Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Elvis Returns: Toronto Mike'd #371
Episode Date: September 1, 2018Mike chats with Elvis about the launch of TMDS, the Molly episode, their man date seeing the Toronto Wolfpack and TFC and Elvis's love of Harry Styles....
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Welcome to episode 371 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything.
Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery located here in Etobicoke.
Elvis, did you know that 99.99% of all Great Lakes beer remains here in Ontario?
Get the fuck out of here.
GLB.
Brewed for you, Ontario.
And propertyinthesix.com.
Toronto real estate done right.
And Paytm, an app designed to manage all of your bills in one spot.
Download the app today from paytm.ca.
And Census Design and Build,
providing architectural design, interior design,
and turnkey construction services across the GTA.
I'm Mike from torontomike.com,
and joining me this week is
Elvis.
You know, sometimes I feel like I need
more lead time
because I had to text you today and ask you
what character I was going to be and
I didn't have enough time to prep.
So I feel a little thrown
off because I didn't know if I was going to be the other
guy or if I was going to be Elvis today.
Are we allowed?
I feel a little, no, we're not allowed.
But I feel like all discombobulated.
I don't know who I am.
I can't like allude.
I have like, no, you can't allude to nothing.
Anyone who gives a shit has already figured it out.
That's fine.
That's fine.
Don't destroy the fifth wall.
Or sixth wall, whatever it is.
Let me ask this carefully.
Let me ask you carefully.
Oh, boy.
wall and i have another or sixth wall let me ask this carefully let me ask you carefully oh boy if that other enterprise were to discover your secret identity that's fine would they give a
shit no of course they wouldn't why would the why would the enterprise care about what the
fuck i do and your secret identity it's not like you're some racist uh no no homophobe or something
no no i'm probably more liberal like liberals think I'm too liberal. But you're progressive. Yeah. Like, I fully bought into the whole gender fluidity thing,
like, a hundred years ago.
Meanwhile, you just realized it last week.
Avery Haynes taught me about it.
I love that you had to get taught about it on your fucking podcast.
It's not that I didn't know.
It's just I ignorantly thought you people...
I'm not stupid.
I understand this fluidity.
You're alluding, of course, to that jeff woods uh came out as uh uh he calls himself 80 20 which means i guess
80 of his lovers are uh woman women woman what did i say woman women what's the word women plural
woman women woman dude that's What are you talking about?
Brewery.
Brewery.
Great Lakes Brewery.
Rural juror.
I'm actually good.
I do architectural design.
No problem.
I do brewery.
He says 80% of his lovers are women.
Women.
It's plural.
I'm saying woman.
Women!
Not woman. Woman is singular.
I know, E-N.
Oh my goodness.
Holy moly.
How are you a broadcaster?
This is worse than Molly Johnson.
Hey, I owe you.
Yeah, exactly. This immediately derailed
right from the get-go.
Have you read these fucking liner notes,ailed right from the get-go. 20%...
Have you read these fucking liner notes, asshole?
Read the wire liner notes.
Hit it, hit it, so I can hear it.
I did, I did.
Read those liner notes.
It's in the liner notes.
I've been using that line, eh?
So sometimes somebody...
And I want to be condescending and just aloof or whatever.
I'll be like, read the liner notes.
It's in there somewhere.
Best episode ever, Mike.
I have to say.
Kicked the shit out of the Mad Dog episode,
the Stephen Brunn episode, the Shulman episode,
the first Greg Brady episode.
What else?
Is that true?
They're all shit compared to the Molly Johnson episode.
That was the best.
It was the best.
And here's why it was the best, Mike,
because I don't listen to your podcast.
I know that's a bone of contention. But i don't listen to it because i don't really
whatever because you're an asshole no there's a whole thing uh but you to your credit pinged me
because you said you know what this is a guy who's i'm assuming you wanted my opinion
yes and you're like i know he's not going to listen to this but you said i want you to listen
to this episode
and tell me what you think.
So I did, because we're friends, and I respect you.
Even though I don't listen to it, I respect you.
And I was like, yeah, let's see what happened here.
And I didn't even go on your blog to read the comments before,
so I had no idea what I was getting into,
other than you telling me, wait until at least 20 minutes in.
Wow. Holy moly.
Right out of the get-go, there was a lot of action with this episode.
There was a lot of tension.
There was a lot of, hmm.
I think both of you probably would have been better suited by knowing one another a little bit more before you both got behind the microphone.
I think ultimately that's probably
the biggest learning from this particular episode in my estimation. I don't know what you think,
Mike, but I think it would have been entirely different if she had had a better briefing about
the type of podcast and type of energy that you bring to this show, which is clearly successful.
And I think it might've been worth your while to maybe understand her a little bit more,
whether or not that's your own research
or her PR company to tell you what she sort of expects
or the way in which they set her up.
I think that would have made for a more,
not necessarily a better episode
because it was fantastic.
It was fucking top shelf.
But I mean, the tension was just,
it cut through the fucking knife.
Yeah, okay. So imagine being in the room
okay but I think
what you're saying is
and I agree with it
is that
clearly she thought
she was coming somewhere
where she could talk
for 10 minutes
about the Kensington Market
Jazz Festival
like this is what
she wanted to talk about
and I think she thought
this was like a
maybe we're gonna just
punch that and get out
and I don't know
well here's the deal
here's the deal, Mike.
And I'm actually surprised that this hasn't come up before.
And this is by no means a criticism by any sense
because you're a regular dude and you have a real job
and all that kind of stuff.
But if you're her and you show up at this place
to do an interview with this guy, Toronto Mike,
you realize very quickly this is a residential
home.
And this is, you know, this is a place where people live.
This is not a professional studio.
This is not a commercial space.
This is a residential home.
This is your home.
This is where you live with your family and you come downstairs and you walk into your
basement and it's a lived in home.
Like, I mean, you're, you're, it's not a model home.
Like it's clearly not something that you're. No, it's clearly a-in home. Like, I mean, it's not a model home. Like, it's clearly not something that you're...
No, it's clearly a residence.
Yes, yeah.
It's not a criticism at all, but you live here.
No, and it's fine.
Like, you live here.
This is not a place that is meant to be, you know,
you're not trying to prove anything to anybody
with your guests being here, right?
And so I think that could have maybe taken her off guard
right off the bat, especially with the fact that you could have maybe taken her off guard right off the bat,
especially with the fact that you decided
to go for a bike ride right off the...
No, an hour before. And she was early.
I get all that. But there was like, there's
a whole series of events before you even turn
on the microphone
that clearly influenced that podcast.
And the Aretha death.
So yeah, there was a perfect storm. It's almost
a wonderful case study, right? Do you want me to talk over Aretha Franklin? Because I a perfect storm. It's almost a wonderful pace, Betty.
Do you want me to talk over Aretha Franklin?
Because I'm not very comfortable doing that.
I'm getting PTSD.
I don't know if I can even...
Have you read the liner notes, Mike?
It's the greatest.
It's the best.
I don't want to
replay the episode or anything, but
I do have the...
Do you want to hear the 30 seconds anything, but I do have the... Oh, yeah, you have a clip.
You want to hear the 30 seconds on the wire?
Yeah, please, please.
Okay, hold on.
I did feel bad for you.
I wrote this on your blog.
Okay, let's hear the wire
and then tell me how bad you feel for me.
Okay.
I would be amiss if I didn't mention the fact
that your brother is in my favorite show of all time.
In fact, there's a DVD set in front of you there
that's from the wire.
That's not all he did.
I love the wire. And your brother was in front of you there that's from The Wire. I love The Wire.
And your brother was in The Wire.
That's not all he did.
My brother was not only in The Wire, he created The Wire.
He was the first director on The Wire.
Yeah, fuck you, Mike.
So, yeah, he did a little bit of acting in The Wire.
But the reality and the real story there is that he actually directed The Wire.
Fucking right.
That's the real story here. So, obviously, we know him on the screen. That's the real story. He's Gus. That's the real story there is that he actually directed The Wire. Fucking right. That's the real story here.
So obviously we know him on the screen.
He's Gus.
That's the real story.
Apparently right here in this box.
Maybe you should read the liner notes.
I'm sure his name's in there somewhere.
Oh!
Read the liner notes, Mike.
That's the whole story.
He directed the episode.
Oh, man.
He created The Wire. That's the best thing ever. Fuck David man. He created the wire.
That's the best thing ever.
Fuck David Simon.
That's the greatest thing ever.
You have to get her brother in here and play that clip for him.
Is he a Tron?
I don't think he's a Tron to me, but I would totally.
It's the greatest.
See, and this is the other thing, too, is that this is.
I would have never listened to this episode otherwise.
And no offense to Molly.
I don't know who Molly Johnson is.
Can I tell you? This is what I learned. But now I do. This is the fucking greatest
thing ever. This is what I learned from this experience.
In my mind, Molly Johnson was a
Toronto famous person. I knew who she
was. I knew what she looked like. I had seen her on Much Music.
I was aware of Molly Johnson.
I'm like, oh, she's famous. But
when I talk to people like you,
and I'm like, you gotta hear the Molly Johnson.
They're like, oh, because I was going to skip that
because I don't know
who the fuck Molly Johnson is.
Yeah.
And again, no offense to her.
She's not nearly as famous as I think she is.
Yeah, you're talking about her
like she's on much music
and blah, blah, blah.
I'm like, who the fuck is this person?
I'm just talking about her
like she was Canada's Aretha Franklin.
You did sort of allude to that.
Like you made it seem like they were friends.
They're both chanteuses.
Is that a word? Wow, Mike.
Okay, so you did say
something though in the comments of TorontoMike.com
that I felt like you and Jeremy
Taggart from Our Lady Peace were the
only two who kind of took the
approach, I felt, that
this was somehow on me.
Please be frank with me. How
was this on me? Because you did all with me. How is this on me?
Because you did allude to like,
I shouldn't have called her something.
Yeah, you shouldn't have called her a diva.
That's an insulting term.
The way in which you used it anyway.
Wait, before you go on,
can we play the exact five seconds
of me calling her a diva?
Go for it.
Okay, here is the moment
where I call Molly Johnson a diva.
Or I don't think I did, but let's hear it.
Here's the word I'm going to use for you. And I hope this doesn't insult you, but I got a diva. Or I don't think I did, but let's hear it. Here's the word I'm going to use for you,
and I hope this doesn't insult you,
but I got a diva vibe.
Here's the word I'm going to use for you.
A diva vibe.
It's different than calling her a diva.
A diva vibe.
So here's the deal,
because I think that on your blog
there was two things happening.
One is calling someone a diva offensive,
and two is calling someone a diva racist.
And so by no means am I someone to, you know, determine what is racist and what is not given the fact that I am
a white privileged male. However, and while my friend is also not someone who speaks for all
black people, but I did reach out to her and I explained to her the situation. She understands
what it is that we do here a little bit. And I said to her that you did this. Is this something,
she is a black woman, is this something that you would consider to be racist? And she suggested,
while there are racial overtones as it relates to the term, the term is generally something in the past that has been a positive term that has been
used to describe a strong, successful Black woman. It has been changed over recent times
to have more of a negative connotation, sort of we think of divas as Mariah Carey and whatnot,
because, you know, for... Christina Aguilera.
Sure.
So she says, while it's probably not the greatest term to call someone or greatest thing to call someone today, it's not racist.
So there's that.
I have no idea there's a racial...
I don't think it's racist.
I mean, and I know there are some people commenting saying that because of that, you should bring people from Black Lives Matter on the show, etc., etc.
Well, that was Molly who said that, right?
She said, bring the Black Lives Matter girls in here.
I dare you.
So I'm not necessarily going to comment on that because clearly she thinks that there's racial overtones to it, which is fine.
I mean, I'm not here to judge that.
But I would say that I think your choice of words is not exactly the greatest thing.
I mean, it's not a nice thing to say to somebody in the context that you were suggesting.
No.
You could have used another term
that would have described her more appropriately
than saying that she was a diva
because I think it does have a negative connotation.
But I got, here's the thing.
So I always talk about real talk.
But you don't call someone a diva.
