"Rising Phoenix-like"

Hmmm...nine people read the first post and was viewed 12 times while my follow-up article received some pretty good comments on Facebook.  I hope this one is as good as the last two.

MAINTAIN THIS FREQUENCY!

For sure, a lot of people were saddened by the news of Campus 99.5' sudden discontinuation on the air last year and even now I'm sure a lot still do. Well, things happen and I guess we should all leave these behind us and move on.

I'm saddened by the bash, hate, pessimism and criticisms the station received from bashers, haters, and even a few listeners from the brand that replaced Campus last year based from what they posted from forums and other social network sites. Nevertheless, as a long-time and loyal fan, I feel as if I need to defend it against the likes of them. Even to the point of having my own share of insults as well some troll hacking my Facebook account and post whatever I wrote on my profile page in Pinoy Exchange (Thank goodness for mods!).

News broke a couple of months later that a couple of ex-DJ's from Campus are planning on transplanting Campus Radio in a new frequency. Lately, some ex-Campus jocks have already moved on with new-yet-familiar jobs like Joe Spinner who's now known as Koji Morales and is now doing midnight duties for 99.5 RT, Jimmy Jam is program director for RJ 100 and, at the same time, is hosting a show on UR 105.9. I was kinda worried that time, because of a lot of factors that prevents Campus from ever coming back.

Eventually, the hype brought by the news of another go for Campus died down that lasted til the first few months of 2009.

However, around March, I discovered that Campus Radio is back, this time as an internet radio station, a rather new but increasingly vital form of media at this time of age. A bit nostalgic when I first opened the stream, all the songs they were playing were relatively old tracks from last year meaning Campus Radio Online was on test broadcast. It didn't took long though before it finally got some newer ones in rotation.

One of the first stingers I heard was a recorded voice of Triggerman, whom many listeners may remember as the controversial host of the Top 20 @ 12 back in WLS-FM. In later weeks, John Hendrix-voiced stingers also began playing.

Upon this discovery, I felt relieved because all the hurt brought by Campus' terrestrial demise suddenly disappeared. Believe me, never in my life had I've felt such an attachment to something people would perceive as an "addiction" and mere "fanaticism" (as if they don't do the same things on themselves.).

Then came more recent news about going live online and later a grand launch. So far so good, the vibe has been positive especially those coming from my co-listeners whom I get to interact often online in PinoyExchange. According to one recent update, something's cooking this August.

Ironically, it's going to be almost a year since Campus went unplugged by the higher powers by the time Campus Radio Online reveals what they're keeping mum about (August 14 to be exact or what I personally call it "Ill-Fated Thursday").

Flashback to a few months ago, I opened Campus's online stream again while at the same time I was watching this clip of John Hendrix and Jaybee recorded from last year's UP
 Fair 2008 on the Net where they announced that time Campus Radio's return (via 99.5). I didn't noticed the streaming was still on so as I was watching the video clip, the stream is playing Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" which turns out to be symbolic in a sense. After the clip ended, the song continued on and just a minute before it ended, someone suddenly spoke live. Turns out to be the Triggerman, hehehe. Now that's a surprise!

I'm completely impressed by the mere fact that John Hendrix and Triggerman really poured all of their time and energy investing something that is seen most unlikely to be revived after it got screwed twice for the past few years. Maybe this time, third time's a charm.

Most of all, none of these would have been possible if it weren't for us, the listeners/fans who have remained loyal to Campus Radio. It's our continuing support that kept them going despite the ups and downs, as well as the bumps along the road. So in a way: It was US who brought Campus Radio back!

And as I quote a line from Jimmy Jam: "Lo and behold, from the burning ashes of a scorched barangay, rising Phoenix-like, Campus Radio LIVES! "