Eye on the Air, Friday July 10

Eye on the Air, WESU 88.1 FM, Friday from 1-2 PM.

GUESTS

Mayor Sebastian Giuliano to talk about the challenges of governing in a difficult financial year, and his run for re-election.

Marc Longenecker, Programming and Technical Manager in Film Studies at Wesleyan University to talk about the summer film series featuring Frank Capra's famous leading men.

Record Fair

For those who remember what records were, and for those who don't.

A Walk on the Wes Wild Side

Earlier this week we posted several reasons to visit the Wesleyan campus this week.

The weekend is officially WesFest, when prospective freshman, and their parents, visit campus to give it the final once-over.

There are a bunch of official events, which means the campus will be even busier than our original post predicted, but there are a couple of noteworthy "unofficial" events.

Tonight, Friday April 17, Wes alum Tristan Taormino will be speaking about her accomplishments as writer, sex educator and self-professed feminist pornographer. She's the author of four books, and her work has appeared in the New York Times, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Entertainment Weekly, Details, New York Magazine, Men's Health. Her mission is to spread a "pleasure-positive" message "to educate people of all genders and sexual orientations in their pursuit of healthy, empowering, and transformative sex and relationships. I spread my pleasure-positive message through my books, videos, writing, teaching, and lectures." The lecture will take place at 9 pm at Memorial Chapel, followed by an after-party at the Grotto, with music by Precision Libido.

Tomorrow, Saturday April 18, it's the official commemoration of Zonker Harris day (the stoner character in the Doonesbury Comic Strip), though campus officials would rather disavow the event, so it is being called, unofficially, "Ze who must not be named" Day. There will be music, and an appreciation of activities not always practiced in broad daylight.

On Sunday, WESU-FM, Wesleyan's radio station is hosting a benefit Record Sale. It's this Sunday (04/19/09) from 11am-4pm in Wesleyan’s Beckham Hall in the Fayerwether building (next to The Usdan Student Center). Beckham is located at 45 Wyllys Avenue and there is a parking lot directly across the street. Many vendors will be selling used DVDs, CDs, LPs and books. Proceeds benefit WESU.

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman at WESU Fundraiser

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman will appear in a 7oth Anniversary fundraiser for WESU, Saturday April 4, at Wesleyan University's Memorial Chapel. Tickets are available at the Wesleyan box office. Ticket donation prices are $5 for Wesleyan students, and $10 for the general public. A meet and greet fundraiser prior to the speech includes a 6 pm to 7 pm private reception, a signed copy of Goodman's latest book Standing Up To the Madness.

Goodman has been an ardent supporter of independent radio, and of WESU, and she has frequently made pleas for support during WESU on-air fundraisers.

WESU-FM is an independent, community-based FM radio station which broadcasts from Wesleyan University. WESU is one of the oldest college radio stations in the country, having begun broadcasting in 1939 from Clark Hall. The appearance by Goodman is one of several celebrations of the anniversary planned by WESU.

WESU Fundraiser Underway

Not every community is fortunate enough, these days, to have its own radio station.

Middletown can be grateful to have three. Two are commercial. WLIS/WMRD is a great local AM station which has hours of locally-programmed shows, combined with some syndicated shows (in a strange way, Joey Reynolds will always be a "local" show for me). And WIHS, broadcasting Christian programming.

The third, WESU, is an FM station licensed by Wesleyan University. For years, the license was held independently by the WESU board, comprised mostly of students, but including community members. Some of you may remember the controversey in 2003 when Doug Bennet, then Wesleyan University president, acquired the license for the university at a time of financial instability at the station.

WESU, which will celebrate it's 70th anniversary next year, is one of the oldest college radio stations in the country. Legend has it that early student broadcasters attached a homemade transmitter to the underground plumbing at the university in order to use the copper pipe as an antenna so the signal could be heard outside of the campus.

While the move did affect programming (NPR talks shows, emanating from WSHU, were the first to NPR daily talk shows broadcast in Central Connecticut and were augmented by other, progressive radio shows like Amy Goodman's Democracy Now), but the core of programming still comes from students and community members.

Over the next two weeks, WESU hopes to raise $35,000 in support of the station, towards an annual budget of $100,000. Program hosts will be asking listeners to support the eclectic, open, locally-programmed format of WESU.

If you're a regular listener, you'll understand what I say about the eclectic, alternative, always-interesting nature of the programming. Aside from the excellent public affairs and news shows, you're liable to hear your neighbors - I do a show every other Tuesday evening at 6:30, Councilman David Bauer is on the air every Monday at 4 in the afternoon, Jorge Arevalo Mateus takes the mic on Tuesdays, Stephan Allison hosts a show Thursday at 4. In terms of music, you're liable to hear just about anything, rockabilly, jazz, hip-hop, folk, funk, reggae, alternative rock and sub-genres like Asian folk-pop, hard techno, nerd-core, glitch-hop, punk, DIY, guaguanco and more.

You can support WESU by calling 685-7700 anytime during the fund drive over the next two weeks, or you can donate online. And if you donate the appropriate amount, you can be wearing one of those hip WESU t-shirts or sweat shirts you see around town.

Casting my thoughts to Louisiana

For the past two years on this weekend, I've been in Lafayette Louisiana at the annual Blackpot Festival, where the natural connection between cooking in seasoned cast iron pots, and Louisiana (and Appalachian) roots music is celebrated.

I'm not there, but Ragtime Annie (Anna Roberts-Gevalt), WESU radio host, banjo fantatic, fiddler and Wesleyan student is. We hope she'll phone in a report sometime this weekend.



But I was happily surprised to see that some of my Louisiana friends have gotten together to create some support for Barack Obama (whom I personally support). Dirk Powell, husband of Christine Balfa (both of the band Balfa Toujours), wrote a song called "Oui, On Peut," (Yes, we can), in the style of a zydeco two-step, and with musician friends (some like fiddler and vocalist Linzay Young of the Redstick Ramblers have been regular visitors to Middletown), recorded, filmed (last weekend) and released the video to Youtube, where, as of this morning, it's had 50,000 hits. It's also been on network TV, and the Obama campaign has asked to use it.



The video was directed by Johanna Divine, edited by my good friend Wilson Savoy (also a frequent visitor to Middletown), and mixed by his brother Joel Savoy, proprietor of Valcour Records.

Clack Mountain String Band at Wes Thursday

Got a note from Ragtime Annie that Eastern Kentucky's Clack Mountain String Band will be stopping in Middletown, at Wesleyan's 92 Theater, on Thursday October 2.

Here's the schedule as posted on Wesleying:

Date: Thursday, October 2nd
Times:

• 7:30-8pm - Flat foot dance workshop with award winning dancer Julie Shepard-Powell, from North Carolina. Learn how to dance like this guy.
• 8-10 Music and Square dance! Banjoes, fiddles, and calling by Julie, who'll call some boot stomping southern-style dances. NO EXPERIENCE necessary. Just bring yourselves, and your dancing feet!

Location: 92 Theater