On Saturday, July 9, 2011, my friends Rich Samuels and Greg Baldwin paid a visit to the Twirl studios. These guys are pioneers in new media–blogging and vlogging. Rich has won three Emmy Awards for his work, and has a social media commentary blog called The World According To Rich. And Greg is the proprietor of Greg’s Gourmet, soon to be one of the top foodie sites on the web.
Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Rich Samuels visits Twirl Radio and shoots video!
A word about the award
This past week, I was given the great honor of being named Radio Producer of the Year for 2011 by Access Sacramento, for my radio show Twirl.
This is a tremendous and humbling award. It’s true, I do work hard on my radio show each week. I got to accept my award on live TV here in Sacramento County. But with limited time, and not wanting to hog the stage, I didn’t get to fully express what this award really means to me.
Access Sacramento is a creative oasis in the heart of California’s capital city. It’s a place that any resident of Sacramento County can walk in, pay some very inexpensive membership dues, learn how to use the equipment, and produce their own radio and TV shows, or get their short film made. And we are privileged, because we are thriving, other access facilities in bigger places such as San Francisco and Los Angeles have been struggling, or have gone away completely.
So the little secret is that anybody can do what I do. A few of us do; there are many who don’t.
For me, it has always been a childhood dream to be on the radio. I started college with that intention, until I found out that the RTVF (Radio/TV/Film) Department at Cal State Northridge in L.A. didn’t have radio or television. It was just a film department. So my youthful “go with the flow” attitude caused me to not seek out where I could learn radio. I just dropped it. Probably a good idea, because unbeknownst to me at the time, commercial radio was in decline, and if I took up radio as a profession, I’d probably be living a life of poverty. So I have a “day job”, and a great, meaningful career at that, one that covers several of my other interests.
I’ve been a huge fan of radio my whole life, and even got close to it when I lived in Chicago, and volunteered at the fundraisers for local NPR affiliate WBEZ. And what a thrill for me, the one or two times that one of their hosts let me say a few words on the air.
Nearly 14 years ago, I moved back to California–to Sacramento. Finding out that the public access TV facility here also had radio was a tremendous life-changing revelation. I called Shane Carpenter, the radio Program Director/instructor/tech guy, and he was nothing but supportive and enthusiastic about my idea to do a radio program which features mostly neglected, underplayed, but really great music.
I left after 5 years of some of the best times of my life, but radio never fully left my bloodstream. When I returned in the fall of 2006, the world had changed, and for the better. The indies were taking over the world. Our radio station at Access Sacramento, The Voice, had always been fiercely independent. But we were starting to get onto the internet big time, with improved webcasting service, as were many like-minded startup webcasters. And at the same time, musicians were giving up on the traditional aim of trying to get a record deal (and usually getting abused in the process), and going DIY. Like us radio folks, they started getting access to top quality, inexpensive tools for recording, producing, and distributing their music. And the game changer for all of us was the rise of social networking–MySpace, Facebook, Reverbnation, Twitter, WordPress, and the like. More than anything else in the entire time I’ve been doing radio, these channels enabled me to find great new music to play, and to reach out to musicians and listeners. I can easily post playlists and tag the musicians to let them know they’ve received airplay. I use Facebook to interactively chat with people during my show. And these venues provide a safe place for us all to meet up. I’ve even met a few of my musical heroes this way.
So as I thank Shane Carpenter, and also Ron Cooper (Access Sacramento’s Executive Director–a huge free speech advocate), I have to acknowledge who this award is really for. I’ve been standing on some huge shoulders for a very long time, and my success is really due to these people.
The musicians. They have been so giving of their talents to create the wonderful music that they let me share with you. Of all people, they understand what a selfless creative venture is. The listeners. They have chosen to spend a couple of their valuable hours with me each week to listen to what I’m putting out there. They could be doing almost anything else, especially on a weekend, but took the time to tether themselves to a computer or smartphone for my show. And my wife Amber, who’s seen an awful lot of the back of my head while I’m doing show prep at home.
So this award carries a tremendous responsibility. There are other great radio producers at The Voice who certainly deserve awards too. My show presents Sacramento to the world, so I want to make sure my hometown gets the respect it deserves. A lot of musicians depend upon my show, and others like it, to get their wonderful art out to the world. And the listeners depend on me to get them something new to listen to. I do not take this responsibility lightly, but instead, want to use this award to work even harder at making good radio.
If you’re reading this, a big thank you. This means everything to me.
Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #500 – 5/7/2011: 500th Episode!
