My name is Dreama Denver. I was married to Bob Denver of Gilligan's Island fame. Nice to meet you! Before his death, Bob and I started a radio station locally here in West Virginia. Our station is nonprofit, owned and operated by the Denver Foundation, which Bob and I established to help the handicapped and disadvantaged in his adopted home state of West Virginia.Bob's dream was for the station to reach a larger audience through the internet, so after his death, I made it my mission to get the station streamed online. Little Buddy Radio Online is also nonprofit and is being heard all over the world.
Well, I was intrigued by Dreama's email and asked her if she would be willing to answer a few questions.
Corey: How did you meet Bob? How long were you married and what are you doing these days?
Dreama: Bob and I met when I was cast opposite him in the play, "Play It Again, Sam" in St. Petersburg, FL. I was visiting my family in Orlando when a friend called me and suggested I audition for that show, so I drove to St. Pete, auditioned and got the part. When I arrived for the first day of rehearsals, they had a marquee outside the theater that said, "Bob Denver starring in 'Play It Again, Sam'; also starring Dreamer Peery".
Bob walked into rehearsals the first day, asking, "What the heck is a Dreamer?" I introduced myself, explained the misspell, we shook hands and that was it. Honestly, from the moment we shook hands, we both felt it. Almost 30 years later, we still felt it.
These days I'm trying to carry on the work Bob and I started with Little Buddy Radio and our foundation.
Corey: How did "Little Buddy Radio" get started and why?
Dreama: Somewhere in the mid 90s, Bob and I became aware that the FCC was going to open a window, allowing nonprofit organizations to apply for licenses to own and operate radio stations in their communities. These stations were going to be called LPFMs (Low Power FMs) and were to be nonprofit, community-oriented stations. Since we had previously established The Denver Foundation, we decided to apply.
The Denver Foundation's purpose was and is to help handicapped and disadvantaged children in our community in Bob's adopted home state (and my actual home state) of WV. Bob and I have an autistic son that we took care of to the exclusion of everything else for almost 21 years until Bob's death. We knew all too well the challenges faced by families like ours, so we wanted the Foundation to find a way to help families in need. Little Buddy Radio is a nonprofit radio station, owned and operated by the Denver Foundation.
Corey: What's the format?
Dreama: Well, the logo of Little Buddy Radio is 'Cruisin' Through Time', so that's what we do - we cruise through musical time - 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and even some current artists. I've worked at creating a 'feel' with LBR, kind of a soulful, bluesy, funky feel.
I've searched out each and every song on the playlist, have spent untold hours in pursuit of the music I remember being popular, some of which makes most station playlists and some that doesn't. My goal was to have people saying 'Wow, I haven't heard that song since I was in high school, since I was in college, since I got married . . . ."
I get that reaction all the time, so I think I've succeeded. I've recently started seeking out new up-and-coming artists to play on LBR also. There's amazing talent out there just waiting to have their voices heard.
Some really fine artists support the station. My good friends Russell Johnson (Gilligan's Island) and Dwayne Hickman (Dobie Gillis) have done liners for the station, along with artists like Marc Broussard, National Slide Guitar Champion Kraig Kenning and American Idol 2006 winner Taylor Hicks
Corey: Are you aiming at a particular person, demo, etc.?
Dreama: I'm aiming at anyone who loves good music. Like most people, I've always loved music, I've always been involved in music in some fashion, but I didn't really understand the power of music until my husband's death. Music has the power to transport you to another place and time, it has the power to take you out of or give you relief from a difficult situation; music has the power to heal. I've discovered that firsthand.
