Month: October 2020 (Page 3 of 4)

You should all know by now that your PopCulteer has a warm spot in his heart for Swing Music. Above you will see a really cool BBC4 documentary on the history of Swing, but to be honest, it’s just an excuse to plug something that’s happening starting Sunday night/Monday morning at midnight on The AIR.

I recently hit (and passed) 100 episodes of The Swing Shift, my Swing Music showcase that you can hear Tuesdays at 3 PM on The AIR. In fact, I shot a bit past that, and now have 103 episodes in the can. Starting at midnight Sunday and wrapping up Friday morning at 7 AM, you can hear every single episode of The Swing Shift in a 103-hour marathon.

Not only will this allow you to experience the entire series, but it will also give your PopCulteer a week off from producing other radio programming. I need some time so I can get ahead on this year’s PopCult Gift Guide, which is slated to run during most of November.

So watch the documentary above, and then tune in to The AIR website, or on this embedded radio player to get into the Swing of thing with the best Swing Music from the last century!

This week we go back to September 2014 for our most recent video milestone show. Episode 200 was a huge undertaking that went through a lot of changes before it finally made it out into the world. You can read about those in our original production notes HERE. I’m gonna swipe a bit of that so you can get an idea of what to expect:

Radio Free Charleston has finally reached its 200th episode, and it does so in a grand manner with four never before seen performances by the area’s top bands, plus animation, short films and more. Your host, Rudy Panucci, presents songs from Farnsworth, The Laser Beams, HarraH and The Velvet Brothers. There is a short film from Frank Panucci, a movie trailer from Jake Fertig and the first new animation featured on RFC from Third Mind Incarnation since 2007.

The PopCulteer
October 9, 2020

FestivFALL is an extension of Charleston’s June festivities, offering arts experiences in music, art, theatre, dance and more each October. This year, to ensure the safety of attendees and artists, FestivFALL will feature a cornucopia of at-home and virtual programs.

You can expect to find cool stuff at the FestivFall website like The Harvest Art Fair, The American Shakespeare Center’s Othello, Harvest Art Fair – Children’s Fair art projects, Three Things speaker series, and more!

Jump into fall with a bounty of at-home & virtual music, art, theatre and dance during FestivFALL! Enjoy both new and old events on a variety of virtual platforms…get your holiday shopping done early at the virtual Harvest Art Fair, crate at-home art projects through online tutorials, and much more.

It all starts Saturday, October 10, with loads of events that you can find at the FestivFALL calendar.

Highlghts include…

GLOW AT HOME: New to FestivFALL in 2019, Glow in the Park was so much fun that they wanted to make sure to take it online with in 2020. Sign up for one of the take-home kits that include everything you need to make a neon/glow work of art at home (including a glow accessory or two, of course!). For ages 2 (with assistance) and up. Then, follow along with local artist, Mallory Burka on YouTube as she shows us how to create a masterpiece of our own at home.

Great Composers Virtual Chamber Music Series – The Magic of Mozart: Allianz Music Ensembles and FestivALL Fall will mark the start of Charleston’s first virtual chamber music series with the program – The Magic of Mozart. Allianz is reimagining the concert experience by creating and presenting high-quality virtual chamber music performances that connect patrons to music in a safe and innovative way. Allianz is moderating the concert live, so ask a question, give them a high five, or send a comment…they really want to hear from you. This is the first of the Great Composers Chamber Music Series and will go live on Sunday, October 11, at 3:00 PM EDT. This Interactive Chamber Music Concert has been made possible in part by a grant from Charleston Creativity Connections and FestivALL, and is free for all to enjoy on the YouTube live stream.

