This week’s PopCulteer is just a post to let you know that our blogging schedule has been disrupted by technical issues with our hosting company and WordPress.
So there’s not much to talk about here because I don’t know if anybody will be able to read it anyway. I’m going to reuse old graphics and just try to crank this out and get it scheduled during those fleeting moments when everything is operational.
It sorta sucks extra hard because PopCult has an enormous amount of momentum right now. Readership of the blog more than doubled last year, and so far this year we’ve already more than tripled last year’s total.
And that’s not just AI bots scraping this blog for content. I can see when they do that, and it’s not more than two or three a day, at most.
For some reason, more people are reading PopCult than ever before.. I’m talking way more than when we were part of The Charleston Gazette, and this increase has come in spite of the fact that Facebook has dramatically scaled back how much we can count on them for promoting PopCult via links.
I guess writing a blog for damned near 21 years eventually garners a bit of a following. The reason this is so annoying to me is that, since August, 2013, I have not missed a single day of blogging. There are two posts missing that I had to take down because a crooked Canadian millionaire threatened me and The Gazette with a very expensive frivolous lawsuit, but aside from that and one other day missed due to a technical issue a decade ago, PopCult has been an every-day blog for more than two-thirds of our existence.
Also…and I hope this is still true after they fix this latest glitch, PopCult‘s comments are now working again, after not working for a bit more than a year. So if you want to leave a comment on this blog now, you won’t get rejected.
This is about all I trust the WordPress interface to swallow at the moment, so I will wrap it up here. Check back for fresh content every day…when we are actually up and running…and with any luck we’ll have all our regular features.
PopCult was beset by technical issues Wednesday evening, and I had to work on that, rather than prepare the post I had planned for today. So, in place of that, here’s a flash back to what happened in PopCult 20 years ago, tomorrow. It’s the production notes for Episode Three of the Radio Free Charleston video program, which you can see at the head of this post…
Radio Free Charleston Production Diary: Episode Three
The third episode of Radio Free Charleston is finished, and may be posted later this afternoon (actually above, for those of you in 2026). This is a bit of a departure show for us. First of all, my host segments were shot against a green screen. I’ll tell you more about that later. We also feature our first music video by a local band, and the first chapter of “Pentagram Flowerbox,” a recurring cartoon by Third Mind Incarnation about Satan living in a trailer park.
We have a wonderful musical guest, Eduardo Canelon, who ran off to host a music camp before we had a chance to find out what the piece of music he performed was called. Evidently, this music camp is being held somewhere with no cell phone coverage. I’ll update you on Eduardo’s music as soon as he gets back. He’s the mastermind behind Latin Music WV and we’ll be telling you more about that in PopCult in the coming weeks. Eduardo is also the leader of Comparsa, an eight-piece Latin band that will appear on a future episode of RFC. He treats us to a very cool, laid-back Spanish number, performed on the Radio Free Charleston studio fire escape.
Our other musical guest is Three Bodies–no mean feat, since they haven’t performed together in over fifteen years. “Shingles And Tar” is a vintage music video, which was hastily assembled in the summer of 1990, the day before it was due to be shown at a film festival. I got a call from Brian Young, and headed down to an editing bay at West Virginia State College with a handful of tapes of stock footage. We combined the stock footage with a short film Brian had made starring Kris Cormandy, the lead singer of Three Bodies, and wound up with a decent little music video. As the night wore on, and the deadline loomed, we slacked off and ended the video with what may be a world record for the most nuclear explosions ever used in a rock music video.
For reasons of copyright and ox-mistreatment, this video was re-edited last Friday. Brian hasn’t seen this version as I write this. Hope he’s not mad. Since we were dealing with fifteen-year-old videotape, and a short production window for RFC, there is one glitch in the show. At the very beginning of “Shingles And Tar”, the audio is a little warbly. You can find an MP3 of the song here, which is all clean and neat and warble-free.
We wrap up the show with a public service announcement of great importance.
