Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Toronto Mike'd #400

Episode Date: November 18, 2018

Mike records the 400th episode of Toronto Mike'd....

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to episode 400 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Propertyinthe6.com, Paytm Canada, Census Design and Build, and our newest sponsors, Palma Pasta and Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair. I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me are all of you. That's right. You're my special for the big 4-0-0. We'll keep this nice and simple. I'll play an almost random clip. I shuffled the deck, loaded them all in randomly, and then I rearranged a few because I thought it added some nice natural segues.
Starting point is 00:01:23 But it's mostly random, so don't be offended if you're at the end. It's nothing personal. Although I did strategically pick the first one because I like how this gentleman put it all together. And it's his birthday today. So without further ado, let's begin. Hey Toronto Mike, or as I call you, the Barbara Walters of Canadian sports media. It's your favorite watch repair guy in Milan from Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair. Congratulations on episode 400, an amazing accomplishment.
Starting point is 00:01:58 We at Fast Time are very proud to sponsor Toronto Mike, and here's to another 400 episodes. I record this while listening to the Molly Johnson episode number 368, as I salute you with my shot glass provided by Brian Gerstein from Property in the Six, drinking some fiercely independent Great Lakes brewery beer and eating my Palma pasta as I pay bills with my Paytm app, all in my office designed by Census Design and Build. Congratulations again, Toronto Mike,
Starting point is 00:02:27 and all the best to you. Milan, that was fantastic. Thank you so much for kicking things off and thanks for your sponsorship. And that was so beautifully written. I'm going to take a moment to try to convince you to start your own podcast. What a voice, Tremendous.
Starting point is 00:02:47 Hi, Mike. This is JJ from Scarborough. Congratulations on 400 episodes. I'm more of a comment lurker and sometimes poster. And I used to listen to the TMI when they came on. But understandably, it got too depressing to talk about the news every day. I loved the Molly Johnson episode. not so much for the awkwardness, but more so for all the discussion that it created. And so I loved Elvis's follow-up episode where he broke all that good stuff down.
Starting point is 00:03:15 And I'm sure that you'll be around for 400 plus more. Yay! JJ, long time commenter on the specifically the open mics and somebody i sometimes tweet with on twitter where she goes by the name daddy balkman i hope i got that right but uh because you emailed me this audio file i learned your real name and i'll keep it a secret here on the podcast but but it was nice to finally hear your voice because I've yet to convince you to come all the way west
Starting point is 00:03:49 to Great Lakes Brewery for a TMLX. But thanks so much. That's also two clips I've played and two Molly Johnson references. Eek! Hello. This is Mac Gives from the Modern Monk Podcast, and I'm honored to have this chance to tell y'all how much I love this guy, Toronto Mike.
Starting point is 00:04:22 the best Toronto podcast intentional word of the youth best and he appeared on not just one but multiple websites so I started listening and I was like this guy's interviewed a bunch of cool people I could learn something from him reached out for a coffee
Starting point is 00:04:37 this guy as always was prompt he's like yeah I'll meet you up for coffee from that point on, we've developed this relationship. It's Mr. Miyagi and Karate Kid relationship where I'm learning so much from this guy. And there's compassion behind it all.
Starting point is 00:04:59 And so, I mean, it's still pretty early on in what could be. And so for whatever may come, I just hope the best for his family, for his professional endeavors, for Toronto Mic Digital Services and what else he would like to accomplish. I'm sending all my love to this guy. And congratulations on episode 400. Mac Gibbs, that was beautiful, man.
Starting point is 00:05:25 Like Mac says there, I got an email out of the blue and he's like, hey, can I pick your brain about podcasting? Because he had been Googling Toronto podcasters and had become kind of interested in what I was up to. And he's like,
Starting point is 00:05:38 he worked near university and college and I said, I'll bike to university and college and meet you for coffee. I honestly, that's something I'll do for to university and college and meet you for coffee. I honestly, that's something I'll do for anybody listening. If you want to meet for coffee, if I can bike to you, that's a slam dunk. I'm going to make time and meet you for coffee and you could pick my brain or whatever you want. So I met Mac and now we've been working together for a couple of months and
Starting point is 00:06:00 he's about 23 years old and he's full of piss and vinegar and he's eager to learn and dare I say I'm kind of mentoring him but he's a wonderful guy and I want to thank him so much for becoming a TMDS client so thanks Mac and that was a beautiful beautiful message. Hi it's Cam from Twitter Canada long time listener two-time guest on the Toronto Mike podcast. My favorite episode is probably the Strombo episode. I think it was really that episode where Mike became this generation's Brian Linehan. Just amazing listen. So much real talk, so much emotion.
Starting point is 00:06:35 Beyond that, if I need my fix of stories about the Peace Lady or Uncle Bobby, anything with 1236 and anything with Retro Ontario is a must listen. So congratulations, Mike, on 400 episodes. That's, I don't know, that's a lot of people to get down to your basement, dude. Congratulations. Cam Gordon from Twitter Canada. And as he said, two-time guest. Man, I'm glad I met that guy.
Starting point is 00:06:59 He's another guy. He reached out and he's like, you don't know me, but I work at Twitter. And I would love it if you came by the office. And he was going to show me around the office. And I'm like, yeah, I'll bike, I'll bike the Twitter. I can't remember where they were, King and Bathurst. I actually can't remember right now, somewhere like that. And I'm like, I'm happy to bike to Twitter Canada's office and check it out. But Cam just loved talking to the guy because he's like a pop culture machine and he's of a similar vintage and just chatting with him it was like it was sort of like chatting with you know retro ontario or 1236 a
Starting point is 00:07:31 couple of guys that he uh he mentioned and you know two of my favorite people uh and i love them because they're fiercely independent and they're amazing but uh thanks cam for the message. Hi, I'm Jamie. And I'm Nicholas. And we're the Dads in the 6. That sounded so like, I'm Justin Timberlake. It's like we just cut up much music promo. I'm Justin Timberlake. I'm Justin Timberlake.
Starting point is 00:07:57 We can't both be Justin Timberlake. Oh, I'm Lance Bass. And we're in sync. Oh, in the sync. Jesus Christ. Anyways, hi, guys. Hi, Toronto Mike. I guess we wanted to just be part of this episode 400.
Starting point is 00:08:10 Congratulations. Congratulations, by the way. Huge milestone. What do you like about Toronto Mike? My current favorite episode. What I like about him. Isn't that the question? Yeah, it was a question.
Starting point is 00:08:20 Like you said, he's just an honest interviewer. I feel like he doesn't hold back punches like what you're getting is is hashtag real talk uh and i think that's something i like to try to incorporate in our podcast sometimes so that's cool no no i i'm a big fan of just honestly just how he preps for interviews so well i think it's something as as we kind of go along i think it's a learning piece for us i think the amount of information he has on every guest is and he bangs out like four episodes an hour. It's crazy Yeah, what's your favorite episode? We're relatively new but I mean come on molly johnson always comes to the top of your head, right? You stole my answer. What's your favorite episode molly johnson? No way
Starting point is 00:08:54 I just liked how like it was uh, you know, it was it was a break from the norm And then i'm slowly going back to the archives too. I'm trying i'm starting to check out like the bob mckenzie episode Yeah, i'm catching like um celebrities or or media personalities who catch my eye who i recognize instantly right so i'm like okay i gotta listen to that humble and fred alan cross stuff like that yeah cool well congratulations again love you mike bye oh he loves me that's very nice so the dads in the six uh are not really in the six i I'm going to give them up here. They're actually in Streetsville. And I biked to them recently, which was a lot longer bike ride than anticipated. But I did their podcast. And unlike me, you know, the joke there that I pump out for an hour. Well, I like to release my podcast episodes about 15 minutes after I take that photo with the guest on my front lawn.
Starting point is 00:09:46 Get them out. I like to set them free, drop them whenever they're recorded. I don't like to hold on to things and then have scheduled releases. I just like the spontaneity. That's the word I'm looking for. That's an English word I can't pronounce for Miriam who's listening. But I like to just drop them. And dads in the six don't do that. I recorded this episode with them. It was fun. Then they said, okay, we'll release this in like a month. And I'm like, I gotta wait
Starting point is 00:10:16 a month. Like just put it out now. But they don't work that way. But thanks, guys. It was a pleasure to visit you in Streetsvilleville and i kind of dig the idea that here for episode 400 i'm hearing from other podcasters who started like after me and if i even influenced any of it i heard uh jamie there mentioned maybe that they try to do the homework like i do because i do a lot of homework uh that makes me feel good. So keep it up and focus on creating good content because we need more good content out there. And again, these chaps mentioned the Molly Johnson episode. Fascinating to me how many people still talk about the Molly Johnson episode,
Starting point is 00:10:59 which, of course, is so different from every other episode of Toronto Mike. It almost makes me wonder if I should just make them all like Molly, like if I should just aim to make them all a little awkward. Maybe I will. And just to go back again to Cam Gordon, because I thought of this while I was listening to Dad's in the Six there. Cam Gordon said his favorite episode was the Strombo episode. Well, I always thought Cam's favorite episode was the Ann Roszkowski episode.
Starting point is 00:11:24 So somebody tweeted at me that they were at Twitter Canada with a class. I want to say Centennial College. This is only like this week that this happened. He assigned a homework, a task for this class to listen to the Ann Roszkowski episode because he saw it as the perfect example of real talk for somebody who was kind of entering the industry. But it turns out he prefers the Strombo episode, which was kind of a big milestone for me because episode 103 with Strombo, I just felt like I had kind of, I don't know, I wouldn't say entered the big leagues, but it felt like things were changing with that. And it's hard to believe that was almost 300 episodes ago.
Starting point is 00:12:17 But let's move on to another submission from you. Happy 400 Toronto Mike. This is Dale Coteau from you. Happy 400 Toronto Mike. This is Dale Coteau from Vancouver. Man, you've had a busy year. You've pumped out a lot of quality entertainment, got together with your fans at the Toronto Mike Listener Experience, which for some reason you have one week before
Starting point is 00:12:40 or one week after that. I'm actually in Toronto. So hopefully we can fix that next summer and I can attend one of your listener events. Enjoy all the city personalities, the old city TV personalities you bring onto your shows. I think it's, for you, it's just an excuse to talk more about Anna Romer and Moses.
