Local Online Radio Station Stretches Musical Boundaries!
Launched in May of 2020 during the height of the pandemic, The Spark was a type of hobby project that blossomed into a full-fledged side business fueled by the labour of love and the passion for the craft projected by its creator Frank McGwire. “I’d seen some of the early online stations and heard of a few former radio people branching out with this type of venture. I honestly started out just wanting to see if I could get a station going online," McGwire said. After a few months of research, deciding on a format, cost analysis, and budget breakdown McGwire decided to branch out with his new venture as an affordable option that small to medium local businesses could utilize for their marketing purposes.
The Classic Rock format was a natural choice after spending many years as an on-air host for Brandon’s now-defunct Rock Station KX96 FM. Surprisingly, classic rock wasn't McGwire's first personal choice of music, “I grew up listening to my parent’s classic country records. Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard were all on high rotation on the huge wooden console stereo in our household. LOL! But as the years went by my musical tastes changed to what my older siblings were listening to which was similar to what you’d hear on FM Rock Radio in the late 70s and early 80s. With that said, when you listen to The Spark you can expect to hear a station that is like the mid-70s 1150 CKX, KY58 (Winnipeg) morphed together with late 70s 92 CITI FM (Winnipeg) and early 90s KX96 (Brandon)," said McGwire. Another accurate analogy to describe The Spark’s sound for satellite radio listeners is a mix of channels 25, 26, 27, and 28 on Sirius XM.
The other component that helps The Spark stand out is its “Local Rock” file. “Over the years I’ve always been a huge proponent of Westman’s music scene. Whether it was through my weekly entertainment columns in the Brandon Sun and Wheat City Journal, helping to promote gigs for bands, or helping to create Ridgefest (Local music festival) with my great friend Lyall McDermid I was all about being a cheerleader for the music scene in this region,” McGwire said.
Creator/Program Manager of The Spark - "Westman's Home For Variety" (Frank McGwire) has been running The Spark from his home studio in Brandon's west end since May 2020. He turned a pandemic pet project into a full-fledged business. (Photo submitted)
Over the past three years since its inception, The Spark has added the slogan “Westman’s Home for Variety.” The station has added a few features including the return of Peter Young’s “Just a Minute” sports commentary show which is an opinion piece that runs three times a day Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, “Rockflash” hosted by classic rock guru Garry Kroeger can be heard Saturdays and Sundays at 4 p.m. spotlights an iconic classic rock band or artists and features some hits and album cuts from those a featured artist each week, “Pumped” also hosted by Garry Kroeger is a half hour of high octane classic and newer rock to help kick off your Saturday night starting at 8 p.m. "Garry is a classic rock aficionado with deep knowledge of the format and an amazing record collection. He's been a champion of the station since he discovered it and having him on board has been a major plus for The Spark," said McGwire.
The Spark's Classic Rock Guru Garry Kroeger is pictured here hard at play in his home studio. Garry is the host of "The Rockflash" (Saturday & Sunday at 4 p.m.) and "Pumped" (Saturday at 8 p.m.) on The Spark - Westman's Home for Variety. (Photo submitted)
Now the Spark is on the verge of yet again expanding its musical boundaries. This weekend is the debut of yet another feature program on The Spark. “Where’d You Find That Country” premiers this Sunday at 6 p.m. Hosted by Cam Toews of Century 21 Westman Realty, WYFTC features tunes from indie country artists that don’t get a ton of regular airplay on terrestrial radio stations. The debut of this show will be a first on two counts. One, it’s another first for The Spark, two, it’s a first for Cam, “I have never done anything like this before and it is a little nerve-wracking. I'm hoping people will become fans of these artists and this music and would love to see these artists perform around this region at some point, said Toews.”
Cam Toews – “Host of Where’d You Find That Country?!” Debuting on The Spark – Westman’s Home for Variety Sunday, June 11 at 6:00 p.m. (Photo Submitted)
Inspired by his love of country music, Toews decided to venture off the beaten path of what regular country radio has always programmed and decided to offer up something completely different, “I've been a fan of country music since the 80s. Country music continuously evolves, and I was fine with most of it into the 2000s. However, it just became too pop for me and when I came across a Sunny Sweeney song, I went down the rabbit hole that is Red Dirt Country. To me, the Red Dirt sound is very much like the '80s and '90s. I wanted to share what I had found down the rabbit hole with others and that's where this show came from. From that I have expanded into much more indie and Americana,” Toews said. So why Indie over Top 40 or New Country? “Personal choice first. The pop sounds get lots of commercial radio play. I'm hoping to get the indie artist a few more plays, said Toews.”
Sponsored by Century 21 Westman Realty, WYFTC debuts this Sunday at 6 p.m. on the Spark! (LISTEN LIVE LINK). So, who will want to tune in to this exciting new show? “Anybody that likes singer-songwriters would be my target demographic. The traditional country fan will likely be the first in line but hopefully, we will create some new fans,” said Toews.
For those who can’t tune in, the show will eventually be available as a podcast on The Spark’s website www.sparkwebradio.com
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