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SPECIAL ELECTIONPROGRAMMING
Day Time Between
Mon 10:30a South by Southwest and Echoes in the Wind
Mon 4:58p Monday Afternoon: Revolution and The Evenin' Sun
Tue 11:57a A La Votre and Democracy Now! (extra minute for station business before DN!)
Wed 8:28a Reasonable Music and The Blue Country
Wed 7:30p Free Speech Radio News and Sound Ecology
Thu 1:30p Financially Speaking and Cruz del Sur
Fri 11:57a Gons-S-Buduna and Democracy Now! (extra minute for station business before DN!)
Sat 7:58a Saltwater Farm and Vietnamese Melodies
Sat 1:58a Voice of Cambodian Americans and Positive Vibrations
Sun 11:30a Ex-Yu Voice and Africa International
Sun 3:28p Latinos and Eastern Sands Radio
Stay informed, stay vigilant. Listen to “Know Your Rights!” starting October 4th on WMPG.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!Starting in October, WMPG will be airing a new 20-week series of 2-minute modules called
“Know Your Rights!” produced by Rob Rosenthal and Kerry Seed in collaboration with the
Maine Civil Liberties Union. Each show addresses a different civil liberty and will air on WMPG
11 times per week, in either the first two minutes or the last two minutes of a show, so that
each episode appears between two shows in the schedule. The schedule is as follows: definitionHeavy metal: n. form of rock music characterized
by aggressive, driving rhythms, highly
amplified/distorted guitars, and often dark
thematic elements.
(incomplete and shoddy) history of Heavy Metal (necessary for understanding the second half of the following article) Rewind. 1965. The first United States troops are
sent to South Vietnam. Malcolm X is assassinat-
ed. The Watts riots occur. Lyndon B. Johnson
signs into United States law the Voting Rights Act
of 1965. The Kinks introduce to the public what is
now considered the prototypical heavy metal
song, “You Really Got Me.” They and the Who
introduce and continue to rock power chords.
Fast-forward. 1967.
Jimmy Hoffa begins his
8-year sentence for
attempted bribery of
jury. Muhammad Ali
refuses military service.
Thurgood Marshall is
nominated as the first
African American
justice of the United
States Supreme Court.
The Beatles toy with
using aggressive
distortion as an art-form
in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band.
1969. Richard Nixon succeeds Lyndon Johnson
as President of the United States of America. The
aforementioned Beatles perform publicly for
the last time on the roof of Apple Records. Yasser
Arafat is apointed Palestinian Liberation
Organization Leader. Led Zeppelin’s self-titled
I and II are released.
Add power chords to aggressive distortion and
you get Led Zeppelin. Add Led Zeppelin to
mainstream music and to the public, heavy metal,
the entity, the art-form, the lifestyle, is born.
But what can it all mean?
(unclear) origins (of the term) “With their diseases and orgasm drugs and their
sexless parasite life forms — Heavy Metal People
of Uranus wrapped in cool blue mist of vaporized
bank notes — And the Insect People of Minraud
with metal music”
It was in William Burroughs’ 1964 novel Nova
Express the author used in the above quote the
term “heavy metal” as a metaphor for addictive
drugs. This was not, however, the only place
around the same time the term is tossed around.
The music of Jimi Hendrix was “like heavy metal
falling from the sky,” said one rock critic in 1967.
Steppenwolf also popularized the term by using
it in their 1968 song “Born to be Wild”:
“I live smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racing with the wind
And the feelin’ that I'm under”
Where, exactly, the term came from and who,
exactly, applied it to music the first time is so
frequently debated there is no concrete theory as
to when and where heavy metal first became
conceptually defined. The influence of the
following bands, however, is hardly debatable.
(under the) influences (or heavy metal), re: definition andsub genre Judas Priest, formed in
1969 and Iron Maiden,
formed in 1975, are
considered widely
influential heavy metal
bands. The former are
considered “the god-
fathers” of speed metal
& pop metal. Bands
associated with the
golden age of the
genre are Black
Sabbath, Quiet Riot, and Ronnie James Dio
(that’s right, folks, the very “Dio” famous for
popularizing the “devil horn” hand sign).
As there are various sub genres of any music
(what, you ask, John Zorn, Duke Ellington and
Herbie Hancock aren’t merely jazz musicians?),
the sub-genres of heavy metal are seemingly
endless and some can be noted below:
Circus metal, carnival/metal cocktail, represen-
tative bands: Secret Cheifs 3, Mr. Bungle
Math metal, avant-jazz influenced metal,
representative bands: Dillinger Escape Plan
Viking metal, obvious
Thrash Metal, hardcore punk/metal mixture,
representative bands: Metallica, Slayer
Stoner metal, “Woah, dude, that’s so heavy”
On Metalby Alex Steed, host of
“Monday Afternoon: REVOLUTION!” Mondays, 3 pm - 5 pm
continued on page 8
Steve Cain
WMPG’s plans for special programming around the election are still evolving as this guide goes to
press, so this is only a teaser, but you can expect to hear a fair number of special programs and/or
special editions of our regular programs leading up to, during, and right after election day, Tuesday,
November 2nd.
Our plans at this point include a two hour special with Karen D’Andrea, host of Sound Ecology, and
Pat LaMarche, Green Party vice-presidential candidate, on Monday, November 1st, from 5 to 7pm.
Blunt, our award-winning youth radio project show, has already been covering the election and will
continue to do so regularly up to their final pre-election show on that same Monday, November 1st,
from 7:30 to 8:30pm.
Our popular talk show Home Dad, with Chip Edgar, will expand to an hour of election talk between 1
and 2pm on Tuesday, November 2nd. We’re also in the starting up stages of working up plans for live
election-night coverage, and a day-after call-in on Wednesday, time yet to be determined.
Stay tuned to WMPG for more details as these plans firm up— it will all be announced on air well
ahead of time. And don’t forget to vote!
Page 2Fall 2004 Program Guide
WMPG Board of Directors
The Board meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm in Payson Smith Hall, Room
1 on the USM Portland campus. Staff and listeners are invited to attend these meetings.
Board duties include: ensuring that programming is consistent with the station’s Mission
Statement, review and approval of the management plan, review of management job
performance, organization of events and fund-raising campaigns via committee work, and
community-building within and outside the station.
Problems? Gripes? Good ideas? Your Board wants to hear from you! Attend a meeting or call
and leave a message for any one of us at 780-4943.
WMPG’s MissionAdopted February 10, 1993
WMPG’s purpose is to provide a high quality, community-oriented broadcast service
to the people of Southern Maine by:
• providing a full-time schedule of music and culture, news and information;
• promoting awareness and discussion of local issues and activities;
• promoting awareness and discussion of global issues and culture;
• presenting artistic, cultural, and political perspectives which are
underrepresented in mainstream media;
• promoting acceptance, understanding, and cooperation between
people and cultures;
• fostering new and experimental uses of radio as a medium for creative expression;
• approaching radio as a dynamic medium for community dialogue, introspection,
and expression.
Further, WMPG strives to be a training ground for students interested in broadcasting by:
• maintaining an authentic, full-functioning radio station;
• providing ongoing training and workshops in all aspects of radio;
• providing opportunities for hands-on experience in radio;
• maintaining local, national, and international broadcast industry contacts to assist
students in furthering their involvement in broadcasting;
• providing opportunities for students to take management and decision-making roles.
