Category: Radio (Page 5 of 12)

PBS Radio Rocks by Not Rocking

April 22, 2016 / Jack / 0 Comments

PBSwebsize Elijah Hawkins has some pretty cool things to say about radio drama down under:

In a time when most commercial radio stations play (in this writer’s opinion) either mass-produced crap or ‘80s pop, and when even triple j is waning, community radio plays an incredibly important role in the scene.
PBS 106.7FM is one of these stations flying the flag for community radio, and from May 16-29 they’re calling on listeners to ‘Take the Plunge’ and sign up. As a station that remains independent and non-profit, the supporters and volunteers are what keeps PBS on the air.

Fuelled by people with a passion for music and propelled by the record collections of the volunteer broadcasters, the station offers programs focusing on everything, including country, blues and roots, garage, rock, punk, and even electronica, soul, hip-hop, and free jazz.

Folks who sign up or renew their membership will go into the running for a heap of prizes, including a Maton 70th anniversary series semi-acoustic guitar, a restored Thorens turnable, a classic red Vespa PX 150 scooter and plenty more.

So get out there and support PBS 106.7 FM and let the stories rock out!

Best of the Classic Radio Drama?

April 20, 2016 / Jack / 6 Comments

Radios This article on Geekscape was floating around the Internets, and we’re a little upset we didn’t see it sooner.

The author, Witney, provides a list of the top ten old time radio dramas along with links. The shows selected are in order…

10. Brave New World

9. Superman

8. Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar

7. Escape “Three Skeleton Key”

6. The Knox Riots

5. Ruby 4(ZBS)

4. War of the Worlds (Mercury Theatre)

3. Johnny Got His Gun

2. Moon Over Morocco (ZBS)

1. Sorry Wrong Number

So what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Write your own list in the comments! Goodness knows we have a few that would have included!

Daley Wishes- More Star Wars Audio Drama

April 16, 2016 / Jack / 1 Comment

I don’t know about you. But the thought that the new Star Wars movies could produce more NPR Star Wars audio drama makes me more excited than even for the release of the next installment- Rogue One.

For many of us who held on to the flame of radio drama in those twilight years, the NPR Star Wars written by Brian Daley set flame to our imaginations exactly what a serialized version of a story could do. Forget, the modern podcast serials. Star Wars the Radio Drama stretched the original tale to tell all the stories that George Lucas couldn’t fit into a two hour feature. As this Hollywood Reporter article clarifies the extended tales tells us much more about the upcoming movie “Rogue One” than the original trilogy let slip.

I admit that I have dreams that I can be part of that team. I get a knock on my door and it’s J.J. Abrams.

“Jack,” he says. “I need you to make forty episodes- ten for each movie.” and we get in the Millennium Falcon and make our way to hidden satellite where they keep a young and rejuvinated Orson Welles, William Conrad, Vincent Price, Jack Benny, and Arch Obeler.

Hey, I’m in audio drama. I have an active fantasy life!

Blake Sets Sail

April 14, 2016 / Jack / 0 Comments

It was with some sadness that fans of Blake’s 7, the powerful series created first for the BBC by Terry Nation from 78 to 81, heard of the death of Gareth Thomas. His reprisal of the role in The Liberator Chronicles in 2012 created a whole new generation of fans.

The Telegraph has the story:

…Gareth Thomas passed away this morning, 13th April 2016, from heart failure.

“Our thoughts are with his wife Linda, and his family and friends.”
Blake’s 7, which was created by Terry Nation and ran from 1978 to 1981, follows the travails of Blake, a political dissident banished from Earth for his part in a series of uprisings.

Along with other prisoners and a telepathic alien, Blake leads a guerrilla war from his spacecraft, Liberator, against the totalitarian Terran Foundation regime.

Blake was controversially killed off in 1981 but Thomas reprised the role in 2012 for an audio series called The Liberator Chronicles.

Though Thomas will be most fondly remembered for his role as the intergalactic resistance leader, he enjoyed a varied acting career that began in 1965 when he played Benvolio in a TV adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.

