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SJFS 2024 Night 1 recap May 2, 2024

Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Health, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Rap, smooth jazz, Travel, Video.
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Read about night 2 here.

Friday, April 19, was the first of two nights of the 2024 Smooth Jazz for Scholars, hosted by keyboardist Jay Rowe in his hometown of Milford, Connecticut. It was the 21st anniversary, but 20th overall (postponed by COVID in 2020 and ’21). Each year, this two-night event (one night prior to 2012) benefits the Milford Public Schools music department. And as with most years, each night opens with a performance by student musicians under the direction of their music teacher. The “smooth jazz” part comes from the four to five headliners each night. I’ll name Friday’s four headliners after my preamble. (Scroll down to Kevin McCabe’s first photo if you don’t want to read it.)

A lot has changed in my life since last year (night 1, night 2). A chance browse of Twitch on the evening of May 9 sent me down another rabbit hole: the wonderful world of music streamers. As if my horizons hadn’t been broadened enough by Japanese city pop, idol music, and anime thanks to the likes of Caitlin Myers, I was now exposed to female vocalists from the United States, Canada, and even the UK (England, Ireland). Most have written and performed original songs, but others just do covers. Those covers exposed me to the likes of Maisie Peters, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift. Over the last few months, I have become a Swiftie, and after buying her CDs, a savant that can name what album a given song appeared on. It’s weird looking in iTunes and seeing Taylor, Cerian (“kerry ann”), Katie Seto, and Steph La Rochelle juxtaposed with all my instrumentals. (I’ve been on a McCoy Tyner kick in recent months.)

On November 3, I joined the ranks of Twitch streamers, primarily playing video games, but occasionally breaking for media production. At first, that involved recording what part of what became the penultimate Instrumental Invasion show and then recording the finale. That was it until all of last week when I edited most of the photos from both nights of the 20th Smooth Jazz for Scholars, all while listening to video game music soundtracks. (I didn’t want to risk copyright strikes for playing music by the SJFS headliners.) Even though I’m not a music streamer, I raid out to (end by sending my audience to) music streams more often than any other category. My road as a streamer and a stream viewer has not been flawless. I’ve had my share of self-inflicted bumps and costly errors, which I won’t get into. On the whole, however, I’m satisfied with the path I’ve taken.

Unlike last year, I wasn’t the least bit anxious about the workload at the Parsons Complex Veterans Memorial Auditorium. I only feared having a meltdown while in Milford as I’d had at prior events like last year’s New York Comic Con (which I’ll never go to again) or various parties where I was out of my comfort zone. Miraculously, there were no meltdowns. I was in my comfort zone all throughout. Nothing broke me. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I spent parts of Thursday and Friday morning packing up for my journey to Milford. I would be staying at the Hampton Inn on Plains Road, I-95 exit 36. My parents Lisa and Bill would stay until Saturday morning, return to Long Island for the Freeport Fire Department installation dinner, and drive back to Connecticut to pick me up by Sunday afternoon. (SPOILER: They wouldn’t have to come back for me. Read about that in the Saturday recap.)

We left our house in Dad’s Ford Explorer at 1:02 PM Friday. Despite pockets of traffic on the Northern State Parkway, Lakeville Road, and the Throgs Neck Expressway (I-295), we reached the Hampton Inn parking lot at 3:19, only two hours and 17 minutes later. SiriusXM’s Watercolors smooth jazz channel was on the car stereo, but I watched Twitch streams on my phone with earbuds. I started with Gillian Hayek‘s fishing game stream, then moved on to Natalie Paige‘s last stream before moving to Connecticut (can’t say where) from the Seattle, Washington, area. The stream coincided with my six-month renewal, and I chose Norah Jones‘s sinister-sounding “Miriam” for Natalie to cover.

At check-in, I had my dad request rooms facing the parking lot rather than I-95. I was in room 144, near the south entrance accessible by key card. Once my laptop was unpacked and I’d paid for two days of guest Wi-Fi, I returned to Natalie Paige’s stream and put on Ellie Fier‘s stream after 4:00. Ellie is the reason I became a Swiftie in the first place. Friday was a big day for Taylor Swift fans: release day for the latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. I’d already bought Taylor’s prior albums on CD earlier in the month and would be sure to rip the tracks from my TTPD CD (The Manuscript Edition) once I got home. (Yes, there’s The Anthology. I accessed those additional 14 tracks via YouTube Music.) As noted in my photo editing Twitch streams, I wouldn’t listen to all 31 tracks until the following Tuesday, finishing on the treadmill three mornings later. My only exposure to any track prior to then was Ellie’s rendition of “So High School,” track 22 on The Anthology.

At 5:30, like last year, my parents and I drove a short distance to Pasquale Pizza for a pasta dinner, preceded by garlic knots. When I was finished, I left my parents and walked back to Hampton Inn, stopping at Cumberland Farms along the way to buy two low-calorie pints of Mars candy flavored ice cream to eat in my room. One was Twix Cookie Dough and the other was Snickers. By this time, I paired Natalie’s stream with Katie O’Flaherty. I watched until shortly before 7:00, at which I packed my equipment to bring to the auditorium.

