Wednesday July 30, 2008

Happy 10

AIR RAVES
By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

Join in the fun at Jelajah ERA as the station celebrates its birthday.

ERA FM turns 10 on Friday and the Bahasa Malaysia broadcaster from Airtime Management and Programming Sdn Bhd (AMP) is enjoying its No.1 status in listeners’ hearts.

To mark the occasion, ERA is touring 10 locations within the peninsula. Called Jelajah ERA, the tour kicked off on July 18.

The station has since made stops at Batu Pahat, in Johor, Port Dickson (Negri Sembilan), Seberang Perai (Penang) and Taiping, (Perak).

On Friday, the birthday tour will make its stop at Giant Hyper-market Sunway City in Ipoh.

Residents in Ipoh will be treated to a two-hour concert featuring rock band Kristal, Mila and Faizal Tahir.

Faizal Tahir will perform at a concert in Ipoh on Friday.

As ERA announcers continue to invite listeners to the various locations, listeners at home have been getting their daily dose of audio clips of the station’s previously aired concerts.

Meanwhile, be sure to catch MIX FM’s Lie Detector Test, which ends next Friday.

Regular announcers Serena C and Pietro on the MIX Breakfast Show (6am–10am) help you find out if your husband loves you or the idiot box more, among other things.

The polygraph machine is operated by Dr Akhbar Satar, a certified expert in the field. You can even win RM1,000 so tune in and find out how to go about it. Or, browse www.mix.fm for details.

Check out Love Classified that airs on weekdays (8pm-10pm) on Red FM, which is operated by The Star.

The programme treats listeners to splendid classic love songs from the 1980s to the present day.

Show presenter Nisha is re-freshing and makes great company for anyone who needs help in winding down in the evenings. It is hard not to fall in love with her mellifluous voice and the warmth she exudes in her show.

There are also interesting topics like “nightmare” and “monster” dates. Listeners share how they escaped from their blind dates through the back door or had dumped their dates at once when they realised it was a horrible mismatch.

Those who dare to share their stories with Nisha stand to win a singles’ pass for the Love Classified Singles Event, a dinner that takes place at Subang Sheraton’s Emperor Restaurant in Selangor, this Saturday.

Hallo Good Morning on 988

Wednesday July 23, 2008

Fun show

By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

Start your day with Hallo Good Morning.

Need a really good reason to wake up in the morning? Let the joyful sounds of DJs Sam, Jeff, Anson and Moon kickstart your day.

They come on weekdays on 988’s Hallo Good Morning (HGM).

HGM can be heard from 6am until 10am on the Chinese language channel that is operated by The Star.

The cheerful and energetic antics of the DJs make the difficult job of getting up in the mornings much easier and fun.

They not only have lots of interesting stories to share , but are also absorbing when it comes to interacting with listeners.

The boys crack jokes that keep you in stitches and their discussions are equally witty. There is no lagging behind on the latest news and the hottest gossip in town when one is tuned in to the programme.

You will also be in the know of the opinions and issues faced by the local community.

HGM is generally divided into four one-hour segments.

1. Early Morning War (6am): The battle is on as the DJs pick a daily hot topic that concerns both the sexes. Listeners can join in the discussion by calling 03-4042 0988 during the session.

2. North South East West (7am): Focuses on language and phrases. This informative hour sees the DJs highlighting words or phrases for the day and uncovering their origins.

3. PiliPala What You Say (8am): The boys turn their attention – and charm – to be our guides in the use of language. Recently, they taught listeners how to use the correct dialect in various situations.

Currently, their spotlight is on the English usage. 988 listeners had a delightful surprise recently when local artistes John and Desiree and Hong Kong’s Jason Chan played English language guides on the show.

4. I Am Not Master (9am): Spotlights on how to handle people around us through effective communication, especially at the workplace.

Meanwhile, for those of you into the habit of burning the midnight oil, The Late Show with Jeremy is the show for you. It is aired on Red FM, that is also operated by The Star.

The programme airs from Monday till Friday (10pm - 2am).

Jeremy is the latest addition to the channel’s stable of DJs. He’s a fast talker, but almost always concise in his presentation. So, listeners will not be bored by him.

Occasionally, he speaks a little too loud over the microphone, causing his voice to come across distorted.

The DJ should check himself on that. He presents a lot of western entertainment news.

It would be good, though, for him to balance it up with some local happenings for local appeal.

The interesting bit is that listeners get to call in and talk to the DJ during the show.

New And Improved

The newly-revamped TRAXXfm has more to offer listeners.

