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Pics from the WMBRBQ! by Kayode D. '27

Do You Like College Radio??

Hello friends!!

The semester has started, and I have been SWAMPED with work. I got all excited with the new semester and joined some new clubs, but didn’t drop any clubs from last year, so now I’m kind of overbooked, but this is entirely of my own doing. I have a ton of blog posts that are half-written and I need to work on/post soon. These young’ens are showing me up!

Anyways, today⁠01 ok, it was Sunday and I procrastinated  was the WMBRBQ!

WMBR (Walker Memorial Basement Radio) is MIT’s student college radio station. It’s located under Walker Memorial building (duh) and it’s a full radio station! I love music so so so much, and being part of this station is one of my favorite things about MIT. Today we had a barbecue (the WMBRBQ) in the lawn next to Walker, and I signed up to be a photographer! These photos will also go on the WMBR Blog, and on the website, which you should totally go check out!! You can listen to WMBR @ 88.1FM on the radio in the greater Boston area, and @ wmbr.org worldwide!

Me and my roommate have a radio show called Midwest Pizzeria that airs at 7pm on Sunday nights. There’s plenty of other great shows, like Bats in the Belfry, The Hot Rat Sessions, The…, and of course, Porcelain Cow. [Full show schedule with descriptions here!] You can also go back and listen to 2 weeks worth of radio archives, so if you miss something it’s no big deal!

During Covid, a lot of people began doing their shows remotely, and we’re still working on getting the number of live shows back to normal. This makes events like the WMBRBQ so epic, because you get to see all kinds of people that you didn’t even know were a part of the station!

 

The WMBR Community!!!
This is one of the station's General Managers, James! (Music for Eels)
Our other General Manager, Maggie( Music For Eels), and Anton (Post-tentious)
Amy (Treaty of Tordesillas) and her bird, [insert bird name here]
Amanda (Vibe Killers) and Mateo (The Froot Loops)
Grill Dad Caleb!
This is completely unrelated but I think that this fountain is hilarious. Like it's a gift from the class of 1914, but it's just this water fountain with weak water pressure. It just makes me lol.
Let's go downstairs to the WMBR Station
The lounge is being repainted right now, but usually there's couches, a big TV where we watched Radio Rebel last week, and a fridge full of drinks. Station members hang out here a lot.
The tech closet, where we keep all the spare board parts + assorted tech things
This is Control Room A, where most people play their show live. You need to get trained on how to use the board, and then you can play whatever music you want (within reason) and talk with friends on air!
The rubber duck shrine that lives in Studio A
A wall of polaroids of every current station member, whether a student or community member!
This is Studio C, where we can have artists perform live on air! Covid kinda stopped bands from coming and we mostly have DJ's live nowadays, but we're getting back into live music! Capacity for a full band and 16 mics (idk why you'd need that many but we can take it).
The coolest thing at WMBR, our record library!
CD's reach from floor to near-ceiling, and while the exact number of physical music pieces is unkown, it's defintely more than a hundred-thousand.
Records!!
I best not hear you dissing on the Bob's Burgers Soundtrack, Volume 1. Fantastic collection of eclectic tunes and honestly a heavy contended for favorite album in the station.
This photo is from the office. We have tons of stickers, posters, and other assorted musical paraphernalia from the last 4 decades tacked up around the station. (Some of our longest running shows have been going for 40+ years, started when the hosts were undergrads!)
We also get tons of free tickets from venues in Boston to give away on the air (and sometimes a staff pair for ourselves!). I'm going to see Ginger Root and Illuminati Hotties next month! For free!!
Fiona, host of "The...", Saturdays @ 9AM
Nikasha (aka Nikiminasha), wrapping up her show, Strolls down the 'Splanade, 6-7pm on Sundays.
KING GHIDORA!!!
PCow Live!

Check out WMBR.org ! It’s pretty neato, bandito!

 

this took an incredibly long time to create. the camera i was using took photos in a format called .NEF, which is unique to the Nixon Camera brand. And it can’t be uploaded to this website in that form, so i had to convert every single one. God has cursed me for my hubris and my work is never done. have a good weekend, everyone, and listen to some good radio!

  1. ok, it was Sunday and I procrastinated⁠ ↑