House Of Crouse

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Emm Gryner. She is a Canadian musician and vocal coach. David Bowie named Emm as one of his two favourite Canadian acts. U2 frontman Bono named her song “Almighty Love” as one of six songs that he wished he had written. Gryner toured in David Bowie’s band, singing and playing keyboards, and appears on the recordings Bowie at the Beeb and Glastonbury 2000. Emm helped make the first music video in outer space with Chris Hadfield and is also the author of a book called “The Healing Power of Singing: Raise Your Voice, Change Your Life: What Touring With David Bowie, Single Parenting And Ditching The Music Business Taught Me In 25 Easy Steps.” Her new album is “Business & Pleasure” is a celebration of the Detroit radio scene and the music that shaped her childhood. From Motown, jazz and pop, to Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac and the Doobies, Business & Pleasure is infused with the sunshine soul and stellar playing of the late 70s and early 80s. Then, Gord Sinclair s

On this episode of the Richard Crouse Show we meet novelist, editor, and creative writing instructor Amy Jones. She is the author of the novels Every Little Piece of Me (McClelland & Stewart, 2019) and We’re All in This Together (McClelland & Stewart, 2016), her third novel, Pebble and Dove, which is available now wherever fine books are sold. Set in Florida, it’s a story of mothers and daughters and an inspirational manatee. Mother Lauren's life is a mess. She has a storage unit full of candles she can't sell, a growing mountain of debt, and a teenage daughter, Dove, who barely speaks to her. When Dove discovers the abandoned Flamingo Key Aquarium and Tackle, she meets Pebble, the world's oldest manatee in captivity. It is Pebble, a former star attraction, and her devoted caretaker, Ray, who hold the key to helping Lauren and Dove move forward. Then, Andrew F. Sullivan, an author the Globe and Mail called “One of the country’s most talented young writers.” He is the author of “The Marigold,” a new novel t

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Pete Sohn, director of the new Pixar film “Elemental.” He is an animator, voice actor, storyboard artist, and film director known for his work at Pixar as the director of 2015's The Good Dinosaur. He has also been the voice of Emile in Ratatouille, Squishy in Monsters University, and Sox in Lightyear… he returns to the big screen with “Elemental,” a beautifully animated movie that takes place in a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together. With that as a backdrop, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. The story is a fantasy, but has roots in Sohn’s family story. We’ll also get to know Liz Locke. If you like cocktails and classic movies like I do, you’ll want to check out her site CinemaSips.com and then check out her debut novel “Follow the Sun,” a portrait of the 1960s International Jet Set Era through the eyes of an aspiring singer-songwriter.

On this week’s Richard Crouse Show we meet Lindsay Cameron. For many years Lindsay worked as a corporate lawyer in Vancouver and New York City before leaving the law behind to write books. Her first novel “Biglaw” was an insider's view of the cut-throat world of big New York law firms, was a big hit and was followed by a suspense novel called “Just One Look: A Novel” that critics called “totally addictive.” Her latest novel is “No One Needs to Know,” is another suspense story, described as “White Lotus” meets “Gossip Girl.” It explores a modern age nightmare - what if your darkest secrets were revealed to your enemies? In the book, an anonymous neighborhood forum gets hacked, and the darkest secrets of New York’s wealthiest residents come to light—including some worth killing for. We also get to know Carley Fortune, an award-winning journalist who worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Toronto Life, and The Grid. She was most recently the Exec

On this week’s edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Martha Hall Kelly, the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls, Lost Roses, and Sunflower Sisters. With more than two million copies of her books sold and her books translated in fifty countries, Martha joins me today to talk about her new book “The Golden Doves.” It is a gripping historical novel, inspired by true events, about two former female spies, bound together by their past, who risk everything to hunt down an infamous Nazi doctor in the aftermath of World War II. We’ll also meet Ari Aster, the writer and director of challenging hit films like Hereditary and Midsommar. Today we’ll talk about his latest movie, Beau Is Afraid, a three hour panic attack of a film starring Joaquin Phoenix as a mild-mannered but paranoia-ridden man who embarks on a surreal odyssey to get home to see his mother. I’ve seen a lot of movies, and I’ve never seen anything quite like this one. Find out what it means when I call it a “three hour panic attack

