Holiday Zoo Crew

Today marks the 25th anniversary of a show from my personal aircheck archive. It features me and two co-hosts in an impromptu chat show, post Christmas 1985. Click play below or down load here.

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©2010 Neal Rhoden, Aircheck blog. All righs reserved.

Shoestring Broadcasting

Here is how it all began: that is, my experiment with Internet streaming of my radio show concept, the GRIN (Gospel Rewind Internet Network.) Last year we started our own Southern Gospel themed radio station on a shoestring budget (zero dollars). Record your comments below. You can listen or download to your computer here.

©2010 Neal Rhoden,Gospel Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

The Sounds of "Praize"

Transitioning to a new job isn't always easy. Back in 1987 I began what would be a three year association with a 1,000 watt AM radio station in metro Atlanta, Georgia. At least three staff members had listened to and enjoyed my aircheck tape. Three interviews later, the job was mine. The station's morning man had resigned. They wanted the guy on the tape but vowed to retrain my voice. My contemporary hard sell DJ sound was too hot for their format. Ever the compliant one I took the show, adapted my style, and adopted the pseudonym, Jim O'Neal. "Jim" wound up sounding like a host on an NPR station or a somber funeral director. Ownership lacked the sense of humor I was accustomed to at my previous employer. What could I say? My salary was doubled, so I allowed them to mold me in their image. Branded as the Sounds of Praise, WSPZ strictly forced out any personality in Jim. I was dull on air. My Program Director saw to that. To this day many of the recordings made of my early shows there serve as an example of my "going through the motions" as a DJ; forced to be super-religious. Over my 3 year run I was able to re-evolve into my former persona, somewhat. Today's aircheck is from the '87 Christmas season, my first as newly promoted program director. (Even then, in a position of authority, I was forced by rigid ownership to play 100% Christmas music from Tranksgiving forward. This was before the time when stations commonly become Christmas formatted around the holidays.) Check out the example below.

Stay tuned


©2010 Neal Rhoden,Gospel Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

The GRIN Two Point Oh!

Shortly after Easter 2009 I came to the realization that the many gremlins plaguing it would spell an end of my Internet radio stream known as the GRIN (Gospel Rewind Internet). A few months following its demise I finally discovered that a bad DSL modem was the culprit. Too little too late, I had moved on. But, I never abandoned the ideas behind my web station: playing gospel music that was out of print, not played on radio anymore, and a true variety of songs (secular and gospel, old and new) that mixed well. Over the last year I've toyed around with various ways of bringing back the show. Premiering today on Gospel Aircheck is The GRIN 2.0, a 45 minute glimpse into how the new 24/7 GRIN might sound; allow a moment or two for the podcast to load, press play and enjoy.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden,Gospel Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

The Vault

Back again to the Gospel Aircheck vault for today's post. The year is 1993 and it is my final broadcast from radio home number four. In September of that year new ownership was about to take over the station. The new owners wanted me to stay and offered me a small bump in salary. The station had been operating on an LMA or local management agreement: that's where an individual or company buys all the air time on a radio station and manages operations in place of the owner. A former colleague from radio homes two and three had an LMA on this station. He hired me the previous year to replace the afternoon DJ. I felt no chemistry with the new owners, so I declined their offer and eventually found myself at an FM station doing a Sunday morning gospel music show where I finished my radio career in 1995. My final announcement is below; it features my theme song Jesus, Be Jesus in Me by Newsong.

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©2010 Neal Rhoden,Gospel Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

File Under: Audio

The dictionary defines an audiophile simply as “an audio enthusiast.” A short, all too simple definition for my lifelong obsession with sound. Thanks go to my dad for getting the ball rolling on my aural hobby. As early as age three I remember his portable reel-to-reel and microphone recording me in one of his interviews with me his toddler son barely old enough to talk. Flash forward a few years later I had taken up the hobby recording sound effects—doors slamming, thunder clapping—with a stereo cassette boom box and an electret condenser microphone. Just like Daddy I had been bitten by the audio bug.

