← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
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- [00:01]
Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk what happens when two brothers from Nova Scotia trade the quiet of small town life for the roar of stadium crowds and the relentless pulse of the road? I'm Buzz Knight and today on the Taking a Walk podcast, we check out the world of Colin And John Angus MacDonald, founding members of the Trues, one of Canada's most electrifying rock bands. From winning a radio contest that changed their lives overnight to crafting gold records and penning anthems that have become the soundtrac to a generation, Colin and John Angus have never taken the easy path. Their journey is one of reinvention, resilience and a stubborn refusal to play it safe. A story written not just in the studio but on the road, and the chaos and camaraderie of life on tour. So join us on this episode as we go beyond the stage lights and into the stories, struggles and triumphs that.
- [00:59]
Lexus Advertiser
Have shaped the truths.
- [01:00]
Buzz Knight
Whether you're a lifelong fan or just discovering their music, get ready for a conversation as honest, dynamic and unpredictable as the band itself.
- [01:10]
Colin MacDonald
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [01:15]
Buzz Knight
This episode of Taking a Walk is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. Whether I'm booking my next vacation or going to a concert, Chase Sapphire Reserve is my gateway to to the world's most captivating destinations. When I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I get eight times points on all the purchases I make through Chase Travel and even access to one of a kind experiences like music festivals and sports events. And that's not even mentioning how the card gets me into the Sapphire Lounge by the club at select airports nationwide. No matter where I'm walking, travel is more rewarding with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Discover more@chase.com SapphireReserve cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank NA member FDIC subject to credit approval Terms apply. This episode is brought to you by 20th Century Studios New film Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere don't miss the movie. Critics are raving as the real deal. An intelligent, deliberate paced journey into the soul of an artist. Scott Cooper, director of the Academy Award winning movie Crazy Heart, brings you the story of the most pivotal chapter in the life of an icon. Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere Only in theaters October 24th. Every music lover has that moment. You hear or read something that stops you in your tracks. A forgotten B side, an offhand comment in an interview. A connection. Nobody else noticed that curiosity. That's where Claude comes in. Cloud is AI for people who don't stop at the surface. It helps you explore the real stories behind the music.
- [02:56]
Lexus Advertiser
Not with quick answers, but by working.
- [02:57]
Buzz Knight
Through the Discovery with you matching your level of curiosity. Try Claude for free at Claude AI.
- [03:05]
Lexus Advertiser
Buzz Lexus believes in the importance of standards. One of my standards. I never want to be late. I always want to show up on time. For Lexis, the standard is simple experience. Amazing. Their benchmarks aren't stats or specs. They're feelings. Exhilaration, joy that sens your car was designed just for you. Machines built to make you feel more human. Because a car that doesn't make you feel something is a car that stops short of amazing experience. Amazing at your Lexus dealer.
- [03:42]
Colin MacDonald
Please welcome aboard the Johnson family.
- [03:45]
Johnson Family Member
The whole fam's here for the Disney cruise. So, you know, we came to play and listen. The adults are gonna have a ball. First we're chilling in the infinity pool, onto massages at Sense's spa, then gliding into Star wars hyperspace lounge for a toast. We're even gonna kick back with Mickey on Disney's private island. That's how we get down. Cause Disney Cruise Line is where we came to play.
- [04:14]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Taking a Walk.
- [04:15]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
All right, John Angus McDonald and Colin McDonald from the Truths. Welcome to Taking a Walk, guys.
- [04:22]
Colin MacDonald
Hey, good to be here, man.
- [04:23]
John Angus MacDonald
Thank you.
- [04:25]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
So, since we call this show Taking a Walk, I do have to ask you the opening question here, which is if you gentlemen could take a walk with someone, living or dead, who would that person be? And maybe where would you take a walk with him?
- [04:41]
Colin MacDonald
My answer is always going to be Bob Dylan, even though I'd be kind of scared of what he might say because he could say something cryptic and twisted like, I hope you don't play music the way you walk or something, and I wouldn't be able to not think about. About that for the rest of my life. And I just take him for a walk around Hamilton, Ontario, and, and just see how many people notice that I'm walking with Bob Dylan.
