Monday, December 23, 2013

Heavenly Host

Schenectady Neighbors for Peace memorial march,
Central Park, Schenectady, NY, 2009. Photo ©Jeremy Clowe.
All rights reserved.
Tonight it's Sarah's turn in the spotlight, as she takes on hosting duties for both TV and radio shows! 

As I reported before, WEXT will be re-airing our "My Exit" guest DJ hour tonight at 11 p.m. ET, giving you all a chance to hear music that has been important to both of us through the years. You can stream the show on their website: exit977.org

Before that, tune into Schenectady's Open Stage Media (OSM) at 10 p.m., as Mrs. Clowe makes her TV debut, guest hosting for the program, "Building Peace." Created by Schenectady Neighbors for Peace (of which we are both members), the show looks at non-violent resolutions to current issues: tonight's program features an interview with SUNY Albany Professor Larry S. Wittner about nuclear disarmament. The show will be aired throughout the week, and those outside of Schenectady can watch the program on the OSM web page: openstagemedia.com

In the words of Beatle John: "Give Peace a Chance"—
of course we'll be playing some Beatles on the radio show!




Update (12/24): It's the gift that keeps on giving... WEXT will broadcast the radio show one more time this Saturday, December 28, 8 a.m. ET

Merry Christmas everyone!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Encore

With Diego Garcia this past November at a WEXT-
sponsored show in Albany (yes, he made "OurExit!").
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.
Sarah and I just learned that the guest DJ spot we recorded for Exit 97.7 WEXT over the summer will be rebroadcast this upcoming Monday, December 23, at 11 p.m. ET. We stumbled upon this news by hearing our promo air on the station a couple times during the last 24 hours... a bit of a surprise, but a nice compliment and way to end the year! 

WEXT's weekly "My Exit" program allows listeners to host an hour of their favorite music— this was my second time hosting, and Sarah and I used this occasion to celebrate our one year anniversary. It was good fun. 

We're lucky to have a non-commercial station like WEXT in the area. They produce several ongoing specialty shows, focusing on local music, Latin rock, classic soul, and so on... earlier this year they broadcast a retrospective I produced that looked at the 30 year career of Norwegian band A-ha, and this past week they have been counting down a list of the "top 500 bands of all-time"— for the most part I appreciate their choices (I even submitted a few picks of my own to them before hand). The station is currently in the midst of their year-end fund drive— to make a donation, learn more about their programming, or stream our show next week, visit exit977.org

Sunday, December 15, 2013

How Sweet The Sound

Visitors admire "Saying Grace" during its loan to
Norman Rockwell Museum. Photo by Jeremy Clowe for
Norman Rockwell Museum. All rights reserved.
Back in the 1950s, The Saturday Evening Post conducted a poll, asking readers to vote for their favorite Norman Rockwell cover— Saying Grace, created for the front of the magazine's November 24, 1951 issue, won hands down; I think it was one of my Dad's favorites as well, judging from all the prints and copy of the illustration I discovered, created in my father's own hand. 

Over 60 years later, Saying Grace just set a record for the most expensive American artwork ever sold ($46 million) during Sotheby's auction on December 4. Before that, the painting had been on long-term loan to Norman Rockwell Museum, where thousands of visitors shared the artist's beautifully rendered message of tolerance.

Needless to say, It's been an interesting year managing press for the Museum. Calls about the auction and a controversial new biography on Rockwell have kept me busy, and fielding questions I never thought I would be asked during my time representing the arts organization. In the past week alone, I have heard from such outlets as The Associated Press, National Geographic, The Boston Globe, and was interviewed by New England Public Radio and The Atlantic about the auction (the writer for the latter ended up misquoting me and using my words out of context, but what can you do... I still enjoy the magazine's in-depth news coverage).


Freedom of speech (as long as they get my quotes
right). Courtesy Business West.
Yesterday I worked with producers of a popular, nationally syndicated TV game show, who visited the Museum to film segments for an upcoming episode. It was a nice way to end a productive year, and especially satisfying for me, as it was my initial pitch to the show that made it all happen. More details to come.

In the meantime, I have a live radio interview about the Museum's current exhibitions and events scheduled for this Tuesday, December 17, 9 a.m. ET with the show Well Talk With Avi Dresner, and I just found this interview I conducted over the summer with BusinessWest magazine about the Museum's creative initiatives. 

Sure, interviews can be creative and I enjoy talking about the Museum and illustration art, but look forward to expressing more of my own artistic impulses in the coming year.

Related Links:

"Community Profile: Stockbridge," Business West, October 22, 2013

"Iconic Rockwell Painting Shows Ideal America," The News-Press, November 27, 2013

"Norman Rockwell Museum Hopes This $46 Million Painting Will Hang On Their Walls," Atlantic Wire, December 4, 2013