Welcome With Karim Kanji

Hotel Isabella was built in the 1890s in Toronto. During it’s first heyday it was a fancy hotel that people went to for weddings and anniversaries. In the 1970s and 80s it was known as a jazz bar. In the 1980s and 90s Gregg’s band, International Boundaries, played the basement bar of Hotel Isabella, Under The Izzy. There was also a main floor venue called Cameo Lounge. Besides Gregg, the Hotel Isabella played host to acts such as Big Sugar, Burton Cummings, Molly Johnson, Jeff Healey and Dan Aykroyd. This episode begins with a talk about the new app, Clubhouse and the Super Bowl halftime show starring The Weeknd.

Here's the first episode in a series we're doing called Lost Venues. We'll explore lost concert venues through the eyes of former musician Gregg Tilston. Gregg was 16 when he started playing live gigs with Plastic Dollz from Whitby/Ajax, Ontario. The first gig in Toronto was at Larry's Hideaway.

Half fable, half manifesto, this brilliant new take on the ancient concept of cash lays bare its unparalleled capacity to empower and enthrall us. The Money Plot: A HISTORY OF CURRENCY'S POWER TO ENCHANT, CONTROL, AND MANIPULATE. Frederick Kaufman tackles the complex history of money, beginning with the earliest myths and wrapping up with Wall Street’s byzantine present-day doings. Along the way, he exposes a set of allegorical plots, stock characters, and stereotypical metaphors that have long been linked with money and commercial culture, from Melanesian trading rituals to the dogma of Medieval churchmen faced with global commerce, the rationales of Mercantilism and colonial expansion, and the U.S. dollar’s 1971 unpinning from gold.

In the spring of 1965, Bill Cosgrave was smuggled across the border into the United States after receiving an irresistible invitation from his captivating friend Mary Werbelow. When he made it to her apartment in Los Angeles, Mary introduced Bill to her boyfriend, Jim Morrison. The two young men quickly bonded. When Jim and Mary’s relationship faltered, Jim headed for Venice beach with his notebook. Bill and Jim spent endless days together, enjoying the aimlessness of their youth and the freedom of the times, fuelled by Jim's unlimited supply of dope. Jim Morrison's writing would morph into iconic hit songs, rocketing him to international fame as the hypnotic lead singer of the Doors. Beautiful Mary would set off on her own journey. After years of futile searching, Bill finally tracks down the woman he had secretly loved. He’s dying to know where her life has taken her and stunned by what he discovers.

Ian Keteku is a poet, musician author and artist. Ian Keteku earned the title of World Slam Poetry champion in France in the summer of 2010 and is also a two-time Canadian poetry slam champion.

Meg Warren is our first guest of 2021. After starting the multiple award-winning band Repartee in 2009, they criss-crossed Canada for 8 years, driving the van to hundreds of shows across the country. A high point in her career came in 2016 when what started as a little song idea about fighting for the people you love called ‘Dukes’ became the most added song across all radio formats across Canada in July of that year. Repartee would go on to win the 2017 Indie Music Award for Pop Artist/Group of the year. Now, as a solo artist and songwriter, Meg co-produced and co-engineered her EP, ‘A Thousand Ways’ with ECMA-winning producer Dan Ledwell. She also engineered, mixed, and co-produced Newfoundland singer-songwriter Virginia Fudge’s upcoming EP which is slated for an early 2021 release. She can't wait to see what's next.

Nick Kypreos is a retired hockey player who won the Stanley Cup while a member of the New York Rangers. Nick also played for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs. Most recently he spend over two decades with Sportsnet as a hockey analyst and insider. Today he is host of the Real Kyper at Noon show on YouTube and part owner of the Little Buddha Cocktail Company.

During the last year of school, Chin Injeti recorded an indie album of the band in a home studio built by his father & brother. That CD ended up selling 70,000 copies and served as his introduction to the music industry! The band (by then known as Bass is Base) went on to gain fans all over the world and garnered a deal with Universal Music and Island records in the United States. Fronted by Injeti, the group won a Juno (Canadian Grammy) for best R&B record, a Much Music Video award for a song called “Funkmobile” and Chin was awarded with Songwriter of the Year from SOCAN. With many years of creating, touring and performing all over North America with the likes of The Fugees, The Roots, Jamiroquoi, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and so many more, Chin learned the craft of carving out frequencies and the importance of an impactful lyric and melody. For years he just listened and watched until he was able to take a selfless approach to his craft, where he put the song and the artist before everything. His

Twin Flames: The husband and wife duo of Chelsey June, Métis (Algonquin Cree) from Ottawa, and Jaaji, Inuk and Mohawk from Nunavik, are long celebrated for their sonic soundscapes spanning Canada and the Arctic, and honouring their ancestors through song in English, Inuttitut and French.

