Finding a Voice: Poetry to your Ears
CFRC’s weekly poetry program, Finding a Voice, brings you live on-air interviews and readings by three wonderfully talented poets next month. On September 10, the program welcomes Sarah Tsiang, an incredibly gifted local poet and writer. October 1, meet Catherine Owen, an extensively published poet (and bass guitarist) from Vancouver who is sweeping through Ontario as she launches her latest book “Seeing Lessons” from Wolsak & Wynn. October 8, Eric Folsom, one of Kingston’s best known and favourite poets, takes over the airwaves. Tune in every Friday at 4pm for your weekly dose of poetry and spoken word with Finding a Voice.
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*NEW* CFRC Tees & Tanks!
CFRC’s in-house craftorium has been hard at work over the dog-days of summer, whipping up a fresh and cool new crop of screenprinted tees and tanks featuring our stylish logo! Loads of sizes and colours make each one unique, not to mention a steal at only $12-15. To get yours, drop by our offices in Lower Carruthers Hall on Queen’s campus, weekdays 10am-5pm.
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CFRC & Kingston’s Cultural Plan
This week, the city released the final draft of the Community Cultural Policy Plan a team of consultants has been working on with local stakeholders over the past year. The plan will shape the cultural development of the Kingston community over the next ten years. CFRC received special mention on page 60 of the plan, as the city’s only campus-community radio station and a resource for local artists and arts groups seeking exposure. In fact, our station was the only radio outlet highlighted in the Plan! Looks like our local government may be stepping up to take notice and recognize our contributions to this fair city in the coming years. To read the report and learn more, visit www.cityofkingston.ca
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Fall Sports Schedule is up!
Get ready for another exciting season of Queen’s Gaels football, hockey and basketball action, brought to you live on CFRC! Our broadcast schedules for the 2010-11 sports seasons are up: click here for all the details. We are currently accepting sponsors for the reigning national champions’ football season: for more information contact CFRC’s Business Manager, Irina Skvortsova at 613-533-2121 or cfrcbusiness [at] ams.queensu.ca.
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We’ve been around for a really, really long time
CFRC began as a tiny experiment in wireless communication way back in 1922. Since then, thousands of Kingstonians have tried their mic skills on the air. Here are just a few of them:
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A global trip from CFRC to the Junos
Fresh off a musical tour Down Under and now working on his fifth CD, critically acclaimed pop singer-songwriter Matthew Barber, Artsci’97, finds himself in a newly mellow mood.
Queen’s is becoming known for the growing number of alumni enjoying successful careers in the pop music field and, well, rocking the world.
Following in the musical footsteps of Blue Rodeo founder Jim Cuddy, Artsci’83, Sarah Harmer, Artsci’93, movie musician-songwriter Lindsay Fellows, Artsci’86, and three members of the Tragically Hip – Rob Baker, BFA’86, Gord Downie, Artsci’87, and Gord Sinclair, Artsci’86 (to name just a few), Toronto singer-songwriter Matthew Barber, Artsci’97, is busy carving out his own niche.
In a recent review of his latest album, Ghost Notes, the influential Huffington Post on-line newspaper calls Matthew an “intelligent, acoustic artist” whose latest album, Ghost Notes, “merges old school Harvard Square with a hipper Washington Square Park vibe.”
But it’s to Queen’s, not Harvard, that Matthew traces his musical roots. “I was definitely influenced by the music scene in Kingston,” he says.
Matthew says he learned a lot about music while working with Andrew Shaver, Sc’96, on their CFRC show called Orphalese Bend. Playing guitar and writing his own tunes, Matthew morphed from fan into performer, playing venues both on and off campus.
He was influenced by mainstream artists such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Tom Petty. “But my favourite album of all time, lyrically speaking, is Joni Mitchell’s Blue,” he notes.
Song writing has always been therapeutic for me, but I’m trying not to write about affairs of the heart too much anymore; I don’t want to be a one-trick pony.
Matthew went from his Queen’s BA to an MA in philosophy at McMaster. While living in Hamilton, he immersed himself in his music, performing and writing songs, and in 2002 he released his first indy CD, Means and Ends. It was eventually picked up by Paper Bag Records and re-released nationally. His next two CDs were on the Warner label – a short one with just six songs, called The Story of Your Life, and the full-length Sweet Nothing.
Concurrently, Matthew boosted sales by touring extensively in Canada. Ghost Notes was released in Canada in March 2008 by Outside Music and in the U.S. in April of this year.
Matthew, who’s 32, recently returned from a musical tour of Australia, where he shared the spotlight with his younger sister, Jill Barber, Artsci’02 – another of Canada’s brightest young singer-songwriters. “We complement each other pretty well,” says Matthew, “and I think we influence each other.”
While touring Australia, he found audiences every bit as enthusiastic as those back home. And the timing of his travels (December and January) was a bonus – Australia’s summer being a nice respite from the Canadian winter.
There will be no tours of sunnier climes for a few months, though; Matthew is hard at work on his next album. “Usually the tune comes first and then, if I’m lucky, the lyrics almost simultaneously,” he explains. “When it all happens at the same time, I feel those are the best songs. Song writing has always been therapeutic for me, but I’m trying not to write about affairs of the heart too much anymore; I don’t want to be a one-trick pony.”
He’s happy with his albums so far, but acknowledges his music has changed of late. “As I’ve gotten older and more experienced, I like mellower sounds. I don’t feel I need to beat the audience over the head with loud guitars and drums,” he says.
Last year, he broadened his song-writing by composing for a play called The Haunted Hillbilly by Sidemart Theatre of Montreal–and performing in it. Matthew and fellow musician Joe Grass were awarded the Montreal English Theatre Critics’ “Best Sound” award for their efforts.
Earlier this year, with Ghost Notes nominated for a Juno as Best Roots/Traditional Solo album, Matthew traveled to Vancouver for the awards ceremony. While he didn’t win, he did play in the annual Juno Cup hockey game, which pits musicians against ex-NHLers to raise money for Music Counts, a charity working to save school music programs. “For the first time ever,” he laughs, “the Rockers beat the NHL Greats in an overtime shootout, and yours truly was the goalie! That’s something I’ll be telling my grandkids about.”
With any luck at all, he’ll also be telling them about winning a Juno Award… or maybe two or three.
From Queen’s News Centre.
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