View From the Phlipside Radio - 10,000 Maniacs

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside.

I want to take a minute to get a bit of a jump on an event happening next week.  On Friday September 9 a retrospective of the 30 year career of Jamestown’s own 10,000 Maniacs will open at the 3rd on 3rd gallery in downtown Jamestown.  It seems like every time someone mentions famous folks who have risen from these streets it’s Lucy and Robert Jackson and Roger Tory Peterson and oh yeah, 10,000 Maniacs.  Call me a fan boy but I’d put them right behind Lucy.  I mean c’mon, let’s not get silly here.

Shortly after I first took over as the morning man at SE-93 a new album landed on my desk.  It was called “The Wishing Chair” and wonder of wonders it was by a bunch of local musicians and it was on a big time label, Elektra.  I put the album on and while I wasn’t blown away by everything on it I liked the musical sensibility and the amazing sound of Natalie Merchant’s voice.  So I started playing some of the tracks I liked on the air.  Sometime in those first couple years the band played a local concert and I got my first chance to see them up close and personal.  In fact 10,000 Maniacs was the first “big time” rock band I’d ever seen that way.  When their next album came out I had the feeling they’d hit on something.  Their earlier album had struck me as muddy with the music and vocals getting in each other’s way.  The next album was “In My Tribe” where producer Peter Asher had gotten the balance just right and the band sounded great.  From that album on 10,000 Maniacs would be more than just a local band.

But you know what?  In all this time since they’ve largely remained just a local band.  I’ve interviewed Steve Gustafson and or Dennis Drew a couple times and have always been impressed by how down to earth and easy to talk to they always are.  For the last couple years I’ve truly enjoyed working with Dennis here at WRFA.   Their dedication to their home town is a truly impressive and part of the reason why I still remain a 10,000 Maniacs fan.  My daughter’s first ever rock concert was a Christmas concert at the Reg.

These Are Days - 10,000 Maniacs 1981-2011 will run from September 9 through October 29 at the 3rd on 3rd.  The show includes all kinds of souvenirs and video tracing the band’s history from the not so mean streets of Jamestown, around the world and back.  Jamestown has a lot to be proud of and a certain group of young men and a young woman deserve to be recognized as part of our history.

Call that the View From the Phlipside