January 25, 2010 - In The Studio......FINALLY!

I've been back from my latest mini-vacation for a few days and I thought I had already written this, but I was wrong. Oops! I guess it's time to get this thing finished. Anyway...


After last week's show, I hopped in my newly working car and drove to Florida. I spent the week with my good friend Lou and his family and had a nice time. On Monday morning I hopped back in the car and drove back to Virginia. This time, however, I got there in time to do the show. After weeks of false starts, illness and car problems for both myself and John, I finally got to the studio for the show.

John had an interview scheduled, so instead of getting the whole show again, I was back to my normal routine. John's interview for the week was Shane Cooley, but he was having problems getting the recording ready to air, so Donohue's Music Den aired early. I started around 8:00pm and went until about 9:15. John did his thing from 7:30-8:00. He then played his Campbell's Show song, which Lou and Johnnie Luca recorded for his anniversary show last year, and I was off! I managed to get in 16 songs during my segment. Some of which were things I normally wouldn't get a chance to play. Here is the list:


Fury In The Slaughterhouse - Every Generation Got Its Own Disease
Psychodots - Instead Of The Bottle
Shoes - Too Late
Camper Van Beethoven - She Divines Water
The Jayhawks - Save It For A Rainy Day
Joe Jackson - Jamie G
Squeeze - There At The Top
King Crimson - Red
Robyn Hitchcock - Uncorrected Personality Traits
Good Rats - Fireball Express
The Kinks - Harry Rag
fIREHOSE - Down With The Bass
Sass Jordan - Damaged
Drivin 'n' Cryin - Scarred But Smarter
Drivin 'n' Cryin - Keys To Me
Adrian Belew - Bad Days


John's tastes run a little mellower than mine, so I normally wouldn't get to play King Crimson, but I was in the mood to hear Red and it was a good choice. I ended with Adrian Belew because John had mentioned the painting that was currently in a box in his bedroom. The painting was, of course, the Adidas In Heat painting that Lou Luca had won during the Adrian Belew song contest two years ago. He has lent me the painting once again and it is sitting above my fireplace where it will stay for a few months and then Lou will take it back.

I had sent John a bunch of music to use for the January 4th show. That show never happened, so those songs will finally see the light of day next week (and maybe the week after too). Also in February, John and I will be going to see Dennis Diken with Bell Sound and The Doughboys at Maxwell's in Hoboken. I'm sure we'll be playing some of their music before the show. See you next week!

January 18, 2010 - The new year FINALLY gets off the ground!

Welcome back to another year of Donohue's Music Den! It took awhile but we finally got the new year off the ground. Our 1st show of the year was scheduled for January 11th. I was planning on heading down to Fairfax and doing the show live with John. But the week before I came down with a nasty cold and we decided to postponed my trip for the week and I e-mailed John my song selections for the 11th. Several hours before showtime on the 11th, I got a call from John saying his car was dead again and he had to cancel the show. An omen for the new year? Could be!

That meant that January 18th would now be our 1st show of the year and I would be in the studio to do the show with John. But as I went to leave my house for the 5 hour drive, my car wouldn't start. Another omen? Maybe our cars are trying to tell us something! I got the car fixed. Fortunately it was just the battery. But by the time I got the car back, it was too late to make it to the station to do the show. Instead, I did the show from the car on my drive to VA. I've been in the studio with John. I've done the show from my house. I've done the show from a motel room. I've even done the show from the shores of Lake Wawasee in Indiana, but this is the first time I've done the show from my car. And since John had given me the whole show, I had 2+ hours to fill from the car.

All the music that I was planning on playing was in the car with me, so before I left, I had to send a bunch of songs to John. I e-mailed him 26 songs and 23 of them were played. He started the show on his own and played five songs. Then he played the Campbell Birthday theme from Lou & Johnnie Luca while he called me. Then we were off! I started the show in the southern end of NJ and by the time we were finished, I was on the Capitol Beltway, only about half an hour away. Here are the 23 songs that were played!



The Godfathers - Birth, School, Work, Death
The Producers - What's He Got
Moxy Fruvous - Horseshoes
The Tragically Hip - Twist My Arm
The Bears - What's The Good Of Knowing
The Cavedogs - Proud Land
Squeeze - Slightly Drunk
WAJOLO - Down This Road
XTC - The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Dow Jones Syndrome
Split Enz - Nobody Takes Me Seriously
Code Blue - Whisper/Touch
Jamie Hoover - You Were On My Mind
The New Pornographers - The Bones Of An Idol
Diesel - Sausalito Summernight
The Producers - She Sheila
The Kinks - Ducks On The Wall
Martin Briley - The Salt In My Tears
Michael Carpenter - I'll Get You
Paul Weller - You Do Something To Me
The Plimsouls - A Million Miles Away
The Replacements - Kiss Me On The Bus
Country Dick Montana - Listen To Her Heart

The 3 songs that didn't get played were:
Fury In The Slaughterhouse - Every Generation Got Its Own Disease
Psychodots - Instead Of The Bottle
Shoes - Too Late




The songs that I picked covered many different themes. There were many "one hit wonder" bands of the 80's in there. There were some "deep cuts" from well known bands and then a few songs that I just felt like playing.

There's a good chance that I will finally make it to the studio for next Monday's show. If it happens, it will be good. If not, then I think it's time to start listening to the omens!