Beatin’ the bushes for a little culture & diversion
by Tom Neal on June 26th, 2008 • 5 Comments »
Tonight’s episode of Roundtrip, my 2-hour radio show on WNRB-LP (7-9 p.m., 93.3 fm, Wausau) will feature one of my favorite-ever bands: the Kinks. This group’s cavalcade of hits and lesser-known albums is just packed with anthems, ditties, rave-ups, stories, heroes, villains, animals, riverbanks and streets. So, if you like You Really Got Me, All Day and All of the Night, Apeman, Sunny Afternoon, Lola, Waterloo Sunset, Village Green Preservation Society … heck, all that Kinks’ stuff … listen tonight and be prepared for that sound and that voice to emerge at any moment. I can’t wait.
Almost forgot: the Battle of the Bands culminates Friday night at Coral Lanes. Be there and cheer for Freedown, Wausau’s most interesting young band.
And if you like a bit of country, LeAnn Rimes at Marathon Park on Saturday will be class show to catch. Includes James Otto (”The Biggest Voice in Country Music”) and newcomer Emily West. Be there and help support The Children’s Miracle Network.
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by Tom Neal on June 19th, 2008 • One Comment »
My son Ian’s band … Freedown … will engage in a battle of the bands tonight at Coral Lanes (you know, that place where you can go “pizza bowling” … says so on the sign outside). So, I will do an abbreviated Roundtrip radio show tonight (7-9, WNRB-LP, 93.3 FM, Wausau) to enable me to get over to the Lanes and catch the action. You might enjoy stopping by yourself; it’s great to see young guns carrying the torch of rock forward. Freedown is a very good band, and I’m sure there will be others that will amaze. See you there maybe.
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by Tom Neal on June 16th, 2008 • 2 Comments »
Just had a nice out-of-town long weekend in Milwaukee and only now getting around to posting the song list from this past Thursday night on my Roundtrip show (WNRB-LP, 93.3 FM Wausau). It was a 2-hour show, sort of broken up into a mellower first hour and slap-dash second hour:
Pink Floyd, Fearless … just feels good to hear this one
Robert Plant, Little Hands … from tribute album to Skip Spence (former Moby Grape and Jefferson Airplane high flyer)
Grateful Dead, Help on the Way / Slipknot! … sweet suite
Neil Young, A Man Needs a Maid … pretty intense plea from ol’ Neil
Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane, Heart to Hold Onto … from Rough Mix, very nice collaboration
Uncle Tupelo, Slate
Counting Crows, Raining in Baltimore … I plan to do a show with nothing but rain songs
Cream, Doing That Scrapyard Thing
Fleetwood Mac, Coming Your Way … Peter Green’s guitar always spooky
Traffic, Giving to You … Steve Winwood and the boys get jazzy
Steve Winwood, Raging Sea … brand-new from ex-Traffic front man
then on to hour #2:
Led Zeppelin, Black Mountain Side … Jimmy Page playing acoustic in DADGAD tuning
Rolling Stones, 2000 Man … “and my kids just don’t understand me at all”
Wilco, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart … Jeff Tweedy in pain
Ray Davies, Is There Life After Breakfast?
Tom Waits, Diamonds and Gold … with Keith Richards on guitar
Canned Heat, So Bad (Life’s in a Tangle)
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, What’d I Say … young Eric Clapton, old Ray Charles tune
Paul McCartney, How Kind of You … his Chaos album, I think, is one of his best
Nina Simone, Ne Me Quitte Pas … sad as heck, and I don’t even speak French
Kate Bush, Army Dreamers
Steve Miller Band, Kow Kow
James Brown, Doing It to Death
Let me know of any rain songs you think will be good for a rain show. Tune in Thursday night 7-9.
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by Tom Neal on June 12th, 2008 • No Comments »
First time I read these words: Harmonious Pulsations … I envisioned an amoeba quivering, then splitting in 2 and both ensuing organisms squelching off together just as happy as can be. Donnie Forti most likely has his own interpretation of the phrase, but what’s important is that it’s the name of his brand-new 2-hour radio program debuting tonight (Thursday) on WNRB-LP (93.3 FM, Wausau) right after my show (Roundtrip 7-9 p.m.).
