Trunk or Treat

On Halloween in the US and probably many other parts of the globe, children of all ages don colorful costumes and go door-to-door asking neighbors for candy. Everyone knows about "Trick or Treating". In our area, and possibly all across America, churches are offering an alternative called "Trunk or Treating." Participants often fill a church parking lot and serve goodies to kids from their open car trunks. It's like speed dating for 9-year-olds. Plus it is easy on us parents. No more dark walks around unfamiliar cul-de-sacs. Our babies love it!

Stay tuned.

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

Big State, Little Store

We all have dreams. Some come true. Such is the case of my late grandparents. My mom's parents Ekron and Grace spent several years running their own neighborhood store in Lufkin, Texas. The article we're sharing today is from their local newspaper. I added some photos took on a visit out there in the early 90's. The store remained unchanged every time I returned. The store is no longer there, but serves as a charming throwback to a bygone era.

Download the article here.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden, The Peanut Whistle Weblog. All rights reserved.

Feudin’

Without a doubt one of my favorite pastimes is TV game shows. Years ago I’d spend hours watching the likes of Matchgame, The Price is Right, Press Your Luck, Jeopardy, The Joker’s Wild, Let’s Make a Deal, and the list goes on. None were, perhaps, as original as Family Feud starring Richard Dawson; the daytime version I began watching on ABC in the late 70’s. Hosts have come and gone, but I always considered Dawson the best, with Ray Combs a close second—until now. Steve Harvey has inherited hosting duties on the now syndicated version of the show. He is hilarious. Harvey brings back personality and a flawless sense of humor to the role that I found lacking in previous replacements. Also, the show is true to the original rules of the game. Just for fun here is my informal ranking of the hosts:

1. Steve Harvey (2010-present)
2. Richard Dawson (1976-1985 & 1994-1995)
3. Ray Combs (1988-1994)
4. Louis Anderson (1999-2002)
5. Richard Karn (2002-2006)
6. John O’Hurley (2006-2010)

Stay tuned

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

The Beatles of Gospel

Repost from Gospel Aicheck blog December 2009:

A super group took the stage exactly two years to the day prior to my entry into the world. Jake Hess and the Imperials, a hand picked gathering of superstars of the gospel music industry. A band of ringers that included: Jake Hess on lead, Gary McSpadden on Baritone, Sherrill Nielsen tenor, and the incomparable Armond Morales with his trademark silky bass. The night was January 16th, 1964 in Hadleyville, Alabama, Jake’s home town. Gospel music was never again the same. This group was different, they sounded modern. A little too different at first for some. Jake is quoted as saying, “I don’t think we’re going to do it.” Armond lent some encouraging words, “Don’t limit God.” In a March, 1989 article from CCM magazine celebrating the groups’ 25th anniversary, the late Jake Hess concludes, “…If it hadn’t been for those three little words I don’t think there would be an Imperials today.”

Although singers came and went the Imperials sound remained consistently great. They backed Elvis Presley on stage and record, accompanied Jimmy Dean and many other stars of the music industry. The group has numerous Grammy and Dove awards; and in 1998 they were inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame. They’re the Beatles of Gospel.

Founding member Armond Morales suffered through a battle with cancer a while back and relinquished the Imperials’ name to son Jason and a new generation of singers. Now the original group is known as the Classic Imperials. Following a miraculous recovery, Armond continues the heritage began in ‘64 along with Dave Will, Rick Evans and Paul Smith.

In 1983 I made my first Lp purchase for my new stereo. The record was Stand by Power by the Imperials featuring then new lead singer Paul Smith. The album produced many hits including: Lord of the Harvest, Because of Who You Are and Stand by the Power. I have been a fan ever since.

Of course I knew of the group through my dad’s record collection. He had a scratchy mono Lp copy of the first record, Introducing Jake Hess and the Imperials. As a teen I was thrilled to spin their new record that was in itself another triumph in redefining the Christian music art form. Somehow they managed to outdo themselves with every new album just as No Shortage, One More Song for You and Priority had done.

In December 2009, I had the opportunity to chat with new lead singer Rick Evans. We had a delightful conversation via Facebook about the forthcoming new album. I asked Rick how the new project was going, he said, “[It’s] a long process, but we are getting closer each day.” I replied that I could identify seeing that the creative process can be time consuming, my radio days and nights were often spent in countless hours on one 30 second spot. “We are lucky to be have a record company that is willing to take the time to make this right,” Evans continued. I asked if he could give me any glimpse into the songs included on the project. Rick replied, “Very different. We used some of the best writers in Nashville. They came up with a work of art. The record will actually be a journey of a person’s life. It is a cool concept and will be wonderful introduction back into the music marketplace.” Kind of like Styx and some of the other “concept” bands of the ‘70’s I jokingly referred. Not missing a beat the Classic Imperials new lead singer responded, “No actually you are on the right track. It is more like the Beatles and the Lonely Hearts [Club] Band thing. It will be GREAT!”

“It was twenty years ago today, 

Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play 

They've been going in and out of style 

But they're guaranteed to raise a smile. 

So may I introduce to you 

The act you've known for all these years, 

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

Funny how the Classic Imperials started about the same time the Lads from Liverpool made it big in the USA. The good news is we still have the Beatles of gospel here and now. Thanks to Rick and all the Classic Imperials for not only entertaining us, but more importantly ministering in ways those other guys never attempted.

Stay tuned.

