Employee of the Myth is a podcast about beloved roots-rockers, Skydiggers. This is a perfect listening companion while walking the dog, washing the dishes or driving to your favourite unspecified destination. Prepare to amaze your friends with your “behind the scenes” knowledge of one of Canada's favourite bands! Season 1 & 2 : Hide Your Light, Bid Your Time (episodes 1-12) Each episode in the first two seasons explores the new album, released in 2023. The conversations aim to place the song ...
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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 G…
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18 - Jim Cuddy: Appreciating the Journey
1:09:53
1:09:53
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"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…
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"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 classifie…
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16 - Josh Finlayson, Part 2: Collaborator / Consigliere
54:17
54:17
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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 re…
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15 - Josh Finlayson, Part 1: Under the Influences
37:48
37:48
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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 bloome…
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"… 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 …
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13 - Paul Langlois & Greg Ball: Guess What
1:06:50
1:06:50
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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 t…
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12 - Bide Your Time: "Je t'aime toujours, mon amour"
20:12
20:12
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"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-mee…
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"... 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 societ…
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"When you release [a song] it's no longer yours, so you put it out into the world, and it finds its own path..." —Andy Maize Private thoughts, public work: a contrast that many artists and performers encounter, and Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson are no exception. Their ability to step back from their own personal challenges and present an all-embrac…
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"...every time you get up on stage, you try to represent what you're doing, to the best of your abilities. You can have a sh*tty song or a sh*tty set, and then you can turn it around. That's one song at a time...night after night" —Andy Maize In this episode, Andy and Josh explain how they stay positive when things get challenging, and how the band…
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8 - Bide Your Time: "Just Another Lucky Day"
24:00
24:00
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At once current and timeless, "Just Another Lucky Day" calls out the behaviour of certain people in power and delves into the challenges faced by a divided society, while maintaining a deep warmth and strong melodic foundation. In this episode, Andy and Josh talk pandemic times, working with producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie), and creating …
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7 - Bide Your Time: "Employee of the Myth"
23:03
23:03
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Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson discuss the first track from their new EP, Bide Your Time. They talk about their approaches to 30 years of singing harmonies together, and how they arrived at a "kitchen-party-bluegrass-jam" style for this track. They also reflect on a long-ago tour in the Netherlands with a stungun-toting promoter named "Rudolph", and…
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Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson are masters of embracing change and evolution in the creative process. Track 6—“Come to My Senses”—is an example of their ability to keep moving forward, and making music that is fresh, relevant, but still authentic to who they are. In this episode, they reveal how a song written years ago, blossomed in the recording s…
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“A Wednesday meant for broken hearts to mend…” In Episode 5, Andy and Josh discuss finding meaning in the loss of loved ones and the healing power of music. In addition to the interview, you'll also hear Andy and Josh perform two songs: "Anything For You” (Bittersweet Harmony 2003), and "A Wednesday" (Hide Your Light, 2023). Both tracks are recorde…
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4 - Hide Your Light: "Muscle Cars and Sissy Bars"
15:25
15:25
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In this episode we take a nostalgic look back to a time when everything was in front of us… to the innocence and adventure of youth… the endless days of summer and the endless possibilities of life ahead… “All the time you can’t get back… when time is all that you need…” In addition to the interview, you'll also hear Andy and Josh perform two songs…
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EP 3 - Hide Your Light, finds Jane, Josh and Andy shining a light on the EP's title track. In addition to the interview, you'll also hear Andy and Josh perform two songs: "Hide Your Light” (Hide Your Light, 2023), and "Horseshoe Bay" (Bittersweet Harmony, 2003). Both tracks are recorded by Tim Vesely, live-off-the-floor at the Woodshed Studio in To…
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Episode 1 of Employee of the Myth features Ronnie Lane's "Debris", the opening track on Skydiggers' new EP, Hide Your Light. “If you’ll learn to play an instrument you will always have a friend.” A solid piece of advice from Stanley Lane to his son Ronnie, who would take that advice and turn it into a career writing songs and playing with seminal B…
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"Bit by bit, brick by brick, My city is gone..." Josh and Andy discuss the changes that have occurred in Toronto over the years and also touch upon Josh's time in London during the early '80s. In addition to the interview, you'll also hear Andy and Josh perform two songs: "Desmond's Hip City” (Desmond's Hip City, 1997), and "My City is Gone" (Hide …
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