Canadian musician Luke Doucet tells Nestor his Reckless journey straight into the heart of Bryan Adams’ band in South America last month

In the heat of the night, Canadian musician Luke Doucet got a desperate call from legendary Bryan Adams to join his band – but he to learn 26 songs in three days and meet them to play in Puerto Rico in 72 hours. Nestor saw three of those magical South American shows in Montevideo, Santiago and Bogota and tracked down Sarah McLachlan’s regular guitar player in Toronto to have him tell one of the greatest rock and roll stories ever told. It was more than a one night love affair for the kid who wanted to rock from Winnipeg…

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Check out Whitehorse’s music, especially the Tiny Desk performance with Sarah McLachlan, after hearing about their new album.
• [ ] Complete the planned summer tour supporting Sarah McLachlan’s new album ‘Better Broken’, including scheduled shows such as those at The Post in Maryland, possible DC/Baltimore-area appearances, and the July 5 Wolf Trap date.
• [ ] Prepare for and release the new Whitehorse album ‘All I Want Is All Of It’ on May 8 in Canada and coordinate related U.S. tour dates, potentially including shows around the Baltimore/DC area and Philadelphia.

Nestor’s Introduction and Background

• Nestor Aparicio introduces himself and the show, mentioning his recent recovery from a South American cold.
• He shares his love for rock and roll and his South American background, being of Venezuelan descent.
• Nestor talks about his admiration for Bryan Adams and how it led him to travel to various South American countries.
• He recounts his experience in Montevideo, where he had to find a ticket and was helped by a family from Salto Uruguay.

Discovering Luke Doucet in Bryan Adams’ Band

• Nestor describes his excitement at seeing Bryan Adams perform in Montevideo and noticing a guitarist he didn’t recognize.
• He mentions looking up the guitarist, Luke Doucet, and learning about his background with Sarah McLachlan.
• Nestor expresses his curiosity about Luke joining Bryan Adams’ band and invites him to share his story.
• Luke Doucet joins the conversation, thanking Nestor for having him and sharing his admiration for Bryan Adams’ music.

Luke Doucet’s Journey to Joining Bryan Adams’ Band

• Luke recounts how he received a call from Brian Adams while registering a new car in Toronto.
• He describes the initial surprise and the quick turnaround time required to join the band for a South American tour.
• Luke shares the challenges of learning 26 songs in 72 hours and the support he received from his wife and manager.
• He details the process of preparing for the tour, including listening to live recordings and practicing intensely.

Challenges and Experiences on Tour

• Luke talks about the pressure of performing without rehearsal and the physical toll it took on his fingers.
• He describes the logistical challenges of traveling and the limited time he had to explore the beautiful cities they visited.
• Luke shares his experience of playing in front of large audiences and the support he received from Brian Adams and the band.
• He reflects on the emotional impact of playing with a musical hero and the joy of performing iconic songs.

Nestor’s Personal Experience and Reflections

• Nestor shares his own experiences of attending Bryan Adams’ concerts in various locations and his admiration for the band.
• He recounts his attempt to meet Brian Adams in Bogota and the challenges he faced due to visa requirements.
• Nestor expresses his admiration for Luke’s performance and the unique experience of being in Bryan Adams’ band.
• He reflects on the joy of attending concerts in exotic locations and the impact of music on his life.

Luke’s Final Thoughts and Future Plans

The conversation concludes with Nestor expressing his gratitude to Luke for sharing his story and his continued admiration for Bryan Adams.

Luke talks about the mixed emotions of terror and joy during the tour and how it evolved over time.

He shares his excitement about upcoming projects with Sarah McLachlan and his band, White Horse.

Nestor and Luke discuss the significance of Canadian music and the impact of iconic bands like Rush and Triumph.

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SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Bryan Adams, Luke Doucet, South America, concert, guitar, Juno Awards, tour, rehearsal, songs, pressure, joy, music, fans, performance, experience.

SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Luke Doucet, Speaker 1

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S T am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive and positively back on the grid after my South American cold, and we’re into the draft season and, of course, opening day. But this isn’t a sports piece, but it involves a little bit of my Wonder lust. If anyone was following along on our social media, as you all do. You saw me standing in Machu Picchu at one point in South America a few weeks ago, much of it inspired by my love of rock and roll and my South American background, being of Venezuelan descent, but I really wanted to see some new countries. I wanted to get away from Trump and Bryan Adams towards the world. Everybody knows what a big Bryan Adams fan I am, and only Bryan Adams could put me on a plane to places like Montevideo or to Santiago, Chile, or to Bogota, Colombia, which I did. And when I landed in Montevideo, I did not have a ticket. The concert had been moved from a stadium to an arena. My Spanish sucks, but I know how to hold one finger up, which I’ve done in all sorts of burgs. Look for a ticket. And a family, beautiful family took pity upon me from Salto Uruguay, and their daughter, and they had an extra ticket, and I got in, and I got into the arena in Montevideo, and we all got shuttled because they had moved the tickets, and the lights went down. And I’ve seen Bryan Adams 75 times in 50 different places. And I’m like, That’s not key Scott. Who’s that guy? And I opened up my phone in the middle of the show, and I’m speaking Spanish to the gal next to me, and I’m like, el otro, otro. You know, music? Oh, my Spanish sucks. And I looked up Luke Doucet, who is on tiny desks with Sarah McLachlan a couple of months ago. I almost saw him perform at the Met with her last fall. And I looked at the background of white horse and the Juno Awards, and I’m like, you know Brian Adams would have a pretty accomplished guitar player in his band. It is my pleasure to welcome you in from north of the border in Toronto. I don’t know if you’re still in the band, if you’re going to South Africa or not. Brian has since announced a bunch of dates. He’s coming to Baltimore in August, but it is a pleasure for you to make a little bit of time out of the day to explain to me how it all happened, because I’ve seen little pieces at the Juno Awards with you and your wife, and it seemed like it was as big a thrill for you to be there as it was for me to score a ticket that night in Montevideo.

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Luke Doucet  02:28

Well, first of all, thank you very much for having me on your show. Second of all, yes, it was every bit as much of a thrill for me. I mean, I am a decade and a half younger than Bryan and the rest of his band, which means that in 1984 when reckless came out, and I was 11 years old, I had, you know, I had these little plastic Panasonic speakers, literally masking tape to my head so I could non stop for a year, which is what I did years before I ever touched guitar. So his music was the soundtrack to a very special time in my life. Like, you know, being 1112, years old is special time for any young boy and and that was the soundtrack to hopes and dreams and vainglory, imagining doing huge things, right? So you know, when he called me, I was actually in it at a civic office here in Toronto, trying to get registered. I just bought a car, and my phone lights up with a phone number that says it’s a four, four area code, which is from the United Kingdom. And I’m like, Nah, I just put it straight to voicemail. I don’t know who this is. And then I get an email that says from, it says it’s from Bryan Adams, saying, Hey, can I call you? And my response was, Well, yeah, if it’s actually you, but I doubt it, and I just sent the email replied right reply, saying, well, actually, you and I were in studio together 15 years ago, working on a record briefly at my studio in Vancouver. I was like, Oh, this is actually you. So I get him on the phone, first thing he says to me is, well, you got your hair cut and you’re wearing glasses. And I laughed, and said, Yeah, we should, we should start a band. And he says, Look, you know, speaking of that, can you be in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 72 hours, and can you learn 26 songs with no rehearsal and play a show in front of 10,000 people? And I’m like, Well, what am I going

Speaker 1  04:13

to say? No? And Bryan goes, “I wouldn’t take this job!”