I said, I didn't call her diva.
I said, I got a diva-like vibe.
That's what I said.
I got a diva-like vibe.
I did though.
I listened to that episode five times now. Every time I hear it, I hear a diva-like vibe. That's what I said. I got a diva-like vibe. I did, though. I listened to that episode five times now.
Every time I hear it, I hear a diva-like vibe.
Replace it with another word.
What word?
Gay.
Homo.
No, it's not gay.
It's not homo.
No, no, no, no.
Replace the word in that sentence.
And does it not mean the same?
Like, does it not still come across as crass and rude?
I'm picking up a gay vibe from you, Mike.
That's not exactly sensitive or nice.
No, I wouldn't have said that.
Correct.
Well, you could have said that if the person was coming off in a way in which you would
stereotype somebody who was gay.
Okay, let's hear.
Okay, I want to hear more of this.
I love the fact that somebody isn't putting all of this on Molly.
I mean, I deserve some honest feedback like this. I want to play
though her reaction to my diva-like comment
and then we'll talk more.
And unfortunately, guys like you
see a woman who's got
shit to do and you're
not my main focus. So therefore,
I must be a diva.
I must be this girl who's
so full of herself and so
and it's unfortunately because that's the way the word,
that is what has become of the word.
A lot of words have been ruined.
Like, for instance, the word fun.
When did fun become a bad word?
When did people having fun become something bad?
Like, that's a weird thing to me too.
So I look at words a lot because because I do write songs, and I'm
working around words all the time. So over my career, I have been called that and much,
much worse. And quite frankly, all women who know what they'd like to do and are doing it
are put down in this world. It's a problem. And we're going to change that. We're coming for you.
If that makes you nervous, you as in all of you,
if that makes you nervous, get the Black Lives Girls in here.
I dare you to.
I'd be happy to.
That's really insulting to me.
Okay, so that's her reaction when she collected herself
and reacted to the diva-like vibes I got from her.
And I've got to say, though, straight up with you, my buddy, for a long time,
I never was, I wasn't scared of a woman who knew what she,
I mean, I love powerful women.
I didn't have any, that's why.
Women!
What am I saying?
You're saying it singular.
No, but that's, I think I'm saying it plural.
So this is clearly my Eastern Canadian accent from Parkdale.
So women.
Woman?
Women.
E-N.
Yeah, but aren't I saying woman?
Women.
Woman.
I can't say it now.
But you know what I mean.
So I don't have any problem with powerful woman.
You can say that, though, Mike.
And you can believe that yourself.
But you lose the credibility when you call someone a diva.
Even when she's being a diva.
Like, what is a diva?
Tell me, Kate, define this.
What's a diva to you?
Well, it depends on what it is.
I'm certainly not someone who is the best person to define this.
it to you well it depends on what it is i'm not certainly not someone who's the best person to define this but don't you think a diva is a great singer who is very uh demanding and difficult
like very difficult like uh i've got i got evil stares for the first 20 minutes and then i got
for answers like that wire thing it was like that so why didn't you just say hey i'm getting evil
stares from you it has a connotation to it. I thought the word for that was diva.
There's so much wrapped up in that word.
It's like calling someone, would you call her an asshole?
No.
Or would you define the activities that related to her being an asshole?
Okay, when did diva, this sounds like Molly now.
It's not a nice thing.
You're clearly not trying to compliment her in any way.
She's a guest in your studio.
No, she was super difficult.
So call her that. So call her that.
So call her that.
Saying like, hey, right now there's a whole lot of stuff here.
There's a whole bunch of stuff that's happening right here
that is making this conversation really difficult.
I miss the memo that diva was an inappropriate word.
It's not just diva though, dude.
You insulted your guest to her face while she was on the microphone.
While she's being ridiculous.
So call her that.
But why can't I call her diva?
Because that word has so much connotation to it.
I didn't know that.
I didn't know that.
I'm being serious.
Because it really does also mean that,
is it wrong for her to have certain expectations
that clearly weren't set properly at the beginning?
No.
Here's the difference.
She's not to be blamed for that.
This isn't me bumping into her in Kensington Market
and saying, hey, can we chat? I know, but it's not her fault that her pr it's not
her fault that her pr agent didn't set her up properly i don't know that yeah clearly that's
the case you can't you have to give her the you have to lead with positive intent you can't assume
that she came in here to try and rip you to shreds right there there is nothing there's no benefit to her coming in here and being a dick.
Right?
So, poor choice of terms.
There's no reason for her to come in here and be an asshole.
So, clearly, her expectations weren't met.
And those expectations, from my opinion, is that they were improperly set.
I don't blame you for that at all.
I blame her PR person.
And so when she comes in here
and those expectations aren't set
and she's not, you know,
feeling what it is that she's supposed to feel,
I don't blame her for reacting the way that she did.
But where I don't think it's cool
is for you to call her a diva
and for her to also assume
that your reaction to her is a racial one.
So I'm not suggesting
that one is better than the other.
And I'm not suggesting that you're to
blame and she's not, or she's to blame and you're not
either. I think there's both
parts to blame here. I don't think, knowing you, Mike,
I don't believe that there's any
reason why you would have looked at her and said
she's a diva because she's a black woman
who is being difficult. First of all, I invited her over knowing she was
a black woman. But that doesn't matter. You could
be a racist and invite her over being a black woman.
A racist doesn't mean that you're not going to engage with
someone who's black.
We see that all the time. We see racists all the
time on TV who say that their best friend
is black. And that clearly doesn't mean
anything. The lawyer is Jewish
usually. The doctor and the lawyer
are Jewish. Maybe you should
pause this conversation.
I just think that there's
I don't think it was a perfect setup either
way, but I certainly don't think
that you should have called her a diva.
That's my argument.
I don't deny. I wish I didn't call her a diva
because I had no idea there was weight to that word.
Well, now you know. But you live and learn, right? didn't call her a diva because I had no idea there was weight to that word. Well, now you know.
But you live and learn, right?
Would you call someone a diva now?
Not a black woman.
I don't know.
Mike, come on.
I wouldn't call.
I mean, I don't toss around words.
First of all, that was 368th episode.
I had never insulted a guest once.
That's not what I do because I want people to come back. I think it's fair to call out a guest once. That's not what I do because I want people to come back. I don't think it's... You can totally...
I think it's fair
to call out a guest
if you don't think
that they're doing
what it is
that they should do.
I mean, we've heard
broadcasters on the air
say like,
hey, I'm going to end
this interview early
because it's clearly
not working out.
Which I consider doing,
but I actually called her out
as an alternative.
Like I thought
if I call her out
and we can like reset,
we could do this and
it actually kind of worked in the sense that once she got over that line that that clip i played
where she reacts to me calling her diva like uh after that it actually was pretty good i thought
like she there was no more you know it warmed up and then we had a hug and then we had a picture
and it was okay so i feel like i actually now after i've been listening i listened back to a
few times myself because i was fascinated by the episode.
And then I would with other people like Monica wanted to listen with me.
People like my,
my,
my daughter wanted to listen.
People kind of want to,
Hey,
let's listen to the Molly Johnson episode.
And just somehow it's kind of like kind of fascinating how it,
it goes bad and then it gets a bit better than it gets worse.
And then it's better.
It's fantastic.
It goes terrible.
It's fucking greatest.
It's okay again. It's kind of a, I don't know. Uh, it then it gets better. It's fantastic. Then it goes terrible. It's fucking greatest. And then it's okay again.
It's kind of, I don't know, it's like nothing else I've ever done.
It's fantastic.
I will, I would know, no, I wouldn't, after that experience.
I'll listen to it again.
I would never call someone a diva.
Any other shitty episode.
And I apologize.
And I actually did reach out to the publicist, who is a guy who, he's the guy who hooked
me up with Fred Pennerner so i had a really
good experience with fred penner well here here's what i think mike here's where i think you would
um if you're if you're asking me for my advice which you haven't but what kind of you're here
i'm gonna give it to you anyway sure live and learn it's a lesson it's it's one for the you
know it's a checkbox that was bound to be checked at some
point in time in terms of having an awkward guest with all these episodes and whatnot.
But I think the real learning is, okay, should I, how is it that I should approach a situation
like this in the future? What are some of the things that I could learn from this?
Is there something to learn about the word, the context of that word, the history of the word?
Does it mean different things to different people?
I think if you just look at it like, hey, I'm going to try and learn as much as I can about why it is that I would get a reaction like this, I think you're in a good space.
And, you know, that's really, I think, where you grow as a person is like, hey, you know what?
I don't think I fucked up, but maybe I did.
And I'm going to figure out if I really did or not.
And maybe I did or maybe I didn't in my mind, but I did in other people's minds.
And a lot of times when I'm recording, that's what matters more.
I learned a lot from that episode.
But for what it's worth, which probably not much, but for what it's worth, I actually never considered race in the entire conversation.
I had no concept of race. Maybe it's subconscious,
but I had no conscious of
the fact that I was a white guy and she was
a black woman. That didn't occur until
she said the words, guys like you, and
she said, black lives matter, girls. Until that
line, I actually had no idea.
Again, I
will say to you, Mike, that
I would agree with you. I don't think that
you came at it from a racial perspective. But I can also see the other side where if a lot of people are using that with racial overtones, which again, based on the one singular conversation I had, is that that person disagreed with that. But that's not to say that that's right or wrong. It's just someone's opinion.
but that's not to say that that's right or wrong.
It's just someone's opinion.
You know, ultimately, racism is a very complex issue.
And so, again, not suggesting that you're racist, Mike, at all.
You don't marry to a woman of color?
It doesn't matter, but that doesn't matter.
It really doesn't matter.
But those things like that are not... I thought Elvis was here, not that other guy.
It's not helping your cause, though,
when you say stuff like that, though.
You just got to own it, dude.
You just got to own it.
Own what?
You just got to own it. Say like, hey, you own it. Own what? You just got to own it.
Say like, hey, you know what?
Molly feels like I made a mistake.
I made a mistake.
I'm going to learn from it
and I'm going to make sure that
I'm going to do my best
to make sure someone
who's sitting in this guest chair
doesn't feel the same way
in that way again.
That's it.
Own it.
Okay.
That's it.
Okay.
I'll own it.
Would you recommend this episode to a friend?
Absolutely.
You know why?
Because now I know who fucking Molly Johnson is.
Maybe there'll be a massive turnout to the Kensington.
And it's also interesting because it also does,
I think it reflects well on you though too.
Because clearly there was a lot of people who felt as though
you did well defending yourself.
And I think you did a good job turning the episode around.
I think you deserve a lot of credit for that episode, dude.
It was really good.
You should have led with that.
Why did you lead with that?
Because fuck, that's boring.
Because you know that.
You know that I said that already.
I have to admit, this is the first episode I've ever done
where I was legitimately hungry for feedback.
Like this is the first time where I...
Yeah, you reached out to me and asked me for it.
You've never done that before.
I didn't do it to too many people, actually.
For example, Hebsey would be strolling over
one day at 9 a.m.
We were just with Hebsey,
so we didn't talk about that next.
He's smiling at me,
and he's like,
I just listened to the Molly Johnson episode.
Then I'm like, what did you think?
We just saw Greg Brady, and he said, I listened to the Molly. And then I'm like, what do you think? And we just saw Greg Brady.
And he said, I listened to the Molly Johnson episode.
And I'm like, what do you think?
Like, I need to know.
And I needed to know.
And I even, I told my son to listen.
I told Monica to listen.
Here's the other thing, though, too, Mike.
Monica, your son, me, Hebsey, Greg,
we're not the best people to sort of advise you on this,
I don't think.
Is that because you're all white?
No, Monica's not a white person.
Yeah, we're white privileged guys.
Monica's not a white person. Yeah Yeah, she's a Filipino privileged person.
Is she?
Yeah, of course she is.
I don't understand.
I gotta say, I know you're in the HR world and everything,
and this is all very sensitive and stuff,
and I try to live in the world,
and I'm conscious of the fact that I have white privilege.
I'm aware of this.
I'm a heterosexual white male,
and I understand that doors open for me
that don't open for everybody else,
and I'm aware of that.
