|
SMOKE
ON THE WATER For years you’ve been saying
“what if” quietly to yourself every time you drive
across the Crescent Bridge. When the Station nightclub
in Rhode Island burned in 2003, it was probably
one of the first things you thought of. And last
Thursday morning (April 30) it happened: Saratoga
Winners caught fire and burned to the ground.
The big wooden roadhouse was built in the 1800s;
it had been closed in recent years, and a Saratoga
couple who had planned to refurbish and reopen
the venue reportedly sold the building last month.
The fire is being investigated as possibly suspicious.
It’s no major shock that the club is gone; there
hasn’t been a big show there in almost 10 years.
But in its heyday as a nightclub in the ’90s,
Winners hosted dozens of acts on their way to
becoming household names: Wilco, Counting Crows,
Radiohead, Melissa Etheridge, Live, Ben Folds
Five; the list goes on and on. I’m sure many of
you have Winners memories—share them at the Metroland
blog, metroland.type pad.com.
CHANGING
FREQUENCIES It’s been a rough couple weeks
behind the area airwaves, as Clear Channel
seems to be clear-cutting local radio staff. Among
recent departures: WHRL (Channel 103.1 FM) says
goodbye to program director Tim Noble;
WKKF (Kiss 102.3 FM) loses assistant program director
and nighttime jock Corey Kincaid, as well
as midday air personality DJ Thomas; the
entire air staff at WPYX (Pyx 106.5 FM) is gone,
too. Wait—the entire air staff? Who’s running
the ship, then? It’s mostly true—three out of
four of the station’s regular jocks are out. Gary
“Uncle Vito” Locatelli stays, and the Wolf’s
high-rated morning show is also safe.
Change is somewhat expected at alternative and
hit radio, but this kind of flux at the Capital
Region’s classic-rock stalwart is troubling, if
not damning. The format is seeing ratings dip
nationally; perhaps a programming shakeup is forthcoming
at WPYX.
TUNING
IN Meanwhile, the folks in Columbia and Greene
counties are about to get a shiny, brand-new community
radio station. WXGC debuts this Saturday
online at wxgc.org, with plans to go terrestrial
at 90.7 FM band next year. It’s a full-scale,
interactive media project, actually: Through the
Web site, they plan to provide media training
for members of the community, a local events calendar
and more. That’s in addition to the station, which
will primarily air locally-produced music and
content. The station will launch with live broadcasts
from events at the Catskill Community Center and
the Germantown Community Farm on Saturday, and
there are a number of plans for future live broadcasts,
including a performance by the Catskill Community
Orchestra on May 16.
—John
Brodeur
Let
us know about local-music news and happenings
for inclusion in Rough Mix: E-mail tips and information
to tigerpop1@ yahoo.com or metroland@metroland.net.
|
Site
Search 
