Episode 116 of RFC

The Christmas Show That Almost Wasn’t

December 21, 2010 by rudy panucci

Up at the top of this post you see Radio Free Charleston’s 116th episode, “Christmas With CYAC.”  This was almost the year without an RFC Christmas show, but after a production schedule bedeviled by weather woes and other intrusions of life, I decided to call an audible.

The original plan was that this episode of the show would feature songs from two local favorites, plus a song or two from the CYAC production of the original rock opera, “Mary.” with everything being tied together with host segments shot the Monday before Christmas while caroling with Dan and Penny Kehde and the gang from CYAC.

The taping for the other songs didn’t happen (through no fault of the artists) and I was left with the possibility of skipping the holiday show this year, when it occurred to me that I could record some of the Christmas carols, toss in some of the tunes from “Mary” and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

And so I did. Many thanks to Dan and Penny and all the good and talented folk of The Contemporary Youth Arts Companyand the many drivers who didn’t mow us down, “Death Race 2000″ style when they had the chance. Without these folks coming to the rescue, we would not have had a holiday show this year.

That’s pretty much all we have to say about this special episode of Radio Free Charleston. Check PopCult on Thursday for a special preview of the Holiday ArtWalk. Oh…be sure to stick around for the whole show. You’ll get a very special Christmas treat, some would even say it’s a “Blizzard.”

Episode 115 of RFC

A Pre-Winter Blast Of Cool Music

December 15, 2010 by rudy panucci

RFC 115 “Frank Sinatra Shirt” from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Radio Free Charleston 115, “Frank Sinatra Sbirt” is the video you see right up there above this text.  This episode features a wide variety of music: a Metal classic by HARRAH, a Progressive-Alternative jolt from Linfinity, an operatic waltz from Hellblinki, Blues from Crossroads and a great rocked-up ballad from The Nanker Phelge.

It was so cold that the horse behind me became a gelding

Host segments were shot in Davis Park during lunch on Tuesday, and were recorded in record time due to the bitter cold.  The namesake shirt for this installment is aFrank Sinatra T-shirt that I pulled out to wear in honor of what would have been the 95th birthday of The Chairman of the Board earlier this week.

Episode 114 of RFC

Sunday Evening Video: RFC 114!

November 14, 2010 by rudy panucci

RFC 114 “Flash Photography Shirt” from Rudy Panucci onVimeo.

This week we’re combining two of our regular PopCult features into one. Above, you see the latest episode of Radio Free Charleston, “Flash Photography Shirt.”  The wide-ranging music on this show comes from Andrea Anderson, The Dad Horse Experience, and Shayla Leftridge-Bonds.  Our animation is Frank Panucci’s very first animated film.  We also have some Super Fancy Dancing.

Host segments were shot on the grounds of the State Capitol, after we considered shooting at Yeager Airport without permission, then thought better of that idea. Evidently last Saturday was “Take Your Screaming Baby To The Capitol” day, and also over at Laidley Field they were having a special Mumble Incoherently Over The Public Adress System Tournament. So it was a bit of a challenging shoot.  But we did get our host segments recorded and the show was uploaded a mere eight hours after the hosting adventure.

Episode 113 of RFC

“Jazz From Hell” In The Halloween RFC

October 27, 2010 by rudy panucci

RFC 113 “Jazz From Hell Preview” from Rudy Panucci onVimeo.

Chelsea Cook as "Rose Kendrick"

Above you see episode 113 of Radio Free Charleston, “Jazz From Hell Preview.”  This is our Halloween special, and it’s quite a departure. It’s also quite a bit less than I’d originally planned.

Last July I got the idea to bring back Count Rudolph and Celeste, The Zombie Supermodel for our Halloween show this year. That’s me and my imaginary daughter, Chelsea Cook, if you didn’t watch RFC 54 and 55 back in 2008.  I thought that, instead of showing music videos, we’d actually interrupt a cheesy horror movie this year.

Episode 112 of RFC

RFC 112: Great New Bands And Movie Trailers!

