DUSKBUSTERS! Relay Tapes

What is a relay tape? Every day, 94 Licks broadcasts are recorded onto audio tape at the relay tower some distance from the studio in the 94 Licks building. However, there are a limited number of tape reels at the tower, and eventually the tapes are re-used and the shows taped over. Therefore, in order for any of these shows to survive for posterity, someone would have to come to the relay tower, borrow a reel, copy it onto their own tape, and return the reel to the tower. This is sometimes done by historian Joshua Sansing.

Joshua Sansing is a resident of Jackson, Mississippi and is interested in not only the history of the past, but also of preserving the history-in-the-making of the present. In the early days of 94 Licks, Sansing became particularly interested in the DUSKBUSTERS! and made it a point to preserve at least one show every three months (usually more). When the DUSKBUSTERS! Snott Brezere and Guil Smellerson mysteriously disappeared off the face of the earth in August of 1991, Sansing's interest waned (along with most of the original listening audience, which was slim to begin with). When the DUSKBUSTERS! resurfaced in December of 1992, Sansing's visits to the relay tower were initially often, but eventually he only made recordings about twice a year. The longest gap to date between relay recordings has been from November 1997 to May 2001. (In the meantime, no one else has seemed to be interested enough to take over his job, and none exist after 2001 so far.)

When Joshua Sansing records from the tape reels at the relay tower, he doesn't record the entire six hour shift. Instead, he compiles what he considers the most interesting moments from those shifts into smaller lengths of time, which so far have ranged from one hour to three hours. These tapes, therefore, do not represent entire shows, and they certainly don't represent the only shows the DUSKBUSTERS! have done. Often the DUSKBUSTERS! will refer to the previous "show" when they mean the previous relay tape, but the DUSKBUSTERS! Snott Brezere and Guil Smellerson (with exceptions such as vacations, sick days, the previously-mentioned disappearance, and other random exceptions) have recorded six hours per day for every day of their lives from 1989 to the present.

DUSKBUSTERS! relay tapes were once a hot item at record stores, but have decreased in popularity over the years. After Joshua Sansing compiles the tapes, the producers Noby Nobriga and Rusty Spell package the tapes (and now CDs) with artwork, liner note recollections about the show from various people, and other information. The producers receive any money made from these tapes. Snott Brezere and Guil Smellerson, the DUSKBUSTERS!, receive nothing. Now you can also download MP3s of these relay tapes on this very site... for free.