Slither Through Rock with DJ el Serpentine

Contact Information

Music Director: Sybil Augustine – musicdirector@wortfm.org (for music submissions, charts and tracking, promotional exchanges for music events and following up on volunteer applications or other requests. Please include specifics in your subject line, such as “Hiphop Music Submission” etc, )

Music Assistant: Aaron Scholz – musicass@wortfm.org (for record donations and sales, promos recording volunteers, etc.)

Music Calendars: Submit your events online here or send by email to calendar@wortfm.org

How do I get my music played on WORT?

We accept submissions in most genres and styles of music, focusing on noncommercial, out-of-the-mainstream, independent releases (check out our playlists and music charts for more information.) It may take up to a few weeks for us to review and process your submission so we appreciate your patience, and feel free to contact us to follow up. Please send your music, indicating any tracks with language that needs to be aired after 10 pm and including a one-sheet description and any biographical and tour information, to WORT Music Director, 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI 53703 and/or to musicdirector@wortfm.org.

We do accept digital files on .wav or mp3, but currently we still prefer CDs to digital submissions because it’s the quickest way to get it into the hands of our programmers and onto the airwaves, though we have a growing digital library. Digital submissions should be .wav or other lossless files, or high quality mp3s [128-320 kbps.]

You can follow up or “track” your submissions by email, or call 608-256-2001 on Wednesdays between 1-4 pm CST to ask if we received it, has it been reviewed, has it been added to our library, and what kind of airplay it’s getting—e.g. light, medium, heavy or charting. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

WORT Music Playlists

What was that song I heard? Who was the artist, what is the album title, where can I get it? Where can I find the entire playlist for a show?

Click on the Playlists button to bring up a calendar where you can choose any date to find the playlists for that day. If you can’t find the right playlist or the song you’re looking for, your best bet is to call the station the next time that program’s on and ask the host yourself. If that’s not possible we may be able to help you, but please have as much information as possible at hand when you contact us, such as: approximate day and time the music was played, what type or genre of music it was, who hosted the show and any other information you remember about the selection and we’ll do our best to track it down.

Once you figure it out, there’s a “Buy It!” link next to each track in online playlists that leads you to a place where you can buy songs and albums, and by doing it that way a small portion of each purchase goes to support WORT.

While Madison offers abundant opportunities to see nationally-recognized artists, the area’s local music scene is particularly delightful. Whether one finds it on community airwaves or at intimate venues, homegrown talent affirms Madison’s creative energies. Highlighting such acts has proven a sustained commitment for The Rattlesnake Shake host Sal Serio (DJ el Serpentine).

The Rattlesnake Shake, which is part of the “Friday on My Mind” series, launched at WORT in 2011, but Serio (pictured below) has co-hosted and been a guest on various music programs since the 1990s. After the late great DJ Ted Offensive passed in November 2017, Serio moved into the former’s regular Friday night shift, which regularly featured local bands, and decided to continue featuring local and regional artists in addition to new releases and previews of future shows.

As with much of WORT’s own “homegrown” programming, The Rattlesnake Shake toys with conventional notions of genre. “People think of me as a punk and metal guy, but my musical knowledge and appreciation is way more eclectic than that,” Serio shares. “On The Rattlesnake Shake you could hear anything from ’50s rockabilly/surf to country/folk, to hip-hop and funk.”

Although these entries may appear out of place on a “rock” show, they reflect the genre’s kaleidoscopic breadth that commercial radio often forgoes. “One thing I always tell people is to keep an open mind and don’t stop listening to new music,” says Serio. “There’s always something new that you’ll find that you like, but if you don’t explore, you’ll never know what’s out there.”

Such curiosity applies to community involvement as well. Serio became a WORT listener sponsor upon moving to Madison, and was so inspired by Tanya Hyde’s The Cruelest Cuts and Colleen Cronin’s The Farm Report/Tripping Hour that he decided to sit in on shows with Randy B, Ted Offensive, and Bill The Walkin’ Doctor. In 1994, he played a live set during Harry Rag’s show, and quickly credits the live music aspect of his program to sound engineers Aaron, Dustin, and Ryan.

“All of WORT’s music, news, and those unique shows that incorporate both have their own personalities and provide value to our community,” Serio notes. “The beauty is that we’re honest and free to develop our own content without the influence of commercial advertising interests. That’s a rare commodity in this day and age.” Indeed, WORT’s DJs can only do this with your help.

Serio’s ongoing engagement with music extends beyond radio, too. After moving to Madison in the late ’80s, he began promoting and booking shows while playing in the punk rock band Moral Disgust. Serio has written for Maximum Ink since 2006, and has worked with the families of guitarists Tommy Bolin (Zephyr) and Terry Kath (Chicago) to preserve their musical legacies.

Listeners have a few options to hear DJ el Serpentine. The show airs on WORT 89.9 FM every fourth Friday from between 8:00 and 11:00 PM, or anytime on the station’s audio archives. Those who need an extra dose may catch the show on WSUM 91.7 FM every Thursday from 8:00 to 9:00 PM. The Rattlesnake Shake next airs for WORT on Friday, September 28th. Shake it!

The Rattlesnake Shake‘s Upcoming Live Music Schedule for WORT is as follows:

28 September, 2018: Bassliss
October 26 or November 2, 2018 (TBD): The Low Czars
23 November, 2018: (TBA)
28 December, 2018: The Bottles
25 January, 2019: Tentative Terry Kath Tribute
22 February, 2019: Cindy Set My Hair on Fire
22 March, 2019: Clean Room
26 April, 2019: Casket Robbery