FEEDBACK ON POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE RETRO ATTIC

The poll results in my Facebook group(http://facebook.com/groups/retroatticrareoldiesradio) have been interesting so far, and I think I know how I'm going to proceed with The Retro Attic and the two other streams I have possession of(1 is on Shoutcast and I'm paying for it - the other is on Icecast and I got it for free, complete with tons of storage!). Here goes:

1. The Retro Attic will stay primarily focused on the 60's and 70's. There will be no 50's or 80's weekend specials; however, there is an interest in having some 50's and 80's tunes back in the rotation. I think this is doable. The late 50's had sounds that carried over into the early 60's, right up through '63(Sam Cooke, Dion, Jackie Wilson, general doo wop, crooner material, etc.). The late 70's brought us some westcoast/adult contemporary/album oriented rock acts with sounds that continued into the early 80's, up until MTV made its first full impact in '83. 80's new wave acts and 80's metal bands wouldn't be a good fit on The Retro Attic, but the softer sounds should be acceptable.

2. I am all for doing weekend specials, but I think everyone will be happier if the specials stick with the station's overall theme. Dave Oplinger will be sending me some suggestions and Joe Marshall would like to see a non top 10 disco/dance show. I think other things such as a 60's garage rock showcase or a soul/country chart countdown from years past could also be fun.

3. I could do a "No Repeat Monday" and still include bottom 45's and tracks from the Featured Artist Of The Month. I'll try it sometime in March and see what the reception is. It will take a while before I could add any other "no repeat" days; my playlists still need a lot of work, there are many key hits I haven't included yet, etc.

4. Right now the ratio of 70's tunes to 60's tunes in the rotation is almost 2:1. I know that the 70's are going to be more familiar to people, but I should do better with the 60's. If I got the percentages to 55/45 with the 70's being the majority, would that be satisfactory to everyone?

5. If I was to feature more bottom 45's, then I think they would serve their purpose better on the weekends. During the weekdays, I get listeners who are at work, and I think they prefer hearing more of the top 40 material. Any additional bottom 45's during the weekdays could alienate some of these listeners.

6. As some of you know, I'm an 80's MTVaholic and a huge fan of traditional hard rock/heavy metal/AOR. I think that I have something to offer in these areas, so I will get those two streams that I mentioned in the first paragraph developed. The Shoutcast one will be a definitive guide to the 80's, featuring just about any band that charted on Billboard and/or got some MTV exposure. The Icecast one will be an all-rock channel featuring classics and obscurities from the late 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and bands of today with obvious nostalgic leanings. This covers classic rock, melodic rock, traditional heavy metal, westcoast AOR, and power pop...there will be no grunge, death metal, hardcore punk, or bizarre alternative rock featured. Both of these stations will be launched once I have at least 500 songs in each station's database; this way I shouldn't get complaints right away about hearing the same songs over and over again. I'll handle the initial licensing startup costs and hopefully these formats will gain supporters!

I know this is a lot to take in, but hopefully it shows that I care about my listeners. The floor is now yours!

"MALTED MEMORIES" AIRS TONIGHT!

Join us at 7 PM eastern tonight for Malted Memories, an hour with 23 top 40 hits from the 50's(some of them are definitely lost) and a bottom 45 from 1958 that peaked at #80! A 3 song tribute to "The Day The Music Died" will also be included.

Get your 50's fix every Friday night by tuning in at http://retroatticrareoldiesradio.com. The Retro Attic can also be found on Tunein.com, Radio Tuna, Itunes Radio in their "Golden Oldies" category, Nobex Radio, and most major internet radio directories.

THIS WEEKEND ON "AWFULLY AWESOME 80'S"

This weekend on Awfully Awesome 80's, DJ Gilbert Matthews' lost and classic top 40 hits showcase will include a seldom-heard gem that was his choice for his first dance at his wedding, a nod to "The Day The Music Died(well, sort of - the guy did portray Buddy Holly)," an early 80's one hit wonder who was once married to a very famous songwriter, a comeback hit for a 70's band who returned to their classic rock style, a top 15 hit with plenty of sax appeal, and many others.

The 2 bottom 45's will be from 1983 and 1985 and come from a well-respected British progressive rock group and a hard rock group who had 2 members that will be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April.

The show will air on this Saturday night the 6th from 8 to 10 PM eastern at http://retroatticrareoldiesradio.com. If you like the show and want to see it expand to a 24/7 format with even deeper content, then please contact me through the webpage and I will tell you how it could happen! See you then!

THE LATEST AMERICAN BOTTOM 45 PODCAST

The American Bottom 45's latest podcast, A Hint Of Lime: A Uni Records Showcase, is now available to hear! If you were a fan of the record label's 1967-1972 heyday, then you will want to kick back for an hour and check this out! Be warned though, you will need to be adventurous; in other words, don't expect a hits-filled set consisting of Neil Diamond, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Olivia Newton-John, and The Foundations(you can hear them on The Retro Attic!). https://www.mixcloud.com/gilbert-matthews/the-american-bottom-45-a-hint-of-lime-a-uni-records-showcase/

If you dig this show, then feel free afterwards to put in a request to join our Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/theamericanbottom45.

WELCOME TO FEBRUARY!

Our February Featured Artist Of The Month, Tommy James And The Shondells, is now up and running! Some of the highlights include a rare 1962 platter and the full-length version of a #1 classic.

