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News ArchiveDJs: Locate the Contact sheet on the clipboard near the booth computer, and fill in your name and the email you'd like to be contacted at. This allows us to have a better control over who we're talking to when we send out important updates about the station. Our current mailing list is a little fudged. Much appreciated, keep on truckin'. Posted by hardyt on 02/02/2010 Comments Shows are ON! That's right, WCKS the Whale is re-opening its virtual doors to the world. We apologize to all DJs and listeners for the stream difficulties, but they are a thing of the past! Shows are once again on a regular schedule. NOTE to DJ's: Please see your email for instructions on how to connect to the stream in the event it is not already connected when you go in for a show. Take care everyone, and happy listening! Posted by Mike on 02/01/2010 Comments James Blackshaw - performing this Friday Looking ahead for next weekend's plans? Singer/songwriter James Blackshaw is performing this Friday at the Ladies Lit Club downtown, and this show is part of our partnership with Calvin College. (We're gave away tickets to this show, and many others are up for grabs as well. Click here to enter: http://thewhale.wufoo.com/forms/win-free-tickets-to-shows/) Check out details on James Blackshaw here: http://bit.ly/cnDPze Posted by hardyt on 01/31/2010 Comments Connection Problem - Shows on Hold Regrettably it has come to my attention that the computer in the Station is currently unable to connect to the stream. This problem appears to be localized to the station computers, which suggests it is a CTS issue and not us, but unfortunately also means that we are forced to postpone all shows until it is fixed. I will be getting to this ASAP after classes tomorrow and I hope to have it up by the end of the night. We at WCKS apologize to our DJ's and listeners for this less-than-ideal situation and we hope you will understand. We are trying to make a better Omelet, and it is resulting in a few broken eggs. Thank you for your patience. Finally, in order to increase communication until such time as a new contact sheet is posted in the station I have added several key contacts to the DJ section (login required). Please use these if you experience any further problems. Posted by Mike on 01/29/2010 Comments Log-ins Active! >That's right guys, as the title implies site accounts are working once again! The problem turned out to be in the Forum we installed last semester, as a result the forum has been removed for now and we've reverted to our old account system which works fine. All accounts should be working fully now and accessible If you have not yet upgraded your account to DJ status using my temporary script you will notice a link titled Enter DJ Code in the log-in box once you log in. Click that and you will be prompted to enter the code given to you via email to upgrade to DJ Status Again, if you have any problems at all with anything on this website please let me know by emailing mike@thewhale.org. Thanks, and happy deejaying! Posted by Mike on 01/24/2010 Comments Show Requests Change Hi all, You have probably noticed you can't login to the site currently, this is a server problem that is affecting everyone, including myself, I'm adding this news blip manually. I am working on restoring the ability to login, however in the meantime I have created a temporary script which you can use to request your shows. Simply visit This Link and enter in the requested info. You will only need to enter the DJ Code the first time you request a show, to prove you have early registration privileges. NOTE: Currently, the server cannot remember anything you tell it for more than 1 page, so if you make a mistake your best bet is to use your browsers "back" button. If you have any questions or problems please contact me at mike@thewhale.org. Posted by Mike on 01/21/2010 Comments Splash Bash ![\"Flier\"](\"images/sb.jpg\") We at WCKS, the Whale hope you will join us tonight, Friday, December 4th in Kirkhof\'s Grand River Room for our second Splash Bash showcase! Tonight\'s show is an AIDS awareness concert, the event itself is free but donations are appreciated and will go to support the search for a cure for AIDS, so bring Change to make a splash!Doors open at 9PM! Live streaming of the event will continue throughout the night here on our website for those of you who may not be able to join us, however bands may choose to exclude their sets from the broadcast, so be sure to join us in-person for the full experience! We look forward to seeing you tonight! Posted by Mike on 12/04/2009 Comments WCKS December General Assembly! Mm, the