But what I don't understand... Hold on. I just opened
up an over my dag body
pilsner from Great Lakes Brewery.
It's fucking great.
Thank you, guys.
Thanks, Great Lakes Brewery.
Because we came straight from...
There's a bit to tell the listeners.
We came straight from...
What's it called? Lamport Stadium?
Lamport, yeah.
Alan Lamport, former mayor of Toronto, right?
Maybe.
Before Art Eccleton.
He's the first mayor I remember is Art Eccleton.
Yeah, me too.
Who's the first mayor you remember?
Me too, me too.
Yeah, because it seemed like he was a mayor forever,
but he wasn't really.
Well, that was before the mega city, of course.
But he was there a long time, I think.
He was.
At least when I was in the 80s.
I was a kid.
Alan Lamport.
But Alan Lamport Stadium.
We were there today.
So this is what?
Like 4 o'clock p.m.
And we had a 12. Eastern time.
Eastern time.
Toronto.
So he was mayor.
This is funny.
He was only mayor from 52 to 54.
Whoa.
Two years.
Maybe he called someone a diva.
I kicked that off.
He won the 50.
Mike.
Jesus Christ.
He won the 54 election,
but then resigned after six months
to become the vice chairman
and then later chairman of the TTC Commission,
or TTC.
Well, it got him a stadium named after him,
so he did well.
Wow, that's so crazy.
But it says here that he was...
In the summary, it says mayor of Toronto from 52 to 54.
But then in the other part, it says in office from 51 to 55.
He was the 50th mayor of Toronto.
And before that, he was an MPP for St. David.
And he lived till he was 96.
Wow.
He's an old dude.
What year did he die? Do you know? 1999. He's an old dude. What year did he die?
Do you know?
1999.
That's recent.
Yeah.
Crazy.
Well, we were at his stadium today,
and it's only a matter of time now that that stadium is being used for pro sports.
It's only a matter of time
before a sponsor name is attached to that stadium name, right?
Do you think?
Like Reebok Stadium.
Is it big enough, though?
Well, I guess if they make the Super League.
If they make the Super League. Right. But the interesting part, so did you want to say why we were there? Can I say think? Like Reebok Stadium. Is it big enough, though? Well, I guess if they make the Super League. If they make the Super League.
But the interesting part, so did you
want to say why we were there? Can I say it? No, go ahead.
So the reason why we're there is because Mike was gracious
enough to ask me to join him
to
see the Toronto Wolfpack. They are
in their
promotion playoff
season at this moment.
But if you notice, so they play at Lamport Stadium,
which is on King, just west of Liberty Village,
if you notice, all of those matches,
because rugby is a big deal in England,
they're the only pro sports team
that's ever gone transatlantic before.
If you notice, the games are on TV in the UK.
They're certainly on the TV here somewhere,
I guess, at some point in time. But all of the ads around the stadium are on TV in the UK. They're certainly on the TV here somewhere, I guess, at some point in time.
But all of the ads around the stadium are English companies.
Right.
Did you recognize any of them?
There wasn't any Canadian companies.
So if it does get named with a sponsor, I wonder it could be like some British company.
Yeah.
Which would be really interesting, right? We drive by and it's like the Laddie Brooks.
Or is that...
That's Irish.
I don't know.
Some English company.
Jaguar or something.
When I was in Ireland,
I went to a store called Argo's.
Yeah, yeah.
Which is like a grocery store.
It's a consumer's distributing.
No, it's a consumer's distributing.
I picked things out of a catalog
and then it came on the rollers
at the beer store with consumers. I just spilled them of a catalog and then it came on the rollers at the beer store
with consumers. I just spilled them my
shorts.
There was a previous
Toronto Mic'd episode. You might have heard it.
It was with Joe
from the Wolfpack.
He told me everything I needed to know
about the Wolfpack. Through that connection,
I got these four VIP tickets.
I remember Elvis once telling me
on a comment or on facebook or something that he was going to listen you said you were going to
listen to that episode did you know i didn't listen to it but i downloaded it um but yeah i'm
fascinated by this whole concept i think it's it's just it's i'd love to see the finances which of
course we never will but because the tor Toronto Wolfpack pays for the flight and accommodation
of all their visiting teams
who come over to Toronto to play.
Right.
And they do,
during the regular season,
they do four and four.
They do four games away
and then four games at home.
And it's just like,
I can't imagine that they're making any cash
because Lamport Stadium holds 9,600 people
as we learned today.
Yeah.
And there was maybe what? Six, 7,000 people? we learned today yeah and there was maybe what six seven thousand
people yeah about that about that and this was a big time big deal playoff game right yeah yeah
and i can't imagine how much the tickets are like i don't even know i guess i could look i don't
know because i should disclose our tickets were free well yeah you said that you we were there
because we were yeah whatever connected to the podcast so we got vip tickets which included free
beer that's pretty good.
I've had VIP tickets for other
Toronto sporting events and it never includes
free alcohol. Really?
They'll give you the food. I had tickets for the
Eastern Conference Final Argos
club VIP tickets
and all the food. I had 100
hot dogs. I think I had like 90 but I could have
100 hot dogs but the beer
I had to pay cash for the beer.
Fuck that.
So to me, this was amazing.
Like you could just drink.
So the next game is on the 15th.
So what is that, two weeks from now?
Yeah.
If we wanted to be in the West Stands General Admission,
how is that possible?
It says VIP hospitality ticket. I don't know
what that is, but that's $150. You get a back rub
for that. That doesn't make any sense to me, but
the tickets that are
general admission in the stands are
anywhere between $29.25 and
$34.25 each.
Considering that this
sport is so new for most of us.
$25 and $30.
It's kind of amazing they had that many people in the stands.
I actually think this is a surprise.
I saw people dressed up, dude.
A success.
I know.
I saw a lot of people that were diehard fans of Wolfpack.
And we took a selfie with the mascot, the wolf mascot.
And I thought it was, and I should point out,
I had four tickets.
First ticket went to you, Elvis, because I knew you wanted to see the wolf.
I appreciate that. And my friend and TM to you, Elvis, because I knew you wanted to see the Wolf. Thank you. I appreciate that.
And my friend and TMDS client, Austin, took a ticket.
And some guy named Hebsey took a ticket.
Mark Hebshire?
Mark Hebshire.
Hebshire?
From Hebsey on Sports, who I spend a lot of...
I just realized how much time I'm spending with Hebsey.
I spend a lot of time with Hebsey.
I was with Hebsey for three hours last night.
I was with him yesterday morning at 9 a.m. He was at my door. So I spent a lot of time with Hebsey I was with Hebsey for three hours last night I was with him yesterday morning
at 9am he was at my door
so I spent a lot of time with Hebsey
but he was there
that was the four tickets
and then I took a selfie with all of us
not Austin but us three plus the mascot
I took a selfie
and then I tweeted the selfie with the mascot
and I looked at it
and you're not in it
and you didn't tag me in the shot either.
I didn't tag anybody.
Do you know that's how you get likes
and retweets? Come on, you're supposed to tag people.
Is there money in it? I don't worry about that stuff.
I wanted to spread the love.
I did not mean to cut you out.
My arm wasn't long enough.
At one point I could see myself
and then I guess you had...
Because you kept getting phone calls and stuff and texts while we were taking the call.
Because Austin was late.
That's right.
And also, at the meantime, the air show, I have a question.
The air show was going on above us.
So why don't you like it?
I'm like, this is amazing.
It's stupid.
Formation, Blue Angels.
It's unnecessarily dangerous and use of resources that it just doesn't make sense.
Is it the pollutants you don't like?
I mean, that's part of it, but it's just an unnecessary use of resources that it just doesn't make sense. Is it the pollutants you don't like? I mean, that's part of it, but it's just an unnecessary
use of resources and like, okay,
you see, and then accidents happen
and no one recovers from that shit.
And it's just unnecessary.
It's dumb.
So you would like us to get rid of the air show?
Listen, I'm not going to picket
or, you know, fight anyone
because they are pro-air show.
You know, and I don't think anyone's holding banners or protests for anti-air shows.
Some might.
The residents of King West might be.
Perhaps.
But I would take the side of the air show in this case and say,
you moved in knowing there was going to be an air show every Labor Day weekend.
So you have no real argument.
But there are new Canadians from countries that have bomb bombings and stuff and they get ptsd okay
well they knew that too if if i started a country i would ban air shows okay but i'm not starting a
country and if you want to go to the fucking air show you know what leave me alone on twitter
i tweeted i hate air shows or air shows are stupid i don't need you tweeting at me so stop it's fine
so we had an air show.
I'm going to have an opinion.
There's lots going on today.
So what's your thoughts on the Wolfpack match we watched today?
I loved it.
I think it was great.
I mean, now, mind you, I wasn't sitting at the stand,
so we were sitting in the end zone,
so we didn't really have a really great view of the game itself.
You were almost on the field.
But it was certainly impressive.
I mean, the intestinal fortitude
and athleticism of these Giants men
is pretty impressive.
I would go back for sure.
I mean, I'm looking into,
I just, I'm trying to figure out
how much season tickets would cost for next year,
even if I could just give it away to clients and stuff.
Wow.
I can't really figure it out,
but it seems like it's not very much money.
I mean... It's eight Saturdays in a row because of course they,
because of the,
well,
they do four and four,
right?
Yeah.
Well,
no,
the regular,
I think,
and cause I had this episode,
they said eight in a row.
Oh,
was it eight in a row?
I thought it was four in a row.
So the players who are all European,
they all come and live like they live in the distillery.
I like to,
so for everyone who's listening,
Mike wanted to qualify today and told me that everyone
is European, but there's one Armenian on the team.
No, no.
Albanian.
Albanian.
No, I said no.
I never said Albanian.
I know Albanian.
There's all European and there's one Albanian.
I'm like, Mike, Albania's in Europe.
That's not how it went down.
That's fucking great.
That's not how it went down.
Anyway.
I said they're all English and then there's one Albanian.
Right.
Yeah, it was exciting.
I enjoyed it too.
These are big men and very there's one Albanian. Yeah, it was exciting. I enjoyed it too. These are big men
and very athletic.
And of course, it's always helpful when
you're good, which clearly
we are. Toronto,
that is. We're very good.
They're in the playoffs. The goal is to be
stacked as a team to make it to the Super League,
which is a cool name.
We should
be in the Super League next year.
Well, yeah.
I mean, if it goes the way it's supposed to go, yes.
Absolutely.
So we're there.
Also, I should point out,
I had the four tickets,
Hebsey, you, Austin, and we had a good time.
And then joining us there with his own ticket
was Greg Brady,
former Toronto Mike guest and jam kicker.
Greg Brady!
I thought that was interesting because Greg Brady's first episode of Toronto Mic'd.
I was here.
You were here.
I was sitting in mic number three, not even mic number two.
Right.
You gave him mic number two, which makes sense.
Which makes sense.
Makes sense.
So it was good to see Greg.
I saw James Myrtle at this game as well.
Shook his hand.
James Myrtle's been on a couple of times.
And apparently I missed him.
He was there and he left early.
Because, you know, Greg Brady's wife is an accomplished sports writer for the Globe and Mail.
So apparently, I don't know that whom.
What's his name? Does that. Who does that?ael scott who does that no no former saturday night live guy tall guy
kevin nealon kevin nealon i know he does love it i don't know so i don't know so anyway who
left uh stephen brunt was there apparently and i just missed them i don't know his whole fuck man
you're quite the diva yourself. Wow.
Mike!
What?
I can't even call you a diva.
You're such a dickhead.
No, I'm sorry.
You're diva-like.
It's different.
You're such a dick.
So a good time at the Wolfpack.
Trying to teach you and you learn nothing.
And we're now recording after the Wolfpack match.
And we have plans for tonight.
Don't stop that.
It's my show.
I'll beat you fucking like a man. See? That's better.'t stop that. It's my show. I'll beat you.
See, that's better.
That's better.
That's it.
Just call it out.
I thought I did.
Just call it out.
I thought I did.
What are we doing together?
We're going to go to, this is a big mandate.
