Streaming Along

From his home studio on Santa Fe’s south side, Rocque Ranaldi sifts through a stack of compact discs resting near a pair of CD turntables, a mixer and studio monitors.

While the pile, which was meticulously assembled throughout the week, contains most of the pieces he needs for his set, Ranaldi said he always leaves room for moments of last-minute inspiration. And on this evening, that meant scouring his wall display of about 1,000 CD jewels — each one grouped by genre: hiphop, rock, funk, etc. — for a 15-second comedy bit from Chris Rock.

After a few frantic seconds, the high-energy 38-year-old Alaska native turned back to his original pile. “It’s just where I left it,” he said, smiling as he pulled out the CD.

And just in time, too.

Because, moments later, Ranaldi turns and walks to a computer monitor resting in the far corner of the bedroom/home studio, where he’s greeted with a message flashing across the screen.

It’s showtime.

Each Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m., the arborist-by-day slaps on his D.J. moniker for a program he dubbed “The Independent Get Down,” which is streamed live on www. indiesf.com  . And while Ranaldi, a radio veteran of more than a decade, is no stranger to live radio, working out of his house is still something that takes getting used to.

But he doesn’t mind. Besides, Internet radio does have its perks, he added.

“The best thing is that we’re uncensored — and not just for profanity,” he said. “You can play Lou Reed’s ‘Street Hassle’ in its entirety. Then you can play the 11-minute-and-57-second full-length version of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got to Give It Up’ and let it roll.

“You have no limitations of what to play and how to play it. You’re not trying to bend to the will of a corporation.”

For five years, Ranaldi was the host of the “Friday Funk” on local station KBAC, which featured — yes, funk music, with a smattering of R&B.

Now, with no FCC regulations, while the “Independent Get Down” is still rooted in his music of choice, he’s able to include more hip-hop and rap to create what he calls an “audio mural.”

“I wanted to stretch it out and do something different, playing more weird B-sides — the stuff you had to dig in the crates for,” he said. “Story records from when you were a kid, answering machine recordings — stuff like that.”

But, of course, Ranaldi said he’s not one to take himself too seriously.

“I’m not the college radio guy who says, ‘I’m the first to play this and that.’ This is all about having fun,” he said. “To me, I have an enormous collection of music and it doesn’t count unless you put it out there and share it.”

By the way, the person on the other end of the instant message — that’s Sam Ferrar.

If Ranaldi is the face of IndieSF, the 41-year-old Ferrar would be the heart.

“Sam has forgotten more about radio than anyone ever knew,” Ranaldi said. “He’s the only person I ever met who is doing exactly what he’s meant to do.”

On the IndieSF Web site, it states that the programming originates from “an undisclosed underground bunker near the foothills of the Colorado Rockies.” That bunker is Ferrar’s studio, which is a converted basement in his home in Fort Collins, Colo. — a studio he refers to as the “man cave.”

“Technology is a beautiful thing,” he said.

Aside from Ranaldi’s set, as well as few syndicated programs, Ferrar’s fingerprints can be found on every song played at the virtual station. And while he hasn’t lived in the City Different for a few years, Ferrar said Santa Fe still serves as inspiration for the programming.

“I was in Santa Fe for 10 years, and there will always be a place in my heart for Santa Fe,” he said. “To be cliché, Santa Fe has eclectic music tastes. ... It’s not a pop music town.”

Ferrar should know.

The 20-year radio veteran has worked at various radio stations throughout the country before launching his own terrestrial signal in Santa Fe, which was the starting point for www. indiesf.com  .

“We were streaming in concert with 101.5,” he said of his former project, Indie 101.5. “But after we lost the signal, we held onto 101.5 for months, hoping that another frequency would open up. That never happened.”

So Ferrar dove head first into the new technology, enlisting the help of Chad Kieffer to become the technological brains of the operation by helping with the Web design, as well as the streaming of programming and the creation of Podcasts.

“This is a labor of love for all of us,” said Kieffer, a Santa Fean who’s day job is in information technology. “None of us are getting rich off this. We’re all volunteers believing in what we’re doing.”

Said Ferrar: “It’s a blast because we don’t have to worry about the bottom line — the site’s not making one red cent.”

But with operating costs in the hundreds, rather than the hundreds of thousands it would take to run a traditional signal, that doesn’t mean it won’t in the future.

“Right now, the only place we can’t be heard is in the car,” Ferrar said. “But that’s coming.”

Which brings them back to one of the reasons they entered the radio business in the first place.

“Before, the radio would tell you where you were,” Ranaldi said. “Like, ‘Check out this Tennessee radio station,’ or now you’re in Long Beach (Calif.). ... Good radio is like a mixed tape. Like your buddy saying, ‘Hey, check this out, this will put you in the right mood.’

“... Not like commercial radio, where you’ll hear something that you’ve heard a million times. Where what catches your ear — what sounds different — is the obnoxious car commercial.”