Don Shafer
Born in 1956 in Pittsburgh, Don Shafer started in radio in 1969 following time as a cryptologist and communications specialist working for the US Military and the NSA. After moving to Canada in the early 70s, Don worked as programmer and DJ for a number of radio stations including Toronto’s CHUM-FM (which he joined in 1972, working with David Marsden), and he was a contemporary of Ray Danniels. “I am distinguished in this regard, only in that I was the first announcer in Canada to play Rush on CHUM FM in the early 70s,” he says. “Ray Danniels and I have been friends for a very long time. He was a struggling manager/promoter and I was cutting my teeth on rock radio.” Don was thanked for his efforts to promote the band, picking up a mention on the cover of ‘Fly By Night’.
Don worked his way through a number of radio stations in both the US and Canada, as a programme director and manager. He later founded the Rock Radio Network in Canada, a pioneer in radio syndication, and has worked in both TV and the printed media before moving back into radio in 2003. Today Don works for Standard Radio, managing a group of 21 radio and 2 TV stations in British Columbia. “I am fortunate to work for an owner who asks what it sounds like first, then how we’re doing financially second,” he says. Don has seen many changes over the years, particularly in how Canadian bands are perceived in the wider world. “We used to criticise Canadian music for eating their young,” he says. “We turned our backs on the talent, but not now.”