EDBZ Blog #21

Eardrum Buzz Radio is curated by human beings, not an algorithm. And we're free to listen to!

Creating a playlist for a radio show in my mind must be much like when a band puts together their songs for a record. You want to take the listener on a journey and keep the listener engaged through to the end. I agonize with my song selections for our twice monthly Vapour Trail Live, knowing that I'm going to share my sets with two other people with different tastes in music than my own. Do I worry about what they're playing and how we all fit together? Not really, as that is part of the experience. I do concern myself with the internal flow of each of my sets and if they sound good together and as a whole in my own world. Think of it as a narrative, a point of view of a character in a story. And hopefully, the flow of the whole show works well together. Regardless, it is a journey and the places we go, the bands we play, and the very songs we play create a picaresque travelogue to entice your soul and give you some amount of pleasure and escape from whatever is going on in your collective lives. Crafting our shows certainly must fuel our souls at the very least and for you to tune in and chat with us gives us a brief respite from whatever is going on in our lives.

That being said, just a few weeks ago, Eardrum Buzz Radio celebrated its third anniversary on this planet and we featured many guest DJ shows as well as shows from our DJ family who all made great one and two hour sets of music that made us smile, gave us a break from the day-to-day and got us moving. Thanks to everyone that made it possible, for giving away music and even going live when their shows are usually recorded. The time and effort and thought and good musical taste that you put into each and every show is inspiring to me and likely to you as well. Thanks to you, the listener, for taking the time to listen to as many shows as you did and for sharing your enthusiasm with us too!

We've got a new monthly show called Shots From Across The Pond featuring the band members from Say Yes, Do Nothing. They contacted me about doing a show for our third anniversary and turned in a Scotch-fuelled good time of chatting and playing tunes. They'll be on fourth Mondays at 11am and 8pm Pacific time. For those in the UK, that's 7pm Greenwich time and 4am on Tuesday morning. Their second airing will be on right after Kris Gardner's Your First Listen, so stay on after her show on fourth Fridays. And the first airing is on my birthday, July 24th!

Here I am at around 11pm at night putting on the station a bunch of songs with "moon" in the song title reflecting on where we've been as a station and where we're going. Will we ever gain more listeners? Will people buy more of our shirt designs? Will I get more Patrons to help the economic burden of running the station and website? Will I slow down buying new music from Bandcamp and other sources which inevitably also helps keep the musicians going? Will people realize that paying the Spotify executives and lifting songs off Youtube causes them to be a part of the problem of the whole music business, by not actually supporting the bands by purchasing their music? Simply paying a dollar a song isn't going to make any of these bands selling their music on Bandcamp rich in any way, but buying into a jukebox service doesn't do the actual bands any good either. So I challenge all you music fans out there to put your money where your heart is and purchase the music we play on Eardrum Buzz Radio, to go and see bands perform live and to keep talking about the bands you hear making music now, not just wrap yourselves in the nostalgic and cozy blanket of music from decades ago picked by an algorithm. Stay young, stay creative and stay at www.eardrumbuzz.net to hear music that just came out yesterday as well as those favorites of days gone by long ago. And hopefully, your enthusiasm will fuel me to have a fourth anniversary!

Thanks for your support!

Bret Miller

I'm on Facebook at: facebook.com/groups/eardrumbuzzradio, facebook.com/EardrumBuzzRadio, on Twitter @eardrum_buzz and Instagram @eardrumbuzzradio. I have an autopost for songs played on Twitter too. On Patreon you will get exclusive mixes of some of my favorite bands, a discount code for shirts and you'll get to hear Vapour Trail Live a week early, plus mugs, totes and more for the higher tiers. patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio. Buy shirts and hoodies with three different designs and many color choices at: bonfire.com/store/eardrum-buzz-radio.

Visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email me at bret@eardrumbuzz.net and send me your band submissions in MP3 format as well as your requests and keep up with our latest shows! Sign up for our monthly newsletter at the bottom of our website or check out the Blog page on the website.

Become a Patron and help support the station at: patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio

Other ways to support Eardrum Buzz Radio are via Paypal: paypal.me/eardrumbuzzradio. Every little bit helps and goes towards bills, saving for new gear and purchasing more music for your enjoyment. You can also retweet our autoposts from Twitter @eardrum_buzz and on Instagram @eardrumbuzzradio and repost and share our events on Facebook, post about your new music and releases at facebook.com/groups/eardrumbuzzradio and join us there to chat during our shows.

Thanks to everyone who listens to Eardrum Buzz Radio, chats with us throughout the week and during our live shows and helps spread the word. You are appreciated!

