WHAT: XPN Local, Volume 2 CD Release Party
WHEN: 7 p.m., May 1, 2008
WHERE: World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street
COST: Free. For more info, go to www.xpn.org/programs/ phillylocal.php#cd.
WHO’S PLAYING: The best in Philly music, of course. Artists scheduled to perform include Nicole Reynolds, Jesse Ruben, Andrew Lipke, Kuf Knotz, Matt Duke, Sharon Little, The Mint and Illinois. All of these artists and bands are included in the new CD, and all of them will be playing a song or two from the album at this show.
LOCAL SUPPORT: WXPN has made it a point to support local music. Each day at 1 p.m., mid-day host Helen Leicht offers up the “Philly Local Pick of the Day,” highlighting a song from a Philly artist. Leicht has found some good ones, too. Past picks include Lee, Mutlu, Melody Gardot, Jim Boggia, Phil Roy, Sharon Little, Scot Sax, The Swimmers, John Flynn, the A Sides, Hail Social, Dan May and The Brakes.
DEEP TALENT POOL: “I knew there was talent here,” Leicht says. “The station already played people from other cities who were just starting out, so I didn’t see any reason why we wouldn’t play local artists who were just starting out. Sometimes you don’t appreciate what’s in your own backyard. That really does happen. People will say, ‘You’ve got to check out this band from New York,’ and I’ll say, ‘Who cares? What about these artists in Philly?’”
HITMAKER: Amos Lee won’t be performing at the show but is included on the CD. He earned national fame with his 2006 hit, “Arms of a Woman,” and is now back with his second release, Supply and Demand.
YOU KNOW THEM FROM TV: Local rockers Illinois (pictured) had their song “Nosebleed” featured on the Showtime series “Weeds,” starring Mary Louise Parker. Their latest album, The Return of Kid Catastrophe, will be released this summer.
SHE’S GOT GUTS: Jazz-tinged singer Sharon Little started her career in a gutsy manner: Stuck on a broken down SEPTA train, Little began singing for her bored, frustrated fellow passengers. She got a standing ovation, too. Afterward, Little gathered up her new fans’ names and numbers and, just like that, she had a fan club.
SEEKING THE NEXT BIG THING: Think you’ve got what it takes to make the ‘XPN airwaves? Interested artists should send two CDs and a one-page bio to Leicht/Philly Local, 3025 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19104.
