7 posts tagged “radio”

June 11, 2K9  WACKY EVENT

“Celebrating our diversity WACK style...the widest variety on radio on Independence Day Holiday, Monday September 1, 2008.  All genres all day, can you keep up?”  http://www.wackradio901fm.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=431

Oh boi, oh boi here we go again with the WACK brain trust making promises that they won’t keep or will sprinkle one track  here and there throughout the day to gravitate towards the self proclaimed/ubiquitous “Culture Krazy Crown”. Ent yuh know/figure out from past experience that  it will be 95% Kaiso and Soca all day!

Now one has to consider what are the three major musical genres rocking the Islands of Trinidad and Tobago today? Well I am pleased that you asked and really want to know. This can be answered by listening to the radio stations, checking the record sales (but no top ten sales list is produced or shown on WACK) or simply from the man on the street. Well the three major contenders are Calypso, Soca and Chutney.  I guarantee you (please listen to the show folks) that you will hear lots of Calypso, Soca, Steel band music, some Rapso, a sprinkling of Parang, some Folk songs, local Reggae, local Pop some Classical and Ballroom tracks with minimal Chutney/East Indian music. Remember we are talking about diversity and everyone knows about the diversity of the population (yuh think?). Is it WACK radio or is it the call of the DJ's? I think both the station and the DJ's have the same mind set and play to the same demographic but keep in mind where the station is located - what an ironic situation.  In any case it does not matter because this show is a WACK radio 90.1FM show and if you are interested you can listen to the feed  from one of the following sites:

http://islandlinks.50megs.com/streams/trinidad/wackwma.html or http://www.wackradio901fm.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Just take a look at this line of the advertisement from the WACK homepage: “Folk songs, Calypso, Gospel, Trini pop, Soca, and much more.....only on WACK 90.1 FM, the true defenders of our culture.” Did you notice something missing/or lack of emphasis there of?  This is going to be a very interesting show and I plan to listen all day!

So let’s showcase the musical diversity of our Island – Keep the musical culture flag flying!

May 08, 2K8

In your estimation, what is the most popular radio station streaming service from Trinidad and Tobago via the World Wide Web? Just keep in mind that there are more than thirty stations at home with just about 20 streaming service via the World Wide Web - there is much to choose from with every taste satisfied!

Of course every station caters to a different audience and some have a mix that just may appeal to your highly sensitive listening preferences. Some may choose a station because of the amount of local content played; others may gravitate to a station because of the topics discussed as is the case with many of the talk radio services provided. 

Again others may be drawn to a station because it plays the music of a subculture of our very cosmopolitan society. Whatever drives you to listen a station may make it your favorite but that does not mean that a certain station can be deemed the best or the most commercially successful in the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago? How can we determine that is very speculative at best?

Just keep in mind that most of the stations streaming their service on the World Wide Web may only have a community license and may not be able to cover the entire Island with their signal. That means that some people may have heard of a particular station at home but may not be able to tune in to the frequency (Trinidad and Tobago).  The internet gives these stations an equal base to start - "a level playing field" where the advertising revenue has not been a factor to date. As a matter of fact most of the businesses and radio stations (at home) have not figured a way to capitalize on this aspect of programming to date. Some have provided Web sites that sell items but haven't really earned advertising dollars from the programming as it relates to the international community.  

This question that is asked here is geared towards people listening to the stations via the World Wide Web. In this case people will listen to the station simply because of the format provided and maybe because they want to hold on to something relating to the homeland – music, news, talk, politics or simply to keep in step with that which is going on at home.

Some people listening via the web live in communities where there are not many Trinidadians to interact with during the course of the day and to come home and listen to a familiar voice or Trini English can be a very relaxing experience.  Whatever your reasons are just leave a comment saying which station that you enjoy listening too – just the station and a short note why you love listening to the station.

Support your station – let’s see which is the most listened to station on the World Wide Web streaming service from Trinidad and Tobago.

Oh here are my favorites (looks like I’m into the ***.1 FM Frequencies):

Talkcity 91.1 FM (Great Talk, Sports News, Community information, Tips for living, local music)

Wack 90.1 FM (Mostly Soca & Calypso with a sprinkling of other local music genres)

Masala 101.1 FM (Mostly Chutney, Soca, World Beat)

Addendum:

Next 99.1 FM (Soca City) Can someone provide some feedback regarding this radio station? The DJ sounds American (or is he Bajan?) trying to sound like a Trini (1:51 pm Wednesday May 08, 08).  Is this station based in Trinidad or simply a US online station masquerading under the red white and black banner? The station goes by the name Soca City but I only heard Usher for quite some time - yikes!

