Your Morning Shag - Carolina Beach Music Classics!

For the 2020 WTJU Rock Marathon, I'll be hosting a special program on WTJU-FM. Wednesday morning, April 15 from 7-9 am you can enjoy "Your Morning Shag."

This shag has nothing to do with Austin Powers. Rather, the shag means something special on the East Coast. It's a dance developed along the Carolina beaches in the 1950s that remains popular today. (Actually, the scene extended from Virginia through Georgia, though concentrated in the Carolinas).

According to some, the shag became popular because you could dance it on the sand -- ideal for summer beach parties with vacationing teens and college students. The basic shag is a simple six-step pattern with many variations.

In the beginning, Top 40 hits that had the right shuffle tempo were used for beach dances. The Drifters, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, and the Tymes all became beach music favorites.

 Start with this...
 

 ...end up with this.

 In the early 1960s, Motown groups such as the Temptations and the Four Tops filled the bill. When the writing team of Holland/Dozier/Holland left Motown to form their own label, one of their first groups was the Chairmen of the Board. The Detriot-based band, with lead singer General Norman Johnson, transitioned into a Carolina institution.  

Several blue-eyed soul bands had national hits that became part of the beach music canon. Spiral Staircase, the Swinging Medallions, and even UK-based Foundations contributed Carolina beach classics.

 Regional bands also sprang up, not only capturing the sound but also writing lyrics specific to the area. Greenville, North Carolina's Band of Oz catalog includes "Shaggin," "Ocean Boulevard," and "Southern Belles." The Poor Souls from Charlotte, NC had several regional hits, including "It Ain't the Beat, It's the Motion," and "My Girl Stormy."

 And of course -- for this Virginia-based program -- we can't forget Bill Deal and the Rhondels. Hailing from Portsmith Virginia, their three national hits remain beach music classics.

Join me and Nick Rubin Wednesday morning, 7-9 am on April 15 for "Your Morning Shag." And when you call in or go online with your pledge to WTJU, let us know which beach was your favorite:

• Virginia Beach
• Carolina Beach
• Nags Head
• Cape Hatteras
• Myrtle Beach
• Other

Prime Time Jazz - a WTJU special (Part 2)

I hosted a special 3-hour program as part of the 2017 Jazz Marathon/Station Fund Drive for WTJU. Jazz on TV followed up the follow-up to my program last year, Jazz on Film.

The focus was on legit jazz created (or sometimes repurposed) for TV shows. Part 1 featured music from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

While that was the heyday, there were still some jazz scores in the following decades on network TV.

Mike Post

Not everything Post wrote was jazz, but there were a few scores that qualified. He created the signature sound for Law & Order (1990-2010). Like 77 Sunset Strip, the show spawned its own spinoffs: Law & Order Special Victim’s Unit (1999 - ), Law & Order Criminal Intent (2001-2011) Law & Order, Trial by Jury (2005-2006), Law & Order LA (2010-2011). While the themes varied, all began with that "CHUNG-CHUNG" sound. Mike Post also wrote the theme to "LA Law" (1986-1994). While some may consider the sax solo smooth jazz, jazz it remains -- especially in the long version of the theme.


LA Law was another long-running program to feature a Mike Post theme. From 1986-1994 viewers heard David Sanborn's opening sax riff. My listeners got to hear the entire solo.

Late Nights

In the early days, jazz bands were the standard for late night talk shows. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962-1992) featured Doc Severinsen and his orchestra. The band included monster players such as Tommy Newsome (sax), Conte Candoli (trumpet), and Ed Shaughnessy (drums).  Here's Johnny made a fortune for its composers -- Johnny Carson and Paul Anka.


Saturday Night Live (1975-) had an impressive number of important jazz musicians in their ranks. SNL band alumni include Paul Shaffer (keyboards), G.E. Smith (guitar), David Sanborn (sax) Michael Brecker (sax). Paul Shaffer left SNL to lead the "The World's Most Dangerous Band" for Late Night with David Letterman. (1982-1993)

Angela and Barney Miller

Keyboardist Bob James is credited with one of the most iconic themes of the early 1980s. The theme to Taxi (1978-1982) is a Bob James chart called Angela. Equally well-known was the bass solo of session musician Chuck Berghofer. It begins the theme to Barney Miller (1975-1982).

