WMEB out on the town

Station to have live broadcast from Soma36 on Sunday

By Erin McNamara

Posted on Sept. 14, 2006, at 12:00 a.m.

WMEB plans on turning Orono into the next innovative hub for new music.

Every Sunday night, the station plans on taking its music out into the community, spinning live at the bars around Orono. This past Sunday was its first foray into the town, with three station DJs spinning from 9 p.m. to midnight at Soma. Patrick Anderson, promotions director for the station, said the idea for live spinning events comes from the concept of expanding the musical culture of an area.

“As a station, we’re trying to bring things out of the station bubble and into the community,” he said Sunday night. “All the establishments do a really good job, but we need to mix it up.”

The night started slow this past weekend, but picked up around 10:30 p.m., swelling to about 30 people. The crowd size needs to increase in order for the station to keep their spot and to be able to negotiate with other area venues. The station encourages people to come out, not just to support their college radio station, but to expand their own horizons and hear new music.

For those of you who have never been to a show with DJs playing their own music live, it is an entirely different experience from a live band or club environment. The music moved from hip-hop mixes and techno to reggae as the night wore on, with each DJ spinning his own personal style.

The atmosphere was very relaxed, with people wandering in and out of the lounge area, smoking on the deck and talking while the DJs kept up a solid wall of chill background music. Some of the crowd eventually got into the music, and began dancing out on the floor.

The station has Soma reserved for one more night, this coming Sunday, Sept. 17. at 9 p.m. WMEB hopes to continue to hold these events, and would also expand them by bringing in new live bands that don’t normally play in this area.

College community members are encouraged to attend this week’s to show support and “make it happen,” according to Anderson.

“Come out and make it vibrant,” he said.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2006, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.