... one of those nights that totally reminds you why we do what we do - seeing Rilo Kiley at the Trocadero. Jenny Lewis and the guys shaped a set that was filled with drama, humor, anger, suspense, beauty, passion - oh, I could keep listing adjectives... I first heard of Rilo Kiley about 3 years ago when they released The Execution of All Things on Saddle Creek, the label of Bright Eyes, etc... and something about the record really resonated with me. First there's Jenny's voice - somewhere between Liz Phair, Chryssie Hynde, Carol Van Dyck (Bettie Serveert), and Karen O - edgy, but with a sweetness that also harkens back to '70s AM Country pop a la Loretta Lynn. In short, she's the sexy librarian with the knowing voice/lyrics but minus the negativity... maybe she's a modern day Karen Carpenter, I don't know - but tonight, she and the rest of the band was on a peak - taking the sold out Troc crowd for a journey into American music... I heard twinges of gospel and soul mixed with the whitest of white - country and indie rock... and - they had fun, and could play the shit out of their instruments. The fact that the show was sold out, the fact that the more you hear their new album More Adventurous the better it sounds, the fact that as of right now I'm putting "Portions For Foxes" into heavy rotation... it all adds up to me knowing that as Cornershop once said, the good shit is on the way... get the album, and get there early when you go see Coldplay in August, cause Rilo Kiley has graduated from indie-dom and will be opening for Mr. Paltrow later this summer...

Jim Mcguinn

First off, I want to thank everyone who bought tix to the FEZtival, and apologize for any inconvenience suffered at the hands of Ticketmaster. Secondly, thx to the bands for agreeing to try to stage a festival with an online station. We all tried to do something that had never been attempted before on this level.

Thirdly, well, back to the drawing board. When we put together the show with the folks at Electric Factory Concerts (our partners on all things FEZ since day one) we all thought that the lineup would sell through, even if there was no radio station, online or otherwise, to help push it along. With a database of 60,000 names, the online Y100Rocks.com station, and bands like Interpol (who had recently sold out the Electric Factory) and Garbage (who had underplayed by doing a sold out show at the TLA), this should should have sold a lot more tix than it did. And, we did everything at Y100Rocks.com that we could think of to help that process along - from soliciting local bands to get involved, to asking listeners to help with getting the word out, to going out ourselves to shows and putting flyers under the hoods of cars, etc. And everytime we talked to someone, they seemed a) surprized that Y100 / Y100Rocks.com was around at all, and b) even more shocked that a FEZtival was happening... so, all the ads in the CP, all the flyering, all the pestering on the online station just didn't penetrate the consciousness of the general public. The difficulty to generate sufficient awareness and tix sales led to the decision from all parties (bands, EFC, Y100Rocks.com) to cancel the show. We are all saddened by this. And... it means we have learned a few things:

Distribution of alternative culture via the web exclusively is not suffient to execute major events like the FEZtival.
While the web is growing leaps and bounds, it is still not bigger than traditional media.
60,000 names on a petition does not guarantee tix sales.
Most people are very busy and not really paying attention to things like online radio stations.

What was weird is that the music industry - the labels, bands, writers, promoters, etc., all saw this show as a slamdunk... and we were all wrong. So - we take the lessons and will move forward. Some postives - we found a bunch of great bands on the Big Break! We got nearly 200 entries to our contest in two weeks! Local bands are screaming for an outlet! Hopefully we'll pull a few of them together and organize a show at a smaller venue like the North Star perhaps. We've been playing them on the online station much more than we were ever allowed to at Y100, and they sound great in the mix - proof that there are worthy local bands out there!

We also helped educate a lot of people about Y100Rocks.com and the streaming station. Our persistent flyering brought some new listeners - welcome to the club!

In the future I think we will view Y100Rocks.com as starting at ground zero, not as a continuation of what Y100 once was. I'm into staging small events, when and where we can pull them off confidently and successfully, and building a community. That means the station eventually can open up and be more inclusive (we have lots of ideas but are not yet at a place where this is easily feasible) - with listeners as DJs, as staff - a real community of music people coming together to share - not just 'songs Jim/Josh/Alan/Joey think are cool.' If we get set up in a place that's not our houses, we might be able to build a true outlet for the community - and that's something that could be beautiful.

Finally, Wednesday was the day I realized that I don't have a job. No one really had any idea what was going to happen when we flung ourselves into Y100Rocks.com on February 25th. To me, it's been a non-stop quest, driven by my usual tendencies, but also by a sense of responsibility and commitment that I felt coming back from the disenfranchised listeners who were reaching out to us over the course of thousands of emails, message board posts, and chat room discussions. It drove me, and in the white hot passoinate frenzy of trying to put this thing together, I never really gave a thought to the fact that not only did I no longer have a paycheck, but also no real responsibilities, no real authority, and no set thought for where it would lead me/you/us. Some of the other displaced former Y100 staff has gotten jobs - I'm really proud of that, because it's proof that this was a great team. But I've got to get it into perspective, try to figure out where it can and will go moving forward, and if it's not going to pay the bills, then I need to get my life set up where this takes up 15-20 hours per week, instead of the 60-70... and also to take a break - the pressure of mounting the FEZtival was weighing down on us, and I'm coming to realize that after 15 years of being a PD, I could really use a break... so, I'm not sure what is next for Y100Rocks.com - the people that have been working on it (and that includes Josh and Alan and Zack but also all the DJs and all the volunteers, street squad, designers, helpers) want it to keep going in some fashion, and I imagine we will use the message boards to communicate with you about where you want us to go and how we can all get there. So no, I don't think this is the end by any means. There is too much music and too many fans that need an outlet and place to form a community together. It's a long road - and we're on it. But I may need to pull off at the rest stop for a little breather and some fresh air...

Jim McGuinn

... which is unusual for me, but, I'll try my best!

Anyway, you may have seen in the paper that I got a production job at KYW. This is probably confusing to most people - which I understand.

But the important thing here is that you all know that I am still a part of Y100Rocks.com - and I made sure I could do that before accepting the job - I just won't be able to do daytime airshifts anymore for obvious reasons.
HOWEVER - I still support the campaign to bring a modern rock station back to Philadelphia, and I still strongly believe in everything that Y100Rocks.com stands for. Don't think for a minute that I've given up on any of that.

So why KYW?

As I told them in my interview, KYW is not just a radio station - it's a Philadelphia institution. And frankly, I'm proud to be a part of that. It'll be a challenge for me, but challenges are what make life interesting.

This also affords me the opportunity to stay in the Philadelphia area - I grew up here, I love this town, and I don't think anywhere else compares; My mom & dad are still here, my brother is here, Otispunk (the band I'm in) is here ... and Y100Rocks.com is here too.

So, really - I have a job at a reputable radio station, I have the opportunity to continue working with Y100Rocks.com, and I get to stay close to the people I care about. What more could I ask for? (Well, besides that all of the former Y100 staffers find gainful employment soon, and that someone realizes that we need a modern rock station in Philadelphia, and REALLY EFFIN' SOON!)

But don't lose faith - I haven't.

-Zack

UPDATE:
Talk about hitting the ground running ... I've never been this busy in my life at any job! Wow. Someone asked about me doing airshifts at night on Y100Rocks.com. Perhaps at some point soon I can - but I want to get settled in first. It's just totally different from Y100, and I have to adjust. But I literally have been so inundated with work, that it took 3 days of being there for me to get enough time to fill out the paperwork that they give you when you start a job. Seriously. I was right - It's a challenge! However - I am enjoying the job and the work - there's just a lot of it.