SIRIUS channel Area 33, recent nominee for International Dance Music Radio Station of the year, will broadcast live from Miami’s South Beach for five dance-filled days starting today, March 20. Listeners will have the chance to hear live extended DJ sets from SIRIUS’ own Paul van Dyk and Paul Oakenfold as well as other major turntable acts such as Bob Sinclar and Robbie Rivera. The party begins tonight at 9p.m. eastern time so get your Sportster Replay Boombox ready!

The party schedule is as follows: (All times Eastern)

• Tuesday, March 20^th (9pm-4am): DJ Behrouz live from Mokai

• Wednesday, March 21^st (8pm-12am): DJ Bob Sinclar from the Tommy Boy Records Party at the Victor Hotel

• Thursday, March 22^nd (11pm-3am): Richard Vission, Fedde LeGrand. Steve Agnello, Sebastian Ingrasso, Robbie Rivera from Nikki Beach

• Friday, March 23^rd (6pm-10pm): Christopher Lawrence, Above & Beyond, Bennie Benassi, Donald Glaude from Nikki Beach

• Saturday, March 24^th (8pm-10pm): Paul van Dyk from Space

• Saturday, March 24^th (10pm-12am): Paul Oakenfold from Space

Featured “behind the turntable” interviews in the SIRIUS Miami VIP Suite will include:

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This concludes jimboxlax’s interview with Larry Kirwan. This section gives an insight into Larry’s views on Sirius, and its future including the proposed merger, along with what Larry hopes to accomplish going forward with Celtic Crush, Black 47, and his other many projects.
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What do you listen to on Sirius besides Sirius Disorder?

I listen to Disorder quite a bit, as I enjoy Meg’s programming. I used to love The Globe and, like many, wish that Sirius would bring back a World channel. Otherwise, I listen to the Jazz station as I’m a Miles Davis freak. And, of course, the Reggae channel, Left of Center, and Outlaw Country. I also enjoy the Opera and classical music channels. But I often just spin around and stop when I hear something interesting.

What do you see in the future for satellite radio? For FM?

I think satellite radio will continue to prosper as long as people feel that they’re getting a good choice. FM, because of the strict programming, is pretty much a joke, particularly to someone who remembers its golden age.

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This snippet is for those of you who haven’t tied your SIRIUS receiver straight into your car radio, and are using the FM Transmit mode to hear your favorite SIRIUS programming.

If you’ve ever wondered what the heck FM channel to set your SIRIUS SATELLITE radio to besides the preset that came with your unit(s). (You know you just can’t buy one receiver, admit it.)

Depending on where you live and the population density, you may have many options, or few options. You may even have different options at home, as opposed to your work location.

To find out what FM frequencies are available to you, check out this website:
http://fmchannel.sirius.com/default.aspx

Just enter your zip code and the best possible transmission channels will show up for you to adjust your receiver to. If you don’t get an answer, pop in the next closest zip code, and that may work for you too. Where I live, I have no available free frequencies, but where I work 12 miles away, I have 2 options.

You might also consider just transmitting over a weaker, local college radio frequency that is used. That usually works for me too.

And if you want to “improve” your reception, check out this post by BCScott:

Take care All,

Bruce

Bunch of fun stuff going on for St. Patrick’s day. Let’s start at the bottom of the channel numbers and work our way up:

-FLOGGING MOLLY, hosts special St. Patty’s programming featuring Celtic punk-rockers on Hostile Takeover (Mar 16 @ 7pm ET and rebroadcast: Mar. 17th @ 1 am ET)

-LARRY KIRWAN, from Black 47 and The Irish Tenors perform on Celtic Crush (SIRIUS Disorder, channel 32, Mar., 17 @ 12-1pm ET and rebroadcast Mar. 17 @ 10 pm ET & Mar. 20 @ 10 pm ET)