After we finished the show, we noticed that an unintentional theme had emerged. The show seems to be a bit hot. Perhaps subconsciously influenced by the record heat we’ve had in the valley of late, this episode of Radio Free Charleston has a recurring flame motif. In fact, the heat is the reason we used a green screen, instead of shooting on location. We actually shot the host segments twice. The first time, we had audio problems that were insurmountable. This was actually a good thing, because I was experimenting with my “look” for the show, and the particular combination of facial hair and old fedora that I tried for the first shoot imbued me with a look not unlike that of a fat Jed Clampett.
So we rescheduled the host segments for two days later. When faced with the prospect then of shooting on a rooftop in 104 degree weather at two in the afternoon, my resistance to the idea of using the green screen melted away, and we absconded to the secret RFC studio. I prefer shooting on location, but I think the show looks all right this time. In many ways, this is our hottest show yet! We’ve got fiery Latin balladeering, a neighbor from Hell, lots of nuclear explosions, and an oppressive heat which we defiantly flip off by shooting in an air-conditioned studio. Watch for episode three of Radio Free Charleston later today at the Gazz TV page (or above).
****
Apologies for the unplanned Flashback episode. There was some kind of glitch between WordPress and my hosting service, and as a result, not only was PopCult down for most of the last 15 or so hours, I couldn’t get in to update it with a new post. I was able to find my way in long enough to snatch this post from the archives, and I wrote the new intro and outro (and a couple of parenthetical asides) while offline.
I’m hoping to get this post going live today, and I hope thatPopCult becomes stable for more than five minutes at a time. The giant photo essay of stuff from Kentuckiana will be delayed until things get stable with the blog. Thanks for sticking with us.
STUFF TO DO is PopCult‘s weekly guide to just a few of the great events happening in Charleston, Huntington and a few other points here in West Virginia, and sometimes a little beyond our borders, in the coming days.
This week’s featured event is a show Thursday night at Folklore Music Exchange that I hope to attend…
Each week I try to tell you about a few cool events all around the state that you might not know about. If you have a show that you’d like to plug in the future you can still contact me via Social Media at Facebook, BlueSky, Spoutible, Instagram or Twitter. I dont charge for this, so you might as well send me something if you have an event to promote.
I do ask that you send a graphic that includes the date, time and location, of the event, as well as the cost to attend. I can’t promise that I’ll run it here, but chances are I will unless it’s something completely offensive or an event happening in South Carolina. If it looks original and charmingly weird, you have a better chance of seeing it here.
Keep in mind that I’ll need this several days in advance, so please don’t send me a graphic on the day of the event and expect it to show up in this feature.
For much more comprehensive guides to things you can get into in our region, check out these two wonderful resources:
Cristen Michael has created an interactive calendar that is way more comprehensive than this list of STUFF TO DO, and you can find it HERE. Just click on the day and the event and you’ll be whisked away to a page with more details about loads of area events.
Mya Ross at Status Quo does a much better job of compiling a list of local events than I do, and you can find the WTSQ guide to events HERE. Toss ’em a donation while you’re over there.
You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look. Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.
To hear music in an alcohol-free enviroment, see what’s happening at Pumzi’s, on Charleston’s West Side.
For cutting-edge independent art films, downstairs from Taylor Books you’ll find the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF. Each week they program several amazing movies in their intimate viewing room that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.
Please remember that viral illnesses are still a going concern and many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding while you’re out. And if you’re at an outdoor event, please remember that it’s awfully inconsiderate to smoke or vape around people who become ill when exposed to that stuff. If somebody asks you to refrain, please respect their weishes and don’t be a jerk about it.
Here’s a few select suggestions for STUFF TO DO in and around Charleston and Huntington this weekend…
You can hear Radio Free Charleston Tuesdays at 10 AM and 10 PM, with boatloads of replays throughout the week.
This week we open with a full hour of brand-new local, independent and cult-following music, and that is followed by a rare episode of Radio Free Charleston International that hasn’t been heard since late 2016. This time there were no major tragedies or inconveniences, your humble blogger and radio host just needed a slow week after a very busy summer.
