Speaking of Energy 108 Toronto,, and other Toronto Dance stations

[Mid West Clubber]

How many of you know that at one time Toronto actually had 4 dance stations. Energy 108,, Hot 103.5 Pure dance at that time, Power 88.5,, Didnt last too long, and AM 640,, The Beat of Toronto,, included Hip Hop and Dance,,, and also another station you could get in parts of Torronto was 101.1,,Forget the name of it, but its now a Rhythmic as Wild 101.1 and its in Niagra Falls. So that equals 5 Dance outlets that Toronto once had.. I hated to see Energy 108 go, that was the first actual Dance station I ever heard online, with horrible Real Player or Warbly WMA quality like a 16k stream it sounded awful, but I loved being able to listen to stations that far away from home, and their werent ,amy streamers at this time, and their werent many directories or help for Chrles to find them. I actually dont think Hot 103.5 streamed until they went with the Hits 103.5 direction, which was still Dance, but sounded just like it does today with 50 percent Dance and 50 percent Hits,, but during the Hits 103.5 era it seemed they played more Alternative Rock-Grunge that was popular at the time. Energy should have never split into the Energy network and went mainstream CHR removing most the Dance, and then selling off all the frequencys except the London ONt one, which went Hot AC toard the end, and last I heard flipped to lite AC as Fresh FM.

Well, I know Chrles knows this already, but Toronto has a new Pure Dance Energy Source that seems to be taking some cues from the old Energy 108,, they even have the Energy Flashback Luch which plays all the classics from the old Energy 108.. To the best of my knowledge, this station shares frequencies with a french language station until 6 PM, and then goes all Dance until 6 AM,, but the stream is 24/7 Dance, so thats cool. http://energy105.fm/

 

[CHRles]

Wow! I'm impressed with your recollection of the past. That's right! Energy 108 was pretty early as far as streaming stations go, and a Dance station no less. And I'm pretty sure you're right in that by the time 103.5 were streaming they were known as Hits 103.5.
I'm not sure about when Power 88.5 started, but I believe AM 640 was long gone by then. It was one of the coolest AM CHRs I've ever heard. I remember them being among the first CHRs in America to play Haddaway's "What Is Love", and they were playing some House remix of it.
BTW, Fresh FM in London (Ontario) is a Hot A/C, and may be evolving back to CHR

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Im listening to the Energy flashback lunch right now, and its Energy 108 all over again,,, Right now they are playing Jam and Spoon-Right in the Night,,, they have been playing all 90s classic Energy 108 gems and its 12:24 right now,, So tune in for yourself.. I havent heard some of these Gems in years, and they seem to stick with what was played on Energy 108 at the time,,, no 80s or early 00 hits, just pure 90s Dance the way I remember them.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Also,, On AM 640,, Im not sure if they ever streamed for sure or not, but I heard them while visiting Canada, and they had a good Night time signal that would reach into North America,, I dont think they have that much power now days.... The remix that played of Haddaways-What is Love was probably the Rapino Brothers Mix,, thats the version that WZPL here in Indy played, back when them and Hot 96 both played quite a bit of dance.. I also miss WMGI in Terre Haute, it was like Energy 108 in 95-97, but evolved to a Z103.5 direction in 97 and started playing more and more NON Dance titles, and finally pretty much dropped all Dance by 2000-2001.. I think Io-Rapture Tastes so sweet was the last Dance song they ever played back then,, of course they played Cascada, but I dont think they ever added September....Shame....

It seemed most Dance friendly stations dropped dance between 99-2001.

 

[TonySantiago]

How many of you know that at one time Toronto actually had 4 dance stations. Energy 108,, Hot 103.5 Pure dance at that time, Power 88.5,, Didnt last too long, and AM 640,, The Beat of Toronto,, included Hip Hop and Dance,,, and also another station you could get in parts of Torronto was 101.1,,Forget the name of it, but its now a Rhythmic as Wild 101.1 and its in Niagra Falls. So that equals 5 Dance outlets that Toronto once had.. I hated to see Energy 108 go, that was the first actual Dance station I ever heard online, with horrible Real Player or Warbly WMA quality like a 16k stream it sounded awful, but I loved being able to listen to stations that far away from home, and their werent ,amy streamers at this time, and their werent many directories or help for Chrles to find them. I actually dont think Hot 103.5 streamed until they went with the Hits 103.5 direction, which was still Dance, but sounded just like it does today with 50 percent Dance and 50 percent Hits,, but during the Hits 103.5 era it seemed they played more Alternative Rock-Grunge that was popular at the time. Energy should have never split into the Energy network and went mainstream CHR removing most the Dance, and then selling off all the frequencys except the London ONt one, which went Hot AC toard the end, and last I heard flipped to lite AC as Fresh FM.

