Rodriguez's blog

The NICKEL SLOTS...LIVE on The Grapevine! This Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Hiya K-Dirt listeners!

This Wednesday, June 6, Yolo County's favorite rollicking band, THE NICKEL SLOTS, will appear live on The Grapevine at 6 p.m. Paul Zinn and Tony Brusca from the band will be in the KDRT studio to talk about their music, life experiences, what it's like to be "on the road" bringing their excellent sounds to folks and their upcoming show at the Woodland Opera House on June 16th. We will also be playing some choice cuts from their recordings...both studio and live tracks that will illustrate their passion for being creative and strong desire to ROCK!

UPDATE: A good time was had by all, here's a link to the broadcast:

http://kdrt.org/station/archives/128

And here's a link to The Nickel Slots website with tons of good info about the band and their music:

http://www.thenickelslotsmusic.com/

And here's a cool vid of a live performance of "Slammin' Doors & Screechin' Tires"

That High, Lonesome Bluegrass Sound on The Golden Road

In this edition of The Golden Road, we honor the legecy of Earl Scruggs...master of the Bluegrass banjo and all the excellent musicians that picked up on the sound and have kept it alive for over 60 years.

If you take the time to read this, you know much, much more about bluegrass and Old & In The Way than you did before!

http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/

Here's the link to the broadcast & playlist:

http://www.kdrt.org/node/9004

And here's a good look at how they used to lay it down back in the "day":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FgpQyk5ibw

The Grateful Dead New Years Eve Special on The Golden Road airs December 25

Hello out there in Radio Land!

On December 25th, The Golden Road show will air it's annual broadcast of some epic sounds recorded live on some of those epic New Years Eve concerts in San Francisco by The Grateful Dead. If you ever had the supreme opportunity to attend one, you know just what I mean...and if you didn't, well...you can get a real good taste of what the soundtrack to these grand affairs was like!

In this edition of The Golden Road, we'll be pulling out some great material from NYE shows at the Cow Palace, Winterland Arena and what is now known as the Bill Graham Civic Center (formerly SF Civic). If you want to catch the signal from the K-D-R-T antenna, the live broadcast will be Sunday, 12/25 from 7 to 9 pm, and replays will be on Friday, 12/30 from 11 pm to 1 am, and Saturday, 12/31 from 3 to 5 pm. And, of course, you can catch it anytime at your leisure via the station web site...www.kdrt.org

Here's the broadcast:

http://www.kdrt.org/node/8296

And here's a vid from the legendary NYE from 12/31/78...aka the Closing of Winterland. Enjoy!

The Grapevine's Annual Holiday Special airs December 22nd

Well Alright!

Tune in to K-DIRT this Thursday, December 22nd from 7:00 to 8:00 pm for the annual good ol' dose of holiday tunes...Grapevine style! No, you won't hear the usual stuff that typically permeates the retail world...no Andy Williams in a ski sweater by a crackling fake fire on a soundstage set...but you WILL be treated to Christmas & holiday music by the likes of Salomon Burke, Pearl Bailey, The E Street Band, Wilson Pickett and many more...heck, I even dug out my 45 of George Thoroughgood & The Delaware Destroyers laying down "Rock & Roll Christmas" b/w "New Year's Ever Party" for the broadcast.

This will be a real fine soundtrack to wrap up those gifts & finally cut loose from the chains of holiday stress.
Here's some other info that you may wanna know:

http://www.kdrt.org/node/128

Enjoy the tail end of 2011 folks and remember, if anyone asks...just tell 'em you heard it on The Grapevine!

Cheers,

Rod

Dig Dave Alvin on The Grapevine & Electric Compost Heap!

Over the course of the following week, K-Dirt listeners can get a big ol' helping of Dave Alvin. One of America's finest songwriters and guitarists, Dave has blazed an independent & very prolific trail from Downey, CA to 2011 and your mind, soul & ears.

Celebrating his latest release, "11/11", we'll be laying down some of the gut buckety blues material from the album on The Grapevine which can be heard live on Thursday from 7 to 8 pm, with repeats over the course of the next week. Then, while I am sitting in for Doug Deep on The Electric Compost Heap on Wednesday, November 23rd from 7 to 9 pm, we will dig a little more into Dave's "songwriter" side of things with more excellent sounds from "11/11" and his past work...especially his masterpiece, "King of California". Last, but not least, you can count on hearing some choice cuts from the legendary band he started with his brother Phil, The Blasters, on both broadcasts.

