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Chris Sheppard

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For other people with a similar name, see Chris Sheppard (disambiguation).
Chris Sheppard
BornOctober 23, 1961
Etobicoke
OriginCanada
Genres
Occupations
  • DJ
  • remixer
  • club promoter
  • producer
Instruments
  • Keyboards
  • turntables
Years active1980s–2000s

Chris Sheppard (born c. 1963),[1] also known as DJ Dogwhistle, is a Canadian DJ, record producer and musician.

One of the leading figures in the Canadian dance music scene in the 1980s and 1990s, he was active as both a club and radio DJ.[2][3][4][5]

From the 1990s into the 2000s, he hosted a syndicated dance music radio show that was broadcast nationally in Canada and released several remix albums. As a musician he formed the Juno Award-winning dance groups BKS and Love Inc.

Early life

[edit]

Sheppard lived in the then-Toronto suburb of Mississauga in his youth and attended Alderwood Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke.[1] He studied radio and television arts at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.[1]

Career

[edit]

Sheppard's music career started in the punk and alternative rock scenes, working with and remixing music for such artists as Skinny Puppy, Ministry, Jesus Jones, The Cult, The Clash and New Order.[5][6] Starting in the 1980s, he worked as a DJ and host of several warehouse parties and raves in the Toronto area.[3][7] By the mid-1980s he was deejaying at Toronto dance clubs such as The Edge, The Domino Club and The Copa, eventually becoming a featured DJ at RPM.[1][8] In 1985, while working at The Copa, CFNY program director David Marsden heard Sheppard's work and hired him as the host of a Saturday night alternative dance music show called Club 102.[8] The radio show later expanded to a live broadcast from various Toronto nightclubs on Friday nights.[8]

Sheppard became part-owner of the punk and alternative rock nightclub Bovine Sex Club in 1991.[9] The following year, Sheppard resigned from CFNY during the station's restructuring and subsequently deejayed for Greater Toronto Area dance music stations Energy 108[10] and Z103.5.[citation needed] His dance music radio program, Pirate Radio, later renamed Groove Station, went into syndication and was broadcast from stations across Canada.[3][11] During this time, Sheppard released several compilation albums of dance music via his own record label, Pirate Records & Music.[12] His compilation album series included Pirate Radio Sessions, Destination Dance Floor, Groove Station and Club Cutz. In the 1990s he would at times perform at clubs under the name DJ Dogwhistle and released two compilation albums as Dogwhistle Soundsystem. He adopted the Dogwhistle alias due to a contractual conflict.[3][13]

Sheppard formed the techno group BKS whose first album was released in 1992. The group's single "Astroplane (City of Love Mix)" won the 1997 Juno Award for Best Dance Recording and the video for the single won them the 1996 MuchMusic award for Best Dance Video.[14][15]

Sheppard formed Love Inc. in 1997, along with vocalist Simone Denny and fellow producer/remixer Brad Daymond.[3][16] Love Inc. won the Juno Award for Best Dance Recording for "Broken Bones" and in 2001 for "Into the Night".[17]

Sheppard stopped releasing music in the 2000s and his last reported public appearance was on a 2014 episode of the Humble & Fred podcast.[18][19]

