Episode 31 of RFC

The RFC Flashback: Episode 31

August 9, 2014 by rudy panucci

Episode 31 of Radio Free Charleston, “GI Joe Shirt,” is now fully remastered. Originally from late November, 2007, this episode, hosted from the La Belle Theater, features music from Raymond Wallace and Doctor Senator, plus animation from Frank Panucci and news about then upcoming events in South Charleston, which are now many years in the past.

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This episode of Radio Free Charleston is loaded with promos for upcoming events that, of course, already happened. You’ll see host, Rudy Panucci, give heartfelt plugs for The No Pants Players annual Christmas Show and IWA East Coast’s double-show, where they ran a high-flyer’s tournament and the first Masters of Pain show on the same day. This show also includes a promo clip for the “Best of Radio Free Charleston Night” at the LaBelle and a brief appearence of Kitty Killton before she was Kitty Killton. We never did get around to doing “Mad Man Pondo’s Celebrity Run-in” though.

Our musical acts were Raymond Wallace, recorded in the lobby at LiveMix Studio, and Doctor Senator, recorded at The Sound Factory. Those two venues, sadly, are no longer with us. You can read the original production notes for this show, complete with dead links and junk, are posted below the jump.

Episode 30 of RFC

We go back to November, 2007, for a show that features the Radio Free Charleston debut of Mark Cline Bates, who will be performing Friday, August 8, at Live on the Levee at Haddad Riverfront Park, starting at 6:30 PM. For that show Mark will be backed by The Carpenter Ants. In this classic show, he’s heard solo, recorded at the old Unity Church, during one of Ron Sowell’s open mic nights.

Our other musical guests are most of The Voo Doo Katz, recorded live at the La Belle Theater in South Charleston, and RFC regular John Radcliff, performing in the kitchen at LiveMix Studio. We also feature animation and the first installment of “The Android Family.”

You can read the original production notes, bum links and all,  for this episode Below the jump.

Episode 27 of RFC

From September, 2007, comes RFC 27 “Trust Me I’m A Doctor Shirt.” Highlighted by music from Comparsa, Doctor Senator and Stephanie Deskins, this show also features animation by Stephen Beckner and a creepy toy commercial.

RFC 27: Production Notes For A Music-packed Show

September 26, 2007 by rudy panucci

Episode 27 of Radio Free Charleston is online now! This installment, titled “Trust Me I’m A Doctor Shirt,” is crammed full of a diverse assortment of excellent music, plus just a dash of animation and mind-hurting weirdness. We’re all over town in this show, at LiveMix Studio, The Sound Factory, The La Belle Theater, and on the South Side Bridge!

We have great songs from Stephanie Deskins, Doctor Senator, and Comparsa, plus a cartoon by Stephen Beckner and a really creepy toy commercial (about which we will not speak again). Hosted by yours truly from the South Side Bridge, the iconic gateway that leads from downtown Charleston to up where all the user fee money goes to pave roads.

Episode 26 of RFC

In episode 26, your host was knocked unconcious by then-twelve-year-old Cadance Young, who took over the show and introduced music by Whistlepunk and Sean Richardson, plus a short film by Audrey and Mia Beckner, animation by Rudy Panucci and a cameo by Mad Man Pondo. Tofujitsu fans should take note that Sean and Karen are both in this episode, peforming separately. From September, 2007, it’s “Back To School.”

RFC 26 from RFC Archives on Myspace.

Behind The Scenes At Radio Free Charleston 26

September 5, 2007 by rudy panucci

“Back To School” is the title of the latest episode of Radio Free Charleston, and it’s appropriate because this installment of RFC is hosted by 12-year-old Cadence Young (right), a student at John Adams Middle School, and the daughter of RFC Big Shot Brian Young. That makes this our second consecutive show with second-generation RFC contributors, following Joe Slack’s performance in episode 25. Cadence graciously agreed to step in and host after I was mysteriously injured during the “Hello” segment. She did a great job, introducing our musical guests,Whistlepunk (with her dad on drums) and Sean Richardson.

