Radio Influences

I've kind of always been fascinated with radio. Ever since I was a kid, I always enjoyed being able to scan the dial and have instant access to the many voices, genres of music, news, and interesting programming. Probably the first station I was attracted to was CFRB 1010. That may seem odd for a youngster, but my reason isn't what you might expect. Aside from sometimes finding the news interesting and mysterious to my young ears, because my father would always have it on in the car in the mornings when he would drive me to school, I was exposed to the voices and opinions that went along with the news and weather. It fascinated me, I was especially captured by the traffic reports because I thought it was pretty cool how they guy in the chopper could radio to the station and give his update. I always liked the interplay between the different personalities, and always tried to imitate the segments when I would "play radio" with my tape recorder.

Once I started exploring the radio dial myself, I loved all the unfettered access to new music. I mainly hung around at Edge 102 (as it was called back then) because my older brother was into rock and, at the time, I felt a need to be just like him. I actually loved the Humble & Fred show, even though my age prevented me from totally understanding all the raunchy jokes. Rock and roll was still new to my young ears, and the alternative music gave me an adrenaline rush (something I would become addicted to). As a few more years passed I found myself exploring more of the general popular music. Stations like MIX 99.9 & KISS 92.5 started to appeal to me because of the amount of different styles of music I could be easily exposed to at any given time of day. The Mad Dog & Billie show was what I woke up to my entire 7th grade year.

I also liked exploring the radio dial to find what kind of interesting programs were being played. An early favourite, "Theatre Of The Mind", which was broadcast Sunday evenings on CHUM FM, educated me on the incredibly well produced early dramatic radio shows of the 1930s & '40s. Alan Cross wowed me with his rock music knowledge as me and my brother would make sure to tune in for "The Ongoing History Of New Music", a show I would probably still listen to if it hadn't been discontinued. Around the time I started high school, me and a friend of mine had taken to staying up late on sleep-overs, listening to the Jim Richards show on CFRB and calling in when he would open the phone lines to comments. To be honest, we would usually take some oddball stance on the topic and try our best to keep a straight face as we messed with the host, almost always making sure to record our antics to tape so we could listen later and laugh.

These early memories of the radio definitely shaped my appreciation for the medium, and my choice to finally step up and enrol in the Humber Radio program. I've always thought radio has a massive potential to reach people and make a connection to their hearts & minds. I love the fact that someone can tune in at any time of the day, and always be greeted with music, a familiar voice, or the day's most recent events; nobody ever has to really be alone with a radio close-by. Since I've spent countless hours ingesting the many formats radio has to offer, I feel like it would be both an honor and a privilege to contribute to the collective voice.