Month: August 2026 (Page 3 of 3)

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.

If you want to see this image larger click HERE.

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. Psychedelic Shack 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.