Each of the last four years I have asked a number of friends, musicians, comedians and others that I admired to record their definition of an original “Christmas story” to be interspersed throughout my 25-Hour Holiday Radio Show on 103.3 fm WPRB.
Come December 24, 2015 – the 27th annual edition of this marathon program will begin.
In 2011-2014, Mac McCaughan (Superchunk), wrestler/author Mick Foley, Glenn Mercer (The Feelies), Tom Scharpling (“The Best Show”), director Lance Bangs, Screaming Females, Chris Brokaw, Jennifer O’Connor, Peter Prescott (Mission of Burma/Volcano Suns/Minibeast), Rick Rizzo (Eleventh Dream Day), David Hill (“Snap Judgement”, “This American Life”), Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz), Jon Daly (“Kroll Show”), Nick Thorburn (Islands), Doug Gillard, Rebecca Clay Cole (Wild Flag), Bill Goffrier (The Embarrassment/Big Dipper), Joel R.L. Phelps (Silkworm/The Downer Trio), Seth Herzog (“The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”), Boston Red Sox organist Josh Kantor, actor Ethan Sandler (“Crossing Jordan”), Matthew Reid-Schwartz (Kinski), The Rutabega and many other remarkable folks have recorded pieces for the marathon.
2014’s stories have recently been posted here (part one) and here (part two).
2013’s recordings can be heard here. 2012 stories can be streamed here and 2011 contributions reside here.
The time has come to build on this success with ample advance warning!
I’m not only going to be reaching out to more folks personally to join the ranks with works for the marathon’s 2015 installment but I also wanted to extend the offer TO YOU.
Record something between now and December 21st and there’s a solid chance it will make it into the show. It can be a reading of a favorite Xmas story, a cover of a holiday song you love or an original piece. I leave that in your hands.
Listen to some of the past works as inspiration if you’ve been stumped when I’ve called on you in prior years.
It would be great if these contributions did not exceed seven minutes but if you run long…I am likely going to allow it.
I’d love to get so many recordings that I can yet again debut one of these an hour throughout the marathon.
My lone request is that you do not post your piece elsewhere before it airs during the show! Afterwards knock yourself out, just mention the show when you do share. OK?
Please spread the word and have a happy holiday season once that whole deal begins in ernest. This feels weird to say with four Halloween pumpkins still on my front porch, but the sentiment is real.
Radio Birdman – Do The Pop – The Essential Radio Birdman
Dan Friel – Rattler – Life – [N]
Motel Beds – Too Long – Mind Glitter
Exhaustion – Colleague – Phased Out – [N]
The San Andreas Fault – Encantada – Encantada
Sun Ra & His Outer Space Orchestra – Blue Intensity – Celestial Love – 1982. – [N]
The Ex – That’s Not A Virus – 45
Casual Sect – World War 2 (part 2) – demotape
Maserati – No Cave – Rehumanizer – Out Friday!
Boogarins – Tempo – Manual
Rocket From The Tombs – Welcome To The Dark Ages – Black Record
Severed Heads – Umbrella – Clifford Darling Please Don’t Live In The Past – 1979-1983 retrospective.
Ken Camden – Time Bend – Dream Memory
Timmy’s Organism – Wounded White Dove – Heartless Heathen
Positive No – Live on WPRB – 21:25 – https://positiveno.bandcamp.com
Lonely Moans – Lots ‘O Life – Dope Guns & Fucking In The Streets Volume 1-3 – [C]
James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg – Reel Around The Fountain – Ambsace – Smiths cover. – [N]
Wolf Eyes – T.O.D.D. – I Am A Problem: Mind In Pieces
Alemayehu Eshete – Tedesteshal Wey? – Ethiopiques 9 – 1974. – [C]
The Rutabega – Shiny Destination – 45
Green Milk From The Planet Orange – Demagog – City Calls Revolution – [R]
Sweet Talk – Lights Go Out – Double Perfect – [N]
Federation X – Nightmare Nation – Rally Day
World Saxophone Quartet featuring African Drums – Dou Dou N’Daiye Rose – Four Now
Ought – Beautiful Blue Sky – Sun’s Coming Down – [N]
Sean Bonnette – London Dungeon – 333: The Half Mark Of The Beast – He of Andrew Jackson Jihad. Misfits song. – [C]
Black Panties – Prophet Of Hate – 7″
Mix-o-Rap – All Party People – District Maryland Virginia: Compilation Of The Rarest Synth Funk Go-Go Boogie 1983-1985 – [C]
Nots – White Noise – We Are Nots – [N]
With just under two months to go until this year’s marathon, here’s the second half of the Christmas Stories recorded exclusively for the 2014 edition of my 25-Hour Holiday Radio Show on 103.3 fm WPRB.
