You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

We here at KSCL are always about the newest and hippest things. And I'm posting now to tell you about the newest, hippest thing that will bring the public closer to station. No, it's not online streaming (it's coming! I promise!). It's a little website called Spinitron.

Before I explain, a brief history lesson about KSCL (sorta): Did you know that we have paper playlists from all the way back in the 90s? No, well I'm sure a lot of people don't know this, because the public never gets to see these playlists. For every show, a DJ writes down the song he or she plays recording band name, album name, and sometimes record company. Up until now, these playlists have only been useful to the music director.

Well not anymore. Spinitron is a playlist management website that will connect our lovely audience to the DJ shows in a whole new way. DJs will be able to update their playlists automatically while on air. Not only can the public see what's being played, they can also go back and find out what song was being played at what time during a certain show.

Currently Spinitron is in a testing phase for us at KSCL. For now, only staff shows will have live playlists with the older DJs soon to be trained. Hopefully all summer DJs will be accustom to using Spinitron instead of written playlists by the end of the month.

And for the second time this summer, I manage to be the first to do something. My show on June 8th was the first official show of summer programing and today I was the first staff member to put Spinitron to use. You can check out The Sound and the Fury's first online playlist here!

Homer Hiccolm & the Rocketboys (Download the music here)

Mark & Co. never stop running. His upcoming show is this Friday, June 27th. Homer Hiccolm & the Rocket Boys, Quiet Company, and Missoni Lanza w/Brad Goodwin. will perform. It all goes down at Jayne Marie on Cross Lake at 7pm. (directions)

Door is $5 and you have to be 17-or-over. I know, I hate "the man" too. However, Jayne Marie's got a contest with the possibility of scoring two free tickets to 2008 Austin City Limits. You have to be present to win, says the Facebook event page.

This time around we have music for you to sample before the show. We think it'll help you sing along with the band:
MP3: Homer Hiccolm and The Rocketboys - Secrets and Numbers

MP3: Quiet Company - It's Better to Spend Money Like There's No Tomorrow Than Spend Tonight Like There's No Money

Other Links:
Find it on Facebook
Mark blogging [via MySpace]
Mark blogging [via WordPress]

poster design by Shannon Palmer, hosted here

Live From NYC #3: 8BITches, radio play now

What, what?! We've got another Live From NYC from Vanessa Boyd in New York: this time with 8BITches. They're an awesome "chip-hop" band from North Haven, Maine. They use all kinds of crazy electronics to bring together their sound. The final product is very powerful.

To give you a taste, the band uses gameboys to get their groovy beats. Big Pic Zel then raps about blue screens of death and Zelda, to name a bit.

I think it's one of the best shows we've done. We'll air it on 91-3 this Friday, next Wednesday, and next Friday at 11am. Find it in the schedule.

The episode clocks in at 6'05" (download)

Vanessa Boyd graduated from Centenary College in 1999. She was a co-program Director at KSCL from 1997-98. Now, she's a musician and artist living in New York City. If you or your band is traveling to New York and would like to set up an interview with Vanessa, contact Jon Schleuss (me).

photo from myspace.com/8bitcheschiphop

Punk/Indie Show at H and H to feature Shreveport, other cities

Spencer & Co. are working up a punk/indie show. It's going to be quite the riot. It all goes down tonight at the H&H Lounge. Starts at 6pm.

The lineup includes: Atrocity Solution (Wausau, WI), Nino Zombi (Mexico City Mexico), Krush Klamath (Portland), and local bands: Sunday Mass Murder, Ono! and Jack Blasphemy. Live art by Paul Garner will also be on site.

Door is $7, but it'll get you a chance at winning some awesome prizes from 3rd Eye Tattoo and T-shirts from yours truly.

My radio show will be running from 6-8p, but I'll be at the H&H as soon as possible. Maybe I'll see you?

Atrocity Solution - Streets Laced with Hate [mp3]

SBFG link

Let the Good Times Roll Festival

Live bands, funnel cakes, turkey legs, crawfish, fried shrimp and fried candy bars.. yes it's fair time again here in Louisiana.

Shreveport's Festival Plaza is currently hosting the Let the Good Times Roll Festival from Friday June 20th to Sunday the 22nd. Hosted for twenty-two years by Rho Omega and Friends, Inc., the event is said to be the largest African American music and arts festival in north Louisiana.

Jennette (the local Planned Parenthood community organizer) and I did voter registration at the event, so we got to enjoy the skillful r&b performances by local groups Intuition, Sash, and Jimmy Lynch. Although the music was good, all anyone was talking about was the big performance to be hosted tomorrow by the well-known Hurricane Chris, which is scheduled for 7 pm.

Tomorrow's other events will include performances by LRS, Don Pope& Associates, New Dimensions Brass Quintet, Music Box, Lil Wayne and Ol 2 Step, Windstorm, Hot 8 Brass Band, and Con Funk Shun.

