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Thread: Question for those who do radio shows

  1. #1

    Question for those who do radio shows

    How much pre-planning do you make before going to air? Do you map out each setlist in it's entirety beforehand, or do you improvise your way through the show, choosing material on an ad hoc basis minutes before it's played on air, or is it somewhere in the middle?

  2. #2
    Member markinottawa's Avatar
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    I alomst always pre-plan as I tend to have themes each week, plus I must have proper segues :-) ..aiming for about 83 minutes for a 90 minutes show. The only time I free flow is when the next DJ doesn't show so I start rummaging through the massive library we have here or when you come in with a pile of vinyl and the turntables are down or you open a CD case for a 20 minutes track and find it empty..

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    How much pre-planning do you make before going to air? Do you map out each setlist in it's entirety beforehand, or do you improvise your way through the show, choosing material on an ad hoc basis minutes before it's played on air, or is it somewhere in the middle?
    I listen to two radio shows on Thursday evening that broadcast from a local high school. Jerry has a jazz/fusion show from 6-8 where everything is pre planned and Bill's Roadtrippin from 8-12 where he could be 50/50 at best. Jerry says Bill will wheel in a crate of vinyl along with his laptop and cds. He also takes requests as well.
    NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!

  4. #4
    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    Somewhere in between. I like to have a solid opener and perhaps solid first 2-3 tracks, but beyond that, it's pretty much improvised. I, of course, have a basic idea of some releases I'd like to feature, but for the most part, I play directly to the folks who are listening. I find it's more fun that way and there's nothing more annoying (from a listener standpoint) than an inflexible DJ!

  5. #5
    I ask because, typically, in the course of doing Journey Of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, I tend to put together the setlist before hand. So I usually know pretty much everything I've going to play in any given show.

    But the last couple weeks, for whichever reason, I've found myself going freeform a lot more than I have in the past. It's kinda terrifying, like riding a rollercoaster I suppose, but I've enjoyed doing it this way. Last week's show, I pretty much knew I was going to open with Gary Numan, The Rolling Stones, and Romeo Void, and I generally what some of the other things I was going to play would be, but at given time, I was often deciding what to play, just minutes before hitting the play button. In fact, I was loading a lot of stuff into the Spreaker server as the show progressed. I'm hoping to not have to do as much of that this week, but we'll see what happens.

  6. #6
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    When I had a show, back in the early 1970s, it was a combination of planned and accidental. Like Zomby and Mark I'd have some theme for the show, with a backbone of maybe 50-70% of the show's time planned and even some idea what to play when, which songs led into what other songs. But as often happens when listening at home, something in a song would trigger a memory of something else and I'd want to slip that in before returning to the programmed material.

    I find it's a lot more fun to have some 'seat-of-the-pants' moments and it makes for a lot more inspired radio.

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