Age 17, I began and continued a career in radio only as an excuse to play with all the knobs and switches that shaped sound. It was never for the purpose of money or fame. I was also a very young and capable soundman in church often wearing my emotions on my sleeve because older folks often lacked the deep understanding of audio I possessed. In time I learned to put my hobby in perspective: got a real job, learned how to deal with ignorance, developed diplomacy and generally became less of a nerd. As the short dictionary definition proves, society as a whole cares much less than I do for audio. That’s alright we all have our interests. If only I could combine my experience and attitude now into my teen ears.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle blog. All rights reserved.

‘Check this

Once again answering the questions that no one asks Gospel Aircheck comes to the rescue! How exactly is an aircheck made. Well, I’m glad you asked. The most simple method is using a component stereo system or boombox with a built in tape recorder and an AM/FM radio and rolling tape on your favorite radio station. An unattended recording of a station is called an unscoped aircheck. You see ‘scoped is short for telescoped, which is technical jargon for an edited recording of a program:often with commercials, music, and ID’s removed leaving the DJ’s voice only. Therefore, “unscoped” has not been edited. The problem with editing from one tape to another is that some audio quality is lost. The upside is that you never miss anything in an unscoped aircheck. Of course, this quality reduction only applies to analog tape. Certainly you could hover over the pause button and edit on the fly, but miscues are inevitable with live programming.

Most of the recordings I made of my own DJ shows were on analog cassette tape made on professional equipment directly from the source, the station’s soundboard. The resulting recordings are vastly superior to what is possible on any consumer gear, especially the lowly boombox. The problem I have with recordings of this type is that they are often too good. They don’t sound like authentic (gritty) over-the-air broadcasts. By the late 1980’s I started recording from the station’s modulation monitor, which is a fancy very expensive radio tuner that broadcasters use to listen to their signal. A modulation monitor is factory preset to receive one frequency, your own. Capturing broadcasts this way not only preserves content it gives a representation of signal quality as well. Naturally, hobbyists don’t have the luxury of a direct recording; but I have recently read about software that automatically digitally records radio shows just like VCR’s and DVR’s have done years for TV. So far only Internet radio streaming, not old fashioned AM/FM, is covered.

I switched to digital editing of my analog originals in 1995 and never looked back. Happy airchecking!

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. Gospel Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Brush with Country

In the years since today's audio post I have learned to actually appreciate some of the music my radio bosses had me play. Below is the final Southern Gospel aircheck that transitioned into the first with a new Country format on my 3rd radio home. Please allow a moment for the mp3 to load, then press play.

©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Living the Dream

A year ago this week I began a new radio station on the Internet called the GRIN, or Gospel Rewind Internet. It featured classic Gospel songs that covered a twenty year period from about the mid 1960 to the late '80's. We were about 70% Southern Gospel with some light CCM, Country and mainstream Gospel. GRIN was a hybrid based on the format of my first radio home, Gospel 90. At that station I was allowed to play broad range of songs now considered classics.

Technical issues plagued the GRIN. Hosting a 24 hour web radio station from my home computer I naturally blamed my equipment for the constant downtime and made the decision to kill off the GRIN after only a month and a half. Ironically, the problem was discovered in July of 2009; a bad modem supplied by my local phone company. It was a discovery made three months too late. Oh well, it's nice to live your dream; if only for a little while. Below is a sample of the GRIN in this netcheck. This is the first live show. Please allow time for the mp3 to load, it is a big file.

  

©2010 Gospel Aircheck. All rights reserved.

Radio Home Four

1992. I found myself at a small broadcast facility out in the sticks. Twenty five hundred watts on AM radio with a Southern Gospel music format; the best thing about this station was that I was purely a disk jockey having recently stepped down as program director at my previous gig. Below is a sample of my show there. Please allow a few seconds for the mp3 player to load, then press the play button.

©2010 Gospel Aircheck. All rights reserved.