Luke Doucet  04:18

So I’m like, What’s I’m like, Where’s, where’s Keith? You know, what’s, what’s wrong with Keith? Where’s Keith? I love Keith. Keith isn’t heroes, right? And and he goes, Well, Keith has had had a procedure that he wasn’t expecting, and it turns out it’s going to take a few weeks of recovery, and he has to miss this leg of the tour, but he’s fine. He’ll be back. It’s no problem. It’s just the South American dates. We got 12 dates all around South America. We just need, we just need somebody to come and fill in for a month. Will you? Will you do it? So, you know, the rest is history. I think I have PTSD from trying to learn so many songs so fast. And you know, we didn’t have a rehearsal. We literally did half a sound check on the first day, and off we went. You know, there I was playing all these licks from songs i. Known and loved since I was a little kid. It was, it was

Nestor Aparicio  05:03

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a trip. So I came in in Montevideo trying to get a ticket Santiago, the tickets were tougher, but the day before, they dropped some tickets, and I was in my hotel room, and I grabbed a $60 ticket. It was right over your head, and it was literally, I have video of you side stage, right above you in that arena, and the punching bag, you know, the roll with the punches glove. I was chatting with the roadie who handles the big giant. I mean, I have a video of it going over my head, like faking like I’m getting punched. And I stood over you, and I was much closer to you. I was a little halfway back in Montevideo and just jamming and having a great time with this beautiful family and everybody. I mean, I need to tell you, in South America, they love them some Brian Adams, they love them some rock and roll. They love them some AC DC. I saw AC DC in Santiago, and I ran into the Lollapalooza traveling people in Morello and these people in Santiago. I mean music in South America, classic rock, and that music is so enormous. But Brian is so beloved all over the world, and singing the songs and just seeing the parties in the streets before the shows were amazing. But I was real close to you, specifically in Santiago, and I hadn’t googled and done a lot on it, and I’d been running around South America, and I looked down and I could not help but see your focus that I’m like, Dude, he’s not even looking at Brian like he is really, like, he’s the new dude in the band. And just really wants this to be awesome, and all the cues where Keith will come out and do the key thing that you love, that I love, and all of that stuff that that he does, you weren’t doing it. And I’m like, I don’t know this guy’s gig, but he just joined the band and, like, this has got to be the toughest gig on Earth. And I was in a band for a period of time, and I literally, my guitar player cut my hair an hour ago. We talked about you, and he’s like, I and he loves rush and Van Halen. He can play the licks. He’s like, if they called me and I had to learn to I, like, I don’t know that I could do that. And for you, what? Give me that 72 hours because I almost came to the Puerto Rico show because I had points on Southwest and I’m like, shit. That’s not exotic enough. That doesn’t sound like Montevideo and Buenos Aires in San Diego. So I wound up taking the long road. But I was almost in Puerto Rico in that period of time, and I can’t imagine those 72 hours for you, your wife, in general.

