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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Musician Charles Smith becomes a guest on WRFU |
Current rating: 0 |
by Charles Joseph Smith
Email: charlessmith702210 (nospam) sbcglobal.net (unverified!)
Phone: 773-355-0351
Address: 1710 West 106th Street |
16 Jun 2006
Modified: 12:38:34 AM |
UIUC Alumnus Charles Joseph Smith gets a second low-power radio station apperance in
Champaign-Urbana to promote some of his new music. |
Click on image for a larger version  |
 FMinorChaChaForGarageBand.mp3 (2205 k) |
TechnoMusicInFSharpMajorGarageband.mp3 (1834 k) |
On the night of Monday, June 12, 2006, I went from Chicago to Urbana, Illinois to embark on another involvement with a low-power radio station in Champaign-Urbana. On September 18, 2002, I was a guest on the Dave Monk show on WEFT, 90.1 FM, in Champaign-Urbana.
But this time, four years later, I was a guest on WRFU, also known as "Radio Free Urbana" (since the last 3 of the call letters stand for Radio Free Urbana), 104.5 FM. It was formed by an inspiration by UIUC student Lynsee Melchi, who currently manages this station. WRFU was on the air on November 2005 during its barnraising.
While at the WRFU studios, I was to meet with a person I had known for years while we were University of Illinois students. She is Laura Wagner.
Laura seems to be a lady of many hats. She is a dancer, a spoken-word artist, a promoter, a partyer, a hippie, a singer, a performance dance artist, an experimenter, and an overall "let-it-all-loose" lady.
* She at one time befriended hippie artist
Allen Vandever at the hippie house on 712
W. Illinois when she majored in psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
* She was a promoter for several of the Inhale outdoor techno festivals in Kankakee, IL.
* She was, at one time, a very active member of Organic Grooves, a local organization in Illinois and other states promoting boneyard deejay artists who spin techno/electronic music.
* Most recently, she was heavily involved with the Detroit Electronic Music Festival this year.
Right now, she is hosting two radio shows on WRFU--"Friction Radio" (Mondays from 9-11pm) and "Electronic Kool-Aid" (Wednesdays from 2-4pm).
At one time, I had not seen her for several years.
I finally met her outside the UCIMC on a mild evening on her bike, talked to her a little bit, and then we went inside so she can get ready for the Monday show, "Friction Radio."
As I was getting ready to show my music, Laura let me feel comfortable as she swung the hanging microphone towards the correct direction.
First, she put on one of my CDs, the "Techno Music in F-sharp Major", a 3-minute piece that was a very fast type of trance music.
Then, she put on another of my CDs, the "Cha-Cha in F minor, another 3-minute piece that has a little techno in it, but it is mainly a mambo for modern times.
The two pieces I had composed were done in a span of 22 minutes, on GarageBand, which is a sequencing program for Macintosh users. I composed the two pieces at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
on October 2005, during a GarageBand workshop there.
The rest of time, Laura, along with his friend, Matt, were hanging out in the studio to the techno music, sometimes dancing, and most of the time, I joined in the dancing.
And I had been rather elated, but I plan to bring some more music on her future shows so I can be heard. I had quite a ride on Monday but I am ready for another one. |
See also:
http://www.myspace.com/charlesjosephsmith
http://www.myspace.com/53485362
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This work is in the public domain |
