Refashioning ‘Chill & Dream’ for the post-COVID era
"It's really an amalgamation of ideas, experience, and forward momentum put into action," says the DJ who goes by the name Braintree Jim. He will be presenting a new music show on Sunday, April 30, on WOMR, the community radio station based in Provincetown, Mass.
The DJ was the host of a WOMR show that he conceived and hosted called Chill & Dream. "That show," he explains, "was born out of the days during the peak of the pandemic when people were confined to their homes and apartments, and constricted from social interactions on a massive scale. I think people were looking for an escape. The Chill & Dream program proved to be the perfect companion in those circumstances. The show was meant to take you to another place, in sentiment and mood. I think it captured that zeitgeist very well."
"The pandemic will likely be the defining event of our time. While the immediacy of it is starting to wane, it was dramatic and disruptive -- so many lives lost and shattered. A tragedy that still reverberates today. But we're coming out of it. There's a growing sense of moving on... there's a feeling or renewed energy. So, I wanted to reimagine, reboot, and reincarnate the old show into something new and vibrant. Target Ship Radio is the vehicle that taps into this perception."
Braintree Jim says he will not abandon the core principles of the old show, what he describes as "aural escapism" and "sonic sanctuary." The new show will be anchored in so-called "RIP Fusion," or rock, indie and pop. "That certainly constitutes the core," he allows. "I'm also really interested in discovering new -- and old -- sounds that are rooted in strong rhythm and melody. If anything, I'm expanding the sonic palette of the Chill show. I hear more brass -- the exaltant sound of horns. When you bring horns into a song, the molecules start moving differently. The mood changes. Whether it's a triumphant march or a lush interlude."
In addition to placing some soul, R&B-infused dynamics into the new show, he looks to flavor it with some world music, too. "There is so much good world music that embraces these larger ideas, that I'm excited to ferry them into the programming. I think those songs that I play will be accessible and pleasurable to a radio audience. I like the promise of the possibilities."
And what to make of the name of the show?
"We're seafaring creatures. Well before ubiquitous technological advances, we were on the go. And I think maritime vessels have a universal connection with humankind. We're fascinated by seafaring craft, whether it be for commercial or pleasure or, dare I say it, for military purposes. And they have particular resonance for people of Cape Cod."
Target Ship Radio, as a name, the DJ says, is inspired by the old target ship that for decades was visible in Cape Cod Bay, just off Eastham and Orleans. The Navy used it for target practice from the air after World War II. Operations ceased in the 1970s and the ship has since rusted away; its remnants are now only visible at very low tides, just off New Found shoal. He remembers it as "an iconic image captured in photography and artwork, and now collective memories. I wanted to pay homage to something that was such a vivid presence for those of us who spent time along the beaches back then. For me, it captures the past really well. And many still have this romantic attachment to it. I still recall witnessing those bombing runs."
The name also tips a nod to the influential pirate radio stations that sprouted up in the U.K. in the 1960s. "What a wonderful history, that pirate radio movement!", Braintree Jim declares. "I find that independent spirit and mass-audience appeal of pirate radio to be exhilarating. I'll try to bring that to the new show. Radio has a great history here. More than 100 years ago, in Wellfleet, Marconi sent a message from his Cape Cod station, the first radio transmission to cross the Atlantic from the United States. And here we are today, not far from those grounds, still trying to connect with people via radio and other means. How cool is that?"
"I also like the idea of a ship as a metaphor. Ships are about motion and movement. Coming and going. A voyage. The future and past are immediately present at sea. Ideally, I will take people on a new musical journey. That's the goal. And playing old and new music fits into the larger narrative."
Braintree Jim anticipates that there will be some changes or, as he phrases it, some mid-course adjustments. He expects to feature new segments that include playing classic, largely forgotten, albums in their entirety. And he also looks to see how he can pour listener playlists into the show. "I'm intrigued by playlists," he insists. "There are everywhere. Anybody can make one. There are algorithms to help curate them, and I would’t be surprised if AI isn't already spitting them out. I'm interested in cracking the glass on people's phones and getting inside them as the human face and human soul behind those lists. Part of my mission isn't to thwart them but to embrace them by allowing listeners to submit their ideas. I think engaging listeners in this way is a bit experimental but it's a way to bring listeners on board, so to speak." He also plans to occasionally interview artists, musicians and authors. One guest is already tentatively booked. Local author and historian Don Wilding will soon have a new book published. Cape Cod and the Portland Gale of 1898 tells the story of the fearsome late November storm that devastated the New England coast, including Provincetown Harbor. It was a storm by which many future storms were measured against. The story centers on the steamer Portland, which sank to the depths of Massachusetts Bay off Cape Cod, claiming nearly two hundred lives.
The inaugural Target Ship Radio show airs on Sunday, April 30, from 1-4 p.m. It can be heard on 92.1 FM-Provincetown and 91.3 FM-Orleans, and streaming live on womr.org. You can also hear it on the new WOMR app.
