The Canadian Star System with Steve Patterson

On this week’s episode, Steve and Diana chat with the star of the new hit CBC comedy Son Of a Critch - Newfoundland’s own, Mark Critch! Mark explains how weird it was to play his own father while doing voice over for a character based on his own childhood, what it felt like to recreate his family’s living room, and the surreal comedy advice he got from Dan Aykroyd in the 90s.Mark introduces us to fellow East Coast comedian, Vicky Mullaley! Also from Newfoundland, Vicky has a hellova hell gig story, how support from fellow comedians like Mark has helped her career, and why doing funny song parodies and videos during the pandemic kept her sane.You can follow Mark on twitter @markcritch or on Insta @critchmark.You can check out more of Vicky’s video on her website: www.vickeymullaley.com or follow her on Twitter @VickyMullaleyHOST: Steve Patterson (Twitter: @patterballs)PRODUCER & CO-HOST: Diana Frances (Twitter @dianafrancesvan)TECHNICAL PRODUCER: Donovan Deschner from Fracture A Femur Productions (www.fractureafemur.com)MUSIC BY: Imagine Sound Studios (www.imaginesoundstudios.com)This show is brought to you by The Apostrophe Podcast Network and is powered by Acast

In this episode, Steve and Diana go on an EPIC journey with none other than legendary comedian and weed aficionado, Tommy Chong. What do they talk about? WHAT DO THEY NOT TALK ABOUT?! Grab a seat and buckle up because this chat goes everywhere from growing up poor in Alberta and going to church for entertainment, to hustling at pool, to the rise of Cheech and Chong, to sharing a jail cell with the Wolf of Wall Street! In a beautifully unique twist, Tommy shines a posthumous light on someone we should all know more about in Canada - poet Patrick Lane. Tommy and Patrick grew up together and Patrick’s journey from blue collar labourer to one of Canada’s most respected poets is incredible. Steve and Diana are honoured to have Patrick’s widow Lorna Crozier (a well-respected poet as well) read one of Patrick’s poems called ‘Hummingbird.’To learn more about Tommy Chong, check out his website at www.tommychong.com or follow him on Twitter @tommychongTo learn more about Patrick Lane, please visit www.patricklane.ca where you can learn more about the release of his posthumous book of poetry curated by Lorna Crozier called ‘The Quiet in Me.’To learn more about Lorna Crozier, please also check out: www.lornacrozier.caHOST: Steve Patterson (Twitter: @patterballs)PRODUCER & CO-HOST: Diana Frances (Twitter @dianafrancesvan)TECHNICAL PRODUCER: Donovan Deschner from Fracture A Femur Productions (www.fractureafemur.com)MUSIC BY: Imagine Sound Studios (www.imaginesoundstudios.com)This show is brought to you by The Apostrophe Podcast Network and is powered by Acast

This week, Diana and Steve chat with the songwriter’s songwriter of songwriters, none other than Mr. Ron Sexsmith!Ron talks about how Elvis Costello helped launch his early career, how the town of Stratford inspired the cover art for his new album ‘Hermitage,’ and of course - he and Steve wax poetic about the beauty of a ‘good pun.’Ron shines the spotlight on his fellow musician, songwriter and friend Lori Cullen! Lori describes how music has saved her life through Covid, as well as her collaboration with Sexsmith and Swinghammer. And if that sounds like a sexy combination of words, just wait till you hear her story about that album being accidentally played at a swinger’s party.To find out more about Ron Sexsmith including upcoming tour dates, be sure to check out his website www.ronsexsmith.com and follow his pun-tasticness on Twitter @ronsexmith To learn more about Lori Cullen be sure to check out her website www.loricullen.com where you can find the videos and albums we chatted about.To learn more about Steve’s mini-spotlight of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, go to https://www.winnipegcomedyfestival.com/And to learn more about the comedians from the Winnipeg Comedy Festival that Steve adored, check out:Ryan Williams on Twitter: @rywilliamscomic and on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpeuEl80wKS4VkRnxQd0XbwBree Parsons on Insta: @Brieparsonscomedy and on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjUGbC97DxjNDatADhaZm6wMatt Falk: Website: www.mattfalkcomedy.comHOST: Steve Patterson (Twitter: @patterballs)PRODUCER & CO-HOST: Diana Frances (Twitter @dianafrancesvan)TECHNICAL PRODUCER: Donovan Deschner from Fracture A Femur Productions (www.fractureafemur.com)MUSIC BY: Imagine Sound Studios (www.imaginesoundstudios.com)This show is brought to you by The Apostrophe Podcast Network and is powered by Acast

This week we head east to celebrate Canada’s Queen (and Princess Warrior) of Comedy - Mary Walsh! As a founding member of the legendary sketch groups CODCO and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mary muses on why Newfoundland produces so many great comedians, how she’s been playing old characters since she was young, and the origin story of Marg Delahunty.Mary shines the spotlight on her fellow Newfoundland comedian and writer Dave Sullivan! Dave and Mary star in the award-winning web series The Missus Downstairs on Bell Fibe, (which just won Best Performance at the LA Comedy Film & Screenplay Festival!) Dave explains the backstory to the hilarious web series as well as everyone’s obsession with Mary Brown’s chicken.Check out more of Mary Walsh on her website www.marywalsh.ca or follow her on Twitter @marywalsh11You can also follow Dave Sullivan on Twitter @DaveJSullivanAnd to watch The Missus Downstairs in Canada, go to www.tv1.bell.ca/fibetv1/shows/the-missus-downstairs HOST: Steve Patterson (Twitter: @patterballs)PRODUCER & CO-HOST: Diana Frances (Twitter @dianafrancesvan)TECHNICAL PRODUCER: Donovan Deschner from Fracture A Femur Productions (www.fractureafemur.com)MUSIC BY: Imagine Sound Studios (www.imaginesoundstudios.com)This show is brought to you by The Apostrophe Podcast Network and is powered by Acast

