Local FM was happy to invite the Strange Grooves Crew to the station for Vol. 43. Take a listen to the crew talk about the resurgence of physical formats, nifty recycling ideas, and the importance of sharing music with our community.
Visit Strange Grooves for more great content, and support your local podcasters!
Local FM is excited to announce the second year of their youth radio camp. The camp is offered at no cost to participants.
The camp is once again partnering with the Fundy Fringe Festival to conduct artist interviews to help hone skills in that area. Sarah Rankin, the director of Fringe Festival, had this to say:
“The Fundy Fringe is thrilled and honoured to once again partner with Local 107.3 on their annual radio camp. It’s a joy to see the youth interact with performers from around the world, listening to and sharing their stories with each other.”
The camp will run for one week, starting Monday, August 20th until August 24th. Programming will run from 8:45 AM to 5 PM. The camp will also feature opportunities to connect with the following local organizations and more:
The online registration form can be located at www.radiocamp.localfm.ca
For more information please contact:
Brandon Logan – Local FM Camp Coordinator – brandon@cfmh.ca
We’re over halfway through 2018 and our S.M. is deep in the throes of an existential crisis over the inexorable passage of time. To distract him, we put together a list of our top 50 of the year so far!
These entries have been drawn from our weekly Top 30 submission to the Earshot! National charts! Entries scored points based off the amount of times they charted, and their placement on the chart. Essentially, if you charted high and often, you scored more points! Check it out! 
We’ve spent the last month polling, and Saint John has decided on it’s nominees for the 2018 Best Of Saint John Music Awards! Congratulations to all the nominees! All nominees are asked to get in touch with Local FM (info@cmfh.ca) right away for comped cover charges!
FEMCORE Award for Musicianship
Kylie Fox
Erin Muir
Hilary Ladd
Adam Kierstead Award for Musicianship
Adam Kierstead
Gavin Downes
Luc Poirier
Best New Artist
Butcher
The Wiseaux
Subtle
Best Group
Butcher
Shrimp Ring
Subtle
Best Album or EP
Burgundy Drive (Burgundy Drive)
In Under Fourteen Highly Concentrated Minutes (Little You Little Me)
Long Lights (Penny Blacks)
Best Song
Long Lights (Penny Blacks)
Mountain (Little You Little Me)
She Wanders (Lads & Lasses)
Best Album Artwork
Golden Grove (Papal Visit)
Procrastinator (Subtle)
So I Can Go Away (Butcher
Best Music or Concert Video
Human Brain Freezer (Shrimp Ring)
Seed (Jamie Comeau & The Crooked Teeth)
Won’t Let This Go (Butcher)
Best Venue
BMO Studio Theatre
Sanctuary Theatre
Taco Pica
Best Musical Event or Concert
Curtains For Santos
Quality Block Party
Youth For Youth 2018
I’m Bad Now, the third album by the indie rock quartet, Nap Eyes takes the genre to an entirely new level.
The group (comprised of Nigel Chapman, Seamus Dalton, Josh Salter, and Brad “Bronson” Loughead) are based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia and have been performing together since 2011. Their third album manages to create a unique sound that is both laid-back and thought provoking.
Released on March 9th, I’m Bad Now presents listeners with poetic imagery, of the sort that is not overly common in this age of music. The band are ahead of their time lyrics-wise. Most of the songs in the album are fascinatingly lyric-driven, creating an intricate narrative that is both welcoming and inviting for listeners. Images of quiet and calm places are recurring throughout this album, such as in the song, “Follow Me Down” Where the singer depicts two people walking next to a body of water. This makes the album an excellent, and relaxing, assortment of songs to sink into.
Each song of this album has characteristics of its own, but the what links them together is the rhythm section of Salter and Dalton. Their powerful basslines and drumming drives the album forward.
A very warm feeling is incorporated in the sound and lyrics in most of the songs of this album. The earnest theme of the album, “I’m Bad Now” can be best summarized in the lyrics of the chorus of the song “Every Time the Feeling:”
Oh I can’t tell what’s worse
The meaninglessness
Or the negative meaning
I figured out a way to get on with my life
And to keep on dreaming
These lyrics are inspirational and encouraging, whilst the driving rhythm of the song enhances the album and makes it an enjoyable listen, whether for leisure or reflection.