- [05:05]
John Angus MacDonald
And since my answer was also going to be Bob Dylan, I'm just going to throw it to the. The Canadian Bob Dylan and say Neil Young, because I think he'd be a really cool guy to have a chat with somewhere in a field outside Omimi, his hometown in Ontario, and just, yeah, you know, I mean, what's not to talk about? I'd love to hear what's on his mind at any moment.
- [05:26]
Ryan Seacrest
Yeah.
- [05:26]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Oh, two of my favorites. Thank you so much. We're gonna get into a lot here. We're going to talk about the new music, the Bloody Light, and of course, the Breakdown, which has gone to. To number one as. As we speak. So Excited for you guys. But I do want to ask you first, this band has gone through some different evolution over time. There's been different. Different names and different sort of directions. Can you share the story behind, first of all, the name changes and how you finally settled on the truths?
- [06:04]
Colin MacDonald
Well, as Monty Python fans growing up and still to this day, Monty Python fans, we originally recall One Eyed Trouser Snake from the song from Meaning of Life. And then we became One Eyed Trouser and then we shortened it to Trouser. And we're originally from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. And we decided to leave our small town and move to Ontario to kind of take a shot at making it in the Canadian music industry. And we were about to release an EP in 2002 with four songs on it. We had gotten management by then and a producer, and there was an acid jazz band out of Mississauga, which is just outside of Toronto, Ontario, with the name Trouser. And they sent us a CD cease and desist order. Like, we didn't even have 10 fans and we let alone knowing what a cease and desist order was for using a name. And so it seemed a little bit dramatic to us at the time. But then we had to change our name in 24 hours. And our bass player's mom, our bass player Jack, his mom Gene, called us and said, you know, you call yourselves the Trues because that means the same thing as Trousers and Trouser. And we were like, okay. And we weren't thinking, like, this will be our name for the next 25 years. I mean, when you're young, you think, oh, I hope this lasts another summer. And so we called ourselves the Truths. And then we started getting hit singles. And that's the name.
- [07:23]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
I love that story. I love. I love how things are meant to be. You know that's an example, right?
- [07:30]
Colin MacDonald
Yeah.
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Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
So I know a little bit about Nova Scotia. And what I know about Nova Scotia is I had a fourth grade teacher by the name of Lilla Sterling, and she was most known for writing a book called Pipe Organ in the Parlor. But so I learned a little bit about Nova Scotia through her and through her writing. Tell me more about Nova Scotia and how it shaped your musical identity and approach.
- [08:04]
John Angus MacDonald
Well, it's. It's not a big place, you know, it's got. I think it's got about a million people in it now. So it had less than that when we were growing up in the 80s. And we're like many generations into being. Nova Scotians like our grandparents and their parents, and their parents were all Nova Scotians. And the music culturally is very influenced by, like, trad music, like traditional Celtic jig and reel fiddle music, fiddle and piano, fiddle and guitar, tim whistle and bagpipes. That was the sort of music of the culture. But I. And we were rock kids, we liked rock and roll. But I think that the thing that seeped in was the very communal element of music down there, where music was meant to be enjoyed in the kitchen or in the living room in a circle. Nobody's performing and being. And nobody's the audience. It's all one in the same. And, you know, so people would pass the guitar to their right and the fiddle would get passed to their right, and the tim whistle would get passed, and then somebody would be sitting at the piano and somebody would scooch them out of the way. And it was a very communal experience, music on the East Coast. And so I think we took some of that forward with us. And also our grandmother was like a classically trained concert pianist, also played that Celtic style of piano. So music was always in our house and in our home. And my dad was an amateur kind of folk artist and. Or folk musician. He aimed to be that in his youth. And so music was just always in us and around us. And I think Nova Scotia was a big part of that.
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Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
So was there ever a plan B for you guys or was this always plan A and no plan B?