Also, WMPG seeks to give citizens and community groups access to radio to share their
interests, concerns, and talents by:
• providing low-cost broadcast training regardless of race, religion, sex,
sexual orientation, lifestyle, age, or physical ability;
• providing opportunities for women and minorities and others who are under-
represented in mainstream media to participate in management and decision-making;
• encouraging the participation of community members with diverse backgrounds
and perspectives;
• encouraging two-way communication between the station and citizens by de-
emphasizing the distinction between broadcaster and listener and encouraging active
listener participation in all facets of radio via letters, tapes, phone calls, community
events, studio visits, and performances.
Staff Representatives
Michael Cutting (Chair)
Chip Edgar (Vice Chair)
Jim Ward (Treasurer)
Noel Bonam
Dave Wade
Victoria Chicon
Listener Representatives
Vanessa Gates-Ellston (Secretary)
Jeff Wilbur
Kathleen Costello
Amy Bradstreet
Management Representatives
Jim Rand
Dave Bunker
Tom Flynn
Student Senate Representative
Zeke Kimball
University Representatives
Bob Caswell
Helen Gorgas-Goulding
Chris O’Connor
WMPG ManagementStation Manager
Jim Rand, 780-4424
Program Director
Dave Bunker, 780-4598
Development Director
Tom Flynn, 780-4151
Office Manager
Kelsey Perchinski, 780-4943
Music Director
Ron Raymond, Jr., 780-4976
The Steam-Powered Walrus Reviewby Bob Cochran ABOUT THE COVER
The artwork gracing the cover of the Fall Program Guide is the result of a unique collaboration
between two long-time WMPG volunteers. Michael Cutting, host of “This Better Be Good”
(Mondays, 6:30 am – 8:30 am) had the idea to celebrate different world cultures with WMPG’s
Begathon artwork, beginning with that of the Maya. He took his ideas to Lincoln Peirce, host of
“South by Southwest” (Mondays, 8:30 am – 10:30 am), who happens to be an accomplished
artist (you might know his syndicated daily comic strip “Big Nate,” which appears locally in the
Portland Press Herald). Lincoln created the drawing, Michael added the color, and WMPG is
excited to offer t-shirts, sweatshirts, and mugs featuring the design as pledge premiums during
our Fall Begathon October 18 – 24th. Elements of this unique design will also be featured on the
new WMPG bumper sticker.
Page 3Fall 2004 Program Guide
By Dave Bunker, WMPG Program Director
My family and I lived in the Bangor area for
several years in the ‘90s. It was a nice place to
live. We enjoyed scenic countryside, a low crime
rate, good neighbors, and inexpensive housing.
Even the black flies were welcome, in a way,
since black flies need clean running water to
breed. They served as an indicator that our
environment was still relatively pristine. It was a
fine place to be raising small children and
enjoying a quiet semi-rural lifestyle.
There were a few things I missed, though, and
one of those was seeing anything other than
white faces among the people I met day to day.
Everywhere else I’ve ever lived — New Mexico,
Southern California, Seattle, the Florida
panhandle — there have been at least two ethnic
groups with significant numbers in the local pop-
ulation. Before moving to Maine, I expected to
meet folk of African, Asian, and/or Hispanic
ancestry on pretty much a daily basis. That
wasn’t happening in Maine. In the 2000 census,
97% of Mainers responding identified
themselves as white, compared to 75%
nationally. Basically, the only time we saw
non-white faces in Bangor was when we went
out to dinner at the Indian place downtown.
When a sushi restaurant opened half-way
through our time there, it counted as a major
expansion of our cultural horizons.
Then we moved to Southern Maine. Same scenic
country-side, low crime rate, good neighbors,
inexpensive…well, you can’t have everything.
Fewer black flies, more ticks. Excellent beaches.
And, at first, little change in the low level of
cultural diversity. We bought a house in semi-
rural York County, and it was still all white faces
at the supermarket, at the post office, in the other
cars on the road. That’s Maine, I thought.
Lily-white Maine.
But then I got the Program Director position here
at WMPG, and my perceptions changed. It was
a delight, in the first weeks of my new job, to
meet the faces behind the voices I had been
hearing on the station, faces of many shades,
and of course many white faces too, but white
faces from among which came voices speaking
in the accents of many cultures.
The concept of cultural diversity appears not
once, but several times in WMPG’s mission
statement. Our mission statement speaks of
“promoting awareness and discussion of global
issues and culture; of presenting artistic,
cultural, and political perspectives which are
underrepresented in mainstream media; of
promoting acceptance, understanding, and
cooperation between people and cultures;
providing opportunities for women and
minorities and others who are underrepresented
in mainstream media to participate in
management and decision-making; and encour-
aging the participation of community members
with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.”
It became quickly clear to me in those first
weeks of my employment that the station had
been doing a good job of advancing its cultural
diversity goals. Since then I have done my best,
as a member of the management team, to
continue in the same vein. I’m not running for
reelection, so I won’t go on about it, but I do think
it is fair to say that on the whole WMPG is still
doing a good job of representing the diversity of
Portland back to the community of Portland. As
of this writing we feature shows in seven different
languages besides English every week, or more
precisely, since some of these hosts chose to
work mostly in English, shows hosted by
volunteers with seven different native tongues
besides English: Spanish, French, Somali,
Russian, Vietnamese, Khmer, and Serbian. (For
the record, the Russian show and one of the two
Somali shows are currently on hiatus, but we are
expecting both to return to our schedule.)
Besides the shows presented by hosts of
international origin, we also features shows
which represent a wide range of the musical
cultures of the United States, from hip-hop to
blues to Native American. We also features
shows grounded in various religious faiths. It
would not be going too far to say that I have one
of the few best jobs in the state for involving me
with a diverse circle of acquaintance, and I feel
personally the richer for it. More importantly, I
feel proud of what that says about how well the
station is achieving the cultural diversity part of
its mission.
But what about that phrase in the mission state-
ment about “diverse perceptions?” Community
radio in general has a reputation for being
left-leaning, if not outright radical, and WMPG
does air a number of programs which include
political content which is unabashedly left of
center. But it is not accurate to say that everyone
at WMPG would describe himself or herself as
politically liberal. I am pleased to be able to
report that in addition to volunteers representing
considerable racial, ethnic, and religious
diversity, WMPG also counts among its staff
volunteers with a wide range of political views.
A good demonstration of this would be a recent
exchange of e-mails which took place on an
internal e-mail group for WMPG staff and
volunteers. One of our volunteers traveled to
New York for the Republican National
Convention and sent back a few dispatches to
this e-mail group which were unequivocal, to put
it mildly, about the volunteer’s anti-Republican
political views. Another volunteer took exception
and posted his objections. A short exchange
followed, as a handful of other volunteers
weighed in, one in an earnest vein on the subject
of free speech, another with a touch of humor to
help keep the debate light, and so on. The
postings, I am happy to report, stayed civil. It
was not that big a deal really, but it demon-
strated that there was the necessary range of
opinion within the WMPG volunteer community
to bring about such an exchange. It was also,
incidentally, a good example of how a comm-
unity made up of people with diverse views can,
if they so chose, discuss their differences of
opinion without descending into a flame-war.
Sometimes, when explaining our programming
to people, I say that if anyone liked everything
they heard on WMPG, we’d be failing in our
The ProgramDirector ’s Soap Box
By Tom Flynn, WMPG Development Director
Where will WMPG be in five years? That’s a
question that’s been on my mind a lot lately. And
it isn’t a purely philosophical or rhetorical
question. WMPG’s staff is continuing to grow.
In fact, by the time you read this we will have a
new full-time Office Manager (Kelsey Perchinski)
and our volunteer Music Director (Ron Raymond,
Jr.) will have transitioned to the status of half-time
paid employee. And our music library continues
to expand at the rate of more than one-hundred
CDs per week. The inevitabile result of our
continued growth is that our home for the past
sixteen years on Bedford Street is practically
bursting at the seams. Quite frankly, we need a
new space and we need it soon. The University
of Southern Maine seems to be in agreement
and we are in the very early stages of deter-
mining where WMPG’s next home will be.
