Diane Crumley's blog

As we look back upon a busy fall, we are grateful for the generosity shown during our 2019 Rootstock fundraising events. We greatly appreciate the MANY listeners who donated, for this support is truly what allows us to continue to produce our 24/7 local broadcast and streaming.

We celebrated our 15th anniversary at a diverse array of community venues, and were thrilled to make new friends, and to reconnect with longtime partners. In mid-November, we hit the "Grassroots Trail" with events that included Berryessa Brewing in Winters with The Muddy Waders, The Barn and Pantry Tuesday Open Mic Night in Dixon with Hattie Craven, 2nd Wednesday Jazz Night at the Root of Happiness Kava Bar in Davis, a special KDRT benefit at Woodstock's Pizza with The West Nile Ramblers, and concluded in Woodland at Sunday Sessions at Blue Note Brewing. Each venue is a hub for communities to gather and support their local musicians.

You are invited to join us at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Davis City Hall (23 Russell Blvd.), before the Davis City Council meeting, as we gather to celebrate the 6:30 p.m. proclamation presentation in honor of KDRT's 15th anniversary. We are very grateful for this ongoing collaboration between our many volunteers and our listener community.

And then two days later, KDRT will attend (and record) the annual Thursday Live! Holiday Show 7:30-9:30 p.m. in the Davis Odd Fellows Hall. It's always a festive event, and many people stop by after attending the Downtown Davis Holiday Open House and Candlelight Parade that same evening. The show features the "Odd Star Band" - the talented "house band" that brought you "Summer  of Love" and "The British Invasion" concerts not long ago.

The Nov. 22, 2019 episode of Meraki Radio is a special tribute to the life and wisdom of Francis Resta, a remarkable individual whom the KDRT community was fortunate to engage with during his weekly co-host activities on Alison B's show. He died on Oct. 31. "In this 1-hour special," Alison says, "Meraki Radio pays tribute to our late friend and co-host. Carol, his wife, takes his seat in the studio, and visitors from the community share their thoughts. Bill Buchanan, Jeff Shaw, Michael Gangitano, Kate, and Alison B share perspectives, while Carol informs the conversation from Francis's angle. He will be missed forever, but will live on through all the lives he touched throughout his long life." Bill, host of  KDRT's "Davisville," speaks of admiring Francis' ability to talk about difficult combat-related topics. He interviewed Francis for "Davisville" in 2018, and the San Francisco Press Club recently awarded the episode first-place among public affairs shows (staff of 1 to 4) on non-commercial radio in the club's annual "excellence in journalism" competition.

We invite the community to join us Nov. 10–17 as we host events from Davis to Dixon, and Winters to Woodland, highlighting our region’s rich local music scene and kicking off our annual fall fundraiser.  Our first events along the "Grassroots Trail" are Sunday, 11/10  with The Muddy Waders @Berryessa Brewing 3-6 pm, Winters; and Tuesday, 11/12 at Open Mic Night with Hattie Craven @The Barn & Pantry 7-8:30 pm, Dixon. For additional information about the upcoming week's events, see the article in the Davis Enterprise.

You are invited to join our 15th anniversary celebration Nov. 10 - 17, along the Grassroots Trail - from Davis to Dixon, and Winters to Woodland - for a week of events at community gathering places throughout our region, featuring local music and good cheer. Then tune in to KDRT 95.7 FM (or stream at kdrt.org) November 17-23 during our on-air 2019 Fall Fundraising for a week of taking stock of our roots, honoring longtime friends, and reaching out to new. Keep your eyes out for this beautiful "Save-the-Date" postcard with a listing of all our upcoming events. We thank KDRT alum and artist Gregory Shilling for this Rootstock 2019 image, which will be available as special edition t-shirts and more.  Mark your calendars and see you along the Grassroots Trail!     11/10  The Muddy Waders @Berryessa Brewing 3-6 pm, Winters; 11/12 Open Mic with Hattie Craven @The Barn & Pantry 7-9 pm, Dixon; 11/13 Jazz Night @Root of Happiness Kava Bar 8-11 pm, Davis; 11/15 KDRT Night @Woodstock’s Pizza 5pm – midnight, Davis; 11/16 KDRT Garage Sale @the Station/DMA 8am – noon, Davis; 11/17 Banjo Bones @Blue Note Brewing 3-6 pm, Woodland.

