The radio station of Trinity College, Hartford, CT
The Aug. 7 edition of The Devo Rock Show featured artists appearing at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival which runs Aug. 10-13 in Goshen, Conn.
Check out the archive.
The annual event marks its 26th year and welcomes some of the finest bluegrass and country artists in the country to its stages.
Some of the artists Devo played included: The Steep Canyon Rangers, East Nash Grass, Kristy Cox, Lindley Green and many others.
New tracks from Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway were also featured.
When Dean Farrell hosts The Soul Express, he likes to say that he plays “1960s and ‘70s-era soul music — everything from No. 1 hits to long-lost obscurities.”
On Aug. 12, however, the emphasis will be decidedly on the obscure stuff as Dean pays tribute to what he calls “Flip Side Soul”.
The program airs 2:30-5:30 p.m. Click here to listen live.
The feature will include flip sides of million-selling classics like “”Nowhere to Run,” “My Guy,” “Rescue Me,” “Ooo Baby Baby,” “Uptight (Everything’s Alright),” “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Sunny,” “Respect,” “Higher & Higher,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Dock of the Bay,” “Everyday People,” “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby,” “War,” “Groove Me,” “Mr. Big Stuff,” “Let’s Stay Together,” “I’ll Take You There,” and “Lean On Me.”
This program will prove that if you bought 45 RPMs and never played the flip sides, you missed out!
A special edition of The Jazz Corner hosted by Paul Hensler aired Aug. 1 and featured author Aidan Levy who discussed his recently published Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins (Hachette Books).
Check out the archive.
Levy is the author of Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed (Chicago Review Press) and editor of Patti Smith on Patti Smith: Interviews and Encounters (Chicago Review Press).
His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, JazzTimes and The Nation. He is currently a lecturer in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University.
Here’s the interview.
Saxophone Colossus is slated to be published in paperback on Nov. 14.
Brothers and Sisters by The Allman Brothers Band captured the Phoenixlike group at a new creative high when it came out 50 years ago, but it would end up being so much more.
The July 22 edition of Greasy Tracks featured an in-depth look at the legendary 1973 album as author Alan Paul discussed his masterwork, Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the 70s, which is published July 25 by St. Martin’s Press.
Check out the archive, while the playlist is here.
Paul — a seasoned music journalist who has written extensively for Guitar World, The Wall Street Journal and Billboard among numerous other publications — unravels the intricate story behind the album that helped change the course of rock history.
It’s his second Allmans book following One Way Out: The Inside History of The Allman Brothers Band (St. Martin’s Press) in 2014. In 2019, he and Andy Aledort co-wrote Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan Band (St. Martin’s Press). Each book was a New York Times bestseller.
More than 7 million copies of the album were sold and the Allmans enjoyed chart success they would never again equal, but it also impacted the music industry, social fabric and even the political landscape of the country.
The burgeoning “southern rock” genre was elevated by the massive AM and FM exposure of Brothers and Sisters which went to No. 1 on the Billboard chart for five weeks, boosted by “Ramblin’ Man” which was the band’s lone Top 10 single, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, “Jessica” went to No. 29 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart and No. 65 on the Hot 100.
Band members have roundly disliked the category the band has long been associated with. Guitarist Dickey Betts once told a writer: “we’re just a progressive rock band from the south.”
One person who benefitted from the Allman’s new star status was Jimmy Carter, the then-governor of Georgia who enlisted the band to help him raise money to fund his long-shot presidential campaign in 1975.
The success of the album thrust the band into the national spotlight and far eclipsed any sales or chart appearances from their previous studio efforts with only At Fillmore East – the renowned double live album captured from four 1971 appearances at the fabled New York City venue — reaching No. 13, but not hitting platinum status until 1992.
This all came after the band was at an all-time low as it was still reeling from the death of its true leader and visionary, guitarist Duane Allman who was killed in a motorcycle accident less than four months following the release of At Fillmore East. Bassist Barry Oakley would die in a motorcycle accident a year later. They were each 24 years old.
