This may sound crazy -- especially to you big city folks but...
Might there be any interest in a Polka music show? Clearly polka/old time music fits into my vintage country format. And I live where the are a LOT of "polka people" I have tried to find a polka show that's aready produced that I could just pick up and carry, but the one I like won't respond to me (although they ARE carried on a commercial station 30 miles away so maybe they don't want me anysay) the few others I could track down I didn't care for. Too much "modern" polka music. So, I'm considering producing my own show -- probably just an hour, weekly.
I guess I'm qualified -- about 4 lifetimes ago I worked at an all polka format station in St. Paul for several years, I've got a solid collection of polka/old time records (only 2 cd's however -- LOL) so the show would actually be recorded as a "live" DJ show with genuine records -- scratches and all -- being played.
I guess I'm looking for additional inspiration to do this -- if someone else would like to run it that would make it worth the extra effort. Of course it would be free, and there would be a simple link to download the show weekly. I would require that any ads within the show be left in -- oddly I've become quite adept at selling ads to mostly online ventures -- really cheap ads -- but they sound good. But we're talking just a couple minutes of ads in a 60 show.
I have no demo, or hard core specifics right now -- just an hour of vintage old time music, mostly polkas, all nationalities -- mostly Polish, German, Slovanian, etc... I can mix it up pretty good -- and yes -- I can tell the difference in the music styles 🙂
Let me know if this sounds interesting to anyone
Tim in Bovey
I think polka music on the radio will draw a large following.
Our town had a German lady who did a German music show with lots of polkas and she had many listeners and sponsers. I contacted her often to express the fun I was having, as she also had a good sense of humor. One day she started playing a sound effects record and reacting to it... it was a funny moment.
Also, and not too far off the subject, square dancing is popular. There are square dance groups that have weekly get togethers. I am guessing that the bridge between polka and country music is the square dance.
If I am ever licensed to carry a commercial music program, I would love it.... but the budget, darn.
If there was a non-commercial educational version of a polka show it could maybe be run under "fair use." World cultural, you know.
Back in the day WKRS in Waukegan, IL palyed polka music.
In the east part of the Netherlands a lot of pirates play this kind of music and populair they are!!
I did decided a couple weeks ago that the Polka show is definitly a go. The idea has good response among the people around here, so I'm going to produce a one hour (give or take a few minutes) polka show that I'm going to play on Saturday nights on my station. Nearly all the music (97% anyway) will come from my collection of vintage polka records (about 5 lifetimes ago I worked at a full time polka station) so the show will have authentic scratches included. If anyone would like to utilize the show FREE I'll set up a place to download it. The songs used are NOT public domain, so it will be up to you to determine legality for your use. But the show will be free for anyone who would like to use it. Probably won't launch for a week or so. I've added another turntable to my studio to facilitate real dj'ing, but I'm waiting for a record to arrive. I have a specific tune for the theme song in mind, and I only had it on a reel to reel tape, and darned if I can find it, but I found the record on ebay. Technically this will be an "oldies" polka show (if that's even possible). Working title thus far is "Tim's Oompah Hour" however in the polka world that has serious German overtones and this is a strong Slav community, so we'll see 🙂
I willbe proproducing the show for my station, so you'lll be able to downlad it before Sturday nights.
Any interst give me a shout.
Tim in Bovey
OK, "Tim's Oompah Hour" is ready to meet the masses. Program one is produced, and intended for broadcast the week ending Saturday, April 5th. e.g. the next show won't be uploaded until Sunday the 6th or after that, so if you choose to download and run the show before then you're gonna be early to the party. That's OK too. The goal is to upload each new show the Sunday after the "air week Saturday" and of course it might vary depending on real life stuff that comes up but it will ALWAYS be uploaded before the Saturday it's meant to play. You can of course play the shows however often you'd like, and they're pretty much "general" e.g. they won't sound outdated if you run them whenever -- if I do a special Christmas theme show, for example, I'll make that quite obvious so you don't rerun it in April or something like that. So, she might be a little rough around the edges -- recorded "live" not "built" in the studio. If you run it, pleas let me know that you're doing so so I can promo you within the show and if you'd like me to record a promo for you, I'll be glad to do so. It's all free of course. Yes, I have a sponsor, please leave her ads in the show.
the link for the mp3 is: http://www.ironrangecountry.com/oompahhour.mp3
And it will stay the same week to week, so if you have automation in your system that downloads things to play, it can go to the same link to get it every week. I plan on uploading the next show each Sunday morning.
Tim in Bovey
Iron Range Country
Tim in Bovey, I just sampled the Oompah Hour and it is Class A First Rate excellent radio!
The theme song is exactly right, a polka about the polka DJ arriving with his microphone and records.
And you are one boss radio voice personality! Network quality!
On Thursday when I celebrate the Spring Equinox your show will be part of the fun.
I'll run it on KDX 1550 AM, but the stream is off limits because of license concerns.
I know the release date isn't until April, so this will count as a Preview.
Thanks for the good words, Carl.
And a reminder that the program is available to anyone FREE. It's an hour long and can be downloaded from:
The show will be updated weekly, and my plan is to upload the latest show each Sunday and it's good for that entire week. I already have several shows "in the can" as we say, and a sponsor for the first year, so we know it's good for at least a year!
The shows are basically generic and can be played any time, although there will be references to previous shows, and what might be coming up in the next shows, but it won't really matter. The shows are in stereo.
Yes, you'd need music clearance for your station to play the music -- which is kinda funny because so many of the polkas are public domain tunes, and for the most part are small regional bands that have never received a royalty check from "the industry" in their lives.
Tim