Radio Crystal Blue

interview by Bill Palmer

What can listeners expect from a typical episode of Radio Crystal Blue?

Radio Crystal Blue, active since 2000 on the Internet is a series of indie-flavored music segments and information, all focused on the indie music scene in various parts of the world. I typically spin 35-55 songs per show, with a running time of anywhere between 3.5 and 6.5 hours. It all depends on how much information I share with my audience (upcoming shows and news per musician), how many songs, and how many segments.


The overall aim of Radio Crystal Blue is to be a throwback to the time when freeform radio had more of an integral place in commercial radio. You’d never quite know what would be heard on the airwaves next! But the coolest aspect, for me, is to present music from both underground/indie/emerging artists, and tie them together in some way, be it friendly association with each other, an instrument, a lyric, a chord, an upcoming double bill for an event, and so forth. At the end of each segment, I take the time to explain the connections, and will share info from the liner notes of each CD and often from an artists’ mailing list or website about upcoming news and events.

At different times of the year there will be special features. In most years I’ve ran an online airplay vote. To help listeners choose which artists receive airplay, I would spin 2 songs of each nominee.  In another part of the year, I run another 2 song segment, where I have final say as to who should be given more exposure and airplay in the long-term. Both sets of features have resulted in a top-tier level of exposure, given the title “Gem”.  My Gems and Charts page present a cross-section of the top artists featured, both past and present.

Also, at appropriate times (Christmas, New Year’s, Memorial Day, Labor Day), I’ll add a holiday show..as I predominantly spin music of appropriate holiday music from indies and others.

I have a secondary program, Radio Crystal Blue Novus Ordo (Latin for ‘new order’), where I spin exclusively current-year music, in one segment. This program is syndicated weekly on two Internet radio networks: Radio Bracknell, in Bracknell, UK and Free Radio Jackson.

Major label music gets spun rarely, but does get heard, as to enhance the overall experience.  These songs will generally be tied into specific holidays or certain festivals, past and present. Just the other week I began a show acknowledging the Woodstock (1969) festival anniversary. I had recognized that there were a number of bands that never made it to or turned down the opportunity. Typically of yours truly, I got some music together of those bands that, indeed, were not part of Woodstock but should have been.

How did you come up with the idea to include a focus on artists who will be performing in New York City?


The concept grew suddenly in May 2002, nearly two years into the show’s existence. Before this time, when I wasn’t receiving as much material as I do now, I took a grass-roots effort to find artists, both local and national, who were seeking a new place to get their songs aired. It was a slightly uphill battle, as this was in the time before royalty rates were set to ensure artists would be compensated.  My scope, was, as is now, worldwide. But I hadn’t taken the time to see any local artists. During this time, I kept a habit of joining the mailing list of each artist I was giving airplay to.


So in the fateful time, one particular artist, ellee ven an R&B artist from Los Angeles, mentioned in e-mail to me that she was playing a small venue in the East Village section of Manhattan, named The C-Note, and would I be interested in attending? I readily obliged, and made my way from north New Jersey to the venue.  I came early to see the tail end of a weekly open mic hosted by Kathy Zimmer and Meg Braun ellee performed with a cassette track of beats backing her up.  I was taken by the charm the venue offered and I stayed for the entire evening’s festivities.  Later I met the promoter for the venue, who turned me onto a ton of local artists.



Soon after, I became a regular (and worker) at C-Note, picking up the occasional CD from artists that were playing there, and a few contacts for booking alongsides. I recall first naming the audio segment ‘The Downtowner”. Soon after, with the influx of material coming in, I had built whole segments with artists from the New York City scene right alongside national and regionally touring artists.  My little radio show was little no more.  As Radio Crystal Blue, I picked up more local and national artists with major-indie ties.  Meanwhile, while doing bookings for local artists, I would often parlay such bookings with radio airplay.

What first motivated you to start the show nine years ago?


