A collection of stories as told by two of Canada’s favourite bahds
Are you a bahd?
“Bahd was born on the East Coast. It’s like ‘bud,’ but said with a little more vigour. It can be a threat, like, ‘You’ve had too much to drink now, bahd.’ Or it can be used to soften bad news, like ‘Your car has just been towed, bahd,’” Canadianity’s Jonathan Torrens explained. “You know if you’re a bahd. It’s really part of a bahddist movement.” The book defines the terms as “one who is kind in a way only Canadians can be.”
Which is what Canadianity — the podcast and now turned book — represents.
“It just punches you right in the feelings,” Torrens said.
Whether you know him as J-Roc or Robert Cheeley or “that guy from that show,” Torrens is, for many East Coast fans, the quintessential Canadian. To add to the national pride of it all, his collaborator and co-author is Jeremy Taggart, who spent 21 years drumming for Our Lady Peace.
“Our Lady Peace was one of the earliest vocal supporters of the Trailer Park Boys,” Torrens said. “They actually had Ricky, Julian and Bubbles open for their Gravity tour.”
As Canadian entertainers, Torrens and Taggart orbited in each other’s worlds over the years until they both found themselves looking for a new opportunity.
“I was looking for something more immediate,” explained Torrens, who lives with his wife and two children in the Truro area. “When you shoot for television, like Mr. D or Trailer Park Boys, it can be six months before your work is aired. I was looking for an alternative that would provide some real-time feedback.”
From there, the podcast was born — its content as organic as the home-grown Canadians who host it. “We stumbled upon the notion of Canadianity by accident and people went nuts for it. In a macro sense, it’s characteristics like being nice. In broad strokes, it’s the greater representation of the fact that I can live my life and achieve balance here like nowhere else. We can’t speak on behalf of the entire country – this is our experience and it’s by no means a bible of all things Canadian.
“It covers real life — from a frustrating experience with a mechanic to dealing with the loss of a parent. It’s things we’ve all experienced, which is why I think it’s so relatable. The podcast is an intimate environment; it’s like being at the cottage and the whole country is listening on the party line.”
With chapters appropriately divided by province, the book is a collection of showbiz tales from the road and relatable everyday anecdotes, all wrapped up in a nostalgic fondness for all things Canadian. It’s even been described as “equal parts beer and pop culture and added a heaping helping of irreverence.”
Canadianity: Tales from the True North Strong and Freezing is in bookstores now. Bahd.