Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment, and project development real estate. You'll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

Rockin' Rhonda & The Uptown Band: Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. All right. Join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.

Dave Graham: Welcome back to The Pulse Community Podcast. I'm Dave Graham, and I have to say there's something energizing about starting fresh with season two. Yes, this is the first podcast of our second season, and you know, I have that feeling you get when you finally organize your sock drawer. Everything feels possible again.

Peter McCully: I'm Peter McCully, and I'm wondering if Dave actually organized his sock drawer or if this is just another one of his hopeful metaphors. But he's right about new beginnings. We're excited to kick off season two with some fabulous, hopefully inspiring stories from our community.

Dave Graham: I should have said that I imagine this feels like when you finally organize your sock drawer. I have no personal experience in the matter, but for the record, yeah, I do have a sock system. It's called a pile. It's a piling system. Hey, but we're not here to talk about housekeeping. We want to talk about work that is successfully completed, and I bring you exhibit number one: Neil Osborne, lead singer of the band 54-40. He's going to be joining us today to talk about their new album, Porto, which was recorded in Portugal.

Neil Osborne: A lot of times we've made records and other artists make records where they write the song, record it, and then take it on the road. You know, the old ways we used to do it was always write a song and play it in front of a crowd first, and then go into the studio. So that's what we did this time. We could sense the energy and the vibe coming back from the crowd made it really work.

Peter McCully: Neil Osborne of 54-40—he'll be sharing some tracks from the new album with us as well. We'll also be talking with golfer Shelley Stouffer of Nanoose Bay, who just captured her third Canadian Women's Senior Championship. And I have to say, Dave, your golf game could use some tips from Shelley.

Dave Graham: Ah, golf game. Oh, that's funny. Regardless of one's field of expertise, I admire people who achieve excellence, period. Shelley is a member of the BC Golf Hall of Fame.

Shelley Stouffer: I think I want to go back over to Europe and the UK, and I want to win the British Senior Am. That would be one of my goals. I just like winning tournaments. Obviously I'd like to win the US Senior Women's Am again—that would be pretty sweet. I don't really have any records that I'm chasing, but winning is fun, and I'm always gonna feel like that's what I want to do.

Peter McCully: "Winning is fun," says Shelley Stouffer. We'll hear more from her soon. We here at The Pulse Community Podcast certainly subscribe to the concept that winning is fun.

Dave Graham: Yes, I've heard that about winning. And to that end, we have a new contest for you, and it comes in the form of new music from 54-40.

Peter McCully: The new album Porto drops in October. This is your invitation to enter to win a prize pack that contains Porto, the band-signed album on vinyl, as well as La Difference: A History Unplugged, the band-signed CD, and a 54-40 T-shirt.

Dave Graham: To enter to win, go to our website, thepulsecommunity.ca, or our Facebook page, The Pulse Community, and tell us your favorite 54-40 tune. Two draws will be made for two prize packs on October 9th.

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Dave Graham: So, Peter, we both enjoyed birthdays recently. I wish you a happy belated, and happy belated to you as well, sir. I gotta say, you look amazing for your age. What are you—you have to be over 80 by now?

Peter McCully: No, Dave. I'm not 80.

Dave Graham: Oh, okay. Well, never mind then.

Peter McCully: Future guests to The Pulse Community Podcast include author J.P. McLean of Denman Island. She has a new book, The Never Witch, the first in the Thorn Witch Series.

Dave Graham: Shannon Sinn, author of The Haunting of Vancouver Island, will tell us about the wild people of the woods, otherwise known as the Sasquatch.

Peter McCully: Peter Kent of Beaches was Arnold Schwarzenegger's stunt double in 14 movies, and he'll be joining us on a future edition of The Pulse Community Podcast.

Dave Graham: Peter Kent. Now there's a fellow whose physical appearance played a major role in the direction his life took for many years. Ooh, now I'm wondering if that's why he ended up doing radio for so long. Anyway, Peter's look—the look that got him a ticket to Hollywood—came about partly because of a terrible experience he had when he was young, and that will come up in our conversation with him in the near future. For now, here's Marilyn to bring on our first guest.

Marilyn: Shelley Stouffer of Nanoose Bay is a member of the BC Golf Hall of Fame. She had a stellar 2022 golf season, winning the US Senior Women's Amateur Championship. Recently, Shelley captured her third Canadian Women's Senior Championship.

Peter McCully: Welcome to the podcast today, Shelley.

Shelley Stouffer: Thank you for having me.

