Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It's quit a, Can't Terra Picksone oh six, Lawrence Gawan, singer
(00:03):
keyboardist for Sticks on the Phone,Can't Raball and Energy. How are you,
Sarah, Yeah, totally, I'mvery well. How are you,
sir? I read a great reviewwhere they talked about you playing at one
of the shows incorporating seven of thenew newer stuff in with all the you
know, all the hits, andhow they fit seamlessly. I mean,
you guys still bring it to alevel that I think shocks people at times.
(00:25):
You know, you're never going togo to a stick show and not
hear Renegade and Comes sail Away andGrand Illusion and Blue Collar Man. But
what we've done with the newer materialis we've taken short bits of them and
interwoven them, you know, almostlike bookended them with the classic material to
the point where people don't necessarily knowthat it's something new that we're playing because
(00:47):
it's sonically it seems to fit inwith those classic albums, and that's been
working for us for the last coupleof years, and it really does kind
of help to help people to understandthat the legacy of the band is continuing
on, you know, in thein the modern day that you now that
it's it. They've merged together,even though they're decades decades apart. Hey,
(01:07):
yeah, you're still you raising hellafter the shows? Is all the
hell get raised on the stage thesedays? That's very funny, Um,
that the hell gets raised on thestage. Quite honestly, he sure does.
It's that. That's um, that'sthat's all the hell that we that
we can stand one day at thispoint. You know, it's funny because
(01:30):
during the shows, you know,we all feel like we're fifteen or sixteen
years old, because the energy comesup, all of the adrenalines there.
The audience are giving you some phenomenalinspiration and feedback, and we all feel
that way. It's only the nextmorning that we realized, oh I got
a day to recover from what justhappened on the stage, John, And
(01:52):
but we do, we do agood job of that. I think I
highly recommend the adrenaline and the merefact of playing rock music, just it
energizes you and gives you a youthfulenough feeling that you can defy reality.
You command that stage, sir,no question about that. Sticks Coming to
the Palace tomorrow night, there's afew tickets available. I were talking a
(02:14):
long time keyboardist vocalist Lawrence Gowan,So you actually I didn't realize this.
We're getting ready for the interview.You open for Sticks before they called and
said, hey, will you comejoin the band? Did they have an
eye on you years before they calledyou? It was twenty seven years ago.
We did the two shows together whereI opened for them, just solo
(02:36):
on piano in nineteen ninety seven,and two years after that they when they
called, I had assumed they werecalling to say, hey, you want
to can you come and open somemore shows for us? But instead they
asked me to join the band.So this is in my twenty fifth year
of being in Sticks, but thatis that is how we first came together.
And they took note of me,you know, my stuff, because
(02:57):
they I've had enough hits across Canadathat they were aware of the vis in
Montreal that we did our first showtogether. And I guess when they when
they needed a piano player singer,my name kind of came up and they
when they called, they said wouldyou mind joining us? And I didn't
mind at all? Are you?Are you a classically trained pianist. Yeah,
(03:21):
I actually have a grasping that.Yeah, I actually have a kind
of a degree in in classical pianoperformance that I got from the Royal Conservatory
in Toronto. That was many,many years ago. I was nineteen at
the time, But yeah, Iam. I'm very, very much an
afficionado of classical music and just howmuch it's influenced rock, particularly progressive rock.
(03:44):
Say do you guys, Do youguys ever sing? Babe? I
mean, I know what it's sacrilegiousbecause Dennis wrote it for Susanna. It's
like, I mean, has thatever happened? You know, you've said
the exact reason why we don't.Yeah, because when I when I saw
their show in nineteen ninety seven,Uh, Dennis made you know it,
did an entire introduction to the songabout how it's a solid to his wife,
(04:06):
and and I just thought when Ijoined the band, that's one song
I don't think we should I shouldreally sing. I really thought that,
Uh, you know, it's it'sa personal thing. And luckily, you
know, as j Y points out, there's such an embarrassment of riches when
it comes to great stick songs toplay that we really haven't we haven't.
(04:27):
You know what I mean, It'snot it's it's and it's kind of the
direction of the band shifted. Uh. You know after after I joined the
band, and we kind of focusmore on the on the up temple rock
stuff more than anything else. Wewe went back on YouTube and watched some
of your MTV cribs from two thousandand six. You look, I at
(04:49):
vegetarian. Vegetarian? Uh I was. Yeah, for a long long time.
I was very much, very verygood a kate to it. Now
now I shift around most of thetime. I guess I am. I
thought I saw him squeezing mayonnaise intohis mouth. Is that har duck sauce?
