Alex Wise

Last updated

Alex Wise (born c. 1968) is the host and executive producer of Sea Change Radio, a nationally distributed interview-format radio show concerned with the advances being made toward a more environmentally sustainable world, economy, and future.

Contents

Background

Originally from New England, Wise graduated from the prep school Phillips Academy at Andover in 1986. [1] After that he earned a bachelor's degree at Emory University and a Masters at the Fletcher School at Harvard and Tufts. [2] In his early career he worked as a bond broker, then for Time Warner and News Corp in Los Angeles and Japan. He eventually settled in San Francisco where he spent the 1990s employed by various companies floating upon the dot com bubble. Once the bubble burst, Wise shed his corporate chains and got in touch with his progressive values. By 2008 Wise had co-founded ObamaTravel.com, [3] [4] [5] a project which Craigslist founder Craig Newmark called “a good example of genuine grassroots democracy.” [6] With no actual training in journalism, in 2010 Wise began as the host and executive producer of Sea Change Radio. [7] On this weekly show, focused on environmental sustainability, Wise has interviewed environmentalist superstars such as Van Jones, Paul Ehrlich, and Stewart Brand, as well as some of his personal heroes like Bill Kreutzmann and John Perry Barlow. [8]

Sea Change Radio

Under Wise, Sea Change Radio's distribution model changed. Previously, Sea Change Radio was exclusively heard through low-power radio stations, community radio, internet radio, and public radio. In 2010, Wise took the show out from the fiscal sponsorship of the Trusteeship Institute, a 501(c)3, and out of nonprofit mode. Wise put the show on the Bay Area's commercial progressive talk radio station Green 960 [9] and began to solicit sponsors, allowing the show to generate revenue for the first time and building its potential for long-term survival. Since taking over Sea Change Radio, Wise has stirred up some minor controversy in environmental circles. First, Wise interviewed a guest who had a favorable opinion of smart grid electricity networks, which inspired a number of fans opposed to the technology to disavow the show. Then he featured pro-nuclear power advocates Jesse Jenkins from the Breakthrough Institute and Stewart Brand, and alienated an additional set of listeners. Wise has also featured guests opposed to nuclear power. [10]

Musical career

Wise has played guitar and been the front man for bands such as The Shreep and A. Wise Groove. [11] The Shreep released its first album Shreepwalkin' in 2003. [12] Later in 2003, Wise wrote and produced his first solo album of all original material called Front Porch, which received praise from critics [13] [14] who called it, “a hybrid conflation of J.J. Cale's and the Grateful Dead's spaciousness” [15] and, “blues-based acoustic folk with swampy overtones”. [16] In 2012, Wise completed his second solo album, Blurred. [17] The album also received favorable reviews. [18] [19] In 2016, Wise released a musical project with his band Fog Swamp — the album, entitled Slinkin', was described as "a swampy sound that's sly, shifting and consistently seductive" in No Depression Magazine . [20]

Related Research Articles

Blur (band) English rock band

Blur are an English rock band. Formed in London in 1988, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".

Damon Albarn English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer

Damon Albarn is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-founder, lead vocalist, instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the virtual band Gorillaz.

<i>Parklife</i> 1994 studio album by Blur

Parklife is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a Century", "Parklife" and "To the End".

Graham Coxon English musician and singer

Graham Leslie Coxon is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Coxon is featured on all eight of Blur's studio albums. He has also led a solo career since 1998. As well as being a musician, Coxon is a visual artist: he designed the cover art for all his solo albums as well as Blur's 13 (1999).

<i>Blur</i> (Blur album) 1997 studio album by Blur

Blur is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 10 February 1997 by Food Records. Blur had previously been broadly critical of American popular culture and their previous albums had become associated with the Britpop movement, particularly Parklife, which had helped them become one of Britain's leading pop acts. After their previous album, The Great Escape, the band faced media backlash and relationships between the members became strained.

Alex James (musician) British musician and songwriter

Steven Alexander James, FRSA is an English musician and songwriter, as well as a journalist and cheesemaker. Best known as the bassist of the band Blur, he has also played with temporary bands Fat Les, Me Me Me, WigWam and Bad Lieutenant.

Song 2 1997 single by Blur

"Song 2" is a song by English rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Charts, and number six on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart.

Parklife (song) 1994 single by Blur

"Parklife" is the title track from Blur's 1994 album Parklife. When released as the album's third single, it reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number 30 in Ireland. The song contains elements of spoken word in the verses, narrated by actor Phil Daniels, who also appears in the song's music video. The choruses are sung by lead singer Damon Albarn.

