Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Jerry Leger: Toronto Mike'd #1370

Episode Date: November 21, 2023

In this 1370th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with singer songwriter Jerry Leger about his music and relationships with Ron Sexsmith, Josh Finlayson from Skydiggers and Michael Timmins from C...owboy Junkies. Jerry plays live in the TMDS studio, too! Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Electronic Products Recycling Association, Raymond James Canada and Moneris. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to episode 1370 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. RecycleMyElectronics.ca. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past.
Starting point is 00:01:04 The Advantage Investor Podcast from Raymond James Canada. Valuable perspective for Canadian investors who want to remain knowledgeable, informed, and focused on long-term success. Season 5 of Yes, We Are Open, an award-winning podcast hosted by FOTM Al Grego from Moneris. And Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921.
Starting point is 00:01:32 Today, making his Toronto mic debut is Jerry Legere. Jerry Legere. How did I do with my Legere? You got it, man. You got it. And I said this earlier, you're missing an E because I used to work with a guy with my Legere you got it man you got it and I said this earlier you're missing an E because I used to work
Starting point is 00:01:48 with a guy named Tim Legere I know him no I don't you know how I know you don't know him he's got an E you're missing the E
Starting point is 00:01:55 what happened to the E at the end of Legere well that's Legere's don't stick together that's what good waffles do well I think I think what happened is what happens with a lot of
Starting point is 00:02:06 Last names through time Is that They evolve from family to family And at some point Along the way Become pronounced differently And then it sticks And then everyone in that family pronounces it like that
Starting point is 00:02:22 And actually I remember years ago, because there's Ray Legere, who's... Does he have an E at the end? He has an E at the end, and he is an East Coaster. But his dad did not have the E at the end, and they still pronounced it Legere. And he added, if i'm getting the story right
Starting point is 00:02:46 he added an e because he was sick of people mispronouncing it so i'm not the only one what do you get do you get legger do you get leaguer depends on what country i'm in really what about in america how do they in america i'm ledger yeah i can see that yeah um and most parts in Canada, I'm Léger for sure. Right. Right. Léger is the answer. Yeah. But it's, I've been many different things. Well,
Starting point is 00:03:10 it's interesting. Last names. Like you could have a last name like Santa Maria and you could pronounce it. St. Marie. Like that happens, right? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:03:18 St. Louis. St. All right. Jerry Léger, uh, honored to have you here. I saw you brought a guitar. We're going to get into it.
Starting point is 00:03:27 We're going to have a great chat. But before we go any further, we have fresh cans of Great Lakes beer. You got the wonderful premium lager there. So when you open it, open it right on the mic. Okay. All right. Oh, that's the best sound in the world. I'm now going to crack open a burst because I'm bursting with excitement
Starting point is 00:03:49 to talk about music with you. All right, so cheers to you, Jerry. Cheers, man. Thanks for having me on. You're young. I mean, I don't know what I expected. You're not yet 40. I would put you at about 35, 36.
Starting point is 00:04:03 I'm 38. Okay, well, you do have some white in the beard. I do, yeah, yeah. Okay, and you're going to have a lot more soon. Is that the goal? Because I feel like guys who do what you do, you're kind of a country alt-rock, folksy thing you're doing, and we're going to listen to a lot of your music,
Starting point is 00:04:18 and maybe you'll even play live, but you need white in the beard. I don't think anyone will take you seriously until there's white in the beard. Well, you know, it's just happened. So I'm in my Christofferson years. Yeah. But yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:36 I kind of knew I was going to go gray relatively early because, you know, my dad and my brothers, I knew it was coming. I mean, it looks like you too i mean you look like a young guy but i got many years on you uh when did you start going gray oh 21 yeah there you go my my first gray hair i think i was like 25 and it just gradually it you know it ramps it up do you have any kids no kids because i put accelerate yeah i feel like i was hanging in there yeah the kid
Starting point is 00:05:05 number three showed up and then suddenly there goes all the pigmentation. I think it's just the stress of the industry probably.
Starting point is 00:05:11 Well, I want to get all the real, I'm hoping you'll just spill the beans on the real talk, but I want to shout out an FOTM who
Starting point is 00:05:17 connected us. Let's pay our respect. Let's drink to Cam Carpenter. Can we do that? What do you think of Cam Carpenter?
Starting point is 00:05:24 Cam's a great guy. I might take a sip first, though. Take your sip. You know, as I told my guest yesterday, and I'll bring her up later, Michelle McAdory, I'm going to start riding the silence on Toronto Mike. So don't be afraid of a nice, comfortable silence. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:05:40 Well, you know, Cam, I met him when I was a teenager he's an east ender i'm an east ender i always have been and you know still am and no shame in that you sound like you're a little nervous to tell me that uh because i'm a west ender oh no no there's some good people out east right no no no no that's not it's not like that although I do remember somebody telling me to stay in the East End. Don't cross Young Street. You can still play Massing Hall. I thought it was kind of cool. It was like the Warriors or something, you know? I had this chat with
Starting point is 00:06:14 Blair Packham just, was that last week? Oh, what a week. Okay, last week. Blair Packham lives in the East End. Yeah, I know Blair. Yeah, we had the same discussion about how some of his friends won't visit him. We don't go to the East End. Yeah, I mean, that's what, I mean, I actually only just mentioned that I've always been in the East End because being in Toronto, and especially if you've lived here all your life,
Starting point is 00:06:35 you tend to move around a lot. So you're in the West End, you're in North York, you're in the East End, you're in, you know. But I've always just stayed relatively in the same uh neighborhood you know so and you know you named your new album dawnlands yeah dawnlands or dawnlands i mean west i would say dawnlands but i mean well you know your new standard i don't really know i mean uh you'd have to ask uh mr dawnlands do you know him personally uh look at me assuming it's a male it could be mrs donlands how do we know i don't know i've uh yeah who is mr christy he made good cookies you just don't mail him you asshole yeah yeah you know not you're in the west end now we had a
Starting point is 00:07:19 water tower i remember that it's still there well they you know what they did the water tower thing it's still there i think they made it like they designated a historical building like you can't even tear it down but they did take off the branding for mr christie like they slapped some kind of like a piece of like paper over the mr christie logo okay but we all know what was there right mr kitty and that is the part of the city well there's a couple of west end parts that smell pretty damn good but it used to smell like baking of cookies when you kind of pass and we're talking
Starting point is 00:07:49 how would you describe that Humber Bay Shores I know I'm the West Ender I'm the one you should be I wish the Humber smelled like cookies that'd be great you know what parts of the Humber unfortunately like really shitty cookies yeah yeah those are terrible terrible cookies that smell like the hunger.
Starting point is 00:08:05 The no-name cookies. So Cam Carpenter passed on your contact and just said, hey man, you should talk to Jerry Legere. I've just known him for years. And I signed one stipulation. Okay, so I want to know how you know Cam. Spend a minute on Cam. Cam actually, I'm legally obligated to speak about Cam for 4.5 minutes.
Starting point is 00:08:22 But I do want to say, when I was trying to figure out how to say the name Legere, because I wasn't sure how to nail it and I learned and then I practiced. But I saw you were on cue with Gian Gomeschi. So at the end of this conversation... At the end of this conversation you're going to tell me who
Starting point is 00:08:40 did the better interview. Gian Gomeschi when he was on cue or Toronto Mike as he is now on Toronto Mike. Okay. You don't do it now. No. Unless I've already passed him. How did he do?
Starting point is 00:08:51 He sounded so pretentious. Like, I thought you might sound good. Like, like he saw you and said, that guy might sound good live. And then you met his high expectations and he was just like, he was going to anoint you. Oh, you were worthy of my time on the public airwaves here with the public broadcaster like how was that experience being on cue with gian comashi well i mean it was so long ago i remember i mean i was i was happy to be on it for the you know the opportunity you need to raise awareness about your great music so people will seek it out.
