“We can break this down a little further, if you’d like. Many may gripe about the fact that WFNX play the Black Keys and Beck and Green Day on the hour every hour, sure. I’ve cracked a joke or two at the station’s expense for that very reason and I’m not ashamed of it. WFNX also incorporates the music of local bands into it’s regular programming seamlessly, showcasing bands like Mean Creek and You Can Be A Wesley and Viva Viva alongside the Foster The Peoples and Funs and Joy Formidables that strangers to the Boston music scene may recognize.

To play a Bostonian underdog’s song before or after a major, recognizable single is a GOOD thing by association. It introduces the local band to listeners tuning into WFNX as one on par with the national hit-maker, and hey, maybe the local band will get a few more new listeners out to the show and cultivate more fans. How can that POSSIBLY be a bad thing, for the band, the local venues that support them and their growing fan base? Though there are a handful of fantastic local music programs on Boston radio stations right now–namely Boston Emissions on WZLX, which moved from WBCN after that station was sold in 2009–WFNX is the only station to keep this line between out-of-town headliner and local wunderkind blurred. To lose a station with that kind of programming, regardless of who’s writing the paychecks, is a shitty thing for the Boston music community, plain and simple.”

Here is what Stephen M. Mindich of WFNX has to say about the acquisition…

“Over the years, WFNX has done spectacular things. Since 1983 the station has played an historic role in bringing new music to audiences in and around Boston. We introduced Nirvana and Pearl Jam to wider audiences in 1991. Together with the Boston Phoenix we staged the notorious Green Day concert at the Hatch Shell in 1994. Three years later, FNX and the Phoenix organized a group reading and broadcast of Allen Ginsberg’s controversial poem Howl, featuring talents as varied as rocker Peter Wolf and Poet Lauriat Robert Pinsky, along with civil liberties attorney Harvey Silverglate and me. We’ve formed creative partnerships with local museums and many other important not-for-profit organizations such as the AIDS Action Committee. In addition, for years we broadcast One In Ten, the only program on a commercial radio station in the nation dedicated to the issues and lifestyles of the GLBT community. And throughout it all, FNX has continued to break new music, most recently the work of Foster the People, Fun, and Gotye — to name just three.

Here comes the catch….

Despite its celebrated history, its cutting edge programming , its tradition of breaking new music, its ardent fans among listeners and advertisers, for some time it has been difficult to sustain the station — especially since the start of the Great Recession.  And that is why the station is being sold.”

What are some of YOUR favorite nostalgia tunes?

Let us know on FACEBOOK and TWITTER

We’ll miss you (and your fruits), Mary!  Especially all the lezbinz.  I will forever sing “If I knew you were coming I’d a baked a cake” in your honor.

HAPPY TRAILS: A Send Off To Mary Dolan!

Club Oberon

Sunday – May 6, 2012 – 8:00pm

2 Arrow Street -Cambridge, MA 02138

BUY TICKETS HERE!

And congratulations to Petey and the rest of ALL THE KINGS MEN for winning

GO Magazine’s “Best Drag King Act” of 2012!

DropTheR is a unity, support based site/hub for indie Hip Hop artists of all kinds to showcase their work and connect with like-minded artists on a “give-to-get support” platform.  “If we see talent, drive, and an artist supporting other individuals…then we will support them as well. It’s that easy.”

This culture/industry has come too far and has far too much talent to be a one winner-take-all competition; there’s enough room at the table for all the talent to eat – so let’s connect, build, work, and grow together, establishing a main source for quality indie Hip Hop!

Want to be featured on the site? You can send your submissions to:

MATTHEWWHITLOCK@DROPTHER.NET

DropTheR features indie artists (rappers/singers), videographers, DJs, producers, and designers (graphic/web) from all over the world.  Boston, being our hometown, will be the site’s most-featured city, but love will be shown internationally.  Good music is good music!

“I’ve always been an admirer of Victorian era buildings and industrial, municipal buildings,” said Bergeron, an actor and dancer who performs under the stage name Katrina Galore. “And this was perfect because it was both of those things.”

The Engine 18 building at 30 Harvard Street was converted into a day care center in the 1960s — and was used for that purpose until 2005.  Its original interior has been transformed into a warren of small pastel-colored, stucco rooms on the second floor, but the first-floor garage is still a wide-open space with room for small performances and art installations.

The building itself is an important artifact from the town of Dorchester, which paid for its construction in 1869— one year before the town was annexed into the city of Boston.

Frederick says that the realtor who showed them the property said some 300 people had come to see it in recent years, including one potential buyer who wanted to convert it into an animal shelter. The couple initially decided that the cost was too high for their budget and looked elsewhere in the city for their dream space— both hoping to escape from years of tenancy under a succession of “slumlords.”

“Both Katie and I have been involved in communal art spaces for ten years or more.  We just decided that we needed to take control of our own destiny,” Frederick says.

Bergeron says that neighbors on Harvard Street and the nearby side streets have been “really supportive.”

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised,” she said. “We usually get blank looks or people get irritated when we tell them we’re artists, but we were pleasantly surprised to have people be enthusiastic about it.”

Eventually, she thinks, the firehouse will become a unique destination for Boston’s art community. Frederick’s post- apocalyptic themed art installations— which are known collectively as the Empire S.N.A.F.U. Restoration Project— have been staged in Boston and New York over the course of 20 years. The firehouse will be the first opportunity for him to exhibit his work in one space permanently.

“We got the perfect building that we wanted,” said Bergeron. “It really fit all of our very specific wish lists because we needed someplace big enough, but not too big. Obviously in Boston, we have a lot of culture and museums, but there’s not as many small spaces that people can go to that’s interesting. People don’t know enough about the small culture. We’re really excited about being able to do that.”