Pirates of the Caribbean may have been a movie but the word pirate and pirated are synonymous with illegal reproduction and sale of copyrighted material.  Let's take into consideration pirated copyrighted music of artistes who seem to only stand a chance of earning a few dollars during the carnival season. However, what about the rest of the year and what about other sources of income?

We all know that the police in conjunction with COTT are attempting to protect the 'blood sweat and tears' that the artistes put into their music.  The pirates are very brazen and as soon as they are busted they are like Dracula rising out of the ashes to do their dirty deeds once again. Will it ever end? Do you really think that the pirates are the only guilty parties that suck the life-blood from the artistes? You will be surprised that they are not and one of our favorite sources of hearing the music is just as guilty.

Ok now I want to turn my attention to the ones whom I consider to be the true pirates of the Caribbean. This applies from the top to the bottom of the chain of islands. To be honest, I am not privy to the law as it applies in any of these territories but in Trinidad they are finally getting the message. All the work done by the previous presidents of COTT in Trinidad is finally beginning to pay dividends in that the government is finally beginning to act. The police are beginning to do their part. However, there are those that the police cannot touch and are left to be monitored by COTT.  I said ‘the true Pirates of the Caribbean’ and that applies to every radio station that is taking advantage of the Royalty free fiasco by hiding behind the claim of promoting the music of the artist – what a farce!

Sneaky and conniving should be added to the mix. How many of you out there believe that radio stations are paying the artistes for the songs played or are they playing it off as a promotion of the artiste and his/her music and, as a result, are giving the artistes a so called break/exposure worth not having to pay the royalties – what a joke!

Now this does not apply to the stations that are paying the royalties for the playing of copyrighted material. Those stations are the real heroes of the singers, song writers and record producers.  Where are we in Trinidad today?  I don’t know if COTT has set up any rules for radio stations profiting from copyrighted music. In the US, “a copyright appeals board set a rate of seven-hundredths of a cent per song, per listener. For many stations, run by music fans for music fans, that works out to thousands of dollars more than they make. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-07-21-radio_x.htm.  The result of this act led to the closure of many online stations but the reputable ones survived – over the air transmissions with the internet feed.

Now that was a long time ago and since Trinidad and Tobago is heading for first World status it is only right that we all do the right thing – fair is fair.  I don't know if the calculation of payment is a flat fee or if it pertains to 'sessions or hits to a website and general over the air airplay' that reflects the volume of listeners to a particular station.  Whatever the formula is or should be requires that both the artiste and the station can survive. Stations that complain should instead focus of obtaining more advertisers to cover the cost of paying for the music and ensuring that there is a profit that ensures the survival and profitability of the station.

As it pertains to the Calypso and Soca artistes in the Caribbean Region, they need and deserve every penny they can get for their hard work. Sometimes, I wonder when I hear radio jocks encouraging the listening public to only buy original copies of the compact discs if their station is paying the royalties due to the artistes for the music played on air or streamed over the internet to the international community – remember the music gives the station its identity!

After all is said and done one is left to wonder who are the true Pirates of the Caribbean?

Mar31, 2K8

Retro spin-off on WACK was off and running with controversy looming right behind. Everyone was in a tizzy about the rules but the truth is there were no rules in place for the retro showdown.

We had Alpha B starting off the show with a story of love and unrequited love to boot. Deso followed with his sidekick Heshimu chatting up a storm. Of course there were problems with the callers edging on Deso by continuously calling in to the show. What was Deso supposed to do? The man did his thing and Heshimu, his side kick, was just as good – he continuously stroked the microphone and Deso’s ego.

Capshon came on and he was fiery to start the session. Indeed every DJ believes that they can bring it – they all played songs that are not usually heard on WACK radio which brings us to the following question:

Why do we have to wait for a day like today, a competition like this one (and that is what it is) to hear these golden songs? Do we really need a retro show to showcase these classics?

This note is being written as Capshon is doing his show and already he has impressed Cosel with his music selections. The problem with shows like this one that was thought up for the Shouter Liberation Day holiday is that it usually ends up as a vote for your favorite DJ instead of the DJ who does the best job. The question is all about criteria – what is the criterion for judging who did the best?