Starting point is 00:09:25 Yeah, I mean, my memory is just that I was like how I am right now, which is just me. I just showed up and, you know, answered his questions, played my songs and took off, you know, so. Did he give you a beer? There's no beer. There is coffee. That's not beer.
Starting point is 00:09:43 Yeah, well, CBC, I'm not sure what... The rules are... Do they keep the fridge full? I'm not really sure. Are they allowed to give you beer on the public... Maybe you're not allowed... I bet you there's a CRTC rule that says you can't drink on the public airwaves. Maybe when you're getting paid for it, too.
Starting point is 00:09:58 I don't know how it works. Hey, if you lived your whole life and never crossed Yonge Street, you never went west of Yonge Street, you never went west of Yonge Street, you could still play Massey Hall. Yeah. Have you ever played Massey Hall before? Uh, this past Saturday. You're not sure?
Starting point is 00:10:16 Well. Oh, because it's in the past tense. Okay, let me preface this again. Let's pretend we're talking about area. Yeah, I don't know what we're, yeah, exactly. I know, I'm such an idiot. November 18th happened. So you played Massey Hall for the first time last week. Yes. Or whatever, the 18th.
Starting point is 00:10:29 I couldn't. I was in Montreal. I actually was going to go to this show. And I'm going to play a jam from this guy. But Don Stevenson came over. And you know Don, right? Yeah, yeah. He's a good buddy.
Starting point is 00:10:40 And he's from Moby Grape. Now I'm a Moby Grape expert. Like, I'm just going to drop Moby Grape. Shout out to Wise Blight who noticed I'm now talking about Moby Blake. Moby Grape. Now I'm a Moby Grape expert. Like I'm just going to drop. Love Moby Grape. Shout out to Wise Blight who noticed I'm now talking about Moby Blake. Moby Blake. You know what I mean, Blake?
Starting point is 00:10:52 I'm now, this beer is good. I'm now talking about Moby Grape like I'm a lifelong expert because I listen to my guests. Like when Dawn is educating me on a Moby Grape, I soak,
Starting point is 00:11:01 I drink it in and I do become, here it is. I'll show you quick. So you're a fan of music, but that's a buskin in the subway. That's a Don Stevenson. Are you on this album by Don Stevenson?
Starting point is 00:11:11 No, I'm on, I'm on a new record that he's recorded. Uh, I think we'll be out. I don't know. Probably next year at some point. And so,
Starting point is 00:11:23 sorry, coming in hot here. Uh, apologies, but I want to play a bit of this and then we'll get back to Massey Hall. next year at some point. Oh, sorry. Coming in hot here. Apologies. But I want to play a bit of this and then we'll get back to Massey Hall. It's been two nights too long I'm just now walking home
Starting point is 00:11:39 I hope I don't wake you up To see my tired, sad eyes But it's no big surprise I'm halfway till gone I'll let it brew in the background. I want to ask you about this. So this is actually a song by you, Jerry, featuring Don Stevenson.
Starting point is 00:12:10 Yeah, it's a single that we put out a few years ago. And yeah, I wrote it in an Everly Brothers kind of vein and always planned to sing it with somebody. And, you know, I was just hanging out with Don and just asked if he wanted to be part of it. And he did. And we just, you know, in one session with our friend Tim Oveconi, we just knocked it out. Amazing. I mean, did you know he was the drummer for Moby Grape? Oh, yeah. No know i'm the expert yeah yeah yeah yeah no i mean when i met don i i uh i was very uh surprised that he was living
Starting point is 00:12:55 in toronto i mean i i just didn't expect that uh because he's right california or he's been playing i mean yeah he's from seattle uh but yeah Seattle. But yeah, he's been playing a fair bit, or at least before the pandemic. But at the time I met him, I wasn't aware of him playing around town, so he seemed pretty under the radar. He's busking in the subways. Yeah, that guy busking in the subways.
Starting point is 00:13:22 He actually was. He still does. Yeah, he still does. Yeah. And he loves it. And, uh, well, he loves music. It's very inspiring. He just loves to be doing it. And I mean, that's really inspiring to see somebody that has, you know, been through a lot and through a lot and what the industry was in the late 60s and expectations and all kinds of just life you know over over the years you know so it's uh he's still just so has like beautiful energy and and uh excitement for for music so you have something in common with Don Stevenson
Starting point is 00:14:06 that you both, believe it or not, even though he's got a couple years on you. A couple years, right? He's so old, he's got a couple years on Gear Joyce. But you and him made your Massey Hall debuts together just on the weekend. Please tell me, how was it? Again, I was in Montreal.
Starting point is 00:14:23 I couldn't attend. I wanted to go. Because I also had Sylvia Tyson on the show. i had dawn stevens and sylvia tyson i'm like i gotta go to this this celebration of the last waltz tell me what i missed yeah it was a very special night um a lot of great performers uh the official tribute band band uh chess fever i mean they played for five hours you know went an hour over uh uh wait wait but many many artists on this bill the whole thing was five hours yeah yeah that's yeah yeah that happens when you put all these uh all these great musicians that's right yeah and i did you know i was doing the whole Dylan portion. So I did six songs. Three of them were with Don, him and I.
Starting point is 00:15:09 We did Forever Young together, which, you know, which meant a lot. You know, it made a lot of sense, you know, the way that we split the verses and sing on the choruses together. And yeah, I mean, it was just a really special night i mean when i walked out on on stage though it was to be honest because i've been you know i'm uh it was just a stage i'm now i'm now on a stage and i'm playing with the band and i'm i'm doing my thing you weren't overwhelmed by the fact that like there's probably no better venue in this country to play. Yeah. Of course, of course I agree with that. And of course it's been, you know, I've wanted to play there forever. I mean, it's our musical church, but you know, if you're distracted by that, you're going to go out there and like, what's the first line,
Starting point is 00:16:01 you know? And so when they call my name, I just walked out there and, you know, we're off to the races. But for the last song, I shall be released, you know, the whole fantastic lineup came up on stage. And, you know, I did a verse, Don did a verse, and we all sang the choruses together. That was the point where I kind of looked up and looked around the room and looked on the stage at everyone. And that was the moment where it was like, oh, this is pretty cool.
Starting point is 00:16:30 This is, we're at Massey Hall and we're doing this beautiful thing. Did you, can you tell me, what did Sylvia Tyson play? Because they wanted her to play Four Strong Winds because Neil Young plays Four Strong Winds during the last Waltz. But she was going to do this, like she was leaning towards doing a song that she wrote because of course Ian wrote Four Strong Winds during the last Waltz. But she was going to do, she was leaning towards doing a song that she wrote because, of course, Ian wrote Four Strong Winds. What do you know? Can you tell me? She did Four Strong Winds.
Starting point is 00:16:51 Okay, so she succumbed to the pressure. Alright. Yeah, they played a little bit of one of the ones that she wrote when she was coming on stage, which is a beautiful song. What is it again? It's the one that,
Starting point is 00:17:08 it was a huge hit for another band in the 60s, actually. Yeah, you know what? It's a great song. In that other band, I can never remember the name. It's slipping my mind at the moment. Did you make this, were you also struggling, it's You Were On My Mind is the name of the song.
Starting point is 00:17:19 That's it, yeah. You Were On My Mind. You Were On My Mind. That's a great song, yeah. You were on my mind. You were on... That's a great song, yeah. Oh, wonderful. As her accountant told her, please more of those because that did very well for her.
Starting point is 00:17:33 And I was curious, so by the way, you sang that very well. Have you considered singing for a living? Like, could you? And here, and again, we're going to bounce around. I'm going to play some old stuff.