Peter McCully: It's been a couple of years since we chatted on a podcast, and I took the advice that you gave me last time around, which was "ditch the old clubs, buy some new clubs." And I'm happy to report, Shelley, that now I can drive that ball 10 to 15 yards further into the woods than I could with my old clubs. So thank you.

Shelley Stouffer: You're welcome. So you have to buy more golf balls, I guess.

Peter McCully: Oh, I think I've invested in a company, actually. Congratulations on your third Canadian Women's Senior Championship. You led wire to wire at the Nanaimo Club.

Shelley Stouffer: Yes, it was good. It was a really good tournament. I did prepare a lot there, and I think it was a huge advantage for me to play about eight times prior to the tournament, because the greens are very tricky there. And I putted very well while I was there, so it was very helpful for me to play with some members and play often.

Peter McCully: What's it like to have that kind of control and confidence for the entire tournament where you lead wire to wire? You must be looking over your shoulder the whole time. Are you?

Shelley Stouffer: Yeah, there was a person that was chasing, which was Maryanne Hayward, and she was playing very well. The final day, I think she hit 16 greens on the last day. I had two three-putts, which wasn't great, but those were the only three-putts of the tournament. And she just wasn't making her putts. It could have been a lot closer. It was a bit nerve-wracking, honestly, on the last day, but I held it out. It was nice to have a six-shot cushion for sure.

Peter McCully: So let's talk about the putting, Shelley. It's usually one of the strongest parts of your game, and especially in this particular tournament. So how do you work on and maintain your putting, especially when you're under pressure?

Shelley Stouffer: I do some breathing, which is always nice to calm the nerves a little bit before I putt. And also, I have a putting mat at home, and I was working on just rocking my shoulders more than using my arms to putt, because sometimes I can get into using my arms, which—you know, when you get a little quick, it throws off the putting. So it was good to have a nice rhythm and a good tempo for my putting.

Peter McCully: When you're looking over your shoulder and you know you're being chased around, what's your approach to handling the pressure then? Is it more breathing, or is it "there's only the next shot"?

Shelley Stouffer: It's the pre-shot routine where you focus on just that shot at hand and don't worry about anything that's chasing you, even though it can be a bit difficult.

Peter McCully: So you mentioned that you got to play the course more than once to prepare. That course knowledge must be very valuable.

Shelley Stouffer: Course knowledge there is very important. It's where you place your shots going into the greens, because the greens are very sloppy, and if you're on the wrong side of the hole there, it is a treacherous putt usually, and you can't really go after it. That was the huge advantage, because I remember on the last day, the other two that I was playing with—they were to the right of the hole. They were closer to the hole than me, and I was to the left of the hole, but my putt was a straight putt uphill, and theirs were both downhill breakers. And they weren't able to make theirs, and I made my birdie there. So it was definitely helpful for sure.

Peter McCully: You're a former world number one, and you've achieved something that only one other Canadian has done, and that's won both the US Senior Women's Amateur and the Canadian Women's Senior Championship in the same year. Now that you've had a few years for that to sink in, how do you feel about that when you look back?

Shelley Stouffer: It's very cool to be in the same class as Marlene Stewart Streit. She is in the World Golf Hall of Fame, so very cool. And I really don't think of all those things, but it is nice to be put in that same level of player, I guess.

Peter McCully: You've got six consecutive BC Women's Senior titles, three Canadian Senior Championships, and international victories, including the Irish Senior Women's Amateur. I was surprised to read about that one. But you're still setting course records and winning championships—national championships. What's your secret to staying competitive and continuing to improve your game?

Shelley Stouffer: My secret isn't really a secret, but it is working out and keeping my mobility up so that I can still swing the club as well as I used to. I've obviously lost some distance over the years because that happens, and speed in my swing, but I feel good with my game. And golf is not easy, but it feels like it comes easy sometimes, and that seems like how it's going.

Peter McCully: You've been competing at a pretty high level for quite a few years now. How have you seen women's golf evolve, particularly in Canada, particularly in BC, during your time on the courses?

Shelley Stouffer: I see that a lot of the younger girls coming up—they're really hitting the ball far, and they've got a lot of talent. They work on their games way more than I did when I was younger, because they're all chasing university scholarships and that kind of thing. And they work a lot on their games, I think, probably more than I have. And it seems like a different game now that the younger generation is growing up in, too. Obviously there's more technology. I would like to see them play a round without any technology and see how that goes, where they don't have any rangefinders, because I was doing that in the second round. It was so smoky over in Squamish last week that my rangefinder wasn't working. So it was like the whole old-school pacing off and using the pin sheet how it's meant to be used. So it was interesting.

