Tag Archives: interview

Music, podcast

Farley Flex

My next guest was an early manager of Canadian hip hop legend, Maestro Fresh Wes.

He also spent a dozen years convincing the CRTC to give him and his partners a licence for Canada’s first urban radio station, FLOW 93.5.

He spent 6 seasons as a judge with Canadian Idol alongside one of my favourite rock voices, Sass Jordan.

Today he spends a lot of his time executing intercultural conflict management workshops and seminars as well as programs focused on community capacity building as well as youth and community engagement.

Please welcome to the show, Farley Flex.

This is Episode #169 of the Welcome! podcast.

Listen here: 

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Mohamad Fakih

Mohamad Fakih is a Lebanese-Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He started Paramount Fine Foods after arriving in Canada as an immigrant. In May 2018, Fakih was awarded an honourary doctorate from Ryerson University.

This is Episode #155 of the Welcome! podcast.

Here are some of the things that Mohamad Fakih and I talked about:

  • Born and raised in Beruit, Lebanon
  • Mohamad was trained as a gemologist
  • Immigrated to Canada in 1999
  • Prior to founding Paramount Fine Foods, Mohamad Fakih worked for Tim Hortons, La Swiss and Swatch
  • The many reasons for Mohamad’s success as a business person
  • The importance of having the name Paramount on the former Hershey Centre in Mississauga
  • His role in helping the Rohingya refugees as part of the UNHCR
  • Mohamad’s suit against Kevin Johnston of Freedom Report
  • The many philanthropic endeavours that Mohamad is involved in and why
  • Whether Mohamad has been asked to be on Dragon’s Den
  • If Mohamad has any political ambitions

Listen below:

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You can also subscribe to the podcast via RSS Feed if you so desire.

This episode was taped at Girth Radio studios inside the Pacific Junction Hotel bar in Toronto.

Music featured in this podcast  episode is by my cousin, Afraaz Mulji. 

Music, podcast

Bree Taylor

Bree Taylor is a singer-songwriter based out of Streetsville, Mississauga.

This is Episode #149 of the Welcome! podcast.

  • Bree Taylor started singing at the age of 6 in a choir
  • Bree attended the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music and then went to the Oakville Academy for the Arts
  • Her first single was called “Broken Dreams”
  • Bree Taylor and I also spoke about how the #MeToo movement impacted her life and work as a singer-songwriter
  • Her latest single is called “You Played It All” and is from the EP, “Unbreakable” which was released on October 19, 2018

Listen below:

SPOTIFY
Girth Radio
MixCloud 
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Google Play Music
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You can also subscribe to the podcast via RSS Feed if you so desire.

This episode was taped at Girth Radio studios inside the Pacific Junction Hotel bar in Toronto.

Please listen to Bree’s newest single, You Played It All, at the end of this episode!

If you liked this conversation with Bree Taylor you may also like these talks:
podcast

Rob Johnston from #Curiouscast

Rob Johnston is the Lead Audio Producer and head of Sound Design for CuriousCast. What is CuriousCast? It’s the new Corus podcast project. Rob has also been the Technical Producer for the Alan Cross show, Ongoing History of New Music, since forever.

This is episode #141  of the Welcome! podcast.

Here are some of the things we discussed with Rob Johnston:

  • Rob’s new role at Corus
  • Rob started at CFNY/Corus answering calls for the likes of Alan Cross, Chris Sheppard and Martin Streek
  • Rob beginning his Technical Production work with Alan Cross on the popular radio show (and podcast), Ongoing History of New Music
  • Turning radio programs into podcasts
  • Turning podcasts into radio programs
  • The work Rob Johnston did with Mike Downie
  • Rob Johnston’s work with Stuart Coxe (now of Antica Productions – eOne’s podcast offering)

Listen below:

Girth Radio
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You can also subscribe to the podcast via RSS Feed if you so desire.

Music by Afraaz Mulji.

If you liked this episode you will also like these:

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Richard Peddie

Richard Peddie is best known as the former President and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. These days, Peddie can be found learning and talking across the globe as a passionate city builder.

Richard Peddie joined Karim Kanji and co-host Gregg Tilston inside Toronto’s Girth Radio studios for an unprecedented fourth visit. In this episode we discuss the upcoming Toronto election and the impact Doug Ford continues to have on the city of Toronto.