“Catching Light” Artist Interview and Performance by WV Dance Company: “Catching Light” is an abstract work inspired by West Virginia glass artist, Ron Hinkle. The choreography by Toneta Akers-Toler is performed to the sounds of ringing glass and the glass studio, a contemporary music score by WV native composer Dr. Richard Grimes and vivid description of the glassmaking process by WV storyteller Adam Booth. See the WV Dance Company performance of Catching Light – and hear from those who were instrumental in its creation in the never-before-seen Artist Discussion. Watch the premiere of this video on Sunday the 11th on the FestivALL YouTube Channel

Imagine Circus Virtual Shows:

A Circus at Home (30 Minute Show)
Be amazed by incredible skills and dangerous talents! This 30 minute show will dazzle viewers with expert juggling, artistic object manipulation, and graceful balance. Join professional circus performer Adam from Imagine Circus, as he brings mind bending dexterity to your screen at home.
Vacuum and Liquid Nitrogen Science Show (30 Minute Show)

Hosted by cryogenic physicist Adam from Imagine Circus, viewers will learn how matter (solids and liquids) can be cooled to -269° C–almost as cold as outer space. This show offers demonstrations with a vacuum chamber, liquid nitrogen, and other fun items. Together, we will observe some things getting smaller and some larger by only changing the pressure and temperature, observe boiling as a technique for dissipating heat, and watch things change from being squishy or flexible to being hard and rigid. This series of demonstrations has been presented at many schools and libraries and is geared toward engaging grade school to high school students.

Happy Hour with the Laureates: Join Marc Harshman, poet laureate of WV & Jeff Worley, poet laureate of KY for a Happy Hour. This event will be livestreamed on YouTube on October 12 at 7PM but will be available to watch upon the event’s conclusion for the remainder of FestivFALL.

Join the livestream to hear readings from both poets and participate in a Q&A session at the end of the program.

Three Things: Season 5, Episode 5: Season 5, Episode 5 welcomes you to enjoy another virtual Three Things you don’t want to miss. This episode will feature Musician/Police Officer Jeff Ellis, Dr. Anne Cavalier, and Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. FestivALL’s live monthly speaker series, Three Things, showcases three West Virginians who will share insight into their personal story of where they started, what they love, and where they are going. This FestivFALL episode will go virtual to continue keeping patrons and guests safe.

Charleston Light Opera Guild presents: Shrek the Musical: Final dress rehearsal of Charleston Light Opera Guild’s August 2019 production of “Shrek The Musical” held at Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center Little Theater will be streamed 5 times during FestivFALL. The stream runs 2 ¼ hours including a 7 minute intermission. NOTE: Pre-registration is required. Viewers can create a profile and register for their preferred show date & time by visiting ShowTix4U at the link below starting October 1, 2020. Please make special note that on your show date & time, there is no opportunity to pause and rejoin the stream. However, there is a built-in intermission.

Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play: Using the magic of voice acting and live sound effects, The Alban Arts Center presents 3 classic Hitchcock radio plays; “The Lodger”, “Sabotage”, and “The 39 Steps” to thrill and spook you.

This should be a lot of fun, and it’s just thrill-laden enough to help get you into the Halloween spirit.

Follow the links in the descriptions to find more details, and links to where to watch and how to buy tickets.

Even in the mIdst of a pandemic, Charleston can still become a work of art.

MIRRORBALL Marks A Dozen Shows

It’s our latest chance to drop a new episode of MIRRORBALL, hosted by my lovely wife, Mel Larch, and we done it up real good with loads of dancefloor classics. This is our twelfth edition of MIRRORBALL and it debuts Friday afternoon at 2 PM on The AIR. and that’s followed by two great encore epsodes of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat.  You can hear all this good stuff on The AIR website, or just click on this embedded radio player…

As I mentioned, this week’s show is chock-full-o classic dance tracks of The Disco Era.  Check out the playlist:

MIRRORBALL 12

Indeep “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”
Michael Jackson “Don’t Stop Til’ You Get Enough”
Sister Sledge “Lost In Music”
Giorgio Moroder “Chase”
The Village People “Ready For The 80s”
Boney M. “Daddy Cool”
Lou Rawls “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”
Cheryl Lynn “Shake It Up Tonight”
The Emotions “Best of My Love”
Tina Charles “Dance Little Lady, Dance”
France Joli “Come To Me”
The Trammps “Hold Back The Night”

You can tune in at 2 PM (Eastern time) and hear the latest edition of MIRRORBALL. The plan is to drop a new episode roughly every other Friday afternoon, until Mel gets tired of doing it, or people stop listening. Later today, it will go up in the Podcast section of The AIR website, so you can listen on demand.  MIRRORBALL will also be replayed Friday night at 10 PM, Saturday at 7 PM (part of a mini-marathon), Sunday at 11 PM and Tuesday at 1 PM. We’ll probably sneak in a few more airings during the week.