Starting point is 00:17:41 I have some people you work with that I'm going to play some of their stuff and get you, we're going to have a great time and we'll see if there's time maybe you'll even play something but uh can you make a living as a singer like you again you're not even 40 years old you thinking like oh i should have been an accountant myself like are you any regrets no i don't have you're gonna sell the beer when i give you this beer to take home do you sell that to make rent or you don't i don't have any regrets and and uh you know what can i say i mean i just work hard and you know i'm i'm
Starting point is 00:18:11 i'm always thankful uh you know levels of success it's so especially as you get older you know the way you judge success um you know leonard cohen always had a great response to that because you know he he struggled for a while before he got into the music biz and that had its waves. And he said, you know, success to me is just surviving. And, you know, I write songs. I'm able to put out records on a regular basis and I tour a lot and the lights stay on and I have a roof over my head. You're living the dream. I managed to stay in Toronto while doing it so. Well you had to move to the east now. Well no I never
Starting point is 00:18:55 moved see forgot it. I've always been in the east then but but yeah uh yeah I mean I'm able to make a living at it. It's not really something that I question. You don't need a yacht, right? I need a yacht and I need a Rolls Royce and I need caviar for breakfast. You have reasonable things that make you happy. Good songs aren't born out of that. Right.
Starting point is 00:19:22 By the way, the band that we cannot remember the name of, their name is We Five. that we cannot remember the name of, their name is We Five. So I never remember that name because I can't name another song from We Five. I should dig into their wiki page and find out. But they did take, You Were On My Mind, they took it to number four.
Starting point is 00:19:36 Okay, okay. I couldn't remember if it was like the New Seekers or something. Yeah, great song though. But she succumbed and she ended up singing, uh, four strong winds,
Starting point is 00:19:46 which makes complete sense for that event. So that event was a big success. You've now played Massey Hall. Awesome. And Don Stevenson, uh, I would wish I was there just to see him make his Massey Hall debut at whatever he is,
Starting point is 00:19:59 82, 83, 82, I think. Yeah. And I mean, Scarlett Rivera on, on violin.
Starting point is 00:20:05 I mean, that was a thrill for me. Cause the first time I think. Yeah, and I mean, Scarlett Rivera on violin. I mean, that was a thrill for me because the first time I heard Bob Dylan was my dad playing the Hard Rain live album, which was from the second leg of the Rolling Thunder tour. So I've heard her playing all my life, pretty much. So that was cool. I really enjoyed that as well. I've heard her playing all my life pretty much. And, and, uh, so that was cool. You know, I really enjoyed that as well.
Starting point is 00:20:29 And, uh, uh, we sing, uh, uh, Roy Orbison's crying acapella backstage. Cause afterwards she was like,
Starting point is 00:20:37 I really love your voice. Like you could sing. Do you ever sing Roy Orbison? And I'm like, I wouldn't even touch that. You know, Roy is, is just such a beautiful
Starting point is 00:20:46 singer. And, and, uh, but then we started singing, crying, which is, you know, she sounded great. Did you know the video for I Drove All Night, this video, the Roy Orbison video featured Jason Priestley? No, I didn't know that. I didn't, I've never seen that video. I'm only bringing it up because he was my most recent guest. So you are now following in the heels, following Jason Priestley. Okay. Rough going. So I'm going to play some earlier stuff.
Starting point is 00:21:14 I got new stuff. I have, again, I have some music from artists that have been involved in your career, your wonderful career in music. But I want to play some Jerry LaGere. Let's drink to Isabella in a room full of repairs. Cover the bruises and scratches from the wild and restless years. By the time those glasses reach our lips You'll be wondering why we're here
Starting point is 00:21:48 The confusion works through her mind Like the light shines through her hair She says I'm beautiful and wonderful In a fragile voice well aged I've lived and learned every word on every worn out page I was once the one you worried about
Starting point is 00:22:11 I was once that girl you craved Now I'm standing here all by myself and I don't need to be saved Life's long dirty road loved me and broke this heart in two I smiled and frowned up and down the town and I hurt my eyes with truth I found the places where you meet, but people never leave too soon They wait till you're weak and sick and you sleep in the cold
Starting point is 00:22:45 cold room I was young when I left home I wrestled I'm enjoying the story here who's on strings
Starting point is 00:22:56 there it's uh James McKay on uh on fiddle yeah this song is called Isabella.
Starting point is 00:23:06 I haven't heard it in a while. Yeah, I cherry picked some. I quickly did my homework. Much like I am now a Moby Grape expert, I'm now going to be a Jerry Legere expert, but I quite like this song. Thank you. And you sound
Starting point is 00:23:22 older than your age. I don't know how long ago this goes. Approximately when do you record this? I had to guess. I think it was 2010. Okay, so you're a very young man. I'm like 25 or something. Well, it was a lot of late nights.
Starting point is 00:23:37 I remember recording that record and playing until 2 in the morning and then going to the studio at 10 the next morning. And see, you kind of get that, you know, and I don't think I was I think I take better care of myself now. So, you know, I think my voice was even a little more raspier when I was in my 20s. Wow, you're doing it backwards. Yeah, I'm doing it backwards. Yeah, I think you learn, you have more control of your voice and what you're doing as the years go by.
Starting point is 00:24:18 Did you always want to be in music? Do you remember when you were a kid? What's your origin story? It's just you grew up around music? Yeah, come from you know a family that loves music that still listens to a lot of music and uh you know three older brothers uh so you know i could be a good vacuum for what they were listening to and i also was somebody that liked my parents record collection you know so that was great for me as well but what did your parents uh have in that records collection uh well my dad had well bob dylan uh the who the kinks stones life foot uh it's easy when your parents like
Starting point is 00:25:00 good music it's easy to enjoy their music and my my mom still is a huge Beatles and John Lennon in particular fan. So I grew up on John Lennon's solo records as well as the Beatles. And I mean, that would have been my first obsession. You know, as long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with the Beatles and John Lennon. So I just, that's the other cool thing, man. That's like, you know, when I'm far away from home on tour, I'm doing this or that, you know, especially these days, I try to, you know, every so often stop and be like, you know,
Starting point is 00:25:40 especially if I'm having like a bad day or something shitty happens. It's like, you know especially if I'm having like a bad day or something shitty happens it's like you know what this is actually what I always wanted to do from like since I was a little kid what I was dying to do to just like get through school so I could just go both feet into this you know it's like this is what I've always wanted you know so good bad and the, you know? Oh no, no doubt. No doubt. So again, sometime I'm going to play some of you. I've got a few jams,
Starting point is 00:26:08 particularly some new songs from Dawnlands. And I'm going to like choice jams from artists that are, it seemed to be involved in your career. And I thought we'll listen to a little of this gentleman and talk about him. He's also an FOTM. Jerry, Jerry, you're now an FOTM friend of Toronto Mike.
Starting point is 00:26:28 I know it doesn't seem that way, but maybe it's the perfect day. Even though the bills are piling, maybe lady luck ain't smiling But if we'd only open our eyes We'd see the blessings in disguise And all the rain clouds are fountains Though our troubles seem like mountains
Starting point is 00:27:11 There's gold in them hills There's gold in them hills So don't lose heart I'm actually curious about the ongoing history of Jerry Legere and Ron Sexsmith. Like, how do you meet Ron? I know he's involved in your musical life since the get-go, essentially, but talk to me about Ron Sexsmith. Well, I first met him, I was working, maybe I was like 17 or so.
