What is it with pop music that attracts our youth? This form of musical expression, ready for the making, is for anyone wishing to embrace a musical instrument, pen and lifestyle, and prepared to take over the unsuspecting student at the click of an Ipod.

Up until now our music industry has been controlled by accountants and lawyers, graduates of the school of thought that anything goes when it comes to making money. Like serpents in the Garden of Eden they are superb salespeople.

Popular music had to be edgy. It had to be about what parents didn’t want their children doing. And, because every generation rebels against the establishment, music industry people thought this would help sell records and CDs. They were right.

The last thing the industry wanted to see were mommy and daddy’s good little boys and girls singing and dancing on stage (although there were exceptions with artists such as Pat Boone). With popular music having its roots in bars and clubs the behaviour of young musicians had to reflect the lifestyle of drinkers and partiers. Not anymore.

We are at a stage in pop music where young musicians are going to have to start reflecting the socially-conscious advances we have made as a society over the past few generations. No longer is it acceptable to throw garbage out of the car window while driving to Sherbrooke from Knowlton for instance. I can remember picking bottles out of the ditches along the highway and exchanging them for money at the local grocery store when I was a kid.

No longer is it acceptable to drink and drive. The clubs have seen their day. Why does music have to be associated with the drinking culture anyway? Still, a good venue has to have a bar at the back of the room or in the lobby. Can’t we listen to music without having a drink? Is the music that bad?

For the moment, clubs and festivals (usually sponsored by beer companies) are still important venues for musicians, and besides, most artists and their audiences are adults. All the same things are changing for the better.

Radio Communautaire Missisquoi’s biggest sponsor is McAuslan Brewing in Montreal, a company with a social conscience. It supports RCM’s annual “Stop!” show at the Maison de la Culture de Waterloo (MCW) because it believes in helping to develop independent music in the Eastern Townships.

McAuslan Brewing has had a strong commitment to the Arts since it first began in 1989. Peter McAuslan, the founder of the brewery, has a home in Frelighsburg, Quebec and is well known to the Montreal arts community as a true patron of the arts, winning the 2008 “Prix Arts-Affaires de Montréal” awarded by the Montreal Chamber of Commerce and the Conseil des arts de Montréal.

McAuslan Brewing has shown support for the arts through an extensive sponsorship program over the years, including various festivals and events such as RCM’s “Stop!” show - Channel 9 on Videotron’s Vox network out of Granby.

As much as RCM takes its role seriously in the community so does McAuslan Brewing. We are very happy to have McAuslan as a supporter of RCM’s music development program in the Townships, and look forward to creating a new frontier for young musicians like Purple Cérise Experience, one of this year’s “Stop!” show contestants.

PCE is a very talented and ambitious trio of 19 year old musicians from Waterloo and Granby. Their music is instrumental pop mixed with jazz and formal musical training, yielding a very interesting alternative to today’s radio music. Without organizations taking on the responsibility of providing artists with an outlet for their work, where would we be as a community?

The “Stop!” show is a battle of the bands TV show that requires all contestants to perform original material live in studio and be judged by local music teachers, professional musicians and the general public. The challenge lasts for up to six months on TV and wraps up with a live show at MCW where the final results are divulged; first, second, third and public choice winners. The 1st place winner gets to have a CD recorded and released by RCM, the rest are guaranteed airplay on CIDI. And everyone gets a t-shirt!

Today the rock ‘n’ roll dream is sold by serpents trying to make a buck, and willing to abandon our youth with a guitar in hand and a heart full of dreams. Who cares if they don’t have places to play or radio stations that care. What message are we sending?

The wheel has to be reinvented and rebuilt as soon as possible. We encourage all of you who are interested, willing and able, to join our ranks and to help shine a light on our beautiful part of the world. We have not come this far for nothing.

This year the “Stop!” show RCM fundraiser will be held at the Maison de la Culture at 7pm on April 10th. Tickets are $15. For more information you can call the station at 450-242-9873 or MCW at 450-539-4764. Hope to see you there. Also, you can go online to view the latest “Stop!” show performances at www.rcmmedia.org/blog/category/stop/ and once all the performances are posted please vote for your favourite bands.