Ahh, no rules … just bring chune – what does that mean?  I will tell you it means absolutely nothing. One of the main issues I have with this show is that some of the DJ’s will be exposed during prime time listening for the Local and International markets. That means that those playing during prime time will have a better chance to garner the majority votes. There are many variables that go into the success of the DJ’s in this so called competition. Of major concern is the amount of music available - the gems so to speak. The DJs coming in late will be at a great disadvantage because the songs they select to play, to have impact, could be played earlier in the day - it would be a song already heard and would not have the intended impact. So probably there should have been a coin toss to select the order the DJs would appear (no easy answer to resolve that problem). What do your think? Here are some of my thoughts on the subject:

·        The songs played (wow where did he find that chune?)/what does retro mean - only kaiso?

·         Does the interaction of the DJ with his audience mean anything?

·         Should the DJs talk over the songs or simply let the music play?

·         Now what about genres, should the various genres be covered?

·         How is the voting going to be done and should there be a time frame for so doing?

·         Should there be a cut off period for songs to be considered a retro tracks?

·         How about a people’s choice and an in-house champion voted by the station’s alumni?

You know everyone has their idea about how this show should be conducted and it is a good idea to do it and see what happens. Maybe the show could be rerun the following day but this time the order of the DJs could be changed to give every audience an opportunity to listen and judge who did the best job based on, 'no rules' (sorry I had to rub it in).

I called the station to congratulate Capshon on the brilliant job that he was doing (he was eating up Alpha B and Deso). He said that he had a song for me - he played Nani and Nana. I guess some things never change. It also highlights the fact that I have an image (misunderstood all the same) regarding my view on the music that should be played. I guess I will have to go back to the Shaolin temple and beg for a name change to 'the misunderstood one' - Smarty needs to learn to walk on rice paper!

Just maybe at the end of the day I will update this not but for now it is opening day for baseball in the US and the Yankees should be  playing at this time (1:00 pm rain delay) … play ball and bring chunes!

Left work at 5:30 pm.

At Home 7:23 pm:

I logged back on at 7:15 pm to hear Clef Jam squeezing out some Ras Shorty I music, Ohm Shanti ohm, and it dawned on me that I could not remember the vibe that Alpha and Deso put down today. Too much time had elapsed and too many songs were played. I rember that Capshon was wicked today but still could not feel his vibe any more, why? We the answer to that is very simple, it is all about the DJ on air at the time because they all played classic music from years gone by ... how can you say the music from one year was better than the other? 

All of the music was special for the time they were created and delivered to us. I got this strange sensation that I missed hearing the music of 'The Roaring Lion' and Sparrow today. I heard Kitch and many of the greats but seemed to have missed hearing Sparrow and 'The Roaring Lion'. Wow seems like Clef has ESP - Here came the Birdie ramajaying sweetly.

Each DJ had their own special time on air but Capshon dealt a deadly blow with his opening session. He was that good and up to this point, with only David Matthews to come I have to give Capshon the crown.

Next write up will be for David Matthews' session. 

11:45 pm:

Talk about comeback kid of the year (for now), I have to take my hat off to David Matthews and crown him the Retro King of WACK.  Listen this is not to kiss anybody’s fanny and it is not to make up for anything (hope I make myself clear here).  Ok I will explain why I gave the crown to David.  Earlier today I could not get over the tracks played by Capshon during the first stage of his show. I was blown away but the thing is I did not know the tracks that he played.  I will crown Capshon for playing the most tracks that, I am sure, most people never heard before. Now having said that, here are my reasons for crowning David as the boss for the day.

·        You know as the final contestant in the show he had the opportunity to hear everyone else and use the tracks that they may have bypassed or simply did not think were good enough. However, the time slot suited David well and he capitalized on the occasion.

·         The songs that David played – I knew almost all of them or was able to dig deep in my grey matter to say: “damn, I remember that track”. You see that is the difference maker here.

·         Now we come to his interaction with the audience; the man did his thing, he ate up the adoration and squeezed every ounce of ‘niceness’ from the ladies calling. Some people don’t think that the DJ’s interaction with his audience means anything and that you should simply bring chune. Well Kenney, if you were listening then you must admit that he brought it to the table.

·         He did not jump around with the music and kept it smooth and even keeled as he rode the wave to the crest all the way home.When he needed to he took it up a notch and finally jammed it too - you got it all.

