Nightlines
Encyclopedia
Nightlines was a Canadian
radio series, which aired on CBC Stereo from 1982 to 1997. The show, which aired on Friday and Saturday nights, profiled independent
and alternative
music.
The show's original host was Ron Robinson. Ralph Benmergui
succeeded him, and was in turn followed by David Wisdom
, who hosted the program from 1987 until the end of its run.
During the early years with hosts Robinson and Benmergui the show was produced from CBC Winnipeg by Ross Porter
. When David Wisdom took over the hosting duties in 1987, the show moved to CBC Vancouver and was produced by Susan Englebert.
Grant Lawrence
, now one of the hosts on CBC Radio 3
, began his association with the CBC as a contributor to Nightlines, calling the show to share stories about life on tour with his band The Smugglers
.
. Rheostatics subsequently released that performance on CD as The Nightlines Sessions
. Wisdom went on to cohost the new series RadioSonic
with Leora Kornfeld
. RadioSonic eventually evolved into today's CBC Radio 3
.
Some individual tracks from Nightlines sessions by other bands, including Pluto
, cub
, Huevos Rancheros
and The Smugglers
, were released in 2006 on the compilation album Mint Records Presents the CBC Radio 3 Sessions
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio series, which aired on CBC Stereo from 1982 to 1997. The show, which aired on Friday and Saturday nights, profiled independent
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
music.
The show's original host was Ron Robinson. Ralph Benmergui
Ralph Benmergui
Raphael Benmergui is a Canadian television and radio personality and political advisor. Most recently a morning host on JAZZ.FM91, he left the station on November 26, 2010, and currently holds the position of director of communications for Glen Murray, Minister of Research and Innovation.Born in...
succeeded him, and was in turn followed by David Wisdom
David Wisdom
David Wisdom is a former Canadian radio personality, who hosted the music programs Nightlines, RadioSonic, Radio-On, and Pearls of Wisdom on CBC Radio 2. He has been called "the Canadian equivalent of John Peel"...
, who hosted the program from 1987 until the end of its run.
During the early years with hosts Robinson and Benmergui the show was produced from CBC Winnipeg by Ross Porter
Ross Porter (Canadian broadcaster)
Ross Porter is a Canadian broadcast executive and music writer. Best known as the longtime host and co-creator of the jazz program After Hours on CBC Stereo and pop culture reporter for CBC Television's The National and CBC Newsworld's On the Arts, he became head of the jazz television channel...
. When David Wisdom took over the hosting duties in 1987, the show moved to CBC Vancouver and was produced by Susan Englebert.
Features
Regular features of the show during Wisdom's tenure included:- Ten Singles in Alphabetical Order. After host David Wisdom alphabetized his mammoth 7" vinyl 45 rpm singles collection by artist, he set aside time each weekend to play one single each by ten consecutive alphabetized artists, starting at "A" and continuing until he reached the end of his collection in the "Z"s (approximately nine years later).
- Listener requests via answering machine. Nightlines listeners could call up an answering machine in CBC's Vancouver studios ((604)662-6099 was the number) and, after answering a "skill-testing question" (by rule, something open-ended and usually bordering on philosophical, such as "What do you want to be when you grow up?"), request a song for Wisdom to play during the following weekend's shows. Regular callers to the request line became part of the show's fabric. Some consistent callers included Vicki from SurreySurrey, British ColumbiaSurrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...
(who later moved and became Vicki from VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
), Gilbert from TransconaTranscona, ManitobaTranscona is a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada located about 10 kilometres east of the downtown area. Until 1972 it was a separate municipality, having been incorporated first as the Town of Transcona in 1912 and then as the City of Transcona in 1961...
(who used a mock-Gilbert GottfriedGilbert GottfriedGilbert Gottfried is an American actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his trademark comedic persona of speaking in a loud, grating tone of voice. He has played numerous roles in film and television, perhaps most notably voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin , and...
voice on the answering machine), Norm from RichmondRichmond, British ColumbiaRichmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...
