David Mair, host of Tuesday Night Sessions on Canoe FM, said he’s always put a lot of effort into his radio show, so it’s nice to win an award for it.
The best indie/rock show award at this year’s National Campus and Community Radio Associations Conference, was accepted on Mair’s behalf by Canoe employees Ron Murphy and Roxanne Casey.
“The recognition that you get keeps me going but also the recognition for the radio station,” says Mair. “There are plenty of really dedicated and talented people putting out shows and it’s nice that they might get more attention from it too.”
Murphy, Canoe FM’s studio engineer, submitted a montage of clips from Tuesday Night Sessions to the association for Mair to be considered for the award.
Mair has been hosting his show every Tuesday night from 9 to 11 p.m. for six years.
He came to Canoe after retiring to Haliburton with his wife.
The idea for Tuesday Night Sessions came from Mair’s love of session players and record producers. He said he would scour the records for names of bass players, producers and more and noticed the same names kept popping up.
He decided to follow their careers and play the songs they’re affiliated with.
“I thought, I don’t know about anyone else who’s doing this. I’m sure someone is but not that I know of and I just thought that it would be a good idea for a show,” said Mair. “You’re going to play songs that are familiar anyways, but, why not come at it from a different angle.”
Mair hosted a show at a station in Oshawa when he finished school. He said he loved the free radio era when DJ’s had the freedom to play what they wanted and host unique and interesting shows.
This is one of the reasons he likes hosting for Canoe. “
It’s credit to Roxanne, who can keep the reins on when you need, but also encourage and foster that enthusiasm for doing what you do,” he said. “Ron in the same way, helping with production and making it go to air. Both of them have been very supportive of me over the years.”