Luke Doucet  07:24

Well, I mean, first of all, like, you know, there’s, I, have, we, have we got kids, and there’s life, and I, you know, the fact that I was registering a new car, like these things take time. But I was like, Okay, I called, first of all, I called Melissa, my wife, and said, like, we’re gonna have to change some things that we were supposed to be in South Africa on another music related thing. So I was like, I called the person, the promoter of that event, and said, Look, this thing comes up, has come up. What do you think? And everybody around me, my manager, Melissa, my wife, and this promoter we’re going to work with, we’re all very supportive. Like, okay, I cleared that I can do this. And call Brian back and said, Okay, I’m in. And then I just put these headphones on and sat at this table with a guitar on my laptop, and I had, they had sent me live recordings from shows in Manila, Abu Dhabi and Cairo, and so, because they had recordings from in or I could isolate Keith’s guitar parts, I could isolate Bryan’s guitar parts, and I could hear the mix of the band so I could, like, really learn exactly what the job required. And I just didn’t move, you know, from from sitting, from the spot for until I had to get on the plane. I think I slept three, four hours a night. I also didn’t have a Stratocaster at my disposal. I had other guitars. I had tons of other guitars, but my strat was at my dad’s place in Ottawa. I called my dad. I’m like, hey, I need my strat. This is a gig that required. It’s the strattiest gig in the world. Fender Stratocaster is the sound of Brian’s whole career. So I’m like, can you send me my strat? And my dad’s like, Well, I’m not in Ottawa, I’m in Toronto too. So I can’t, I can’t I saw. I’m like, okay, so I had to go buy a strat. I just go to my favorite user store in Toronto called capsule and the tars in Toronto, and I bought myself a Stratocaster. Like, it’s a very nice, like, Custom Shop strat, not the right one for the gig, but it’s the only one I could get my hands on. Anyway, there I am. So these things, again, these things take time. So I was just in kind of a mad panic of learning songs and trying to absorb and listen and and, but I hadn’t, you know, that style, Keith’s style of playing, there’s a lot of bending notes, a lot of pushing strings around classic rock, which I did as a kid, like I, you know, I was a kid, a strat and a hat blues guy when I was a teenager. And so I spent, you know, four or five nights a week doing three sets of Texas blue. So I had it in my different shred here, your fingers, right? It’s a whole different thing, like when I played with Sarah, it’s, you know, it’s, there’s a lot of playing, but it’s not that kind of pushing and bending. It’s just a different style. So I had to go back and find that, but my calluses weren’t ready. So like by the so by the time I finally got off the plane in San Juan and get on stage, not only am I about to play 27 songs I’ve never played before in front of an audience of 10,000 people on no rehearsal. So, but my fingers, like, play it till your fingers bleed, right? And almost literally, my fingers were swollen. I could barely touch the guitar. And I was like, Okay, well, this is it. I gotta, I gotta get through this. And, you know, it was, it was like the kind of pressure cooker situation that you don’t ever it’s like, you know, we had nightmares about plane crashes and falling off high buildings, because it’s the only way to prepare yourself for a situation that if you ever experience it in life, you might not survive anyway. So you have to practice it in your nightmares, otherwise you get no experience to prepare yourself for these eventualities. It was kind of like that, that dream you have where you got no pants and you’re standing on stage in front of people, and your pedals aren’t plugged in, and you didn’t learn the songs. It was sort of like that in real time you were watching, I have a I don’t use an iPad when I play because I’m trying to learn the songs you show up playing into the areas with the events in your band members. You don’t stare at a screen when you’re playing music. For me, personally and but I had no choice on this gig. I had an iPad which had my notes on it, and, you know, obviously certain songs, I didn’t need the notes, because if I’m playing, run to you, or it’s only love or summer of 69 like, I know those songs in my bones. Like, like you do, like, you know, once I find them, it’s good. I don’t need to look at the notes. But that’s a bunch of songs, 27 songs, so, like, there were just certain, you know, and Bryan would say to me, like he would point out to the ego rep, like, go. And I’m like, okay, yeah, of course, your boss, I’ll do whatever you want, but my notes are 200 feet back that way, and at the end of the solo, it goes to the bridge. Is it going to the D minor, or is that going to the F? I can’t remember that. I run back and look at my notes. So I was reluctant to do the key, all the key stuff that the showman stuff, like, obviously, like, when Brian’s like, dude, go. I’m like, okay, yeah, I’ll go. But there was, I was panicking. I got, I got to make sure I know what’s happening.

Nestor Aparicio  11:41

So, and there’s video running underneath of a lot of this songs at the time too. There’s a lot of video involved in his show. Yeah, yeah.

Luke Doucet  11:48

Tons of video, tons video. So, you know, it was a combination of things. We talked about it. Bryan, I was like, you know, I if I’m reluctant to go, it’s not because I’m shy, it’s because I’m reluctant to get too far away from my notes. And he’s like, right? That’s good. You got to do that, because you got to stay on track. I’m like, yeah, yeah. But he’s like, here are the spots in the show, and I want you to go. So just get ready. Like, so I, you know, I, it was just a like, I, I didn’t here I am in some of the most exotic cities. Like, what a beautiful part of the world, right? Montevideo is a gorgeous city. Santiago’s beautiful. Bogota is beautiful. Buenos Aires, amazing, right? Rio de Janeiro, like these are gorgeous places, and I really didn’t leave my hotel room for the whole month because I was when we weren’t playing or traveling, I was either sleeping or listening to news, listening to Bryan’s music, or making sure I knew my job. I got, you know, my list of priorities. Get some sleep. Practice. Stay sane. Personal hygiene, you know, those, those things I didn’t have room for. Number five, which was like, go and experience South America. I didn’t have room. I did