October 13, 2010 by rudy panucci

RFC 112 “Toxic Soup Shirt” from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Radio Free Charelston 112, “Toxic Soup Shirt” is online now, and you should see it right above this text!  We have three bands making their RFC debut–Crossroads, Doctor Curmudgeon and Happy Minor.  We also have a movie trailer for the documentary, “Toxic Soup,” and one for “Jazz From Hell,” about which you will read later.

“Toxic Soup” also provided the shirt I wear in this episode.  Host segments were shot in the Davis Fine Arts building at West Virginia State University, and it was a cool setting, and my old stomping grounds.  People were acting like something unusual was going on, but I didn’t notice anything. Big thanks to Stefani Andrews for making her debut as an RFC crew member.

Episode 111 of RFC

RFC 111

September 24, 2010 by rudy panucci

We’re doing something a little different this week. We are debuting a new episode of Radio Free Charleston on a Friday. You can see it right below this block of text. The show this week features music from Andy Park, Stephen Beckner and Stone Soup, plus some offbeat animation and a public service announcement for Covenant House that starsAnn Magnuson.

Most of this episode was shot at The Empty Glass on Thursday, September 16, during a benefit for Empty Glass Records, a project that will allow Charleston’s most celebrated bar to install recording equipment so that they can preserve the magic moments that happen there on a regular basis.

Watch the show, then follow the jump to read all about it, and also check in with a music-packed weekend here in town.

RFC 111, “Teefury.com Shirt” from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Episode 110 of RFC

Would You Believe Another FestivAll Episode Of Radio Free Charleston?

September 21, 2010 by rudy panucci

RFC 110 “FestivAll 2010 part seven” from Rudy Panucci onVimeo.

Flashback to last summer with part seven of oursix-part coverage of FestivAll 2010. This show brings you more music from Brian Diller and The Velvet Gypsies, plus extra music from Craig D’Andrea and Ron Sowell, and footage of the balloon sculptures at The Charleston Town Center.

We had some great material that didn’t quite fit into our six-part extravaganza last summer, so we went back to the well one more time.  Host segments were shot at the same time as the host bits for episode 107, back in July. Now that the heat of summer is passed, we can sit back and enjoy the music.

You’ll find a couple of extra photos after the jump.

Episode 109 of RFC

RFC 109: Yet Another Show Without Words

August 24, 2010 by rudy panucci

RFC 109 “Shazam Shirt” from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

At the head of this post you see the latest episode of Radio Free Charleston.  This is our third “show without words,” where we showcase instrumental music and films and animation without dialogue.

Our music this time comes fromDavid Synn and D.T. Stephenson, who coincidentally teamed up to form the band after they agreed to became part of this show.  You can look for thier new join project, Frequency Down, playing at local venues soon, and on RFC in the future.  We also have RFC faves, Blue Million, ripping through an instrumental blues jam during a sound check at Bruno’s last May.

Our animation comes courtesy of Frank Panucci and we also feature the oldest surviving Plant Ro Duction Mini Movie. We also get a quick, photographic tour of LiveMix Studio, our longtime production partner.

Episode 108 of RFC

RFC 108 "To The Batmobile Shirt" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

RFC 108: Back To Whatever Passes For “Normal”

August 4, 2010 by rudy panucci

Above you see the bright, shiny new episode of Radio Free Charleston.  This is our first “normal” show since before our big six-episode foray into the wonders of FestivAll.  This episode, “To The Batmobile Shirt,” features music from InFormation,Volt 9000 and The AK40 Sexuals.  We also have short films from K.D. Lett and Scott Elkins.

Rudy at the mall, not sweating.

Host segments were shot last Saturday at The Charleston Town Center because IT’S TOO FREAKING HOT TO SHOOT HOST SEGMENTS OUTSIDE! One segment had to be re-shot at Stately Radio Free Charleston manor just hours before the show was posted due to a technical glitch.  Check out the cool stuff behind me in the intro to the song by InFormation.

Episode 107 of RFC

RFC 107 "FestivAll 2010 part six" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Part Six Of RFC’s FestivAll Coverage Is Here!

