April 8: Solar Eclipse Programming

Did you know the sun is going to “totally eclipse our Vermont hearts” on Monday, April 8? We’re expecting lots of folks to visit our totality path here in the state and we’re proud to offer a special program “Solar Soundtrack” for the actual eclipse, 2-4pm hosted by Sydonia of Theme Time Radio (first Mondays of the month at 7pm).

They will play a solar themed music show and have special guests, including an astrologer and famed, Mark Breen from the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium.

The eclipse will start at 2:15pm and go through 3:29pm, with about 1 minute and 25 seconds of totality by the moon.

Central Vermont Community Radio will also be part of the Montpellier Alive statehouse events that day from 12-2pm by providing live DJing by our very own Xav (Xav Wax). More details coming soon to: https://www.montpelieralive.com/eclipse

Spring Drive Donor Contest

We appreciate every single dollar and put it all toward keeping the station sounding great. WIth your help, we will meet every goal of the 2024 Spring FunDrive, especially that $15,000 big goal.

There are lots of ways to give:

• Go to the drive website and donate by credit card, venmo, PayPal or more.

• Or on the drive site pledge a check and then send it made out to “CVCR” and mail it to the station at WGDR, 123 Pitkin Rd. Plainfield, VT 05667.

  Every donor who gives by March 31 will be entered to win a prize or receive a perk!
  

• If you give $50 or more we will send you a limited edition 50th anniversary full-color sticker and a copy of our 2024 schedule.

• If you give $200 or more, we'll send you anything of your choice from our swag shop!

All donors who give during our two-week drive (March 16-31) will be entered to win prizes donated by Vermont businesses and organizations. 

Tickets to shows like:

• The Beatles Experience at the Barre Opera House on April 12

• Prairie Home Companion at the Flynn April 20

• Dave Keller Band at Highland Arts Center on April 27

• the Flaming Lips at Higher Ground's summer waterfront stage on July 26

• Cabot Arts Music Festival on Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27

Or A Bread & Puppet banner.

We will also have individual show incentives for giving levels. Tune in to hear more!

CVCR Contest Rules
Anyone who donated online or by check dated during our Spring FunDrive, March 16-31, will be entered to win one of the incentive prizes donated from local businesses and organizations. You must donate during the two weeks to be eligible to win. Per station policy, no paid staff, programmers, volunteers, board, or contractors are eligible to win.

Any questions can be sent to the Station Manager, Llu Mulvaney-Stanak at Llu@WGDR.org or at (802) 276-0365.

Thank you for supporting WGDR/WGDH!

Special Spring Drive Programming

We really make drives a fun time by going above and beyond with our regular programming and adding on special extra shows. This is our way of thanking drive donors who are helping us fund this mighty fine pair of community radio stations: WGDH & WGDR. For this spring drive, we have a little of everything! Live music, themed shows, special guests, extended shows, special shows teaming up programmers together. It is going to be a lot of fun to listen to (and make!). Below is most of what we plan to do. Thanks for tuning in and giving by March 31 to help us hit that $15,000 goal!

Week One: Saturday, March 16-Saturday, March 23

• Saturday, March 16

• 10am-noon: Predictably Unpredictable with Chris Buckridge - Special Programming: All soundtrack music!

• 4-7pm: Acoustic Harmony with Mark Michaelis - Live Music: Jim Rooney is a musician, producer, audio engineer, grammy award winner & author with more than a 60 year career in the music industry.  Some of his clients have included, Nanci Griffith, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Bonnie Raitt and many others.  Jim has lived in VT for over 40 yrs and will join Mark around 4:30pm for over an hour of music and stories related to his long career.

• 8-10pm: Special Extra Programming: DJ Llu Drive Kick Off Night Dance Party!

• Sunday, March 17

• 7am-10am: Curse of the Golden Turnip - Special Programming: 3 hour extended show, with a special guest.

• 7-9pm: The Revel Level with DJ EhMmAhhh: Special Programming: A giving themed set and legendary dance shows to kick it off FunDrive weekend!

• Monday, March 18 

• 6-7pm Special Extra Programming: Kevin Titterton and Chris Buckridge team up for a super duo co-host a music show!

