The genius of Robert Cray

Robert Cray in concert in 2007

PROVINCETOWN, Mass.

"To say that Robert Cray is a transformational figure for my generation, Gen-X, would not be hyperbole.’’

— "Braintree Jim," the DJ who spins for WOMR , on Cape Cod.

Cray is a singer, songwriter guitarist, known for his unique hybrid of blues and soul. He is a five-time Grammy award winner who has released 19 studio albums, along with an assortment of live recordings and compilations. The Robert Cray Band may not be a household name today, but it has achieved international recognition in the nearly 50 years it, and various iterations, have performed during that time. Cray, who turned 70 earlier this month, regularly visits New England on a relentless, annual touring schedule. He will be spending time here on the Outer Cape during August and into September.

The DJ, who hosts the radio show called Target Ship Radio, further explains his rationale. "I was attending Providence College during the mid-’80’s when Cray's breakthrough album 'Strong Persuader' was released, in late 1986. When I first heard the single 'Smoking Gun' on the radio I simply had to get the album. I was totally taken by it and played it repeatedly. I still have the cassette today."

He recalls that pivotal time for young music fans. "Back then, the ascendant genre was hip hop. Many of my friends were attracted to that whole scene. And by the late 80s, even MTV was showcasing that music. But when I heard Robert Cray, principally a blues guy back then, I went back, not forward. Not only did I buy his back catalog work, which was fantastic, he really helped me discover the blues as a whole other art form.

"Cray, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton -- and even Albert Collins and Billy Gibbons -- were part of this exciting blues revival in the 80s and into the early 90s. For me, Cray played an instrumental part in this movement. Cray was affable, the music was accessible. In fact, his whole persona was quite approachable. He was making MTV-style videos that both young men and women found entertaining. And remember, his first national TV debut was on Late Night With David Letterman. By the ‘90s, he was morphing into a soul and R&B performer. He could deliver searing blues numbers for sure, but his music was adapting. That's why I think he's retained this rather remarkable staying power."

Braintree Jim is planning a Robert Cray retrospective on his next show on the Provincetown radio station. "I really think," he reasons, "that Robert Cray should be a bigger name. He's got an unbelievable canon of work that I wish more people heard. So, I want to dedicate three hours of my next show and pay tribute to his music. And he has collaborated with so many people, like Tina Turner, BB King, and Chuck Berry, just to name a few. And he still rips it up on tour. His voice is still the same after all these years and his guitar chops are also still intact."

The radio host further adds that, "I may have eventually discovered the blues without Robert Cray. But It's safe to say that his music really inspired me to appreciate the art form and dig into its rich history. Many of my generation discovered the blues because of Robert Cray. That alone makes him worthy of a three-hour radio show. But the music is so good that it will be tough to boil it down into that time frame. But I'll have fun doing it! That's the great thing about WOMR. I have this incredible level of autonomy in what I can play. That's virtually unheard of in radio today. I will be representing the station at the upcoming concert, too. It doesn't get much better than this."

The Robert Cray Band will be performing at the Payomet Performing Arts Center, in North Truro, Mass., on Tuesday, Aug. 29, beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available.

Payomet is celebrating its 25th year in 2023 as one of the Cape's leading producers of live music, circus, theatre, and humanities.

The next Target Ship Radio show will be on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 1-4 p.m. The live broadcast can be heard on 92.1 FM Provincetown, and 91.3 FM Orleans, streaming on womr.org and beaming on the free WOMR app.

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