Programmes
Totnes Monster
The Totnes Monster show is the only radio show in Devon to play all local music. This website is full of live sessions and downloads all recorded on Soundart Radio 102.5 fm.
We've been called Totnes Monster for about three years but I guess the show sounds quite different now from when we started. Right back at the start I had an inkling that the sheer number of hours spent behind the desk would effect how good I was as a presenter, so we wanted a daily show. We used to work more hours than a full time job, what with booking bands and all that, yet earned no money. In fact I reckon we made some embarrassing mistakes BUT we also made some beautiful radio and learned. We now carry more content, much more content. And we broadcast less often (once a week on a Friday evening). Shannon now doesn't have a baby strapped to her, which is wonderful, she is a full-on co-presenter and the show reflects that. I used to be quite bossy as a result of being out of my depth. Now Shannon is able to fully focus on the show, we are both single minded about the audio we produce sounding right. We don't feel like we're pretending any more (well, most of the time anyway).
On the Totnes Monster we play only local music, that's fundamental, having said that most of it would fit right on BBC Radio 1, 2 or 6 music. We now give away a fresh pizza to a listener live every Friday, which I genuinely find exciting, it feels 'live' as so much radio fails to, we call it 'Cheesy Pizza Feature'. We have a feature called 'Disctruction! - where bad music goes to die'. Everyone has a track or an artist they cannot stand, we just love hearing the story about why. We have a live session from a local band every show, the tracks are recorded and people can download them from totnesmonster.org.
We have done 'Dangerous Dad', who still makes me laugh, he's a character based on the Totnes group of the same name. He was born the day I saw Dangerous Dads advertise bead making and blackberry picking, suffice to say our dangerous dad has a looser attitude to health and safety.
I got chatting to a guy walking his dog and he did a series of audio shorts for us called Rob and Tilly - Totnes from a dogs eye view, which was lush. To be honest I still get a buzz when I hear a familiar place name on the radio. We have worked with the writer Tom Leins. Guy Henderson, Editor of This is Devon, was a regular before getting his own show on Riviera FM over in Torbay. We are always looking out for compelling people with a story and a good ear.
