Retro Playback Radio

[Ecto Jedi]

Hi guys.

I come on here from time to time, where I mostly dwell in the Video Games section (where several animated discussions with Peanut still float warmly in my recollection). To tell the truth, I've come here whenever I've been sad, lonely, or at a crossroads in my life -- like my first few weeks in college, for instance, back in 2006, or while I was recovering from illness in 2008. Good or bad, that's the way it's been.

Writing has been a hobby and passion of mine for many years now and the Technodrome kept that alive in some ways, while some other things fell apart. And, of course, Ninja Turtles! So thanks guys.


In any event, a project of mine called "Retro Playback Radio" is nearing completion (though, as with everything, it's a first step into a larger endeavour). Recording of the pilot episode of this radio show, which I scripted, produced and provided voiceover for, took place in mid-April here in Toronto, Canada, and for the past four weeks I've been editing the unwieldy b*tch into something which I hope is halfway decent.

The last few days have been spent, meanwhile, working on an Indiegogo.com page, where friends and fans will be (very shortly) able to donate and contribute to the production of a Retro Playback Radio press package, which will then be sent to radio stations across Canada (with an eye towards the U.S. market, as well). Special perks and incentives for donating include an exclusive CD copy of the extended pilot, as well as t-shirts and other cool swag.

As part of the incoming media blitz, several clips of our show have made its way onto the 'Net, to give people an idea of just what we've been working on.

I share these with you first, here, in the hopes that you'll find them amusing. They're but short snippets of the forty-minute pilot, but they'll give you a sense of the tone and style of the show. A Blooper Reel I threw together should show you how much fun we had recording the thing. As with anything else, if you aren't having fun, then what's the point?

Serious Sh*t! Segment

Interlude at Dino's

Blooper Reel #1

These are hosted courtesy of SoundCloud; no download or app required. They'll play just like a YouTube video. Except without the video. Of course.

Here's a bit of the press material, so you understand what exactly it is we're trying to do here:

That same passion, sense of humour, and attention to detail informs every aspect of Retro Playback Radio. "I knew I wanted to present these classic tunes, the Def Leppard songs, Van Halen, Dokken, Judas Priest, Helix — so I thought, what's the best way of getting across this attitude, this sense of fun?"

The answer, incidentally, would come from a decisively modern source: YouTube. While browsing the site one day, Guile came across a collection of video clips from an old '80s TV show called Back Porch Video. Surfacing on public access television in 1984 under the direction of longtime deejay and media guru Russ Gibb, BPV was a low-budget pop music program designed and staffed by students at Dearborn High School in Dearborn, Michigan.

"The camera angles were wonky, the hosts were excitable and sometimes terrified of being on camera, and the hair was atrocious. It was great." Low-tech production values aside, in those grainy old clips of Back Porch Video Guile found the fertilizer out of which Retro Playback Radio would eventually blossom: the idea of "Battleship & Arnie" was directly inspired by the show. "It's actually a little mysterious why it never occured to me sooner. Turn the hosts into characters — high school students — give them a back story, make them a part of that world. Give them something to say and then have them say it. That way you can do all sorts of stuff you'd never be able to get away with otherwise."

and:

The personalities of Ethan "Battleship" Boyd and Arnie "Armadillo" Maldonado, the hosts of Retro Playback Radio, were a natural extension of the concept. "Ethan is confident, boisterous. His personality is unmistakeable. Arnie is more cautious. He has reservations about saying certain things on the air, for example. But they're both larger-than-life guys, and their personas pull us into that world. In the end, it's all about having fun."

Paul Boyd Sr., the confused, cantankerous old man who sits in on the recording in the latter half of the pilot, is an amalgamation of two of Guile's stage personas. "My favourite class in college was Acting and Voice. Every week our assignment would be to come in with a prepared character — backstory, mannerisms, dialect, whatever — and then improvise a scene with a classmate. I came in one day sucking on a two-dollar cigar and spewing old war stories. Another time, I borrowed a pair of boxing gloves from a friend and became Jack Nelson, former heavyweight champion. It was easy enough for me to act as if I'd taken a few too many punches in the head. I grew up with an older brother."

Through all this, the most important part of the show is the music. "We don't want our comedy bits to overshadow the track selection. They should complement one another. Sometimes we just scale back and let the music do the talking, as it should. The segments, the intros, the character call-ins, they all serve to create an atmosphere where the music takes on a life of its own. This isn't a radio play. It's a love letter to rock 'n roll and to the spirit of the times, and that's the way it should always be."

There it is. Long-winded, but what can you do? More info will be up soon on both Facebook and Indiegogo (and possibly more clips). You guys are the first to get a look at these. Enjoy.

[Ecto Jedi]

And, our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/RetroPlaybackRadio

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