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer, director-general and vice president of the board. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098,

show 14

By Frank Nixon

Two members of Brome Lake’s cultural committee, Judith Duncanson and Yves Lamarche, have embarked on an oral history project which will form an important part of the town’s cultural policy.

They want seniors to tell their stories from the seven villages that comprise Brome Lake – Bondville, East Hill, Foster, Fulford, Knowlton, Iron Hill and West Brome — which were amalgamated in 1971 to create the Town of Brome Lake. The cultural policy, once completed, will be submitted for approval and adoption by town council.

“The radio station has agreed to tape the interviews – in English and French – which will take place in the coming weeks,” said Duncanson. “We will also give transcripts to the Brome County Historical Society so that they have the oral histories.”

“Our main interest is in having a complete history of the ‘culture’ of the towns between the wars, which seems to be the weak link in the research so far,” continued Duncanson. “The fact that the station is going to use the interviews, with copies being given to the museum, are just wonderful offshoots of our cultural policy. It’s a wonderful example of various parts of the community working together to accomplish a common aim.”

Duncanson suggests that seniors bring their old photo albums along with the interviews. “I was involved in a similar oral history project when I was a resident of Cooperstown, New York,” she recalls. “We found that the albums brought all kinds of folks and situations, long forgotten, into people’s memories and made for much more lively discussions.” The discussions and interviews will be taped at Centre Lac-Brome with the technical assistance of CIDI 99.1 FM.

If you wish to participate or require further information, please call 450-242-2491.

The only true constant is change. It is ubiquitous. Encompassing every aspect of life, from the most insignificant to the very questions philosophers have pondered since we first looked to the stars and wondered. It is frightening, wondrous, feared and embraced. It is the very essence of life.

But it is not random, nor is it irrational. Change is integral to who we are. It is growth. And without growth, we become static and really, who wants to remain in the same spot all the time?

During the past year or so I have had the pleasure of hosting a radio show that I call Mostly Canadian Unplayed. I have been able to play music that has become a part of my life and share this passion with the world at large.

When I first walked into the station to begin this path, I had a fist full of CD’s and a head full of ideas of what I felt would make for a show that was unique and driven by one of the great loves in my life, music. And little did I know at the time that I would find something that would become so important to my day to day life. Without a doubt, the greatest aspect of this has been the fact that my son Gabriel has become a part of this adventure.

When he first joined me in the studio he was shy and spoke only a little. A year later he has become far more at home behind the microphone and so has become a more active figure in the show. Recently he invited his teacher to the show and it was with great pride that I watched him take the time and effort to formulate the questions he asked and to set up the details required to make this interview a reality. I had to smile to myself as he chose the music that we would play and organized the songs and questions into a format that would become his show that day. In a small way, I felt like I was handing him the torch and letting him run free with his ideas.

This idea of change and growth has also been a driving factor at the radio station. When my first show went on air, we were not on the internet and we had a transmission range that barely reached beyond the limits of Knowlton. Today we broadcast world wide through the internet (live-streaming) and are in the final stages of planning to erect a tower on Patch Hill to increase our signal to the area. By this summer we will be broadcasting to a much greater area and a much wider audience.

It has been challenging to say the least. There have been times when the details seemed overwhelming and the goal seemed to be a pipe dream. But we persisted and pushed forward. We worked through the logistics of the project and carried the dream forward. We struggled through red tape and financial uncertainty. We fought through and resolved the personality conflicts that occur in any group endeavor. We collectively carried the ideals that have become CIDI and in the process we have all grown a little, we have all changed a little and we have all gained more then we have spent. We started out as strangers, became friends, and over time, we have become family.

And so we look to the future, to continue to grow and hopefully, to create shows that captivate and intrigue, and to be who we are. And so I hope that you continue to join us on this great adventure that we have undertaken and to become a part of our little radio station nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

We encourage all those who are interested, willing and able, to join our ranks and to help shine a light on our beautiful part of the world. Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen, send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear.

Stephen Paglia is an RCM volunteer. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098,

Brome Bird Care

Paul Côté of Knowlton based Brome Bird Care visited CIDI for an interview with host Dewey Durrell on “Around Town”. Côté told listeners about his award winning line of “Squirrel Buster” bird feeder products, how his company came to be and its international success.

visit their web site: http://www.bromebirdcare.com

show 13

Quantum, Healing, Music by Eric Clapton