The RFC MINI SHOW # 21

RFC MINI SHOW with Jody Herndon

April 28, 2014 by rudy panucci

Jody Herndon is a very talented singer/songwriter, and he’s also one of the driving forces behind Voices of Appalachia and New Appalachian Radio. We caught up with Jody at a special evening of local music hosted by Little Nomad at The Empty Glass. Coincidentally, you can catch Jody again this Wednesday at The Empty Glass at another showcase hosted by Little Nomad, which really ought to become a regular thing.

You will see Little Nomad and the other artists we recorded that night on future installments of Radio Free Charleston and The RFC MINI SHOW, and Little Nomad will also be hosting the Monday Night Open Mic at The Empty Glass on May 12.

Getting back to Jody, he’s written some striking tunes and we happily bring two of them to you this week in the MINI SHOW. Lifting a bit from his bio page, “Jody started writing songs when he was fourteen years old and quickly learned that he had a passion for words. When he went to college he encountered a song writer that changed him forever: Mike Morningstar. Mike’s honesty and eloquence about the beauty of West Virginia, and even more so, the beauty of West Virginians has kept Jody in these mountains singing about life from a Mountaineer’s perspective.”

Check back with PopCult because sometime in the coming weeks we will bring you more information on New Appalachian Radio and Voices of Appalachia. For now, you can check them out at the provided links.

RFC presents The Terra Firma Ensemble

Sunday Evening Video: The Terra Firma Ensemble

April 27, 2014 by rudy panucci

As promised, today we present the entire Kanawha Forum performance from April 9, 2014, by The Terra Firma Ensemble. We have brought you two-thirds of this performance on Radio Free Charleston and the RFC MINI SHOW, but this video collects the entire concert, in order, complete with the entrance and applause.

The Terra Firma Ensemble was recorded at The Kanawha Forum at Kanawha United Presbyterian Church on Quarrier Street. The Terra Firma Ensemble is Jim Lange, David Porter, J. Scott Milam, Lisa Peery, John Inghram and Ryan Kennedy. The Kanawha Forum is a series of Wednesday concerts that offer up free half-hour lunch performances at the church, which are followed by a paid gourmet meal, which is optional.

Episode 197 of RFC

Mind-blowing Music and Animation on RFC 197, Plus A Prophecy!

April 21, 2014 by rudy panucci

Radio Free Charleston 197, “Jake The Dog Shirt” is a diverse collection of great music, cool animation plus a neat theater preview. Our music is from Donnie Smith, The Big Bad, The Terra Firma Ensemble and Jordan Searls. Animation comes to us from Jake Fertig and we also have a preview for the Alban Arts Center production of “Antigone.”

Host segments were shot in the Alban Arts Center theater after our first location, just outside the theater, proved to be unworkable because folks were using lawn-mowers and gas-powered trimmers…on Easter Sunday.

The RFC MINI SHOW # 20

The RFC MINI SHOW: The Terra Firma Ensemble

April 14, 2014 by rudy panucci

Uncredited photo swiped from Jim Lange’s Facebook page

This week’s RFC MINI SHOW features The Terra Firma Ensemble, recorded at The Kanawha Forum at Kanawha United Presbyterian Church on Quarrier Street. The Terra Firma Ensemble is Jim Lange, David Porter, J. Scott Milam, Lisa Peery, John Inghram and Ryan Kennedy. The Kanawha Forum offers up free half-hour lunch concerts at the church, which are followed by a paid gourmet meal, which is optional.

At this particular edition of The Kanawha Forum, The Terra Firma Ensemble performed three pieces: “Innocente,” by Robert Towner and Gary Burton; “Eye of the Needle,” by Robert Fripp and the world premiere of “Brambles and Briers,” a piece composed by Jim Lange. You will see Jim Lange’s composition next week on the full-length Radio Free Charleston number 197. This RFC MINI SHOW features “Innocente.”

