In light of the sad events of this week, I’ve decided to start appreciating the people that mean the most to me while I still have them. I’ve written about David Marsden previously, but it seems I cannot say enough how much that man has enriched my life over the short period of time that I’ve gotten to know him.
It all started in March 2008, just a little over a year ago. One of the wonderful things about writing a blog is that you get to meet like-minded people from all over the world. Prior to WordPress, I wrote Rave and Roll over at Blogger (long story about why I left – totally off-topic). Somehow, and I can’t remember who wrote first, I met a fellow music blogger from Canada named RalphD when music-related comments were traded.
RalphD runs a fabulous blog dedicated to David Marsden called Marsbar Theatre. One thing led to another, and RalphD convinced me to listen to David’s show streaming live from 94.9 The Rock out of Oshawa, Ontario. Just to be able to say that I finally acquiesced, I tuned in one night and was shocked when I became instantly hooked. The show is my musical equivalent of crack.
Where has David Marsden been my entire life? Blazing an incredible trail through the broadcast world. He took a formulaic industry and turned it completely upside down. Picture this: It’s early in the 1980’s and stuffed shirts are gathered in a conference room plotting how to run a business swiftly going downhill. The reason? MTV and music videos were kicking the stuffing out of radio. The solution? Instead of making radio more entertaining to try to win a losing battle, said stuffed shirts decided to dictate to the world what they would hear and how it would be delivered.
David Marsden emerged at this time in a little yellow-house-converted-to-radio-station as an absolute visionary. At the helm of fledgling CFNY-FM out of Brampton, Ontario, he broke every rule as he pioneered and championed free-form broadcasting. No rules, just honest-to-goodness music and dialogue that came totally from the heart and soul of a true revolutionary. 
And he transformed lives on both sides of the border. I have heard the stories first-hand from people who came of age during Marsden’s reign, who listen to him to this day, and revel in the memories he helped to create. I feel pangs of envy as I hear them talk of discovering the best music they ever heard, or how they woke up every morning smiling as they listened to the funniest and warmest on-air personalities. That was the time that radio lost its magic for me here in south Florida. Truth be told, it sucked rancid canal water.
How I sit and dream of how life might have been had there been satellite radio, or even the Interwebs back then, and I, too, could have been blessed with Marsden’s presence on the airwaves. Instead, I am grateful to RalphD for twisting my arm, to all of the wonderful people in Canada and beyond that I have met in David’s chat room (superbly run and overseen by the delightful Sistahmar), and for the heartfelt (and sometimes hilarious!) shout-outs that David has sent my way that have made me both laugh and cry when I needed it the most. Each Thursday and Friday night is like a gift waiting to be unwrapped and enjoyed. David is on a well-deserved break this week, but I really, really miss him. Next Thursday night (July 2) simply won’t come quickly enough. As Sistahmar would say, “Only 7 more sleeps.”
Check out RalphD’s blog Marsbar Theatre where you can see David’s amazing musical playlists.
Visit David Marsden’s website to gain a bit of insight into this DJ Hall-of-Famer.
Listen to David Marsden’s show on 94.9 The Rock Thursday and Friday nights (starting again on July 2, 2009) from 7 pm until midnight (EST).
Read up on some vital CFNY history at the Spirit of Radio website, lovingly maintained by a fan.
Some of the music I’ve “discovered” thanks to the legendary David Marsden:
“Worlds Away” by Strange Advance via YouTube user mysweeteventhorizon:
“Lover’s Spit” by Broken Social Scene via YouTube user apalko:
“Butcher Blues” by Kasabian via YouTube user InFearofDub:
“Haunted When The Minutes Drag” by Love & Rockets via YouTube user nezror:
“Violet Light” by Raised by Swans via YouTube user cloudtifa:
“Of Bow and Drum” by Adrian Belew via youTube user rockgod111:
Rave and Roll Blog 
thank you for writing and sharing this !!! and you are so right !!!
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Thank you – love and ***smoochies*** to you and Denice. 🙂
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I never get to hear Mr. Marsden because we have dial-up at home. His song lists always look great however.
I really like the Raised by Swans song you have here. And I always am ready to listen to Love and Rockets.
