From P-Town, Robert Cray in a ‘lodestar’ show; looking at the Portland Gale

DJ Braintree Jim has returned to the airwaves this month on Provincetown, Mass.-based radio station WOMR with special one-hour shows. He calls these shorts "lodestar" shows or offshoots of his full-fledged Chill & Dream program.

"Most vinyl records play between 40 and 45 minutes," Braintree Jim observes. "So, they fit nicely into a 60-minute show, along with some concise commentary and station announcements." He said he enjoys these shows as they let him showcase a single artist or a notable album that otherwise "wasn't given their due."

His next show, tonight (Jan. 11) from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., will feature the work of singer, songwriter, blues guitarist and five-time Grammy award winner Robert Cray, commemorating the 40th anniversary release of his breakthrough album "Bad Influence." (Cray's next area appearance is on Feb. 28, at the Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, Mass.)

Braintree Jim surmises that "Robert Cray is such an ineffably engaging singer that it is easy to forget how protean and important a musician he is to the blues. He revitalized the idiom and modernized it, especially in the 1980s with the advent of music video. Nearly 70, he hasn't lost that unique voice nor his guitar chops. 'Bad Influence' is one of his earliest albums, and you can just hear the potential in it. The album was the spark that lit the fuse to greater success. Cray is also a study of endurance. The first Robert Cray Band started playing almost 50 years ago. I think for many people in my generation he made the blues fun and accessible. That's no easy feat!"

The DJ is also putting together special shows for 2023. One show he has planned for this spring is with local author Don Wilding. His new book Cape Cod and the Portland Gale of 1898 will be published in May. The Thanksgiving weekend storm is remembered as one of the deadliest weather events in New England maritime history. The story centers on the doomed steamer S.S. Portland, and also recounts the devastation wrought by the storm along the Massachusetts shore, particularly Provincetown Harbor.

As Braintree Jim says, "I am really excited to do a show with Don. He is such a font of local history and storytelling. I'm already thinking of ideas for the appropriate soundtrack."

Speaking of storms, the east end of Provincetown on Commercial Street, where the WOMR studios are located, is still recovering from the powerful winter storm that hit the area right before Christmas. Fifty decks were destroyed and Fanizzi's Restaurant by the Sea had to be closed for repairs after waves breached the waterfront dining room near high tide on Dec. 23. The full extent of the property damage is still to be determined, according to town officials.

You can live stream programming on womr.org and now on the new WOMR app. All music shows are archived on both platforms for two weeks from airdate for music shows, and in perpetuity for spoken word shows. The broadcast signal can be reached on 91.3 - FM Orleans, Mass., and 92.1 - FM Provincetown, Mass. And to learn more about Braintree Jim, go to chillanddreamradio.com

The doomed steamer The Portland

Cross-generational music from the Outer Cape

Hot summer? Check. Cool tunes? Check.

The Chill & Dream radio show returns to the airwaves on Friday, July 22, at 7-9 p.m., heard exclusively on WOMR (92.1 FM Provincetown, Mass.) and WFMR (91.3 FM Orleans, Mass.) and streaming everywhere on womr.org.

"I just saw the CEO {Chris Cocks} of Hasbro on CNBC the other day," DJ "Braintree Jim," the show's host, said. "And he was talking about this very basic idea that struck a chord with me. The company is having success with what he called 'multi-generational' play and entertainment. If you look at the games, the cars and even the music that is resonating with people today, it is rooted in nostalgia."

He senses that the CEO must have been listening to one of his shows. "The music I play also has this cross-generational appeal to it. Some of the older music is new to Millennials and Gen-Z. Conversely, some of the newer music is old to these very generations. It's fun to see that first light of discovery in music for people. A song may be an oldie but it might be new to someone just hearing it for the first time."

"I find it amusing that not long ago, kids would use their generation's music to rebel against their parents," he muses. "Now, it seems like kids are rebelling against their parents but using their parents' music. We've come full circle. That's the universal appeal with music. And the great thing about WOMR is that there is music for virtually every kind of taste. Whether you are rebelling or not."

WOMR is launching its summer pledge drive beginning July 22 and running for two weeks. It celebrated being on the air for 40 years this past spring. The majority of its operating budget comes from individual listeners and small businesses.

"We'll certainly be in a celebratory mood Friday," Braintree Jim said. "This is a sonic sanctuary. All are welcome. This is radio of the people, by the people, and for the people. And my show is multi-generational."

The staying power of ‘70s and ‘80s popular music

"Everything new is old again," says Provincetown, Mass., DJ Braintree Jim.

“So much of today's new music longs for nostalgia, this quest to regain or relive some semblance of what is believed to be better times from a bygone era. It's quite remarkable. You can hear it in the tunes, a steadfast reverential pastiche for ‘70s and ‘80s music. I think many of today's younger artists realize the staying power of music from that period. The evidence is all around us.

"If you look at the big streaming services it is the back catalog music that is getting all the attention. So it makes sense, therefore, that a lot of the new music I am listening to has this derivative aesthetic attached to it. I suppose each generation has pinched ideas from previous generations. Still, it's fun hearing new material infused with some of the old effects or instruments or even production techniques that were present back then. It's a hybrid mash-up for sure."

He believes that the recent resurgence and renaissance of English musician Kate Bush, now 63, and popular in the 1980s, is further proof.

Her song, "Running Up That Hill," released in 1985 on the “Hounds of Love’’ album, was recently featured on season 4 of the massively watched Netflix series Stranger Things. Ever since the song was featured it has rocketed back to the charts, both in the U.S. and U.K. It reached the top five in a recent Billboard Hot 100 chart in America, and hit no. 1 in the U.K. The recent chart success has broken all sorts of records. And a three-week period in June saw the song streamed a staggering 137 million times on Spotify.  

Braintree Jim's radio show Chill & Dream returns to the airwaves on Wednesday, July 6, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on WOMR (92.1 FM) the community radio station in Provincetown that recently celebrated 40 years on the air. It’s simulcast on sister station WMFR (91.3 FM) in Orleans.

Perhaps tellingly, the new show will showcase music from the 1980s. "It's very much a roots show," he says. "You can't escape the roots. And yes, I will be playing Kate Bush." The show can be streamed live on womr.org.

The building that houses WOMR, at 492-494 Commercial St., has a fascinating history. Hit this link to read about it and see photos from its history.

‘Chill & Dream’ in a sonic sanctuary on the Cape

The Pilgrim Monument in the gloaming of Provincetown.

The radio show Chill & Dream returns to the airwaves on WOMR, in Provincetown, Mass. (92.1) and on its sister signal, WFMR, in Orleans, Mass., (91.3) and streaming worldwide on womr.org on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 9 a.m. WOMR is celebrating 40 years on the air. Where were you in 1982? Need an escape in 2022? Chill & Dream is, says creator and DJ "Braintree Jim," your sonic sanctuary, exploring old and new dimensions of sight and sound. Exclusively on WOMR.

In 1940, a beachfront art class in Provincetown, long an internationally known art center.

The Jonathan Young Windmill, a restored, working 18th-Century windmill next to Town Cove in Orleans.

— Photo by ToddC4176