- [09:46]
Colin MacDonald
Always. It was. It was always plan A. We, we. When we started playing and like, we grew up, we started out in a very small town called Antigonish, which is our. Where we were born. And even though we. Chanangas and I moved away a bunch when we were younger, we kind of came back there in the. In the mid-90s, and we started the band and kind of got instantly popular amongst the kids in town. Like, we could sell out bars when we weren't even old enough to be in the bars. We have to get permission slips and have our parents come in. So it was a tremendous buzz for us, like, right away to be this cover band. We were all young and all the kids were trying to sneak into the barn. Even the adults would come in because we were playing, like, kind of classic rock covers. So we always kind of felt like, oh, we're in a successful band right out of the gates, because our. Because everybody in town was coming to see us. So I think when that started to hit us, we were like, we're doing this. We got to keep doing this. So I Think it was always Plan A.
- [10:46]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
And there had to have been a first concert of some type that truly impacted you, whether it be from somebody that was, you know, one of your neighbors playing or whether it was a national act. Can you tell us about that?
- [11:03]
Colin MacDonald
It was the. For, I think for me, probably for Janangus too. We went to see the tragically hip, you know, Canada's greatest band and one of the greatest bands in the world. And we saw them on their 1998 Phantom Power tour at the Halifax arena, which was called. What was it called back then?
- [11:19]
John Angus MacDonald
Metro Center.
- [11:20]
Colin MacDonald
Metro center, it used to be called. Now it's called like a Scotiabank thing. But we went to see that show and they came out and they were mind blowingly incredible. And I was just like, this is. This is it. And, and the thing is, because we're in like a rural part of Canada, Antigonish is very small. It's like a two hour drive to the city, which is Halifax. And, and you. So we didn't get a lot of big national acts or international acts coming around. We just didn't. But going to see the hip because they would always come to the east coast on every album tour, I mean, that had a really big impact on us. We were just like, this is. They're just extraordinary and they played a key role in.
- [11:59]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Later in your. In your career in terms of sort of, you know, mentoring and helping you through things, right?
- [12:07]
Colin MacDonald
Very much so. I mean, we always looked up to them. We loved their approach, we loved their ethos, loved their music, loved their. They were a great live band. They were road warriors and they wrote great songs. They didn't seem to be too, you know, like egotistical and you know, it was, I hate to say, like very Canadian, but kind of very Canadian in that way. Like, be really good, you know, don't be too much of a jackass. Do your show be great. And, and. And then later on we ended up, because we started having success of our own and we ended up on some bills with them and then we ended up getting a record produced by their bass player Gordon Sinclair, who's still a really good friend to the band and ended up doing a bunch more shows with them and becoming really close. And they were always like these really, really, really cool older brothers that were always going to be better than us, but we just loved them and respected them so much that we were always like, they were just a great. Well, we got to keep aiming higher to even just try to catch up with these guys. And they were always that kind of. That North Star for us.
- [13:10]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
And have you guys in turn paid it forward and returned that to some folks that you've been mentoring?
- [13:18]
Colin MacDonald
Well, especially John Ringus. You want to take that?
- [13:21]
John Angus MacDonald
I think so, yeah. Like, I don't know if you've heard of a band called the Glorious Suns, but when I. When I first started branching out and producing other artists, they were pretty much the second artist, a second band that I sort of took a stab at producing. And they went on to have tremendous success even with some of the stuff that I. That I had worked on. And they were really green when I met them. I said, like, you know, I'm interested in producing you. Like, that sounds great. What's a producer? And I was like, you guys could really use a manager. Like, what do managers do? So they're really still quite green when I met them. But they had great songs and they had a great work ethic and they had a great spirit about them. And so we did a couple of records together and took them out on tour, and then they very quickly were just off to the races and having, you know, this amazing career of their own, so. And there's been many, many other examples, you know, too. Like, that's sort of the biggest one. But we've called both Colin and I've worked with a lot of artists outside of our band, and you just try to, you know, whether it be by trying to write them the best song you think they need or to try to produce a good recording for them or just give them, you know, decent advice. You know, it's sort of something you're.