-PADDY MALONEY, from The Chieftains, performance, (SIRIUS Disorder, channel 32, Mar. 17 @ 3pm ET & 11 pm ET.)
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Broadband Instruments recently unveiled Slacker, a “Personal Radio” service to deliver content online and through a WiFi and Satellite-capable portable player. After recruting executives from MusicMatch, Rio, and iRiver; Slacker was ready to expand Personal Radio services, introduced by internet-only Last.fm and Pandora, to the portable market. Their satellite bandwidth will be leased from the Ku band, and is rumored to deliver 10,000 tracks/day (7 tracks/minute) to be archived on the portable receiver while docked. Slacker’s Portable Player will cost between $150-$350, dependent upon storage capacity desired. It will support MP3, subscription-based WMA, WMA, and MPEG-4/AAC-encoded audio files, and play WMV video on a 4-inch screen. You can try out the Slacker Jukebox online at Slacker.com. The online service is free, but for $7.50/month you’ll get a player without video ads and the ability to skip more than 6 songs per hour per channel.

How will the introduction of Slacker affect the Sirius/XM merger? Post in the comments section below.

[Via Wired, Orbitcast, Engadget, and CNet]

Here are some of the special guests who will be at Sirius next week. Note, as always, that all times are subject to change.

SCOTT “WINO” WEINRICH, from The Hidden Hand, interview on Contact High (Hard Attack, channel 27, Mar. 19 @ 12am ET)

DR. LARRY DOOSEY, discusses the Power of Optimism and the merging of spirit and medicine on Morning Living (Martha Stewart Living Radio, channel 112, Mar. 19 @ 7am ET)

RICK SPRINGFIELD, hosts Random Access (Big ’80s, channel 8, Mar. 19-23 @ 12pm ET)

ROB DERHEK, guest DJ every Monday on moe. on Jam_ON in March (Jam_ON, channel 17, Mar. 19 @ 12pm ET)

PATTY GRIFFIN, World Café performance and interview (SIRIUS Disorder, channel 32, Mar. 19 @ 6pm ET)

THE WHO in concert, recorded July 15, 2006 in Monte Carlo (The Who Channel, channel 29, Mar. 19 @ 9pm ET)

SOLOMON BURKE, interview (SIRIUS Blues, channel 74, Mar. 19 @ 8pm ET)

METROPOLITAN OPERA RADIO, live broadcast, Strauss’s Die Ägyptische Helena (Metropolitan Opera Radio, channel 85, Mar. 19 @ 8pm ET)

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INTERVIEW WITH SIRIUS DISORDER DJ - LARRY KIRWAN OF “CELTIC CRUSH”

Larry Kirwan hosts “Celtic Crush” on Sirius Disorder (ch. 32) which airs:
Saturdays 10 am - 1 pm ET
Rebroadcast Tuesdays 10 pm - 1 am ET

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Larry Kirwan Interview - Part 2 - Celtic Crush on Sirius Disorder

This is the second of my three part interview with Larry Kirwan. This section gives an insight into Celtic Crush - How it came about, what you are likely to hear on the show, and Larry’s favorite artists and stories. Part 1 can be found here.

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According to the Sirius Disorder website, Celtic Crush is described as:

” Celtic Crush travels among diverse music, from old to the very new. Ireland native Larry Kirwan has firsthand experience throughout Ireland and America as a member of the premier Celtic rock band Black 47. Being an author as well as a performer adds to Larry’s unique abilities as a poetic host. His guests have ranged from Lunasa to Celtic Woman. Larry draws from his private record collection for this three hour soulful mix of traditional and contemporary music from the Celtic countries and England. ”

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Please explain what Celtic Crush is all about and what we are likely to hear during a show?

Celtic Crush takes a world view on what Celtic Music is, where it’s come from and where it might go.  My taste is very broad and I see Celtic in the least obvious places.  Apart from all the obvious choices:  The Pogues, Flogging Molly, The Chieftains, Enya, U2, Damien Rice, Thin Lizzy, Sandy Denny, Afro-Celt, Van Morrison, et al; I might also check out the Celtic side of Bob Dylan, The Band, Lou Reed, Cat Stevens, Richard Thompson.  I also explore the music of Irish Trad bands such as The Bothy Band, Solas and Lunasa; the Breton revolutionary Alan Stivel, Carlos Nunez from Galicia and try to demonstrate how Celtic music and thought has influenced world culture.  After every set of three songs, I talk about some memory that one of the tracks might have unveiled or give an anecdote regarding one of the musicians that I might have known or, just in general, ruminate on the world and what’s going on at that particular moment.  In reality, I suppose, I’m taking the free form style of FM disc jockeys of the 60’s and 70’s and adding a dash of the Irish storyteller’s passion and techniques.

