This week, and our first post of 2022, finds us jumping back six years to January, 2016. This was sort of the end of an era with Radio Free Charleston. After almost ten years of producing the video show at an alarming pace–sometimes with multiple episodes in a week,  this was the last full-length episode of RFC for almost two years. I’d planned to cut back a bit, since February saw your PopCulteer returning to The International Toy Fair in New York City, and March is the month when I go to ToyLanta (then called “JoeLanta”). On top of that, in February we launched what morphed into The AIR, the internet radio home to Radio Free Charleston and now a permanent component of this blog.

I had no idea that April would see me diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, which meant making a few life changes that made producing a nearly-weekly video show pretty close to impossible. We now try to do one video episode per year, and I’m really glad we dropped last year’s back in the summer, because I really didn’t have the energy to crank one out in December. As a treat for ths special RFC Flashback, I’m including the full production notes, with a few updates, edits for tense and some better jokes.

This was the first RFC of 2016, and in fact the final full episode for 23 months.  We had music from Mojo’s Root Cellar, Under Surveillance, Jordan Andrew Jefferson and The Dread Crew of Oddwood, plus we had animation and a cool announcement.

We shot our host segments on a very cold Sunday afternoon on Hale Street in Charleston. Our title shirt this week was a mash-up of John Carpenter’s classic movie, “They Live,” and what became the worst president this country has ever seen. This design came courtesy of the world’s greatest artist, Mitch O’Connell .  Eventually this design was blown up to a huge size and displayed in Times Square in New York, and will likely be in the Smithsonian someday.

Before we jumped into the meat of the show, we had some very important announcements from Ultraman, He-Man and She-Ra. Please pay close attention as these are serious topics and deserve your undivided concentration.

Mojo’s Root Cellar

Our first musical guest this week was Mojo’s Root cellar, a then-new band with some old RFC friends in it. You may recognize some members from Under The Radar, who first showed up on Radio Free Charleston‘s fourth episode, almost ten years ago. We caught up with this new musical conglomeration in October, 2015 at the Roadside Park in Saint Albans and we kicked off 2016 with Mojo’s Root Cellar performing Bill Wither’s classic, “Ain’t No Sunshine.” While Mojo’s Root Cellar is no more, Rusty is in a new band with his old UTR drummer, Mark Lanham, called Thieves & Beggars, while Bill has been playing bass for Burnsville Drive. 

Jordan Andrew Jefferson

Jordan Andrew Jefferson is based out of Huntington, and is a student of the more melodic side of rock music. Firmly schooled in the ways of The Beach Boys and The Beatles, Jordan created pop music masterpieces with a genuine style that bristles with creativity. We recorded Jordan in December, 2015 at the Blue Parrot and here he is with “The Party’s Over,” which can be found on his latest CD which you can buy from Bandcamp. Since appearing on the show, Jordan has faced down a major life change, and he’s done a bit of everything, which you can keep up with HERE.

“Energy Domer Pyle”

Our animation this week was “Energy Domer Pyle,” by Frank Panucci. If you think that this is just another one of Frank’s one-minute clips of animated DEVO Energy Domes, you’d be wrong.

This one is almost three-and-a-half minutes.

Under Surveillance

Under Surveillance was a dynamic band of musicians, most of whom had been making music together in some form for over thirty years. Over the course of 2015 they’d been working on a new CD with their new lead singer, and “Savannah Moon” was released in 2016. Sadly, the band is no longer performing together.

The Dread Crew of Oddwood

On our way out this week we have a song by a scurvy lot, The Dread Crew of Oddwood. This band of California pirates played at The Empty Glass last year, and they’ll star in The RFC MINI SHOW that you’ll see in this space next week. I’ll tell you more about these marauding musicians then.