So we met at Noonish, just after Noonish.
Yeah.
At Lamport.
Yeah.
Saw the Wolfpack.
You biked back here.
Did we win or lose?
We won. It was Domination in the
first half and then they came back a little bit in the second
half, but we won.
That means we're 2-1 in the playoffs. There's eight games
in the playoffs. And then
we're doing this little podcast thingy.
This will be stop number
two on the mandate. Then you and I are going to have a romantic pizza
dinner after this quickly. Are we going to walk
to Domino's and pick it up? Can we do that?
We can order in advance. Let's order in advance.
No, we order in advance, but we walk to pick it up.
Sure, sure. So we're going to have a little
mandate dinner at
Domino's Pizza. And then
we're going to go to Toronto FC
and against
the LAFC, which is the second LA team.
This is their first season.
And the reason why I'm excited to see this is because a former TFC player is now playing for LA, Stephen Bettishore,
who is, I think, a player that we wish we had on our team this squad,
or this year, excuse me.
But dude, this is intense mandate action.
Can I?
Yes.
And you asked the question that I'm not sure that either one of us can answer in the positive or the affirmative.
What's the question?
Have you ever gone to two Toronto sporting events in one day?
Have you?
I can't think of one.
I know.
I can't think of one.
I mean, the only options would be going to a J game and a TFC game.
Maybe.
Because TFC usually plays in the evenings, even on the weekends.
So going to a Leaf game or a Raptor game on the same day would probably not be possible.
No, you can't do that.
They play in the same place.
No, no, no, no, no. Going to TFC
and Raptors or TFC and Leafs,
they both play in the evening.
Since the Argos moved,
it might be possible to do
a TFC-Argos thing.
Maybe.
Or if they were at the Dome.
No, I never meant that.
If they were at the Dome, perhaps.
Blue Jays-Argos would be possible now that they're at the Dome.
No, I never did that.
Yeah, I don't think I've done this.
This is like, maybe, like, would it maybe like a Marlies and something or else?
Yeah, yeah.
I can't, I don't know.
I know, I can't.
I think this is like, this is the first time.
Exciting.
This is exciting.
It's exciting.
Now, can you tell us a bit about, like, does TFC have any chance at the playoffs?
Yeah, this is tough.
Ultimately, I think they have any chance at the playoffs? Yeah, this is tough. Ultimately,
I think they have, they basically have to win. I think they have eight games left and the idea is
they got to win. I think they have to win, not even just draw. They have to win six of the eight,
something like that. It's going to be really tough. Now, if any team can do it, it's going
to be this team. I mean, this team is certainly not playing to their full potential and who knows what's going on with
this team, but it's not looking good. Now I did receive my playoff invoice from the club.
So of course I'm going to pay that, but I am fully anticipate them giving me a refund on those
tickets. So what happened? Like we went from MLS cup champions to missing the playoffs. Do you
know, I just got, I'm going to send you a picture because I haven't framed
it. I haven't hung it up yet. I'm going to hang it up tomorrow.
But I know
someone who works at MLS and I was very lucky
to receive a signed jersey
of all the TFC players
from their Eastern Conference final match
the year
before they won the MLS Cup.
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So fully signed jersey and I brought it to Michael's,
and I got them to mount it for me.
I'm very excited about that,
so I was going to go up in the basement.
It's very large.
Cool.
It's very, very cool.
So free jersey, but fucking expensive to frame it.
But, so what was your question?
What's gone wrong?
Yeah, what happened?
We were good enough to be champions,
and now we might not make the playoffs.
I don't know, man.
There was a lot of excuses at the beginning of the season
as it related to the Champions League, which is fine.
I mean, I was with them.
I was with them.
Their focus clearly was on the Champions League,
as it should have been,
because that would have been really fucking big.
And we made it to the final.
I mean, that's a big fucking deal.
But clearly clearly they just
for whatever reason that momentum or or you know momentum is it's not really real i guess but um
i don't know there was just something about whatever happened at the beginning of the season
as it related to the distractions and the different tournament they were in that has uh has just
carried through all the way through the summer i I mean, here we are in September,
and they're not even close to a playoff spot at this point in time.
If they get in, it's going to be nothing short of a miracle.
Wow.
Let's win tonight, because I'll be there.
Hope so.
I mean, LAFC is certainly not a team to laugh at,
so this is not going to be easy.
But that's the thing, too,
is that Toronto has not played well at home.
And typically, you know, the BMO, is that Toronto has not played well at home. And typically,
you know, the BMO field
has been the fortress for us.
It's been a place where we are
unbeatable.
And that's just not the case this year.
And in this league,
if you don't win at home,
it's tough to win anything.
Now you're drinking some
Great Lakes beer.
You still on your first one?
No, no, no. Number two.
How many beers did you have at the...
17.
At the...
Where were we?
At Lamport Stadium.
I had two at Lamport.
Lamport.
I just got to keep track.
I'm cycling everywhere.
That's a different...
Correct.
You're driving.
Well, I haven't figured out how I'm getting...
I've had to knock you out because I have my SmartServe certificate.
So do I.
Well, if I see you had too many, I have to knock you out and take the keys.
That's right.
I'm obligated by law.
You're an idiot.
So I have to watch you closely.
But thank you, Great Lakes Brewery.
Brewery.
Can we talk briefly, my friend?
In fact, this will segue nicely into Brian's question, which I'll play.
Brian Gerstein from propertyinthesix.com.
into Brian's question, which I'll play.
Brian Gerstein from propertyinthesix.com.
Please, the TM, what do I call it?
Toronto Mic Listener Experience 2. So TMLX2 is taking place on September 12th.
Are you going to attend this event?
So yes, but I was telling Hepsi
that I think it's funny because you shared with me
and I'm certainly not suggesting anything from that I think it's funny because you shared with me and I'm not
I'm certainly not
suggesting anything from this other than
it's really funny but you were telling
Hepsi that there are some
people who want to meet me
which I find very amusing
I mean like I'm just your buddy dude
like how long have I known you
I've known you for a hundred years
2006
2005 something like that but you've been on many episodes of Toronto Mic'd. 2006, 2005, something like that.
But you've been on many episodes of Toronto Mic'd as Elvis.
I guess.
It's funny.
I think you're underestimating the power of being...
Don't forget, when people...
This show we're on right now, Toronto Mic'd,
some people listen to it in their car.
They have a commute.
I know.
You're sitting in the car with these people for hours.
I know.
But this is how I think of it, though, Mike.
Like, if I'm a listener of your podcast and I see, like, oh, Greg Brady's on.
Oh, so-and-so's on.
Ron McClain.
Stephen Brunt.
Blah, blah, blah.
And then this fucking guy, Elvis.
Like, what the fuck?
But you've told me that you've gotten commentary that people just like two guys shooting the shit.
So I guess that's what the appeal is.
There's two types of listeners.
There's the loyalists who just enjoy Toronto Mike and the experience, if you will.
And they will listen to every episode, essentially.
Unless it's somebody they hate, which I don't know.
But they listen to almost every episode.
And they definitely listen to the Elvis episodes.
And I would say the majority of the people who subscribe and are loyalists enjoy the Elvis episodes.
Cool.
But then there's the other group
that cherry pick based on the guests.
Right.
Oh, I want to hear what,
who's on last?
Jeff Woods.
I want to hear what Jeff Woods
wants to set it up to.
Right, right, right, right.
You know what?
And maybe that's me projecting
because if I was listening to your podcast
on a regular basis.
Well, you don't listen to this show.
I know.
Let me just finish.
I'm upset about it.
If I was a listener of the podcast,
I would probably,
and Elvis was somebody else,
I would probably skip over the Elvis ones
because I would want to listen to Jeff Woods.
But you skip over Jeff Woods.
I know.
I love Jeff Woods.
I love him.
Can I?
Let's have this out now.
Just like Molly Johnson.
I want to have this out.
I want to have it out.
I need to have his.
Why don't you listen to Toronto Mike?
I need to have his.
I want him to autograph my book. Well, I'm friends with him. I know. Why don't you listen to Toronto Mates? I need to have his... I want him to autograph my book.
Well, I'm friends with him.
I know.
Why don't you listen to Toronto Mates?
Dude, I don't listen to any podcasts.
Listen, I love you.
I support you.
Do you love me?
I love you long time.
Okay.
I love you long time.
That full metal jacket.
I like that.
No, it's like two movies in one.
That first movie, oh my God.
And then this second movie different.
Right.
Also two live crew.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Me so horny.
Right.
Why don't, so you don't listen to any podcast?
No, I go in spurts, but I find it really, even, even audio books.
Like I downloaded and listened to the first three chapters of the new Tragically Hip book that is voiced by your boyfriend,
George Strombolopoulos.
Canada's boyfriend.
Canada's boyfriend.
Fantastic.
Fucking great.
Up to chapter three,
and then I couldn't do it.
You bail.
For whatever reason,
I can't listen to audiobooks or podcasts
for a sustained period of time.
For when you're running.
I need the visual.
You know what?
I haven't listened to any audio running in probably six months.
Okay.
I don't know why.
Because I listen to a lot of podcasts on my bike.
That would, yeah.
Because you bike for so long, though, too.
But you commute a lot.
You're in North Oshawa.
I know.
You know, I listen to Howard Stern. That is the exception that is the exception so i'm no howard
stern and i well no one is no offense uh but i listen mike i can't i can't explain it because
normally i mean no disrespect you know that regular i know that regular elvis uh listeners
listeners of the elvis episodes of trotterbikediked will expect me to run down the list of previous episodes
to ask you if you
have listened to or whatever.
And I'm not doing it this time. Fucking I'm not doing it.
Because I'm so
dejected at the end of that
experience. We spent an entire
like 20 minutes talking about
fucking Molly Johnson. What do you want from me?
Well, that was important.
I'll just quickly scan this.
There's been a lot of episodes since you were last on.
Buck a beer.
That's funny that you guys talked about buck a beer.
Well, yeah.
I have a beer sponsor.
Have you heard that?
It's so dumb.
It's so dumb, buck a beer.
Why is it dumb?
Well, because-
It was a buck 25.
I know.
They made it such a big deal, and it was really just a quarter.
And then they taxed-
Nobody was selling their beer for a buck 25.
I know. But then they also taxed electrical cars selling their beer for a buck twenty. I know. But then they also
taxed electrical cars
by fourteen thousand dollars. Oh I know.
Like where are all the fucking
conservatives for that? You just put
a tax on cars
for fourteen thousand dollars.
Assholes.
Dicks. You know who I wanted to listen
to and I never did? Who?
Sean Cullen. because i used to love
i love corking the juice pigs i went to a corking the juice pigs show and didn't realize that the
majority of their audience was gay i didn't know that yeah yeah well at least i mean that's the
sort of not i shouldn't say that the majority of the audience in the venue that evening,
it was...
It was homosexual.
It definitely had this whole drag show sort of thing to it.
I didn't know that.
I fucking loved it.
It was a great...
Can I tell you that he's a fantastic talent?
I think he's actually just...
No one knows what to do with him.
He's so creative.
Yeah, I love Sean Cullen.
I think he's brilliant.
What does he do now?
What does he do now? What does he do now?
He does some stand-up stuff.
Should I listen to the podcast?
Listen to the fucking...
It's in the liner notes.
Read the fucking liner notes.
They're in there somewhere.
It's in there somewhere.
Oh, Mike.
It's fine.
You're about to have an episode like that.
When you scanned...
I know.
Actually, you know what?
Part of me was like, okay, good.
I got one.
I'm surprised it took that long, frankly.
That's a long time.
Based on how many Yahoo's
you have coming in here?
Yahoo's coming in and out.
Okay, we sit down
and except for
Damien Cox told me
he didn't like being asked
about his tweet that went out
that looked like it was a DM.
And Dave Hodge didn't want you
to talk about the pencil toss,
but you did anyway.
But he did anyways
and he had a great experience
and he came back
to kick up the gems.
So really,
I haven't had anything close.