This is episode #139  of the Welcome! podcast.
Here are some of the things we discussed with Richard Peddie:
  • The bombshell announcement that Doug Ford wanted to almost halve the size of Toronto’s city council to 25 councilors
  • Why Richard Peddie is supporting Jennifer Keesmat
  • Why Peddie doesn’t think John Tory has done enough as Mayor of Toronto over the past three years
  • Why Keesmat’s leadership style is preferred over Tory’s leadership style by many progressives in Toronto
  • The ongoing transit woes in Toronto
  • Should the city of Toronto ban guns within it’s borders and how effective could it be in shrinking crime
  • Can powerful neighborhood councils be more effective in places like North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke than a seemingly distant Toronto city hall?
  • Finally, we discussed Richard Peddie’s thoughts on women’s professional basketball coming to Toronto

Listen below:

Girth Radio
MixCloud 
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Google Play Music
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You can also subscribe to the podcast via RSS Feed if you so desire.

Music by Afraaz Mulji.

If you liked this episode you will also like all our previous conversations with Richard Peddie.

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Tim Micallef from Tim and Sid show

Tim Micallef is co-host of the wildly popular Sportsnet TV program, Tim and Sid.

An honorary resident of Scarborough (he’s actually from Don Mills but proudly beats his chest to the beat of Scarborough), Tim Micallef joined me in studio where we discussed his career, sports and why Sid Seixeiro never seems to wear a tie to work.

This is episode #132  of the Welcome! podcast.

Here are some of the things we talked about:

  • I always thought he was from Scarborough. However, Tim Micallef called Don Mills home.
  • His Malta roots.
  • Playing basketball in high school was much different that playing varsity sports.
  • How his sports career never took off at Carleton University.
  • How he started at The Score as an intern.
  • Where Tim Micallef’s love of the UNLV Running Rebels came from.
  • Tim Micallef shares his thoughts on if NCAA athletes should be paid. Or not.
  • The chemistry he has with Sid Seixeiro on their popular show, Tim and Sid.
  • Tim Micallef’s relationship with Bob McCown.
  • The legacy of Jose Bautista.
  • What does Tim Micallef think of Alex Ovechkin’s first Stanley Cup? And where did all the Ovechkin haters go?
  • Is LeBron James the greatest basketball player of all time? And is Michael Jordan even in the conversation (Sid Seixeiro seems to think Jordan played against much inferior talent)?
  • What is up with Vince McMahon’s XFL?
  • The legacy of Duane Casey and his time with the Toronto Raptors.

Listen below:

Girth Radio
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You can also subscribe to the podcast via RSS Feed if you’re so inclined.

Recorded live at Girth Radio.

Intro music by Famous.

If you liked this episode you will also like the following conversations with current/former Sportsnet personalities:

Music, podcast

Bif Naked: Canada’s queen of punk rock

Bif Naked joined Karim Kanji inside the studio to chat about her music, her life, why she’s always so positive, if it’s true that she moved to Toronto to be close to Drake, and so much more!

This is Episode #129.

Here are some of the things we discussed:

  • Bif Naked was born to a Canadian teenage mom in India.
  • She was adopted by American parents who were in India doing Christian missionary work.
  • As a young adult, Bif Naked visited her mom (who was then living in Barrie, Ontario) and discovered that many of the character traits she had came from her birth mom!
  • Bif Naked’s real name is Beth Torbert. She explains how she got the name Bif and what she thinks of it.
  • Bif Naked is the most positive person I’ve ever met. She is most likely the most positive person you’ve ever met. She explains how she got this way.
  • Her battle with cancer and why she enjoyed it so much!
  • How a hole in Bif Naked’s heart most likely saved her life but gave her kidney failure.
  • How her dad’s dentistry profession and time in med school piqued her interest in all things health and medicine.
  • Why she doesn’t drink anymore.
  • Why a lot of punk rockers are also “straight-edge’d”.
  • Why she believes in God.
  • Why Bif Naked got into music and why she enjoys touring more than recording new material and putting out albums.
  • The circumstances that forced her to start her own record label and own her own music since the beginning.

Listen below:

Girth Radio
MixCloud 
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Google Play Music
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You can also subscribe to the podcast via RSS Feed if you’re so inclined.

Recorded live at Girth Radio.

Music by Afraaz Mulji and Bif Naked. 

If you liked this episode you will also like:

Episode #100: Maestro Fresh Wes

Episode #51: Barenaked Ladies’ Jim Creeggan

podcast

Episode #103: Afraaz Mulji

Afraaz Mulji is a talented multi-instrumentalist specializing in percussion and keyboards. At just 18 years of age he’s already well on his way to achieving his musical dreams.

Recorded live at Girth Radio.
Music by Afraaz Mulji and Gord Downie.

Listen below:

Girth Radio
MixCloud 
Apple Podcasts
Google Play Music
Stitcher 
TuneIn
Pocket Casts
You can also subscribe to the podcast via RSS Feed if you’re so inclined.