What was the first insight or first moment when you're like, this could be something we do?

Yeah, well, as you guys know, I've had a bit of a history in improv.

The folks at UCB are far better at improv than I am.

But with that connection, really, when we look at things like casting, it doesn't really matter what you're making.

Creatively, we all kind of hope to have someone that can riff, right? If you get an actor, a director, anyone on set that actually can riff with you, I think it always elevates your ideas.

Can make them feel more natural, can make them feel a little bit more loose, off the cuff, conversational, and we know that really plays well with social.

So I actually reached out to the folks that purchased UCB from Amy Poehler and Matt Walsh and Matt Besser and the founding members there.

And I think just like the success you're already having with the Taste Buds, You can kind of see a way to like almost replicate this, but do you have aspirations of like other projects and other ways that you're using improv that's outside of just, you know, two people kind of going back and forth, like thinking about different situations kind of thing?

We're starting with more of our conversation with Matt Johnson, who kept up his friendship with Genesis P. Orridge and Peter Christopherson, even as his own releases as The Ver became some of the era-defining music of the 80s.

I got to know them in the early days.

It was Genesis and Sleazy that I knew.

And then fast forward several years, and they had obviously disbanded Throbbing Gristle and formed Psychic TV, you know, became label makers for Genesis and Sleazy on Sun Bizarre.

Now, Sleazy was also involved in the legendary design company, Hypnotus.

You know, they did huge amounts of record sleeves in the 70s.

And Sleazy was involved in the video aspect of it.

So when Mac got inspired by Werner Herzog's movie Fitzcarraldo, Aubrey Powell of Hypnosis suggested they should fly to the Amazon for the shoot, and Sleazy was on board.

We got hold of Matt and began by talking about his first solo album, which he recorded in the late 70s, See Without Being Seen.

Yeah, I consider that my first...

Album, really, although it was recorded on my little Akai 4000 DS Mark II in the cellar of my parents' pub.

I put so much work into that because I was also at the time working at the DeWolf Music Studios in Soho, which was next to the old Marquis Club.

So that album, see with that being seen, as I said, was recorded between my own small homemade recording studio.

And there I had, I think it was the Electro Harmonix Rhythm 12 or something.

That was a drum machine that I borrowed to use.

Well,

What is the three finals you've played in so far this year? What have they taught you about finals footy?

Yeah, the first final I was a part of this year, I was very nervous going in and being the only player in the team that hadn't been a part of a final, I sort of was painting a narrative in my head that it was a completely different game and the intensity would be at a new level, which obviously it was.

It was a different experience, but it sort of just taught me that You just got to prepare as if it's another game because the game's not necessarily going to ask you too many questions you haven't already been asked.

And going into the second final, yeah, it sort of set my mind at ease that I was able to compete at the level.

And yeah, I think just gave me a bit more confidence that I can just go out and trust the work I've done and just play footy.

How hard was that?

Yeah, it was tough.

I felt like I was building.

Hmm.

'Cause all my early stuff did.

It is easier to make good stuff now than it was before, but you still just have to try and keep trying.

Okay.

All the Sony people.

I was telling them, «Why do we not have connectivity? Why do, why does the DJI mic connect to one of their cameras just instantly, but Sony's like, 'Uh, can't do it, sorry'?» I'm like, «What-

What's the scope of it? Why do we need it? How does it work? And what does it cost?

Yeah, we've been busy, right? So from January first through the end of July, we've already committed to a thousand and one, actually, reliability projects throughout the state, um, in fifty-five of the sixty-eight counties that we serve across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

So no matter where you live across the state, we've been busy in your community, in your neighborhood.

We've invested over ninety million dollars so far.

Uh, and as you said, we have, uh, nearly nine hundred more projects still planned through August to the end of the year.

So we're talking about substation repairs High voltage lines, low voltage lines, and those poles and, that you see and the wires in your neighborhood all across our service territories.

We've been very busy investing in a lot of the counties that we serve and, and happy to let customers know that, hey, you know, we, when we talk about those electric rates and the dollars that we invest back in the system, this is exactly where it goes.

And that, uh, grid, so-called, with its lines, et cetera, is, uh, vulnerable to Mother Nature too, right? Ice, wind, snow, et cetera.

What has the tournament been like from your perspective, and what would surprise people about hosting an LPGA event? Yeah.

