January 25, 2012
ljgrant@cbpost.com
The East Coast Countdown, a weekly, nationally syndicated radio program featuring Atlantic Canadian artists, was founded in 2004 by longtime friends Jack Bonaparte and Jimmie Inch, with Bonaparte serving as executive producer and host and Inch as the show’s engineer/producer.
Bonaparte was diagnosed with cancer just a year later and died in 2006, but his vision for the countdown remains at its core, according to Inch, who took over as host in 2005 and brought in Glen MacIsaac to take over as producer. “The longer we’ve been on the air, the more I realize that there’s not really another show like it,” said Inch, a native of Glace Bay. “I think, as far as I know, we were the first syndicated pop-rock show in Atlantic Canada.”
Airing on just three radio stations when it began, the award-winning East Coast Countdown is now broadcast weekly on 36 stations across the country — from Newfoundland to British Columbia to Nunavut.
“Most of the stations that air the show are pop-rock format so right away that kind of gives us an idea of what kind of music that we can play on the show, that will fit the format,” said Inch, noting the show accepts submissions of all radio-quality, pop-rock music that has an Atlantic Canadian connection. “For the artists, it’s great for them because they can get their music heard elsewhere and as well as online. We have a tremendous amount of listeners overseas now, online.”
The hour-long show features the top 10 hottest songs from East Coast artists as voted on by the public at www.eastcoastcountdown.com,
Inch said they post the best of the most recent songs from the region on the website each week. Typically there’s between 50 and 80 songs for the public to choose from when voting, and compiling that list involves listening to a lot of music.
“When I get in my car and drive anywhere, I have a stack of CDs that just arrived and I’m listening to it,” said Inch. “I can tell you a lot about East Coast music, but not much about anything mainstream.”
To introduce new material to countdown listeners, two producer’s pick songs are featured on the show each week. Inch said Cape Breton artists had a strong presence on the countdown from Day 1 and that continues today, as the island has one of the deepest pools of musical talent in Atlantic Canada. “Over the years, we’ve had everyone from up-and-comers to established people. It’s kinda neat.
For instance, Gordie Sampson, we used to have his solo projects on the show when he was releasing those and now he’s still on the show, after winning a Grammy and going to Nashville,” he said.
Last year, the East Coast Countdown expanded its scope with the web-based TV show “East Coast Countdown Live,” which showcases live performances and interviews with an impressive list of artists like Jimmy Rankin, Ron Hynes, Matt Andersen, Kim Stockwood and Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy.
In 2012, Inch said they hope to develop the video side of the countdown even further by establishing a weekly one-hour TV program that would air throughout Atlantic Canada. “I can’t go too far into it yet, but we’re in pre-production for a TV show based on the format that we’ve done with the radio show. So we’re in the middle now of shooting some pilot episodes to give to the network and it looks very promising,” he said.
In Cape Breton, the East Coast Countdown airs on Membertou’s C99 FM and 101.5 The Hawk in Port Hawkesbury. The countdown’s Top 10 list also appears in the Cape Breton Post each Thursday.
http://www.capebretonpost.com/Arts/Entertainment/2012-01-25/article-2874177/%26lsquoThere%26rsquos-not-really-another-show-like-it%26rsquo/1