Regional Compilation - "Radio Rage"

Album review by Jill Becker

Radio Rage, a 22 track local compilation featuring three live tracks, gives us an exciting taste of regional music. Released in late November, this CD delivers nearly an hour and a half of satisfying songs where instead of feeling the urge to skip tracks, you'd rather hear them again and again.

Radio Rage is the creation of Jeff Bilberry and Dave Studnicka, former hosts of 91.9 The Wildcat's Local Music Show. All of the bands featured on the disc have either played live on the Local Music Show, or performed at one of the three benefit concerts held in order to fund the project.

"It was really important to us that we produce this at no cost to the bands," said Bilberry, host of the local music show, "Slice of the Homegrown," on 101.5 K-Rock in Manhattan, KS.

On this CD we hear bands from not only the local area, but throughout the Midwest including Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Iowa. It's also a collection of musical genres ranging from ska to hip-hop to Indie rock that creates just the right mix to listen from beginning to end.

The CD opens with the short, but still recognizable, Ruskabank song, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation." Other songs for the horn fans include Phat Albert with the almost jazzy "Hindsight," O-Phil's hard-hitting "Down By Spin," that's sure to evoke jumping from the crowd, and Brothers From Different Mothers come through with a great cover of "Walkin' On Sunshine."

"We actually had to pay a lot of money to get that track on there," said Bilberry, "which was another unexpected cost."

Pomeroy shows up with their own hip-hop beats and super fast rhymes causing "Droppin'" to just make you want to dance. There are in fact several songs for the rhyming minded including Mr. Plow's "Better Off," and Elemental's "Scandalous Nature."

Aside from being one of its creators, Bilberry also got to show his stuff on the recording with his band JB Spitfire. "Hey, if I'm going to put a CD together, I'm gonna be on it." Not only was Radio Rage a successful creation, it was about having a good time and enjoying the music. "We had so much fun, it was such an accomplishment for us."

I listened to this CD a lot. I guess it was a cure for my own "radio rage." After scanning through the 18 programmed stations in my car and finding nothing, I could just pop in this disk and enjoy.

--Jill Becker
jill@thezone.org