The Canon EOS R7 with RF-S 18-150mm lens was in my backpack with a stenographer pad (the same one I bought at the Milford CVS a year ago) and battery charger with spare battery attached. I kept the Panasonic HC-X1500 with VW-HU1 and Rode VideoMic GO II in a travel bag along with a spare battery, but that wasn’t all. I decided to bring my GoPro HERO7 with YOLOtek Juicebank attached for wide cutaway shots when repositioning the HC-X1500. That meant I brought a second tripod, by Targus (I forget the model number), aside from the Magnus VT-300 for the camcorder.

My parents dropped me off adjacent to the auditorium and I lugged my equipment in. It was all surprisingly lightweight. In the lobby, I stopped at the merchandise table where I bought a CD of Friday headliner Althea René‘s Live in Detroit from Michelle. Then, I proceeded to the orchestra pit, limboed under the rope on the right side, and set up in the center. Jay Rowe didn’t e-mail me the set lists for each night beforehand. So, I had to rely on what was said on stage. I only blanked on one song out of 15, but figured out what it was Saturday morning.

As 8:00 approached, I mingled with fellow photographers Katherine Gilraine, Keith McDonald, Ron Hancox, and Andrew James, and with fellow fans like Robin Morin Stewart, Judy Raphael, Mary Jane Manna, Rob and Mel Hoogenboom, and Mark and Phyllis Abrams.

At last, it was time for the house lights to dim and Kevin McCabe bid us “good evening” (and have us repeat it louder):

He introduced the John F. Kennedy Elementary School Select Grade 4 Chorus, under the direction of Theresa Voss.

The chorus sang “Over the Rainbow.” I was moved to tears by their performance.

I saw a stack of jackets on right side of orchestra pit when I arrived. They belonged to members of the chorus.

Kevin returned to thank sponsors and Milford officials:

  • Showing off one of Marion Meadows’ artworks, on sale in lobby

(Marion Meadows would be one of Saturday’s headliners.)

Jay Rowe had opening remarks, then went into first track – “City Groove,” his latest single. (The full set list follows introductory photos.)

In order of appearance, Friday’s headliners were Vincent Ingala:

Steve Oliver:

Althea René:

…and Marcus Anderson:

Steve Scales was absent this year, but the rest of Jay’s house band was intact from last year.

Trever Somerville on drums:

Dave Anderson on bass:

Andy Abel on guitar (rhythm during Steve Oliver songs):

And directing at all, Jay Rowe on keyboards:

I forgot to put in my earplugs until the first song below. I took them out when the house lights went up after the finale.

SET LIST (Updated with videos on 5/22/24)
1. City Groove (Jay Rowe)
2023 single
Featured musician: Jay Rowe (keyboards)

2. Rosemary’s Tune (Jay Rowe)
Originally heard on: Live at Daniel Street (2011), Smooth Ride (2016)
Featured musicians: Jay Rowe (keyboards), Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)

3. Snap, Crackle, Pop (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: Personal Touch (2018)
Featured musician: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)

4. High Noon (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: Positive Energy (2002)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds)

5. Skyway (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: A New Light (2023)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds)

6. Pastel Leather (Althea René)
Originally heard on: Pastel Leather (2022)
Featured musician: Althea René (flute)

7. Life on Mars (Althea René) (Dexter Wansel cover)
Originally heard on: Flawsome (2019)
Featured musician: Althea René (flute, “flute talk” while playing through audience at midpoint)

8. Reverse (Marcus Anderson)
Originally heard on: Reverse (2022)
Featured musician: Marcus Anderson (alto sax)

9. Understanding (Marcus Anderson)
Originally heard on: Limited Edition (2017)
Featured musician: Marcus Anderson (alto sax)

10. Chips and Salsa (Steve Oliver)
Originally heard on: 3D (2004)
Featured musician: Steve Oliver (guitar, vocal sounds)

11. GoGo Bootz (Althea René)
Originally heard on: Pastel Leather (2022)
Featured musicians: Althea René (flute), Marcus Anderson (alto sax)

12. Care for You (Marcus Anderson)
Originally heard on: Reverse (2022)
Featured musician: Marcus Anderson (alto sax, rap interlude)

13. Personal Touch (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: Personal Touch (2018)
Featured musician: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)

14. On the Move (Vincent Ingala)
Originally heard on: Fire & Desire (2021)
Featured musician: Vincent Ingala (tenor sax)

15 (Finale). Miss You (The Rolling Stones cover)
Featured musicians: Everyone; Steve Oliver (vocals, vocal sounds)

Here are photo galleries of the headliners, starting with Vincent Ingala:

Steve Oliver:

Clap prompt on “High Noon”
“High Noon” vocal sounds break…
“Chips and Salsa” guitar symphony orchestra intro…
“Olé!”
“Oh-oh, oh, oh-oh! Come on, your turn!”

Althea René:

Playing (“flute talk”) through audience during “Life on Mars”

Marcus Anderson:

Midway through “Care for You,” Marcus rapped a promo for his Jazz AND Coffee Escape festival in North Carolina.
He then threw roses to women in the audience.
Phyllis Abrams caught this one. (I channeled Vin Scully while editing this on stream: “and what a catch by Abrams!”)