sweet taste that is the end of the semester is caressing our collective lips, and one of the most obvious signals I know it\'s coming is that I can say this is the last Assembly of the year! In honor of how the crushing stress that\'s probably creeping into everyone\'s life, I\'ll try to keep this as tweet-worthy as possible. We\'ll be focusing on three things: Splash Bash (look out for the flyers, too, and tell your friends!), prepping for next semester (mostly elections), and as a corollary soliciting ideas and critiques for what we as the Eboard could start (or continue) to do to improve on what\'s been (historically-speaking) a relatively productive semester at The Whale. The RSVP is for Wednesday, December 2nd, at 9 PM, in KC 2263. I\'ll be trying to provide junk food again (yes, me, since I\'ll actually be there this time), so if nothing else you can always use that timeless poor college kid excuse to make an effort and show some simian pride. Cya\' there! Posted by justin on 12/01/2009 Comments The Mountain Goats wsg. Final Fantasy @ Ladies Literary Club of GR \"I will do what you ask me to do, because of how I feel about you.\" Often times John Darnielle\'s lyrics are simple, but this is his beauty and skill as one of the best songwriters currently alive. The veteran lo-fi singer/guitarist brought his ensemble to the tiny Ladies Literary Club on Wednesday night, with the show being the first on a fall tour promoting the band\'s recent release, \"The Life of the World to Come.\" Violin virtuoso Owen Pallet opened the show, or as many know him by his stage name, Final Fantasy. I saw the guy earlier in the summer at Chicago\'s Pitchfork Music Festival, and was stunned at the multi-layered soundscapes he single-handedly created himself. For the fall and for his first proper album release in four years, he\'s added a second member to the group. He provided backing percussion, a guitar melody here and there, and even had a whistling bit ala Andrew Bird. Final Fantasy as a live act is quite the spectacle. Pallett mans not only a violin (which he exploits to its furthest musical range, turning it into a percussive tool as well), but a keyboard (he sampled himself into each key in an octave. Crazy.) as well as a wealth of loop pedals. His goofy intra-song banter is charming, but he knows when to turn it off and instantly perform dense, beautiful melodies in his restrained falsetto. Following the opener\'s 50 minute set, The Mountain Goats arrived on stage to what in Calvin College terms would be considered a cacophonous roar. Their leader and principal songwriter, John Darnielle, sauntered on stage last, eager as ever to play his guitar. The man is 37, has been releasing records (sometimes even two in the same year, as was the case of 2002\'s All Hail West Texas and Tallahassee) at a breakneck speed, and still effuses an incredible energy while on stage. You can see it in his face - he is truly excited to be performing songs he loves, with a band that\'s with him every step of the way. I could delve into the lyrical tone and the themes presented by Darnielle and Co, but almost is inconsequential. Yeah, each song off the new record is titled based on a Bible verse, and it isn\'t exactly a secret that John is a very religious man. The pairing of Calvin College and The Mountain Goats could almost result in a sold-out residency, as suggested by observational audience members. This is all just details - the songs are incredibly well written, and don\'t exactly stray too far from the tried-and-true formula of two guitars, bass, and drums. The quote at the top of the page is from a song titled \"Genesis 30:3.\" You wouldn\'t know it from its lovedrenched, puppy-dog lyrics though. The things John Darnielle writes about are universal truths, wrapped tightly by layers of detailed narration and imagery. Not to mention, the guy knows his way around a guitar, and on the aforementioned track, the piano as well. \"The Life of the World to Come\" is out now on 4AD records. Check out their lead single, titled Genesis 3:23, on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/themountaingoats Posted by Tom on 11/05/2009 Comments November General Assembly To quote: \"So, finally, the big reveal: the next GA will be on Wednesday, November 4th, at 8 PM, in Kirkoff 0072 (the big room in lower Kirkoff on the side directly opposite of the Lanthorn)... Shouldn\'t be longer than a half hour, and there\'ll free food and drink.