Quincy Jones

The prolific Quincy Jones wrote many movie and TV themes. Time constraints limited me to just two. Ironside holds the distinction of being the first TV theme to use a synthesizer. And Streetbeater is better known as the theme to Sanford and Son (1972-1977).

And more

I also included classics such as the theme to Route 66, Night Court, and even Seinfeld. Listeners got to hear the swinging Count Basie score to M Squad (arranged by Johnny Williams), and its parody, t Ira Newsom's Police Squad! theme.



I also aired Lalo Schifrin playing the theme to Mannix, though I didn't have time to include anything from Mission Impossible.

But I did save time to end with my favorite jazz TV score -- the theme to Jonny Quest. Hoyt Curtain wrote many swinging themes for Hanna Barbara - the Flinstones, the Jetsons, Top Cat, Wally Gator, and so on. But Jonny Quest may be the best.

Session trombone players were complaining that their parts weren't very challenging. So Curtain wrote a theme that's virtually impossible to play on the instrument and laughed as they sweated through take after take. If you listen very carefully, you'll hear them struggle through the opening bars.


It was a fun program, and we raised some money for WTJU. I had fun, and we raised some funds. That's what I call a successful radio program.

Prime Time Jazz - a WTJU special (Part 1)

I hosted a special 3-hour program as part of the 2017 Jazz Marathon/Station Fund Drive for WTJU. Jazz on TV followed up the follow-up to my program last year, Jazz on Film.

The focus was on legit jazz created (or sometimes repurposed) for TV shows. Although the bulk of jazz TV soundtracks came from the late 1950s and early 1960s, the genre continued to have outstanding contributions through the present day.

Didn't hear the program? Here's what you missed:

77 Sunset Strip - Birth of a franchise

Movie composer Max Steiner and Jack Halloran wrote the score for this LA-based detective show. During its six-year run (1958-1964), the program spawned three spin-offs. Each one was set in a relatively exotic locale, with its own musical identity.

77 Sunset Strip (starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Roger Smith) featured a jive-talking valet parking attendant, "Kookie Kookson" (Edd Byrnes). The soundtrack was a mix of hep jazz with a hint of early rock n' roll. It was a winning combo - the soundtrack album made the top 100 for 1959.



Hawaiian Eye premiered a year later, with Tracy Steele, Robert Conrad, and Connie Stevens as a singer in a local club. Stevens sang somewhat traditional pop numbers, but the instrumental score was Martin Denny-style exotica.

Bourbon Street Beat only lasted one season (1959-1960). The soundtrack, while jazzy, didn't quite capture the essence of the Big Easy. But there was some street cred. In addition to Richard Long and Andrew Duggan, the show featured a jazz pianist. This recurring role was played by Eddie Cole, Nat King Cole's brother.




Surfside 6 was set in Miami, with an opening theme by Mack David and Jerry Livingston. The program ran from 1960-1962, and -- at least to the best of my research -- didn't have much in the way of music.

Henry Mancini and John Williams

Mention jazz on TV and most people immediately think of Peter Gunn. Peter Gunn (Craig Stevens) was a cool detective whose office was a table at Mother's, a jazz club. Two successful LPs of the music from "Peter Gunn" were issued during the show's three-year run (1958-1961). Musicians included jazz stalwarts such as Pete Candioli (trumpet), Red Mitchell (bass), Shelly Manne (drums), and Johnny Williams (piano).

Johnny Williams also played the jazz organ for Mancini's Mr. Lucky soundtrack. Though only lasting two seasons (1959-1960), the show also produced two popular LPs.




Johnny Staccato (1959-1960) tried top Peter Gunn by having their detective be a jazz pianist. Elmer Bernstein wrote a hard-driving West Coast jazz score, and Johnny Williams' piano playing was dubbed in for actor John Cassavetes.



In the late 1950s, TV westerns were on the decline and detective shows on the rise. Shotgun Slade (1959-1961) tried to split the difference. Though set in the west of the 1880s, this show about a private detective used a modern jazz score. Gerald Fried wrote the music, arranged by Johnny
Williams.