The Unwritten Rules

Now the mandatory first anniversary posting. Actually, a year ago I began this blog having been inspired by an old radio buddy's blog. He hasn't written a new post since then but I have labored on with two weblogs. No, I am not patting myself on the back. It has been difficult coming up with posts. Not for lack of ideas; inspiration strikes at inopportune times: at the market, while driving, etc. I have a small digital voice recorder that I occasionally carry around to capture ideas. My mission or purpose for writing changed. I decided to broaden its focus. Instead of just war stories from my DJ days I have thrown in more opinion and family life. I have begun sharing far more than I would have while on the air. Somehow my home life and career never crossed paths in what I would share on the radio. Regrettably some often humorous happenings never made the show. I edited myself thoroughly and often; one just didn't discuss his personal life with listeners. I was way too strict with my multiple restrictions. Through the years I have lightened up. The new Gospel Rewind Podcast is proof.

I am not referring to the obvious. The use of abusive speech; profanity and slander are never justified on the public airwaves. What I mean is the unwritten rules dee jays live by. Negative words about a sponsor, complaining about the station's management or coworkers were no-no's. Only the well paid shock jocks of the day could get away such behavior. It is common sense not biting the hand that feeds you. One time in my young career I shattered some rules, took a few risks, made fun of each other and the format, and had a blast.

Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart were to appear in concert in my city at a local college in January of '86. It was very common in those days to trade airtime for free tickets. This was the one and only time in my career that free tickets were not offered to staff. Those among us were bitter towards the promotions company not Mylon. We loved his music and felt that the occasional freebie was compensation for our low salaries.The $15 fee for tickets seemed exorbitant. On this post Christmas aircheck in '85 a trio of us were on the same show making veiled references to the concert and being slighted by promoters. It turns out that it is one of my favorite airchecks. It was the one where I broke some unwritten rules, for sure. I truly showed my real personality not some Top 40 facade. It took me another six years to break away from the rules again two stations later. Tune in the non-conformist show below:

Stay tuned
©2010 Gospel Aircheck. All rights reserved.

Rocktober

Back when Contemporary Christian Music first became commercially viable in the mid 80’s with artists such as Amy Grant; I started my own CCM disk jockey show on a local 5,000 watt AM in Savannah, Georgia. The program concentrated on the current Christian top 40 plus recurrent hits and traditional Gospel with a modern beat. Today I present an unscoped original aircheck from October 1986. The month was known as “Rocktober” thanks to a promotional poster hung on the control room wall from Sparrow Records label. Enjoy the show!

©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Let's Rewind

Now a blast from the past. Presented here today is a classic episode of Gospel Rewind featuring two timeless songs. Some of the contact info has changed. Reach me through email nealrhoden@gospelaircheck.com


©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Rocktober

Back in October of 1986 at my radio home number one a certain CCM label, I think Sparrow records, sent the station a promotional poster renaming the month "Rocktober". The following unscoped aircheck is my afternoon contemporary Christian music show. It is a stereo rebuild of the original mono recording. Enjoy.

©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

We're One

One month from today Gospel Aircheck will celebrate its first anniversary. Over the past 11 months this blog has changed: at first known as Gospel Rewind, then Radio Rewind, Gospel Webcast and finally, Gospel Aircheck. We now have our own domain name www.gospelaircheck.com and we are very thankful for our faithful readers and urge you to subscribe! Although our name changed we have remained consistent in providing posts that represent my original intent; telling my story from a ragged beginning in AM radio to the present day finding a New Media home.

Additionally, if you have any suggestions for future topics, please don't hesitate to contact me at nealrhoden@gospelaircheck.com

Look for new posts concerning the Gospel Rewind Podcast and the new music I will be recording exclusively for the show.

Stay tuned

©2010 Gospel Aircheck. All rights reserved.

The Big Tease

This is my new idea for an instructional video. Subject: Radio Broadcasting Technique, peanut whistle style.


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©2009 – 2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Audio Postings

Some examples of my work in Gospel radio are now available . I have upgraded the audio feed directly to this blog. I'm adding new stuff daily, podcasts and all . Look over in the right hand corner. Click play. If you're interested in the technical side of radio or would like to hear some more airchecks go to my podcast site