95.5 WBRU supports local music

A long time ago in a city 3 hours up I-95, I worked in a number of capacities for 95.5 WBRU. Of the roles I filled, my favorite and the one that remains the most meaningful to me in retrospect was the time I spent running the local music show.

I imagine most small-market cities have similar scenes bubbling just beneath the surface, but Providence's was mine, and I'll always look back fondly on the time I spent there working with bands like Zox, Monty Are I (Monty's Fan Club back then...), M-80, Mona, Turning Blue, The Complaints, Bridges Fell (who I wrote about recently) and so many more.

The hardest part of running that show was the frustrating reality that as good as so much of that music was, the chances of it being played on the air at any time other than Tuesday night from 12-1 am was (with very few exceptions) essentially nil.

Ever so slowly over the past few years, with the success of a few bands from the area on the national scene, and a programming staff that regularly pushes the envelope, the situation for local music has been improving.

The WBRU Summer Concert Series is a time-honored tradition in Providence; it draws some big names (their first show this year was Death Cab), and often includes local bands as openers. This year, with their second show, they're really stepping up their efforts and devoting their whole second show to Providence's own. This whole post is my long-winded way of saying I'm proud of them, I guess. Way to go, guys. Keep it up. Represent.

ZOX - Line In The Sand

Early in the summer, ZOX announced that they would take a rare (especially for the summer) few months away from the road to work on their new record. At the time, I wondered whether the increased recording budget that likely comes along with a decently-sized label like Side One Dummy would help the band to top their fantastic previous record, The Wait.

I now realize two things:

1. That speculating about a recording budget's ability to elevate a band's performance is an annoying and totally head-up-ass thing to do, for which I am sorry. I've grown up now and I won't do that anymore.
2. The answer might be yes.

The title track from Line In The Sand (out January 22) is streaming now at myspace.com/zox, and it's worthy of your attention. It showcases a band that's never sounded cookie-cutter traveling a few miles further down the trail it's been blazing for most of its career, and it's all the proof I need that I've no reason to spend any more time worrying about whether or not ZOX will continue to deliver the goods.

ZOX is taking the summer off from touring (mostly)

Tireless touring machines ZOX are taking a rare break from the road this summer to work on their new record. Although their most recent record, The Wait, was released on Side One Dummy Records, it was a re-release, and had been originally produced for Armo Records prior to the Side One Dummy deal.

I haven't confirmed this (what am I, a journalist?) but I have to assume that being on a bigger label means having a bigger production budget. Can "one of the hardest working bands in America" top an amazing record like The Wait with the extra funds? The same kind of funds that pay for sweet music videos?

If you'd like to catch ZOX live this summer, you'd do best to be in one of these three places:
08/05: River Dog Music Festival, Chester, CT
08/11: Garden Grove Festival, Webster, MA
08/26: Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA


[zoxband.com]
[myspace.com/zox]