\" Also, once again, to stream currently until a new link is thrown up, copy and paste this into your URL bar: http://thewhale.org:8000/listen.pls Hope to see you at the meeting! Happy listening, everyone! Posted by justin on 11/03/2009 Comments Stream Restored The \"Listen Live\" link has been restored in all it\'s former glory. the link was overlooked when adding some new functionality to that section of the website. We are sorry for any inconvenience the lack of link may have caused you. Also, some of you may have been unable to tune in for the past week or so, this was a problem between our stream setup and older versions of iTunes. With a bit of work we\'ve finally got the stream working at full strength again across all versions. Happy Listening! Posted by Mike on 11/03/2009 Comments But Wait - Yeah, at the moment, the icon to \"Listen Live\" isn\'t there. No worries - type this in your URL bar to tune in. http://thewhale.org:8000/listen.pls If there\'s a show you liked, there are probably others you might as well. Check out the weekly schedule, or the daily one on the left of the page. Posted by Tom on 11/03/2009 Comments The Whale @ Andrew Bird & St.Vincent Show Check out more info about Mr. Bird and St.Vincent on their websites www.andrewbird.net http://www.ilovestvincent.com/ Posted by evan on 10/27/2009 Comments Mumford & Sons @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 10/22 Mumford & Sons @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 10/22 Upon their arrival to the dimly lit Williamsburg stage on Thursday evening, the crowd was going nuts. This band has been buzzed about all week long, and finally I got the chance to see for myself what they were all about. So as an aside, thanks to the Music Hall of Williamsburg for hosting 18+ shows all week long, aka, ones that this promo director could get in to. But yeah, these guys had a fabulous energy. A crossbreed of Fleet Foxes, Modest Mouse, and the Mountain Goats, the band mixed elements of painstaking lyricisms about things like unrequited love, brotherhood, and other things that make you all warm inside. The sound was stripped down at times, with Marcus Mumford always maintaining the core element of his acoustic guitar and vocals. Likewise, the band would frequently rock out a little, much to the delight of the crowd. There\'s a little Springsteen in us all, and being so close to Jersey, I don\'t mind. Rounding out the band was a stand-up bass and an electric banjo, and a keyboardist who doubled with bass-style effects to create an illusion of a backbeat. The songs the Mumfords have great potential to become big in the States once their album officially is released in 2010. Arguably the biggest response from the crowd tonight came from their tune \"The Cave,\" a subtly bitter ballad ending in a chorus of uplifting voices, promoting freedom and throwing the past to the fire. Give it a listen on their myspace, here: http://www.myspace.com/mumfordandsons With any luck, you\'ll see more on here for a few more shows soon, culminating in some overall thoughts on the event itself. Hope you\'re enjoying The Whale as it finally has started to begin broadcasting this fall, and are excited about college radio as we are. Posted by Tom on 10/23/2009 Comments The Selmanaires/Broadcast @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - CMJ Report The Selmanaires/Broadcast @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 10/21 This show, one of the few each night catering to the under-21 crowd, was filled with off the wall psychedelia, nightmarish acid-trip visuals, and an epic finale that left the already stunned crowd in a state of wide-eared catatonia. The Selmanaires opened the show (and appeared to be Atlas Sound\'s backing band) to a small crowd in Brooklyn\'s Music Hall of Williamsburg around 9pm - they were the first of three bands that night. The quartet brought a variety of unique sounds to their seven-song performance, including bongos, maracas, gorgeous keyboard effects, and an ever-present bass groove that kept the tunes rolling along. Pulling mainly from their new EP \"Tempo Temporal,\" The Selmanaires performed tightly and kept the set interesting. Vocals were shared between each member, as well as most instruments, showing a dynamic of talents that is a rare thing to find in many of today\'s bands. Such is the pattern of acts such as Beirut or, as evidenced by last night\'s Fanfarlo show, that if another instrument part is needed, another band member will be hired. Not the case here - with this range of talent I can only predict success for this Atlanta band. Sound and vibe wise, during the show I kept comparing them to Brooklyn\'s Yeasayer - there are shared tribal vibes, rhythmic backing vocals, and tambourine. However, I\'d say the other side of The Selmanaires\' coin lies rooted in classic 70\'s psychedelia, or more currently compared to The Black Angels, based