Born in the Punjab region of South Asia, Kiran Ahluwalia began her musical education at the tender age of five. Her parents were very passionate about music and continued providing their daughter with a musical education even after they had immigrated to Toronto when she was still very young. Although music was greatly revered in the Ahluwalia household it was still not considered a solid path to a secure and successful career, so daughter Kiran was encouraged to pursue a post-secondary education in the field of commerce.

After securing a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations Ahluwalia had what she describes as a “living dream.” “I saw myself as if I had followed the path that everyone had laid out for me – and if I had done everything right and gotten the job that I was seeking – I saw myself as a ninety year old woman in a home in the suburbs, and I saw my end that way. That vision scared the hell out of me and I knew I just wasn’t ready for that as a young woman in my early twenties.”

So at that moment Ahluwalia made a deal with herself “that if this was supposed to be my life then I would accept that. But for at least one year what I really want to do is immerse myself full time in music.”
Ahluwalia then sought out a music guru in India and spent the next two years fully focused on her musical passion. When she returned she still was unsure of her direction so she then spent two years obtaining an MBA at Dalhousie University, and once again tested the waters of the financial services industry. But, she admits, “When I actually got into bond trading I hated it so much that I left.”

“When I left I didn’t make a conscious decision to make music my career – it never was a conscious decision – I was just incredibly lucky.” Lucky because very early on she was asked to perform with an Indian dance troupe that she ended up touring with nationally. She then recorded her excellent debut Kashish-Attraction. Soon after she was “approached by an agent, and they ended up booking tours for me. Then people like you became interested in my music.”

Even though Ahluwalia had first committed to a year focusing on her music, she confesses that “it took more like ten years.” Ahluwalia recalls a very early performance at the Winnipeg Folk Festival about fifteen years ago. It was a daytime performance and the heat was unbearable. It was so stifling that she was sure the audience was completely disinterested in her musical offerings delivered in a foreign tongue. A panic rose up inside her and after only her first song. Her fear was such that she wanted to just get up and flee from the stage. Instead she timidly asked the audience “Do you want to hear another Punjabi folk song?” And was amazed to hear the audience of ten thousand people joyously shout YES.

Now fifteen years later Ahluwalia is thankful “there have been enough people who have been saying yes. So, I have continued singing.” Singing in Urdu and Punjabi, Ahluwalia’s musical specialization is in Punjabi folk music and the ancient poetic art form known as Ghazal. A thousand year old form of musical poetry where the words and the musical composition are distinctly specialized tasks that are brought together by separate creators. Ahluwalia herself sometimes creates both words and music for a few of her compositions, but over the years she has primarily sought out ghazal writers to provide her with poetry that she is inspired to compose music for.

Over the years Ahluwalia has released four studio recordings, all of them nominated for JUNO Awards. Two of them (Beyond Boundaries and Aam Zameen/Common Ground) winning her the JUNO Award for Best World Music Recording, and her latest, Aam Zameen, also landing her a Canadian Folk Music Award.

Ahluwalia’s golden voice has also attracted many collaborators. She has performed with the Winnipeg Chamber Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta. Some of her past musical accomplices include Celtic fiddler Natalie MacMaster, Inuit throat singer, Tanya Tagaq, electronica groups Eccodek and Delerium, and her long time musical collaborator, and husband, American jazz guitarist, Rez Abbasi. Over the years she has also infused her music with flavors from Portuguese fado guitar to African percussion and beyond.

In 2004 Ahluwalia became “mesmerized” by the music of the Tuareg people of Northern Mali, particularly the electronic desert blues of the Saharan band Tinariwen. She began researching other Tuareg bands thinking this might be a “momentary passion.” “But no, it wouldn’t leave me. I wanted to keep hearing Tuareg music, I wanted to keep learning about it.”

Although the Tuareg blues style was difficult to interlace with Ghazal compositional structure Ahluwalia managed to compose a Tuareg influenced song for her 2007 release Wanderlust. Soon after she connected with British guitarist Justin Adams (Jah Wobble’s Invaders Of The Heart), who was not only known as an African blues aficionado but also the producer of many of Tinariwen’s recordings. Adams would later suggest that Ahluwalia not only write music in the Tuareg style but that she should consider actually recording with Tuareg musicians.