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

Light Chop on the Inland Waters

One of the fond memories of broadcasting in a coastal climate is reading the marine forecast. "Choppy waters tonight" must have been important to our fishermen, although I never understood the term. Today we are reposting a blog from August of 2009 concerning one of my radio heroes and adding a sample of his work that we recently found and edited for podcast on YouTube. 

The radio station I listened to most as a kid was Z-102 in Savannah, Georgia. Now, I realize that the station was only another Z-100 New York clone. This CHR format over populated the FM dial all across the USA in the 1980’s. Yes it was derivative but I enjoyed the station and copied their style often when I became a Contemporary Christian Music DJ. One unique element of good old WZAT-FM was Burl Womack. His show “Breakfast with Burl” was on my car radio every morning on my way to high school. Burl was allowed to play Southern Gospel music along with Adult Contemporary and hits of the day. Strange combination of styles but it worked! Burl had the number one show on the number one station in the market for years.

Womack was a mature man with an easy going style and mellifluous baritone. He’d get to a point in the show where he would pour another cup of coffee (a sound effect from a cart tape, no doubt) address the topics of the day, read the school lunch menu and, as best as I can recall, played his choice of Gospel music until at least 8:00 AM. He seemed to be actually having breakfast with you. The show was aptly named. To this day I wonder why he didn’t make the jump to television, he reminded me of David Hartman, one time host of ABC’s Good Morning America. Here is a brief sample:

I met Burl on two separate occasions once at at the Savannah Skate Inn roller rink where I hosted a Christian Youth Skate and then again a few months later when he emceed a Dixie Melody Boys concert at a private school auditorium in Garden City. What struck me most about the main was his vocal power in person. His speaking voice was laid back and boomed even though he spoke softly. I was intimidated and our exchange was minimal, after all what did I as an 18 year old upstart have to offer? It was a mystery to me why he was at the skating rink and at the time I felt he gave me the brush off although he was probably hurried or surprisingly, shy. A few months later at the Gospel concert he did a splendid job as emcee and I saw a humorous side to the man not always evident on his radio show. That night I was asked to stand as representative of my radio station during the concert. Typical of me I was embarrassed, quickly stood, waved, said nothing and sat down.

Burl was nominated in 2009 for a lifetime Career Achievement Award by the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame. Mr. Womack, however deserving, did not win. His many years on the Savannah airwaves are fondly remembered by many, including me.

Stay tuned.

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

Merry Halloween

Don’t get me wrong: I love Christmas and the songs of the season. This is ridiculous. It appears that on Monday a radio programmer in the Chicago market has already started round-the-clock Christmas music! It’s still a week before Halloween. Back in 1987 I was forced by my station owner to do this on November 15th and though it was crazy. Believe me, it is not because stations like this one in Chicago like the music, per se. There is huge revenue to be made in the nations number 3 market. it won’t be long before our Atlanta, number 7 market, follows suit. Christmas just gets earlier and earlier every year. If only we could start hearing carols sometime around Valentine’s Day. Ho, Ho, Ho! Will you be my Valentine?

Stay tuned

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

Deferred

An all too common problem in this day and age is project follow through. That is, this blogger specifically. Our most popular post over the last six months was one we shared concerning a book that I started to write. Well, I wrote—really wrote, rewrote, polished, then trashed, and started over—a chapter of my memoir. It was an uphill battle that in the final analysis was beyond my talents as a writer to complete. My hat is off to any successful author. Writing a book is harder than it looks. It is easy to write, but the struggle is in polishing the work: removing the blemishes, ironing out the wrinkles and making my words universally appealing, flowing logically. When I was done polishing what remained was decidedly unsatisfying. Let’s go back to the drawing board. The project is stalled for now.

Tied for second and third place are posts that concern my podcasts done over the last year and my review of a local radio show now streaming on the Internet. Another failed enterprise is the podcasts because of lack of the availability of new, original material. Most of my podcasts were rehashed radio shows and personal tapes I had done years ago. I do intend to continue writing reviews of shows on the air and the Internet.

Maybe it is me. I have had too many hobbies and interests over the years.

Stay tuned

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

Wisdom of Fools

Yesterday's post might have left the impression that Jim O'Neal didn't have any fun at radio home number two. Well, on-air we were made to be quite stiff. The format was strict. At the time the program director took herself way too seriously. In her spare time she came into the production room to record her voice reciting scripture and self affirmations for listening to later at home in "quiet time." Remember Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live, my program director, Kelley, was the female fundamentalist Christian counterpart of the beloved Al Franken character. She was only 8 years my senior, but acted as though she was a sage. 

It was in the very same production room that I was allowed to really let my hair down. I was 21 at the time and felt pressed to act much older in the control room. (I've learned that being serious is not necessarily the same as actual maturity.) Unlike what you heard in the previous post I enjoyed life. The real "Jim" is better expressed in the example below in a spot for a skating rink party my station presented back in 1987, surely considered too hot by Kelley's standards. Commercials like this one was my passive-aggressive punch at the establishment.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden aka Jim O'Neal,Gospel Aircheck blog. All rights reserved.

Lazy Sunday

I was very surprised this morning when I checked the statistics for our companion blog, Gospel Aircheck. It has seen the single biggest jump in readership since I started the dang thing 19 months ago. The funny thing is that we have no idea how that happened. The only difference is that more audio clips have been featured. Maybe it is due to offering more frequent posts. Just how big a jump, you ask? Well, about 50 times the readers on average over the last two days alone! The amount of new international guests to the site is staggering—many of them from countries that are traditionally non-English speaking. Internet discovery is a very tricky thing; you can’t make people find you. I think it’s luck. Here’s to many more posts to come.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle 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.