Starting point is 00:28:05 I was working at a home hardware. And he lived in the neighborhood at the time and came in. I recognized him. I remember really loving this song. That song called This Song. It opens the Blue Boy record that he put out with Steve Earle produced. And I love that song I remember seeing that video a lot on
Starting point is 00:28:27 Much Music for anyone old enough listening to this that remembers Much Music I didn't know that I would you know take Much Music for granted until you know the last few years but but you raise a good point there
Starting point is 00:28:44 which is now you have to kind of seek out much music and we used to just flip it on yeah like you have to it's it's another obstacle it's like you have to bring these music videos to people you know it's like much music like i mean when i was a little kid i thought sloan was the biggest band in the world and they weren't but they seemed like it to me because they were on much music all the time so dude you and i might have you know a decade and more on you but i felt the same way like there are a lot of these now a lot of these bands that come in my basement yeah and i'm like you know like rusty i say a lot of talking oh yeah rusty i remember rusty
Starting point is 00:29:21 yeah i remember those videos too yeah oh yeah wake me or whatever i just did like a dude if you're bored man i just dropped like an hour all about just about rusty's wake me yeah it's the deepest dive and the first time i heard about the deers you know i thought that was really cool and that guy just came here with hawksley work okay shout out to hawk who's also an fm murray Lightburn. That's right, yeah. Right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, so, yeah, Ron came in,
Starting point is 00:29:50 and I gave him my demo CD, you know, because I spent my teenage years recording on, like, a four-track that my brother gave me, and it was such a great tool because um it was exciting to to write a song and then you hear it come to life and add things to it because you had four tracks so you could overdub like a second guitar or harmonies and i'd always run them through like delay and reverb pedals and uh and that would motivate me to write more songs. Like I started off, I mean, by the time I was, you know, 18,
Starting point is 00:30:30 I'd already written like a couple hundred songs. Not to say that they were good, but they were just, you know, it was just a very exciting thing. And I gave him a copy of it. And sure enough, the next time I saw him, he was like, oh, I copy of it. And sure enough, the next time I saw him, he was like, Oh, I really liked it. And, and he said that it reminded him of, of, uh, one of, you know, a friend of his that, that he really loved, uh, who turned out to be Kev Harness. And, uh, I, you know, I didn't, he moved, uh, uh, yeah, he moved into a different neighborhood and I didn't see him again for
Starting point is 00:31:05 maybe like a year or two. And, um, yeah. And then by that time I had recorded my first album, which I'm sure we'll get to all this, uh, with, uh, Timbo Vakani, who is playing. We're getting there right now, Jerry. This is it. This is the moment. So Tim Oveconi, you know, playing in Ron's band for many years. And that kind of like reignited something because Tim played the record, you know, in the tour van when they were on the road. And Ron was like, oh, this is, you know, I like this because he thought it was, you know, not that maybe it wasn't like, you know, a masterpiece, but he could hear that I was doing my own thing and didn't really care what other people thought. You know, you could kind of gather that already that maybe I was, you know, starting a journey where I was going to be doing my own thing, which, you know, I'm proud to say that. That's what I've done this whole time,
Starting point is 00:32:10 which it's been almost 20 years now. So you got a Tim Bovacanti, and you throw in a little Don Kerr, and then next thing you know, you've got Farewell Ghost Town, your sophomore record, and Ron Sexsmith featured there on piano, right? Yeah, he played on like half the record which was really cool at that time.
Starting point is 00:32:28 I remember going to the studio when he because he didn't record on the island with us. We record most of the record on the island. Wolf Island? Where are you? It was Toronto Island. Toronto Island. Not Wolf Island? No, I was there. Chris Brown?
Starting point is 00:32:43 I was there in June, yeah. Wolf Island. That's kind of its own thing. Stephen Stanley, I think, does all his stuff there now. That's right, yeah. There's a whole scene on Wolf Island. Yeah, this was the gas station, the studio that, it was actually the last,
Starting point is 00:32:55 my record was the last record that Don Kerr recorded there before he kind of parted ways from gas station and started his own home studio uh the rooster i think um but yeah anyways when ron was at uh at dawn's when he was in the very early stages of this home studio being put together and he was doing the the piano overdubs i also remember like bob d Dylan's Modern Times just came out because I picked it up on the way, you know. It's interesting different memories you have.
Starting point is 00:33:30 That's like a memory that sticks in my head that like I picked up the new Bob Dylan record on the way to Don's, you know. Yeah, well, you know, music's a soundtrack to your life, right? Yeah. Or as they said on CJCL when I was growing up, it's the music of your life. So it, yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 00:33:46 You remember where you were when you heard a song. You remember where you were when you picked up a certain album. Well, it's funny. It's funny because when I, when I try to think about
Starting point is 00:33:54 different times in my life, I, I, I, I remember, well, what record was I working on at that time? You know, that's how I'm able to like figure out what, you know, relative, you know, relative,
Starting point is 00:34:05 you know, well, that must've been this year. Cause I put this album out or something. You know, that's sort of like a measuring tape for you, Jerry, to find out,
Starting point is 00:34:13 you know, where was I in life? And I'm just going to take this opportunity to give you measuring tape. Oh, from Ridley funeral home. You never know what you need to measure. And I just want to shout out Ridley Funeral Home pillars of this community you gotta make sure
Starting point is 00:34:28 the coffin fits well dude I know you're an east ender but if you ever want to be treated by the good people at Ridley Funeral Home here in the west end I think the people who love you and care for you will venture west of Yonge for that occasion yeah I don't want to see them just yet but definitely
Starting point is 00:34:43 at some point i'll get there first don't you worry about it okay so again sprinkle any i love ron sexsmith so anything you want to say about ron sexsmith here and there just do it but i'm going to introduce another uh artist that people listen you know let us listen to what i'm gonna see these guys on the weekend so i'm gonna see these guys on Saturday. So they're top of mind for me, Jerry. And this might be one of the greatest songs of all time. I will give you everything that you've ever wanted. With this promise, I will bring you home again.
Starting point is 00:35:36 I will give you anything if you don't demand it with one promise I will make you mine again I will give you everything that you
Starting point is 00:36:02 ever wanted I will give you everything. Don't you wish you wrote this song? Oh, yeah. I mean, it's such a great tune. I mean, that whole record, that first record's great. Absolutely. At some point early in your career, you strike up a friendship with Josh Finlayson from Sky Diggers. How does he help you out at, I don't know, mid to late 2000s there?
Starting point is 00:36:37 Well, you know, much like Ron and Timbo Vakani, he was one of those early supporters that, you know, heard something in what I was doing. And yeah, and we ended up making a great record that was also co-produced by Timbo Makani. by Tim O'Conney. And I don't know. I just, I loved, you know, I like being surrounded by good people. And Josh has such a great heart, you know, and also, you know, I have a lot of respect for Sky Diggers. And yeah, and we were just on the same page of the kind of record we wanted to make
Starting point is 00:37:26 I actually wanted to make a record that had that feel of those early Lifefoot records those United Artists 60s records where they sound so full but they were very acoustic like a couple acoustics and a bass and that was kind of the template that we went for going in
Starting point is 00:37:42 to make that record You, Me and and the horse. That's the record we made. You, me, and the horse. Now, Josh is not yet an FOTM, but we should fix that. But Andy Mays is. And when I listen to it, I'm like, let me turn it up for a moment here. I will give you everything that you've ever wanted.
Starting point is 00:38:14 I will give you everything. I will give you So it's interesting, when I hear the, you know, Andy and Josh there and that great Sky Diggers song, which I'll hear live on Saturday, it reminds me a little of the aforementioned Stephen Stanley and Ron Hawkins in, like, Bleed a Little While, Bleed a Little While Tonight. Like, when I hear Bleed a Little While Tonight
Starting point is 00:38:42 and their voices, the way they kind of intertwine, just gorgeous. Okay, so we've heard now Ron Sexsmith. Now we've played some Sky Diggers. I could go anywhere from here, but I think I'm going to just get here because this will definitely bridge us to the new album. But I want to hear...
Starting point is 00:39:01 definitely bridges to the new album. But I want to hear some cowboy junkies who were discussed early and often yesterday with Michelle McAdory from Crash Vegas. Wouldn't turn around and break it And anyone who's ever played a part Wouldn't turn around and hate it Sweet Jane
Starting point is 00:39:41 Sweet Jane Sweet Jane Sweet, sweet Jane Waiting for Jimmy down in the alley Waiting there for him to come back home Waiting down on the corner Thinking of ways to get back home Sweet Jim Jerry, talk to me about future FOTM, Michael Timmons.