This would lead to Ahluwalia spending ten days in a Paris studio collaborating with both Tinariwen and lesser known Tuareg group Terakaft on sessions for her 2011 release Aam Zameen. And last year she was thrilled to be invited to perform with Tinariwen at the infamous Festival au Desert in Mali, which she describes as “a life changing experience.”

As someone who has followed Ahluwalia’s musical career from the beginning I think Aam Zameen is her best work to date. The recording is saturated with incredible guest performances including Tinariwen, Terakaft, jazz funk drummer Mike Clark, Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, Gambian griot Juldeh Camara, santur and trumpet player Amir ElSaffar, Justin Adams (who also coproduced the record with Rez Abbasi), as well as many of her long time musical accomplices from Canada and the United States. The recording beautifully incorporates Asian, Middle Eastern and African elements, creating a sonically rich tapestry that perfectly complements Ahluwalia’s epic vocalizations.

Ahluwalia has been busy over the past few months performing live with her touring ensemble. She has just completed a series of concerts in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta, in addition to her work on a new CD release that this time around will focus on compositions performed with her familiar collective of North American musicians that she has toured and recorded with during her fifteen year career in music.
But if you missed Kiran Ahluwalia’s performances in British Columbia during her brief spring tour, you’ll get another chance to experience her incredible vocal stylizations when she takes to the stage this summer at the Vancouver Island Music Festival in the Comox Valley, July 13 and 14. I suspect more western dates will be added in the coming months, so keep yourself up to date at kiranmusic.com.

The post A Conversation with Kiran Ahluwalia appeared first on BC Musician Magazine.

Travelling the Sand Circuit puts a whole new meaning to “taking your tune on the road” when you can perform just 100 yards off the famous Alaska Highway. At the foot of the long, scenic Taylor Hill lies Peace Island Park — perfect for camping, hiking and boating. Smack dab in the middle of summer from July 27 to August 4, two great festivals take place back-to-back at Peace Island Park in Taylor, British Columbia. Taylor is the playground of the Peace located in Northern BC where the Alaska Highway crosses the mighty Peace River.

Music is the key to celebration and Taylor knows how to celebrate. An open mic stage is a new feature at the second Sand Sensations BC festival followed by Taylor’s long standing Gold Panning Championships. Nine days of summer fun attracts visitors from as far away as Alberta and Central British Columbia and stops unsuspecting travellers along the Alaska Highway.

The Sand Circuit stage is open to all solos and groups who want to play on the sand stage. Sand is everywhere during the Sand Sensations BC Festival. The sand stage sits among the huge sculptures of international sand carvers who will work for the entire week while the festival takes place. Families compete with their own sand creations. Sand, food, fun and sun go so well with camping and Peace Island Park has acres and acres of RV and tent camping along the Peace River. Sand Sensations BC is the northern most sand carving competition in BC. Where most sand carving events take place on a lake or the seaside, Sand Sensations BC celebrates the mighty Peace River.

Tons of sand for the sand carving comes from the banks of the mighty Peace River and has enough clay content to make long lasting sculptures. Last year’s artworks have withstood the harsh winter and are now peeking out from the snow drifts piled high over the winter. Travellers along the highway during this spring season can still see the 15 foot Sand Sensations BC sign made of solid sand as a reminding that summer is soon to come and the renewed golden promise of sand, sun and fun is not far off.

From August 2 to 4, the 41st Invitational Class “A” Gold Panning Championships will begin as the sand sculptures are completed. A community parade on Friday night marks the start of a fun-filled weekend of panning for real gold, staking claims and metal detecting. Step back into time with the old-fashioned-community-pancake breakfast, children’s games, bannock baking and more. Class “A’ panners will compete in 3 levels designed to measure speed, skill and fine gold panning. For those first time panners, young and old, skilled veterans are available to teach and demonstrate the tricks of panning. Everyone can compete and most everyone finds some gold.

The Sand Circuit stage celebrates the natural environment along with music and family entertainment. Camping along the Peace River near wilderness rife with moose and bears, and enjoying the natural elements as sand, water and sunshine, participants leave vowing to return next year. Musicians with family friendly songs and music are welcome to have the sand stage on a volunteer basis since both the SAND and the Gold Panning festivals have no admission charges. Contact the Fort St. John Community Arts Council (info@fsjarts.org or 250-787-2781) to book a time to play on the sand stage between 3pm and 9pm. Basic sound with one microphone will be available and time can be allotted to set up your additional equipment. Time slots will be 30 minutes or 1 hour and can be booked on multiple days. Camping fees are applicable and will be charged through the Peace Island Park Board.

