SILENT WHIG OF THUNDER

Aircheck

2009-06-08T20:32:00.000-05:00

This entire blog is kind of like an aircheck, but since some people may be interested in the concise, standard definition - here is my "scoped" aircheck.

1. Jazz Aircheck
-Here's a quick example of what I sound like hosting a Jazz shift.
click to play

Short Docs

2009-06-08T20:31:00.002-05:00

These "short-docs" are pieces that I produced for a contest that Chicago Public Radio held for the Third Coast Audio Festival. They aired on their new interactive, just-getting-started station, vocalo.

#1 - Dream Sequence

This short story is about a recurring dream. I used to have it all the time in my mid twenties, and now I wish it would come back. The "voice of the stranger" is a tour guide, giving his tour in the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC. Most of the sound-effects are homemade, but some (like the wind) are taken from the freesound archive. The background music is:

(in chronological order)

Do Make Say Think, “herstory of glory”
Broken Social Scene, “weddings”
Nick Drake, “introduction”

Listen:
play
download

#2 - Matt and Bart Sleep in the Airstream

This (very different) Short Doc is presented in the fashion of my Saturday night radio show. It's sketch comedy. It includes the voices of M. Barton Koch, Aaron Ellington Prado, and myself. The "voice of the stranger" also exists. Most of the sound-effects are homemade, but some (like the smashing noises) are taken from the freesound archive.

Listen:
play
download

#3 - The 20th Century and Environmental Collapse.

This Short Doc is told from the perspective of a worldwide news organization some 200+ years in the future. It includes the voice of James Martin, the head waiter at one of my favorite restaurants and one of the new DJs at our station. The "voice of a stranger" is also included. The background music is:

(in chronological order)

Tortoise/Magnet Pulls Through
A Silver Mt. Zion/Take These Hands and Throw Them in the River (live)
Broken Social Scene/Ambiance for the Ambulance

Listen:
play
download

Fund Drive Material

2009-06-08T20:30:00.001-05:00

So it's Fund Drive time again at my station, KRTU. This year, I really started to think about different ways to get people in the mindset of giving. Since we're a split format station, I took two very different approaches.

Approach 1 - Listener Moments (Jazz Format)

I've been thinking about producing stories like these for over a year now. The original idea was to create a segment that told a story of someone's personal perception of a song. After producing a few of them, it became apparent that they were really compelling when combined with a pledge break. I hope they'll make you pause and think about how you listen to music.

1. Roland Mazuca listens to "Chanchullo"
Listen:
play
download

2. Dr. Bill Christ listens to "Take 5"
Listen:
play
download

3. Benny Madrano listens to "Move on Up"
Listen:
play
download

4. Chris Karcher listens to "Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane"
Listen:
play
download

Approach 2 - Ridiculous Infomercial (Indie Format)

Money is the root of all evil. Everyone knows that, right?

This (very different) approach is meant to appeal to an 18-25 audience. Our jazz format brings in a lot of money for the station, but unsurprisingly the economic situation of the average indie-rock listener makes it difficult for them to give as much. I wrote, recorded and produced these segments with that and mind.

1. Security Commercial
play
download

2. Dramatization
play
download

3. PSA
play
download

4. Facts about Money
play
download

The Heat...

2009-06-08T10:15:00.002-05:00

Where I live, it's been summer for about a month already. If you've never experienced it, summer in south Texas can be pretty harsh. It's something that all of us can relate to (especially north-eastern transplants). Naturally, this produces great fodder for sketches...here are a few, made especially for summertime:

1. The Heat, part 1

Thank god for air conditioning.

play

2. The Heat, Part 2

Here's one way to stay ahead of the game when it's unbearably hot outside.

play

3. Flavors of the World

Here's what happens when foodie culture goes awry on the street.

play

Halloween

2008-11-03T14:33:00.006-06:00

Every year, we produce an extra-special Halloween show for the Inkwell Magic Hour. This year, we actually pre-empted programming on Halloween Friday (our show usually airs on Saturdays). All of the sound-effects were produced in house. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Pre-empt intro

We wanted to create the feeling that we were taking over the Friday night programming - in a slightly hostile way. So, this peice begins with the show (called "the Distance"), opening as usual. Bart and I then break in and...well, listen, and see what happens.

play

2. Werewolf sketch

Who doesn't love werewolves? Listen and find out.

play

3. Witchdoctor sketch

This sketch is based loosely on the Twilight Zone episode "The Jungle." Once again, Bart gets mauled at the end of the sketch.

play

Interviews

2008-11-03T14:10:00.006-06:00

As an on-air host at KRTU, I've been able to interview some very interesting people. People like Herbie Hancock, Chuck D, Pete Townshend, Chick Corea, Ian McKaye, Tim Goldsworthy, Stephen Merritt, and more...

