Category: 
I’ve been a huge fan of GamingFM.com since I first stumbled upon it when I was 18. And now that I have 1PStart, I thought I would take the opportunity to interview the creator of one of my favorite sites.
BB: For the people who might not know or understand what GamingFM.com is all about, would you mind giving a description on what you guys do? And take as much time as you want in the description cause “My Name Is Earl” is on. Earl’s so crazy! He’ll never finish that list!
Radd: Yup, it’s true… That karma will get ya! But regarding Gaming FM, it’s an internet radio station which streams video game score 24/7. We’ve got multiple channels which hopefully satisfy the music tastes of every gamer out there.
BB: Why did you decide to make GamingFM.com in the first place?
Radd: Well, I’ve been a gamer since the age of four, and ever since the NES days I’ve been enjoying game tunes. I actually preferred listening to them over what most people considered “normal” music. As time went on, and the music “grew up”, my tastes grew up right along with them. A few of my friends were into it too, but it seemed like we were the only
ones. Once the internet appeared, I realized that there were other people who listened to game music too. So if so many people are enjoying it, why aren’t the guys making this music getting any recognition? Why haven’t I heard of any of these people? So I started GFM really for two reasons. To hopefully turn more people on to this great music, and go get some recognition out there for the hard-working composers who put these soundtracks together.
BB: What was one of the most difficult hurdles you had to overcome with
GamingFM.com?
Radd: One word. BANDWIDTH. At first it was a little underground thing, but eventually our listener numbers exploded! I am constantly amazed at our popularity, but also gratified that there is an audience for this for this stuff, that hopefully we’ve had a hand in creating. I’m not alone in the world!
BB: What is your favorite game soundtrack? It’s gotta be Parappa, right?
Radd: Haha right! I have pretty varied tastes, sort of a necessity if you enjoy game score right? I don’t have a single favorite soundtrack, although I’m known for my love of Metal Gear Solid. This week I’ve been listening to Metal Slug 5 and Dynasty Warriors 5. I also enjoyed some Castlevania 3 (The Japanese Famicom VRC chip version… And if you know what that means, you’re pretty hardcore!)
BB: How many soundtracks do you offer your listeners?
Radd: Thousands! An exact number? I honestly don’t know! I knew for a
while, but as the library grows, you tend to lose track. We should maybe keep a rolling count on the website huh? What do you think? Oh sorry, I’ll let you ask the questions!
BB: Have you had any problems from the game companies for supplying the music from their games on your radio stream?
Radd: Not at all! Everyone we’ve met in the industry has been extremely
supportive. Some composers have even provided us with free copies of their tracks for broadcast, and we are eternally grateful for all the help and support we’ve received from within the industry, as well as the community!
BB: What is one of the most requested soundtracks that you’ve had trouble getting?
Radd: A Couple that come to mind are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games by Konami. Had a tough time finding them, but generally newer is much easier to come by than older. Older soundtracks require a lot of shopping and searching, sometimes even online auctions. Or if it’s just plain impossible to find or doesn’t exist, we’ve been known to rip
soundtracks directly from the games.
BB: What’s the most popular soundtrack?
Radd: Anything Final Fantasy. Other popular picks are Metal Gear Solid 2, Zone of the Enders, Kingdom Hearts and Halo.
BB: I noticed GamingFM.com offers different listening flavors: “Classic Console”, which includes music from the 8-bit/16-bit era, “Modern Console”, which includes music post 16-bit era (Playstation, Xbox, etc.), Total PC, which includes PC game music, even Commodore 64, and the free for all ” Complete Selection”. Why did you choose to split up your station into these four flavors?
Radd: Well, we tried to think of it in terms of conventional radio. On conventional radio, you flip the channels depending on what type of music you like. So our thought in the case of game score, genres wouldn’t apply as much as game systems would. Rather than certain genres, depending on what gaming generation you’re from, old or new, you’ll like music from the era of gaming you grew up in. So why not split the music up that way? So we did! Some people (like me) can listen to everything. But there are others who like old school 8 and 16 bit stuff. Others like modern epic sounding scores. Still others are hardcore pc gamers, who don’t want to listen to console tunes. We tried to cater to the tastes of everyone!
BB: Which of the four flavors is most listened to?
Radd: Complete Selection by far. After that Modern Console.
BB: Do you listen to GamingFM.com yourself?
Radd: Absolutely! A few tracks are overplayed once in a while, but hey, what can you do, that happens on any radio station! If I had a wireless connection, I’d tune in on the road too!
BB: According to your bio section on the site, it says you have every DBZ episode on tape. You ever thought about getting those suckers on DVD? I mean, how many times can you watch them before they start wearing out?
Radd: The jury’s out on how long those tapes will last. They FINALLY started releasing them in box sets with the uncut Japanese intact, the new remastered versions. I refused to buy all the individual releases at $20 a pop, and I’m still holding out for an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray release 
BB: Choose one: DragonBall, DragonBall Z, or DragonBall GT?
Radd: I like original and GT, but to choose one, it’d be DBZ - Specifically Androids, Cell and Majin Buu Sagas.
BB: Any other animes your into?
Radd: Well the classics of course, I started on Project A-Ko, Akira, Fist of the North Star, etc… As far as TV, I started on Ranma 1/2 and eventually got into Dragon Ball round the beginning of the Majin-Buu saga when it was on in Japan in the mid-90’s. We used to go to a local Japanese mall and rent the episodes as they were released every week, and watched them in straight Japanese… Those were the days! Also any game related anime, the SF2 movie and TV show, and Virtua Fighter. I’m not into newer stuff, still haven’t checked out Inuyasha or Naruto yet. I do enjoy Jubei-Chan however. Ok, ok… Sorry, I’m rambling, this is about GFM!
BB: Also in your bio, you state you used to work for EGM. How long were you there for and what did you do for them?
Radd: I was there for 2 years, was an assistant editor, as were the rest of the GFM crew. Well Olaf was a senior Editor. Duckhead and I both wrote for the Review Crew in Mega Play. (If you remember that magazine, you’re old).
BB: I’m assuming that you had to leave EGM. You mind sharing with the readers why?
Radd: You’d think playing video games for a living would be a dream job… And it would be if it weren’t for bosses and deadlines. Better left as a hobby if you ask me. But I don’t regret it. I was involved during the golden age of gaming IMO. The SNES, Genesis and TurboCD days. Having that inside glimpse of the industry was an opportunity not too many get to experience, and looking back it was a great ride. That’s why I’m so happy to be involved in the industry again, but this time we’re the boss!
BB:Do you have any other plans for the future in the world of gaming or is GamingFM.com your only priority?
Radd: I like where I’m at, and I’d like Gaming FM to continue to grow and prosper, so as of now, that’s my focus. I think if you spread yourself too thin, you lose your flavor… Or maybe I’m thinking of Cheez-whiz.
BB: On behalf of 1PStart, I just want to personally thank you for coming up with such a great website. I used to listen to your feed a lot during my college years and I even had it on as I lay my little head to sleep. So thanks again for supplying your listeners with so many hours of great video game music and I wish you much success in your future endeavors.
Radd: Well if I helped one college boy get to bed at night then I’ve accomplished my goal! That’s great to hear! I appreciate the opportunity to talk about Gaming FM and would like to thank you for the kind words. Drop by the site anytime, we’re always open!
http://www.gamingfm.com/
Original post by BB and software by Elliott Back
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