Later, he enjoyed long stints playing Ron Radley in the ITV drama Parkin’s Patch, Adam Brake in the ITV drama Children of the Stones, and Charles McCallister in the ITV comedy drama Distant Shores, alongside Peter Davison and Samantha Bond.

Thomas’ last credit came in 2011 when he played Gareth Harper in the BBC hospital drama Holby City.

Sci-fi fans were were quick to pay tribute to Thomas on Twitter.

Safe etheric seas, sweet Prince!

Fixsoniced by The Archers

April 14, 2016 / Jack / 0 Comments

the-archers-2 The tale of Helen and Rob Titchener, characters in the BBC’s radio soap opera “The Archers”, has an entire nation transfixed as the violent conclusion Sunday night’s past saw Helen stabbing her abusive husband in front of their young son. During the episode, #TheArchers was trending on Twitter as tens of thousands of listeners vented their emotions. The benefits of such high drama was the Helen Titchener (nee Archer) Rescue Fund, which swiftly hit its target of raising 100,000 pounds ($142,000) for the domestic abuse charity Refuge.

Find out all about the dramatic events at the In-Cyprus Article.

His Voice was “Magically Delicious”

April 12, 2016 / Jack / 0 Comments

13Anderson1Obit-master675 Great loss to the world of radio drama and voice acting on April 10th, when Arthur Anderson passed away at the age of 93. The New York Times article reported:

Arthur Anderson, who performed on radio as a teenager with Orson Welles’s Mercury Theater and appeared on Broadway, in films and on television, but whose most enduring role was as the voice of Lucky Charms cereal’s leprechaun, died on Saturday in Manhattan.

As the last of the Golden Age of Radio begins to fade into the distance, I find myself thinking back as to how much of an impact they made, not just on those children who grew up with radio and radio drama, but the grandchildren, and the great grandchildren. My parents loved radio plays and bought LP’s for me to listen to in my formative years. Even now, archive.org keeps putting more and more old time radio shows into the public domain. Go through the available Mercury and Campbell’s Playhouse Theatres and have some time to listen to Anderson’s salad years.

Rest well, sweet prince!

Trap Released…

April 5, 2016 / Jack / 0 Comments

The audio drama and Star Wars world is whirling at the news that Erik Bauersfeld passed away. Known widely as Admiral Ackbar from the famous Return of the Jedi episode of the original trilogy, Bauersfeld was known mostly as a radio man who acted for decades in our favourite medium. NPR has a great series of references to his iconic Star Wars character in this article about the Star Wars Voice Actor… Bauersfeld stumbled into the famous role while working on an audio drama for Lucasfilm. A prolific and respected radio dramatist as well as a longtime fixture of Berkeley station KPFA, Bauersfeld worked in radio for much of his life. He adapted, performed and produced full-length productions of classic dramas for radio, including the work of Eugene O’Neill, Edgar Allen Poe, Guy De Maupassant, Franz Kafka and Fyodor Dostoyesvsky.

The Social Contract of Radio Drama

March 31, 2016 / Jack / 0 Comments

05DADDCE0000044D-3498014-image-a-10_1458262607996 At the Sonic Society we try to demonstrate that radio drama opens up conversation in the areas of social and political concern. Many communities around the world may not have wide distribution to televisions or Internet, but they have radio. Radio can teach and delight (to borrow from Philip Sidney). Case in point, from The Daily Mail, How The Archers helps abuse victims: Charity bosses say radio drama’s storyline about domestic violence has led to calls to national helpline increasing by a fifth speaks to the recent abuse of the character Rob Titchener bullying his wife, Helen Archer. According to the Daily Mail article, calls to the UK’s Domestic Abuse Help Line went up 17% and the show set up a giving page for charity refuge for abused spouses.

Read the rest of the article and consider how social conditions might improve in your area by a thought provoking conversation about the issues that affect your community.