I’ve posted them in the order they originally aired during the program.
Please click on the links provided and support these musicians, artists and talented individuals who were so kind to tape remarkable original pieces for the show. Follow them on Twitter! Like them on Facebook! Buy their records and books! Support their events!
May these works inspire you to record something for this December.
Michael T. Fournier (gtr, bass, vox) and Rebecca Griffin (backing vox, bells) are Policymaker. Mike is the drummer/songwriter of Dead Trend, and the author of Double Nickels on the Dime (33.3/Bloomsbury) and, most recently, Swing State (Three Rooms Press). Rebecca is working on her PhD in English. They live in Western Massachusetts.
Advance Base – “Christmas in Milwaukee”
Advance Base is music by Owen Ashworth, formerly of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.
Walking the line between electronic pop & more traditional singer/songwriter forms, Ashworth builds minimalist, heavy-hearted, & nostalgia-obsessed tunes around his conversational, baritone vocals, using electric pianos, Omnichords, orchestral samples, & drum machines. The sound of Advance Base has been described as “depressed,” “lo-fi,” & “pop.”
The song “Christmas In Milwaukee” is now available on his latest album, “Nephew in the Wild.”
Matthew Reid-Schwartz – “Should Auld Acquaintance”
Mr. MRS plays plays guitar and occasional flute in the Seattle band Kinski. Their most recent full-length “7 (Or 8)” is out now on Kill Rock Stars. Truth be told, he quite enjoys the holiday season – especially the port, pears and stilton.
Neal Markowski lives in Chicago and plays in the groups Korean Jeans (which features a tuba) and Burn Permits (which doesn’t feature a tuba.) He used to maintain a sad blog about Hot Doug’s and now spends most of his time accidentally buying records off of eBay and making audio collages or sound installations.
The ZED Show is a podcast conversation between Zella, Ezra & Daddy. Their ages are ~46 when summed together, and one of then was alive in the 70s. Hear more at zedshow.co.
TNT is the once and future host of WPRB’s “Towe on Thursday,” a program with a special emphasis on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and performances by great artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Mike Adams (of Flannelgraph recording artists Mike Adams At His Honest Weight) is a musician, talk show host, and dad from Bloomington, IN. In spite of playing at least once a year for the last 20 years, he’s just a mediocre bowler.
Musician and screenwriter Kristine Kennedy is a female McGuyver who has had one interesting Christmas in her life. She resides in Philadelphia.
B. Musikoff – “It’s Christmas, Mom’s Jewish In Phoenix”
Brian Musikoff is a Chooch of NJ (by way of NYC) who draws cartoons as needed, plays bass for a rock group named Stuyvesant and has recently been promoted to the role of recurring cast member on the program Live From The Barrage.
Betsy Herbert – “Little Pummer Girl”
Betsy Herbert is a writer living in Philadelphia with her partner and her dog. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. She’s had a short story published in Philadelphia City Paper.
She is working on a novel — along with other short stories, screenplays, plays, fiction and non-fiction. She also loves to make radio pieces. And, she has a Soundcloud account.