As promised last week, we open our show with a killer new track from Nashville’s Saycouth, who come to use via the Chicago pipeline. I think Google Maps is involved in that, somehow. This is their new single, and it will be released this Friday, which just happens to be Bandcamp Friday, the day when you can buy music and stuff at Bandcamp, and they allow the musicians to keep the Bandcamp cut of the proceeds. It’s a great deal for everybody involved, so be sure to spend some time shopping at Bandcamp as the work week ends.
The next song in our show is the latest from our old friend, David Synn. David is working on a great new Prog album, but life has thrown him a curve ball recently. His wife, Johnni, has suffered a traumatic brain injury and will need surgery in order to regain a normal life. A GoFundMe Page has been set up to help the family cover expenses and stay together as she undergoes medical treatments in Morgantown. Please check out the page and consider donating.
The rest of our first hour features new music from Noise Structures, Vinto Van Go, Gary Myrick, Hardy Mums, Corduroy Brown, Stitch Jones and His Bionic Marines and Robyn Hitchcock, along with a flurry of great recent tracks from local and indie talent, and a preview of a show at The Empty Glass, happening next week.
Our second and third hours bring you an episode of RFC International that hasn’t been available in any form since late 2016. This show is loaded with great music that flows smoothly, even though it has no right to.
Check out this playlist, with links to the artist’s page, in the first hour…
hour two
Green Day “Revolution Radio”
The Pixies “Um Chagga Lagga”
The Monkees “The Porpoise Song”
Kansas “Summer”
Macy Gray “Redemption Song”
The Sword “High Country (acoustic)”
Vangelis “Mission Accomplished”
Regina Spektor “Older and Taller”
Manfred Mann “I Put A Spell On You”
The Isley Borthers “Shout”
Freddie Mercury “The Great Pretender”
John Lennon “Stand By Me”
The Who “Batman”
Marillion “Living In Fear”
Frank Zappa “Cosmic Debris”
hour three
Elvis Costello “…and in every home”
No Doubt “Open The Gate”
Sting “I Can’t Stop Thinking About You”
The Screaming Jets “Cash In Your Ticket”
Miss Behaviour “Savage Heart”
Neil Young “We R In Control”
Starpilot “Blazor”
Mi Sex “Computer Games”
New Order “Bizarre Love Triangle”
M “Doubletalk”
Kate Bush “Pull Out The Pin”
Peter Gabriel “Intruder”
Adrian Belew “Standing In The Shadows”
You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM, Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight, Sunday at 8 PM and Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different classic episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.
I’m also going to embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.
After RFC, stick around for encores of last week’s episodes of MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.
At 3 PM get ready for two classic episodes of The Swing Shift, featuring the best Swing Music from the last century!
You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Thursday at 9 AM, Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursdays and Sundays.
We are back in Chicago for this week’s smallish watercolor. Like last week, it’s based on our slow meander through the South Side of Chicago, during what is normally a brief part of the trip where Amtrak’s Cardinal rides on an elevated track.
Most of the time, this passes in mere minutes, but due to mechanical issues, it took us about an hour to travel the relatively short distance from Union Station, South, past the ballpark where the White Sox play.
So I was able to grab lots of photos of things that would normally pass us by too quickly to even notice.
This week it’s a picture of a building with a sign for a car wash that’s actually about a block away, our of our line of sight. I liked the Hopperesque composition I was able to get the stark near-dusk shadows. The painting itself is rather straight-forward, with no major omissions or additions. This is pretty much the way it looked. I may redo the sky at some point and paint out the streetlamp.
Meanwhile, over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a classic episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM we do the same with an encore of a more recent episode of Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.
You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page. PsychedelicShack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM, and Saturday at 9 AM. You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM.
Tonight at 8 PM, tune in for a classic edition of The Comedy Vault. That’s followed by two-hour blocks of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast at 9 PM and 11 PM, and then an overnight assortment of our Haversham Recording Institute programs at 1 AM.
Your humble blogger is not planning on doing much this weekend besides sitting in front of the TV, watching big sweaty people hit each other. It’s been very hectic lately, and I need some time to recharge.
To make life easier, this week in our video showcase, we are going to bring you five random videos that i produced for this blog over the years. Above you see my video from 2022, of a pedicab ride through NYC.
