Volunteer Profile Kristie Billings

Kristie Billings could be the girl the Heads were singing about in "Punk Lolita."  She is free spirited, unedited and unapologetically herself.  Not to mention her distinctly punk aesthetic.  As Kristie tells it, she marched to a different beat early on.  On Saturdays at 6PM, you can hear her on WERU as one of the hosts of Daydream Nation.  Kristie plays an eclectic mix of everything:  punk, blues, rock 'n' roll, reggae, Motown, 1980's.  "Whatever," she says, "I feel like busting out that night!"
You might not guess it when meeting her, but Kristie grew up in a fishing family in the small coastal village of Deer Isle.  She describes a time when there weren't many kids who had dyed hair or shaved heads or rocked the goth look.  She says people could be judgemental about the way she looked.  "Why?  Who knows?  I didn't look like anyone else.  That scared some people."  Kristie says that her early love for music, especially punk rock, gave her an important outlet to express herself and shaped her into the person she is today.
Kristie asserts that she is a Mainer through and through.  Her childhood in coastal Maine gave her a deep love for the ocean.  She affectionately describes lobstering with her dad, who sadly passed away last year, and her frequent swims in the crisp coastal waters of the Atlantic.  "I like to make things interesting," says Kristie. "Still do."

1. Favorite genre of music?  I would have to say punk/rock/post punk.  The first LP I ever purchased was a Beach Boys' record.  They were my first favorite band.
2. First music memory?  I was a little girl.  Maybe 3?  For some reason, I believe that Donnie Osmond was coming to Stonington to play at the Legion Hall.  Who knows how I came up with this?  I went and got myself all dressed up and waited and waited for one of my parents to take me to see "Donnie Marie."  My mother did not know what to make of it.  She told me to wait until my father came home from lobstering.  Typically, when my father returned home from after a long day of fishing, the last thing he wanted to do was go see a concert.  But he was a good sport.  He played along with his youngest daughter's funny ideas.  He told me to go ahead and get in the truck, and we'd find Donnie Marie.  We drove to the Legion Hall, and he proceeded to drive me all over Deer Isle looking for the elusive Donnie Osmond.  I was a bit disappointed to have missed him, but I was happy to have had a reason to get dressed up and cruise around the island, listening to the radio, with my dad.
3. If I could hang out with anyone who would it be?  Oh boy.  Jeez.  This is a tough question.  I am such a geek.  I would have to say Henry Rollins.  I have been a huge fan of his and his music since high school.  I would love to spend a day with him; record shopping, book shopping, drinking coffee, anything.  I have great respect for him.
4. What animal would you be?  If I could be any animal I would be a seal.  I used to think I would want to be a cat.  I am a crazy cat lady.  However, I love to swim.  I think seals are gorgeous, graceful, and playful.  Just amazing.  I would like to spend my days sunning myself on the rocks, slipping gracefully into the ocean and being a seal.  Sounds perfect!
5. What would people be surprised to know about you?  I think people would be surprised to learn that I am shy.  
6. What three words best describe you?  Goofy, loving and funny.
7. Who has inspired you?  My family, Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, Nick Cave, Sylvia Plath, Michael Gira, Boy George and many others!
8. What is your favorite color?  It's a tie:  black and purple.
9. What makes you laugh?  Nearly everything!  I laugh every day.  I laugh all the time.  I can't pinpoint what I find funny.  Silly, nonsensical, the everyday blah...all of it!
10. What did you want to be when you grew up?  Here's a list of things I have wanted to be since I was a child:  A nun, a race car driver, a fashion designer, a fashion merchandiser, a writer.  Now I believe I would be a great cat sitter.  Or a vinyl sitter.  Let me come and sit with your vinyl records!

Wrongchilde: Gold Blooded

Wrongchilde, the solo project of Kill Hannah frontman Mat Devine, is set to release Gold Blooded on August 19th.  The moniker Wrongchilde can be traced to a dream Devine had while still in high school.  A self release funded entirely by PledgeMusic, the album has already been generating a bit of buzz.  Fans can contribute to the cause and receive exclusive items like Gold Blooded pendant necklaces and a limited edition heart shaped vinyl. Devine, who is afraid of needles and blood (Also clowns, by the way, which are my personal nemeses.), pledges to donate a pint to the Red Cross for every 10 necklaces purchased. He promises to record the moment for posterity and the amusement of fans!

