Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Spoons Kick Out the Jams: Toronto Mike'd #961

Episode Date: December 7, 2021

Mike chats with Sandy Horne and catches up with Gord Deppe before The Spoons kick out the jams....

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Starting point is 00:02:03 Good, any sign of Gord yet? No sign, but still a little bit early. But just want to say hello. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Yeah, you too. This is awesome. We're going to have a good time. You're all set, though.
Starting point is 00:02:20 You're comfortable because these are not quick sprints here. We got to... No, I'm good. Awesome. Nothing going on. I shouldn't say that. I was just working in the to. No, I'm good. Awesome. Nothing going on. I shouldn't say that. I was just working in the studio. Right, right, right. So whereabouts in the universe are you?
Starting point is 00:02:31 Like, are you in Toronto? Where are you? No, I'm in Guelph. Oh, okay. Cool. My boy is not too far away. He's in Waterloo. Ah.
Starting point is 00:02:41 Is he at school there? Yeah, he's going to Laurier. Ah, what's he taking? It started off of like business-y stuff and then it sort of morphed into more of a general arts thing. So I think he's just getting, he's going to get his like honors BA general arts thing and then figure out what the heck he's supposed to do in this world.
Starting point is 00:03:00 I hear that. My two are graduated, so I'm done. You're done. I'm done. You're done. I'm done. I'm done. I've got a nurse and a industrial designer. See, one day I want to look back and say, okay, they all found something they dig and they all, they're all doing that. Empty nester. Okay. How is that? Because, okay. So I sort of messed myself up.
Starting point is 00:03:21 Like I would have had that as like a, like a goal in the future. And then I went and got remarried and had two more kids. So it's like, I don't know if I'll ever get to that point now. But like, what's it like being an empty nester? At first it was very quiet. And then when even one of them comes back, I kind of go, okay, you can go back to your home now. There's no more things sprawled dropped in the
Starting point is 00:03:45 kitchen you know just coming you know backpacks on the floor shoes scattered coats hanging off chairs there's none of that but you're happy uh sandy horn is a happy woman oh yes for sure yeah no it's just it's just kind of funny when they come they They're adults now. They're mid-25 and 28. And they just drop their stuff. But they don't do it at their homes. Their homes, they immediately take the coats off. They put it in the closet. And they put their boots away nicely or shoes or whatever.
Starting point is 00:04:17 And then they come here. It's like plop, plop, plop, plop, plop. And it's like, are you 10? Hey, look who just showed up to ruin our Zoom party here. Some guy named Gord. Should I let him in? Yeah, I guess so. Gord.
Starting point is 00:04:32 I think Gord is the quintessential Canadian name. Gord. Gord. Like, you got Gord in Lightfoot, Gord in Sinclair, you got Gord in, Gord Stellick, Gord Downie, and you got Gord in Depth. And Gord Sideways. Oh, there. Gord Sidewaysic, Gord Downie, and you got Gordon Depp. And Gord Sideways. Oh, there, Gord Sideways. There he is.
Starting point is 00:04:48 How you doing? Hey, Gord, nice to see you again. Good. I remember the last time, I think it was near basement, right? And I got a free beer glass or something. Well, yeah, you had a free beer glass and beer. That's right. You had the, uh...
Starting point is 00:05:02 You know, Gord, I got to introduce you to somebody. I don't know if you've met this young woman. This is Sandy Horn. Hi, Gord. Nice to meet you. Yeah, we don't see each other that much anymore either. It's crazy. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
Starting point is 00:05:18 No, it's good. We should be playing more right now, but what can you do? I'm trying to figure out where you are. Actually, I'm at my mom's house. Oh, okay. I'm going, I don't recognize this room. I know. I had to find a quiet spot at my mom's. She lives in Burlington where we first got together.
Starting point is 00:05:34 Right. She still lives in the same apartment building that we grew up in. Wow. Hey, so this is what we're going to do, Gord. We're going to literally like we've already begun. We're going to just dive in. You have a bit of time, right, Gord? Sandy says she's cleared the next six hours for me. How about you?
Starting point is 00:05:49 Well, the maximum I have is the hour. The maximum. An hour. Okay, so we're going to rock and roll here, though, because... Well, you can keep Sandy for six hours if you want. I just got to leave it at three. So here's what we're going to do. I'm making these executive decisions on the fly.
Starting point is 00:06:03 We're going to do a little catch up here. I got some questions from FOTMs. Then we're going to do Gord Depp's five jams. And then Gord's going to say goodbye. And then we're going to spend some, a little bit of time with Sandy doing her five jams. And then we're going to sign off here. So what's happening here is Sandy Horn,
Starting point is 00:06:23 I hope you're excited about this because you're actually making your Toronto Mike debut right now. Have you been able to sleep? How do you feel? I went to bed early. I got up early. I've had two coffees and I'm ready to rock. Coffee was a bad idea. You need to chill when you do this show.
Starting point is 00:06:41 You got to be awake. You just want to be awake. He's going to be awake. And Gord, you, of course, you're a veteran here. I know we were introduced by the great Pete Fowler. Oh. I believe Pete introduced me
Starting point is 00:06:55 to you way back when. You visited, for those who want to go back and listen to like a real A to Z about the spoons and Gord Depp and Flock of Seagulls
Starting point is 00:07:04 and everything. That's episode 116. I'll just read the description really quickly. Mike chats with the Spoons singer and songwriter Gord Depp. And that episode was like 90 minutes. So there's lots of Gord there. Here's a fun fact for both of you before we dive in. This is the 100th kick out the jam episode of Toronto Mike.
Starting point is 00:07:24 So congratulations on the milestone Excellent Come on I want some more enthusiasm what's going on Yes! Eureka! As they would say in the old black and white movies I've watched a lot of old movies over the Christmas
Starting point is 00:07:39 What's an old movie? You're so black and white that you're going that far back Yeah not even, well, this is the last one I watched because I love those old Sunday afternoon movies. It was Journey to the Center of the Earth, the original one.
Starting point is 00:07:51 Sure, wow. With James Mason, you know, the old, and I may watch all those right now, like, you know, 20,000 Days Under the Sea, First Man on the Moon, all that.
Starting point is 00:08:00 When the effects weren't CGI, they were like rubber creatures and lizards with fins that glued on their backs, but like dinosaurs. And so it was great. Practical effects. I think we call those the,
Starting point is 00:08:11 or cheap. Whatever gets the job done here. Quick note from Michael Lang, who is a great FOTM. Michael Lang says, I saw the spoons at an outdoor concert in Sabo beach about three months ago, and they were great as always. So you have been doing some shows lately. Oh, yeah, for sure.
Starting point is 00:08:32 I found some unique shows, especially during lockdown. We played twice on an island where they could have 100 people on the island and the boats came in. This time they let people on the other islands. We went to barge between two islands. We could double the numbers. Very creative. Driving theaters, waterfronts, parks, golf courses, anywhere they would let us play.
Starting point is 00:09:00 And then we did the canal system. We were on a boat and we went up through the, in Bobcage and we went through the canal system up there. Rooftop of a building, you know, all that stuff. It's like the Beatles. Yeah, I was going to say, did you film that making of your rooftop? We could kind of get an eight hour deep dive into the spoons, play the rooftop. Yes, actually Peter Jackson is doing the documentary. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:09:27 On that note, do you ever think like, oh, we should have filmed more now that there's this appetite to go behind the scenes? Imagine the early 80s spoons, just raw footage. Do you wish you had more recordings? Of course we do. Now you've got everything, right?
Starting point is 00:09:43 You have your phone. Back then, it was like a Super 8 camera, right? That's all you had, probably. Right. Yeah, for sure. I mean, once in a while, people have, like, I got a video of you at the police picnic in 1982, opening for the police. Oh, great. It's like 10 seconds of some grainy
Starting point is 00:09:59 thing which is moving from a mile away, right? But that's as good as it gets, really. There's aruder film. The Zapruder film, like in the JFK conspiracy, you've got that grainy Zapruder video. Right. That's a trendy look probably now, right? To get that look in your videos.
Starting point is 00:10:22 It's funny you mentioned that. On my travels, I just went by that spot. And when that happened, that shooting, because I've been traveling in Flog of Seagulls. Oh, in Dallas. Yeah, we were going on some highway, and the people with me knew exactly where it was. It's right down there.
Starting point is 00:10:37 If you look off, it's right under Overpass or whatever. Pretty wild now. Am I right that right now there's Trumpers there waiting for JFK Jr. to show up or something because he's going to put Trump back in the White House?
Starting point is 00:10:52 Did I dream that? Was that a fever dream? Probably not. The more I travel America, I realize it's a whole other kettle of fish than we are. Every single state is like a different country. The thinking, the mentality, it's outrageous, some of them. So it's possible, for sure. I think that's actually happening.
Starting point is 00:11:11 Now, Sandy, this is a nice note I got when my friend FOTM Perry Lefkoe heard you were coming on the show. Ah, Perry. And I guess you know Perry's brother, Elliot, of course, is a sponsor. He booked us back in the 80s. And you alluded to the police picnic. That was the Garys, right? Yes. It was two Garys who ran the Edge bar back in the day.
