BeasWax Shine Alliance

This is my small contribution to the acceleration of Boston/New England music artists.

Artists (Hip-Hop, R&B, Dancehall and Dance/House)
Send MP3s of your music to: BeasWaxAudio@gmail.com, and I'll send it to the distribution list. I will not pick and choose what I like and send that out. The power of this list is to let the alliance decide what's hot. Send Clean, Dirty, Instrumental and Acappella versions. Why? You don't want to give someone a reason not to play your music. You never know who is going to listen to your track, like it, but decide it's too much work to bleep, reverse or edit the swears out of the dirty version. Plus with the Instrumental and Acappella, you give DJs tools to be creative with your music. If you don't have all versions, send what you have.

DJs (Club, Radio & Mixtape)
Send an email to BeasWaxAudio@gmail.com with "BEASWAX SHINE ALLIANCE DJ" in the subject line (all caps). I'll put you on the distribution list. Then when I get something, I'll pass it on to you. No one will be turned down. Here is the major thing… WE NEED TO LET EVERYONE KNOW WE ARE PLAYING A CERTAIN SONG. This is what will make this work. If we are going to make the nation stand up and look at Boston, we need to show our support for our artists. So I'll make it really easy. Just send an email to BeasWaxAudio@gmail.com saying the name of the song, if you are playing it and where you are playing it at (which club, what radio show, what mixtape/podcast). That's it. I'll compile the results and send a weekly blast giving you the tally.

This is a free service. I am not competing with the excellent promotion services that work your music worldwide and have connection all over the industry (Indi-Pro and Showoff Promotions are two Boston groups that get it in). As my boy DJ Kut (Power 105.1/NYC) says, "I'm Not A Record Promoter, I'm Just Sharing Music With The DJ's!"

Who's Got Next?

Shouts to all the DJs out there getting money! Boston we've got to start making it happen like ATL, Houston, NO, Miami, Chicago and the like... we've got to stand behind one or two artists with a real chance to blow up nationwide and make them a priority at EVERY club, on every mixtape and on every mixshow... R&B, Reggae or Hip-Hop, it doesn't matter, what matters is until one breaks through, nobody breaks through...

One thing I did like about Dayton is they banded together and played their local artists and made them local celebrities. They made me play their stuff on the radio because they were so hot in the clubs and mixtapes. Yes there are challenges, but when I see a little town like Dayton making noise, there is no reason why Boston can't shake things up... Read More. Oh, and I don't want to see Boston artists having to go to New York to get shine. Omega Red, Terminology, Clinton Sparks and Statik Selecta shouldn't have had to go to NYC to blow up, but that proves the talent in Boston that we can go to New York and take over!

Smoke is one of those cats that got put on without much help from the Boston machine. But since we didn't stand behind him (other than Hot 97.7 mixshows) he got lost in the shuffle. Dre Robinson had that song Get Right with Mobb Deep that was soooo hot, but the momentum got stunted. I don't know if Debreca was from here, but Gee-Spin was helping ... Read Morepromote her and she had a whole album of heat. We may not have showcases that people can consistently perform at, we may not have local radio to get airplay, but us as DJs are working at a lot of clubs and do a lot of mixtapes (and me with my podcasts).

Somehow we have to identify who's next and get behind them full force. Oh, and NO HATE! If someone has a show, go show support as a fellow artist. In Dayton, L-Marr The Great came to Shellshock's events, who came to Esquire's events, who came to GTC's events, and so on. They may not have broken out of the Dayton-Cincinnati area yet, but they at least have their own area on lock!

Now I'm not saying that I'm the best person to find those songs and those artists that we need to uplift. I've only been back 5 months and I'm completely out of the loop on who is hot and who is new. But if I find something I like, I'll let everyone know. And DJs, if you let me know through comments if you are playing a certain song, that gives all of us added strength in playing newer local music.

When I look at places like Baton Rouge (Hurricane Chris, Webbie, Lil Boosie), Batesville, MS (Soulja Boy), Jackson, MS (David Banner), Lafayette, LA (Cupid), Greenville, NC (Petey Pablo), there is no reason why Boston, with a population bigger than all those places COMBINED, can't make headway in the record industry.

And it's not like we don't have history, but we are out here like the Celtics were… 21 years without a championship. Who has been seriously put on since Gang Starr, Ed O.G. and Benzino? Well, let's mimic what the 2008 World Champion Celtics did… let's break the drought!

