From weru.org: WERU Live Broadcast, August 25 - 26 from the Railroad Stage:
Frank London's Klezmer Brass All Stars
Jeff Little & Friends - blue ridge piano
The Dixe Hummingbirds
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & The Golden Eagles
Bobby Quinn
Greenfields of America
The Quebe Sisters Band - TX swing
Nukariik - eskimo throat singing
Raz de Maree - Quebecois contra dance!
Eddie & Alonzo Pennington - finger pickin bg
The Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band!
I tune in at 11:45, hear a blues tune from a CD then they are live
from the stage! No problems or confusion like at NO Jazz Fest. They
read the schedule. (The NO Jazz Fest WWOZ broadcast is always hard to
figure out who is on when.) DJs are coherent. Good.
So, today's schedule:
Frank London's Klezmer Brass All Stars
Jeff Little & Friends - blue ridge piano
The Dixe Hummingbirds
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & The Golden Eagles
Bobby Quinn
Greenfields of America
The Quebe Sisters Band - TX swing
(Slightly different from what was advertised but not anywhere near as
confused as WWOZ.)
Levels are going down while on air but not too bad.
Typical Maine reserve in the DJs. Eloquent but maybe a tad reserved.
11:56:24 AM Yeah, got the timestamp to work.
12:02:48 PM Both stages, I am recording the Heritage Stage too on
MPBN, start on time!
Heritage Stage
Fergus O'Byrne & Jim Payne
Accordion Summit
Country Rock and Roots
Raz de Maree
Morgan Heritage
Merengue dance lesson
Francisco Ulloa y su Grupo Tipico
Morgan Heritage
Fergus O'Byrne & Jim Payne - once they start singing, the level goes
way down. I adjust. I'm not recording this. This shanty, Double
Splitter Lad (lumberjack shanty?), is a familiar tune.
I turn the volume down for iTunes, RadioRecorder is recording it so I
don't need to listen to it, and listen to MPBN, which I am listening
to via my browser. (I may change that to WMP).
12:19:15 PM ERU stream on iTunes (Klezmer group right now) is distorting.
12:50:08 PM Maine accent of MC on stage. Stage mic doesn't allow
crowd to be heard very often but I just heard them a little so it's
ok. So far the mixes have been good, as far as I can tell. Distorted
but all the instruments seem to be there. (WWOZ is always challenged
this way.)
12:55:20 PM The food is good? Good.
12:57:23 PM Distortion is heard as DJs are on mic so it isn't the stage mix.
01:05:46 PM I record the Accordion Summit.Gary popping P's. CT River
Valley! Bruce Daigrepont! Grand Mamou.
(Gary Sredzienski* - The Accordion Warrior (lol), Francisco Ulloa,
Billy McComiskey (Green Fields), Bruce Daigrepont.)
Billy McComisky from Green Fields of America. Level goes up when he plays.
01:20:45 PM ERU stream dies on RadioRecorder. I restart app and it
works again. We'll see how long it works.It should be recording Jeff
Little and Friends.
Franscisco Ulloa (Dominican Republic?) talks of meringue accordion,
in Spanish with translator.
*American Folk Festival website says he is "Maine's own accordion
master", living in Kittery, but his website has a New Hampshire
address. So which is it?
Gary plays. Polish music from the CT River Valley. Bellow shake.
Tunes go from sad to happy. Do I have that in my blood? Takes
accordion apart onstage.
Mic on Bruce's accordion is on the bass side; we can't hear the
melody side very well. This sounds like a Quebecois tune, fast words.
Bruce speaking off-mic/low level.
Billy's mic is low level. Gary's is fine but it's hard to hear the guests talk.
01:49:23 PM Level better now.
Whistle joke. (Two whistles in two keys. What can we do?) I don't get it.
Sleepless nights.
Francisco talks and plays.
Gary talks and plays.
End the session by asking where they get the accordions repaired.
02:16:23 PM Session ends. I wait to MPBN to say something. I switch
to WERU as soon as they finnish blabbing so I can confirm the
upcoming schedule.
02:19:11 PM I switch to ERU/Dixie Hummingbirds. Is distorted and
phasing. (Could use a higher stream rate.)
~919 on b side of tape 1
?, Been Born Again, (Maybe there is no crowd noise once the band
stops playing/singing is because the crowd is quiet... you know those
taciturn New Englanders...), DH do a quiet piece,
MC, a real New Englander. Goin' to New Orleans next! WERU DJ comes
on. It is so nice that they keep out of it during the shows. WWOZ
butts in every break.