Peter McCully: What advice would you give to some of those young female golfers who are just starting out on their competitive journey?

Shelley Stouffer: I'd like them to try to actually play golf without any technology. That would be one good thing. Learn the rules of golf and know them—maybe take a rules course online, because sometimes the younger people don't know how to take a drop from a cart path or anything like that. The other thing for young golfers: play quickly. A lot of the younger girls are playing in tournaments often, but even if it's an older person or someone that's just getting into golf—they're scared to play in a golf tournament because they've never really played in one; they just played in club events. It's good to go out there and try new courses and play different tournaments, because if you play the same course all the time, then you know where to hit it and everything. It is more beneficial to play in a variety of different golf courses. I think that's a big reason why I can play pretty well at different golf courses—because it's the experience of playing in all these different golf courses that gives you knowledge on how to play.

Peter McCully: And living on Vancouver Island, there's certainly no shortage of places to play golf.

Shelley Stouffer: It is quite an amazing place to play, that's for sure, and there's a lot of courses within an hour that are very awesome.

Peter McCully: There are some courses that are within 45 minutes of a ski hill.

Shelley Stouffer: There are.

Peter McCully: So you can ski and golf on the same day?

Shelley Stouffer: Yeah. I don't think I've ever done that, but I know people that do. It's pretty sweet. You could go skiing in the morning and then play golf in the afternoon or something like that.

Peter McCully: I barely have enough energy to drive the ball.

Shelley Stouffer: Yeah, it does take a lot out of you, I'm sure. And then if you wipe out, then you injure yourself. So that's no good.

Peter McCully: Looking ahead, what goals do you still have in golf, Shelley? Are there some courses you want to conquer or some records you'd like to chase? Or is it now just more about the pure joy of competition?

Shelley Stouffer: I think I want to go back over to Europe and the UK, and I want to win the British Senior Am. That would be one of my goals. I just like winning tournaments. Obviously I'd like to win the US Senior Women's Am again—that would be pretty sweet. I don't really have any records that I'm chasing, but winning is fun, and I'm always gonna feel like that's what I want to do.

Peter McCully: You remember what Vince Lombardi said? He said, "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing." That's right. It is fun. You've been doing this a while now. What are your favorite brand of clubs that you've used?

Shelley Stouffer: I've been using Titleist pretty much exclusively for the last few years, so they've been good to me. I really like them. The new stuff is coming out. I'm gonna actually get fit for the stuff that's come out this year.

Peter McCully: A few years ago, your son was caddying for you. Has he moved on to the PGA?

Shelley Stouffer: It would be great if he was, but he just moved on to UBC though, so he got a golf scholarship to play over there, so he's doing that right now. It's all new for him. He's living in residence, and so it's gonna be an interesting year.

Peter McCully: Excellent. Where did he pick up the game of golf, I wonder?

Shelley Stouffer: I wonder—maybe from his parents?

Peter McCully: Over the years of playing golf competitively, what's your favorite course on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, and in Canada?

Shelley Stouffer: You throw me a curveball there. So I would say my favorite golf course on Vancouver Island would be Storey Creek. My favorite golf course in British Columbia—that is probably Storey Creek. And then in Canada, every golf course that I play in a tournament, I have to think that's my favorite at that particular time.

Peter McCully: And how about the United States?

Shelley Stouffer: It has to be a yearly thing for me, because this year I thought Bandon Dunes was really stunning. It was awesome to get a chance to play there in the US Amateur, which I went down for, and it was great. The views were stunning. It was just a great place to be. Everything was so much fun at Bandon Dunes.

Peter McCully: And where is that located?

Shelley Stouffer: It's on the southern Oregon coast. It's like links golf in the US. There's not really another place they have that kind of—I don't think—in the US where there's links golf, and it is a really cool place.

Peter McCully: If you could put together a team of lady golfers—let's call it an all-star group—who would be in it?

Shelley Stouffer: Oh, yeah. I would say Annika Sorenstam, who I've played golf with already, Liselotte Neumann, and we'll go with Nancy Lopez.

Peter McCully: Can I caddy?

Shelley Stouffer: That would be fun. Sure.

Peter McCully: Shelley, I hope to bump into you on the golf course one day.

Shelley Stouffer: Well, that would be interesting.

