In Memory of Frankie Knuckles: 1955-2014

It all started in the year of 1977, at the Warehouse nightclub in Chicago. Frankie Knuckles, the Godfather of House music, was a resident DJ playing 8 to 10 hour sets at the revolutionary nightclub downtown The Windy City. People left the club exhausted from dirty dancing to the constant 4/4 beats all night, courtesy of the experimental mixing proficiency of Knuckles. He would mix the popular disco songs of the 70’s with his own sound; the rhythmic beats from his 909 drum machines, to create music that no one had ever heard before. Although gay black men mostly visited The Warehouse, the music became so popular that a whiter and straighter crowd came more frequently. But the Warehouse was strictly about the music, and from 1977 to Knuckles last year of residency in 1982, it was ONLY about the music. In a time when everyone believed that the whites, blacks, Latino’s and gays had to be segregated at different nightclubs, Knuckles was adamant that the music could unite us all, and boy was he right.

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It was ONLY about the music

After a night out at the “House”, everyone would be going to record stores asking for “house” music. In 1982, Knuckles made his own nightclub: The Power Plant; and after years of this genre refining movement, it was the latest rage with the younger population. In an era of hair metal, high pitch singing (Jackson) and pot-smoking head bangers, house had put its foot in the door. Knuckles knew that house was here to stay, and although he has left us, his style and dream of house music still thrives. It may have not quite reached the pinnacle that he had hoped for, but it is well on its way. Over the coming years, you will all see a drastic change to electronic dance music. Artists such as Tchami and Oliver Heldens may just take the world by storm, with their bouncy, deep house vibes.  

 

Canada Summer Jobs - CFURadio is Hiring for this Fall

This Fall of 2020, CFUR is taking applications for some CONFIRMED summer jobs. The funding has been secured. We are taking applications for 8 positions. If you're 30 or under, Canadian, and preferably were registered for full-time classes this winter, and are getting registered for classes this fall 2020, and you want to work in Prince George Radio for 16 weeks @±15-17.5 hrs a week this fall (one is 8 weeks @ ±35 hrs a week,) then check out the position descriptions with the link below:

the positions

If you are interested in more than one, send in more than one application. We won't scorn you for it :)

This year we are hiring a Volunteer Coordinator, Multimedia Archivist, Youth Coordinator, Policy Officer, Web Programmer, Mobile Broadcasting Equipment Operator, and Graphic Designer.

This year we are hiring a Volunteer Coordinator, Multimedia Archivist, Youth Coordinator, Policy Officer, Web Programmer, Mobile Broadcasting Equipment Operator, and Graphic Designer.

Sept 4-5-6 Virtual Feast soars into the stratosphere with BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE!

Buffy Sainte-Marie and a galaxy of award-winning Indigenous artists including: Kinnie Starr, Snotty Nosed Rez Kids, PiqSiq, Shawnee – are all streaming at 2 Rivers Remix 2020, Online Feast of Contemporary Indigenous Music, September 4 • 5 • 6 

[‘Q’emcin Aug 11]   2 Rivers Remix (2RMX) are ecstatic to announce that Indigenous Icon Buffy Sainte-Marie will redline the internet with an exclusive streaming performance for the 2020 2RMX Virtual Indigenous Music Feast on September 6. Buffy Sainte-Marie is a cultural tour-de-force and a tireless social justice activist with multiple JUNO awards and a Polaris Prize as well as being the first Indigenous artist ever to win an Academy Award.

From Universal Soldier, her definitive anti-war anthem, to her 2017 album Medicine Songs, Buffy Sainte-Marie makes us all feel stronger and more capable of seeing the world around us clearly. Part rhythmic healing, part trumpeting wakeup call, Medicine Songs is her soundtrack for the resistance. 

Based in ’Q’emcin (aka Lytton, BC) the 2RMX Virtual Feast 2020’s additional headliner (streaming) artists are: 

  • JUNO-winner Kinnie Starr, a multi-threat songwriter, performer, visual artist, filmmaker and producer. Starr is a trailblazing female Indigenous artist with her unique blend of conscious hiphop and groove driven pop. 

  • Skyrocketing Hip-hop stars Snotty Nose Rez Kids whose second and third albums (The Average Savage, 2017 and TRAPLINE, 2019) were shortlisted for the Polaris Prize while TRAPLINE was also named one of the top 10 hip-hop albums of 2019 by exclaim! magazine.

Special guests include: JUNO-winning Inuit-throat-singing sisters PiqSiq who peform eerie contemporary compositions incorporating live looping; and 2-Spirit singer-songwriter Shawnee, winner of CBC Music’s 2020 Searchlight and named one of Billboard’s “LGBTQ2 Artists You Should Know.”

Another highlight is the 2RMX Elder Series, which includes JUNO-award winner Murray Porter, a well-known bluesman across Turtle Island, Helene Duguay, who was a member of Quebec’s original girl-group the Beatlettes. Willie Thrasher & Linda Saddleback, and Gordon Dick Sr. will also perform – including their songs from the GRAMMY-nominated historical compilation Native North America: Volume 1.