July 8, 2010 by rudy panucci

Above you see the final installment of Radio Free Charleston’s extensive coverage of FestivAll 2010.  Even though our coverage was extensive, we still barely scratched the surface of all the cool stuff that was going on during the time when our city becomes a work of art.

In RFC 107 you will see Option 22, Brian Diller, Bare Bones and The Velvet Gypsies. You’ll also get glimpses of Jude Binder, Kitty Killton and the Musical Easels project with Adrian DeQuiros.

With this episode of the show, which coincidentally goes online roughly on the fourth anniversary of Radio Free Charleston, we have managed to bring you over two hours of footage, shot entirely at FestivAll, in the span of seventeen days.  That’s just better than a new show every three days that we’ve posted.

A special PopCulteer with full production notes for these six episodes will be posted this weekend here in PopCult.  A totally unrelated-to-FestivAll bonus video will be posted here Friday, featuring a new band that will explode on the scene Saturday night.

Episode 106 of RFC

RFC 106 "FestivAll 2010 part five" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Part Five Of RFC’s FestivAll Extravaganza

July 5, 2010 by rudy panucci

Episode 106 of Radio Free Charleston is right there at the top of this post. This is the next-to-last of our six-episode look at FestivAll 2010.  For those of you keeping score at home, this has been the equivalent of producing a two-hour documentary–filming, editing, and posting online–in the span of three weeks.

This episode of RFC includes music from The Velvet Gypsies, Actual Rhinocerous and Comparsa, plus a sample of Patrick Felton’s play, “Waiting For Jennifer” and more scenes from ArtWalk and the Capitol Street Art Fair, featuring Jude Binder and the Crystal Tooth Gallery this time.

The current plan is for our final FestivAll installment to include music from Barebones, Option 22 and Brian Diller, and as much of the rest of the stuff I shot during FestivAll as possible. I want to have that one online by the end of the week.  If all goes well, I may cut these shows together into one feature-length film, and figure out where we can show it.

This week’s PopCulteer is supposed to be a full set of production notes for all six episodes complete with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and stories about how we filmed these suckers.  Considering the fact that I haven’t started on part six yet, those plans are subject to change.

RFC 108 is going to get us back to normal with InFormation and a cool video by Frank Panucci for the group, Volt 9000. Look for it a couple of weeks after we get FestivAll wrapped up.

Episode 105 of RFC

RFC 106 "FestivAll 2010 part five" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Even more FestivAll 2010 on RFC 105

July 2, 2010 by rudy panucci

The fourth installment of our FestivAll 2010 coverage includes music from Comparsa, Evan Mack, Melanie Larch, T. J. King and Miss Behavin’. You’ll also see Scott Elkins’ entry in the FestivAll Silent Film competition and a montage of the FestivAll Catfish.

There will be at least two more episodes of Radio Free Charleston devoted to FestivAll 2010 with music from Craig D’Andrea, Option 22, The Velvet Gypsies, Barebones, Actual Rhinocerous, plus more music from Comparsa, Brian Diller and more theater, dance and art from FestivAll.  Look for RFC 106 on Monday.

Episode 104 of RFC

RFC 104 "FestivAll 2010 part Three" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

FestivAll again on RFC 104

June 29, 2010 by rudy panucci

What was planned to be three episodes continues to expand. This is the third episode of Radio Free Charleston devoted to FestivAll 2010, but it won’t be the last. I have enough material for at least two more of these shows, and you can expect them to disrupt the regular PopCult features until I get them finished.

Today’s installment of Radio Free Charleston –origininating from Charleston, West Virginia’s 2010 FestivAll– showcases music by The VooDoo Katz, Miss Behavin’, Mark Scarpelli, The Sweet Adelines and more, plus art from ArtWalk and The Capitol Street Art Fair.