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Being the voracious music addict that I am, the musical heritage of the Romany people has certainly not escaped my attention. One of my favourite investigations of Roma culture, which I saw on its release in 1993, is the documentary film Latcho Drom. Directed by Tony Gatlif, Latcho Drom follows the migratory path of the Roma people out of Rajasthan, through the Middle East and into various parts of Europe.

I also received my initial education in Balkan brass band music cinematically through the films of Serbian director Emir Kusturica and his long time musical collaborator Goran Bregovic. In Kusturica’s films Roma brass bands follow many of his main characters around like a royal musical entourage providing bombastic accompaniment to both the comedic and the tragic.

Bitten by the Balkan brass bug, this form of music has become quite common within the broad mix of my radio show programming. So, it warms my heart to find out that local Balkan brass collective Orkestar Slivovica were inspired to form after one of its members happened to come across this style of music being played on college radio station Village 900 (now defunct) while working on a job in Victoria.

Named after the popular European plum brandy Slivovitz, but using the Slovak spelling that is actually pronounced Slivovitsa, Orkestar Slivovica is a 13-piece Balkan style brass band based in Vancouver, BC. The band was started by saxophonist Oliver Sutton very soon after he had chanced upon the music of Serbian trumpet master Boban Markovic on the Victoria airwaves.

Sutton’s reaction to this unfamiliar sound was immediate and profound. “I was blown away by this music. And at the time I was very frustrated with the band I was playing in, and I was looking for something new. It just hit me right away. This is the music I am playing next.”

Within a couple of months Sutton and his wife, Orkestar Slivovica percussionist Kristina Zalite, had booked their flights to the Guca trumpet festival (Dragačevo Assembly) in western Serbia where they discovered hundreds of thousands of people in attendance and more than two hundred bands, from the best in the world to groups made up of small children. “Many of these kids playing for tips were actually better than many of the bands in North America playing this style of music!” Sutton exclaims.

Known also as Trubaci (meaning the trumpeters) Sutton explains that “this form of music most likely originates during the Ottoman Empire where these rhythms and scales were played for weddings and other events on reed instruments called Zurna, which are known to be over a thousand years old.”
It is believed that this style of music was then “applied to brass band instruments by the Roma people who commonly performed in military brass bands.” Then it was mixed with the local Serbian and Macedonian folkloric music “and a tradition developed which is now being played by both Roma and non Roma people in various parts of Europe.”

Starting with just five members, Orkestar Slivovica’s membership grew very quickly as other Vancouver musicians became entranced by this unfamiliar sound. Sutton admits that at the beginning they “dumbed the music down because it is very difficult to play.” Yet a passion for taking the music to the streets in true Balkan brass band style has helped the members of the group develop their chops considerably.

But for Orkestar Slivovica the immersion doesn’t stop there. They have also been active in presenting their own Balkan music festival in Vancouver for the past five years, originally booking local Balkan style bands, then evolving to the point where they have been able to bring in some of the experts from various parts of Europe.

With a late April tour of the BC island communities called the Balkan Wedding Caravan, Orkestar Slivovica will be joined by Serbian musicians Demiran and Novica Cerimovic, a father and son team who will then be performing at the band’s annual Ederlezi Balkan Brass Festival on May 3rd and 4th in Vancouver. An event that will also feature Macedonian brass legends Kocani Orkestar.

Not only is it impressive that Sutton is bringing such Balkan heavyweights to North America but he says that having his band perform with these brass masters improves their skills tremendously, and “after only two weeks playing with Demiran and Novica last year we were phenomenally better.” Sutton also explains that to master this complex music, “we use special Eastern European instruments with very fast valves so you can control the instruments with very fast finger movements.”

Orkestar Slivovica released their debut CD last year called Ziveli!, the recording of which required a special approach. “We made a conscious decision not to multi-track and to instead record it live. It can be very difficult to go through an entire take with thirteen people and not have someone make a mistake. It’s similar to herding cats. But after hearing multi-tracked recordings of really great bands we felt that it sounded dead, and we didn’t want to lose that energy.”

This summer Orkestar Slivovica will be bringing that energy to a number of festival events including ArtsWells Festival Of All Things Art, taking place August 2nd to August 5th in Wells and Barkerville, BC.
You can find out more about Orkestar Slivovica and their annual Ederlezi Balkan Brass Festival at orkestarslivovica.org. 