- [14:29]
Colin MacDonald
We're always sort of mindful of 100, which is.
- [14:33]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Which is a perfect transition because the new album, the Bloody Light, was produced by Brad and Jay from the Glorious Suns. Well, talk about what they brought to the process and how they pushed you guys creatively.
- [14:48]
John Angus MacDonald
They're just getting. They just get. They're getting back at me for all those. All that. All that bullying back in the day, returning the favor.
- [14:55]
Colin MacDonald
They brought excitement and they brought us back to a place. It's almost like it felt like our first record again. And they grew up fans of the band, you know, and obviously they have a really. A long, illustrious history with John Angus. And it was an interesting power dynamic because John Angus was always their mentor producer and now they're the guys in charge. And they definitely pushed us to come up with our best material. I know, I know. Leading up to this record, it was a long time. We went through a couple of different iterations. Of producers and songwriting arrangements. And it was just, it took, it was just this record took a long time and I. And it all started to where we are now. It started with a conversation between John Angus and Brett in Toronto in 2023. Brett had heard all of our demos and, and Brett's a very honest, earnest guy and he just thought, you know, we weren't hitting it, it wasn't there yet. And he just asked John Angus almost like, almost kind of sheepishly if like, would you mind if I produce just one true song? And we were at a point where I, you know, we were like, yeah, let's, let's do it. Let's just see what happens. And it was. The first song we did was the song the Bloody Light. And we were all like, okay, this is it. We know it, you know it. Let's, let's keep going. And then it would back led to the rest of the record.
- [16:16]
John Angus MacDonald
They brought a real enthusiasm to it and again they, they have experienced our band from the outside looking in. Like we, they had been to our shows before they knew us, they had been to our shows as fans and then we became fast friends, close friends, collaborators and so. But they, I think they still brought that like outside looking in opinion of, of the band. Like, this is what I want to hear when you guys take the stage. You know, that was like the, that real valuable viewpoint.
- [16:46]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
I think it's almost like they, that classic. They call it the beginner's mindset. Having the fresh start approach with someone's view, which you guys seem to take that quite a bit. You'd like to shake it up and, and, and try different, different things. So is there a typical songwriting process that you have and specifically for the new music did? What was the songwriting process that you used?
- [17:16]
Colin MacDonald
It's always been the same. It's like it starts with little bits and pieces of tunes and like I, I'm pretty much compulsive in my writing habits. I'll write every day and oftentimes it'll be something that I come up with, something that might be. It's never finished. I always kind of leave it open ended. I leave it because I know that when I bring it to John Angus and Jack, it is going to get better. And then when we bring it to a producer plus that it's going to get better. I kind of leave it open. And that's always kind of been the way and we have all because we've been doing it so long and I think the only reason we want to keep doing it is to keep it fresh and exciting for us. Otherwise it's like we don't want to just be touring around as some band that we want to keep it like vital for us. And I think that's always been the priority. So when we get together with a.
- [18:05]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Really.
- [18:07]
Colin MacDonald
Fruitful partnership, and that's kind of happened on every one of our records, we kind of just let we bring in our little bits and pieces and then let that thing take over and it becomes very cooperative and, and everybody's kind of throwing in and then it leads to, in, in our case, the best version of of these songs.
- [18:25]
Podcast Host/Announcer
We'll be right back with more of the Taking a Walk Podcast.
- [18:30]
Buzz Knight
This episode of Taking a Walk is brought to you by Chase Sapphire Reserve. Whether I'm booking my next vacation or going to a concert, Chase Sapphire Reserve is my gateway to the world's most captivating destinations.
