Blazing Minds Interviews @DanPorter From Point FM And Teen FM

OK folks a little something special for you today, those that read the Blazing Minds blog will have seen me mention Point FM several times and particularly when I was interviewed by them at Apollo Cinemas Rhyl about my movie reviews. So I thought it would be great to turn the tables around and interview Dan Porter here on the Blazing Minds blog, now if only I could get one with Mark Pike as well

Dan kindly agreed to have an interview, with added mug shots, for the Blazing Minds blog and I’m so glad he agreed as you’ll see from the interview Dan is a scream and a really nice guy as it happens

So please enjoy the interview with Dan Porter.

Blazing Minds Interviews Dan Porter From Point FM And Teen FM

Karen:  Hi Dan, tell us a little about yourself.

Dan: Hi, I’m Dan… obviously. That’s not a very good way to start, I’ll  start again. I am 20 years old, born in Walsall and moved to Rhyl 7 -  8 years ago, and present on a local radio station for North Wales called Point FM also back in 2007 I founded an internet radio station  Teen FM. My passion has always lay within radio, I have worked in amusement arcades, cafes & shops and disliked every single one!

I am usually the one who gets bullied…. (aww), in the past year I  have been thrown in the deep end of a swimming pool live on radio, had  my legs waxed twice… live on radio and also shuffled in front of  a lot amount of people, youtube it, its amazing!.

Karen: Tell us about your Record Breaking achievement?

Dan: Just before christmas some of the brain boxes at Teen FM, which I’d  like to think I’m in there somewhere. Decided to set out what seemed  to be an impossible challenge, to stay live on air for 61 hours and  raise money for a children’s charity.

After a lot of planning, the presenters who came forward to do the  show eventually got on air and started on hour 1 of 61. Me along with  George who runs the operations down in London took a back seat and  were constantly checking server logs, emails and rectifying any  problems which came up during the record-breaking show.

Throughout the whole 61 hours the funds raised kept climbing and  climbing until eventually reaching a massive £874 for Wings Of Hope children’s charity!

Karen: So what sort of music can be heard on Teen FM and Point FM?

Dan: Teen FMs strapline is Teens Hit Music Station which says it all  really. If you listened to Teen FM throughout the day you should  expect a lot of mainstream artists such as Jessie J, Rihanna & Ed  Sheeran. However late 2011 we decided to get involved with unsigned  artists and give them air play, supporting acts such as Rebecca Wright.

Point FM is extremely different, there is a wider variety of music  which caters for all genders and age groups. Day time radio is  generally feel good with music to get you through your day, evenings  and weekends usually have specialist shows such as Leons Rock & Roll  Heaven.

Karen: How do you choose what is played on the stations?

Dan: Unlike many commercial radio stations Point FM doesn’t have to stick  to a playlist, this gives the presenters the freedom to play anything  they like and deal with any requests they get straight away.

Teen FMs playlist usually revolves around what is currently popular  and up and coming, if we spot a track which we believe will catch on,  it will appear in our playlist!

Karen: I’m a great supporter of unsigned and local bands, can local unsigned bands get airplay on the stations?

Dan: Yes at Teen FM & Point FM we love to promote unsigned bands! For Teen FM email your music to info@teenfm.co.uk and for Point FM email your
music to craig.k@pointfm.co.uk

Karen: Do you utilize the social media such as FaceBook and Twitter as much as you would like to?

Dan: Yes I try to, not so much Twitter… I’m like my granddad trying to use a Iphone. I am slowly getting there! With so many new social plug-ins becoming available to interact and stay up to date on the move it is sometimes hard to keep up.

For example Teen FM will soon be testing out a new service on Facebook  called Facebook Player, which allows you to listen to Teen FM and also like it and share it with your friends.

Karen: What have been your best, funny and worst moments of broadcasting to your listeners?

Dan: My best moment on radio has to be Rhyl Air Show, when we broadcast live from the  events arena in Rhyl and was also being relayed right the way across the prom to 150,000 people and as far as I know the  first ever time a radio station has broadcast the pilots live from the  red arrows during a show.

I can’t actually pick one funny moment, I have had way to many! One was probably during Wakestock 2010, when I was waiting to do a live  link back to the studio from inside the gates at the same time the main gates to the festival opened and was stampeded out of the way by thousands of festival goers! (Wasn’t funny at the time).

Karen: What are your thoughts of the Analogue radio switch off set for 2015?

Dan: This is quite a tough question. At the moment with DAB radio now where it currently stands if analogue transmissions was to be switched off  it would leave a gaping hole in radio, as in my opinion there are too many negatives which out balance the positives. Such as not all existing radios have DAB built in and most vehicles don’t have a dab radio so the audience who would have built up a strong relationship with their local radio would be limited as to when and where they can listen.

Karen: How can people support Teen FM and Point FM?

Dan: Point FM as with Teen FM both rely heavily on word of mouth, so if you listen one day and you enjoy it, tell your friends!

You can listen to Teen FM 24/7 365 days a year online at http://www.teenfm.co.uk and Point FM across the North Wales Coast &  Vale of Clwyd on 103.1 FM also online at http://www.pointfm.co.uk

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A big thanks to Dan from Point FM and Teen FM for agreeing to do this interview for the Blazing Minds blog, remember everyone, you can listen to the stations online, so stop by the links above and show your support for the local stations that keep independent radio alive

Don’t forget to check out and follow @PointFMRhyl, @DanPorter and @OfficialCraigK. You can also find Point FM on Facebook.

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