April 2011 - More Stuff That I'm Listening To

Last month I mentioned the cd's that I took with me on my roadtrip to Florida. Now I get to list the music that I've been listening to out of the car. Some are brand new. Some are fairly old, but they are all things that I have listened to in the house over the last little while. There are 40 cd's on this list. Here they are:




The Baseball Project - Volume 2: High And Inside
King Crimson - Live In New Haven, Ct November 16, 2003
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Golden Greats No. 1
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
Cake - Showroom Of Compassion
R.E.M. - Live At The Olympia In Dublin
Stuart Ferguson - Love Songs (And Other Tall Tales)
The Posies - Blood/Candy
Michael Carpenter & The Cuban Heels -The Incomplete Cuban Heels
Squeeze - Spot The Difference
Robin Trower - The Playful Heart
The BB's - The Blue Album
Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes - Pills And Ammo
Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 - Northern Aggression
Neil Young - Le Noise
Michael Carpenter & The Cuban Heels - The Completed Cuban Heels
California Guitar Trio - Andromeda
Trey Gunn & Marco Minneman - Modulator
Mike Keneally & Marco Minneman - Evidence Of Humanity
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Tender Prey

Todd Rundgren - For Lack Of Honest Work
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Henry's Dream
The Bears - Eureka!
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy
Psychodots - Terminal Blvd.
The Cavebodgs - Joy Rides For Shut-Ins
The Dukes Of Stratosphear (XTC) - 25 O'Clock
The Beatles - Revolver
Small Town Sheiks - Songs For Parker
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Robyn Hitchcock - Tromsø Kaptein
BBM - Around The Next Dream
Michael Carpenter - SOOP #3
Vanilla Fudge - The Beat Goes On
Adrian Belew Power Trio - Live In Germany
Mike Watt - Hyphenated-Man
Leslie West - Mountain
Silkworm - Lifestyle
Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
Poundcake - Aloha Via Satellite


That's what's been in my cd player these days. I'll try and come up with something else to write about next month, until the show finds it's way back to your computer. The accompanying pictures are from the baseball portion of my spring training trip. That's it for now. See you next time I have something unimportant to say...

March 2011 - What Am I Listening To?

The show is over...or in suspended animation if you prefer... but this blog will continue to be an outlet for some of my musical thoughts and other things.

A couple weeks ago, John asked me what I was currently listening to. He asked me while I was on my (mostly) annual trip to Florida for Spring Training Baseball. I drove to Florida on this trip so I brought a lot of music with me. 72 cd's to be exact. I managed to get through 46 of those cd's on the trip, plus an additional 16 since I've been home. That leaves me with 10 more to listen to over the next couple weeks in the car.


For this trip, since I'd be spending most of my time alone in the car, I decided to go with stuff that I knew well enough that it would keep me awake and alert. The worst thing is to be 10 hours into a drive and have a cd come on that you've never heard before. What you need at that point is something that you can sing along with and keep you awake. For that reason, the majority of the music came from the 70's & 80's, although the oldes thing I listened to came from 1965 and the newest was from 2008 (plus the occasional compilation). So here are the 46 cd's that I listened to on the trip:

1. Pink Floyd - Meddle
2. Genesis - Trespass
3. The Replacements - Tim
4. All - Allroy Saves
5. The Loud Family - Plants And Birds And Rocks And Things
6. Kansas - Leftoverture
7. Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes - Hearts Of Stone
8. King Crimson - Discipline
9. Firewater - The Golden Hour
10. Rainbow - Rising
11. Psychodots - Awkwardsville
12. Renaissance - Turn Of The Cards
13. The Good Rats - Tasty
14. The Bears - Car Caught Fire
15. Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
16. Triumph - Just A Game
17. The Fall - 458489 A Sides
18. Pretenders - Pretenders
19. Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior
20. Beat Farmers - The Pursuit Of Happiness
21. Icehouse - Icehouse
22. The Beatles - Beatles For Sale
23. Drivin' N' Cryin' - Whisper Tames The Lion
24. Joe Jackson - Look Sharp!
25. The Kinks - Sleepwalker
26. R.E.M. - Fables Of The Reconstruction
27. Split Enz - Time And Tide
28. Todd Rundgren - Back To The Bars
29. Carter USM - Post Historic Monsters
30. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield
31. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again
32. Moxy Fruvous - You Will Go To The Moon
33. Kansas - Audio-Visions
34. Golden Earring - Moontan
35. King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic
36. Roger Glover - The Butterfly Ball
37. Eddie Hardin - The Wizard's Convention
38. Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
39. Rob Fetters - Lefty Loose-Righty Tight
40. Rainbow - Down To Earth
41. Yes - Fragile
42. Utopia - Adventures In Utopia
43. Gear Daddies - Billy's Live Bait
44. Don Dixon - Romeo At Julliard
45. Squeeze - Argybargy
46. Strawbs - Bursting At The Seams


