It's Once Again About the Music

I'm very pleased to post an entry that is not about technical problems. It appears the problems of early July are behind us (knock wood, fingers crossed), so I'm back to focusing on the music.

I just added the 2002 revival of Into the Woods, listener-requested Golden Boy, and the latest album from Philip Chaffin, Warm Spring Night.

Philip's first album, Where Do I Go from You?, has been playing on the station from the very early days, and I am so glad he has finally recorded a follow-up. While the first album focused on a big band style, Warm Spring Night runs the gamut from classics like Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Out of My Dreams" to tracks penned by contemporary writers like Ricky Ian Gordon and Richard Nelson. In between are lesser-known songs from some well-known composers plus 2 songs from Alan Menken and Tim Rice's King David.

Philip sings with a subtlety and confidence that is far too rare today. His performances are so effortless that it is easy to overlook how remarkable they are. While many singers try to astound us with their power and vocal gymnastics, Philip feels no need to impress. He knows he's good, and, more importantly, he knows he has selected great songs and is willing to let their greatness shine through.

Philip's day job is serving as A&R Director for PS Classics which he co-founded with producer Tommy Krasker. You may not have heard of PS Classics, but if you're a regular Maximum Broadway Radio listener, you've certainly heard many of their recordings.

Thanks for listening,

Zack

All Circuits Are Busy

If you've tried listening to the station recently, you have no doubt experienced trouble or noticed a change in programming. Live365 has had a series of hardware and network problems that started on July 2. Combined with my DSL problems (see "DSL Hell" below), it has been quite a challenge keeping the music flowing.

At several points I have switched back to the old "basic" stream on Live365's servers. This stream is more likely to work since it eliminates the connection from my house to Live365 as a potential problem. Unfortunately, it also means no online requests and none of the tracks I've added since December.

Right now I've got the basic stream running on the broadband station and the normal stream on the dial-up station. It has been pretty stable tonight, but I will probably wait another day before switching the main stream back to live mode.

Live365 has assured all of us broadcasters that they are working feverishly to fix whatever is wrong and get all streams back to normal operation. They appreciate my patience, and I certainly appreciate yours.

As I said below, it makes me very happy to see listeners continue to try to listen despite all these issues. Soon the station will again be the quality listening experience that so many of you have come to expect, and I have been so proud to provide.

Thanks for trying to listen,

Zack