Starting point is 00:11:37 Not the radio station. And they were kind of like our management at the beginning as well. They actually did a lot for us. Helped us get our first record deal, that sort of thing, and onto the police picnic. What I like about the Garys, I have so much respect for them because they didn't book an act unless they thought they were damn good. They never did anything for publicity reasons
Starting point is 00:11:57 or because they're in fashion right now. They had to actually legitimately think you were a good act before they book you well that's that's kind of you to say that yeah i hope so yeah they were right yeah and they were so important to the music scene around the world actually and for canada especially uh they were constantly bringing in the brand new artists that no one had heard of yet and once they hit the gary's and the edge and whatever place they were going to put them in, they started to fly,
Starting point is 00:12:30 you know, like bands. Nobody knew about like the police and you too, and stuff like that. Yeah. So it's nice to be in that company. Well, well deserved now back to Perry because he'll be mad if I don't remember to
Starting point is 00:12:42 come back. He says that, what does he say? He says, Sandy Horn is Canada's new wave sweetheart. How do you feel? That's a good moniker for you. Sandy's very humble. She's going to give you crickets right now.
Starting point is 00:12:57 Well, that's very nice of you. Thank you, Perry. I guess because I was one of the only first major female artists out in the new wave era. Now, I don't know if he's referring to the new wave now or the new wave back then. Because it was called the new wave back then. And now when people say new wave, they're thinking now. We're like the old wave now. Or we're called the old wave.
Starting point is 00:13:18 I've also heard some of them. Don't say that. I know. That's what they say. And I'm like, no, we were the original first wave. I'm going to rush that. Rush term, like permanent waves. That's what they say. And I'm like, no, we were the original first wave. I'm going to rush that term, like permanent waves. That's what we are. Yeah, permanent waves.
Starting point is 00:13:30 The carver of waves. And again, I'll burn through some of these FOTM notes before we talk about some Spoons projects and tribute albums, et cetera. But Elephants and Stars, Manfred there is a FOTM, and he says, we played our first ever show with them at The Rock. Sorry, The Rock
Starting point is 00:13:50 The Wave. There's The Rock The Wave benefit. She, that's you Sandy, and Gordon could not have been nicer to us. Oh, that's good. We hear that quite a bit, and I don't mind saying that because we always, we weren't trying to be nice. We were just playing out kids, you know, straight out of high school.
Starting point is 00:14:07 And I hope that we didn't lose any of that still, you know. We never took it that seriously that we, like, were full of ourselves. It was like, I don't remember, Sandy, we did the police picnic. I wrote about this in my book. We kind of looked at each other like, what the hell is happening? All these people are going crazy. Like, we were just so dumbstruck by it all. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:14:24 And sorry to interrupt, another thing is that this weekend, going crazy like we were just so dumbstruck by it all that um yeah yeah and he and i just i'm sorry to interrupt saying another thing is that this weekend i'll say next week on the 18th i'm playing new york city with black seagulls in the first place we paid played in the first time i played new york city with culture club oh yeah back in 82 and talking about coming full circle and even back then i remember doing that gig and now rogers and sting coming to our door after the show knocking and to tell us how much they loved the band and and i had come to see culture club didn't like him that much but he asked to produce us same thing at the time we're like a bunch of kids like oh okay sure you know like we were so innocent and and i hope we haven't lost that after all these years. I still feel like that same stupid kid.
Starting point is 00:15:10 Is that not the same show where that guy got up on stage and was taking pictures of us and running around on the stage? Yeah, yeah. We're like, why is this guy on stage taking pictures of us? It's like coming right up beside us and doing photos with us. We're right in the middle of performing, and no security is doing anything. We're going, what is this guy doing? Walk him in here and say hi. We're right in the middle of performing and no security is doing anything. We're going, what is this guy doing? Welcome to New York City. Yeah, it's going to be a trip being back.
Starting point is 00:15:30 I think it's been renovated a little bit since 1982. Yeah, take pictures. I will. Yeah, unlike last time you were there, you now have a camera in your pocket at all times. You've got everything in your pocket. Yeah, it's a lot of things. you've got everything in your pocket it's a lot of things Nile Rodgers though we did
Starting point is 00:15:47 in Gord we went deep into this last time so we won't dwell on it too long but that's amazing when he taps you on the shoulder and says he wants to produce your album what a big deal that's tremendous yeah it is and we're still the only Canadian band he's ever done we did two records with him
Starting point is 00:16:02 I keep in touch with him he He's in all kinds of things. Yeah. And Sheikah is busier than ever. And he's opened, I think, a roller rink somewhere and done Huntington Beach or something or somewhere down in California. I see him on roller skates. You know, he's beaten cancer a few times.
Starting point is 00:16:18 And he's a new guy. You know, he's not only busy musically, but in all kinds of ventures and altruistic things. I saw him auction off all his guitars, and I think some cars he accumulated just toward charities and things like that. I also heard something about the fact that he's running Abbey Road in England now. That's right. He's the head of Abbey Road. That's pretty amazing. Road in England now. That's right.
Starting point is 00:16:44 He's like the head of Abbey Road. That's pretty amazing. Yeah. Suddenly back in the news, like a runaway freight train, Abbey Road. All the kids are discovering. He's like one of the greats of our generation. He's like the new Quincy Jones kind of thing. I would say, yeah. And you're the only Canadian
Starting point is 00:16:59 band he's produced. Yep. Mind-blowing. Jerry the Garbage Man has a question for Sandy. And again, a lot of these questions are sort of for Sandy because my first tweet about this was that Sandy was making her Toronto Mike debut. So a lot of people thought maybe
Starting point is 00:17:15 it's Sandy's solo. And then, of course, I had to, you know, disappoint everybody by saying Gord would be here as well. Just kidding. I'll be quiet. I'll stay in the background quietly. No, no. Yeah, get the most you can out of this, Ed. Pepper in as you wish, but Jerry says, please ask Sandy about
Starting point is 00:17:31 her memories of the Tell No Lies video and the Maxell cassette commercial. Okay, I'm trying to remember the commercial, but I know that Maxwell Tate was very productive in helping us do our videos for both Romantic Traffic and Tell No Lies. And actually, Maxwell Tate was involved with us even to get our first, to get John Punter on board because we did a commercial for them just after we had demoed Nova Heart. And that's how we ended up getting John Hunter on board to do Nova Heart
Starting point is 00:18:08 and Arias and symphonies. So totalized video was a lot of fun. I mean, it was kind of like, you know, we're somewhere in the jungle somewhere in a strange airport. Customs. Yeah. In the Amazon or something. So it's a lot of fun, a lot of props.
Starting point is 00:18:28 We pulled in a lot of people and a lot of friends and a few fans to join in on the video and a lot of makeup. It's great. Tell them about Tell No Lies being used right now in a new Christmas movie. Oh, yeah. It's called 8 Bits of Christmas, and it's basically... Or 8-Bit Christmas, like 8-Bit, like the Nintendo machine. Yeah, the 8-Bit Christmas.
Starting point is 00:18:50 And have you seen it, Gord? I saw the ads for it. It's got Patrick, what's his name? Neil Patrick Harris. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And a couple other people. And they asked to use Town of Lies in that movie,
Starting point is 00:19:06 and it's in the roller rink scene. But it's a throwback to the 80s about the Nintendo game. Okay, so I was on a... The first Nintendos. This past summer, I'm on a bike ride on the Waterfront Trail. So we're near, I don't know, not too far from like where you go to Hyde Park or Ellis there. And they're filming a movie.
Starting point is 00:19:23 I see a crowd and they're filming a movie. So I get off my bike. A crowd draws a crowd. I gotta know what's going on here. And it was like a station wagon and Neil Patrick Harris or Steve Zahn. I think Steve Zahn actually. Anyway, long story short is
Starting point is 00:19:38 they said, oh, we're filming a movie called 8-Bit Christmas. And now I find out that it's got some spoons on the soundtrack. So I got to check this out. Yeah, you do. Yeah, the scene that we are in is at a roller rink. Yep.
Starting point is 00:19:51 It's a roller rink at the bottom of South Down Road and Lake Shore down in Mississauga. That's where my kids used to roller skate. Oh, is it? Yeah. And the song's in there for about two minutes, which is awesome. Okay, that's awesome. And here's the second part of the question from Jerry,
Starting point is 00:20:08 the garbage man for you, Sandy, did you ever previously play the standup bass like you did in that video? Not then. No, I do now, but it's a standup electric. Cause those bases are, if you know, the bodies are quite big, they're a bit wide and I'm not a tall person. So I playing the standup base was a bit bulky and heavy for me. Um, but now I do have an electric standup, um, Steinberger base. Yeah. Amazing. DJ dream doctor. Uh, again, your, your question's coming up next Gord, but this one's for Sandy. Go for it. The movie Listen to the City.