The Rutabega featuring John Hastie – “Joy”
South Bend, Indiana’s Joshua Wayne Hensley has been writing, recording, and birthing quirky sad-bastard songs under The Rutabega moniker since early 2002. In 2011 Joshua joined forces with multi-instrumentalist Garth Mason, and The Rutabega evolved into a bona fide Carp Rock power-duo (minus the blues, plus the creepy). Their album “Brother The Lights Don’t Work,” is the culmination of two+ years of sweaty rock shows, plasma sales, and tears. This eight song LP is available on vinyl, CD, and as a download through the band’s Bandcamp site. Cross your fingers for a follow-up in 2016.
Yes, that *is* John Hastie of Nonagon in the mix as well. Good ear.
Modern Hut – “Christmas In Prison”
Playing “extreme loner folk” with a 2013 album on Don Giovanni Records titled “Genetic Treasure,” Modern Hut for this recording is Joe Steinhardt with backing vocals by Screaming Females’ Marissa Paternoster. Their second contribution to the show in as many years is a John Prine cover.
Vancouver’s Joel Phelps is a member of The Downer Trio and also plays with the group Dama/Libra. Joel is the only artist to record a “Christmas Story” for the show each of the last four years. Many demos and new recordings of his have been posted on Soundcloud, with the lion’s share of his studio output now available through Bandcamp.
Agent Orange – Bloodstains – Living In Darkness
Celebrations – 3 – 7″ – [N]
The Feelies – Forces At Work – Ork Records: New York, New York – Early recording. – [C]
Emperor Penguin – E.D.G.A.R. – 45
Boys Life – Radio Towers – Departure & Landfall – Reissue.
Bush Tetras – Too Many Creeps – 45
Endtables – White Glove Test – 45
Spray Paint – Voice Modulator – Dopers – Second record of 2015!
The Chills – Silver Bullets – Silver Bullets – Forthcoming.
Tom Carter – August Is All – Long Time Underground
Dave N. & thesurferrosa – Managua – PRF Monthly Tribute Series – Naked Raygun cover. – [C]
Dogs On Acid – Sun Bleached – S/T
Snowmans Of Love – Staycation – .mp3 – Office Supplies Series #1.
Jukebox Zeros – (I Am) Insomniac (I Am) – Count To Ten – Local.
The Necks – Vertigo – Vertigo
Police Teeth – Bellingham Media Blackout – S/T
Stephen Brodsky – Hit Or Mystery – Hit Or Mystery
A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Jet Black, Starlit – Planning Weed Like It’s Acid / Life Is Loss – Out in November.
Princess Reason – Your Divorce – 45
The Members – The Sound Of The Suburbs – 45
People Skills – Patience Club – Pogradec Embankment
Candy Machine – Humming Clutter – History Of A Bourgeois Revolution
Lame Drivers – Right Track – Chosen Era
10 Million – Crime Map – .mp3 – Local.
Jonestown – Recall & Screw Crude – 45
Fire Engines – Meat Whiplash – 45
The Bismarck – Bedbreaker – 45
Jennifer O’Connor – The Death Of Pop – Live on WPRB
Naked Raygun – Vanilla Blue – 45
Kenny Masters – Jet Set Stereo – 45
Kleenex – Ü – 45
The Gotobeds – Ipso Facto (It’s All Happening) – 45
The Cats – Philadelphia Belongs To Me – Relax On Everyone – PREMIUM ITEM!
L.L. Cool J – I’m Bad – 45
Flowers – (Life) After Dark – 45
Eleventh Dream Day – Orange Moon – 45
Ausmuteants – Boiling Point – Order of Operation – PREMIUM ITEM!
Eric B. & Rakim – Follow The Leader – 45
Eggs – The Government Administrator – 45
The Law – Hole In My Heart – 45
Joanna Gruesome – Last Year – Peanut Butter – PREMIUM ITEM!
Little “Butchie” Saunders & His Buddies – I Wanna Hollar – 45
Pell Mell – Bring On The China – 45
Flesh Lights – Flashback To The Majestic – 2×45
Silkworm – Into The Woods – 45
Kinski – Detroit Trickle Down – 7 or 8 – PREMIUM ITEM!
