Its been just over 12 months since the start of our Radio concept. Here is a little story of how it came about, its long but its personal and I think worth the read.

I had been seriously depressed a couple of years ago. It was one of the snowiest winters on record in Vancouver and not only was I physically snowed in, in the remote village I live in. I was also snowed in psychologically; the crushing burden of the side effects from my circumstances left me bed ridden. I was slowly letting my life drain away and was praying I could just die in my sleep. For months, the only time I would open the door is to let my dog out and pee, there were a few days where I even forgot to do that. ‘Star’ my Husky Sheppard pup, let me know how inconvenient that was for her on a number of occasions; my bad.

One of the things I would do to loosely connect with the outside world, was listening to Canuck games on radio. Seemingly that was also the year of the worst losing streak in team history. If I was going to be depressed I picked the best hockey season to do it, I’m pretty sure it didn’t help me. If you are a canuck fan, I believe you naturally become bi-polar over time. Unlike most Canuck fans though, I had a biological head start. The only other thing I would consume online would be political comedy from the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Looking back, I really couldn’t tell if I wanted to laugh or merely addicted to the satirical negativity.

Eventually, family circumstances would not allow me to waste away any longer. My Father was seriously ill and my mother needed my help, I was forced out. This catalyzed me to find all those broken pieces, pick them up, salvage any good ones and recycle the rest.

That summer I had attended a peer support group. It went well and I learned a lot about my own thought process and enjoyed the comaradarie and commiseration, it was a good fuel source. When it ended, I felt a certain emptiness for what came next and needed to replace that feeling quickly. I had thought about radio, a friend Ryan Fletcher had already been doing radio for quite awhile at CJSF and other community stations. Art and Music has always been something I enjoyed, but was slowly becoming aware of its therapeutic properties.

That summer I wanted to commit to my Art and Creativity not only as a healthy mechanism but as a means for economic independence. I felt the need to connect with more artists, I would trust that they would understand the emotional difficulties that were related to my experience. I wanted to learn and inventory skills of how they create. I also had to re-record the tunes in my head, all the stuff I was singing was from the nineties. You don’t want to sing that stuff out too loud in public spaces, you risk medical certification.

On the days before I went to my first radio orientation I went to the City of Coquitlam’s Treefest Arts Event on the Riverview Lands, the province’s primary mental health care facility. Helen, from Arts Connect, suggested that I check out Finnies Garden and on the way there, is the SPARC Museum. Little did I know what I was in for. SPARC is the Society for the Preservation of Antique Radio in Canada. I was blown away, it was a massive warehouse of antique radios, mock studio set-ups, including the Titanic, Military Radio Communication stations and the old CKNW mobile radio broadcast booth. I believe in the Universe and what she has to say, I also think she is a comedian, with her only intention being to make you happy. So I got the message loud and clear, I needed to do this, plus all the reasons why were just laid out in front of me.

So in the past 12 months since that time, where Kitt Nova and myself brainstormed on the concept it has been an amazing ride. We have produced over 80 episodes, we have contributors in Toronto and the US, we won a national radio award for our Homelessness Marathon broadcast and won two CJSF Station awards this year. All these achievements are a celebration of community. Without the support of the team at CJSF, Gallery Gachet, friends, family, volunteers, contributors, guests and all the different stakeholders its not more than a crazy idea. It takes belief by others that you will enrich their lives to make projects like this happen. It’s a reflection of the genuine human spirit, no one has asked to participate because of the money, primarily because there is none, however there is an abundance of positive social capital to go around and share.

We are bonded by our diversity in experience and knowledge and the openness to the human potential. Coming from a corporate background, I didn’t think this world actually exists, but it is totally euphoric being inside of it and I try to invite as many people into the party as possible.

Because the Arts are more than just about entertainment, its a means for creative survival.

Happy Birthday everyone.

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