The Three Ring Circus airs weekly on 88.1 fm, WMBR on Friday afternoons 4-5:30 pm ET and is hosted by me, Joan Hathaway. WMBR is a broadcast service of MIT and the WMBR studios are on campus.

The Three Ring Circus (3RC) plays a variety of musical styles, including roots rock, lounge, cocktail, surf, psychedelic, indie, jazz, funk, blues and all types of music that are influenced by these genres. To get an idea, check out some of the recent playlists.

The goal of 3RC is to entertain and educate listeners. Entertain with good music... the stuff that makes a home-bound commute pleasant or stripping wallpaper fun? Or at least bearable. You know what I mean. And for educating, turning listeners on to artist they are not familiar with, or details of favorite artists they won't hear on commercial radio or read in Rolling Stone or Spin magazine. That's not to say I won't play those artists or repeat some info it's just I try to dig a little deeper.

I also like to tell folks on who's coming to town. Because Boston is a big college town it's a great place for entertainment. We get lots of great acts in music, comedy, theater and the arts. There is always lots to do, but who has the time to weed through it all?

I do (barely).

Each week the 3RC prepares an events calendar that highlights some of the acts coming to town as well as a slew of great local talent. And there is a slew of *great* local acts in Boston, which makes doing radio in Boston a lot of work, but hey that's a good problem! Luckily, I get lots of help from fellow WMBR DJ and host of Lost Highway, Doug Gesler to help me out. We basically take turns doing the events calendar so there are multiple influences going on there.

And then there is the education I get from listeners. I'm always amazed at the knowledge of 3RC listeners. I get turned on to at least one new good artist a week by listeners (yup, there is a lot of stuff I don't like). Then I just send it back to the community.

"If I like what I hear, I do like to share"

And that is the key on why I think the show is so special (and the radio station for that matter). It's the interactivity with the community. Boston is a great community and an active community. And all I have to do is keep up with it, which isn't always easy;-)

A little history...

I've been doing the show since the summer of 1991 (with a year off in 1998). The 3RC was an extension of a comedy show I was producing earlier that year called "Have You Heard The News Lately?" (HYHTNL?) The show was an original weekly half-hour news parody show with a core staff of 8 very talented writers/performers plus many others who participated over the years. That was a whole lot of fun to work on and a truly wonderful experience for all involved. The show was a great stomping ground for young performers and producers, but after 3 years we all began to move on to bigger and better things, so we bid farewell in April of 1994. I'm happy to say that most of the writers/performers of the show are still in the comedy business, either in stand-up, improv, writing, performing or working in financial services. Maybe some day we'll do a reunion, but time constraints are plentiful these days. But you never know.

All this merriment and madness would not be possible if not for 2 things; WMBR and location. WMBR is an all-volunteer student/community operated and listener- supported radio station broadcasting from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). WMBR serves the Boston-Metro area. The folks at WMBR allow for tremendous creativity in programming radio and the Boston community is great. What more can I say... to current listeners THANKS! For those not familiar with the show, please tune in on Friday afternoons 4-5:30 pm ET on 88.1 fm, Cambridge MA. Or stream it online from the WMBR web site.