Starting point is 00:40:29 Oh, nice. Is he coming on? I say that arrogantly because I have sent him an email, a formal invitation. I can mention it as well. We'll do that. Let's make it happen. It's long overdue. Yeah. Well, I mean, I first met Mike through Josh, actually. I went to their old, to Cowboy Junkies' old studio space, and I was just recording some demos, you know, with Josh there. And, you know, long story story short a couple years later um i was going to see skydiggers at
Starting point is 00:41:10 hughes room and i ran into noel webb the drummer on the way there and he was telling me that you know oh mike has this new new studio it's just you know a few hours down from hughes room like because i was looking at making a new record at that point and and so he suggested like oh we'd check it out I think it you know we just made a record there and it's a cool space and so yeah I went there you know maybe even the next day yeah yeah yeah it was yeah it was the summer of yeah 2013 and we just talked about what kind of records we like making and how we like making them and I gave him a couple of my records I'd put out since the last time I'd seen him and, you know, and before I left he was like, yeah, you know, let's make a record and you know and then like whatever a week later or something like that i you know signed on the dotted line and that was kind of the beginning of that uh
Starting point is 00:42:14 the beginning of a beautiful friendship yeah definitely definitely early riser that's the uh the 2014 album that uh michael timmons uh you can call him mike am i allowed to call him mike or is he michael i always notice he's listed as Michael Timmons. I mean, I've always called him Mike. When he comes over, I'm going to call him Mike. Yeah, see how it goes. I did a couple of bad times that happened. Michael Landsberg told me,
Starting point is 00:42:37 Mike is the name of the guy who fixes his car. He's Michael Landsberg. Well, that guy's important. You need a good mechanic. I like the Mike who fixes my car better than those fucking pretentious Michaels out there, sons of bitches. And then Michael Williams came over and he told me, Mike is the thing I speak into. He's Michael Williams.
Starting point is 00:42:57 Yeah. So now I've got this like complex about, you know, at least you're just Jerry, right? And Jerry, is that like Geraldo? Gerald. Gerald, of course. Yeah, yeah. I was named after my brother's, or my brother, my dad's brother who passed away. So it was like a tribute to him.
Starting point is 00:43:15 But I've always gone by Jerry. But can I ask, so Gerald has a G, but Jerry's with a J. Yeah. Did you consider Jerry a G? Well, it's very confusing, right? did you consider Jerry it's very confusing right it's my last name you know
Starting point is 00:43:26 there's a lot of craziness but I don't know you considered rebranding is it too late I think you just have to blame my parents for that because they would have been the ones that taught me how to spell my name Jerry with a J
Starting point is 00:43:43 so we'll get them on and you can ask them these questions. How did life change? Well, I'll stick to the music. You stick to the music. I'll put them on the other mics. Yeah, exactly. But how did your life change?
Starting point is 00:43:53 And I'll get back to Michael Timmons. Don't worry. Future FOT at Michael Timmons. How did your life change when Jerry Seinfeld became famous? Because you're of an age that you were alive before he was a household name. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:44:06 I love that show. But did, you know, Jerry, I don't remember anything changing though, but nothing changed. Like no one would quote. I'm trying to think,
Starting point is 00:44:13 Jerry, I don't know if there's any good quotes about Jerry. I'm trying to think. It's gold. Yeah. Do people come up to you when you have a new album and go, it's gold, Jerry,
Starting point is 00:44:21 it's gold. It hasn't happened until now. That's a bad sign. It means it's not great. Not great's gold. It hasn't happened until now. It should happen more often. That's a bad sign. It means it's not great. Not great, Al. Okay, so back to what matters here. Michael Timmons here. Because this is like a common theme now
Starting point is 00:44:32 for the next decade of your musical life is Michael Timmons. He seems to be a great influence on you. And he's even like, I mean, to fast forward a little bit because I want to get to the new album, Nonsense and Heartache, right? That's a double album that's also michael timmons produced like you should write down all the things michael timmons has done with you since yeah and that was his idea you know how often does that happen when somebody you know who runs a label comes to you
Starting point is 00:45:01 and says you know you want to make a double album? Usually it's the artist trying to, and the label's like, are you nuts? Even Lucinda Williams, that's why she left Lost Highway, because she wanted to make a double record, and they told her she was crazy, so she left and started her own label. But he, you know, his instincts were probably correct. You were on the Polaris Music Prize longer list, the longer list. We've got to differentiate here, not the short list. But here's an interesting quote. If you look into the life of Jerry Legere,
Starting point is 00:45:31 you learn that. I remember that. I know. I'm here to educate you on your life here. This album, this double album, produced by Michael Timmons, and I do want to remind me to get back. I want to ask you about Cowboy Junkies, because we had a good chat about them a couple. Yeah, it was.
Starting point is 00:45:47 Yeah. See, because I recorded twice yesterday, my brain thinks Michelle McAdory was here a couple of days ago, but she was here yesterday. I just did two yesterday. And because I did the two, I feel like, oh yeah,
Starting point is 00:45:58 Jason Priestley was yesterday. Michelle McAdory was two days ago, but that is erroneous. Correct. They were both yesterday. But this is from the German edition of Rolling Stone. So Rolling Stone must have editions for different countries. Your album, Nonsense and Heartache,
Starting point is 00:46:15 received high praise in the German edition of Rolling Stone. It went to number three on the Rolling Stone album charts. The reaction in Europe particularly, maybe we don't appreciate great music here, and there's a case to be said for that, by the way. Just ask Danko Jones. But man, the response in Europe, including the UK, to these albums,
Starting point is 00:46:38 you were right there, you were in the Take Root Festival. What the hell was the Take Root Festival? Do you remember that? Yeah, that's a festival in Groningen. We actually did was the Take Root Festival? Oh, that's just... Do you remember that? Yeah, that's a festival in Groningen. We actually did again. Where is it? It's in Groningen, Netherlands. See, you just assume when you say Groningen that we all know that's in the Netherlands. Only Lee Bay Fumpkin knew that.
Starting point is 00:46:56 Oh, okay. Groningen. Okay, well, you know, I did okay in geography. Okay, I only know Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and then I get a little hazy. Yeah, So it's a festival there. Yeah, it's just a great festival. But Kurt Weill, I mean, shout out to Dave
Starting point is 00:47:12 Hodge who's here next week. Kurt Weill, a big favorite of him. Nico Case, Father John Misty, you know, Shaky Graves. That is a great name for an artist. I'm not sure I know any Shaky Graves jams, but that's a pretty cool name. Well, I think the first time we played was uh it was kind of cool because it had uh it had that bill you know and then we were just you know nobody really knew us we were the only canadian act on
Starting point is 00:47:38 the bill and definitely the lesser known uh but that Nonsense and Heartache record was re-released overseas a year after it was relatively ignored here Is that frustrating though? Well I mean it is frustrating because
Starting point is 00:47:59 but it's just I mean it's just like anywhere there's it's just, I mean, it's just like anywhere. There's just a bit of a game involved. And I don't know. I mean, I did okay in geography, but I was pretty shit in gym. So, but yeah, it was re-released overseas. And, you know, we've consistently toured over there since then. And, you know, it's been really nice.
Starting point is 00:48:28 It's been really nice to see those audiences build and let the records, you know, sell more and more with every release. Amazing. Yeah, it's nice. and it's, yeah, it's nice. Yeah, so that record, you know, even though it was a double record and it, you know, probably scared some people here overseas, it kind of made them more interested of like, what's this all about?
