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!