4001Radio Free Charleston headed into a bold new direction with episode 40 of the show.

This episode featured a slick new opening, new regular features and a fresh, upbeat attitude, as we undertook a major revamp to bring you the best local music, comedy, film and animation that West Virginia had to offer.

Of course, it was all a load of hooey. This was our first April Fool’s episode, and we brought it to the Flashback out of order so that you could enjoy the experience…and also so we wouldn’t have to bother doing anything new for April Fool’s Day this year.

Aside from the “new regular features” that would never be seen again (thanks for being a good sport, Eamon), and the presence of the frightening and mis-colored Radio Free Charleston toupee, this was a great show with music from Paul Calicoat (filmed at Route 60 Music) and Joe Slack (filmed behind the Kanawha County Public Library). Plus The No Pants Players returned with a hilarious April Fool’s Day Message, Award-winning filmmaker Eamon Hardimon did indeed grace us with the first of one installment of “Eamon In The Street,” and our animation this episode features Jerry “The King” Lawler in animated outtakes from his then- recent PopCult interview.

It was during the filming of the host segments in Huntington (while wearing a “Charleston” shirt and claiming that the different locales were in Kanawha County) that your PopCulteer’s trusty ride, the Cutlass Supreme, blew its cooling system, which limited us shooting in a three-block radius near Pullman Square. Had we been able to shoot the original gags that we’d planned, which were in extrememely poor taste, chances are that your humble host would have been lynched and strung-up, Mussolini-style, from one of the tasteful streetlights in the downtown Huntington area.

You can find the original production notes HERE.

And have a happy April Fool’s Day. Your shoe’s untied.