The year was 1937, but it feels like it was just yesterday. There we were, huddled around the gramophone, preparing to broadcast our eager voices over the radiowaves for the first time, to upwards of dozens of people, who knows how far and wide. There we were, just a bunch of bored, musically enthusiastic students with an itch to play our tunes to the world. How could we have known that our boredom and zeal on that day would evolve into the legacy of CiTR 101.9? Here we are, 75 years later, and the station is still blooming like a peony in May, reaching over two million listeners with student-run, community-supported, nationally recognized broadcasting.
Okay, you got me. I’m not an octogenarian, nor was I even a glimmer in my parents parents’ eyes when Thunderbird Radio began. But heck if I’m not uber-appreciative for CiTR and everything it does, from publishing the magazine in your paws now for almost 30 years, to providing fertile training ground, to playing the most diverse programming on the dial — punk, news, rap, country, sports, talk — it’s all here. And we’re celebrating our Diamond Radioversary this month at Chapel Arts on November 17 with a gangbusters lineup of bands, alumni, staff, and general enthusiasts from present and past. And you, we hope!
November is surprisingly jam packed with other fun events like the annual CiTR DJ Competition, more SHiNDiGgery at the Railway Club, and a heap of local independent music, arts, and cultural delights you are about to witness in the 37 pages ahead of you. Cover band The New Values talks d.i.y. punk-rockin’, we revisit the “CiTR Porn Incident,” affectionally termed Pornogate by many around the station, and there’s even a brand new monthly column about Vancouver life and times by Bob Woolsey called “Here’s The Thing.”
So there you have it. Let’s blow out some candles and cut some cake. We’ve got a heap to celebrate this month.
Read on and stay rad,
Laurel Borrowman
PS — Come back next month to read our staff’s top album picks of 2012, more SHiNDiG highlights, and getting up close and personal with alt-folk trio Raleigh.