The 30-member, all-male group Conspiracy of Beards were in the small NPR storefront in the Upper East Side, when I encouraged them to take their sounds outside. They sang “First We Take Manhattan” as a crowd gathered on the sidewalk. Over the course of four hours, passersby came in the studio who said they didn’t play instruments, but they picked up an electric guitar, drums and keyboards and started to play on the air. This is just the sort of moving, community-oriented broadcast Neighborhood Public Radio cherishes.
Neighborhood Public Radio, the guerilla radio broadcasting audio-art collective, recently set up residency in a former shoe storefront on Madison Avenue (between East 74th & 75th streets), which is coincidentally (and strategically) owned by—and located just a few doors down from—the Whitney Museum.
“Our current production, which is titled ‘American Life,’ is in association with the Whitney Biennial,” explains Lee Montgomery who, along with Jon Brumit and Michael Trigilio, runs the 4-year-old, nonprofit traveling arts organization. Their current project runs through May 31 and broadcasts eclectic programming via both Internet streams and a micro-powered signal (91.1FM), which is in turn picked up by and relayed via “spider network” signals around the immediate neighborhood and beyond.
“American Life,” which can be also heard streaming on neighborhoodpublicradio.org, broadcasts 24/7 with live programming during museum hours. In addition to museum-related events, NPR, whose name was chosen as a statement against what they see as National Public Radio’s inability to effectively cater to specific regions or neighborhoods, is broadcasting various types of locally produced live programs.
“It’s all about the neighborhood and being accessible to the public,” says Brumit. “We have a sign-up sheet at the door so that people from the neighborhood, or those visiting the museum, can come in and do a music show, tell stories, interview people, whatever they want to do.”
Equally as important as the broadcasts, stresses Brumit, are the free workshops that NPR gives on how to build your own broadcasting devices. One of these is a tiny low-powered mini transmitter they have dubbed an “iPod transmitter,” which they can teach people to build in less than an hour. Somewhat more advanced is their P.R.I. (Public Radio Instrument): a boxed broadcast kit they build for folks that includes everything a person needs to start their own radio station. It’s the sort of thing they hope will influence people.
“Any positive effect we can have on people’s attitudes toward ideas of free speech and any critical stance we can foster towards media analysis will be considered a success,” says Montgomery.
Through May 31. NPR, 941 Madison Ave. (betw. E. 74th & 75th Sts.), with live broadcasts open to the public Thurs.-Sun. 11am-6pm; Fri. 1-9pm, free.
Neighborhood Public Radio, the guerilla radio broadcasting audio-art collective, recently set up residency in a former shoe storefront on Madison Avenue (between East 74th & 75th streets), which is coincidentally (and strategically) owned by—and located just a few doors down from—the Whitney Museum.
“Our current production, which is titled ‘American Life,’ is in association with the Whitney Biennial,” explains Lee Montgomery who, along with Jon Brumit and Michael Trigilio, runs the 4-year-old, nonprofit traveling arts organization. Their current project runs through May 31 and broadcasts eclectic programming via both Internet streams and a micro-powered signal (91.1FM), which is in turn picked up by and relayed via “spider network” signals around the immediate neighborhood and beyond.
“American Life,” which can be also heard streaming on neighborhoodpublicradio.org, broadcasts 24/7 with live programming during museum hours. In addition to museum-related events, NPR, whose name was chosen as a statement against what they see as National Public Radio’s inability to effectively cater to specific regions or neighborhoods, is broadcasting various types of locally produced live programs.
“It’s all about the neighborhood and being accessible to the public,” says Brumit. “We have a sign-up sheet at the door so that people from the neighborhood, or those visiting the museum, can come in and do a music show, tell stories, interview people, whatever they want to do.”
Equally as important as the broadcasts, stresses Brumit, are the free workshops that NPR gives on how to build your own broadcasting devices. One of these is a tiny low-powered mini transmitter they have dubbed an “iPod transmitter,” which they can teach people to build in less than an hour. Somewhat more advanced is their P.R.I. (Public Radio Instrument): a boxed broadcast kit they build for folks that includes everything a person needs to start their own radio station. It’s the sort of thing they hope will influence people.
“Any positive effect we can have on people’s attitudes toward ideas of free speech and any critical stance we can foster towards media analysis will be considered a success,” says Montgomery.
Through May 31. NPR, 941 Madison Ave. (betw. E. 74th & 75th Sts.), with live broadcasts open to the public Thurs.-Sun. 11am-6pm; Fri. 1-9pm, free.
