Thursdays Blog


Today’s Jive was recorded and produced by: 
J-Cherry… producer and host of, ‘VOICE of the CITY’
 Airing on WESU 88.1 FM Middletown
Tuesdays from 8-9PM
Live and local… This ain’t no commercial radio!
jcherrypresents.com

Good afternoon, its Thursday, February 14th Happy Valentines Day, this is the Jive at Five – WESU’s Daily community calendar and rundown of night time programming here on 88.1 FM WESU Middletown, your station for NPR, Pacifica, independent and local public affairs by day and the best in free-form community programming week nights and weekends. I’m J-Cherry producer and host of VOICE of the CITY, Tuesday from 8-9PM, Showcasing live and local music, arts, and culture. WESU is now recording our live stream! Visit wesu.streamrewind.com to hear VOICE of the CITY, and other great shows recorded here on WESU! Thanks for tuning in. 

We hope life is getting back to normal following the historic Blizzard of 2013, and its aftermath. Many thanks to all of the public works employees, contractors, volunteers, good neighbors and first responders who have worked tirelessly and at times without thanks for the best interest of others during this challenging time.  

Here’s a run sown of some of what’s scheduled to happen in the community this week. Keep in mind that many venues and business were set back by the unprecedented weather we experienced this week and as such may not be back up and running yet. We suggest you check with venues directly to make sure they are open for business and are back on schedule.

Over at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown Tonight and each Second Thursday (of the month) brings Writers Out Loud! , a literary prose open mic w/host Cocomo Rock & co-host Al Bower, Jr. Doors open at 6:45 for sign-up, presentations begin at 7:15. Friday night Shawn Taylor’s Wandering Roots Trio & the Brian Dolzani Duo play “Fresh new songs, Deep Ol’ Roots” at the Buttonwood.

Saturday Mornings at the Buttonwood Tree bring Chi Quong (Chee Gwong), Yoga, and spiritual alignment workshops. Saturday afternoon at 3 brings an opening reception for this month’s Art Gallery show celebrating the work of Peruvian born visual artist, Juan Carlos Bautista’s “Poetic Art”. Saturday night at 7pm, Steven and Resa Ferreira present Streetlight Stories: “Endings and Beginnings” for an evening of stories about healing and transformation, for adults.

Each Sunday, Food Not Bombs shares food at 1 pm in front of the Buttonwood. All are welcome to enjoy a free vegetarian meal. You can help prepare it beforehand at First Church on Court Street at 11:30 am. Sunday afternoon  at 4pm brings the monthly gathering, Poetry Potluck, which is an opportunity for people who enjoy poetry to get together to share and discuss their favorite works. For more information about all Buttonwood events, visit buttonwood.org.

Down  at Café Nine in New Haven, tonight, the Lip Gloss Crisis 3rd Annual Valentines Day Show where’ New Haven’s own Dot Mitzvah will be the ringleader at this romantic circus-themed burlesque cabaret!  Friday night The Greg Sherrod Band and The New Dirty make for a night of Rock and Roll at Café nine. Saturday at 4pm it’s the weekly SATURDAY AFTERNOON JAZZ JAM w/ this week’s host Tony Dioguardi and Friends. Saturday night brings Daphne Lee Martin celebrating her new release, “Moxie” alongside Ellison Jackson.   Sunday’s SUNDAY-AFTER-SUPPER JAM will be hosted by Dom Zullo and the Cafe Nine All Stars. You can get more information at  cafenine.com.

Up in Hartford at Blackeyed Sally’s tonight Jazz Vocalist Dana Lauren, to the Sally’s stage. Friday, Shaka and the Soul Shakers perform their Louisiana sound along with Two Virgins. Saturday brings Paul Gabriel Blues Band to Blackeyed Sally’s.   For more information, you can check out blackeyedsallys.com.

George Clinton and parliament Funkadellic return to the Toads Place stage on Tonight night down in New Haven. Friday night THE BLACK SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE AT YALE  presents a performance by the Hip Hop Collective, PHONY PPL at Toads Place.  Sunday at Toad’s GORILLA MUSIC presents the NEW HAVEN BATTLE OF THE BANDS. More can be found online at toadsplace.com

Saturday The Russell Knitters meet on from 11:00am-1pm in Meeting Room 3 and invite you to bring your knitting projects. You can access russelllibrary.org for more info.

Saturday night the CFA Wesleyan University Center for the Arts: “Glass Guignol: The Brother/Sister Play” directed by Lee Breuer, who explores the life and work of Tennessee Williams in this production.