The post Okestar Slivovica: Balkan Street Brass appeared first on BC Musician Magazine.

Jason Guille is a passionate arts & music entrepreneur from Victoria BC. His venue Sunset Room (www.sunsertroom.com) is a mainstay of Victoria’s vibrant arts scene, he has produced the Victoria Electronic Music Festival & Earthdance Festivals and is a director Evolver Victoria as well as the Victoria Public Market.

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By Janet Rogers

This time of year pow wow dancers are gingerly pulling their dance regalia out of storage to assess the amount of repair necessary in preparation for the upcoming pow wow season. Feathers may need to be re-fastened, sequins may need to be replaced and those seams may need to be let out after a long cold winter. Drummers rarely rest throughout the year, but practice becomes more frequent with the upcoming season with the possibility of new songs being added to the repertoire.

Word about pow wows spread throughout Indian Country like juicy rumours using word-of-mouth advertising and personal recommendations to assess which ones are the best to attend. And choose you must, because once the season is in full swing, announcements of more and more pow wows begin to circulate as well as the annual favourites. And we are aware it is often difficult for the non-native communities to know where the pow wows take place and how to behave when there.

BC Musician magazine is including some of the pow wow listings throughout the province as part of this special Festivals issue to make it easier for you to plan ahead. But first, let’s get the non-Native and/or first time pow wow goers ready to step into the arbor in a good way. Here’s some tips to take on the pow wow trail with you:

1. BE COOL
Like any festival, a pow wow is swirling with exciting energy. This combined with rich colourful regalia and loud tribal drumming is enough to bring out the wide-eyed kid in everyone. But be cool. Don’t touch and don’t stare. Carefully assess your questions before approaching the drummers and dancers and consider how many times they’ve had to answer “your” questions before posing them.

2. PHOTOGRAPHS
Kind of goes along with don’t’ stare. Be respectful. Ask before taking photographs. The pow wow announcer will let you know when photography is forbidden (which is usually during prayer or certain special dances) so it’s important to listen for those announcements and comply. If you are planning to sell the photographs that you take of dancers, then have a business card ready to give them. They may want to order more photographs or at least know where images of themselves will end up.

3. ALWAYS USE THE WORD ‘REGALIA’
Our outfits are built on cultural lineage and may include family crests and graphics of symbols specific to our clans. The colours we wear are carefully considered and many many hours have gone into the beadwork. These are not costumes. Pow wows are not Halloween. Please do not come to a pow wow dressed in anything that is fake or that you would not proudly dance inside the pow wow circle yourself. Leave those hipster headdresses, pet snakes and feather boas at home (I’ve actually seen these things brought to a pow wow).

4. IT’S OKAY IF YOU DON’T GET THE JOKES
The pow wow announcer has a tough job. They speak for many hours at a time announcing all the categories in order while keeping you engaged with chit-chat between dances. Some of that banter includes jokes that only Indians will get; jokes about filleting our baloney, or the hickey booth being open (there is no hickey booth) or “Snag” jokes. Just roll with it. This is inside humour we may not want to take the time to explain, so remember tip #1. Be Cool. And let the laughter wash over you.

5. INTER-TRIBALS
This is your chance to dance. The announcer will let you know when anyone and everyone is invited into the pow wow circle when they call an “Inter-Tribal”. Do your best to follow step and move only in the direction of the other dancers. The direction of dance may vary, clock-wise or counter-clock-wise, depending on the territory. This is not your time to shine, but to join the circle and move as one. Again, tip #1 comes into play here.
These 5 basic tips will get you through the gate. And speaking of a gate, there may or may not be an admission price involved while some events may or may not offer camping on site, which could be included with the admission price. This is the era of the plugged-in Indian so many of the pow wows have websites with lists of invited drum groups and the names of lead dancers. As a spectator, you may want to visit the sites before visiting the grounds to become familiar with the specific characteristics of each region’s celebrations.

Listed here, are a only a few of the Pow Wows happening over the summer of 2013 in British Columbia:

Spirit of Peace Pow Wow
June 14th-16th
Taylor District Ice Centre
Taylor, BC.