The book takes the reader behind the scenes, offering an intimate perspective on the band’s triumphs, challenges and the creative process behind this groundbreaking record. Dive into the vibrant tapestry of the ’70s music scene as he delves into the band’s journey, exploring their unique blend of rock, blues, jazz, soul and — as evidenced by Brothers and Sisters — country.
In addition to tracking through Brothers and Sisters, the feature will include outtakes from sessions the band did during that period of time as well as well as live material from across the Allman’s career. A number of tracks by groups influenced by the Allmans will also work their way into the playlist.
Last month on The Soul Express, Dean Farrell presented three hours of long tracks. Since he was unable to get to a lot of the songs he wanted to play, he’ll revisit the theme on July 15 with “Extended Jams, Part 2”.
The program airs 2:30-5:30 p.m. EDT. Click here to listen live.
While Dean isn’t revealing what he plans on airing, sources say they know of 13-minute instrumentals by War and Sly & The Family Stone, along with a monster 19-minute James Brown track!
Other featured acts include Stevie Wonder, the Dells, the Three Degrees, the Temptations, Ike & Tina Turner, Fred Wesley & The JBs, Aretha Franklin, the Isley Brothers, Kool & The Gang, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Enchantment, the Undisputed Truth, and more.
First-generation rock of the 1950s and 60s returned to the WRTC airwaves with the debut of Roots Rock Radio on July 2.
Veteran host Dean Farrell — who presents the long-running Soul Express on alternating Saturdays — was blunt for his reason behind the new program: “This music has all but disappeared from the airwaves,” he said, “and I think that’s a crime.”
In true Farrell fashion, he promises to be the daddy-o of the radio spinning these classic platters.
On a typical Soul Express show, host Dean Farrell plays about 60 songs ranging in length from 2.5 to four minutes.
The June 24 edition had a playlist that was about half as long as Dean presented three hours of extended jams. Check out the archive!
Featured acts included Sly & The Family Stone, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Millie Jackson, War, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder, Joe Bataan, the Dramatics, Parliament, Wilson Pickett, Billy Stewart, Eddie Kendricks, Parliament and the Bar-Kays.
New releases from The Wood Brothers and Boris Garcia were featured on the May 27 edition of Greasy Tracks.
Check out the archive, while the playlist is here.
There was also interviews with Oliver Wood who discussed The Wood Brothers’ latest, Heart Is The Hero (Honey Jar/Thirty Tiger) and Boris Garcia’s Bob Stirner, who talked about It’s Time For Tea (Porchwerk Music) which includes Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks on board for the project.
The Wood Brothers play College Street Music Hall in New Haven on June 13.
The program also included tributes to Tina Turner who passed away at age 83 on May 24 and poet/singer Pete Brown who died May 19 at age 82.
…And Trinity celebrates WRTC as one of its 200 Years, 200 Stories. Originally published in the Trinity Reporter last year, The Enduring Voice of Trinity College was written in honor of WRTC’s 75th anniversary.
The Trinity College Bicentennial page.
WRTC will participate in the college’s Alumni Bicentennial Celebration and Reunion Weekend, June 8-11, with a special remote broadcast and studio tours for visiting alumni on June 9, 5-8 p.m.
Are you a WRTC/Trinity alumnus? Would you like to talk on the air about your WRTC memories? We’d love to have you. Please contact General Manager Chris Cowles for more information.
Just like peanut butter and chocolate, some music just goes really well together, but the May 13 edition of Greasy Tracks presented a pairing not often heard: prog and krautrock.
Check out the archive, while the playlist is here.
Each style has roots in psychedelic rock and emerged in the late 60s — prog in the UK and kosmische music (cosmic music), best known as krautrock, in West Germany.
The golden age for each lasted less than a decade.