Starting point is 00:12:56 But for me, it brings back those memories from that quality TV channel and sneaking home on a Friday night up in Streetsville and trying to find UHF 79 on there through the snow and watch some of those Baby Blue movies. Anyways, have a great next 100. Hopefully you can get Miss City Kitty on there or Jim McKinney to run out your city pulse thing.
Starting point is 00:13:19 And I'm proud to be a patron, which is the same name they use at the Masters. So for those fans and listeners that aren't patrons, I highly recommend you get on and throw this guy a couple bucks a month because, you know, as PBS says, quality entertainment isn't free. Let's pay for it. Anyways, cheers, Mike. Bless you, Dale.
Starting point is 00:13:38 Thank you for mentioning the Patreon. If you go to patreon.com slash Toronto Mike, you can become a patron. I'd appreciate it. And Dale, I appreciate you can become a patron i'd appreciate it and dale i appreciate you uh chipping in a buck or two i got a little story about dale so dale is from vancouver as he mentioned it turns out he was also he was from streetsville which is why he knows all the city tv people which is interesting after the dads who uh are streetsville dads so uh so dale's now in vancouver but he wants he wrote me a note and he's like,
Starting point is 00:14:07 I'm going to be in town on business. I think it was business. Maybe he's got family here. I don't know anymore, but he was here and he's like, can you meet me at Great Lakes Brewery? And I'm like, yeah. And I biked over. You're getting a picture here that I'll bike anywhere to meet you. So I was happy to meet Dale at Great Lakes and have a pint with him and just to chat him up. So I met him there. And just as he was leaving, he's like, you just had your wedding anniversary. And I said, yeah, like Monica and I just celebrated five years. And he said, I have something for you.
Starting point is 00:14:41 And he gave me this $100 gift card for BuyMark restaurants. This is Mark McEwen's restaurants. And my wife and I discovered that he has a Fabrica location near where my wife works. And we had a couple of lunches there with this $100 gift card. The most amazing food. It's not palma pasta good, but it was pretty damn good. And Dale, that was such a kind gesture to give us an anniversary gift considering you don't know me, but that was amazing. So thank you, Dale, for that. Thank you for being a patron. And man, do I ever appreciate that support.
Starting point is 00:15:25 Hey, Toronto Mike, it's Dawn, or Moose Grumpy from Mississauga. Long time fan of the Toronto Mike podcast. I guess right from the early beginnings of it, discovered you through googling various radio personalities in Toronto, and I'd always end up at the Toronto Mike blog, and then found out about the podcast. I have to say my favourite episodes are usually broadcasters that were in the 80s and 90s from back when I was a teen, and I definitely love the Kick Out of the Jams episodes. Mike Wilner's a big fave of mine, as were both 80s pop fans,
Starting point is 00:16:03 but I have to say my favorite episodes are always elvis i just love how he uh says it like it is and man after my own heart anyways great listening uh congratulations on 400 episodes and looking forward to many many many more i was about to make a comment that when elvis hears that he's going to be thrilled but But we all know Elvis is never going to hear that because Elvis, for some reason, takes great pride in not listening to the best podcast in Toronto. So Moose Grumpy, maybe I'll let Elvis know that you dig his episodes. He's coming back for Festivus, by the way, which is December 23rd. But Moose Grumpy, I'm glad I got to meet you at the Toronto Mic Listener Experience, the second one.
Starting point is 00:16:50 And you actually are the wonderful person who took video of my speech at this event, which I then added to an episode of Toronto Mic'd. So the audio you heard in that episode of Toronto Mic'd where I made the speech after the the Gear Joyce and the David Schultz stand-up. That was because I ripped the audio from the YouTube, I mean, sorry,
Starting point is 00:17:11 from the, yeah, from the video that Moose Grumpy took. So, thank you Moose Grumpy for that and thank you for your support and thank you for enjoying the Kick Out the Jams episodes. I get the odd note that they don't love the Kick Out the Jams episodes. I get the odd note that they don't love the Kick Out the Jams episodes, and I always wonder, what the heck are they smoking?
Starting point is 00:17:29 Because I think the Kick Out, I mean, I'm a little biased, but the Kick Out the Jams episodes are tremendous, and I'm going to keep doing them because, heck, it's still my podcast. Hi, this is Elvis from Oshawa. The thing I like best about the Toronto Mike podcast is it's really just a regular dude who I happen to know really well. It's a regular dude who has found his passion in both talking about radio and being in the broadcasting industry. And it's just so great to have seen the evolution and the growth of both Mike and the podcast over the years.
Starting point is 00:18:14 And quite frankly, I'm really proud to be a part of it. I think that was Elvis speaking of the devil. I think he recorded that on the moon. I'm not sure, but i think the eagle has landed there uh elvis um long time friend uh there's a story maybe we'll share maybe we have i can't remember but back in 2006 he tried to get me into the porn industry that's a whole story unto itself. But it's always fun to record with Elvis. As longtime listeners know, I used to record with Rosie and we would shoot The Breeze. I think the first 50 episodes or something like that are Rosie and I. And I picked Rosie because I wanted
Starting point is 00:19:00 somebody I had great chemistry with who lived near me and had a broadcasting experience because she was on the weather network. This is how it all went down. So she fit the bill perfectly. And then she left me for another opportunity. And I said, oh, who do I know that I have good chemistry with and isn't afraid of a microphone. Well, Elvis did fit that bill, although he failed on the local bit. He's local, but he's not local because he's in North Oshawa. And as a guy who just traveled to Durham College and then checked out The Rock in Oshawa, it's a heck of a drive from my studio, my home studio to North Oshawa. But anytime Elvis comes on, I have a great time. Even though he doesn't listen to my show
Starting point is 00:19:47 and he doesn't like taking my guff, maybe that's what I like about him. So thank you, Elvis, so much for being a friend and for popping on the show now and then. Moose Grumpy seems to like you, so you can't be all bad. Hello, this is Kevin in Alberta. Deuce Tech's on Twitter and Felix from TorontoMike.com.
Starting point is 00:20:10 Why do I listen to Toronto Mike? Because nostalgia is a hell of a drug and Mike is my dealer of choice. And for more great sports talk, please subscribe to Hebsey on Sports featuring Mark Hebsey and Toronto Mike. Man, this guy was commenting on Toronto, Mike.com.
Starting point is 00:20:28 I think over a decade ago as Felix pot van. And we had a lot in common. We, we basically, I think we bonded online because of our love of like, I don't know, like eighties leafs teams and just sort of a similar vintage and loved our Toronto maple leaves. Again, he was, come on. He was commenting as Felix pot van for goodness sakes. 80s Leafs teams and just sort of were similar vintage and loved our Toronto Maple Leafs.
Starting point is 00:20:45 Again, he was, come on, he was commenting as Felix Bavanne, for goodness sakes. But this is the first time I've heard the man's voice. So thanks so much for that, Kevin. That's amazing. And thanks for mentioning Hebsey on Sports. Hebsey on Sports, I'm a part of it. We record every Monday and Friday. We've been doing it now for 52 episodes
Starting point is 00:21:06 i think and uh not only do i think it's a damn great podcast uh because of mark hebbshire but i'm glad it kind of made me closer with mark hebbshire because uh man i consider him a very very good friend right now and uh man it would be great if he actually contributed something to this 400th episode. Hi, this is Mark from Toronto. And I want to say that Toronto Mike is one of my favorite podcasts. My favorite of all was the podcast with Molly Johnson, where Mike was stellar, and just showed a tremendous amount of restraint and professionalism. I thought that was a great episode. I really like the show because Mike is earnest,
Starting point is 00:21:50 and he asks questions that I think the average person would want to ask the guests. So congrats to Mike on episode number 400. And once you're finished listening to his podcast, check out mine, HebseyOnSports.com. Congrats, Mike. Thanks, Hebsey. That means a lot, that feedback regarding Molly Johnson. And I can tell the people now that,
Starting point is 00:22:17 since you come over twice a week, we talk a lot about everything going on. And when you first heard the Molly Johnson, you and I had a kind of a one-on-one private, unrecorded discussion about it in which couple of, you know, the Jeremy Taggards and the Elvises of the world who were kind of contrarian and maybe put a bit more on me, and I'll take it.
Starting point is 00:22:53 But I really do appreciate your feedback on that because my goal, believe it or not, even though people love to talk about Molly Johnson, my goal is to not have another episode like that. So in fact, I'm trying to get Molly back for a redo, but thanks again, Hebsey.
Starting point is 00:23:09 I love doing Hebsey on sports and I urge everyone listening to subscribe at Hebsey on sports.com. Hi, this is Liva Femke, AKA Miriam from North York. And with me is. Liva Femke's husband, Juan. And
Starting point is 00:23:27 Juan has something to say to Toronto Mike. Feliz episodio numero 400, Miguel de Toronto. So that is happy 400th episode to Toronto Mike. And we hope
Starting point is 00:23:44 that you have another 400 more and Juan and I knew because I know the song Feliz Navidad and I knew when you said Juan Feliz I knew this was happy see I'm coming along here now a long time contributor to open mics, Lieve Femke, and of course, listener of Toronto Mike, got to meet her a couple of times, actually three times in total, because once I, it's funny,
Starting point is 00:24:15 I didn't, it's not planned, but I biked to Ryerson to meet Lieve Femke just to say hi once. But then she came to both Toronto Mike to listen to her experiences, and I got the idea that she's to both Toronto Mic to Listener Experiences, and I got the idea that she's the fan of the show, and her husband, Juan, who gave me two fantastic pairs of biking pants. Wow. Thank you, Juan. They're great. I had that big bike crash
Starting point is 00:24:39 recently in one of them, and they didn't rip all so they're they're great but uh where am i going here i feel like one was always dragged along like uh like uh leave a fum because the fan and then one comes along but i also get a sense at least at the second listener experience that one was warming i think he's becoming a fan like uh i don't know if it's like stockholm syndrome or whatever but he's warming up but uh thank you, Lieve Femke and Juan, for your continued support. And I hope to see you at the next Toronto Mic Listener Experience. And Mike, this is some Spanish pronunciation for you. So Juan, how do you say Bogota?
Starting point is 00:25:23 No, it's Bogota. Oh, and how do you say Cartagena? No, it's Cartagena. Oh, and how do you say Medellin? No, it's Medellin. I hope you learned something. All right, guilty as charged. Those are three hard words to say for somebody who doesn't know Spanish.