The album features some impressive guest vocals by artists like Morgan Kibby of M83 and White Sea, Sierra Kusterbeck of Versa and Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance.  Alain Whyte of Morrissey fame lends his talents on guitar.  Interestingly, Way performs a duet on the lead single "Falling in Love Will Kill You," which was originally intended for a female vocalist.  The unexpected combination of male vocals adds complexity to the guitar ballad.  The title track from the album, "Gold Blooded," is a good example of the bridge that Wrongchilde builds between dream pop and electro pop.  "Gold Blooded," according to Devine, is a phrase that represents the spirit of youth.  "Love is a Battlefield," the song Pat Benatar made famous, appears on the album in romanticized version with fluid vocals supplied by Morgan Kibby.  Fans still have a chance to get in on the limited Gold Blooded items on PledgeMusic and show their support for the project!

Volunteer Profile Elaine Shute

You can hear programmer Elaine Shute when she takes her turn at the helm on On the Wing on Monday's at WERU.  Elaine says she wanted to be a DJ ever since she could remember but was too introverted as a kid to imagine being on the air. Instead she became an art major, envying the kids running the college radio station. She describes subbing for On the Wing and eventually getting her own show as fulfilling a dream.

Elaine chronicles fostering her love of music while growing up in Southern Maine "before it was the cool place it is now." "In those pre-Internet days, in a rural state, you had to work hard to be aware of music that was not on Casey Kasem’s American Top 40. I remember being able to pick up a Boston station, WMEX- FM, at night and hearing great rock music that had not yet made it up to Maine."  

Elaine says she developed a lifelong habit of reading voraciously about rock, biking down to the local bookstore to pick up the latest issue of CREEM magazine when she was a teenager and these days grabbing a copy of Mojo magazine, which Elaine considers "the most intelligent writing currently available about rock."

1. Favorite genre of music? We listen happily to nearly every genre in our household, although neither my husband, my teenage son or I have ever developed a taste for country music. Rock of all sorts is definitely the default genre at our house.
2. What was the first LP or CD you bought? Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells a Story on vinyl. Boy, how the mighty have fallen.
3. Where have you traveled?  Favorite destination? I’m a complete Anglophile. I have been to the U.K. three times and someday might just not come back. It’s the music, movies, humor, accents, scenery, everything! I feel utterly at home in Scotland, my favorite place in the entire world.
4. Favorite movie? To Kill a Mockingbird Never has there been a more perfect adaptation of a book to the screen with child actors so thoroughly believable, and a sweetly melancholy score by Elmer Bernstein so beautiful as to make you weep. My perspective on movies is similar to WERU DJ Jay Peterson’s perspective on music: Yes, there are still great films being made, but the best ones all came out prior to 1965.
5. Favorite holiday and why? Halloween. It comes at my favorite time of year, appeals to my love for Gothic drama and doesn’t require buying gifts for anyone!
6. What would people be surprised to know about you? I’m a distance runner. Probably only because of music. When I got my first Walkman (Yes, Walkman!), I discovered I could just about run forever if I had music pumped directly into my head. A little-known fact: It converts to adrenalin once it enters the body. I was ecstatic when the MP3 player came out. I can run even further now.
7. Any special talents? I can read the thought bubbles over my dogs’ heads. I know what they’re thinking at any given moment.
8. Best compliment ever received? When music is so important to you, there’s nothing better than hearing “I love your show." When people say that, I float on air!
9. Who has inspired you? My husband, whose exacting standards in everything he does, which I try to apply in my own life.
10. What makes you laugh? My pug. Or practically any dog. Nature’s noblest and funniest creatures.

Busker Ball VII on July 24th

Theo Eastwind

If you've visited an urban center and appreciated the unique talents of the street performers you encountered there, then you are already familiar with busking, a term used to describe the practice of performing in public for gratuities.  New York City is home to some of the best street performers around.  Described by The Village Voice as "New York's Own," Theo Eastwind has been a street musician since arriving in NYC from Vienna, Austria in 1995 with nothing more than an old guitar on his back.  He heard a man singing a cappella while walking through the subway and an idea took shape.  The future "King of the Buskers" was born.

