Saturday, May 31, 2008

Welcome to June !







Hi all,
ah, better late than never.
You'll hear my colleague Gil Legine shortly, if you happen to be twiddling your thumbs and tune in to RTI...

Meanwhile, my own musical shenanigans will be ready for your lugholes tomorrow evening, usual time, 20.00 hours UK.
Do give it a listen if you can, I'd appreciate it.
It'll be there, via www.rti.fm, and also on Sky 0195.
As the last couple of weeks have been festooned with new releases, I decided to drop them completely this week (ermm, the new releases that is, in case you were wondering).
This week, expect me to be waxing lyrical about Ria Bartok, John's Children, Velvet Underground, Tom Waits, and more...

And do you know what you should do, to while away that nervous hour before the Reecey Soiree invades your ears ? Do you ? ...
Well, if you can get BBC 1, tune in at 7pm Sunday to see 'Florence Nightingale' to see our very own Album Zone DJ the fabulous Zoe, as the young Queen Victoria.

This is, of course, one of our first steps toward taking over TV as well as Radio, before complete world domination.

Toodle pip !

Johnny x

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Sounds crossing the pond







Greetings Zoners,
and here we are on (yet) another Bank Holiday weekend, in the UK.
How did the travels go, I hear you ask ? (well, I don't, but I'm going to tell you anyway).
The much talked about Norway trip was abandoned at the last minute, due to airport strikes, which at the time we cancelled, affected 6 Norwegian Airports, and eventually spread to 12.
It really wasn't worth the risk. Oslo would have been fine, but our onward forays from there would have been difficult and more time consuming than we had hoped. As it was Bergen we all really wanted to see, we decided to stay put, and we'll go another time.
The infamous Mr Lloyd, meanwhile, is esconced in cottage style living in Brittany, France, until late next week.
So, it's a Scots update for you, with no tales whatsoever of Slartibartfast.
Ah, we'll catch up with him next time.
.
This weekend, Rich Phoenix is back on SKY and RTI for the first time in a while. It's 21.00 hours by the UK clock, tonight, Saturday, on Sky 0195, and around the Net via www.rti.fm.
Oh, and if you dare miss it, the Show in on our Pod too !
Whilst you visit rti.fm, don't forget to throw a vote our way, there's just a week to go on that. You'll see the voting grid, at the top right of their page. Thanks !
.
I'll be back in your ears tomorrow evening (so, wash them first, please) at 20.00 hours, UK time, same frequencies - Sky 0195, and www.rti.fm.
I'll be featuring brand new music from Sparks, The Teenagers, and the wonderfully noisy Be Your Own Pet. A few faves thrown in too from times of yore, from the likes of The Kinks, The Cure, Scott Walker, and more. Tune in !
If for some inexplicable reason you cannot, well, I'll be nice about it and put it on our Pod, late Sunday evening. Ok ?
.
Don't forget we invade the Radio Seagull airwaves too, 6 times per week.
You'll hear Rich Phoenix, Barry De Foyle, and Andy Miles, Monday through Wednesday, at 18.00 hours - these are repeated on Seagull at 02.00, on Friday through Sunday.
So, you've no excuse to miss anything !
.
All that remains is for me to wish you a great weekend, wherever you are, holiday or not.
.
Orrabest (as we say in those northern parts),
.
Johnny Reece x

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Shows, Pods, and Slartibartfast









Greetings you Zoners, and welcome to the weekend.
.
It's a Scots update today, as Steve is off to France this afternoon, doing the old visiting the family and friends routine. As for me, it's Norway on Monday, so we're all feeling a little bit urban and windswept and interesting.
.
This little update is by way of telling you all the news that's fit to print, before we all go off on our brief travels. So, Norman, The Sphinx, and Mona Lisa will be looking after the AZ Towers Studio for 4 days. They had better behave !
Firstly, to this weekend, and the Reecey and Zoe jointly hosted show appears via Sky tonight. It's on the Pod already, as most of you will know. Check it out ! Another co-hosted one will be in your ears within a couple of weeks too, as we enjoyed doing the first one immensely.
My own soiree appears tomorrow evening, Sunday, usual place, usual time, 8pm via Sky 0195 and http://www.rti.fm. Expect to hear new music from Barry Adamson, Death Cab For Cutie, Lunic, and a few choice cuts too from Denim, Eddie Cochran, Buffy St Marie, and more...
.
New Pod action too, and I'm happy to say that every AZ Presenter is currently featured on our Pod. Reams and reams of hours to keep you entertained - ah, you know where it is.
The latest shows from Zoe, Andy Miles, and Richard Bismarck, are being uploaded today.
Your ears will thank you, really.
.
We can also be heard via Radio Seagull, 6 times per week, and you'll find us via their site at http://www.radioseagull.com, Monday to Wednesday, at 6pm, and Friday to Sunday, at 2am. It's Simon G, Zoe, and myself who are featured on their Programmes for this coming week.
.
So, I wish you all a fine weekend, and I do hope, on my travels, to bump into Slartibartfast, who, of course, designed the fjords (lovely, crinkly edges).
If you don't know who he is - don't worry, it's not important.
.
Back soon !
.
Johnny Reece, The Album Zone
.
..
Official Pod : http://www.4shared.com/dir/391612/be81ca22/sharing.html
Official MySpace : http://www.myspace.com/albumzone
Official Blog : http://thealbumzone.blogspot.com
email : studio@albumzone.co.uk
.
.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

And we swelter !





