Thursday, March 15, 2007

New Interview: Chris Nite of Studio81X and Renegade Radio

By Erin Rice

A couple Fridays ago I had the opportunity to drop by Chris Nite's Studio81X where he runs his internet radio show, The Friday Nite Double, on RenegadeRadio.net. Having not been at home on a Friday night between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. since... well a long time, I hadn't had the opportunity to listen to a broadcast, but I was really glad that I got to experience it on this particular Friday. If you want the in on some of the best rock, southern rock, metal, industrial, and otherwise hardcore music locally, nationally, and internationally, Chris Nite and some of the others at Renegade Radio are the people to go to.

Chris Nite, Squarewheel, friends, and the creepy gas-masked silver alien in the studio for the Friday Nite Double.

I got the chance to interview Chris during this recent broadcast, as well as meet a whole host of others involved in Renegade Radio. On this particular evening, there was also a guest appearance by local band Squarewheel, definitely a group of Southern rockers to keep an eye on, or hell, go out and see a live performance for crying out loud! Anyway, as could be expected, with a room full of music enthusiasts and a cooler of beer, the interview was quickly derailed but a great conversation about the local music scene and the future of the music industry near and far developed. Nite, as well as Squarewheel and Iceberg, host of the Icehouse radio show from 7-9 on RenegadeRadio.net, chimed in with opinions, advice, and general commentary on what's going on in dear ol' Dallas/Fort Worth. Below you can find some bullet points of topics that were covered in the interview. It's an interesting listen, to say the least.

In the meantime, here are some things you should know about Renegade Radio, and the Friday Night Double in particular. Chris started out doing promotional work for several notable bands, though if you ask him about it, he won't go into much detail because for him, "that's the past, I'm focused on what I'm doing now. I don't want to be known as a guy that did this or that." Every Friday night he hosts the show from his studio, which one should know is in his house. For him and others in his shoes, these internet radio shows are a hobby. People might confuse that he's pulling in a lot of cash, but anyone that has been paying attention to what's been going on recently with the Radio Copyright Board, should know that these type of ventures are an investment, not a cash cow.

Chris Nite through Studio81X and Renegade Radio hosts a monthly gig (every 30 to 40 days), booking bands that he has had on his show before or has otherwise set his sights on. This show used to take place at the Phoenix, which has of course been shut down. At the moment he's working out the final details on a new location, which will hopefully be announced soon.

Some of the topics that made their way into the attached audio interview/chat include:

• What Chris Nite at Studio81X does and why
• Laura Miller's, Dallas', and the club owners' responsibility (or lack thereof) for the death of Deep Ellum and Dallas music in general
• Do some bands even deserve to be on the scene?
• Do Austin and certain other locales understand local music better than Dallas?
• How do bands promote and get paid now that people can access music for free and the local live scene is, in some opinions, dying

Related stories

• Memorable music interviews: 2007 (Dec. 25, 2007)

See more stories in:

• Arts > Popular Music > Alternative / Indie
• Arts > Popular Music > Metal
• Arts > Popular Music > Rock
• Media > Radio

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