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Pureplay of the Day: BellyUp4Blues

Ten years of hand-to-mouth operation hasn’t dimmed the fire of BellyUp4Blues (www.bellyup4blues.com), an Internet-only blues-rock stream. If its tagline (“The Only Ass-Kicking Blues Rocker”) exaggerates the exclusivity of its musical mission, the description is certainly accurate. This is relentless pounding blues, with hard-baked vocals and scorching guitar solos. We credit BellyUp for our discovery of Ana Popovic, a favorite blues-rock guitarist.

To our ears, there is always a motivational quality to hard-rock blues, the sometimes gloomy lyrics notwithstanding. The RAIN editorial office is starting the week with an invigorating, foot-stomping BellyUp backbeat blast. It goes great with coffee. This morning the playlist has included Tab Benoit, Scott Holt, Bobby Messano, Buddy Whitington, and Little John Chrisley.

BellyUp4Blues is ad-free and listener-supported. There is an air of precariousness about the operation, with monthly donation goals and looming shut-down deadlines. Long-time listeners are rabidly dedicated — one of them recently posted a 1,500-word exhortation in the site’s blog, admonishing listeners to donate, and characterizing non-givers as “unruly, undeserving, disrespectful children.

BellyUp is distributed on the web and via an Android app — a simple radio-like interface with a play button, a stop button, and nothing else. Like the music it plays, BellyUp4Blues gets right down to business.

Brad Hill

5 Comments

  1. Hi Brad,

    Thank you for the write up and help getting the station some no-doubt long overdue recognition! As a (non-affiliated) supporting listener, the achievements and longevity of the station go to BH (Cheif Belly Head, owner/creator and DJ extraordinaire). Without his dedication and love for what is BU4B it certainly wouldn’t have made it through it’s 11th year via pure listener supported donations. No commercial investors here! Just pure unadulterated love for the music, the artists, and the listeners world wide. BH is one of our fine U.S. military veterans and deserves our respect, not only as a veteran, but as a savy business man and managing to last 11 years from scratch based on nothing pure passion for the music we hear and love, and 100% listener donation support. Think about that for a minute. How many business in the world can make that claim? Not many! An admirable achievement to say the least. Here’s to another 11+ years of ass kickin’ blues rockin’ that only BH knows how to aline such that it just simply… well, KICKS YOUR ASS!!! BU4B forever! 😉
    _Check it out folks and and become a satisfied belly head yourself. Donate and support the best ass kickin’ blues rock radio on the planet!

    An awesome revue Brad, thank you for your help getting the word out.

    Kindest Regards,
    Visible Spirit

  2. This is the best damn radio station on the innertubes. So donate today and keep the blues alive.

  3. The guy who runs the station BS or whatever, tells lots of baloney stories. Donate to pay bills to keep the station on air. Well, that requires right around $300 a month. So what is the other thousand and more for ? Always another personal cause to add a donation for. You are paying this guys living expenses, while he buys drugs, and drinks. take a look at the Belly Box he explains.
    Ever month posturing I am closing the station down. Same thing every month for 10 years now, never does. Won’t happen cause donations are paying his personal bills. Bear with his fits, the music always comes back.
    Not to mention he played other people’s work for his own profit for 10 years till he got nailed just recently. All the while saying support the artists while he used them for personal gain. Total and complete baloney from the guy.
    Very easy to check what he ACTUALLY pays in Internet fees to stream music.

  4. Just looked at Belly website, as posted at this time :
    You want BellyUp4Blues streaming the best music around? Then contribute today–

    We WILL stay off the air until the rest of the donations are in…..I guarantee it!!! All you non-supporters will just have to wait for someone else to donate for your sorry butts — to those that have donated you have my sincerest thanks! You can all get mad, upset or disgruntled that we are off the air but it is posted each and every month when the donations need to be in so we can pay all of our service providers – maybe someday we will be on track and not have to do this at all……….

    Back on the air when all done for August – BH

    I see what Katrina was speaking of. A REAL sweety, isn’t he ? Threatening to stay off air to get his donations. Also took the time to check what the expenses amount to. He uses a typical streaming host/domain, pays internet access, and licensing now ( since he WAS nailed for using copyrighted material ) The closest total with all I could trace from his site information total overhead cost to stream music amounts to no more then $323/month. AND THAT INCLUDES royalties payed per the limit of connection slots he pays for to allow access to listeners.
    Seems basically Katrina is correct. I also read an old post of where he was referring to the studio, LOL look at his pictures on the site. His studio is the kitchen table, in the apartment YOUR donations likely are paying for. People actually donate their hard earned money for that ?????? AMAZING

  5. Wow, I can’t imagine what he uses $1500 in donations for. Then right now begging for $400 more for his rent. he also. Then later he adds that he needs more yet to pay royalties. That ends up around $2000 a month to pay expenses the operator says. BS says donations are used to pay monthly expenses.Seems he is making out real well. Making more then many who donate to the station. I can only find as David says, a total of under $400 in actual expenses to run the station. I would certainly want to know what my donation was actually being used for. The dollars and sense do not add up for me. I guess an internet radio station is very profitable ?/?? IDK Looks like he gets allot ore then just paying expenses, as he says, what ever he considers those to include.

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