out of Indie HQ South, or Austin TX. I didn\'t stick around to see the band perform Bradford Cox\'s solo material, so I can\'t say for sure how dynamic they really can be, but based on what I heard tonight a claim can be made that The Selmanaires deserve more than just an opening slot during CMJ week. After a brief intermission, the setup of two consoles of strange looking pedals and electronics, and the installation of a projector with a screen, the horrific dreamscape of Broadcast unleashed their demons upon the unsuspecting public, clearly only waiting around to hear Atlas Sound\'s dreamy bedroom lullabies. The duo of vocalist Trish Keenan and multi-instrumentalist James Cargill performed their set without any lighting aside from the hyperactivity shooting forth from their projector. Set up on either side of the stage, they faced each other behind a column of pedals, continually twisting knobs and triggering samples, while the crowd either plugged their ears in protest or stared eagerly into the bizarre visions in front of them. Broadcast created a terrifying horror movie, and it was unfolding before our eyes and our ears. Keenan\'s airy, eerie vocals spread a sense of unease as Cargill dropped the bass to unfathomable lows, vibrating the entire room. Creepy black and white footage of old movies and open fields sped across as though some dark conclusion was on its way - not the case. Giant eyeballs, pulsating rainbow geometry, and a flurry of acid-soaked eye tricks all swirled and danced into each other, changing as different rhythms were added and dropped, creating their own unique narrative to the sonic overload of the music. Broadcast would probably be cast into the realm of crazy experimental electronic acts such as Black Dice and early Animal Collective (yes, they weren\'t always writing stuff like My Girls), acts that seemingly exist to stretch the boundaries of what can be considered music, and have it be enjoyable at the same time. Keenan and Cargill certainly acheived in grabbing the audience\'s attention and keeping it, especially with the epic closing track. Instantly I knew this was the final song - Keenan appeared with what looked like to be a koto, with Cargill playing the bass notes on a synth, with a looped melody pulling the rest of the weight. The band cranked the dBs to My Bloody Valentine levels, and absolutely destroyed any semblance of subtlety. There was no hope, Broadcast destroyed us and reincarnated us into more enlightened, yet slightly more deaf music lovers. Their latest release, a collaboration with The Focus Group, is titled \"Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age\" and is out now on Warp Records. Stay tuned for more from CMJ! Posted by Tom on 10/22/2009 Comments The Whale @ Matt & Kim in Chicago
Stay tuned for Andrew Bird Show photos next weekend! Posted by evan on 10/13/2009 Comments Free October Concerts You love seeing free concerts! And The Whale is totally going to hook you up. Thanks to our buds at Calvin College, we have tickets to several awesome shows for the month of October, put on by them and held all over our fair city of Grand Rapids. All you have to do is put down your name, email, and Twitter URL if you\'ve got one. This will help you get new and pressing info about The Whale in the most efficient way possible. Click Here to sign up! Enjoy, and good luck! Posted by Tom on 10/07/2009 Comments Fall \'09 Contact Info We\'re planning on having our faces and full information posted up around the station soon enough, but in the meantime here are the names and numbers of all us \'special\' people at The Whale. EXECUTIVE BOARD: Tim Yokom/General Director/269-599-5767 Justin Minor/Program Director/616-308-6969 John Pfeiffer/Station Director (& Interim Jazz/World/Talk Director)/810-278-2982 Tom Hardy/Promotions Director/248-854-1057 MUSIC DIRECTORS: Jacki Ward/Top 30 Director/989-277-0212 Nicki Lamson/Loud Rock Director/248-838-8476 Evan Daniels/Hip-Hop Director/248-224-1062 David Schlueter/RPM Director/248-303-2411 TECH ADVISORS: Mike Knooihuisen/Website-focus/616-719-6314 Sean Francis/Equipment-focus/989-763-6343 All EMAILS can be directed to: management@thewhale.org for general concerns and promos/events programmer@thewhale.org for show questions and registration Posted by justin on 09/28/2009 Comments First General Assemblies! Hey radioland, we\'ve secured our schedule for the fall semester, so for returning veterans, aspiring newcomers, and even just any curious audiophiles on campus, here is when and where you should show if you want to be a part of the station this year: Returning DJ Meeting: Sept 10th @ 9PM @ Grand River Room New DJ Meeting: Sept 15th @ 