My Favorite Boston DJs (Part 2)

From all the notes I got on my first list from DJs that didn't make my list, you would think I was president of all DJs! Some people were lightweight upset that they didn't make the cut. Well, obviously I can't cosign everyone. And honestly, there are a lot of DJs that are working consistently that I don't think are that great, but that is my opinion. If you have a fan base, if you consistently get people to come to your events, you promote yourself effectively and you consistently get hired for gigs, it doesn't make a difference what I think, because you are doing what you need to do to get money.

So I want the DJs that feel they should be on my list to write a paragraph in my comments section similar to what I wrote about myself. What makes you a good DJ? What makes you unique? What is your history? Why should a promoter hire you? Like I said, this list is my opinion of great DJs, but I'm not the final judge and jury on DJs. I do respect the people who value my opinion, however.

I do have another list of DJs I like to listen to, but I didn't want my post to be too long (plus I have to get to my own gig). I do have to mention Dru Nyce, T. Clark and Che Boogie. All I enjoy listening to, and I'll give them the proper respect later.

My Favorite Boston DJs

I need to introduce you to some of my favorite current Boston DJs. I'm always amazed when I talk about other DJs and people don't know who I'm talking about. A person will ask me "who's spinning at such-and-such club?" I tell them and 97.7% of the time it's "who?" In the late 80s through early 2000s, most DJs doing parties in the New England-area were well-known, and headlined 600 to 1000 person events. Nowdays the scene is completely fragmented… there are a hundred thousand little parties featuring a hundred thousand nameless, faceless DJs. It's all about the club, not about the DJ.

So here is my hit list of Boston DJs. These are the people I can listen to, can cosign for, would pay money to hear spin and would recommend for any job I turn down!

DJ Hectik
Hectik has grown so much even in just the 5 months I've been back in Boston from Dayton, OH. I'm not afraid to say I go to listen to him to make sure I'm up on my Top-40 Dance music. He is at the forefront of a new style of music that we haven't seen since the late 80s/early 90s… uptempo pop dance music. Think Snap, C&C Music Factory, Stevie B, Rob Base, Black Box. Now substitute LMFAO, Flo Rida, Pitbull, DJ Class, Black Eyed Peas, and all the different mashups. He's smooth with the mix, doesn't overpower the mix with scratches, rocks the mic when he needs to and plays to his crowd. But I really became impressed when I heard him on his video mix show. He's sitting in his bedroom with a video camera trained on him and his tables, and he's just playing joints. I realized that he is not a one trick pony… he can play Hip-Hop with the best of them! (Where you can hear DJ Hectik: Tuesdays-Rumor; Wednesdays-Wonder Bar; Thursdays-http://www.ClubKillaRadio.com, Revolution Rock Bar; Fridays-Rumor; Saturdays-Venu; Sundays-Orchid… yes he really does work that much!)

Gee-Spin
Even though Gee has moved on to New York to help program Power 105.1, he is still doing special events in the city. I still remember going to Cosmopolitan back in the mid-90s, hearing all this great old school soul & funk being played, then looking behind the tables and seeing a red-headed white boy! He is one of the few DJs who has proven he can play to ANY crowd, and is unafraid to either play a new song he knows will be a hit, or slip in a classic you forgot you jammed to back in the day. And the funniest thing? Like myself, he doesn't talk on the mic much in the club, but became a top-rated on-air radio personality! Actually, out of all the DJs I've ever heard, he comes the closest to sounding like I sound… smooth mixes, every song is better than the last, crazy music library and the experience to know what and when to play something. (Where you can hear Gee-Spin: special events; overnights-http://www.power1051fm.com)

The DJ Chubby Chub
Boston has a love/hate relationship with Chub, but every superstar has their haters. And yes, he is a superstar! He is the classic Hip-Hop DJ… LOUD talkin' shit on the mic, aggressive scratching, droppin' hit after hit (he's not Mr. Heatrocks for nothing!). But don't sleep on Chub's music knowledge. Chub and I spent many days at Hot 97.7 in Boston talking about R&B, slow jams, Neo-Soul, House, Rock (ask him about his rock crate!). He is too big for Boston, quite frankly. He is on the level of a Kid Capri or DJ AM, and with the moves that he is making behind the scenes, it is only a matter of time before he is making that Capri/AM money. I'm just trying to be his Technician the DJ! (Where you can hear Chubby Chub: Saturdays-360 Ultra Lounge; special events around the globe; (soon) Hot 97.5-Boston)

