House of Crouse

This week on the Richard Crouse Show Podcast: This year is the 20th anniversary of Reelworld, a festival founded by my guest Tonya Williams, to showcase films, animation, shorts, music videos, industry panels and awards from racially diverse and indigenous filmmakers and media artists. 

Missing this year are the parties and galas as ReelWorld has adapted to the pandemic and moved on line. The entire festival will be online - with live webinars from Oct. 14 to 19. They are also promoting www.accessreelworld.ca - which is now the largest national database for Canadian Black, Indigenous, People of Colour in the Creative Industries. Tonya Williams joins me from her home in Los Angeles.

Then, "Aladdin" star Mena Massoud joins me to talk about his new project, a book called "Evolving Vegan."

On the October 4, 2020 edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet former Rough Trade keyboardist and “High School Confidential” co-writer Kevan Staples on the occasion of the song being inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame,

Then, Ace Frehley, former guitarist for KISS swings by to talk KISS Koffins and the release of his new solo album "Origins Vol. 2."

Finally, we talk to Steve Earle, a Grammy award winning singer-songwriter, a record producer, author and actor whose song Copperhead Road is still a jukebox favorite thirty-three years after it made him a superstar. Earle Zooms in from his home in Tennessee to talk about how his new album “Ghosts of West Virginia” might bridge the political gap.

This week on the Richard Crouse Show we talk about one of the most enduring Canadian rock and roll hit of all time. John Picard of The Kings said, “We never made a million dollars, but we had a song that people love and has stood the test of time.”

40 years ago The KIngs released their Bob Ezrin produced debut album, “The Kings Are Here” on the US major label Elektra Records. That same month, their smash hit single “This Beat Goes On / Switchin’ to Glide” first entered the Billboard Hot 100.

And on August 23rd, 1980, The Kings closed the now-legendary Heatwave Festival, a giant outdoor concert some called "Punk Woodstock" that drew 100,000 people to Mosport Park, just north of Bowmanville, Ontario.

The Kings played alongside Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, Nick Lowe and Rockpile, Teenage Head, the B-52’s, and more. The Kings and Teenage Head were the only bands that gave permission to be filmed. As Teenage Head’s audio has disappeared, the only surviving footage of that iconic night is of The Kings, and now you can see the 30-minute concert movie “The Kings: Live at Heatwave” at their YouTube channel.

With band members Dave Diamond and John Picard a.k.a. Mister Zero, we talk about the only surviving, authentic, and original sync footage from that legendary concert and, of course, we’ll celebrate four decades of one of the greatest double-A sides ever “This Beat Goes On / Switchin’ to Glide…”

Then, we go back to the vault to find an interview I did with producer Bob Ezrin from his Los Angeles home in 1994. Ezrin produced The Kings, but he is best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. His career in music has spanned four decades and he continues to work with acts such as Deftones and Thirty Seconds to Mars.

We talk about how he got his first big musical break producing Alice Cooper and some fascinating behind the scenes stories of working with Cooper and Peter Gabriel.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show Podcast we meet Gloria Kim, writer/director of a new family drama called "Queen of the Morning Calm." In this interview we about the eleven years she spent working to get this story to the screen, How her background in journalism (former Maclean’s reporter) informed the writing of this story, how she guided her eleven year old co-star Eponine Lee through the film’s difficult material and much more.

Then, former CTV Toronto crime reporter Tamara Cherry joins the show to talk about her new book, "All the Bumpy Pebbles," a novel based on her reporting of human trafficking cases.

Finally, Kevan Staples, former keyboardist for Rough Trade and co-writer of the classic hit "High School Confidential," stops by to talk about the history of the controversial tune.

On the September 12, 2020 edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Jeff Gibbs and Ozzie Zehner, director and producer of the climate change movie “Battle for the Planet of the Humans.” The controversial documentary is a harsh look at how the environmental movement has lost the battle through well-meaning but disastrous choices.

Then we spend time with singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas. Her new album, “All That Emotion,” is a lush and lovely record, produced by Aaron Dessner, hot off his work on Taylor Swift’s recent smash, folklore.

Here’s some info on The Richard Crouse Show!:

Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Ethan Hawke, director Brad Bird, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, Eric Roberts, Brian Henson, Jonathan Goldsmith a.k.a. “The most interesting man in the world,” and best selling author Linwood Barclay.

On this episode of the Richard Crouse Show Podcast we meet Iain Reid the Canadian author of the bestselling novel "I’m Thinking of Ending Things."

"I’m Thinking of Ending Things" has been described as a psychological thriller and horror fiction, and is about a young man who takes his girlfriend to see his parents on a remote farm and the disturbing aftermath that follows. It sounds simple, but this is anything but. It’s a story of predetermination and free will that bears up to reading and rereading.

It’s now also a Netflix film, directed by Charlie Kaufman, starring stars Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons and Toni Collette.

Then, Richard welcomes four very special guests, “Midsommar” director Ari Aster and star Jack Reynor.

Today I spent a chunk of my day going through closets, finding discs of unlabelled photographs and other bits and pieces that have piled up in the nooks and crannies of my house. I came across a set of interviews I did at a rather loud party at the Tavern on the Green in New York City in 2009 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the release of The Wizard of Oz.

That day I mixed and mingled with some of the original Munchkins like Karl Slover, who was just two feet tall when he played the first trumpeter, Villager Munchkin Ruth Duccini, member of the Lollipop Guild Jerry Maren and Judy Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft, while enjoying Wizard of Oz themed drinks like the Gin Tornado. But mostly I soaked up the stories from some of the folks who were there when Judy Garland was swept away to a technicolour OZ.

