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 RadioSirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website. The audio stream is available from both the service's own website and from
iTunes RadioiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
The network evolved out of programming on CBC Radio 2, which also simulcasted the satellite network on Saturday and Sunday nights from its debut in December 2005 until March 17, 2007. Radio 3 is no longer heard on terrestrial radio, but is still available through its satellite radio and Internet operations. The French equivalent to CBC Radio 3 is
Bande à partBande à part is the name of a website and a Sirius Satellite Radio station in Canada that are devoted primarily to French Canadian arts and music....
.
The network plays a relatively freeform mix of indie music, including
rockIndie 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...
,
popIndie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
,
alternative hip hopAlternative hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music. Allmusic defines it as follows: -Origin:...
,
folkFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
,
countryCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and
electronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. An article on Nerve.com, published in October 2006, called CBC Radio 3 "possibly the world's best radio station".
CBC Radio 3 was nominated for a Webby Award in 2007 and previously won the award in 2003.
The network's unofficial mascot is
Bucky, a cartoon creature with the body of a goose and the head of a deer. Bucky is primarily seen in the introduction to the network's weekly
R3TV video podcast, and also lends his name to the network's annual year-end music awards.
Origins
Operated by the
Canadian Broadcasting CorporationThe 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...
, Radio 3 had its genesis in a late-1990s proposal to launch a radio network devoted to youth culture, comparable to BBC Radio One and Australia's
Triple Jtriple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
. The network, which would complement
CBC Radio OneCBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
and CBC Radio 2, would build on existing CBC Radio programming such as
NightlinesNightlines was a Canadian radio series, which aired on CBC Stereo from 1982 to 1997. The show, which aired on Friday and Saturday nights, profiled independent and alternative music.The show's original host was Ron Robinson...
,
Brave New WavesBrave 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...
and
RealtimeRealtime was a Canadian radio show, which aired Saturday evenings on CBC Stereo from 1994 to 1997.Hosted by Leora Kornfeld, the series was a pop culture magazine and interview show which was billed as the first live radio program in the world to integrate Internet technologies such as e-mail and...
. Although the original proposal was abandoned, one notable step in the evolution of Radio 3 took place in 1997, when
Nightlines and
Realtime were merged into the new program
RadioSonicRadioSonic 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...
, cohosted by former
Nightlines host
David WisdomDavid Wisdom is a former Canadian radio personality, who hosted the music programs Nightlines, RadioSonic, Radio-On, and Pearls of Wisdom on CBC Radio 2. He has been called "the Canadian equivalent of John Peel"...
and former
Realtime host
Leora KornfeldLeora Kornfeld is a Canadian businessperson and former radio personality. She was best known for hosting Realtime on CBC Stereo in the 1990s, which was billed as the first radio program in the world to integrate emerging Internet technologies such as e-mail and IRC into its program format.Kornfeld...
.
A slightly different Radio 3 was launched in 2000 as a converged webcasting project based in Vancouver, with its own servers and managed by CBC Radio. The team consisted of Susan Englebert, Robert Ouimet, Dave Tonner, Loc Dao, and other partners. CBC Radio 3 initially launched separate sites
120 Seconds,
New Music Canada and
Just Concerts through a collaboration between CBC Radio, media design company Dotaku Group, and technology company Internet Edge.
Each provided audio, video and Flash content as media-on-demand streaming for site users. 120 Seconds was a directory of user and artist-created video and documentary projects, New Music Canada was composed entirely of user-created and uploaded music by Canadian independent pop, rock, electronic and hip hop musicians, and Just Concerts included exclusive recordings of live performances by independent artists, both regular concert performances and Radio 3 studio sessions.
Roots Music Canada was later added to the trio of websites, and offered songs uploaded by country and folk musicians.
In late 2002, the group, led by Robert Ouimet and Rob McLaughlin, created CBCRadio3.com, a full-screen online magazine which profiled Canadian music, literature and visual arts, accompanied by a set musical playlist which changed with each "issue". The site also served as a portal to the other content sites. The site was recognized internationally, winning three
Webby AwardsA Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
, including People's Voice Award for Best Broadband site, in 2003. The site won over 20 other awards, including the Art Director's Club, New York Festival Awards and Communication Arts Awards, as well as being published in several books.
In 2003,
RadioSonic, hosted by
Grant LawrenceGrant Lawrence is a veteran Canadian radio personality and writer based in Vancouver. He is a host on CBC Radio 3, a Sirius Satellite Radio channel which emphasizes new independent Canadian music, and is also the vocalist for the indie rock group The Smugglers.In addition to his regular shifts on...
since 2001, was integrated into the Radio 3 project, and was renamed
CBC Radio 3 to reflect the change. With new host
Alexis MazurinAlexis Mazurin was a Canadian comedian and radio personality, best known as one of the original hosts of CBC Radio 3....