Return Home to Audio Drama

March 29, 2016 / Jack / 0 Comments

Going-Home We love brand new series of Audio Drama, and here’s the latest. A creepy serialized audio drama “Return Home”

From the Press Release Posted on DreadCentral:
Bamfer Productions is proud to announce that they released their new serialized audio drama, “Return Home,” on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.

Return Home is the story of Jonathan Barker, who returns to his home of Melancholy Falls, NJ, after five years away. An unknown entity beckons him back East in order to unravel the mystery of what his home town has become… or has always been. Reunited with his best friend, Buddy, Jonathan must discover the secrets of Melancholy Falls and why he was told to return home.

The show is done in the style of an old time radio drama, like those of the past, but with a modern twist. It is fully produced in stereo sound to make you feel like you are part of the action. Though you can listen however you’d like, it’s recommended you do so with headphones. Alone. In a darkened room.

The show also features an amazingly talented cast, featuring the vocal talents of Forrest Orta, Cleve North, Alyssa Rittorno, Russell Eaton, Rossco SoleTrain, Taylor Thorne, and more. And that’s just the first episode.

Each episode will be split into several parts, with each part being around 10 minutes in length. Parts will be released on Tuesdays until an episode is complete. As a whole, these parts will make up a self-contained story, while every episode will contribute to the overall mythology of the show. The first episode of the show, “Home at Last,” began releasing on March 1, and will be spread over five weeks. Episode 2, titled “Whatever Lies Behind the Door,” will begin releasing on April 5.

“Return Home” is the creation of Jeff Heimbuch, who has been co-hosting the theme park podcast “Communicore Weekly” for the last five years. He is partnering with Andrew Taylor, who is producing this project, and Kori Celeste, who is composing all of the original music.

“I’ve always wanted to expand my storytelling skills into the realm of audio dramas, as they have fascinated me since I was a kid. Now that I have the means to tell the creepy, yet quirky, story of ‘Return Home’ correctly, I am excited to bring it to the ears of people everywhere,” said Heimbuch.

“I jumped at the chance to work on an audio-centric, story-driven podcast. It’s been a blast to create this world using only sound, so far, and we can’t wait to continue this journey,” said Taylor.

“Return Home” is available now on iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever else you can find podcasts. For more information visit ReturnHomePodcast.com.

The Rise of the Bronze Age of Audio Drama?

March 28, 2016 / Jack / 0 Comments

bronze Happy Easter Everyone! A time where traditionally we think of new life, and renewal, and it’s got us thinking here at EVP Studios.

A few years back I said we had exited the Golden Age of Modern Audio Drama, and entered a definitively new age, the Silver Age. I said that because I had seen the generation of Audio Drama enthusiasts bring back the medium to the Internet, only to inspire a new group of people who maybe hadn’t heard of audio stories before podcasts opened their ears to the possibilities.

Now, it looks like we’re entering a third age. The Bronze Age of Modern Audio Drama where a new group of people who haven’t heard of the Golden Age group, and may not even be aware of the Silver Age productions are looking at the run away podficts like Serial and Tanis and are deciding to make their own series.

Audio Drama is broadening its base, even as its not widening it. What I mean by that is that we’re now coming to a point where the small community is fracturing so that so many people are unaware of the works of others. When most people excited about the medium used to listen to a group of shows to find what’s new out there, now we see entire podcasts existing entirely ignorant of the other works out there, and almost proudly so. After all, there’s so many podcasts of every genre, can you say you know them all? It’s impossible.

Radio Drama is starting to get that kind of wide appeal. But there’s still a danger in this fractured effect. It means that if your favourite audio series stops, you’re more likely not to know if there’s anything else out there. Even now, the most popular podcasts about audio drama tend to focus on a handful of shows as if they are the only ones that exist.

Our focus in the Sonic Society, has always been about the eclectic nature. We’d rather give you the world of audio drama, and let you decide weekly your commitment to it.

So is this a New Age? Let us know what you think in the comments…