- Bonus Episode 6
jD, Pete, and Tim are back to discuss some TTH Bonus content here on the Bonus Feed!
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy39m - Jan 23, 2026 - Bonus Episode 5
jD, Pete, and Tim discuss the documentary Long Time Running.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy39m - Jan 22, 2026 - Bonus Episode 4
jD, Pete, and Tim are back listening to a sampling of Gord Downie's solo work. Enjoy.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy1h 16m - Jan 21, 2026 - Bonus Episode 3
jD, Pete, and Tim are back and this time they're immersing themselves with four different versions of New Orleans Is Sinking.
Transcript
Rediscovering the 80s and 90s on Spotify
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy1h 18m - Jan 20, 2026 - Bonus Episode 2
Me and the boys discuss the songs Montreal, Radio Show, and Get Back Again. Enjoy
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy1h 4m - Jan 19, 2026 - Bonus Episode 1
Join jD, Pete, and Tim as they go off the cuff and then get down to business to discuss some Hip music videos and live footage.
Grace, Too - Live from London - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJBu9Ls5CaU
Fiddler's Green - Live from Abbotsford - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35mJvcY104M
Courage - Live from Woodstock '99 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxi5rXtqbVw
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy56m - Jan 18, 2026 - The last hurrah!
jD, Pete, and Tim are live from the stage at the Rec Room for Getting Hip to the Hip - An Evening for the Downie Wenjack Fund.
Transcript:
Introducing The Tragically Hit Experiment
Track 1:
[0:00] 16 episodes ago, I invited my pals on a little experiment.
You see, they had never heard the music of The Tragically Hit before, and I wanted to take them on a journey for the world to hear.
Pete and Tim didn't know what hit them.
Now we're here at the end, and it's time to pack it in. I'm not sure what to expect, but I know it's gonna be fun.
So, as we taxi down the runway, I'll be Captain JD and get you all landed safely.
We want to thank you all for joining us here this evening and throughout this journey.
Now buckle up, put your trays in the upright position and let's land this thing called getting hip to the hip.
J.D. Introduces Himself and Sets the Stage
Track 4:
[1:14] Hey, it's J.D.
Here, and, uh, this is it, folks.
This is where we say adios to getting hip to the hip.
Of course we couldn't do that without my two Brothers in hipdom, Pete and Tim from Portland, let's give it up, they're here!
Settling in and appreciating the DIY pod rooms
[1:54] You guys are here! We're here, we're definitely here.
This is exactly what it looks like when we're, you know, at our own homes.
In our small, tiny DIY pod rooms. Yeah, right?
This chair is much better, actually, than my chair.
It's nicer than my house. These are great chairs. There's no doubt about it.
If we were to even consider a second season of the show, the chair budget would have to go up considerably.
Considerably. So, how are you guys doing? How are your flights in?
Talk to me about what's going on Tim Tim Tateka.
I mean I got in Before the rest of the guys I got to go to a blue jays game.
I got I got to witness hot dog night Wow, I Did the math that was a lot of hot dogs per person, but you know for a dollar And I did bring some amazing.
I brought my own sauce to put on the hot dogs, which is over at the silent auction by the way and yeah it was it was awesome waiting for this Yahoo yeah my So I flew further than Tim.
Flying and Meeting Dan from London
[3:14] That's a fact.
[3:17] Dan flew further than Tim as well, but I flew further than Dan.
You just gave it away, man. Dan from London? Where's Dan from London?
Where is Dan from London? Hey, we're here. There is Dan from London.
Present. Dan from London. Proper and present.
So anyway, I got in and no, you didn't get that warm maple syrup Canadian welcome Canadian, welcome, because I'm at the airport, activate the e-sim, hey, we're at the Arizona Bar andGrill, get the shuttle.
We're at this hotel by the airport.
Yeah, and I'm waiting to get picked up with a fucking, you know, the bat blue in one hand, and you know, Tim Horton's in the other, and I get a text that says, we're at the Arizona Bar,come meet us, take the shuttle.
I was like, so I got there late.
No, I'm not bitter about it. No, no, no, no, the music there was a Good experience not at all.
But then, you know, we proceeded to Does anybody and does everybody know in this room because I sure as hell didn't that marijuana is legal in the country of Canada So I smelled somemarijuana smoke outside the Arizona bar and then proceeded to trip balls and have to go back to the hotel.
Is that correct JD? Sounds about right.
That's how my trip was. I'm pretty sure you were escorted.
[4:46] It was good. It's been a hell of a week.
Memorable Trip to Kingston and the Bathhouse
[4:50] Yeah then we we went out to Kingston yesterday. Yeah. Almost feels like a month ago because it was just so amazing and memorable. And guess where we went? Went to thebathhouse.
Bathhouse, yes. We, it was, I mean, so I told the story to a couple of people.
Does everybody know what the bathhouse is, first of all? Yeah. It's the, the HIP owns a home in Bath and it's where they recorded, where many bands have recorded, and you basicallycheck into this home, live upstairs and record downstairs, record upstairs too, they record all over the place and it was just there was a patina to the whole interior you know it was likemight need to change out some of these rugs I like but it was beautiful I thought it was nice but we all showed up and so we get When we get there, we get to the vat house.
[5:47] And we're just creeping, there's nobody there. We roll up the driveway. We had no reservation.
Yeah, and we're looking around, we're taking pictures. I'm playing fucking horseshoe.
There's a horseshoe pit. Yeah, it's a horseshoe field pitch.
Pete starts playing horseshoes. Yeah, at the bathhouse.
And then we're like, all right, guess time to go home. Fuck it, nobody's here.
Langlois didn't respond. Damn you, Langlois.
And then a car comes up the driveway.
And this guy walks out and his name's Niles and he's cool as shit.
And he gets out with his coffee and we're all like, hey, how's it going?
JD's like, I'm too shy right now, I'm too shy. And Dean says, well, get fucking un-shy.
Full Tour of the Bathhouse by Niles
[6:37] And then Tim walks over, we're literally getting in the car Tim's like, hey, how's it going, man? Cool, yeah, we're just taking some pictures, and then, hey, we'll see you later, but youmind if we just take a peek inside?
He's like, sure, come on in.
And takes us for a full tour, because Tim Lydon has the Cajones.
That's right. I mean, it was like going to Disneyland and being like, dude, it was so cool.
They're sold out, son. You know, we had to go in.
We had to go in. Absolutely. So, why don't we take a minute and look at a little package that was put together by Rainy Media, one of our sponsors.
Yes. And it's our trip to Kingston.
Take a look at the screens all around and enjoy.
I guess I'll watch from back there.
[7:35] Hey, it's J.D. here and let's do a roll call. We've got Spain, we've got Portland, we've got damn fuckin' London in the house, bro.
Let's go to Peakson! Do it.
Idea proposed to city council for approval
[8:45] My co-host thought up of the idea and then posed to the city council, thought it was a great idea as well.
To say You're strong, you're the darkest one, You're the darkest one Come in, come in, come in Come in and we'll get ready It's warm and it's safe here and there.
[9:58] I almost heard you Here in a time and place caught lost on our imagination You don't explain what you're still doing Peace out yo!
The Journey Begins: Whirlwind and Tremendous Moments
[11:57] It has been an absolute whirlwind going through what we've been through.
But this last couple of days has been just tremendous.
And I really want to thank Dean and David for putting everything together.
Absolutely. Please, Randy.
Give them a big round of applause.
A lot of fun was had. But you know, a lot of fun has been had since we started recording, and I don't know if we've ever told this, but we started recording November 28th of 2022, and werecorded through April, and then we recorded bonus content on top of that.
[12:52] But basically, we were were done when we launched on the May long weekend.
And we didn't know whether this was a stone that we were gonna throw that was gonna just go kerplunk or it was gonna skip, skip, skip, skip, skip.
[13:13] And you know what? It fucking skip, skip, skip, skip, skip. And here we are.
And that's pretty fucking cool, right? It's amazing. Well said.
So I want to throw it over to my buddy Tim right now to talk about his experiences with the hip and where he thinks he's landed at this point with this band and this crazy fan base that wehave.
Experiencing Awe: The Hip's Impact in Portland, Oregon
[13:48] I'll just say it's a massive sense of awe.
You know, when you experience maybe someone else's baby or puppy, you're like, oh.
Or you maybe have something bad happen, you're like, ah, shucks.
No, I'm talking about the sense of awe where you experience nature or something beautiful or something amazing that happens where you're just kind of dumbstruck.
You know, you're just speechless.
And that's kind of what this process led me to.
We were, my wife and I in Portland, Oregon, were recently at our neighborhood bar, and it was on my birthday, and there was nobody there, it was kind of perfect, and Monday night, andthere's this, of course, digital jukebox playing, which we never really paid much attention to, probably because on Thursdays, we play bingo there.
I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not 75, but bingo's hella fun at a bar, I gotta say.
Anyways, we're at the bar, and I'm like, let's take over this digital jukebox, what happens. So what do I search?
[14:50] Thank you so much and every albums in there so I picked all these damn songs and for like two hours We're drinking listen to the hip Yeah.
[14:57] It was amazing in Portland, Oregon, and I'm kept like looking around I was waiting for the bartender asked me who this band is and but I had to turn it tell her to turn it up Like fivetimes and said and but at one point my wife Amy said you know this this music just feels just right for this place, feels right for right now, it's just like perfect rock here in ourneighborhood bar.
And I'm like, holy hell, this is probably how the hip was for millions of people, am I right?
I mean, we all basically ended up in a moment where we're, you know, you pull over to listen to the song and just sit in it and then play it again.
And that happened to me so many times, you You know, at the beginning of the pod, my son, who's a drummer, 21, he kind of started listening to the music with me, the first EP, and he'slike, Dad, what are you getting into?
You know, are you sure about this? Who's this guy? What's up with the singer?
The drums sound pretty good. But are you sure you want to do this?
How long are you going to do this? And we pretty much had a nine-month baby podcast happen.
[16:10] So yeah, so through the process, really, I got to this point where I was in
Sense of Awe: The Hip's Dedication and Impact
[16:15] this experience, this sense of awe.
I mean, these guys started playing when they were 17, 18, 19 years old.
And they knew that this is what they wanted to do. And they knew that.
They were just focused and targeted and told their parents there's no backup plan.
You know, and they just went for it. How how many of us did that when we were in high school or going into our first year of uni?
How many of you knew what you were set out to do?
So here we are having just a blast with the music and having a blast with this process. And I never would have thought I'd be sitting here today.
We're sitting in stirrups right now, Tim. Yeah, I don't know if I can get out of this chair. Because you said we had a 9-month baby. So right now we're like this.
And this is the baby, man. Yeah, yeah. Silent auction. It took Pete a little while to push him out, but that's what happened.
