Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe

“When things go wrong, when, it is seldom the result of some big thing, it is always a chain of simple things, almost all of them avoidable.”

What makes a good performer? What makes a great performance? These are the questions we’re exploring on the pod this week, with a backstory about Stuart McLean and a recording of a story that perfectly illustrates the point.

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This week we’re spending the entire episode on beautiful Manitoulin Island. We have Stuart’s opening essay from our wonderful visit back in 2010, plus a story exchange and a very special Vinyl Café story.  

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“Coming into Dave and Morley’s house is a bit of a challenge. You have to really want to get in.”

There’s how things look…. And how things actually are! Today on the pod, two stories about looking good.

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“Just one day, she wanted one of them to come home and say ‘Gee, lunch was good.’”

The alarm clocks are set, the pencils are sharpened, the backpack is loaded. It’s September! We’re back to school and back with a brand new season of Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe and two hilarious Stuart McLean stories about school days.

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Whether you've been on the road, by the lake or curled up with a good book, we hope you have enjoyed your summer. We are so looking forward to welcoming you back to the Vinyl Cafe. We have more of your favourite stories coming up, we'll hear about travels coast to coast and we'll even celebrate the Arthur Awards. Cozy up with a pumpkin spice latte and join us for season 8 starting Friday September 11th. 

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"Thank God, he thought, help has arrived.”

Dave tries to be helpful by offering to take Mary Turlington’s car to the car wash — but things don’t go exactly as planned. No stranger to car wash shenanigans herself, Jess fesses up about the inspiration for that story idea. In the second story, Dave plays an unanticipated starring role in Murphy’s Bar Mitzvah.

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"Dave said: 'You're thinking about dancing, aren't you?'"

We’re looking towards summer on today’s episode. We have a script Stuart wrote about a magical evening spent in pursuit of fireflies. And a story of summer evenings in Dave and Morley’s neighbourhood.

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Today we bring you an episode from our friends at the Apostrophe Podcast Network – one of the most-loved shows from the podcast ‘We Regret to Inform You.’

If you’re new to the pod, it’s a series that tells the inspiring stories of actors, athletes and even astronauts, who overcame major rejection on their journeys to the stars. This episode, however, is a little different. It's about an object. Specifically, the goalie mask.

Before goalie masks were widely accepted, one hall of fame goalie endured over 400 stitches to the head and neck over the course of his career. 

Some of the early objections to goalie masks included:

“Masks make goalies complacent.”

“Masks eliminate fear in goalies – the fear that drives them to play well.”

“A real man wouldn’t hide his face from his opponents.”

We hope you enjoy "Rejecting the Goalie Mask." 

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“He’s not well, Stuart.”

We’re going way back today with two pieces from pre-Vinyl Cafe days! One is a favourite you’ve been requesting, back from Stuart McLean’s regular appearances on Peter Gzowski’s Morningside. (Spoiler alert: You’ll see what happens when two presenters get the giggles on live radio.)

Excerpt from Morningside reproduced by permission of CBC Licensing.

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“Dave chose Happy Hour: Three honey-mint-refresh-colonic cocktails.”

The Yoga Retreat: a place of well-being, calm and reflection. Usually. But not always; or not for Dave and Stephanie, at least. This week, Stuart McLean tells two hilarious stories about Dave’s good intentions gone awry. And Jess shares some road stories, including a memorable attempt to get the entire Vinyl Cafe crew up to the remote but spectacular Powell River, British Columbia.

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