It's been a great experience, to tell you the truth.

And I think we've developed a great partnership with Golf Canada and the LPGA.

Really, we're able to read off each other and work with each other quite easily.

understanding that things are going to change real time as the tournament goes on.

And so we prepared for that.

Our teams did a great job of having contingency plans throughout.

But listen, when you look back on this week, what are you and your team going to be most proud of? And what do you hope golfers across Alberta remember about the Royal Mayfair hosting the CPKC Open this week?

How much was that of a boost to lead into tonight's game?

Yeah.

Oh, I was super pleased with both the boys.

Um, obviously Youngy had to wait a few extra weeks.

He's had a inj- injury interrupted year.

Um, so yeah, it was great to see him g- get to his milestone this week.

Um, he's a close friend of mine and then obviously JT is, is only just starting to scratch the surface of, um, the footy that he's capable of and he's already dominating the competition, so yeah, it's scary.

How did it feel out there on the ground at the time?

Is that part of the inside the group? You go, "You know, we've still got some serious improvement to go, and we might have to improve if we're gonna win this whole shooting match."

Yeah, no, 100%.

I think JL spoke about it a few weeks ago, that we just need to keep improving at a faster rate than everyone else, and obviously we're not a fin-finished product at the moment.

Um, we, we haven't played four quarters of dominant footy like we, we strive for, so, um, yeah, by no means are we satisfied with how we're going.

We're, we're always looking to improve, but yeah, it's been nice to win some close games this year, and obviously that reflects with how we're situated on the ladder.

Um, but yeah, we know that we can't sit back and just think that it's all gonna happen come the point end of the season.

So the start of games and teams scoring early in quarters, how much have you talked about that as a group?

Yeah, I think that's been one of the main focuses in our reviews the last few weeks.

So the start of games and teams scoring early in quarters, how much have you talked about that as a group?

Yeah, I think that's been one of the main focuses in our reviews the last few weeks.

We spoke about some things relating to our method and how we want to play the game in the start of the first and second quarter.

So, yeah, we're obviously looking to improve our starts.

I think our intent has been pretty good.

We've probably just been overdoing it with the handball and it's not allowing us to keep the ball in our front half.

So we're trying to improve on that a little bit and hopefully that goes towards us being in a better position on the scoreboard.

I just wanted to know, do you and the teammates have a sense when someone's close to signing, do players talk about that kind of thing in the locker room in this day and age? Did you have an idea that Murphy had put those extra years on, for example?

When fans arrive at Tournament Week, can you tell us the scale of the infrastructure that's going to happen on your property and what it takes to transform Royal Mayfair into a world-class LPGA tour venue?

Yeah, unfortunately, I wasn't here in 2013 for the event.

I missed it by a year or so.

But if anybody that was here for that event, this is going to be like 10 times the event that that was as in size and scope and where the LPGA has grown since 2013.

So you're going to see huge build-outs for corporate hospitality.

If you're watching the Open this week, the Canadian Open RBC, Of course, you'll notice the rink hole on hole 14.

We'll have our own addition of that on our 8th hole, which will be the tournament's 17th hole, which will be a really cool atmosphere come the weekend, kind of second-to-last hole coming down the stretch.

So for listeners who want to be part of the event, whether it's a spectator, volunteer, corporate partner, what opportunities are still available to get involved with all this and where can they go for more information, tickets, hospitality packages, and volunteering?

Mm-hmm.

And of course, everybody has their own individual truth.

We all have different life experiences depending upon our background, our upbringing, the opportunities we've had, the people we know, where we live.

So it's a case of finding your own truth, but also being confident enough to express it without fear of ridicule.

I mean, that's part of the process of songwriting, performing, or in any creative endeavor.

If you're a writer, a poet, a painter, an actor, you know, there's a fear of ridicule probably as you're trying to find your voice, particularly if you've had...

You know, like myself, I come from a difficult background in terms of school.

And do you have to kind of structure your life in, in particular ways to create the freedom to write? I know that you've said, um, one useful thing for a songwriter is a, a lack of celebrity so that you can remain an observer.

So are you sure you want to do the residents? Who are the residents?

Exactly.

And I wasn't a very good musician.

And these guys were very, very good.

Nice guys, but I thought, this is ridiculous.

So then I put the ad in the NME, which was a more suitable home.

And through that, I met a chap called Keith Laws.

of...