Terry Robert Fleming
Left to right John Stevenson, Brent Jaybush & Terry Robert Fleming - I was 16 yrs old
Career - courtesy of Gord Lansdell and VancouverBroadcasters.com
Terry Robert Fleming - CFUN Vancouver 1966; weekends/latenight/production CKLG-FM Vancouver late 1960s; CKLN Nelson 1969; CKCQ Quesnel/CKWL Williams Lake 1970; mornings/assistant PD CFCPCourtenay/CFWB Campbell River 1972-74; CKEK Cranbrook1974; CJJC Langley 1975; CHNL Kamloops 1976-77; CFRN Edmonton 1977-80; CJCDYellowknife 1980; mornings CKST St. Albert AB 1980-81; PD CHEC Lethbridge 1981-84; freelance announcer CFCN-TV Calgary1984; AM drive CHWK Chilliwack 1984; CKXY Vancouver; p.m. drive CKST Langley/Vancouver;a.m. drive CKEK Cranbrook 1993; CFRN-TV Edmonton1997; CFCP/CFWB 1998-99; President/Founder CJTS-FM Lethbridge2001-06; owner oldies Love FM Internet station 2006-current
It all started at a 5 or 10 Watt radio station in my basement on KingsAve in West Vancouver, British Columbia when I was seven (7), yes you heard right, seven years old. Once thisbusiness hits you, it's like a disease there is no cure, FOREVER MORE. Oh the poor neighbours, how they did suffer. We even had our local HOUSE radio station hooked up to 3 neighbour's houses (WE PAID - BRIBED THEM).
My friend and I played (radio) Disk jockey right from age 7,and he is Jim Fraser one of Vancouver’sex top announcers, and was morning man of CKWX for many years. Jim and I even had a simulated radio station setup in my basement; we drove my mother crazy, nutso, totally whacko. . The setup had speakers all over the house, eventually we expanded it with wiring it to 3 and 4 other neighbours homes, they were thrilled {grin}.
Radio has been an interesting, and rewarding career. I have experienced GREAT deal of joy and a great deal of hurt too from radio. I have met hundreds of local and international stars. SOMEDAY I WILL WRITE A BOOK, AND I HOPE YOU BUY IT and I make a ton of money from it (grin) so I can support my retirement. I have been able to get into GREAT concerts and many hundreds of times ended up being master of ceremonies for some of the greatest singers/artists and groups of this and other decades. I have now been in as of 2005 40 years in the broadcasting business, both TV and radio.
Although I have done many mid day and afternoon drive shows, I must admit I have always enjoyed doing mornings more than any other radio show. It's much more creative and has more freedom than most other regulated (read the liner) type shows. I HATE DUMMY CARDS). It always gave me a sense of total freedom (within guidelines of course). If you we're allowed to be creative, (which I am), you can have alot of fun doing a morning show and actually get paid for doing it. Well at some stations anyway - hahahah! On the "GREAT AWAKENING" which was the name of my show that I used for most of my old morning shows wherever I went, we always had other creative people joining us on the show. Now, "THE MORNING TREK" or Greatawakening can be at your station. Or, The "GREAT AWAKENING MORNINGTREK", whatever!!
I must admit, at some stations I have worked for, we have had alot of fun. As I have always said, in interviews I have done and college Q&A periods, If you can't have fun while you work in this type of a job, you might as well become a bus driver. "Because at least bus drivers can tell peoplewhere to get off".
My first LIVE radio station was an underground station in North Vancouver B.C. CKRI, also known later, as RADIO FREE VANCOUVER which ranfor many years. Owned and operated by a young genius at the time (now an old genius), Brent Jaybush,who was later was in partnership on the most exclusive recording studio in WestVancouver (AT THE PANORAMA FILM STUDIOS) with his partner LG 73's (radios) Stevie Wonder (real name) (Steve Grossman)
My career (all underground stuff aside), started back in1965-66 at CFUN radio, Vancouver. Due to age requirements, I was forced to exaggerate (okay - okay, out and out lie) about my age so I could get into voice announcing school when I was 15. At the time the required age was 16. Ispent 2 years with Miss Ethel Ann Wallace. She was at the time, Canada’s authority on voice coaching and diction, she taught the military how to speak on microphones properly, not like the young punkolas learn these days. She taught some of the best announcers in the business. Brian (Frosty) Forst, Red Robinson, Al Jordan, and hundreds and hundreds of other well known TV & radio personalities, many that are managers and owners now, the list is endless. I had the pleasure of being one of her last students to finish before her unfortunate death in February 1968.
In 1966 Red Robinson (then program director of CFUNVANCOUVER) was approached several times by Miss Wallace upon my graduation, saying I had natural talent, and that he should give me a try. If you knew hershe didn't mean think about it, she meant do it. He listened, they all did. Iwent to CFUN many, many times after that to seek a job in a market, that at the time, was 3rd largest in Canada.
I worked at the OLD LG F.M. Vancouver, B.C. This was waybefore it became the FOX. Ya yaI know... it ages me, take a hike! What did I do there? Just about everything except windows. Helping out, on various tasks. Someweekends on air, and late night, and voicing production. This was way back inthe late 60’s, in the days of the famous but shy laid back JB Shane and Ed Juriak, WHO? (love ya Ed). By the way, his name way back then was not JB Shayne, it was Barry Shayne. See how Vancouver loved JB Shane, then managers etc. decided to tip him off. Let him out to pasture like many of us. It makes me sick.
My first REAL radio station was an underground station in North Vancouver B.C.
CKRI, also known later on as RADIO FREE VANCOUVER. Owned and operated by a young genius by the name of Brent Jaybush. At thetime, he was known as, Stevie McCallister and othernames, (haha!) {grin} yes the kind that can be mentioned. Brent was only 16 years old at the time and anengineering genius. Later on in life, he went on to own a chain of engineering offices in Southern Calf. Brent and his company were responsible for transmitters all over Southern Calf. for various AMand FM stations. He also wrote several TV movies for ABC and NBC with and forMike Nicols.
CKRI (Radio Free Vancouver had lots of excited as young guys. We use to go to the famous Retinal Circus on Davie Street in Vancouver to promote, M.C. our underground station. When we got to the Circus to promote the station and MC, the pot smell was so bad in those days you (SERIOUSLY) were stoned before you got on toannounce. Not one person was there and not stoned in those hippy, dippy psychedelic times. If you were straight and didn't smoke pot, it wouldn't be long before you were stoned from the smell alone. (REPENT OH THY SINNERS!) yikes!! those days were weird!
Some of the funniest moments at CKRI were knowing that the DOC (Dept. of Communication) who went around in trucks with scanners to locate pirate stations, never caught us in all those years, not that I can remember anyway, but maybe Brent has a different version.Naturally he would know? I wasn't always around (grin). Brent was a pretty smart dude and I believe had something rigged up to be able to tell when DOT was looking. Other times it was pure insight. We all played radio and had fun.But the fact still remains; many could and did pick us up. Only one major setback was very few sponsors and most times none. At one time we even planned to have offices (alias name of it though) right off of Main St. in downtown Vancouver. We had about four sites for offices, plus our underground radio station in North Vancouver B.C.