Toronto Mike Interview
Toronto Mike is the host of the Toronto Mike’d Podcast. Mike started the podcast in 2012 and it now has well over 600 episodes. CamBrioMusic.com is delighted to present the following interview. It has been condensed for length considerations.
Cam Brio (CB) = Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me. I wait all week for your “Pandemic Fridays” episodes with Stu Stone and Cam Gordon.
Toronto Mike (TM) = I know you’re a superfan because you’re always declaring Stu Stone the winner right when the episode goes online. (laughs)
CB = What’s some of the most fun you’ve had with the musician episodes of Toronto Mike’d?
TM = I love the musician episodes. If you want to talk bizarre fun, that’s Gino Vanelli. He brought his guitar and pre-COVID everyone would sit here at the table with me. I could tell when he wasn’t exactly comfortable, he’d start breaking into song with his guitar. You’ve got to listen to the Gino Vanelli episode, it’s wonderfully bizarre. Another great one recently was Sass Jordan. She came ready to reveal everything and was so brilliant and fun. When some of my favourite Can-Con* musicians drop by like Moe Berg, Chris Murphy, Ron Hawkins, Tyler Stewart, or Hawksley Workman we have a really good time. The whole band Rusty came by because I was such a big fan and it was a dream come true.
CB = Hawksley Workman puts out so much music.
TM = He’s prolific, and I think he’s always trying to separate himself from his early hit, “Striptease.” The problem is that’s the song most people know him for.
CB = Who are some of the most fun people to “kick out the jams” with?
TM = Dave Hodge because he’s a sports media personality but you can tell his wheelhouse is music. Stephen Brunt is another sports media guy who loves his music. I love listening and watching people talk about the music they love.
CB = One episode of Toronto Mike’d I keep coming back to is the “Party for Marty.”
TM = That was something different than I was used to. It was the 10th anniversary of the passing of Martin Streek. I was invited to record live from the Opera House lobby, which meant all of these people from Mae Potts, to Alan Cross, to David Marsden, to Scot Turner, all of these CFNY people stopped by to talk with me before going into the big room. It was three hours with no pauses or edits, just live on the floor.
CB = Was it difficult to have a flow of guests that night with everyone walking around you?
TM = It was tricky, but people would help me out. There’s a woman there named Pina, who used to be “The Inside Edge Chick,” she became a wrangler for a bit. She would scout people for me, and I would ask her to bring them over.
CB = What are some of your earliest concert experiences?
TM = I was the right age for grunge, and I still listen to a lit of early ‘90s stuff. Like any typical listener of 102.1 The Edge, I was going to see Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam. I went to a bunch of Edgefests and Summersault Festivals that Our Lady Peace would organize. As the ‘90s progressed I would catch Weezer and Green Day when I could. A lot of the Edgefests would be interesting because the headliner might be Hole, but you would also catch five or six upcoming Can-Con* bands out of fifteen different acts on a Saturday at Molson Park in Barrie.
CB = Was Molson Park one of your favourite venues?
TM = I really like outdoor concerts more than indoors. In ’98 one of my favourite concerts was at Molson Park. It was for Pearl Jam’s Yield tour. The last time I was up there was The Last Bash in Barrie. I’ve also seen some good gigs at Downsview Park, and you could always save some money by getting the lawn seats at the Molson Amphitheatre/Budweiser Stage.
CB = The venue Rebel is in a pretty terrible location.
TM = Yeah, I remember when it was called Sound Academy and I saw Public Enemy there. That was one of my top five shows of all time.
CB = I love how your show always ends with the song “Rosy and Grey.” Did the Lowest of the Low allow you to use it?
TM = When I first started Toronto Mike’d in 2012, I had a co-host named Rosie and I was going grey. We both love Lowest of the Low and they usually end their concerts with it. I like how the song has a long build up at the beginning that I could talk over on my show. From Episode 1 we decided that would be the closing theme song. Eventually Lawrence and Ron Hawkins from The Low came over and they noticed that my show closed with one of their songs and they were cool about it.
CB = Your Danko Jones episode is really good too.
TM = Yeah, Danko is an interesting guy. I believe he’s more famous in Europe than he is here. He tours Europe like crazy and most people here just know his first big single, “Bounce.”
CB = Who are some local rock acts that should be bigger internationally?
TM = Well, I really only see hip-hop and maybe pop artists, like a Shawn Mendes, being popular right now. There is a young woman who Lowest of the Low introduced me to, and I loved her album so much. Her name’s Syke Wallace. She’s got amazing lyrics and rocks hard but there doesn’t seem to be any room on radio in 2020 for a kick-ass rock singer like her. The mainstream charts are dominated by hip-hop and rap.
CB = Do you have any favourite concert films or documentaries?
TM = I just re-watched The Last Waltz and it’s such a classic. The Joe Strummer one is awesome, I really also like the Joy Division one. I revisited the original Woodstock documentary and it still kicks ass. I watched the Tom Petty one shortly before he passed away. Give me a good music doc and I’m in.
CB = In terms of concerts, I’ve been hearing that a lot of people think that artist meet and greets won’t come back even after we have a COVID vaccine and it is under control.
TM = I don’t know what will come back and what won’t. When I see a movie or a TV show and people and give each other hugs or handshakes at a business meeting, I think, “that’s not happening anymore.” Some practices will definitely disappear.
CB = Have you watched any online quarantine music performances?
TM = Yeah, I have been tuning into Ron Hawkins every Tuesday night on Facebook. But if you remember back in June 2019 Lowest of the Low, Ron and Lawrence from the band, played one of my events. They changed the lyrics in “Rosy and Grey” from “read Henry Miller” to “listen to Toronto Mike,” and “drink some Guinness from a tin,” to “drink some Great Lakes from a tin.” It was my birthday, too!
* Canadian Content