[17:16] All right, who wants to get into the MVP tracks that these guys put together all year.
And see how they broke down. All right, let's do that then. And we will go to...
Where are we going to start here? Are we going to start with Pete or Tim? Tim, please.
We can start with either, it doesn't matter. I have a hard time seeing this thing so close behind me. We're starting with Tim's MVP tracks.
So here is his playlist, which as you can see is already on Spotify for your edification.
[17:59] And you can grab that and enjoy. And I will throw to my compadre Tim Lydon now and have him explain just what the fuck he put together here.
Why, what? Yeah, so this is my playlist.
I blacked out the amount of downloads. The digits were too long.
That's a joke. Yeah, so I put this together based on favorite songs along the way and just being a bit of an audiophile I kind of tried to experience it as if I was one of you guys maybe on aroad trip or something, and so each song, I hope, kind of ties or blends into each other really well.
There's a little bit of a, you know, cadence to the hips history, but then I mix it up and I think it's pretty good.
I think it's pretty fun. The guys, you know, said a few times God, you really picked a fucking weird song on that album, Tim, you know?
But sometimes the weird ones are the ones that grow on you. Sometimes they're awesome. I mean, All Canadian Surf Club, who does not like that song?
[19:08] Okay, whatever You need to you need to take a trip somewhere warm and tropical Yeah, but yeah I was so fun to put this together and was I was kind of wishing there were moresongs because now I've gone back to many albums of course and I'm finding so many other nuggets and songs that have grown on me and All right.
Bob Rock Records: Revisiting World Container and We Are The Same
[19:27] I have a question about that then I have a question about that then It's been a long time since we dealt with the Bob rock records. Oh Uh-oh.
Have either of those records grown on you since we last...
Now you liked... Now you liked... You liked World Container.
Yeah, yeah. But I'm curious about... I'm curious about We Are The Same.
Have you went back to that at all? I... I only...
I mean, I get caught up in Bob Rock's lovely flowing hair and I just want to be like him. That's where I go. That's where I go.
This is Bob Rock Lock. Bob Rock Lock. No, I have gone back to those albums and I'm still visiting them. All right, that's fair enough.
Maybe that will be something we look at in the future. Who knows?
All right, our friend Pete. Who wants to see Pete's playlist?
[20:24] I'll show you my playlist. I'm gonna just burn through it.
Killing Time, cool song I have heard during the first record.
Blowed High Dough, fuck, come on.
Fiddler's Green, I remember sitting on Avenida de Andalucía and crying as I dropped somebody off on the train station the first time I heard that song. Broke my fucking heart.
100th Meridian, really? Grace 2, Springtime Vienna, fucking no-brainers.
Memorable Tracks and Experiences
[20:58] Courage, Tiger the Lion, Jesus Christ. I mean, that was a great guy.
That was an experience for us. Tiger the Lion, we talked about that on the pod.
We talked about that quite a bit.
It's just, you hear it and it's like...
John Cage or Philip Glass - Trivia question
[21:18] It just rips. John Cage? Was it John Cage or Philip Glass that did the...
Does anybody know the answer? Trivia question.
It was John Cage or Philip Glass that did the song that was seven minutes or so whatever the lore is.
[21:36] John Cage. That's the fucking... That's what Gord is speaking about in that song.
And it's... fuck number 10 the dark Canuck guess guess who didn't know what a Canuck was okay JD we got a lot of feedback on this Canuck thing and I don't I don't know that'ssomething that we really fuck with right like I mean we don't talk about ourselves as Canucks do we like our like are you like I'm a hardy Canuck or are you?
Like if you are, that's cool. Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. 85.
I'll take that. I will take that. And that was the year, Marty.
That was a funny moment. Yeah. Yeah. 85.
Back to 55. Gus the polar bear.
Let's keep going. Gus the polar bear. Yeah. Sorry. Anyway, Gus, the polar bear, um...
Animal psychology. Who knew animals had feelings? Depression suite, like... So we're talking about the second Bob Rock record. That's the second one, right?
[22:52] What do you want somebody to say who's been on a fucking drip IV of the tragically hip for nine months? I'd say I'm beautiful. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's a beautiful song.
Experience with the tragically hip - Unforgettable journey
[23:10] We feel great. Geez. Yeah, it's just been out.
I'll say more about my experience, but that's the playlist.
Download it. Enjoy it. Whatever. Baptist blues.
Oh, that's all. So they're there for you to enjoy. Yes, absolutely.
Sorry, Pete. The treasure gift gets like point zero zero zero zero zero zero zero three cents per listen. So, go for it.
Every little bit helps. No, I was going to mention something.
I just I want to know. I want to know before we go too much further what your experience has been like. We asked him what your experience is like going through this process.
[23:51] Well, so most people know that JD asked me to just like he asked him and to do the podcast.
And I heard from I heard about the hip since 2007 from Canadian friends.
He's come into a bar I worked at and then 2011 sometime around there.
2018, I was working for Nat Geo and this guy used to come in all the time and they were Canadian, him and his wife, and they kept hammering me about the tragically hip and I was like.
Didn't take. I felt I was getting pushed. Then I meet this son of a bitch, and he's like, let's do this. I'm going to force this. So I'm going to shove this mashed potato down your mouth. Andhe did.
And Tim and I just like fucking Matrix style plugged into it.
And it was just awesome.
Just one of the coolest things and getting to meet and speak with Paul and Gord, Sinclair and going to Kingston has just been an unbelievable experience.
Cultural Differences: Canadian vs American
[25:07] And there's so much I want to say, but you don't want to fucking hear it.
So, but being Canadian, you'll be here all night. Yeah, I'm happy to elaborate.
But you guys are Canadian, you're different than Tim and I.
As much as we speak the same language, the culture is so different.
Take it from somebody who doesn't live in the United States anymore and it's like it's hard you'll never be a part of that culture or club I'll never fucking be Canadian no matter how muchhip I listen to and La Bat Blue I drink.
At least I have a couple.
But that being said it's like such a it's been such an amazing experience to get to know the band and to get to know the catalog and become a superfan.
I told JD this was a surprise but I got a tattoo on my arm that's gonna be there for the rest of my life and it's it's a combination of the any Any UFOlogists or followers in the house?
No? Yes? Not in here, sorry.
Not in here? Okay, maybe next door. Anyway.
[26:29] He'll be here all night. Yeah, be here all night The Fermi's paradox, Federico Fermi, his paradox was that he Didn't know if aliens existed or not and it's you can read up on it whenyou fucking Google it and That's a UFO thing.
And so the lyrics is we live to survive our paradoxes Because it's fucking springtime in Vienna, which is on the list, the playlist.
Fundraising for the Danny Wainjack Fund
[27:00] This is Pete Marchika here.
Love you, too, Dean. If you have not bid on the Pete Marchika package...
Yeah, that's Pete's band. ...in the silent auction, you are a greedy son of a bitch. Thank you.
I'm going to tell you that right now. And you need this album.
All proceeds go to the Danny Wainjack Fund. Directly.
Already over 3,200 bucks.
Oh! So I don't know where we're going to end up at the end of the night, but make me say 3,500 bucks, and I'll fucking love you forever.
Forever. Now, this has been an experiment.
This has been a project. This has been a labor of love.
And we've had a lot of fun doing this.
[27:53] So, I want to thank you for listening.
I had a friend once that said, you know, if you did a podcast and you had, like, five people show up in your living room and listen to you talk every week, that'd be pretty cool.
We had over 20,000 downloads.
Setting the Stage for an Exciting Event
[28:19] That doesn't even include all the streams, either. In three months, that's not so bad.
But what I want to tell you right now is how proud I am of my two friends, Pete and Tim, and all the work that they've put in.
I want to encourage you to bid in the silent auction.
I want to encourage you to drink long slice beer tonight. Yes, long slice.
And without further ado, I want to introduce our good friend to convocate these two gentlemen.
I want to invite our good friend to the stage, Dan from London.
Yes, Dan from London. Here we go.
Celebrating the Completion of the Exercise
[29:15] Tim, get on your feet, you son of a bitch. Come on up.
You can convocate them. You can convocate them. You can read if...
Do you want to read it? Do you want to read it? Yeah, I've got the reading glasses on. Hang on.
Remember, proper British. Timothy Edward Lydon.
Getting hip to the hip. You have completed the exercise and now are considered official fans of The Tragically Hip.
Thank you so much. Thanks, everyone. Thank you. Amazing. I'm honored.
Peter Natale. You motherfucker. Getting hip to the hip. He used my middle name.
Sorry, continue. You have also completed the exercise, and now, I have no idea about this bullshit.
Most fucks given, I think. Of the tragically hip. Yes. I give this to you, sir. Thank you. I accept.
Introducing Jamie Du, a Special Friend
[30:20] So none of this would be possible without this guy. You guys know Jamie Du, right?
Jamie and I met through another podcast of his, Pete also, through a podcast about the band Pavement.
And then I met him in person, first time in L.A. We went and saw a pavement show, which was a hoot, and then we went and did it again and again, really.
And it's just been so fun to just have this guy in my life. You know, Jamie Du, I've had no other friend like him.
So thanks, thanks to Jamie. Otherwise we all wouldn't be here.
And well, the hip, you know.
Do we do it now or do we wait till the end of the show? What?
[31:07] Do we drop a pick up your shit now or do we do it at the end of the show?
We do it at the end of the show. All, right, I real quick. I just want to say one thing. To compliment what Tim said, like avocado spread on toast. J.D., you're a fucking great dude.
And all this is this guy.
The reason even the two gals who I met who are really sweet, I can't know where you are, but they didn't even know shit all nothing about the podcast They just found it on Facebook andwe're like three weeks ago.
Hey, sweetie. What do you want to do on Friday three weeks? And then they found this fucking amazing And again would not have happened if it wasn't for this guy.
[31:55] So give JD a big hand for Cheers, cheers, cheers.
Cheers. Woo! Do you guys want to hear some more fucking live Tragically Happy music?
Oh yeah! Enough of this shit already. Let's do it! Oh yeah! Okay, we gotta move some gear here and then we are gonna welcome back to the stage for another set, 50 Mission! Oh! Boom!
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1E17 - 33m - Sep 4, 2023 - Talking with Sarah Midanik from the DWF
jD, Pete, and Tim are in learning mode as they speak with Sarah Midanik from the DWF
Don't forget to get your tickets to the event this coming Friday at gettinghiptothehip.com
Transcript
Track 2:
[5:23] Hey, it's JD here and we are back with another episode in our Talking With series.
So far we've talked with 50 Mission, Trevor Stickman, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair, and today we are really thrilled to be joined by the President and CEO of the Downey Wenchak Fund,which we are supporting with our event tonight, if you are listening to this on Friday, September 1st.
