Live Tracks, Aug. 12, 2021: Remembering Gary Lee Yoder, by talking with musicians who played with him

In tonight's special program, Live Tracks host Jim Buchanan is joined by Davisville host Bill Buchanan to play music from Gary Lee Yoder's career, and to talk with musicians who played with Gary at different stages of his life: blues great Joe Louis Walker, Jim Keylor (Oxford Circle), Dehner Patten (Oxford Circle, Kak), Chris Lockheed (Kak), Alec Palao (record producer), Dean Sylvester (Davis musician), and René Martucci & Richard Urbino (Davis musicians in Cold Shot and According to Bazooka).

The poster for a concert in Davis is courtesy of Joe Louis Walker, who's shown in the far left side of the image. Oxford Circle members Gary Yoder and Jim Keylor are on the far right. For more information, see this earlier KDRT blog post.

Davis Garden Show, August 12, 2021: Questions

Lots of listener questions today! 

Wide-ranging answers keep returning to common themes: beneficial insects -vs- applying poisons, hosing things off -vs- applying poisons, saving bees and other beneficial insects -vs- applying imidacloprid (a neo-nicinoid systemic poison that makes flowers poisonous to pollinators), thwarting phytophthora by watering deeper but less often, and conserving water in this drought year.

Specific discussions about:

plants for a dry front landscape [with LOTS of ideas!];

Colocasia ["elephant ears"] and taro root [for poi] CAN grow here!;

what ethylene gas is and what it does (ripening bananas and apples, strenghtening tree trunks) [including Don's suggestion for some kids' science fair projects!];

spider mites, predatious mites [which are small and red but are not chiggers!], and other beneficial insects;

'What causes leaf burn on maples?'; and

more about phytophthora [a word which traslates as "plant death"].

The Folk Brothers for Aug. 11, 2021: Remembering Gary Lee Yoder

Although best known for his work with '60s psychedelic rock bands Oxford Circle and Blue Cheer, Davisite Gary Lee Yoder knew his way around folk-rock and Americana music. On today's show, we played some rare covers and original tracks from a live performance at the Davis Odd Fellows Hall in May, 2015, recorded by KDRT's own engineering genius and Live Tracks host, Jim Buchanan. Also: new music from Ciaran Cooney, Staran, Band Of Burns, Richard Thompson, and Mark Stuart.

Jazz After Dark August 10 2021

Tonight on jazz After Dark! Billie Hoilday, Georgie Auld & His Orchestra, Benny Carter, Gene Ammons. A New Orleans set with Louis Armstrong, New Orleans' Own The Dukes of Dixieland, The 6 & 7/8ths String Band, Percy Humphrey's Crescent City Joymakers, Sweet Emma & Her Dixieland Boys. Bossa Nova by, João Gilberto & Milton Banana, Luiz Bonfá, Nara Leão. Then we’ll take it out with Pharoah Sanders & William Henderson

Davisville, Aug. 9, 2021: A bid to end hunger in Yolo County by 2026

About 30 to 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted, for reasons that range from spoilage and overproduction to unsold inventory and bad planning. A new California law, SB 1383, requires major changes in how we dispose of surplus food, with waste redirected to compost and edible food to the hungry. Michael Bisch, executive director of the Yolo Food Bank, believes the changes spurred by the law -- and conditions in Yolo County -- mean Yolo will be “pretty darn close to a fully food-secure county within three years, five years tops.” On today's Davisville, he explains why this breakthrough is now possible, plus how to pay for and achieve it.

Davis musician Gary Lee Yoder, RIP: In Oxford Circle, Kak and Blue Cheer, he was part of the 1960s San Francisco Sound

Updated Aug. 13 with link to Live Tracks that featured short talks with musicians who played with Gary, plus information about Davis Music Connections program on Aug. 17

We’re sorry to report this news: Gary Lee Yoder, whose Davis band Oxford Circle became part of the San Francisco Sound in the 1960s, died on Saturday, Aug. 7. He was born in 1946.

Gary lived in Davis most of his life, and continued to perform in town after returning to Davis following his time in the Bay Area.

He was also a member of the Davis High School Hall of Fame as a player on the school’s undefeated varsity boys basketball team of 1961-62.

After Oxford Circle broke up, he and band co-leader Dehner Patten formed Kak. The group played fewer than a dozen concerts but recorded a self-titled LP for Epic in 1969, renamed Kak-Ola when released in expanded form on CD. Many listeners consider it to be an obscure gem from the psychedelic era. A live recording of Oxford Circle was released on CD.

After Kak, Gary recorded solo material, and became a later member of Blue Cheer.

At least three KDRT program hosts plan to play some of Gary’s music:

Davis Garden Show August 05 2021, Plant Death

Lots of science today!  Phytophthora [fi-TOF-thir-a] is an organism [no longer considered a fungus] that has invaded world-wide.  Many species exist. The one of concern in Davis and inland California attacks plants when ground conditions are HOT AND DAMP! (That is, high humidity and high temperature at the crown or roots for 48 hours.)  Since we don't have rain here for eight months, the only way there can be enough moisture to allow Phytophthora to grow is if HUMANS  apply water too often -- that is, they don't give the area time to dry out between waterings!  Luckily, Don Shor has studied this organism extensively and helps us understand Phytophthora's life cycle and so learn how to reduce our risk.  PS:  That word "Phytophthora" literally translated to "plant death"!!!  PPS: It's already here -- in the ground, on plant roots -- you can't avoid it if you garden.

Even old, established trees can be killed by Phytophthora if the watering changes.  This photo is Dr Milton Hildebrand standing beside a cork oak he planted in 1949. 

The Folk Brothers for Aug. 4, 2021: British folk songs of political reform

Long-time Davisite and traditional folk singer, Dick Holdstock, has written a book about the spread of broadside ballads as agents of political reform in 18th and 19th century Britain. On this week's show, we celebrate the publication of Dick's book with ballads sung by Chumbawamba, Maggie Holland, The English Country Blues Band, The Waterboys and others. Also: new music from Skipper's Alley, Show Of Hands, John Spillane, Watchhouse, and Vincent Neil Emerson.

Jazz After Dark August 03 2021

Jazz standards by classic performers tonight.

Louis Armstrong and His Hot 7 with Potato Head Blues, Artie Shaw doing Begin the Beguine, Benny Goodman and Charlie Christian with Rose Room and Benny Goodman doing Body and Soul. We'll hear Erroll Garner with his composition Misty, Andy Kirk doing A Mellow Bit Of Rhythm. Miles Davis performs 'Round About Midnight, Louis Prima with Body And Soul, Ella Fitzgerald sings Fascinating Rhythm. Duke Ellington And His Orchestra play Lullaby Of Birdland; Billie Pool with Stormy Weather, Duke Ellington doing One O'Clock Jump. Ella Fitzgerald: performs You'll Have to Swing It, and then we take it out with Dianne Reeves singing Ain't Nobody's Business (If I Do).