Eardrum Buzz Radio Patreon page: patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio

LINKS: linktr.ee/eardrumbuzz

LinkTree: linktr.ee/eardrumbuzz PayPal: paypal.me/eardrumbuzzradio

Written by Bret Miller Eardrum Buzz Radio eardrumbuzz.net

Follow Eardrum Buzz Radio: Instagram: @eardrumbuzzradio Twitter: @eardrum_buzz Facebook: facebook.com/groups/EardrumBuzz

Send submissions to: bret@eardrumbuzz.net with "Submission" and your band name in the subject. Please only MP3 files, no WAV files, no Spotify links, just your awesome music!

EDBZ Blog #20

I'm happy to announce our third anniversary! This year July 4th falls on a Tuesday so you're going to hear five days of music from our DJ family along with guest DJ's. Check the schedule page at eardrumbuzz.net/schedule for our regular shows and facebook.com/groups/eardrumbuzzradio for guest spots.

We'll have giveaways including DL's, vinyl, CD's and shirts from Friday, June 6/30 through Tuesday, July 4th.

I want to thank all the listeners and DJ's, past and present for being a part of Eardrum Buzz Radio and the connections we've made. Whether you know it or not, you're the very reason I started this station. That, and I love music, but mostly it's about people from all around the world.

You can help get EDBZ bigger by reposting and sharing events, retweeting and Instagramming, playing the station wherever you're at, wearing our shirts and generally just being awesome. You can always share your love of music on our group page and invite people to join at facebook.com/groups/eardrumbuzzradio. I'm on Twitter @eardrum_buzz and Instagram @eardrumbuzzradio. You can always tag Eardrum Buzz Radio too!

Cruel World 2023 was a blast though it ended early due to lightning. Gary Numan who got to play a full set returned Sunday as did Iggy Pop who got his set cut short. Siouxsie got to play a longer set at an hour and a half. I didn't get to see it as I had dinner with my extended family.

We got in just in time for Animotion and they put on a fun set. Yes, they played You're My Obsession.

Berlin took the slot for The Motels who canceled only a week earlier and put on a solid set of songs you likely know if you're old enough. Terri Nunn still has the pipes and even sang the opening to Take My Breath Away a capella.

The Vapors were a pleasant surprise and put on a great post-punk set ending with Turning Japanese.

Modern English were also a surprise putting on a professional set full of noise and interesting sounds. I need to go back to their catalogue and give them due respect. They ended with a singalong take on I Melt With You, at one point the singer commenting "What a lovely song".

Gang of Four with original singer Jon King back in the fold, with original drummer Hugo Burnham behind the kit and early bassist Sara Lee playing those dub and funk lines with a smile. David Pajo kept the angular guitar lines bright and angry. GO4 got me dancing in the sun.

Back to the main stage for Gary Numan and his band. They were loud and buzzing, a bit too much for my already buzzing ears and I got bored after the third same pounding sound. They played Cars deep in their set and everyone around me seemed to enjoy the show.

Echo & The Bunnymen were great as usual and had us singing along to all our favorites. They didn't have cameras on them but sounded great even if you couldn't see them.

Love & Rockets were the highlight of the day with their psychedelic graphics and video treatments on the band camera shown on the screens on either side of the stage. As the sun went down the lights came up in deep reds and blues and bright white and the drum stand was lit with colored circles. They played music from earlier in their career which is just fine though later on they had some solid songs.

Iggy went on, we went to take a break and decided to go see Human League. We couldn't get within a thousand feet of the smallest stage. They played a few songs before having to be stopped due to inclement weather. There were a few flashes of lightning off to the north over the hills and apparently that was enough reason to end the show early. Those who didn't have to travel home Sunday got to come back and enjoy the rest of the show sans Human League. The promoter made good on that.

On the back screen of the two smaller stages were often shown videos of the songs being played along with colorful graphics adding to the fun. The weather was nice, a cool breeze came in later on but it sure would have been great to see Siouxsie play and for Human League to get to finish their set. Next year will likely be as packed with great bands as these past two. I'd love to see Human League asked back. We missed Squeeze, ABC and Billy Idol but saw plenty and left happy to have enjoyed so much music that's still relevant today. this wasn't just a nostalgia fest, it was a celebration of life and art. The food, outhouse and water refill lines were much shorter this year, a big improvement over last year.

And The Cure at the Hollywood Bowl was a marathon set of longer songs including six new ones, ending with a whole bunch of their poppier tunes to get us dancing. The band was in fine form for almost three hours and everyone was singing and dancing throughout.

