Beyond The Groove

Beyond The Groove is a radio program broadcast every week from Mornington Penninsular, (Melbourne, Victoria) based community station Radio Port Phillip (3RPP, 98.7 FM).

The program airs every Friday night 9pm to 11pm. It is produced by Steve Meyers and his SVR production unit. It is also hosted by Steve Meyers (with a variety of guest presenters whom have helmed the show from time to time).

The Concept
"Beyond The Groove" grew out of a Feature Album Show segment, which aired during 3RPP's "Midnight Express" in 2003. Steve Meyers, producer of the program, first approached the station with the idea of a 2-hour, mostly pre-recorded program, which would feature classic/contemporary albums, artists and special events in a weekly documentary-styled program at the beginning of 2004. However even with a lot of support for the concept, it took 2 years for the appropriate time slot to become available.

Season One
;March 2006 to May 2007 = 52 Episodes.
In March of 2006 "Beyond the Groove" aired its very first show with a look at the classic Beatles album Abbey Road. This first show set the tone for what was to come; a tight, in-depth look at an album's evolution and/or a profile of an artist's career as seen by the artist themself. The first program relied on archived material, an approach to classic works which has paved the way for other shows which have featured Elvis Presley, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and Billy Joel.

In the first season, many of the early shows were based on archived material, however as the show grew, more and more artists have wanted to appeared on the program. This led to many exclusive interviews with many famous Australian artists like Billy Thorpe & Gil Mathews (The Aztecs), Billy Field, (Skyhooks), Ross Wilson (Daddy Cool/Mondo Rock), Ross Ryan and Martin Plaza (Mental As Anything), to name a few.

However "Beyond The Groove" didn't just focus on well known artists, the program also featured a host of local Australian talent in the likes of Earthed, Paul Dillon, Antrim, Wilful Damage, Abbie Cardwell, Josh Orange, Opinani and the Raindrops, Sarah Kelly, The Detonators, and many others.

As to special events in the first season, the program followed the making of an album, from its inception, to a recording at a one off live show in Sorento, to its release. And then followed its progress as it become the most requested album on iTunes and saw the first single get picked up by the Salvation Army as its signature tune for its Drought relief appeal 2006/7 (Paul Dillon’s "Butterfly into a Storm"). Other specials featured the origin of Recorded Sound and the origin of Synthesizer, as well as another program that reached back into the archives to feature the 78rpm recordings of Al Jolson.

Season Two
;May 2007 to May 2008 = 52 Episodes.
The second season started much as the first—with a feature on The Beatles' Love, using archived material. However these archive-based shows became less frequent as the season progressed. More and more, "Beyond The Groove" has become known for its artist interviews. Season 2 has so far featured great Australian artists like Mike Rudd (Spectrum), Annalise Morrow (Numbers), Jeff Duff (Kush), Rob Hirst (Midnight Oil/Ghostwriters), Garry Gray (Sacred Cowboys), Doug Parkinson, and Sean Carey from Thirsty Merc.

The second season also saw more debut albums being featured including I See Flowers You See Cars, Mayor Chord, Cellulite Soul, and By Hook or By Crook. Special events during Season Two included a look at Novelty Songs, Sci-Fi Themes, A Unique presentation of "War Of The Worlds", and a look at the music scene in Melbourne during the late 1970s to early 1980s.

Season Three

Episode 1 of Season Three is due to air on 3RPP FM , 30 May 2008. Programs for Season Three are yet to be published.
 
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