Now, the house band, beginning with drummer Trever Somerville:

Bassist Dave Anderson’s “Life on Mars” solo:

Guitarist Andy Abel:

Finally, Jay Rowe on keyboards:

On to medium shots, starting with Vincent and Jay:

Vincent and Dave:

Vincent, Andy and Trever:

Marcus and Jay:

Althea and Marcus on “GoGo Bootz”:

Wide shots from the end of “Life on Mars”:

End of “Chips and Salsa”:

“GoGo Bootz”:

End of “Care for You”:

Audience dancing during “GoGo Bootz”:

Nydia Hancox, Estella Taylor-Greene, Norma Rohadfox, Dolly Moye, ?

After “Care for You,” Kevin McCabe presented the basket of 50/50 raffle tickets.

  • I didn’t buy tickets on Friday night, but would on Saturday.
  • Jay revealed he was in between cataract surgeries and will no longer need glasses.
  • Jay picked the winning ticket.
  • The $850 winner was Karen Russillo.

The finale, “Miss You“:

Steve Oliver channeled Mick Jagger‘s vocals…
…and Keith Richards‘ guitar.
This last set of photos and video required me to prop myself against a stack of chairs and a rack. That’s how close Steve, Vincent, Althea, and Marcus were.
The last notes…
The end!
“And give it up for your host, Jay Rowe!”
Jay: “Dave Anderson on bass, Trever Somerville on drums, and Andy Abel on guitar! See y’all tomorrow night!”

As I packed up, Phyllis Abrams showed me the rose she caught from Marcus Anderson, going so far as putting up to my nose. I said it smelled like fabric softener, but I meant carpet cleaner. Then, I introduced myself to photographer Kenny Combs, and said hello to Jay Dobbins, Janet Abel (Andy’s sister), and Dolly Moye. Dolly introduced me to her high school friend Rick. My friend Kelly Dacey was there and we spoke briefly in the auditorium, but more in the lobby during the meet and greet. Below are photos from the meet and greet.

Estella and Steve reprising the “Chips and Salsa” vocal sounds:

The next two photos are by Andrew James: me with the headliners – Steve, Marcus, Vincent, Althea:

Then, Jay Rowe joined in:

Dolly Moye let me have a pair of dancing sunglasses, as seen in this selfie, my last photo of the night:

At least that was the last photo taken that night on the EOS R7. Andrew wanted photos with the headliners and Jay, and Mark (a different Mark) wanted a photo with Marcus.

Kelly helped me bring the equipment to her, then we drove back to Hampton Inn where she dropped me off. She went to the after party, and I went back to my room to unload the photos and videos onto my laptop, and convert all the RAW files to JPGs in Adobe Lightroom. I had SashiBOOM and her dog Perry keeping me company on Twitch until that process was complete. Then, off to sleep.

Read about Saturday and beyond in the second recap.

My Twitch setup December 7, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Computer, Internet, Livestream, Personal, Technology, Video.
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RELATED: “Back after this” music cue mixes

Updated 10/15 and 12/31/24, 1/10, 5/8, 7/16, 7/20, 7/23, and 11/30/25, 1/9, 1/18, and 2/4/26 with setup changes

My setup as of 2/4/26

In case you’re wondering, this is the gear that goes into my Twitch streams (UPDATED 10/15 and 12/31/24, 1/10, 5/8, 7/16, 7/20, and 8/20/25, 1/9, 1/18, and 2/4/26):

The webcams, mixer, and Stream Deck are connected to an Anker 4-port USB 3.0 hub. (The lavalier mic is connected directly to the PC mic jack because the mixer can’t draw enough power.) For games that require standing, like Wii Sports Resort, I use the hutch-mounted Brio in a dedicated OBS scene:

A closer look at the Kaotica 7b, Shure SM7dB, Boseen extension tube, and Rode PSA1+:

I gave up on my PC build in December 2024 and switched to a Dell Alienware Aurora R16. Here are the relevant specs for that:

  • CPU: Intel Core i9 14900F (2 4-Core, 68MB Total Cache, 2.0GHz to 5.8 GHz with Turbo Boost Max 3.0)
  • Motherboard: Alienware 0RF96M
  • Memory: 64GB (2x32GB), DDR5, 5200MT/s
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16GB GDDR6X
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro

Overlay backgrounds were made in Adobe Photoshop. Below are six examples (updated 7/16/25; I dropped “…on Twitch” branding in March 2025):

The webcam video is accordingly cropped in OBS for just chatting (background 2) and gameplay/media production (backgrounds 3 and 4; plus a Firefox background I didn’t include here). Game capture (and prerecorded gameplay videos), Adobe Audition, Word, display capture, and other programs are scaled down to fit their box and Firefox is cropped. StreamElements and Twitch overlays, widgets, and alerts are placed in different spots depending on the background. Additional text is added in OBS where necessary (i.e. prerecorded gameplay disclaimer, notable commands [in place of followers goal widget], milestone stream banners). Chat emote animation is full screen and lasts for ten seconds. Sound commands also require an overlay to be heard. Alerts were initially handled entirely by SE, but moved to Twitch in March 2024. The SE donation alert was reinstated during my 300th stream on 2/26/25.

I used Elgato 4K Capture Utility (available for download here) to play in real time on the right monitor until relying solely on OBS. I create a windowed projector and enlarge it on my right monitor where it’s placed in front of Google Chrome where I use the Twitch Stream Manager webpage. (I only have the window fill the screen if game text is unreadable.) To avoid sync issues, a separate element was made for 4K X audio (more on that two paragraphs below). Desktop audio is advanced by around 400ms (-400ms), also to avoid sync issues, although that is not utilized as often thanks to OBS’s “capture audio” option for window capture elements.

