Local Musicians: DJ Bad Carlotta

Oct 9

Photo: Semir Ali

What’s your story?

My name is Shannon, a lot of people know me as Carlotta as well. I'm a DJ, a radio host and current president of 91.3 FM CJTR Regina Community Radio. I was born in Regina, but I've only been living here as an adult for about two and a half years. I'm very much passionate about music, culture, community and how those things can kind of intersect to make Regina a better place to live.

What led you to be involved in the music scene? Why is it important to you?

The thing that led me to be involved with Regina’s music scene is back in 2014ish, I was living and working in Toronto. I was working in the music industry there, so I was very much connected to that scene, very much disconnected to the Regina scene. One day, I can't remember why, but I was just kind of curious to see what's going on in Regina, like there has to be something going on. One thing about me, I'm a lurker, I'm an investigator, I'm a spy. I went to Instagram and I was looking around and sure enough, my lurking brought me to what is now called Trifecta Sound Co.. I was like, okay, this looks great. This looks like something that is very much up my alley. And so I got connected with the founder Marvin Chan. I was very much pleased to discover that his community values aligned with mine. We kind of got together and I helped organise a small tour of the Greater Toronto Area for the Trifecta crew shortly after that time. Me and Marvin have been really good friends and collaborators ever since.

Being involved in the scene was important to me at that time, because sometimes, if you live in a city like Toronto, you can have a really narrow Toronto-centric idea of what the music scene in Canada looks like. Just because Toronto has most of the global [scale] representation of [Canadian] artists, like, you know, Drake, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd – [they’re] the big three. [Toronto] also has all of the infrastructure, all the labels are there, etc, so it was important to me to seek out what was happening in other communities, just to get a better snapshot of what the scene in Canada was looking like, as a whole. Sometimes Prairie artists can be at a disadvantage because they don't have as many connections in bigger cities, so my goal at that time was to be a bit of a dot-connector in that respect, like, you know, doing this tour for Trifecta getting them connected with some people in Toronto, stuff like that.

What do you find most important about the work you're doing/creating?

The thing that I'm finding most important about the work that I'm doing is I'm giving people options. In Regina, your options can be limited sometimes. For example, the commercial radio stations are playing the same 30 songs on rotation. I think the work that I'm doing directly impacts the culture in that if you want to listen to a Latino radio show, guess what? You have that option on community radio. Or, for example, when I'm DJing I love to not only play really popular songs, but I love to kind of surprise and challenge people by playing something that maybe they've never heard before.

Has the scene or community changed since you joined or got involved with it?

I think there's a lot more diversity and variety in the type of parties you could go to, the type of bands, and the type of artists that are making music, which is great. I think back in the day, when you would think about music and Regina, it was very much just country. I don't think that's the case anymore. That's not the default anymore, and I think it's just going to continue to kind of blossom and become more diverse, especially as this city evolves and creates more opportunities.

I also think back in the day, and this is kind of hearsay because I wasn't physically here, but just from what I've kind of gathered, it was very much like an old punk guy, kind of vibe, which, you know, that can be a vibe. But as a millennial, I feel very blessed to have been kind of embraced by the Gen Z-ers in the music scene here. Just seeing the stuff that they're doing is really inspiring. The way that they pick up on things and learn things, especially technology is just absolutely so impressive to me. I'm super excited to see what the youngins have coming for us.

What do you hope or think the future of the scene looks like?

The only thing I can really think of is I would hope that we do get some more infrastructure in place. Just in terms of, you know, for example, a business applies for a government grant to buy CDJs for their venue so that DJs don't have to lug their gear to the venue every time. Not to compare [Regina] to Toronto, but there's a bunch of places in Toronto where you just roll up with your USB because there's already equipment there for you. So just making things more friendly and accessible for DJs and bands – that would be my selfish hope.

And yeah, I hope the future in the scene, like I said, keeps getting more diverse, keeps getting more interesting, keeps getting more fresh. I think it's gonna keep transforming as time goes on.

Why do you think music and the culture/community around shows is important to society?