Episode 103 of RFC

RFC 103 "FestivAll 2010 Part Two" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Radio Free Charleston Does FestivAll part two

June 26, 2010 by rudy panucci

This special FestivAll edition of Radio Free Charleston features music From Brian and Nathan Diller, Evan Mack, Captain Crash and The Beauty Queen, Comparsa, and Alasha Al-Qudwah blended with art and animation from Joe Bolyard, Diane Martens, Leisha Angel, Kerry Bingham, and Frank and Rudy Panucci. It’s midweek at FestivAll 2010.

Look for more RFC at FestivAll right here in PopCult. It’s looking like it’ll take more than three shows to hold all the FestivIties.

Episode 102 of RFC

RFC 102 "FestivAll 2010 Pt. One" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

FestivAll Stars on RFC 102

June 22, 2010 by rudy panucci 

Above y0u see the first of three departure episodes of Radio Free Charleston. I’m going to attempt the insane this week–three shows in six days!  The shows will all be based on this week’s FestivAll festivities. We don’t follow the usual format.

You will hear music by Smoke and Mirrors, The Spurgie Hankins Band, The Nanker Phelge, The Kanawha Kordsmen and The Bob Thompson Unit, and you’ll see and hear FestivAll events like the Buswater art exhibit, The Art Parade, The shows at LiveMix Studio, music from Haddad Riverfront Park and The East End Main Street Streetworks Art Auction.

These shows are meant to be self-explanatory, so the production notes will be kept to a minimum. Needles to say, work on this episode is the reason that Sunday Evening Videos and Monday Morning Art took the week off. The plan is to have our next episode, with music from Brian Diller and tons of other cool things, online by Friday. The third show, which will wrap things up, will go online early next week.

Episode 101 of RFC

RFC 101 "Viewmaster Shirt" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

Start The Second Hundred RFCs with Josh Buskirk, Gypsy Nomads, ButtonFlies and More
June 7, 2010 by rudy panucci 

Above you see the 101st episode of Radio Free Charleston, “Viewmaster Shirt.” This episode of our show includes music from Josh Buskirk, The Gypsy Nomads and The ButtonFlies, plus a sequel from MURFMEEF and a trailer for the film,“Toxic Soup.”

Our host segments were shot on a warm, windy Saturday afternoon in front of the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse on Virginia Street, for absolutely no reason other than the fact that we hadn’t shot there yet.  We’re still so wiped out from the big double-sized 100th episode that we didn’t put a lot of thought into our host location this time.

The music and film on the show is top-notch, though, so don’t think we’re slacking.

Episode 100 of RFC

This is our one-hundredth episode, and it's a good one.  As always, note that the production notes are reposted as they were originally in PopCult, so most of the links are just deader than hell. This was a huge milestone show for us. 

This is the Archival blog of Radio Free Charleston, the webshow hosted and instigated by Rudy Panucci that launched in 2006 as part of "GazzTV" and has survived to this day as a YouTube-based variety show bringing local music, filmmakers and animators from West Virginia to the world. Radio Free Charleston is part of the PopCult blog at The Charleston Gazette, and this website is an attempt to organize all the episodes and various spin-off videos in one chronologically-aligned place. 

In the meantime, please visit the PopCult blog and our Facebook page for information on our current episodes while this site is still under construction. Radio Free Charleston is still going strong, with both the full-length program and our new RFC MINI SHOWs, and we expect to hit episode 200 head-on in the Spring of 2014.

You may notice that this introduction appears in many of the posts that you see in this blog. The reason is simple. We have embedded the shows at a fairly hefty size, and they sort of run outside the template. This is not a huge problem if our posts have a lengthy preamble before we plop in the video, but in some cases we need some extra padding so that the listing of the blog archives over on the right side of the screen doesn't overlap the video, thus impeding your enjoyment of our nifty video product. So we stick this opening in here, along with an ad, to take up space.


ONE HUNDRED!

Above you see the epic milestone 100th episode of Radio Free Charleston, “M.C. Escher Shirt.” I wanted to give you guys a normal show, but still a special one. I think we did a pretty good job. It’s our longest show, packed with great music, animation and short films, but we didn’t resort to using Zombies, toupees or any other gimmicks.