Au Pairs – It’s Obvious – 45
Volcano Suns – Blue Rib – 45
Cloud Nothings – I’m Not Part Of Me – Here & Nowhere Else – PREMIUM ITEM!
Public Enemy – Prophets Of Rage – 45
21-645 – Babble – Laughing At The Ground – [C]
Mountain High – Co-op Shmo-op – 45
Mudhoney – You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face) – 45
Blue Orchids – Disney Boys – 45
Speedy Ortiz – Swell Content – Foil Deer – PREMIUM ITEM!
Obits – Refund – 45
Ex Hex – Beast – Rips – PREMIUM ITEM!
My Dad Is Dead – Babe In The Woods – Shine 2×7″
Small Ads – Small Ads – 45
Hot Glue Gun – I’ll Kill You – 45
Superchunk – Me & You & Jackie Mittoo – 45
Metz – Nervous System – II – PREMIUM ITEM!
Jilted John – Jilted John – 45
The Blind Shake – Tar Paper – Fly Right – PREMIUM ITEM!
103.3 fm WPRB’s 2015 Membership Drive is underway. My lone show of this year’s week-long drive will be on Wednesday, October 14 from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm ET.
WPRB can’t remain “community supported independent radio” without assistance from the community.
This is the one week of year that WPRB calls upon its listeners to show financial support to keep the station independent, innovative, commercial-free and competitive in a crowded digital world.
This year also marks WPRB’s 75th anniversary (have you been to see the exhibit “WPRB: A Haven for the Creative Impulse” yet?) and I’ve been a part of the station for over 1/3 of that time.
Let’s help WPRB endure as a strong, interesting, curious place at the forefront of the airwaves with a tremendous Membership Drive!
If you’ve given in years past, I am sure I can count on you again.
I’d especially love to hear from those of you who haven’t pledged previously and get you to join the WPRB family for the first time.
Last year I hit my goal of 100 pledges in three hours. It was AMAZING.
If we work together, that benchmark can be EXCEEDED in 2015.
Old DJs! Friends! Long-time listeners! Current DJs! Folks who just discovered all WPRB has to offer! Family! People who only tune in on Christmas! Those who have never pledged before! Punks! Mods! Rockers!
I need to hear from ALL of you!
This year’s show will be especially fast-paced, mixing 45s from deep in WPRB’s library with selections pulled from Ice Station Solomon.
I’ve dragged Julia Factorial out of retirement to co-host and an all-star collection of WPRB DJs will be manning the phones to take your pledges.
I’ll have ridiculous prize packages to give away each hour for those who contribute $45 or more. You’ll get solid odds to walk away with a box of records from the likes of Merge, Sub Pop, Slumberland, Matador, Goner, Pink Flag, Relapse, Slovenly, Chunklet, Kill Rock Stars and other labels you hear frequently on the station during my show, not to mention a pair of tickets to see Tortoise in Philadelphia *and* a pair of tickets to see Scharpling + Wurster in Philadelphia (plus a signed poster) as part of an amazing grand prize package.
That’s on top of the incredible WPRB-branded stickers, shirts, lunch boxes, high quality bags and other “thank you” gifts available starting at a $15 donation level.
ALL PLEDGES ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
Thank you in advance for your support of WPRB’s unique freeform programming during this year’s drive. You can pledge on-line here or by calling 609-258-1033.
Pledging during my show sends a strong message that my program matters to you, but pledging at some point during the drive is really the most important thing.
Thank you!
Let’s do this!
Jon Solomon
103.3 fm WPRB
Ps. When you give, please use the hashtags #WPRB2015 and #JS100 on-line so I can properly thank you by screen name and on-line alias!
Practice Wife – Severance Package – Routine Enthusiasm
Kurt Vile – Wild Imagination – B’lieve I’m Goin Down – [N]
Tortoise – Gesceap – The Catastrophist – Out January 2016!
Joel R.L. Phelps – Spokane Motel Blues – 45 – Tom T. Hall cover.