, the program featured music and performances from the Radio 3 website.
On June 2, 2005, CBC Radio 3 also launched a weekly
podcastA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
, hosted by Grant Lawrence. The hour-long podcast, which has also aired as a program on the satellite radio network, has ranked as the most downloaded Canadian podcast on the Internet, with an estimated 125,000 weekly listeners in 2006.
Satellite radio
Satellite radio was approved in Canada by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on June 18, 2005. Over the next several months, Radio 3 was relaunched as a channel on
Sirius Satellite RadioSirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
. The main CBC Radio 3 site was shut down for part of 2005 to facilitate the relaunch, although the podcast, the media-on-demand subsites and the Saturday night Radio Two program remained active.
The satellite radio service launched on December 3, 2005, at which time the weekend program on CBC Radio 2 became a live simulcast of the satellite radio service. The main CBC Radio 3 website was relaunched a few days earlier, now featuring a collaborative music blog and an
IcecastIcecast is a streaming media project released as free software maintained by the Xiph.org Foundation. It also refers specifically to the server program which is part of the project. Icecast was created in December 1998/January 1999 by Jack Moffitt and Barath Raghavan to provide an open source...
stream of Canadian music.
The network's primary studio is located in the
CBC Regional Broadcast CentreThe CBC Regional Broadcast Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, houses the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio and television facilities in that city. It is the second largest CBC production facility in English Canada, and the third-largest overall, after Toronto's Canadian Broadcasting...
in
VancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, although Craig Norris hosts from Toronto, and guest hosts typically host from a CBC studio in their home city.
Alexis MazurinAlexis Mazurin was a Canadian comedian and radio personality, best known as one of the original hosts of CBC Radio 3....
, the original host of CBC Radio 3 in its radio show format, died in October 2005, and the main Vancouver studio was named the Alexis Mazurin Studio in his memory.
Most music playlisted on CBC Radio Three comes from the New Music Canada site while all music played on the podcast must first be uploaded by the artist to the New Music Canada site. In August 2006, Radio 3 launched its own weekly chart show,
The R3-30The R3-30 is a weekly record chart show on CBC Radio 3, which counts down the week's top indie rock singles as determined by airplay , listener feedback , and other criteria . The show, hosted by Craig Norris and produced by Pedro Mendes, airs at 11 a.m Eastern time The R3-30 is a weekly record...
.
On December 25, 2006, CBC Radio 3 held its first annual
"Bucky Awards". The Bucky Awards is an awards celebration to promote independent Canadian music, and fans decide who wins the awards in each category.
The station aired on Sirius 94 from its launch until June 24, 2008, when it moved to Sirius 86 as part of a major realignment of the Sirius lineup. On May 4, 2011, the channel was again moved as part of a reorganization of Sirius' channel lineup to channel 152.
Radio 3 leaves Radio Two
On January 17, 2007, the CBC announced that as part of a major programming realignment on CBC Radio 2, that network would discontinue its Radio 3 simulcast in March of that year. The final simulcast, which aired on March 17, was a retrospective broadcast which included past interviews with
William ShatnerWilliam Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
and
John LydonJohn Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
, visits from past hosts
David WisdomDavid Wisdom is a former Canadian radio personality, who hosted the music programs Nightlines, RadioSonic, Radio-On, and Pearls of Wisdom on CBC Radio 2. He has been called "the Canadian equivalent of John Peel"...
and
Leora KornfeldLeora Kornfeld is a Canadian businessperson and former radio personality. She was best known for hosting Realtime on CBC Stereo in the 1990s, which was billed as the first radio program in the world to integrate emerging Internet technologies such as e-mail and IRC into its program format.Kornfeld...
, phone interviews with
Buck 65Richard Terfry , who uses the stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian experimental artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences.Terfry is also a radio host,...
,
Joel PlaskettJoel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
,
Sara QuinTegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
and
Jim BrysonJim Bryson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Briefly a founding member of the band Punchbuggy, he moved to a musical life under his own name with the release of his debut album, The Occasionals, in 2000....
, and live in-studio performances by
John K. SamsonJohn Kristjan Samson is a musician from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is a singer-songwriter and currently the frontman of the Canadian folk punk band The Weakerthans...
and
Christine FellowsChristine Fellows is a Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:Born in Windsor, Ontario and raised in France and Kelowna, British Columbia, Fellows lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Guelph and Montreal before settling in Winnipeg in 1992.In 1993, she formed her first group,...
, as well as listener requests for classic songs from any era in which
Radio 3 or its predecessors aired.
The R3-30, which was usually taped in advance and rebroadcast on Radio Two in a later time slot, also aired live from Vancouver that evening and incorporated listener phone calls into the program's usual format.
