The Seeds of 89X

A double bumper sticker featuring extra Scotch tape. (This was stuck in a scrap book, I have a fresh one somewhere. Promise I'll replace this when I find it.)

May 31, 1991, CIMX-FM in Windsor, Canada (which broadcast into Detroit) changed its format from Adult Contemporary to Alternative Rock. Many stories can be told by many people about what happened after that day, but I was lucky enough to be the last DJ to do a show on the nightly "Cutting Edge" program from 11pm-4am.

Some names you may recognize from the pre-89X days:

Greg St. James

Darren Revell

Michelle Denomme

Mr. Vertical

There are many more names you know from those days, including Kelly Brown, D-Man, Gnyp and more. There are few pictures of those early days, since we didn't keep cameras on our phones in our pockets back then. Well, I did, but it weighed 147 pounds, and the border patrol wouldn't let me bring it into Canada.

Those pictures above represent a view of the entire studio. It was the size of a closet. If there was a third person in the room, they needed to stand.

The show focussed on "Alternative" music, including The Cure, Jane's Addiction, Sonic Youth and Pixies. You could also hear album cuts from Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Rolling Stones. Thanks to Canadian broadcasting regulations (which require a certain percentage of Canadian artists to be be played), if an artist considered even remotely 'alternative' recorded a Neil Young song, we played it. 

We also played Neil Young.

Old man, look at your hat.

Another interesting Canadian regulation required a certain amount of spoken word per hour, which allowed the DJs to use their personalities on a level unheard of in the U.S.

I was there almost from the beginning, thanks to Kelly Brown encouraging me to intern along with her. She was in my class at Specs Howard School of Broadcasting, and followed Greg St, James to Canada when he left WRIF in Detroit. I would not have had the radio career that I had without that invite.

The show was a lot of fun, and lasted about seven months or so. Then it was time to expand to 24 hours.

We had a lot of fun teasing the end of the Cutting Edge (well... I did, anyway). There was a time when disc jockeys were encouraged to talk and attempt to have personality. Here's a clip of me "acting" (for three hours), plus getting advice from lawyer, Lex Kuhne. 

Notice the wide variety of music we used to play, including Robert Palmer and Grandmaster Flash. Also notice the fact that we gave away tickets to different (unrelated) radio station's event (!):

Part of the "story" was that Darren quit before the end of his shift. Somewhere around 3am, he "angrily" called me to express his dismay.

I have trouble listening to my own recorded voice on the best day, so these clips are difficult for me. I was not even 21 years old, and still learning every day. But maybe you'll get a kick out hearing voices from the past.

I've got more audio to come from the first days of the 89X Morning Show, so keep your eyes right here on The Vertical Files!

Get the latest updates by following the page on Twitter and Facebook.