Starting point is 00:20:46 Do you think the plot of that movie is still relevant today? Oh, absolutely. I mean, we're kind of sitting in it again now. I don't know why we don't get out of our rut, but I mean, this has been centuries and centuries of people in this position where you have the factories closed down and the big wiggies want to get bigger and leave the ants on the bottom, you know, and the struggle for life and society and families,
Starting point is 00:21:12 it's terrible that we can't find a better balance with one another. And now, Gord, you can now re-enter the fray because this question is for both of you here. Let me get it out here. Mike from Kdub says, which Spoons album was underappreciated and can you explain why it
Starting point is 00:21:32 was Bridges Over Borders? That's from Mike and Kdub. So he's answering his own question. See, I wouldn't think that was underrated. The things to make him put him at ease, that album was much bigger in America than Canada. It was our one album, so he was correct in that fact. It was Ray Daniels and Rush's management and record company.
Starting point is 00:21:55 Tim Tramuth. Yeah. Yeah. But it was Rush's people and management that kind of pushed us to become more American, more rock and roll. We had more guitar in it, more rock and roll. We had more guitar in it, more drums, and we had a second guitar player on the road with us, Colin Cripps, who is now with
Starting point is 00:22:10 Blue Rodeo, a great guitar player. And we kind of just embraced the whole American thing, right? But because of that, our Canadian fans were a little like, oh, what are you doing? Whereas in America, it was perfect, right? So I wouldn't say it's underrated. Maybe here, because we strayed a little bit from our regular sound,
Starting point is 00:22:27 but in America, it sure wasn't underrated. Yeah. And what do you think, Sandy? Most underrated Spoons album? Or underappreciated, he says. Underappreciated. I guess it would probably be Bridges, but then Vertigo Tango.
Starting point is 00:22:45 I would have liked to see more happen with that. I had a lot more fun making the Vertigo Tango album than I did the Bridges album, to be honest with you. Probably the setting, because Bridges was basically done out of Toronto, a place we were always, but Vertigo Tango was recorded in Monmouth, Wales, at Rockfield Studios, the same place that Queen did their Bohemian Rhapsody and so forth. So it had a lot of history and a lot of fun behind it. And, you know, that was our last album for a long time, too.
Starting point is 00:23:18 So it would have been nice to have a little more life out of it, but it's come around again, so it's all good. Yeah. Gord, this is from Andrew Ward. He wants to know, how are your French lessons going? French lessons? I guess last time you were on, Gord, I think... We must do some backstory here.
Starting point is 00:23:34 Yeah, I think last time you were on Toronto Mic, you mentioned you were taking French lessons. I don't think so. No? There must be an in-joke here or something. I'm not kidding. No, I thought that you must have dropped a hint that you were going to learn French or something
Starting point is 00:23:47 when you were on my show. No, maybe Italian because I've been going to Italy a lot. That would make more sense. Italian, not French. Okay, well, Andrew Ward's got some explaining to do here. Yeah. It's okay. explaining to do here. Yeah. It's okay. It's another language, whatever.
Starting point is 00:24:09 It's always good to learn another language. Let me just find out here. Okay. So let's catch up on some of the Spoons thing. And then I just need a very little, a little like Gordon Sandy, like linear history here. But I'll kind of extract that from you. But can we talk about some of the new Spoons CDs?
Starting point is 00:24:30 Well, CDs, you know, I guess, are they CDs anymore? They probably are. But tell me, like, everything. Because I understand there's a Greatest Hits, but then there's also a Tribute album. So can you guys explain exactly what's going on with Repeatable and Echoes and these albums. Well, Sandy, why don't you tell them about Repeatable and I'll tell them about Echoes.
Starting point is 00:24:49 Okay, but I'm just going to step back to add another one to this. In 2019, we put out a brand new album called New Day, New World, which is all brand new material. So since 2019 till now, we've put out three collective recordings, call it albums, call it CDs, whatever. So, yeah, we've been rather busy. So, repeatable. Can I put it up on the screen? Yeah, please. Yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 00:25:16 Okay. So, repeatable. I don't know if it's very glary. This is 40 years of our music. It's a compilation of everything starting from 1980 to 2020, which would have completed New Day, New World. Some of it's our hits and some of it's songs
Starting point is 00:25:34 that a lot of our fans really liked as well. It also came out on double vinyl. Every fan's dream is to have double vinyl because it opens up too. When you're a kid, I used to buy double vinyl because it looked cool. I didn't even care what the music was.
Starting point is 00:25:50 Can you open it up too? Yeah, I can. I'll be back in two seconds. What I miss the most, what I like the least about the digital era is that we lost having that tangible piece of media, like that cover art.
Starting point is 00:26:05 Because even when, even when the, because cassettes weren't that good because they were so small, but CDs were still pretty good. Like, they weren't as good as the albums and the vinyl.
Starting point is 00:26:13 But CDs still had that great space for some artwork. But it's pretty much gone with the streaming. Yeah. Oh, here we go. I'm going to do Vanna White here, okay?
Starting point is 00:26:21 Okay, let's do it. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da hits like Nova Heart or Romantic Traffic or Old Emotions. They're not on there. Those aren't on there. You're going to confuse everybody. And people will say, well, why did it take so long? Well, we were waiting for the long, we did put out our collectibles, I think in mid-1995 of the stuff that was the early 80s, but we didn't have Bridges Over Borders and Vertigo Tango. We finally got the release from Anthem. So that's how we were able to put this together.
Starting point is 00:27:06 So they were holding the Masters. Was they being held hostage or what was the deal there? I don't know that it was necessarily hostage. I think it was more Anthem was selling their publishing and a whole bunch of things were going on because the label isn't quite the label as it was before and trying to get a hold of the right person that could release it so uh last summer like a year ago this past summer we met up with i did with peggy giacone who was in charge of publishing and so forth and
Starting point is 00:27:36 she was the one that was able to go in and say okay guys let's do this they're like they need to do this now so okay amazing now so okay to be clear here this is uh repeatable we're gonna get to echoes in a minute because echo sounds amazing too but this is repeatable and this is an opportunity for me to just quickly get the timelines because i actually a couple of weeks ago i had my uh first conversation with rob pruse and very interesting lots of spoons chatter in that one. But of course, he's not a founding member. So like the original spoons in Burlington, tell us who are the original spoons?
Starting point is 00:28:15 And I'm just personally curious, like where in the history, like are you two a couple at this time? Like maybe filming and all that. Yeah, we met in high school um gourd played sax i played trumpet and we kind of met that way and uh the band gourd was in at that time called impulse um didn't have a bass player and during a trip to umprior ontario to play for another high school there was two acoustic guitars and he said here play these root notes and I started playing the bass on the acoustic guitar and they he said we don't have a
Starting point is 00:28:49 bass player in our band do you want to play and it was like yeah you were 15 right you were 15 at the time I was 15 at the time and uh so the first band was called Impulse it was a cover band and then Gordon and I split off from um the cover band band Impulse to form Trist, which was kind of like a proggy, what do you want to say? Yeah, prog rock band. Yeah, prog rock, you know, multi-changing chords, changing time signatures, kind of a basement band because we were so self-indulged, and we took the best of those bits with the keyboard player at that time brett wickens who was with us and uh formed spoons and with derrick ross out of high
Starting point is 00:29:31 school because all four of us were at eldershot high school then just as we got our record deal with ready records to do stick figure neighborhood brett decided he wanted to go off to england and be an artist and started designing art covers for albums Rob Proust came on board and it's funny you mentioned maybe Rob was the original in the recordings okay in the recordings guys so he's on
Starting point is 00:29:56 all those big early hits but it's interesting Sandy that you know when Gord mentioned you were only 15 because Rob was only 15 when he joins you guys in flight like he's still he's very young at that point when Gord mentioned you were only 15 because Rob was only 15 when he joins you guys in flight. Like he's still, he's very young at that point. Like, uh, Yeah. He saw us perform as, uh,
Starting point is 00:30:11 early spoons with Brett Wickens at the library, I think in Burlington. And he was like, Oh man, I love this band, blah, blah, blah. So we put a, when Brett was leaving, we put a little newspaper clipping to, um, in the newspaper and Rob called us. And we, at first we were like, oh, he's only 15. Cause at that time, you know, we're like 18, 19, 20, right? He's so young now that's nothing. But no, it worked out great. You know, he came out, he had all the parts, he had all these great sounds he was already accomplished as a player. Cause he'd been taking piano lessons.
Starting point is 00:30:45 I don't know, he was in grade 12 piano or something. Right. Yeah. Yeah, unbelievable. I pulled a clip of some CBC show where they were talking about this, you know, 15-year-old prodigy that was playing for the Spoons. And it was very interesting stuff, for sure. For sure. Hey, okay, so before we get to Echoes, a moment to tell you guys that I think you're awesome. Like every time I see,
Starting point is 00:31:06 and I've seen you guys quite a bit live the last decade. And every time, I think there's some, you know, ongoing jokes in the performance that it's, you know, it's like a time machine back to the 80s. And I'm just here to tell you, I love it. Like, I think the songs hold up. I think you guys are still great like you guys look great but you sound great like
Starting point is 00:31:27 I just want to say thank you for all the music man just so many great jams from The Spoons I think that's really one of the best compliments people say now you know we go see you guys it's not like late in the 80s it's sort of just music for any time you know
Starting point is 00:31:43 maybe it's because when Novahart came out, it was really kind of wrong for its time too. It was charting with Led Zeppelin, Queen, and ACDC and that kind of stuff. What is this weird song doing in the middle of all this? And for that reason, it's endured. It just still is kind of quirky, timeless, I guess, you know. So that was my love letter to you.
