Shaking Through Web Series

Shaking Through is a music and video web series produced by Weathervane Music and WXPN, the non-commercial public radio station from the University of Pennsylvania. The series, designed to show the creation of a song by an emerging independent artist, is the outgrowth of the Weathervane Music Project Series (2009), which was re-branded as Shaking Through when WXPN joined the project in 2010.
Background
Shaking Through has "offered resources and exposure that have accelerated the careers of many artists," including Sharon Van Etten, Twin Sister , and Reading Rainbow. Shaking Through artists are selected with the help of guest curators, who are well known and respected members of the music and arts community. Past curators have included Scott McMicken of the band Dr. Dog, Peter Silberman of the band The Antlers, Daniel Rossen of the band Grizzly Bear and Department of Eagles, music writers such as Mark Schoneveld and The Pelly Twins, radio programmers such as Bruce Warren, record label owners such as Ben Swanson of Secretly Canadian Records, and record producers such as Quentin Stoltzfus.
Artists participating in the Shaking Through project record a previously unreleased, original song in a high-end recording studio (Philadelphia’s Miner Street Recordings) over a two to three day period. The episodes are shot in hi-def as documentary shorts under the artistic supervision of the series producer/director Peter English (who is also the Assistant Director of Weathervane Music). Episodes are released on the Shaking Through website on a monthly basis, excluding the months of July and December. The episodes include video interviews, information on the recording and engineering process, and a free download of the featured track.
Early Successes
Sharon Van Etten was the first Shaking Through artist, curated and produced by series creator, Brian McTear. In the episode, Van Etten recorded the previously unreleased song “Love More." A live version of that song performed by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver along with members of The National, circulated on YouTube within several weeks of her episode’s release. Van Etten signed with BaDaBing Records in the Spring of 2010 and her album “Epic”, featuring the same version of “Love More” recorded for Shaking Through, ended up on several National Public Radio year-end “Best of Lists.”
Twin Sister’s “Meet The Frownies” release coincided with the band’s first ever inclusion in the Hype Machine’s Top Ten Most Blogged About Artists. The recording of “Meet the Frownies” was later included in a split 7 inch single with the band Luyas on Dead Oceans Records. The Twin Sister Shaking Through videos have received the largest number of views of the series.
Reading Rainbow was the first artist to record more than one song in a single Shaking Through session. The three songs, including the lead off track “Wasting Time”, “Always on my Mind” and “Runaways” were included on their full length LP “Prism Eyes” released on the HoZac Record label.
A Classic Education was the first group to travel to their Shaking Through recording session from outside of the United States. The five piece band from Bologna, Italy recorded the song “Night Owl” which was to be the first single on their record to be released on Sacramento CA’s Lefse Records. Raw-Tracks and Mix-Stems from “Night Owl” were the first to be shared on Gearslutz.com as part of the new “Media-Share Project” initiated at the end of January 2011. Of all shared media, “Night Owl” still has garnered the most downloads and remixes.
Stems Project
Since January of 2011, Weathervane Music has initiated a “Media-Share Project” in which raw multi-tracks and mix-stems from Shaking Through recording sessions are available to the worldwide creative community for download. Through access to these tracks, users can remix and share their own versions of the songs. Remixes as well as discussion about the process are normally posted in online fora such as Gearslutz.com and MixOff.org. This project was introduced to help "narrow the distance between the artist and audience."
Episodes
Shaking Through is currently on it’s second volume. Ten episodes are released each year, and a new session is released every month with the exception of December and July.
Volume 0
(AKA The Weathervane Music Project Series, 2009)

Episode 1:

Song Title: Fishtown
Artist: Sunset
Record Date: April 24-25, 2009
Curator: Quentin Stoltzfus
Producer: Quentin Stoltzfus
Engineer: Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey
Mixer: Brian McTear
Video Producer: Andy Williams
Director of Photography: Andrew David Watson
Field Audio Operator: Bryan Baker
Editor: Bryan Baker

Episode 2:

Song Title: Hammerhead
Artist: East Hundred
Record Date: April 19-20, 2009
Curator: Brian McTear
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey
Mixer: Brian McTear
Video Producer: Andy Williams
Director of Photgraphy: Andrew David Watson
Field Audio Operator: Bryan Baker
Editor: Bryan Baker

Episode 3:

Song Title: Your Daddy is a Little Girl
Artist: BC Camplight
Record Date: June 13-14, 2009
Curator: Brian McTear
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey
Mixer: Brian McTear
Video Producer: Andy Williams and Brian McTear
Director of Photography: Bernardo Morillo
Field Audio Operator: Bernardo Morillo
Editor: Bryan Baker
Additional Cinematography: Jonathan Low

Episode 4:

Song Title: Moment Soakers
Artist: Danielson
Record Date: June 19-21, 2009
Curator: Brian McTear
Producer: Daniel Smith
Engineer: Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey
Mixer: Brian McTear and Daniel Smith
Video Producer: Andy Williams and Brian McTear
Director of Photography: Tom Quinn
Editor: Bryan Baker
Volume 1

Episode 1:

Song Title “Love More”
Artist: Sharon Van Etten
Release Date: January 26, 2010
Curator: Brian McTear
Producer: Brian McTear and Andy Williams
Engineer: Amy Morrissey, Brian McTear and UBK (Greg Scott)
Mixer: Brian McTear and Greg Scott
Video Producer: Brian McTear and Andy Williams
Director of Photography: Phil Bradshaw and Andrew David Watson
Field Audio Operator: Bryan Baker
Editor: Bryan Baker

Episode 2:

