WJJD July Ratings..Best in Our History!

Internet station WJJD The Country Giant received a total of 12, 957 listener streams, or 'hits.'
during the period running from June 30 to July 3o. That placed the station solidly at a ranking of #50 out of a total of 228 country stations broadcassting on Live365.com's streaming network.

WJJD is also 1 of 49 stations playing some classic country as a part of their daily format.

WJJD and MUSIC OF NEW LIFE have a combined total of 28,721 streams, making both stations solid players in internet radio.

Virtual Tour of Radio Station

I thought I'd give you a "virtual tour" of one of the radio stations today.

This is the set-up for Delta Star Radio's "MUSIC OF NEW LIFE" contemporary Christian music station. It is a 24-hour a day music intensive
formatted station playing Christian music from the 1970s, 80s, 90s and some from the present.

This station is capable of broadcasting from carts (see top photo) which are not used nearly as often as they once were to the modern mp3s.

In the second photo, here are some of the album covers from 80s-era albums. Our music was purchased from two local area radio stations, WCVC-AM 1330 in Tallahassee and WJEP-AM 1020 up in Ochlockonee, Georgia. In both cases I purchased their entire music libraries, giving us one of the largest local Christian music libraries in North Florida.

Next photo shows CDs already alphabetized and shelved, a massive job. The CDs came from WCVC, as did the stacks of 45 records in photo 4.

Next is the actual on-air studios for MUSIC OF NEW LIFE, showing two microphones, a turntable, the control board, 3 cassette decks and 2 CD players. The streaming computer, which is not shown, is located to the right of this studio, enabling me to enter the song titles and artists as they play, keeping the station in compliance with the RIAA and DMCA rules.

The photo of the albums shows them now neatly arranged. It took several days to get them all alphabetized and put on the shelves in the correct order!

Outside, the satellite dish allows me to join the IRN News Network for breaking news or emergency information. The music is all locally produced; there fore MUSIC OF NEW LIFE does not rely on the satellite for anything other than national news.

Visit the station on the internet and listen at http://www.live365.com/stations/musicofnewlife

Life on the Farm in Pictures

I feel very blessed to live on a farm.

It might be a bigger blessing that we don't have to depend solely on the farm to make a living.

Many, many of out friends, church folks and relatives often say, "I'd like to get some more acreage.." You may remember I covered this topic earlier on this very blog when I said that the city-lot/postage-stamp yards are not for me.

In these pictures, you can see glimpses of the farm..starting from the top, I'd like to introduce to you...

1.) Tiny the Chihuahua and Cheyanne the pug
2.) Sport, another Chihuahua and part of the burglar alarm system..nothing sneaks up without getting his attention!
3.) This beautiful cat with unusual markings is Puffkins
4.) Powder is a white cat..she is normally shy, I actually got a pic of her today!
5.) This black dog is Lexus..we got her from the pound while she was just a pup. She is a wonderful dog that loves everybody
6.) Felix the cat is maybe also the neighborhood bully..
7.) Dice the Dalmation is also part of the burglar alarm system.
8.) This pic of Mom and a miniature horse we boarded for a short time was taken last year
9.) Baby Carmelita is the newest addition to the farm. Here she is enjoying her breakfast on this lovely Saturday morning!
10.) Four horses..Precious, Sassy, PJ and Tito wait to be fed while I'm taking pictures.
11.) View of the barn, feed shed, fuel tanks, tire swing and pigeon pens

I just love farm life!

Taking Thursdays Off During the Summer..

Back in June I wrote about having my step-grandson come to visit.

That has been a somewhat weekly activity for us this summer. Aaron has been coming to
spend Wednesday nights with us after VBS and then spending Thursdays on the farm with me.
Admittedly, we have both loved it and made some great memories.

We have splashed in the pool, chased each other with baloons, played a one-on-one version of volleyball, picked berries, visited with the horses, and just overall formed a stronger bond.

So I have not worked on Thursdays and there are no regrets!

WJJD Revisited

I must admit, I never expected internet station WJJD The Country Giant to catch on as well as it has.

It receives music requests, thank you notes, donations of old airchecks and music and kind comments every week. Approximately 15, 200 people have listened at some point since I launched it.

Just two days ago, I received a note from a gentleman who has contributed some original tapes of DJs from the original WJJD-Chicago, saying, "You found 'Lord Mr. Ford' by Jerry Reed!" Which I finally did, after he had mentioned that song in an email some time back. The song was on an old compilation radio vinyl disc, not a Jerry Reed album..which explains why some songs take longer to locate when requests are made.

Most radio stations today don't really take requests. Well, if you ask for a song on their playlist
already, it will certainly turn up. If it's not..oh well.

Some time back a country radio station boasted, We KNOW our country music. Call us and make some requests. So I did. I asked for "Unbelievable Love" by Jim Ed Brown from the early 70s and "When the New Wears Off Our Love" by Jody Miller from 1976.

"I'm sorry, but those songs don't exist," I was told. At that time, I didn't own either one, but I was sure they did exist somewhere. Just not at Tallahassee country radio.

WJJD's appeal seems to be the retro touch combined with some current music. So it sounds retro, but not hopelessly dated or stuck back in time forevermore.

In any event, I'm continuously searching for those old 'Oh, wow' factor songs. I've found many, but not all of them.

I'm pleased to report, both Jim Ed Brown and Jody Miller's songs do exist, and are playing, on WJJD!

http://www.live365.com/stations/alanmccall

Freedom Isn't Free

Just a note to wish you a happy Fourth of July.

But remember..

The freedoms we enjoy in America were bought with a price. Too many people take these freedoms for granted. Even as our troops continue to fight for freedom for the Iraqi and Afghanistan people, it seems like our own freedoms continue to erode away.

Those of us who are born-again Christians have freedom in Christ. It, too, was bought with a price..Jesus' death on the cross.

Let's be thankful that America still is the greatest nation in the world.

Let's remember what our currency proclaims: "One nation under God."

Let's get our nation back to God and not be ashamed for doing so.

Failure to do so will lead to our own demise.

OK, let's go enjoy the day!