we are not alone

by Bing Futch

For whatever reason, AM radio has lost a lot of respect in towns everywhere. Lest we forget that before FM radio could become a stereo reality, there were standard- issue Delco AM tuners in every car that brought you the sound of baseball games and talk-shows along with music that sounded flat, like a pancake. There’s charm in that, FM radio is more expensive to get involved with–so since the major corporate types who run the FM world are so intense about Billboard charts and heavy rotations of the same old thing, AM radio has become a place where independently focused fans of the scene can turn the lights upon the very best and latest sounds from local bands. It’s become the airborne transmission equivalent of public access for some folks who believe in the grass roots picture. Someone in a berg has to represent, unequivocally, the local faction.

M4 Radio had been doing that.

In a tiny building with a modest transmission tower behind it, WTRR 1400 AM broadcasted out of downtown Sanford. The M4 crew, consisting of Stammerin’ Banzai, Stormy and MacGyver, assaulted the airwaves for four hours each weekday and dedicated their program to local music from “all around the galaxy”. Beginning at 10 a.m., the trio would spin CD’s from artists all over, but a good portion of the programming was dedicated to local O-Town groups like GARGAMEL!, TIN CAN JETS, GOSPEL BROTHEL and THE KILL.

Banzai, with a slight stutter, introduced songs and kept up a morning- show patter with program director Stormy and their ever-resourceful sound engineer, MacGyver–the threesome laughed, giggled, ranted and cruised along at warp speed until 2:00 p.m. each day when the programming switched over to Spanish-language. With ads in magazines urging bands to visit in-studio, Stormy discovered that it was very difficult to draw musicians in. Go figure. Free publicity in a friendly environment with hundreds of thousands of potential radio listeners.

Could it be the AM hex?

Personally, I’ve known a lot of people who have turned their noses up at AM radio, but think about it. When you’re stuck at work with a choice between that horrible Muzak shit and a beat up AM radio with tinfoil on the antenna, which way do you swing? Good music transcends the medium, and if you’re so high-tech that losing a stereo signal ruins the experience for you, then that’s the rip. But a budding band looking for exposure can’t afford to be picky. Besides, the draw to having a renegade bunch of rag-tag radio guerrillas on your side is this: your message arrives undiluted and pure. The M4 gang invited myself and Audra Jost to the studio for a little live music and promotion one day. It took only a conversation with Banzai before the offer came about, come on down to the studio and hang out with us, he said. We showed up and performed, getting off the subject often and falling into the M4 hilarity syndrome. We ended up talking about erection rings and Banzai’s drunkenness along with the latest developments in our music–but the flow was good and the feeling right. M4 had just been snapped up by Genesis Media Group, a West Coast Conglomerate who promised them some influx of much-needed cash and syndication across the nation, including FM. Besides that, M4 also exists on the internet at www.m4radio.com and broadcasts take place exclusively there now since the power trio has been kicked out of their studio.

Yeah, news that hurts. WTRR went all Spanish recently, which has left our intergalactic heroes without a place to rock, at least for now. Stormy, never one to give up, has gotten her fingers into a new home base, Club Max, that will keep the M4 Radio “open-door policy” for artists wide open. These hard-working hedonists continue to fight for truth, justice and Do It Yourself, O-Town is all the better for it and them. When news of the broadcast status change hit Orlando, a collective sigh went up from bands who have benefitted from M4’s attention. A benefit concert at Heckle and Jeckle’s showed how much love exists for the M4 Radio galaxy. The second incarnation will be stronger as the promised lucre from Genesis may point to a new building and 24-hour FM station.

That ought to placate the stereo purists. In the meantime, the internet jam continues to shed light on the loyal locals from all over, churning out their messages and gaining a sympathetic ear from three good-timin’ people. Hear me out kids–support M4 Radio–they are a friend indeed in this time of need. They will also support you and in this, the symbiotic nature of Florida music is assured to work out. It’s like Barbra Streisand sings, “people who need people”, yadda-yadda. More to come children, keep the faith and know that we are not alone.