And that wraps up this week’s PopCulteer. Check back for fresh content every day, and remember that, just because our blog is hosted on the Gazette-Mail servers, we do not agree with their inexplicable political endorsements. I mean, really, WTF?

The PopCult Bookshelf

Frankenstein
by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, introduction by Stephen King
Gallery 13
ISBN-13 : 978-1982146153
$29.99

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is, of course, a ground-breaking literary classic. Bernie Wrightson, the co-creator of Swamp Thing and one of the greatest horror comics artists of all time, took seven years of unpaid work to create the fifty pen-and-ink illustrations that accompany this edition of the novel. Horror master, Stephen King even chimes in with an introduction, making this a must-have for fans of horror.

This is the fourth edition of the book that combines the original novel with Wrightson’s gloriously grotesque art, and it’s the smallest, measuring a mere 6 inches by 9 inches. The paper stock is not the bright white that Wrightson’s art deserves, but the earlier editions of this book are out of print, and selling for enormous amounts of money on the secondary market, so this is a relatively inexpensive way to add this to your library, with the added bonus of being able to fit it on a standard bookshelf.

I shouldn’t have to sell you on the original novel. It’s a gothic horror classic credited as the first real science fiction novel, as well as the first true horror novel. Since it was written, over two hundred years ago, it has inspired films, operas, musicals, comic books, comedies, television shows, countless toys and even a breakfast cereal. Many people who absolutely love the story have never read the original novel, and with 2020 being a year to stay at home, maybe this would be a good time to celebrate Halloween by reading this classic.

The selling point for this edition of the book is Wrightson’s art. Wrightson was already an in-demand illustrator who made his name working in the horror genre for DC Comics and Warren Publishing, and had branched out into the world of limited-edition art prints when he began working on this project in the late 1970s. It was originally published by Marvel Comics in 1983, and then 25 years later in an upgraded large-size edition by Dark Horse. Those are long out of print, so this is the most affordable way to add this project to your collection.

Movie producer and screenwriter Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Season One of The Walking Dead) famously paid over a million dollars for one of the illustrations in this book. A portion of that drawing is used for the cover of this edition.

While the small size and paper stock are not ideal for Wrightson’s impressive art, which was originally drawn more than four times the size that it’s reproduced here, you can still see the brilliance and beauty of his work. Stephen King completists will also want this edition for his introduction.

Frankenstein, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, should be available to be ordered from any bookseller using the ISBN code, or you can pick it up at a discount from Amazon.

Monsterama and Spy Con Go Virtual This Weekend, and the press release was so concise, that we’re basically going to run it nearly verbatim. These are two combined pop culture conventions devoted to monster movies and spy flicks. I’ve met the folks who put on this show at ToyLanta, and they do a great job. Hopefully next year we can make it down for a real-life version of the show. In the meantime, everybody can attend for free online this year.

Atlanta fan conventions Monsterama and Spy Con have decided to turn adversity on its ear in order to benefit The Motion Picture & Television Fund. Forced by Covid-19 related restrictions to cancel their annual in-person events, which were scheduled to take place simultaneously over the weekend of October 9th-11th, 2020, the promoters have partnered to mount a virtual event online to raise funds for the charity. The event is scheduled for their original dates online at virtual.monsteramacon.com and virtual.spy-con.com and is free for everyone. Donations can be made at this GoFundMe page.

