Let foghorn blast take you back
New CD captures OC's distinctive sounds
OCEAN CITY -- Bill Fuhrer remembers the times during his childhood when he would sit in the back seat of his parents car, watching the Ocean City skyline get tinier and tinier until it disappeared as they traveled westward on Route 90, toward home.
These moments would bring on something akin to a mild depression, Fuhrer, now 45, says. He remembers wishing he could take a piece of his vacation spot back to New Cumberland, Pa., where he lived then and lives today.
So at age eight, he began recording sounds that would remind him of the place he loved even when he was more than 200 miles away. It started with a blast from the Inlet jetty foghorn while he stood on the beach with his father early one morning.
The sounds were not nearly the equivalent of actually being in town, but they helped to dim his longing to be back, and to stoke the excitement for when the next opportunity would arise.
Fuhrer did this for years, and on May 15, a compact disc consisting of an eclectic mix of old and new local sounds will be available for others who want to listen to the "Sounds of Ocean City, Maryland."
The release will be Fuhrer's second go at distribution of his sounds. In 2001, friends encouraged him to put together the compilation, so he went to some of his favorite spots with a portable recorder and grabbed some audio footage. He burned them onto a blank disc himself, and eventually began marketing it in April 2001.
He sold the 3,000 discs he'd had mass-produced by a company in Massachusetts, and had plans to immediately make a second installation, but that fell short due to financial obstacles. He was also unable to produce any more discs of the first installment.
"The concept never died, though. It stayed on my radar," said Fuhrer, who considers himself a "semi-local," since he has continued to visit the area frequently and has aspirations to eventually move here full-time.
In 2010, he became one of the "Ocean City Insiders," a group of people the town's Chamber of Commerce bring in on an annual trip to check out some of the new attractions that will be offered for the upcoming season. They use social media and the Chamber's website to convey tips to potential visitors.
A few of the insiders found out Fuhrer had been responsible for the compilation of the disc they'd owned for years. They encouraged him to bring out a new edition. So he upgraded to a new recorder that would capture higher-quality sounds, and did just that.
The new installation is a combination of some older, previously-released tracks Fuhrer digitally remastered and some new sounds many visitors will be familiar with.
Fuhrer included some clips of the Kite Loft's colorful flags situated on the beach near the specialty kite store. There is also a clip of the infamous Laughing Sal from the Ocean City Life-Saving Museum. But Fuhrer's favorite new addition is called "An afternoon at Seacrets."
To acquire the footage for that clip, Fuhrer went to the popular restaurant and nightclub one afternoon in August, where he made his way around the establishment, documenting the hustle and bustle.
"That has always been one of my favorite places in Ocean City, so I was really glad to be able to include them this time around," Fuhrer said.
Of course, there are sounds from the Atlantic Ocean included, as well. Those take up most of the 70-minute disc, because Fuhrer believes those are the sounds people will cherish most while they're away from the resort.
"You might listen to sounds from the Boardwalk tram or an ice cream truck once or twice, but those ocean sounds are what you're going to be putting on the loop and listening to more often," he said.
Fuhrer is proud of the entire reboot, including the packaging of the disc, he said.
The cover is a recently-taken aerial shot of the resort, provided to Fuhrer by his longtime friend and local photographer Paul Smith. There's also a photo of a sunset taken from Northside Park, along with photos of the Inlet jetty and Seacrets.
Mike Beatty, a local disc-jockey and radio host known better by his moniker of "DJ Batman," encouraged Fuhrer to put together a CD in 2001, on the grounds he loved the concept of making something that allows people to recall and embrace their time in town.
"Everybody who comes to town is looking to have a good time, and what better way to remind you of that than taking part of it home with you?" Beatty said. "The sounds are as much a part of Ocean City memories as everything else."
The CD will be available at Donald's Duck Shoppe and Gallery at the Gold Coast Mall, 11515 Coastal Highway, as well as Souvenir City on the Boardwalk and the Life Saving Museum at 813 S. Atlantic Ave. Discs can be purchased online at atbeach.com/ocsounds, as well, where a few sound clips are available for sampling.
"(The CD) is definitely something nice to take home for nostalgia," Donald's Duck Shoppe manager Sean Tushup said. The store sold Fuhrer's first disc, and Tushup says the new version sounds better quality-wise.
Fuhrer is selling his work for $14.95 each, a discount from the $16.95 the first version went for more than a decade ago. He wants it to be affordable for anyone who might want to purchase one, he said.