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Nestor Aparicio  12:50

that for you. Luca. Luca said is here he filled in in Bryan Adams band. And it’s absolute pleasure to hear these stories, because I’m a fan of the band. I guess I’m, I’d be considered some sort of super fan. I’ve never met Brian. I’ve never I’ve only spoken to him once. He took my requests in Lake Tahoe three years ago. Was that a show in the pit, he said, What do you want to hear? And when I thought of you in the band, and having been in a band myself, and I thought, the amazing part is how studied those cats are that they had just done all the albums together. They had just done Royal Albert Hall, where they recorded full albums of reckless cuts like a knife waking up the neighbors, so they knew all the B tracks. They knew everything. And I’m thinking how hard it would be for you to step in there on a month’s notice, on a couple of months notice, but on three days, the most unfamiliar songs to you are probably the same to me, which are the newer songs, and that stuff that Briyn wanted to feature and roll with the punches, and all the likes and the tricks that that come with the show that you helicoptered into. What was the did they have to cut a song because, just like, I can’t learn it, or like, was there just no doing any of that? Because I noticed the set list didn’t change? Didn’t change much. Bryan begins on the B stage and does and look, Bryan and Gary could travel the world just them in a piano. And they’ve done this for years, where they’re just, you know, incredibly rehearsed at what they do, and Bryan sings like an A. I mean, I can’t imagine anyone better that that’s more consistent than working with Bryan?

Luke Doucet  14:21

Yeah. No, it’s, I mean, he’s such a force of nature,

Nestor Aparicio  14:27

like he’s just such a ball

Luke Doucet  14:29

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of energy. And, I mean, as you know, like from watching him perform and listening to him, listening to him sing, he’s still singing the songs in the same keys that they were originally recorded in when he was a teenager, in some cases when he was 19 or 20 years old, when he made right when he made reckless or he was in his early 20s. But, you know, he sings when he does, it’s only love, as you know, he tells the crowd like I’m going to do Tina’s part, and then he sings it like Tina, like Tina Turner, like, who can sing like Tina Turner? Nobody. Well, actually, Bryan Adams can, right? It’s kind of unbelief. So it and the band is lean, there’s not a lot of fat, right? Like, it’s Bryan playing bass and half the show, and then Gary’s playing bass on the mood base for half the show, when Brian’s playing guitar, and then it’s just pat on drums, and then the guitar and me. So there’s, I love that, because feels like it’s a garage

Nestor Aparicio  15:15

band, really, yeah, right? Yeah.

Luke Doucet  15:16

It feels like AC DC, like when we’re playing rock and roll, that’s how they kept saying, it’s like, it’s like, it’s, like, easy, decent, like, no, I got it. But, you know, I like, love it. Love it. Come on. What a joy, right? So it’s motivating to want to play it, to want to play it in a sort of tough way, which I think is that’s, that’s, that’s what I love. I mean, when it gets into the power ballads, it’s to be playing those kinds of songs with him, like it’s like, it’s the whole genre is, in some ways defined by the way Bryan said. And so my blood sort of runs cold with I just can’t believe that I’m actually standing here playing Heaven or playing, you know, everything I do, I do it for you. Know, I don’t know, it’s a total trip. And and he and, you know, he was simultaneously the most supportive, like, high fives, Big hugs, like, Dude, you’re killing it. You’re doing such a good job. Everybody’s like, You’re doing such good job. And then he would stop in the middle of the show and turn to him say, it’s eight notes. And, like, right? It’s eight notes. So he’s very exacting. It was exactly what he wants. And he’s going to tell you, this is going to tell you, this is what I need right here. This is what he’d right here. And then at some point he would say, that’s not the right part. You’re not playing right. Like, is it like this? He like, close, change that, like this, kind of like that, exactly. And so of course, we would go through the specific details, and then other times, like, for example, in the guitar solo during cuts, like a Mac, which is an iconic solo, he at one point, he goes, don’t play it like the record. Don’t play it like Keith, play it like you. I’m like, really, because I would do like, the totally different vibe if I was making a record. I didn’t know the song already. He’s like, Yeah, yeah. I just want to hear what it would sound like if you wrote the song. And so it ended up being this kind of surf punk thing that I and he was like, love it. That’s great. So on one hand, I’m like, I don’t know when I need to be Keith Scott and when I need to not be Keith Scott. So it was a really fun creative job. Like, what a blast. Like, once I got over the terror of trying to make sure I knew what I was doing, it was a total joy. Of, like, what are we? Am I being creative? Or am I? Am I? Am I mimicking one of my heroes? And I, you know, sometimes he would say, Bryan would be like, I just want you to do it. I just want you to do it your way. I’m like, Ah, yeah. But these Keith parts are so iconic. I really want to play these Keith parts. So, you know, obviously Bryan’s the boss. I did, but he asked me, but it was, it was fun.