HAVE you been listening to the new TRAXXfm? The English radio station, which was first known as the Blue Network, and later Radio 4, has a spanking new sound since its recent re-launch.

Blurbs from the national broadcaster RTM claims that it is the freshest sound in the nation.

Over the next few months, TRAXXfm hopes to bring to the airwaves a “bright, brilliant and thrilling” new presentation and sound display.

The revamped radio station aims to become the listeners’ choice as a one-stop travel and holiday guide to interesting places to visit in Malaysia. It promises to deliver it in a fun, informative and entertaining style for everyone. Apart from its interactive banter and contests, the station aims to equip listeners with a better knowledge of the country.

DJ Patrick from TRAXXfm.

What I liked about TRAXXfm’s new programming is the rotating of its DJs.

Previously, the DJs would work the shift from morning to afternoon and it would be rather boring to hear the same voices throughout the whole period. Not that any of the DJs were particularly poor or bad – a change now and then would have avoided the monotony.

The new setup also features a male and female host during the rush hour slot. This, too, adds a fresh feel to the programming, compared to the old format of having DJs of the same gender.

Another TRAXXfm feature that I like is the information on local events – this is not limited to those of urban hot spots but also includes cultural events throughout the country.

Having said that though, I think TRAXXfm would be prudent not to go overboard in its tourism quest.

The broadcaster is, after all, a radio station catering primarily to local audience. It is not an international radio station with overseas listeners.

Apart from tourism information, TRAXXfm also offers sports updates. The station says listeners will get first-hand information on major sporting events such as Formula One and the Monsoon Cup. There will also be updates on sports-related parades, speedboat challenges, motor sports, X Games and even the traditional wau competitions.

During religious celebrations, TRAXXfm will provide more information on the festivities and their significance.

As for music, listeners will be able to hear Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil tracks along with traditional and world music.

Great Way To Spend Your Day

Wednesday July 9, 2008
Great way to spend your day

Tune in to Aly on 10-1 every weekday and enjoy good music, fashion updates and even tips on how to lead a healthy life.

AIR RAVES by ANTHONY THANASAYAN
entertainment@thestar.com.my

ARE your weekdays often dull and dreary – especially in the mornings? If so, then fret not. Whether you are at home and about to start your morning; or at the office waiting by your computer for a dose of inspiration, Red FM has the right radio show to help you get straight into action.

The name of the programme is 10-1. The numbers also indicate the time the show commences and concludes every weekday.

Your deejay on duty? Her name is Aly, short for Alison J. Victor. Frankly. she is not easy to dislike. I fell in love with her voice at once when I listened to her for the first time last week. It is strong and clear – the kind of voice that every radio deejay should possess. On top of all that she is also delightfully vivacious.

Aly is who you need if you are feeling down and out. Especially on Mondays! She knows what to say and how to say it to cheer you up. I also love the songs she plays, going back all the way to the 80s from Paula Abdul, Madonna and others.

Another plus point (which other deejays rarelyhave) is that she gives listeners the details of each track. Ally describes the genre, names the songwriters, and gives you other interesting trivia related to the music and musicians she plays on her show.

To make the midmornings more interesting, she also uncovers interesting or controversial stories behind each album or performer.

Here’s a quick rundown of the programme-content on 10-1:

# 10am: Aly helps you increase your productivity with plenty of useful and common sense tips. Chatting with your colleagues at the water cooler will no longer be the same! Your boss may even notice a big change in you!

# 11am: If you are into fashion, you will be updated on all the latest and exclusive styles and trends. Today in Fashion History is featured within the hour, along with Beauty Buzz. Both programmes keep listeners feeling and looking good about themselves.

# Noon: The final hour is billed Healthy Lifestyle. We all know that for our body to be and stay healthy, we need to pay lots of attention to our mental health. Aly also provides the simple dos and don’ts on maintaining a healthy diet.

For those in their vehicles, Aly unveils a list of useful and ingenious exercises that listeners can practise in their cars or evenwhile lying down at home!

For those interested in contests, Aly has a CD-of-the-week offering. To take part, first tune in to the show. Then send in the following SMS to Red FM: “redfull name IC number.” Send it to 32722.

Try out 10-1 and see what you think.

# Despite living in the cyber age, the writer insists that radio still provides a unique window on the world. When he isn’t scanning bandwidths, he helps to raise awareness of positive living with pets through his organisation, Petpositive (Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association).

Wednesday July 2, 2008

Tasty new show

Air Raves by ANTHONY THANASAYAN

WHO among us dares to say that he or she does not love food? Now’s here’s a great radio show that delves into our favourite pastime.