Starting point is 00:25:44 Man, I really butchered all three. And whenever I butcher like a Spanish name, I get to hear about it. Lieve Fumka will tell me how badly I butchered it. But at least I figured out how to say Lieve Fumka. That's not the easiest thing to say. And I've mastered that. So Bogota and all these places, Magellan and Cartagena, I'll work on it. But thank you for always keeping me on my toes.
Starting point is 00:26:11 Hey, Toronto Mike. Troy Birch here from Great Lakes Brewery, your proud longtime sponsor of the show. Great Lakes is also the supplier of all the fresh craft beer for every guest that, for some reason, visits you in your basement. You think they really come for the conversation? We think it has something to do with the fresh GLB. In all seriousness, Great Lakes is very happy to sponsor the show and it's been an absolute pleasure working with you
Starting point is 00:26:35 for over 200 of those 400 episodes. That's a lot of beer. Our favorite episode, if you had to ask us, well, would be all of them. But it was amusing to hear my boss, Peter Bullitt, sing on his episode of Kick Out the Jams. See you on December 8th at the first ever GLB Christmas Market here at the brewery. That's 30 Queen Elizabeth Boulevard in Etobicoke. You know what it's all about, Mike.
Starting point is 00:27:00 But for the listeners, we have a tree farm, Christmas music, local artisanal vendors, frothy brews, Bavarian treats, and much, much more. All details can be found at GreatLakesBeer.com. I had to get that plug in there, eh, buddy? Congrats on number 400, Mike. Cheers from all of us at Great Lakes Brewery. Thanks, Troy. My observation is that your broadcasting skills uh greatly improved since the buck a beer controversy and you made the rounds I think you appeared on pretty much every mainstream
Starting point is 00:27:32 media outlet in the GTA and then ah yeah big big uh big improvements uh again of course listeners know that Troy has also kicked out the jams which which was great fun. We got to hear some Garth Brooks on that one. And yes, Peter Bullitt. Man, who knew that Peter Bullitt, his family owns Great Lakes Brewery. Who knew that he loved Pitbull? You can't say I haven't played Pitbull on Toronto Mic'd. And yes, thank you for sponsoring Toronto Mic'd. You were first. I give you full credit every time this topic comes up, but you were first in and I'm a loyal guy. So man, there's no other beer I'll drink. And it's been an honor to share your beer with guests of Toronto Mike.
Starting point is 00:28:18 And I hope I get to do it for another 400 episodes. So thank you, Troy. And thank you. Great Lakes Brewery. Hey, Toronto Mike, it's Jason Beattie, otherwise known as Beats on your blog. Just want to wish you a congratulations on your 400th show. It's fantastic work. I think a couple of the recent episodes that really caught my ear was the Jeff Woods returns and the Scott Moore episode.
Starting point is 00:28:46 Again, just both fantastic episodes along with many others. And, uh, just wanted to wish you a congratulations and, uh, hopefully another 400 more. Beats,
Starting point is 00:28:59 uh, much like, uh, JJ, who we heard earlier. And of course, leave a Fumka, a law frequent, uh frequent open mic contributor.
Starting point is 00:29:08 And I love it when Beats contributes because what Beats does is he does what Elvis does, where Elvis, how do I say this delicately? I'll say it the nice way. He busts my chops as buddies do. And I do that with my buddies, too. Palma Pasta's Anthony, wonderful guy. That's, by the way, Palma Pasta, family-run business. He hadn't contributed. He didn't send in any audio,
Starting point is 00:29:31 so he won't get the plug like Troy got there. But so let me just say that you should always buy your pasta at Palma Pasta, fantastic. But, you know, we've been busting each other's chops for years and years too. But Beats does it to me. He gives me the business he busts my chops as if we're long time
Starting point is 00:29:48 friends and when he's giving it to me and I'm giving it back I'm like you know I've never met this guy like this is just a guy I met through the blog and now he's on Twitter and of course he's a listener but he doesn't even come out to these Toronto Mike listener experiences because he lives a is it Coburg
Starting point is 00:30:04 or Colburn I get those mixed up he lives a, is it Coburg or Colburn? I get those mixed up, but I'm going to say Coburg. He'll correct me if I'm wrong. But Beats, it's always a pleasure to interact with you online. And one day we'll get you out to a Toronto Mike listener experience. And if anyone, if no one's seen, if you haven't seen Beats' photo, like through his Twitter profile pic or whatever he's got this big beard, he looks like a big
Starting point is 00:30:28 tough guy, Brian Posain, is that the gentleman who you're trying to mimic? Anyways, thanks Beats always a pleasure and thank you for the kind words This is Tyler from Toronto and my favorite Toronto Mic'd episode, besides the one that I was on, episode 387, Tribute to Gord Downie, is probably a music episode.
Starting point is 00:30:52 It would probably be either Moberg or Lowest of the Low. What's so great about the show is that, Mike, you've really become an accomplished interviewer and a conversationalist. And people feel comfortable, whether it's Ron Hawkins or Scott Moore or Mike Richards calling you up and saying, hey, I've got something I want to share. Can I come and talk about it? And I think that's a real testament to you and your abilities as a broadcaster and an interviewer. So thanks, Mike, for 400 great episodes. And I hope you keep it going for a long, long time.
Starting point is 00:31:26 Thanks. And thanks, Tyler Campbell, for maintaining the Kick Out the Jam spreadsheet, the Google spreadsheet. Man, it's a lot of effort put into that. And it's all Tyler, as I said on that Gord Downie tribute episode. So we recorded. Apparently, that's Tyler's podcast debut. He's never appeared on anything. And I'm listening back, as I often do.
Starting point is 00:31:50 And Jamie from Fully Completely, he's great. He's got his own podcast about the Tragically Hip. But I'm listening to Tyler. And again, similar to... Who was it earlier that has the great the great pipes but uh i was listening to um to uh tyler and thinking to myself that oh milan's got the great pipes by the way but tyler campbell man this guy's got a great voice like sometimes i hear a voice on the podcast and i'm like that person should be broadcasting somewhere somehow so. So, Tyler, there's a podcast in you, buddy.
Starting point is 00:32:27 You're fantastic. We're going to do something together. We've been talking about it for like six months now. We're going to actually do something about Kick Out the Jams episodes. And thank you so much for the pints we've shared at the Great Lakes Brewery and for maintaining that Kick Out the Jams spreadsheet and just for everything. You're a good guy
Starting point is 00:32:46 and it's been a joy getting to know you. So thanks, Tyler. Hey, Mike. Brian Gerstein here, sales representative with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of your podcast since episode 226 when you had Faisal Khamisa on.
Starting point is 00:33:04 Check that. Make that Faisal Khamisa. It has been quite the ride ever since. 175 episodes later. So a hearty congrats on your 400th episode. My favorite post 300 episode is episode 352, when Hebsey returned, as I had Mike Richards prior to that, who still gets an honorable mention. Something about your guests who are independent and don't have to answer to anyone, which allows them to take real talk to the max. That is why I love both of you together on Hebsey on Sports and can't wait for January 11th when I will be on with you, Hebsey, and Milan to discuss the sports media landscape. Why do I enjoy the show? Because you are the heir apparent to Brian Linehan, operating out of your basement
Starting point is 00:33:44 and producing exceptional content, getting your guests to open up. Here's to the next 100, Mike. Brian, I won't point out that it's Linehan, not Linehan, because I'm sure that's the Montreal accent coming through. But I want to thank you so much for your sponsorship as well. And you're another guy. You were a listener and we work together on a sponsorship package for propertyinthesix.com. Everybody should go there and talk to Brian before you buy and or sell. But then I got to know you and man, you're like
Starting point is 00:34:13 an honest guy. You're a likable guy. You're full of passion, particularly for the Raptors, but also tennis and other sports and your beloved Expos. Rest in peace. But man, it's been great getting to know you and working with you. And yes, I'm glad you teased this January roundtable.
Starting point is 00:34:32 So I'm expecting a fourth microphone any day. It's on order from a dealer. It sounds so... When you call it a dealer, it makes you sound like you're on the black market or something. But I'm getting this microphone because of the diversity in sports media roundtable that I'm going to moderate on December 7th. But we're going to do something in early January, and it's going to be me, Milan, Brian, and Hebsey.
Starting point is 00:34:58 And that's going to be just about sports media. And that's going to be fantastic, too, if you're a fan of sports and sports media in the gta but uh yes brian uh your sponsorship is appreciated and we got to get you got to get you to another wolf pack match next summer maybe uh do some more stuff together always a pleasure hi everyone my name is brent i'm from london i have a podcast called the cardish hill on itunes and podomatic check Check that out. The reason I love Toronto Mike, well there's many reasons, but one of the all-time reasons is because I started my podcast four years ago. I had no idea where it was going to go. Mike inspired me. You know, I found Toronto Mike earlier this year and I always wondered what the endgame was.
Starting point is 00:35:43 What I wanted my podcast to look like Mike's got his own studio he's got his own sponsors his own website his own social media following so Mike inspires me look at all the great guests he's had look at all the great interviews he's done he inspires me he's a great interviewer. He's a really cool guy. Really down to earth dude. And dare I say. Listening to Toronto Mike. And talking to Mike. Has made me better.
Starting point is 00:36:14 Fantastic guy. And congratulations on episode 400. My favorite episode. It's a tie between Scott Moore and Joe Tilly. Scott because I learned so much from that episode. And Joe because. Well he was part of my childhood growing up. And Joe is an awesome guy. So I hope that works.
Starting point is 00:36:32 Keep up the great work, Mike. And once again, congratulations. Brent, that was amazing, man. It's just you're going to make me cry here. If I inspired anything, it just makes me feel good. So thanks so much for the kind words. And to tell people the Cardi Show, Brent's podcast, I did an episode of that.
Starting point is 00:36:53 I didn't bike to it because we did it on the phone. So it was very, very easy for me because Brent's in London, Ontario. So that would be quite the bike ride. But keep up the great work. Keep at it. Keep honing your craft. You've had some big guests.
Starting point is 00:37:10 You had Jody Vance on before I had Scott Moore on. And that's what tipped me off to contact Jody if she wanted to send in an audio clip for Scott. So see, you've inspired me as well. So it's reciprocated. But thanks again. And thanks for listening, man. I really appreciate it.