Don't forget to tune into our 50's show "Malted Memories" this Friday night at 7 PM eastern(top 40 hits and 1 that slipped under the radar) and our "Awfully Awesome 80's" show this Saturday night at 8 PM eastern(top 40 hits and 2 "bottom 45's").

My latest "American Bottom 45" podcast, "A Hint Of Lime: A Uni Records Showcase," will be uploaded tomorrow afternoon! It will be 1 hour of 20 cool, innovative, or somewhat weird tunes from the label's 1967-1972 heyday.

Join our Facebook group today at http://facebook.com/groups/retroatticrareoldiesradio and get in on the adventure! Where else can you hear a station that would play "Desiderata" and "Deteriorata" back to back? And Mondays in our group, you can request your favorite 60's top 40 hit!

The Retro Attic primarily plays 60's and 70's lost and classic top 40 hits with 2 bottom 45's from each decade included every hour. Requests are always accepted through the Facebook group or through our song request form and live chat feature on our webpage. Visit us at http://retroatticrareoldiesradio.com.

SPINOFF STATIONS FOR THE RETRO ATTIC ARE POSSIBLE, BUT I NEED YOUR HELP!

Thank you to all of my listeners who are keeping The Retro Attic afloat in 2016! I look forward to bringing you more of the best and eclectic oldies from the 60's and 70's and fulfilling all of your requests; judging by your requests, I would say that a lot of top 40 hits from these 2 decades are being severely neglected these days.

I'm going to lay out a proposal for potential listeners who are more into 80's music, 50's music, and melodic rock/hard rock/classic rock/heavy metal. In 2015, I could add multiple stations to my stream licensing account and my monthly royalty invoice would be based on the total listening hours for all stations combined. In 2016, ASCAP is requiring an extra $20.00 per month for each additional station that a broadcaster wants to add to his/her account. If 1 to 5 listeners could pitch in 5 to 20 dollars a month, then I would be more than happy to bring back the following stations. I will deliver the content, and trust me, you will be hard pressed to find radio stations that will play these formats if internet radio gets totally wiped off of the map:

AWFULLY AWESOME 80'S: Nothing but 80's music, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each hour would feature top 40 hits with 1 "bottom 45(minor charter, non-charter, or overseas charter)" included for that "wow factor," even though some people would tell you that some of the top 40 I pick would also fit the bill! I would save the weekends for some special features, such as headbanging classics, 2 hours of new wave, 2 hours of 80's soundtrack tunes, a westcoast showcase, etc.

RETRO AOR(THE RETRO ATTIC OF ROCK): All rock, all the time! Classic rock from the 60's, 70's and 80's...all of those indie and major label hair bands from the 80's and 90's...psychedelia...space rock...stoner metal...90's grunge/alternarock...modern day bands that are keeping the spirit of the old days alive.

MALTED MEMORIES: A continuous 50's sock hop with some occasional forays to the end of '63. Crooners, doo wop, rockabilly, lounge jazz, classic hits, records on small labels that came and went. I understand that this genre is barely being represented now, and I would love to help out!

Mini versions of Awfully Awesome 80's and Malted Memories will be airing on The Retro Attic every weekend starting on the weekend of February 5th and will continue regardless of whether anyone pitches in to help make the above stations a reality.

If you would like to help out, then please visit The Retro Attic's webpage at http://retroatticrareoldiesradio.com and look for our Paypal logo. Paypal gives you the opportunity to sign up for a monthly subscription, or you can make a one-time donation. I will be available through the webpage's live chat feature if you need a further explanation on why it's so tough to start up new stations these days!

The Retro Attic's Featured Artist Of The Month for February will be Tommy James And The Shondells. Once an hour, every hour, we will showcase one of their/his hits, misses or album tracks from the early 60's through the early 80's! If you were a fan of their feel-good pop, bubblegum or quasi-psychedelia, then you will be in "Hog Heaven(pun intended)!"

As always, I'm taking your requests! As Ed, Steve, Atticus, Dana, Gary, Sam, etc. will attest, I'm pretty sure that my fulfillment batting average is 1.000 so far! So whether you have a 60's/70's fave that hit #3, #93 or one that never made it past the Carolina beach market, then feel free to give us a try by filling out our webpage's song request form or contacting me, DJ Gilbert Matthews, through the webpage's live chat feature.

50's AND 80's MATERIAL RETURNING TO THE RETRO ATTIC IN FEBRUARY!

50's and 80's material will be returning to The Retro Attic during the first week of February! The reason is simple: ASCAP is requiring the company that I license my stream with to collect fees on each unique station that is in their directory, so there is no way that I can afford to launch a separate 50's station and a separate 80's station.

I'm looking at doing an hour of 50's "Malted Memories" on Friday nights beginning on 2/5 and two hours of "Awfully Awesome 80's" on Saturday nights beginning on 2/6. Each show will feature lost and classic top 40 hits with at least 1 "bottom 45" included. So everything will be "under one roof," but the Retro Attic's main emphasis will continue to be 60's and 70's.

I apologize for these sudden changes in format, but the mess with the recent royalty rate changes has caused many of us small-time broadcasters to rethink our strategies...and in a lot of cases, just hang up the headphones and call it a day. I refuse to give up, and I greatly appreciate those of you who are helping to keep me on the air!

Join The Retro Attic's Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/retroatticrareoldiesradio and make your requests for the upcoming 50's and 80's shows(and to be notified of the start times!). And keep those 60's and 70's request coming in! Where else can you hear "Convoy" and the theme to "The Rat Race" sandwiched in between a Doors and a Beatles classic?