The second half of 2020 saw the birth of Eardrum Buzz Radio. The big launch was Independence Day Weekend, July 3-5. I asked several musicians and music fans to send me an hour of songs each and listeners were treated to their selections and DJ skills.
Since then I've taken on Elizabeth Kliciewicz and her monthly The Kitchen Sink Radio Hour, an eclectic two hour-plus show spanning Power Pop, Folk, Shoegaze, Indie Rock and so many great bands. Elizabeth has turned me on to many a wonderful band and her enthusiasm is evident in the care she puts into her shows.
Margaret Fenton, aka DJ Wednesday presents Six Beats Under, a mix of Goth and Shoegaze , alternating between themed shows and more eclectic mixes. Margaret has been influential in the music scene since her days in Hollywood with Club Violaine, booking such bands and artists as Robin Guthrie, Curve, Trespassers William, Meeting Places, Them Are Us Too and Bethany Curve to various clubs to perform, with many band and themed nights. She began Brickbat Mansion after her move to Portland, Oregon and has also DJ'd around the world. She also does some live sets on the station on Saturdays before her regular show. I knew she'd fit right in when she played Zola Jesus and Airiel on a show. And she loves The Autumns too. Margaret knows more about Cocteau Twins than anyone I've ever met or will meet. I can't stump her. I've tried many times. Maybe someday, though I doubt I ever will.
Kelvyn Williams plays the craziest selections of music from his massive library of music, with the occasional non-stop mixed show. Kelvyn is from Wales but lives on the East Coast of England with his wife and three kids. He can write and speak Welsh fluently and one of his shows from this past December featured all bands from Wales, with introductions in Welsh and English. This was the first time I've heard Welsh spoken. Kelvyn is also in Mwydu and The Heavy Light Experiment with Albert Gresens, a weird and wonderful mix of Dub music. A conversation with Kelvyn can start with a new band and lead to some obscure nugget from the early 80's, such is his deep knowledge of all kinds of music.
Greg Peters has his Vapour Trail show out of Adelaide, Australia on Fridays and is the Shoegaze King on the station, playing classics and the latest releases from Australia and around the world. His themed shows are amazing, I always hear songs I've never heard before from bands that should have been big in the States.
Madame Maledicta is a recent Portland, Oregon transplant and she took to being a live DJ for weekday mornings and will often go long after her scheduled time, playing music I've grown to love from bands in every corner of the world. She is a list creator, finding the newest bands putting out music and playing them before anyone even knows them. Some of the bands/artists I've become a fan of are Shhadows and Youth Valley. Listen to Madame Maledicta weekdays starting at 8am PDT for Witchhouse, Doom, Shoegaze, Dream Pop and Goth depending on the day. She also features many a premiere from bands such as The Voices and Bloody Knives before their albums are released. I like to wake up to Madame Maledicta, take a walk and hear some new bands. She says things like "Genre Pudding" and "I'll play music to rock your socks on." She always brightens my day.
Necromantic is Lord Hyperion Visigoth and Lord Charon, two DJ's from Denver, Colorado spinning vinyl and CD's from Goth, Industrial and Post Punk bands, representing Denver and beyond. Their five hour show is on the fourth Friday at 9pm-2am. Their first show in November showed their deep knowledge of so many bands and their alternating mixes were brilliant.
James Shipsides is the latest addition, his Theresa's Sound World Blog is full of video reviews of James enthusiastically talking about music. I thought he'd be a perfect fit and his TSW blog spot is at noon weekdays where he reviews and plays some interesting and talented bands.
And Nicolas Pierre Wardell, aka Nico Beatastic, musician in bands Beatastic and Xeresa and runner of Shore Dive Records has been with me since before I began Eardrum Buzz Radio, playing his Beatastic Transmissions on Highwire Daze Radio. He's had 20 shows now, playing music from all over the world, as well as his label signings and I always enjoy his song introductions and eclectic choices, especially the long tracks he closes his shows with.
And if you don't know me, I'm Bret. I have Bret's Ramblings on the first and third Tuesdays at 3pm and 11pm and weekdays at the same time. I play eclectic mixes and talk about the bands. I also like to think I run the station, but what I really do is the schedule, spend money on music and put lots of songs on the station and put out fires when shows aren't scheduled correctly. I also try to promote everyone's shows.
I didn't want to do this by myself and I'm quite happy to have made the decision to include all these wonderful people on the station. Along with you, the listeners, they're the reason I keep going. My life is so much better for having them in it.
The main reason I do this is to give you, the listener and music appreciater, the opportunity to hear music made by passionate musicians, compiled by myself and the station DJ's. Come have a listen and find a new favorite band!
Eardrum Buzz Radio is Real Music made by Real People for Real Music Fans. We've got your playlists right here.
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Twitter: @eardrum_buzz
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/EardrumBuzz
Send submissions to: tallmanpr@yahoo.com with "Submission" and your band name in the subject.