• Tuesday, March 19

• 11am-2pm: Get Fresh with DJ Llu - Special Extra Programming: midday three-hour live dance party, including a special all vinyl set. 

• 6-9pm: Still Life with DJ Club Soda & Orange Peel - Special Extra Programming: A 3 hour, extended show with both hosts!

• Wednesday, March 20

• 4-6pm: Special Extra Programming: Hit That Perfect Beat, Boy: An hour of Bronski Beat and Friends with Barry Matthews, live in the studio!

• 6-7pm: Special Extra Programming: Suppertime Punk with Chris Buckridge: Punk Rock, ‘nuff said! 

• Thursday, March 21

• 6-9pm: Xav Wax w/ Xav - Special Extra Programming: A three hour special vinyl set with Xav!

• Friday, March 22

• 6-9pm: Barndance Bluegrass - Special Extra Programming: A three hour Grassers show, with live music kickin in at 7pm.

• Saturday, March 23

• 9-10am: Kitchen Permaculture w/ Rebecca Beidler - Donor Incentive: Give at least $20 during the show and be entered to win a free spot at the Peace of the Earth Farm mushroom log workshop in April.

• 4-7pm: Acoustic Harmony with Mark Michaelis - Live Music: Burlington based Patrick Fitzsimmons will make a return visit to Acoustic Harmony.  He has just released a brand new album and will be joining Mark live on air around 5pm to share new music and stories from his long career as both a solo artist and 

• 7-10pm: Special Programming! A special InCommon Sounds with Brother B: A special three hour, Saturday night episode of this iconic WGDR/WGDH show.

Week Two: Sunday, March 24-Sunday, March 31

• Sunday, March 24

  • 7am-10am: Curse of the Golden Turnip with Alan LePage and Steven Farnham - Extended three hour show, with special guest: Rose Friedman of the Civic Standard in Hardwick on March 24. Rose and her husband, Justin Lander gained fame before covid as Vermont Vaudeville. They are now Modern Times Theatre. The Civic Standard is a community space for performances community suppers and camaraderie.

  • 9-11pm: Spiral Galaxy: Tribute or Rip-off? Tom will play two songs and a special live panel will vote on whether they think the latter song was a tribute to the original or an uncredited rip-off. FUNdrive indeed!

• Monday, March 25

• 6-9pm: Borderlands with DJ Tenderman - Special Extra Programming: A special three hour show!

• Tuesday, March 26

• 11am-2pm: Get Fresh with DJ Llu - Special Extra Programming: A three-hour tribute show to all the wonderful local programming we have on the air. Tune in to hear all 50 shows highlighted by a curated soundtrack of tunes.

• 6-9pm: Still Life with DJ Club Soda & Orange Peel - Special Extra Programming: A 3 hour, extended show with both hosts!

• Wednesday, March 27

• 12-2pm: Get Fresh with DJ Llu - a fundrive hype up show, full of the usual new music, to get our midday listeners to kick in.

• 6-7pm - Special Extra Programming: Suppertime Funk with Chris Buckridge: Funk Rock, ‘nuff said! 

• Thursday, March 28

• 4-6pm: Get Fresh with DJ Llu - a fundrive hype up show, full of the usual new music, to get our afternoon listeners to kick in.

• 6-9pm: Xav Wax w/ Xav - Special Extra Programming: A three hour special vinyl set with Xav!

• Friday, March 29

• 6-9pm: Barndance Bluegrass - Special Extra Programming: A three hour Grassers show, with live music kickin in at 7pm.

• Saturday, March 30

• 9am-noon: Predictably Unpredictable with Chris Buckridge,  Special Extra Programming: A special three hour episode, details coming.

• 4-7pm: Acoustic Harmony with Mark Michaelis  - Live Music - The West Townsend, VT duo Hungrytown will make their first appearance on Acoustic Harmony.  Rebecca Hall & Ken Anderson have been touring across the country and worldwide for nearly 20 years and will be releasing a brand new album later this year.  They will join Mark on air around 5pm so share new & old music and regale listeners with tales of many their travels.

• 7-10pm: Special Programming! A special all-request show with Savannah!

• Sunday, March 31

• 7am-10am: Curse of the Golden Turnip - Special Programming: 3 hour extended show, with a special guest.