Williams moved from arranger to composer for Checkmate (1960-1962). Created by Eric Ambler, it featured an elite private investigator firm that specialized in blocking crimes before they happened. The soundtrack was suitably sophisticated and cool. Williams would eventually come to be known as "John" rather than "Johnny" and write soundtracks for "Star Wars," "Jaws," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and many, many other films.

Take a Top 40 Mind Trip - The Journey

The community radio station I volunteer for, WTJU recently finished their spring fund drive. I hosted a special three-hour program featuring psychedelic-inspired Top 40 hits from 1966-1969. In my previous post, I outlined the criteria for selecting the tracks and some historical background. As promised in that post, here are the actual sets I aired.

San Francisco 1
- The Summer of Love started in San Francisco, which spawned the first round of psychedelic hits.

• San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott MacKinzie
• San Francisco Nights - The Animals
• Fantasy Fair radio ad (a three-day open-air SF music festival. 20 bands, including the Doors, Grass Roots, Jefferson Airplane, and the Sunshine Company for $3.00!)
• Neon Rainbow - The Boxtops

Colors
- Bright colors were an integral part of psychedelic posters, fashion, and imagery in lyrics.

• Green Tamborine - The Lemon Pipers
• Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles
• The Happening Night Club radio ad (This 1967 Seattle club ad touted a visiting SF band, and local fave Merilee and Persuasions. Merilee Rush would later chart with "Angel of the Morning.")
• Crystal Blue Persuasion - Tommy James and the Shondells

Light Psych 
- There were many gatekeepers to ensure only appropriate songs got airplay. In this set, the drug references are oblique, but quite obvious if you were hip.

• Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
• Along Comes Mary" - The Association
• Vox WaWa w/the Electric Prunes radio ad
• I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night - The Electric Prunes

Heavy Psych 
- The songs in this set were heavier in their sound, and the psychedelic imagery really took flight.

• Time Has Come Today - The Chamber Brothers
• Pictures of Matchstick Men - The Status Quo
• 7 UP Uncola Underground - radio ad (The Uncola Underground was a commercial co-op of the underground radical movements sprouting up on college campuses. The Uncola Underground would break into a 7 Up commercial with a subversive broadcast of their own.)
• In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - Iron Butterfly (this was the radio edit version)

Psych Out 
- The reports of LSD users inspired psychedelic imagery. The drug culture also had to be coded to get past AM radio music directors.

• Eight Miles High - The Byrds
• Kicks - Paul Revere and the Raiders
• Psych-Out radio ad (Dick Clark's exploitation movie was filmed on location in Haight-Ashbury and featured music by the Seeds and the Strawberry Alarm Clock.)
• Incense and Peppermint - Strawberry Alarm Clock

The Trip 
- Another drug-inspired set

• Itchycoo Park - The Small Faces
• Cloud Nine - The Temptations
• Levis Jeans/Jefferson Airplane radio ad (a truly psychedelic radio experience)
• White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane

Sunshine Classics
 - The hippie movement grew out of the early psychedelic scene, and the sun was an important motif. Musically, it formed a sub-genre of light psych called sunshine pop.

• Come to the Sunshine - Harpers Bizarre
• Sunshine Girl - Parade
• Falstaff Beer with Cream radio ad (Cream sings their own Falstaff jingle)
• Sunshine of Your Love - Cream

More Light Psych

• Morning Dew - Lulu (Though well-known to Grateful Dead fans, and recorded by Love, Lulu's version was the only one that charted)
• Naturally Stoned - Avante-Garde
• Crimson and Clover - Tommy James and the Shondells

Hippy Chick
 - The concept of the free-spirited flower child was another Top 40 favorite

• Windy - The Association
• Georgy Girl - The Seekers
• Clairol Psssssst radio ad
• The Rain, The Park, and Other Things - The Cowsills

Feeling Groovy
 - "Groovy" part of the early psych vocabulary. By the time it was used by Cheerios in 1969, it was old hat.

• Groovy Kind of Love - Wayne Fontane and the Mindbenders
• The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - Harpers Bizarre
• Cheerios Feelin' Groovy radio ad
• Groovin' - The Young Rascals

The Bad Trip
 - LSD trips weren't always just bright colors and sounds.

