Monthly Archives: November 2012

KCRW Music Announcement

KCRW Year in Tech 2012 – Music

KCRW Year in Tech 2012 – Music

SANTA MONICA, CA, November 27, 2012– From Music Mine to Malcolm, KCRW (89.9FM and KCRW.com) has made great strides in providing music fans with expertly-curated means of music discovery, as well as offering musicians a place to BE discovered.

From KCRW’s Director of Web and Mobile Development, Nathan Lubeck:

“As we like to say, KCRW is much more than a radio station and there is even more to come from KCRW Digital in 2013. Whether you’re a band wanting to connect with an active KCRW community or a listener hoping to explore new music and great programming — be on the lookout for new mobile apps and many more opportunities to engage with us.”

Here’s a roundup of KCRW’s Year in Tech in 2012 and what you have to look forward to.

APPS UPDATE

  • iPad: KCRW’s Music Mine app for iPad has been downloaded by 70,000 users, who spend an average of 45 minutes playing on the app.
  • SPOTIFY: As Spotify continues to expand, so does KCRW!

KCRW’s Music Mine app for Spotify is now available in 20 countries, including Ireland, Monaco, and Andorra. KCRW was the first U.S. radio station to launch a music discovery app on the Spotify platform. It is now one of the most popular apps on the site.

MALCOLM

  • MALCOLM: The Podcast (Episode 2) is out now, highlighting the best songs from KCRW’s digital submission system. Thousands of artists have submitted music for potential airplay. The interactive website, created by KCRW, allows bands to create a profile page and submit songs. Soon we will be adding new features which will allow musicians to communicate with each other within the site and enable the public to hear the music submitted to MALCOLM.

HD and iHeartRadio

  • HD: This year, KCRW launched a second HD channel (HD-2) making our 24-hour music stream Eclectic24 available on HD radios across Southern California.

Created by former KCRW music director Chris Douridas, Eclectic24 is our 24-hour music discovery center, offering a wide array of music drawn from the playlists of our talented deejays. Eclectic24 is the 3rd most visited page on KCRW.com

  • iHeartRadio: In January, KCRWwas one of the first public stations to offers its simulcast, music and news streams on iHeartRadio.Also, with the announcement of iHeartRadio as Yahoo’s exclusive radio partner, KCRW’s all music channel Eclectic24 is now one of 15 genre stations featured. On Yahoo! Music, launch the Indie Rock channel to find Eclectic24.

MORNING BECOMES ECLECTIC VIDEO

  • Launched Live and OnDemand HD video for Morning Becomes Eclectic with 401,000 total HD video views since June launch. See it here. (Soon to be upgrading to the Ooyala platform!)

EVENTS

  • KCRW partnered with Do213.net to launch a community driven KCRW Events Calendar. Rich in sharing features and augmented with Band Profiles and listen links, it’s also its own social network. Users can create a profile and build their own version of the calendar to share recommended events on a personal website or keep track of the events they’ve attended, like a social diary.

***COMING SOON

PLAYLISTS

  • KCRW’s playlist pages – both for our live music programs and 24-hour online music stream Eclectic24 – are among the most visited pages on KCRW.com.KCRW is working on a number of initiatives to make this information more easily available, including a weekly roundup of the Top 10 Most Played Bands on KCRW’s signature show Morning Becomes Eclectic each week and regular Twitter updates from twitter.com/kcrwplaylist.

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About KCRW: KCRW 89.9FM is an NPR affiliate serving Southern California and licensed to Santa Monica College. The public radio station represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’ s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide at KCRW.com. KCRW offers an all-music channel, Eclectic24, an all news channel and on-air simulcast. . Podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances are available on our website, as well as on our smartphone apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. KCRW’s acclaimed Music Mine app for iPad is dedicated to music discovery.

Rachel Reynolds
Music Publicity Director
KCRW 89.9FM
1900 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-4625 DIRECT
rachel.reynolds@kcrw.org
http://twitter.com/RachelRkcrw
http://blogs.kcrw.com/musicnews/

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Events, KCRW Music Announcement

First Fridays is Back in 2013! Presented by KCRW

KCRW Presents First Fridays at the
Natural History Museum

For the 4th year in a row, KCRW partners with NHM for LA’s most unique, all ages, monthly music series

The 2013 series kicks off Friday, January 4 with breakout LA bands Lord Huron and Wildcat! Wildcat!

