MAMAView: Celebrating in a Pandemic
By Middagh Goodwin
MAMA Radio first aired on Monday, November 25th at 5 pm on KCBP 95.5 FM and has been going strong ever since playing the music by artists from the greater 209 area code, all genres going back decades. Who could have imagined the hardships musicians and artists would start to face just a few short months later. On November 23rd I will be celebrating the one year anniversary of MAMA Radio by playing songs that have been released in the last year for this milestone show. KCBP is a non-profit community radio station managed by Modesto Peace/Life Center; please donate to them if you are able. If you would like to hear, your music played on the air email mamarecords209@gmail.com
Beat Happy! Music has recently mailed out the first three limited lathes cut 7″ by The Flowers(in conjunction with Creature’s Eye Recordings), The Lobstrosities and Dr Rocket and the Moonpatrol. Both labels plan on additional releases in the coming months and new year.
Due to the pandemic and limitations on numbers for public gatherings the Modesto Area Music Awards was not able to take place this year. The Awards show is a favorite for many local musicians and venue owners, celebrating 20 plus categories from Rock to Americana, Jazz to the best youth bands and our favorite cafes, restaurants and venues. The board had talked about doing a virtual awards show, but so much of the MAMAs is the red carpet, the photo ops and be there in person to cheer on the winners. We decided this year in place of voting and the awards presentation we would give out dashboardMAMA to members of the arts community that have thought outside the box and have kept us entertained over the last 7 months. We will share these presentations virtually with you at the end of the year. Please send your “mamanations” to mama@modestoview.com
We are all looking forward to when things get back to a sense of normalcy when that is is anyone’s guess. Until that time, we must continue to do what we can to support the local businesses that give a home for live music and art. Tip the musicians and when you can see them live(buy merch if they have it) and give via Venmo or PayPal when they are live streaming. Together we can keep the arts alive until things get better.