“We’re really looking forward to sharing some great programming with fellow monster and spy fans all over the world,” says event co-chairman Anthony Taylor. “Having our event online has opened us up to a lot of guests that would not have been able to attend in person.” Guests scheduled to appear include actresses Caroline Munro (The Spy Who Loved Me, Dracula, A.D. 1972-seen right with Madeline Brumby), Lana Wood (Diamonds Are Forever, Night Gallery), and Trina Parks (Diamonds Are Forever,DarktownStrutters), actor/director Larry Blamire (The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra), as well as Oscar™-winning makeup artist Chris Walas (The Fly, Gremlins), James Bond film special effects director Steve Begg (Skyfall, Casino Royale), film directors Mick Garris (The Stand, Sleepwalkers,Hocus Pocus), Sam Irvine (Elvira’s Haunted Hills, Oblivion), and Robert Tinnell (Frankenstein and Me, Feast of the Seven Fishes), and many more. A full list is available on the event website at virtual.monsteramacon.com.

“We’re also very happy to partner with The Motion Picture & Television Fund as our charity this year,” Taylor continues. According to their mission statement, MPTF supports our entertainment community in living and aging well, with dignity and purpose, and in helping each other in times of need. “As film and television lovers and fans, we think it’s a fitting cause to support the people who have done so much to entertain us as they age, or in times of need,” he said. Monsterama and Spy Con are utilizing the online platform Go Fund Me to collect donations for the organization.

Programming for the online event includes panels on subjects such as television’s The Outer Limits, James Bond Special Effects with Steve Begg (Skyfall,Casino Royale), The Twilight Zone, Dark Shadows, filmmaking, the origins of Dracula, monster art illustrations, as well as demonstrations on makeup effects, costuming, fabrication, and other arts, gaming, screenings, and a gallery of vendors. The complete line-up can be accessed at virtual.monsteramacon.com or virtual.spy-con.com.

Monsterama/Spy Con Virtual Convention
• Free For Everyone
• October 9-11, 2020
• Hours – FRI. 4:00pm-11:00pm EST, SAT. 10:00am-11:00pm EST, SUN. 10:00am-5:00pm EST
• Monsterama Website
• Spy Con Website
• Fundraising benefit for the Motion Picture & Television Fund
• Donations can be made HERE

About Monsterama/Spy Con
Monsterama was founded in 2015 as Atlanta’s retro monster, horror, and sci-fi convention and has held an event annually every year since. Featuring guests from the acting, filmmaking, literature, art, and comics fields, the convention normally takes place in early October. Next year’s event is scheduled for October 8-10, 2021, at the Atlanta Marriott Alpharetta. More information is available at MonsteramaCon.com.

Spy Con was founded by the Monsterama team in 2018 to fill the void in fan events for enthusiasts of spy- and espionage-related entertainment. Their next event will run simultaneously with Monsterama next October. More information is available at Spy-Con.com.

About the MPTF Foundation
In 1921, when MPTF was founded, it was a revolutionary idea – the notion of a whole industry (not just an individual corporation) taking care of its own. At the dedication of the Country House in 1941, actor, director and then-President Jean Hersholt spoke of dreams yet to be realized. He understood that philanthropy can inspire people and institutions to be better than they think they can be. He knew that a combination of vision and resources can make amazing things happen.

The MPTF Foundation exists as a conduit to connect these dreams to our reality. Our efforts realize the vision of our donors and joins their generous philanthropy with the growing human needs of our entertainment community. Those needs, like the entertainment industry itself, are changing at an ever-rapid pace. And, so we turn to members and friends of the entertainment industry to help us deliver on the MPTF mission and take care of our own. The passion and generosity of our community are vital to provide services to industry members today, and to make the dreams of tomorrow come true. They can be found online at www.MPTF.com.