Well, I know Chrles knows this already, but Toronto has a new Pure Dance Energy Source that seems to be taking some cues from the old Energy 108,, they even have the Energy Flashback Luch which plays all the classics from the old Energy 108.. To the best of my knowledge, this station shares frequencies with a french language station until 6 PM, and then goes all Dance until 6 AM,, but the stream is 24/7 Dance, so thats cool. http://energy105.fm/

The station on 101.1 in Niagara Falls was known as The Planet....I believe by the same owners of Hot 103.5 in order to get a reach into Buffalo (although Energy 108's signal lasted pretty well along the NYS Thruway, up to around Batavia). I had heard that station during a snowstorm going through Buffalo heading to T.O.

I have always said this...if it wasn't for Toronto, there would have never been a Metro New York Dance Radio Coalition (now NYDMC). It was because of my MANY trips to Toronto, primarily BECAUSE of Energy 108, that made me wonder....the demographics are similar to NYC. Toronto feels like NYC...why doesn't NYC have a dance station like this anymore?? (we had lost Hot 97 to hip-hop not too long before this) That's what got things going on down here. 'KTU may have been what it is, but I feel we've FINALLY succeded with Pulse 87. Lately, 'KTU has been "toying" with current dance music on their website although none of their selections are on on-air rotation. While I think NYC could handle a second current based dance station, what happened in the case of Toronto with the four stations was "overkill" and that's the underlying fear I have.

But yep....1992 - 1999 were my peak trips to T.O. And I can never forget the scene there! Z-103.5 does touch on "back in the day" Euro tracks from that era. And honestly, I think a 'KTU style station in Toronto (with the music from that era) could be rather successful.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Well, If you listen to Energy 105,, which is really only 12 hrs of dance on the FM, but that is when most Dance listeners are listening,,, Im not sure of what kind of signal 105.1 has although Energy 105 is more harder than say Z-1035,, with a kind of Progresive lean it seems, they have been playing at least 2 classic Energy 108 tracks an hour, some songs I havent heard since the demise of Energy 108.. If Energy 105 were 24 hrs and more mainstream i would be afraid that it would cannabalize our heritage Z-1035 who have stuck with Dance through thick and thin, even though their playlist has leaned more dance at some times than other times, they have always supported Dance,,,

Anyway, Energy 108 was actually in Hamilton, thats why the signal reached into North America better than z-1035, but Zs Tower has always been up north around Orangeville, so there were some places were you could get one station, but not the other. And if you have ever drove around dowtown Toronto during Tropo, there were spots when 103.3 The Edge in Buffalo would bleed over into Z-1035,,, probably not a big problem with a more selective FM tuner and not a factory radio in an 89 ford tempo. I think the lake is what makes the Buffalo stations receivable in Toronto,, signals fair better over water.

 

[CHRles]

Some great points Tony, and I think Pulse 87 is probably the best Dance station in America since Energy 92.5 & 7 Chicago.
I think that anyone exposed to Energy 108 Toronto or C-89.5 Seattle in the 90s was envious of those markets for having such unique high energy stations.
Clubber, I believe 103.5's signal has been upgraded since the time you're you'd witnessed Buffalo's The Edge bleeding in.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Im hoping so Chrles,, I heard they moved to about 15 miles closer, and they have 30 KW I think, and they are only about 30 miles North of Toronto, so im hoping they boom in.. But yeah, both Energy 108, and C-89.5 and the then Hits and Hot 103.5 where really influencial on my tastes in Dance at the time, and they all have always seemed to maintain their online streams, except when C-89.5 went like a year without streaming, but then returned... Yeah, I think Pulse 87 is probably the best Dance in the U.S,,, but you gotta give props to the School stations, like KHNC Mentioned above,, plus Z88.9 supporting as much Dance as they possibly can, and Super 91.7 WMPH doing what it can on its limited signal. and Also although this station is still a work in progress,,, Vibe 94.5 Vegas for trying the Rhythmic Dance POP Aproach, which hasnt been tested in awhile,, I know their signal sucks, but that is supposed to change here soon when they get a repeater... I still got love for Party 105 too, although I dont like that they fired Andre... the dre dog....

