A Brief History of Weathervane
In 2009, Brian McTear and Bill Robertson founded Weathervane Music, a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to advance independent music and the community that surrounds it. The bulk of Weathervane's work from 2009 through 2019 came in the form of Shaking Through, a beautifully produced, 100% donation-funded documentary recording series, capturing the stories of 72 exceptional recording artists as they recorded a brand new song in the recording studio.
Shaking Through: 2009 - 2019
Shaking Through featured artists like Sharon Van Etten, Mr. Twin Sister, Hop Along, Big Thief, and many others. For us, it was about the importance of creative expression as told by people who were dedicating their lives to making music.
It was a remarkable labor of love. No webseries before Shaking Through produced such high-quality new original music with such stunning cinematic video and thoughtful documentary storytelling. And we did it as a nonprofit.
It was also a first-of-its-kind for providing viewers with the opportunity to download and mix the music that came from the series. Today, Multitrack Archive subscribers can still download the raw audio tracks, stems, track sheet information, etc. from Shaking Through to practice their mixing skills, make their own creative remixes, and share what they do back with the community for feedback and support.
Notable Shaking Through Episodes
Sharon Van Etten "Love More"
Episode 5 - January 26, 2010
In 2010 Sharon Van Etten released "epic," an acclaimed mini-album recorded by Weathervane founder Brian McTear and his partner Amy Morrissey at their studio, Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia.
The album actually started with Brian's production of "Love More" (the actual album track) recorded as part of Weathervane's first episode under the brand name “Shaking Through”. The song was recorded on December 8,2009 with guest musicians Cat Martino and Jeffrey Kish, and was released six weeks later to Weathervane’s small new audience. But word travelled quickly, and within a few weeks the song was covered by members of Bon Iver and The National before a live audience at MusicNow Cincinatti.
The 10 year anniversary reissue of this momentous album was released in 2021 and included new versions of the songs by Big Red Machine, IDLES, Lucinda Williams, Shamir, Courtney Barnett, St Panther, and Fiona Apple. It’s exciting to know that it all began in this momentous Shaking Through episode.
Big Thief "Mother"
Episode 58 - July 6, 2016
A one-off collaboration with Here We Go Magic’s Luke Temple, "Mother" was recorded just before Big Thief's breakout. It’s one of the most viewed Shaking Through episodes of the series, even if the band members themselves knew very little about Weathervane Music or its history coming into the session.
Waxahatchee "No Curse"
Episode 62 - May 3, 2017
No Curse” was recorded for Shaking Through 4 weeks after Waxahatchee recorded “Out in the Storm” at Miner Street with producer John Agnello in December 2016. A strangely anxious session, the production for this episode took place the very day that Donald Trump was inaugurated as president in 2017, which undoubtedly would become the start of a contentious period in the US and around the world.
Hop Along "Sister Cities" (original version)
Episode 38 - June 5, 2013
Hop Along’s original recording of the song Sister Cities was produced by Brian McTear for this episode of Shaking Through. It was recorded just as the band’s career started to gain momentum, and as future producer Joe Reinhart had just joined the band. Hop Along would go on to have significant success, signing with Saddle Creek in the months to follow. A handful of years later, songwriter and front person, Frances Quinlan would come back to curate and co-produce a future episode of Shaking Through with Philadelphia’s Thin Lips.
Steven A. Clark "Bounty"
Episode 34 - January 23, 2013
Steven’s Shaking Through recording of “Bounty” was curated by the influential record label owner, Chris Swanson (Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans). The song included performances by a cast of musicians who’d go onto have remarkable musical success.
That list of players included Dave Hartly and Robbie Bennett (The War on Drugs), Chris Powell (Man Man), Felicia Douglas (Ava Luna and Dirty Projectors), not to mention future Grammy winning Miner Street and Shaking Through engineer Jonathan Low (Taylor Swift, The National). One other special highlight, not to left out - the episode’s Executive Producer Felix Salvaat (pictured on the far left) came to Philadelphia for the recording of this episode all the way from Panama City.
Cayetana "Miss Thing"
Episode 46 - June 4, 2014
Cayetana was one of Weathervane’s proudest finds, right here in our own backyard. They recorded “Miss Thing” for Shaking Through very early in their existence as a band, and doing it on screen with a full video crew wasn’t easy (... but you’d never know it). Cayetana went on to become true Philadelphia darlings, appreciated almost universally for Augusta Koch's unique voice, and their sincerity and realness as a group. They would tour the US and release several albums before disbanding in 2019. Augusta maintains several solo projects to this day including her band Gladie with former Shaking Through engineer Matt Schimelfenig.
Helado Negro "Mitad del Mundo"
Episode 35 - February 13, 2013
Curated and produced by Mikael Jorgensen (Wilco), Helado Negro’s “Mitad Del Mundo” was recorded using perhaps the most extensive analog and vintage synth collection that any of us could imagine. The song is one of the most unique creations of the entire 11 year series. Roberto Lang’s career as a musician and multimedia installation artist continues to flourish and grow to this day.
David Boring "Machine 3"
Episode 71 - August 2, 2019
The penultimate, and perhaps “best” Shaking Through episode featured Hong Kong no-wave band David Boring, first seen internationally in Anthony Bourdain’s Hong Kong episode of Parts Unknown (released two days before his death, and ultimately removed from the Parts Unknown catalog). Brian contacted David Boring the through Bandcamp the night the episode first aired in the US. They came 9000 miles to record with Brian and tell their story. It was among the greatest experiences we ever had over the course of our work. And this doesn’t scratch the surface of the story told in this episode.
