An Iceberg Has Fallen.

An Iceberg has Fallen: A Twisted Tribute to Jerry "Iceberg" Hayes

2007 and the Lounges

In 2007, I had no idea what I was doing, but I had been dabbling a bit on social media site Fubar, at least well before it became the dumpster fire it is these days; where you had virtual "lounges" where you could host your in-house DJ's, etc. Nobody questioned how licensing worked at the time. All you needed was a shoutcast server, broadcasting software, a microphone and a stack of MP3's and you were golden.

I bounced through a few of these lounges... Did some 'guest' DJ slots, eventually became a regularly scheduled host. aaaaand then drama. Drama, drama, drama. All the drama. Man. That place got worse than High school BS. I wanted ZERO part of it - all I wanted to do was, talk about nerd shit & introduce people to cool music they maybe wouldn't have otherwise discovered unless they'd happen across the proper channels. SO I was a bit lost.

Searching for the Next Step

Couldn't quite figure out what was next. So, I did what any music-obsessed nerd would do - I started researching. All the online stations. But here's the thing - Everybody wanted a Demo (Which, I eventually recorded one... Bet it's still lurking on a spare hard drive, somewhere)... Everybody wanted a DJ who had a following (Which, from a business sense, is logical).. And Everybody wanted someone that they could tell what to play. I didn't mind requests - But, I didn't want to listen to "You need to play at least one song from this column, that column, etc," per set. OH, and they wanted me to run ads. (I'm pretty sure I have an entire collection of those Bud Light "Real Men Of Genius" mp3's somewhere on that hard drive).

So. They wanted someone they could tell what to play, when to play, have a following, and know what the hell they were doing.

I checked ZERO of those boxes.

Finding RenegadeRadio.net

Then I came across Renegaderadio.net.

"Music's Antivirus"

I checked in on a random tuesday evening, because there was a show running at the time; Euro Rock Radio - Who was pretty big on playing bands like HIM, The 69 Eyes, and Poets Of The Fall. Bands I had been hot on for QUITE some time prior.

Dug the vibe. Dug the crew. Dug the 'tunes.

So I reached out and was referred to "Iceberg" - The guy who ran the whole damned thing. I pitched my idea, Threw the demo.. And he basically said "Cool! Let's rock."

The Birth of Grave Disorder

We set up a debut. Turns out, Fate had a different plan - as JUST when I was about to fire off and take over my first live gig as their brand new "Lunch time" DJ (I was working overnights, I figured, a Wednesday Lunchtime block was safe..) Well, the Machine I was using at the time, Wasn't having it. I hit broadcast, the whole damned thing just up and died. Hard drive. Board. Done-zo. This was a G4 Mac tower, too - which, by this time, was getting pretty up there... It just said "nope" and that was that.

So. Few weeks later, New rig, We give it a shot.. and Magic!

"Grave Disorder" is born. And yes, not only is it something that reflects my weirdness, but it's an homage to one of my all time favorite records from one of my all time favorite bands, British Punk Icons The Damned.

Breaks and Returns

Then life happened, and I had to take a step back. For quite a bit, actually.. Sometime circa Late 2009, I came back, Now on friday nights. That was the new thing. Fridays 8-11p, I tried all kinds of different things. Did a bunch of interviews, Starting doing Editorials/Op-Ed's..

And then, I had to step away. Again. Because life.

Then, in 2014, I came back - with a vengeance, and A mission: Bring us to the next level. I didn't know how, I had ZERO clue what I was really doing... But I was going to do it.

The Relaunch

Feb 28, 2014 Marked a brand new beginning for the "Grave Disorder" brand. not only was gonna be doing my weekly show, But, Now I was going to be broadcasting live, from wherever the fuck I wanted - And making sure that the bands I was getting to see, you were getting to hear live, wherever the fuck You were. That also happened to be the night that Craving Strange welcomed us into the fold, as they were celebrating the release of their record, "A Life Exceptional" - along with Revel 9, Jacknife Stiletto, Midnight Mob & The short lived Pedestrian Knockdown, at the late yet Legendary Revolution Bar in Amityville, New York.