The 500th episode of Twirl was an extended, three hour show. We covered 13 years of Twirl Radio history as best we could, with three artist interviews, in-studio co-hosts Amber Alexander and Marty Anaya, and a multitude of embarrassing clips from the early years of Twirl. Thank you so much for listening!
The G-Men – Turn On The Twirl
Juliana Hatfield – Everybody Loves Me But You
Audio Clip: Twirl Show #12 – Nervous early Mike: 4/18/1998
R.E.M. – World Leader Pretend
Maxi Dunn – Spoken Greeting/Always Be My Friend
Audio Clip: Twirl Show #27 – Slightly less nervous early Mike: 8/1/1998
Vegas With Randolph – Spoken Greeting/Summertime
Skeauxsha – Spoken Greeting/Cajun Quick Train Shuffle
Taters Interview Segment
Burnt Taters – Never Call Me Here
The Taters – Such A Good Day
Melanie Perrett’s Birthday Segment
Baby Scream – Powerpop Crush
Last Breath – It’s My Time
Joey Oskys – Try
Corner Laughers – Spoken Greeting/Commonest Manifesto
Audio Clip: Old KCBL Voice show promos – Promos from shows that were on The Voice when Twirl started
Elvis Costello – This Year’s Girl
Audio Clip: Twirl Bachelor Party – Mike’s bachelor party, 9/22/2001
Funny Songs Segment
The Beat Farmers – California Kid
Sparky from ShockPop – Spoken Greeting from ShockPop Radio
Jesus H. Christ & The Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse – I’m Around
Lindy LaFontaine Interview Segment
Lindy LaFontaine – Free To Breathe
Lindy LaFontaine – Low
Rob One – Spoken Greeting from 20/20 Hip Hop
Audio Clip: Twirl #50 – Fellow radio producers loudly trying to throw off Mike’s concentration: 1/23/1999
Miami Dan & the Hayes Street Band – Spoken Greeting/Star Of The Beach
Audio Clip: Twirlie Awards 1999 – With Marty Anaya: 4/10/1999
Melissa Phillips – Spoken Greeting/So Young
Lauries Born In May Segment
Laurie Biagini – Spoken Greeting/You’re A Dangerous Thing
Laurie Larson – Spoken Greeting/Corporate Chew Toy
The Twirlettes – Mike’s former backup singers!
Handcuffs Interview Segment
The Handcuffs – Wonderful Life
The Handcuffs – Miss You On Tuesday
Audio Clip: Twirlie Awards 1999 – With Marty Anaya: 4/10/1999
Nushu – Another Rainy Weekend
Twirl Radio’s 500th show coming up–Saturday, May 7th! A brief history…
On Saturday, May 7th, 2011, I will be doing the 500th show of Twirl Radio! Our usual two hours gets expanded to three for the special event–this one time only! So look for it from 4-7pm Pacific that day, on
our community access station, The Voice, here in Sacramento, California. The organization that hosts our community radio and TV stations is called Access Sacramento.
A little history, for those history buffs among you. However, if you’re prone to getting bored easily, please skip past the next few paragraphs! 🙂 I started the show in January, 1998. It featured nearly all commercial music–which was still a viable artform at the time. It was a blend of alternative and Americana music, but usually by mid-range artists who were starting to not see much airplay anymore, as the commercial airwaves here in the U.S. were starting to change their focus. Our station broadcasted on cable, on a low-power FM frequency for a few years (reached about a 15-20 mile radius, not all of it well), and on the internet, back before the scary royalty laws kicked in. I did my show for 5 years, and left in 2003, when we lost the internet and FM, and I lost pretty much any audience I may have had. I did a few months worth of looping shows on Live365, which was in its infancy, but didn’t find that to be very rewarding, as there
really weren’t any social media with which to promote my show.
There were a few fits and starts–I made a couple of attempts to come back. Finally, in September, 2006–I made my “for real” comeback. Access Sacramento purchased an organizational version of Live365–which covers all royalty payments, and streams the signal. Social media like MySpace, and eventually Facebook, became a force in the world. And all of a sudden, there were tons of great indie artists looking for outlets to play their music. The perfect storm.
So now I’ve done 4-1/2 more years of these Twirl shows. And 1-1/2 years of The California Diner on Recharged Radio (www.rechargedradio.com). And I’ll be doing a big, fun, semi-retrospective show on Twirl to celebrate the 500 Twirl shows. (The count of 500 doesn’t include the California Diner shows–there’s
70 more of those!)