• 19th Nervous Breakdown - The Rolling Stones
• Psychotic Reaction - Count Five
• The Trip radio ad (This exploitation film purportedly duplicated an authentic LSD trip for the audience.)
• Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles

Hair, the Musical
 - You know a trend is over when it reaches Broadway. "Hair" was indeed a product of its time, Although the cast album sold briskly, the tunes only charted when covered by others.
Hair - The Cowsills
Good Morning Starshine - Oliver
Easy to be Hard - Three Dog Night
Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In - The Fifth Dimension

Take a Top 40 Mind Trip

The community radio station I volunteer for, WTJU is in the throws of a fund drive this week. Each quarter one of the four music genres we air takes over the station for a week and dives deep into its repertoire. This week, it's rock. And this time, I'm hosting a program that should appeal to listeners of a certain age.

When San Francisco Conquered the Charts

The 1967 Summer of Love brought nationwide attention to what would become the counter-culture. LSD users reported seeing vibrant colors, swirling shapes, and sounds that faded in and out. They used surrealistic imagery and stream-of-consciousness narrative to describe their trips.



The sights and sounds of psychedelia permeated the graphics arts, fashion, and music.

A Special Psych-Out

Wednesday, April 10, 2017, I'll be taking three hours to explore the top 40 hits from 1966-1969 that were inspired by the psychedelic vibes flowing from Haight-Ashbury. In addition to the grooviest Top 40 hits ever released, I'll also be mixing in vintage radio ads products and movies such as "Psych-Out" and "The Trip."

Authentic artists

Some of the charting artists were legit members of the scene. Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" really wasn't about a Victorian children's classic. "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock was considered authentic enough to feature in the 1968 movie "Psych-Out.




Many of the mainstays of the San Francisco scene (like the Grateful Dead) didn't chart, but Jimi Hendrix did with "Purple Haze." While straight-arrow Ted Nugent might not have understood what he was singing "Journey to the Center of the Mind," the songwriters in the Amboy Dukes certainly did.

And the others

Some of the charting artists got their experiences second- or even third-hand. The Avante Garde (with a very young Chuck Woolery) suggested one didn't need drugs for enlightenment with their chart hit "Naturally Stoned."




The psychedelic scene was picked up in other ways by popular culture. The quintessential hippy chick, a free spirit with free-flowing hair was the subject of the Cowsills "The Rain, the Park, and Other Things." She's found in the Association's "Windy, " and an early version in the song "Georgy Girl" by the Seekers.

Fitting 6 hours into 3

Once I started looking for the characteristics of the psychedelic scene, the question turned from "what to include?" to "how much will I have to cut?"

I could easily have done a program twice as long and still only including Top 40 hits.

If you're of a certain age (or which you had been), be sure to tune in. The program will be available for two weeks following the broadcast on the WTJU website.

Be sure to wear flowers in your hair, and have bread in your hand. After all, this is a fund drive for the station.

Next week, I'll publish the full set list.

WTJU and the Long Goodbye

On-air fundraising is always a delicate balancing act.

You want to encourage listeners to donate -- without sounding like a scold.

You want to be upbeat and positive about every donation (no matter how small) -- without getting snarky with upper-middle class donors who pledge $10-$25 (really).

You want to convey the urgency of the need -- without threatening that the station will leave the airways without support (it might, but not in the immediate future).

And in the case of WTJU, we have an additional challenge. The station airs four musical genres -- classical, folk, jazz, and rock. For a long time, the classical and folk departments were the top moneymakers for the station, but no longer. Over the past two years, donations made during classical shows has dropped off.

Of course, classical music tends to skew older, so simple attrition may be at the heart of it. But we're in a university town. Not only is there a thriving music department, but there are an amazing amount of amateur ensembles -- including at least two early music groups, three orchestras, two chorales, and a community band. There are a number of arts organizations WTJU's closely associated with -- like the professional chamber music concert series, the summer opera series, the local screenings of the Met Opera broadcasts, and the fall chamber music festival.

Several of WTJU's volunteer classical announcers are members of these organizations.

So where's the support?