But beyond the question of where we will be
physically in five years, the philosophical side of
the question has also been front and center on
WMPG’s collective mind lately.
Since February of 2004 a subcommittee of the
WMPG Board of Directors has been meeting to
formulate what will eventually become the next
Five Year Plan for Greater Portland’s community
radio station. In addition to myself, the Five Year
Plan Committee consists of representatives from
each of WMPG’s constituencies: Dave Wade
(volunteer staff representative), Helen Gorgas
Goulding (USM staff representative), Zeke
Kimball (USM Student Senate representative),
and Vanessa Gates-Elston (listener represen-
tative). It’s been an interesting process as we
attempt to see into the future and identify the
issues and challenges that lie ahead for WMPG.
The initial stage of the process have been
completed and the committee has presented a
Preliminary Five Year Plan to the WMPG Board of
Directors. The next step in the process is to
make the Preliminary Five Year Plan available to
WMPG’s volunteers, the USM community, and
WMPG’s listeners and to solicit suggestions and
comments. If you would like a copy of the
Preliminary Plan to review, simply email
[email protected] or call me at 780-4151.
We have also posted an announcement
soliciting listener feedback on the WMPG
website: http://www.wmpg.org and we are airing
announcements on-air. Additionally, on
November 10, 2004 the WMPG Board of
Directors meeting will include an open forum to
field comments and suggestions regarding the
Preliminary Five Year Plan. The meeting will be
held at 7:00 pm in Payson Smith Hall, Room 1,
on the USM Portland campus. All comments and
suggestions regarding the plan must be
received by November 15, 2004.
The final stages in the process will be the
reconvening of the Five Year Plan committee
between November 16, 2004 and January 11,
2005 to discuss the suggestions and comments
received from WMPG’s constituencies and
implement any additions to the Plan. And on
January 12, 2005, the committee will present the
Five Year Plan to the WMPG Board of Directors
for final approval.
While there isn’t room to publish in these pages
the entire Preliminary Five Year Plan in these
pages, I’d like to share the following outline of it
to give you an idea of the document as it is at
this stage.
The first order of business for the committee was
to formulate a vision statement:
“WMPG strives to sustain creative, diverse
programming, education outreach, and broad-
casting excellence to the communities within
and around the University of Southern Maine in
an inclusive, non-discriminatory way.”
Next, the Preliminary Five Year Plan committee
identified five issues the we feel are of utmost
importance to WMPG as we continue to grow
over the next five years. The final plan will no
doubt identify more, but those identified in the
Preliminary Five Year Plan (in order of priority)
are: [ 1 ] Space (WMPG’s physical plant and
room for growth), [ 2 ] Organizational Structure
(defining the roles and relationships of
volunteers, paid staff, and board and university
governance while preserving WMPG’s unique
culture), [ 3 ] University Relations (nurturing and
utilizing our relationship with the University of
Southern Maine in a mutually beneficial way),
[ 4 ] Technology (assessing and addressing the
changes taking place in broadcast technology
and assessing the state of WMPG’s broadcast
equipment), and [ 5 ] Programming and
Listenership (renewing WMPG’s commitment to
representative programming).
Again, the issues enumerated above are just a
start. We have already received valuable input
from other members of the WMPG Board and
volunteer staff and I’m excited to see the
Five Year Plan take shape as we hear from those
connected to the station.
As a representative community radio station it’s
important that we respond to the needs and
concerns of the communities to which we
broadcast. The Five Year Plan is an excellent
opportunity for you to voice your thoughts about
your radio station. I know I speak for the entire
Five Year Plan Committee, when I say we look
forward to hearing from you regarding the future
of WMPG.
Looking tothe Futureat WMPG
mission. We strive here for a diversity so truly
diverse that it precludes consistent appeal for
any one listener. The political diversity of our staff
helps us achieve this goal.
I have said that WMPG is doing a good job at
being diverse, but that doesn’t mean that
anyone here thinks we’re perfect. We’re always
seeking to improve. We’re always striving to
serve our community, our many communities,
better. And we need feedback. A single pair of
eyes cannot effectively judge how well an effort
to promote diversity is doing. It takes diversity to
foster diversity. If you have comments about
WMPG, on the issue of diversity or any other
subject, you can reach me at 780-4598, or by
e-mail at [email protected]. Use the
same number or address if you want to
contribute to the diversity of our staff by becom-
ing involved as a volunteer yourself. It will be a
pleasure to hear your voice, whatever the shade
of your face, national origin, creed, political
views or other demographic particulars.
Let’s talk.
Page 4Fall 2004 Program Guide
Walking into Jay York’s photography studio, I was struck by a few things: first, the stereo was on and
it was tuned to WMPG; second, there were a dozen or more photo ID season passes from Mount
Abram (dating from the ‘72-’73 season to last year) displayed on the side of a metal cabinet for all to
see. It became apparent after speaking with Jay for an hour that skiing and the music heard on
WMPG are both very important to him, and they are both connected to his daily life, as they have been
for years.
You see, it’s not easy to make a living as a photographer specializing in fine art reproduction, but
owning his own business has allowed Jay York to branch out. In business for about 16 years now, Jay
says he has learned to find a balance that allows him to keep doing the things he loves and pay the
bills. He is, he says, “a resourceful Mainer, with a couple other irons on the stove.” In other words, the
photography studio is open three days per week, he owns a few rental properties and a parking lot,
he moonlights as a ski instructor, and he dabbles in the refurbishing of outdoor clothing (which he
then sells at the studio).
All these irons have allowed Jay to keep doing the things he loves, and photography is certainly on
that list. In fact, his first experience with photography was back at Kennebunk High School in Arnie
Amoroso’s English class. Mr. Amoroso assigned photography as a means for students to interpret
stories and poems. Whereas many photographers enter into the field after being seduced by the
technical aspect of processing their own film, Jay feels a great sense of gratitude to Amoroso for
emphasizing the expressive side of photography over the technical.
Kennebunk High School also gave the young Jay York another invaluable opportunity. It was there
that a teacher by the name of Pam Wood decided to launch a magazine focusing on documentary
arts called Salt. Yes, that Salt, which would eventually morph into the Salt Institute for Documentary
Studies. The model for this first incarnation of Salt magazine was a similar publication in Raven Gap,
Georgia, Foxfire. After a stint in Georgia to help Kennebunk High School launch the magazine, young
Jay was hooked on photography. He went on to spend a summer at the Maine Photography
Workshops in 1975 and he graduated with a fine art degree form Maine College of Art.
Jay’s professional career began working for a film processing firm in Portland where he picked up
extra cash handling the business his boss didn’t want: fine art reproduction. Jay explains, “he said he
didn’t want to do the work for artists because artists have no budget, but they’re picky.” Jay soon
found himself making more on his off-hours taking photos for artists than he did with his day job. Was
his boss right in his description of artists, I asked. “Well, I found that artists are no more demanding
than other people, but they have no budget.” It was work he enjoyed, though, and there was very
little competition in the field, so he stuck with it, adding the occasional iron to the stove to help make
ends meet.
Jay York Affordable Photography now has a client list of about 2,000 artists whose work is
photographed by Jay and, occasionally, by a few folks he subcontracts. Most of the artists are from
the New England area, but a few come from much farther away, including France.
