Category Archives: CKCU

Last night, for the third time in eight days, I did not play Spade Cooley on CKCU 93.1 FM.

Admittedly, I did not have a choice this time: after filling in for Joe Reilly five consecutive Monday evenings, I was relieved of my temporary duties by one Joe Reilly. Which is fair enough. (And did I not mention I’d be doing those shows on the Mighty 93? I meant to… about six weeks ago.) Or, rather, by Dave Alburger, on behalf of Joe. Close enough.

Last Wednesday, I presented a profile of the OKeh Records label on Roots and Rhythms. Spade Cooley recorded for said label, and was in the running until I opted to limit the hour-long profile to OKeh’s first incarnation, which called it a day in 1935. Cooley’s recordings were released a decade later.

The man’s music would have fit in perfectly, however, during a hillbilly and western swing set I played July 28. Great, spirited toe-tappers like Shame On You would appear to have been just the ticket. And I did consider bringing one of my Spade Cooley seven-inch square-dance singles to liven things up. Continue reading →

Yes, I did read that patronizing little Globe and Mail article, subtitled: “Yes, there was a 1970s Ottawa punk scene.” I look forward to reading further installments in the series, such as “Yes, Calgary has art galleries” and “Yes, there is indoor plumbing in Whitehorse.”

Still, it was nice to see our city’s name not being used as a synonym for the Government of Canada.

But hey, ask local music aficionados and young-country fans (those are separate categories, natch) if Ottawa isn’t a live-music hotbed. At the moment, you can’t avoid live music. (Seriously, try driving the length of the western Parkway.) No UBC Rockfest reviews today, I’m afraid; I probably should have checked out a few minutes of Lady Gaga’s performance, as I very much admire the woman, but stayed away partly as a protest against the festival’s not having placed Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum on the same bill and called it Ladies Night. Continue reading →