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 More Information
See soundscapes.us/bill or soundscapes.us
for more details about Bill Fox and the Soundscapes Concert
Series.
Important Notice
Long after this interview was conducted, the radio program changed its name to Galactic Travels.
It is not, nor has it ever been associated with
a certain MP3 music download site. If you are looking for
that download site, this is NOT the place.
I have updated all the links in this interview to direct you to the correct destinations. All references to the original name of the program have been changed to reflect the new name and to protect the innocent. This page is a part of my personal website and has nothing to do with nor is controlled by WDIY. Bill Fox
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Bill Fox: DJ, Musician and All Around Nice Guy...The Instrumental Weekly usually features an instrumental artist in this section, but this month, we thought we'd put the spotlight on one of the many DJ's out there that week after week play the music we all enjoy so much.Bill Fox is not only a DJ however...he too plays in a handful of groups ranging from Celtic to Country. This month, we have the perspective of someone who has been on both sides of the music industry, and he also shares a few tips on how to get your music played on-air too. IW - Tell us a few things about yourself... Bill Fox - I grew up in northeast Ohio in the Greater Cleveland area and received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State in Columbus. I started playing guitar in the fourth grade and have added saxophone, bass, and synthesizers to the list. I love musical performance and have been in bands, recording studios, and pit orchestras as long as I can remember. I ended up in eastern Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley, a little more than an hour north of Philadelphia due to a company transfer. After working in electronics manufacturing for 22 years, I retired to avoid the layoffs I saw coming in the technology sector. Now I'm a starving musician and a volunteer radio program host. My personal web site (http://soundscapes.us/bill) shows that I'm currently in seven bands, ranging from classical to rock to Celtic to electronic and back again via Country! IW - How did you come to host several electronic music programs? Bill Fox - I wouldn't say several. It's more like one and a half. :-) WDIY came on the air in January, 1995. During their first membership drive, I became a member and started volunteering my technical skills for producing "Musings" an arts and entertainment program hosted by Kenn Michael. While doing that, my interest in spacemusic flared and I submitted a proposal for a spacemusic program to Christine Dempsey, then Program Director at WDIY. When the opportunity arose, Christine offered the Thursday, 11:00 pm to 1:00 am time slot. GALACTIC TRAVELS was born on January 23, 1997. The playlist at http://wdiy.org/programs/gt/playlists/1997/970123.txt documents the occasion. After I retired, I wanted an outlet for other music genres (Progressive Rock and Mixed Bag) as well as additional air time for spacemusic. So I went over to Muhlenberg College and applied at WMUH. As a result, I was scheduled to share hosting duties with Bruce Brown, alternating weekly shifts for the Saturday morning edition of The AM/FM Show. That eventually happened on June 22, 2002 (see http://soundscapes.us/amfm/playlists/2002/020622.html) but was preceded by filling in on June 20, 2002 (see http://soundscapes.us/amfm/playlists/2002/020620.html). This fill in somehow led me to getting the Thursday 8:00 am to 9:30 am time slot for Afterglow, my Progressive Rock and Mixed Bag program. (See http://soundscapes.us/afterglow/playlists/2002/020718.html). IW - - Why is the music important to you? Bill Fox - As a musician and an electronics engineer, electronic music started speaking to me while I was in college. After I moved to the Lehigh Valley, it started screaming to me. It's more than just an escape from daily pressures. It's something that I needed to share, something I needed to nurture. I don't think there is any rational explanation. Electronic music seemed to help me chill when needed and to grow as a person. IW - Talk about Soundscapes... Bill Fox - Inspired by The Gathering Concert Series run by Chuck van Zyl and fueled by my need to nurture the electronic music community, I wished to start a concert series. When I retired in 2001, I found the time to act. But not the money. The Soundscapes Concert Series is run on a shoestring budget, sweat effort, and word of mouth. It is an effort to build a community using the two best tools I know; music and food. Chef Jeff of Cosmic Catering, who is a good friend and a big supporter of electronic music and space rock, has catered at Soundscapes since its inception. And so far, the music has been top shelf. The Ministry of Inside Things and two versions of Orbital Decay have played at Soundscapes, jump starting a great tradition of fine electronic music. Volunteers have also been instrumental in the creation and continued existence of Soundscapes. This is a labor of love, not profit. So far, I consider myself very lucky. I'm only $30 in the hole for taking the big risk of being a concert promoter. And the artistic success of the first three shows was immensely satisfying. But if I were to make any money at it, I'd finally have an advertising budget! (I'm not holding my breath...) IW - Anything big on the horizon for the Soundscapes Concert Series? Bill Fox - Yes. On April 19, 2003, The Soundscapes Concert Series goes international by presenting vidnaObmana in his major east coast concert. And this concert is the only one of his entire 2003 USA tour where he will present not only an extended Spore-influenced set, but also a classic atmospheric soundworld set. This