Brave New Waves
Encyclopedia
Brave New Waves was a Canadian
radio program which aired on CBC Stereo, later known as CBC Radio 2, from 1984 to 2007. Airing weeknights from midnight to 4 a.m., the show profiled alternative
and indie
music and culture, including film, comics, literature and art. The show was once described by longtime host Brent Bambury
as "explaining fringe culture to a comfortable mainstream audience," and by his successor Patti Schmidt
as "invented with an idea of what John Peel
's show was, but without ever having heard it."
and originally hosted by Augusta La Paix, the show aired for the first time on February 6, 1984. The first song it ever played was Simple Minds
' "Promised You A Miracle
". In its first year, the show was briefly the subject of a police investigation into obscenity charges, when a CBC employee who disliked the show filed an anonymous complaint about an interview with underground performance artist Karen Finley
, although the investigation was dropped by the police without charges.
In 1985, La Paix left the show to become host of CBC Stereo's Two New Hours, and was replaced by Bambury, previously a researcher for and occasional substitute host of the show.
Throughout the 1980s, Brave New Waves was an influential show, providing many Canadians without access to campus radio
with their main exposure to alternative music, and was widely credited for significant increases in both record sales and concert attendance for both Canadian and international bands who were playlisted on the show.
In the 1990s, when alternative rock
became the decade's dominant commercial genre, the show kept its focus on the underground. In 1995, Bambury left the program to become cohost of CBC Television
's Midday
, and was replaced by Patti Schmidt
, who also became the executive producer of the program. Schmidt remained the program's main host for the remainder of its run; however, due to budgetary pressures at the CBC, Schmidt was forced to work with a smaller staff and budget than Bambury had enjoyed, with the result that the program became more squarely focused on playing music, with interviews reduced to one per week.
As a result of both of these factors, the show saw a diminishment in both its audience size and cultural influence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By September 2006, the show had been reduced to just one hour per night of new programming hosted by a rotating stable of guest hosts, with the remaining three hours filled by repeats of past BNW programs. On January 17, 2007, it was announced that Brave New Waves would be removed from the CBC Radio 2 line-up as part of a rebranding of the network. The program aired for the last time on March 16, 2007; the following day, Radio 2's weekend simulcast of CBC Radio 3
, which had evolved from the similar weekend series RadioSonic
, also aired its final program.
The show was also inducted into Hour
magazine's Montreal Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
's internal record label.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio program which aired on CBC Stereo, later known as CBC Radio 2, from 1984 to 2007. Airing weeknights from midnight to 4 a.m., the show profiled alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
music and culture, including film, comics, literature and art. The show was once described by longtime host Brent Bambury
Brent Bambury
Brent Bambury is a Canadian radio and television personality, who has hosted a number of programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. A New Brunswick native, Bambury began his CBC career at stations in Saint John, Halifax and Montreal. In 1984, he became a correspondent for CBC Stereo's...
as "explaining fringe culture to a comfortable mainstream audience," and by his successor Patti Schmidt
Patti Schmidt
Patti Schmidt is a Canadian radio personality on CBC Radio. She currently lives in Montreal.-Origin:Schmidt grew up in Ottawa and attended McGill University as an undergraduate. While at McGill she became involved with CKUT-FM. As a fan of Brave New Waves, in 1991 CBC Radio hired her on a series of...
as "invented with an idea of what John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's show was, but without ever having heard it."
History
Produced throughout its run at the CBC's studios in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and originally hosted by Augusta La Paix, the show aired for the first time on February 6, 1984. The first song it ever played was Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
' "Promised You A Miracle
Promised You A Miracle
"Promised You A Miracle" is a 1982 song by Simple Minds and was released as the first single from their fifth studio album New Gold Dream . It is most notable for being the band's first successful chart hit in the UK, reaching #13 in the UK Singles Chart and charting for 11 weeks...
". In its first year, the show was briefly the subject of a police investigation into obscenity charges, when a CBC employee who disliked the show filed an anonymous complaint about an interview with underground performance artist Karen Finley
Karen Finley
Karen Finley is an American performance artist, whose theatrical pieces and recordings have often been labelled "obscene" due to their graphic depictions of sexuality, abuse, and disenfranchisement...
, although the investigation was dropped by the police without charges.
In 1985, La Paix left the show to become host of CBC Stereo's Two New Hours, and was replaced by Bambury, previously a researcher for and occasional substitute host of the show.
Throughout the 1980s, Brave New Waves was an influential show, providing many Canadians without access to campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
with their main exposure to alternative music, and was widely credited for significant increases in both record sales and concert attendance for both Canadian and international bands who were playlisted on the show.
In the 1990s, when alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
became the decade's dominant commercial genre, the show kept its focus on the underground. In 1995, Bambury left the program to become cohost of CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
's Midday
Midday (TV series)
Midday can refer to:*Midday *Midday *Midday...
, and was replaced by Patti Schmidt
Patti Schmidt
Patti Schmidt is a Canadian radio personality on CBC Radio. She currently lives in Montreal.-Origin:Schmidt grew up in Ottawa and attended McGill University as an undergraduate. While at McGill she became involved with CKUT-FM. As a fan of Brave New Waves, in 1991 CBC Radio hired her on a series of...
