Wednesday, May 23, 2007

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.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

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?

Friday, April 27, 2007

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.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

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.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

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.

Monday, February 26, 2007

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.

Monday, February 5, 2007

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.”

Thursday, January 18, 2007

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!

Friday, December 29, 2006

Episode Twelve of RFC

This was a most unusual and some might say rather pointless early episode of Radio Free Charleston. "Radio Free Charleston Shirt" is a "best of" RFC from the year 2006.  Its eighteen minutes bring you highlights from every musical act and most of the animated shorts from our first year.

This was pretty easy because we had only produced eleven episodes up to this point. The original production notes from December 29, 2006 (seen below) explain that this was "Plan B," and that the original idea for the show was for it to be a jam session held at LiveMix Studio, pulled together into a coherent show overnight and posted quick.

It's the kind of thing Rudy does in his sleep now, but at the time it was extremely ambitious since he barely knew how to edit video on the PC.  Rudy was spared the effort when hardly anyone showed up to play music, and the one person who did asked that we not use his song because it wasn't finished yet. You will see some footage Rudy shot wandering aimlessly around LiveMix during what turned out to be a very nice music-free gathering.

This episode is historically important because it marks the first time we immortalized the RFC Big Shots in the credits. We also have a lovely accapella rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" by our resident diva and Big Shot, Melanie Larch. That's followed by two goofy MIDI versions by me.

It's amusing now to see how far we've come since our first dozen shows seven years ago. It's also bittersweet to remember how cool LiveMix Studio was and how the people who took it away from us are destined to burn in hellfire for all eternity. Remember, most links below are deader than heck.


Radio Free Charleston: A Look Back At 2006


December 29, 2006 by rudy panucci


The special year-end edition of Radio Free Charleston is online now.  This is your chance to sample the meaty pleasures of our humble little internet show in one 18-minute chunk.  The highlight is a 9-minute megamix featuring every musical artist that has appeared on the show!  We also present some of the memorable bits of mind-hurting weirdness that makes RFC the best thing since sliced steam-powered birth control pills.  Once we hook you with this taste of the best music and film that Charleston has to offer, bop on over to our archives so you can check out full episodes from the past six months. 

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Episode Eleven of RFC

Episode Eleven of Radio Free Charleston is our first Christmas Show and it features music from CLOWNHOLE and MELANIE LARCH, plus Pentagram Flowerbox and animation from Rudy Panucci and Brian Young. Host segments were shot at the original location of The Purple Moon and this is the first episode where our host, Rudy Panucci, had facial hair.

In this show,  RFC Big Shot and Resident Diva, Melanie Larch  helped us end our first year on a soaring high note with her now-legendary performance of "Ave Maria," sung accapella, live on the fifth-floor fire escape outside the late, lamnted Livemix Studio.  

The rest of the show is pretty impressive as well, with Pentagram Flowerbox, holiday cartoons by Rudy Panucci and Brian Young and a punk rendition of "Deck The Halls" by Clownhole. We also have an onscreen appearance by The Charleston Playhouse Quartet, performing the RFC theme song, buried in the end credits. Host segments were shot at the old location of The Purple Moon. The Moon is now thriving at its new location on Quarrier Street.

The original production notes follow the video, and as usual, are probably riddled with dead links.

RADIO FREE CHARLESTON: Christmas Production Notes

December 20, 2006 by rudy panucci

The Holiday Edition of Radio Free Charleston is online for your viewing pleasure now! This episode features Christmas music from Clownhole and Melanie Larch, a cartoon holiday extravaganza, lots of animation, and me, looking like a demented elf, hosting from The Purple Moon, on Lee Street.