Starting point is 00:48:58 So, yeah, so it did open a lot of doors, that record. You, you know, the late, great Norm Macdonald, wonderful Canadian comic, he always said, Germans love Jerry Legere. Yeah, I heard him say that. He said that all the time. This was like a catchphrase. Yeah, well, he had it tattooed, I think, didn't he?
Starting point is 00:49:21 Germans love Jerry Legere, but we love you too. Yeah, well, he was buried with one of my records, which is really nice. Which one? Nonsense and Heartache. Of course. He was wrapped in it. It was a double record, so.
Starting point is 00:49:33 All right, let's get, so again, we're coming to the current, but let's pre-COVID. So pre-COVID, we're now late 2019. Time out for tomorrow. Another Michael Timmons production. I'm telling you, this guy's all over your songbook the last decade. And again, if I may,
Starting point is 00:49:50 the German edition of Rolling Stone, all over it, calling it a masterpiece, 4.5 out of 5. Now, this is Mike interjecting. The masterpiece albums I love are 5 out of 5, okay? 4.5 out of 5 is not a masterpiece.
Starting point is 00:50:04 No? I don't think so. What do you think? If you would call an album a masterpiece, are you going to give it anything less than a perfect score? What's a masterpiece? That's Beethoven territory. I have no idea, man. I guess when you have your magazine
Starting point is 00:50:19 and you start reviewing records then you'll make sure that... You're five out of five in my books here. Have you liked that record? I'm still like diving into my Jerry Maguire songbook here. But bottom line is great music, another great production by Michael Timmons.
Starting point is 00:50:39 Yeah. Another thing, just a little side note. I'm sure you already know this, but there's a lot of cases with magazines where somebody reviews the record, the writer reviews the record, but the editor is allowed to change the ratings. Is that right? Is that how they can change headlines?
Starting point is 00:51:02 No, that's a true thing. That's actually a real thing. A writer could give a record 10 out of 10 That's actually a true... No, that's a true thing. That's actually a real thing that they... A writer could give a record 10 out of 10 and the editor might bring it down to 7, but the actual review stays the same. That's a real thing, yeah. Oh, that sucks.
Starting point is 00:51:17 Can I ask you about the Delphi's? Because I was reading up on the Delphi's. It's like you've got this side project going on. Can you tell us about the Delphi's? Yeah, Delphi's is just a wild rock and roll record. Well, the first record is very, well, the records are very spontaneous. You know, the idea was I wanted to start something that didn't have any pressure or any, you know, obligation or any expectations. It's just about getting together.
Starting point is 00:51:50 And I wrote these songs specifically for the band that were just, some of them were kind of outrageous, like rocking in the funeral home. Shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. And yeah, there we go. I think they like it. Some funeral directors have really liked that song. You know, just stuff like that uh and and i i didn't want the anyone really knowing the songs um so it would be like a huge group of us and just kind of feeding off each other and and uh
Starting point is 00:52:19 and our shows are like that too every show is different um yeah it was just something that that i wanted to have the the there's nothing there's no like weight on my shoulders with it it was just about having fun you know like i remember the first uh proper show that we played as the delphi's you know i said something like you know if you like. If you don't, we don't really care. Like, I'm not even sure you're even there, you know? Yeah, it was for, and it still is. I mean, we still, that's our, like, when we're not on tour,
Starting point is 00:52:56 that's pretty much what we're doing in Toronto. Exactly. Like, who's the cast of many, cast of many. It's a rotating cast. It's an eclectic Motley Crue. Yeah, it's just been a lot of... I mean, the first record had 13 people on it. Some of the shows have had even more than that. And I'm hoping in the new year
Starting point is 00:53:14 that we're going to do another record as the Psych Fies. I love it. I love the idea of making art not for commercial consumption. Not that it's not for commercial consumption, but not giving a shit how it ranks on a chart or how much money it makes or whatever. You're creating art for yourself, essentially.
Starting point is 00:53:34 And you're sharing it with us because we can appreciate it or not, and you don't care. It's just fun. It's just fun, and I'm here to have fun most of the time. I did notice, because i'm about to play a new song from the new album the dawn lands but i noticed you did have a single called jumped in the humber again a michael timmons production with you and your band the situation
Starting point is 00:53:56 jump did you ever jump in the humber it's just written as like a kind of like a mob story, you know, like a mafia movie that was never that never was filmed. You know, it's just it's that kind of song. You know, was he, you know, did he jump in the Humber? Was he pushed? You know, it's it's just it carries that story. And at the end of the song, you know, the, before the cops there, the guy grabs his wallet and all that shit and takes off, you know, it's just, um, yeah,
Starting point is 00:54:34 it was just kind of like a fun writing, like a mini screenplay, you know, I liked it. It's fun to do. I mean, I, I didn't really plan to do that. It's just the songs come out, you know, in different ways. And that one came out in, in that way. So.
Starting point is 00:54:51 Love it. Okay. We're going to play some new music and then I have some more gifts for you. And then I want to hear more about the Dawnlands. And then maybe if you play something that would be like amazing, like no pressure. You don't have to sing for your supper. Cause I do have supper for you by the way.
Starting point is 00:55:04 Yeah. Well, I would, I would do this song. Sure. have supper for you by the way yeah well I would I would do this song sure good because you brought the you know in the pouring rain
Starting point is 00:55:08 you brought a guitar and everything like that I do have my last again I don't want to sound obsessed with your name you know I'm picking on the G
Starting point is 00:55:15 where's the E then Gerald why is Jerry with a G J not a G like what an asshole but I have a question about your
Starting point is 00:55:20 podcast right that's what did I pronounce it all right but my problem my question is your middle name. Okay, because Michael Timmons is a Michael, but you can call him Mike. I'm a Michael.
Starting point is 00:55:31 People call me Mike. My issue is how do you spell Michael in your name? Well, that's like more of a, yeah, that's like a, I guess like a French way. E-A-L, I'm not sure. So I know how this works because I've had kids. Like somebody has to file the paperwork
Starting point is 00:55:48 and then you get the birth certificate. Is there any chance, because just to let people know, it's M-I-C-H-E-A-L. But of course, as a Michael, I learned very young. It's M-I-C-H-A-E-L. Is it possible one of your parents
Starting point is 00:55:59 who submitted that form just simply inverted the E and A by accident? I have no idea. Again, you'd have to get them on the podcast, man. That's my question because Michael is misspelled. Is it? Thanks for letting me know.
Starting point is 00:56:15 Spell it as it is on your driver's license. How do you spell Michael? What is Michael spelt like on your driver's license? It's E-A-L. I know how to spell Michael, but I know that my middle name is spelled differently. But thanks for...
Starting point is 00:56:32 I didn't know that this podcast was about my first middle and last name. I thought it was about... Did I criticize all three? Yeah, I thought we were talking about the records, but apparently you don't want to. Doing it right now.
Starting point is 00:56:47 Three hours ahead of midnight. I'm sorry. Drew you the way I last remembered Forgot everything up till then Was love something that we measured When we were acting more than friends I'm drawn to the light When we were acting more than friends I'm drawn to the light I got a stake in the cause
Starting point is 00:57:39 I love to see the sunshine pouring down Your ever flowing on and off. And I will be your connector. Three hours ahead of midnight. Take my hand and we'll see this through. Three hours ahead of midnight. Take my hand and we'll see this through. Three hours ahead of midnight. And let's not bury the lead, Jerry,
Starting point is 00:58:11 because you worked with another FOTM on this new album, The Dawnlands. Shout out to Mark Howard. You worked with Mark on this. Yeah, I mean. He's amazing. I think he's amazing. What was it like working with Mark Howard?