We have with us Sarah Medanek and I'm really thrilled to have you here with us. How are you doing?
Track 3:
[6:03] I'm good. Thanks so much for the invitation to join.
Track 2:
[6:09] Yeah, we're thrilled to learn more about the organization and your role in it and all that good stuff. So without further ado, let's go.
Tim, do you have anything? Hey, Sarah.
Track 5:
[6:22] Good to meet you. Yeah, I'm just curious about the kind of inception of the fund and how it all kind of began.
I watched some of the videos on your site and read quite a bit.
But I'm curious about how it all really, kind of the conversation started with Gord and then when you came along, if you don't mind touching on that.
Track 3:
[6:43] Yeah, for sure. So, I've had the great pleasure and slightly intimidating responsibility of being with the Gord Downie and Chani Wenjack Fund from the very beginning, so beforeGord passed.
It was, you know, it was a really unique sort of moment in time.
There was, of course, all of the momentum of the HIP's final tour and, you know, very public shout out to Trudeau around reconciliation by Gord to do more as Canadians and how wecould do better.
Of course, that was coupled with the work being done by...
[7:32] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the release of the 94 Calls to Action, and also the Secret Path Project, which tells the story of Chani Wenjack.
And so Gord had done a series of concerts playing the Secret Path album with the Secret Path Band.
And for anyone who hasn't seen The Secret Path, you can visit that material on an art website.
It was, of course, became a series of poems which became the album, which became the graphic novel, which became the animated film.
So there's a lot of really incredible material to visit there.
And so there is sort of just a unique moment in time where there was a lot of momentum and a lot of, you know, people in Canada wondering what their role was in reconciliation andwhat they could do, to contribute in a meaningful way.
And so that's really the root of Downy Wendjack is, you know, there is all this momentum and there is all these folks wondering what to do next and our programs and the work we do isreally based around that, the pillars of awareness, education, and action.
[8:54] And so we have two national programs. One is Legacy Schools and so we are in 6,000 schools in every province and territory with over 7,000 educators and we provide them withfree educational tools and resources to be better equipped to teach about the true history and legacy of residential schools and the true history of Indigenous people in Canada, but to alsobe able to incorporate strength-based learning and Indigenous ways of knowing and being into core curriculars.
Because you know there is sort of that, that sentiment, you know, well, we didn't learn about this in schools.
There was still like back when we were getting started, I would say there was still a pretty big gap in people's general awareness and understanding around residential schools. And that'schanged a lot in the past five years.
But curriculum doesn't necessarily get reformed that quickly.
Track 5:
[9:53] Right, right, yeah.
Track 3:
[9:57] So we still see the need, and of course we do lots of really cool stuff in the Legacy Schools program. We have the Artist Ambassador program, which brings Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians, artists, role models into classrooms.
And the Youth Ambassador program, which is a four-week leadership program that we run and every summer, we had 105 youth go through it this summer where they learn how to bechampions for reconciliation within their schools and communities.
And we do a lot of programming in which we bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples together.
We had a big music festival here in Toronto this spring called Siguan, which featured incredible Indigenous artists, and we always do a ton of programming for June, for NationalIndigenous History Month, and for Secret Path Week, which is coming up here right around the corner from October 17th till the 22nd, and of course, the National Day for Truth andReconciliation on September 30th.
Track 2:
[11:08] Wow, that is a lot.
Track 3:
[11:10] Well, that's just one program. We also have the Legacy Space Program.
So when I talk about what we do at Downey Bunjack, I call it the sandwich, which maybe I should find something a bit more.
Track 4:
[11:24] Everybody likes sandwiches. What is wrong with a sandwich?
Track 5:
[11:28] We've had many food analogies on our show. Right?
Track 3:
[11:33] So it's through Legacy Schools, we educate the littles, the young people, so that the next generation of people in Canada understand the true history.
But for those folks that are not in school, where do you learn?
And that's often through your workplace and professional development opportunities.
So the Legacy Space Program really leverages the concept of indigenous placemaking to create physical space within an organization, a corporation, a community that is representative ofthe internal commitment to do the work further reconciliation.
And, you know, from a corporate standpoint, is that, you know, equity, diversity and inclusion, hiring and retention practices for Indigenous employees, you know, reconciliation plans,procurement, right, working with Indigenous businesses, so.
I always say, you know, we educate the littles and we try and educate the bigs.
And in the middle is all the, you know, fun stuff that we get to do in terms of, you know, amplifying Indigenous voices.
Like we're taking over almost every radio station in Canada again this year on a day to listen, which will be September 30th.
[12:52] Yeah, if you haven't checked it out, this will be our third year, which is very exciting.
And we do a series of interviews that amplify indigenous voices each year.
And they're, they're really powerful, powerful stuff. So I'd, I'd encourage everyone to check it out.
Track 5:
[13:12] Do you have any kind of standout examples? I don't know, in the past, you know, summer or this year of working with specific businesses, small businesses or specific schools, justto kind to give our listeners like an example of like anything that really pulled on your heartstrings of seeing action in work and just, you know, when you when you do volunteer time,you spend so much time on your own.
And then when you kind of finally get out in the field and away from the computer, you get to experience some things. I'm just curious if you can give us like some standout example ofsomething that happened.
Track 4:
[13:48] Oh, gosh.
Track 5:
[13:48] Could you put you as many as him is my my questions are going to be super softball, so don't worry I was I was watching the the, the film last night the graphic novel film and youknow some of the interviewing at the end I think it was with Pearl, you know Pearl said Channy's sister right she said you know we need schools in all of our communities, not just publicschools like outside our own communities.
We need schools within our own communities. She said a few things that just really made me, you know, kind of more realize what's been going on up there.
And even from the U.S., you know, we never had heard of any of this stuff.
Track 3:
[14:36] Well, and it still happens, right? Like a lot of youth have to leave their communities to go to high school still in their village.
The model, the experience that indigenous children experience in residential schools, that model still exists, but it's perpetuated in different systems, whether it's child welfare or justice, ormissing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Residential schools don't operate anymore technically, but how are there still those systems of oppression, right?
And I think that's something that, you know, we try and help to unpack and, you know, the content that we share because, you know, when you look at, you know, the social indicators ofhealth for indigenous peoples compared to non-indigenous and the disparity is so great, you need to dig a little deeper and ask why, right?
Track 5:
[15:45] Sure, sure.
Track 3:
[15:46] Yeah.
Track 4:
[15:51] I... Oh, go ahead.
Track 3:
[15:51] Go ahead, I was going to say, but to answer your question about heartwarming examples, Yeah, yeah.
I mean, it's tough, I think, for me to answer that question because literally every single day there's something that is just really beautiful.
But maybe I'll just say it Because I flew back from summer vacation, my family lives in northern Alberta, and taking the UP Express from Pearson Airport.
We have a partnership with Union Station, and we have a Legacy space there.
[16:31] They're featuring an installation by one of our artist ambassadors, Blake Angeknyb.
These incredible panels featured in Union until the end of October.
The art is so beautiful and so powerful. There's actually a piece that he did of Gord in the series.
Just seeing tourists, people not from Canada, but there's such high volume of traffic through Union Station, you know, interacting and learning and literally like tens of.
[17:26] Thousands of impressions the opportunity to work with a partner like Union Station in a space like that.
Because reconciliation isn't going to happen overnight. I always make the sort of joke that it's slow pressure applied over time, right? Like we're talking about systemic change.
So, you know, creating these learning opportunities in our everyday existence.
So it's not a question of are we contributing to reconciliation in a meaningful way? It's just a part of our practice.
Track 5:
[18:04] Yeah, that's great.
Track 3:
[18:05] That's great.
Track 4:
[18:09] I want to, I feel like I should break up some of the things I was gonna say to you and some of the things I wrote down, because I feel like it's just gonna be too much of a mouthful.And you'd be like, what was your question again?
But I, so I haven't had time to watch the film yet.
Because these jokers know I've been traveling all weekend. And I, I just, I'm going to probably watch it if I get a chance to download it on the plane when I'm on my way over to Toronto.
But I've done a fair amount of research and I watched the ceremony where Gord was, I don't know how to properly say it, but invited into the community.
Track 3:
[18:51] Given a traditional name.
Track 4:
[18:57] Which like was a, you know, whatever. It was like a super, super duper emotional to even watch it.
And a friend of mine had sent it to me. She's from, she's from Canada as well.
And she, we talk about her on the show a lot. She's a huge hit fan.
Sent it to me after the fact. And I was like, Barb, I've watched it.
It's, it's just, and one of the things, sorry, this is a side note.
Not related about what I was going to ask you but one of the things I loved about Gord's response in that video or when he spoke afterward he didn't say much and I think he was verycognizant of the situation in that a lot of people would go up there and kind of pontificate and make comparisons and say yeah this is like this and like but he kind of got the The fact that,like...
He's like, there's nothing I can say. Like, in a sense of like, like, I can't even relate to some of the suffering, the things that have gone on.
I'm just, you know, grateful to be invited into this community and to be a part of it and to do whatever he can.
That was one of the cool things, side note.
But what I, I guess what I was going to ask you was was because we've talked about it a lot on the pod.
I don't know if you've ever, you're aware of at least the concept of this podcast and like, how it came about.
Track 3:
[20:23] I was creeping you guys this morning. All right, I got to listen to a couple.
I got to listen to a couple.
Track 4:
[20:33] Well, because of JD, like, yeah, this is about the tragically hit, but like, you know, take the snowball effect over time.
Like, I had no idea. I mean, honestly, I had heard mutterings on political podcasts and things that I listened to about reconciliation in Canada.
But other than that, it's like a of the surface of what your average American would even know.
It's like you hear something in passing at a coffee shop, and that's it.
Other than that, I would have never known about the Downey Wendzik fund and all this story of Chani Wendzik, Nothing.
I don't know, because I feel like Gord, especially when he called out Trudeau, at the concert, he looked right dead at him.
[21:26] I took some guts, man. and you know, the call to action, which I love the education aspect of it, but I feel like that call to action is such an important factor when it comes to thework that you guys do.
And like, you know, I guess my question is like, is, do you think, is there anything that you would think if like there's Americans listening to this right now we can do other than just talkto people and be like, Hey, do you know this story about this kid?
Do you know, and like share it? Because we learned about it by listening to the tragically hip. That's the only other, there's no other reason we would have, we would have figured this out.
Track 3:
[22:10] And I mean, the experience of Native Americans, uh, is mirrored closely to to that of Indigenous people in Canada too, right?
I would say, yeah, I find that in our work.
So we have some of our legacy space partners, you know, have offices in the U.S. and, you know, our, you know, North American companies, I guess.