I’m Bad Now is greatly expanding on the indie-rock genre and is developing the perception of Maritime music in an undeniably positive way.
By Heather Ellick
Sarah Hiltz takes listeners on her latest Canadiana inspired trip.
By Heather Ellick
Sarah Hiltz is a Toronto-based songwriter magnifying the splendour of new-age, alternative Canadian folk music with the November release of her fifth album: Beauty In The Blue.
Co-produced by Sarah and Kevin Howley, Beauty in the Blue is made up of “songs and stories culled from [Hiltz’s] multiple journeys across Canada as a travelling musician on cross-country Via Rail passenger train, ‘The Canadian’.” In a sense, listening to this is like hearing the soundtrack of a long journey.
Hiltz describes the album as containing the unique tone of “both pain and beauty, suffering and art,” and sure to catch the hearts and ears of many. Upon first listening to this album, it displays a very peaceful, yet lonely feeling. These features are enhanced by mostly relaxed background vocals and instruments. With Hitlz’s distinct, but delicate voice there is no need for compensation of any intricate song patterns; which is wonderful.
One song that boldly stands out is “How to Pour Whiskey for Strangers”. The chorus show a special form of poetic – and genuine – loneliness:
I’m staring into faces that I don’t know / C’mon look me in the eyes; I need to feel somebody’s soul / I can see you keep your secrets hidden underneath that hat / Won’t you tell me everything about that?
Hiltz presents many different emotions consistent with the genre and themes of the album. Some songs are quite relaxed, and others are almost eerie and very thought-provoking. The song “No Proof” see’s Hiltz tackle the issue of not being able to ensure one’s own happiness but expressing that no person should dwell over things they cannot change. It recreates interactions between her and the people she has met but never got to know.
Sarah Hiltz is an enticing artist well-worth listening to. Her music is a combination of new and old folk capable of leaving a listener in an entirely different state of mind. Beauty in the Blue comes highly recommended.
Local FM has been nominated in the “Music Business of the Year” category at the 2017 Prix MNB Awards. We’d like to offer our congratulations to our fellow nominees & provide a special shoutout to the breadth of Saint John talent being celebrated all across the board!
You can offer your support to your favourite New Brunswick artists, industry professionals, venues, and festivals by casting your votes online now.
23 awards will be presented to artists and industry professionals who have made their mark on the NB music scene this past year during the Prix MNB Awards evening on Thursday, October 12th at Moncton’s Tide & Boar Ballroom.
Saint John, NB’s campus-based community radio station Local 107.3FM (CFMH-FM) is pleased to recognize that Station Manager, Brian Cleveland, has been invited to participate on the 2017 Polaris Music Prize Grand Jury. The Grand Jury is set to determine this year’s best Canadian album, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales. The winner will be announced at the Polaris Gala at The Carlu in Toronto on September 18, 2017 and will be awarded $50,000.
The records on the 2017 Polaris Short List are:
A Tribe Called Red – We Are The Halluci Nation
BADBADNOTGOOD – IV
Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker
Gord Downie – Secret Path
Feist – Pleasure
Lisa LeBlanc – Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?
Lido Pimienta – La Papessa
Tanya Tagaq – Retribution
Leif Vollebekk – Twin Solitude
Weaves – Weaves
Brian is joined on the Grand Jury by the following jurors:
Francella Fiallos, CKDU, Halifax, NS
Erin Flynn, CHUO 89.1FM, Ottawa, ON
Vish Khanna, Kreative Kontrol, Guelph, ON
Nick Krewen, Freelance Journalist, Toronto, ON
Erik Leijon, Freelance Journalist, Montréal, QC
Tara McCarthy, CBC Radio One, Whitehorse, YT
Catherine Pogonat, Radio-Canada, Montréal, QC
Sandra Sperounes, Edmonton, AB, Capital City Records
Laura Stanley, Freelance Journalist, Toronto, ON
Brad Wheeler, The Globe And Mail, Toronto, ON
It has been such a busy and amazing 2017 thus far at Local 107.3FM that our planned midyear report
has stretched into mid-August. We wanted to take a brief opportunity to tell you about some of our big accomplishments these past several months and our plans for the near future.
