Monthly Archives: September 2008

T Minus 31 Hours: Membership Drive 2008 Begins!

WPRB has been buzzing with activity non-stop the past few days; the excitement is palpable. We are so looking forward to this year’s membership drive. Here are some quick updates about special programming during the drive! We’ll posting breaking news and more to the blog, so stay tuned.

Wednesday 10/1, 7:00 PM
Jon Solomon’s show kicks things off with special live guests Matador Record’s Jennifer O’Connor (who will be playing for your pledge!), Oxford Collapse (Sub Pop), Home Blitz (Gulcher), and Brown Recluse Sings.

Wednesday 10/1, Midnight
DJ Altitude Sickness brings forth the Tupperware Jams! Expect to hear mashups new and old, sample-based mayhem, junk truck (remix), and some dirty projections. Check out the video from last year’s drive special!

Friday 10/3, 5:00 PM
WPRB’s Top Ten Countdown airs one hour earlier than regularly scheduled.

Friday 10/3, 7:00 PM
Pop Recon returns with an all new episode! Tune in to hear interviews with Stereolab (4AD) and Philly legends the Dead Milkmen.

Saturday 10/4, 1:30 PM
WPRB Sports presents a broadcast of the Princeton Tigers football Ivy League season opener against Columbia.

Monday 10/6, 7:00 PM
Art and Julia of X Clean Yr Room X welcome special in-studio guests Kurt Vile (Gulcher) and The War on Drugs (Secretly Canadian).

Wednesday 10/8, 6:00 AM – 1:00 PM
On an extended Membership Drive edition of Classical Discoveries, Marvin Rosen welcomes composers Daniel Dorff, Paul Lansky, Robert Moran, Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec and Raymond Wojcik plus performers Elem Eley (baritone) and Timothy Smith (Assistant Conductor of Rutgers Collegium Musicum).

Wednesday 10/8, 7:00 PM – infinity
WPRB’s membership drive wraps up with a special secret surprise program. You won’t want to miss this (or any of our amazing programs)!

Citadel, Revisited

From WPRB News: Ian Auzenne has been all over the story of the Princeton University band’s ill-fated trip to the Citadel and he’ll be filing additional reports on the matter, including reaction from Charleston, over the next few days.

In the meantime, The Underside of Paradise has put out a story detailing the personal politics of several band members–including band president Alex Barnard who appeared on The Week in Review with Auzenne this Monday.

During his appearance on WPRB, Barnard made reference to controversy surrounding the band’s past performances and acknowledged that he has made no secret of his personal political beliefs during his time on campus. What role, if any, the radical politics of band members may have played in the events at the Citadel is unclear, but The Underside‘s reporting adds yet another layer of uncertainty to an increasingly confusing story.

One Week From Tonight: Jennifer O'Connor Plays Covers For Pledges!

Do you know the person above these words? You should. Her name is Jennifer O’Connor and she is both a WPRB favorite and a top-notch Matador recording artist. Her new album is called “Here With Me.”

Jennifer will be making her third visit to WPRB one week from tonight – Wednesday, October 1st – to play live on-air during the 2008 WPRB Membership Drive as part of Jon Solomon’s five hour “opening ceremonies” show, which will air from 7:00 pm ET – 12:00 am ET.

Like last year, Jennifer would be happy to try and play a slew of covers/requests in exchange for listener pledges during this special program.

However, Jennifer needs some advance warning to try and learn these songs!

So…

If you pledge $103.30 at pledge.wprb.com, you’ll not only get a WPRB shirt and your choice of tote bag or hoodie, but you also can ask Jennifer to play a song for you. Make sure you contact Jon Solomon in advance about what you would like to hear.

Jennifer will be joined in studio by Oxford Collapse and Brown Recluse Sings, among others.

Additionally, anyone in the NJ/PA/NY area who makes a pledge of any denomination is eligible to win a 2008 Toyota Yaris (!!!!!), our big prize for supporting WPRB this year, courtesy of Free Yr Radio.

Hell At The Citadel

From WPRB News: Yesterday, WPRB News correspondent Ian Auzenne interviewed Alex Barnard, the President of the Princeton University band, about a series of incidents occurring this past weekend at the Citadel, “the military college of South Carolina”, where Princeton was playing a football game.

According to Barnard and other members of the band, cadets at the Citadel physically and verbally assaulted the band members multiple times over the course of several days. You can read more about the incident here, but the interview speaks for itself.

Part One:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzg8hrzyTWk&hl=en&fs=1]

Part Two
Part Three

Wed 9/24, 5PM: Rhythm of the One Honors Jerry Wexler

WPRB’s Rhythm of the One program returns to the airwaves every Wednesday at 5PM. This week, DJ Matt pays tribute to the late Jerry Wexler.

Jerry Wexler was one of the forces behind the sound and the success of Atlantic Records as well as the driver behind the success of the Memphis horns sound of Stax. Additionally, Wexler was an integral force in shaping the careers of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield, and Bob Dylan, among many others. Jerry Wexler made a mixtape before his death of the songs he was most proud of from his career. We’ll play all of those songs as well as some of our personal favorites from his vast discography.

Mark Your Calendars: The 2008 WPRB Membership Drive Returns This October!