Thanks for your support!

Bret Miller

I'm on Facebook at: facebook.com/groups/eardrumbuzzradio, facebook.com/EardrumBuzzRadio, on Twitter @eardrum_buzz and Instagram @eardrumbuzzradio. I have an autopost for songs played on Twitter too. On Patreon you will get exclusive mixes of some of my favorite bands, a discount code for shirts and you'll get to hear Vapour Trail Live a week early, plus mugs, totes and more for the higher tiers. patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio. Buy shirts and hoodies with three different designs and many color choices at: bonfire.com/store/eardrum-buzz-radio.

Visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email me at bret@eardrumbuzz.net and send me your band submissions in MP3 format as well as your requests and keep up with our latest shows! Sign up for our monthly newsletter at the bottom of our website or check out the Blog page on the website.

Become a Patron and help support the station at: patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio

Other ways to support Eardrum Buzz Radio are via Paypal: paypal.me/eardrumbuzzradio. Every little bit helps and goes towards bills, saving for new gear and purchasing more music for your enjoyment. You can also retweet our autoposts from Twitter @eardrum_buzz and on Instagram @eardrumbuzzradio and repost and share our events on Facebook, post about your new music and releases at facebook.com/groups/eardrumbuzzradio and join us there to chat during our shows.

Thanks to everyone who listens to Eardrum Buzz Radio, chats with us throughout the week and during our live shows and helps spread the word. You are appreciated!

Eardrum Buzz Radio Patreon page: patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio

LINKS: linktr.ee/eardrumbuzz

LinkTree: linktr.ee/eardrumbuzz PayPal: paypal.me/eardrumbuzzradio

Written by Bret Miller Eardrum Buzz Radio eardrumbuzz.net

Follow Eardrum Buzz Radio: Instagram: @eardrumbuzzradio Twitter: @eardrum_buzz Facebook: facebook.com/groups/EardrumBuzz

Send submissions to: bret@eardrumbuzz.net with "Submission" and your band name in the subject. Please only MP3 files, no WAV files, no Spotify links, just your awesome music!

EDBZ Blog #19

Eardrum Buzz Radio is turning three years young this July. I am looking for one hour shows for the anniversary week so contact me at bret@eardrumbuzz.net with the subject "EDBZ guest show" and let me know if you're interested in curating a show and sharing your love for music. I'll send you the details then. If you can't make the June 15th deadline you're welcome any time of the year to host a one or two hour show. Be prepared to send MP3's or a mixed file along with a picture of yourself or band and be able to record your voice to introduce/back announce the songs.

We have a new DJ, David Kasheta and his show Rock Never Rusts. You'll hear him on Sundays at 11am & 7pm PT right before Keeley's Blissed-Out Bangers. I'm hopefully getting better at bringing in new and passionate music fans and David seems to be excited to renew his sharing of music to the world. Find out for yourself starting the third Sunday in May and new on the first and third Sundays from then on. When he mentioned Rush I knew we were going to get along just fine.

Also, this thing ain't cheap to keep going, so if you'd like to contribute to the station, you can buy a shirt, become a Patron, send me a few dollars via Paypal and make posts, tweets and such on social media. Let's not keep my station a secret for another year, please help spread the love and thanks for listening to Eardrum Buzz Radio!

I'm on Facebook at: facebook.com/groups/eardrumbuzzradio, facebook.com/EardrumBuzzRadio, on Twitter @eardrum_buzz and Instagram @eardrumbuzzradio. I have an autopost for songs played on Twitter too. On Patreon you will get exclusive mixes of some of my favorite bands, a discount code for shirts and you'll get to hear Vapour Trail Live a week early, plus mugs, totes and more for the higher tiers. patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio. Buy shirts and hoodies with three different designs and many color choices at: bonfire.com/store/eardrum-buzz-radio.

Thanks to Colan Miles for the vinyl copy of Echoes Of A Former Life by his band Sun Shines Cold. Colan was nice enough to mail the record from Scotland, sign it and thank me among many other fine people in the liner notes. In the past year or so I began getting songs from Colan and I put them on the station right away. I loved their sound, full of effects-laden guitars, wispy vocals and understated yet epic melodies. Brian Jordan is the other half of Sun Shines Cold. How just two people make such beautiful music is beyond me but they are super-talented. They even did a station promo which you can hear throughout the day. Echoes Of A Former Life is their first full-length album after several one, two and three song releases. I guess I said the right things to help light a fire in them to put out the album. They're going to do a guest show for the third anniversary too! You can find Sun Shines Cold's music at: sunshinescold.bandcamp.com