I hadn't had anything close to the Molly Johnson becauseson because everyone's in fact i used to say this
when i would ask guests on i say every guest uh had a good experience i'm dude i'm so surprised
so i finally it's like me you know what it's like me at work oh yeah if you don't get the job
i still want you to have a good great candidate experience right so even if you're not happy with the show
or the the press right you still want your guests to have a good experience right i didn't even get
my free beer you know but she had she wanted none of it you fucking asshole i just i pulled the
beer at the last why did she give her the beer maybe that would have changed fucking dickhead
if she was even a slight bit not even a mug. You know why?
Not even a
Here's the part that I haven't
been hammering enough
which is what happened
before I pressed record.
I don't want
you know
before I pressed record
it was such a traumatic experience
for me
to have someone so mean to me
I decided
no beer for you.
Let it go.
Let it go.
I did tell the rep
that I would have her back
and I said I would like a redo. Yeah her back and I said I would like a redo
I would like a redo
and see that speaks to you Mike
that's why I think you're a good person
and you're not coming at this
in the way in which some people could interpret
which is fair they can interpret it
any way that they want
just tag her
I did not
you know 100 pieces of feedback
98 are one way and then you and Taggart are the other.
Please continue.
Listen.
All these other fucking people.
All these other white guys you have listening to the show.
Not all white guys.
JJ.
All right.
JJ is from Trinidad and Tobago.
Okay.
Sure.
You know there's white people there, right?
And brown people.
I've seen her picture from Caribbean Festival. All right. You know there's white people there, right? And brown people.
I've seen her picture from Caribbean Festival.
Not Carabana anymore.
Play my fucking song.
What are we doing right now?
We're talking about Great Lakes Brewery.
Do you want to do your plug?
Were you going to say anything about Great Lakes?
I was going to say I can't wait for September 12th.
Are you coming? That's right.
We talked about this thing.
The reason why I didn't go to the last show is because I was, I think it was in New
York and there was like-
You travel a lot, eh?
Can you tell us, like how many days a month are you-
Right now, right now, so no, I was at home for five months in a row.
I didn't travel at all for like five months.
I didn't know that.
I have been on the road-
I didn't get an invitation to a barbecue or anything?
I have been on the road for more in the last two, three months
than I ever have been.
Is it fair?
We won't name the company
because that's episode 320.
We won't name the company.
But is it fair to say
that this company would go down
without you traveling?
You weren't up in the air.
Yeah, my boss is listening to this show.
Ever?
Highly unlikely. Of course it would not. But what I want your listeners up in the air like George Clooney. If my boss is listening to this show ever, highly unlikely,
of course it would not.
But what I want your listeners and my ego to believe,
of course it would go down in a blaze
of glory. And I don't follow
your life as closely as I should. Everyone is
replaceable, Mike. It seems like you're
always somewhere else.
I am. I have been traveling
a lot recently because I'm doing double duty.
And my speaking career has been successful.
Really?
I'm surprised.
I'm going to.
Nice.
I've been fortunate enough to go to a bunch of different conferences and speak.
Wow. So I went to Korea. I'm going to Bogota. I'm going to Seattle.
Bogota, you know what? People say I was worried a little bit the first time
I went because it has a...
You watched Narcos. If you watch too many Netflix shows, it sort of gives you the
impression that Colombia is very dangerous.
Bogota, I loved it.
I actually found Bogota to be a lot safer in terms of the way I felt than Brazil.
Okay, but my neighbors across the street are from Bogota.
I always say it wrong.
And Miriam, who goes by Lieve Vamke, which means like darling or something in Dutch.
But Lieve Vamke, who's going to be there.
And I'll introduce you to her on September 12th.
Okay.
She says I say it wrong.
I say Bogota.
But how do you say it?
Bogota.
Right.
I say Bogota.
No, it's Bogota.
I can't even say woman.
You can't even say Rory.
What am I doing broadcasting?
You can't even say like English words.
I'm the last guy.
You got to be like Barack Obama.
Okay.
So the neighbors.
He says Pakistan instead of Pakistan.
Right.
I should be like Barack Obama.
That's a good idea.
The inflection that the local people would use.
So Bogota.
Bogota.
Bogota.
Right.
And I'm sure I'm not saying it right now.
My neighbors, I said it across the air.
I said they are from Bogota.
It's like you don't go to Florence, Mike.
Where I go?
Firenze.
Because I've been there, by the way.
Beautiful.
Been there.
Been there.
On my honeymoon, I went to Italy.
Beautiful.
Firenze is one of the best places in the world. Oh, it was amazing. They. Been there. Been there. On my honeymoon, I went to Italy. Beautiful. Yeah, I love it.
Firenze is one of the best places in the world. Oh, it was amazing.
They had that old bridge and everything.
It's beautiful.
So, honestly, I liked it.
It was amazing.
Way better.
Milan underwhelmed me after that Florence visit.
Milan.
Milan.
So, Bogota, I was advised by my neighbors.
I'm like, I'm excited.
I want to go there.
And they talked me out of it.
But you had a good experience there.
Bogota was great.
I felt super safe.
I walked everywhere.
It's funny.
I went to Korea recently.
Wow.
North Korea or South Korea?
South Korea.
I wanted to go to the north, but I didn't have enough time.
And apparently, you got to book that a couple of days in advance, which I didn't have.
So anyway, so I go and I walk out of the hotel and I'm like, hey, I want to go to this palace.
Can you point me in the right direction so that Google Maps knows where I'm going?
Right?
Because you know how when you walk out or you're ready to go somewhere and Google Maps
doesn't always know what direction you're facing?
Sure I do.
So I just wanted their advice.
Like, which way do I go?
And they're like, oh, you got to go on the subway. And I'm like, no, no, no like which way do i go and they're like oh you got to go on the subway and i'm like no no i want to walk and
they're like you can't walk there that's funny so long story short that the subways are everywhere
there and it's so fucking hot they were just like you can't walk anywhere meanwhile walking in a
city that you're that you're new to is the best way to see it it's the only way i do it yeah so i i i walked
for 45 minutes much to the chagrin of my hotel concierge um because he thought i was an idiot
but uh 45 is not even that much i know you know what i did in rome i know you should see i met
my ride in rome and paris those two cities particularly if you saw the clicks i i know
i know and this is just me walking to the
palace once i got to the palace and you walk around there and then you walk back and it was
not like i was going the direct route i like wanted to see neighborhoods and stuff but you're
all over the place i'm all over the place it's too much it's too much doing great work i'm looking
forward to january at this point because that's when it slows down that's what slows down yeah
so you missed the first tor Mike listener experience in July.
I did, but I have plans to be there on the 12th of September.
Okay, let's do Brian's question now
because there's some follow-up required from you.
But the listener experience is at Great Lakes Brewery.
Great Lakes Brewery.
Okay.
Was it 80 Queen Elizabeth?
I don't know my case.
I'm drinking my over-the body Pilsner which you said
that I have a dad bod
30 Queen Elizabeth
Boulevard Toronto Ontario
M8Z1L8
in case you want to send them a piece of mail
thanking them for sponsoring
do you know that you can follow them
on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
you should do that
they respond back because I have tweeted to them or I've Instagrammed them Do you know that you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram? You should do that. You should. Troy recently...
They respond back because I have tweeted to them or I've Instagrammed them and they have responded back.
Troy is a guy there who I think he mans those accounts.
But here's the thing about the Toronto Mike listener experience that you might not know Elvis and I want everyone listening to know.
Not only is the Royal Pains...
I want to get their...
Great band.
They're the Royal Pains band want to get their... Great band. Their, the Royal Pains
band. Great band. Dot com.
The Royal, there's a lot of actually
words in there. You got to keep track of it.
Listen very closely.
The Royal Pains.
No! What am I doing?
The Royal Pains band. Dot com.
That's where you go to learn about
this band and to book them for your event
because you should be booking these guys for your event.
I can't wait to have them play the second Toronto Mic Listener Experience
on September 12th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Great Lakes Brewery.
And this is on their patio?
On the patio, weather permitting, yeah.
And what happens if it's weather not permitting?
We've got a big room in the back we're going to move to.
Gotcha.
Cool.
So we're there no matter what?
No matter what, rain or shine.
And the Royal Pains are going to perform, but this is exciting.
Okay.
And your kids might not watch Treehouse TV.
They might not know these guys.
But they are of an age because you have young children and they might be Splash and Boots
fans.
Maybe.
They are.
But I had to ask you this.
Yeah.
Why the fuck do I care about them being there?
No offense.
Because they're popular former Toronto Mike guests.
That's why.
Remember, you're the only one at this listening experience
who doesn't listen to Toronto Mike.
No, I know that they've been on the show multiple times.
Does Boots understand the controversy around her photos?
Not wearing bras?
She still doesn't understand this?
No, no, no. It's not controversial to not wear bras. But that bras? She still doesn't understand this? Now you know that?
No, no, no.
It's not controversial to not wear bras.
But that's what you're talking about, right?
No, but to be clear, it's not controversial to not wear a bra.
You can wear whatever the fuck you want.
You live in this PC universe that's very difficult.
However, what I am suggesting is that people have noticed that when she isn't wearing a bra and in a photo, it's very obvious that she's not wearing a bra.
She is a woman,
an adult woman with nipples.
That is true.
Yes.
And she's a free spirit.
I have a lot of interactions with her. Does she know that?
People know this about her though.
I've never pointed it out
because I don't,
I think that may be rude.
Oh, weird.
You've never pointed that out to her
because it's rude
because she's nice to me.
Oh, good.
Okay, sure.
She's very nice.
All right.
I find I get an artistic free spirit-spirited vibe from her.
I've never met her.
She looks great in the photos.
You're going to meet her on September 12th.
So that's what I'm saying.
So what are they going to do?
Are they going to make a paper mache for us?
Wonder Wall, Sweet Child O' Mine.
Oh, wow, cool.
I don't even know what they do.
Well, they're not going to do the typical toddler songs
that they're famous for.
Okay.
They're going to play for adults.
Oh, wow.
Cool.
So we're going to have two musical acts?
Right.
That's right.
And I'm going to publish this soon, the itinerary,
because I have this schedule to the minute
because this is a lot of action.
Because in addition to the Royal Pains Band
and Splashin' Boots performing live music,
there is a stand-up comedy, Royal Pains Band, and Splashin' Boots performing live music.
There is a stand-up comedy,
10 minutes from David Schultz from the Globe and Mail
doing 10 minutes
of stand-up comedy.
Oh, dear.
And,
Oh, dear.
Gare Joyce from Sportsnet
who's a fantastic sports writer.
Those two gentlemen
are going to do
10 minutes each
of live stand-up.
Oh, dear.
And that should be fun.
Am I on the agenda at all? No, but I might mention you in my speech. Oh, that's what I was goingup. Oh, dear. And that should be fun. Am I on the agenda at all?
No, but I might mention you in my speech.
Oh, that's what I was going to ask you, too.
Is there a speech?
When I booked...
Yes, I have a couple of speeches,
but one big one.
I actually, when I booked this date,
I went to you and I said,
what days are you in this town?
You did.
You did.
And I went to Andrew Stokely
because he couldn't make the last one either.
And I said, because Stokely was instrumental
in building this wonderful studio
in my home here.
I said to Stokely, what days could
you attend this thing? Because he couldn't make the last
one because his wife had to work
like an emergency meeting or something.
But Stokely gave me like two dates and then I found
out one was like, and one was
a big Jewish holiday.
Rosh Hashanah. Right.
Is that the one?
It's like the 19th of September?
Yeah.
No.
December?
Yom Kippur is this month.
September 19th is something.
Jewish.
Yeah.
It's Yom Kippur.
It's Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur.
So I wanted to avoid that because I care about my Jewish listeners.
Yeah. Well, good.
Maybe you should care about your black ones too.
I do. I love my black listeners.
Kidding. Kidding, Mike.
I don't see color.
Of course you do.
It's fine to see color.
I do see color, but I don't
care. I love black people.
I love everybody.
I married to a woman of color.
Alright, stop it.
I gotta say that. Stop. I have children who are people of color. That means nothing. Do you have children to a woman of color. All right, stop it. I got to say that.
Stop.
I have children who are people of color.