And, you know, what's been expressed to us is just like how far behind work around reconciliation and even just any awareness at all of like the true history of indigenous or NativeAmerican people in Canada and the US.
And I think, you know, there's really important work being done in the US too that I think will come to the forefront.
It just it takes time, right? Like it's, you know, it's by design in terms of how that's been set up.
That's right. But, you know, as Indigenous people, you know, as we become lawyers and doctors and politicians and you know, learn how to fight for, you know, rights and restitution,these things has come up.
Track 2:
[27:30] I really like, you know, you're talking about the call to action a minute ago, Pete, and I like the messaging around your current call to action, Sarah, the do something.
The do something hashtag is like, I've used that in an email just that I sent out today, you know, reminding people of this event, that that's one way you can do something, You can come toour event or you can donate directly to Downey Wenchak Fund through a link that we have.
What was the genesis of that sort of campaign and idea?
Because it's very bold. Do something can be very bold, I think.
I'm just interested in learning.
Track 4:
[28:21] It's sort of aggressive, which is maybe it's not by design, but it's good. I like it.
Track 2:
[28:26] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Track 4:
[28:28] It's almost aggressive.
Track 3:
[28:31] I think there was sort of this feeling of like, well, you know, that happened a long time ago and you know, I was, I, I was not responsible for the creation of residential schools.
So like, what is, what is my role or responsibility?
And to that, I would argue, if you live in Canada, if you are part of this society, then you have something that you can do, and that social contract of what we all agree to live here together,that's part of it.
And whether it's just learning so that you're a little less racist, a little less ignorant, it's not a bad thing.
It's not harmful to you and it only creates a more just and equitable and safe society for indigenous peoples in this country.
So, you know, the do something was A.
Don't be immobilized by this sort of deferral of responsibility.
Don't feel like you don't have a role to play or something to contribute.
And seriously, do something because those small actions, we call them reconcili-actions or meaningful acts that drive...
Track 4:
[29:58] That's a cool, cool word, man. Reconcili-action.
Track 3:
[30:03] And it's, you know, it makes a difference, right? Even if it's just, you know, talking to your kids and finding out what they're learning in schools, or, you know, going, looking atwhat's happening in the company that you work for, or, you know, maybe just one of your buddies is, makes a slightly offside joke, and you're just like, dude, that's not okay, right?
It's, you know, taking that step to, you know, lean into the discomfort and just do something that creates meaningful and positive change.
Track 2:
[30:38] Yeah, that's beautiful.
Track 3:
[30:42] And it's an excellent hashtag.
Track 2:
[30:43] It is an excellent hashtag. Yeah.
Track 5:
[30:47] That's good. I'm finding kind of a lot of what you're talking about being being executed the smartest way by younger people.
You know, my son is basically studying sociology and social issues in university right now and he schools us all all the time.
You know, it's just he born and raised in Portland, Oregon, probably the most progressive city in the US really.
And it's just so reassuring to hear things from him. He had no idea about the indigenous struggles in Canada, but it wasn't necessarily news to him.
He was kind of half expecting what I was talking about as I was talking about it.
And it's just so good to share these ideas and share these issues, especially with the younger folks, because they're the ones who have to continue living it.
Like you said, all of these things become pandemic across all these other issues.
Even though the system may have ended, it's still alive. So it's so good to tap into the younger folks with all this stuff. It's just really.
Track 2:
[32:02] I've done all my learning through my oldest daughter. She's 13.
So I'm one of those people, Sarah, who was like, my eyes were widened.
And it was like, we didn't learn this in school, Riley. Like, we didn't, like, you're talking to me so matter of fact right now, and I'm so happy to hear you talking matter of fact, but it's like, Ididn't know any of this, you know?
Track 4:
[32:31] Sarah, I wanted to ask you something too, And this is more, and I don't know if this is like a.
Opinion of like Donnie Wendjick or your opinion, or feel free to like, be like, this is Sarah speaking and not Donnie Wendjick's being or whatever, however, but I feel like, because youmentioned earlier about the, the kind of this, the same sort of dynamic in terms of the United States and indigenous Native Americans in the United States and, and kind of that struggle.
But in terms of the call to action, and I'm sorry if this sounds like a very complex question, but I'll try to be articulate.
[33:17] I think when it, because a lot of conversation that I see and occurs in the United States in terms of indigenous people, minority and underrepresented groups in the United States.
A lot of times there's the education of it and I feel like the United States is more or less good at educating people and that awareness is there.
But in terms of connecting the dots, there's not a really good way that we do it in in the United States.
And one of the things that always comes to mind when I think about this issue is a speech that Martin Luther King gave at the Riverside Church one year to the day before he died, right?
And you know who Martin Luther King is. You're not living under a rock, but I don't know how much you guys study him in your schools and who he was and what he was really actuallyabout, because they've got statues of him in Washington DC now, but during the time where he was most powerful, people hated him.
[34:30] And this particular speech at Riverside Church, he talked about the relationship between the imperialist power of the United States and the military, and how that relationshipdirectly affected the oppression of minority and indigenous groups and civil rights in the United States. He made that connection.
Whereas I don't think people, meaning that like, okay, yeah, we can be all for it here, but when we're doing it in other countries, it's like, what's...
[35:05] How does that change? And as you know, Canada is very supportive of the United States in many of its overseas conquests, so to speak, as we say here in Spain.
So I guess the question I'm asking is, do you even personally, and again, you don't have to speak from Danny Wenjack perspective, but do you, because that's something I talk about withpeople.
Do you guys have that connection? Do you guys see that? Is that something that you hear whispers of within this conversation?
Because I think it's important. I feel like it's important. I feel like there's value in drawing that connection between oppression and past crimes of a country and what the country's doing atthe moment.
And it helps speed along that process of the call to action, as we said. I don't know, does that make any remote sense of what I'm trying to say to you?
Track 3:
[36:03] Yeah, well, I would say, I would say yes.
And I can say that is Sarah or as Downey Wenjack. I think, you know, I think that connection is really what allows an organization like the Gord Downey and Chani Wenjack Fund toexist, right?
If you think about, you know, What is the true role of rock stars, right?
Typically, like political activists, right? Or, you know, poets, but they've always pushed, right?
You think of all the greats, there's a social commentary there that's, you know, reflecting on the choices we make and how we live.
And sometimes they explicitly call out the Prime Minister, right? You know? And I think.
You know, there's been so much work done by incredible Indigenous leaders to ensure that, you know, this didn't stay hidden, like the injustices inflicted upon Indigenous peoples in thiscountry, you know, came to the forefront of, you know, the general understanding of our history in this country and our identity as Canadians, and what that means, and how do you workthrough it, and what does that mean really from a policy perspective.
[37:32] I honestly, I've seen so much change in the last five years even, where people actually want to know what the platforms are of politicians with regards to indigenous relations andreconciliation, whereas I would say ten years ago, you wouldn't even be able to find anything.
[37:57] On their web pages or whatever around that.
That speaks to how far we've come, but there's still a long ways to go.
It's just continuing to look at the systems themselves and saying, does this still serve us? Does this still make the most sense?
How can we continue to evolve and grow as we evolve and grow as humans and societies?
And, you know, it's important for us to be intentional and reflective and sometimes critical, right?
We've, you know, I, my sister and my niece came to visit and we were talking about, like, you know, the show Friends and how, like, it has not held up to, like, the test of time, like, it'sextremely homophobic and it's, you know, like, you see a show like Seinfeld, and those jokes are still, they're still funny, right.
But, you know, some of the that content that you know, the big hit show, and you're just like, this is so cringy. I can't even like watch this stuff anymore. Right.
Track 4:
[39:18] And I think sitcoms are the lowest common denominator, right of the day when it comes to comedy. So yeah, For sure.
Track 3:
[39:26] But I think, you know, to wrap it all up, I think those connections are pretty prominent in Canada, but I think that's also a byproduct of the fact that Indigenous Peoples have rightsand are, you know, title holder to treaties and also land, right?
And getting land back after being displaced, or having the land back.
The terms of the treaty is not honoured, right?
And, you know, as we become more sophisticated and become fancy lawyers, you know, these things work their way through the justice system and you see Indigenous peoples andcommunities winning those cases.
And so it kind of also comes to the point of, like, we have to care about this, right?
Track 4:
[40:28] Yeah, you, I mean, you, you summed it up and I think the, the, the thing that I, that I like about, like you guys, you said sometimes even being critical, which is really cool because alot of, I feel like not, I wouldn't even say a lot, but I, I, sometimes there are examples of organizations that it's weird, like, you know, they, they, they get a win or they get a big win.
And then after that, it's kind of like, yeah, we got to win, win for the day. Like, let's, let's pack it up, go home for let's take a vacation or something. No, no.
And, and when you talked about like, having the indigenous and non indigenous events, like that's the that's this, that's the again, the call to action, because what you're doing is you'rebringing people together.
You know, when you hear people's stories.
Everybody can relate. You know, it's easy to say you're so different than me because you're this, you're that, you speak this language, you're born to here, your skin colors that whatever.But like everybody's the same dude.
We all try coming out of our mama. We all poop when we're kids.
And we all cry the day the moment before we die.
You know, everybody's the same. Everybody wants the same. I feel like when you have those, you make those connections with people through those events is really important.
Track 3:
[41:52] When you create cross cultural understanding, it's really hard to other each other, right?
Track 4:
[41:59] Totally.
Track 3:
[41:59] Because there's an appreciation and a respect and an understanding for the strength and beauty and resilience of Indigenous peoples and cultures, right? So, yeah, it's...
Track 4:
[42:11] You recognize the human being in front of you and you're like, Oh, we're literally the same thing.
Track 2:
[42:16] Yeah.
Track 4:
[42:17] Where are we? Where are we? Yeah, dude, that's, that's cool.
Track 2:
[42:23] Is there anything else that you want to add, Sarah, about Truth and Reconciliation Day or the Secret Path Week? Oh, yeah.
Track 3:
[42:34] Well, I guess sort of the thing I always say is if you don't know where to start on your own reconciliation journey, or you know, you haven't really engaged in the conversation thatI'll always say, that's okay.
You can always do something, right? And Downey-Wenjack makes that pretty easy, for people to have a place to start.
You know, we have the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation coming up on September 30th.
So we have a bunch of different webinars and learning opportunities that we're doing ourselves.
[43:12] You know, whether it's like for parents about teaching your kids about residential schools.
We have one of our team members at Downey-Von Jack, his whole family is talking about intergenerational resilience and sharing stories from families of residential school survivors.
So, you know, we have a whole bunch of different opportunities to learn and engage and so I just really encourage everyone to follow us on socials if you don't know where to start.