- [18:45]
Chase Sapphire Reserve Advertiser
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- [19:21]
Buzz Knight
Approval terms apply Every music story has layers most people never discover. The session musician who created that signature lick, the studio accident that became a classic sound, the cultural moment that made a song possible. That's when you need Claude AI. Built for minds that can't stop at the first answer. Comb through interviews, biographies, recording session notes, Claude analyzes up to 200 pages instantly and can reveal connections across decades of music history. Need to verify claims about music legends? Claude searches the web and cross references sources with citations you can check, but here's what's different. Claude doesn't just give you quick facts. It works through the problem with you, step by step. It's built for people who know that understanding music means understanding the culture, technology and human stories behind the sounds. Whether you're researching your favorite artist, exploring genre evolution or or discovering untold music history, Claude matches your curiosity about what really happened. See why the world's best problem solvers choose Claude as their thinking partner and try for free at Claude AI buzz. This episode is brought to you by 20th Century Studios New Film Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere don't miss the movie critics are raving is the real deal. An intelligent, deliberate paced journey into the soul of an artist. Scott Cooper, director of the Academy Award win movie Crazy Hard, brings you the story of the most pivotal chapter in the life of an icon. Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere only in Theater is October 24th.
- [21:06]
Lexus Advertiser
Lexus believes in the importance of standards. One of my standards I never want to be late. I always want to show up on time. For Lexus, the standard is simple Experience. Amazing. Their benchmarks aren't stats or specs, they're feelings. Exhilaration, joy that sens your car was designed just for you. Machines built to make you feel more human. Because a car that doesn't make you feel something is a car that stops short of amazing experience. Amazing at your Lexus dealer.
- [21:41]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [22:14]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.
- [22:17]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
So take a walk further behind the scenes of this new music. I'm going to ask about one song in particular that I really absolutely like just to start off the one Don't Get Lost in the Dark.
- [22:31]
Colin MacDonald
Oh yeah, yeah, that's cool. That was one that I just had when I was working in, sitting on my couch one night and just strumming. I had the lyric, you're off the beaten path. And I had don't get lost in the dark. And I had a couple of other ones and we knew it was good and we got together and started demoing it. And it was like kind of a slow ballady halftime thing and it was good and you know, it wasn't like jumping out of the speakers and then the glorious suns guys. I mean we must have sent jay and Brett 100 songs demos and that was one of the songs. I remember Jay, Brett's brother said, I really like that but I think it need I don't idea it was to bring it up to full time but that was definitely something that happened in the, in the pre production stage. And then when we did that like oh this is this rules now. Now this is good. You know. And it was just about putting into full time. And then I remember Brett was like, I Feel like I know what you're talking about, but I want to know more of what you're talking about. And that's. It definitely made the lyrics just closer to the bone than, than they were a little bit further away. And then we brought them closer and closer, and that's just up to, like, changing. Let me keep you close to what you've known, like, more conversational, more like you're talking right to the person. And, and yeah, it's one of my favorite songs. He just played it the other night at one of our shows and, and I just, I really enjoy it. Anything you want to add, Janice?
- [24:04]
John Angus MacDonald
No, I, I, I'm, I like that song a lot. It's, it's, it's a different kind of song for us. It's got unique production quality, and it's a great live song. And any song with that, you know, BPM is, is a good live song. And yeah, I'm glad it made the metamorphosis that it did, because I think it would have ended up on a cutting room floor otherwise, because it was just another pretty song. And the, the Suns guys did a few key things to really make it pop.
- [24:34]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Do you tend to, when you're taking these songs out before an album release, sort of feel like, like it's a little bit of a focus group to see what stuff is gaining, you know.
