THE AIRWAVE PIRATE

 HE COME DOWN FROM MISTY MOUNTAIN   
A VACUUM TUBE IN HIS HAND,
HE DRINK THE VINO, THE CAPPUCCINO;
HE MAKE HIS MARK IN THE SAND
F.M...A.M...SHORT WAVE...T.V...
TRANSMIT...RECIEVE...LONG RANGE... C.B.



AIN'T NO DENYING, HE'S AMPLIFYING
HIS NEEDLE SITS IN THE RED,
THE MIC'S HELD STEADY, THE SYSTEM'S READY,
THIS IS JUST WHAT HE SAID;
"MY HORSE IS ON FIRE, BETTER THROW 'EM IN THE WATER;
MY HORSE IS ON FIRE, BETTER THROW 'EM IN THE WATER YEAH..."

WITH HIS ANTENNA, HE REACH VIENNA
FROM PHIL-A-DEL-PHI-I-A
HE BOOST THE SIGNAL 'TIL IT'S ILLEGAL
YEAH HE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY
(HE SAY)
F.M...A.M...SHORT WAVE...T.V...
TRANSMIT...RECIEVE...LONG RANGE... C.B.



AIN'T NO DENYING, HE'S AMPLIFYING
HIS NEEDLE SITS IN THE RED,
THE MIC'S HELD STEADY, THE SYSTEM'S READY,
THIS IS JUST WHAT HE SAID;
"MY HORSE IS ON FIRE, BETTER THROW 'EM IN THE WATER;
MY HORSE IS ON FIRE, BETTER THROW 'EM IN THE WATER YEAH..."

© COPYRIGHT 1997  BEN NEW






This song was actually written for the last recording the band did "Still Waiting for Godot".
It never saw the light of day until this year. (2005 as recording began for the CD)
It is an ode to the  off shore unlicensed radio broadcasters of the past.
Yet it resonates today as pirate broadcasting is enjoying a resurgence.
(It never really left.)
As radio changes, Pirate Radio may have  a huge roll to play in it's future.
 Today, stations are owned in groups of a hundred or more by  gigantic corporations.
They are primarily concerned with demographics, marketing, focus groups, & ratings.
The current system awards "official access" to the airwaves only to those with tons of money.
This is objectionable and in conflict with principles of freedom. The air belongs to all of us.
Don't like what they say? change the frequency or turn it off.

Question authority.  Remain skeptical.
Here's to the Airwave Pirate.
Salude!

The song is a fictitious account of an inspired radio engineer.
It has become the theme for the  CD around which the story evolves.
The CD itself is assembled to resemble a typical broadcast from "the Airwave Pirate" on his Radio Free Europa station.
The name refers satirically to Radio Free Europe, which was broadcast into communist countries during the cold war
and was indeed a pirate station in it's own right.
Radio Free Europa gets its name because it supposedly broadcasts at such high wattages
it  easily reaches Europa, a moon of Jupiter.
Whether perceived as heroes or villains, the true stories of these unlicensed broadcasts is interesting.
Radio London, Radio Caroline, Radio Veronica etc. made huge impacts because
there was no play list  (D.J.s played what they liked.) and were allegedly very entertaining.
When they got into hot water with authorities, the public usually came out to show support.
Pete Townsend of the Who, has said that he was a big fan of Radio London in the pirate days.
Most of the links on this page deal with European Pirates but there were and are plenty of  "free radio" stations
from Canada to Paraguay, from the U.S. to Israel to Africa.
Anywhere someone has something to say, or feels strongly that a musical genre isn't being represented
radio pirates will raise an antennae just as the pirates of the past hoisted the Jolly Roger.

Links


 Radio London



Pirate Radio Information



 Radio Caroline




So, You Want To Be A Pirate Radio Broadcaster?