And really Energy 92.7 is doing okay targetting the Gay and Lesbian comunity, while they dont alienate straight listeners,,, so really all of our Dance stations serve a purpose in the markets they serve... Pulse is a great station, like the old Hot 97,,, but the Frequency is gonna hold em back and make them not get rated in the arbs, unless they figure out a way to do that.. If this was Spain,, or most of Europe, 87.7 and 87.5 would be perfectly normal FM frequencys,, Radio Unica in Spain,,Which is Dance by the way, is on 87.5

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Now this Energy 105 is playing Chemical Bros-Hey Boy, Hey Girl....Another lost gem.. I told you this station plays alot of gold,, I can almost guarante that someone from Energy 108 is working at this station and is influencing the playlist to resurect the old Energy 108... I know most of us would be happy to have a Z-1035 in our town, but I doubt it cuts the mustard for the hardcore dance fan in Toronto,,,,,,,,,, But then again why did Kiss 92.5 Toronto which was just a Rhythmic leaning CHR with no Dance fail then..HMMM Anyone know if Flow 93.5 is still Urban,, or maybe even changed the name and went more rhythmic, but still basically Hip Hop... I guess I could look that up myself,,, But Radiolocator has limited info on Canadian stations and doesn update that often. Okay that was a dumb question, a 2 second google search brought me to Flow 93.5 Toronto,, Its still there, but it looks more Rhythmic than Urban now,, Mainly a white Airstaff, and a bit more of a pop friendly and not much R&B and Reggae in the playlist.. Though I actually like some Reggae,, Z-1035 still plays Reggae and so does Power 96 Miami,, not as much as they used to, but some of the classics are still getting light play.

 

[Radio_bored-Op]

This is soo my post : )

*IF nothing else* read the last bunch of lines * (the day/fri nite/and sat nite channel guide)
u wont believe it !

ALSO i typed this, as i thought of it to
try to recall, and cram in the most/and most accurate info....tried to keep
it brief, and a style of ....start/hay day: the best era for that freq. and the down fall, enjoy !!!!!


am640: was theee best CHR, (am,or FM) they just HAD it - only problem they
had...NOT the AM signal, but being a cross between ARGO's football,
sunday nite sex show, and topical-talk, w/ music in the 'way' but when
they did play music, it totally sizzled.

firsts i heard on am640
ice mc/rainy day ; urban cookie collection; ub40(remixes); mad dog,flex
soul aslyum(non dance); all-4-1 and tarzan dan.

am 640:
hayday: 1992.
sign off: oct 10,1995.*?/confirm that for me...some one/but i think thats it


CING: dance/energy 108.
the biggest,loudest, and to me the best.
hayday: summer 1994.
after glow, 1995-late 1996/early 1997.
RIP: august 31?/2002.

its(possible) downfall: Quality Music, going belly up;
quality/take over label creating "dance"and hipHop in one CD.
general change in direction by suits, not minds. (change in ownership)
(also: trying to be ONTARIO's super station/energyRadio @ 93.1/94.9/95.3-107.9/and 103.9?FM)
?/other possible reasons: chris sheppard 'wearing out his welcome'(?)

CIDC: 103..5
highlights, summer 1995: simucasted on am530;
summer 1995 'summerRush' (esp incredible show)
numerous CD's

still around, but the defining moment, it went from 'decca'Dance-FM, all the time,
to chr/with Dance influence: sept 2002?/from _____ to z103
this was a change in attitude, reflection of the times, around the scene that
the 'club kids' graduated to a new sound that embraced club-buzz, along w/.....
kelly clarkson... and other american idol/pop icons, brit/etc.

this is the time, that CIDC, dropped the mc mario (tremblay)show; also, i believe
(citation needed) also dropped monaco's freestyle show.

-every wed, they relive the 'good ol days' / live 2 aire: 10pm - 1am (and they stream)


power885.
hayday: april 1998.
top 6 @ 6, had songs that just jumped out at u!
Superhero lover/daze, and then...it seemed it was
"gone"
..or back and gone in one form or another, w/ dance 88/5
(summer?/2004),as i recall after the summer Rush,('04) having
too amazing stations to tune into for the drive home!

