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A community radio station experiment.

MAY DAY RADIO

WE WANT THE AIRWAVES!

(and the interwebs)
 

Occupy Wall Street is a much-needed movement for social and economic justice. But it’s also a community. On May Day, throughout the day, we and the rest of the May 1st Coalition will be all over the city marching, performing, striking, disrupting, exchanging ideas, getting arrested, making out, dancing, and taking the streets. But we want the airwaves, too!

A community radio station experiment, May Day Radio will begin streaming live a few days before May Day to provide a coordinated voice—a source of information and inspiration as the day approaches. We’ll air interviews with organizers of actions to find out what they’re planning. Programming will include special guests, music, segments on the history and significance of May Day and voices from across our diverse community.
 

On May Day we’ll take the air! In addition to a livestream, our friends at ExiTrip have helped us engineer an innovative way to blanket marches and actions with an FM signal. By repurposing obsolete iPod nano accessories (originally used to send a signal from an iPod to a nearby radio), we’ll turn an army of protesters with smartphones into a roving band of microtransmitters, each of them retransmitting our radio show.

Bring an FM radio with you on May Day and you’ll pick up our signal anywhere an action is taking place. You’ll hear live updates on actions across the city as they unfold, great music, a host of speakers, call-ins, spoken love letters to Occupy from supportive luminaries, performances, and just a bunch of generally inspiring content. As the day’s events come to a close, we’ll converge with our radios and headsets to form a giant mobile dance party. 

In the spirit of this extraordinary convergence of groups dedicated to "creating the world we want to see," May Day radio is an imaginative way to claim space that should be ours but isn’t. But we need your help. Funding is greatly needed to purchase FM transmitters, receivers, batteries, recording equipment, and studio space. Join us!

WHAT WE NEED:

Please donate so we can purchase the following. If you don't have the cash, here are some other ways to help out.

EXITRIPS

We love these guys. Turning a product designed for obsolescence into a reusable and functional device to be used for good? Learn How to Hack the iTrip!

FM RADIOS 

Please stay tuned via our Facebook page for information about an electronics drop-off / drive. We'd love for you to come out on May 1st with your own FM radio, boom box, transistor or headphones in hand; but if you have extras, please donate an FM receiver so we can pass them out to those that don't have smart phones or computers or an FM device. We want everyone to be able to participate! (Hint: Check your parents' basement.)

BATTERIES

We aren't thrilled to have to rely on this ecologically unfriendly item, but unfortunately, they are necessary for mobility on May 1st. If you have any batteries you can donate, please be in touch! 

STUDIO SPACE

We have some leads, but there will most likely be rental costs involved. Please donate!

CONTENT

Stay tuned for an open call for submissions for pre-recorded content, musical performances, DJ talent and live reports! Ensuring we have reliable tactical information on May 1st and a variety of content covering the history and significance of May Day is critical. Your voices will be heard! 

Contact: maydayradionyc@gmail.com

FAQ

  • May Day (also known as International Workers' Day) is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries. It is also celebrated unofficially in many other countries. 

    May Day is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. 

    For more information see: 

    http://maydaynyc.org/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day

    Last updated: Tuesday Apr 10, 7:36pm EDT
121
Backers
$4,205
pledged of $4,000 goal
0
seconds to go

Funding period
Apr 5, 2012 - Apr 13, 2012

  • Pledge $5 or more

    8 backers

    OUR UNENDING GRATITUDE AND A SHOUT OUT ON THE AIR: We love you and appreciate your support at whatever level you can swing it. Those who contribute to our campaign at $5 and below will receive thanks in our hearts and on the air during our May Day broadcast.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2012
  • Pledge $10 or more

    11 backers

    SPONSOR AN FM RADIO. HELP US ENSURE EVERYONE GETS ACCESS TO THE AIR WAVES: Our May Day broadcast will be available in a variety of mediums. Livestreaming will allow anyone with a computer or an internet-enabled smartphone to listen in. Microtransmitters scattered throughout the city will make the broadcast available to anyone that can pick up an FM signal. Lots of devices are equipped to do this - transistor radios, boomboxes, FM headsets, and most smartphones. But we’d like our broadcast to be available to anyone who wants to to listen in. For those who don’t have any of those things, we’d like to hand out some spares to keep everyone in the loop.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2012
  • Pledge $20 or more