Jay enjoys his work with artists, though at one time several years ago, he thought about building up
his business to include a full-service photo finishing lab. The reasoning behind the expansion was to
eventually sell the business, but he decided he wanted to stay in it to do the work he enjoyed. So
he scaled back and created a business he could run from a studio connected to (but separate from)
his home.
Now about the other passion in Jay’s life: music. There is no doubt music plays a large role in Jay’s
day to day routine. Upon moving into new spaces over the years, priority number one, he says, has
always been to find a spot for the stereo where the reception of WMPG is good. It’s on all day as he
works and, on average, five or six visiting artists ask him what CD he’s playing. They are
consistently amazed at the quality and variety of music played by the little community radio station in
Portland. And it’s the consistent quality and variety of music on WMPG that has kept Jay on the
underwriters roster for almost twenty years (probably the longest continuous business supporter of
the station). While he certainly appreciates the nonprofit and noncommercial aspects of the station
and WMPG’s value to the community (“it’s like a neighborhood association”), it is the music that
impresses him most. Asked why he underwrites, Jay didn’t hesitate to reply, “it’s the best
entertainment on the radio dial.”
Jay has also always been impressed with the station’s responsiveness to its audience. Back in 1984
he remembers meeting with a group of friends every Friday for a fish fry. One of those in the group
was WMPG volunteer DJ Steve Hirshon (still on the air with “Hukkin a Chainek,” Thursdays, 6:30
am – 8:30 am). The conversation turned to radio drama on one of those Fridays and Jay told Steve
about a compelling series he had heard years before called “The Fourth Tower of Inverness.”
Jay offered to underwrite the series if WMPG could find it. The station did and he’s been underwriting
ever since.
Of the programming currently featured on WMPG, Jay is drawn to “Soul Mates,” (Saturdays,
7 pm – 8:30 pm), Democracy Now! (weekdays, Noon – 1 pm), and the Folkways strip of shows
Monday through Friday from 8:30 am –10:30 am (“The Blue Country,” “In Your Ear,” “South By
Southwest,” “Saltwater Farm,” and “Us Folk”), but he appreciates the diversity and surprises he hears
throughout the day. “I tell people that it’s like the weather. If you don’t care for a particular bit of music
being played, just wait thirty minutes . . . [WMPG’s programming is] not stagnant, it adapts. It isn’t
governed by ratings or advertising and it’s very worthy of support because there’s people out there
who love the shows I don’t.” More often than not, though, he loves what he hears and that’s why he
“invests in WMPG.”
JAY YORK AFFORDABLE PHOTOGRAPHY
58 WILMOT ST. PORTLAND 774-9600
Underwriter Profile
JAY YORK AFFORDABLE PHOTOGRAPHYBY TOM FLYNN
It’s always somewhat amazing that most of the people I meet here in Portland listen to WMPG. When
the regular formalities of a conversation come up, and they ask me “where do you work, what do you
do?” I tell them I do work study at WMPG, as well as a show, and that’s where the conversation
usually begins. Most everyone I’ve come across has heard of WMPG, has one or two shows they
listen to, and has nothing but good things to say about the station.
That probably doesn’t come as a surprise to the thousands of loyal listeners WMPG has collected
over the years, but if you’re just picking up a program guide for the first time, or if the only time you’ve
heard our station is when you’re scanning the dial for something to listen to, you might want to read
further, this is my experience at WMPG.
This is the start of my third year at the University of Southern Maine; I transferred up to school here
from Denver, CO. Most people ask me right away “What made you decide to come up to Maine?”
All of that isn’t important right now, so I’ll save it for maybe another article. I began working at WMPG
at the start of last year. At first, I really couldn’t figure out what the station was all about. It was a nice
and friendly environment, but after the first day I quickly saw that it didn’t fit into any type of music
genre one would associate with radio stations.
Mondays at WMPG start at about 3:30 AM for me; I come in to do my show Monday Morning Mayhem
as Gabe FM is finishing up his show, Hip-Hop Division. We both do Hip-Hop shows, so that might lead
you to believe that Mondays at the station are primarily rap music. Well if you thought that you’d be
wrong. After my show is “This Better Be Good”, a great show with great music, hosted by Michael
Cutting. The best description of “This Better Be Good” that I can offer you is good music from across
the globe, and that doesn’t even come close to telling what the show is all about.
Lincoln comes up next with his show, “South by Southwest” during which he plays country, honky-
tonk and western music. After that, I go home and take a nap, but take a look at the program guide
in the center of this paper to see the eclectic blend of programs that follow.
In my opinion, what makes WMPG a successful radio station is the people working there genuinely
care about the music they play, the shows they do, and the station itself. I can’t think of any other sta-
tion that stretches across such a wide range of musical genres, others might offer a little variety but
not as much as we do. So what ever kind of music you’re into, I can almost guarantee that WMPG has
a show for you. And if we don’t, come down to the station and ask Dave about doing a show yourself.
That’s it for me, I’m out, and go Broncos!
WMPG: WHAT YOU WANT,WHAT YOU NEEDBy Uncle Kevin
Page 5Fall 2004 Program Guide
Ad Loc. Design
165 Ocean Ave. Portland 780-9601
Innovative website design. www.adloc.com
Amaryllis
41 Exchange, Portland 772-4439
Clothing for creative women.
Angioplasty Media
www.angioplastymedia.com
stories, interviews, music, ruckus, and chaos.
Barbara’s Kitchen
388 Cottage Rd., So. Portland 767-6313
Dining for all occasions, jazz every
Wednesday, and catering.
Catama Film and Video
2 Portland Fish Pier, Portland 874-4974
Film and video production and more
Coffee By Design
620 Congress, Portland 772-5533
67 India St., Portland 879-2233
Micro-roasted coffee at three Portland locations
Creative Lending Solutions
25 Pearl St., Portland 772-0745
Specializing in mortgage lending for people
with unique needs, bad credit or no credit.
Crystal Spring Water
1-888-778-8856
Home and office delivery of natural spring
water and coffee.
Enterprise Records
613 Congress, Portland 773-7672
Vinylphiles rejoice! Long live the LP!
Face Magazine
Music guide for Southern Maine and
Seacoast New Hampshire.
ferdinand
243 Congress, Portland 761-2151
Unique home furnishings, cards, gifts, and art.
Free Press
780-4084
The newspaper of the University of Southern Maine.
Full Circle Synergy School of T’ai Chi Chuan
500 Forest, Portland 780-9581
For balance, self-healing, relaxation,
and self-defense.
Gateway Mastering & DVD
High quality audio and DVD mastering.
Great Lost Bear
540 Forest Ave. Portland 772-0300
Lots of beers, good food, great atmosphere.
Gritty McDuff’s
396 Fore, Portland 772-2739
Lower Main St., Freeport 865-4321
Portland’s first brewpub.
HR Distributors
www.hrdistributors.com 773-2552
Full service electronic parts distributor.
Featured products include networking and
computer supplies.
ideaofnorth
www.ideaofnorth.com 332-3511
graphic design.
Ireland Crystal & Crafts
558 Congress, Portland 773-5832
Jewelry, clothing, and gifts from the Emerald Isle.
Jay York Affordable Photo
61 Pleasant St., Portland 774-9600
Photography for everyone.
Maine Beer and Beverage
Portland Public Market 228-2024
Huge selection of beer and wine from
Maine and away.
Mims
205 Commercial St., Portland.347-7478.
Great meals with an emphasis on local
produce. Great meals 3 times daily,
7 days a week.
Maine Capital Companies Foundation
Natasha’s
82 Exchange St., Portland 541-3663
Delicious dining for lunch and dinner
seven days a week.
