In the 80s and early 90s I contributed to CBS Radio shows as a composer-producer and as a freelance journalist and host. I wrote the themes for the entertainment and pop culture interview show Prime Time, the comedy series Radio Banned and Radio Free Lunch, and CBC Toronto’s Metro Morning news show, and created incidental music for the drama Paris From Wilde to Morrison and other shows, from the sounds of a busking guitarist in Paris to a bank commercial that goes off the rails in an episode of Radio Banned. I contributed interviews and reporting to The Entertainers and Prime Time, was a guest host for Prime Time, and was the host of the record review show Canada Rocks.
Prime Time, March 15, 1993: 500 Channels
Intro: “Just over a year ago, Brice Springsteen released a song called ’57 Channels and Nothing On.’ Already, that title seems kind of quaint. In a year from now, we’ll be living in a world of 500 or so TV channels. What’s going to be on? Well, among other things, The Military Channel: 24 hours a day of military news, entertainment, and advertising. That and 499 other channels, tonight on Prime Time.”
Prime Time, March 16, 1993: True Crime Trading Cards, Ethnic Fashion, Space Advertising
Intro: “Some people say True Crime Trading Cards are an exploitive, quick-buck scheme. The cards’ publisher calls them journalism. Is there a difference? Decide for yourself, tonight on Prime Time.”
Prime Time, March 17, 1993: Kim Basinger’s Hollywood Lawsuit, Baby Boomer Movies
Intro: “In Hollywood, a kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is still a sigh. But when is a deal still a deal? That’s the question being asked in TinselTown since actress Kim Basinger backed out of a movie and got slapped with a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Tonight on Prime Time: The Art of the Deal in Hollywood.”
Prime Time, March 18, 1993: Solo Albums by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Women and Cars
Intro: “Seems like the Rolling Stones are gathering more and more moss between albums. It’s been a few years since the last Stones album, but now Mick Jagger and Keith Richards both have solo albums out. We’ll look at the Stones alone and together, tonight on Prime Time.”
Prime Time, Sept. 8, 1991: Triumph’s Rik Emmett Goes Solo
As the singer and lead guitarist for the hit band Triumph, Rik Emmett looked like the classic pop metal superhero. But in this documentary about starting over, he’s revealed as thoughtful, articulate, and torn between the demands of art and commerce. Intro: “Backstage in a nightclub in Long Beach, California, the Rik Emmett Band is warming up for another gig. It’s another rock and roll bar, in another suburban strip mall. The band is scattered about a typical rock and roll dressing room: black walls, a scuffed brown leather couch, a few chairs, and a beer-stained carpet. This room is gloomy, dirty, and open to just about anyone who cares to walk through. Five musicians wander around, warming up hands and instruments. Rik Emmett stands apart and takes in the scene…”
Metro Morning, Sept. 15, 1989: Composing the New Theme Music
The host of Metro Morning visits my studio to learn how I wrote and produced the show’s new theme using then-new digital music technology. I play him examples of how the parts were created and put together using synthesizers, samplers, MIDI — the Musical Instrument Digital Interface — and computer-based sequencing software synchronized with a multi-track tape recorder. This excerpt starts with a comparison between making music with MIDI and capturing a Fats Waller performance in the punched holes of a player piano roll.