

Frequently Asked Questions
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1.
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Q:
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How do I hear an audio archive of a past show or performance?
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A:
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1. Point your browser to www.slbradio.org/listen.shtml.
2. In the box on the left of the page note the tab marked "Archive"
3. Scroll to the date of the show you want to hear
4. Click on the date to open Windows Media Player
5. If you're looking for a certain segment on the show, use the media player's track advance controls to skip ahead by hour.
6. If you don't have Windows Media Player, you can download it here.
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2.
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Q:
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How did The Saturday Light Brigade get its name?
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A:
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The name resulted from alot of brainstorming and was coined by Larry's dad, Lewis Berger. When the program started in 1978, we wanted to give it a name that helped people remember when it was on (Saturday), the nature of the music and conversation featured (Light) and the spirit of community participation as a community (Brigade which, while sometimes associates with the military, also means "a group of people organized for special activity").
Although we've considered changing the name to help new listeners find us easier, public radio listeners have known us as The Saturday Light Brigade since 1978 and we have become known as "a name you know and trust".
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3.
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What happened to Bil Lucker?
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A:
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Larry Berger started SLB in 1978. Friends with Larry since 1973, Bill Lucker began visiting SLB in 1980 and began appearing weekly as a producer and on-air voice in 1984. After twenty-plus of waking up at 4 a.m. on Saturday mornings, Bill decided to take a sabbatical in 2003 so that he could enjoy more weekend travel. He, Larry and Rikki remained close friends and Bill continued to serve on the SLB Advisory Board.
Much of Bill's time in 2003 and 2004 was spent taking care of his father Norman, who passed away in 2004. In 2006, Bill underwent surgery for removal of a brain tumor. Although post-surgical treatment and Bill's resolve to recover initially enabled him to return to work as a fulltime project manager for a major engineering company, the tumor returned and subsequent treatment was ineffective. Bill died at age 46 on February 20, 2008. We -- along with tens of thousands of listeners -- will never forget his incredible storehouse of information in the hard-drive of his head, loyalty as a friend, good-natured stubbornness in his convictions and wonderful laugh.
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4.
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Q:
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I used to listen to the show on WYEP, did you move?
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A:
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After airing on WYEP from March 18, 1978 to November 15, 2003, SLB decided to move to 88.3 WRCT (Carnegie Mellon) effective November 29, 2003. This decision was hard for us to make, but we wanted to again align itself with an organization whose principal mission encompassed education, technology and community. We added 91.1 WSAJ (Grove City College) in December 2004 and 1550 WURP (Braddock) in April 2005. More stations are planned.
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5.
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Q:
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I'm a youth musician, how can I play on the air?
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A:
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Our Youth Music Showcase offers kids in Grade 3 through 12 an opportunity to perform live on the air and talk about their instrument. If you would like to play on the air and have the permission of your parents and teacher, contact us at (Contact) to arrange a time and date. We generally feature youth musicians at 10 or 10:30 a.m. Most players come from school orchestras, bands or referrals from local music teachers.
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6.
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Q:
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I'm a professional musician, how can I play on the air?
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A:
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SLB is known throughout the country as a place where acoustic musicians passing through Pittsburgh as well as regional artists can play live on the radio in a professional and comfortable setting. We can accommodate groups of nearly any size and configuration and focus on folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass, classical, international and other acoustic genres. Performances typically are scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon. To inquire, please send a CD or a link to a site where we can hear your music (preferably 60 days in advance of when you'd like to play) to us at contact us along with information on your best dates.
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7.
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Q:
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How can I get SLB carried on my local station?
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SLB is available at no charge to qualified noncommercial stations as a live or pre-recorded program in lengths ranging from one to six hours. If you enjoy our unique blend of acoustic music and family fun, please have your public radio station contact us.
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8.
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How do I submit an event announcement to be read on the air?
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SLB is pleased to announce information about events sponsored by non-profit organizations serving youth and families or presenting folk and acoustic music. We prefer receiving such information by email at slb@slbradio.org. You can also send information using our online form.
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9.
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Can I come watch a live broadcast?
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Our studios are open to the public every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. No admission or reservations are required and directions are available at directions. Special arrangements are available if you would like to come before 10 a.m. or if you'd like to bring a group of 10 or more people.
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10.
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How can I get my birthday announced on the air?
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We announce birthdays every Saturday at 8:55 Eastern. To include the birthday of a friend or family member, just send the details to us here. We'll announce each birthday the Saturday before (or of) the date it falls on and will also send an SLB card to the birthday person if you include the address. You can send in as many birthdays as you wish at any time; we'll keep them on file throughout the year. Most listeners send in birthdays for the entire family at once!