“WPRB Forest” illustration by John Cei Douglas

WPRB 103.3 FM, the 14,000-watt community-supported, independent radio station located in Princeton, NJ – hey, that’s us! – is holding its second annual Membership Drive. The drive begins on October 1st, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) and runs until October 8th, 2008. The 2008 Membership Drive will feature special programming including live in-studio performances, extended DJ sets, exclusive membership premiums – not to mention a few surprises!

After the cut, more details about this year’s membership drive.

digg_url = ‘http://blog.wprb.com/2008/09/mark-your-calendars-2008-wprb.html’; digg_skin = ‘compact’;Founded in 1940, WPRB is the nation’s oldest college FM station and broadcasts to the greater New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware area, as well as millions more online through its website, WPRB.com. In 2007, WPRB’s trustees and its undergraduate student board of directors decided to shift to a member-supported operating model for the future, thereby allowing WPRB to maintain greater flexibility and control over its programming.

While WPRB is located on Princeton University’s campus, the station does not receive funding from the school. Donations pledged during this drive will support station operations – equipment maintenance, transmitter fees, merchandise, music purchases and more. Last year’s inaugural drive raised over $40,000 for WPRB’s operating budget, and demonstrated the commitment of WPRB’s listeners support for unique and varied independent radio programming.

“We came into last year’s drive with absolutely no idea how well or how poorly we would do, so it was really very exciting and encouraging when we started to see the sort of enthusiastic response that we got from people as the week went on,” said Ye “Cody” Wang, WPRB’s 2008 Development Director. “Now we’ve got a great foundation of success to build on, and we know that our listeners are 100% committed to not only keeping WPRB on the air, but also to improving and evolving our programming and presence.”

This year’s drive programming kicks off on Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. with DJ Jon Solomon and special live musical guests Oxford Collapse (Sub Pop Records), Jennifer O’Connor (Matador Records), Home Blitz (Gulcher) and Brown Recluse Sings (Tequila Sunrise).

WPRB’s Membership Drive will also feature:

- Friday 10/3, 7:00 p.m.: Pop Recon will feature exclusive interviews with 4AD recording artists Stereolab and Philadelphia’s Dead Milkmen (Updated 9/22).

- Monday 10/6, 7:00 p.m.: x Clean Yr Room x welcomes Secretly Canadian recording artists The War On Drugs and Gulcher recording artist Kurt Vile.

- Wednesday 10/8, 6:00 a.m.: Classical Discoveries with Marvin Rosen features extended programming and special in-studio guests.

- Wednesday 10/8, 9:00 p.m.: A special live “Grand Finale” event! Stay tuned, and be surprised!

In addition to the special drive programming, WPRB will be giving away a brand new 2008 Toyota Yaris to one lucky listener this October, courtesy of FreeYrRadio.com. The FreeYrRadio campaign, which supports independent radio stations across the country, selected WPRB as a participating station this year, and hosted a special free benefit concert for WPRB this past summer that featured Secret Machines and DJ Dave P.

WPRB operators will be standing by at (609) 258-1033 to take pledges at all hours of the broadcasting day (usually 6AM-2AM ET). Additionally, pledges can be made online with all major credit cards by logging onto:

http://pledge.wprb.com/

Exclusive membership premiums are available to pledging listeners, and can be seen online at pledge.wprb.com. This year’s premium items were designed exclusively for the drive by illustrator John Cei Douglas and DJ Maria T (host of WPRB’s “Her Jazz” and “Pop Recon”).

In addition, WPRB plans to “reissue” its classic “Headphones” design, and special premium gifts – from CD’s and LP’s to signed records, box sets, DVD’s, limited edition artwork and more – will be available to listeners who pledge with a credit card at specified hours; these gifts range in value from $5 to $200 in retail value.

» Add this event on Facebook | Myspace | Yelp! | Last.fm | Upcoming.org

| Add this on Delicious

Wed 9/17, 5PM: Rhythm Of the One Celebrates The Late, Great Isaac Hayes

WPRB’s Rhythm of the One program returns to the airwaves every Wednesday at 5PM. To start things off DJ Matt will pay tribute to the late Isaac Hayes. Hayes, a groundbreaking soul and funk singer-songwriter, composer, and actor, passed away this past August at the age of 65.

Isaac Hayes was an interesting juxtaposition. Modeled as “The Black Moses”, Hayes was an early symbol of black power embodied in a tough virile exterior. But some of his most loved and successful songs were the lush love songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. We’ll explore the Bacharach/Hayes connection on this show, as well as feature other R&B artists doing Bacharach’s amazing songs.

Sunday: Team WPRB Hits The Road!

On Sunday September 14th, WPRB hits the streets for the 2008 Bike Philly event. Bike Philly is a family-friendly bike tour — not a race! — that explores the streets of Philadelphia, car-free. This event is put together by hardworkin’ folks at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. Come cheer on WPRB, or better yet — join us!

Video: Teri Towe interviewed about Bach.

Teri Noel Towe, host of WPRB’s recently-concluded fourteen week “Bach on Thursday” series, is interviewed about his favorite composer by Michael Lawrence Films for a forthcoming documentary on Johann Sebastian Bach.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY5dv2bpRbE&hl=en&fs=1]

WPRB MP3 Stream: Now In Stereo!

This just in from WPRB’s IT Director: Thanks to a recently completed upgrade, our 160 kbps mp3 stream is now available in stereo! Let us know what you think or if you’re having any problems with the feed.