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Hey ((((Robert)))))
That’s a shame because he is definitely worth listening to. His history and success speak volumes (and his show is a *gas*!)
The Raised By Swans song never fails to raise some goosebumps when I listen – it’s painful, yet beautiful.
Have a great weekend and thank you for stopping by!
Cheers,
MissP
xo
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Missy….
Long week for both of us! Thursday nite cant come soon enough! See you then……
Buk
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(((((((((buk buk buk)))))))))
Agreed! I’ll be able to stay up for both shows this week because we have Friday off for the holiday – woo hoo! Looking forward to the show and seeing you – have a great week!
Cheers,
MissP
xo
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I left a lengthy comment here last night or least I thought I did. I must have become blog challenged since I stopped blogging regularly. It was bordering on blabber anyway…lol I live just north of TO and grew up listening to CFNY as I teenager (late teens. It is nice to see someone south of the border as fond of the retro cfny days and Dave Marsden. I had a whole slew of witty things that I said last night plus a few good memories but you can never recreate perfection when trying to leave the same comment twice so I am not going to even try…lol I think I may try to log into the chat room on Thursday night. Great site by the way.
Cheers,
moe
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Hey Moe – It may not have been anything you did – your comment was blank. WordPress may have had a hiccup at the time. At any rate, thanks so much for your comment.
To enter David’s chatroom go to http://www.marsdenglobal.com Look for the link on the right side of his page. Click on it and follow the prompts. It can be a bit of a challenge, but there are folks there that can help you get through. 🙂 I know David (and the rest of the gang) would love to see you there.
Have a great week and thank you for your comment!
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I did not have any luck getting into the chat room. I sent an email to your yahoo account with the java info I was getting. I clicked on the link on marsdenglobal but it never got past the initial page. Any ideas?
thanks,
moe
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I’m so sorry for your trouble, Moe. I have sent you an email and have forwarded your comments to one of our technical gurus. Hang in there and we’ll hope for tomorrow night. All the best!
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Thanks Miss Parker for your blog. I totally get the “crack” comparison! I feel the same. David’s show has brought music back to me. My cd budget has been smashed since rediscovering David Marsden.
The thing about legends is you never know when you have seen them for the last time.
May you rock and roll for many years to come Mr. Spirit of Radio!
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Amen to that ((((((((((Blair))))))))) – you’ve said it so well. 🙂
Thank you for the kind words and Hugs,
MissP
xo
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Hey Miss P!!! I am still around and me and the family just took a drive to Toronto. It brought back great memeories of cruising up and down Young Street in my friend “Flash’s” 60 Bonneville listening to Chris Shepard on a Saturday night. Ahhh nostalgia! We then drove back to buffalo and caught last call at ” the Continental” a classic old school New Wave club. Thanks for taking the time to run this blog and keeping all the old memories and songs alive.
Willy
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Great to hear from you again (((((Willy)))))) – glad you had a wonderful trip to TO – what a blast! I hope to do just that myself one of these days….
All the best and hugs,
MissP
xo
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David Marsden is brilliant, another fine post MissP. Willy reminds me of a great time in the 80’s on Yonge St. I would walking up and down Yonge St every Friday or Saturday that I was not working going to all the record stores. Sadly, the last of those iconic stores SAM’s, is gone. On a side note, Jason Schneiderman of Blue Peter fame was the family that owned SAM`s and he was the VP just before they closed.
Ed
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Hey ((((Ed))))
There’s some trivia I didn’t know – thank you for sharing that! Yes, David *is* brilliant – and I’m so glad today is Thursday so I can listen in for a while (work night – yuck) tonight. So, now we just have to get *you* back from vay-cay so my Tuesdays are complete, as well!
Hugs,
MissP
xo
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Ed, I used to spend many a Friday and Saturday night wandering up and down Yonge Street going in and out of all the shops and record stores. Faves were Cat’s Cradle, Blue Heaven and Hercules. I still have a canvas jacket that I bought in Hercules and I still wear it…lol I remember being in Toronto when bands were playing at Maple Leaf Gardens and if you waited until after the show had started you could pick up scalper tickets for cheap cheap. I got red seats for a STYX show for 5 bucks one time…lol
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