Rudy Panucci On Pop Culture

J Marinelli and Slate Dump, Plus Surprises in RFC 74

Radio Free Charleston’s seventy-fourth episode, “RFC Trax shirt” is online now! This show features music from Morgantown’s own, J Marinelli and Slate Dump, plus special announcements from Mad Man Pondo and Tofujitsu, as well as a Plant Ro Duction Mini Movie.

We also continue the First Great Guitar Giveaway with Route 60 Music, which will kick off just as soon as we iron out the last technical bugs. As soon as we get the contest page working, the contest will run for one full month. Keep checking PopCult for updates. We’re working on it as fast as we can. Thanks for your patience. This is our first contest, and we’re learning as we go.

Host segments and our end credit bed were shot last Saturday in Davis Park, during the “Art On A Stick” sale and open stage. You’ll hear RFC’s old buddy, Jerry Fugate, singing and playing Mandolin as we show you some of the sights of the day.


Our first musical guest is Slate Dump, a singer/songwriter from Morgantown whom we caught up with on May 28 at The Empty Glass. That was the same night we recorded OVADA and The Limbs for last week’s show, and J. Marinelli for this week’s show.

Slate Dump regales us with “The Ballad Of Pop Bottle Pete And Beer Can Bud,” and I really got a kick out of his work. His singing reminds me of Joel Hodgeson, while is playing is unique. He puts on a great show, drawing in the audience with an endearing vulnerability, then hilariously disarming them with his clever lyrics. His hardcore rap covers are also a highlight, but we can’t show those to you due to the language and the fact that they’re covers. If you get the chance to see Slate Dump perform live, you should. You’ll be in for a fun time.

J. Marinelli and his Angry Young One Man Band is a Morgantown native, too, and he’s developed a huge, loyal, following with his wild style. Sitting behind a “cocktail kit” drum, with his guitar and a distortion mic held on a harmonica brace, he sure as hell manages to sound like more than one musician.

Musically, he’s a hybrid of punk and rockabilly, but lyrically, J. is way deeper than your average punkabilly crooner. His song “Pilgrim’s Progress” is a bizarre rumination on rock stardom, fame, liner notes and interviews in WVU’s school paper. He’s the rare type of songwriter who draws comparisons to Lester Bangs and Hunter S. Thompson. We went with high-contrast black-and-white for the video, for no other reason than we thought it looked cool.

In addition to the music, we have a couple of announcements in this edition of our show. First up, there’s a repeat of Mad Man Pondo’s Big Birthday Bash promo. That’s happening this Wednesday at Coonskin Park in the Schoenbaum Amphitheater at 7 PM, with Heart Holds True playing a concert at 6 PM.

Pondo has accomplished a lot in his life: he’s wrestled all over the world; there’s a beer named after him in Japan; he’s been in horror movies; worked with The Insane Clown Posse; he was a booker for The Jerry Springer Show; and he’s the founder of IWA East Coast, but all that might be eclipsed by the cool thing Pondo is doing this week—he will forever be known as the man who brought GWAR to Charleston, during FestivALL!

We also have our old friends (and occasional assailants) Sean Richardson and Karen Allen–also known as TOFUJITSU! They’re here to tell us about their upcoming CD release shows, July 11 at Capitol Roasters at 8:30 PM, and July 18 at The Empty Glass with Melty Melty and Universes. We’ll tell you more about those shows as the dates draw near.

This week’s Mini Movie by The Plant Ro Duction Buddhist Limited Liability Corporation is an adaptation of a novella by Velma Thump, who you may know better as Marlon Brando’s step-cousin. You may notice the RFC theme song playing on the radio in the background. The strange thing is, this is true to the original novella (entitled “Oh My”). Stranger still, “Oh My” was first published in the literary magazine, Thistle Teat, back in 1956.

That’s the dirt on this week’s show. Be sure to line up in front of your computer early for next week’s show. Radio Free Charleston’s seventy-fifth episode is also our third anniversary show. We’ll have music from The Pistol Whippers and Unknown Hinson, and tons of mind-blowing surprises! Don’t forget to check out the “Drive To 75,” the re-posting of our classic shows from all the way back in 2006 and 2007, right here in PopCult. We’re bringing back one long-lost show each day in June, more or less.

1 Comment

  1. slate dump

    thank you so much for the awesome write-up!

    cheers!
    ~ mr. dump

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