Northern Chi Martial Arts Center
classes at Greater Portland YWCA
87 Spring Street, Portland 879-2423
www.northernchi.com
Karate classes for people of all ages and
abilities in an environment of respect.
Oakhurst Dairy
The natural goodness of Maine.
Penobscot School
28 Gay St., Rockland 207 594-1084
Language learning in Rockport.
Phoenix Studio
630 Forest Ave., Portland 774-4154
A complete stained glass resource: supplies,
repair, custom work, classes.
Portland Green Grocer
211 Commercial St., Portland 761-9232
Locally owned market featuring fresh baked
goods, wine, cheese, fresh produce and more.
SPACE
538 Congress St., Portland 774-4154
Alternative arts venue, featuring visual art
and live music.
The St Lawrence Arts & Community Center
76 Congress St., Portland 775-5568
Live music and theatre on Munjoy Hill.
Available for private events.
Stitchez
574 Congress St., Portland 780-8340
Men’s clothing store featuring rockabilly,
retro and just plain cool threads
and accessories.
TIAA-CREF
630 Forest Ave Portland 774-4154
Investment for retirement planning.
Udder Place Coffee Company
428 Brighton Ave., Portland 780-MOOO
Good coffee, good people. Mooooo.
Video Port
151 Middle, Portland 773-1999
Popular and eclectic video & DVD rentals.
WMPG UNDERWRITERSPLEASE SUPPORT BUSINESSES THAT SUPPORT WMPG
People often (never) ask me how I got where I am
today at WMPG. I’ve loved the station as long as
I have known of its existence. I first became inter-
ested in the afternoon rock block, the Evenin’
Sun Blues, and the freeform late-nights. I got into
the station by listening to Anne Sielaff’s metal
show, “Music to be Murdered By,” Matt Little’s
“Get Hot or Go Home,” and Nic Carter’s
“Electronic Naptime.” In fact, I used to set my
alarm to record Anne’s show so that I could listen
to it at work in the morning, I taped Matt’s show
so that I could send it to my former girlfriend who
lived in Massachusetts and loved swing music,
and I ended up replacing Nic’s position as the
Monday afternoon rock DJ upon his departure
from the station.
I began working at WMPG in the same manner
most new work-study students start; I sat with an
old-school plastic labeling device in front of an
archaic filing computer program and I cataloged
new compact disks. Almost immediately bored
with this, I became involved with other station
interests. Becoming aware of the general
financial demands of a non-profit station,
I became involved with the Student
Communications Board at USM and worked to
acquire more money for the development of the
station. I have promoted the station in many
disciplines and I have continued to do the
work-study: year 1-style grunt work I came into
the station doing.
My favorite position at the station is as DJ. I took
the three short classes necessary to become a
DJ, learned the ropes, and when my friend Nic
had to leave his afternoon rock slot so that he
could move to Boston, I took over his position.
I have applied to my show my own interest in
radical politics, airing speeches by radicals like
Malcolm X, Noam Chomsky and Mumia Abu
Jamal. I play politically charged music whether it
be folk, country, punk or mainstream. I also, for
fun’s sake, play bands unrelated to politics
(some of my favorites: Queen, Ice Cube and
Guns N Roses). I get many requests for songs
both political and not political and I find hosting
a show a unique was to stay in touch with a
like-minded community.
The things I love most about WMPG are the
passions that circulate around the office, whether
they are social, political or musical. Every time I
am in the office I have interesting conversations
with extremely knowledgeable people who care
passionately about the things they believe. This
afternoon I had a conversation with a DJ about
his opposing philosophical and political beliefs.
He proceeded to teach me about Internet social
networking programs. Not a day passes I don’t
learn something about music I did not know
before. I am surrounded by technology- and
software-literate people who offer me information
in everything I have a desire to learn about.
Everyone I am in contact with at this station cares
passionately about offering as much of their
selves to their communities as possible. I am
incredibly fortunate to have WMPG in my life.
HOW I GOT TO WHERE I AM NOWBy Alex Steed, host, “Monday Afternoon: REVOLUTION!” Mondays, 3pm – 5pm
Page 8Fall 2004 Program Guide
metal, representative bands: Queens of the
Stone Age, Black Sabbath, Monster Magnet)
Speed metal, more obvious than viking metal,
representative bands: Motorhead, Iron Maiden
Party metal, “I just want to rock and roll all night”
metal, representative bands: (in the 70’s) KISS
(at present), Andrew WK
Metalcore, harcdore and thashmetal, represen-
tative bands: Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage
Grindcore, vocal styles similar to death metal
mixed with the grinding
of riffs grinding into one
another, representative
bands: Carcass, Napalm
Death, Agoraphobic
Nosebleed
This list is intimidating
and long and it’s only the
tip of the metal iceberg.
(meet) steve and anne “The average public
also see metal as being
too loud, undecipher-
able and not real
music,” says Stephen
Cain, host of WMPG’s
Thursday night metal show, Hit Parade (Fridays,
12:00 am – 3:00 am) and the WMPG Hard Rock
Director. This is a fair assessment on Cain’s part.
The genre has been poked fun at steadily in
popular culture. Rob Reiner’s Spinal Tap, a
mockumentary about a late-70’s, early-80’s metal
band devotes all of its energies to poking fun at
the density of metal musicians and fans. Despite
it’s eventual focus on the circumstance of the
boys’ heroism, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
goes so far as to cast the painfully thick and
monosyllabic Keanu Reeves as a typical metal
musician (being one half of the protagonists'
band “Wylde Stallions”). The tagline of the film
pokes fun of the presumed illiteracy of said metal
enthusiasts: “History is about to be rewritten by
two guys who can’t spell.”
Cain, a metal DJ at WMPG for 12 years, explains
“I also pride myself as being a fan but not fitting
in the typical ‘mold.’ To society, metal people are
uneducated, tattooed and pierced all over; that
[Metal fans] work menial jobs. Although I have
one (1) tat’ and two (2) piercings, I have a
college degree and a good job.”
A fan of old country (“anything before 1985”),
industrial, folk, 80s and female songwriters, Cain
also feels it is a misconception that the genre is
all he listens to. After all, he came to metal “in a
round about way.”
While working at a college station in 1990, Cain
wanted to do an all metal show featuring hair bands.
“The station manager said they had too many metal
DJ’s so they made me an alternative DJ.”
After a semester of playing alternative songs,
Cain was allowed to
switch to playing metal
songs. Encouraged by
his manager to look at
bands heavier than the
ones he was used to,
he was introduced to
bands like Priest, Iron
Maiden and Black
Sabbath.
Cain began playing
bands like Poison,
Motley Crue and Def
Leppard. His exposure
to harder metal
directed his attention to
bands that he still
considers his favorites:
Sepultura, Fear Factory and Pantera. His
horizons have expanded further over the years.
“In the beginning I never would play thrash,
hardcore or black metal but now I can find artists
from each genre that I enjoy.”
Anne Sielaff, host of Music to be Murdered By, a
Saturday evening metal show (11 pm – 1 am),
started getting into Metal at the age of eight. “It
all got started when my brother, Jon, got me
listening to bands like Kiss and The Ramones,
when I was about 8 years old. I thank him for
getting my love of music started.”
In college, Anne became involved with the
college radio station. Working an internship at a
commercial station in New Haven, Connecticut,
she was quickly discouraged when she “realized
that commercial radio is not about the music, but
about how well you can sell the station.”
Sielaff has been hosting her show at WMPG for
over eight years. Like Cain, she feels as though
metal is misunderstood. “I think the biggest
misconception about metal music is that all the
lyrics are screaming about evil things. Most of
the music is about stepping up and being heard,
and standing up for yourself. A lot of it is about
family abuse and other struggles [one goes
through in] life. I find it a great stress reliever to
crank up something really loud and just scream
along [laughs].”
