It’s finally feeling like winter here in Saskatoon. Snow is on the ground, holiday decorations are emerging from hibernation, and it’s dark on the way to work and on the way home. Everybody’s morning routine is longer because of the extra winter gear to bundle up in, the snow and frost that needs to be cleaned off the car, and the five extra minutes spent working up the courage to escape the warmth of your bedsheets. The days will start becoming longer in only a few weeks and the holidays are fast approaching. It’s December!

In this edition of Frequency Modulation: What did CFCR’s programming schedule look like in 1995? Who is Harry Manx (coming to Broadway Theatre December 8)? Plus new merch, sponsor highlight, album of the month, and holiday hours.

Soundscape Magazine was produced by CFCR in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It featured charts, reviews, music interviews and slices of Saskatoon’s alternative radio culture. Here’s a spread from the September 1995 edition!

It’s cool to see how so much has changed, and yet, so much has stayed the same. Of course we still have Green Eggs & Ham, So Many Roads, and The Swing Shift, but we also still have a handful of the specialty evening shows and Cultural & Language programs. For example, Nightwaves, which is descripted here as “Western Canada’s longest-running radio music show”, is still on the air 30 years later!

Join us as we present Harry Manx at the Broadway Theatre! Doors open at 6:00pm, and the show starts at 7:00 on December 8th.

Harry Manx has been dubbed an “essential link” between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. His unique sound is bewitching and deliciously addictive to listen to.

It’s in the live setting, Manx says, that the bridge between “heavenly” India and “earthy” American blues is most effectively built. “Indian music moves inward,” he explains. “It’s traditionally used in religious ceremonies and meditation, because it puts you into this whole other place. But Western music has the ability to move out, into celebration and dance. So when we play the Indian stuff on stage, it has the tendency to draw people into something really deep; they’ll get kind of quiet and spacey. Then we’ll play some more Western music, and it grounds them once more, they sort of come out of the mood the Indian music had put them in and get into the performance. I love to see that working — that effect on the audience. My goal has always been to draw the audience as deep as possible into the music.”

Blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and some compelling grooves, and you’ll get Manx’s unique “mysticssippi” flavour. It’s hard to resist, easy to digest, and keeps audiences coming back for more.

Both CFCR and Broadway Theatre members receive $5 off their tickets by visiting the Broadway Theatre box office (715 Broadway Ave) or by phoning them at (306) 652-6556.

We got some new merch in stock just in time for the holiday season! Come check everything out at the station or keep an eye on cfcr.ca/store for the restock.

We will have some modified office hours during this holiday season. And some of our amazing volunteer hosts will be taking time off during a few of these days. There will continue to be programming, but it might not be the programming you’re expecting! We are so grateful for our hosts, and we hope they all enjoy an amazing Holiday season!

December 24: 10:00am-4:00pm

December 25 & 26: Closed

December 29: 11:00am-6:00pm

December 31: 10:00am-4:00pm

January 1: Closed

Thanks for tuning in to this months Frequency Modulation. Stay warm and have a great December!

CFCR acknowledges that we broadcast from Treaty 6 Territory, the homeland of the Cree and Métis Nations, and the traditional territories of the Dene, Saulteaux, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota. We pay our gratitude to the First Nations and Métis people who have called this ancestral land home for generations, and whose histories, languages, and cultures continue to influence our community. On a foundation of reconciliation, recognition, and respect, CFCR is committed to reaffirming relationships with one another, and to establishing new ones.