two Dave and Morley stories performed by Stuart, recorded live on stage. Then, for the first time ever, Jess Milton, who of course produced the Vinyl Cafe for 15 years, will tell you the backstories, like how Stuart came up with his ideas, what inspired him,

what it was like on the Vinyl Cafe tour bus for 15 years, and what were Stuart's favorite moments on stage. That and so much more. It's incredible and wonderful. And I promise we'll take care of the Vinyl Cafe the same way Stuart took care of me all those years ago. Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe, coming to the Apostrophe Podcast Network on January 20th. Subscribe or follow the show wherever you listen.