Since then, Theo has become a strong advocate for performers working in the subway.  In an effort to give back to the community while showcasing some of New York's finest street musicians, Theo organized what is now a quarterly event called the Busker Ball.  On July 24th, National Busker Day, Theo will be among the performers for Busker Ball VII, which takes place at Spike Hill in Brooklyn Hill.  The talented line up also includes Ken Ruan, Emore Saylavee, "NYC Subway Girl" Cathy Grier, Gabriel Royal and Mr. Reed, some of whom will be performing at the Busker Ball for the first time.  The doors open at 7PM. The suggested donation is a mere $10 for what will surely be an evening of great entertainment and celebration!

I had the pleasure of chatting with Theo, Ken Ruan, Emore Saylavee, Cathy Grier and Mr. Reed on The Knix Mix.  To hear the Knix Mix interview in its entirety, check out this link!

Live Knix Mix Interview

For more information on Busker Ball VII, how to  and the artists who will be performing, please check out the websites below!
NYC Busker Ball

NYC Busker Ball on Facebook

Cathy Grier (photo credit Amel Chen)

The Knix Mix Interview with Ki:Theory

Ki:Theory (pronounced "key"), Virginia native Joel Burleson, is a gifted multi-instrumentalist, producer and recording artist.  And since someone is likely to ask, Joel explains that the name Ki:Theory came about from having lived abroad in Japan.  It's the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese word "chi," which - in simplified terms - means "energy."  Even if you don't yet know Ki:Theory by name, you have likely appreciated his artistry in one medium or another.  He has remixed tracks for artists as diverse as Kings of Leon, Queens of the Stone Age, UNKLE, Daft Punk and Ladytron, among others.  His original music has been featured on TV shows, commercials, films and video games.  His remix of Daft Punk's "The Son of Flynn" for Tron:  Legacy was featured on the official remix album, Tron:  Legacy R3CONF1GUR3D.  I mean, how cool is that?

I've been playing the 2 disc deluxe edition of Kitty Hawk, which dropped in April, on The Knix Mix since it arrived at the station. It's crazy good!  The album, which you can download on the Ki:Theory website, features 6 unreleased Ki:Theory tracks and some amazing remixes.  I was curious to interview the maestro behind the music, but what impressed me the most in chatting with Ki:Theory is that, despite his achievements, he is both genuine and modest.

Kitty Hawk is at times haunting and moody; at other times pounding and danceable. His rendition of "Stand by Me" is uniquely dark and moving. The vocals supplied by Maura Davis (of indie band Denali fame) add an engaging feminine energy to the tracks "I Wanna Run" and "Needles."  While Ki:Theory's origins are alt rock, there are electronic elements to his music, which stands out on banging tracks like the Break Science remix of "Kitty Hawk" and "Lay Our Body Down."  "Open Wound," both the original and the Odesza remix, and "Holiday Heart" are a couple of my personal favorite tracks off the album. 

The Ki:Theory mini tour in support of the album had just begun when The Knix Mix live interview took place, but as of this blog post, the tour has come to a noteworthy conclusion.  Ki:Theory played at Great Scott in Allston, Massachusetts on June 21st, so I hope local Knix Mix fans were able to make the trip!  I wish I'd been in the audience for his hometown appearance in Richmond, Virginia on June 28th at Strange Matter.  Maura Davis was scheduled to appear, and I imagine that had to be an epic event!  

There are official videos for "Stand by Me" and "Venin," which you can find in links below.  Give a listen to the complete Knix Mix interview with Ki:Theory here!  Find out answers to questions you didn't even know you had.  Like who would Ki:Theory choose, living or not, to sit down with for a meal and talk?  I know, but you'll have to listen to find out!

Ki:Theory Website

Ki:Theory on Facebook

Ki:Theory on YouTube

Ki:Theory on Twitter

Mainland - "Leave The Lights On"

The video for "Leave The Lights On" has New York City transplants Mainland breezily zipping around the city proper on skateboards with the languid ease of adolescents everywhere.  There is something captivating about the grainy home movie quality of the video set against a summery cityscape with the quartet hitting Eight Avenue, hanging out by the Hudson River and meeting up with some unintentional costars along the way.  The song itself has a certain retro quality with the angst of the 80's alt bands that defined my youth (think the Pixies) and the rock out energy of a punk band, a genre that Mainland has appropriately coined as "puke-up punk."