Here are the 16 that have worked their way through since I've been home:
1. Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs
2. Iron Butterfly - Light And Heavy
3. Jefferson Airplane - Crown Of Creation
4. King Crimson - Live in Chicago, IL November 29, 1995
5. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
6. The Smithereens - A Date With The Smithereens
7. The Good Rats - From Rats To Riches
8. Hedwig And The Angey Inch - Original Cast Recording
9. Alejandro Escovedo - A Man Under The Influence
10. Continental Drifters - Continental Drifters
11. The Tubes - Now
12. Traffic - Heaven Is In Your Mind
13. Saga - Silent Knight
14. Southside Johnny And The Jukes - At Least We Got Shoes
15. XTC - Skylarking
16. The Grip Weeds - Infinite Soul

And finally, here are the 10 that I haven't gotten to yet:
1. Utopia - Ra
2. Focus - Moving Waves
3. Guided By Voices - Under The Bushes, Under The Stars
4. The Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South
5. The Spongetones - Always Carry On
6. Spirit - The Family That Plays Together
7. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far
8. The Fatima Mansions - Lost In The Former West
9. Dada - American Highway Flower
10. Arrogance - Rumors


I think that should answer John's question. The next blog entry (for April) will list some of the things I've been listening to outside of the car. The photos that accompany this blog are sunrise and sunset pictures from my trip. Enjoy!

February 28, 2011 - Our Final Show!

Last night's show was the three year anniversary for Independents Uncovered. It was also the 100th Donohue's Music Den. With those two milestones being celebrated, we also decided to call it quits. This was our last show and I think we went out with a bang!


We had a record number of listeners, spirited discussions in the chat room and on our facebook page and lots of great music! I had a blast chatting with all of our friends and fans. It made us both very happy to celebrate our final show with so many great people.


John started the show and spent the first 45 minutes playing some of the music that made his show what it was. Then for the next almost 2 hours, I was there to play some of my favorite music and play the straight man to John's goofiness one last time. Then John was back to play another 40 minutes of music, including a song of his own from his "band" Love 680.


In addition to the usual Donohue Theme opener, we also dug into the vaults and pulled out the songs that Lou Luca created for John's first anniversary show and the one he created for my first anniversary show. I got to play almost all of the music that I wanted to play. I ran out of time and didn't get to play songs from Deus, The Loud Family and The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. But I did get to play 20 songs (plus the show themes). Here's what I played(hopefully John will also post what he played both before and after me):


The BB's w/Joe Marra - Donohue Theme
Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart - Man With The Woman Head
Dixie Dregs - Cruise Control
King Crimson - Larks Tongues In Aspic Part II (Live)
The Spongetones - Not So
Don Dixon - Jean Harlow's Return
XTC - New Town Animal In A Furnished Cage
Lou Luca - Campbell's Show (Mmm Mmm Good)
Cheater - Hologram

Grummer - First Few Things
Hedwig And The Angry Inch - Exquisite Corpse
The BB's - Point Of View
Small Town Sheiks - A Million Miles Away
WAJOLO - Down This Road
Lou Luca - ONniversary Song
Yes Mistress - Noir
The Kinks - See My Friends
The Beat Farmers - 20th Century Man (Live)
The Bears - Complicated Potatoes (Live)
Hindu Rodeo - Radio Ready
Psychodots - I Hope It Works Out
The Cavedogs - La La La
Joe Jackson Band - Got The Time (Live)


We had many great friends tuning in last night to send us off on a high note. Lou Luca and Ron Cianciaruso have been there supporting us and contributing music for us since almost day one. Thanks guy! You're the best! Longtime listeners like Cat Cunningham, Evil Demented Bunny, Barbara Ryan, Michelle Hanshaw and her daughter Jaiden and Liz Bratko were all tuned in. We wouldn't have lasted three years without your support.


Musician friends Al & Mary Knight, Carl Gabel, John Irizarry, Jon Dawson, Chris Zogby and Memphis 59 and Chris "Grummer" Weilding were all tuned in and got to hear each others music. This show has always been about the music and you all created great music that we've played for three years. Thank you all!