It's a question that we'll need to answer in the next year or so for classical programming to continue on the station. And let's be clear -- this isn't a duplication with the competing public radio stations in our market. WTJU is the only station to offer morning classical music 5-9AM Sunday through Friday; it's the only station to have any weekday evening classical programming. And it's the only station to offer programming to underserved classical audiences. We have a dedicated early music show, a vocal music show, a contemporary music show, and even a Broadway musical show -- all hosted by knowledgeable volunteers who know their subjects inside and out.

So where's the support?

Surveys tell us people are listening -- they're just not pledging.

So for our fundraising this week, we have an additional challenge.

We need to help our listeners understand that without funding, classical music will go away -- without sounding alarmist. So we need to ring the alarm very softly, yet insistently.

Of course, radio is by nature, ephemeral. If classical programming were to go away, it would very quickly be as if it was never there at all -- and newer audiences certainly wouldn't be any the wiser.

But I think our community would be the poorer.

Speed Bump - Togas and Tote Bags

I don't have a lot to say about this brilliant panel Dave Coverly created for his comic strip "Speed Bump." But having just finishing a week of on-air fundraising for WTJU, I found it particularly appropriate, and just had to share. (click on image to enlarge)

WTJU and Unreality Programming

I've written quite a bit about the community radio station I volunteer for. WTJU 91.1fm is the University of Virginia's radio station, and it's grown from being a small radio club for students to a radio station staffed local citizens and broadcasting to a large portion of the same.

But in many ways, WTJU hasn't quite grown out of its origins. I've worked in commercial radio and worked extensively with public radio stations across the country, so I have a good feel (I think) for what effective radio programming can be. I do love the freedom WTJU provides in letting me program my own show, and I like not having to do live remotes, engineer ballgames, or babysit syndicated programs as I used to back in the day.

But the fund drives are something else! (as I've written about before) Because WTJU is a multiformat station, the tradition's evolved of letting each of the four music departments (folk, jazz, rock, and classical) take over the station for a week to do special programming as a fund-raiser.

So in preparation to asking our audience for money, we first disrupt their routine. So if you're used to listening to jazz from 10-12 weekdays, there will be a week when it will be replaced by folk music, a second week when it will rock music, and a third week when classical will be played during that time. What are the chances you'll stay tuned during those three weeks?

Right. Our music programming has four distinct audiences. So we start our fundraising efforts each drive by alienating three of them.

Now these marathons usually feature some great and imaginative programming within the featured genre. Just look at this week's schedule! (click on image to enlarge). Lots of live, in-studio performances, some really interesting explorations of folk and world music... and then there's Wednesday morning.

Weekday mornings 6-9 WTJU does classical music. The Monday and Tuesday shows are primarily acoustic, and although not classical, should be fairly easy to listen to in the morning hours. Wednesday, though, we'll be doing three hours of yodelling -- and asking for money. 

Our radio club roots are showing. Programming is all about context. It's not just what you present, but when. What will get people to listen long enough to hear our fundraising message and persuade them to positively respond with a pledge? I'm not sure these questions were asked when this grid was assembled. Because when it comes to Wednesday, I'm pretty sure I know the answer.

Ah, well. I'll be there, nonetheless, answering the phone -- should it ring. I'll provide an update later on the results of the drive.

WTJU and SoMe Question

In December we finished another fund drive at WTJU, and by the end of the final day we didn't quite meet our goal. As we were asking for pledges on the air, I was busily typing away, keeping up the bullpen chatter on the station's Facebook and Twitter feeds.

That got me thinking about the quantity -- and quality -- of our Social Media (SoMe) numbers. And if there was any potential for growth in those areas.

Here are the numbers:

WTJU Facebook Page: 1,982 Likes

WTJU Twitter feed: 1,324 Followers

WTJU Online Listenership:
For December (the last complete month of stats)
3,739 Visitors, 6,805 Hours, 16369 Sessions

Our goal for the fund drive was $40,000. We need to raise $158,000 directly from our listeners to fully fund our operational budget for a year.

So what if every single one of those people pledged $10/month ($120/year)?

Facebook Friends: $19,820/month, $237,740/year
Twitter Followers: $13240/month,, $158,880/year
Online Listeners: $37,390/month, $412,680/year

Wow. Any one of those sources would more than fully fund the station for a year.

Of course, it's not realistic to expect that any of those sources will fully come through for four reasons.

