(Click the link for previous posts about David Marsden.)
Canadian DJ David Marsden has been an icon of free-form broadcasting for the past four decades. Imagine radio as you would personally program it, and look no further. David has given life to the word “eclectic” by successfully combining music that is multi-genre, spans different musical periods, and is usually found way under the radar.
Marsden’s most well-known accomplishment, besides being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was launching CFNY back in the late 70’s from a small yellow house in Brampton, ON. It was here that he gave life to little-known bands, and coined a name for his type of off-the-cuff broadcasting – “free-form.” CFNY became such a vital presence to radio broadcasting that it was the subject of Rush’s 1980 hit “Spirit of Radio.”
Recently, David has been a well-received and popular fixture at 94.9 FM The Rock out of Oshawa, Ontario Canada. Broadcasting live and streaming over the Internet, his show has had a solid seven-year run on Thursday and Friday nights from 7 p.m. to midnight (EST). Four years ago, “Sistahmar,” roving Ambassador for the Marsbar Theatre, opened a chat room located on a portalx server. While the show is in progress, fans from all over the world gather in the chat room to discuss life, the universe, and above all, music amongst themselves and with David himself. It’s a cheerful, warm gathering place for like-minded folks to kick back, relax, and form lasting bonds. The members of the “Marsbar Family” celebrate each other’s victories and hold one another up through life’s challenges. Newcomers are warmly welcomed and encouraged to visit.
So, you can imagine the international uproar as a result of last week’s announcement with David stating on the air he had something very important to share with all of us. He thought he would be able to make the full announcement this past Thursday night, but was foiled by a legal snafu. Instead, all he would share, before closing the show, was that it would be the last Thursday he would be broadcasting from The Rock.
This news stunned everyone, and spread like wildfire via email and social networking sites. Speculation abounded, not all of it positive. Was David going to retire? Was he only going to broadcast Friday nights? Was he leaving The Rock and moving on to another venue? Friday dragged by and stomach butterflies multiplied for many of us as we waited for 7 p.m. and the start of the show. Status statements on FaceBook were not encouraging as a number of fans came to grips with worst-case scenarios. Bottom line, no matter what David had decided, we all only wanted the best for him. After giving his entire life to making others happy, he more than deserves the same happiness for himself.
At approximately 9:20 p.m. last night, David finally shared his plan with us. In addition to the untold thousands tuned in worldwide, a record-breaking fifty-five fans gathered in the chat room to hear the news. It was awkward for those of us on time-delay (43 seconds for the broadcast to reach my speakers here in south Florida) as the comments in the chat room flew by. They started out being full of fear and consternation, and ended up as cheering and verbal high-fiving. As David’s words finally reached my ears, I was already overjoyed by the reactions I was reading as they scrolled by in super-fast motion. The announcement: David was staying on with The Rock and moving his two-night show to Saturday and Sunday nights from 7 p.m. until midnight, starting March 6th. What a win-win situation – for David, his fans, and The Rock.
Here’s to the start of a new Marsbar Theatre era; one that is sure to be filled with laughs, fantastic music, warmth, good cheer, great friends, and above all, David Marsdens’s own unique brand of fan-centric free-form broadcasting. It doesn’t get any better than this.
To view David’s music lists, visit RalphD’s website.
Some music you might hear on David Marsden’s show from 94.9 The Rock:
“Japan – Quiet Life” via YouTube user ecallender:
“Slave to the SQUAREwave – Healing Hands” via YouTube user slavetothesquarewave:
“Brendan Canning – Love Is New” via YouTube user artscrafts:
“Sisters Of Mercy – Lucretia, My Reflection” via YouTube user rhubarbcream:
“Timber Timbre – Lay Down In The Tall Grass” via YouTube user fluffywalrus:
“Lou Reed – Dirty Boulevard” via YouTube user jasonjarvis1988: