Turn up the smile

2pm this afternoon through until 4pm I am covering Paul Alexander's show on CRMK - GROUND CONTROL.  I am looking forward to sharing a mix of music with Paul's listeners.

To quote Paul:  

Ground Control is a pot-pourre of musical genres ranging from Jazz’n’Blues through to rock, the classics and everything in between.

I have given a lot of thought to the music I will play this afternoon, a lot of thought.

Obviously I must replicate Paul's music mix but the last thing I want to do is to put The Geriatric DJ's stamp on to the show's recognised style.  I have, therefore, decided to open

the show with David Bowie then spin the turntable with a wide selection of tracks which follow in the slip-stream of David Bowie. There will be pop, rock and roll, classical music and a couple of voice tracks from the Apollo Moon Programme.

Listen in and see what you think. www.crmk.co.uk

Tomorrow we all get back to normal after the holiday period. I will be bringing you  Monday Morning Music Mega Mix.  Here's a track from that show.

Leonite (A Leonite is one of my former students from the time when I was head of year at Leon School) ARIF KAHN I will dedicate that track to you and hope it will make you smile.

I actually have that track on original vinyl but I

have decided to play it on Monday's show not Tuesday's Music From My Vinyl Collection.

I am a good boy aint I ?

After being too busy to write this daily music blog on a regular basis things are now back on track.

Tuesday's featured album is THE SOUND OF MUSIC, which of course I do have in my vinyl collection, but I will also be playing a section of 7" singles including this.

It's now two years since I started writing this music blog. I am looking forward to the day when total readership hits 100,000. I think we will have a big party on that day.

STIG, aka Paul, who is part of the team managing the music fan base called me, we will be meeting up during the coming week. Within our phone chat he said he liked the way I have started to introduce each radio show with voice over 76 Trombones and have now made this my signature tune. He challenged me to play out each show with I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing adapted to I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SMILE.  Stig, I am working on it - let's see how well it works this week.

On Wednesday I am taking my life maxim - LIFE IS A DISCO SO DANCE and using music to inspire my listeners to dance their way through 2019. I will also be pushing out, as I plan to on every show, the New Year Resolution to turn as many strangers into friends as possible. My New Year Resolution and something I am challenging everyone to take on as their own.

I am going to play this on Paul's show this afternoon.

I was planning to make Gustav Holst and The Planet Suite my Thursday show this week but yesterday Maureen and I took our little dog Jake for a long walk at Stowe National Trust gardens near Buckingham. Stowe is the jewel in the crown of The National Trust. Never a week goes by without Maureen, Jake and I enjoying its vast grounds.

Driving home from Stowe I had a CD playing in the car, a CD featuring the most successful composer in history. Who do you think that is ?

Here's a clue.

Got it ?  Another clue.

It is the one and only Andrew Lloyd Webber. Getting home I wrote a new show for Thursday - ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, THE MODERN COMPOSER OF CLASSICAL MUSIC.

Gustav and his planets will now be broadcast the following week.

I keep a very close eye on the audience for all of the shows I broadcast.

I do hope I can do a good job for Paul this afternoon. Do tune in won't you: www.crmk.co.uk

 

Friday will see my launching a new show on Radio CRMK. As I write this page I am listening to the tracks for that show.

Each week I will invite listeners to take a trip in a time machine with me to the same day in history and pick our way through the pops of the time - the TOP THIRTY. This week we will enjoy the Top Thirty from 11th January 1967.

This was number 30 in the chart.

Half way up the chart was this:

And this was NUMBER ONE:

I said I was being a good boy. I have the music on the blog sorted. I am now working on a re-write of the website:

www.geriatricdj.com 

Right now I am working on the area  
showing where we took music into the community last year.  

I joined Radio CRMK at the end of August last year, I started writing this blog in January 2017. During 2018 we certainly took music into some incredible places

.

The first event was in Asda Supermarket in the snow.

I fooled about in a bra as we played music to promote awareness of breast cancer.

Remembering that day in the snow I just have to play this.

Music fan club member Lisa and I will be chatting tomorrow about where we will take our music into the community this coming year.

George Ridley, Director of LightForce International. would like us to take it to Uganda.

 Well why not ?

Let's turn up the smile on our turntable.

On YouTube, on this blog, on our website, in the community and now on the radio I hope we made a lot of people smile.

PLAYING MUSIC TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE, BE HAPPY AND TO INSPIRE SUPPORT FOR GOOD CAUSES.

We have to turn up the smiles for 2019.

To close today's page here's something I will be playing on Paul's show this afternoon. Do listen www.crmk.co.uk

What's In A Name ?

First things first....

Yesterday's blog page pulled 71 readers - excellent - we are getting back on track with this area of our music.

Tomorrow I am covering a show for Paul Alexander who is away on holiday - 2pm to 4pm www.crmk.co.uk - the show

is GROUND CONTROL.

I am looking forward to the show and have been carefully working out a playlist to reflect Paul's style while at the same time bringing in a bit of The Geriatric DJ.

That will bring the total radio broadcast time for The Geriatric DJ to 116.5 hours.

I can honestly say that I have loved every minute, every second, every track.  I may be The Geriatric DJ but the music has made me feel like a teenager.

The Geriatric DJ as a person is now well established BUT..........

Is this the right name for our music as a brand ?  Talking with Paul
yesterday he suggested the name conjures up the wrong impression, that of old men with zimmer frames and hearing aids. He is right.

Yesterday we found seven new members for our music fan club but to outwork our mission we need to have not a total fan membership of 263 but tens of thousands.

Are we going to achieve this with a brand name of The Geriatric DJ ?

Paul, who is now adopting the nick-name of STIG has great ambitions for our music with brilliant ideas to promote it

widely across social media BUT he believes the name Geriatric DJ will not work.  I am not comfortable having the brand and my own nick-name being the same thing. So we do need a change.

So say HI to Paul, part of our developing management team, from this time forth to be known as STIG.

At the moment our developing management team consists of STIG, THE GERIATRIC DJ and LISA - Lisa has yet to decide on her nick-name.  Writing today's music blog I am putting out to all readers and to our fan group the thought from Stig that we should change the group name.

Stig is suggesting we take the name GERI DJ for the group. What do you think ?

Can I put forward a suggestion ?

How about THE SMILING TURNTABLE ?

What do you think ?

Don't be shy SPEAK UP.

If you listen to my radio shows CLICK HERE FOR THE PODCASTS you will hear how I am now introducing all shows with a voice over this piece of music.

Do you like this played from the SMILING TURNTABLE ?  This week I am going to experiment with a closing theme.

Instead of I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing it becomes I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SMILE.

What would you say is the most well known brand name in the UK ?

What would you say is the most well known brand name internationally ?

Personally my preference is for Pepsi - PEPSI MAX.

I am almost as much addicted to Pepsi Max as I am to Music !

So what do you think ?  What's in a name ?  What is the best name to develop the brand of our music ?

Failure is NOT an option

In 2018 sales of CD music fell to one third of where they were in 2017. Vinyl has been making a comeback but now sales are starting to plateau.

My Thursday show - Wake Up With The Classics, is the hardest show in the week for me to promote but things are going up. Yesterday there were listeners in GERMANY-FRANCE-UK-USA-THAILAND-CANADA-HUNGARY = 8

countries. The podcast is HERE

Playing music on the radio is SO EASY - honestly it is. However, as I have been developing my work with CRMK I have been neglecting other areas where our music needs to be played.

I am now working to re-establish our blog, yesterday the

page attracted 62 readers, way down on where it used to be but once friends find it again as regular feature it will rise to former levels. The blog has now been running for two years, how long before total readership passes the 100,000 mark ?

Today I will start work on rewriting the website.

That leaves the music on YouTube. 

Our YouTube channel is working but way under potential.

To take music into the community we need just one thing - PEOPLE.

Our music fan club has of this morning has 254 members.

So that's where the music stands right now.

On YESTERDAY'S BLOG I shared ambitions for the music. NOBODY stepped forward to volunteer for the positions we need to fill.

On Sunday 13th January we have planned a brainstorming meeting to work out the ideas I tried to share on yesterday's blog - to take our music to a higher level - to MAKE PEOPLE SMILE, BE HAPPY AND INSPIRE SUPPORT FOR GOOD

CAUSES.

If we try at that meeting to force my suggestions into reality one thing is certain - WE WILL FAIL !

But FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.

So.......................

FIRST THING TO DO - we need to significantly increase the number of members in the FAN CLUB. 

Are you a MEMBER ?

