Radio Valencia Studio in San Francisco

Back in June I shared the news that new community radio station Radio Valencia was in the works in San Francisco. After several months of hard work, Radio Valencia is now officially webcasting. Live shows began yesterday at 5pm with a program hosted by DJ Dirty Needles.

Promising a mix of music and talk programming from on-site DJs and hosts handling their shows from remote locations, Radio Valencia has a line-up of 24 programs so far. When there’s no live DJ, automation kicks in, but thus far it’s a stylish mix of sounds that would do any left-of-center college or community radio station proud. It doesn’t hurt that musician TradeMark Gunderson (of Evolution Control Committee) is controlling the 24,000 track library that the automated system draws from.

To get the full skinny on the opening days of Radio Valencia, take a look at the post I just did on Spinning Indie as part of my Radio Station Field Trip series.

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The CRTC requires radio stations to play a certain percentage of spoken word programming, special interest music, music of Canadian origin, and asks that campus stations limit the number of “hit” songs that they play. The weekly percentages of material from each category vary by type of station and have changed over the years based on evolving needs of radio stations and revisions to the CRTC’s definitions of the different musical categories and sub-categories.

I was fascinated to see that the latest policy included references to experimental music and a discussion of where turntablism fit into that category. The CRTC even conducted an investigation into turntablism, with their Turntablism and Audio Art Study 2009 outlining not only the history of turntablism, but also delving into the challenges of attempting to categorize turntablism, DJ mixing, and audio art. According to the study:

“Turntablism and audio art are becoming more common forms of expression on  community and campus stations. Turntablism refers to the use of turntables as musical instruments, essentially to alter and manipulate the sound of recorded music. Audio art refers to the arrangement of excerpts of musical selections, fragments of recorded speech, and ‘found sounds’ in unusual and original ways…”

Stemming in part from this report, the July 22 policy change introduced a new experimental music sub-category of music for Canadian broadcasters, with its definition as follows:

“The unconventional and non-traditional uses of instruments and sound equipment to create new sounds and an orchestration of these sounds. This includes audio-art, turntablism, musique actuelle, electro acoustic and sound ecology. While it may involve the use of previously recorded sounds to create new sounds and orchestrations, it does not include spinning or beat mixing where the alterations of previously recorded tracks are limited to mixes between two or more pieces or samples.”

They further found that if a turntablist or sound artist is Canadian, then the piece of experimental music will also meet the requirement for music of Canadian origin (known as the MAPL designation). More details about these programming requirements are outlined in the previous Campus Radio Policy document from 2000 and in the related policy document Revised Content Categories and Sub-Categories for Radio.

It’s encouraging to see that Canada works to encourage musical diversity on radio and I would imagine that the Canadian broadcast system is unlikely to see the ever-shrinking playlists that have become so commonplace in the United States. Yet at the same time, the complexities in categorizing music and determining what constitutes a piece of Canadian music under the MAPL system must be time-consuming projects for radio stations. I’d be interested to hear if DJs and stations (particularly those on college campuses) feel that these policies help to support their missions to expose unheard music and local artists, or if they feel that the rules hamper their creative freedom.

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Board at FCC FREE Radio

For the past year we’ve been chronicling the evolution of FCC FREE Radio in San Francisco. Starting out as renegade LPFM community radio broadcasters in 2009, they went Internet-only in May 2010 and are now embarking on a mission of becoming a broader-based Internet radio station and content provider.

When I visited a few weeks back, General Manager John Miller hinted at a deal that was in the works that might be a stepping stone for a much larger audience for FCC FREE Radio.

Well, it turns out that today marks the beginning of the station’s new gig as a content provider for SFStation.com, an online city guide focused on events and attractions in San Francisco. Through its partnership with FCC FREE Radio, SF Station now features a weekly hour-long Internet radio show called SF Station Radio that is made up of music selections and calendar listings for that week. Hosted by a SF Station staff member, SF Station Radio is recorded at FCC FREE Radio’s studio and airs live on Wednesdays from Noon to 1pm. It is also archived on the SF Station website for a week. This week’s episode highlights indie-oriented featured events happening in San Francisco in the next 7 days, as well as music from artists taking part in the Outside Lands music festival.

