Radio Survivor

Jeff McMahon's Rare Panasonic RF-1130 Radio

It’s time for another installment in our ongoing series Radio Obsessives, in which we share tales about people who are passionate about radio.

So far we’ve profiled Garrett Wollman’s Radio Tower Quest, Jose Fritz and his amazing Arcane Radio Trivia website, Radio Sticker of the Day curator Greg Blouch, and radio historian/Seattle Radio Theater founder Feliks Banel.

Blogger Jeff McMahon muses about radio on his blog Herculodge. Although the blog is ostensibly focused on a myriad number of topics (from vegetarian cooking to parenthood to cars), Jeff found that his posts about radio seemed to generate the most interest and excitement from readers.

Filed under the category “Radio Lovers Can’t Be Cured,” Herculodge’s radio posts typically focus on reviews of both new and vintage radios, as well as radio-related products. Written by Jeff and a crew of guest contributors, the radio section of Heculodge is kind of like a clearinghouse for feedback about specific radios. I was also amused by a post by Radio Russ enumerating a “12-Step Program for Radio Addicts.” He writes that step 1 is: “We admitted we were powerless over Radios, that our lives had become unmanageable without a radio in every room.”

On the site, Jeff also has a 3-part semi-autobiographical story “The Man Who Loved Radios Too Much,” in which he describes both the origins of his radio love and how he has descended into obsession.

In our email interview, I chatted with Herculodge founder Jeff McMahon about his website and why he’s so passionate about radio and radios. (more…)

Jose Fritz

I’m awed by all the radio enthusiasts, collectors, historians, and scholars out there; so I’m going to try to feature some of my favorites on Radio Survivor in a new feature called Radio Obsessives.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but my interview with Garrett Wollman about his fascination with radio towers is what prompted me to begin this quest to profile radio obsessives; simply because I love talking to other radio fans about radio.

“Jose Fritz” lives for radio and regularly blogs about radio factoids from the olden days on his blog Arcane Radio Trivia. In many ways I’ve found a kindred spirit in radio reportage, as Jose is also a fan of non-commercial radio and continues to remain optimistic about the future of college radio.

Interestingly, he’s opted on his blog to focus entirely on the past, avoiding “topical” stories for the most part. Consistently writing an impressive 5 posts a week, he’s covered everything from the long-forgotten radio show “The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour,” to WXPN’s scandalous student radio past, to James Brown’s career as a radio station mogul, to little-known radio pioneers like Reverend Jozef Murgas.

I had an email chat with Jose Fritz to learn more about his radio obsession and to attempt to peel back some of the layers of his secret identity. I can tell you that he’s an engineer by day, is a blogger by night, has a music and radio past, and writes a fun and educational blog. On to the interview:

Jennifer Waits: When did you start Arcane Radio Trivia and what prompted you to begin writing the blog?

Jose Fritz: I began Friday, May 13th 2005. I decided one day maybe a few weeks prior that I needed a structure that would compel me to write more regularly.  I gave myself a set of strict rules and started that Friday. It’s been 5 posts a week since then for 220 weeks; that’s 1047 posts not counting today.  I keep thinking I should edit and compile them into a book.

I though it would make my other writing more productive. I was wrong.  I did write more, but I wrote more about radio, instead of becoming a writing exercise it became a consuming hobby.  I still manage to get the rest of my writing done, but I often end up posting after midnight. (more…)