Amadou & Mariam Video
The blind duo release the video for “Masitéladi” off of their new album, Welcome To Mali.
The plain irony is not lost on us: even though this trippy animated video is rad, neither Amadou nor Mariam will ever get to see it. Such a shame. Awesome video though!
Delta Spirit – “People C’mon” Video
Our favorite San Diego rock/soul band, Delta Spirit, has debuted a brand new video for the rockin’ Ode To Sunshine track, “People C’mon.” Our basic conceptual summary: It’s like Resevoir Dogs set in the MOMA. Enjoy!
DS will be coming back through Boston to play The Orpheum on May 20th with Portland indie poster children, The Shins.
Member Madness Guests and Update!
Member Madness is our time to accumulate feedback from you and our other favorite listeners while raising money to support public radio and the music community in Boston. This year, we’ve had some good friends stop by to spin their favorite tunes and share their love for WERS! We consider these people family here at the station. Here’s what they chose to play:
Mieka is a local singer-songwriter and great friend of the station. Back in May, she played at WERS’ Semel Spotlight with Tom Brosseau at the Semel Theater in downtown Boston. She recently won $10,000 from Cosmopolitan Magazine, all of which is going toward the production of her upcoming album. She spun songs to reflect the sound she’s looking to tackle on her next record.
1. Death Cab For Cutie – “Bixby Canyon Bridge”
2. Kings of Leon – “Closer”
3. Ben Folds Five – “Narcolepsy”
4. The Frames – “Stars Are Underground” (Live)
5. Arctic Monkeys – “Brianstorm”
6. Muse – “Take a Bow”
Sounds like it’ll be a pretty epic and rocking album, Mieka!
You may have seen Will appropriately belting the Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” without a microphone, at our 60th Anniversary show back in March. You may have also seen him playing his song “Rise” on CSI:NY (Gary Sinise on bass??) Either way, the local artist splits his time between Boston and L.A., and it’s always a treat to have him come by the station. On Wednesday, he visited WERS and threw on a few songs that have definitely shaped his career in music.
1. Grant Lee Buffalo – “Mockingbirds”
2. Neil Young – “Don’t Cry No Tears”
3. Apostles of Hustle – “Chances Are”
4. Air Traffic Controller – “Can’t Let Go”
5. The Rolling Stones – “100 Years Ago”
6. Elbow – “Mexican Standoff”
7. Emmylou Harris – “Where Will I Be”
8. Guided By Voices – “Glad Girls”
9. Rod Stewart – “Los Paraguayos”
Jay Sweet is the Editor-At-Large of Paste Magazine, as well as Producer of Folk at Fifty, a celebration of Folk in Newport. Jay stopped by to spin his favorite tunes of recent memory, all of which happen to look a helluva lot like our WERS Daytime playlists on any given day. He even admitted to using the station as a reservoir of influence during those early hours while he starts his day. No wonder the artists featured in Paste always look so familiar! The guy definitely did a good job producing the Newport Folk Festival last year; he brought artists like Calexico, Cat Power, The Avett Brothers, The Black Crowes, She & Him, Levon Helm, and many others to Fort Adams State Park. Can’t wait to see who will be playing this year. (But definitely keep an eye out for the lineup being revealed within the coming weeks.)
1. Frightened Rabbit – “Good Arms Vs. Bad Arms”
2. Iron & Wine – “The Devil Never Sleeps”
3. Decemberists – “Sons & Daughters”
4. Elvis Perkins – “Hey!”
5. Ben Kweller – “Sawdust Man”
6. Fleet Foxes – “Ragged Wood”
7. Neko Case – “People Got a Lotta Nerve”
The fun doesn’t end there. Susan Scotti, Publicist of the historic Club Passim will be stopping by around 4pm on Friday. Don’t miss her favorite songs!
We’re well on our way to our goal of $105,000 for Member Madness! Pledge your support to non-commercial radio to keep your music fresh and fun. Visit WERS.org to make a donation, or call 617-824-8700.