Song Title: Micro-Coliseum
Artist: Sonoi
Release Date: February 16, 2010
Curator: Daniel Smith of Danielson
Producer: Brian McTear and Andy Williams
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Mixer: Jonathan Low, Brian McTear, and Daniel Smith
Video Producer: Brian McTear and Andy Williams
Director of Photography: Tom Quinn and Jen Schneider
Field Audio Operator: Bryan Baker
Editor: Bryan Baker

Episode 3:

Song Title: Harbinger, Dark Herald
Artist: The Strapping Fieldhands
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Curator: Daniel Smith
Producer: Daniel Smith
Engineer: Devin Greenwood with UBK
Mixer: Daniel Smith
Video Producer: Brian McTear and Andy Williams
Director of Photography: Phil Bradshaw and Jennifer Schneider
Editor: Bryan Baker

Episode 4:

Song Title: Spirit, Oh Spirit
Artist: The Man Suits
Release Date: May 2010
Curator: Scott McMicken
Producer: Scott McMicken
Engineer: Jonathan Low and Amy Morrissey
Mixer: Jonathan Low and Scott McMicken
Video Producer: Brian McTear and Andy Williams
Director of Photography: Andrew David Watson
Editor: Bryan Baker
Additional photo and video by Peter English

Episode 5:

Song Title: Dead Reckoning
Artist: Floating Action
Record Date: February 27-28, 2010
Release Date: May 18, 2010
Curator: Scott McMicken
Producer: Scott McMicken
Engineer: Amy Morrissey and Brian McTear
Mixer: Brian McTear and Scott McMicken
Video Producer: Brian McTear and Andy Williams
Director of Photography: Phil Bradshaw
Editor: Bryan Baker
Additional photo and video by Peter English

Episode 6:

Song Title: Waste My Time
Artist: Springs
Record Date: March 4-5, 2010
Release Date: June 15, 2010
Curator: Scott McMicken
Producer: Scott McMicken
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Mixer: Jonathan Low and Scott McMicken
Video Producer: Brian McTear and Andy Williams
Director of Photography: Phil Bradshaw
Editor: Bryan Baker
Additional photo and video by Peter English

Episode 7:

Song: Hot Thunder
Artist: Ben + Vesper
Record Date: June 10-11, 2010
Release Date: August 2010
Curator: Daniel Smith
Producer: Daniel Smith
Engineer: Amy Morrissey and Brian McTear
Video Producer: Peter English
Director of Photography: Phil Bradshaw
Editor: Bryan Baker

Episode 8:

Song: Meet the Frownies
Artist: Twin Sister
Record Date: June 29-30 2010
Release Date: September 21, 2010
Curator: Mark Schoneveld of YVYNYL
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Jonathan Low and Amy Morrissey
Video Producer: Peter English
Director of Photography: Andrew David Watson
Editor: Bryan Baker
Additional photo and video by Peter English

Episode 9:

Song: Always On My Mind
Artist: Reading Rainbow
Record Date: June 29-30, 2010
Release Date: October 26, 2010
Curator: Mark Schoneveld of YVYVNYL
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Amy Morrissey
Video Producer: Peter English
Director of Photography: Phil Bradshaw
Editor: Sean Maher
Additional photo and video by Peter English
Two additional songs were recorded by Reading Rainbow at the same time as “Always on My Mind”. They are “Runaways” and “Wasting Time”. All three songs were included on the band’s November 2010 HoZac Records LP, Prism Eyes.

Episode 10:

Song: 21
Artist: Party Photographers
Record Date: June 22-23, 2010
Release Date: November 18, 2010
Curator: Mark Schoneveld of YVYVNYL.com
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Video Producer: Peter English
Director of Photography: Andrew David Watson
Editor: J. DeVirgilis
Additional photo and video by Peter English
Volume 2

Episode 1:

Song: Night Owl
Artist: A Classic Education
Record Date: October 23-24, 2010
Release Date: January 18, 2011
Curator: Elise O. of Pixelhorse
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Video Producer: Peter English
Director of Photography: Peter English
Editor: J. DeVirgilis
Episode 2

Song: Stay Even
Artist: Port St. Willow
Record Date: October 25-26, 2010
Release Date: February 15, 2011
Curator: Peter Silberman of The Antlers
Producer: Peter Silberman
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Video Producer: Peter English
Director of Photographer: Ian Markiewicz
Field Audio Operator: Stephan Maglio
Editor: Jason Hall
Additional photo and video by Peter English

Episode 3:

Song: Music
Artist: LA BIG VIC
Record Date: November 6-7, 2010
Release Date: March 15, 2011
Curator: Elise O. of Pixelhorse
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Video Producer: Peter English
Field Audio/Visual Operator: Thomas Miller
Editor: Greg Heller
Additional photo and video by Peter English

Episode 4:

Song: Borrowed Heart
Artist: Hezekiah Jones
Record Date: March 11-12, 2011
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Curator: Bruce Warren of WXPN and Some Velvet Blog
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Video Producer: Peter English
Director of Photography: Peter Enlighs
Cinematography: Phil Bradshaw
Editor: Sean Maher
Motion Graphics: Adam Maruszan

Episode 5:
Song: Phantom
Artist: Big Troubles
Record Date: March 5-6, 2011
Release Date: May 17, 2011
Curator: Liz and Jenn Pelly
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Director of Photography: Peter English
Cinematography: Ian Markiewicz
Editor: Mike Plunkett

Episode 6:
Song: Heavy Love
Artist: Dreamers of the Ghetto
Record Date: March 13-14, 2011
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Curator: Ben Swanson of Secretly Canadian
Producer: Brian McTear
Engineer: Jonathan Low
Video Producer: Peter English
Director of Photography: Peter English
Cinematography: Jen Schneider
Editor: J.Devirgilis
Additional photo and video by Peter English

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