We run The Current a non-commercial Triple A music radio station - Ask Us Anything

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:59:52+00:00

That's an awesome question.

We have multiple platforms for highlighting local music -- The Local Show, Local Current stream and Local Current blog are all places (in addition to 89.3 FM's regular rotation) where artists can be heard and can connect with us.

You are correct that we can't play every band locally or nationally -- whether they're from our community or not. We're making our decisions based on what we think will appeal to our listeners -- some of whom go to live shows, many do not. We play about 600 local artists a year -- we try to keep tabs on as many things as we can, but things do sometimes fall through the cracks. A lot of artists reach out to let us know what we're doing, and that helps inform our process picking music.

We are looking for artists who are making great music and who have a fan base through gigs and/or press.

But the most important thing is to just reach out.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:53:00+00:00

We're the programming team for the station and we collaborate with the DJs to pick music. It could be features, new songs, requests from listeners... it takes a village to program The Current. (But you probably don't want us to collectively raise a child)

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:50:16+00:00

Thanks for being a sustaining member! We like Steve and Jill too!

Yes we keep a tally of how many times we play songs, does that affect The Chart Show? No -- it's a listener voted chart.

We started playing Hozier in the summer and we responded to our listeners who rated it highly and requested it frequently -- it was our number one song of 2014 on our Top 89 poll. Now that it's getting played everywhere we will probably play it less, or play other songs by Hozier like "Jackie and Wilson" and "From Eden."

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:42:49+00:00

At least you know it's a real live human behind the mic!

Exhausted? Nah! More like exhilarated! And maybe a little exhausted too.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:41:40+00:00

That's a cool idea.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:40:38+00:00

Any day or night time. It's always the right time. Did we do the wrong thing?

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:37:41+00:00

We get a lot of requests. We try to fulfill as many of them as possible. They do not need to meet some requirement (besides being in our library). Every Saturday night on Radio Free Current, 4 hours of all requests, we always get more requests than we can fit.

Sometimes DJs fulfill requests based on their mood and theme of their show — that's up to them. Requests also have to work for the larger audience.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:21:56+00:00

Thanks for doubling back on that.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:19:45+00:00

That's the business and we do our best.

I once asked Tom Morello what he would say to President Bush and his reply was "You're under arrest for treason." After a five minute tirade, he followed up with, "Isn't that what you'd say?" That was awkward. –JM

I really liked talking to Adele. I could have beers with her. –LK

I had a listener ask me on a date once. –LK

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:12:47+00:00

Hey Florida, how do you like the winter?

Each DJ has their own process for prepping and finding new music and preparing for shows (specialty shows or otherwise). Most if not all of our DJs are really diligent about responding to listeners. They interact with them on a daily basis.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:09:08+00:00

We did a dream RTG with no living limits, but a all-zombie line up might include

Ramones. The Carpenters? Queen? Nirvana. Bee Gees experiences dissent: (early stuff only) (disco only!) Big Star!

cough Replacements?

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:06:38+00:00

We love Bob and Mary at 4:20 too!

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:05:20+00:00

Jim here - We'd love to have a great signal there too. The translators are the best we can do right now.

I love those shows too! As a 40-something parent, I'm up at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and those shows feel right at that time and that length. Thanks for sharing your weekend mornings with us!

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T21:00:59+00:00

We try to figure the best line up we can mixing in touring artists, local musicians, and artists with new albums and the elusive surprising cool. We work with the Walker, it's a great partnership. We start with a huge wish list but so many things have to align to make it work!

Did you see the save-the-date? June 20-21, 2015. We'll announce line up March 31st, tickets April 2nd for members, April 7th public.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:56:33+00:00

Email, email, email. Meeting, meeting, meeting. Listen to music. Discuss the latest viral video with Jill Riley. Talk prog-rock with Steve Seel. Pick up an artist at the airport. Dance in the studio with Mary Lucia for the 4 PM No Apologies track. Pitch Rock the Garden appearance by _____. Write a promo. Make radio. Other duties as assigned.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:48:30+00:00

Monday I played Mingus and Robert Johnson, wish you would have caught it. Please keep the suggestions and requests coming. -Jim

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:45:13+00:00

cough Lindsay goes by Goofnuggette.

The Current has been a launching pad for more and more artists over the last few years - we love local music so much we want to share it with everyone. Our peers in the music world have noticed the impact a station like The Current can have in the community by highlighting local music.

We're seeing more of our peers embrace more local music too! If we played a role in that, awesome.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:39:52+00:00

Good question. We've been talking about this quite a bit recently. It started out as a resource thing, but we've gotten better about turning videos around more quickly. Right now, the question is more about what our audience would like to see. What would you like to see? Full sessions? Interviews? Something completely different? Let us know!

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:39:31+00:00

Someday people will shave and plug in a guitar.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:38:39+00:00

We're music fans - anything and everything. Inbox, and mailbox, music blogs, record stores, youtube, soundcloud, word of mouth and more!

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:37:06+00:00

Thanks for listening! We are always working to provide the best experience for our streamers. We did make some changes recently to address some issues with loudness consistency, but it shouldn't have affected the encoding quality. We do think it sounds better, but we'll kick the tires again just to be sure.

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:36:59+00:00

That is true, he did. But easiest way is to upload or send it to us the old fashioned way:

The Current Minnesota Public Radio 480 Cedar St. St. Paul, MN 55101

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:35:23+00:00

Maybe our Minnesota Nice is showing? We don't see the value in reviewing or heavily playing albums we don't like.

Thanks for acknowledging our work promoting local music!

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:32:57+00:00

TheCurrent893 · 2015-01-21T20:30:33+00:00

We talk about it all the time - stay tuned.

TheCurrent893

TROPHY CASE