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The Tragically Hip Top Forty Countdown: Song Thirty-Five – Bill from KingstonHey, it’s jD, and this week I’m joined by Bill from Kingston — broadcaster, author, moderator of all things Hip, and likely the guy who’s interviewed them more times than any other human walking the earth.Bill’s Hipstory starts with a first-year college radio gig, a vinyl copy of the EP, and a fortuitous job at MuchMusic just in time to catch Small Town Bringdown flickering across the screen. Since then, he’s been backstage, on tour, in the doc, and, most importantly, always flying the flag for the boys in every room he’s ever walked into.We talk about Greasy Jungle, naturally, but also: about what it means to know a band deeply — not just musically, but personally. About beer with Paul Langlois, free drinks with Johnny Fay, and turning down a pair of drumsticks in a gesture so noble his buddy Jeff still hasn’t forgiven him.Bill gets into Gord’s gift for writing — not just the lyrics, but the why behind the phrasing. The curiosity. The poetry. The way a line from Secret Path could come from a conversation about insulation. (Seriously.) We talk about how The Hip gave back long before it was cool or expected, and how growing up in Kingston wasn’t just their origin story — it was their anchor.🎙️ Next week: Tyler from Etobicoke drops in with a We Are the Same-era pick and a deep appreciation for rediscovery, fandom gaps, and the cassettes that shaped his summer.💬 Pull Quote“I’ve seen them in New York, L.A., Cleveland — and every time, it was packed with frenetic, die-hard fans. So yeah… I don’t know who started the ‘they didn’t make it in the States’ myth, but I was there. They did.”👤 About Our GuestBill Wilichka is a longtime broadcaster, Hip advocate, and Kingston local with a front-row seat to four decades of Canadian music history. His autobiography Still Alive in Kingston (yep, he’s starring in the film too) dives into his love for the band, his relationships with the members, and the ways their music weaves into his own story. He’s interviewed Gord, Paul, Rob, Gord S, and Johnny more than anyone else — and has the stories (and cue cards) to prove it.Check out his work at billwilichka.ca and watch for Still Alive in Kingston coming to a film fest near you.📬 Get Involved🎙️ Drop your hot take: castfeedback.com/tthtop40📧 Send yer Hipstory: tthtop40@gmail.com💸 Join the membersHIP & support the cause: buymeacoffee.com/tthtop40📡 Follow + StreamListen on: Spotify | Apple | YouTube | dewvre.com/tthtop40Follow us: Instagram: @tthtop40Join the group: facebook.com/groups/tthtop40💸 Support ALS CanadaWe’re raising $25,000 in memory of Matt Rona — a fan, a friend, and the kind of person who showed up with his whole heart. Every donation helps support ALS research and care across Canada. Join us: buymeacoffee.com/tthtop40Transcript follows below.The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 6:12 PMThe Tragically Hip Top 40 CountdownArtist: jDYear: 2025Transcript[0:00] A member of the DATC Media family. Previously on the Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown.Dave from St. Louis, what is your first memory of Greasy Jungle? Well, you know, I know part of thething that you're going for in the podcast, or at least one of the questions you have is what is thefirst song that you heard by the hip? And even though that night In May of 95 I didn't know any oftheir songs, I'm 99.9% sure That Greasy Jungle was probably The first one that stuck out to mePurely because I love the, What's the part from the chorus The And I remember that from that nightSo that's what sticks out to me is the first time I heard Greasy Jungle was actually the first time Isaw them in concert.[1:03] Hey, it's JD here, and I'm ready to go. The Tragically Hip Top 40 countdown is now underway.Week over week, we're going to count down the 40 essential tracks by the hip that you selectedwith your very own top 20 ballads. I then tabulated the results. using an abacus and a VHS copy ofTop Gun that keeps rewinding itself to the volleyball scene.[1:29] Hmm. How will your favorite song fare in the rankings? You'll need to tune in every week tofind out. So there's that. This week, I'm joined by the tragically hip super fan, Bill Wilischka, directfrom Kingston. How the hell are you doing on this hip-tastic day, Bill? Oh, I'm doing great. Alwaysgreat to catch up with you and speak to you, though, because like I said before, any chance tofurther the boys' legacy, and you're doing a great job with that, I'm all in support of. Yeah, we'veboth been flying the flag, because you recently hosted two nights at the Isabel Bader Auditorium,correct?[2:08] Yeah, the Performing Arts Theater. They screened the first two episodes of the Hip Docseries, and Mike Downey was present, Jake Gold, first manager, now present manager, and whoelse was there? Well, Gord, Sinclair, Rob Baker, and Paul Langlois were there. And so wescreened it and then, uh, I moderated the Q and a, uh, both nights. It was amazing. That is. Andthey raised a hell of a lot of money as well, right? 80 grand for the United way for the Kingstonfile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20606.htmlPage 1 of 9The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 6:12 PMarea. And that money stays here. How cool is that? Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's one of the things I loveabout their boys is that penchant to give back. And they've been doing it from day one, not justKingston, but around Canada, around the world. Uh they've lent their name and their time to manymany charitable causes and issues and you gotta love them for that and most of the time they do itquietly and don't jump up and down saying look what we did they just do it they go in and they do itquietly i i remember roadside attraction in 93 when the whole lineup put out.[3:15] A track for Claquat Sound, like the, I think it was called Land? In BC. In BC, yeah. But thatwas done very quietly as well. Like the fact that you had the Tragically Hip and Midnight Oil andseveral other bands on, you know, doing one track, I thought that would have been just a monster,you know? And yet you have to get people scratching their heads to think about it. Well, Rob Bakertold me years ago, and it's a funny story and it sort of deflates, sort of their character. And I'm goingto share it just because I think it's a funny story. But from day one, when they first startedperforming at the mansion, which is not the mansion, the manor here in Kingston, which no longerexists, they were this hot Kingston bar band. They had a big buzz around them. They were packingthe club every night. And of course, a lot of friends and family would show up wanting free tickets.And the band realized a long time ago that, you know what? We're going to do a benefit. Uh, thisshow is going to be a benefit, so no free tickets, everybody pays.[4:18] And that was sort of the reason where they wanted to give back. And it was an excusebasically that, okay, no guest lists, no free tickets, everybody pays. Cause where would they drawthe line? that's right here at their their hometown just starting out and so they develop this habit ofgiving back with shows whether it's a local food bank they ask people to bring non-perishable fooditems, Or, you know, lending their time to Live 8, for instance. There's just, they've had this longhistory of doing so, but the oranges of them giving back, it's almost for simplicity reasons.Everybody pays. It's a benefit.[5:03] Well, let's go back to your day one. Let's go back and revisit a time before you knew theTragically Heap, that day that you discovered them fatefully. What was that all about? First year ofcollege, 1986. I'm dating myself. What the hell? You can't fight it forever. But first year of college, Ihad a radio shift on CRSC. It was our closed circuit Seneca College radio station, campus station.[5:34] And that year, coming across that first EP and falling in love with it. And then eventually, youknow, getting a job at Much, the week I graduated as an editor in 1988, seeing the videos for SmallTown Bringdown, for Last American Exit, and just, you know, visually putting together with the audiothat I already loved, a little bit of a better picture of this band. Right. And that was, um, thebeginning of my love affair with the hip, which still lasts to this day. And, you know, one of thefile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20606.htmlPage 2 of 9The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 6:12 PMbeautiful things about working at much is I had the pleasure of interviewing every person I was evera fan of. And of course, learning about new bands that I didn't know and started interviewing theguys in the mid nineties and probably have interviewed them more than anyone in the world. Iwould think, uh, all these years later, looking back, but it wasn't until moving to Kingston 12 yearsago, um.[6:40] For a television job that I really started to solidify and renew acquaintances and friendshipswith all the guys and their families. And it's been very rewarding and I'm humbled by it and I knowI'm very blessed to, you know, call the guys together.[7:00] Friends and their family's friends, all the while still being a huge hip fan, which is weirdsometimes. That must be a strange dichotomy, right? Like, you know, you're sitting there justhaving a chat with Paul over a beer or something like that. And then it dawns on you, holy fuck, I'mhaving a beer with Paul Langlois right now. You know, what's funny is, uh, you know, having a drinkwith Paul or whoever, you know, noticing that ring that I've seen him for years play, play the guitarwith. And it's like sitting across from, oh, there's that ring that I remember seeing in videos and liveperformances. Yeah, that's weird. Yeah. But like little weird little connections like that over theyears. Oh, wow.[7:42] What were your experiences like once you determined that you were a fan? So obviously yougot to see everything pretty much in real time. At what point did you know that this wasn't yoursecret band? Because I have this weird feeling that every Canadian, you know, sort of treasuresthem as though they're the biggest fan. And I don't mean that in a, in a negative kind of way at all,but like everyone really cleaves to them and has their, you know, their own story. As they should.And not just Canadians, people around the world as well. Absolutely. Yes, you are totally right. LikeI'm going to be interviewing somebody from Scotland for this project. I'm going to be interviewingsomebody from the Netherlands. I believe, if I can lock that one down. So we'll see. It is fascinatingto see. Australia is one. There's one in Australia. Well, it's funny because during the screening,Jake Gold, who was there from day one, you know, after the screening here in Kingston at theIsabel Bader, it was the second episode they talked about this.