Discography

[edit]
  • Techno Trip (1992)
  • Sheppard's Revenge (1992)
  • Still Trippin (1992)
  • Trip to the Moon (1993)
  • Have a Nice Trip (1993)
  • Pirate Radio Sessions Vol. 1: The Underground Collection (1994)
  • Pirate Radio Sessions Vol. 2: Club Culture (1994)
  • The Life and Time of an After Hours DJ (1995, as Dogwhistle)
  • Pirate Radio Sessions Vol. 3 (1995)
  • Pirate Radio Sessions Vol 4: The Best of 1995 (1995)
  • Destination Dance Floor (1995)
  • Pirate Radio Sessions Vol. 5 (1996)
  • 2 Hi 4 Humans (1996, as Dogwhistle)
  • Destination Dance Floor 2 (1996)
  • Pirate Radio Sessions Vol. 6 (1996)
  • Destination Dance Floor 3 (1997)
  • Kwikmix 2938 (1998, as Dogwhistle)
  • Groove Station 4 (1998)
  • Club Cutz 101 (1998)
  • Club Cutz 201 (1999)
  • Groove Station 5 (1999)
  • Club Cutz 303 (2000)
  • Groove Station 6 (2000)
  • Club Cutz 404 (2001)
  • Euphoria: Hard House & Progressive Anthems (2001)
  • Club Cutz 505 (2001)
  • Club Cutz 606 (2002)
  • Euphoria 2: Deep, Dark & Underground (2002)
  • Loud Ass Mother Fucker (2006)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Bot, Ellen (November 12, 1987). "DJ's 'cool' street-guy style includes slippers". Toronto Star. p. J10. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via ProQuest. Sheppard, who recently turned 24...
  2. ^ Howell, David (December 2, 1993). "Master of techno music raves into Edmonton; For Chris Sheppard, success is always played out on the dance floor". Edmonton Journal. p. D4. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via ProQuest. Canada's foremost producer of dance and techno music is in Edmonton this week for two events showcasing aspects of his craft. Chris Sheppard is a Toronto nightclub and radio DJ who has made a big mark on the country's dance music scene.
  3. ^ a b c d e Gold, Kerry (July 29, 1999). "Rave on: Disco never died. It was just ignored while it was taking underground high-tech lessons. Now it's back with a vengeance". Vancouver Sun. p. C16. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via ProQuest. Sheppard is widely considered Canada's premier remixer, DJ, rave promoter and club-music artist.
  4. ^ Stoute, Lenny (October 16, 1997). "Chris Sheppard comes back to the future". Toronto Star. p. K13. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via ProQuest. With electronica and DJing all the rave, the timing of genre godfather Chris Sheppard couldn't be more immaculate.
  5. ^ a b Flynn, Andrew (September 11, 1998). "DJ Sheppard bringing underground sound to the surface". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Canadian Press. p. 27. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via ProQuest. But "Shep," as he's known in the dance nightclubs, is probably the most successful club DJ this country has ever known.
  6. ^ Harrison, Tom (June 12, 1998). "Sheppard's a busy guy and Love Inc. it: Canada's top dance music guru is here with his group tonight". The Province. p. B12. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ LeBlanc, Larry (July 4, 1998). "Sheppard Grows With The Times". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 27. p. 51. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b c Benson, Denise (July 21, 2015). "Remembering RPM: Toronto's Wildest and Weirdest Club of the 90s". Vice. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "Toronto Pillars: How the Bovine Sex Club survived 30 years on Queen West". Now. October 29, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  10. ^ Archer, Bert (July 25, 2009). "The Ballad of Martin Streek". The Globe and Mail (Online). Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ Goddard, Peter (November 16, 1996). "Techno marketers hope for DJ raves". Toronto Star. p. J10. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ LeBlanc, Larry (July 4, 1998). "BMG's Love Inc. Make Pop Breakthrough". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 27. p. 51. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Boles, Benjamin (June 7, 2016). "Parties to Rave Buses, Relive Toronto 90s History with This Flyer Collection". Vice. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  14. ^ Kives, Bartley (March 10, 1997). "Grand Fromage". Winnipeg Sun. p. 12. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Powell, Betsy (September 2, 1996). "MacIsaac scoops three video awards". Calgary Herald. Canadian Press. p. D4. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Warner, Andrea (September 21, 2018). "Then and now: Simone Denny looks back on the 20th anniversary of Love Inc.'s debut". CBC Music. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  17. ^ Druckman, Howard (August 15, 2018). "SOCAN mourns passing of JUNO-winning Love Inc. member Brad Daymond". SOCAN Magazine. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "The Disappearance of Chris Sheppard". Toronto Mike. September 20, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  19. ^ "Chris Sheppard / Theory Of A Deadman". Humble & Fred. July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
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