1) Online relationships can be pretty casual. It doesn't require much effort to click "Like" or "Follow."

2) It assumes absolutely no overlap of audiences. What are the chances that someone who follows us on Twitter is  also a Facebook friend and/or an online listener? Pretty good, actually. So some of our Twitter/Facebook/Online Listener numbers represent the same person rather than three different people.

3) It assumes all are individuals, and listeners. I think it's safe to assume all of our unique online listeners are real. But SoMe? Not so much. Take our Facebook Friends. A significant amount of them are either station volunteers, bands that have played in our studios (or we otherwise support), or local businesses -- folks who wouldn't be expected to pledge money to the station. The same is also true of Twitter, although there's not an exact correspondence between the two groups.

4) Not every person who listens to non-commercial radio pledges. In fact, the percentage can pretty low.

So given all that, suppose we just assumed 10% as the maximum realistic pledge potential:

Facebook Friends: $1,982/month, $23,774/year
Twitter Followers: $1,324/month,, $15,888/year
Online Listeners:  $3,739/month, $41,268/year

Well, we couldn't fully fund the station from any one of those source,s that's for sure. But look at that online listener number. That would take care of our $40,000 fund drive goal quite handily over time. And 10% of our Facebook Friends get us over halfway there.

So I wonder: are we leaving money on the virtual table by not effectively pitching to these groups?

Swinging London 64-66 – A WTJU special

For the Rock Fundraising Marathon at WTJU, I programmed and hosted a show entitled Swinging London 64-66. It was an overview of the musical scene of the day, focusing on UK artists (especially those that were bigger in the UK than the US).

It would have been easy to stick with the leaders of the British Invasion – the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and the Who – but those artists have plenty of representation on other stations. This show attempted to show just how diverse the scene really was (by playing lots of groovy music).

 Below in the complete playlist, along with videos for some key tracks. As you can hear, even though a variety of styles were represented, there was something uniquely British about the sound (and what a great sound it was).

We were also luck to have Steve Myers on the broadcast team. At 15 he actually worked for one of the legendary pirate radio stations that presented exciting alternatives to the conservative fare of the BBC. The parallel between that, and WTJU’s relationship with local commercial stations was noted (see the second paragraph above). Steve brought in some sounders from Radio London and Radio Caroline, which we used liberally. If you missed the show, you can still play it from the WTJU archives through 2/30/12. After that, you can just browse these links – you’ll get the flavor of it.

The Swinging London 64-66 playlist:

"Something Better Beginning" - The Kinks
"Little Children" - Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas
"Downtown" - Petula Clark
"Have I the Right" - The Honeycombs
"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" - Gerry and the Pacemakers
"Hey Hey Hey" - Chris Farlow & the Thunderbirds


"He's in Town" - Rockin Berries
"High Wire (theme from "Danger Man" - Edwin Astley Orchestra
"Watcha Gonna Do" - Billie Davis
"One Fine Day" - Shel Naylor


"He Who Rides the Tiger" - Patsy Anne Noble
"I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" - Rod Stewart
"A World Without Love" - Peter and Gordon
"Gimme Some Money" - The Thamesmen
"Snakes and Snails" - Alma Cogan


"Cups and Cakes" - The Thamesmen
"As Tears Go By" - Marianne Faithful
"Its Love I Should Have Tried" - Rick Minas
"I Like It" - Gerry and the Pacemakers
"Sounds Incorporated" - Sound Incorporated
"She Wanted Me" - Tony Jackson


"Something Good" - Herman Hermits
"Go Now" - Moody Blues
"Stop Breaking My Heart" - Tom Jones
"Some Things Just Stay In Your Mind" - Vashti Bunyan


"True Story" - Twice as Much
"Crawling Up a Hill" - John Mayall
 "For Your Love" - Yardbirds
"Tired of Waiting for You" - The Kinks
"When I Think of You" - Twiggy


"Gloria" - Them
 "Sweet and Tender" - The McKinleys
"Tobacco Road" - Nashville Teens
 "When You Walk in the Room" - The Searchers
 "Tin Soldier" - Small Faces



"Somebody Else's Baby" - Samantha Jones
 "Money" - The Beatles
"That's How Strong My Love Is`" - The In Crowd
 "Heart Trouble" - Eyes of Blue


