Great Snow Creation!!

Here is a nice snow Jabba for you... Have fun out there!!!

OFFICIAL BONNAROO 2010 LINE-UP

So far:

Dr. Dog, Japandroids, Tokyo Police Club, Kid Cudi, Jimmy Cliff, She & Him, GWAR, Thievery Corporation, Punch Brothers, Jay-z, Monte Montgomery, Ok Go, Bassnectar, Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers, Wale, Mayer Hawthorne and The County, Regina Spektor, The xx, Phoenix, Ingrid Michaelson, Cross Canadian Ragweed, John Fogerty, Medeski Martin and Wood, Weezer, The Flaming Lips with stardeath and White Dwarfs perform "Dark Side of the Moon", The Avett Brothers... More to come...

Sweet Sledding Spots!!

Here is a tool to help you find a great sledding spot near you!!

SLEDDING

Bonnaroo Flyer???

Could this be it??? Supposedly this flier has leaked.. Or is it just someone's wishlist done with photoshop?? Stay tuned to www.Bonnaroo.com. The artists are in charge of making the announcements this year. That's right, The festival artists are using their own social networking sites to announce that they will appear at this years festival. Check your favorite bands myspace, facebook, or twitter to see if they have made an announcement!!

WTMD Listener Donations to Haiti Rescue Response Fund Exceed $15,000

Thanks to everyone who donated to Doctors Without Borders through our online pledge form and phone lines on Tuesday.

Listener contributions exceeded $15,000 and will make a dramatic difference in the lives of people affected by this devastating natural disaster.

Throughout the drive, we spoke with a few individuals with first-hand experience with the crisis and relief effort. Click on each person's name below to hear the complete interview.

• Alec Bersch, Towson University student volunteering in Haiti as part of Hearts with Haiti  
  

• Bob Little, Baltimore Sun reporter on the USNS Comfort. 
  
  
• John Rivera, Director of Communication, Catholic Relief Services
  
  
• Lowell Melser, WBAL reporter on the USNS Comfort. 
  
  
• Sabri Ben-Achour, WAMU correspondent on the USNS Comfort. 

Franz Nicolay leaves The Hold Steady

Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay has left the band. He announced his departure on his website this morning.

"Five years sounded like a nice round number," he said. "Thanks to everyone that was a part of the experience."


Nicolay's melodic keyboard lines were a key part of The Hold Steady's sound, providing a counterpoint to Tad Kubler's Thin Lizzy-inspired guitar riffs. His energetic stage presence and fantastic mustache were also major elements to the Hold Steady live experience.

It is unknown where The Hold Steady will go from here, but take solice in the fact that they'll probably reunite with Franz for Coachella 2020.

Coachella lineup announced

The 10th annual Coachella Music and Arts Festival will take place on April 16-18 in Indio CA. Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz are headlining, along with performances from Them Crooked Vultures, LCD Soundsystem, Faith No More, Tiesto, Pavement, Thom Yorke, Vampire Weekend, Public Image LTD and Sly and the Family Stone.

Tickets go on sale Friday. Three day passes are $269.

You can see the full lineup here.

Hearts with Haiti Photos

Alec Bersch a Towson University student affiliated with Hearts with Haiti spoke with us today to describe the situation in Port-au-Prince. Bersch also shared some of his photos.

Hearts with Haiti, whose primary mission is to support the vision and ministry of the St. Joseph Family in Haiti, lost one building and suffered severe damage to another.

To help the St. Joseph's Family rebuild, please consider making a donation at http://www.heartswithhaiti.org.


All photos copyright Alex Bersch, 2009.

The remains of a burnt body in Petionville.

A collapsed home in Port-au-Prince.

A neighborhood of people cling together. The sign reads, "We Need Help..."

The exterior of St. Joseph's Arts Center

Rubble strewn across the floor of the Arts Center.

A hole in the exterior wall of the building.

Debris in the Alley.

Of Montreal opens for Of Montreal....kinda

Athens art rockers Of Montreal are playing Rams Head Live later this month with opening act James Husband. If the name sounds vaguely familiar, it's because Husband is the stage name of Of Montreal multi-instrumentalist Jamey Huggens.

This sounds indulgent, but it actually makes a lot of sense and here is why:

• Instant Audience: Instead of having to win over a hostile crowd, Husband gets to play to a crowd of people that already adore him.
• Cost: Having the opener in the headlining band saves a lot of overhead.
• Living out the Rock n' Roll Fantasy: As you can see from this video, Husband wants to be the indie rock Robert Palmer. That's simply irresistable.
  
