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.add a comment
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:
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:
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:
Instrumental Invasion, 8/16/23 August 17, 2023
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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.
Instrumental Invasion, 8/9/23: Show 175! Same Name Song Trios August 10, 2023
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The August 9 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the 175th Wednesday night show. It was recorded from July 4 to 6.
The playlist was created on June 6, before the prior two shows. Again, I lost track of when I made annotations, but I drafted the talk break script on June 29.
The theme, same name song trios, was a step up from song pairs in show 150, a reflection of my current three-song set format.
Let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way now:
I recorded one segment ahead of random daytime fireworks on the 4th of July. At the office on the 5th, I recorded top-of-segment talk breaks for all but the top of hour 2. That was followed by the second talk breaks for the other two hour 1 segments as I mixed them. From there, I opted to pump out the remaining talk breaks before leaving for home. Naturally, I struggled and drove myself mad, but I completed them. I didn’t think I’d have any trouble editing those talk breaks and mixing them into segments, which means I did have trouble.
While I made up a 66-second surplus from the first segment, the first two segments of hour 2 left me with 76 seconds! I only made up three in the last segment. Since this was a themed show, I couldn’t throw in a short song to make up the time. So, I had to painstakingly re-record talk breaks in all six segments at a slower pace. I padded transitions between three songs further by adding bumpers. Mind you, any talk breaks with 175th show references required a pass for the evergreen version (scheduled to air September 27). (10/12 UPDATE: It was delayed to October 11.) I had to have both versions in a segment’s multitrack session so I could save the milestone mix, then swap out and save the evergreen mix. Three hours and a headache later, I succeeded in breaking even at 1:49:00. It cost me my morning exercise routine, but I gained a Young Frankenstein reference when talking about Tom Scott following his father Nathan‘s compositional “footsteps, footsteps.”
Retreads:
- “After the Storm” by Norman Brown (11/4/20)
- “The Magician (El Mago)” by Nelson Rangell (4/15/20)
- “Shaken Not Stirred” by David Benoit (10/14/20)
- “Shaken, Not Stirred” by Pieces of a Dream (10/7/20)
One more show and my hiatus begins. It couldn’t come at a better time. (That’s how I felt on July 6.)
10/12 UPDATE: Here are the evergreen talk break variations heard last night:
Instrumental Invasion, 8/2/23 August 3, 2023
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The August 2 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on June 28 and July 3. The gap between sessions came because my voice sounded nasally again as COVID continued to linger. I felt my voice was close enough to normal on July 3.
The playlist was created between June 6 and 11, same as the one for last week. Annotations followed in a period I don’t remember, but the talk break script was drafted on June 24. As you can see, I had to add a song – “Memorex Reprise” by The Jeff Lorber Fusion – to make up a 45-second surplus after the final talk break of the show. The surplus had been a whopping 116 seconds after four segments.
The following songs were played a second time:
- “3rd Degree” by Fourplay (4/29/20)
- “Catch the Wind” by Herb Alpert (11/24/21)
- “That Special Touch” by Kim Waters (1/4/23)
Click here to download the scoped aircheck or listen below:
Next week is show 175, with alternate talk breaks recorded for evergreen reruns.
Instrumental Invasion, 7/26/23 July 27, 2023
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Let’s get the hard part out of the way first before all the stuff written in advance. Automation had difficulties throughout the day. I did not know this until turning on my reference monitors at 9:00 and hearing nothing. I contacted WCWP station manager Pete Bellotti and he told me just what I laid out in this paragraph’s second sentence. The good news is my show was joined in progress once automation was reestablished at 9:10 (after hearing random vocal rock songs for what felt like an eternity). The bad news is the show was joined only eight seconds in. Thus, it was the fifth time in the show’s Wednesday night history, and first time since November 4, 2021, where a show got cut off at 11:00. Five minutes and 19 seconds went unaired and will not be heard until the rerun, whatever date that ends up being. (9/14 UPDATE: It will rerun on September 27.) At least my last talk break aired in its entirety. I tip my hat to Pete for doing what he could to keep WCWP running.
