Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Calendar Girlz, and Filmmaker Michele Plunkett live on VOICE of the CITY!

Karen Stanford woke from a dream and knew she had to create a calendar. Something that would empower women! She connected with Interval House and created a gorgeous calendar of curvaceous women of all shapes and sizes. Check them out tomorrow night on Main Street downtown Middletown at Motor Cycle Mania and get your calendar! Also visit them online at here at Calendar Girlz CT



Interval House, "Dedicated to providing services to prevent and break the cycle of family and intimate partner abuse." For more information please visit Interval House online.

Also in the House Michele Plunkett filmaker and producer of the film, The Temple. Click here for more information. The Temple


Listen to the show online at wesufm.org archives

Airing on WESU 88.1FM ,Tuesday nights from 8-9PM,
 and streaming on Cygnus Radio, Wednesday nights from 7-8PMhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/CT-CALENDAR-GIRLZ/395664557189818

Sunday, August 11, 2013

FESTIVAL LINEUP!


Festival Lineup:


12:00-12:20 opening the show/rumpus demonstration


Supertrance 12:20 - 1:20

Five minute sideshow 

Gigglejuice 1:40 - 2:40

Five minute side show 

J-Cherry Strawberries 3:00 - 4:00

Five minute sideshow 

Two Virgins 4:20- 5:20

Five minute side Show 

The Mighty Soul Drivers 5:40-6:40

RAFFLE!!! 

On Sunday, August 11, from noon till 8PM,  The Grove at Middlesex Community College, live and local... this is one GREAT festival!







Visit them on ReverbNation to hear their great sound! Click HERE



Proud to be supported by a grant from the Middletown Commission on the Arts!



A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE! 

For being our host and sponsor!!! 


Proudly supported by WESU voted NUMBER ONE COLLEGE RADIO! 


Brought to you by J-Cherry Presents
producers of 
VOICE of the CITY airing on WESU Tuesdays from 8-9PM
and Wednesdays from 7-8PM on Cygnus Radio
Live and local... this ain't no commercial radio! 


and 
ANYTHING GOES open MIC MONDAYS 
at the Buttonwood Tree
All the world is a stage.. the MIC is OPEN, and ANYTHING GOES! 

The Michael Cleary Band 7:00

Friday, August 9, 2013

The Mighty Soul Drivers to Perform at the Middletown Music Festival!

On Sunday, August 11, from noon till 8PM,  The Grove at Middlesex Community College, live and local... this is one GREAT festival!







Visit them on ReverbNation to hear their great sound! Click HERE



Proud to be supported by a grant from the Middletown Commission on the Arts!



A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE! 

For being our host and sponsor!!! 


Proudly supported by WESU voted NUMBER ONE COLLEGE RADIO! 


Brought to you by J-Cherry Presents
producers of 
VOICE of the CITY airing on WESU Tuesdays from 8-9PM
and Wednesdays from 7-8PM on Cygnus Radio
Live and local... this ain't no commercial radio! 


and 
ANYTHING GOES open MIC MONDAYS 
at the Buttonwood Tree
All the world is a stage.. the MIC is OPEN, and ANYTHING GOES! 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

On and PoPpIn

J-Cherry and the Strawberries are proud to debut their new single, "On and PoPpIn" recorded live at Coffeehouse Recording Studio.

" A local artist with a passion for music, lead singer J-Cherry,  a.k.a. Jennifer Shafer Wood, plays her own soulful style of blues, poetry, and funk surrounded by an ethereal musical background." David Gellar

"This songbird has a voice that really packs a punch. " Diana Carr




J-Cherry and the Strawberries will be performing at The Second Annual Middletown Music Festival! Check them out live on Sunday, August 11 at the Cedar Grove, Middlesex Community College! Live and local this is GREAT music!

A special thank you to Michael Arafeh for his great service, excellent ear, and diligent mastering! We highly recommend the Coffeehouse Recording Studio!!!


The Second Annual Middletown Music Festival is proud to be supported by,

The Middletown Commission on the Arts!



A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE! 

For being our host and sponsor!!! 


Proudly supported by WESU voted NUMBER ONE COLLEGE RADIO! 


Brought to you by J-Cherry Presents
producers of 
VOICE of the CITY airing on WESU Tuesdays from 8-9PM
and Wednesdays from 7-8PM on Cygnus Radio
Live and local... this ain't no commercial radio! 


and 
ANYTHING GOES open MIC MONDAYS 
at the Buttonwood Tree
All the world is a stage.. the MIC is OPEN, and ANYTHING GOES! 