Ethiocolor – Ayana Woga – S/T – [N]
No Age – Sex Beat – 333: The Half Mark Of The Beast – Gun Club song. – [C]
Marginal Man – Marginal Man – Identity
Protomartyr – I Forgive You – The Agent Intellect
Jane Weaver – Argent (Europium Illuminate Edit) – I Need A Connection
Run The Jewels – Rubble Kings Theme (Dynamite) – 2015 Adult Swim Singles Program
Yonatan Gat + Gal Lazar – 0 – Physical Copy
Boytronic – Trigger Track – Bryllyant EP – 1984.
Mike Pace + The Child Actors – The Flood – .mp3
Nonagon – Home (Recording) Of The Brave – PRF Monthly Tribute Series – Naked Raygun cover.
Xetas – The Redeemer – The Redeemer
Destroyer – Dream Lover (Radio Edit) – Poison Season
San Andreas Fault – Blowne Leafe – 45
Amy Bezunartea – Call On Me – New Villain – [N]
Eleventh Dream Day – Interstate – Stalled Parade
U.S. Girls – Sororal Feelings – Half Free – [N]
Government Issue – Strange Wine – Strange Wine E.P.
Pere Ubu – Final Solution – Elitism For The People 1975-1978
Mecanica Popular – Galilea: Centro De Datos – ?Que Sucede Con El Tiempo? – 1984.
Ex Hex – All Kindsa Girls – .mp3 – The Real Kids cover.
M.C.A.D.E. – Transformer – 12″
Frog – Photograph (Single Version) – Photograph
Severed Heads – Lamborghini – Lamborghini/Petrol EP – 1981.
The Lookouts – That Girl’s From Outer Space – Spy Rock Road – Complete discography compiled. – [N]
Positive No – #Div/0! – Glossa – Live on this show in two weeks! – [N]
The Tunes – My Time – Plastic Dance Volume One – [C]
Heart Land – Deep End (With Another Root) – Union Pacific Vol. 1 – [N]
Let’s Wrestle – Bad Mammaries – Nursing Home
Rose Windows – Native Dreams – The Silver Ticket – [C]
Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love – More than Ever – Dandelion Radio Session – Bedhead cover.
Joy Division – These Days – 45
Creepoid – Calamine – Cemetery Highrise Slum – [N]
Wooden Waves – Dong Of Time – Wilder Dreams
Snooty Garbagemen – My Keys – S/T – [N]
Stiff Little Fingers – At The Edge – 45
Eel Bros – Hanging On The Telephone – 333: The Half Mark Of The Beast – Nerves cover. – [C]
The Early Stages – 1992 – 7″
Eleventh Dream Day – Two Smart Cookies – Eighth
Lee Fields – Two Timer – .mp3 – Little Carl Carlton song.
Gary Numan – We Are Glass – 45
Wild Rice – Never Wonder – Sourlands – Local! – [N]
Wand – Lower Order – 1000 Days
Liquid G. – Selfdestruction – Liquidation – Belgian cassette collection.
Jared Leibowich – Another New Day – Welcome Late Bloomers – He of The Zoltars.
OST – Killing Car – Plastic Dance Volume One – [C]
The Stammer – Kids – Days Inbetween – Local!
HeCTA – Prettyghetto – The Diet
VIDEO – The Entertainers – The Entertainers
Universe People – For Tonight Only – Go To The Sun
Shoc Corridor – Khartoum – Experiments In Incest – 1983.
The Rutabega – Entrapment – PRF Monthly Tribute Series – Naked Raygun cover.
Mikronesia – Philadelphia Papal Visit Sound Collage – .mp3
N-Tyce – Black To The Point (Vocal) – 12″
The Silence Kit – Everything You Feel Good About – .mp3
The Jam – Going Underground – 45
Steve Treatment – Hooked On A Trend – 25 “A” Sides – RIP.
Tijuana Panthers – Monitor – Poster – [N]
The Clean – Point That Thing Somewhere Else – Anthology
Alan Watts – Metamatic Ritual – This Is It – 1962. – [N]
Fela Kuti – Who’re You – Shakara/London Scene – [R]
The Blind Shake – Garbage On Glue – Live In San Francisco – [N]
With three months to go until this year’s marathon, here’s the first half of the Christmas Stories recorded exclusively for the 2014 edition of my 25-Hour Holiday Radio Show on 103.3 fm WPRB.