[8:47] You know, they've been tagged with this thing for years. Oh, you're doing great in Canada.How come you can't make it in the U.S.? Yeah. One of my questions to Jake on stage was like, Inever understood that debate, that issue with the hip. Because there were many assignments overthe years where I'd interview them in Cleveland or New York State or L.A., so many places. And theplaces were jammed with crazy, frenetic fans. And I said to Jake, like, I don't understand why we'restill talking about it to this day. And he goes, it's frankly, it's your guys' fault, the media's fault forfile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20606.htmlPage 3 of 9The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 6:12 PMconstantly bringing it up. And I said, well, Jake, I never brought it up, but I was a witness to it. And itreally bothered me. It still does all these years that people say, well, you know, you didn't reallymake it in the U.S. Holy crap, did they ever make it in the U.S.? Oh, there's fans that would kill tohave their career in the U.S. I've seen them in Chicago and, um, you know, it just blows me awayjust to this day. No, they have huge hardcore fan base in the U S and pockets all over the U Swhere they do extremely well. And, um, yeah. And I think the band was just sick of it after a fewyears hearing from people. Whoa. Like, you know, I think the bare naked ladies dealt for that withthat for years until they had, you know, until one week or no, Brian, Brian Wilson live eventually onthat record. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.[10:13] So how many times have you seen them live? Like at this point, like, I mean, I'm guessingPerks of the Gig, you saw them a number of times, but as a, um. As a fan, every single time. Yeah.Wow. I want to say, I don't know, maybe 15 times over the years, which is nowhere, nowhere nearsome of the numbers. Oh yeah. Some other fans have seen them. Like 40, 50, a hundred. Yeah. 15is nothing. I thought I was, I'm right around there too, Bill. And I thought I was like a specialindividual at one point. And then it's, you meet people. I came to Toronto. I'm from a small town andI came to Toronto and all of a sudden it was like.[10:51] It wasn't a secret. The hip were like the biggest band going, but my little small town, it hadbarely, you know, um, it's a classic rock radio station. So when Road Amples came out, they playedthe hell out of it. But I was, uh, I got turned on to it by a friend up to here. He had seen them at theforum. I want to say the Ontario place forum. Wow. Yeah. And, uh, he fell in love and yeah, the restis history. But, um. It's funny. One of the last times I've seen them, it was the, I think the fullycompletely reunion tour where they did the album top to bottom. Yes, yes. And a friend of mine inToronto, also a huge hip fan. Anyway, I got his tickets for here in Kingston, then the K-Rock place.And he's always getting me Chicago tickets when they come to Toronto. I'm a Chicago Blackhawksfan. So I thought, I'm going to do Jeff a favor. Okay, Jeff, I got his tickets. They're pretty good. Aswe're walking up to the venue He looks at these tickets He goes yeah these are good seats giveme a second He takes them walks over to a scalper They talk comes back he goes no these aregood tickets I'm looking at them like front row center Floors, Looking up at them Jeff's like that He'sweird but At the end of the show you know and like Any hip show it's an amusement park ride.[12:08] It was a Beautiful beautiful night And at the end of the show they come out and they, youknow, stand at the tip of the stage. So basically you're looking up at them like this. And then JohnnyFaye walks over to the edge to hand out his drumsticks and he sees me and he goes, Bill, and hehands me the two drumsticks. Ah. And the people behind me are like, that's not fair, man. Youfile:///Users/jd/Desktop/TTHTop40%20-%20606.htmlPage 4 of 9The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown2025-05-23, 6:12 PMknow, that's not fair.[12:30] What am I going to do? I took the drumsticks and I handed them back to the people behindme. Oh, what a gentleman. Well, to this day, Jeff says to me, you're such a fucking idiot. I wantedthose drumsticks. It's funny because then we saw Johnny at a pub like two hours later and he sat,bought us drinks. So I go, okay, Jeff, what would you want more free drinks? From Johnny or hisdrumsticks, Jeff says, no, I'd want the drumsticks still. Oh, God. Oh, that's hysterical. Yeah, justgetting to, I've got a chance to chat with each of them, with the exception of Gord Downey. Andyeah, they're all just so lovely, you know? They are beautiful human beings. Like you're waiting tohear something like a s…
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