Dave "Bookie" Bookman (May 30, 1960 – May 21, 2019) was a Canadian radio personality, most noted for his long career in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

radio market."Toronto radio host Dave (Bookie) Bookman of Indie88 dies at 58"

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

, May 21, 2019. Associated primarily with

CFNY-FM CFNY-FM (''102.1 the Edge'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 MHz in the Greater Toronto Area, licensed to the suburb of Brampton. CFNY plays an alternative rock format. Owned by Corus Entertainment, its studios are in Downtown ...

(102.1 the Edge) and later with CIND-FM (Indie 88), he was known as a passionate promoter of

indie music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

"In memoriam: Dave "Bookie" Bookman was one of Toronto's greatest supporters of independent music"
''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', May 22, 2019. and as an excellent interviewer with a gift for getting even famously "difficult" or reclusive musicians, such as David Byrne, Jeff Tweedy and Elvis Costello, to open up more than usual in interviews.

Career

He began his radio career in the 1980s, hosting various shows on the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

's campus radio station

CIUT-FM CIUT-FM is a campus and community radio station owned and operated by the University of Toronto. The station broadcasts live and continuously from Toronto on the 89.5 FM frequency. Programming can also be heard nationally via channel 826 on Shaw ...

and working as a sportscaster for CKAR's local broadcasts of Oshawa Generals hockey games."A Toronto band's nine-year wait finally pays off with its first album". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The new ...

'', December 4, 1987. He was also active as a musician in this era, forming the folk punk band The Bookmen with Tim Mech, and releasing the independent album ''Volume One: Delicatessen'' in 1987. The band also recorded a cover of Costello's "

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" is a 1974 song written by English singer/songwriter Nick Lowe. Initially released by Lowe with his band Brinsley Schwarz on their 1974 album '' The New Favourites of... Brinsley Schwarz' ...

", which appeared on a split 7-inch single with Fluid Waffle in 1988. He joined CFNY in 1991, initially as a reporter for ''Live in Toronto''. In 1993 he launched "Dave Bookman's Nu Music Nite", a long-running Tuesday night concert series at The Horseshoe Tavern; although primarily a showcase for emerging bands who were not yet big enough to secure prime weekend slots at the bar, over the course of its run it also hosted free shows by major touring acts such as

Old 97's Old 97's is an American rock band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1992, they have since released twelve studio albums, two full extended plays, shared split duty on another, and have one live album. Their most recent release is ''Twelfth''. The ...

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily f ...

Son Volt Son Volt is an American rock band formed in 1994 by Jay Farrar after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. The band's current line-up consists of Farrar (vocals, guitar), Andrew DuPlantis (bass guitar), John Horton (guitar), Mark Patterson (drums), and Ma ...

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line-up also inclu ...

Matchbox 20 Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums ...

Whiskeytown Whiskeytown was an American alternative country band formed in 1994 from Raleigh, North Carolina. Fronted by Ryan Adams, the group included members Caitlin Cary, Phil Wandscher, Eric "Skillet" Gilmore, and Mike Daly. They disbanded in 2000 wi ...

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

Nada Surf Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). History ...

, Linkin Park,

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...

and Foo Fighters. In 1996, he also programmed the Alternative Afternoons concert series at the CNE Bandshell. With the Bookmen having broken up by this time, he launched the new band Midi Ogres with

Dave Bidini Dave Bidini (born September 11, 1963) is a Canadian musician and writer. Originally from Etobicoke, Ontario, he was a founding member of the rock band Rheostatics, and currently performs with Bidiniband. In addition, he has published several b ...

. As a solo artist, he contributed a cover of Bob Snider's "Parkette" to the 1996 tribute album '' Poetreason: The Songs of Bob Snider''; he was also the host of the live concert at which the album was recorded. Over the course of his time with CFNY, he hosted the ''Indie Hour'', weekend shifts and daytime afternoon drive, until he left the station in 2012. He joined Indie 88 the following year, hosting both a weekday shift and a weekend show on which he would freely play any music he liked regardless of whether it was part of the station's regularly formatted playlist. In 2018, he won the Unsung Hero Award from the

Canadian Independent Music Awards The Canadian Independent Music Awards, also known as the Independent Music Awards or Indies, are national awards presented annually to musicians to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. They were first inaug ...

Death

In April 2019, Bookman suffered an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus ( ...

, and spent several weeks in intensive care until his death on May 21, 2019. On the day his death was announced to the public, Indie 88 suspended regular programming to air a live tribute program that blended some of Bookman's favourite music with reminiscences from his colleagues and on-air phonecalls from listeners, friends and musicians. On May 29, 2019, Indie 88 aired a special fundraising radiothon, "A Day to Make Music Count", to raise money in Bookman's memory for MusiCounts, the music education initiative of the

Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) is a non-profit organization responsible for promoting Canadian music and artists. It administers the Juno Awards, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the MusiCounts music education cha ...

."In Memory of Dave "Bookie" Bookman Donate To MusiCounts"
''Samaritan Mag'', May 23, 2019. The broadcast raised over 69,000, significantly exceeding the station's 50,000 goal. A private memorial party for Bookman the following evening included live performances by Sloan, Blue Rodeo, Billy Talent, and

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the oth ...

, hosted by his good friend and sports TV personality

Dave Hodge Dave Hodge (born January 8, 1945) is a Canadian sports announcer. Hodge worked for TSN, the CBC and CFRB 1010 radio in Toronto. Early Years Born in Montreal, Hodge began his career as a sportswriter with the ''Chatham Daily News'' in 1965, th ...

. In November 2019, Bookman's family and friends organized another fundraiser for MusiCounts, making his vinyl record collection available for sale in conjunction with Toronto independent record store Rotate This. In July 2022, a Dave Bookman plaque was unveiled outside the

Horseshoe Tavern The Horseshoe Tavern (known as ''The Horseshoe'', ''The 'Shoe'', The 'Toronto Tavern' and The 'Triple T' to Toronto locals) is a concert venue at 370 Queen Street West (northeast corner of Queen at Spadina) in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and ...

at 370 Queen Street West, commemorating Nu Music Nite and Bookman's support of music in Toronto. Instagram - The Bookmen
"Come celebrate with us as we unveil the Heritage Toronto Plaque in honor of Dave “Bookie” Bookman"
'' Instagram'', July 7, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bookman, Dave 1960 births 2019 deaths Canadian radio hosts Canadian indie rock musicians Music promoters Jewish Canadian musicians Musicians from Toronto