Saturday evening The Wesleyan University Center for the Arts presents: The Graduate Recital of Brian Parks at Memorial Chapel, on High Street at 8pm. this event is free and open to the public. more online at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa 

Now here’s a rundown of cinema off the beaten track, here in Central Connecticut:

At Real Art Ways inHartford, Oscar-nominated short films, both animated and live-action, make up the bulk of the  schedule through next Wednesday.  More can be found online at realartways.org.

At Cinestudio, Trinity College’s cinema, Tonight Cinestudio kicks off a three day run of the 1942 black and white classic Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Sunday Cinestudio kicks off a run of the newest film by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, This must be the Place” details online at www.cinestudio.org.

Now here’s what’s on tap on air at WESU tonight, as we make our way through week 2 our new spring schedule.

4:55-5:05

The Jive At Five

A daily community calendar and rundown of WESU’s evening programming.

5:05-6pm

Homegrown with Rob DeRosa

The best crop of Connecticut-connected music presented for a global audience.

6-6:30pm

Free Speech Radio News

Your daily dose of alternative international news and reporting from the Pacifica Network.

6:30-8pm

Total Praise with Minister Latrecia

Your Thursday night Gospel music connection! A diverse and inspirational blend of contemporary gospel music to uplift your spirit!

8-9:30

Evening Jazz with Bill Denert

Where hearing is the best experience. A broad range of swing, be-bop, and avant garde as well as a sprinkling of new releases.

9:30-10:30pm

Bridging the Gap with Jesse Brent

Exploring how music has changed forms through the years, and the links that tie together seemingly disparate genres such as blues and rap, or funk and Krautrock.

10:30-11:30pm

(1,3,5) The Middletown Weavers with DJ Ping and DJ Zing

(2,4) Bach Party with Canyon Girl

Bach Party will feature a unique theme each week showcasing work from a grand pool of classical composers and compositions. Tune in, remain composed, and keep it classy.

11:30pm-12:30am

(1,3,5) Underdogs Edge with DJ Malik1Fam

The Underdogs Edge will feature local hip hop artists across the region with tracks from mainstream artists normally not played on radio.

(2,4) Songs Without Words with Jacob Feder

Songs Without Words offers an eclectic assortment of instrumental musics both new and old.

12:30-1:30am

(1,3,5) UnderCover with Rebecca Seidel

Bridging genres, musical styles, and time, Undercover explores the concept of inspiration through imitation.

(2,4) The Art Of Improvisation with DJ Jack

I will be playing music that blends styles, genres, and interesting melodic and harmonic arrangements. I would focus specifically on jazz and jazz influenced music, rock n’ roll, jam bands, bluegrass, funk, and any blending of the above genres.

1:30-2:30am

(1,3,5) Rock Fatale with DJ Stella

Featuring the first ladies of rock, from The Marvelettes to Metric.

(2,4) Live From The Paris Hotel with The Sparrow

A mercurial mixture of pop music and poetry, cavorting the ley lines of the human voice. Step outside the Dr. Luke degeneration into the magnificent streets of the city where the ravings of mad poets and mods dissipate into a smoky rain spilling down on an ocean of umbrellas. The promenade continues, submerging in all dimensions of lyric-centric pop: rock, soul, reggae, folk, R&B, punk, funk, post-punk, new-wave, jazz and wherever else the street winds, from the 1950s to the present. Pop music interspersed with spoken word tracks and poetry readings.

2:30-3:30am

(1,3,5) Blues After Midnight with DJ Sick Nelden

Blues sounds great. But it sounds best on vinyl after midnight. Listen to DJ Sick Nelden as he takes you through the many stories and sub-cultures of the Blues.

(2,4) Road Trips with Nina G

Fill up your tank, grab your snacks and let’s hit the road. Each week we will travel to a different destination passing the time with some entertaining stories and music to match. DJ Nina G’s at the wheel for a trip full of tunes, tales and lots of fun.

3:30-4am

Sunspot Loops

A sporadic exploration of what exists in music at the moment.

The BBC World News Service kicks on at 4AM and we begin tomorrow’s broadcast at 5 a.m. with Morning Edition from NPR.


That’s all for today’s Jive at Five, if you didn’t get a chance to write down some of the information mentioned in our community calendar, the script is published online at www.wesufm.org/jive, and if you know of any events that you’d like to have announced on the Jive, send them tojive@wesufm.org If you tune in to WESU for information and music that you can’t find elsewhere, then we are counting on you to help support the service you depend on.

Please take a moment to make a donation of any size online at www.wesufm.org, every dollar counts and we need to hear from you.


The sound bed for Today’s Jive at Five features the sound “January Stream” from the MiddletownRemix project, a collaborative, place-based sound project that enables participants to develop and express the acoustic identity of Greater Middletown, and to explore and experience the soundscapes of the city. You can learn more online at www.middletownnremix.org