Starting point is 00:37:30 And back to Brian Gerstein, just for a moment, because I'm just thinking now when Brian, again, sometimes these things hit me late. OK, I didn't script this. And most of these I'm hearing for the first time.
Starting point is 00:37:39 So Brian mentioned that his favorite episodes were The Independents, like Mike Richards and mark hebshire and i'm with you brian like there's when you're like uh part of uh the media conglomerates uh be it chorus or bell or rogers or even cbc uh you you can only say so much freely like sometimes you get exceptions uh kevin frank and others, I would say, were delivering the real talk and I appreciated it. But man, you get a whole different level of honesty
Starting point is 00:38:12 from somebody who's independent. And Mike Richards shoots from the hip. Hebsey shoots from the hip. And it's like a big breath of fresh air when the independents come on. And Brent, bring it back to you, buddy. You mentioned Joe Tilley. In fact, Scott Moore. Scott Moore, if you notice, it's not a coincidence that Scott Moore came on to answer all my questions when he had a week left at the job. You know, that's a whole different story.
Starting point is 00:38:41 He had already resigned. He had a last day coming up. And Joe Till tilly you know he was let go like i don't know what that was 10 months ago he was he's no longer with bell media and he could freely discuss it all and it's uh it was great talking to joe so yeah just wanted to uh follow up on that hey toronto mike it's uh it's Humble and Fred and Phil, even Rudra from Gig Skies here. Rudra, say hi to Mike. Hello, Mike.
Starting point is 00:39:11 And we want to congratulate you, all of us, four of us, congratulating you on your 400th episode. Absolutely. And Rudra is here. He is one of the many Humble and Fred sponsors. And Mike, I know you've often said you find us inspiring. Just so you know, fiscal 2018 will be the best year ever for the Humble & Fred show. Guys like Rudra are part of that.
Starting point is 00:39:33 And we can only assume that you will experience the same success going forward. Phil, what are your favorite moments, quickly, of Toronto Mike? Oh, early in the Toronto Mike run, I was with Rosie and Mike talking episode 20-something, 26, 27, I believe. So we were both together. Well, I can just say, he wants us to say,
Starting point is 00:39:53 my favorite episodes of Toronto Mike are obviously when we're on. Well, why wouldn't they be? But my second, I don't have a second favorite episode oh well just listen
Starting point is 00:40:07 we're just here to say congratulations you know we I mentioned this and this didn't it did happen organically
Starting point is 00:40:14 early in the show I said there's two people we could not have done our show without one of them is Phil yes say hello hello
Starting point is 00:40:20 and the other is Mike Boone and that's all I would like to say no and I back that up all the time. I mean, I'm not constantly, but often on the phone with Mike, asking him questions about, you know, the back end of this business and certain things, and he always has the answer.
Starting point is 00:40:37 I know that's more than a minute, Boone, but you can edit it however you want. Congratulations, Michael Boone, Esquire. Come on, Howard. You know I'm not going to edit anything. Don't edit it unless I have to. So thank you guys so much. There's a lot to unpack there. But let's start by stating something I've said many times, which is a fact,
Starting point is 00:41:00 which is I would not be sitting here on a Saturday night putting together episode 400 of my podcast were it not for Humble and Fred. And it was like a burning passion I had. It sounds like something you need to see a doctor about. But back in 2006, I just wanted to help Humble and Fred be heard by their fans. And I was going to do whatever it took to make that happen. So if they were willing to actually sit together and record a broadcast, which is what they do best, I was going to do my best to take that audio and distribute it to the masses. And this is early, early days of podcasting, to be quite
Starting point is 00:41:47 frank. And I learned a lot through that process. And again, in 2011, when they wanted to podcast every day, it was a pleasure to be a part of that and to design the backend infrastructure, which they still use today. And it was shortly thereafter that I had that light bulb go off and I thought, maybe I should try to do the A to Z and not just be the back end guy. But what if I handled everything from booking the guest to doing the homework, the research, to conducting the interview, to creating the MP3? These are things I had never done before. And then I'll hand that MP3 to myself and take it the rest of the way like I used to do for Humble and Fred. So I would say, yeah, without a doubt, Humble and Fred inspired me to start
Starting point is 00:42:38 Toronto Mic'd and I am truly appreciative. And again, I talk to these guys all the time, as Fred mentioned there. We talk often about broadcasting and about podcasting. And again, I talk to these guys all the time, as Fred mentioned there. We talk often about, you know, broadcasting and about podcasting. And I think we're making each other better at this point. I also want to just speak to something Phil said there. Now, Phil Hong is like the, I would say he's the technical producer of the Humble and Fred podcast. So I'm not there every day. I'm not even doing the work.
Starting point is 00:43:02 They call me when there's a problem. And I help out when I can, when they need my help. But the day-to-day, and also because, you know, I'm not invoicing them and they're not paying me money. This is like to help reciprocate,
Starting point is 00:43:14 to help each other. So Phil is like on staff. He actually gets money from Humble and Fred to do many things for them, from editing to technical production, etc. But in the early days of Toronto Mic'd when I was trying to figure out what it was, and I just wanted to put in my reps and become better as like a as an interviewer and a creator of content. I had a lot of people on who were just
Starting point is 00:43:35 people like could grab nearby and interview and Phil came on and we did a couple of episodes together in the early, early days. So I appreciate that, Phil. I think that helped me get better. And it was a great joy to talk to you. And thanks to all of you for recording that message for me. I am more of a recent fan of the show. I had listened to a couple over the last couple of years, but, you know, there's too many podcasts and not enough time. But in the last several months, I've really have come to really love the show, and I've been a cherry picker. I have been kind of going through your archives and looking for the ones that interest me. My favorites, right off the bat, I listen to every Ed Conroy Retro Ontario episode.
Starting point is 00:44:36 Love that guy and everything he does. What I like about your show specifically is the whole nostalgia factor. I'm a couple years older than you, but such similar tastes, you know, a major hip fan and beliefs. And the guests that you have come in is like a beautiful walk through my childhood and the memories and some things that I've totally forgotten about that come up. Some things that I talk about all the time, and to hear you guys talk about the same stuff, it's just great. I find it endearing the way that you always humblebrag. Seemingly, every episode, you'll humblebrag to a guest about a prior guest that had been there.
Starting point is 00:45:27 And then the way that you sort of network in trying to get your guests to put in a good word for you to a certain, you know, future guest, possible guest that you're trying to get. I love that. I hope you get Derringer, John Derringer some way, someday doing that. Anyhow, buddy, keep up the good work. Happy 400th. Thank you, Johnny O. Sweetest swing I've ever seen.
Starting point is 00:45:55 Amazing. That was great. Now, there's no shame in cherry picking. There's two types of Toronto Mic listeners. There is the subscribers who listen to everything, which I really appreciate. That's amazing. And then there's the cherry pickers
Starting point is 00:46:08 and some people who, even some sponsors of the show are notorious cherry pickers. And I'm really speaking of Brian and Milan, who basically cherry pick sports media episodes. And I think there was, I heard from Brian recently that, I mean, maybe Molly Johnson, I think Molly Johnson from Milan, Molly Johnson's the only non-sports media episode
Starting point is 00:46:33 he's ever actually listened to. But there was a very, in fact, 399 episode, I'm staring at his artwork right now, but 399 was Tom Wilson. And Tom Wilson is a musician. And Brian decided to listen to Tom Wilson because the feedback on that episode 399 was fantastic. And Brian's like, I have Brian had to break his sports media only streak and listen to Tom Wilson. And he wrote this very nice tweet about how much he loved it.
Starting point is 00:47:04 And that's that's really all Tom Wilson and he wrote this very nice tweet about how much he loved it and uh that's that's really all Tom Wilson he was absolutely fantastic but it really uh is something I hear from from some subscribers is that they look at the guest and they cherry pick and some people want sports media some people want musicians some people want like like 80s and 90s, whatever. Somebody earlier made a comment about Ann Romer. Was that Dale? But Ann Romer's coming back for another visit. But you know, everybody's kind of got their wheelhouse that they cherry pick from. And that's great. I'm happy if you can cherry pick away. I'm going to do a whole bunch of different things so everybody's happy, but primarily things I'm interested in. But I really do love the fact that there are some subscribers
Starting point is 00:47:52 that listen to every single episode, and that's amazing. But yes, Johnny O, the humble brag. So this is something I was doing organically. I don't know if we're talking. Let's say I'm talking to Jay Onray. No, that's a bad example. Yeah, Okay. No, let's go with Daniel Tool. So Daniel Tool's on. And of course, we're going to mention Jay Onright during the discussion. And I'm going to point out, oh, Jay Onright came over a couple of times, wants to kick out the gyms. So this is something I was
Starting point is 00:48:21 always doing organically. And then I became aware I was doing it and then I had that moment where I thought, ah, I should stop doing that. Like that's like, you're just like promoting another episode. And then I told myself, heck, keep doing it because somebody out there will learn that there was an episode of that person and they're going to go back and cherry pick that from the archive. So I now do it without like no remorse. Like I just do it and I'm happy to do it. The other thing you've noticed is that, yeah, for damn right, if I have a Scott Moore on and I think that might help me get a Sid and Tim, Tim and Sid, I'm going to kind of mention it and see if he can do it. And Bob McCowan is another guy. If there's someone on my show who
Starting point is 00:49:02 might be able to talk Bob McCowan into coming on, I'm going to mention it and try to get that done. Because there are certain guests I'd like to have on, but I haven't had success with. So yeah, good observations. Thanks for listening. And again, sweetest swing I ever saw. Hello Toronto Mic Universe. This is Jason from Sudbury. So a bit about myself. Well This is Jason from Sudbury. So, a bit about myself. Well, I'm from Sudbury, as the name implies. I think everybody knew that, though. I'm a diehard hockey fan, diehard Habs fan, Habs all the way.
Starting point is 00:49:41 And I also really love music, which is why, Mike, I quite dig Kick Out the Jams, because it's a chance to hear some stuff that you've never heard before. A good example of this is the Revivalists. Damn, that's hard to say. But anyway, I had never heard of the revivalists until I heard them on your podcast and I forgot who it was that played them, but I quite dig those guys. Also, I thought that the cover of Tools 46 and 2 was pretty cool. Bunch of kids covering Tool. I thought that was great, and that was played by Lucy from Acid Test. I have to say this, though. If I never, ever, ever hear Bruce Springsteen
Starting point is 00:50:12 ever again on Kick Out of the Jams, I would be perfectly fine with that. I mean, talk about overrated. There's plenty of other good classic rock stuff out there. You know, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Ozzy, Pink Floyd, The Beatles. There's never enough Sabbath, never, Ozzy, Pink Floyd, The Beatles. There's never enough Sabbath, never enough Ozzy.
