New outlet for AZ...

Hi Zoneheads, had a good week ?
Just a quick update to tell you about, before we get into more Playlists and Schedules for you (which I'll be catching up on and publishing, on Sunday afternoon).

We're very happy to announce another outlet for The Album Zone, which tests tomorrow, Saturday 30th August, at 12.00 Noon, EST.
The broadcast eminates from our new friends at Hesser College Radio, in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. This will also be streamed via the Net, at http://www.backbone.com/hesser

Tune in if you can ! This will be at 12.00 local, which is 17.00 UK time, and 18.00 across Europe, or 09.00 for West USA. .

Tonight, Friday, our good friends at WCRV in Pennsylvania aired the new Andy Miles Show, and will air the Johnny Reece Show, on Sunday, 18.00 CET, locally via 97.7 FM.

I'll be back on Sunday, to give you the Schedules for the forthcoming weeks Programmes broadcast globally via Radio Seagull, which continue on Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone !

Steve Lloyd PR The Album Zone

Those playlists in full

What on earth am I doing up this early ?
Saturday morning at AZ Towers, and, as promised, those recent/current Playlists in full.
Some are not aired as yet - and are scheduled for the next fortnight, on Radio Seagull.
Incidentally, the 'extra' AZ Programme being broadcast by Seagull is tomorrow, Sunday, from 15.00 to 17.00 hrs, CET. Following that, we're back on air via Seagull in our normal 6 weekly slots, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, at 21.00 hours CET, with repeats at 03.00 CET on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
You can catch all shows on the stream, at www.radioseagull.com.
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Ok, here are the recent and current Playlists of AZ Programmes :

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Richard Bismarck : August 2008 :

Neat Neat Neat - The Damned
Sweet Jane - Velvet Underground
So Ben Mi Ca Bon Tempo - Richard Thompson
It Could Be So Sweet - Portishead
You're The Storm - The Cardigans
Off The Hook - CSS
How Do You Sleep? - John Lennon
Thanks For The Love - Earth and Fire
TieDye - Nancy Fancy
Sex Is Not The Enemy - Garbage
Aristocracy - Caravan
This Voice - Ane Brun
Alison - Elvis Costello
What I Say And What I Mean - The Like
Moonchild - Rory Gallagher
Because They're Young - Duane Eddy
Searching For The Spark - Steve Hillage
Uncle Jonny - The Killers
Hug You Like A Mountain - Eliza Carthy
The Moss - Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson
You've Been Flirting Again - Björk (Flirt Is A Promise Mix)
Where The Wild Roses Grow - Kylie Minogue & Nick Cave
Johnny B Goode - Peter Tosh
Black Steel - Tricky
There Is Only This Time - Dandy Warhols
Walking In Your Shoes - Lisa Hall
Watford Gap - Roy Harper
Where Have All The Good Times Gone - The Kinks
Crystaline Green - Goldfrapp
De-Luxe - Lush

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Reecey and Zoe : August 2008 :

The Blessing - Bleach Cake
Iggy Pop & Peggy Lee - Passenger Fever
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - We Call Upon The Author
XTC - In Another Life
Martha and The Muffins - Boys In The Bushes
I Monster - Daydream In Blue
Bob Marley - Duppy Conqueror
Starbuck - Moonlight Feels Right
Adjagas - Lihkolas
Morris Quinlan Experience - Way Back / In The Beginning
Lee Dorsey - Confusion
Malcolm McLaren - In The Absence Of The Parisienne
Public Image - Home
The Real Tuesday Weld - Still Terminally Ambivalent Over You
Bjork - My Juvenile
Bryan Ferry - The Only Face
Desmond Decker - Fu Manchu
Rotary Connection - Inside My Love
The Blessing - Suzie's Suzuki
Chris Rea - Girl In A Sports Car

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Johnny Reece : 10th Aug 2008 :

The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Gambling Bar Room Blues
Moody Blues - Boulevard De La Madeleine
The Doors - Soul Kitchen
Emiliana Torrini - Ha-Ha
T.Rex - Soul Of My Suit
The Kinks - Tired Of Waiting For You
REM - You Are The Everything
Cyndi Lauper - Rain On Me
Mono - Life In Mono
Pink Floyd - Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Frank Zappa - Valley Girl
Sufjan Stevens - Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
Curved Air - Melinda (More Or Less)
Bryan Ferry - Another Time, Another Place
Emiliana Torrini - Gun
Neil Diamond - Solitary Man
Teenage Fanclub - What You Do To Me
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Leonard Cohen - So Long, Marianne
Elvis Costello - When I Was Cruel No. 2
Jad Fair and Yo La Tengo - Nevada Man Invents Piano With 109 Keys
Steve Harley - Big Big Deal

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Ok, that's it for the moment !
Still 2 playlists to publish, for AZ Programmes due on Seagull in the next fortnight, from Andy Miles (Aug 2008), and Johnny Reece (17 Aug 2008), respectively.
I'll be back midweek with those for you, and any gossip we wish to share...