Last night we also had Kirsten and Kevin Tapee (and their son Ryan, Rich Tully, Barbara Damon, Maggie Oldham, Johnnie Luca, Mindy Donohue, plus many more that I'm forgetting and even a few that just listened and enjoyed but didn't make their presence known. Thank you to everyone who listened last night and everyone who ever listened!


The show may be over, but this blog isn't dead yet. I will still occasionally write something when it is musically relevant. When John and I decide what we will be trying next, you can find out about it right here! Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon, Here's to the future!

February 21, 2011 - President's Day and the End is in Sight.

Early Monday morning, John made the announcement that February 28th will be the final show for Independents Uncovered. We had been discussing when to end the show and had decided on a date later in the year. But several things happened and it was decided to end sooner rather than later. That made this show the penultimate Donohue's Music Den. Wow!


I had no real theme for this week's show. The main goal was to play some music by artists that I am a big fan of, but have been underrepresented on the show. Artists like John Hiatt, Warren Zevon, XTC, The Fall, Morphine and Guided By Voices should have been played more often, so I had to get them in before the end.


In addition, The Baseball Project has a brand new album coming out next Tuesday called High And Inside. This album has 13 more baseball-themed songs which are great. With so many to choose from, it was tough to pick one, but I went with the humor and relevance of the San Francisco Giants. Here is the list of music that I played:


John Hiatt - Slow Turning
Warren Zevon - Hasten Down The Wind
Richard Thompson - MGB-GT
Robert Crenshaw - I Love To Pretend
Marshall Crenshaw - Dime A Dozen Guy
Guided By Voices - Echos Myron
Beat Farmers - God Is Here Tonight
Gutterball - Trial Separation Blues
The Fall - Dead Beat Descendent
The Baseball Project - Panda And The Freak
XTC - Generals And Majors
Morphine - Mary Won't You Call My Name
XTC - No Thugs In Our House


Next week will be our final show. We knew the end was coming, but it came kind of suddenly and there is so much that I want to play. John and I are working on how we will go out. I can just about guarantee I'll be finishing up with some of my "go to music:. That would be some of my favorite bands and also many of my friends. Next Monday is your last chance to check out the show. I hope you can join us!

February 14, 2011 - Valentine's Day, Tommy Keene and More

We were supposed to have a show last week. It didn't happen. John was forced to cancel the show at the last minute. The cancellation pushed everything back a week so last week's show was moved to this week, which also happened to be Valentine's Day.


Guitar legend Gary Moore passed away last week at the age of 58. I've been a fan of Gary Moore since I first heard him in the early 80's. He was one of the most diverse players there was, from his progressive rock/fusion work with Colosseum II in the mid 70's to his off and on work with Thin Lizzy and Phil Lynott. From his early 80's with Greg Lake to his guest appearance on Cozy Powell's Tilt. From his hard rock solo career in the 80's to his blues work in the 90's and everyone after that, he was a true talent who could do it all and he will be missed!


After hearing of his passing, I had re-arranged last weeks show to play several Gary Moore songs. After pushing the show back, more rearranging was made and I only played two songs. I played his best known blues song and a song from his mid 90's collaboration with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, known as BBM.


There were a few things that I've been wanting to play for a long time, so I added them to the list for this week, then I finished off with some music to lead into the interview. John's interview this week was Tommy Keene, and since I was the one who turned John onto Tommy's music, I had to throw in some of that in as well. The show had a hard end time of 10pm, so I only had time to play four songs. I chose his best known song, two covers and one song from his collaboration with GBV's Robert Pollard. Here's what I had time to play this week:


Gary Moore - Still Got The Blues
BBM - Where In The World
Matt Keating - McHappiness
Hindu Rodeo - McLife
Jason Falkner - Author Unknown
Jellyfish - The King Is Half Undressed
Guided By Voices - Game Of Pricks
The Keene Brothers - Island Of Lost Lucys
Tommy Keene - Kill Your Sons
Tommy Keene - Carrie Anne
Tommy Keene - Places That Are Gone


During the interview, John played these songs from Tommy Keene:
Tomorrow's Gone Tonight from In The Late Bright
Please Don't Come Around from In The Late Bright
Late Bright from In The Late Bright
Nightmare Crime Scene from In The Late Bright
Turning On Blue from Ten Years After


I enjoyed the interview and learned a lot about Tommy Keene from it. Next Monday is President's Day but fear not. The show will go on! I don't think there are any guests lined up so it will be a full show of music. I guess I should pick some good stuff!