Peter McCully: It would be. Just hope you're not behind me because, you know, it'll be forever. Thanks for your time today, Shelley, and continued good luck.

Shelley Stouffer: You're welcome. Thanks a lot, Peter, for having me on the podcast.

Dave Graham: Thanks to Shelley Stouffer for joining The Pulse Community. It's always good to hear the behind-the-scenes story that leads to success, although I have learned recently that just where one applies a desire to excel matters a lot. Peter, did you try and excel at something recently? This has to do with my birthday celebration. Last week, I set my goal pretty high. I went out and I bought an entire cake. I gave myself three days to eat the whole thing. Turns out that might not have been a good idea.

Peter McCully: Okay, that seems like a good spot to end that story. Thanks for sharing, Dave. We want to maybe hear less about your story of indigestion and maybe more about what's going on in your world. For those of you with stories we have met, contacting us is as easy as a mouse click or two. When you have a story to share with us, reach out through our website, thepulsecommunity.ca, and follow the contact links.

Dave Graham: Yes, you can literally speak to us or use the options to send a text or an email. We all have stories to tell, whether it's of a planned event or an interesting life or something else entirely different. Stories are what we are about, so please reach out. Otherwise, we invite you to keep up with The Pulse via Facebook. We're also on Instagram, and you can follow us on Amazon, iHeart, Apple, TikTok, and YouTube.

Light the Night Fundraiser: Hi, Peter and Dave. This is a reminder about Parksville's first annual Light the Night benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada on October 11th from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. We'll meet at the covered picnic area at the community park and do an under-two-kilometer walk that will be lit up with battery-operated crepe paper lanterns. Participants will also carry these. There are three different colors of lanterns: Gold will be carried by individuals walking in memory. Red will be carried by individuals walking in support of those affected by blood cancer. White will be carried by individuals who have been personally diagnosed and are living with blood cancer—survivors and those in remission. When you light the night, you are fueling research, providing support, and making a different cancer experience possible. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada is dedicated to changing the blood cancer experience for Canadians. This past year, we have provided services and support to over 4,000 individuals and assisted 17 healthcare professionals, and invested $5 million in research. This is the first of what we're hoping will be many Light the Night events in Parksville. To register, go to lightthenight.ca and choose Parksville as the city you want to walk in, and we'll see you there on October 11th from 5:30 to 8 at the community park.

Ian Lindsay & Associates: Ian Lindsay of Lindsay and Associates has played an active role in the local community since 1979. He has been with RE/MAX Vancouver Island's most advanced real estate business network since 1996, marketing and selling residential, rural, strata, recreational, investment, and project development real estate. Ian has received several awards recognizing his exceptional community commitment locally, as well as awards for outstanding performance and achievement from both RE/MAX International and the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. You'll find true real estate professionals at ianlindsay.ca.

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Peter McCully: Just before we get into a chat with a bonafide rock star, Dave, did you ever think what it would be like to be one?

Dave Graham: What, a rock star? Well, actually, I recall getting quite an ovation after my presentation on penguins when I was in grade seven, so I think I have an idea of what it's like to be a star. But as for a singer in a band, whew—I imagine it would be actually a powerful experience to be able to take people to other places through music.

Peter McCully: Well, the band 54-40 took themselves all the way to Portugal to make their latest album, and the effort paid off. Here's Marilyn.

Marilyn: 54-40 has been one of BC's most enduring bands for more than 40 years. They are members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and are scheduled to release their 15th studio album in October. Front man and band co-founder Neil Osborne of Gabriola Island joins the podcast to talk about the new album, Porto.

Peter McCully: Thanks for joining us on the podcast today, Neil.

Neil Osborne: No problem, actually. Lots of problems.

Peter McCully: Yeah, except for the 15 minutes while we batted back and forth between cell phones. But yeah, we're here. I'm guessing we're catching you on a quiet day. There hasn't been that many of them for you this year so far. 54-40's been really busy on the road.

Neil Osborne: Yeah, 50-plus shows this year. We did a theater tour in Ontario, and we're wrapping up the year with a tour with Foreigner, and then a lot of festivals in between and some clubs and Commodore Thanksgiving. Yeah, it's busy, busy, busy.

Peter McCully: I've been following the band on social media the last year or so, and I love the fact that you post photos after the gigs. Recently I saw a really great crowd shot of Whitehorse where you were back for the first time in five or six years. How was the reception there?

Neil Osborne: It was fantastic. It was a very nice summer night, you know, beautiful view of the mountains and the river to our left from the stage point of view. And it seemed like everybody from the town showed up, and I got to know some people there—some new people—so it was really warm, metaphorically and literally.