Start. And, you know, when you're doom scrolling, you'll see some content in between, you know, the recipe for next week and some push notifications for waterproof shoes.
And maybe that that one that one post will be the one to inspire you to to join us in this path towards reconciliation.
Track 2:
[44:07] That's great. Well, thank you so much for joining us today.
It's, It's really nice to get a better understanding of both the Downey Wenjack Fund and your story, to hear your story.
We're grateful that you made some time to join us today. So thank you very much.
Track 3:
[44:29] Well, and thank you for supporting our work at the Downey Wenjack Fund through the event. I think it's happening tonight. Yes.
Track 2:
[44:37] Yes.
Track 3:
[44:38] And thank you. Thank you for everyone who's listening and coming out.
We really appreciate the support.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1 - 48m - Aug 29, 2023 - Getting Hip to the Hip - Sean Cullen announcement
jD, Pete, and Tim are back and they want to you to come to the finale with special guest host, Sean Cullen.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy7m - Aug 22, 2023 - Talking with Trevor "Stickman" Stickel
jD, Pete, and Tim welcome Trevor Sticket to the pod to dicusss the artwork that he donated to the Finale, his start in art, his Hip influences, and much much more.
Tour Dates:
Toronto September 23rd Liss Gallery
Tampa November 17th Michael Murphy Galleries
Edmonton November 25th Sterling Gallery
LA, Denver, Austin, NYC to come...
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1 - 1h 1m - Aug 11, 2023 - Talking with Paul Langlois
jD, Pete, and Tim welcome Paul Langlois to the show to talk about his new record Guess What.
Tracks
Will to Fight
Desperation Calling
638 Main
Guess What
Transcript
Track 1:
[0:03] Well, I would see him working away in Timothee's from time to time, like I would walk past Timothee's and there would be Gord Downie sitting there on a laptop and, you know,my reaction as a super fan is like, I got to go in and say hi.
And then, and then as the same super fan, I'm like, what if he's writing?
Well, what if he's writing the next fucking great song? And I'm the asshole who interrupts that, right?
Track 6:
[0:28] Well, he would have been writing something, but he kind of put the songs together after.
Track 1:
[0:35] Oh, gotcha. Okay. Okay, gotcha.
Track 6:
[0:38] So, how is my signal? Because I can hotspot. It could be better.
Track 1:
[0:41] No, this is good. You're coming through great.
Track 4:
[0:43] It's great.
Track 5:
[0:44] Okay.
Track 1:
[0:44] It looks like a nice day. Are you outside?
Track 6:
[0:47] I'm outside.
Track 1:
[0:49] That's great.
Track 6:
[0:49] These are my little sister's paintings. Yeah, I sort of had a thing built where I can live outside and just be Oh, man Shelter shelter up there, you know, yeah So I spend a lot of time outhere.
So I'm in downtown Kingston ish like about five blocks from the center of downtown and Cool.
Yeah, so I like it here. We've been here like five years ever since the kids left Nice, nice.
Track 5:
[1:23] Just the two you have? Sorry.
Track 6:
[1:26] Two girls, yeah. And they're both kind of making their way in Toronto, 27 and 23, and in their separate career paths.
Track 5:
[1:34] Okay.
Track 6:
[1:36] So they're kind of, you know.
Fairly entry-level and where they're working, but Sure.
All right, and we just thought we Give them a break and they pay us far less rent than they would have to pay.
Track 5:
[1:49] Yeah.
Track 6:
[1:49] No, that's good I said and we've actually used the place because I have to be in Toronto More than I ever thought I thought I was retired and now I have to be in Toronto all the timeand So we stay there every time Cool.
Ah. Toronto hotels these days, you're saving 600 bucks every time.
Track 1:
[2:07] Toronto hotels are insane right now. They're totally insane.
So the premise of this podcast was, I found these two friends of mine that are from different parts of the world, but they both grew up in Southern California, and they had not heard ofThe Hip.
So this is getting hip to The Hip, where we're taking them from not having heard them, and We go through the discography and sort of get their reactions as to what they're hearing.
Because you know, you guys are a cultural phenomenon and it's strange sometimes when you meet people who aren't aware of this thing that is like 11 million people watched the lastconcert. You know, that's staggering when people don't know.
Track 6:
[2:51] I've got to say, great concept for a podcast. I did notice the title and I didn't really catch, like I didn't really know what it meant.
Yeah, I love it. I love it.
Track 5:
[3:03] We're of the we're of the same generation pretty much here And you know Pete and I grew up with Southern, California radio you know, that's what got us into music and You know80s 90s.
Track 4:
[3:15] Yeah the radio.
Track 5:
[3:16] Yeah, I was making mixtapes off the radio and Middle school and yeah, you know, we didn't we didn't have the the hit playing on 91x in San Diego No, not a lot of radio play inCalifornia.
Track 6:
[3:28] There's a San Francisco station, uh, K-Fog?
I forget the name of it. That's not K-Fog. There was a San Francisco station that played us, which is why we were able to, you know, eventually play the film or, you know, a couple,couple of days in a row kind of thing and sell that out.
But that, I think it's K-Fog, something like that.
Track 1:
[3:50] It sounds very San Francisco. Yeah. There you go, actually.
Track 6:
[3:55] Our radio play was random. Dallas, we got played in the early days, and Chicago, we got played.
So all the non-border towns, like, you know, Buffalo, they have Canadian radio.
So we're always, we ended up in arenas there.
Seattle, not as much, but then it was just random.
You know, we'd get play in some American cities and no play whatsoever in others.
So it takes so much longer by word of mouth than it does if you've got a song on the radio.
Track 4:
[4:29] Sure, you know, so so so Paul, this is something that I are you guys recording, by the way?
Track 1:
[4:35] Sorry, recording? Yeah, it's right.
Track 6:
[4:37] Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you're not losing all the all the goal.
Track 5:
[4:42] Okay, so we pretty much hit go and do no, no.
Track 4:
[4:45] Um, because we're talking about this too. And this has come up a number of times on the podcast, right?
And obviously, you just were talking about some radio stations, you got random and play in certain cities, this and that. And Tim and I grew up at a time prior to streaming.
We saw that switch. So essentially, whatever we were listening to, unless you were in some like super niche underground group with the cool kids and shit, you were listening to what wasbeing played on the three main stations, right?
And we saw all the takeover with Clear Channel. We saw all that shit happen. Yeah, us too.
The thing that I noticed, and I'm not trying to blow smoke up your ass here, Paul, but I'm going to maybe do a little bit, so clench if you got to.
[5:39] I thought about a lot over the nine months we've been recording this podcast, is that good music is good music, and there's probably so much shit that falls through the cracks.
Here you got Tim and I, who never heard of the hit before.
We both have a lot of similar bands in common that we like, but J.D.
Put us on this mainline IV drip of the Tragically Hip since we started this, and at first it was a slow burn, but But now it's like, I cannot imagine my life without your guys' band.
And again, I'm sorry to blow smoke at you. No, that's not. I'm not trying to do that. No, I love it. I love it. But it's just like, good music is good music.
And I had a deep dive into Guess What too, and we'll talk about that, I'm sure.
Yeah, just it's if you're not exposed to it, man, then you're not exposed to it.
Track 6:
[6:43] You know, I really appreciate that like it's it's like and And the slow burn part as well.
Like I think It was a slow burn for many people just because I Don't think it was that obvious like, you know, the early days were kind of like Oh, it's kind of like more a barroom bumpkind of you know know, um, really kind of not boring, but, you know, simple.
[7:15] And so, but I know that when we were writing and recording, When we were writing and recording, we meant to do that.
For these songs, the songs that we chose for each record, we believe that they would stand the test of time, that you'd probably have to listen to it four, five, six times before you start to,before it starts to grow on you, as you said, slow burn.
And I think that's better. I mean, there are certainly songs I love that immediately it's kind of like, wow, okay, that's a hit.
But a lot of times there's, even back then, you know, in the 80s and 90s, sometimes it's kind of spoon-fed stuff. I mean, it smells like Team Spirit right away. I loved it. That's not spoon-fed.
We're just doing this thing. They're doing their thing.
But there's many more examples of where it's more spoon-fed, where it lasts about nine or 10 listens, and then it's like, okay, I've had enough of this.
Track 4:
[8:18] Moving on, when I do when I when I press play on in violet light, I remember and I told JD and Tim this I was like, dude, I'm not I this is not gonna work. This is gonna be a shittytwo weeks. We're listening.
And then like it ends up like, I just it just starts. It's like a cicada man.
It just burrowed its way into my head.
And then, like, at some point a week and a half into it, I'm rolling down the highway here in Spain, just like fucking windows down just like what?
Where have you been all my life?
Track 6:
[8:50] That starts with Use It Up, right? Oh yeah, Use It Up.
Track 1:
[8:54] Oh yeah, yeah.
Track 4:
[8:56] Oh dude, Use It Up. Oh fuck.
Track 1:
[8:57] That was the song he picked. Yeah. Because every album I make them pick a song and Use It Up was for that record.
Track 6:
[9:05] It's so funny because I didn't like that song at first. I was like...
You didn't? Yeah. Now what?
We're reaching here, it's no good. And then it grew on me as we were sort of all learning our parts and playing it together. It was like, oh, I get it now. Use it up. Yeah, this is the best thingfor later.
But at first, I was just like, this is going to be a horrible record.
Track 4:
[9:31] Oh, dear.
Track 5:
[9:32] Well, I even said to my kid, I have a 21-year-old, I have 21 and 18-year-old sons, and my 21-year-old plays drums and an amazing drummer and he's getting into other stuff too.
But I played him some of the, you know, I don't remember which album, but he looked at me and he's like, are you sure you can do this?
What is this band? And the guy, does he sing weird? What are you doing?
And I'm like, I hope so, bro.
Let's see what happens. But no, since then, I've played in bits here and there.
And my whole family, of course, has been subject to the hip.
Yeah, same here. And they're now recognizing the hip when they come on.
I haven't forced them to sit down and hear an album, but that'll happen eventually, I'm sure.
But yeah, the slow burn has been awesome. And for you guys to accomplish that, I mean, you were in high school, right? When you...
Shortly after high school?
Track 6:
[10:34] Just after, yep. So there's a university here, Queen's, so three of the guys were at Queen's. Johnny was still in high school, drummer.
Okay, that's right. He was in grade 13, which they don't have grade 13 anymore, but...
Yeah, so it was kind of Yeah, a long long time Yeah, I mean for that to happen.
Track 5:
[10:55] It's like you know I have a My brother-in-law told me at one point like what are you gonna?
Do bro? You know you're 19 You're not doing anything is like I'm gonna be a pro skateboarder And I'm like dude you got a one and what 40 million shot to be a pro skater Yeah, come on.
