Kickstarting a movement to keep live alive

For many years, Milwaukee has been home to a radio station that goes beyond spinning records and DJ banter to include live in-studio broadcasting and recording.

These broadcasts have created opportunities and exposure for thousands of bands and artists that in many ways established Milwaukee’s vibrant music scene.

But recording studios don’t last forever. As a result, WMSE 91.7 FM has called out to the community it supports and loves in order to fund new equipment before one of the city’s best cultural institutions could be lost.

“If [live in-studio broadcasting] is gone it’ll leave a hole in the community,” says Billy Cicerelli, WMSE’s recording engineer/producer for the past 12 years. “We don’t want people saying, ‘I wish I would have done something.’”

To prevent from losing live music at WMSE’s downtown studio, which includes the esteemed Local/Live program, the station created the Keep Live Music on WMSE project through Kickstarter — an online funding platform for creative projects that works on an all-or-nothing basis with built-in incentives for varying dollar amounts pledged in its 60-day drive.

“We’re familiar with Kickstarter from bands who used it to fund records or tours, and we saw the power of it,” says Justin Shoman, development assistant at WMSE, who has spearheaded the project. “We wanted to create urgency with this. The urgency makes people think about its importance.”

As a listener-supported radio station now financially independent of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, WMSE has relied on volunteers, local businesses and pledge drives to keep it running at its award-winning level. Its longevity is a testament to its impact on the local community.

But for WMSE to remain on that level, $30,000 needs to be raised by Dec. 22. Funds will go to outfit the new studio and expand programming.

Unlike pledge drives that cover operating and general studio expenses, the Kickstarter project is specifically to fund the capital need of the deteriorating equipment, said Shoman. Cicerelli said he’s been having issues with channels on converters and pre-amps malfunctioning along with other compatibility issues due to the age of the equipment.

“Since this system is all equally old, we can’t just upgrade it piece by piece,” Cicerelli says. “Our computer is a Mac G4 running on OS 9 and our software is Pro Tools 5. They’re making Pro Tools 10 now, so it’s pretty old.”

Old and malfunctioning equipment has led Cicerelli to do some work out of his home studio, including mixing and mastering the last three WMSE compilations. That he doesn’t mind, he said, but what’s worse is when the system faults during a performance.

“We had Kings Go Forth here, a nine-piece band, playing live, and right in the middle of second song, the computer just locked up.”

Cicerelli says he strives to make sure the bands don’t have to worry about anything but playing well, but that becomes more of a challenge when you don’t know which piece of equipment is going to fail next. He notes there has never been a situation where they had to cancel the session on any band, but it is important of obtaining new gear so these type of problems don’t happen again.

“We receive grant money (through the National Endowment of the Arts) to do live music, so going down could jeopardize that,” he says, “…and you also don’t want it to go away because people can lose interest and there’s other places to go. It’s good to have other places to go, but I can honestly say that nobody’s done it like we have.”

That sentiment is one echoed by many of the bands that have come through the studio doors, including Trapper Schoepp of local Americana group Trapper Schoepp and the Shades.

“WMSE gives a voice to local musicians who otherwise may not have one,” Schoepp says. “The diversity of WMSE’s programming is synonymous with the diversity within our community. From metal to jazz to Americana artists like myself, everyone is given a voice on WMSE.”

Schoepp recalls playing on-air for a pledge drive and afterwards taking the CD of the performance out to his van to hear. Having that instant recording is another factor that makes the station special, he feels.

It’s also the future of WMSE’s ability to document and archive that could be lost, says Cicerelli.

Victoriah Banuelos of the indie-pop duo Vic and Gab also re-states the importance of live music on WMSE, noting it’s one of the reasons the band keeps going.

“I think it is crucial for local bands to have any kind of exposure on the radio,” Banuelos says. “It gives you reassurance about what you are doing with your music and if you’re going in the right direction. The support inspires musicians, it gives us something to look forward to and a reason to keep doing what we do.”

Chris Christen of local indie-prog act Castle Thunder feels the impact of playing at WMSE.

“It was very encouraging to know that people were listening. It’s one thing to play live shows but getting the affirmation from a locally powered radio station is a big morale boost. We’ve gone back to do interviews and promote shows since,” Christen says. “The people at WMSE couldn’t be any more supportive and incredible.”

Losing the live broadcasts wouldn’t just affect the bands and WMSE. Shoman says that it’s full circle from the station to the bands to the venues to the community.

“Losing it effects the whole community.  If it’s gone, then many of those bands aren’t getting the exposure and because of that, you lose live shows and the vibrant scene.”

While the Kickstarter project is funded online, WMSE has also gone to area businesses for help, such as distributing donation cards at Club Garibaldi and Comet Cafe.

Tonic Tavern has become directly involved, hosting “A Kickstarter Christmas” on Sunday, Dec. 18. The event will include performances from 15 area acts, including members of Juniper Tar, Conrad Plymouth, The Wildbirds and Testa Rosa, joining in support of keeping live music on WMSE. Local musician Mark Waldoch, who helped put the show together, said he was asked to do an on-air testimonial for the Kickstarter program, but that it wasn’t enough.

“I can’t personally give any more to WMSE than I already have, but I thought that there was another way that I could help because we have to take care of them too.”

So the Kickstarter Christmas show was born, featuring a $5 cover with everything going toward the project, along with a raffle with prizes from the Pabst Theater and The Exclusive Company, and a percentage of the day’s earnings also going toward the project.

With less than a week to go, the Keep Live Music on WMSE Kickstarter project has 225 backers pledging over $25,000. Since many of the pledges tend to come in the final two weeks, says Shoman, he is very optimistic.

“It’s really inspiring to see all of the pledges and support,” he says. “It speaks volumes to the priority to the community at large and WMSE community for live music for local and national acts stay on the air.”