Arts Fest Round Up Part 2: Alrewas Radio

So, as well as the 101 Oddfellows photography project, I was also involved with another new project to this year's Arts Rest, known as Alrewas Radio. This was an internet radio station which we ran for the whole week, getting over 800 unique listeners over the days which we broadcasting for and we covered all the exciting Arts Fest action including workshops, performances, concerts, and we even spoke first hand to: Pete Ralley, doing the videos and website for the festival and also the coordinator of the Lottery Funded Alrewas Archives project; Jeff Jacks, a resident artist and organiser of the Graffiti Art project, as well as running several workshops on wibbly wobbly crafts; Paula Dumulo, who is the main organiser of the whole event, working tirelessly for the many weeks before and throughout the festival week itself to make sure everything run smoothly for the Arts Festival; and finally Jim Ralley, the man behind the legend, the father of Alrewas Radio. 

So Jim first came up with this idea after attending the Manchester Arts Festival where there was an internet radio station which covered the festival. Now this was a trigger for him to put an idea to the committee, and before long, Mr Richardson, friend and fellow blogger, came to me with an email containing all the details for what was to be a truly fantastic, exhausting and all consuming project for the Arts Festival Week.

So that was basically how it came about. We would be lying if we said we knew what we were doing, or even how it would work, but we were both excited and apprehensive as to the potential f this project. We spent many a Maths lesson chatting about how it would work, how it would be run, who would be presenting, wha we would be talking about. There were lengthily discussions on the group page on Facebook, between us, other people who wanted to get involved and between Jim who we were talking with about the technical side of things.

About a week before the radio was due to begin, a brand new Arts Council grant-funded Macbook and a fantastic radio mic arrived at my house. The next thing  I did was to march  round to James' with all this gear and we spent an excited day unwrapping and setting up, installing software and transferring music. James was ecstatic about the whole thing. I have to say though, I was a little more nervous about how it would all work.

This was at the point which Joe Ralley, Jim's brother was brought on board. The day before the whole ting kicked off I was round at their house, setting up this kit to actually broadcast stuff. Now I have to say I can work my way round a PC like I can the back of my hand, but a Macbook to me is like an Alien. The differences between the 2 are't all that great, but they are enough to confuse a lowly little Windows guy like me! I learnt more about Apple in that 1 afternoon than I have ever done in my whole life, and I still don't understand how it all works.

So we had it all working, there was great excitement in the house as there was a shout from the dining room to say: "We can here you on the radio!" So it was all set to go. I left with confidence and the next day, turned up at the hall for 9 'o' clock, thinking an hour would be plenty of time to set up and be ready to go at 10. As everyone knows, tech never works when you want it to, and that morning, it definitely didn't want to. It took us the best part of 2 hours, along with 2 different broadcasting programs to get it to work, and eventually we were on. James had missed the whole of the opening show, and we were having issues with popping on the mic, the music being too loud while the voice was too quiet, and the mic cutting out. But we were live! And how good did it feel? Incredible! We had finally done it. All the hard work appeared to have payed off.

So throughout the week we played over 400 different tunes, broadcasting for 56 hours and racking up, as I said earlier, over 800 unique listeners. It was a great week, with about 15 different young people involved with the presenting and producing in the end, we got an overwhelming positive response from the people of the village and the wider community in which we sit in. I am still getting great feedback now, and nagging off people to continue with it.

Which leads me to a nice way to conclude this one. After discussions with Pete, Paula, Jim, Joe and James, we have decided as a group that we are going to do the radio every 2 weeks, on a Sunday. There is still a lot to decide on, and yes time is short, but we will have it up and running as a regular schedule in not very long at all, with all the hosting and presenting done by village people for the people of the village. So please stay up to date with all thing Radio from this blog, the twitter which is: @AlrewasRadio, the hashtag #AlrewasRadio and on the facebook page: www.facebook.com/alrewasradio.

Thanks for reading. To find out more about the festival ad my involvement within it, the please check out my last installment of the Arts Fest Round Up.

I've been Tom Peach.

@peachy146

The Posh Schedule To Download

Here is a look at the image for the posh schedule. You will see this about a lot. Please note this is subject to change! As noted today, where we started an hour late due to technical difficulties and also had some issues about midday with the mic, which we have now all resolved. Currently chilling at the Studio with Tom Leedham doing a fantastic job here!

You can listen to the station: http://tinyurl.com/alrewasradio

Follow us on twitter: @AlrewasRadio

Will I be able to take back my comments about Apple? Ever?

Now for the Alrewas Radio project which I am involved in (god knows why somebody decided to put me on the radio, I thought youtube was bad enough!) we have had a lot of new kit, and one of these things happens to be a MacBook Pro. The one made by Apple.

Now I have said quite a lot of scathing things in the past about the aforementioned Computer Manufacturer and designer, mainly based upon the price tag about the 3 times to price of the same specifications of a PC, but also due to it's lack of compatibility, the sparse amount of software actually available for it, and the shocking bar and the bottom which disappears and re-appears. What does it think it is, the genie?

Now as I say, during the past few days I have been engrossed in such a piece of technology trying to get it all working and ready for the big Radio starting on Saturday. (If you would like to listen please go to the Alrewas Arts Fest website for more information on where about to find it)

Now even that has been the bane of my life. Not only has there been countless downloads and installations to be doing with it, we have also had find our way around the system to alter settings and the such like to get everything to run together properly, which also involves a basic way about the way it would work, which on a windows PC, I have no problems with that, but a Mac. Oh No.

I have to say though, for whatever reason, when I am working with images or video or something arty farty like that, it is something which very I have warmed to. I am not yet saying I am a mac convert, but they are growing on me. 

I am nowhere near saying I would go out and buy one, but having the chance to use one has been a pleasure. And I do have to say one thing, they have incredibly good in built audio and video facilities, which I would not have expected from a Mac!

Anyway, I have to go now, back to my lovely homely Windows laptop. Thanks for reading

Twitter: @peachy146