So Frank, why do you do this?

I've been collecting music all my life.  Vinyl, tapes, CD's, and now mp3's.  Ever since I was a kid I have tried to organize and share this collection of eclectic material.   I tried alphabetizing, color coding, you name it.  I made cassette tapes for the car and friends.  It was laborious!  I did it anyway.  So now that it is actually feasible to organize your music library through mp3 tags, of course I'm doing it!   So, its all about sharing the music that I enjoy.  Internet radio has given me the freedom to share the music I love. 

When did Frank's Americana go on air?

I started broadcasting in June, 2001

Why the Americana theme?

I choose Americana as a theme for my station because of my love of roots Americana - country, bluegrass, swing, and rock.  I wanted a wide enough theme to express my diverse musical taste, but I wanted to fill a niche that I noticed was less occupied by the Internet Radio community.  Our music is a expression of our culture, and I think the world has seen a very small part of the real American culture.  The worlds music keeps coming to our shores.  We take it in, digest it, and make it our own. We've been doing it for over 400 years now.  Our roots music is made up of the songs of the Native American, African, Spanish, English, Dutch, German, Irish, Italian, French,  Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Iraqi, Indian ...................music that our immigrant forebears brought in the past and that continues to come to our shores.  As my banner states, American music is the music of the world, melted in the cauldron of American life. 

How has the station evolved?

February 2002

After 9-11 the concept of talking to the world through an internet broadcast took on a whole new meaning.  At first it was a needed outlet to express myself through the music I cherish.  Almost immediately, I began receiving requests to play songs written by indie artists that expressed their grief and resolve.  This led to several playlists of songs specifically geared to the attack and ensuing tragedies and losses suffered by both my fellow New Yorkers and DC area friends.  As an expatriate of both of  these cities, and with my family still living in both of the areas, it touched me very personally.  As I write this almost six months later, the changes brought about that day are still evident in the song material I play today.  

It is still my fervent hope that music can form a bridge to those who would try to tell the world that we are evil.  We're arrogant, pig headed, and maybe a bit to materialistic, but we're certainly not evil.   I hope that Frank's Americana can bring a little bit of the beauty of American life into the speakers of the world!