Some of the vital voices of BFF.fm aren’t behind the mic. If you’ve ever caught yourself wondering what it takes to keep all the infrastructure behind BFF running between the audio streaming, the website, and the mobile app, look no further than the tech committee.

Ben Ward is one of the volunteers at the heart of that effort. One of the first things you notice about Ben, both from the extensive list of shows he’s hosted on BFF.fm and his work on the tech committee, is that he’s humble and practical. He built the site’s music codex initially as a personal passion project, yet it’s become one of the station’s most beloved tools, helping DJs discover shared sounds, track histories, and connect with their radio neighbors.

Over the years, Ben has worn many hats as part of the station: host of Eclectic Kettle and No Magic, Technical Director on BFF’s board, overseeing major portions of the station’s digital ventures, and helping steer BFF.fm forward through all kinds of challenges. Now, Ben just finished his second term on the Board, stepping down at the end of March, and continues to volunteer on the Tech Committee, chaired by fellow volunteer Christa.

We caught up with Ben for a quick chat about his journey with BFF.fm and what's kept him connected to the community for more than a decade.

How did you first get involved with BFF.fm?

I got in when BFF first started. The Mission Mission Blog once described our station as "BFF.FM: the radio station all your friends are at." There was this little period where everybody knew someone who was involved.

My friend Simon Batistoni hosted Eclectic Kettle, and I first joined him on episode 6. It was an hour on Saturday mornings, and we really just had a lot of fun. Eventually we moved to Tuesday evenings and did two hours!

I probably found out about the station just through friends like DJ Karina who does Hello Sunshine - she’s still around! There was just one big community of people doing creative things, and it all fed into BFF.

What made BFF.fm stand out to you?

I think there’s certain intrinsic values to BFF that we really credit to Amanda, our station founder.

We’re an internet radio station, and you know, in that world, if you're doing a commercial venture there's things that you would be obsessed with like statistics and a whole bunch of analytics. You could run a radio station like that — but we don’t. We don't obsess over our numbers, you know? If a DJ wants to build a following, they totally can, and we’ll support that. But the reason people come to BFF isn’t to chase numbers. It’s to be part of a community and share the music they care about.

And when it comes to volunteering, that spirit really shines through. When we needed people to step up to help the station survive and thrive, they did — not because they had to, but because they value this creative space. That’s something pretty special.

You've worn a lot of different hats here yourself, how did you evolve from DJ to tech lead and board member?

It wasn’t really a big shift, more like gradually adding new responsibilities. I started as a DJ, then helped build the website during a redesign. Web development is my day job, so it was a natural way to contribute. I ended up working directly with Travis, who built our backend system, Creek, and eventually added a bunch of custom features for our version.

Later, Amanda invited me to join the board as Technical Director. Back then we didn’t really have a tech team, just people pitching in where they could. Now we’ve got more structure with committees, which makes it easier for others to get involved.

What was it like DJing through the pandemic?

So the stay-at-home orders hit fast. Before that, you could either pre-record or be live in the studio, with no option for remote. We scrambled and figured it out quickly. I started doing my show from home. You can actually see the change in the cover art. Before, I used guest photos or riffed on album covers. Then it became just me, doing themed shows on my own.

It was a lifeline, really. When you’re unmoored from routine, having a creative outlet every week really helps. Later, we used a pod in the Ferry Building as a temporary studio. It was literally a kiosk where coffee shops would be. It had this quaint energy. Kids on BMX bikes outside, fireworks, very quiet. Then we got back to the Secret Alley studio, where I kept No Magic going for a while longer till my final episode.

It was low-key, but meaningful. I had planned to do a second-to-last episode first, but I got COVID and had to skip it. So the final No Magic show just kind of happened. The theme was "last songs." We did tracks about endings and goodbyes. I wrote a little blurb for it and treated it with quite a bit of care. It felt right, closing it out that way.

Do you see yourself hosting another show?

Maybe. I’ve always thought about it. I did Eclectic Kettle with Simon, then No Magic solo. When that ended, I thought maybe someday I’d do a totally different show, like a Saturday morning slot. Or a super late night one, like 3 AM. Something electronic and chill. I like the idea of building a show around what people are doing at that time -- waking up, commuting. But I also put a lot of effort into branding No Magic. I drew my own font, created all the visuals. So if I did another one, I’d want to do it properly. That’s a high bar, even if it’s only in my head.

What would you tell someone thinking of joining the tech team or volunteering at BFF.fm?

When I first joined, I thought the community meant listeners. But over time, I've realized that the real community is your fellow DJs, the people making radio, the people organizing shows, the people writing on the blog. Of course we love our listeners, but if you can volunteer to be part of this community of makers, that’s where the magic is.

Tech is incredibly broad, whether that’s audio gear, web development, app building, or something else, this is a place where you can use those skills to enable each other’s vision, enable people to do things that they wouldn't be able to do by themselves. That’s powerful.

There’s no pressure to hit KPI metrics or performance analyses. You get to build something meaningful for a passionate group of people. Whether you're helping with tech, marketing, writing, or anything else, you’re still part of this big beautifully weird community!