DJ Kon
Just because a DJ is not a household name doesn't mean he is not an excellent DJ. DJ Kon's strength is the insane knowledge of music history he possesses. Digging in the crates doesn't do him justice. He is a musical archeologist… going to the ends of the earth to uncover obscure tracks that have been sampled in many of our favorite Hip-Hop and R&B songs. He can play an entire night of just sampled songs! But what elevated Kon to one of my favorite DJs was hearing him the last couple of times I was at the Blue Wave. I never thought he could pull back and rock a party playing identifiable songs… I thought his need to expose those rare grooves caused him to play over the crowd's head. But at the Blue Wave he played hits… and when he stretched out, it was to play something we forgot we loved, like Another One Bites The Dust or Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. He goes on the list! (Where you can hear DJ Kon: alternate Fridays/Saturdays-The Blue Wave; alternate Saturdays-Middlesex Lounge; special events)

DJ Deja
Deja has come into her own recently. She has always been an in-demand DJ both locally and nationally, but in the past 8 years she has grown from getting gigs because of the novelty of being a female DJ and being great at promoting herself to becoming a great DJ, period. We spin together at Saint once a month, and quite frankly, I only do it because she's a talented DJ. I've spun too many times with other DJs where when I get off the tables, the drop-off in quality is glaring, and people are begging me to get back in the DJ booth! She has the unique ability to play songs that are left-of-center and make it work because she knows her crowds and reads the vibe so well. She truly leads her crowd on a musical journey that is enjoyable to experience. But she has one problem… and it's a good problem to have; she makes so much money doing weddings and private corporate functions that she doesn't do a lot of clubs anymore. So you better catch her when you can! (Where you can hear DJ Deja: Saint-Saturdays (once a month); X-Mix syndicated mixshows)

The Incredible DJ "Big Chicago" Reggie Beas (of course I have to put myself in there!)
I'm not being egotistical putting myself on this list. What other DJ in Boston is still relevant who started spinning in clubs in the 80s! I'm the Tim Wakefield of club DJs… Tim is a consistent winner, been around for years, can fill any position on the roster effectively, and makes his club better in a number of ways, not always in the most obvious (BTW, Tim Wakefield is a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox). I consistently rock crowds, can play anything from Old School Funk/Soul/Disco to Hip-Hop/R&B/Reggae to Dance/House/Top-40 to Rock/New Wave/Classic Rock, been on the radio as a mixer, on-air personality and program director, and leave people thinking "damn, I had a great time at this club," even though they may not attribute that directly to me. That is because my greatest strength is my greatest curse… I'm so technically precise on the tables I fade into the background. I pride myself in every transition being exactly right, but it makes me sound like a mix CD produced in the studio instead of a DJ playing live for a crowd. That's great for radio mixshows… I'm one of the cleanest mixshow DJs I've ever heard, and that's including syndicated DJs on Superadio and DJs I grew up listening to in Chicago. But in the club I need to dirty it up, make people notice me behind the decks. Chubby is probably one of my biggest fans. He is forever telling me I'm better than almost everyone else out there, so there is no reason why I can't be touring like he is.

That drives me every day.

(Where you can hear me spin: Thursdays-Tamboo Ultra Lounge; Saturdays-Saint (once a month); Sundays-OM Lounge; special events; http://LOTOS.podOmatic.com; http://25Plus.podOmatic.com; http://AdvancedDanceTherapy.podOmatic.com; http://ReggieBeas.podOmatic.com)

Thoughts About My Radio Career (Part 3) or Why I'm Not On The Radio Now

Why am I not on the radio now? Right right now is because the Urban stations in Boston are all operating illegally as what are called pirate stations, and I'm not working for an entity that is illegal. People here don't understand that when I say that, because they can't imagine a radio station broadcasting illegally, which is what a pirate station does.

A station broadcasting legally has a broadcasting license given to them by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). There are a limited number of licenses given out by the FCC per metropolitan region, and the stations are spaced along the radio dial so their signals don't interfere with each other. If you notice, in the United States stations' frequency, or dial number, are spaced apart by 0.4 (i.e., 94.5, 94.9, 95.3, 95.7, 96.1, etc.). If you hear a station in between those stations (i.e., 94.7 in between 94.5 and 94.9) it will be faint and hard to pick up because it is a station whose signal is carrying from another market.