• 7-11pm: A Spring Drive Wrap Party across the Revel Level & Spiral Galaxy.

Spring FunDrive 2024

We want to make the WGDR & WGDH spring fundrive a great listening experience for you. You won't hear boring pitches, you will hear special programming, themes, special guests, live performances, and more. We will give you our best on the air and ask that you show the station how much it means to you by donating between March 16-31.

We appreciate every single dollar and put it all toward keeping the station sounding great. Together, we can raise our goal of $15,000 this spring.

You can give online via credit card, PayPal, Venmo, and more or pledge a check online, then send it our way.

Drive donor perks!

If you give $50 or more we will send you a limited edition 50th anniversary full-color sticker and a copy of our 2024 schedule.

If you give $200 or more, we'll send you anything of your choice from our swag shop!

All donors who give during our two-week drive will be entered to win prizes donated by Vermont businesses and organizations. See the list of all prizes.

Help us meet our drive goals this spring:

• Raise $15,000 (or more!) to pay the everyday bills that keep the station rolling.

• 5 new sustaining donors. Think of it like one of your many streaming services. What monthly value do we provide to your listening needs? $10? $15? $25? 

• 10 out-of-state donors. We see you streamers! Thank you for listening from near and far online.

• 25 new donors. We love first-time donors! You build our capacity across our listening area.

• 25 returning donors. Did you forget to give to the station last year? Make this drive the one you return to giving with us. We missed you and appreciate your support. 

  Make a gift today!

  1. Give or pledge a check securely online (credit card, PayPal, venmo, etc.) by clicking the box on the upper right. Pick an amount or enter your own. Look for the tab at the top for "one-time" or "monthly." You can also pledge a check to the drive online. Simply choose "check" and enter your information. Then, send that check made out to “CVCR” and mail it to WGDR/WGDH, 123 Pitkin Road Plainfield, VT 05667. Thank you!

  2. Leave us a message about your favorite shows or why you love WGDR & WGDH.

  3. Complete the donation and choose if you want to cover the credit card processing fee or us (optional!) and a tip (to GiveButter, the platform), the tip is optional and does NOT come to us. Click the drop-down box for that and choose "$0." to skip this tip!

  4. After you donate, your donation will show up in the community donor scroll at the side of this page. Thank you so very much.

CVCR Contest Rules
Anyone who donated online or by check dated during our Spring FunDrive, March 16-31, will be entered to win one of the incentive prizes donated from local businesses and organizations. You must donate during the two weeks to be eligible to win. Per station policy, no paid staff, programmers, volunteers, board, or contractors are eligible to win.

Any questions can be sent to the Station Manager, Llu Mulvaney-Stanak at Llu@WGDR.org or at (802) 276-0365.

Thank you for supporting WGDR/WGDH!

Central Vermont Community Radio (CVCR) is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Donations are tax-deductible under state and federal law.

Programmer Featurette: Chris Buckridge

Each month, a member of our Programming Committee is interviewing one of our programmers. These “featurettes” will give you a glimpse into some of your favorite WGDR/WGDH voices and what they do when they aren’t on the air. Up first, Savannah Bailey, one of our newest programmers in 2024!

Programmer Featurette: Savannah Bailey

By John Dillon, Chair of the CVCR Programming Committee

Chris Buckridge, host of the Saturday show “Predictably Unpredictable,” was part of the group of new programmers who came on the air last spring. He’ll celebrate his first anniversary on the air next month.

Chris says he first started seeing – or hearing – himself on the radio when he lived in New Haven, Ct. in 2015 and became a fan of WPKN in Bridgeport, Vt. Like WGDR, WPKN is volunteer-driven and community-supported.

What follows is an interview with Chris, where he describes growing up in a music-infused household, playing turkey calls on the air, finding community in Vermont, and a very memorable show when his daughter Ramona was born.

CB: [At WPKN] I was really impressed by the diversity that was on the airwaves: A bunch of different characters helming their own shows making mistakes live. I fell in love with the dead air and all the ums. I thought it was such a beautiful thing.

I daydreamed about having a show there but hadn’t pursued it yet, but I was definitely attracted to it and started to see myself there. I saw myself reflected in it, in some shows and some people.

