it was 30 years ago today

Well today is a special day I guess...it was September 7, 1977 when I started working at CHOM.  I had arrived in Montreal in April of that year and shortly after applied for a position at CHOM.  I had quite a bit of radio experience already, having worked out west in both FM and AM formats since about 1968.  However I was told that nothing was available at CHOM.  I am nothing if not persistent so I kept at it and finally found a crack...in the production department.  I was asked if I could write commercials and I said I would give it a go.  A few days later I

I'm back

Well it's been a while since I blogged and I'm about to take a few weeks off so I'll have lots to talk about when I come back.  This Saturday its another live broadcast from La Ronde...they're celebrating their 40th anniversary so a lot of special events are planned. This weekend its also the Grand Prix so with the the screams coming off the rides, F1 cars roaring in the  background and the weather being great..it will feel like summer in Montreal.  Made In Canada will still air...this Sunday night at nine p.m. check out Montreal's Miracle Fortress...Graham Van Pelt is channeling Brian Wilson I think..also the Montreal/Ottawa band Tim's Myth.  Next Sunday June 17 both Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings are calling in to talk about their new album Jukebox..also calling in is Jeff Jones who is in the Bachman Cummings backup band The Carpet Frogs but he also has a solo out which features Mike Sadler of Saga on one song. Then the following week its old school rock with Vancouver's Pride Tiger and Kim Bingham drops in.  Kim was once in Me Mom and Mortgantaler, Mud Girl and The Kim Band but she's on the show to talk about the soundtrack of the TV show Les Invincibles.  Kim is the musical director of the show. Lots of her songs on the album.

problem solved

Well in my last blog entry I mentioned my computer biting the dust and over the past week I've had problems connecting to the internet.  Its amazing how cutoff I feel from the world not being able to log on.  I called my service provider to report the problem and spoke to no less than three tech supporters with each having me go through a number of tests .  After running all over the house and plugging in my modem to check phone lines it was concluded that they could not find the problem and an agent would call me to discuss moving to a slower up-link.  I finaly got the call and a tech came over to the house. It took all of two minutes to figure out that my modem had died.  It seems they only last about four years.  None of the previous three techs mentioned that his might be the reason I was not connecting although it was the most obvious reason.  Is there a modem patrol out there constantly replacing worn out units? This must happen quite often.  It reminds me of when I bought a printer that stopped printing shortly after I started using it.  I phoned the company and a tech ran me though a series of procedures that took close to an hour.  He finally suggested I take the printer back to the store.  As I was putting the printer back in its box I noticed in the manual that the cartridge only came with a small amount of ink.  I plopped in a new cartridge and problem solved.

tootall's blog

Well got my computer up and running... a static charge blew the mother board...next time I'll ground myself when attempting to plug in a cable.  Last Thursday ...another anniversary came and went and I just thought aout it is morning.  On September 7, 1977 I started working at CHOM...thats 29 years ago..how time flies.  This was when we were still at the old house at 1355 Greene Ave. a building we vacated in the eighties to move across the street.  The building was never occupied again as it burned down shortly after we left.  I actually witnessed the fire when I was doing a Saturday night shift...we had a remote control camera mounted on the roof at 1310 Greene and we could monitor a good chunk of the city...I just happened to be zooming down Greene Ave.

TooTall's Blog

Here it is Monday, Labour Day and I can't do much labouring since my computer is kaput at home I'm in at work doing this rambling.  The weekend saw the very first Osheaga fest. taking place at Parc Jean Drapeau..it was a major success and will be back next year.  It was amazing that the weather held even while the remnants of Ernesto raged all around.  That happens quite often in Montreal...bad weather moves in but for events like the outdoor jazz fest shows and many others I've witnessed, the skies will often clear.  I wanted to see Rodd Rundgren on Sunday but was unfortunately unable to make it.  In the band were Jesse Gress, Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta.  This is pure rock and roll history. I did interview Todd live on Saturday afternoon and felt quite honored. He had numerous hits in the 70's like I Saw The Light and Hello Its Me and later worked with the band Utopia...his production credits range from Janis Joplin, The New York Dolls, Bad Finger, Cheap Trick, Rick Derringer to Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell.  This was part of a small Canadian tour...he returns to vocal duties with The New cars soon.

TooTall Blog

I was watching CTV news last night...it started late since The Sopranos can end whenever it feels like it..and there was something noticably missing.  No mention of wars or terrorism.  How long has it been since I've seen a newscast like that.  Although I might have missed them I saw no reports on Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran or anywhere in the Middle East.  Did they mention Ernesto or Jonbenet Ramsey?  The lead story was on a drinking water shortage in Tofino B.C. and I remember a report on Captain Canada hanging up her skates but I wasn't left with the feeling that the world was coming apart.  There was even a report on the fact that gasoline prices have dropped drastically, especially in Ontario where a litre was going for 76 cents.  Is no bad news good news?  I know people who never watch or listen to  newscasts or even read newspapers often.  Do they live in a state of ignorant bliss?  I certainly felt slightly more blistful last night and I have yet to read todays newspaper............

TooTall's blog

When I was a kid I would get up on Saturday mornings, grab my portable ( for those days..it was the size of two bread boxes) Phillips tape recorder, load a fresh reel of Shamrock tape, hold my ceramic microphone in front of the TV speaker and record all the songs on The Beatles cartoon show.  Was this the first incidence of illegal downloading?  When asked recently about illegal downloading Bob Dylan replied..."Well why not...it ain't worth nothing anyway".  (Dylan's new album Modern Times is available for sale on ITunes by the way).  But it seems the problem of free downloading versus paid down loading has finally been resolved.  SpiralFrog is offeringa new advertising-supported music service.  Go to spiralfrog.com and download for free, legally, music from Universal Music Group. The only hitch is that you have to watch advertising while you are downloading.  I don't know if you are obliged to watch these ads.  Will the download stop if you look away or check you email or play Free Cell.  By the way if you hear me using this bit this weekend on the air feel free to play free Cell if you've already read this.

TooTall's blog

August 29.

Today a day off...although I've listened to 8 CD's...all potential Made In Canada candidates.  I've always said.."there has never been a shortage of good if not great Canadian acts."  makes my job easier although do I go with the new Voivod or Mike Turner's new project Fair Ground next week...I'm also getting a lot of requests to interview Alexisonfire.  So what else does one do on a day off....well work on the house of course...that's what houses are for...something always needs fixing.  Recently had a new garage floor poured cause the old one was cracking and moist and growing white foreign matter.  So that's done..and I've prep the inside wall and fixed the holes...the patch isn't drying because there is moisture in the wall... where it's coming from on that side I have no idea...on the other side I patched with a concrete coat...that as well is not drying as moisture is leaching through the concrete foundation al;though I had all the crack fixed on the outside...Help