Peter McCully: Yeah, I saw you were all in T-shirts, and I thought, "Well, that's a great day."

Neil Osborne: Yeah, it was a great day.

Peter McCully: You and I both can claim Dartmouth as a place where we spent time growing up, around the same time actually. And I see that you were back in Nova Scotia this year.

Neil Osborne: Yeah, we hit up New Glasgow, did a festival there with The Odds. That was a lot of fun—nice fun festival, warm crowd. It was really good.

Peter McCully: Is there such a thing as festival energy? I know you've been playing a lot of festivals this year.

Neil Osborne: I think so. It's a little exciting for us. It's always outside, and you get to the gig half an hour before you hit the stage and soak in the vibe of what's happening. Usually it's pretty positive, good energy. The weather's good. This year we've been pretty lucky. Usually two or three shows get canceled or delayed because of weather. I don't think it's happened this year yet. Yeah, it's cool.

Peter McCully: I've had the opportunity this year to chat with Bruce Cockburn, Randy Bachman, Tom Lavin, Bill Henderson. And they all talk about their intergenerational audiences. You know, the fans have kids and in some cases grandkids now who are taking in the shows and discovering the music. And 54-40's been around almost long enough for an intergenerational audience, haven't they?

Neil Osborne: I think so. Certainly at the festivals, we're seeing younger faces. I'll be upfront—you know, it could be teenagers, it could be people in their thirties, even their forties. That's still younger than us, so it's kind of neat.

Peter McCully: Yeah. Speaking of intergenerational, your daughter Kandle, whom you've collaborated with, will be opening on some shows for 54-40.

Neil Osborne: Yeah, the Commodore Thanksgiving weekend and then the Danforth in Toronto, and I think another one or two out east in November. She's got a great new record called Danger to Dream out. She's already working on new songs, and she lives in Montreal now, so that's the only chance I get to see her is to have her play with us.

Peter McCully: Saves on airfare.

Neil Osborne: Yeah, kind of.

Peter McCully: I wanted to chat about the new album, which you're dropping in October. From the time that 54-40 formed in Tsawwassen in 1980 to now, which has been the most significant evolution in how you create and perform music, do you think?

Neil Osborne: That's kind of a big question. Every stage is a big one. Obviously the early ones seem to have more impact on our lives and, you know, where we're going and career-wise, but every album's different. Every album is processed, every album is sort of digesting what we see, what we've been through, and how we want to, you know, put out the music, put out the art, as it were.

Peter McCully: You recorded the new album together live, as they say, off the recording floor. What made you choose that approach?

Neil Osborne: We wanted a high-energy, live sound to the record. And I was in discussion—I was talking to Warren Livesey, the producer, quite a bit about it. You know, we were playing Oasis and Jack White style guitar in the room sound. And the songs were written that way. We took every song on the road, got at least one look, sometimes two or three, you know, in front of a live audience. That really makes a difference. I mean, a lot of times we've made records and other artists make records where they write the song, record it, and then take it on the road. And, you know, the old ways we used to do it was always write a song and play it in front of a crowd first, and then go into the studio. So that's what we did this time. We could sense the energy and the vibe coming back from the crowd made it really work. So we were all in a room in Portugal, in Porto—a nice big room, you know, playing all at the same time. And even Dave Genn, who's the lead guitar player—normally would overdub his solos—but Warren was like, "No, no, no. You know, just press the pedal, and when it comes to the solo, stop playing the rhythm, play the solo." There's sort of immediacy about it, which I just love. Yeah, I'm quite thrilled with all that.

Peter McCully: What drew you to Portugal for this album, other than, you know, the great red wine and the beaches?

Neil Osborne: Well, we weren't on the beach side or, you know, the south end. This is north—Porto's fairly north. Beautiful city though. It's like a Disneyland for adults, you know, all the old-timey heritage stuff. And that's where port comes from too, by the way, so all the port distilleries as you come into the town. So I wrote to, I don't know, 20 or 30 studios all over the world. I really wanted to do a destination record, like a band camp where it's a clubhouse vibe. And we all stayed in this beautiful Airbnb—seven bedrooms, all with a view of the water, you know, gorgeous decks, 20-minute walk from the studio. So we were all hanging out, and it really made for a wonderful experience. And, you know, we all ate dinner together every night. It was good times. Porto came back as a fairly good-quality studio. We wanted a place that had some sort of culture. You know, there's many studios that you can go to that are like in the middle of a field in Belgium. It's like, "No, not doing that." Paris is bloody expensive. So I had been to Porto twice, because I did the Camino Walk—Camino de Santiago, you know, pilgrimage from there. So I knew it fairly well. And when we got written back by the studio there, price was reasonable, it was available, they had a lot of great gear, great board. So we went, "Yeah, let's do this." And it just turned out to be the best.