Here are some sample interviews that I've conducted over the years:
(full disclosure: most of these were conducted over the phone)

1. Tim Goldsworthy (Originally aired on SWOT - June, 2004)

Tim and his partner, James Murphy, started DFA records in 2002 from their Plantain recording studio in New York City. At the time, the DFA and their artists were under-represented and it was very easy to get an interview with Tim, who coincidentally has been the father of two different "movements" in modern music (Trip-Hop, Dance-Punk). In these segments, he talks about the studio and their legendary dance parties.

-talking about the parties at Plantain: play

-talking about a new signing to the label:play

2. Cruz Ortiz (Originally aired on The Morning Session - July, 2008)

Cruz Ortiz is a contemporary artist who lives in San Antonio, TX. Every year, he holds a "Push-Cart Derby" where fellow artists create and race push-carts. The event is part of Contemporary Art Month in San Antonio. In this segment, Cruz talks about the Derby.

play

3. Guy Picciotto (Originally aired on SWOT - September 2007)

Guy Picciotto is/was the guitarist and lead singer for the band Fugazi. As Dischord records prepared to release the Fugazi "Live Series" we spoke about the band's legendary live shows and the recording of them.

play

4. Jerry Casale (Originally aired on KRTU - August 2006)

This was a really fun interview. Jerry Casale is one of the founding members of the band DEVO. When we found out DEVO was going to be playing San Antonio as part of a 3-city tour, we knew we needed to do something special. During our overnight format, we ran the "month of DEVO" where we played a DEVO tune once an hour, followed by one of these segments. Called "Fact or Fiction" with DEVO, we explored some of the myths and truths surrounding the band. Who would've known that Richard Branson tried to con the band into having Johnny Rotten as their lead singer, or that the first video for "whip it" was banned on MTV? Or this?

play

Talkbeds and Transitions

2008-09-23T11:47:00.004-05:00

A while ago I interviewed for the Program Director job at Minnesota Public Radio's music station called The Current. Here are four examples of how talk beds and mixing music could be incorporated at the station. Nothing fancy. The goal is to create a constant pulse, where the music never stops.

1. Steve Seel

Before: play
After: play
bed music: Bound Stems - Induction

2. Mark Wheat

Before: play
After: play
bed music: Sam Prekop - Magic Step

3. Bill Deville

Before: play
After: play
bed music: Caribou - Dundas, Ontario

4. Mac Wilson

Before: play
After: play
bed music: Dosh - Um, Circles and Squares

Fund Drive Material

2008-09-23T11:46:00.002-05:00

Radio Ephemera

2008-09-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

These "short-docs" are pieces that I've produced for a contest that Chicago Public Radio is hosting at the Third Coast Audio Festival. I've also posted these pieces on their new interactive, just-getting-started station, vocalo.

#1 - Dream Sequence

This short story is about a recurring dream. I used to have it all the time in my mid twenties, and now I wish it would come back. The "voice of the stranger" is a tour guide, giving his tour in the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, DC. Most of the sound-effects are homemade, but some (like the wind) are taken from the freesound archive. The background music is:

(in chronological order)

Do Make Say Think, “herstory of glory”
Broken Social Scene, “weddings”
Nick Drake, “introduction”

Listen:
play
download

#2 - Matt and Bart Sleep in the Airstream

This (very different) Short Doc is presented in the fashion of my Saturday night radio show. It's sketch comedy. It includes the voices of M. Barton Koch, Aaron Ellington Prado, and myself. The "voice of the stranger" also exists. Most of the sound-effects are homemade, but some (like the smashing noises) are taken from the freesound archive.

Listen:
play
download

#3 - The 20th Century and Environmental Collapse.

This Short Doc is told from the perspective of a worldwide news organization some 200+ years in the future. It includes the voice of James Martin, the head waiter at one of my favorite restaurants and one of the new DJs at our station. The "voice of a stranger" is also included. The background music is:

(in chronological order)

Tortoise/Magnet Pulls Through
A Silver Mt. Zion/Take These Hands and Throw Them in the River (live)
Broken Social Scene/Ambiance for the Ambulance

Listen:
play
download

Aircheck

2008-09-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

This entire blog is really an aircheck, but since some people may be interested in the concise, standard definition - here is my "scoped" aircheck.

1. Jazz Aircheck
-Here's a quick example of what I sound like hosting a Jazz shift.
click to play

2. Alternative Aircheck
-And here's what I sound like hosting an Alternative shift.
click to play

3. Production Check
-Here's a mix of Production samples/spots.
click to play

Art and radio...

2007-06-05T20:17:00.004-05:00

The great thing about producing audio is that you can do just about anything. It's sort of like writing a book, where one plays on the participants imagination, rather than "beating them over the head" visually.

The following segments were produced during Contemporary Art Month in San Antonio.

The three segments contain excerpts of themes from a program called Radio-Radio and include work created by Piers Plowright and Gregory Whitehead. Much of the spoken audio has been taken from ubu web ubu web and include a historic recording of Salvador Dali and a sample reading from the writings of Rene Descates.

