What The Folk!

Bill Whall is a Waiheke Island folk muso. On Saturday 28 July he popped in to Island Life to have a chat about a monthly Waiheke Folk Club jam night he's starting up. Club night is the first Wednesday of each month, starting August 1. The jam will be held at the Sports Club, down on the Causeway, staring at 7pm. Bill explained that the format of the evening will be open mic from 7pm through to about 8.30 - 9.00. After that there will be a feature act, this coming month it's a bluegass outfit called Shotgun from the Titirangi Folk Club featuring former islander, Alan Lewis. The evening will finish with a jam. Whether you want to play, or just listen, all are welcome for a modest charge ($4 for members, $6 for non-members). The bar and kitchen will be open and the music will be great.

Bill brought in his banjo and played a couple of numbers. He picked up quite an audience from those passing through the artworks courtyard. Take a listen on the player below or visit the Internet Archive for downloads.

For Your Listening Pleasure

Last week we broadcast a special on songs named after New Zealand place names. The audio for this show is now available. Either click on the flash player here or visit the Internet Archive for a range of download and streaming options. We're sure you'll enjoy this show, the audio for last years Place Names Special has become one of our most popular downloads.

Also, keep an eye open for an upcoming announcement of weekly podcasting of some the radio shows here on The Beach 99.4fm.

Out with the Old, in with the New(old)

Well the big news last week was the storm which ravaged Waiheke with 100+ km winds and rain, knocking down trees and casting most of the island into darkness for varying amounts of time. One of the casualties of this wrath of nature was the old Beach Radio broadcasting desk which got fried by an electrical spike or some such anomoly when the power eventually did come back on. Like most things in this station (including some of the DJs) that old desk was held together by chewing gum and spit but it did the job and its departure will be met with a mixture of sadness and relief. The good news is that due to an earlier donation by another island resident we had a backup desk ready to go. The new-old desk, pictured above, while not quite of the same caliber as the old desk and not technically a broadcast desk seems to be humming along quite nicely. We've chucked a bit of #8 wire into it plus a bit of the old Kiwi DIY ingenuity and the needles are hopefully bipping along nicely bringing the island the high caliber of volunteer radio that they've come to expect.

Viva la new/old desk!

I've Been Everywhere AND BACK!

A wide range of Download and Streaming options of this show are available at the Internet Archive

The idea behind this show (and post) is to focus on musicians who are celebrating or commenting on their country through their songs. Each song featured is named after a NZ town or location. As you'll see and hear, there is a diverse bunch, from traditional country to indie pop/rock. I have run a previous special of the same sort. Back then I traversed the country from North to South so this time I figured I better head bottom up. Putting the special together has given me the opportunity to play with a couple of new internet toys so below you'll find a map, click on the markers to get track info, links and even the odd download. And underneath the map a slide show to give you something to look at as you listen to the show. After all, we all love seeing people's holiday slides don't we.