JD: So, it was sort of hearing other community radio offerings, and like you said hearing yourself there?

CB: Yes, it was a great place for other awkward weirdos. And you would listen and try to imagine what they looked like and stuff. It was great. I love it so much.

JD: Your show is called Predictably Unpredictable and you started [a recent show]  with the Ramones, then you had Artie Shaw and then there was a whole Twin Peaks thing. How would you describe your shows intent?

CB: Emptiness? [Laughs] I don’t know if there is an intent. I want it to work, I want it to sound good…  I guess it’s a real struggle to try to identify that because it changes so often. I don’t know that there is an intent, it just is.

JD: I think the title gives it an intent or at gives it at least a definition

CB: The title is more of a disclaimer, I feel like… The theme coming up this week it’s John Frusciante’s birthday, from the Chile Peppers, because there’s an anniversary of a record coming out. I’m a huge fan of his. I love him. I think he’s great. The whole show is Frusciante and Frusciante adjacent stuff and things that influenced him and snippets of interviews and stuff like that.

But it’s not going to be a birthday theme every week, although birthdays will enter into it sometimes. And it’s not going to be a theme every week at all. Some weeks will be a lot of jazz; some weeks it will be just be vinyl; Some weeks it will be just MP3s … It all changes week by week. It’s kind of whatever floats up for me and I kind of just pull from an interest in music and a knowledge of music. Whatever I have lying around in in my brain or in record collection could potentially end up in there.

I’ve done turkey calls before. Not me. I mean, I played a turkey call record. I mean anything is really fair game

JD: I do those in the spring but it’s usually to try to find a turkey.

CB: Yeah, I was kind of wondering if anybody would like turn their speakers out in their windows and see if they could summon any turkeys… I forget why I did that. I found it my collection and was really excited about it.

JD: How does your community, geographic as well as social and political, shape your perspective that you bring to the air.

CB: Well, my show is a reflection of myself and my own interests so when I do my show it’s just me it‘s really just me. It’s a direct connection between myself and my community. I wanted to live in Vermont for about 10 years before I moved up here, because of the social and political landscape and community up here. It’s been shaping me for a long time, but maybe not shapes, but harmonizes with, it is a better way of thinking about it for me, because the values around me and the work that’s being done around me for lack of better term is so completely right on for me, the gender representation of every conceivable gender on spectrum, the representation of different political viewpoints.

It’s made me feel safe in embracing my feelings on Gaza, hearing other programmers and other members of the community speak out about it, and having shows where they talk about it a lot.

To be less specific about, you could say it helps me feel brave, my community and the values around here, makes me feel brave and supported in bringing my beliefs and interests or whatever they are with me onto to the airwaves.

It’s such an inclusive place up here. I really feel like you’re welcomed and encouraged to do your own thing and you’ll be considered a good neighbor no matter what that is, as long as you’re not infringing on the people around you. And if you’re participating and supporting the people around you, you’ll find there’s a strong and resilient community web up here

JD: Where do you draw your material from?

CB: Whatever sounds good to me… At least once a month, I will try to pull from new music that the music department sends out, the dropbox files.

I feel like at least a slight obligation as a DJ, not an obligation but a responsibility, as a DJ to share new music. ... I don’t want to be necessarily stuck in a situation where it’s just and exclusively stuff that’s interesting to me and almost biographical to me because that would be predictable. It would converge like an 80s or 90s show. it would be appealing to people who are almost explicitly just like me. I would like to grow and the audience would like to grow so it’s important for me to share new stuff

I’m a huge music fan. I have a lot of records. I’m listening to music pretty much constantly or talking about or investigating music. And everything’s fair game. There’s nothing I’m not interested in.

JD How did that interest develop? Was there music in your house?

CB: I was lucky to grow up in Northeast Ohio. You can say a lot of things about Ohio, and a lot of them aren’t positive. But one thing you could reasonably say about the Northeast part is that it’s got a good quantity of like creative and smart people. It’s no coincidence that’s where Devo comes from... I grew up in Northeast Ohio and my parents were and still are only about 20 years older than me. So my parents were young. And I was an only child and so the people I hung out with were my parents. And they’re both counter-cultural and open-minded big, big music fans. And speaking of Devo, they bought like the first Devo record when it came out. I just grew up with that in the house. I grew up with a big record collection in the house. And my dad especially, is really, really into the minutiae of artists. You know who was playing with them, who they were friends with, what they were influenced by at the time. So like really doing close listening and deep diving into things was always around for me.