Starting point is 00:50:30 Even Cheryl's beloved Bob Seger. Now, mind you, I'm really not into Bob Seger either, to be honest. Turn the Page is the only song I like from Seger. But, yeah, let's not tell Cheryl that. I don't think she listens to these podcasts, so I think I'm good. I think I am. So, how many strikes is that against me now? Let's see.
Starting point is 00:50:47 I'm a Habs fan. I know some people frown upon that. And I just crapped all over the boss. So I'm thinking I should probably stop while I'm ahead here. Having said that, Mike, 400 episodes. Buddy, that is quite the accomplishment right there. And you should definitely be proud of yourself. Your podcast just keeps on getting better and better and better, and you've definitely taken it to a whole other level, even managing to get sponsored.
Starting point is 00:51:12 You know, that's impressive. I'm pretty sure that when you started recording with Rosie, what, five or six years ago, I don't think you ever anticipated in a million years that your podcast would have become what it has. So definitely keep up the great work. And what I really dig, the best part about your podcast, honestly, is that your basement, your creepy little basement, it's more of a relaxed setting, right? It's more of a chill setting. So your guests tend to let their guard down a bit. And therefore, you get the real talk. You get a lot of stuff that you would not get on traditional media. So that's great.
Starting point is 00:51:50 That is awesome. Keep up the great work, Mike, and here's to another 400 more. Chris Brown just painted this creepy little basement, Jason. Yeah, Jason from Sudbury is another guy I know from the open mics and was a frequent commenter on torontomic.com. And thanks for doing that, Jason. I know you're way up at Sudbury, so I'm going to cut you some slack on why you haven't come out to a Toronto Mic listener experience because that's a heck of a drive. But thanks for doing that. Again, lots to unpack there. The Kick Out the Jams episodes, as I mentioned, I love them.
Starting point is 00:52:26 Going to keep doing them. Yeah, I mean, I'm not a big Bruce guy either, but all these sports media guys in their 50s, of course we get a lot of Bruce. I mean, holy smokes. And I'd be okay too if I never heard another Bruce song again. But after that Tom Wilson's episode 399, now whenever I hear Bruce Springsteen,
Starting point is 00:52:44 all I can think about is Bruce Springsteen's tits. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, go back and listen to episode 399. One last thing there. You did mention Cheryl. There's no way Cheryl's ever heard a minute of Toronto Mike. I'm all but certain. In the past, I've been accused of inventing Cheryl somehow, There's no way Cheryl's ever heard a minute of Toronto Mike. I'm like all but certain.
Starting point is 00:53:07 In the past, I've been accused of like, I've been venting Cheryl somehow. But of course, Cheryl is, of course, the real deal because that'd be a full-time job to take on the persona of Cheryl. She is, of course, absolutely the real deal. And Beats and some other people sometimes like to joke around in the open mics that maybe Cheryl has to come on Toronto Mike the real deal and beats and some other people sometimes, uh, like to joke around in the open mics that maybe Cheryl has to come on
Starting point is 00:53:29 Toronto mic to come to a Toronto mic listener experience. And then I spent a great deal of effort, uh, mopping up that mess and trying to convince just to reassure Cheryl that she never, ever has to come on Toronto mic. Not that I've invited her. And of course she never,
Starting point is 00:53:45 ever has to come to a Toronto Mic'd listener experience. But I really must say, this is the truth. You know, if the only person who commented on the open mics was Cheryl, I would keep them going. So I'm just going to throw it out there. But thank you, Jason from Sudbury.
Starting point is 00:54:01 That was amazing. Hey, Toronto Mic'd. This is BasementDweller73 coming to you from Parkdale, also known as your birthplace. And I'm just sending a message in to help celebrate your 400th episode.
Starting point is 00:54:16 And I really appreciate your constant updates to both the blog and the frequent postings of new episodes. And I guess three of my favorite episodes would be the Chum Requiem episode with 1236 in Retro Ontario, the Kick Out the Jams episode with Ivor Hamilton, and the interview with Bob Mackiewicz Jr. So once again, congratulations on number 400, and I hope to be able to participate in 500
Starting point is 00:54:44 eight or nine months from now. All right, bye. Basement Dweller, thank you so much for that. We've heard from Jason Sudbury, and JJ, and Beats, and Lieve Fumpke, and these regular open micers, if I may call them that. I'm going to coin that phrase now, open micers. Basement Dweller, man, there's a guy who,
Starting point is 00:55:13 man, his comments are appreciated. He's a heavy contributor to the open mics and truly appreciate it. I call him the official corrector, where Lieve Fumpke will correct my pronunciation of certain words, which is necessary. I'm doing a two-hour off-the-top, no-editing kind of discussion with somebody, and then I'll misspeak probably a few times, maybe regarding the artist behind a certain song,
Starting point is 00:55:40 or the year a song came out, or something. And I can always count on Basement Dweller to correct me and point out, by the way, that wasn't really Jefferson Starship. That was just Starship or whatever it is. And I learned from Basement Dweller who's fact checking me. So thank you, Basement Dweller, for doing that, because i know it was difficult for you to record audio without a smartphone and uh some technical limitations but we found a way because i gave him a my google phone number and he actually phoned that and left a voicemail and then i just downloaded that as an mp3 and there you go so thank you basement dweller uh keep your comments coming and thank you for coming to both toronto mike listener experiences
Starting point is 00:56:25 at the great lakes brewery you were i was told you were there a good hour early for the first one and it just that was back when i wasn't sure anyone would show up so when i got there a little early and i saw oh basement dwellers here i knew that the royal pains would not be performing to an empty house so uh thank you for your continued support mike robbie j here uh congratulations on 400 episodes my friend and thank you for having me on as a guest for a couple of them but i think the real question everybody wants to know is when are you going to master the art of compression do i have to come back over there and show you? Okay, real talk. First of all, if you don't know,
Starting point is 00:57:09 Robbie Jase, he's there now. He works for Chorus now in some new podcast division. And he was at Chorus for, I don't know, 25 years or something doing audio engineering. He's the guy, when you listen to ongoing history in new music, and many of you do, at some point, Alan Cross
Starting point is 00:57:27 will say, Technical Production by Rob Johnston. He's Rob Johnston. Petite Johnston. And he knows his shit, and he went to school for this, and this has been his profession, so of course he knows everything about audio.
Starting point is 00:57:43 And he tells me I'm not compressing my file enough. I think I've come a long way. A lot of trial and error. I've broken a lot of eggs, enjoying a little bit of an omelet now. And I do compress the file in Audacity, but he says I need to compress it more. So I'm now here waving a white flag. Robbie J, yes, you're either going to have to come over and show me or you're going to have to Skype me and show me from your home east of Yonge. I now, if this is insufficient, and I haven't been getting any complaints, but if it's insufficient, you're going to have to show me. But thanks for your support. Thanks for listening. And thank you for coming over a couple of times, including the kick of
Starting point is 00:58:30 the jams on the anniversary of Martin Streak's passing. That was really special. Thanks, man. Hey, Mike, this is Al Grego from Holland Landing, aka Al the Royal Pain. I know you said to record this on my smartphone, but I've never been good at following instructions. Besides, I've got this great podcasting studio that you helped me put together, so I thought I'd use it. Congratulations on 400. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was congratulating you on 300. Perhaps you should move to celebrating bigger milestones like 1,000. You don't want to pull an Ann Romer and get celebrated too often. It might lose its shine, and there are only so many Tim Hortons gift cards one should receive for the same thing. Anyway, picking a favorite episode is tough. So I'll just say that my favorite of your most recent episodes was the
Starting point is 00:59:13 one with Scott Moore. I'm really looking forward to his return for the diversity panel next month. I also got a real kick out of the episode with the guys from the Fully and Completely podcast, so much so that I subscribed to theirs and I'm currently burning through them as well. You're building quite an impressive community of fans and sponsors. It's really cool to see, especially when you hold your in-person events and we all get to meet each other. Keep up the great work and yes,
Starting point is 00:59:36 when you're going for number 500, I'll congratulate you again, but this time no keg gift card. Cheers. Here's the deal. We'll probably do this again for episode 500, but then we won't do this again until a thousand. Okay. So you're right. It's not going to be every hundred from now on. And I will point out, this is only the second time we did this, but you're right. 300 was like less than a year ago. It was just a heavy year. Uh, I, I always talk about it
Starting point is 01:00:02 being a weekly podcast and see you next week. And when I say it, I'm smiling because I probably have an episode the next day. But I digress. A lot to cover there. First of all, Al, if people don't know, Al is the lead singer of the Royal Pains. The Royal Pains is that kick-ass band that played both Toronto Mike listener experiences
Starting point is 01:00:24 on the patio of Great Lakes Brewery. Honestly, amazing band. Hebsey was, uh, raving about their cover of Tragically Hip. They focus not only,
Starting point is 01:00:34 but they mainly focus on like the nineties rock that I personally adore. So, I mean, they're right in my wheelhouse, but, but Al's the front man. Uh, he's got a great beard,
Starting point is 01:00:44 a great voice. The whole band kicks ass. So everybody should book the Royal Pains for your Hanukkah party, your Kwanzaa party, your Christmas party. Whatever party you have, the Royal Pains are the perfect band for that. But he mentioned his studio. So I don't remember Al sending you an invoice. Like TMDS can generate an invoice. I got this great accounting software.
Starting point is 01:01:09 I'll generate an invoice, my consulting fee, and I'll get that over to you ASAP. Because before there was a TMDS, Toronto Digital Services, before that existed, I was happy to help Al with him building his own studio for the company he works for to do these corporate podcasts. So I actually had Al over here. This is before any TMLX, too. He came over here.
Starting point is 01:01:34 I showed him the studio. I showed him how it's all stitched together. He built it himself, and now he doesn't need me anymore. But Al, thanks so much for playing the TMLXs. We'll be in touch regarding TMLX3. And thanks again for just being a listener of the show and a fantastic supporter.