May is a busy month for touring, as if every band you want to see decides to come through your town within the same four weeks time. Love & Rockets, M83, The Cure, Cruel World in Pasadena, Duran Duran, Frankie Rose with SRSQ, Ringo Deathstarr and others are on the road in the United States and will be asking your time to go singalong, dance and meet up with friends in the coming weeks. Me, I'm going to Cruel World on May 20th followed by The Cure on Thursday the 25th. Once again I want to see 13 of the acts on the Cruel World bill but will have to live with seeing maybe four full sets and a few partial sets. Will Siouxsie and Iggy sing a song together? Will Billy Idol still swagger and sneer? Will I get to see Adam Ant or Modern English or ABC or The Human League or Gary Numan? The Motels have some great songs too. And this year I'll happily stay to the end, unlike last time. It will be like a Saw movie cutting out which bands to see. Whoever puts these bills together could be nice and split the lineup in half and have the event over two days instead of one.

The Cure will play three nights at the Hollywood Bowl and I'm happy to have a seat anywhere after the trouble my friend Dave had to go through to get them. I do remember the nights spent drinking and having fun waiting for the ticket office at a venue or a record store to open so we could get the best seats in the venue. You can read all about the ticket buying situation online if you're interested in that. I'm just going to enjoy singing with Dave to all the songs we loved as teens growing up in Burbank.

While I do spend more money on music than I should, I shy away from most expensive vinyl reissue packages. I'd love to get all of the Rush reissue packages with the new art and tour books. Pink Floyd's 50th Anniversary release for The Dark Side of The Moon would be amazing as a physical package but I don't want to spend the money. I did find out about the Live From Knebworth release thanks to Floyd fan and excellent musician Martin Kennedy and got the digital files, though it is also out on vinyl. According to Amazon, "Live At Knebworth was recorded at Knebworth House, Knebworth, Hertfordshire, UK, on June 30, 1990 in aid of the Nordoff Robbins Music Centre and The BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology". It was during Pink Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder Tour. Other bands that played were Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Dire Straits, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Genesis, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Status Quo, and Tears for Fears.

The reason I speak of this release is the performance of Great Gig In The Sky. The song finds the original vocalist Clare Torry returning to perform the song live. This is the first and only song Pink Floyd chose to have a female singer take lead. Richard Wright's lovely piano begins, joined by David Gilmour's pedal steel slides for a minute then Clare takes over for four minutes of sublime wordless singing. While Roger Waters isn't involved in this particular version, the band do a stellar rendition of the song, a highlight of their career in my mind. For five minutes you can feel elated, emotional, sad, mad, or just appreciate all that went into what was originally a drop in and sing job for a singer that had no idea beforehand who she was singing for. You can watch Clare Torry talk about it online, or in a documentary on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon. Watch HERE

Being able to geek out about songs, even one particular song from 50 years ago is a fun thing with a receptive audience, which I hope you who read these newsletters are. See you at Cruel World and the third Hollywood Bowl show for The Cure! Have a great May and get to work on your DJ sets!

Visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email me at bret@eardrumbuzz.net and send me your band submissions in MP3 format as well as your requests and keep up with our latest shows! Sign up for our monthly newsletter at the bottom of our website or check out the Blog page on the website.

Become a Patron and help support the station at: patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio

Other ways to support Eardrum Buzz Radio are via Paypal: paypal.me/eardrumbuzzradio. Every little bit helps and goes towards bills, saving for new gear and purchasing more music for your enjoyment. You can also retweet our autoposts from Twitter @eardrum_buzz and on Instagram @eardrumbuzzradio and repost and share our events on Facebook, post about your new music and releases at facebook.com/groups/eardrumbuzzradio and join us there to chat during our shows.

Thanks to everyone who listens to Eardrum Buzz Radio, chats with us throughout the week and during our live shows and helps spread the word. You are appreciated!

Eardrum Buzz Radio Patreon page: patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio

LINKS: linktr.ee/eardrumbuzz

LinkTree: linktr.ee/eardrumbuzz PayPal: paypal.me/eardrumbuzzradio

Written by Bret Miller Eardrum Buzz Radio eardrumbuzz.net

Follow Eardrum Buzz Radio: Instagram: @eardrumbuzzradio Twitter: @eardrum_buzz Facebook: facebook.com/groups/EardrumBuzz

Send submissions to: bret@eardrumbuzz.net with "Submission" and your band name in the subject. Please only MP3 files, no WAV files, no Spotify links, just your awesome music!