Since our most successful funding drive ever ($4,298.00!) in October 2016, we have been able to take on many new projects and grow several existing ones. We are increasingly proud of the efforts of our staff and volunteers within this ever-morphing and expanding non-profit arts and culture body. Here are a few of our recent highlights:
• In January 2017, we hosted volunteer awards where eleven different awards, chosen by staff and the public, were presented to our volunteer base.
• In February 2017, we hosted the 15th annual Homelessness Marathon, a yearly overnight radio broadcast shared on over a dozen campus and community stations from coast to coast, creating linkages and raising awareness of homelessness in Canadian communities.
• In April 2017, we sponsored the inaugural Quality Block Party, a new celebration of independent New Brunswick culture and talent. We also co-presented all-ages show during version 1.2 from Aug. 10-13 as well as several other arts & culture events in the summer and fall.
• In May 2017, we hosted the ninth annual Best of Saint John Music Poll.
• On June 10, we accepted national awards for “Best In Creative Production” and “Best In Syndicated Radio Show” at the 36th National Campus & Community Radio Conference in Abbotsford, BC.
• In late June 2017, our staff ballooned to five members thanks to granting programs which allowed us to hire a Volunteer Support Coordinator, Community Outreach Coordinator, and Marketing & Promotions Assistant.
• From August 21-25, 2017, we are launching our very first free Radio Camp for youth on the UNB Saint John campus with exciting, engaging, and informative workshops on a wide range of topics from improvisational theatre to sports broadcasting.
We’ve also seen growth in our feminist collective (FemCore), general programming, and community partnerships. You can find additional information about these initiatives and more (including our full summer 2017 programming schedule) at localfm.ca
Over the next several months, in addition to the continued welcoming of new volunteer programmers, we have plans to install new and updated equipment, begin an engineering technical brief to increase our broadcast range, launch a small local festival in September, and more.
We hope we can count on your support in late October 2017 during this year’s funding drive. We have some great items in the works and look forward to releasing more information in the next couple months.
Sincerely,
Brian Cleveland, Station Manager
From June 7-11, 2017, Local 107.3FM joined over 100 delegates in Abbotsford, BC to represent community radio stations from all across Canada at the National Campus & Community Radio Conference. Along with several days of panels and workshops, the week’s events included the National Community Awards. With 20 categories receiving over 200 topnotch submissions, competition was certainly fierce from producers all across the country. It is with ecstatic fervor that we can announce that for the first time ever, we took home two separate awards. These awards will sit alongside previous national awards for Best Small Station (2002) and Community Development (2012).
Best In Creative Production
Michael Mohan/Abigail Smith/Mike Specht/Sadie Donahue
Judge’s Comments: “Beautiful, simple production. Haunting. Reminds me of WireTap.”
Funded by the Saint John Community Arts Funding Board, local photographer/filmmaker and St. Stephen native Michael Mohan was chosen as Local 107.3FM’s first-ever artist-in-residence in August 2016. Working with Local-FM staff, Mohan created a fictional call-in show titled “Loveline” in which film, radio, and memory overlap. You can view the trailer for the accompanying short film here. There were pieces about this project on The East and CBC.
Best In Syndicated Radio Show
!earshot 20 (Anthony Enman & Brian Cleveland)
Judge’s Comments: “Interesting to discover Canadian Artists – Great hosts.”
Produced from Local 107.3FM, !earshot 20 is a nationally-syndicated radio program presently airing on over 30 campus and community radio stations across Canada (from Halifax, NS to Kamloops, BC). The program features a countdown of !earshot’s top 20 most played albums on campus and community radio stations in Canada, musician interviews, entertainment news from Exclaim!, and more.