The Elgato 4K X only allows access to one app at a time. So, I initially used the NDI 6 Runtime plugin for OBS and click “Enable Stream Pair” in 4K Capture Utility. It was seen and heard as an “NDI Source” – that I named “Elgato 4K X” – in all gameplay-related scenes. I’m forced to use external devices on my Alienware Aurora R16 because the RTX 4080 SUPER graphics card blocks the remaining PCIE slots. As noted in the previous paragraph, I eventually abandoned this practice and relied solely on OBS, only using 4K Capture Utility to play games off stream if I don’t intend on recording. (11/21/25 NOTE: I now use the plugin for Dancing with the Stars watchalong streams, such as the one for season 34‘s fifth week on October 14 and the finale on November 25.)

While using the AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1 from 12/31/24 to 1/6/25, I noticed a gradual audio desync problem with certain consoles – something not present in VODs or off-stream recordings. That required me to make a separate audio channel for the capture card, a solution I learned via this message board post. I bought the Live Gamer 2.1 for capturing to my laptop. With a working desktop, laptop captures and streaming will likely occur in the basement or away from home. (7/23/25 NOTE: One such “away from home” stream was from my hotel room in Connecticut on May 3 between Smooth Jazz for Scholars shows.)

Shure 7MdB audio is filtered in OBS with three filters from the Accusonus ERA 6 Bundle: Mouth De-Clicker at 55% processing in normal mode, De-Esser Pro at 50% processing, and Noise Remover Pro at around 40% processing. (That last filter doesn’t show a percentage.)

I hope that answers all your questions. Thank you for watching my streams. I’ll leave you with a screenshot of an OBS test the night before my third stream.

7/23 and 11/30/25 UPDATES: As a bonus, I’m including my latest setup photos.

Before the 3D (7/23/25)
With the 3D (11/30/25) (pardon the dust)
To even out the gallery, this is the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 controller I use with my Switch 2, resting in its charging dock away from my desk. (11/30/25 UPDATE: I got two more Xbox Series X|S controllers and moved those controllers to a shelf.)

Instrumental Invasion, 11/17/23: Finale November 18, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Computer, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Media, Music, New Age, Personal, Radio, smooth jazz, Video.
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The final prime time Instrumental Invasion on WCWP began life the same way the prior night did: as a Wednesday night show to air following what I assumed to be a short renovation programming hiatus. I hadn’t recorded this one yet, though. The playlist, annotations, and script were completed, but I wanted to work on more playlists before recording 181 or 182. I made 183 the Christmas show and 184 the third Three-of-a-Kind Showcase special. I’d work on 185 and 186 when I was ready.

The playlist was created on October 20 and 22. Annotations began on October 25, but were put on hold due to uncertainty over the hiatus and lineup change that was to follow. I finished those annotations and drafted the script on November 1. I figured I would record 181, then move on to 182.

After making tweaks to show 181 on the evening of November 6, I tweaked all components of 182: playlist, annotations, and script. Obviously, I’d have to redo the intro and outro, including a proper goodbye on the latter. These are the changes made:

Two segments per day were recorded from November 9 to 11. Each time, I streamed the recording sessions on Twitch.

Click here to download the finale’s aircheck scope or listen below:

I’m sad the show is over, but relieved that the hard work is behind me. So much time and effort went into each show, so burnout was inevitable. While this isn’t quite how I wanted to end, I’m grateful to WCWP station manager Pete Bellotti for allowing me a proper ending. Here was Pete’s complimentary statement on the WCWP Alumni Association Facebook group hours before air:

A salute to Mike Chimeri … yes, his birthday (Happy Birthday!!!!!) ….but to his final Instrumental Invasion tonight at 9p on 88.1 FM WCWP. There are no words to describe how important Mike will always be to WCWP as a talent, alum and human being. I am truly grateful for Mike’s friendship and I speak for many by saying THANK YOU! Time for some R & R and the next project that you will execute with class, professionalism & superior skill.

Cheers my friend!!!

Pete Bellotti, 11/17/23, 1:05 PM

Thank you very much, Pete.

Thank you, the listener and reader, for reading these recaps and listening to the airchecks. See you all on Twitch.

Instrumental Invasion, 11/16/23: 60-year musical journey, 1963-2023 November 17, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Computer, Football, Game Shows, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, smooth jazz, Sports, Technology, TV, Video.
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This edition of Instrumental Invasion started out as a regular Wednesday night show that I assumed would air after a short programming hiatus (one or two weeks) for WCWP. I guessed wrong. Thus, this was reworked as a Thursday night show. References to “this week” were removed and the intro and outro were redone to acknowledge the impending demise.

Rather than have my last six shows run on The Wave, station manager Pete Bellotti arranged for this show and the next one to air on consecutive nights, hours before the renovation programming hiatus was to begin. This meant I was on three nights in a row: November 15 to 17, all in the regular 9PM slot.

The playlist was created on October 4 and annotated from October 13 to 15. The script was drafted on the 15th, 17th, and 18th.