*ACTUALLY* the z103 summerRUsh( i know p/885s, section) but i just remembered:
it was this show, that (?)i believe it was scott fox that said:
"thank you for making this your concert of choice this summer...thank u for
kissing off the others! and getting the 'energy' to come here!"
*ALSO*summerRush,2004, was the last time, I saw, chris sheppard perform live!
(note: i wont say who, but the whole reception of "shep'') and mc-mario on the same show
was tense. mc.mario was well more recieved, and what talent i wont say who too...did this:
when shep was spinning (junkie xL..little less conversation), said (w/rolling eyes)
"shep, legendarry...(yea,yea) this is the man, that started it (yawn) all...give it up..."


ciss92/KissFM
(previous format: country) w/ one of the coolest commercials, for the country station...
showing a balding man, and him saying some thing to the effect:
"yea, me the rock and roller, finally now has a station i can call my own" ( then the
CISS 92/country logo). My friend, and i still quote and cite this commercial, since we
didnt know if it was 'trying' to be funny or not....anyway, the top40 brand:

hayday: summer 1998/into spring 1999.
I recall they would do EVERY THING RIGHT.
not being a super-dance station, but when they did
play CHER "Believe" (have a pre-recorded, C-I-S-S, this
is 'kiss' fm ) over the intro,and it was top notch production!
originally, called power92/for about three weeks, and using this
to draw attn to the frequencey, almost immediately. since they
"ripped" off 88l5 (w/ bumer stickers and every thing), they would
sound like a TRU-DANCE channel, on the live-2-aire's and would
experiment, by playing such songs as the EC/electric circus theme song...
(or, the reNamed show's theme song) ....and, other things, they would do...

downfall of 92/5:
trying to go urban. the first song, in 1997/ish,1998 was sean combs,
mo'money, but as mentioned they were ahead of the curve w/ the top 6@ 6
first place i heard, "blue"/e#65, and "instant requests" were 2brothers/4th floor,dreams...
etc, but "one day" it was DJ X w/ the 'original' corey kimm, air line up and staff,
and like a disease, one by one, kj-the dj,(?)/tarzan (believe he was first), and...
one by one, went to a faceless, street-cred/hip hop juke box...(admittly, if i was into
that scene) it was 'fierce' / but , pretty much sucked, and never re gained the momemtum(?sp).
-they did break songs like emimen"slim shady"/ but weren't all about the hip hop....but
then they were, and now its jack, curiously enough, that was the place SHEP would
end his radio and (professional career)....out of control, w/ chris sheppard. meant to
be synched up w/ van - out of / control/yourself/ but....*(fell flat).
Personally, shep mixed 80s hits, and 2 songs at once, *still had it, but the show was
removed(air) and then the website caught up.....
now its jack, 92.5

planet101.
this was some thing reeeely special:
because it was the closest station to serve buffalo, also made chr,kiss985, 'step it up'

spring of (?)1995/went from the alt.rock ( which kicked that format off, w/ 63 hours of u2),
and one of the first air talent's (alt.format) was (today's) y108's kerry grey...
anyways, the jelly-dawg, was a night host of this "new" / dance station.
it sizzled! early on, used z103's tony monaco, to give it instant credit. it worked.
jelly dawg, moved to mornings, (after a few changes) settled in w/ lorraine K,
(later ending up at Energy108), a traffic guy, and the usual morning stuff..

mid day, never had an talent,or voice, or identity, but voice tracked-music,
also contests that were call-Ins, (spot the planet), and win cash!

-2pm BIG Dee(darrin laidman), (later, went to hits103..5,mornings), and nights were
various (super mix mondays); live2air wed's w/big d/fridays at cell block...
then, the addition of "downtown" dan(t) reeely set the nite-side of things,
and kicked it up a notch! not a 24/7 line up, but a solid team of broadcasters:

stong morning show; excellent mid days/ and air-tight,kick azz evenings...
well, all good things came to an end.
early days: spring 1995, sounded too good to be true.
hay day: summer 1996 (various concerts, including the piggy back of the CIDC summer rush show)
friday the 13th, 1996: cell block hosted: Christmas bash: headlining: temperance, and 2 other cdn dance groups
Downfall: early 1997:
one of the last Quality records contests, coincided(?sp) w/ the format change of dance-planet,
to mid-aged adult, during the day, and kids take over at nite ( "planet nightside"), when the
dayPart would be (snooze), well, 'dave matthew band/etc' and the night time, would be
underworld 'born slippy'/tia, slip'N'slide, (remember that one?).....well,

spring 1997/?maybe march 1997: format change. all the daypart,was played 24/7, the "AAA" format( or a/c) or what ever!

