Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, founded in August 2005, broadcasts on heritage commercial AAA station WRSI ("93.9 The River") in Northampton, MA and Brattleboro, VT. The show, which positions itself as "indie music for indie kids," is produced by Bill Childs (who helps run kinDIY and is a cofounder of KindieFest) and is hosted by Bill and his kids Ella and Liam. It typically contains around 20-25% songs not recorded for kids, including tracks by artists as varied as The Pixies, Tom Waits, fiREHOSE, Parliament, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more. WRSI, now owned by Saga Communications, was a groundbreaking AAA station and remains unusually eclectic and local-oriented.
The station also produces the Meltdown family music and book event. The show's blog is at sparetherock.com, and the radio station is at wrsi.com (and streams for free). The show can be streamed on-demand for a limited time after each broadcast at the show's page at WRSI.com. And of course, it's on Facebook.
The show got a 2009 NAPPA Gold award in the only year it was entered and has received various other awards and praise. They Might Be Giants recorded three theme songs for the show, and Scribblemonster did another.
Bill periodically posts news and reviews on the blog as well.
Submissions should be sent to:
Bill Childs
WRSI-FM
15 Hampton Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
You can contact Bill by e-mailing him at show AT sparetherock DOT com.