Local Artist Leo Blais Works With Words
Local Artist Leo Blais has a distinct edge in remembering his lyrics over your typical singer-songwriter. He has decorated his entire apartment with lyrics from The Free EP and Everyone’s Feelin’ Alone, both of which are among the most personal of endeavors from the Lowell based artist. You can see how he constructs these thoughtful pieces with this video:
Leo Blais constructs The Free EP over a weekend inside his apartment in Lowell, MA and talks about the ‘everyone’s feelin alone‘ collection that took 5 years to record and over 3 years to construct. For more information about the collection go to leoblais.com
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- Art for Program Director Sam Citron from Local Artist Leo Blais
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- Art for Music Director John Parsons from Local Artist Leo Blais
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- WERS Forever! From Singer-Songwriter Leo Blais
Be sure to check out Leo Blais tonight at 6pm on WERS’ Local Music Week 2009. For more information, please visit Leo Blais’ site and WERS.org.
How Do You Do?
WERS wants to give credit to where credit is due. The Local Music Week graphic that we had up in the last post was created with help from Worldle.net. We mention it because we think it’s one of those fun and ubiquitous internet tools that you can personalize to your own satisfaction. If you don’t know about it yet, we’d love to be the people to introduce it to you! Everything you make on it is free and yours to use because the application is licensed under a Creative Commons attribution license. I’ve honestly played on this thing for hours on end.
Here’s another example of a runner-up LMW graphic. I feel like such a designer.
Our Local Music Week kicks off Monday, March 30th at 8AM! Find the full schedule here. Have a great weekend!
Local Music Week 2009 Lineup!
Starting Monday, March 30th, WERS kicks off Local Music Week 2009, meaning that our studio will play host to nearly 50 bands coming through for in-studio performances!
Check out the artists who made the cut. Here’s a full schedule so you won’t miss your favorite mix:
Monday, March 30th
8:00AM Madi Diaz
9:00AM Chris O’Brien
10:00AM Blastronauts
11:00AM Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers
1:00PM Love In Stockholm
4:00PM Vikesh Kapoor
5:00PM Mieka Pauley
6:00PM Leo Blais
8:00PM Nomad-I
11:30PM Akrobatik
12:30AM Cappadonna
Tuesday, March 31st
8:00AM Antje Duvekot
9:00AM Chris Wilhelm
10:00AM Ann Driscoll
11:00AM Sarah Tollerson
1:00PM John Gerard
3:00PM Sarah Rabdau
4:00PM Eli Paperboy Reed
5:00PM Televandals
6:00PM The Brew
8:00PM Dis-N-Dat Band
11:30PM M-Dot
Wednesday, April 1st
8:00AM Wild Light
9:00AM Susan Werner
11:00AM Audrey Ryan
1:00PM Beat Circus
3:00PM Windmills
4:00PM The Everyday Visuals
5:00PM Faces on Film
6:00PM Jesse Dee
11:30PM Perfekt & Chance
Thursday, April 2nd
8:00AM Leana Song
9:00AM Patty Keough
10:00AM Jen Kearney & The Lost Onion
11:00AM Sarah Borges
2:30PM Detroit Rebellion
4:00PM Kristin Hersh
5:30PM You Can Be A Wesley
6:30PM Boston Molasses Disaster
11:30PM Vice Versah
Friday, April 3rd
8:30AM Avi & Celia
10:00AM The Moving Co.
11:00AM The Underberrys
1:00PM St. Helena
3:00PM Air Traffic Controller
4:00PM Jenny Dee
4:30PM Bishop Allen
5:30PM Full Tang
6:30PM Thick as Thieves
11:30PM Raydar Ellis
Visit WERS.org for more information on these bands their music.
Will Dailey Blog: Part 1
Join WERS in welcoming the Artist’s voice to WERS.org. Will Dailey shares his views on the state of music distribution and what he plans to do to stand out as an emerging artist. Dailey will play at WERS’ 60th Anniversary Celebration on March 15th, alongside performances from Pete Yorn, JJ Grey & Mofro, and Ryan Montbleau.
The views expressed in this feature belong to Will Dailey, and do not necessarily reflect the views of WERS.