Our musical guests are The Hellblinki Sextet, The Nanker Phelge, Eva Elution and Jeff Ellis. The animation this time is by me, with music by David Synn. We’ve got a trailer for the new Kitty Killton short, plus promo clips for two upcoming Kanawha Players shows. RFC Big Shot Frank Panucci is represented by a batch of new interstitials, including the touching “Stuffed Potatoes” spot.

Episode 99 of RFC

RFC 99 "Porkchop shirt" from Rudy Panucci on Vimeo.

RFC 99: Highway Jones, OVADA, HARRAH, Chris Hero, Murfmeef And A Sick, Twisted Animated Bear

May 3, 2010 by rudy panucci

Above you see the bright, shiny new episode of Radio Free Charleston.
Our 99th show is called “Porkchop Shirt,” in honor of Eamon Hardiman’snew horror epic (available now on DVD).

This is an extra-long show, with music from Highway Jones,OVADA and HARRAH, plus a visit from IWA East CoastHeavyweight Champion contender, Chris Hero, a short film byMurfmeef and some really cute, but disgusting animation.

Episode 98 of RFC

RFC 98 "Marilyn Monroe Shirt" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

RFC 98, with Diablo Blues Band, David Synn, Captain Crash and The Beauty Queen and more!

April 19, 2010 by rudy panucci

 

Above you see episode 98 of Radio Free Charleston. This means we’re just two episodes away from our big 100th show, with Jeff Ellis, The Nanker Phelge, The Hellblinki Sextet, Eva Elution and David Synn.

This edition, “Marilyn Monroe Shirt,” features music by The Diablo Blues Band, David Synn and Captain Crash and The Beauty Queen.

We also have animation by Frank Panucci, and a look at the new GI Joe Adventure Team.

Host segments were shot late Friday evening on the grounds of The State Capitol, which didn’t seem nearly so dark while we were there.

Episode 97 of RFC

Jeff Ellis, The Emergency, Simply Sadi and More on RFC 97

April 1, 2010 by rudy panucci

We March through and spring into April with episode 97 of Radio Free Charleston. This edition of our show features music from Jeff Ellis, The Emergency and Simply Sadi, plus short films from MURFMEEF and Scott Elkins, as well as a lovely surprise at the end. Why don’t you watch it, now.

RFC 97 "Ding Dong School" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

If the show isn’t right above this sentence, click here to watch it.

This is our big Spring holiday show, and it was truly a labor of love.

We kick off the show with a short educational film in the Kitty Killton series. Director Scott Elkins illuminates a shamefully-forgotten element of pop culture. As always, Kitty is brought to life by RFC’s official barista, Chelsea Cook.

Episode 96 of RFC

RFC 96 "Storm In A Teacup Shirt" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

WATT 4, Romeo & Juliet, MURFMEEF and Bear on RFC 96

March 22, 2010 by rudy panucci

Episode 96 of Radio Free Charleston, “Storm In A Teacup Shirt” is right there above this text (or here, if all that’s there is raw code). This edition of our local music, film and animation show includes music from one of the RFC favorite bands,WATT 4, and from the upcoming CYAC production,”Romeo and Juliet: A Rock Opera.” We also have a movie trailer from director Amy Trent, and the RFC debut of MURFMEEF.

Host segments were shot around Capitol Street on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and they weren’t all done in one take this time.  It seems we were disturbing someone’s sleep in the Lee Street Triangle. Our title shirt this time came from TeeFury.com, who offer cool designs for one day only. This one, chosen in honor of the little dust-up we had in the PopCult comments recently, was designed by Ross Robinson.

Episode 95 of RFC

RFC 95 "Glen Brogan's Visible Grimace Shirt" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

Eva Elution and Mother Nang On RFC 95

March 8, 2010 by rudy panucci

Radio Free Charleston’s ninety-fifth episode, “Glen Brogan’s Visible Grimace Shirt,” is in the books, or at least in this post, up at the top (and if it isn’t, click here). This episode of RFC showcases new music from Eva Elution and vintage music from Mother Nang. We also have our usual animation and mind-hurting weirdness. Plus we revisit the very first 60 Second Art Show, featuring the art of Felix Krasyk.

