Welcome to Rocktober, everybody! And what better way to start the month than with a celebration of what makes the Seattle music scene so great? Yep, we're talking about KEXP. The fall pledge drive is on, and it needs your pledge off support!
You can call anytime this week {locals call 206.903.KEXP, toll free is 866.903.KEXP}, log in online and do an electronic pledge, or walk yourself on over to the station and give. There's tons of great thank-you gifts — shirts, totes, lunchbags, 500 Club memberships — nothing is too small to count. Whether you can give five dollars, five dollars a month, five hundred dollars, or five hundred dollars a month, everything makes a difference and everything is appreciated. We've given to the station at varying states of financial gain (and diress), we've been one-time donors and Amplifier Club members, and year after year we remain in good standing in whatever capacity we can, giving our hard-earned money (and time, when we can!) to support a cause that's near and dear to our hearts for so many reasons.
One thing that's particularly exciting about this year's slew of thank-you gifts is the most recent version of Live at KEXP Volume Seven. Since the Live at… series began back in 2005, every release has been good — but none have ever really reached the level of awesome that Volume One came to bring upon our ears. With tracks from bands like the Shins, The Stills, Alexi Murdoch, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, Snow Patrol, Rilo Kiley, and Ben Gibbard, it quickly went to heavy rotation in our headphones and cars, accompanying us as part of our everyday soundtrack. And this year, both the bands {and sweet design!*} have sent us running to pick up a copy. Check out this track listing!
1. Florence and the Machine – Rabbit Heart
2. My Goodness – C'mon Doll
3. Wire – Moreover
4. Fitz & the Tantrums – Breaking the Chains of Love
5. Mad Rad – Underwater
6. Destroyer – Song for America
7. James Blake – Limit To Your Love
8. Jonsi – Boy Lillikoi
9. Susana Baca – Bendiceme
10. The Walkmen – Juveniles
11. Wild Flag – Romance
12. Capsula – Magnetic Brain
13. Steve Wynn & The Miracle Three – Amphetamine
14. Aurelio – Laru Beya
15. The Head and the Heart – Lost in my Mind
16. The Tallest Man On Earth – A Field of Birds
17. Sharon Van Etten – One Day
If you act now, you can get it with a donation and/or pick it up at selected local retailers. But whichever method you choose, don't wait! Once the drive as over and the copies sell out, it's done for and unavailable.
What are you waiting for? Take a moment and give back a little bit to help the station that gives so much to you.
{*This year's release includes, among other things, some radtacular photography from our friend Christopher Nelson. Nice work, Chris!}