Here is the joining in progress:
And the cutoff:
Now, the alternate reality where things ran smoothly:
The July 26 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on June 26 and 27 with pickups done on the 27th and 29th. I was getting over COVID at the time and the congestion returned to affect my voice after working on this show. You can hear it in the June 29 pickups.
The playlist was created between June 6 and 11, with annotations coming on the 13th and 15th. The talk break script was drafted June 16 and 19. That script allowed this show to air as an evergreen during an impending hiatus.
Two songs made their second appearance:
- “No Worries” by David Benoit (6/30/21)
- “Ridin’ the Wave” by Vincent Ingala (11/24/21)
Click here to download the scoped aircheck or listen below:
And click here for the backstory on “Ue o Muite Arukō,” a.k.a. [that other title].
Instrumental Invasion, 7/19/23 July 20, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Bluegrass, Country, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Video.add a comment
The July 19 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on May 31 and June 5. I was hoping to get the second hour finished before the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony on June 3 (recap here). Unfortunately, I had a crisis of confidence on June 2, the Friday before, and was overwhelmed by the impending workload. So, I wasn’t in any condition to record that day, and didn’t until June 5, the Monday after. Pickups were also recorded to make up time left over. An additional pickup was done on June 25 (in my COVID-compromised voice) to remove a dated reference.
Like last week, the playlist was created from May 14 to 16. Annotations came on May 22 and 30. The script for the first talk break was written May 30 with the rest of hour 1 written on the 31st and hour 2 on June 1.
It was also the second week in a row with a song originally played last November 16: “Night in the Algarve” by Nils.
My tease for “Foggy Morning Breaking,” Alison Brown‘s banjo duet with Steve Martin, ended with the line “don’t miss this one.” Bill O’Reilly sometimes said that going into commercial breaks on The O’Reilly Factor, following that up with “right back with it.” I’m not ashamed to admit I used to regularly follow politics and watch cable news. I haven’t done that in years. Nowadays, the less I know, the better.
While working on this week’s show, I had no idea how much hype “Foggy Morning Breaking” was getting. There’s even a music video!
And hours before air, the song was nominated for instrumental recording of the year at the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards! The award ceremony will be held September 28.
Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 7/12/23 July 13, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, City Pop, Internet, Japanese, Jazz, Language, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Video.add a comment
The July 12 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on Memorial Day, May 29.
The playlist was created between May 14 and 16. Annotations came on May 22, 26, and 27. (The gap included production on last week’s show.) The talk break script was drafted on the 27th and 28th.
“Forecast” by Jazz Funk Soul was originally played on November 16, 2022.
Since the last song of the week was the Louis Hayes version of “Ugetsu,” I signed off with an homage to Japanese Ammo with Misa. Misa sensei ends her videos by saying, “jaa ma ta ne, bye-bye.” (I left off the “jaa” part.) Here is her latest video:
Click here to download this week’s scoped aircheck or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 7/5/23 July 6, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, City Pop, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Video, World Music.add a comment
The July 5 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was principally recorded on May 24 with evergreen pickups recorded on June 25, denoted by my COVID-compromised voice.
The playlist was created on May 14 and 15, alongside the ones for July 12 and 19. It was annotated with those on May 21 and 22 with the talk break script drafted on the 23rd and before recording on the 24th.
I anticipated going over in the last segment, so I made sure to build a significant surplus before then. The surplus ended up at 57 seconds, which wasn’t enough until I swapped out long liners for short ones.
Thanks to Mike Riccio for providing his year jingle compilation so I could play the 1979 one before “1979” by Roberto Restuccia:
“In the House” by Kim Waters was originally played on August 4, 2021. It was included this week with two other songs performed in April at Smooth Jazz for Scholars. Kim and Paul Taylor headlined the second night while Marion Meadows was part of the first night.
The GRP All-Star Big Band recording session was filmed for later video release, and someone posted the “I Remember Clifford” portion to YouTube:
Click here to download the scoped aircheck or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 6/28/23 June 29, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, City Pop, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
The June 28 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded entirely on May 17, following the Smooth Jazz for Scholars hiatus (first night recap, second night recap).
The playlist was created on April 15 and 16 and annotated between the 21st and 26th. The talk break script wasn’t drafted until May 16 and 17, with the last talk break scripted between recording sessions.