"I remember leaving the beach as a kid and always thinking there was something I'd have to save my money for to buy next year when I came back," Fuhrer said. "This was the way to create the souvenir I would've wanted back in '68 or '72. With it, you can go back to America's finest family resort anytime."
smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14
These moments would bring on something akin to a mild depression, Fuhrer, now 45, says. He remembers wishing he could take a piece of his vacation spot back to New Cumberland, Pa., where he lived then and lives today.
So at age eight, he began recording sounds that would remind him of the place he loved even when he was more than 200 miles away. It started with a blast from the Inlet jetty foghorn while he stood on the beach with his father early one morning.
The sounds were not nearly the equivalent of actually being in town, but they helped to dim his longing to be back, and to stoke the excitement for when the next opportunity would arise.
Fuhrer did this for years, and on May 15, a compact disc consisting of an eclectic mix of old and new local sounds will be available for others who want to listen to the "Sounds of Ocean City, Maryland."
The release will be Fuhrer's second go at distribution of his sounds. In 2001, friends encouraged him to put together the compilation, so he went to some of his favorite spots with a portable recorder and grabbed some audio footage. He burned them onto a blank disc himself, and eventually began marketing it in April 2001.
He sold the 3,000 discs he'd had mass-produced by a company in Massachusetts, and had plans to immediately make a second installation, but that fell short due to financial obstacles. He was also unable to produce any more discs of the first installment.
"The concept never died, though. It stayed on my radar," said Fuhrer, who considers himself a "semi-local," since he has continued to visit the area frequently and has aspirations to eventually move here full-time.
In 2010, he became one of the "Ocean City Insiders," a group of people the town's Chamber of Commerce bring in on an annual trip to check out some of the new attractions that will be offered for the upcoming season. They use social media and the Chamber's website to convey tips to potential visitors.
A few of the insiders found out Fuhrer had been responsible for the compilation of the disc they'd owned for years. They encouraged him to bring out a new edition. So he upgraded to a new recorder that would capture higher-quality sounds, and did just that.
The new installation is a combination of some older, previously-released tracks Fuhrer digitally remastered and some new sounds many visitors will be familiar with.
Fuhrer included some clips of the Kite Loft's colorful flags situated on the beach near the specialty kite store. There is also a clip of the infamous Laughing Sal from the Ocean City Life-Saving Museum. But Fuhrer's favorite new addition is called "An afternoon at Seacrets."
To acquire the footage for that clip, Fuhrer went to the popular restaurant and nightclub one afternoon in August, where he made his way around the establishment, documenting the hustle and bustle.
"That has always been one of my favorite places in Ocean City, so I was really glad to be able to include them this time around," Fuhrer said.
Of course, there are sounds from the Atlantic Ocean included, as well. Those take up most of the 70-minute disc, because Fuhrer believes those are the sounds people will cherish most while they're away from the resort.
"You might listen to sounds from the Boardwalk tram or an ice cream truck once or twice, but those ocean sounds are what you're going to be putting on the loop and listening to more often," he said.
Fuhrer is proud of the entire reboot, including the packaging of the disc, he said.
The cover is a recently-taken aerial shot of the resort, provided to Fuhrer by his longtime friend and local photographer Paul Smith. There's also a photo of a sunset taken from Northside Park, along with photos of the Inlet jetty and Seacrets.
Mike Beatty, a local disc-jockey and radio host known better by his moniker of "DJ Batman," encouraged Fuhrer to put together a CD in 2001, on the grounds he loved the concept of making something that allows people to recall and embrace their time in town.
"Everybody who comes to town is looking to have a good time, and what better way to remind you of that than taking part of it home with you?" Beatty said. "The sounds are as much a part of Ocean City memories as everything else."
The CD will be available at Donald's Duck Shoppe and Gallery at the Gold Coast Mall, 11515 Coastal Highway, as well as Souvenir City on the Boardwalk and the Life Saving Museum at 813 S. Atlantic Ave. Discs can be purchased online at atbeach.com/ocsounds, as well, where a few sound clips are available for sampling.
"(The CD) is definitely something nice to take home for nostalgia," Donald's Duck Shoppe manager Sean Tushup said. The store sold Fuhrer's first disc, and Tushup says the new version sounds better quality-wise.
Fuhrer is selling his work for $14.95 each, a discount from the $16.95 the first version went for more than a decade ago. He wants it to be affordable for anyone who might want to purchase one, he said.
"I remember leaving the beach as a kid and always thinking there was something I'd have to save my money for to buy next year when I came back," Fuhrer said. "This was the way to create the souvenir I would've wanted back in '68 or '72. With it, you can go back to America's finest family resort anytime."
smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14
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