A strong-minded woman, Sielaff explains, “It
makes me sad to see women used all the time to
sell stuff.” When asked to explain what it’s like to
be a female metal fan, she admits that “it can be
a struggle sometimes. But I feel that the women
that really love true metal aren’t the ‘air-heads’ of
the 80’s metal scene.
Those girls are out there
listening to [commercial
alternative radio station
name]. I feel the major-
ity of real metal bands,
don’t use women in a
negative way.”
touching (the community) Like many DJs at
WMPG, both Anne and
Steve each touch and
continue to touch the
community with their
devotion to their
respective preferred genre. Steve tells a few brief
stories, one in which a man called his show, pro-
ceeding to tell his life story. The man eventually
encouraged Cain to play King Diamond by
explaining it would make the man’s life meaning-
ful again.
“There was one guy years ago,” he goes on to
explain,” that was partying while listening to my
show. He told me that he felt bad that I couldn't
be there so he would bring the party to me.
Twenty (20) minutes later, the bell rang and it was
a guy all decked out in party beads. He then
handed me a bottle of wine, said ‘here’s your
party,’ and then left in his cab."
“I have a large following of dedicated listeners
from the Windham Correctional Facility,” explains
Anne. “I have been receiving letters from the
inmates for the past 7 years. I have a huge photo
album filled with all the letters, and drawings they
send. Some I even framed, and they are hanging
on my walls at home.”
Why such a following at Windham Correctional
Facility? “They like the music. You cant hear
heavy shit like my show on any other station, only
on the other metal shows on WMPG [...] I get
constant feed back from them, saying how much
it means to them having my show to tune into
every week.”
conclusionAnne wanted to be sure
I added that, “WMPG
is the best station out
there! They continue to
be the best place to
get alternative music.
I love the diversity of it
and the commitment to
the music.”
Steve encourages those
who have not yet done
so to listen to Warrior
Soul. They are one of his
all-time favorite bands
and one of the most
u n d e r- a p p re c i a t e d
bands from the early 90’s.
2004. Leap year. Expo-sure of Janet Jackson’s
breast ruins for American viewers the otherwise
moral, beer-sponsored, pro-aggression Super
Bowl. Socialist Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
defeats incumbent government led by Jose
Maria Aznar in Spanish parliamentary elections
of 2004. Ray Charles dies. Steve Cain and Anne
Sielaff begin, collectively, their 20th year as a
WMPG deliverers of metal.
This is Steve and Anne. They are two of the
WMPG DJs responsible for providing the station
with a healthy dose of metal. They know the
difference between sub genres and they rock out
to Sabbath and Ministry. Beyond this, they’re a
couple of the most amiable folks I’ve run into in
my time at WMPG. Steve and Anne are, in my
experience, solid people.
On Metal, continued from page 1
[ 207.332.3511 | ideaofnorth.com ]
[ ron harrity | graphic design ]
ideaofnorth
Steve CainAnne Sielaff
Page 9Fall 2004 Program Guide
WMPG RECORD SALEThe 9th Annual WMPG Record Sale was a bigsuccess. More than three hundred vinylphilesand music fans descended upon USM’s Sullivangym to score bargains galore! As you can see,fun was had by folks of all ages and WMPG wasn’t the only beneficiary. Where else couldsomeone find “The Impossible Dream: the storyof the 1967 Red Sox,” Elvis Costello’s “ImperialBedroom,” or the Rolling Stones’ “StickyFingers” (zipper intact) LPs for two bucks each?
9TH
AN
NU
AL W
MP
G R
ECO
RD
SALE
Page 10Fall 2004 Program Guide
WMPG is pleased to announce the release of an
extremely limited edition compact disc of
highlights from the 2nd Annual WMPG Bluegrass
Spectacular, featuring the music of the
Grassholes (3 tracks), Muddy Marsh Ramblers
(6 tracks), and Jerks of Grass (6 tracks). Also
featured is the inimitable “Blizzard” Bob Wade
(host of “The Blue Country,” Wednesdays, 8:30
am –10:30 am), who served as the evening’s
Master of Ceremonies. The CD was recorded live
at the St. Lawrence Arts & Community Center on
Portland’s Munjoy Hill on June 7, 2004 and it will
be available as a pledge premium during
WMPG’s 2004 Fall Begathon, October 18 – 24.
This CD represents the first recorded output of
the Grassholes and the first multi-track recording
of local bluegrass legends Jerks of Grass. Call
874-3000 during Begathon to reserve your copy
while they’re still available.
The recording was made possible thanks to the
generosity of the Grassholes, Muddy Marsh
Ramblers, and Jerks of Grass, who kindly
donated their performances and the rights to
record them. Additionally, WMPG would like to
thank: Marc and Gina at Tsunami Sound for
donating their services to record the show and
produce, edit, and master the recording; thanks
to Ron Harrity of ideaofnorth.com for donating the
design and layout of the packaging; and thanks
to Deirdre Nice and everyone at the St. Lawrence
for use of their space and help with the show.
WMPG RELEASES BLUEGRASS SPECTACULAR CD
Rick Alderette, Adam Allington, Ellen Anderson,
Matt Anderson, Michele Arcand, Charlie Ashlin,
Alan Ashton, Michael Atleson, Michael Audie,
Smokie Ayanle, Dave Babb, Patrick Babcock,
Christie Balieri, Giorgi Baino, Bazi Bakar, Aoife
Baker, Pam Baker, Alex Baltos, David
Barber-Callaghan, Adinah Barnett, Marc
Bartholomew, Joshua Beane, Seth Benner, Rock
Bergeron, Dan Bernard, Braden Biddings, Becky
Bigelow, Noel Bonam, Rebecca Boothby,
Jessica Borelli, Buddy Bourgeois, Kevin Boyd,
John Bradford, Amy Bradstreet, Adrian Bravo,
Al Brewer, Martha Briana, Mary Bruen, Osip
Bukharin, William Burke, Larry Burkett, Chris
Busby, Stephanie Buzzell, Steve Cain, Mindy
Cairn, Scott Carlin, Valerie Cartonio, Dan
Cassely, Bob Caswell, Parris Cayer-Leary, Dany
Challenger, Hannah Champagne, Jesse Chanin,
David Cheezum, Anthony Chicco, Victoria
Chicon, Marc Chillemi, Julie Civiello, Katie Clark,
Bob Cochran, Elaine Colella, Rick Colella, Diane
Cormier, Kathleen Costello, Tony Cowles,
Michael Cutting, Michael Danahy, Derek Danie,
Karen D'Andrea, Chris Darling, Eric de Chevalier,
Sean Demers, John Dennison, Sisay Desta,
Laura DeVaudreuil, Paul Diou, Stephanie Doyle,
Nick Dragoni, Moe Dubreuil, Savoy Duch, Barry
Dumper, Sunni Dunn, Steve Dunphy, Chip Edgar,
Florence Edwards, Sasa Erakovic, Carolyn Ezzy,
Brian Farrell, Gabe Faulkner-Macklin, Adam
Ferguson, Daniel Fields, Cindy Flanders, Caitlin
Flynn, Kevin Fogg, Steve Frantz, Joe Frechette,
Al Frey, Vanessa Gates-Elston, Joel Gold, Liz
Gold, Helen Gorgas Goulding, Ramon Graham,
Bau Graves, Alex Green, Johanna Greenberg,
Jesse Groom, Chrissy Grover, Stewart Guernsey,
Ben Guiliani, Masood Hagiali, Jim Hall, Hayley
Hastings, Wendy Hazard, Jeff Heller, David
Herter, Michael Hillard, Keith Hintz, Steve
Hirshon, Pete Hodgin, Sarah Holbrook, Claire
Holman, Rob Hoyt, Sarah Hudson, Josh Hulit,
Ken Johns, Julian Kaelin, Artur Kaptelenin, Karen
