I REMEMBER THE VERY FIRST AIR RAID

Air Raid 25 is Saturday night/May 14, 2016.  As we wait for the bands to pull into town, I'm reflecting on the many Air Raid shows.  24, of them.

The first Air Raid was before LIFE 100.3 was on the air. In fact, the name "LIFE 100.3" had not been revealed. It was a secret! Nobody knew the name except my wife Janice, our daughter Crystal and son Brett. Even our Board of Directors did not know the name of LIFE 100.3. And believe it or not, the secret was kept until one month before, when the training of the DJs began!

In 1998, I was fundraising to build LIFE and I thought a concert would be a good idea. Back then, I thought concerts were fun events and big money makers. Now, on the eve of Air Raid 25 I can tell you that, yes they are fun, but very stressful - there is so much to organize and many people involved.

And as for making money? Forget it. Of the 24 Air Raids we've done, five have made money, barely. The cost to put on a show, recently, is between $9,000 and $18,000 depending on the artist and how many flights are required. The cheaper shows are those where the artist busses in to town.

The first Air Raid was actually called "Youth Concert". Ya, I'm serious!  We didn't name Air Raid until #2 and the name came from Duncan Taylor, a teenager at the time, who was on my radio committee to build LIFE 100.3.

It was held September 25, 1998 at Bethel Community Church in Barrie. The headliner was Rise, with Lyman (ska from the great white north), Lorrain Peters and the Cheese Monkeys From Planet 9. (featuring Daniel Biro, now the bassist of Hawk Nelson and Marcel Preston now the leader of Sky Terminal. Both Hawk and ST have played Air Raid shows.)

At the first "Air Raid/Youth Concert", in addition to charging admission, we were going to take up an offering to fund LIFE 100.3.  We desperately needed $200,000 to build the station.

Just before the show started, I was so grateful to see a lineup of kids at the door, excited that a Christian rock concert was happening, and a Christian radio station was in the near future, I changed my mind.  No love offering!  That sounded so typically churchy. And, calculating the profit, I figured if I got $1 from 200 kids I would have ....let's see....$200!  Not exactly a successful fundraiser! 

A love offering would sounded so needy, as they typically are.  I said to one of my Directors, "Let's skip the love offering. We're not going to make a dent toward our fundraising budget. Let's just be happy that 200 kids came to the show!"  It was the right decision.

At the first show, there was crowd surfing.  Man, I took some heat for that. "It's worldly!" I was told. As I look back at the photos, I noticed one of them was the pastor's son!  haha!

The first Air Raid was produced by two friends Lorne Kelly and Steve Burchell. They organized the entire show - the sound, the bands, all of it. They had show-experience, which I did not. Had Lorne and Steve not volunteered to direct the show, I don't think it would have happened.

Since then we've produced 24 Air Raids. All of them featuring Ontario artists. When Air Raid 12 was booked, The Elms from Indiana were a hot band and they were touring so we booked a show on their tour. After The Elms, we often, but not always, included American acts for both variety, and because we were running out of Canadian bands to headline.

The Air Radio concert series is my baby. I love producing shows. All of it! Choosing the bands, teaching the LIFE Promotions Coordinator show how to organize the many details. I love the long-term relationships I've developed with almost all of the Ontario bands. It's very rewarding.

And while, I hope to break even on the shows, I never expect to.  I know that's bad business but Air Raid is a music ministry. It's a night of Christian music, a brief Jesus message and a showcase exposure for local bands. I love the thread that connects it all.

Air Raid 25 - May 14, 2016 - Trinity Community Church in Oro. Tickets at the door.  SEE YOU THERE!

BTW - click here for all Air Raid info.

I WASN'T A KID PERSON....UNTIL NOW

Kyler

It's true. I've not been much of "a kid person".  I think it's the sticky fingers near my CDs that makes me cautious!

When my kids were young, kid-talk wasn't in my wheel house. Some people are great talking to kids, with the "gootchie-gootchie-goo" - but it just wasn't me.

I went to my kids ball games, and school showcases and church presentations and I really liked watching MY kids do their thing but having to wait for all the other kids to do their thing was frustrating.