Webcast
From 2005 to 2009, the
IcecastIcecast is a streaming media project released as free software maintained by the Xiph.org Foundation. It also refers specifically to the server program which is part of the project. Icecast was created in December 1998/January 1999 by Jack Moffitt and Barath Raghavan to provide an open source...
stream available from the network's website was not a simulcast of the satellite radio broadcast, but was programmed separately. Initially, the webstream consisted exclusively of music with the occasional identification break, but on September 14, 2007 it was relaunched with hosts and feature content, similar to but still programmed separately from the satellite radio station. Due to funding cuts, however, the two services were merged in June 2009, such that the webstream is now a straight simulcast of the satellite radio channel.
Prior to the merger, the two services had slightly different programming strategies – the satellite radio station aired a music mix of 85 per cent Canadian and 15 per cent international, while the web service's mix was 100 per cent Canadian. With the merger of the two services, the station announced that the program mix would be 100 per cent Canadian music on both platforms, although exceptions will be permitted for international music with some Canadian character – such as international artists covering Canadian songs, collaborations between Canadian and non-Canadian artists, international artists appearing on the bill with Canadian artists when the network is airing a live concert, or "honourary Canadian" artists such as
Neko CaseNeko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
and
Rose MelbergRose Melberg is a musician and songwriter from Sacramento, California who has sung and played guitar as a member of Tiger Trap, The Softies and Go Sailor as well as on her own material. She also played drums and made some songwriting contributions with the band Gaze...
.
In addition to the service's conventional radio programming, any song in the network's music library can also be played on demand from the artist's profile page on the site. In May 2011,
Joel PlaskettJoel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
became the first artist in the network's history to reach one million on-demand plays.
Podcast
Unlike
Bande à partBande à part is the name of a website and a Sirius Satellite Radio station in Canada that are devoted primarily to French Canadian arts and music....
, which has produced a number of special short run podcasts in addition to its regular weekly music podcast, Radio 3 only produced its main music podcast through 2006.
As a result of the Radio Two schedule changes, on February 26, 2007 CBC Radio 3 created several new podcasts to complement the original CBC Radio 3 podcast – the podcasts include a daily
New Music Canada Track of the Day, the weekly
CBC Radio 3 podcast with host Grant Lawrence and an hour-long weekly
R3-30The R3-30 is a weekly record chart show on CBC Radio 3, which counts down the week's top indie rock singles as determined by airplay , listener feedback , and other criteria . The show, hosted by Craig Norris and produced by Pedro Mendes, airs at 11 a.m Eastern time The R3-30 is a weekly record...
podcast.
As well, the network also launched a new internet streaming program titled
CBC Radio 3 SessionsCBC Radio 3 Sessions is a Canadian radio program, which airs on the satellite radio network CBC Radio 3. Hosted by Tariq Hussain, the program airs in-studio sessions by Canadian musicians in the Radio 3 studios, including both live song performances and interview segments...
, which features live performances by artists at the CBC Radio 3 studio. The
Sessions also air as a program on Sirius 86. As of September 12, 2007, the
Sessions program also appears in podcast format.
Sessions concerts have also aired on the CBC's cable television service bold.
On April 20, 2007, as part of CBC Radio 3's 100th podcast, a weekly
video podcastVideo podcast is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures...
was introduced. The new video-based podcast,
R3TV, revolves around the personalities at CBC Radio 3 and features a particular artist each week, who provides commentary for the podcast and has their music videos featured in the show.
R3TV is also available as a channel on Internet television services such as
JoostJoost is an Internet TV service, created by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis . During 2007-8 Joost used peer-to-peer TV technology to distribute content to their Mozilla-based desktop player; in late 2008 this was migrated to use a Flash-based Web player instead.Joost began development in 2006...
, YouTube and Miro Media Player.
Notably, all Radio 3 podcasts are available in
oggOgg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...
, a freely-licensed audio format, in addition to the more conventional mp3 format.
Concerts
As well as the on-air studio sessions, the network also regularly sponsors public concerts in music venues. The network also broadcasts the annual
Polaris Music PrizeThe Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label...
gala.
The Connect the Dots Tour in 2004 featured a different lineup of bands in each city, including p:ano,
Ninja High SchoolNinja High School were a Canadian dance-punk band, based in Toronto, Ontario, who merged hip hop and hardcore punk influences. It consisted of Matt Collins, Gregory Collins, Adrian Cvitkovic, Star DT, Whitney Kemble, Catherine Ribeiro, Steve Kado and Wolfgang Nessel...
,
The Russian FuturistsThe Russian Futurists are a Canadian indie pop band based in Toronto. Their music can be described as lo-fi, indie-electronica fused with a twee-pop temperament...
,
Young and SexyYoung and Sexy is a Canadian indie pop band from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting of vocalists Paul Pittman and Lucy Brain, guitarist André Lagacé, bassist Brent McDonald and former drummer Alex Brain...
