Congratulations –

CHSR - Once On Much - Ep01 Hawksley Workman (Erin Bond)

My name is Erin Bond, and for more than 14 years I have grown alongside CHSR 97.9FM — from volunteer, to Volunteer Coordinator, to Station Manager, and now Program Director. Campus/community radio is where I learned that the best interviews aren’t about popular topics and name recognition; they’re about creating space for honesty, reflection, and meaning.

I came of age during the cultural peak of MuchMusic, when Canadian youth collectively rushed home to discover what was new, strange, and homegrown. The late ’90s and early 2000s shaped my understanding of Canadian artistry — not just the hits, but the risk-taking and individuality behind them. In 2025, I launched Once On Much, a podcast devoted to revisiting that era through longform deep conversations with the artists who defined it, including Econoline Crush, The Tea Party, Moist, Wide Mouth Mason, Pluto, Limblifter, VJ's like Ed the Sock, and more.

My submission is excerpts from my conversation with Hawksley Workman, reflecting my commitment to interview storytelling that goes beyond surface-level retrospection. Rather than simply revisiting chart positions or industry anecdotes, we discuss creative identity, what it means to trust your “unedited self,” how to remain entrepreneurial while fiercely individual, and how to reconcile earnestness with a culture that prizes cool detachment. In discussing the late ’90s, Hawksley reframes that era not as a golden age of fame, but as a moment of possibility — when MuchMusic acted as a national cultural connector and artists felt emboldened to experiment.

In our conversation, storytelling emerges through vulnerability. Hawksley speaks about a “plan-A-only” mentality and creativity as salvation. My role was to listen actively, ask questions that invite depth, and allow silence and reflection to shape the narrative arc. The result is a conversation that honors memory while illuminating the timeless realities of artistic risk and self-belief.

The full interview is available on CHSR’s website, but these excerpts capture what I strive for in every conversation: thoughtful pacing, emotional resonance, and a story that feels both personal and culturally significant.

@OnceOnMuch (Instagram)

https://chsrfm.ca/blog/cat/current-shows/music/onceonmuch

https://chsrfm.ca/blog/current-shows/music/onceonmuch/once-on-much-ep01-hawksley-workman

2026 Exellence in Storytelling