Feb 2: CBC & Canada Fitness

i love people who run for buses. who say yes instead of no. and people who if you call them the night before a radio show, they will A) learn your songs to play with you B) join the musicians union so they can participate and C) carry a Fender Rhodes to the radio station, unassisted. This person is Darryl Lahteenmaa. He is part Filipino. He is bad-ass.

Today we played a few tunes on Definitely Not The Opera. I was interviewed about the subject "fire". I tried to get the producer to feature Colleen Brown (Dead Daisy's newest acquisition) and her song "Fire" but they had already played a song of hers on a show about fighting. Too bad.

We were able to record in London at the tiny CBC studio on Piccadilly Street. I didn't even know it existed! It's next to a cool consignment store, so i picked up a track suit which had just been marked down. Find me a woman who doesn't love a good track suit.

Darryl played Fender Rhodes on "Rico" and "Top Speed". Then he took some snaps.

We also discussed the in-school exercise program from the 80's "Canada Fitness", which involved excruciating tests like the "Flexed Arm Hang" and "High Jump" and resulted in the awarding of badges: Excellence, Gold, Silver, Bronze and the dreaded Participation. Hauling a Fender Rhodes around is like carrying a piano around town. You've got to be committed to do something like that. I give Darryl the Canada Fitness Badge of Excellence for today's fine work. If anyone has a Participation Badge (the badge you get if you're worse than bronze) please write me, and I will send you a prize pack of CDs.

"next to your comrades in the national fitness program / caught in some eternal flexed-arm hang /
droppin' to the mat in a fit of laughter /
showed no patience, tolerance or restraint" - The Tragically Hip, Fireworks

The dreaded flexed-arm hang.

Anyway, the program airs this Saturday at 2pm on CBC Radio One, and on Sirius 137 Saturday at 11am & 10pm Eastern Standard time. And it's always great to talk to Sook-Yin!