Peter McCully: Well, last time we chatted, Neil, was for the release of the album West Coast Band. And correct me if I'm wrong, but most of that album, if not all of it, was written and recorded kind of on the fly.

Neil Osborne: The same with this one. Like this one, I bought this old Super Reverb amp from the sixties. I have an old Supro guitar, an old Gretsch guitar, and I just started doing all these riffs on it, and that became the structure for a lot of the songs. I did a quick structure and then sat on it for a bit and then sort of jammed at it. Same thing with West Coast Band. This one, I had ideas of where I wanted to go, what kind of mood it put me in, and just sang for takes whatever came into my head. And then compiled that first stream of consciousness, right? It's like, "Oh, I think I'm singing about this." It's very immediate. When the right-hand brain kind of gets involved, it's very cool. And then you listen to it back. It's like, "Okay, it could be this, could be this." And I'll grab that line, grab this line, and maybe go over it one more time. And then there's the words, there's the melody, there's the vibe. And I really didn't change it after that. So I never wrote a word down—not on this record or the last one. I like doing it like that. It's very cool. So then I sent it to the band, sort of "Here's what I've written." And then I had them come over to my house, I guess last summer. I have a little studio here, and we had three and a half days. "Okay, everybody, we get 90 minutes of song, come up with your part." Same thing—just rip it. And it was very immediate once again, which is very cool. And so Warren, when he heard those demos, he really liked that sense of it. So he straightened us out in some parts here and arrangements there. And we did a week of pre-production with him and Josh Ramsay's Marianas Trench studio in Richmond, and then flew to Portugal the next week and banged them out. I mean, we did that whole album in 11 days, which is crazy—a track a day, pretty much. I mean, there was a day off planned, which we took, and then—I don't know if you remember—but power went out in all of Portugal and Spain, so we lost that day. We didn't know what was going on, but so even though we had like 15 days, we didn't need them, and it was fun.

Peter McCully: And you've worked with Warren previously on another album?

Neil Osborne: He did the Yes to Everything album—produced it—and he also mixed the Good by Flatland record and mixed Northern Soul. Yeah, I've known Warren off and on. Well, I've known Warren for lots and lots of years, but we've worked with him off and on. We like to go back to the same people every so often.

Peter McCully: You mentioned that you played all of the cuts for the new album to an audience at some point over the past number of shows. Tell us about "Running for the Fence."

Neil Osborne: It's been going over really well. We've kept playing it. That's gonna be the first, I guess, single, if that's still a thing that they do these days. I don't even know. It's sort of a Jungian thing. I mean, you know, Carl Jung said we all carry the unlived life of our parents. So I kind of went with that angle and some more Jungian terminology, and it seemed to work.

Peter McCully: One thing I've always enjoyed about 54-40 is that you've complemented your albums with videos. You've experimented with it, kept it fresh, using different formats. I knew that you created a lot of videos, but I was surprised when I was counting them up on YouTube the other day, and I was at 34.

Neil Osborne: I didn't even know. Yeah.

Peter McCully: Do you have a favorite?

Neil Osborne: Do I have a favorite? That's a good question. "Ocean Pearl," maybe. It's obvious to say that because it's so successful. That was the reason why that song did become so successful, and it was so much fun to make. You know, easily the most fun video. I mean, we'd done videos where you're in a warehouse and there's, you know, cold puddles on the floor, or you're standing in some stupid studio getting makeup for 10 hours. This was just a road trip, and it was documented essentially. So that was just hilariously fun.

Peter McCully: Will there be a video for the new album? Will Ron MacLean be in it?

Neil Osborne: I don't know. I'll have to ask him if he wants to be in it. We're sort of talking about it. Jeff Mitchell, who did the covers, I think is gonna pitch some ideas for a video. I guess we have to have something just for YouTube apparently. But you know, when we were breaking through, that was our forte in the late eighties and nineties.

Peter McCully: So you mentioned you've been rolling out some of the tunes from the album Porto live with your audiences this past summer. And how is the audience reaction to the brand new material versus the classics?