Donnie will feature R&B and soul music spanning the decades. I invite you to tune to catch Mr. Forti’s show … and mine of course. Last week, I featured music from artists I’d seen in concert at one time or another. Tonight, I’ll be going theme-less (unless I come up with something between now and then). Tune in. Call in (842-8390 ext 210). Join in. It’s radio that’s different.
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by Tom Neal on June 6th, 2008 • 5 Comments »
On last night’s Roundtrip show on WNRB-LP (93.3 FM, Wausau), I was basking in memories of night clubs, arenas, stadiums, auditoriums and hillsides where I’ve seen memorable concerts by some of the biggest names in the biz. Every tune last night was by artists I’ve seen at some time and place. I feel very lucky to have seen all these artists, and to be able to play them on the radio. This show certainly transported me to many of those experiences … I hope the listeners enjoyed the lineup:
Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley … Bo passed this week (see my earlier post below about an encounter with him)
Grateful Dead, Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion … a Dead show is just an experience unlike any other
Kinks, Dandy … seen ‘em bunch of times, met Ray Davies once
July ‘69 Milwaukee outdoor festival (race track):
Led Zeppelin, Communication Breakdown … their encore at that show (wow!)
Taste, Blister on the Moon … Irishman Rory Gallagher was one of the friendliest shows I’ve ever seen
Blind Faith, Can’t Find My Way Home … what luck to catch this group
August ‘69 Woodstock:
Crosby, Stills & Nash, Long Time Gone … this was time travel for me; got a bit of a chill up my spine
Jimi Hendrix, Izabella … recorded live at Woodstock
Sly & the Family Stone, Stand! … one of the festival’s many show-stoppers
4 acts that Jane & I have seen together:
Todd Rundgren, I Went to the Mirror … the pride of Philadelphia (seen this guy all over the place)
Joe Jackson, Be My Number Two
Squeeze, Satisfied … British pop polished to perfection
Counting Crows, Catalpult … we have tickets to see them again this summer
Bo Diddley, Who Do You Love? … starting off hour #2 with more Bo
Iggy Pop, Real Wild Child … caught him at grand opening concert for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Lou Reed, I’m So Free … also at the R&RHOF gig (backed here by David Bowie)
Elvis Costello, Goon Squad
U2, Gloria … these guys are unbeatable in concert
Roxy Music, Street Life … they owned the Masonic Auditorium in Detroit
The Clash, Clampdown … caught these Brit legends at a little auditorium in Dallas
The Who, Call Me Lightning … several times (Woodstock tops the bunch)
Bruce Springsteen, 4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy) … east coast blue collar angst from a group that kills in concert
Peter Gabriel, No Self Control … there is only one Peter Gabriel, period
Alvin “Youngblood” Hart, Moonlight Mile … Stones’ tune by this young guy who played Wausau a couple years back
Rolling Stones, Let It Loose … seen ‘em a bunch; once in the driving rain in the Cotton Bowl (they had a very good time) … catch their new concert movie “Shine a Light”
Frank Zappa, Montana … “… and ride like a cowboy into the dawn of Montana … yippee-eye-oh-ty-ay!”
So, from Bo to Zappa … that was it. Please tune in next week 7-9 Thursday night for who knows what.
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by Tom Neal on June 5th, 2008 • No Comments »
Tonight’s Roundtrip radio program (7-9 p.m., WNRB-LP, 93.3 FM, Wausau) will be a bit of a rave-up for me. I’m going to feature music from performers I’ve seen in concert at one time or another. I will certainly feature Bo Diddley who passed this week. I might toss in an anecdote or two to put some memories in context. The music, as usual, will reflect a certain “underground” sensibility: some obscure artists, some obscure cuts by well-known artists. But the real big news for tonight is that when I finish up at 9:00, I’m pretty sure I’m being followed by a brand-new announcer with a cool show concept. Donnie Forti (pronounced “forty”) is lined up to debut tonight with a 2-hour show dedicated to R&B and soul … this is very exciting news. I don’t know if Donnie has a name for his show, but with a last name like “Forti” there are certainly some cool potentials. So, got 4 hours to kill tonight? Don’t do it with the tube or the Web, do it with the radio and with a friend.
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by Tom Neal on June 2nd, 2008 • One Comment »
Bo Diddley … rock legend; R&R Hall of Famer; creator of the Bo Diddley Beat; writer and performer of Bo Diddley, Mona, Who Do You Love? and lots of other unforgettable hits; bigger-than-life dude with the square guitar; inspiration for the Stones, the Who, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Them, Animals, Springsteen, and countless other bands and performers … is gone.
