Alison and David Law’s love story – and their CKUA story – both begin in a Calgary cabinetry shop and showroom.
The two met as employees there. It was also where they both encountered CKUA for the first time.
“Each time I entered the shop, the songs filled my ears with intrigue,” Alison says. She finally asked the manager what radio station was playing. “The answer drew me into a world of music discovery that blew my mind,” she says.
David also encountered CKUA each morning, in a different department. He started playing it on job sites and was soon hooked. “He loved the music he heard and what he learned from listening,” says Alison. “CKUA shaped his daily thoughts and became his friend on-site, where he worked alone most of the time.”
The two started dating in 1994. “As we grew closer, so did our love for the music, through CKUA,” Alison says.
Talking about the songs they heard on their favourite radio station became part of their bonding, she says. “We couldn’t wait to share what we had learned that day from one of the incredible hosts.”
Then came 1997, when CKUA went off the air due to financial and management challenges.
“I will never forget that day,” says Alison. “The ‘fuzzing’ sound coming out of my clock and car radios was terrifying.”
When they heard of the fundraising efforts to help bring CKUA back, they immediately contributed.
“We just knew how the station, the people running it, and the music they shared with us, made our life better,” she says.
They are donating to this day.
“Twenty-five years later, we are so happy to be a part of an incredible community of people and through our donations, we know we are investing in original radio, the arts, education and the musicians that make the music that enrich our lives every day! In our books, that is a ‘sound’ investment,” she says.
CKUA is still the soundtrack to their lives, Alison says, with the hosts keeping them company most waking hours. “They never seem to stop opening our minds to amazing music from all over the world and from past to present,” she says.
Beyond Alison’s design business and David’s cabinetry business, they love to spend their time going to concerts and festivals. “CKUA has introduced us to so many artists from all ages, genres and genders, from Lord Huron to Cesária Évora, Sixto Rodiguez to Rae Spoon and Jesse Roper to Danielle Ponder.”
Thank you so much for supporting CKUA, Alison and David!
If you’d like to become a monthly donor, get in touch today. We’d love to hear from you.
“Miss Sarajevo” performed by Luciano Pavarotti, Brian Eno, Bono and The Edge. A “life-changing” song that Alison and David discovered thanks to CKUA.
Park Power