Wings Over Atlanta

Every other year Dobbins Airforce Reserve base in nearby Marietta, Georgia, puts on an awesome air show. In 2008 we didn’t get to attend the show, but living within a few miles of the base we were able to get a glimpse of the jets’ acrobatic displays. I was very excited this year when my son, Luke, went with me to get up close to the action. The best thing of all, the show was free. My best buddy and I packed our lawn chairs 7:00 this morning and bounded for Wings Over Atlanta. Off site parking was available with free shuttle buss service to the base.  I had not seen the Navy Blue Angels since 1979 when I was 13, so I was probably more excited than my 6 year old.

The first show was at 10:00. It turned out to be only a preview. The Blue Angels would not perform until 3:00 in the afternoon. Luke had become bored by this time, so we left and were shuttle-bussed back to our car by noon. The show we saw did not compare to the one I attended in ‘79, but Luke was thrilled nevertheless. We had a great time. I missed the Blue Angels this time; we’ll try again in 2012.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. The Peanut Whistle. 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.

Stay tuned

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

Get a Job

This weblog provides a great hobby for me. But, it does not pay the bills. I’m ok with that. With my last little one in school Mister Mom is compelled to go back into the workforce.

A couple of years ago Angie and I decided to switch roles. She would work while I kept our four babies in check at home. Guys, being a house-husband is not easy! On Monday I reported for an interview that I believe will produce a j-o-b for this blogger.

I have worked most of my teens and all my adult life, so returning to work should be a breeze. The thing is this is only the second time I have had a panel interview. The company that is considering me had four, count them four, supervisors drill me on work related questions. None of the inquiries were yes/no, I was expected to give in depth essay answers. when I was younger thinking on my feet was second nature. The problem is that a majority of my days are spent with the kids. I have fallen out of practice conversing with adults. Quickly I acclimated to their questions: I felt grown-up again. We’ll see…

Stay tuned

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

Want Fries with That?

I began my radio career at a religious radio station in 1983  when I was 17. I started out as a button pusher at this AM/FM combo on the AM side in scenic Savannah, GA. Often the jocks from either station would leave to get lunch alternately while the other stayed behind to babysit the board late in the afternoon after the administrative staff had clocked out. It was my turn to buy lunch, so I left the place in good hands--or so I thought. Unknown at the time, I had improperly  threaded the Revox A-77 tape machine that was to play a 30 minute preacher show. The broadcast rolled and I was on my way to a nearby fast food establishment. By the time I was on my way back, listening via my car radio, to my horror the tape had been dragging to a stop—dead air! I arrived inside the studio to find my GM hovering bewildered over the board, tapping her foot nervously red with anger. She never said a word. I just knew I was fired. The only words I could muster were, "Want a McNugget?"  Well, I dodged a bullet that day and the incident wasn't ever mentioned again. Maybe my food bribe paid off. The preacher in question had called the manager at home (she lived within walking distance.) He was perhaps our biggest client and a perfectionist to boot who, incidentally, had a studio better equipped than our own within his church. To this day I don't know why I was spared the ax.

stay tuned

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

It’s Not So Unusual?

Now I have heard it all! The Welsh-born, leather clad lounge singer of such 1960’s hits as “It’s Not Unusual,” “Delilah,” and “What’s New Pussycat,” Tom Jones, has recorded a gospel album. With a career that spans 6 decades the 70 year old singer shows no sign of slowing down as he takes inspiration from Mahalia Jackson and Elvis Presley in recording a CD of inspirational tunes called, “Praise and Blame.” The album charted at number 2 in England, but has had slow sales here in the states.

Don’t get me wrong, Tom Jones’ voice is amazing. His powerful baritone has not diminished with age. Vocal power is a plus in singing gospel music, obviously. But, can he pull it off?

Stay tuned

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

Bye Bye Bell

Call  me an old fogey, but I just don’t understand what is all the hubbub about phones these days? I just want to talk. I don’t need my telephone to take pictures, display email or repave the driveway. I remember a time when only private eyes, doctors and rich guys in Rolls Royce Silver Shadows had a mobile phone, now everybody has a cell (unrelated to the old fashioned mobile phone.) The first cellular phones were the size of a small suit case; thank God for miniaturization.

Although I got my first cell phone in ‘96, I’ve been resistant to getting on the “smart phone” bandwagon. And, I have refused to let go of my landline—until now.

Angie and I have agreed to drop landline service forever and go total wireless. Now you can have a home phone and a cell through Bluetooth® technology. New to me is a base unit phone that has two extensions than run via your wireless provider as long as your Bluetooth enabled phone is within range. So cutting the cord will be less painful. Now this old fogey can talk on a conventional home set (with talking caller ID, mind you) while permanently freeing myself of Ma Bell.

Stay tuned

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

Radio with pictures

Decidedly low budget my one and only video airchecks were done 18 years ago at a 2,500 watt radio station in the hinterland of west Georgia. At that time I had been doing Christian radio for over a decade and was, frankly, burned out. Any job, easy or not, can become stale. I felt no new ground was broken and I had gone as far as my career would take me. A generation later I returned to this VHS-C tape of my last day at radio home three. Through my YouTube channel I have shared portions of the tape; one particular video has got over a thousand hits! Far more people have seen these YouTube videos than we had total listeners in 1993. You’re invited to look, just click on the link. I could kick myself for not taking any still shots on my Cannon 35mm SLR; like I said, by this time interest in my job was at an all time low so the cost of film seem unjustifiable at the time.

