Born from the pioneering spirit of Youth Radio in downtown Oakland, All Day Play FM has been a foundational force in the Bay Area’s music ecosystem. The internet radio station has recently been relaunched by alumni Ben Froze and Jason “Trackademicks” Valerio and is entering a bold new era with multi-camera DJ sets that spotlight local talent and expand the platform’s reach to a global audience. Marcus Rosario caught up with the duo to discuss the All Day Play FM legacy, its creative evolution, and the ongoing importance of community-driven music platforms.
For more information about All Day Play FM, you can visit their YouTube, their TikTok and their Instagram.
TRANSCRIPT:
MARCUS: And speaking of stories and culture in the Bay Area, I'm joined by two illustrious individuals who have refounded All Day Play FM. Trackademicks, an amazing musician and creative, and Ben Froze is the creative director of All Day Play, an awesome music platform. It was around for a long time, took a break and now is back. So welcome. How are you guys doing?
BEN: Hey, great man.
TRACKADEMICKS: Thank you for having us.
MARCUS: So from my understanding, Youth Radio was the umbrella that birthed All Day Play and then it came about. Can you explain a little bit for people that are tuning in for the first time, what those organizations are?
BEN: Yeah. So, Youth Radio is the kind of youth media production company and education program. Trackademicks and myself were both kids in the program in high school and then as it was developing its first internet, radio stations All Day Play came out of that. So the idea was to go from just having podcasts and mixed shows to a full 24-7 internet radio station. So we named it, we built it and when Youth Radio was in downtown Oakland, I was acting as the Program Director. We started bringing in the DJ community so that the young people who were learning how to host mix, do shows, could interact with, you know, go back to back with, with local DJs that were part of the greater music community. And so that was the model. It was a chance for, if you took it seriously as a youngster, you'd be going back to back with the same people that might be mixing in clubs or or wherever.
MARCUS: Nice. Can you explain the impact of it? Because I know a lot of our mutual friends and just people in and around the Bay Area know this platform, and I know it's really strong. It's still standing.
TRACKADEMICKS: The influence of Youth Radio and All Day Play is far and wide. Like BEN and I talk about it all the time and pretty much most of the DJs in the area who've, you know, been established have been on the station at some point in time. Also a lot of through the nonprofit side of Youth Radio back in the day, like a lot of the artists that are now popping and bubbling in the Bay Area have some kind of root or connection to Youth Radio and All Day Play. So I mean there's a huge footprint.
MARCUS: Awesome. And how would you say it impacted you individually?
TRACKADEMICKS: I think as creatives and just working in music and arts and just local culture here in the Bay Area.
BEN: Go for it.
TRACKADEMICKS: I know for me, it's kind of my whole crew, the Honor Roll crew. We are from Youth Radio. We all met at Youth Radio as kids who were just trying to find like-minded individuals and we kind of all formed there. I think it's just one of those spots where. We were able to continue to meet people who are interested in what we were interested in, but folks were from diverse backgrounds. I know for me like understanding all radio isn't just commercial radio. Mm-hmm. Um, that kind of gave us the freedom to like cut loose and be as creative as we possibly could. So I think that was, that was probably the most important thing, especially being a high school kid. Mm-hmm. You know, and feeling validated. Like, I like things that are slightly left to center, but not knowing how to articulate that. So I think that was one of the most important factors for me creatively.
BEN: Yeah. And then just, you know, I taught there for 19 years and as a kid in the program, I think it’s what Jason just described, it's like that powerful moment where you go from being like someone who consumes and listens to media, music, to someone who creates it and participates in the culture and Youth Radio and All Day Play has been that for a lot of young people and just musicians, artists, creative folks in general. You learn how to be a part of it and contribute to it and present it in your kind of tech and filter and that's the community radio thing. You know you're not gonna get that on in other spaces.
MARCUS: Yeah, it's true. I mean, it is a thing that is really important for all things local. What do you think listeners might not realize about what it takes to keep these organizations going?
TRACKADEMICKS: Oh, I mean, you know, that's an easy thing. We, we all know it's money. Right? You know, I mean, aside from money, it's also folks who care and are invested vested in it like you really have to. There is no pot of gold at the end, necessarily. The gold is the community that you build. You know, the spaces that you curate and the experiences you have. So I mean, I think that's what really keeps it going. No one's in community radio and community spaces just because they're like, oh, I have nothing better to do and there's nowhere else. I'd rather be like, I think it really is important for folks who really love it and, and you also need the human capital, but you also need capital, capital resources. That's really it. It's really simple.
