New Shows
 

I am working on getting together three new shows, and I wanted to get folks' reaction and/or comments. Each show would be two hours.

New Moon
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This one's been slowly coming together, thanks to my crazy schedule as of late. It would feature both new music and new additions to our playlist. Our own Roger Lee will host! Roger will also be adding all the new music to the station with the help of Jim and myself. Thanks Roger, and welcome to the staff!

For Headphones Only
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This variation on old AOR shows would feature cool music especially designed for headphone listening. Slap those babies on and let Aural Moon do the rest!

The Planetarium
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When I decided to start Aural Moon, it was almost a toss up whether to make it a progressive rock station, or an ambient/space music station, since I appreciate that music as well (and work within it). So, this show is a show long in coming. This show would be a space music/ambient/Hearts of Space type of show, pretty different than the usual fare we have on here, but not so different as to be alien. I would host the show. Another good one for headphones! Not sure about when exactly it would run.

My vote goes:

1) New Moon
2) For Headphones Only
3) The Planetarium

Either way, I am looking forward to any new shows that you add.

Sorry - didn't make myself clear. You don'thave to pick one or anything. We're planning on all three of these shows - just wanted to get opinions on all of them.

Excellent.......
 

They all sound good Avian but I am especially looking forward to Roger's show.

I have to say, all three of these sound great. A new music show would really be beneficial, as I don't think new bands always get the exposure they should. (Of course, who am I to say that when most of my shows come straight from the 70s.)

Avian, you get bonus points if you can replicate Stephen Hill's voice.

In college, some of the other DJs used to kid that my show was descended from HoS because my delivery was so dry. Hell, it was 11:00 at night in a darkly lit, quiet studio. How did they think I would sound?

heh

Tommy

Roger Lee is doing the New Moon show.
You are doing the Planetarium show.
Who will be doing the "For Headphones Only" show?

i love the idea!
 

been waiting for rogers to air...didn't know there were 2 others in the mix.

you know i jack-in at work to tune out the office and connect with my inner self. so the headset would be great.

am most excited about the ambient show...though i realize it may get too sedate for some...i would love it...and the exposure to some new groups (or old groups) to add to my must have list of music to buy excites me.

that's a GO from me...i'm sure artboy could steer you towards some wonderful sounds.

UPDATE!
 

New Moon is coming along nicely, hosted by R.L.
For Headphones Only, now named BrainRock, will begin in July, hosted by some dork who likes Yes.

But what of the Platetarium hosted by Avian? Looking forward to the ambient and space show... :)

Re: UPDATE!
 

Think about it folks a couple of hours of ...................Help!!!!!!!!

As the promo says.....leave the wires off and use Ear muffs :D

Re: Excellent.......
 

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm just hoping I don't make a bloody fool of myself in the process.

Of course, I do that all the time anyway, so why should THAT change just because my spewage is voice related instead of keyboard?

Seriously, I'm giving some very serious consideration to placing dibs on the tuesday timeslot sometime, since that's currently the only day that doesn't have a show at one time or another. As for time, well, my schedule's even screwier than Avian's, so who knows WHEN it'll air.

Time will tell.

pardon the pun

Roger -Dot- Lee

Re: Re: UPDATE!
 

KW, I've actually toyed with the idea of doing a show specifically of songs you have blasted, and dedicate it to you!

Re: Re: Re: UPDATE!
 

Remember: EDT + 5 = London Time.

Plan accordingly.

Roger -Dot- Lee, who almost spelled that 'accordioningly', and who, as usual, is in desperate need of sleep.

Re: Re: Re: UPDATE!
 

Man! Do I feel honoured or what?

constructive criticisms
 

To start, I like the new music idea, especially if it means a cut or two off of each new addition. That's long overdue.

I'm a bit apprehensive about the amount of programming and the anticipated lack of variety. I count:

Gnosis
Prog Shores
EP
New Moon
Headphones
Planaterium

That's basically 36 hours a week (with repeats), or 20% of the week. That by itself seems reasonable. However:

I do have concerns about the tight definition of the formats:

Gnosis - is the exception, they'll play anything! Very refreshing.

Prog Shores - covers a need (non-US music). Could be a bit more current.

EP - at the whim of Tommy, so it tends to be a bit the same.

New Moon - same as Gnosis, a needed program.

Headphones - I don't understand this. Headphones are what you use to hear music with when you want privacy, or do not want to disturb others. It's not a format. And the Brain Rock title gives my rock of a brain a headache. I don't see this format as anything other than EP is, a playing of favorite songs by the DJ.

Planaterium - Ambient and Space music are popular themes, but I don't feel thay represent more of the prog slice than fusion, classic prog, neo, or any other sub-genre. I'm glad you made it a prog station Avian - I couldn't see 24/7 of space rock.

As you can see, I'm not big on strict formats. I go under the assumption that everyone has bought what they really like, and the station is a great source of finding more music.