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton, collaborators on a new album called “Death Wish Blues.” Samantha Fish, a guitarist, songwriter and singer, voted by guitarworld.com as oner of the 10 best blues guitarists in the world today joins us. Calling her a blues guitarist is a little misleading because in a career spanning over 10 years, the Kansas City, Missouri musician music features multiple genres, including blues but also rock, country, funk, bluegrass and ballads. Jesse Dayton boasts an exceptional resume as an acclaimed solo recording artist, collaborator with artists such as Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Duff McKagan, a touring guitarist for seminal punk band X, teammate with Rob Zombie on the soundtracks for his iconic horror films, and as a radio show host on Gimme Country. We’ll also get to know Ore Agbaje-Williams. She is a British-Nigerian writer from London who has written for gal-dem and Glamour. Her new novel, “The Three of Us” now available wher

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet wrestler, comedian, actor and talk show host RJ City. A lifelong wrestling fan, he’s been wrestling professionally since 2006, he’s appeared in movies and these days, you can find him at All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a backstage interviewer and host of a weekly comedy talk show on AEW's YouTube page called Hey! (EW) where he interviews other AEW talent. And, later we’ll meet Corinna Chong, a writer, editor, and graphic designer based in Kelowna, BC. Her first novel, Belinda's Rings, was published in Spring 2013. She won the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize for "Kids in Kindergarten." Today we’ll talk about her new book, “The Whole Animal,” a collection of short stories that grapple with the self-alienation and self-discovery that make us human.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Noah Pink, screenwriter of a new movie called “Tetris,” starring Taron Egerton, and now playing on Apple TV+, that tells the story of how Dutch video game designer Henk Rogers fit the differently shaped pieces of international intrigue and video game creation together to secure the intellectual property rights to popular game. It’s a story of international intrigue, the Cold War and of the deep friendship that grew between entrepreneur Henk Rogers and the game’s Russian creator Alexey Pajitnov. Then, Gregory Sestero, star of the found footage film “Infrared.” In the film he plays the creepy caretaker of an abandoned schoolhouse. If Greg’s name rings a bell, it’s likely because you’ve attended one of the midnight madness screenings of “The Room,” a movie so deliciously awful, it has become a cult favorite since its release in 2003. Gregory turned the experience of making the so-bad-it’s-a-hoot movie into a book, which eventually went on to become the Oscar

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Steve Ryan. He began his policing career at just eighteen years old. After nearly thirty years of policing — two thirds of that working as a detective — he retired and began a career with CP24 as a crime specialist. In his book, “The Ghosts That Haunt Me,” he reflects on just a few of the many cases that have greatly impacted him. He remembers six cases — seven people whose lives were senselessly taken — that he still thinks about nearly every day. While these stories are hard to tell, they were harder to live through. We’ll also get to know Barbie Latza Nadeau. She has worked as the Rome bureau chief for Newsweek Magazine and currently holds that position for The Daily Beast. She is an on-air contributor for CNN and a writer for Scientific American. She is also a true crime novelist, with a new book, “The Godmother,” about the rise of women in the mafia. Publishers Weekly calls it “A must for true crime fans,” and it is a great read. And finally, we’ll mee

On this week’s Richard Crouse Show: It’s hard to remember now, but there was a time when we were not tethered to our smart phones. A new film, “BlackBerry,” starring Jay Baruchel and Matt Johnson, and now playing in theatres, vividly recreates the scrappy story of friendship, betrayal and hubris that began our obsession with our phones. Today, we going to focus on that story, courtesy of the film BlackBerry, which opens in theatres on May 12. There was a time when the Canadian made, odd little phone, with a QWERTY keyboard, encrypted messaging and low data cost, was a status symbol, used by some of the world’ most powerful people. In the hands of everyone from President Barack Obama and Justin Timberlake to Katy Perry and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, the phones helped the world communicate in a whole new way. They were the original smart phones, which makes their Canadian creators Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, visionaries, the men who gave us the future. Recently I sat down with BlackBerry