The S.S. Portland
From P-Town, Robert Cray in a ‘lodestar’ show; looking at the Portland Gale
DJ Braintree Jim has returned to the airwaves this month on Provincetown, Mass.-based radio station WOMR with special one-hour shows. He calls these shorts "lodestar" shows or offshoots of his full-fledged Chill & Dream program.
"Most vinyl records play between 40 and 45 minutes," Braintree Jim observes. "So, they fit nicely into a 60-minute show, along with some concise commentary and station announcements." He said he enjoys these shows as they let him showcase a single artist or a notable album that otherwise "wasn't given their due."
His next show, tonight (Jan. 11) from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., will feature the work of singer, songwriter, blues guitarist and five-time Grammy award winner Robert Cray, commemorating the 40th anniversary release of his breakthrough album "Bad Influence." (Cray's next area appearance is on Feb. 28, at the Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, Mass.)
Braintree Jim surmises that "Robert Cray is such an ineffably engaging singer that it is easy to forget how protean and important a musician he is to the blues. He revitalized the idiom and modernized it, especially in the 1980s with the advent of music video. Nearly 70, he hasn't lost that unique voice nor his guitar chops. 'Bad Influence' is one of his earliest albums, and you can just hear the potential in it. The album was the spark that lit the fuse to greater success. Cray is also a study of endurance. The first Robert Cray Band started playing almost 50 years ago. I think for many people in my generation he made the blues fun and accessible. That's no easy feat!"
The DJ is also putting together special shows for 2023. One show he has planned for this spring is with local author Don Wilding. His new book Cape Cod and the Portland Gale of 1898 will be published in May. The Thanksgiving weekend storm is remembered as one of the deadliest weather events in New England maritime history. The story centers on the doomed steamer S.S. Portland, and also recounts the devastation wrought by the storm along the Massachusetts shore, particularly Provincetown Harbor.
As Braintree Jim says, "I am really excited to do a show with Don. He is such a font of local history and storytelling. I'm already thinking of ideas for the appropriate soundtrack."
Speaking of storms, the east end of Provincetown on Commercial Street, where the WOMR studios are located, is still recovering from the powerful winter storm that hit the area right before Christmas. Fifty decks were destroyed and Fanizzi's Restaurant by the Sea had to be closed for repairs after waves breached the waterfront dining room near high tide on Dec. 23. The full extent of the property damage is still to be determined, according to town officials.
You can live stream programming on womr.org and now on the new WOMR app. All music shows are archived on both platforms for two weeks from airdate for music shows, and in perpetuity for spoken word shows. The broadcast signal can be reached on 91.3 - FM Orleans, Mass., and 92.1 - FM Provincetown, Mass. And to learn more about Braintree Jim, go to chillanddreamradio.com
The doomed steamer The Portland
The staying power of ‘70s and ‘80s popular music
"Everything new is old again," says Provincetown, Mass., DJ Braintree Jim.
“So much of today's new music longs for nostalgia, this quest to regain or relive some semblance of what is believed to be better times from a bygone era. It's quite remarkable. You can hear it in the tunes, a steadfast reverential pastiche for ‘70s and ‘80s music. I think many of today's younger artists realize the staying power of music from that period. The evidence is all around us.
"If you look at the big streaming services it is the back catalog music that is getting all the attention. So it makes sense, therefore, that a lot of the new music I am listening to has this derivative aesthetic attached to it. I suppose each generation has pinched ideas from previous generations. Still, it's fun hearing new material infused with some of the old effects or instruments or even production techniques that were present back then. It's a hybrid mash-up for sure."
He believes that the recent resurgence and renaissance of English musician Kate Bush, now 63, and popular in the 1980s, is further proof.
Her song, "Running Up That Hill," released in 1985 on the “Hounds of Love’’ album, was recently featured on season 4 of the massively watched Netflix series Stranger Things. Ever since the song was featured it has rocketed back to the charts, both in the U.S. and U.K. It reached the top five in a recent Billboard Hot 100 chart in America, and hit no. 1 in the U.K. The recent chart success has broken all sorts of records. And a three-week period in June saw the song streamed a staggering 137 million times on Spotify.
Braintree Jim's radio show Chill & Dream returns to the airwaves on Wednesday, July 6, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on WOMR (92.1 FM) the community radio station in Provincetown that recently celebrated 40 years on the air. It’s simulcast on sister station WMFR (91.3 FM) in Orleans.
Perhaps tellingly, the new show will showcase music from the 1980s. "It's very much a roots show," he says. "You can't escape the roots. And yes, I will be playing Kate Bush." The show can be streamed live on womr.org.
The building that houses WOMR, at 492-494 Commercial St., has a fascinating history. Hit this link to read about it and see photos from its history.