Stay tuned

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

Z Marks the Spot

“Lock it in and rip the knob off!” Clever imaging, listenable music, and personalities characterized my favorite radio station as a 1980’s teenager, Z-102 WZAT in Savannah, Georgia. I have written about this station previously in a post called “Breakfast with Burl.” The FM station began life in 1971 as a top 40 automated station. Many FM stations began this way as an offshoot of a more popular AM sister. In those days AM was king. FM was merely a curiosity. By the early 80’s AM music formats almost disappeared having been dethroned by its protégé, FM.

It was during this time I really got into listening to popular music and Z-102 was the station I tuned my Walkman to most. The station was unstoppable in the market and constantly led in the ratings. Now, in an unprecedented boneheaded move, the current owners have decided to drop music and go all sports. It has been at least 16 years since I last visited the area and heard the station live. Through the magic of the Internet I have occasionally listened to their stream. What a waste of a huge signal. Just a bit of my youth is gone. Rest in Peace Z.

Stay tuned

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

What’s in a Name

Often I wonder what direction this weblog should take. Do I write for a very specific, small, audience? Let’s face it the topics I tend to cover are not as popular as, say, cute cat videos on YouTube. Originally this blog was to serve as a companion to my podcast, Gospel Rewind. Good ideas for the show became hard to come by and I lost interest. Also, the podcast was supposed to feature some live performances from a few singers near to this blogger. I had great ideas but scheduling conflicts stymied every effort and I was forced to use exclusively archival material. Living in the past really has no appeal to me any more. Most likely, the podcast will cease production as a result.

Gospel Aircheck is a bit of a misnomer. I have not stuck to exclusively radio topics nor do I intend to do so. Broadcasting was a significant part of my life but I have been “retired” from radio longer than I was actually involved in it. I’ve lived my life in phases: for a while interested in my small artistic talents, then Christian radio, working on old cars, selling auto parts, and on and on. Sometimes these activities overlapped; but during my 13 year career in auto parts retail, I had maybe one or two passing thoughts of my previous career. No one who worked with me during this period had a clue of my life in gospel radio. In fact, I was fed up with the futility involving my love for a career versus reward. My first full year in retail I made more money than several good years in radio combined. Long story short, future posts will reflect my varied interests. More than 80% of my life so far does not involve broadcasting. I can say that music has been with me the entire time, regardless of the vocation I choose. Maybe this blog is due another name change, but to quote the Bard, “What’s in a name?”

Stay tuned

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

Nathan

Meet my new brother-in-law, Nathan, a four year old long hair Dachshund. My mother-in-law brought him over today to see how well he will play with the kids. So far, so good. My middle daughter is spooked so easily by his bark. All Abbey needs to do is learn that he is only trying to say hello. The other kids have acclimated to him fairly well. Welcome to the family!

Stay tuned

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

Sincere Flattery

Back in 1981 I was having a dental checkup when I heard the funniest song on the radio, “Giddy Up Oom Poppa Omm Poppa Mow Mow!” I almost fell out of my chair laughing. It is one of those flashbulb memories permanently etched in my brain. The song was by the Oak Ridge Boys called Elvira, an obviously catchy tune that became a number one hit for the former gospel singing group now superstars of Country music. Actually the Oaks version was itself a cover of Kenny Rogers and the First Edition who had recorded the gem as well to lesser success. In fact, the song had been around since the mid-1960’s having been recorded by numerous artists. The 1981 version being the one best remembered. There were even a couple of Southern Gospel imitations, rather adaptations, as well: Go Jonah! by the Cathedrals and the version I remember playing by the Kingsboys. It was a case of taking a hit Country song, reworking the lyrics and adapting it for the Christian market.

“Giddy Up A-Go Down Jonah/God Will Tell You What to Say”

You will have to imagine the tune of Elvira in your head because my copy of the gospel version has not survived.

Probably a even bigger cross-over hit was Billy Ray Cyrus doing Achy Breaky Heart in 1992. Yep, it too was covered as a gospel song by a forgettable singer lost to history. I occasionally played these silly imitations as a gospel DJ many years. It was often a way to give our audiences a substitute for the secular music requests we would often get when these monster hits were played all up and down the dial. Most of the time Gospel gets it right by sticking to what it does best, but sometimes a few stinkers get thrown in the mix. On the other hand, one artist who had consistently impressed me with adapting secular music is Kirk Franklin. Check out his version of the Kenny Loggins classic This is It and September originally cut by Earth, Wind and Fire.

Stay tuned

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

Rock On

Welcome to October or as I like to call it, ROCKtober.

Yesterday I rambled on about my first encounter with the Compact Disc. Although every effort has been made to proofread each post, sometimes an error will slip through. Previously I wrote:

“Christmas 1982 the audiophile community was all abuzz over the shiny 12 millimeter disk that would revolutionize sound forever.”

The date is correct, but it should have read “12 centimeter disk.” Recalling the original press reports of 1982, designers of the CD made the disks 12 centimeters as an homage to the 12 inch Long Play vinyl record album. Further, they made the 74 minute capacity of the CD standard length because it is roughly the length of Beethoven's fifth symphony, which was very popular among the Japanese, who through Sony partnered with Phillips to invent Compact Discs.

