Hey, everyone! It's Tom.
WFMU’s two-week long fundraising marathon just started. If you’re not aware of it, this is how the station raises money to stay on the air. The station is 100 percent listener sponsored. We don't run ads and we don't take corporate funding or government grants. And that's what keeps the station 100 percent freeform, letting me do something as willfully stupid as The Best Show On WFMU every Tuesday, letting me and Jon Wurster do our thirty-five minute calls without commercial interruption or editorial feedback from anyone at any point.
It's not cheap running a radio station, especially one that streams the show on the internet 24/7 (at
www.wfmu.org) and maintains an extensive archive selection of virtually every show I and every other DJ have done in the last eight-plus years.
I'm doing two shows during the marathon - Tuesday March 3rd between 8-11 PM EST and next Tuesday March 10th between 8-11 PM EST. And if you're a fan of Scharpling and Wurster or me or the people who call or the guests I have on or the podcast or freeform radio or stations that shouldn't exist in the face of all the corporate creepiness, it's a cause worth supporting. If we don't reach our goal of 1.2 million dollars by the end of the marathon, we are In Trouble.
If you want to throw some support, please call 800-989-9368 or pledge online at
www.wfmu.org BETWEEN 8-11 PM EST ON MARCH 3rd! In addition to your money going to a worthy cause, you get a lot of stuff back.
Everybody who pledges 75 bucks or more automatically gets The Best Show On WFMU’s MIRTH MUSIC AND MAYHEM: A PRIZE PACK IN THREE PARTS. And this is an amazing thing that I’ve been working on for AGES.
The MIRTH part of the pack is an ALL NEW SCHARPLING AND WURSTER CD, with stuff written and recorded for this CD. This marathon is the ONLY time you’ll ever have a chance to get it – it goes out of print as soon as the marathon ends!
The MUSIC part is insane – an all-star various artists tribute to the album RAM, featuring ALL NEW AND ORIGINAL RECORDINGS from artists like:
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
TED LEO
AIMEE MANN
PORTASTATIC
DANIELSON FAMILY
DUMP
THE BLACK HOLLIES
THEHANK IV
THE BARBARAS
JAMES PANTS
and so many more!
These artists recorded these songs JUST FOR THIS CD, and again – it is only available by pledging to me! THIS CD GOES AWAY after the marathon ends!
And finally the MAYHEM part of the deal: A really cool ENVIRONMENTAL TOTE BAG with the famed ‘Dogmo’ logo on the side and a FRIENDS OF TOM MEMBERSHIP CARD that you can only get during this marathon!
Again, this is the only chance at getting these things. Once the marathon is over, THEY ARE GONE FOREVER.
There are pledge levels at $150, $365, $500, $1000 and $3000, and the station takes care of you big-time with a TON of awesome prizes and shirts and CDs that you can’t get anywhere else. And unlike that PBS or NPR crap, WFMU’s premiums are all top-notch and well made – who hasn’t seen a cool WFMU t-shirt in their travels? And everything is 100 percent TAX DEDUCTABLE!
And as an added bonus, anyone who pledges $1000 or more to my show gets an insanely special premium: “Taste Of Newbridge”, a limited edition TEA blended by T Salon & T Emporium just for this marathon! It’s a high end tea combining ‘a black tea base with notes of caramel, chocolate, vanilla and a touch of Mandarin orange rind!’ Each tea comes in a container featuring customized Best Show packaging and a quote from Philly Boy Roy! The retail value on this is around a hundred bucks, and this is the ONLY chance to ever get it!
But PLEASE pledge DURING MY SHOW! It's the only way for me to prove to the Powers That Be that The Best Show On WFMU is popular and worth keeping on the station for another year. All we're doing is trying to earn our keep.
And if you want to support the station but don't have the money right now, YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY YOUR PLEDGE RIGHT AWAY! The station sends you a bill in the mail and you can take care of it later. You can structure your payments in EASY MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS! But the important thing is pledging and being a part of something Good in a world that is filled with Too Much Bad, especially in These Troubling Times.
And PLEASE spread the word about this! Put it on Facebook and Twitter and MySpace and maybe even Friendster if you can still remember your password. Post it on like-minded message boards! Tell co-workers and friends and family members and whoever! The station has a huge mountain to climb this time, but we can do it if enough people step up to the plate and pitch in.
Remember:
CALL 1-800-989-9368 or PLEDGE ONLINE at
www.wfmu.org on TUESDAY MARCH 3rd between 8-11 PM EST and be counted!
Thank you!
Tom Scharpling.