“1-4 with Terry” is the name of this new show that is being served on Red FM on weekdays. And from feedback received by this column, the programme has been working up quite an appetite among midday listeners.

From 1.30pm until teatime, Red FM’s lunchtime DJ Terry takes listeners on a culinary cruise through a number of gastronomical delights. He not only unveils great places for us to dine out in the evenings, he also offers hints on what to wear and the kind of reception we are likely to get at these places. Then comes the tantalising details of the food spread in the various restaurants. The way this “on air connoisseur” talks about it, you can almost taste the dishes yourself!

Terry, who hails from Penang, recently spoke about the mouth-watering Penang laksa and chicken rice at Nipah, a restaurant at the Equatorial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Listeners got to hear how the Chalet, also at the Equatorial Hotel, has waiters to whisks eggs in front of their guests as a live band plays music in the background.

Terry is bright and lively – even better than he has been as a deejay for Red FM! What I like about the show is that it is fast moving.

Terry doesn’t elaborate too much, instead he gets straight to the point. And he always has vouchers from various venues to give away throughout the week.

Meanwhile, Chinese broadcaster 988 is all set and ready to kick off its Global Chinese Musical Concert (GCMC) Live Musical Party on July 12. It will be held at 7.30pm at Auto City in Prai, Penang.

As one of our country’s top events for Chinese music lovers, GCMC will feature local and international stars such as Jason Chan (Hong Kong), Kenji Wu (Taiwan) and Kelly Poon (Singapore). DJs Sam and Nick will host the event.

“It is going to be a truly unforgettable event,” Gladys Yew from Star Rfm told Air Raves last week.

In a run-up to the event, listeners have until this Friday to win VIP entrance tickets, goodie bags and RM100 cash. Tune in to 988 Laughter Noon (2.30pm-5pm), K6 Gang (5pm-8pm) and 988 Star Light Café (8pm-11pm) to win the prizes.

Despite living in the cyber age, the writer insists that radio still provides a unique window on the world. When he isn't scanning bandwidths, he helps to raise awareness of positive living with pets through his organisation, Petpositive (Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association).

Note: This article was rated as No 1 under The Star's Top 5 list for the Most Viewed Category and No 4 under The Most Emailed story.

Wednesday June 25, 2008

Noon delight

Air Raves by ANTHONY THANASAYAN

AMANDA is the deejay you want if you are interested in winding down your afternoons with great music.

Whether upbeat tunes, funky rhythms or just jolly strains – Amanda Suriya Ariffin does not disappoint.

She signs in promptly on CAPITAL fm on weekdays. You can hear her from 3pm until 7pm, on a show called CAPITAL Drive.

I caught the former WOWfm and Flyfm deejay during a traffic jam on a particularly gloomy, wet and stormy Wednesday.

What impressed me at once about Amanda was her presentation. She seemed to know exactly what songs to play to brighten up one’s mood.

And I always love deejays who are able to transcend themselves beyond the studio’s glass bubble.

Amanda tried her best to do this by keeping in touch with what was going on in our lives as listeners at that moment.

Her selections from Janet Jackson, Madonna and Guns ‘n’ Roses were exactly what the doctor ordered to momentarily take my mind off my frustrations on the roads.

I also relished the fact that Amanda spoke little, and sometimes not at all, during the first part of her show.

Sometimes this is exactly what some of us want in order to be able to sit back and enjoy the music without interruption.

Others may not like long song stretches as much. For them, Amanda’s style may be boring.

If you prefer interviews, Amanda has those too. CAPITAL Drive interviews celebrities at the end of every week.

Amanda will interview Kavita Kaur, the beauty queen and Malaysian film producer this week. Showtime is on Friday at 5.30pm.

CAPITAL fm is operated by ISY Holdings in Kuala Lumpur. It can presently be heard only in the Klang Valley on FM88.90MHz.

Also, I must mention the terrific show I heard on The Star’s REDfm on June 9.

The Red Breakfast’s Shaz and Will were truly in their element when they interviewed representatives from well-known charities Mercy Malaysia and World Vision.

The almost 60-minutes talk with the expert guests educated us all on how to make our donations truly count for the people we are trying to help – such as during the recent China earthquake and Myanmar cyclone.

The segment covered virtually everything that listeners ought to know about donating to charitable causes.

Will and Shaz asked all the right questions and kept the language simple and lively for everyone.

Note: This article was under the Top 4 of "The Most Emailed" and at No 6 on "The Most Viewed" of The Star.

Noon Delight