How did “Celtic Crush” come about?

A couple of years ago I was up in Sirius doing an interview with Meg Griffin on the release of a Black 47 CD.  We’re old friends and we had a relaxing and free spinning chat.  Sirius had been receiving requests for a Celtic show; and, from what I understand, Steve Blatter spotted me in the corridor and thought that I’d make a good fit.  And voila…

How did the show evolve from its beginnings?  Didn’t we used to hear a lot more “RiverDance-like” tunes?

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According to reports at CBS Marketwatch earlier today, Sirius has renewed it’s “long-term agreement” to be the Satellite partner for NPR.  One rumor says the extension is good for another 2 years.

Sirius will also be home to a new NPR morning program that is designed to appeal to young adults.

Although there has been much speculation here about NPR going away, as part of what some call a “dumb-ification” of Sirius, it appears that there is still some commitment on the part of Sirius to thoughful, intelligent programming.

Once again the productivity of office workers all across the country plummets as the nation prepares itself for the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament. And of course Sirius will be there for every moment!

…beginning on Tuesday, March 13, SIRIUS will provide uninterrupted coverage of the 2007 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. (March 13 - April 2) From the opening tip-off to the final buzzer, SIRIUS delivers every game in its entirety with absolutely no blackouts.

To mark the occasion, we here at Sirius Backstage will be hosting a pool for you bracket-pickers out there. Those looking for an edge might choose to listen to one of the 2 tournament selection shows that Sirius will be airing Sunday afternoon.

The Selection Sunday Show
Sunday, March 11th 6 pm - 9 pm ET
SIRIUS Sports Action Ch. 123
John Tautges and John Thompson broadcast live from the NCAA Broadcast Center for the announcement of the field of 65. College hoops experts Dave Gavitt and Bill Raftery drop by to analyze the match-ups, as well as talk with coaches and the NCAA Committee Chairman.

Selection Sunday on ESPN Radio
Sunday, March 11th 6 pm - 9 pm ET
ESPN Radio Ch. 120
Long-time college coach Bob Valvano hosts this up-to-the-minute program of the bracket announcements. Andy Katz, senior college basketball writer for ESPN.com. and Doug Gottlieb also give listeners a three-hour course in bracketology as well as get insights from key coaches and the selection chairs of both the men’s and women’s selection committees.

To participate, you’ll need a Yahoo login. Go to this link to join our group. The group number is 52508, and the password is “SiriusMadness”. Although Yahoo will allow you to create up to 5 brackets, only one may be entered in this group. We are lining up prizes, so make your picks count! Please be sure to put your Sirius Backstage username in the name of your bracket and post your bracket “name” here in the comments so that we know who is who. Yahoo users who are not members of SiriusBackstage are not eligible for prizes, and will likely get kicked out of the group!

First off, thank you to everyone who submitted an application to our open call to join our blog team. I’m pleased to announce four additions to our blog team to make our blog the most fresh and up-to-date available for all of our members and visitos. Here is a little about each of our new bloggers.

jeff94 - Jeff is from Boise, Idaho and has been following Sirius since the days of CD Radio. He and his family must really like Sirius; they have already purchased 6 different Sirius radios.

theamazingchuy - George joins us from Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. He is a self proclimed “avid SIRIUS listener” and enjoys “blogging”. He’s a big fan of the service. If you can imagine one of those guys that has the tshirts and hooded sweatshirts with the SIRIUS logos, you’re thinking about George.

Brusimm - Bruce is from the Bay Area, CA and has been writing computer newsletters since 1999. His interests on the Sirius dial include Howard Stern, NASCAR, Radio Classics, and vaious music channels.

jimboxlax - James is a member of SiriusBackstage since August 2003 from Scotch Plains, NJ. He is a filmmaker who released a documentary on the 60’s garage band Richard and the Young Lions. Sirius’ music and technology interest him and his favorite channels are Sirius Disorder and Underground Garage.

Please help me welcome these guys to the team.