The music is (in chronological order):
JE SUIS FRANCE/whalebone>LIGHTNING BOLT/infinity farm>LIARS/broken witch>MENOMENA/light>MAJHONGG/the stubborn horse>THE OCTOPUS PROJECT + BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW/psychic swelling>APOSTLE OF HUSTLE/gleaning

Some of the audio has been edited, some has not.

3 segments:

one:
play
download
two:
play
download
three:
play
download

72 minute mix

2007-06-04T21:17:00.005-05:00

Exactly long enough to fit on one cd, this "constant mix" was created using different transitions and the Sound Wave Oscillation Technique. This was the programming technique employed on a show I used to host called "The Silent Whig of Thunder."

For the blog, it's been split into 4 segments.

The segments feature the voices of Robert M. Pirsig, Harry Truman, Daniel Quinn, Sri Sukta and sounds captured in real life. The underlying subject matter deals with the human problem of separation from the soul in the 21st century.

Some work has been edited...some hasn't. Some of the sounds were created by me...some were not.

Original air date: May 06.

MODERN MAN IN SEARCH OF HIS SOUL

1. master of life_intro>TINO/basicbeat_swot_intro(edit)>HANK/defreeze
and top gal>DANIEL WANG/berlin sunrise(w/Sri Sukta excerpt)>TRANS
AM/molecules>ROADS TO SPACE TRAVEL/when I gave up>SPRCSS/spring garden
drive by>FUGAZI/turkish disco>SWOT/asian taste>YOU AND ME
FALCONRY/cadwch
play

download

2. OUT HUD/how long>THE EVENS/all these governors>APOSTLE OF
HUSTLE/folkloric feel>SWOT/phere_feat: Robert M. Pirsig (classical
reasoning)>JAPANCAKES/keep drawing suns
play

download

3. BEAUTY PILL/mule on the plane>CALIFONE/your golden ass>THE FUCKING
AM/accoustico gomez(w/Daniel Quinn excerpt)>CAT ON FORM/mr.
spotlight>SWOT/pirate pants_interlude>CRITERIA/the coincidence
play

download

4. THE ADVANTAGE/mario underworld>BLUEBIRD/shiney twitches>SINGLE
FRAME/the laundrymat>SPRCSS/in a cement mixer>DJ SPOOKY/man's
mind_interlude>DNTEL/anywhere anyone>ART BLAKEY/the sacrifice
play

download

SXSW 08

2006-09-08T16:29:00.004-05:00

For the last few years, the good folks at South by Southwest have been nice enough to grant me a press pass. In the past, I've conducted interviews with Hella, Oxes, The Arcade Fire, the Constantines, Matt and Kim, The National, High Places and many more...

This year, I captured a good amount of audio at the festival, but went light on the band interviews. Sure, we met with the band MAHJONNGG and chatted with Matt and Kim again, and also met up with our old friends from Parts and Labor. We got some good material, but I think our audience might be getting bored with the "so, who influenced your sound?" and "how's touring been?" answers from bands played between their music.

This year, we've decided to produce a radio show that delves into what it's really like to be an attendee, member-of-the-media and in the audience at SXSW. The sketches will exclusively employ sound captured at SXSW. The show will then feature these sketches, mixed with bands playing SXSW '09.

Here are a few sample sketches - the show will air sometime in early March.

1. "Gotta Go"
-I think this scenario has happened to just about everybody who has had to stand in those horrendously long lines outside a venue - waiting for that "extra-special" showcase.
play

2. "Bouncer part 1"
-Who doesn't love those friendly bouncers and list-holders at exclusive after parties!
play

2. "Bouncer part 2"
-Same sketch, part 2...a song would roll between these segments.
play

Matt and Bart

2006-08-03T23:33:00.002-05:00

Matt and Bart are radio dudes...

We're good friends too, with over 30 years radio experience between the two of us. Over a year ago, we decided to stop the incessant banter that most DJs like to fill the time between songs with and start doing something different. Sketch Comedy.

105 sketches and 52 shows later, I think we're really starting to hit our stride! Most of all, it's a fun and creative way to engage our audience. We've had a great response, let's see what you think:

::Click on the button to visit the audio::

Thanks for listening, you can always become friends with us!

15 MINUTE MIX V1

2006-07-20T18:01:00.000-05:00

When you're working you need music...especially when the task is tedious. When I'm surfing around looking for something different to listen to - the same problem always happens...I listen to a song and then get so wrapped up in what I'm doing that I forget to load something esle. Silence. BINGO! MantheChange's 15 minute mixes are born! Just download this 15:32 track, put it in your media player, Itunes, pod, whatever...GET BACK TO WORK! I'll do my best to put one up per week.

15 MINUTE MIX 1

tracks:

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW/drippy eye>WIRE/another the letter>STARS/the big fight>TV ON THE RADIO/blues from down here>RATATAT/wildcat>CURSIVE/sink to the beat

PS...this is what my radio show sounds like when I'm not talking.