Sara Jaffe’s “Earth to You” Interpreted Live at WFMU’s Monty Hall

On January 23, author Sara Jaffe presented a live interpretation of her short story “Earth to You” at Monty Hall, the performance venue of WFMU, located at 43 Montgomery Street in Jersey City. The event featured guitarists Bill Nace, Emily Robb, and Ava Mendoza, and was hosted by Scott Williams, WFMU’s volunteer and PSA director.

“Sara put together a compilation of eight guitarists to interpret her story ‘Earth to You,’ which is featured in her latest book Hurricane Envy,” Williams said. Two of the performers traveled from Philadelphia to participate. The recorded compilation is available on Bandcamp, and Hurricane Envy is available at Stelton Distro, an independent bookstore in Jersey City’s West Side.

The story centers on Helen, a novice guitarist learning through traditional instruction until she meets West, a self-taught musician whose distorted and heavy playing style influences Helen’s transformation into a more experimental and self-assured player.

Each guitarist interpreted the narrative differently. Nace began with fluctuating amplifier noise, mirroring a scene in which Helen places a hammer on her guitar strings to create a “warm hum that fills the room.” Robb’s strumming pattern blended Helen’s early lessons with West’s aggressive technique. Despite the variation in approach, all performances were marked by their high volume. “It’s really good, it’s just really loud,” audience members noted. The intensity was deliberate, meant to reflect Helen’s internal shift and her message to West: “What’s the loudest song you know?”

Jaffe, a former WFMU radio fill-in and guitarist, said, “It was a no-brainer that if I was going to do an east-coast show, it would be here.” She described her fiction as “about a guitar player, coming to your own with music, and finding yourself as a musician.”

WFMU, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, is the longest-running freeform radio station in the United States. Known for its extensive music archive and diverse programming, the listener-supported station continues to draw artists nationwide.