Hyper-Local Yet Worldwide
by Frank Matheis 2016
In the United States the radio world has become ever more limited, but cool things are happening on the local, down-home radio scene.
Radio in America is not what it used to be. Commercial stations dominate and few of those ever delve into the old roots & blues. Syndicated blues shows on satellite radio are heard nationwide, but that centralization of power limits the musical choices to the tastes of fewer and fewer musical directors. Public radio stations feature less blues shows, or other forms of non-pop music, and when they do it’s mostly electric and rocking blues, rather than the deep roots. Of course, one bright spot is internet radio that caters to the roots & blues.
Public Radio is the last refuge for the old freeform FM format, where the DJs and music teams still have the freedom to chart their own shows the way they want to unfold them. But even the large public radio stations are profit driven, which mean they look for ratings as much as commercial radio, and that means the less popular musical genres are pushed aside.
If listeners are lucky, they can be taken to musical journeys into the hinterlands of the esoteric, obscure and even the spectacularly unusual. The further you get away from mainstream radio, the greater the adventure can become, and you can’t get further away from the mainstream than small scale, local community radio. The back-to-the-grassroots movement in American radio is especially evident in college radio, small community stations and weekends on the larger National Public radio stations. Call it the counter-revolution to the standardization and homogenization of radio.
What do you find in those stations? Musical forms that have all but lost their place on mainstream radio: Roots, Blues, Ethnic from Latin to Polka, from Cajun to Hawaiian, Jazz, Big Band, Bluegrass, Alternative and Indie Rock, unknown local singer-songwriters, Soul, Funk and on and on.
Take Takoma Radio WOWD 94.3 FM in Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The tiny community station is all volunteer, local and non-profit. Indeed, it is hyper-local, broadcasting to just a 2-5 mile radius, reaching Takoma Park and adjacent neighborhoods. Yet, the new world of online streaming allows the station to be heard worldwide. You can listen live at https://takomaradio.org anywhere worldwide, which means the barrier is broken. Grass-roots radio is emancipated and accessible.
Severn Savage and Heather Livingston are just two of the DJs on this station who are able to program their own shows, and they bring you their unique radio program “The Blues Come Calling” every other Tuesday evening from 6.00PM–8.00PM Eastern US Time. (Just make sure you get the time right with the weird international daylight savings time changes. From abroad you can look up Eastern US time, New York Time or Washington, DC time to get it right.)
“The Blues Come Calling” does not just mimic the standard blues programs typically found on satellite radio or established public stations. Their special focus is music from the 1920s and ‘30s, the old blues that even most blues programs have pushed aside. Heather and Severn are two knowledgeable music aficionados, passionate volunteers whose love of music brought them to the station. Heather is a very capable musician and Severn a longtime music enthusiast with a sizeable record collection. When they get on the air it’s proud amateur radio, in the best sense. Take the word amateur not to mean “unskilled”, but in its original Latin meaning as “lover of,” in this case people who are on the radio do it for the love of bringing music to others, without financial reward. In community radio there are still FCC rules to comply with. You can’t say “the seven dirty words you can’t say on television.” You need to be professional and put on an entertaining and informative show, but you don’t get paid. Like Guy Clark said, “There ain’t no money in poetry, but that’s what sets the poet free.” In community radio the DJs can still decide what to bring in. Nobody hands them a playlist to follow. They make their own. So things can get really wild, interesting and fun…and you never know where a show can go.
Check out this and other down-home radio stations that are hyper-local yet worldwide. You might be surprised what is in store.
Phil Wiggins, a Takoma Park resident, and Frank Matheis will be guests on “The Blues Come Calling.Tune into WOWD 94.3 FM in Takoma Park or stream on https://takomaradio.org on
Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016 from 6.00PM–8.00PM
Phil will perform live and we will be talking about our book in progress “Sweet Bitter Blues.” We will play selections of regional Piedmont blues by Cephas & Wiggins and other local D.C area traditional blues artists. Please tune in wherever you are and tell your friends. Thank you Heather Livingston and Severn Savage for hosting us.