When I came out with my first full-length CD in 2004 and sent it around to a bunch of independent radio stations, I was thrilled to find out that my songs were played in, of all places, Talkeetna, Alaska, over 2.5 hours north of Anchorage and the home of a wonderful grass-roots online station called Whole Wheat Radio, which broadcasts on the Web throughout the world.
Now, five years later, I decided to ask my friends Jim Kloss and Esther Golton, the masterminds behind Whole Wheat Radio, about what resources there are for performing songwriters in Alaska — and how you can get your music played on Whole Wheat Radio.
How would you describe the scene for songwriters in Alaska today?
Esther: I think the scene is small but energetic, and has grown in the last few years. I think the independent spirit of Alaskan living comes through in the music being put out by singer-songwriters here. There’s a different sort of sound amongst our songwriters. It’s very non-homogenous. People are doing their own thing. The Alaska Midnight Sun Songcamp has been a great thing for forming bonds amongst songwriters spread out through the region, and I think it has raised the bar on the level of our writing, truthfully.
Q: Are there venues for songwriters generally around the state? Do you attract touring songwriters outside of Anchorage?
Esther: Venue-wise, Alaska is not a hopping place for intimate acoustic music. Not at all, unfortunately. Listening rooms are few and far between. Clubs generally want cover acts playing major-label stuff from the past. Coffeehouses are reluctant to stop the espresso machines during a show, and rarely create a concert scene. House concerts happen here and there, but have not caught on to the extent they have in other places. When traveling singer-songwriters come to Alaska, they can have a difficult time putting together a tour, and have to work hard to attract an audience once they do. It’s best if they come to Alaska for the adventure and the beauty, not counting on earning a lot of money. Music takes on a bit more excitement for Alaskans in the winter. And if you can find a way to play in remote fly-in communities, you’ll be appreciated in deep, wonderful ways. Those communities don’t take music for granted!
Q: Who are some of your favorite Alaska-based songwriters?
Esther and Jim: Marian Call, Emily Kurn, Willis Fireball, Robin Dale Ford, Pat Fitzgerald, Sean “Spiff” Chambers, Robin Hopper, Ann Pence, Steve Durr, Will Putman. I’m sure there are more I’m not thinking of right now.
Q: Tell me how Whole Wheat Radio got started…and you started getting passionate about showcasing great acoustic and singer/songwriter music.
Jim: Whole Wheat Radio is an accidental blessing of the screwed up mainstream artist royalties collection system. I just wanted to play music online for friends online back in 2002. When I discovered I was required to pay 5 different huge corporate royalty collection agencies for every song played, even though we never took in a dime of profit or charged anyone anything – and that our tiny payments wouldn’t even be sent to the artists we were actually playing but to mainstream artists instead – I figured there must be a better way. I knew there were lots of musicians who’d love for us to turn other people on to their music because they’re seldom heard on commercial stations. I also reckoned that if we helped them sell just one CD directly through CDBaby, that was more income for them than if we paid 1,000 years of royalty payments based on the size of our audience. So, from the beginning, we’ve been all about supporting independent musicians directly and tangibly rather than indirectly through outdated, unaccountable and ineffective royalty collection corporations.
It was very difficult to get music at first because no one ever heard of us. One night, after having to play the same CDs over and over for weeks, I was ready to give up. On a whim I emailed Amy Ray, of the Indigo Girls, at her Daemon Records label, about what I was trying to do … giving independent artists free, grassroots and non-commercialized exposure. Three days later, a huge big box of CDs arrived unexpectedly. Amy had sent it with her blessing. It was just the encouragement I needed to keep going.
Over time, as our good, grassroots, all-volunteer, not-out-to-rip-you-off reputation grew, more and more musicians took note. Word-of-mouth kicked in and we started getting lots of great new music. Esther brought more people into the Wheat Fields whenever she went touring or to festivals. Eventually we began doing live house concerts with webcasts because so many musicians wrote to ask if there was a place they could play in the area. We’ve grown steadily since then while the quality of music we air continues to knock people’s socks off. I’m very proud of what our all-volunteer community of wiki editors, musicians and listeners spread over the planet has been able to accomplish.
Q: Who are your favorites singer-songwriters these days? People who are touring around the country?
Esther: Danny Schmidt, Antje Duvekot, Peter Mulvey, Natalia Zukerman….
Jim: Waaaaay too many to list. And it changes throughout the day depending on my mood and who is airing. So I’ll just pick my latest personal discovery: Niki Leeman. His CD “Love, Death And Resurrection” is a knockout. I don’t care that it was released in 2000 because it’s brand new to me – I’ll bet it is to most people reading this. The CD packaging is deceptive cuz it looks like just another lo-fi “burned in the basement” deal … until you put it in the player.
Q: Can you also tell me about your house concerts?
Jim: I am extremely proud of them – all 57! If it weren’t for the online audience, we never would have done them because the town we live in is much too small to support traveling singer-songwriters as I believe they should be supported. But the online audience makes up the difference. They purchase CDs online during the show and support the artist via the online tip jar. The artist takes 100% of the proceeds. I try hard to get a minimum of $500 to the artist for a show. We don’t always make it but we usually do … and frequently we do twice or three times that. So the artist gets a great listening room environment to play, excellent sound quality both in-house and webcast, a better financial percentage than any other option in the area, a recorded audio magazine (podcast) that draws in fans who may have missed the live show and a ton of online love.
Running the house concerts competently takes a huge amount of work. Sometimes I have to stop presenting shows in order to accomplish other projects, such as re-programming the website or planting my garden. Unfortunately, I have a very hard time saying “No”. But I think I’ve decided to take a break after March, 2010 so I can focus on some long-neglected projects. I wonder, and Esther wonders even more, if I’ll be able to stick to it.
Q: What do you think is the most important takeaways: about Whole Wheat Radio and about songwriting in Alaska overall?
Jim: The thing I would most like songwriters to know about Whole Wheat Radio is not an Alaska station but is a worldwide grassroots, all-volunteer community who wants to hear your music. Your artist, album and song pages have all been built by people who want to support you as an independent artist. The station, the requests, the “playlists”, the website – all are run entirely by a devoted community of music lovers who truly appreciate what you do.
Q: What’s the first thing non-Alaskans ask you about how to get to one of your concerts?
Jim: Non-Alaskans often make a joke about having to hop in the car and drive 5,000 miles to get to a show. Of course I love being able to come back with “Just click the ‘Listen’ link on our webpage – it’s a lot faster.”