Today I banged the interviews together in a podcast, the first project from the newly dubbed Isolation Studios. I enjoyed doing it and somehow the movie makes perfect sense for right now. “Someplace where there isn’t any trouble? Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It’s not a place you can get to by a boat or train. It’s far, far away… behind the moon… beyond the rain.”

This week on the Richard Crouse Podcast: Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office) we meet Andrea Dorfman, a filmmaker, animator and artist who joins us via Zoom from her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Her films have played at film festivals around the world, won awards and she is back with a new one, now on VOD. “Spinster” stars actor and comedian Chelsea Peretti from “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” as a wedding caterer gets dumped on her 39th birthday. Over the next year she builds a new life based on self-empowerment and independence.

“Spinster” is being called “the anti-rom-com of the summer,” so I began by asking Andrea Dorfman about subverting the rom com genre…

Then country artist Sacha stops by to talk about her EP "The Best Thing."

Then, we meet Sam Maggs, an author who joins us via Zoom from her home in Los Angeles. Sam is a bestselling author of books, comics, and video games. She’s been a senior games writer, the author of many YA and middle-grade books, a comics writer for beloved titles like Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, My Little Pony, and Transformers. She is also an on-air host for networks like Nerdist. Today she joins me to talk about two books, “Con Quest,” an adventure novel for young readers set in the world of comics conventions and “The Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope,” a Young Adult novel based on the world of “The Unstoppable Wasp” Marvel comics series. I love this line in her bio… as a Canadian in Los Angeles, she misses Coffee Crisp and bagged milk. In this interview we talk about her books, why we both feel we have to work all the time and discuss whether that is a good thing or not. Let’s get to know Sam Maggs…

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show Podcast we meet Kiesza, a singer, songwriter and pop star with a fascinating story of resilience. From the reserves of the Royal Canadian Navy to writing songs for people like Rihanna to her single "Hideaway" debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart to collaborating with everyone from Duran Duran to Pitbull and Diplo she is a bona fide pop princess. Then, in 2017 she suffered life altering injuries when a taxi t-boned the car she was riding in. Her recovery from a traumatic brain injury was slow and involved staying in a darkened room for six months but she is back with a new album, a new self-run record label and a new outlook.

Then... In a career that spans five decades Chaka Khan has sold an estimated 70 million records, collaborated with everyone from Ry Cooder and Robert Palmer to Ray Charles and Quincy Jones, from Chicago to De la Soul and Mary J. Blige. She’s a musician, singer and songwriter with a shelfful of Grammys. I first saw her, with the band Rufus, on Soul Train singing their mega hit Tell Me Something Good. I became an instant fan and have remained so all these years later.

I had the chance to speak with the music legend via Zoom to talk about her role as the voice of Henrietta the Chicken in the new Disney+ film The One and Only Ivan.

And finally...I speak to Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, the stars of “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run.” For more than twenty years Kenny and Fagerbakke have voiced two of pop culture’s favorite animated characters, SpongeBob SquarePants and his pal Patrick Star. In the new film, playing in theatres in Canada, SpongeBob and Patrick go on a rescue mission to save SpongeBob's pet snail Gary, who has been "snailnapped" by King Poseidon. In this interview e talk about the new movie, the popularity of SpongeBob memes and why these characters have endured for more than two decades.

On the Richard Crouse Podcast this week we meet Jay Baruchel. He's been acting since the age of twelve and has appeared in everything from "Knocked Up" and "Tropic Thunder" to "The Trotsky" and "She's Out of My League" to the action-fantasy "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "This Is the End." He’s probably best known as the voice of Hiccup in the wildly successful "How to Train Your Dragon" franchise but he says, despite all the success in front of the camera, what he really wants to do is direct.

Two years ago he wrote and directed the sports comedy "Goon: Last of the Enforcers." Now he appears both in front of and behind the camera in "Random Acts of Violence," a genre film that asks serious questions about how we relate to violence in art.

Based on a 2008 Image Comic, “Random Acts of Violence” begins with comic book writer Todd (Jesse Williams) suffering a case of writer’s block. His series, a grisly and successful adaptation of a real-life serial killer dubbed Slasherman, is coming to an end and he doesn’t know how to wind it down.

On a press tour from Toronto to New York to promote the final issue, Jesse and friends, visit the scene of the Slasherman’s crimes. As the group fall victim to a series of heinous copycat crimes the film asks, “What are the real consequences when life (and death) begin to imitate art?”

I talk about that with Jay in this interview but we started by reminiscing about the “beforetime” when we could go to the movies. I asked him what movie memories stand out for him when he thinks back to the theatre experience.

NOTE: This podcast contains language that may not be suitable for all listeners. NSFW!

Then,  we meet Mike Scott, the founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of The Waterboys. He is a restless creative spirit, known for radical changes in music style throughout what he refers to as his "allegedly unorthodox" career. The music on his solo albums and with The Waterboys explores a number of different styles, including folk, Celtic and rock and roll, fusing them together to create a sound that is not only catchy but unique.

The press release for his newest record "Good Luck, Seeker," says the songs are populated by unrepentant freaks, soul legends, outlaw film stars and 20th Century mystics, drawing inspiration from the Stones, Kate Bush, Sly and Kendrick as well as Mike Scott’s very own musical past.

It’s a genre busting effort with epic songs like the dramatic, spoken word tune "My Wanderings In The Weary Land" to the earworm of the extremely catchy single “The Soul Singer.”

In this interview we talk about the construct of time, the power of the Clash and why he liked a record by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich enough to spend 8 and sixpence, or about 50 cents on it…

I began the interview by asking Mike Scott why he’s never made the same record twice.