Now, a pirate station doesn't care about getting a license. They listen to the radio and figure out a dial position in between two licensed stations that has the least amount of interference, whether from an out-of-market radio station bleeding in, or a very strong adjoining station overpowering their signal. They find a building they can put a radio transmitter on, run the wires to their mixing board, tune it to the clearest frequency they can find, and voila! They have a radio station.

The problem with pirate stations are three-fold. 1) First and foremost, they are illegal. Major broadcasting companies pay millions of dollars to the right and privilege to broadcast in a certain city. A pirate station pays a fraction of that to put a station on the air, which leads to 2) interference with other signals and 3) taking potential listeners away from licensed stations. Major broadcasters could care less about pirates… until it messes with their money. If they can prove that a pirate station is affecting their ability to transmit their signal, they will make sure that pirate station will be shut down quickly. And if people who would be listening to the licensed station either start listening to the pirate station or can't hear the licensed station because of the interference, once again, that pirate station will be shut down.

What does all this have to do with me? First of all, I can't put that I worked for a pirate station on my resume. How does that look? Not that I'm Mr. High And Mighty, but if I put on my resume a station that is not listed by Arbitron, is not a BDS station, and doesn't show up on ANY list of licensed radio stations, it makes me look bootleg. Secondly, it's ILLEGAL. If I happened to be working for a pirate station and the FCC came to shut them down, I would open the doors and help them carry stuff out. Don't be fooled by people saying they have a low power broadcasting license. Low power broadcasting licenses are legal licenses given by the FCC for an organization to broadcast to a very limited area, usually covering no more than a 2-3 mile radius. In contrast, some of the more powerful stations' broadcast signal cover over a 60-65 mile radius. Even a bad legal signal, like my old station Hot 97.7, covered 25-35 miles.

But people don't understand any of this. They think, I turn on my radio, I hear the radio station, must be legit, so why can't you work for them? At that point, after explaining the whole pirate thing, the whole illegal thing, and they still don't get it? I just say I'm not worried about radio anymore and leave it at that.

But truth be told… I would love to get back on the radio in Boston. I KNOW I can make an Urban, Urban AC, Rhythmic or Rhythmic AC work in Boston. But since 3 of the 4 are failed formats, nobody is going to give them another chance (and Jam'n 94.5 is a powerhouse Rhythmic, so no one wants to mess with the big dog). Let ME mess with the big dogs (Jam'n and Kiss). That radio war would be something to see.

Thoughts About My Radio Career (Part 2)

October 2007. I'm in Dayton, Ohio on Hot 102.9, a Rhythmic/Pop station (I say that because we played a lot of Top-40 uptempo dance stuff that should have been on our sister station, Z93). The station is #1 18-34. My show is #1 18-34. I'm thinking life is great (or as great as life can be in Dayton, Ohio, which is another story completely).

Let's back up for a second. From 2004 to 2007 was a most excellent ride. I went from morning show producer, to midday host (yes, they finally gave it to me straight out), to program director and afternoon personality of the new 97.7 WILD-FM (an Urban/Urban AC hybrid that wasn't as weird as it sounds, which is "another" another story), to PD/Afternoons at Hot 102.9 in Dayton. My first program director at Hot 97.7, Tom Calococci (current OM at Beasley Broadcasting and PD of Power 96 in Miami) told me if I didn't become a PD in 5 years he seriously overestimated my talent. Well, I guess he slightly overestimated my talent, because it took me 5 years and 3 months!

So Radio One sells the Dayton cluster to another company (I start getting the shakes when I think about them, so I'm not naming them). Like I said, I'm good… my performance barometers are peaking. I have a 2 year contract with an out clause after one year, so I thought it would be nothing to re-up for the 2nd year. At the same time, my PD colleague at Z93 was sweating bullets. Here he has control of a heritage station with a blowtorch signal, and they are seriously underperforming, fighting for ratings with a 6,000 watt station that couldn't be heard throughout the whole metro.

Our GM asked the whole station to clean their areas by October 31st so new carpet could be put in and walls could be painted. It just so happened that decisions had to be made for both of us at that same point. I cleaned, put stuff in boxes, put other stuff in drawers, filed away CDs on my floor… basically spruced up the place. My colleague however, thinking he was on his way out the door, cleared out his office. If you looked in there, you would have thought nobody worked in that office. He took the platinum records off the walls, his stereo, all his personal belongings… and took them home. Not stashed them away… took them home! Not put them to the side… took them HOME! He knew he was gone.

