The truly special thing about SXSW when compared to other large-scale music festivals in the United States such as Bonaroo in Tennessee or Coachella in California is that SXSW is not really aspiring to be the next Woodstock. The concerts are deliberately small and held in venues across the city. Venues that might not normally host concerts are transformed into hip spots to see some of the world’s finest musical talent perform.

Numerous musicians who have played under the WRBC banner have performed at the festival including FM Belfast, Yeasayer, Chairlift, Toro y Moi, Washed Out, Small Black, Black Taxi and Arborea – just to name a few.

A friend of mine, who is not so in tune with the independent music scene, was wondering what this whole SXSW phenomena was, and while I have never been, and my thesis and financial situation precluded me from attending this year’s edition, SXSW is, from an indie perspective the best music festival in America, perhaps only rivaled by the CMJ Music Marathon held annually in New York.

Both of these events are not purely performances either. The host forums for media professionals to connect and conferences for college and independent radio stations. They are well organized and are not afraid to present a line-up without a truly well known headline act. You wont see Jay-Z at these festivals.

I also appreciate the fact that somebody planning these events has hosted them in urban environments. Don’t get me wrong, I like camping, but there are surely issues with having several thousand drug-riddled youths flopping about in tent cities like at the more commercially hyped festivals over the summer.

Hopefully, I can one day make the trek to SXSW and actually provide some first hand data, but until then, my reviews will have to be vicarious.

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca and Escargot, Sundays 8-10 PM on WRBC.

2009 was an interesting year in the history of WRBC. The saw several key changes and its prominence on campus grow to a significant degree. It was a year marked by a variety of concerts, excellent programing, and a few bumps along the way. The WRBC board and the station at large has worked hard to make 2009 one of the best years in our over 50 year history on FM and hopes to build on that momentum in 2010.

Thus, here is a partial rundown of everything that was accomplished over the past year.

January 15: Winter Semester general meeting, we welcome new members onto the board and completely fill the schedule for the third semester in a row.

January 17: Concert by Black Taxi (With Class of 2010 Co-Presidents and Bates Musicians’ Union)

February 28: Concert by FM Belfast (With Bates Musicians’ Union)

March 6: 30th Annual Trivia Night

March 21: Bates Public Art Club, Musicians Union, and WRBC collaborate to bring present “DISCHARGE” featuring numerous campus electronic musicians and artists.

March 26: WRBC helps to support the Bates College Art-In to help give student art a home in the otherwise dormant Chase Hall

May 22: First Ever WRBC Field Day

May 23: Concert by Friends Academy (With Shred Club and Class of 2010 Co-Presidents)

September 10: Fall Semester General Meeting (results in forth consecutive semester with a full schedule)

September 17: The Matt and Kim Ticket Trivia Extravaganza — A miniature Trivia Night style ticket give-away event.

September 18: Concert by Matt and Kim (With Chase Hall Committee)

October 10: Concert by Glenn Jones

November 14: WRBC and the Bates Libertarians present “unDISCHARGED” featuring Anamanaguchi and other campus electronic musicians.

November 23: The Monkey is re-established as a Blog

Additionally, we made numerous upgrades to the station throughout the year including computer upgrades and other new equipment. The board is currently developing a digital music library, online playlist tracking, and a more streamlined application process. We also had a very successful t-shirt sale.

For fiscal year 2010, we were only one of three clubs at Bates to see our budget rise from fiscal year 2009. After issues in February and March, WRBC established a healthy working relationship with the Chase Hall Committee with a new liaison program, which has benefited both clubs and the student body as a whole.

Additionally, WRBC moved up to #18 in the College Radio Rankings published by the Princeton Review and got several mentions on the pages profiling Bates in their book chronicling America’s Best Colleges. WRBC events were never poorly attend and always received positive reviews from the campus media as well as the overall student body. In 2009, WRBC was featured in newspapers throughout New England and the station was even mentioned in Iceland’s #1 newspaper. WRBC expanded its internet capabilities to include a Twitter page alongside our existing Facebook and MySpace pages, and our website received over 18,000 hits with visitors coming from all fifty states and 118 different countries including China, Pakistan, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, and Australia.

It has been a busy year for WRBC, and as the station moves forward providing the best non-commercial free-format radio programming, increasing collaboration with other clubs and our role in the community, both Bates and Lewiston-Auburn, remain our top priority.

Thanks for listening.

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca & Escargot, Sundays at 8-10 PM Eastern Time on WRBC.

FM Belfast is a four-piece electronic band. They were one of the surprise breakout artists at last October’s Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, which is held annually in Reykjavik, Iceland. Their first LP, How to make friends, was also released in October 2008 in Iceland. It is available for sale in the United States through the iTunes music store.

FM Belfast is considered one of the premier new artists in the rapidly expanding Icelandic music scene. Their music utilizes elements of dance pop and expands on it with profound lyrics and a light-hearted attitude. This show promises to be one of the best electronic shows in the state of Maine this year.

Among the best performances of the festival were Yelle (FR), FM Belfast (IS), Seabear (IS), Boys in a Band (FO), GusGus (IS), Fuck Buttons (UK) and Cocktail Vomit (IS).

Here is a photographic sampling of some of the concerts and mischief that took place in Reykjavik:

-Doug Ray & Nelson Harris