Wednesday afternoon The AIR brings you special brand-new episodes of Beatles Blast and Curtain Call!  You can tune in at the website, or on this embedded radio player…

At 2 PM, your truly returns to host a birthday mixtape salute to John Lennon, who was born 80 years ago this week. We bring you the highlights of his solo musical career on the eve of the release of his new remixed and remastered Give Me Some Truth collection. Check out the playlist featuring all songs by John Lennon…

Beatles Blast 064

“Give Peace A Chance”
“Cold Turkey”
“Instant Karma”
“Working Class Hero”
“God”
“Mother”
“How Do You Sleep”
“Imagine”
“Gimme Some Truth”
“John Sinclair”
“Mind Games”
“Whatever Gets You Through The Night”
“(Just Like)Starting Over”
“Borrowed Time”

Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 10 PM, Satruday at 2 PM, and the following Tuesday at 9 AM.

At 3 PM Mel Larch devotes the entire hour of Curtain Call to songs that George Gershwin wrote for the stage, performed by some of the greatest singers of the last century. George Gershwin began writing songs professional when he was just fifteen years old, in 1913. He wrote his first musical, Piccadilly to Broadway, in 1920, and continued to compose for the stage until 1935, winning the first Pulitzer Prize for drama ever given to a musical for Of Thee I Sing, along the way.

George Gershwin collaborated with several lyricists, including William Daly, Buddy DeSilva and his brother Ira Gershwin, but his stunning compositions, combined with his premature death due to a brain tumor at the age of 38, cemented a legacy that is still standing more than a century after his first show.  Just check out this amazing playlist…

Curtain Call 094

Ethel Waters “I Got Rhythm”
Maxine Sullivan “Nice Work If You Can Get It”
Doris Day “But Not For Me”
The Hi-Los “Of Thee I Sing”
Ella Fitzgerald “I’ve Got A Crush On You”
Mel Torme “Isn’t It A Pity”
Aretha Franklin “It Ain’t Necessarily So”
Frank Sinatra “Someone To Watch Over Me”
Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark ‘s Wonderful”
Frank Sinatra and Lena Horne “Embraceable You”
Al Jolson “Swanee”
Robert McFerrin and Adele Addison “Bess You Is My Woman Now”
Tony Bennett “Who Cares”
Cab Calloway “There’s A Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon For New York”
Sarah Vaughn “My Man’s Gone Now”
Buck and Bubbles “Oh Lady, Be Good!”
Georges Guetary “I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise”
Billie Holliday “Summertime”

Curtain Call can be heard on The AIR Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 8 AM and 9 PM, and Saturday at 8 PM. A six-hour marathon of classic episodes can be heard Sunday evening starting at 6 PM, and an all-night marathon of Curtain Call episodes can be heard Wednesday nights, beginning at Midnight.

Tuesday on The AIR we deliver brand-new episodes of Radio Free Charleston, Psychedelic Shack and The Swing Shift.  In order to hear these great new musical treasures, you simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay on this page, and  listen to this convenient embedded radio player…

We have a brand-new Radio Free Charleston at 10 AM and 10 PM Tuesday.  This show kicks off with brand-new music from Tyler Childers, and the rest of the show alternates between sets by local and international artists.

Check out the full playlist to see all the fantastic goodies we bring you this week…

RFCV4 033

hour one
Tyler Childers “Long Violent History”
Speedsuit “Long As Yesterday”
The Rose Garden “February Sunshine”
Stark Raven “Talking To The Walls”
Jack Griffith “Under The Sun”
Hurl Brickbat “Subliminals”
Hasil Adkins “The Hunch”
Klaatu “Around The Universe”
Eddie Jobson “Green Face”
The Buggles “Rainbow Warrior”
Frank Zappa “Tinsel Town Rebellion
Rick Wakeman “Wooly Willy Tango”
Queen “The March of the Black Queen”
Oingo Boingo “Mary”
Julian Cope “Beautiful Love”
Harlequin “Sweet Things In Life”

hour two
Byzantine “New Ways To Bear Witness”
John Radcliff “RocknRolla”
Farnsworth “For You”
Hawthorne Heights “Stranded”
Feast of Stephen “Escape The Man”
The Heavy Editors “Take This Town and Kill It”
Pale Nova “I’m Gone”
Kate Bush “Get Out of My House”
Wall of Voodoo “Elvis Gave Dora A Cadillac”
Lene Lovich “What Will I Do Without You”
Crack The Sky “A Night On The Town (with Snow White)”
The Stranglers “The Men They Love To Hate”
Elvis Costello “From A Whisper To A Scream”
Joe Jackson “Slow Song”