January 31, 2011 - A Birthday, A Tribute and A Grip Weed

We were off last week because of a GMU basketball game. The week off was nice but it's good to be back. Monday night was the birthday of two of our long-time listeners, Al Knight and Barbara Ryan. Barbara wanted nothing special done, but Al was up for it so the first part of the show celebrated Al's birthday. Next we did a special tribute to Lou Luca's good friend Bobby Guida, who passed away almost two years ago. After that, I finished off with some music from The Grip Weeds and their friends, since John was interviewing Grip Weeds singer/drummer Kurt Reil.


John had problems in the parking garage at the school and ended up starting the show 15 minutes late. Then when he got there, he found a constant buzzing in the left channel. Sometimes you've really gotta love the complete unprofessionalism that is WGMU radio. They desperately want to be considered a real station, but they can't even keep their equipment running properly. Oh well.......


Before I came on, John played Anybody's Anything by Third Of Never (w/Kurt Reil on vocals) as well as a song from next week's Interview Tommy Keene, Tomorrow's Gone Tonight. Then it was time for me. John laughed hysterically through the Donohue theme because it was heavy on the left channel and very difficult to hear. He also had problems getting my phone call through the board, but eventually got it. Then we played these songs.


Queen - You're My Best Friend
Robin Trower - Little Bit Of Sympathy
Robin Trower & Jack Bruce - No Island Lost
Robin Trower - No Time
Yes Mistress - Half A Life
Bob Guida - Believe
Bob Guida - Amazing Grace
Bob Guida & Lou Luca - Well Alright

Richard X. Heyman - Vantage Point High
The Rooks - Down
Buzzed Meg - They're My Friends
The Grip Weeds - Give Me Some Of Your Ways
The Grip Weeds - Melancholia
The Grip Weeds - Walking In The Crowd


The first five songs were for Al Knight on his birthday. The first song was a special request from Mary Knight to Al. The middle three were because Robin Trower is Al's favorite guitarist and the final track was the world premiere of the brand new track from Al's band Yes Mistress.


The next three songs were a tribute to the late great Bobby Guida. His latest album, Believe (released posthumously)is a gospel record and it is stunning. The man was a great talent and he is missed.


The final six songs got us in the mood for the Kurt Reil interview. Kurt is the live drummer for Richard X. Heyman. Kurt's wife and Grip Weeds guitarist Kristin Pinell was a member of the Rooks and Kurt and Jim Babjak make up Buzzed Meg. throw in a few Grip Weeds song (including a Pete Townshend cover) and we're ready for the interview.


I enjoyed the interview. It was nice to finally get Kurt on the air after two years of trying. During the interview, John played six songs from the most recent Grip Weeds album Strange Change Machine. Those songs were: Hold Out For Tomorrow, Speed Of Life, Close To The Sun, Don't You Believe It, Thing Of Beauty and Strange Change Machine.


Next week we've got the Tommy Keene interview so I'm sure I'll be playing plenty of Tommy. But who knows, I may have a few other things to throw in as well. You'll have to tune in to find out (or at least check here the following day). See ya then!

January 17, 2011 - Two Hours Of Nothing But ME....and music, of course!

John had no guest scheduled for this week's show, so he asked me if I wanted to supply music for both hours. It seemed like a good idea to me, so I said yes. I asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted as a theme. His response was to do an hour of cover songs and an hour of whatever I felt like playing. I could definitely handle that!


In typical Independents Uncovered fashion, the show almost didn't happen. John got to the campus and the building was locked because of the holiday. If he couldn't get to the station, there would be no show. Fortunately, he made it in, but had many technical problems once the show started. He wasn't able to play the Shane Cooley music he wanted to play.


The problems didn't end when it was my turn. It took several calls from me and a few problems with the board before I actually got on the air. But once I did, it seemed to go well, for a change. John played the Donohue theme twice, playing it at the beginning of the show and then again between the covers and the rest. Here's the listing of what we played:


1st Hour - The Covers:
The Posies - King Midas In Reverse (Hollies Cover)
Tommy Keene - Carrie Anne (Hollies Cover)
The Loud Family - Look Through Any Window (Hollies Cover)
Firewater - Hey Bulldog (Beatles Cover)
Hindu Rodeo - I'm Only Sleeping (Beatles Cover)
Vinilo - Thank You Girl (Beatles Cover)
Mercury Rev - I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier (John Lennon)
The Drowners - Do The Strand (Roxy Music Cover)
R.E.M. - Toys In The Attic (Aerosmith Cover)
Whip - White Wedding (Billy Idol Cover)
Beat Farmers - There She Goes Again (Velvet Underground Cover)
The Riffbrokers - Sit Down I Think I Love You (Buffalo Springfield Cover)
Adult Net - Incense And Peppermints (Strawberry Alarm Clock Cover)


2nd Hour - Dealer's Choice:
Strawbs - Heavy Disguise
The Bears - Waiting Room
The BB's - Time Will Tell
Robin Trower & Jack Bruce - Into Money
The Good Rats - Bed And A Bottle
Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins - Live In Japan
Dada - Dorina
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - From This Moment
The Gravy - Pretty Krishna
The Rutles - Nevertheless
Frank Zappa - City Of Tiny Lights


There will be no show next week. George Mason basketball will be taking over the airwaves next Monday for their game against Delaware. We'll be back on January 31st, with what is looking to be a good show!


John's interview will be with The Grip Weeds. They were scheduled for a live interview last year, but had to be postponed when John's car broke down. Now they are finally back! I will be playing Grip Weeds and Grip Weeds related music for part of my show.


The rest of the show will be a special treat for my friend Al Knight. January 31st is his birthday, so I will be dedicating the first half of my show to Al. I'll definitely be playing some Robin Trower, since our mutual Trower appreciation is basically how we met. I've also got some of Al's music and maybe a surprise or two. See you on the 31st!

January 10, 2011 - 1st Show of the New Year!

A new year is upon us and Independents Uncovered is back on the air. We did our last show of 2010 back on December 13th and then took a few weeks off to enjoy the holidays! I hope everyone else enjoyed theirs too. I had a nice Christmas, then was snowed in at my father's for a couple days. Then I went to a nice New Year's party with family and friends and now we are back!


For the new year, I decided to start out with something a little different. John is not a fan of progressive rock, so I don't really play any on the show. But I've been a prog-rock fan for almost forty years, so I couldn't deny it forever. But as I started looking at music to play, the prog started veering towards psychedelic.


I was born right at the beginning of the psychedelic era and having six older siblings meant that I was listening to "psychedelic rock" at a very young age and to this day I still love it. Both have played a big part in my musical upbringing and can co-exist peacefully, so I decided to merge the two.


I sent John music for about three week's worth of shows and we will have three weeks worth of shows dedicated to this music. They just won't necessarily be three consecutive weeks. Most of the music I play is usually under four minutes, but for the last several months, I've been threatening to play a 10+ minute song. This would have been the perfect week to do it. I came close, as the first song I played clocked in at 9:36. Here's the playlist for the show:


Renaissance - Running Hard
Genesis - For Absent Friends
The Syn - 14 Hour Technicolor Dream
Strawbs - Sheep
Bodast - Nether Street
Pete Sinfield - Still
Steeleye Span - Alison Gross
Giles, Giles & Fripp - The Crukster
Brian Eno - Backwater
Steve Hackett - Narnia
Strawberry Alarm Clock - Hummin' Happy


If you don't know any of these bands, you should check them out. The Dave Cousins-led band The Strawbs included Rick Wakeman as their keyboard player right before the joined Yes. The Syn was the band that Chris Squire was in right before he formed Yes. Bodast was one of the many bands that Steve Howe was in before he joined Yes, and the music from this song, Nether Street reappeared as the Würm section of Starship Trooper.


Pete Sinfield was lyricist for King Crimson and ELP and get some vocal help from Greg Lake on this track. Steve Hackett got a little help from Kansas' Steve Walsh when he released hist first post-Genesis solo album. Speaking of Genesis, the 1971 track that I played was the first ever vocal performance by Phil Collins in the band.


And finally we come to the Strawberry Alarm Clock, one of the first bands people think of when they hear the word psychedelic. Since I stay away from the "hits", I couldn't play Incense and Peppermints. But I did think about Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow or Strawberries Mean Love. Those two songs will get played on upcoming shows. But the one thing that many people don't know about the Strawberry Alarm Clock is that their guitarist and one of their primary songwriters was Ed King. The same Ed King who several years later joined Lynyrd Skynyrd.


My original plan for next week was to continue this theme, but now I'm thinking of going in a different direction for next week. I hope you'll be able to tune in to see what I decide on. There is also a rumor that there may not be a guest and I may be on from 8-10pm. That would be fun!