Johnny Hart & Jack Caprio

I met Johnny Hart and Jack Caprio when they were getting their Xmas Special animated in Toronto in 1980. They stayed at the Windsor Arms. We did a lot of drinking and cavorting. I organized a wrap party for them at the hotel and found some pretty girls to show them around. Johnny was a bit of a religious nutter underneath it all and we had a lot of religious arguments. They were funny and interesting and I always loved their humour. I take it they didn't get out much and had a blast hanging out with me.
I was at the Club 22 at the Windsor Arms. With my then buddy Michael Ironside. Michael and I were trying to break our record of drinking about 80 maragaritas. When Johnny Hart and Jack Caprio the cartoonists showed up and we were really throwing the drinks back and having a great time. When I saw Catherine O'Hara waving at me. She had just came from the Courtyard Cafe where she had treated her parents to dinner. She waved me over and I gave her a peck and she says Gary I want you to meet my mother and father. 'Really How nice"I said trying to be polite and bent over with a little bow and extended my hand when: from out of nowhere Ironside bit my ass really hard. I don't know how he did it, but I screamed and jumped and kicked. He hung on like a pit bull. I writhed around hit him while the stunned O'Haras and Jack and Johnny wondered what was going on. I finally shook him od. Everyone else was laughing but I was limping. Ironside could be a real crazy asshole sometimes.finally I shake him off and everything settles down but I am sure Catherine's parents wondered what kind of nutty friends she had

Leonard Cohen

Leonard and I were good friends for too short a time in the late seventies.
We were mutual friends of Lesley McDonnell. 
We mostly hung out at the Club 22 at the Windsor Arms in Toronto and certainly had some good times and great conversations.
EG: there was an Art Opening of an Artist that did paintings of all of his songs. he insisted that I go with him but I begged off as I was having the first visit with my daughter in 5 years. leonard said to bring her. So I bring seven year old Sarah and her sister 4 year old Shaleen and they pretty well destroyed the place. Somewhere there is a video of Leonard with a kid under each arm and having a great time.

I had to move back to Uxbridge for a while to look after some family problems and I just lost touch. Never thought to get a phone number.

Ronnie Hawkins

In 1961 Ginni & Ronnie Hawkins did a show at the Palace in Hamilton fronting Robby Lane & the Disciples. Before the show started Hawkins passed out on a heap of cardboard and never did make it on stage, but he did wake up after the show & seeing Ginni said "...hey Momma! Some of us fixin' to have a party down t' the MOtel. Y'all want to join us?" Ginni, a hard drinking, hard smoking, tough little 16 year old said "No way! I don't want to be just another number in your 'little black book'" Hawkins, completely unfazed of course, came back with, "Sheeit Mama! I aint got no 'little black book'. I just fuck 'em and forget about 'em!", and lurched off into the night.

Edward Palmer

• Hi Gary Thanks for that tip about Yonge St stories - we'll catch that for sure!

Dame Vera Lynn

I met Vera Lynn at the start of a parade in Toronto. the parade was forming at the legislature grounds on University Ave. I was tooling around on my bicycle and was chatting with some people I knew in the parade. (Elwy Yost for one) When a bus with an American marching band arrived late. This held up the parade and I peddled slowly on down by the waiting parade. And There was Vera Lynn sitting alone in the back of a huge old Bentley limo convertible. She asked me if I knew why the parade hadn't started so I told her why and she just started chatting asking questions about Toronto etc. and we chatted for about 10 minutes until the parade started. She was very natural gracious and open and I was thrilled to meet her.

Kid Bastien

Started watching Treme HBO series about a New Orleans Neighbourhood.

Brings back memories of when I managed Kid Bastien. Which was an experience in itself. I tried to make the band full time and famous and it took me a year to realize Kid was happy with part time an infamous.

I started off going to New Orleans with the band for the 1972 Jazz Festival. We hung out at Johny White's Bar and drank Dixie beer which we called Treefrog. I got to meet Jazz greats like Louis Nelson and band leader Kid Thomas. The week before we got there Kid' Thomas's Bass Player died on stage. Kid said we turned to hear the bass solo and he was dead. Kid Bastien knew everybody and we played gigs at Heritage Hall. Hotel rooms were at a premium and I had 2 buddies traveling with me Gord Jones and Krash Radcliff. We ended up with an Attic room in an old slave quarters with one bed and we slept in shifts. Which wasn't a real problem since New Orleans swung 24 hours a day. I got to meet Dejean's Olympia Band which was much like the band in Treme. We partied and played with them and later that year they all came to Toronto where we got them a good paying gig and partied and played some more. Kid played 2 times at the Jazz Festival and I must sadly admit I never made it to either performance. new Orleans was like that.

With Kid Thomas at Heritage Hall New Orleans
photo by Krash

Kid Bastien also introduced me to Fats Domino. We sat in the dressing room at the el Macombo. It seems Fats uncle had taught Kid to play the banjo and had lived with him for a while. As Kid ran down the names. Fats turned to me and said wow man he knows more about my family than I do. (Click the title to see video)



False but funny as cliff struggled to learn the cornet Donny Walsh meanly said That Kid Bastien was the only horn player he knew that only played with one lip. mean but funny

The Electro-Magnetic Spectrum

Also known as the Silicone Contol and The Solid State Waste removal Company Orchestra and chorus.
The band was created one very late stoned night at Ziggy Blazer's studio. A multi media band consisting of Bart Schoales, Jerry Santbergen, Moses (Edward Smith) and Tom Seniw. The first rule was that you must never have played a musical instrument. Tom admitted he had trombone lessons and was kicked out of the band and replaced by me. The band consisted of 4 2 track tape recorders, 2 or 3 film projectors a couple of slide projectors, and a wind machine and lots of incense.
We had one paying gig. We got $2000.00 to play at McMaster University and were written up in Arts Canada.

Craig Russell

I met Craig Russell in the subway one night. He was on his way to his hit show at the Royal York.
Craig was entertaining about 6 people. He was sitting beside a wino and a small group had gathered around him and he had them in stitches. I stood and watched for awhile and when I got an opening I held out my hand. "Hi Craig I always wanted to meet you. I am a friend of your friend Sandy's." " oh Sandy, How is she? he pushed against the wino slightly to make room for me to sit down.We talked about Sandy for a couple of minutes and suddenly he stopped sniffing."What is that horrible smell?"he gasped. "I am afraid it is your friend." I said nodding to the wino. "Shit!" he said "there goes the promise I made to myself to fuck anybody that asked me."
Links



Craig Russell (from glbtq)