Recording began on November 4, during my second-ever Twitch livestream. It was an opportunity let viewers in on the process, though few cared to watch live. I worked on the first hour over the course of a two-hour stream. Then, I raided out to music streamer Cerian (kerry-anne). (Twitch doesn’t have a radio category, so I chose music and felt I should raid a fellow music streamer.) I was giddy (as in Biddy) to raid her because I’d been meaning to give her streams a try. I promised I would play the instrumental version of her song “Wrong Side” in my last show, which I assumed would be 186. More on that in the finale recap.

Livestream clips:

The first segment of hour 2 was recorded on November 5 and the rest on the morning of the 6th. I was over a minute beyond my desired 1:49:00 threshold, but with legal IDs and spot breaks, I’d still end before 11PM.

As noted earlier, pickups were recorded on the evening of the 6th, but only after reinstating backups of segment session files. Thinking I was moving to The Wave, I recorded a tag to play in place of all FM references in liners, then I saved and exported those files accordingly.

This proved unnecessary.

David Benoit‘s cover of “Song for My Father” was first played on July 1, 2020, but not with the lengthy origin story. I ended up hooked on a video YouTube recommended of the Horace Silver Quintet playing “Song for My Father” on Danish TV in April 1968:

That, in turn, sent me down a Billy Cobham rabbit hole, culminating in this August 2016 Drumeo presentation:

Click here to download the penultimate scoped aircheck or listen below:

Instrumental Invasion, 11/8/23 November 9, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Japanese, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Language, Media, Music, Personal, Pop, Radio, Rock, smooth jazz.
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NOTE: This is the last standalone Instrumental Invasion. I have agreed to end the run next week with three more shows airing on consecutive nights at 9:00: show 180 on November 15, 181 on the 16th, and 182 (the finale) on the 17th, my 42nd birthday.

The November 8 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was another two-four recording: the first two segments on September 25, the last four on the 26th. A pickup was recorded on October 21.

The playlist was created on September 7. Annotations were made between September 13 and 18, with the talk break script drafted on the 20th. Caitlin Myers might have planted the “certified bop” seed, which is why I quipped how “Grooveyard” was that.

“Prince Vlad” by T-Square is probably the most metal thing I’ll ever play and it was followed by Najee‘s very smooth jazz thing.

I had to sacrifice another segment format to allow for more songs from recent releases. Next Wednesday, those songs will make up the entire show.

Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:

As a bonus, here is the music video for “Beyond the Galaxy” by Casiopea 3rd:

Pictured in thumbnail: Akira Jimbo (drums), Yoshihiro Naruse (bass), Kiyomi Otaka (keyboard), Issei Noro (writer/guitar)

Instrumental Invasion, 11/1/23 November 2, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Rock, smooth jazz, TV, Video.
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There is a major announcement at the end of this post.

The November 1 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on September 23 (first two segments) and 24 (last four). Pickups were recorded on the 30th.

The playlist was created September 6, and annotated with three other shows between the 13th and 18th. The talk break script was drafted on the 20th.

David Benoit‘s cover of “Then the Morning Comes” by Smash Mouth was originally played April 14, 2021. I played it in tribute to their late lead vocalist Steve Harwell.

My talk-up for “Junior” by Euge Groove – “you can call it Junior!” – was a nod to the late Bill Saluga‘s Raymond J. Johnson Jr. character. An example performance:

Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:

Automation still cut off the beginnings and ends, so I resorted to using segment files in the above aircheck. Next week and beyond, segments will be bookended by WCWP jingle bumpers.

Before air, I made the following announcement on Facebook:

Before tonight’s show airs, I would like to announce that I am ending my run of Instrumental Invasion after show 186. If the FM stream is working by 9:00, show 178 will be airing. That means I will have eight shows left to air. Two are ready to be recorded and the last four have yet to be worked on. I have taken this show as far as it can go and am burned out.

Instrumental Invasion has been my longest-running production and my best work creatively. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share it with the world and will carry on with the name each October during Homecoming Weekend.

Instrumental Invasion, 10/25/23 October 26, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Baseball, History, Internet, Japanese, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Livestream, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Pop, Radio, smooth jazz, Sports, Travel, Video.
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The October 25 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP marked the return of original shows after a nine-week hiatus. It was to be seven weeks, but reruns were delayed while the WCWP transmitter was moved. The move was part of ongoing renovations to the Abrams Communications Center.

Before I tell you “how I spent my summer vacation,” let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way:

There were crossfades in automation between elements, which meant the beginnings and ends of each segment were inaudible. To remedy this, I added one second of silence at the beginnings and ends of next week’s segments before submitting the files to station manager Pete Bellotti. We’ll see if that solves the issue.

I was unable to resume radio show production until after finishing work on the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo photos and blog posts (part one, part two, part three).

I filled out my Casiopea and T-Square collections in July, I expanded my McCoy Tyner collection in September, and new smooth jazz CD preorders (plus one big band release) periodically arrived at my doorstep. Not having an outlet for those new releases required me to make up for lost time in this show’s playlist and the three that followed. I worked on all of them together, one at a time.

The show 177 playlist was created September 5 and 6, and annotated with the next three playlists between the 13th and 16th. The talk break script was drafted on September 19. The first four segments were recorded on the 22nd and the last two on the 23rd. No pickups were necessary during a quality control session on the 30th.

In all, it took me eight days to principally record shows 177 to 180, plus one day of checking for mistakes and mixing down segments. I continued my rerun-proof practice of leaving out dated references and will do so for as long as I’m on the air.