8PM @ Grand River Room October General Assembly: Oct 5th @ 9PM @ Grand River Room November General Assembly: Nov 4th @ 8PM @ KC 0072 December General Assembly: Dec 2nd @ 8PM @ Grand River Room Hope to see you there! Posted by justin on 09/10/2009 Comments Back in Session Hello listeners and wonderful people: The school year has commenced, and that means that The Whale is once again surfacing. If you are interested in becoming a DJ for the fall semester, or are interested in some free swag, make sure to come on down to Campus Life Night on Tuesday, Sept 8th at the Fieldhouse on the Allendale campus from 7 until 9pm. By that time we\'ll know when and where our first general assembly meeting is, and that knowledge will be passed along to you. Simply, we want you. You listen to music. You have been doing this for years. Put your passion and individual tastes on the airwaves! See you Tuesday. Posted by Tom on 09/01/2009 Comments The Whale Goes to Pitchfork Hello and hello, Happy summer to you all! If you've been listening in this summer to one of our summer programs, just browsing the site, or accidentally found us due to your enthusiasm for sea-dwelling mammals, we wish to say to you that we hope these summer months have been pleasant so far. Here's some news: The Whale is going to the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival! If you're going, rock on, if not, don't worry 'bout it. The plan is to launch a full-scale assault on Union Park during the weekend of July 17-19. Our staff will be sure to keep you posted as to the happenings of Pitchfork weekend, via a few different outlets. The Whale on Twitter - Our staff will be tweeting updates via numerous portable devices. If Wayne Coyne comes out in that bubble, you'll be the first to know. The Whale on Tumblr - Look here for show writeups, photos, and possible trip summaries. There are going to be many stories to tell, that's for sure. And of course, check back here for updates, even if they have been posted sparingly. Website/station construction is still ongoing, so bare with us. This fall is going to be great. Many things are on the docket, so stay tuned. Posted by Tom on 07/06/2009 Comments Summer Shows The schedule has been cleared of all Winter Semester shows and is now open for the spring/summer semester. Please contact Justin Minor to be added to the access list for the station, and to check stream availability as KC is not always open. Thanks. Posted by Mike on 05/11/2009 Comments Stream Repaired The Stream is now 100% back online and shows can resume! Enjoy! Posted by Mike on 03/17/2009 Comments Keeping Updated It's about time some real news got posted on this thing. The Whale is beginning to spread its wings and fly to new and exciting places, such as the 1980s. This past Friday night the station hosted "The Whale Rocks the 80s," a free dance mixer in the Kirkhof Center. Good times were had, especially to the winner of the Lupe Fiasco tickets. Pictures of that can be seen on The Whale's tumblr page: http://thewhale.tumblr.com/ We are always encouraging our listeners to get involved in the station more closely - to do this, pop on down to the station in lower Kirkhof and pick up an application. The process towards getting a show is very simple, and we'd love to have you. There are only 5 weeks left in the school year, so if you want to get a jump on next fall, you should give it a shot. At the moment, the stream to listen live isn't working. This is an issue that has plagued us all semester, one that has crippled us from within, and of course has affected you, the listener. Watch this space for updates on shows we're putting together, events we're DJing, and general station info. Please excuse our mess, as this year has been a time of transition and upheaval. Rest assured, we are dedicated as a station to providing the GVSU campus the music it needs. -Tom Posted by Tom on 03/17/2009 Comments UPDATE Hey guys, pretty soon here, I will not be the one posting the news, but I thought that since there seem to be issues, I should just post this. Sometimes there are bugs or errors in sites that are hard to notice until other people are using it. I realize there are problems and I am working to correct them quickly, It would help me greatly if you could send your site problem emails directly. This will save Missy having to forward each email, and it means I will get them sooner. My email is simple to remember: mike@thewhale.org. I already have a good sized list of bug fixes I need to work on, so it may take me a little while, but I promise we will get this all sorted out. :) Posted by Mike on 01/14/2009 Comments |
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