I mean, but you guys you guys were young and you kept at it, and you didn't go after careers I don't think I mean, I'm sure some of you held like part-time jobs or something But you guysjust kept going at it.
Track 6:
[11:24] We all had parents that were kind of like very supportive but at the same time everyone was in University and You know, what's the backup plan my dad said all the time and I'mlike no backup plan dad These guys because I joined a bit later like a year and a half in they were covered in And I love them and Gord Downer is my best friend and he asked me to joinbasically because I was Leaving.
I mean I didn't think of it as a threat, but he thought it was a threat that I was just gonna go down Try my luck as a songwriter and He was like he didn't like that at all.
And so that's the other And when I joined, my dad was like, yeah, but, um, you're going to go back to school and you'll have a backup plan.
I'm like, I don't need one.
Track 1:
[12:20] And so I'm just going to ask you what's the moment, what the moment was where you knew you didn't need a backup plan. You knew that early on, like that it was like you guyshad lightning in a bottle.
Track 6:
[12:31] I knew when I joined, I went to all their gigs and, um, but whenever I could, like I I was driving cab, but Gord would always have me on the list.
And they were just like small in-town gigs, either at the university or at a biker bar or whatever, a few bars that they were playing. And...
I knew, like, and it wasn't just Gork. I knew that Robbie and Johnny and Sinclair, like, that they were just doing something different.
Now, mostly they were playing covers, but they had songs that never made it even to our first baby record.
Great songs, Heart Attack Love and Baby Blue Blood and, you know, all these songs were Reformed Baptist Blues, which was on Thaskadelphia, but surprising.
[13:21] But it was just like, God, they know how to write songs. Gord is unbelievable.
Nothing like the friend I had. Like as soon as he got up on stage, it was just kind of like, wow.
And so I just felt like, you know, they have it. And word of mouth already just in Kingston.
You know, they say you can't, if you're in a band and you can't draw a crowd in your hometown, then chances aren't great.
[13:53] But if you can, you can take that. And so we just would just gradually take it to the next town over, Belleville or, you know, Brockville, then Cornwall and, you know, Oshawa, justsort of like just took it up and down the 401, which is a highway around here.
And just, we relied on word of mouth. And then we started booking things that way.
Let's do three nights. So we'll play Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and by Saturday we'll have it full because everyone's gonna be going home saying, okay, the singer's crazy and the band isheavy and tight.
And so we built it up that way. I'm not sure if you could do it these days.
I mean, there's still venues. So I think you actually could still do it our way. It was the only way we knew how to do it, but we always felt like, we were always like.
We all had a couple of hundred bucks in general, you know, so it wasn't like, um, we were, we weren't, uh, not making money, you know, we were able to, and our parents weresupportive, you know, Gord's parents got us a van and et cetera.
It just kind of, um, we knew very early on that we could just keep doing it.
Let's just keep doing it until it goes south. And it never did.
Track 1:
[15:10] I guess not.
Track 4:
[15:11] Holy shit.
Track 1:
[15:11] Amazing.
Track 4:
[15:13] It's an understatement.
Track 1:
[15:14] Yeah.
Track 4:
[15:17] So I want to, I don't know if it's cool fellas, but I want to dig into the to guess what a little bit.
Track 1:
[15:23] Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Track 4:
[15:27] So first off, you guys recorded the bathhouse. Yeah, we talked to we talked to Gord. What was it like three months ago? We talked to Gord.
Track 1:
[15:35] Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Track 5:
[15:37] Let's go. Yeah.
Track 1:
[15:39] When his record dropped, he came on.
Track 6:
[15:41] Pardon me?
Track 1:
[15:41] When his record dropped, he came on.
Track 6:
[15:44] I really love that record. I've told him many times. He's so funny.
You know, he's just like...
He's such a sweet dude. Yeah, he is.
And he's, you know, we complain mutually about having to be the singer and, you know, and just all the complications.
But I love his record. I've told him all the time. It's just like, it's classic him. just such variety.
But we're not talking about his record, I guess. Sorry.
Track 4:
[16:15] No, no. No, he kind of said some of the same stuff, but your vocals on, I love the vocals on it.
And then I was kind of reading about what you did with the, in terms of choosing the band and what's his name? His name is, oh, Billy Anglin.
That dude is a, he's a freak on the drums, man.
Track 6:
[16:45] Desperation calling oh yeah yeah when he does that yeah like what the hell is that he's a giant in real life I don't know if you knew that's crazy he's like I don't know I think he's sixfive Oh he's easily 250 must be I don't know how much away but well hey he's a giant and he was a kid that we heard about Johnny mentioned him to me.
I remember back when we first started, Johnny was like, there's a kid over at Elsie, which was another high school.
We were at Casey and they were at Elsie and there's a kid, Billy Anglin, and he's like five years younger than us.
He's like, they had the same drum teacher and he's like, that kid's really good.
And he played into his 20s and then he started a construction company and hadn't played for 20 some years.
And another The other guy in the band, Joe Carscallon, is kind of like a family friend of his.
And he was like, you know, Bill Anglin would do it if he asked and I'm like, seriously? And anyway, he is great. We just played a show just out of town.
There's a little quaint little town, Guananacue.
I'm not sure if you've been there, JD, but it's a beautiful little summer town, Thousand Islands.
Track 1:
[18:00] Okay.
Track 6:
[18:01] And we played a gig on Saturday night. And I was just like, for some reason, I was just kind of really focused on Bill and the stuff he was doing.
I'm very lucky. And the same with everyone else in the band, of course. Oh yeah.
He just hits them so hard and he's so big. And he has a huge drum kit too, like huge.
Where it's like, oh my God.
We pull into a little club a couple of weeks ago just to have a warmup show.
Track 4:
[18:32] And the club owner's like, You know, the drums basically took up the whole, it's like, is this a Russian, is this a Russian cover band? Is Neil Curtin? Yeah.
Track 6:
[18:43] Anyway, I'm going to tell Bill you mentioned him because he's amazing.
Track 1:
[18:49] The big toms at the beginning of Will to Fight as well.
Track 6:
[18:52] Right. That's what I thought. That's what I thought Pete was going to say.
Track 1:
[18:55] Those big toms right off the start, it's like, oh fuck, this song has a bone to pick with me.
It's like, it's challenging me right now, this song, it's.
Track 6:
[19:09] We've been opening with that one. Oh yeah. And Bill loves it, you know, he's had a setlist.
Track 5:
[19:14] Cool.
Track 6:
[19:16] Oriented and I always put Will to fight first and he's quite happy with it, he loves starting.
Like he is not short on confident. For a guy who hasn't played, he's played on his own but who hasn't played with anybody for 20 years, It's pretty amazing.
Track 4:
[19:31] That's crazy, man. You know, you, well, it's because we're talking about drums.
This is something that's that came that came up a couple times in the podcast.
I don't know what record it was that we're talking about.
But I had mentioned and I said it and I said it exactly like this.
I was like, Paul Langlois is a fucking drummer.
Track 1:
[19:52] Yes. Yeah. I remember you remember that?
Track 4:
[19:55] Yeah. And and I said that because I don't remember what song and what record it really hit me like a Like a freight train, man.
Track 1:
[20:02] It was in between evolution is what you said it. Was it?
Track 4:
[20:06] Was it in between evolution?
Track 1:
[20:07] Yeah.
Track 4:
[20:07] Yeah. Just your, the tone of that, bless Paul, and just the chunk, chunk, chunk that was, I can't remember the song that it was on where it hit me and I was like, dude, I don't knowwho's drumming here.
Is it Paul or is it Johnny? Because I'm getting, because I've done that.
I've done that thing where you listen to each member of a band individually.
Like, I don't know if you've ever done that, like next time you, next time you want to have a good time listening to your, if you like Rush, I mean, I like Rush. Who doesn't?
Track 6:
[20:40] I love Rush. I love Rush.
Track 4:
[20:42] Take it, take a Rush tune or watch maybe a live, live recording and focus on one.
Watch it three times and focus on one musician each time. And you'll just see something new every time.
Track 6:
[20:54] I love that idea. Yeah. I love that idea. And thanks for that.
On my first solo record, because I always thought...
I got a drum kit when I was 30 as a birthday present, and it was Johnny's kit.
Well, he set it up. And so my wife got it for me, Joanne.
And then, so I was just drumming secretly in the basement, just because I always wanted to try it.
And so my very first record, Fix His Head, which was like, I don't know, 15 years ago or something.
Track 1:
[21:27] 2010, yeah.
Track 6:
[21:30] Yeah, so 13 years ago and...
I was just on my own. It was just me. And really, I was in there, in our studio, just with the engineer. Like, it's quite awkward, really.
Because it's just the two of us, you know? I'm like, Aaron, you go outside or go do what you're going to do.
Just give me the song on a loop. And I'm just going to play the song.
And if I get a good one, I'll run into into the control room and push the space bar and stop it.
And so that's how I drummed, really, because I just didn't like him kind of just being bored in there, probably on his phone. Yeah.
Track 5:
[22:10] Hovering.
Track 6:
[22:11] So anyway, I did all the drumming on Fix His Head. And it's not stellar drumming, but I was happy enough with it that it passed.
I mean, it would have been way, if Johnny or Billy Anglin was playing, obviously, it would have been way, way better.
But I wanted it to be a private record. I didn't really want to put it out.
Track 1:
[22:33] That's crazy. That's so crazy. But it's interesting you say that.
I have a question for you that's been bothering me since your new record came out. Your new record is called Guess What, and it's the Paul Langlois band.
But I go back into my old records that I have. I have them in Apple, so they're digital.
And they say, like, fix this head, says Paul Langelois band now on it.
But wasn't it just Paul Langelois before?
Track 6:
[23:02] Yes.
Track 1:
[23:03] Oh, so I'm not going crazy.
Track 6:
[23:06] Yeah, no, you're not crazy. You're not going crazy.
I mean, it drives me a bit crazy, really, the thought. And Joanne hates, hates Paul Langlois Band, hates that there's no the. Oh, really?
Track 1:
[23:19] She's like, Jake.
Track 6:
[23:22] Yeah, the hips are my manager. My manager is also the hips manager, Jake Gould. He does a great job, but he was kind of, he was very in favor of just Paul Langlois Band. And I'mlike, okay, that's awkward, though.
Wouldn't you say the Paul Langlois band?
Track 1:
[23:39] Yeah.
Track 6:
[23:40] Two guys in the band, Greg Ball especially, was like, no, Paul Langlois.
Don't say Paul Langlois band, your first two records were Paul Langlois, so just Paul Langlois.
And through the agents and all the people booking and stuff, it's like, well, the Paul Langlois band would probably be more appealing as an act to book, because I was trying to playfestivals this summer.