“The Bones” was one song I neglected to play from David Benoit‘s A Midnight Rendezvous last year, but I was inspired to end this show with his cover after he used it in a story post to his Instagram account. I made two “Dem Bones” references while talking it up and made sure to end with “‘The Bones.’ The bye!” The “ya see” ad-libs were icing on the cake.

I recycled the “I’ll Take Romance” tidbits from when I played Beegie Adair‘s by-the-books version nearly one year ago (November 2, 2022). An obsession with McCoy Tyner’s solos on his Blue Bossa arrangement led me to include it here. “Point of Departure” by Nelson Rangell was originally played on September 16, 2020.

“The Washington Post,” a John Philip Sousa march performed by the Band of the Grenadier Guards, was the middle song of the first segment due to a timing error I initially missed. While that error was caught before recording, the fourth segment error wasn’t. Like in show 176, however, it worked out for the best because I was building up a surplus.

Himiko Kikuchi‘s Flying Beagle was an additional music acquisition this summer, so expect to hear more from that eventually. “Fluffy” was a nice start, and good opportunity to share some of my Japanese learning. I originally learned of “fuwa fuwa” and other onomatopoeia from this Mochi sensei video. On the subject of Japanese teachers/Twitch streamers, I consider Misa an intermediate gamer, but not a pro. That doesn’t ruin her fun, nor the fun of subscribers like me. I began treating her ever-growing Dark Souls: Remastered death count (“YOU DIED”) like career home runs, syncing them to milestone home run calls when milestones arose. Her 400th is one example:

Sourced from Harry Kalas‘s call of Jim Thome‘s 400th career home run

Misa racked up over 200 more deaths since that video, but 80 minutes before air, she finally defeated Ornstein and Smough! I set that triumphant moment to Russ Hodges‘ call of the Shot Heard ‘Round the World, via a retrospective on The Best Damn Sports Show Period. This time, I left in Misa’s audio. Enjoy!

Back at it next week. I’ll leave you with Anders Enger Jensen‘s “Borderline” video:

2023 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo recap: conclusion and pickups September 1, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Aviation, Baseball, Books, Education, Football, Game Shows, Golf, History, Hockey, Internet, Japanese, Language, Media, Personal, Photography, Sports, Technology, Travel, Video, Video Games.
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If you haven’t seen them yet, read the first post here and second post here.

Sunday, August 13

After my last Long Island Retro Gaming Expo panel of the weekend, I made my way to the vendor marketplace and searched for games I didn’t have that were $20 or less. I bargained with each vendor, only spending close to $200. That’s the least I’ve spent since my first year (2017). The bulk of my purchases were for the Nintendo Entertainment System, my first video game console.

Satisfied, I exited the Cradle of Aviation Museum and waited for my mom to pick me up.

  • Exiting
  • The opposite view from the establishing shot in post 1
  • Cumulus clouds against the clear blue, sunny sky
  • The American flag (I captioned the other two, so why not this?)
  • My bag of combined pickups, led by the infamous Deadly Towers; I finally got it

Monday, August 14 and beyond

My attempt to make up for Saturday night’s severe storm-shortened sleep was unsuccessful. I woke up early Monday morning after five or six hours of sleep. Then, I went outside to look at the stars.

Back inside, as the sun rose, I unpacked the pickups from my paper bag and photographed them.

We’ll start with merchandise (and my badges):

The front of the badges:

12 games for Nintendo Entertainment System:

Now, I have an NES Yoshi to go with the Game Boy version I’ve had since childhood. The Power Pad games and Star Voyager were the subjects of early Pat the NES Punk episodes (including one with Alison).

“Power Pad Fun!”, Part 1:

Part 2:

Deadly Towers got the Angry Video Game Nerd treatment (via fans’ script submissions):

Two for Super Nintendo:

The TV ads at launch tempted me into getting SimCity, but I never did. I haven’t even seen Judge Dredd the film.

Two Nintendo 64 games:

Another game show game for my collection – Jeopardy! for Nintendo DS:

One self-explanatory 3DS title – Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS:

Wrongly assuming the 3DS and Wii U Super Smash Bros. games were the same, I only bought for Wii U when I started collecting for the two consoles in 2017 (there’s that year again). Prior to LI Retro, I saw a Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Video Games video that set me straight (Japanese with English subtitles):

Good thing I found a copy from a vendor, eliminating the need to buy from Amazon.

And lastly, my first Sega CD game – Joe Montana’s NFL Football:

To quote the infamous TV ad (parodied here), I “still don’t have a Sega CD,” but after buying my first game Sunday afternoon, I bought 12 more games on eBay between Monday morning and Wednesday night. This included eight from four-game lots, and two Sonic CD variants. The complete list (in order of appearance):

  • All the games on the shelf

Thank you for taking this photographic journey through the 2023 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo. Until next year.

2023 Long Island Retro Gaming Expo recap: introduction, guests, panels September 1, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Audio, Aviation, Books, Computer, Education, Game Shows, History, Internet, Media, Personal, Photography, Podcast, Radio, Technology, Travel, TV, Video, Video Games.
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Feel free to skip ahead to the second post (touring the expo) or third post (conclusion and pickups).