·         He played the Golden voice – Terror! He even played Trini Funk! Ella Andel and Patti Charles man oh man, when Damion says, "We are going to hurt you" - I guess those words were written for David because last night he hurt people real bad. If you had a broken heart last night must have been sorrowful and heartrending. 

So in a sense I have to agree with David when he said it is not what you play but what is played next that counts. Listen people we all have our favorites but with a flawed set of rules/lack of rules (we don’t know what the goals of the program director were) I will place David first, Capshon second and I have to place Deso next. I can hear allyuh in the studio and most of all in the Shout Box saying, “there he goes again, don’t know a thing but writing like he knows what he is talking about”. Hey this is my blog and my opinion; write your own understanding/interpretation of the show.

Oh my God where did David get that version of 'Let's stay together' then he killed me with one of my favorite chunes from back in the day, a very rythmic version of 'On my own'. Lord have mercy murder has a name - David Matthews! 

Finally I will say it here that it was 'mostly' a fabulous ‘Calypso Retro Show’ except for David's session – shh, don’t go there ok.

Mar30, 2K8

I dare you to come up with ideas that mean something. Take a look at the WACK radio homepage, challenge your way of thinking and come up with ideas that would enhance the experience on the web. But hold on, don't just stop there take a look at the station's programming and make reccommemdations to enhance the auditory experience - come on now make some noise.

Here is one: I think that the page takes too long to load.

Do you think that you have it in you? Put yourself in the shoes of Mr. Kenny Phillips and think about programming changes that you would like to see that would make the station more appealing. Remember that you want to keep the people whom are already hooked to the station but more importantly remember that you need to grow and that mean more and more listeners.

Here is another: Please get some decent photos of the DJ's to put on the site!

Advertising dollars are the life-blood of the station’s existence – without it they cannot pay the DJ’s that you love listening too. Again what program changes do you think that would entice sponsorship, how can it be done and do you think that given the current slate of programming that a few tweaks will even make them better – get your creative juices flowing and put thoughts on paper.

Here is another: What about putting pictures of the artists featured on the station like Bunji, Machel, Sparrow and others with a short bio about them; it could be in another link.

What about the music played? Would you like to hear more of one genre or is there too much of a certain genre and not enough of another. Did you hear something that was really hot and it is not on rotation at WACK – why not call it in?

Here is another: Why isn't there a top 10 song list?  Top requested songs or top 10 selling for the week.

Here is a question that I think needs to be answered: Do you think that it should be the responsibility of the radio station to source music and compile playlists for the DJ’s or should this simply be left in the hands of the DJ”s? Why am I asking this question? Well as I mentioned in the article “Bassacared on WACK”, whose concept of ‘Culture Krazy’ are we dealing with here, the station or the DJ’s?

Here is another: What do you really know about your DJ's? How about a feed back option to leave messages for the DJ's who would respond accordingly.  And for good measure, a short bio about each music maker.

Many or you talk about your love of the station but it only reaches as far as you are able to hear the music and sometimes a call to the DJ to say what a wonderful job they are doing. Why not become an integral part of the station and have a say about how it operates? 

Here is another: Oh gosh, we know that our flag is red, white and black, how about adding some other colors to the webpage? Why must this site look like all the others from Trinidad?

Click on the comment button to leave your thoughts. The ‘ball’ is in your court; so too is the station programming! You can address the future of the station, what direction is the station heading and how best can it achieve its' lofty goals.

Just one more: Friday night and Saturday should be designated for DJ Master Mix sessions. Let's see how creative the DJ's can get. We all have our favorite let's see who is the best of the best. 

Now it is your turn to fill in the blanks ... Why? Oh, it's because you are Culture Krazy!

WACK is your all inclusive Culture Krazy Radio Station that will stream audio and video Content ‘to your door step where ever you are in the World’ thereby bringing a piece of the homeland into your living room – your home away from home. 'Just Right' and the station is just a mouse click away @ www.wackradio901fm.com.

Yip, yip, yip uh huh, uh huh!

Wack is one of many radio stations streaming audio from Trinidad. However, Wack radio only streams local content - all the music of Trinidad and Tobago created and sung by sons and daughters of the land.  The station is unique in this regard and the interaction with the 'on air personalities' in the 'Shout Box' make the experience a very rewarding listening endeavor.  Carnival is coming soon and the station will also be streaming video content - some free and some will be available at low cost. So if you want to listen to the music of Trinidad and Tobago then this is the site you need to 'lock on to'.

Yuh know it has to be good because Smarty say so!