Starting point is 01:01:54 It's always a pleasure engaging with you. So here's what I want to know. Now Mike, you might not know the answer because you're from New Toronto and I'm from Mimico. It's Brony, by the way. Am I a Mimicoker? Am I a Mimicoian and I'm from Mimico. It's Brony, by the way. Am I a Mimicoker? Am I a Mimicoian? Am I a Mimicoite? Here's what I like about your blog, Mike. We can get the serious questions answered, the real talk. I would say if I look back, my favorite Toronto Mike episodes are probably either Jay Mad Dog Michaels, the first time he
Starting point is 01:02:22 was on, or Aaron Davis. I first came to your blog because I like all the radio stuff. I'm also a cyclist, so I love when you post about your cycling. But I thought that both Aaron and Jay were honest and candid in ways the previous guest had not been honest and candid. And to me, those episodes felt like a gateway to other guests feeling they could do the same. Thank you, Brony. That's so true.
Starting point is 01:02:46 Those two episodes you quote there, that first Mad Dog visit and the Aaron Davis, those were early days. I consider those early days of Toronto Mic'd. And they really were kind of, they paved the way for future guests to deliver the real talk. They were both amazing and both personal highlights. I know you're a radio guy, and I'm a fan of radio, so you're always going to have a lot of radio guests on Toronto Mic'd
Starting point is 01:03:12 because it's something I'm really, really interested in. Now, what are people from Mimico called is a great question. I actually tweeted that earlier tonight. Like, what do you call someone from Mimico? I googled the heck out of it too, thinking, oh, it's got to be on the wiki page or something. But there seems like this is a great secret. Nobody seems to know what you call someone from Mimico. I don't have a clue, but not even the Wikipedia page knows. So how about this? If anybody knows and can cite a source, update the Wikipedia page and we can all get on the same
Starting point is 01:03:41 page here and know what to call these people from Mimico. How would I know? I'm from New Toronto. That makes me a New Torontonian. But thanks for, we've met a couple of times at a Mimico coffee shop and picked each other's brains. And Brony, I think we first met years ago because I had this phone, this old phone, and you had the same phone, and your battery was dead, and you wanted to put my battery in your phone to see if your phone worked so you knew whether your phone was broken or if the battery was dead. And again, I was happy to meet you and give you the battery of my phone. So that's how we first met, and I enjoy our conversations and our coffee. Is it the Birds and Bees? Is that where Mimico City Hall is?
Starting point is 01:04:27 Thanks again for listening and for sending in that clip. Hey, Mike, it's Blair from Leslieville, also known as PhotoBlair to you Twitter people. I just wanted to congratulate you on 400 episodes. Some of them were actually pretty good. Those have to be the ones I listen to because everyone I listen to always is a home run. So good for you and good for your guests for trusting you and getting down in that basement and opening up as well as they do.
Starting point is 01:04:53 Must be something to do with the interviewer. Something tells me that you being on the slight outside, and that's only lasting a while, of the traditional media landscape is making you a very more approachable person to listen to or to talk to and to allow your guests to open up. And it's always a thrill to listen to people that you admire and, uh, and neat to meet new people that you may have heard of, but now you get to know a lot more about. Then there's always Mark Weisblot being Mark Weisblot. Don't change. We love you as you are. Anyways, congratulations again on 400 episodes.
Starting point is 01:05:32 I'm sure I'll be back for number 500 when you ask for the recording for that one. And at your rate, this will probably be, what, mid-January? Anyways, congratulations again. All the best. Continued success. And where's my lasagna photo blair if you if you come over i'll get you a lasagna are you listening anthony uh listen listen i'll get you a lasagna that's not a problem thanks so much for that uh yeah photo blair that's right on twitter of course. And the Mark Wiseblood episodes are personal favorites of mine. I love how regular they are.
Starting point is 01:06:09 Like, I can get him to make the long trek to my home studio, Mark I'm referring to. I can get him to come over once a quarter. And if my math is right, he's due to come by, like maybe between Christmas and New Year's. I might be able to get him back here. I hope so because there's lots to talk about. There's been a lot of radio changes
Starting point is 01:06:31 that we need to discuss. But you mentioned something, Photo Blair, you mentioned something about me being an outsider. I think once, I think Elvis told me I was no longer an outsider. No, I don't know if it was the Molly Johnson episode that spurred this conversation, but am I in the business was the thing.
Starting point is 01:06:48 And I still state to this day that I am an outsider. I've never worked a day in the industry. And yes, I do host a podcast where I talk to people in the industry, but I remain, in my opinion, my opinion is very subjective, I remain an outsider. And it is probably one of my greatest strengths,
Starting point is 01:07:07 I think, is that I am not professionally trained and I'm not in the industry. And literally everything you're hearing now, everything I put together is instinct and how I feel it should be, as opposed to anybody who's ever told me this is how it should be and this is how it whatever. So I would say I am still an outsider. I'm proudly an outsider. And if all goes according to plan, I will forever remain an outsider. Hi, Mike. This is Carlos from Streetsville.
Starting point is 01:07:40 I'm an avid listener. I'm an avid listener, and congratulations on the past 100 episodes, which you've recorded in less than a year, probably 11 months. I would like to thank all your six sponsors to help facilitate this passion of yours. I particularly enjoyed the Joe Tilly and the Ken Daniels episodes. I admire these gentlemen for discussing in public such a deep emotional issue.
Starting point is 01:08:20 I will keep listening and enjoying all your episodes. Thank you, Mike, for all your efforts. Best regards. And thank you, Carlos. A lot of streets filled on this episode 400. Streetsville, much like Mimico, which Brony was just talking about, they like to be from, they like to say,
Starting point is 01:08:46 they like to be from Streetsville, not Mississauga, I noticed, and Mimico would be like, they're from Mimico, not Toronto or Etobicoke, but these neighborhoods are very strong, very strong. But Carlos, you mentioned Joe Tilly, and you mentioned Ken Daniels, and of course, the sad common link there is that they both lost sons to accidental fentanyl overdoses. I'm a father of four. And I can tell you that even if my brain, even for a millisecond, if I go there in my mind, like to try to think of what it would be like to be in their shoes, it actually stings to a point where I can only go there for a second
Starting point is 01:09:27 and then I have to leave there like a self-preservation thing. So both of these gentlemen, Joe Tilly and Ken Daniels, were public about what happened to their sons. Ken put it in a book and was publicly talking about it. Ken put it in a book and was publicly talking about it. And Joe mentioned it on CTV Toronto and even referred to it in his farewell address to viewers of CTV Toronto's 6 o'clock newscast. So they were both public about what happened with their sons. So I did feel I could bring it up. But again, both times when I brought it up, I definitely brought it up as delicately and
Starting point is 01:10:13 sensitively as I could and in a way where I think something to the effect of, are you comfortable talking about, for example, are you comfortable talking about Jamie? Are you comfortable talking about Spencer? talking about? For example, are you comfortable talking about Jamie? Are you comfortable talking about Spencer? And in both cases, they wanted to talk about their beloved sons that they had lost. And those were tough. Like I said, because for that brief moment where I put myself in their position, it hurts so bad that I want to weep. So I can't imagine what it's like to be in their position. And I just have the utmost respect and compassion for what they've been through
Starting point is 01:10:54 and the fact that they're able to share these stories with us because there is an opiate epidemic at play in these accidental overdoses of fentanyl. If they're at all preventable, we need to do so. It's just a terrible tragedy, and we need to stop losing our young people, or forget the age, losing anybody to the accidental fentanyl overdoses. This is Mike from Jane and Dundas. What I like about the show is I like the diversity of guests that Mike gets.
Starting point is 01:11:32 You get big names like Dan Schulman, but then you get these lesser known names that you get to find something about, like Cam Gordon, those types. My favorite episode, I'd have to come at you with the Stu Stone episode. This was someone that I really didn't know too much about, but the exchanges with Stu and Mike were great. And Stu's jams went from Dr. Dre to Michael Jackson to Toto. And I thought that was really interesting. Now, if there's anything I don't like about the show, I'd say the fact that Mike uses the pronoun we when referring to the Toronto Maple Leafs grates at me a little bit. I've always thought unless you're on the payroll or you're a member of the team,
Starting point is 01:12:07 then you should drop the we if you're not one of those two. So aside from that, Mike, keep up the good work. Can't wait to hear about what's coming next. Mike Rogotsky, always a pleasure. You send in lots of great questions too for guests. So your name gets dropped quite a bit because I'll be like, I have a question for mike gregotsky uh i noticed you are pretty partial sorry to uh hamiltonians uh of course you're friends i believe and i don't have this story i'm kind of piecing it together
Starting point is 01:12:35 from tweets i see and stuff but i guess jake the snake who we'll talk about later but uh jake the snake and you somehow go back and there's a Hamilton history there. And whenever I have a Hamiltonian on, it sort of perks your interest. Now, regarding that, you know, we, with regards to Toronto Maple Leafs, I hear people like yourself will say, you know, I didn't know you played for the game. And I say, honestly, this is sports, it's entertainment. Please, it's we, okay? The Toronto Maple Leafs are the Toronto Maple Leafs, and I think part of the fun is that they're representing the city, and that's why we, let's face it, I'm a Leaf fan because they're the Toronto Maple Leafs. If they were the Vancouver Maple Leafs, I would
Starting point is 01:13:15 not care, but they represent the city. It's my city. I'm a, you know, I live, I own a home here. I live in the city, so damn it, it's we. And I'm going to say we. And if you don't like it, you have to deal with it. It's we. But thanks so much for listening and, again, for everything. I met you once at my son's swimming lessons of all places. And you came up to me and you recognized me and you thanked me for the show. And that was great.
Starting point is 01:13:43 And then, again, at the Santa Claus parade, but not the big one which by the way happens to be tomorrow not the big one but the etobicoke lakeshore santa claus parade uh sponsored by great lakes brewery uh we bumped into each other there so uh always a pleasure thanks so much i don't know what happened at the beginning of your recording but it sounded like you fell out of your chair and then all of a sudden the audio improved, which I found amusing. But thanks for listening and thanks for contributing to episode 400.
Starting point is 01:14:10 Hi, I'm Mark Holtisar, also known as Mark Hazar from Yield East York. I love the show for 102.1 nostalgia, but I also really like the Off the Beaten Path episodes. I can't pick a favorite, but some notable ones for me were George Strombolopoulos, Alan Cross, May Potts, Scott Turner, Moe Berg, Chris Murphy, and Biff Naked. Love the show and looking forward to another 400. Thanks.