Karlsson, Mitchell Keil, Melissa Kierman, Trey
Kilian, Zeke Kimball, Dan Knight, Theo Konig,
Paul Krakauske, Dan Kramer, Joanne Lafferty,
Emily Lafond, Andrew Land, Kathryn Lasky,
Adrian Leveille, Larry Lindgren, Matt Little,
Jessica Lockhart, Seanne London, Mikel Lopes,
Sydney Mackey, Jamie Mandrake, Rachel
Margolis-Pineo, Merrill Marsh, Kevin McBride,
Jeff McCreight, Blainor McGough, Angus
Mclaurin, Ryan McMaken, Jeanette Merrill,
Elisabeth Michaud, Justin Michelson, Bob Miller,
Abdullahi Mohamed, Erin Moloney, John
Mooney, Nick Morin, Barry Mothes, Matthew
Mowatt, Natassia Mullally, Ed Murphy, Deirdre
Nice, Jackie Nice, Justine Norden, Ryan Nutting,
Marty O'Brien, Chris O'Connor, Brian O’Keefe,
Paul O'Neil, Manuel Orantes, Pete ‘DJPJ’
Paraskevas, Kathryn Parenteau, Kai Parrott-
Wolfe, Joel Patterson, Lincoln Peirce, Stephane
Pejic, David Pence, Milka Perez-White,
Stephanie Philbrick, Win Phillips, Jim Pinfold,
Andrei Planson, Jessica Porter, Eric Poulin,
Lorenzo Raffa, Juan Rangel, Ron Raymond,
Rosita Roberge, Joe Robinson, Brian Rollins,
Keith Roscillo, Kurt Roscillo, Chelsea Rosenthal,
Rob Rosenthal, Andy Royer, Kim Sailor, Myron
Samuels, Jacques Santucci, Dan Schulman,
Spenser Scott, Kerry Seed, Pirun Sen, Steve
Sesto, Adam Sewall, Isaac Shainblum, Paige
Shepherd, Jeff Shelton, Nick Sherman, Dylan
Sherry, Anne Sielaff, Ruby Simkoff, Andy Smith,
Bill Smith, Dawn Smith, Skot Spear, Dana
Staples, Alex Steed, Michelle Stephen, Garry
Stevens, Reid Stevensen, Jensen Stiles, John
Tanebe, Keith Taylor, Lily Townsend, Michael
Townsend, Kristina Truesdale, Barb Truex, Wes
Tucker, Frank Turek, Chazz Vacchiano, Emily Van
Strien, Thaian Vu, Bob Wade, Dave Wade,
Suzanne Walcott, Emily Wall, Jim Ward, Gail
Wartell, Jake Wartell, Eric Whitten, Kari Whitten,
Celeste Wideman, Jeff Wilbur, Erik Wikstrom, Jan
Wilkinson, China Williams, Jay Williams,
Madeleine Winterfalcon, Bob Wirtz, Gail Worster,
Kevin Wyer, Michelle Zajac, Dan Zarin
RADIOACTIVISTSThe Volunteers Who Make WMPG Possible
Producers at WMPG have won two first-place
prizes in the Maine Association of Broadcasters
2004 News and Creative Awards.
First prize in the Features category went to
Stephanie Philbrick, Rob Rosenthal, and Kate
Philbrick for Aucoscisco Radio: Ten Stories
About Portland Harbor. This was a series of ten
programs, each ten to twelve minutes long,
which explored Portland Harbor in sound.
Episodes included a visit to Ram Island Ledge
Lighthouse and the journey of a lobster from trap
to plate. It was accompanied by a photo exhibit
at SALT gallery. The pieces are archived at
http://www.wmpg.org
First prize in the the Public Affairs category went
to Michael Hillard, Claire Holman, and Jessica
Lockhart for “Remembering Mother Warren.” This
program was a half-hour special radio docu-
mentary for Labor Day 2003 featuring the voices of
Mainers who had worked for the S.D. Warren paper
mill in Westbrook, Maine. WMPG personnel
received their award plaques at the MAB’s annual
convention, September 18th, in Portland.
Congratulations to these WMPG producers!
“Remembering Mother Warren” was produced
by Big Talk members Jessica Lockhart, Michael
Hillard, and Claire Holman. Narrator: Thomas
Lestage, President PACE Local 1069. Project
Historians: Eileen Eagan and Michael Hillard.
Additional narration by Paul Drinan.
“Remembering Mother Warren” was a project
sponsored by the Southern Maine Labor Council,
AFL-CIO, with funding from the Maine
Humanities Council.
WMPG WINS TWOAWARDS FROM MAINEASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS
Page 11Fall 2004 Program Guide
Is The Dance Music Genre In Trouble?
By MikeL Lopes (co-host of “ClubHouse of
Dance,” Tuesdays, 11:30 pm – 1:30 am)
Recently I had the privilege of attending The
Billboard Dance Music Summit in New York City.
Billboard Magazine holds this event every year to
brainstorm new ideas, review past successes
and map out where the Dance Music scene is
going in the future. Billboard brought together a
phenomenal group of people, from original
dance music pioneers and legends to current
chart topping producers, artist, and remixers.
One of the biggest concerns discussed is the
fact that there are so few actual performing
artists in dance music. This shortage of talent
creates a hardship for record companies due to
the fact that they don’t have an entity to bank on.
No tours, no follow-up single, and ultimately no
fan base. The current dance music singles are
just that. One hit song created in someone’s
basement and they’re gone. Just about anyone
can cut a dance track, with no artist singing, all
computer generated using just samples of
vocals of older records. For this reason, these
single tracks are not part of an entire album and
are easily burned from the Internet or can appear
in a dance music compilation. Very little income
is generated.
A lot of the panel discussions surrounded this
dilemma and what to do about it. During “The
Pioneers Of Dance/Electronic Music” panel
discussion (featuring Georgio Moroder, producer
with Donna Summer and numerous others; Tom
Moulton, producer and originatoror of the twelve
inch single; and Frankie Knuckles, producer who
coined the title “House Music”) the topic was
explored and Georgio Moroder expressed his
feeling that “the Artist” is a very important part of
the success of a dance song. He explained that
he felt that the success of a song comes when
working with an artist who is professional,
talented, and dedicated to the project, much like
his work with Donna Summer.
During “The Billboard Master Class” panel,
President of Next Plateau Entertainment, Eddie
O’Loughlin explained how he and his company
are “searching for that next successful artist and
it has been very difficult for the major record
labels to find. “We are searching high and low
for the next Madonna or Britney. We leave no
stone unturned.” Another panel member, Craig
Kallman, Co-Chairman/COO of Atlantic Records
added, “Sure we are in the record business to
make money, and in order for us to do that we
need to find a personality that we can bank on.”
The record companies representatives explained
that they receive hundreds of submissions a
week from potential new artists and they claim to
listen to every submission in hopes to find the
next dance star. But success for a record
company would have to include an entire album
release, not just one single.
On the other side of this issue are the artists that
have been successful in the past. In attendance
were Amber, David Morales, and Joi Caldwell —
just a few of the artists who have decided to
sever their ties to record companies. David
Morales explained that when he made it big with
a record label they weren’t exactly sure what to
do with him next. They were constantly after him
to put aside his creativity and talents in order to
produce ‘that one big hit.’ He felt he was not
allowed to explore his ideas and creativity,
instead his forced objective became, ‘How can I
make money for the record company?’ The
completely opposite direction he wanted to take.