,
The UnicornsThe Unicorns were a Lo-Fi/Indie Pop band from Montreal, Canada formed in December 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn and Alden Penner , who were later joined by Jamie Thompson in December 2003.-History:...
,
The Super FriendzThe Super Friendz are a band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, active between 1994 and 1997, reforming in 2003. Contemporaries of Sloan, their early work was on Sloan's Murderecords label.-Origins:...
,
Lederhosen LucilKrista Muir is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter. She previously used the stage name Lederhosen Lucil, but is now recording and performing under her own name as of 2007....
,
Dragon Fli EmpireDragon Fli Empire is a hip hop duo from Calgary, Canada, comprising Tarik Robinson, also known as Teekay , and Adam Hicks, also known as DJ Cosm ....
and
controller.controllercontroller.controller was a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consisted of vocalist Nirmala Basnayake, guitarists Colwyn Llewellyn-Thomas and Scott Kaija, bassist Ronnie Morris and drummer Jeff Scheven. The band took its name from a song by Shotmaker. The band formed in 2002...
.
Tour Tournée in the winter of 2006, jointly sponsored by CBC Radio 3 and Bande à part, included bands such as
WintersleepWintersleep is a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Background:Wintersleep formed in 2001 and released two albums with Dependent Music, a music label and artists' collective that began in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1994....
,
Two Hours TrafficTwo Hours Traffic is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They are named after a line in the prologue to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Although often described as the band that Halifax guitarist Joel Plaskett took "under his wing", they have increasingly...
, Konflit dramatiK,
Hexes and OhsHexes & Ohs is a Canadian electronic indie pop group from Montreal. Their sound combines 1980s inspired beats and synthesizer sounds with indie pop structures and melodies.They have released three albums since 2005 and have opened for many artists such as Tokyo Police Club, Sloan, and Mates of State...
, Great Aunt Ida,
Shout Out Out Out OutShout Out Out Out Out is a Canadian dance punk/electro group from Edmonton, Alberta. Their debut album Not Saying/Just Saying, released in 2006, quickly garnered significant airplay on Canadian campus radio and on CBC Radio 3. The album debuted at #11 on Canada's national campus radio chart,...
,
NovilleroNovillero is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 1999 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their musical style has been dubbed "mod-pop".Novillero formed in 1999 out of the ashes of Winnipeg lounge pop darlings Transonic, picking up Rod Slaughter , Dave Berthiaume , and Rusty Matyas along the way...
,
Les Breastfeeders-History:Formed in 1999, Les Breastfeeders were finalists in the 2003 edition of Les Francouvertes and also won the SOCAN award for best francophone song of the year in 2003, with their song Angle Mort...
,
SS CardiacsSS Cardiacs was a Canadian indie rock band, briefly active in the early 2000s.First formed in 2004 by Jessie Stein, Andy Lloyd and Dana Snell, the band released its sole album, Fear the Love, on Blocks in 2005. Stein's brother, José Miguel Contreras of By Divine Right, also participated in the...
, Les Dales Hawerchuk,
Pony Up!- Early years :Pony Up! formed on New Year's Eve 2002 and, upon developing a relationship with singer Ben Lee, released their debut, self-titled EP, Pony Up! in 2005 on his friend Steve Aoki's label, Dim Mak.- 2006-2007 :...
and
The Deadly SnakesThe Deadly Snakes were a Canadian indie rock band influenced by garage rock, punk, folk rock, and early r&b.-History:Formed in Toronto in 1996, the band's final line-up consisted of Andre Ethier on vocals and guitars, Matthew Carlson on guitar, trumpet and bass, Chad Ross on guitar, bass and...
. Each of the eight locations had a different lineup of predominantly local bands, and at least one
francophoneThe adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
band performed at each venue. On October 1, 2006, Radio 3 and Bande à part again jointly sponsored See Vous Play, a show in Toronto featuring
Les Breastfeeders-History:Formed in 1999, Les Breastfeeders were finalists in the 2003 edition of Les Francouvertes and also won the SOCAN award for best francophone song of the year in 2003, with their song Angle Mort...
,
Emily Haines and the Soft SkeletonEmily Haines is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter. She is the lead singer and keyboardist of the band Metric and a member of Broken Social Scene. As a solo artist, she performed with her own name and under the alias Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton...
,
Les Trois AccordsLes Trois Accords is a rock band from Drummondville, Quebec. The band launched its first album Gros mammouth album in 2003. Some of the notable songs, taken from that album, include "Hawaïenne", "Saskatchewan" and "Lucille". Along with their videos, these songs received heavy exposure in Quebec...
and
The Joel Plaskett EmergencyJoel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
.
