Chris Sheppard (born ), also known as DJ Dogwhistle, is a Canadian DJ,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and musician. One of the leading figures in the Canadian

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

scene in the 1980s and 1990s, he was active as both a club and radio DJ. 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 The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

-winning dance groups BKS and Love Inc.

Early life

Sheppard lived in the Toronto suburb of

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

in his youth and attended Alderwood Collegiate Institute in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

. He studied radio and television arts at

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

Career

Sheppard's music career started in the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

scenes, working with and remixing music for such artists as

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crom ...

, Ministry,

Jesus Jones Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform, as of 2025. Their track " Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globall ...

The Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

and New Order. Starting in the 1980s, he worked as a DJ and host of several warehouse parties and

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

s in the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

area. 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 Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

. 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''. The radio show later expanded to a live broadcast from various Toronto nightclubs on Friday nights. Sheppard became part-owner of the punk and alternative rock nightclub Bovine Sex Club in 1991. The following year, Sheppard resigned from CFNY during the station's restructuring and subsequently deejayed for

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

dance music stations Energy 108 and Z103.5. His dance music radio program, ''Pirate Radio'', later renamed ''Groove Station'', went into syndication and was broadcast from stations across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. During this time, Sheppard released several

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s of dance music via his own record label, Pirate Records & Music. 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. Sheppard formed the

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

group BKS whose first album was released in 1992. The group's single "Astroplane (City of Love Mix)" won the 1997

for Best Dance Recording and the video for the single won them the 1996

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

award for Best Dance Video. Sheppard formed Love Inc. in 1997, along with vocalist Simone Denny and fellow producer/remixer Brad Daymond. Love Inc. won the

for Best Dance Recording for "Broken Bones" and in 2001 for "Into the Night". Sheppard stopped releasing music in the 2000s and his last reported public appearance was on a 2014 episode of the '' Humble & Fred'' podcast.

Discography

*''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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Chris Canadian radio personalities Living people Canadian electronic dance music DJs Year of birth uncertain