Wednesdays, 10pm-midnight, Eastern Time
Generic Insight Radio - Frequently Asked Questions
GENERAL FAQ:
- Is Generic Insight Radio broadcasted live, or is it pre-recorded?
Generic Insight is broadcasted live every Wednesday night, from 10pm-midnight, Eastern Standard Time. So, expect any and all strange things to happen during the show, such as me messing up words or hearing weird things in the background. All interviews aired with bands, however, are pre-recorded, but otherwise, you are listening to a completely live Internet radio show.
- Do you take song requests, and can I make any request I want?
Of course! Some restrictions apply though for requests - see the Requests page for more info.
- Is Generic Insight Radio broadcasted out of a studio?
No. This show is broadcasted out of my basement, run entirely on my own PC. They don't call it "DIY" for nothin'.
- Out of your basement, huh? That's pretty sweet. So, how do you broadcast exactly?
Generic Insight Radio is broadcasting using Winamp and Winamp's SHOUTcast software. I make a playlist of songs, connect to the server using the SHOUTcast plug-in, use a Cyber Acoustics headset/microphone for talking in between songs, and wha-la! Instant radio show broadcasted via the Internet. Isn't modern technology great?
- I'm in a band, and we have demos/CD's/mp3's available. Can I mail in a CD or e-mail some mp3's to be played on Generic Insight Radio?
Of course! Generic Insight Radio is willing to give any and all small, local and unsigned bands a shot with airplay. To find out where to send a CD or e-mail mp3's, check out the Contact page. However, please be advised that only certain types of music will be considered for airplay, as this radio show is geared towards specific genres, mainly punk rock, hardcore punk, and indie rock. To get a general idea of what music styles we play and what we don't play, head on over to the About section of this website. Please read it CAREFULLY and then if your band fits into one of those music styles, feel free to send in something. Whether your band sounds like Ten Yard Fight, Fall Out Boy, Poison The Well, The Ramones, Broken Social Scene or Hot Cross, we'll play you. If your band sounds like Linkin Park or Breaking Benjamin, well... no such luck there.
- Can my band come in and play live in your studio on the air?
Oddly enough, this is one of the most common questions I get. And believe me, I am not opposed to the idea of having a band come and play on the air, but one little thing stands in the way of that - I do not broadcast from a studio! Again, this show is broadcasted on my PC from the basement of my house. I still live at home with my family. I don't have the equipment to even allow someone else to talk on the air besides myself, let alone the audio equipment needed to let a band play on the air. Maybe one day if I end up broadcasting out of a studio, I will allow bands to come in and play, because I think that would be awesome and a lot of fun. Until then, it's just not possible. Sorry.
- Is Generic Insight Radio a Podcast?
No, Generic Insight is definitely not a Podcast. I have nothing against Podcasting, I just am fairly unfamilar with them and don't really have much of a desire to turn the show into one. However, if you'd like to listen to Generic Insight Radio on a time when it isn't broadcasted live, I often put up archived episodes. Head on over to the Audio Archives site for archived episodes as well as archived band audio interviews.
- How do the pre-recorded band interviews work exactly?
As I said above, since I run the show out of my basement and don't own any other microphones, it would be near impossible to have a band come in and do a live interview on the air. So, I will go to a show, set up an interview with a band and record the interview as most interviews are recorded. The difference being, the interview recording will actually be broadcasted on the air, as opposed to just being transcribed - though I do transcribe interviews as well sometimes. I record all my interviews using the microphone/recorder function on my mp3 player, which is a Creative Zen Vision: M (I bet your iPod can't do that!). I discovered a while ago that even though the microphone located on the side of the player is very tiny, the clarity of the recordings is top notch and cannot be beat by most recording standards. I was using a digital tape recorder previously, and it worked exactly as a tape recorder would - picking up any and all background sounds and it made some of the interviews I did almost unbearable to listen to if there was too much background noise (see interviews with None More Black and Down To Nothing).
- When during the show does an interview air?
Generally, all band interviews air at 10:45pm, approximately 45 minutes after the official show start time. This is only an approximation of course - sometimes an interview may air a minute or two late depending on how the show is running.
- Does the show absolutely have to be over at midnight? I want to make another request that I didn't make earlier/send you an mp3 of my band to play/etc.
No, of course not! Again, since we're not a radio station, I run on my own time and on several occasions I have gone overtime. I try not to make it a habit for the simple reason that we do air on a weeknight and I do need to get to sleep at some point. ;) However, if you happen to catch me on a night where I'm not super tired, feel free to make a last minute request and I will squeeze it in and go past midnight if need be.
SPECIFIC FAQ:
** Frequent questions we get regarding connection issues:
- Help! I've tuned in via the server link and I don't hear anything! Does this mean something is wrong with my Internet connection? It worked fine for me last week!
This is a common question we get, so now here are some explanations as to why this seemingly happens sometimes. Consider the following options and suggestions if you're trying to tune in and not getting anywhere:
- It's not Wednesday night. We air ONLY on Wednesday evenings. Keep in mind we are not a regular radio station that plays music 24/7, just a server I do on my own. So if you tune in on a night that isn't Wednesday, you won't hear anything.
- It's Wednesday, but not 10pm yet. Lately what I've been doing is turning the server on at 9:50pm and playing random music that doesn't fit into the normal show, for people who may want to tune in a few minutes early. However, if you tune in before 9:50-10pm, you won't hear anything.
- If you're in an area that doesn't follow Eastern Standard Time, make sure you're tuned in at the correct time in your timezone. We broadcast out of New York, so 10pm our time is 9pm Central Time, 8pm Mountain Time and 7pm Pacific Time. If you live outside of the USA, Canada or Mexico, you can use the Time Zone Converter link on the Listen Live page to figure out what time Generic Insight airs in your country or region.
- Apparently there have been some known issues where the server link doesn't always go through when using iTunes. I know a few people who listen to the show with iTunes and have mentioned that it occasionally doesn't work when they try to tune through the server link. I'm honestly not sure what this issue is, but its entirely possible that because I do the show through Winamp's SHOUTcast software, it may not always be compatible with a different program. This is just a theory, however. So I personally recommend that even if iTunes is your main media player, try and download Winamp and use it as a backup. If you can't get the show through iTunes, you will most likely get it through Winamp.
- Check your computer monitor volume level or speakers. They may not be turned on or may be tuned to the lowest volume. I've definitely made this mistake before.
- Ironically, speaking of things at low volumes, sometimes the reason you may not hear anything is entirely my fault. There have been times where I've had the output volume turned down or off completely and not realized it until someone mentioned it to me.
- I've been listening to the show and suddenly my connection cut out and I hear nothing when I try to re-connect! Help!
Sometimes, again, this is entirely my fault. Since I do the radio show at my own PC, I generally have a lot of things going on while doing the show. This includes recording the show with the Audacity program, switching songs around, adding songs to the playlist, trying to talk to everyone who is chatting with me via AIM and MSN Messenger, and of course, surfing the Internet just trying to promote. Basically, I have a lot of windows open on my screen and as a result, this unfortunately can cause Winamp to freeze and then close completely, cutting off the radio stream connection for anyone listening. Usually, this resolves itself quickly and I can get everything back, but sometimes it doesn't always go so fast. However, sometimes if this isn't the case, it could just be possible that maybe your own Internet connection cut out due to bad weather, etc. If this happens and you miss part of or can't hear the show, I usually archive most episodes. Get in touch with me if you want to hear a specific episode but were cut off and couldn't get back on.
That's about all the Frequently Asked Questions I get as of now. Please read through these before contacting Generic Insight.