Cowboys & Indies

Cowboys & Indies is a British indie and alternative radio show broadcasting from CJAM 91.5 FM in the Windsor/Detroit area. The show currently airs every Saturday night from 9:30pm - midnight on CJAM 91.5FM. On a weekly basis, the show takes a look at the new releases, old favourites and LP sessions from the British indie and alternative scene.

History

Cowboys & Indies went on the air in August of 1989. The show was created by Marc Cazabon and Scott Sparrow, veterans of Windsor record stores. Being extremely dissatisfied with the state of commercial radio in the Windsor/Detroit area, they took it upon themselves to do what they could to bring the music they loved to the airwaves.

The show quickly became very popular. It was the only outlet to hear the bands that were being written about in music publications like Melody Maker, Sounds, NME, Mojo, Q, etc. The show often played bands that were not getting airplay in North America at that time. The show was on the cutting edge of musical scenes in the UK like Shoegazing, Britpop, etc. They were often responsible for exposing bands to the listening area for the first time. Some of those bands later went on to be featured on commercial radio.

The LP session was an idea that Marc and Scott had to promote bands LP releases. After a short biography, they played four tracks from a newly released album. They felt it was important because many of the artists played on the show were only available as imports from the UK. Imports were often expensive and had to be special ordered at the local record shops. They decided that playing 4 tracks from an album could help the listener decide if they wanted to buy an expensive LP release.

Cowboys & Indies originally aired on Saturdays from 10pm - 2am. The show has gone through two time changes but has always remained a Saturday night broadcasting staple. The show was later moved to a new time slot, 9pm - midnight. A few years ago the show was moved to its current time slot of 9:30pm - midnight.

Cowboys & Indies celebrated the start of their 20th year of broadcasting on Sat. Aug. 23/08 The show was called "Under The Influence" as Marc and Scott picked music that influenced them in the early and formation years for the show. The music featured was selected form the years 1986-1989.

CJAM Awards

The CJAM Awards are called the Jammys. They are awarded yearly and voted on by fellow programmers and listeners.
* 1994 - Favourite 10pm - 6am Mosaic Music Program
* 1995 - Favourite 10pm - 6am Mosaic Music Program
* 1999 - Favourite Alternative Show
* 2001 - Favourite Indie Music Program
* 2001 - Favourite Music Program (Overall)
* 2002 - Favourite Alternative Show
* 2004 - Best Alternative Show
* 2006 - Best Indie Alternative Show

The Chonkey Award was started in 2008 by the current music director Chris White. He chose the winners for categories not represented by the Jammy Award.
* 2008 - Best British Music Program

External links

* Cowboys & Indies Myspace page http://www.myspace.com/cowboysandindies
* CJAM 91.5 FM Station website http://www.cjam.ca