Pirate Radio hall of Fame



40 Watts From Nowhere
The True Story Of Sue Carpenter,
American Airwave Pirate


A Partial Directory of U.S. Based Pirates

Due to the illegal and ephemeral nature of many micro radio stations, there is no guarantee that this list is accurate or comprehensive.
Please note that many of these stations aren't on the air, mainly because the FCC sabotaged the free radio movement with tepid reforms.

Station Name	Frequency	City	Contact Info
California
Free Radio Berkeley	104.1 FM	Berkeley, CA	Email: frbspd@crl.com
Lick 106.7 FM	106.7 FM / 1710AM	Near Modesto,Ca	Archive: http://www.netfeed.com/~jhill/lick-audio.htm
Life Radio	103.3 FM	Oakland, CA
Radio Califa	102.5 FM	Berkeley, CA
San Francisco Liberation Radio	93.7 FM	San Francisco, CA	http://www.slip.net/~dove
Radio Libre	103.3 FM	San Francisco, CA
Radio X	102.5 FM	San Francisco, CA
KBUD-FM	88.1 FM	San Carlos, CA	On the air for over a decade. Email: kbud-fm@kewl.net
Radio Free San Jose	93.7 FM	San Jose, CA
Free Radio Santa Cruz	96.3 FM	Santa Cruz, CA	http://we.got.net/~xavier/frsc
Excellent Radio	88.9 FM	Grover Beach, CA
Free Arcata Radio	89.7 FM	Arcata, CA
Free Radio American	90.7 FM	Canyon, CA
Free Radio	104.1 FM	Hollister, CA
Free Radio	89.3 FM	Pacific Grove, CA
Radio Free Monterey	89.3 FM	Monterey Bay, CA	http://www.radiofreemonterey.org/
Que Pasa (KPSA)	89.7 FM	San Rafeal, CA
Radio Watson	96.1 FM	Watsonville, CA
Free Radio Mountain View	104.1 FM	Mountain View, CA
KBUD	88.1 FM	Redwood Valley, CA
LAKE COUNTY MICROPOWER RADIO	88.1 and 90.3 FM	Lucerne, CA
District of Columbia
Station Name	Frequency	City	Contact Info
Radio Free DC	Coming Soon!	Washington, DC
DC Protest Radio - WFCC	97.5 FM	Washington, DC	Broadcasts during selected protests. Broadcast during A16!
Florida
Free Radio Gainesville	94.7 FM	Gainesville, FL	http://www.afn.org/~frg/index.html P.O. Box 15094, Gainesville, FL 32604
Lutz Community Radio	102.9 FM	Lutz, FL
Tampa's Party Pirate	102.1 FM	Tampa, FL
Illinois
Black Liberation Radio	99.7 FM	Decatur, IL	http://burn.ucsd.edu/~blr/
Kansas
The Edge	91.9 FM	Southwest, KS
Massachusetts
RADIO FREE ALLSTON	106.1 FM	Allston, MA
Minnesota
Beat Radio	97.7 FM (not currently broadcasting)	Minneapolis/St. Paul	http://www.beatworld.com/
New Mexico
Rebel Radio	90.9 FM	Albuquerque, New Mexico
New York
Steal this Radio	88.7 FM	New York City
Pennsylvania
WPPR - Radio Mutiny		Philadelphia, PA
WLMD	99.1 FM	Pittsburgh
WXRP "The Experimental Radio Project"	94.9 FM	Philadelphia	We are on the air Thursday nights from 9pm to 11pm. Our power is 25 watts and we broadcast in stereo.
Tennessee
Free Radio Memphis	94.7 FM	Memphis, TN
Texas
Canyon Lake Radio	105.7 FM	Canyon Lake, TX
Micro Kind Radio	105.9 FM	San Marcos, TX	http://www.mediadesign.net/kindmenu.htm
Montrose Radio	94.9 FM	Houston, TX
Washington
F.U.C.C Radio	89.1 FM	Seattle, WA
North Valley Radio	105.1 FM	Oroville, WA

The Radio Free Europa Menu