Adam Fox

With the call for walkers on this upcoming holiday Monday (May 18 at 9:30am), there was a lot of response.
Almost all positive.

You can’t take away the other side of this though…as I learned.
There are a lot of people who are angry with Eddie Francis and the city representatives (in general) with regards to their positions on the arts…and creativity. Kind of crucial when the event is called Walk for a Creative City.

The reaction, when negative, seems knee-jerk and severe, with instant refusal to sidle up next to our mayor. But with some retrospection, and understanding that this walk is at the same time separate and united with the Mayor’s (Windsor’s 117th Birthday) Walk, there are some who seem to be seeing the opportunity.

So maybe we go out and walk together, and we make a great display on our own behalf, and the news notices our creative masses.
Then nothing happens.
Gasp!
Making the effort to get together, and show that we’re capable of meeting on common ground without picket signs is a step toward our benefit.
Some may argue that they’re tired of being kicked while down. Some HAVE argued this.
I’m not here to argue.
I’m asking creative people to show their numbers for whatever reasons they may have, and to maybe make some connections to their creative brethren. At least we will be in a space where new introductions can take place and where we can take reflective pride in our numbers.

Boycotting removes your voice. It silences only those boycotting. Leaving those in your place to speak on your behalf, which no can do but yourself, is a weaker presence than showing yourself and making YOUR mark. Especially since many of the potential withdrawals know that there will be an unprecedented turnout, it really doesn’t serve their purpose by “saying something by being silent”. It just makes the arts (and its supporters) look like less than it is…which is not a wise approach, if you ask me.

Still looking VERY forward to the walk this weekend, and I will be inviting my entire local family to attend in support of their younger brother (me) and his wife (Jhoan).

It’s going to be a special day.

Tuesday May 12th, Adam Fox and I will be interviewing two very special folks on our radio show called Not In My Backyard. Pina Ciotoli of Windsor Endowment for the Arts (and Windsoreats.com) will be discussing how this walk came to be, her interest in the creative turnout, and what her predictions are for that event.

Those of you reading this in time, you can go to www.ustream.tv/channel/nimby-on-cjam and watch/listen to the show. Or you can simply turn your radio dial to 91.5FM in Windsor and Detroit to hear us.

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Well, we recorded another show, and again it felt as though Adam and I are finding our timing. It seems to be getting smoother and smoother with each show. Again, we produce/host NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) on CJAM.

We both remarked at how much we enjoy producing and airing the show, to the extent that we want to carry on this project as far as possible.

This week, Adam interviewed David Dubois of the band The Locusts Have No King. Dave has also been a massively proficient singer/songwriter for quite some time, and this interview was centred around the release of a new full length CD due out in January. The bits I heard on the show today were fantastic!

Me…I interviewed Barry Furlonger, executive director of The Downtown Mission. My interview with Barry was MUCH longer than the edited version on the show, which left a lot of usable, viable content on the digital cutting-room floor. So, I will first post the archived version of today’s Not In My Backyard, and then I will post the full, unedited interview I did with Barry for those of you who want to know/hear more about the Downtown Mission.

Thanks to all those who listened to the show live today!

Here’s the link to the extended interview with Barry Furlonger of The Downtown Mission!

Here’s the link to today’s NIMBY!

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I’m always running my mouth. In one of my bouts of loose-lippedness I disclosed to someone that I had th desire to do another talk radio show on CJAM.

Reading articles about the world, technology, etc., can be a little insular. It’s a LOT insular actually, because I don’t really get to discuss the  topics I read. I know there are people out there who would love to get into the topics, but most of the time, they’re too heavy to discuss at work…a downer.

So I thought I’d do a show and invite calls, feedback.

As I ran my mouth one night about this desire to do a show, in front of one L. Adam Fox, he replied, ” I was ust going to fill out a program request form for a show like that…wanna do the show together?”

Well geez.

Adam is FAR more experienced with radio, and is kind of “in charge” of stuff with regards to CJAM 91.5 FM here in Windsor/Detroit. To do a show with him would be a great learning experience for me, and it would be done correctly. He told me his idea for his show. It was clearer, smarter, and better than my original vision. We would cover local stories regarding culture, arts, music, whatever…and report it professionally, while also being ourselves. Cutting loose a little bit here and there.

The first show arrived in a flash. The first thirty-minute episode of Not In My Backyard (Adam’s idea for a name that I liked immediately) was a bit clunky, but aimed toward a place I am happy heading toward. Adam interviewed the people responsible for the (now) successful Fahrenheit Fire Festival. My story was a post-event look at the FAM Festival with the creator, Murad Erzinclioglu. FAM Fest found scores of bands, artists and film-makers and organized them on display at several venues in downtown Windsor.

The second episode of the show was much cleaner, and smooth, and I am far more confident in having you hear THAT one. In that show, I interviewed Tony Gray, a local artist who has become a syndicated cartoonist with not one comic, but TWO! Yeah, he sits next to Garfield and strips of the like. Adam spoke with local music marvel Johnny West. Awesome interview. Especially because no one really knows ANYTHING about this guy who has been impressing people with his music for years almost anonymously

If you live in Windsor or Detroit and you want to hear our show when it airs, it is on every Tuesday at noon. If you would rather live stream it or listen to archived versions of the show, you can do so at cjam.ca by finding the archives, clicking on the Tuesday you want to hear, and selecting the 12:00pm start time.

In parting, I want to give you a heads-up that this awesome community radio station is having its annual pledge drive in a couple of weeks, and I invite you to contribute to see that the station makes it’s goal of $25,000. The programming is top-notch whether we’re talking about spoken word or music programming. It is a station that represents a lot of what’s great about radio, commercial-free radio. That’s a beautiful group of words, commercial-free radio. If it’s something you believe in, like I do, you can contribute with Pay Pal on the CJAM site, or you can call in and pledge during the drive.

It’s a station I believe in, and am genuinely proud of, and I think it is a treasure that needs to be nurtured.

More about that in a later post.

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