We also have a short film by Audrey and Mia Beckner, ages 10 and 9, who are also second-generation RFC contributors. Their dad, Stephen Beckner has been on the show as a solo performer, a member of Go Van Gogh, and an animator. Stephen and his wife, Amee, have these really cool movie nights in their front yard in Elkview and showed “Chins” at one of them. I quickly asked if I could use it for the show.

Episode 25 of RFC

The accompanying notes for this show may include deadlinks or embeds.


RFC 25 from RFC Archives on Myspace.

RFC: “Flaming Skull Shirt” with The Amazing Delores and Much More!

August 21, 2007 by rudy panucci

The brand-spanking-new episode of Radio Free Charleston, “Flaming Skull Shirt,” is online for your viewing pleasure now! This episode features a video by the late, legendary darling of Dunbar, The Amazing Delores.  You’ll also get to see a performance by Joe Slack, our first second-generation guest on RFC.  Over the end credits we play one of the most-requested songs from the old radio incarnation of RFC.  We have a very special movie trailer, and animation from Frank Panucci’s movie, “Reperkussionz.”   The host segments were shot at the Charleston Town Center, just two days ago. 

The host shoot was noisy but uneventful.  It was as though Delores herself was looking down when I did the show intro, since you can see the lights coming on behind me as I say her name. Actually, it was because we were shooting right at noon, just as the stores were opening, but it’s nice to pretend. We shot in a few recognizable places around the Town Center Mall, and we may go back later and do another show from there.  Heck, we might even ask permission next time.

Episode 23 of RFC

Production Notes, RFC 23: The Feast Of Stephen

July 30, 2007 by rudy panucci

Episode 23 of Radio Free Charleston,The Feast Of Stephen Reunion Show, is online now!  This is a document of one truly amazing night of musical magic at LiveMix Studio.  On May 12, members of a band that hadn’t played together in fourteen years gathered at LiveMix to kick out the jams one more time. Radio Free Charleston was on hand, and here’s the story behind the music.

Episode 22 of RFC

RFC 22" Shark Boy Shirt from RFC Archives on Myspace.

The Rock Video Show Continues…

June 12, 2007 by rudy panucci

Episode 22 of Radio Free Charleston is online now!  Follow that link and you can see a wild music video from Voices Of Anatole, a breezy acoustic duet from Aurora, brand-new computer animation from my brother Frank Panucci, and The No Pants Players eat a watermelon.

RFC 22 is called “Shark Boy Shirt,” named after the shirt I bought from Shark Boy himself at the IWA East Coast show, “Skate Or Die” a few months ago. It’s a cool-looking tie-dye job, and it doesn’t make me look too fat (not as fat as the stomach does, anyway).  The host segments were shot on the banks of the mighty Kanawha River, near the Dunbar bridge.

Episode 21 of RFC

This is an experiment.

We are re-posting this classic "lost" episode of the show directly from MySpace.

It has not been remastered, and it has not been re-uploaded to YouTube.

There is a chance that this episode might disappear at any moment. If it does, rest assured that we will do whatever possible to restore it as soon as possible.

In the meantime, enjoy the show and don't be surprised if the links in the original production notes below the video are defunct, decrepit, deceased and/or demessed up.


RFC 21: Yellow Submarine Shirt from RFC Archives on Myspace.

Production Notes Du Jour: RFC 21

June 5, 2007 by rudy panucci

Episode 21 of Radio Free Charleston, featuring Under The Radar, The Ghosts Of Now, a short film by Sean Richardson and Alon Kutchinsky, and vintage beer animation is online now!This episodes is called “Yellow Submarine Shirt.”  In a bit of kismet, we shot the host segments right after I ran into Guy Parker from the band Rubber Soul at the Blue Parrot.  Rubber Soul just performed side one of the Yellow Submarine album last week at Beatlefest in Louisville.

Episode Twenty of RFC

RFC 20: "Carmen Shirt" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

Cool Thing Of The Week: We’ve Done Twenty Already!

