Jock: Heidi Baiden

I've been a music lover pretty much all my life--like you, because if you're a River fan and checking out our website, it's probably because you're a music fanatic, too!

Anyway, my first musical memory is of getting the "Best of Blondie" LP for my 8th or 9th birthday and singing along to "Tide is High" and "Rapture". I have no idea how my parents felt about that, but they did support my obsession in their own way, giving me money to buy 45's and cassettes and even driving me to and from concerts. They actually dropped my friend Amy and I off in front of the State Theatre, drove around for a couple of hours and came back to pick us up. (The show was worth it--it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers, just before their "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" tour and the opening bands were Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins!)

To this day, I am still a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan, along with Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, Jack Johnson, The Beatles, Jeff Buckley, Jane's Addiction, The Verve, doves, Badly Drawn Boy...well, it's a long list.

I'm a Communication Studies grad from the University of Windsor and still proudly working at the first radio job I ever had! Back in 1995, I started as a Board Operator on The River, playing CDs late at night and running the board for the DJs when they were on location. It's so exciting to get to sit at the board and finally crack the mic after all these years!

Thanks for listening,

Heidi Baiden