I’ve posted them in the order they originally aired during the program.
Part two will appear in October.
Please click on the links provided and support these musicians, artists and talented individuals who were so kind to tape remarkable original pieces for the show. Follow them on Twitter! Like them on Facebook! Buy their records and books! Support their events!
May these works inspire you to record something for this December.
Mike Pace fronted Oxford Collapse and co-hosted the Worst Gig Ever podcast. He returned in January of this year with Best Boy, the debut album by Mike Pace and the Child Actors. In 1995 his grandmother gave him the greatest Christmas gift of all: a CD of Slayer’s sixth album, Divine Intervention.
Ike Turner is a teacher, parent, and rock bro from Kalamazoo, MI. His band, Minutes, is currently working on their historically troubled third album.
Memorial Gore – “Holiday Road”
Brooklyn’s Memorial Gore sound like William F Buckley, Jr debating Gore Vidal on the Pulaski Bridge; the murky waters of Newtown Creek swiftly rise up and swallow them whole. Look for a 7” from them soon!
Chris Williams lives in Durham, North Carolina, is father to Seamus, runs Plastic Flame Press, is graphic designer at Indy Week, and a guitarist in Maple Stave.
Kenny wrote / played all the music and Tracy did the reading. Positive No’s debut album “Glossa” is out now.
“I picked “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas because it is the only family tradition I carry on to this day. My mom read it to my brother and I every Christmas Eve until she passed away a decade ago. I now either read or listen to the LP of the author reading this story every year in her memory and because it is such a gorgeous piece of writing.”
Doug Gillard is a songwriter/guitarist/solo artist/mutli-instrumentalist who is/has been a member of…Guided By Voices, Nada Surf, Death Of Samantha, Bambi Kino, Lifeguards and Robert Pollard with Doug Gillard. He’s a sometime Mascott collaborator, a sometime Sally Crewe collaborator, and we haven’t yet mentioned Cobra Verde, Children’s Crusade, My Dad Is Dead, Gem and The Oranges Band. That doesn’t even include his work as an occasional music producer, occasional soundtrack recorder and as an ex-college radio DJ. Phew.
Mick Foley is a legendary professional wrestler, turned multi-time best-selling author , turned stand-up comic/spoken word performer. Thank you to Jared from Flannelgraph Records for recording this!
Minibeast is the musical creation of Peter Prescott (Mission Of Burma, Volcano Suns, Kustomized, Peer Group). Minibeast combines surf, psych, punk, easy listening, 60’s children’s music, and soundtrack influences to create instrumental soundscapes.
Stomatopod is from Chicago. They are Elliot Dicks (drums) Liz Bustamante (bass, vocals) and John Huston (vocals, guitar). “Christmas Vacation Theme” was recorded and mixed in December 2014 in John’s basement specifically for the Jon Solomon 25-Hour Holiday Show. The timing was perfect in that we already had the mics set up because we were in the middle of recording an album, which will be released in October. Visit our Facebook page and our Bandcamp page for updates and information on upcoming shows.
The Box Jellys are a Toronto-based trio that has been together since 2006. They are currently working on their 2nd album, a follow-up to “Stings Like a Sea Wasp.”
Bela Koe-Krompecher has been running Anyway Records from Columbus since 1992, he also writes about his life with his blog. Bela also writes sporadically for various music websites and last year saw the publication of a comic book based on a story about the Ramones adapted from his blog (“Do You Remember Rock & Roll Record Stores?, via Nix Comics). He works as a social worker and addictions counselor.
Dave Doughman – “Oscar Goldman & His Exploding Briefcase”
Jon Solomon can be heard every Wednesday evening across the Delaware Valley from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm ET on 103.3 fm WPRB.
A veteran, award-winning DJ with over three decades of experience, Solomon is also available to DJ parties, weddings or private events. Just ask him nicely.
