Fundraising has not been something that earned Daulton Anderson high praise, but to hear him shout over the cacophony that takes up two hours of WBAI's air time each Sunday morning, one would think that his glorification of Jesus reaches into the deep recesses of churches throughout the world.
We only have Mr. Daulton's word for that, because he did a Reimers and stopped taking phone calls when they panned rather than praised his weekly assault on their ears. His "grab bag" CD premiums, offered during marathons, failed to generate income, so there may well have been grumblings from the Atlantic Avenue bunker, and something had to be done to keep this circus going. Anderson, whose "inspirational music" mainly comprises uninspired second-rate performances, obviously had to do something to justify his WBAI "ministry," so he decided to produce a benefit church concert. It would, in his estimation, attract over 2000 people eager to part with $25 or more. He even said that he would feed them.
Did it work? I tuned in this morning at six, expecting to hear a report on yesterday's big event. As things turned out, it coincided with the massive street protest against police murder, but Daulton's audience marches to a different drummer, as it were. Anyway, it was reasonable to expect a somewhat detailed account, perhaps even an on-the-spot recording or a tally.
The following brief audio clip is all Mr. Anderson had to say about it. That was at the beginning of the show, following the customary, unremarkable rendition of "Blessed Assurance" that he plays every week and seems to have vested interest in. Here, in its entirety is what he had to say about the big concert:
We only have Mr. Daulton's word for that, because he did a Reimers and stopped taking phone calls when they panned rather than praised his weekly assault on their ears. His "grab bag" CD premiums, offered during marathons, failed to generate income, so there may well have been grumblings from the Atlantic Avenue bunker, and something had to be done to keep this circus going. Anderson, whose "inspirational music" mainly comprises uninspired second-rate performances, obviously had to do something to justify his WBAI "ministry," so he decided to produce a benefit church concert. It would, in his estimation, attract over 2000 people eager to part with $25 or more. He even said that he would feed them.
Did it work? I tuned in this morning at six, expecting to hear a report on yesterday's big event. As things turned out, it coincided with the massive street protest against police murder, but Daulton's audience marches to a different drummer, as it were. Anyway, it was reasonable to expect a somewhat detailed account, perhaps even an on-the-spot recording or a tally.
The following brief audio clip is all Mr. Anderson had to say about it. That was at the beginning of the show, following the customary, unremarkable rendition of "Blessed Assurance" that he plays every week and seems to have vested interest in. Here, in its entirety is what he had to say about the big concert:
He promised to say more about this standing room only event, but that's all she wrote. The remainder of his air time was wasted on the usual confused concoction of sounds, unfunny standup comedy and Tom Jones doing his best to capture the spirit of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight's "Didn't It Rain." Not a bad effort by the famously endowed Welshman, but the original recording is far better. In fact, I'll leave you with that (note Rosetta's fine guitar work) as you ponder why Mr. Anderson made no further mention of yesterday's concert.
Stand up crowd only? Too bad they couldn't afford to have any chairs in the little place. The pics I saw of it make it look like a little warehouse converted to a little neighborhood church.
ReplyDeleteAnyway. I did some checking a while back and discovered that this was obviously some regularly scheduled concert Daulton got himself attached to. How much money will go to WBAI after salaries, graft, etc. is anyone's guess. The station would be better off selling the time to a regular preacher and getting a regular fee.
You know how stuff like this works. A religious place, union hall, etc. gets an event going and tells the members how they need to buy tckets for the whole family if they are good members, so people do. A little pressure gets them sold. If you don't buy, you look bad. I was in a business once where we sold shows like this. It was guaranteed money because the members never wanted to look bad in front of their peers.
It's still sad that WBAI has to lower itself to Christian programming to make a few bucks. At least air an atheist show following Daulton and be fair.
SDL
Very interesting that he latched on to a regular concert. He appears to have some kind of business connection with a guy named Mark Reddick, who has a recording studio in Brooklyn. The recordings played on the show are mostly live church performances, the kind reverends sell to their flock—lots of local choirs and singers. Many of them are decent, but finding talented people in black churches is not a challenge. The really good ones record commercially, often non-gospel, as you of course know.
DeleteI don't for a moment doubt that Daulton is using WBAI to generate business for himself, as others do.
Like so many "reverends," he plays his audience. It never ceases to amaze me how that early church indoctrination sticks, even to people whose life is not exemplary. They are readily swayed to relieve guilt, even if it's been fabricated for them fabricated.
"High Praize" is not at all about "inspirational music," it's about taking advantage of peoples' weaknesses. I'm sure that what Daulton gives is not what Reimers was expecting, but he appears to accept anything that will keep him in his job. $100,000 is not a fortune for a year's work in that position (although I never came close to that), but when one considers his lack of qualifications and seeming inability to see reality, that becomes a helluva lot of money.
