Month: May 2015 (Page 4 of 4)

RFCv3 #25

This week on Radio Free Charleston at New Appalachian Radio we’re going to play you some ROCK BLOCKS. After our first set of random cool new music, the rest of the show will consist of four-song blocks from some great local artists.

Some of you may remember that back in the olden days of Rock 105, they’d play ROCK BLOCKS with two-to-four songs in a row by the same artist. I have a little bit of fun with that idea this week. I have fun with the reverb, too.

You can listen to Radio Free Charleston’s streaming radio incarnation at 10 AM and 10 PM on Tuesdays (and again at midnight Thursday) at New Appalachian Radio, part of Voices of Appalachia. If you miss it, check our the archives for previously-aired shows. You can also listen to Radio Free Charleston Saturday at Midnight. Saturday, RFC airs for six hours, starting at midnight. This week is even special and stuff. Read to the bottom to find out why.

We kick off the show with a really diverse set of tunes from different acts…

Byzantine “Agonies”
Talented “Put Ya Gloves On”
Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands “Firest of Dreams”
QiET “Cosby Sweater”

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This week on The RFC MINI SHOW we feature Tape Age, recorded in their first public performance at The Empty Glass, May 1, 2015. Currently a duo, Sam Scholten and Dave Roberts perform “Worst Day of My Life” and “Ocean Going.” I was really impressed by this band, who are based in South Charleston and Louisville, KY. They take turns commuting to rehearse.

While this is a new band, I’ve known these guys for years. I met Sam way back at LiveMix Studio with his late wife, Lisa Rush (who co-wrote “Worst Day of My Life) and Dave is the drummer for half the bands in town. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but he has been on three of the last four RFC shows. The music is smart, complex alternative-influenced rock. I want to thank the guys for letting me use footage from this performance, since it was a last-minute fill-in gig and they’re still working out some kinks. I thought they sounded fantastic already.

In the coming weeks you will have several chances to see more of Tape Age, quite probably with a third member on board. May 15 the band will perform at The Cartef for an all-ages show with three other bands. May 29 sees the band take a big stage that I will tell you about once I get the all-clear from the powers that be. We’ll let you know about their other upcoming shows here in PopCult.

I hardly ever do straight landscapes. So for a departure, here’s a digital oil painting I did over a composite of several photos taken from the Train on the way to New York last February. It turned out okay, I think.

Click to enlarge, and check PopCult later Monday for The RFC MINI SHOW starring Tape Age.

Our Sunday Evening Video this week is a short one. Shot just yesterday, this video takes us on a trip through Charleston, West Virginia’s Contra Lane crossing the Fort Hill Bridge, the way most people probably feel when they drive through it.

An enhanced version of this video will appear in the next full-length episode of Radio Free Charleston. I just wanted to get this joke out there before anyone else makes it.

This week we bring you Radio Free Charleston’s fourth episode “The Blue Guy Shirt,” featuring Raymond Wallace and Under The Radar. Originally posted in August, 2006, this was the very first time that RFC Big Shot (and now Mrs. RFC) Melanie Larch ran camera on the host segments. Since then, she’s shot the vast majority of the host segments for our shows. Both musical acts were recorded in the legendary LiveMix Studio, the home base fore Radio Free Charleston in our early days.

Our animation is “Zachery Bop,” by Frank Panucci. Host segments were shot in Davis Park, downtown, with a ridiculously loud air conditioner running across the street. You can read the original production notes here.

The PopCulteer
May 1, 2015

It’s one of those weeks where your PopCulteer has been slammed with paying work right at the time when he’d normally be writing the PopCulteer. You should know by now what that means–it’s time for another “Stuff To Do” PopCulteer where I just post images that plug some of the weekend’s cooler events.

Let this be a lesson to those bands who can’t bother to prepare a graphic for their shows: If you can’t take the time to do it, I don’t always have the time to do it, and then you don’t make the cut.

Before we dive in to the part of this post where I don’t have to write anything, please remember to listen to the cool shows on New Appalachian Radio at Voices of Appalachia. Not only can you hear the streaming audio version of Radio Free Charleston, but you can also hear great shows from Mark Wolfe, Chris Higgins, Anthony Hoey, Bill Gardner, Eric Douglas and more. Follow the links and check it out.

Now the stuff to do (The RFC crew will be on hand for the first show listed)…

Friday

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