Also in October, the network was a sponsor of the Exclaim! Mint Road Show, a cross-Canada tour featuring
The New PornographersThe New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
,
Immaculate MachineImmaculate Machine was a Canadian indie pop band from Victoria, British Columbia, active from 2003 to 2011.The band's name is taken from the lyrics of "One-Trick Pony" from the album One-Trick Pony by Paul Simon.-History:...
and
NovilleroNovillero is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 1999 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their musical style has been dubbed "mod-pop".Novillero formed in 1999 out of the ashes of Winnipeg lounge pop darlings Transonic, picking up Rod Slaughter , Dave Berthiaume , and Rusty Matyas along the way...
to celebrate the 15th birthdays of
Exclaim!Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
, a Canadian music magazine, and
Mint RecordsMint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in January 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker....
, a Vancouver independent record label.
CBC Radio 3 was also the sponsor of a nation-wide tour in March and April 2007 featuring
The Constantines-History:The band was formed by Steve Lambke, Bryan Webb, Doug MacGregor, and Dallas Wehrle in 1999, following the break-up of Webb and MacGregor's emotional hardcore band Shoulder...
and Jon-Rae and the River. The tour also featured
Shotgun & JaybirdShotgun & Jaybird were a Canadian indie rock band based in Sackville, New Brunswick.-History:Shotgun & Jaybird formed in mid-2003 when Dick Morello, formerly of The Janitors, travelled to the Yukon and was later joined by his lifelong friend and former Janitor, Shotgun Jimmie, from Ajax, Ontario...
for the Eastern Canada portion of the tour while
LadyhawkLadyhawk is a Canadian indie rock band formed on February 27, 2004 from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Their debut album, Ladyhawk was released on June 6, 2006 on Jagjaguwar Records. The lead single on the album was "Dugout", followed by "My Old Jacknife". They are signed to play at the 2008...
toured for the Western Canadian portion of the tour.
On April 27, 2007, CBC Radio 3 and Bande à part jointly presented Quebec Scene, an
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
concert featuring
The StillsThe Stills were a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2000. The band consists of Tim Fletcher , Dave Hamelin , Olivier Corbeil , and Liam O'Neil , Gregory Paquet .-History:The band members have known each other since the age of...
,
The Besnard LakesThe Besnard Lakes are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, two of their three albums have been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize.-History:...
,
Karkwa-History:Formed in 1998, the group consists of vocalist and guitarist Louis-Jean Cormier, keyboardist François Lafontaine, bass guitarist Martin Lamontagne, percussionist Julien Sagot, and drummer Stéphane Bergeron...
and Mahjor Bidet.
On June 9, 2007, as a part of the annual NXNE festival, CBC Radio 3 presented a concert in Toronto featuring
United Steel Workers of MontrealUnited Steel Workers of Montreal are a six-piece alternative country ensemble based in downtown Montreal. At present, the band consists of Gern F , Felicity Hamer , Sean "Gus" Beauchamp , Matt Watson , Flipper Frumignac and Dylan Perron...
,
Ohbijou-Biography:Ohbijou began as the solo project of Brantford singer-songwriter Casey Mecija . Through the process of songwriting and composition, Casey discovered a need for the musical support of her sister Jennifer Mecija , whom Casey invited to assist with her early performances...
,
Sebastien Grainger et Les MontagnesSebastien Alexandre Grainger from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is a Canadian singer and musician, best known as drummer and singer of the dance-punk duo Death from Above 1979 and the singer and guitarist for his current band, Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains...
, You Say Party,
In-Flight Safety-External links:* official website*...
and
Two Hours TrafficTwo Hours Traffic is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They are named after a line in the prologue to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Although often described as the band that Halifax guitarist Joel Plaskett took "under his wing", they have increasingly...
.
In 2008, the network sponsored and broadcast several live shows at the
South by SouthwestSouth by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
festival in
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, including performances by
Basia Bulat- External links :*...
,
The Constantines-History:The band was formed by Steve Lambke, Bryan Webb, Doug MacGregor, and Dallas Wehrle in 1999, following the break-up of Webb and MacGregor's emotional hardcore band Shoulder...
,
The Most Serene RepublicThe Most Serene Republic is a Canadian indie rock band based in Milton, Ontario. It takes its name from the sobriquet of formerly independent Venice under the Doges, which was regarded as "The Most Serene Republic of Venice".-Members:...
,
The StillsThe Stills were a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2000. The band consists of Tim Fletcher , Dave Hamelin , Olivier Corbeil , and Liam O'Neil , Gregory Paquet .-History:The band members have known each other since the age of...
,
Shout Out LoudsShout Out Louds are an indie rock band from Stockholm, Sweden.The group has toured with bands such as The Strokes, Kings of Leon, The Magic Numbers, The Rosebuds, The Essex Green, and Johnossi...