In a couple of weeks we will bring you the entire program from The Terra Firma Ensemble’s Kanawha Forum peformance, with all three pieces presented in order.

Lisa Perry, Scott Milam, Ryan Kennedy

It was a real treat to get to record this group. Jim Lange has been a friend of RFC dating back to our radio days, when he appeared live, on the air, with The Velvet Brothers. His guitar work is legendary. David Porter brings his virtuosity on the EWI wind-controlled synth to the ensemble. Lisa Peery contributes acoustic flute. Scott Milam brought percussion and the malletKAT to the table. And eagle-eyed viewers of RFC may recognize Ryan Kennedy (guitar) and John Inghram (fretless bass) from The Bob Thompson Unit, who appeared on our last Christmas show and their own RFC MINI SHOW.

David Porter, Jim Lange, John Inghram

This is an amazing collection of musicians who include three current or former members of The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra among their ranks, alongside musicians with lists of credits that would take up several paragraphs. It was truly an honor to record them for the show.

The RFC MINI SHOW # 19

The RFC MINI SHOW starring dogSOLDIER

April 7, 2014 by rudy panucci

See dogSOLDIER at The Blue Parrot this Friday!

This week we bring you an RFC MINI SHOW devoted to the band,  dogSOLDIER, who will be playing at the Blue Parrot this Friday, April 11, with Twist of Fate.

It was really cool to record dogSOLDIER at The Empty Glass a few weeks ago because we hadn’t seen them in years. It had been over five years and about 140 episodes of Radio Free Charleston since we’d featured them on the show. In the interim, the band had split up, reforming late in 2013 with a slightly-altered line up. We are glad to say that Justin Johnson, Chris Burdette, Jody Ashley, and Brent Brubaker still sound fantastic.

With their musical territory staked out somewhere between Led Zepplin and Radiohead, dogSOLDIER creates timeless music that is truly remarkable. This band is so musically tight that it’s hard to believe they just reformed a few scant months ago.

The band’s last appearance was on episode 56, where I wrote, “Our first musical guest this episode is dogSOLDIER, who previously appeared on RFC 46. One of the best bands in town, in my not-so-humble opinion, you can be sure that we’ll have the guys back on soon, hopefully early in 2009.”

We only missed it by five years. But I can tell you, it was well worth the wait.

The RFC MINI SHOW #18

The RFC MINI SHOW with Project Biscotti

April 1, 2014 by rudy panucci

Episode eighteen of The RFC MINI SHOW presents Project Biscotti, one of Charleston’s most intriguing bands. With a sound that blends cabaret, raw punk and high-energy rock, they’re unlike any other artists in town. They’re the closest thing we have to Captain Beefheart.

This episode presents two crisp, punky tunes, but in the spirit of creative anarchy, and as our nod to April Fool’s Day, if you stick around after the end credits, you’ll get just a little more Biscotti to gnaw on.

The band was recorded in early March at the Rock N Roll Theater at Kanawha Players, which is also their brainchild, under the “Scarred Art” banner. Let’s let the band tell us about themselves, “Project Biscotti was formed by front man Cardiac Jones and began as a 2 member group that has since taken on 2 more members making us a full, four piece act. With each member bringing their own style, sound, and weirdo flavor to the mix, Project Biscotti is an act like none other you’re likely to see in this or any other area.”

They add the following, “WARNING!! Project Biscotti is a very vulgar band with themes ranging to everything from masturbation to rampant drug abuse and sexual misconduct. Also, we have songs about movies & TV shows we like. Whatever we think is fun, we do…NO LIMITS!”

So be advised that this show may push the boundaries of what is considered safe for work. Blasting it really loud in a church is also not advised, although it would be hilarious.

This episode of The RFC MINI SHOW was recorded “guerilia style,” and as such, the audio is less than perfect. We promise better audio the next time we have these musicians on the show. Still, in the spirit of “New Wave Theater,” we felt you might enjoy this raw, vital music, and the tiny, little, wee Easter Egg that you’ll find after the end credits.