"You Really Have Started something" - Britt
"Get the Money" - Gary Farr and the T Bones
"Make Her Mine" - Hipster Image
"Theme from the Saint" - Original Soundtrack
"Theme from the Avengers" - Original Soundtrack
"That's the Way It's Got to Be" - The Poets
 "You Too Can Be a Beatle" - Polly Perkins


"She Loves You" - The Beatles
"Look Through Any Window" - The Hollies
"Ferry Cross the Mersey" - Gerry and the Pacemakers
"I'm Telling You Now" - Freddie and the Dreamers

WTJU and the lost benefit

I just finished another fund-raising program for WTJU, (the station I volunteer for) and raised a decent, if not great, amount of money.

For those not familiar with the station, we do things a little differently. Unlike other non-commerical radio station that simply fund raise around their programming, WTJU segments its fund drives (something I’ve written about before). The staff of each of the four musical genres represented at the station (folk, rock, classical, jazz) take over programming for a week. So this past week the Rock Department was in charge, and it was a week filled with special rock shows.

As always, several announcers from other genres helped out (just as some of the rock DJs help out with the jazz, folk, or classical marathons). In this particular case, I was hosting a program entitled “Swinging London, 64-66.” It was aired in my normal Wednesday 6-9am time slot, in place of my classical music show.

 The program was outstanding – and it’s a shame almost no one heard it. Helping me out was Paula O'Buckley, the host of the Thursday morning classical program Classical Cafe, and Steve Myers, the host of the Friday classical music program Classical Comfort. We all were very familiar with the music we were playing (see tomorrow’s post for show details) – we don't just listen to classical music.

We were having a great time – there was real chemistry in the studio. And Steven, remarkably, lived the UK music scene. He told stories about being taken to hear the Beatles in 1964 for his 11th birthday. At 15, he was an engineer at Radio Caroline, a pirate radio station operating off the coast of Britain in the North Sea. He wore Carnaby Street fashion, and had stories for just about every artist we played.

It was great radio – for the few who heard it.

Because, of course, WTJU normally airs classical music from 6-9am. Our regular audiences are used to hearing me on Wednesdays, Paula on Thursdays, and Steven on Fridays presenting and discussing classical music. I’m sure most of them simply tuned out this week. And who replaced them? Our rock audience is used to late-night programming? I’m not sure most of them would be tuning in that early –especially just for one week.

In the right time slot, broadcasting to the right audience, this show should have raised several thousand dollars. It didn’t. It wasn’t a case of casting pearls before swine – we were casting pearls into a vacant lot.

This program will remain one of my favorite radio experiences. I’m just sorry it wasn’t one that was shared.

(If you want to hear the program, it’s available through 2/29/12 at the WTJU show vault.)

Fund Drive Funk

Just finished my first fund-raising shift for WTJU. It's not my first shift ever -- I've been doing fund-raising programs for the station for about twenty years. It's always a rush when I'm on the air, but there's always a let-down afterwards.

Fund-raising is a tricky thing on the radio. You're trying to persuade people who get your signal for free to voluntarily pay for it. You have to walk a very fine line between keeping upbeat enough to encourage the calls, but not get angry or depressed when the calls don't come. You have to encourage folk to make that pledge without hectoring them for being such cheapskates.

The show was pretty successful, and we raised a fair amount of money. So now it's time to come down from the adrenaline high and go on with the rest of the day. I'll have to do it again tomorrow, though. So if you listen to WTJU, do me a favor and pledge already. It will make tomorrow a little easier.

Pledge now: http://wtju.net/donatenow

Fundraising -- the gentle touch

As I write this, I'm getting ready to head out to the radio station. Long-time readers know I volunteer for WTJU 91.1 fm, the community radio station run by the University of Virginia. And, being a non-commercial station, it's one that relies heavily on financial support from the community.

And now a commercial word
My colleagues in commercial radio don't think much of public radio. The general perception seems to be that non-commercial radio exists on the government dole (which they often translate into "unfair competition"), and that while they have to scramble for advertising dollars, we in the pubradio sit back and just collect the money squeezed out of hard-working citizens taxed beyond their means.