I look forward to the new programming, but I feel it needs to be monitored, or you will find a vast ocean of music will be ignored.

Re: constructive criticisms
 

The point of the show will be to focus on music that is "designed" for headphones. Lots of stereo effects and things of that nature. So in that since, it is a seperate format.

As for a playing of favorite songs by the DJ, this is correct, to a degree, from the simple fact that I, Tommy, and everyone else that does a little something for AM live on personal budgets and can't afford 15,000 cds, unlike corporations. We have limited music to pick from, but we are constantly building our personal libraries. I think that it is vitally important at this point to remember that AM is in essence amateur radio. Not that AM isn't good, it's just that it is free - i.e. not commercial. No daily income from advertising. In other words, it is a hobby of Jim's and Avian's, as well as Tommy, Sean, Alex, and myself. In closing, I have a B.S. in Mass Media Communication, which I promptly used to get into seminary. Regardless, I have four years experience on air, two in radio production, one in tv production, and one in radio programming. I swear I will do my best to program a fair and balanced show. However, keep in mind I am one man living on a grad school budget. I have over 650 cds right now, which ain't that much. I'm constantly buying at about 3 a month. Besides, needing fresh new material gives me a great excuse to buy music :D. Hope that answers your concerns.

BrainRock
 

Oh, and about the title...

I chose that because it has the connotation of progressive/art rock, without limiting it to that specific genre. It applies to what I call "Smart-Rock" which, if I recall, certain people scoffed at :p. So it'll be a show that plays the artsy-fartsy side of rock, heavy on prog and its sub-genres, but not exclusive to those.

And "BrainRock" nicely doubles as a word play on putting the music right beside your Brain with the headphones.

I have to say I think that it's quite creative...:D

I wanted to give Avian feedback he asked for. My main point is that the format needs to be monitored, nothing more.

1) A secret for you - I would rather listen to your show than the Planetarium, so don't take what I said as a personal criticism - I don't think the effect is as great over a computer, and I've listened to my share of "Headphones only" shows in my day. Music "designed" for headphones is such a misnomer.

2) I have 800 or so CD's, and I'm 40. We're all on a budget. At your rate, you will far outdistance me when you are my age. Your grad school budget = my disposable income.

3) I'm not sure if I understand what a "little something" means. If you mean donating CD's I see no relevance in that relating to having a show.

4) I listen to Aural Moon for the camraderie and the occasional new gem. More than not, there will be songs I don't want to hear. That's on me to deal with, I have no issue with that.

5) The size of your library is irrelevant if you were "spinning" tunes already on the Moon.

6) If AM is amateur, is it contradictory to say that you have experience?

I know it sounded like a personal attack, Spaz, but I am not afraid to voice my opinion. No need to defend anything. Especially when the shows are fait accompli anyway.

Re: constructive criticisms
 

Indeed. And I'm profoundly honored to be filling that much needed niche.

Again, I'm flattered. Of course, this also adds the pressure factor.
[r.l gnaws on non-existent fingernails]

OK, this I don't quite follow. A good deal of the stuff I'm going to be playing, at least initially, is going to be stuff that I've never heard. In other words, the choices may well be pseudo random.

However, the others will be digging in and finding a wide variety of songs that aren't generally played on The Moon. Especially BrainRock and Space. Neither of them, in my personal listening experience, are what could be considered 'overplayed'. I could definitely understand your concern if I were to be putting together a format of, say, the top 20 (or whatever) songs of the last month.

The way I see it, a lot of us (including the established shows) will be using these shows to showcase things that AREN'T played over and over. In spite of his monicker, I'm quite sure that Yesspaz won't be playing "All Yes All The Time".

Quite the opposite, I'd say. He might do the occasional track off of 'Tales', but I suspect his format will be directed much more toward Don Cab, GY!BE, and other new-agey/classic-prog/synth type music.

Maybe I misunderstand 'Spaz's format. Maybe I misinterpreted your concern, Rick. But I don't see where the 'oceans of unplayed music' will come from. The way I see it, it's quite the opposite, in fact.

Roger -Dot- Lee, long winded as usual.
:D

experience?
 

Goodness gracious, no. To say it was 'Paid' experience, perhaps. But there are many in the broadcasting field that started out at college stations and doing 'internships' at stations. None of these are paid positions (or at least VERY few are). Whether or not you get paid for it has no bearing on the experience you gain from the endeavor.

Just my sleep-deprived $.02US....

Roger -Dot- Lee, attempting to break some kind of record for the most words typed in a single session or something.

roger
 

I know about the paid thing, I was being snide - I'm trying to stick to the issues here the best I can, to have this discussed up front. I find it helps to avoid problems later. Plus I am a devil's-advocate.

As for the "oceans" comment, scroll down the Playlist once and ask yourself when was the last time you heard that artist or song.