In addition to facilitating this weekly radio show, FCC Free Radio is also highlighted as the official radio station for the SF Station website, with a link to its “24-hour Program Stream” provided from the SF Station Radio page.

With many websites seeking out audio content, this is an interesting partnership and a creative way to blend two community resources. In a similar vein, the San Francisco Bay Guardian launched its own web radio show in April. Their show (which airs several times a week) features Johnny Angel Wendell and San Francisco Bay Guardian Executive Editor Tim Redmond discussing topics ranging from California politics, to the state of news to local controversies such as whether pet stores should be banned in San Francisco.

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Unfortunately no Photos of Oscar Grant Radio, but this is radio on the streets of New York (view from East Village Radio in NYC, 2008)

“Bring a radio for live on the street updates broadcasted from 92.1fm! The day of the verdict bring out a radio and prepare for a mobile radio station broadcasted from 92.1fm, Oscar Grant Radio.

The radio station will be at 14th and broadway, want to say something live on the air? Come by and speak your words. This will be an open forum for anyone who wants to be heard, just look for the sign!

Pass the word around, 92.1fm is Oscar Grant Radio on the day of the verdict.”

“92.1FM broadcasting from 12th and Broadway as protesters continue to gather in the streets. #oscargrant.”

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If I were anywhere near Detroit this weekend I would grab a seat at the Allied Media Conference. Held at Wayne State University, this is the 12th annual conference put together by Allied Media Projects. Sessions focused on media, technology, community-organizing, social justice, and the DIY ethos all began today. With topics ranging from radical comics to culture jamming to creating gender inclusive online games, it’s sure to be a fun conference full of creative and engaged media fans.

Of interest to me, is that an entire conference track is focused on radio. “Radio Active: From the streets to the airwaves” is being coordinated by Prometheus Radio Project and the Community News Production Institute of People’s Production House.

Prometheus is doing a live radio webstream from the event (9 to 5:30 tomorrow and 10 to 1:30 on Sunday), in case you want to tune in to hear what they’ve got in store. Radio sessions will include “Build a Mini Radio Transmitter,” “Radio as a Tool to Transform, Organize and Build Community,” and live broadcasts. Other radio-related sessions include a discussion about “Open Source Internet Radio,” and “Your Phone is Your Microphone.”

Later in the month, Prometheus will be doing more radio how-to’s in Detroit at the United States Social Forum.

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Radio Valencia

Of course I’m biased, but San Francisco seems to have always been ground zero for radio innovators, back from the early days of pioneering technologists, to the freeform FM era, to punk and new wave stalwarts in college and commercial radio in the 1980s, to pirate radio champions like Free Radio Berkeley in the 1990s, to the web radio entrepreneurs of the 2000s and beyond.

Although the lure of Internet-only radio is turning the focus away from terrestrial radio for many; there are compelling reasons why radio enthusiasts continue to launch licensed and unlicensed AM and FM stations in 2010.

In San Francisco, a brand new unlicensed community radio station, Radio Valencia, is about to get off the ground, with a hoped-for launch date of early July. Housed in artist/musician/activist/former San Francisco mayoral candidate Chicken John’s warehouse “Chez Poulet” in the Mission District, it’s being envisioned as not only an underground radio station, but also as part of a larger non-profit community resource.

Named by Chicken John, Radio Valencia will probably evoke memories for many San Franciscans of the former restaurant of the same name (known for its well-crafted playlists of music) that met its unfortunate demise after several fire engines crashed into its corner storefront on Valencia and 23rd Streets. Although Chicken John says that the radio station is not meant to be an homage to the old Radio Valencia, it will no doubt appeal to some of the same folks who frequented the place back in the 1990s.

John Hell in the work-in-progress studio at Radio Valencia

When I visited the station last Thursday, I got to see the beginning stages of the studio that had been built by Chicken John in a week’s time. One of the founding members of the station, John Hell, talked to me about the collective vision for Radio Valencia and how it will be different from his numerous other radio endeavors.

Ironically, it was just about a year ago that John Hell chatted with me about his then-new radio project, FCCFree Radio. Although enthusiastic about the possibilities of that particular station at the time, John Hell recently parted ways with FCCFree Radio after having philosophical differences with the station owner.