Neil Osborne: I think it sits in nicely. I mean, it's a rock record for one thing. And like I alluded to earlier, it's very alive-sounding. So when we play it live, it translates really well, and we pretty much do two songs a night. We're gonna be doing three at the Commodore—two new ones. That is, yeah, it seems to come back nice. We get a lot of fans who've been to see us many, many, many, many times, and we play, you know, all the hits, and then we'll either do a deep track or a deep track and then something new. So I think they appreciate that. I hope they do.

Peter McCully: Tell us about "Go Get 'Em."

Neil Osborne: "Go Get 'Em" is once again sort of a dream thing. You know, if there's something bugging you or if you're having a nightmare or if you're being haunted—doesn't necessarily have to be a dream, but even just psychologically bugged or haunted or scared—the thing to do is obviously to turn around and face that monster and go get 'em. It's also, you know, sort of a sports chant too.

Peter McCully: So Neil, you'll be back at the Commodore Thanksgiving weekend, I guess, 2025. How many years has this been now that you've been holding court at the Commodore?

Neil Osborne: Yeah, I don't know. It's 30-something, 35, 40. I don't know. I mean, we hold the record for number of performances at the Commodore. It's so funny because I was talking to the manager last year, and it's like, "Yeah, you know, I don't think this"—because it was number 70 or 71, something like that—he goes, "I don't think this record's gonna be broken." And I said, "Oh yeah? Well, it'll be broken by us next year." So yeah, it'll be 72 and 73 or something this year.

Peter McCully: You're opening for Foreigner on their fall 2025 Canadian Jukebox Hero tour, which you mentioned. They're calling it their biggest Canadian tour to date. What's it mean for 54-40 to be part of that tour? That's fairly significant, I would think.

Neil Osborne: It'll be fun. We're playing some places we haven't played much or very often, so it's like Montreal, which we haven't been to much, Kingston, Moncton, Sydney, Nova Scotia, St. John's—we've been too many times. I don't know, just Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, so that'll be fun. But it's gonna be in November, so you know what? It'll be as cold as ice.

Peter McCully: Nice segue. That tour is serving as a prelude to Jukebox Hero: The Musical. Geordie Brown of Dartmouth originated one of the roles as lead singer in that musical, which is coming out next year. And here's where the six degrees of separation come in. Geordie's dad, Steve, was in the Dartmouth High School band Titan. I was in classes with Dave Roberts, the lead singer, probably just maybe two years ahead of you. All Dave wanted to do was be a rock singer and the lead singer, and they used to let me help put the gear—I was allowed to take speakers out of the back of the truck and put them in the hall.

Neil Osborne: Wow. How's your back?

Peter McCully: Tell us about another one of the new tracks from Porto: "Virgil."

Neil Osborne: That's based on a dream I had where I was in this dystopian, apocalyptic, nothing wasteland—windy and nothing there. And then there's this old car, which is like an old Datsun B210, which I used to have. I think it was my first car. You know, you could lift the car up with another person—that's how small it was. Anyway, there's this car in this setting in the dream, and then there's this woman in there, and she's almost mummified. And I go, "This is really weird." And then I hear this loud, loud voice go, "Beatrice, Beatrice." And I wake up, and I go, "Who the hell's Beatrice?" So I Googled Beatrice, and it came up with Divine Comedy. That was Dante's muse, right? And I sort of did some research about what that was all about. And essentially Dante—he's gotta go through purgatory, all these different levels. And Beatrice is his muse—was the girl he liked since he was eight and she was seven or something. His first love and only love, apparently. And anyway, in the fictitious Divine Comedy, she sends this angel Virgil to help him with his journey downward. I [thought], "Oh, there's a song there somehow." So I took it.

Peter McCully: How do you feel when your songs take on a life of their own through other artists? I was thinking in particular of "I Go Blind," which reached an even wider audience when Hootie and the Blowfish covered it.

Neil Osborne: Yeah. Skydiggers were the first band to cover it, by the way, which I like their version too. It's kinda neat. There's a few other bands I'm hearing out there—kid bands that are covering some of our songs. So yeah, it works. I mean, I think that people are attracted to our band mostly because of the songs. It's not like a culture necessarily; it's more about the message in the songs or the tunes themselves. So I can stand by them no problem.

Peter McCully: What's on your playlist these days, Neil?

