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What would you do if you owned more than 3,000 vinyl albums, including some of the most obscure novelty songs and one-hit wonders of the 1960s?
How about if you felt that your community needed an outlet for intelligent conversation, or a place where all of its activities and events could be shared?
Two area men have turned to Internet "radio" to relay their passions by streaming audio from their computers in what has become the unregulated pirate radio of today.
"There is no license at all; all you need is a phone line, an Internet connection and access to a server," said Mark Kaminski, 32, of Milford. "It's the way the radio business is going now. I wanted a shot at it, but you just can't go into an established station like (W)PLR and say, `Let me program an hour for you.' I have no radio experience at all; I'm more of a web guy."
Kaminski and his friend Chris Hiza, 32, began Milford Radio last July in Kaminski's basement. At first they had about 25 people tuning in, but now they have about 250 listeners for each one-hour weekly show, and a handful of paid advertisers.
"I've always been interested in TV and radio, but my career path took me into web development and consulting," Kaminski said. His background made it easy for Kaminski, a father of two, to develop his online radio station, partly as a way to get the word out about activities -- especially for families with children.
Joe Pandolfi, of Milford, figures he was one of the first to host an Internet radio station with a 24/7 schedule. He began his Oldies Collection nearly 11 years ago. Pandolfi raids his extensive album collection -- stacked randomly on the floor in his den -- to compile playlists with titles like "Crap from the Past." Another web-only station based in Milford, Slaphouse Radio, specializes in comedy.
These webcasters and nearly 10,000 others like them provide programming available only online or in some cases on smart phones and other mobile devices through a downloadable app. They differ from radio personalities like John LaBarca, whose popular "Italian House Party" show is aired on Sunday mornings on WNLK (1350 AM) in Norwalk, and streamed live over the Internet. Dan Patrick's daily sports and talk show based in Milford is accessible in several formats, including satellite and traditional radio stations, television and streaming over the Internet. Nearly all AM and FM stations also maintain a website with live streaming and archived shows.
But the term "Internet radio" has come to mean programming available only online, Pandolfi said. It's become so popular that it has spawned a cottage industry. Several companies, including Live365.com, provide a number of services for online stations, including handling royalty payments and music clearances, and selling ads.
Pandolfi pays $1,000 per year to Live365.com to store his programs and playlists, and to stream them from their servers. The money also covers the royalties for the artists for copyrighted music.
"This way I don't have to tie up my computer and it's 99 percent reliable. When I first started, I did everything myself, but there were times when it would drop out and you couldn't hear anything," he said.
There are a variety of sites offering help to Internet jockeys. Shoutcast, like Live365, allows users to create and program their own "stations." Other sites, including RadioTower.com and Jango, provide streaming music by genres and even from different countries. DAK Electronics sells a USB drive loaded with "station pre-sets" that works like a tuner, allowing users to easily find stations from India and Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa.
Internet radio will eventually replace the other formats, including satellite-delivered programming, said James Bortnickof Slaphouse Radio. "The 2011 Ford Focus is the first production car to come with an Internet radio installed," he said. "We also have an app, for Blackberrys, iPhones and iPads, that lets people tune into our shows on their phone."
If such high-tech, mobile solutions are really the direction that radio is moving in, Kaminski and Hiza's Milford Radio, however, is almost a throwback to a much earlier era. Although Hiza pounds his laptop during the Wednesday night program, tweeting, texting and blogging, the "hyperlocal" show has some of the feel of Walter Winchell in a back booth at The Stork Club.
From a table at Cafe Atlantique in downtown Milford, the pair interview guests sitting next to them on a sofa or comfy chairs, and deftly handle live callers. Kaminski created one of the show's most popular segments, "Dirty Laundry," which tosses listeners a sure-fire conversation-starter. Last week it was "Have you ever referred to Osama as Obama?"
On-air guests have included Tommy Edison, the "blind movie critic," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, and Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. "The Other Milford News" segment is made up of information not reported elsewhere, including the winner's in the recent Rubber Duck Race.
Kaminski and Hiza, who met while they were attending East Shore Middle School in Milford, share the same sense of humor and they have that easy shorthand way of communicating that friends develop. Kaminski was best man at Hiza's wedding.
These days, though, Milford Radio takes up very little of their time. Both men have other, full-time jobs. To get ready for the show, Kaminski writes a script, more of an outline of points he wants to make during the broadcast, and Hiza uses social media like the show's Facebook page, to spread the word.
One special guest was Kaminski's 5 year-old son who has been to the weekly webcasts and got to even speak on the air.
