SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Two years after Miles Schuman started an internet-radio program in a playroom at his mother’s home, “The Shoe” is en route to syndication on FM airwaves and is attracting attention from sponsors.
A poised 13-year-old, Schuman has developed deep connections with world-class rockers. Just a few of his guests—many of them now friends—include Gene Simmons of KISS; brothers Rudy and Robert Sarzo, among the hottest bass and guitar players in the world; metal queen Lita Ford; Ritchie Kotzen, lead guitarist for the Brett Michaels-led band Poison; and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal.
Schuman became interested in talk radio in 2010 through his mother’s friend, a radio host. He discovered a website called BlogTalkRadio that allows users to create their own shows. Schuman settled in with his school laptop and a headset microphone, and started broadcasting about topics of interest to him.
Soon after, he attended a rock and roll fantasy camp and began to meet the rock luminaries who taught there. One of the counselors was Rudy Sarzo. Schuman told him about his radio show, and Sarzo became the young host’s first call-in guest.
Today, Schuman has more of a studio set-up, with a nice mic, an audio interface and mixers. Producers and sponsors have stepped up with offers to syndicate and market the half-hour show, which is expected to go live on FM stations within the coming year.
Upcoming shows, which livestream on Sundays at noon (blogtalkradio.com/theshoe) and can be heard afterward through the archive, are expected to reveal details about Tom Kiefer’s comeback as the lead singer of the glam metal band Cinderella.
Schuman plans to ask Eddie Jackson, bassist for the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, for his take on the group’s split-up.
And negotiations are underway to snag an interview with Glenn Hughes, the legendary bass player from the pioneering metal band Deep Purple.
Schuman has become a sophisticated interviewer. Where once he simply posed a list of general questions, he now comfortably lets the conversation evolve. For his recent interview with Bumblefoot, he opened up the telephone line to callers for the first time.
“That was one of the most rewarding experiences for me, getting to hear the excitement from fans talking with one of their biggest idols,” he said.
His interview with Gene Simmons attracted his largest audience, with 20,000 listeners; the average number ranges between 3,000 and 5,000.
Listeners tune in worldwide: “A few weeks ago I got something on Twitter: ‘Listening to your show. Hi from Russia.’ So I get people from quite a distance, which is really great,” Shuman said.
Among Internet radio shows, The Shoe is currently one of the top 300, and the No. 1 rock program out of 15,000.
The journey began through Schuman’s own musical interests, as a rocker on bass, piano and drums. He’s been to rock and roll camps six times; his mentor is Robert Sarzo, who helps the teen develop his own music. His band there was filmed as part of a “Nightline” segment and he joined the official press corps for the camp’s Las Vegas opening earlier this year. (Later, he learned the camp’s headliner, Alice Cooper, was headed his way for a red-carpet-style interview, but saw that Schuman was busy with another star and didn’t want to wait.)
Although still young, he said his experience probably portends his future.
“I think I’ll proceed to do this show as long as I can. I also want music to be an aspect of my career,” he said. “Between music and hosting the radio show, those are my two passions.”