is exclusive to Soundscapes on this tour. And on July 12, 2003, Robert Rich will return to the Lehigh Valley on his way back from France to perform at Soundscapes. These artists are, in my opinion, two of the three most visible and well respected electronic music performers on the scene today. I am fortunate indeed to be able to schedule them at Soundscapes. IW - I saw vidnaObmana perform with Steve Roach at the Shank Hall in Milwaukee back in 1995. The crowd was small, allowing everybody to sit real close to the musicians. Tell us about the environment at the IceHouse... Bill Fox - The City of Bethlehem's IceHouse on Sand Island really used to be an ice house in the days before refrigeration. The City restored it, converting it into a performance center. The brick walls and wooden floors have a certain ambiance to them that lend a very nice quality to electronic music. Used for community theater productions, antique shows, and concerts of every genre, the IceHouse is a jewel in Bethlehem's artistic crown. Situated in historic Bethlehem where Musikfest is held early every August and where Moravian College's School of Music resides, the IceHouse is a fabulous place for spacemusic. It can seat perhaps 150 people. And if anyone shows up with pillows, bean bag chairs, or sleeping bags, I wouldn't complain. With the dinner buffet upstairs, concert goers have been known to rub elbows with the performers. I recommend a visit to the Soundscapes archives. (See http://soundscapes.us/archives.html) IW - As a DJ, what criteria do you use when deciding which material to play? Bill Fox - First, I listen to style. I bill GALACTIC TRAVELS as an electronic, ambient, and spacemusic program. Songs with vocals and new age music just don't fit in with the GALACTIC TRAVELS ethos. Berlin School and electronic soundscapes rule the day. Then I listen for quality. Although I'll expose the audience to lesser known musicians, the quality of music is kept fairly high. Joe Newcomer has to be able to fit in next to the likes of vidnaObmana, Robert Rich, Steve Roach, Dweller at the Threshold, Ian Boddy, Free System Projekt, Wave World, and all the other artists making a splash in today's EM scene. That's a tall order, I know. Finally, I listen for how well recorded the music is. A poor recording can be painful to hear. I spin vinyl on every show so a few flaws are tolerated, but a CD release must be clean and quiet in order to compete with AirSculpture, Spacecraft, Radio Massacre International, et al. IW - For the artists reading this, can you offer some hints on how best to get their music heard? Bill Fox - Yes. In fact, I have web pages devoted to this topic. It starts with "Do your homework" by researching the radio shows where you think your music fits. Check out the playlists and see if your influences and contemporaries are well represented there. Don't waste your resources by submitting promo CDs where they haven't a chance of being played. Next, pay attention to your product's packaging. Make it easy for a DJ who has left reading glasses at home (yet again!!) to read the liner notes. Include complete information like web URL, email address, CD title, artist name, a numbered track list with run times not only on the inserts and tray cards, but on the CD, too. And jewel cases rule. Anything that can't be thrown on a shelf with THOUSANDS of other jewel cases and have its identity readily apparent, runs the risk of not being selected. Cardboard mailers and slimline cases just don't have the spine for identification. For the complete diatribe, please visit http://wdiy.org/programs/gt/submit.html and especially http://soundscapes.us/amfm/tips.html. There is no guarantee how much airplay a CD will get, if any at all. So make it easy to find, easy to store, easy to carry around, easy to read, complete with information, and you will maximize your CD's airplay. IW - You have a pretty good handful of websites...are we going to see billfox.com anytime soon? Bill Fox - LOL! It used to be owned by some lawyer in Texas, I think. But it seems to be available right now. Go figure! I really should grab it but money is tight. Howard Moscovitz is generous with his server space by hosting my sites for free. Plus I get 2M of space from my ISP included in my email fee. I think that'll have to do for now. I had to buy http://soundscapes.us so I'm happy with that. IW - Anything else you'd like to share? Bill Fox - My enthusiasm for electronic music, for one. Niche genres of music like EM and independent artists in general are basically locked out of the market by the Clear Channels of the world. Clear? HA!! I say HA!! Corporate conglomerate media robber barons ban artists from playlists for exercising their Constitutional Right to freely express their opinions. You might not agree with the Dixie Chicks speaking out against the President, but we should defend their right to have, hold, and express their opinions without such retributions. It should be left to fans to decide for themselves what to do, if anything. This is an intolerable situation that means we fans of EM must support independent artists by buying their CDs and attending their concerts. Further more, we fans need to help spread the word about concerts like Soundscapes, the Gatherings, Gate to Moonbase Alpha, etc. We can't afford to be passive or the music will become harder and harder to get, to hear on the radio (and ultimately the internet if the RIAA and their ilk have their way), and go the way of the dodo if we aren't all activists at nurturing the EM music scene. Artistic expression is the light of humankind and is being blocked at every turn by media moguls and the federal Government. Sit on your butt and you will lose yet another freedom, the precious freedom to create beauty and to share it with like minded people. |
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