Put that in your Chihuly pipe and smoke it.

Has KEXP ever played Dave Matthews?

I don't know why we should listen to a bunch of "Seattle musicians" when we could be helping out some out-of-towner pirate-looking dude. Where are our priorities?

Does anyone actually LIKE Dave Matthews? I've tried to listen to his stuff and I find it pretty dull, boring and pretty self-important.

He doesn't do a whole hell of a lot for me, Cato.

Cato: yeah, nobody likes Dave Matthews. Nobody has bought his CDs. Nobody buys out his three day show every year at the Gorge. Nobody.

(not a big fan but your comment at 4 is absolutely leotarded)

@7 I think it's Wallingford. I think...

@7 - Wallingford. Not a fan of the music, I've met him a couple of times and he couldn't be a nicer, more down to earth guy considering his $ and celebrity.

So the guy stands up for KEXP and their importance in the community, even though they don't play his music, when it serves no benefit to him or his band, and people on here want to trash him?

Stay classy Seattle.

@6, your wit just cuts me to my very soul! You've cut to my very essence and destroyed all that I am!

@7 He lives in either Wallingford or the U District I think.

@4 I've tried, but just can't get there. Excellent musicianship, dynamic live performances and a rabid cult following. I even overlook the fact that I cannot decipher a single lyric, as that's never been my strong point. But I can't get past the feeling that it is just wanker rock, going absolutely nowhere.

Not a lot different than the Grateful Dead, in a jam band sense, but they didn't seem so goddam serious about it.

Still, he's a heavy hitter striking back at Chihulyville, which is good for everyone not trying to inflate the value of their collections.

as I understand it, Mr. Dave lives somewhere in Wallingford, possible close to Gasworks Park, and has been spotted shopping at the WALLINGFORD QFC from time to time.

...and bravo to #6. Whether you like him or not you can't dispute is popularity

Isn't Dave Matthews like 60 by now?

@4: His early CDs were great, but I haven't liked any of his studio albums in the last decade. He's absolutely fantastic live, though.

I'm not a fan of his music, but I like Dave Matthews' idea for the Seattle Center much more than Dale Chihuly's. Plus, he lives in Wallingford with regular folks and seems to actually care about this town.

Will the super-playground idea die for lack of an industry to back it, then?

“This is a great post to see, Cienna. We at the Space Needle and at Chihuly Studio support KEXP locating to the Seattle Center Campus too. We have met with KEXP leaders during the past several weeks to find a way for that to happen – to achieve a win/win for everyone. Also, we welcome the discussion that has taken place in recent months about how to improve the Seattle Center Campus. The challenge is to find a way to incorporate all the positive benefits of various viable projects. This doesn’t need to be a “this OR that” discussion, but instead, it can be a “this AND that” opportunity for the City of Seattle, for the Center, and for supporters of the visual arts, music, and green space. There is room on the Seattle Center Campus for more than one great idea and we hope the Selection Committee can find a way to accomplish multiple improvements while the energy, excitement, funding and focus are here to get it done.”

Ron Sevart – Space Needle
Billy O’Neill – Chihuly Studio

Stick the Chihulhy stuff in a small 30x30 space, Stick the KEXP studio in a 40x40 three story space, put both in their respective NE and NW corners, and use the rest of the space for the Public Park the Citizens want with a real NW Native longhouse next to the Space Needle.

Win. Win. Win.

yes, more public debate on Dave Matthews' music!

Of course you're supposed to hate Dave Matthews. If he's popular he must suck, right?

And Will: He's like 43 -- a whole lot younger than you, I'm quite sure.

props to dave matthews for supporting kexp eventhough i dont think ive ever heard him on the dial over there and to the chilhuly museum for commenting on this story knowing that the trolls and haters are lurking everywhere on slog! a win win for everyone would be ideal.

and a new building and a bigger access venue for the community that kexp is dedicated too would be most ideal!

kexp deserves the opportunity to organically grow and more ideally serve the diverse and expanding seattle population. i also believe it is exactly the sort of local value that should be highly visible at a center piece to the city like the space needle where locals and visitors are drawn.