Neil Osborne: Well, you know, everybody's raving about this Fontaines band—it's like an eighties... Do you know this band? No. I think they're Irish. They sound very eighties, like kind of Bunnymen crossed with The Killers crossed with... they're okay. What else? Obviously Kandle. And then, you know, people I've worked with—I just saw Coco Love Alcorn. She's on the island here, and we hung out, and so I've been checking out her stuff. She's just rocking it so... Once in a while I'll watch a show. I think like everybody these days like, "Oh, this is cool. What is this?" And I'll just Shazam it.

Peter McCully: Have you ever thought about maybe opening your own club and coming in off the road? I know that your first gig in 1980 was at the Smiling Buddha, and since Brad Merritt, your buddy, bought the sign from the club when it closed, you could reopen it as the Smiling Buddha 2.

Neil Osborne: Yeah, we could—we'd probably make it a coffee shop that closes at three instead, though. Smiling Buddha coffee shop. That's probably a good idea.

Peter McCully: After this busy summer of touring, the Foreigner dates coming up, and the new album release in October, what's next for 54-40?

Neil Osborne: We got a couple of shows in Toronto area after that Foreigner tour, and then pretty much gonna take some time off because it has been pretty hectic and pretty busy. Take a little bit of a breath. I'll be going to Europe probably in late April, and then we will probably hit the festival circuit in May right through to October, like this year, somehow.

Peter McCully: Any particular goals or dreams that the band is still chasing?

Neil Osborne: No, but we're always open to surprises, hopefully good ones. You know, staying in the game, as they say, makes for all kinds of wonderful experiences. And we've certainly had our share. This trip to Porto—we recorded it in about a dozen days, but we were there for almost three weeks because we just hung out after that. And it was great. It was just a great time, and I always wanted to do a destination recording. So I think we might continue that. Pick maybe Greece next time.

Peter McCully: I was chatting with Bill Henderson recently, who, as you know, is wrapping it up for Chilliwack this year. And I think they're in their 55th year or something—amazing. Bill turned 80 this year. I know. You've got a long road ahead of you if you're—

Neil Osborne: I know, that's right. It's a total—I don't know if we talked about this last time, but you know, my wife now's like, "You better take care of yourself. You want to still be playing when Bill is—when he is 80." It's like, "Yeah, I know."

Peter McCully: Greece sounds pretty good, Neil.

Neil Osborne: Well, that was the second option. And there was another one in Costa Rica. We picked Porto because the equipment and its studio was top-notch, and the price was reasonable. So it was a great experience. So yeah, we'll pick something else, but first we gotta get this one out there, you know, let people hear it and play it and all that sort of stuff.

Peter McCully: Well, I'm happy to do my part, and I'm thanking you very much for joining me today on your day off, Neil. Appreciate it.

Neil Osborne: Yeah, totally.

Dave Graham: Our thanks to Neil Osborne for being part of The Pulse Community. 54-40 have lasted in an industry not known for longevity, and they've done so by finding that rare territory that encompasses exploring new ways of expression while remaining faithful to a core sound. It's a characteristic common to many of the relatively few groups that have lasted long enough to be able to measure their lifespan in decades.

Peter McCully: Here we are kicking off season two of The Pulse Podcast. We're looking forward to what the coming season will bring. For sure, there'll be lots of new stories for the kids as we keep adding to our Skookum Kids Stories.

Dave Graham: Oh yes, we have quite a library going here with stories that feature local and familiar places and events. Tune into "The Yellow Submarine" and "Gracie the Eskimo Dog" through our main site, thepulsecommunity.ca, also skookumkids.com, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, iHeart, and YouTube.

Peter McCully: Whether you are eight or 80, there's something special about stories that help us see our own community through fresh eyes. And that's really what season two of The Pulse Community Podcast is all about: fresh perspectives on the place that we call home.

Dave Graham: So Peter, when you say you're not 80 years old, do you mean that you're not quite 80?

Peter McCully: Dave, you know that I'm not that old.

Dave Graham: I know you're older than me. Hey, what do you think about getting something soft to eat in the cafeteria?

Peter McCully: Huh? Maybe a nice bowl of custard.

Dave Graham: I can't hear you. Speak up, sonny.

Peter McCully: How about some tapioca? Do you like tapioca?

Dave Graham: Whatever happened to respecting one's elders?

Peter McCully: Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind some tapioca.

Rockin' Rhonda & The Uptown Blues Band: Here comes Peter. Here comes Dave. Oh, listen. Bringing stories, making waves. No missing. Spinning tales in the podcast cave. So much laughs and insights everywhere. Peter and Dave, they're on the mics. All right. Join the ride. It's gonna feel just right.