Have a fine weekend, and thanks for your support.

Steve Lloyd PR The Album Zone

Catching up... and extra AZ on Seagull !

Where have you been ? Where have I been ? Oh, it's been a busy time. Right in the middle of traditional holiday time here, so it has been quieter than usual. However, AZ Shows abound, and we're happy to report than Radio Seagull, as well as airing us 6 times per week, are airing 3 hours extra Album Zone, this Sunday, from 14.00 - 17.00 hrs CET.
Our new friends at WCRV Pennsylvania seem to be happy, and now air us twice per week, Fridays and Sundays, at 18.00 hours, CET.

Lots of playlists to catch up on, but I will leave that for another time, and swamp you with them, all at once !
Great fun here at AZ Towers last Saturday, as we watched Johnny Reece on TV, in the Pop Quiz. He won, of course !

We've had one eye on the Olympics of course, which has been so enjoyable. Slightly tricky to catch things with the time difference, so a lot of catching up via highlights programmes has been the order of the day. And here's a funny thing. Look around the world, and you'll see that China has been at the top of the medals table for quite a while now - unless you are watching it in the USA - where they have put themselves at the top.
As far as we can make out, it's only the USA that do this - ah, that's democracy for you !
They do it with 'total medals won', as opposed to what everyone else does, which is Golds.
There was a very amusing radio programme I heard the other day, commenting on this, with various reporters from various countries taking part, and the wonderfully pointed comments going back and forth were a joy to listen to. They could have made am olympic event out of it, itself ! It finished up with a European reporter telling the US reporter that 50 Bronzes, are not better than 49 Golds. You get the picture. It was akin to listening to an argument in a nursery.
So, whilst there is healthy rivalry and deep respect between the athletes, it's left to the reporters to make complete asses of themselves. Marvellous !
It does, in reality, boil down to the fact that everyone wants to make their own country seem the best, in any way they can, even if it means bending the rules a little. Ah, sportsmanship is alive and well !
My only disappointment is missing both the semi-finals and final of the Women's Beach Volleyball Competition. And I mean that purely as a Sports fan, naturally.

Back to AZ land, and happy holidays to Zoe, who nips off to Iceland for a fortnight, at least.
Major music festivals and global events there as ever at this time of year, so we look forward to stories and tales on her return. She has left us with a couple of brand new programmes to keep us going, thankfully. Vicious rumours abound that Mr Bismarck is off and running too, though we don't know where yet. But we'll find out shortly.
Gil Legine meanwhile, returns to the AZ airwaves in September.
Up and coming this week on Seagull (you know the days and times by now, don't you ?) will be Simon G, and the Reecey and Zoe Show.
If you're in the UK, have a fine Bank Holiday weekend. Many, many people, as ever, take the opportunity this weekend to nip off to foreign climes, Paris, Venice, and Barcelona being the obvious favourites. This town is deserted !

Thanks, as ever, for your support,

Steve Lloyd PR The Album Zone

Weekend Update

Hi all,
had a good week ?
A few snippets for you on the AZ and Radio Seagull front.
Firstly, congratulations to Seagull for now officially being 24/7, both on 1602 AM around the northern Netherlands, but worldwide via the Net too. That all fell into place in the past week.
As you know, The Album Zone can be heard via Seagull, 6 times per week (Mondays to Wednesdays, 20.00 CET, and repeated Fridays to Sundays, 03.00 CET).
Seagull are reaching out in other ways too, with the updates beginning to happen on their MySpace page. It has never really been built upon before, but work on the Site began in the past week, and in forthcoming months, an extended gallery and more news on the formation of the Station, will be published. Check it out !, and if you are a MySpacer, by all means add them as a friend, and you'll find them at : http://www.myspace.com/radioseagull
They really are a great Station - hey, we're biased !

Our AZ Programmes continue too, twice a week, via our good friends at WCRV, in Pennsylvania, Lake Ariel, 97.7 FM.
This weekend, Barry De Foyle is being heard for the first time, along with the most recent 'Reecey and Zoe' co-hosted Programme, the third in the series.
Next week, should see the debut of Richard Bismarck, to the WCRV airwaves.
We'll publish those schedules, and Seagull schedules, too, right here, first.
Incidentally, for more information on Seagull, check out their Site, at www.radioseagull.com.