Starting point is 00:32:04 Now, tell me about Echoes, because Echoes is essentially a love letter by artists for you guys. And here's the cover. Here's the cover, just real quick. I've got it upside down. There's the cover. All the way with different doors leading to different possibilities.
Starting point is 00:32:19 Love it. I think this is one of our proudest achievements. It's all these different artists, mostly 80s bands from around the world, mainly England, the U.S. There's one from Australia. Of course, lots of Canadians doing our songs their own way. And the variety is unbelievable. Like Galen doing ours, if he stripped down just piano.
Starting point is 00:32:39 And by the end of it, symphony with timpanis and strings. To somebody from Marilyn Manson and the Prodigy doing Bridges Over Borders, like scream all heavy metal rock. Wow. The variety is unbelievable. We have Wedding in Rome, you know, did The Promise, doing Romantic Traffic. We brought some bands out of the woodwork, like Strangers bands,
Starting point is 00:32:57 who haven't done anything for a long time, but they just came out with their own album doing one of our songs. We have everybody in there, Glass glass tiger you know um a couple young bands that i think we did allow two young bands on there because they understand and love the 80s so much it's a band from la called felix in the foreshadow it did old emotions and it sounds more 80s than our original it sounds like house beats joy division and then a band from canada called 416 who did a song off Vertigo Tango record, which we kind of forgot about.
Starting point is 00:33:27 It wasn't a big release or anything, and it kind of makes us want to do the song again because they did it so well. It's not called I've Been Here Before. So yeah, I think there's 14 tracks on there, and what we decided to do, which made it very, you know, everybody was on board immediately, is just say, you know, there's no way to pay all these people. We put out all the profits to the Unison Fund, which
Starting point is 00:33:47 is supporting the Canadian music industry during COVID. Right down to crews, young bands, whatever, wherever the money is needed. Amazing. And because, Gord, because you got a jet and I need some private time with Sandy, we're going to kick out another half an hour. Don't rush me.
Starting point is 00:34:03 I know, but we're going to be kicking out these five jams. And I'm not, like, it's not like we just talk about these jams. I'm going to play them. So I don't know if you've heard of kick out the jam. This is the 100th. So you have 99 to catch up on you.
Starting point is 00:34:15 Okay, Gord. But maybe you can go listen to the Pete Fowler at some point. The, I start the jam. I might let it go 40 to 60 seconds depending on my mood, I guess. I'll bring it down and then we
Starting point is 00:34:29 hear from you why you chose the jam. We have a little back and forth. Maybe Sandy wants to chime in. Sounds cool. I noticed, for example, there is a band you're going to kick out, a song you're going to kick out that you mentioned during your description of the
Starting point is 00:34:44 tribute album that's out now. We'll also out a song you're going to kick out that you you mentioned during your uh description of the uh the tribute album that that's out now uh so we'll also kind of revisit some of that and it's just going to be a good good time here so okay and then you know if there's time left over you can stick around for some of the sandy jams which uh absolutely so here's the big question for you gourd are you ready to kick out the jams i am ready let's do it The guitar solo Happiness, more or less It's just a change in me Something in my liberty On my mind
Starting point is 00:36:14 Happiness, coming and going I watch you look at me Watch my fever grow And I know just where I am But how many corners do I have to turn? How many times do I have to learn? All the love I have is in my mind But I'm a lucky man
Starting point is 00:36:45 With fire in my hands Happening, something in my own place Lucky man. The Verve. Talk to me, Gord. Oh, man, I am a lucky man. That's why I put this at the top of the list. I mean, for so many reasons.
Starting point is 00:37:07 And when the 80s were over, and I didn't just crawl into a hole. I embraced a lot of the stuff that was happening in the 90s, especially in Manchester Sound, you know, the British stuff that was coming out. And bands like The Verve, you know, were right up my alley. I loved the way they structured songs, and live, they taught me a lot.
Starting point is 00:37:27 I mean, watching Richard Ashcroft, the way, even the beginning of the song kind of took a long time to get going, right? But we've done that to some of our smooth songs, where we kind of did The Verve approach, where we stretch things out and groove in certain parts and build the momentum up and up and up. Yeah, plus, I mean, I happened, and we just said it on the screen, I'm sorry, momentum up and up and up and um yeah plus i mean i happened to get married again in 2019
Starting point is 00:37:51 just before everything shut down congrats man congratulations that was in florence italy talking about bitmeyer like italy and on the rooftop of overlooking the duomo in the city of florence that was our main song Lucky Man by The Verb and it was such a beautiful moment that's a beautiful city man I was lucky enough to get there for my honeymoon
Starting point is 00:38:14 going back I don't know eight years or something and that is like you know you do your trip your Italy trip and you got these spots and then it's like Florence hits you
Starting point is 00:38:21 like smacks you in the head you don't realize how damn gorgeous Florence is going to be every year now it's like it hits you, like smacks you in the head. You don't realize how damn gorgeous Florence is going to be. Every year now, it's like, it's one of the cultural centers of the world, especially back in the Renaissance. But even now, it's like, you know,
Starting point is 00:38:33 where we stay there in this little apartment on the Arno River, right beside it is a church, this Santo, what's it called? Santo Croce. There's like the bones of Dante and Michelangelo. What the heck? It's's like the bones of dante and marco angelo what the heck you look in the
Starting point is 00:38:45 middle of of this and the museums and every corner is so full of history and a wonderful wonderful place yeah so that song has a lot of you know like i say it's kind of i feel i associate myself to him in that role you know like i'm such a lucky guy and musically how we've been able to endure and still like 40 something years later people still care and doing podcasts with us you know when we were younger going I don't think what about you saying I don't think we thought we'd be doing this past the age of maybe 30 that was that was over the hill right exactly and and when when things kind of dropped down in you know the 90s and music changed
Starting point is 00:39:25 and we were trying to figure other ways and avenues through music, I thought, oh, well, it's going to be what it is. And then there's this whole brand new surgence and a rebirth and a regrowth that's been amazing to keep us going again and give new light to the music. It's awesome. Awesome first selection, Gord, and I love the story. And one more thing about Italy is that, in my humble opinion,
Starting point is 00:39:50 they make the best food. Yes. If I had to eat one food for the rest of my life, I've had that conversation. I'm with you, man. What's your favorite Italian dish? Oh, man, I'm a big lasagna guy, but you can't... You're like me.
Starting point is 00:40:07 I'm happy with a good plate of spaghetti I don't even think it's fancy maybe spaghetti and meatballs when you're walking in Italy I still remember oh let's go get a gelato let's go get a margherita pizza or whatever it's all good man
Starting point is 00:40:23 I could just live on that food yeah well maybe we'll meet on the streets one time there we'll just have a pizza together i am so there i am so there okay we got more jams this has been a great start here let's kick out your second jam Hey kid, did you know today's 16 years ago it was you and I for the last time? You and Gertie said with a smoke ring round your head you would see me on the other side Come on and all you want more Come on and open your door After it all you'll find out
Starting point is 00:41:14 You were always one of us Act like you don't remember You said we'd live forever Who do you think you're kidding? You are only one of us inside You said we'd live forever Who do you think you're kidding? You are only one of us inside When you come to mind Disappear a thousand times Keep me hanging on to the
Starting point is 00:41:38 One of Us by Liam Gallagher I had to get one of the Gallagher brothers in there. I was a huge Oasis fan. Talk about bands that centered me, you know, when the 80s I thought were over. Great songwriters, you know, big presence. They were bigger than life. They liked to argue.
Starting point is 00:41:56 They were, you know, I heard that they actually put an album out that was a bestseller in England, just their arguments on stage. I love it. It's so rock and roll. That song kind of, it's Liam's song really about his brother leaving the band and hoping that they would get back together.
Starting point is 00:42:15 And I learned something through this. I always got the impression that Liam was the hooligan, you know, the Manchester United soccer hooligan kind of thing. Yeah. And Noel was the, you know, the victim. But as I've learned over time, it was really the other way around. Liam was actually kind of, come on, let's get back together. You know, let's make up.