"He listened to (it) 100 times on the rebroadcast and he told all of his friends," the Milford Radio host said.
But what was his two sons' favorite show? When their dad interviewed Santa Claus.
How about if you felt that your community needed an outlet for intelligent conversation, or a place where all of its activities and events could be shared?
Two area men have turned to Internet "radio" to relay their passions by streaming audio from their computers in what has become the unregulated pirate radio of today.
"There is no license at all; all you need is a phone line, an Internet connection and access to a server," said Mark Kaminski, 32, of Milford. "It's the way the radio business is going now. I wanted a shot at it, but you just can't go into an established station like (W)PLR and say, `Let me program an hour for you.' I have no radio experience at all; I'm more of a web guy."
Kaminski and his friend Chris Hiza, 32, began Milford Radio last July in Kaminski's basement. At first they had about 25 people tuning in, but now they have about 250 listeners for each one-hour weekly show, and a handful of paid advertisers.
"I've always been interested in TV and radio, but my career path took me into web development and consulting," Kaminski said. His background made it easy for Kaminski, a father of two, to develop his online radio station, partly as a way to get the word out about activities -- especially for families with children.
Joe Pandolfi, of Milford, figures he was one of the first to host an Internet radio station with a 24/7 schedule. He began his Oldies Collection nearly 11 years ago. Pandolfi raids his extensive album collection -- stacked randomly on the floor in his den -- to compile playlists with titles like "Crap from the Past." Another web-only station based in Milford, Slaphouse Radio, specializes in comedy.
These webcasters and nearly 10,000 others like them provide programming available only online or in some cases on smart phones and other mobile devices through a downloadable app. They differ from radio personalities like John LaBarca, whose popular "Italian House Party" show is aired on Sunday mornings on WNLK (1350 AM) in Norwalk, and streamed live over the Internet. Dan Patrick's daily sports and talk show based in Milford is accessible in several formats, including satellite and traditional radio stations, television and streaming over the Internet. Nearly all AM and FM stations also maintain a website with live streaming and archived shows.
But the term "Internet radio" has come to mean programming available only online, Pandolfi said. It's become so popular that it has spawned a cottage industry. Several companies, including Live365.com, provide a number of services for online stations, including handling royalty payments and music clearances, and selling ads.
Pandolfi pays $1,000 per year to Live365.com to store his programs and playlists, and to stream them from their servers. The money also covers the royalties for the artists for copyrighted music.
"This way I don't have to tie up my computer and it's 99 percent reliable. When I first started, I did everything myself, but there were times when it would drop out and you couldn't hear anything," he said.
There are a variety of sites offering help to Internet jockeys. Shoutcast, like Live365, allows users to create and program their own "stations." Other sites, including RadioTower.com and Jango, provide streaming music by genres and even from different countries. DAK Electronics sells a USB drive loaded with "station pre-sets" that works like a tuner, allowing users to easily find stations from India and Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa.
Internet radio will eventually replace the other formats, including satellite-delivered programming, said James Bortnickof Slaphouse Radio. "The 2011 Ford Focus is the first production car to come with an Internet radio installed," he said. "We also have an app, for Blackberrys, iPhones and iPads, that lets people tune into our shows on their phone."
If such high-tech, mobile solutions are really the direction that radio is moving in, Kaminski and Hiza's Milford Radio, however, is almost a throwback to a much earlier era. Although Hiza pounds his laptop during the Wednesday night program, tweeting, texting and blogging, the "hyperlocal" show has some of the feel of Walter Winchell in a back booth at The Stork Club.
From a table at Cafe Atlantique in downtown Milford, the pair interview guests sitting next to them on a sofa or comfy chairs, and deftly handle live callers. Kaminski created one of the show's most popular segments, "Dirty Laundry," which tosses listeners a sure-fire conversation-starter. Last week it was "Have you ever referred to Osama as Obama?"
On-air guests have included Tommy Edison, the "blind movie critic," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, and Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. "The Other Milford News" segment is made up of information not reported elsewhere, including the winner's in the recent Rubber Duck Race.
These days, though, Milford Radio takes up very little of their time. Both men have other, full-time jobs. To get ready for the show, Kaminski writes a script, more of an outline of points he wants to make during the broadcast, and Hiza uses social media like the show's Facebook page, to spread the word.
One special guest was Kaminski's 5 year-old son who has been to the weekly webcasts and got to even speak on the air.
"He listened to (it) 100 times on the rebroadcast and he told all of his friends," the Milford Radio host said.
But what was his two sons' favorite show? When their dad interviewed Santa Claus.
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