That means nothing.
Do you have children that are people of color?
Yes.
No, you don't.
Yes.
I've seen them.
They're very white.
I fought in NAMM.
Charlie don't serve.
All right.
Oh, you have a Charlie.
And he's going to kindergarten, right?
He is.
He starts on Tuesday.
So we both have children who are starting kindergarten on Tuesday. And I, so we both have children
who are starting kindergarten on Tuesday.
Yeah, crazy.
Do you feel closer to me now?
No.
No.
I wanted to say hi to Michelle,
my beautiful daughter,
who starts high school on Tuesday.
Way to go, Michelle.
And is a little anxious about it,
but her big brother is there
and is giving her tips
and I think she'll do very well.
Cool.
So, yes, Great Lakes Brewery,
be there for all that excitement on September 12th.
I'm excited.
And let's hear Brian's question before I get to this right now.
Buckle up.
Propertyinthe6.com
Hey, Elvis.
Brian Gerstein here.
Oh, right off the bat.
I'm with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of Toronto Might.
that were sent in with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of Toronto Mike's.
I can be reached by caller text
at 416-873-0292
for all of your real estate needs.
The fall market is almost upon us.
Now is the time to reach out to me
so I can properly prepare your home for sale.
Elvis, after stiffing Mike and the rest of us
by not making it to the hockey pool draft
or to the first Toronto Mike listener experience,
I want your word that barring some unforeseen event,
you will bring your tired ass over from Oshawa
and let Mike's listeners and sponsors finally meet you.
I was at both of those events and will be there too at the next one
unless my softball team wins our semi-final game and makes
it to the final now that is a legitimate reason not to go wow why is brian a better friend to me
than you are brian gerstein just called me out you're tired ass holy shit wow gernstein wow
is it gerstein gerstein gerstein gerstein or Gershstein? Gershstein. Gershstein. Did we ever determine if it was Gershstein or Gershstein? It's Gershstein. Yeah, I did. I confirm. We did like 20 minutes on that. It's Shapiro. Mark Shapiro. Yeah. So pending, pending, I don't know, hot lava coming out of a child illness or something. The volcano in Oshawa.
I will see you there, O'Brien.
I'm looking forward to it.
Although it sounds like he might not be there.
Well, his team sucks.
No, it sounds like his team just has to win
one more game.
How many times does the Leafs have to win
one more game?
The Leafs are ranked number one in odds for Vegas to win one more game. Not very often. Do you know the Leafs have... Not since 93. The Leafs are ranked
number one in odds
for Vegas
to win the Stanley Cup.
I think that's a better
nonsense.
That's ridiculous.
Still.
We're not the favorite
to win the Stanley Cup.
That's ridiculous.
According to Vegas, we are.
I know, but that doesn't
mean anything.
No, but it's kind of cool.
I guess so.
The Jays are not.
I'm excited.
The Raptors are not.
So to wrap up
the Toronto Mike
listening experience,
yes, you did stiff us because
Brian was at my hockey pool draft.
Yeah, but that's always a thing. I miss it on purpose.
It's annoying to me.
It's hard. It's hard for me to get here.
It's a Monday night.
But then say I can't make it.
I know, but it's funny now. How many times has it been?
It's been 10 fucking years now.
It's fucking annoying.
It's funny.
You know what? If it was really that annoying, you wouldn. It's funny. I'm trying to manage these 20 people.
You know what?
If it was really that annoying, you wouldn't invite me anymore.
I'm not inviting you next year.
No, it's fine.
Fuck you, man.
Fuck you.
Fuck you.
When did fun become a bad word?
By the way, have you ever heard fun used?
Look at the year later notes.
Have you ever heard fun used in a negative way?
Yes.
Yes.
How come I haven't?
Yes, I absolutely have.
Can you use it in context?
It was fun to punch you in the fucking face.
I thought the same thing.
Because that is fun.
So thank you, Brian.
Thanks, Brian.
So Elvis says he's going to be there.
We hope.
Does Brian listen?
Yeah.
Does he hear all this ridiculous banter after he does his ads?
I think he listens.
He listens to sports media people.
This guy is serious business.
I would call this guy if I was in the market for property in the 6th.
And you should be because this North Oshawa nonsense is not working for you.
I know.
Well, I mean, I'm not, you know what, frankly, I'm not in North Oshawa, nor am I in the 416.
So it doesn't really fucking matter.
You're in North Oshawa.
I know, but I've been traveling so much
I'm not there either.
It's fucking crazy. Your children are there. I was traveling
so much. There was one time
a couple weeks ago where I actually got a
hotel at the Toronto airport.
Wow, you could have come here. Why'd you come here?
I guess I could
sleep in the bunk bed. I got room for you.
Well, James is only here half the time. There's a
queen-size bed around the corner. I'm not sleeping in a teenager's bed.
I'll get you new sheets.
No offense.
Clean sheets.
Yeah.
You fucking fire hose this place.
Elvis!
Elvis!
Elvis!
Paytm Canada.
The only app in Canada that gives you rewards
for your bill payment
Elvis did you ever sign up?
straight up
you never did did you?
you didn't use the promo code
Toronto Mike
I didn't because
you were supposed to answer
a question for me
what question?
do I have to use a MasterCard?
only if you're paying
by credit card
you don't have to use a MasterCard
you can pay by
through your bank account
I can?
oh no but the reason
why I wanted to pay by
credit card is because I can get points.
So you were supposed to check to see if I
could use another credit card other than MasterCard.
Tuesday, I'm going to kick out the jams with
Nakia from PayTM.
I'll find out, but I'm pretty sure
if you want to use a credit card, it's got to be
a MasterCard. Okay, well I'll find out.
Because if it's not, I don't have a MasterCard.
You don't have a President's Choice MasterCard?
Fuck that, no. What grocery store
do you guys frequent?
Sobe.
Sobe's one off, but you're right.
More often it's
a Loblaws.
You could use it there. Great Canadian. I know, but we have
an Optimum card. It's fine.
It's tied to the Optimum now, but I'm doing
an ad now for Loblaws. What I want to do is tell you's fine. Yeah. It's tied to the Optimum now, but I'm doing an ad now for Love Logs.
What I want to do is tell you about Paytm.
So go to paytm.ca.
Download this app for your smartphone.
I pay all my bills with this app.
And when I paid my first bill,
I used the promo code Toronto Mike,
all one word.
They gave me $10.
$10 free bills.
$10 there.
$10.
So my next bill was $10 less than it would have been
because I used the Paytm cash.
Everybody should do this.
More details on Tuesday. We're going to find out
Paytm.
Fascinating stuff going on there.
Very nice people and they got a great office downtown.
And I've been there.
I'm going to tweet them.
Paytm Canada.
Tweet the shit out of those guys.
Yeah, all right.
You love Pearl Jam, don't you, Elvis?
Fuck you.
Census Design and Build provide architectural design,
interior design, and turnkey construction services
across the GTA.
I'm pretty sure they might even go to North Oshawa.
To learn more about the possibilities for your home,
call them at 416-931-1422.
That's 416-931-1422.
Or go to censusdesignbill.ca today
to schedule
your zoning and cost
project feasibility study.
Do it up!
Fucking A.
Now the camp one? Are we doing the camp one
still or is that over? No, they take a summer
break because nobody signs up for summer
camp in the summer.
Did you know Monicaica this is uh my
wife monica uh she was always good at like sewing and seamstress stuff like she has machines and she
builds it makes clothes and stuff and i'm like my mind's always blowing up like bah like how
talented is this but she recently took an interest in woodworking i was gonna ask you about this yeah
but i wasn't gonna ask you about it on the air but since you brought it up so and i'm like i'm i uh i've never had this confidence i'm
good at lots of things i'm very good at lots of things but i've never had a great confidence in
the whole woodworking world i've just i just i lacked a male role model i have so many things
to tell you but i uh mon Monica took an interest and she started
to kind of like learn and she took these courses and she did these workshops. And next thing I know,
she built like a, we have a digital piano and she built the stand and this bench and did a great
job. And then she said, I'm going to build a stand for the TV. And she did that. And then she said,
oh, Mike, you put this laptop, there's like a laptop stand upstairs now, which she built from scratch from wood, purchased at Home Depot.
And I'm like, wow, Monica, this is amazing.
But then she says to me, Mike, she goes, the little one, we have a baby, two years old, Morgan.
And it's like Morgan's got to leave this crib.
She's got to go into a big girl bed.
And I'm like, okay, we've got to get our big girl bed.
And Monica makes the observation that we don't have room. There's no room left at the inn.
You know, Jarvis sleeps, not Jarvis, James sleeps across the corner from where you are right now.
Michelle's got her own room because she's a teenage girl. You got to have your own room
when you're a teenage girl. But these two toddlers share a room. We don't have room for two beds in
there. We're out of room. What are we going to do? So get this, Elvis.
Get this.
Tell me.
She, I think it's called, I want to get the right name, Loft Bed.
But you build, like there's like stairway and there's a landing place and then there's a bed.
And then you put another bed under it.
So it's not bunk beds.
But it's similar to bunk beds.
But it's not bunk beds because you put another bed under it.
But it's called loft beds. And she gets this like bloop.
She downloads like a blueprint for loft beds from the internet.
And then she buys this wood.
And over the last,
cause she took it,
we took a couple of weeks off these last two weeks just to chill out with
the kids and stuff.
And she basically from scratch,
she built this loft bed and tonight Jarvis is going to
sleep on the loft bed and Morgan's going to
sleep in her big girl bed under the loft
bed. And I tweeted a picture of
it this morning if anyone wants to see it.
But honest to goodness, this is
amazing.
It's amazing. She built
this with scratch. It's really fucking impressive.
Really
impressive. I know. It was
just wood. It was in the car.
It was wood and now it's a thing.
I will admit that
I was a little bit of an asshole because when I saw it
I was like, I don't know who made this.
Because you're right.
Of course you're right. You know your wife.
Yeah, I know. I sleep with that woman.
Correct.
I just thought that she was like a sewer
and like make clothes
and stuff
and then when I saw
this bed thing
I'm like
are you fucking kidding me
it was
like Mike doesn't seem
like the kind of guy
who would make this
so this is all new to me
this is fantastic
I helped her
but she's the engineer
she's the architect
I give her full credit
I just helped her
that's awesome
it's fucking great
I was late
and what is it
like $125 worth of wood
or something
yeah like $125 worth of stuff
and then her time.
And she has
like a full-time job and she's a mom.
Yeah, those are two facts.
And she said, okay,
so I said to her, oh, you know, you get a
bunk bed at Ikea for like $200. She's like,
this isn't a bunk bed. The price
for these loft beds is like $800, $900
or something. Look at you. Well, you make a lot of money.
Oh, my. We're going to get to that.
That's coming up. That's coming up. How long are we
even going for? I feel like this is a long-ass party. We just started.
We're just starting now. I'm going to press record
in a minute. This is all the
preamble, pre-interview. We're going to
press record in a minute. I need a pizza.
We're going to get to this. Hold on.
Yeah, I just wanted to say that
woodworking, Monica, I don't know where
this came from. Fucking great. That's amazing.
I hear little kitties upstairs.
Maybe she's here.
Are they here?
I don't know.
I think I heard a voice.
Okay, well then, I'd rather be robbed.
I'll give her a high five.
You can come up and see the work.
She wants to show it off, so we'll show it to you.
Sure.
Okay, so we saw Wolfpack tonight.
We're going to see TFC.
Do you have any opinion on the Josh Donaldson trade?
Do you have anything you want to say about that?
I mean, I was listening to my boyfriend today on the radio on the way in.
Be more specific.
Roger Lejoie.
He's been here.
Yeah, I like him.
It's amazing.
The guy was an MVP of the AL two years ago, and now he's gone for nothing.
Three years ago.
Ball of bags.
2015 AL MVP. Had a great 2016. And of bags. Or ball, bag of balls. 2015 AL MVP,
had a great 2016
and then got injured in 2017
but finished strong.
Had a good finish in 2017.
It was nothing.
This year's a write-off.
And got nothing for him.
A player to be named later.
