Hear The New Fangled Whistle Test every FRIDAY 3-4 PM on CFBX.

1. Are you from Kamloops? If not, where are you from and how did you come to be in Kamloops?

My family moved to Kamloops from Trenton, Ontario in 1966. My Father was a high school teacher & counsellor. At 17, he spun Kay Kyser & Spike Jones discs at a Vernon radio station. My Mother was a journalist for The Kamloops Daily Sentinel. My first ‘radio’ venture was at Norkam High, playing Genesis & Monty Python records over the blower at lunchtime.

2. Are you a community volunteer? How do you think volunteering at the station supports your engagement with the Kamloops community?

I volunteered at the station for several years, producing many of the Connections programs and growing my show-The New Fangled Whistle Test. When I became Station Manager last Fall, I was determined to create space for under-heard voices in our community. As a team, we are continuing to bolster the ethos of the station, involving and engaging broader sectors of the Loops. It’s gratifying to find new storytellers and share their vibrant stories on air.

3. Why does radio have this widespread appeal?

As a young radio nerd, it was a thrill to dial in Moscow Nights (Radio Moscow’s signature tune) on my transitor radio. I felt like a citizen of the world. The mystery of radio lies in its universal reach. It transcends borders & cultural barriers. Radio was cheap. I bought my Sears Silvertone for 10 bucks. Radio was portable. The radio went camping with us- to Scotch Creek, and Wells Gray Park, and East Barriere Lake. I recall a camp-out at Lac LeJeune in grade 7, dancing herky-jerky before the fire to Crimson & Clover on the radio. Radio was the background of our awkward stirrings. Radio also carried the distressing news of a dangerous and unstable world-the assassinations of King, Lennon, and, closer to home, Pierre Laporte. Radio gave my first tastes of fresh cultural flavours- alternative voices (The Rational-COOP Radio) punk & electronica (CBC’s Brave New Waves & CITR’s Alien Soundtracks ), and Incorrect Music (Dr. Demento & Brian Linds-CFUV)

I love the intimacy of radio. Also, you can sort your socks or do the dishes while you listen. I love the variety and plurality of ownership to which community radio aspires. Radio, at its best, is a theatre of the mind. It invites the listener to create pictures and associations. In that way, it is a more immersive medium than tv. Radio can teach us the art of deep listening.

4.What other hobbies and interests do you have outside of doing campus/community radio?

I have been a Theatre worker for forty years—a playwright, director, and actor- and a founding member & former Artistic Associate of Bard On The Beach. I collect outlier and outsider music: Shooby Taylor, The Shaggs, Moondog…to name a few artists.

5. What is your show about? What would a listener hear when they tune in?

The TEST features arts interviews, experimental & outsider music, ephemera, electronica, poetry, and local music. As a young person, I loved Alan Mcfee’s The Eclectic Circus on CBC. Mcfee would chat with a mouse that lived in his pocket- “a small grey presence”- while spinning a crazy array of musical selections. I try to bring some of that zany, spontaneous energy to The Test.

6. What makes your show unique? Why do you think listeners are interested in your show?

I love to celebrate musical daring and experimentation on The Test.

7. What does campus/community radio mean to you?

Community radio, at its best, can reflect the sonic soul of the community, whilst tackling unique issues at a local level. It’s a small and mighty medium.

8. What shows at CFBX do you like and listen to regularly? Why do you enjoy them?

At CFBX, we are lucky to have an abundance of passionate live dj’s, playing everything from Mahler to spoken word to experimental noise. It’s hard (and dangerous) to pick favourites.
The X is lively & edgy…not slickly packaged. I am learning to embrace mistakes…and the self-kindness that comes from instant forgiveness. Sheeesh! Did I push the wrong button again!?

9. Name an artist you discovered through your time at CFBX that you’d like others to know about.

Its a long list. Here’s a short one: Annie-Claude Deschenes, Leslie Ting, Reza Vali…

11. Is there a local musician that you would like people to pay more attention to? Why?

beholding…for his daring & versatility

12.Do you enjoy attending live concerts? Why? Can you tell us about your favourite live concert that you’ve been to?

I have many vivid memories of live concerts. Like the night Kim Berly, wild man drummer for The Stampeders, transformed into a coyote during “Devil You”. What a trip for a misfit fourteen year old. Or feeling the thrilling thump of Bo Diddley’s hambone beat in my chest, as one of only five patrons at Vancouver’s Club Soda. A few years later, my partner snored through a Philip Glass concert at The Orpheum. “HOW DOES HIS BAND STAY AWAKE?! More recently, I was thrilled to hear Jeremy Dutcher harmonize with ancestral voices and the KSO.
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13.What do you hope to do with your show in the future? What direction do you see your show moving?

Any suggestions?