,
Christine FellowsChristine Fellows is a Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:Born in Windsor, Ontario and raised in France and Kelowna, British Columbia, Fellows lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Guelph and Montreal before settling in Winnipeg in 1992.In 1993, she formed her first group,...
,
Grand AnalogGrand Analog is a Canadian hip hop band, formed in 2006 and fronted by Odario Williams. The group was conceived as a project combining R&B, jazz, reggae and rock influences into a hip hop style performed mainly on live instruments instead of digital electronics....
and
Hot SpringsHot Springs were an indie-rock band formed in 2004 based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They were unique in the Montreal music scene, in that they had an equal fan-base within both the francophone and anglophone communities.-History:...
.
The network's live broadcast from the 2009 NXNE festival featured
WoodpigeonWoodpigeon are an independent rock band from Calgary, Alberta, consisting of eight core members: Mark Hamilton , Kenna Burima , Michael Gratton , Annalea Sordi , Daren Powell , Peter Moersch , Foon Yap , AJ Benoit...
,
DD/MM/YYYYDD/MM/YYYY was a Canadian experimental indie band from Toronto, Canada. They were known for their abstract music, which involves the use of unconventional instruments and combinations thereof, steadily changing time signatures and rotating member roles. They played their final show on 11/11/2011...
, Ruby Coast,
Jason CollettJason Collett is a Toronto based singer-songwriter. He has released four solo albums, and is a member of Broken Social Scene. His latest album, Rat a Tat Tat, was released in March, 2010.-Early life:...
,
Hot PandaHot Panda is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2006 based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.-History:Hot Panda formed in 2006 naming themselves after a Chinese restaurant in Edmonton. The band released their debut EP Whale Headed Girl July 2007. They subsequently signed to Mint Records and released...
and
The Lovely FeathersThe Lovely Feathers are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2004 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band toured with Metric in late 2005. Their first release was an independent release titled My Best Friend Daniel. Their second album , Hind Hind Legs, was released on April 18, 2006 by Equator...
.
Programming
Each host appears in between five to eight program blocks during the week, which may be either live, prerecorded or a repeat of an earlier broadcast. The network also has three program blocks on weekends set aside for guest hosts, who may be musicians or broadcasters not regularly associated with the network. During the overnight hours, an unhosted music mix airs. The podcast,
The R3-30The R3-30 is a weekly record chart show on CBC Radio 3, which counts down the week's top indie rock singles as determined by airplay , listener feedback , and other criteria . The show, hosted by Craig Norris and produced by Pedro Mendes, airs at 11 a.m Eastern time The R3-30 is a weekly record...
and the
CBC Radio OneCBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
program
FuseFuse is a Canadian radio program, which airs on CBC Radio One and on CBC Radio 3's satellite radio channel. From March 25, 2007 to August 2008, the program was also aired on CBC Radio 2, becoming the only program which has aired on all three networks...
have also aired on the network.
During hosted blocks, content may include band interviews, recorded music, live in-studio performances or remote broadcasts from concert venues. In addition to extended band interviews, the network also airs a number of shorter interstitial one to three-minute features profiling bands and musicians through humour:
- The Canadian Dictionary, where a musician provides a definition of a Canadian colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
,
- 90-Second Egg, a series of questions about a musician's favourite things,
- Stand By Your Van, where a musician relates a story of something funny or strange that happened to them on tour,
- Occupational Hazard, where a musician talks about the worst job they ever had,
- Ask Shane, advice from musician and "amateur rocktologist" Shane Nelken of The Awkward Stage
The Awkward Stage is a Canadian indie pop band, based in Vancouver, British Columbia and fronted by singer-songwriter Shane Nelken. The band's supporting lineup currently consists of Tygh Runyan on lead guitar, Tony Koelwyn on drums and Chris Mitchell on trumpet and keyboards.Nelken, who works as a...
,
- So Sue Me, in which two songs are compared to detect intentional or unintentional plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
,
- Dudes Where's My Tour Diary?, an audio tour diary filed by Calgary band The Dudes
The Dudes are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1996 in Calgary, Alberta. Dan Vacon is The Dudes' major creative force in the band. The group also includes guitarist Bob Quaschnick, drummer Scott Ross and newest member Brock Geiger on bass....
,
- Tour Diary, where artists tell what is happening on tour, the artists are interviewed by Lisa Christiansen,
- Gearheads, where a musician talks about their instruments or other musical gear,
- Then and Now, two songs from a band's discography, one early and one recent, are contrasted to show how the band has evolved and changed,
- Lisa Retort, where Lisa Christiansen
Lisa Christiansen is a Canadian radio personality. She hosts the program Appetite for Distraction on CBC Radio 3, and also is one of the hosts of Between the Covers on CBC Radio One.-External links:* *...
rants on an issue or two that is currently on the news, such as Britney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
shaving her head,
- Indieland Who's Who, a humorous profile of a musician in the style of Canadian television's Hinterland Who's Who
Hinterland Who's Who is best known as a series of 60-second public service announcements profiling Canadian animals and birds, produced by Environment Canada Wildlife Service and the National Film Board of Canada in the 1960s and 70s, and re-launched by the Canadian Wildlife Federation in the 2000s...
commercials (e.g. the wild danbejarDaniel Bejar is an independent singer-songwriter from Vancouver renowned for his challenging and often cryptic lyrics and unorthodox vocals featured in many of his songs. Bejar has gained widespread popularity through his musical collaborations with Vancouver indie-rock band The New Pornographers,...