    15 backers

    MIXTAPE MP3 DOWNLOAD: The power of music to energize, incite, and bring people together is a huge inspiration behind May Day Radio. Our vinyl obsessed friends Dominic Wagner and Alexis Georgopoulos have generously made mixes especially for this campaign. If you donate $20, your ears will thank you for it. Mixes will be made available as MP3 downloads. Please specify from whom you would like to hear - each download is offered separately.

    Estimated delivery: May 2012
  • Pledge $25 or more

    26 backers Limited (124 of 150 left)

    MAY DAY RADIO POSTER! Get the word out or collect a special May Day souvenir. Contributors who donate $25 to the project will receive a silk-screened poster with the classic black & white May Day Radio logo designed by our talented friend Matt Cassity. Hand silk-screened by artist and printmaker extraordinaire, Julia Gualtieri. Edition of 150.

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2012
  • Pledge $30 or more

    5 backers Limited (15 of 20 left)

    EXITRIP WORKSHOP WITH ED BEAR: The Exitrip transmitters that we’ll be using to microcast throughout the city on May Day are the brainchild of sound engineer/artist Ed Bear. Using iPod accessories that became obsolete after Apple introduced a new generation of mp3 players, he reverse-engineers the devices so they can transmit an FM signal from any audio source you choose. For a $35 donation, you can attend a workshop with Ed where he will teach you how to make your own Exitrip to use on May Day and any other day you’d like to use the device. Materials provided.

    Estimated delivery: May 2012
  • Pledge $45 or more

    8 backers Limited (112 of 120 left)

    TICKET TO SILENT DISCO: “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution” are the famous words of legendary feminist and activist Emma Goldman. We couldn’t agree more. People who donate $45 to our project will receive tickets to a silent disco here in NYC, hosted by NYC Silent Disco. Location TBA. https://www.facebook.com/nycsilentdisco

    Estimated delivery: May 2012
  • Pledge $80 or more

    1 backer All gone!

    TILL HUMAN VOICES WAKE US // A BOOK BY KRAMER O'NEILL: Photographer Kramer O'Neill has generously donated 1 of 500 editions of his newest book. Till Human Voices Wake Us, a project five years in the making, exploring humans in the ocean, the joy and terror of cheating death, the dark pull of the water. The book is 10.2x8.5 in. hardcover, thread-sewn binding, 80 pages, 52 photographs on 170gsm paper, printed staccato raster FM [400dpi] in Slovenia in a limited edition of 500, numbered and signed. The poetry of Kramer's photographs will equally confound and affirm your existence. We hope May Day will have a similar effect on all of us. http://krameroneill.com/

    Estimated delivery: May 2012
  • Pledge $100 or more

    6 backers Limited (69 of 75 left)

    LIMITED EDITION PRINT BY DAN FUNDERBURGH: Artist and Designer Dan Funderburgh is presumeably breaking his back for us by drawing an intricate, clever and surprising illustration specifically for May Day Radio. Dan's work is deeply thoughtful and respectful of its subjects; yet executed with a sense of humor and clarity that delivers his message in perfect harmony. We hope this approach will guide us in the streets on May 1st! Limited edition of 75. Signed and numbered by the artist. Thanks, Dan! http://www.danfunderburgh.com/

    Estimated delivery: Apr 2012
  • Pledge $350 or more

    1 backer Limited (4 of 5 left)

    PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW CONNORS: Matt’s been involved with OWS since the early days at Liberty Plaza, and spent much of his time there documenting the birth of the movement through a really amazing series of portraits. He has generously agreed to help get May Day Radio off the ground by donating an edition of 5 to the cause. Thanks Matt. Image: Miriam, 2011 (from the series "Occupy New York") http://matthewconnors.com/OWS/10.html ; Edition limited to 5 archival pigment prints, 6.5" x 9" on 8.5” x 11” paper. Signed and numbered by the artist.

    Estimated delivery: May 2012