Streaming services may offer the most convenient way to listen to music, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have everything at your fingertips.
Originally launched as a blog in 2007 to document the local music scene, the Calgary Cassette Preservation Society provides an important cultural bridge between music eras and shines a light on artists who may be lost in the limbo of technological change, caught up in the passage of time and music industry upheaval.
Considering Alberta acts like the Primrods, Wagbeard, Porter Hall and Mico all performed regularly in Winnipeg or got airtime on community radio like CKUW or UMFM, I fell in love with some of the Calgary bands featured on the CCPS website. Along with impossible-to-find albums on cassette, you’ll find vinyl rips and demo-only CD-Rs within the extensively documented collection of artists from out west. If you don’t have the Primrods’ shelved album for Geffen Records, do yourself a favourite and add it to your ‘90s rock collection.
Someone with the time, patience or collection to launch a project like this should start one in Winnipeg. Too many legacy acts from the city (Banned From Atlantis, Elliot, I Spy, Kittens, Red Fisher or 12 Eyes) don’t have a proper online home. How can Winnipeg claim to be a Music City and cultural hub if we forget about the artists who helped build the mythology of the province?
Wagbeard - Even though you can thankfully find Ice Station Debra on Spotify, CCPS is the spot to grab their old back catalogue.