Country Music on the Frequencies of Radio Herford.
In the mid-nineties, two programmes started in the public access segment of Radio W.A.F., produced by a host introducing himself only as Joe, called Country Dinnertime and Country Hitmix. For a considerable period these very professionally made programmes filled four broadcast hours per week! But after some very irregular broadcasts and even a long break with no programmes at all, what is left now is one hour of a Weekly Countrymusic Countdown on Saturdays and somewhat irregularly the Country Dinnertime on Sunday evenings.
The emphasis is on current and easily digestible Country music - mostly of international, and that means of course American origin - charts, short news items and concert dates. Appearances by German bands in the coverage are also announced. Oldies are not missing either, but they only take a small share of the airtime.
The programmes focus on the playing of music, short showbiz news and reading of music popularity charts. There is less speech and the news items are less intense than in our programme. But if Joe thinks it necessary, some subjects are covered in more detail. For example the war in Iraq, which has been strongly criticized here, even among Country music fans.
In recent months only the Weekly Country Music Countdown airs with some regularity - but even here there are periods of radio silence. Country Dinnertime is currently broadcast very rarely. This results in the majority of programmes being decidated to the American charts. That is unfortunate because there are already more than enough Country music chart programmes (and we are partly to blame for that as well), and there is little space for music beyond all charts.
Radio W.A.F.: Weekly Country Music Countdown Saturday 9.03pm
(often)
Radio W.A.F.: Country Dinnertime Sunday 6.03pm (rarely)
Radio W.A.F. can be heard in parts(!) of Herford County on the frequencies of 92.6 MHz (Sendenhorst, 1 kW, with interference by the WDR 3-transmitter »Bad Oeynhausen« on 92.7 MHz) and 94.7 MHz (Warendorf, 200 W, interference by Radio Herford on 94.9 MHz and MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Station »Brocken« on 94.6 Mhz).
Joe's programmes do not have a web presence of their own!
EMail: country-joe@web.de
Radio W.A.F. website: www.radiowaf.de