I hope you’ll join us! We’ll have interviews, greetings from artists and fellow radio folk, and even some cringeworthy airchecks from my very earliest days in radio, laid bare, for all to hear!
Thanks so much for the opportunity to share nearly 500 Saturday afternoons with you. And the opportunity to do many, many more! See you on Saturday, May 7th, 4-7pm Pacific, http://www.twirlradio.com!
Welcome Sal Valentino fans! Twirl Radio welcomes him in-studio, Saturday, April 23, 2011.
This is pretty big news: the legendary singer-songwriter Sal Valentino is going to be our in-studio guest on Twirl Radio on Saturday, April 23, 2011, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific! (But catch the whole show–4:00-6:00 p.m. Pacific, www.twirlradio.com, for our usual great mix of music.)
Sal’s early fame came as vocalist for the 1960’s band The Beau Brummels, with such top hits as “Laugh Laugh” and “Just A Little”. It’s been argued that the band defined the San Francisco sound. Certainly, they were out ahead of the pack–a little before the Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead.
The 1970’s came, and Sal played in Stoneground, a great amalgam of funk and country rock, perhaps a precursor to the Doobie Brothers. And he’s had quite a respectable solo career. As one of my European listeners said, “Sal Valentino–one of the great voices of all time!”.
His most recent album, Dreamin’ Man, teams him up with long time collaborator John Blakeley. This is one fine album. It starts with the breezy opener “Love Song”, then transitions into determined mid-tempo rocker “Hwy 49”. Sal and John turn in a great Americana performance on rising Sacramento star Jackie Greene’s “Valley of Woe”. While Sal sings with conviction, John’s stellar acoustic picking drives this song forward with abandon. These two bad dudes will kick your rear with this song, and you’ll love it.
But make no mistake–this tends to be a rather romantic album, especially the second half. “Looking For You” is a fun rave up, and Sal is completely devoted to getting through to his woman, no matter what it takes, a la the Fabulous Thunderbirds in “Tuff Enuff”. The last four songs burrow deep into your heart, with their romanticism. “Dreamin’ Man”, the title track, is quite moody and haunting, but always listenable. “Catherine I Do” and “Lovin’ Fallin'” feature classy instrumental hooks and lyrics that grab you, work their way through your mind, and into that place in your soul reserved for love and sentiment. These melodies are sublime and exquisite. The album ends with the confessional “That Way”–what Sal is confessing is eternal love and devotion for his woman.
Wow–guys–we need to learn how to write songs like these, to remind our wives/significant others how much we love and need them. This album would make a great little Valentine’s Day gift. But don’t wait that long–grab a copy now at http://gragroup.com/valentino.html. And we’ll see you on Twirl Radio with Sal Valentino, Saturday, 4:00-6:00 p.m. Pacific, http://www.twirlradio.com. Meanwhile, check out these Beau Brummels videos, and get a taste of the great sounds of San Francisco and Sal Valentino:
Twirl Radio Playlist – Show #494 –3/26/2011: Radiothon to aid Japan–playlist and podcast!
Twirl Radiothon to aid Japan Part A (3/26/2011) (length: 26:52)
Twirl Radiothon to aid Japan Part B (3/26/2011) (length: 26:41)
Twirl Radiothon to aid Japan Part C (3/26/2011) (length: 26:47)
Twirl Radiothon to aid Japan Part D (3/26/2011) (length: 30:49)
Brandon Rothermund – Relief Promo
Four Out Of Seven (F.O.O.S.) – Message from Simo, In My Pocket
Maxi Dunn conversation
Maxi Dunn – Message from Maxi, So What
Duncan Faure – Message from Duncan, In The Right Place
Adam Waltemire (Pop Garden Radio) conversation
Blake Jones and Tim Magill – Message from Blake, Life Turns On A Dime
Joey Oskys – Message and song from Joey
Blacko Muiri (Johnsons Motorcar) conversation from Tokyo
Auditorium – Message from Spencer Berger, Saturday Soldier
The Taters – Message from the band, Pageboy, another message
The Big I Am – Message from Colin and Pete, live version of Better Days
Last Breath – Message from Last Breath, Drive All Night
Patrick Campbell-Lyons – Message from Patrick, All I Do Is For You
Andrew Wyld (Fake Teak) – IFRC relief promo
The Handcuffs – Message from Brad and Chloe, Dirty Glitter
Laurie Larson – Message from Laurie, Endless Thank You Loop
Wim Oudijk – Message and jingle from Wim, Love You. Period.
