FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 2000. All Rights Reserved
Street Sounds
by Aubrey McInnisFor those of you who depend on campus-community radio station CJSW's up-to-the-second cool broadcasting to save you from the mundane pap that everybody else listens to, it is time to pledge your love during their 15th annual funding drive. Call 220-7110 between noon on October 20 and 6 p.m. on October 27, bribe the DJs to do ridiculous stunts for your pledge, win some prizes and help the mighty 90.9 FM stay on the air for another exciting year.
From kids calling in requests between high school classes to protesters looking for a speedy round-up of political support, Calgary's campus and community radio DJs have seen and made a splendid effort of listening to it all. Find your favourite show by logging onto www.cjsw.com.
REVEREND RON - The Blues Witness (Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.)
"I have met people while standing somewhere, y'know, at the liquor store or Megatunes. I'll be talking to people. I get people who go, ‘You're the Reverend Ron, you’re the Mojo Navigator.’
That always blows me away, it really does, ’cause I find out there’s all these obscure people all over the city who are actually listening to this station. Just like this artist guy – he did a bunch of blues paintings, I went up to his opening in the Strathcona and he said that he's been listening to me for, like, four years and painting these blues artists."
LEO CRIPPS - Caribbean Link-Up (Saturday, 4 p.m.)
"What's keeping me at CJSW? The people who listen and the people I meet on the streets. I’m into year 16. One night, I was out with my wife at a concert and I introduced myself to the girl taking tickets. She asks, ‘You're Leo C?’ It was over the counter and into my arms... what could I say? My wife just looked at me with a smile."
JON TRUCH - Coctails With Claire (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.)
"I always get a lot of calls from people who say I made their day by playing a certain old song. A few years ago, a friend of mine was working in the interior of B.C. for a whole summer by himself. He was way in the bush and couldn't pick up any radio, so he was strapped for music. I sent him my show and it helped him get through the summer, hearing people's voices and things from Calgary.
KARIN SCHMITT - Bunte Welle (Saturday, 8 a.m.)
"CJSW is giving us the chance to be able to air a multicultural program. Music is international – our program is not only for Germany – there were so many Canadian soldiers stationed in Germany, and all this music reminds them of the good years they had. It's amazing how many people have spent a few years in Germany. And CJSW has given us the opportunity to continue the culture."
CP WALSH - Bikeshyviks Rule (Tuesday, 2 p.m.)
"I was first inspired to DJ naked while on Jeff Caissie's show, Compus Mentus, some years ago. I stumbled into the booth to spy two members of The Browns naked across from me. Figuring I wanted to be part of the band, I joined ’em and I've had a propensity to do funding drive naked ever since."
PANIC - Panic Girl (Thursday, Midnight)
"My third funding drive show, I walked into the DJ booth to find Jeff Caissie naked. That was memorable. Another night, the phone rings and I check out the call display box. Seeing a (416) area code in the box, I figured it to be a wrong number. The guy on the other end said that he was listening to me on the Web and wanted to call and say how much he was enjoying my show. I stammered, "But, but, you're in Toronto!" I was pretty flattered that someone would spend money to call me just to say he liked the show. It's nice to know that the world really is listening."
CHRIS GREEN - Invisible Electric Life
"I remember doing my late-night show from midnight to 3 a.m. and some guy called me up, typical drunkard Saturday night kind of thing, and he says, ‘Would you play a request for me?’ I said, ‘Sure, what do you want?’ He said, ‘Well, I'm about to pass out and I need to make the transition easier, play me some Von Zippers.’ And I said, ‘Sure.’"
DOUBLE D - DNA (Friday, Midnight)
"Being able to go to CJSW every Friday night is divine... not even Los Angeles has a steady ongoing hard-core techno radio show. There are people who listen, every Friday night religiously. Sometimes I hear people's car stereos playing the tracks I know and then I realize I hear my own voice. People record the show and play it over and over. There are people who record the show and tell me that they have 6 years of archives at home. Now, that is funny!
LOTUS QUEEN - Remote Emissions (Wednesday, 11 p.m.)
"One of the best CJSW-related times was when my friend DJ elis d and I got to spin at our first Melting Pot (1998). I was totally thrilled but nervous. I had just started playing out and was terrified that I would clear the dance floor – or that there wouldn't be one! Gradually people started to join the floor. I felt deliriously happy, which doesn't happen too often, and was feeling high for the rest of the night. People were dancing as a direct result of something I did. That feeling was what got me hooked on DJing. I got to and still get to be a part of something along with other CJSW DJs I had looked up to as a pimply-faced teenage listener."
SERGIO DUBON - Buscando America (Sunday, 11 a.m.)
"Picture it: January of 2000. The month is coming to a close and it's the first month of the new millennium. We have been changing our music format slightly to accommodate brand-spanking new Latin American music – not only to keep in step with one of CJSW's themes, which is to play stuff nobody else plays, but also to keep our own Latin American community interested in the most recent events in the Spanish ‘scene.’ Come to think of it, nobody in this city, not even CKUA, can compare with us and match what we do every weekend."
ROSANNA BIRD & ADINA CURRIE - Punk Up the Volume (Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.)
"There are heaps of moments that make CJSW such a fun place to be. Punk Up the Volume's been corrupting the airwaves now for about one-and-a-half, two years. Over that time we've definitely hooked up with some super cool people, bands, labels, and made all sorts of pals. Whether it’s a live on-air match of doughnut hockey with the Aquabats or on-air karaoke with the Jay of Spades – our mics come on and the good times begin to roll."
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