)
- The French Connection, where Lauren Burrows
Lauren Burrows is a Canadian radio personality, best known as a former host on CBC Radio 3.Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Burrows first got involved in radio broadcasting with CITR-FM, launching Rhymes and Reasons with The Tessimist and DJ9, and also a late night hip hop program,...
and Bande à partBande à part is the name of a website and a Sirius Satellite Radio station in Canada that are devoted primarily to French Canadian arts and music....
host Alexandre Courteau discuss an up-and-coming Québécois music act that has not been featured on CBC Radio 3 before. Courteau also teaches Burrows a new French word or phrase in each interview.
- Yes, No, Maybe, similar to the 90-second egg, musicians are given rapid-fire questions to which they can only answer "Yes" "No" or "Maybe".
- City of the Week, a short informational profile of a Canadian city, followed by music from three or four local artists who may or may not have previously been played on Radio 3.
- 3 to 1 Ratio, where host Lisa Christiansian talks to CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
journalist Matthew Lazin-Ryder for critical analysis of Canadian indie music.
The network also broadcasts the annual
Polaris Music PrizeThe Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label...
gala, as well as live concert showcases from festivals such as SXSW,
Canadian Music WeekCanadian Music Week is an industry conference and music festival held over four days in various venues throughout Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
, NXNE and the
Halifax Pop ExplosionThe Halifax Pop Explosion is a music festival that takes place every fall, two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada.-History:...
.
In February 2009, CBC Radio 3 participated with
Exclaim!Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
and
aux.tvAux is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel and corresponding website owned and operated by Glassbox Television...
to launch
X3, a new collaborative cross-promotional platform which sees all three outlets air feature content spotlighting a particular "Artist of the Month". X3 artists of the month have included
K'naanK'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most...
,
MalajubeMalajube is a francophone indie rock band based in Montreal. The band has three albums out on Dare to Care Records.-History:Formed by a group of friends in Montreal, the band made itself known in 2004 with the release of its first album, Le Compte complet. Critics welcomed the disc with positive...
,
ThunderheistThunderheist is an electronic music duo from Toronto and Montreal, Canada. Thunderheist is made up of producer Graham Bertie and Omolola Isis Salami . The two began collaborating before they had ever met in person, sending MP3 files to each other over the Internet.They are signed and released one...
,
JapandroidsJapandroids is a Canadian rock duo from Vancouver, British Columbia. The group consists of Brian King and David Prowse . Formed in 2006, Japandroids rose to prominence in 2009 following the release of their debut album Post-Nothing...
,
Apostle of HustleApostle of Hustle is a Canadian indie rock group, formed in 2001 by Andrew Whiteman.-History:The band is more or less the brainchild of Andrew Whiteman, who has been in such groups as Bourbon Tabernacle Choir and Que Vida. He released a solo effort titled Fear of Zen in 1995. He is also the lead...
,
The Rural Alberta AdvantageThe Rural Alberta Advantage is a Canadian indie rock band that formed in 2005. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the band consists of Nils Edenloff on lead vocals and guitar, Amy Cole on backing vocals and keyboard, and Paul Banwatt on drums....
,
Owen PallettMichael James Owen Pallett is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Toronto, Ontario. He won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds....
, and
Jenn GrantJenn Grant is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Background:Born on Prince Edward Island to Ken and Heather Grant, she moved to Halifax with her mother and brother at age ten when their marriage broke up...
.
CBC Radio 3 hosts
The regular hosts currently heard on the network are
Grant LawrenceGrant Lawrence is a veteran Canadian radio personality and writer based in Vancouver. He is a host on CBC Radio 3, a Sirius Satellite Radio channel which emphasizes new independent Canadian music, and is also the vocalist for the indie rock group The Smugglers.In addition to his regular shifts on...
,
Lisa ChristiansenLisa Christiansen is a Canadian radio personality. She hosts the program Appetite for Distraction on CBC Radio 3, and also is one of the hosts of Between the Covers on CBC Radio One.-External links:* *...
,
Craig NorrisCraig Norris is a Canadian rock singer and radio personality. He is the lead singer for The Kramdens, and is also a host on CBC Radio 3, including the network's weekly record chart show The R3-30, as well as the CBC Radio One program Laugh Out Loud...
