I recently heard a Shaky Hands song playing at Burgerville. I shouldn't have been shocked, considering the Shakies played Burgerville before the beloved Portland rock outfit went on its current hiatus—but it still took me a minute to reconcile what I was eating (a turkey club with large fries and a coke) with what I was hearing (one of my all-time favorite Northwest bands). Only in Portland.

Now Burgerville is expanding its in-restaurant radio station to include more local artists, some of whom—Viva Voce!? Radiation City!? And And And!?—are cool enough to make Burgerville officially more in-touch with the local music scene than most of my friends. The in-Burgerville station (which you will also be able to stream via the internet by year's end) also plans to broadcast LiveWire! performances and, with a lot of luck, Blazer games. Ponder what it all means—and get your band's CD ready for drop-off at BV headquarters—while you dig into this kind of amazing press release.

BURGERVILLE LAUNCHES ‘BV RADIO’
 
Burgerville’s In-restaurant Programming to Give Local Artists Airtime
 
Vancouver, Wash. (Oct. 18, 2011) – The next time you walk into one of the region’s 38 Burgerville locations, you might know the musician you hear singing over the restaurant’s airwaves. Literally. This month, Burgerville launches BV Radio, a radio station that showcases Northwest musicians.
 
BV Radio is a unique, in-restaurant radio station developed by digital media pioneer io4Business. Drawing on a music library five times larger than most radio stations, visitors to Burgerville will hear music from local artists such as Blind Pilot, Radiation City, Pancake Breakfast, Fernando, and Chervona, among many others.
 
"Supporting local businesses and community is one of our core values,” said Burgerville president and CEO, Jeff Harvey. “When thinking about the music we play in our restaurants, we wanted to extend our support to local songwriters and musicians, many of whom have never had airtime on a local radio station.”
 
One-third of all the music programmed on BV Radio is by local and regional artists. “You're definitely going to hear The Decemberists, The Dandy Warhols and Elliot Smith,” said Michael Roe, founder of io4Business. “But you're also going to hear Viva Voce, Rob Stroup & The Blame, And And And - that's a local band- heard of them yet?"
 
Musicians won’t be the only local focus for BV Radio. The station will also stream performances from Oregon Public Broadcasting’s LiveWire! Radio. And Burgerville is working on logistics to simulcast Timbers and Trailblazers games.
 
By the end of the year, BV Radio will be accessible from anywhere there is an internet connection through a well-known internet radio service. “Until then, you’ll have to visit your nearest Burgerville to hear Portland's newest and most interesting, local radio station,” said Harvey.
 
Local artists who would like to have their music considered for airplay on BV Radio are encouraged to submit CDs to Burgerville headquarters located at 109 West 17th Street, Vancouver, WA, 98660.