Introduction

The weekend of August 12 and 13 marked my fifth year at Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, held in the Cradle of Aviation Museum, situated along Museum Row in East Garden City. This is LI Retro’s second year as a three-day event, running from 4PM Friday through 5PM Sunday. Again, I opted to skip Friday and just go Saturday and Sunday. I had to last year since I used my ticket for the postponed 2020 expo, but I saved money this year by purchasing a three-day ticket. I would have gone Friday if I lived within walking distance or had a car of my own.

When LI Retro’s schedule was published a few weeks before the event, I planned my days around panels, three per day. I also hoped to catch musical performances, but time would not allow that. I did not allow myself to buy games from vendors until after the last panel on Sunday.

I brought my Canon EOS R7 (and compatible speedlite, which didn’t cooperate) along with a TASCAM DR-05 audio recorder. While panels would be posted online, I wanted personal recordings to hold me over in the meantime. As of this writing, I have yet to listen, let alone edit out the beginnings and ends.

I hoped not to go overboard with photography, which means I did. A whopping 831 photos (466 Saturday, 366 Sunday) were taken with the R7 at LI Retro, plus four on my iPhone 13 Pro. I spent a week and a half editing them all, spreading out 563 of them in three blog posts. (I couldn’t possibly cram them all in one.)

This first post contains the introduction you’re reading now, photos with guests, photos from the six panels I saw, and relevant links and media embeds.

We start with an establishing exterior shot taken Sunday morning:

Waiting in line before doors opened on Saturday morning
Entering…

Guest table photos

It was fun catching up with guests and staff that I’ve seen before, and meeting new guests for the first time.

Leonard Herman (right) and Mark W. Baer (left), middle child of videogame pioneer Ralph H. Baer:

Mark gifted me with copies of his father Ralph’s patent and of the Magnavox Odyssey licensing agreement between Magnavox, Atari and Sanders Associates. From Leonard, I bought his book ABC to the VCS: A Director of Software for the Atari 2600 and Bill Kunkel‘s Confessions of the Game Doctor. Each book was published by Leonard’s Rolenta Press company.

Leonard and Mark with Patrick Wong:

Me and Jeff:

I didn’t compete with him on the Brown Box prototype this year.

LI Retro staff member Ryan Shapiro posed with Mark Baer prior to Sunday’s panel:

Me and John Riggs:

I bought another Genesis ROM hack cartridge from John’s table this year, but not one he made.

Adam Koralik:

Pat Contri (a.k.a. Pat the NES Punk) and Ian Ferguson:

I congratulated Pat for 15 years on YouTube, and he and Ian on a decade of the CU Podcast. We talked about cameras, the upcoming N64 entry in Pat’s Ultimate Nintendo book series, and my merch purchases. (I also apologized for how my podcast panel question trailed off at the end. [SPOILER])

Sunday morning, Pat was interviewed by Margaret Sykes of WRHU, radio station for nearby Hofstra University:

She then spoke to Leonard and Mark:

Adam’s table had prototype consoles and a signed copy of Shenmue II:

Frank Cifaldi spoke to Lenny and Mark before his panel, my first of the weekend:

John Riggs talking to attendees:

John’s LI Retro vlog:

Travis McGeehan (TIKevin83) and the TASBot:

On to panel photos and relevant links, including video and/or audio.

Saturday Panel 1, 11AM-12PM:
Frank Cifaldi
Adventures in Saving Video Game History

I winced at all this misinformation.
Q&A

After the panel, I ended up part of a conversation with Frank and fellow archivist Jason Scott. (I had no idea I was in the presence of greatness until a Google search Sunday morning.)

A selfie with Jason (sans top hat) and Frank:

I resorted to AI enhancing to compensate for lens blur.

Saturday Panel 2, 2PM-3PM
Pat Contri and Ian Ferguson
CU Podcast Special 2

Podcast audio out of the way, including my question:

The not-rare Black Tiger cabinet (in reference to this):

And the podcast videos:

Topic 1: Nintendo is expected to release the Switch 2 next year.
Audience member: “If it’s not backward compatible, I will riot.”
Topic 2: a scummy eBay seller.
Topic 3: Ten years of the CU Podcast
Demonstrating Steph Curry’s uninspired percussion…
…and Klay Thompson’s inspired percussion
Q&A…
Waiting to ask my question
Asking my question: Do friends and family that appeared in videos get recognized (Alison, in particular)? (Plus, I saw a Black Tiger arcade cabinet on the second floor, alluding to Pat’s Flea Market Madness encounter.)
Back at my seat
This was a question or two after mine
The last questioner asked if Pat and Ian had seen Grandma’s Boy because “it’s fire,” slang for “great.”
Looking it up on IMDB
6.9/10
A final thank you

While waiting to ask a question, I noticed my friend Daniel Greenberg of Winterion Game Studios in the audience with his wife Alex. I whispered hello and we spoke more after the panel. It turns out Daniel and Alex had visited LIU Post earlier in the day. As you’ll see in the photo Alex took, I was wearing a Post polo on Saturday:

Saturday Panel 3, 3:30-4:30 PM:
G Gracin
Growing Up Genesis with G to the Next Level (streamed live on Twitch)

Watch the Twitch stream VOD here.