My talk breaks were short enough to build a 49-second surplus, which I made up by redoing the top of hour 2 at a slower pace and excerpting the end of Jay Rowe‘s keyboard solo on “Waterfall” from SJFS night 2. Good thing I played “You Did It Again,” a song inspired by “Waterfall.” Watch the full SJFS performance here:
This was the second week in a row with two T-Square and Casiopea songs.
There were references to Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, and Pinky and the Brain.
Click here to download this week’s aircheck MP3 or listen below:
Instrumental Invasion, 6/21/23 June 22, 2023
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, City Pop, Computer, Education, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Technology, TV.add a comment
The June 21 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was still another one-day recording, done entirely on April 24. I’m not bothering with streak stats anymore. It’s a regular thing now. Pickups were recorded April 26 and 27, with extensive rerecording on May 3.
Let’s get the scoped aircheck out of the way first:
The playlist was created alongside next week’s on April 15 and 16, with a tweak on the 22nd to add a Louis Hayes song. Annotations were written between April 21 and 23, followed by the talk break script draft. I hoped to get next week’s show recorded before Smooth Jazz for Scholars, but that didn’t pan out. The playlist and annotations were reworked to coincide with May 3’s rerecording.
I played two songs by The Square/T-Square and Casiopea in order to get through their catalog faster. For a time, I was obsessed with the piano solo at the end of “Night Dreamer.” The credits for “Midnight Dreamer” on Miss You in New York list one of the trumpeters as Allen Rubens, but spotty Discogs credits for that name led me to believe it was Alan Rubin. (Alan’s “Mr. Fabulous” moniker came from The Blues Brothers band and film.)
There were four retreads (down from five before swapping in Louis Hayes):
- “Sweet Revival” by The Crusaders (5/13/20) (with gargly MP3 audio)
- “Down & Loaded” by Bill Heller (6/10/20)
- “Lifecycle” by Nathan East (7/8/20)
- “Monster in the Attic” by David Benoit (8/5/20)
I’ve gotten more playful and goofy in my talk breaks in recent shows, either by going off script or working that shtick into the script. For example, “…East and West play bass the best…but it’s subjective.” Also, I didn’t think there’d be so much spelling.
There was a whole talk break centered around something related to anime because of the original David Benoit song I had in mind, “Yusuke the Ghost.” The May 3 rerecords removed all references (including later callbacks) and changed David’s song to “Monster in the Attic.” The morals of the story are don’t do fandubs if you want to work professionally in voice-over, and don’t blab on your radio show and blog about every little thing a creator you support does or has done.
As if all that weren’t enough, this show aired on the day I tested positive for COVID-19. It finally got me after three years and three months in the U.S. This adds to my production delays that began with the WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony and continued with my mom’s retirement party last Friday and replacing my computer desk and hutch on Saturday. (Thanks to my uncle Scott for assembling the new one.) The advance buffer is down to four shows. After next week, what I’ve recorded so far (through July 19) has been reworked as evergreens without dated references. This will allow them to air as reruns if I need a hiatus. Beyond that, I’ve made playlists for four shows (including show 175), annotated and scripted one (as an evergreen), and partially annotated two others. Depending on how I feel, those will be the last shows until September or October.
Thank you for your continued support. I’ll close with before and after* photos:
*The true after photo won’t come until my dual monitor setup is complete. As of today, I am waiting for a replacement monitor (dead pixels) and its mate that I bought separately to replace the old one (seen alone in before, on the left in after). That monitor got scuffed when the tripod/webcam fell on it. At the time, I was vacuuming off sawdust from a hole my uncle drilled for the speaker’s power cord.
9:15 AM UPDATE: This is another one of those shows where I went the entire time between recording and airing without noticing a mistake: omitting Masato Honda on alto sax for “Midnight Dreamer” by T-Square and Friends. I also made a research mistake for “Over Nine Waves” by Alison Brown. Compass Records is her and Garry West’s own record label and Compass Sound Studio is their studio.
6/27 UPDATE: My dual monitor setup is complete. The replacement and mate arrived today and neither had dead pixels on their screens.
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