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This is the 'Frequently Asked Questions' (or FAQ) list for the series 'Midnight Voicejail'. It describes the origins, nature of, and participants in the program.
It was a half-hour to one-hour feature produced by The National Cynical Network that was part of
a larger show called Club Manic-Depression (hosted by Angel D. Monique) as heard on KFJC 89.7 FM in Los Altos Hills, CA. It ran from April 2000 to early 2003. It's about a group of 20-something
slackers, stuck in the very work-oriented suburbs of Silicon
Valley during the 80's and 90's. They used various voicemail
systems as their main social and creative outlet. They came to
be known as 'voicejailers'. The show is an ongoing audio documentary
about their world, revealed mostly through collected voicemail
messages interspersed with pieces of psychedelic collage and
comedy bits. The phone calls, and voicemail message recordings, you
hear are real and not staged. They are used in the show with the permission of their owners. The scene was sparked by a personal ad in the San Jose Metro, put there by a character named Ed Note. The ad invited Silicon Valley 'freaks' to call a voicemailbox sardonically titled 'The World Suicide Club' The recordings of incoming calls to Note's advertised voicemail box were then cut up and used in collage form as his outgoing message material. Mr. 1:15 (Newport) soon after set up his box (called "Club Manic-Depression"), followed by Ronald Redball's box (titled "The Global Maverick Society").
Many more followed, and the scene grew and migrated to other more robust voicemail systems (which could better handle the load it put on their resources). The scene continued for 10 years. At its peak, there were no less than 50 different mailboxes, all of them interacting with each other, trading and re-broadcasting messages, and presenting creative outgoings for the world to hear. The scene broke up around the mid-nineties, presumably when everyone discovered the worldwide web. By going HERE. Phinny was working on Voicejail 2.0 which was set to premiere in April of 2008. Only a half dozen or so of Voicejail 2.0 were produced. These are available at the NCN Bandcamp Site in the first 6 episodes of the series available there. (Search linked page above for 'Midnight Voicejail' to find in index). Angel D. Monique: Ed Note: Father
Luke: Joe
Sledgehammer: Mr. 1:15: Mr.
Chemist: Phineas
Narco: Psycho
Jack: Ronald Redball Voicejail Betty: By clicking this link, your player should start playing back a lo-fi version of the show. Keep in mind, this audio is probably NSFW. By writing to voicejail (at sign) yahoo.com Midnight Voicejail
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Midnight Voicejail?
What's it about?
Are the phone calls for real?
How did this Voicejail scene get
started?
This small-scale 'mediage' experiment created a kind of feedback clarion call attracting all manner of artistic and disaffected outcasts, freaks and weirdos, who had been largely alienated from the 1980's Silicon Valley yuppie social scene which predominated at that time.
Where can I find an episode guide?
When will new episodes be available?
Who are some of the people I can hear on the
show?
BOX 8016
Former hostess of the show Club
Manic-Consciousness on KFJC on which Midnight
Voicejail premiered,. Involved more in the 90's
voicejailing scene.
Sardonic recluse that started the World Suicide Club, the box
that started it all. One-time roommate of Mr.
1:15 and can be heard referred to as such on the show. .
A former priest (really!) and poet laureate of the voicejail. Frequently can
convincingly adopt the voice of an old man."What is the
meaning of this?" Imparter of many sage observations. Involved
more in the latter-years of the scene. Came up with the term
'voicejailers'. Now runs fatherluke.com.
BOX 8819
One of the core
members of the voicejail scene. his name is taken from the
short-lived TV comedy show Sledgehammer. Rather
obsessed with Babylon 5. In the
voicejail days, he worked at a liquor store in Mountain View, CA
known as 'the liquor store', living in an apartment above
the store in his very cool swinging bachelor pad called "Joe's Place".
BOX 8817
(aka Steve, aka Alexander T.
Newport)
The resident stoner/philosopher of the group.
Runs Club Manic-Depression on the system where he
frequently reads poetry, spews venom and inner peace
alternately and rails against conformity, 'the illusion' and
the human race in general.
(aka Scott or Scotty)
Not an actual
homosexual, but quite often playing one on the telephone. He
also adopted the alter ego 'Penis Boy', Mr. Chemist's young
ward. Mr. Chemist did both voices of himself and Penis Boy,
taping and speeding up one voice and then interacting with it
as the other on his outgoings.
BOX 8164
(aka Jim or "JimB" not
to be confused with Bay Area Representative 'Jim' (above))
Produces, compiles and edits Midnight Voicejail. Infrequently
heard on actual taped calls, peripherally involved in scene in
it's heyday. Sometimes heard on Negativland's show 'Over the Edge'.
Conversational companion to Mr. 1:15. Was set on
becoming a writer during the voicejail years, now runs a fine blog in the internets.
The bad boy of the system, known for
manic creativity, obnoxious frenzied clowning, blunt
crudeness and ability to break anything you lend him. His box was at times called 'The Trash Line or 'The
Global Maverick Society''. Has guested on 'Over the Edge' with
his own 'shows' more than 40 times.
The 'Greek Chorus'
of the show, the automated voice you hear giving prompts and
time stamps for messages and saying 'message complete'.
How can I hear the show over the net?
How can I email The National Cynical Network
and the producer of the show?