So check the K-Dirt programming schedule for The Grapevine and Electric Compost Heap broadcast times and join us for a good listen to the music of California's own Dave Alvin.

Here's a taste of what is in store:

Cool Down With The Reggae Sound on The Grapevine...Live! This Thursday, August 18th

Way past time for The Grapevine to have a little Soul Shakedown Reggae party. Tune in to the Dirt this Thursday at 7 p.m. PST and hear true heart classic reggae by the masters from Jamaica. Heat got you down? Been thinking too hard? Your soul needs to be set free? Then this is the place!

And if you miss the live broadcast, don't forget the local replays, and, of course, you can tune in all around the world right here at:

http://www.kdrt.org/node/128

Pass The Peas! James Brown & The JB's on The Grapevine, May 19th

Hey out there Grapevine listeners...get on the good foot and dance to the music of the James Brown band! Join us for a special broadcast featuring not only James Brown, but one of his most famous backing bands, The JB's.

The JB's put out a few records that were right "in the pocket"...tons of prime funk and cool grooves for days. Each of these releases were designed to let the JB's stretch it out a with their own solid soul sounds. But you WILL hear the mighty influence of Butane James as he produced the recording sessions. And we got the best of 'em right here on The Grapevine.

Tune in live this Thursday from 7 -8 pm, catch a replay locally here in Davis or hit the K-Dirt achives for access to this broadcast.

Archive Link:

http://www.kdrt.org/node/6939

In the meantime, here's a taste of James Brown & The JB's on stage live in Italy from 1971. Dig it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTJEu7Tngaw&feature=related

Yolo County Breakdown on The Golden Road, May 1st

Tune in to The Golden Road on May 1st from 7 to 9 pm for a good, rolicking dose of classic Bluegrass...Grateful Dead Family style! You will be treated to the Bluegrass sounds of Old & In The Way, Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, Garcia & Grisman, Bluegrass Reunion, Peter Rowan & The Nashville Bluegrass Band and more. We will also have a special feature in each hour of a couple of the pioneers of Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs.

So dust off that front porch, put your favorite chair out there, round up your friends and get your ol' hound by your side and get ready for a good ol' good time on K-Dirt!

Link to archive of broadcast:

http://www.kdrt.org/node/5175

In the meantime, here's a little something to wet your whistle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIKdswTJ2vY&feature=related

And something I just found that is a real nice read in relation to the sounds on the broadcast:

The Grapevine's Annual Salute To Baseball

Tune in on March 31st to hear The Grapevine's annual salute to the game of baseball. If you miss that date, listen below. You'll be treated to some excellent music, words and historical recordings of "America's Pastime" with an emphasis on the San Francisco Giants. Do you still miss hearing Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons make the calls? Well, you can once again hear their wonderful voices right here on K-Dirt! Live broadcast is 7:00 - 8:00 pm, and as always you can hear the show via the 'net here: http://kdrt.org/node/4991. And since today marks the opening of the 2011 MLB season...and just because we had so much darn fun last year with your 2010 Major League Baseball World Champion San Francisco Giants, let's rock it up one more time with Ash... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyVdbfyvwso Thanks for listening! Rod

Bob Dylan Special on The Golden Road, March 6 from 7 to 9 pm

Hello There K-Dirt listeners...in a special edition of The Golden Road, we will be playing some choice material from Bob Dylan's incredible 4 album run from 1963 to 1967. In addition to hearing excerpts from "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Bringing It All Back Home" and "Blonde On Blonde", you will hear recordings of the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia performing Dylan tunes in concert.

Tune in for the live broadcast on Sunday, March 6th from 7 to 9 pm, or the replays on Friday, March 11th from 10 pm to 12 Midnight and Saturday, March 12th from 3 to 5 pm. And, of course, you can always check out this show and the rest of the excellent programming via this website.

Here's a clip that sums up a good deal of went down in our country at a very special time in our history:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcx9BJRadfw

And some final lyrics (that didn't appear on the cover version The Byrds did) from "Mr. Tambourine Man"

Then take me disappearin’ through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow