Ice Follies 2014

David Merleau, Radio Storytelling and Hyper-Local Broadcasting, 2014

What is hyperlocal Radio? Hyperlocal Radio is an unregulated AM radio broadcast that uses a low-power transmitter. But where it lacks in power and range, it makes up radio fun because the broadcast is designed especially for you and your community.

Every year, as the ice on Lake Nipissing starts to form, a community begins to develop, as hundreds of huts are dragged out onto the ice of Callander Bay. In 2014, after being inspired by this yearly ice fishing community, David Merleau began broadcasting BigFish AM from a low-power AM transmitter outside of his fishing hut in the Callander Bay Ice Village.

Looking to the ice fishing folk of Callander Bay for stories and laughs, BigFish AM allowed you to share in the experiences of the droves of people who take to the ice every weekend of the fishing season. David Merleau brought you the stories from the lifers to the ice fishing newbies and tales from the tiny tents and the shacks that put most homes to shame! Hear about their greatest fishing moments, or their scariest time on the ice, and learn from them how to stay warm in this harsh Northern Ontario winter.

As you will hear, ice fishing is not about reeling in the big one. No, it is about a love for harsh Northern Ontario winter and the community that begins to develop the moment the ice begins to form. BigFish AM supported local businesses and also performed a public service by offering possible listeners information about healthy fishing and ice prudence.

For Ice Follies 2014, David ventured out with his portable AM radio ice hut studio to broadcast all of the fun as it happened. In addition, David also assisted Governor General Award-winner Gordon Monahan, with setting up his installation involving strung wires between a camper trailer and a piano 200 feet away.

Artist Bio:

David Merleau is a performance storyteller, radio producer and host, as well as an audio production technician. Over the years, David been quite involved in a lot of event broadcasting productions, creating and programming both online streaming and low power terrestrial radio stations involving AM and FM.

Most recently, David has been working on Forest Talk Radio, a GPS app that translates “tree talk” into English as you pass by them! His Laurier Woods edition, weaves together folktales and forest science to produce an Ol’fashion radio comedy experience delivered right to your smartphone as you walk the Orange and White trail of the Laurier Woods Conservation area in North Bay Ontario, Canada.

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