Nestor Aparicio  17:33

You’re not going to South Africa next week. It Keith is back, and everything’s cool. He’s back. Everything’s cool. You’re out of the band.

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Luke Doucet  17:41

That’s it fired.

Nestor Aparicio  17:43

So in retrospect, and I have my own weird story about Bogota. I’ll get to that in a minute as well. But having watched you do this and now talking to you for a minute, the thing that struck me, and I’m a huge rush fan, so the night that the Junos happened, I saw you and your wife, and you showed up in my reels, because that’s the way the algorithm works. And it knows that I was with you guys, because I put videos up that the fact that it’s over and I saw you say, like, you couldn’t even look at him, because you might get demonstrably upset, it may hit you. He’s singing everything I do, I do for you, and there he is, and the lights are out and I’m screaming. Everyone’s like, you might just lose your shit, you know. I mean, like, you said that, and I’m like, I gotta have this guy on because, like, it, you know, he played a song for me one night like Tahoe, and he doesn’t know how cool it was, the only one, by the way, which he didn’t want me requesting that night. But you might have known that was a pretty good song, and he dug it, and they played it for me or whatever. And I still think of, all the crazy stuff I’ve done interviewing David, I’ve done all sorts of crazy things in my life. The fact that Bryan Adams took my request that and then my wife wasn’t even with me. She didn’t believe it. I had to have it on video, that you were in this band, that it meant that much to you, that you didn’t even look up what? What’s the takeaway? You made a little money, you had fun, you walked the fine line and all of that. But did was it? Did it ever get joyous that the calluses ever go away? The night in Bogota, when I left you cut a couple songs out of the set that night, I’m just thinking, did it? I know you all just wanted to make it through because this is a really tough circumstance, you know?

Luke Doucet  19:15

Yeah, no, I definitely, you know, I guess the way I described it is that at the beginning of the tour, let’s say San Juan and Puerto Rico and for the first and for the first week and a half, it was sort of 90% terror and 10% like, wow, this is crazy. What a blast, right? But, and by the end, it was inverted. It was sort of 9010 the other way, where it was mostly joyous. And a few minutes ago, I know the bridge is coming up, is it? F is a D minor? I can’t remember. So you know, it was there, was that there were definitely more moments of joy. I don’t think I was able to completely let my guard down, because, you know, it’s just the pressure cooker situation. Didn’t, didn’t really allow for it, but there was definitely a lot of joy. And, you know, obviously I just. Despite the fact that this was sort of a Forrest Gump moment where it’s like, what am I doing in this weird situation? You know, I’ve been in, like, obviously, I was on played the Junos that weekend. We played with Joni Mitchell, and I’ve been playing with Sarah for a long time. So I’m not unfamiliar with being in weird, pressure cooker situations and having to play music on stage with famous people who are icons that, you know. And I get emotional musically, because music hits you in this, you know, as you I’m not going to, I don’t have to tell you, music hits you right in this, in the soul and and, you know, for me to flash back to being 11 years old and standing with one of my heroes. I mean, it’s, it’s this doesn’t really happen in life very often. It’s it. And I was, I never lost sight of that. There was never a moment when I was like, oh, yeah, whatever, man, all in a day is all in a day’s work. I was like, no, no, no, no, not. All in a day’s work. This is really, this is something. This is a thing. And the fact that I was in South America, and none of my friends and family actually witnessed it, thank thank God for social media. I can’t believe I’m saying that. But, you know, if it weren’t for social media, nobody would believe that I had done it. It would just be this. Maybe I staged it like the moon landing. You know, our