Yeah, it's crazy.
It's crazy.
Can I tell you
what I don't like about this?
I was going to save this
for Hebsey on Sportsbook Monday
but I'm going to tell you
what I don't like.
What I don't like about this
is that we know Mark Shapiro came from,
in Atkins, they came from the Cleveland team.
So we know they came from Cleveland, and they built that Cleveland team.
And if Cleveland does win a World Series this year,
a lot of credit will go to these guys because they're the,
but they'll get a bit of credit for it, right?
It is their former team.
They were there a long time.
I'm just saying, I don't like the smell of the trade being with that team
of all the teams in the league.
Here's Josh for a player to be named later this 2015.
All I'm saying, I'm not saying that there was interest from other teams.
I'm saying it does have an odor to it, like your buddies from your old team.
Here's a potential difference maker in the playoffs.
If he's healthy, you know he's a great player. I don't think's a potential difference maker in the playoffs.
If he's healthy, you know he's a great player, right? I don't think he's eligible to play in the playoffs.
Yes, he is, because he cleared all those waivers.
I don't, but I think it's...
I think he's eligible to play in the playoffs.
I heard today that he wasn't, but...
Did Roger say that?
Let's see.
Did Roger Luchois say that?
I feel like if you clear waivers, you can play in the playoffs.
There's some rule there.
But I heard that there was a date in which you couldn't.
If you're right, but still,
of all the teams
in the league, I don't like that it's
dealt with Cleveland. All I'm saying is I'm not
going off about how Shapiro,
he's a mole put in
here by Cleveland to help them or whatever.
I'm just saying I wish it was with another
team. That's all. I don't like
the smell of it being included.
It's too close for comfort for me.
I'm okay with it.
He's still too tight with those guys to help them out in this fashion.
I don't like it.
That's all I'm saying.
I don't think he's helping anybody out.
If anybody is helping anyone, they're helping us.
Well, it's very minimal.
I mean, I don't know how much they're helping us.
Well, they're getting rid of his salary.
We're getting a player to be named later,
which is more than we would get otherwise.
Well.
So once September rolls around,
any player who wasn't already in an organization
will no longer be considered eligible
to participate in postseason.
It was held in August, though.
So there you go.
So that was why.
The midnight deadline was last night.
That's why.
You had to trade him by midnight.
Gotcha.
Okay.
So what else did I want to say?
Oh, yeah.
One more question from the Molly episode, and then we'll move on from that.
There was a moment where Molly said, I was in the industry.
Oh, God.
And it caught me a bit off guard or whatever.
Are we going to talk about this now?
Yeah, real quick.
And then you commented on TrottleMike.com that I was in the industry.
She's right.
And I asked Cam Gordon from Twitter Canada,
and he says I'm in the industry.
And his basis was because everyone he tells about,
like he came on the show and he told a bunch of people
that are like media people or, I don't know, PR people,
and they all knew about the show.
So I must be in the industry.
So he says I'm in the industry.
So can you just tell us a bit more,
like am I in the industry?
Why do you think I'm in the industry?
I guess a guy in my basement
who's doing this without any class.
Yeah, you're absolutely in the industry.
You're not a guy in your...
You are a guy in the basement doing this,
but you're a guy in the basement
who's been doing this for how many episodes?
What episode is this?
371.
You don't...
Someone doesn't do this for 371 episodes
and have the guests that you've had,
and you're not in the industry.
Are you a professional broadcaster?
I mean, there's an argument to be made there.
If you add the layer of sporting rules, you get paid for what you do, Mike.
You may not make a profit.
I don't know if you do or not.
I'm assuming you do.
But you make money.
You make money doing this.
And people care about your opinion.
And that makes you part of the industry.
You are in the industry.
People want to hear your content.
You're producing relevant content, clearly.
I really don't believe you would still be doing this as much as it's your passion unless you had people who are downloading your shit.
And you're still getting guests my brother downloads you i'd have to keep it going for him he does doesn't he's
like the one brother downloads the one consistent you uh you're in the industry man right people
look to your website and your podcast for news on the, certainly the broadcasting industry in Toronto.
But even, you know, some,
how many times do people talk about you
in that yellow board?
People reference you all the time, right?
The SOF, WI, or whatever it is.
People mention you all the time.
You're in the industry, dude.
You should listen to the John Donabee episode.
I should listen to this episode.
Keith Hampshire was a good one, too.
He sang OK Blue Jays.
This episode is fantastic.
You should listen to this episode.
It's fucking awesome.
So let me update people.
Episode 320.
I thought we weren't going to do this.
I thought that was...
No, we're going to...
I thought we were going to do this.
320?
We're on 371 now.
We're going to go through every episode 371.
Is that what we're doing? 320. 320. Okay, so am I allowed to do it. 320? We're on 371 now. We're going to go through every episode to 371. Is that what we're doing?
320.
Okay, so am I allowed to do this?
I can't tell.
It's your show.
Okay, I don't want to cause a trouble.
I just want a pizza.
I'm tired of my guests being mad at me, okay?
So episode 320, I did with a guy from LinkedIn.
I wish you had heard that episode.
You should have tuned in to 320.
Yeah, I didn't listen to it.
But this guy, Perry Monaco,
I think is his name.
But he came on,
and we discussed.
I had some surprise news
about my employment status,
and I had some decisions to make,
and I had some choices.
I remember presenting the choices.
It was actually a nice episode to do
in the sense that
hearing myself talk about the options
helped clarify things for me.
Like, I could get another job. I could... I could i can't remember actually one was get another job one was start my own business
and then there's a third option i think it was suicide or something like that i'm not sure do
you remember the third option was third rail or something i hate you i thought i banned that i'm
gonna mute you man gonna mute you so like the kevin ne did that? What an asshole. So here
we are now, months later.
So what I have spent the last
months later, I don't
know how to articulate. That's okay.
That's part of my charm.
So it's been,
I've spent a lot of energy and
strategic time
planning the launch
of my own digital services company.
Like I've had many a meeting, beers, coffees, many all of the above.
I've registered my business name.
I've secured a business bank account.
I've got accounting software up and running.
I have started to do work for clients.
There are, I should point out the name of this company is TMDS.
So I basically have soft launched,
I've already soft launched TMDS,
Toronto Mike Digital Services,
and I'm doing work for people.
I mean, Hebsey, for example, and others,
I do their podcasts.
I do digital services work for other companies.
So TMDS is already soft launched. And now that Labor Day is on Monday, I plan next week to
hard launch TMDS and then I'll be in sort of hyper new customer acquisition mode. I have some
customers. We're doing some wonderful things. I think I'm doing good work. They're happy and it's
a great start. I need to add some new customers and do some more work in order to build TMDS.
So I just wanted to update the listeners because people are like, you know, you did 320, and now we're on 371.
There's been very little update on this front.
But TMDS is happening.
It is torontowike.com slash TMDS if you want to learn more.
I even have a TMDS underscore digital Twitter account I'll be using.
There's a Facebook page.
But I'm all in on TMDS.
This is going to be everything.
I got my last paycheck yesterday from my full-time job that I had for seven years.
I'm now all in on TMDS.
Fucking A.
I'm all in too.
Are you? I'm excited. I'm all in too.
I'm excited. I'm excited for this venture.
I think that this was one of the options.
I remember suicide was one.
But yeah, this is great. This is awesome.
I think you'll do well. You certainly are well connected. You've got a lot of these
media types
and bozos that think you're good
at what you do. You call calling Hebsey a bozo?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
No, I think this will be fruitful.
This is great.
I like the fact that I bet on myself.
You get a whole...
If this goes to shit, it's all on me.
I know, but you also...
It's all on me, and I'm all in.
You may look at this as a big risk, I think,
if you're listening to this, or maybe you do, Mike,
but I don't think it is, because ultimately,
you're going to have a certain window in which you're going to
give yourself the opportunity to see if it works or not and if it doesn't you can go back into the
workforce you've got transferable skills you've got skills that are huge right i mean like it
clearly in demand and you're good at what you do but hey if you can create your own freedom as it
relates to your career and do some of the things that you like to do, fucking A man.
Give it a shot. You don't know if you can do it until
you try it. That's how I feel.
But I think you could be super successful
at this and also be able to do some of the shit that you
like to do. Oh, thanks. Which is like this.
Right. That's what it is. Because you're not
making money off of talking to me for a couple of hours.
Well, it depends how you define
that. We have
sponsors and they enjoy good content and you provide some good content. Well, it depends how you define that. We have sponsors and they enjoy good content
and you provide some good content.
Well, the laugh is appreciated by a guy in India.
Okay.
Roshan.
He wants to hear Elvis laughs.
I hope he's listening right now.
Now, so I'm going out alone, TMDS.
By the way, I've learned a lot through the process,
which I will document at some point.
But the whole process of starting your own company
and from scratch
and stuff is kind of a fun,
interesting experience, and I've learned a lot,
even in the last few months. Do you have an HST
number? Well, yes, I have an HST
number. Look at you. But you don't have to
charge HST until what number?
$30,000 a quarter.
Look at you. $30,000 a quarter? Yeah.
Fucking A. Services,
yeah. That's pretty sweet.
Do you have to charge it anyway and then $30,000 a quarter? Yeah. Fucking A. Services, yeah. That's pretty sweet. And it's very...
Do you have to charge it anyway and then give it back?
No, I don't have to charge it yet.
Look at you.
You're tax-free.
That'll come.
Fucking A.
But it's kind of exciting when you generate an invoice in your accounting software and
then it gets paid.
What are you using?
Should we say what they are in case they want to come and sponsor?
QuickBooks?
No, I'm not using QuickBooks.
I'm using something called Wave Apps.
Oh, my God. Use something that's so obscure that no one's going to pay a sponsor. QuickBooks? No, I'm not using QuickBooks. I'm using something called Wave Apps. Oh, God.
Use something that's so obscure that no one's going to pay for it.
No, it's been great.
You should call.
I know QuickBooks.
Or FreshBooks.
You can call FreshBooks even.
I think you meant FreshBooks, right?
QuickBooks is into it.
I know into it.
But I also know FreshBooks as well.
Okay, yeah.
I think they're from Toronto, FreshBooks.
They are.
They are at Davenport
and something.
Is it okay with you
if I'm using Wave apps
right now?
It's been going very well.
I'll send you an invoice.
My friend's at FreshBooks.
Give me a call.
I got a client for you.
I need some sponsorship.
I'm happy to talk to anybody.
But I'm going alone.
So here are a few.
If you don't mind,
if you have the time.
I know you're hungry.
I can hear your stomach from here
Can we do a few alone songs?
A few alone jams?
These are alone jams
What does that mean?
Alone jams
Jams that have alone in the title
But not only alone as in I'm alone
Not alone as in you are not alone
There's a lot of jams that are like you are not alone
No, I want jams where I'm alone
Okay?
So this song is I Alone by Live.
Yeah, yeah.
I like Live.
It's a good alone jam, right?
Good.
I like this song.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I alone love you.
I alone tempt you.
I alone love you.
Fear is not the end of this. I alone love you. Can I tell you something funny, Mike?
Yeah.
So,
there's like three big music services in my life.
Sirius, Amazon, and Apple,
depending on what device I'm using.
Yeah.
None of them believe that I've ever graduated
out of the 1990s.
It's all 90s alternative rock.
I love this song.
It's fucking great.
No, it's a great song.
That was a great album.
It's fucking great.
Yeah, it's a fucking great song.
This guy, Ed Kowalczuk, was in Fight Club.
He had a cameo.
Oh, he did, didn't he?
Yeah.
That's a 90s fan.
Play your next song.
I'm going to comment on it at the beginning,
and then I'm going to take a leak.
Sorry.
Sorry, ladies.
I have a new toilet.
Sorry, men, for being rude.
Yes.
Okay.
So TMDS has launched.
Hard launch.
I'm happy to meet you for coffee or beer or anything
to discuss your digital services needs,
if it'll be a podcast.
I'm going to pee my pants. Seriously. I know.
But you know what I'm saying? Because I have a lot of people.
Now I have people coming over to record their podcast here.