Tickets on sale on November 30 (NHM Members) and December 3 (Public) at 10am.

Public radio station KCRW (89.9FM and KCRW.com) will be presenting the First Fridays series at the Natural History Museum for the 4th year in a row in 2013.

The museum is celebrating its 100th year anniversary this year and the after-hours music and educational events series is one of the highlights of their programming.

Starting in January, the museum doors stay open until 10pm once a month and it’s packed with music lovers of all ages eager to see some of today’s best up and coming buzz bands. There are also discussions from scientists on the cutting edge of their fields and curatorial tours starting at 5pm.

Advance tickets go on sale on November 30 (Natural History Museum members) and December 3 (Public) at 10am. There are always a limited number of tickets available at the door. (details below).

Lord Huron will kick off the series on January 4, 2013. They are one of Jason Bentley’s favorite bands of the moment and have been getting regular spins on Morning Becomes Eclectic. He says Lord Huron’s captivating debut “Lonesome Dreams”, full of gorgeous harmonies, lush melodies and evocative lyrics, “takes you on an imaginary road trip down PCH.” Local trio Wildcat! Wildcat! will open the show with a set of indie electro pop.

Justin Gage, the celebrated blogger behind Aquarium Drunkard and the Autumn Tone record label, will DJ in the African Mammal Hall.

Of course, it’s not all about the music. The festivities begin at 5 pm, with curatorial tours and a discussion.

First Fridays 2013 celebrates the NHM’s 100-year birthday bash with the theme “100 Back, 100 Forward”, taking a look at the greatest discoveries of the past 100 years in physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, medicine, and technology – and what we can expect in the next 100.

JANUARY 4 LINEUP:

MUSIC:
DJ: Aquarium Drunkard
8:00pm Wildcat! Wildcat!
9:15pm: Lord Huron

TOUR:
5:00pm, 5:30pm, 6:00pm- “Tools of the Trade”

DISCUSSION:
6:30pm — Dr. Kirk Johnson

Panelist Bio: Dr. Johnson is a paleobotanist who specializes in the study of the geology and fossil plants of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains from 34 to 145 million years ago. He also studies the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary extinction event and the origin of major ecological communities known as biomes. With his broad interests and expertise in the evolution of life on Earth, he has worked on all continents and has discovered more than 1,400 new fossil localities.

Stay tuned for future lineup updates and news about the Natural History Museum’s First Friday series presented by KCRW.

Mark your calendar for the dates below.

FIRST FRIDAYS 2013

January 4, 2013 – Lord Huron & Wildcat! Wildcat!
February 1, 2013
March 1, 2013
April 5, 2013
May 3, 2013
June 9, 2013 (SUNDAY)

DETAILS

WHEN: Friday, January 4, 2013. Extended Museum hours until 10:00 PM.

WHERE: The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is located at 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90007.

ADMISSION: Concert Ticket + Museum Admission ($18) / Museum Admission ($12)

Guided tours and discussions are available on a first come, first served basis to all ticket-holders.

It is recommended that you purchase tickets in advance as capacity for the evening is limited and often sells out early. There will be a limited number of tickets sold on-site the evening of the event; however, once on-site tickets are sold out, admission to the Museum and/or Concert may not be available.

For more information, visit www.nhm.org/firstfridays or call (213) 763-DINO. Also email performances@nhm.org.

About KCRW: KCRW 89.9FM, licensed to Santa Monica College, is National Public Radio’s flagship station for Southern California. The Los Angeles-based nonprofit represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura Counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara Counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide via KCRW.com, including three streaming channels, 27 podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances. Hear KCRW music online, all the time, on the ALL music stream Eclectic24.