Lovely and hot in London town today. With heat here though, out comes the humidity too, though I'm far from complaining - less than a month ago, it was snowing.
But is it the sort of day to be crawling about under studio desks, rewiring, rejigging, installing equipment, running tests ?
Well, no, but that's what we've been doing anyway.
The fuel to keep everything going, is a rather closely guarded secret recipe, a rather sensational 'summer special' drink, concocted by a certain Mr Reece, which has, in the past, been enjoyed hugely by the likes of Pixie, and Zoe. This really is some drink. Hard work deserves a reward !
.
Tonight, it's Zoe's turn to hit the RTI and Sky airwaves, with her Paranoimia Show. If you haven't heard it on the Pod already, do tune in, 9pm UK time, to rti.fm, and Sky 0195.
.
Sunday night, and the Scotsman returns, with what he decided as - and I quote - "hmm, rather a mixed bag, this one". Ah, but isn't that always the way ?
Tune in at 8pm Sunday, rti.fm on the net, or Sky 0195 on Satellite, to hear the likes of Ian Hunter, Siouxsie, Lambchop, Andrew Vasquez, Elvis Costello and more... and this particular Show hits the Pod late on Sunday evening, too.
.
Tomorrow, AZ Towers will be used for Programme tests, for work outside of The Album Zone.
Bit of an experiment, this one. If it goes well, you'll hear about it as we'll shout it good and loud.
If it doesn't, Mr Reece will make more of those drinks, and we'll just get plastered.
.
Have a good weekend everyone !
.
Steve

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Less crawling around...





Holiday weekend greetings from London town...

Truth be told, it's been a relatively lazy one so far, with plans not quite going as expected. Much crawling around under mixing desks was planned, pretending to be audio and electrical wizards (we do that, you know).
But for those dreaded three words so prevalent in the industry these days ('out of stock'), we would have been. A new sparkling piece of equipment was going to be collected today, but wasn't available. Which brings me to a gripe.
So many online companies advertise goods that they never actually have.
Fine them and close them down if that is found to be the case, I say !
I have worked in the mail order business, and with some pride I can say have never advertised anything we didn't actually have in stock.
So, the crawling around amongst lots of wires was delayed today, though I suspect this may well happen later in the week, as AZ Studio improvements will indeed happen.
Tomorrow, for instance, a trip to the leafy glades in is order, to pick up some equipment. By next weekend, something tells me the main studio here at AZ Towers will look a little different. Maybe not to the untrained eye - but there will be lots of changes, believe me !
We have worked this weekend on audio improvements, which we are pleased with, too.

Ah, to tonight !
It's the soiree, as ever, at 20.00 UK time, via www.rti.fm, and also on Sky 0195. Two hours of stuff for your ears. I do hope you can tune in.
If you can't - shame on you !, but you can pick it up later tonight via our Pod, or watch out for the links to it later on, from my profile page.
Expect to hear newies from Smoosh, and The Teenagers, vintage Girly bits from The Crystals and The Ronettes, a jazzy bit or two from both Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon, oh, and just about everything in between.

And a huge thanks for the continuing votes for both myself and the Album Zone, via the Listeners Poll on the front page of www.rti.fm.
Thank you, and keep it up ! Your votes are appreciated, so if you haven't been there yet, do pay a visit, and cast your vote with that little finger of yours.
Oh, and The Sphinx and Mona Lisa say hi.

Have a good (rest of) weekend !

Johnny x

PS... New shows are being uploaded to the Pod today, by that man Steve Lloyd. As well as my new soiree, later on you'll be able to tune in to newies from Simon G, Rich Phoenix, and Barry De Foyle.
By next weekend, newies from Zoe, and Andy Miles, will be there too !
Your ears should be busy, you know.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Celts On The Loose...





Well, they are this weekend.


Barry De Foyle is in your ears at 9pm Saturday (UK time), and Johnny Reece will do the same to you, at 8pm on Sunday.


As ever, www. rti. fm, and Sky 0195 are the places to be, thank you very much.



Be there !
Oh, and if you're not, please be on the Pod afterwards.



Incidentally, Mr Reece promises us 'superb' (his words) new music from both The Teenagers and Smoosh, the odd jazzy piece of genius from Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon, Girly 60s sounds from The Crystals and The Ronettes, and much more besides.



A Bank Holiday weekend beckons, people zipping off to foreign climes, or the odd seaside rendezvous. That's what these weekends are for in the UK, let's be honest.


Not for us though, as technical jollities are what concern us, so there will be much crawling under desks and mixers and mucking about with wires.


A lot.


This is in lieu of other shows to come, and a general improvement in sound quality demanded by a certain Scotsman, who, errm, shall remain nameless.


Add to this, plans afoot for some new equipment are on the way, too.


Should all go swimingly well, the main Studio here at AZ Towers will have rather a different look in weeks to come.



Oh, and talking of swimmingly, the Sphinx and Mona Lisa are settling in well.



Have a great weekend everyone !

Steve