Starting point is 01:14:35 Thanks, Mark. It was great to meet you at the first Toronto Mic Listener Experience. And you're, again, a frequent contributor to the open mics and always appreciate reading a comment from you. So thanks so much for that. Yeah, the 102.1 episodes. Well, that was my station throughout the 90s. So I actually try to get as many 102.1 people on as possible. And even though, like the 90s, that's post-Marsden. So the Spirit of Radio stuff is 80s.
Starting point is 01:15:03 But I have an appreciation for history in general and the history of that station. So even though I personally was tuned into a less cool station, 680 CFTR, and listening to Tom Rivers, not Pete and Geetz, I totally respect
Starting point is 01:15:19 and have a passion for talking to the David Marsdens and the Ivor Hamiltons. Somebody mentioned Ivor's kicking out the jams. But yeah, the Strombo episode, all those episodes you mentioned, the Maypots, Scott Turner, absolute pleasure.
Starting point is 01:15:35 I hope to do more 102.1 themed episodes, of course. I was speaking of deadly headly of all people. And I'm still trying to track down Chris Shepard. If anybody can help me, here's a, if anyone can
Starting point is 01:15:52 help me get Chris Shepard on the program he's somebody I would absolutely love to speak with. But thanks Mark for listening and for commenting on the blog and I hope to see you at Toronto Mike Listener Experience 3. Hi, Mike.
Starting point is 01:16:07 Mike Moniz here, a.k.a. to you, Hamilton Mike. Congratulations. 100 episodes. It's supposed to show what a labor of love can turn into if you really put your nose to the grindstone, which you have. What's the old adage, right?
Starting point is 01:16:21 If you ever want to work a day in your life, probably do what you love. And you've made that a reality. I mean, I'm sure your recent job switch kind of pushed you in that direction, but in the end, it's all worked out and that's what matters. What I love about the podcast,
Starting point is 01:16:37 aside from the obvious, the deep dives, it's a natural conversation. Your goal is to try to have a not a rapport with the with your guests as opposed to like mark maron who sits there and researches everything i'm sorry doesn't research everything and kind of approaches like an audience member like hey let's discover this together uh you do your research and then you want and then sometimes if you're wrong you'll confirm with the guest and get the guest to correct things but either way both either, the point is you're trying to make a human connection. It's not just a straight up interview show, which is what I think everyone appreciates.
Starting point is 01:17:15 Well, Molly Johnson, notwithstanding. But that was a unique episode. We all agree. But it could have been just a bad circumstance regarding the day of what was happening with Aretha Franklin and whatnot but
Starting point is 01:17:28 yeah I'm sure I'm in the minority the sport ones I just pass on I'm not a sports guy not a knock to anybody who is don't power to you but it's just not my thing
Starting point is 01:17:38 but when it's the media entertainment music stuff I'm all in and like I said 400 episodes congratulations Mike well deserved Michael Moniz I like to call him music stuff, I'm all in. And like I said, 400 episodes. Congratulations, Mike. Well deserved.
Starting point is 01:17:47 Michael Moniz, I like to call him Hamilton Mike. Because similar to Gregotsky and Jake the Snake and some others, love it when a guest has a Hamilton connection. And that includes like a Ralph Ben-Murgy, Stephen Brunt, of course, Damien Cox, who is a Hamilton guy, and the very recent Tom Wilson episode,
Starting point is 01:18:10 which I think might have been the most Hamilton. That might be the most. I mean, Ben-Murgy aside. I actually know. I'll include Ben-Murgy in there. I think the most Hamilton episode of Toronto Mic'd ever was the last episode, 399. And man, I've got a newfound respect for Hamilton since I started
Starting point is 01:18:28 talking to all these proud Hamiltonians. And I have made a couple of treks there, most recently to visit waterfalls, because I have learned that Hamilton is the city of waterfalls. So lots of great waterfalls there, thanks to the escarpment, etc. But thank you, Michael, for all those questions you'll submit when I have musical guests particularly. And I know Hugh Dillon is a guy who was booked, set, ready. I had done my research. You mentioned the research. I always do research. I was done my homework. I had all the sound clips loaded up. I had an appointment, if you will, for a visit from Hugh Dillon. And then I got that email from the PR
Starting point is 01:19:07 that they had other things going on and they tried to circle back and get me next time, which was code for we're moving on to bigger and better. And that ticked me off, actually. But I don't blame Hugh for that. And I would still love to get Hugh Dillon on. And I know you'd love to hear that, too. So I haven't given up on getting Hugh Dillon on the program. you'd love to hear that too. I haven't given up on getting Hugh Dillon
Starting point is 01:19:26 on the program. I think that'd be great. Thanks so much again for listening even though you don't listen. You and Milan combine to hear all the episodes because you're skipping the sports stuff and Milan's only listening to the sports stuff. Cherry pick away, my friend. It's all good with me.
Starting point is 01:19:42 Hi, Toronto Mike. It's Mark from Kitchener. And I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful podcast you do. I've been listening for a long time and I've very much enjoyed it. One of my favorite things is interacting with you on Twitter. You gave me a lot of advice about some podcasting equipment. I haven't been able to pull the trigger and actually start a podcast myself. But lots of good information there. And I thank you very much for that.
Starting point is 01:20:07 Also, great, the interviews you have, and I love the Kick Out the Jams episodes. It's amazing when you interview some of these guys, and I see how much I have in common with their musical tastes. Congratulations again, and continued success. Thanks. Thank you, Mark, so much. And I am happy to help. Again, picking my brain on podcasting stuff, it's free.
Starting point is 01:20:29 I don't invoice for that. You can do it anytime through the phone or email, or we can meet for a coffee or whatnot. And if anyone listening, like Mark, at some point you're going to build a studio, and I was giving you some advice there. But if you don't want to invest in the gear and the equipment, but you want to give this a go,
Starting point is 01:20:47 here's a shameless plug. I'm here for you. So we heard from Matt Gibbs earlier. We heard from Hebsey earlier. Those are a couple of people who are TMDS clients. Of course, I'm my own client. But if you want to start a podcast and you want to do it here, or if you want me to bring it to you, that's also an option.
Starting point is 01:21:06 But yeah, talk to me about it, and I'll handle the A to Z. You bring the content, I'll take care of the rest. I'm a big believer that podcasting is the modern communication channel, and I think there's a whole whack of benefits to podcasting. So let's talk. Hey, Mike, this is Tom from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, originally from Western New York. And so I love all of the 90s can rock groups that you have on the show for interviews and performances, especially Ron Hawkins and lowest of the low. I also enjoy Jay Onrate and Toolsy on there.
Starting point is 01:21:42 And I can't wait to hear them again on your podcast. Great show. Good luck with episode 400 and congrats. Tom, you're my first American contributor to one of these episodes. Now, I hear from a lot of people in the States who listen. But to a T, they're all expats. Like, I grew up in Mississauga, then now I live in whatever, Texas,
Starting point is 01:22:07 or work in Texas or whatever. But you, it sounds like you are, you're in Iowa now, but you were in New York, state of New York before that. So you are not an expat. You are an American. And you not only listen,
Starting point is 01:22:23 but you have contributed to episode 400. So that's amazing, my friend. And I always wondered, like, would you listen to my show if you were American? I don't know. I mean, you do. So you're proof that some people do. But the vast majority of the guests are like what I call Toronto famous, which might mean that they're only famous in Toronto, like a Dwight Drummond or somebody like that. But it might mean that they're Canada famous, like a Ron McLean or a Strombo or a Bob McKenzie, or a Colin James, right? These are Canada famous people. But there's not a lot of guests of Toronto Mike that I would say are famous outside of the GTA. But again, you mentioned, was it Western New York?
Starting point is 01:23:08 So you're listening to, I'm guessing, this is a guess, that you're listening to 102.1. We talked many times on the show about how popular Lowest of the Low are in Buffalo, for example. They're playing Buffalo really soon. They can play Buffalo often because they have a huge fan base in Buffalo. And let's face it, they have a huge fan base in Buffalo because these people were listening to Lowest of the Low on 102.1 The Edge.
Starting point is 01:23:34 And I think that's freaking cool. And thank you for listening. It sounds like you enjoy the Jay and Dan episodes. They were personal favorites of mine. Like the Jay, Jay's been on twice, but that Dan O'Toole episode, again, that went two and a half hours and it could have gone two and a half more. And it was amazing. And then I invited Dan back to kick out the jams. And he wrote me a sweet note about how the commute from his home in Orono, which is not
Starting point is 01:24:02 that far from Peterborough, which is a long way from me in southwest Toronto. That commute almost killed him. I think that's his words. It almost killed him. So he's got, yeah, we're trying to work out something. I don't know. I'll take this studio on the road to make it happen. But stay tuned for that. And again, thank you, Tom, for listening. It's good to know that there's some Americans who aren't expats listening to Toronto Mic. It feels good. Hi, this is Kathy from the Bathurst Quay neighborhood of Toronto. I got into your show originally because I was searching for information on local radio and what was happening with radio currently.
Starting point is 01:24:47 But the sheer variety of guests that you have on the podcast really hooked me and keeps me listening. I think my favorite episode might be the Gordon Downey tribute episode. But all of them are equally fascinating, even the more sports-related ones that I don't know as much about. And it just really keeps me tuning in again and listening to more podcasts. It's great.