Right below, you see a video I made in 2009 that features Sierra Ferrel, with James Vernon Brown and Patrick Stephens on back up, singing the Portishead song, “Glory Box.” After that, Patrick treats us to his own tune, “I Speak Spanish To God.” This was recorded at an open mic night at Sam’s Uptown Cafe in Charleston.
From there, we jump to a video I shot in 2013, featuring guitar legend, Neil Zaza, with Sean O’Bryan Smith, performing in Dave Robert’s living room in South Charleston…
After that, from the spring of 2022, it’s a video I shot from the window of the Amtrak Cardinal. We were passing the C&O Railway Heritage Center, and I got footage of the back end of the museum, including some of the rare and ancient cars they have in their railyard alongside the Amtrak tracks.
Finally, we have a PopCult instant video look at Shocka-Con 2013, including the infamous Twerking incident with The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, plus music from Harrah, The Big Bad and The Renfields, and quick peeks of RJ Haddy, Daniel Boyd, Eliska Hahn, Danny Hicks, Eugene Clark, Eamon Hardiman, Pig Girl, Ghostbusters WV, Jeremy Ambler and cast members from The Walking Dead, a Dalek, The cast of Kanawha Players “Night of the Living Dead,” and more, all tighly-packed into one five and a half-minute clip. It’s a little bittersweet to see so many friends who are no longer with it, and it’s also hard to watch because of the video quality, but it’s still a fun reminder of how much fun ShockaCon used to be.
Leo Tuxedo as Patrick Morrisey (photo by Mark Wolfe)
Billed as “An Alarmingly Activist Episode” and hailed by many as one of our best, we go back to May, 2014 for “Save Top O Rock Shirt,” a show jam-packed with cool stuff. Sadly, our title shirt turned out to be a lost cause, as one of the city’s most treasured landmarks fell to the wrecking ball, but sad as that is, this is still a great show.
Radio Free Charleston 198, “Save Top O Rock Shirt” was one of our most politically active episodes. We had music from Time & Distance, Little Nomad, The Living Deads and a special music video by The Laser Beams, plus there’s ten epic minutes of animation by Jake Fertig. But first, in this episode I actually talk about the shirt that gives this show its name.
Top O Rock was an architectural marvel in Charleston. It was the home and office of the late architect, Henry Elden. We shot our host segments for Episode 100 there in 2010, a couple of years after he passed away. Despite the best efforts of many people, the structure was demolished, and the land still sits empty.
A scene from “The Flocking”
We jump into our show with the first of three parts of Jake Fertig‘s epic “The Flocking: Coal-Aid Freedomsodes,” which takes a pretty harsh and incisive look at some of the industrial special interests which control and afflict West Virginia. We split the cartoon into three parts, and you’ll see them throughout this episode of the show.
Our first musical guest this week was Time and Distance. We caught them on their first Charleston show after a nationwide tour, performing at The Empty Glass. Also at The Glass, we recorded The Living Deads, who had previously starred in an RFC MINI SHOW. In this show you’ll get to hear “All I Can Do Is Cry”
The Laser Beams formed out members of The Wayward Girls School of Burlesque, and were still members when we created this music video, where they salute West Virginia’s then Attorney General who is currently the Governor, the sock puppet of big business, Patrick Morrisey. The song is still accurate and relevant, sadly.
We wrapped the show up with a performance by singer-songwriter Little Nomad, with whom we were mightily impressed. It sure would be cool if she started making music again.
You can read the full production notes for this show HERE.
The good news is, I have way more really good photos of the July 18 Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo than I thought I did. The bad news is that I did not have time to sort, edit and prepare off them for publication today. I used the Kodak Charmera so that I can write a review of it in the future, but there’s a lot of wheat to separate from the chaff with that. I took back up pics with my phone, and you can probably tell which is which.
Last week I brought you ten photos as a preview. Then last Sunday we had both the music video AND all the raw footage we shot.
For the second week in a row I did not get the extensive photo essay from this year’s Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo completely done in time for today’s PopCulteer. This has been a week full of absolutely top-of-the-line excuses, none of which I’m going to go into here.