In addition to streaming on Twitch, G recorded the panel for a future YouTube video.
G’s Sonic collection
Twitch montage…
To mark the occasion, G displayed three items with a New York area theme (two, at least). First, El Viento, partially set in 1920s NYC.
Next, the New York Pokémon Center Game Boy Advance.
Third (not directly NY-themed), issue 0 of the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comics series.
G turned their webcam toward the audience so we could say hello.
“Hello, Twitch chat!”
Q&A began with the same audience member who joked to Pat and Ian that he would riot if the Switch 2 isn’t backward compatible.
A clip of G rating the dubious Genesis game Slaughter Sport (a.k.a. Tongue of the Fatman).
One question from Twitch chat
A parting shot of the TV screen

G and me:

I tried to go to sleep early Saturday night, but I was wired from the long and exciting day I had. I figure I got four hours of sleep before being jolted awake by a severe thunderstorm just before 3AM. The peak came at 3:13 with two close (and loud) lightning strikes. Thankfully, conditions mellowed after that, though sleep was impossible. I got some editing done and prepped for a return to Cradle of Aviation at 10AM. Somehow, Lenny, Mark, Patrick, Pat, and my parents all slept through the storm.

Sunday morning was when Margaret Sykes conducted her interviews, and where I spoke to her about WRHU general manager John Mullen’s recent induction to the WCWP Hall of Fame.

Sunday Panel 1, 11AM-12PM:
Adam Koralik, Evil Rob Thanos, Sunshine (from Adam’s Discord)
Talking Console Prototypes: Sega Pluto (and hard drives), Atari Jaguar “Hot Rod” Dental Unit, Sony PlayStation Debugging Station, Nintendo GameCube NR Reader

Relevant videos:

Finally, panel photos:

The first and last of the above videos looped throughout the panel. Adam joked that they were 70mm IMAX editions, like for Oppenheimer.
Adam with the Nintendo PlayStation prototype
RIP Terry Diebold (right)
Adam and Rob introduced themselves.
Sunshine wondered why he was there.
Sunshine showed off the Sony PlayStation Debugging Station and GameCube NR Reader.
An audience member guessed what prototype Adam was holding.
Answer: the Atari Jaguar “Hot Rod” Dental Unit.
Adam at the National Videogame Museum
Who’s that with him outside the museum? (It’s Rob, of course.)
Lastly, the Sega Pluto…
…and its hard drives.
Q&A…
Squishchin’s question
Afterward, a fan named Rob (left) gifted Adam with Shenmue promotional material he acquired while working at an electronics store. (source)

While working on this post, I joined Adam’s aforementioned Discord. I was welcomed with open arms and given the nickname Mike Camera. I like it!

It’s where I found Squishchin’s LI Retro vlog:

10/11 UPDATE: Watch Adam’s travelogue on his second channel, Flying & Eating with Adam Koralik:

Look for me at the 22:43 mark.

Sunday Panel 2, 12:30 PM-1:30 PM:
Frank Cifaldi and Rachel Simone Weil
Unraveling Nintendo’s Most Elusive Lost Hardware: The Nintendo Knitting Machine

I mistook this Royal for a different Royal and was corrected by Frank. (I apologized for that.)
A GIF of Rachel at the controls
Rachel’s creation
My Columbo impression (a la Pat Contri’s friend Frank [last name withheld]) from the day before continued to haunt me.
Rachel’s original AI advertising
More AI ads
Q&A…

Sunday Panel 3, 2PM-3PM:
Leonard Herman and Mark W. Baer
The Life, Time and Influence of Ralph H. Baer, The Father of Videogames

As noted in last year’s recap, Lenny grew to be like a surrogate son to Ralph. You can see the brotherly love between Lenny and Mark in many of the photos below.

Mark showing the patent and licensing agreement…
…and Ralph’s book Videogames in the Beginning (published by Lenny)
Mark reenacted the What’s My Line? panelists’ amazement during their questioning
Q&A…
Answering my question: What did Ralph think of videogames (one word) becoming publicly known as video games (two words)?

This concludes post one. Click here for post two or here for post three.

Instrumental Invasion, 8/16/23 August 17, 2023

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.
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The August 16 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was my last show before going on hiatus. It was recorded from July 12 to 14: the first hour on the 12th, the first segment of hour 2 on the 13th, and the last two (and a pickup) on the 14th.

An additional pickup was recorded on the 23rd. I was dissatisfied with my “to South Central while drinking your juice in the hood” add-on to the long title of The Jazz Crusaders album Old Socks, New Shoes…New Socks, Old Shoes.

The playlist was created on June 19, annotated over several unknown days after that, and scripted on June 30, July 1, and before recording on July 12.

This was yet another show where I built up a time surplus from short segments. It was as high as 47 seconds, down to 40 with two segments to go. So, I chose to record the last segment first and see what was left. There were 32 seconds left, but a timing error in segment five worked in my favor and allowed me to break even.

Click here to download the scoped aircheck or listen below:

Listen for me at least once on Homecoming Weekend, which starts October 6. October 11 is the date of my next new Wednesday night show. Until then, thank you for your support over 176 out of 177 weeks.

8/28 UPDATE: I will still return October 11, but Homecoming Weekend has been postponed until renovation of the Abrams Communications Center is complete.

9/14 UPDATE: The return date has been pushed back to October 25. WCWP and The Wave were off the air from August 30 to September 8 while the transmitter was moved, and I allowed station manager Pete Bellotti to delay my reruns two weeks.