Because of his strong passion for and commitment to radio, it was clear that it wouldn’t be long before he landed at another radio start-up. John Hell is no stranger to radio, having worked at college stations KCSM and KFJC, pirate stations San Francisco Liberation Radio, Pirate Cat Radio, and FCCFree Radio, as well as on the crew that founded the LPFM station Radio Free Burning Man that operated out in the Nevada desert during the annual arts festival from 1994 to 2008.

When John Hell was approached by his long-time friend Chicken John (they met at Burning Man and soon after began doing events like “The Church of the Burning Ulcer” together), the initial idea was to start up an Internet radio station. As they discussed things further, the concept for Radio Valencia developed even more and the hope is that eventually it will be a community center with an open-door policy and a full schedule of events. Chicken John, John Hell, and other early participants (including Evolution Control Committee’s Trademark Gunderson and PhotoBoof’s Wrybread) presented the idea of this new station to other like-minded folks in their social networks and reached out to former college and pirate radio DJs and friends with deep connections in various arts and culture scenes in San Francisco.

Stage at Chez Poulet

John Hell said that he’s been amazed by the response and told me that he already has 30 DJs committed to hosting a total of 24 different shows at Radio Valencia.

When I asked him how this station will be different from others in the area, he said that it will be much more community-based, community-oriented, and community-run with “no central leadership.” He was reluctant to portray himself as any sort of leader at Radio Valencia and instead hoped to recruit others who will take a leadership role over various projects at the station, pointing out that “organically, some leadership may grow.”  He pointed out that they will not have mandatory meetings and will shy away from having too many rules at the station.

Although Radio Valencia will officially be Internet-only, they are “expecting” to also broadcast at 89.9FM in San Francisco, although they won’t be hosting that signal themselves. When I asked how they selected the frequency, John Hell said, it’s because it’s between KZSU and KFJC.  Radio Valencia’s DJ RICK! acknowledged that “90% of our listeners will [probably be] online,” so with that in mind, he’s working really hard to have a “modern website,” with opportunities for listeners to interact with DJs and the ability to view the site on mobile devices.

With so many people listening to radio online, I asked John Hell why it was important for Radio Valencia to be on FM as well. He said, “radio is only really radio when it’s terrestrial radio.” He pointed out that a lot of people can’t afford high speed Internet connections, so for them terrestrial radio is crucial, saying, “Radio is vital for a community.” RICK! added that he wants to hear amazing radio over the airwaves, saying, “Every time I rent a car…I want to cry [because of the radio choices]…I don’t want to give up on terrestrial radio.”

Vinyl Records on the Bathroom Wall at Radio Valencia

John Hell said that unfortunately the “LPFM Act made it very hard for urban locations to get a license,” adding that big broadcast groups have lobbied hard to “push out low power stations” in their areas. Although he’s not personally up for the paperwork, he said, “I would be fine if we filed for a LPFM.” He added that in the absence of that, “I believe that the air does belong to the people and the people who really deserve the opportunity to do radio” aren’t able to get access.

Both John Hell and RICK! reminisced a bit about growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, with John Hell arguing that, “20 years ago..radio was awesome [here].” RICK! said that he remembers the thrill he got when he sat in the audience for the Alex Bennett Show and said that it was amazing to have a morning radio show that was produced locally. He pointed out that “it was fun to have someone talk about the city” he lived in over the airwaves.

When I visited last week, the tiny studio contained a couple of turntables, a board, a rack, and insulation crafted from large burlap coffee bean bags. Since my visit, CD players, a cassette deck, and monitor speakers have been installed. The studio sits in a space just inside the entrance to the warehouse, nestled next to a washer & dryer, and a bathroom decorated with vinyl records. Beyond these entry-way amenities there’s a huge, 2-level, open warehouse space that is both a living space (bedrooms upstairs) and an event space for live music, radio shows (the Ask Dr. Hal Show was recorded there in front of a live audience), a weekly Dungeons and Dragons night, and underground dinners hosted by the chef behind ForageSF and the SF Underground Market.

John Hell told me that he was excited about the possibilities that will be afforded to the station because of the physical space and he hoped to be able to air live bands and host a variety of events there.