- [24:47]
Colin MacDonald
Immediate, merciless focus group. So, like, you know, you watch those, those guys making TV shows and movies, and then they have to watch people watch the movie. Like, I don't get this. I don't get that. We, we don't really do that. We just go out and play it live, and that's when you know the audience knows everything. They're not always right, but they know everything. And fortunately, with these new, these new songs, like the four we've released, have been staples in the set. So we're like, thank you. But the audience will let you know pretty quick. And we've definitely learned that over years. I remember, like, our second record, which was a big success and did really well, but there was a lot of jams that didn't translate quite as well live. And I remember feeling that on our second record. I'm like, oh, so this is what happens. They weren't. And then we just had to, like, kind of cut some out, keep some in, rearrange things. It's, it's, it can't be precious. You know, it's like, it and it. And it's happening in front of a lot of people. It's Going down. And I don't like seeing people walk to the bar, so I want to keep them. You know what I mean? So, yeah, but we've gotten good at that. And it's real. And sometimes they're not always right. Like, I was just reading this thing on Led Zeppelin. Like, the first time they played Stairway to Heaven, the people were like, man, whatever. Like, Stairway to Heaven. Led Zeppelin. They just written Stairway to Heaven and they played it for a crowd, and people were a little bit like, play a whole lot of love, you know? So, like, I mean, it doesn't mean you should stop making your great art or your art, whatever it is. It just. It's. It just can be very. It's. It's always like the. The test. You go and play it in front of people, and that's the focus group. And there it is.
- [26:28]
John Angus MacDonald
More. You know, my wife Jenny has been listening to our albums before they've come out since our third record, and she. So I'll always play it for her. And she's.
- [26:39]
Ryan Seacrest
She.
- [26:39]
John Angus MacDonald
She's not critical. She'll just be like, that's my favorite. She'll always point out to one or two that. And she said, those are my favorites. And. And that's always interesting. And now, now, more and more, it's my kids, you know, who, like, they'll be listening and like, oh, this is your new music, dad. Cool. I like that one. I don't like this one. I like that one. You know, that kind of thing. So it's kind of funny in that, like, we are so involved in the process, have all these nuanced opinions of, well, should the bridge have been that long? And maybe this is in the wrong key and it's slightly too fast. And all these nuanced opinions, people are just, I like it or I don't like it. You know, that's like. That's about as much as they think about it. And it's kind of.
- [27:14]
Colin MacDonald
We're in the business of this is awesome or this sucks.
- [27:21]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Well, tell us about the other songs that are from the new album that are being well received.
- [27:27]
Colin MacDonald
I mean, the Breakdown's our first time atop the rock charts in quite a number of years. So we're very happy with that since we wrote it and recorded it with the Glorious Suns two years ago. So that's been in our set ever since because that song is amazing and everybody just absolutely loves it. And Downtown Again, which I'm kind of surprised because it's kind of a little bit of. A little bit of a bop. And it's. And people are really resonating with it. I just. In the live setting. I know that. And my girlfriend, like, loves that song so much, but I had to get her to stop playing it because I'm like. She was playing it like, 15 times a day, and I was like, carolina's her name. I mean, I love that you love this, but I can't listen to the truths all day while I'm also on tour with the truths. You know what I mean? So. So it was one of those things. But, you know, in our live sets, there's been no people walking to the bar during the new, maybe unfamiliar song. So I'll take that as a sign of a good sign.
- [28:22]
John Angus MacDonald
There's also the next one to be released is. Is called Manifest. It's coming next month. And that's. We've also live tested that quite a few times. And it's. It goes down well.
- [28:31]
Colin MacDonald
Yeah.
- [28:33]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Oh, I love. I love that one as well. I love everything that I've heard. It's so infectious, and it makes me want to see you guys live.
- [28:41]
Colin MacDonald
Are you down in Boston?
- [28:42]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
I'm in the Boston area, yep.
- [28:43]
Colin MacDonald
Well, we'll have to let you know next time we're in Boston.
- [28:46]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
I'd love it.
- [28:47]
Buzz Knight
I'd.
- [28:47]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Absolutely. I'd love it. And I love the fact that you guys kind of twist between, you know, acoustic and you got the. You know, the. The rock side. I mean, how it's just. Is so diverse. But I want to. I want to close going back a bit to the beginning of the interview. So if you guys were to cover a Bob Dylan song, what song would you cover and why?
- [29:13]
Colin MacDonald
I. Joker Man. I. We always cover Joker Man. That's my personal favorite Bob Dylan song. Even though he's been on record as to say he doesn't like that song because it took him too long to write it. And he's wrong. It's the best song. License to Kill, Infidel's record. I'd love to do Visions of Johanna, but that would be, like, impossible. What do you mean? Yeah, I mean, I could. I could sit here forever and.
