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PAUL "BLOWFISH" LOVELL

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WMBR


WMBR is the MIT radio station. It started as WTBS. In the early eighties Ted Turner paid $35,000 to get the letters for his Turner Broadcasting Station.
      Oedipus had the first punk show here in 1975 called the Nuit Blanch. It was later called the Demi Monde.I started my Blowfish stuff by sending Oedipus comedy tapes.

      In 1977 Tom Lane heard something he liked and something he didn't like. He liked the new music he heard on Oedipus' first in the nation punk show. He didn't like the quotidian sounds he heard on his own Late Riser's Club. The publicity and attention Oedipus was receiving was even more enviable. Tom then thought that if Oedipus had one show, the Late Risers' Club was a collection of five daily shows, thus multiply the excitement by five.

      Through attrition and recruitment Tom accomplished his vision. Boy, did he ever. More than twenty years later the show functions much like he envisioned.
       Tom asked me to join in 1977. I was with Tom, Greg Reibman, Carter Allen, and Dave Woeman.

      Funny thing though, in 1977 there actually wasn't enough punk music to fill five daily three-hour shows. There had to be lots of repeating. Peripherals like Cheap Trick and AC/DC were used to pad. Punks liked reggae. Good, at least one reggae song an hour then. Weekly trips to the import record store were mandatory. WMBR was non-profit to everyone except the DJs. To them it was profit-draining.
      Record stores were Discount Records in Harvard Square (Mr. Curt was there.), Newbury Comics, Dutch East India in Salem. LRC for WEB Page.jpg - 5.09 K

   The punk rush of speed and noise stunned station managers. They were absolutely apoplectic about the lyrics. It was normal to get a call during the show, " Did they just say, 'I'll F*** you in the LIVER.'? That song is BANNED."
   The concert report became an early fixture. It is now referred to as the 'World Famous Concert Report', and has become a beast that can consume fifteen minutes easy.
    In 1983 the audience was put to work for the Sex Bomb Contest. Listeners were asked to do their own version of Flipper's Sex Bomb. The submissions went from weird to very, very weird. One can only wonder what T Max's neighbors thought of him bellowing " Sex Bomb, BABY " for twenty minutes to the rhythm of squeaking bed springs.

    For a while we had Late Riser's Club cards and a newsletter. Today, of course, there is a web page at www.laterisersclub.org. There you will find a LRC history that is more complete and the current playlists, a great place to find out what music is hot now.

    Tom Lane's idea of enticing the rabid fan, knowledgeable scene maker, or talented tyro as a DJ, has been a key success for the Late Riser's Club. It has guaranteed an injection of enthusiasm and energy, while the overlapping tenures of DJ's has provided continuity. It has been the best of both worlds. Currently Joanie Lindstrom is enjoying a 16 year tenure. Tim Kelly is the current producer of the LRC.

   The Late Riser's saddest time was the death of DJ Mick Miller . He became lost on a hike in Franconia Notch.
    Late Risers who went to bigger success include Albert O on WBCN , Tami Heidi KROQ, Dave Woeman a CA station, and Carter Allen (who wrote a book on U2) on WBCN. Joannie Lindstrom had a WBCN gig for awile. I continue to plod away in obscurity.

    The Late Risers Club continues to do what Tom Lane wanted it to do - present the latest cutting edge rock by DJs who have a sense of what is going on locally in the clubs and worldwide. LRC DJs have always traveled to other US cities, Europe, Australia or wherever the music was to experience it first hand. Now they reach worldwide via the web.

Here are three promos I did for the Late Riser Club in April 2016. Both parody some Public Service Announcements that get played to death on a daily basis on the station.
Promo One - Crash
Promo Two - Songs not Bombs
Promo Three - Full Experience

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