Well, I made it home safely. Now, no sooner do I have a chance to kiss my wife and kids and crash out of exhaustion, I am back at my DJ duties at WTUL - New Orleans, which is 91.5 FM on the radio dial in the New Orleans area. I do an early Sunday morning (3-6am) progressive music show (only for the Summer!) and the Sunday, 6-8pm Jazz Show.
It's GREAT to be home. More later!
So give me some examples of progressive music. Who are we talking about here?
ReplyDeleteInteresting and good question. The way WTUL defines "progressive" is mostly as contemporary music that does not receive widespread distribution and play on mainstream radio stations. Usually, it's Indy Pop and Rock, typical of the college student music scene, but sprinkled with some other kinds of alternative sounds. Included in the "progressive shows" are also edgy experimentations with modern hip-hop, punk, metal, world, and even some folk. Each DJ for the progressive show slots brings his or her own tastes and preferences to bear, so there's a lot of variety among the DJs. I tend to play music in the kind of funk/jazz interstices, like what Buckshot LeFonque produces. I also gravitate towards more mellow Indy rock of the likes of bands such as Palomar or The Slip. But I'll experiment with just about any kind of music. So, if you've got some suggestions, I'm all ears!
ReplyDeleteI'm more of an Americana/folkie/country-rock kinda guy, but have varied interests outside those genres. My wife says I like "highly acclaimed bar bands" which is probably an apt description. Some of my faves:
ReplyDeleteTodd Snider
James McMurtry (son of author Larry McMurty, and one of my all time favorite musicians)
The Bottlerockets
Hayes Carll
Robert Earle Keen
Loudon Wainright
John Prine
Mose Allison
For the more funky stuff, I defer to an online radio station broadcast out of Santa Fe: www.blu1029.com
I probably couldn't name 3 of the artists that play on this station, but they broadcast a wonderful trance/chill/dance format that makes for perfect background music anytime I'm working at my desk.
I DJ'd for a local "classic country" station some years ago, and really enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind doing that again someday.
President_Friedman - Thanks for those recommendations. WTUL has many different programming slots, and one of the specialty weekly shows is an Americana/Folk show. Sometimes DJs need subs, and I may find myself subbing this show someday, so your recommendations will come in handy. Also, I have the liberty to play any or all of the folks you mention during my progressive show. As a matter of fact, one of the rules of the station is that we have to play a certain number of songs from a variety of the specialty shows, so I will plan to play some of your recommendations during my next progressive show. It's a shame that our webcast has been temporarily discontinued, because then you could tune and and get a sense of the flavor of WTUL. Even though the DJ lineup is dated, the programming schedule is still pretty much as it appears here:
ReplyDeletehttp://dreamland.tcs.tulane.edu/~wtul/wtulSite/?p=schedule
Hope you can get back to DJ-ing someday. I agree that it's lots of fun.
President Friedman said...
ReplyDeleteI'm more of an Americana/folkie/country-rock
I sortta fall into this category. Add some single instrument classic music. I love to listen to just one single instrument played by a true master.
I tend to listen to “BOB” FM, 93.7FM in the Tidewater area of Virginia. They claim to be willing to play anything so you get a lot of variety.
don_cos: Tidewater area of Virginia? I have some close family in that area. Is that where you live?
ReplyDeleteIs that where you live?
ReplyDeleteYep! I actually moved down into Currituck County in North Carolina. But I drive to Norfolk to work each day. I could almost throw a rock from my house and hit Chesapeake.
It's a small world, it is! My in-laws live in Chesapeake (in the Jolliff Woods community -- I think that's what it's called) and I have spent a lot of time up there. In fact, my family evacuated to Chesapeake following Katrina and they stayed there with the in-laws from September through December of that year while I tried to fix up my home from the damage it sustained from the hurricane and the flooding.
ReplyDeleteMy father-in-law recently retired from NASA and worked at the Norfolk base of NASA. My wife actually grew up in Chesapeake. It's a very nice place. I always enjoy visiting there. I'll let you know the next time I'm up in that area. Maybe, if things work out, we can meet for a coffee or a beer.
I'll let you know the next time I'm up in that area. Maybe, if things work out, we can meet for a coffee or a beer.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Let me know if you do make it up.