We need ALL members to invite new members. We need to

reach 1,000 members asap, then move up on a daily basis to ????????  Ten Thousand ?  One Hundred Thousand ? A Million ?  Why not ?

Lisa and Paul are doing a great job promoting our music across social media but right now I am the ONLY person posing anything on The Geriatric DJ Facebook Page. 

That has got to stop !

WHY should anyone become a member if there is nothing there beyond a monologue from me ?

We need members to post anything about music, their likes, suggestions for people to listen to, news............ANYTHING.

We then need GOOD CAUSES to post their news.

Our FAN CLUB must become a forum for our mission TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE, BE HAPPY AND INSPIRE SUPPORT FOR GOOD CAUSES.

FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION SO LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN.....

Let's increase the membership.

Let's get people posting.

Let's outwork our mission to MAKE PEOPLE SMILE, BE HAPPY AND INSPIRE SUPPORT FOR GOOD CAUSES

In need of friends.

Good morning - a very good morning ?

How's the New Year working out for you ?

Did you catch yesterday's blog ?  CLICK HERE if you did not.

We had 64 readers yesterday.

Well here I am again in the studio of CRMK about to

broadcast today's show. It's Thursday so that means it's my classical music show.

Today I am making the show all about Romantic Music and will feature a certain Mr Andre Rieu and his orchestra.

Classical Music is NOT about music from a period in history, it is a style of music just as is Rock and Roll, Jazz or Country.

Yesterday's show had listeners in: Germany - France - Syria - UK - India - Saudi Arabia - Mexico

Today's show will be very gentle and relaxing - I will wake you slowly - I promise.

Yesterday's radio show was all about making friends, new friends in 2019. Our music need to find some friends in 2019, lots of new friends.

OUR music - NOT my music - is played to make people SMILE, be HAPPY and to INSPIRE support for good causes.

Music on the RADIO, here on the BLOG, on YouTube, on our website and in the COMMUNITY.

Playing music on the radio is easy. CRMK is NOT part of The Geriatric DJ - The Geriatric DJ is part of radio CRMK and I am proud our music is being played there.

Playing music on the radio is easy, it's the other bits that are hard.

I started this blog in January 2017 but towards the end of 2018 I found myself so busy I stopped writing on a regular basis. Now in 2019 I have

decided to write the blog each morning, mega early, ahead of going life with my radio show. If I start slipping and missing days PLEASE give me a slap.

YouTube is a bit of a muddle but it is there and it is working.

I have taken down the website and am re-writing it.

To outwork our mission it is taking music into the community

which will be the hard bit.

Music roadshow events

Music supporting good causes

Music in SMILE Magazine

We have a BRAINSTORMING meeting planned for the afternoon of Sunday 13th January at my home in Bletchley. 

Is this date OK or do we need to push it back by a week or perhaps two ?

The Geriatric DJ as a group needs a management team:

1. Chairman
2. Secretary/Treasurer
3. In need a music assistant
4. Roadshow Manager
5. Good Causes Co-ordinator
6. Smile Editor
7. Smile Distribution Manager
8. The Geriatric DJ - Yours Truly

With myself that makes a team of eight.

We will then need an orbiting team of people working in

several different areas.

For each good cause we seek to support that good cause will need to nominate someone who with liaise with our co-ordinator.

We need a team to help at car boot sales.

We need a team to help at community music events.

If we can find these people, if we can make the friends we need our music will go into orbit.

If we can not find the people, the friends we need we will have to cut back on our ambitions. Either that or FAIL and we do now want that do we ?

I am very, very keen to take our music to amazing new levels in 2019 BUT I am worried we will not find the right people for the management team and for the bigger team of helpers.  It feels to me that we are perhaps trying to draw on too small a fan base.

Can we reach out and find many, many new friends to explode the fan base and from that build our team ?

So...................

If you are reading this page - if you like our music - if you support our aim TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE, BE HAPPY AND INSPIRE SUPPORT FOR GOOD CAUSES - CLICK HERE and join our music fan club.

COME ON LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN......

So far in 2019 we have had radio listeners in: 

UK  FRANCE  ITALY  SINGAPORE  PORTUGAL  USA  IRAQ  INDIA  THAILAND  MEXICO  POLAND  AUSTRALIA  KUWAIT  TWAIN  SAUDI ARABIA  SYRIA  = 16 Countries

Our blog in 2019 has so far attracted readers in:

RUSSIA  UK  USA  BELGIUM  GERMANY  AUSTRALIA  FRANCE = 7 Countries

 193 countries in the UN so we have a way to go !

