CJLO 1690AM FUNdrive 2015: Many Thanks from Us to You!

CJLO is a week in to our Annual FUNdrive, and we're already feeling the love from you, our listeners, friends and family, and the Montreal community at large. We're happy to report that we've reached 50% of our $6000 goal! A big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated and supported our station thus far. Words cannot express how excited we are to get your calls and texts while we're live on the air, and to see you at our FUNdrive events. Check out our photos on Instagram and follow us on Twitter @CJLO1690AM! We have much more in store for you as we hit the half-way point.

There are many PRIZES to be won, courtesy of our loyal sponsors, at both our Raffle draws—the Big Shiny Tunes 2 Closing Party this Saturday at Bar Le "Ritz" PDB (179 Jean Talon O.), and the CJLO Closing Brunch on Sunday at Nouveau Palais (281 Bernard O.)—so get your raffle tickets (one for $3, two for $5, and five for $10) at one of these fabulous...

FUNdrive Events

Let's start with tonight! It's Wednesday, September 30th, and CJLO 1690AM & UNLOG present a live showcase featuring this stellar lineup of performers: Culturalex + Theu + Morbin + Engone Endong, and nice beats by DJ Noyl & Famelik. The event starts at 9PM, so be sure to arrive at Bleury bar à vinyle (2109 rue de Bleury downtown) and claim your spot on the dance floor. Set times will be posted to the Facebook event.

Also at Bleury bar à vinyle, we're hosting the CJLO FUNdrive edition of Urban Science's Live Hip Hop Jam on Thursday, October 1st. D-Shade & Redd Dredd from Something for the Radio will be there spinning the best in underground hip hop and old school rap. Then at 10PM the Phantastiq Cypha takes the reins for a special live broadcast! Indie rock lovers can head on over to Théâtre Fairmount (5240 du Parc) the same night to catch the peculiar and eclectic Vancouver band Destroyer, with singer-songwriter Jennifer Castle kicking things off at 9PM. Special thanks to Blue Skies Turn Black for putting us on the bill.

Join us LIVE on the air this Friday, October 2nd starting at 9AM for CJLO's 24 HOUR BROADCAST at Loyola! The hot coffee will be flowing, and our DJs will be so jacked up on caffeine and adrenaline during this radio marathon extravaganza that things are sure to get weird. Tune in and call/text us at 514-848-7471 as we broadcast all day & night and into the wee hours of the morning.

As well, Friday night will be a special DJ night at Blue Dog Motel (3958 St Laurent) hosted by the Aloof Hipster of Aloof Future (Sundays 2-3pm). TRANSITIONS featuring tibe, jamvvis, Blasé, Hunter S. Compton, and of course, The Aloof Hipster will bring you Future Beats, R&B, Hip-hop/Rap, House, Old School, and anything that can make you bust a move. $5 at the door, with all proceeds going to CJLO's FUNdrive.

CJLO's World Music lineup is proud to welcome the illustrious Kaisha Lee to our LIVE broadcast on Saturday, October 3rd at the Caribbean Curry House (6892 Victoria in Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, metro Plamondon). The party starts at noon and ends at 6PM—that's SIX HOURS of the best music and roti you'll ever experience. This is an event not to be missed!

The complete list of sponsors and prizes are available on our FUNdrive website at cjlo.com/fundingdrive & here's how you can donate to CJLO 1690AM: www.cjlo.com/donate.

And now, a little something special from the folks at CJLO 1690AM

Who is lurking behind our radio antenna in Lachine? What voices do you hear echoing from CJLO's soundboard and microphones at Concordia's Loyola campus? Who is spinning the best underground tunes on the old Technics turntables in our studio? These people, dear friends, form the CJLO 1690AM family! Over the years, our dedicated volunteers have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the station, and there are many fabulous memories that they would like to share with you, right now...

Omar Sonics, Head Music Director & host of Hooked on Sonics: Hands down my favourite CJLO memory was getting to introduce Superchunk to stage when we brought them to Montreal. They were one of the first bands I discovered via campus/community radio as a young kid getting into music and it was a nice "full circle" moment for me.

