Chris Reiser and Ted Bird "KIC" start country station

While I am not necessarily a country music fan, because of the personalities CKKI 98.9 KIC Country FM has  added to its lineup recently I have been giving it a listen every now and then.
 

First off we have radio veteran Chris Reiser co-hosting the morning show with the ever so charismatic Lee Haberkorn, who has been heard on Virgin Radio.

 

Chris Reiser

“I've been involved with CKKI 89.9 KIC Country for two years now,” says Reiser. “It's been an exciting time building a radio station from the ground up with minimal resources, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.”

You can also hear Reiser on CJAD, Virgin Radio and CHOM. That’s because he works for the Canadian Traffic Network, which supplies traffic reports for the stations. “They don't have a problem with my involvement with KIC,” he says.

Reiser is also very active in the Voice-Over community and typically has several sessions a week.

“I like country music,” Reiser says. “Though  the bulk of my career was in the rock and adult contemporary world, I have always been a fan of country music.”

 

Johnny Jordan

Johnny Jordan does lunchtime from Noon to 2 p.m.. He has worked in places like  Seattle and Honolulu in the past and of course the legendary Ted Bird can now be heard as part of a spirited drive home show Erik Gregory and Skana Deer.

Ted Bird

Dave and Dave it the air from 6 p.m. to  9 p.m. weeknights. “They are new to the industry and we are encouraged by what we've heard from these guys so far,” says Reiser.

The Shabbat Project set for next weekend

Jewish Montrealers will be among thousands of Jews worldwide joining in on The Shabbat Project, a ground-breaking event aimed at uniting world Jewry in fully  observing the Shabbat custom together. In its second edition, The Shabbat Project was developed and  piloted by South Africa's Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein encouraging the Jewish community to thoroughly  keep Shabbat in unity. Approximately 75 percent of South Africa's 75,000 participated. It was such a successful  event that this year’s Shabbat affair rolled out to the rest of the world, including Montreal.

From Great Britain to Guatemala, there are more than 1,400* official partners from over 35 countries. Held on the weekend of Friday, October 24 to 25, more than 800 Montrealers are currently  registered in committing themselves to fully respecting this spiritual event. Jews of all religious levels,  origins, or professions are encouraged to take part.
 

In conjunction with various synagogues, "this monumental event has the potential to unite world Jewry  in a time when we really need it," said Pinny Gniwich, lead organizer of Montreal’s The Shabbat Project.
 

The event will officially kick-off Thursday night October 23 with Challah Bakes at Beth Zion Congregation  (7 p.m. $18) in Côte Saint-Luc and Beth Ora Congregation (7 p.m., free of charge) in St. Laurent and at Beth Israel Beth Aaron Congregation in  CSL, with guest speaker, Rachel Frenkel, the mother of Naftali Frenkel, one of the three Israeli Yeshiva students that was kidnapped and murdered last June.

From Montreal to the world, register today in #Keepingittogether at www.theshabbatprojectmtl.ca.

Habs-less at the Hilton in Quebec City

I just returned from a weekend conference in Quebec City. We were based at the beautiful Hilton Hotel, where most of the Members of the National Assembly stay while the government sits.  I was not able to find out whether Pierre Karl Peladeau, the  flamboyant new PQ MNA for St. Jerome and possible future leader, is one of their guests. And while he insists that he has nothing to do with his media properties, I wonder how he would have felt on Saturday night.

The fist pump that saved Canada. But what about the Hilton PKP?

I had a session starting at 8 p.m. so I made sure to eat dinner  at 6 p.m. and headed back to my room to watch the beginning of the Canadiens game against Patrick Roy's Colorado Avalanche. I turned to CBC, which actually airs the Rogers Network broadcast, only to learn that they would be showing the Maple Leafs vs. the Red Wings. City  TV had the Habs game.  As a frantically searched the dial I quickly learned that the Hilton does not carry City. I picked up Le Journal de Québec and sure enough the Canadiens contest was being shown on Peladeau's TVA Sports Network.  I went through the channels again and wouldn't you know it, the Hilton does not have that channel either! How is this possible in supposedly hockey mad Quebec City, where the Florida Panthers might land next year.

Fortunately I was able to squeeze my way into the executive lounge, where they have Bell Fibe TV (sorry Mr Peladeau) and had them put the Habs game on. I watched the first period and all was well.

With TVA Sports owning the right 22 regular season games, as well as playoff action, for the next 12 years I would suggest that the Hilton get its act together.