The Folk Brothers for Aug. 18, 2021: Remembering Nanci Griffith

She was a brilliant songwriter and song interpreter who helped define the Americana genre. Steeped in the traditional folk tradition of her parents' generation -- by artists like Odetta, Malvina Reynolds, and Pete Seeger -- her artistic vision was strongly influenced by "outlaw" Texas singer-songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Her songwriting and vocal collaborations were far-reaching. On today's show we merely scratched the surface of her work with tracks from the Chieftains, John Prine, Tom Russell, and Eric Taylor.

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.