hour three
Andy Prieboy “Psycho Ex”
The Science Fair Explosion “Appetite for Apology”
Scarlet Revolt “Tomorrow Never Comes”
Kerry Hughes “Tequila Mockingbird”
Bobaflex “Hey You”
Pretenders “Tatooed Love Boys”
The Dickies “Pretty Please Me”
DEVO “Going Under”
YES “Release Release”
Renaissance “Camera Camera”
Split Enz “Nobody Takes Me Seriously”
Brian Wilson “Wanderlust”
Utopia “Junk Rock (A Million Monkeys)”

Radio Free Charleston can be heard Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM, Thursday at 3 PM, Friday at 7 AM and 7 PM, Saturday at 11 AM and Midnight, Sunday at 1 PM and the next Monday at 8 PM, exclusively on The AIR.

At 1 PM we bring you an encore episode of Curtain Call.

At 2 PM, you will be treated to a brand-new episode of Psychedelic Shack with its presenter Nigel Pye. Our friends at Haversham Recording Institute in London, between dealing with a quarantine and an increased workload, but they’re back on track and this is two new shows from Nigel in a row!

Nigel has given us a goodie. Just check the playlist:

Psychedelic Shack 035

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets “Atom Heart Mother”
David Bowie “Unwashed and Slightly Dazed”
The Dream Academy “Life In A Northern Town”
Steve Bonino “We Are Gonna Be All Right”
Dave Clark Five “Universal Love”
The Rolling Stones “100 Years Ago”
The Flaming Lips “Dinosaurs On The Mountain”
The Lemon Twigs “Only A Fool”
Jefferson Starship “Setting Sun”
George Harrison “Tabla and Pakavaja”
Al Stewart “Belleka Doodle Day”
Beau Brummels “Just a Little”
The Electric Prunes “The Great Banana Hoax”
Lemon Pipers “Green Tambourine”

Psychedelic Shack alternates weeks with NOISE BRIGADE Tuesdays at 2 PM, with replays Wednesday at 11 AM and 10 PM, Thursday at 9 AM, Friday at 1 PM, Saturday at 8 AM, Sunday at 4 PM and Monday at 7 PM.

At 3 PM our new hour of The Swing Shift goes back to our historical theme and fills in the blanks we missed when we tried to compress 100 years of Swing into four hours. This week we look at Women who Swing, with a heaping helping of all-female big bands, women who were bandleaders and great female vocalists. We bring you music from the 1920s to just a couple of years ago, all with women in charge of the beat. Check out this playlist:

The Swing Shift 103

Lil Hardin Armstrong “Doin’ The Suzie Q”
Blanche Calloway “I Got What It Takes”
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm “Jump Children”
Lovie Austin “Travelin’ Blues”
Valaida Snow “Patience and Fortitude”
Dolly Dawn and her Dawn Patrol “Goody Goodbye”
Ina Ray Hutton “Truckin'”
Frances Carroll and her Cocquettes with Viola Smith
“Snake Charmer”
Rita Rio and her Orchestra “Feed The Kitty”
Billie Holliday “Nice Work If You Can Get It”
Helen Forrest/Harry James “I’m Beginning To See The Light”
June Christy with Stan Kenton “Tampico”
Ella Fitzgerald “Everyone’s Wrong But Me”
Lillian Briggs “I Want You To Be My Baby”
Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers “Now or Never”
Lily Wilde and Her Jumpin’ Jubilee Orchestra “Insect Ball”
Red & The Red Hots “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”
Lady J and her Bada Bing Band “What’s Next”

You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 7 AM and 6 PM, Thursday at 2 PM, Saturday at 5 PM and Sunday at 10 AM, only on The AIR. You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each of our finest episodes, starting at Midnight Thursday and Sunday evenings.