About the Natural History Museum: The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County serves nearly one million families and visitors annually, and is a national leader in research, exhibitions and education. The Museum was the first dedicated museum building in Los Angeles, opening its doors in 1913. It has amassed one of the world’s most extensive and valuable collections of natural and cultural history — with more than 35 million objects, some as old as 4.5 billion years. The Natural History Family of Museums includes the NHM (Exposition Park), the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits (Hancock Park/Mid-Wilshire), and the William S. Hart Park and Museum (Newhall, California). For more information, visit the Museum’s website at www.nhm.org or call (213) 763-DINO.

Rachel Reynolds
Music Publicity Director
KCRW 89.9FM
1900 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-4625 DIRECT
rachel.reynolds@kcrw.org
http://twitter.com/RachelRkcrw

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Programming, Station Announcement

KCRW & McSweeney’s to Debut Radio Show “Wayne Coyne’s Human Head-Shaped Tumor”

KCRW & McSweeney’s to Debut Radio Show “Wayne Coyne’s Human Head-Shaped Tumor”

Airing Live on KCRW on November 24 & 25 at 5pm PST

The one-hour radio event features new recordings from the Flaming Lips, Eleanor Friedberger, Bill Callahan, Nico Muhly and Okkervil River as well as an appearance by Ed Droste from Grizzly Bear

 

KCRW (89.9 FM and KCRW.com) has partnered with McSweeney’s to create a singular radio event centered around Flaming Lips’ singer Wayne Coyne and featuring original music compositions and recordings from Okkervil River, Bill Callahan, Eleanor Friedberger and the Flaming Lips themselves.

A unique radio venture from KCRW and McSweeney’s, “Wayne Coyne’s Human Head-Shaped Tumor” will air on KCRW (89.9FM and KCRW.com) on November 24 and 25 at 5pm PST and will also be available via podcast.

McSweeney’s, the San Francisco-based publishing house founded by editor and author Dave Eggers, and KCRW set out to create not just another show, but a radio adventure. Together, they commissioned Richard Parks, son of KCRW favorite Van Dyke Parks, to produce this radio hour. It’s been described as the Mercury Theatre’s “War of the Worlds,” but mixed with contemporary music and unique sound design – car crashes, helicopters, and even murmuring tumors.

Yes, it’s bizarre, but befitting one of the most creative and outlandish bands in rock music today, and that makes McSweeney’s and KCRW the perfect collaborators for this eccentric piece of experimental radio.

“KCRW has always celebrated creativity. For years we’ve wanted to hear what the creative publishing world of McSweeney’s would sound like if you could listen to it. This is the first attempt and it came out strange, compelling and wonderful,” says KCRW General Manager Jennifer Ferro. “We’re thrilled to present this bountiful plate of odd curiosity and can’t wait to hear more.”

The partnership between KCRW and McSweeney’s is just getting started. The duo is in the midst of co-producing another project, The Organist, a monthly podcast to debut in December.

Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips have performed many times on KCRW, including their most recent appearance when they debuted their version of Pink Floyd’s epic album, “Dark Side of the Moon.”

Prepare for a true radio event this weekend, featuring the following players:

Wayne Coyne, Michelle Martin Coyne, Steven Drozd, and Scott Booker (Flaming Lips), Will Sheff (Okkervil River), Eleanor Friedberger (Fiery Furnaces), Jack Hitt (This American Life, Harper’s), Paul F. Tompkins (The Pod F. Tompkast, Thrilling Adventure Hour, Mr. Show), Bill Callahan (aka Smog), Nico Muhly (Björk, Philip Glass, Antony and the Johnsons), Fat Bobby and Kid Millions (Oneida), and Edward Droste (Grizzly Bear).

For more information please visit www.kcrw.com or www.mcsweeneys.net/pages/a-radio-show

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Alyssa King – KCRW
(310) 314-4627
alyssa.king@kcrw.org


About KCRW
KCRW 89.9FM, licensed to Santa Monica College, is an NPR affiliate based in Southern California. The Santa Monica-based nonprofit represents cutting edge radio at its best, presenting an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming. The terrestrial signal serves Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties, as well as parts of San Diego, San Bernardino, Kern, and Santa Barbara Counties and the greater Palm Springs area. KCRW’s programming is internationally renowned and available worldwide via KCRW.com, including three streaming channels, 27 podcasts and archives of our locally-produced programs and live band performances. Hear KCRW music online, all the time, on the ALL music stream Eclectic24.

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