Happy New Year

Two years ago this week I started writing a blog, it was then a DAILY blog but in recent months things have lapsed and if I write a page once a week I have been lucky.

Right now it's 4.21am and here I am in the radio studio getting ready to broadcast my early morning show LET'S INSPIRE within which I will be inviting listeners to make New Year Resolutions. Perhaps I need to make a resolution  to get back to writing a new page each day !

Yesterday and a bit of the day before I was here in the studio anchoring a New Year Special, starting at 11.30pm on New Year Eve then finishing at noon on New Year Day.  I was back here at  3.50am to a bit of tidying up but actually the devastation I walked away from was not as bad as I remembered leaving things 
yesterday so I have time on my hands and am able to write the blog.

I think I must have done something wrong at the end of the marathon as the podcast does not appear to be available - OH DEAR - WHAT A SHAME - NEVER MIND ! But the show attracted listeners in: UK  France  Italy  Singapore  Portugal  USA  Iraq  India  Thailand  Mexico  Poland  Australia  Kuwait  Taiwan  Ireland - 14 different countries of the world.

I wonder how many listeners today's show will attract ?  Let's hope I click the right bits and pieces at the end of the

broadcast, if I do the PODCAST will be available from about 9.30am - CLICK HERE

I may have anchored yesterday's show but it was my guests who made the show, guests who came into the studio to share their favorite tracks and guests who joined me on-line chatting on Facebook.  Mr Mayor, I hope you liked my joke when I said I would stitch you up and play the wrong track for you. I was a good boy but allow me to play it now.

Paddy Little THANKS for joining us from Down Under - it was great chatting. Let's play that song again for you.

The broadcast marathon was to celebrate the toilet twinning project Radio Station CRMK ran at the end of the year. Our studio loo is now twinned with a home in UGANDA. This was done  via a super charity TWIN YOUR TOILET  

The show started with Kev who presents BETWEEN TWO WORLDS.  Chatting off microphone with Kev, he suggested I should play something by Lulu for the toilet.  Here you go Kev !

I have that on 7" vinyl.

When CRMK Presenter SARKY MARK of PERMANENT REVOLUTION fame and local Disco DJ Graham were in the studio they were green with envy as I showed them my Christmas Present.

We had a bit of a laugh didn't we ?  I am not sure that Mark approved of some of the songs I fooled about with. He had never heard of this one !

I have just realised why the podcast from yesterday's show failed to record !

Mark brought his guitar into the studio for me to sing AULD LANG SYNE and I guess my voice blew the system !

Phil came into the studio to talk about FREEMASONRY IN THE COMMUNITY and asked me to play that track. WOW, Phil, I had no idea just how much amazing work Freemasonry does in the community - INCREDIBLE is an understatement.

Phil will be coming in to the studio again to spend an entire show chatting about the work Freemasonry does. I am really looking forward to that.

Flipping' Heck Gary, Wednesday only managed a draw against Birmingham City AT HOME !

I won't play the Sheffield Wednesday anthem but here's one of your music choices from the hour you spent in the studio.

It's 5.10am, I'll be live at 6am and I know you'll be listening.

We collected too much money to twin just our studio loo, when I came in this morning there was another £1 in the box. We are now in the process of twinning a second loo. The Mayor drew the lucky winner - THIA who presents THIA'S CHATTY CHARITY SHOW.

Congratulations Thia and Look out because one day in the New Year I promise to turn up to your show in drag !

Thanks Mike - Thanks Bob - two of CRMK's GRUMPY OLD MEN for coming into the studio.

They aint grumpy !

They are fun.

Well I guess I had better bring this page to an end, visit the studio's now world famous loo then get ready to broadcast. For two hours I will be doing my best to inspire listeners to make New Year Resolutions.

Hey, CRMK Programme Controller Mike, can I present a Punk Rock show ?  (No not really !)

I am making TWO resolutions. Firstly to make 2019 the very best year of my life so far and second to make as many new friends during the year as I can - A STRANGER IS ONLY A FRIEND YOU HAVE YET TO MEET.

To listen to the show - 5.27am - I'll be live at 6am - simply go to www.crmk.co.uk the PODCAST will be ready by about 9.30am.