New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Celtic Roots Radio) Three years old this September, Celtic
Roots Radio is now broadcasting on FM, satellite radio, webcast and iTunes podcast to over 100 countries around the world. The 30-min show plays a wide range of roots music � Celtic, folk, folk-rock, Breton, Galician, bluegrass, Cajun, Cape Breton, acoustic and singer/songwriter - even a bit of blues, rock or soul, on occasion.
The show began when Raymond McCullough, from outside Belfast, in Northern Ireland, decided to record a couple of shows back in 2006. Raymond states, "I played the recordings to some friends and they weren't that impressed with the music, so they sat on my computer for another two years, until I eventually decided to upload them to iTunes in
September 2008 and see if anyone else liked them.
"The initial response was encouraging so, a month later, I recorded and uploaded another show. I'd had one of my own songs played on a US show, where the presenter introduced it saying, "Raymond is from North Ireland." I replied to this in my second show - explaining, in my own 'tongue in cheek' way, that there was no such place! This idea seemed to grow on me, so that each show began to include about four minutes of craic from me � on whatever topics happened to come into my head!"
By January 2009, about 100 new subscribers were being added daily to the podcast and, during the week of 17th March � St. Patrick's Day � the downloads suddenly reached 400 in one day � using up the show's free bandwidth and requiring a quick decision from Raymond to invest actual money on increasing the bandwidth.
In April, Raymond decided to implement an idea that had been brooding for several years. He took the plunge and set up a Celtic
Roots Radio web station on the Live365 network. At the same time he instigated a SonicBids gig opportunity, where new artists could submit their music via the internet, to be considered by Raymond for inclusion on the station and podcast. "The criteria is folk/roots," Raymond explains, "but essentially, it's a matter of whether I like it, or not!"
As a result, the station now has a playlist of over 800 tracks, including third party shows by other broadcasters in USA, Ireland and Portugal, and has been a featured station on Live365. Each podcast show now has around 7,000 downloads and is broadcast on satellite radio, as well as his own webcast � with syndication on FM stations in Ireland and beyond just beginning. Raymond is now looking for suitable advertising sponsors for the show.
He says, "I think I've been riding on the back of all the good publicity generated by Riverdance and all those other shows. Irish music and culture is now very popular all over the world � which is obvious by the number of downloads we get in places like Iran, Brazil, Japan and China."
In December 2009, Raymond also began weekly broadcasting of another show - 'In tha Name a' Gawd!' which consists of music, faith-based news and interviews � on the GloryStar satellite. The show reaches all of North and Central
America and the Caribbean, plus part of the Pacific area, including New Zealand and eastern Australia.
His Kingdom Come
Trust website has hundreds of enthusiastic emails from listeners in US, Canada and several other countries. Raymond says, "Again, they love the Irish music and culture � although the interviewees are from many parts of the world." A second series of this show will soon be in production and will also be broadcast in Ireland.
With his wife, author Gerry McCullough, he published a book, 'Ireland, now the good news!' back in 1995, and he has just completed a brand new book, 'The Whore and her Mother' (subtitled, '9/11, Babylon and the Return of the King'), which is now available on Amazon Kindle and Amazon.com, (or UK readers can pre-order the paperback edition on Amazon, UK; from WH Smith or The Book Depository, UK).
Says Raymond, "I have researched these subjects for about 40 years, now. But the events of 9/11 brought a new focus to my research and I now have a real sense of urgency to get this book out there in the marketplace. I've written the last 41,000 words in just 6 weeks!
"There is so much nonsense talked about these things - and people like Harold Camping, of course, have brought ridicule upon this whole area. If he'd just read carefully the words of the prophets, he wouldn't have made such a fool of himself! I don't expect everyone to swallow the things I say in this book. I'd like them just to read it. Then, if they see more and more of it coming to pass, they will remember what they've read.
"Many will react angrily to what I've said - it cuts across a lot of dearly-held evangelical doctrines � but I've had very positive reactions from Roman Catholics, Jews, evangelical Protestants and New Agers. I'd like to see Muslims reading it, too � they claim to hold the words of the same prophets in high regard."
Raymond is also planning to publish a book of the 'craic' from his radio scripts � called, 'A Wee Bit a' Craic' � at the end of
September and is also working on a TV documentary concerning Roman Catholics and Presbyterians from Ireland and Scotland; First Nations (Native Americans) from Manitoba, Canada; and Israeli Jews. The documentary was filmed mainly in Canada and will be entitled, 'Broken Treaties.'
Raymond has more plans for radio, TV and publishing, "As well as producing a new Irish-focussed series of 'In tha Name a' Gawd!', we plan to broadcast 'The Whore and her Mother' as a series of half hour shows on satellite radio and FM. The 'Broken Treaties' documentary we plan to broadcast in the UK, but also to show in several native reserves in Canada. We've been invited to one or two, already! I'd hope to combine that with promoting and speaking about the books/shows in USA/Canada.
"I'd love to spend some time researching and filming in
Israel � also in
India and Africa � for a new documentary series on the so-called 'Lost Tribes' of Israel, some of whom, as the book (WHM) makes clear, are NOT lost, but actually living in
Israel today!"