Dallas

In North Bay, when Crystal was about ten years old she did a skit in a church play about sitting on the fence. "I can't make up my mind so I think I'll just sit on the fence." I don't know if she knew what she was representing in a spiritual sense, but I remember it being very profound when it came out of her mouth.
Both Crystal and Brett were very much into baseball and we enrolled them in a league every year. I have a recollection of a very young Brett in the outfield, sitting down, picking at the grass instead of watching where the ball was being batted. Many of the other youngsters were distracted as well. It was funny.

Brett will be 30 next year. It seems like forever since they were youngsters. So, I am out of practice.

But now, I'm a grandparent of four boys and the fun has begun. Plus, they're cute. Check out these super-cute pictures. My grandkids are cuter than YOUR grandkids!

I'M GOING ON TOUR WITH HANDSOME AND GRETYL

I'm going on tour!  With Handsome and Gretyl!  HandG are my son Brett and his wife Gretyl, who live in Seattle.

Last December they released their new album "12", for which they recorded and released one song each month, concluding in December with the full CD, released at Hi Five in Seattle. I was there for the show and recorded their single "Let's Go" on my phone. Turned out pretty good!

With two their two children in Seattle and the home recording studio where Brett is tracking, mixing and producing other artists, he and Gretyl haven't had a chance to tour for a couple of years but long at last they are hitting the road.

While the tour is a few months away, the prep is underway. Lots to do. Ordering new merch, preparing the 32-foot tour bus, talking to promoters and rehearsing.

Shows are already booked in Tucson, Nashville, Toledo, Chicago, Orillia and North Bay with hopes to add more in Seattle, California,  Phoenix, NYC and Philly.

In Central Ontario, you can see them August 13 at "Rock The Lake" in Orillia at the Aqua Theatre. Jimmy Needham is headlining.

It'll be fun to put my Road Manager's hat back on and look after some of the tour details while my wife Janice will be the official Tour Nanny looking after our grandkids while Handsome and Gretyl are performing.


A fabulous night at High Five in Seattle for the Handsome and Gretyl
CD release party for "12".

Sounds like a fun way to spend the summer!  Not to mention it fulfills the showday withdrawl that I seem to be experiencing!

If you want to book Handsome and Gretyl  this summer, email - booking@handsomeandgretyl.com

HOW TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT A ROCK BAND AND NOT MAKE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

AFT Guitarist Davey Hooper - "Scott captures some of our best memories over these past few years. So excited to have it all written down to look back on every now and then. Truly a page turner."

For the last month I have been promoting...well...flogging...a book that I wrote called "Herding Kittens."  This is my second book - the first one was "Good To Great - The Radio Version".

"Herding Kittens" is my story of the Christian pop/rock band Anthem For Today that I managed and book shows for.

After each show for the last three years or so, I posted a report of the show with photos on facebook and I was wise enough to keep notes on file as well. I'm glad I did because memories of events tend to fade far too soon but with those notes, the details remain clear.

If you have never written a book, and you have a story you want to remember, this is a great way to memorialize your story.

I published "Herding Kittens" through Blurb. This is a self-publishing site. I didn't get a big million dollar advance. In fact, I got nothing but I will get a small profit from each book. I'm expecting to gross about $50 - if I'm lucky.

Steve Jones/Operations Manager LIFE 100.3 - “When we go to a concert, most of us only see what’s up on stage.  Scott takes us backstage to open up a world that we never get to see.  The booking of the show, working with promotors, the travel, hanging with the band, the on stage challenges, and of course the big show!  Get ready, these stories will keep you hooked from beginning to end.” 

Through self-publishing I do all the work. My daughter Crystal assembled the chapters, then lined up all the pages as a PDF and my friend Gideon handled the cover art. From that, it's sent in and boom - in less than a week it cames back like a book. No upfront expense.

The only catch is there are no promo copies. I have to pay for every book.

Please understand that this is not a biography of the band, nor is it a "tell all" book. It's positive, with only good memories of the band and fun stories worth remembering. Buy it here.