,
Lana GayLana Gay is a Canadian radio personality and music journalist. Currently heard on CBC Radio 3, she was also formerly a host on CFNY-FM in Toronto. On CFNY, she was known on-air only as "Lana", and did not use her surname....
and
Vish KhannaVish Khanna is a Canadian musician, music journalist and radio personality, currently best known as the host of The Wrath of Khanna show on CBC Radio 3, his work as an Assistant Editor at Exclaim! Magazine, and as a contributor to Signal to Noise. Khanna was born in Kitchener and raised in nearby...
. Past hosts have included
Tariq HussainTariq Hussain , is a Canadian singer-songwriter and radio personality. Usually credited as Tariq he has released four albums in his musical career, is currently a host for CBC Radio 3, and a member of the eclectic musical ensemble Brasstronaut.Tariq was born in Cowansville, Quebec...
,
Amanda PutzAmanda C. Putz is a Canadian radio personality. Formerly the host of Fuse and Bandwidth on CBC Radio One, she moved to Hong Kong in 2006, and briefly hosted a program on Radio Television Hong Kong's English network before becoming a news announcer for the station.In April 2007, Putz had a guest...
and
Lauren BurrowsLauren Burrows is a Canadian radio personality, best known as a former host on CBC Radio 3.Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Burrows first got involved in radio broadcasting with CITR-FM, launching Rhymes and Reasons with The Tessimist and DJ9, and also a late night hip hop program,...
.
Guest hosts such as Chris Alscher, Dave Shumka, Zena Sharman, Raji Sohal, Chris Kelly and Shane Nelken fill in when regular hosts are away. Canadian musicians and other media personalities have also sometimes appeared as guest hosts, including
Joel PlaskettJoel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
,
Carolyn MarkCarolyn Mark is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. She has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the duo The Corn Sisters with American colleague Neko Case, as well as with the bands the Vinaigrettes, Jr. Gone Wild, Showbusiness Giants, the Fixin's and the Metronome Cowboys...
,
Buck 65Richard Terfry , who uses the stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian experimental artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences.Terfry is also a radio host,...
, Nirmala Basnayake, Hannah Sung,
Brent BamburyBrent 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...
and
Nardwuar the Human ServietteNardwuar the Human Serviette is a Canadian celebrity interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is the lead singer and keyboardist for The Evaporators and plays in Thee Goblins....
. Although no longer heard on the network's regular schedule, Hussain and Putz also occasionally continue to appear as fill-in hosts.
Some personalities associated with sister service
Bande à partBande à part is the name of a website and a Sirius Satellite Radio station in Canada that are devoted primarily to French Canadian arts and music....
have also appeared on the network as reporters or correspondents covering
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's music scene, and several of the network's technical producers are also occasionally heard as segment contributors.
Bucky Awards
Since 2006, CBC Radio 3 has presented the annual
Bucky Awards, which honour Canadian indie pop and rock music. The awards, determined by listener vote, include such non-traditional categories as "most Canadian tune" and "sexiest musician."
Albums
Several
compilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s featuring CBC Radio 3 artists and live performances have also been released:
- New Music Canada, Vol. 1 (2004)
- CBC Radio 3 Sessions, Vol. 1
CBC Radio 3 Sessions, Vol. 1 is a compilation album released in 2004, compiling tracks from live sessions performed on CBC Radio 3.- Track listing :# Sloan - "Losing California" # The New Pornographers - "The Fake Headlines"...
(2004)
- Mint Records Presents the CBC Radio 3 Sessions
Mint Records Presents the CBC Radio 3 Sessions is a compilation album featuring live sessions from Canada's CBC Radio 3 network, as well as some from the 1990s CBC Radio 2 programs Nightlines and RadioSonic .The album, released in October 2006 on Mint Records, is the second compilation of live...
(2006)
- CBC Radio 3 Sessions, Volume III (2007)
See also
- The Verge
The Verge is an XM Radio Canada channel featuring new and emerging rock bands from Canada. The channel is produced in Toronto, Ontario for the entire XM platform. The channel's former names included Unsigned, and Signed, which indicated that the channel played a combination of signed and unsigned...
, a similar network on the XM Satellite RadioXM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
platform
- Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
- BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
- BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
- Le Mouv'
Le Mouv' is a French youth-oriented radio station which began broadcasting on 17 June 1997. As part of Radio France, it is a public radio station. The station primarily plays alternative rock. Initially based in Toulouse, it moved to Paris in December 2001. The radio station does not claim to be a...
- MDR Sputnik from the German regional public broadcaster MDR
- FM4
FM4 is an Austrian national radio station, operated by the ORF. Its main target is the youth audience, and much of the music output is characterised by an alternative rock and electronic music slant....
from the Austrian national public broadcaster ORF
External links