Kent Davies is a campus staple at the University of Winnipeg. He’s worked on campus in a number of capacities over the years (including a four-year stint as the chair of the Mouseland Press’ Board of Directors, that oversees The Uniter). But he’s probably best known for his work at CKUW 95.9 FM, where he hosts ’Peg City Groove and Amateur Hour.

“I worked at CBC for a while as a freelance producer,” Davies says of his beginnings in radio. “You know, when you’re 18, and everyone says ‘no’ to all your ideas. Sarah Michaelson, or Mama Cutsworth, told me, ‘There’s this campus community radio station that lets you do whatever you want!’ I thought, ‘I’m going to check that out.’”

Davies ended up doing a lot more than “checking it out.”

“I ended up volunteering there,” he says. “Now I’m on their board of directors, I do two shows, and I used to be the volunteer co-ordinator.”

Davies’ work in radio and audio engineering often spills over from the studio and into his South Osborne home, which is affectionately named “The Slanty Shanty.”

“A lot of the houses in this neighbourhood are kind of slanted, because we got flooded back in the 1950s,” he says. “We have names for everything in this house. There’s the Office, the Culture Room. The bar downstairs is the Legion.”

“The Legion” is more than just a name. Davies’ basement bar features wood-panelled walls, a shuffleboard table and a portrait of the Queen.

Boats, Trains & Automobiles

“That’s the original shooting script for Planes, Trains & Automobiles. (I got it from) my cousin (who) worked in Hollywood and his wife (who) was a script supervisor. There was a boat scene that never came to fruition, where they had to cross a lake or something, but I guess they thought that was a little too much.”

“Queen” portraits

“Early on, we didn’t have an actual portrait of the Queen in the Legion, so all my friends dressed up as her and got these photos done for me. One year at New Year’s, I went out for a smoke, and by the time I’d come back, they’d put these up.”

Wall cupboard

“I don’t know what this (cupboard) originally was, but I figured I’d fill it with curiosities I’ve collected over the years. The Vienna Sausage can with the moustache is from our ’70s party. I’ve got a Zapatista doll from Mexico, wrestlers from Bolivia, Boxer watermelon-flavoured beer (and) a Tom Selleck candle.”

“The Office”

“I do a lot of digitization and mixtapes and stuff in here. It’s full of random cords, headsets, stuff that shouldn’t even exist.”

“The Culture Room”

“During the daytime, this is usually where I write and work and stuff. I’ll play records, (and) you can see the kids walking by to school. It’s awesome.”

Published in Volume 72, Number 14 of The Uniter (January 18, 2018)