In terms of the DJ lineup, John Hell is hoping to having DJs on the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in 2-hour shifts. All DJs will be expected to pay quarterly dues and there will be occasional meetings that DJs will be invited to attend. Radio shows in the works include a jazz/metal program, local music shows, new music shows, public affairs/interview-based programs, a sound collage program, and a revival of the Ask Dr. Hal show. Currently there’s no music library, but there’s hope for one in the future.

We concluded our visit with John Hell reminiscing about doing radio out in the Nevada desert during Burning Man. He told me that at that station the door was open all night and he said, “I really enjoyed the immediacy of that experience,” adding, “that is radio.” Although he wasn’t sure how many people might wander in off the street into Radio Valencia, John Hell was excited about the possibilities.

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FCC Commissioner Mingon Clyburn

The National Federation of Community Broadcasters just wrapped up its annual conference this past weekend in St. Paul, MN. The NFCB has been a true anchor in the community radio movement, both supporting individual stations and advocating on their behalf in DC. This year the FCC actually graced the conference, with Commissioner Mingon Clyburn giving a speech on June 10.

Commissioner Clyburn certainly let loose quite a few surprises, starting with suggesting that TV channels 5 and 6 could be reallocated for non-commercial FM radio, low-power FM or AM broadcasters. While she said that she wasn’t suggesting an immediate change, Clyburn said that, “it is time for us to take a serious look at
where these services fit within the overall spectrum plan, and that Channels 5 and 6 maybe a good home.”

The spectrum allocated to analog channels 5 and 6 sits just below the FM band’s lower limit of 88 MHz. Before the digital transition you might remember being able to hear channel 6 TV audio at the bottom end of your FM dial. Although the transition meant full-power stations lost their analog audio signal, low-power TV stations were permitted to remain analog. As I’ve reported before, there are several low-power channel 6 stations taking advantage of their proximity to the FM dial to function effectively like radio stations rather than TV.

Any reallocation of channel 5 and 6 spectrum would require dealing with the few full-power stations that chose to stay put rather than move to different spectrum space. It would also have to deal with the LPTV stations on channels 5 & 6. My guess is that these stations could be offered to move into spectrum allocated for digital, though it might take some horse trading. It’s also likely that those few LPTV stations on channel 6 are going to be very reluctant to move and give up their radio-like business, although it’s just a matter of time before the FCC kills that business model by forcing all LPTV to go digital.

Commissioner Clyburn also suggested that community stations consider the charms of HD Radio. She acknowledged that, “limited receiver penetration and the cost of digital transmission equipment may make owning an HD Radio station an unappealing option for community radio groups.” However, she also proposed that “HD can provide yet another way to promote broadcast diversity and expanded programming option.” She even suggested that community stations or groups seeking stations could partner with other commercial or non-commercial stations to program their secondary HD-2 and HD-3 channels.

It’s pretty rare for community radio to get such a courtesy call from an FCC commissioner, and all the more rare for a commissioner to drop so many bombshells. I’m cautiously optimistic to hear such support for community radio and an apparent willingness to consider an expansion of the FM band in order to accommodate more non-commercial stations. I do have to note, however, that there’s no indication that an expanded band would be only for community radio. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if the idea gains any traction with the full Commission.

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This is the first such event, however, that will involve setting up a full power station—3,300 watts as opposed to the usual 100 watts of low power FM.

“This new station will be uniquely decentralized with three main studios spread out across the listening range, allowing broader participation from residents of New York’s Greene and Columbia counties,” says Prometheus. “Partnerships are already forming with schools, music venues, and town halls to create live feeds from various locations, furthering the scope of the station. WGXC: Hands-On Radio will be much more than just a radio station, with regular exhibitions and events, ongoing media trainings, a news blog, and community meetings.”

The station already streams at www.wgxc.org. We tuned in and, no big surprise, got a Gamelan tune from the composer Pauline Oliveros and the Berkeley Gamelan Ensemble.

If you want to help out and live in Greene, Columbia, Dutchess, Ulster, Albany, Rensselaer, or Delaware counties in New York or Berkshire counties in Massachusetts, click here to register. Otherwise click here.