And so I was like, okay. And then it's like, oh, by the way, we gotta go back.
And it's all because of Spotify. Everything's because of Spotify these days.
Track 1:
[24:15] Oh, God.
Track 6:
[24:17] You gotta go back and call your first two records Paul Langlois banned because if someone searches, I don't understand it, but the algorithm, whatever it is, if someone searches,guess what, Paul Langlois banned, my first two records aren't gonna come up.
And so that convinced me. I'm like, I want my first workers to come up.
Track 5:
[24:36] It happens.
Track 4:
[24:37] But that's the same thing with Malcolmus and the Jicks. Do you guys, I don't know if you guys know that. He has the same, that's a weird thing on Spotify.
They want it to come up.
They wanted to come up the other records so everybody can access all the music.
And I get it because you also want people to listen to your, you know, your other records. But it's also like that.
Track 6:
[24:59] Yeah, I would like that. But I get it. But I hate it. You know, it's, it's, it's silly. It's silly.
Track 4:
[25:04] Me too.
Track 6:
[25:05] Paul Langlois would come up. Just if I call this the Paul Langlois band, which is- Change the algorithm, man.
Track 4:
[25:13] Change the search bar. Like make them both come up.
Track 1:
[25:16] Jesus Christ.
Track 5:
[25:18] That's funny you mention that Paul, at one point during our discography review of you guys I said, yeah, I love this whole process but the hip has totally fucked up my algorithm inSpotify.
Like every time I play something now it's like something associated with the hip. It's like all these other bands but I have discovered some other bands.
Track 1:
[25:39] We were talking one day, Tim and I were talking, I was out for a walk and he's like, you're going to get a kick out of this, Paul, cause he's like, who is April wine?
Oh, really? And I was like, April wine is like a seminal Canadian.
Track 5:
[25:52] Absolutely. Many, many hits.
Track 6:
[25:53] Big band. Good hits. Good. Yeah.
Track 5:
[25:59] Yeah, they're, they're fucking cool. Like I would, that was a fun surprise for me. That was, you know, thanks to the algorithm.
So, but that, but that was, that was one of those things, you know, So 10 years, 10 years between Not Guilty and Guess What?
Track 1:
[26:18] Yeah. Not Guilty was 2013.
Obviously that was a fucking giant 10 years in your life.
What changed singer-songwriter wise? What did you take from that 10 years of experience and put onto this record?
Is there anything you can lay down for us?
Track 6:
[26:47] You know, I think I got the… Lyrics are my toughest.
That's the toughest. It's like finishing the bathrooms, you run out of money.
And so, oh yeah, let's go for the vinyl shower.
And so that's what I would do with lyrics. I'd kind of almost get, I get somewhere, but then I just stop and I didn't know where to go.
So I think time passing more than anything.
Gord, Gord passing.
Track 1:
[27:18] Yeah, yeah, of course.
Track 6:
[27:19] Time passing, the way the tour was so special, such an achievement on all our parts, but especially for Gord.
Of course. The achievement on his part was unbelievable.
It was unbelievable to watch, like from the inside, just how hard he worked and how driven he was.
Was, like he didn't stop. And so I think that kind of affected, that helped me just with lyrics. Time passing, the girls moving out, my daughters, you know.
And you know, now it's like in my 50s. And it's kind of like, I think that sort of just came through in the songs, Will to Fight, you know, just anything, just kind of like.
So there was that. I didn't think I would ever, like I just was not interested in songwriting until I got offered a gig.
And it was a few months away.
And Joanne said, well, you've got to do it. And I'm like, well, I've got to put a band together. I'm not fucking into that. Who would I get?
[28:34] Anyway, so then I thought of they're all buddies, Kingston buddies, and musicians, but they all have other jobs. And, um...
Yeah, and then we started rehearsing and playing and and It was fun and so I decided I had a couple of songs Okay, maybe I'll finish those and we'll have a couple of You know new recordsongs.
I was just playing my first two records kind of thing and then that was the end of August last year and and I booked the studio for November 7th, I think or 8th and And so then I had adeadline, so in September and October, I just kept throwing songs at them and I kept writing.
And so it was the first time I'd written anything in 10 years.
Like I just, I hadn't written anything. And then it was like, oh, wow, this is fun.
These guys are good. And so the whole record is live. I mean, I play guitar and at the same time, I didn't do anything except one scratchy vocal.
I redid one vocal, but we're playing live and there were very little fixes and very little overdub. Joe overdubbed a couple of solos.
[29:54] So it was just kind of exactly how I wanted it to be and it was very reminiscent of how the hit recorded.
You know, we like to not make mistakes, go into the control room and be like, yeah, this is a one.
Of course, we'd leave it mostly up to Johnny, because the drums have to be right.
He would always pick the ones that we wanted, without even talking about it.
Okay, we like take number three.
That was a very similar process to recording in the hip or in the bathhouse, so it was all very inspiring.
So I'm a new person, honestly.
I really thought I was done. Gord died, I just thought, well, we had a good run.
It's sad. Yeah. But it was like 32 naturally years actively together.
It's been longer now, but you know, all of us together playing and it wasn't like a five-year run, you know? And so I just thought, okay, that's good. But you know, yeah, we did it.
And I'm just going to move on and come up with other things.
Track 4:
[31:07] I just didn't come up with anything else. No, but 638 Main says, like, I got a window into the song where you were at with this record and what kind of the question that JD asked.
Like that I was like, okay, I see kind of where Paul's Brain was at with this record and like that's fucking cool, man. I'm so happy for you, dude I don't know.
I had the same shit too before we recorded like before I Jumped in with this band that I'm in man.
I was just kind of like, all right, I'm done playing music and then you fall in and then you get a band together and then you're like Like, oh, this is fucking, this is fun, man. This is rightwhere it should be.
Track 6:
[31:52] Yeah, you forget how fun it is. I did. And it's funny you mentioned 638 Maine.
Not many people, but I have a couple of quirky friends that are like 638 Maine, man. I love that one. Whereas most of my friends, I'm sure they've never mentioned that song.
I don't think it's necessarily a skipper, but it's an odd one.
Track 4:
[32:14] And basically- That's what's cool about it.
Track 6:
[32:17] Yeah, it's, you know, to me, it's cool, because I made it up on the spot.
I didn't have anything written down.
And I just pictured myself.
Track 1:
[32:26] What?
Track 6:
[32:26] Like I'm talking about what it's like to be in a studio. And we were in there eight days. And Greg and I, those guys were going, like there's a firefighter, construction, a factory shiftworker.
Greg's a waiter, so he took the eight days off. And I don't have another job, so I did too. So Greg and I were out there the whole time. And a couple of nights, it was late. They were all latenights.
And I was just sitting there, just like, oh, it'd be good if I could set myself in a bar to describe what it's like being in a studio.
I didn't know if it was Monday or Tuesday. It was kind of like, you're lost in the music. You're lost in the recording.
So I thought, and we only had nine songs, or nine that I liked.
And so I was like, I want to try this one.
And I just made it up. I just like set myself on fire. And then I'm kind of chasing the song.
You know, it's all turning out like it should or whatever the words are.
Track 4:
[33:29] But it paints the picture, man. There was a hip song like that too.
Do you remember, Tim, the apartment where Gord was describing the apartment?
You know what I'm talking about?
Track 1:
[33:40] Apartment song.
Track 4:
[33:40] But that 638, man, it paints the picture, man.
Track 6:
[33:44] Oh, well, thanks. Thanks. Yeah. I was, I was very, uh, very happy with that.
And Greg and Joe were asleep on the couch in the control room.
So it was just, I just laid it down on acoustic and then, um, and saying it. And...
And Bill and Matt, drums and bass, they played. And Joe and Greg were kind of pissed off because I missed it.
So I allowed them to add a guitar and backup vocal.
Track 4:
[34:23] So anyway, I'm glad you mentioned that.
It's cool, man. It's a deep cut. Deep cut. Yeah, we're going to Kingston.
And for the finale we're doing is September 1st, but I think the day before or the day after we're going to Kingston. Yeah, August 31st.
Track 1:
[34:41] We're doing it. They're flying in August 30th. And uh, we're doing a road trip to Kingston.
Track 6:
[34:48] You're kidding.
Track 1:
[34:50] No. Oh, yeah, we're gonna do it. Yeah. I've got it right.
Track 4:
[34:54] Like I mean, yeah, I'm gonna be so dragon ass, man.
Track 5:
[34:59] It's all part of this process.
Track 6:
[35:00] That's what are you? Are you kind of Just doing it for fun.
I'll meet up with you either way whether you're recording something or not That would be amazing to buy you a beer yeah, yeah, that would be absolutely amazing Yeah, we check the redhouse. Just get in touch with me.
Track 4:
[35:19] All right Let's do it, man. Let's do it.
Track 5:
[35:22] Let's do it Yeah, we're flying into town and we have an event at the rec room in Toronto on September 1st.
So that's that's like our Our grand finale of the pod is we're meeting up and there's a tribute band, 50 Mission, playing at the Rec Room and we're doing this fundraiser for the DanielWinsor Fund.
Track 6:
[35:45] Oh cool. And so are you going to be, is it an event where you're not sort of talking together or are you guys going to get up and sing?
Track 1:
[35:54] We're going to record the final episode of the podcast at this event.
Track 6:
[35:58] Oh cool.
Track 1:
[35:59] So they'll finally reveal whether or not they're hip bands, which they've done a poor job concealing it.
It's so funny at the beginning, they would be like, Pete would be like, oh, yeah, there's this lick that the rhythm guitarist plays.
And you know, then later on, it's like, Paul Langlois, am I saying his name right? And then later on, it's just Paul. You know what I mean?
Track 4:
[36:21] I had no concept of your existence, man. I mean, I was like, what's this guy's, who's this guy's name?
Now it's like, everything's off the tongue, man, but I, by the way, I gotta ask you, and I know they're for different things, but what do you prefer about it?
Do you like your telly or do you like the Les Paul? What's the, what's the one that you're, that you, if you die with the guitar in your hands, the one you want in the hands?
Track 6:
[36:45] I mean, it would kind of, it would have to be to tell you, I'm playing the telly on the solo band shows. Okay. So, I've gone back to the telly.
I don't regret playing a Les Paul. I started Les Paul day for night on.
And that was a black one, Black Beauty.
But then I switched to a Sunburst, which I love that guitar.
That's my second favorite.
That's my second favorite. But the Tele for sure. That was the first electric I bought, like officially bought to play in the band.
And I'm using it now. And yeah, it would be the Tele for sure.
Track 4:
[37:28] I never played a telly ever until about six months ago when I visit my family in California. I walked into a guitar center and I went into the expensive room that you're not supposedto go in.