honorable mention:
chum_FM:
104.5 sat'nite: from(approx) 1999-2001, the sat night show,
was amazing. only dance; mostly current.(for the time) and
blended seemless; later, they would mix in (micheal jackson,etc)
and slowly, went from unbelieveably-awesome to tune in to see if u wanted to listen.
(here in buffalo)104.7, "signed on a repeater" and killed it, in the downtown area.

with the above,
AT ONE TIME: any where in buffalo....(around 1997)
92.5 CISS fm - dance friendly
98.5FM - keeping up w/ toronto - playing ALOT of dance(even in day parts)
101.1 planet-FM, dance-24/7
103.5/some areas, tuned in.
107.9 clear enough to listen to!

even losing the planet /and gaining chum/on a friday, and ESP. on a sat.Night!!
(any time, from 1998----til, 2003 or so).

88.1?/ iceberg FM, very house/trance
91.3 wbny, non-vocal 'dance'( maybe only fridays)
98.5 - club kiss
100.7 "global groove" / now club 2-4-6-/chin_FM
102.1 experimental dance(prodigy,underworld,)
103.5/if avail.live 2 aire
104.5 CHUM FM, friday, good / sat. AMAZING
105.7 sat nite(studio 105.7) some times would surprise u!
107.9 ENERGY-FM, live 2 aire. (yea, day part was equal to wjye, at nite) it was awesome, right til the end!

of course, there would be other stations, doing maybe a one time broadcast, or
pirate stations...they always seem to favor dance-music!

 

[justthenumbers]

power885.
hayday: april 1998.
top 6 @ 6, had songs that just jumped out at u!
Superhero lover/daze, and then...it seemed it was
"gone"

So funny...when I read "Power 88.5" earlier in this message thread, "Superhero" is the first song that came to mind It's one of the cheesiest dance tunes ever recorded, but I still love it.

I really enjoyed Power's simple slogan..."The DANCE Music station...Power 88.5".

EDIT: And HERE is the video for "Superhero"...a perfect match for this song.

 

[justthenumbers]

Im listening to the Energy flashback lunch right now, and its Energy 108 all over again,,, Right now they are playing Jam and Spoon-Right in the Night,,, they have been playing all 90s classic Energy 108 gems and its 12:24 right now,, So tune in for yourself.. I havent heard some of these Gems in years, and they seem to stick with what was played on Energy 108 at the time,,, no 80s or early 00 hits, just pure 90s Dance the way I remember them.

Thanks for the heads-up on this! I am listening to today’s show and I LOVE IT!

 

[Mid West Clubber]

I told ya, its a pretty good station, I wonder what kind of signal they have??? Hey, does anyone recall an Energy 1200 AM in Ottawa in the early 90s.. It was more of a CHR but it played Dance too. I used to listen to it over the AM in Indiana when I was in Middle School... Then it just disappeared and now I get San antonio on 1200 at night.

 

[BJSteigner]

To Midwest Clubber:

Forget the name of it, but its now a Rhythmic as Wild 101.1 and its in Niagara Falls, ON

That would be Z101 and the former Wild 101 and that served as a competitor to WKSE Kiss 98.5fm

I hope that clears it up.

 

[limin]

CING-FM Energy 108 was just nuts, the first time I heard the stream in 1998, they played all dance music, including dance remixes and covers of course. Plus, they do not have commercials during live to air at the Guvernment Nightclub or Whisky Saigon which made perfect sense.

Future more, the Canadian took it up a notch. There was a banner from Energy 108 website titled "So you like to watch eh". Groove Society was the website, and they did webcast from 5-6 different clubs in Toronto, which was just crazy.

Now going back to the radio dail

Power 88.5 was a sort of a escape route after Energy 108 went to the Top 40 direction. However Power lasted about one year before switching to country format. What was funny was that, at the time we had a DJ that was the program director for Power 88.5 name DJ AL. As soon as Power flip to the country format, sources told me that, he was still in the station as a program director.

