Veteran broadcaster Ron Olesko, who has been hosting a folk show (Traditions) on WFDU-FM in Teaneck, New Jersey since 1980, launches Folk Music Notebook, an online radio station showcasing folk music 24/7, on May 3, 2019 – the 100th anniversary of the birth of late folk music icon Pete Seeger.
“Folk Music Notebook plans to be a gathering spot for the folk community and all the fans of this music,” said Olesko. “The channel will be a place to ‘discover’ new artists and songs as well as honor the established names who created this living tradition.”
“Offering a curated playlist interspersed with brief but informative DJ announcements, recorded stories behind the songs from the artists themselves, as well as commentary, news and other special features, Folk Music Notebook will engage listeners by showing the connections between songs and styles — keeping them engrossed throughout the day without constant badgering from hosts, endless strings of commercials or repetitive automated playlists,” said Olesko, who will direct the operation – curating the playlists as well as serving as host for some of the programming.
“The music to be shared on Folk Music Notebook will focus on the diverse contemporary folk music community, while also incorporating the folk revival artists who drew many people to this genre,” said Olesko. “For many people, the seed for folk music was plated during the Folk Revival – and hose songs and artists still remain important. I will be sharing music from that era, but my intent is to present it to show the connection with the contemporary folk scene. They exist together.”
Folk Music Notebook’s May 3 launch date was chosen to both honor Pete Seeger and the folk community that he built, and to plant a new seed for sharing the powerful songs and artists he inspired, according to Olesko. “Our opening weekend will feature a number of songs from Pete as well as from artists who sing his songs and carry on his traditions.” A live broadcast of a Pete Seeger Centennial open mic from the legendary Towne Crier Cafe in Beacon, New York (the town where Pete and Toshi Seeger resided) will be part of the channel’s launch-day celebration. Performers will include Christine Lavin, Jim Dawson, David Buskin, Robin Batteau, Don White, John Forster, Judy Kass, David S. Goldman, Marshal Aaron Rosenberg, and David Massengill, among others. This special show is set for 7 p.m. ET.
While acknowledging that if you ask 100 different people to define folk music you will get 100 different answers, Olesko said that he views folk music as “a living tradition that reflects the lives of a community – the passions, the struggles and the joys.” The music he plans to offer on Folk Music Notebook will reflect the music that he experiences at various festivals [he’s been an emcee at many f them] and at Folk Alliance International and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences [for which he’s been a showcase host, judge and organizer] – “talented artists with important songs that are ignored by other commercial entities. Through Folk Music Notebook, he wants to show that “the contemporary folk music community has created a body of work that is part of the soundtrack of many people’s lives, or should be!”
Helping to program the channel will be a team of ‘correspondents’ – artists and individuals who have worked in the community, creating music and supporting the genre. Among those who will host ongoing shows are singer-songwriters Joe Jencks, Christine Lavin and David Rovics, as well as songwriters and folksingers Dave Fry and Rik Palieri. The Sing Out Magazine Radio Show with Tom Druckenmiller will also air each week, as will the nationally syndicated Midnight Special, originating from WFMT-FM in Chicago and hosted by veteran DJ Rich Warren. Another longtime broadcaster and music producer, Angela Page, host of Folk Plus on WJFF in New York’s Catskills Region, will host a weekly show. Michael Johnathon’s WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, a live audience celebration of grassroots music and the artists who make it that emanates weekly from Lexington, Kentucky, will be part of the programming mix as well.
Besides streaming online at www.FolkMusicNotebook.com, folk music fans can download a free app from the Apple and Google Play stores that will enable them to listen and experience the channel’s programming through their phones, cars, and other Bluetooth streaming devices. Folk Music Notebook will also be available via the TuneIn app.
Click here for a free iOS app – https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1459396299?ls=1&mt=8
Click here for a free Android app – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radio.m6b0679d59
Ron Olesko emcees a showcase (Photo: Razzi Entertainment)
Olesko felt more was needed after taking a look at the offerings for what is being labeled as ‘folk music’ online. He noted that existing streaming services that offer folk music are limited – some are pay services, while computer algorithms without human interaction run others. “Pandora and Spotify are run by algorithms with seemingly little connection, and most of the music I heard was well-known commercial artists with few chances for discovering new music and more in the Americana genre than the folk music I know.” While acknowledging “there are some brilliant podcasts available,” Olesko notes that those tend to be shorter features and that he could not find a true 24/7 service that reflected his musical preferences. “Also, many of these services fail, in my opinion, to create a connection with their audience,” he continued. “Many come across as elevator music with an acoustic bent with very little, if any, informative and entertaining features that would make the audience feel part of the service.”
Olesko — who also is the president and booker for the Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club in Fair Lawn, New Jersey and a contributing writer for Sing Out! Magazine’s website — told AcousticMusicScene.com that his original plan was to pursue this online channel when he retired in a few years – but circumstances sped up the process. “My ‘day job’ in television production came to an end when our parent company decided to close the facility [at which he worked]. “It seemed that fate was pushing me toward my goal sooner than expected. After siting down with my wife and accountant, we decided that our financial situation would allow me to do this. As anyone will tell you, the way to make a million dollars in folk music is to start with two-million and work until the money runs out.” Olesko ran a Kickstarter campaign recently to help raise additional funds to help make his dream a reality.
“I’m not doing this for financial gain; my only hope is to make it sustaining,” he said. “The costs involved for rights fees for the music and all the technical services required for the operation are relatively modest – and with some hard work I hope to find enough commercial backers to keep Folk Music Notebook operating for years to come.”
Olesko will also continue to host WFDU-FM’s Traditions on Sundays from 3-5 p.m. ET (www.wfdu.fm).
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