I sat and there was nobody there. It was just a ghost town. I sat with a telly for like an hour and I was like, jeez, man.
I got it because I always played a Strat. I got a Jazzmaster, and an SG, but I never, and I've never played, I mean, I played a Les Paul once, twice, but I never owned a Les Paul. That's thenext on the list.
But a Tele was, I liked it.
Track 6:
[38:05] Yeah, well, see, it's funny, because I find a Strat the most different guitar, and because Robbie played it already, and he was like, he had 15 years of experience on me, because Ididn't start playing until I was 19, and he started playing, he was small.
And he was playing a Strat.
And so I was like, I mean, I started out playing acoustic and after a while I was like, fuck this, I can't fucking hear.
And I had a big train ramp and it was just like, it was impossible to, I'd turn it up to, and I got electrocuted all the time because it was a old shit.
Well, I finally said, I'm playing electrocute It's a lot of telly and because I figured that telly is kind of the opposite of a strat almost and I've never really ever tried to play a strat, like Ireally honestly never have.
Les Paul's and Telly's I find are way more similar. The Strat to me is a different one. It's super cool, but it's just not my thing.
Track 4:
[39:13] I just like the pickups, man, like that Steve Miller tone, that Buddy Holly, those 57s and those 59s, those pickups are just so tinny and, you know.
I don't know, I like that. Yeah, no, it's amazing.
Track 5:
[39:31] So, when we were just getting into Saskadelphia, right, and I'm listening to Crack My Spine the other day with my headphones on, you know, because I want to hear everything, andyour guitar on that was just like, it kind of just sounded like, it reminded me of the Ramones, like you were just kind of playing some power chords through there.
It just reminded me of like 80s kind of punk rock, you know, and I just, I just loved that about it and it's been such an interesting thing hearing you guys playing guitar because, you know,most bands you got bass and drums kind of linked up as the backbone and you might have a lead guitarist but you might not or a rhythm guitarist but you guys were just like playing guitardoing your thing and it works and I think that's just such a cool rare thing about a band that you guys pulled off.
And then it's been so fun to then go on and listen to your solo stuff and hear your evolution too, because we don't get this opportunity with bands very often in general.
Like how many bands are still around or guys still around? Well, that's so cool to hear.
Track 6:
[40:43] You know, what I would credit that the most, or whom I would credit, is Don Smith, who produced Up to Here and Road Apples, because he handled us, he hard panned us, left andright, Robbie and I.
So listen, I listen to ACDC, and sorry, but Malcolm Young isn't loud enough.
Like, it's like the guitars are like this.
Track 5:
[41:12] It's true.
Track 6:
[41:14] So Don panned us. And so then every producer after that, and our guy, Mark Breakin, who actually helped us produce our only record we did without a producer was Trouble at theHen House.
And Mark Breakin still mixes, you know, he mixed Saskatoon, he's been our sound man and our live sound man for the whole time.
Although he did leave to bigger and better things for a good chunk of 15 years or so, but he's back with us and he pans them too.
So he, so you can hear one in one ear, one in the other. I'm deaf in my right ear, So I have to listen to it twice just to.
You know, hear what Robbie's doing, the odd time I'm interested.
[42:03] But I credit Don because Don did that and he was super cool and we were so, he was unbelievable and we couldn't believe we were working with him.
He'd done Traveling Wilburys and he did everything and he was Mr.
Cool and he was just like, you guys just do your thing.
And this is when we were young, impressionable, you know, we wanted to do our thing, but we figured, you know, people are going to tell us, you know, you should be a bit more countryand people did, you know, a bit more country, maybe or something.
Don was just like, just do your thing. And he panned the guitars.
So basically, he, he, I credit him with my job.
Because people can hear me if they want, you know, if they're taking a closer listen, and like you guys do, it's kind of like all my parts are just naked on one side.
At one point though, I made a list, and it's an ongoing list of songs where I'm in the right speaker if you're looking at it.
I'm always on the left, and Robbie's always on the right.
Except more and more, I'll check it, and I have like a list of about 12 songs where I'm on the right and Robbie's on the left.
My producer decided to switch it.
Track 1:
[43:20] Oh, funny.
Track 6:
[43:23] Which is curious to me. Because when I put on headphones, so I can only hear out of this ear, 100% deaf in this one. Wow.
I always put the left ear, because that's me. Oh, shit.
Track 4:
[43:37] And then you go.
Track 6:
[43:39] And then the odd hit song I'll run into, and it's kind of like, that's not me. That's Robbie.
Track 4:
[43:44] Who's this shitty guitar player?
Track 6:
[43:46] We didn't listen to each other at all, by the way, not at all.
Track 4:
[43:53] It's funny, dude.
Paul, when you guys did Trouble, man, and that was a record, I think Tim and I, I don't know, I'm speaking for Tim here, but for me, that was the record where I was like, it finally openedfor me.
And I got everything prior to that too, but that record was like, okay, this band doesn't give a shit about what anybody thinks, man.
Just gonna do their own thing. And that's where I was like, you guys grew into this just animal that nobody knew existed.
I don't know, man, that was a that was a break. That was the record that JD when JD flew to Malaga for primavera sound last year, he brought a vinyl and this is me still not knowinganything about you guys.
And he brought me trouble at the house. And I was like, Yeah, I do you remember?
Track 1:
[44:48] Do you remember I mailed you trouble at the hen house on CD.
And you're like, I don't have a CD player. I was like, who doesn't have a CD player?
Track 4:
[44:56] We moved here and I and then yeah, because we moved from the state. Anyway. Yeah, yeah.
Track 6:
[45:07] It's it's funny. Just to add something, because I thought of it earlier, very early on this chat, you were saying something, Pete, that I thought of, and I'm like, oh, fuck, I thought ofsomething good to say, and I forgot, but now I remember.
So there was this band, there's this, I don't know that they're a band anymore, they're from Philly, and they're called Marah, M-A-R-A-H.
[45:36] And they're a couple of brothers. And anyway, out of the blue, the day after our last show, the singer writes Robbie a letter.
And he's like, and he describes, the letter makes me cry. me cry like it he describes his life and you know they got signed to, Maybe Steve Earle had a label, someone like that.
Oh, nice. Nashville person. So they had some success, but they just ruined everything all the time. That was just their nature. You have brothers, and any time things started to go well,they would kind of blow it up.
And then he described, he goes on to describe, he was out in the country on a TV at a cabin he doesn't use, but he happened to throw on the TV, and the CBC covered that show live, youknow, so it was live on the air, and he describes, you know, watching the show and what's about to happen, and what was my point?
Well, there's this thing in the doc that Robbie quotes him, like, what's going to happen here?
You know, are they gonna all bands either explode on the way up or on the way down everything?
[47:01] Burn out nothing works out and What are you telling me?
These guys are gonna pull the he compared it to a You know an air balloon, whatever they're called parachute No, like a balloon, you know, oh, yeah hot air balloon what they're all gonnapull it down and and land safely, like win rock and roll or something.
It's just kind of like, anyway, it was just an amazing letter years ago.
And I've always had the intention to kind of reach out to him and say, fuck your letter, man. Cause he, it's way more than that.
Another thing he said is he would try, cause this is quite like this podcast that you're doing JD.
He would, he learned not to play the hip to people, to his friends, to anyone, various girlfriends. He was like, I'd never do it.
If he found a real hip fan, he said, like because they're touring, right, in New York or London or wherever, as soon as he realized it's a real hip fan, they'd be at the back of the bar.
He'd take them to the back of the bar, and they'd have pints, and they'd talk about all things hip.
[48:18] And anyway, so he said, if someone came over to my house, and I trusted them enough to play the hip, And they started talking over the music.
That's it. Christmas lights off. Everyone's going home.
[48:34] He's an amazing writer.
Track 4:
[48:38] It's so true. I said that to JD a couple of weeks ago when I was in California this last time in May.
We were driving to Joshua Tree. And I fucking hate when people put on music and they're like, listen to this band.
You're going to love this band. And it's like, you build it up, right?
I didn't do that. I grabbed my buddy's phone, we're driving down, I don't know, 64 or whatever it is, down in Joshua Tree, 29 Palms, and I just grabbed his phone and I put on Trouble atthe Inn House.
Yeah. And he's like, who the fuck is this?
Track 6:
[49:10] That's how to do it. Yeah.
Track 4:
[49:12] That's all I did. I played a couple tunes and he's like, who's this band?
I was like, oh, it's... And then, you know, cause you don't set the expectations. Yeah.
Track 6:
[49:23] Yeah, no, exactly. That's how to do it. That's the downy way, actually. Did Gord and all his brothers.
You surprise somebody. If you give people warning, it's not the same, you know? Yeah. It's just like, no, no.
Track 1:
[49:38] Expectations.
Track 6:
[49:39] Yeah, and when Gord was sick.
Track 5:
[49:41] It's true, it's true.
Track 6:
[49:42] His brother was looking after him mainly, and I was mainly there to help Pat.
Someone would be, I wanna come over and see Gord, you know, because there was no tour in the future. Like, we all just thought this is it.
And I was like, oh, this guy wants to come by. And Pat's like, well, just don't tell Gord about it.
Tell them to come but we won't tell them about it. It'll just get surprised.
That's how the Downies do it. It's like, oh we're here.
Track 5:
[50:10] That's cool.
Track 1:
[50:15] Paul, I know we said 45 minutes and we're over so I'm sorry for taking more of your time than we should have. No problem.
Track 6:
[50:20] I still got seven minutes before the next one.
Track 1:
[50:26] Oh wow, you're on junket mode, eh?
Track 6:
[50:28] Yeah, three today.
Track 1:
[50:32] Oh wow. Well, any chance we'll see you on the road in the fall?
Or is it just take it as it comes?
Track 6:
[50:43] Take it as it comes, yeah. Sort of trying to stick to festivals, but obviously they start disappearing when the fall comes. So, unknown.
So, I've got two more gigs in August and like one in Windsor-ish, Kingsville, and one in Bath, where our studio is, and those are both in August.
Track 1:
[51:08] It's been great talking to you. So great.
Track 6:
[51:10] Yeah, great talking to you guys. It's nice to meet you too, as well.
Track 4:
[51:13] Nice to meet you, Paul. Thanks for your time, man.
Track 6:
[51:17] Hey, we'll talk again.
Track 5:
[51:18] Yeah.
Track 6:
[51:18] Good luck with everything.
Track 5:
[51:19] For sure.
Track 4:
[51:20] Take care.
Track 5:
[51:20] Thanks.
Track 6:
[51:21] OK. See you guys.
Track 5:
[51:22] All right. Cheers!
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacyS1 - 1h 3m - Aug 7, 2023
