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For my Mom

Up until now, there was one week a year, for the last 6 years, that I took for myself in this broadcast, and put a playlist together for my Dad. It's been almost a year now since my Mom's passing, and I guess there's going to be 2 weeks a year from now on. So, this week's Friday edition of the playlist is about my Mom; the music and artists she liked, and the 2nd half of the show is songs that, for varying reasons and aspects, are about her, from my perspective. The roster of artists and songs range from the 40's to today and encompasses Broadway show tunes, classic pop singers and a few that may surprise you.  .or not.
Thanks for stopping by, and if you don't want to stick around, I get it. This one is deeply personal, but with no commercials and no sponsors, I get to do that. It does give some insight into what influenced me, and why my own tastes are so varied and wide open.
Next week, I'll get back to doing what I do, putting together theme shows with artists that you may not have heard, pushing unsigned artists, and takes on old masters in new grooves and sonic landscapes.
Enjoy, go live your life and give your Mother a call this morning. Don't make the same mistakes I did.
The Desolation Angel aka The Nomad aka Kip

A Michigan Songwriter

This week - an unsigned Michigan talent, Mike Struwin with ties to the West side, Lake Michigan and Kalamazoo. The producers and songwriters that he is reminiscent of: Ryan Bingham, Robbie Robertson, Michael Stanley. Songwriters that know how to use the language to create sonic portraits and landscapes; Dylan, Springsteen, John Hiatt and Rodney Crowell. Plus rock and roll from Ronnie Wood with Slash Hudson on rhythm guitar and Robert Plant with Buddy Miller bringing him a whole new sound.
Enjoy!

Stevie Ray lives on

The essence of rock and roll is the guitar, that's where it begins and without it, there isn't anything. This week, the discovery of a 17 year old prodigy that walks with the ghost of Stevie Ray Vaughan, seriously. Stevie Ray lives on this kid from Honey Grove, Texas. Lots more music from the masters, new cuts and new music, with them at an age where they can play what they like without worrying about the critics, or the sales; Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, some classics from Duane Allman and music from those men that are establishing themselves as masters of the fretboard; Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth and Warren Haynes.

Roots Music - Everything old is new again

Roots music. New Robert Plant, Neil Young and Leon Russell. Music from down on the Treme, and from down in N'Awlins and the French Quarter. My sisters and friends, Charla Hermann and LuLu Sliker doing backing vocals for Dr. John, the new Kings of Leon, Peter Wolf of J. Geils as you've probably never heard him. Kermit Ruffins, and old masters like Delbert McClinton and Jimmy Webb. John Mellencamp walking with the ghost of Robert Johnson. Music that you're probably not hearing on the radio, but should be listening to. This is the stuff that makes rock and roll important. A couple of hours worth of listening. Click "Listen Now" or "Play in pop-up" and give yourself a soundtrack for the day, or click Download, and keep it permanently. This is the fun part of what I do.

A life well lived

This week's broadcast. If you grew up in Comstock in the '70's you may find it especially appropriate amd want to take a listen. The second half is the thread that winds through "country-rock" from Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds and Gram Parsons up through Poco and The Eagles and all the players involved; Ritchie Furay, Jim Messina, Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Dan Fogelberg, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Chris Hillman and how the sound evolved.

American Songwriting

The art and craft of the song. What a songwriter does with words, choruses, melodies, notes and music is what a painter does with oil and brushes, what a writer does with words, what a sculptor does with rock and chisel. The best of the best. Enjoy

Just another day. . . .rolling along, alive, awake and lovin' it

For those people who knew me, know me and I never get to say "thank you" to often enough, or tell any of them, or you, how lucky I am that I ran across you in this walkabout on Earth in this lifetime. Songs, that if you listen close enough, tell a story. . . mine. A whole different broadcast than the one I planned for this week, occasioned by another rig disaster in the Gulf, and the panic it sets off in the people who know me, know where I work, and at that moment, feel disconnected and out of touch, and try to find a way to get in touch with me. Thanks, this one's for you all, turn it up, enjoy the holiday weekend, your friends and family, and let me give you a couple of hours soundtrack to your gathering that's pure "me". You're all great, my sons are the reasons that I keep on keeping on, but trust me, you all, underneath the crusty, cynical bastard, are the ones that keep me going to. It's a great life, so just keep rolling along easy, people, it's not that hard.

American Songwriting

This week -
The craft of songwriting with the emphasis on the song, and bands and artists who can walk into a studio and nail it in one take, first take.