Stay tuned

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

Ones and Zeros

Christmas 1982 the audiophile community was all abuzz over the shiny 12 millimeter disk that would revolutionize sound forever. The CD or, as originally known  the Digital Audio Compact Disc, was billed by Sony and others as “perfect sound forever” and I had to have one. By 1983 I was in the showroom of my local high end audio shop Audio Outlet. I was 17 and newly employed so all I could afford then was only a listen. CD players cost as much as my first car and CD’s themselves were about 18 bucks so buying one was not feasible. The technology was so new that most people would have to wait at least a decade before CD’s would be common in homes and 15 years, the late 90’s, before most cars were equipped with players.

Looking back on 1983 at my first audition, I didn’t believe my ears. The sound of instruments was clear and distinct with life like separation as though the musicians were actually performing live. I forgot that I was listening to a recording and transcended to a different setting altogether. As good as that first session was, none of the music I liked was yet available on the new format so I had to continue buying vinyl for a while. As much as I wanted one I told the eager salesman that “My ears loved it but my pocketbook couldn’t take it.” It would be four more years before I got my first CD player. That was 1987 and CD’s were still about $18 a piece, worth every penny however scarce. As time progressed the hardware and software became much cheaper. For me, though, recording digitally on CD was only a pipe dream. My hobby, and by then profession, was recording. I did everything in an analog world.

The best thing about digital sound is not what it adds it is in what is missing. Freedom from noise, tape hiss, immeasurable wow and flutter, extended frequency response and wide dynamic range are all earmarks of the CD. Many sound enthusiasts claim that digital sound is harsh and bemoan the loss of what analog added to the signal. Most call this “warmth.” Modern recording engineers agree that analog is better and attempt to replicate the sound in software. I would have seen this trend as a step backward in my youth, although now I appreciate both approaches to recording sound.

Analog reminds me of how 35mm film makes an image warm and inviting while digital is akin to the look of live video, realistic and stark. Both technologies continue to coexist. Since no technology really is “perfect forever” blending both is the way to go. The best attribute of digital is its ability to archive without any loss of quality on the shelf. Analog tape, on the other hard, degrades over time. Cassette tapes, especially, lose high frequency content over time. That is why I have been transferring my analog originals to digital with a few recordings made into CD’s. Most of the transfers exist on my hard drive. I began my digital migration in 1995 with the now defunct Sony Mini Disc then to CD and finally Mp3 files. A Peanut Whistle subscriber has suggested that I transfer my dad’s old recordings to CD. Thanks, I’m way ahead of you. I’ve been doing just that for the past 15 years.

Stay tuned

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

Adventures in Babysitting

Here’s a repost from last year’s Peanut Whistle blog:

Throughout my storied radio career I have come across some very entertaining and often comical songs and tales geared to the Gospel audience. Sometimes the comedy was intentional. Most obvious is the work of Wendy Bagwell and the Sunlighters whose work is intentionally funny. A few local singers with minimal exposure have been overlooked for their accidental comedic portfolio. Take for example a fellow in Savannah who penned the timeless classic, “Jesus Rode a Donkey Down Victory Drive.” His poetic device, a metaphor entailing our Lord riding a burro down world famous palm lined Victory Drive on His way to Tybee Island apparently.

The next songs my cousin Ray told me about a few years back. A songster in his hearing sang, “Jesus, he will be my snow tires, in the winter he’s my anti-freeze, when I need him, he is my oil filter, and he's my windshield when there is a breeze!!! C'mon, sing it this time if ‘ya know it!!.. ” Bless her heart. And he also mentioned the big hit by country music’s Bobby Bare, Dropkick Me Jesus (Through the Goal Post of Life) from 1976. Give me a break.

Let’s not forget the Jerry & the Singing Goff’s cover version of “God’s Gonna Get ‘Cha (for that)” that was originally done by George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Ain’t nothing like basing your theology on a country song. The Jerry Goff cover version was played lyrically unmodified on Gospel stations all across the USA in the late 70’s.

Often I would host, in person, preachers live at my radio homes—actually, I was usually a babysitter of taped programming. Some were earnest but a little confused. Once in my first studio I had a preacher lady give her testimony. The rather large elderly black woman was getting very excited about her personal relationship with Christ when in her discourse claimed that, “Jesus is my boyfriend!” What!? I had to hide my face in my hands laughing hysterically as I could plainly be seen through her studio location into my control room seat by glass partitioning.  I could see thousands of radios simultaneously switching off.

Other preachers were allowed language freedoms not afforded Howard Stern. A few of these guys often used descriptive pejorative terms of certain lifestyle groups. If the FCC had known, our license might have been pulled. None of these shows were auditioned before hand or on a profanity delay when live. All required was their money for airtime.

Then there was a certain preacher from Dallas, Texas whose Success in Life show debuted on our air in about 1985. He claimed that indescribable wealth could be yours with a thousand dollar “vow” to his ministry. He was later exposed of fraud on ABC news when hundreds of letters from listeners were found outside his offices in the dumpster having contributions excised from them. He made claims of praying over each letter personally. That his very tears stained the notes until the ink bled. He also had a TV show. I think you can still see this name it and claim it charlatan on cable to this day.

I think God must have a marvelous sense of humor. Many think they are inspired. Some are. A few, well, let’s leave God alone to judge.

Stay tuned

reposted from The Peanut Whistle blog Sept 16, 2009

©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.