Sunday will feature the Giant Family Praise Dancers, the Grip Praise Team, Robyn Moffet& the Movement, Betty Lewis & the Executives, All Funk Radio Show, and the Bar-Kays.

"Ethnically it's very important to the Shreveport-Bossier community to have African-Americans share their culture with the whole city. It's become a tradition that people look forward to; the fun food and music has become well-known," said Rudolph S. White, a Rho Omega chapter member who's worked at all twenty-two festivals.

Rho Omega chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity is also well known for its many service programs including Project Manhood, building social and survival skills in high school males, Education 1st Choice, assisting inner city elementary schools and kids with school supplies and Community Youth Athletic Program, offering financial and coaching support for city youth groups.

For more information on Rho Omega and the Let the Good Times Roll Festival, visit their website.

Open Mic Night at Starbucks on Line, Shreveport

On Friday, June 13th at 7pm Starbucks on Line Ave. will host performers wanting to show off some skills. One of those performers will be the lovely AJ Haynes, a Centenary student.

There will be no cost to get in, since it's Starbucks. However, purchasing a "doppio espresso and dropping in two drops of cream" is a cheap latte, supporting the establishment. We college students are useful like this.

It's good to see that stage finally get some use. John Kay must be proud.

For more info on the event, see the Facebook event (a place where people meet other people and things happen).

Young@Heart, Playing at Robinson Film Center

I was deeply moved by this film, Young@Heart. It's received 88% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. It's gained applause from blog circles. And, it's just bleepin' awesome.

The film mixes music and cinema, so it's appropriate to discuss it here.

The film follows a group of older people, average age 80, on their tour, learning new songs along the way. There's a great feel for the movie. While, yes, these people are old and experience health problems (none of which are hidden, btw) they are still determined to keep singing. They are full of so much energy. And don't think they're singing just any old tune. Try Coldplay, Sonic Youth, the Clash, and more.

Take Elaine, for instance, she's a 92-year-old woman living in a nursing home. She's the only resident with a key, because she gets back so late from performances. She doesn't drive; leave that to Lenny. Her and the filmmaker get into a very interesting conversation about being old and having men (the camera crew) in her bedroom. "Don't get nervous, just start taking something [clothes] off," Elaine responds. She's full of excitement and approaches many songs conservatively, seemingly impossible to learn. However, here she is, bouncing off solos left-right-center. The trailer (below) shows Elien belting out the first bit of the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

And I think I've realized the magic of the film. All these characters sharing their love for music. What music does to people. It is quite spectacular.

Has anyone seen it? Loved it? Hated it?

To purchase tickets, visit the Robinson's website.

New KSCL Homepage

We've just launched our new website. It's clean, smooth, and incorporates some social networking, but it has some problems that need to be addressed. We're also looking into expanding it, I'll detail that information here.

First, I apologize for the history section. I'll be working on expanding it as soon as I get back from my trip. For now, we'll just have to live without the history section. I'd also like to improve the navigation (especially with images), but I can't get my head around it. Maybe a light will click soon.

There are several things we'd like to add in the future, including DJ playlists, instant messaging with DJs, internet streaming, and a section for underwriting. Suggestions are open! Feel free to drop me a line via email. I feel confident in the current site, hoping it will draw attention to our blog. My goal is to incorporate all of KSCL's digital lives into one. So you, the listeners, can get in touch with us easier.

Anywho, stay tuned to new web developments. The website is a one-man team, with lots of staff input.

Calling all KSCL Alumi!

Literally!

Today was a good day for the staff here at KSCL. We had a meeting with Kathy Fell and Fred Landry to help us figure out ways to raise money and discuss the on going growth of the station. We decided to pump fundraising into overdrive. With the end of the fiscal year approaching, both Kathy and Fred hope we can garner some support from our alums through a phoneathon-type deal. So if you're a KSCL alum, don't be surprised if you get a phone call soon.

After the meeting, Tyler and I made a stab at cleaning around the station. We managed to move all the vinyl into the "Vinyl Frontier" closet and in doing so, I now have a whole new area to put cds! That means I won't have to get rid of as many cds as I had thought. Soon I can start reorganizing everything and the library will be truly awesome. The picture to the left is the closet that is filled to the brim with vinyl. Unfortunately, it's not in any sort of order, but that's least of my worries right now.

After digging around some more, Tyler and I nicknamed the closet, the "History Closet." As you can see, the old board is now living there, along with a case of 8-tracks and old 78s we found.

I believe the rest of the week will be devoted to figuring out the new logistics of the cd library and training to call all the alums. Summer Springboard starts next week and KSCL will have a table set up during the resource fair. Hooray for recruiting the first-years before they even officially start!

Now if it wasn't so blasted hot.

