CatholicJukebox Blog

Can you believe that CatholicJukebox.com radio has been broadcasting 24×7 on Live365 for 10 years? We first went on the air Jan 6, 2000. We had 100 or so songs on the live365 server ripped at a low rate and streaming in mono. How far we have come. We now broadcast in mp3PRO to give the best sound possible. And we went from those hundred songs taking up 200MB to now over 38GB of songs playing from our own dedicated system. Having our own server also has allowed listeners to play DJ, and select the songs they want to hear. That’s not too bad for a micro-niche market. But CatholicJukebox.com is much more than a computer I manage, it’s a family of musicians and fans. Every time I’ve had the opportunity to meet musicians or fans of the music it seems like we’ve known each other for a while. I guess music has it’s way of bringing you closer. But isn’t that why we got into Catholic music in the first place, it brings us closer; closer to God.

So what does a family do when you have an anniversary? PARTY!
We’re going to have to have some type of online party for an online radio station. We’ll come up with something. If you’ve got ideas I’d love to hear them. I’d also love to hear from you. If you want to send along a short MP3 about this anniversary, I’ll put them on the radio station, and maybe another podcast –

And with the good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise we’ll be doing this for another 10.

Yup, I’m still here. I know I’ve been quiet, but sometimes you have to put your focus where it belongs.

So, I’m getting organized. I have 4 racks full of CDs, and piles on the floor, my desk, the top of the fridge and between the seats in the car. But I finally realized (I’m not very quick) that the problem isn’t the CDs, it’s the jewel cases. 400+ plastic boxes that are 4x thicker than the CDs they protect. Oh, they do a great job at protecting CDs, but know that they are in my protection, why am I stacking plastic cases? So I started today pulling out the CD, and the front and back covers. That’s where all the work is, right? The art design, the layout, the song lists and pressing. Well sure, someone put a lot of work in designing that plastic box. Seeing that I live in “Plastic City” where the National Plastic Museum was across the street from my parish, I know someone put work into it, but I don’t need 400 copies, now do I?

My next step will be to put them into binders. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Just getting them out of the jewel cases is a huge step. And all the cases that my son doesn’t take to play with I will recycle, and all that plastic will continue on to help the world in what ever new form it takes.

Direct from the SQPN website…

ROSWELL, GA – To wrap up a summer of fun and gear up for the fall season of new activities, the Star Quest Production Network proudly announces the addition of three new podcasts to the SQPN family. Each show casts a unique spin on how Catholics live their lives. They serve the growing interest, not only in Catholic living, but in living well.

“In answer to the Church’s call for evangelization via the new media, SQPN is constantly searching for ways to reach out to new audiences,” says Fr. Roderick Vonhogen, founder and CEO of the Star Quest Production Network.

“The three new shows in our line-up do exactly that: Pat Gohn’s ‘Among Women’ reaches out to women, while Nick and Pat Padley cater to young adults with ‘In Between Sundays’, and Jeff Young, ‘the Catholic Foodie’ targets people that love to share faith and good food with friends and family.”

Something for Everyone

These new shows add exciting dimensions to the current line-up. Meet our new producers:

Pat Gohn, host of Among Women, delivers a podcast on women’s spirituality. Pat shares,  “Last year’s CNMC inspired me, and after prayerful consideration, AMONG WOMEN was launched last March!” She explores Catholic teaching and its application to daily life, celebrating the beauty and grace of Catholic faith and life among women.

Brothers Nick and Pat Padley talk about life as young Catholic adults on their show, In Between Sundays. Their easy banter and silly antics serve as a backdrop to the serious topics of developing the mind, body and soul.  Nick indicates “we look forward to expanding our ministry to young adults across the globe.”

The Catholic Foodie, Jeff Young, brings much more to the table than merely recipes and reviews. He explains that the show “highlights how food – good food – can be a sign to us of God’s love and care for each of us and our families.””  His tagline, “where food meets faith,” speaks volumes about the importance of community, which is so often developed at meals.

About SQPN

The Star Quest Production Network is an international Catholic new media organization focusing on Catholic evangelization and education, reaches an international audience of over 100,000 people. The Star Quest website, www.sqpn.com, serves as a portal to dozens of Catholic-content audio and video podcasts, as well as a burgeoning social networking site that serves the growing SQPN community of podcasters and listeners.

Information and links to subscribe to the shows can be found at www.sqpn.com.

Our good friend Sharmane has released a new album called “Leap of Faith”. With 10 tunes, including covers of “Put a Little Love In Your Heart” and “I Can See Clearly Now” along with 6 songs from her own pen, Sharmane never disappoints. We have included the music to our own CatholicJukebox.com Radio, which you can request with a click of the mouse.

We have added Sarah Hart’s new CD called “SaintSong” to our line-up here at Catholic Jukebox Radio. SpiritAndSong says “The first collection of its kind, Sarah Hart’s SaintSong is a contemporary montage featuring wisdom from saints throughout the ages.”

With four solo albums, plus being part of many compilation albums, Sarah has been a top performer in Catholic music. Her CD “Obvious” continues to be one of my favorites. Be sure to check out all of Sarah’s work.

Rocking Romans has done it again. They have released their compilation CD of the best of new Catholic music.Artists on this Album include North American artists Milo, Tuesday Bloom, Chirs Bray, Jovenes de Valor, Popple , The Lee Roessler Band and Billie Tarascio. This is a world wide collection also with music by emmanuelworship from Australia, REXBAND from India, SALT from Malta and Vox Nova from Sweden. Paul Mazurek puts so much effort behind these CDs. He searches high and wide, puts together a team to decide the songs to make the cut, and is finally mastered by the master, David Smith of Icon Studio Productions.

You’ll find samples of the CD on Catholicjukebox.com Radio, and hopefully you’ll find it in your own CD collection soon.

Summer time means it’s time for the Franciscan University Youth Outreach conferences. My youngest will be going to his first weekend this year, how cool is that? And the Catholic Jukebox angle – music is always a huge part of the weekend. Artists like Ben Walther, Bob Rice, Martin Doman, Chris Padgett, Righteous B, Sarah Bauer, Father Stan and Joia Farmer, just to name a few, make the weekends full of glorious sounds.

I want to hear about your weekend experiences. What was your favorite part? What was your favorite song from the weekend? Tell us all about it in our comments section.