We often hear beautiful stories of CKUA connecting generations. For Okotoks listener Joshua Witt, CKUA has always been there. It’s all thanks to his dad, Michael Witt.
“I have to credit my discovery of CKUA to my dad who would be tuned in to the various shows nearly every weekend,” Witt says. “There is also a good chance that my friends and I hovered on the station while we were up to no good driving around in our parents’ cars during our high school years.”
Even as a youngster, he says he appreciated that CKUA had “personality that could be heard.”
“For me, I always felt like Top 40 radio hosts sounded goofy, as if they had a ‘radio voice’ that would surely sound ridiculous if you were to hear anyone speak like that in a normal setting. On the contrary, the voices I’d hear from CKUA were often soft, warm, personable and knowledgeable.”
Witt’s longtime favourite is Terry David Mulligan of Mulligan Stew.
“I think this is probably because Dad would most often be tuned in to listen to Terry’s segments,” he says. “Over the following years Terry would go on to influence my taste in music more than I would have thought possible.”
Born in 1992, Witt says the thing he loves most about CKUA is that it introduces him to music he’d otherwise have missed out on. “I think CKUA ended up making me a more critical listener and it really expanded my musical vocabulary.”
Witt works from home as a Geospatial Specialist for a U.S.-based Earth Observation company. When he’s not building basemaps of Canada, he enjoys playing high fantasy video games, learning guitar, recording original music and baking bread.
He’s also a CKUA donor.
“I like donating to CKUA because it would really be a shame if programming like this didn’t exist,” he says. “People donating to the station played a role in CKUA being a part of my life, so I want to return that favor and hope that my donation helps keep CKUA active and available to young people.”
It’s also a way he stays close to his dad.
“CKUA is a bonding point for Dad and me because it brought me into his world of music, and in a way having exposure to the artists heard on CKUA gave us more common ground. We also tend to use CKUA segments and Oilers hockey as a way to check in on each other.”
Witt helps keep CKUA going, would you like to as well? Donate here!
Tower of Power’s “What is Hip?” is Witt’s musical suggestion for all CKUA listeners. “The guitar and bass work on that song is monstrous, and CKUA is certainly what is hip,” he says. “Have fun listening!”
Park Power
