California Novelist Songwriter Rick Alan Rice Offers Music, Literature, Essay, Biography and Verse

Rebel Radio for Folkies

WoodSongs Promotes Acoustic Artists

Michael Johnathon's WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour is one of those encouraging success stories, if you are a fan of music in a surprising variety of forms. The one-hour show is syndicated to 491 stations throughout the world, reaching a weekly audience of 1,100,000 radio listeners. There is also the global Internet outlet, support from public television nationwide, full online archiving, plus MP3 and MP4 podcasting of Radio Hour shows.

It is all the brainchild, and extraordinary accomplishment, of working musician Michael Johnathon, who describes it all this way (from the WoodSongs website):

"I created the live audience, multi-media event of WOODSONGS on the belief that grassroots artists, collectively, had an audience bigger than Garth Brooks and Bruce Springsteen. Think of it - thousands of musicians, songwriters, bands and folkies travel the earth searching for their audience, making a living and selling their CD's. The only thing missing was a global stage that would introduce these hard working artists to the huge audience that was obviously supporting all of them. Woodsongs exists on the principal that the audience cares. The audience is interested. And the audience will always respond to good art.

"Artists are chosen to appear on our stage are selected because they are good. End of story. Fame, commercial success or lack there-of, who you know, who you opened for, whether you are on a label or are releasing your own CD, what famous artist used the same mixing board you recorded your latest CD on and who manages you means NOTHING."

"I say it often on the show and I mean it, "You don't have to be Famous to be on WoodSongs . . . you have to be Good!"

"Keep in mind that WoodSongs is NOT a concert. Several hundred people are in our theatre to WATCH a radio show get produced. The show is equally divided between two artists, giving each artist three on-air song performances. Song lengths, to be fair, need to be about 3 1/2 minutes long. WoodSongs is an acoustic performance program mixed with conversation. BILLBOARD MAGAZINE described the show as "A Prairie Home Companion meets Conan O'Brien." If you are not familiar with our show, we encourage you to visit our archives and listen to an on-line broadcast before submitting."

"One more thing: We don't pay you anything. I don't get a penny for this. Our chief engineer Kevin Johnson, the 32 member WoodSongs Crew and the cyber-dude who built this website aren't paid anything either. A local hotel will put you up for free, local restaurants will feed you and our show goes out free-of-charge to radio. You can sell your CDs to the audience after the show and we will even help you do that."

Vallejo, California - Folk artists Misner & Smith, whose work is featured on this site, were among the most recent Bay Area artists to be featured on Vallejo's OzCat Radio.

"Ozcat Radio is an all-volunteer nonprofit, non-commercial internet radio station dedicated to promoting local and independent artists as well as highlighting community events and non-profit information. We are on the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week serving the greater Vallejo area. Now playing: great independent and local music of all flavors. Plus interesting stories, interviews with Bay Area artists, etc. Ozcat Radio programming is eclectic and free-form. Warning: this is not your ordinary radio station."

That is the description from the station's web site (http://www.ozcatradio.com). In true independent spirit, the station hopes to flourish with the help of “underwriters”--local businesses and individuals to provide tax-deductible contributions in return for on-air and online acknowledgement. These contributions will support day-to-day station operations, as well as funding for studio and broadcasting equipment upgrades.

Founded in June 2006 by singer-songwriter David Martin and his wife Kathleen, OzCat Entertainment is the umbrella organization under which OzCat Radio operates. Housed at 1104 Georgia Street, the enterprise is a support mechanism for independent artists who need all the help they can get in getting the attention of the music industry.

This spirit was born of David Martin's own experience with media frustration. In 2004, his "single 'Anyway' was the only independent hit on the R&R Top-40 indicator chart, quite a feat for a local artist. Even then, he was turned away by every Bay Area radio station he approached. 'We don't break new music,' was the general response from Program and Music Directors." (from the OzCat website.)

OzCat Entertainment provides a performance space for private meetings, events, rehearsals, CD release and cast parties, small banquets, and even video and film shoots. The station's Emerald Room performance space offers such amenities as a raised stage, PA System, mirrored rehearsal wall, dressing room, kitchen, velvet privacy curtains, and gallery wall space.

"Ozcat is a very real station-our deejays don't pre-record their shows and our music is not pre-programmed. We feel that live radio is about as real as it gets." The station, which currently only broadcast to the Vallejo downtown community, has made application for a Full-power Non-Commercial FM License, which is no easy thing to do. The FCC opened a window for special filing for one week back in October, 2007 and OzCat was there with their app. That was the first such opportunity afforded to radio entrepreneurs since 2000. The proposed 100 watt station would be at 89.5 FM, a clear spot on the radio dial. Jeff Shaw and Todd Urick of Common Frequency, "a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 'dedicated to providing information about non-commercial radio broadcasting within the United States to the public, with the aim of facilitating more public involvement in non-commercial radio'" has been helping OzCat's management with the application process.

Among the artists who have performed live on OzCat is RARWRITER.com's own in-house musicologist Douglas Strobel, who was instrumental in getting Misner & Smith a spot on the show, and who is tireless in his efforts to promote local music, particularly of the acoustic variety, and of the station itself.