Los Angeles based singer-songwriter Beth Thornley just released a really fun video for her song “You’re So Pony”, from her album “Wash U Clean”. When you look up the word “cute” in the dictionary, this video had better be part of the definition. Otherwise, find a new dictionary!
The video was directed by Los Angeles based filmmaker Liz Manashil. If you need a director for your film, Liz would be the one.
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!
The second hour of the show was an interview with Sal Valentino. We chatted with the legendary Beau Brummels leader, and heard some of his music, including an exclusive solo track!
R.E.M. – Pop Song 89
Maple Mars – Add The Numbers
Lindy LaFontaine – Sunday
Baby Scream – Powerpop Crush
Maxi Dunn – Rescue Me
Dionne Warwick – I Say A Little Prayer
The Taters – Such A Good Day
Jointpop – Please Don’t Tell My Inlaws…I’m An Outlaw
Sexfresh – True
The Clutter Family – Rendering Vat
Jimmy Catlett – That River
Stone Temple Pilots – Plush (Acostic)
Last Breath – The Story Ends
Fortune Dwellers – Hello Goodbye
Sal Valentino – Looking For You
Sal Valentino Interview
Sal Valentino – Comic Strip
Beau Brummels – Laugh Laugh
Sal Valentino – Catherine I Do
Sal Valentino – Snowman
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:
The Scratch – Homely Crackle
Anny Celsi – Tangle-Free World
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop – Sun Up
Joey Oskys – Try
Maxi Dunn – I Mean That
Elton John – Grow Some Funk Of Your Own
The Whigs – Production City
Last Breath – The Story Ends
The Britannicas – Don’t Go Back
Debora Iyall – Stay Strong
Jimmy Catlett – The Big Beat
The Golden Palominos – Wild River
Nushu – ABC Song
Hayseed Dixie – Centerfold
Jackpot – Hide In The Frequency
Vegas With Randolph – Be The One
Laurie Biagini – A Far-Out Place
George Harrison – Cheer Down
Duncan Faure – Man Of A Thousand Dreams
Allyson Seconds – Dig My Pig
The Clash – The Street Parade
Thom Sebastian – Girl In Canada
Little Guilt Shrine – One Two
Baby Scream – Mental Case
Sal Valentino – Lovin’ Fallin’
The Corner Laughers – You Two Are The Ones
Lindy LaFontaine – Free To Breathe
Dave Stephens – Mr. Wonderful
Maple Mars – Big Imagination
Joe Swidenbank – Different For Girls
The Freddy Jones Band – Waitress
Anton Barbeau – Skunk Hungarian
Maxi Dunn – How Was I To Know?
Frank Black – St. Francis Dam Disaster
Patrick Campbell-Lyons Interview –
Patrick Campbell-Lyons – A Prayer Before A Kiss
Patrick Campbell-Lyons – Flowers For Friday
Nirvana (UK) – Rainbow Chaser
Baby Scream – Powerpop Crush
The Clutter Family – Artist In The Office
Duncan Faure – Wouldn’t It Be Good
Sexfresh – Dilemma
Vegas With Randolph – She Does It For Me (World Premiere)
The Big I Am – Banging On The Wall
Lindy LaFontaine – Harmonics
Tom Alford – After Today
The Corner Laughers – Thunderbird
Rockpile – If Sugar Was As Sweet As You
Laurie Biagini – Away On A Cloud
The Clash – Washington Bullets
Fire Town – The Good Life
Michael Slawter – My Marion
Fortune Dwellers – Al’s Song
The Damnwells – No One Listens To The Band Anymore
Britannicas Interview (4/2/2011) (length: 28:16)
Matthew Sweet – Ugly Truth Rock
Sarah Taylor – Easy To Forget
Joe Swidenbank – Coming Up For Air
Maxi Dunn – Sinking In The Sand
Lannie Flowers – Circles
Cake – Long Line Of Cars
Juliana Hatfield – The Edge Of Nowhere
The Britannicas Interview –
The Britannicas – Bleed Between The Lines
The Britannicas – I Work At The Post Office
The Britannicas – (Talkin’ ’bout) Summer
Patrick Campbell-Lyons – A Prayer Before A Kiss
Fortune Dwellers – Al’s Song
Last Breath – Been Down This Road
The Kinks – Better Things
Freedy Johnston – Gone Like The Water
Debora Iyall – Tell Me Why
Nushu – Your Girl
Laurie Biagini – Gonna Do It My Way
Jointpop – Monday Morning Love Situation
The Corner Laughers – The Red Queen
Duncan Faure – Where Is The Music
Lindy LaFontaine – Alizee
Sex 66 – I Dreamed I Was A Dragster
Vegas With Randolph – The Better Part
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
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/
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!
Twirl Radio is a part of the Soundwaves TV network
Mike Lidskin and Twirl Radio are proud to be a part of Woody Radio
Twirl Radio 