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11.
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What was that song you played last week at 10:00?
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There are two ways to get online information about the music we play.
The latest show's playlist is updated in realtime on Saturday mornings and is available at this link.
There's also a comprehensive and searchable playlist for SLB programs since 2002. This search engine is a great way to find a song that you know was played on a specific date or for which you only know the title (or a portion of it) or the artist.
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12.
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Q:
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Do you offer classes or workshops for groups?
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We offer two standard styles of workshops for school and scout troops of 12 people or less.
1. A simple, brief visit while we are live on the air followed by a short Q-and-A session after our broadcast. These are usually scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday and are free.
2. A hands-on workshop (60 to 90 minutes), where the participants learn about mixers/microphones/digital editing and other broadcast technologies as well as record an announcement for on-air use. These are typically scheduled Monday through Thursday afternoons (4:30 start), Sunday afternoons (1 p.m. start) or at another mutually agreeable time and are provided at $15/student.
Although our studios are located in the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, studio tours and workshops do not include admission to the museum itself (nor is admission needed for our tours). However, if you wish to combine the studio tour with a visit to the full museum, discounts and meal packages are available.
To schedule a workshop, contact Barb Wettergren at 412.322.50958 x240 or barb@pittsburghkids.org.
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13.
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Do you offer internships?
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While SLB occasionally has internship opportunities, these are arranged directly with college and university communications or engineering departments. At this time, we cannot arrange internships directly with students.
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14.
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How do I listen to an SLB podcast?
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First navigate to our "listen" page. There you'll find a list of our four podcast features: Girltalk Pittsburgh, SLB ToGo, Artists Live and Fun and Games.
If you use iTunes, downloading or subscribing is easy. Simply click on the link labeled iTunes. The link will automatically open the software and direct you to the page in the music store that allows you to subscribe and download episodes. (If you currently don't have iTunes you can download it from the official site.)
Alternately, if you use another podcasting software (such as windows: Juice, Podsage, Winamp, etc. Mac: Ipodder, PlayPod, etc.) you can use the 'link' option. Simply right click and copy the shortcut and paste it into your podcasting program.
All of our podcasts are free.
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15.
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Where are your studios/offices located?
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SLB is located within the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, 10 Children's Way on Pittsburgh's North Side. This complex is in historic Allegheny Square and is best known today as Allegheny Center. Our location was the former (pre-1989) home of Buhl Planetarium. Directions are available at Directions.
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16.
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How can I improve my radio reception?
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A:
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While car radios are generally superb, AM and FM radios provided in most home stereos and clock radios are not as good as they used to be. Manufacturers of even the most expensive stereo receivers and boom boxes often skimp on the radio and antenna sections to cut costs, while focusing instead on styling, amplifier power and speakers. Older radios
FM reception with an existing radio often can be easily improved by doing one or more of the following:
Tuning by hand rather than a scanning button. Scanners often miss audible stations.
Repositioning the radio.
Moving the power cord, which sometimes acts as an antenna.
Plugging the radio into a different outlet.
Flipping the "FM Stereo" switch to "Mono" if the radio is so equipped. This can eliminate noise caused by the technology used to broadcast in stereo.
Adding an indoor antenna. Many small, inexpensive antennas yield superb results. Simple wires, rabbit ears and "tunable" amplified antennas range from $5 to $50 at stores such as Radio Shack, Best Buy, and Circuit City and can make a big difference.
Great inexpensive radios...
While we're not in the habit of endorsing products (and we'll be happy to reference others if you let us know), the best radio we know of for superior AM and FM reception is the GE Superadio III. This radio is available for $30 to $45! It uses circuitry with great sensitivity and noise rejection and can pick up stations that most radios cannot. Radio fans like it so much that there are websites dedicated to its use.
Sangean and Eton/Grundig (ie: Grundig S350) AM/FM/shortwave radios also typically have good FM tuners and some are available for less than $100. This brand is available on-line and also is sold by Radio Shack, sometimes under the Radio Shack brand name.
If you still have trouble picking up SLB at 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh, please contact us and we'll do all we can to help.
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17.
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Q:
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What kind of music do you play?
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A:
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We feature a blend of acoustic music, including traditional and contemporary folk, bluegrass, blues, jazz, novelty, international, standards and other forms. Our main criteria within these genres is that music be genuine, heartfelt and of high quality.
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18.
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Q:
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Is SLB just for kids?
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SLB is for everyone. The program is designed to be engaging to children and adults, listening alone or together. We believe that high-quality folk, bluegrass, jazz, and world music -- real music -- can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Our puzzles, games and participatory features are designed for participation by people of all ages.
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