Nestor Aparicio  21:01

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AI, right, exactly. Hey, I have a lot of great video side stage in Santiago. So here’s my fanboy moment with Bryan. So he takes this request from years ago. Look, I’ve seen him in a synagogue in DC. I’ve seen him play in Sweden. It’s kind of all over. The whole bare bones thing was amazing. I almost went to the Faroe Islands to see him. He played for the Inuits above the Arctic Circle a couple of summers ago up in north, north Quebec, and I almost went to a cup because I thought they’re so weird, and I’m such a wonder. I don’t really want to see him in Peoria, or in via the Allstate Arena in Chicago, you know, or even here in Baltimore. I’m going to go. But I like that. He plays Abu Dhabi, he plays Morocco, he plays all sorts of Gdansk. He plays places that make me a fan. So in that night of Lake Tahoe, they were, they were selling the albums, and the the merch guy said, if you buy this, you can go backstage. Brian meets people after the show. And I felt like a real jerk off for not doing the 150 bucks. But it was albums, and I don’t have an record, I don’t have a record. I was like, Can I get CDs? And like, and I just didn’t do it, and I regret it. My wife’s like you regret that. Now, look, I interview famous people every day, and I have people on and he’s top of the bucket list right there with me. But in South America, he was doing meet and greets before shows. Right? It was much more inexpensive than in the States. And I’ve never done I’ve never stood in line for an autograph. I’ve never paid for an autograph. I’ve never paid for a picture. It’s not who I am, but the Bogota show was an easier ticket. I hadn’t had tickets. I was at Machu Picchu with my wife, texting with my wife, and then talking to her. I’m like, I’m about to, like, spend 300 bucks and do this Brian Adams meet, because he plays a song, and there was a 30 minute Q A before the South American shows. And this is where my heart breaks, because I’m in Machu Picchu. I went on to the website. I downloaded the this and the that and the Spanish, and I’m Google translating. It kept showing me the visa, and I kept trying to pay for it. I kept trying to pay for it. It wouldn’t let me you needed a Colombian visa. It had a little flag. It would not accept my American credit card, my trump tax. I never got the ticket. I wound up buying a ticket at the box office. I had a great, great seat in the back in Bogota, but, like, I was supposed to, like, do that thing, and I thought I’ve got to be the only one there that speaks English. I’m going to dominate the Q A and have a good time. And I still, you know Brian Adams and I don’t, but, man, what a what a show you put on. You guys were great. And I must ask, did you even get the sound check? Kids want to rock, just for the 12 year old and you Luke,

Luke Doucet  23:31

we didn’t do kids want to rock, no, but at the closest we can’t, like, there were some, some deep cuts off reckless that we didn’t play, although during one sound check the very second last night of the tour. So that would have been Santiago. He played one night love affair. We did it in sound check and and we played, I think we played it in the show you did, might have done it that night, and that was the first time we ever played it, and we had only played it once at sound check that day. So, like, and we started, he started playing it. He doesn’t tell me in the morning, hey, we’re gonna do sit one night love affair. He just starts playing it in sound check. And I’m like, Okay, well, I know the song in my head. I don’t know where it is on the fretboard, but I’ll find it because, like, yeah, I can Okay, here comes. It’s gonna be, yeah, I got that. And then it comes to soul. I’m like, wow, right? Okay, yeah, I can hear it. I can hear it just as it’s going by, I’m hearing it. Oh, I know where this goes. So, you know, it’s a bit of a train wreck because I didn’t actually learn it, but pretty close and, and, you know, I would have played reckless top to bottom. You know, obviously kids want to rock. Yeah? I would have happily, only happy

Nestor Aparicio  24:37

when she’s dancing.