MY LAST SHOW WITH AFT

Last night was my final show with Anthem For Today. I guess it's time for a change for me. The band is going through some changes and I want to leave while we're still friends and feeling good about our accomplishments together.

It was a bittersweet show at the Salvation Army Citadel in Kingston. Davey Hooper was attending a funeral back in Oshawa and unable to play so GI Holm had to play two guitar parts. (Not a problem for him.) He was in great "poser" form!

Pip was playful with the audience - probably the best I've seen him.

Robbert had problem solving to do before the show with the lights. Often there are issues and Robbert is amazing at figuring out solutions.

Chad Izatt was the fill-in drummer for this show. He's a new friend from Brockville. There's been a lot of drummers in AFT and Chad pulled it off great! I forgot to ask if he had fun!

AFT opened with two worship sets - Pip on drums, GI on lead vocals and Cas Vander Grift on piano.

The promoter Fred Grendel was fabulous as was his crew. Very helpful and treated the boys like rock stars! Thanks Fred, Les and Jeffrey.

Well, it's over for me. I'll probably check out future shows and can't wait for the release of the second album later this Spring.

By the way, the fun I've had over three and a half years is documented in my new book "Herding Kittens" which comes out mid-April. $20 is you want an advance order.

Chad's dad Chris Izatt - one of my best friends from my
Kingston days.

Rich VanDorp on FOH.

Cas Vander Grift on piano during worship.

SHARATHON 2016

Our 17th Sharathon wrapped up yesterday. LIFE is listener supported and a registered charity. I don't own it. I just founded it in 1999 and I guess perceive me as the owner, but I am not. No shares. No pension. Just the honour of working in ministry and radio, which I love.

The 2-day radio fundraiser supports LIFE 100.3 and represents nearly half of our annual budget.

We began planning in November for the March event and, after all these years, the LIFE team is such a well-oiled machine that things always fall into place. Not that it's easy - there's so much detail and the inside organization of Sharathon has grown each year and it amazes me how my staff tends to the detail and problem-solves the surprises so efficiently.

Coordinators for volunteers, donations, food, promotion and programming. Let's not forget all those Sharathon videos. Quite the operation.

We had visiting artists perform live and a few pastor come by to offer encouragement.

Steve Jones is LIFE's Operations Manual and without him Sharathon would not be as fabulous as it is. He wants no praise; he takes care of things I am unaware of until I see the evidence of his work.

Yesterday, on Day Two, we had the severe freezing rain. Volunteers cancelled their shifts on Phone Central but we had two visitors from VOAR radio in Newfoundland - Sherry Griffin and Tina Taylor who jumped in to take pledges.

Our monthly goal was so far from being reached I was convinced that it was not going to happen. But it did!  Seriously, I said, "it's impossible!" Thank you listeners and praise God I have once again learned, "never say it's impossible".

As Sharathon was wrapping up and the excitement to announce the final results was near, Steve told me the power went out and we were on back-up power. No problem. Then he told me the back-up power only holds for 45-minutes and then normally the generator kicks in, and because it is powered by natural gas, it's good for a long time. But the generator malfunctioned.

Tim VanDyk, my producer and tech troubleshooter, went up on the roof, in the ice storm and blowing wind to manually start it. It did not. So a generator repair guy was called in.

We ended Sharathon quickly, before the power went out. We reached the monthly goal and missed the One-Time by just a few dollars. Amazing! 15 minutes after we announced the totals, the reserve power went out as my staff was tearing down the decorations and putting offices back together with only the emergency lights and cell phone lights to guide them. It was actually fun!

Soon after we went off the air.

With the affects of the storm, our Sharathon, still was a party inside and an successful overall.

I have an amazing staff. Thanks everyone. I am so proud of you guys. You've learned so much about radio that I can stay out of the way and watch you guys make it happen!

HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

Sometime, when I'm not looking, the frozen ice moves in from out in the middle of the lake, and it's stacked up.

I don't see it happen - and there's no noise.

Weird. Majestic.

Looking east over Lake Simcoe

Slabs of ice, stacked up on the shore.

Three levels of frozen ice.