Butch Trucks American musician

Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks was an American drummer. He was best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. Trucks was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He played in various groups before forming the 31st of February while at Florida State University in the mid 1960s. He joined the Allman Brothers Band in 1969. Their 1971 live release, At Fillmore East, represented an artistic and commercial breakthrough. The group became one of the most popular bands of the era on the strength of their live performances and several successful albums. Though the band broke up and reformed various times, Trucks remained a constant in their 45-year career. Trucks died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on January 24, 2017.

Suze Orman American financial advisor

Susan Lynn "Suze" Orman is an American financial advisor, author, and podcast host. In 1987, she founded the Suze Orman Financial Group. Her work as a financial advisor gained notability with The Suze Orman Show, which ran on CNBC from 2002 to 2015.

Chromeo Canadian electro-funk musical duo

Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk.

The Knutby murder refers to a murder and attempted murder in the village of Knutby east of Uppsala in Sweden, on January 10, 2004.

Lotus (American band) American instrumental electronic jam band

Lotus is an instrumental electronic jam band formed in Indiana in 1999 now based in Philadelphia, PA and Denver, CO.

Bad Lieutenant was an English alternative rock band formed in 2007 following the second breakup of New Order. The band consisted of former New Order members Bernard Sumner and Phil Cunningham as well as Rambo & Leroy's Jake Evans.

Furthur (band)

Furthur was a rock band founded in 2009 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. The original lineup also included John Kadlecik of the Dark Star Orchestra on lead guitar, RatDog's Jeff Chimenti on keyboards and Jay Lane on percussion, and Joe Russo of the Benevento/Russo Duo on drums. Named after the famous touring bus used by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in the 1960s, Furthur was an improvisational jam band that performed music primarily from the extensive Grateful Dead songbook, as well as their own original music and that of several other well-known artists. In addition to the original members, the band's lineup included backup vocalists Sunshine Becker of the a cappella ensemble SoVoSó and Jeff Pehrson of the folk rock bands Box Set and the Fall Risk.

Alex Boyé is a British-American singer, dancer, and actor. He was named the "2017 Rising Artist of the Year" in a contest sponsored by Pepsi and Hard Rock Cafe.

Jam band Musical group whose live albums and concerts relate to a unique fan culture

A jam band is a musical group whose live albums and concerts relate to a fan culture that began in the 1960s with the Grateful Dead, who held lengthy improvisational "jams" during their concerts. These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cross genre boundaries.

The Blurred Lines Tour was the debut headlining tour by American recording artist, Robin Thicke. The tour supported his sixth studio album, Blurred Lines (2013). The tour traveled to North America and Europe, playing over 30 concerts.

Alex Bleeker American musician

Alexander William Bleeker is an American musician and guitarist. He is best known as the bassist of the American indie rock band Real Estate, with whom he has recorded four studio albums, and as the frontman and primary recording artist of the indie rock band Alex Bleeker and the Freaks. Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann joined the Freaks onstage at Outside Lands in 2015.

References

  1. ↑ Boersma, Matthew (June 2, 1985). "Masthead p. A7" (PDF). The Phillipian. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  2. ↑ Orman, Christopher. "Front Porch - Alex Wise". Jambands.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  3. ↑ Harmanci, Rayhan (27 June 2011). "Volunteers travel out-of-state to campaign". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
  4. ↑ Garofoli, Joe (1 November 2008). "Worried your vote won't count? Bring a video camera". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  5. ↑ Vordenbrueggen, Lisa. "Website links Obama fans with travel plans". Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Newmark, Craig (9 October 2008). "Obamatravel.org: the candidate's latest grassroots strategy". Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  7. ↑ Wise, Alex. "About". Cchange.net. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Wise, Alex. "Guest Archive". Cchange.net. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  9. ↑ Hellberg, Helge. "Harvest of Change". Organic Conversation. Helge Hellberg. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  10. ↑ [ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ Kergan, Wade. "Alex Wise". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  12. ↑ "Shreepwalkin CD Shreep Discography of CDs". Cduniverse.com.
  13. ↑ Ohmart, Ben. "Alex Wise - Front Porch". Music Dish.
  14. ↑ Smith, Ryan. "Alex Wise Front Porch". Splendid Magazine. Archived from the original on 2006-10-17. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  15. ↑ Orman, Christopher. "Front Porch - Alex Wise". Jambands.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  16. ↑ Kraus, Fred. "July & August Short Takes". Minor 7th. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "Blurred - Alex Wise | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  18. ↑ [ permanent dead link ]
  19. ↑ "No Depression magazine review of "Blurred"". Alexwise.com. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  20. ↑ "Fog Swamp Clear the Air". 2016-06-03. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.