Happy Birthday, LG73!
By Danny Mac
Today marks the 10 year anniversary of LG73’s arrival to the Internet “airwaves.” My history with the station does not go back that far, but I did know of it several years before I was a part of the station. So, how did I find out about it? It all begins with our favorite radio host, Big Fry, the world’s largest talking French Fry.
As you may know, Big Fry is a BIG fan of old commercial radio memorabilia. He collects jingles, airchecks, surveys, and all the station schwag you could ever buy or win! One day in the early 2000’s, he finds a website called “The Jingles and Tunes Experience,” that specializes in all of this stuff, which leads him to an IRC channel called #mp3jingles. The ironic thing is, this is all based out of a town in Holland, and not the United States! This channel was always a frequent haunt for yet another LG73 presenter, Dick Verheul!
He begins making friends quickly, and soon, I get to make his acquaintance too. I find that he’s not too far away from me, as he’s in Chi-town, or what we like to call Fry-town! I believe that I was still working overnights in Chicago at WXXY at the time, but I’m not sure. Anyway, we swap lists of what we have, sharing files with one another. He tells me later on that he does an Internet radio show as well! Now, this was back in the days when dial-up was king, so extended listening was something I wasn’t able to do. I checked out Fry’s page on the LG73 website, bookmarked it, and promised to listen later.
I had moved a few times since the last time I checked out LG73, and had lost touch with Big Fry. By this time, I had broadband internet, and was able to tune in a few times. I joined the infamous Live365 chat lounge a few times too, making some appearances just to see what was all aboot…er, I mean about (sorry, Freudian Canadian slip!) This was even before I was involved with RFD, W0KIE, or Skybird radio. I was, however, doing a show on an Internet station in Belgium called WebRadio Golden Flash. It was a voice-tracked show, and was on in the wee hours of the morning! Sadly, due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to leave Golden Flash, and it was about 2 more years until I began doing radio again.
Eventually, I moved yet again, and got involved with the W0KIE Satellite Radio network (via n8uhn-Bill, another frequent visitor to #mp3jingles,) doing fill-in shows for his Electric Café, on a regular basis. Later on, I got hooked up with Skybird Radio and the Danny Mac Rant was officially born (at the urging of several friends,) in the middle of 2006. Several network changes were made over the next few years, as we went from C-band satellite, to Ku band satellite, and then off satellite all together. The show stayed the same, and in the same time slot all those years. Somehow, I had managed to find LG73 yet again. I began listening to Big Fry’s Big Hits when I was able to, and even archived the stream with Ripcast for on-demand access.
OK….where are we now? Let’s see… fast forward a few more years, somewhere around November of 2009, and I’ve already discovered the power of the social networking platform called Twitter. I really get into it, starting to follow lots of people, and in return, I’m followed as well. Just for the fun of it, I decide to see if LG73 is on Twitter, and I find that it was; rather that the man behind it all, Phil Kushnir, was. I decide to follow him and see what he’s like. He sees one of my tweets promoting the show, and decides to show interest in it. That day I show up in #LG73, and he asks if he can carry the show on LG73 that night. I give him my blessing, and the rest, as they say, is history!
We’re now coming up on our third year of the Rant being a part of the lineup on LG73. I’ve said it many, many times, but I will gladly say it again; I am totally honored to be a presenter on LG73, Vancouver’s Best Music Mix. I’ve had my ups and downs, with my emotions, with my equipment, and circumstances beyond my control, but you’ve always been helpful and encouraging, Phil. I appreciate all that you do for the station, and as a friend.
I enjoy being surrounded by the talent of the station, which brings a wide spectrum of flavors to satisfy just about everyone who tunes in. Between all of us, I don’t think that there is any musical genre left behind (well, almost!) To be honest, I think just about anyone’s musical library pales in comparison with that of Eric Wincentsen. I’m still shocked at the things I hear on Vinyl Casserole and 21st Century Schizoid Show, but in a good way!
LG73 continues to be one of the reasons why I still enjoy Internet radio. Even years ago, when I had dialup Internet access, I knew that there was something special about this “Internet Radio” thing; that it was going to stick around for a while. Once broadband came around, it was like going from AM to FM, really opening the door for a lot of people, especially yours truly. Listening to 128 kbps streams was nothing short of awesome, and in no time at all, I became an Internet Radio junkie. I once had a Winamp playlist of over 1,000 streams. Of course, LG73 was on that list, somewhere near the top!
Keep up the great work, Phil. Your dedication, enthusiasm, and attention to detail are clearly evident! They must be, especially if the legendary Greg Ogonowski stopped in to the chat one evening! That alone says something right there! So, I’d like to say, from the bottom of my heart, a big Happy Birthday to LG73, Vancouver’s Best Music Mix! Congratulations on ten years, and here’s hoping for even more. Oh, and Arthur says Happy Tenth as well!
That’s your Mini Rant, and I’m Danny Mac, on LG73, Vancouver’s Best Music Mix!