AFTER - CMW

Canadian Music Week 2010, in Toronto at the Royal York Hotel. A building so old I really doubt they have air conditioning. LIFE was represented by (left to right) Junky Rhodes, Shauna Jones (Steve's wife) me, Steve and my wife Janice Baird.

CMW is a week of overpriced conferences, music showcases by indie performers (whom I've never heard of), and a lot of guys who have been in radio for 30 or 40 years, many of whom spilt beer on me. But the rendezvous is something we all look forward to! Fun to see old friends, from my secular radio days, hear about their current jobs and share old stories that blur reality with fiction - ya it's fun.

One of the first people I ran into, was the person I really wanted to see - Don Shafer. He has a phenomenal resume and I had a chance to work with him for about two years. He was tough. He was insensitive. He pushed me beyond my own talent limitations and taught me to guard the (radio) gate against attacks from competitors. Shafer works in Kelowna as General Manager for SUN-FM and a cluster of other stations. I'm not sure what he thinks of me doing Christian radio. I don't know if he's proud of "his student" or I'm just a forgettable guy with a Bible. But Shafer was one of two significant radio influences.

The funny thing is this - everyone at CMW looks about my age, or older. I said to Steve Jones, "where are all the young guys" - the new Programmers. It looks like my generation is still ruling. Shouldn't younger guys be here?

Revisiting mainstream radio, just for a night, brings back memories. It inspires me. Hopefully I've brought some ideas from CMW to LIFE 100.3. The highlight, and real reason for the trip was the honourary salute to CHUM-FM's Roger Ashby whom I grew up listening to on 1050 CHUM. His speech was worth it. And Gary Slaight, former owner of Standard Broadcasting is a fellow whom I never worked for but, well he's well known in the industry and Tom Cochrane roasted him and welcomed him to the stage. He was awarded the Humanitarian Spirit Award for his many charitable donations.

The funny thing about secular radio people - the names don't change; only the companies they work for. "So, who do you work for this year?!"