This coming week, the AZ Programmes on Seagull look like this, via radioseagull.com :

11 and 15 Aug : Johnny Reece (from 13 July)
12 and 16 Aug : Richard Bismarck - NEW Show
13 and 17 Aug : Johnny Reece - NEW Show

On Tuesday, expect Mr Bismarck to entertain you with the likes of The Killers, Ane Brun, Goldfrapp, Roy Harper, and more...
On Wednesday, Mr Reece rightly claims a world exclusive, as he plays 2 tracls from the forthcoming Emiliana Torrini Album 'Me And Armini', not due out until Septeber 2008, along with newies from Cyndi Lauper, and seldom heard gems from Curved Air, Steve Harley, and much more. So, you know where to be - www.radioseagull,com, at 20.00 hours, on Tuesday and Wednesday, ok ? If you're out in the States, the repeats at 03.00 CET later in the week may be more handy for you. Your choice !

Thanks for reading, and have a great week everyone,

Steve Lloyd PR The Album Zone

August Schedules

Ah yes, Summertime AZ Schedules.
Just the time to Blog this, as I look outside at darkness, thunder and rain. Hmmm...
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We're very pleased to be in our new time on Radio Seagull, 21.00 CET (20.00 UK) on Mon, Tue, Wed... with repeats of those AZ Shows respectively at 03.00 CET on Fri, Sat, Sun.
We think the 8pm UK slot is much better for us, and thanks to our friends at Radio Seagull for instigating the change, after a chat we had recently.
Incidentally, a new Radio Seagull MySpace page is up, and will be built on over the forthcoming weeks.
Do check it out !, at http://www.myspace.com/radioseagull
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For the Programmes though, as ever, it's http://www.radioseagull.com, at the days and times listed above.
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WCRV in Pennsylvania, have now begun airing The Album Zone, as of last Friday night, with the 2nd of the 'Reecey and Zoe' Programmes. We will air twice a week via WCRV, at 18.00 EST on Fridays and Sundays, a different new show, each time.
The Station is located in the Lake Ariel region, and broadcasts on 97.7 FM.
We hope this will be the first of many USA outlets. We'll keep you informed !
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To the August Schedules, and not so straightforward this time.
We did deliberately keep some shows back, as Seagull were, during July, featuring special 'Live' Broadcasts from their Radio Ship.
Therefore, some AZ Shows which were previously on the Pod, have not yet been aired via our good friends in the Netherlands. So, it's a case of squeezing them all in, alongside regular brand new Programmes.
All August and into September 2008 Schedules are listed below, the first date being 21.00 CET as we mentioned, and the second being 03.00 CET.
Any brand new Programmes never aired before anywhere else, are listed as 'New'.
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In the meantime, thanks for all your support, and as and when news breaks of new broadcastng outlets, you'll hear it here first.

Steve Lloyd PR The Album Zone
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August/September 2008 Programme Schedules via Radio Seagull :

August :
4th and 8th : Zoe Street-Howe
5th and 9th : Andy Miles
6th and 10th : Johnny Reece (from 6th July)
11th and 15th : Johnny Reece (from 13th July)
12th and 16th : Richard Bismarck (New)
13th and 17th : Johnny Reece (New)
18th and 22nd : Johnny Reece (from 20th July)
19th and 23rd : Barry De Foyle (New)
20th and 24th : Johnny Reece (New)
25th and 29th : Reecey and Zoe, Vol 3 (New)
26th and 30th : Simon G
27th and 31st : Johnny Reece (New)
1st and 5th September : Rich Phoenix

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Irony and inefficiency, in this day and age

Sometimes, you have interesting weeks. In fact, we could use a stronger word than 'interesting', but we'll stick with that for the moment. Stand by your beds - this is going to be a long Blog.
Those with no interest in Radio Politics look away now (should that be run away ?) or forever hold your peace.
Here goes...