Luke Doucet  24:38

Yeah, that would that love that. Yeah, there’s just Yeah. I wouldn’t play the whole thing, but, um,

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Nestor Aparicio  24:49

I got you Yeah, she took the best, yeah, there you go. You’re into it, yeah, yeah. Well, um, hey, you got to play a one from waking up the neighbors. Um. And he didn’t play. Thought I died and gone heaven. No, I played Heat of the Night.

Luke Doucet  25:05

Oh, Heat of the Night. Yeah, which I love, great rock. What a blast to play that one. What a blast.

Nestor Aparicio  25:10

Well, listen, anytime you got the flamenco out in South America to really love a woman was like off the chains, people singing. It felt like soccer arenas. I’m sure it was the same way in Brazil, and it was a pleasure to spend those evenings with you. And thank you for your time. You’ve been tell me about white horse. Tell me about what’s going on, Sarah, you did Tiny Desk really recently right here in DC, right?

Luke Doucet  25:35

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That’s right, that’s right, that’s right. Well, so Sarah has a new record called Better broken that we’re touring this summer. So we’re going to be doing sheds around I think we’re doing we’re doing Mary where the post, I’m not sure we’re doing something in the DC, Baltimore area, and maybe a Philly show as well. So that’s, that’s it this summer. And then white horse. We have a new record coming out called All I want is all of it, and that’s coming out May 8 in Canada. I don’t know what our US really says,

Nestor Aparicio  26:00

But Sarah is a Wolf Trap, by the way, with you on July 5 and in Philadelphia on the seventh. That’s right. Alison Russell opening those shows so that. So you’re, you’re a working musician, and you carve this out, and the kids in the family and, well, I’m glad you got video. If you need a little side video from Santiago. I have some, some cool stills of you and some other stuff, but it was really neat. And it was just a beautiful trip through South America for me. And I know it was a hard working trip for you, but kudos, man. It was, it was really, really spectacular. And, and hey, what a summer for Canadian music, right? I mean, rush going out, Triumph going out. It’s kind of you guys are waving a flag down here the way you should?

Luke Doucet  26:43

Yeah, I was, I was at the Juno’s, obviously, watching Russian. I couldn’t believe it’s like, I can’t I never thought I would see this, like, ever again. I thought it was done forever. And there’s Getty and Alex just carving it out. And what’s her name on the drums, she did, Annika,

Nestor Aparicio  26:55

Annika. Annika.

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Luke Doucet  26:56

She’s fantastic. So I’m really happy for them. I think it’s great. I think, I think she’s really doing, honoring, honoring Neil Kurt’s legacy in a beautiful way.

Nestor Aparicio  27:05

You know, my wife that Sunday, I had gotten sick because I just got back from Bogota like you, and it’s 10 after seven, my phone lit up and the world lit up. Did you know at an hour before, when you were being a musician and a Juno person yourself an award winner? Did you know they were playing, or was it completely wrapped down that night there?

Luke Doucet  27:25

I knew, you know, backstage, we all knew that was it was gonna happen. Yeah, we knew.

Nestor Aparicio  27:30

Well, man, that was something to tell friends that you were there for that one. That was a beautiful thing. I’ll be with them on June 7. You’ll be with Sarah McLachlan. We were together in South America that one moment in time, and I hope you have good memories of it, and I hope the calluses you know, got better for you. Thanks for your time, Luke. I appreciate you. Pleasure. Man. I’m going to check out some white horse as well, if you are a tiny desk person or Sarah McLaughlin person, he’s the good looking fellow right behind her, strumming the guitar. And I found him on stage in Montevideo and followed him to Santiago and straight on up to Bogota. And one day, one day, I’ll meet Bryan Adams, and it’ll make my life, and it’ll be fun, and we’ll talk about his art and his fun and his music. I am Nestor. We are wnsta and 1570 Towson, Baltimore. Back to the boring sports stuff after this. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us.