Friday, December 4, 2009

2nd favorite ABH memory

2. I've never really written about it. I've hardly told anyone beyond my friends and family about that unique evening. For an entire year following my resignation, I rarely spoke about radio at all. Instead, I bought an old crappy house that needed alot of attention, signed up for some freelance commercial voice-work and gloriously stayed home at nite.

One would think that my last show on CFNY would be my most memorable of the 3 years of my employment in the late 80's/early 90's, but I'll get to that more joyful number one in a later post.

As you may or may not know, in 1992, CFNY was going through alot of changes. Radio was going through alot of changes, it always does. The increased use of computers as programmers, a reliance on American charts for the discovery of music and the corporate structure in general began to alter the sounds coming out of your speakers. For a station like CFNY, at this time, it was indeed noticeable.

A month or so before I quit, McLean Hunters new management began cleaning house.
Reiner Schwartz, one of my mentors, who allowed me the oppourtunity to begin and build the Alternative Bedtime Hour, was one of the first to go. Of course, made sense, he was the Program Director at the time. Alot of my colleagues were being escorted out of the building. Shep left, so did Kneale Mann and Lee Carter. A healthy chunk of the frequencies heart and soul was being raided of some of its hardest workers and most creative thoughts. I was happily told that I could stay, but that that funky little free form hour of mine at the end of the shift was going to need an overhaul. It was going to have to be programmed. No more "Fly me to the moon" by Sinatra, no more Tones on Tails, no more odd little soundtrack pieces from Danny Elfman and no more Dead Can Dance. I would have to look for the quieter more established Depeche Mode track instead. I shook the messengers hand kindly and left his office. In my heart, I knew I had to leave.

Radio people will always tell you that if you give your notice, you may not be able to leave when you like. You may not be able to say goodbye. Radio understandably hates goodbyes.

Therefore I decided that no one would know of my plans until the very last minute. Ok, my now husband knew, Paul Dhingra knew and I know that Don Berns called from a club downtown broadcasting the show, but thats about it.

Before I go on, its important for you to know something about this radio hour. Not only was it an "alternative" to other late night broadcasters, but at the core of its listenership was a brilliant artistic foundation. Not a day would go by without my mailbox at the station being filled with someones' form of expression. Photographers would send me their pictures, writers would scribble down their words, musicians, academics and painters.... the volume and content was overwhelming. The Alternative Bedtime Hour became the soundtrack to many a creative persons mind. It often organized their chaos and I loved that.

So when I asked its out of work listener to phone up the station and record a personal resume to be mixed in with its music, I was not disappointed. It was poetry.

That was the crux of my final goodbye. An on-air alternative classified section interspersed with, forgive me, my favorite artists and tunes from the past 3 years of the shows existence.

"Pink, Orange, Red" from the Cocteau Twins, some David Sylvian of course, Dan Gibson, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel. At the end of it all, I read my own oddly concocted resume, officially said the words aloud "I resign", thanked a few important folks, said goodbye and turned the mic off for the last time at CFNY. The phones rang, a strange rush flushed through my entire body that I have not since experienced again, I greeted the visitors that had parked in the stations parking lot and I was officially out of work.

I'll tell you about the crazy aftermath sometime soon. But my on air resignation is my second most memorable ABH story.

I apologize for the rambling....

No comments:

Post a Comment