The Sunday Night Mix Show (Sundays at 8pm)

JF Coley is an experienced radio DJ, spinning in Sackville, NB and now in his hometown of Sherbrooke Qc. The Sunday Night Mix Show is just that: a mix of wide varieties, ranging from blues to folk to alternative and rock. The tying link is often JF’s high Canadian Content, often reaching up to 90%. Great music, and an enthusiastic DJ, what more can you ask for on the Eastern Townships ONLY English broadcaster.

Spotlight on the Townships (Sundays at 9pm)

JF and CJMQ decided to collaborate and give the Eastern Townships’ musicians a true chance to express themselves. JF has opened the doors to his studio, and is willing to record one commercial single, which will then air on CJMQ, free of charge. This is in hopes of creating a buzz around local artists, and kickstarting the local music scene. Bands are essentially signed to a publishing deal, for one song only, which is then released on CJMQ and heavily promoted on radio.

Bands featured so far on the Spotlight on the Townships include Wesley Krauss, Jon Cuthbert and the Relief, Snap Caravan, Doppelganger Effekt, Jasmin Norris, and No Reason. JF also includes interviews with major Candian artists like Joel Plaskett and Jean Marc Pisapia (The Box) to expose local artists to the minds of professionals in the industry. The recording schedule revolves around JF’s already hectic schedule, but somehow, everything ends up happening.

The Eastern Townships were once a hotbed of musical talent, and musical activity. It’s not to say that the talent has up and gone, but times have definitely changed. While it is true that modern trends have smothered independent bands, the political situation in Quebec has also made it harder for independent bands to survive while creating new music. French content rules have all but stopped the Eastern Townships’ English bands from obtaining commercial radio airtime. The same rules have also watered down the French bands’ pool, making it hard for something different to get constant airplay, and/or stand out. “There are too many bands” would say Joel Plaskett.

The Spotlight on the Townships project seeks to remedy this situation, allowing local bands to record a radio single for free. Local bands, essentially, are signed to a one song recording/publishing deal, which allows them all the perks of a major label recording deal (free studio time, mixing and mastering, and promoting of the single) without having to spend any money (a percentage of royalties generated from radio airplay is signed over to Gamer Entertainment to recover a small fraction of the studio costs, but the recording also allows the artists to sign onto SOCAN, which recovers those same royalties). We hope that this new project, jumpstarts the local music scene, allowing bands to have something of quality to send out there, to promote themselves. Hopefully, with the help of CJMQ 88.9, the radio airplay these bands receive will allow people to become familiar with local talent, and come out to shows more often; in turn giving more opportunities to local indie bands to perform. Any style is welcomed, and applications are accepted all