Ellen Smallwood, Director of Promotions, Fundraising, and Sponsorship: So many wacky and fun things happen at CJLO, so it is hard to pick just one! I love it when new volunteers come in all fresh and dewey eyed, ready to jump into CJLO! Even better is when we get a chance to interview youth about their creative projects. I love the unbridled enthusiasm! My favourite instance of this was when the girls from Taking Hold (an after school program for girls 15-17 affiliated with Girls Action Fund) came in with DJ/Producer Ryan Playground- they were fresh off of recording a song they had co-wrote with Sarah MK and Ryan at Planet Studios and were going to play it for the first time on-air! I was taking photos and they were taking selfies and we were all following each other on instagram instantly! One girl asked me if I liked Bikini Kill, and followed it by telling me she wanted to have a show someday so she could play them on the radio. As my heart glowed, I said "That's awesome, you should totally do that!" and she said: "I will!"

S. De Los Angeles, aka SATYYY, host of Shibuya Crossing: With many great memories I have at CJLO, choosing one is already tough. But so far, one that stands out for me is when the Fantasia Film Festival rolls around. I don't know why, but I guess it's that sense of excitement I look forward to - whether it's deejaying at the Hall theatre, experiencing a genre film together with the audience, or being in the great company of fellow DJs, friends, and film buffs alike. Plus, it's a fun way to connect with the community too. Playing Japanese indie music to a curious crowd has been a long-time lofty dream I never thought would happen, but (excuse the pun) it has indeed been a midsummer night's dream came true, and a memory I treasure very deeply.

Amrew Weekes aka Lady Oracle, host of The Limelight: I started my radio show The Limelight in February 2003 and the last twelve years have been really great, I've made a lot of good friends and have gotten to do cool things like go to shows in Montreal to review for the magazine.  I got to go to NYC for the CMJ music marathon where I got to meet other people from campus radio stations, attend information panels and meet some of my favourite artists. I also got to see CJLO go on the AM which was such a great time for the station. One of the best things for me at CJLO is that people who join the station are given the opportunity to learn about and use the experience they got for a chosen profession.  I've seen my friends get jobs at bigger radio stations, TV, national news, journalism, studio production and in my case DJing. CJLO is a great community station for our fellow Concordia students and Montrealers.

Angelica, Art Director & host of BVST: One of my fondest memories of CJLO dates all the way back to 2005. Today, CJLO is established as a station at which bands want to record, and we've been lucky to get some amazing sessions with well-established bands. Eight years ago, CJLO studios was in its infancy, but a DJ at the time (David Don't, now in The Hypnophonics) managed to score a session and interview with a legendary punk band The Vibrators. To have a group that originally formed in London in 1976 in our humble studios was not to be believed, but they came and played and it was an incredible moment. Only three of us from CJLO were there to assist that day, so seeing such an important band in such an intimate setting was definitely a once in a lifetime event. The Vibrators rode the crest of punk, but their strong blues influence and actual ability to play the guitar set them apart from other bands at the time, and that's evident on their classic "Baby, Baby", which to this day I can't believe I saw them play, from five feet away, just for me (or at least, I like to think so).

Alexander Rabot, former Program Director: My favourite night at CJLO was a bit of a boys club moment, but is my go-to example of how fun, empowering and a great learning experience being involved at CJLO can be! Dave Caporicci-Urovitch and I were about to start our show No Sleep Til Bedtime, and Diego Ferro (at the time the Metal Director, Production Director/Engineer, and Program Director, respectively) had the brilliant insight that while we were maximizing available space, our DJs spent their shifts staring at a blank wall, with their backs to the door, and facing away from the area where our visitors would sit. We decided, then and there, that it would be better to turn the broadcast desk around, to where it is now, facing towards our guests and creating the "CJLO Environment". Without really stopping to think about it, we decided we were going to this THAT NIGHT, without ever going off-air. We spent about three and a half hours turning the DJ booth upside down, without a moment of dead air. We hadn't stopped to think about if the project was something we COULD do, let alone SHOULD do, but it drove home for me the amazing power of CJLO (and, of course, campus stations everywhere); to put a handful of college kids in charge of SOMETHING, and without asking them to, they'd build on what was there.

Katie Seline, former Station Manager: Total cheeseball fave memory, but I met Omar at CJLO so I'd have to say that's up there and a whole bunch of other great friends! Also definitely winning Station of the Year at CMJ 2010 after so much hard work by all of our great staff and volunteers definitely made everything feel worth it!

Rebecca Munroe, host of The Commonwealth Conundrum Show: I have had so many amazing memories being a DJ at CJLO, but if I had to choose my favourite it would be being a real part of the 5th Anniversary!! How, you ask? Well on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 I was host of the Charts and Crafts show and I believe [it] was the third show that infamous day when we flipped the switch and went from streaming online to hitting the airwaves on 1690 AM!!! It was so exciting, thinking that people in their cars were tuning in. I was actually so nervous that I thought I would pee my pants!!  We were all so proud! What an amazing accomplishment for an amazing station!

