I found another sweet fresh-faced fellow while out enjoying the Open Streets event a few weeks ago.
I came across The Thunder Bay Community Band and immediately spotted someone I knew (and wanted to photograph) because of his bright red bandana.
Can you spot him?
A closer view…
Then an even closer view!
It’s none other than Matt!
Clarinet player, music lover, former cashier, and radio personality extraordinaire!
Uh oh, he saw me!
Matt, born and raised in Thunder Bay, has been playing with the Community Band since 2001, still in high school! He took a break to attend Carleton University (where he graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism) and then came right back to the band.
I’m sure he came back for other reasons, but I’m going to pretend he felt empty and alone without his orchestral family here in the land of the Sleeping Giant.
Aside from running back to the band with open arms, when Matt returned from Carleton, he began hosting a radio show on LU Radio called Glam Roxx.
Matt also began working at Safeway (and just recently ended his time there, two months short of a decade) and began working for CBC Radio.
In his words:
I’ve been with CBC Thunder Bay since February, 2009. I started as the Ontario weekend weather guy, then, in February, 2010, moved into the local newsroom. Since then, I’ve become a jack-of-most-trades, working as a radio reporter, digital (online) reporter, newsreader, show host, producer and occasional columnist. So, basically, whatever they need me to do.
Obviously I’ve heard him on the CBC, as well as on LU Radio, and it’s clear this is the kind of work Matt was meant to do. His voice and presence are unmatched.
Because Matt is such a music lover, I asked him to give me a list of his Top 10 Albums (in no particular order):
Slade – ‘Til Deaf Do Us Part
The Sweet – Give Us A Wink!
Van Halen – Women And Children First
L.A. Guns – s/t
Fine Young Cannibals – The Raw And The Cooked
Def Leppard – High ‘N’ Dry
Cheap Trick – Heaven Tonight
Killer Dwarfs – Stand Tall
Vinnie Vincent Invasion – s/t
Nick Gilder – Frequency
What an interesting collection.
A GLAM rocker through and through!
Three more things:
Matt is three weeks older than me and I’m going to remind him of that FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
Matt is obsessed with the changing of seasons and never fails to let everybody know when the days are getting longer or shorter. This is something my dad does. My dad is old. Therefore, so is Matt.
And finally, Matt is reading this now and I know he’s laughing. And his laugh is exploding from his face-hole and literally lighting up the room with sparkles and happiness. He has one of the best laughs in the world.
Thank you, Matt.