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Augusta LaPaix and the Crucial Three

Broadcast Date: Dec. 12, 1984

Midnight to 6 a.m. was the time slot CBC forgot — until late 1983, when radio executives sought a new program to fill it. Among the proposals was one for an avant-garde rock show hosted by CBC freelancer Augusta LaPaix. Brave New Waves, a mix of new music, interviews, conversation and literary readings, debuted on CBC Stereo in February 1984.

In this clip, LaPaix pulls off the near-impossible: profiling the Crucial Three, a band that never recorded a note. (Note: Due to copyright issues, there are no songs in this clip.)

Augusta LaPaix and the Crucial Three

• Brave New Waves was the creation of Augusta LaPaix and producer Alan Conter, and was produced from Montreal with a full-time staff of seven.

• The show's demo tape included music by Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, Nina Hagen and others.
• Most of the other proposals for the late-night slot were for classical music programs, which were already well-represented on CBC Radio. In Brave New Waves, executives saw potential to expand the radio audience to listeners under age 35.
• LaPaix started as a freelance reporter at CBC and fill-in host on Morningside. In 1985 she left Brave New Waves, moving on to host the CBC Radio programs Cross Country Checkup, Two New Hours, Arts National and Montreal's Home Run.

• LaPaix's replacement on BNW was Brent Bambury, who stayed for 10 years before moving on to TV's Midday. Patti Schmidt, a former researcher, became host in 1995 and held the job until the show's cancellation in 2007.
• The genre of music LaPaix played nightly was relatively new to her. In May 1984 she told the Globe and Mail she didn't own a stereo and preferred country-and-western music before embracing the avant-garde.

• Critical response to Brave New Waves was positive. Toronto Star radio columnist Henry Mietkiewicz said: "The chief asset is LaPaix herself, an accomplished interviewer with a soothing but perky voice perfectly suited to a less frenzied overnight sound."
• A significant element of the show at its launch was the conversation portion. Producers sought out participants with a classified ad that read: "Are your friends off the wall? Impassioned? Just plain interesting? We're looking for guests for a new radio alternative. This is all pleasure, no profit."

• The Star's Mietkiewicz was unimpressed with this segment, criticizing its unexplained choice of guests who tended to ramble aimlessly from one topic to the next.

Augusta LaPaix and the Crucial Three

Medium: Radio

Program: Brave New Waves

Broadcast Date: Dec. 12, 1984

Host: Augusta LaPaix

Duration: 8:13

Photo: Photo of Augusta LaPaix courtesy of CBC Design Library

Last updated:
April 16, 2008