Eric Szmanda, who plays Greg Sanders on
CSI, has helmed and inspired a format-free Internet radio station called erockster, which is now being launched by Clear Channel Radio. The 32-year-old actor seems like an odd choice for leading such a major initiative at the world's largest radio broadcaster however, his background goes far deeper than your typical actor-turned-DJ.
Prior to landing his
CSI role, Szmanda was a former marketing rep at music company BMG, where he met and worked with Clear Channel executive Evan Harrison. He also served as a music consultant in the film
Life as a House and is presently a club promoter through his side company Doop.
"Eric has an unparalleled love and appreciation for a vast array of music," Harrison said. "His talent will absolutely resonate with like-minded fans."
Szmanda's new project is described as a vast collection of on-air, online and on-demand content for music fans of all genres. The collection will reportedly reach about 5,000 songs over the next month, adding 1,000 songs per week.
"Our main focus will be on quality and we're going to give a lot of bands that don't have a chance to be heard on the radio that opportunity," the
CSI actor said. "We want to be playing everything from indie rock to hip-hop to classic rock to soul to dance rock."
Jane's Addiction, Daft Punk, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, My Morning Jacket, Velvet Underground, the Clash, The Police, Al Green, the Beatles, and Grandmaster Flash are just a few of those artists featured on erockster. Fans can check out more about this online radio station at www.erockster.com.
At present, erockster content streams from Los Angeles (KYSR-FM), Washington DC (WWDC-FM) and Philadelphia (WRFF-FM) as well as broadcast as an HD2 channel. As additional stations are added, the show will also be syndicated as a two-hour program on FM stations.
-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source:
erockster.com,
reuters.com
(Image courtesy of WireImage.com)