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Thomas Hayden Church. He became a star as Mechanic Lowell Mather on the sitcom “Wings,” was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in “Sideways” and has had supporting roles in films such as Tombstone, George of the Jungle, The Specials, and Demon Knight. Today, we talk about his new movie, Acidman. In the film, he plays Lloyd, a reclusive man who lives in in the middle of nowhere, and spends his time searching for UFOs. He is estranged from his daughter Maggie and has been given the nickname "Acidman" by the locals. One day his daughter arrives to pass along some important news and they attempt to make contact, with UFOs and each other. We’ll also meet actor Melanie Scrofano. You know her from everything from the Crave comedy series Letterkenny and the comedy-drama series Being Erica, to the CTV fantasy-drama series The Listener and the Syfy modern Western drama Wynonna Earp. Today we talk about her latest movie, “The End of Sex.” Later in t

On this week’s Richard Crouse Show we meet Deaundre’ Woods who stars as Alexander Hamilton in the Toronto production of the hit show. We’ll talk about what he thinks sets Hamilton apart from other musicals, the excitement of performing the show with its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and how a hole in a very inappropriate place on his costume helped calm his nerves in opening night. Then we’ll get to know filmmaker April Mullen. Her new film, Simulant, stars Sam Worthington of Avatar, Jordana Brewster of the Fast and Furious franchise and Marvel superhero Simu Liu in a sci-fi thriller that will explore the dangers of artificial intelligence in a world where sentient robots roam free.

On this edition of The Richard Crouse Show we meet award winning Quebec filmmaker Stéphane Lafleur. His new movie “Viking” was a selection in Canada’s Top Ten and is available wherever you legally download movies on line. In the film The Viking Society is recruiting volunteers for the first manned mission to Mars. The goal is to form a B-team that will mirror the mission here on Earth in order to find solutions to the interpersonal problems that the Mars-bound crew is experiencing. Then, Andy Garcia about the scene that scene that made him a movie star, the Odessa Steps sequence in “The Untouchables.” Finally, we’ll get to know multi-hyphenate Kevin Smith. He’s a filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, and podcaster. You know his movies like “Clerks,” “Dogma” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” Now he adds another hyphen to his resume. Documentary subject. The documentary “Clerk,” now on VOD, touches on every aspect of his work, from the film that put him on the map to the View Askewnive

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet producer/writer/comedian Dan Galea. The two-time Canadian Comedy Award winner’s debut musical comedy album “Inter-Dan-Mensional” on Comedy Records, executive produced by Scott Thompson from Kids in the Hall who also appears on the album, is available next week at dangalea.ca. Dan spent twenty years working on the album, which he describes as a comedic diary of his life. It has everything from Disco to Metal and every song gives you a peek into who he is and what he is all about. Some songs are just silly, he says, “but so am I.” Scott Thompson joins us late to talk about his involvement with the record and why he loves comedian Flip Wilson. Then we’ll get to know bestselling Edmonton author and professor Thomas Wharton. He has written several books, including his award-winning debut novel, “Icefields,” and “Salamander” which was shortlisted for a Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. His latest book is “The Book of Rain,” a suspenseful sci-fi novel

On this week’s Richard Crouse Show we meet Jacob Silverman. On this week’s Richard Crouse Show we meet Jacob Silverman. He is a journalist in New York, where he writes about technology, cryptocurrency, and politics. He's the author of "Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection" and is a contributing editor for The New Republic and The Baffler. His new book, co-written with the actor and writer Ben McKenzie, is called "Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud," and will be published by Abrams Books in July 2023. He is also the host of new podcast "The Naked Emperor" about Sam Bankman-Fried, from CBC News' Front Burner and CBC Podcasts. The Naked Emperor is on CBC and everywhere podcasts are available. The podcast is the story of Sam Bankman-Fried, once a billionaire and trusted face of crypto with his trading platform FTX. Despite his dorm room lifestyle he charmed celebrities, politicians, and Silicon Valley. That is, until it all came crashing down.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Lindsay Wong. She is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir "The Woo-Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids, Demons, and My Crazy Chinese Family," which was a 2019 Canada Reads finalist. Her new book, “Please Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality,” is a collection of 13 horror stories, all of which tour the Chinese-Canadian experience. Then we’ll meet Zale Mednick is a successful ophthalmologist who, just at the cusp of embarking on his career, was suddenly overcome with self-doubt about the path he'd chosen for himself. Realizing that his preconceptions might be misleading him, Zale set out to explore many of his preconceptions in a podcast called “Preconceived!” Today we talk about his podcast and his new book, “Preconceived - Challenging the Preconceptions in Our Lives.” Fionally, actor, musician and writer Cliff Cardinal stops by. If you happen to find yourself in Toronto in the next little while, check out his provocative new show, a

