PROPER THANKS,
DJ Wood to kick off live music series, online show for local artists
Every Boston artist owes a debt of gratitude to our local music institutions. The success of the scene can be traced to the love and support offered by such clubs as the Paradise and Great Scott, and by Berklee College of Music, Girls Rock Camp Boston, WBCN radio and Vanyaland.com.
Few institutions mattered as much as the Rock 'n' Roll Rumble, a mix between a festival and a battle of the bands sponsored by local radio that officially began in 1979, and “Boston Emissions,” a radio show focused on local sounds that ran for more than three decades on WBCN and then WZLX.
Not surprisingly, outof-towners have trouble understanding what makes the Boston music community so distinctive. When the iHeartRadio national network bought WZLX last year, the company decided to ax the Rumble and “Boston Emissions” in the spring. But Anngelle Wood, who hosted “Boston Emissions” and ran the Rumble for nearly a decade, hasn't given up on the scene. Next month she will launch an independent version of “Boston Emission” online and on Thursday she kicks off a new music series, Boston Proper, at Hennessey's.
“It's been a good summer and allowed me to take in the radio landscape, see what I think is missing, and what I want my next move to be,” Wood said since going off the air in May. “There was nothing about the end of the show's run that set me into a panic.
I felt no need to call on listeners to campaign to keep the show on the air.
“Looking at what technology affords me and what I can do in the digital world is very exciting,” she added. “The new `Boston Emissions' will take us into local studios and living rooms for live sessions, host special events, feature special interviews and bring live rock back to the heart of the city.”
Wood joins an already humming online radio revolution in Boston. Last month, local music champion (and former Herald feature writer) Michael Marotta debuted the show “Morning Glory” on online radio station indie617.com. Although traditional radio still features a few local music shows — notably John Shea's “Almost Famous” on 95.9 WATD — online outlets look to be the future.
“Listenership, people's consumption, has certainly changed,” Wood said. “We see it with streaming and on-demand content and specialty programming. I consume content almost exclusively on-demand. I am asked regularly for show replays and podcasts. We'll get that, too.”
How people listen to recorded music has radically changed. Live music remains as visceral as it always has. Knowing this, Wood recruited a pair of Rumble alums who put on legendary live sets — Goddamn Draculas and OldJack — to launch the Boston Proper series.
“She is fierce, she loves Boston, she loves bands, she loves music,” OldJack frontman Dan Nicklin said. “I'm happy to help her kick-start something for all the kickstarts she has given out.”
And just like that, a new institution in born. Next up, reviving an old one: Of course, Wood is looking to bring the Rumble back in 2019 for the 40th anniversary.