WFMU Mini Record Fair & Benefit Concert this Sunday in Brooklyn

Hurricane Sandy clobbered longtime free-form radio station WFMU, but the Jersey City institution takes another step toward regaining it's footing with a pair of benefits in Brooklyn this Sunday, Jan. 13th. WFMU has always run on a tight budget, but Sandy dealt it a physical and financial blow. (See this article in Friday's Wall Street Journal for details.)

Yes, that's the free-form station of the nation featured in the Wall Street Journal!

Among other things, the storm forced cancellation of WFMU's 2012 weekend-long record fair, a big fundraiser held every October. The station previously held a kind of mini-fair, and is holding another one—and a concert—Sunday at the Bell House.

From WFMU's website:

This Sunday, January 13th, WFMU is hosting a Mini-Record Fair and blowout benefit show at The Bell House in Brooklyn! The fair happens 11-5pm (no admission after 3pm due to space constraints), and at 7:30 we'll be kicking off a night of music mayhem with Arrington Di Dionyso of Old Time Relijun, followed by the Dot Wiggin Band (of the Shaggs!), the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Texas psych/gospel dynamos The Relatives! Jonathan Toubin spins and Chris Gethard MCs! Tickets for the Music Benefit at this link here, and more info below.

Tix are $10 for the fair (tickets at the door only) and $20 for the concert, with advance tickets for sale here!! All proceeds benefit WFMU in its post-Hurricane Sandy Recovery.

The fair and concert are both separate events, and the inner hall will be cleared out at 5pm to reopen for the show at 7:30. Set times:

7:30 Arrington Di Dionyso
8:10 Dot Wiggin Band
9:00 Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
10:00 The Relatives

It should be quite an extravaganza for music lovers. It's eminently affordable, and it's all for a good cause to boot. And the PATH trains are even back to nearly full service, if you're coming from out WFMU way in New Jersey (though it seems the Hoboken/World Trade Center line will be suspended; check PATH schedule here).

WFMU's 2012 Music Marathon On Now, with Treats Galore

Here's a bit of a promotional plug... not for me or this blog, but for radio station WFMU in Jersey City, NJ. For decades it has proudly called itself the "free-form station of the nation," and has lived up to that name by serving up a mix of news and talk that defies labels such as "eclectic" or "bizarre."

WFMU (91.1 FM and streaming at www.wfmu.org) is now conducting its annual Marathon, a nearly two-week fundraising drive that features plenty of guest musicians and other treats. The legendary Yo La Tengo will once again sit in on a show later in the drive (March 2nd, between 9 p.m. and Midnight), acting as a live jukebox as it plays requests from pledgers in the WFMU studios.

WFMU's 2012 Marathon has lifted off and is looking for your help.

WFMU features knowledgeable, experienced DJs (Irene Trudel and Terre T. are two of my current favorites; famed rock DJ Vin Scelsa of long-gone WNEW-FM got his start at FMU). These on-air personalities work without pay and often bring in their own music.

If you're looking for diverse programming that's the opposite of that corporate schlock that's programmed by a computer, WFMU is the place to go. You won't find show names like "Inflatable Squirrel Carcass," "Strength through Failure," "Shut Up, Weirdo," and "Music to Spazz By" on your local Clear Channel affiliate. (See WFMU's full winter schedule here, with links to archives and sample shows).

That's not to say that some of the programs might irritate you or make your ears bleed, but half the fun is cruising around the station's extensive online archives and playlists and finding out what you like. Or even better, listening to things you've never heard of before.

One of the CD premiums from this year's WFMU Marathon.

WFMU also has some rather clever premiums for its Marathon that are much more interesting than most public radio fare. Yes, there are tote bags and t-shirts, but the best stuff of all is the one-of-a-kind music collections that you won't find anywhere else. (See the WFMU premiums and the special DJ's premiums.)

Then there's WFMU's unique history of being a college radio station that survived on its own when the college went out of business, but that's a story for another post (which I wrote here).


Above: Kurt Cobain perusing WFMU's first "Catalog of Curiosities" during some on-stage downtime.

Listen in to WFMU at 91.1 FM in the NYC area, WMFU at 90.1 in the Hudson Valley, or at www.wfmu.org and support the station if you like what you hear.

2009 WFMU Record Fair - This Weekend!

As if you weren't already suffering from musical overload with the CMJ Music Marathon in full swing, this weekend is another annual Fall attraction for New York-area rock fans: the WFMU Record Fair.

Once again the "free-form station of the nation" in Jersey City will put on its extravaganza of vinyl (including LPs, 45s, and 12"s), CDs, DVDs, and even VHS tapes. There will also be special WFMU records on sale for a dollar, and a number of live music events as well.

The fair will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 W. 18th St. (between 6th & 7th Avenues). One-day admission is $7, or you can buy an early-bird admission for $25 that gets you in a few hours early on Friday and allows you unlimited entry the entire weekend. And, of course, it gives you first crack at the merchandise, including rare and hard-to-find items.

If you're ready to take a break from the live music in the clubs for CMJ, head on over to the WFMU Record Fair and pick up some choice recordings to take home.

WFMU and Upsala College Profiled in the New York Times

Sunday's New York Times did a good profile of free-form radio station WFMU, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The article makes a bit too much of the fact that WFMU has been around as long as Fidel Castro has been in power, but otherwise it does a decent job of looking at this unique New Jersey institution: a college radio station that has outlived the college.

Upsala College, a Lutheran college founded more than 100 years ago, was a respected North Jersey institution for many decades in East Orange, but ran into financial problems in the '80s and '90s. It laid off staff and cut back on programs, and finally ceased to exist in 1995. Fortunately funds were raised to keep WFMU in existence, and "the free-form station of the nation" (as it calls itself) continues to thrive in Jersey City.

Of course WFMU is celebrating its 50th birthday and is having a fundraiser for the occasion so it can continue on; you can learn more at its Web site above.

As for Upsala College, although it hasn't been around for more than a decade it of course has a Web site, www.upsala.org (an unofficial one, maintained by one of its alums).