, Rocky from Thunder BayThunder Bay-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Milton the Cabbie, Sonya from Port Lambton, Ontario, Sean from Brandon, Manitoba, and Lori from Southfield, Michigan (USA). - Soundbite Sensation Contests. Once each year, Wisdom would create a 6-to-8 minute audio collageCollageA collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
containing bits of 50-100 different songs, and challenge listeners to identify the songs found within, with prizes (usually Nightlines T-Shirts) going to the top entries. The collages usually had a unifying theme, among them guitar riffs, beginnings of songs, and celebrity names sung in song lyrics. - The Hour of Power, in which control of the airwaves was turned over to an audience member for one hour each weekend. When this feature started, listeners would send in scripts containing text for Wisdom to read on-air and lists of songs to play in-between the spoken text. As time went on, more and more Hours of Power were performed live in-studio by listeners, musicians, friends of David Wisdom's, etc.
Grant Lawrence
Grant Lawrence
Grant Lawrence is a veteran Canadian radio personality and writer based in Vancouver. He is a host on CBC Radio 3, a Sirius Satellite Radio channel which emphasizes new independent Canadian music, and is also the vocalist for the indie rock group The Smugglers.In addition to his regular shifts on...
, now one of the hosts on CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
, began his association with the CBC as a contributor to Nightlines, calling the show to share stories about life on tour with his band The Smugglers
The Smugglers (band)
The Smugglers are a Canadian indie rock band. The band consists of vocalist Grant Lawrence, guitarists Nick Thomas and David Carswell, bassist Beez and drummers Graham Watson and Bryce Dunn.-Discography:* 1990: Up and Down...
.
Cancellation
Nightlines ended on August 31, 1997. The show's final episode featured an in-studio performance by RheostaticsRheostatics
Rheostatics was a Genie Award-winning Canadian indie rock band, active from 1980 to 2007.Although they had only one Top 40 hit, "Claire" in 1995, they were simultaneously one of Canada's most influential and unconventional rock bands, a band whose eclectic take on pop and rock music has been...
. Rheostatics subsequently released that performance on CD as The Nightlines Sessions
The Nightlines Sessions
The Nightlines Sessions is a 1998 album by Rheostatics.The album was recorded as a live session for the final episode of CBC Stereo's late night music program Nightlines, hosted by David Wisdom. It is a largely tossed-off and improvised affair, showing the band indulging their silly sides...
. Wisdom went on to cohost the new series RadioSonic
RadioSonic
RadioSonic was a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio 2 from 1997 to 2003.RadioSonic, which aired on Saturday evenings, was originally created by combining two predecessor programs, David Wisdom's Nightlines and Leora Kornfeld's Realtime. Both Wisdom and Kornfeld remained as hosts of...
with Leora Kornfeld
Leora Kornfeld
Leora Kornfeld is a Canadian businessperson and former radio personality. She was best known for hosting Realtime on CBC Stereo in the 1990s, which was billed as the first radio program in the world to integrate emerging Internet technologies such as e-mail and IRC into its program format.Kornfeld...
. RadioSonic eventually evolved into today's CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
.
Some individual tracks from Nightlines sessions by other bands, including Pluto
Pluto (Canadian band)
Pluto was a Canadian alternative rock band from in Vancouver, British Columbia. They were nominated for a Juno at the Juno Awards of 1997. The band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Ian Jones, guitarist Rolf Hetherington, bassist John Ounpuu and, drummer Justin Leigh.-History:Pluto formed in...
, cub
Cub (band)
Cub was an indie rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia that formed in 1992 and disbanded in 1997. They played a melodic, jangly form of pop punk that was dubbed "cuddlecore" by some music critics...
, Huevos Rancheros
Huevos Rancheros
Huevos Rancheros are a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1990 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.-History:Huevos Rancheros perform an instrumental blend of rockabilly, surf, Grunge and punk music. The band currently consists of guitarist Brent Cooper, bassist Tommy Kennedy and drummer Richie Ranchero...
and The Smugglers
The Smugglers (band)
The Smugglers are a Canadian indie rock band. The band consists of vocalist Grant Lawrence, guitarists Nick Thomas and David Carswell, bassist Beez and drummers Graham Watson and Bryce Dunn.-Discography:* 1990: Up and Down...
, were released in 2006 on the compilation album Mint Records Presents the CBC Radio 3 Sessions
Mint Records Presents the CBC Radio 3 Sessions
Mint Records Presents the CBC Radio 3 Sessions is a compilation album featuring live sessions from Canada's CBC Radio 3 network, as well as some from the 1990s CBC Radio 2 programs Nightlines and RadioSonic .The album, released in October 2006 on Mint Records, is the second compilation of live...
.