Squamish Nation 26th Annual Youth Pow Wow
July 12th – 14th
Capilano Reserve Park
North Vancouver, BC

30th Ahki Nation – Skwlax Pow Wow
July 20th – 22nd
Splats First Nations BC

20th Annual Yellow Wolf Inter-tribal Pow Wow
August 2nd – 4th
Tsartlip Park
on the West Saanich Rez, BC

34th Annual Kamloopa Pow Wow
August 2nd- 4th
Secwepemc Indian Band
Pow Wow Grounds Kamloops BC

We really do hope you’ll include a pow wow celebration on your summer itinerary. Besides the dancing and drumming, pow wows host great artists markets with the majority of items being hand made and sold by the artists themselves. Shopping locals helps the provincial economy as well as supporting Indigenous artists directly.

There are a couple of web sites I’ll direct you to which will offer more information about pow wow protocols here:
kzadmin.com/Powwow.aspx
and here is a website where you can begin to chart out your pow wow route for the summer:
www.crazycrow.com

Get your pow wow on, people, and we’ll see you in the arbor.

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Here’s Dave’s article from issue 97:

Emily Spiller: Digital Soul Sister

Emily Spiller has a whole lotta soul. Last year, when I first experienced Emily Spiller live, I was immediately taken by her confidence, professionalism and her rich smoldering voice. Then there’s the hair. A rather impressive piece of salon sculpture resembling a very ambitious vamp on the rockabilly pompadour, in frosty blonde/brunette two tone no less.

For some, confident hair can come quite easy, but developing one’s skills as an artist takes commitment, and this Vancouver Island songstress admits “it took me a long time before I found my voice, and myself, and found that stage presence thing that we all work on.”

Spiller began her music career as a singer songwriter, performing at cafes and open mic nights with what she describes as a “very soft falsetto voice.” A self confessed introvert and somewhat shy she nonetheless came to “realize that there was more going on underneath” and this inspired her to invest in private lessons in jazz, improvisation and breathing technique. “I began to realize I could use my voice as an instrument. What can it do? And how can I work it? And realizing that there’s no reason to be afraid of it – so let’s go see what I can do with it.”

Spiller says that even at the young age of three she always knew she wanted be a singer. “I just wouldn’t tell anyone. But behind closed doors I was always playing with noise, mimicking sounds – anything from nature to pots and pans in the kitchen – I was really into sound.” Spiller is also grateful to have a mother who was “into making sounds.” “We were always making noises and being weird. That’s where it all began and it just grew from there.”

Not only a singer, the first traditional instrument Spiller studied was saxophone, but she confesses that she plays “whatever she can get her hands on.” And it’s most likely this sound curiosity and willingness to experiment with various instruments that has led Spiller to move from performing with small combos and instead transform herself into a self-contained digital soul sister, by embracing new technology such as midi keyboard sample controllers, loop stations and audio composition software.

Spiller’s 2010 release, The Get Go, was recorded with keyboardist Adam Percy and bassist John Greenberg. “I thought let’s do it as an experiment and do it live. So we had a couple of rehearsals and then sat in a room and did it live because I wanted that raw sound.” Spiller then gave Percy the green light to remix several of The Get Go tracks and then she released them on her own Beacon Hill label under his alias as the Wonderbro Remixes.

This is where Spiller then made the leap into new technology. She admits she loves collaborating with other musicians but after working with a variety of players, both on home turf and in New Zealand, she found negotiating the lives and schedules of others began to feel like it was slowing her down. “I just wanted to get out there and start touring and I really wanted to be self sufficient, and I thought what else can I do? Then I started to hear artists such as Dub FX, Beardyman, New Zealand’s Mihirangi, Reggie Watts, Jamie Woon and all those guys out there doing the looping stuff. And I went, this is actually what I want to be doing.” After a pause she adds, “Maybe, (laughing) it’s because I’m a control freak. Because I get to tour when it’s convenient for me and I don’t have to worry about other people’s schedules. And it’s turned out to be great.”

When embracing new music technology an artist can sometimes ruffle the feathers of some of the purists out there and Spiller has had her share of admirers attempt to steer her back toward collaborative performance. Spiller admittedly enjoys collaborating with other musicians and has a deep appreciation for the energy produced in a musically interactive setting. Yet, she is not only inspired by the personal freedom the new technology affords her, but also the unlimited creative possibilities it presents. “The best thing about it is everyone is so unique in the way they are using these new tools in the composition and arranging and writing of their style of music. It’s just so fascinating for me to hear what everyone comes up with when using all the new technology that’s out there.”