Starting point is 00:58:26 Yeah, it was great. You know, we just went in and knocked it out in five days which I like because I do you know all my records we've done for the most part live in the studio and yeah it just really worked very well it was you know we chose the right songs for the record and it came out sounding how I hoped it would, which is, you know, I'm familiar with a lot of the records that he's worked on and I wanted to get that sound for this particular record. And yeah, that's what we got. He's worked with some of the greats i mean not just bob dylan and and of that ilk but the tragically hip yeah right right i mean i would
Starting point is 00:59:12 he he made a he made a record uh real gone uh by tom waits and that was uh yeah that was a pretty important record for me when that came out. So, and Lucinda Williams' World Without Tears, which is a beautiful record. And beautiful sounding record. That was definitely one of those records where I was like, yeah, I want to do something like that. And you're right, your voice is aging in reverse. You sound younger on this track than you did earlier. If you hear it in the headphones. So whatever you've, if you quit smoking, I don't know what you did, but it track than you did earlier. If you hear it in the headphones.
Starting point is 00:59:46 So whatever you've, if you quit smoking, I don't know what you did, but it's working for your voice. Yeah. And you're happy with the, the new album, The Dawnlands. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:59:56 I mean, the response has been great, you know, cause it's, it's a different record. I knew that I loved it. I really didn't know. Um, I mean, you can never predict how people react to certain albums. Um, and, and, and it just, it just goes at its own pace and it's in its own dimension and it's not a rock and roll record.
Starting point is 01:00:27 dimension and it's not a rock and roll record. It's just its own thing. And, and so I, you know, I wasn't sure how, uh, you know, some people react to it, but, uh, but it's been great, you know, cause all the reviews and, you know, fan reaction have been, you know, pretty much how I've reacted to it. So that's got to feel good, right? That feels great. Like when you present your art to the world, you bury yourself, you know, your soul basically. Like it takes some courage to say, this is my art. And then you got to brace yourself like, oh man, your art's shitty, man.
Starting point is 01:01:00 Like this is garbage. But then when people are like, this is beautiful, it must feel great. Well, you know, I've beautiful, it must feel great. Well, you know, I've been doing it a long time. You gotta have, uh, you gotta have thick skin and,
Starting point is 01:01:11 and I've just always, I've never made a record I didn't want to make. So, uh, I've always felt great depending. It doesn't matter if, you know, someone likes it or doesn't like it.
Starting point is 01:01:23 Cause it's just, you know, that's just how it goes. I want you to wait for me, but I want you to go on, as I so, you're carrying me, you're Is that so? You carried me You carried me Is that so? You carried me You carried me Remember the last time
Starting point is 01:02:21 The night time after You saved my life you didn't just stand there I want you to wait for me I want you to go is that so you carried me you carried me Is that so? You carry me You carry me
Starting point is 01:02:48 Is that so? You carry me You carry me And I know When I get tired And I can't fool you when I get wired
Starting point is 01:03:08 I'm on the next move you carry me Jerry you carry me I just realized why it's called Donlands. I should have asked you why it's called Donlands. I now know the answer, but I feel like people would rather hear it from you than from me. Why did you name it Donlands? Yeah, we recorded the record in a studio
Starting point is 01:03:39 that's inside what used to be the old Donlands Theatre on Donlands Avenue. So I've always liked records that have one word titles and it seemed to fit. And yeah, we also have a bit of a bond with Donlands because there's a bar there, the only cafe at Danforth and Donlands. When I got the band together in 2004, the first time we played in front of people was at the only. Yeah, so just it felt like a good title.
Starting point is 01:04:19 Yeah, that's about it. Well, that's a great story. I love the Toronto stuff. Love it. And I will tell people that jerrylegere.bandcamp.com is where you can go to get all the albums. But Don Lands, of course, you can pick it up now. And I love that what I would recommend is you get the vinyl for $35. It's a great Christmas gift for anyone,
Starting point is 01:04:39 a holiday gift for anyone you care about. Get Don Lands. Yeah. Yeah, and we're doing a release show for it that's Massey's new
Starting point is 01:04:50 new room TD Music Hall I don't know when this air this air is going to drop right away so November 29
Starting point is 01:04:57 yeah yeah this is going to drop November 21 going to drop right away okay cool unless you beat me up
Starting point is 01:05:04 for making fun of your name and then I might move on to it. Yeah, maybe we'll cut that out. November. I would never dare. Okay, people need to know I am mentally ill. I need help. Okay. So, and I just remembered you told me when we first engaged you mentioned you actually heard Ron Sexsmith
Starting point is 01:05:20 on Toronto Mic'd. So it's kind of cool that you've heard it. Yeah, exactly. But he wasn't here. I'll tell you, Ron wasn't here. Yeah, it was like a Zoom or something, right? It was a pandemic recording. He was in like Stratford or something down the street from Peter Mansbridge. I think I had him yell to Peter out the window or something like that
Starting point is 01:05:40 but I did tell Ron next time in the studio so we will get that Ron Sexsmith. And I did have Kurt Swinghammer here. And of course, there was the Sexhammer duo thing for a bit. Do you remember Sexhammer? No. Okay, that was like the Kurt Swinghammer.
Starting point is 01:05:56 And he was like the chocolate. And Ron Sexsmith was like the peanut butter. And they all got mixed up. Okay, how are you feeling? So I feel like i had i think i had gian gomeshi beat until i i pointed out your middle name was misspelled but i only said that as a michael well it's only misspelled because you feel it's misspelled i should say it's not misspelled it's spelled differently than me and michael timmon so that's me like showing my
Starting point is 01:06:21 like air you know my way or the highway so again it rose by any and dame michelle's missing an a yes well he's an asshole see that's okay i'm okay oh that's okay all right that's okay okay well i'll try to sell more records no you don't have to sell any records uh you just create beautiful art that's all we want you to do and i will say that if you did like if we had fisticuffs, I think it would maybe get picked up and then create some awareness. Like we could throw down and then they'll be like, this
Starting point is 01:06:51 cool singer-songwriter came on a podcast and they threw down over his name, his spelling, and it would help Donlands I feel, raise awareness. Think about it. Yeah. Yeah, I will. And I'll let you win. That way,
Starting point is 01:07:06 if I do lose naturally, they'll think I let you win. See, I've covered all my bases. Perfect sportsman. How are you feeling about playing something now? Yeah, yeah. With your mood level. Okay.
Starting point is 01:07:17 So why don't you get ready and I will shout out some sponsors of Toronto Mic'd and thank them for helping to make this happen. And then, you know, you got two mics, so you can aim this wherever you want. And I'll turn on this mic.
Starting point is 01:07:31 What is that, green? Okay, so yeah, you can take off your headphones and do your thing. So while Jerry gets his guitar and gets set up here, I'm going to introduce the third mic. I want to tell people about Yes We Are Open, an award-winning podcast hosted by FOTM Al Grego. He went east this time, but the good news about Al is he's here tomorrow.
Starting point is 01:07:50 So tomorrow, we'll learn more about Yes, We Are Open, the fifth season. He's going to tell us about the great, inspiring small business owners he's talked to for season five, and we'll hear some choice jams and just see what's new with al grego his side hustle podcast recently uh landed their white whale so we'll get that scoop from al tomorrow the advantaged investor is a podcast from raymond james canada it offers valuable perspective for canadian investors who want to remain knowledgeable informed and focused on long-term success. Jerry, do you like Italian food? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:08:30 Would you take home with you compliments of Palma Pasta? Would you take home a frozen lasagna? I'd love to. Well, you have to say yes because I'm forcing it on you because you're going to love it. It's wonderful. And you can write me later and say it's the best lasagna that you've ever had. And I'll just let you know, Jerry, because I don't know what you're doing on Saturday, December 9th, but you are absolutely invited to TMLX 14 at Palma's Kitchen in Mississauga.
Starting point is 01:08:52 And we're all going to collect there from noon to 3 p.m. That's a Saturday. It is the 9th of December. It is noon to 3. And we'll have fresh craft beer from Great Lakes. And I'm sending some home with you, Jerry. And also we'll have fresh pasta from Palma Pasta.