Finally, speaking with benefit of my own 60 years in the black music field, I can tell you that Daulton Anderson's knowledge of this music and its history is an added embarrassment.
"It never ceases to amaze me how that early church indoctrination sticks, even to people whose life is not exemplary."
DeleteThat is why I call most "atheists" by the term "faketheists." Most self-proclaimed atheists may have abandoned the trappings of the religion they were subject to, but retain the ideals, fears, etc., whether they realize it or not. I never believed in religion. My grandmother tried to foist Roman Catholicism on me for a couple of years when I was about 8 - 10. However, I just never believed in it. It was all simply to miserable and senseless. My enjoying Anton Szandor Lavey and The Satanic Bible was a purely secular matter. I just liked his libertarian ideals. The hocus pocus made me laugh. It's one of those books you have to read "into" and not take it at face value. Few ever understood that.
Now that we understand atheist/faketheist, you can understand why I prefer to call myself a non-theist, which seems to be a word guaranteed to drive Daulton, mad and drooling, into a five minute rant. Do I still hold the record for sheer quantity of venom spewing by Daulton at a caller?
As for Reimers and programming. Let's be fair here. WBAI has a PD now in Mario Murillo. It is HIS responsibility to deal with programming. Hence, it is his responsibility to deal with Daulton, not Reimers. I don't like Reimers anymore than you, but since hiring Murillo, it has become Murillo's job to deal with what goes over the airwaves. If there is crap on the air, it is up to Murillo to deal with it, when not playing the reincarnation of Samori Marxman, of course.
SDL
Your infuriating call was very likely what put the lid on Daulton taking listener calls. He went on to only do prearranged calls with church people, and now he has announced a new feature: a heavenly bulletin board to which churches can submit announcements of "community" events. Notice how this program of "nothing but inspirational music" has morphed into something akin to a radio ministry. Next thing we know, he will be preaching and handing out battery-driven flashing halos—at a special price, of course.
DeleteMario Murillo didn't hire this jerk, Reimers did, but you are right about him now being Murillo's liability. There should have been a major cleanup shortly after Murillo joined the staff. You may have noticed that some of the most offensive, least appropriate shows continue. The morning show is different, but is it better? There are now "specials" listed here and there. I heard one a couple of evenings ago that had me shaking my head. It was a panel discussion aired on KPFK or KPFA over a year ago, the subject being "hiphop activism" and the importance of keeping kids out of schools, because they are like prisons. Parents should teach their own said these inarticulate panelists. It was farcical and I find it hard to believe that Mario could not have come up with something better to replace whatever had been there before.
Yesterday, Dred Scott Keyes ran a lengthy discussion recorded by him on a limiter equipped device that not only was picking up a hum, but also produced a quick, annoying surge of room noise whenever one of the speakers paused for a couple of seconds. I thought he was aware of such things. The discussion, by the way, was on black theater and how it is mistreated by white producers and reviewers. It was such bullshit, because the discussion centered around "Holler If Ya Hear Me," a play based on Tupac Shakur's lyrics that closed in NYC after a short run.
From all accounts, this was an ill-conceived production, so it was interesting to hear the panelists put the blame on the critics, suggesting that it was a racism that killed the beast. One of the panelists agreed, but thought Tupac's widow ought to share the blame, because she had dictated certain terms.
Anyway, this was another excruciating WBAI listening experience where flawed technology went hand in hand with shallow content to drive another nail into the Pacifica coffin.
As someone who saw the play, I thought it was a fine production. Unfortunately, the theatre was too large - it should have played in a smaller venue first. Race may or may not have played a factor, but race ALWAYS plays a factor here in the US. Dred is a thief and crook who is loathed by most of the BLACK producers @ WBAI.. Offensive programs?? Just focus on the programs you like and leave the rest alone.
ReplyDeleteNow that Marle Becker has passed, what is the possibility of getting David Wynyard back in the saddle again?
ReplyDeleteKGT
Give him some lube and he'll be glad to get back in the saddle again...
DeleteSeriously now. Slim to none. From my understanding he was fired from WBAI for being caught smoking pot at the station. Add to that white gay men not being in the current ghetto agenda. Finally, does he even want to be? Has anyone even heard of him in years? Is he alive?
Anyone remember that moron boyfriend(?) of his, Issac Jackson? Man, was that guy the worst.
Anyway, gay programming on WBAI isn't considered important at all anymore. Should I even ask when the last time they had any real lesbian progamming was? Can you say Judy Pasternack?
SDL
"Anyone remember that moron boyfriend(?) of his, Issac Jackson? Man, was that guy the worst".
ReplyDeleteI dunno. I never tried him.
KGT
The programmer I like the best relatively recently was Citizen K/ Kirk Grantham. Does anybody remember him?
ReplyDeleteCitizen Kafka? I remember him from years back.
DeleteSDL