Dirt City Chronicles podcast episode 43

If I was where I would be, then I'd be where I am not

Here I am where I must be, where I would be, I can not

Nostalgia is the flavor of the day. “I'm glad I grew up doing this instead of this” the mantra for those more accustomed to looking back than looking forward. I got to experience the “good old days”, not just for myself but for every consequent generation after me. Those days are overrated. Not being one of my generation that continually pines for the past, I embrace change. Having spent part of my youth on a farm that still had an outhouse and no hot water. I have since grown accustomed to porcelain bathroom fixtures and electricity.

Change is good. The arrival of television to our household was a momentous day. (1964, just in time for the Republican and Democratic conventions that gave us LBJ vs. Barry Goldwater) Television got us up to par. It exposed us to a world that we rarely ever got to see (the fifty seven miles to the nearest “big” city, may as well have been a thousand) We now knew all about Ronald McDonald, Slush Puppies, Montgomery Ward and a place called Pancho's, that let you eat all the Mexican food that you could ever hope for.

Dirt City Chronicles was born of an idea that a radio station playing primarily local music could be feasible. It wasn't, although the advent of online streaming made that a mute point. Terrestrial radio, hampered by the FCC's archaic adherence to rules and regulations (in place since the early days of radio) simply can't compete with streaming apps such as Pandora, Slacker, Spotify etc. All of which allow users to program their own tailor made streams. After exploring possible online broadcast apps such as Shoutcast (too expensive, complicated) I determined that podcasting was the obvious choice.

Thus Dirt City Radio was born.... with a slight hitch, a local band was already using that name. Radio became Chronicles and there you have it. All I lacked at that point was a file host. After some research, I settled on Pod Bean, a competent app that provided cool embedded players, though overall the process of posting episodes was rather tedious. There was one major drawback to Pod Bean, initially you pay $29.99, after that Pod Bean essentially holds your audio files for ransom. Forcing you to renew at their escalating rates or your links go dead. Dirt City Chronicles is a not for profit undertaking, leaving me to explore whatever free options the internet had to offer. YouTube was the obvious choice.

It's free, you can upload files of any size (once you register your mobile number) and as long as you don't run afoul of YouTube's copyright restrictions, the sky really is the limit. Another option for those working on the cheap is Archive.org. Unlimited uploads, no file size restrictions and little if any copyright hassles. The internet is forever and these links will never go dead. I've recently rediscovered a couple of free and reliable options for posting podcast episodes: Dailymotion and Vimeo. Dailymotion limits uploads to files under sixty minutes. Vimeo's free version allows you upload up to 500mbs or approximately one podcast episode per week. Far less draconian than YouTube, both take a laissez-faire approach to copyright restrictions.

Editing previous episodes of Dirt City Chronicles down to under an hour left me with several hours worth of music that I've re-purposed as new episodes. New and improved, with enhanced audio (no more volume drops) I'm posting all previous episodes of Dirt City Chronicles on both Dailymotion and Vimeo.... for those that have no use for YouTube.

A grab bag of local music, alternative country, modern surf music, homegrown reggae, dream pop, goth pop, experimental and Americana..... yes, Americana. Tune in, turn up and drop me a line, Dirt City Chronicles, your choice for local music, Boy Howdy!

Swimming in Alcohol- Youngsville
Vertigo- Dead Town Lovers

As We Ascend- Before This City

Burts Tiki Tear Drop- The Surf Lords

Let the Morning Come- Mondo Vibrations
King of Whiskey Throne- Lousy Robot

Hello Again- The Black Disciples

I'm Your Huckleberry- The Giranimals

The Revelator- I is for Ida

Oh No- Jenny Wren Sounds

Spider Walker- Javelina
Locked In- The Porter Draw
Moses Stuttered- Todd and the Fox
My Revolver- Lowlights
Myra Joyce- The Porter Draw