Al Strachan is a member of the media section of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Al is a best selling author of 6 books as well as a former sports writer with The Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail and Montreal Gazette. His latest book is Hockey's Hot Stove - The Untold Stories of the Original Insiders.

Bob McKenzie is the original TSN Hockey Insider. Bob has covered hockey for 40 years. He was the editor in chief of The Hockey News as well as a hockey columnist for the Toronto Star. His latest book (co-authored by Jim Lang) is called Everyday Hockey Heroes, Volume II.

Originally from the Cree community of Mistissini, Quebec, and now based in Montreal, Angel Baribeau first started through the formation of her early indie folk outfit, Simple Human Tribe. For Those I Love(d) is her first EP which earned a Top 3 spot on Apple Music Pop Canada’s charts soon after its Summer 2020 release.

James Duthie is an award-winning sports broadcaster with Canada's TSN. He is also the author of many books including Beauties: Hockey's Greatest Untold Stories. James was/is also an aspiring musician and songwriter. Near the end of our conversation you will discover a quirk about James that he shares (kinda) with recent guest Harnarayan Singh. This is Episode #248 of the Welcome! podcast.

velours is a bilingual alternative pop singer songwriter currently based in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada.

In between recording sessions, GRAMMY Award winning producer and musician, Chin Injeti, popped by for a quick hello with hosts Gregg Tilston and Karim Kanji.

Ken Hall is one half of the award-winning 2-MAN NO-SHOW improv duo and has starred in the TBS show People of Earth as well as the Netflix movie, Polar. Currently, he can be seen in the hit Netflix series, The Umbrella Academy as Herb as well as the body for Pogo. Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy starts filming in early 2021.

Darby Wheeler is an award-winning television director, producer, and writer, with over 20 years of experience. Some highlights include: developing Canada’s only late-night talk show for the CBC, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight; and producing for on MuchMusic’s The NewMusic, and Canada’s only urban music TV shows MuchVibe and RapCity. Recently, Darby directed the award-winning, Dead Set on Life, for Vice, and directed and produced the Netflix Original, Hip-Hop Evolution, which won a Canadian Screen Award, a Peabody, and an International Emmy. - Scenario Media

Like the Queen Street strip that has been its home for seven decades, the Horseshoe Tavern continues to evolve. It remains as relevant today as it did when Jack Starr founded the country music club on the site of a former blacksmith shop. From country and rockabilly to rock ‘n’ roll, punk, alt/country, and back to roots music, the venerable live music venue has evolved with the times and trends — always keeping pace with the music. Over its long history, the Horseshoe has seen a flood of talent pass through. From Willie Nelson to Loretta Lynn, Stompin’ Tom Connors to The Band, and Bryan Adams to the Tragically Hip, the Horseshoe has attracted premier acts from all eras of music. In The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, David McPherson captures the turbulent life of the bar, and of Canadian rock. - Dundurn Press

Keda is the founder of True II Soul Network, a collective of professional members and community members that are devoted to recovery, healing and transformation challenging the status quo around trauma. True II Soul is an inclusive online community and sanctuary for individuals seeking support. As an adult survivor of childhood physical and sexual trauma and a Certified Life and Business Coach, Keda lives the message of powerfully authentic living, healing and success that is of benefit to so many people.Keda’s healing journey coupled with her diverse training and professional history is the driving force behind her mission, which is two-fold - to revolutionise the way we perceive and react to trauma and to create safe and inclusive spaces for this work.

A few weeks ago, Gregg Tilston and Karim Kanji welcomed the Afro-Cuban Jazz duo OKAN (led by Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne) to the show! Combining history, heritage, storytelling and spirituality, they share these elements on their new album – Espiral (Spanish for ‘spiral’). Born in Havana, Cuba, Elizabeth Rodriguez is a classically trained violinist who served as concertmaster for Havana’s Youth Orchestra. Magdelys Savigne hails from Santiago de Cuba and graduated with honours in orchestral percussion from Havana’s University of the Arts. Both are JUNO-nominees for their work with Battle of Santiago and Grammy-nominees for their contributions to Jane Bunnett and Maqueque, of which they are former members.