May 23, 2007 by rudy panucci

Hard to believe, but the twentieth episode of Radio Free Charleston is online now!  This was an amazing show to bring to fruition.  At times it was like giving birth to a spiked watermelon, but the end result has us all basking in the glow of a show well done. 

This episode is “Carmen Shirt,” and the host segments were shot in the White Room at Radio Free Charleston Manor, tucked away in a nearby undisclosed location.  Wearing the Carmen shirt was probably the only way we’ll get the lovely Cristina Nassif, who played Carmen last week for the WVSO (Scroll down for photos),  to appear on the show. But you never know.

Episode Nineteen of RFC

This is the  nineteenth episode of Radio Free Charleston, “Ian Rotten Shirt,” from May 2007, with music from Go Van Gogh and The Ghosts Of Now, plus   a Pentagram Flowerbox cartoon, which has been restored to its original place in the show. This show marks the RFC debut of Lee Harrah, who is still a frequent guest and a valued production team member.

The Mystery cameraperson who shot the original footage of Go Van Gogh turned out to be none other than Melissa Beezley (now Melissa Beezely Johnson) who has been a friend of RFC since the radio days.

This show is not 100% as it was when first posted, though. The original version included a commercial parody created by someone who later turned out to be, well, let's just say "a criminal."  On top of that, it was very poorly done and not very funny.  Newly-created animation takes its place, and is much, much better, despite being slapped together in less than ten minutes.

You can read the original production notes below the show, but don't be shocked if most of the links are dead.

Production Notes For RFC 19

May 8, 2007 by rudy panucci

After many delays and shifted gears, Episode Nineteen of Radio Free Charleston is online now!

This episode features the web debut of The Ghosts Of Now, vintage psychedelia from Go Van Gogh, a crappy devil cartoon, a commercial parody, and more, all hosted by yours truly, at Coonskin park.

Where to start the story of the production of this  much delayed, and some would say “cursed” episode of RFC?  How about we start with the mistakes?

Episode Eighteen of RFC

This vintage April 2007 episode of Radio Free Charleston features a road trip to Parkersburg, West Virginia. Shot at a "Songpull" event at John Radcliff's house, this episode marked three appearances in a row by Rad, and also featured music from Don Baker, Deron Baker and Josh Buskirk, plus there's a special rendition of the RFC theme song by John Radcliff and Jerry Fugate.

You can read the original production notes below the show, but don't expect all the links to work. You may also note some frustration on my part that we shot and edited the show in 24 hours, but it sat around at the Gazette and didn't get uploaded for over a week. This is a problem that went away when we started uploading the show and embedding it in PopCult-- instead of using the Gazette servers for our show-- with episode 77. Seems like ages ago.

Finally: Radio Free Parkersburg!

April 16, 2007 by rudy panucci

Shot and edited in a record less-than-24-hours, the latest episode of Radio Free Charleston is now online…ten days later.

That doesn’t make it any less cool, though.  This show is a departure in many ways.  First, it’s a road trip show.  Melanie Larch and I drove to Parkersburg and taped at John Radcliff’s house.  John was hosting a Songpull event, where songwriters gather and perform tunes that they’ve penned within 30 days of that event.  Visit the Songpull.com website to see and hear the results of these songwriting exercises held all around the country.  Later this week the Parkersburg Songpull tunes should be online. We’ll post an update when they are. 

Aside from the brand-spankin’ new Songpull tunes, we managed to finagle some older songs out of the participants, and that’s what you get to hear on the new RFC.   We have great songs from brothers Don and Daron Baker.   DonBaker is from Belpre Ohio.  His brother Daron is from Columbus, and performs with the band Rustic Bucket.  Each Baker boy gives us a terrific song.  We’ll have more from them on future episodes of RFC, and special apologies to Daron, whose name we mis-spell throughout the show. Them’s the hazards of editing a show in 24 hours.