- [29:33]
John Angus MacDonald
I mean, if I'm going to his classic period, it's almost too many to, like, approximately Queen Jane, anything like that.
- [29:40]
Colin MacDonald
I mean, if we could make it as a Bob Dylan tribute band, I would just do that. And I also. When we saw. We saw him in Buffalo two years ago or last year with Willie Nelson.
- [29:48]
John Angus MacDonald
Yeah.
- [29:49]
Colin MacDonald
If I can get paid to just follow him around on tour and watch his shows now, I just do that.
- [29:53]
John Angus MacDonald
I mean, like, there's also. I mean, Buzz, I'm gonna talk your ear off now. But there's like, if you see her, say hello or you're gonna make me lonesome when you go. Or, you know what, Sugar baby Off. Love and Theft, or even Murder Most Foul, which was, like, his last big single. It's like a beautiful song.
- [30:09]
Colin MacDonald
I mean, I do, I do, I do. No Time, no Time to Think from Street Legal, like, those songs, like, there's every period. He's always genius.
- [30:19]
John Angus MacDonald
You're. You're from Boston. So what might explain our sound is we're like Dylan nuts on the one hand, and we love Aerosmith, so. Yeah, maybe that explains our band.
- [30:32]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Well, I think there's got to be some affection that you guys have towards the band as well, I have to think.
- [30:39]
John Angus MacDonald
Oh, absolutely.
- [30:40]
Colin MacDonald
I mean, we actually got to record with the late, great Garth Hudson. We did a song on a tribute record for. So Garth put together a tribute record for the band with him playing with every band. And it's. He's.
- [30:53]
John Angus MacDonald
Neil Young is on that record.
- [30:55]
Colin MacDonald
Neil Young, too. But the funny thing is, so we were in Tokyo, Japan, doing a band cover for the delegates at the Canadian embassy in Japan. And we were doing the wait, because that's like kind of a Canadian national anthem song, you know? And G. Hudson's manager was there, and he filmed us, and he goes, I want this band on my upcoming Garth Hudson Presents the Songs of the Band record. And we're like, great. He's going to get us to do the wait. He's like, nope, because you were in Japan. I want you guys to do our song, Move to Japan. And we're like, okay, whatever you say, whatever you want, we'll do it. But it wasn't exactly the classic period of the banquet, you know what I mean? It was fun.
- [31:34]
John Angus MacDonald
It was a fun recording.
- [31:35]
Colin MacDonald
It was super fun. But it wasn't like chest fever. I still love it. I'm still just happy to be there. I would have just brought coffee for those sessions. I'm fine. But we ended up doing Move to Japan because Garth had it in his mind. I saw this band performing in Japan, therefore they're doing this song.
- [31:52]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Oh, that's wonderful. My God. I'm going to throw a plug for the new Richard Manuel biography written by Stephen T. Lewis, which is fabulous. You'll. You'll.
- [32:04]
Colin MacDonald
Is that out now?
- [32:05]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
It's out, and it's terrific. It is intensely researched, and you'll love. You'll love it to death. You really will.
- [32:13]
Colin MacDonald
I am. I am going to get that like now.
- [32:15]
Buzz Knight (Interviewer)
Yeah, you will love it. But I love talking to you guys. It's. It's a blast. Congratulations on the new music. Colin, John Angus, It's a pleasure having you on. See the truths, listen to the truths, Love the truths. Thank you guys for being on.
- [32:30]
John Angus MacDonald
Thanks Buzz. Really appreciate your time man.
- [32:32]
Colin MacDonald
Thanks Buzz. Take care.
- [32:35]
Podcast Host/Announcer
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts.
- [32:52]
Buzz Knight
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- [34:40]
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- [35:17]
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- [35:47]
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- [36:12]
Colin MacDonald
Bring the Boom XBoom this is an iHeart podcast.