In this special episode, you'll hear from all the current members of this beloved Canadian roots rock ensemble. In order of appearance, Andy Maize, Jessy Bell Smith, Noel Webb, Josh Finlayson, Derrick Brady, Aaron Comeau and Michael Johnston offer thoughts, highlights, and fond remembrances of the annual Skydiggers Christmas Show - a much-celebrated seasonal highlight in Toronto, Ontario.

The tradition continues! - the next Skydiggers' Christmas show is Saturday, Dec 21, 2024 at The Danforth Music Hall. Tickets available here.

This episode was recorded in October, 2024 at The Tragically Hip's Bathouse Studio, during the Skydiggers' recording session for their next studio album.

Songs used in this episode:
“Good King Wenceslas” (Trad.) - Skydiggers, Angels (2014)
“Barbara Allan” (Trad.) - A Christmas Carol, 1951
“Christmas in Prison” (John Prine) - Skydiggers, Angels (2014)
“The Holly and the Ivy” (Trad.) - Skydiggers, Angels (2014)
“2000 Miles” (Chrissie Hynde) - Skydiggers, Angels (2014)
“Remember Me” (Finlayson/Maize) - Skydiggers, Angels (2014)
“Church Bells Ringing (Christmas in the City)” (Charlie Angus) - Skydiggers, Angels (2014)
“Fairytale of New York” (Finer/MacGowan) - performed by Jim Cuddy and Skydiggers at the Skydiggers’ Xmas show (Danforth Music Hall, 2023). Filmed and posted on Youtube by ShakyShorty.
“Start Again” (Norman Blake) - Teenage Fanclub (Songs from Northern Britain, 1997)

And if you're looking for more seasonal fun, check out Andy Maize's priceless "Santa Claus Parade" story in Episode 11!

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Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

A continuation of Episode 18 with Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo, this is a special live-off-the-floor recording session of Jim's song "Anywhere Else But Home" from his new solo album All The World Fades Away.

Recorded by Tim Vesely at Blue Rodeo's Woodshed Studio.

The band:
Jim Cuddy: acoustic guitar, vocals
Andy Maize: vocals
Anne Lindsay: fiddle
Jane Gowan: accordion
Tim Vesely: bass

more info:
jimcuddy.com
bluerodeo.com
anne-lindsay.com
skydiggers.com
thevioletarchers.com

A co-production by Music Buddy and Employee of the Myth

Stream, download, and follow Skydiggers

Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

"Blue Rodeo...were at the vanguard of creating a national movement of roots music...that really captured peoples' imaginations in the late 80s early 90s, and continues to this day" — Andy Maize

"The thing about community is that there are a lot of opportunities to give...[The] Christmas show from Skydiggers always feels like a gift... like [they're] doing this as an offering...Their band has never really let me down. I listen to every record and I think 'good on ya boys, you did again'. That show is like that too - one thing after another that's given to the audience, and it's not about their career, it's about this offering at a very important time of year"— Jim Cuddy

Loyalty, gratitude, and a belief in living fully: These are some of the things that motivate and inspire musician, singer, and songwriter Jim Cuddy. His new album All The World Fades Away (June, 2024) is—in his words—a "fictionalized memoir". It's a collection of personal and poignant songs infused with appreciation of life, love, family, and friendship.

Please enjoy this special conversation with guest Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo. Featuring Andy Maize, Jane Gowan, Joel Stewart, and Tim Vesely.

This episode is a co-production between Music Buddy and Employee of the Myth.

Music samples in this episode:
"Learn to Live Alone" - Jim Cuddy (All The World Fades Away, 2024)
"Second Son" - Jim Cuddy (All In Time, 1998)
"Everyday Angels" - Jim Cuddy (All The World Fades Away, 2024)
"Will I Be Waiting" - Jim Cuddy (The Light That Guides You Home, 2006)
"Arizona Dust" - Jim Cuddy (The Things We Left Behind, 2009)
"Bad Timing" - Blue Rodeo (Five Days in July, 1993)
"Torn" - Jim Cuddy (All The World Fades Away, 2024)

More about Jim Cuddy at jimcuddy.com
More about Blue Rodeo at bluerodeo.com

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Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

"At the end of the day, that's all there is. It's friends and community, or else you're on a desert island all by yourself" — Ron Macey

"Ronny came down [to The Spadina Hotel] to check us out. We did our set, and after, I said to Josh, "I don't give a sh•t how he plays, he looks so fantastic, he's in the band". — Andy Maize

In the days of classified ads and land lines, a young and dashing Ron Macey put a callout in the back of NOW magazine, looking for a band that might need an "average bass player" (his words, not ours). Andy saw the ad, and Josh dialled the number. Before long, Ron became Skydiggers' first bassist. In doing so, he found good friends, a musical family, and a path he'd follow for many years—and several albums—to come.

