Forked River Internet Radio Station is On the Air

In a small, darkened room Dave McMahon sits at a computer. McMahon, or more accurately his alter ego the Midnight Cobbler, clicks and drags icons of folders, transferring files into a queue. With a few more clicks, he’s scheduled another few hours of programming for his internet radio station, 40footholestudio.com––all in a matter of seconds.

McMahon, who runs the station from his home in Forked River alongside his other business, Tuckerton Shoe Repair––hence, his moniker––has worked as an online DJ for years. He has had his own station for just about a year, he figured.

McMahon, whose musical devotion lies somewhere between fan and fanatic, explained how he first started as an internet DJ. “I love music,” he said “but I hate radio.”

There was a time when FM disc jockeys rejecting formats built around the three minute hit single––the staple of Top 40 radio––embraced free-form playlists heavy with longer progressive rock songs and long-forgotten obscurities from yesteryear. As corporate ownership led to stations increasingly targeted to specific demographics, playlists, determined by listener surveys, became more homogenous.

The internet, already a bastion of free expression––some would say it was more akin to the Wild West with few, if any, rules––would seem a natural platform for experimental radio. Not so, said McMahon.

After having worked at a number of internet radio stations, including one with his friend and eventual partner Richard Crowley, aka DJ Lambert, of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England––online radio stations can make for challenging holiday office parties, if nothing else––McMahon grew weary of restrictions placed upon what he could or couldn’t play.

“This (online) radio station made an offer to come work for them,” he explained. “Then they started to put limitations on what we could play.”

McMahon approached Crowley about starting their own station. “I went back to Richard and said ‘Give me a few months to get everything in order.’”

McMahon knew the most important aspect of the new station for him would be avoiding repeating songs. “There are thousands of internet radio stations. We’re different. We don’t want to hear repeats.”

So, like free-form stations of the past, McMahon developed his own format that reflects his eclectic musical tastes.

Classically trained as a concert pianist in his youth, McMahon later found work behind the scenes. “I did rigging work for John Scher at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. I did roadie work for the Doobie Bothers,” he said with a wistful chuckle.

A sample of the playlist from his air shift echoes his musical sensibilities. A song by En Vogue might be followed by Bruce Springsteen, then Queensryche, then John Tesh.

“I just love music,” McMahon shrugged.

He’d better. In order to avoid repeating songs, McMahon estimates his musical library currently holds approximately 500,000 songs, a number that would dwarf a traditional radio station with a targeted format. He proudly acknowledged a statistic from software used to manage the music: 11,687 songs in a rolling 30-day period with 5,170 songs being unrepeated.

McMahon’s library is stocked with songs from his long and varied listening career. Much of it comes from uploaded CDs and privately owned mp3s; other songs are uploaded from subscription-based BitTorrent sites; still others are purchased from iTunes.

One wag, looking to test the scope of McMahon’s musical library, requested the relatively obscure “Tell Mama,” which peaked at 83 in Billboard’s Top 100 for British blues-rockers Savoy Brown in 1971. After a quick check of his inventory, McMahon searched the BitTorrent sites, purchased the song from iTunes and inserted the song into the next slot in the playlist. It all took about a minute and a half and resulted in another satisfied listener.

McMahon also pointed to a turntable that stands quietly in one corner of the studio. While he hasn’t used it much to add songs to the library, he does have “a cleaning solution for the LPs and a program to remove some of the analog pops and scratches. I recently used it on an album ‘Cocktails and Conversations’ I bought my parents in 1963,” he said with a grin.

In addition to the music, McMahon is also proud of the chat room associated to the station’s website. “Like the music, the chat room is always free,” he said. Written with bits of code purchased cheaply from various sources and cobbled together over four weeks, McMahon explained both the music and chat room are also available on iPhones and Androids. “You can take us in the car, wherever,” he laughed.

While listener levels are modest at this point, McMahon is confident more listeners will follow. “This started as a hobby but it has grown,” said McMahon’s son-in-law and fellow DJ, Billy Mabey, who goes by the moniker DJ Jersey. Meanwhile, McMahon is content with slow growth. “More seats at the server costs more money,” he explained.

Still, the worldwide reach of the station makes for heady stuff. “We have listeners from China, Thailand, Afghanistan. We’re listened to in 27 different countries,” McMahon explained.

Despite listeners from around the globe, both McMahon and Crowley encourage local musicians, or those who lack affiliation with a record label, to submit music to the station’s library.

“It’s another way to get music to the people,” Crowley said during an interview via Skype. “Sometimes, it’s hard to get started in the business. This gives them (the musicians) confidence. We have a band from West Virginia that we play. A singer from Chicago just sent me a song.”

McMahon agreed. “People don’t have a place to go. If you’re not in the Top 40, you’re done. We here for people who want to get their talent out there,” he said.

Jeff Brown, a singer-songwriter from Toms River is one musician who has submitted songs to the station and said he appreciated what McMahon has done. “From an independent artist standpoint, that’s what it’s all about, to have an outlet without industry people getting in the way. It defines the word ‘independent.’”

Brown also recognized just how unique 40footholestudio is. “There used to be a public radio station out of Philadelphia that had a two-hour show featuring local songs but that’s not there anymore. You just don’t hear that on the radio.”

The name of the station, 40footholestudio, is representative for McMahon. As he explained, “Forty is the number of years I’ve been a cobbler––and that business allows me to run the radio station. And the ‘foothole’ is how people can get into the music or the business,” as well as being a pretty good pun on “foothold.”  

For both McMahon and Crowley, it’s all about having fun with the music. “It’s music, it’s supposed to be fun,” McMahon said. “As long as I make people smile, make people happy, then it’s worth it,” Crowley added.

Listen to 40footholestudio here or for more information, visit them on the web at http://40footholestudio.com/home or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/40footholestudio?sk=info.