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The BBB FAQ, OMG WTF BBQ

Enough FAQ - Take me Back! (see... it rhymes!)

• Primer: What is SLAY Radio?

  If you don't know what SLAY Radio is, you have a little bit of catching up to do! Basically it's an internet-based radio station playing modern remixes of Commodore 64 tunes (or SIDs). To get yourself a "101" and familiarize yourself, please read the SLAY Radio FAQ. Don't worry, I'll still be here when you get back!

• What is the BBB?

  The BBB is a show that transmits every Wednesday at 20:00 CET/CEST on SLAY Radio. The show is broadcast from Gothenburg, Sweden by a British ex-pat called Alistair, but online known as BozRetro (or just Boz usually). The show is approx. 3 hours long and contains a mix of listeners' requests and interaction with the listeners, usually through IRC.

  I'm here to get you through the middle of the week. If you're like me, you hate Wednesdays. It's too far away from last weekend to remember it, and it's too far away from next weekend to look forward to it! Put your brain into neutral and listen to me make up stuff on the spot between tunes. I have no script. Actually that's a lie: I have a script in the first five minutes when I do an "On This Day" spot. After that, it's all freefall!

• What ISN'T the BBB?

  It ain't serious, that's for sure! (Having said that, people still send me abusive messages because I've ruined their favorite remix!) There's even a disclaimer in the starting jingle, just to remind you. I have to warn you that I do tend to pause a song halfway through to vent an opinion or echo something that someone has written on IRC. If you don't like that, then BBB is not for you. As I said, if you want to slip your brain into neutral and just enjoy the Mid-Week Hump, I'm here!

• I hate timezones. What is "20:00 CET/CEST" in my country?

  I know what you mean! CET means "Central European Time", and is one hour ahead of UTC (otherwise known as GMT or, as the military call it, Zulu). CEST means "Central European Summer Time", and it is when the clocks "spring forward" to take advantage of the longer times when the sun is up. CEST starts on the last Sunday of March and finishes on the last Sunday of October, and is two (2) hours ahead of UTC.

  Yep, it all gets messy because of Daylight Savings and different continents have their own rules. So, here's something to help you. If you click on this link, it'll tell you what "20:00" in Sweden means to you where you live.

  Incidentally, the SLAY Radio FAQ mentions that it lives in its own timezone called USRT, or Universal SLAY Radio Time (which happens to coincide with CET). It stops us all from going crazy, trying to work out the world times!

• So who's this Boz then?

  Oh, I've been around for a while, both as a fan of the C64 and as an advocate of the internet. My interest in SID remixes was recharged when Chris Abbott came out with his first CD, Back in Time. He got me involved because he saw a talent in me (which I didn't see myself!). Little did we know that, in Sweden, Slaygon had started his own hobby radio station called SLAY Radio. Slaygon and I met in 2004 and he wanted me on his station when he started broadcasting live shows. Luckily, I also wanted to broadcast! But, my story is long and boring. Perhaps I'll share it with you over a beer or two one day.

  All you need to know is that I've had a Commodore 64 since 1985 (and yes, I still have it!). More recently, I've been a fan of Commodore 64 remixes - I've even done some of my own, some for free and some on commericl CDs in collaboration with Chris Abbott (we call ourselves Slow Poison - an "opposite homage" to Instant Remedy, natch). I also have a knack of being able to talk about absolutely nothing for a long time, which comes in handy! So, that's pretty much why I have my own little show.

• Why is it called BBB?

  Way Back When, Kenz and I used to do a show called "The Z Show", mainly because all of the broadcasters had a Z in their nicknames. It was on every Sunday. One day I decided to do a show in the middle of the week just to fill the gap (because the previous broadcasters had moved dates). It was called the "Bowness Bit o' Bollocks". Bowness is my real surname, with the emphasis on "NESS". But if you say it slightly differently, it sounds like "Bonus", hence the Bonus Bit of Bollocks.

  A while later I had decided to move to Sweden, so the Z Show had to stop (Kenz wasn't coming with me!). The BBB continued after the move and was abbreviated to the letters that everyone now knows. But everyone likes closure, so I made a "Backronym" of the initials - "Boz's Bit o' Bollocks". That's what BBB means now.

  Fascinating Facts: BBB also stands for Boz's Big Breakfast (known to my circle of friends who I've made a Sunday fry-up breakfast for) and the Blithe, the Blend and the Bizarre, an album made by Reyn Ouwehand. If you don't know who he is... where the hell have you been?!

• How do I interact?

  There's two ways to interact. Regardless of whether the show is live or not, you can always use the social networking site over at club.bozretro.com, where you are encouraged to upload photos, videos, text - whatever you feel is fun for the other listeners.

  The best way to interact with the show when it's live is to get yourself an IRC client. Point it to EFNet and go to a channel called #SLAYRadio. When a show is live (and actually all the time) I'm on there as BozRetro and you'll find a lot of listeners hanging around too! Just join in the conversation. One word of warning: when there's a show on it can get a little busy, so don't be intimidated by all the text scrolling by at the speed of light!

• Woah, wait a minute... IRC?

  Yep, IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat and it's a way of chatting to lots of people at one time. It's kinda like the MSN, ICQ, Yahoo Chat, Google Chat blah blah blah, but it was around at least 100 years before they came along and made it seem trendy (note: may be less than 100 years).

  Get yourself a client and follow the instructions in the last FAQ point. Anything like mIRC (Windows), Colloquy (Mac), Irssi (Linux), or any of these.

• How do I make a request?

  This is covered in the SLAY Radio FAQ (see the first FAQ entry above) but it's basically !request <your-request>. I accept a lot of things, like remixes from RKO and CDs sold on www.c64audio.com, and I do play the occasional original SID and Amiga original/remix. I've also been known to play a tune from other 8- or 16-bit machines, when I've found something interesting. Feel free to try and tempt me! No commercial tracks though, kthx.

  Examples:
  !request DeltaPlus by Weebl - nice and concise, you've given me a name and artist.
  !request anything by Reyn - just giving me an artist is fine too!
  !request Ocean Loader - you're giving me the opportunity to play ANY Ocean Loader - either a remix by an artist of my choice or - perhaps - the actual original SID. Nice!
  !request Hello Boz, could I have Jump 'n Run by p0p, and could you say hello to my pet dog, Vovvy? kthx. - giving shout-outs are also just fine by me!

• Any more !splat commands I should be aware of?

  Yep, there's a bunch of them. Thankfully FFrenzBro^(*) has made a list and you can get it right here.

  ^(*)That's FFrenzy: He's my long-lost twin brother, born by different parents in a different country in a different year with different DNA. But my twin. It all makes sense when you get to know us!

• Hey, this new site is snazzy but a bit sparse. What gives?

  This site really just acts as a placeholder for the webcam! Plus it shows the RSS feed, which I guess makes it easier to read. And, of course, there's this FAQ. But in fact, the main "meat" of the BBB is on the social networking site at club.bozretro.com. Head over there and interact with the other listeners!