My parents were both 30 when I was born. I wondered to myself for years about what my life would be like when I turned 30 and if I somehow would become a father. Typically of the age-30 experience for most, I had a career consciousness crisis. I had spent 6 years in the company of people in the New Age field. The practices I put into action with their inspiration were a great help mentally and emotionally.  But when a series of moves came around between 1997 and 2000 (ages 27 through 30), both forced and planned, I gave up the dream of wanting to build a New Age practice.  During 2000 I continued to wonder (and wander) about, thinking about what to do or accomplish next. One early form of the Ask! website ultimately proved helpful.  I mentioned that I wanted to combine my love of music, radio, and the Internet.  Well there just happened to be such an animal as Internet radio, and it was suggested I build a presence out of a station on the new (then) Live365 network. And I began, without much of a following, or real direction.  Trivia: First song I ever spun was “Song X” by Neil Young & Pearl Jam.


I credit these as influences: Vin Scelsa (NYC radio icon), Pete Fornatale (ditto), Murray The K, Pat St. John (and other NYC DJs), and the syndicated radio program Hearts of Space.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in Internet radio since you first started out?


Internet radio has grown as I have grown, adapting to many changes and rules and regulations, along with necessary technical upgrades.  It was not long before I began that the DMCA Act had been enacted, regulating amounts of airplay per artist. I had no problem with the rule, tho gone were the days of spinning, as one local station would call it “The Ultimate Album Side”..6 songs of one artist.  Can’t do that anymore.  My view is that it’s still possible to foster creativity, if not through one artist over time, then at least by artist association as described earlier.  The advent of the royalty issue in 2003 created an expected rift within the worldwide Internet radio community, and I even wondered what changes it would bring.  The payments, for me, were more reasonable than expected, so long as I would follow the FCC rules for airplay. 



Live365 continues to self-govern this practice. The technical nature of doing so, honestly, has proven cumbersome.  When I changed computers, going from Windows 95 to 98 to Vista, suddenly it became much more difficult to webcast as before.  What I’ve done since is upgrade all equipment (Behringer mixer, Sony microphone) and a great third-party software (SimpleCast) by the folks at SpacialAudio. I’m sure I’m not in the minority among fellow Internet radio/podcast denizens who have had to change with rules and upgrades.


The shouting has gotten only louder, in light of legislation and negotiation about the proper dispensation of royalties to the appropriate songwriters and performers. Internet radio is taking a big hit in allocating more money than other media to pay songwriters.  Yet an even bigger hit may impact commercial and niche radio to pay performers. It comes at the risk of losing commercial and terrestrial radio as we know it. Being a radio purist (despite the relative lack of creativity), I would not want to see such legislation come to pass.


Personally, I’m glad no federal structure has been set to monetize podcasting. I have the sense that more podcasters and radio folk are seeking alternative means to earn money, so any move in the direction of podcasting and a new wave of personalizing the radio experience, as it was nine years ago for me, seems inevitable. If there are any changes, they may come sooner than later. If I must pay three times what I pay monthly to Live365, it will not surprise me.


As a postscript to this answer, I am moving in 2010 out of New York City, to parts unknown, and am seeking the best opportunity for work, living, and support of a music scene. I’ve gone strictly to a podcast method for the time being.

What’s your connection with the National Underground?


I book directly with this small venue located on East Houston Street in NewYork City, owned by Gavin and Joey DeGraw.  National Underground has 2 floors of live music (Americana, roots, country, jazz, cover bands on the main level), a “Cheers”-like atmosphere, and how could I not mention the bar food (hamburgers, grilled chicken, cheese plate, etc.)? It’s been open for nearly 2 years.  Having done some bookings here prior with a local collective of booking agents, I retained my ties to the venue, and have just begun a weekly series. When possible, I showcase artists who have received some amount of airplay on my show, often in a double or triple bill with notable artists they are associated with.

What’s the best way to listen to Radio Crystal Blue?


As of late 2009, Radio Crystal Blue and RCB Novus Ordo are in podcast format only, though there are other means to hear the show. I still use the Live365 radio software to create a show in 64kbps format I convert the .mp3 audio into RealOne format, and further set it up for listening via my Archive page. On both this page and my new Google website are FeedPlayers, a device to hear my show through Big Contact The FeedPlayers allow a person to stream and download each program. Inside the player is HTML code, enabling the listener to take the player and post on his/her site or blog. And then there is the requisite RSS.  Each player (one for the podcast, another for live events, another for ancient audio I’ve recorded) has its own feed.


The Archive contains the click-through links to hear the shows in .mp3 and .ram formats.

Learn more at RadioCrystalBlue.com