So I installed a new toilet.
Yeah, because you always used to tell me. You'd remind me
even though you had reminded me numerous times.
I had to like jiggle. But that's not why I actually
I know you have to piss, but I
replaced it because I couldn't get
the stain. The stain was perma-stained.
Okay, play the next song.
Put up your hand when you want to go.
Yeah, you know this.
Ah, FiveL10. I know you can feel it, you're already there
Asleep underwater, just screaming for air
I know you can feel it, you're already there
Don't you know that freaks and creatures wake up again, almost see the light
I think we're alone here, you and I Wow.
That was a, I took a number two.
It was so nice.
It was lovely.
Seriously.
Nice new toilet in the TMDS.
Fantastic. And I did some other work too. Even a railing now, nice new toilet in the TMDS. Fantastic.
And I did some other work, too.
Even a railing now.
You know, some stairs are railing.
Oh, yeah.
Look at that.
So Molly Johnson doesn't fall down.
So this is David Usher from Boyst.
Oh, right.
Alone in the Universe.
Right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right.
It was a big hit.
Big CanCon hit.
I think I saw my buddy Bingo Bob introducing Boyist at the C&E band shell or whatever.
Doesn't he hate you?
No, that's Fearless Fred.
Fearless Fred.
Bingo Bob and I just went to Smashing Pumpkins.
Oh, we never talked about that.
You invited me to Smashing Pumpkins.
You're an ass.
No.
I don't want to talk about that.
Yeah, we have to.
No, no.
No, we're not.
Play your stupid fucking alone songs.
You wanted me to
buy a ticket with you for i don't know 150 bucks or whatever yeah there was no price given but it
was still buying a ticket right correct okay monica uh also asked me if i wanted to go and i said no
so we could have had a great threesome bingo bob that night said i have a great free ticket from
sony music would you meet me at the
SBA or whatever the fuck
we're calling it. And I said, of course.
That's different. It's a free ticket.
You're not offended, are you?
But it was a great show.
You should
have asked me. Asked you what?
You should have asked me if I wanted to go.
He offered me one ticket. Okay, well you should have
said, hey, do you have another one?
I couldn't have gone anyway
because I wasn't in the city.
But you don't know if he didn't have another one.
You could have called Fearless Fred.
Fearless Fred hates me.
You ready for more?
Hit me.
Good song.
Do you know this band?
Off the brink.
I almost went to see them this week.
Last week they were at the Budweiser stage.
Oh, wow.
And I had tickets for them and 311.
You know what?
There's something about going to see a band at the Budweiser stage
that makes me not want to go see them.
Oh.
How come?
Because it just makes me feel like I'm going to a casino, practically.
It's like, I really like this band, but I'm not going to go see them at Casino Niagara
because I feel like an asshole.
Interesting.
I like concerts at the former Amp Now.
Of course you would.
I do.
Of course you would.
I saw Chance the Rapper.
Would you go to Rama for a concert?
I don't know.
Maybe to see the right band.
I've never done it, but I don't have any hard rules against it.
I don't have to gamble, right?
No, you don't?
No, of course not.
I might do it.
I don't know.
Give me a ticket and we'll see.
But this is the offspring, So Alone.
I think you're going to like the next two jams.
What else do you want?
Hit me.
Hit me, baby.
One more time.
I'm going to check the next two jams. What else do you want? Hit me. Hit me, baby. One more time. Hold on. Give me eight seconds.
That's all right.
Fucking A. I'm lying here, the room's rich dark.
I have a job.
I just saw these guys at the Budweiser,
I mean the Molson Amphitheater,
opening for Def Leppard.
These guys open for Def Leppard?
Yeah, Hart.
Really?
Yep.
Wow.
Yeah, but what's her name?
The sister's not playing with them right
They were when I saw them
Yep
No I thought she was in
Hasn't been with them for a while
Or was this years ago
Three or four years ago
Okay
That's a different story
It feels like it was yesterday
Hold on I always got by on my own I never really cared until I met you
And now it takes me to the moon
How do I get you alone?
I was just about to criticize you for choosing this hard song
and then I forgot that there's a whole theme with Alone.
Alone song.
Right, right, right.
This is Alone.
Right.
I wish I was alone
with a pizza right now.
Almost there.
We've had live
I Alone.
We've had David Usher
Alone in the Universe.
Look at you.
This is Hearts Alone.
Yeah.
What do we have next?
What's the last one?
One more.
Hit me.
Hit me, baby.
You're a young man.
Hit me.
Hit me.
You're not old like me.
I'm so excited.
I'm so excited.
In a little while from now, I'm not feeling any less.
I don't like you.
I promise myself to treat myself and visit a nearby town.
And visit a nearby town And climbing to the top
Will throw myself off
In an effort to make clear to who
Ever what it's like when you're shattered
Left standing in the lurch
At a church where people are saying
My God, that's tough
She stood him up
No point in us remaining We may as well go home Gilbert O'Sullivan.
Yeah, great. Oh dear.
What the fuck is going on? Elvis is dancing.
It's fucking great.
Why are you playing this?
I'm doing a loan jam.
Oh, this is a love.
Right.
Right.
Better off alone, right?
Yeah.
It's Alice DJ.
I'd be better off not on this fucking podcast right now
and then we're gonna do your your jam that you asked me to play it's even worse than this shit
i don't think i've ever seen the video
where where is this woman now do you think do you remember the imitation song for the IBM computer clone?
You're better off with a clone
or something? Sure.
But where is she?
I don't know. You google it.
Alice DJ. Who sings
the song? Or Alice DJ.
Alice DJ.
Where
is Alice DJ. Where is Alice DJ?
Oh my goodness.
So they,
this song came out in 98.
They went on hiatus in 02.
And then reformed in 2014 with a new vocalist.
Oh, you can't do that.
That's not fair. Anna Pronks, who we're listening to right now,
Anna Pronks has retired from singing.
That's sad.
But Molly Johnson told me they couldn't
reform her band,
Aldemoda, because the drummer had
passed away. I know, but I wanted you to say
what about, you know...
There's lots of bands that replaced their drummer.
Pearl Jam's had six drummers.
Yeah, well, they suck.
Alright, we're
going to go to your jam now.
I enjoyed that.
So that's the end of my alone jam.
We'll play this, and then we'll let it go for a little bit,
and then I'll explain to you why I wanted to play this.
This is dedicated to Elvis. I love you're wearing your best clothes
You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky
You look pretty good down here
But you ain't really good we never
learned we've been there before
why are we
always stuck and running from
the bullet
the bullet
we never
learned we've been there before why are we Are you weeping?
All right.
I'd like your advice.
So I read a newsletter written by a gentleman named Bob Lefsetz.
I know of him.
I follow him on Twitter.
Yeah, he's been in the music industry for a long time,
and he writes about pop culture.
And he wrote about how he went to the Harry Styles concert in Los Angeles
and how he made the argument that Harry Styles is truly a rock star.
And he gets it.
And that his show is.
Unlike any other type of show.
Of modern day artists.
Because it sort of.
Harkens back to.
The old days of rock.
So I was like you know what.
Fuck it I respect Bob.
Mr. Left Sets.
I'm going to take a listen to mr harry styles new
album so i downloaded it and listened to it dude i love it i can't stop listening to it not just
this song but the entire album this is a song that's sort of popular hit and so i know the
music is horrible it's not certainly my jam but for whatever reason i love
it but you like horrible music i don't so i listened to this and then i was playing at work
and a guy i work with was like you know why you like this aside like i don't know anything about
one direction i've never heard them at all i don't know one song by them i can't i don't know
anything about him and i only found out that he was
in Dunkirk
after I started doing some research
on him. I don't know who this Harry Styles guy
is.
The guy who works with me says,
you like this because this
sounds like 90s
rock pop.
It's got an element of
I'm going to say
Oasis without meaning Oasis, but
that kind of
feeling to it. And so I
love this. I can't get enough of it.
It's so weird.
It would definitely be on my Guilty's
Pleasure, Guilty Pleasure's jams right now.
But
do you think this has an element of
90s pop rock to it well unlike you i've only heard
this one song this is the only harry style songs that i've ever heard but i've heard quite a bit
like i hear i heard it when it first came out i heard it quite a bit right michelle would play
it for me and i have to admit right off the bat i liked this song and i thought this was a great
single right yeah it's five and a half minutes long, too. Like, he certainly doesn't shy away from longer songs.
So let me think.
Like, I guess...
Because you're talking to Mr. 90s Jams.
Right.
See, this is why I wanted to talk about it.
Because I can see it.
I can hear it.
But I don't know if it's because I want to hear it
because it makes me feel better about my musical,
shitty musical choice. Like, we kicked out a blur song at the last kick of the jams of
jeff woods that was had a vibe like this kind of you know i think that there's some validity to
that uh observation thank you that astute i feel much better about myself. But I'd have to hear the rest of the album before I give my... But this jam is good.
Even you, Mr. ACDC Aerosmith, can enjoy this kind of a song.
I can't get enough of this.
Mike, I love this shit.
It's so fucking great.
It's five and a half minutes.
It should be twice that length.
I fucking love it.
Yeah, if it was twice that length, it would make my top ten songs of all time list
Yeah, epic songs, man
But listen, it's also
It's kind of like an anthem
You know what?
You like anthemic
I must
Epic songs like November Rain and stuff
Yeah, I must
That Aerosmith song
Dream On
Dream On
This is in that vein
This is big
This song
It's a big song.
You're right.
This is a big song.
Okay.
I feel better about myself.
I mean, I still know it's a...
There's no shame in liking this song.
I still know it's a shitty pop song, but I like it.
I like it, and I'm not afraid to say it.
I'm glad.
I'm glad you...
Just the second episode in a row where somebody was comfortable telling me about their true
self, and I really appreciate that.
Listen,
look at what the algorithm of YouTube is telling you to play next.
So we're,
Mike played this on YouTube right now.
And obviously YouTube is trying to play multiple songs in a row that they
think you would appeal to.
This is a song that I said should go after.
And you want an anthemic song
anthemic this is in your uh jam yeah this is in my top 10 it's fucking great
open your eyes look up to the skies and see I'm just a good boy
I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy cub, easy cub
Do you want to hear it?
We can talk.
Do you want to hear the...
I've only heard it seven million times.
Are you going to watch the movie?
If it gets good reviews.
I hope so.
If it gets good Rotten Tomatoes.
I mean, they've taken forever to put it out,
so hopefully they've used that opportunity to make it good.
We're going to get some pizza.
Then we're going to eat the pizza.
And then we're going to get our asses to,
although we're not traveling together,
because I bike and you drive.
That's the way we are.
But we're going to get our asses to BMO Field to watch.
We didn't mention Michael Bradley
is playing against his father
did you hear that? Does anyone care about that?
No I don't know it's all I know about
tonight's match so I have to share
of the world but yes
TMDS at TorontoMic.com
slash TMDS if you have any
digital services requirements
or interested in a podcast of anything I would love
to meet with you and chat with you about it.
This is happening.
Thank you, Elvis,
for the inspiration.
Thank you for coming
to the Wolfpack with me.
And I can't wait to announce
that Molly Johnson
is coming back for a redo
because that's what I would like.
Any final words?
I love you, Molly.
Please come back.
You're a good guy, Mike.
And that... Thanks for having me on and that brings us to the end of our
371st show
you can follow me on Twitter
at Toronto Mike
Elvis which of your many handles do you want to promote
at Oshawa Elvis
at Oshawa Elvis
and when are you going to move back to Toronto
is there any discussions of Mrs. Elvis about
this at all? I have no comment.
Our friends at Great Lakes
Brewery are actually at Great Lakes Beer.
Property
in the 6th is at Raptors Devotee.
He's at the
US Open right now.
Go Milos!
Paytm. Go Tiger
you mean.
Is Tiger in the US Open too?
Paytm is at Paytm Canada.
And the Royal Pains are at Royal Pains Band.
See you all next week. And I don't know what the future can hold or do for me and you But I'm a much better man for having known you
Oh, you know that's true because
Everything is coming up
Rosy and green
Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow
Wants me today