Du sauce the place in Canada,the burger place in Canada to make
(05:15):
veggie Burger's back then, and theyhad this stuff called guck sauce And yeah,
just you know, acting out forthe cameras. Imparted to mister Gwen,
you're telling me that lix is outof business? No, okay,
licks for licks for licks. Wherewas that house were you living in California
back then? No? That's Toronto. Yeah, we get wow, yeah,
(05:39):
well we get we get about weget a week of summer every other
every other year, we dig,We dig your style. By the way,
it's Laurence going from Sticks playing thehouse tomorrow. I assume we'll expect
like we talked about all the babies, But do you still wrap it up
with Renegade? Is that how you'redoing it? We always do. We
(06:01):
always. That's that's my favorite Stickssong to play, because you know,
Tommy obviously sings that songs my song. But I get to observe the audience
at the end of the day.It's a remarkable thing. I played nearly
three thousand shows now with Sticks overthe last twenty five years, and we
you know, we wherever we playaround the world. It's amazing how different
(06:23):
audiences are at the beginning of ashow, how different people are saying Sweden
artive compared to people in Japan,compared to America, compared to England.
And it's amazing by the time whenwe get to play Renegade, how alike
the audience is. It's a wonderfulto observe that a rock show is one
of the most unifying forces that existsin humanity. And I love kind of
(06:47):
observing that because I just have toplay the keyboards on that on that tunes
sing a little bit of harmony.But that's that's a moment that I get
to kind of drink in what theaudience is, uh, you know what
their reaction. Yeah, and Isee them all with the big smiles in
their faces and arms in the air, and you know, just loving,
and then that's that's universal. Well, that's what we expect Tomorrow night's Sticks
(07:09):
at the Palace. It's gonna bea great show. Few tickets still available
later on down the line and thetour. You team up with Edwin McCain.
That's a that's not a pairing.I would guess how did that happen?
You know, we we try toplay with a good you know,
variety of various artists. You know, we're doing some shows this summer with
John Bona Massa, Joe Um andyou know, these are these are what
(07:33):
seemed to be unusual pairing. Andit's amazing how wide the audience's appreciation is
now from various genres of music.So I don't know quite how that one
came together. But I love whenthere are surprises like that. That's gonna
be I mean, all the showsare gonna be great. That one with
McCain Tomorrow Nights Show. Yeah,no question. We really appreciate the time.
(07:54):
Come back anytime. Yeah, thankyou Lawrence Gowing, everybody from Sticks
go see him. Great to speakwith you guys. Look at forwards Tomorrow
Night and Quinnigan Terra Picks one.I was six
It's quit a, Can't Terra Picksone oh six, Lawrence Gawan, singer
(00:03):
keyboardist for Sticks on the Phone,Can't Raball and Energy. How are you,
Sarah, Yeah, totally, I'mvery well. How are you,
sir? I read a great reviewwhere they talked about you playing at one
of the shows incorporating seven of thenew newer stuff in with all the you
know, all the hits, andhow they fit seamlessly. I mean,
you guys still bring it to alevel that I think shocks people at times.
(00:25):
You know, you're never going togo to a stick show and not
hear Renegade and Comes sail Away andGrand Illusion and Blue Collar Man. But
what we've done with the newer materialis we've taken short bits of them and
interwoven them, you know, almostlike bookended them with the classic material to
the point where people don't necessarily knowthat it's something new that we're playing because
(00:47):
it's sonically it seems to fit inwith those classic albums, and that's been
working for us for the last coupleof years, and it really does kind
of help to help people to understandthat the legacy of the band is continuing
on, you know, in thein the modern day that you now that
it's it. They've merged together,even though they're decades decades apart. Hey,
(01:07):
yeah, you're still you raising hellafter the shows? Is all the
hell get raised on the stage thesedays? That's very funny, Um,
that the hell gets raised on thestage. Quite honestly, he sure does.
It's that. That's um, that'sthat's all the hell that we that
we can stand one day at thispoint. You know, it's funny because
(01:30):
during the shows, you know,we all feel like we're fifteen or sixteen
years old, because the energy comesup, all of the adrenalines there.
The audience are giving you some phenomenalinspiration and feedback, and we all feel
that way. It's only the nextmorning that we realized, oh I got
a day to recover from what justhappened on the stage, John, And
(01:52):
but we do, we do agood job of that. I think I
highly recommend the adrenaline and the merefact of playing rock music, just it
energizes you and gives you a youthfulenough feeling that you can defy reality.
You command that stage, sir,no question about that. Sticks Coming to
the Palace tomorrow night, there's afew tickets available. I were talking a
(02:14):
long time keyboardist vocalist Lawrence Gowan,So you actually I didn't realize this.
We're getting ready for the interview.You open for Sticks before they called and
said, hey, will you comejoin the band? Did they have an
eye on you years before they calledyou? It was twenty seven years ago.
