Signal 9 Internet Radio

I love the internet.

I know many people accuse technology and the evolution of music distribution of being the demise of the music industry. This may hold true for the small thimbleful of bands who were fortunate enough to be signed by the even smaller thimbleful of major record labels  prior to the current state of the music industry.

I don’t care about that though, because the other side of that coin is the ability of a multitude of independent artists and labels to self-promote and self-distribute their music without having to deal with all of the bullshit that inevitably would force a compromise of the artist’s vision that inspired them to become musicians to begin with.

The musical landscape isn’t necessarily more diverse now than it was before. But it’s certainly more accessible to those of us who love discovering and listening to music.

But actually I’m not writing today to pontificate one way or another about the state of the music industry. What I’m writing about is why I love the internet. And the reason I love the internet is Wussy.

I’m a huge fan of Ass Ponys. I found them through the internet several years ago as well via eMusic. But with nothing new from them in so long, I’d given up hope that I’d hear Chuck Cleaver’s distinct style ever again. On a whim this week though, or perhaps by some bizarre divine inspiration,  I hit up Wikipedia.

I discovered Wussy.

I also discovered Wussy has been around for several years. Why hadn’t I looked earlier??

Either way, it’s incredibly powerful music featuring Chuck Cleaver from Ass Ponys harmonizing beautifully with Lisa Walker. Mark Messerly and Joe Klug hold it all together with bass & drums.

Personally my favorite release is the acoustic remake of their debut album Funeral Dress. Yes, they are already doing remakes. They’ve been together over seven years and I didn’t even know it.

I love the internet.

They have six albums and a recently released compilation named Buckeye that I encourage you very strongly to go out and purchase to support this deeply talented and passionate group of musicians.

In the meantime a few of their tunes will be ending up on Signal 9 this weekend so feel free to tune in and hear for yourself.

Signal 9 has been around for several years, and I think it’s the best internet “radio” you’ve never heard of.

Originally starting out in 2005 under the name “Rae of Sound,” the station was originally intended not only as a mechanism by which independent or under-heard artists could be found, but also as a way of presenting the artists of Emperor Penguin Recordings to an audience that may have not been familiar with that label.

EPR has several artists, most notably for me Trevor Tanner. I started my addiction to music in the 1980s, and The Bolshoi was one of those bands that stood out for me as both musical and lyrical genius. There was just one problem – after one EP and two LPs, they disappeared.

Living in Seattle and attending the University of Washington, I could find a few like-minded people who also found their music compelling. This was the information dark ages though – there was little or no way to easily find out current news on relatively obscure artists. After 1992 or so, I just accepted that those two and a half albums were going to have to suffice.

Fast forward to 2000, the internet grows from beyond it’s humble educational, military, and government origins into a commercial network connecting everyone. Eventually via the occasional random search, I discover that Trevor Tanner from The Bolshoi has actually been recording some new music. It was a tease – I could only find the same 30 second samples and promise of a release that was never going to actually happen.

I became so obsessed with the possibility of new music from The Bolshoi that I set up automated internet searches around 2002, using a tool called Copernic. That little tool ran laboriously for months, occasionally hitting some of the same results I’d already seen. Finally, though, in 2004 a miracle occurred – and I discovered Emperor Penguin Recordings was about to release a 3 CD box set of Trevor Tanner’s solo work – including the songs I’d heard snippets of several years before.

I immediately contacted the site, and began a series of communications with Wyatt Perko of EPR and Edible Umbrella. Once the CD’s were released, I was compelled to share them with the world as best as I could. So, I formed Rae of Sound on Live365 and prominently featured Trevor Tanner and other artists Wyatt introduced me to, such as Mysterious Creature, Marblemouth, and Death by Doll.

Rae of Sound went off the air for a few years as priorities for my “day job” took precedence, but was reincarnated in 2011 as “Signal 9” with the same goal – feature as much EPR music as I legally can without violating broadcasting regulations, and feature as many unique and interesting artists as I can that you’re not going to find on other sources  — forget about commercial radio, SiriusXM is as bad as commercial radio minus the commercials, and some of the other services like Pandora are too much work to discover music since mostly major labels are represented there.

Signal 9 does it’s best to find breaking artists and share them with everyone. We’re small, but our listener base is growing. The station is unpolished, the web site admittedly lacking, but we’re getting there. As time goes on the web site will develop, and the station will as well – I’m looking into blocking off time for theme-based shows, adding more audio livery, and so forth without sacrificing the station’s main goal – discovering and disseminating new and exciting music of many genres.

That’s how S9 landed where we are today. I hope you come listen!