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet director Chandler Levack, whose debut feature film, “I Like Movies,” will be in theatres on March 10. The film festival hit is based on her experiences working at a Blockbuster Video in Burlington, Ontario in the early 2000s. It’s the story of how movie obsessive Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen) allows his love of film, dream of attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and anxiety, alienate the most important people in his life. Part work-place comedy—think “High Fidelity” only set in a video store—part character study, “I Like Movies” is sweet-natured, funny film that digs deep to make us feel empathy for Lawrence, a socially awkward character who hides his real feelings behind a facade of bluster and pretension. Strong performances and a genuinely heartfelt script make this take on adolescent angst a winning debut for Levack. Then, C. J. Tudor, bestselling author of “The Burning Girls,” “The Other People,” “The Hiding Place” and “The Chalk Man,” which w

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Gord Sinclair. Best known as the bass player and one of the songwriters in The Tragically Hip, he is now a “reluctant solo artist” with a new album pon the way. His new single “Gool Guy” marks a continuation of the solo career he never anticipated embarking on before the 2017 passing of The Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie. Following decades of music-making with the band’s frontman, Gord Sinclair continues to honour his friend through music. The new song is the follow-up to his debut solo project, 2020’s Taxi Dancers, which was released to critical acclaim, and brings back a more rhythmic and driving rock ‘n roll energy that just might put you in the mind of The Hip. Then, bestselling Métis author Cherie Dimaline stops by. Her breakout book, The Marrow Thieves, has been widely acclaimed for its portrayal of Indigenous colonization and ecological devastation and was named one of Time magazine's top 100 YA novels of all time and her other novels, like Emp

On this week’s Richard Crouse Show we meet Matt Bauer. He is the director of “The Other Fellow,” a new documentary that asks a simple question, “What would it be like to share your name with legendary movie spy James Bond?” It is the untold story of the real James Bond[s], people like a Swedish superfan who changed his name to James Bond and opened his own James Bond Museum, a South Bend, Indiana man, James Bond Jr. whose life has been marred by several police officers who refuse to believe the name is real and other Bonds in Vancouver, Toronto, London, Denver, Guyana, Europe, the US and Baghdad. All are bound by being in that looming shadow of James Bond and the movie, The Other Fellow, explains how it creates an identity crisis like no other. Then, Darron Cardoza stops by. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you know him by his on-line name, The Bitchy Waiter. He is a long time New York City restaurant worker, an actor and a writer. His popular blog and social media sites are the voice for restaurant

This week on the Richard Crouse Oscar Special we meet four Academy Award nominees! First up, Ke Huy Quan, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the most aptly titled movie of last year, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” You can say a lot of things about “Everything Everywhere All At Once” but you can’t say you’ve ever seen anything quite like it before. An eye-popping reflection on the power of kindness and love to heal the world’s problems, it is exhilarating that mixes and matches everything from family drama and tax problems to martial-arts and metaphysics into a whimsical story that moves at the speed of light. The result is a singular film that milks intentionality out of its madness. You know Ke Huy Quan as Short Round, the plucky kid companion to Indiana Jones in The Temple Of Doom and from a role in cult classic comedy-adventure The Goonies. We’ll talk about why he chose to return to acting in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” after a twenty-year break from Hollywood. I caught up with Best D