When I think about places with a thriving music scene, I generally think of big cities like Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin, New Orleans and Atlanta. When I moved back from middle Tennessee to southwest Ohio, I found a great music scene there with many talented artists. One of the things I like about the music scene in Ohio is the sense of community.
One person I met that is a big part of this music community is a man named Scott Hall. A retired fire chief, Hall spends his afternoons in his home studio doing a daily podcast Monday through Friday and most nights enjoying shows, emceeing events or hosting events. He also uses his home studio to do some voice-over work and produce commercials.
Hall said he first started doing a podcast in Florida when he was working at a marina. It was there he had the idea to do a fishing show. The marina also hosted big concerts about five times a year and Hall would interview some of the artists who performed there. He said the marina owners were a little hesitant at first about the podcast. “Once I started interviewing the artists, they saw a market for that and a way to promote what they were doing and show they are giving back to the community by putting on these shows,” he said.
Hall, who is a Bellbrook native, moved back to Ohio after about four years in Florida. He started doing his podcast locally by interviewing people at a Battle of the Bands competition which had about 20 artists involved. Hall started doing a show on Facebook live called “Hall Around Town Radio” about 18 months ago.
He said he changed the format from the podcast format to the Facebook Live format because people want a visual medium and he needed to find a way to get the visual out there. “I can do podcast, put it online, put a picture up…. It’s just not the same as people seeing your face and seeing your emotion,” Hall said. “Being able to do live videos is a powerful thing.”
On the show, he often talks about things that happened on that date in music history, as well as discussing and supporting artists in the live music scene. Many of the local artists regularly tune in to Hall’s show and there is usually a lively discussion in the comments.
“I’m gaining a lot of momentum locally with our Hall Around Town,” he said, adding he goes to places and some people recognize him from the show. “The musicians are loving it because they get free advertising.” Some of those artists share Hall’s daily shows to their own Facebook pages. “Once they started doing that, it just grew and grew,” he said.
Hall said he is nearing 2,500 likes on his Hall Around Town Radio Facebook page. While he admits he would like to have at least 10,000 likes by now, those followers are a targeted group of music fans who go to listen to live music at the venues around the area. “You take a local band and tell them I’ve got the power to promote them to 2,500 specific targeted music people…that’s a good thing,” Hall said. “The people who are on my show are not there to watch about somebody cooking or doing needlepoint. They are there because they love music.”
Hall said there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. He explained there are two Messenger group and he puts out a call every Wednesday for the bands to submit where they are playing. “We feature that segment on Friday called ‘Who’s Playing Out,’ which is our Friday show basically,” he said.
In addition, there is also a musicians forum where the artists can get on and talk back and forth. Through this discussion, they are able to help each other. Hall said artists post there if they are looking for new equipment or need someone to fill in for a show. “That kind of stuff happens behind the scenes, which is really rewarding for me. I’ve created that atmosphere with this forum and that’s what I like about it,” he said.
I think Hall’s background in radio and being a club disc jockey makes him a natural for a music-related show. I have learned new things about music from listening to the show and he has introduced me to some great music acts in the area.
While the things Hall discusses on the show are interesting, his personality truly shines. I am impressed that Hall makes a point to talk to the people who tune in live to see his show. He creates a rapport with his viewers and that transforms Hall into more than someone giving information. He becomes a trusted friend who is giving his suggestions, which is something even more meaningful.
Love Scott Hall and his Hall Around Town we have meet some amazing people and musicians. Love listening to his podcast everyday.