02:52:17 PM I stop RadioRecorder. Am taping this so don't need both.
Have Frank London and Jeff Little and all of the Dixie Hummingbirds
on the first (actually second) recording.
MPBN is talking rather than having a show. What happened to the
Country music roots show?
Good, they are going to stay on schedule and go to Monk on time. Ira
Tucker is low level. Can hear the chain saws in the background! Need
to put the mic closer to him or bring his level up.
DJ sounds like an OZ DJ, a little Southern.
03:08:12 PM Perfect handover to the stage! The DJ stops, the MC
starts. Bravo! Tells of history. Good enough mix. (Miss above 16k,
there is some but it would be nice to have more. And the phasing is
too bad. Not bad but it would be better if it wasn't there. MPBN has
a better feed...) Wanna dance! Nice and hot and humid here too. Mardi
Gras (Prof Longhair) w/ new words, another tune (Who that boy got
Golden Crown)- they're singing on key! I didn't know it could be
done... Now Monk is off key. Band sounds great! Got To Face The
Rising Sun (reggae), Hey Mama starts off with a hot gtr lick then
descends into the Mardi Gras Indian chant which is off key. I restart
RadioRecorder in the middle of Hey Mama. (RadioRecorder doesn't want
to startup. Says data is too small. Finally it starts.) Hendrix's
They Don't Know! Mardi Gras Indian funk band... hot!
03:45:04 PM I stop RadioRecorder. Soon will switch to the Quebecois
contra dance band. MPBN is asking for donations. I stop the tape.
MPBN will air what's on the Heritage stage until 7, though it looks
like the music will go on a little longer on that stage. Oh no,
there's a delay. "Quebecois band on at 4!" (They think it is 2:30
now. It is almost 4. So that means 5:30 real time? I'll keep
checking.)
ERU DJs are complaining that Monk isn't there for his interview. Yes,
New Orleanians do things on their own time... Interview guitarist.
His level is low. John Lasi? Big Chief joins in. His level is low. DJ
is fine.
04:11:09 PM MPBN is still playing a CD of jazz piano.
I record Bobby Quinn, which has already started. A Mainer telling a
story in rhyme. One more short one. Reading someone else's work?
Needling Nurses. (He is referenced in this one.) A Maine treasure...
04:18
Green Fields Of America reunion on now. I start RadioRecorder but may
switch listening to MPBN when/if the contra dance band comes on. Kick
in to the bucket... Low quality stream but bearable.
04:35:23 PM we hear dancers...
Robbie singing. Still singing those sad songs.
Joanie next. Great tune!
Geez, Mick has a lot to say. Funny but a lot of talking.
I go to check mail.
I come back and George Fowler is on.
Interview w/ Mick, Mick is low level.
MPBN stream has stopped. I restart Quicktime player. I guess this is
the Country Roots and Routes show. (5:18 pm) No, Fergus O'Byrne & Jim
Payne. Newfies.
Quebe Sisters on ERU. Radio Recorder is recording it. Western Swing.
I listen a little and can't take their voices/harmonies so switch
back to MPBN.
I miss recording the intro to the tongue twister. Accordion summit on
next. It's quarter of 6! At this rate we're 5 hours away!!! Geez.
Whadyabet they go to PHC at 6...
06:03:11 PM WTF is this? Accordion Summit? Several tunes playing at
once. Yeah, still doing sound check. The show begins.
06:07:09 PM I listen to ERU to see what they're doing. They are
talking about fundraising. Still at the festival? Nope. They are done.
06:15:20 PM I listen to PHC on WNYC and hope that when that is done,
perhaps MPBN will be closer to airing the Quebecois band. I bet they
will skip it...
06:33:31 PM MPBN This doesn't sound like the Accordion Summit. A full
Irish band. This sounds like the Green Fields of America reunion.
Hunh?
07:03:18 PM Still Green Fields on MPBN.
07:39:06 PM Still Green Fields.
07:58:28 PM Still Green Fields.
08:08:43 PM Live? We did hear Raz de Maree? I didn't. Damn.
08:11:43 PM Stream restarts itself with Green Fields. WTF? The
website has tomorrow's info where the link for today's webcast was so
I can't test that. But I can reply the ending. Weird. (DJ says Green
Fields of Africa!)