Starting point is 00:42:33 I'm with you. I'm with you that Noel's the holdout, but I do think Liam was the bully. Well, yeah, I think he regrets it. But, you know, another thing I learned, I used to think Noel was the musical genius. He still is, but I really learned to respect Liam's stuff. There's another song
Starting point is 00:42:50 called, I don't know, anyways, I sort of forgot him for a while because I assumed Noel was the superstar, but Liam's got a lot
Starting point is 00:42:58 to offer and more of a voice. And the thing I, another reason I picked this song too is it's, especially doing all these 80s tours,
Starting point is 00:43:06 or doing the Flock of Seagulls, nobody gets along anymore. All the bands are broken up, they hate each other, they have a passion. Sometimes they're still in the same band and don't talk, but a lot of times there's only one guy left because the other person in the band, they couldn't stand each other. And what a shame, you know? And you look at us with The Spoons, Sandy and I have stuck through thick and thin since, you know, 1980. there's been ups and downs but we got through it right it's a shame that some of these guys can't just you know just stick together yeah i mean yeah go ahead sandy because i'm gonna ask if there was ever a moment like when you guys were like i can't i need a break from this other
Starting point is 00:43:46 individual in my life since i was a teenager like this guy um you know to me the whole time with the spoons it's kind of like we're married to the band it's it's kind of like an ongoing relationship and i don't understand when bands start arguing about publishing and they don't get along with each other and they have all these tips. It's like everyone has their personality and it's the personality that made the band what it was. So why, you know, I don't know. I don't understand it, to be honest, just like Gord. I don't understand it because if you love something and you're passionate about it and it's working, why not keep it going? Find a way. Find a balance.
Starting point is 00:44:29 And with your band, there's only two essential members. Is that fair to say? As long as there's a Gord and a Sandy, there's a Spoons? Yeah, I would say so. Wouldn't you, Gord? Yeah, I think so. I guess nothing disrespectful because I like all the people that we have and I love the band we have now. But I also know Rob and Derek.
Starting point is 00:44:44 That was magical. We never recreate that again. And with Steve and Scott McDonald, who's now back in the band again, which is great to have that opportunity. All the people that we've had through the years, they're all great. It's just, as long as there's a core that sticks together, you know, and you can't even get that these days, you know. I see all these bands and, all these bands on these 80s tours
Starting point is 00:45:06 like, where's the other important person? Sometimes even the main singer isn't there. Gord, you can see the Beach Boys and it's just Mike Love and a bunch of guys. You know what I mean? I think there's a couple of bands out there that have no original members.
Starting point is 00:45:23 Like Chicago, right? Chicago has a Canadian guy now singing. Saterra's gone. I don't care how great the singer is. If the lead singer isn't there, then what? Or the Guess Who. Go see the Guess Who and you'll be like, I'm trying to guess who these people are.
Starting point is 00:45:44 That's a good way of wrapping that one up. Yeah. All right. Let's kick out your third jam. One, two, one, two, three Hey, hey, hey, hey Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Wake up kids, we got the dreamers disease The age of 14, they got you down on your knees Sobs, a lie, we're busy still saying please
Starting point is 00:46:40 Bread, no meat, but when you're down, ain't you afraid? Every night, a smash of Mercedes Benz First we run, and then we laugh till we cry But when the night is falling You cannot find the light You feel your dreams are dying Hold tight You got the music in you
Starting point is 00:47:17 Don't let go You got the music in you One dance left This world is gonna pull through Don't give up You got a reason to live New Radicals, you get what you give. Oh, man. New Radicals, you get what you give. the early spinnaker step is very complex it takes on like our symphonies i think it has like 12 chords in it or something it's like an opera right and i was so impressed by bands like the verb as well you can just stretch it out and make so much get so much emotion out of just very little musically but push it to the limit right um so this is one of those bands is this a 90s i think i'm not sure i believe this is 90s yes yeah i kind of saved the day for me there's life after a new wave I don't know what else I can say about this thing
Starting point is 00:48:30 every time I hear it there's this energy and positivity about it and this sort of like taking the old Beatles message you know you get what you give what's the line from the Beatles song the love you make is equal to the love you take the end?
Starting point is 00:48:45 Yeah, it's the same. It's the same pretty well. Yeah, it's kind of like... And, yeah, I don't know. I just... This song is one of those simple songs like an anthem
Starting point is 00:48:52 for the 90s for me. Now, Sandy, big question I asked Gord when he was on a few years ago is I asked him, is it Spoons or The Spoons?
Starting point is 00:49:03 And I know I won't reveal Gord's answer, but what is your answer to that question? Well, it is spoons, but in the context of speaking, I'm going to go see spoons. It doesn't sound quite, people do it now, but back in the day, proper English, I'm going to go see the spoons. And it was, we got, came up with a name around the same time of thinking of, like, the doors, the stones, you know, that kind of thing. So there was da-da there. But we decided, well, let's not put the da there.
Starting point is 00:49:32 But to avid fans, they'll jump all over you when you say The Spoons. To me, I was never that upset about it, you know. The da was always small in comparison to spoons what about you gourd i i don't know i said uh last time we talked it was is the same as sandy i was gonna say it's actually dust spoons dust yes oh like dust boot yeah exactly dust spoons in germany yeah so your answer last time gourd was that you seem to not care. You were completely indifferent to spoons or the spoons. But if I'm going to be like... It's funny you mention that because we have the same argument with Black Seagulls.
Starting point is 00:50:12 When they forget what a Black Seagulls, sometimes people get upset. What is it? One little... And now they joke it should be a, like A-E-H, like a Canadian. Fun story. A Black Seagulls. A Black Seagulls. At some point, I guess I tweeted
Starting point is 00:50:26 or I can't remember if it was a podcast or a tweet, but I called a certain Canadian band from Kingston, Ontario. I called them Tragically Hip, I think, and I got a note from manager Jay Gold that it's always the Tragically Hip.
Starting point is 00:50:43 And, you know, so... I understand your trepidation, man. Yes. Yeah, so it's not Tragically Hip. There's no lawsuits coming, don't worry. It is the, you never know. You never know. But love that new Radicals jam.
Starting point is 00:50:56 I haven't heard it in a while. It took me right back. And before I kick out your fourth jam, Gord, I just want to, it's kind of a funny little thing, is that we did bring up perry lefkoe because he's a he's a huge spoons fan uh with a particular admiration for sandy horn but when i had perry here because perry's big in the horse racing world and i produce a horse racing podcast for peter growth gross called down the stretch so perry came over we chatted about
Starting point is 00:51:21 this and that and i played this song for perry for perry lefkoe and perry lefkoe was openly weeping here at the studio table because of this song and how it affects him so which song my next jam the one that's coming up next so because i know perry will listen because you know sandy's on the program uh perry just get a tissue or something before you listen to the fourth jam here from Gord Depp. If you need a friend Don't look to a stranger You know in the end I'll always be there And when you're in doubt
Starting point is 00:52:26 And when you're in danger Take a look all around And I'll be there I'm sorry but I'm just thinking of the ride I know they don't of the ride I promise I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be But if you wait around a while I'll make you fall for me
Starting point is 00:52:54 I promise I promise you I will When your day is through You know what they say, when in Rome My only 80s choice on this whole list, which probably people are surprised about Absolutely, now tell us, as if we need an explanation, why The Promise? A bunch of things, first of all, I think it's one of the best 80s songs written.
Starting point is 00:53:27 Also, doing the last 80s tour of the Flag of Seagulls, I get to know all these people. And Clive and Andrew of Wine and Rome became some of my best friends on those tours.
Starting point is 00:53:37 And I would tell them every night, you know, I like Space Age, love song, and I rap, but I say, that's like the best song
Starting point is 00:53:42 of the whole concert. We have like 15 bands. There's something about that song, it's an epic, beautiful song and you know, it really got its second life because of Napoleon Dynamite. It was in that movie and it's funny when now we talk about it, it's just supposed to show you how these people that were like, you know, people that I looked up to, like idols, like oh, in Rome, that song, which is so beautiful. And now we're all like friends backstage at these concerts.
Starting point is 00:54:09 And now coming up to Toronto, Sandy's got the No Clive as well. They're like our friends and peers now. We know we're in constant contact working on projects. And he's a big new fan of Spoons. He's helping get the word out about us down there and A-Land. And he actually, I think he put a note on the Echoes, because he does a version of Magic Traffic, and he said, I never knew about these guys back
Starting point is 00:54:32 in the 80s. You know, I was so busy in my own world, and now I know, and I want everybody to know about them. And it's kind of another full, comfortable, circle moment, you know, when that happens all this good later, that you're hanging out with these people
Starting point is 00:54:46 that you looked up to and is Perry crying yet? Oh for sure Perry Anybody who meets Clive
Starting point is 00:54:56 he's such a wonderful guy so is Andrew but he's over in England right now but we had our 40th anniversary show a couple weeks ago at the Amo Combo
Starting point is 00:55:03 and for the release of Echoes and stuff Clive came and joined us on stage for Tell No Lies. I mean, for Romantic Tropic. And they also did a new song of ours from the New Day album called Landing Lights. So they had two songs on this CD. And they actually added that song to their set list live because they say this is pure when in Rome. So it's pretty cool. Very cool.
Starting point is 00:55:29 Now, I got a question. When you're doing this with a flock of seagulls and you're doing this 80s collective tour thing, is there any chance you would ever be able to perform a spoon song? I don't think so. What about up here? What about if you go north of the 49th parallel or
Starting point is 00:55:47 whatever? We've done some shows together. We did a little mini tour with Flock, Spoons and Men Without Hats. Of course, we do them there. There are more coming. It just keeps getting postponed because of COVID. We're supposed to have been back at the casinos this fall. It didn't happen. Again, the second time it was postponed.