Let’s Roll, Again

In a previous post on Gospel Aircheck I wrote about one special summer when I hosted a roller skating party. That time was 25 years ago. Even then I questioned if skating was relevant to the 1980’s youth that rolled every Saturday night to Contemporary Christian music. Those kids now have children and—gasp—grand children of their own old enough to roller skate. Would this new generation find this pastime as appealing? Recently, I took a very informal poll and found that the consensus among teens of today is that the topic is completely alien to them. Roller skating to gospel music? “Could I text while doing this?” I imagine them saying.

That brings me to my idea: what if skating was re-introduced to this new generation? It would begin small with reserving a rink for a private party, say a church group. I’m developing the playlist of tunes, mixing current and skate-able CCM oldies on my laptop Ableton software. The selection process seems difficult due to the fact that the present crop of popular Christian music is impossible to skate to. The idea is incubating, but shows promise. I’m afraid these kids just wouldn’t be interested. Maybe this would appeal to those “40-somethings” of my generation. But, I’d hate to see any one of us break a hip.

Stay tuned

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

This is the Spot

Welcome to the best kept secret on the Internet—my weblog known as the Peanut Whistle!

Try not to keep it under wraps too long. Looking at the statistics for my blog they show a either a flat or very slow growth. If you have enjoyed reading my posts, please comment. Remember I am a big boy, so if you haven’t enjoyed it, comment as well. I have allowed our domain name to expire due to lack of readers. The blog has returned to its former Blogspot address. Right now you are invited to catch up on the blog by scanning the archive for posts that you may have missed. Thanks…

Stay tuned

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

Save Them LORD

“Pass me not, Oh gentle Savior / Hear my humble cry / While on others thou art calling / Do not pass me by”

In our Christian parlance getting saved means confessing one’s sins, repenting and accepting Jesus Christ as a personal savior. In other words, born again. Music is often a topic of discussion with Angie and me. Even though I am ten years older than my wife, we share common musical tastes. From time to time we will wonder if some of our secular music heroes are “saved.” We’ve determined that many secular performers are Christian; they’re just not singing or performing gospel music. What a shame. Don’t get me wrong, secular music is not evil. I would just like to hear these amazing talents used for His service.

There are widely reported examples of singers who “got saved:” Bob Dylan, Lou Gramm of Foreigner, and others. Not that we only pray for famous people, far from it, we would like everyone to believe. I think a good many may already be Christians—just not obviously so. What I am trying to say is how cool it would be to hear a gospel album from Eric Clapton! Even though in his recent autobiography the guitar legend made a somewhat vague declaration of faith. Let’s see a more overt testimony, please.

Stay tuned

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

Today in Yesterday

Previously on the peanut Whistle…

I found the song, inspired by the Lennon and McCarthy original Yesterday, called Calvary. The Winans rearranged the words in a delightful gospel version to the unmistakable tune of the Beatles classic. It seems that the family of singers had grown up singing it, but, to the best of my knowledge had not recorded it. In the early 90’s the entire Winans family, including Bebe and Cece, were special guests on the Oprah Winfrey Show Christmas special. I thought they had sang without musical accompaniment although there was a grand piano providing the music. See the very brief video on YouTube, just search “Winans – Calvary”.

Stay tuned

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

Yesterday

“Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away

Now it looks as though they’re here to stay

Oh, I believe in Yesterday”

—McCartney & Lennon, The Beatles, 1965

My favorite Beatles song has the most cover versions of any song ever written according to Guinness Book of World Records. One particularly good version of the song is a gospel interpretation that I heard one day about 20 years ago on the Oprah Winfrey Show. As far as I know, it was never recorded. The very popular group, The Winans were guests on the show one day. In the episode one of the Winans brothers sang the tune a cappella. It was a gorgeous version of the song retold as a salvation story. One of these days I hope to find it.

Stay tuned

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

Brainstorming

Over the last couple of years I have been toying around with several ideas for a new type of Christian radio station. Certainly not to compromise my beliefs, this new station would feature songs and styles from the many different artists both Christian and those not normally labeled as Christian performers per se. Taking some of the liners and id’s from my previous Internet stream, the GRIN, and combining music from the separate genres I put together a demonstration of how it might sound using Ableton Live software. You know what? It sounded great!

Songs such as Foreigner’s I want to Know What Love Is segued perfectly with Big Daddy Weave’s Hold Me Jesus. Good music is good music, no matter what the label. Back in the mid 80’s I wanted so badly to play the hit by Foreigner and thought it would fit perfectly with our gospel format. Secular music was taboo on our air so we played the gospel version by the New Jersey Mass Choir, the actual choir used to back up the rockers on the original song. The gospel cover version was not bad, I just wanted to play the original. 25 years later, I still believe that playing secular music is not a compromise of personal beliefs. However, it does not fit most listeners expectations of what a “Christian” station should be.

My station would have a very deep playlist that featured songs old and new. It would not mirror the new way of thinking with Christian programmers these days: where a song that is older than, say, six months is discarded. For the first time in my life, it would be a format that I would actually listen to. Of course the idea is still incubating.

Stay tuned

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

Muzac of Your Life

Does anyone remember elevator music? The company most famous for providing innocuous string arrangements of popular tunes was Muzac®. These sleepy arrangements could be heard in doctors’ offices, banks, grocery stores, and of course elevators.

Today I continued my audition of several cassette tapes made by my late father. His hobby was recording reel-to-reel and cassette audio tapes of anything and everything. He captured music, conversations, sermons, airchecks, sound effects and spoken word diaries. He was blind so printed labels of the tapes were not a priority. You can imagine the challenge it has been weeding through his hundreds of tapes over the past 19 years following his passing. Just a moment ago I was listening to myself as a teen discuss training my 12 year old sister how to drive. My mother, panic stricken in the backseat threatened, “I’ll jump out, if you let her drive!” My dad loved to record us with our guard down a la Allen Funt and his Candid Camera approach to recording conversations.