Now coming back to the present day. I can see there are bunch of radio stations that played Dance Music in the GTA. Last time I head up there, there were just about ever other dail played some sort of dance music on a Saturday night.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Thats awesome,, I remember that video stream they had, but it never worked for me on dial up.. Power 88.5 had the most unreliable stream and it was often only in the left channel.. Energy 108 had like a 16k mono stream,, first in WMA,, then in Real Player,, but they kept the stream well maintained, and after the stream went mono it took that bab Warbly sound out of it and it stayed online and maintained and always connected....

Other wise,, On weekends in the GTA,, I think all 99.9, 100.7, 104.5, 103.5 of course and now 105.1 all play Dance on the weekends. I wish that Z1035 made it into Niagra falls real good like Energy 108 used to,,, I go there a few times a year, and im always like, MOM-Dad,,, Lets go up to Toronto, you gotta see the CN tower and stuff, and their always like NO NO,,, their not into big city driving... But Toronto is only a 7 or 8 hour drive from here,, Its just ya gotta make sure to fill your car with gas and fill your stomach befor going into Canada cause everything is too Expensive up there... I cant even afford to drink if I go to clubs in Torronto, since my road trips are on a shoe string budget... And what is it with the Canadian Boarder patrol wanting to confinscate my Newport Cigerettes... Canadian Cigs are kinda gross and over priced... Oh Well,, I should quit anyway.... I finally learned just to say no, I have no Tobaco or Alcohol Products, if you dont look suspicious they let you go... Its better to cross at Niagra than to cross at Detroit-Windsor,, they are more strict up there, plus you cant avoid getting ripped off on Canadian (PETROL) and Food. Also,,, anyone notice Canada sells gas by the Litter.... I have no clue what the end result in price is gonna be.

 

[Slink]

Energy 105 has currently cornered the dance music radio market in Toronto during the evening hours.
Most Dance fans here will tune in to them on the weekends. They offer quite the roaster of mix shows from such DJs as Markus Schulz, Hatiras, Christopher Lawrence and PaulTheEngineer who has become the voice of dance music in the city.

Paul is also the Program & Music director at the station. When the station first started their GM was the same person that used to run Energy 108 back in the mid 90s. That is probably why the station has a bit of that 108 sound. They have won Toronto's favourite Radio stations 2 years at the Toronto NightClub awards, I would not be surprised if they win it again this year as they are very very popular with the "club going" crowd.

The signal is not that bad in most parts of Toronto the only problem they are having is with the downtown core and near Lake Ontario as there is some interference from 105.1 The River, a Niagara Falls station. Here is the signal map for the station from RECnet.com http://www.recnet.com/cdbs/fmq.php?facid=&call=CHOQ&ccode=2&latd=&lond=&city=&state=&country=US&zip=&party=&party_type=LICEN&jaws=0

They broadcast out of amazing looking studios at Young & Dundas streets in Toronto. They used to have a live webcam on their site but that was removed when the site was redesigned a few months ago.
My sources tell me that they are looking to apply for a 24/7 license however according to Industry Canada there is no available frequencies in the area at this time. There were also rumours of them applying for a DAB (Digital Radio) license but I have not seen anything yet.

All in all I find Energy 105 to be the best station for Dance Music in the Toronto area I listen to their internet stream constantly while stuck in my cubical at the office.

 

[Todd Edwards]

Well i find all these points very interesting.. since they seem to be mis-informed stabs in the dark. I use to work morning drive with Tom Allen back in the day on CING FM ENERGY 108, and know the ongoings of the now defunked Energy 108 and what a legendary station it was, first hand. Here are some important facts that may have been over looked in stating some details;

