More Great Artists on KSER

You never know who's going to show up on KSER.  Listeners to the KSER Sunlit Room this week were treated to a special performance by Seattle singer-songwriter LeRoy Bell!

LeRoy Bell in KSER's Sunlit Room

LeRoy Bell talked with KSER's Ron Taffi about his music and his star performance on the X-Factor and played a few of his songs.

Speaking of a great local artist, just two weeks ago Ron also had a visit from singer-songwriter Pepper Proud.

Pepper also performed a few of her songs while visiting KSER...

Pepper Proud; Ron Taffi

You can see more videos of some of the artists who've recently visited KSER here.

And if you missed our KSER Kaddywompas Holiday Special last week, you can still hear this special hour of fun radio on Christmas Day at 6 p.m. on 90.7 FM or online at KSER.org. The Kaddywompas Radio special was performed before a live audience at Tim Noah's Thumbnail Theater.

Tim Noah and his Thumbnail crew wrote and produced an incredible hour of entertaining music and storytelling and you get another chance to hear it as a Christmas Day special, Tuesday the 25th at 6 p.m.  It's the start of a new KSER holiday tradition. And stay tuned for more Thumbnail specials in 2013.

Happy Holidays!

The Singer-Songwriters who visit KSER

One of the newest volunteers at KSER is George Bentley.  You won't hear George on the air.  He's now one of those radio guys whose work you can SEE!  George is a great photographer, and video editor.

When we have a musical performer on one of the KSER shows, George usually shows up and takes pictures.  And video.  Not only that, but he usually talks the performers into going outside and doing what George calls, "KSER Outdoor Sessions."  So, to help you relax on the long Thanksgiving weekend, here's some of Georges work and some of his pics.

Special thanks to Ian McFeron and Alisa Milner for appearing with Ron Taffi on KSER's Sunlit Room.

Thanks to Tony Lucca, of The Voice fame,  and his band for appearing with Ron.

Ron also featured Sightseer on the Sunlit Room.

Miss Nicolette hosted Northern Departure on the Sunday morning Bluegrass Express.

And Left Hand Smoke made a special appearance on KSER's Sunlit Room.

If you're not regularly listening to the great music shows on KSER you're probably going to miss some spectacular performances by great local artists.

And extra thanks to KSER volunteer George Bentley of GeorgieCat Productions for the great videos. You can see more of George's musical photo work here. 

Ian McFeron visits KSER

Seattle singer-songwriter Ian McFeron stopped by KSER this week to talk with KSER's Ron Taffi and to play a few songs from his newest project. See if you agree with some who have called Ian the Northwest's answer to Bob Dylan. Watch the video of his KSER:

Ian has been recording in both the Northwest and Nashville.  You can read more about him and his music here.

Ian McFeron; Ron Taffi; Alisa Milner

Ian McFeron in the KSER Studio

You can see more of the photos of Ian's KSER visit here.

Tony Lucca visits KSER

You never know who's going to stop by KSER to talk with one of our DJ's and play a few songs.

We're researching it, but we think today was the first time ever a Mouseketeer has appeared on KSER.  Tony Lucca stopped by the Sunlit Room and talked with KSER's Ron Taffi.

KSER's Ron Taffi (left), with Tony Lucca

 Tony gained world-wide fame this year when he appeared on NBC-TV's hit show "The Voice."  He also had a starring cameo role on NBC's "Parenthood."  His songs have been featured on TV’s “Friday Night Lights,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Shark,” and “Felicity” and in Kevin Costner’s feature “Open Range.” He has been seen on E! Entertainment Television and A&E, and performed numerous times on NBC’s “Last Call With Carson Daly.”

And he's been working on this show-biz thing for a while.  When he was just 14, Tony auditioned for and won a cast-member role in Disney's Mickey Mouse Club. It was Mouseketeer Tony from 1991 to 1995. In fact, Entertainment Weekly included Tony as one of their 10 most famous Mouseketeers.  (Talk about info you won't hear on Democracy Now!)

