In a video clip released back in early August, Erica Ehm, 63, the famed former VJ who, for a decade, was the conduit to the rock and pop stars of the 80s and 90s for any MuchMusic viewer, pronounced, “I’m about to do something that I have never ever ever done before, like ever.” Enter Glass Tiger members Sam Reid (keyboards), Alan Frew (lead vocals) and Al Connelly (guitar).
“And what is that?” asks Frew, the 68-year-old singer of such enduring radio staples as Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone) and Someday. He then answers his own question: “She’s going to come as a special guest – Glass Tiger and Erica Ehm.”
“I’m with the band,” Ehm yells, beaming from ear to ear, her arms outstretched, as they all laugh. “I’m going on the road. I’m the opening act for Glass Tiger. It’s true.”
Glass Tiger and Ehm – who founded the digital platform Yummy Mummy Club and is now a prominent keynote speaker, event host, and director at a wealth consultancy specializing in retirement strategies – are a natural fit. The former VJ is an award-winning songwriter whose songs, written with the late Tim Thorney, were recorded by artists like Van Morrison, Tom Jackson, and Cassandra Vasik. Glass Tiger, of course, sold 5 million albums worldwide over 40 years and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2023.
So what will she be doing on Glass Tiger’s This Island Earth theatre tour that runs Nov. 22–Dec. 7, then picks back up again on March 14 (the band continues on without her because “I have a job”)? Tap-dancing? Telling jokes?
“It’s a one-woman multimedia show,” Ehm says.
She has lots of stories to tell from the MuchMusic days, from notorious interviews with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis to the inner workings of MuchMusic – and, of course, stories about Glass Tiger accompanied by old footage shot at MuchMusic by bassist Wayne Parker “who used to walk around with a video camera,” says Reid.
“It’s not me sitting on a stool doing a keynote; I’m trying to make it a show,” Ehm adds. “I only have up to 40 minutes. This show is a combination of structure with a lot of fluid improv because MuchMusic was exactly that. It’s going to fly by because I’m going to have video interspersed throughout. In fact, you have to plan for 35; I don’t want Sam coming out with a cane and pulling me off.”
“We’ll drop a song,” jokes Reid, who is on the Zoom call with Ehm.
Ehm says she “will be experimenting with audience participation and adapt the show as needed.”
The idea to have Ehm open the This Island Earth tour actually came in a phone conversation with Reid, 60, after he came back from seeing Irish rock superstars U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, as odd as that might sound.
“It’s an evening with U2, but instead of having another band opening that didn’t really resonate, they had a disc jockey on an LED fake car, and [staff] were pushing him right through the audience, playing really cool music and telling some stories,” Reid recounts.
“I said to our manager, ‘We’re about to do this intimate theatre run. Normally, you bring out a solo acoustic person because you don’t want a big production in front of another production, but that’s the obvious thing to do for a tour. I said, ‘We should do something different?’ And then I called Erica.”
Reid and Ehm are good friends, so he rang her for advice about possible DJs with personality that could open for Glass Tiger.
“Erica said, ‘What about a VJ?’ And I said, ‘Jeez, I never thought [about] that angle. That is even better because then you could bring the stories in of everything you’ve done and the audience exactly is the audience that would have seen you do what you do, as well as us.’ It was the perfect fit. And then it morphed out of that general idea.”
Frew, in a separate interview, said that, “Sam always goes on these little quests, and we usually back each other up on things that feel a little left of centre. So when he mentioned Erica, of course, it’s a little unusual. She’s a sweetheart; she’s very clever; she’s very creative and we have that history together at MuchMusic. So for her to bring a little touch of MuchMusic with her and her background, and us being a big part of that MuchMusic era, I just thought it was a very cool idea. And I said, ‘I trust you. Let’s try it.’”
Ehm interviewed Glass Tiger many times on MuchMusic and they even went to Switzerland together when the band opened for Tina Turner in the 80s.
“I remember a bunch of super cute young guys who were very talented musicians. Piss and vinegar,” she adds. “I liked them because they were nice guys. I didn’t like bands with lots of attitude.”
So the big question is how will it be on the tour bus? Frew doesn’t travel on the bus often — he’ll drive or fly, but the rest of the band does. Altogether, there will be 12 people on the bus, including crew and two other women, “merch girl” Grace, and backup singer Carmela Long. Will they let Ehm pick her bunk? Who makes coffee in the morning? Do they label their food? Does anyone snore? Who stays up late watching movies?
“If I divulge that, she might run away from the tour,” teases Reid.
“I’ve already been warned not to bring a lot of stuff because there’s a lot of people crammed in this one bus,” says Ehm. “I have never slept on a tour bus or traveled with a bunch of smelly guys so this is a whole new experience, one that I’ve been longing for for 40 years.”
“It’s a beautiful bus,” assures Reid. “We’ve been in some really bad ones. This is a good one. It’s a newer bus. It’s going to have a big giant This Island Earth tour sticker wrapped around it. You’ll be able to see it roll down the highway.”
Ehm adds, “I’m going to write in sharpie — ‘With Erica Ehm.’”
Visit Glass Tiger’s website for tour and ticket information.
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