CBC host channels his inner wild man In Conversation,
One in a series of casual conversations with movers and shakers in (and from) our cultural community
He is, in many ways, the voice of Waterloo Region, an indie rock belter who crossed the line to corporate radio and hasn’t looked back, a quirky outsider who infiltrated the mainstream and became as stolid and dependable as an Oktoberfest dirndl or that block of cheese in your refrigerator.
He’s Craig Norris, host of CBC Kitchener’s “The Morning Edition” and the Ontario-wide music show “In The Key of C.” And as his friendly, unassuming tone oozes from your radio like slow molasses, he’s become the region’s answer to Obi-Wan Kenobi: A gravitas-spiked guru who worships tradition but can kick out the jams when lightsabres are drawn.
Before landing the plum job in 2013 when CBC expanded east from Toronto, the 50-year-old Fergus native travelled by train to the Big Smoke to host CBC shows like “Laugh Out Loud,” “The Craig Norris Hour” and “The R3-30.”
It wasn’t that he was too lazy to move. He is, he explains, tethered to the “the belt buckle” of Ontario’s agricultural belt: “My roots are extremely deep here.”
It paid off.
When CBC opened shop on Kitchener’s King Street, he was the logical choice.
And as the congenial schmoozer regales listeners with stories about wayward emus and foam mattresses used as pet beds, his dual personas — wild-eyed rock singer and fat cat radio host — intersect in strange, mysterious ways.
How do you manage your separate roles as button-down CBC schmoozer and grunge-era rock icon?
As trite as it sounds, I’m just me. I love working for the CBC. I love being a musician. They are equitable parts of me. The same muscle I use to write songs, I use to write the show.
Is it fair to say you sold out to The Man?
I don’t think so. Anyone who knows me knows I haven’t changed. And you hear that on the show. I always feel like I’m an average person who asks the questions everyone is asking at home: Am I going to be paying more for eggs?
As an indie rock anarchist, what do you care about the price of eggs?
I care about a lot of things. Almost everything. Except maybe the price of eggs, oddly enough.
How tough is it to refrain from