Also, he claimed, he was not being fully
compensated financially or appreciated for his
hard work and dedication. Former Tommy Boy
Record Company artist Amber, who has had
numerous dance hits agreed and explained her
experience, “Let me start out by saying that I am
very thankful to Tommy Boy for putting me on the
map and making my name recognizable. But
when it got to the time that the record label was
selling 200,000 copies of mine, and I was only
getting 2% of the sales, I began my own label.”
Amber continued, “Everyone involved and the
record company receive all of the profits.” Now
Amber is on her own. She says now that she
doesn’t have a record label to answer to and to
compensate, she is willing to take the cut in
quantities sold, which will happen because she
doesn’t have a record label’s almost unlimited
cash flow to promote and advertise. On the
positive side, though, if she only sells 20,000
copies now she will benefit more on a financial
basis, due to the fact that she will not have a
whole line of people to pay. “I’ve got bills to pay”
she concluded.
Pepper Mashay and Joi Caldwell are just a few
other artists who have left their record labels to
go out on their own. And they all certainly feel
that they have much more control over their
career both financially and creatively, without
being bound by the politics of a record label.
A Conversation With Legendary
Georgio Moroder
Another highlight of the conference was an
opportunity to speak with Georgio Moroder. This
is where dance music all started. Georgio put all
rumors to rest about the recording of Donna
Summer’s initiation dance single “Love to Love
You Baby”. How did Georgio get her to moan for
17 minutes? He claims that it was easy, “When
Donna came into the studio to record, she came
to the studio with her husband, and I felt that she
would not be able to cut loose to give it her all.
So I asked everyone but Donna to leave the
studio, including her husband.” Georgio
continued; “Then after the studio was clear of
people, I shut off all of the lights and Donna
began…and she continued for nearly 20
minutes, one take, perfect.” And that was the
beginning of Georgio Mororder and Donna
Summer’s relationship. They went on to record
several other hits, such as “McArthur Park,” “Bad
Girls,” “Dim all The Lights,” “Last Dance”... and
the list goes on and on. “I Feel Love” was an
experimental recording and Georgio told the
crowd; “I have heard ‘I Feel Love’ remade and
remixed over so many times, but I feel that the
original is still the best.” All Agreed. Georgio then
reiterated, “The elements of the artist are so
important in achieving such a successful
product.” Georgio also produced the soundtrack
to “Midnight Express.” I asked him if he wrote the
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE’S DANCE MUSIC SUMMIT 2004
WMPG’s Board of Directors recently voted
unanimously for WMPG to accept a $59,052
grant offer from the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting. This grant will cover 70% of the
cost of converting our current analog signal to
both a digital IBOC (In Band, On Channel) signal
and an analog signal. The additional funds
needed for this project have already been raised.
The plan is to install a Harris Z4HDC FM/IBOC
transmitter along with analog and digital exciters,
plus audio processing equipment. This will
replace our current transmitter and as a bonus,
leave us with a back-up transmitter. With a digital
signal in place, we may also be able to expand
our programming options. There have been a
number of experiments with the splitting of
digital transmissions. NPR, Kenwood and Harris
are currently experimenting with multiple
transmissions through the Tomorrow Radio
Project. WMPG is well positioned to expand our
programming and in the future creating two
distinct stations or digital streams should be
possible (for example, a future WMPG might
have all public affairs on WMPG One and all
music on WMPG Two. The real question for us
was whether today”s radio listeners will move to
this new technology. With the CPB helping to fund
this conversion in the Public Radio market it does
increase the odds and recently Clear Channel
announced that they will be converting more than
1000 of their stations to digital. If IBOC succeeds,
as we think it will, you soon may be listening to
WMPG programming in CD quality audio.
Estimated Installation Timeline
August 2004 Sign Ibiquity License
September 2004 Sign CPB Grant Contract
October 2004 Receipt of CPB
Contract Funds
October 2004 Order Equipment
Oct/Nov 2004 Receive Equipment
December 2004 Installation of Equipment
December 2004 Testing HD Transmission
Jan/Feb 2005 Begin Broadcasting
February 2005 FCC notification of
intention to broadcast HD
soundtrack before or after the movie was
complete. His answer: “I did it during the making
of the movie.”
The Birth Of The Twelve-Inch Single
by Tom Moulton
Another founding dance music producer I had a
chance to meet is Tom Moulton. He not only
produced several top ten dance hits over the
past several decades, he is the person
responsible for the production of the first twelve-
inch single…. by accident.
Tom explained how he went to the record
pressing company that he dealt with and he
needed a recording done on 7-inch vinyl
(45 rpm). The company was out of 7-inch vinyl
blanks and the only size vinyl they had in stock
was 12-inch. Knowing that he had to get this
record to the record company executives
immediately, Tom instructed them to just press it
on 12-inch instead. After processing, Tom
noticed that only about one inch of the record
was cut and used. Feeling that this was not
presentable to give to the record company
executives, he asked if they could spread out the
groves to cover the major portion of the surface.
It worked, but the company told Tom that when
they extended the groves, it made the sound
coming off the record very LOUD! Tom said
“Great!” And that was the beginning of the
twelve-inch single.
The Recording Academy Celebrates New
Category: Best Dance Music Album
In 1997, at the 40th annual Grammy Awards, the
National Academy of Recording Arts & Science
(NARAS) debuted its two-Dance/Electronic
music categories: Best Dance recording and
remixer of the year, non-classical. Now, after
much hard work from key players in the
Dance/Electronic community, NARAS has
announced that a new category for best
Dance/Electronic album, will debut next year at
the 47th annual Grammy Awards. It is hoped that
this exposure will legitimize a genre of music that
is often misunderstood by the mainstream. The
producers’ and engineers’ wing of the Recording
Academy of New York and BPM magazine
sponsored a very special party to celebrate the
new category for Best Dance/Electronic Music
Album. It’s been a long wait for this category to
be offered. The host club for the party was New
York’s famous Crowbar and more than 4,000
people attended to see performances by David
Morales, Paul Van Dyke, and Sasha.
The Crowbar is the Dance Club of All Clubs.
I thought that I had died and gone to Dance
heaven. It was amazing!
More Parties….
On the second evening, after the panel
discussions, it was time for a cruise around
Manhattan on the Hudson for a special party
sponsored by Brad LeBeau from Pro Motions.
At the helm was legendary Frankie Knuckles
mixing his mix and taking us on a musical ride of
his own under a full moon and breathtaking
views of Manhattan.
On the third day, Trutone studios (one of the last
suppliers of vinyl) threw their own rooftop party.
They have recently relocated to the former
Record Plant Studios in Midtown Manhattan.
One of the biggest thrills was to stand in the
same room that John Lennon had recorded in.
Sadly, it was on his way home from this famous
studio that he was killed. Trutone studios is
owned and operated by the husband and wife
team of Carl and Adrianna Rowatti and they have
a vast roster of talent, such as Missy Elliot, Patti
Labelle, and Lionel Ritchie. They are the masters
of their craft and a Trutone studio is one of the top
choices for mastering perfection.
Thank You Billboard Magazine
A special thank you to Billboard Magazine for its
years of dedication and commitment to the
Dance/Electronic genre. They are the giants in
this arena and this yearly summit brings together
a list of who’s who in the world of Dance/
Electronic. Thanks to all who attended the
conference for your passion, commitment, and
services. See you all next year!
WMPG MOVES FORWARDWITH HD RADIO