The Nowhere Bus Podcast

Today our first guest of the season is my favourite 90s Bingo Factory co-worker, the man who introduced me to things that shaped my life like- the hackey sack and with whom I found a shared joy in creative slacking. Motorcycle enthusiast, Wedding DJ, photographer, man with the golden voice- Jeremy Curry. Today we talk about THE POTENTIAL honour bestowed upon the Nowhere Bus Podcast, the merits of Leaf Blowers, the gallows humour of Emergency Room nurses, songs a Former Wedding DJ never wants to hear again, as well as curious ways to start off a wedding speech.

Season Two of the Nowhere Bus begins with us noting such universal truths as, "There's nothing worse than being a Habs fan..." Meanwhile Mal picks up on the unique argument that the single most important thing humanity does is sleep, we talk the allure of the Youtube van life- travel and freedom in a world of rapidly escalating home and rental prices, we talk turtle watching as the new alternative to being gainfully employed, we chat similarities/differences in our perspectives on vaccines, we consider how much opinions are attached to age and emotional needs, we look at Naomi Osaka pulling out of the French Open, the Leafs playoff failure and the the decline in the Toronto medias ability to critique the team's ongoing struggles. Enjoy. 

The Season One Review of the Podcast talks video job interviews, the state of the modern conservative voices and doles out Awards, i.e. "Most Cavalier Disregard for the Audio Nature of our Podcast," explores Mal's love of, "Spa Music," his disdain for the modern tomato while Darren talks the dangers of Joe "The Boy Who Cried Antifa" Rogan and lazy comedy. The boys also share some work stories- Mal from his Blue Jays days regaling players on a long west coast flight with tales of 70s hockey stars and Darren sharing tales of Bingo factories and Gas Bars and other places parents warn their children about when they are reluctant to do their home work. We have Justin Drummond hot takes, questions from listeners, a song from the legendary band Melody Motel and much more. Link to Spotify Playlist for with Canadian music suggestions- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6KdQuoZohtVQE70m4BgEFz?si=dWVBpU66SsC4R3aSou6oFg

Dale Stevens jumps on the Nowhere Bus to talk coordinated walking suits, the importance of keeping pizza warm, the best games he has scored working at MLB.com, the perils of being Mal's designated driver, what Bruce Springsteen has brought to his life, Mal taking batting practice off Jim Fregosi at,"Media Spring Training," in Toronto the day before the Jays season opener, the Top 100 players not in the baseball Hall of Fame and much more.

We gave our friend Justin Drummond a simple directive, "Bring three amazing things to the podcast to tell us about." And despite some confusion about what exact order those things should be in, Justin delivers. So we talk three amazing things, Justin once defeating a Robot, life working at a call center and much more.  Justin also makes a nomination for the Nowhere Bus Non-Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame (NWBNHOFHOF) along with Mal and Darren adding more fine folks to their NWBNHOFHOF. Enjoy. 

"Merritton, the place where dreams come true!" Propaganda? Truth? Somewhere in between? The Nowhere Bus stops on Village Road to pick up the would be town/city of Merrittons' finest ambassador in one Andrew Dermatas to try to get to the bottom of all this Merritton hype. Andy talks growing up in the place where dreams come true, friends, family, being a, "lucky traveller," teaching, coaching, his favourite concerts, his favourite people and the never ending search for as much dirt road as possible. 

Mal and Darren talk faltering memories, the things you don't notice until it is often too late and Buffalo Bills fans desire to be martyrs. Also on the show, Mal shares some memories of his time with the Toronto Blue Jays including Brett Lawrie, tossed helmets, Cito Gaston and the Blue Jay who had to blow dry his toes before every game.  Episode Nine of the Podcast also marks the first inductees into the, "Nowhere Bus, Non-Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame." Enjoy. 

Our boy Stu Christie returns to the podcast armed with a list of compelling topics to tackle. So, we talk Leafs and Jays and our varying degrees of discontent and excitement. Player wise it's Springer, Brantley, Bauer in baseball, Andersen, Bill Nylander, Vesey, in hockey. We also look at the Presidential inauguration, the Browns choice to punt late in their playoff game with the Chiefs and the challenges in breaking news in the modern day sports world. Mal also answers a few questions from listeners and reminisces on interacting with the likes of Geddy Lee, Paul Stanley and other celebrities during his stint working for the Jays. Enjoy. 

Asia Si joins the podcast to talk the downside of eating blueberries before video calls, the trouble with using Google translate to figure out how to pronounce Polish words, her tendency to lie to her children, her experiences living in Poland, Canada (including that special aroma attached to downtown Toronto) and the United States, what it's like to be living in America in 2021 and much, much, more. 

Another coffee and tea episode with Mal and Darren wherein, armed with their caffeinated drink of choice, they explore- signs of marital decline, the connection between Costco and coups, Tiger Woods and the desire to be, "The Greatest Ever," the Toronto Blue Jays offseason moves or lack thereof, as well as opening night in the NHL. 

54.3% Del Stephen Music, 45.5% Chat, .2% bus sound effects .  Part II of our interview with Del Stephen digs further into Stephen's bandcamp releases (https://delstephen.bandcamp.com) as we continue to "drift" with Steve exploring music, travel, creativity, and the people that inspire him.  Songs included on this episode are-  The Heart Structure Quartet- freely associated movements 1 & 2, Del Stephen- Today's Versions, Del Stephen- Deep Topography, Del Stephen- sunset dreams of five oh five.

Here's the thing- right now, all around you, people (some of whom you know) are creating beautiful things. One of those people for me is Del Stephen. Steve has been creating beautiful music for years, releasing 20 albums on his own via bandcamp- https://delstephen.bandcamp.com as well as participating in any number of side projects.  Steve's got art. He's got lots of art.  So join us while we "drift" with Steve exploring music, travel, creativity, wrestling, his amateur soccer career and much more. 

Episode 3 of the Nowhere Bus Podcast finds our heroes a few days before New Years having a coffee and tea still trying to figure out how to hit the record button. Once they manage to hit record the chat wanders around to thoughts on New Years, the ongoing pandemic, art, the renewal of Virgin River on Netflix, the great, "Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?" debate as well as the question- Are the Bills more loveable when they lose?

To start the show The Nowhere Bus guys discuss their overt whiteness and the limitations contained within, the Cleveland Indians changing their name, the dangers of too many shortbread cookies at 9:30 AM and Mal's secret love of professional wrestling. The bus then stops to pick up friend of the show Jesse Seguin to discuss the tenure of Leafs GM Kyle Dubas. Darren has the cons, i.e. "It's like shuffling Nic Petan's on the Titanic!" Jesse has the pros, i.e. "My boy can draft!"   Enjoy.

Your Hosts- Former Toronto Blue Jays PR man, Mal Romanin, and former stockboy at Bargain Harolds, Darren Clarke. In Episode 1 of the Nowhere Bus Podcast Darren and Mal stop to pick up Stu "Coach" Christie. Christie is famous in the Niagara Region for his ability to not score on clutch shootout opportunities, his great 'stache, his willingness to eat peanuts at any and all times and for just generally being a really wonderful human being. Over the course of a little over an hour we chat with Stu about Christmas movies, Brian Burke, The Toronto Maple Leafs, Fransisco Lindor rumours and much more.  Enjoy.