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Tune in from 8am to 6pm Pacific time for their “Stop the Oil, Save the Gulf” special to hear discussions about how the oil disaster happened and find out how to help in the efforts to clean up the spill and prevent future incidents like this.

Starting at 12 noon on Monday, Jacob Anderson-Minshall will moderate a “discussion on ‘hair mats’, bioremediation, and other tried and true methods of cleanup.” KBOO is also embracing the hair mat solution for oil spill cleanups by offering free hair cuts at their station from 9am to 5pm on Monday. Hair will then be donated to the Gulf cleanup effort and will be used to make hair mats used to clean up oil spills. One such product, OttiMat, has been used by volunteers to clean up oil after a spills in various locations, including San Francisco. According to OttiMat’s website:

“The Ottimat was invented by Phil McCory, a hair stylist in Huntsville, Alabama. While watching television coverage of the 1989 Valdez oil spill, McCory noticed the difficulty volunteers were having cleaning the fur of otters. McCory thought, ‘ if animal fur can trap and hold spilled oil, why can’t human hair?’ In a home experiment, McCory stuffed 5 pounds of hair he’d cut into a pair of his wife’s pantyhose. He tied the ankles of the nylons together to form a ring shaped collection bundle. Then, filling his son’s baby pool with water, he poured a gallon of used motor oil in the pool and then dunked the pantyhose. Two minutes later he pulled out the nylons and noticed the water was crystal clear. Not a trace of oil was left in the water, said McCory.”

In addition to collecting hair donations, KBOO is also asking for people to bring in pantyhose, which will be contributed along with the hair in order to make hair mats. According to KBOO:

“We are working with Common Ground Relief’s Meg Perry Bioremediation Center, in conjunction with A Matter of Trust – when they receive the donations in New Orleans, they will construct the hair booms and hair mats, and then trained volunteers will deploy them in impacted areas on the Gulf Coast – with or without BP’s permission.”

This is a fascinating grassroots effort to help clean up this horrific disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and KBOO’s day of special programming on Monday is sure to be enlightening.

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KZYX Signage. Photo by Jennifer Waits

Back in January when Matthew, Paul and I were listing off our favorite radio shows of all time, I pronounced my love for “Trading Time,” a locally-produced call-in swap show on community radio station KZYX out of Philo, California.

I’ve always found this show to be riveting since it provides a glimpse of everyday life in a small town. Callers to the show list off the items that they are hoping to sell or give away, and the hosts read additional items and services from lists emailed or faxed in to the station. One day a caller might be getting rid of some old tires, another day there could be chicken eggs for sale or the announcement of a ride needed to Ft. Bragg.

So, when I had another trip planned to Mendocino County, I relished the opportunity to get a glimpse of KZYX. Although there’s a sign for the station on Highway 128, the station is hidden from the road in a house on the edge of the woods near vineyards and a saw mill.

KZYX is interesting in that it is both a community radio station and a public radio station, airing programming created by local residents as well as syndicated shows from NPR and others. The day that I visited two weeks back, a local DJ was doing a world music show in which she was playing selections from Asia, but I also tuned in to the station when they were airing well-known public radio shows.

I’m always curious how stations such as KZYX figure out how to balance their programming schedules to satisfy a range of listeners, as I know that with expensive public radio programming, comes the pressure to both increase the number of listeners and the money collected during pledge drives in order to pay for the programs.

When I talked to KZYX General Manager John Coate, he said that national programming can be “polarizing” for listeners, pointing out that “a lot of people don’t want to hear music at all.” He said that if you look at the broad picture of radio, talk radio “outperforms” community radio, with community radio the “worst performing segment.” Yet with that said, said he was happy with the balance that his station provides (about half local programming, half syndicated) and pointed out that they truly see themselves as a resource for the local community, which didn’t have local radio before the station came along in 1989. John said, “We have to serve everybody, sort of like a partyline.” So, in addition to syndicated shows like “Fresh Air” and “All Things Considered,” local DJs curate their own music shows and host public affairs programming, including extensive coverage of the upcoming local elections in Mendocino County.

To read more about my trip to KZYX (with tales of encroaching helicopters, lizards, satellites, and cabooses), take a look at my post on Spinning Indie.

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