Dr. Dan Seymour Appointed Interim Dean of Student Life

Centenary Provost Dr. Darrel Colson sent out an email on behalf of President Ken Schwab announcing that beginning tomorrow, Dr. Dan Seymour will be serving as Interim Dean of Student Life.

Dr. Seymour served as Centenary Dean of Student Life in the late 80's and early 90's before moving on to Northwestern State University, where he served as Vice President for Student Affairs and taught in the School of Education. Recently retired from NSU, Dr. Seymour will head the Office of Student Life until the search committee finds a new Dean of Student Life.

Summer Broadcasting Begins With a Full Schedule and a Turkey Sandwich

So Official Summer Broadcasting began today at high Noon with Kelly's show "The Sound and the Fury." A fine show, and a handsome woman that Kelly...

I personally tuned in to her show on my new mp3 player and had nice listen, however as the Summer Program Director I'm responsible for listening to all the shows and evaluating each DJ's performance. So I'm working while I play I suppose. And, hey, don't get me wrong- I'm lovin' it that we have such a full schedule. We have back-to-back shows on Sunday from noon to 2am. That's totally awesome, but it also means I'm going to be listening to the radio for 14 hours strait today. Heh, heh....

You know what, it's cool. I have decided I can do anything. But I've always been an advocate of the age-old saying that you can do anything as long as you start with a Turkey Sandwich. So I'm making a turkey sandwich and I'm gonna eat it. And I'm gonna listen to the radio for 14 hours today. And I'm gonna get up and do it again tomorrow. Cause Jesus gave me a Turkey Sandwich with extra blessing.


Photos by Tyler Davis

Top 30 Domination?

If you tuned in to the Top 30 this week, you must know the number one album of the week. That's right, Death Cab for Cutie with their new cd "Narrow Stairs". Right now, Death Cab for Cutie seems to be what the DJs, the community, and the listeners want to hear, but did Death Cab for Cutie really dominate the other bands on our chart? Their competition this week were as: Mates of State at number 2, Happy Anarchy at number 3, The Royce at number 4, and Gnarls Barkley at number 5.


(#2) Mates of State's new album "Re-Arrange Us" features more piano and organ unlike their previous albums. Even though "Re-Arrange Us" has pretty melodies and sing-along choruses, their lyrics talk of losing fights and cold sweat. This album is all around good giving it an album star rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

(#3) Happy Anarchy's new album "Reset" has an alternative rock style. Some of their influences have been Radiohead, Modest Mouse, and The Flaming Lips. What makes Happy Anarchy a fascinating band is their combinations of the ever-present guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard mix with some trumpet, sax, violin, congas, and group vocals that creates a type of symphony sound. This album had a drop in last week's Top 30 countdown, dropping from number 2 to 3.

(#4) The Royce's new album "Burn Out Bright" has been tearing it up on our charts. This band uses muscular guitar, driving grooves and solid songwriting blend to present a powerful delivery. This week The Royce climbs the chart to number from #6 last week to #4 this week.

(#5) Gnarls Barkley's new album "The Odd Couple" has the same type of genre like the last album, that great funk mix to it. All this cd makes me want to do is dance my socks off. With the great beats and amazing vocals the music pulls you like taffy. This week they jump up two spots on our countdown to #5.


Each one of these bands have climbed to the top at a fast pace, but will they be able to beat Death Cab for Cutie for the number 1 spot on our next top 30? Tune in on Wednesday from 3-6pm with your DJs Caz and Zakk to find out who wins this epic battle!

This is Your Captain Speaking...

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet, but the new board is up and running! You know what that means? Shows are back! No more silly automation 24/7. Some DJs have already started their shows up again, and with a round of training tomorrow, even more new and returning DJs will be having shows throughout the week. The schedule is already pretty packed (there are shows back-to-back on Sunday from 12pm to 12am!).

Today I dropped by the station while Cazes and Zakk were testing out their Top 30 show. The premise is pretty simple, they play one song from each of the Top 30 albums off the chart Zakk makes every week. Even though the music is great, the entertainment provided by these two guys is enough to make me want to tune in. You can catch their Top 30 countdown Wednesdays from 3pm to 6pm.

In case you weren't aware, I'm the station's new librarian. While I was at the station today, I began to grapple with my task of fitting more and more cds into our already gigantic library. Since we can't magically accrue more space to stick stuff in, my only option is to get rid of cds. But then the question becomes which cds to get rid of? Do we really need music that came out back in the 1990s? Or cds with horrible reviews? What about the ones with two or three tracks?

Recently Jon sent me a link to a blog about a station out in California that is digitizing its entire music library. This route is probably nothing but a pipe dream for us at KSCL, but it's definitely an option to consider in the future. I have a bunch of ideas that'll probably get brought up at the next staff meeting. It's my goal this summer to at least get a handle on the space issue. Having such a vast library that does go back in the years is awesome, but so is having more and more new music.

Oh the conundrum!