Starting point is 00:56:03 So yeah, there's still more of those in the works. But I don't know if there were enough locks that went to do that. I don't think so. But it's funny because of this and people getting to know about us in America I get people quite often now doing a flock show and somebody goes Spoons! Play Nova Heart!
Starting point is 00:56:20 Right, I can imagine. And my sister looks at me quietly. It wouldn't be out of place like if they were to do Nova Heart like it would fit right in here with these other big you know I Ran and The Promise and everything they actually came out within months of each other those two songs I Ran and
Starting point is 00:56:36 Nova Heart and it's funny Mike is very quiet very judgmental very jaded he's not seen it all and he doesn't really get impressed by anything and i remember near the beginning of touring with him he's got this headphones on and he takes them off in front of everybody in the bus goes that's that gobar song that's a really good song and he looked and he pointed at me in front of everybody's just and i
Starting point is 00:56:59 know who wrote it that's a big deal right it's like, right? And he doesn't get impressed by anything, really. Let's put it this way. When Lawrence Gowan is singing for Styx and you catch him on tour, there's a Gowan song or two in the mix, right? Yeah, you're right. But he's the lead singer
Starting point is 00:57:20 in the band. He's got a bit more pull. I'm just the guitar player. If I ever take over Mike's part, I would definitely sing Spoon's song. Gotcha. So you mentioned that's the only 80s jam you're kicking out here today. There's one more jam to go and it's pretty damn recent for a guy who
Starting point is 00:57:36 you know, whenever I see Well, I just throw a surprise in there. Well, let's hear it We couldn't turn around Till we were upside down I'll be the bad guy now But no, I ain't too proud I couldn't be there
Starting point is 00:58:35 Even without time You don't believe it We do this every time Seasons change and our love went cold Feed the flag cause we can't let it go Run away but we're running in circles Run away, run away I dare you to do something
Starting point is 00:59:04 I'm waiting on you Awesome. Some Post Malone circles. I'm surprised at some people, you know, but good jam. And the thing is, I never thought I was surprised at myself that I would like something by somebody like Post Malone. But he's gotten a bit more mainstream in the meantime. But again, guess where I heard this song? In Florence. Florence. Yes, the year that we got married.
Starting point is 00:59:37 That kind of became our song of being there. Imagine walking at night in Florence with that sort of song in your head. It was just the lights and the wine and the people and the music. It was just a really good groove. Circles can be taken different ways. I'm looking at coming full circle. We've said that a few times in this podcast. Yeah, I was just surprised
Starting point is 00:59:56 I would like something of that. In the meantime, I've learned that from other people. There's so many great artists that, look at the weekend. It's so damn 80s now, it's unbelievable, right? At the beginning, I wasn't that really drawn
Starting point is 01:00:09 to his old stuff, you know? So it's great to find newer things that are really popular in the mainstream, which as a spoon, we always kind of avoid it. We always try to be different and, you know,
Starting point is 01:00:20 we started with prog rock. I mean, how out there can you be? So it's kind of fun to be drawn in by some of those things and really yeah i mean it's just it's just a good pop song it's a great great pop song and and for me it was the theme of that year 2019 before it all crashed to hell really music i'm never it never ceases to impress on me that how and when a song hits you determines so much of how you carry that song
Starting point is 01:00:51 for the rest of your life. If a song hits you at the right time, I don't know, maybe you're a teenager or you're in Florence and you're walking the streets and you hear a song, just the way it hits you, you carry that. And then forever when you hear the song, you're back in a time machine at that moment and place in your your life very true very
Starting point is 01:01:09 true actually that song in the the first one we played on the second one the one by liam gallagher were the two songs there they're playing on the italian music channel that all over and over and interspersed with local stuff right and both And both of those songs, even the Liam one, was different than I ever expected from him, you know? So there was a song by somebody I knew, but hit me left field for an artist that I never liked before, really, or paid attention to, grabbing my attention, going, wow, he's got a whole other side to him.
Starting point is 01:01:39 So I should be less closed-minded about artists that maybe I don't think I like, you know? Right. I will say I did have the pleasure of kicking out the jams of Andy Kim and he also threw that Post Malone curveball at me there was a not that jam but a different
Starting point is 01:01:55 Post Malone song was on his 10 jams and I don't think there's a lot of people who think Andy Kim is out there listening to Post Malone but no I thought it was going to be 5 spoon songs. Was it Hollywood is Bleeding or something like that? He kicked out ten by the way because you guys split your ten.
Starting point is 01:02:14 Five each but normally people get ten. So Gord, here's what we're going to do. You can linger as long as you want, man. You're Gord Depp of Spoon. I've got a few minutes. How do I leave gracefully? I don't look just sort of... Here, let me turn off the bell here. That's a good point. I'm going to turn off the bell,
Starting point is 01:02:30 which means when you leave, I won't hear it. You'll just be gone, and we'll start talking trash about you. Okay. Gosh, I have to leave in three minutes anyway, so I might as well probably say goodbye now. Farewell to you, my friend. This has been a lot of fun. Later, Hosen. Later, Hosen.
Starting point is 01:02:45 Later, Hosen. Yeah, I'll watch the rest of the show. I think I may know what some of Sandy's jams are. I know her musical history. Lucky for you, I'm... I'm sure there's some surprises in there. Lucky for you, I'm recording everything, so you can catch it later.
Starting point is 01:02:58 Okay, Gordon, thanks for this, buddy. You were awesome. Thank you, Mike. Peace and love. Take care. Talk soon. Bye. See ya.
Starting point is 01:03:04 I was waiting for the ghost so i can tell you he ran he ran so far away love it okay sandy finally we got rid of that guy we're all alone this is well i wanted to do the promise as well oh and i saw his list go through the email and i went ah you dog he took it from you okay too. Too bad too. And I just want to, you know, I'm playing bass for him for, um, uh, uh, Clive and Andrew when they come through town as Farrington and man in May. No, tell, go. Yeah, no, tell me this is, I'm here to be educated. Uh, yeah. Um, yeah.
Starting point is 01:03:41 So when Clive was here at our release party at the Al Macombo and he did Romantic Traffic, his version, I played bass for it. And then he did a show the next day. It was kind of like a small intimate show just to collect a few more funds because they're coming across the border and everything. And he said, well, do you want to play bass for us when we come back in May? So I'm going to be applying bass for them. That's super damn cool. If Gord can do flock, I can do Farrington to man.
Starting point is 01:04:10 For sure. For sure. Absolutely. And quick note to young Mike. This is sometimes I'll speak to future Mike, which is like Mike in several years. But right now I'm going to speak to young Mike. I just want young Mike to know that he's currently having
Starting point is 01:04:23 a one-on-one conversation with Sandy Horn. I think that would blow young Mike's mind. mike i just want young mike to know that he's currently having a one-on-one conversation with sandy horn i think that would blow young mike's mind so i just want to so it's happening now young mike it is happening right now okay so sandy yeah quick before we get to your first jam and i can't wait to hear you talk about these five songs uh i want to let you know that when i do eventually uh meet you in person and get you over to the studio, and hopefully this happens sooner rather than later, I will have some gifts for you. So I'm going to quickly just tell you some of the items that you will get and then an item that you will still get. Even though you're in Guelph, you're going to get an item here. But I want to let you know when you're here in person, I have fresh craft beer for you from Great Lakes Brewery.
Starting point is 01:05:04 Awesome. in person, I have fresh craft beer for you from Great Lakes Brewery. Awesome! And, because we talked so much about Italian food today, you're going to get a delicious lasagna, frozen lasagna from Palma Pasta. You're
Starting point is 01:05:15 going to love it. And they're in Mississauga and Oakville. So, Great Lakes, you can get them at LCBOs and you can get the retail store here in Southern Etobicoke. You can get go to palmapasta.com. They're in Mississauga. And of course, they're in Oakville as well. I have a sticker you sticker courtesy. Well, it's a Toronto Mike sticker courtesy of sticker you. It's just a great quality sticker. I'll have and I don't know if I'll still have this when you visit. But
Starting point is 01:05:41 if you were here today, I would have a wireless speaker for you, a Moneris branded speaker. So you could listen to the Yes, We Are Open podcast, which is hosted by FOTM Al Grego. This is really inspiring for like small business owners and entrepreneurs like myself. If you go to yesweareopenpodcast.com, you can see some subscription links there and you can see some subscription list links there and you can check it out and get inspired by Al and the good people at Mineris Ridley Funeral Home much love to them they've been great supporters of the program they've been pillars of this community since 1921 here in New Toronto so shout out to Brad and the good people there and And what do I have? I actually do have this for you. So I'm going to send you an email, Sandy, where you have a $75 digital gift card that you can use at ChefDrop.
Starting point is 01:06:34 So if you go to ChefDrop.ca, there's all these amazing restaurants and chefs. And then you get these pre-prepared meal kits shipped directly to your door. So they will deliver to Guelph because you're Southern Ontario. So 75 bucks to enjoy. And listeners can save $50 right now at chefdrop.ca when they use the promo code FOTM50. Sandy Horn, are you ready to kick out the jams?