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary for Davis' legendary Restaurant Cooperative and Coffeehouse - the Blue Mango.  Tune  in or stream this Thursday at 1 pm for "That's Life" as host Lois Richter interviews some of the founding member/workers of the Blue Mango, including Ken Kemmerling, Maura Metz, and Russell St. Claire.  Additionally, local music fans can tune in Thursday evening 7-9 pm to "Live Tracks" when host Jim Buchanan welcomes special guest guiarist Bill Scholer to the studio, and Jan Peters via phone.  Both musicians are part of the more than 300 musicians who played at the Blue Mango during its 1979-94 "life" as a creative hub and community gathering space.  They are in-town this week to play at Friday night's special KDRT benefit concert 6 - 8 pm on the patio of Parkside Bar and Lounge, site of the Blue Mango, and for Saturday night's Blue Mango Anniversay Celebration for former workers/staff/Blue Mango family.

To honor the 40th anniversary of Davis' Blue Mango Cooperative Restaurant, KDRT 95.7 FM is hosting a special evening of music by the Bill Scholer and Jan Peters Reunion Band, held on the patio of Parkside Davis, the former site of the Blue Mango, from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18. The event is free - no tickets needed. A portion of Parkside Bar and Lounge proceeds from that evening will be donated to KDRT, as part of our 2019 Fall Fundraising events celebrating 15 years of grassroots community radio.

The Blue Mango was incorporated as a worker's cooperative by a group of Davis residents associated with the Fly By Night Dance & Music Troupe. Opening in October 1979, it became a cultural hub for the next 15 years, employing hundreds of worker-owners, serving nutritious vegetarian cuisine, and providing a lively venue for hundreds of musicians, artists and activists, who regularly met and performed there. Bill Scholer and Jan Peters, who went on to become distinguished professional musicians, were prominent at the Blue Mango and  its legendary Alley Dances in the 1980s. 

Often considered the world's premier banjo player, Bela Fleck's  sound defies just one description. On October 18, he will appear locally at the Mondavi Center in Jackson Hall, joined by Zakir Hussain (tabla), Edgar Meyer (double bass), and their special guest Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri – Indian flute).  The Mondavi's show description states "Most musicians hope at most for proficiency in their chosen form, but these gentlemen move from bluegrass to Western classical to Indian classical to jazz, transmuting genres into something uniquely their own".  This Thursday, Oct. 3rd, from 5-7pm KDRT's Rodriguez will air a 30-minute phone interview he recently recorded with Bela Fleck on his weekly show "Silver Nine Volt Heart".  We asked Rodriguez how it went, and he responded "Whenever the opportunity to see art or hear music by someone known as the "world's finest" arises, I go for it!

This August 15th  marks the 50th anniversary of the legendary 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, that included many of the most influential musicians of the sixties era.  Longtime KDRT programmers Wayne, Rodriguez, and Jim are pre-empting their regular programs this week to bring you 7 hours of live recordings selected from "Woodstock – Back to the Garden – 50th Anniversary Experience" - a 10 CD collection, including all 32 Woodstock bands. KDRT's special programing continues Thursday, August 15th, from 5-9pm with Rodriguez and Jim "Live Tracks" Buchanan. From 5-7pm, Rodriguez will feature selections from mid-concert bands such as Mountain, Grateful Dead, CCR, Janis, The Who, Jefferson Airplane and Joe Cocker.  At 7-9pm, Jim will continue with Country Joe and The Fish, The Band, Johnny Winter, CSN&Y, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Jimi Hendrix.  BONUS: Each Sunday in August, DJ Alligator will dedicate The Golden Road show 4-6 pm to live Woodstock recordings as well.