It’s so sad and strange that he’s gone. It still doesn’t seem real.
Maybe you already know, but in case you don’t: the last song of our set is called “Jeff Breeze,” where we rewrote the lyrics of “Jolene” to be all about Jeff. Continue reading “27”
Air Congo
I’ve moved around a lot in the last couple of years and every time I’ve landed in a new city I’d check out what was happening on the radio –and of course the community radio stations tell you the most about what’s going on. In Chicago, it was WNUR and WZRD. In Sydney, it was FBI and Eastside, and everyone knows about WFMU and KEXP. When I got to Boston/Cambridge in 2015, WMBR was the all-around standout. Continue reading “Air Congo”
Ali Lipman
I’m a former college radio DJ who also worked on a live music radio show. Pipeline was both a creative outlet and an opportunity for so many local bands. Jeff was unpretentious and the purpose of Pipeline wasn’t an exposure of his taste, but rather what underground music had to offer the world. I admire his dedication and his contributions will be missed.
Continue reading “Ali Lipman”
André Obin
I feel very fortunate to have seen Jeff one last time in early September of 2020. I had released a record and I asked him if I could submit it to Pipeline! He ended up driving over to MIT to pick up the CD, so that he could listen to it in his car that day. Later that night he wrote me a great email and gave me praise, saying it sounded like Gary Numan had abducted a shoegaze singer, which made me laugh. Jeff’s opinion always meant a lot to me, because I knew how obsessed he was about music. He was open minded and would engage in any genre with equal fervor. I always felt that if I made something he liked or played on Pipeline! then I must have been doing something right. Continue reading “André Obin”
Andy Lightning
My thoughts and memories of Jeff are brief, as I was only able to spend that one night on the air with him. However, if my memory serves me right, I recall playing pretty poorly on the air. Really, song after song after song of a poor performance haha. The experience was still a real highlight though, because Jeff was just such a hype man. I knew I played bad, but he still made me feel so good! And Jesus, that voice. What a radio voice. The scene is much worse off for having lost another anchor.
appearance: Jan. 9, 2018
Bad History Month
I was so sorry to hear about Jeff. I think my favorite Pipeline memory was actually a time Florida=Death came through and I got to sit in the studio with them while they did their set. I definitely think of Jeff any time I put out new music, because he always would pick something out to play. I miss his mellow enthusiasm and losing at uber-deep radio voice duels ha. — Sean
appearances: Nov. 13, 2012 (as Fat History Month), Oct. 22, 2013, and Oct. 17, 2017
Banana
I remember Jeff as someone who despite having an encyclopedic knowledge of local bands from the last couple decades didn’t seem bored or jaded by new bands coming up. In fact, he seemed so genuinely into and interested in our band’s sound. That really stuck with me and made me feel good about our music, because I knew he had top-notch taste and knew what he was talking about. Like we impressed someone who had lived through some of the best years of the Boston scene. It was as much a joy listening to Pipeline! as being on it. He was a good down-to-earth interviewer and asked interesting questions. We talked a lot about ice cream. — Chelsea
appearance: June 12, 2018
Beeef
We were all quite fond of Jeff and Pipeline! long before we had the chance to play. I discovered Pipeline! just after college. I was working for a local teen rec center and driving the evening drop-off van. Tuesdays were the one night of the week the kids would relent and let me play something over the radio that wasn’t Top 40, so I went right to Pipeline! I like to think that it helped us all get closer to the local music scene, and if nothing else, it introduced the kids to the cultural staple of Jeff Breeze. Continue reading “Beeef”
Black Helicopter
Jeff Breeze was a friend of ours. When he took over @wmbrPipeline, he was an ardent supporter. He always made sure to debut Black Helicopter’s music and have us play live sets for the purposes of helping promote the record release gig and ensuring the WMBR copy got in to the new release bin. He just loved discovering new local music and being the guy who got it to your ears. He did this for every band any of us were in without exception, it was just how he was wired and had the search and discovery down to a science. Thanks to technology, it became ninja-like. Continue reading “Black Helicopter”