Recorded on location, mid-tour, in Vancouver, B.C. Please enjoy a special conversation with Ron Macey a.k.a. "Ronny von Johnny" a.k.a. "The West Coast Millionaire". It's sweet, it's salty, it's Skydiggers. 

Songs used in this episode:

• "Je t'aime toujours, mon amour" - Skydiggers (Bide Your Time, 2023)
• "My City is Gone" - Skydiggers (Hide Your Light, 2023)
• "I Am A Pilgrim" - Skydiggers (Live at The Spadina Hotel, 1988)
• "Maybe It's Just Not Good Enough - Skydiggers (Skydiggers, 1990)
• "Desmond's Hip City" - Skydiggers (Desmond's Hip City, 1997)
• "Dear Henry" - Skydiggers (Desmond's Hip City, 1997)
• "All of Our Dreaming" - Skydiggers (Bittersweet Harmony, 2003)
• "Debris" - Skydiggers (Hide Your Light, 2023)
• "Hello Beautiful Life" - Skydiggers (City of Sirens, 2008)

Stream, download, and follow Skydiggers

Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

Whether it's creating Skydiggers classics with his long-time musical compadre Andy Maize, co-writing songs with heavy-hitters in Nashville, or composing music for television, Josh Finlayson places a high value on being a  collaborator. In Josh's words, "...no one has the best ideas always. Anyone can have the best idea at any given moment, and to recognize [that] is what being a good collaborator is all about..."

Aside from his 30+ years creating with Andy and Skydiggers, one of Josh’s most significant collaborations to date was with his good friend, the late Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip. Josh co-produced and performed on Gord’s first solo album, Coke Machine Glow, and remained a bandmate, creative sounding board, and trusted ally—witnessing Gord's fearless strength and boundless creative energy—until the singer's death in 2017 from brain cancer. In this episode, Josh opens up about that relationship, and what he calls "an incredible journey".

Songs used in this episode:

• "The Talk of the Town" - Tom Wilson (Dog Years, 2006)
• "Chancellor" - Gord Downie (Coke Machine Glow, 2001)
• "Every Irrelevance" - Gord Downie (Coke Machine Glow, 2001)
• "River Don't Care" - Gord Downie (Away is Mine, 2020)
• "Hotel Worth" - Gord Downie (Away is Mine, 2020)
• "The Stranger" - Gord Downie (Secret Path, 2016)

Stream, download, and follow Skydiggers

Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

Before becoming a co-founder of Skydiggers, guitarist/singer/songwriter Josh Finlayson developed a deep love of folk, country and roots music. While listening with admiration to Doc Watson, Chet Atkins, Gordon Lightfoot, Ian and Sylvia Tyson and others on his Dad's record player (or in the family station wagon),  his connection with the music bloomed. With the positive musical influences of his two older brothers, plus the help of a supportive guitar teacher, Josh gradually developed a sense of the musician and songwriter that he would become. When he and his brother's school friend—a certain singer named Andy Maize—began playing together, everything started to fall into place. The rest is Canadian music history. 

Songs used in this episode:

• "Je t'aime Toujours, Mon Amour" - Skydiggers (Bide Your Time, 2023)
• "This Old Town" - Skydiggers (Restless, 1992)
• "Slow Burning Fire" - Skydiggers (Restless, 1992)
• "Why You Been Gone So Long" - Travis Good and Josh Finlayson  (live, at the launch of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Room at So Hip It Hurts, Toronto, 2018).

Stream, download, and follow Skydiggers

Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

"… that is my story - incomplete, but mostly the truth. About 5 guys in a Honda, making music, making memories, with nothing to lose" — Andy Maize ("The Situation")

With his new EP Goldslinger, Skydiggers co-founder Andy Maize is once again marking a milestone birthday with a triumphant solo release, and we find him hitting his groove, shaking his booty, and baring his soul.  With these 4 modern classics, Maize looks tenderly to the past while living fully and emphatically in the present.