So after my shift, I went into the general manager's office to, I thought, have a performance review and talk about goals for the next year. When he starts out with, "so you know we're letting you go…," I go into complete shock. "Uh, no, I did NOT know that, are you serious?" Here is the sucky (for want of a stronger word) thing about my contract. Either myself or the company could cancel the contract at the one year point without cause or giving a reason. So when I asked why they were terminating my contract, he said "we're going in a different direction. That's all I need to say." And I couldn't ask any followup questions, because he didn't have to answer them.

But here is the shocker… yes, even more shocking than losing my job. They gave my job to my PD colleague! Oh, and all this happened the same day they fired his entire staff, blew up his station and made it into a "we play anything" formatted station. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at him. He is a great guy from the Dayton area, had a house, wife and kids and had been with Z93 for 10 1/2 years, from intern to PD/Afternoons. But come on! He was an underperforming Top-40 PD. The only thing he knew about current Hip-Hop and R&B was what he heard in the hallways passing by our studio on his way to his office. He did appreciated Hip-Hop and we would vibe on some old school classics, but programming from charts is bound to fail.

And initially, fail it did. What is it the kids say, "Epic Fail?" This was a classic Epic Fail. 1) I don't have access to anything other than the 12+ Arbitron numbers, but the station's ratings dropped from 6.5 to 5.0, which is the lowest numbers in the history of the station. I know this because when I first got to Dayton, I went over and wrote down all the ratings for each daypart over the history of the station. 2) Only 6 months after the GM let me walk (and less than 8 months after he took the job), he was let go. Technically he took another position at another company, but come on. You don't uproot your family after being in your previous market for years, moved to Dayton, and then move again less than 8 months later without something being seriously wrong. I'm not gloating, I'm just saying…

I wanna thank my girl at http://randomramblingsofaradiochick.blogspot.com for giving me incentive to write in my blog again. I realized my story is interesting also, and it is good for me to get it out. Next post I'll write about my year of looking for another radio job, including crazy feedback I got from 2 major market PDs, my frustration with the whole job search process, and my attempt to work for an easy-listening station in Massachusetts!

Thoughts About My Radio Career (Part 1)

Just got finished reading posts on the blog http://randomramblingsofaradiochick.blogspot.com. Can I tell you she is writing almost exactly how I feel? Except for she is more candid because she is anonymous.

It got me to thinking about my radio career. About how at age 32 I quit my job as a graphic design assistant in the Visual Communications department at a world-class law firm, took three part-time jobs just so I could pursue my dream of being in commercial radio.

About how I only made $22,000 for 3 years as local producer of a nationally syndicated morning show because I was so determined to make it in radio.

How I worked the morning show and did middays for 8 months because that was the only way I was going to get consistent on-air time. Still only making $22,000, so I needed to continue working as a director of a record pool, and DJ in clubs 3 nights a week.

About those three nights a week in the club. Everybody at Hot 97.7 can tell you stories about how I would leave the club, go to the station at 3am, sleep for 2 1/2 hours, then get up to produce the morning show. I did that at least 1 day a week from 2000 through 2004.

How about the time I woke up at 8:30am when I was supposed to be at the station at 5:30am? That was during the time I was doing morning show/midday double duty. Yes, I did get written up, but I also got a bonus! Everyone, including the syndicated morning show host, knew how hard I was working, and he went to bat for me. He knew how much I was making (and Boston ain't cheap), and he knew all the things I was doing to make ends meet. I wasn't only burning the candle at both ends… all the candle wax was gone; I was nothing but wick! But I was able to give up the morning show and concentrate solely on the midday show.

I'm thinking back on how I felt when, after 13 months of holding down middays (5 months of doing middays only), I lost my job… actually, technically that's not correct. Middays wasn't mine, I was only filling in that whole time. Why? Because they were still looking for a female to fill the position. Now this is not a diatribe about equal opportunity employment, because I love my female announcers (one of my radio heroes is Irene Mojica of V103 in Chicago). But imagine how I felt when middays went to a girl who was 3 weeks shy of 21 years old, who was interning 4 months before, who only had 3 months of part-time experience on mixshows? I guess you can say it was an inspired pick, because she currently co-hosts a national TV show. But I suck it up and go back to the morning show.

Gotta take a quick break, but I'll fast forward to October 2007 in a moment.