Episode Seventeen of RFC

 Episode 17 of Radio Free Charleston saw your host, Rudy Panucci, sporting a "Kung Fu Grip" Shirt, and was loaded with all sorts of cool stuff. We had RFC Diva, Melanie Larch in a wrestling ring, cutting a promo. Music from John Radcliff and Under The Radar, recorded at LiveMix Studio, and we had an episode of Pentagram Flowerbox and our end credit repurposed a Stan Freberg commercial. Go back to March, 2007, for "Kung Fu Grip Shirt."

Production notes follow the show, as always, don't be shocked if many links are dead.

RFC 17: The Story Behind The Show

March 28, 2007 by rudy panucci

Time again for the untold story behind the production of the latest Radio Free Charleston.  This episode is titled “Kung Fu Grip Shirt,” named, as always, after the shirt I’m wearing.  Kung Fu Grip is the famous GI Joe action figure innovation from the 1970s, and you can find this shirt at Hot Topic.  Kung Fu Grip will return on the modern GI Joes this summer.

Episode Sixteen of RFC

From March 2007, This episode is called "A Place Of Solace Shirt" in honor of the Huntington band who didn't appear on RFC until many years later. Our musical guests on this episode are John Radcliff and Al Carey. Radcliff is an old buddy from way back in my radio days, and Al was unknown to us, but submitted a music video with a striking, but dated and ham-handed political commentary. Rad sings the very XTC-like "Rainbows," while Al provides us with a song which, in the intervening years, has pretty much lost any relevance that it had at the time.

Also in this show is animation by Stephen Beckner, a short film by Frank Panucci and a vintage Major Matt Mason toy commercial. Read the original production notes, dead links and all, below the video...

Sweet Sixteen Production Notes

March 13, 2007 by rudy panucci

The latest episode of Radio Free Charleston is online now for your viewing pleasure.   

This episode is called “A Place Of Solace Shirt” in honor of the Huntington band who put on a killer show at the Sound Factory back on March 6.  We will be featuring the band, and not just the shirt, on a future episode of RFC.  Follow that link to find out how you can get your own shirt and sample their music. 

Our musical guests on this episode are John Radcliff and Al Carey.  Radcliff is an old buddy from way back in my radio days, and Al is a new friend with a striking political commentary. 

Longtime followers of the local music scene may remember John from his days as the ace guitar god for such bands as The Swivel Rockers, Feast Of Stephen, and The Mad Scientist Club.  John’s relocated to Parkersburg, and has recently shifted his musical focus from just playing guitar to writing and singing his own songs.  And they are great songs.   Rad drove down from Parkersburg and graced the LiveMix Studio with seven great original tunes.  You can see and hear “Writing’s Hard” here.  On RFC we are treated to the Andy Partridge-esque “Rainbows.”   Radcliff will be the first person to appear on consecutive episodes of RFC, as he’s back next time with another killer song.

Al Carey was in town visiting family and contacted the Gazette about possibly posting his song and video “Tears Fallin’.” The video, a strong comment on the current political situation, made it’s way to our grubby little hands, and we plugged it into a spot on this episode of RFC.  It’s a great, soulful plea, with a guest shot by rapper, Life.  Don’t be surprised if it reminds you of the work of the late Marvin Gaye.  We’re lucky that Al allowed us to showcase this song before he left to go back to his career as a tunesmith in New York City.  “Tears Fallin’” is a great song, but it may not go over too well with 30% of the country. If you’re already reading TheGazz.com, chances are that you’ll love it.

Of course, we have more than music.  Stephen Beckner, who appeared on episodes two and nine of RFC as a solo artist, and episode fourteen as a member of Go Van Gogh, is also a talented animator.  His short rotoscoped cartoon “Can You Dig It?” is on the new RFC.  You can also visit his photography blog here.  A special triva note:  RFC Big Shot and drummer for Whistlepunk, Mother Nang, Three Bodies, and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Brian Young, was the live model that Stephen traced to make his cartoon.  It’s a small world, and we’re working to make it seem even smaller!

We also feature the short film “Negative Town” by me brudder, Frank, and a vintage commercial for Major Matt Mason.  There are also a couple of GI Joes popping around on the show. 