Starting point is 01:07:02 Sure. Sounds like a plan. Yeah. There ain't no gold in this river That I've been washing my hands in forever. I know there is hope in these waters. But I can't bring myself to swim when I am drowning in this silence, baby. Let me in. Go easy on me, baby.
Starting point is 01:07:57 I was still a child. Didn't get the chance to Feel the world around me I had no time to choose What I chose to do So go easy on me Woo! Oh. Adele's Easy On Me. From her new album, 30.
Starting point is 01:08:36 Wow, this song feels like it's everywhere, but it's still not one of those, you're not sick of hearing it. It's just, what vocals from this woman. Holy moly. Oh, yeah. And the story behind her. She's just, she's velvet to me. You know, holy moly. Oh, yeah, and the story behind her. She's just, she's velvet to me.
Starting point is 01:08:49 You know, she really is. And her story, her life story, her accomplishments. I mean, she came from low to middle class family, struggling all the way. And just, you know, she's recently gone through some hard times herself, and that's what this album came out of. I don't know if you recently saw her live performance.
Starting point is 01:09:11 That's currently on Crave, I believe with Oprah Winfrey. I saw it. I saw it because I was just taken away at the, just where she was. Like she sounds great because she's got the best vocals in the world, but just that scene, you know, the Hollywood sign and vocals in the world, but, uh, just that scene, you know,
Starting point is 01:09:26 the Hollywood sign and everything in the background, it was just beautiful. Yeah. I can't say enough about the woman. She's brilliant. And she's only 30. It's like, well,
Starting point is 01:09:35 where did you come from? Yeah. Well, where did she come from? Like, like, you know, we've been listening to,
Starting point is 01:09:40 you know, you know, there's great vocalists out there, you know, from, you know, Aretha Franklin to, uh, you name it, Celine Dion, whatever. There's been great vocalists, you know, there's great vocalists out there, you know, from Aretha Franklin to you name it, Celine Dion, whatever. There's been great vocalists, Whitney Houston, but no one sounds like this.
Starting point is 01:09:52 This is such a unique, special voice that Adele was gifted with. And I think it's because she sings from her heart. Like there is not a time where one note doesn't come that it's not from her heart. Well, I sing from my heart sandy i don't sound like this i sing from my heart too but she's like got a depth that i don't know we haven't been able to reach yet i'm still working on it oh my goodness and you know my daughter's a singer as well and she can do this adele like there's no tomorrow like i go what really yeah i should put her in front of it yeah she she hasn't done much original material she's a nurse right now but uh
Starting point is 01:10:33 you know she does music on the side and it's like come on let's let's get you in the studio let's do she's like yeah i've watched your roller coaster ride and i don't know if i really want to get on it you know but it's like well well, you've got the talent. And I mean, yeah, she saw the rollercoaster ride, but the highs on that rollercoaster make the lows well worth it, right? Like that's sort of the. Well, yeah, I know that, but she doesn't know that because she didn't live those in the eighties,
Starting point is 01:10:57 right? She wasn't around. She wasn't around for the, uh, the stitches ads. No. Yeah. Blue notes. Right. Oh my God. Thrifties. Was it thrifties? Maxwell tape okay yeah okay well i'm yeah it all blurs together for me i i just remember uh you guys for a while there you guys were everywhere it was the uh the look because you had that combination of these great like new wave jams but uh aesthetically pleasing uh leads there you go you and gourd were a good
Starting point is 01:11:28 looking duo you know it all came together here you still are i'm not suggesting anything else but uh wow okay so no i'm gonna say no wonder niles uh wants to produce you guys okay so let's kick out jam number two. Stranger Strange lies and strange love Stranger That's how my love goes Stranger Will you give it to me? Will you take the pain?
Starting point is 01:12:17 I will give to you Again and again Will you return it? We'll be right back. I give in to sin Because you had to make this life livable But when you think I'm bad enough From a sea of love I'll take more than another river full Yes, and I'll you get on the fire
Starting point is 01:13:06 I'll make your heart smile Stranger, stranger Stranger, stranger That's how my love goes Stranger, you give it to me When you take the pain Sorry, I'm lost in this great jam here, Strange Love. You gotta love the post-mode, right?
Starting point is 01:13:31 Yeah. I mean, they don't go wrong really anywhere. I mean, I just kind of picked one of my favorites, to be honest with you, because, I mean, they kind of staple the 80s to me. I mean, we're part of the 80s as well, but they're still magic today. They still know how to pull it all together. They've been doing what we've been doing
Starting point is 01:13:52 and the appreciation for their music. And their keyboard lines are amazing. You know, so strong. Just love these guys. Sandy, what was your relationship like with the CFNY 102.1, the radio station that would have been playing the most spoons, I suppose, back in the 80s there?
Starting point is 01:14:14 Well, it was Dave Marsden, actually, that was our big follower. And the thing was, we met Dave Marsden before the spoons when Gordon and I were in impulse and he was judging the Battle of the Bands and we were just brand new I mean I was I don't only been playing bass for eight weeks when we won the Battle of the Bands and he came up to us and said you know this this band's really unique I'm gonna be watching for you guys. And sure enough, when Stick Figure Neighborhood came out, they were the first ones to play it.
Starting point is 01:14:50 And so that's a strange love we had with CFNY. I mean, and Dave Marzen, though, he's not with CFNY anymore. You know, he's still got his own thing going on and is still a big, huge supporter of us. And whythespirit..com we got to shout it out because yeah exactly he's an innovator i i got you know he's an fotm as well but he's a like yourself now but he's an innovator and i've got so much time for david marsden i just think he's
Starting point is 01:15:18 tremendous and mars bar that's how we used to call him absolutely and you know him doing like him judging like the battle the bands he's kind of channeling the old, the Dave Mickey, right? He's Dave Mickey from the old 590 show. But yeah. And he came to see us catch our tour bus at Cell Towers, right by where Gord lives. And on our way to Culture Club, he was there. He saw our Bon Voyage and was there and and you know uh video
Starting point is 01:15:47 not videotaping but taping it on radio for the station and you gotta be right in the scene right gotta be right there it's funny gordon mentioned you guys were in like a prog rock band before uh yeah so it's what was the name again of the prog rock band? Trist. Trist. Okay. Because Marsden gets credit, of course, from a little, another little Toronto band known as Rush. Because he was breaking them on Chum, on 104.5 there,
Starting point is 01:16:15 Chum FM. Marsden was playing them. And of course, then the song Spirit of Radio is sort of an homage to, to David Marsden. Exactly. It's awesome. Love it.
Starting point is 01:16:25 Okay, are there any other jocks you remember chatting with at 102.1 back in the day besides Mars Bar? Oh, well, there's May Potts. There's, oh, God, Liberl Jive, Beverly Hills. We're still really good friends with them. Oh, wasn't the guys from Humble and Fred? Earl Jive, Beverly Hills. And we're still really good friends with them. Oh. Wasn't the guys from Humble and Fred?
Starting point is 01:16:50 Weren't they also part of it? So they started in 89, so post-Marsden. But they were still part of it. Oh, sure. Yeah, sure. Fred, of course, was part of the Pete and Geet show. That's it. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:17:04 So he was doing sports for Pete and Geet. So he was there throughout the 80s, but Howard showed up in 89. In fact, a little birdie tells me, that's code for I'm the guy who booked it. I produce Humble and Fred, so you're on next week. I know.
Starting point is 01:17:20 So get ready. Plug, little plug. Yeah. So, yeah. Do you know what day next week? 14 14th that sounds about right i'm gonna pop over to my little i have a little booking calendar we share me and the guys i dropped names in there you are actually on the fourth yeah the 14th that's right tuesday morning you'll be on humble and fred so uh there you go that'll be like the the sequel to this one here okay okay here's your third jam My love is like footsteps in the snow, baby
Starting point is 01:18:22 I follow you everywhere you go baby the palest light has come to wake you but you will never realize that i inspire the dreams that guide you, baby. I follow the winds that bring the cold, baby. A light of fire in your soul, baby. The light is touch, I feel this falling falling My love may be invisible But I inspire the dreams that guide you Baby You're half a world away But in my mind I whisper every single word you say And before you sleep on my wing
Starting point is 01:19:33 You'll pray to me, you're a lucky star You're singing satellite You're singing satellite You're singing satellite You're satellite You're singing satellite You're half a world away So pretty. I'm ashamed to say I'm not familiar.
Starting point is 01:20:21 Please tell me what is this great jam? Oh, this is Above and Beyond. This is a band to me that if we were back in the day, I would have wished Gordon and I could have done this because some of their other tracks, I don't know them that well personally, but the male vocalist will come in and he will do harmonizing and they're back and forth.
Starting point is 01:20:48 And that was kind of how I had hoped and pictured eventually our music would go, but it hasn't. So whatever, I'll do my own thing. This is the way they put it all together. And they're more electronic stuff. You can see why the acoustic and the um they just put out an of course acoustic album with the whole orchestra which with all their material it's just like amazing what's that light yeah sounds so what's the name of the song satellite satellite stealing time stealing time okay yeah very nice from the album called Acoustic by Above and Beyond. Okay, amazing.