The local music scene is a pretty integral part of the ecosystem in a city because when you're supporting local creatives, you're not only supporting the artists and musicians themselves, but you're also supporting local businesses by buying a beer at the show you're at. You're supporting community programmes by attending a film screening at the library. You're supporting diverse radio content by volunteering to program a show at the community station. So I think, yeah, just in kind of inadvertent ways, the whole city benefits as a result from having a strong cultural presence.

Why is music important specifically in Regina?

Local music in Regina, specifically, is really important. Because when 50 Cent tours, for example, he's going to Winnipeg, and he's going to Calgary, [not to Regina]. Our music scene is very much for us, by us. We are doing what we can to make the city a fun place to live, you know, despite not having the infrastructure of larger cities. Some of the best times I've had are at some of the smaller music festivals in the city like Swampfest, or Two Fest, even Salt Shaker Fest. All of those little festivals and kinds of the things we do to keep our city fun really inform what the sound of the music is going to be like.

What role do musicians and their community have in Regina’s community?

Speaking to some wider societal benefits of this scene, musicians play a really important part in the city in general. For example, there was a protest that happened a few months ago that was in opposition to the arena that was proposed to be built downtown, potentially putting some extremely important cultural hubs at risk, like The Cure, Vintage Vinyl, etc., at risk of being demolished. I can't speak on the exact number but the large majority of the people that showed up to make their voice heard, were either in the music industry or music industry adjacent. Based on that and the amount of music industry people that kind of turned out for that, I would venture to say that many members of the music scene are, you know, passionate about making Regina a better place to live. They aren't afraid to be leaders and take a stand on issues in the city.

What do you find most important that the music scene is doing for the community?

I think right now, the music industry in Regina is kind of rewriting what music in the Prairies looks like and sounds like. Going back to my example before, the stereotypical Prairie artist was doing folk or they're doing country, whereas nowadays, there are so many artists in the city making like hyperpop or Afrobeat. There's so many genres being explored by artists here, so it is really rewriting that history of what that stereotypical sound is.

How does music foster community and connection?

I feel that there's just like, an innate little tingle that you get in your gut when you maybe meet someone for the first time and you discover that maybe you both really love the same artist. There's just something so primal and instinctual about wanting to share something that you really love with somebody else. I think it's that collective excitement that really creates that electricity and inspires action, whether it's individual action or collective action.

Was there a particularly inspiring moment for you, or a moment that you’re most proud of?

Something that I'm super proud of is the the work that the staff, the committee members, the volunteers at Regina Community Radio, CJTR, the work that we're doing to keep the station running, afloat, despite resources being limited – you know, times are tough. Something that I'm really proud of is, since the beginning of the year, we've got 11 new shows on the air, which is a huge amount of work for everybody involved. [This is] including a show that talks about women's issues, spoken word shows, a show that's in Tigrinya – the language spoken in Eritrea, an Afrobeats show, and a LoFi/chill beats show. I think it's just super important because, as we know, the commercial radio in Regina is not reflective of the community that it's supposed to be serving. At the station, we really try hard to be a mirror of the community, our slogan is “tuned into the community.” We want to be connected with the community, we want to know what issues are being spoken about locally, we want to make sure that the average Regina resident’s experience is being appreciated. So, yeah, I'm really proud of that.

What does music mean to you?

To me, music is like a never ending treasure hunt. I'm always on the search for my new favourite song, and I'm always looking for something new to discover. I really try to apply that principle to a lot of different things in my life. I'm always trying to discover something new about myself, or I'm always trying to discover, you know, a hidden gem restaurant in my community, because who wants to do the same thing every day? Not me. I just feel like progression and growth and change is really exciting to me, so when a new genre like hyperpop pops up, and it's something that you've never heard before, I find that to be just super exciting. It's inspiring.

How is music important to building community?

Music is definitely a big builder of community. I've personally seen it when I will pull up to a festival by myself and I just know that I'm going to see people there that I know. I know it's going to be a safe space where I feel comfortable showing up alone, and I know I'm gonna have a good time. So I think the Regina scene is really good for that, you can just kind of be embraced in that way.

Kelsey Longmoore