2RMX showcases exciting Indigenous artists that reflect the diversity and strength of Indian Country – more than half 2RMX lead performers are women, one-third are youth and one-fifth are 2-Spirit artists. According to Artistic Director Meeka Morgan (Secwepemc/Nuu-Chah-Nulth/Nlaka’pamux heritage), “In the Summer of COVID-19, Indigenous artists are reverberating and remixing the Interior Nations Chiefs’ 1910 declaration: “WE WILL HELP EACH OTHER TO BE GREAT AND GOOD.”

Now in it’s third year, ’Q’emcín 2 Rivers Remix has been a FREE multi-day outdoor feast of contemporary Indigenous music and culture hosted by the Nlaka’pamux Nation and the Village of Lytton. The full line-up of 30 Indigenous artists streaming for 2RMX Virtual 2020 will be announced in the coming days.

2RMX 2020 is part of VirtualFeast.ca, a new indigenous-led online platform to highlight and support streaming of contemporary Indigenous performances in the Summer of COVID-19. VirtualFeast.ca provides a single point of reference and discovery for audiences tuned into the burgeoning BC Indigenous music scene. VirtualFeast.ca is collaborative project of BC Indigenous arts presenters including: 2 Rivers Remix Society, Savage Production Society, Full Circle: First Nations Performance, Vines Festival/Resilient Roots.

What:  2 Rivers Remix Virtual 2020 – 3rd annual, FREE 3-day Feast of Contemporary Indigenous Music and Culture

When:  Streaming Friday Sept. 4@5pm–Sunday Sept. 6@10pm

Why:  BC’s Premier Feast of Contemporary Indigenous Music… and did we mention it’s ALL FREE!

Who:  30 Contemporary Indigenous Musical Artists performing a wide variety of genres

Where:  2RMX.ca/live and your usual live-streaming platforms

How:  Stay tuned to VirtualFeast.ca!

See you at the feast…

Sam Tudor Releases New Single - Everybody's Keeping Their Word

The first single from Sam Tudor's upcoming 2020 album.

Sam Tudor and his band released a new song this week,

play it, rock it, love it!


Here it is on Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/track/2mDWGztbbyTAaWmY343OUg?si=BNokMTU8QX-ony4ChL7hFw

And on Bandcamp — https://samtudor.bandcamp.com

Released July 27, 2020

Vancouver BC based, Likley BC sourced, local music <3

Watch out for COVID-19 disinformation - Interview with Trina Fyfe

Watch out for COVID-19 disinformation

 Authored by Trina Fyfe

Do you believe everything you read? With Covid-19 safety tips almost everywhere you turn, you might want to first think about where the information, and sometimes disinformation, is coming from. 

A recent list entitled “Wisdom from Dr. Bonnie Henry” has been shared, tweeted and posted on social media over the past week. This 16-item list contains false and unsubstantiated statements claiming to be those of Dr. Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer (PHO). This is a provincial example of a much larger problem occurring worldwide called disinformation.

 After reading the list of wise words from Dr. Henry, I became skeptical because some of the statements were contradictory to the messages that we have been hearing from the Provincial Health Office for the past four and a half months. In B.C., we have become quite enamored with Dr. Henry and have, for the most part, been following her orders. So, how were we so easily swayed to share this list?

Disinformation is often written as if it is coming from an expert. In this instance, the statements in the list were contradictory to the information we receive in the Provincial Updates and online at the BC Centre for Disease Control. Checking the source of information is key to determining the validity and authority of the information provided. In an article written on the vancouverisawesome.com website, the PHO’s representatives have stated that this list did not come from Dr. Henry. But what if I have heard some of these statements elsewhere?

The list of statements provided information that some of us want to hear. One of the items on the list stated that wearing masks for a long period of time can affect oxygen levels. I have seen this line of disinformation floating around on social media as well. Researchers and clinical experts have disputed this with evidence. Further to this, evidence is constantly emerging during this pandemic. What might not have been directly recommended early on is now recommended (like wearing masks when you are not able to maintain physical distancing) and is tricky to navigate. This makes me ponder, how do we know what is true and what is disinformation?

Check the information against other sources. What have we already been told by the PHO? Look at government websites, such as the BCCDC where the province is trying hard to coordinate information and share it with the public. If you are still not convinced, look at the Government of Canada’s webpages on COVID-19. One step further, check it against other experts in the field of infectious diseases. Ask yourself, who is making these recommendations? What are the reasons for these recommendations? Has the evidence changed?

One final note, be careful not to spread disinformation. Spreading disinformation can be harmful to our communities. Without scrutinizing the information we share with our friends and families online, we become part of the problem. If you are unsure if what you are reading is factual or not, try Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy approach. This Centre encourages people to “Check First” and “Share After”. Check out their website on how to combat identifying and sharing disinformation: https://checkthenshare.ca/).

Be safe online by being skeptical of what you are reading, talk it over with others, validate with other information and share it only when you are sure it is the truth.

Trina Fyfe, PhD,
UNBC Health Services Librarian