Outside of this weekly column, which is now running for the 826th consecutive week, there are only a handful of spots fully dedicated to local music. Art Jipson’s devotion to original sounds from hometown folks is beamed over the airwaves, and the Internet, every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m. on WUDR-FM (99.5/98.1).
That’s just one of the reasons he and I immediately clicked when we first met. I’m proud to call him a friend — and if you love local music, chances are he’s your friend too.
Jipson recently shared his thoughts on the show.
Finding his feet: "In the beginning, the show was really didactic. It was sort of The School of Rock with Dr. J. I had this idea I'd do on the radio what I do in my pop music classes. That worked but after a while, it gets kind of dull."
Program reboot: "Then, Tracy — Mrs. Dr. J, God bless her — had a brilliant realization. She said, 'You're most excited talking about the local music and you get the most response when you play local music and talk about it. Maybe you should do more of that.' We're into the show a few years at that point, and we shift. The response has been huge and we enjoy doing it much more with the local programming."
Musical conduit: "There are so many local groups doing so many interesting things but most people aren't even aware it's out there. How do you get them to check out local music? What we try to do with the show is to convince people to come to local shows so they'll buy the albums and pick up the merchandise."
Champion of the scene: "If we can get one person to a show, it's worth it, but hopefully it's more. When we say our tagline is, 'Support your local music scene,' we mean it. It would really help radio as a whole if more stations represented their community and played music from the bands in that community. That's been a big element of the show since we shifted focus. We see it as a really important philosophy."
HOW TO GO
What: Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative's 15th-anniversary celebration with Boxcar Suite, the New Old-Fashioned, Cricketbows, the 1984 Draft and others
Where: Yellow Cab Tavern, 700 E. Fourth St., Dayton
When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22 and 23
Cost: Weekend passes $20 in advance, $25 day of show. Single-day tickets are $12 in advance, $15 day of show. Cover starts at 6 p.m.
More info: 937-424-3870 or www.yellowcabtavern.com
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