Some of his tapes are a hodgepodge with no apparent theme or direction. A sermon on one side then on the next side a section of conversation, some things recorded off radio. He never left a moment blank on a tape. Usually he’d put some dreadful elevator music at the end of a side for no reason other than filling out the tape. It was not your usual Muzac® fare. No, these elevator gems were popular hymns and gospel songs he found on a long forgotten FM Christian radio station owned by Moody. They were apparently an automated not-profit broadcaster bent on putting listeners to sleep. My dad was a fiery Pentecostal preacher whose musical leanings were more upbeat; I will never understand why he listened to this station. Maybe he had found an insomnia cure.

Stay tuned

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

Titanic Rant

We just wrapped up a decent restful weekend: a lazy Saturday, great Sunday service followed by a cookout at the in-law's, then an enjoyable day with the family on Labor Day. What more could I ask for? These are the things that keep me sane; they take my mind off the stresses of being a dad. 

Previously on Gospel Aircheck I reviewed a morning show that a former radio station home does. I have listened in occasionally via an Internet stream. It starts my weekdays and I have to admit, it has grown on me. The hosts provide some laughs, both intended and not. It is hilarious hearing the awkward way this former gospel station handles their new secular oldies format. The Christian owned station is out of their element. And that is their charm. I'm counting down the days until this new enterprise tanks. Changing the format is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. How long it will take to sink remains to be seen. I do not judge anyone on their musical preferences, but drifting away from a gospel format into mainstream popular (read: secular) music dilutes their Christian principles, period. No more will be invested in this topic. I'll step down from my soapbox now.

Stay tuned

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

Mr. Microphone

“I’ll be back to pick you up later,” the young man announced from his convertible to the blonde stranger standing on the curb. His voice had been mysteriously amplified over his car stereo. One of the wonders of the late 1970’s, Mister Microphone was one of those $19.95 as-seen-on-TV wonders that everybody had to have. A toy, really, it was a cheap wireless mic that sent a signal via FM that was tuned in on a nearby radio affording many hours of fun—such as picking up chicks. I assure you no young woman has ever been wooed by one of these novelties. Sorry Romeo.

Stay tuned

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

Three Day Weekend

Wow! Friday already. “Everybody’s working for the weekend,” someone once sang. That may seem ridiculous if you’re reading on a Tuesday. Lately, I have been doing some research in history. Specifically, my own history. Back when I was a teen I kept a dairy spoken into a cassette tape. Listening to playback now makes me keenly aware of how I went about recording these journal entries was all wrong. First, I was perpetually stuck in the present. Every minute detail was recorded: what time I got up, what I ate for breakfast, how often I showered (on and on). Secondly, that overshadowed chunks of important details of the big picture. Of course, it was impossible to know at the time I would be listening to these tape 25 years later.

I refer back to these recordings often: when preparing the blogs or checking facts. The dairy survives to this day to jog my often poor recollections. It keeps me from embellishing—mostly. The disadvantage: unpleasant facts reemerge causing me to reopen old wounds. A quarter century is way too long to hold grudges. So, I have to mentally separate from the old me as though I don’t know the young man on the tapes. It keeps me sane.

Stay tuned

©2010 Neal Rhoden. Gospel Aircheck. All rights reserved

It's All About me

Constantly taking inventory of the who, what, where and when this blogger sometimes asks the question: why? The purpose of the Peanut Whistle is simple; compose a record of my life now and provide examples of an earlier time that explain what brought me to the present. More often than not my radio career is at the forefront. A goal of mine at the dawn of 2010 was to delve into the relevant topics of the day, but something from my past continues to intrigue me.

This is a great time in my life. Having started a family in my late thirties has kept me on my toes for the last decade. The down side is that since I am, shall we say, more mature keeping up with three little children and a 15 year old is more of a challenge. By the time my parents were in their late twenties they had three kids. A possible advantage to  the age gap shared with my kids is a better perspective on life. Nevertheless, I wouldn't change anything.

I had been out of radio officially many years before my crew were born. I played one of my aircheck tapes in the car of a radio show I did at age 19. My six year old son asked, "Is that you, Daddy?" It dawned one me: they have no idea that I had a life before them.

So, why write the Peanut Whistle? It is dedicated to my children should they ever have interest in their old man; what he accomplished, how he lived, what his life was like in the old days. Being relevant is less important than drawing a vivid portrait of my kids' heritage. Hopefully, along the way the masses will appreciate my posts. But if that doesn't happen I'm satisfied with this somewhat autobiographical picture of my story.

Stay tuned

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

The Truth With My Hand Up

My hand to God this is the truth. If it had not happened in church to someone I know and trust. Yada, yada… In another post I spoke of some gospel lyrics near and dear to my heart; this next song is especially touching to a car guy such as myself (the actual words from my cousin Ray):

Actually it’s...Jesus, he will be my snow tires, in the winter he’s my anti-freeze, when I need him, he is my oil filter, and he's my windshield when there is a breeze!!! C'mon, sing it this time if ‘ya know it!!.. (true song....written by a well-intentioned, but hardly mentally gifted girl from my childhood)

At least it rhymes. Thanks Ray! She took a metaphor and ran with it. Now on to something completely different.