Mainland came to be through an eclectic music collection, a rehearsal space under the Manhattan Bridge and a spontaneous recording session with Jim Eno of Spoon.  The NYC by way of California band consists of enigmatic frontman Jordan Topf, who also plays guitar and synths, Corey Mullee on lead guitar and synths, Alex Pitta on bass and Dylan Longstreet on drums.  "Leave the Lights On" is a track from their second EP, Shiner, which debuted with the title track "Shiner."  As a follow up to their first EP, Girls Unknown, Mainland has secured a name for themselves in the local music scene, and the word is starting to spread. Two more video installments chronicling life in the city will be released this summer.  Can't wait to see what else the boys have in store!

Mainland on Facebook

Q&A with Resistor's Steve Goldberg

It isn't every day that you come across an album that successfully combines pop music and parody as social commentary.  Like Devo with their satirical humor or Talking Heads with their deadpan Delphian lyrics. Then along comes Resistor with First World Problems.  The first single from the album, "Narcissist," was immediately on my playlist because of its irresistibly catchy refrain.  It's equally irresistible to picture the narcissist in your life while the song plays.  Doesn't everyone have one?  The video for the track has all the elements of a Saturday Night Live skit set to music.  Funny and with cultural references that you will surely appreciate.  Note the nod to the iconic Say Anything boombox scene but with a twist.  Brilliant!  Steve does the Star Wars sleeveless t-shirt and red jogging shorts justice, I must say.  The rest of the album is equally cheeky. You'll have to give it a listen to know what I mean.

Resistor, the nom de synth of Philadelphian Steve Golderg, arose from the ashes of a previous band, Goldberg's financial and emotional resources were low, and he needed a way to make music quickly and cheaply without depending on anyone.  He began writing songs with only his computer and his voice, and Resistor was born.
Resistor's debut full-length album, First World Problems, was released on May 20th.  With a synthpop sounds reminiscent of The Human League and OMD, the record was recorded and mixed by Jeff Zeigler (The War on Drugs with Kurt Vile) in Philadelphia.  While songs like "Narcissist" and "Choose Your Parents Well" are tongue in cheek, the core of the record is genuine.  Over a bed of New Wave synths, energetic drum machines and multilayered vocal harmonies, Resistor parodies the pursuit of fame and questions the meaning of artistic success.  He wonders "Why do I crave the spotlight?  Do I deserve it?  And why should anyone care about what I have to say?"

Any special talents?  Immense physical strength.  My best squat, bench and deadlift to date are 405 lbs., 290 lbs., and 525 lbs., respectively.  By powerlifting standards those aren't elite or anything, but I think by like synthpop or hipster standards they are.  There are probably a lot of guys in metal bands who lift a lot more though.  Also I'm good at JavaScript; check out my 100% hand-crafted artisanal website http://resistorsings.com/.
Favorite movie?  Is it still okay if I say Annie Hall?  Woody seems like he's probably messed up IRL, but it's still a great film.
What did you plan to be when you grew up?  I really wanted to be an actor when I was in high school. Making the music video for "Narcissist" was a great opportunity to show off my acting chops, just really get into character and do some method acting like back in the day.  Plus it was my debut as a serious filmmaker. Look for my entry next year at Cannes.
Favorite funny story about you?  So a little while back I took part in this "fitness transformation" contest on the Internet where you had to post 12 week before and after photos.  I had taken my "after" photos flexing in a pair of Star Wars tighty whities and put them online for the contest.  Some months later, a friend told me that they'd seen my Star Wars undies photos on the Tumblr of Wil Wheaton, the actor from Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Big Bang Theory.  It turned out that a random Internet person had posted them on his gay beefcake Tumblr, then they got reblogged on a satirical Tumblr called "Fake Geek Guys," then Wil Wheaton reblogged them, and then tons of other people did.  I just checked and the post has 11,176 notes, mostly from gay porn Tumblrs.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  That's probably been the peak of my fame to date.  Also, I didn't win that round of the transformation contest, but I entered it again the next time and took first place.  (Way to go, Steve!)
If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?  "Probably a shark riding on an elephant's back, just trampling and eating everything I see. Because it's sink or swim out there."
What three words would best describe you?  Curious / Sensual / ECMAScript compliant
What makes you laugh?  I like the Mel Brooks saying, "Tragedy is when I stub my toe. Comedy is when you fall down a manhole."
Favorite food?  Gonna go with the Shooter Sandwich. Check this shit out!
Do you have a nickname?  Some people call me "The Space Cowboy." Just kidding.  Nobody has ever called me that, but I probably wouldn't mind.
What was the first band you saw in concert?  I think it was Blink 182 at The Electric Factory in Philly.  I was really into Enema of the State.