, who also became the executive producer of the program. Schmidt remained the program's main host for the remainder of its run; however, due to budgetary pressures at the CBC, Schmidt was forced to work with a smaller staff and budget than Bambury had enjoyed, with the result that the program became more squarely focused on playing music, with interviews reduced to one per week.
As a result of both of these factors, the show saw a diminishment in both its audience size and cultural influence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By September 2006, the show had been reduced to just one hour per night of new programming hosted by a rotating stable of guest hosts, with the remaining three hours filled by repeats of past BNW programs. On January 17, 2007, it was announced that Brave New Waves would be removed from the CBC Radio 2 line-up as part of a rebranding of the network. The program aired for the last time on March 16, 2007; the following day, Radio 2's weekend simulcast of CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
, which had evolved from the similar weekend series RadioSonic
RadioSonic
RadioSonic was a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio 2 from 1997 to 2003.RadioSonic, which aired on Saturday evenings, was originally created by combining two predecessor programs, David Wisdom's Nightlines and Leora Kornfeld's Realtime. Both Wisdom and Kornfeld remained as hosts of...
, also aired its final program.
The show was also inducted into Hour
Hour (magazine)
Hour is an English-language urban news magazine published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Communications Voir. Its president-publisher is Pierre Paquet, the editor-in-chief is Kevin Laforest. It caters to Montreal's anglophone community and is published every Thursday. The news features "expose...
magazine's Montreal Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
Album
In 1988, the program also began recording live in-studio sessions curated by producer Kevin Komoda, some of which were released on the 1991 compilation album Brave New Waves. It was released in 1991 on CBC RecordsCBC Records
CBC Records is a Canadian record label, owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which distributes CBC programming, including live concert performances in album and digital format....
, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
's internal record label.
Track listing
- Bolero Lava, "Easy" (4:06)
- Jr. Gone WildJr. Gone WildJr. Gone Wild was a country/punk rock based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, founded in 1982.The band's founding members were Mike McDonald, Tom Wolfe, Adele Wolfe, and Bill Pontez, they formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They played several gigs in Calgary including The Calgarian Hotel and The...
, "I Don't Know About All That" (3:18) - The AmateursThe Amateurs (band)The Amateurs are an indie rock band formed in and around Birmingham, England. They released their debut EP “Homesick” in March 2009, which was championed by Kerrang! Radio, who had supported the band since awarding them ‘Best Unsigned Song of 2007'....
, "Wishing Hoping Praying" (4:22) - The Grapes of WrathThe Grapes of Wrath (band)The Grapes of Wrath are a Canadian folk rock band, who were one of Canada's most successful pop bands in the late 1980s and early 1990s before disbanding in 1992. With the band name tied up in litigation, most of the band continued to record through the 1990s as Ginger. The Grapes of Wrath briefly...
, "Backwards Town" (2:42) - Change of HeartChange of Heart (band)Change of Heart was a Canadian alternative rock band. They had one Top 40 hit, "There You Go" in 1992, as well as several hits on Canada's modern rock charts, including "Trigger" and "Little Kingdoms".-History:...
, "Pat's Decline" (3:38) - Fifth Column, "Like This" (5:35)
- Sarah McLachlanSarah McLachlanSarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
, "Steaming" (5:36) - Gordie Adamson and Kevin Komoda, "Are There No Workhouses?" (4:41)
- MoevMoevFounded in 1981 by Tom Ferris and Cal Stephenson, Moev is an electronic music group that recorded on Atlantic Records, Nettwerk Records, Go! Records and Cop International...
, "Alibi" (4:49) - Shadowy Men on a Shadowy PlanetShadowy Men on a Shadowy PlanetShadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best-known for the track "Having an Average Weekend," which was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall...
, "Santa's Compromise" (2:21) - Pretty Green, "Kick the Bike" (3:06)
- Three O'Clock Train, "This Train" (2:40)
- AsexualsAsexuals (band)The Asexuals is a hardcore punk band from Beaconsfield that was a mainstay of the Montreal punk scene in the '80s before evolving into an alternative band following the departure of singer John Kastner, who went to form the Doughboys and, later, All Systems Go!.-History:The Asexuals formed in 1983...
, "Sunday" (3:19) - The NilsThe NilsThe Nils was a Canadian power pop and punk rock band originating in Montreal, Quebec which produced several releases between 1978 and 1994.The band was founded in 1978 by then 12-year old Alex Soria with his brother Carlos Soria. The band never achieved widespread fame despite critical success and...
, "Bandito Calling" (4:24) - Flying Bulgar Klezmer BandFlying Bulgar Klezmer BandThe Flying Bulgars is a Canadian folk music band, who play original music rooted in the folk and celebration music of Jews originating in Eastern Europe. The band's music adds elements of rock, jazz and salsa....
, "Der Nayer Sher" (2:23) - RheostaticsRheostaticsRheostatics was a Genie Award-winning Canadian indie rock band, active from 1980 to 2007.Although they had only one Top 40 hit, "Claire" in 1995, they were simultaneously one of Canada's most influential and unconventional rock bands, a band whose eclectic take on pop and rock music has been...
, "Dope Fiends" (3:37) - Sons of FreedomSons of Freedom (band)Sons of Freedom were a Canadian alternative rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band, consisting of vocalist James Newton, guitarist Don Harrison, bassist Don Binns and drummer Don Short, formed in 1987 in Vancouver, British Columbia....
, "USA Long Distance" (3:10)