We shot our host segments Saturday morning, taking advantage of the gorgeous weather. Our location was Kanawha Boulevard, just East of the latest prolonged blockage of Charleston’s favorite artery.

One of the reasons we picked this location is that it’s near The Boulevard Tavern, where Mother Nang is playing this Friday.

Episode 94 of RFC

RFC 94 "Star Wars Shirt" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

Byzantine And The Pistol Whippers On A Single-Camera RFC

February 23, 2010 by rudy panucci

Radio Free Charleston 94, “Star Wars Shirt” should be floating right up there above this text. (if it isn’t, click here). This very special episode features music from Byzantine, The Pistol Whippers and Adrian DeQuiros. There are also promotional announcements for The East End Pet Food Pantry and The Chemical Valley Rollergirls. Lastly we have animation by your humble PopCulteer.

Coincidentally, each of the musical performances on the show this week were shot with a single camera. I only mention this because it’s possible that you might not have noticed otherwise. Normally we do multiple-camera shoots on RFC, but this time we just happened to have three great one-camera clips.

Episode 93 of RFC

RFC 93 "Tofujitsu Shirt" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

Strawfyssh, Scrap Iron Pickers and Andy Dick on RFC 93

February 8, 2010 by rudy panucci

At the head of this post you should see the latest episode of Radio Free Charleston, “Tofujitsu Shirt.” If it’s not there, checkthis link. This week’s show features a vintage video of Strawfyssh, from 1991, a music video for The Scrap Iron Pickers set to 95-year-old animation by pioneering cartoonist, Winsor McCay, and a moody video of Melanie Larch singing an acapella version of the classic tune, “Summertime.”

You’ll also believe that a pig can cuss, and you’ll get to see an animated re-telling of Andy Dick‘s recent misadventures in Huntington.

A special guest voice performer provides the voice of Andy Dick in this photo-realistic dramatic recreation. Read on to find out who it is.

Episode 92 of RFC

RFC 92 "Oingo Boingo Shirt" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

RFC 92: Factory Blues And More

January 25, 2010 by rudy panucci

Right at the top of this post (or at this link, if technology is not being your friend today) you see the ninety-second episode of Radio Free Charleston, “Oingo Boingo Shirt.” This collection of local music, weird film and other cool stuff was carefully prepared by experienced Bavarian craftsmen, and is served up on a bed of fresh baby spinach for your personal delightrificationment.

Our music this time is by Joseph Hale, The Diablo Blues Bandand the Blues Girls from the CYAC production of “The Blob.” We also have a Plant Ro Duction Mini Movie and a serious message from Ann Magnuson on behalf of Covenant House.

Host segments were shot in the parking lot at The Kanawha Mall. There was no particular reason for this,other than it was sunny and that’s where we ended up.

Episode 91 of RFC

RFC 91 "Bettie Page Shirt" from RFC Archives on Myspace.

Starting 2010 With Highway Jones, Ryan Hardiman and Blue Million

January 12, 2010 by rudy panucci

If all goes according to plan, immediately above this text you will see the first Radio Free Charleston of 2010. “Bettie Page Shirt” features music from Highway Jones, Ryan Hardiman, and Blue Million. (If it’s not there, follow this link) There’s also animation by Frank Panucci, a Plant Ro-Duction Mini-Movie, and a cameo by professional wrestler Daizee Haze.

Host segments were shot during the lunch hour Tuesday afternoon at The Charleston Town Center. We are happy to report that we were not accosted by security, nor were we beaten or detained by the Charleston Police Department. This was largely due to our clever strategy of hiding the cameras in our coats every time the security dudes looked our way. 

Special thanks to Walt at The Salvage Yard, who hooked us up with the cool Bettie Page shirt from which the show takes its name. The Salvage Yard is a neat little custom culture emporium with clothing and accessories showcasing the best of West Coast custom car/pin-up/retro hipster iconography. All the cool kids will be shopping there.