Having worked as a collaborator and as a solo artist Spiller explains that it’s not about one mode over another. “I truly enjoy collaborative performance as well. It’s just an AND, it’s not an either or.” Referring to her digital gear as “the robot” Spiller structures her songs by using her voice to produce sounds, rhythms and textures which she then samples, loops and arranges into backing tracks to accompany her soulful vocals. “mostly it’s me on the recordings, unless I know someone who can help me beef up the sound in some way. As far as the live show, it’s all my own arrangements of my own sounds, much of is created spontaneously.”
Spiller realizes that this new digital technology is still just in its infancy and it’s important to keep up the learning curve. “There’s always new ways to do things and I’m always trying to stay open.”

As for her approach to songwriting, Spiller uses a variety of techniques. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night inspired by a rhythm in her dreams and sometimes a thought or a phrase kicks of the inspiration, yet she claims her most profound influence is “drum and bass.” “I’m all about that. And I’m referring to drum and bass instrumentation and the musical genre drum ‘n’ bass. I’m always striving for that bigger sound.”

Spiller has been on a short west coast tour with fellow “looper” Johnny Good, while effortlessly capturing these performances on her portable digital recorder, which she plans to mix down and release as a live CD. After several weeks in Los Angeles she is now busy working on her new studio release which will be completed later this year. “It’s a fine balance, but I’m very much an introvert and I love going into my cave and creating stuff.”

Still, Spiller is also a self described nomad, and this talented singer also has plans in the works to eventually leave the comfort of her “cave” and venture out into the world once again, this year to tour Australia, New Zealand and even China. In the meantime, she says that the best way for you to find her is at Emily Spiller Music on Facebook, YouTube and reverbnation.com.

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By Dave Del Rizzo

A few months ago, I was listening online to a community radio station show on CKCL from Cranbrook. The DJs were playing eclectic selections while waxing poetic about their time on the air, which naturally drew me into the show. What captivated me, however, was the discovery that I was listening to their last broadcast (for a while). Due to circumstances surrounding location and finances, CKCL station was temporarily going off the air.

This immediately hit home, where efforts are currently underway to establish Peach City Radio – a new community radio station in the South Okanagan. Local citizens having unprecedented access to the airwaves, and the ability to share their viewpoints and ideas with their community is the fuel for our passion. Just like CKCL, we hope that one day we might provide a live voice for our community. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Community radio is not like the commercial radio most are familiar with. It just sounds different. Content is generally varied and diverse from one hour to the next, consisting of music, interviews and news reflecting the opinions and concerns of those participating in the various broadcasts. The focus is decidedly local in scope, both in terms of management and organization, as well as the volunteers providing the content for broadcast. True community radio is not driven by profit, but by the desire to facilitate local conversation. This is the vision our Society has for Peach City Radio.

We have been actively recruiting volunteers who share this vision. Upon discovering our project, most people ask to be pointed towards the nearest microphone, and look to the ‘on-air’ light to turn red. The enthusiasm is encouraging. Our biggest challenge has become turning that enthusiasm into action.

The hurdles before our Society are daunting, but not insurmountable. At this stage, giving voice to the community is going to require more than having a great idea for a radio program. Our Board of Directors, committees and volunteers are focused on the specifics of building a framework for a sustainable effort. This includes securing long-term funding sources, finding a studio location, developing a strong group of programmers and volunteers, and having policies in place to keep it all running smoothly. Perhaps most importantly, our job is to educate and inform the community about the potential that this station will provide, looking towards the future.

One major goal for Peach City Radio in 2013 is the submission of our application to the CRTC (The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission) for a broadcast license. The application process can be long and difficult, requiring a detailed and realistic seven year business plan, including information on operating budgets, studio and antenna locations. All of these facets need to fall into place nearly simultaneously, while also maintaining enthusiasm amongst volunteers, and within the community. Peach City Radio is up to the challenge.

Turning an idea into a radio station is not an overnight process. Building a sustainable, well-rounded community radio station involves many voices contributing to a common goal. We have developed a healthy respect for the amount of work that CKCL and other community based stations have poured into this passion for community broadcasting in BC. Learning how to avoid the pitfalls which our colleagues in community radio face on a daily basis is instrumental to seeing this dream become a reality.

Peach City Radio is a rallying point for all those interested in becoming a part of a true community voice in Penticton. That studio and those microphones will exist in the near future. Will you be there to help us light the ‘on-air’ sign?

For more information about Peach City Radio, email info@peachcityradio.org. For access to our current library of on-demand content and podcasts, visit peachcityradio.org.

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