After a five-year love affair with CFRC, Eric Duncan has made a permanent commitment.
On Friday, he had the CFRC logo tattooed onto the back of his neck in front of station volunteers, friends, and a handful of curious spectators in the JDUC.
“I think I’m going to need a hug after this,” Duncan said, mid way through the hour-long tattooing.
Duncan, CFRC’s programming manager, had vowed to take the plunge if the campus radio station’s first funding drive raised $5,000. The drive was held from Jan. 27 to Feb. 8.
When all the donations were tallied, station officials announced an impressive total of $10,649.18.
Duncan said he was always confident that listeners would come through.
“When I agreed to do it, I was confident we would raise $5,000,” he told the Journal prior to being tattooed. “The very fact that we raised double that is a testament to the importance of the station in the community.”
Scott Stevens, CFRC Music Coordinator and host of Suspended Particulate, said the success of the funding drive proved that people in Kingston are tuning in.
“We know people out there are listening, but you can’t tell how many in radio, so it’s nice to know that $10,000 came in,” he said. “We had no idea what to expect.”
Michael Brolley, ArtSci ’08 and host of Logical Progressions, said that radio has not been a major part of many younger students’ lives, many older listeners recognize its importance.
“We received a lot [of donations] from residents of Kingston,” he said. “Older people grew up with radio—it’s how they learned to pick up new music. It’s important to them.”
The station is in the final year of a three-year ownership transfer from the University to the AMS. When the University funding ends, Duncan said CFRC will rely much more on fundraisers like the drive that just took place.
“Obviously, we want to raise more money next year to run the station,” he said. “It’s impossible for me to say now what the goal is going to be next year, but I think this could continue to get bigger and bigger each year.”
Jared MacKay, Sci ’08 and host of The Easy Road, agreed.
“We crossed the $5,000 mark really early, and we didn’t want to publicize it because we were afraid that people would stop donating,” he said. “I think that the funding drive is going to be the most important part of funding in the coming years.”
To raise the money, CFRC program hosts each dedicated one show to the funding drive by asking listeners for donations, and took shifts answering phones, Stevens said.
Duncan, who brought in Toronto artist Robert Smirle to do the tattooing, said he didn’t think his vow affected the success of the drive.
“I didn’t hear of anyone specifically donating so that I would get the tattoo,” he said. “But I think an event like this, which is pretty out there, did help with media exposure.”
Students and friends watching the tattooing were enthusiastic about Duncan’s endeavor.
“He must really love the station,” said Sarah Charlebois, ArtSci ’07. “A tattoo is a permanent thing—you have to be sure of it before you go ahead.”
Brolley agreed.
“[Duncan] has been doing this for five years, and he does have other tattoos, so this is part of him, something he enjoys,” he said.
Smith had another comment to add.
“I’m just surprised he had any real estate on his body left for a tattoo.”
Several of Duncan’s close friends were on hand to him, including friend Joey Feron, ArtSci ’06, who has known Duncan since elementary school.
“Eric’s been doing crazy things his entire life,” Feron said. “In high school, to work out his legs, he’d take his dad’s car to a parking lot and do wind sprints, pushing it 100 yards at a time.
“This doesn’t surprise me at all.”
Feron added he doesn’t think Duncan will regret the tattoo.
“Eric is doing a full course load and working 50, 60, 70 hours a week at CFRC,” he said. “It really kills him, but he loves it very much, so I can understand why he would put the logo on his back.”
After more than an hour of pain, explicit outbursts, and from the crowd, Duncan stood triumphantly to show off the freshly inked tribute.
“This looks fantastic,” he said of the black design with pink lettering. “I bleed rock and roll.”
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].