Diane Crumley's blog

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.

DJ Rodriguez is thrilled to be hosting Lew Hopson, in-studio guest this Saturday when we will be treated to what Hopson calls Brand New, Old School Funk, Soul and R&B.  Hopson is a man with many hats including singer/songwriter, author/poet, and actor in films and television, to name a few.  For those of you who have been long-time listeners to DJ Rodriguez, you may have heard several tracks from Hopson's " When U Pick Up Da Funk" album played on The Grapevine show that aired for many years on KDRT.  Lew Hopson grew up in Chicago listening to WVON radio, and was influenced by Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Smokey Robinson and Etta James.  He produced When U Pick Up Da Funk and the more recent Goody Bag albums with his friends at RudeLab Records and remains grateful to our grassroots community station for airing them on several of our shows.   

Since 2009, the Davis Odd Fellows have hosted Thursday Live! - a free concert series held on the first Thursday of the month.  KDRT's Jim Buchanan regularly records these performances, which are later aired on his weekly KDRT show - Live Tracks.  The Nov. 1st show is the 85th concert, and will pay tribute to the iconic bands from the British Invasion, including The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Beatles, The Spencer Davis Group, Herman's Hermits, Manfred Mann and Lulu, to name a few.

We are thrilled to be hosting a benefit concert for KDRT with The Muddy Waders on Sunday, October 14th, from 4 to 7pm at Robin's Nest - one of Davis' most well-loved house concert venues.  The Muddy Waders are known for their innovative sets of newgrass, and their slurry of jazz standards mixed with blues, rock, country and electro-acoustic jamming.  Attendance is capped at 100 seats - reserve tickets now at link.  We are grateful to the band and Robin's Nest for donating their talents and venue in support of KDRT community radio.  Purchase tickets here, and thanks for your support!

Sudwerk Brewing Company regularly gives back to the community through its "Saturday Fundraisers" where a portion of the draft sales are donated to local organizations. This Saturday, March 3rd from 4 to 8pm longtime local band Hardwater will be playing, and KDRT is the recipient of the beer sales donation. Please join us!! We are grateful to Hardwater for suggesting it as a KDRT Fundraiser, and we thank them for the numerous events they have played for local causes, including benefits for Davis Media Access and KDRT over the years. Don't mind the weather, if it rains we're indoors, if not, then join us on that special patio with the picnic tables, and the food truck Koizora will be on hand too.

On behalf of all the volunteers at KDRT 95.7 FM, we thank our listeners, supporters, and local businesses that helped make our 2017 Fall Fundraiser a resounding success!  We met our fundraising goal, made new friends in the community, broadcast live music from a variety of venues, and joined with our neighbors for dining and beverages throughout the week at Sudwerk Brewing Co., Thai Canteen, Teabo Café, Yoloberry Yogurt, Woodstock’s Pizza, and Berryessa Brewing Co.  We thank these local establishments for generously donating a portion of each day’s proceeds towards our fundraiser, and thank all of you that attended, or who donated online. We are also grateful to the bands, musicians and artists who performed at our special events including: DJs Trop’a and Mr. Glass, Justin Cox, The Big Poppies (twice!), Fong Tran, The Philharmonik, and The Nickel Slots.

News flash  - our new antenna is up and running, and now we ask you to let us know how we are sounding.  This short survey will take less than a minute and will give us valuable information about how well the signal is carrying throughout Davis. 

We are very grateful to all the listeners who helped us last year with our first Listener Survey where about 40% reported fair to poor or variable signal reception.  We expect to see an improvement this time around now that the new and improved antenna has been installed, so please take a moment to let us know. 

Thank you!  Link to https://kdrt.org/fall2017survey

KDRT 95.7FM is your community radio station! Please help us document our local signal reception by completing a brief 5-question online survey TODAY.

It will take less than a minute, and will provide KDRT with very important information about the quality of our signal throughout Davis.

Additionally, by completing a survey you'll be ELIGIBLE for a drawing for a limited-edition t-shirt, designed in-house by KDRT DJ and artist extraordinaire, Eunah Cho.

Please assist your grassroots community radio station today by taking our quick survey now. Thanks!