There is one other bit of production note trivia:  The recording session for John Radcliff was the most expensive in the history of Radio Free Charleston.  I got two parking tickets, and Rad got one while we were making artful music to enhance the reputation of the city of Charleston.  I would like to salute the meter maid who did their part in nickle-and-diming this city into oblivion.  I know it’s given me a new purpose.  I’ve got ten dollars worth of whining to do about this. 

And they didn’t even get the make of my car right.  My car doesn’t look anything like a freaking Saturn! 

That’s about three or four bucks worth there.

Please remember that if you, like Al Carey, have an already-produced video for a song that you wrote yourself, we will consider it for inclusion in the show.  It has to be up to our sound and video standards, and we can’t promise that we’ll use everything submitted to us, but if you don’t try, we’ll never know what you got.  Contact me atradiofreechas@suddenlink.net

Now go watch the show.  And leave lots of nice comments.

Episode Fifteen of RFC

A classic episode of Radio Free Charleston, and one of the rare cases where the show is named not after what host, Rudy Panucci, is wearing on his shirt, but instead it's named after his entire wardrobe.

With music from The Heydays (Douglas Imbrogno and Paul Calicoat) and The Appalachain Celtic Consort, and a Pentagram Flowerbox cartoon, this episode is also noted for explosions and chaos in downtown Charleston, which was inserted by Frank Panucci in post-production without Rudy Panucci's knowledge.

The original production notes follow the video. Remember, links are iffy at this point.

Production Notes for Episode 15 of RFC

February 26, 2007 by rudy panucci

Episode 15 of Radio Free Charleston, “Black and White,” is online now! This episode features an epic-length Pentagram Flowerbox, plus music from The Appalachian Celtic Consortand The Heydays.

Both our musical guests return with original compositions after performing traditional songs on their first RFC appearance. This episode has a nice acoustic feel, except for the satanic rituals, explosions and drug use. Both performances were recorded atLiveMix Studio. I host the show from Downtown Charleston.

Episode Fourteen of RFC

This is an edited version of Radio Free Charleston's 14th episode, "Spider-man Shirt." At this time, we cannot find the original version of this show. If we did, we would restore the "Pentagram Flowerbox" cartoon, but we still couldn't present the show in an unedited form. I'll tell you more about those controversies after we plop the show in here...


As it is, this show includes a terrific vintage music video for Go Van Gogh's "Shut Up, I Love You," the most-requested song on the radio incarnation of RFC, and Joe Justice's hilarious short film, "Marvel Jackass."  There's also a LAX cartoon by Frank Panucci, which took the place of Pentagram Flowerbox. Despite all the edits, it's still a very strong show.

“Pentagram Flowebox,” the story of Satan living in a trailer park, debuted in our third episode, and was included in many installments of our show until episode 20. This series was created by a former Charleston-area musician, and was brought to me by RFC Big Shot Brian Young. The former Charleston-area musician shall remain nameless by his own request. He prefers to be known as “Third Mind Incarnation.”

Episode Thirteen of RFC

Radio Free Charleston's 13th episode, "World Without Fear Shirt" was sort of unlucky. It had great music and animation in it, but the episode was lost in a hard drive crash and couldn't be recovered from back-up discs. In 2010, I discovered a file that contained all the elements of the show and was able to reconstruct it with a new introduction.

The main reason for the new intro was to explain what had happened, but also to correct the horrible mispronounciation of Martyranny's Collective Pulse, which I butchered throughout the original episode. "Marty-Ranny" remains to this day the worst botched intro in the history of Radio Free Charleston.

Below the video you will find the original production notes from The Popcult Blog, followed by the notes for the 2010 reconstruction. As always, treat the links as some sort of game where only a few of them still work.

Production Notes: Radio Free Charleston

January 18, 2007 by rudy panucci

The first Radio Free Charleston of 2007is online now.  In this episode we have great music from Martyranny’s Collective Pulse and The Concept, plus animation and a puppet show from me brudder, Frank.   We shot the host segments in downtown Charleston on a cold, dreary morning…..and it shows!