Eric and Gina Babins’ online radio station plays tropical rock around the clock.
By John Johnston, Associate Editor
January 2019
When wicked winter produces meteorological mayhem, some FMCA members evade the cold, snow, and ice by driving the RV to a warm place. Other, less fortunate folks must ride out the storms. But no matter where you are, it’s possible to be instantly transported — in your mind’s eye, at least — to a lush, balmy island with a white, sandy beach.
Just listen to some trop rock.
As longtime fans of the music genre known as trop rock, Eric and Gina Babin bought an online radio station in 2017 and now travel to numerous trop rock events each year in their Itasca Ellipse motorhome, which is equipped with a radio studio.
“The best way to explain it is, it’s escapism,” Eric Babin, 52, said of the music genre, which is also known as tropical rock. “If you’re in a cubicle at work, but you’d rather be on the beach or at a bar for happy hour or sitting by a pool, this is the music you want to listen to. By the same count, if you ARE on the beach, this is the perfect music to listen to.”
Eric and his wife Gina, F472256, are passionate purveyors of trop rock, which has been described as a mix of rock ’n’ roll, reggae, Caribbean, calypso, and country. Two years ago, just a few months before Eric retired from the Navy and they became full-time RVers, the Babins bought Radio Trop Rock (www.radiotroprock.com). Eric programs the online station to stream laid-back tunes 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The radio studio inside the Babins’ 2014 Itasca Ellipse 42QD motorhome takes up little space. In fact, the equipment needed to broadcast live can fit into a suitcase. “It’s so small, we have broadcast from a sunset cruise while sailing off the coast of Key West,” Eric said. “As long as we can get a cell phone signal, we can broadcast live.” They do that at noon every Wednesday as hosts of a one-hour show called “Trop Rockin’ The USA.”
Station listenership has quintupled and accolades have piled up since the Babins took over. In 2017 and 2018, Radio Trop Rock won the station of the year award from the Trop Rock Music Association, and “Trop Rockin’ The USA” was named live radio show of the year. Also in 2018, Eric was named DJ personality of the year at Trop Rockin’ Magazine’s inaugural People’s Choice Awards, while “Trop Rockin’ The USA” nabbed radio show of the year.
Not bad, considering Eric only recently completed a 30-week Academy of Radio & Television Broadcasting course using his G.I. Bill benefits.
Trop rock creates an “island vibe,” and Eric, it seems, was destined to be drawn to it. Growing up in Sherman, Texas, just south of Lake Texoma, he spent considerable time on his dad’s sailboat and on the beach. When the Gulf War flared in 1990-91 and he had no real plan for his life, his love of the water led him to join the Navy.
“My first tour in the Navy was spent traveling the Caribbean, so that’s how I got into loving the islands,” Eric said. “And that led me to Jimmy Buffett music.” Buffett is the most popular trop rock artist; others include Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown, and Thom Shepherd.
A few years later, while stationed in Japan and making plans to buy a new car when he got back to the States, Eric contacted several insurance agencies. One of the people who provided a quote was Gina. Upon his return to Texas, Eric thanked her by taking her to lunch. They married 101 days later, in November 1996.
“The first thing he gave me was a mixtape. It was all Jimmy Buffett,” said Gina, 50, who now works remotely from the RV for an insurance agent in California. “After we married, we moved to San Diego. We were introduced to more local trop rock artists. We went to a couple concerts and they were our people.”
But the Navy made sure Eric never stayed in one place for long. In his 26-year career, he served on frigates, amphibious ships, and an aircraft carrier. His overseas assignments, in addition to Japan, included Iraq and the East Africa country of Djibouti. During one stretch, he was away from home for 40 out of 48 months.
FMCA member Eric Babin has long been a fan of tropical rock music,. He calls it escapism.
In the United States, there were stops in South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, and California. His last assignment was in Pensacola, Florida. An hour’s drive away, in Gulf Shores, Alabama, the Babins had a home on the beach, where they hosted numerous house concerts. Several dozen friends would come listen to a trop rock artist perform live.
One such performer, Donny Brewer, arrived in an RV with his wife, Michelle. The couples became fast friends, and the Brewers encouraged the Babins to buy one.
“We had a nice beach house,” Eric said, “and although we loved it, because of the mortgage I realized that to keep it, I’d have to get a job once I retired (from the Navy). So we made the crazy decision to sell the house and buy an RV.
“The day we closed on the house — March 24, 2017 — was my last day at the (Navy) office. We jumped in the RV and started traveling full-time.”
At that point, they had owned Radio Trop Rock for just a few months. They never intended it to be a big moneymaker. The goal, Eric said, is to break even. And enjoy life.
Each year, the Babins and their two shih tzu dogs travel to about two dozen large trop rock festivals and 50 to 70 smaller events. “What’s great about what we do,” Eric said, “is that we get to meet people and they become our friends; they’re not just listeners.”
“Every time we go to an event,” Gina said, “it’s like a family reunion.”
At one time, that might have been uncomfortable for Eric, who said he once was “a very shy person.” No more.
“He’s absolutely found his niche,” Gina said.
Said Eric: “At my acceptance speech last year for (winning) show of the year, the first thing I said is, ‘I cannot believe they give you an award for having fun.’ That’s all we’re really doing. We’re having fun.”
How To Listen
Ready to give Radio Trop Rock a listen? Visit www.radiotroprock.com or download the Radio Trop Rock app. Streema (https://streema.com) and TuneIn (https://tunein.com) are other apps for listening to radio stations. The apps are free for iOS and Android.