Will Dailey Blog: Part 1: Torrent Volume 1
Fashion of Distraction And The Simple Power of Asking
3 | 11 | 2009
My first Volume is a meditation. So many things influence us all, but when I sat back and thought of the songs that were eagerly jumping to get out of my brain I noticed a sound. It was just a whisper and it even took me a minute to recognize it but when I did it made so much sense.
In high school I picked up a job for a sound company that was working a big festival on the hatch shell in Boston. My job was simple; make sure nothing falls down on stage. So basically my responsibility was to sit on the stage and watch the show. I don’t remember any of the acts except for one, Roger McGuinn. I recognized the songs but knew little of the man. After the set he tipped his hat to me as he walked off stage. I was hooked.
The Byrds album Sweet Heart of the Rodeo is one of those albums that, if I ever get around to doing that facebook top albums thing, is in my lifetime album list. When I thought of songs from Vol. 1 like “Keep You A Mystery”, “So Many Wrong Ways” and “Peace of Mind” I could not so much hear the influence as I could feel myself gravitating to the production and arrangement of that record. Next thing I know Roger McGuinn is playing on “Peace of Mind” (This is due to the simple power of asking. Example: You have something you want of someone, just sincerely tell them the truth: that they helped foster your childhood dreams of rock and roll and that your song would not be complete without them. Works every time.)
The Byrds is my underlying focus for Fashion of Distraction. It is my Roger McGuinn influence. Which is also my Tom Petty influence (“Never Be Your Baby”). Which is also my dreamy folk influence (“Allston”). Allston is my hometown influence but I will save that for volume 2.
Vol. 1: Fashion of Distraction was released digitally January 20th
Vol. 2: By The Blue Hills was released digitally March 17th
Vol. 1 & 2 CD/DVD Combo with bonus tracks will be in stores and online April 28th
COMING NEXT
WERS BLOG PT. 2
Will Dailey Blog: Introduction
Join WERS in welcoming the Artist’s voice to WERS.org. Will Dailey shares his views on the state of music distribution and what he plans to do to stand out as an emerging artist. Dailey will play at WERS’ 60th Anniversary Celebration on March 15th, alongside performances from Pete Yorn, JJ Grey & Mofro, and Ryan Montbleau.
The views expressed in this feature belong to Will Dailey, and do not necessarily reflect the views of WERS.
Will Dailey Blog: INTRODUCTION:
What, Why, How, When, Where
2 | 26 | 2009
Is the album dead? Is the music industry dead? Do people pay for art any more? I don’t know and I don’t have time to worry. I came up with Torrent because it is best for my brain and mental health. Because putting out an LP every 2 years isn’t conducive to my own happiness. Regardless of the industry and economic climate I needed to do something different.
With my Torrent Volumes I get to:
1. Put out music with the immediacy our modern age allows and requires.
2. I get to put out the music when I write it.
3. Release the music in volumes thematically with the influence of time, place, inspiration, mental state and/or weather they were written.
4. Take my fans on the ride with me.
5. Clean out my brain on a regular basis.
What: Torrent is what we call the project. Like Albums or Double Albums. Torrent is a steady stream of music released in Volumes.
Why: Because it suits me. Makes me happy. While everyone is crying about the ship going down I just want to make an exciting raft. There is also a 5$ price tag on each EP which works for our slim wallets. It also worked for the 5 dollar foot-long sub at subway.
How: Every 3-4 months an EP is released digitally. Each EP may be arranged thematically, musicially, or lyrically. (More on that in WERS BLOG PT. 2)
When: Now! Volume one is out online and Volume 2 is coming out March 17th. Every two volumes will then be paired together in stores.
Where: Each Volume will be available online, we will also have hard copies of each EP at shows. Once Volume 2 is released they will be put together on one CD with bonus tracks and a DVD containing T-Bone Burnett’s CODE Mastering (More on CODE in WERS BLOG PT. 3).
I will then rinse and repeat.
COMING NEXT
WERS BLOG PT. 1: Volume 1 – Fashion of Distraction
See each Will Dailey blog post as it goes live at WERS.org.
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