SOME STUFFS: Cascadia.fm announce sale and end of network

A year, a month, and a day after I made the announcement of Cascadia.fm‘s debut to Portland, Oregon and the rest of the world, it seems the internet broadcast network will be closing up shop in its current motif.

Cascadia.fm founder Robert Wagner made the announcement through Twitter that the network has been sold to a company in Southern California. By doing this, Cascadia.fm will now be a new company with completely new shows, and broadcasting from California. None of the programming that is currently on the channel will be there, including Knit Happens, Cort & Fatboy, Unibash Radio, and the show that gave the network its life, Portland Sucks. Cascadia.fm will become a new company under new ownership.

This has caused a bit of a panic amongst listeners and supporters in Portland, the Pacific Northwest, and judging from the comments on the announcement page, in various spots around the world, with many asking about what will become of their favorite shows. Here is what is known:

Cascadia.fm as we know it will end its live stream and broadcasts effective immediately on Friday, November 18th, at 5pm.

The status of all shows currently presented by Cascadia.fm are now “free to roam”. If you follow some of these shows, you will find out the status of each one from their creators.

Wagner made a comment on his own blog that Portland Sucks will definitely continue in podcast form, and only as a podcast. A few other shows have announced that they plan on continuing in some form. Bottom line is, everything that is been under the Cascadia.fm umbrella will no longer be. Take care, time of your life, good riddance, right? In a way yes.

Portland Sucks began under its own entity, a podcast that was a way to simply get some thoughts out. That show would become a part of the Small Plate Radio Network, and then came PDX.fm. It would spawn PDX.am, but then the .am part shut down. PDX.fm evolved into Cascadia.fm and now we’re… here. While Wagner plans to keep Portland Sucks going, his future endeavors are unknown. Or at least he plans on saying more when he’s ready to reveal something of interest. He did say that Portland Sucks co-host Sabrina Miller may not be coming back “after the transition is made due to her increasingly busy schedule.” Miller has become one of the network’s primary faces and voices, with the lady known as SabMil to some (and for a select view, Luscious Duvet) becoming a personality on a network that apparently ended up with no personalities. Maybe it didn’t, or that’s a way of saying that Miller, Wagner, and everyone involved in the network were simply being themselves, and not playing the role or being fake for anyone.

I think that’s what attracted me to their shows. I’m someone who would still like to move to the Portland area, and because of my curiosity as to what kind of podcasts were being down in the city, as a way to find persons, places, and things that were similar to my own, I found Portland Sucks. It sounds like the conversation I might have at a record store, book store, doughtnut mansion, a park, simply people shooting the shit and not being afraid to say what they want to say. I’ve listened to shows throughout the last few years, and I keep on asking myself “why am I not hanging out with these fuckers?” It may not have been their intention, but Cascadia.fm created shows that made the listener feel welcome, like old friends and family members. Or maybe that family member that you didn’t think you’d ever see, but you dealt with their crap. I am a fan, and whatever the future has in store for Portland Sucks, Wagner, Miller, and everyone else, I would like to remain a fan, whether it’s in audio form or otherwise.

There have been a number of changes in the years I have been listening, and none of them could be predicted. I had posted a comment on their website, saying that my interests are merely selfish because I want to hear more. Cascadia.fm in its current form will be coming to an end, but there will be more. What that “more” will be is unknown, at least for now.

Cascadia.fm will be doing one last week of streaming before the plug is pulled on November 18th at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern. As an early Thanksgiving present, I would like to say thank you for the shows and podcasts you have offered as a collective. I know there was a lot of hard work, time, and dedication involved, but please know that all of your work was never without support and gratitude. With liberty and blumpkins for all… thank you.

SOME STUFFS: Internet radio takes its first sip of beer with the introduction of Cascadia.fm

If you have a favorite internet radio station or radio show, or happen to love the wide range of different programming that is available out there, I would like to introduce you to a new network that I feel will be a force to reckon with this decade, one that I feel will become your daily listening habit. Friends, get familiar with Cascadia.fm.

Cascadia.fm is the new version of what was PDX.fm, a “channel” based in Portland, Oregon that is dedicated to the views, opinions, hobbies, and interests of people in Portland, done by people in Portland. It is a home grown effort that looked to find an audience with their brand of humor, wit, and passion, and in time would find it not only in Portland, but throughout the Pacific Northwest, the West Coast, the United States, and in small pockets around the world. It was able to do this with a series of shows that are diverse as the people behind them. As attention towards Portland grows on a national and international scale, PDX.fm felt it was time to take on the challenges of a growing audience by letting people know why their city can be an influence for the rest of the nation, and perhaps the world. In other words, now that they have a loyal audience, it’s time to get to the people who aren’t listening but need to.

The demise of PDX.fm is only in name, but now transformed into Cascadia.fm, they are now expanding their scope to Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. It will be the premiere internet radio network for the Pacific Northwest, all of “Cascadia” if you will, and programs pertaining to these areas will be added very soon (as I’m looking at the new site, i can see the potential of dedicated channels with programming dedicated to each region). Take a look at their daily schedule and you’ll find a show that will suit your interests. Cascadia.fm also hosts a number of events from movie showings to trivia contests, and even an annual Baconfest that I had the pleasure of visiting for the first time this past August. What will also be of interest in the coming weeks is an emphasis on applications for the iPhone and other forms of gadgetry, along with apps for other internet broadcasters that they plan on revealing soon. In other words, they are becoming more than just a network that broadcasts shows and archives podcasts, they are dabbling in multimedia by talking about it and creating it.

Cascadia.fm is becoming an internet station that is expanding on the multitasking it has become known for, and by doing so, it is shining the light on the tech-savvy community of Portland that are helping to keep its city vibrant alive, while keeping true to its unique spirit. It’s talk radio, it’s good radio, it’s quality radio, but you can hear it on your mobile device, in the car, on your laptop or desktop. It looks to the future, and they’re welcoming you to listen.

PDX.fm showed what a group of creative people can do when they put their minds together. Cascadia.fm is simply a new pair of shoes, and its ready to take its first step into the great wide open. From a “small plate” to a gourmet buffet, they are expanding their pallets and hope that others will join them. I call myself a fan because I enjoy the shows and the sense of community I think exists amongst everyone on the network. I want to spread the love by letting you know about them and if it moves you, spread the word. Cascadia.fm: they will thank and if you’re lucky, spank you later.