Before Energy 108 was energy 108 CING Fm was known as Dance 108FM and before that it was called FM108 which played office/ elevator music , previous to that, oldies back in the day. Wayne Williams the night time jock was the only guy doing dance, and captivated alot of attention as Burlington Broadcast was the holders and owners of the radio station which was located on the South Service road in Burlington Ontario. Apart of Burlington Broadcast INC. there were 3 major owners. John Dukealow, Barry (cant remember his name cuz he was a silent partner and never was around to much) and Bill Evanov.. Bill later on bought out Barrys shares to take 51% of the stake and running rights of the station. Wayne Williams is the legendary reason on why that station went dance in the first place. He convinced them to go for it.. they did and Energy 108 was born. After the defunk of CFNY in Toronto, it brought the likes of Scot Turner, Deadly headly jones, Pamela Blair, Chris sheppard, and Don Berns (who went by Doctor Trance back then) as time marched on, ratings were incredible! I still remember the parties we had breaking the 500,000 listenership point. It was a momentous occasion and was totally amazing. Making the calls, musically speaking was MD/PD Scot Turner who was apart of Energy until the day it died. While the success of Energy was at its high point, Bill Evanov purchased CIDC in orangeville Ontario. The planned Expansion had talent scattered back n forth from one station to the other.. As plans were made to syndicate the Energys morning show to CIDC's mornings, the breakfast jam (our show) took a falling out and thus more it never ever did happen. Tony Monaco was the official first morning show host at CIDC when the dance format was introduced.

CING FMs transmitters were located in Waterdown Ontario. located along the niagara escarpment, it kicked a solid signal which covered South Central ontario and as far south as western NY. It truely was amazing.. I remember going to station events driving and driving.. north of toronto and still getting the station, and I just remembered how much in awe I was at the potential people we were reaching! was truely amazing!

As far as the demise of 108 went like i said COrrus took ownership and planned to run it like a radio station in kentucky.... the same old 40 songs in a top 40 rotation were being blasted.. playing the same songs over and over again. Corrus knew the potential of the radio station, and bought a station in london ontario @ 105.1 and a station in Central ontario which served the muskoka area which was 93.1 Chay FM. Corrus saw what Energy did when it was dance but they decided to "tweak the format" it failed, which led to the current format of Country.. which later changed frequencies with its sister company Y95 which is now known as Y108 (hamiltons current rock format)

As far as Z101 goes, Program director, Ken stowar was incontrol of the radio station at the time which led to Paul Evanov (which was Bills son) to be the Current PD of CIDC Z103.5 Paul is the current PD and GM of the station Now. As far as Evanovs are concerned they NEVER owned CKEY (knows as 101 the dance planet back then) I worked for the dance planet taking on this name you see now. Keith and David Dancy were the sole owners of CKEY FM and the demise of that station was the programming aspect. They had a wonderful really super nice guy running the station but wasnt familiar with the dance music scene. The staff from CIDC were there to give direction, but after the direction left, like a house of cards it fell apart. My philosophy on the whole deal is, why have a refrigeration mechanic doing an electrical contractors job... it will never work and it surely didnt. Dave Universal formerly from WKSE Kiss 98.5 is now PD at the current Z101 station and is keeping things together very well.

I currently am doing a dance show heard @ 12 noon on Z101 which features the stuff we use to play back on energy 108 & what WKSE played back in the day. I expanded the format a little more by including alot of those past hits. The station takes on @ top 40 CHR feel but at noon its all about memories!! Its great that Manuell started the energy revolution over again.. its great to see and hear when i am in toronto so cudos to them for having the balls to follow in the energy footsteps!

Thanks for letting me share my experiences with you all!!! if none of it makes any sense then just believe you n me that there was about 20 thoughts running all at once while typing it all out... so many points and facts that needed to get across so nothing would be misconstrud. Have a good one everyone and thanks for the memories!

 

[TonySantiago]

Todd,

Thank you and everyone that was there!

I had wanted to break in my new Mitsubishi Eclipse back in 1992 and decided to take a road trip to Toronto. We had recently lost Hot 97 in New York City (our dance station) to hip-hop. So to my amazement hearing dance music on 107.9 nearing Buffalo, I was floored!

I can honestly say that Energy 108 changed my life! I kept going back to Toronto just to HEAR this station (this BEFORE Internet streaming), take in the club scene, buy up TONS of the Quality and SBG compilations at the HMV on Yonge Street. I would plunk down about $200 CDN for it. It was one of those trips coming home that made me think....Toronto is SIMILAR to NYC, the club scene is SIMILAR, why can't NYC have a dance station like this?? There was some early writings done in the local newspaper about my thoughts but after Hot 97 blocked another person from doing a dance music show via leased time on another station, that was when the Metro New York Dance Radio Coalition became reality (1993).

Our name has changed but our philosophy remains the same...to continue to support dance music and push for it on the radio. Though with the way the industry has turned, radio may not matter down the road (thus the name change)

Once again, thank you and everyone for putting on great music and bringing a spirit in me that was definitely needed!