Starting point is 01:21:26 Okay, now when you're in, with you and Gord through all the years, you know, you've been, you know, a band together. What is that like when one of you wants to kind of go one way and the other wants to stay going this way? Like, what are the creative differences like? Is it just one of those things you you iron out for the sake of you know longevity or like because it sounds i would i would say so because i mean i have my own ideas and then of course like well you have your own studio then go do your that's what you want to do
Starting point is 01:21:56 but i don't hear it that way i hear it this way so i guess that's where your bands split up and they go their own way and do their own thing and you don't hear from them anymore or you find a way to work together. So Gordon and I work together and I'm currently working on my own project on the side. So gotcha. And I'm hoping to have it released in the spring. Okay. Well maybe that's the excuse we make to get you,
Starting point is 01:22:19 get you over here is when that album's coming out. Okay. Done deal. And then you get your lasagna and your beer and everything like that. So. Okay. It's incentive to get it finished. In fact,
Starting point is 01:22:32 I was, I was working in the studio just before this interview and my husband's currently working on the track right now that we're working on. And I said, well, I'll be back in an hour or so or two or three or four or five. We'll see how it goes. That's funny.
Starting point is 01:22:46 All right. Well, we're actually in the homestretch here because your penultimate jam, and it's not very long, your penultimate jam is coming up. Here we go. Here we go. Fly me to the moon. Let me play among the stars Let me see what spring is like
Starting point is 01:23:12 On Jupiter and Mars In other words Hold my hand In other words Baby kiss me Fill my heart with song And let me sing forevermore You are all I long for
Starting point is 01:23:43 All I worship and adore. In other words, please be true. In other words, I love you. The chairman of the board. Exactly. I mean, really. I go back with Frank for a reason because of my father. You know, my dad was a big fan of many artists of that day.
Starting point is 01:24:20 And, you know, Frank Sinatra. And in my early childhood, I remember my dad used to have a record player. And he'd stack like five records and they Sinatra. And in my early childhood, I remember my dad used to have a record player and he'd stack like five records and they keep dropping. And I could hear them from my room when they were dropping and they were in a certain order and then he'd pick them up and flip them. So that's where you learn how albums all flow together.
Starting point is 01:24:39 So you'd know what every single song next was coming. And I'd always know when this was coming and it was usually after I had gone to bed and I'm supposed to be sleeping and I get out of bed and I danced around my room to that song. And I chose that song not only because it's a great song, but my father recently passed away. I'm sorry. In February.
Starting point is 01:25:01 And it's a tribute to him. I'm so sorry for your loss. I wonder now if there are kids, no, I guess they'd be adults now. Adults are kicking out jams, like, you know, that old emotion or something. And they're saying, this reminds me of my dad because he was a huge Spoons fan.
Starting point is 01:25:20 So that's where we're at now. So that's beautiful. And that's another thing about music. We talked earlier with Gord, like, about how music takes you back to that moment because it hits you at the right time in the right place and it's a great way to remember somebody who's no longer with you you'll every time you hear old blue eyes you'll think of your dad exactly exactly all right are you ready for your final jam sandy yeah it's not really a jam but it's kind of a dark song but it's a beautiful song okay not a jam maybe you're right maybe this is more of a beverage here let's get it
Starting point is 01:25:54 going yeah i lost myself on a cool damp night gave myself in that misty light Was hypnotized by strange delight Under a lilac tree I made wine from the lilac tree Put my heart in its recipe It makes me see what I want to see Be what I want to be When I think more than I want to think Do things I never should do
Starting point is 01:26:41 I drink much more than I ought to drink because it brings me back you you lilac wine is sweet and heady like my love Lilac wine
Starting point is 01:27:36 I feel unsteady Like my love Listen to me I cannot see clearly Isn't that he coming to me Nearly here Wow. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:28:14 Isn't she amazing? Have you seen the documentary Whatever Happened to Nina Simone? No, I haven't. Where did you find that? Somewhere. It was easy to find. I feel like it was either, either Netflix or Crave. I get them confused. But one of those ones I have,
Starting point is 01:28:34 let's put it that way. But yeah, oh my gosh, seek it out. It's amazing. But this is a, this is lilac wine from Nina Simone. Wow. Yeah. And it's again, it's the purity of the voice and the angst and the pain. I know it speaks of all of the turmoil that was going on for the Black
Starting point is 01:28:57 Nation of people that was going on. But it's just the feeling and then when the pulsation and when the stand-up bass comes in it's like a heartbeat and you can hear the pedal pulsing with it in the background because the recording as brilliant as it is it wouldn't be done that way today you wouldn't hear all those imperfections that makes it so beautiful and the piano you know it's probably got a lower end style a mic on it so it's not getting the full essence of the piano.
Starting point is 01:29:26 It reminds me of something from, I don't know, gramophone days or something, you know, where the piano is just what it is. And there might be slightly out of key. It might be slightly out of tune. But it's just got that sustain of eeriness and beauty. And she just sings like, oh, I would love to do. I've actually been trying to find a way to do my own version of this song. But every time I get to a point, I'm like, no, still not. I'm still not getting it.
Starting point is 01:29:56 So I can't do it till I reach it. If I don't ever reach it, then I'm not supposed to do it. Absolutely. Beautiful choice there. I'm not supposed to do it. Absolutely. Beautiful choice there. If you look back at the catalog,
Starting point is 01:30:10 the entire Spoons catalog from 1980 to 2020 there, what would you deem, like, what is the most, in your opinion, what is the most important song Spoons ever recorded? Oh, gosh. Put you on the spot there. Yeah, big time on the spot. I know. On the way out, I thought I'd make it at least a, big time on the spot. I know. On the way out, I thought I'd make it at least a little.
Starting point is 01:30:27 It was too easy. I thought I'd make it at least a little awkward before I said goodbye. I mean, you know, Nova Heart stands for so much too. I mean, what comes around goes around in the sense that Nova Heart, as far as the lyrics go, stand up for today as they did 40 years ago. You know know architects of the world um you can read your books and live in your towns you know um but ultimately everything comes from the heart right and then we did a remake of nova heart um called singularity and it's more of a dubstep version that gave it new life, and it picked up a whole new era of people.
Starting point is 01:31:06 But just the lyrics of how that all puts together still sounds the same, that life just keeps on going, and we just won't let the big corporates always have us. We'll always have our hearts. They can take everything else from us, but they can't take our heart, and they can't take our spirit, right? And then with the new album, New Day, New World, I love the track, New Day, New World, just the way it builds. If you ever get a chance, I don't know if you had a chance to listen to New Day, New World, the actual song, not the whole album.
Starting point is 01:31:37 It's just, it's a new day and it's a new world. And then at the very end, it's, and we start again. You know? So I'd say those two to me hit a chord for me. Now the greatest hits album, which is a covering 1980 to 2020, it's called a repeatable that's available. So if somebody right now listening is like, I got to get my mitts on that. How would you like, like how would you Sandy Horn like them to buy it?
Starting point is 01:32:08 Well, if you're not a download, uh, iTunes, Spotify, and you want a physical copy, if you want the vinyl or the CD and you'd like it signed, cause that's what Gordon and I can do for you.
Starting point is 01:32:19 Right. If you go to, uh, through our website, which is, uh, spoons, music.com.
Starting point is 01:32:24 Uh, you can purchase it through there, and anybody purchasing can get that and Echoes and a lot of our other product as well. And we will sign it. That sounds cool, so go to spoonsmusic.com to hook that up. Sounds amazing.
Starting point is 01:32:37 Support your artists that you love. Not everybody's got the streaming numbers of The Weeknd or Drake, so let's... Yeah. And Echoes, of course, that's the tribute album, if you will, the Spoons music recreated by artists
Starting point is 01:32:53 the world over. Sandy, I love this thoroughly, and I can't wait till your next Toronto Mic'd appearance. Thanks so much for doing this. Thank you. And that... That brings us to the end of our 961st show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike.
Starting point is 01:33:14 I know the spoons are at, I know that there is the, is in the handle. So it's the spoons. That ends the argument right there. The spoons is how you follow The Spoons on Twitter. But Sandy, are you personally on social media? Yeah, I'm just on Facebook right now. I'm working on a whole bunch of other platforms. I know, I'm really bad.
Starting point is 01:33:33 That's okay. Yeah, I know. That's cool. Okay, so you can find Sandy Horn on Facebook though. Yeah, and Spoons on Facebook, Instagram, iTunes, Twitter, the whole nine yards. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery, they're at Great Lakes Beer. Chef Drop is at Get Chef Drop.
Starting point is 01:33:49 Moneris is at Moneris. McKay's CEO Forums, they're at McKay's CEO Forums. They have a great podcast called the CEO Edge Podcast and I put the most recent episode every week on TorontoMike.com. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker pasta is at Palma pasta.
Starting point is 01:34:05 Sticker. You is that sticker? You Ridley funeral home. They're at Ridley FH. Uh, and I will see you all Thursday when Mark wise blood of 1236 makes his monthly appearance. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Roam Phone. Roam Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls.
Starting point is 01:34:43 Visit RoamPhone.ca to get started.

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