Jackson Free Press

Daniel Johnson, 26, and Walter Young, 22, are on a mission to publicize the talent and power of Mississippi rock bands through "Mississippi Happening," a radio show on WLEZ 103.7 FM (Friday 10 p.m.-midnight). The show is a "showcase of explorations of rock in Mississippi," though the two try to be broad in their definition of that genre, including everything from indie to metal to instrumental. But you won't hear any rap or electronica here; at its heart, "Mississippi Happening" is about rock. "There has to be a line drawn to have some integrity about calling it a Mississippi rock show," Johnson says.

In traveling around Mississippi over the past four years, Young was struck by how many talented bands he saw. "It seemed like people would be really into them, but nobody had ever heard of them, and only 15 people would show up, if that," he says. "This was an idea waiting to happen."

"There's a whole lot of talent in Mississippi, and there's no way to hear it. There's no venue." With publicity and attendance in mind, "Mississippi Happening" puts specific emphasis on playing the music of bands who have upcoming shows in the area.

"It definitely works from both ends. It's a promotional tool for bands, but at the same time, for the audience of Jackson, we put a primary focus on what's going on that weekend and the next week," Johnson says.

The show aims to keep listeners informed of upcoming events so they know what bands they will like and should go see. "Listen to the show; any band you hear that you like, go hear them every time they play, and make every effort you can to buy their CD or merchandise associated with them," Johnson advises.

Extensive research goes into finding Mississippi bands to play on the show. Young and Johnson do Internet research via e-mail and Myspace to find local bands. Young says some bands might not even know they are getting radio time. This will not always be the case, however, because in the future much of the music will be live. Young mentions an old law that limited how much recorded music could be broadcast on the radio. The emphasis was supposed to be on live bands, and "Mississippi Happening" would like to return to that tradition. Wooden Finger is in talks to appear on Jan. 13, and Scarlett Speedster will play live on the Jan. 20 show.

After only five weeks on the air, "Mississippi Happening" has already received plenty of feedback from local bands. People are calling in, e-mailing and sending in submissions of their music, which is exactly what Young and Johnson want. The more bands they find out about, the more they can publicize them. "Make a list of all the bands you know of, and e-mail it to us at [e-mail missing]," Young asks of JFP readers.

Bands are also welcome to submit their own music, either as a CD via mail or as an MP3 via e-mail. Johnson and Young emphasize that their purpose is to encourage bands. They understand that not all bands can afford studio time, so they are not particular about recording quality. If a band's submission conveys the essence of their music, they will play it.

Ultimately, "Mississippi Happening" won't be limited to the airwaves; Johnson and Young would like to see the concept become equal parts radio show and Internet community. They see the current web site (www.MississippiHappening.com) developing into an online resource for Mississippi bands, where they could look for, talk to and join up with other groups with similar styles and learn how to do their own promotion, from finding a venue to building their own press kits. "Ideally, the Web site would get to a point where it would be useful enough that even without the show it could live on," Young says.

They also hope to host concerts, develop tours around Mississippi, and syndicate the show to reach a broader audience beyond WLEZ. They are currently working on getting the show on MSU radio and hooking up with other radio stations around the state.

When not working on "Mississippi Happening," Daniel Johnson and Walter Young play together in two bands—Dark Heart and The Try Force. Johnson is also the community outreach coordinator for Rainbow Whole Foods, as well as a painter, a director of The Collective and a member of an avant-garde jazz trio. Young is a graphic designer and runs a local record label.

Previous Comments

ID

63740

Comment

I met Johnson at a seminar thing a while back. Really bright, friendly guy. Didn't realize he was involved in this much stuff. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-01-12T02:25:09-06:00

ID

63741

Comment

Best article i've ever read.

Author

laurajaynemartin

Date

2006-01-12T11:57:12-06:00

ID

63742

Comment

Now that's my kind of response. ;-D

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-01-12T11:58:29-06:00

ID

63743

Comment

Look for some music from Apache Valentino soon!

Author

Patrick Roach

Date

2006-01-25T21:17:50-06:00