Dave Stephens – Message from Dave, You Don’t
Rose Reiter – The World Is Watching
Laurie Biagini – Message from Laurie, One Track Mind
Sal Valentino – Message from Sal, Looking For You
Throwback Suburbia – Message from Throwback Suburbia, Asking Why
DJ Gidget Bates (Woody Radio) conversation
Vegas With Randolph – Message from Vegas With Randolph, Above The Blue Reprise
Tippy Canoe and the Paddlemen – Message from Tippy, Nut Butter Baby
Tom Mair – Message from Tom, My Sunshine
Radiothon to Aid Japan: Today, March 26, 2011!
Today’s the big day. Here’s the deal. Donate to one of the charities listed below who are helping the Japan relief effort. Then, email me your receipt to let me know how much you gave. If you donate at least $10, you’ll get a musical prize–our way of saying thanks!
We’ll have digital downloads of individual songs ($10 donation) and albums ($15 donation), and physical CD’s (from the great artists we play on Twirl all the time. There’s also 3 very special prizes: 2 autographed Bill Mumy CD’s “Glorious In Defeat” (yes, autographed by “Will Robinson” himself!) and an autographed copy of Patrick Campbell-Lyons book “Psychedelic Days”.
My email address: twirl4japan@gmail.com.
Here’s the charities to donate to:
American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/
IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent): http://www.ifrc.org
Save the Children: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-appeal.htm
Heart Tokushima (Animal Rescue): http://www.heart-tokushima.com/ENGLISH/WELCOME.html
Please, donate what you can. The people of Japan could use our help!
After you’re done listening to Twirl, tune into my colleagues’ shows for more of the Radiothon:
Woody Radio http://www.woodyradio.com/ (out of Canada) 1pm – 1am Eastern
Pop Garden Radio http://www.popgardenradio.com/ (AM1300 WMEL, out of Cocoa, FL) 8pm – Midnight Eastern
The Time Machine http://www.manaoradio.com/ (out of Maui, HI) 8pm – 11pm Eastern
WPAZ, 1370 AM ( Pottstown, PA) http://www.wpazradio.com/
Radiothon to aid Japan: Saturday, March 26th
On March 26th Twirl Radio wil be part of a multi-station donation drive to benefit the victims of the earthquake, tsunami and aftermath in Japan. The show runs from 4-6pm Pacific online at http://www.twirlradio.com/ .
Other stations participating will be
Woody Radio http://www.woodyradio.com/ (out of Canada) 1pm – 1am Eastern
Pop Garden Radio http://www.popgardenradio.com/ (AM1300 WMEL, out of Cocoa, FL) 8pm – Midnight Eastern
The Time Machine http://www.manaoradio.com/ (out of Maui, HI) 8pm – 11pm Eastern
WPAZ, 1370 AM ( Pottstown, PA) http://www.wpazradio.com/.
On Twirl Radio we will be urging listeners to donate to a number of different charities. A full list of charities will be posted before the show airs, and you can donate either online or via telephone.
We’ll hear from several of the great musicians we regularly feature on the show. Many of these artists have recorded songs just for this radiothon, and will be giving away music–tracks and albums–to listeners who contribute.
You can email me during the show to let me know that you’ve donated, and I’ll read your name on the air. We’re one big family, and we have a chance to help those in need!
Duncan Faure interview podcast now available!
Just a quick program note: the podcast of the interview with Duncan Faure on Twirl Radio is now available. Duncan and I chatted on Saturday, February 12, 2011. We had a great chat, and got to hear a few of his songs. You can listen to it here, or on the Twirlcasts page of http://www.twirlradio.com.
Welcome Duncan Faure fans!
Today on Twirl Radio, we’ll be chatting with legendary singer-songwriter-musician Duncan Faure. Originally a member of the South African band Rabbitt, along with Trevor Rabin, he was invited to join the pop band Bay City Rollers as lead singer and keyboardist.
The 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and now the “teens” have seen a brilliant solo career for Duncan. His songs range from upbeat pop (my personal favorite), to tender ballads to progressive rock. The man can do it all. Finally, a two-disc CD entitled Anthology is available. This set contains 36 tracks from his solo years, including a brand new song called “Nightfall”–which shows that Duncan’s work is better than ever.
We’ll be chatting with Duncan Faure on Twirl Radio today, at about 4:30 p.m. Pacific. But join us for all the fun–4:00-6:00 p.m. Pacific, http://www.twirlradio.com!
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Twirl Radio 