That started a chain of events that would consume my life for the next 6 years - And I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. One of my goals when came back, was not only to help elevate the Renegaderadio brand, But it was also to help elevate the bands that we worked with and Create new opportunities for everybody across the board.

Booking Shows

Thus, the logical next step from jumping in on other's gigs? Create my own. Something that screams "You shouldn't have missed that one.." Thus, I started to book shows - Starting with July 06, 2014, at the Late Evenflow Bar & Grill in Bayshore. Bad Mary, Discipline Theory, Czech Funk, and Australian rockers Dellacoma - who had never played Long Island before.

That was show #1.

Now, of course, Booking wasn't my only priority. I was still pushing my show, but also, I was regularly jumping on simulcasts and on-site broadcasts.. It wasn't unusual to find me out and about with a trunk full of gear even on a tuesday at the late KJ Farrell's.

Growing the Team

But I was also well aware that, We needed to do more than just broadcast. We needed content. We needed staff. We needed DJ's.

So. I started throwing things at the wall, and what stuck?

• Heldback Radio

• Ambush Radio

• All Screwed Up Radio

• The Happy Hour

• TBD Radio

• The Slaughterhaus

• BadSeedRadio

Not to mention

• The Radio J show

• Grindhouse Radio

• Rock 'n Roll Circus

Backend and Servers

Then I took over the back-end/Server responsibilities for a bit. Weekends, I'd rebroadcast archived Live shows. In order to do this proper, I had to learn the ins and outs of SAM broadcaster and half-ass learn PAL Scripting (Fun fact: This is where I learned I'm equally mad at myself for not having attempted to learn any coding skill prior, but also NOT mad because, the headaches probably would have been worse because I understood why something didnt work).

Jerry the Gear Guru

It was also during this time, that Jerry and I talked for countless hours on the phone - About licensing, about gameplans... What was next.. I always said, "without a destination, there can be no direction" - It was brilliant that we had been building, but where were we heading?

He was also for all intent purpose - my Gear guru - I learned more about microphones and mixers from Jerry... Different recording setups, That didn't work? Try this - Oh, FCK, Not that.. Wrong button.. Shit, did I just hang up?

Then there was the time he accidentally hit the Red button and nuked the entire website... Without a backup...

That was Jerry. Teacher, gear guru, partner in scheming. He had the patience to walk me through every cable, every board, every licensing puzzle, and the wisdom to always circle back to the bigger question: where are we heading - Especially when he'd get stoned and talk about how he once got eaten by a shark in after Jetski-ing too far out.

Showcases and SXSW

Between July 6, 2014 and May 5, 2018, I booked 20 showcases under the Renegade banner, 9 different venues. Twenty nights that gave bands a stage, gave fans a reason to gather, and gave Long Island memories it wouldn’t have had otherwise.

And then there was that Week in March 2015 where Craving Strange, Revel 9, Jemini & I Invaded Austin, Texas for SXSW/Heart of Texas Rockfest.. Berg, Jemini and I also met up for lunch, where I'll never forget Jerry was about 5 seconds from willingly paying a homeless guy to Shit in the bed of an asshole driving a pickup Truck... That's a story that will forever be a highlight in my brain.

The Legacy

I'd stumble if you asked me to put a final number on the number of broadcasts I jumped on. It was at least once, twice a month at Even flow, plus a Random Revolution gig, The Crooked Rail, Napper Tandy's, Wherever..

The Renegade brand may eventually evolve in time - But For the last near two decades, it has been my home - And It's legacy will endure.

None of it would’ve happened without an Iceberg named Jerry Hayes saying “cool, let’s rock” when I was just some stubborn, music-obsessed misfit with a demo and a dream.