More like exercist stairs, am I right?

We proposed another Music From Big Chair session to the Portland-based punky-folk rockers The Ascetic Junkies, but the band had another locale in mind: Georgetown’s famed exorcist stairs, so-called because of the scene in the 1973 horror flick The Exorcist. If you’re from the area, you’ve definitely seen it, 70′s film effects and all; Georgetown hosts a showing every Halloween in Gaston Hall. But in recent years the stairs have been better known for the quad-burning workout they offer (we caught some of these dedicated athletes in the video – thanks folks!) Read More »

You may remember our dear friend and DC local musician Long Walks on the Beach, who has played our stage and who has played on our station many many times and who has no doubt played on repeat in your head, in your heart, in the deep recesses of your mind as you’re falling asleep, all thumping bass drums and jingle-jangling guitars, filling the empty dark room, building slowly from a beat, with smooth, even-keeled vocals: slow jam on a Saturday night.

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The Georgetown music scene may be small, but it is intricately linked (partly due to the Guild of Bands), allowing for a lot of malleable band lineups and creative collaborations and all-around good times, good times which in turn lead to beautiful, inspired music that thrives on its extremely varied sources. The Shaking Hand is one of these groups, made up of two Georgetown alums and friends of WGTB, Matt Strom and Ezra Finney.

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I’ll be honest. We listen to a lot of music over here — a lot of great music, a lot of just plain okay music, and a lot of “hey I like this!” flash-in-the-pan music, and it’s not often that you come across a keeper, some music you can really sink your teeth into, listen to on repeat, and invest your interest in for an extended time. Well, the Wilderness of Manitoba is one of those bands. Not only are they friendly (and up for anything, from playing on a giant green chair to moving the whole show to my backyard after a memory card dilemma), but they make wonderful music, with both natural talent and ease with one another as well as what seemed to be a very well-rehearsed, on-point sound. Read More »

A few months ago, the motley crue also known as ecstatic funk-poppers Reptar graced our tiny stage in Bulldog Alley for WGTB’s Block Party, and they absolutely rocked it. Since then, the Athens band has been making big strides, including a recent contract signing with Vagrant Records. Pop bottles!

In case you missed them then, or if you are jonesing for more, the cool dudes at All Things Go have teamed up with Neon Gold Records to put on a smorgasbord of good tunes this Thursday night, called All Things Gold.  Read More »

The Boss is revered by so many Georgetown students (read: the 90% that hail from New Jersey), but few know his connection to the University and to WGTB itself.  Read More »

A little while ago we had our annual Open Mic night (if you missed last year’s, you can catch up here) in Bulldog Alley. As always it was a really enjoyable evening of music, slam poetry, and a whole lot of acoustic guitars, and the house was packed. We recorded all of it and have posted it here for you.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a video? I don’t do math, as a policy, but it seems like that would be a ton of words, so here, then, are a lot of words. Never mind that these are a bit belated; memories fade but videos are forever! Enjoy this footage of our variously talented student body and let us know what you enjoyed best in the comments. Read More »

The giant green Adriondack chair on the lawn of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts has provided endless hours of amusement and climbing activity for Georgetown students late at night, but this is probably the first time a full-fledged band has graced its wooden slats. Jeremy Messersmith, a Minneapolis-based indie-folk singer with an enthusiastic and gregarious band, stopped by The Big Chair last Sunday before the group’s show at DC9 that night (playing with Keegan DeWitt.) Despite the rain and bugs, the band played a few songs on the chair, including a lovely Magnetic Fields cover that fits perfectly with Messersmith’s golden-warm yet slightly haunting aesthetic. Check them out after the jump. Read More »