-grace

As a UW grad, I take issue with Ex-president Mark Emmert's endorsement. He ditched the UW for a higher paying job with NCAA and he tried to hide under the fact that part of the reason for his departure was due to lack of state funding to the University. I find it ironic, then, that he's endorsing KEXP, a project that would require a 12-15 million dollar capital campaign, when the UW's 2010/11 operating budget was cut by $20.6 million, resulting in higher tuition and fewer services and fewer jobs.

Wouldn't it have made more sense if he would have been focusing on that deficit, as opposed to trying to salvage what little reputation he has left by throwing support behind a radio station?

@25 - the fact that any UW support for KEXP was forthcoming is quite surprising to me. Yes, UW does provide the frequency, but what oh what does it get in return? Absolutely nothing. The only time KEXP even acknowledges that it owes it's very existence to UW is when it sends out mail begging for money from it's listeners so it can overpay a few of its staff and enter into grandiose misadventures such as this. That envelope begging for money has a UW address on it, perhaps to add a modicum of credibility and/or neediness.

And this oneway street of support with no recognition in return is all the more galling because the UW actually has its own real student run radio station, RainyDawg Radio, that is stuck broadcasting online, with no over the air outlet.

If KEXP can drum up the money to build a development at Seattle Center, then the first thing they should do is buy their own broadcast frequency, and quit parasitizing the UW.

although i can not and will not comment on any of this anymore than the following..i have never listened to or played any dave matthews music on kexp in the last twenty years of my association with the station nor am i aware that ANY dj has done so. his support for what we/i do is pretty damn cool , particularly given the fact that i/we don't play him.
@26
ummm ...the license is still owned by uw for benefits that they consider important to them far more than we know ( or could know.. you should ask them. a gift horse in the mouth ? well i've been warned by sages that we shouldn't examine it too closely..and i don't ) keep in mind kexp is not the only university owned frequency.. kuow - perhaps you've beard of it seems to require and command more operational costs than kexp . and probably raises more money.. i've imagined that the three of them rainy dawg. kexp, kuow, owned in common cover a lot of bases for the university. and while kexp could not afford to purchase that ( or any other license that may EVER be up for sale..the fcc shit ain't nowhere near cheap... shit is more expensive than any human knows or can know ) license..the matters thus presented are much more complex than any poster here ( including myself ) really knows.. like other level shit.. ask the uw what it gets in return, but common sense would tell you that it probably gets quite a bit more than ' absolutely nothing' .. quite a bit more.

@21 and others - KEXP needs new office space because they have out grown the one they currently occupy. They are going to have to move soon anyway, so why not try and move someplace where they can provide a service to the community and gain exposure at the same time? It sounds like common sense to me, not some wasteful ego-trip.

Also, I'm a musician and donate to the station and I happen to think that it's a great idea. If you don't like the way they run the station, don't listen and don't donate. Go ahead and support the Chiihuly exhibit (talk about a public monument to someone's ego...)

And I'm pretty sure they're still on the air in NY, if not Tacoma. Maybe Riz can confirm this? He is wise: "the matters thus presented are much more complex than any poster here (including myself ) really knows.. like other level shit..."

Oh, and even if his music is lame, friends that know him confirm that Dave Matthews and his family are good people and live in a totally ordinary house in Wallingford.

KEXP is a WAY better option because it is a far better fit for what makes Seattle Seattle. It has a real soul, and not simply a strong profit motive. The Chihuly deal will not pan out as well its proponents assert. Either project will bring challenges. Problem is...the Chihuly deal has old money behind it...it will likely prevail and the Center remain as it is...a backwater all crawling with cotton candy, trinkets, and tourists riding ducks... (Sorry! sounds like someone hasn't had his breakfast...)

SAXOPHONE FULL OF MAYONNAISE

Wow, so much hatred for Dave Matthews. Can't we all just get along?

@18 - Props to the Space Needle and Chihuly for their open-minded and diplomatic response. And they are right: Why does this have to be an either/or? In reading KEXP's proposal, the station offers no argument as to why they need this particular space as opposed to any of the other location possibilities around Seattle Center. Whereas the Space Needle's motive is obvious - they think their proposal will enhance the "Space Needle experience." So KEXP could move in anywhere at Seattle Center, but if the Chihuly project - which is the only proposal with a clear plan to generate funds for the Center - doesn't happen in that location, it won't happen at all. Support musicans AND artists! Build them both!

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