In this conversation with Jane Gowan and Joel Stewart, Andy guides us on a colourful journey that includes lakeside all-nighters, fake (h)its, mid-winter romance, a fight with a mascot, and a ragged young band in a (slightly soiled) minivan. The muse? - a gold-flecked hula hoop. 

All killer, no filler!

Listen to Goldslinger   
 
Songs used in this episode:

• "Je t'aime Toujours, Mon Amour" - Skydiggers (Bide Your Time, 2023)
• "Goldslinger" - Andy Maize (Goldslinger, 2024)
• "Fall It All Down" - Andy Maize (Goldslinger, 2024)
• "You Knock Me Out" - Andy Maize (Goldslinger, 2024)
• "The Situation" - Andy Maize (Goldslinger, 2024)

Stream, download, and follow Skydiggers

Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

Since the early days of the band, Skydiggers have placed a high value on friends, fans, and collaborators. What started over 30 years ago as a few songs on a Monday night at Toronto's Spadina Hotel gradually bloomed, to become a vibrant and joyful community, rich with stories and songs, still thriving and growing today. 

In Season 3 of Employee of the Myth, we highlight a few key musical relationships that have developed over the years, beginning with guitarist/songwriter Paul Langlois. As a member of the legendary rock band The Tragically Hip, Paul witnessed Skydiggers' ascent within the Canadian music scene. Much mutual admiration and inspiration ensued.

Joining Paul for the conversation is his current bandmate in the Paul Langlois Band—guitarist Greg Ball—along with co-hosts Jane Gowan and Joel Stewart, and Skydiggers co-founders Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson.

Paul's new album is called Guess What, and is available wherever you get your fine Canadian rock n roll.

More about Paul Langlois:
Paul Langlois linktr.ee

Songs used in this episode:

• "Je t'aime Toujours, Mon Amour" - Skydiggers (Bide Your Time, 2023)
• "The Face of Time" - Paul Langlois Band (Guess What, 2023)
• "Will To Fight" - Paul Langlois Band (Guess What, 2023)
• "Broken Road" - Paul Langlois Band (Fix This Head, 2010)
• "It Matters To Me" - Paul Langlois Band (Guess What, 2023)
• "Slow Burning Fire" - Skydiggers (Restless, 1992)

Stream, download, and follow Skydiggers

Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

"This is  a celebration of the two of us making music together...for over 35 years".
—Andy Maize

"I'm very grateful that people will come and see us and that we've made a connection in the lives of an audience - what a gift that is".
—Josh Finlayson

Un peu française, un peu optimiste, the final track on Bide Your Time is a joyous Django Reinhart-meets-Mills Brothers number - the perfect chanson to send us off into the night with a smile in our hearts and a spring in our step. For this track, audio engineer & multi-instrumentalist Tim Vesely (Rheostatics, Violet Archers) joined the fold, playing upright bass and singing harmonies.

This is a celebratory finale that finds Skydiggers paying tribute to the the past, being grateful for the present, and anticipating all the music to come. 

To cap it all off, you'll be treated to two live-off-the-floor acoustic recordings: From the new album, you'll hear "Je t'aime toujours, mon amour" (Bide Your Time, 2023 ), followed by "Nothing Lasts Forever" (Warmth of the Sun, 2017). Both tracks are recorded by Tim Vesely at the Woodshed Studio in Toronto, Ontario.

Stream, download, and follow Skydiggers

Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely

"... it's about the cult of celebrity that we find ourselves in...people who are famous for being famous... one of those people was elected President of the United States." — Andy Maize

"Whatever the Cost"—the 5th track on Bide Your Time—reveals a perspective partially ripped from the headlines, but also gleaned from a more panoramic look at society and fame.

From stream of consciousness to the Santa Claus Parade, this episode finds Andy and Josh once again unveiling priceless memories and valuable lessons learned from a life spent on stage and in the studio. As always, the importance of friends, family, and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humour are essential ingredients in a rich career that has allowed them to continue making music that stays true to who they are.

You'll also be treated to acoustic live-off-the-floor versions of two songs: From the new album "Whatever The Cost" (Bide Your Time, 2023 ), and "It's a Pity" (Road Radio, 1995). Both tracks are recorded by Tim Vesely at the Woodshed Studio in Toronto, Ontario.

Stream, download, and follow Skydiggers

Employee of the Myth is brought to you by Skydiggers Productions
Featuring: Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson
Producer & co-host: Joel Stewart
Host and Editor: Jane Gowan (Music Buddy)
Audio Engineer: Tim Vesely