This week’s art is a timed watercolor, marker and ink creation that I did in 90 minutes on Sunday afternoon. The neatly pretentious title came after what started as a doodle was finished. This was basically a quick silhouette of a naked lady, which is something artists will do sometimes. Then I spent the bulk of the time carefully painting the background because I used the wrong kind of paper for watercolor. This thing took forever to dry, even with blotting and the use of a blow-dryer (set on low).

In the interest of full disclosure, the pose was inspired by “La Femme Chauve-Souris” by the French master, Albert Joseph Pénot (1862-1930). Also, I cropped this considerably. I get really sloppy when I paint near the edges of the page.

If you want to see it bigger, just click on the image.

Meanwhile, Monday at 9 AM on The AIR, the Monday Marathon brings you six hours of Psychedelic Shack, which follows the regularly-scheduled repeat of last weeks Big Electric Cat at 7 AM. Today’s marathon is in honor of Nigel Pye delivering us a brand new episode of Psychedelic Shack, which will premiere Tuesday afternoon.

At 3 PM on Prognosis, Herman Linte brings us a special mixtape edition of Prognosis, filled with live performances of prog-rock classics, since there has hardly been any live music this year. Check out the playlist:

Prognosis 064

Steve Hackett “Return of the Giant Hogweed”
YES “Gates of Delirium”
Marillion “The Leavers”
ASIA “Sole Survivor”
Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy “Trilogy”
Dream Theater “Pull Me Under”
Dweezil Zappa “The Black Page#2”
Greg Lake “21st Century Schizoid Man”
Jethro Tull “Aqualung”
John Wetton and Geoff Downes “Starless”
Kansas “Song For America”
Kate Bush “Kite”

That’s followed by a classic Prognosis and an evening of NOISE BRIGADE and Radio Free Charleston. You can hear replays of Prognosis Tuesdays at 7 AM, Wednesdays at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 9 AM. 

You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on this embedded radio player…

The annual Rod Run Doo Wop car show and Kanawha Boulevard-closing spectacular is not happening this year. If it had, it would have begun a few days ago, and would be wrapping up this weekend. 2020 has been the worst year in most people’s lives, and part of what has made it suck so hard is that so many of our special events have had to be canceled due to the pandemic.

Compounding the major suckiness of this horrible year was the death this past summer of Super Dooper Charlie Cooper, one of the guidling lights of The annual Rod Run Doo Wop car show. A Drive-through Drive-in, stretching from Hurricane to Charleston happened Saturday in Charlie’s memory, and that was as close as we got to having a classic car show this year.

However, we do have a couple of PopCult videos that captured the sights and sounds of The Rod Run Doo Wop car show from previous years, and we’re re-presenting them here to maybe take a bit of the sting out of this year’s show not happening. That’s why our videos for tonight are from 2013 and 2014. Those were both great years for attending the show and your PopCulteer took his handy cameras out to document the excessive automotive madness back in his video-prolific, pre-Myasthenia Gravis days..

Above is the 2013 video. Below is 2014. Hopefully the Rod Run will be able to return next year.

This week we go back to September, 2014 for an RFC MINI SHOW starring Elephant in the Room, an Appalachian Rock group featuring previous RFC guest, Donnie Smith, along with Dylan Burkhammer, Bo Ballard and Devin Fields.

You may want to note that the group is called “Elephant in the Room” and not “The Elephant in the room,” as RFC host, Rudy Panucci (that’s me, by the way), mistakenly refers to them in his introduction, twice. Panucci (againt, yours truly) had the excuse of being distracted by his then-recent wedding to RFC co-producer, Melanie Larch. Also of note in the host segment is that it was shot in front of Ian Bode’s Peer-to-Pier work of public art on Virginia Street.

Elephant in the Room was recorded live at The Empty Glass and is seen here performing a cover of the Dolly Parton classic, “Jolene” and their original tune, “Ghost Town.” Thanks for Jason “Roadblock” Robinson for recording and engineering. The final audio mix was by Rudy Panucci.