Starting point is 01:09:07 It's going to be a great time. Everybody should come, including you, Jerry. And last but not least, recyclemyelectronics.ca. That's where you go if you have any old electronics. Maybe your old four-track recorder died, and you don't throw that in the garbage because those chemicals end up in our landfill.
Starting point is 01:09:27 You go to recyclemyelectronics.ca, type in your address, and it says, oh, two blocks away, we have a depot. You drop it off, and they properly recycle it. Okay, so where are we at? Yeah, we can aim that anywhere you want. Jerry's just setting up. Sounds good.
Starting point is 01:09:43 Yeah, get comfortable. And you know what? I like to record it on my phone as well Jerry so I'm just going to get my phone here and then I will shut the hell up so we can hear from the singer, songwriter himself අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි Love and faith I want to see them on my track I gave it all away Then I wanted it back Every joker wants a laugh
Starting point is 01:10:56 Every go-getter takes a stab I feel my tension shift see the pendulum lift in a room where I sit to sort
Starting point is 01:11:18 me out you can't win when you You can't win When you don't know what you're fighting for Journey of a bullet Reason for a scar And the way we are portrayed what's real
Starting point is 01:11:49 who's to say these thoughts are swirling round both feet on bleeding ground but help is what I found
Starting point is 01:12:06 To sort me out Out on the homestretch And on the scheme I knew it was you Standing there I knew it was you standing there By the records and magazines If dreams are made for two Well tell me, how did we do?
Starting point is 01:12:42 Dancing eyes in cobalt blue Starlit sky above the spruce And here you are right on cue to sort me out so so chariot's amazing, buddy.
Starting point is 01:13:25 You're so freaking talented. Thanks, man. How annoying. That was so good. Thanks for doing that, man. You earned that lasagna like a champ. Dude. Thanks.
Starting point is 01:13:36 On the way out here, so we already shouted out the event on November 29th at TD Music Hall, which is like a part of Massey's new room there. It's called TD Music Hall. November 29th, that's amazing. And will Ron Sexsmith make the trip from Stratford for that? Do you know?
Starting point is 01:13:55 He actually emailed me. He's doing, I think, a house show or a private event or something. So he won't be there, but we'll have, uh, yeah, yeah. He, he surprised me at a show that I did in November. It was nice to see him and his,
Starting point is 01:14:12 uh, his wife, Colleen. Um, yeah, but, uh, but yeah,
Starting point is 01:14:17 I mean, there'll be, uh, lots of other friends, uh, roaming around that room as well. So that I'm sure you'll recognize. Amazing.
Starting point is 01:14:26 And what's next for you, Jay? You're already working on new stuff. You mentioned, what's the name? Again, you call these things like there's the lo-fis and the, the,
Starting point is 01:14:33 sorry, the del-fis, but there's different fis, like there's different variants, right? Yeah. I want to have a whole collection of them one day. We did one called the bop fis,
Starting point is 01:14:42 which was recited poetry um and with uh with jazz backing um yeah i mean i that always goes on the back burner if we're you know if i'm making one of my own records but uh i think january we might do a psych fives record. Uh, and yeah, while we were on tour, uh, in, in, uh, Europe, I just got back a week ago. Um, we ended up, uh, going into a studio in Cologne there and doing some recording that that's, uh, you know, I mean, who knows that that's, that's just a back pocket thing, you know, but, uh,
Starting point is 01:15:26 but yeah, Don Lange just came out October 27th. So there'll be more, um, we'll be returning to the, haven't announced anything yet, but we're returning to the UK in May and Scandinavia, which we,
Starting point is 01:15:38 we haven't, uh, uh, played in a couple of years. Um, so looking forward to that. Yeah. How did this compare to Q with Gian Gomeschi?
Starting point is 01:15:52 Well, this one is, you know, it just happened. So I think my memory of it is more intact. You need to process it? But yeah, I mean, you know, it's interviews are interviews, you know, some of them are good and some of them are bad and some of them are in the middle.
Starting point is 01:16:12 So that's, uh, you know, that's, where's this one falling before I hit some lowest of the low, I need to know out of 10, 10 being the greatest experience ever. One being what a waste of my time.
Starting point is 01:16:24 I don't of my gas. I don't like ratings. But I definitely enjoyed being here. So thanks for having me on. Well, thanks for doing this, man. I'm glad I got to meet you. Thanks, Cam Carpenter. I almost called him Cam Carpenter.
Starting point is 01:16:39 Shout out to Cam Carpenter. He's everywhere, this guy. He's all over. Every time I show up somewhere, Cam's lurking somewhere. So he's a hardworking guy. Yeah, definitely. And he knows good music, too. And he said, hey, Jerry Legere.
Starting point is 01:16:53 Certainly helps Sloan a lot. Sloan, I mean, I'm like you. To me, Sloan was like bigger than Led Zeppelin. It's like these guys are world beaters. I will see. Well, Coax Me was the number one record in my mind. Chart Attack, agreed with you, and I love it too. I will say I will see Chris Murphy in the Trans-Canada Highwaymen.
Starting point is 01:17:11 I'm seeing them in December. I think it's at the Horseshoe. And so I'll get, you know, a quarter of Sloan in my diet in December. Nice. I'm looking forward to that. Congrats and good luck with everything, man. Thank you. Keep it up.
Starting point is 01:17:24 You're creating good music. Thanks a lot. I hope to hear something. Maybe Dawnlands came and good luck with everything, man. Thank you. Keep it up. You're creating good music. Thanks a lot. I hope to hear something. Maybe Donlands came out too late actually in the year, but when Dave Hodge puts out his hundred songs of 2023, if it's missing Donlands, it's because he hasn't heard it yet. Maybe it'll make his 2024 list.
Starting point is 01:17:40 So keep it up. Thanks for doing this. You're now an FOTM. Great. Thanks. Thanks for having me and that brings us to the end of our 1370th
Starting point is 01:17:51 show you can follow me I'm on Twitter and Blue Sky I'm at Toronto Mike and again go to I would recommend and I'll let Jerry promote something else but Jerry Legere L-E-G-E-R
Starting point is 01:18:05 dot bandcamp dot com is where you can pick up his fine music. Is there anywhere else you want to send people? I guess just the website, Jerry Legere dot com that has, you know, upcoming dates and whatnot. And much
Starting point is 01:18:21 love to everyone who made this possible. That is Great Lakes Brewery. Did I tell you you're bringing some cans home with you? Ooh. Yeah. Thank you. Bring some home for later. Thanks to you and Great Lakes.
Starting point is 01:18:32 Shout out to Great Lakes Brewery. And of course, Palma Pasta. I've got the lasagna for you. I forgot to give you this on the show, but we're still recording. Okay. Moneris not only wants you to listen to season five of Yes, We Are Open, but they want you to know you can do it on this smart speaker. It's a wireless speaker.
Starting point is 01:18:49 Oh, I needed one of those, actually. So thank you. And it sounds great, too. Perfect. So take that home with you as well. Ridley Funeral Home. I mentioned Maneris. And, of course, Raymond James Canada and EPRA.
Starting point is 01:19:04 They're the good people behind RecycleMyElectronics.ca. See you all tomorrow when Al Grego drops by. He'll kick out jams from related to season five of Yes, We Are Open. See you all then. That's true, yes I do I know it's true, yeah I know it's true How about you? I'm picking up trash and then putting down roads And they're broken in stocks, the class struggle explodes And I play this guitar just the best that I can
Starting point is 01:19:45 Maybe I'm not and maybe I am But who gives a damn Because everything is coming up Rosy and gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow warms me today And your smile is fine And it's just like mine The wind is cold, but the smell of snow warms me today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away.
Starting point is 01:20:14 Because everything is rosy and gray. Well, I've kissed you in France, and I've kissed you in Spain.

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