Frederick and Bergeron are following in the footsteps of fellow Boston artists who have made Dorchester their home in recent months. Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys, an award-winning music group that stages musicals and concerts throughout the city, is now based in a home on Ashmont Hill. Group member Edrie, who lives on Alban Street and has collaborated with both with Bergeron and Frederick over the past decade, says that the neighborhood is becoming a choice location for a new wave of musicians, sculptors and other artists, many of whom previously found space in neighborhoods like Allston.

“We have two other friends who are also planning to move into the neighborhood a few streets away,” said Edrie, who has visited the Havard Street firehouse and expects the eventual restoration will once again make it an important spot on the map.

“The opportunities are amazing for the space,” she said. “With Stephen’s skills as a carpenter – he makes such beautiful things— I can only imagine given some time and money they’ll make the firehouse beautiful again.”

Earl Taylor, president of the Dorchester Historical Society, said his organization has watched the property with concern over the years it’s been vacant.

“It sounds like good news that there is an owner who has plans,” said Taylor. “It is nice to see that someone cares about our architectural heritage.”

Frederick and Bergeron say they are not sure yet what the timetable for the renovations to the firehouse will be. Frederick jokes that his inspiration for re-purposing an old firehouse is mainly the film “Ghostbusters.” For now, they are beginning to clean out old furnishings — including children’s books, chairs and toys from the day care center, which they would like to donate to non-profits or families. They can be reached via e-mail at engine18firehouse@gmail.com and you can learn more about their plans for the building at their website.

With the likes of Skrillex, Afrojack, Benny Benassi, Moby, and Flux Pavilion performing, this festival is sure to turn into a 24/7 dance party.  Laidback Luke, Diplo, Gabriel & Dresden, R3hab, Joachin Garraud, and LoBOUNCE are guaranteed to start the party off right and Fan is sure to cap things off at the after party.

General admission two-day pass - $119.99 VIP ticket - $239.99 for both days

www.facebook.com/springawakeningfest

www.twitter.com/SpringAwakeFest

The Cutting Edge Culture.com is helping one lucky fan get to the Spring Awakening Festival.  To win one general admission ticket, good for BOTH days of electronic grooves “Like” TCEC on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and…

1.  Retweet any message posted about the Spring Awakening Festival

2.  Tweet a photo of yourself in your CAVATA gear.

3.  Tweet a photo of yourself using Tick:Tock Cosmetics

4.  Tweet or Facebook post a photo of yourself holding an album from any of the artists

playing the Spring Awakening Festival.

One lucky fan will be chosen at random and the winner will be announced and notified on May 12, 2012. There is no limit to the amount of entries. Winners will be announced via Facebook, Twitter & www.cavataclothing.com.

Good luck!

The first night I saw him was Dutch’s signing announcement.  Although he murdered his live performance, much of the night was overshadowed by the celebrations of Dutch making her big break.  Luckily, Chuuwee and Amalgam have launched a full scale attack on the NE region.  I’ve seen Chuuwee six different times in the past three or four weeks.  He’s been killing stages everywhere from Church, to Boston University, The Middle East all the way to Rhode Island.  Not only is this kid’s music something else, he is one of the better hip-hop performers you will ever have the chance to see.  His onstage presence is a force to be reckoned with; an impressive display of conscious flow, fantastic crowd interaction, and hilarious dance moves all joining forces for an undeniable sense of energy.  He is definitely something special.

April 23rd marked the date for his first official Amalgam Digital Release, “Crown Me King,” which dropped on Livemixtapes.com and is available for download right now.  Chuuwee keeps the features list relatively short but the talent level of his features is superior (especially an absolute snipejob of a feature from Boston’s own Charmingly Ghetto. A phenomenal track).  The 17 track mixtape features hard-edged production with cutting-edge rhyme schemes and phenomenal diversity throughout.  Chuuwee hits everything from the neo- new school boom-bap to conscious heavy “trap” flow.  It is a welcome addition to his already impressive catalouge (including an amazing collaboration mixtape entitled “Hot and Ready” with famed Sacremento Producer Lee Bannon).

This past Sunday Chuuwee held a private listening party at Boston’s “Laced” store where listeners got a chance to see him rock live and explain the ideas behind each track.  Do yourselves a favor and check out his brand new release NOW.  It appears Amalgam Digital is launching a full scale attack on the game–and with two heavyweights like Dutch Rebelle and Chuuwee, you better be ready for it.  The roster is Grade A, the live performances are dope and something tells me this is just the beginning. #AmalgamBack

Chuuwee X Laced Listening Party (Shot by Tim Larew)

Chuuwee – Glorious Revolution Video

-Natural

The film is set in an alternate present-day America in which slavery was never abolished and follows an escaped slave named Noah as he tries to flee the country and reach a rumored freedom refuge in Canada.  They are submitting the drama/thriller to as many film festivals as they can, though no word on where it’s been accepted yet (I’m sure we’ll find out as the year progresses; it’s still early, and they only just wrapped).

“We wanted the film to be seen as a parallel of our world in which discrimination is still so common.  Also, this was a chance to show the horrors of our country’s history.  Most important to us, was crafting a story that would stay with a viewer after leaving the theater.”

This is their very first feature film, which was shot from July through to August of 2011 with a Canon 5D and edited on a Macbook Pro.  They financed it mostly themselves with donations from friends and family and has a cast comprised of more than 50 actors including my cousin, Derek Theron!

www.Facebook.com/NoahMovie

www.IdenticalFilms.com