BPM’s 20th anniversary dance party will be FunDriving for CJSR

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Some U of A students had not seen the light of day when Dave Johnston’s voice was first heard on campus airwaves.

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He had already been mixing records and organizing club nights like DJ David Stone when he crossed the High Level Bridge one night in the fall of 2001 and broadcast the inaugural episode of BPM on CJSR 88.5 FM.

For the next 20 years, Johnston improved his game in the world of house music and techno, going through vinyl as an employee of Dv8 Records before the Internet opened the doors of the world dance floor. But his love affair with electronic dance music began long before the new millennium, when Johnston was just a child and dance music was still dominated by disco music.

ABBA forever

“(My dad) was a country boy, and that was all we heard at home,” says Johnston. “But this friend of my father had ABBA records and I would listen to ABBA and he had this four beat on the track and he was like, ‘This is amazing!’

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“That stuck in my brain.”

When Johnston was in high school, it was the synthesized sounds of New Order and Depeche Mode that wowed him, and he never looked back.

“That was my entry into electronic music, which wasn’t just about guitars and so on. There were people who made music with machines, and they still had a heart and a soul that could move you. And it had a great rhythm that resonated, and there was freedom in that, “he says.

A few years later, British rave music came to Edmonton and Johnston and his roommate were obsessed, reading about acid house records in foreign magazines like NME and buying whatever vinyl they could find. They started going to the first local raves that appeared in the early 90’s and as they were already getting paid for a club sign that transformed from The Bronx into The Rev and began to support itself, Johnston had the opportunity to transport your vinyl boxes in the center to share this music with others.

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Another DJ at The Rev was the first to encourage and show Johnston how to start mixing his records instead of just playing other people’s songs.

The mixtures began to flow

“Suddenly, I was able to have a flow and it was great. It was after I got more and more immersed in house music, techno, trance and whatever it was at the time, ”he says of his pre-internet roots. “Now I can discover new music at any time of day, whenever I want, to the point of feeling completely overwhelmed.”

The internet is the source and destination of your evolving tastes, which you share with BPM listeners every Saturday night from 6 to 8 pm. M. And his dedicated efforts to this community in Edmonton have refined his skills and made him one of the most popular DJs. a bill, especially when big events go through town.

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The second time Welsh DJ Sasha played Edmonton, Johnston was the only starter and was congratulated by the star who captured the last part of his three-hour set. It is also open for Pete tong who has had a dance music show on BBC Radio 1 since the early ’90s.

“That is the ultimate show. And that’s one of the ones that I will shamelessly model my show because he gets it, he’s a perfect template. And being able to play not one, but two shows with him was incredible, ”says Johnston, adding that his most memorable bills aren’t necessarily the biggest shows. “Every time I play The Bower with Junior Brown, it’s amazing. I love that place very much. I can play house music in a great room. And Blair (Junior Brown) has been a very supportive person in my career and in my life. “

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When it reopens, Johnston will return to Y AfterHours as a resident DJ, but before that, he will be helping to reopen The Chvrch of John while celebrating the BPM milestone. Local edm acts to join ANZU , Yelrihs and Rise of the jellyfish , and everyone involved in the night is contributing the proceeds to CJSR’s annual FunDrive fundraiser. The nonprofit station has not only given BPM a home, but also countless other passion projects on the air since its inception in 1974.

Meaningful connections

It was Kris Harvey, who directs The Chvrch of John, who pushed Johnston to do a 20 ^th anniversary show at the club and lining it up with its grand reopening. And because Johnston’s plans for a FunDrive program the year before were squashed by a virus, they circled the date and agreed to put in a big, collective effort.

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“It was very important that it was a fundraiser for FunDrive for CJSR. And we made it happen, ”says Johnston, who feels infinite gratitude for the volunteer-run station. “I love doing it. I hope people like to hear it. And I thank each of the people who come up to me and tell me how much they enjoy the show. Particularly in the last year, I got emails and messages from people, I actually get a little excited about this, like people who were going through really difficult times in the last year and a half, whether they were nurses who worked in hospitals. , or just having a very difficult time, because this last time has not been very easy for anyone. And I was getting messages from people saying they listened to my show and it made their day or made them feel better. “

“It was incredibly humiliating,” adds Johnston, “it makes the nights and the recording all worthwhile.”

Advance tickets for BPM20 on Friday night show in The Church of John $ 10 in advance online and $ 15 at the doors, 10260103 St. Y CJSR FunDrive runs through November 6, so be sure to check out their schedule and make a donation if you’d like to help keep it going.

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