MARCUS: You've brought back All Day Play. What's your guys' vision for it to continue on and what are your hopes and dreams?
BEN: Man, I mean you know for us, we just want to be of service to the greater DJ, music, arts community in the Bay Area. So after 14 years of an internet station, now we're doing a kind of evolution of that, where we're presenting people's performances in this multi-camera format. The arts community needs that infrastructure. It needs those types of presentations and just to be in a position to capture the culture and present and preserve it so that people know what the scene, what these DJs, what the music was at that moment in this space in Oakland. You know, that's where we're based. So there's obviously a large local focus for what we do and if not, how else is this gonna be captured and presented? So, we hope to just keep building it, you know, obviously. We launched a week ago or a week and a half ago so we just hope to continue to do that, to be that space for that community.
MARCUS: There was a question or a point that you pointed out, Trackademicks, about the commercial aspect. Can you go in a little bit as to why these spaces are so important and critical in terms of what you are doing versus what the commercial world is like? What we exist in that we're trying to fight.
TRACKADEMICKS: Yeah. I mean it all comes down to freedom and creativity. In the commercial world, everything is driven by the investor or by the person who's paying the bills and I think these spaces are so important because you get to have someone like you, your show is amazing, right? And I mean, we, we think so for sure. And that taste would not, your personal taste would not necessarily be able to shine through in a commercial space because you know, you're selling ads, it's ad time, right? Yeah. And so whatever is gonna keep people's attention the most is what you need to play and the widest swath of folks.
But in a public space, you can introduce people to new things and it really is about curating and growing community. And I know, I know for me, a lot of my personal taste was shaped by, back in the day, when I was a teen, through public radio, college radio because that's where you heard you tune in at a wild hour, you know, it's like 11:30 at night and you hear the wildest music but you're not hearing that on a commercial stage station. So I think they bring it home. You can actually connect with these people. Mm-hmm. You know, and I just think it's really important, you know?
MARCUS: Yeah, definitely. I think it's just, you know, we're all connected and I think it's the power of being local and being community driven and just kind of being there for each other is probably the most essential with how we exist with these platforms, especially right now in these times we're in.
MARCUS: I'm curious actually as for somebody who loves music and music discovery, what do you hope for people to take away when they learn about All Day Play and just these community spaces?
BEN: The takeaway. I mean, hopefully it's just a window into our culture and scene. You know, obviously it's for people in the Bay Area to have access to their own artists and seeing outside of a club context, you know, it's a third space. It's a different space than commercial radio. You get the music clubs and festivals of the other, and this is another opportunity for those same musicians and artists to present whatever they wanna present with that time. I hope they take away like a window to what it is to be here, be part of this music culture in the Bay.
MARCUS: Yeah, I agree. I think it's vital that people really tune in and see what's going on beyond the headlines here in the Bay Area. And so this is why I think, this is why I invited you guys on, because it's just important that people know about dope community organizations, like All Day Play and what cool people are doing like you.
MARCUS: So before we end things, where can people find information about All Day Play and yourselves in general?
TRACKADEMICKS: So first and foremost, we are on YouTube. So All Day Play FM, that's where you can find us. Also on Instagram All Day Play FM, as well as TikTok, X, all of that. You know, we're everywhere. All Day Play FM. I think even jumping on back of what Ben was saying, I think one of the things, because we're having local, we want local flavor to be shared. We're doing it on platforms like YouTube where everyone globally can get it and it's kind of bringing the local global in a time where a lot of stuff is homogenized.
MARCUS: I feel that, yeah, I think it's great. I'm always a champion for community music spaces and just community radio and all sorts of other outlets for young people and just people in general that aren’t on terrestrial radio or other things. So I'm hoping for the best and I want to thank you guys again.
MARCUS: Anything you wanna share with the rest of the Bay Area before we dive back into music?
BEN: It's platforming the culture, that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to create that space for the music culture. So please tune in and check out some of the sets.
MARCUS: Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, local supporting local here in the Bay Area. Just got into a conversation with Trackademicks and Ben Froze of All Day Play FM.