  

WTMD Asks You to Support Doctors Without Borders

Over the past few days we've seen the untold devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti. Americans have responded generously, and today we’d like to ask you to make a contribution to Doctors Without Borders' Haiti Rescue Response Fund.

Doctors Without Borders is committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis regardless of race, religion or political affiliation. They recruit and place qualified medical personnel in countries where the need for medical attention is great.

Their teams are working to provide surgery and basic care to as many patients in Haiti as possible, but the need continues to outstrip available resources.

WTMD listeners understand music can change the world; today we need more than music. We need you to support Doctors Without Borders.

Tune in all day Tuesday as we feature music and stories from Haiti and the Caribbean. And learn more about Doctors Without Borders at wtmd.org.

Sincerely,

Stephen Yasko
General Manager

The Seductive Harmonies of Sonos

The LA-based acapella group SONOS plays Jammin' Java tonight.

They're going to be in studio with me in just a little bit to record a future Morning Sessions. It should be a blast!

On their debut SONOsings, the sextet takes on Bon Iver, Imogen Heap, Depeche Mode, Rufus Wainright, and Radiohead among others.

Their harmonies are sensual and etherial.

Check out this version of a Jackson 5 classic!

Jay Reatard, 1980-2010

Memphis garage rocker Jay Reatard passed away yesterday. He was 29 years old.

According to Memphis' Commercial Appeal, Reatard was found in his home at 3:30 a.m., where he reportedly died in his sleep.

Born Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr. in 1980, Reatard became interested in music after seeing Nirvana on MTV. He started writing his own songs and released his first album, Teenage Hate, in 1998. His sound was crude and abrasive, with jagged guitar riffs, distortion, and noise. The distortion belied the pop melodies within.

He was a prolific artist, releasing 22 full length albums and over 100 singles. He signed to Matador in 2008 and broke through with last year's Watch Me Fall.

Reatard is survived by his parents and two sisters.

Credit: Rolling Stone, allmusic.com, jayreatard.com

Our Video Presentation about The Senator Proposal

We wanted to give you an update on our bid to move WTMD to the Senator Theatre and create an arts center focused on movies, music and community.

Last week we presented our proposal at a community forum sponsored by the Baltimore Development Corporation at the Senator Theatre. We also made a formal presentation to the BDC.

At both presentations, we played this video to document our passion for the building and for what we believe the Senator could become with WTMD connecting dozens of movies, concerts and community events each month.

The video is full of testimonials from community leaders, music lovers, filmmakers and musicians. At the end of the video, our own John Mathews shows us what WTMD’s air might sound like if we are successful being awarded the project and create this very special place.

Many folks have asked us what they can do to help. Right now, we need your input and thoughts. We understand how much the Senator means to people who live close to the theater in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. We also understand how passionate folks are about its future.

Please feel free to email me at wtmd@towson.edu or leave a comment here. We’ll answer the questions we can at this point. It’s a long process and each step of the way we will keep in touch to inform you as things clarify themselves.

Thanks and we’ll see you at the Senator.

Help Wyclef Help Haiti

No surprise, Wyclef Jean has jumped right in and jetted down to Haiti to help his countrymen, women and children in the wake of that catastrophic earthquake.

Over the years, the former Fugee has become a tireless advocate for his homeland, raising awareness together with the United Nations.

Now, he has created the "Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund." It's been so popular on Twitter, that it's crashed several times today. At last check, it was working.

Never shy to show, not only the poverty and blight in Haiti to raise awareness, but the triumphant spirit of its people, here's s Wyclef video showing that and the land's lyrical language.

Spend a weekend with Butch Walker, eat his food

Back in 2007, singer/songwriter Jill Sobule made waves in the music world with a radical new idea. Instead of dealing with record company politics, she decided to raise the money herself through her website.

Each amount of money generated a different reward: A $10 donation for a digital download, all the way up to $10,000 and a duet with Sobule. Singer/songwriter and super-producer Butch Walker is taking Sobule's idea one step further. For the low price of $25,000, you will spend the weekend at Butch's house, write a song together and perform it onstage. He'll also make you breakfast the next morning.

The price is steep, but word on the street is that Butch makes the best vegetarian omlette in Los Angeles.