I first met gospel comedian Wendy Bagwell in 1983 at a big gospel music show in Savannah, Georgia. He was over six feet tall with curly dark hair. The only man I have ever met named Wendy. Like Johnny Cash and his Boy Named Sue I believe Bagwell would have had a great story to tell with the origin of his name. This was about the time he first told his Three German Police Dogs story about the disruption that ensues when a yellow cat is introduced to three seeing eye dogs belonging to a group of famous blind singers at the Ebenezer Freewill Baptist Church all day singing and dinner on the ground homecoming. “Those blind folks didn’t know what was going on,” he said, “They just thought they done took that job too cheap.” His theory was that the blind group, unaware of the ruckus, assumed the crowd had broke out in an old fashioned shouting revival.

It turns out that Mr. Bagwell was quite the shrewd businessman as well. He owned Bagwell Sales in metro Atlanta, Georgia. My parents, who were both blind, did business with his furniture store several times over the years. My mom, who is not the least bit shy, confronted Wendy about his comments in the famous bit. “I’m blind, but I know what’s going on,” she commented to him. “I know you do,” Wendy replied with a broad smile and a wink in his voice. “This is the truth what I’m telling you with my hand up,” he would often say before one of his stories which were probably slightly exaggerated. Stretchers, if you will, were his calling card. He was a master showman of the Gospel world. Wendell “Wendy”Lee Bagwell died in 1996 and now has a stretch of US 278 in Georgia, our home state, named after him. Rest in peace.

Stay tuned

reposted from my Peanut Whistle blog Sept. 17, 2009

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

Train Wreck?

Far outside the contour of their 2,500 watt AM radio signal I tuned in to the Internet stream of The Train and its Scott and Christy Morning Show. It presumably emanates live from the stations’ facility on Tallapoosa Street in Bremen. Georgia some 60+ miles from this reviewers location. During the broadcast I heard the tell-tale sound of an actual train passing by. It was clearly not a pre-recorded sound effect because the DJ was slightly annoyed by the quaint interruption.

Let me recuse myself from the proceedings at the outset of this review as an impartial listener. I spent a whole year of my life from 1992 until 1993 building the former WBKI-AM as an afternoon then morning show host. I have tuned in my successor, Scott Garner and the renamed WGMI crew off and on over the past 17 years. I returned once on a Saturday to tour the facilities in the mid 90’s. The Garners did a marvelous job remodeling. I do not have any other affiliation with them and admire their effort. I can testify to the train noise: rails are only a few yards away from the point of broadcast. The studio walls are thin.

On to the show. When I began thinking on how I would present this review today restraint entered my mind. What if the show is a train wreck (pun intended)? Do I rip the hosts to shreds? I decided on honesty. With caution I tread into the unknown. First, Scott and Christy are billed as “a professional DJ and a professional mom”—cute. The station is trying. The liners are done by a booming voice-over artist obviously outsourced from a professional imaging firm. Next, the two hosts are suited to their market, even though Scott tries a little too hard. Would the show play well in major market Atlanta? I think not, although I consider the ATL talent poor considering its size. That’s another story.

The two delve into morning show cliché with stories about Paris Hilton and her ilk. There must not be much of local interest in Bremen. When doing local the overdone staple of every small southern station, obituaries, provides a rocky (depressing) bridge between selections. The surprise of the show is that the hosts are a married couple. Christy, to my amazement, is the more natural of the two while Scott tows the line as a trite DJ not a “personality”. She plays an excellent foil to his wanderings, snapping him back on occasion. The man needs to relax the old worn out disk jockey banter and become more of a relevant conversationalist. We’ve all heard that ancient DJ shtick before. Scott is a musician and plays in his family’s gospel band, so he discusses the music—a lot! We share a mutual enthusiasm for Classic Rock-and-Roll history, but that type of talk causes most listeners to tune out. Introducing every record went out of style in the 1970’s. Scott may be an aficionado but is a fish out of water in the mainstream music world. The oldies format is new to WGMI and their morning pair are out of their element separated from Southern Gospel roots. In 30 years of broadcasting experience I never saw or heard of a Christian owned radio station flip to a secular format in order to save it. It is surreal. My forecast: the station will either go dark or sell within six months.

The show was not exactly a train wreck; it was about what I expected from a small market. The music is a proven commodity, that’s a given. More personality needs to shine. Chill out people, the music sells itself. Unfortunately good music is not enough. Like the man said, “It’s only filler between commercials.”  I give it an A for effort and a C+ for execution. But, I’m biased. Check it out for yourself http://www.1440thetrain.com.

For me, I’m going back to Talk Radio. 

Stay tuned

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

Parental Musing

Usually when someone says, “I know what you’re going through,” there is no possible way he can without experiencing it. For example, when I was much younger I would hear parents complain about their kids’ destructive uncooperative behavior. Up until that time my only experience with raising kids was watching my sister babysit. Now with four children of my own I fully understand what other parents go through. I comprehend the mysteries of child rearing in a way that was impossible as a single when I empathized but lacked any depth of experience.

As a child I fought—sometimes literally—with my siblings. Now I am getting back the behaviors in my own young ones. A lesson that I have learned: yelling does not work. Each child is an individual and responds differently to correction. I am increasingly more aware of this as we raise our four. Keeping mindful that most kids aim to please; these little folks have fragile egos as well, so handle with care. Since becoming aware of these principles I have seen subtle, but appreciable changes in all our babies. It seems obvious now: my behavior effects theirs in every way. Now if we could solve the bedtime blues.

Stay tuned

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