Hope Mountain Radio broadcasts sounds of freedom into cyberspace
From our weekly issue dated June 23, 2010
It“s a typically quiet Friday time in Takilma, as the sun went down quite some time ago: But inside the makeshift studio of Hope Mountain Radio, Leo Goodman is just getting started for the evening.
With a pair of headphones on, Goodman peruses vinyl records as he prepares to take to the airwaves. Posters with figures as diverse as Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, the Dali Lama and punk rock legends The Ramones are juxtaposed on the walls.
And somehow, it all makes perfect sense.
A song by the 1980s super group, the Traveling Wilburys, plays with Roy Orbison“s distinctive voice reverberating through the small room. As 9 o“clock rolls around, Goodman“s on-air partner, Bari Wyte, shows up.
Goodman spins Fleetwood Mac“s “Sands of Time“ and prepares a pre-taped discussion about the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
After playing selections by former Dire Straits singer Mark Knopfler and Carol King, Goodman cues up his “Spaceman“ theme song and turns on the microphones for a free-form discussion on current events.
For Goodman, the on-air routine is a situation he has sought to perfect since Hope Mountain Radio“s current incarnation began in summer 2006. Prior to that, it had operated as a sort of pirate radio station, but repeated raids by federal agents forced it online to the wide-open terrain of the Internet.
That frees Hope Mountain Radio from the slew of regulations that the Federal Communications Commission imposes on traditional broadcasters. It also opens the station to a much wider audience than it would have had otherwise.
“This goes way past Hayes Hill,“ Goodman said. He noted that the station gets calls from people throughout the world. He adds that truck drivers even pick it up on their cell phones.
Disc jockeys at Hope Mountain Radio are all volunteers, who produce their own shows and even help pay for some of the expenses of keeping the station going. Some of the DJs broadcast from their home studios.
Goodman insists that they all do it out of love.
“The whole thing is a public service,“ he said.
The programming schedule reflects the creative personalities who comprise the Hope Mountain Radio roster. Show titles include Melting Space Dreams, Flammable Substance, O“Brien Gal, Migraine Man, Y.B. Norm Ill, Sista Mona Lisa, Reefer Gladness, Crawl Space, Soul Washing Sounds, Radio Chaostrophy and others.
Goodman points out that many of the DJs have typical lives, and that adopting on-air personae provides them somewhat of an escape.
“For a lot of people, it“s a chance to get away,“ he said.
One of them, who uses the on-air moniker Blind Dan, is “probably one of our hardest-working DJs,“ Goodman said. Dan has to get a ride from Grants Pass, and pre-produces all the music for his air shift.
“That“s a lot of production time right there,“ Goodman observed. “He does a great show.“
Another DJ serves as an engineer and “takes care of a lot of the equipment,“ Goodman added. Some of the people who work at the station aren“t even DJs, he said.
A fund-raiser for the station was held May 8 at Dome School, and featured a performance by the popular local band, Takilma. The event also was a CD release party for that group, and Goodman said that it was well-attended.
The station also is doing more live remote broadcast from locations like Dome School and the Out “N“ About Treehouse Resort.
Takilmafm.com, which hosts the station, also features public service announcements, links to other community Websites and an announcement board.
Goodman said that it“s his way of giving back to the groups whose support makes it possible to carry out Hope Mountain Radio“s core mission “ to provide a viable alternative to the increasingly corporate-owned public airwaves.
“It“s an art project, as far as I“m concerned,“ Goodman said. “Whatever you play is on a palette. It“s painting a picture with sound, is really what it is.“
For more information, or to volunteer or become a DJ, phone 541-592-4799. Find a permanent link to Hope Mountain Radio at illinois-valley-news.com.
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