Monday, August 5, 2013

Michael Cleary Band at The Second Annual Middletown Music Festival!


On Sunday, August 11, from 12-8PM, The Cedar Grove at Middlesex Community College,
100 Training Hill Road, Middletown, CT.




Takes the stage at 7PM. Come ready to dance! Bring a picnic and enjoy great music in a beautiful place with PLENTY of FREE PARKING! 

"The Michael Cleary band is a Hartford institution. They are celebrating their 22nd year of making original Groove/Funk/Rock music with a twist. In 2009 MCB was voted Best Jam Band in the Hartford Advocate Readers poll and they are previous winners in the Best Rock and Best Blues category"





Proud to be supported by a grant from the Middletown Commission on the Arts!



A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE! 

For being our host and sponsor!!! 


Proudly supported by WESU voted NUMBER ONE COLLEGE RADIO! 


Brought to you by J-Cherry Presents
producers of 
VOICE of the CITY airing on WESU Tuesdays from 8-9PM
and Wednesdays from 7-8PM on Cygnus Radio
Live and local... this ain't no commercial radio! 


and 
ANYTHING GOES open MIC MONDAYS 
at the Buttonwood Tree
All the world is a stage.. the MIC is OPEN, and ANYTHING GOES! 

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

SuperTrance to perform at the Second Annual Middletown Music Festival!


Sunday, August 11, at the Cedar Grove, Middlesex Community College! Suggested $10 donation and plenty of free parking!!! Rain or shine!







"An eclectic combination of world instruments weaving aspects of rock, jazz, funk, rap, electronic, didgeridoo and world music to create a super-licious soundscape to groove to!" Like them on FB! CLICK HERE




Supported by a grant from the Middletown Commission on the Arts!


Monday, July 29, 2013

Two Virgins to perform at the Second Annual Middletown Music Festival!


Join the Two Virgins on Sunday, August 11, in the cedar grove at Middlesex Community College. Live and local... this is great music! Rain or shine! We'll be in the state-of-the-art Chapman Hall in case of rain



Two Virgins is no ordinary original pop group. Bandleaders Tom Wrann and Tom Mooney are lifetime music men, now in their fifties, who have together written in their career around five hundred songs. They have performed in many, many rock, punk, folk, Americana and gospel groups over the years, both in NYC and CT, gracing the stages of such legendary venues as CBGBs during its heyday, as well as The Apollo Theatre. Bassist Jim Wrann, Tom’s brother, is also a lifetime musician, having a huge songbook of his original compositions as well. Lead guitarist Michael Arafeh (aka Bumpy Chimes), is also a lifetime musician, as well as a well-known record producer with hundreds of credits to his name. Michael also owns of one of CT’s premiere recording studios - The Coffeehouse, in Middletown. Acoustic guitarist and keyboardist Tom Phelps is also a life-long musician, another gifted songwriter with an impressive songbook, and is also the band “heart-throb”. Although these five musicians have recorded and collaborated together in various projects many times before, Two Virgin’s sixteen-song debut self-titled album, released last year on the Coffeehouse Records imprint, is a significant accomplishment for the group. The group has begun a raw and electrified live performance phase to support the album - with a collection of forty or so original songs both from the album as well as from the catalog which they will be touring on. Don’t miss them!


Check them out on FB

Supported by a grant from the Middletown Commission on the Arts


Thursday, June 6, 2013

VOICE of the CITY! Live with Goodnight Blue Moon



Goodnight Blue Moon is an indie-folk band from New Haven, Connecticut that has been playing  together since 2009. Instrumentation includes cello, violin, mandolin, guitar, banjo, upright bass, trumpet, and drums, which support rich  vocal harmonies. With songs that range from americana and bluegrass-based  traditional folk to through-composed and orchestrated pop, Goodnight Blue Moon's style is eclectic, thoughtful, and danceable at the same time.

Followed by a call in with David Bauer, of WESU and an artist for, The “Art for Haiti” art exhibition to Middletown. This Gallery show features the work of 12 visual artists in support of “Movin' With The Spirit", a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Haiti’s poorest communities. WESU is proud to sponsor  Art For Haiti’s exhibit at Wesleyan’s  Zilkha Gallery in Middletown on display June 6-15  with an opening reception, This Thursday, June 6, from  5-7pm featuring 

And the 'Bird Report' with bird man Claude Masses, tune in to hear what birds are in the area, and the best hiking trails to find them on! 


Click here to listen to the show on Cygnus Radio Archives

Airing on WESU 88.1FM ,Tuesday nights from 8-9PM,
 and streaming on Cygnus Radio, Wednesday nights from 7-8PM


Live and local... this ain't no commercial radio! 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Julie Clark Shubert live on VOICE of the CITY!

