New York, New York

Posted on 8:24 PM

Have you ever been to New York City? It's crazy here. On any normal day it's bustling with people, a town that never sleeps. During the CMJ music marathon the lower east side is bustling with a special kind of people... the musicheads who fly in from all over North America (and New Zealand) to spend the long weekend networking, sitting in on panels about the practical aspects of running a well oiled machine of a radio station, and, of course, going to shows out the wazoo.

Thousands of bands make an appearance at CMJ each year, from Four Tet to Lower Dens to Prince Rama to Dark Dark Dark (holla' Minneapolis!). The scheduling is packed so tight that choosing who to see must be done well in advance and you can't always see everything you want to see (practical lessons learned quickly during the first night).


The CMJ College Day was at the top floor of the Kimmel Center at NYU. Here we are super excited for panels and free breakfast!!!



While waiting for free breakfast we noticed an epic ensemble of balloons, circa The Red Balloon.

We decided that before we gave ourselves up to the madness that is the CMJ music marathon, we would hike through yellow taxis and smoking, frothing sewers for some quality coffee. Our walk took us to the Ace Hotel in Manhattan, who plays host to the only public-access Stumptown Coffee shop in New York. Stumptown is based in Portland, OR, and has made a name for itself in the specialty coffee industry. Following a twenty-minute wait in line I ordered my macchiatto, which turned out to be one of the best I have had in a long time (this is saying a lot considering the up-and-coming contingent of specialty coffee shops the twin cities has to offer).


A delicious macchiato at the KEXP broadcast.

Even at the Ace we couldn't escape CMJ, however, as the lobby had been turned into a makeshift venue, hosting the three-day live broadcast for KEXP, the University of Washington owned radio station based out of Seattle, WA. The dimly lit and terribly stylish lobby included sleek leather couches arranged in small squares in front of the "stage," located on floor level in front of bookcases full of books, that gave the whole setup a basement-show-in-your-hip-misfit-sophomore-philosophy-professor's-basement feel. We were unfortunately only able to catch the soundcheck for Revolver before hustling back to the NYU campus for an afternoon of panel discussions at CMJ's College Day, where David Safar (former Radio K Music Director), other students from across the country, and radio industry folks talked about the basics of college radio.



David Safar, former Radio K Music Director and now Associate Music Director at KCMP, moderates a panel about being a music director at a college radio station.

It hasn't been the smoothest trip so far. Between a verbal beating by a burly man with a heavy new york accent who was furious at our insistence on a yellow cab to coming just short of receiving an award (though the nominations for best station & best student run station were amazing!) to discovering that the majority of the shows were inaccessible to the younger contingent of our K-fellowship, we've stayed on our toes the past 36 hours. Despite the setbacks it's been wonderful being in New York where our Minnesota plaid stands out against the black work suits and sleek hipster garb, surrounded by awesome music and people who love it just as much as we do.

-Sophie and co.