If you ask Wildman Steve, good music has no genre.
Wildman Steve, whose real name is Steve Bronson, is the founder and head deejay of locally-owned and operated Internet radio station Wildman Steve Radio.
Although it started out with humble beginnings, Wildman Steve Radio now has at least 50 regular listeners in each state, as well as listeners in countries around the world including France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Mexico and the U.K.
"It's far out to watch," Bronson said. "We have 5,000 listeners across the world on a daily basis, which is considered in the world of radio to be a 'large station' audience, but we are real happy with our growth."
For Bronson, running the radio station comes naturally.
"It's just in my blood," Bronson said. "It's something I always did. I was born that way, literally. I don't think I could do a job not involved in music."
After graduating from West Virginia University, Bronson took time off to play the trumpet, piano, drums and even the washboard. Bronson said he has been in 15-20 bands, which has allowed him to take a first-hand look at the music that has always been a part of him.
He picked up work here and there, he said, and played everything from hard rock to country. After five years, Bronson attended the University of Florida to get his bachelor's degree in music.
In 1983, after almost nailing a record deal, Bronson sold his band equipment and opened a record store with the nearly 4,000 records he had in his possession.
He then conducted a study on college towns to decide where he could open his record store. He finally settled on Auburn in 1988 based on market research that showed a lack of competition in this area.
Bronson said he began noticing a decline in CD sales throughout the late 90s and early 2000s with the rise of music sharing sites and CD burners. On what would have been the store's 13th anniversary in 1991, Bronson ended up having a closeout sale instead.
Bronson spent seven years working at local radio station WQNR, where he was named program director and helped the station win four consecutive Station of the Year awards.
After Bronson was let go from the station, Bronson and his wife, Laura, then decided to move Wildman Steve Radio to the Internet, using the only money they had in savings on their third year wedding anniversary.
Bobby Guy, patron of Wildman Steve Radio, said he has listened to Wildman Steve since the beginning, after stumbling upon the previous FM radio station.
"I liked it, because it wasn't the same old stuff," Guy said. "It wasn't predictable. Most radio stations were just putting in the same old CD and hitting replay, and I would always guess which ZZ Top or Pink Floyd song they were going to play next."
Laura, better known as her on-air alias Lola Palooza, said she believes in what she and her husband are doing for music and that this is more of a labor of love. They work hard at what they do, she said, because they share a deep love of music.
"I couldn't ask for anything more," Laura said. "We've all got to do something in this life. I don't know how important this is for the world, but it's important to the musicians."
Guy said listening to the station introduced him to music he would have never discovered had it not been for Wildman Steve.
"My friends and I absolutely love Wildman Steve and are grateful for him turning us on to good music," Guy said.
Bronson said there isn't much money to make a living off of, but they are doing good for the world of music.
"There really truly is lots of good music out there, if you know where to look," Bronson said.
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