This week we keep Season Two rocking and rolling along with legendary Canadian musician, radio host and storyteller, Randy Bachman!Randy regales Steve and Diana with rock star quality stories from the road, how The Guess Who got their start (hint, that wasn’t their original name!) how Vinyl Tap came to be on CBC Radio and its new, syndicated home at Corus Entertainment!Randy shines the spotlight on his son, Tal Bachman - a star in his own right, but how could we say no to double Bachmen? Tal talks about the joy of working and touring with his Dad, and the genesis of their hilarious, unscripted YouTube show called Bachman & Bachman.NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to Randy announcing that health issues have forced him to postpone his Vinyl Tap live tour - which has now been rescheduled for November of 2022. For more information on Randy’s upcoming tour dates, check out www.randybachman.comTo listen to the new Vinyl Tap show, go to: www.vinyltap.com/To watch Bachman & Bachman on Youtube, check out: www.youtube.com/c/BachmanBachmanchannelYou can follow Randy on Twitter @RandysVinylTapYou can follow Tal on Twitter @tal_bachmanMINI SPOTLIGHT: To pre-order the novel OTHER PEOPLE’S SECRETS by Meredith Hambrook, check out: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/709903/other-peoples-secrets-by-meredith-hambrock/9781639100989?fbclid=IwAR3kogiqoIlJI-3c5IztFoYfnRM5XlbnIH_Wn32n7SMmKhypQFlj-yy27w4Or follow Meredith on Facebook: @meredithhambrockbooksHOST: Steve Patterson (Twitter: @patterballs)PRODUCER & CO-HOST: Diana Frances (Twitter @dianafrancesvan)TECHNICAL PRODUCER: Donovan Deschner from Fracture A Femur Productions (www.fractureafemur.com)MUSIC BY: Imagine Sound Studios (www.imaginesoundstudios.com)This show is brought to you by The Apostrophe Podcast Network and is powered by Acast

To kick off Season Two of the podcast, Steve and Diana chat with one of Canada’s brightest, energetic and positive personalities - star of the new CBC comedy ‘Run the Burbs’ - Andrew Phung!Andrew explains how including his Vietnamese/Chinese parents into his love of comedy made them his biggest fan (to the point where his Mom will tell people on airplanes to watch Kim’s Convenience). Plus he explains his love of sneakers, Calgary and getting his start in improv at Loose Moose Theatre.Andrew introduces us to the woman who plays his sister Carol on ‘Run The Burbs,’ Kimberly-Ann Truong! Kimmy (as she likes to be called) is a triple threat who was thrilled to finally play an actual Vietnamese character on Broadway in Miss Saigon, and how her head nearly exploded when she read the script for 'Run the Burbs' with so many Vietnamese characters. Kimmy also regails us with stories of taking mandatory classes on set etiquette through the acting union (which no one else had to do!) and the exciting new projects she has coming out soon, including ‘Take Note’ on NBC.To support The Possible Garden Project (which Diana shone a spotlight on this episode), check out their GoFundMe page at:  https://gofund.me/a13d1eecOr visit their website at: possiblegarden.orgHOST: Steve Patterson (Twitter: @patterballs)PRODUCER & CO-HOST: Diana Frances (Twitter @dianafrancesvan)TECHNICAL PRODUCER: Donovan Deschner from Fracture A Femur Productions (www.fractureafemur.com)MUSIC BY: Imagine Sound Studios (www.imaginesoundstudios.com)This show is brought to you by The Apostrophe Podcast Network and is powered by Acast

In this week’s episode, we talk about upcoming episodes!Steve is busy preparing for The Debaters Live Tour so Diana and our technical director Donovan announce our Season Two launch date, and how you can see both him and Steve live in person in the next few months! (Fun fact, Diana writes for the Debaters Live tours, so even though she’s not physically there, she’s kinda there.)If you’re keen to see The Debaters Live, check out the tour schedule here: https://debaterslive.com/And if you’d also like to see Diana be funny on stage, you can follow her all female improv and standup comedy show Girls Nite Out on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GirlsNiteComedyAnd on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/girlsniteoutcomedyimprov/HOST: Steve Patterson (Twitter: @patterballs)PRODUCER & CO-HOST: Diana Frances (Twitter @dianafrancesvan)TECHNICAL PRODUCER: Donovan Deschner from Fracture A Femur Productions (www.fractureafemur.com)MUSIC BY: Imagine Sound Studios (www.imaginesoundstudios.com)This show is brought to you by The Apostrophe Podcast Network and is powered by Acast

In this special ‘bonus’ episode, Steve, Diana and our technical producer, Donovan, recap some of the best answers from Season One to the question, ‘The Canadian star system is…’Guests such as Allana Harkin, Griffin Cork, Fred Penner, Bruce McCulloch, Terry O’Reilly, Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath weigh in with what they think the Canadian star system is, should be and could be!If you haven’t already, be sure to listen to all their episodes from Season One, which should tide you over until we launch Season Two very soon!HOST: Steve Patterson (Twitter: @patterballs)PRODUCER & CO-HOST: Diana Frances (Twitter @dianafrancesvan)TECHNICAL PRODUCER: Donovan Deschner from Fracture A Femur Productions (www.fractureafemur.com)MUSIC BY: Imagine Sound Studios (www.imaginesoundstudios.com)