New Internet radio station broadcasts from McFalls

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DISC JOCKEY — Jim Bradley, of Mechanic Falls, created his own Internet radio station, The Owl 99.6, that will air 24 hours a day, seven days a week on www.theowl996.com. 

MECHANIC FALLS — A new Internet radio station – The Owl 99.6, hosted by Live365 – is now broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week, right from Mechanic Falls, the station's owner and DJ, Jim Bradley, announced December 12. 

According to Bradley, a Mechanic Falls resident, The Owl 99.6 will play adult contemporary music, including today's hits from pop, country and soft rock.  

He said what got him interested in creating his own Internet radio station is working at WQRY 106, an Internet radio station in Lisbon Falls. 

"I got the bug," he said, "so I figured I'd try to start my own station." 

Aside from playing great music, his station, also known as WBHB (Bog Hoot Broadcasting) Radio, will keep residents of Mechanic Falls and surrounding towns informed of local events as much as possible. 

He pointed out that a lot of today's radio stations, either on the air or on the Internet, are missing the "local feel" and connections to small communities. 

He said his first special event will begin at 8 a.m. on New Year's Day – an American Idol Artist Marathon, where he will play music solely from contestants from all previous seasons of American Idol. Between songs, he said, he will talk about the various American Idol winners and where they are in their careers. 

In addition, The Owl allows local organizations to make public service announcements either on the website or on the air to promote events, Bradley said, by emailing wbhbradio@gmail.com. All promotions are free of charge. 

"Like if a church is having a bean supper, that sort of thing," Bradley explained. 

"The idea is to keep it a local station," he said, whereas traditional radio stations serve a larger geographic area.

Live365, which streams the music, allows listeners to rate each song that is played online through the website, www.theowl996.com, or by downloading the Live365 app from a smart phone, Bradley said.

He said the ratings will then determine what types of music the station will play. 

"I am trying to make it ... listener-interactive," he said. According to Bradley, listeners can also interact with the station by sending in comments to the website.

"Any requests people want to make, they can send it to me and I'll add it to the rotation." 

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The radio station's logo.