He's a musician too so there was always that. It just kept going once I got to high school. I was a musician and joined a bunch of bands. There was always music happening.

JD: Doing a live show in the studio in the studio is a solo event and a performance in a way. How do you imagine the audience, and what role do they play in the show?

CB: It’s tough to imagine an audience. In a way it’s a solo performance but I do cheat. My wife and baby daughter are in the studio with me. It’s a family event. Also, there may be no such thing as a solo performance. Whoever is listening is there to. So, it’s sort of like that John Cage idea that there’s no such thing as silence. Even with nothing playing you can still hear your heartbeat. But it is a performance. I get the same stage jitters. I try not to criticize myself, like transitions and things, when things get clunky…

I don’t really imagine more people listening than the people who are texting me during a show. So, it’s usually like one friend of mine who lives in Georgia, and my parents. And sometimes my in-laws will listen in… I know the audience is larger than that. I got a call from a guy in Hardwick who was really into what I was doing. I get calls from people. I know that it’s bigger and more widespread than I’m aware of. It really doesn’t…  It’s funny, it is like a performance, but my audience is the room.

JD: How has your show changed over time.

CB: I think it’s gotten more casual. I feel more casual on the microphone, like more conversational and less announcer-ey. I’ve gotten more comfortable in bringing in different formats, like CDs… Oh, I figured how long it takes me to run to the bathroom and back. So I’m not as worried about that. It takes me two minutes exactly to make it from the studio over to the bathroom and back again, so I’m not as worried about that.

JD: What was the funniest thing, or has there been anything funny that happened to you on the air?

CB: Well, it didn’t happen on the air. But my wife was due to have an induction for our daughter. And my show goes on at 10. At 9:57 we got the call from the hospital that they were ready for us to come up and do the induction.

I was getting my bag of records out. I had gone to the bathroom and was coming back and I could hear my wife on the phone. And that was a week that Rebecca was doing in Kitchen Permaculture… She came out and I told her I guess we’re leaving then. And I told Rebecca we’ve got to go we’re having a baby, and just let the robot go because I had an evergreen in. So, we got to listen to my show on the way to the hospital.

So the whole time we’re driving around in the car, going home, getting our bags together, checking all the boxes and stuff, I’m listening to my radio show. It was weird. I don’t know if that’s a funny thing. it’s just fun…

JD: That’s a great story. You won’t ever forget that day!

CB: No, if it had been four minutes later, I would have been on the air already. I would have had to stop what I was doing and then bring the evergreen in the middle of the song; it would have been super sloppy. But as it was, it was two minutes before I was supposed to go on and I was able to just let it play and just listen and enjoy it along with everybody else. I soundtracked our trip to the hospital basically.”

A Reuben Jackson Radio Remembrance

Tune in as we gather together through the power of the radio airwaves (a very Reu thing to do). We will take calls for folks to share memories, share stories from his friends and chosen family, play snippets of his radio shows and poetry readings, and create some celebration space for a life that has impacted so many near and far here in Vermont.

WGDR, Plainfield is where Reuben got his start in radio at just 18 years old as a student at Goddard. We are honored to help celebrate his life at, in his own words, "one of the greatest loves of my life (WGDR/radio)."

Hosted by Reuben's friend in nerdy radio, DJ Llu (and our station manager), with special guests and other tributes.

If you have a memory to share, please email Llu@WGDR.org to coordinate time in the show for airplay. We anticipate lots of interest!

The show will be live, 7-9pm, Saturday, March 9, broadcasting across central and northern Vermont on WGDR, Plainfield at 91.1 FM and WGDH, Hardwick at 91.7 FM and streaming everywhere at WGDR.org. We'll have it on the archives at WGDR.org for two weeks and then available for longer via https://www.mixcloud.com/wgdrwgdh/.

Read more about Reuben in the coverage of his life from Vermont Public and Seven Days.