Starting point is 01:25:21 Thanks. Thank you, Kathy. That's very, very sweet of you. And again, the cherry picking thing, you know, not everyone's going to have identity. Imagine somebody out there who can map all of their interests to mine. Like I know that person probably exists and they must love my podcast. But I mean, I love sports and I love music and I love these different things. And of course, that's why there's so many heavy episodes but thank you so much for listening I know you mentioned it was
Starting point is 01:25:50 radio episodes I always loved radio like as a kid I would listen to the radio and again this comes back to sports too but I would listen to the radio I mentioned 680 CFTR and I would kind of cruise the dial and listen to different things and it would kind of blow my mind but I would also listen to Blue Jay Games on 1430 the music of your life and that was
Starting point is 01:26:11 Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth Jerry by the way and I chatted recently and he said he'd come on in April which is I'm like tickled pink about that that's going to be amazing but I always loved radio so I always wanted to have these radio stars on. And that included people like Aaron Davis, for example, and Blake Carter, and all these morning shows. Mike Stafford, for example, who I think is sharp as a tack, but a former CFNYer too. But thank you, Kathy, so much for the kind words and for listening. And I'm glad that listening to this has potentially opened the gateway for you to listen to more podcasts, because I think podcasts are awesome. Hi, this is Michael from Brampton. I started listening to the Toronto Mike podcast around
Starting point is 01:26:59 episode 100. And what I like about Mike's podcast is that what he finds interesting, so do I. So he has the guests that I would want to listen to and he asks the questions that I would ask him. I met a lot of interesting people at both of the Toronto Mike listener experiences like Andrew Stokely, Brian Gerstein, Tyler Campbell and I feel like I have a whole new set of friends because of this. My favorite episode so far is number 367, Keith Hampshire. He was very prolific musically for decades, stayed somewhat under the radar, and as the episode progressed, more and more of Keith's history was revealed, and it was incredible. So thanks, Mike. Here's
Starting point is 01:27:38 to another 400 episodes. I don't think that's asking too much. Thanks, Michael. Not only have I met you at the two Toronto Mike listener experiences, but I remember when I was swilling beer at the beer garden during the grilled cheese challenge. You came up and bought a beer from me at the Great Lakes tent. So that's the first time I met you. And it was great to put a face to the name as they say. Keith Hampshire was fantastic. Like, at first I was, I knew him as like, I was thinking, oh, here's the OK Blue Jays guy. Or the first cut is the deepest guy.
Starting point is 01:28:18 But yeah, wow, what a history. And that whole pirate radio background, like that episode was stunning and he was here he had a the story is his wife had a family member who there was a funeral he had to go to and i think i made him really late for the funeral and i actually felt felt i was kind of a his daughter told me it was a great episode so i felt like maybe kind of uh it was all good but i was kind of worried i'd made him late for this funeral and i felt a little bit guilty but it was a fantastic episode uh like i said his daughter uh reached out and said that she loved it so uh the more keith hampshire love the better and michael thanks so much for listening and for
Starting point is 01:29:01 your support and for uh did you tip me Did you tip me at that grilled cheese challenge? I'm trying to remember if you threw a toonie in the jar. I hope you did. Hi, I'm Andy from Etobicoke. I've been listening to Toronto Mike for a few years now. It was actually the first podcast I had ever listened to, and I was pretty much instantly hooked. I went right back to the very beginning, the early rosy days, and listened to every episode until pretty much instantly hooked. I went right back to the very beginning,
Starting point is 01:29:25 the early rosy days and listened to every episode until I was caught up. Well, I actually didn't listen to the Your Podcast Sucks episode. Sorry, Mike, I never got around to listening to those, but I have listened to every other episode. Even if I didn't know the person being interviewed or I didn't have a huge interest in the topic, I found that I always enjoyed the conversation and always learned a few things that I didn't know before, which is one of the things that I love so much about your show. I don't know that I had a favorite guest, although I will say I was super excited for you when you finally got Maestro Fresh West on because I know how long you tried to make that happen. So when it finally did happen, it was pretty exciting and I loved
Starting point is 01:30:10 Maestro Fresh West too. So it was pretty cool. So yeah, I just wanted to say congratulations, Toronto Mike on 400 awesome episodes. Thank you so much for the countless hours of entertainment and keep up the great work. Oh, Andy, you came and you gave me a turkey on my vacation away from worky. Andy, thanks so much for those kind words. Uh, my favorite Andy story is that you attended the first Toronto Mic listener experience and were too shy to say hi, which always blew my mind because, first of all, who the heck is intimidated by me? Nobody, but apparently, and if you came to the Toronto Mike listener experience, which of course is to, to, to meet each other, I want to meet you and say hi. It's kind of amazing you came and didn't say hi. But as I recall, you were sitting, you were sitting near Jarvis and Morgan,
Starting point is 01:31:17 my two little ones, and they were very entertaining, as you said. But I'm glad I finally did get to meet you at the second Toronto Mic Listener Experience. And I know your husband came as well. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for your support. And yes, the Maestro Fresh West episode, I was a huge fan in 89. I think I was in grade nine.
Starting point is 01:31:42 And I was a massive fan of Symphony in Effect and all those great Joel Goldberg-directed videos like Let Your Backbone Slide and Drop the Needle. Dwight Drummond's in both videos, by the way. But great memories, and it was an absolute pleasure to finally get to interview Maestro Fresh Wes, even though there was a time in that interview where I thought he might be falling asleep, but he was just resting his eyes. Hey, Mike, Rick Cianofil here.
Starting point is 01:32:16 I just wanted to congratulate you on 400 episodes of a fantastic podcast I've listened to from the very beginning and I believe I've listened to every episode that you have put out there even episodes that would have marginally interested me in the past but because I know your style and your dedication to this I've listened to them and enjoyed every single one of them. I'd have to say my most favorite, of course, are always when you bring in musical guests and the fact that you've had Lois of the Lobe play in your basement several times, and I was a big fan of their music 25 plus years ago, is just icing on the cake. Anyways, just wanted to send this off to you and congratulations and look forward to more future episodes to come down the pipe.
Starting point is 01:33:14 Rick C. and Oakville, who I've met at the Toronto Mic Listener Experience, is a great guy. He's a patron. He's a frequent commenter on torontomic.com especially the open mics so uh i noticed there was no clip sent in by stephanie wilkinson but i know she's another from day one was a huge supporter so if you're listening stephanie i want to say hi to you but rick amazing support thanks so much Yeah, these musical guests are really kind of blowing my mind lately. When I have on like a Tom Wilson
Starting point is 01:33:49 and Lowest of the Low and Acid Test all in the same week. And I look back at like Chris Murphy and Moe Berg and Biff Naked and Colin James. And of course, I think the first musical guest I ever had might have been Jeremy Taggart from Our Lady Peace.
Starting point is 01:34:07 And of course, Maestro Fresh West came on. M. Griner, like I'm Stephen Stanley. These are musicians that I just love. And the fact that I get to talk to these musicians and I get to play their songs and kind of find out back. Don't forget Gordon Depp from The the spoons. He was absolutely amazing. You get to kind of play a, uh, romantic traffic or something and find out about that awesome TTC video. And you're, you know, it's
Starting point is 01:34:37 just, man, I'm just so lucky that, uh, like you said, lowest to the low will come over and play my basement. Not not once but twice. I sometimes have to pinch myself. I had this high. After the lowest to the low episode, I was riding this high, and I rode it into the Tom Wilson episode. And that was $3.98 and now $3.99 for Tom Wilson. And then I had, again, I don't do drugs, but I would call it high. drugs, like, but I would call it high, I want to call it a high, but like a bit of mania that came off the Tom Wilson episode, and that's kind of fucking amazing, pardon my French, and I'm so
Starting point is 01:35:17 glad I started this, if for no other reason than I can have like an honest heart-to-heart with Chris Murphy from Sloan, for goodness sakes. It's just amazing. But Rick, you're amazing. That was amazing. Thanks so much. And I hope to read you soon again on the open mics. Hi, I'm Jake from Calgary, born in Hamilton and raised in Ancaster, Ontario. I enjoy Toronto Mike because it's real talk in a real basement. He does a fantastic job with preparation, and the show comes across as real and genuine.
Starting point is 01:35:52 My favorite episode would be number 269, the Stephen Brunt episode, largely because I was responsible for convincing Stephen to go on the show. And I did this because I knew Toronto Mike would do a great job, and Stephen, who's also a lifelong Ticap fan, would be a great guest with amazing stories to tell. I wanted to close here with Jake the Snake because I'm chatting with Jake the Snake,
Starting point is 01:36:17 who is telling me how much he loved the Tom Wilson episode. No surprise there. I mentioned it's the most Hamilton episode of the 400 episodes. Jake the Snake is the most Hamilton listener I have, I think. In fact, he distributes these Argos suck buttons and he loves to remind me that the Argos
Starting point is 01:36:34 suck because of his beloved Thai cats are the greatest. And Jake the Snake is the man who convinced Stephen Brunt to come on the show and Stephen Brunt gave not one but two amazing episodes of Toronto Mic'd. And they're right up there as my personal favorites. But I'm chatting with Jake the Snake,
Starting point is 01:36:51 who I've never met. He hasn't made his way yet to a Toronto Mic'd listener experience. I've never met the man and we're chatting. And I'm reminding him of the deadline for this episode 400. I needed these clips by, I needed them at the time by the end of
Starting point is 01:37:05 day Friday so I could put this together on the Saturday. It's Saturday right now as I speak. And Jake the Snake says to me in all sincerity, he says, seriously, he goes, use the clip I recorded for episode 300. He says, use that because he didn't have time to create a new one. And I said, OK, so that clip I just played with Jake the Snake's permission is the exact same clip I played during episode 300. And it all remains true or so I'm told by Jake the Snake. So thank you, Jake the Snake. Again, you've been a great supporter. And I owe you big time for that Stephen Brunt because
Starting point is 01:37:46 like I said one of my favorite episodes of all time just went I think it's going to win me a Pulitzer I'm not sure but I think it might so thank you so much thank you to everybody who contributed a piece of audio to this episode 400 I'm having a
Starting point is 01:38:02 blast I so appreciate all six sponsors. I'm so lucky to have them. And every single patron, even if it's just a dollar a month and everybody from leave a thumb cut to Dale, not the Dale in Vancouver, but a different Dale in Bolton who couldn't put together a clip for some technical limitations, who have contributed to this podcast in other ways, not necessarily Patreon, but in other ways because they didn't want
Starting point is 01:38:33 to deal with the Patreon. I appreciate it. I appreciate everyone who takes a moment from their busy lives to listen to Toronto Mic'd. I'm honored. Thank you. Thank you.
Starting point is 01:38:49 Thank you. And that brings us to the end of our 400th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Propertyinthesix.com is at Raptor's Devotee. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair is at Fast Time WJR.
Starting point is 01:39:15 And PayTM is at PayTM Canada. Get your $10 now by using the promo code TorontoMike when you make your first bill payment. Do it. They have like the number one finance app in the country right now. by using the promo code Toronto Mike when you make your first bill payment. Do it. They have like the number one finance app in the country right now. I'm taking partial credit. See you all next week for episode 401.
Starting point is 01:39:35 Oh, one. Well, you've been under my skin for more than eight years. It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears. And I don't know what the future can hold or do for me and you.

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