We did the two shows together whereI opened for them, just solo
(02:36):
on piano in nineteen ninety seven,and two years after that they when they
called, I had assumed they werecalling to say, hey, you want
to can you come and open somemore shows for us? But instead they
asked me to join the band.So this is in my twenty fifth year
of being in Sticks, but thatis that is how we first came together.
And they took note of me,you know, my stuff, because
(02:57):
they I've had enough hits across Canadathat they were aware of the vis in
Montreal that we did our first showtogether. And I guess when they when
they needed a piano player singer,my name kind of came up and they
when they called, they said wouldyou mind joining us? And I didn't
mind at all? Are you?Are you a classically trained pianist. Yeah,
(03:21):
I actually have a grasping that.Yeah, I actually have a kind
of a degree in in classical pianoperformance that I got from the Royal Conservatory
in Toronto. That was many,many years ago. I was nineteen at
the time, But yeah, Iam. I'm very, very much an
afficionado of classical music and just howmuch it's influenced rock, particularly progressive rock.
(03:44):
Say do you guys, Do youguys ever sing? Babe? I
mean, I know what it's sacrilegiousbecause Dennis wrote it for Susanna. It's
like, I mean, has thatever happened? You know, you've said
the exact reason why we don't.Yeah, because when I when I saw
their show in nineteen ninety seven,Uh, Dennis made you know it,
did an entire introduction to the songabout how it's a solid to his wife,
(04:06):
and and I just thought when Ijoined the band, that's one song
I don't think we should I shouldreally sing. I really thought that,
Uh, you know, it's it'sa personal thing. And luckily, you
know, as j Y points out, there's such an embarrassment of riches when
it comes to great stick songs toplay that we really haven't we haven't.
(04:27):
You know what I mean, It'snot it's it's and it's kind of the
direction of the band shifted. Uh. You know after after I joined the
band, and we kind of focusmore on the on the up temple rock
stuff more than anything else. Wewe went back on YouTube and watched some
of your MTV cribs from two thousandand six. You look, I at
(04:49):
vegetarian. Vegetarian? Uh I was. Yeah, for a long long time.
I was very much, very verygood a kate to it. Now
now I shift around most of thetime. I guess I am. I
thought I saw him squeezing mayonnaise intohis mouth. Is that har duck sauce?
Du sauce the place in Canada,the burger place in Canada to make
(05:15):
veggie Burger's back then, and theyhad this stuff called guck sauce And yeah,
just you know, acting out forthe cameras. Imparted to mister Gwen,
you're telling me that lix is outof business? No, okay,
licks for licks for licks. Wherewas that house were you living in California
back then? No? That's Toronto. Yeah, we get wow, yeah,
(05:39):
well we get we get about weget a week of summer every other
every other year, we dig,We dig your style. By the way,
it's Laurence going from Sticks playing thehouse tomorrow. I assume we'll expect
like we talked about all the babies, But do you still wrap it up
with Renegade? Is that how you'redoing it? We always do. We
(06:01):
always. That's that's my favorite Stickssong to play, because you know,
Tommy obviously sings that songs my song. But I get to observe the audience
at the end of the day.It's a remarkable thing. I played nearly
three thousand shows now with Sticks overthe last twenty five years, and we
you know, we wherever we playaround the world. It's amazing how different
(06:23):
audiences are at the beginning of ashow, how different people are saying Sweden
artive compared to people in Japan,compared to America, compared to England.
And it's amazing by the time whenwe get to play Renegade, how alike
the audience is. It's a wonderfulto observe that a rock show is one
of the most unifying forces that existsin humanity. And I love kind of
(06:47):
observing that because I just have toplay the keyboards on that on that tunes
sing a little bit of harmony.But that's that's a moment that I get
to kind of drink in what theaudience is, uh, you know what
their reaction. Yeah, and Isee them all with the big smiles in
their faces and arms in the air, and you know, just loving,
and then that's that's universal. Well, that's what we expect Tomorrow night's Sticks
(07:09):
at the Palace. It's gonna bea great show. Few tickets still available
later on down the line and thetour. You team up with Edwin McCain.
That's a that's not a pairing.I would guess how did that happen?
You know, we we try toplay with a good you know,
variety of various artists. You know, we're doing some shows this summer with
John Bona Massa, Joe Um andyou know, these are these are what
(07:33):
seemed to be unusual pairing. Andit's amazing how wide the audience's appreciation is
now from various genres of music.So I don't know quite how that one
came together. But I love whenthere are surprises like that. That's gonna
be I mean, all the showsare gonna be great. That one with
McCain Tomorrow Nights Show. Yeah,no question. We really appreciate the time.
(07:54):
Come back anytime. Yeah, thankyou Lawrence Gowing, everybody from Sticks
go see him. Great to speakwith you guys. Look at forwards Tomorrow
Night and Quinnigan Terra Picks one.I was six
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.