It's a nice picture -- but hardly true. In the case of WTJU, for example, over half of its funding has to come directly from the listeners. The University pays a small part (the bulk of their contribution is in providing the space and the salaries for the few paid employees). An even smaller sum comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

The reality is that should the CPB funding go away, the station would be in a tough financial position, but it could still survive. Take away the University support, and it becomes more problematic. But even if those two revenue streams remain, without listener support the station is dead.

Follow the money
Commercial radio stations serve their clients -- the advertisers. There's nothing wrong with that model, but many people don't understand that for a commercial station the audience isn't the customer, it's the product. The product (a lot of ears) that's sold to the customer (the advertiser who wants a lot of ears to hear his message).

Public radio's a little different. The listener IS the customer. Don't believe me? Follow the money. Where does a commercial radio station get its money? From advertisers. Where does a public radio station get its money? Mostly from the listeners (and those other sources can be traced back to the public, too).

The gentle touch
So here's the challenge. During our fund drive, I need to make our listeners understand how important they are to the success of the station they listen to.

The station they listen to for free.

Because whether you've ever contributed to WTJU or not, you can tune in, or listen online and we're there.

We're there because others have contributed and supported the station. What I need to do is to persuade all those others who listen that they're contribution is not just helpful, but vital. Commercial radio sales teams every day have to sell businesses on the concept of radio -- and how it can help them. It's a tough job (I used to work at a commercial station and saw it first-hand).

Can you imagine the DJs having to canvas their listeners and make the case for paying for the music they here? That's what we have to do. And it's a tough job, too. Because if an advertiser doesn't pay, he doesn't get on the air (or doesn't stay on very long). But if a listener doesn't contribute, they still get to listen.

So in a few hours I'll go on the air and talk to that audience, explaining why their contribution is important. And if I can stimulate a little enlightened self-interest, the station may live to fight (or broadcast) another day.

I'll include a postscript later telling you how I did!

And if you're a listener, either to the broadcast or to our online stream, please consider contributing. It's the right thing to do.

WTJU and Horn Bands of the '60's - Part 1

The show

Wednesday, February 16 from 6AM to 9AM I'll be hosting a program entitled "Horn Bands" on WTJU, 91.1fm Charlottesville VA (and online at wtju.net/stream).

For three hours I'll be playing music by rock groups of the late 1960's who had horn players as their members, as opposed to groups who used studio musicians when they wanted backup brass on their records.

The reason

WTJU, being a community radio station, has to raise a significant amount of money from its listeners to meet its operating budget. The station broadcasts four musical genres: classical, jazz, rock, and folk. For our fund drives, each department takes over the station for a week to celebrate its particular genre in all its diversity. Jazz did their fund-raising marathon in October. The Classical Department (which I'm a member of) did ours in December.

Now it's the turn of the Rock Department. The goal is to raise $30,000 while presenting some of the most diverse and in-depth rock programming anywhere. Programming that only WTJU can deliver.


The goal

My personal goal is to raise $3,000 in pledges. I think it's very possible. I only need 30 people to make a $100 pledge, and we're there. And I'm not buying the theory that only impoverished university students listen to our rock programming. Most of the volunteer announcers are well past their college years, and so are the listeners. I know we have doctors, lawyers, professors, and other professionals listening in, and to them -- and to you -- I say:


Tune in, pony up, and rock on.

We take VISA and MasterCard, and if you pledge online, you can even pay your pledge in convenient monthly installments.

Make no mistake: I intend to have a lot of fun this coming Wednesday morning, but I also intend to raise a lot of money for the station.

That's where you come in. No matter where you are, please tune in -- and be sure to call in. Better still, if you're one of our many online listeners, just open up a new window on your computer and pledge online.

In fact, you don't even have to wait until the fund drive starts. Pre-pledge now and avoid the rush!

The criteria

So what do I mean by "horn bands" anyway? I'm looking at a very small group of bands that flourished ever-so-briefly between 1966 and 1970. I'm staying away from more funk-oriented groups like Earth, Wind, and Fire and Tower of Power. Instead, I'll be playing groups that blend jazz and rock, as opposed to soul and rock.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears is an obvious choice. And so's Chicago (this is when they were still good). But who else fits? I'll provide a partial run down of the groups I'll be playing in Part 2.

#hornbands