Michael Cota, former DJ & former CJLO Magazine ACE: My favourite CJLO memory would have to be when Marshall Vaillancourt, Kayleigh Jordan-MacGregor, Beansie, and I went to NXNE in 2012. We saw so many amazing performances and panels, but my absolute favourite moment was chilling out on the rooftop of the Hyatt. CJLO gave me a free pass and a free place to sleep when I felt like crashing at 5:00 in the morning... doesn't get much better than that.

Alexandre Huynh, former CJLO Magazine editor & former host of Losing My Edge: It is hard to rank my favourite individual moments at CJLO, but one ultimate recurring moment would be the "Union Break" (trademarked by Program Director Jeff Penner), which was the top of hour-two of our Tuesday night show, Losing My Edge. I remember sitting on the picnic table outside, while the large speaker dangled perilously from the studio window, spitting out some 20-minute psych freak-out (but incredibly, never silence... or almost never). Hanging with friends, drinking, something-something, taking in the summer night breeze and feeling like we've got it made. As it turned out, we didn't have it made, but there was beauty in believing.

Emilie B., former Production Director: I have very fond memories of many things that happened in the production studio. There were many amazing live sessions, but also great collaboration between CJLO members to create the weirdest possible ads. I have a fondness for one of the Fantasia ads that involved multiple performances by different CJLO peeps, including Kelly Belfo screaming "My only son!" as her family was attacked by a chainsaw.

Prince Palu, host of The Go-Go Radio Magic Show: There are so many great [moments], but if I had to pick just one it would be my first CMJ trip with Ian Macpherson in 2008. I had never been to New York City before, so when we got off the bus at Port Authority we didn't stop for the next four days until we crashed out in the hotel room Sunday night with our CJLO comrade Stephanie Pastel to catch our breath, drink the rest of our booze, and watch some free HBO. 

Abby Schachter, host of Psychic City & former Volunteer Coordinator: My favourite CJLO memory would have to be Orientation 2010. I was volunteer coordinator at the time, and we were constantly throwing BBQs and DJ parties with the CSU. CJLO was asked to DJ some GSA grad orientation at 7-10 pm on a Thursday night. The turn up was zilch. Practically no one was there. We were about seven volunteers and there was no audience, so together we decide, "Impromptu dance party!" Now it's around 8PM and we're blasting music and dancing like crazy people all over Reggie's Terrace (there are photos of this by the way). We are drinking our beer and creating these really weird dance moves: the spin and kick, and the "walk like I have no kneecaps" dance, when suddenly all these grad students show up and start joining in. It turned into this ridiculous dance party. GSA students and cultural club members are making musical requests and giving us their iPods so we can play their songs. It felt like a I was at an insane wedding. We were dancing to music from Sri-Lanka and Pakistan, Israel and Spain. It was one of the most fun nights I had ever had and there was so much laughter, it was amazing! Until we were shut down by the cops for being too loud. CJLO definitely brought all kinds of people together through music that night. Total community success!

Stephanie Saretsky, host of Maiden Voyage & former Station Manager: My best memory of CJLO is the launch of the "You're Related" compilation in conjunction with our first funding drive. It was a great feeling to see the station's first-ever funding drive developed and completed, and the compilation was the cherry on the cake! It was an excellent idea and put together extremely well and something I'm very proud of (even if my contribution was merely coordination). Forgive me for being SUPER recent, but the concert with Cadence Weapon, Fucked Up, and Wintersleep was fantastic. Seeing over 800 people come out to a CJLO event was mind blowing so that was a very rewarding night for me. Also, 16-year-old Stephanie would be mad if I didn't mention interviewing Tegan and Sara in December, 2012.

Stephanie Dee, host of Yeti Dreams & former CJLO Magazine editor: The best time at CJLO was back in 2012 when Angelica (BVST), Abby (Psychic City), and I got together and collaborated on an epic CJLO Magazine feature about Toronto punk rock 'n' roll band Maximum RNR. It was serendipity that we were all covering different aspects of the band during Pouzza Fest that year. Angelica hosted their session in The Oven (for her third time!), Abby interviewed Diamond Brent Panther and Curtis Faux as they ranted about Factor grants, and I reviewed the Max show at Katacombes. CJLO is about the music, about the teamwork, and about girls who freaking ROCK.

We thank you for your support!

Special thanks to Jeneva G. for the photo.