First the Mickey Mouse Club. Then Carson Daly. The Voice.  And now, KSER. This guy's going places!

KSER In-Studio Performance - Sightseer

If you don't regularly listen to KSER you're missing out on hearing some great, live, in-studio performances by local bands. Two members of  the Seattle band, Sightseer, were in the studio with Ron Taffi on the Sunlit room Thursday afternoon.

P A Mathison; Jason Lightfoot perform at KSER

P.A. Mathison and Jason Lightfoot stopped by and talked with Ron and performed a few of their songs. They're appearing at the Hard Rock in Seattle Saturday night in a benefit for the Women's Funding Alliance.

P A Mathison; Jason Lightfoot

PA; Ron Taffi; Jason at KSER by George Bentley

 

Sightseer's Women's Funding Alliance performance Saturday in Seattle is part of Sirens - Sing Out for Women & Girls.

If you want to listen to their KSER performance and the interview with Ron, you can hear it for the next two weeks on the KSER Radio Replayer. Just click on the 1 p.m. hour, Thursday, January 20. And you can find out more about Sightseer here.

by George Bentley

George Bentley of GeorgieCat Productions took some of the Sightseer pictures at KSER. You can see his collection on Flickr here.

Flashback - KSER's 2004 Everett Move

This past weekend's Manager's Mailbox included a question about where we used to be:

Dear Tom@KSER.org: When did you guys move into your fancy Everett digs?  I seem to recall you used to be in a little shopping center here in Lynnwood. Moving an entire radio station must have been a lot of work.  John, Lynnwood.

John: You're right. KSER was launched in 1991 and, during those early days, we broadcast from one of the two world-class shopping centers in Lynnwood.  One, of course, is Alderwood Mall. The second one is High Point Plaza. That's where KSER was located.

KSER Sign at High Point Plaza

As you can see in the picture, the old KSER sign still adorns the huge sign-board outside High Point Plaza on Highway 99 just south of Everett. We're right up there with Waldos and some other fine establishments.  We're not sure why our sign is still up there, but it represents a significant chunk of our multi-platform marketing campaign.

In February of 2004, KSER left the hustle and bustle of High Point Plaza and moved to our new serene, yet urbane, location on Wetmore Avenue in downtown Everett.

2623 Wetmore - October 2003 by Christophoto

The interior of our new location had to be retrofitted to be a radio station and all of the equipment, files, CD's, etc. had to be moved from Lynnwood to Everett.

Soon-to-be Studios; December 2003 by Christophoto

KSER's Ed Bremer to volunteers: "Stop taking pictures, get to work."

"That John Prine CD's in here somewhere." by Christophoto

Volunteers hung drywall, put up walls, built CD shelves, cleaned and painted. With the help of engineers they also wired the studios and installed the equipment. All in cramped quarters for days and weeks on end. Not once did the police have to be called.  And the finished product is the KSER you listen to today.

August, 2012 - Mayor Ray Stephanson - KSER Wall of CD's

KSER's Ron Taffi with Singer-Songwriter Austin Jenckes, 2012

KSER World HQ - 2012

Isn't it great what dedicated volunteers can do? Not only do they provide a large chunk of the content every day on KSER, but in many ways they actually built the radio station! Of course, keeping it going requires a lot of work and money.  That's where you can help. Our fall pledge drive begins in less than two weeks. But you don't have to wait. You can make a tax-deductible contribution at anytime online.

So, yes, moving an entire station was a lot of work. Fortunately, that was before my time. And if we ever move again, I plan to be on vacation.

p.s. Here's a reminder; Amy Goodman tickets are available now. The popular host of Democracy Now! (5 a.m.; 7 a.m.; 5 p.m. on 90.7 KSER-FM) is coming to Everett October 27th.  You can get all the information here. And you can order tickets here.  Pre-ordered tickets are $17 ($18.59 w. service fee); tickets at the door (if any are left) will be $20.