I used to just listen at first. Then I lurked around the boards for awhile. Once I saw how friendly everyone was, I began to post and haven’t been able to stay away since.

This seems to be the common story of just about every listener on the message boards of Radio Paradise, an Internet radio station in Paradise, California.

According to old timers, Radio Paradise has come a long way since its initial site, with only 200 listeners who often congregated on the single message board called Comments.

Over the years, its unique collection of eclectic music (a blend of classical, jazz, funk, soul, folk/acoustic, classic rock, modern rock, alternative rock, alt-country, world and tunes that simply cannot be defined by any music store genre) has brought together several hundred like-minded people. People who listen to this wide variety of music as they work in their offices or at home. People who make conscious choices to enrich their musical world with non-mainstream artists and music. People who bring their individual minds to discussions about world events, religion, music, film, and other topics.

There are some listeners who also love hanging out on the boards and simply visiting with one another. In many ways, the message boards of Radio Paradise are like a playground for grown-ups to greet one another, discuss what’s going on in their respective regions, families, and personal lives. Yes, there is sometimes conflict between them and a few ruffled feathers, but at the same time there is a lot of compassion, love, and laughter. This is what brings these cyber-friends together on a daily basis, from all corners of the country and world.

In the summer of 2005, a Pasadena listener decided to open up his annual summer party (known as Reinstock) to all his cyber-friends from Radio Paradise. As the Reinstock invitational poster proclaimed in purple print: They come from all over. Indeed they did. Guests flew in from the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Midwest, the Plains, the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest and other parts of California. Although there had been other Radio Paradise meet-ups in the past, this was perhaps the largest gathering of all.

When cyber-friends come together for the first time, the most amazing thing is seeing one another animated. Previously, each person was only words on a screen or, if they felt open enough, an occasional posted photo. Some knew one another’s voice from phone calls. So there were ample smiles and hugs as the radio listeners finally met in person. They ate, drank, laughed, sweated, and sung together until the wee hours of the morning. Everyone left the next day with a warm glow in their hearts, their lives a little more enriched.

The Radio Paradise gathering at Reinstock was clearly an example of how Internet Radio not only provides great music, but how it unites the world.