Category Archives: Station News
Virtual Community Radio Is On The Air — Saturday Feb 6
The tests are complete, the stream is on the air, and it’s time to officially launch the station!
We’d like to extend a warm invitation to Second Life residents to join Virtual Community Radio at our Grand Opening Ball in our fabulous art deco theatre on the Chestnut Hills region, on Saturday February 6th at 2pm Pacific Time (22:00 GMT), as we officially launch the station. Come in formal dress and enjoy a programme of 90 minutes of waltzes, foxtrots and some rather more lively dances in a broadly Light Classical vein, presented in living stereophonic sound by DJ Caledonia Skytower.
Elrik Merlin Steps Forward to Found Virtual Community Radio
Richard Elen (better known in Second Life by his DJ name, “Elrik Merlin”, or “Rik” for short) has a toolbox which runneth over with audio skills, music, broadcasting, and all the important behind-the-scenes details that go along with those activities. From working as a touring and studio sound engineer in the 1970s; through dozens of producing and engineering gigs; magazine editing and marketing communications; to current work as a specialist transferring vintage tapes and discs to digital format for major production music libraries, “wealth” does not begin to cover the experience he brings to his various virtual world endeavors.
Second Life residents may best know him standing beside Saffia Widdershins in the award-winning web TV show Designing Worlds, where for well over a decade he’s been co-host and has worked crucially behind the scenes on the technical production of each episode. Until recently, he played a similar role with Gabrielle Riel and the suite of streams formerly known as Radio Riel, working as part of the team of on-air presenters, alongside providing behind-the-scenes technical support. With the founding of Virtual Community Radio he steps in front, taking the leading role informed by his decades of professional experience.
Building a Virtual Home
We are currently in the process of building a headquarters location in Second Life as a base for our operations in-world. The “VCR Theatre” is being brought together by Honey Heart and will be completed soon.
It takes the form of an Art Deco theatre, with a stage, seating that can be overlaid for dancing, and a broadcast studio. In addition it will house administrative functions like the devices that will handle sponsorship payments and renewals to make that operation as smooth as possible.
We are also intending to hold live readings and other performances as well as dances and other activities in the auditorium. Here are a few pictures — though bear in mind that the build is not yet finished.
Get the App!
We are working with Patrick at Kaleidoscopic Creation to develop our own mobile apps, but in the meantime…
VCR is hosted by Live365, and they make iOS and Android mobile apps available so you can listen to member stations on the go.
Unfortunately these apps don’t automatically tune to VCR — you can use them to listen to any Live365 station — so you need to search for “Virtual Community Radio” to locate us and start listening. Click the heart icon to label it as a Favourite and off you go!
Due to music licensing agreements, these apps are available in the UK, US and Canada only at this time.
Remember that we are still doing test transmissions, so the stream may go off the air from time to time and you’ll hear a curious variety of music across the day.
On the air soon!
We’re getting things ready for the turn of the year, when we go on the air.
Stay tuned!