Instead, I am going to carve up the big photo essay into three more manageable pieces.
Today we’re going to look at some of the folks we saw…a lot of old friends and their smiling faces that make this such a fun show. We also took a lot of photos that were blurry or unflattering, so I’m only running a few here. We are also going to look at a few of the vendors who offered up incredibly cool 3D printed items, vehicles and accessories.
Next week we will devote one post to the cool custom figures and dioramas. Then we will bring you a huge photo essay that is nothing but pictures of cool vintage toys.
I hate taking so long to get these photos published, but I love bringing them to you.
Friendly Faces
Two legends in the hobby, Ace Allgood and Scott Beckmann, both paying homage to Bulletman on his 50th anniversary as an action figure
Steve Stovall, one of the main forces behind The Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo AND The Adventure Command figures. Also, the guy who had a cooler shirt than I did.
Dean Morrison, another legendary GI Joe dealer, and also saluting Bulletman
Your humble blogger finds himself, once again, behind schedule. This time it’s due to a combination of inexplicable internet outages, a nonstop barrage of telemarketer calls and more pressing paying gigs getting near their deadlines.
So, it’s time to run down to the still-being-built photo studio, grab a stack of toys I just got recently, and bring you a quick photo essay so you have something new and cool to look at today. I promised you fresh content every day, and this is as fresh as it gets!
Tomorrow you’ll get another photo essay, finally wrapping up our look at Kentuckiana, and next week I plan to dig into an ever-growing stack of really cool books that need to be reviewed.
Some of today’s pics are also previews of upcoming posts. A lot of this cool stuff deserves more in-depth looks.
Let’s jump in, shall we?
Ashland Kentucky’s Juggulator, a local wrestling hero, has appeared in action figure form. Seen here having vanquished Tommy Dreamer. Juggs had a short run of these. I’ll let you know if he has more made. This is one cool figure.
While we’re on a wrestling kick, Sabu and Raven have joined the (much larger) Tommy Dreamer as Big Rubber Guys. I really didn’t need to start collectiing a new action figure line, but they keep pulling me back in.
STUFF TO DO is PopCult‘s weekly guide to just a few of the great events happening in Charleston, Huntington and a few other points here in West Virginia, and sometimes a little beyond our borders, in the coming days.
This week’s featured event is the latest CLOG show, held at their workshop…
Each week I try to tell you about a few cool events all around the state that you might not know about. If you have a show that you’d like to plug in the future you can still contact me via Social Media at Facebook, BlueSky, Spoutible, Instagram or Twitter. I dont charge for this, so you might as well send me something if you have an event to promote.
I do ask that you send a graphic that includes the date, time and location, of the event, as well as the cost to attend. I can’t promise that I’ll run it here, but chances are I will unless it’s something completely offensive or an event happening in South Carolina. If it looks original and charmingly weird, you have a better chance of seeing it here.
Keep in mind that I’ll need this several days in advance, so please don’t send me a graphic on the day of the event and expect it to show up in this feature.
For much more comprehensive guides to things you can get into in our region, check out these two wonderful resources:
Cristen Michael has created an interactive calendar that is way more comprehensive than this list of STUFF TO DO, and you can find it HERE. Just click on the day and the event and you’ll be whisked away to a page with more details about loads of area events.
Mya Ross at Status Quo does a much better job of compiling a list of local events than I do, and you can find the WTSQ guide to events HERE. Toss ’em a donation while you’re over there.
You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look. Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.
To hear music in an alcohol-free enviroment, see what’s happening at Pumzi’s, on Charleston’s West Side.
For cutting-edge independent art films, downstairs from Taylor Books you’ll find the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF. Each week they program several amazing movies in their intimate viewing room that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.
Please remember that viral illnesses are still a going concern and many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding while you’re out. And if you’re at an outdoor event, please remember that it’s awfully inconsiderate to smoke or vape around people who become ill when exposed to that stuff. If somebody asks you to refrain, please respect their weishes and don’t be a jerk about it.
Here’s a few select suggestions for STUFF TO DO in and around Charleston and Huntington this weekend…
The PopCulteer
The PopCulteer
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