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The Seeds of 89X

5/29/2014

6 Comments

 
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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:

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Greg St. James
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Darren Revell
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Michelle Denomme
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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.
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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!

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6 Comments
Gnyp link
5/30/2014 06:31:04 am

I remember the early days of 89X like it was yesterday. We were a band of music lovers who had this crazy passion for radio. It was an adventure every single day we went into work. You never knew if the equipment was going to work or if the transmitter was working properly. But we didn't care, we had a bond that was tight. It was a great time, long hours, bad pay but it was fun. We hosted the first Lollapalooza at Pine Knob. We broadcast live and the line up to our booth was just as long as the line up to buy shirts. We forged ahead with music we believed in. Other radio stations laughed at the "strange" "weird" freaks" punks of 89X but it was cool with us. We were introducing a new sound to the airwaves that had been missed for a long time in Detroit. I worked with some great people and had some of the best adventures with them. I say thank you to my former co-workers and listeners for a great adventure!

Reply
Greg St. James
5/30/2014 08:47:40 am

I have never stopped being proud of what we all did. For just a moment it really was the station of my wildest dreams. But time goes by.....

Reply
Dman
5/30/2014 12:17:03 pm

Great stuff vert. Ive forgotten all of this. It reminded me of how wed have to switch to the all new Hits88 format at 4am and play paula abdul. So glad to go 24 hours. .

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Marc B
5/30/2014 02:46:19 pm

It was the station that let me stop wearing out the tapedeck in my car. I was less than a year out of college, had a job that let me listen at work (high school senior portraits) and wanted to have fun. I gotta admit you folks were awfully damn close to my college station (WIDR), but got me into going out again.

Reply
Michael a Womack
11/27/2020 04:28:34 pm

I just found out that 89X is no more. I admit that I haven't listened to the station much lately but in the beginning until maybe 1998 it was an incredibly important part of my life. So many songs and bands that would never be played on any other station, a new world was opened up to me.there are many specific events in my life during the 1990s that occurred while listening to music on the station. It is a shame that the content changed and none of the songs were played anymore, not even on the Sunday morning show. I remember meeting the djs at an event at the palace, around the same time that the British guy was a dj, maybe a little earlier. I always wondered what happened to them and to greg st james. I guess that's how life goes, and nothing great stays here forever

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Dammon Lore
11/27/2020 09:17:59 pm

I miss Kelly in the morning on 89x. She was my morning radio crush.

Reply



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