The Fusion Pocket and CuencaHighLife Radio go live today

Get ready for the Fusion Pocket with expat disk jockey Gary Michaels.

Michael’s program airs from noon until three today with rebroadcasts until midnight. The Pocket will broadcast regularly on the CuencaHighLife Internet Radio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

According to Gary Michaels and CuencaHighLife editor David Morrill, Fusion Pocket is the first of several features planned for the new radio station. “We’ll add more music and are talking to several folks about helping us with programming,” he says. “The point is to get Cuenca rockin’ with some great rock and roll and rhythm and blues.”

Morrill looks to expand programming to include talk radio programs, both original and rebroadcasts from other stations. “We’re considering local shows about events, food, health, travel, the music scene and the arts,” he says. “At this point we’re still exploring, asking around to see what people are interested in and looking for talent. We also plan to pick up programs and podcasts from other sources aimed at expats, both folks already here and those thinking of coming.”

Both Michaels and Morrill are content to start small. “We begin part-time but we start with a bang,” says Morrill. “Gary Michaels is a high-energy guy, to borrow a Donald Trump-ism, who knows contemporary music better than anyone around. His music is fantastic, a lot of it you’ve heard before, but a lot of it you haven’t.”

Michaels says he became a rock fan when he was six, listening to Dwayne Eddy’s version of “Buckeye.” “I heard it and I was hooked and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

“I always wanted to be a disc jockey but only had the chance for a few months in junior college in California,” Michaels says. The need to earn a living intervened and he spent most of his working life as a CPA and corporate consultant.

“When I retired and decided to move to Cuenca, the first thing I wanted to do was be a disc jockey again,” Michaels says. “It’s a great opportunity to do something I love and kind of return to my boyhood. I intend to have a blast.”

Michaels says his programming focuses on “segues” between songs and groups of song. “Sometimes I group them for compatibility but other times for contrast,” he says.

Michaels and CuencaHighLife general manager Jonathan Mogrovejo say the radio station will have bugs to work out in the early going. “Internet that’s 100% reliable is always a challenge in Cuenca,” says Mogrovejo. “We’re going high-end and high-power, so we’re as comfortable as we can be with our technology.”

Mogrovejo adds that he is exploring other broadcast projects with local partners. “We’re looking to take HighLife multi-media and this is the first step.”

To tune in to Fusion Pocket beginning today a noon, go to the Fusion Pocket banner at the top of the right-hand column. Listeners can also go to fusionpocket.com to log on. According to Mogrovejo, that website is being redesigned and will re-launch in a matter of days.

Gary Michael’s email address is gary@fusionpocket.com.