I remember seeing him at a little club (The Green Parrot) in Fort Worth, TX. I went early to get a good seat and perhaps snag an autograph (I now have a couple of his). There was Bo cruisin’ around in the almost-empty bar, setting up his equipment, jibber-jabbering with folks, being a guy. This was when the video for George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone” was getting heavy rotation play on MTV. In that vid, George shoots serious pool with Bo … very cool. Well, at the bar in Fort Worth, Bo … alone … walked into the game room where the pool tables were. There was nobody else around. I thought, “Hey, I shoot pool. Not bad either. I can shoot pool with Bo. Just like that video. Cool!”
So, I screwed up my nerve, and strolled into the game room to ask Bo if he wanted to shoot some stick. Much to my surprise, he was already playing … heavily engrossed in an animated game of Space Invaders. He was weaving, bobbing, shooting, zapping, wasting aliens … I couldn’t interfere. I probably should have.
I saw Bo three or four times. Always a good time. Funny, engaged with the crowd, dirty dancing, lifting his leg and “farting” with his guitar. His hat. His big glasses. His square guitar. His jump suit and shiny shoes. His smile. His beat: bumpity, bump, bump … ba-bump bump.
Now he’s frying aliens in rock & roll heaven. Bye, Bo.
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by Tom Neal on June 2nd, 2008 • No Comments »
As is my usual practice, here’s the line-up from my most recent Roundtrip radio show (WNRB-LP, 93.3 FM, Wausau). Just a mixed-up, mess of stuff with no rhyme or reason, but good listening:
Kingsmen, Louie, Louie
Four Tops, Bernadette
Kaiser Chiefs, Every Day I Love You Less and Less
Uncle Tupelo, Life Worth Living
Hot Tuna, Know You Rider
Ten Years After, I Woke Up This Morning … opening lyric originality award winner
Ry Cooder, How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
Them, I’m Gonna Dress in Black
The Who, Two Thousand Years … from their recent album Endless Wire
The Creation, Making Time
Traffic, Pearly Queen … old Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood, I’m Not Drowning … new S.W.
Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues
Warren Zevon, Splendid Isolation
Todd Rundgren, Boogies (Hamburger Hell)
Counting Crows, Washington Square
Steve Earle, Steve’s Last Ramble … radical cowboy
Stephen Stills & Manassas, What to Do
The Doors, Soul Kitchen
U2, I Threw a Brick Through a Window
Elvis Costello, Little Triggers
Procol Harum, Piggy Pig Pig
David Bowie, Fashion
Swinging Medallions, Double Shot of My Baby’s Love
Squeeze, Heaven
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by Tom Neal on May 29th, 2008 • One Comment »
It’s Thursday … harbinger of the weekend. Tonight from 7-9 p.m. on WNRB-LP (93.3 FM, Wausau), I’ll be doing another edition of Roundtrip. Essentially, a show for weirdos, Roundtrip aspires to veer and skew away from the mainstream to feature music that comes with baggage: hippie psyche-nostalgia, current releases that “normal” radio ignores, quirky subject matter, lengthier and deeper album cuts, non-conventional instrumentation, stylistic variety, humor, surprises. Give this show some of your attention, and you’ll come away richer. Satisfaction guaranteed. That “LP” in the station’s name stands for Low Power and that means you might need to work a bit to get a strong signal. Move your radio around, rig some sort of antenna, try another room. Comes in great on my vehicle’s radio (go for an evening drive). Hope you’ll be out there when I’m in the air chair.
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by Tom Neal on May 27th, 2008 • 25 Comments »
Call me a liar, reneger, chicken … I’ve decided to not pursue the show concept of Anthem Rock for my Thursday night Roundtrip radio program (WNRB-LP. 93.3 FM, Wausau). I just look at the lists of possibilities … you know, Baba O’Riley, Born to Run, We Are the Champions, etc. and I all I see is hits. Tons of commercial blockbusters. And, that’s just not what Roundtrip is all about. Sure, I like to mix it up and you’ll hear the occasional chart-topper from way-back, but I really revel in hitting the deeper cuts, more obscure offerings, oddities and things straight out of left field. So, as much as I love Baba O’Riley, I’m not going to play two hours of Baba-esque bombast. But, look for another Art Rock special or other theming ideas to come. Stay tuned for more.
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