J-Cherry and Julie Clark Shubert
VOICE of the CITY
airing on WESU 88.1FM Middletown
Tuesdays from 8-9PM

recorded on 4/16/13


Thursday, May 2, 2013

The origins of J-Cherry


"the birth of poetry", watercolor on paper, circa 2001 JSW 

Poetry has always been a source of refuge for me. It has carried me through hard times, helped me to grow, and has changed my life in ways I could not have imagined! Seven years ago I rented a studio space on Pratt Street in Hartford. I was painting and writing poetry, and producing art shows. One evening while applying for a poetry fellowship, I heard this beautiful sound coming from outside my window. It was a saxophone, and it drew my out of my studio onto Pratt Street. I followed the music to the corner, and stopped at the Russell where it was emanating. I stood there peeking in through the window. A friendly man invited me in. I was shy and way under dressed. Everyone looked great and I had on my sweats, a t-shirt and a ponytail. I watched for a while and left making note to go back the following week.

It was a warm summer evening, and The Russell has European style windows that open up the restaurant to the street. I stood and I watched the array of music and poetry again. This time I was prepared to stay for the show! I was mesmerized! It was the 'Love Jones Experience', a weekly open mic. I had never encountered anything like it, and I went back each week. For a month I was part of the audience. I wasn't ready to perform. I had the jitters! What I saw at the 'Love Jones Experience’ was living breathing poetry, hip-hop, street poets, poets with passion like I had never seen! Backed up with sax, bass and conga! WOW!!! There were a variety of voices from poetry to song, to comedy, and it was oh so good! I went back to my studio and tried on a new voice for my words. I practiced for weeks, alone in my studio, walking my dog, washing the dishes, in the shower, everywhere. My poetry was coming alive slowly off the page.

Finally one evening, the host of ‘The Love Jones Experience’ a talented singer with great stage charm, Charmagne Tripp, came by with her list for the open mic. Hesitantly I got her attention and signed up.  I was so shy! I slowly wrote my name… but what was my name? My regular name, Jennifer, boring! I thought to myself. Jennifer is a fine name, but I wanted to have something with pizzazz, something different then Jennifer, because Jennifer is WAY TOO shy to get up there and bare her soul in front of an audience! It was a big audience too! Panicky I scribbled Jennifer what other choice did I have? As I waited my turn I could feel my heart racing, my palms sweaty, but the worlds rolled in my head flowing in my brain like music, I knew I could do it! “Jennifer, Jennifer, you up sister!”…  the words echoed for a moment and I was on! The conga and bass player were great. They had a special way of playing so that their sound made the poetry really come alive. I closed my eyes, swayed to the sound of the conga and bass and let out this poem:




Cherry

I am a cherry sweet yet tart, 

a luscious fruit dangling from a tree. 

You can’t help but notice me,

my sleek crimson skin, my heart like shape.
I am too pretty to miss.


Come taste me. I know you’ll want to eat me.


From a pit under the ground I grew. 

Like magic I come and go.

My sustenance will fill you.



I am a cherry sweet yet tart.


Ripe and juicy,
yearning to be picked and eaten. 
Taste my succulent fruit,

savor my flavor as I enter your mouth.

My flesh is moist and wet.

Heaven on your tongue,
ecstasy inside you.


I am a cherry sweet yet tart.


One bite and my juices will flow,

leaving your lips with a warm glow. 

Lick your fingers clean,

taste my juices as they mingle with your skin.



I am a cherry sweet yet tart.


When you’re finished with me,
plant my pit in the ground

and shower me with your love.

Then I'll be sure to come back around
to let you eat of my flesh.



I am a cherry sweet yet tart.
 a luscious fruit dangling from a tree.


Come taste me, I know you’ll want to eat me…

I felt great on stage! I opened my eyes, glanced around, and breathed my poetry into a new life. I couldn't believ it was me up there! When I finished, Charmagne looked at me with surprise, and said, “Wow! You are not Jennifer, you’re J-Cherry!” Really?! I said, I love it!!! J-Cherry, that’s me! That alter ego who is not shy and loves to be on stage! YES! That’s me! Seven years later, I am producing an open mic at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown called, ‘Anything Goes’ modeled after 'The Love Jones Experience’. I also produce a radio show on WESU 88.1FM,  ‘VOICE of the CITY’ featuring poetry, music and the arts in the community. And I just recorded my first album with my band, J-Cherry and the Strawberries. Poetry has changed my life in ways I could have never imagined! Never doubt the power of poetry!