Sunday morning arrives, and emails abound, from listeners saying 'where's the Pod' ?
Ah, a little technical fault, we thought at first.
As the day progressed, it all became clearer, especially when we managed to check various forums, to which our Pod community belongs.
It seems the powers that be in the States (Radio wise) the IPFI and DMCA, had their little automatic 'bots' running over the weekend, to disable thousands of files that even hinted at the word 'mp3'.
Well, we can understand that - too much illegal downloading and sharing going on, and in that case, we support them - after all - who lost their business, a CD/Record Shop of 14 years, to the strength of the illegal download ?
One of our very own, as if you didn't know.
But, and 'but' is the operative word here - so many innocent people were caught in the crossfire, ourselves here at AZ included. So, so many - even those who made, produced, and owned the copyrights to their own music ! Naturally, rightly, they were outraged, as they should be.
Now, it's all very well to have rules and regulations, but when you are a huge organisation (such as the DMCA) who, by putting measures in practise, actually harm some musicians, to such a point that they lose royalties because their system really is not up to scratch, that's not really good enough is it ?, especially when the system is designed to protect musicians, and not harm them.
Worth thinking about - although unfortunately, it's not something they would care to admit.
Now, to our case.
We do NOT fileshare Albums, Singles, DVDs, or anything like it. Never have, never will.
We put our own Radio Shows up on the Pod, purely as a back-up, for listeners who may have missed them on our legitimate -yes, LEGITIMATE Broadcasts via our outlets.
Add to this, that all royalties to artists are paid for by those Stations, who air our Music.
Also, we do not 'Broadcast' a Pod, as such. It sits, still, silent, not being used or using up any copyrights at all, and only clicks into life (rarely) when a listener, wherever, wants it to.
The mail we have always received, is 'heard you on such and such a station' - certainly not 'heard you on a Pod'. That's all it has been - a simple back up for those that may have missed something, no more than a common courtesy to our own listeners and supporters.
The downloads, for what they were, were so, so minimal.
But - everyone is the same in the eyes of the powers that be - and this is where the problem lies.
I still have emails from listeners thanking us here at AZ, for introducing them to Artists they would never have heard otherwise, on 'normal' Radio.
Many add the fact that they have gone out and bought material by these artists. because of us.
Examples ? Lisahall, Morris Quinlan Experience, Emiliana Torrini... I could go on.
Think about that for a second. Those artists I just mentioned, all earnt royalties due to our direct actions in promoting them. Yet - we are treated as if the opposite has happened.
So, in effect, the powers that be are not only preventing illegal sharing - which we support - they are also preventing Artists from receiving royalties ! There's irony for you.
And they think this is a good system ?
The truth is, everyone is lumped in together, because they do not know how to manage it.
I'm no expert - it would be impossible to do - but if there is one thing the powers that be do not have, it's a face. Or, any common sense. When you find an illegal sharer who continues to share whole albums - stop it.
When you find someone promoting - surely encourage ???
Point out the above facts, and you get quoted rules (rules that you already know).
Offer to pay royalties/fees for the minimal amount a Pod is used - and they refuse anyway, as they do not have the staff to manage it. That's the biggest irony of them all - as the Pod, for how much it is used, would be, we calculate, approx 12 Dollars per month in royalties. But we're not allowed - because they cannot control it. Is it that difficult to put a simple system in ?
That, and the fact they are harming Artists when their job is to protect them, is perhaps the worst irony of all. Sadly - they probably may not realise this.
That was certainly true when a similar thing happened when they purged Live365, and hundreds of Stations had to go.
I beg your pardon, but the word IRONY should be in capital letters.
I see a point in stopping illegality - we don't want the Music Industry harmed - we love music, it's why we do what we do. Isn't that obvious ?
Add the point that we actively promote artists who never, sorry, NEVER get heard on the Radio, by and large.
Who is going to stand up for those Artists then ? Or now ? Anyone have an answer to that ?
As we see it, the rules are in place for those who may lose an extra cent because 'Hotel California' is being played for the zillionth time that day. Certainly not for any struggling Musicians who would hold their hands (or guitars) up to the heavens in glee at receiving some airplay.
Not a word, not a peep of support, for the Artists who we actively support and promote.
But - everyone is put in the same boat, as far as alleged 'Broadcast Copyright' is concerned.
Those who promote are treated in the same way as those who steal.
And that is called progress. and 'protection of copyright'.
The most worrying thing is, those people in charge, actually believe they're right.

So, no Pod.
But, not to worry - we continue to broadcast via legitimate legal Stations (as we always have, and always will - those in authority, take note please, if you have time to tear yourselves away from 'getting up your monthly number quota' without seeing the actual facts in front of you).
And we have to thank various people - those in authority too - who have voiced support in cases like ours, and others.
They have been the first to admit how outdated and archaic the current copyright system is, and admit how frustrating it is that no-one has the power to do anything about it, to ensure the same hand that allegedly feeds, is not actually taking away with the other.
Funny old world.
Land of the free ?

Steve Lloyd. The Album Zone