"There's enough songs and bands talking about how beautiful the world is, how falling in love is amazing...We want to be very honest about certain darker aspects of what living in the modern world means, to make it...not attractive but...approachable."
- Janice Lau, David Boring
Eliza Hardy Jones "Virginska"
Episode 72 - November 15, 2019
The final episode, and perhaps also “best” episode of Shaking Through featured one of Philadelphia’s most talented recording and touring musicians, Eliza Hardy Jones. She was a co-founder of the band Buried Beds, before releasing a remarkable solo record - a great creative success, even though it garnered barely any industry attention. Eliza needed to reconnect with what she loved about music in the first place.
So for this episode, we looked back 100 years into her family story. We went “ghost hunting” with Eliza, even going so far as to drive to the mountains of New Jersey and broadcast Eliza’s voice from the front yard of of the ruins of a family farm house to record the sounds of it echoing across the valley like great aunt did 50 years earlier (… and instead of using traditional studio effects).
From the entire journey, we discovered some incredible people, gazing up at us, from just below the surface of one amazing song. Today Eliza performs live with The War on Drugs, Grace Potter’s Band, and Iron and Wine, to name a few.
The Role of Curators & Special Guests
Over the course of the series, several Shaking Through episodes were curated by well-known musicians, or included guest performances by well-respected artists. This drove many viewers to watch the episodes, and learn about the artists’ stories. Above all it was a remarkable show of support for Weathervane’s mission and the spirit of Shaking Through itself. Below are a small selection of curators and special guests throughout the years.
Sharon Van Etten
Guest Curator, Co-producer
Episode 43 - Torres
April 10, 2014
Sharon returned as part of our 5th season celebration, this time as a curator, bringing the incredible artist Torres to the Shaking Through family. The band for the episode featured Chris Wilson (Ted Leo and the Pharmacists), and Dave Hartley and Adam Granduciel (The War on Drugs). What a weekend!
Adam Granduciel
The War on Drugs
Guest Curator, Co-producer
Episode 28 - Purling Hiss
May 9, 2012
As curator, Grammy winning singer Adam Granduciel from The War on Drugs brought the great power trio, Purling Hiss to Shaking Through. The episode video featured interesting visual techniques inspired by the original 1969 Woodstock documentary. Somehow the entire first day recording was completed by around 6pm - sometimes that really nice!
Daniel Rossen
Grizzly Bear
Guest Curator, Co-producer
Episode 22 - Family Band
September 1, 2011
No one recalls how Daniel Rossen was originally roped into curating and co-producing this episode, but every aspect of the song and how it was captured brings us pure joy. The experience was positive for everyone, too. Daniel returned to Miner Street a couple weeks after to record his solo EP with Jon Low soon after.
Marissa Nadler
Special Guest Curator Episode 26 - Faces on Film March 7, 2012
Marissa Nadler is an incredible artist, far more beautifully talented than many who would take much more credit. She recorded 3 albums at Miner Street over a 7 year period before bringing Faces on Film to record this session. Give this song a listen. It is extraordinary. Thank you, Marissa!
Sufjan Stevens
Special Guest Musician
Episode 27 - Stranger Cat
April 11, 2012
Oscar nominated artist Sufjan Stevens was, and is to this day, a real enigma. His story with Shaking Through is much more detailed than there is space to tell here, but suffice it to say, Weathervane is ever grateful for Sufjan’s contributions to the series’ history. That includes guest performing with Cat Martino, a member of his band at the time.
Nicole Atkins
Special Guest Curator Episode 37 - Invisible Familiars April 21, 2013
Nicole Atkins was introduced to Weathervane by Bruce Warren, the program director at Philadelphia’s WXPN, an early partner on Shaking Through. She’s funny and brash, and man, can she write songs. Captured in a beautifully warm light, her episode with Invisible Familars is worth the watch.
Frances Quinlan
Hop Along
Guest Curator, Co-producer
Episode 66 - Thin Lips
January 31, 2018
Five years after Shaking Through featured Hop Along, Frances passed the favor on to Thin Lips who recorded the original version of their song “So Stoned”. The song was intentionally (if not a little recklessly) recorded fast to tape so it could be slowed down for effect. We are quite partial to this version of the song. See what you think. Thank you, Frances!
Tim Showalter
Strand of Oaks
Guest Curator, Co-producer
Episode 48 - Lewis & Clarke
October 31, 2014
Two years after being a featured Shaking Through artist, Strand of Oak’s Tim Showalter returned to pass on the opportunity to Lewis & Clarke in an extended episode that would be among the final contributions of early Shaking Through producer / director Peter English.
Scott McMicken
Dr. Dog
Guest Curator, Co-producer
Episode 8 - The Mansuits
April 7, 2010
Talk about a dream human being… Five years or so into Dr. Dog’s remarkable rise (one that was transformational for Philadelphia itself), Scott generously helped solidify the first Weathervane and Shaking Through season by bringing other members of Dr. Dog, MeWithoutYou, and The Silver Ages to record this song. Lots of party balloons in this episode.